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Newsletter of the Southern California Hang Glider Association, Inc 0
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Editors: Dick Eipper and Lloyd Licher
No. 2
MEMBERSHIP MEETING NOTICE Day/Date/Time:
Monday, ,Tune 12, 1972, 7:30 P .. M.
That's only a few days from now?
Location: . Southern Calif. Gas Co. basement auditorium, 810 S. Flower SL, las Angeles. Exit Harbor Freeway at 9th St., go east a few blocks to F1ower St. and park at no charge in the lot on the NW corner of 9th and Flower. Program: Short business meeting to include report on May 20-21st Lilienthal Meet cl.nd other announcements. After a break for refreshments and build/ fly talk there will be movies of the Lilienthal Meet, up to 2! hours worth, taken by Robert Amram Films, professional einematographers. SCHGA OFFICERS AND DIREC'L'ORS
Torranee 90501) President: Dick Eipper, Box 21+6, Lomita 90717, ph. (213) 320-9313 (1733 S .. Border Ave., Vice-Pres.: Lloyd Licher, 12536 Woodbj_ne St., Ios Angeles 90066, ph. (213) 397-4848 Secretary: Chris Talbot-Jones, 1963 Rose Villa SL, Pasadena 91107, ph. ( 213) 792-5594 Treasurer: Riek Finley, 2608-:--C Graham Ave., Redondo Beach 9027$, pho (213) 371-4202 Flight Director: Gary Naeve, 8824 Aviation Blvdo, Inglewood 90301, ph, (213) 641-5166 MEETING REPORTS Membership Meeting, May 8 2 19720 Attendance was approximately 100. Treasurer Finley reported having collected ':~199 from dues, and expending $8 for mailing and $23 fol" incorporation fees, leaving a balance of ~pl68 in the Treasury" . An election was held to fill the va,c::ancy for Vice-President. Nominees were Dan Heflinger, Neil Larson and Lloyd Licher" Licher was electedo Terry Voorhees submitted his resignation as Flight Director during the meeting so an election was held to fill that vacancy o Charlene Shero and Gary Naeve werE3. nq:rninate<l; Naeve was elected. After reviewing plans for the May 202lst Lilienthal Meet to be cosponsored by the Association the meeting was recessed for a short time for refreshments and talk" It was reconvened for the showing of movies of last yearvs Lilienthal Meet, Bill Bennett Vs Death Valley flight, and more recent films t.aken by Car] Boenisho - 1 -
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·:...,Board of Directors¥ Meeting, May 17, 197~ The meeting was held at Rick Finley's home. In attendance were Finley, Licher and Naeve o Members present were Taras Kiceniµk, Jr. & Sr~- -fyrpose of the meeting was to finalize plans for the May 20-2lst Lilienthal Meet. Possib.le competitive events and scoring methods were discussed, with four being decided upon: spot landing, distance, duration and slalom. It was agreed that there. should be two classes,· t'o s~p_c1rate experience and performance· levels; -with trophies ai;,ardeci to :the winners in each ciass; Certificates for all pilots, best costumed crew, and cake bakers would be awarded, also. A safety committee was appointed to include Gary Naeve, Carl Weyl and Rick Finley. Licher S3.id he would get ribbons for pilots and officials. ·Board of Directors¥ Meeting, June 5tkl972. This meeting, held at_Rick Finley's home, was att~nded by Eipper, Finley and Li.cher,· with member Cyndy Finley present., also. __ Licher·:vdl~!}teered to prepare m;inutE~s- for past meetings that the -Secretary ·cbuld-:not/··"'"~ attend. Trei'!:Sl!ter FinJ,,e,y -reported receiving $18 more for dues and a $100 contribution from Robert Arnr~·Films, bringing the Treasury up to $286. Motions were passed to reimburse Jones and Licher ·~- total of $25.12 for the mailing of recent meeting notices. Membership total::!..ed 118. Residual business from the Lilienthal Meet was dealt with: Licher w:i,ll <?ht,ain, letter and send. certificc-at-esj including-ones· to officials and to· Mike Riggs and Bob Keeler for best workmanship (on their Seagull 5); reimbursement of Meet expenses was. deferred until proceeds from gate receipts, if any, are received; and pledges for contributions for prizes will be called in, Eipper will contact Neil Larson and Licher will contact Richard Miller. It was reported that the Association's application for nonprofit corporation status had been mailed to the Secretary of State on May 28th, after a lengthy delay because of qifficulties in having Directors sign the Articles of Incorporation before a notary public. Application had been made earlier f9r an IRS organization number but no answer had been re-ceive:d yet. After reviewing the suggestions that had been submitted for an Association emblem, a decision was made to adopt one of those created by Don De Busschere. Eipper will now contact Chris Jones to have him get membership cards printed that will feature the emblem on the front and the following statement on the back: "The members of the Southern California Hang Glider Association, Inc, realize that flying hang gliders exposes them to possible injury. The Southern California Hang Glider Association, Inc., is not responsible for injurie·s or damage resulting from the flying of its members." A proposal to begin a library for the use of Association members was discussed but tabled until next meeting. A volunteer member to serve as Librarian will be solicited at the June 12th meeting. The desirability of clarifying the applicability of Federal Aviation R~gulations: (FAR's) to the flying of hang gliders was recognized. As a result it was voted to have t:l).e Association w'rite FAA to request that ultralight gliders be exempt from registration and airworthiness certification, and that pilots of such gliders be exempt from certification requirements, under limitations to be recommended. Ultralights would be defined as gliders having wing loadings of less than J p_9µnds· per square foot, and include man-powered aircraft. Recommended limitations will include the foU.owing: solo flight only; __ _ self-launching by- pilot or with the assistance of other humans only; . £light not to -exceed - - 200 feet above the terrain and keep at least 100 feet away from dwellings and groups of persons; and no flying for hire or . reward. Existing FARYs cover the flying of manned kites (craft that remain tethered to ground-based vehicles or structures), gliders with wing loadings of 3 pounds per square foot or more, and the flying of ultralight_ gliders outside the limitations recommended above. ·· ·· The need for typists to do stencils for future issues of GROUND SKIMMER was recognized so volunteers will be solicited at the June 12th meeting. Format and progra.µi for that meeting were discussed and agreed upon, as announced in the notice on page 1.
