USHGA Paragliding March/April 1996 by US Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association

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COVJ,,11: Fred Weber at Nelson's Hill,jackson Hole, Wyoming. Photo by Fred Weber.

MARCH/ APRIL

1996

---------------Gil Dodgen, Managing Editor/Editor-in-Chief Claudia Stockwell, As.sociate Editor Steve Roti, Jon Goldberg-Hiller, Contributing Editors Dave Pounds, Att Director

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Office Staff

Phil Bachman, Executive Director Greg Huller, Ratings & ICP's Jeff Elgart, Advertising D. Dean Leyerle, Insurance & Membership Services Karen Simon, Member Services Marisa Hatton, Merchandise Services

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USHGA Officers and Executive Committee: Bill Bryden, President Randy Adams, Vice President Russ Locke, Secretary Da11 Joh11so11, Treasurer

REGION 1: Gene George Sturtevant. REGION 2: Russ Locke, Ray Leonard, Paul Gazis. REGION 3: Marcus Salvemini, Joe Greblo, Gregg Lawless. REGION 4: Glen Nicolet, Jim Zeiset. RFGION 5: Frank Gillette. REGION 6: Ron Kenney. REGION 7: Bill Bryden. REGION 8: Randy Adams. REGION 9: Pete Lehmann, William Bennett. REGION 10: G.W. Meadows, Matt Taber. REGION 11: Jeff Hunt. REGION 12: Paul Rikert. DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Dave Broyles, Paul Voight, Dan Johnson, Jan Johnson, Dennis Pagen. HONORARY DIRECTORS: Barbara Flynn, Alan Chuculate, Claudia Stockwell, Ed Pitman, Ken Brown, Luen Miller, Sandy King, Mike Meier, Rob Kells, Fred Stockwell, Gregg McNamee, Michael Robertson, Greg DeWolf, Tracie Fifer. EX-OFFICIO DIRECTORS: Art Greenfield (NAA). The United States Hang Association Inc. is an air sports organization affiliated with the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) which is the official representative of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), of the world governing body for sport aviation. The NAA, which represents the U.S. at FAI meetings, has delegated to the USHGA supervision of FAl-related paragliding activities such as record attempts and competition sanctions.

PARAGLIDING magazine is published for paragliding sport enthusiasts to create further interest in the sport, and to provide an educational forum to advance paragliding methods and safety. Contributions are welcome. Anyone is invited to contribute articles, photos and illustrations concerning paragliding activities. If the material is to be returned, a stamped, self-addressed return envelope must be enclosed. Notification must be made of submission to other paragliding publications. PARAGLIDING magazine reserves the right to edit contributions where necessary. The Association and publication do not assume responsibility for the material or opinions of contributors. PARAGLIDING editorial offices: 6950 Aragon Circle, Suite 6, Buena Park, CA 90620 (714) 994-3050. The USHGA is a member-controlled sport organization dedicated to the exploration and promotion of all facets of unpowered ultralight flight, and to the education, training and safety of its memberhip. Membership is open to anyone interested in this realm of flight. Dues for full membership are $54.00 per year (of which $15 goes to the publication of Paragliding), ($60 Canada & Mexico, $65 foreign); subscription rates only are $35.00 ($40 Canada & Mexico, $50 foreign). Changes of address should be sent six weeks in advance, including name, USHGA number, previous and new address, and a mailing label from a recent issue.

PARAGLIDING is published bimonthly by the United States Hang Gliding Association, Inc., 559 E. Pikes Peak Ave., Suite 101, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903-3657 (719) 632-8300. FAX (719) 632-6417. Application to mail at SECOND CLASS POSTAGE is pending at Colorado Springs, CO and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: SEND CHANGE OF ADDRESS TO: PARAGLIDING, P.O. BOX 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330.

MARCH/ APRIL

1996

CHANGES MAGA:Z]NE

PARAGLIDING

Dear Editor, I was most distressed to learn that the USHGA would drastically alter the form of Paragliding magazine after acquiring publishing rights from the Stockwells. We think you ought to continue to publish a quality magazine with full color throughout many of the pages, very similar in form and content to what has been produced by the Stockwells.We feel very strongly that the magazine should include a separate school advertising section, and insist upon full color until the termination of our contract with the September/October 1996 issue. I believe that changing the magazine more slowly may alleviate the uproar you will hear from the paragliding community if you drastically change their magazine without first consulting with them.These changes are on top of the recent ratings changes, which, for all practical purposes, were accepted carte blanche over some objections from the paragliding community. We feel it is vital to professionalism in paragliding instruction that a separate listing of professional schools and USHGA-certified instructors be published, hopefully in color.We are certainly interested in such a listing, even if it costs us more.

After analyzing the advertising section you mention we determined that those ads were being sold for barely the cost of production. However, all contracts with the Stockwells will be honored until they expire. In the meantime we will try to come up with something that will be acceptable to our advertisers and allow us to keep Paragliding in the black.

ISSUE

DUMB AND DUMBER Dear Editor, This letter concerns the lead accident report by Bob Hannah in the Sept./Oct. issue, page 39. I was surprised to learn that so many carabiners are failing that it is necessary to risk someone's life to demonstrate what could happen in that event. How many have failed in the past five years? I thought the purpose of a clinic was to teach flying safety, and it seems to me that a class should include the demonstration of common sense. If you give a clinic and kill yourself then everyone will go home early. I find it hard to believe that a USHGA-rated pilot would make a flight with a wet reserve after voicing concern and being told that it would probably work. I hope he asked a local farmer and not an instructor. If he did, the sport of paragliding needs a new rating - "Dumb & Dumber." John Winchester Tacoma,WA

LET'S NOT BECOME HANG GU DING

Rick Sharp Parafly Paragliding Burlington, VT

VOLUME

It is our goal to produce the finest publication possible, and to promote this exciting sport. We welcome your feedback and suggestions for improving Paragliding magazine. Gil Dodgen, Editor

Dear Editor, Let me admit that I am often jealous of hang glider pilots. I often sit on launch watching them at play overhead in what they consider to be mild conditions, while I wait hours for the wind speed to drop just three more knots. Or I circle over Warren Lakes, a difficult goal for me to reach, even if only one valleycrossing away, while my radio picks up their distant chatter from somePARAGLIDING

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where nearly 100 miles downwind above Hartsell. I admit to serious feelings of envy when I read of Larry Tudor flying farther in a day than I have occasionally managed in my car from the very same launch point. I am in awe of hang glider pilot Jim Shaw's knowledge of weather and micrometeorology, and more than grateful for the safety and enjoyment his knowledge has afforded me when flying. But I haven't been particularly jealous of any of these people since late October, which was the last time they could get their gliders up to launch, and I probably won't need to feel jealous again until mid-May. Even in summer I usually don't begin to feel envious until around 2:00 PM when they drive up to launch. By then I may have flown two or three times and have probably already realized the greatest altitude gain I will achieve for the day. I certainly don't envy a hang glider pilot flaring at more than double his best running speed in order to set down on an 8,000-foot MSL landing zone, however much I might admire the skill. You might sense that I am about to decry the increased complexity of hang gliding, but that would be dishonest of me.After all, when I show up at the launches we share, chances are I will be supervising a handful of student pilots or flying off a tandem passenger. My launch is going to be every bit as arduous and involved as that of anyone else.Yet, I will say and I trust the most avid hang glider pilots will agree - that in their ongoing quest for ever more performance and spectacular flights something has been lost. I have a book on hang gliding recently acquired from a local used book store. It is nearly 20 years old, and much of what is in it is now humorous.When it discusses record flights it references the altitude at which the glider launched. It raves about sites which offered 10-second sled rides.The discussioo~ thermals

MARCH/ APRIL

1996

and micrometeorology would be laughable, except that the ignorance displayed offers insight into the high hang gliding fatality rate of the midl 970's. Ditto when it comes to the discussions of aerodynamics.To get an advanced rating you had to do a 360degree turn, and there is advice on where to find a site suitable for such an advanced maneuver. It is the story of hideously unstable, fragile gliders with pitiful three- or four-to-one glide ratios (and outrageously inflated performance claims) flown by helmetless, barefoot hippies who crashed and died a lot. No doubt there is a past that the hang gliding world must be glad to have left behind. But with it they also left behind a lot of something that can be gleaned from the photos: not so much simplicity, but accessibility and spontaneity. In this book you see pictures of deliriously happy people venturing out into the great unknown, experiencing for the first time the miracle of flight in its purest form. That is not hang gliding today. Now we see the artistry of accomplished musicians rather than the delight of kids banging on tin cans.And we don't see a lot of new people coming into the sport. We are still kids in paragliding. Everyone in paragliding is new to a sport which has yet to see the end of its first decade. I thought of all this because I have been flying the most advanced paraglider ever sold to the public.Two minutes off launch and I wanted to own it more than any other man-made object in the world. Never mind that the particular glider I flew was the wrong size and had a nonstandard prototype brake configuration inferior to the certified version. It was that good. But then I began to think. Perhaps the overwhelming joy I was experiencing was not so much the result of the fantastic flight characteristics of this new glider as the realization that nothing significant had been given up

to achieve the improvements. I was still, after all, flying an aircraft that I had carried to launch in a reasonably light backpack, tossed out on the ground, and pulled up into the air with a few strings.This being winter, my variometer was resting comfortably at home.The clips for my speed bar hung within easy reach but were not hooked up.The trim risers were set in neutral and only curiosity prompted me to try all the various settings. Oxygen, GPS, or anything remotely like that would have been completely superfluous. But I had still accomplished something miraculous: I had walked over from the top of the mountain and simply stepped off into blue space to glide down to the valley floor. Flying, though now more sophisticated than I had ever experienced, remained a spontaneous, accessible, simple, joyful act. You don't need a competition glider to achieve that. I feel it when I fly my intermediate glider or one of the school's training gliders. I share it when I fly my tandem. Congratulations to all of us collectively for not sacrificing what matters most, as our sport becomes increasingly sophisticated in every area. May we fly higher and farther, become safer, and never lose sight of the spontaneous miracle of it all. Fletcher Anderson

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Calendar of events items Wlll NOT be listed if only tentative. Please include exact information (event, date, contact name and phone number). Items should be received no later than six weeks prior to the first of the cover month (i.e., January 20 for the March/April issue). MARCH 9-16: NSW Paragliding Titles at Manilla. Contact: Godfrey Wenness 61-106 14 57 21 594. MARCH 15-17: Motorized Paragliding Safety Clinic, offered by Hugh Murphy. Bring your own paramotor or check out ours. Clinic will outline a smooth learning curve, the unique skills specific to dealing with the additional weight and thrust involved in powered flight. This clinic is open to all and no rating is required. Contact: (805) 544-8190. MARCH 15-22: Valle De Abdalajis trip, in Malaga, Spain. Sponsored by East Coast Paragliding Center. Cost $125/day + airfare, includes all meals, lodging, transportation, site guide/instrnctor. Contact: ECP, (914) 647-3377. MARCH 23-24: X-C/Thermal Clinic. Learn the secrets of coring bullet thermals and going cross-country in a clinic by Tom Truax at the famous Rainbow Skyport in sunny Santa Barbara, CA. Sponsored by the Santa Barbara Soaring Club. $25 for members, $50 for non-members (join for $12). Contact: (805) 566-9484. MARCH 28-31: USHGA Board of Directors spring meeting, Colorado Springs, Colorado. All members invited. Call for further info: (719) 632-8300. APRIL9-15: Sun 'n' FunEAA Fly-In, Lakeland, Florida. Volunteers are needed for the USHGA tent. If interested call USHGA at (719) 632-8300. APRIL 16-21: Torrey Pines Paragliding Races, La Jolla, CA. Sponsored by UP San Diego. Hundreds of spectators. Figure 8 and mini-X-C in full view of all spectators throughout. Entry $185. Contact: Bill Bennett or Roger Greenway, UP San Diego, 2800 Torrey Pines Scenic Dr., La Jolla, CA 92037 (619) 452-9858, fax (619) 452-9983. APRIL 19 - 21: High Altitude Thermal Clinic conducted by 1995 National Champion Dave Bridges and 1991 World Champion Robby Whittall, in Chelan County, WA (home of the 1996 Paragliding Nationals). Hosted by AirPlay Paragliding School & Flight Park, Cashmere, WA. Contact: (509) 782-5543 APRIL 21-27: Mauna Kea Fly-In, Hawaii. Soaring clinic on the Big Island includes attempts to fly from this, Hawaii's largest volcano (13,796' MSL). Intermediate to -------·--

Advanced. JUNE 10-JULY 6: European Paragliding Safari. Five countries in two weeks. Includes the Alps, Tegelberg, Zillertal, Fiesch and Verbier. Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Italy and France. Intermediate to Advanced. JUNE 30:JULY 6: California Paragliding Safari. Flying and sightseeing in Santa Barbara, Big Sur, San Francisco and Sierra Nevadas. Local guides. Intermediate to Advanced. DEC. 9-15: Mauna Kea Fly-In, Hawaii. Same as above. Contact: Paraglide Hawaii, Achim Hagemann, P.O. Box 797, Mt. View, Hawaii 96771 (808) 968-8685. MAY 10: Surf, Cycle & Soar! Second annual sacred pilgrimage to the perfect waves and miles of soarable dunes of Scorpion Bay in Baja, California. Bring your Yater, XR-200 and your old Wills Wing on a 4WD adventure you'll never forget! Meet at Torrey Pines on May 10 and put all calls on hold for the next 10 days. Coordinated by the Santa Barbara Soaling Club. For an itinera1y call (805) 569-1667. MAY 10-19: X-C Paragliding Clinic, Elsinore, CA. Sponsored by Air America Paragliding. Contact: Joe Bluzinski (909) 943-8664 (phone/fax) or e-mail Airampg@aol.com. MAY 15-17:: High Altitude Thermal Clinic and Demo Days with Dave Blidges and Robby Whittall. Come fly the Edel, ITV and Firebird gliders. Hosted by AirPlay Paragliding School & Flight Park, Cashmere, WA. Contact: (509) 782-5543. MAY 23-27: Demo Daze/Safety Seminar at Point of the Mountain, UT. Free informative seminars from industry experts. Demo paragliders, paramotors, harnesses, varios, flight suits, tandem gliders, oxygen systems, helmets, etc. Every make and size of paraglider available in the U.S. Non-profit event. $35 pre-registration before May 1, $45 at the door. $10 goes to Utah HGA to help "Save the Point." Contact: The Soaring Center, 12665 S. Minuteman Dr. #l, Draper, UT 84020 (801) 576-6460, fax (801) 576-6482, e-mail: sharpdave@utahinter.net JUNE 8-16: Various clinics at Whiskeytown National Park near Redding, California: thermal, X-C, towing, reserve, survival, parnmotor, GPS, factory demos, fun flying. Bunkhouse accommodations, breakfast, lunch and clinics included. Contact: Don Mills (916) 275-4231 Ext. #3. JUNE 8-16: Annual Super Clinic. Sponsored by the Northern California Foot Launched Pilots Assn. Daily clinics will be offered by some of the most experienced instructors from throughout the country. This year the Super Clinic has been scheduled in June to increase the likelihood of good weather. Contact: (916) 275-4231 ext. 3 or (916) 241-2035 (leave message).

JUNE 25-30: Telluride Paragliding Classic, Telluride, CO. Presented by Paraglide Telluride, Tellrnide Air Force and Colorado X-C Pilots Assn. Sanctioned Class A world team points meet. Famous Telluride flying in a national-level contest. Race-to-goal, outand-return and triangle courses. Tarp start, 1,000-point scoring system. Radios recommended. $275 entry fee includes tasks, pilot and glider transportation to launch, computerized scoring, full-time professional staff, turnpoint fllm and processing, aerial turnpoint photos to study, free oxygen, great meet headquarters, awards dinner party, local gift certificates, contest shirt, nightly events and speakers. Economical camping and local lodging specials. Contact: Scott Maclowry (970) 728-4098 or Nick Kennedy (970) 728-3905. JUNE 25-30: Telluride Paragliding Festival, Telluride, CO. $125 entry fee includes festival shirt, full-time professional staff, banquet, awards party, nightly events and speakers. Economical camping and local lodging specials. A safe attitude and Class II rating with 10 hours minimum required. Contact: Scott Maclowry (970) 728-4098 or Nick Kennedy (970) 728-3905. JULY 6-11: Chelan X-C Classic, Chelan Butte, WA. Pilot-called (or re-called on course) triangles, out-and-return and open distance combined format. Paragliding and hang gliding. Driver contest with prizes. Date selected to allow pilots to fly in the HG Nats and PG Pre-Worlds. Entry $75 ($70 before June 30). Contact: Johann Posch (206) 232-6839, johannp@microsoft.com. JULY 24-AUG. 1: Chelan County Tour by air during the 1996 Paragliding Nationals with Kari Castle, Dana McMillin and Mike Haley. Contact: AirPlay Paragliding School & Flight Park, Cashmere, WA (509) 782-5543. JULY 28-AUG. 2: Fly West Hang Gliding Ltd. Hang Gliding and Paragliding X-C Invitational, Golden, BC Canada. $20,000

in prize money! Three categories in both sports: lightweights (50-300 hrs.), middleweights (300-600 hrs.), heavyweights (600 hrs. plus). Entry deadline May 15. $200 U.S. entry fee payable to Fly West HG. Contact: Fly West HG Ltd., 199 Marlyn Place, Calgary, Alta., Canada T2A-3K9 (403) 272-0450, e-mail porteour@cadvision.com. AUGUST 1-7: Oshkosh BAA Fly-In, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Volunteers are needed for the USHGA tent. If interested call USHGA at (719) 632-8300. AUG. 30-SEPT. 2: First Annual Whaleback Fly-In and X-C Competition. Located in the shadow of Mt. Shasta. X-C Open to Para 2-4 pilots, all levels welcome at the fly-in. Contact: John Yates (916) 222-4606.

