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By Jeff O'Brien on
1/27/2010 9:41 PM
Adam West and Grove flew Signal Hill at the base of Table Mountain, South Africa recently. Here's an excerpt of the account:
From Dr. Adam West's blog: CLICK HERE
Video by Adam West. Here's an excerpt from his BLOG
We climbed out rapidly into the classic, laminar air and headed for Lion's Head. Cloudbase was close to the top of Lion's Head, so we couldn't head for the Apostles. Instead, we boated around the site, out over Bantry Bay and Sea Point staying just under the cloud.
Photo by Adam West.
We glided together for long stretches comparing the performance of our wings, sometimes flying wing-tip to wing-tip. My Wills Wing U2 145 held it's own against Grove's bigger U2 160. These are fantastic gliders.
Photo of Grove by Adam West.
More from Adam tomorrow. Thanks bro.
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By Jeff Shapiro on
1/21/2010 9:00 AM
Just sitting here in the Kingsford Smith departure terminal after another amazing adventure flying in OZ. It's hard to even know where to start after so much has happened. I didn't have reliable net access so I'm the entire trip behind but this comp has been another life highlight, for sure. Another problem (or excuse) causing for a lack of posts was that my camera shorted after getting submerged during a violent and wet storm on day 3 so I have next to no photos from the trip, just good memories.
I arrived on the 31st and met up with friends from around the world to bring in the new year and to celebrate being in a beautiful place for another comp to remember. When ever I think of racing my hang glider in Forbes, strong climbs, fast glides and long tasks are the dominating thoughts. The temps were forecast to be hot (up to 111 F) and that only meant one thing for sure, we were going to get what we came for.
Days were saturated with the tasks at hand. We would wake early to stretch off the previous days aches and pains and try to get loaded up on fluids and fuel before racing into town for the briefing. The paddock was nice a green this year so towing, although active and strong at times, was quite pleasant. The best part of Forbes is the professionalism displayed by the organizers from the Moyes family and pilots. The field is so strong and racing with the top pilots that seem to show up each year makes becoming a better pilot a tangible opportunity.
I was rusty and anxious on the first day of the comp and ended up on the deck. Because flying fast down a course line is so confidence based it was not a good way to start off. After shaking some of the cobb webbs off I started to feel the rhythm and began to feel stronger and more in phase as the days rolled on. Flying is very perspective based. I heard an analogy once that seems applicable. When you drive down the road and look out the window at a stand of trees whizzing by, from one point of view they look like a thick and randomly spaced "mess" of trees. But, if viewed from the right place, you are able to see deep into the forest realizing that the trees are planted in perfect rows, all lining up perfectly. Sometimes, my perspective in a comp just needs a little adjustment to have things line up for a more clear picture.
One of the highlights of the trip was a barn burner, 112 mile out and return with up to a 25k head wind on the return. Zippy and I took the 3rd start because we seemed to be out of phase for the first two, which added an hour to our airtime before even getting started. It felt so good to be that tired after a 6.5 hour flight, standing next to the car right where we had left it earlier that morning. Watching the sun set that evening brought back memories when OB and I had a very similar flight a few years ago. The strong feeling of satisfaction after such a difficult task was a stark reminder that we are so lucky to get to do what we do.
The comp ended and the party was good. I got to see Curt and Lou for my last night in Sydney and was lucky enough to see a photo of their newest family member when they returned from Lou's ultrasound this morning. Good flying, great weather and even better friends. Life is good
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By Jeff O'Brien on
1/19/2010 7:52 PM
Wolfi Swooooping
Wolfgang Ziess having some swooping practice.
VIDEO HERE
:) Great stuff.
