Crunchy bones and bent aluminum…

Well, having said to Moggy that I’d write about my very close call, and spurred-on by Swift’s posting here we go….

Whilst what I was flying is not quite in the same league as some of the stuff you guys on here fly, my current ‘fun’ is Hang gliding.
I’ve currently had just over 3hrs ‘solo’ as Club Pilot, one more takeoff than landing, not much experience and apparently much to learn.

One thursday back in June myself and a good friend(another HG pilot) decided(having had an eye on the weather, tides and filed a NOTAM) to
head off to Norfolk to go and fly a new site(and cliff launch for the first time),and hopefully fly some of the potential 26 mile ridge. Whilst this did sort of happen it didn’t quite go according to plan.

We get there around lunchtime having had a 2.5hr drive to the coast, park-up and go checkout the launch point. A nice sandy(eroded) slope
around 80/90feet above the beach, we check the landing area and mark it out on the sand and place a wind indicator(the rest is slippery boulder clay/chalk) and off we go to setup. Noted walkers along the bottom of the cliff, school kids on the beach- loads of ’em. We know its going to be challenging flying for sure. The landing area if you can’t make the designated one(which requires a height gain to reach) is the space between the bottom of the cliff and the…14ft high, 1ft square wooden revetments parallel to cliff, the space available varies from 50-70ft, landing on pebbles with a slight downslope.

All setup and ready to go, final check of the wind direction and stength, clip in and carry the glider to the edge, wiremen all set, deep breath and push off with feet and away I go..hmm, that was easy. I make a gentle left turn and head along the cliff towards Beeston ‘bump’- more lift there.
A nice 1.5 mile 15 minute(-ish) flight at around 50ft above the beach and 8-10ft from cliff, slowly loosing height but covering the ground
at a fair pace. I decide I’m not going to get all the way there so it’s time to land, turn into wind and head for gap before the big wooden thing, which I must not hit, I don’t and all is good. A 1.5 mile carry back along the beach with glider and kit. Not having flown for nearly two months this was good.

Anyway, we get back to launch point, have lunch and think about another flight.
Setup again on the edge of the cliff as before, wind checked and ready to go again. Launch,a little bit gusty so I head for a lumpy bit of cliff hoping to get more lift, I get caught by a light gust and turned towards the cliff, skim(inches here!) it with a wingtip, phew, nearly got messy, I’m ok though. I’m definatley not enjoying this flight, think enough is enough and time to land. I’ve not got enough height to get to the primary landing site, it’s got to be that(now seemingly much smaller) space that I managed before. Getting lower I turn into wind as much as I can, and try and get back on the ground. I was pulling more speed than usual to get through the wind gradient and things start to look a bit ‘wrong’, I’m too high, I can’t go-around. Down to 10ft now, heading towards those big immovable revetments, beach sloping away from me and not enough height to attempt any kind of turn, I’m now thinking ‘oh f’?&, this IS gonna hurt’. I let go of one of the uprights(control frame) and whack, head glances off, and my right side hits one of the wooden posts, the glider stops and then I’m on the ground, somewhat dazed and totally ‘wired’ with adrenaline. Pick myself up, the end of todays flying. I turn around to unclip my harness from the glider but, why won’t my arm won’t move? I look down to see it dangling, almost flapping in the wind, I can’t move it. Not driving home today. It’s now staring to hurt.
I start to shout, people come running turn around and one young chap (who saw it all happening) has litterally thrown himself down the takeoff slope/cliff to get to me, luckily he’s a first aider, he unclips me and down I sit, still in my harness. A few more people appear, kids that were on the beach now have something else to look at instead of fossils, they’re lined up along the cliff. A few minutes (but seems like ages)later there’s the sirens, coastguard, police, fire and amubulance all appear en-masse. I’m also told the RNLI launched a boat too.

I end-up having thorough check before being carefully cut out of my harness and moved onto a backboard, strapped, neck braced and very broken arm held tight to me, we get off the beach and I’m into the and amubulance- I’m on my way to Norwich. I’m told whilst in the ambulance my arm is 3 inches shorter than it was when I took off, three inch overlapped break in right humurous, also a cut and growing lump above my right eye.
Blue lights all the way, a bottle of gas later and I’m in Norwich. I nearly got a third, unplanned flight that day.

I got off lightly. Had I not have been wearing a fullface helmet I’d have no jaw, no parachute and I’d have some very broken ribs, probably a punctured lung or two. The parachute was mounted on the right side of the harness, it took most of the impact.

I now have one very nice titanium nail(6/8mm dia) running from elbow to shoulder through core of the bone, that stays in. I’ve now got most of the movement back in my arm but there’s still some way to go before I’m fit and able to fly(myself) again. Oh, the glider needs some fixing too, along with the harness.

I screwed-up, I made the wrong decision to fly a site that really required more experience than I had. I shall be sticking(for the monemt) with much higher, smoother hill sites around Bristol/Wilts, Woolacombe(Devon) and Devils Dyke near Brighton, there are a few more unobstructed landing options there. Have I learnt? oh yes. Am I giving-up? not bl@@dy likely.

Pictures show the ‘glider catcher’ and landing area.