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I was wondering what do pilots use for long XC flights.
- urinar condom
- camel bag with water
- Muesli for breakfast
- what to eat in the ear? protein bars or?
- spare money for retrival
- maybe some sleeping bag if you can't return in one day?
What else is needed?
Anyone got some advices of what should be XC kit contained?
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I will use your list as a partern:
_ "urinar condom" : good idea, but I never used it, may be some kind of dippers is not bad idea too.
- camel bag with water: this sounds good too but, I have never used it for flying, I usually bring softer plastic bottle 1.5l and smaller bottle to refresh myself during fling.
- Museli for breakfast: for brekfast I like to eat something different than what I will carry.
-air food: I don't eat while flying, may be I should follow your suggestion,...
- spare money for retrieval: yes, and list of phone numbers, but not always the phone itself.
- sleeping bag : it is always in my harness actually part of my back protection, along with sleeping pad. I removed original sponge form my harnes and figured out the way to stuff the sleeping bag and sleeping pad in the same original protection container bag.
. Tent is better it saves you and your gear from rain.
-what else is needed: spare lines, needle, thread, lighter, light pocket knife, GPS of course, water pills(I have never used them in Bosnia).
This is mainly my rough guideline or formula, but of course it can vary due to style, preferences, and special circumstances.
When I PG pioneered Prenj and Cvrsnica in BiH mountains I carried sleeping bag instead of tent, but back there in Hercegovina I knew hunting lodges in mountains and was sure if I land anywhere I will know to find roof or cave above my head, also with good forecast I have proffered to watch stars he, he.
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I like to eat cereal bars in the air.
I used to land feeling exhausted after big flight and since I have started eating it is much better. When I am at work I notice that I do not think so well in the late afternoon. I think it is part of my natural rhythm.
Looking at my flights in the past I did seem to land due to bad decisions in the late afternoon. It seems better now.
Foods with oats are good because of the slow release carbohydrate.
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Tnx for your info. Next time I will carry some oat based food to check it in flight
Well I think that I will get some ultralight sleeping bag just in case.
Ahhh weather forecast for saturday and sunday looks perfect to check my new food-flight tactics here in Bosnia
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You will have to define "long" as well as "XC" in terms of what regio to get a good answer here.
For instance an urinal condom is only needed once you start exceeding your own comfort time. Some people can do 4-5h without having to pee, others gets problems after 2 hours. Also if you don't mind to land after 2-3h and then relaunch its different then if you want to push for long record flights or in competitions.
Whether you need a tent or other "suivival" stuff depends on where you fly XC and which style. You can do very long XCs in alpine areas with good infrastructure and you will never need a tent. Unless you decide to do biwak flights deliberately. There is a lot of other "survival" stuff that you may need in one area and that is utterly useless in another.
Perhaps the most universally useful thing I would say is the camel back (or competitior), as not drinking affects your concentration quite fast, especially in hot environments, as warm air rushing by at 38 km/h airspeed is very dehydrating. And thats so much more convenient than plastic bottles in flight. But someone doing mostly 15 min. glide-downs will of course have no need as well.
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Long flights - 6+ hours and relaunch is not an option.
XC - no flatlands, lot's of mountains, unfriendly terrain and good distance from near town city etc.
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Another thing to consider about the food that you take during long flights is how perishable the food is (how fast it will go bad). Dry cereal bars (as others have pointed before) are quite good in this area. On the other hand if you consider taking a chocolate bar in your harness pocket to eat in the air I think you might not be so happy if you try to open it after 2-3 hours of flying in full sun. Also the food that you want in the air has to be very high in calories (or at least I think so) because you want your "meal time" to be as short as possible (depending on how smooth or rough the air is) and to provide a good amount of energy so you don't have to eat again after 20 minutes.
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don't put bananas in your flight suit pockets! - learned by experience
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I am a cyclist as well as paraglider pilot. In both sports I want to keep my energy up, but don' want to carry too much stuff around.
Regarding food for a long day, I tend to have a light but energy filled breakfast, only one coffee. Anything too heavy and I might get uncomfortable mid flight, and too much coffee makes you want to pee or worse. As a Scot, of course I like some porridge - the food of champions
While sitting on launch I munch on a Powerbars, or dried fruit.
Then after a few hours in the air I find that it is good to chew on a powerbar.
http://www.powerbar.com/products/default.aspx
Regarding drinks, I try to be hydrated in the morning (IE not hungover) and not too coffeed up. Then in flight I only need to sip on a camelbak. Cycling - well I drink a lot as I can stop to water the plants en route.
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Don't forget the smokes and a lighter
It tastes particularly good after a loong day.-------------------------------------------
heading out in regions where you may not have access to power i carry a light solar battery charger with me for charging phone/camera/vario, you can pick these up pretty cheap on ebay etc. try to find something with around 2500mah internal battery as when the clouds come in the charge rate goes down.
i fly mainly with an inflatable mattress, and a Nemo inflatable tent coming in at 1kg main reason for choosing this tent was the lack of carbon or other types of rods needed.
http://www.nemoequipment.com/nemo2011-gogole-tent
lighter and smokes are always close by, also on solo trips i carry a light weight first aid kit with most of the essentials as you never know where you might end up and in need of something.
one thing that i have also changed in my solo gear is i dont take my smartphone with me anymore, the battery simply doesnt last. i now take a samsung solid e2370, the battery last forever and it does the most important things that i need sends and receives text messages and calls. there are also more advanced versions of the solid but i rather minimize the battery consumption and each gadget like gps, compass drain it faster than needed.
also fly with a camel back, sandwiches to eat after landing (if there was an option to buy something before the flight)
spare set of dry clothes stored in a ziplock bag, just in case you get caught in the rain or have a fun time during a river crossing. beanie and at least a light rain proof jacket.
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I think drinking is one of the most important things to keep your concentration up during a long flight.
Blood must be kept flowing.
Additionally the ability of absorbing oxygen is influenced by hydration.
Lack of water means also lack of oxygen and a lot of negative side effects reducing you XC power.
Once you are used to urinal condoms you can drink as much as you like.
I'm drinking 2l special mix every flight above 2h and so increased my average air time from 1.45h in the last 10 years to 2.10h in the last year.
My special mix called "DocSchmitz 66" is 50g Isomaltulose (Palatinose ™ ), 70mg coffeine, some juice for nice taste, and 1l water. Dont take more Isomaltulose, you will suffer from flatulence.
First you wont feel any effect but that you enjoy flying longer, you make less stupid mistakes and you are not so tired after a long flight.
http://www.paraglidi...pic.php?t=39789
