I CRASHED my Paramotor into the ground HARD

[@georgebunce749]

I don't see many people making videos of their crashes and I'm glad that you did. It helps others learn. Glad you're unharmed, keep making great videos.

[@loadblock4995]

Roger that. Thanks!

[@longwalking3882]

Glad you're ok Mark. Appreciate your humbleness in posting for our benefit.

[@aviator]

Really glad you're safe man. Stay that way!

[@nitro200flyer3]

Dell ...All you have is get my supper training Bla Bla Bla, and never any real input from you I've also watched your students crash and burn on KZbin, So what? Did they purchase the low budget package deal so it wasn't your fault? Looked like rotor maybe a wing not suited for conditions or a pilot not suited for the wing..like any extreme sports you need to know when your pushing your envelope.

[@braveheart4603]

If you either have skill or you don't then what's the whole point in getting trained ?

[@RASPUK]

Dell Schanze do you get to drop kick owls during SUPER training?

[@jamienkelley]

Maybe someday my finances will allow me to join this great sport! But of I went to a training school and the instructor was a cocky as Dell Schanze I would walk right out the door!

[@maddogmorgan1]

@@DellSchanze Dell I am hurt! When you sucked me off in the toilets you told me you loved me!

[@MarcAmenson]

Wow! Glad you didn't get hurt. Great to be in good shape and smart upon impact. Watch that rotor any time the winds are above 7 or 8 mph, definitely better to get above it or stay on the ground altogether. Stay safe buddy!

[@AntPDC]

Great respect to you for showing this Mark. Many wouldn't for fear of fomenting a firestorm of hysteria and abuse. So glad you weren't hurt.

[@PPGFlyr]

Wow dude. Glad you are okay. In less than a week, I have had two different things happen to me that I will be posting soon. One, I clipped a tree and came down pretty hard (no damage) and last night, I had an engine out where I had to land in someone's back yard. The trials of our sport... stay safe brother.

[@phillipkane4424]

Trey, would love to see the vids on that. I agree its a bit harder knowing the distance with the line. Glad to hear you ok. I bet you more pissed about then anything.

[@adamaves5563]

PPGFlyr can't wait to see this vid like watching your journey on how your getting on with the self training

[@MarkHuneycutt]

PPGFlyr sorry to hear. Video could be interesting for sure

[@Paradicted]

@@DellSchanze I think it's SO cool that you are the only one on the planet who somehow was able to create a wing that is totally and completely impervious to mechanical rotor (probably even a tornado) and a frame that will ALWAYS prevent injury or death no matter the circumstances of a crash. Super Dude, you should be insanely RICH by now!!!

[@maxglide]

Dell Schanze I’d say the first mistake was flying in pre hurricane conditions with winds gusting to 25mph. The collapse on that flight was manageable in normal flight. However, with no height and that turbulence, the wing appears to be sinking hard in the down part of turbulence. It’s also possible that the angle of attack was increased enough to stall the wing.

[@markbeatlesyeah]

It's the old "we can laugh about it now" experience. Thanks for sharing Mark. Very real life stuff here. Glad you;re OK.

[@DaveyZeeTV]

I really dig your videos Mark and one thing I like about you is you always comment back your good dude in a in a very good inspiration for me to learn to for foot launching! thanks and safe guys too buddy!

[@907FreedomFighter]

Only here to find Dell Schanze 's standard batshit crazy comments.

[@Lehmann108]

Bat shit crazy, yes, but one hell of a good pilot!

[@Paradicted]

@@Lehmann108 Very true, just ask him...

[@briansmobile1]

Glad you're okay man. You've got some grit. Hit me up if you come out to Utah to fly!

[@sea0fgreen33]

Never comment on how good things are going, the universe will smite you for it ;)

[@vigilante004]

Glad you are OK! Thanks for sharing and I'll pray that you keep walking away from your excursions.