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By Jeff O'Brien on
1/11/2010 6:32 AM
Matt Barker is a Wills Wing Crew member to watch. Here's a bio on Matt:
I learned at Kitty Hawk summer of 2000. Worked there off and on Summers of ’01 and ’02 and man what a blast that was! After that I helped start Ground Industries with 2 friends. We make mountain boards and just this year are making longboards too. Check us out at GROUND INDUSTRIES And my blog is FLYINBARKER.COM
Matt happy?:) about his new U2. (Photos Courtesy of Matt Barker)
As far as memorable flights…Early November 2002 up at Woodstock in N. Virginia was a good one. I launched and turned N to fly 9.5 miles to the end of the ridge and then back. At that point that was the farthest I had ever flown away from a primary LZ so I was stoked with that. Little did I know what I was about to get into! As I got back to launch I was 1500’ over. I noticed an area on the ridge that was collecting thermals and I stayed there and got up to 3000’ over launch. This was without a vario but I did have the altimeter on my watch. I was new to thermaling so to gain another 1500’ was killer. Again, I was stoked.
At this point the air got really smooth and the wind picked up considerably. Lift was everywhere and I eventually figured out that I was in a wave. I surfed the wave with everybody else that got up in the lower thermals for the next hour and got to about 10,000’. I was over 9K above the LZ, flying with the bar at my hips and couldn’t tell from that height which field was the LZ…I loved it! It took almost an hour to finally get down. We were all amazed at the flights we had and spent the rest of the night re-living the day! Amazing day for the East Coast!
Now I’m really excited to be getting into comps. I picked up a brand new U2 160 this past August and I went to team Challenge in October and had a great there. I will be at the Rob Kells meet this April and flying my U2 in the sport class. I’m looking forward to learning a lot, flying, and meeting new peeps! I can’t wait.
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By Dustin Martin on
1/9/2010 11:55 AM
Stepped out of the house this morning and the next step was 6 feet lower - where I landed on my side after slipping on ice covered steps. Busted the guard rail out with my leg and slid to a stop, pinned down by the rusty pointed end of the rail, with another 6 feet to go if I went any further. The only sharp pain was my ground down knuckle, grated by the diamond plate stair surface. This is the most significant crash since the mountain bike wipe out that wrecked the same shoulder years ago. Good thing nothing is broken...
Because I'm heading off to Brasil next Thursday - fully loaded. Glider, harness, backpacking gear, and a bike.. Jack Simmons is joining me for the 3 week trip. First week will be at the competition near Porto Alegre, then we'll head north up the coast at a leisurely pace, checking out site after site and meeting up with old friends along the way. Uruguay and the Pantanal may find their way into my itinerary as well, but plans are still in the air and funds are limited. At some point I hope to slip away on the bike with my backpack and get a closer look at one of my favorite areas for a while - the high plains just behind the coastal mountain range at the RS/SC border. I've only sped through in a car a couple times and I'm sure there is a lot more to it.
Here is Morro do Ferrabraz in Sapiranga, site of the nationals last year, and again this year. Just perfect:
photo by Manu Sanches
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By Jeff O'Brien on
1/8/2010 3:55 PM
Dr. Adam West has been going for it on his U2 in South Africa.
Check out the good times he had at the recent fly-in in Porterville: HERE
Photo by Adam West after a 131km flight.
View into the Cederberg - Photo by Adam West.
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By Jeff O'Brien on
1/6/2010 6:44 AM
South American amateur scientist Alex Morillo has been contributing data to the harness project.
Best to Shapiro, Zippy, Davis, Larry Bunner, James Stinnet, and the WW crew going for it in Australia.
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By Zac 'Zippy' Majors on
1/4/2010 3:59 PM
So my trip was always just a bit in question because I was flying on an airline employee voucher thanks to Joe Bostik. I checked in with my glider and held my breath as they called one supervisor after another. Finally Mike from Delta's baggage came up and personally approved my glider and now it was just a matter of getting a seat for me. I had a couple margaritas to ease the tension and dull the possible agony if I didn't get on. As they were boarding the plane I was given a seat assignment and let out a sigh of relief.
