USHGA Paragliding July 2000 by US Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association

PARAGLIDING .. JULY 2000

A PARAGLIDING FLIGHT SIMULATOR by Don Whilldin

DIXON'S NOTES by Dixon White

PARA(GLIDING)DISE FOUND! article and photos by Seward Whitfield

COVER: Eric Morellet

flying over Roquebrune on the Mediterranean in southern France. Photo courtesy Sup'Air USA.

CANADIAN PARAGLIDING X~ RECORD -

IWIIL NEVER &VEA PARAGLIDING ACCIDENT by Ken Hudonjorgensen

JULY

2000

143 MILES!

by Guy Leblanc

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES IN PUBLICA· TIONS: The material presented here is published as part of an information dissemination service for USHGA members. The USHGA makes no wa1·ranties or representations and asst1mes no liability concerning the validity of any advice, opinion or recommendation expressed ln the material. All individuals relying upon the matet'ial do so at their own t'isk. Copyright © 2000 United States Hang Gliding Assn., Inc. AU rights reserved to Paragliatng and individual contributors.

Gil Dodgen, Managing Editor/Editor-in- Chief Steve Roti, Contributing Edito rs Dave Pounds, A rt Director Will Gadd, Dennis Pagen Staff W riters O ffice Staff Phil Bachman, Executive Director, phbachman@ushga.org Jeff Elgart, Advertising, jjelgart@ushga .org Joanne Peterson, Member Services, rjpeterson@ushga.org Cleda Ungles, M ember Services, cungles@ushga .org Natalie Hinsley, Merchandise Services, njhinsley@ushga.org USHCA O fficers and Executi ve Committee: David Glover, President, clavid@clavidg lover.com Mark Ferguson, Vice President, mark@ballvarios.com Bill Bryden, Secretary,bbryden @hsonline. net Geoff Mumford, Treasurer, gmumford@apa.org

REGION 1: Bill Bolosky, Steve Roti. REG ION 2: Jamie Shelden, Ray Leonard, Scott Caspari an. REGION 3: Ken Ba ier, John Greynald, Gregg Lawless. REG ION 4: Mark Fe rguso n, Jim Ze ise t. RE G ION 5 : Frank G ill ette. REGI ON 6: Jeff Sin ason . RE GION 7: Bill Bryden. REGION 8: Doug Sharpe. REGION 9: Ra ndy Leggett, Geoff M um fo rd . REGI ON 10: D av id G love r, Ma tt Taber. REGION 11: Kent Robinson. REGION 12: Paul Voight. DI RECTO RS AT LARGE: Ed Pitman, Paul Rikert, Dan Johnson, Jan Johnson, Dennis Pagen. HONORARY D IRECTO RS: G .W . M eadows, Bob H ann ah, Rand y Adams, John H arri s, Steve Kroop, Larry Sa nderso n (SSA), Chris DuPaul, Gene Matthews, Lars Linde, Ken Brown, Rob Kells, Mi chael Robertson, Li z Sharp, Russ Locke. EX-OFFICIO DI RECTORS: Art Greenfi eld (NAA). The United States Hang Gliding Association Inc. is an ai r sports orga ni za tio n affi l ia ted wi th the National Aeronautic Assoc iation (NAA) w hich is the offi cial represe nt ati ve o f the Fed erati o n Aero nautiqu e Intern ationale (FA\), of the worl d govern ing body fo r sport aviation. The NAA, w hich represents the U.S. al FA\ meetings, has delegated to the USHGA supervi sion o f FAl- related paraglid ing act ivities such as reco rd attempts and competition sa nctions. PARAGLIDING magaz ine is publi shed fo r paragliding sport enthusiasts to create further interest in the sport, and to prov ide an edu cation al fo rum to ad va nce paragliding methods and safety. Contributions are welcome. Anyone is invited to contribute arti cles, photos and il lustrations concerning paragliding activities. If the materi al is to be returned, a sta mped, self-a ddressed return envelope must be enclosed. Noti fica tion must be made of submi ss ion to other paragliding publi cations. PARAGLIDING magazine reserves the right to edit contributi ons w here necessary. The Association and publica tion do not assume responsibility for the materi al or op ini o ns of co ntribu to rs. PARAGLIDING edi tor ial offices: 31441 Sa nta Ma rga rita Pkwy. , Suite A-256, Rancho Santa tv1 argarita, CA 92688, phone (949) 888~ 7363, fax (949) 888-7464, e-mail: GilDodgen@aol.com. The USHGA is a member-controlled spo rt orga nization dedica ted to tl,e exploration and promotion of al I facets of unpowered ul tralight fli ght, and to the ed ucation, train ing and safety of its membership. M embership is open to anyone interested in this realm of fl ight. Dues for full membership are $59.00 per year (of w hich $15 goes to the publi ca tion of Paragliding), ($70 non-U.S.); subscription rates only are $35.00 ($46 non-U .S.). Changes of address should be sent six weeks in advance, incl uding name, USH GA number, previous and new address, and a mailing label from a recent issue. PARAGLIDING (ISS N 1089-1846) is p ubli shed ten limes a year Uan./Feb., March/April, May, June, July, Aug., Sept.,Oct., Nov., Dec.) 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 ) 632-64 17 . PER IO D ICA L POSTAGE is paid al Colorado Springs, CO and at add itional mail ing offices. POSTMASTER: SEND CHANGE OF A DDRE SS TO : PARAGLIDI NG, P.O. BOX 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330.

J U LY

2000

V O L UME

WHY HANG GLIDE? Dear Editor, "Hang glide? Are you kidding? Who wants to read about hang gliding in Paragliding magazine? It's unfair enough as it is!" I can hear it already. But think about it: The hang gliding folks look like they're having fun too, don't they? How bad could it be? "I fly paragliders. What possible use would I have for those clunky contraptions?" Gotcha! There are a lot of good reasons to take up hang gliding, and here are seven of them. 1) The performance is better. It really is - noticeably better. They can fly faster, get a much better glide ratio and don't descend like an elevator when the wind picks up a little. Even a training wing has about a 9-to- l glide ratio and it's only up from there. Top-of-the-line rigids get around 20 to 1. That's double the best of the competition paragliders, never mind your DHV 1-2 wing. Don't tell me you don't care about glide ratio. 2) They don't suffer collapses. This is a big deal. You don't know how much of your flying energy is held in reserve for sorting out wing problems until you fly a hang glider that doesn't have any. You can completely devote yourself to the air and the flight. The wing will not collapse on you. It doesn't accordion suspiciously. It doesn't suddenly get soft and mushy on you. It doesn't drop one side into your lap. It fills you with confidence. 3) They are pretty easy to learn how to fly. You already know the good stuff - how to thermal, what to watch out for, how to set up an approach and so on. Doing it in a hang glider is not that hard either. A few weeks of lessons with a good instructor and you should be up there with the best of them. 4) They offer a more direct flying experience. The wing is close over your

11 , I SSUE # 5

head. Weight-shift turns you into an easy banking turn. The distant rustling of the paraglider and the remote steering can't compare. You feel like you are flying the wing rather than riding it. And as a bonus, they last longer too! 5) There is less pressure on launch. The inadvertent lift into the air, taking off facing the wrong way, the wild flapping around, the wing tucks and collapses that steer you wrong as you leave the ground - all disappear with a hang glider. Lift the wing. Feel the tug of the harness straps. Hold it level. A few long strides and you're airborne. Security is the name of the game. 6) Cross-country? Even novice hang glider pilots on training wings are flying cross-country these days. They are confident that even if the conditions change (which they well might), their wing will not be the source of a problem. Sure, they can't land on a dime like a paraglider can, but they don't need acres and acres of LZ either. Most of the places paragliders land are also landable by hang gliders. 7) Paraglider pilots have to fly with hang gliders all the time. On some days it might be better to join them rather than try to keep track of them as they whiz around you. See? It wasn't that bad, was it? After all, we are in t.'1is together - like it or not. There's too much "us-versus-them" mentality around as it is. If we gave up the silliness of trying to keep two magazines for our sports, you would be able to read what I wrote for the hang glider pilots about paragliding. Try hang gliding and find out how much fun it can be! James B. Brown Niigata, Japan jbbrown@keiwa-c.ac.jp

James wrote a similar letter abo ut the glories of paragliding for Hang Gliding magazine, so all of our readers will be equally offended. - Ed.

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U.S. Team on the Podium at the World Championships by Josh Cohn nfort un a[ely, [he above headline is fiC[ion . Bu[ i[ does n'[ have w rem ain [ha[ way. T he spon of paragliding has ma ny faces , fro m ge nde sled rides in scen ic areas w aero barics, bivo uac flyin g and racin g. T he focus of [his co lumn is on raci ng, and [his m omh I'll [ry w co nvince yo u [har i[ is [he bes[ way w build yo ur skills, wirh [he bo nus of some good flying and camaraderie rh row n in. W hen I fim sran ed fl yin g in mee[s, in [he early l 990 's, I [ho uglu [ha[ [here was a lo[ of luck involved, and fo und i[ disco uraging. T hen I had a chance w compe[e wi[h some im pressive pilo[s li ke Urs H aari , Hans Bollinge r and Ond re D upal, who d idn'r seem w rely on luck. Even [hough rhere is certainly rando mness invo lved in a mee[, I beca me convinced [ha[ generally the bes[ pil o[s d o win, which p m a new perspec[ive on [hings . Insread of being a gam ble for flee[in g glory, a m ee[ can be seen as a way w

improve and reward praC[ice. One thing that mos[ co nsistem p il ots share is yea rs of experience. T his brings up two key po ims in [he context of improving yo ur fl ying skills. Fim, time spent com peting li kely will no t be wasted, and second, there is no poim in cakin g unnecessary risks. T he qualicies [hat impress m e m ost in w p pilots are good decisio n-making, sponsm anship and a positive oudook. D ecision-m aking involves a [ho usand bi[s of theoretical knowledge and experi ence. le means no [ caking chances about sinking ou[ or getting inro a bad sima[ion unless there is a really good reaso n fo r iL Good sportsmanship com es fro m fl ying co mpe[i[ively fo r [he righ[ reaso ns. If yo u are [here w fly as well as yo u ca n, yo u won't be tempted w cheat or manipula[e the rul es. A pos itive o udoo k and a sense of humor m ake [he inevi[able se[backs bearable. W h enever you em er a higher level of co m pe[i[ion - from X-C at a local site rn U.S. mee[s, o r fro m [here w che PWC it can be humbling. Bm ch ac's good. T here is no m otivati o n rn improve if yo u [hin k yo u're already [he besL If yo u can set yo ur ego as ide, getting schooled is a good learning experience. fr's key w be objecti ve when evalua[ing decisions after [he facL In the abse nce of a coach, it rakes excra discipline w cell yo urself yo u made a m ista ke instead of blaming it o n bad luck. Bad luck does exist, but it should be saved as an excuse for special occasions. There are several issues chat tend w put people off from co mpetition . So me pilots are pu[ off from entering mee ts because they don't li ke fl ying with a crowd at their local site, so rhey imagine a mee[ mus[ be ten times wo rse. Lucki ly, it's noL I still ge t nervo us flying in a crowded thermal wirh so me intermediate pilots, bu t flying with 50 PWC pil o[s in a therma l is not that bad . Vulmres, o n [h e o ther hand, have no regard fo r riglu -of-way rules in a [hermal. T hen rhere is [h e percepti o n tha[ yo u can'r do well in co m pe[i[ion wirho ut fl ying a dangero us prowtype. Fro m what I hear, by nex[ year [here will be a new

