First SOLO!

This is a catch up post.

I did my first SOLO in AUG, 2006.
That is EXCITING!

Air is very smooth up on the 3500 feet Kagel mountain.
I will be on radio with my instructor Joe all the time during the SOLO.

It is getting late, and I must finish the lanuch and landing before sunset, otherwise it will vialate the club rule and local residence will complain about it.

Take off is a little nervous but very smooth, I was in the air after around 5 steps of running down the sloop.

Joe told me the take off looks good and I replied that I feel good in the air also.

After talking back forward for around a minute, I can't hear Joe in the radio anymore!
I am on my own!

The good thing is, Joe practiced with me what to do if we have 'radio emergency', means if the radio is not working when I am in the air.
So, I feel more exciting instead of nervous.

I canceled the 90 degree left turn practice and go toward the gearing area directly. (Gearing area is where the gliders wait and then begin to do the landing process, pretty much like how air planes land at airport.)
Air is smooth, it is quiet 2500 feet above ground.

Then I saw Joe running toward the number, which is my eye target before landing.
So I am more confirmed that the radio is off and Joe is aware of it.




After reaching gearing area and circulating several circles, I saw Joe is waiving hands, that's the signal that my altitude is approperate to begin the landing process.

I fly alone the downwind leg, and keep my eye on Joe. He will give me next hand signal to begin end leg.
After that, Joe waived hands again, I turn left to do the final landing approach.

I am a little off to the my right side, which cause me to fly over a bush, Joe waive hand to tell me to correct it a little bit. I didn't do much, because making turn in low altitude is more dangerous than high above in the air.

I flied over the bush, and land come to me fast.
I keep my eye ahead all the time, not looking down the ground even in one second. I learned not to look down hard way, crashed twice at the beach training site.

My body position is not upright enough, and I don't have time to correct it.
So I did a wheel landing, and some small grass scrached one of my arm, don't remember which arm now.

As my first SOLO, it is pretty good, especially the radio is off.

I called Paul, my instructor at Dockweiler beach training site, tell him I did it successfully.

Without Paul, Joe, Lynden's help, I can't finish this SOLO in just 4 month time. There is another instructor, I forgot his name, a good one too, did the last tandem with me, give me full control during almost all the Tandem process, helped me lot too.

There are several Tandem training session I didn't describe here, some day I will come back to put them here.

Learning hang gliding is fun, you can feel the progress you are making, and it is pretty safe due to the experience of the instructor and well designed training process.

Hope some day later I will do more of it and get my H2.

Harry Liu
Jan 24th, 2007