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PARAGLIDING

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Contact the NAS league

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by Phil Bachman, USHGA Executive Director et me begin this article with a statement.The United States Hang Gliding Association is a non-profit corporation.This means that, even though it has no stockholders, pays no dividends and uses all of its revenue for member services, it must still be run like a business.That's correct, run like a business in every sense of the word.The USHGA's product is service and benefits to and for its membership.This means that the ongoing business of the Association is involved in everything from filing the required tax reports, to staying apprised of current employment laws, to issuing a new pilot rating, to processing an information request, and everything in between. The list is extensive in length and surprising in its breadth. The USHGA is a corporntion formed in the state of California on March 26, 197 4. It is registered as a non-profit corporation with the state and is governed by the non-profit corpornte code of California.The Association was grnnted a non-profit membership tax status, 50l(c)4, by the Internal Revenue Service. As a corporation, USHGA has a corporate charter, a set of bylaws which govern the formal operating procedures, and a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP's).These SOP's have evolved over the years as a result of Board of Director

decisions. Collectively, the SOP's provide an opernting manual of guidelines for hang gliding and paragliding management support and services. USHGA's office was moved to Colorado Springs in 1989 by a decision of the Board of Directors.The move came after a thorough examination of 16 potential cities for the relocation. The city of Colorado Springs is very active in recruiting headquarters offices for sports-oriented associations and is home to more than 26 sportsrelated association headquarters.As a result, the city possesses a wealth of businesses which provide specialized services in the non-profit association

USHGA MEMBERSHIP elect

REGIONAL DIRECTORS i

which make up the

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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manages

USHGA

directs

elects

Elects

Honorary Directors & Directors-At-Large

conducts

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environment. USHGA is registered in Colorado as a "foreign corporation with authority to transact business in Colorado." At its two yearly meetings, the USHGA Board of Directors, through its standing and ad hoc committees, vote on matters requiring decisions for the Association. Between meetings, the Executive Committee, composed of the President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer, "shall function for and have the authority of the Board of Directors between meetings of the Board." The accompanying diagram shows that the membership is at the top of the organization structure.With an organization the size of USHGA, however, there must be a governing structure in place in order to get anything accomplished.Therefore, the members elect directors to represent them and their interests within the organization. As the diagram indicates, the structure for accomplishing this is very simple and straightforward.The benefit to each member is a functioning entity,

BOARD OF DIRECTOR MEETINGS

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able to perform work and provide a visible and strong representation on behalf of our sports. The key ingredient in this structure is communication between the members and their regional directors. This can be one-on-one or channeled through your local club to the director. Remember, the regional directors are not receiving compensation for serving. They are contributing their personal time and money to attend meetings and function on the members' behalf in addition to earning a living. (The USHGA does reimburse 50% of the director's airfare for the two yearly meetings.) It is important to realize that they do not have the time or unlimited resources to get out and actively solicit your input, contrary to your state and federal legislators who have offices and staff to accomplish this.

This fact places the onus on you, the member, to take responsibility for communicating your needs and concerns to your elected representative. If you have an issue, call or write your director. General complaining, undirected, accomplishes nothing. If they have not heard from you, it is certainly not reasonable to expect a response! At the beginning of this article I mentioned that the USHGA is a business.This means that it generates revenue, incurs obligations and liabilities (better known as bills), and must work to assure solvency. In years past, remaining solvent was not always achieved. Fortunately, that has not been the case for the past several years. However, it remains a continuous challenge when faced with ever-escalating costs, such as paper to print the magazine on or a l 00% increase in our thirdparty insurance premium which hap-

pened last year. This year and beyond will bring additional challenges for the USHGA. Typically, challenges mean additional expenses. Probably one of the greatest and most continuing challenges will be flying site preservation and acquisition. Realizing this, the Board of Directors has placed a top priority on the development of a formal plan with a budget for converting the USHGA from a reactive to a proactive posture regarding flying sites.This plan will be incorporated into the "business" of the USHGA after Board of Directors approval. It, like everything else the USHGA does, will require accountability to ensure enough revenue to meet the necessary expenses.Just like running a business! It is only through your continued support of your Association that this will be possible. II

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Gear to take to

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Instruments, radios, reserves, helmets, life vests, boots, gloves, flight suits, tee-shirts, hats, caps, survival supplies, sunglasses, eyeglass retention, goggles, warmers, hardware, repair supplies, towing accessories, knifes, instrument mounts, books, videos, maps, compasses, flares, signals, wind socks, weather stations, bags, patches, stickers, rut, glassware, gifts and MORE!!!

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MARCH/APRIL

1996

NAS ACCEPTS DISTRBBUTH)N RIGHTS FOR NEW COMPANIES

OUR FIRST PARAGLH',HNG MASTER-RATED PILOT: GREG SMITH

orthAmerican Sports Distributing, Inc., based in Golden, Colorado announces the beginning of the second phase of its 10-year plan to stabilize the U.S. paragliding market. Negotiations with Perche of Germany and UP of Japan have resulted in NAS being granted exclusive distribution rights in the United States for both companies. "This will by no means affect our ongoing negotiations with other companies and will immediately provide our dealers and customers with a larger base of products from which to draw," insists NAS President George A. Greer. The two new product lines enhance the already established NAS lines:Trekking Paragliders,Aircotec flight instruments, Finsterwalder accessories and NAS's own brand of reserve systems and flight gear. For more information contact Mr. Raylhrcek at (303) 278-9566.

es, we have our first Master-rated paraglider pilot. I'm sure many of you are familiar with the name Greg Smith. He is president of both Edel USA, Inc. and Sun Valley Skysports, Inc. in Ketchum, Idaho. Greg has been flying paragliders since 1987 and has logged more than 4,000 flights, with over 1,000 hours of airtime. He is an Advanced Paragliding Instructor and Tandem Instructor, as well as a Paragliding Tandem Administrator. Greg served as a Regional Director for the American Paragliding Association. From 1988 through 1993 he was active in competition flying and was a member of the 1989 Paragliding World Team. Greg holds an Intermediate rating in hang gliding, and, just to top things off, he holds the current U.S. National Paragliding Straight Distance Record of 63.83 miles. We congratulate Greg on becoming the first USHGA Master-rated paraglider pilot, and wish him many safe flights and many more accolades in the future! by D. Dean Leyerle, USHGA Insurance and Membership Services

f you have a home page on the Web, please pass along your web site address to USHGA so we may compile a listing for our next "general information" newsletter. Fax your web address to (719) 632-6417,Attn:Jeff, or mail to USHGA,Attn:Jeff Elgart, P.O. Box 1330,Colorado Springs CO 80901-1330.

TREKKING RITMO MANUAL AND OPTIONAL RISERS NOW AVAILABLE rekking announces the Ritmo paraglider for 1996. Long known as the "Volkswagen" of paragliders among paramotor pilots because of its durability (three-year warranty standard) and reasonable price,Trekking has agreed to produce the Ritmo for the third consecutive year. This year's model will include an optional rear trimmer system and

expanded manual. Current Ritmo pilots will be sent the manual free of charge if they simply contact NAS Distributing directly and supply their glider registration number. The optional rear riser system can be ordered through any professional NAS dealer. For more information contact: NAS Distributing (303) 2789566.

TORREY PINES GUDERPORT AND NAS JOIN FORCES orrey Pines gliderport is now under new management. Hang gliding guru Bill Bennett and Roger Greenway have begun operations at Torrey Pines under the company name UP San Diego. The new company will proudly carry the NAS paraglider line and accessories, and has reactivated the Torrey Pines Hang Gliding Windsprints and Paraglider PARAGLIDING

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Competition. This year's events will take place on March 21-24 andApril 16-21. To sign up or demo NAS products contact UP San Diego at (619) 4529858 or NAS Distributing at (303) 2789566.

NEW GUDERS FROM AILES DE iles De K USA, Inc. is now importing and distributing the new "Swing Up" paraglider from France. The manufacturer of the Swing Up has been in business since 1986. Ailes De K Switzerland has introduced a new glider for 1996 - the Quartz. According to the manufacturer the glider retains handling and performance, even though it was designed as an entry-level glider for beginners as well as intermediate and occasional pilots. The greatly reduced number of suspension lines makes it suitable for mountain climbers. The glider will be available this spring in the U.S. For more information contact:Ailes De K USA, Inc., 28141-235thAve. SE, MapleValley,WA 98038 (206) 432-8900, fax (206) 432-2876.

are conducted on-site in the remodeled main building, just 50 feet from the main landing zone, and at other nearby sites.

Located in Chelan County, home of the 1996 Paragliding Nationals, the area offers consistently favorable weather

MASTERS AT CLOUDBASE MUSIC VIDEO fter five years of producing the "Cloudbase" video series, Adventure Video has become Adventure Productions and is releasing a new-style music video. The best shots from the original Cloudbase Paragliding video have been combined with new footage from France and the Paragliding World Cup in Italy which shows the "masters" launching, flying cross-country and swooping down to land on the spot. A new digital editing system allows for professional-

quality, slow-motion visuals and theater-quality stereo hi-fi sound. With five distinct sections including World Cup takeoffs and landings, flying into the cloucls in Italy, flying paramotors, and slow-motion maneuvers and recoveries - the video demonstrates how smooth and exact these master sky gods can be. It is the first $19.95 music video (no narration) fromAdventure Productions. The company accepts checks, money orders, or Visa/Mastercard. Include $4.00 shipping. Contact:Adventure Productions/Paul Hamilton, 4750 Townsite Rd., Reno, NV 89511 (702) 8499672 (phone/fax).

AIRPLAY PARAGLIDING SCHOOL FUGH1' PARK arapente USA and the Hay Canyon Ranch in Cashmere, Washington now have new management, new instmctors, new facilities and a new name. Now called Airplay Paragliding School and Flight Park, the 1,200-acre ranch has been developed into a unique training and recreational facility for paraglider pilots, their families and friends. Three of the United States' most experienced instmctors - Kari Castle, Mike Haley and Dana McMillin - are teaching and certifying Beginner through Advanced pilots. Courses are offered year-round, and special clinics and tours will be scheduled periodically. Classes MARCH/ APRIL

1996

GPS FOR UNDER $200 armin is pleased to introduce its new GPS 38 Personal Navigator. The handheld GPS offers a host of new features in the same small package as its sister unit, the GPS 40. New to the GPS 38 is an enhanced operating system that includes:"EZinit" for quick and easy first-time initialization; backtrack, which allows exact retrace; compass navigation, a new "page''with a rotating compass dial; redesigned moving map; four new grid formats (for a total of 11 grid and position formats); improved screen readability (new contemporary fonts); resettable trip odometer; and 12- or 24-hour clock with am/pm indicator. As do all of Garmin's handheld receivers, the GPS 38 utilizes the proprietary MultiTrac8 receiver, which tracks

and uses up to eight satellites simultaneously. The MultiTrac8 receiver was the first in the world to be FAA-certified for landing aircraft in low-visibility (IFR) conditions. The GPS 38 stores up to 250 waypoints and 20 routes, with up to 30 waypoints each. Battery life approaches 20 hours in battery-saving mode, running on only four AA alkalines. At only nine ounces the GPS 38, along with Garmin's other new-generation handhelds, is the smallest GPS receiver in the world. In addition, the unit is waterproof and DGPS ready. For information on ordering the GPS 38, GPS 40, GPS 45 or any of Garmin's other GPS receivers or accessories, contact: Chad at BodyTrends, 3317-A State St., Santa Barbara, CA 93105 (805) 5691667.

and exceptional terrain for paragliding. The flight park has ten launches which face all wind directions, range in elevation from 15 to 1,500 feet, and are accessible by 4WD. This versatility and a convenient LZ make it possible for pilots to make many flights per day. Airplay invites certified pilots, Para II and above, to visit and fly at the flight park, the only one of its kind in the western U.S. The area also offers skiing (downhill and cross-country), sledding, snowmobiling and snowshoeing in the winter, as well as mountain biking, hiking, volleyball and horseshoes in the summer. Airplay facilities include an indoor climbing wall and a fully stocked retail store throughout the year. Dave Bridges and Robby Whittall will be at the flight park for clinics in April and May, and guided tours with Kari, Mike and Dana are scheduled for July. Other excursions into Canada, Mexico and the United States are also planned. Look for further Airplay activities in Paragliding magazine's Calendar of Events. For more information contact:Airplay Paragliding, 810 l Hay Canyon Road, Cashmere,WA 98815 (509) 782-5543.

INTERESTING AND WEIRD NEWS FROM EUROPE uring the 1995 "Wind Festival" in Calvi, France, ITV built the world's largest windsock: 10 feet in diameter and 50 feet long. In Switzerland, 96-year-old Emanuelle Borel took her first tandem flight. Perhaps she will celebrate her l 00th birthday by flying a paraglider. Last October in France a 105-squaremeter paraglider, designed by Paul Amiell, was launched from 13,800 feet carrying eight passengers. Seven of them released to skydive 6,500 feet to the valley floor. A famous French brand of carbonated

Cont'd on page 52. PARAGLIDING

LOCll'ID IN CHELAN COUNTY· HOME OF THE 19'6 120-A Hay Canyon Road, Cashmere, WA 98815

PATMGLll)ING NATIONALS

airP/ay Paragliding is the only true paragliding flight park in the Western United States. Our 1200 acre ranch has 1O launches facing all wind directions from 200 to 1500 feet. With 3, on site, advanced instructors we offer the most consistent, professional training available anywhere! Guided Tours to Golden, B.C., home of the

' Jo;,, _

J<ari, mJe & Canadian Nationals, Europe & Chelan with internationally renowned, world record holder :l:>ana /or Jpecia f lou.rJ Kari Castle, 20 year veteran pilot Mike Haley (the two most popular instructors at the 1995 o/lered durin'J tf.e C/,./a,. Super Clinic) as well as Dana MacMillian, r/atwna£ in Ju/,///" pioneer insructor and founder of airP/ay flight park.

Para I & Para II These courses are "Come fly tfw new designed to thouroughly teach students the skills and techniques necessary for confident J;,,,,/,;,.J (f-Sr"''' & progression into advanced levels of 1/w !J'JU me!'"l,I" paragliding. Para Ill The new guidelines for advanced paragliding certification have changed. Now pilots must demonstrate more flying skills and describe more skills verbally to achieve this intermediate rating. At airP/ay, our classes will teach you subjects ranging from FAA Regulations and aircraft sectional charts to the recently included Paragliding Tow Discussion Topics. airP/ay's instructors make sure their students are well versed in all the Para Ill discussion topics and are thoroughly trained by giving personalized attention to each person. High Altitude & Thermal Clinics

airP/ay offers training and USHGA ratings for these special skills Light Wind Launch, Assisted Windy Cliff Launch, Flat Slope Launch, Restricted Landing Field, Turbulence, High Altitude and Cross Country. 1-509-782-5543 I www.airplay.com Remember lo brin'J 'lour mounlain bdeJ, Look for us under the climbing "fweJ, Jki", /,·iend., & too! calender of events!

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"SPECIAL NEW PILOT" Magazine. Hang Gliding or Paragliding (circle one). Buy one for a friend! ................... $ 4.95 PARAGLIDING-THE COMPLETE GUIDE by Noel Whittall. Comprehensive, up-to-date, plenty of color photos. $24.95 UNDERSTANDING THE SKY by Dennis Pagen. THE most complete book on micrometerology. 278 pgs........ $19.95 PARAGLIDING FLIGHT-WALKING ON AIR by Dennis Pagen. Covers all aspect of pg. Over 140 illustrations. $19.95 PARAGLIDING-A PILOT'S TRAINING MANUAL by Wills Wing. Everything you wanted to know about pg ....... $19.95 ALPHA FLIGHT by Mark Wright. Covers all aspects of pg, complete with illustrations. Class 1 testing material. $19.95 HIGHER THAN EAGLES by Maralys & Chris Wills. Bio. of hg legend Bob Wills & Wills Wing. Hardcover......... $19.95 ACCESS & THE GENERAL AVIATION AIRPORT ENVIRONMENT by B. Moorman. Guide for airport access. $19.95 DOWNWIND by Larry Fleming. Share the experience of over 20 years of hg flight. A true story, well told .......... $10.95 THE ART OF SKYSAILING by Michael Robertson. Material used in ICP's, including the Charts of Reliability ... $ 9.95 RECORD ATTEMPT KIT Includes all official forms needed for national and world record attempts ................... $15.00 DELUXE LOG BOOK 64 pgs. Covering ID, ratings, rules, maintenance, inspection, terminology & more .......... $ 4.95 FLIGHT LOG BOOK 40 pgs. The Official USHGA flight log book....................................................................... $ 2.95 CERTIFICATION BOOKLETS Document your skill level sign-offs. Specify Hang Gliding or Paragliding ........... $ 1.95

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POINT OF THE MTN (Utah) Video. HG & PG action at one of America's favorite sites. 3D effects (52 min) ....... $29.00 BORN TO FLY Video. HG action. Meet Larry Tudor & The Green Team, etc. Fly Owens, Sandia, etc. (50 min) $34.95 PARAGLIDE: THE MOVIE Video. Owen's Valley world competition. Hot action, rockin' soundtrack. (40 min) .... $39.95 CLOUDBASE PARAGLIDING Video. Great intro. to the sport. Meet the hot pilots & fly the hot sites. (36 min). $34.95 HANG GLIDING EXTREME Video. Fly the most spectacular sites in the US. Meet the top pilots (50 min) ......... $34.95 HAWAIIAN FLYIN' Video. HG & PG in Paradise. Amazing launches & awesome scenery! (46 min) .................. $33.00 DAREDEVIL FLYERS Ill-THE PARAGLIDERS Video. Join the W.W. gang in scenic Telluride, CO. (50 min) .... $24.95 All our videos are in USA/VHS NTSC format only.