Eu ropean certificarion fo r all gliders, repl acing DHV and AFNOR. T here will be m ore tes ts, and while there w ill no longer be a serial cl ass in FAI meers, the co m petition classification will be so mewhere betwee n the currem D H V 2-3 and 3. T his should mean that everyo ne is fl ying pretty reaso nabl e gliders. Also, many of th e curre nt serial glide rs are good enough rhat there isn't [hat much of an adva ntage w fl ying a hotter glider, particularly if yo u're no t com fo rtabl e o n iL Even beginn er DHV 1-2 gliders are good enough now that yo u can compete on rhem, and cerrainly learn a lot even if yo u do n'r win. Probably the rn ughesr obstacle is lack of free rim e and/o r money. To see real imp rove ment yo u need to get a few solid seaso ns of co mperiri o n under your belL For rh ose with real jobs, [he tim e is hard w manage, and fo r [hose wi[h more flexible li festyles mo ney is often tight, and sponsorshi p is impo r[an L I wo uld li ke w see the U.S. take a respec[ed place am ong [he ranks of [he w p paraglidin g na[i ons. We made a scare a[ [his in 199 7 wi[h [he six[h-place team finish at [he Worlds. Bm [here is a lot more wo rk w be do ne. W ha[ makes the w p co umri es so good is an impressive depth of ralem from which w draw. So I wa nt w enco urage the nex[ generation of w p U.S. pilots to get our and em er internari o nal m eets, especially PWC's . T his is especially criti cal with rhe recent C IVL rule change limiting team sizes for World Cham pionsh ips based on rankings . T he next column will outline h ow w prepare and qualify fo r PWC's. I'd evemually like w see a well-sponsored U.S. Team , complete with a team coach/ manager overseeing spo nso rshi p. Perhaps the USH GA could have a funding role in this, as the national associatio ns do in many o[her count ries. T hen the team co ul d really [ake off A good example w fo llow wo uld be the Japanese, who have come from relati ve obscuri ty w the thirdranked country in several yea rs. Then we'll see the headlin e "U.S. Team on the Podium ar World Champi onships" at the wp of this co lumn becom e a reality. •

P A R AG LI DI NG

NEW VIDEO AND BOOK FROM SPORT AVIATION PUBLICATIONS port Aviation Publications announces the release of a new video, Bal i High, A Paragliding Adventure Film. Produced by Sea to Sky productions, this 38-minute video was given the honor of being the most popular video by the voting audience at the Garmisch Hang Gliding and Paragliding Film Festival. Ir also received awa rds for "Most O riginal Idea" and "Best Film Quality." Break out the chips, beer and bean bag chair fo r it's sure to beco me yo ur most popular video. T he fi lm features rhree young Am eri can paraglider pil ots in an epic paragliding adventure on the exo tic island of Bal i, Indonesia. Humor, advemure and freedom are the themes of chis exotic accoum. The picmres captured by rhe Sea to Sky crew are incredibly original, moving and aesrheric. The video is extremely pleasing, both visually and inrellecmally. Ir will be inspiring to anyone involved in paragliding or co nremp laring lea rning to fl y. A great so undtrack to ps it all off. Experience the flying lifestyle in an island paradise. Wa tch radical pilots perfo rm aerial aces barn1ed in civilized countries. See an incredible volcano thermal blast our heroes. The video is available from Spore Aviation Publications (sole U.S. distributor) in borh NTSC and PAL fo rmats. The pri ce is $29.95 + $3.50 S/H in th e U.S. (Co nracr Sport Aviation Pu blications for overseas orders.) Fo r more information or to order a copy of Bali High, co ntact Sport Aviation Publications, P.O . Box 43, Spring M ills, PA 16875 USA, rel./fax (8 14) 422-0 589, pagenbks@lazerlink. co m, www. lazerlink.co m/ ~pagenbks. Dealer inquiries are invited. Be sure to also check our their other paragliding videos: Security In Flight, Starting Paragliding and Weather To F61 (with its companion book Understanding The Sky).

port Aviation Publications announces the introduction of a new book fo r rhe U.S. market, Paramotoring Fro m The Ground Up by Noel Whittall. This book, just published by Airlife Publishing in England this spring, is now available in the U.S. to all powered paragliding enrh usiasts. Powered paragliding is one of the fas test-

growing discipli nes in sport aviation. Popular in both the ulrralighr and paragliding co mmunities, i r is the ulri mate form of personal powered flight. It fits in your car and can be fl own from small fields. Ir allows the pilot more freedom of use than most other flying spores. Pammotoring From The Ground Up is a broad inrroducti on to all aspects of powered paragliding. Fourteen chapters cover everything from inflating the wing to understanding an aviation chart. Ir deals stepby-step with all the skills and knowledge needed to fl y safely and confidently. This book will provide a sound basis to any powered paragliding enthusiast. The author, Noel Whittall, is a writer who has been flying hang gliders and paragliders for many years. He is the ex-chairman of rhe British Hang Gliding Association and ex-secretary of ClVL, the FAI commission which regulates the sport worldwide. The boo k is 7" x 9", 190 pages, wirh 96 color photos and many ill ustrations. The price is $3 1.95 + $3 .95 postage and handling. Dealer in quiries are invited. See the comacr in fo rmation above.

PRO-DESIGN EFFECT

he Effect is a basic-imermediare glider with a DHV 1 rati ng, bur it is not necessarily intended to be a beginner's glider because of its perfo rmance. Tr was first inrroduced at rhis year,s Stubai Cup and produced excellent results in the speed run . T he Effect fea tures extremely easy takeoff, excellenr handling, easy turning characrerisrics in thermals fo r maximum climb rares, excepti onally stable fl ying behavior, securi ty, and speed system (5 1 km /h max, DHV confirmed). The Effect is available in three sizes: 34, 36 and 38 m2 (total load, 75 to 130 kg) . Conracr: Fly Away Paragliding, (303) 6420849, flyaway@diac.com.

RED BULL WINGS OVER ASPEN AS PEN, CO.- O ne hundred and fifty of the wo rld's fin est paragliding and hang gliding Continued on page 17.

P ARAGLIDING

Why?

made some assumptions and went ahead. My "Mark I" had its first outing at a clinic hosted by Xavier Girin (the U.S. Airea distributor) in May of 1999. There were about IO people there and the only other simulator was made of two 2" x 4"s in a cross, and it broke on the first day. Now was my chance to show off the MK I. The others were impressed but promptly began to analyze it. Could it be made to rotate when you pulled the control lines? You could weight shift and pull the control lines but it didn't rotate. At first I was a little put out, but they were only looking at improving it. Back to the drawing board! I set out to make it turn, and with minor modifications produced the MK II. l could weight shift and actually rotate at the same time. Eureka! I'd done it! So now it was back to Xavier's to make him one. After a bit of tinkering we believe we have gone about as far as possible without using a computer, gyros, etc. What can you do with the MK Ill? Practice getting into your harness, make weight-shift turns, control-line turns (it can rotate over 90° in both directions) B-stalls, full stalls, tweak the Ns, wingover control reversals, flare, land and stand out of the harness. Try unhooking the control lines from the wall and spin the simulator for a reserve throw. Xavier and I believe this is the best simulator ever. We hope you agree. No claims arc made as to the safety of this simulator.

A PARAGLIDI G FLIGHT SIMULATOR by Don Whilldin

I had used a paragliding simulator before but one that Chris Santacroce had was really impressive, so I bugged him far specs. He promptly sent me the specs: a photo. That was it? No details? I guess he was not going to let me off that easy. (Actually, that's all he had)

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FRONT

LIST OF MATERIALS #1

8' of sch. 80 x 2" diameter PVC electrical conduit

(2) 4" sch. 40 x 1/2" diameter PVC pipe (for control handles)

(4) 2" PVC elbows (There are two styles, the preferred ones are shown.)

(3) 1/4" chain Link (threaded biner)

(4) 1/2" swivel pulleys

(8) 3/4" swivel pulleys

(6) 3/4" fixed pulleys (NOTE: Pulley size refers to the diameter of the pulley, not the size of the cord.)

(10) #10-24 x 4" eyebolts (Alternately you can use 1I 4" x 20 eyebolrs and (6) 1/8" chain links to attach the #S's to the #G's.)

(2) 1/8" x l" eyebolts

( 1) 1/4" x 6" (or longer) eyebolr

( 1) Heavy-duty swivel

JULY

2000

(8) 1/8" chain link (or riser link) (4) 30" x 1/2" bungee cord (2) 7' x 3/16" nylon or dacron cord (2) I 0-15' x 1/8" control line 8' of 5/8" tubular nylon webbing Cut four 23" sections of#l and mark the centers. On two of the pieces measure 41/2" and 9" on each side of the center (five marks on each section). These are the sides. Drill them for the #6 eyebolts. Drill the centers of the other two pieces for the #8 eyebolts. One is the front. Drill a I /8" hole in the corners of two of the #2

elbows. Bend six of the #6 cyebolts open and thread them through the #5 swivels. Do the same with the two #7 eye bolts. The other two #3 pulleys go on rhe #8 eyebolt. Bend rhe eyes closed. Install two #4/#7's in the drilled elbows. In the side sections install three #5/#G's in the inside three holes and #G's in the outside two holes. Install the #3/#8 in the front #1 section. The three #1 J's are attached to the swivel. Make two # 16 loops about 10" long (/\s) and two more 21" (B's). The Ns are wrapped around the center of the sides and threaded through themselves (a cow hitch). The B's are threaded around the end pieces and centered. The elbows are glued to the sides. Continued on page 15.

2001 USHGA Regional Director Nominations Solicited USHGA is issuing its annual call for nominations to the national Board of Directors. Ten positions are open for election in November 2000 for a two-year term beginning January 2001. USHGA members seeking position on the ballot should send to headquarters for receipt no later than August 20, 2000 the following information: name and USHGA number, photo and resume (one page containing the candidate's hang/paragliding activities and viewpoints, written consent to be nominated and that they will serve if elected). Candidates must be nominated by at least three USHGA members residing in the candidate's region.

Nominations are needed in the following regions. The current Directors, whose terms are up for reelection in 2001, are listed below. Ballots will be distributed with the November issue of HANG GLIDING and PARAGLIDING magazines. USHGA needs the very best volunteers to help guide the safe development and growth of the sport. Forward candidate material for receipt no later than August 20 to: USHGA, PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901-1330. Reg# l 2 3 4 5 6

Current Director Bill Bolosky Ray Leonard Ken Baier Mark Ferguson Frank Gillette

Bill Bryden

Douglas Sharpe

Geoffrey Mumford

David Glover

Nominations are not needed in Region I I for this election.

Paul Voight

Nominations are not needed in Region 6for this election

States within region Alaska, Oregon, Washington Northern California, Nevada Southern California, Hawaii Arizona, Colorado, El Paso TX, New Mexico, Utah Idaho, Montana, Wyoming Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas lllinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont Washington DC, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico Texas (excluding El Paso), Louisiana New Jersey, New York

The following form is for your convenience.

