Hang Gliding Climbout

[MrArian52]

what is your hang glider and were is this area?any way good clime

[coopmuch56]

Whats is safer hang gliding, paragliding or powered paragliding ?

[speedygonzales1000cc]

amazing everything in this video is beyond words how could someone click dislike ... btw perfect audio file

[reeftraverse]

This dude looks like a worm trying to hatch.

[archangel1092]

Can hang gliders go into a death spin?

[ussyless]

so you have to fly at a certified location? you cant go to a hill by the beach and launch?

[ElliottJohnPugh]

Do you have to have a licence to fly and is there only certain areas you can fly?

[jimsteele33]

@ElliottJohnPugh - Almost all hang gliding sites are regulated, and a "rating" from the United States Hanggliding and Paragliding Association (USHPA) is required to fly at most of them. It's not a license to fly, because hang glider flight does not require a license. You can think of USHPA ratings as proof of necessary skills to safely fly at established hang gliding sites.

[armandin2048]

@ElliottJohnPugh Get a license fro ma school, it would mean that you have absolute minumum skill to fly a "soft" glider in smooth conditions safely so you can continue to learn from other pilots until you get to an acceptable sjill level to make your own decisions etc..

Without it, it will almost certainly end in pain (or worse if you are unlucky).

Good Luck,

[jimsteele33]

Should have done this a long time ago, but I'll do it now. Wanted to name the other pilot in this vid. The guy on the flex wing that I'm thermalling with here is Warren Flatte, one of the best pilots I've ever known.

[HanggliderRosey]

Hi Jim, very nicely done and I watch it about this time of year getting me motivated for flying in the mts after a long winter. thanks Glenn

[jimsteele33]

Glad it can help. It's getting close to our flying season here as well, let's hope it's a good one!

[BgDmSWEDE]

Absolutely beautiful Jim. Haven't flown since the early 80s (Wills Wing, Raven) and sooo miss it. I also flew an American Aerolights Eagle (ultralight) the motor sure made it easy but there wasn't the rush like the first steps of launch. You really skied out man! I flew Denver Lookout Mountain CO mostly and other areas nearby. Shoot most of my launches were higher than your base :-) Stay safe. Do they still call onlookers WuFos? (i.e. wu fo you jump off that hill?) and UpTrucks?

[jimsteele33]

@BgDmSWEDE Yes, onlookers are still called wuffos. And it's true, a typical cloudbase here is actually lower than many sites in the big mountain. I spent about 12 years in New Mexico, and flew Sandia a lot. Launch there is over 10,000 MSL. It takes a VERY good day here to have a base that high. It has happened, but it's rare.

[carrpell]

Awsome video.  its hard enough to stay in a thermal without having to worry about getting your "buddy" on tape. Nice ending. I was getting "cold" just watching it.

[jimsteele33]

Thanks!

[BackSpaceTheGreat]

That looks like so much fun :) Can you glide in the winter aswell, or do you need the heat to beable to stay up?

[jimsteele33]

You can fly hang gliders in winter, and many winter days are soarable. The best, most consistent conditions are usually in summer, when it's hot and dry. And yes, it is a lot of fun:)

[BackSpaceTheGreat]

So I see alot of people with 10-15 minute flight videos. Are they choosing to cut it short, or were they just unable to keep it gliding? I heard a video say that someone's spent 24 hours flying... I just looked at a site out of Toronto that does lessons. A definate try for the spring :) Great video

[jimsteele33]

They are probably cutting the video short. If it's a soarable day, flights easily last for hours. It's not unusual for pilots to fly all afternoon. The flight that I took this video in lasted 2 to 3 hours, and three of us landed about 25 miles from where we launched.

[joeslifeyork]

Unless if its the UK - then the consistant days are Winter. In summer, it's very unpredictable. The thermals have very rough edges on them. SUmmer is still best to soar - but it depends what lift you're after. Thermaling Vs. Ridge etc etc.

Love the video fella, takes me back 10 years to JSHPC!

[JuanAldabalde]

Beautiful video. Great combination of harmony and perfection. Still flying that Atos? Regards from Uruguay.

[jimsteele33]

Thanks. Yes, still flying the Atos. It's an awesome glider.

[pdutube]

Amazing - I thought my heart would burst!

[metls]

the best hanggliding video ever - that IS HANGGLIDING how it is!!! thanks for this arousement!

[FCbisleybob]

do you recomend ridgids

[MyGenin]

belle vidéo cela montre qu un souple monte aussi bien qu un vr

[GGGframpton]

quite possibly one of the coolest videos i've ever seen on youtube!!! I just recently got into hang gliding...and even though I'm not religous, every time I'm aloft, ya feel as if you r one little bit closer to god, great video!!!

[treborly]

Whats the average surface area of those gliders?

[tkdoliver]

i love this video dude, the music and speciall the view are just spectacular.

