Thermal flying near the trees is not for beginners

5th September 2010.
I got my paradliging license one week before that day, and felt way too confident ! Feed the squirrels while flying wasn't such a good idea.
No injuries. The wing is ok. A good lesson :)

[@High9231]

Very nice video, shows how little mistake can give bad results. Glad you were ok. Usually, people are ashamed of this kind of stuff. Thumbs up for for sharing!

[@southwestwingchun]

thanks for sharing the video. i'm sure you know, way to close to that ridge line. especially when you were over the back, super low. i kept saying ''turn away!". glad nothing bad came of it. only a better pilot a great vid and a good story. many thanks

[@AceMcMoron]

Thanks for sharing, it takes greater balls posting a vid like this - which we can all learn from - than flying so close to the trees.. Good luck and fly safe

[@spartafly3014]

Location: For all who wondered where this is: Mt Salève, France, overlooking Geneva,Switzerland Launch NE, ca. 300m N of the antenna tower and Restaurant l'observatiore 46°08'55 N 6°11'20 E

[@mrskyl1fe]

I am a beginner and always willing to accept advice from those with experience.I'm off to enjoy 4 days of flying at a festival this weekend. Thanks for the constuctive words of advise.

[@markbeep3469]

nothing but experts here on youtube. glad you're OK bud.

[@patrickswayze2596]

mark beep well said mate 👍🏻 I closed down my main account for a while because of all the so called experts giving me advice who has never left their trampoline in flight!

[@patrickswayze2596]

Great to see another brother fulfill their dreams of flight, glad you’re ok mate 👍🏻 Lucky you landed where you did, could have been a lot worse, but we live and learn, so when in doubt, fly it out ☺️ Happy flying brother ✌️

[@uni000ver000sal]

Like you, I have been in a similar situation. Give you credit for posting/sharing this. Don't worry about the negative comments. At least you walked away to fly another day. Enjoy it and keep safe.

[@jonmalmberg]

Nice... Not thermals... just ridge lift and a little misjudgment in a slot. Probably hit a little mechanical rotor. All good my friend! Looks like some nice soft trees and a good lesson learned. Fly on!

[@mrskyl1fe]

Sorry for your troubles mate! I am also a beginner who has been in the trees during lessons. Thank you for exposing yourself by posting this vid. A good teaching aid/reminder for all of us.

[@MikeyFirst]

I've been flying for almost 5 years now, and I still don't dare to fly as close to the trees/ledge as you did. Glad that this 'accident' turned out well for you. I also noticed you were flying with your accellerator disconnected. If you really were flying thermals and/or underneath a major cloud, then this was a big no-no.

[@offshore911]

near the ridge, i fly always with weightshift to the left in this case and little brakes at the right. so the left side cant create uplift to slide to the right. im glad to see this and im glad too that you are not injured!! happy landings and see you in the sky. where is this spot?

[@huepix]

yes. that is the correct technique. any issue, releasing the brake will allow the weight shift to instantly turn away from terrain. So easy and quick for a gust to suddenly take us into danger

[@lo9key]

wups! haha, I found myself leaning left as I watched the video and sure enough... only took a moment's lull there. Good example vid, thanks for posting.

[@coolbubble]

For the speed bar, there is always the possibility to attach it while in the air, if necessary. I learned it a day the wind reinforced very suddenly in Charmey. Before that, I was flying without speed bar for my first 100 flights. When you NEED it, you quickly learn to attach it. That should be a safety ability taught during formation. J'ai encore jamais volé au Salève, mais je vais passer y faire un tour, ça a l'air top, ...et y'a même un acro-branches : )

[@huepix]

good call. I often forgot, early on, to attach my speed bar. I have taught myself to do it up while flying. Wouldn't want to have to do it in some funky thermals tho! 😬

[@nova4robert]

Using the gopro myself, it's a good educational video for all pilots Hope you're not losing the spirit for flying, be careful next time. Grtz.

[@SalvatorePellitteri]

Glad you are ok, fly safe.

[@upway2l8again]

Obviously not "like" for the crash, but for incredible sync of vid and tune, and perfect choice of music... glad you are okay. Thanks for posting. :)

[@Humphreymongolia]

Good lesson. Thanks for sharing.

[@flynandi]

Great contribution...glad you got away with it safely. Fly safe,buddy.

[@bladnik]

I have soared in France for years on "hill assisted thermals", which can look like ridge soaring, and I suppose the dividing line between "hill assisted thermaling" and "ridge soaring" is very fine. It just depends on the conditions of the day. Love the music.

[@petethewrist]

Over confidence is just one of thebiggedt killers in flying. Take it from me It had me big time many years ago, glade you were okay. Cheers,Pete

[@hubsonekka]

I dont know what is worse, flying into trees or hanging later over huuuge space to the ground. :/

[@ribrug74]

i was stoned and loving the music..confidence was good but a lil lackin in 'active flying'...happy landings for the future..keep flyin high!!

