[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzOzNtvpEIw&w=560&h=315]
Gliders Dogfighting Over Utah Mountains
by Bruno Vassel
Five high performance gliders got together over 2013 Memorial Day and flew around the Utah mountains near Nephi and Provo chasing each other. This video shows some of the casual formation flying near the rocks. Filmed with a GoPro Hero3 mounted in an ASW27B the gliders don’t look that close due to the wide angle lens but much of the time we were within one wing span of each other and could really enjoy the subtle and graceful movements of the other gliders up close.
The warning voice heard through much of this video is from a collision avoidance system called PowerFlarm. It sounds annoying when you are in formation but it has already saved many lives from mid air collisions. It is nice to also have a set of electronic eyes up there since gliders often fly so close together and are very difficult to spot in the air.
The gliders were a Ventus B, Ventus 2a, ASW-27B, ASW-27A, and an ASG-29. Thanks for watching! Bruno