****************************************************************************************** I hereby nominate

REGIONAL DIRECTOR ELECTION NOMINATION FORM as a candidate for Regional --------····----

Director for Region # _ __

I understand that his/her name will be placed on the Official Ballot for the

2001 Regional Director Election if three nominations are received by August 20, 2000. NAME

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UNITED STATES HANG GLIDING ASSN., INC. PO BOX 1330, COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80901-1330 (719) 632-8300 www.ushga.o:rg FAX (719) 632-6417

(02/00)

RELEASE, WAIVER AND ASSUMPTION OF RISK AGREEMENT In consideration of the benefits to be derived from membership in the USHGA, (Pilo~ and the parent or legal guardian of Pilotif Pilotis a minor, for themselves, their personal representatives, heirs, executors, next of kin, spouses, mmor children and assigns, do agree as follows: A. DEFINITIONS = The following definitions apply to terms used in this Agreement I. "PARTICIPATION IN THE SPORT 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. "SPORTS INJURIES' means personal injury, bodily injury, death, property damage and/or any other personal or financial injury sustained by Pilotas a result of Pilot's PARTICIPATION IN THE SPORTand/or as a result of the administration of any USHGA programs (for example: the Pilot Proficiency System). If Pilot is under 18 years of age, the term "SPORTS INJURIES" means personal injury, bodily injury, death, property damage and/or any other personal or fimmdal injury sustained by Pilot as well as personal injury, bodily injury, death, property damage and/or any other personal or financial injury sustained by Pilots parents or legal guardians, as a result of Pilot's PARTICIPATION IN THE SPORTand/or as a result of the administration of any USHGA programs. 3. "RELEASED PARTIES' means the following, including their owners, officers, directors, agents, spouses, employees, officials (elected or otherwise), members, independent contractors, sub-contractors, lessors and lessees: a) The United States Hang Gliding Association, a California Non-profit Corporation (USHGA); b) Each of the pmon(s) sponsoring and/or participating in the administration of Pi/ot".sproficiency 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 Pilotlaunches, flies and/or lands; e) Each of the property owners on or over whose property Pilot may launch, fly and/or land; Q All persons involved, in any manner, in the sports of hang gliding and/or paragliding at the site(s) where Pilot PARTICIPATES IN THE SPORl "All 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 Pilot's PARTICIPATION IN THE SPORT. B. I FOREVER RELEASE AND DISCHARGE the RELEASED PARTIESfrom any and all liabilities, claims, demands, or causes of action that may hereafter have for SPORTS INJURIES, however caused, even if caused by the negligence (whether active or passive) of any of the RELEASED PARTIES, to the fullest extent allowed by law. C. I WILL NOT SUE OR MAKE A CLAIM against any of the RELEASED PARTIESfor loss or damage on account of SPORTS INJURIES. If Iviolate this agreement by filing such a suit or making such a claim, Iwill pay all attorneys' fees and costs of the RELEASED PARTIES. D. 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. E, SEVERABUUTY. 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. F. I REPRESENT THAT Pilotis at least 18 years of age, or, that I am the parent or legal guardian of Pilot and am making this agreement on behalf of myself and Pilot. If I am the parent or legal guardian of Pilot, I AGREE INDEMNIFY AND REIMBURSE the RELEASED PARTIES for their defense and indemnity from any claim or liability in the event that Pilot suffers SPORTS INJURIESas a result of Pilot's PARTICIPATION IN THE SPORT, even if caused in whole or in part by the negligence (whether active or passive) of any of the RELEASED PARTIES.

G. I VOLUNTARILY ASSUME ALL RISKS, KNOWN UNKNOWN, SPORTS INJURIES, HOWEVER CAUSED, EVEN IF CAUSED IN WHOLE OR THE ACTION, INACTION, OR NEGLIGENCE Of THE RELEASED PARTIES, THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW. I have read, understand, and agree to the above RELEASE, WAIVER AND ASSUMPTION OF RISK AGREEMENT. Adult Pi/ot'I firnature

Jifnature ofPilot's Parent or Lepl Guardizn ifPilot under 18yearJ ofafe.

Dilte MMR 12-97

Flat turn, control lines only.

Weight shift 01161.

Continued from page 11. Elbows with pull eys are in the back and the pulleys are on the boccom . NOTE: Make sure the #G's are angled 45° co che cop inside so che control lines don't catch during cums. Pulleys will be 45 ° co the bottom outside. The front is attached with che #3/#8 on cop. Two of the # 13 bungees are threaded through che #16A webs and through che #11 links. They should be wrapped so there is a licde tension on ch em when rel axed. T he # 16B loops are arrached co the third # 11 on each sid e of the swivel. Arrach the #4/#12's co the ri sers and hang che frame. Attach one # 14 end co one of the #G's and ch read it through the frame and ri se r pulleys and secure it co che ocher #6 . Do the same o n the ocher side . Control handles can be made from che # lO 's with control lin e threaded through chem. Thread the control lines through the lower pulleys, up through the frame and through the pulleys on che #8. About 5' from the front center tie a loop in the conrrol lines and attach bungees co these loops. Th e other bun gee ends go co the wal l. You will likely need co adj ust the bungee tensions for che best performance. If che weather is bad, put your Fly Hmd video in the VCR and Ay with Chris and company. •

JUL Y

2000

... hanggliders, planes, paragliders and rigid wings. For pilots, who dream our dream of flying!

In the June 2000 issue of this magazine I wrote a review of the Silex powered paraglider wing. This is a follow-up article to supplement the review with photos of the Silex risers and to provide some comments regarding the new large-size Silex wing. hoto 1 shows one Silex riser ser wirh rhe rear riser trimmer ser rn rhe full slow posirion, which is also rhe neutral posirion because all four risers are rhe same lengrh. Phom 2 shows anorher Silex riser ser wirh rhe rear riser trimmer ser rn rhe full fasr posirion, depicring an overall lengrh increase of rhree inches (from 16 rn 19). Ir also shows a corresponding chree-inchlonger rear riser (D-riser) and a 1.5-inchlonger C-riser. In each photo some ocher fearures are also depicred: • The magneric rerainer for rhe roggles • The color-coded risers (A-red, B-blue, C-black, D-yellow) • The accelerarnr on rhe A-riser • The rrimmer spring buckle • The rrimmer webbing looped handle • The trimmer webbing handle black Velcro retainer.

Photo 2 also shows rhe addirional lower brake line pulley which can be used when mornring, bur rhis author recommends against irs use so long as rhe loose roggles cannot be drawn inrn rhe propeller. (See the article in June 2000 Paragliding). A minor bur worrhwhile change was rhe relocarion of rhe cenrer cell marker from rhe trailing edge to the leading edge. This placemem is much more useful for rhe idemifying rhe glider's cemer when kiring, parricularly wirh rhe "piano-keyboard" leading edge color scheme. I have now test-flown rhe large-size Silex and ir's everyrhing I predicted ir would be. Ir has a noriceably lower sink rare, accompanied by a negligible loss of rnp speed, wirh a similarly negligible loss of roll rare. When rhe condirions were windy, gusty and rhermally, I flew rhe large-size Silex as a paraglider several times wirhour any collapses and wirhour gening blown back. This is especially significant because I never used the accelerarnr or rhe rrimmers and no ocher

local pilors launched until rhe conditions had mellowed considerably. As a resulr, I feel very confidem in the stability and the safety of rhe Silex overall compared to any ocher paraglider I have flown. Ir stays open in rough air and has a grearer margin of speed compared rn paragliders in general when ir comes rn possible blow-back siruacions. If you wane a mornring wing chat you can also use for soaring, I recommend the

large-size Silex. The only exceprion may be for a very lighr pilor such as a small woman or man. The medium-size Silex will have more of a "spons car" handling response, and if you like "dancing across the sky" as an average-size pilor wirh a lightweight moror then chis may be rhe better size for yo u. For chose flying wirh an undercarriage, or wirh a heavy machine, or for large pilors, the large-size Silex is rhe way ro go! •

PARAGLIDING

Continued fi'om page 8. pilots will return to Aspen chis summer for the third annual Red Bull Wings Over Aspen, August 30 through September 5. The weeklong event will serve as the United Stares Hang G liding Association (USHGA) National Paragliding Championships, and is ro include cross-counrry paragliding, hang gliding aerobatics, hang glid ing speed runs and skydiving expositions. Athletes will compete for a cash purse of $25,000 . The event will be rhe subject of a television special on USA Network's "Core Culrure" program this fall , reach ing close ro 100 million homes nationwide! Said evem organizer and former U.S. National Paragliding Champion Orhar Lawrence, 'The television componenr of rhe evenr this year is great, in char ir brings an awareness of these sports ro a mainstream audience. These spores are extremely dramatic to watch, and should make for an awesome show! " New in 2000, rhe Red Bull Speed Run will send hang glider pilots down the same course World Cup skiers use on Aspen Moumain. Pilots wi ll navigate gates, be confined ro staying below a 20-foor barrier, and be judged on their rime and penalized should they miss a gate or fly too high. Continued Lawrence, "Speed Run pilots can reach speeds of up ro 70 miles per hour. Ir's awesome ro watch them just rip down the mountain ~ an incredibly imense experience nor only for rhe pilots bur the fans. " Launching from atop the mounrain, the expected 100 Red Bull W ings Over Aspen paragliding competitors will race over a 30- to 70-mile course in an "aerial regarra. " Competitors will be judged on speed and accuracy for rhe cross-coum ry componem of the evenr, wirh runs lasting two to five hours . Prominenr pilots expected to compete include the UK's Rob Whirrall, a former Paragliding World Cup Champion , American Chris Santacroce, rhe former Norrh American Paragliding Champion from Carbondale, Colorado , and competitors from the Paragliding World Cup (PWC) circuit. Besides the daily competition, rwo earlyevening hang gliding and paragliding aerobatics demonstrations will light up rhe skies over Aspen. Pilots will launch from the top of Aspen Mountain and fly 2,500 feet to the valley floor. A panel of five judges will score competitors on maneuvers including loops,

JULY

2000

wingovers, rolls, stalls, dives and flat spins. Red BuLl Wings Over Aspen is energized by Red Bull Energy Drink, in association with Aspen Skiing Company. Press amenities and credentials will be available at the Aspen Club Lodge. Registration, photos and additional information are available online at: www.redbullwings.com.

WINDTECH QUARX "\V,Tindtech Quarx data is finally on rhe W DHV website and rhe glider is officially listed as a DHV 2 in both the medium and large sizes. The Quarx is listed as a "Standard" by Afnor. The beautifully manufactured intermediate glider has achieved much success as many of rhe world's top pilots have chosen ir. Josh Cohn, the currem U.S. National Champion, has now won two major international competitions on the Quarx, and Mark Telep, X-C record-holder and top X-C pilor has chosen rhe Quarx as his favorite glider. Dixon White recommends that pilots considering rhe Quarx should have, in general, ar least 30 hours of thermal flying experience. More information on the Quan:: can be found ar the Airplay Paragliding website, wv,w.paraglide.com, or call Airplay at (509) 782-5543.

DAVID BARISH RECOGNIZED AS INVENTOR OF THE PARAGLIDER

avid Barish has just accepted rhe French invitation from rhe FFVL (French Free Flying Federation or Federation Franc;:aise de Vol Libre) to be recognized as the invenror of the paraglider and also rhe first person to have ever flown one in 1965 in New York stare. The event will rake place ar rhe largest annual paragliding costume festival (the Coupe Icare 2000) in Saim Hillaire du Touve r in rhe French Alps. The dares are September 21-24.

