Quote:
Originally Posted by RickI
I agree and for far more reasons beyond what you list. Squalls can create violent wind direction and speed shifts that you can't keep a kite flying in. It will stall and perhaps be relaunched spinning out of control, what then? Offshore windshifts are common and killed kiters in the past. Depower is great but can only do so much in sustained wind. Squalls aren't that well behaved, believe it.
You're a professional commercial jet pilot, what are some of the reasons you don't fly through squalls aside from electrical considerations?
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In many aspects all unknown bring inherently many dangers.
But here are many things we do know about these weather phenomenons.
The structural load of aircraft is limited and in thunderstorms and squalls these are far exceeded from certification numbers.
No kite is every test flown by any company and said to be o.k. in those conditions. No kite company would dare take that liability.
All certification of aircraft loads are static testing until it breaks. On the GROUND ! Only the dead pilots are the tribute of showing they went one storm to deep. And I know of a few that just made a bad decision.
RADAR is the eyes for the pilots in those clouds. Many times a picture drawn on a screen is not even a great reproduction of what is happening in front of you, and that picture may rapidly change in the next two minutes. And your escape plan just went out the window and your in for a ride of your lifetime, with the only thought, how you would ever come out alive and NEVER will do it again.
Are kiters good at (bottom) cloud reading and speculate what is above? CB, wind pattern shifts, hail, lighting ?? Many I have seen caught in windshifts and rainstorms because they wanted one more tack to go out.
And the simple why is it necessary to be this close to something that can change so rapidly. Calculated risk is made with most sports, but here is a variable most others stay away from.
A few years ago, I copied from the FAA an acronym:
IM SAFE and it was posted on different BB's.
I Illness - Do I have an illness or any symptoms of an illness?
M Medication - Have I been taking prescription or over-the-counter drugs?
S Stress - Am I under psychological pressure from the job? Worried about financial matters, health problems or family discord?
A Alcohol - Have I been drinking within eight hours or less ?
F Fatigue - Am I tired and not adequately rested?
E Eating - Am I adequately nourished?
A simple rule yet in the many deaths I have seen here in Europe, and with limited reporting abroad, I can say that in most cases this
IM SAFE rules was compromised in one way or more. Unfortunately
riding in unsafe conditions and unsafe locations and unsafe equipment only make this worse.
Even that someone who flew into my building may have compromised one of these rules.
So I hate to read about kite accidents, my most beloved sport.
Everyday I can wait for wind, but that day will be over when I handicap myself out of this world.