For 18 years now I’ve watched hang gliding videos. Originally, they were DVDs (I think an AHS or two as well). I only blog the very best.
You won’t even believe the amazing Austrian scenery as he’s doing his aerobatics.
I don’t do that stuff. I can launch on a yawn from the same place and have fun with a few high speeds, moderate wing overs and a half wang or two. I may try a loop one day, but it will be on a modern, hi-performance glider. Used to have the best one in the world. The tradeoff made it such that I sold it for a hi performing intermediate wing.
I love it. I want to live well into my 80s and still fly. I know a number of guys still flying in their 70s.
Afterthought: I love how so many hang gliding videos that actually stay up for continued watching use porn background music.
Update, via email:
hey! I e-mailed you months ago to ask about gliding. I wanted to report back that I’ve gone! I went to Whitewater Wisconsin and flew out of Twin Oaks airport. I took a hill class and a tandem flight and it was WONDERFUL. I loved it immediately :D
Your post today reminded me that I wanted to thank you. Folks at work ask me how I got interested in hang gliding, and I tell them about the paleo blogger who also talked about hang gliding and how I got interested.
Don’t do it unless you really have the passion to feel like a bird. But, if you do, you do not have any excuse in the world.
VHS? just wonderin’, I kinda vaguely remember those too…. and still it was the kids that programmed the machine :)
That was beautiful. The scenery, let alone that huge waterfall. When he touches the tip of his foot in the lake at the end, I was sure he’d go in. Brought home the amount of control and how fast he must be going.
What was producing the trails, gas canisters? Nice touch, you really get a sense of the loop deloops he’s doing.
Those are some sort or slow burn solid fuel canisters, kinda like a flare. The water thing is two things going on. One is lots of speed for energy retention (converting speed to altitude or in this case, maintaining a certain altitude) and also what’s called ground effect. You’ll notice this when you land in a commercial airliner, just as you are a few feet over the runway and power is at idle, it settles out and glides over the runway for a few seconds before descending that last few feet.