Skywalk video competition 2010 Winner!

I embedded this video in August because I felt it conveyed much of the appeal of the sport.  Skywalk agrees.
Congratulations to José Abreu who has won the 2010 Skywalk video competition!
If you have the bandwidth, watch it in HD - Enjoy.



And for those fellow AC/DC lovers, here's a bit more bumpin' video, also from Jose:

Ask me why I fly . . . I dare ya.

The perspectives available, when flying close to otherwise unviewable landscapes, at slow speed, and hanging from a virtually noiseless machine . . . Sometimes they take my breath away. 

Watch this video and then ask me why I fly paragliders.

VERTIGE from Stéphane Boulenger on Vimeo.

Once again - Why We Fly

I fly with some cool guys at work.  They have been flying their whole lives and have reached a level in aviation where over 350 people trust them with their lives.  But when these professional pilots find out that I fly these crazy non-structured wings, at high altitudes and for 70+ miles, they are a bit put off.  "How can you risk your life for something so trivial?" they ask -

Well, as I've written here before, I need to get into the air as much as I need to breath the stuff.  It's not a rational thing.  I'm comfortable that I am acquiescing to the irrational.  An artist does the same when he allows his strokes to be spontaneous.  A potter does the same when he whacks an otherwise symmetrical pot to make it unique.  I fly paragliders because they give me wings; and who among us haven't had dreams of flying unencumbered by the limitations of wakefulness.

I just came across a great video that expresses the obsession of paragliding well.  I share in this pilot's addiction, to his fears that one day, I too will be unable to feel the freedom and exhilaration of foot-launched free flight.  "I fly, because I can."



YouTube Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r7zKMo3-eA
Fly safe -

Tim

More Musing

I found this quote to be in complete resonance with my paragliding experiences.

Tim

Trips worthy of being called journeys must provide opportunity for virtue. Resourcefulness, judgement, courage and luck must all play their part; temptation must be resisted, false friends identified; skill, analysis and technique must all make a difference. Battle, alliance, rest, fear, thirst, heat, discomfort, reflection and just a few moments of lucidity have to find their place.

The efficiency of a means of transport should be measured by how little you need to travel to still make it a journey; maximise journeys per mile, not miles per hour.

If you are how you travel, remember to maximise your journeys per mile, and only then aim to ramp your miles per life.

From an article
By Tony Curzon Price

Musings

Everyone who lives dies, yet not everyone who dies, has lived. We take these risks not to escape life, but to prevent life escaping us.

One of my fellow PG Forumers has this as his tagline. I like it, even if it sounds a bit trite. At the age of 53, I'm probably ripe for a midlife 'crisis' of some kind, but there are no Harleys, affairs with 25-yr-olds, or tattoos in my near future. I imagine that's because I still feel alive and young enough that death is either going to come spectacularly, or much later on. . .

I guess you could call me a flyer - I've flown some form of aircraft since I was 14 yrs old. For the last 35 years I've made my living flying airplanes. Now, as a 747 pilot I'm more of a manager and less of a pilot. I fly 15 hour international flights that guarantee that I will be tired when making the approach and landing. For that reason, I employ automation and procedures to minimize the opportunity for error. I guess that's why I fly these crazy paraglider competitions.

My slick little paraglider is undoubtedly the lowest performance aircraft I've ever flown - although flying one is the closest thing to spreading my wings and just flying. Paragliders are the easiest aircraft to learn to fly but they take quite a while to learn to fly well. And flying cross country flights is very challenging. I think the challenge is where it's at for me. The focusing nature of being no more than 20 minutes from landing, unless you find lift, keeps me consumed in concentration until I cross the goal line. As I've said before, this sport can seem very trivial to those that 'don't get it' - and I understand. It's just like me 'not getting' why somebody would want to collect Beany Babies . . .

But it doesn't make the impact on my life any less that you, or my wife, don't understand why I do it. My wife does understand (from experience) that if I don't get to fly for a week or two, I get edgy and restless. And I think that she intuitively understands that I need to get into the air - as much as I need to breath the stuff.

What's my point? I don't know, really. I just had my 15 yr. old hound-dog put out of his misery this week. . . He lived a full life and crawled into the garden to die under his favorite tree. I think he was satisfied with his life and lived until he was ready to die. I wish the same for us all.

Tim

Why do we fly?

I often ask others on the hill what they get out of the sport. The answers vary depending on their skill level, experience, and sanity. The common thread seems to be the freedom and perspective that flying like a bird gives one. Here's a short film entitled "Because" that explores why 'we' do what we do. . .

because... from Ozone Films on Vimeo.

If it doesn't load, try this link:
http://because.flyozone.com/en/shortfilm/ or http://vimeo.com/1345187
This short film was created, written, and directed by Jorge Atramiz and Herminio Cordido, the same minds behind the epic film ‘The Never Ending Thermal‘.Whatever your reason or motivation is to fly, enjoy it!

Thanks to Loren for the link to the HiRes version!

My wrist is healing and I should be fine for the Nat's - Sept. 14th-20th. Looking forward to it.

Tim

Why I fly

Today I headed to Cuesta & met Eric & Patrick at the top. Winds at launch were brisk but not too high between cycles. Patrick launched first & wasn't having much luck getting above launch for a while so I decided to work on some tweaks to my stirrup & new 3-step speed-bar. Eric launched after a while & the two guys were able to get up & move around the area.

I got into the air & found the air to be quite buoyant. Within 6 minutes I was bouncing around at the inversion at 2600' (500' over) I had fun exploring the area & noticed that today there were a lot of birds of prey & vultures soaring today. I was struck that many of the birds were just out enjoying themselves - flying for the same reason I was. One medium sized raptor was flying along just upwind of me as I flew a lift band - as he went by, he folded his wings & dove 100' only to 'zoomie' back up to my altitude and bank over the top of me. He looked at me with a "Try that" look.

I headed up towards the towers & got closer than previously. I didn't like the way the air felt up there so I came out front to avoid getting caught back on the shallow slope of the ridge.

The RamRace harness I'm flying is completely different than my last - it is a much more supine design and utilizes a stirrup. I have been getting some quite twitchy rides on it. I've been feeling like the signal to noise ratio was a bit low until today. Today I played with the chest strap quite a bit & got it dialed in. I was able to feel the core of the thermals as my wing cut into them - it felt, at times, like a strong bubble was moving laterally along the span of the wing. As I learn to interpret this information, my flying will improve & become more intuitive.

After an hour and a half of fun, I landed at the base of the ridge in some very active air. I packed up & hiked the hill to get back to my truck. On the 900' hike up the hill I stopped to rest a bit & was treated to a pair of adolescent vultures playing follow-me along the ridge. They explored lee-side & rotor areas in a kind of chicken game that I hadn't observed before today.

It was a good day.