[laminarwing]

nice climb !

I Fly in French mountains :)

[deminas2]

adorei o video...... combinou tudo.... obrigado por te-lo feito, manda mais !!!

[LukiBuki69]

Very good music and great flight.

[bloke264]

What site is this? (and State - I'm in NZ)

[jimsteele33]

This was filmed at Mt. Nebo in Arkansas. It's a State Park, and is a1200' AGL site with south, east, and north east launches.

[bloke264]

Nice - whats height asl? What's a good cloudbase in summer? In NZ N Island 7500 base is exeptional, but the norm in S Island. 10 grand on a very good day in the mtns in the S (not right now, first decent snow of the winter is this weekend...).

[jimsteele33]

Nebo launches are approx 1800ft.ASL. I think base in this vid was about 6000. Typical base is usually 5 or 6 thousand, but when it gets good, it can go up to 9 or even higher. But thats rare, it takes very dry hot conditions to get to that point.

[Ayerstairs]

Beautiful!

[acrazedmaniac]

is this the jim s. i used to know from the n w?

this is chris..finally got a real vid here....

will remember me when you see how i fly.

and all the 'cont roll versee

been a long time.

[jimsteele33]

Sorry Chris, don't think it was me. There is another Jim Steele that used to, or may still be flying hang gliders. I believe he was from Oregon or somewhere up that way.

[martinsylvia]

This is great! And the right music too.

[crashagain0]

The Best HG video in my opinion!

Bach translates the enjoyment in the air as I feel when flying.

Thank You for this awesome video!

Ricardo

[ferxs50]

Great climb. Congrats!

Fdo Diaz Givaduan

[jimsteele33]

Thank you all for the nice comments.

"How could you zoom the other glider wlile flying. You had remote control for camera. And monitor also??"

No, the camera didn't move. I zoomed and panned the view with editing software.

[anterokan]

Beautiful video!!! How could you zoom the other glider wlile flying. You had remote control for camera. And monitor also??

[clementfrnc]

Wonderful and nice video Jim for the handgliding

François

[nettomb]

Great video. I love to see other pilots flying, too. I think it's nicer from an outside point of view. Well, and a part of the merits go to Bach. It's always a very good choice.

[TakeNo5]

Awesome!!

[stratosfrancois]

atos trop ++ pilote trop --

[NMERider]

Encore! Encore! Hurray for Bar Mitts too!

[TheKownage]

dam son, how do you know where a thermal is?

[joeslifeyork]

Various visual clues. CuNimbs (Cumulous Nimbus) clouds form where warm air rises and condences to form clouds - these are thermals. So if you know wind direction and speed, you can tell by where a cloud is in the sky, where the thermal may be. Also birds tend to soar in thermals, so if you spot birds thermalling, you can use them as clues.

Also if you're lower down, you can tell by how long grass moves, it gives clues as to when thermals break loose and start rising.

[joeslifeyork]

Further, a lot of pilots have Variometers with them. These devices give a seris of audio beeps, which indicate via their pitch and frequencey whether one is rising or falling. They give details of rate of ascent or decent in hundreds of feet per minute.

[joeslifeyork]

Fantasic film Jim. It's footage like this which is keeping my dream of getting my HG ratings (EP and CP) as soon as possible alive. I just cant afford to right now, but this stuff keeps me determined and motivated.

Thanks once again.

[thruid3]

Beautiful, all the way to cloud base.

[termalzona]

..perfeita sincronia do vôo, música, visual, térmica e o outro amigo em vôo!! Que imagens maravilhosas e muito significativas para o nosso esporte. Isto é um vôo de gente graaande. Valeu e bons fly's. Termal/Sampa.

[jimsteele33]

Obrigado, eu aprecio seus comentários.

[jimsteele33]

Thanks. The pans and zooms were done with editing software. I'm trying to build a camera mount right now that will allow me to physically pan the camera around in flight. The goal is to be able to track and get video of other gliders that are nearby.

[rregal]

Please tell us what make/model is the camera and what is you editing software?

[jimsteele33]

The camera is a Canon HV10. The software used is Ulead Video Studio 11 Plus.

[wolkenbummler]

Did you ever think of using a helmet camera for this purpose?

[jimsteele33]

Yes, I've considered mounting a cam on a helmet.

I've got a swivel mount that I put on the lower downtube or the basebar that allows me to pan the camera around by hand that works okay...if I'm able to see a good video shot coming up and get the camera adjusted in time to get it. A helmet cam would be easier, but I'm not sure I want to fly long flights with the extra weight on my head/neck. But I may give it a try. Good suggestion.

[got2flyaway2]

How did you film this with the zooms and pans?

Very nice flying and filming and nice music!!

[wrdturkey]

Awesome. Thanks for the flight. There for awhile, I thought the other glider was going to out climb you :)