SAFA Skysailor Magazine

SKY SAILOR 15 January | February 2020 times, we made a pact to take it easy and really focus on being safe due to our various impairments. ‘Take offs are optional, but landings are mandatory’ became the catch-cry to our tour. Three days later, we rolled into Trawalla and caught up with Rohan. As luck would have it, conditions were looking good for a coastal fly the next day, and Rohan invited us to join him and his students, Ian and Chris. It was a great way to blow the cobwebs off our gliders and my rusty flight skills. We were treated to perfect conditions and spectacular scenery at Flaxmans Hill. I learnt a couple of lessons. My first launch was pretty weak. I was lazy and loose with changing my grip, breaking the fundamental rule of NEVER giving up control of the A-frame whilst hooked in. Rohan and Pete both saw it and chastised me soundly. The other thing I learnt that day was about taking off, but it started tuning me into the art of landing. I had been clumsily trying to run off the hill with the basebar pulled in hard, struggling, at war with my glider – all tense and rough, fighting my way into the sky. Rohan explained to me that there was no need to charge down the hill with the basebar reefed in because standing in the lift zone with the wind blowing steadily, the glider was already flying and I just had to relax and hold it steady until I was ready to let it fly. That made a lot of sense. On my next launch I held the base bar a bit more loosely and focused on the nose angle, tuning in and letting the glider show me the point at which it wanted to fly. I relaxed my knees, leant gently forward while easing out and it was a bit of a revelation. The transfer of energy was so smooth it was difficult to pick the instant between standing on the ground and becoming airborne as the glider gently plucked me off the hill and up into the sky. Wow, that was fantastic! Who would have thought it? There were lots of good things I learnt on the road trip, but the best time of all was an afternoon going back to basics with Rohan on the training hill. Prior to the trip, I had sent Rohan some footage of my landings and he had generously replied with some advice and tips on things to check. Importantly, technical specifications such as hang loop distance to basebar, airframe set-up, harness set-up and glider trim were at the top of the list. He could see some mushy moments prior to flare, indicating inadequate approach speed as well as a tight grip, possibly leading to accidental weight transfer. Rohan suggested that my flare action should be more upwards and I could practise this with a broomstick A-frame to get the feeling how this asserts more weight into the leg loops. I checked, practised and prepared. In the Dynamic Flight shed, Rohan strung Pete and I up in our harnesses and carefully checked for a smooth transition from prone to hang position, explaining the importance of being able to achieve a vertical position. He adjusted the ropes to the boot of my harness to improve the slider action and tightened my leg loops a little. Then it was out to the hill, starting with some refresher tips on glider handling and setting up efficiently. The next hour or two was spent re-visiting the magic. It sounds strange, but that is the best way I have to describe that moment when you take flight, and the transition between being grounded and airborne. Rohan patiently ran down the hill beside me again and again as I passed repeatedly through that transition. Gaining the energy to take flight and then giving up that energy to land. All the time helping to focus on the feel of the wing, how to listen to the airflow across my ears, feel it across my face, where to look and how to be relaxed with a light touch. He showed me how to be loose and flexible, to move my hips, bend my knees, moon- walk and dance lightly down the hill on my toes maintaining tension on the hang strap. That is when a little light bulb switched on for me. I hadn’t really grasped the breadth of that continuum before and how taking flight doesn’t simply happen in an instant. That there is a build up to taking and giving up flight which is not simply done when your feet depart the earth or arrive back again on the ground. That you can be flying while your feet are still touching the ground or you can be no longer flying whilst still up in the air. And the biggest revelation for me was understanding the importance of maintaining a connection to your glider with a light touch so you can feel what it is telling you and allow the progression to be smooth, natural, relaxed and gradual. There were a few more rules: 1. ALWAYS flare with open palms; 2. Control the pitch – control the glider; 3. Take the positives out of each flight; 4. Relax and have fun. I would have gladly stayed for more, but our holiday clock was ticking and friends up in the Vic- torian High Country had alerted Pete to a nice little window of hang gliding weather on its way. The next five days were spent being introduced to the joys of mountain flying at Mystic, Mt Emu and Mt Buffalo. As an intermediate pilot with no mountain flying experience, I was blessed to be in the company of Pat, Ollie, Dan and Pete. Four advanced pilots, three senior safety officers, two Rohan checking Pete’s harness set-up Back to Basics The Burrs, my landing revelation: Keep a light touch and ALWAYS flare with open palms