SEVERE Weather Downs 20+ Pilots!

[@jeremybyler1092]

I am glad no one was hurt. Swooping the cliff was absolutely insane content!

[@christiancarron5454]

It's worth noting that virga (which was seen apps 30 min prior to any adverse weather conditions at S Utah Fly In) can sometimes lead to or be associated with microbursts. As the precipitation evaporates, it cools the air, making it denser. This cooler, denser air then rapidly sinks, creating a microburst... For those non-pilots, it might sound scary hearing "microburst" like it was a complete surprise, but there were plenty of pilots who landed early this evening after noticing the clear signs of virga.

[@BrilliantDesignOnline]

Wow, GREAT explanation; it makes sense now why the core drops so heavy.

[@davegalvin537]

Ever thought of adding motorcycle communicators to your helmets. These days they have mesh systems were users automatically get added when in range and each individual unit can act as a signal repeater so the distance you can communicate over can be far greater than the old setups.

[@mmcowan]

Many of us do. We like the Sena 50R. It's kinda fun when motorcyclers get in range and wondering who's on the channel, and we're all "look up, dude!"

[@toetbakker]

We use radios to talk

[@nedmacallen]

lol your joking right haha

[@nedmacallen]

It’s a super common thing in the community

[@ozmall7399]

That sounds funny af!! Love thise vibes 🤣​@@mmcowan

[@aguamalone7615]

I saw that virga also, and someone else reported feeling raindrops on the radio a 10 or so minutes before the big gust came in too. Glad I stayed on the ground that evening

[@swoop_cheetah]

Thank God you guys were alright. What a weird weather event.

[@Jaybo79]

You're a wealth of good information. You've entertained us who enjoy your shenanigans. You're appreciated and deservingly respected,

[@mikepierce1228]

Wow!!! Glad all got down safe. Great video for pilot school. Great vid AGAIN Mr. T!!

[@nkronert]

Radios to warn your friends would be great to have.

[@mjbishop2k3]

Damn man great breakdown of that entire situation. Happy everyone made it home safe just shows how quick things can go south.

[@RyanBreyPPG]

Yes! I've been waiting for this video to drop. That was a great overview of that crazy weather event! I was one of the pilots that decided to land out in the desert that evening. Considering the number of pilots in the air and the severity of the weather, its amazing that everyone landed safely. So stoked for Josh's cat like reflexes. That sh!t was crazy.

[@TuckerGott]

Did you have any video from your pov? Landing out was definitely a good call.

[@RyanBreyPPG]

@@TuckerGott No,it was the ONLY flight I wasn’t recording during the whole event. I’m glad you caught it. That dust rolling through town, the dust devil and the downdrafts to the west made me want to be on the ground quick. It was a hard decision to make at the moment, climb or land. Like you said the wind was smooth up high. Some pilots climbed to higher altitudes and never felt turbulence while others were near the ground getting trashed. It was a spicy ride and some seriously active piloting getting to ground.

[@flyul1]

I'm happy to hear you all are OK. Thanks for sharing.

[@ravenmoon1165]

Wow, Tucker talk about a nailbiter! I’m really glad that Josh is OK and you put out some excellent points for all those learning to be flyers. I think you’ve got to go with your gut and trust your skills and we know you have skills. For those of you who don’t have skills, please take the conscious route.

[@QuatroAtYale]

Glad you and all your fellow pilots are all ok.

[@evancrowley84]

Wow that was gnarly. So glad everyone made it through ok. Good on Josh for the quick reserve reflex.

[@larryshair]

I'm so glad you're all safe.

[@parabollox-darrel]

"No pilots were harmed in the making of this film" Good analyisis @TuckerGott. Glad everyone was OK. Safe skies

[@kjpphotography4764]

So glad you guys are alright. Thanks for the video!

[@markclark2361]

Damn good thing everybody made it down all right😮

[@CaptainB747]

Very cool. Definitely a (minor) dry microburst!

[@walachaviation9171]

The same thing happened to us at the Montana fly in. So crazy to hear your commentary, as we all made the same mistakes. Group mentality, etc. We all said the same thing, "if I was only I would have landed". I got blown backwards at 15 mph. Managed to land, just missed power lines then got dragged. Very scary stuff! My take away was to trust your judgement, and fly every flight as if you were alone. Glad you are all safe!