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Paragliding Site Info L A K E V I

E W,

R E G

This is the first in a series of "Site Information" articles about paragliding sites across the US. Outside of a handful of high-profile sites like Aspen, Sun Valley, Torrey Pines and Point of the Mountain, most regional paragliding areas are not well known to the majority ofpilots. If you are interested in writing about one of your local paragliding sites, contact contributing editor Steve Roti at (503) 284-0998 or 70323.36J4@compuserve.com /Jy Ste1 1e Roti

he town of Lakeview has two nicknames: the "Tallest Town in Oregon" (elevation 4,800') and the "Hang Gliding Capital of the West." With increasing numbers of paraglider pilots discovering the area, they may soon have to change the second one to include bag-wings too.

GEOGRAPHY AND WEATHER Situated just north of the California border in the south-central part of Oregon, Lakeview is a ranching, farming and logging center. Geologically the area is part of the basin and range country that stretches east and south

throughout Nevada, and the long north/south mountain ranges provide many flying sites for foot-launch pilots. In fact, there are five developed driveup sites within a 50-mile radius of town and other less well-known undeveloped sites nearby. Much of the flying is along the 100-mile-long Warner Mountain range conveniently located just east of town. Despite the "lake" in its name, Lakeview is high desert country like most of Oregon on the east side of the Cascades. It gets bitterly cold there in the winter and the launches are covered in snow until sometime in the spring. Most of the flying around

Lakeview takes place in the summer and fall , primarily June through September. Summer can bring light and variable days with high cloudbase, but it can also produce outrageously strong midday conditions unsuitable for paragliding.

WHY I LOVE TO FLY IN LAKEVIEW Allow me to digress for a moment from the details of the sites and tell you why I love to fly in Lakeview. In each of the last two years, I've spent a week in Lakeview with friends around Labor

Cont'd on page 25. PARAGLIDING

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Paragliding -The Complete Guide The newest addition to the paragliding library. Written and photographed by Noel Whittall. Very comprehensive.

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$39.95 Cloud Chart Poster This is the third edition of your guide to the sky. 26" x38", full color poster is great for home or office. Look and learn to read the sky.

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As/scrambled to my feet a bolt of energy coursed through me. It was the purest current of thrill I've ever experienced, better than paddling, better than rock climbing, and definitely better than hurling on the high seas. My initial trepidation, fears and anxiery were erased. For a time I had flown free on fa bric wings and the exhilaration was supercharged. "Anything for my art! " Through any number of adventures that has been my journalistic crie de guerre. In search of a good story I have been flung into raging rapids, jumped out of helicopters into heaving green seas, wandered across parched deserts, shivered in underground caverns, and drifted in a life raft alone on the wide Pacific. I usually give the cry in hot pursuit of a byline and a check. While fame and glory are transient things, a paycheck compounding sits firm as Fort Knox.

For that I will do anything. Anything for my art. In mid-July 1995, this unflagging maxim brought me to Pine Mountain some 25 miles southeast of Bend, central Oregon's premiere play spot. The Desert Air Riders, Bend's paragliding club, were sponsoring their annual

Lmmchingfrom Pine Mt'Juntain.

PbQJQ tr.,, BrianJ Whetstine

Fly-In, and my contact, Phil Pohl, sole proprietor of Sky Hook Sports paragliding school, promised that if I showed up with a sleeping bag and five bucks for dinner I could hobnob and even fly with his brother (and sister) wizards. Unlike caving or hurling over the side of a life raft, I had credentials for paragliding: I had been a paratrooper and helicopter pilot in the Army and knew something about flying . Thus,

after bouncing several spine-cracking miles over dusty, tire-rutted tracks I pulled confidently into the Desert Air Riders ' landing/camping zone at Pine Mountain. How different could paragliding be from jumping out of a C-130, anyway? Pine Mountain looms some 6,300 feet over the desert. Breezes blow through the mountain's pines from nearly 360 degrees and powerful thermals abow1d. PARAGLIDING

by Brian J Whetstine

Pilot Profile

Harry Kauffman TI-IE OLD MAN OFTIIE MOUNTAIN by Brian J Whetstine

)UNTAIN In fact, Pine Mountain is recognized as

one of the best thermal spots in North America. With launch sites ringing the mountain and landing zones as far as the eye can see, Pine Mountain is Oregon's soaring mecca. I found Phil Pohl at the foot of the mountain overseeing a campsite jumbled with trucks, tents, campers, kids and coolers. Tall, muscled, mustachioed and sporting a blue crusher hat, walkie-talkie and dark shades, the 48-year-old Pohl o c:: genially glides amongst the desert assem- ,.,> bly like a modern-day Lawrence of tl Arabia. Pohl moved to Bend after kicking £ around Portland and Eugene. He had § ..c: been anArmy Green Beret,paratrooper, c.. jmnpmaster and loved skydiving despite the expense of the sport. Pohl discovered paragliding in 1989 and , after earning his initial rating, happily traded a partially-restored 1956 Cadillac for a used glider package. Pohl is now a Class ill instructor with more than 750 flights and 250 hours with experience in thermal, ridge soaring, cross-country, n1rbulence and tandem flight. He has trained more than 80 students and is respected as a thorough, patient and professional instructor pilot. Pohl introduced me to several pilots, including Chris Santacroce, a rep for Edel paragliders. Santacroce, Phil said, had agreed to take me up, weather allowing. Though young, Santacroce had more hours under a wing than Lindbergh, and enjoyed the blazing reputation of being a truly hot paraglider pilot. Several told me of his "Patented Death Spiral," in which Chris descends to mere feet off the turf, turns and spins on a wing tip before righting and settling gently to the ground. Despite the billing, the 24-year-old Santacroce impressed me with his cool confidence. Still, the fact he was famed for a maneuver called the MARCH/ APRIL

19 96

arry Kauffman beams and runs his hand through his thick shock of white hair and says,"I'm the oldest paraglider pilot in Oregon - as far as I know. I've been flying since 1989 and have about 250 hours and more than 300 flights." It's positively a joy to watch the 70-year-old Kauffman soar and listen to him talk about his sport. He is well-respected by other pilots for his flying abilities and, I suspect, they secretly see themselves at age 70 in him right now. Harry Kauffman semi-retired in 1987 from his commercial rock quarry concern, Kauffman Crushing Co., and makes his home in Waldport, Oregon. An active sportsman since the early 1940's, Kauffman skis, windsurfs, scuba dives, sails, and climbs mountains. After his wife died in a sailing accident in 1987, Kauffman retreated within himself to grieve for a time. In 1989 he decided to return to active living and took up paragliding, a sport that had always intrigued him. Kauffman began instruction in San Francisco and finished his training with Phil Pohl in Bend, Oregon. Since earning his initial rating, Kauffman has traveled across America and Europe in search of tall thermals. He has flown in France,Austria, Switzerland and Italy, and is completely entranced by the sport. Kauffman notes that paragliding is not a physically demanding sport - even for a man with 70 orbits around the sun under his belt. "There are lots of older folks in Europe who do this;' he observes, "lots older than I am." Kauffman confesses that he is baffled as to why older folks in the U.S. don't take up paragliding. "The toughest part of the sport is hiking to the launch site! "he exclaims. Kauffman may be an unusually young septuagenarian. Or it may be that paragliding has kept him young. "I've scared the living daylights out of myself flying," he states, "The challenge is in finding lift and staying in it." Though Kauffman has made flights of over five hours and has soared over miles of incredible scenery, his best flight by far was in France in 1994, when he followed a local pilot on a four-hour, 45minute jaunt that crossed six spectacular valleys. He credits the French pilot with finding the necessary thermals. "In paragliding you're up there for hours competing with a total unknown," he explains,"It's totally by sense, totally by feel. If it weren't for that

Cont'd on page 23.

"Death Spiral" nagged at my instinct for self-preservation. The pilots gathered at Pine Mountain were a varied collection of characters, and all were self-confessed flying bums. They ranged from 15 to 70 with every age in-between. They came to central Oregon from every corner of the West, some as far off as Wyoming and British Columbia. These blithe spirits lived to fly and each sang loud hosannas to the freedom of inflatable flight. I was in the middle of this talkative, happy bunch, listening to hair-raising tales of derringdo when a stir swirled through the crowd, hushing first one pilot, then another. One by one they stared at Phil Pohl while he examined Pine Mountain through a pair of binoculars. "Wind's up!" he fu1ally announced, "The windsock's showing a north wind." Pilots scattered as if he'd said he had a social disease. Grabbing their gliders they scuttled to scattered vans and trucks, piled on packs and piled in. I scuttled, too, and in a flash we kicked up clouds of dust as we bumped to the top of Pine Mountain. In 30 minutes we debarked on a grassy knoll below the peak and hiked to the north launch site. Although the winds had died, some eager birc!men

unpacked their gliders in hopes of a flight. The wind soon rose but was chased by min clouds and jagged cracks of lightning. Pilots ran from the exposed mountain top to the safety of the vehicles and settled in to "parnwait" the storm out. It was not to be. After several hours the storm still growled, so we quit the peak and headed clown to camp. There we tucked into a truly delectable dinner. Silhouetted by a gaudy glow of a pink and blue sunset stretched wide across the horizon, we stuffed ourselves till our stomachs groaned and our eyes rolled back in our heads. We stumbled off to our campsites and fell asleep to the gentle patter of raindrops. True, we had not flown, but tomorrow was new day. The morning dawned bright and the wine! barely luffed the tents as we climbed out, stretched and blinked in the light. It wasn't long before eager pilots examined the windsock on Pine Mountain, and once again the call lilted through camp - "Wind's up!" In a flash we roared back to the peak, but by the time we got there the wind had died. Several pilots unpacked their gliders and determinedly set to parnwaiting. In due time their determination was

rewarded as Phil Pohl and others finally pronounced the slight breeze fit for flight. The first pilot donned his helmet, hooked in, and stood facing the slope, lines and toggles in hand, waiting for courage and wind direction to coincide. The north slope plunged across an open stretch of rock and scrub and ran into a thick stand of pines. After takeoff pilots had to wheel left and make for a spine that led down the mountain and to the desert. Wind flowing up the spine would provide enough lift to loft pilot and glider to the LZ, a cleared spot with a soft circle of deep, round pebbles. The sled ride would average 7-10 minutes. The first few pilots launched with a whoop and a holler. I stood below takeoff and snapped photos as they lifted off, swooshed overhead, and soared down the spine. The brightly striped and flashed wings floated in the blue sky like flying wedges of tropical fruit. I was entranced. But then a pilot slipped on a rock on launch and twisted his knee in spectacular and painful fashion. The injured pilot was evacuated from the mountain and I began to feel anxious about my own impending launch. Launches ceased as the wind died and pilots PARAGLIDING

jumped over to the west launch in hopes of catching a breeze from a different direction. There they waited while I pondered my fate. I had experienced this unease before. On my first jump as an Army paratrooper I watched the soldiers ahead of me leap one by one out the door as if in a dream. When my turn came, and I saw the ground revolving 2,000 feet below the open door, I suddenly realized I didn't want to jump. It was too late, though, and when I stood in the door it was with the resignation of a condemned felon on the gallows trap. The Army trains its paratroopers well, however, and when the jumpmaster shouted "GO!" I sprang into the blue without thinking. High on Pine Mountain I had no doubt I would fly with Chris Santacroce - it was too late to back out with honor - but I faced the event with gnawing anxiety. Then the launch was upon us. Chris carefully laid out the tandem paraglider and checked the tangle of lines, straps and carabiners. He tossed a battered blue helmet my way and, robot-like, I buckled it on. The same old Airborne dream state washed over me and I felt like I was watching myself from a fivefoot hover. When Santacroce beckoned me to strap into the tandem harness I tried to hide my anxiety behind a jaunty smile and a buccaneer swagger. My left knee jittered nervously and I couldn't stop its mad twitching. Someone asked if I was excited and I bravely croaked, "Anything for my art!" In truth, I felt like a played-out trout reeled in on a line. And Santacroce held the pole. Looking out over the west slope there were just a few steps between me and ... nothing. A whole lot of nothing. Chris, now buckled in behind me, chanted a disclaimer which informed me that I was flying of my own free will in a craft uncertified for flight and if we plunged 2,000 feet to our deaths the FAA wouldn't give two snaps. Anything for my art, indeed. My knee jumped wildly while my heart pounded like a heavy metal drummer on tour. I was working out my salvation in fear and trembling when Chris yelled "GO!" and I bounded down the slope as if chased by the Devil, my breath coming in short, sharp bursts. After a few quick leaps I felt a heavy tug

MARCH/ APRIL

1996

at my shoulders and heard the crackling billow of fabric inflating overhead. I leaned into the straps with toes barely touching the ground until, with a sudden, strong, silent pull, we were plucked off the slope and soared over the valley to a chorus of hurrahs below. Once airborne, Chris wheeled the paraglider left and, pressed into our seats by centrifugal force, we whirled like rocks in David's sling, searching for a thermal Goliath. My stomach bottomed out as Chris asked calmly, "How do you like that sensation?" I had to confess I liked it fine. In fact, it was exhilarating!

short. The pilot stared disgustedly skyward as we swooshed overhead and I returned his gaze with a superior grin. This was a blast. The scrub and rock rushed up at us as we closed in on the LZ, and in no time we alighted with a soft, rippling pop of the wing. In the time-honored tradition of paragliding rookies everywhere, I instinctively sat down while Chris yelled to get up and keep going. As I scrambled to my feet a bolt of energy coursed through me. It was the purest current of thrill I've ever experienced, better than paddling, better than rock climbing, and definitely better than hurling on the

As we flew down the spine Chris cut figure-S's looking for thermals, while pine trees, scrub and dark boulders revolved below us. More paraglider pilots popped off the slope and floated behind us like colorful mattresses. The wind whooshed gently through our lines while our harness creaked and groaned with every spin and shift. The silence of the sky was overwhelming. My anxiety had disappeared and I was euphoric. Chris no longer seemed a fiend in human form but rather a trusted friend, a brother birdman, my favorite pilot! I was exulting in every new sensation, looking about and watching my boots fly through the sky until our paraglider slewed sickeningly and I rushed back to my senses. The madman behind me threw on the brakes and we surfed backwards in the air. "I think I found a thermal," Chris called across my shoulder. The airfoil canted forward and, pendulum-like, we swung into the column of rising air. We climbed 30-40 feet, but due to our weight we soon exited the weak thermal and resumed our descent to the LZ. As Chris expertly set up our approach we soared over the deflated yellow wing of a paraglider-landed-

high seas. My initial trepidation, fears and anxiety were erased. For a time I had flown free on fabric wings and the exhilaration was supercharged. Art or no art, I had to fly again! Ill

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Cont'd from page 18. Day in early September. Despite a couple of blown-out days in 1995, I've managed to fly all of the developed sites and two of the undeveloped ones, and I've been up to 10,500' msl, which is pretty darn good for Oregon. Although my cross-country efforts at Lakeview have been modest, I've been present for two 23-mile paragliding flights and heard enough stories from the hang glider pilots to know that the crosscountry potential is enormous. (After all, there's a good reason why the U.S. Hang Gliding Nationals were held there a couple of years ago.) As if great cross-country conditions were not enough, there are plenty of other reasons to love the place. Friendly residents who are supportive of footlaunch flight (I've had locals stop alongside a field where I landed out and offer me a ride back to town before I even finished packing up). Developed launch sites with graded roads, parking lots, outhouses and nicely graveled "launch pads" (many of the sites have official highway signs pointing the way to launch). Inexpensive places to stay and eat (motels, developed and undeveloped campgrounds). A "small town America" atmosphere with a county fair on Labor Day weekend where you can ride the Zipper, eat cotton candy and check out the 4-H projects in the barns.

The author soaring at Sugar Hill. Photo by Tina Pavelic.

