Flytec
Wills Wing

Oz Report

Volume 13, Number 79
Tuesday, April 21 2009
Quest Air, Sheets airfield, Groveland, Florida, USA
https://OzReport.com
"Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

to Table of Contentsto next topic Hot to trot at the 1st Annual Rob Kells Memorial meet

Mon, Apr 20 2009, 8:18:24 am EDT
The meet starts on Saturday

Campbell Bowen|Jim Yocom|Rob Kells

Campbell Bowen is going there to kick butt, especially Jim Yocom's. The US National team is going there to fly together and kick the collective butt of all the other "teams" that will form once we get there.

How can you miss a great time in south Florida?

It looks like the US National team members will be giving talks to groups of pilots who buy National team tee-shirts or donate to the team.  The talks will be about strategy for the coming day, and last minute strategy given the latest forecast.  If you are interested, especially in the Sport Class, come on down and get your feet wet in competition.

http://www.thefloridaridge.com/pages/comp2009.php

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to Table of Contentsto next topic The Rotor Vulto S racing harness

Mon, Apr 20 2009, 8:26:43 am EDT
A tight harness

Dustin Martin|PG|photo|Quest Air

Jeff O'Brien's Rotor harness

Wills Wing Rotor harness site

Nene Rotor dropped off a harness here at Quest Air.  It was a duplicate of another made for a Spanish pilot when only one was desired.  Here at Quest Air is marked for a pilot 5' 10" to 6', 160-195 pounds.  Pretty generic.  There were no measurements of me for chest and waist size, for example.

I believe the harness is the Rotor Vulto S, in its latest manifestation.  It was made just a few weeks ago.

I got to try it out.  Here's what it looks like on me:

More photos down below.

Here is what I noticed about the harness:

1) there is a sacrificial carbon fiber boot cover.  This is by far the strongest boot cover that I have seen.  The only problem I see is that the carbon fiber scratches;

2) in addition there is leather around and underneath the carbon fiber boot, and a metal screw at the very tip, that further cuts down on wear;

3) molded fiber glass boot with a spring loaded door on the foot plate.  This makes it easy to get thing in and out of it. I was easily able to put my cross country bag in it. Dustin thinks that that might be too much weight that far back;

4) a zipper on the material surrounding the main back slider that is supposed to close off the harness as the slider moves back and forth (it doesn't seem to be hooked up to the mains at the moment);

5) zippered pockets for the tow tabs at the chest (seems like the slider handles could be replaced with paraglider line);

6) two long longitudinally well padded zippered pockets with built in bungie lines to connect to radios and cameras.  There are holes in the upper portion of the two pockets allowing for easy routing of radio cables;

7) drogue chute pocket on the left side;

8) two large long side pockets filled with two zippered stuffing bags for forming the smoothing the sides by the legs.  These can be replaced with your own glider bags, or left in to help form the harness;

9) interior chest and leg buckles;

10) a clean side mounted parachute;

11) there is a two part carbon fiber back plate, and apparently you undo a connection between the two back plates in order to get the harness into the harness bag;

12) there are two zippered storage sacks over the carbon back plates.  The bottom one is most likely the one to be used, I put the harness bag and my glider bags in it;

13) a separate neoprene bag for your camelback;

14) a ring on the bottom slider that allows the pilot to more easily pull up the bottom zipper;

15) the harness is tight but comfortable around the legs and feet, which is normal for a racing harness.

With my head on the control bar:

A few shots from the other side:


Head down.


More like it would be in flight.

Inside photos by Nicole.

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to Table of Contentsto next topic Burnt noses

Mon, Apr 20 2009, 8:27:18 am EDT
Kraft paper

Peter Loeskow

Peter Loeskow «peter_loeskow» writes:

It is a well-known yet strangely enough more often than not ignored fact, that the top of a nose gets maximum exposure to UV radiation and thus is most likely to develop melanoma (the lower lip is also threatened). Therefore I often wondered about some pilots wearing a full face helmet or a face "mask" under an open helmet with the unprotected nose prominently showing.  Those were mostly pilots flying at higher altitudes, where it is cold, but where there also is more UV radiation.

While buying the previously proposed nose shade may be the only or best kind to go with certain kinds of sunglasses, I cannot refrain from telling you about my own and proven DIY-solution: I have a nice and comfortable pair of RayBan photochromatic glasses, to which I fasten a "shade" made of folded kraft (tan coloured) paper with double-sided adhesive tape between most of it. See how:

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to Table of Contentsto next topic A storm blows away a Dragonfly (the video)

Mon, Apr 20 2009, 8:27:41 am EDT
A storm blows away a Dragonfly
See the story and video below

weather|Dragonfly|video

https://OzReport.com/13.008#0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faGNT9YgwY0

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to Table of Contentsto next topic SPOT - a glider contest

Mon, Apr 20 2009, 8:28:32 am EDT
Check out the map

Ron Gleason|SPOT

Ron Gleason «xcflying» writes:

There is a glider competition occurring in Perry SC and some pilots have developed a web page for following SPOT devices utilizing Google MAPS http://perrytracking.appjet.net/files/perrytracking.htm

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to Table of Contentsto next topic Paul in the Skyline Zero Drag FR

Mon, Apr 20 2009, 9:47:52 am EDT
A six foot three inch, 190 pound pilot

harness|harness|Quest Air|Skyline Zero Drag FR harness

Paul had his harness fall out of the back of his pickup, so he came over to check out the Skyline Zero Drag FR.

You'll notice that it fits him much better, both in the shoulders and in the boot.  More pictures and discussion here: https://OzReport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15757.

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to Table of Contentsto next topic Solar Plane across the Alps

Mon, Apr 20 2009, 2:06:22 pm EDT
Above the clouds that would block the sun

The Tree Hugger article

“It was one of the most difficult things that I have ever done, but it was also the most beautiful flight I have ever made.  It was very cloudy, but after fighting to gain altitude I got over the clouds and cruised on direct solar power, eventually climbing to 13,700 ft. It was amazing to see the peaks of the mountains coming up through the clouds.

http://www.solar-flight.com/

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to Table of Contentsto next topic Paul's lost harness

Mon, Apr 20 2009, 3:25:19 pm EDT
Fell off the back of the turnip truck

Quest Air

Paul «tjadenhors» lost the following between Quest Air on highway 33 and somewhere east of the intersection of highway 33 and highway 50.

Aeros Viper Harness Black with no name on the skin.  (The sellers probably won't know what the make is.) Icaro 4fight LT helmet, gray and black with a Motocomm headset installed and a kill switch.  Flytec 5030 flight instrument.  They probably won't know how to turn it on. My name is listed in the memory.

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The Oz Report, a near-daily, world wide hang gliding news ezine, with reports on competitions, pilot rankings, political issues, fly-ins, the latest technology, ultralight sailplanes, reader feedback and anything else from within the global HG community worthy of coverage. Hang gliding, paragliding, hang gliders, paragliders, aerotowing, hang glide, paraglide, platform towing, competitions, fly-ins. Hang gliding and paragliding news from around the world, by Davis Straub.

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