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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE SITE PROSPECTS
The ever pressing need for new flying sites is steadily increasing, We have been unable to find a suitable site in which property owners & officials will allow flying. Hith the amount of flyers presently enjoying the sport & new people starting every day, WHAT r..1U]. WE DO ?
·scHGA PRCPERTY?Wi th a suitable site in the control of the assoc, The~e could be a fantastic escape from the ever diminishing flying sites, The small fee it would take to enter the park would cover the insurance & the freedom to fly as we wish, I'm sure many members have their own secret spot, I do, It's a shame things have to be this 'Way, but with the present sites available there's no place for all the people. With the spectators reaching 300-400 most cities won't permit flying, The association needs the helIJ of it's members in finding new sites to fly. With ~roperly governed meets, property could be leased & paid for by the assoc, This would insure a safe place for all our members to enjoy as they wish. We need this, Jthone :l-,bebmember§h:i..utre.:a.J thiS& need ther· ~o~rd .iob. A s~ e eouLQ e QonaveQ~ o ~neizes assoc, oe a &vaxwilldheln ue lict1on. m suretackle ~nere this are many sites in which a small lease·could also secure property for our use, Let us know of any proposed sites & we'll check th€m out. Please send names, directions, & etc. to the assoc by mail. Good Flying
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BI13LIOGRAPHY
POPULAR SCIENCE, June, 1972 · I'm s'Qre oy now you have all read this art;i..cle. There :was one erro1 I would like to mention. Page 94 states ..• Running downhill keeping the wing para lel with the slope fo:r takeoff. A.correction should. be made stating: Keep your. wing in a low lift position ~8~6tAfiua~C'f.fRNfC~~s~uf1~~w'J:.~~ 2slightly on the control for lift off, This article had some great photos of some of the early bamboo kites. Additional shots of the presentimovations were also included. AIR PROGRESS . This ~rfacle. will be published in late Aug. Ithink you2.l find this to be the most informative article ever uublished on Hang Gliders. SURFER ~ I understand Surfer iE, planni.Dg an article on sky surfing in the near future. Photos should be of exc e11ent quality & I'.m sure we' 11 all en joy it • L . A. TIMES willhsM~;epR6t8g~ng an article in the near future. It tells of our local activities & LIFE ---rnformation has it that an article may be published soon, I'm not sure of details but will keep you informed, FORD TIMES
A short article soon & will include some photos. CHRIS TALBOT-JONES
As I now understand Chris is home from the hospital & doing great, He suffered from a bad case of exhaustion & just tuckered out. We all wish him a speedy recovery & hope to see him at the June meeting.
GROUND SKIMMER NEWS All information you wish to have IJUblished in the Ground Skimmer should be sent to the assoc. no later then the first of the month. Please have all information copy ready to give us a hand. Clasified Ads: Free ads for all members wishing to sell materials or equipment starting next month.Commercial ads will run$_5.00 per quarter IJage & 2.5¢ per line for clasified ads. - 3 -
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NEH SHIPS IN CONSTRUCTION There are many new objects being sighted in our skies. Sonie very low & others.venturing high into the air, SCOTT STROM'S Tension trailing edge sailwing. Many successful flights were made & only slight damage was received from the freeway wind demon. TOM VALENTINE!s Hright glider has started'to grow. Stories tell of a strange object forming in a smiill garage at the Hawthorne Airport. We'.r'e ~aiting to hear. more as time goes on. BOB LOVEJOY ·Has created· another fascinating flying machine. this one a monoplane. First ·fiights show great potential with a glide ratio of almost 6:1. WINK SAVILLE Tried very hard to get airborne at the Otto meet but with little luck~. His strange c·raft still needs some adjustments. . .. . DAVE CRONK Has a new.wlng:,but I understand he's.going back to his original design,' ,. with some improvements. I'm sure all members have been· impressed by Dave!:, early flighti. ,He all look forward to seeing his flights in the near.future. ART BEAN Made some fut:Ue attempts to fly at the.Otto meet, but with little luck. I'm sure Art's determination will get him airborne in the not too distant future. HIKE KOMAN Has presant at the Otto meet with his new creation, but had little success. His design is changing & we hope for flight accounts in the near future. DIAL-FAUST Kite made an appearance for television. I criderstand flights were made but the craft has been grounded with instabilities & a bad control problem. BOB KEELER, HIKE RIGGS Seagull 5 looks interesting & has some fantastic workmanship. I understand flights have been made to the wet sand at the beach & small improvments are still being researched. .. WAYNE HALL, TCM FEDEROF'F r.'lade some excellent fligl:lts i.f!. 9-n ex·fr~!I113ljr \,mall ·-flying wing. They' re students from Cal Poly. Much work is stil;J/:'needed but it did fly, ART POWELL Of :yhe same gro~p l1ad some extremelygo()d',ft~&hts in a tailed Bi Plane. The crelfd was in total amazement. ·· · · ... ·.. DON MURRAY Has begun vrork on a new Hang Glider. Not t.oo many details but I understand · he named it the MURRAY-ACULOUS. He'll Irnep you posted,· · . RON KLEMMEDSON Showed up at the Otto meet with his new Bi Plane called the AS HHOQPPEE. He made a couple of good flights using the full controls .& a bit of body english. The craft showed great promise and I understand he has a new one in the making. I'm sure there are many new craft secretly being built & we hope to.hear of them soon. ICARUS II FLIES AT TORREY I'INES On Saturday, Hay 27th, Ta.ras 1:iceniuk, Jr. , took his Icarus II flying wing biplane ultralight to the famous Torrey rines Glidcrport "to fly with the seagulls'; .This site is atop a 400-ft-high ocean bluff about 15 miles north of San Diego and has been used by sailplane pilots since the 1930' Unfortunately, the wind had too much of a northerly component & wasn9tquite strong enough for soaring flight in the Icarus. Taras made one self-launch from the top and glided to the .b.ea:ch., making· number of 180- degree turns in his descent, 'l'here is no easy path to the top again so the ship was carried as high as the terrain allowed for a seco,md: fligh"b° befoie '6:alling it,J1uits in favor of a better wind at some later date. It is instructive to note that on these flights Taras did not cover the gap between his top wings, with the result that his flying speed had to be increased to near 30 mph. Ordinarily, with the gap covered, his Dwyer Wind Heter airspeed indicator registers 20· mph in gliding flight. ··
