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 68- Nik Hawks and weighing the risks
Nik Hawks returns to the Mayhem to share two pretty scary close calls that ended well, but came with a LOT of lessons that every pilot can learn from including: coming back from “fear injuries” by using the big 4, time, building exposure, and pattern recognition; how to get better at self-assessment (wingovers, exit from 360, exiting and entering spirals cleanly, avoiding and handling collapses, etc.); how to ask older/better pilots for help and the best way to approach mentors; when a pilot is really ready to go XC and what risks that involves; what groundhandling can…and maybe can’t help with; the safest ways to fly and practice and approach progression; training vs. equipment; eating for mental performance; the lunacy of spending money on gear before training and a lot more. This is a critical episode for pilots who are just beginning their journey to the most experienced pilots in the world. This one will save lives, make you think, and make you a better pilot. Spread the word.
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Show Notes:
* Fear injuries- what are they, and how do you recover?
* Intermediate syndrome- how to walk the line
* Avoiding dangerous positions- what is safe for one pilot scratching is different for every pilot
* Self assessment- how to do it better and why it’s so important
* Being a student of the sport
* Foundational skills that nearly all pilots don’t have well
* Stalls and SIV- what’s important and what isn’t?
* Where are you comfortable flying? Understand the jump it takes between flying different places and different situations. How to keep fun as the priority
* How to approach mentors and learn from the more experienced pilots
* The questions to ask- 1) What do you see? 2) What do you think about the conditions? 3) Have you seen these conditions before? 4) What happened?
* It’s a lot cooler to be a better pilot on lower performance gear than a lesser pilot on a wing beyond your ability
* Developing a routine and a mental framework for “bringing it” and being confidence
* Be a professional pilot
* Saving it for a better day and listening to your gut- think in decades, not in days
* Thoughts on Groundhandling- where it can, and possibly can’t help
* How to train to stay calm and mentally train yourself to manage fear
* Visualization- what you can do to imagine your flight going well
* Optimism vs reality and positive self-talk (the positive power of negative thinking)
* How to develop a progression plan- write it down, journal, make a plan
* Eating for performance
Mentioned in this episode:
Ben Abruzzo, Bill Belcourt, Adél Honti, Matt Beechinor, Marko Hrgetic Hrga, Brad Barlage, Trey Hackney, Fabien Blanco, Jocky Sanderson, Nate Scales, Russ Ogden, Josh Cohn, Theo De Blic, Will Gadd, Jon Sylvester, Bruce Marks
Nik and I spoke about his friends input in the sh...