 Musings By Goin
The missions and their missives by Jeff Goin are found here.
He enjoys both flying and writing and this is where the collection resides. Other stories recount various flights, trips and experiences.
Pictured right is Jeff hanging around the roadside from which
he launched. The "Enterprise" sits just off the picture. It has provided launch service
around most of the country, fulfilling its original 2-year mission, and continues
for more. (Photo by Tim Kaiser)
Comments are welcome and thanks for visiting!
Wingtip Vortice Video
Dec 17, 2004
After searching for a video clip from which to extract still
shots of wake vortices I couldn't resist the temptation. After all, I had to
suck the footage into the computer anyway, and the timeline was RIGHT THERE!
A nice diagram showing these vortices has been drawn for the
book (which is now DONE!) and a still extract from this footage will
be in there too. But in the meantime, and for a limited time, check out this
graphic representation of what happens to the air after curling off our
wingtips. Jeff Baumgartener of Wisconsin is the star. The RealMedia file is 5Mb,
click here to watch.
Paramotor Origins
Dec 13, 2004
 Uncovering
the origins of our sport has proven to be a fascinating process. Chapter 26:
"Roots" is a brief history of the sport and it turns out to go back a
little further. Although it seems to be somewhat of a "Lost Lineage,"
Mike Byrne in England was the first to consistently fly a paramotor (what he
called it even then) in 1980. It apparently wasn't terribly comfortable because
of the powerful and heavy motor necessary to fly the Harley 9 cell wing, a predecessor
to modern paragliding wings.
According to the UK's Goeff Soden, who was around for these
developments, the motor hung on his back instead of being the seat.
Most flights of this Konig powered unit lasted only about 5
minutes but he flew it all over, including TV appearances, in 1980. Yes the
sport is young, but not quite as young as we thought. The history of production
machines will be covered more prominently but this gem of a surprise was an
interesting find. Mike's background was from skydiving. Also, some history
of the sport in the USA as it relates to the USPPA is on
www.PPGTruth.com.
Research
Oct 13, 2004
 In
the process of getting pictures for an upcoming PPG training manual, I wanted to
show what it looked like to full-stall the wing. The location picked to do so
was perfect - super soft sand with enough slope and wind to allow unlimited
flying without the motor. It allowed me to pick my altitude and work into the
stalls gradually that I was willing to fall onto my back from. It wasn't
difficult to get the requisite results on command. Only a little bit more
altitude (5 feet) allowed getting a fully developed stall while the photographer
snapped pictures. Other maneuvers were done and photographed including frontal
collapses, 50% asymmetric collapses and "Big Ears".
The fact that it was soaring on a sunny beach had no bearing
on the choice of location. None whatsoever.
There are other good pictures of stalls but the close-ups we
got here may be helpful in showing the progress of a stall and why it is so
dramatically different from a "Parachutal" stall.
Actually doing a stall from a paraglider, powered or not, is
quite risky; thus the choice of super soft sand. By all means don't go
practicing this from any altitude above which you're willing to drop from and
land on your back.
Another
View
of Lake Havasu
June 25, 2004
 Making contrails for a living affords many opportunities to
spy places of PPG perfection. Lake Havasu is one such place. As part of my
Enterprise travels it was fun to explore this part of the country and fun again
to drift by at 37,000' while recounting the flying done in the area.
Most was done from the airport (visible North of the City) and
around the lake. The "Enterprise" heads out west again in the fall of
2004 and so hopefully I'll get to revisit its beauty.
Flying Illinois: A Photo Collection
Scholtes International Paradrome
May 31, 2004
  
1. Nick Scholtes flies the duck behind his Sky Cruiser powered Gin Tureg
wing.
2. Dave McWhinnie is trying on Gary Brown's arcus.
3. Gary Brown has taken a break from flying and is likely talking to some remote
reach of the planet on his Ham Rig. Paul Paulikas shares his enthusiasm.  
1. The gang.
2. Dave on his own "Care Dental" wing.
Harryport
June 6, 2004   
1. Jeff Goin takes to the sky in his tuxedo. This is a hang glider trike,
the "Samba" using a LaMouette "Topless" glider.
2. Tim Kaiser flies with his first gathering of pilots pushed along by the old
but reliable direct-drive Fly unit.
