When Jo and I planned our trip to Florida, hang gliding was high on the list of things to do. The tallest elevation in the state is 345 feet, the lowest high point of any in the country. How do you hang glide in such a flat state some of you might ask? The Dragonfly is the answer.
The Dragonfly
The Dragonfly, designed by Bob Bailey, is an ultralight specifically designed to tow hang gliders. Aerotowing behind an ultralight is not the only option, but it is one of the best ways to get altitude quickly. Scooter towing where a scooter or motorcycle's rear wheel is transformed into a giant winch, platform towing with a payout winch from a truck or boat, or static line towing with a fixed distance rope are other means to get in the air.
The closest aerotowing operation to Jo's parent's house was The Florida Ridge. The Florida Ridge is located in the endless flat farmland that comprises the central part of the state just south of Lake Okeechobee. When Jo and I woke up at 5:30 am to make the hour and half drive to the Ridge there was a lingering marine layer overhead. This obscured the horizon causing the mind numbingly straight road to go on forever. The driveway to the Ridge was marked by a blown down sign just past a hog farm. To be clear, there is no ridge at the Florida Ridge, just a parallelogram shaped field bordered by a drainage ditch and farm land. The dirt driveway ended next to a cluster of hangers, cabins, aircraft tie downs, palm trees and an above ground pool. We were greeted by James and Marco who were setting a up for the day. Keri the tug pilot was also there enjoying a smoke.
The Florida Ridge
The plan was for me take a couple tandem tows towards my aerotow rating and then solo if I picked it up quickly, then Jo would take her first tandem. Jo would go later in the hope that it would be thermic enough for me to stay up so we could fly together at the same time. After some paperwork we got to business. I hooked into the bottom of a custom double harness James had rigged below a Wills Wing Falcon Tandem glider. I would be in a natural flying position in the lower harness, while James would pilot the glider using special handles on the downtubes above me. Marco used a golf cart to tow the glider in position at the south end of the field while Keri lined up the tug. James gave me a brief lesson on what to expect as we set up. After hooking up the tow bridle and running through our pre-tow checklist Marco gave the sign for Keri to take off.
Being Towed to Be Towed
Instruction from James
Keri in the Dragonfly
The "Other" Tow Vehicle
James flew for the first 300 feet, talking me through the take off and initial climb. The Dragonfly was powerful resulting in a short ground roll before we were airborne. I'm used to burning up 1000's of feet of runway before reaching rotation speed, so becoming airborne in a few dozen feet was quite a change. In the Rocky Mountains it's easy to find a vista to look out at the horizon on, but in the flat dense trees of the East Coast that is a privilege reserved for those fly. Once we cleared the field the horizon opened up with flat land in every direction. It reminded me of the how I used to feel when I was learning how to fly airplanes in Maryland. At a safe altitude James gave me control of the glider and instructed me on how to follow the tug. It was like water skiing in the air. The goal was to stay directly behind the tug. If the tug wheels where on the horizon then I was in position. If they were above the horizon then I was too low, if they were below the horizon I was too high. The big tandem glider was a slow to respond to my control inputs resulting me "chasing" the tug for most of the first tow.
Marco Checking the Tow Line
Running the Aerotow Checklist
The First Tow
At 2500 feet Keri gave us the wave and we pinned off in the glassy smooth air. The irregular shaped Florida Ridge field was easy to pick out as we circled down. It was surrounded by a hog farm with circular pins, a main road, and a race course track across the street (you can see all these at the end of the video of Jo's tow). We flew to the south end of the field and set up our approach. In the tandem glider James preferred an S turn approach over the downwind, base, final method. He flew the approach and we wheel landed on the soft grass below.
Pinned Off
Wheel Landing
I flew the second tow from launch to landing and did a little better following the tug. I found that slightly more aggressive corrections were needed in the heavy tandem than I was used to in my glider. On the third tow James unexpectedly hit the release at about 1000 feet to simulate a weak-link break. We had plenty of altitude so I turned downwind and we explored some light morning thermals before landing.
Instruction on Hand Position
Second Tow
James was happy with my performance and said I was ready to solo. I climbed into a cocoon harness under a regular Falcon for the flight. I went over the flight in my head as Marco towed me into position behind the Dragonfly. After the checklist, when I was ready he gave the sign and Keri hit the power. The light wing loading of just me in the Falcon reduced the ground roll even more. It couldn't have been more than 15 feet! I flew the glider just above the tug and then pushed out to follow it's initial climb once it became airborne. As we climbed up to 2500 feet I found myself consistently left of the tug and had to make a concerted effort to line up directly behind it. With Keri's wave I pinned off and explored the mid morning air for any more bumps. There were a few, but nothing big enough to stay up in. After I landed I took my written test and was proud to sport an aerotow rating on my ticket.
Last Minute Tips
Going Over the Flight in my Head
First Solo Aerotow
It was mid-day and small cumi's were just starting to pop. It looked like it would get better later, but we were running out of time. I helped out and practiced running the pre-tow checklist on a few tows and then hooked in for my second solo. Jo was going to go next so we could be in the air together. The tow went smooth and Keri waved me off in a gentle thermal just west of the airpark. I was able to maintain for a bit, but the lift was way different than what I was used to. In the West thermals are narrow and their boundaries are much more sharply defined than the gentle giants of the East. Without a vario my rusty thermal skills were no match for the light lift and soon I started loosing altitude. I was able to stay in the air long enough to see Jo fly by on her tow up. I waved, but I don't think she saw me. After maintaining in a few more broken thermals I set up a tight approach and landed in front of the hanger. I ran and grabbed my camera to nab a couple shots of Jo as she and James landed.
Jo Hooked In
Jo On Tow
Hero Cam of Jo's Tow