[@roberteshelman5917]

So glad you're ok, Mark. I'm somewhat new to PPG and I'm just now learning about the finer details and importance of winds aloft and gust winds. I had an unsettling experience with turbulence just the other night; however, nothing like you experienced. I'm glad damage was isolated to just your prop and netting. Thanks so much for sharing this unfortunate experience.

[@julianweijler2109]

'practice reverse landings' =Check! Thanks for sharing! And glad you're ok Mark!

[@AntPDC]

May I ask you knowledgeable folk why the prop isn't entirely enclosed by that kevlar (?) netting?

[@bradbutler4213]

Glad you're ok, a new prop and netting are a whole lot less expensive than broken bones. Thank you for posting, you probably saved someone else from breaking a leg or worse. Blue skies.

[@jasonsmith697]

Thank you for your services brother , and be careful out there

[@MisterstereoOso]

We wannabes are in your debt for posting this, the much needed reminder that Mother Nature will have her way with us, if we are not extremely careful & diligent ! Very glad you didn’t have far to fall & you got away with it, happy & safe flying in the future. I’m going to take a look at that Pagen book !

[@MrCPPG]

Thanks for sharing Mark. Glad you are alright. Looking again at this video I think the key phrase of caution at the beginning was "The hurricane is coming in"

[@MaxsAdventure.]

Damn dude glad you didn't get hurt. And I think it's awesome that you posted it. When I first started I would delete every crash or fall.(and there were a lot) I wish now that I had the video to share and maybe help someone not make my mistakes. But my pride was hurt too much I guess. Lol.

[@scarroll451]

You’re awesome. Thanks for sharing. Have you submitted it to Paramotors self-trained yet for crowdsource analysis? I bet someone will have a suggestion you hadn’t thought of re inputs. Not sure about brake inputs and timing, but I do wonder if having some power in would increase your odds. There was a very similar one posted yesterday. He was 20-30’ off the ground, swung to one side like you, and got a gust and partial collapse. In his case his wing recovered on its own a few feet off the ground and deposited him gently on the ground, flat on his back.

[@calebturner8228]

Sick crash! Glad your ok! I got to ask what paramotor is that?

[@rogervoss4877]

No second guessing from here, just glad to see that you're OK - and even minimal damages. Nasty gusts.

[@MitchG]

Sucks you busted the prop! Glad you are ok. Lesson learned on flying in gusty winds. We all have to learn our limits. I've learned mine the hard way as well.

[@9wyn]

Glad to know you are OK. Thanks for sharing. 🙏

[@maxglide]

I’m pretty sure you weren’t caught in a rotor. You said a hurricane was approaching and the wind was at 13mph, dropping down to near 0, with gusts to 25mph. One can imagine that winds from a hurricane do not increase and decrease in a laminar manner. This was 100%.avoidable by checking the weather report and heeding the conditions. Even if you had been able to perfectly manage the collapse, turbulence of this magnitude is associated with violent up and down drafts and you may have smacked down hard anyway. I had a saying with my students “flight is not a good thing to learn by trial and error.”

[@sophtware]

As a rule of thumb, my cut off is 8 to 12 with gusts no greater than 5 mph.

[@sophtware]

I do know something -- I know MY limitations with the training I have had. And, yes, we could ALL use a little SUPER training in our lives. Are you offering a discount if Mark or I take SUPER training?

[@vanzepplin]

If you care more about safety than selling training why do you ask the highest premium for your classes? If its all about saving lives and getting as many people as possible trained properly wouldn't it make sense to make it more affordable or even free with with the purchase of your gear? Or does money come first and your full of crap?

[@mark675]

Dell Schanze not lies though are they, the proof is out there in video form, you cant deny it.. well you will anyway but as i said words dont mean anything 👌

[@mark675]

Dell Schanze haha! What is worse than anything is you dont even acknowledge that you killed that guy with your shitty training and dumb arrogant attitude, smashed him into the rocks and killed him but you dont even own up to it, you are one sick little man smh

[@mark675]

Dell Schanze how ironic when its you whos lying 😂😂

[@theclintified]

I learn so much from watching you Mark. Be careful man.

