Pre-Frontal Saturday

[Aaron]

Last Saturday timmyb, el jefe, farmer, jkiel and myself did the hike n fly at sage hill as it was pretty much raining in sb. Super unstable conditions had everyone soaring 15m and 16m wings and some were probably 1000 feet over launch in thermal and ridge lift . We usually only have fast minute and a half flights but on this day everyone was soaring and el jefe flew for about an hour. Justin went OTB with an adventure of his own, farmer was wangin it up and top landing repeatedly, timmyb was going up on the speedwing, and i was just laughing the whole time.. this was all between 8 and 9 am! fun stuff! an exciting morning led to partying with Bob Hart at the Paradise Store...ya gotta go hear Bob Hart play! good times! those Airwave Rodeo 15m mini paragliders are a ton o fun! heres a little vid!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoZkrE3ocM8

go get your feet off the ground!

[BobA]

'yeah baby'

[brendanpegg]

Great vid Aaron. Wow! The folks at MTV could learn something about REAL music video production from that one. Thanks for all the enthusiasm. Makes me want to go flying!

[Lew Riffle]

Great stuff buddies...proud to know you...Capitan Nasty knew it was there all the time! LEW

[Simon]

I dig the video. If someone wanted to buy me one of those wings, I would be happy to put it to good use.

Are any other companies making mini paragliders (or whatever they are called) like this? I do not think I am ready for a speed wing yet.

[Aaron]

Hi Simon, the only thing free i can offer you is a little information.

I have got to fly a handful of speedwings and mini paragliders now and they are all easy to fly in the right conditions. Just dont pull a brake to your hip on your first flight and all will be fun and safe. Keep in mind that people fly them all differently too. I have seen people just enjoy skimming the ground at trim, some like to repeatedly dive them at the ground, and some like to fly straight out and barrel roll/wang em to the ground. So just take it slow and all can be safe just as paragliding.

Which toy to get: speedwing or mini pg

choices, choices, choices. all are fun and all have different purposes but generally are both tools for descent:

Speedwings such the Ozone Bullet/Xt16, Niviuk Skate, Gin Fluid come in sizes varying from 7m to 16m depending on your level of excitement. Most footlaunchable gliders are between 12m and 16m. Speedwings are ground hungry machines that want to keep going down even after you bank them steep and build a ton of energy. You need a steep slope, long takeoff, and lz under you as you arent gonna make it further then the bottom of the hill on these. If you want to ridge soar these guys then you need a 25+ straight wind to barely stay aloft. The Gin Bobcat is a gentler speedwing and can ridge soar a bit easier then the others.


Mini PGs such as the Airwave Rodeo 15m and Ozone Ultralight 16m, Niviuk is coming out with one too, claim glide ratios up to 8:1. Amazing for these little guys. These are very easy to fly like a paraglider and a ton of fun when you start mashing a brake as they retain a ton of energy and dont dump you back at the ground like a speedwing. They are great hike and fly gliders to explore new places of decsent and i have seen people thermal with them many times. Don't expect to be ground skimming with these unless you have a shallow hill. You can ridge soar these in 15+ winds and are a ton o fun.


Around here the speedwings are a bit limiting(Sage, the Avenue, the Grade) however the mini PG may offer more possibilities for hike n fly exploration and ridge soaring. The Whites, Inyos, Sierras offer endless possibilities of sweet descents for speedwings and minipg in the right conditions.

The Avenue is a great place to learn to fly speedwings as we can get many laps there(gary coined it 'da getto speedflyin school') call me up and we can go do some descending there.

like anything else, take your time with the learning curve and get advice, demos, etc, from your instructor

anyone else please chime in, if i have given any misleading info.

aaron

[Chris G]

There's a new one, the Gin Yak that is 18sq/m and can be had in ultralight fabric. Super soarable,wangable, and not quite as heart-pounding as somehing 15sq/m or smaller...Unless you like a little heart pounding action...;)

[Simon]

I like the idea of the mini PG. Aaron, what harness do you use with your speed wings and mini PGs? Generally, with the harness I am using now, I fly in a reclined position. I know the guys who fly Acro and Speed Wings seem to be sitting up straight every time I see them fly. I do not have enough free time at the moment to get into this aspect of PGing. Maybe SA will have a used Airwave Rodeo, sometime in the future, that I can try out.

[Aaron]

Most speedwings that i know of come packaged with a minimal harness, often reverseable, with no padding no reserve to keep it light weight for hiking since you are usually always skimming the ground with those. You are correct in that those harnesses are usually more upright as it is nice to have your landing gear ready to go if you need it. However I dont think it matters as much with the Rodeo or Ultralight as they have more paraglider characteristics. I have seen the rodeo flown and thermaled with a full pod harness and with a minimal harness. I think a reserve like a light weight lap mounted one is a good idea on the mini pgs as you are usually much higher off the ground and soaring is always a possibility. If you are not hiking with it, then your regular pg harness is perfect. I guess it is all up to the pilot to balance their hike n fly load with their perceived safety factor. Always error on the side of safety to keep you flying career long. I think SA does have a demo rodeo floating around if you wanna get a flight on it. Enjoy!

[Chris G]

I know Gin requires the use of harnesses without seatboards for speed gliders. Split leg harnesses dampen the weight shift and because of the high roll and dive rates of these small gliders you can get into VERY steep spirals very quikly with too much weight shift.

[tom mayer]

Gosh, PG pilots get to have all the fun...mini pgs, speedwings, what's a hg pilot going to do to keep up? I know!
Now I have a use for my old Sensor!!! Let's see...get out the scissors, a little duct tape, pruning shears (won't need the ribs that long anymore!) Voila! mini hg, 65 squares of hell fire fun. Move over at Sage Hill, hg bombing through!!!

[Ron M]

Aaron,

What a great video! That has to be one of the best paragliding videos I've ever seen. It so captures some special and magical moments. I love the local talent as the soundtrack. Great job.

I'd like to hike to the top of Sage Hill sometime. Is it easy to find?

R

[Aaron]

Thanks Ron!

It is easy to find. Take Paradise Road and hang a left at Sage Hill Campground(if you get to the kiosk you went too far). Right now you have to take off your shoes and walk across the river on the road. The launches pictured require the early morning east flow or pre-frontal(NE/E/SE/S). The W launch is probably good all day in the PG, but the LZ is too far away for the speedwings. You can access the wind talkers back there with the iwindsurf.com app. Call Justin or I if you want some company, its always a good time back there. Enjoy!

The coordinates at the bottom of the pic are the LZ coordinates. The Line is roughly the way up. Just a bunch of deer trails.

[gary begley]

Nice Aaron...wow a lot of little wings in SB. yes the Sierra and white mountains are endless : )

[Ron M]

Thanks for the map Aaron. That was very cool of you to provide that....

R