Premium windsock for paragliding and hang gliding – made by Marilyn
Price includes FREE shipping to continental U.S. addresses
- $46 windsock only – why is this windsock superior to all others?
Please be patient! There can be 7-21 days before we can ship these handmade windsocks out, especially during training season.
Features
- Sock opening is reinforced with a sewn-in piece of polyethylene tubing that keeps the round shape of the sock for its entire useful life – a feature that is unique to the Southwest Airsports windsock and not found in any other windsock of this type.
- Overall length approximately 15', just the right length to be useful in all flying conditions.
- Visibility of (1) mile or more – pilots can safely setup for landing (especially hang gliders) much further away than with ordinary windsocks
- Very sensitive to wind speed and direction – will start to move and indicate direction at less than 1 MPH
- Greatly assists landing setup at or near dusk when ordinary windsocks are hard or impossible to see
- Typical life 5-7 years depending on sun exposure, average wind velocity, and handling.
- The windsock can be safely struck by gliders without being damaged (usually). The windsock assembly will fall down flat on the ground and, because of the Crappie pole, will have lots of give in any direction. The design of this windsock system is safer to hit than any permanent windsock that has a solid (usually metal) shaft.
- 40D ripstop & waterproof fabric i.e., tent fabric. No other sock uses this quality of fabric.
- Hand made by Marilyn in the U.S.A. at our shop.
- Think about it: How much is your flying safety worth? That is why we make this premium sock that has no equal.
NOTE: THE ORANGE COLOR OF THE SOCK MAY VARY SLIGHTLY FROM THE PHOTOS HERE, DEPENDING ON OUR FABRIC SUPPLIER.
Marilyn Robinson at work in her shop – working on a 1,000' streamer for an air show. She has assisted in the training of pilots for over 15 years and knows that setting up to land as far away as possible is vitally important to pilots – and why she created this windsock.
Accessories needed for the windsock (do it yourself)
The Crappie pole used must be as thin as possible so the sock will move in the slightest breeze and not touch the pole. The right type of pole is available online from Cabelas. DO NOT USE A HEAVY DUTY CRAPPIE – IF YOU DO, YOUR SOCK WILL NOT FUNCTION CORRECTLY IN LIGHT AIR.
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Option #1
16' 6" Crappie fishing pole – The pole is delicate and is usually the first part to fail so using the 16' pole instead of the more
expensive 20' cuts down on replacement costs over the long haul. It requires extra care not to break off the tip
or otherwise mangle it. The pole needs a split piece of 1" vinyl tubing attached about 1' up from the base
with a couple of nylon zip ties to keep it from sliding down the PVC pipe (see this photo).
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1 1/2" x 6' PVC schedule 40 pipe is needed for most 16' poles. Longer pieces are always better but may not fit in a car or truck bed.
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3/4 x 30" steel concrete form stake (best) with an optional 1/4" bolt
installed 12" from top (to increase the height of the PVC pipe) OR a 5/8 x 3' piece of rebar. A pointed stake goes
into the ground much easier. If you do use rebar, grind a point on it. The stake can be purchased at Lowes.
OR - Option #2 20' Crappie fishing pole
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2" x 3' PVC – this diameter pipe will fit most 20' Crappie poles.
- 3/4" x 30"-36" steel concrete form stake OR a 5/8" x 3' piece of rebar. A pointed stake goes into the ground much easier. If you use rebar, grind a point on it. The stake can be purchased at Lowes.
Repairs
If the end tip of the Crappie pole breaks, heat from a flame can be used to easily remove the brass eyelet from the broken piece of pole. It can then be reattached with 5-minute epoxy cement to the remaining tip after it has been sanded to a taper so that it will fit the eyelet. I have broken the tip off and reattached it successfully more than once. Use a Dremel tool with a grinding wheel to taper the pole tip for reattachment. A file also works but will take longer.
Tears in the fabric can be easily repaired (to stop fraying) by a few drops of Super-Glue.
The fishing line swivel can be easily replaced without cutting the supporting lines.
Sometimes the ends of the telescoped pieces of the pole can become weak or split so that the sections easily pull out. This can be repaired better than new. Take some unwaxed dental floss and tightly wrap it a few dozen times around the end of the weaker or split section. Then soak the floss with Super-Glue as a permanent and effective fix.
Limited warranty
If the sock fails from a manufacturing defect such as a reinforcing tube failure or a seam failure during its useful life, please send it back to us and we will fix it at no charge. Unfortunately, we cannot warrant these socks if they have been misused or left out in the sun. The Crappie Pole has no warranty because it is so easy to damage.
Instructions
- In order to work properly, the windsock must be suspended above the ground at least 20', the higher the better. If a lesser distance is used, the Crappie pole will bend over and the sock will touch the ground, brush, or tall grass and give a false velocity and direction indication, especially if seen from far away.
