Congrats on your first thermal flight. You are doing great. When you started circling I was shouting roll it, roll it more! :) If vario is going crazy do not be afraid. Bank it more. You need to make smaller circles to stay in thermal. Also watch witch direction you are flying, compare that with vario sound. So you center that thermal. Also thermal is always drafting in direction of wind. So with each circle adjust centering. In your case if you find thermal in front of hill crest. Thermal will go back. So you also move back closer to crest, above crest, and even more back if necessary. Just keep in mind that you have plenty of altitude over crest to push again into wind. It is not shame to abort centering if you are not feeling safe over terrain you are flying. Keep us posted but during flight do not worry about video. You have smarter things to look after.
Former hg pilot and instructor. In my early days flying high altitude I just didn’t feel right. I felt like I wasn’t prone enough. Of course if I’m not prone, I’m not moving through the air efficiently, I’m causing drag. My next flight, I kicked my legs up. I went totally prone. I could tell that now, I was totally horizontal. Controlling my glider was so much easier. I was much more comfortable. So my previous position was more of a slight angle to a full horizontal. I could be wrong, I don’t see your feet in the video and it could be the camera angle for sure. Your next flight ask yourself, am I totally horizontal or are my feet lower than my head. It looks like you might be flying at an angle (head higher than your feet). Hang Gliding, what a great sport!!! Enjoy!!!!
Thanks! Yeah this harness doesn't have the adjustment range to get my head quite as low as I would like relative to my feet. My Libero is coming in a couple weeks and I will be sure to get my hang length and attitude dialed in on that!
Yup, make it over that ridge for security, but try to make a bee line for the PG and HG to the left which are definitely coring something. The map and altitude are really useful and not that obtrusive. You have to visualize the areas that are creating the lift, and the slant and drift of the thermals and integrate that with the orographic lift. Nice flight. Don't be afraid to really push out and slow down to the edge of stall; sometimes coring a thermal you are just pushed out the whole time, if it is really strong (not today). It would be nice for us to know the wind direction, so maybe put a vector arrow overlay the map. Sometimes it is fun to fly way out past the LZ, and then use the downwind speed to get back, and set up your approach.
Thanks for the feedback! I would love to overlay wind and relative altitude but currently don't have a windspeed indicator. If you know of any software for this would love to hear about it!
@@j2dagriffs What I was thinking was just draw an arrow in Paint, and overlay the map in a guess for the general wind direction. Many of the video editors will allow you to have a transparent layer, over the map. Wind direction does not need to be precise, just to give the viewers an idea 🙂
Just remember "turn in lift" and you pretty much can't go wrong. A number of times you flew straight through a strong core - a few more hours and you'll get there.
I was screaming at the screen turn, turn, turn 😂. You just wait 3 -4 seconds of solid up and turn to the side that the glider doesn’t want to go. You always turned away from the thermal but good progress and definitely the best part of HG
Whew, almost got turtled. Good job with everything else. When you're up in the Bay Area we can show you some things you can use to keep yourself getting fipped over in this situation. Keep up the great work!
You nailed it with this vid, just the right amount of narrating and love the on screen telemetry. Great hearing your total joy, great scenery also.I just had my first lesson 2 days ago and can't wait to be experiencing real flight. Keep up the vids. Thanks
If I cropped out some of it before/after the current timestamp do you think that would help? I'm a little torn on removing it because it seems like for the most part people like it. But, I think I could do something like cropping to make it harder to see the whole flight data, then again, I kinda like being able to see the whole flight because then I have more context.
Been watching your videos for a while. I even made a comment to you a few months ago about how you seemed to be standing up in your harness. Glad to see you have upgraded your harness (your old harness was so 1970's). You're progressing at a nice rate. It looks like you are flying without a vario. Is that the case? If that's the case you need to get one ASAP. Your flights will improve 1000 percent. The sport of hang gliding is all about finding and working thermals. That's where the thrill and the challenge of the sport are at. It won't be long for you that you will need to upgrade to a double surface wing. And in a few years you could be doing XC up in the Owens valley and working your way up to 15K or more. You seem to have the stoke and the sprint for the sport. Good luck, stay safe and always, always fly with an escape path to a landing zone.