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LOW & SLOH 14 is ti{:the ~a::it;·~:lt 1ias a copy of the Kilbourne :Rogallo. plans_ and a report of th.e i6 accid~nts 'which have occurred in ultra lights. . . ·-:·· .,. : --,\
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2ND ANNUAL OTTO LILIENTHAL UNIVERSAL Hil.im GLIDER C.dAJ'.:i:PIONSHIPS By Lloyd Licher
This second celebration of Otto's birthday (he was 124 on Hay 23rd) was more than the "happening" of last year in that prior arrangements were made for the site ar_id some prepu,_blicity was generated. The decision to go north was a: difficult one but a proper site in Southern California could not be arranged for in'tirrte. So it was that enthusiasts from the west coas~ states converged on Carnegie Cycle Park with some JO hang gliders, on the ,weekend of ifay 20-21st, to do their thing, The Park is located on County Road, J-2, in the eastern slopes of an inland mountain range, between Livermore and Tracy. Its strong points were receptive owners (they were' expecting us this yell:rl), liability insurance coverage already in existence, toilet facilities, camping penrtj.tted, and the fact that the Uings of Hogallo (HR) club members had been flying there reg~rly. The hills used for flying ranged U:p to 700 or 800 feet above the narrow valley floor, and tended to prevent the wind from striking any hill in a ctean fashion. Nevertheless a lot of satisfying flying was done and officers of the cosponsoring organizations (SCHGA & 1JR) consider the Meet to have been an unqualified succes~. Ther~ were many exciting moments, some that could be termed electrifying, and a few apprehensive ones. Bu~ mo~e about those later, , The primary instigator of the Neet was the ~:iouthern CalifO'l"nia Hang Glider Association, Inc, (SCHGA), the members of which voted in Harch to recommend that their Directors investigate the feasibility and act accordingly. It wasn't until ltlte April that possi-, bilities for a Southern California site were exhausted and the decision made to"take Dave Kilbourne up on his offer to arrange it for Carnegie Cycle Park. A flyer to annouce the decision and details of the Neet was then prepared and included as part'of the first issue of Ground Skimmer, SCHGA's monthly newsletter, and copies of it were seht to various news media and other persons known to be interested, including all recipients of Joe Faust's LOW & SLO{J in the western states. The event was also listed in the June SOARING magazine's Calendar of Events which reached many west coast SSA members before,, that weekend of the Heet. ' 1
The first arrivals were on Friday, when the Kiceniuks and their friends from Altadena~ including Tom Dickinson and ~>teve Elliott, showed up with ',l'aras' Icarus II-A (or III?) and the original Batso Rogallo. Taras, Tom and .'.:lteve flew the Batso a number of' times that afternoon from the slopes going up from a broad level spot on top of a hill just above 'the 'p9-rkir;ig Jpt camping area.. Others came throughout the evening and wee hours so that by Sat~rday morning there was a fair amount of activity in the camp. Saturday was intended fqr warmup and practice flying so after a number of ships were assembled they were carried to the area used by Batso on Friday and most ~lying for the day was done from there. It was overcast and threatening to rain at various times but fortunately the rain held off until late· in the afte.moon., A number of itogallos got the feel of .the air although there was not much wind arid what there was of it tended to be, vari~(bJ,:e in strength .and direction, Taras unlimbered the Icarus and made, fe~ ,flights from 1pairt: '-w-ay up the slope, averaging about 25 seconds each. He had revised the' bracing wires to eliminate the turnbuckles and spoiler/drag-producing ears on the strut fitt~ngs, using bolts, through the spars instead, and commented that it ,appeared to have h~d the ' hoped-f9r' 'e;ffE3,Ct, namelr increasing the L/D, or glide ,angle. Ron Klemmedson mad~',\{ number b'f'iri!:~ressive fltghts in his "A[P:Jhoopee" conventional biplane, with fuselage and tai1,;· double_.surface, airfoils and wing warping for lateral control. His, legs, rlail about in flight to add to the excitement of the event, Rogallos dominated the scene by few of the some 30 craft there being of that type, or derivatives numbers, all but therefrom. Certainly their simplicity of construction and minimal expense makes them
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the favorite of most builders and flyers. The 1Jings of H.ogallo members soon began duplicating the flights seen only in Carl Boenish's movies by the southerners prior to this day. They launched from higher up on the slopes and eventually from the tops of the higher hills, S-turning dm,m to the bottom of thE3 valley on occasion. Taras went further up the slope, hoping for enough wind that he might soar the Icarus, but it was too fi.qkle that day. iie did make a 53-seeond flight fro111 th<:ire witha number of turns and landing in the usual area \hat impressed.the onJoc,kers. Jt was his next flight, though, that was the most spec:ta.cular, of the day. :3eTf-launching from :the top of the hill, some 500 feet above the landing area, .he ·first f:l.ew along the spur, then· made ,a 900 turn to tl;t,e right, out over the landing area, appearing quite high~ He put his feet .up on t.he. front spar to minimize his body drag and then began a 360° turn to.· th~ :IiJ,gh.t, coming, }rl. thin about 100 feet of the hi.L1 he had launched from. lJJheh heading away from iii ag~~n.. he l~velled out and eased over a lower slope on h:i.s right, made a 90° turn td the Jqf't and ca.me in for his two--step, stand-up landing. It had an ele6trify'ing effe.ct cin. th(') o,i?,locil{~rs. who _burst _into spontaneous applause. . Duration had been 68 se'conds. Jtr '.w~s ,;in excellent demonstrati.on of maneuverability and appeared to be Heralding what thi 'fi,iture:hoJ.ds for t,rrLs ict,iv:ity. It may have qMn the '.first '360° turn made from a self-launched hang glider flight, although as high as the'\Jings of Hogallo members . . have been flying perhaps they have done this kind of maneuvering off of 1·1issi0rt Peak'~ If sq.-, oauld,, they let us know, please·t ·j