- Windsock assembly must be clear of obstacles for a radius of at least 20' or the sock may get tangled.
- Locate the windsock as close as possible to the middle of the LZ. Putting it near any tall object will defeat the purpose of this ultra-sensitive anemometer.
- If you have a lot of traffic or the area is subject to light and variable winds, multiple windsocks near the corners of the LZ are
more effective.
- DO NOT STORE THE WINDSOCK IN THE SUN OR IN A MOIST ENVIRONMENT. DO NOT LEAVE THE STAKE IN THE GROUND
(IF THERE IS ONE) TO BECOME AN INVISBLE HAZARD TO PILOTS!
- The stake is driven about 10” into the ground and the 3’ piece of PVC is placed over the stake. The bottom of the PVC
touches the ground. The extended crappie pole with sock attached at the tip is placed inside the PVC gently so that the base of
the pole rests on top of the stake. Note: If the stake is set too far into the ground the
PVC pipe or the Crappie pole might break if struck by a glider.
- When extending the Crappie Pole to full length, pull on the telescoping sections gently. If the sections are not firm, the pole may later collapse. If you pull too hard
on the sections, they will come RIGHT OUT and you will have to completely disassemble the pole.
- When putting the windsock away, take the Crappie pole out of the PVC pipe before collapsing it. Keeping the pole vertical, firmly rest the butt of the pole on
the ground then twist the opposing sections gently starting at the section closest to the base. Let the sections slide gently down into the pole base. REMEMBER: THE WALLS
OF THE POLE ARE DELICATE. They must be so in order for the windsock to be as sensitive as it is. NEVER LET ANYONE JAMB THE POLE SECTIONS TOGETHER. This is the surest
way to ruin the Crappie pole. If the base cap on the crappie pole falls or gets lost, use duct-tape to seal the end of the pole. We recommend that ONLY pilots or knowledgeable people setup and dismantle the sock. It is
fragile!
- It is unnecessary to unhook the windsock from the Crappie pole. However, it does make the end of the pole easier to damage when it is stored as a single piece.
- THIS IS *NOT* A PERMANENT WINDSOCK! ALWAYS TAKE IT DOWN AFTER USE. DO NOT STORE THE WINDSOCK IN A DAMP LOCATION, ESPECIALLY NEXT TO A STEEL STAKE.
How the windsock functions
The Southwest Airsports windsock is ultra sensitive to the slightest breeze. The very thin Crappie pole bends slightly from the weight of the sock. This ensures that the sock is always hanging and not touching the pole and that the sock and pole are unlikely to become tangled together.
Testimonial from a hang glider pilot,
I'm a HG and flew the Guads over President's day with some folks from CO who had one of your windsocks... I noticed how easy it was to see from the air and what a good wind speed indicator it was. Looks like a really good product!
Another comment on Marilyn's windsock when demand exceeded supply,
Yes, I will wait. I really want one. I flew the other day and another guy had your windsock. It is worth the wait.
In the photo below, it shows a wind speed of about 2-3 MPH. Landing into the wind vs. landing downwind would result in a 6 mph difference in ground speed which would be 18 MPH vs. 24 MPH. As the winds increase the difference gets much greater. A 10 MPH wind yields a difference of 20 MPH between landing into the wind and landing downwind. No other type of windsock can provide the information a pilot needs from a mile away that allows the best possible setup information for a comfortable landing with minimum ground speed. This is especially important for hang gliding where setting up as far away as possible is not only a matter of comfort, but also of safety. PPG pilots should always land into the wind due to the extra weight of the paramotor which makes staying on your feet more difficult, especially in snow or if the ground is wet.
If the winds increase, the windsock will clearly indicate the speed. In the photo below, winds are approximately 12 mph and the windsock is "angry" (flapping and making noise). As winds increase, the sock will straighten out completely and make more noise. It takes time for pilots to get to know this sock and to gauge the wind speed precisely.
The sock can be raised another foot by installing a 1/4" bolt in the stake about 10" from the end.
If the 16' Crappie pole is used, it should have the modifications done per the photo below.
Marilyn's reinforced sock opening – this is the most important difference between her windsock and all others. It is flexible tubing so the opening can be bent/crushed. It will recover it's natural shape if left in a warm place for a while. Note: the orange color of the sock may vary from the photos here depending on our fabric supplier.
Below is a photo of the flimsy reinforcing material found in Chinese-made imports. The material is flat so that the sock and reinforcing loop can be sewn at the same time. While this makes the sock at least 4X faster to make, the sock opening will collapse after a short time, usually a few weeks of occasional use. The sock then becomes a flat streamer that may be less visible, depending on the pilot's angle of vision to the sock. The sock also loses its ability to precisely show wind speed.
Here is a typical Chinese-made windsock and what happens after a short time – and why Marilyn started making the Southwest Airsports sock for hang gliding and paragliding.
Your best buy is Marilyn's windsock. Order one today!