[@TONYPARAMOTOR]

GLAD YOUR OK.WHAT TYPE OF WING HAVE YOU? WHO IS OR WAS YOUR INSTRUCTOR ? HOW MANY AIR HOURS HAVE YOU? "LIVE AND LEARN OR LEARN AND LIVE." ARE YOU STILL BEING TAUGHT BY A INSTRUCTOR.?

[@ParaglidingManiac]

One thing I can't find ANYWHERE - is a video r explanation on how to land under a reserve parachute with a paramotor on your back. Without breaking one of the legs against the cage.

[@josemontalvo4532]

Good to know you were able to walk away from the crash. So you had to replace the netting (part of it), and the prop? Kiting is always fun!

[@BSmithPPG]

Glad you're ok and minimal damage. Weird gust of wind. Thanks for sharing.

[@brucesweatmaniii6030]

tree rotor got ya? should of turn to the right? like Tucker does?? glad your o.k. where that windsock??

[@PPGGrandpa]

A ton of fricken fun. Oh shit. I lied. Dude. Glad u r ok!!!

[@wills.5762]

Woulda been sooo damn easy to break something landing like that, you've either got a guardian angel or bones of adamantium

[@paradad9609]

Hey Mark... I wonder if adding power would have allowed it to recover before you met the ground... Risky either way I guess.

[@choysum9030]

Glad you are safe so we can have you around for another 30 to 40 years.

[@rohanhasani807]

I went through the crash section of the video again and again.. it clearly seemed to be gust.. But the recovery could have been better and a crash could have been avoided if the dive of the glider was checked immediately by applying breaks and not allowing the glider to dive further... Really Happy U are safe.. have fun in sky and also have safe landings ahead....

[@JasonHam41]

That was my thoughts, active piloting could have prevented /dampened that Huge forward surge.

[@jissanboermans5009]

That sucks man. Glad you're alright.

[@paradad9609]

"I lied." So awesome :)

[@PPGMurse]

So glad to see/hear your okay Mark. I got info for net repair if you want. I am getting better at it.

[@MarkHuneycutt]

Above The Pines Productions ha I'm pretty good at it thanks to another prop strike

[@PPGMurse]

Mark Huneycutt cool. Yea, first one was hilarious (the repair job). To bad I didn't get a pic. Again, glad you fared so well, and your gear.

[@MarkHuneycutt]

Above The Pines Productions thank ya

[@natural9743]

You were definitely caught by surprise good lesson in that alone and you walked away

[@JohnUllrey]

Glad you are OK and have strong ankles. Guess it must be hard to do a PLF with a paramotor strapped to your back.

[@MarkHuneycutt]

John Ullrey haha I was definitely in PLF mode but it was more of feet knees chest

[@FlomatonFamous]

Damn bro, that was hard, glad you're ok.

[@rolloverriderpgr]

Rotor can be measured. It is typical for the disturbance to go 1 1/2 times the height of the object the wind went over to where the air cleans up. Kyle O caught rotor effects on a video and a dusty road. I had read about it somewhere and bought a bunch of smoke grenades at the fireworks place a couple of years ago when I started playing with a wing and kites and did an experiment and its pretty much accurate. The distance from the trees to where the air cleaned up is at 1 1/2 +- height depending on wind speed times the height of the trees but at 15mph it gets a little longer away. Mountain tops and hills I haven't checked on yet but someday Ill do it just to kill this monkey curiosity!

[@ATECZephyr]

If you were a bit more higher, you probably might of been able to recovered from it. Cause you have had a prop strike do you need to do an overhaul on the engine?

[@MarkHuneycutt]

xairvtw no you do not

[@L_U-K_E]

What do you do when that happens and your 1000 feet in the air?