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During the .afte]j'noon Volmer Jensen ( of VJ-1:l and· V.:(-2J ".Swing Uing''. hang gliden fame) flew over the 'Si~ in his ;"lportsman amphibian and wagged his Wings to. the waving prOW,Clo. ! ',
The lti-ind appGared to be: shifting ,around to come from th~ east so fly:i.ng. on the west,,i, fac:i.rig slope tapered ..uff ;as pi'lots w.iiUd· for more favorable conditions. But· the .. cl,ouds grei dal'.'k~r' 'arid''e,h-bntuaily it . sta:rted · to sprinkle. The 1iogallos··-0rClhe hl.lFmade nice, umbrellas'a:nd brought the people there together to comment oh the day'sflyingactivity, techniques, methods and things in general, The sprinkles turned to rain, eventually . convincing everyone to give up for the day, The rain wasn'Vtbo heavy or persistent,· though, as people prepared their meals in the camping a:t-ea or drove.off to Tracy for commercial.fare. It let up by nightfall, allowing outdoor gatheringsuaround hibachis where all sorts of things pe:rta.ining to hang gliding were discussed. Art Bean's education was enhanced considerably;a$ tho@ present attempted to answer his many and varied questions, Hon .tCLemmedson and Doug .Carmichael told of their flying activities in the :ian Luis Obispo area where they haye been,attending college. Lloyd Licher brought out the Otto birthday cake his wife, Hose ilarie, had baked and it was consumed for desert with many favorable comments about its taste. Finally people drifted off to get a good night's sleep in preparation for the big day ahead.... · Sunday dawned alrno:st clear with sQme upper cumulus clouds drifting eastwards ~o it was .. thought we might.1hc;1.ve··a good breeze ;from the west :i,n tµe afternoon. ·· As .:i.t turned out, though',''ri6 sighifioant wind developE!d and it was light aijd variable most .. of th\3 day, but. predom:iinantlyoutof the east. ,
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A pilots' meeting was called for 10 A.i1i. on the upper ,l,{:l,ng;i,ng ar?a used on Saturday. As.·. the time approached ·and it became'apparentthat.the west-,;facing Rlopes there could ,J::l;Ot be used because of the light wlnd out of the ea.st, and' becaus.e\ attendance wasn't very good~'the meeting was postponed until 10:JO and rescheduled'for the campground area. The deciS'.i:on was made to use an east-facing slopE3 that had a fairly' level but rocky, tirestrewn i:'unout area leading into the parking/camping· area.
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At the appointed time Lloyd Licher called the meeting to order from the top of a small mound, announcing that he was to be the Heet Director. After an official welcome he introduced t_he Presidents of the cosponsoring organizations, Dick Eipper for ~iCHGA and Gerry ttoss for HR, and Dave Kilbourne as the one who had made most of the arrangements. The emphasis was put on safety and having fun, rather than taking it all too seriously. Although formal competitive events were planned, pilots were urged not to compromise· their flying to achieve performance that might be beyond their limitations. Two classes were provided for, with each pilot declaring the one in which he would ·com. petei. Class 2 was for ground skimming only, launching no higher tb,an the top @f), the . lower knoll, a level spot about one-third of the way up the large. hill.. Class 3 was fo.r'.higher..launches and maneuvering flight at greater altitudes, for those with·such e~perience. The winner of each Class would re.ceive a special trophy. Four events were announced, with scoring provisions for each.. Each pilot's best effort in each. of the events .would count for his to.ta.I.score, which would be. the sum of his. placings in each event, the lowest cumulative score winning •. As it turneq. out, the' slalom event proved impractical for this Heet so it was not counted in the scoring and no flights. were scored in that event. It could well be appropriate for future 111I eets, however, so a brief explanation of what was planned might be in order. The object of the event is to ,demonstrate control and maneuverability, so a series of points down the slope, each 200 feet apart, were to be marked, in this cas.e with double tires. ·For a': first attempt to condu~t the event it wou,ld probably be 'best to h~ve the points alt· ,: '· along the same line, The pilot would do his best to make alternating turns around;'th~,,,,;· points,. All flights would be evaluated by the same official pn a subjective value basis, scoring in the range from Oto 10, with O for no attempt to turn and 10 for a "perfect" flight where each turn was executed with smoothness and preci.sion, the wing tips clearing the turn points. · Spot Landing Event. Because of the great variation in performance between ships and the different launching points; it was decided to have multiple "spots" or lines, so as not to have anyone .compromise his flight to hit the spot. Double-tire markers were placed· at 100-foot intervals from the brow of the lower knoll all the way.down the slope through the runout area up to the ·parking lot, some 1200 feet away. (1:/e had to watch ·the tires 9 though;. I noticed one .being spirited away by a kid to play with.) The nearest-100-foot · marker to each landing became the "spot" for that landing. Heasurements were in yards, paced off by officials from where the pilot or his glider first touched. A penalty, of any distance over 5 yards run by the pilot after touchdown was added to his spot distance. As it turned out this proved too easy, with ma:ny zero scores'tying for first place in this event, but perhaps it shows how good pilots are. It's o_bvious that. many are in excellent control of their craft and that landings can be very simple, safe things once a little practice is attained, Distance Event. All distances were measured from the brow of the lower knoll, paced off from the nearest spot-landing marker, converted to feet. The only stipulation was that the glider had to 'become airborne before reaching the bottom of t.he h:ill. · This event was rather unrealistic for the class 3 fliers operating off the top of the pig hill, many of whom had to S-turn and maneuver to set down in the runout me?,su:ring a;r~ai~ ·The few that went straight out, more or less, easily overflew the whole area and landed in the next open space beyond the parking lot, thereby winning .the. event. A few landed in the narrow opening between the two open spaces, again demonstrating good control, but pointing up the necessity to limit launch points for such an event to confine landings to a desired area. , (over)
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Duration Event. touchdown.
