Product Lines – September 2004

OSHKOSH, WISC. — Last month I was thrilled to report the Over Everest achievement
of Richard Meredith-Hardy and fellow pilot Angelo d’Arrigo. Since then,
I established contact with d’Arrigo for a story I prepared for Kitplanes magazine
(Nov. 2004).
After I investigated the project more thoroughly, I gained a clearer picture of
the enormous challenges. So| As we left our heroes last
month, Meredith-Hardy reported d’Arrigo was being bounced around after both aircraft
flew through some high altitude turbulence. No surprise, really. In thin air at 29,035
feet the hazards are real — even if you’re standing still. According to tug
pilot Meredith-Hardy, the “time of useful consciousness is less than one minute”
without oxygen. Only with rigorous training over long periods have some climbers
made the ascent without oxygen. The temperatures are colder than a cruel Minnesota
winter with the wind howling. During their final ascent climbers take one step, rest
for a full minute, then repeat| for hours. Keep that in
mind when you envision Angelo towing along over some of the most forbidding terrain
imaginable, wearing a large bottle of oxygen on his back and flying a glider festooned
with cameras and batteries. His landing will be faster than you’ve ever flown your
hang glider. Launching at 7:00 a.m. on May 24, 2004, d’Arrigo
began a flight that would set a new precedent for hang gliding worldwide. Here’s
a man who has already crossed the Sahara, the Mediterranean, and Siberia with his
hang glider. Now he’s also flown over Everest with his hang glider. Where
did YOU fly last weekend? Back to our Everest flight| Takeoff
was achieved at about 45 mph after a long run, says d’Arrigo. Following their climbing
cross country flight of many miles, d’Arrigo chronicled a key moment: “South of
Everest and close to the peak, we ran into a gigantic area of rotor turbulence, which
dragged the microlight violently downwards, projecting me upwards at the same time.
This caused the towrope to break at the safety link. “We
were at a height of about 9,000 meters, I was 500 meters south of Everest, about
150 meters over the peak. I released what was left of the towrope and headed for
the peak, flying over it soon after. Then the situation
became grave. Originally, d’Arrigo would have stayed on tow and planned a controlled
release for free flight over the summit. He and Richard could have maintained visual
contact with one another. However, the turbulence that upset the flight and broke
the tow line weak link left the trike pilot unable to see his aerial companion.
Richard writes, “I realized we had a line break. [But] with all my high-altitude
gear on I didn’t have much neck mobility so I couldn’t look back to see [Angelo]
and I didn’t see anything in the mirror. By the time I had circled round [his] white
[Icaro Stratos disappeared] against the vast white background of the upper Khumbu
Glacier. Vanished into thin air!” Now, miles from
his preferred LZ, d’Arrigo has been suddenly cut loose and had to fend for himself.
Neither could he locate Richard and the Pegasus trike.
His story continues: “I had identified ten possible emergency landing sites. I had
marked them all on a map, with their GPS coordinates.” Of these he eliminated several
as unworkable and focused on an Italian research station near the base of the final
Everest summit. Thanks to careful planning and nerves of steel developed in his earlier
exploits, d’Arrigo was able to make his emergency landing.
“When I had reached the right height, I started to prepare for the final approach.
When I was just a few meters from the ground, my speed was still 100 km/h.
It was important to use the wheels for landing because of the high speed caused by
the altitude along with the weight of the equipment (oxygen cylinder, thermal clothing,
three video cameras with recorders and batteries, two still cameras, survival materials,
etc.).” Angelo’s original idea was to tow aloft and then
release, subsequently soaring up on the powerful ascending currents blowing up the
north face of Everest. This proved impossible. Instead he chose to tow near the peak
of Everest, approaching from the south, then to glide over the summit after having
released the towrope. This would have better positioned him for landing and he and
his tow pilot could’ve kept each other in sight. The whole
story is available at their Web sites — a fascinating flight and human drama.
FMI: www.angelodarrigo.com or www.flymicro.com (Richard’s site). CONGRATULATIONS,
FELLOW PILOTS! JOB WELL DONE!
I struggled to decide which story was more important. FAA’s long-awaited release
of Sport Pilot/Light-Sport Aircraft is significant. Yup, at a press conference
on July 20th in the agency’s DC headquarters, FAA was finally able to say, “It’s
done!” SP/LSA is much less important to soaring flight
than to powered aviation. Yet it hits us big regarding towing — for which we have
a solution at hand* — and for two-place flying. Both have a major impact on hang
glider training. Whatever you think of the new regulation,
Part 103 will not be altered. All single place hang gliding and paragliding
will see no change so long as you mountain launch. The
*solution is that tow pilots will be able to fly legal Light-Sport Aircraft tugs
— once manufacturers state that they comply with ASTM certification standards —
but they’ll have to use a Private Pilot license or better. The Sport Pilot license
will NOT allow towing. Yet a Private can’t be paid to tow, unless FAA grants a limited
payment as acceptable. The agency is pondering this and invited key USHGAers to the
Oshkosh airshow to discuss it. Jane Depanfilis represented USHGA on the teleconference
FAA set up for their press event. This story is just starting so stay tuned for more
on the brave new world of SP/LSA.
So, got news or opinions? Send ’em to: 8 Dorset, St. Paul MN 55118. Messages or
fax to 651-450-0930. E-mail to Dan@ByDanJohnson.com. THANKS!