THE SITES Now back to your regularly scheduled site information. The descriptions in this article are intended as brief summaries; for further information see the site guide contact at the end of this article. Please note that these sites are unregulated even though they have associated hang ratings (HI = Beginner, I-12 = Novice, H3 = Intermediate, H4 = Advanced). Black Cap looms over downtown Lakeview, beckoning pilots up to launch just below the summit at approximately 6,300' msl (1,500' agl). Launches face south through west and soaring is of both the ridge and thermal variety. There's a big flag in downtown Lakeview easily visible from launch that gives convenient up-to-the-minute wind direction information. Rating: H2 with altitude experience. MARCH/ APRIL

1996

Tague's Butte is a 6,500' msl knob that rises in front of Abert Rim, the prominent 22-mile, 2,500' agl west-facing rock formation that is visible from most parts of Lake County. Because the rim is such a sharp cliff, the idea is to launch atTague's Butte and fly over to the rim in soarable conditions.This is an incredibly scenic spot - the rim looks like something out of a Roadmnner cartoon where you might expect to see Wile E. Coyote hiding on top. Rating: H4 with turbulence sign-off recommended. Doherty Slide is another west-facing, rim-like formation an hour's drive east of Lakeview in a smaller range that parallels the Warner Mountains. Launch is in front of the rim at about 6,000' msl (1,000' agl). Historical note:A hang gliding distance world record was set at

Doherty Slide in 1974 with a 13.5-mile flight north along the rim. Rating: H3 with turbulence and assisted windy cliff launch sign-offs recommended, H2 early or late. Sugar Hill is the only developed flying site in the California section of the Warners. It's a popular choice for X-C pilots because the 7,200' msl (2,400' agl) southwest-facing launch heats up earlier than some of the other launches and has a habit of frequently propelling pilots to cloudbase.Just to give you an idea of the X-C potential, the hang gliding site record is more than 150 miles and there have been a number of 100+ mile flights from Sugar. Rating: H3 with turbulence sign-off recommended. Hadley Butte is the northernmost of the developed sites, facing north toward the Summer Lake basin. More

for early flights, H3 with turbulence sign-off for afternoon. The undeveloped sites include Ponderosa, Buck Mountain and Bald Mountain. Ponderosa is on the 2,000' agl east-facing Winter Ridge along the western edge of the Summer Lake basin. Buck and Bald are east-facing sites in the California section of the Warners just south of Sugar Hill.

PEOPLE FUGHTS

The author }lying at Hadley Butte. Photo by Tina Pavelic.

parngliding has taken place at Hadley than at the other sites because of the annual Summer Lake paragliding fly-in put on by Phil Pohl of Bend since 1990. The typical X-C flight is east along the hills to the town of Paisley. Rating: H2

NOTABLE

John Yates was the first to make a significant cross-country flight from Black Cap, with a 19-miler north along the Warners to land nearTague's Butte. Mark Telep and Tina Pavelic have both made 23-milers north from Sugar Hill, terminating their interstate flights just south of the town of Lakeview. Phil Pohl, Hans Hub and a few other pilots have made flights of approximately 20 miles from the Hadley and Ponderosa larn1ches above Summer Lake. No article about Lakeview would be complete without mention of the pilots

who have worked so hard developing the area for foot-launch flight: Greg Christensen, Doug Hildreth, Mike Stevenson, Dave Baleria and all the members of the Rogue Valley Hang Gliding Association. They had generous assistance from the local offices of the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, as well as the State of Oregon which allocated Oregon Lottery proceeds to help with site improvements.

SITE GUIDE For further information, the Lake County Chamber of Commerce distributes an excellent hang gliding site guide for the area. Even though the guide is written with hang glider pilots in mind, most of the information in it is applicable to paraglider pilots too. You can get a copy for $5.00 from the Chamber of Commerce office (541-9476040) located in the Safeway parking lot in downtown Lakeview. (You can't miss it when you drive into town.)

Steve Roti has been paragliding since 1991 and has flown at 92 different sites, but Lakeview is still one of his favorites. He was the publisher of ALOFT magazine during 1995. •

Flying south at Doherty Slide. Photo by Steve Roti.

Ii g

paragliding rating system is to split the old Class I rating into two distinct ratings, and to split the old Class II rating into two distinct ratings.To reduce confusion, a new naming convention was adopted, one consistent with the hang gliding rating system.The old naming

past October the USHGA Board of Directors ratified a change in the Pilot Proficiency System (Part 104) that made the system parallel and congrnent with respect to hang gliding and paragliding. The primary motivations for this change were that the USHGA administers both rating systems, and both systems relate to pilots flying under similar if not identical conditions and sites. The notion of parallel and congruent essentially means that the respective systems should have the same number and kind of ratings, and that similar ratings now equate to the same level of mastery and judgment under the same conditions. It also means that the related procedures, organization, and wording of the systems are now normalized so as to be more homogeneous and easier (or at least more straightforward) to administer. Associated with this vision of uniformity is a reorganized paragliding rating system to match the current five-tier hang gliding rating system. Once we get past the initial growing pains of making this conversion there may be other changes to the rating system in the future, but those changes will be made unilaterally, rather than to the hang gliding or paragliding rating system independently. The purpose of this article is to present to the flying community the significant effects of the reorganization. The essence of the modified

Cont'd on page 38.

Intermediate

Class II*

Advanced

Previous rating and None time minimum

Para 2 for 4 months

Class I for 6 months

Para 3 for 8 months

# of flying days

5 days

30 days

50 days

80 days

# offlights

25 flights

90 flights

100 flights

250 flights

# of hours of solo

None

20 hours

25 hours

75 hours, 25 in thermal flight

Demonstrate hands-off and rear nser turns

Airspeed proficiency

5 flights from launches of at least 1,000', 5 flights from different sites

5 flights at each of 5 different sites in Intermediate conditions, of which 3 sites are inland

Demonstrate reserve canopy deployment

Surge control proficiency

5 thermal flights of 30 minutes or longer

3 one-hour thermal flights from at least two sites in Intermediate conditions

5 ridge-soaring flights of 15 min. or longer

1 one-hour flight in ridge lift

5 canopies flown

Requirement

by jack Hodges

convention of Classes I to III has been converted to Beginner to Master, with Class I split into Beginner and Novice, and Class II split into Intermediate and Advanced.The Class III rating was dissolved, and an honorary Master rating

Class I*/Novice

airtime

Significant logged

Demonstrate PLF's

requirements or task

5 top hill landings 5 side hill landings 180 competence

180 proficiency 360 competence

demonstrations

360 proficiency Figure 8 proficiency

25% asymmetric 25-40% asymmetric tip folds wing folds 50% symmetric Big ears tip folds 5 landings within 25' ofa spot

5 landings within 10' of a spot

50% asymmetric collapses

3 consecutive landings within 10' of a spot

From the table it can be seen that some pilots who have been reclassified from the old Class 1 to Novice may qualify for Intermediate ratings, based on reduced airtime requirements, flying days and demonstrated skills requirements. Similarly, some pilots who have been reclassified from the old Class II to Intermediate may qualify for Advanced ratings, particularly those with a lot of mountain experience and airtime. Note that the old Class Ill is not represented in this table, because Class III had no demonstrated skills associated with it.

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Paragliding Interviews

INTERVIEW

WITH

lYy Jon Goldberg-Hiller - photos by Dick Jackson

popular mountain flying sites in the US. - Aspen, Colorado. He was cofounder, with Jan Stenstadvold, of Aspen Paragliding School and helped organize the 1993 and 1994 US. National Paragliding Championships. This interview was conducted lYy Paragliding contributing editor Jon Goldberg-Hiller. PGM: How did you get into paragliding?

D.J.: It dates back to the mid to late 80's. I was spending a lot of time in Chamonix, France. Years before I actually flew I watched people paragliding there, before it was a real soaring sport, and it became a real infatuation. Being a climber, the idea of getting down off things was just mesmerizing. I would watch launches and landings for hours at a time and say, "Well, this looks pretty simple." A friend showed me a few things in Chamonix, but we basically taught ourselves in Aspen; we didn 't have any formal training. PGM: So Aspen was

really one of the first

Launching from just below the summit of Cotapaxi (19,400') in Ecuador.

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places where paragliding got off the ground in the United States? DJ.: Back in '87 or so, and slightly before that,John Bouchard was running around the States trying to get all his climbing buddies to give it a go. Michael Kennedy from Climbing magazine and a few other people were turned on to it. Nobody really knew anything; the gear was just copied from ITV and there was other bogus stuff. So in the beginning it was just the climbing community that was coerced into trying it, and there were endless accidents and stories that turned everybody off from pursuing it. Fortunately, I stuck with it at a time when other people got disillusioned, with pretty good reason. In Aspen it started with a few ofus, in 1988.

within the company. The mountain management folks are basically friends, and are understanding and open-minded about allowing paragliding to be accessible. We owe a lot of our success to this good relationship that goes back to the late 80's. PGM: Is there anything you do that helps cultivate that relationship with the company?

D.J.: A lot of it is the layout of the mountain. We're fortunate because the

ty is so large, what do you do to ensure a vibrant and cooperative community ofpilots?

D.J.: The club is pretty cohesive. There aren't a lot of meetings but people do tend to stay pretty close. There seems to be a well-established acceptance of flying site regulations. There's a lot of support for everybody, and the atmosphere around the launch and landing zones is quite good. The school is in the center of the whole thing since we're always up there, but I think it is a pretty relaxed situation. There's enough history to it; we've done enough that it's not like reinventing the wheel every season. We're constantly reevaluating situations and facilities, but it's pretty well established.

PGM: Mostly climbers in Aspen?

PGM: You've described the sport as

D.J.: No. I was the only real climber in

rather high profile inAspen.How many of the curious as opposed to the committed come to your paragliding school for that reason?

the group. I remember that I was on a flight to Reno for a trade show and just happened to sit next to Jan Stenstadvold, who's now my partner. At that point he was running a ski shop and I was a climbing guide, and we both got excited about the idea of paragliding. At the beginning just a handful of people were excited about the possibilities. PGM: When did pilots start using the

lifts at Aspen?

D.J.: Right away. It was "ignorance is bliss."We simply started doing it. We were flying right off the front side, right on the ski slopes where we certainly can't do that now, and landing in the center of town. And nobody really knew or cared because there were just a couple of people doing it. So it was kind of a fun thing. But we didn't really know anything at the time. lP'GM: It seems to me that this has really changed dramatically. Of all the

major ski areas in the US., Aspen and Sun Valley have the most successful paragliding programs and Aspen has the highest per capita paraglider pilot population. Wlry has paragliding been so successful at Aspen?

D.J.: The ski company has been really cooperative and that's the main thing, right from the start. It certainly doesn't hurt that we know the right people MARCH/ APRIL

1996

best flying is not directly over the ski mountain. When we first started it was not a soaring sport and we simply flew, glided right over the mountain. Aspen mountain is basically a ridge line, and the best flying is off one side or the other, which accommodates everybody's needs. They don't want us flying over the mountain when the lifts are running and we don't need to because the best lift and best flying is "out of bounds." So the topography helps a lot, and that was obviously not pre-planned.

D.J.: A lot of our clientele are tandem passengers. There's no intent to learn at all. In certain groups there's peer pressure like, "I flew, why don't you fly?"The spin-off is the serious student. I wouldn't say we have an extraordinary number of students, but they are good students. They're serious. Basically we just do private instruction. It's a good way to learn, especially in the mountains. PGM: How many students do you have?

D.J.: About 50. PGM: So you are the largest school in

the country?

D.J.: I don't think there's any resis-

D.J.: Yes, but the numbers are not the important thing. The important thing is the quality of the students and whether they will really commit to the sport. There are people who come and go, just like on a powder-skiing day. All the locals come out of the woodwork. Not many people tend to fly in the winter compared to the summer.

tance at all. It is very well known, very accepted. We've flown tandem with hundreds of locals and there are probably a couple of hundred local pilots as well. It's so high profile that people know a lot about it.

PGM: What do you try to teach someone who is only curious about the sport? Is there something special you try to give them, something you want them to take away from that experience?

PGM: Since the paragliding communi-

D.J.: Basically, we want to show them a

PGM: How does the town ofAspen like paragliding? Is there any resistance to it?

PGI/JflGIJIU~i'J;f/}tt inte'll"vi&W9

good time, and we demonstrate that the sport is incredibly calculated and not just this iffy thing. The image held by the non-flying public is of a real highrisk activity. We try to leave them with the feeling that it's really fun. We explain the feeling they are going to have just prior to launch - feeling the lift, and if it's not there we don't launch. It's solid flying. In the summer, when we fly mid-day in strong thermals, we screen people very carefully and let them know that if worse comes to worse we 're going to fly down and land.

Continental Divide except those to Lookout.) The cross-country potential from Aspen is really good depending on the predominant wind. So, there have been long mountain flights in all directions from Aspen. PG-M: What is your personal favorite

flight?

D.J.: I don't really have one. To me, a nice feeling is a mid-day flight when you can really get high, when cumulus clouds are forming but not showing any

classic intermediate at the time. The group energy was really intense that day. Chuck Smith had already been to 17,000'+ by 9:30 am, and it was well known to everyone that he was on his way to Crested Butte by mid-morning. Unfortunately, some intermediate pilots were thermaling up and drifting back over the mountain, experiencing strong conditions. People were flying aggressively because of the group excitement.

winter flying is like at Aspen?

D.J.: Winter is good for business because we're flying right on the mountain and a ton of people see us fly. It's a captive audience, and when the weather cooperates we are quite busy. Of course, there are the prefrontal days when it's really good soaring, but in general the air is buoyant without a lot of lift, so winter flying is aesthetic - it's pretty and people love it - but we certainly don't make the long flights we do in the summer. PGM: What kinds offlights do you get

D.J.: They are almost all soaring flights, except the first one in the morning which tends to be smooth and good for students. The second flight (midmorning) is good thermal flying, the mid-day flight ( early afternoon) is usually pretty kick-butt, and the evening flight is a good glass-off. PGM: What are the site records at

Aspen? DJ.: There have been both solo and tandem flights to Crested Butte from Aspen (about 30 miles over uninhabited territory). Last summer Robbie Whittall, Dave Bridges,Todd Bibler and some other guys spent a lot of time in Aspen early in the season when people flew all the way to Salida (90 miles, the Aspen site record - and he was still at nearly 18,000' over Salida), Buena Vista (50-60 miles), over toward Leadville and a new site down-valley called Lookout (35 miles) - not the same one near Golden. (All these flights were over the

PG-M: Wasn't there an incident a few years ago in which a paraglider ended up draped over the gondola line?

D.J.: That involved a pilot who was a

PGM: Can you tell me what typical

in the summer?

concerning their flying. It's not easy. For example, when do you introduce new students to thermal conditions that you know they'll encounter sooner or later? It's a continual evolution of equipment and teaching techniques, and knowing your students intimately. Of course, there are incidents, but fortunately almost all have been incidents (like tree landings) as opposed to accidents.

sign of overdeveloping, and you are up there with a passenger really enjoying it. You can fly around indefinitely over Aspen and head miles in any direction when it's light and variable. That's the kind of flight that really turns someone on to the state of the art in paragliding. I don't really fly solo much anymore. I'm not a competition pilot. PG-M: Is there anything special you do

to minimize paragliding incidents and accidents and to maximize safety in your operation?

D.J.: That's something we're constantly working on between the club and the school, but the school is really the dynamic force in developing safety standards. We are constantly dealing with updated equipment, and I think the distributors are doing a great job of getting good equipment out there. We only deal with the best equipment. In addition, we are constantly reevaluating our own skills and the status of our students

One pilot was in unforgiving turbulence and had a big old asymmetric. As a typical intermediate, in all the excitement, he didn't correct it. It was a bad scene. He was spinning into the ground and totally out of control when he threw his reserve, and ended up tangled in the gondola cable. I don't know if it saved his life, but it certainly saved him from severe injury- he wasn't hurt at all. The gondola wasn't damaged but it was running, and his lines and canopies were wrapped around the cable. As he went through each of three towers the mechanism cut the lines to the point where he was in danger of falling to the ground. At this point he was approaching tower 28 which is the second highest on Aspen mountain, but he was blessed that day. Another pilot just inside the top of the gondola station had seen what happened, jammed the door open and waved. The lift attendant saw him, realized there was an emergency, and hit the kill switch just before the pilot went through the tower which probably would have cut the rest of the lines and killed him. It was a mixed blessing in a way,

PARAGLIDING

because we ended up refining the rules concerning the no-fly zone. As a result we have an even stronger relationship with the skiing company, because if they had any reason to discontinue our operation that would have been it. We worked it out and our relationship is better than ever. PGM: The 1993 and 1994 National

Paragliding Championships were held at Aspen. From your perspective, how did those events go and what did you learn from them? D.J.: We learned how to put on a big event. I think they went extremely well and everyone was really happy. There are lots of fun things to do in Aspen besides fly, which is important when you put on a big event. We also learned a lot about the flying potential here, because on a daily basis we're so busy with teaching and tandems that we don't have the opportunity to do a lot of cross-country flying. I think it's very important in a town like Aspen to demonstrate what can be clone when you bring in the best pilots. We're looking forward to sponsoring another big meet here sometime in the near future. I believe the two Nationals did a lot for paragliding. PGM: Might you do the Nationals again?

D.J.: Perhaps, or a World Cup or big invitational. It's a lot of work, but once you do it a couple of times it gets a little easier. PGM: 1 hear you've done a little paragliding in the Andes.

