Hawaii Glider Record Altitude Mountain Wave Flight

A sailplane flight to 33,561 feet in mountain wave over Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii - the highest ever in Hawaii. Join me in the cockpit of a DG-400 sailplane and surf 6 mile high waves. Dave Bigelow
Kamuela, Hawaii

[@lw216316]

Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain speaking. We are at 33,561 feet and will now begin our descent to land. If you look out your window to the left you will have an opportunity to see the largest seagull flying at the highest altitude I've ever seen in 25 years of flying for this airlines. aloha and don't forget to fasten your seat belts and put your trays in the upright position.

[@ACNNOMOREBLUFF]

Brace, brace, brace ! :-)

[@andyharpist2938]

It always seems to me that attempting height or speed records for an airplane involves nothing to do with bravery but an intense knowledge of physics, aeronautics, aircraft design and a back up team on watch.

[@sillyoldbastard3280]

Yes you need all those things and also big balls. This guy died not long after this on another attempt

[@ascherlafayette8572]

@Desinformation aus Russland im BundestagswahlkampfGlider overstressed and broke up at 38000. Likely caused by hypoxia from an oxygen supply malfunction. Look up Dave Bigelow glider.

[@Myaccountishacked]

R.I.P. David Bigelow.... You will always be remember forever, I love you David rest in peace my friend.

[@lifeingeneral9111]

ever find out what happened?

[@antmanmax1]

He went to 38k feet and for unknown reasons at some point the glider broke up due to exceeding safe speeds. The elevators likely iced over but we'll never know for sure.

[@dylconnaway9976]

@@antmanmax1 I’m not sure where you heard this about icing, but that is highly unlikely. He’d have to be in IMC with supercooled droplets, and it would have to be significant to bridge the horizontal stabilizer and elevator. This typically doesn’t occur at that altitude outside of strong thunderstorms, of which there were none. There is no evidence icing could have played a role and the NTSB didn’t even mention it.

[@antmanmax1]

@@dylconnaway9976 Mountain waves contain extremely moist air and can absolutely cause icing. He could have pushed himself too far and blacked out. Multiple parts could have failed for a variety of reasons.

[@purkeypilot]

Wonderful flight Dave! Rest in peace. Thank you

[@richardleschen4191]

Loved this video, Wonderful flight of David L Bigelow’s. on his DG 400. Why did I love this video so much ? Simply because there were no adverts to spoil my concentration of this fine video. The music was super and well chosen too. Cheers, Richard Leschen, fellow sailplane and standing wave pilot.

[@johndunn7353]

I climbed to nearly 25,500 over Pikes Peak out of the old Black Forest Gliderport in a 1-26 ! It was so cold in the middle of January ! Canopy nearly frosted over, couldn't see but I would do it again in a second ! Back at Black Forest the winds were out of the west 25 gusting to 40 ! Exciting ...

[@KlingbergWingMkII]

Me too, but I only made 23,500 ft. Probably the same glider! Much easier to work that wave because you can stick the nose into the wind and just park - pure elevator. God that was a long time ago - 50 years - when I was a gutsy 15 Y.O.

[@chonyc77]

One of the nicest videos ive viewed on youtube. R.I.P.

[@johnwhyte1336]

RIP my pilot friend, they say you were over 38,000 on your last flight!

[@fredferd965]

Well, he's been to heaven once already, so he knows the way!!!!

[@Jangle2007]

I read the accident report from the fatal flight. It is not mentioned in the report, but I think it possible, even likely, that Dave Bigelow accidentally exceeded VNE and got bitten by flutter at his high point. The accident report noted that Dave was flying controlled maneuvers at 38,600 feet, but then seemed to be transitioning to another portion of the wave. THe DG 400 has a VNE of 146 knots TAS (true airspeed), but at 38,600 feet this would have equaled an IAS (Indicated Air Speed) of approximately 90 knots. Also, the accident report indicated that the O2 system (Mountain High EDS [Electronic Delivery System]) should have been set to "safety" between altitudes of 30-40K, but was instead found to be set to the "normal" position (used for altitudes below 30K). In short, the system was not delivering the flow of oxygen required for that altitude. My theory is that Dave became oxygen deprived, executive function was compromised, he exceeded the VNE (which is a design speed to prevent excess aerodynamic loading AND flutter), the control surfaces developed flutter, thereby (critically) losing pitch control, followed by an uncontrolled decent of 28,000 fpm (+300 mph TAS) into terrain.