•

ULTRA-FREEX AIR SPORTS

reeX is now being imported imo rhe U.S. by Ultra-FreeXA.ir Spores. New this year are rhe Mission (DHV 2) and rhe Pure (DHV 1-2). These new wings complemenr the Sun (DHV 1), Oxygen (DHV 2-3), and Stereo (DHV 1-2 Tandem). Prices are extremely competitive. Comacr: Mark Ferguson, UlrrafreeX@ballvarios.com, (303) 439-8542. •

AEROLIGHT USA, Inc.. 1355 NW 93rd. Cl. Uni\ ~-105, Miami, FL 33172 U.S.A. Tel. (305) 639 3330, Fax (305) 639 3055, inlo@aerolighl.com,h\\pJ/www.aerolighl.com

Di ons'

t s

by Dixon White

his column will recommend certain books and videos, but realize that there may be some ideas that are arguable. Practice the weather concepts daily, even when you aren't going flying. Begin to identify the trends that make for the best coastal flying, thermal conditions or exhaust-heat sessions (glass-offs). Give your chums a call who flew on days you couldn't and see how close you can get to predicting the conditions. Be thoughtful about going to new areas and how powerful some atmospheric influences may be in contrast to your home sites. There are some sites that become unruly by 9:00 AM in August, yet others that can be flown all day. Remember, practice is the mother of skill! Approaching "lows" and "highs" have powerful effects on the stability of the atmosphere and the wind intensity and direction. Be watchful of your barometer, information sources and the sky for evidence of a low. The low is basically a "puddle" of cool air descending from the poles into a warmer area which is the high. Weather maps indicate low pressure zones very clearly with an arced line with dangling triangles. The fine, gray lines surrounding the "lows" and "highs" (isobars) indicate how steeply the pressure is dropping. Tightly spaced isobars, let's say every 100 miles, generally indicate a high probability of regional wind flow. So, a weather map showing the jet stream over your area, a low, and tightly spaced isobars isn't promising. Study the weather maps for a couple of days and you'll quickly notice how systems

This is the second article in a series of columns that will review, step by step, concepts concerning weather and flying pointers. You can order previous copies of this magazine from the USHGA or from me. Get together with your local instructor and club to discuss these topics in greater detail. Be sure to expand your library ofbooks and videos. generally move and be able to anticipate the flying conditions. If a low is approaching overnight or early in the morning you may notice earlier thermal activity. This is because the decreasing pressure and lower upper-atmosphere temperatures allow thermals to release more easily, particularly with direct sunlight. In the scenario of a low approaching late in the day, when there has been heating throughout the day, you may notice a thickening cirrus layer of clouds and that your barometer is on the decline. With this late-day low you may notice more demanding and erratic thermals and strong, windy conditions on the ground. ·rhe arrival of a midday to late-afternoon PARAGLIDING

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Rosetted glider.

Horseshoe glider.

low can be of concern to pilots in some areas of the country because conditions can become very intense. In general, the approach of a low will bring winds from the southwest: Pilots looking for soft and easy conditions will find some lows where the flying is just fine. When a low is slow moving, without compressed isobars, there may not be much regional wind flow. If there isn't much solar heating of the ground the air may be very pleasant, but be aware chat even a few minutes of sunlight can start the thermals releasing. Be cautious about a low when a storm cell can develop that may create strong lift, sink or gust fronts. A thick, mid-level (stratus) layer of clouds may keep down the solar heating, but it can hide a towering cu-nim (cumulo-nimbus rain cloud). As the high builds you may notice winds on the surface, and at altitude more from the northeast. The jet stream will most likely be far away, to the north is best, and the isobars will spread apart to over 300 miles between each gray line on the weather map. With the increase in pressure and warming of the upper atmosphere you should notice thermals taking much longer to develop and, with ever-increasing pressure, tighter and more sharply edged thermals once they do release. Many pilots fly when high-pressure systems are present since conditions tend to be more predictable. You'll find anabatic flow up ease-facing slopes in the mornings that can be very user-friendly, to a point. Be aware chat thermals are everbuilding and that a heated area (puddle) reaching just the right temperature will suddenly release its power. If you choose to fly as trigger temperature is reached you may need refined glider management skills in pitch and roll control, and be aware that landing zone conditions can be very unpredictable as thermals lift off and change the localized wind-flow directions. Keep in mind that thermals will develop and release earlier in the morning in the summer than in the winter as a result of more or less sun exposure.

***

// / ///'

Facing forward while attached to a paraglider is very risky in anything other than completely "soft" conditions. Hooking in to a paraglider while facing forward in "sporty" conditions can lead to a loss of control very quickly, thus damaging you or your glider. Since most launches are reverses, you should hook in already facing the glider in the reverse position. Even if you PARAGLIDING

LEFT: With the right A-riser in the top position, it indicates one complete left turn for attachment to the right biner. The right accelerator line will pass under the right riser and then continue a direct path to the attachment point. RIGHT The left accelerator line will remain on top of the riser and maintain a direct path to the attachment point. plan to do a forward/front launch you may consider making this your hook-in procedure for safety reasons. If you decide you need to duck under your lines be sure to make a healthy bridge of lines using two hands so that you don't accidentally turn without a line in hand, or drop some of the lines around your neck. The reverse position hook-in technique is actually pretty simple. First, a right-handed pilot should rotate left, or counterclockwise, from a reverse position and vice versa if left-handed. This will prepare you for doing reverse tandem launches without accidentally knocking open the reserve during the rotation. A pilot with 500 launches who is considering tandem flight will be frustrated by needing to relearn a different rotation out of the reverse position, so you might as well learn this from the beginning. You're probably thinking that you'll never do tandem flying, bur since you can't be sure you might as well develop the right skills as soon as possible.

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JULY

2000

While facing the glider shake out the risers so that the lines are clear. Be sure to check for any snags or knots and lay your glider in a horseshoe shape in light wind or a symmetrical rosette if windy, and be sure to pull out the tips so you don't get a line caught. The A-riser should be on top, facing upward, with no twists. A right-handed person will then twist both of the risers 180 degrees to the left, counterclockwise, and the A will now be facing the ground. Put tension on the biner and make sure it isn't twisted. Attach the risers to the biners so that they are crossed with the riser going to the pilot's left hip on top. To double check the configuration pull on each riser so that the tension will prove that the A faces away, away from the pilot, and the rear faces near, toward the pilot - all without any twists. The accelerator line is easily attached by bringing it from the harness pulley in a direct path to the riser attachment point. Head to the local park and give this method of hooking in a try for l O perfect repetitions. Try this with the glider in a rosette as well; you'll be surprised how easy it is to see that your lines are clear, despite the glider being rosetted. Remember that you're trying to avoid facing forward while attached to your glider, so learn to do this so you aren't compelled to rotate, duck around and face forward to see if you got it right. My next article in this series will cover localized upper-level atmosphere information and how to perfect the reverse launch. The videos Starting Paragliding and Weather to Fly are my favorites, of course. You should read Whitta!'s Paragliding: The Complete Guide and Pagen's Understanding The Sky. When reading Pagen's book you may want to try learning a new concept a day from the list of items in the glossary. Check the index for isobars and pressure systems to help further your understanding of the discussions in this column. •

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PARA(GLIDING)DISE FOUND!

FLYING IN THE

PHILIPPINES article and photos by Seward Whitfield

This is a tale of the bad and the wonderful so let's get the bad out of the way Ifyou want to learn to paraglide with one hand, stick the other one out the window ofyour vehide into the polluted chaos ofManila traffic, which is otherwise impossible to describe. And ifyou are finicky, abhor perspiration, or demand that all your meals be highly recognizable, better do Europe. But ifyou're adventuresome, on to the wonderful'

The ground in the Philippines leaps up at you unexpectedly. Photo by Christy Whitfield.

en I researched my trip in 998 I couldn't find any paraglider pilots at all in the Philippines, but just prior to leaving Oregon I found out that Gabriel Jebb, recently of Torrey Pines, had just started a paragliding school and tour business based in the capital city of ten million, often flying off or near a volcano at well-known Lake Taal. I was unable to meet him on this trip, but he was reporting long days of soaring and X-C flights of 60 kilometers or more, with longer jaunts to come along stunning major mountain ranges. I would definitely visit Gabe if you pass through because I believe he is onto a future flying hotspot and a great lifestyle. But I was headed for distant provinces. Mindanao is the big southern island of the Philippines, well south of the main island of Luzon, north of Borneo and New Guinea. Physically, the 7,000 islands of the Philippines seem like a cross between Vietnam and Tahiti. Under the fist of Spain for hundreds of years, and Japan and the U.S. for briefer periods, culturally, the country is Mexico-in-Asia with a dash of Uncle Sam. The mix is often puzzling to the western mind, each day's travel

bringing mysteries and fresh adventures. Most Filipinos speak at least some English even in the "boondocks" (a word English borrows from Filipino). I was fortunate enough to be met by a wonderful lady named Cristeta, or Christy, with whom I had been corresponding, not as my friends suggested because she had a Mazda pickup truck, but because I knew I would need help peeling and eating mangoes the proper way. As it turned out, we did take her four-door pickup out on many adventures, along with her three best (beautiful) friends. Given two dollars and 15 minutes these ladies would conjure up a full-blown Filipino picnic on the beach under swaying palms after a hard day of trying to fly. Trying to fly? I'll try to explain. This is the tropics. Cumies start poppin' big-time between 8:00 and l 0:00 AM, but Filipinos don't always care to rush. If you aren't careful, food falls out of trees and bonks you on the head. Paddle a few yards offshore and winged fish will mistake your canoe for the carrier Enterprise, and the average pig doesn't have a clue about our less-than-honorable intentions. So what's the hurry? Sometimes I couldn't get my flight crew moving until after the after-

breakfast snack. By then, the cumies may top 20,000 feet (although island cloud base is seldom more than 4,000' to 8,000', making for a very large "white room"). Mossy Oregonians think we know green, but the chlorophyll in every centimeter of northern Mindanao makes you an offer that you can't refuse, pulsating in lush jungle and rice paddies - wet rice paddies - but just how wet is often difficult to judge from above. It might be best sometimes to fly in the national footwear (rubber sandals), but luckily I was never forced to land in a producing field. Imagine pioneering a jungly vastness like this by yourself, with almost no one knowing what a paraglider or even a hang glider is, which I thought was one of the attractions, but which also leads to many interesting non-flying moments. Here's an example: Early in my visit we were driving along the coast and I spotted a rare grassy hill, 300 or 400 feet high, with an even more rare small, dry pasture beneath it. I jumped out of the truck all excitedwind blowing up the slope, perfect! I grabbed my paragliding photos and Christy to interpret, soon finding the farmer who owned the land. I spent 10 minutes of trying to explain that my incredible conveyance would fly against the wind, and therefore I would not disappear over the hill to be lost in the jungle beyond. I was making no progress, but figured it would only be a matter of time before he gave in to this implacable Joe, smiled, and muttered what has come to be my favorite phrase, "bahala na" (come what may). Instead, pointing one last time up the hill, he managed to do what no American landowner ever has - only two words and I was walking contentedly back to the truck: "Many cobras." At lower elevations the jungles of the mountains merge into coconut palms which, unfortunately for pilots, nearly always overhang the beaches, making the lovely sands nearly useless for bailing out of the big blue sky. As a tradeoff, however, most of the millions of tall, skinny palms have small climbing notches (bare feet only) cut into the trunks for nut harvest. When I did get to fly it was sometimes rough but always rewarding. Although we later found excellent novice hills near the seaport and international surfer Mecca of Surigao, most of the fascinating terrain and sky of northern Mindanao is for fairly experienced pilots only. It is best to carry a

