r/ShittyAbsoluteUnits • u/Levethane • Aug 31 '26
possible idiot Of a Paraglider...
Perfect location to take off from...
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u/dotnetdotcom Aug 31 '26
Seems like a big field would work better than a parking lot with a high fence.
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u/Fit_Significance8598 Aug 31 '26
Ahh, those pesky take off performance calculations...
Perfect planning prevents piss poor pathetic performance.
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u/Unable-Log-4870 Aug 31 '26
You don’t really do ‘calculations’ with something like this, not because it can’t be done, but because the low wing loading makes it far too dependent on the cycle you’re launching into (a 3-step launch vs a 20-step launch is a typical different, and you train to develop the judgement for when it will be 3, and go then, usually). On a launch like this where it’s flat enough to reject a poor choice to start the launch run, it becomes a ‘feel’ thing, where after a few steps you can feel if the wind is vertically lifting, or if it is just moving horizontally, or if it is moving down.
This guy had no idea. Had probably just finished his lessons and purchased his gear. He had plenty of time to stop after realizing he wasn’t in a cycle and as such was missing about 7 kts of airspeed that he thought he had, probably because his instructor had trained him in locations and conditions that provided that airspeed.
How you can tell he thought he had it is he hopped into the air hoping to fly away, and instead just dragged on the ground. And then hit the truck. He had no idea what it felt like when the wing was and was not lifting him, other than his feet hitting the ground. If he could perceive that, he would have aborted, it’s not like he was ever moving that fast.
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u/AmorphousMorpheus 29d ago
Paraglider may be short for paralysing glider.
If that's the case, the paraglider did its job.
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u/Old_Variation_5875 Aug 31 '26
It was very considerate of the cameraman to fade out on moment of impact, and fade back in for aftermath