Great stuff thanks Jezza. I've never seen that before.
I found a copy of the outline plans for a Skyhook Mark three, I remember mine was a Skyhook two but there seems very little difference between this and the one I built. It definitely did not have a kingpost, I didn't even know about them at the time, but on reflection I consider a kingpost was totally unnecessary anyway, since I was not planning to fly it upsidedown or do aerobatics with it! G would always be positive unless I was seriously in trouble. I suppose it might be useful for ensuring the correct dihedral though.
I had several successful flights. After the first afternoon's experimental hops in a large open sloping field at the foot of Fox hill between Helsby and Frodsham, I then took it to the car park next to Moel Ffamau in North Wales, overlooking Ruthin. That's where those photos were taken by my father.
Fox hill test-hops. Only two, I was knackered afterwards!
The first launch was ignominious, but a learning experience too. I chose a day when it was almost flat calm, thinking that lack of wind would avoid extra complications, but I was wrong
That was my first mistake! From the car park the run was down over short grass with a few tufts of heather. I didn't get enough flying speed, there was almost no wind, so I ended up running faster and faster and faster and then tripped up and fell forward into the soft heather. I picked myself up, no damage, hauled it back up the hill and tried again. This time I was determined to hold the bar out a lot further, so that it would catch the air.
Again, another run faster and faster and faster, I found my weight being taken by the seat and suddenly my feet were in the air! Wow, absolutely fantastic!
Conscious of the growing audience in the carpark behind, and after having established that I was flying in a stable condition and that I'm going in a straight line and seemed to be under control, I turned to look over my shoulder and waved to the people with one free arm. Then I returned back to the task at hand. I had plenty of height and I was aiming for a field, the one which you can see in the last of those pictures, the field with sheep.
I thought that I seemed to be flying a little bit fast, I'll slow down a little - so I gently pulled the control bar towards me. I did not seem to be slowing down particularly, so I eased it towards me a little more. No, I definitely wasn't slowing down, what was happening? My mind froze. So I held the bar in the position it was in and I didn't change anything - just aiming straight ahead for a track in the field. I ended up landing on the track and skidding to a halt. I made no attempt to flare, because I didn't know which way to move the bar since I couldn't figure out why it wasn't responding the way I expected it to.
As I impacted the track I skidded to a quick halt without any problem on the double thickness multiply plywood seat with my legs out in front, the nose plonked down and I remember pebbles coming up from the nose. I stopped, none the worse for wear, nothing damaged - the nose was made of sturdy metal plates and bolts. At that moment now that the pressure was off, I realised what had happened!
I had been pulling the bar back to raise the nose to slow down - which is the normal response when you're flying a normal (model) aircraft, but in a hang glider you must consider your body as being the stick - it works the other way round - you
push forward to pitch up/slow down and pull back to go faster! My father came down with the van and he congratulated me on what he thought had appeared to be a perfect flight. I told him what had happened, and then we packed it up and went back up again for another go. This time another successful launch and this time I had full control. I could slow down, speed up, turn to the left and the right, everything very stable and in complete control.
On reaching the field I kept the flying speed up until I could almost touch the grass and then steadily pushed forwards to fly parallel to the field, as it slows down you continue to push forward progressively, slowing down more, then you push fully forwards bringing the wing behind you at 45° to your direction of flight and then the thing becomes like a giant parachute and you plop onto your feet with hardly more than two or three steps forward. Perfect!
After about three flights on that day I'd had enough to prove to myself that it was a goer. I went back there on a windy day - you can see one or two pictures where I was above the camera and flying in real weather. I managed several more flights on days when I could stay up for several minutes at a time. There were many occasions where I landed back near where I started, parked the wing and opened the thermos flask and had some sandwiches to enjoy the company of the skylarks and the rooks before taking off again, brilliant.
On one occasion I was flying along the slope and there was a lady with her young daughter walking along the footpath nearby where I was flying, as I flew over them I realised I was losing a little speed and I ended up pancaking down in a mushy stall with nowhere to go but down and they were directly in my way! I came to rest on the poor young girl who ran precisely the wrong way to try to get out of my way. My size 9 boots planted firmly and squarely in the middle of her back! My speed was low and fortunately she survived although she was very winded for a minute or two. I apologised profusely but nothing was broken, no damage done in the end. Oops! Blush.
I flew it many times over the summer of 74 before getting a job abroad in 1975 so it never took to the air again. I took up glider flying in 1976. A decade later I gave the tubes to a hang glider pilot friend of mine, he was building a Rogallo powered microlight with the tubes. I think he ended up frightening himself and smashing the propeller as it caught in something or other. That was the end of that, then he took up paragliding which he still does to this day.