3. Alex Varv explores the countryside flying his Airfer Tornado and Eden wing.
  
1-3. Alex Varv continues to enjoy the Northern Illinois greenery. Picture 3 was
a pass between some trees.
Solo Celebration Continued: Newbie's
Number Five
June 6,
2004
  My first (and only)
student, Tim Kaiser, just completed his fifth flight. But the significance of
that well-executed effort was that I got to fly with him! And of course my
camera came along to record his far more relaxed time in the air.
This was also his first
time flying with a group of other pilots too. This was at the "Harryport,"
a PPG-friendly farm just Northwest of Chicago, and there were probably 8 other
pilots in air at the same time. Thanks to Harry, Alex, Mikey, Marc, Jim, Jaro,
Gary and others who made him feel welcome and gave him extra room while
airborne.
Solo Celebration
We've all done it, those
of us who have put air beneath our feet at the squeeze of a PPG throttle have
some story to tell: First Solo as seen through the eyes of his instructor.
Kind of like   when
momentous things have happened we can remember the location and, more
importantly the feelings. Tuesday May 25 was one of those moments for new pilot
Tim Kaiser.
Of course for those who
do lots of instruction this is not such a big deal, but for me who has never
done much more than help somebody already getting other instruction, it was a
bigger deal. Tim was my certification "guinuea pig" and fortunately
made that a very easy task.
There's a lot more to
instruction than meets the eye and it becomes readily apparent why choosing a
school with a thorough, methodical process of training is quite important. My
thorougness was mostly due to the fact of being close friends with Tim and
spending a lot of time on the many aspects of our sport that are important bits.
This first solo flight
was, in fact, a running out of reasons for him NOT to fly. We'd gone through the
kiting to a point where he could consistently bring it up, turn around, kite
forward, turn back around and have good control. We'd done the simulator test
with the motor running to make sure he could get into the seat (and how to do it
properly), we'd been over the pattern, he'd flown a tandem - all good. We'd been
over seemingly endless scenarios (not all, I'm sure) and he has shown great
natural talent and no tendency to panic - VERY reassuring.
So after a practice run
with the motor, standing at a huge field's downwind reach, radio's working,
perfect wind, there was nothing left to do but fly. I didn't show my nervousness
but that took some effort. It wasn't just his first solo, it was mine too as a
PPG instructor.
|
Tim readies himself just prior to his second solo
flight. His dog, Roxie, isn't so sure of this whole thing and looks a me
with a bit of skepticism: "what have you got my human into
now!?!"
|
I've instructed in
regular airplanes - I made a living at it for a couple years and even enjoyed
it. But that's different - you sit next to the student in flight and make
sure his reactions are correct and judgement sound before loosing him aloft and
alone. In that scenario, flying without the instructor is not that different -
the underpowered trainer climbs a bit better. But with PPG their first solo is
also their first flight at the controls of the craft! Yes they flew tandem and
maybe even some tow but that is still quite different than strapping on the
motor and launching themselves. The motor adds a lot complexity.
His natural talent and
willing demeanor made this whole process much easier. He was even calling flight
service on his own to check the weather before practicing which made me feel
more confident (there's another story). Ground school is difficult because it
can be less interesting but the knowledge imparted is no less necessary. I do
firmly believe that if the knowledge requires physical action it must be
rehearsed physically or it will be performed incorrectly.
His first solo flight
went exceptional if not exactly according to plan. After a flawless launch he
climbed out and kept it pointed into the wind, got into the seat and proceeded
to experiment with the controls. Just shallow turns and some pendulum exercises.
He did some 360's in both directions then came for some passes at the landing
pattern. That's where the plan had to change. The wind was sufficiently strong
that no pattern was really needed. Once he got downwind there was no need for a
pattern and I just had him come straight in.
It was anticlimactic: he
landed nicely on his feet, turned around, kited the wing for a bit then brought
it down. Yehaaaa!
An amusing aside was how
were were BOTH so shot. He from the variety of nerves and emotions that
accompanied this unnatural act and me from just being responsible. Of course
this is but the earliest stages of an important training process - one that will
hopefully be as fun as it is helpful. Already Tim has struggled through his
first no-wind launch and landing along with one minor in-flight
"situation" which he handled perfectly.
The saga continues. |