[@FLYNRYAN1978]

Glad everyone's ok. GOD Bless!

[@flyingdanwitha29sedan]

Dam dude!!! That 14m is fast!!! I love the way it swoops you down like that!!man!!! Those cliff dives were on point!!!but dude I could only imagine getting caught in that.. watching you bounce around and be full power coming down… crazy dude.. I’m glad that Josh and all of you where ok

[@JulietsMan]

u once said in a video from way back, "if u can see it, it can effect u." That has always stuck with me.

[@SamuraiRO47]

Wow, Tucker! That was intense! The way you handled those winds was insane. You're a true pro.

[@bugz000]

there's a video of a microburst on my channel, i've seen 3 total, "dry microbursts" are a thing too, one of the three was "dry", and was by far the wierdest one, perfectly clear day, no clouds really to speak of even, it was very moderate temperature, quite still, and suddenly this incredibly strong blast of ice cold wind came from nowhere which lasted barely 30 seconds, but was enough to completely uproot a single chestnut tree and crush 8 cars a rally (i would link the newspaper article, it was described as a 'mini cyclone' but that's small town local reporters for you lol, was totally a dry microburst) - it was by far the shortest, most concentrated and coldest microburst i'd ever experienced, quite cool though!

[@Thetinkanator]

Holy crap! That’s my home town! Born and raised in pligville Colorado city arizona

[@darylnewbury]

Glad you all made it down. Stay safe

[@BrilliantDesignOnline]

There was a situation back in the 80's (?) at Lake Como (?) in Italy, it was a super clear day, and the hang gliding site is at the end of a lake valley. Everyone was soaring and fairly high, but a cumulus started to develop, and then overdevelop into a cumulonimbus. About 14 pilots were sucked up into the cloud, ones who survived, said they were diving as much as they could, but were still going up, and a number of them were totally whited out, not even sure which way was up, in terrible turbulence. More than one was found spit out frozen solid miles and miles downwind. A number died. Weather is serious.

[@BrilliantDesignOnline]

excerpt from xcmag; At the World Championships 150 pilots flew safely every day for two weeks and on most days there were storms around. The storms were real storms with thunder and lightning, but they were quite mild without strong gust fronts. The storms were also forecast so they were expected by the pilots who were among the world’s best. This is not always the case. Our sports’ most serious storm accident took place in Como, Italy in 1989. The day was overcast with weak lift. All the pilots were scraping around in weak lift trying to stay up. Nobody expected storms. But a storm grew above the stratus cloud layer, and about 20 pilots were sucked into cloud on their hang gliders. Not only was the storm unexpected but it was also hidden and extremely violent. Several pilots were killed as they tried to land in strong winds around the gust fronts from the storm. This terrible day has gone down in the history books as the worst ever day in free flying.

[@DrAElemayo]

@@BrilliantDesignOnline That is absolutely terrifying. Kinda makes me want to quit doing this shit

[@tango_sierra8608]

This was an awesome break down and video. Was waiting for this. Love that you touched on group mentality- feel like that’s something that isn’t brought up a bunch and happens at every fly-in. “Oh see they are flying, it’s solid. Send it” 😂

[@66tbird1]

Welcome to AZ weather. Glad all is well.

[@butchdavis2703]

You are super fast on that setup. It looked like you were going 100 mph. That’s a spicy ass ride. Dive bombing those cars and cliffs was awesome.

[@TuckerGott]

FR2 14m is spicy for sure.

[@KentTexas]

You were getting ROCKED!!

[@frankalbergo8120]

Excellent, happy everyone is safe.

[@overthetop97]

Would be great to interview Josh. How was the landing? Was he thinking about just letting the frame take the brunt of it or should he use his legs to try to dampen impact? Was he facing forward on landing? So many questions we would like to know about reserve toss. Glad you guys are ok.

[@rustonstevens1]

I was watching everyone leave that cliff edge I’m pretty sure me and Adam were the last ones there! It was very obvious that something wasn’t right, it’s awesome to see how much sooner you picked up the bad weather than most! Props to you for getting us away from the cliffs ❤

[@fleececommander]

You have to be wary of the danger of push on push on I'll be fine . Trust your initial feelings , take the safe option land and live to fight another day . Glad everyone escaped unscathed , great content as ever

[@SupernovaSpence]

We were at Monroe last week! Wonderful week for flying but also very unusual weather. Lots of verga!