[@WAVE_ZERO]

Luke P well timed brakes for a recovery or reserve chute. The plus is you have more time to evaluate before impact

[@Paradicted]

Simple, he would have lost another 5-10 feet of altitude (had the ground not gotten in the way of that 5' -10' needed) and the wing would have recovered nicely like nothing ever happened.

[@jamesschaeffer1770]

Whoa, that was a close call, Mark!

[@timcurrent8343]

Glad you’re Ok with only prop and some minor netting damage! So the crash was due to 100% rotor coming off the trees? Thanks

[@NCPPGpilot]

Combination of rotor from the far side that hadn't been sorted out yet, and gusts of over twice that of the steady wind speed. The wing was beginning to fly again, but the Earth was too close.

[@u0000-u2x]

looks like you had an asymmetric front collapse due to rotors in the area (and lack of active piloting). when trying to correct with breaks you used a little too much and stalled the wing. safest thing to do in this situation would be to initially let your hands high to give the wing a chance to recover by itself (when in doubt, let the wing fly). it would start spinning to the left (collapsed side) and you would apply a bit of right break to compensate but taking care not to overdue and stall. good thing you came out fine :)

[@iltjoa]

I cringed a little there when I saw the wing collapse & then the drop crash. Looks like you caught some rotor wind from the trees. Glad you're safe.

[@stevenlarratt3638]

Looking at the top of the risers it looks like you have them trimmed out and not set Correctly!

[@DAS-Videos]

What's the status of your machine? I keep checking for new flying videos.

[@MarkHuneycutt]

Dasdfjkl it's repaired. I've been on vacation.

[@NCPPGpilot]

Glad you ended up on the better side of that brother! Skip that record okay?!

[@DAS-Videos]

This is a good video because people can learn from it from your experience. So basically you saved others from getting hurt. Everyone has a crash eventually, but with videos like this maybe crashes will be entirely eliminated. That is what I think anyway.

[@carlhopkinson]

Near misses are Realitys way of giving you a sporting warning shot before lowering the boom if you persist in your folly.

[@Millbrook1974powderedwater]

Wow man, that's was a big "oopsy"... Glad you're OK!

[@BG322]

The gusts got you! I don't think you want to fly when the gusts are 5-8 miles higher than the the wind speed. Personally, I don't like to fly when the winds are more than 6 or 7 MPH

[@mcsons13]

Ouch, that was really bad luck. Just not enough altitude for the wing to surge and recover. If you had braked more you could have stopped the surge but would probably have induced a stall - in this case a kind of parachutal landing might have been a bit better, but it's really hard to tell.

[@ravenandrantin8333]

1. You have to get a new wing! Especially if your going to be flying in dirty air you should be flying something beside a velocity anything. 2. All wind is not created equal. A hurricane blowing in is going to create different air than a regular cold or warm front. After the hurricanes blew all the way up the midwest the air was dirt. All the wind maps were say "3 gusting 6" and such but once you got above tree top it was like middle of the day thermally and this was in the evening. Even the winds aloft were saying it should have been good but it was crap. Even the tops of the tress weren't making any movement but those big storm fronts were causing nasty air. Once you got a little above the trees it was nasty. Everybody is saying "rotor" and all that, but this isn't a normal condition. It could have easily been a down draft from above from the storm. 3. You need a new wing!

[@DAS-Videos]

What's wrong with this wing? I think it looks good from the video, it corrected itself but ran out of real estate. There are a bunch of videos of reflex wings that once they collapse they don't recover.

[@ravenandrantin8333]

He needs a more modern design. I am not saying this isnt a decent wing but there are better designs that are more collapse resistant. These wings are not tested to EN standards (albeit the new elktra is. The edge in this video is not). If your going to fly in the kinds of conditions that Mark flys in he needs a more stable design not a low end wing. It wasn't just this video. The very first time I seen a couple of marks videos and he is flying in the middle of the day and spending alot of time down low. When you fly like that you need something proven stable as hell. The Velocity wings are ok to fly with but it should be in decent conditions.

