Complacency is NOT YOUR friend!
No events here at Sylmar, but yesterday @ Crestline a pilot forgot to put both leg loops in.
From the Crestline forum:
Falcon pilot with a pod harness had done a hang check but didn't catch that his legs weren't through the leg loops. He launched from Crestline and did a series of steep diving turns because he was hanging from the downtubes. The harness had slipped up enough that he couldn't get his feet into the boot. He landed on a relatively flat brush-covered area down in the canyon between Crestline and Marshall. Unhurt except for some scratches on one leg. He packed up the glider somewhat and a rescue chopper plucked him from the brush and brought him down to the flats. He came to the LZ carrying his helmet (they told him to leave everything else) and told his story.
Lucky pilot indeed.
Wire crew, if your gonna help, then insist on checking the 5 C's (is that it Greblo?)
Another "near" incident on the same day:
Wednesday I was up on Marshall with Dusty and because I knew he would launch from the top it got me to thinking. I walked my Sport 2 down to the launch proper where the bumper and Hook-In sign are. There was a fair breeze and I got the bright idea to stop 20 feet before the bumper and practice up for a genuine top launch by starting my run from there where the slope is shallow, thinking if I'm not in the air by the time I reach the bumper I can just run down the steeper slope as usual. Well, my feet lost contact at about the bumper and I remember saying to myself “That was pretty easy, not only did I leave the ground from the shallow slope proving I’m a hot shot pilot and can top launch but I’m in the air where the slope is steeper and the ground is falling away fast.�
But when I was maybe 8 feet above the slope the glider started back down. I realized then I had little air speed and with my hands on the base tube I pushed out as much as I dared, trying to clear the slope. The base tube contacted the ground about halfway down to the bushes. I fully expected it to dig in and cause a severe down hill whack. Incredibly, the wheels rolled and the glider flew off the slope. I got a close, breath taking slow speed look at the bushes below launch as I wondered if it was over yet or was the glider going to come back to earth again. The wing finally picked up speed and I was safely in the air at last. The only thing I had done right was keep the wings level.
I guess it was something like a “Touch and Go� or more like a “Smack and Go.� After I flew away from the hill and the adrenaline subsided I realized that my kneepads had been pushed down a couple of inches and that my body had obviously scraped the ground. I sighted along each down tube to see if there was any bend but could not detect any damage. I don't know how long I was in contact with the ground but I would be curious to see the gouge marks. When I landed I found a small tear on the front of my harness and the pouch zipper was slightly mangled but still functional.
A few minutes after I was in the air I watched Dusty and then Steve launch from the top effortlessly.
As Maxwell Smart would say, �That was the second worst launch I ever made.�
