A new classic. For me, this is one of your best videos so far (but they are all good). I love that you don't pull any punches and make the key points really clear. Big takeaways for me: 1. Get your landing gear down if you are close to terrain (especially in the Lee). Obvious when I am sitting on my sofa but maybe not so obvious in survival mode. 2. Terrain awareness. If you are fighting strong wind, analyze the terrain and figure out if you may be in a Venturi. Get out of there if you can and try to push forward elsewhere. 3. Don't hold onto your risers, limits your feel and control of wing. I caught myself doing this yesterday. 4. Trees are your friends. I have to admit I didn't quite get from the video why the tree is favourable instead of the patch of grass. I guess it's because you are at risk of a collapse close to the ground if you try to land in that turbulence? 5. Good rule of thumb to see if you are as aerodynamic as possible. Lean back, feet up and aim to feel the turbulence from your feet in your face. One last thought, mental stress from these events is very real and can keep you away from sports. I witnessed a fatal mountaineering accident last year and that has really left a lasting impression on me. The fun, carefree enjoyment of the mountains I had is gone now, I am way more risk averse and enjoy being out there way less.
Oh man thanks a lot, this goes straight to the heart! Yep, i try to be as frank as possible, so that the points stick (which they sure did in your case!) but at the same time i think it is important to keep it constructive and positive, i hope that comes across too. Concerning point 4, good question. I had an explanation on that exact point in an earlier draft, but that version was too long so i had to cut some stuff out. The reason is that in certain conditions, when the chance is rather large that you will make a crashlanding, it hurts a lot more coming down on a field of grass or rock, than coming down in a tree. Compare it to jumping from the roof of a house (that is comparable to the impact you get with a collapse low to the ground) , would you rather do that onto the pavement, or onto bushes and trees? So yeah, it is due to the enormous risk of a collapse so low that you cant recover. Even with amazing skills, recovering a huge collapse takes a certain amount of altitude. Sorry to hear you whitnessed a fatal accident. I have had my share to process, i know how you must be feeling. My experience is that with allowing it to be there, the sharp edges will erode away. Also focus actively on the things that gave you enjoyment before, and accept that that experience also is temporarily less shiny. It will help in dealing with this. And if you feel you want to accelerate this process or don't want to go it alone, feel free to check out my coaching packages, i have helped many pilots deal with such circumstances.
at 6.30 when he discovers (or you :-)) that he is not moving forward anymore, he should have turned to the left and head to the valley. Even turn as far as 3/4 of a full circle, so you can pick up forward speed with some back wind and move away from the hill and the trees that are on your righthand side. Head away from the hill. Less obstacles there, so less rotor and he wind will be less strong there.
absolutely agree, then he would have been out of the venturi lee and still had enough altitude to cross to the safe side. See also 7:42, the left i think is the best option, but staying in place is the worst for sure. Every little bit helps there, hence the suggestion for aerodynamic form.
thanks for sharing these precious tips, unfortunately, we are all subject to bad decision making or bad planning during our flights... thanks for this content
Very educative and very well done! I am flying for 3-4 years now, but I am still very "scared" (?.. maybe not the right word) and very carefull and I find I can never learn enough. Yes, I also recognised some of the mistakes made by this poor guy, but the fact that an experienced pilot (you, of couse) sees the things the same way I do and explains everything in such a clear and easy way to understand, is epic! Thank you!
Welcome to the channel Ioana, i guess this is your first comment right? Happy to have you here and thanks for your extensive replies. I am so happy to see i am providing some value to your flying career. It sounds like you are really investing in working out why you should and shouldn't do certain things, that is a great way to get more skill and that helps a lot. The attitude as you say "can never learn enough and being very carefull" there is nothing wrong with that, as long as you feel good with it and are progressing and enoying the sport i think! Maybe the word you are looking for is not "scared" but "focussed"? Or do i misunderstand?
@@Flightcoach Thank you very much for your reply :) Yes, I am new to the channel and this was my first comment :D "Scared" is surely not the right word, but maybe "nervous". I am almost always nervous at least when I am at new take off places, that I have never seen before. But I think I learned a lot from your videos and I am trying to apply your advice :D
Very insightful video and much appreciated. I think for me the main takeaway is "to not wait it out" but rather take control of the situation fully and manage it all the way through. Thanks for sharing!
Wonderful video content - thank you for your work. Yes, please keep the vids coming. Congrats to Nicolae for getting back in the air. Certainly a frightening experience.
Thanks for all your comments, feedback and support, thats the way to keep this channel moving forward! I see this video attracts a bit more comments, possibly since it also covers the technical aspects of flying, which is less prevalent in my other videos, but a topic more people can relate to maybe? Thats great and motivates me to make more of these. I am happy to talk decisions and opinions with anyone, wether you agree or disagree with me... i love different viewpoints as long that takes place in a constructive and respectful way.
Did anybody else zoom into the book shelve and notice the random book titles. "DOES GOD EVER SPEAK THROUGH CATS?" or "GOBLINPROOFING ONE'S CHICKEN COOP". And the one that really cracked me up "HOW GREEN WERE THE NAZIS?". 😂 These books really exist!
I had a fear injury myself, I flew a training hill the next day then launched the mountain launch that I had my incident the day after that. Had to get right back into it. Basically I had launched with a very extreme tension knot effectively stalling the right side of my wing. I was able to fly straight with full left weight shift and a little brake, but could not turn left without stalling the glider and was afraid to turn right due to possibly auto rotation. I was getting 3:1 glide and had to make it over high tension power lines, I cleared the power lines by 50’ and crash landed in a tree, was completely fine, just some scratches and bruises, and amazingly my glider was ok after spending 2+ hours getting it out of the tree, but it was the most terrifying 8 minutes of my life, I thought if I didn’t get right back up there and fly I might not fly for a long time. Everything turned out pretty good, and was a very good lesson.
@@Flightcoach I was doing small flights at the training hill the next day, was still really scared but the next day after that I flew the exact same launch, I noticed that the glider had a very slight turn and I got it trim checked and adjusted, everything was fine, it didn’t really hinder my flying as I knew the mistake was 100% my fault and I became more vigilant in pre-flight and making sure my lines where clear during inflation, it was scary but I believe made me a safer pilot in the long run.
Glad to hear the fear injuries where relatively minor! Yeah something like this leaves a lasting impression and if handled correct, make you a better pilot! So cheers!
@@Flightcoach yea I definitely agree, I was afraid if I didn’t get right back out there I would dwell on it and let the fear injury get worse, but I feel like it made me safer in the long run. Still have things about my launches I need to work on, like turning too fast, I mostly fly thermic conditions so I don’t stand around and kite on launch but I do rush the turn sometimes too early, I really notice it when someone records my launch. Always something to work on, to become better at.
Thank you for this video analysis. I’m a new pilot and just waiting on my final solo soaring flight to be signed off. I’ve found the learning process at times difficult. I’m not sure I’m afraid of flying but I’m very adverse to hurting myself! So I tend to be very risk adverse. I find some sites intimidating and scary. I’ve had 2 awesome soaring flights and these really helped my confidence and feel for flying. But I feel I’m always one wrong move away from a big mistake. One site just leaves me cold with a postage stamp LZ a swamp on one side, lantana (prickly weeds) on another and on the other there are risks and the ocean. I’ve been in the swamp and the weeds :( this has really dented my confidence. But I’m getting better. I enjoyed the video and it also gave me a bit of confidence as you went through I was able to pick some of those decisions as maybe not the best ones. I also really understood the impact this would have had on the pilot. Please do more of these you did an excellent job. It’s also good to provide some practical tips on active flying and holding risers and avoiding certain actions. Much appreciated. Cheers!
Hi Dave, aren't you one of the ozzies i met earlier this year when i was travelling australia? Welcome to the channel man. Thanks a lot for your feedback, i really love hearing that you appreciate what i'm doing here. There is so much to be learnt from what others do... or didn't but should have, i will for sure make more videos on that front. And i can imagine your situation, great choice to save the ocean for last ;) Flying on a site where the LZ gives you stress can spoil the fun of the flight and also flatten your learning curve. Maybe consider skipping that spot for a few flights, until you have a bit more experience. With experience comes skill and confidence after all. Maybe have a chat with some more experienced local pilots or your instructor if you fly with one, explain the situation and help them think of a better learning enironment?
Flightcoach don’t think I’ve met you, I’ve only just started flying. I think this country is full of Dave’s - it was probably another one :) thanks for the advice!
@@TheRooster1972 hehe coincidence but large chance of that then i guess :) Just as Bas is a common name in the netherlands. I saw you on Alex foreman's channel, and i flew with him, thats why i thought. sure you are welcome!
I had a shocker like this trying to top land at the local hill, reasonably strong wind, about 25m off the deck and it all started going to hell. Ended up with a full frontal that recovered with a couple of metres to spare, got very lucky. But once you start getting bounced around like that, man the panic is real. You're basically just a passenger. Flying a B wing, 1.5 yrs experience.
Good to hear that Nicolae didn’t get injured (great that he was willing to share his video)... and he now has a lot of pointers from your analysis to improve his flying. I would also strongly suggest Nicolae doing an SIV course as it helps a lot in learning how to deal with those kind of situations, getting to know his wing which gives more confidence / trust in flying… a personal note: the SIV courses helped me a lot with my fear of flying after an incident (1,5 decades ago, also with no injuries)! @11:55 "Lower class gliders (up until the B-level) they will restore themselves in time." I think that’s a too optimistic (and potentially dangerous) assumption: the certification tests 'only' show what a glider does in 'dead air' (LAMINAR airflow) with NO pilot input (how much time it takes for the glider to recover and for instance with how much change of direction). But the same glider might (and probably will) react quite different in TURBULENT conditions especially when combined with INCORRECT pilot input (like in the video). Sure, it’s safe to assume a low level glider will react less violent than a high level glider (and that’s probably what you meant) but I think too many pilots wrongly expect their gliders to behave just like in the test reports when the shit hits the fan.
Thanks for thinking along and you feedback, much appreciated. SIV indeed is a great suggestion, im sure he reads the comments too :) And you are absolutely right about your addition about glider certification. Thats the downside of not explaining everything in complete detail... things might be interpreted in a bit of a different way. People already think my video's are long ;) To go in a bit more detail here then (also for the people reading along): A and B wings are designed to (within testing parameters as you correctly point out) be "stable" i.e. they can restore certain deformations themselves. C wings are "indifferent" i.e. the problem stays there and D wings are "unstable" i.e. the problem will on itself get worse. This is the difference i was pointing at and thanks for adding that extra warning at the end!
hey, that was very interesting to see with your comments! And i am totally with you that such a situation is very bad for your mental health. Two years ago, i also have a very bad situation at Brauneck in Germany, i managed to land without harm at a small spot in a forest, but the week after that i was very scared about this and things like mountainbiking was not the same anymore. I'm glad that i could talk only a week later with Simon Oberrauner about this topic, and this guy helps me out of the fear area, so i could flight again with confidence. Thank you so much Simon! In my opinion, the best way to come over such an experience is to talk about this with someonewho can support you with that. Greetings from Germany!
Hi bjorn, thanks for the feedback and sharing your story, I believe that can be an inspiration to many, seeing that you actively got over it! I don't know simon but it is so good to hear he could help you get back to flying with a smile again.
@@Flightcoach thank you! In my opinion, you have to analyze the Situation like you do, and talk to someone who is experienced so you can get a good advice. Simon is a professional xAlps Pilot, meet him with some other People for a hike&fly was the best thing that could happen to me after this filght. And yes, the takeoff decision was totally wrong, shortly after takeoff i got huge issues with the glider and all of the collapses happen so fast, i was only a passenger. Then, strong headwind and lee in combination with a venturi and an A Glider, i am happy that nothing serious happened. But with a little help, i got back on the Horse and learned a lot, especially to make better takeoff decisions :) I think, this is the most important thing, if the preflight check (Weather, takeoff area, personal fitness, all these things you have to check before unpack your glider) says it is good, the flight will be as safe as possible. If you start in a thunderstorm, well it is clear what happens :D
This one is good! Actually very good. Espetially the final part with full range of motion is very well described. Training is a must for paragliding. HUGE percentage of pilots underestimate proper collapse and at least stall recognize techniques training.
Thank you so much 😀 and i absolutely agree, this episode is also intended to showcase that being too passive can lead to even more problems when you are in a bad situation. But training is key, no youtube video can substitute that... only build further on that.
Hey, great video, especially how you broke the decision making process down and also took into account that the pilot is in crisis and a mental tunnel. I especially liked how you put an emphasis on going sideways and before all to conserve AGL. If you have a problem and don't have enough altitude to deal with it, fly somewhere where you have more altitude! (if you can) Just three remarks which you maybe find interesting: 1/ Reducing the air resistance of the pilot does not make the system Paraglider + Pilot faster. It does increase, as you say, glide ratio. Let's look at it from a Newtonian mechanic perspective: The system works first of all like a giant pendulum with most of the force acting on the wing, some on the pilot and a little on the lines. When the force acting on the pilot is reduced while the one at the airfoil stays the same the pilot moves forward relative to the wing - hence increasing the angle of attack. This slows the system as whole down... small effect, but nevertheless …. There is also an aerodynamic approach coming from the L/d ratio and L= 1/2 Ca *Rho * A * V*V but that one is not very intuitive ;-) 2/ As for how much you should push the speed bar and glide ratio: The Vario is pretty unreliable in such situations due to the turbulence involved. In a glider we would use McCready theory to determine how fast to fly, but then there we have stall at ~65, best glide at ~120 and Vmax at >250... a wide range of speed to work with. With my E3 I have Vmin 24, Vtrim ~42 and Vmax ~66. An EN-B has maybe Vmax 55 on a good day, with associated high sinkrate. So with the speed constraints I think we need to develop a concept for the glider we fly how to react to headwind. Groundspeed is something we get very reliable by the GPS Vario. I found with EN-B the following rule of thumb working well: Groundspeed 10 push 1/3 bar, Vgs 20 push half bar and everything above 30 full bar. With the E3 of course it is always at last 1/3 bar when transitioning ;-) 3/ Agreed, trees are great emergency landing spots. I have yet seen three accidents where pilots crashed into trees and fell through ending up pretty badly hurt. In both cases there was little groundspeed involved (one after a collapse another after a collision and the last flying against headwind). The Pilots simply fell through the space between the twigs and the lines and canopy did not anchor to catch the fall. I think it might be a good idea to throw the reserve short above the trees so you have more chances that something "hooks up" to catch you. I think that can be a life saver if you fall into high trees or in remote areas with no help readily around. I hope you find that some of that makes sense and again thank you for the great work! Cheers!
Wow thanks a lot for the appreciation and extensive comment, i see you are a thinker too :) Considering the aero form, although opinion differs on what the best one is, as you as as well it can make a nice difference, i have seen this happening many times when people where in danger of getting blown over a dune, it really helps. But the combi of speed and correct course has way more influence of course. Thanks for your other additions! You fly the Enzo? Amazing wing
@@Flightcoach I am glad you appreciate, thank you! Yes the E3 is a fantastic wing… if you trim it regularly ;-) I also have a Zeno and prefer the Enzo. It feels much more "honest" with more roll authority. Have you tried one? As for the thinking, my background is in numerical simulation and physics, with a previous history in flying fixed wings. So I often use concepts and methods from there when preparing for or analyzing para flights.
Nope not yet! But find em awesome to look at. I am still thinking on the aero form point you made with pendulum, increase of aoa and therefore reduced speed. The total parasitic drag does reduce which should increase the speed on the other hand. Do you have some research as a reference maybe? I love to learn if in all cases the forward speed decreases!
@@Flightcoach Hey :) Yes, if the AOA is increased then the system flies slower. You equate "less drag" = "faster". That works if you have an independent power source! But we have a glider! So imagine you add drag (Airbrake) The glider needs more energy to overcome the drag, which it gets from increased sinkrate converting potential energy. So the AOA decreases! Analogue if you have less drag you need less energy to overcome drag, so the AOA increases. It very much has to do with where we are at the polar (Speed vs Sinkrate diagram). At trim speed and above we are speed wise above the max. lift point (min sinkrate speed). So the wing wants to increase lift, it slows down! This is totally contra intuitive, even some wing designers I talked to did initially not get it. We humans always think in the frame of energy input by ourselves, we do, we act or a motor we design. But a glider is independent of that and simply does what any system of physics does… exist in the spot where it consumes least energy. Funny enough the pendulum analogy also has the same effect and is much more intuitive ;-)
amazing channel.... situation awareness is a key to safety and pleasure in paragliding... great channel.... i hope I can get good info from this... thank you for sharing
I found this video very interesting. Did a similar "landing" in strong wind with a mini wing and broke my neck and back. Considered landing in bushes at the time, but did not want to mess up the glider. Wrong decision (after a few other wrong ones before that)! Am happily flying, just more conservatively now.
I am asking myself:after the 3rd or so strong collapse, knowing I cannot get out of the Lee-wouldnt it be a safe option to throw your reserve as long as you have some hight left rather than risking to sink more and more getting less safety margin for your reserve? What do you think?
great question, i think that would not be a good idea. The reserve gives you a higher descend rate and (unless you have a steerable one) no control over where you will land. The risk of landing with more force, in an area you cannot choose, are two big downsides. The only advantage of your reserve might be, that it is a little more resistant to collapsing but this depends on a lot of factors and i don't know if it is true at all. Best option if you are sure you are not going to get to the ground safely, is find an area with lots of trees/bushes and try your best to make a "landing" in those.
Hi oriol welcome to the channel! Good question. The problem with the reserve is that when you end up in real rough lee conditions, throwing your reserve, you may still get smacked to the ground with the added extra decend speed of the reserve vs the paraglider. Over a flying paraglider you have way more control, even if you fly a steerable reserve.
Hi! THanks for your series. Very helpful for me as a beginner p2 pilot. However, at around 17:00 you say that if you don't have a pod you don't have access to a speed system. I'm puzled regarding this remark! Can you explain? I do have a podless harness, and always hook up my speed system, undo and replace the velcro retainer under my seat for a smooth deploy if needed be.
Claude welcome to the channel, great to see you are progressing trough the ranks of training. There is so much to learn and experience... and it never stops. Sure, great question, what i meant so say is that when you HAVE a podharness, but are not in it with your legs yet, you cannot acces the speedsystem. Appears my explaination could be interpreted differently than i intended. So i mean this: in a pod harness the speedsystem is (almost always) integrated into the pod. That means the pilot can only operate the speedsystem reliably, once the legs are in the extended forward position and the pod is properly closed. This in contrast to a normal podless harness, there the speedsystem just dangles between your knees under your seat and you can pick it up with your heel and start using it anytime, or it is even secured with velcro as you state.
No I wouldn't, since that would probably make you go down just as fast just with less control. If you get caught in really bad Lee and go down hard, aim for the trees
both have their downsides and luckily their upsides. All HG pilots that i have seen transitioning to PG (im one of them myself) dont have a problem with the fear of collapses... but it LOOKS scary indeed
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Excellent channel sir please take a seat next to Greg Hamilton !
David welcome to the channel and thanks for the huge compliment!! What do you fly and where?
@@Flightcoach hey man my pleasure. I’m pilot from NY and currently fly a low b flow cosmos. Cheers!
Low b is the place to be! ;) wow NY, great city. Went there couple of years back when my wife was working out of the states, had a great time.
definetely, i mean keep up with the great work!!
A new classic. For me, this is one of your best videos so far (but they are all good). I love that you don't pull any punches and make the key points really clear.
Big takeaways for me:
1. Get your landing gear down if you are close to terrain (especially in the Lee). Obvious when I am sitting on my sofa but maybe not so obvious in survival mode.
2. Terrain awareness. If you are fighting strong wind, analyze the terrain and figure out if you may be in a Venturi. Get out of there if you can and try to push forward elsewhere.
3. Don't hold onto your risers, limits your feel and control of wing. I caught myself doing this yesterday.
4. Trees are your friends. I have to admit I didn't quite get from the video why the tree is favourable instead of the patch of grass. I guess it's because you are at risk of a collapse close to the ground if you try to land in that turbulence?
5. Good rule of thumb to see if you are as aerodynamic as possible. Lean back, feet up and aim to feel the turbulence from your feet in your face.
One last thought, mental stress from these events is very real and can keep you away from sports. I witnessed a fatal mountaineering accident last year and that has really left a lasting impression on me. The fun, carefree enjoyment of the mountains I had is gone now, I am way more risk averse and enjoy being out there way less.
Oh man thanks a lot, this goes straight to the heart! Yep, i try to be as frank as possible, so that the points stick (which they sure did in your case!) but at the same time i think it is important to keep it constructive and positive, i hope that comes across too. Concerning point 4, good question. I had an explanation on that exact point in an earlier draft, but that version was too long so i had to cut some stuff out. The reason is that in certain conditions, when the chance is rather large that you will make a crashlanding, it hurts a lot more coming down on a field of grass or rock, than coming down in a tree. Compare it to jumping from the roof of a house (that is comparable to the impact you get with a collapse low to the ground) , would you rather do that onto the pavement, or onto bushes and trees? So yeah, it is due to the enormous risk of a collapse so low that you cant recover. Even with amazing skills, recovering a huge collapse takes a certain amount of altitude.
Sorry to hear you whitnessed a fatal accident. I have had my share to process, i know how you must be feeling. My experience is that with allowing it to be there, the sharp edges will erode away. Also focus actively on the things that gave you enjoyment before, and accept that that experience also is temporarily less shiny. It will help in dealing with this. And if you feel you want to accelerate this process or don't want to go it alone, feel free to check out my coaching packages, i have helped many pilots deal with such circumstances.
I watch a looot of paragliding videos, and this is probably one of the best i've seen so far. Keep up the good work!
That is awesome to hear, thank you very much. What makes it one of the best in your opinion? If i know, i can keep improving on that :)
at 6.30 when he discovers (or you :-)) that he is not moving forward anymore, he should have turned to the left and head to the valley. Even turn as far as 3/4 of a full circle, so you can pick up forward speed with some back wind and move away from the hill and the trees that are on your righthand side. Head away from the hill. Less obstacles there, so less rotor and he wind will be less strong there.
absolutely agree, then he would have been out of the venturi lee and still had enough altitude to cross to the safe side. See also 7:42, the left i think is the best option, but staying in place is the worst for sure. Every little bit helps there, hence the suggestion for aerodynamic form.
thanks for sharing these precious tips, unfortunately, we are all subject to bad decision making or bad planning during our flights... thanks for this content
You are so welcome!
Very educative and very well done! I am flying for 3-4 years now, but I am still very "scared" (?.. maybe not the right word) and very carefull and I find I can never learn enough. Yes, I also recognised some of the mistakes made by this poor guy, but the fact that an experienced pilot (you, of couse) sees the things the same way I do and explains everything in such a clear and easy way to understand, is epic! Thank you!
Welcome to the channel Ioana, i guess this is your first comment right? Happy to have you here and thanks for your extensive replies. I am so happy to see i am providing some value to your flying career. It sounds like you are really investing in working out why you should and shouldn't do certain things, that is a great way to get more skill and that helps a lot. The attitude as you say "can never learn enough and being very carefull" there is nothing wrong with that, as long as you feel good with it and are progressing and enoying the sport i think! Maybe the word you are looking for is not "scared" but "focussed"? Or do i misunderstand?
@@Flightcoach Thank you very much for your reply :) Yes, I am new to the channel and this was my first comment :D "Scared" is surely not the right word, but maybe "nervous". I am almost always nervous at least when I am at new take off places, that I have never seen before. But I think I learned a lot from your videos and I am trying to apply your advice :D
Very good analysis. Thankyou
very informative, thanks dude!
Glad it was helpful!
Very insightful video and much appreciated.
I think for me the main takeaway is "to not wait it out" but rather take control of the situation fully and manage it all the way through.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for your epic feedback!
Wonderful video content - thank you for your work. Yes, please keep the vids coming. Congrats to Nicolae for getting back in the air. Certainly a frightening experience.
Thank you! Will do!
Thanks for all your comments, feedback and support, thats the way to keep this channel moving forward! I see this video attracts a bit more comments, possibly since it also covers the technical aspects of flying, which is less prevalent in my other videos, but a topic more people can relate to maybe? Thats great and motivates me to make more of these. I am happy to talk decisions and opinions with anyone, wether you agree or disagree with me... i love different viewpoints as long that takes place in a constructive and respectful way.
I watched this video twice, thank you very much!
You are welcome!
Did anybody else zoom into the book shelve and notice the random book titles. "DOES GOD EVER SPEAK THROUGH CATS?" or "GOBLINPROOFING ONE'S CHICKEN COOP". And the one that really cracked me up "HOW GREEN WERE THE NAZIS?". 😂 These books really exist!
OMG why did you zoom in that far, i thought i had blurred them enough. ;)
I did this too! Bas, you´re awesome! :)))))
I had a fear injury myself, I flew a training hill the next day then launched the mountain launch that I had my incident the day after that. Had to get right back into it. Basically I had launched with a very extreme tension knot effectively stalling the right side of my wing. I was able to fly straight with full left weight shift and a little brake, but could not turn left without stalling the glider and was afraid to turn right due to possibly auto rotation. I was getting 3:1 glide and had to make it over high tension power lines, I cleared the power lines by 50’ and crash landed in a tree, was completely fine, just some scratches and bruises, and amazingly my glider was ok after spending 2+ hours getting it out of the tree, but it was the most terrifying 8 minutes of my life, I thought if I didn’t get right back up there and fly I might not fly for a long time. Everything turned out pretty good, and was a very good lesson.
Thanks for sharing that horrific story! How long did this experience hinder your fun in flying?
@@Flightcoach I was doing small flights at the training hill the next day, was still really scared but the next day after that I flew the exact same launch, I noticed that the glider had a very slight turn and I got it trim checked and adjusted, everything was fine, it didn’t really hinder my flying as I knew the mistake was 100% my fault and I became more vigilant in pre-flight and making sure my lines where clear during inflation, it was scary but I believe made me a safer pilot in the long run.
Glad to hear the fear injuries where relatively minor! Yeah something like this leaves a lasting impression and if handled correct, make you a better pilot! So cheers!
@@Flightcoach yea I definitely agree, I was afraid if I didn’t get right back out there I would dwell on it and let the fear injury get worse, but I feel like it made me safer in the long run. Still have things about my launches I need to work on, like turning too fast, I mostly fly thermic conditions so I don’t stand around and kite on launch but I do rush the turn sometimes too early, I really notice it when someone records my launch. Always something to work on, to become better at.
Thank you for this video analysis. I’m a new pilot and just waiting on my final solo soaring flight to be signed off. I’ve found the learning process at times difficult. I’m not sure I’m afraid of flying but I’m very adverse to hurting myself! So I tend to be very risk adverse. I find some sites intimidating and scary. I’ve had 2 awesome soaring flights and these really helped my confidence and feel for flying. But I feel I’m always one wrong move away from a big mistake. One site just leaves me cold with a postage stamp LZ a swamp on one side, lantana (prickly weeds) on another and on the other there are risks and the ocean. I’ve been in the swamp and the weeds :( this has really dented my confidence. But I’m getting better. I enjoyed the video and it also gave me a bit of confidence as you went through I was able to pick some of those decisions as maybe not the best ones. I also really understood the impact this would have had on the pilot. Please do more of these you did an excellent job. It’s also good to provide some practical tips on active flying and holding risers and avoiding certain actions. Much appreciated. Cheers!
Hi Dave, aren't you one of the ozzies i met earlier this year when i was travelling australia? Welcome to the channel man. Thanks a lot for your feedback, i really love hearing that you appreciate what i'm doing here. There is so much to be learnt from what others do... or didn't but should have, i will for sure make more videos on that front. And i can imagine your situation, great choice to save the ocean for last ;) Flying on a site where the LZ gives you stress can spoil the fun of the flight and also flatten your learning curve. Maybe consider skipping that spot for a few flights, until you have a bit more experience. With experience comes skill and confidence after all. Maybe have a chat with some more experienced local pilots or your instructor if you fly with one, explain the situation and help them think of a better learning enironment?
Flightcoach don’t think I’ve met you, I’ve only just started flying. I think this country is full of Dave’s - it was probably another one :) thanks for the advice!
@@TheRooster1972 hehe coincidence but large chance of that then i guess :) Just as Bas is a common name in the netherlands. I saw you on Alex foreman's channel, and i flew with him, thats why i thought. sure you are welcome!
I had a shocker like this trying to top land at the local hill, reasonably strong wind, about 25m off the deck and it all started going to hell. Ended up with a full frontal that recovered with a couple of metres to spare, got very lucky. But once you start getting bounced around like that, man the panic is real. You're basically just a passenger. Flying a B wing, 1.5 yrs experience.
Good to hear that Nicolae didn’t get injured (great that he was willing to share his video)... and he now has a lot of pointers from your analysis to improve his flying.
I would also strongly suggest Nicolae doing an SIV course as it helps a lot in learning how to deal with those kind of situations, getting to know his wing which gives more confidence / trust in flying… a personal note: the SIV courses helped me a lot with my fear of flying after an incident (1,5 decades ago, also with no injuries)!
@11:55 "Lower class gliders (up until the B-level) they will restore themselves in time."
I think that’s a too optimistic (and potentially dangerous) assumption: the certification tests 'only' show what a glider does in 'dead air' (LAMINAR airflow) with NO pilot input (how much time it takes for the glider to recover and for instance with how much change of direction). But the same glider might (and probably will) react quite different in TURBULENT conditions especially when combined with INCORRECT pilot input (like in the video).
Sure, it’s safe to assume a low level glider will react less violent than a high level glider (and that’s probably what you meant) but I think too many pilots wrongly expect their gliders to behave just like in the test reports when the shit hits the fan.
Thanks for thinking along and you feedback, much appreciated. SIV indeed is a great suggestion, im sure he reads the comments too :) And you are absolutely right about your addition about glider certification. Thats the downside of not explaining everything in complete detail... things might be interpreted in a bit of a different way. People already think my video's are long ;) To go in a bit more detail here then (also for the people reading along): A and B wings are designed to (within testing parameters as you correctly point out) be "stable" i.e. they can restore certain deformations themselves. C wings are "indifferent" i.e. the problem stays there and D wings are "unstable" i.e. the problem will on itself get worse. This is the difference i was pointing at and thanks for adding that extra warning at the end!
hey, that was very interesting to see with your comments! And i am totally with you that such a situation is very bad for your mental health. Two years ago, i also have a very bad situation at Brauneck in Germany, i managed to land without harm at a small spot in a forest, but the week after that i was very scared about this and things like mountainbiking was not the same anymore. I'm glad that i could talk only a week later with Simon Oberrauner about this topic, and this guy helps me out of the fear area, so i could flight again with confidence. Thank you so much Simon! In my opinion, the best way to come over such an experience is to talk about this with someonewho can support you with that. Greetings from Germany!
Hi bjorn, thanks for the feedback and sharing your story, I believe that can be an inspiration to many, seeing that you actively got over it! I don't know simon but it is so good to hear he could help you get back to flying with a smile again.
@@Flightcoach thank you! In my opinion, you have to analyze the Situation like you do, and talk to someone who is experienced so you can get a good advice.
Simon is a professional xAlps Pilot, meet him with some other People for a hike&fly was the best thing that could happen to me after this filght.
And yes, the takeoff decision was totally wrong, shortly after takeoff i got huge issues with the glider and all of the collapses happen so fast, i was only a passenger. Then, strong headwind and lee in combination with a venturi and an A Glider, i am happy that nothing serious happened.
But with a little help, i got back on the Horse and learned a lot, especially to make better takeoff decisions :) I think, this is the most important thing, if the preflight check (Weather, takeoff area, personal fitness, all these things you have to check before unpack your glider) says it is good, the flight will be as safe as possible. If you start in a thunderstorm, well it is clear what happens :D
This one is good! Actually very good. Espetially the final part with full range of motion is very well described.
Training is a must for paragliding. HUGE percentage of pilots underestimate proper collapse and at least stall recognize techniques training.
Thank you so much 😀 and i absolutely agree, this episode is also intended to showcase that being too passive can lead to even more problems when you are in a bad situation. But training is key, no youtube video can substitute that... only build further on that.
Good job explaining this scenario . very informative!
Glad it was helpful! thanks for reaching out!
Sehr gutes Video und gute Analyse. Dieser Mann und seine Videos sind sehr interessant, man kann viel daraus lernen.
Gunterrrrrrr danke sehr dude!
Hey, great video, especially how you broke the decision making process down and also took into account that the pilot is in crisis and a mental tunnel.
I especially liked how you put an emphasis on going sideways and before all to conserve AGL. If you have a problem and don't have enough altitude to deal with it, fly somewhere where you have more altitude! (if you can)
Just three remarks which you maybe find interesting:
1/ Reducing the air resistance of the pilot does not make the system Paraglider + Pilot faster. It does increase, as you say, glide ratio. Let's look at it from a Newtonian mechanic perspective: The system works first of all like a giant pendulum with most of the force acting on the wing, some on the pilot and a little on the lines. When the force acting on the pilot is reduced while the one at the airfoil stays the same the pilot moves forward relative to the wing - hence increasing the angle of attack. This slows the system as whole down... small effect, but nevertheless …. There is also an aerodynamic approach coming from the L/d ratio and L= 1/2 Ca *Rho * A * V*V but that one is not very intuitive ;-)
2/ As for how much you should push the speed bar and glide ratio: The Vario is pretty unreliable in such situations due to the turbulence involved. In a glider we would use McCready theory to determine how fast to fly, but then there we have stall at ~65, best glide at ~120 and Vmax at >250... a wide range of speed to work with. With my E3 I have Vmin 24, Vtrim ~42 and Vmax ~66. An EN-B has maybe Vmax 55 on a good day, with associated high sinkrate. So with the speed constraints I think we need to develop a concept for the glider we fly how to react to headwind. Groundspeed is something we get very reliable by the GPS Vario. I found with EN-B the following rule of thumb working well: Groundspeed 10 push 1/3 bar, Vgs 20 push half bar and everything above 30 full bar. With the E3 of course it is always at last 1/3 bar when transitioning ;-)
3/ Agreed, trees are great emergency landing spots. I have yet seen three accidents where pilots crashed into trees and fell through ending up pretty badly hurt. In both cases there was little groundspeed involved (one after a collapse another after a collision and the last flying against headwind). The Pilots simply fell through the space between the twigs and the lines and canopy did not anchor to catch the fall. I think it might be a good idea to throw the reserve short above the trees so you have more chances that something "hooks up" to catch you. I think that can be a life saver if you fall into high trees or in remote areas with no help readily around.
I hope you find that some of that makes sense and again thank you for the great work! Cheers!
Wow thanks a lot for the appreciation and extensive comment, i see you are a thinker too :) Considering the aero form, although opinion differs on what the best one is, as you as as well it can make a nice difference, i have seen this happening many times when people where in danger of getting blown over a dune, it really helps. But the combi of speed and correct course has way more influence of course. Thanks for your other additions! You fly the Enzo? Amazing wing
@@Flightcoach I am glad you appreciate, thank you! Yes the E3 is a fantastic wing… if you trim it regularly ;-) I also have a Zeno and prefer the Enzo. It feels much more "honest" with more roll authority. Have you tried one? As for the thinking, my background is in numerical simulation and physics, with a previous history in flying fixed wings. So I often use concepts and methods from there when preparing for or analyzing para flights.
Nope not yet! But find em awesome to look at. I am still thinking on the aero form point you made with pendulum, increase of aoa and therefore reduced speed. The total parasitic drag does reduce which should increase the speed on the other hand. Do you have some research as a reference maybe? I love to learn if in all cases the forward speed decreases!
@@Flightcoach Hey :) Yes, if the AOA is increased then the system flies slower. You equate "less drag" = "faster". That works if you have an independent power source! But we have a glider! So imagine you add drag (Airbrake) The glider needs more energy to overcome the drag, which it gets from increased sinkrate converting potential energy. So the AOA decreases! Analogue if you have less drag you need less energy to overcome drag, so the AOA increases. It very much has to do with where we are at the polar (Speed vs Sinkrate diagram). At trim speed and above we are speed wise above the max. lift point (min sinkrate speed). So the wing wants to increase lift, it slows down!
This is totally contra intuitive, even some wing designers I talked to did initially not get it. We humans always think in the frame of energy input by ourselves, we do, we act or a motor we design. But a glider is independent of that and simply does what any system of physics does… exist in the spot where it consumes least energy.
