More Cali Bobbling

[stevek]

Flew Blossom 3x today. Blossom is maybe 20 miles west of San Diego on the 8. About an 40 mins total airtime with 3 top landings in the lower bailout. One good approach, the other two sucked.

My harness feels like I am sitting on a board that is balanced on a fulcrum. I keep falling into the risers on one side or the other. I think it is designed that way to accomodate weight shift in turns but it seems very uncomfortable and difficult.

[Flying Lobster]

Flew Blossom 3x today. Blossom is maybe 20 miles west of San Diego on the 8. About an 40 mins total airtime with 3 top landings in the lower bailout. One good approach, the other two sucked.

My harness feels like I am sitting on a board that is balanced on a fulcrum. I keep falling into the risers on one side or the other. I think it is designed that way to accomodate weight shift in turns but it seems very uncomfortable and difficult.

Check clearance between the two biners--then check your manual or DHV test report for recommended widths (most are in the mid-40 cm range). Some gliders can actually go out of certified ratings with changed distances. Generally speaking, if you're getting tossed around and feel uncomfortable, tightening your chest strap will help dampen this--but responsiveness and handling will also be dampened. Unless you're taking alot of collapses (and you feel you're not ontop of things with active flying), its advisable to stay with ease of handling and responsiveness--otherwise you'll get pretty tired and less accurate on longer thermalling flights.

You may also want to try borrowing someone's harness. I find that a properly sized and adjusted harness is as important as the glider you're flying for your enjoyment of paragliding. I made a big mistake of coming down to DC (and leaving for Brazil tomorrow) with a new but small harness which I just can't get comfortable on--everything is too tight and I can't move much for weight shifting.

marc