Return to Puli

We went back to Puli, the missus and me. With students cancelled, and only a wing to repair and some tandem flights, I could spend time working with my wife on her technique, form and perhaps, conditions permitting, top landing.

Well, the tandems were a mess. My passengers were too big for me and the old Freex glider. Ah Juen managed to get them off. I got a nice test flight on a Airwave Sport II. Top landed at the other site, kited for 3 minutes while Ah Juen tried to push me off. I managed some flying martial arts kicks and crabbing runs. Took off again and went back to the new site.

Doris and I got to fly together for a change, got a little chase going. but she, light on her Presta, was always above me on the Aeros Style.

The wind was strong and gusty. It was hard to get penetration for some of us. I talked Doris through the landing approach for top landing from the north and from the South. She performed gracefully and correctly. On her third successful landing she had a clear shot at a touch and go but failed to load the glider throughout the run.

Congratulations to Doris!!

There were over 20 pilots from the Hong Chuen club visiting. A good bunch of pilots, great attitude. I look forward to flying with them again. And Chris Yeh was out. I always learn something from that boy.

End of Sunday, D and I were skyward, enviously watching somebody fly clear across the township at about 2000 msl.
A large 'Q- me' had formed way back to the east. We were going up steadily at 6 m/s. It was nice except that I could see that she was not getting a lot of penetration. So, we got to practice big ears and speed bar and wing overs again.

"Was that fun?"
"Well, yeah, I guess. Now that it's over."
"Were you afraid?'
"Well, actually, no. I was too busy to be afraid."

Day 3

Day 3

Dori tries desperately to stay in the shade of her wing. Momma told her not to get too dark.

We spent the day on the training hill at Kaotai kiting, Alma and Doris taking turns on Doris' XS Apco Presta. Yuri and I riding the generous ridge lift. Doris improved her inflation, turn around and kiting. The guy with the gravity carts told us to stay away from the area where they were running; right in the middle of the hill, where the most stable air flow is! "Go to the right or to the left."
"Gladly!" I had seen those carts running straight for the local pilots' gliders all day.
All went well until Yuri got some thermal off of the new parking lot, all the way to the left, obvious potential rotor. Then it all went flat. The glider went parachutal. He dropped about 10 meters. I watched him lay there for a half a minute and then started giving orders. "Alma, drive the car down. Doris, wrap up the gliders," as I ran down the hill. He was sitting up when I got there.
"Knocked the wind out of me."
"Yes, and where does it hurt? Lay still."
There were no bone injuries. No internal injuries.

" Made you run, did I?"
He said he was OK, no pain. After 30 minutes up the South Cross Island Hiway, he changed his mind, with 4 more hours of long and winding road.
" Don't go dying on me, or I'll have to immortalize you in a series of novelettes, "The Enduring Adventures of Y.B. Human."

We arrived Kaohsiung County 6 :30 pm, sent them packing and prepared for the coming weekend in Puli. Yuri promised to see the doctor upon arrival in Puli.

Yuri, next time you take a holiday, be sure to bring me along. I enjoyed this one very much. And, I wish you had too.

Doggedly persistent, our hero ignores the pain and pulls up his glider in the afternoon thermal.

3 days in Taitung: day 2

Day 2
We drove out to some of our old favorite haunts. Du Lan San in Du Lan, where I got a sled ride out to the harbor.

Landed in the park this time, instead of the roof of someones house , like last time.

Jin Dzun cafe in Dong Huh. The wind was too soft.

But Yuri tried to inflate from the parking lot anyway, a feat I had accomplished with this very same glider, Apco Allegra, 3 years ago, much to my amazement. The actual take off zone was so over grown it would take 2 hours of 4 people stomping to make it flyable.

After the best coffee in Taitung county, we were back to Lu Yeh.

Doris and Alma kited on the training hill while the boys played in the bumpy thermal at Kaotai.

It was late in the day and I watched Yuri fly his Allegra back from the Kaotai hill to the training hill at low altitude, 50 agl. Hmmm… either knowledgeable and good skill or crazy and reckless. I haven't figured it out yet. But I have seen over a dozen people get rotored flying low back there behind the tea house and go home in an ambulance.

Yuri and Alma popped off to the hot spring for a splash. Heard them on the radio 2 hours later something about a water hose on the van. Sure enough they drove back up steaming.
I called my friend Danny in Taitung, " Do me a favor…"
"No sweat man. How big is the hose? "
" About 10 cm long, 3 cm diameter and straight. "
"How big ?!?! "
"It's a heater hose not a radiator hose. Just match it up with your c..k."

3 hours later, Dan showed up with 2 hoses each over half a meter long and 5 cm in diameter, bent at a right angle. I SWEAR he did that on purpose!!!
" Well, you said to match it up with my c…k."
Dan drove downtown and came back with beers, 7-11 Nuke 'Em meals and the right hose AND the tools to put it in. Bless that man and double bless 'em.

We neglected the car repair in favor of the nice thermal which lasted until TEN THIRTY AT NIGHT.
The following excerpt is from some Looney Tune who shall forever remain 'Anon':

There is something very sobering about kiting in the pitch black night, checking your lines by feel, the tension on the risers, a side step left, then right, lean, tug, ... the buddy standing on the edge singing "99 bottles of beer on the wall, " so you know where the edge IS, ...plunging head first into the abyss, ...then comes the part when you start talking to yourself, " Hmmm, last time I did this I had a full moon to guide me. This little sliver doesn't help at all. I can line up the edge of the landing zone with the street lights half a km away. Good. I am over the edge of the landing zone. But...what is my elevation? Hmmm,.. I can soon see the tree tops when I am about ...THERE they are! Where's the wind sock? Can't see it. hope they didn't take it down. My eyesight is getting bad. Flat wide slow figure 8's until I am on the,… 10 meters, 9, 8, 7 OK… should be coming up soon… BUMP! Ha hahahahahaha!"
"The ground is the one thing you DON'T have to look for. It will find you. Everytime.
Kaotai has the smallest take off zone in Taiwan. But, thank God and Lee Rensen that it has THE LARGEST LANDING ZONE!!! "
Silly bastard, Anon. We could hear him laughing from the take off zone above.

