midair

[filthy]

http://vimeo.com/61198259
check this out

[Chip]

Saw this video (with Phil) a few days after it was shot in Torrey Pines back a few years ago. The authors (The Jeff's, Jeff Shapiro and Jeff O'Brian) let us see it when we were competing in Florida during the Florida Ridge comp. They said we would never likely see it on the web, yet here it is.

Of particular interest is at the 3:16 minute mark of the video. This maneuver, call wing walking, nearly cost them both of their lives, with no altitude to spare. @ 3:27 Jeff O'Brian's glider is pointed vertical, but with speed.

Luckily his side wire that was scraping the leading edge of Shapiro's glider stays in tact.

[jcflies]

nice to know that they suck at something, when it comes to flying. also nice of them to share it...

[Bob Kuczewski]

Everyone knows that I'm all for supporting pilots' freedoms at Torrey Pines (and other sites). Joe (Grebloville) has used the term "Freedom Fighter".

But this was just stupid ... not the posting ... the flying.

As it is, almost every paraglider crash at Torrey (and there have been many) is initially reported in the local media as a "hang gliding" crash. We don't need to reinforce the "hang gliding = death sport" image with our own accidents ... the PG folks are doing enough of that for us already.

But here's the bottom line ... if you're so bored with hang gliding that you have to do dumb things like that, then please take up paragliding ... in the Owens.

I've only just watched the video, and I don't know if the Jeff's have publicly renounced this stunt, but I hope they have (or will), and I hope their statements will include a comment on how they risked not only their own lives, but the lives of others and the future of the sport of hang gliding for all of us.

Sorry Jeff's .. I have to call them like I see them.

[JD]

On a more pleasant note, here is another excerpt from the same film: https://vimeo.com/61184662

[dhmartens]

The loop looked to be too close to the ground, but the wing walk looked to be high enough to deploy chutes.


The SR-71 Blackbird MD21 accident shows the danger of a wing above your wing. Accident at 3 minutes.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMyC2urCl_4[/youtube]

Here is a powered paraglider participating in an Epic Paintball War
http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=d_z2CA-o13U

[Glenn]

I never would have thought you could successfully eject at Mach 3. Amazing!

[DrJeff]

Bob,
You wrote:
"But this was just stupid ... not the posting ... the flying."

First, I fully support your post. But I would add that I think the posting may have been even worse than the flying. By risking this stunt, they risked at least two lives (depending on where they could have crashed...on top of someone else).

But by filming it and posting it, they have potentially done great damage to our sport in the entire public eye by glorifying the foolish wing walking stunt.

I am really saddened to see this.

Thanks, Bob (and Chip).

[Glenn]

Posting it is irrelevant. I believe it's part of a larger video that being commercially distributed anyway. It's hardly as dangerous as half of what's on Youtube and TV daily. There are 10 shows on TV every night of people doing far more dangerous stuff for the sole purpose of the risk itself. I showed a few people who are non pilots, and they had no idea what was so dangerous. This is an inside thing unless you make a big deal about it.

[Bob Kuczewski]

It's hardly as dangerous as half of what's on Youtube and TV daily.

That may be true, but the paragliding concession at Torrey would be very happy to get rid of the pesky hang gliders flying there. As an example, Jebb had banned all RC's for a year (or more?) based on some flimsy safety issues. It was a major fight for them to fly again.

I'm sorry if I was overly harsh on the Jeffs, but please think about the consequences to everyone if you do anything that might cause an accident ... especially at high profile sites like Torrey.

That's my main point.