So who is off next

Tony_H wrote

Also, I reckon you can only say you dont like crashing if you have been involved in a crash,

Actually, I did survive a crash, albeit it was in a glider, the wing was written off when we hit an immovable tree.

Remember thinking on the way down, ~ shouldn't my life be flashing before my eyes? Just reached for the camera and took photos before and during the hit.

Blimey. Still got the pictures?

you never cease to amaze me dave :shock:

Dave Mac is in fact James Bond. He has for some reason not mentioned that his glider was being shot down behind enemy lines, and he made his escape in an Aston Martin with a Heidi lookalike at his side... or was that Tino?

I claim my five pounds.

My OH and I were scheduled to take our novice flights in a two seater. In New Zealand. Big, brave old me, says "I'll go first"

So up we go. I was in the front seat. After half an hour of stomach churning wheeling around, we head back. Unfortunately, we were too low to make the airfield and the pilot radiod in he was looking to land out.

He came on the earphones to say he knew of a field, just behind the next mountain, and told me the procedure for quick height loss, followed by quick landing, and by the way, could I keep my feet well clear of the controls.

The procedure involved turning the aircraft through 45 degrees, ie we were going forwards, but facing half sideways. The glider dropped like a stone for 250 ft, before the pilot straightened up, and changed to a steep angle, flattened out, we hit the ground and the wheel brakes failed. Hence the tree hit & smashed wing. It was a great piece of flying. No one was hurt beyond scratches.

The pilot, was the son of my old skiing buddy, was destined to be in the top 10 world glider pilots, and a qualified instructor.

Other things we did involved a helicopter flight to the top of a mountain, through mist and cloud, following a valley stream for guidance.

Then we were offered a choice of transport from North to South Island. We chose the sea plane option. This turned out to be a 50 year old Beaver De Havelind. Shortly before take off, I cottonedon that there was an oil leak in the engine; a third of the engine oil was leaking during each North/South/North direction. I looked the pilot in the eye, and asked if we got into trouble could we land in the open sea? He said we could, and off we went.

Then I was allowed to take charge of a 30 ft sailing boat on the open sea, a decision the owner quickly came to regret, as my sailing technique was closer to Trencher's boarding than Chichester's sailing. I refer to the angulation, not the smoothness.

So:
1) Our holiday insurance was largely a waste of money
2) I have had much, much worse results in ski accidents
3) Never trust a qualified instructor
4) Oh, I am no longer that keen on gliding :shock:

Tony, I'm afraid I lost heaps of photos in two computer hard disk crashes.

Is that right Dave? Do you have access to secret info?

Does Tino look like Heidi? :shock:

Dave Mac wrote:Is that right Dave? Do you have access to secret info?

Does Tino look like Heidi? :shock:

Erm, I havn't seen Heidi for a while, but apart from loving the mountains I am fairly sure we are not very alike )