D.J.: A couple of years ago a few of us decided to take an adventurous trip. It was really fun because we flew a few sites that were pretty new to paragliding at that time, and we added a little adventure with some mountaineering. We climbed to the top of Cotopaxi, which is almost 20,000 feet, and flew from just below the summit. It was a combination ofThird-World exploration and flying at incredibly good sites. We flew seven or eight different sites in ] 2 days and had a fantastic time. PGM: Was the Cotopaxi flight a memo-

rable one? D.J.: Yes, because when you climb a

mountain you don't necessarily expect to fly; the odds are against you. It's a whole different way to climb and paraglicle because you don't bring all your normal gear - no helmet, reserve or full harness. You're not usually looking for a big soaring flight, just an exciting way to get off the mountain in lieu of the long walk clown. PGM: Do you have any suggestions for pilots who might want to establish liftassisted paragliding programs at other ski areas? Are tbere any lessons you can sbare?

D.J.: Be patient, and realize that things aren't going to happen overnight with ski area management. They have other concerns and paragliding is minuscule. Especially in the early stages they have nothing to gain but image, so you can't expect them to greet you with open arms and say, "Do whatever you want." Contacts are important. Get to know people, take them tandem, and gain their confidence. Initially there will be no economic incentive for a ski area to get involved with paragliding, although at Aspen we've gotten to the point where they recognize the financial benefit. At first their biggest worry is going to be liability, so you have to formally deal with that concern and gain their confidence. Ultimately there shouldn't be a problem, but they will be calling the shots. I think this is the real future when it comes to the growth of paragliding in the United States. Our best year-round sites are mountains that are frequently only accessible in the winter by ski lift. This is totally accepted in Europe. To experience significant growth in paragliding, ski area management is going to have to get comfortable with it. In the long term I don't see why they shouldn't, since they are already accepting an incredible amount of liability. It's hard to give general advice because we worked it out at Aspen by knowing the right people. It's complex, and each ski area has a different situation. There are so many factors: the topography of the mountain, economics, Forest Service versus private land, whether they are self-insured. After

talking with lots of people I've concluded that it basically comes down to whom you know. PGM: From your perspective, is there

anything paragliding needs to be concerned about to continue developing in the years ahead? D.J.: There is no question that there is a certain amount of inconsistency when it comes to the quality of training and the caliber of instructors. The equipment has really come a long way: it's good. Of course, pilots shouldn't be under the wrong canopy, and that is usually the consequence of poor instruction. We are stuck here in Aspen and don't travel much, so our knowledge of other schools isn't firsthand. We look to ourselves to maintain high standards. But we get a lot of visiting pilots and I can tell you that there is a lot of inconsistency in the quality of instruction out there: how they are teaching, where they are teaching, the gear students are using. These things need to be worked on continually. Unfortunately, I think paragliding is still a little too related to hang gliding and the politics of USHGA. It should be looked at completely separately in terms of the learning process. I believe that the sport has come a long way, but it has a bit further to go in the training department. PGM: Can you imagine something like

national administration of schools or a national curriculum? D.J.: I think it should be more difficult to become an instructor; you should have to do a lot more. Some might say that it's easy for me to talk since I got into the sport at a time when standards were low, but consider Europe, where becoming the highest-level paragliding instructor is equivalent to earning a Ph.D. This is probably a bit much, but we need much higher standards across the board to be an instructor. The training process, clinics, exams, etc. should be revamped. I would support such an endeavor, although I don't have the time at the moment to be an administrator myself. Ill

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Cont'd from page 28. was added which is identical to the hang gliding Master rating except for the Special Skills sign-offs required. One of the fundamental tasks associated with this reorganization was to define what skill level each rating represents. The Beginner rating is intended to describe a pilot who knows how to launch and land solo under supervision, and knows a little about canopies, sites and conditions, but who really needs to be supervised even at the tl"'aining hill.The Novice rating is intended to describe a pilot who can fly solo at a few sites under generally smooth conditions, and, generally, under some level of supervision depending on the site.This rating is equivalent to the old Class I rating. The Intermediate rating is intended to describe a generally competent pilot, someone who can fly solo at most sites

The notion of parallel and congruent essentially means that the respective [hang gliding and paragliding} systems should have the same number and kind of ratings, and that similar ratings now equate to the same level of mastery and judgment under the same conditions. 11 11

in nominal soaring conditions.This rating is almost the same as the old Class II rating in logged requirements, but slightly less restrictive (see table).The

Rating p licati s 01 by D. Dean Leyerle, USHGA Insurance and Membership Services o, it's time for that most essential part of the Instructor or Observer process: filling out a rating application so your student can actually receive his rating. Fun and games aside, I would like to point out the most common reasons for the rejection of a mting application. The two most common errors are failing to include the Issue Date or Launch Method.The Issue Date field at the top of the rating application must be filled out. The reason for this field is that several of our ratings have a time requirement between different ratings (e.g., the four-month waiting period between Novice and Intermediate). If this field is not filled out, or if the date in this field is more than 30 days prior to the date we

receive it, the rating will be returned (and I hate returning applications). Launch method means, simply, whether the rating is foot launch or tow launch. This now applies to both hang gliding and paragliding. If a rating application is received without a launch method it cannot be accepted and will be sent back to the Instructor or Observer. Please bear in mind that tow ratings can only be issued by Tow Administrators.There is no additional charge for a tow or foot-launch rating if they are received with another rating. If these ratings are received separately there is a $7.50 processing fee. Another common reason for a rating being delayed is the lack of appropriate processing fees. (Yes, the rating fees section of the form is for real!) All

Advanced rating is intended to describe a pilot who is competent to fly at any site. This rating exceeds the old Class II rating in every respect. With each of these ratings, the commensurate Judgment and Maturity categories include knowing when conditions exceed one's limitations. A conversion system has been adopted which will allow the migration of existing paragliding ratings to the modified rating classifications.The nominal migration will be Class I/Novice, Class II/Intermediate, and Class III/Advanced.The table highlights significant similarities and differences between the old and new paragliding ratings. Other differences can be understood by reading the full text of the proposed Part 104, which is available through the USHGA office. Ratings with asterisks are no longer part of the USHGA paragliding rating system. Ill

Beginner ratings are free. Novice through Master ratings (for both hang gliding and paragliding) as well as Tandem 1 and Tandem 2 ratings are $7.50 each.Tandem Instructor, and Basic and Advanced Instructor certifications are $10.00 each.The most common money-related error involves Radio Authorizations (PA's and VA's). These ratings are $10.00 for each

authorization checked on the application form. Many of you are still using very old rating forms for this, on which the price is listed as $5.00 each.This changed onJanuary 1, 1992! Please correct your forms or request new ones from the office. Signatures! Signatures are very important! On the new forms there are three places for signatures. The rating official and pilot signatures are on the front, and the pilot's signature on the USHGA Release, Waiver and Assumption of Risk Agreement is located on the back of the form.All ratings must have both signature blanks on the front signed properly. Effective April 1, 1996, the USHGA Release, Waiver and Assumption of PARAGLIDING

RiskAgreement on the reverse side must also be signed for all ratings and memberships. Improperly issued Special Skills are often another reason I have to write letters to your students. In order to receive any special skills, the pilot must possess at least a Novice rating. Novice hang glider pilots may receive the Cliff Launch (CL), Flat Slope Launch (FSL) andAeroTow (AT) special skills. Novice paraglider pilots may receive the Cliff Launch (CL), Flat

Slope Launch (FSL), Ridge Soaring (RS), Restricted Landing Field (RLF) and Turbulence (TUR) special skills. For all other special skills, the pilot must possess at least an Intermediate rating.Also, in order to receive the Cross-Country (X-C) special skill (for either hang gliding or paragliding), you must first receive the Turbulence and Restricted Landing Field special skills. Finally, all people applying for USHGA ratings must be USHGA mem-

I-

lectron ic Barographs

light record printouts made by the instruments listed here will be accepted as barographic evidence of flight performance in support of Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) record and badge claims in Class O airsports (hang gliding and paragliding) provided that the instrument is used in accordance with the relevant sections of the FAI Sporting Code and that the official observer procedure is followed. Preand/or post-flight calibration of the instrument at a laboratory approved by a competent National Aero Club (NAC) may be required. NAC's can, at their discretion, revoke this acceptance for their pilots or flights made over their territory. Use of the instruments in other airsport classes is subject to approval of the FAI commissions governing those airsports. This list is correct as of December 10, 1995.Acceptance is valid only for the models and software versions listed. Acceptance of printouts does not constitute an endorsement of the instruments or a guarantee of quality of materials, workmanship, reliability, accuracy, or freedom from defects or malfunction. FAI and its officials refuse any and all liability for loss, damage or injury resulting from use or possession of any of the listed instruMARCH/ APRIL

bers. Imagine that! Please be sure to tell all your Beginner and Novice students that, if they have not applied for membership already, their membership application must accompany their rating application. This is especially important to me, because, for these individuals, I have to write a letter and print a special envelope since their address is not in our database! Okay, you've all done very well. Class adjourned. Let's go fly! ill

1996

ments. It is the user's responsibility to determine if one of these instruments is suitable for his or her purposes. These instruments should not be used for determining flight altitude in controlled airspace unless they have been certified for such use by civil aviation authorities.

Note 1: This instrument was accepted under an early version of the EAM specifications that did not require identification of the software version.

Model

Software Version

.Ai.rcotec Primus Alto Print Brauniger Alto-Vario LCD VII Brauniger AV Competition Davron Microtec 808 E.W. Electronic Barograph Flytec 3030 Flytec 3030 Flytec 3030 Professional Micropanel 3 Micropanel 3 PC Barograph

Skybox SkyboxMaxx

Note 2: This software version is accepted on the condition that the instrument be calibrated by the manufacturer less than one year before the record or badge flight, Paragraph 5. 4. 6 of Section 7 of the FA/ Sporting Code notwithstanding.A calibration certificate from the manufacturer must accompany any performance claim. ill

01.2 Note 1

29209 1.6 2.04 Note 1 29141, Note 2 29209 29209 3.0

3.1 1.2+ 1.3, 2.3 2.2, 3.2 93073

Manufacturer AircotecAG Brauniger GmhH Brauniger GmbH Brauniger GmbH Davron E.W Avionics FlytecAG FlytecAG FlytecAG Afro Fluginstrumeme Afro Fluginstrumente Ingenieurhilro Leimkuhler Automaten Technik Winkels Automaten Technik Winkels

A Summer In by John Halle

ottest summer since the Roman Empire or something. Geneva feels like Washington, DC. Fortunately, the temperature gradient is pretty steep and above a thousand meters (where we will spend most of our time) life goes on. I have family here, including a new nephew, and we have brought our daughter's best friend along to see Europe for the first time, so this isn't exactly going to be a paragliding holiday. Still, motoring back from the Valais toward the Lac Leman to visit a real by-god castle (where Byron carved his name, romantically, in a pillar in the dungeon) I look up to see a gaggle of pilots soaring out over the lake and down into the Rhone Valley. We find their LZ and watch, one of us enviously, as they land. No lift in evidence, but still, not a bad flight. We look out over the lake at terraced vineyards and the storybook Chateau de Chillon, toward the high Alps behind the far shore. There may be better views somewhere, but I don't know where. Later, visiting the castle, I look out from the gaps in the battlements - through which earlier generations poured boiling oil on invaders climbing up from below - to see one wing after another glide past and circle down into the valley just beyond the end of the lake. If paragliding had existed in the 13th century, defensive tactics would have had to be changed to repel attacks from above. Byron, I feel sure, would have been

an active paraglider pilot, which might have cured his unfortunate penchant for graffiti writing. Paragliding in Switzerland is a different phenomenon from its counterpart in the western United States, if only because it is so much in evidence. You can hardly go anywhere on a nice day without seeing swarms of multi-colored wings circling down from the heights. From my parents' living room window in the middle

of downtown Geneva, on a good afternoon, one can observe dozens of para and hang gliders soaring along the ridge line of the Saleve, a mountain overlooking the city from nearby France, less than five miles away. This will not do at all; I must get in the air. I call my brother, Mark, and we agree to try the Saleve after he gets off work. The Saleve was clearly created to support paragliding. Three to four thousand feet of cliff PARAGLIDING

FAR LEFT:

Flying over La Gravente. ABOVE:Over Chamonix (Mont Blanc in background). Photos by Jeffrey Farrell. LEFT: Tbe author (blue shirt), Mark, Melissa and Ashley, on the Sa/eve. Photo by the author.

face extends north to south for about six or seven miles. After that there is a cleft (just to provide a bit of challenge) and the ridge continues along more gentle lines for another 10 or 15 miles. l11e site is flyable in no wind or any wind with a westerly component. 111is accommodates about 90% of the conditions. The top is grassy fields right to the cliff top . My mother could soar here. We get there in the late MARCH/ APRIL

1996

afternoon. Walking from the road to launch (about a three-minute stroll) we observe one pilot in the air and some students practicing inflations. Unfortunately, the pilot is sharing the airspace with a thunderstorm that has positioned itself just off the cliff face and appears to have no inlmediate travel plans. Chris Smith (who gave me my first tandem ride four years ago) is giving advice to the students

and eyeing the pilot from time to time. Finally he whistles to the pilot to land and packs up for the day. We wait for a while but the thunderstorm is still not going anywhere. It begins to sprinkle and we go in search of beer. In France, beer comes in bottles the size of thimbles hardly worth the effort. Driving back past the launch site we observe one pilot who has launched and is heading for the valley.

BELOW· Hiking over a glacier field to launch at Grand Montet. CENTER: Flying at cloudbase over the Valle Blanche, Mt. Blanc Massif Photos by Jeffrey Farrell.

Doesn't look soarable any more, but should we go for a sled ride? The thunderstorm has lost form but is still more or less there. It's a new site for me and I just consumed at least five cc's of beer. Next trip, maybe. A couple of days later I am in Monthey to fly with Etienne Rithner. Etienne was my first teacher and has been paragliding since the beginning of the sport. We jump in his van with a halfdozen pilots and Etienne's first tandem passenger of the day and take off for Les Giettes, about 4,200 vertical feet up the mountain. I have not flown Les Giettes in three years since my first high flight. On that occasion I was so terrified I was holding on not only to the brakes but to each one of the risers on both sides. Riding up in the van, I can still distinctly remember the feeling. This time, although I am not terrified, I'm still impressed. The mountains in Switzerland are not only taller but steeper than in Oregon; the ground falls

away at a great rate and it does not take long to be a thousand or more feet agl. There's very little lift, but, with more than 4,000 feet to play with, it's nice to be able to fool around, turning this way and that, going over into the Champery Valley and then back out the ridge toward St. Maurice and the Rhone River. Toward tl1e end of the flight I remember that this is Switzerland, not the Oregon high desert, and LZ's are limited in size. This one is a soccer field with electrical wires, a factory, a busy road and a mountain hemming it in on all sides. It's not a particularly hard spot to land in but I do have to think about my approach. We fold up and get back in the van. Etienne is giving a tandem ride, not to a student or prospective student but to a tourist. The lady in question is at the far end of middle age. Her physical appearance brings to mind the heroine of some Wagnerian opera as she might look after indulging

too liberally in starches and fats; she dwarfs Etienne, who is quite small. They strap in and Etienne carefully goes over the launch routine. The launch site is quite steep, so it should not be difficult to latmch. On the PARAGLIDING

You can hardly go anywhere on a nice day without seeing swarms of multi-colored wings circling down from the heights.

other hand, an abort could have some interesting consequences. For some reason, the image of pancakes comes to mind. At the appropriate moment Etienne gives the signal, inflates the wing and MARCH/ APRIL

1996

starts purposefully down the hill. The lady immediately goes limp without taking a step. This is going to be a spectacular crash! And it would have been, with anyone else, but Etienne (he told me later) has done this

before. Dragging well over 80 kg of dead weight behind him, he continues the launch and gets airborne. I spread out and launch behind him, still shaking my head. One of the most obvious

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differences between paragliding in Switzerland and its equivalent in the United States is the ubiquity of tandem rides. Neither of the passengers Etienne took while I was there looked as if she had any interest in learning to fly. On an earlier trip I watched as an obviously very wealthy older lady (who had brought along her personal maid as an observer) slid and slithered down a snow bank three or four times before finally becoming airborne with a very slight tailwind. My father went on a tandem ride on his 80th birthday and a young nephew of mine did so at age six. In Switzerland, paragliding can be enjoyed either as a casual experience (you can take a half-hour break from skiing to do it at almost any Swiss resort) or as a lifetime passion. I doubt I would have taken up the sport had it not been so easy for me to try it out four years ago. In the United States, tandem flying is severely restricted both by the FAA and USHGA which is, under the FAA rules, the only entity that can permit tandem paraglider flight. Presumably, this is not what the FAA had in mind when they wrote the ultralight regulations that, by sheer definitional inadvertence, are now applied to regulate paragliding, but that doesn't stop the rules from applying to tandem rides. We go to Chamonix so Ashley (our daughter's friend) can visit France. Waiting for the teleferique up the Aiguille du Midi (13,000 feet) we observe about a dozen wings circling around the top of the ski lift up the other side of the Arve Valley. Some manage to find lift along the ridge leading down toward Geneva while others circle down and land right in the middle of town. In summer, I am told, paragliders must stay on the north side of the valley to allow the mountain rescue helicopters to operate on the south side where the high mountains are. Even on the north side, though, the landscape is on a scale unknown here - 20-minute sled rides at least. The restriction in summer to the valley's north side seems rationally related to a legitimate safety concern. No paraglider pilot wants to even contemplate a close encounter with a rescue helicopter. By contrast, I think about the ongoing controversy in Oregon over MARCH/ APRIL

