The other H-2s and I have learned a hell of a lot the last year and I figure some of the book-learnin' is bound to get lost in the excitement. I posted about last Saturday's flight on hanggliding.org and got a response that reminded me of the dangers of tumbling on transition in and out of thermals. Granted, Saturday's conditions were pretty mild, but the possibility of tumbling (something I've read about of course) just wasn't in my mind as I monkeyed around over the house thermals in front of launch. This is an example of how easy it is to forget things we haven't learned first hand, of which there is a lot in this sport.
So, I figured I'd post here to share that experience and to ask if anyone there had any observations/critiques about how I was flying or contributions on the topic? I remember feeling confident in my control of the glider and response to the conditions, but you never know, right? Thanks!
Stuff H-2s should know, hopefully not first-hand
Moderator: CHGPA BOD
Re: Stuff H-2s should know, hopefully not first-hand
Hmmm... I dunno Jesse.... All I can say is that in the past 15 years of flying, I haven't personally heard of *anyone* in our area who has tumbled a glider due to thermal shear. I know of one area pilot who *did* deploy his 'chute in those circumstances, but that event occurred many years ago.
I've flown a fair number of SoCal sites, and I've certainly tried to be more "in-tune" with the conditions and the feel of my glider given the reputation for turbulent thermals in that part of the world. But luckily, so far, I haven't experienced anything even close to a tumble, provided I've kept my speed up entering and exiting.
The conditions that I was flying in on Saturday at Daniel's didn't strike me as particularly strong or turbulent. I certainly wasn't thinking "be extra careful entering/exiting thermals today". OTOH, I was flying later in the afternoon than you were....
To be honest, I don't think there's any one thing in particular that you can focus on in order to say "I've got to be especially careful today!" Although tumbling events have certainly been rare in the MD/VA/PA area in recent years, that's no guarantee that they can't happen. The only thing I can suggest is that you expand your conditions envelope gradually, so that conditions outside the envelope will demand your attention : "Hey, it's weird up here today! Maybe I wanna be on the ground?".
MarkC
I've flown a fair number of SoCal sites, and I've certainly tried to be more "in-tune" with the conditions and the feel of my glider given the reputation for turbulent thermals in that part of the world. But luckily, so far, I haven't experienced anything even close to a tumble, provided I've kept my speed up entering and exiting.
The conditions that I was flying in on Saturday at Daniel's didn't strike me as particularly strong or turbulent. I certainly wasn't thinking "be extra careful entering/exiting thermals today". OTOH, I was flying later in the afternoon than you were....
To be honest, I don't think there's any one thing in particular that you can focus on in order to say "I've got to be especially careful today!" Although tumbling events have certainly been rare in the MD/VA/PA area in recent years, that's no guarantee that they can't happen. The only thing I can suggest is that you expand your conditions envelope gradually, so that conditions outside the envelope will demand your attention : "Hey, it's weird up here today! Maybe I wanna be on the ground?".
MarkC
Re: Stuff H-2s should know, hopefully not first-hand
Jesse, I thought your post and the responses to it were very informative. Food for thought for when I get to that point. 
It is good you were able to experiment in the mild conditons and get some valuable feedback we can all benifit from.
A camera could be useful for reviewing your flight. You could replay the vid. and watch yourself to see what you did right or wrong. I'm thinking about getting one myself for this reason.
Thanks for posting this!
Ann
It is good you were able to experiment in the mild conditons and get some valuable feedback we can all benifit from. A camera could be useful for reviewing your flight. You could replay the vid. and watch yourself to see what you did right or wrong. I'm thinking about getting one myself for this reason.
Thanks for posting this!
Ann
WillBear Wright for Flight '87
Re: Stuff H-2s should know, hopefully not first-hand
Buy a vario first. - Hugh