High res: http://vimeo.com/9848421
Faster streaming: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOFb2a_cYzM[/youtube]
Watch closely to the action below me. This is Supine Jim breaking his first downtube in 38 years. I am currently averaging 32 hrs/DT. Jim escaped w/ only stitches on his knee. A big thanks goes out to Ronaldo and Cutter for helping Jim back up the hill and Cutter for taking him to the hospital. Thanks to Busty for waiting hours before he was released and then taking him home. We need to retrieve his wing. I may be free today to assist with that effort.
I hope that Jim gives us a report from his perspective but I tell you say there was wind coming up the slope and sink for the most part along the slope itself. I have launched Towers with plenty of initial airspeed only to have my glider immediately go into free-fall as soon as my feet left the ground. There's a reason this is an H4 launch. Even ace H4, Vrezh declined my request that he give me a body ride up to Towers yesterday so I wouldn't get squished in Cutter's crowded truck.
Shortly before Jim launched, Ronaldo told me on radio that he noticed a thermal breaking off. I happened to be in that thermal after making dozens of passes in the bowl and going nowhere. Yesterday's thermals were cascading down on the edges and that might have been a contributing factor. In the video I see Jim's right wing drop almost immediately and clip a bush. At that point on that very steep and weedy slope, anyone would be in ground loop mode and possibly flip.
A prone pilot may have gotten seriously injured had they been in Jim's position. Hard to say but that slope is really steep and there are rocks and things sticking up.
The rotation of the cameras needs to be removed from the video in order to analyze Jim's trajectory better but you can always grab and tilt you monitor or do a cartwheel while viewing.
I have 2:10hrs of video from each camera and if I ever have the time I will edit something more interesting than this. I spent the next 15+ minutes in the air coordinating with Erwin (on Kagel), Ron (still on Towers) and Rob (in the LZ) over getting assistance from camp 9 or calling for a medi-vac, etc. Later on, an LAFD chopper was reconnoitering the crash site and probably wondering 'WTF?'. We had no way of calling Camp 9 to let them know everything was under control. Later, some trucks from Camp 9 came by and Ronaldo did a low pass and yelled down that everything was good.
Shortly thereafter, it turned on for Ron and Me and we got to 6300 before the marine layer blew in a shut everything down.
Fly Safe!
Jonathan
Blown Launch @ Towers - 03/01/2010
Supine Jim
Sorry to hear about Jims accident. Hope he is doing well and gets back in the air soon.
AZB-Bear
AZB-Bear