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Elijah Cuellar's First Paragliding Flight

Tuesday Afternoon, April 6th, 2004

Sam was going to do a sleep over at Elijah's and they got together late morning.  Dylan had gone for his first flight day before, so Elijah was hoping it was his turn, and his mom, Naomie, didn't have the heart to say no.  The breeze barely came up, less than the day before.  No ballast needed.

Airborne for about 15 minutes, getting maybe 20 feet over the point.  Was able to do a few mild surges.  The kids love them and always want more, but with weak conditions, didn't want to get low.  Tried to get over the surf, but got back too low and flushed.

It was good to see the contrast between Dylan and Elijah.  I think Dylan enjoyed his flight, but he was quiet and reflective.  Elijah was amped to go again.  Sam of course is the veteran and talks non stop during the flight.

Tried less speed on final this time because we had excess energy the day before.  Just a little too slow to achieve zero sink at the end.  Still don't need to flare hard, but can approach with a little more speed (less trim tab).

Was pleased with the spreader bar setup  Sam and Elijah both weigh a little over 45 pounds, but I still offset the spreader bar balance point one notch so the middle guy can see over the top of the front passenger.  On the upper spreader bar, I tried two notches with Dylan, but opted for one with Elijah and that worked better.  Two notches puts them low which is nice in the air, but a little more difficult on landing because the front guy will hit first.  The one & one setup let me touch down about the same time as the front passenger.  Of course the adjustments need to change depending on individual weights, but should work with two kids in the 40 to 50 pound range.  Both moms were present both days, but weren't available for assistance.

The boys were good sports as I still was going through an experimental stage.  We did the hang check in the garage, but there are still operational issues that need to be evaluated.  One of the reoccurring problems is the kids get pulled back on pull ups and usually fall down and then get dragged along the ground.  Assistance to help them keep their feet would be good, but we didn't have it on Monday and Tuesday.  When doing a reverse, it's probably best to have them face backward for the pull up and run at the canopy.  They aren't going to help with the pull anyway.  If assistance is available, then it's probably best to have them balance and move the kids.