[@lorena1383]

I am glad Josh is safe and intact. 🎉

[@roberthance2412]

it may not seem it to you but from where i'm sitting your a mad man ...

[@mattc.310]

That was a great breakdown of a unique situation. All the signs were there, but like you said, conditions were contradictory. Glad everyone got on the ground with no major injuries. I know you don't fly in groups very often, but always thought comms would be good to have. Someone chatty would mess with the mood though.

[@KeatShadows]

Very exciting!

[@modus_ponens]

Really informative and good video! Gives insight to the thought process, and also that not every good looking weather flyable. Those clouds never appeared to be _that_ bad to my eyes, which just shows how unpredictable the weather is. Enjoying these kinds of videos the most, because it is really valuable information for all the pilots. I rather learn the danger situations from youtube than from first hand experience 😅.

[@kentyhurst7835]

Thank for the video. I d9nt fly but I do enjoy most of your videos. Especially ones like this one where people learn from other mishaps

[@DRZME400]

At first...I thought the guy who said he had a stand up landing was on the reserve ride and I was thinking how incredible that must have been along what an athletic beast this person is. Then you show the actual frame and motor of the reserve landing and it makes sense (very happy he's ok!). Great video! Excited for a spicy glider someday (when I've earned it). I just learned to paramotor and was at the event with my coach. We had just gotten our golden flights the evening before and decided to leave the morning this happened. Would have been crapping my pants on my Spyder 24m haha.

[@joseferrer8738]

I was only able to attend on Sunday so I only got the stories about what happened. Scary stuff. Fly-ins can be a challenging environment since most of us aren't used to flying with a lot of traffic, but when things like this happen it's good to know that help isn't too far away.

[@aricellis]

Reminds me of what happened at Purdin's fly-in this year. There was a sudden change in the air and all hell broke loose. Pucker factor 9,000 and land outs everywhere.

[@duanehohenstein6473]

O I remember that. I was landing a PPC and it was a challenge, seen a video of it and heard a lot of cheering and clapping. Glad I didn't take Ruger and was Solo.

[@catherinesarah5831]

🦘🇦🇺 WOW Lots of takeaways from this one. Interesting comment you made; “… the weather looked contradictory to what you were feeling ….” Certainly throws a different chapter into risk management analysis. From what I see to what I feel to what I know. Thanks for getting back safe & the great lesson. 🪂🙏

[@chrispbacon550]

Crazy situation!! Does the higher wing loading on the Freeride 2 make it more stable in turbulent air like that..? I’d love to hear what a meteorologist thinks about that situation. Definitely crazy.

[@KritchieXX]

Great and interesting video, so glad the outcome was positive in the end. But I really think the final thoughts should be a lot more than "it was contradictory" as a final learning from this. I get you're out there having a fun time, but just as in this video where you've pointed out the variety of warning signs ALL PILOTS ignored in the moment, the take away should absolutely be to heed the warning of oncoming weather conditions over immediate experience of the conditions surrounding you. I just really hope all 20 pilots took away from the experience that there needs to always be awareness of what's coming when you're up there.

[@VerJanFPV]

Great breakdown, that had to be wild to be in the air for that! Glad everyone made it through it!🤙🧡🦅

[@DothDuck]

Lake Wales is a great place to learn paramotoring and skydiving, nice videos out west!

[@JohnUllrey]

When you were worried if you friends were following you back to the LZ, I thought if you all just had some cheap family band (FRS/GMRS) radios you could have let them know you were heading back and why. When I used to fly paragliders we always flew with radios.

[@modus_ponens]

4:34 Shows well the speed difference of wings. Like literally _"running circles around"_ 😄

[@paramotorIRL]

wow and i thought the landouts at purdins were bad! glad josh is all good!

[@daveketelsen1773]

Glad your buddy Josh is all good. Did he say how high he might of been when he threw the reserve? Just wondering since I just added one recently and not regretting it one bit now.

[@TuckerGott]

I believe he was at a similar altitude as I was when I passed by the school. I would estimate 400-600ft.