As I got off the plane a had a new concern; getting a ride from the airport. A pleasant surprise was getting to bypass the long customs line because of the size of my glider. As I weaved through the crowd and out the front door, I was stoked to see Jeff Shapiro off to my right. Jeff told me that James Stinnett was on his was to pick us up; it was the morning of new years eve.
James arrived in a flash green Comador wagon, we loaded up and headed off to meet up with Jamie Shelden, Karl Wallbank and Dave Shields. Jamie took us to a great restaurant at Coogee beach, and we followed it a dip in the Tasman Sea.
After a quick disco-nap we got ready for dinner that Cathrine had arranged and we met her and Gerolf. Lovely 4 course dinner, outside on the sidewalk, with fireworks to boot. We finished shorlty before midnight and tried to race up Brondi Beach to meet up with Jonny Durrand and his entourage. Well the cabbies wouldn't take us all the way and we walked to where we could see the Harbor Bridge fireworks as the year 2010 fell upon us. Happy New Year everyone! We finally caught up with our friends and we partied well into the morning hours.
Day one: Totally blue. 138k? dogleg. I'm very turned around in the start circle (give me a mountain for reference!). Conditions are light and some people leave at the first clock. Most go back for the second clock and a group of us get low with about 8 pilots landing at the edge of the cylinder, but most pilots get on course. After grovelling back up for 20 min we're still only 2k outside the cylinder so about 10 of us get the 3rd clock. I didn't find out till later that I made most of the run to the first turn point with Blay from Spain. We are topping out about 4000', so not a lot of altitude to work with. I caught up with the leaders a bit after the turn point, but pushing too hard I found myself down below 300' (it would be so painful to land here after so much hard work), but I found a bubble and started to dig out. Somehow I made up the little bit of time I lost here and finished just behind the first guys. Having started 20 minutes later I won the day, my first day win in a major international competition.
Day two: Very different. A sky full of beautiful cumulus. 194K dogleg in the opposite direction (SW-S) This time we're at 6000'at cloudbase for the first start clock. Having thermal markers out from worked so well yesterday, that we Shapiro wasn't ready to leave, I was happy to wait. Davis started anyway because a bunch of people left, and Larry Bunner waited with me. We left at the second clock and the race was on. It wasn't long before I started finding 700-900fpm. After the turnpoint the conditions got faster. Cloudbase had risen to over 8000' and it was a glorious day! I watched the kilometers click away. Getting a bit low over a town I saw a cemetery and gave thanks to those who came before the splendorous life us hang glider pilots enjoy. At about 35K out I saw Karl, Jonny, and Attila and figured I was probably in good shape. A couple short climbs together and we started our final glide about 20k from goal. For the last few Kilometers my GPS was not getting coverage more than it was (mabey because Atilla was blocking all the satellites)(Carl was having the same issue), we were racing down to the deck and I wasn't sure I would make the edge of the cylinder, I tried to have a look and cause a wiggle that allowed Jonny to snake by me to win the day about 1-2 seconds. (My GPS didn't indicate goal until I was flaring, and the score keeper said my time was 58 sec after Jonny, hopefully they can sort it out.) I haven't seen results yet, but probably 2nd for the day.
Thanks to everyone who's making this dream a reality
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By Dustin Martin on
1/4/2010 12:43 PM
6500 feet just northwest of Caguas, PR
View of San Juan looking to the northeast
North shore with the deserted landing strip in the upper left of the photo
A few more pics from the last week in Puerto Rico. The dragonfly had to be flown back to Arecibo from Humacao and I ended up flying it over the edge of San Juan and out to the north shore for a quick swim at a deserted beach before hopping back in for the last leg to the Arecibo airport. Flew past a two lane drag strip lined on both sides with bleachers and completely blackened by burned rubber. I couldn't resist one quick run before heading home.
For who hasn't been down there, it has some great flying and is a really cheap roundtrip ticket from anywhere in the states. I will probably be back at some point now that we have the dragonfly available, to attempt a true end to end crossing of the island - towing up over the east shore and landing on the western beaches.
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