[@georgebygeorge]

It's like with a bike, if you look at the tree, you go to the tree! Two seconds before, you it was possible to be saved if you looked to the exit... Good flights !

[@paranutaus]

I love how your just looking around thinking, "ok so what do I do now?"

[@haru-vz5dn]

Glad you learned the lesson and survived :-) How long did it take you to get out of the tree? Did you need assistance?

[@wayne11122000]

I've flown over 200 flights without a speed bar, and happy to report no problems.

[@gersonuk]

Sad incident... nice video... and great song!

[@turbine1974]

nice and honest video. Good choice and timing of music, by the way! Safe landings and lots of fun!

[@percyclement6934]

Glad you're all right. Nice work with the music/vid.

[@horotandanut]

werry kool landing , so precise.I have some land's in the tree, I preffer the fruits tree.

[@CiachoLover]

Great video and choice of music. It tells a story. Add credits and it's a "short film". Thumbs up.

[@MrWalterfly]

vuelo térmico? dinámico en todos caso... sin duda cerca de los árboles... muy cerca.. demasiado... cuidado cuidado muy cerca!! puufff no te sueltes de las ramas del árbol... que suerte no te lastimaste, menos mal... como bajaron al piloto de ahí? como bajaron la vela?

[@horotandanut]

Of course Maurer and all competitor's are werry good and trainned, and fly good.

[@willappleyard5095]

we've all been there mate! don't worry

[@DaJungleDred]

Oh man how did you get down looks like the tree your in is hanging right over the ledge... great video

[@oracla]

Same happened to my friend. 3 days of pilot license and he went hanging on a tree :) These are cheap lessons, next time you may not be so lucky!

[@tkrafael]

+oracla Agreed. Last weekend, after 140 flights I hurt my knee. I thought that a parking lot was a better landing than a soccer field. I did a curve too low, lost wing pressure and colapsed/stalled the wing. That was cheap. I could broke my legs or worse.

[@huepix]

yup. on my third flight I flew through a wire fence. walked away. my mate, flying above said he'd thought he'd witnessed a fatality. I got the nickname "twang".

[@ElSusurradorDeTermicas]

Uf!!! :OO , How did you go down from there?

[@cjmahusay1502]

This is not a thermal but a soaring caught by the rotor. Thanx for the vidz , soar safe.😀

[@olivvv0000]

I see at 3:20 the right hand going down, and at 3:23 the wing effectively turns a few degrees to the right. At 3:24 the pilot want to turn left as its feet indicate, but the right hand is still very low. I cant see the left hand.

[@miketulfo1]

It happened to me, I was hanging halfway of the 60feet ridge. Inexperience caused the accident. I was able to lower down my height that allowed me to jump but unfortunately I end up almost breaking my feet and could not work for 3 weeks.

[@SiemaZiomek]

Polacy zazwyczaj bardziej widowiskowe 'crashe' robią, potem wyciągają glajta z krzaczorów i startują z jakiegoś kamienia.. Na Słowenii jak byłem i ktoś na starcie mówił "rescue parachute" to zawsze padało pytanie "was he Polish?"... zazwyczaj odpowiedź była twierdząca :)

[@olli54321]

very nice footage! Fly safe!

[@battmann678]

Ahhhhhh.... another fun day flying...

[@rickleaver4617]

Haha - I love it! This is 4 years ago so as you no doubt know you didn't weight shift away when you were scratching; I learnt to PG in 2008 and now have over 400 hours in places such as Pokhara, Porteville, Algo. Olu Deniz etc etc.. I love it man. I'm now teaching people to fly & i'm addicted - I live in KL (Malaysia) so if you ever pass this way it would be a pleasure to fly with you - thanks for sharing :-) and a message to your detractors - show your videos.... Thanks again - im drunk tonight but really enjoyed it - I've no doubt you know you f*cked up - we all do cuz :-) oh and a call to Sando - of course they're no thermals! He was f*cking lucky - hope you now fly clear - better change the title...

[@BruceBusby]

Well... that escalated quickly!

[@wojtas89wojtas]

Dendrolog, pięknie zanurzył, tylko ta wyjąca pała w tle psuje ten piękny szelest liści w glajcie :D

[@facuclop]

Scary!! Thanks for sharing!!!

[@EyeMaxi]

Is there a part 2 of this video. I want to know how you untangled yourself and your glider? Glad you landed safe though. Nice video

[@blueckaym]

That was epic!!! Seriously, the video music were beautiful! I was really blown away! Flying so close to the trees really makes you feel like a bird, but as you can see is also extremely dangerous!!! I really hope you got unharmed, and no squirrels fed on you! ;) "Feed the squirrels" hahahaha :D

[@zorbi1]

Looking at the clip makes me think you got a wake from the other guy who was passing below you, causing you to loose height thereby putting you into the path of the trees... Also when ridge soaring it's better to crab slightly away from the ridge rather than flying parallel to it. Rather than falling into the hill you would turn out from it easier...

