Oz Report

Stop crushing your glider

(This topic is in: Sep.5 May 30 )

How about using straps that don't crinkle the Mylar and are much easier to use? (Cowboy Up s operation at Alpine, WY, USA)

http://ozreport.com/goodies.php

A few years ago I received a couple of seat belt type straps from Rusty Whittly, Gunnison Gliders (970 641-9315), when I purchased a water proof ATOS travel bag.  I really liked them.  The wide seat belt material was great for my gliders.  I loved (and still use) these straps.

But there were a few problems with them.  First, they were really long.  Now this is great for flexibility but it meant that I had all this extra material whenever I used them to tie down just one or two gliders and I had to take a few more minutes to tie off all the extra material so it wouldn't beat on the roof.  This was a time waster and a pain.

Second, the metal buckle meant I had to thread the strap through the buckle each time I put the strap on a glider.  This again was a time waster.  I couldn't just snap together the buckles.  There was only one buckle on each strap and I had to thread the other bare end through the buckle each time.  This was not very convenient.

Third, the bare end was not very stable.  It curled after a few years.  I had to cut one end off and redo it.

So a few years later seeing what Robert Milligan in Santa Barbara had done to create straps with seat belt material, I decided to have Rob McKenzie sew me up some straps based on what Robert had done.  Robert had used the straps for years and they were working great for him.  I saw the potential.

I had all these different sized straps made up to fit single surface gliders, T2's, ATOS's, multiple gliders, etc.  I used them for a number of months and were impressed how well they solved all the problems that I had with my Gunnison Glider straps.

After working with the prototypes I had two sizes of straps made up.  One for flex wing gliders and one for two flex wings or one rigid wing glider.  Plenty of material to make sure that the straps fit on your rack, but not so much that you have a lot of flapping around material.  Just tuck the excess under the strap.

The straps with buckles on both ends make it easy to strap down your glider and then just snap the buckles together and pull to tighten the strap, usually just a little bit (the amount that you loosened the last time when you undid the strap).

Now a good number of you have purchased these straps from me.  I've just received a shipment of the double/rigid wing straps and I've sent out those straps.  Thanks for your orders.

If you are looking for a strap made specifically for tying down hang gliders with the most convenience, a strap that will properly care for your glider, a strap that will safely hold down your glider, then you'll find them here.

Discuss Straps at the Oz Report forum   link»

The sun underneath your glider

Waiting just for that special moment in the sky (Ontario, Canada)

Mark Dowsett sends:

More info at: http://www.goflyxc.com/node/5293

Discuss Sunlight at the Oz Report forum   link»

Middle Eastern Paragliding fun

Quite a job. (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)

Six Senses.

Zighy Bay is located 120 kilometres, or 90-minutes drive from Dubai International Airport, which is the gateway city to Six Senses Hideaway Zighy Bay.  Guests have a choice of arrival experiences which include a scenic ten-minute speed boat trip or a drive down from the top of the hill overlooking the bay.  For an additional charge, guests can choose to be a companion passenger with the Six Senses Hideaway’s professional paraglider!

Thanks to Mark Forbes

Discuss Resort at the Oz Report forum   link»

Dents in the head

So, it worked for me, but do you want to wear your helmet? (Cowboy Up s operation at Alpine, WY, USA)

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/09/helmet-debate-is-over.php

"If you just look at that, then the average of deaths pre-[legislation] and average number of deaths post-[legislation], there is a significant reduction.  ...  And it turns out it's a 52-per-cent reduction," said Patricia Parkin, senior author of the study and director of the Paediatric Outcomes Research Team at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children.

I personally have been saved from head injury by wearing a bicycle helmet (http://ozreport.com/10.257#7).  Recently I bumped my head pretty hard when two feet off the ground on a landing I was turned 180 degrees.  I really appreciated having a nice helmet with a lot of foam.

There are arguments on both sides, but if wearing a helmet isn't getting in the way of you getting out and enjoying yourself on a bicycle, then put it on and go for it.  This exercise (if you wish to think of it that way) is great for your cardio-vascular health and improves your leg strength for mountain launches.

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USHPA office, clueless, as always

Don't know nothing 'bout competition (USHPA headquarters, Colorado Springs, CO, USA)

http://gottafly.blogspot.com/

So he says he's going upstairs to USHPA to check it out and say, "Hey, I was Linda Salamone's 7th grade English teacher, how about that????" So that's what he does while he has me on the phone.

He asks loudly, "Who's in charge here?" and he tells me some skinny guy answers, "Me", and Jim tells him proudly, "Hey, I was Linda Salamone's 7th grade English teacher......" and the few people that were in the office give him .....a completely blank stare.

Then he asks me, "Hey, didn't you tell me you were a fairly high ranking female pilot in the US?"
And I answer, "Yes, I am the highest ranking female pilot in the country and I was the 2006 and 2007 Women's National Champion, and since no US female pilot competed in the Nationals this year, I guess I sort of still am...."

He asks if ANYONE in the office ever heard of me and of course no one has.  But they all knew Paul Voight's name (yay Paul!) and I told Jim to ask if any of them were actually pilots.  Nope.

Well, that explains that, I figured.  But then Jim leaves the USHPA office somewhat disgusted and goes into his own National Headquarters, the USAR, and tells me that his picture is all over the walls and they all greet him loudly (I can hear it...) and he didn't say this but I am assuming it's his first time there because he only just noticed the USHPA stuff.

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The Mingus fatality

This has been on the Oz Report web site for a few days (from the MSM news scraper) (Mingus, AZ, USA)

Arizona Hang Glider Association

Announcement:

A hang gliding accident occurred yesterday, August 30, on Mingus Mountain, near Prescott, that resulted in the death of Kunio Yoshimura of Phoenix.

The incident happened at approximately 1:30pm, when Yoshimuro launched his hang glider from the mountain without first attaching his harness to the glider.  The pilot grabbed the glider’s control bar and attempted to pull himself up onto it, but he was unable to gain control and the glider dove approximately 1,000 feet down the slope of the mountain.  Yoshimura threw his parachute and let go of the glider before it impacted the hillside, but he was too low and the parachute failed to arrest his descent.

Pilots on launch called 911 to advise of the impact, while others scrambled down the hill to administer aid.  More pilots, who had landed in the Cottonwood area and were monitoring the incident via radio, rushed to the impact site to assist.  They were joined by personnel in an ambulance and a Cottonwood Fire Department vehicle.  They bushwhacked through the thick brush on the hillside while a Department of Public Safety helicopter circled overhead.  Upon reaching the pilot, CPR was administered, but the downed pilot could not be revived and emergency personnel subsequently pronounced him dead.

Mr.  Yoshimura was an experienced pilot who was participating in the annual Mingus Fly-In, a three day event hosted by the Arizona Hang Glider Association.  He was a resident of Phoenix and is survived by his wife, Karina, and children.

Here.

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