Beach-Web for July 2008 Today is Saturday, the 26th... - and there's not much else to report since my last update...
However, I can verify several previously claimed 'failures' and recognize that Apple finally got 'Mobile Me' right and so my previously self-proclaimed-failure there is / was most their fault? - On the other hand some things are still 'not right' - but then maybe I NEED to RTFM more thoroughly...
We're getting ready to drive to west Texas for another episode of driving-retrievals for another hang-gliding event. We'll visit some friend(s) and relative(s) along the way to and from.
Hope to go to "The Florida Ridge" sometime in the next couple of days and pick-up the parts they received so I can replace bent parts on my glider. Shoulder still 'not quite right' but certainly getting there.
The yard looks better (and is prepared for a possible hurricane if it happens while we're away?
In general things are going well...
just one of Ms._May's garden successes! (a bromeliad flower) - (to go along with Mr._Bill's_failures (listed below).
click on the above image for something MUCH Larger...
Today is Monday, 15 July, 2008: - it's time for Mr. Bill to admit in PUBLIC his most recent (but not ALL) failures:
Today is Tuesday, 1 July, 2008 (and it's not EVEN 01:00 a.m. on Tuesday - 1 July) - SO today is ONLY the first day of the month - give me a break - I need some time to do some things worthy of web-publishing...
HOWEVER, if you're really starved for "Bill-Stuff" - here's some 'left-overs' from last month:
Friday & Saturday, 27th / 28th (June - last month) - yes, again, even MORE Hang Gliding - the weather was even less than 'great' and - well - I should have telephoned before driving out there... I had two flights on Friday, 3 on Saturday - none were stellar in terms of air-time, - but I did get one 'save' at 276 feet of altitude and took this one to about 600 feet - pretty good. I also got a couple of 30 minute flights -
This is an OLD picture - of me and my cuddly glider - However, these days I'm not using the green-fin in the back.
Someone suggested that I am 'good enough' to not need the fin on the launch and tow-up... I have to admit that now that I've towed without it a few times it's not as scary as it was the FIRST TIME I didn't use it. I've video-taped a lot of the flights and the difference between having the fin and not having the fin is noticeable, but not drastically... Also, theoretically, thermaling (climbing) would be more 'efficient' with no fin. Supposedly the glider turns tighter, with less drag without the fin.
The first time I launched, towed-up and flew without the fin was my 'personal best' time of 2 hours and 20 minutes (more on this in the link below)...
I'm learning more about how to thermal or climb (to go UP instead of down) - which is a fairly major achievement in my life, and/or for ANY hang-gliding-pilot. This is a key skill - and I'm developing it very well with help, mostly, from Mr. Kerry the tug-tow-plane pilot at Florida Ridge.
This link to Flightlog.Org gets you most of the information for my last 170 something flights, if you click-around and explore the link...
And/or if you click on this link- it will take you to Mr._Bill's Gallery web-page(s) on the Apple server for a short (2 - 3 minutes) videos of most of my flights - nothing stellar, though, in terms of video quality or quantity. A LOT of this / these videos will start to disappear - and there will only be about six months of video on here at any one time...
Mr. Bill's best hang-gliding-flight (Ever) - see the FlightLog.Org web-page, here...
However, I can verify several previously claimed 'failures' and recognize that Apple finally got 'Mobile Me' right and so my previously self-proclaimed-failure there is / was most their fault? - On the other hand some things are still 'not right' - but then maybe I NEED to RTFM more thoroughly...
We're getting ready to drive to west Texas for another episode of driving-retrievals for another hang-gliding event. We'll visit some friend(s) and relative(s) along the way to and from.
Hope to go to "The Florida Ridge" sometime in the next couple of days and pick-up the parts they received so I can replace bent parts on my glider. Shoulder still 'not quite right' but certainly getting there.
The yard looks better (and is prepared for a possible hurricane if it happens while we're away?
In general things are going well...
just one of Ms._May's garden successes! (a bromeliad flower) - (to go along with Mr._Bill's_failures (listed below).
click on the above image for something MUCH Larger...
