Nerd Expo

Hang gliding could be one of the best sports around if it wasn't for all those damn rules and regulations. My instructors was a Maverick who choose to lived on the fringed of society. He has a college degree and was working a decent job once, but then decided that he didn't like the office and left a well paid career behind. He had a couple of nice plots of land that should be worth a pretty penny today. But to make ends meet, he used to chop firewood and rented out a decent house while he lived in a trailer out back. He didn't bother with health insurance. When his arm broke, he set it himself. When he had allergy attack, she stuck max up nose instead of taking medication. A minimalist a full decade before the fad caught on.

His first experience with hang gliding was from a friend who flew over him and called his name from the sky. He looked all around and couldn't see the guy until he looked up. He got hooked ever since. He used to train hawks or falcons. One of his birds would fly with him until it got kill by an eagle.

He didn't care too much for BS regulations, but he had enough common sense to keep us safe. He took me and a buddy to a couple of sites where we could fly high, before we were qualified to do so at the local sites. It's amazing how cold it gets at 10K' feet. My buddy quit after a little mishap and I soon followed. One problem with hang gliding is, some sites are so remote, it can take up to 2+ hours to get to a hospital. This was also in the day back when neither of us had a cell phone or GPS.

One of our best moments was the 2 of us driving up a 20 degree dirt road that's usually reserved for 4 wheel drives at slow speeds. He had an old Chevy Citation. He floor that baby at the bottom and bounced up the hill like a monster truck in a car crushing contest. It overheated at the top but the car ride was infinitely wilder than the flight down.

My scariest moment was a short flight when I got tangled in my harness. I couldn't zip up and the landing site was 5 miles away. I dragged too much and I was just staring at the tree line for 10 minutes. I eventually found a small patch of open space just beyond a line of tress I cleared by no more than 20'. The patch was small and it had a large row of bushes in the middle. After clearing the 100' tress, I pulled in for as much speed as possible cause I knew there's going to be a nice wind shadow waiting for me. As I'm cruising near the ground at 25-30 mph with zero head wind, I had to pop up over the bushes in the middle of the patch. That almost stall me, but I pull in and just managed enough speed to go another 10', pop out my one untangled leg, flared and landed perfectly on that one leg. I generally like to flare and run a bit instead of stopping on a dime. It's less elegant, but I think you're less likely to get pushed around by gust in a winding landing zone.

Once, I was down in the LZ watching a guy name Steve come down. He was just starting out and I was down there with his wife, who was holding their baby. Steve really love to fly and his wife was the most understanding woman I know. Not only did she just gave birth, but they live in an apartment, and Steve's hang gliding sits on their living room floor. At close to 20', I imagine it's quite intrusive. On this particular flight, Steve was on a hill side 300' above the LZ. He ran down the hill side and got air born quickly. But suddenly, he banked right and disappeared behind the hill side. She was a paled lady, but never as pale as she was at the one moment in time. All that I could think to say was, "I'm sure Steve's all right." And he was, but we didn't find out for the 10 longest minutes of her life.

I discovered quickly that I get air sickness. I tired it all kinds of remedies: ginger pills, pressure points, dry patch behind the ear, and oval medication, but nothing seem to help. My eventual solution was to bring my camel pack. That way, I can drink some water after I throw up, which is almost always 15 minutes into a bumpy flight, and after which, I feel completely fine.

I still got my CG2000 harness, a DOT motocross helmet, and maybe my friend's altimeter. The CG2000 was a kick ass harness with a single strap connected to the glider, unlike most harness with a web like connection that makes one look like a marionette. I still kept little wheels on the base tube. That helps to save a down tube on a bad landing despite making one look amateurish. I'll see if I can set it up in the garage and spin the kids around.