[@soiboughtabus9563]

It is a little things you have to watch for. For example the other day I was driving my promaster, I heard whining like the power steering fluid was empty so I put 8 oz of power steering fluid in. It was still whining but like my 2005 caravan, when it ran out of fluid it whined for the rest of its life. Well it got me 90 me back home and then the engine just started free spinning, an issue between the power plant and the drive shaft. Did my KZbin research and I came to the conclusion that my scavenger pump went out. That or a 2021 ProMaster just lost all its transmission fluid after 174,000 miles.

[@Mike-01234]

I was up in the Cottonwood, AZ area last week noticed Virga which was unusual because the forecast didn't mention this still warm even up there I telling my wife wish that rain would make it to the ground. If you look up Virga wiki page comes up "Precipitation falling into these cooling downdrafts may eventually reach the ground. In some instances these pockets of colder air can descend rapidly, creating a wet or dry microburst which can be extremely hazardous to aviation". Something that I didn't know.

[@nabflyer]

When i was skydiving in california, I did a sunset flight. Took off with zero wind, got to 10500, jumped, noticed a 4 wheeler doing doughnuts in the LZ. The dust it was kicking up wasnt rising, it was straight lining. I landed with my canopy pointed in the wind, front risers being pulled on, still hit the ground going backwards at about 15mph. Scariest damn jump of my life. Flying in the desert is always unpredictable, especially in dusty flat hard-pan.

[@mmcowan]

Damn Josh! Glad you're okay. I think I have the same reserve, so I should prolly get a bigger one.

[@hateeternalmaver]

glad y'all guys made it out well.

[@alcampbell5831]

I was in a yacht race which had been very light airs for hours, going nowhere. We spotted a small cumulus not far away and decided there would be some wind from the downdraft, when we got in the micro-burst all hell broke loose. Way more wind than we could handle. Didn't expect any trouble when the water was glass smooth all day.

[@butchdavis2703]

Another great lunchtime. Tucker dropped this video at the right time. I’m happy that everyone is ok. 😮

[@TuckerGott]

What's for lunch?

[@jonforrest4405]

Yeah Tucker, thanks for dropping this at lunch!

[@butchdavis2703]

@@TuckerGott I went to a taco shop near the job. Shredded beef tacos are amazing here.

[@lewisgiles8855]

Big Mac meal with a sprite, the fries are awsome. Glad alls well!

[@PsychoticusRex]

Love Matt's shirt, man has good fashion sense. XD

[@AzBob01]

Hats off to the Big Guy. He was definitely looking out for all of you that day.

[@PeterCiesla]

😮 Valuable information, thank you.

[@jackhydrazine1376]

It doesn't need to be a microburst, but could be a simple downdraft.

[@PatrickDuffy-u3s]

Weather changes in an instant in the west. I lived in AZ for 15 years and I've seen it go from clear skies to a raging monsoon in 15 minutes.

[@ytwhiletrue]

Thank you for sharing! Could you also include the GoPro sensor information, at least for the uncut videos? Thanks!

[@jefftube3987]

Tucker, did you fly that Friday morning? I was late coming in to the LZ that morning and the air was getting funky already, different than anything I had experienced in Oklahoma. I’m pretty used to flying in Windy and gusty stuff in Oklahoma, but this was just eerily different.

[@adventureswitharizonaart6117]

Virga is an outflow predictor. Here in Northern AZ, we run from virga.

[@Lizlodude]

20:20 Survives microburst, falls and dies crossing a 5' ravine on a twig 😅 Glad everyone's ok and made it back safe.

[@TuckerGott]

Classic. 😂

[@Xasukis]

you should totally try using a 360 camera.

[@TuckerGott]

I have, they're just a huge pain to process long clips. I use them on special occasions.

[@DrAElemayo]

I've been in a similar situation, where I wanted to get down ASAP but I was experiencing extremely strong updrafts, everywhere, making it extremely difficult to get down. (This was in a paraglider rather than a paramotor.) I eventually had to throw my reserve and landed pretty hard. It is absolutely terrifying being in the air during things like this. It feels like forever. Once I was on the ground, I was surprised that my only injury was a broken hand. In hindsight I ignored a lot of things thinking I could just land if things got bad... but yeah it's a LOT better to land before things get bad.