1996

whether paragliders can launch from Mt. Hood and, if so, from what locations. On Mt. Hood, safety issues, or, for that matter, any issues involving reality, are irrelevant. The question on which the fate of paragliding on Mt. Hood depends is (l am not making this up) whether a paraglider is an "aircraft" as defined in various federal regulations related to "wilderness areas;' written before paragliders existed. These rules were written for the unimpeachable purpose of preventing airplanes, helicopters, blimps, etc. from using the pristine natural areas of the United States for landing practice. You can't land airplanes in wilderness areas for the same obvious reason you can't drive cars in wilderness areas. Whether the rules make sense when applied to paragliders is immaterial; the issue is one of semantics. As an aside, the whole concept of a bureaucracy for wilderness areas seems to me vaguely oxymoronic. (If long words make you uncomfortable you can omit the first two syllables to get the general idea.) Just as the notion of cars driving through wilderness areas seems to defeat the purpose, the box full of federal forms to be filled out before going into a wilderness area that now stands at each trailhead seems to me a bit perverse. Somewhere in the process of bureaucratizing the environment, the medium has become the message. As Henry Gibson once said on "Laugh-In":"Marshall MacLuhan, what are you doin'?" Everyone knows that the problem of over-regulation in the United States results from way too many lawyers. In leaving for Switzerland I did what I could by reducing the count by one, but as far as I can tell, nothing changed in my absence. On the weekend, Mark comes up from Geneva and we drive over to Verbier. Why is it that Switzerland continually demonstrates that God was a paraglider pilot? If you wanted to construct a paragliding site from scratch you would probably have in mind something like Verbier. From Le Chable, in the Bagnes Valley where the cable car starts, to the Atelas, the highest launch site, is about 6,000 vertical feet. Even from Ruinettes, where we have to launch because the lift to Atelas is being

rebuilt, the flight is over 4,500 vertical feet.Just off the Ruinettes launch is a thermal of such reliability that it is known locally as the "Pompe a Coullions," an earthy phrase the general sense of which is that, if you cannot soar here, perhaps you should consider golf. (Verbier has golf too, for those who cannot fly.) Verbier itself is in a huge bowl about halfway up. It looks like the whole thing is flyable depending on wind direction and thermal activity. A couple of years ago a hang glider pilot won a cow for being the first to fly from Verbier around Mont Blanc and back to a top landing at Verbier. Now the paraglider pilots are thinking about it. Not knowing what I would do with a cow if I won one, I leave the task to others. The lift sells special "paraglider" tickets (it's even printed on the ticket) so much a ride, a bit more for a half day and a bit more than that for a full day. Even with no up air at all, you could easily spend a couple of hours or more in the air in a day in 20-minute chunks. This makes it easy for a somewhat timid, low-time pilot to limit his or her flying to relatively benign conditions. No such luck at home and things are getting worse. A year or so ago a Class II rating was essentially a trophy to brag about. Now, increasingly, it is a necessary credential to fly anywhere anyone would want to fly. As a result, for more and more low-time pilots, a Class II rating is a necessary precondition for reasonable and rewarding participation in the sport, and the pressure to build up hours (to say nothing of observed thermal flights) as quickly as possible is intense. Given that the facilities to build up time on long sled rides are not generally available in the United States, conditions that are marginal for inexperienced pilots are often the only conditions in which the requirements can be met within a reasonable period of time. All of this is being justified by a pious interest in pilot safety, but it is hard to imagine how safety is enhanced by a system that rewards premature encounters with unsafe flying conditions. If safety were the paramount concern,

Cont'd on page 49.

JUST FOR THE

FUN OF IT article and photo by Fred Weber

I awoke to the annoying groan of my alarm clock and the realization that my bedroom window was open all night, inviting the cold Teton air to enter. Groping through the darkness I knocked the clock from its perch, silencing it. y fingers operated from pure motor memory, pressing a series of invisible numbers on the phone that would give me the morning wind report from Rendezvous Peak. The recorded voice of Commander Chewy (tram maintenance man and pilot) informed me much to my amazement that winds at 7:00 am were from the south at two mph. Today there would be no need to wait for strong, late-morning thern1als to overpower a prevailing westerly. Thermals would run straight up the southeast-facing bowl of Rendezvous Peak as soon as the sun could provide the motivation. The idea lured me from beneath my blankets and into my clothes. The rumbling old Bronco backed itself into the curb in front of Pearl Street Bagels, reawakening me. A couple of cups of Mota-Brew du jour downed, extra bagel in hand, and more coffee in the mug than on my floorboard, I was on the road to adventure. I was not alone in receiving the favorable morning weather report and found myself sharing the first tram of the day with at least half a dozen other pilots, in addition to the normal hikers and tourists. Thank God some neophyte, 43 flights into his flying career, stood conveniently placed for use as a

996

buffer between me and a clan ofTexans asking,"So where do you jump from? Is it fun? " I had been saved, and their questions were answered with an enthusiasm I couldn't have produced after a dozen cups of coffee. "Forty-Three Flights"was getting 12 of his 15 minutes of fame on one tram ride. An otherwise unnoticed moose and calf browsing on the summer greenery of one of my favorite ski runs diverted my thoughts from the cliched conversation taking place behind me. Silently I thanked her for pruning a branch placed by mother nanire at what would be eye-level come December. Emerging from the tram, I was greeted by a cool breeze of five or six miles an hour coming straight up Rendezvous Bowl. It would subside before I could make my way to launch."Not to worry, there will be more thermals," I assured myself. Equipment checked, sorted and packed, I slugged down the last of my now cold coffee and slipped the mug into my harness. Meanwhile,"Mr. 43 Flights" hurried to get ready and launched on the back side of a thermal, draining straight for the LZ. More of my friends were taking to the sky as I stared through the brisk mountain air at the cirques, granite cliffs and stubborn pines that somehow eke an existence out of this harsh alpine environment. A thin inversion layer of fog still obscured

the valley. The thermals we were to find would originate from the 3,900 vertical feet of Rendezvous Peak still exposed to the sun. My airborne buddy Adam was managing to stay above the horizon with a few strategically well-placed circles here and there. Cycles were rolling through more steadily, spending more time at eight or ten mph than at five. It was time. Adam, who had been hurting for more lift, was circling again out in front. He was joined by a hawk some distance below and upwind. The cycle began to come in at seven, then eight and still building - my cycle. "Clear! Launching!" and away I went. Confident that Adam and the hawk were in the same slanted column of lift I set a course that would intersect between them. Around and around the three of us went, circling slowly upward. Our lift seemed to originate from the top of Sublette Ridge right where the ski lift stopped. The cycle passed and Adam and I found ourselves dumped by the hawk, left searching for lift without our local guide. We bolted

MORE OF THE BEST

already experienced. With no desire to ruin what had already been a great time, I watched the earth revolve slowly beneath me as I headed for the landing zone. Four thousand feet and 40 minutes from launch I looked skyward and remembered all the reasons I paraglide. All packed up and sitting on the deck of the Mangy Moose with more coffee I watched a couple of my friends scratch around the corner of Cody Peak on their way to Jensen Canyon and finally the town ofWilson. The rest were landing now, ready for brunch. We watched our X-C-bound friends getting visibly tossed even at a distance of a couple of miles. I felt no desire to trade places with those pilots still airborne. Their stories would no doubt be great, littered with, "There I was; thought I was gonna die," and,"Didn't think I was going to make it; just squeaked over that ridge!' I realized this day that paragliding was meant to offer a freedom and be an experience not measurable in numbers or distance. Ill

one ridge to the south where the Hoback Faces form a beautiful triangle funneling warm air upward. Like two Tidy Bowl Men sharing the same inverted commode, we swirled back toward launch, laughing the entire way. I took time to snap a couple of photos in the smooth morning lift and caught a glimpse of our friend the hawk boating around to the south. Twenty-two minutes and four thermals later I headed back north past Sublette Ridge looking for new fun at the Head Wall and Casper Bowl. They were both working, not enough to speck, but enough to 360 about without losing any altitude. Meanwhile, I watched another redtail work his way from the mid-mountain restaurant up to me, then he disappeared toward the middle of the valley and the Snake River looking for breakfast. Glancing back south, I noticed Adam and several others climbing fast on good ol' Sublette Ridge, and now I was more than just maintaining. Things were getting big. A slack line or two and a couple of good bumps reminded me of how much fun I had

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303/278-9566 FAX: 303/750-3226 PARAGLIDING

Cont'd from page 45. Torrey Pines would be restricted to Class I on the theory that Class n pilots can better handle the more difficult conditions encountered elsewhere. The predisposition to impose extensive "safety" restrictions on individual paraglider pilots is based on the premise that individual pilots are incapable of exercising rational judgment with respect to their personal safety. Nothing I have observed either in Switzerland or in the United States supports this premise, which, in any event, is counterintuitive. Most pilots (at least if one excludes the few who don't follow the rules in any case) have a healthy urge to remain alive that comes actively into play when launch decisions are being made. This is particularly true of low-time pilots. On the few occasions when I have observed something I thought was a demonstrably poor exercise of judgment, it has been a relatively experienced pilot doing it. The example that comes to mind is the pilot I watched launch in strong and gusty conditions with several A-lines on one side broken (from a stall recovery the previous day). No one has yet written a rule prohibiting launching with broken lines. My personal view is that most "safety" rules are written not to ensure safety but to protect turf, to ensure that the author will not be responsible for any accident that does occur and because it is so much fun to tell other people what to do. On my second flight, Mark and I exchange wings. He has never flown a Spydair and I have never flown a Compact. l11e performance is about the same but the fed is quite different. More importantly, Mark's brake lines are about eight inches shorter than mine. I know this, but, out of habit, follow my usual post-launch routine of reaching down to adjust my seat, still holding the brakes. About half way through this maneuver it occurs to me that this may not be the best idea I have had all day. While making the necessary correction, I ignore, for a while, directional control. When I recover my senses I am headed straight for some ski lift cables. Mark yells just as I yank hard on the right brake, forgetting again that his lines are a lot shorter than mine. The wing takes MARCH/ APRIL

1996

off to the right and I follow along after a second or two, becoming a physics experiment demonstrating Galileo's theories on pendulums to the small crowd of tourists gathered at the top of the ski lift, hoping for something fatal. All in all it was an interesting launch; I had been thinking about trying some steep turns but had in mind a bit more ground clearance. A useful safety regulation would be one prohibiting stupidity while airborne. Hard to enforce, though. Paragliding in Europe has a number of similarities with the local sport. The air there is a lot like the air here. Gravity still works the same way. There, as here, if you make stupid mistakes, luck is the only thing standing between you and disaster. On the other hand, there are some real differences. The sheer scale of the topography - combined with a comprehensive network of roads and ski lifts and a generally welcoming and supportive attitude toward the sport make a flight in relatively stable conditions a lot more alluring than it is here. Most recreational pilots I know in Switzerland have never tried a reverse launch, considering it a trick for competition pilots. Generally speaking, conditions likely to produce even a slight risk of a collapse are avoided by low-time pilots, who can get plenty of airtime on gentler days. About half the pilots I saw had no reserve. In Europe, generally, safety is an individual concern; here it is a societal issue. We just love to be in charge of other people's behavior. We try to justify the pervasive interference that results from our fascination with running other people's lives with the daim

that we are promoting safety, but it is not true. Paragliding seems to me to be practiced more safely in Europe, in part, I believe, because individuals (by themselves or with the help of others they select) are expected to make their own safety judgments based on their knowledge of the specific conditions and their particular skill levels, and because, in Europe, the absence of a prohibition is not taken to mean that it is safe for any particular person to fly at any particular time or place. In the end, both here and there, the kind of safety that counts is up to the pilot. It is a shame that the local poobahs both in and out of paragliding cannot adopt the attitude of their counterparts in Europe. Not only would paragliding become more fun and more accessible; I am convinced it would be come a lot safer as well. After two weeks it is time to come home. As usual, I feel that I have not done nearly enough flying and wonder where the time went. Thinking about definitions on the way home (preparing to reenter the practice of law) I consider whether I should explain to the rest of the passengers how fortunate they are that our"aircraft:"(747) has a spare "aircraft" (Spydair) in the baggage compartment. As none of them look like lawyers, I conclude that they wouldn't understand.

John Halle was born in Washington, DC in 1947. He lived in Switzerland from 1956 to 1964. He was a Navy pilot from 1969 to 1972 and has been a lawyer in private practice since 1978. John started paragliding in 1990 and holds a Class I rating. Im

SAFE PILOT AWARDS GOLD

BOB RYAN 5th DIAMOND

KEN HUDONJORGENSEN

X-C FLIGHT AWARDS 50MILE MIGUEL GUTIERREZ

BEGINNER RATINGS Region 1 KOWING, TERRY: Kent, WA; M. Chirico/Chirico's Fright School Region 2 BYRNE, DANIEL: Daly City, CA; K. Davis/Sky High DANSKIN,JACKIE: Carson City, NV; R. Leonard/Adventure Sports ROCKWELL III, JOHN: Burlingame, CA; A. Whitehill/Chandelle Region 3 FAIT, BARRETT: Laguna Hills, CA; K. deRussy/HG PG Emporium HARRIS, CHARLES: Orange, CA; K. deRussy/HG PG Emporium HARRIS, STEVEN: Newport Beach, CA; K. deRussy/HG PG Empotium MILES, DALE: Dove Canyon, CA; K. deRussy/HG PG Emporium Region 4 JOHNSON, FRANK: Albuquerque, NM; G. Brightbill/Enchantment PG

NOVICE RATINGS Region I CODAY, JR, JERRY: Vancouver, WA; L Pindar/Over the Hill PG DEARBORN, JEFF: Aloha, OR; L. Pindar/Over the Hill PG GOGOLYA, LAURA: Issaquah, WA; M. Chirico/Chirico's Fright School KENAGY, ROBERT: Redmond, WA; M. Chirico/Chirico's Fright School LASEK, GREGO: Bellevue, WA; K. Baier/Airjunkies LAW, LORI: Kirkland, WA; D. McMillin/Parapente USA OTT, PATRICIA: Portland, OR; L. Pindar/Over the Hill PG THONSTAD, SUSAN: Milwaukie, OR; L. Pindar/Over the Hill PG VETRO, TONY: Seattle, WA; M. Chirico/Chitico's Fright School WHITE, T: Hood River, OR; L. Pindar/Over the Hill PG WOLCOTT, LISA: Wasilla, AK;). Gluzinski/Air America Region 2 BARNARD, DEWITT: Santa Ynez, CA; Y. Bajulaz/ABC Airsports CHANG, MARINA: Shell Beach, CA; H. Murphy/Surf the Sky DOYLE,JOHN: San Luis Obispo, CA; H. Murphy/Surf the Sky EPPERLY, STEVE: Grass Valley, CA; K. deRussy/HG PG Emporium KUGIES, GERHARD: Daly City, CA; R. Ost/Blackwing PG OLSON, SCOTT: Incline Village, NV;). Greenbaum/Airtime SF ROCKWELL Ill, JOHN: Burlingame, CA; A. Whitehill/Chandelle

SCHROEDER, CHUCK: Reno, NV; J. Lucas/Glidell SILVER, KIT: Santa Clara, CA; J. Greenbaum/Airtime SF SILVER, WAYNE: Santa Clara, CA; J. Greenbaum/Airtime SF STRATTON, ADAM: Lompoc, CA; K. deRussy/HG PG Emporium Region 3 BUCZACZER, SHARON: Goleta, CA; T. Tmax/Sky Sports CONNOLLY, DAVID: Santa Barbara, CA; T. Truax/Sky Sports CORBETT, RICK: Ventura, CA; E. Heister/Airplay DE CHABRIS, LIONEL MARKS: Saipan, MP; F. Lawley/Accelerated Flight FOX, MARLAND: Burbank, CA; B. England/Aetial Action GAGE, CHARLES: Tujunga, CA; B. England/Aetial Action HOLLAND, J MICHAEL: Del Mar, CA; M.A. Karren/LaJolla Free Flight ISACOWITZ, RAEL: Laguna Beach, CA; C. Fitton JACK, MAX: Corona Del Mar, CA; C. Fitton LAUNAIS,JONATHAN: San Diego, CA; S. Hassell/Airtek PG MATASAVAGE, STANLEY: N Hollywood, CA; B. England/Aerial Action MAURER, EILEEN: San Diego, CA; W. Maurer/HG Center PALANZA, NICKEL: San Diego, CA; F. Lawley/Accelerated Flight SIGG, DANIEL: Los Angeles, CA; J. Hagemann/SB HG PG Center SWARTZ, STEVE: Camarillo, CA; K. deRussy/HG PG Emporium TESTMAN, RANDY: Banning, CA;). Gluzinski/Air America THIELE, DEREK: Goleta, CA; K. deRussy/HG PG Empotium WILLINGHAM, MICHAEL TA: Tustin, CA; C. Mendes/Compact Wings Region 4 BOTHA, ANDRE: Boulder, CO; G. Eichholz BROADBENT, BRENDA: Orem, UT; C. Warren/Above & Beyond BROADBENT,JOEL: Orem, UT; C. Warren/Above & Beyond CARPENTER, DAVE: Phoenix, AZ; D. White/Dixon's PG CHEATHAM, THOMAS: Basalt, CO; F. Anderson/Parafly CLAYTON, IUCK: Salt Lake City, UT; T. Zakotnik/Above & Beyond DELPORT, ANTON: Boulder, CO; G. Eichholz LEAYELLE, KAREN: Flagstaff, AZ; D. White/Dixon's PG VAUGHN, GEORGE: Boulder, CO; D. White/Dixon's PG VILDUSEA, DAN: Tucson, AZ;). Ala/Alazzurra ZIEGLER, MARK: Granby, CO; W. Laurence/Fly Away PG Region 7 ALLEN, MIRITA: Gaines, Ml; K. Baier/Airjunkies ESTEIUlNE, DWAYNE: Traverse City, MI; B. Fifer/Traverse City HG PG SERRATO, KEVIN: Saginaw, MI; T. Fifer/Jackson Hole PG Region 9 KELLEY,JONATHAN: Mentor, OH;). Stevstadvold/AspenPG PHEAR, HUGH: Philadelphia, PA; K. Baier/Airjunkies Region 10 ANDERSON, FRANK: Duluth, GA; J. Casaudoumecq/Aerolight USA Region 12 BOLEK,JAMES: Glen Gardner, l\ij; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG SPADAFORA,JAMES: Roebling, l\ij; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG Region 13 ANDERSSON, BJORN: Sweden, ; K. Baier/Airjunkies

