 Review
by Bill Degen
New Zealand Hang gliding and
Paragliding Magazine
Dennis Pagen's latest book is aimed
at the largest section of the hang gliding population; student
pilots from Beginner to Intermediate. It is a massive book, large
format, 22 x 28 cm and 2 cm thick so you won't be carrying it about
in your back pocket like his earlier publications. It has a colour
cover and being so big it deserves to be hard covered, but the soft
cover makes it affordable.
Dennis most definitely knows his
stuff, being one of those rare, skilled competition pilots who is
safe and a great communicator. He has been flying for
nearly 30 years now, is a USHGA
Instructor and regularly scores highly in competitions. He has
written many books on the subject and is often regarded as the best
in the English speaking world.
This book contains so much
information that I doubt even Advanced pilots could read it without
gleaning valuable knowledge (to bad many advanced pilots seem to
stop learning!). Hang gliding skills are different everywhere you go
because of varying site, wind and thermic conditions and an advanced
and safe pilot at home is really a novice at another place. We all
miss out on some techniques that make flying safer and easier,
because those techniques were not appropriate for the conditions
that we learnt to fly in. This is why so many pilots make stupid
mistakes when visiting sites away from home. This book covers
everything in great detail so even the 'guns' can fill in the gaps
in their ability.
Dennis has an amazing store of
knowledge. He is aware of even the smallest details of flying and he
tells it all, but his greatest skill is that he has the ability to
put even quite technical information into plain language that is
both interesting and easy to understand. Many concepts that are
difficult to grasp, are explained with clever analogies, true
experiences, hundreds of drawings and photographs. The photographs
are modern and the layout is spacious so it is easier to read than
his previous 'Flying Skills' book.
There is an index so you can go
straight to the subject you're after and even a glossary of terms to
help you understand 'hang speak'. The book is a gold mine of
information and common sense, from Dennis's many years of actual
experience.
All this could be 'information
overload' for some, especially beginner pilots, so to combat this,
all important points are boxed and highlighted in the text or
condensed in the margins. There are also many 'Pro Tips', hints that
explain or give practical solutions to problems.
I was surprised to see pilots wearing
harnesses without being clipped in. Current thinking in many places
now is that the harness should be clipped and locked to the glider
during rig-up and the pilot climbs in when ready to fly. This almost
eliminates the possibility of launching without being clipped in
correctly. This type of accident features often in USA accident
reports so I was surprised that locking the harness to the glider
was not mentioned. New techniques do take time to catch on and to be
fair, the 'Hang Check' is well covered and emphasized. Oh and the
NZHGPA address is incorrectly given as Free Flights PO box! Nobody's
perfect.
Every student pilot (all pilots)
should have this book as a reference or to read again and again.
It's amazing what you pick up on the second or third reading. You
may also get say those words that make those know-all instructors
cringe, "but Dennis Pagen says..."
Hang Gliding Training Manual reviewed by USHGA President Bill
Bryden
Hang Gliding Magazine
Every so often a significant
advancement is made in the sport, and while most of these have been
related to equipment such as the double surface, floating crossbar
or variable geometry we occasionally are the beneficiaries of some
other kind of contribution. The most recent is a new book, Hang
Gliding Training Manual by renowned author Dennis Pagen. A couple of
years ago Dennis rewrote the instructor's manual for the USHGA, and
this new book dovetails well with it. The instructor manual
addresses such topics as how to teach launching and landing skills.
Conveniently, the Hang Gliding Training Manual discusses these
skills and other topics in a similar way and with the same
terminology for the student pilot. Clearly, consistency between the
instructor and a supplemental student text will reinforce the
fledgling pilot's learning, reduce confusion and hopefully bridge
gaps in the pilot's understanding.
Don't fret, thinking that this book
is a verbose, polysyllabic pontification promulgating various
esoteric cogitations and a bunch of "Dense Pages." This work carries
on in the style of Pagens Performance Flying, with ample
illustrations and well-written descriptions. Just scanning through
the book, it's evident that a criterion for the design of the book
was to have many more images than pages; almost every page contains
a photo or illustration and many pages have two or three. The
illustrations are the classic Pagen hand-drawn pictures with a small
amount of computer graphic supplementation to make them clear, sharp
and understandable.
When reading a book, the attention
span of many people is exceeded in short order and they put the book
down. With a magazine you can complete a short article before your
interest in that topic wanes, and then move on to a fresh topic.
This is part of the reason for the popularity of periodicals.
Reading Hang Gliding Training Manual is similar to reading a
magazine in this way. Each chapter is partitioned into several major
sections covering typically two to five pages. Furthermore, each of
these have subsections consisting of only several paragraphs and
usually a picture or two. This layout style is very engaging,
prompting you to continue reading instead of putting the book away
to gather dust.
To insure that key points or cautions
are noticed, several techniques are used which also contribute to a
sense of variety. Key points are often printed off to the side of
the main text in the left margin like the ones shown. I remember
making notes like this in my college textbooks so I'd be certain to
see them when reviewing for a test. It was effective. A second
method used to draw attention to a key caution is identifying the
warning with a graphic exclamation mark symbol followed by a
sentence or short paragraph in italics. Tips that can help you avoid
problems or enhance skills are presented in the same way as
cautions, but are identified by a small soaring eagle image. There
are also a number of places where things such as check lists, key
sets of instructions or summaries are set aside in a gray box to
highlight this informa tion for the reader, much like a sidebar
section in a magazine. Even if a pilot never actually reads a
complete chapter or section, he can benefit significantly by just
browsing the book, taking in the pictures and key points.
Of course, the most important aspect
of the book is the breadth of information it covers for the new
pilot. Typical stuff is covered like a bit of history equipment, how
to launch, etc. and it covers areas often not well addressed in
student texts. Emergency procedures, including tree landings, power
lines and water landings, are addressed. Of course, the pilot is
cautioned in almost every student text to avoid these, but we all
know that 100% avoidance 100% of the time by 100% of new pilots just
doesn't occur, and having some degree of preparation is advantageous
for any pilot. Suggestions are included on things to watch for when
shopping for used equipment. Unfortunately, far too many beginner or
novice pilots show up at flying sites with equipment not suited to
their skill level, and it would have been nice if this had been
addressed in more depth. However, I suppose that going so far as to
present a list identifying some specific gliders as obsolete, others
as unsuitable for beginners, etc., may be too controversial for a
book and better left to the Internet.
An excellent section is included on
glider maintenance and simple repairs (such as fixing a torn batten
pocket or broken batten) that most pilots will inevitably have to
make at some time during their formative years of flying.
Intermediate skills, including thermal flight and ridge soaring, are
introduced, but detailed coverage of advanced flying skills are left
for other texts.
This new book packs almost 400
pictures and illustrations and several hundred special points into
approximately 350 pages written specifically for the student hang
glider pilot. Hang Gliding Training Manual is well written,
wonderfully illustrated, and a book that will certainly be used
extensively by a number of hang gliding schools in the future.
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