PARAGLIDING

bolo, a long, wicked brush knife, not only to open coconuts but to tame the waisthigh grasses when one can find a launch. (This is not necessary when conditions are easily reversible, since wings lie nicely atop the tall grass.) Easy LZ's are seldom found and finding them from aloft is unpredictable. For weight's sake I flew sans reserve and most else, but I was very relieved to have brought my tree-descent rope and I will not be going back without a reserve and full harness. I had promised myself to fly conservatively since I was a solo pilot in unknown terrain, but nevertheless, in my desire to fly I found myself in ups and downs so relentless that I once pegged my l ,600fpm vario in both directions and ended the flight sliding feet-first into a village store to shockingly undeserved applause. When one of the residents found his tongue to ask where I had come from, and I had dredged mine up from near my spleen, I couldn't resist saying, "America!" Gabriel, up north in the friendlier terrain of Luzon, reported great, fat, navigable thermals and inviting cloud streets all day on many days. My flights on Mindanao were time and labor intensive, but with company to help scout further JULY

2000

sites, decipher conditions and fly X-C with, I believe that the tropical skies of much of the Philippines are wondering where we are, waiting for us to take advantage of them! Whenever I was able to get aloft, the flying was incredibly rewarding, often with 360° views over stunning turquoise and cobalt-blue bays and the vibrant green islands strewn about the Philippine Sea. The place is visually fantastic; I shot 25 rolls of film and could happily have burned up a hundred! One small paradise island stands out in particular. Camiguin Island, perhaps only five miles wide and 10 long, lies one hour and one dollar off mainland Mindanao by a small, rusty ferry. Arriving at the island dock, we found divers salvaging bags of coconuts from a ferry that had turned turtle the day before. I don't know how they planned to salvage the three vehicles that were also aboard, but Filipinos are very resourceful if not too keen about regular maintenance. I am a fatalist about these types of things, although on the bumpy crossing I did recall every story I ever read about shark attacks on the survivors of WWII ship sinkings. The small island is made up of one older and one newish volcano. The younger peak has a partly-paved

trail to the rop, during the climb of which you are accompanied by Jesus. Every so often there is a white sculpture of Christ in the Twelve Stations of His Sufferings and as you climb in the tropic heat, your bag growing heavier and heavier as His cross does. Though you both eventually get to ascend after your sufferings, fortunately, the comparison ends there. Launch overlooks a terrific view of a bay far below with a large white memorial cross set directly in the azure sea, which commemorates the souls now underwater as a result of a cemetery sinking below the waves when an earthquake rearranged the island in the late 1800's. When you tire of soaring in the trade-wind thermals you can try to land on a tiny beach below to enjoy a cold San Miguel beer (25 cents) and lunch at the little cafe at the base of the mountain, or fly over the volcano back to the main island beaches. Either way you will be reveling in the memory of the movie-like jungle sounds that floated up to you as you soared above the lush canopy where the creatures that made them were hidden. We stayed at a superb white-coral-sand dive resort ($29) that would have cost $400 to $500 per day in Hawaii. We also

enjoyed a cozy hillside resort in the jungle where we luxuriated in the immaculate rock-lined pools of the natural hot springs (the hot water cascades right out of the hillside onto your shoulders if you like), renting our comfortable thatch-roofed cabin for $8 a night! Everywhere the food was superb and ridiculously "mura" (cheap). My favorite dine-out was blue marlin steak (oh, please don't tell me it's endangered) served on a sizzling iron platter with trimmings - $3. On the beach, barbecue picnics over coconut-shell fires were magically produced from the fresh local markets and the catches of outrigger canoes. One dollar-per-liter dark Tanduay rum is quaffed with ice and wee local limes. Days chat I could not fly for one reason or another (such as one-dollar rum) were not exactly a disappointment. The water? As you float on your back staring at your roes the warmth and the gentle waves will trigger prow-memories of being rocked at your mummy's bosom. Let me toss out a couple of more quick vignettes, a couple of numbers, and a caveat or two. This is Asia and not a wealthy country, so one needs to be openminded and flexible to really enjoy a visit here. The Philippines docs not yet bend

over backwards to cater to western sensibilities. There is true poverty, tempered by an observation chat there is little serious hunger and even the rudest hut is usually brightened by gorgeous tropical flowers. (In fact, my first impression of the islands was that, my God, all the houseplants have escaped outdoors!) There is little refrigeration and no packaging of protein. The open-air markets range from delightful to considerably less so, with scores of beautiful if unrecognizable fishes and fruits. Fresh-caught prawns were a buck a kilo, a whole tuna is a buck, and a bag of awesome mangoes the same. Rice is served with all meals and is grown, harvested and dried everywhere. Everyone grows orchids and other flowers that bloom continuously, but to counter that vision of the Garden of Eden the people come from a slash-and-burn ancestry - and slash and burn they do with a will - everything. They do have to do something with the continuously encroaching jungle growth and plastic bags, and the plumes of smoke do help in making in-flight decisions. Color abounds, the owner-decorated modes of transportation competing with the flowers for sheer whack-your-eyeball appeal.

Tricicads (small motorcycle-based taxicttes), human-powered trikes and Jeepneys are the indigenous forms of transport. The highly-personalized Jeepneys (small, openair buses based on the jeeps we left behind after the Big War) can be hired to chase pilots (all day long, fuel and driver included, for a single portrait of President Jackson), and especially define the Philippines. As do the facilities (comfort rooms) wherein they have once and for all solved our battle-of-the-sexes problem of lid up or lid down. Ain't no lid, ain't no seat (except in hotels). And often, ain't no TP either. I have never had a better time traveling. My dollar averaged five or six times its value at home, and money seemed to somewhat lose its importance anyway. A poor Filipino smiles a hell of a lot more than Donald Trump (and likely you and me) and the incredulous shouts and glee of villagers when you swoop down from the skies is priceless. Also priceless (once they understand what we do) is the attitude toward new things. Instead of being afraid of what we do, Filipinos largely, even officialdom, embrace the idea of free flight and personal responsibility. After a couple

Continued on page 48. PARAGLIDING

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SAFETY AN

ate autonomously, there are times when additional training in a formal lesson will save you from learning lessons the hard way. While observing pilots more experienced than yourself is clearly educational, there are more elements to learning than simply watching. Otherwise, we would all be as proficient as the best pilots we've seen fly.

RIDGESOARI

The reason for getting professional training is to learn more quickly, completely and safely than learning by trail and error. This

Don't Wake Me, I'm Dreaming

CO RT

This article is dedicated to Jan "Arjan" Ala, a longtime soaring pilot, instructor and personal friend who became the first U.S. fatality in a mid-air collision of two paragliders while ridge soaring in 1998. We co-authored a series of articles on paragliding towing in the mid1990s. This article is intended to perpetuate our mutual philosophy to

promote safety through education.

INTRODUCTION Are you concerned about midair collisions while ridge soaring in traffic? Do you know how to minimize your wake turbulence for other pilots? Do you know how to best resist a collapse due to wake turbulence? The most important factor to ensure your flying safety is not having the best equipment or skills, nor is it the extent of your flying experience, but your judgment. Your decision about when to fly

is probably the single greatest factor that contributes to your flying safety. Some pilots would conclude that this means not to fly in traffic. While this approach may prevent you from experiencing a wakeinduced canopy collapse today, it doesn't mean that the traffic won't be there again tomorrow. The perpetual dilemma is how to gain flying experience, especially in traffic, without compromising your safety

in the process. If you're like most paraglider pilots, you began your flying by training under the direct supervision of an instructor. Many pilots make the mistake of abandoning formal instruction after attaining their Novice (P2) rating. There are likely multiple reasons for this, such as cost, a perceived lack of value for the money, or perhaps subliminal macho peer pressure to appear independent and self-sufficient. Whatever the reason, the consequence is that the Novice pilot is now left to his or her own survival skills to face the most demanding portion of their flying career, the intermediate phase. This is when the pilot has enough skill and knowledge to get into serious situations, but lacks the ability to recognize and resolve the dilemma. Some pilots become so conservative that they stagnate and make limited progress. Others scare themselves out of flying, or get injured in a classic case of Intermediate Syndrome (a sense of invincibility based on false assessment of ability, lack of respect for conditions, and not allowing a sufficient margin for error). While part of learning to become an Advanced-level pilot is learning to oper-

applies not only to entry-level training, but to intermediate and advanced skills as well. Most instructors are equally guilty for not offering or promoting additional, structured training beyond the Novice skill level. This results in an abundance of Intermediate-level pilots who may be proficient at basic pilot skills, but who are operating with incomplete knowledge and skill which impedes their decisionmaking about when and how to fly. To ridge soar safely, both for yourself and other pilots sharing the air with you, you need to know how to integrate with traffic, understand wake turbulence, and know how to confront wake turbulence. These three topics will be addressed in this article.

1) INTEGRATING WITH TRAFFIC Before you venture out into congested airspace you should already have a clear understanding of collision-avoidance procedures, commonly known as the rightofway recommendations. These are recommended common-sense guidelines derived from Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR's), from sailplane soaring practices, from USHGA Part 100.07, "Basic Safety Recommendations for Traffic," and from the USHGA Part 104.16.02, "Recommended Operating Limitations for Advanced Pilots." None of these sources provides a complete set of guidelines, therefore I have extracted content from each in order to create my own set of recommended collisionavoidance procedures. Also, note that a particular site may have specific rules that vary from these guidelines and take precedence over them, and you are responsible for knowing those rules prior to flying any particular site. Regardless of what the guidelines or rules may be, in practice, ifyou force the situation

because you feel entitled to the right-of way, you may become dead right! PARAGLIDING

COLLISION AVOIDANCE PROCEDURES

There are six general recommendations: 1) Visually clear all turns before starting any turn. You should keep track of all traffic within at least five wingspans (150 feet or 50 meters) of you, and in any direction (in front, behind, above, below and to each side), especially if they are approaching you. If this becomes a burden you should fly to a less congested area or go land.

TABLE 1 - FAA R1c;1-rr-OF-WAY HIERARCHY BY CATECORY

From FAR 91.113: ( 1) A balloon has the right-of-way over any other category of aircraft. (2) A glider (sailplane) has the right-of-way over an airship, airplane, or rotorcraft. C3) An airship has the right-of-way over an airplane or rotorcraft. From FAR 103.13 (4) An ultralight vehicle shall yield right-of-way co all aircrafr. (5) Powered ultralights shall yield right-of-way to unpowered ultralights.

2) When approaching another glider,

establish eye contact with the other pilot. If eye contact cannot be established, assume the other pilot doesn't see you, so make some noise to get his attention. After eye contact is achieved, each pilot should make a definitive turn for collision avoidance. The specific path becomes secondary, however there may be other gliders nearby, so compliance with the standard practices will avoid complications and confusion. 3) The airborne glider has the right-ofway over the glider on the ground. So if you're preparing to launch you should yield to the glider passing by or landing. In the case of an inflated paraglider on the ground, the canopy can block the wind, resulting in a loss of lift and a small amount of rotor turbulence to a glider that is landing downwind of you. Therefore, the

courteous action is to deflate your paraglider when another pilot is landing nearby and downwind ofyou. 4) Avoid flying directly above or below another glider in close proximity (within one wingspan, about 30 feet or 10 meters).

