Saturday, the winds were twitchy on launch and dust devils were making their way through the set up area. Winds aloft were forecast from the West. I had watched launches that were elevators in both directions. Everyone that had launched was shooting skyward over Trash so I wanted to get going and not be left behind. That’s when I started thinking about flying instead of launching.
Still, I cleared my helpers, leveled the wings and began walking into a straight up wind of 5-8mph. By the time I was running near the end of the ramp I had pulled to the right but I just thought to get off the edge and pick up some speed to move away. At the moment my feet left the ground, the right wing dropped or the left wing lifted. I don’t know if it was the West wind rotor or a boomer from the left but I was in a right-turn wingover about to cartwheel just below the ramp. I was glued to the left side of the control frame but LiteSpeeds aren’t the quickest to respond. I thought the right tip would touch at any instant. Then the glider flattened out down-wind at high speed up the saddle launch. I prepared to push out hard hoping that I would slam in evenly on the control frame and maybe spare the leading edges. That’s when the glider turned toward Dog Rock.
I never saw the rock; I just hoped I would hit the fire-skeletons first; I figured they’d be softer.
Still waiting for the impact, the glider turned nearly 180 degrees to the left… straight away from the mountain. Now I just had to clear the grasping gnarls of the skeletons. I guess I forgot to mention I was between 5 to 10 feet off the ground? I went weightless once as I crossed over the last of the ghouls reaching for my wings, left the turbulence in the direction of Trash and had a great flight To Brown Mountain and back. Wilson was in my sights but I figured I had already tired out my guardian angel and turned back to Lukens.
So, what happened? I don’t know for sure when my hands left the down tubes to reach for the base but I suspect that was part of the problem. Greblo’s ghost is always standing at my shoulder, telling me that, someday, I’ll get hit on launch and I won't be able to correct during a hand transition. Judging from the launches many of us make, we still aren’t listening. The combination of wild winds (I saw the windsock point every direction including strait up and, forcefully, straight down, while standing on launch) the Westies, the monster thermals, all caught up with me and a my bad habit while I was rushing to catch my friends at 9000’.
Why the glider finally turned away from the hill and saved me… I can only guess that I never let go of the left correction. I remember moving to the center after the left turn but everything before that was blurred. There's a lot of speed involved when a LiteSpeed turns downwind in a wing-over dive. Driver Dana told me she thought I died three times: downwind into the saddle, into Dog Rock and into the hill trying to fly out.
I’m glad she was wrong. And Joe, my hearing is much better, now.
Sorry for the lack of video and deadpan narration. You just had to be there. Or in my wife's case, NOT! Yes, she's talking to me tonight. Shaken but calming down.
Almost...
Re: Almost...
What? No video? No Agent Smith voice-over narration? Did you at least land on just one foot?Jim wrote:............Sorry for the lack of video and deadpan narration. You just had to be there..............
But seriously JT--I have no comeback for this tour de force performance, other than to say, thank YHWH that you escaped unscathed. Now Oscar--on the other hand may be plotting some comeuppance.
I think I watched your launch from 1000' overhead. If it was you I saw, you launched and then saw some yaw back and forth as you were close to terrain. You came about and flew back over by launch and it was my guess/hope you had gained sufficient altitude to clear it because of plentiful thermals. I was relieved to see you then come out away from the terrain. From my vantage point there was no way I could judge your altitude. Jonathan posted a video months ago that showed him buzz launch right after launching, and it reminded me of that at the time. I got over 7300' twice that day and a very low save over the corner house. Glad you're Ok.