[@niconico3907]

You should buy a drag chute, its cheap, light, and very usefull. It can increase your sink rate to 3m/s in normal flight, between 4 and 5m/s with accelerator, and 15m/s or more without too much G forces in 360, it also make the exit of the 360 much easier.

[@salimweh5733]

you are my guide to paramotoring with my beginners license

[@rule1dontgosplat]

It’s much better to be on the ground wishing you were in the sky, than to be in the air wishing you were on the ground! Glad everyone was okay!

[@pilotpeego1820]

Will I ever try this sport? Hell to the no! Too many variables!

[@Kievlar]

So happy that Papi Josh was uninjured!!! I love that guy!

[@fastfission8061]

Not uncommon flying in the high desert. If you see virga like that, you will get some pretty heavy downdrafts and turbulence. Flying regular fixed wing aircraft, it's generally just bumpy and uncomfortable as long as you've got some altitude so you can fly out of it, but I can see that it's a pretty scary situation for a paramotor. It looks like you handled things well. Around 19:19, it looks like you've got dust devils in the distance. That had to be completely sketchy.

[@MrWomanjuice]

Hey Tucker I’m sure you have answered this question before but have you ever tried hang gliding or considered it? Just curious!

[@Eric-em9qw]

That's all the change it takes to fall out of the sky? Whew. Glad you're all okay.

[@BrilliantDesignOnline]

In a gust front situation, the best plan is to run downwind and outfly it. Say it is going 40 mph, try to get ahead of it flying straight downwind or 45 downwind, and if possible behind orographic obstructions, and land ASAP, and near to a fencepost to grab if desparate. Once the front is past, re-launch and fly home or hitchhike, or call for pickup.

[@jr_inc2249]

Hey! That's my hometown

[@gregsteele806]

He's in a Maverick Micro-Burst... A low level Funnel Gunnel. Seen it at the airport a thousand times.

[@CaptainMcFly13]

VIRGA- Visual Indication of Rain Gradient Aloft.

[@Yaateeh1000]

Great vid.

[@RobsNeighbor]

Wow, sounds like everyone was safe, I always wonder about the reserve.

[@robertgoodale7204]

Bro I was one of those other pilots flying on the ridge. A total opposite experience for me. A wall of air hit the cliffs and shot me straight up and then held me there for the next ten minutes. I went big ears to kill my wicked altitude. It was getting dark and I face planted my landing because I was down wind. I didn't notice the wind completely switched direction, I just wanted down. All was well nevertheless. In retrospect it was a golden experience. Someone ran out and immediately told me about the reserve toss!

[@TuckerGott]

Damn! That’s wild.

[@tapuout101]

You could actually see the clouds fanning down when going back. They seemed like they could make some dust devils.

[@patrickswitzer628]

Going for the LZ upwind is heading into the teeth of the beast. Once you realized you had blown it, better move would be to find a clear path downwind and stay high, outrun the gust front.

[@niconico3907]

There are mountains Downwind, you don't want to be over mountainous terrain in bad weather, it can be even more turbulent because the wind is disturbed by the cliffs, its harder to find a place to land, its harder to get help from friends, or emergency services. Better to land early on flat ground, or escape sideways.

[@propdoctor21564]

Awesome video

[@steveshovlar994]

Do you not have radios or Zello to communicate with each other?

[@TheFreeLandersGuide]

Was Josh's reserve a Beamer3 steerable?

[@Simfight]

At 5:24 you can see the clouds sort of dropping.

[@joebaston3525]

Hey Tucker what do you think about a flattop

[@TuckerGott]

One of the worst paramotors out there.

[@tomdunn7147]

"The cliffs of insanity" if you know, you know.

[@storminmormin14]

If you throw a reserve you should get a tie like when you eject from a plane.

[@Albertppg]

I've had bad streaks like that and the truth is that I kiss the ground when I manage to land 🤣

[@erikgrant8464]

Glad y'all are ok... nano-burst?

[@TheMcIke]

Question: would an event like this make a group consider using radios at such events?

[@joffephoto]

Avery and I were taken out of the sky by a micro burst.. it’s hard to know what’s going on in the moment, but theoretically you can fly over a microburst.