PARAGLIDING

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INTERMEDIATE RATINGS Region 1 JACKSON, MARK: North Bend, WA; M. 0-Iirico/Chirico's Fright School MC GONIGLE, DEE: Spokane, WA; C. Mullack/Chelan PG MORROW, JOHN: Seattle, WA; M. Chirico/Chirico's Fright School PLACE, MARK: Renton, WA; M. Chirico/Chirico Fright School TREIT, KATHRYN: Fox Island, WA; M. Heckler/Para Pilot Region 2 BLAKEMORE, CHRIS: Gardne1ville, NV; R. Leonard/Adventure Sports BODONY, RICHARD: Fairfax, CA;]. Greenbaum/Airtime SF HOISINGTON, WENDY: Redding, CA;]. Yates KIRKHAM, RICHARD: San Jose, CA; A. Whitehill/Chandelle ONUSKANICH, ANDREA: San Francisco, CA; B. Hannah/PG Washington REJLEK, PETER: San Luis Obispo, CA; H. Murphy/Surf the Sky SPAETH, CHAZZ: S Lake Tahoe, NV; R. Leonard/Adventure Sports Region 3 BEESE, GARY: Nuevo, CA;]. Gluzinski/Air America BROWER, CHRIS: San Diego, CA; M. Salvemini/Aittek BRYSON, MARTHA: San Diego, CA; K. Baicr/Airjunkies HEYLEK, GERALD: Mammoth Lakes, CA;]. Cohn MIILER, M.D., GLENN: Santa Barbara, CA; K. deRussy/HG PG Emporium Region 4 FRANKLlN, HAL: Pleasant Grove, UT; K.Hudonjorgensen(fwo Can Fly KONVES, STEVE: Flagstaff, AZ; D. White/Dixon's PG MAY, BRANDT: Flagstaff, AZ; D. White/Dixon's PG OLSEN, DANIEL: Flagstaff, AZ; D. White/Dixon's PG SANTACROCE, JAMES: Carbondale, CO; C. Santacroce/Sun Valley PG WALKER, CUNT: Pleasant Grove, UT; K.Hudonjorgensen/Tow Can Fly WALKER, SAM: Pleasant Grove, UT; K.Hudonjorgensen;Two Can Fly WHITE, STEPHANIE: Flagstaff, AZ; D. White/Dixon's PG Region 7 DOETKOTTE, THOMAS: Middelton, WI; D. White/Dixon's PG IAQUINTA, PETER: Madison, WI; D. White/Dixon's PG Region 9 HAGER, DANA: Nazareth, PA; P. Renaudin/GMI PG

PETERSON, DAN: Renton, WA; M. Chitico/Chirico's Fright School SMITH, MICHAEL: Issaquah, WA; M. Heckler/Para Pilot Region 2 BINGHAM, DAVID: Mt Hamilton, CA;]. Yates LEHMAN, THOMAS: Oakland, CA;]. Lucas/Glidell YOST, MICHAEL: Belmont, CA; T. McClement/Colorado PG Region 3 BASTIAN, CHAD: Santa Barbara, CA; K. deRussy/HG PG Emporium GAY, JOEL RAYMOND: San Diego, CA; M. Bell STEVENS, DAVID: Kihei, HI; Steve Amy/Proflyght Hawaii WINTER, FOSTER: Malibu, CA; B. England/Aerial Action Region 4 HEASTON, SHADD: Carbondale, CO; F. Anderson/Parafly KOCUREK, RICHARD: Gunnison, CO; B. Laurence/Fly Away PG MAYER, STEPHEN: Sandy, UT; K.Hudonjorgensen/Two Can Fly TAGGART, MATTHEW: Aspen, CO; K.Hudonjorgensen/Two Can Fly Region 5 BLOXHAM, BRAD: Idaho Falls, ID; F. Gillette/Magic Valley Gliders Region 8 SHARPE, DOUGLAS: Bedford, MA; S. Berk Region 10 CASAUDOUMECQ, ]AVIER: Miami, FL;]. Yates Region 13 HAJEK, PATRICK: Vancouver, BC, Canada; M. Bell

MASTER RATINGS Region 3 RYAN, BOB: Laguna Niguel, CA

TANDEM ONE RATINGS ERIC SMITH

Region 11 BOWLES, TAMARA: Tow, TX; C. Bowles/Hill Country

TANDEM INSTRUCTOR RATINGS Region 13 DUFORD,] MATTHEW: Calgary, Alb., Canada,; K. Baier/Airjunkies HAUBLER, PETER: Marbach, Gennany, ; ]. Greenbaum/Airtime SF VON GAZA, PETER: Vancouver, BC, Canada, ; M. deJong/Mescalito PG

JAYCA!ffiOLL MARK TELEP RAY LEONARD TOM TRUAX NICOLAS CAUCHY

ADVANCED RATINGS Region 1 KRUGUNSKI, DAYID: Seattle, WA; B. Hannah/PG Washington LORENZ,JIM: Renton, WA; M. Chirico/Chirico's Fright School NORRIS, DAYID: Redmond, WA; M. Daniel/Para Pilot

MARCH/ APRIL

1996

Cont'd from page 12. water (not Perrier) has a picture of a paraglider flying over a volcano on the label. The observant consumer will recognize the glider as anAirwave Rave. ACPUL has certified the smallest paraglider in the world (19 m2), which was designed at the behest of the Federation Franc;aise de Vol Libre for young pilots. Certified as a "standard" under AFNOR, this mini-paraglider, with a pilot weight range of 40 to 70 kilograms, has surprisingly good handling characteristics. This could make it a great mountain wing. The glider is called the "Etna." Progress is being made on a "retractable" paraglider. A Trekking Esprit X-L has been flown in retracted configuration without any indication of abnormal behavior. The unique wing has variable span. More news to come. During an exhibition in France, a tandem paraglider was flown with an acrobat performing on a trapeze a dozen feet below the pilot. Sup'Air now has harnesses for very small passengers. The "Loustic" is designed for three- to six-year-olds, and

the" Kinder" is for eight- to 13-year-olds. Recommended pilot height is from three to four and a half feet. For more information contact: Philippe Renaudin, GMI Corp., P.O. Box 451, Glen Cove, NY 11542 (516) 6767599, fax (516) 676-0106.

AIR CALIFORNIA ADVEN .. TURE ir California specializes in paragliding tours in Southern California and Baja, California. The tours are arranged for out-of-town and/or new pilots who would like to explore some of the world-class flying opportunities available in these areas. An economy package ($50 per day, per pilot) includes unlimited transportation to and from flying sites, supervised launches, and landing zone retrieval. A first-class package ($150 per day, per pilot) includes lodging, food, unlimited transportation and more. Air California is now the exclusive San Diego dealer for Perche,Trekking and the UP line of paragliders. They also offer paragliding training and certification, as well as a full line of accessories including flight gear, instmments,

apparel, etc. For more information contact:Air California, 3613 Hidden Ridge Road, Jamul,CA 91935 (619) 670-5322,fax (619) 468-3650, e-mailAirCal@ix.netcom.com.

RICHARD CARTER JOINS AIRWAVE TEAM ichard Carter has joined the Airwave team and will be flying 'nAirwaveAlto XM on the competition circuit this year. Richard's achievements in the paragliding world are numerous: British National Champion, British X-C Champion, and British X-C record holder (on numerous occasions). As a regular member of the British Paragliding Team, Richard won silver medals at the World Championships in Verbier and St. Andre. He has flown for Britain in the European Championships and the World Cup, and is known and respected throughout the paragliding world. Contact:Airwave Gliders Ltd., Elm Lane, Shalfleet, Isle of Wight, UK P030 4JY, tel. 44 (0) 1983 531611, fax 44 (0) 1983 531552.

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RELEASE, WAIVER AND ASSUMPTION OF RISK AGREEMENT In consideration of being granted membership in the USHGA, I , - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - for myself, my personal representatives, heirs, executors, next of kin, spouse and assigns, do agree as follows: A. DEFINITIONS - The following definitions apply to terms used in this Agreement: I. "PARTICIPATION IN THE SPORr means launching (and/or assisting another in launching}, flying (whether as pilot in command or otherwise) and/or landing (including, but not limited to, crashing) a hang glider or paraglider. 2. "MY SPORTS INJURIES' means my personal injury, my bodily injury, my death, my property damage and/or any other personal or financial injury sustained by me as a result of my PARTICIPATION IN THE SPORTand/or as a result of the administration of any USHGA programs (for example: the Pilot Proficiency System). 3. "RELEASED PARTIES' means the following, including their owners, officers, directors, agents, spouses, employees, officials (elected or otherwise), members, contractors, sub-contractors, lessors and lessees: a) The United States Hang Gliding Association, a California Non-profit Corporation (USHGA); b) Each of the person(s) sponsoring and/or participating in the administration of my proficiency'rating(s); c) Each of the hang gliding and/or paragliding organizations which are chapters of the USHGA; d) The United States Of America and each of the city(ies), town(s), county(ies), State(s) and/or other political subdivisions or governmental agencies within whose jurisdictions I launch, fly and/or land; e) Each of the property owners on or over whose property I may launch, fly and/or land; D All persons involved, in any manner, in the sports of hang gliding and/or paragliding at the site(s) where I PARTICIPATE IN THE SPORl 11 AII persons involved" include, but are not limited to, spectators, hang glider and/or paraglider pilots, assistants, drivers, instructors, observers, and owners of hang gliding and/or paragliding equipment; and g) All other persons lawfully present at the site(s) during my PARTICIPATION IN THE SPORT. B. I RELEASE, WAIVE AND DISCHARGE the RELEASED PARTIESfrom any and all claims and liability for HY SPORTS INJURIES, however caused, even if caused by the negligence (whether active or passive) of any of the RELEASED PARTIES, to the full extent allowed by law. C. I WILL NOT SUE OR MAKE A CLAIM against any of the RELEASED PARTIES for loss or damage on account of HY SPORTS INJURIES. If I violate this agreement by filing such a suit or making such a claim, I will pay all attorneys' fees and costs of the RELEASED PARTIES. I ACKNOWLEDGE that the non-participant third party liability insurance obtained by USHGA does NOT provide coverage for HY SPORTS INJURIES. D. I AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND REIMBURSE the RELEASED PARTIESlisted in paragraphs A. 3. d) and A. 3. e) above for their defense and indemnity (to the limited extent that the defense and indemnity are not otherwise covered by collectible insurance) in the event that someone suffers personal injury, bodily injury, death, or property damage as a result of my negligence (whether active or passive) or willful misconduct in connection with my PARTICIPATION IN THE SPORl E. TERMINATION. I can terminate this Agreement only by either (I) sending written notice of termination to the USHGA National Office postage prepaid return receipt requested, in which case the termination will not be effective until one year after I cease being a member of the USHGA or 30 days after I place the written notice in the mail, whichever is later; or by (2) signing and returning to the USHGA National Office a later version of the Official USHGA Release, Waiver and Assumption of Risk Agreement. However, even if Iterminate this Agreement, all of the terms of this Agreement will continue to apply to HY SPORTS INJURIESwhich I suffer in whole or in part before the termination of this Agreement. F. I AGREE THAT this AGREEMENT shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California. All disputes and matters whatsoever arising under, in connection with or incident to this Agreement shall be litigated, if at all, in and before a Court located in the State of California, U.S.A. to the exclusion of the Courts of any other State or Country. G. SEVERABUlllY. If any part, article, paragraph, sentence or clause of this Agreement is not enforceable, the affected provision shall be curtailed and limited only to the extent necessary to bring it within the requirements of the law, and the remainder of the Agreement shall continue in full force and effect.

H. I VOlUNTARllY ASSUME All RISKS, KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, OF SPORTS INJURIES, HOWEVER CAUSED, EVEN IF CAUSED IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY THE ACTION, INACTION, OR NEGUGENCE OF THE RELEASED PARTIES, TO THE FULL EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW. Ihave read, understand, and agree to the above RELEASE, WAIVER AND ASSUMPTION OF RISK AGREEMENT.

Participant's f11nature

Date MR-12/91

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PARAGLIDING ADVISORY Used paragliders should always be thoroughly inspected before llying for the first time. If in doubt, many paragliding businesses will be happy to give an objective opinion on the condition of equipment you bring them to inspect. Buyers should select equipment that is appropriate for their skill level or rating. New pilots should seek professional instruction from a USHGA CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR. PARAGLIDERS ALL BRANDS - New/used $800-$2,500. Colorado Paragliding (303) 278-9566. --------------

APACHE II 29 - New condition, less than 10 hours, includes bag, harness and PDA reserve $1,400 ORO. (719) 597-7399 APCO SUPRA 30 - 28m projected, l 70-250lb range, new March 1994, yellow/white. New lines, trimmers, speed system $1,000 OBO. Call Greg (714) 754-7041. AT MIRAGE 27 - Intermediate glider (large), <10 hours, Air Tek Trace harness (med), reserve chute, Stubai Fly parabiners, speedbar, helmet & Wasmer vario. All in excellent condition $3,000. Jim (619) 280-8839. EDEL SPACE 27 · An excellent first wing, less than 20 hours total !JV exposure. Crisp lilac wing with large Hero harness, speed bar, reserve and carry bag. Hook in weight range 198-253 lbs. Everything goes for $2,400. Serious buyers call Dave at (520) 378-3320.

FANTASTIC BUY - Edel Space 30, pilot weight 225-285, only 3 hours flight time with new AT harness, w/full protection and custom chute. Retail $4,500-Sell $2,900. Evenings/Chris (619) 948-5901. FLIGHT DESIGN A4-25 - And A5-22 for medium and small pilot. Call Kristin (509) 925-2190. FLIGHT DESIGN A422 - Purple/blue, 100-140 lbs., highdef backpack, speedbar, 34 hours airtime, great intermediate $1,500. AV Brauniger Basis sp $300. Call Jose at (305) 639-3330 or fax (305) 639-3055.

PRO DESIGN COMPACT 33 - Yellow/green/purple, 1701b pilot weight, 32 hours, excellent condition. Includes Edel Stratus harness $1,800. Call (307) 455-4065. PRODESIGN COMPACT 33 - (Beginner I Intermediate) Like new, llown 1 hour, perfect cond., CRISPY, custom color (yellow) 75-95 kg. Cost $3,350 new, will sell for $2,800. Call Bob (415) 588-1975. WILLS 125 - New, 0 hours. I'm too light! Trade for 123 or $1,999. (310) 544-4252. POWERED PARAGLIDERS

FLIGHT DESIGN A526 - Yellow/white, 180-230 lbs., highdef backpack, speedbar +trimmers, 20 hours airtime, excellent conditions $2,000. AV Brauniger Classic $400. Call Jose at (305) 63933:30 or fax (30;) 639-3055. I'M OUT, YOU'RE IN! - <5 hours on the whole setup! Profile 27 wing, AT Spo1ts harness, reserve. Excellent intermediate package, easily maneuverable, stable, with great ground handling $2,500. Rick (307) 7 39-144 I. IlV ATIKS - Performance, good condition $500. Mylar top surface, 29m projected, 31m real. Trim system & new glider bag included. (714) 754-7041 Greg. NOVA SPHINX - Almost new, <20 hours, stored and seldom used, every option $ I ,300. 28.6 projected, :30.4 real. (714) 754-7041 Greg.

CLOUDBASE PARAENGINES ALTO - Compact, light & sturdy, stainless steel cage, 18hp solo 210, 4 blade prop, electric start, low hook-ins. Only 30 minutes airtime! Must selll List $5,000 asking $4,200 OBO. (954) 437-8498. EMERGENCY PARACHUTES BRAND NEW PG RESERVES - 37 and 40sq/m NAS brand. $385., $425.(303) 278-9566. HARNESSES WOODY VALLEY MODEL - Is now introducing its full line of unique Italian paragliding and hang gliding harnesses in the United States. For info call Eastcoast Paragliding at (908) 747-7845. Dealer inquires welcome.