[@RoboticusMusic]

Could you explain VNE and flutter to somebody not familiar with flying and what the different settings on the EDS mean? I was thinking that one one day perhaps in the next 5 years gliders will come with the option to have an AI safety system that uses a camera facing the pilot and AI to monitor them to see if they're conscious or suffering a heart attack and can then take control of the glider and land it.

[@BruceCarbonLakeriver]

Vne -> Never Exceed Speed! - TAS -> True Airspeed (temperature corrected speed). Fluttering is a destroying effect which can comes up during overspeeding the aircraft. It is usually the first sign for a f...ing problem. And you can losing control of the aircraft as well. At least sailplanes are very sensitive at speed otherwise they wouldn't work. The higher your altitude is the higher the TAS has to be for the necessary IAS Speed (which is the indicated airspeed and in case of lift of the plane totally necessary). There exists a altitute limit at every aircraft. If the lowes not yet stalling IAS Speed is meeting up the Vne on TAS. This "meeting" will only found in the absolute max altitude.

[@tinchote]

I also read in the report that he was not wearing a parachute. I find that insane for wave flying.

[@ethanlamoureux5306]

@@BruceCarbonLakeriver TAS is not corrected for temperature, altho that can affect TAS, but the main thing is altitude. The higher you go, the faster you go, because the air thins out and has less resistance. But your airspeed indicator will still read a lower speed since it works on the pressure of air in the pitot tube, and the pressure is reduced at altitude. The important thing is that the air is moving faster than your gauge says it is, and you can still exceed Vne even tho you may appear to be going well under Vne. Flutter, if you go fast enough, can literally tear your plane apart in midair.

[@BruceCarbonLakeriver]

@@ethanlamoureux5306oh thanks xD I'm always mixing that up ^^

[@airboss212]

i never heard of him until i saw the video but he must have been a talented legend, i am not flying gliders but i loved the video and definitely a pro flying it ! hopefully many young folks out there flying had the chance to learn from him ! not often u meet people of that format ! !

[@DIGITAL-NECTAR]

Aloha David, you have followed your passion to the ultimate heights, riding the sweetest winds on earth~ May your spirit soar forever now~~

[@cobraxspeed]

A trip to the heavens in every sense of the word...well done.

[@DavidRoyall_shibumi]

Congratulations for the altitude record. Outstanding video!

[@n6vcw]

The only way I've ever gotten high is in a glider. Nothing like this guy, but my mountain wave experiences have been one of the greatest thrills in my flying career.

[@JimForeman]

I used to be an instructor/towpilot at Black Forest Gliderport in Colorado and have been above 30,000 feet over 150 times. The world record was set at 52,000+ feet a couple months ago in the wave off the Andes in Patagonia.

[@jackingjacker9389]

Do you know about the Perlan 2 glider? This thing can fly up to 70000 feet, there's videos on youtube if you want to see.

[@richardweil8813]

Outstanding. What a way to do a diamond altitude and lennie flight. Good for him!

[@wilsonandremachadosilveira4200]

Showwwwww! Parabéns pelo vôo! Bonitas imagens e música! Bons vôos!

[@flyaglider]

Friday was a very rough day, we saw lenticular clouds like never before. I must say it was one of the strongest and windiest days I ever experienced.

The thing that struck me the most the first time I got in wave was the sky getting slowly darker blue as I was watching it, ....then the rotor!!!

[@sabu85]

i wonder how he survived in such cold temperatures with poor insulation (ice on the wind screen), and no gloves. cool vid!

[@MelindaGreen]

I'm more worried about oxygen. At some point you can die from lack of oxygen while breathing 100% oxygen.