5) Maintain a separation distance of at least one wingspan (about 30 feet or 10 meters) from another glider in smooth air and three wingspans ( 100 feet or 30 meters) in turbulent air.

6) The lower glider has the right-of-way. There are two reasons for this rule. First, the lower glider is closer to the ground and may be landing, which can be critical for a glider. Second, paragliders, as well as hang gliders, have unobstructed visibility down] UL Y

2000

Note: A paraglider or a hang glider is functionally an aircraft, but legally in the U.S., each is categorized as an unpowercd ultralight vehicle and not legally an aircraft, whereas a sailplane is legally an aircraft in the glider category.

RIDGE

Figure 1. Approaching head-on, each glider yields right.

Figure 2. Approaching head-on, glider with ridge to the left yields right.

ward but have obstructed visibility upward.

the conditions (especially the wind speed), and the pilot's ability to turn the glider without inducing a spin.

Special consideration must be exercised if the other glider is a sailplane, because the guideline for sailplanes is the opposite; the higher glider has the right-of way. This is because most sailplanes have low or mid wings and the pilot's downward visibility is obstructed. Also, note that legally a paraglider or a hang glider is categorized in the U.S. by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as an unpowered ultralight vehicle and not as an aircraft, therefore, officially, we must always yield to sailplanes since they are legally categorized as aircraft (see Table 1). There are three recommendations specific to ridge soaring: 1) Make all turns away from the ridge when close to the ridge either laterally or vertically. Close is interpreted relative to

2) When approaching another glider head-on, both gliders yield to their right (see Figure 1). When one glider has the ridge to his or her right, the other glider must do all the yielding since the glider with the ridge to the right cannot move to the right, unless that glider is more than a wingspan above the ridge (see Figure 2). 3) When overtaking another glider, pass between the ridge and the overtaken glider, but before doing so, ensure that the other pilot is aware of your presence by audibly getting their attention (see Figure 3). There is one recommendation specific to thermaling:

< Figure 3. Overtaking glider passes on the inside. 1) When thermaling, the glider that

enters the thermal first establishes the direction of turn (clockwise or counterclockwise) and every glider subsequently entering that thermal should turn in the same direction regardless of relative altitude. LAUNCHING INTO TRAFFIC IN MARGINAL CONDITIONS

Pilots need to recognize that when ridge soaring conditions are marginal because the wind speed is light, or because the wind direction is crossing the ridge at more than 30°, or both, greater consideration for traffic congestion is necessary. Thus, if only a portion of the ridge is soarable and there are already two or three gliders struggling to stay aloft, this is a bad time to launch because it compounds the problem of remaining aloft for all the pilots. Ir would be better to wait until the conditions improve (strengthening or straightening wind) or until one or more of the pilots top-lands or sinks out. Likewise, if you're soaring in marginal conditions and other pilots are waiting to launch, it's courteous to top-land and allow other pilots an opportunity to get some airtime.

Go WITH THE FLOW When you do choose to launch into traffic in marginal conditions, time your launch so you will fit into the traffic pattern smoothly. The best time to arrive is when the closest traffic is moving away from you (moving in the same direction you're going) as depicted in Figure 4 where the arriving glider is on the left.

Figure 4. Timing your arrival to go with the flow. COORDINAflNG WITH HANG GLIDERS AND TANDEM PARAGLIDERS

When you are flying with hang gliders and/or tandem paragliders, recognize that they are moving faster, will turn wider for the same bank angle, cannot work the light, concentrated lift as easily, require greater altitude to make a safe top-landing, and their wake turbulence is greater. Therefore, allow them greater spacing, especially when the lift is light and they're trying to get high enough to top-land. In this case, if you cannot maintain a safe margin of altitude above the faster traffic, the safest and most noble action would be to go top-land so they can get high enough to do the same. Such consideration will be greatly appreciated!

2) UNDERSTANDING WAKE TURBULENCE It's been said that if we could see the turbulence in the air, we would never venture into the air. This lack of visibility of turbulence is one of the challenges we face as pilots. There are four general types of turbulence based on how it is formed: mechanical (rotor), thermal (convection), shear (air mass), and wake (aircraft). Mechanical turbulence is formed when an object such as a hill, trees or a building obstructs wind. The mixing of convective currents (rising and sinking air) forms thermal turbulence. Shear turbulence is formed at the boundary of differing air masses where and when they move with respect to one another. ~ke turbulence is a byproduct of an aircraft producing lift. Wake turbulence, like mechanical turbulence, is more predictable than thermal and shear turbulence because it's relative location and intensity can be easily estimat-

ed. Let's now take a close look at the cause of glider wake turbulence to better understand its form so that it will aid our ability to counter its effects. Two CONTRIBUTORS TO WAKE TURBULENCE

Two independent phenomena contribute to wake turbulence: downwash behind the wing and vortices from the wingtips. DOWNWASH

A simplistic model of downwash deflection is the analogy of an air molecule as a billiard ball. The relative wind (a collection of multiple billiard balls) interacts with the wing as it moves through the atmosphere. In still air (sled-ride conditions), the relative wind intersects the wing at the angle of its glide slope or flight path. As the billiard balls move up toward the glider, they "bank off" the wing as they would off the side of a billiard table, and are deflected down as they move past the wing. This downward deflection of the air molecules is referred to as downwash (see Figure 5). VORTICES

A wing creates differential pressure as it moves through the air forming a low-pressure zone above and a high-pressure zone beneath. The high-pressure air beneath is a source zone, like a pump, pushing outward in all directions and pushing up from below. The low-pressure zone above is a suction zone, like a vacuum, pulling up from above. The air in the source zone naturally flows to join the air in the suction zone to equalize the pressure. The path ofleast resistance for pressure equalization is at the wingtips. Since the air-

P AR AG LID ING

~---------"-------

"-- - - - - - - - - ~

Side View

c=:::::::-:,,_~r"\ Flight Path

Figure 5. Downwash.

Downwash

--------------" Figure 6. Wingtip vortices. by two to three minutes to allow time for the wake turbulence to dissipate.

flow at the wingtip is pushing outboard below the wing, and sucking inboard above the wing, it creates a spiral, or vortex pattern. The wingtip vortices expand outward because a source or a high-pressure zone drives it. The momentum of the air stream causes the wingtip vortices to travel downstream, and when they combine with the downwash, they also descend. To summarize, the wingtip vor-

Safety Tip 2: Maximize your lateral sepa-

ration distance ftom upwind gliders to allow the wake turbulence to decay and thereby minimize its intensity. WAKE INTENSITY

Now that we've reviewed the cause of the wake, we have one other characteristic to examine in learning to be courteous to our fellow fliers -- intensity of the wake.

tices: trail behind, descend, spiral inboard, and expand as they decay (see Figure 6). The combination ofdownwash and wingtip vortices together is collectively referred to as wake turbulence. This wake is

Wake intensity is directly proportional to the induced drag, which is one of the two

not a very inviting place to fly since it is a downward-swirling airflow, similar in effect to a rotor on the downwind side of a mountain, but much more localized. WAKE MOVEMENT I'.\! RIDGE LIFT

There are two other phenomena associated with wake turbulence due to the wind when ridge soaring, downwind drift and

and behind a glider, which accounts for missing it when you sometimes expect to hit it, and sometimes getting waked by surprise after you think you've passed it.

ridge lift rise. Like the smoke rising from a smokestack, wake turbulence drifts downwind. As an example, if you're flying 90° ro a strong wind (> 15 mi./hr or > 6.7 mis) on a ridge, slightly below another glider and at a distance of 5 0 feet (15 m) or more behind, you'll likely miss the wake because it drifts downwind before you reach it. Just as a glider and the birds rise in the ridge lift, so does the wake, therefore, if you're at the same altitude as another glider, but slightly downwind, you may be waked continuously by the wake rising up in the ridge lift. These two phenomena together move the wake from its usual position below JULY

2000

Top V"w

Safety Tip 1: The two best ways to avoid another glider's wake is to be upwind or, if downwind, to be well above the other glider.

How LONG Dm.s THE WAI<E LAST? The period of decay (dissipation of the air turbulence) depends primarily on the intensity of the wake, and secondarily on air mixing from wind and thermals which hastens the breakup of wake turbulence. The wake intensity is dependent on the pressure differential and the wing loading. For example, a tandem glider carrying two people creates a stronger wake than a solo glider. In the extreme case of large airplanes taking off or landing, FAA Air Traffic Control (ATC) separates aircraft

major types of aerodynamic drag. The other type of aerodynamic drag is parasitic drag. Induced drag is the byproduct of producing lift. Parasitic drag is the byproduct of movement of an object through the air. Total drag is the sum of induced drag plus parasitic drag. There are five factors that influence the magnitude of the induced drag, three of which are at the discretion of the pilot. 1)

2) 3) 4) 5)

The aspect ratio of the glider. The amount oflift being generated. The airspeed of the glider. The angle of attack of the glider. The planform of the wing (the projected shape of the wing, the shape when viewed from directly above or below).

THE ASPECT RATIO

The aspect ratio (AR) is a measure of the slenderness of the wings. A sailplane has the highest aspect ratio (13), a hang glider has a lower value (8), and a paraglider lower yet (5), and a round parachute the lowest (1). As the aspect ratio is increased

TABLE 2 - ASPECT RATIO

b is wingspan

Equation 1

5 is wing area

Equation 1 shows that aspect ratio increases at the rate of the square of the wingspan (a second power relationship, the exponent = 2) , so if th e wing area were held constant while the wingspan is doubled, aspect ratio would be quadrupled (2 2 =4). Thus,

increased aspect ratio is specifically achieved by increasing the wingspan with respect to the wing area (i.e., making the wings more long and slender).

TABLE 3 - DYNAMIC PRESSURE, LIFT, AND THE COEFFICIENT OF LIFT

pv q = - --

Equation 2

q is the dynamic pressure (fo rce per area)

p (Greek letter "rho") is air density V is velocity (airspeed)

Equation 3

L = qSCL = 2

L is the lift force S is wing area CL is the coefficient of lift (A coefficient is a dimensionless number [no units] used as a multiplier that represents one or more characteristics for engineering computations.)

2W CL = -

- - -

Equation 4

pv2s W is rhe payload weight, which must equal the lift for srraight-and-level flight No re che inverse second power relationship of velocity ro CL. To go slower while lifring a constant weight and maintaining constant altitude with the same size wing requires a much large r lift coefficient.

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THE AMOUNT OF LI FT AND THE AIRSPEED OF THE GLIDER

-------~

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the induced drag is reduced. This is known as an inverse relationship. (See Table 2 and Equation l .)

