Once in a lifetime

[Eric]

Really every flight is once-in-a-lifetime because each is different and if you fly often a lot of weird things happen - but this was eye-popping.

When Randy Carr (fatlion.com) told me that the DAW S-126 is one of his all-time favorites, I decided to restore my S-126. Here's what Randy actually said:

BTW, my poly-S1-26 is quite maneuverable. I do rolls (without any assistance of ailerons) and loops like a dream. It's the kind of plane I wish many of my others could perform as well. I often do these really tight circles around myself, sometimes brushing my clothes as I go around and around at rather high speed. I can't think of another plane in any class that I can do the same (or would even want to try).

Finally got it flying again and was cruising around above Wonderland lake marveling at how sensitive and maneuverable the plane is. It twitches and jumps on the slightest bubbles... really a joy to have it in the air again (thanks to laminating film).

But then came a lull in the lift and my S-126 was headed for a landing in a patch of bushes about 30 feet below me where I had never landed before -- headed right for a little hole in the middle of this bunch of bushes.

I was just thinking, "well now I'm going to have to wade into those bushes to retrieve it" when it touched down gently in the middle... and with a loud clatter it bounced back up and shot sideways at high speed. When it reached the edge of the bushes, I could see it was riding on the rack of a small buck. As he popped out of the bushes, the glider fell to the ground unhurt. My eyes saw it but I had a hard time believing the whole thing which all occurred in less than 2 seconds!

And while I'm at it...

another cool thing happened about six weeks ago. I was debating whether or not to hike up to the ridge where I fly because the breeze was looking very patchy and slightly off, but I needed the exercise so I grabbed my easyglider and trekked up. When I reached my flying spot, I looked around and thought 'hmmm, too light, too crossed, I'm probably not going to fly today'.

Decided to walk down the trail a little bit further to see if I could fly in a little corner that faces northeast, maybe by hiking the last 75 feet to the top of the ridge. I glanced up to the top and just at that moment a golden eagle that I see every couple months launched from the ridge.

He flew more or less over my head circled right over the spot where I normally fly, climbing easily as if to say "launch it, dummy!". So I did, and was treated to 20 minutes of great fun with my easyglider. After the lift died, and I was getting ready to go home, I saw him cruise by below me along the hogback. A remarkable bird and remarkable afternoon.

[H R Ingram III]

Neat! It's stuff like that that I'm lookin' forward to.
Ron
http://www.timepiecephoto.com

[terry edson]

I had to make a emergency landing the other day. Theres a road not far away. There happened to be a 1950 packard going the same direction. When I came in I landed on the hood of the car. My plane was going so fast it melted with the original hood ornamite. It now is 3 times bigger and made of glass. Looks ilike a sailplane in motion. The owner of the car really likes the change. And refused to add my name on the car tittle.

[Eric]

one of these days, I will finish the video I'm working on a flight from that place where I fly. There are almost always deer around. it was only a couple days before that I had been flying for a good while when a deer bolted out of somewhere in the same general area scaring me. I just saw out of the corner of my eye as I was looking up at the time!

One time a group of a dozen deer was camped out 40 feet away the entire hour or two that I was flying and my downwind leg put the glider 20 feet over their heads every time I landed. They look up, appear like they might startle, and then go back to munching grass...

[Eric]

lol, I wish I had the creativity to makeup something like that!

[Dumorian]

Well Eric.... only due to what has been what seems to be honest posts so far....... But I wouldn't tell that story to very many people unless you know them really well. LOL!!!! Unreal.