[@Roelof39]

Well at least your photography skills, music and editing is excellent. Nice site, where is it? Keep on practicing and enjoy!!

[@Slears]

wow..that was close to the Trees..no wonder you crashed..glad you`re o.k. Lesson learned..

[@seitenwind7940]

So, der Pilot hätte sowieso deutlich mehr Abstand zur Felswand und damit auch zu den darüber liegenden Bäumen halten müssen. In der Folge wäre der Pilot mit dem blauen Schirm bei 3:10 (von ihm aus gesehen) nach rechts in den freien Luftraum ausweichpflichtig gewesen. Und spätestens bei 3:20 hätte der Bruchpilot nach links ausweichen müssen, stattdessen fliegt der mitten in die Bäume. Das war sowas von absehbar.

[@farflyer]

That was ridge soaring near threes rather than thermal flying. Where is the 2nd part?

[@daren588]

great stuff mate ! at least you kept cool !

[@pocmaho]

I now this place. I almost scared the squirrels at the same way when the wind suddenly turned it's direction. Did you managed to get off the trees safely? Wish you better flights for future!!! Cheers

[@ARScooterTow]

Beautiful!

[@griffinisbell]

get a motor and you'll never have to worry about that happening ;) control your own lift! its so awesome! glad your ok.

[@flytox06]

I'm curious to know how long it took to get you out of this mess ? :-)

[@JustTheB]

also the thermal/upwind is more away from the slope ^^ but i think he knows it now :D

[@putin88100]

nice clip! is it an advance apha 4? are you still fying it? thx

[@charliehartley46]

At least it was a soft landing, hope you and your wing got out ok

[@PetrPolach]

btw, this shouldnt be done, but I really enjoy close flying and I cannot help myself too!

[@instrumentenfreak]

Thanks for sharing :-)

[@carlosleon7683]

Glad that you're doing ok after that accident. The remaining question is: how the hell did you get out of there?

[@laserflight]

I am wondering too

[@jolllyroger3728]

was that caused by your flying thru the air the other PG went thru ... = turbulent and diminished

[@Goair18]

How did you get your wing out, also how did you get out the tree>?>

[@MegaFunflyer]

I rather think he received some "Wake Turbulence" from the guy going the other way, watch carefully and you can see him entering the Turbulence just prior to going in. Respect "Wake Turbulence my friends,

[@pnuema1.618]

Lucky man right here

[@BuceGar]

Good music.

[@heinzknut80]

Where is this? Its a beautiful location.

[@juanrede]

so,, you stay there to live for ever ???? how many hours take to get out of the tree ???

[@ballardbrad]

Very nice video! Where is this? Also, just curious how do you and the glider get out of a tree and back to civilization? Isn't it hard to untangle from the tree? Most of all: I'm glad you survived and were basically unhurt. I hope you continue to fly every chance you get. Brad Ballard Cincinnati, Ohio

[@danielgonzaleztejedor9486]

Did you recover your glider? It looks as a pretty hard place to do.

[@Kassandra_]

I'm from Switzerland - Maurer, Hofer etc. winning X-alps most of the time :) Coconea is the guy famous for his running aye ?? Swiss guys prefer to fly :):)

[@oldtimeraero]

Beautyful!

[@galegregory97comcast]

how did you get out of there??

[@letrend]

experienced pilots survived while they were experiencing

[@datollepoldi]

But also a very nice video!

[@funmedien]

If you want to see the paragliding-crash click directly here 3:22

[@stanmancam]

How did you get out of that tree??

[@honzatoman3602]

Hi. Good that you are OK and "educated" for future flying. What location is this?

[@oliviergros4347]

+Honza Toman Seems to be at Le Salève, next to Geneva and Annemasse

[@DrumnBassWorld]

always keep your speed at low altitude , you must know this...

[@TheFluffyDuck]

Surely this is dynamic uplift not thermaling?

[@ticdelarue]

Is this the spot 46.14715, 6.18669

[@HGAviator]

Not surprised.

[@Chubbslol]

did you climb down?

[@mark675]

how the hell did u get down?

[@anvy82]

if you were looking for thermals....well...you were too close!!...best climb rate is almost 20-30 mt far to the slope... Enjoy next flights!!!

[@thruid3]

Hahahahahaahaaaaa !! So precise ! LMAO !

[@alexsakon]

that looks like ridge flying to me, not thermal flying. Lucky it's just trees and not rocks.

[@rickleaver4617]

cuz - 30km/h+ launch in Central Java. Not textbook, but fecking fun :-)

[@markao1975]

where is this place?

[@NChambernator]

Wow saw that coming.

[@lujapi8626]

Por que quitaste la musica, era perfecta para el video

[@youwhot]

Brilliant.

[@Andresmorales79]

Place?

[@ate2fiver]

Wow! An Internet video that was entertaining, where people collaborated to learn something useful?! Did I get redirected to this site from KZbin?

[@puiufly]

Where is the thermal ?

[@Spike2060]

What happend to you glider? Damaged?