Lift is the force that a wing generates to suspend weight in the air. The amount of lift generated varies in flight. When the lift exceeds the payload weight, we climb. In straight-and-level flight the lift equals

the weight. Lift is also dependent on the wing area. When we do big ears, we reduce the wing area and can descend more quickly. Lift is also dependent on the dynamic pressure, a name for the combination of air density and the glider velocity (airspeed). When we fly at some speed down near sea level, the air is thick and the glider moves relatively slowly through the air. When we fly at the same brake position at higher altitudes, the

PARAGLIDING

glider moves more quickly through rhe chinner air ro increase rhe life to make up for the reduced air density. The relationship of airspeed to lift is not a direct, onero-one correspondence (that would be termed a first power relationship, exponent = I) , but rather the lift changes at a much

greater rate of change with respect ro rhe airspeed (a second power relationship, exponent= 2). So a small change in airspeed results in a large change in life. Stared differently, to fly more slowly while maintaining a constant altitude requires a large (second power) increase in lift. (See

Table 3, Equations 2, 3 and 4.) THE ANGLE OF ATTACK

The increased lift to fly more slowly comes from increasing rhe angle ofattack. The angle of attack can be thought of as the size of the bite of air chat the wing is taking.

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Table 4 - The Coefficient of Induced Drag

C/ Cu, = - - - - - --

ond power effect on the induced drag coefficient. So when the airspeed is reduced, it compounds the increase ofthe induced drag coefficient from a second power increase to a fourth power increase (exponent = 4)! Stated differently, jlyingfoster greatly reduces the induced drag!

Equation 5

A Rne Where C 01 is the coefficient of induced drag of a wing

WAKE MANAGEMENT

C, is the coefficient of lift of a wing

AR is aspect ratio

n (Greek letter "pi") is the mathematical constant approximated as 3 .14, which is the ratio of circle circumference to circle diameter

e is wingspan efficiency factor (greater than zero with a maximum value of 1.0) In equation 5 we can recognize that when the factors AR ore (the variables in the denominator or bottom portion of the equation) are made larger in the design of a glider, Cn, is reduced by the same amount (an inverse first power relationship). In contrast, if the numerator C, (in the top portion of the equation) changes, the effect on Cn; is greater because of the second power relationship.

CL= maximum

=stall

------·---------·---------·--- ----

Figure 7. Relationship oflift coefficient to angle ofattack. The bigger the bite, the greater the lift (up until the stalling angle is reached). In Figure 7, the graph shows the direct oneto-one correspondence (the straight line, a first power relationship) of the lift coefficient with the change of angle ofattack (represented by the Greek letter alpha).

planform approximating an ellipse and as a result they produce less induced drag than an equivalent-size rectangular planform wing would. This factor is accounted for by an aerodynamic term known as the wingspan efficiency factor represented by the letter e in Equation 5 (see Table 4).

THE WING PLANFORM EFFECT

Aerodynamic theory indicates that the most efficient distribution of wing lift along the wingspan is an ellipse (an oval). That's the reason why paragliders have a

.........................

the induced drag. In Equation 5 (Table 4) you can see that the lift coefficient has a sec-

INDUCED DRAG COEFFlCIENT

The induced drag coefficient is the number that collectively represents the five factors influencing the magnitude of

Now that you have seen the relationship of the various factors influencing the induced drag, and particularly the significance of an increase in airspeed on the magnitude of the induced drag, the conclusion may be obvious. TO MINIMIZE YOUR WAKE TURBULENCE, INCREASE YOUR AIRSPEED BY LETTING OFF ON THE BRAKES. CONFRONTING WAKE TURBULENCE CO"lf'RONTING YOUR FEAR

The apprehension of a canopy collapse is often worse than the collapse itself To progress in paragliding you must confront and overcome your fear of collapses. The best method for accomplishing this is to attend a Pilot Safety Clinic (also known as an Advanced Maneuvers Clinic or as an SIV course in Europe). After you earn an Intermediate-level pilot rating (P3) you would be doing yourself a disservice to miss this learning opportunity. It has been said that successfully completing a Pilot Safety Clinic is the most educational and confidence-building experience a paraglider pilot can have. Since this training would be premature for most less-experienced pilots, as a first step to help my Novice-level (P2) students overcome their fear of collapses I demonstrate asymmetric and frontal collapses on their canopy and provide no pilot input during recovery while they watch. This provides them with at least a minimal level of confidence in their glider. ACTIVE FLYING IS ESSENTIAL

To resist turbulence-induced collapses, a paraglider pilot must apply the two fundamental principles ofactive flying. These are: • Keep the canopy directly overhead. • Keep the angle of attack high.

Both ofthese objectives are achieved by applying the brakes to fly slowly. By flying slowly PARAGLIDING

you also dampen out the canopy movement which keeps all the lines adequately tensioned.

' <

Safety Tip 3: Ifyou're changing direction or airspeed while you're attempting to resist a turbulence-induced collapse, you're violating the first principle ofactive flying because the canopy is not directly overhead.

/ i n d Direction Crossing 45' to Ridge

RESISTING COLLAPSES DUE TO WAKE TURBULENCE

)

If some pilots can effectively prevent a collapse due to wake turbulence, why do other pilots continue to experience collapses due to wake turbulence? There are only two factors that could account for it: the timing and the extent of brake application. THE TIMING OF APPLYING THE BRAKES

If you wait to apply the brakes until the upwind glider has passed you, you'll usually be late, thereby leaving yourself vulnerable to collapse by not properly preparing to resist the collapse. Clearly, it's better to be a little early than a little late, so before you pass downwind ofanoth-

er glider:

duces the minimum sink rate is a safe place to start. This is because it occurs at an airspeed and at a brake position with a safe margin above stall. ENCOUNTERING WAKE TURBULENCE

• Get off the accelerator. • If your risers are fitted with trimmers set them at neutral or at fall slow, and • Apply the brakes. ACCOUNTING FOR CROSSING DOWNWIND DRIFT

You must also account for crossing downwind drift. Say, for example, the wind is crossing at 45° to the cliff and you're on the upwind leg, you have to be prepared before you reach a position 45° in advance of passing the glider on the downwind leg (see Figure 8). THE EXTENT OF APPLYING THE BRAKES

I like the rule of thumb of veteran instructor Ken Baier. When the canopy starts oscillating in pitch or roll, he tells his fledgling students, "With your hands in the toggles, put your thumbs in your ears." While this light brake application may be adequate for damping our oscillations as a Beginner-level pilot, I believe more brake is better for resisting collapses for more experienced pilots.

How SLOW To Go The brake position for the airspeed that pro] UL Y

Figure 8. Downwind drift.

2000

To prevent a collapse due to wake turbulence, slow down to the airspeed for minimum sink. When your airspeed is steady,

and if there are no traffic hazards or obstructions, watch your leading edge. As you watch and feel the wake pass the leading edge ofyour wing, immediately release the brakes fully. If the canopy surges, the wake has passed and you success.folly prevented the collapse. Simply dampen the dive and continue flying. If the canopy collapses, steer and clear as necessary and next time you're encountering a wake, fly a little slower. If the canopy doesn't surge after you release the brakes, you've entered deep stall, so quickly and fully release the brakes. If necessary, push forward on the A-risers or quickly apply full accelerator to make the canopy surge and begin flying again. The probability ofentering deep

stall using only the brakes is extremely low. Safety Tip 4: Ifyou have a large asymmetric collapse(> or= to 50%), your steering should be first and foremost by weight shift. You will stall the wing with less brake when flying with a partial wing. SUMMARY

When you're passing another glider who's close-

ly downwind ofyou, speed up to trim speed (hands offthe brakes without application of the accelerator) to minimize your wake. When you're closely passing downwind of another glider, slow down to the airspeed for minimum sink rate to prevent the collapse. Safety Tip 5: To anticipate the severity of the wake turbulence from another glider, watch the trailing edge ofthe other glider and note how much brake the pilot is holding (by the amount ofcanopy curvature or camber along the trailing edge). The greater the camber, the worse the wake. IN CLOSING So next time you're ridge soaring in light conditions with another pilot, and you're both trying to avoid sinking out so you can top-land, be kind to your aerial companion and speed up briefly as you pass closely upwind. You'll avoid waking your neighbor and allow him or her to prolong their dream state.

About the author: Alan Chuculate is a USHGA Tandem and Advanced Instructor for both paragliding and hang gliding. His original career path was aeronautical engineering. He is an EAA Ultralight Flight Instructor for powered paragliding (PPG) and has recently returned from conducting PPG training in China. For questions and comments on this article you are invited to contact him directly at g_achucu@qual comm.com or (858) 292-1552. •

Paragliding Physics

There has been much discussion about the dangers associated with flying faster, higher-performance paragliders. It seems to many of us that perhaps manufacturers have pushed it too far in the quest far increased performance. During top-level competitions, with experienced pilots, there has been an abnormally high number of reserve deployments on DHV 3 wings. More recently, there has been a growing trend for pilots to move to DHV 2 or 1-2 wings. Many pilots have felt that the demands ofcontrolling a performance intermediate or advanced wing far exceed the performance gains they experience.

everal pilots have recently traded in their older, higher-performance gliders for newer DHV 1-2 or 2 wings and discovered little loss of performance, and found it significantly easier to keep their wings overhead and inflated. Many of the newer DHV 1-2 wings have performance levels higher than the competition wings from the not-too-distant past. Because of their unique performance improvements they need ro be flown differently and require the pilot to anticipate the movements of the glider. One thing I have noticed since taking up the sport of paragliding is that there is a definite lack of understanding of some fundamental theory of flight on the part of many pilots. Quite a few pilots, it seems, take a lot of infonnaLio11 for granted, without even investigating the source - a potentially serious oversight given the risks involved. Others use techniques that were appropriate for some of the older gliders, yet are inappropriate for some current production gliders. There is nothing complicated about the physics of flight, and it is my hope

.........................

through a series of articles to enhance your knowledge, and hence improve your decision-making process, and give you the knowledge that will make you a better and safer pilot. If you have been flying an older wing and are considering a newer glider, or if you have recently stepped up to a higher-performance wing, this series of articles will definitely help you achieve the true potential of your aircraft. In order to evaluate the performance

of any glider we need to have a solid understanding of the factors that affect lift and drag, the aspect ratio, and polar curve of the wing. In order to clarify how these items affect our performance we need to review a few basic terms. Lift is that wonderful thing that keeps us airborne. For the purposes of this discussion will consider lift to be the aerodynamic component that supports our weight in flight. In a later article we will discuss how we can manipulate the controls of our aircraft to exploit the wing to our maximum advantage, but for now we need to review a few simple facts. If you look at most airfoils in general use today, you will observe that they have a basically flat bottom and a curved upper surface. From your first flight you were told that the wing generated lift because the air flowing over your wing separated as it hit the leading edge, with some air passing over the top and the remainder passing under the bottom and then rejoining at the trailing edge of the wing. Since the air had a greater distance to travel on top of your wing, the pressure was reduced on top of the wing as a result. Others were informed that the pressure reduction was caused because the air was forced to speed up as it was constricted between the curve in the wing and the free air stream a bit above the wing that was undisturbed. However, you choose to believe it occurs, the simple fact is that the action of air moving past the wing, or the wing moving through the air, creates a pressure difference between the upper and lower surfaces of your wing. This difference in pressure causes the wing to be

DRAG 0 Figure 1. Drag curves. PARAGLIDING

Airflow on TOP ofwing is deflected toward the center ofthe wing.

