Today we did our first tow launches.  We are attached to a rope that runs to a high speed winch that pulls us into the air, cresting at roughly 50 feet above the ground.

There’s still a lot of running to be done as I generate enough forward motion to inflate 28 square meters of wing:

A little bit of lift:

Unfortunately I didn’t depower the wing on landing so it fell on top of me.  I understand this is called a “gift wrap”:

Flying high!  The first time was terrifying, but the second time was much better:

Touchdown!

The kids loved the ranch dogs, Sassy and Buddy:

Coming back from the tow run with my wing:

The kids worked on tessellations in math class:

As the winds picked up, Mark helped me practice the reverse launch:

Again, towards sunset, the winds died down and I was able to practice the forward launch:

Tomorrow we will practice launches wearing the motor.

We are parked here at the Blackhawk Ranch for the week for my week-long class in Powered Paragliding!  I had researched PPG during high school, but the sport was in its infancy back then, so I let it drop.  After going to a fly-in in February, I knew I wanted to try it myself!

After meeting my classmates, Dave, Glen, and Rhonda, we laid out our wings:

Getting the lines cleared:

Inflating the wing using the A and D risers:

Meanwhile, the kids did their homeschool outside:

We went over to the workshop to try out the motor on the simulator.   Here Glen is simulating a landing:

M rode along with my instructor Joe and Buddy the ranch dog:

More kiting practice:

We got into helmets and harnesses and clipped into the wing:

Classmate Dave and instructor Mark (in the blue helmet) watch my wing:

We had spectators above:

Once the wind died down towards sunset, we practiced our forward launch:

Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!