Great Glider Session Outdoors

[West Australian]

I had a Meet with SparkieRob this morning.

We got to the park pre-dawn.

There was only a very light breeze.

Rob and I got out our Zero-G's.

Very sweet, very gentle.

Rob got the hang of the Zero-G very quickly.

He was getting long glides, great smooth circles and consistent launches.

We got out my Rev SUL for a spin on some 7' lines.

They have proven to be too short (they were made from off-cut)

I have decided to make some new lines fron my 50' x 50#.

A set of 12' and 30'-ish seems like a good idea.

I took the chance to fly a Plutz 3 and my MegaPlutz too.

The MP can sure glide. Awesome.

Rob figured out a way to ground launch the gliders easily.

Lay it on its back, nose away.

Get a good length of line out, pull gently to raise the nose.

Give a strong tug to launch.

I tried it out on the MP with about 80m (263') of line.

Fantastic launch with a brilliantly high start.

It was a near windless to windless morning, but brilliant fun was had.

[SparkieRob]

I'm beginning to come around to these single line gliders! The Megaplutz looks like a Battle Cruiser from Star Wars in the way it glides around. Very hard not to watch it.

[--Pete]

Gonna have to get out the Zero-G I got at Grand Haven (it was too windy for it there). I'm thinking a nice long wand would be nice to avoid too much running around.

[Wayne Dowler]

Rob figured out a way to ground launch the gliders easily.

Lay it on its back, nose away.

Get a good length of line out, pull gently to raise the nose.

Give a strong tug to launch.

--Pete: a wand makes this launch very easy to do! I've seen you're on FB, are you on the Glider Geeks page? I have a video from an indoor event that shows how much a wand can do for you!! I'll see if I can get it over here!!

[Wayne Dowler]

--Pete:

It's from indoors, but should give you a general idea!!

[West Australian]

Thanks for the comments guys.

Pete: The ZeroG will not have you running around. A casual stroll is all that is needed for beginners in zero wind.

I find the only movement I do is a few side steps when I am in direct line with the spine of the kite.

If you like wands they are certainly an option too.

[SHBKF]

Spent quite a few hours with the Zero G now & have not come up with any ground launch other than the one mentioned with the kite laying on its back. I have bounced it along on it's belly finally getting it airborne but decided it was a bit hard on the little glider. Belly down landings mean I have to go to the kite & flip it over. Or just pick it up & hand launch it with a toss. Then you can let it glide out a bit turning upward before getting too low or you can whirl it like a lasso letting out line as you go. Have not yet tried a wand with any kite or glider nor super light line. Kite flying is interesting in that you can constantly try different approaches. I don't think I've made much progress until I try to teach someone new & see them struggle. Guess I have a few skills but still have much room for improvement.

Added note: Two days later I came up with a belly launch. See post #10 below.

[West Australian]

Hi Dayhiker, sounds like you are having fun and learning heaps.

Belly launches are something I would like at times, but I have the Wala for that.

The ZeroG gets some super sweet glides though.

The Fused Braid Dynema I use for my Gliders is awesome. 0.3mm Dia (0.012" Dia) 20# strength.

The gliders carry it very easy.

[SHBKF]

Here's a interesting article about another use of Dyneema.

http://www.compositesworld.com/news/dsm-dyneema-fiber-used-to-help-crown-freedom-tower

[SHBKF]

Just came in from a twilight calm session with the Zero G & made some progress. I finally managed to come up with a successful belly launch. While launching off my front lawn I thought I would try several different line angles from the rear of the kite. I tried from the rear of the kite because it seemed so unlikely that it would work & had not considered it before. With the kite laying on it's belly I lined up a bit off center & gave a pull. The ZG lifted a bit then nosed into the grass. I move over to a bit larger angle, gave a pull & it turned upward climbing nicely. I was able to do this repeatedly. The angle can be varied a bit. The correct pull is important. Just experiment a bit & it will work. I was back about fifteen feet which gives some upward angle to the line. Back further is possible but I did not succeed every time. No doubt I will get better at this. I don't know how it will do in some wind but it does work in a calm.

The angle of the line crossed the main wing about where the small black dashed point is located.

[West Australian]

G'Day Dayhiker,

Great to hear you are having fun on the ZeroG.

Good work on the belly launches too. It is great to have options on launching.

I sometimes belly launch, mostly glide launch though.

Doing a tilt up launch from the back on 300 feet of line is pretty awesome too.