[@opensafetyequipmentltd25]

@@MelindaGreen One has to be breathing oxygen for months at a time, for sufficient pulmonary toxicity to occur at these pressures. The partial pressure of oxygen is probably only 0.3 through a combination of low ambient pressure and incomplete purge. Using oxygen on either continuous flow or demand, the limit would be how long the oxygen cylinder lasts.

[@MelindaGreen]

@@opensafetyequipmentltd25 Yes, I'm just saying he's pushing into the zone where temperature matters less than pressure.

[@simulacrae]

The canopy combined with the sun acts as greenhouse.

[@richardweil8813]

Heavy clothes, electrically heated socks...you prepare.

[@znuto]

I have a DG-100. I've been to 18K in wave at Truckee CA but never anything like this. -35 at altitude!

[@ashishjoshi4627]

Very nice video..Thanks so much.

[@CabbotSanders]

Great film! Great job!!!

[@Wolkenstecher]

Great video, thanks for taking us up there, blue skies!

[@passthetunaporfavor]

Very very cool. May he always be surfing.

[@puapake]

I've watched this video 25 times.

[@MrJdsenior]

Was up after seeing the vid. Then down after the start of the comments. Then back up again, a bit, after realizing that he died DOING WHAT HE LOVED, and that he fully knew the risks. Maybe very happily, euphoric even, if he was oxygen deprived, as well. I can think of about a million worse ways to go. Condolences for his family, totally sucks in that regard.

[@em4703]

Why would he go that high without oxygen tank? Wtf.

[@GreaterThanADeer]

holy shit that tow was insane

[@trex70]

Beautifull

[@KurtKesters]

this glider is not presurized. i is flying with oxigen though. the puffs you hear is the O2 releasing at intervals, and is probably a cpu controlled system that auto adjust the amount to o2 in retation with altitude, heart rate and saturation. at higher atlitude the pilot answer radio calls with mic clicks what sugests he is wearing a ful mask on the highest parts of the flight. i find is a bit of a surpise he is not wearing gloves, but he could be using heatpacks. he seems to wear ski pants.

[@yulpara]

Great flight ;)

[@mihajlo777]

Great flying !

[@mcdjay]

I know nothing about gliders , but to me when the plane was turning and all that slack got in the tow line it did not look safe at all to me.

[@xvdd1]

It is a common occurrence in level and let down tows and is part of the training syllabus associated with gliders, you just have to get some tension back in the rope with judicious use of the airbrakes not particularly pleasant but certainly doable.

[@jimengle1615]

Always hated it, almost passed tow once and had to release prematurely (I was a low timer).

[@n6vcw]

Ensnaring the tow rope on your wing is definitely something to avoid.

[@arthurrobey7177]

That's 10,223 Kms to the rest of the world. Good for about 300 kms horizontal.

[@joaosantucci7126]

Wonderful!

[@CabbotSanders]

I live 1/3 the way up this mountain on the South side. I love Mauna Loa and saw it first erupting in 1983...where I pointed up to the caldera and told my mother "I'm going to buy some of that lava!" and 22 years later I bought an acre in Ocean View near the top.

[@MartinRiedlbaumeister]

a bumpy ride during towing, well done

[@abdullazeidan]

thats realy nice up country good job liked your flying skills bro .

[@krepkygrimes5002]

Fitting music in part. “Sky Bird” and “Lonely looking Sky” from Neil Diamonds Album “ Johnathan Livingston Seagull “.

[@n6vcw]

I was wondering how many other viewers would recognize the music. I'm old enough to have watched the movie of the same name in the theater.

[@krepkygrimes5002]

SpiritRider1100 It was a great music album by N D but the movie was a bit of a flop. A lot of people never saw the movie and so missed out on the album. It’s some of N D’S lesser know stuff but some of his best imo. He chose well. Music and theme. His posts are riveting and so very interesting. Your so fortunate to have this hobby. I understand he lost control near a mountain top due to stressing his glider at over 180 mph. It seems he couldn’t control the automatic loop it went into and He went straight in. He died doing what he loved... with his boots on.

