The Cloudbase Mayhem podcast is where you will find fascinating and educational interviews with the best free-flight pilots in the world. If you fly a hanglider or paraglider, if you fly acro or cross country, the Cloudbase Mayhem podcast is where we glean how the great pilots of the world get there. Hosted by Red Bull X-Alps pilot, National Geographic Adventurer of the Year and current holder of the North American foot launch record, Gavin McClurg. Follow me on Instagram @gavinmcclurg or on Facebook @ facebook.com/gavinnmcclurg or Twitter on @cloudbasemayhem.
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Episode 62- Patrick Hennessey and Speed Flying basic to expert
After many many requests we bring you our first show dedicated to speed flying and mini wings. Patrick Hennessey is a pilot based in the Northwest of the US who’s been getting after it but came into the sport via skydiving and has a pretty interesting take on how people should learn and access the sport. In this episode we talk about the inherent risks of flying small wings, the high number of unnecessary accidents, the “cowboy” attitude and the lack of foundational skills, how important your own personal background is before you learn to fly a small wing, how “stupid” small wings are to fly, the best programs to go through to learn, how to safely learn the more advanced tricks, yet another shout out to learn ground handling and a lot more. Speed riding and miniwings are so insanely fun and the sport is growing fast, but a tall price is being paid in accidents. This episode is in some ways a warning, but it’s important for those of you who fly small wings or those of you considering it to have a listen and take note as it can be learned and practiced safely.
Connect with Patrick here:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patrick.hennessey/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/livelifelovelife365ayear/
A buck an episode, that’s all we ask.
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Show Notes:
* Patrick discusses his background in skydiving and the catalyst to learn to speed fly and learning the basics and building a foundation
* Where and why most mistakes and accidents happen
* The importance of taking professional courses
* How different countries are approaching the sport and what needs to happen from a regulation standpoint
* WARNING- mini wings are NOT meant for thermalling!
* How to build up the basics and how to learn safely
* How to keep the stoke when you get so little canopy time
Mentioned in this episode: Doug Stroop, Denise Reed, Aerial Paragliding, the Ranch, USHPA, PASA, Ultimate edge, Michael Dunning, Christopher Marin, Jamie Lee, Myles Macauley, Five Ten Shoes, KAVU