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USHGA CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING ORDER FORM 50 cents per word, $5.00 minimum Boldface or caps: $1.00 per word. (Does not include first few words which are automatically caps.) Special layouts or tabs: $25 per column inch. (phone numbers: 2 words, P.O. Box: 1 word, E-mail or Web address: 3 words) photos: $25.00, line art logos: $15.00 (1.75" maximum) DEADLINE: 20th of the month, six weeks before the cover date of the issue in which you want your ad to appear (i.e., June 20 for the August issue). Prepayment required unless account established. No cancellations or refunds allowed on any advertising after deadline. Ad insertions FAXed or made by telephone must be charged to a credit card. Please enter my classified ad as follows:

Number of months: SECTION O Paragliders O Emergency Parachutes o Parts & Accessories O Business & Employment O Miscellaneous O Powered Paragliders 0 Videos

O Towing ll Schools & Dealers O Ultralights O Publications & Organizations O Wanted O Harnesses

Begin with _______ 19_ _ issue and run for _____ consecutive issue(s). My O check, U money order is enclosed in the amount of$ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ NAME: _________ _ ADDRESS: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ __________STATE: _ _ _ __ CITY: PHONE: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

Number of words: _______ @$.50 =_______ Number of words:_

@$1.00 =_____

USHGA, P.0 Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901 (719) 632-8300 fax (719) 632-6417

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~ 1996 55

MARCH/ APRIL

SCHOOLS & DEALERS ARIZONA DIXON'S PARAGLIDING - Northern Arizona, 2 hours from Phoenix. Year-round temperate climate=more flyable days. ORNE UP to 360 degree treeless and rockless launches. Fly down to wide open landing fields. Sand-like soft cinders perfect for beginners. Advanced rated TANDEM INSTRUCTOR has supervised over 8000 student flights to date. Oneon-one training, state-of-the-art training gliders, 2way radios, comprehensive ground schooling (with video), flight simulator, tandem. Virtually all kinds of equipment for sale, specializing in EDEL and ITV. Program students receive videos to enhance training. Kiting, towing, soaring, maneuvers, tandem special clinics. BACKPACK MOTORS. Poor flying conditions? Enjoy the spectacular Grand Canyon or Sedona, moto-cross tours, skiing. Great lodging bargains, camping or luxury accommodations. Dave Bridges, US National Champion says, "Dixon's students are extremely well-trained and competent pilots." Dixon's Paragliding, 1500 E Cedar #JO, Flagstaff AZ 86004. (520) 526-4579. ARKANSAS SAIL WINGS - Suppliers of fine flying equipment. PO Box 13335, Maumelle AR 72113. (501) 851-4094 tel/fax. CALIFORNIA

HIGH ADVENTURE - Paragliding, hang gliding school. Equipment, sales, service at world famous Marshal Peak. USHGA tandem instructor: Rob McKenzie. By appointment year round (909) 8838488. MAGIC AIR - Paragliding and hang gliding. Located in Northern California. Lessons, sales, service. USHGA certified towing instruction. Landing and thermal clinics. (707) 965-0411, (707) 9633455. MICHIGAN TRAVERSE CITY HANG GLIDERS/PARAGLIDERS - Put your knees in our breeze and soar our 450' sand dunes. FULL-TIME SHOP. Certified instruction, beginner to advanced, foot launch and tow. Sales, service, accessories for ALL major brands. VISA/MASTERCA!ill. 1509 E 8th, Traverse City Ml 49684. Offering PARAMOTORING lessons & a distributor for the new JAPANESE unit, the WHISPER. Dealer inquiries welcome. Call Bill at (616) 922-2844. Visit our paragliding school in Jackson, Wyoming. Call Tracie at (307) 739-8620.

TEXAS HILL COUNTRY PARAGLIDING INC - Learn complete pilot skills. Personalized USHGA certified training, ridge soaring, foot & tow launching in central Texas. MOTORIZED PARAGLIDING INSTRUCTION & EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE. (915) 379-1185. Rt 1, Box 16F, Tow TX 78672. WASHINGTON MENTION THIS ADD - For $30 off Avocet watches, $50 off Uvex helmets, $50 off Renschler SOLAR Variometers, $10 off Camelbaks, $10 off sweatshirts while supplies last! Several new demo A5's at terrific prices. Call (509) 925-5565 and ask for Mike Eberle of North American Paragliding. WISCONSIN

FAX your classified ad, membership renewal or merchandise order: (719) 632-6417. We gladly accept VISA and MasterCard. GET HIGH and stay there with accessories designs to help you get it up and keep it there. with minimal "WALLET SUCK"! GARMIN GPS 38 ................................... $199 MAGELLAN GPS 2000 .......................... $199 GARMIN GPS 40 ... $269 GARMIN GPS 45 .................... $289 Avocet Watches. .. .................... $99 PTT fingerswitch ...................... $85 Amazing Eartalk .................................... $85 Brauniger Basis Vario (demo) ............... $399 Brauniger Comp Vario (demo) ............. $799 Parafoil kites-for those windy clays! 2.lM ...................... $225 2.7M ..................................... $255 3.4M .................................................... $300 Sup'Air Pro-Feel Harness. .. .... Call Sup'Air Kevlar Back Protector .............. $199 Kiwi full-face helmet. .. .............. $169 Kiwi Polycarbonate helmet.. ................ $69 Damnhot HG Mitts ................... $39 Damnhot PG Mitts ................. $44 Camelback 32oz .................................. $29 Camelback 70oz .................................. $33 CALL CHAD at (805) 569-1667 for more info. HAVE EXTRA EQUIPMENT - That you don't know what to do with. Advertise in the Paragliding classifieds, $.50 per word, $5 minimum. Call USHGA for details (719) 632-8300.

RAVEN SKY SPORTS - Largest and most popular in the Midwest. Training hills and winch towing for paragliders. Sales & Service! PO Box 101, Whitewater WI 53190. (414) 473-8800. PARTS & ACCESSORIES ACCELERATED FLIGHT SYSTEMS - Personal USHGA certified paragliding & hang gliding instruction. Courses are expertly run on a friendly, informative basis. We have been introducing people to the world of foot launched flight since 1976. New and used gliders and accessories. Ball, Comet, Edel, Firebird, ITV, Pacific Airwave, Wills Wing and others. All skill levels welcome. P.O. Box 1226, Del Mar, CA 92014. (619) 481-7400 Southern California.

CLEARANCE SALE PRICE - New Ball M-19E $337 with free airspeed indicator. (812) 288-7111. Kentuckiana Soaring.

Can't afford new equipment? Find great bargains in our classified ad department.

THE INCREDIBLE EARTALK - Just put it in your ear (no microphone). Easy for sending out or receiving signals. Put vn· control piece on glove or harness and transmit/adjust voice. $93.45 includes shipping. ISA (718) 777-7000 phone/fax.

PARAGLIDING

KENTUCKIANASOARING

PUBLICATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS

Specializing in Communication, Flight Decks & Navigation! VARIO'S: FLIGHT DECKS NEW BALL GRAPHICS PLUS ...... $CALL BALLMI9 ........ 1994 .............. $337.00 BALLM19...... . ........ 1995 DEMO ... $405.00 AFRO .......... DEMO ............ $CALL FLYTEC 3005....... ..... DEMO ............ $415.00 FLYTEC 3005Sl... ............ DEMO..... . ... $459.00 FLYTEC 3020 ................. DEMO ............ $630.00 FLYTEC 3030 ................. DEMO ............ $721.00 AIRCOTEC PICCOLO PLUS ... DEMO ..... $441.00 13RAUNIGER BASIS ....... $450.00 13RAUNIGER CLASSIC ............ $680.00 13RAUNIGER COMPETITION ................. $750.00 WASMER ALTI/VARlO .................... $300.00 MALLETTEC ........ . .................. $159.95 TANGENT ............................................. $CALL

Free Hook Knife or Wind Advisory Airspeed with Varios & Helmets. HELMETS REFLEX ... ..... flJLL FACE ..... $155.00 PANORAMIC ..... . .. FUI.L FACE ..... $149.00 LEE-Fl .. ...... $230.00 LEE-F2 .. . ...... $280.00 LEE ARC ... $320.00 PELLE. ............... flJLL FACE ..... $160.00 lJVEX .... FULL FACE ..... $290.00

Windsok. Made of 1.5 oz. ripstop nylon, UV treated, 5'4" long w/11" throat. Available colors fluorescent pink/yellow or fluorescent pink/white. $39.95 (+$4.00 S/H). Send to USHGA Windsok, P.O. Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330, (719) 632-8300, fax (719) 632-6417. VISA/MC accepted. MINI VARIO - World's smallest, simplest vario! Clips to helmet or chinstrap. 200 hours on batteries, 0-18,000 ft., fast response and 2 year warranty. Great for paragliding too. ONLY $169. Mallettec, PO 13ox 15756, Santa Ana CA, 92735. (714) 966-1240. MC/Visa accepted .

PARACHUTES From HES, Wills Wing WILLS WING LARA ........ w/Paraswivel .. $CALL HES QUANTUM ........... $CALL OTHER NEAT STUFF WIND ADVISORY AIRSPEED W/CLAMP .. $23.00 HALL PARAGLIDER AIRSPEED ............... $28.95 HOOK KNIFE. . ... $14.95 TOW RELEASE ................ MASON'S ........ $52.00 Dealer for Edel, AT, Pro Design, North American Paragliding & More! KENTUCKIANA SOARING 425 N Taggart Avenue Clarksville IN 47 129 (812) 288-71 I I fax (812) 284-4115

TOTALLY NEW TOW RELEASE - "Safety First". Tow release with built in safety feature-ideal for use with towing instruction. $60 each. For info call Eastcoast Paragliding Center at (908) 747-7845. VIDEOS & FILMS

RENSCHLAR SOIAR POWERED - Flight instruments! Four models, save $50 by mentioning this ad. Dealer inquires welcome. North American Paragliding (509) 925-5565. BUSINESS & EMPLOYMENT 0 PPO RT'lJNITIES PARAGLIDING INSTRUCTOR WANTED - For growing paragliding program. Raven Sky Sports (414) 473-8800. PARAGLIDING INSTRUCTORS WANTED Eastcoast Paragliding Center is looking for paragliding instructors to join its team. For info call Lars Linde at (908) 747-7845.

1996

POINT OF THE MOUNTAIN by East Coast, hg/pg action at this Utah mecca $29. PARAGLIDE: THE MOVIE by Viking Films. Rock-n-roll world class competition at Owens Valley. Professionally filmed & edited $39.95. DAREDEVIL FLYER lil by Tatum Communications. Paraglide with the Wills Wing team & friends in scenic Telluride, Colorado $24.95. Call or fax USHGA (719) 632-8300, fax (719) 632-6417, please add +$4 domestic s/h (+$5 for two or more videos). Great to impress your friends or for those socked-in days. MISCELLANEOUS VIDEOS BOOKS & POSTERS - Call USHGA for your Merchandise order form (719) 632-8300. DON'T LEA VE YOUR GROUND-BOUND EQUIPMENT SITrING IN THE GARAGE. SELL IT IN THE

Our advertisers appreciate your support and patronage. Tell them you saw their ad in

Paragliding. -----·-------

MARCH/ APRIL

SOARING - Monthly magazine of The Soaring Society of America, Inc. Covers all aspects of soaring flight. Full membership $55. Info. kit with sample copy S3. SSA, P.O. Box E, Hobbs, NM 88241. (505) 392-1177. TOWING

Best Prices & Best Service! RADIOS-ALL MODELS AVAIIABLE YAESU HI IR ................ 5 watt... ..$305.00 KENWOOD TH22 ......... $285.00 PTf l'INGERSWITCH/HEADSET ........... $89.00 5/8 TELESCOPIC ANTENNA ................. $20.95 5/8 GAIN DUCK ANTENNA .................. $17.95 EAR TALK-SPEAKER/MIC SYSTEM ........ $84.00 VC22 YAESU VOX/PTT.... . .......... $58.95 MOBILE ......................... 50 watt .... $375.00 TUNE UP .... w/WARRANTY INTACT ...... $35.00 MAXON 2550. . ........... $349.00

Noel Whittall. The most complete guide to paragliding on the market. Over 100 color photographs & illustrations, 200 pages, $24.95 +$4 s/h. USHGA, PO Box 1:330, Colorado Springs CO 80901. (719) 632-8300, fax your MC/Visa to (719) 632-6417.

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CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES The rate for classified advertising is $. 50 per word ( or group of characters) and $1.00 per word for bold or all caps. MINIMUM AD CHARGE $5.00. A fee of $15 .00 is charged for each line art logo and $25.00 for each photo. LINEART & PHOTO SIZE NO LARGER THAN 1.75" X 2.25". Please underline words to be in bold print. Special layoms of tabs $25.00 per column inch. AD DEADLINES All ad copy, instructions, changes, additions and cancellations must be received in writing 1 1/2 months preceding the cover date, i.e. October 20th for the December issue. Please make checks payable to USHGA. Classified Advertising Dept. PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE, Classified Advertising, P.O. Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330 (719) 632-8300 or fax (719) 63 2-641 7 with your Visa or Mastercard. STOLEN WINGS & THINGS

NOTIFY USHGA OF YOUR STOLEN PARAGLIDING EQUIPMENT AND WE'LL LIST IT HERE FOR FREE!

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS Adventure Productions ........... 48 Air California Adventure .......... 44 Aircotec ................................... 48 AirPlay ..................................... 13 Alas Del Hombre .................... .44 Aloft ........................................ 13 Alpine Marine .......................... 13 Colorado Paragliding ............... 13 East Coast Paragliding Center .44 Flytec ....................................... 29 Hall Brothers ........................... 44 High Gear ................................ 58 Just Fly ..................................... 52 Mini Vario ................................ 37 Mojo's Gear ............................... 9 NAS ........................................... 7

North American Paragliding .... 37 Pacific Airwave ................... 26-27 Pacific Wings ............................. 5 Parafly Paragliding ................... 44 Paragon Publications ............... 19 Pro Design ................ Back Cover Skytimes Paragliding ............... 44 So. California Hostel ................ 44 Soaring Center ........................ 32 Sun Valley Paragliding ............. 44 Sup'Air .................................... 24 Super Clinic ............................. 24 UP Paragliding .................... 14, 15 USAAerolight .......................... 17 USA Brauniger ......................... 19 USHGA .......................... 16,53,54 Wills Wing .......................... 37,59

In 1995 Nova's Xenon dominated the Competition Skiese

In 1996 Nova's Xyon will dominate your Skiese Nova Designer Hannes Papesh has taken the lessons learned from his phenomenal JCenon .. National Championships and created the new JCyon~ Austria Germany Italy Switzerland France Japan

First 3 places First 2 places First 3 places First 2 places First place First 4 places

Fewer Suspension l i n e s - - - - - - - - - ~ less Parasitic Drag Innovative V Ribs Smoother, More Efficient Wing Modified Xenon Platform Proven Performance DHV a..3 Competition Class Performance Distributed Exclusively in North America by

High Gear, Enc. • Phone: 303.818.4324 • Fax: 303.444.3284 Call or fax for Specifications and Brochure.

A n

A r

1 n

r l\..T r_

The Art Of flying.

·,PICCO '

Size Pilot Weight(lbi;.) Celli;

Span(m)

A.R. Min. Sink(m/i;) Min./ Max. ~peed(kcn/h)

23 100-145 27 9.25 3.7 1.3 20-41

26 130-170 29 9.95 3.8 f3 '20-41

29 165-220 31 10.65 3.9

1.3 g0-41 '

If you're looking for a state of the art entry level gl ider, th ~ new PLCCQ is the perfect choice. On the ground or in th'e air its superb handlin~ ,and . stable flight charac~eristics will put you on t op of the pack. '

MYTHOS

Size Pilot Weight(lbi;.) Celli; Span(m)

A.R. Min. Sirik(m/i;) Min./ Max. Speed(km/h)

23 100-145 36 11 .1 4.75 1.15 22-45

26 130-185 39 11.7 4.75 1.15 ' 22-45

29 175-230 39 12.3 4.75 1.15 22-45 ' ,

The MYTHOS is Swing's newest intermediate design. The MYTH OS has nearly the performance of the best competition ,gliders, but with more forgiving flight characteristics. The Double Sail System (DSS) of the Minoa guarantees the smoot hest top wing surfaoe, t hus red ucing drag and increasing lift. ' Size

Pilot Weight(lbi;.) ' Celli; Span(m) A.R. Min. Sink(m/5) Min./ Max. Speed(km/h)

MINOA 27

120-}66 41x2 11.6 5 1.05 25-53

145-16 5 43x2 12.3 5.1 1.05 25-53

45x2 13 5.2 1.05 25-53

The MINOA has quickly become recog nizeE:l throughout Europe .and the United States as a well manriered, top of the line, high performance glider t hat ha~ many uni6j,Ue features, including the spec:a l "DSS" construction which defines the airfoil of the wing to enhanc performance. All Willi; Wing/Swing glideri; inclu'de: Glider inspection, line check, and TEST FLIGHT prior to shipment ~rom the factory: _ Dealer test flight prior to delivery to you . ., lnspecti'Qns and repairs turned around in ~8 houri; or.le%. Split A risers that allow you to do Big Ears quickly and reliably. Comprehensive Owners Mantllal, parts klit, st icker and hat. Deluxe Back pack, tie strap, and internal stuff f:>ag. Speed stirrup. For informat· ion or a test ft· Ph. 714 998-6359 ight contact you r I u I Fax 714 998-0647 oca/ dealer.