[@barbaradubeck6393]

David Bigelow was killed after setting an altitude record of over 38,000'. The NTSB ruled the cause of the crash to be breakup of "Pitch Control elements" due to excessive speed. The GPS recorder that David used to document his flights indicated that in one 10 second period of time, the air speed exceeded 150 mph moving from 75 mph to 150 mph within 5 seconds. The glider was not designed to handle the stresses that such speed and speed variances caused. It was originally thought of that David had died of Hypoxia, but the NTSB said that Mr. Bigelow was still alive and most likely conscious, when the glider made impact with the mountain. LINK: www.aviationtoday.com/regions/usa/Fatal-Wave-Flight-Loss-Of-Control_68688.html

[@barbaradubeck6393]

Da TRUMOFO : Is that too difficult for you to understand? I even provided a link from which the narrative was gathered. Looks like you spent mommy and daddy's tuition money on some of that whacky tobbacky!!

[@geeterdun5966]

I think the tone in his "WTF" was more like "holy cow 75 - 150 in 5 seconds, crazy". Thanks for the details and the link.

[@libertyforamericanow]

how easy it would be to have a parachute for these gliders. they make them for sesna type planes.

[@henrikgormsen1020]

You canot use GPS speed to determine if any IAS or TAS overspeed was pressent. You need ALT and IAS.

[@ksb2112]

@libertyforamericanow I don't know about that, but for sure he should have been wearing one. It is standard for cross country fliers and I can't imagine a wave flier wouldn't have been wearing one. Edit: He was not wearing a parachute due to the bulk of the cold temperature clothing he had to wear. www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=d45ece19-02da-407a-88eb-cdc380fff1e6

What system were you using for O2? I guess not Mountain High?

[@redgaridose]

Amazing video and a cool glider!

[@donzioldbuddy]

was at 32,000 feet out of Boulder, Colorado in Wave in the Blanik and the outside air temp was -49 degrees!!! Brrrr...

[@jaytate491]

How strong are the thermals between islands? Would it be possible to island hop ? Im thinking of a pipistrel sinus or virus but not sure if that would be legal or even possible.

[@PaleBlueDotCitizen]

Every glider pilot I see on youtube stirs the stick like it's in a pot of porridge. It's funny because I did that for years until I became a Pitts aerobatic pilot and learned how to fly.

[@waltsnow1762]

If that gauge showed -- 35 F., why no ice on the wings?

[@thomasbell7033]

It read -35c, not f. That's about -31 degrees in Fahrenheit. Until I did the math, I thought it was even colder, but no. I assume the wings aren't metal, and hence not as prone to icing.

[@DrDLay]

R.I.P. Dave

[@domothepilot]

what a legend

[@hargreavesjn123]

if u dont mind be asking but how long was u up in the air for?

[@nandalal108]

NOW THAT IS WHATS CALLED 'GETTING REALLY HIGH'

[@HototoManyGoats]

Yeah

[@MelindaGreen]

So many questions. When do you get NW winds on Big Island, and why would the waves be higher than the ridge lift? But mostly, is there any sort of active gliding happening on Big Island?

[@PhilT993]

Awesome !!!

[@TheSoarer151]

Gliders that want to go above 18000 need to have a mode c transponder, two way radio and prior permission. Usually, when its done in advance, they get their own block of airspace, vertical and horizontal that jets have to go around

[@glassblender]

Not in Hawaii we don’t have class a

[@deepcoolclear]

Great vid. That was a very long tow. Was it not possible to disconnect much earlier and ride the convection higher ?

[@Woodscraps-lr5vz]

The old fellers really had it good.

[@volcanochaser]

What a great adventurer!

[@guilhermecabral4578]

Beutfull song, at the end!

[@krepkygrimes5002]

Guilherme Cabral From the Album “Johnathan Livingston Seagull”. “Lonely looking Sky” kzbin.info/www/bejne/gqSZn2SKjMp4h5Y the whole album is very nice.