Times were measured from point. of becoming airborne to poini:i of f:i,r'st
Each flight was scored for each of the events that it could be ~~a.sured for •. Halkie · talkie radios provided by Dave Kilbourne helped considerably to alert officials about impending flights from the top of the big hill. 'rhe pilots'• ·meeti~g cqncl~ded with a num,ber of othel' ·announc~me.nts, including the foll,9~~ ing: each ·hang· giider: was obliged to have a :i,2.50 fe.e paid. for it, to the Cycle. P~;rk., . . and the spectator fee .was :?l. 00; pilots h~d to sign a waiver for use of tt\e Qy'cle ...P.a~l,<;. volunteers to serve as of:t;:icials were requested; photographers were given f:ree ru.n. of: t~e place, at their own risk, but asked to avoid getting so close to 1lying 'machines as to· ca.us~.apprehensionon the part of the pilots (notable photograp):ler~present included.~1+ :Ulen. Don Dwiggins, Dave Esler of Air lJrogress and a crew from Amram Films; tjieir ·sl:i,de;~· and movies should make the June SCHGA meeting one not to be mis sad); and everyone w:as · .u 1.. deputized·, to ask any cyclists who wandered into the. area to please ride elsewheie t~~:ti. ; day (.at times.:they .were a noisy distraction put in gep.eral they cooperated well). · ,· .. ,' Immediately thereafter p;ilots registered .and were assigned numbers and gold pilot rip,"'.'" ban~~ Volurite~r. pff;ic:La1s/timers .ware issued p:i,nk official. ribbqns, and incl1.1ded the . followingi Phuc.k 1\:iles, Rita Ballard, ;so.b Chase of La Puente, 11ick and Cyn\iy F',inley,. :, Katherine K1cerd.uk;. Lloyd and Hax Liche:r/ Hon Polanski and John Schulein •. I r~gret not recording; the nami3S Of the ·others SO they 'could recei V9 Credit for their ;:serv.tpe I alsc;?~ It :was sincerely appreciated. . . . ' ..-. As.pilots resume'd their preparations and some headed for the slopes a number.of.distinguished soaring personalities made their presence known. Harry Perl and Ted Nelson, designer and _producer of .the .Hummingbird auxiliary-po_wered sailpla:ne, had c.ome ove.:r.. fr~m1. neirby Live·rmore. Stan ff~ll, designer of the Cherok,ee II sailplane, Pat .Page,.~nd.· I;r.~~. .' 1•/alters were others there at the start of activities.· tater on Sherb i(lein, Don and ivlike Fisher and Bill Rodenberg sh·o'wed up . . Oh yes,.,none other than J~ck Lambif ca.m~ 1 ing over in his Fournier RF-4 motorglider which.he landed in a field down the ro~d,~, :way·s. During his visit he told <:>f a recent flight he had made with the RF-4 over the ,'.3esp~<<· Hild.life area where ha h~4. soared in the same thermals 'With. one of the r~re CaJ),fo,rnia.1 .. Condors.~; . His rema;rkab:(.e story of that flight will appear in,.a future issue of ·HOTOR.:. GLIDING; published by S~,A. On his way home in the HF-4 he. putted and soared for some ., ,. time over the l'leet site. , Another notable person: p;resent for the aff'air was ·Joe Faust, founde;-;editor and pu];:>l:i,..sher of LOH & ~iLOH. Lq.ok for a good, illustrated writeup of the· Meet in a forthcoming iss1,1a of L & ~; • .
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As usual at most hang glider meets, there was a lot of construction activity going on. There are :always:.some·,;ships that are never quite·· finished so the builders brlng·:them,,. along 1 and:·use the, spur of activity about them as incentive ·to· try and complete them :in: time :to. :t'ly .there, Art Bean was one of these-.with a sailwing design that did,make, a::· .1.: number.of ·flight attempts late in the. af~ernoon, without too much success. But he.isure deserves ~n Il:_ for, effort and enthusiasm... Ha:ry baloney and David IvicDonald put t-0gether an Ei:ppe;r- F1exi-F1.yer that flew before the. end of the day. ..... Thefe. ~re two ships pr~sent, that had been at the first Lili~n~hal l:ieet h~1d :ui .'i,971,:· The Ktc~iti.k/Dick:i,.rison/Elli9tt Batso R9gallq, :and J~ruce Carn1icha;el ',s . jio-rigged. rlog.allo. that ·re.chard Niller had built. Both performed well for their potential, tll~ . Ba:tso:J;,~ing f1own a number of times from the top of the big hill by Tom Dickinson, show.fog good· control for a hang-bar type of pilot suspension. There was one "Hang Loose" present, f'lown
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{continued)
by Dave Ductor, liarty Gaynor and :kott :)ayre of Arcadia, but unfortunately its butt skims did not reach the scoring area. They were smiling at the end of the day, though, so must have enjoyed themselves. 11r. North East 1.Jest of :Jacramento registered with a new Cronk Rogallo type but his hang bar suspension was too far forward and he couldn't get in any official flights. Others who registered but didn't score were Carl and Bob \leyl, Fra.nk and Bill Pauline. Don iiurray and !. link 3a ville, all of 1;C[IGA, · The Hings of Hogallo pilots repeated and exceeded their exploits of the previous day, flying their many Hogallos from the top of the big hill; l"lhich is really second nature to them. Their feminine member, Donnita Holland, made it look easy, and nea.rly outdid the m~:n, 'coming in second for distance with a landing in the far lot. A number of them were.obviously flying through thermal 1.+pcurrents which extended their flight times to well over o,rie minute, Best duration for the day was 1:53 by John Lamon, who also had the longest· distance of 177L1, feet and a perfect spot landing to win the Class J trophy with a perfect cumulative place score of 3. 1.JR pilots copped the first three places in th.at 'cias's and one tied Taras for 4th. Taras had a flight of l: 45 off the top of the big hill. but maneuvered around to land where the markers were, so placed 12th in distance. His land:iri.g was just after a clip and at a road bank which caused him to stumble and .nose :in, slowly, with slight damage to only one tube. ;u.s only other flight was a try for distance off the lower knoll. It was proceeding routinely when an unexpected wind gust caused a b.anl5: to the right. This would not have been of any concern, ordinarily, but the only obstruc{i9n, reI11nants of an old corral and loading chute to which aw.ind sock had been attached, was then right in his path. Full left drag rudder for corrective action became effective just in time as the yaw and dihedral banked the right wing very nicely. over the wind sock. There wasn't much left after that, though, and he landed ignominiously nearby as officials and spectators hurried to clear the area for him (scattered like mad). Again, no damage but Taras deemed it wisest not to tempt the fickle winds of that day again. For all the many good flights made that day and over the weekend there were two that could be termed accidents but fortunately no serious injuries were sustained and hopefully we can all learn .from them not to repeat the same actions. The first was in midafternoon when Frank Pauline launched from the lower knoll in a large-angle big-area Rogallo wl th swing seat. He had a slight cross wind for which he held full corrective control all during the flight, without effect, His flight path was almost straight, off to his left, toward a dropoff to a lower level. Unfortunately he camo down right through the limbs of a dead tree, the top of which could be seen from the spectator area. The first persons to rush to his aid saw him on the ground so called for the ambulance which was standing by, courtesy of Carnegie Cycle Park. It was not needed, however, for had merely had the wind knocked out of him. ·
