Unintentional Flight Into IMC.

[blind pew]

It’s not unlike sailing when the conditions can change incredibly quickly especially in the English Channel where I have experienced force 7 or 8 when force 3 was forecast or an unforecast bank of thick fog in the middle of the shipping lanes. Are you suggesting that we should all give up and watch discovery channel.
I flew off a cliff two days ago, it took me an hour and a half to launch as the wind was too strong in the “compression” zone but once airborne I had a very enjoyable half hour. I had delayed two hours until there was enough beach to land on - 50% of water landings are fatal. And if the wind had strengthened there is a park in the lee after the main railway line.
It is about calculated risk as is wave flying when the slots in the wave bars can close in minutes and it was less than 25 years ago that we had a navigation aid that could give us a reliable position to allow a relatively safer decent in the mountains.
In my opinion my greatest risk is being maimed by some idiot on a mobile phone whilst walking the streets where a simple fall could be catastrophic.
As for safety culture..since when has shouting or a flustered high pitch voice been indicative of continuous risk assessment?
They got caught out as did AF447 and that lot were supposedly professionals, luckily they got away with it but were honest enough to post an embarrassing video so that others could learn.
To be fair unless one has experienced one of the engineless disciplines it is difficult to understand the mindset. Power flying involves a flurry of challenges and learning skills which quickly reaches a plateau and then becomes trying to reach perfection. Gliding can be a continual challenge of exploration with few infallible gurus to learn from.
At one time I used to attend a instructors two week camp auto towing of the beaches in Kerry with poor forecasts whilst attempting to use thermal, dynamic and wave lift in a mountainous region with ever changing cloud conditions. The site record was around 23,000ft by an ex RAF spitfire pilot.