[@krepkygrimes5002]

Guilherme Cabral Here is another from that album. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mabNZ4OVaJqph6c

[@eromadrol]

Nice job and nice vid !

[@CraigJukes]

I too came here, because of M$ Flight, R.I.P man

[@GamezBeatz]

Is this glider upgraded with oxygen pressure tanks? Does not seems nice to fly at a altitude of 10km high with almost 0 oxygene.

[@MrEdolsian]

Whoa me too! Nice flight!

[@easyeagle2]

Wow, thank you for the ride. With a temp outside of -35* C. how do you get cabin heat? You must have been in flight for 1 or 2 hours.

[@StefanoBorini]

With a big coat and gloves.

[@Fabzil]

What a boss

[@iaagg]

What caused the extreme turbulence just before he released the tow line?

[@viardmike4130]

Fantastic flight at 10Km altitude, congratulations!

[@dylanhelmer]

dude so cool, i have my ppl, and working towards instrument, now i wanna glide!

[@flow5718]

oxygen deprivation is one of those things that can catch you unawares. no matter how experienced you're if you're unlucky, it will get you.

[@gogge]

Good job!

[@alltheboost5363]

That must have been really crazy right at the end there when he got off toe.... that looked super scary. After reading some of the comments that sucks that he died a lot of comments said that they were glad he died while doing what he loved I'm assuming he passed out while flying and crashed?

[@ThaiTastic]

Congrats.

[@CptSchmidt]

He scrapes ice off the window at 6:30, and you can see more ice forming at 7:10.

[@Kuula98]

I have been up on mauna kea a few times now, walking to the top is rough & I also have Microsoft flight.

[@daver9643]

Were you worried or concerned about icing building up on the leading edge? Are there any systems in place like deicers on gliders?

[@dylconnaway9976]

He’s not going to answer, he passed away. Typically, no, there are not. Icing on the airframe doesn’t occur unless you have moisture- supercooled precipitation. His breath provided the moisture to frost up the window inside.

[@peanuts2105]

Top vid, though I have some questions. What 3D software are you using with your logger data? And was there any lennies to mark your lift in the primary wave bar? Where I fly there is no wave :( but a nice 100km ridge. well done

[@awuma]

The NTSB report, I thought, was pretty clear. The O2 supply was incorrectly turned on (I think the valves were hard to reach). Anyway, beautiful video.

[@ciprianokritzinger3636]

There is nothing mentioned in the NTSB report about erroneous setting of the oxygen supply. the regulator was in normal.

[@SilverCanary1]

@@ciprianokritzinger3636 someone else here said it should be in "safety" for 30k-40k and it was, as you state in normal and thus he didn't have enough oxygen

[@usp.4073]

What is that weird hum that varies in pitch?

[@FayuYang]

wow! FL320...that is awesome

[@jamesenloe277]

how does it stay warm in that?

[@jcb2001]

It's not. You wear the appropriate warm clothing for the flight. I bet he was freezing as well.

[@JimForeman]

Clothing!

[@malloott]

There is quite a lot of sun up there, it's definitely not -35 inside of the canopy

[@John19182004]

airplanes above 18000' have to be on an IFR flight plan - are gliders not required to be or how does that work?

[@glassblender]

John19182004 there is in exemption for ‘wave windows’ with atc permission and mode c transponder but we don’t have class a in Hawaii so in this case it’s not required

[@terks43]

There is no Class A airspace above Hawaii

[@silentaviation]

Excellent Video! that aero-tow must be a record too? Matt Peterborough & Spalding GC UK Beverley Soaring Society AU

[@Twobarpsi]

33,000 feet at 48:1 glide ratio = 300 mile final glide 🤯

[@tinchote]

Not with that headwind, nor with the downdrafts in the mountains...

[@Twobarpsi]

@@tinchote true...but just imagine if you could😃

[@tinchote]

That said, I know for a fact that it has happened. I know of a flight in Argentina many years ago, where a Std. Cirrus climbed high in the wave and then flew downwind for several hundred kilometres.

[@Twobarpsi]

Just amazing. I've been to Chile and Argentina. The Andes are incredible!