[@DAS-Videos]

That makes sense.

[@Noonenaught]

A genuine reflex wing will recover from a collapse far quicker than a non reflex wing, however they can reopen so quick that its almost a little violent, one of the reasons acro paraglider pilots who collapse their wings a lot don't like it

[@Paradicted]

@@DAS-Videos Show me ONE - reflex wings ALL recover, it just might take an extra second, maybe two.

[@akennyd]

Glad you're ok!! Thanks for sharing...

[@mountainman5173]

Glad you're ok Mark... that could have been a whole lot worse...

[@thewombat9025]

Glad you were able to walk away from that!

[@fletchlivesdaily348]

You are one lucky customer...glad you made it.

[@braveheart4603]

Ouch, I feel bad for your prop and motor but the main thing is that you are safe and uninjured brother.

[@RockinRobbins13]

Well, maybe bad judgment there with the wind conditions but how are you supposed to develop good judgment without bad judgment. Great moves there on ground contact though. You absolutely minimized the consequences with some nimble fast thinking in the moment there. You can't teach that. How much is a new prop? Can that one possibly be repaired?

[@MarkHuneycutt]

RockinRobbins13 around 200 for a new prop but I'm sending this one off to Dave at blue sky ppg for repairs which should be under 100

[@tacohikes9692]

Never flown a PPG but done plenty of the "OH SHIT this is going to hurt!" stuff.

[@WonderfulWoodwardOfAZ]

Hey Mark, you’re great! Thanks for the content.

[@mikerall01]

Glad your ok.....if you were higher would it have all corrected itself?

[@Millbrook1974powderedwater]

Most likely, because the wing will always open itself again, unless you did something really unfortunate.... That is why altitude means safety... We all got that hammered into our brain..

[@PPGMurse]

Excellent question. Yes, most likely. I believe it was not only the rotor, but also that it happened so shortly after takeoff. Since he was climbing still he was quite up to full forward cruising speed yet. That (slower speed and therefore less solid inflation) combined with the rotor tucked that front in when the quartering wind hit it just right. The wing he is flying (velocity edge) is a beginner intermediate rated wing. As such, it is very forgiving and very stable, compared to a more intermediate and/or advanced wing. Another 50-100 feet of altitude and he might still have come down, but it would have been with more forward speed, more stability and therefore more control. Actually, if you watch, his wing appears to be fully inflated, and flying, when he touched ground. It had already recovered, but he just didn't have enough altitude to correct the oscillation and surge to recover to controllable flight prior to hitting.

[@starwarsfanforlife]

Well at least this video is proof of what Dell has been talking about where the prop strikes happen with Black Hawk equipment. Glad you didn’t get hurt.

[@tylercombs4781]

You sir are my hero

[@MarkHuneycutt]

Tyler Combs you are mine

[@jamessutherland4238]

So glad I got away from my edge wing. Go to reflex if yer gonna be taking wind risks. Good luck my man

[@jamessutherland4238]

The main point of these comments should be to say "Mark, I hope I get to fly near ya again. Please be safe. We're so glad you're ok".

[@jamessutherland4238]

Yo, Dell Schanze are you saying that about 95% of the pilots and instructors in this sport are fools? Got it. Sounds feasible.

[@matthewrossilini5808]

Its because you didn't have CRUMPLE ZONE!!! hehehe thx for sharing the video. Hope to get into this sport soon

[@gregmoyer8959]

I'm happy you're okay, you don't have a Dowty Rotol landing gear.

[@AstralBeing]

*"Maybe the wind is getting to where it's like dangerous."*

[@Dan_Ohhh]

I got an almost identical setup to you, that’s cool I didn’t know that. I haven’t tried a carbon prop on the 100 yet but that’s next

[@frankiepaul9869]

This sort is actually safer then it looks and it looks fucking terrifyingly dangerous

[@neekniggit3606]

Man you got lucky! That was a good drop you took there.