Clap clap. Amazing. For such bumpy flight you didn't look too tense! Being completely prone comes with a proper harness so don't worry about it too much now. Now I prefer to fly a bit head down (head is lower than legs)
Good job man!! I have been enjoying your videos. I fly an Alpha also these days. Falcons don't make a big enough difference, as far as "penetrating" in my opinion. Enjoy your floater. Just be weary of flying too fast in a strong head wind, should you ever find yourself in that situation. Flying over 25mph will kill your glide (I'm sure you know) Even in a Falcon. Let it inch forward slowly. I learned the hard way.. Now finally starting to fly a double surface. Launch GLIDE and Landing is everything. If you're past the training stage with that glider, I'm pretty sure you can lose the wing tip bungies on the 1 battens, and put a tight rope on instead to get a little more efficiency. Double check that with your instructor. I just did it with my Alpha 180, I'll let you know how it goes next time I fly. Alphas are fantastic thermal gliders. Keep up the good work! I'm still learning too.
I'm a sailplane pilot with quite some XC experience at this point, but I still enjoy the first thermal flights every season, getting that lift. It's such a great game and I really enjoy seeing you making those first steps and getting super stoked about it!
Remember, thermals are all different sizes with different rates of ascent. Some are tiny bubbles. Some are massive columns. You never know the size and shape of what you're dealing with. So, don't presume a more experienced pilot could have done better. Give yourself credit. You did excellent. I have found myself in thermals with such a small diameter, I was getting nauseated I had to turn so tight in them. The moment I would widen my turn, I'd start to fall out. So, you never know. You may have been struggling and scratching not because you were inexperienced, but they may have just been very tiny thermals.
I'm no instructor but I do some flights now and then, therefore don't take this as being true :P just my opinion. Always listen to your instructor :) In the beginning you say that you should've put your foot on the base tube, this might have been a wrong choice since the glider might have tipped anyway and you would've ended falling or so. Maybe put the glider down, put your foot on the base bar and tip the glider forward to decrease AOA. Or better, you should (in my opinion) prevent this situation altogether. Waiting on the edge of a steep slope, on a gusty day, with a high AOA it's like asking for trouble :P In the video the angle of attack is not adjusted to the actual slope/wind flow, you are actually with a high angle of attack, that's why the glider, let's say in a forced way, "stalled" when the gust of wind blew from below the wings. When you set the correct angle of attack, and a gust comes, the glider will turn to face the wind direction, by design of the back swept leading edge, and not the tip over behavior seen here. As a rough example, if I were to wait on the edge of a steep slope, I would keep the base tube on the ground and put the glider in steep AOA, and only lift the glider when I am confident and committed to take-off, again adjusting the AOA to the slope and wind, and always both wings simultaneous in the lift/updraft. And if I want to take of in a thermal window then I get a quick feel for the thermal wind, lift and stabilize the glider in the thermal updraft, and take-off. More experienced pilots just pick up the glider and take-off instantly. I like that you're optimistic and say it turned out really good but it can be a flight ending mistake, also a king-post bending one. Nice video and flights, keep it up!
Thanks! Yeah definitely could have avoided having to take any drastic action by just having the nose lower, I knew I was supposed to, just let the pre-launch excitement and distractions of big cycles get the best of me on this one.
Hi.. I am curious how do you get the elevation and map overlay for later study I mean what equipment do we need to have to record these readings thanks loved the video and explained well wish other cross country hangglider pilots did this it makes it very easy to understand.👍
Thank you so much! I record my flight data with a GoPro. Any GoPro with a GPS can record this type of data. You can use the GoPro app to create the overlay if you have their premium subscription. Or, if you have the patience, www.garmin.com/en-US/p/573412 works as well, you have to use a GPX data extractor (there a a few of these, some free some not) to get the data into it. Its free which is nice but, it is harder to use and is pretty outdated.
Thanks 🙏. Sorry I have a question what vario meter do you use. Since hanggliding vario's are becoming obsolete and not much development in HG category . can I use paragliding vario like Omni, or oudie N or 4 or see you navigator... etc. because they are very popular, top selling, easily available and resaleble
Hey man, I was wrong about the bungies on the wing tips on the Alpha. It needs them, do not replace with rope. It will spin like a top, apparently. Eeeek. Sorry about that, hope you didn't try.
With two people on launch they should have been holding wing wires no matter how experienced you are it’s almost impossible to control a glider on launch with gusting winds….
