Hang gliding Campaign
Vol 4 Issue 2
Fall 201 8
CREDITS PAPALOTES 2153 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 2 DEC 2018 Cover- Jessie Valenti with wire assist from John Heiney North Side POM RightEric landing Provo UT Back Cover-Alex and Trebor Jockey’s Ridge in 2009 Editor Note: Papalotes 2153 is a photo journalism project/experiment to promote the growth of hang gliding and other endeavors of free flight aviation. Papalotes 2153 is NOT an company, organization, association, or corporation. There are no officials, chiefs, directors, board members or annual elections. There are no club meetings, no membership renewals or fees. There are no ratings, sanctioned or unsanctioned competitions, or awards. There’s no points system or regulations. It’s not a Fly-In or skills clinic. It is not a report, network, Think Tank or facebook group. It’s not governmentally funded, crowd funded, or funded or a charity. It’s not a religion, or a “state of mind”. There are no admissions or initiations. It can not be bought or sold.
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What is PAPALOTES 2153?
Maybe.... It’s a planet in a not so distant galaxy, with an atmosphere that can sustain human life but not humans like the ones with cell phones driving cars. They were flyers. There are valley’s after valleys surrounded but beautiful perfectly shaped mountain ranges and perfect weather everyday. The only way to travel is by giant kites and riding giant winged creatures, we would call them dragons, pteradons, griffins, pegasas or some other mythical name but they are not myths there. They once inhabited this world but when ancient astronomers discovered Papalotes 2153 they combined resources and made deals with the extraterrestrials to take them there with the their flying beasts so they could live on the wind indefinitely. We are the descendents of those who did not want to go... the non flyers.
Enslaved by the space beings until they exhausted the resources they desired and then left us on this rock to be enslaved evermore by gravity. Modern day astronomers again discovered Papalotes 2153 only it is kept from public, because if we knew we could go we wouldn’t support judges, lawyers and insurance companies to keep the world in order. Yes that must be why space program was shut down, why they make scary space movies like Gravity, and why they want a ‘Space Force’, to keep us from leaving. Maybe.... No that’s ridiculous.... right?
Camels 2018
Left top: Matt launching in front of some young spectators Left below: Alex about to launch waiting for cycle with Brian
This page top: Checking out the LZ below Camels This page bottom: Jeff and Brian
Next page top and Bottom: Brian getting ready to launch and flying
INSPIRATION 5.17.2018
Lance Merril and Jerry Meibos said they were going to just stay local, but small storm to the south encouraged them to head north till it passed but then they just kept going. Lance (above & below) landed in Alpine, Jerry (with lance on right) up the canyon off I-80 near Moutain Dell Resevoir.
PILOT PROFILE
ALEX TATOM
McLOVIN From: Lynchberg, VA Born in 1990
Hang gliding since 2009 Mechanical Engineer and UofU Studenti e: Current Wing:
2009
WW T2C 136
Also still has Falcon 170 and U2 145
former KHK Instructor UHGPGA Safety Director
1200+ hrs HG aprox 120 hrs PG Competed in both Big Spring and Santa Cruz Flats this year
Favorite Dish: Mac and Cheese Favorite Tunes: music by OK GO, Walk the Moon, Marc Cohn, John Mayer, Rush Favorite sites to fly: Point of the Mountain and Inspiration Utah PHOTOS: opposite bottom: early lessons on Jockeys Ridge with Trebor top left: Flying in Arizona, Santa Cruz Flats top right: North Side POM Salt Lake Valley UT Bottom: Launching Inspiration
The Evolution of Surfing
Discovered in 1700s
Early 1960s
Circa 1980s
Turn of the Millenium
In the L Z
Sometimes in hang gliding, you need a large group of aged experienced men from across the country, to meet twice a year, to talk about changing the size of the group, who can be in the group and where they come from. Explain to each other several times in many ways that the sport is shrinking and they need to do something about it to save hang gliding. Maybe if there were only 10 heads or maybe of there were more than 27, eventually, I’m sure, they will... Continue to talk about it, discover a new reason why the numbers are shrinking, announce higher costs and more insurance requirements, and that it’ll only take a few more years of meetings to... Talk more about it.
Sometmes a few young guys, with some beginner gliders and a 4x4 vehicle with tough tires, drive up and down face of big hill to smash down and pull out all the dead brush and and debri to make a clearing, to see if it could be a good place for beginners to practice flying. And then... they set up and fly! FLY FLY FLY Safely
FLY FLY FLY