Another Scary Lesson

Scary, no doubt, and also humiliating, and I'm guessing it will be expensive as well. In front of about twenty onlookers, I blew a launch at Manics yesterday in near-perfect conditions, ending up with my wing wrapped around the utility pole behind launch. I snapped four lines and ripped the canopy along a seam in my frantic efforts to get it down quickly. I would not be surprised to find that one of those onlookers shot a video clip - keep your eyes on Youtube and let me know if you see a red-white-and-blue streamer snagged behind a familiar unrecommended launch area.

Don and Bob were already in the air (they launched from Cactus) but apparently they weren't watching as I started to pull up with As and Cs at Manics. I didn't pull the A risers with quite enough commitment, so the wing wasn't coming all the way overhead - it was in that powered zone just above the ground. But I was confident I could fix it without having to put it down - I'd just walk up the slope a bit, and the wing would come overhead nicely as I continued to pull up the A risers. As I walked up, one side started to dip, so I let go of the Cs and plucked an individual A line on the dipping side. That helped, but then the other side started to dip, so as I continued walking up, I plucked the A line on that side.

By this time, I think the wing might have been almost overhead and flying, but I had lost too much ground - I found myself right at the wall and the utility pole, and the wind was really pumping at that height. Whether the wing was ready or not, my only remaining option was to turn around and hope to fly it away from the pole and tension lines behind me. But just as I turned, my back hit the wall and the wing draped completely around the pole behind me, just below where the tension lines attach. I continued to flail on the brakes in hopes of unwrapping and re-inflating the wing right off of the pole, to magically fly away from this nightmarish debacle.

I finally admitted to myself that I was stuck for good, and I unclipped and started to yank the wing down. It was not easy to bring it down in the strong airflow, and some lines seemed to be snagged hard on various sharp bolts and metal parts. I don't think there was any damage up until this point. But it was in such a visible spot that I wasn't willing to take the time to engineer a more delicate unsnagging solution, so I intensified my efforts, finally hearing lines snapping and fabric tearing as the wing started to give way. I bundled it up quickly and drove it down to the LZ to take stock of the damage. Don and Bob had landed to help me, but by that time the damage was done.

I was inclined to drive home and sulk in self-recrimination, maybe slap a new wing order on the old credit card. Perhaps I'd order a nice DHV1, to protect me from my obvious lack of judgment or skills. But instead, Bob and Don encouraged me to resurrect my previous wing (which I always have in the car for kiting practice), and launch again at the same spot, to repair my wounded confidence and patch up my bruised ego.

After some agonized deliberation, that's exactly what I did - I laid out the old faded beater, hooked in, and inflated with a solid tug on the A risers, and no steps up the slope. I flew away and enjoyed a nice flight with the guys before the clouds overdeveloped and shut us down with sprinkles about an hour later. Thanks to Bob and Don for convincing me to try again - repairing my wing will be time consuming and expensive, but a good flight turned out to be the perfect quick band-aid for my psyche.

As I pack up my wing to be shipped off to Idaho for repairs, the primary lesson I can draw from this incident is to firmly acknowledge that a spot like Manics offers no margin for an imperfect launch, even for an experienced pilot in good wind conditions. If the wing doesn't come up perfectly on the first try, I recommend using the C lines for their intended purpose to kill the wing right away, then lay the wing out again and start over.

I welcome your comments - I look forward to hearing any advice you may have for me, or for anyone in similar circumstances.