3 days in Taitung; day 1

3 days in Taitung,
Day 1

It all started out so innocently. A bunch of fools on a paragliding holiday. It was Yuri's first vacation in 2 years. We went back to our old stomping grounds, Taitung County and Lu Yeh, Kao Tai. Our first stop, plan A, was a potential coastal site in the very south of Taitung County. The wind was off and killed that plan.

Plan B was a couple of other potential sites 150 above the beach, spread out at 10km intervals. We laid out on the road and prayed for an onshore that never came. Packed up and moved on to …

… Plan C. Taimali.

Jin Dzen Mtn has several launches ready to go, if you know where they are and how to fly them. If you don't you can waste a lot of time and/or get hurt. Rob was chomping at the bit, waiting for Yuri or myself to fly it first and clear him for take off. Just as we set up to launch the alto stratus clouds covered the sun. WHAH!!

The thermal cycles became weak and brief. Yuri tried to pull up his 6 year old Trusty and Faithful Allegra to no avail.
Rob was hooked in, pre-flighted and ready.
I moved way back and cleared some weeds to spread out. Doris and Alma floated my glider for my forward inflation. " Just keep saying 'Good' on the radio. If it looks bad, say, 'Stop'."
" 1, 2, 3. "
" Good, good,…"

This is a complex site consisting of a 25 degree slope, a 1 meter terrace, then a 2 meter terrace followed by a line of bamboo trees before you go off the edge, at 900 msl. The take off zone is covered with 30 cm grass which makes running a challenge. There is a 1.5 km glide out to the beach after crossing power lines 500 meters below you. It is intimidating.

I stepped off the edge at the first terrace, with good speed, skimming close to ground, full tilt, brakes up all the way. To clear the bamboo, I would need to hold my altitude or gain a meter just as I approached it. I took the chance on converting my speed to lift at the last moment.

There is a Plan B which you can read about in a future posting.

Eye level with the tops of the trees, about 10 meters away, firmly I applied brake, gained 2 meters. The ridge lift was out there but not strong. It was a flat glide out to the train station, not even able to make the beach. Wish I had a Vista.

I radioed back for Rob to drive down.

Yuri failed to get off there, moved to a better location about 5 minutes drive and got a 10 minute sleddy. I watched him from the train station, landing on one foot and went over to assist.
" What the fook happened?"
"I twisted it trying to take off where you got off."
" Not a good way to start your vacation. It'll get better from here."
" It had better."
" Let's go to Kaotai. It's always on there."









Kaotai

I flew 15kg over weight on the Presta while we waited for the wind to subside. Although calmer, Doris had a real hard time getting off. Probably spooked by the small take off zone and the crowd and squeezing between the tandems. It takes some getting used to. In the end, Doris and Rob got some good airtime, working on rapid decent techniques and passes over the take off zone in preparation for eventual top landings, landing around 7:30 pm.

Fortunately for Rob, the new apco Vista is a VERY forgiving glider.

We went to dinner at place on the beach called Blue Aegean Sea, went to retire. Somewhere in there, I lost a bundle of cash about 13,000 NT thick I was suppose to give to a man about a dog. Oh well, so much for that dog. Somebody got blessed with a lucky envelope. Well, God bless 'em.

The Knob at Saijya

Yuri came down to Saijya for the first time in years. Doris, he and I (Malcolm ) were driving up for a day of thermals. I pointed out a spot about halfway up the drive," I have wanted to try to take off from here. No point in driving up when you can fly up."

" Well, pull over. Let's have a look. "

It was just a little knob, about 140 meters above ground level just beside the road. It was so small that you had to stop traffic to lay out your wing. And, if that isn't enough, trees on the left and right and front make a zig zag take off pattern necessary unless we want to start trimming trees.

"Who's first?" he asked.

"Rock paper scissor, " I chanted and won.

" So, who's first? winner or loser?" he snickered.

" Either way you win,... and you lose," as I turned to the van to unpack my wing. Doris snatched up a camera for posterity. I layed out, pulled up and

found both wing tips nudging tree branches. " This wing is brand new and not entirely mine yet. " I backed out.

Also, I was not familiar enough with the Aeros Style to pull out of something as 'sticky' as this.

Yuri untangled his lines, pulled up with one try and was dancing on the small deck like a mongoose between the obstacles that this site presented.

Doris was so impressed she forgot to trigger the camera until it was too late.

Yuri was off the hill and up...

and down. All we saw was the red of his Apco Allegra wobbling. All we heard was his shirtless body thrashing about in the jungle below.

Then the mass of gelatinous red stabilized and ascended. Doris grabbed this shot of Yuri draped in jungle vines as he snatched enough lift to glide out from the gorge.

He worked the bursting thermals for several minutes before heading out landing on the top of the 15 meter training hill. That's where we found him kiting his glider when we arrived.

I drove the van directly towards the hill as he took off and flew directly at us. He took the opportunity to do a running landing on my roof as I crept under him at a modest 15 kph. CRUNCH, SCRUNCH as the roof buckled under the weight of his feet. He glided off and landed behind us.

" Paybacks are a bitch, eh?"

" Well, at least I didn't DANCE on YOUR roof."

" Don't worry. There's always next time." I reassured him.

We kicked out the kinks and drove up so Doris could practice her rapid descent techniques.