he
The other :lncident occurred after the lleet closed at l+:00 P.H. There were still a few Rogallos on top of the big hill, including a small one subsequently flown down by 16year-old Er-nest Feher of Costa iiesa. He had made a number of successful flights earlier in the day, including one off the top, demonstrating good control and the ability to land slowly. On this flight the wind had shifted in the landing area, probably without Ernest being aware of it, so that he had a cross/tail wind to cope with. The result was that he came to earth right along the edge of the parking lot, and either he or his kite glanced off a parked VH and a Ford Van. Conscious but prostrate, he was immediately sorrounded by many fellow pilots and others concerned for his welfare, urging him not to move as he was carefully cut out of his harness and gently lifted on to a stretcher for an ambulance ride to a hospital in .T..,ive:t'more to assess any possible injuries. As it turne.d out his only · · damage was a torn finger:nail. Even the kite escaped damage. It brought to mind a line from Richard Bach's book, "Jonathan Livingston Seagull", where Jonathan tells Fletcher (over)
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- 6tynd Seagull after he veered into a wall t-6 avoid. a youngster, · "liJe dbn·i::t ta.~kl~ flying
' .. '..';
through rock until a litt;ie later in the program". (Page 86.) E;rnest' was.fortunate, as were all of us, to have come thro1,1gh the heet w,Lth nothing worse than that •. ·We will certainly be able to conduc·t future meets with a.deli tional .safeguards and precau:tions to minimize the possibility·or these types of incidents from happening. There•ware :still soll,l~ people onthe s],.opes whf;=ln it came time to announce the results aqd;·; award :the:'pr:i.'zes at 4:JO 1'.11., but ·.most, of' the crowd gathered around the .back of D.i,ck Eipper' campJt ·to get the word. Lloyd 11.cher read off the achievements, . scores., places and names of the. top five pilot1, in each Class, and awarded unique welding;-rod replicas of a Rogallo and Icarus to Ray Weyl and John :Lamon, winners. of Class .2 and Class 3, respective'ly~ It was announced that all pilots would be :receiving special ,certific:a.tes by mail/ as(would:· Dave ()uctor, narty Gaynor and ~1cott ~>ay:re of Arcadia., for the be~t . costumes (they a:fI had identical tee-shirts decorated in a special way), and hrs. Ro.se .• , • Marie Licher and Nrs. Bob Chase for the :iappy Birthday cakes they ha~ baked fr1r~,.: C~a.1:re'.S:<. was· offeted :up· 'fb:r sacri;fice Eiunday afternoon). A table of ~kores acco~p~le,s %~.;;. • ~., article•to snow the best·performances by each of the pilots who made flightis thati\t~re measured. ' ' ''''
s
Iri bonolUsion, it appeared that participation was plentiful and 'va,;i'~d, and, appr.e,cia~~q .. by all· of'those who flew or watched. · 'fhe interchange between enthusiasts of dif.f~~e.nt . · levels of experience and development 'Will go a long way toward advancement of',th~ activity of flying hang gliders, We look forward to .other meets this yea;r, and .to the Jr.p Annual Otto Lilienthal Universal Hang Glider Championships in 1973~ ( A Table of Scores is presented on the next page o)
ACTIVITY·AND INTEREST IN ENGLAND The Soaring S,ocietY of America has receiVE3d a number of inquiries from England asking about sourc~s of pla,ns for Rogallo ultralights 1 including one from the British Gliding Assn. BGifs ina.gazin~, SAILPLANE. & GLIDING, carried a .number of articles. about u.. s~ ultra-· lig11~ actiyf(v: ~hich has sparked interest thereo Ann Welch., one of the more>noteworthy· per~ona.~~s· tn, ipternationp.l soaring., has been especially keen. on it and recently sent SSA a photdJ>f t}?.e Brt~tol (England) Gliding Club's Rogallo which had made its first flight in May. She h6pes· i:;9 ·come to California for one of the ultralight meets to be held .later in the .tc/'bbtair{ first-hand coverage for SAILPLANE & GLIDINQ. One man in England' wrote that local interest has been strongly stimulated by a. "Bird.man Rally," to be· organized by· the Royal Air Force Association., with a prize of $2,600.00 for the first person to fly a distanc:e of 1.50 feet from a height of approximately 40 feet above the. sea at Selsey, Sussex, England., on .Au.gust 13, 1972. He added that if any Amer.ican ~nthusiasts for this kind of · flying, ,i'fho 'ft4Y be in Europe about th,i;\3. date, .are interested in competing, he will be pleasecj. 'to S€3,rid all detailso Lloyd Licher has .requested the details and will publish them in t~e'_':July -'GROUND SKIMMER. .
year
The Ju~e-July, .1972 issue of SAILPLANE.& GLID.ING contained the following item in its news col~: : "T~e British Gliding Associ.atior:i should take ·an interest in and look after· \'hang·· glide j's 9 · in_' o'Br:i;t~n, Ken Wilkinson, retiring chairman of the. BGA, said at the :Annual General M:eetir;ig, held at the Palace Hotel, Buxton, Derbyshire on March' 250 He thought that' the 1 hang ,glider. ~vement, alr!3ady popular .in the United States, had a great potential in Britain,. e-.specia],ly. as gliding wa.s .fast ,becoming an expensive, sport o" · .
: :J .'.
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'
'· . .
TABtE OF f3COHES 2HD ANNU. \L OTTO LILIENTHAL UNIVEH;lAL HANG GLIDER CHAhi)IONElHIP3 1
-
HAY 21, 1972 -
,CARNEGIE CYCLE PARK,_ LIVERHO:IB, CALIF',
CLASS 3 (Flights from above lower knoll) Final Stdg.
Pilot
1. 2, 3.
John Lamon Richard Kilbourne Donnita Holland 4. Jim Diffenderfer 4. Taras Kiceniuk, Jr, 6. E:rne st Feher 7. Tom Dic·kinson 8. Hink Lawrence 9. Gerry O'Connell 10. Hike durphy 11. Kent Shain 12. Gerry Ross 13, Steve Elliott
Club
Best Dist. feet (place)
i.JR
1774 (1)
i)R
im ·,m.