I think I’ve watched all of your videos, some made me cringe, but not this one. Your flying skills are improving and most importantly, you’re flying smarter. It’s good to see that you’re thinking about reaching the LZ with plenty of altitude early in the flight. Now that you’ve got a taste of thermalling, the work begins. Your turns were very shallow. Unless you’re in a big thermal, you’re not going to stay in it for long unless you’re banked up more. 30 to 40 degrees is generally the most efficient. As a rule of thumb, it should take about 20 seconds to get around a 360 degree circle. Small point here, but saying you’re doing a few “spins” should be avoided. Spins in anything that flies (excluding aerobatics) aren’t cool. It would be better to say you circled a few times, or made some 360’s. I do like to see the track and altitude overlays. Your narration is fine. I find it interesting to hear your thoughts and assessments.
Thank you so much! Glad to see the studying and practice is finally paying off to the trained eyes. Big copy on the language usage I'll correct it in future videos! Also like the turn rate ideas, hopefully I can try them out soon. Still have to practice making those tighter turns as I haven't really gone for it much yet.
Just checked out your channel, looks like you are well on your way and we started about the same time! Best of luck on the journey, would love to fly in Canada sometime.
Congrats on your first thermal flight. You are doing great. When you started circling I was shouting roll it, roll it more! :) If vario is going crazy do not be afraid. Bank it more. You need to make smaller circles to stay in thermal. Also watch witch direction you are flying, compare that with vario sound. So you center that thermal. Also thermal is always drafting in direction of wind. So with each circle adjust centering. In your case if you find thermal in front of hill crest. Thermal will go back. So you also move back closer to crest, above crest, and even more back if necessary. Just keep in mind that you have plenty of altitude over crest to push again into wind. It is not shame to abort centering if you are not feeling safe over terrain you are flying. Keep us posted but during flight do not worry about video. You have smarter things to look after.
Thanks!
Former hg pilot and instructor.
In my early days flying high altitude I just didn’t feel right. I felt like I wasn’t prone enough. Of course if I’m not prone, I’m not moving through the air efficiently, I’m causing drag.
My next flight, I kicked my legs up. I went totally prone. I could tell that now, I was totally horizontal. Controlling my glider was so much easier. I was much more comfortable. So my previous position was more of a slight angle to a full horizontal.
I could be wrong, I don’t see your feet in the video and it could be the camera angle for sure. Your next flight ask yourself, am I totally horizontal or are my feet lower than my head. It looks like you might be flying at an angle (head higher than your feet).
Hang Gliding, what a great sport!!! Enjoy!!!!
Thanks! Yeah this harness doesn't have the adjustment range to get my head quite as low as I would like relative to my feet. My Libero is coming in a couple weeks and I will be sure to get my hang length and attitude dialed in on that!
Great to see you experiencing the very newness of free flight..
Take your time with the learning process and enjoy it ..
👍🏴
Thanks, will do!
It’s quite satisfying to witness a new pilot’s learning experience. Keep it up!
Thanks, will do!
Yup, make it over that ridge for security, but try to make a bee line for the PG and HG to the left which are definitely coring something. The map and altitude are really useful and not that obtrusive. You have to visualize the areas that are creating the lift, and the slant and drift of the thermals and integrate that with the orographic lift. Nice flight. Don't be afraid to really push out and slow down to the edge of stall; sometimes coring a thermal you are just pushed out the whole time, if it is really strong (not today). It would be nice for us to know the wind direction, so maybe put a vector arrow overlay the map. Sometimes it is fun to fly way out past the LZ, and then use the downwind speed to get back, and set up your approach.
Thanks for the feedback! I would love to overlay wind and relative altitude but currently don't have a windspeed indicator. If you know of any software for this would love to hear about it!
@@j2dagriffs What I was thinking was just draw an arrow in Paint, and overlay the map in a guess for the general wind direction. Many of the video editors will allow you to have a transparent layer, over the map. Wind direction does not need to be precise, just to give the viewers an idea 🙂
Just remember "turn in lift" and you pretty much can't go wrong. A number of times you flew straight through a strong core - a few more hours and you'll get there.
Thanks! Yeah I need to start committing more to tighter (or any) turns when I'm feeling it!
I was screaming at the screen turn, turn, turn 😂. You just wait 3 -4 seconds of solid up and turn to the side that the glider doesn’t want to go. You always turned away from the thermal but good progress and definitely the best part of HG
nice flight! I really liked the chart overlay.