Today is Monday, 15 July, 2008: - it's time for Mr. Bill to admit in PUBLIC his most recent (but not ALL) failures:
- Can't make the new iPhone (2.0) software (and the new MobileMe (Apple Web-thingie) (amongst other things) to work like I want them to, can't synch, can't e-mail photos from the iPhone, etc. etc. etc. - a major failure here
- Had a 'hard-landing' on my hang-glider on Saturday, 28th June (when I wasn't paying attention and 'landed-out' (about 300 meters from the flight-park (in a horse-pasture))) and 'dinged' my shoulder (to say nothing of my glider)... - I've ordered new glider-parts - too bad one can't just order new shoulder-parts - so after two weeks of little sleep - I'm supposed to see the MD tomorrow and get an 'opinion... - I should point-out here that even though I dinged my shoulder, and can't sleep that this is my 'first' accident in about 170 flights in about 2 1/2 years - so - though it HURTS and though I bent some glider-parts - as HG-accidents go - it was fairly mild...
- Made a 'mess' of attempting to build a 'trolley' for dragging hang-gliders (folded-up-in-bags) out of rough-dirt-places. Until Ms_Huggly says, "Why don't you do it this way" - so I did - it was WAY EASIER and required almost no building, cutting, drilling, etc. and it has a lower CG and easier methodology ( picture here )
- Failed at videoing Ms._Huggly_bunch adequately / accurately / adeptly, early last week because I FAILED to accurately predict the wind - but - well - predicting the wind around here is like herding cats, - never-the-less - I feel a FAILURE.
Today is Tuesday, 1 July, 2008 (and it's not EVEN 01:00 a.m. on Tuesday - 1 July) - SO today is ONLY the first day of the month - give me a break - I need some time to do some things worthy of web-publishing...
HOWEVER, if you're really starved for "Bill-Stuff" - here's some 'left-overs' from last month:
Friday & Saturday, 27th / 28th (June - last month) - yes, again, even MORE Hang Gliding - the weather was even less than 'great' and - well - I should have telephoned before driving out there... I had two flights on Friday, 3 on Saturday - none were stellar in terms of air-time, - but I did get one 'save' at 276 feet of altitude and took this one to about 600 feet - pretty good. I also got a couple of 30 minute flights -
This is an OLD picture - of me and my cuddly glider - However, these days I'm not using the green-fin in the back.
Someone suggested that I am 'good enough' to not need the fin on the launch and tow-up... I have to admit that now that I've towed without it a few times it's not as scary as it was the FIRST TIME I didn't use it. I've video-taped a lot of the flights and the difference between having the fin and not having the fin is noticeable, but not drastically... Also, theoretically, thermaling (climbing) would be more 'efficient' with no fin. Supposedly the glider turns tighter, with less drag without the fin.
The first time I launched, towed-up and flew without the fin was my 'personal best' time of 2 hours and 20 minutes (more on this in the link below)...
I'm learning more about how to thermal or climb (to go UP instead of down) - which is a fairly major achievement in my life, and/or for ANY hang-gliding-pilot. This is a key skill - and I'm developing it very well with help, mostly, from Mr. Kerry the tug-tow-plane pilot at Florida Ridge.
This link to Flightlog.Org gets you most of the information for my last 170 something flights, if you click-around and explore the link...
And/or if you click on this link- it will take you to Mr._Bill's Gallery web-page(s) on the Apple server for a short (2 - 3 minutes) videos of most of my flights - nothing stellar, though, in terms of video quality or quantity. A LOT of this / these videos will start to disappear - and there will only be about six months of video on here at any one time...
Mr. Bill's best hang-gliding-flight (Ever) - see the FlightLog.Org web-page, here...
and-or see the track-log over Google Earth Image(s), here... small_image larger_image (1 megabyte)
If you want MORE left-overs from June, 2008 - here's the link to that WHOLE web-page: http://www.vikingasia.org/BeachWeb/BeachWeb2008/Jun08/Jun08.html
Archived BeachWeb monthly site(s): Click here for a list of the archived months
If you want MORE left-overs from June, 2008 - here's the link to that WHOLE web-page: http://www.vikingasia.org/BeachWeb/BeachWeb2008/Jun08/Jun08.html
Archived BeachWeb monthly site(s): Click here for a list of the archived months
last updated: 11:09 a.m. on Saturday 26th July, 2008 revID: 1e