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By tokyoDirk
#15434
I finished my first 3 lessons this week - what fun!! :D

I flew a falcon 170 the first day down on the bunny hill in hollister, then I flew the condor the next two days at ed levin...

the condor sure flys easy with no wind, but damn what a beast!

I can't wait to get my hang-1 and actually fly for more than 15 seconds! :)
By T.B.
#15435
Congrats... :thumbsup: .......Looking foreward to see you advance :popcorn:
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By knumbknuts
#15436
It only gets better! Gratz!
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By Lobido
#15440
Welcome to the air, hang glider! :thumbsup:
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By CHassan
#15448
:mosh: Higher and longer my friend.
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By DocSoc
#15469
Yaaaahoooooooo!!!!

:punch: :punch: :punch: :punch: :punch:

Next you'll get more and more addicted!!! What a RUSH!!!
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By gerg
#15499
Wingspan34 wrote:Keep up the good work Mooncricket!
Who knows, during your 4th lesson, you might take off and soar for an hour. Yea, . . . and if pigs could fly . . . ? . . . Oopps! :mrgreen:
(sorry for the pseudo-pun :roll: )
That's always a possibility... :) I didn't expect the 90 minutes I got on my 7th day.

And... was I the only one that started thinking about Spider Pig?
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By tokyoDirk
#15500
90 minutes? for real?

i won't be getting 90 minutes - when you get your hang-1 they let you take off from the 300 foot level - that would be quite a sink rate :)

how in the hell did you get 90 minutes on your 7th day?
do you have your hang2 already?
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By gerg
#15503
mooncricket wrote:90 minutes? for real?

i won't be getting 90 minutes - when you get your hang-1 they let you take off from the 300 foot level - that would be quite a sink rate :)

how in the hell did you get 90 minutes on your 7th day?
do you have your hang2 already?
I got my Hang1 and first altitude solo on my 4th day (1200'), and my Hang2 on my 5th day. 6th day I got my new Falcon3, and 7th day (and 7th altitude flight) the ridge soaring conditions were perfect at Black Mt, and really got to feel out my new glider. For the full story/pics check this out:

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=2738

I probably progressed a bit faster than most. My instructor said I had "natural ability", and the scooter tows, great weather, and great sites (Blanchard and it's HUGE LZ, and Black w/it's great launch (~4400ft, LZ ~900ft), and an instructor that's been great... It's all added up pretty quick.

I haven't taken my 8th yet... so I'm still dreaming of that 90+ minute flight :drool:

Don't be in any rush though... Trust in your instructor and learn little by little, and don't stretch your comfort zone too much. Soon you'll be soaring w/the birds!
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By tokyoDirk
#15513
gerg wrote: Don't be in any rush though... Trust in your instructor and learn little by little, and don't stretch your comfort zone too much. Soon you'll be soaring w/the birds!
wow! thats so much faster than I'm advancing!

its not an issue with comfort, my instructor seems in no hurry to test me for my hang 1.

I only seem to get about 6 or 7 flights down the bunny hill per lesson.
It involves a lot of waiting and being mixed with people of all different skill levels. :(
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By gerg
#15516
mooncricket wrote:
gerg wrote: Don't be in any rush though... Trust in your instructor and learn little by little, and don't stretch your comfort zone too much. Soon you'll be soaring w/the birds!
wow! thats so much faster than I'm advancing!

its not an issue with comfort, my instructor seems in no hurry to test me for my hang 1.

I only seem to get about 6 or 7 flights down the bunny hill per lesson.
It involves a lot of waiting and being mixed with people of all different skill levels. :(
Ahh, that's probably the difference. I was training either by myself, or with one other student max, so I got a lot of personal attention/instruction. I'd get a good 11-13 scooter tows per day, each one taylored to my skill level on that flight, so by the time I did my first altitude launch at the end of day 4, I had 30-40 scooter tows + 1 tandem flight. I consider myself really lucky :)

Definately stick to it though! You'll be soaring in no time...
By slavacus
#15517
Congrats.

Stick to it :punch:
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By FormerFF
#15528
I'm on my fourth day, and still on the bunny hill. And I don't mind still being there at all. Today I was supposed to be working on landing on my feet rather than the wheels, when the instructor told me I was holding onto the downtubes too tightly, so that's mostly what we worked on. (I have a hard time working on more than one skill per flight, they're just too short). On my next to the last flight, as I was preparing to launch, I realized that this was the first time I was not nervous about launching. That in itself was worth the day.

When I first was thinking about taking up this sport, PutMeInTheSky told me, "Learn to enjoy your time at the hills. It is invaluable experience." That's exactly what I'm doing. I was on the hill with a lady who had 70 or 80 flights from the small hill, and was still plugging away.

Even if we are on the small hill, we're FLYING. That in itself is pretty incredible. Think about all the people throughout history and what they'd have given to do what you and I are doing. So, we're not picking this up as quickly as some. In your case, it sounds like you'd like to get more flights in per day. In my case, I'm not very athletic and not particularly young, and so the running down the hills limits me to 8 or 10 flights per day. I'm loving every minute of it.
By slavacus
#15540
Hey FormerFF, glad you finally got to the hills. And you're right, as long as you're flying.... you're flying, and that what matters :-) You should only move on to the next challenge (like big hill), when you are comfortable launching, landing and controlling your airspeed.

Have fun and Good luck :-)
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By tokyoDirk
#15577
icarus pig... :lol:

I'm learning at mission soaring.

The first day was just two people - which was awesome.
The other days were with 4 or 5 people.

I think they do have scooter towing at the site in hollister, but I'm not sure thats part of their hang-1 training program.

its 100% bunny hill for me. :)
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By FormerFF
#16150
After my legs gave out yesterday, I spent a little time watching the guys flying off of the big hill. One guy came down, and started what I assume was to be two 90 degree reversing turns. What he wound up doing was more like one 180 degree turn back into the hillside. Then he came down to the shipping containers looking for downtubes. :roll:

There's much to be said for not rushing and mastering the basics before moving on.
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By gerg
#16158
HAH! Spider Pig Lives!

And, back on track.. Just an FYI, I just had another flight at Black Mt., and this time it was only 30 minutes, not 90... So it must've REALLY been blowing my first day on Black.