Thank you!
Whew, almost got turtled. Good job with everything else. When you're up in the Bay Area we can show you some things you can use to keep yourself getting fipped over in this situation. Keep up the great work!
Thanks! Would love to fly up there at some point.
You nailed it with this vid, just the right amount of narrating and love the on screen telemetry. Great hearing your total joy, great scenery also.I just had my first lesson 2 days ago and can't wait to be experiencing real flight. Keep up the vids. Thanks
Keep after it! One of the most rewarding and satisfying hobbies I have ever done.
graphic overlay is like a spoiler to a movie.
If I cropped out some of it before/after the current timestamp do you think that would help? I'm a little torn on removing it because it seems like for the most part people like it. But, I think I could do something like cropping to make it harder to see the whole flight data, then again, I kinda like being able to see the whole flight because then I have more context.
Good job! Keep flying 😀
Thanks, will do!
Been watching your videos for a while. I even made a comment to you a few months ago about how you seemed to be standing up in your harness. Glad to see you have upgraded your harness (your old harness was so 1970's). You're progressing at a nice rate. It looks like you are flying without a vario. Is that the case? If that's the case you need to get one ASAP. Your flights will improve 1000 percent. The sport of hang gliding is all about finding and working thermals. That's where the thrill and the challenge of the sport are at. It won't be long for you that you will need to upgrade to a double surface wing. And in a few years you could be doing XC up in the Owens valley and working your way up to 15K or more. You seem to have the stoke and the sprint for the sport. Good luck, stay safe and always, always fly with an escape path to a landing zone.
Thanks! Yes I need to get a vario ASAP. I've been putting it off. Have you used the BlueFly or SkyBean? I'm torn on which to go with.
Clap clap. Amazing. For such bumpy flight you didn't look too tense! Being completely prone comes with a proper harness so don't worry about it too much now. Now I prefer to fly a bit head down (head is lower than legs)
Thank you!
Good job man!! I have been enjoying your videos. I fly an Alpha also these days. Falcons don't make a big enough difference, as far as "penetrating" in my opinion. Enjoy your floater. Just be weary of flying too fast in a strong head wind, should you ever find yourself in that situation. Flying over 25mph will kill your glide (I'm sure you know) Even in a Falcon. Let it inch forward slowly. I learned the hard way..
Now finally starting to fly a double surface. Launch GLIDE and Landing is everything.
If you're past the training stage with that glider, I'm pretty sure you can lose the wing tip bungies on the 1 battens, and put a tight rope on instead to get a little more efficiency. Double check that with your instructor. I just did it with my Alpha 180, I'll let you know how it goes next time I fly. Alphas are fantastic thermal gliders. Keep up the good work! I'm still learning too.
Thank you! Gotta love the Alpha. Probably getting a used Falcon in about a month but have really enjoyed my time on the Alpha thus far.
Watching John’s videos makes me feel like Goose to his Maverick ! I pumped just sitting in my chair.
Happy to take you along for the ride!
I'm a sailplane pilot with quite some XC experience at this point, but I still enjoy the first thermal flights every season, getting that lift. It's such a great game and I really enjoy seeing you making those first steps and getting super stoked about it!
Thanks! Sailplane is definitely on the list sometime in the future!
Looks like Santa Barbara. I've got 100s of hours there. Just magical.
Sure is! Lovely spot to fly... and they only place I have so far. Kinda worried I'm spoiling myself early on location.
Hell yeah! Stoked! Good job!
Remember, thermals are all different sizes with different rates of ascent. Some are tiny bubbles. Some are massive columns. You never know the size and shape of what you're dealing with. So, don't presume a more experienced pilot could have done better. Give yourself credit. You did excellent.
I have found myself in thermals with such a small diameter, I was getting nauseated I had to turn so tight in them. The moment I would widen my turn, I'd start to fall out. So, you never know. You may have been struggling and scratching not because you were inexperienced, but they may have just been very tiny thermals.
Good points, thanks for the perspective!
👍👍👏💪keep up flight fun
Thanks, will do!
JUST SUBSCRIBED BRO!!!Niceeeeeeeeeee!!!!👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thank you!