. ~)Ci-IG.'\. '.3CHG.\
HH Wit 1JR 1/R
1448 (3) 1691 (2) 1105 (?) 779 (J.2) 1220 ( 4) 1211 (5) 1030 (8) 1211 (5) 1000 (9)
833 (11) 950 (10) 450 (13)
.r3e.st Spot Best Dur. min:sec. (place) yards (place)
1:53 (1) 1:23 (3) 1:20 (I+) 1:15 (7) l:Li,5 (2)
:59 (11) 1:20 (4) :54
0 0
(1)
3 0 0 0
(8)
J
(12)
(1) (1) (1) (1) (8)
(1) 5 (11) 5 (11) 1 (7) 3 (8) 5 (11) 0
1:12 (8) 1:19 (6) 1.:06 (9) 1:05 (10) :14 (13)
Cum. Place
3 ? 14
1.5 15 16 17 21 24 26
27 28
37
CLASS 2 (Fli~hts from lower knoll)
1. 2.
3. 4. 5.
Ray Heyl Ron IQemmedson · Hatt Colver Bob Valentine Doug Carm:i.chael
SCHGA SCHGA .SCHGA
HR=\JINGS OF ROGALLO CLUB
655 (2) 820 (1) 618 (3) 600 (4) 510
(5)
:37 (1)
0
:27 (2) :26 (3) :17 (5) :23 (4)
6 0
JO
(1) (5) (J) (1) (4)
--
4 8 9
10
13
SCHGA=SOUTHE_RN CALIF. HANG GLIDEEt ASSN,
BEST COSTU1-1E3:
Dave Ductor, Harty Gaynor and Scott Sayre, all of Arcadia, Calif., dressed alike_~
BIRTHDAY CAKES:.
baked -by Hrs, Robert Chase of La Puente; and i·Irs, Rose i'1arie -Licher of Los Angeles.
BEST WORKMANSHIP:
Bob Keeler and Mike Riggp, for their Seagull
5o
SUMMARY ·oF THE 30 ULTRAtIGHT GLIDERS PRESENT AT THE MEET:
19 were "conventional" Rogallos~ including 8 Kilbourne models flown by Wings of Rogallo Club members and Mike Murphy, a BiJ.l Bennett kite, one Bat so flown by Dickinson and Elliott, Carmichael rs jib _rig, 5 Eipper Flexi-Flyers brought/built on the site by Mary Maloney and David McDonald, Steve Wilson, Michael Huetter, Matt Colver and Ernest Feher, and 3 others flown by Frank and Bill Pauli.ne,·Bob Valentine, and the Weyls., Bob, Carl and Rayo · _ 4 Cronks, a III by North East West of Sacramento, a rv/origo by Terry Voorhees, a IV with a horizontal tail by Dave Cronk, and a modified version by Don Murrayo 1 Icarus II flying-wing biplane - Taras Kiceniuk, Jro 1 Hang Loose biplane, ·;•Grok" - Dave Ductor, Marty Gaynor and Scott Sayre 1 11 A S Whooppee 11 biplane (no doubt inspired by the famous German AS-W series of supersailplanes) -- Ron Klemmedson 1 Koman IID -- Mike Koman 3 Originals: A sailwing by Art Bean; the Seagull 5 by Bob Keeler and Mike Riggs; and a monoplane with deep camber and V-tail by Wink Saville - 11 -
NEH MEMBERS SCHGA welcomes the following new members who joined since the list of 100 published in the 1-iay newsletter. 101. Bob He Cord, 1135 Laf; Lomaf, Ave,, Pacifi.c I'alisadec:, 90272, 4543793 102, Carl Fredsti, 1451 Princeton, //4, Santa Monica 90404 lOJ, Robert HcCaffrey, 41JO Ada~ Rd., Simi 93063 104, Dr. :?.aul· Hogan., Bo)C 92 , Petalumev 9495~! 105, Barbara McDonald, 11723 Borden St., :i'acoima 91331., 896-5580 106. Phil Bear, 1640 \falworth, Faiadena 91104 107, Robert Keeler Jl5-J4th St., Ifanhattan Beach 90266, 545-6848 108. Lynn Bale, 250 ·s, Kenmore, //209, Los Angeles 90005 109, Francis B. Smith, 2727 Broadway E,., Seattle, Hash. 98102 (206) J2J-J194 110, Prof, Jean T. Hodson, 4203 Brooklyn Ave, , NE, :HO?, Seattle, Wash. 98105 ( 20$ 632:....0909 111. Frank Pauline, 7900 Yorktown Ave., Los i\ngeles 90045, 645-8955 · 112. Bill Pauline, (family) 7900 Yorktown Ave., Los Angeles 90045, 645-8955 113, Hill Battler, 560 S. Helberta, Redondo .Beach 90277, 374-2681 114, Max Lich er, (family) 12536 \fooclbfn.e Cit, , Los Angeles 90066, 397-4848 115, Don Holinsworth, 1337 Maltman Ave,, Los Angeles 90026, 665-9820 116. Charlene Shero, 676 Foxwood__ Dr. ,. Pasadena 91103, 790-0248 117, Faul A. Block, 1303 Sunset Dr., Vista 92983 118. Eugene E. Lacy, 6441 Seabryn Dr. Palos Verdes Pen. 90274 MEMBERSHIP ROSTER CORRECTIONS The folling corrections should l,e made to the roster printed in the Hay issue. 1. Dick Eipper, P. 0, Box 2L1-6, Lomita 90717 ( J. 733 Border Ave, Torrance 90501) J:20-9313 17, Chris Talbot-Jones, 1963 Rosevilla St., rasadena 91107, 792-5594 85, James Burnett, 1020 Crest View Dr,, Pasa.dena 91107 90, Correct Spelling to Wink Saville NEH ENTRn-::s IN THE FIELD The classified ad section of the June issue of Popular Science carried two ads that might be of interest to SCHGA members, as follows: "Glider, Bu;ild1 :for $30,00YPlans, Booklet, Photographs $3,00,Phillips, 730 Bouy Rd., North Palm Beach, Florida 33408." "Hang-Glider. Bamboo superstructure. Free flight, tether or tow. Details 25¢.Complete plans $5,00.Baird· Associates, Box 70;2; f3chenectady, New York 12301." ULTRA LIGHTS AT PERRI;J EXI'OSITIOM Six ultra light gliders were on display at the Orange County Soaring Association's 2nd Annual Soaring Exposition, held on Sunday, June 4th, at Perris Valley Airport, Perris, California. The Exposition featured an air . .$):"iow and many types of gliders and sailplanes on display, The six ultra lights were as follows: F rarik 'cblver' s ''Skysail'', A flying wing monoplane of 31. 75-ft span, weighing 58 lb. and L/D of 9, · Dick Eipper' s "Flexi Flier" Hoga,.llo, 15--ft span I weight J3lb. and L/D of 5 o Bob Keeler and Mike niggs' "Seagull 5", a cylindrical Rogallo with aspect ratio of 6P 40-ft, span, weight L1,6 lb., wing area 320 ;sq. ft,, wing loading of 8 oz./sq. ft, A wing warping control system has not proven effective enough.so external airfoil ailerons will be installed, Hike Koman' s "Sailwing'~ 39- ft. span, w_ing-tip spoilers for .co:mtrol. Hike Koman' s Dial-Faust "Sailwing" used :(or Dial soap commercial, sails of orange, gold, and white· ial colors ... - 12 -
