Last Sunday a handful of us headed down to EL for what conceivably should have been an excellent soaring day. And it was...just not for us. :-( Winds were S, SE 9-18, averaging 10-12 for our first flight, which, given the conditions, we were lucky to get at all. We started to set up...then were told to put our bags back on....then we watched conditions for awhile (looked good) and were told to set up....then conditions changed...and we were told to pack up....THEN...we were told to set up. I hustled to set up as quickly as possible to get off the hill before a) my instructor decided it was too strong (15 and above), b) before the wind direction changed, and c) before I changed my mind after the tennis volley that had just occurred.
Suffice it to say that the sport of hang gliding involves a 'hurry up and wait' and a 'hurry up and hurry up' mentality which at times is just fine, but other times is incredibly frustrating. Bottom line is take the time you need to get your glider set up and pre-flighted, and more importantly take the time to get 'yourself' set up.
My launch was fairly straightforward. I should have run harder and pulled in more as my nose popped slightly after reviewing the video. Flight itself was uneventful, headed to the 600' and over to the dead tree to do a figure 8 approach and landed heading into the S12mph winds. Would have liked a better landing - my jeans ended up with some souvenir mud.
Oh...and I got my 1750' sign off. :)
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