[@GeorgeBohnisch]

Hey dude, glad you're okay. If you had a bit more altitude the wing would have recovered and you would have swung out of it. Just an unlucky gust.

[@TheGardenSnake]

Take it easy guy!

[@havenlew]

Hope you're doing well man!

[@DAS-Videos]

From watching this I think if there is a cloud front that looks like that, the pilot has to not fly, or get high enough to get a recovery. I would pick to not fly after watching. It looked to me that you just about recovered but ran out of altitude. It looked like a wind burst that was faster than you were going, to your back.

[@tilidie5272]

pretty lucky eh, if it was higher could you have corrected it?

[@jojojosmart1]

I don't fly these things, but just after your first "oh shit", you let off the gas allowing the wing to get ahead, allowing you to swing back and drop into the dirt. Maybe you should try the un-natural technique we try to use riding dirt bikes- when in trouble-gas it.

[@jdean216]

That was a fun video to watch. I'm kind of glad I didn't go up before the hurricane now after seeing this. Ha I was kind of wanting to

[@maxbootstrap7397]

Just a thought. I note a lot of good paramotor pilots fly very low until they pick up quite a bit of speed. When you think about it, that makes sense because the speed of turbulence is then a smaller percentage of your speed, and so the turbulence will not have as much effect as at slower speeds.

[@phillipkane4424]

Mark awwww First, glad to see your alright. Bad part,,, you broke it. Damn, now to the repair shop and a couple of dollars later. Keep the wing up.

[@leedootson9431]

thanks for posting glad your safe.

[@thomasnappo6309]

Would this have happened on a DOMINATOR WING..

[@Snyper1188]

Damn man, glad you're okay

[@thedanmaas]

Wow! Glad your okay! I just had a similar incident last week. Didn't hit the ground nearly as hard though. Video coming soon.

[@saltytsp]

Dan Maas what was the wind speed??? Glad you are ok.

[@thedanmaas]

saltytsp Windy reported 7mph gusting 15

[@mikebrady2073]

Wow! A 50 ft drop is definitely an "Oh SHIT ... OH SHIT ... OHooo (impact) ... Ha Ha" moment. Did you spot? I'm truly glad you're OK physically, but mentally? Well Mark, I don't know if you make good decisions. Let's see, the combination of teasing Alligators in your last video plus noticing the trees swaying in the background of this video (consulting my Beaufort Wind Scale). I must admit, I do have my doubts. And yes, we all know you DO look a little Schizo talking to the camera while sitting down in a big field all by yourself with your equipment around you. Well everyone does, especially when viewed from a distance and nobody can see the dang camera. All in all, I think your OK and that's why we love you so much. ; ) Be True and Fly Safe.

[@mark4565]

Glad you ok Mark.

[@SurfKiteFly]

Wow, turbulence from the tree line! get rid of that wing and get a reflex wing. glad you are not hurt! stronger the wind the more severe the turbulence. I avoid flying out of bowls when ever possible.

[@Gkitchens1]

You're both lucky you weren't higher up and unlucky you weren't higher up at the same time. Taking a collapse with altitude gives you a chance to fix it. Not fixing it higher means worse injury. Glad you're alright. Maybe a change of wing is in order

[@CyclingJunkieUSA]

Wish you would have shown your crash from y our friends camera perspective. Glad your safe.

[@wll1500]

He did tho

[@PRDMRE]

Thanks for sharing this experience

[@charlieswearingen500]

Seems like a lot of weight with a motor on your back to land with. I would get a trike, but then I'm an old man now... ;-)

[@appcarpenter1]

rotor got ya, prop is easily fixed. if you haven't, order the ppg bible vol 4. great info on prop repair and well, everything. I cant wait to order mine

[@yitzharos]

well that de-escalated quickly...