Money can't buy happiness but....

[redneckj]

Money can't buy happiness but it can sure buy a jet pack.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Yeah...I'd trade my FJR in for one of those!

 

[infrared]

A newer FJR might buy two or three of those little turbines, but you'd need another FJR, to pay for the rest of the purchase. You land those wings with a skydiver's parachute, so it's really a fancy skydiver's wing. You don't get a lot of engine time on those units, before overhaul is required. The last time I looked, an overhaul cost about 75% of the price of a new engine. Bring a boatload of cash.

I don't fly at warp speeds, but I do fly, at eagle speeds. I fly hang gliders, and I have flown "in formation" with eagles and hawks, dozens of times. It's always an amazing experience. Started my flying about 1975, and I have thousands of hours of airtime, now. I once figured out the costs, buying and selling my wings through the decades, and it came out to less than US$.50 per day. That's some cheap airtime, and lots of it. Looks about like this:

https://user.xmission.com/~red/history/history.htm

This is a California HG pilot, not me, but a four hour HG flight (shown in only six minutes) looks like this:

FLIGHT TRACKLOG

This really is the flying of your dreams. Riding is the flying that I do on the ground.

Cheers,

Infrared

 

[allrider]

If you could do a vertical takeoff and landing it would be perfect.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Money can't buy happiness, but beemerdons says that it can buy him a new bike once in awhile...and trips to Europe.

 

[SeattleTy]

SPECTACULAR video J......thank you for sharing

 

[LKLD]

Infrared, that flight log was cool!

 

[Pterodactyl]

Yes, it is true that money cannot buy happiness, but there is a lot of happiness for rent. Mike Jagger

 

[infrared]

Infrared, that flight log was cool!

LKLD,

You can find lots of these track logs on YouTube.

The orange and red trails show when the glider is climbing in lift. The blue and green trails are showing gliding or descending flight. A small white dot moves on the ground, right under the glider, so you can see how high (above dirt) the pilot is flying the glider. Colored blocks of air in the distance are controlled air spaces, so "Do Not Enter." This flight is about two hours, shown in three minutes. The actual flight is much less frantic-looking.

FUN FLIGHT

Circling in lift for us is like making a fuel stop, except that you never know how much "fuel" you will get. Here in Utah, I have had to leave good lift due to a lack of oxygen, or if I had my oxygen with me, because of the altitude limits imposed by "controlled air space" (18,000' or ~5,5 km MSL).

 

[LKLD]

Man, that looks like a lot of fun! How do you know where the thermals are, do you use a temperature gauge?

 

[infrared]

Man, that looks like a lot of fun! How do you know where the thermals are, do you use a temperature gauge?

LKLD,

You look for clues on the ground, such as plowed fields, rocky outcrops, and dust devils. In the air, you may see a rising column of dry leaves, or seeds such as cottonwood or maple. A circling hawk is the best indicator, of course. Temperature works, in a certain way, but few pilots have the right gadget to do much good that way. What most pilots use is a variometer, a really sensitive rate-of-climb instrument that has audio with the gauge. If you hear it beeping, start circling.This is where skills count: you want to turn in the lift, and circle to stay inside that invisible column of rising air, It's tricky at first, but soon you will develop hawk skills. A thermal rises, but the core goes up the fastest. The variometer will tell you (by the pitch of the sound) when you are circling the core.

Cheers,

Infrared

 

[Steve in Phx]

infrared, that's amazing. I've always wanted to glide but never had the chance. How would one get into the sport?

 

[infrared]

infrared, that's amazing. I've always wanted to glide but never had the chance. How would one get into the sport?

Steve,

There is a national hang gliding club, and local chapters in many areas. I wrote and maintain a HG FAQ page, and you will find a lot of information there (very few pictures). In the middle of the topic called "Making the Most of Lessons" there, you will find active links to USA maps of the HG clubs and HG instructors. Hang out with those HG guys, and you'll learn a lot.

MY PAGE

ROWDY HG CREW, AT LARGE (<-pictures, opinions, and the usual HG forum insanities. Free to join. Check out the videos.)

Cheers,

Infrared