::CARING E~(l'OSITION (cont) Bob Lovejoy' f. la te, ,t, a neat looking conc::;tant-clnrd monoplane vii.th ups vi twin rudders topped off by a horizontal tail. Green and white Dacron sailcloth with preformed rib battens, 28-ft. span, wing area 120 sq. ft,, weight 38 lb., wing loading 2 lb./sq,ft. 0
AUTO TO\! IlANNED LITE FATJ\L!TY AT THAt:'.TO 72He regret to report that Bobby Kennedy, 26, wa:3 killed on May 29 th when the rope separated on an auto-tow exhibition flight he was making at the U.S •. governmentvs TRANSFO 72 exposition near \Ja,c:hington ,D .C:. He was fJying a RogaJLo kite as a member of Bill Benn,ettfs team and wa,_; unable to recover from the pi tchup that occurred after the rop_e sepa;ration, He had experienced a :;j_milar acc.ident on a. night flight in October, l9.70 ,which :was described in the Spring, 1972, Delta Kite Flyer News, but recovered from the serious. injuries. The only known fa talHies from flying ultralight gliders have all irivol ved Rogallo types being towed by cars or boats. This reinforces SCJ~A~s advocacy of selfla~nchi~g or using human assistance only for Lake-off, ITEH:, FOR FORTHCCi!IFG ISSUES
So member,, will be able to look forward to the contents of fuh1re issue: of the GHOUND SEII-llll::H , the editors li:;L here ~;omo o:L' the :-,;ubjects they have in m:i.nd coverini:;. Contribution,; from the members on these or any other ,,ubjects are earnest.Ly ,;elicited so others can benefit from the knowledge and experience each has to offer. 0,
Flying Tip,;. How-to articles fox- all of the variow,; types of ultralight gliders .. Activity Heports. \/hoi,; doing what,where. The Air \/ e Fly In. How i t behaves close to the ground where we fly. Effects of wind gradient, wind Ghear, gu:3ts, turbulence, etc. Micrometeorology ::wit affects the flyi.ng of ultralight glid ors . \ Rogallo References, A summary of the contents of the NACA reports on this type of craft.
Developments in lJl traJj_ght Gliders. Configura tiorns, control techniq uet,, materials, etc. ::;tress AnaJ.y~;is for various c:onfigura tion:~ of ul traLi.ghts. Hoi~ to calc:ula te how strong your glider is. Static Te,3t Procedures. Know hcni strong your glider is. Census of Ultralight Gliders. Articles of :incorporation of SCHGA, when approved by the Secretary of ~3tate. For the information of the members and to help other hang glider clubs achieve nonprofit corporation status. Han-Powered Aircraft projectf~ and reports of flight attempts. Hord has been received that an attempt for the Kramer Prize will be made in the U.S. as soon as the officiating can be arranged. Bill of l·Iaterials for the Icarus II ultralight glider. Sources for the various items and approximate prices.
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MASSACHUSETTS CLUB FOHMED
Word has been received that a new ultralight club has been formed in Massachusetts" Michael Anthony Marks (Markowski) wrote that the Bost;h Sky Club (Box 375, Marlboro, Masso 01752} is interested in organizing all forms of ultralight flight, from simple hang gliders to sophisticated man-powered aircraft" They are very concerned with safety and want to establish competitive events between club members and other such clubso The club planned to have a "skysurfing " 1heet this spring in honor of Otto Lilie~thal. Club members hope to catch up to the Southern California "hang gliders" this sununero . Marks has formed a firm· called JVL:m-Flight '.3ystems Engimering ( same address) to provide · profe.ssional engineering and do sign service:3 ( aerodynamics and structures), available to anyone. MFSE can also aid in obtaining con:3truction materials, such as fabric and aluminum. MFSE was scheduled to provide the program for the May 11th meeting of the Region One Soaring Assno, with a talk, movies, photos, drawings and a full-size hang glider. A photo he submitted to SOARING magazine showed a Rogallo in ground skimming flight that featured a triangular horizontal vane of some sort mounted over the nose of the sail. NEl has since developed an "apex cover", drawn on the cover of LOW & SLOW #14, which was recently mailed to subscribers. Presumably the apex cover helps maintain stability in normal flight situations, with the C.G. located at the keel center line. For C.G. Vs located below the keel center line, increased stabi1i ty could be realizec:lo GROU illl__ SKIMMER Mailed monthly to members of the Southern California Hang Glider Assno, Inc., as a benefit of their membership •. Applications for membership should be submitted to Rick Finley,· Treasurer·, 2608-C Graham Ave., Redondo Beach, Calif. 902780 Dues for 1972 are $2. Make checks payable to SCHGA, Inc. Copies of the bylaws are available upon request.
GROUND SKIMMER #2, June, 1972
c/o SCHGA, Inc. . Box 246 Lomita, Calif. 90717
--;,
;:; \2-t)
11:maT:.-.. CLASS
PA r- PA6;E3cr:; 5AN'TA- 14 -
CRO/JltJ ))1c.
CLARA/ (AL.
tJ<;,7)'))