I'm no instructor but I do some flights now and then, therefore don't take this as being true :P just my opinion. Always listen to your instructor :)
In the beginning you say that you should've put your foot on the base tube, this might have been a wrong choice since the glider might have tipped anyway and you would've ended falling or so. Maybe put the glider down, put your foot on the base bar and tip the glider forward to decrease AOA. Or better, you should (in my opinion) prevent this situation altogether.
Waiting on the edge of a steep slope, on a gusty day, with a high AOA it's like asking for trouble :P
In the video the angle of attack is not adjusted to the actual slope/wind flow, you are actually with a high angle of attack, that's why the glider, let's say in a forced way, "stalled" when the gust of wind blew from below the wings. When you set the correct angle of attack, and a gust comes, the glider will turn to face the wind direction, by design of the back swept leading edge, and not the tip over behavior seen here.
As a rough example, if I were to wait on the edge of a steep slope, I would keep the base tube on the ground and put the glider in steep AOA, and only lift the glider when I am confident and committed to take-off, again adjusting the AOA to the slope and wind, and always both wings simultaneous in the lift/updraft. And if I want to take of in a thermal window then I get a quick feel for the thermal wind, lift and stabilize the glider in the thermal updraft, and take-off. More experienced pilots just pick up the glider and take-off instantly.
I like that you're optimistic and say it turned out really good but it can be a flight ending mistake, also a king-post bending one.
Nice video and flights, keep it up!
Thanks! Yeah definitely could have avoided having to take any drastic action by just having the nose lower, I knew I was supposed to, just let the pre-launch excitement and distractions of big cycles get the best of me on this one.
Hi.. I am curious how do you get the elevation and map overlay for later study I mean what equipment do we need to have to record these readings thanks loved the video and explained well wish other cross country hangglider pilots did this it makes it very easy to understand.👍
Good upslope landing.. wow really good
Thank you so much! I record my flight data with a GoPro. Any GoPro with a GPS can record this type of data. You can use the GoPro app to create the overlay if you have their premium subscription. Or, if you have the patience, www.garmin.com/en-US/p/573412 works as well, you have to use a GPX data extractor (there a a few of these, some free some not) to get the data into it. Its free which is nice but, it is harder to use and is pretty outdated.
Thanks 🙏. Sorry I have a question what vario meter do you use. Since hanggliding vario's are becoming obsolete and not much development in HG category .
can I use paragliding vario like Omni, or oudie N or 4 or see you navigator... etc. because they are very popular, top selling, easily available and resaleble
Wait till you hook one over 2000fpm. Had many in owens valley
Definitely stoked for getting out there and getting that type of lift!
Hey man, I was wrong about the bungies on the wing tips on the Alpha. It needs them, do not replace with rope. It will spin like a top, apparently. Eeeek. Sorry about that, hope you didn't try.
All good man, I didn’t try. I just rent this Alpha from my instructor so I wouldn’t ever change anything on this glider.
@@j2dagriffs oh thank goodness. Cheers
With two people on launch they should have been holding wing wires no matter how experienced you are it’s almost impossible to control a glider on launch with gusting winds….
I think I’ve watched all of your videos, some made me cringe, but not this one. Your flying skills are improving and most importantly, you’re flying smarter. It’s good to see that you’re thinking about reaching the LZ with plenty of altitude early in the flight. Now that you’ve got a taste of thermalling, the work begins. Your turns were very shallow. Unless you’re in a big thermal, you’re not going to stay in it for long unless you’re banked up more. 30 to 40 degrees is generally the most efficient. As a rule of thumb, it should take about 20 seconds to get around a 360 degree circle. Small point here, but saying you’re doing a few “spins” should be avoided. Spins in anything that flies (excluding aerobatics) aren’t cool. It would be better to say you circled a few times, or made some 360’s. I do like to see the track and altitude overlays. Your narration is fine. I find it interesting to hear your thoughts and assessments.
Thank you so much! Glad to see the studying and practice is finally paying off to the trained eyes. Big copy on the language usage I'll correct it in future videos! Also like the turn rate ideas, hopefully I can try them out soon. Still have to practice making those tighter turns as I haven't really gone for it much yet.
my next flight should be like this one, how long it took u to get here.…
Just checked out your channel, looks like you are well on your way and we started about the same time! Best of luck on the journey, would love to fly in Canada sometime.
@@j2dagriffs sure thing, if you come I m sure someting can be arranged! Tho season starts kinda bit later here :)
tell me all about it BOY1