[@MOMOsmartphone]

would you anyone advice me what the gps protting software is?

[@erwinoberkofler1658]

Good luck David RIP

[@gaspard6428]

1 c'est ça fait combien de mètres ?

[@fritagogo1]

? dangerous tow ( wave ) ! ice after ( Feets ) ! becarfull about airport Hawai ! Good Flight ! 11 000 m

[@Tianantius]

RIP Dave, He died trying to reach 40,000ft Jan 2009. No one knows exactly what happened :(

[@erwinoberkofler1658]

Alex White Not enough oxygen?

[@tsclly2377]

@@erwinoberkofler1658 the bends is possible.. out-gassing of blood gasses

[@natecaraway2000]

Are glider cockpits pressurized?

[@stonelaughter]

No, it's not practical to achieve that and stay light. Pressurised breathing environment is not required by Law below 40,000' although oxygen is required above 10,000'

[@Parakoopawing]

Respect! I really want to do the same, too, but I think I still have to wait :D (I'm 14 and have flown about 50 times allone^^) Greetings from Germany

[@ondamountain]

how did you stay warm without gloves and a jacket

[@seekingelite]

Wish I could glide over Hawaii!!!

[@jimengle1615]

I did once but could not catch any lift and it was far too short.

[@kpeecee]

I have recently downloaded Microsoft Flight and this is one of the aerocaches, i am shocked to find that this guy has died attempting a higher altitude.

[@ImNotADeeJay]

2:02 what is that beeping?

[@GeirWaterloo]

The variometer. Its beeping faster when going up, and slower when going down.

[@sinki19841984]

3:18 and on looked scary AF

[@kpeecee]

@AndyMacProGamer ok mate, thanks for that, i think we need a rocket, better look in the hangar

[@travisk5589]

Was that a dg 400?

[@jasmijnariel]

Check the end of the vid.....

[@travisk5589]

@@jasmijnariel A simple yes or no would suffice.

[@jasmijnariel]

@@travisk5589 just watching the video would be better, and more respectfull for the persons in the vid (pilot is dead now) and the person who shared this.

[@1596357martin]

Because he can climb much faster behind a tow plane and he doesn't burn his fuel what he might need in the case he gets to low somewhere.

[@pakkiaman2]

hi guys i really love this video , but i dont get it ... how 'd it be possible to fly at 10.5 km of altitude and the pilot is still fine at that temperature ( and i have to say ... the glider too , it seems it has not frozen any parts, aelirion rudder etc) there are at least -30 °C at 33 000 ft, and the pressurization is very necessary too ! can someone give me a detailed explanation please ? thank you

[@stonelaughter]

I have no idea if you're still here my friend but I'll try. The controls are all mechanical and protected from moisture by grease which doesn't freeze at those temperatures. A pressurised cockpit is not mandated below 40,000' and even then, in a glider the pilot would wear a pressure suit instead, as pressurising a glider cockpit is not practicable. Below 40k, he'll be wearing a full-mouth and nose mask above about 20,000'. Above 10,000' he'll likely use a nasal tube to feed the small amount of oxygen needed. The temperature INSIDE the cockpit is probably only as low as -5 or -10 - the cockpit is pretty good at retaining the pilot's body heat and breath warmth. Also the pilot will be wearing many layers of clothing to protect him. As you can see, the pilot was on this flight absolutely fine.

[@marijnfly]

The pilot is sitting in a greenhouse. Sunlight comes in through the canopy but the heat can't escape. So the cockpit is being warmed. Look at the canopy of this type of glider. DG's are known for their very long canopies. Even his feet are in direct sunlight. This flight isn't possible with most other type of gliders with regular canopies.

[@lifeingeneral9111]

above 12,000 nasal canula, above 18,000 full mask!@@stonelaughter

[@user-zm1ft3ob7t]

@@marijnfly BS. It would still be very cold and the pilot would need gloves and more cold weather gear than he was wearing.

[@grabir01]

They are saying that Davids last words were... Is that Mauna Loa ?

[@isaks3243]

that is a freaking small glider