MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
Haha, no shit! I remember that shot!
Hang Gliding!
- Thread starter treetx
- Start date
- Replies 270
- Views 35K
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
If the accent is on significantly, it doesn't appear to be. The number of fatalities seems quite low, reading about it. 1 per 1000? On second thought, is that low?
treetx
Traveler extraordinaire
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #203
As far as dangerous, I guess that is all relative.
Just like tree climbing, it is relative to decision making, each participant's mileage will vary.
For most Americans, yes, it is dangerous. But nowadays, go to a party and just saying you flew in a 4 seater cessna is enough to generate gasps. Someone will ask "with a propeller?" and when you say "yes," they look at you as if you just blurted out that you are a woman trapped in a man's body. Say "hang gliding" and people's faces start to crinkle.
There used to be a time in America when aviation was an acceptable activity. Not anymore.
There are lots of guys flying HG's that have been flying them for 30+ yrs. Fatalities now are around 1-2 per year. Compare that to 1978 when 59 people died in the US flying hang gliders. Equipment is safer but it also helps there are training programs and established sites now.
Just like tree climbing, it is relative to decision making, each participant's mileage will vary.
For most Americans, yes, it is dangerous. But nowadays, go to a party and just saying you flew in a 4 seater cessna is enough to generate gasps. Someone will ask "with a propeller?" and when you say "yes," they look at you as if you just blurted out that you are a woman trapped in a man's body. Say "hang gliding" and people's faces start to crinkle.
There used to be a time in America when aviation was an acceptable activity. Not anymore.
There are lots of guys flying HG's that have been flying them for 30+ yrs. Fatalities now are around 1-2 per year. Compare that to 1978 when 59 people died in the US flying hang gliders. Equipment is safer but it also helps there are training programs and established sites now.
Cobleskill
Treehouser
I find it interesting to look around on take off at all the people who have a white knuckle grip on their arm rests. Lots of really tense people.
SouthSoundTree
Treehouser
Sounds safer than serious kayaking or mountain biking.
treetx
Traveler extraordinaire
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #207
It is truly the adventure of living a dream. Jumping from cloud to cloud, watching the world go by. It is larger than life.
I've been doing it since 2007. I will likely quit. Mainly the appetite gets bigger and bigger until a day of getting to 8000ft and ONLY flying 10 miles seems like a bummer. I start getting so goal oriented about the technical details that it starts killing the beauty and zen of the activity. That is what happened to me with tree climbing.
BUT you have to be that way to really exceed. It is like NASCAR, you don't make advancements by hammering it down a straight away, it is more about shaving a fraction of a second off every lap.
Leaving tomorrow to compete in the National Competition. Wish me luck!!
I've been doing it since 2007. I will likely quit. Mainly the appetite gets bigger and bigger until a day of getting to 8000ft and ONLY flying 10 miles seems like a bummer. I start getting so goal oriented about the technical details that it starts killing the beauty and zen of the activity. That is what happened to me with tree climbing.
BUT you have to be that way to really exceed. It is like NASCAR, you don't make advancements by hammering it down a straight away, it is more about shaving a fraction of a second off every lap.
Leaving tomorrow to compete in the National Competition. Wish me luck!!
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
Good luck!!!
SouthSoundTree
Treehouser
Best of luck!!
Old Monkey
Treehouser
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2005
- Messages
- 8,764
Hi Nick. Looks like you're doing good. How is the family coming along?
treetx
Traveler extraordinaire
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #212
Nate 
They are great. My girl is already 5.5 yrs old! Starting kindergarten in a few weeks.
My boy is already 3.5 yrs old. He is in a full leg walking cast from being, well, a boy.
I can honestly say that compared to traveling the world climbing trees or flying hundreds of miles jumping cloud to cloud, parenthood is the biggest adventure.
Life the last few years has been peaks and valleys. Low/no employment for large parts of 2013. I am finally starting to hit a stride again.
They are great. My girl is already 5.5 yrs old! Starting kindergarten in a few weeks.
My boy is already 3.5 yrs old. He is in a full leg walking cast from being, well, a boy.
I can honestly say that compared to traveling the world climbing trees or flying hundreds of miles jumping cloud to cloud, parenthood is the biggest adventure.
Life the last few years has been peaks and valleys. Low/no employment for large parts of 2013. I am finally starting to hit a stride again.
Old Monkey
Treehouser
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2005
- Messages
- 8,764
Ah crap, Nate. I knew that, honestly I did. I get the highs and lows thing, life is a roller coaster. Haley will be eleven in November and when she was last measured she was 5'8". She wants to jump on me and wrestle all the time but has a dangerous lack of control over her adult sized body and usually hurts me. Parenthood is definitely awesome. If I remember correctly you were in medical machinery before. What are you doing now? My business was, before yesterday, moving along at full speed. My dump truck has broken down in a more serious fashion and I'm out looking at all the crappy dump trucks in town, trying to get something going on.
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
Nice! Why do the helmets stick out so far at the bottom?
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
Derp?
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
So, there's no reason the helmets stick out so far at the bottom? Is it an optical illusion?
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
Juarez doesn't look like a very nice place to live, unless maybe you were into dune buggies.
CurSedVoyce
California Hillbilly
To Protect Your Pretty Face in the event of a crash.
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
Unusual design.
treetx
Traveler extraordinaire
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #222
Dune buggies, drug dealing, and kidnapping are probably great hobbies there. Tree work, not so much.
Nothing too unusual about full face helmets.
The chin guard is no longer than on a motocross helmet. It is more open above the eyes than a motocross helmet and that may be what is giving you optical delusions.
http://finsterwalder-charly.de/en/helmets.html
<object width="640" height="360"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/Rodad7JYBoM?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/Rodad7JYBoM?hl=en_US&version=3&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="640" height="360" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
That is the coolest thing!