Funny enough the pendulum analogy also has the same effect and is much more intuitive ;-)
Very good analysis... thx for post.
My pleasure!
Very nice one this! Thanks Bas
My pleasure!
Very bad habit holding on to the risers for 85% of that flight... He was lucky... This TIME!!!... Thanks for posting...
Indeed, was some room for improvement as you stated. You are welcome!
amazing channel.... situation awareness is a key to safety and pleasure in paragliding... great channel.... i hope I can get good info from this... thank you for sharing
Welcome aboard! Very happy to hear you appreciate what i am making :)
I found this video very interesting. Did a similar "landing" in strong wind with a mini wing and broke my neck and back. Considered landing in bushes at the time, but did not want to mess up the glider. Wrong decision (after a few other wrong ones before that)! Am happily flying, just more conservatively now.
Wow thomas that is some serious shit man, thanks for sharing and the feedback! Must be horrible. Did you recover completely?
Awesome!!!
Thank you very much 😊
You're welcome 😊 very glad you like it, what do you fly, is that a niviuk i see?
Dank je Bas. Super info. Ik moet nog beginnen maar geniet van je tips
That is AWESOME to hear, welcome to the channel. Judging by the name you fly RC i guess? Good luck with the training, it is so much fun!
Very good breakdown!
So great to hear, glad you can appreciate it
I am asking myself:after the 3rd or so strong collapse, knowing I cannot get out of the Lee-wouldnt it be a safe option to throw your reserve as long as you have some hight left rather than risking to sink more and more getting less safety margin for your reserve? What do you think?
great question, i think that would not be a good idea. The reserve gives you a higher descend rate and (unless you have a steerable one) no control over where you will land. The risk of landing with more force, in an area you cannot choose, are two big downsides. The only advantage of your reserve might be, that it is a little more resistant to collapsing but this depends on a lot of factors and i don't know if it is true at all. Best option if you are sure you are not going to get to the ground safely, is find an area with lots of trees/bushes and try your best to make a "landing" in those.
Nice video! Thank you!
Hi again Jakub, thanks man
What about throwing the reserve? I thought that being blown back to the lee was one of the main reasons to do so.
Hi oriol welcome to the channel! Good question. The problem with the reserve is that when you end up in real rough lee conditions, throwing your reserve, you may still get smacked to the ground with the added extra decend speed of the reserve vs the paraglider. Over a flying paraglider you have way more control, even if you fly a steerable reserve.
Super interessant, bedankt!
Thanks for sharing that you like it, will consider making more then :)
Hi! THanks for your series. Very helpful for me as a beginner p2 pilot. However, at around 17:00 you say that if you don't have a pod you don't have access to a speed system. I'm puzled regarding this remark! Can you explain? I do have a podless harness, and always hook up my speed system, undo and replace the velcro retainer under my seat for a smooth deploy if needed be.
Claude welcome to the channel, great to see you are progressing trough the ranks of training. There is so much to learn and experience... and it never stops. Sure, great question, what i meant so say is that when you HAVE a podharness, but are not in it with your legs yet, you cannot acces the speedsystem. Appears my explaination could be interpreted differently than i intended. So i mean this: in a pod harness the speedsystem is (almost always) integrated into the pod. That means the pilot can only operate the speedsystem reliably, once the legs are in the extended forward position and the pod is properly closed. This in contrast to a normal podless harness, there the speedsystem just dangles between your knees under your seat and you can pick it up with your heel and start using it anytime, or it is even secured with velcro as you state.
Video is on point, be very concerned with the speed of the wind.. practice more then you fly
thanks! and yes indeed, speed in relation to ground is a key factor. Never stop learning
I'm guessing it's a bad idea for one to just jump into the sport with no experience
I skydived in the very early days '65 & on. Did numerous tree landings. Never a problem. I'll take a tree anytime!
Amen! And thanks for sharing!
Would you throw the reserve in that situation? (knowing that you are going down in leeside)
No I wouldn't, since that would probably make you go down just as fast just with less control. If you get caught in really bad Lee and go down hard, aim for the trees
@@Flightcoach Thanks for the reply mate!
That's why I fly Hang Gliders.. no colapses.
both have their downsides and luckily their upsides. All HG pilots that i have seen transitioning to PG (im one of them myself) dont have a problem with the fear of collapses... but it LOOKS scary indeed
Off topic: I like the colour of that wall.
Off topic: i will let my wife know :D
and the camouflaged shirt?
How can one get paid to paraglide and any one in it
As a student I digest the following from this video: Don't fly in strong wind... The end
Wouldn't make for a very interesting video, but you certainly got a highlight there! :)
un sacrer pilote le roi du frein . laisse voler ta voile t auras moins de problème ;
Hi! Can you put that in English please? Google translate doesn't make much sense for me in this case.
@@Flightcoach translate.google.com/?sl=auto&tl=fr&op=translate :-)
Toooo much talking. Make it shorter please!!!
Well analysis in general is a looooot of talking 🤣 what part did you not find interesting?
@@Flightcoach The beginning off it. 🤣🤣🤣 3'30" of talking 🤣🤣🤣
Riiiight!
Don't listen to this person. The analysis is great, the video would be a lot less useful with less talking.
@@christianvonessen1847 whatever you say 🤣