Those Things On Your Back (Part 2)

Now that we’ve gone over flight preparations, launch and landing basics, let’s move onto actual flight. Hope you’ve been preening and practising because it only gets harder.

Recall when I said “knowing which type of jump can best suit your flight pattern is essential.” Let’s put that into practice. Start off with a repetition of the previous jump you practiced, but this time, angle your jump at roughly 45 degrees. Start flapping at twice a second, if it’s working, carry on. If not, fold your wings and brace for impact. You should really be practising on soft ground at this point. Continue your brief flight for around five seconds, then kick your hind legs forward and brake. Now land.

Pretty good feeling ain’t it? You can extend this period of flight to however long you feel comfortable with, but know your limits. You’re not a badass yet.

Now it’s time to move onto identifying the use and application of the body mid-flight.

The aim here is controlling how streamlined you are. (Just real quick, the term “Streamlined” is basically a design used to minimise air resistance) Controlling how streamlined you are is essential to acceleration and deceleration.

Now take a look at your legs, take up a position which is as close to lying on your stomach as you can get. Fore legs sticking forward, hind legs sticking out backward. Make sure they’re parallel. You’re not doing a belly-flop here. (Again, I hope you warmed up) If you could see the air, it’d be passing over you pretty easily right now. This position is pretty commonly used to gain speed, I haven’t thought of a name for it yet. Moving swiftly on, remember the technique used to brake? Pulling your hind legs forward and making your back and wings vertical and increasing the amount of wing beats per second (WBPS) is a pretty reliable way to brake, but take note: The harder you try it, the greater the likelihood of serious injury. So whilst slowing down the process increases brake distance it also increases survivability. Try experimenting with gliding during this period, it’ll help with the deceleration and come in handy when it comes to handling turns.

Which I’ll get to later, remember: All legs taut and parallel for acceleration, spine straight and hind legs pulled forward for braking.

 

Thought for the day: “When you are not practicing, remember, someone somewhere is practicing, and when you meet them they will win”