The spanwise moving air forms into spiraling columns ofair which merge together to ftom wingtip vortices, essentially two small horizontally rotating tornadoes! Figure 2. Spanwise movement ofaii: sucked upward and is defined as lift. Some of you may have been told that the wing deflected the air downward, much in the way a water skier stays on top of a lake, and this is how lift was produced. Essentially both statements are correct, and both the lift created by the reduction of pressure and the deflection of air downward combine to keep us aloft. At low speeds and high angles of attack the deflection of air downward does most of the work, whereas at higher speeds and reduced angles of attack the pressure differential is sucking our wing up to keep us aloft. Want proof? Conduct a simple experiment. Take a stiff piece of paper and lay it horizontally on top of a glass. Place a book above the paper close to, bur not touching the paper. Rapidly lift the book. What happens? The paper should rise to follow the book. Why? Lifting the book reduced the pressure above the paper, and the paper was lifted up into that lower pressure just like you are lifted up in flight. Now go over to the kitchen sink with a spoon. Open the faucet so you have a steady stream of water flowing into the sink. Hold the spoon by the handle and bring the curved side slowly toward the JULY

2000

water stream. What happens as it contacts the water? You might expect the water to push it away, and may have been surprised to see the spoon sucked into the water column. The water pressure where it passed over the curved edge of the spoon was reduced because of the curvature of the spoon, causing the spoon to be attracted to the water column. Imagine the same thing happening to the curved upper surface of your wing and you have a pretty convincing demonstration of lift. Lift is good and drag is bad, but we need them both to fly. By learning how to manipulate the total drag on our airfoils we can greatly improve our in-flight performance. There are two basic types of drag that act on a paraglider in flight. Parasitic, or form drag, is the drag that results from moving the basic shape of the wing, lines and pilot through the air. It is easy to demonstrate form drag. Drive down the road in your car with the window open, and hold your hand out the window vertically. If you are traveling slowly it will be very easy to hold your hand in place. As you increase speed you will find it increasingly difficult to keep your arm from being blown back as the drag increases. Turning your hand so it lies parallel to your direction of travel should significantly reduce the drag, making it easier to hold your arm in place. (Note: It should be obvious, but do not try this in a fast-moving vehicle. A good friend and fellow pilot tried this in flight by opening the storm window of a Piper Arrow while I was flying at around 160 mph. He succeeded in breaking three fingers when the air loads smashed his hand against the rear of the opening!) Looking at the graph in Figure 1, you can see that there is no drag at zero airspeed, and the drag increases exponentially as the airspeed increases. Theoretically, drag increases as the square of the speed, which means if you go twice as fast the drag increases four times. With conventional aircraft this drag force is dramatically higher than that of a paraglider due to the higher speeds achieved. That is why they go to great lengths to retract the gear, and generally make the aircraft as smooth as possible. Due to the lower speeds at which a paraglider flies, the benefits of streamlining are not as effective, but reducing the drag of moving the profile of the wing and pilot through the air definitely has a positive effect. You see this

manifested in competitions by pilots wearing smooth, tight-fitting flight suits, assuming a reclining posture, and using microlines to attach the pilot to the wing. Induced drag is a little harder to quantify, but it is essentially created as a byproduct of generating lift. We all know that there is a higher pressure located under the wing, and a lower pressure area on top. We were taught that this differential pressure, along with the downward deflection of the airflow, generates lift that enables us to sustain flight. We have generally not been concerned with how these pressure differences affect the spanwise movement of air, but this movement is extremely important, as any mixing increases the induced drag produced by the airfoil, and even destroys the lift around the wing tips. If we sum up the pressures surrounding the wing, we find that the pressure is highest in the center of the underside of the wing and lowest at the center of the top of the wing. As the air flows over the wing it is deflected away from the higher pressure underneath the wing, and toward the lower pressure on top of the wing. This causes the airflow over the wing to be deflected in a spanwise direction outward, away from the higher pressure on the bottom of the wing and inward toward the lower pressure on top. As the air leaves the trailing edge of the wing it has a rotation imparted to it because of the spanwise shift in the direction of the air. This rotating mass of air grows together to form two distinct trailing vortices that trail behind the wing, moving counterclockwise on the right and clockwise on the left, as viewed from behind the wing. This twirling mass of air is what causes the drag associated with the lift generated. It tries to suck the wing backward to fill in the voids created, much like someone hanging on to the bumper of your car as you leave a stoplight. This effect is illustrated in Figure 2. These spiraling columns of air are really mini-tornadoes moving in a horizontal direction, and should be treated as such. For reasons we will delve into a little later, heavily loaded wings moving at high angles of attack can generate enormous turbulence. If you want to see a graphic display, go to any large airport when it's raining lightly or foggy, and you can actually see the vortices trailing off

Continued on page 49.

I had been given another chance at it the previous Friday. Landing after four hours and 80 miles, I had been somewhat happy with a great flight but truly disappointed. Minutes prior, my 100-mile landmark had been in plain sight and I was confident I would easily make it, cruising at 7, 000 feet under a nice cloud street. I only had to go around the Lloydminster control zone, just like three years ago

(AIR, August 1997), except that I was unable to work the marginal lift I found when pushing north instead ofparking myself until definite li-ft anveared. r~ J

clear of rhe slor I hir rwo nice rhermals in a row, bur co uld nor release rhe towline because of farm equipment at work underneath. I waited and released in sink, never able ro get away. We tried again, and I was finally able ro release in a weak rhermal which barely gor me up ro 2,000 feer. I spent the next 45 minutes scratching ro sray up, with an eye on landing zones, never getting above 2 ,000 feet. Upon seeing a few hawks circling in a nearby thermal I made a run for it and was rewarded wirh sready lifr ro 4 ,000 feer , not ro menrion rhe graceful presence of my feathered friends wirhi n feer of my glider. SriII circling, I did my usual act of switchin g

Right Place

PARAGl H

indsighr is always 20/20, and ofren you need ro have made misrakes in order ro progress. Last rime it was leaving an identical cloud street chat would have carried me a lor farrher than 100 miles. This rime it was gerting cold because of improper clorhing, gecring dehydrared for allowing my warer ro freeze, gerring greedy, and raking a stupid chance - beginner's mistakes on all accounts, bur superb lessons for whar was ro come. Five days larer my wife Laurence and I woke up ro rhree inches of snow on rhe firsr morning of a flying holiday prior ro rhe Camrose row meer. Whi le ir certainly looked like a bad omen ar rhe time, once again iris now easy ro see how rhe followin g day was going to be unsrable. On

Thursday we found ourselves rowing our ofTofield, near Edmonton , Alberra, under an overcasr sky. Afrer Laurence wenr for a few sleds the sky cleared up and small cumuli appeared ar abour 3,000 feer. Expecring a marginal day, I did nor even ear lunch and wished for a 50-km flight at besr as I ser up along rhe main tow road . Gusty winds picked up from the wesr, forcing us ro relocate along rhe secondary row road afrer one aborted rakeoff in a crosswind. In order ro maximize the limired available rowing distance I rook my first row from a road surrounded by barbed-wire fences in the middle of a swamp, with power lines immediarely downwind and a rree slor ro clear ahead. Kids, please don't uy rhis ar home! Once

from gloves ro mirrs and rook a few sips ro prevent my warer from freezing . From rhere I was able ro glide ro a prom ising cloud over rhe rown of Ryley, bur again only weak life was robe found. Staying in survival mode I parked myself in lighr lift, never climbing above 6,000 feer MSL and drifting easrwa rd ever so slowl y. As cloud base ascended with dayrime hearing I still srruggled ro sray high, only gliding our ro find new lift whe n absolmely required ro. Nearing Viking afrer rwo hours I found myself scrarching ar 2,000 feet AGL once more , having reached my iniri al goal of 50 km for rhe day. Preparing for a landing as I arrived ar Thomas Lake, I hooked a nice, solid rhermal on its shore. Ir boosred me back up at 1,000 fpm to cloud base, with flying con..-

I PARAGLIDING ____j

dirions shaping up nicely by rhen. I kicked our of survival mode and engaged "second speed" by flying m ore aggressively, gliding to nearby clouds whenever th e glide see med okay. W hile clo ud streets were definitely fo rming all around m e, a blue hole ah ead was holding me back. Laurence starred feeding me timely tactical information while driving, pointing our circling birds and thermals, making reco mmendations o n clo ud selection , and reminding me to push north to stay clear of rhe military ranges in Wainwright. Bein g military myself would not save m y burr from arrillery fire! D espite making more headway as conditions got stronger, I was still maximizing altitude and h esi-

going downwind withour a single rum, brakes up and speed bar slighdy our. I'll have to ask APC O for rhe optional autopilot on m y next paraglider! Laurence was havin g a hard rime keeping up, driving ar high speeds on gravel roads, forced to go either so uth or east while I proceeded directly so utheasterl y. I had to sco ur our fo r her on numerous occasions, advising her on roads to rake to find bridges or to go around lakes. T his was definitel y getting fun! Laurence p oinred our that crossing inro Saskatchewan wo uld likely mean rhar I had broken my p revious reco rd, bur I did no r need any pro mpting to stay focused this day. Despite rhe slow start I was now

unwittingly straightening my legs and pushing the speed bar full our. This srnpid reflex caused a full frontal collapse, with rhe top surface of my glider curling up in from of me for a moment . I fell between my canopy lines and madly pumped our rhe deflation , thankful rhar no one co uld h ear my curses. Funny how the good advice I got from my friend Charles Warren four years prior suddenly came to mind: either stay off the bar or use only one leg in curbulence. Anyway, rhe Supra 28 did its thing, the canopy whacking once or twice, then I was flying again. I lost minimal alriwde bur it did give me the incentive to slow back down into survival mode. .................................................. ......................................... :

Right Time: A New Unofficial

by Guy Leblanc

ID ING X-C RECORD rant to pass up any li ft. Afrer to pping o ur at 9,000 fee t MSL under my dead-end cloud street I fi nally we nt fo r it and glided across to the next clo ud street north of my position, getting some distance fro m restricted airspace ar the same rime. Flying at full speed and sinking at over 1,000 fpm, I streamlined as much as possible, raking advam age of the smooth air to tu ck in and warm up a lirde. l go t somewhat low, bur was able to fi nd something solid to ger back up under a nice lin e based at lOK with tops near 13K - perfect! Back to 9,000 feet and nothing sto pping me I engaged ''third speed ," barely slowing down in lift and speeding our of sink. Ar one point I managed ro m aintain 8,000 fee t fo r almost 30 minutes, J U LY

2000

on a roll - well d ressed, well hyd rated, and in good shape ro sray up. Lessons learned! Sho rtly after 5:00 PM I crossed rhe provincial bo rder wi th cheering from my chase crew (Lauren ce yahoo ing and our dog barki ng). Larger gaps were now appeari ng in my clo ud street. I was determ ined to be fo rced to the ground this rime, never giving up until rhe daylight ra n our. I therefo re slowed back down to "seco nd speed, " maximizing height befo re jumping to the next clo ud ahead. As the thermals grew weaker I starred using more speed bar to cross under rhe larger clouds. Pardy as a res ult of being tired and parrly from being surp rised by a stro nger core, I reacted to going ove r the fal ls by

··········································· ···················· ·······; By 6: 00 PM I was facing the prospect of crossing Manitou Lake, a fairly large body of water directl y in my path. Sco uring fo r Laurence, it became apparent that she wo uld have to make a 45-km derour around its north ern edge, as no roads were apparent to rhe south. G etting low again I wo rked any lift I could find, ho ping ro get high enough to attempt the crossing. As I got to the lakeshore I found some nice 500 fp m up, and gave Laurence the green light to meet me on the ocher side. I stuck with rhe thermal fo r as long as I could, then glided across the water safel y. By then only a few scattered clouds remained in the sky, however, light lift was still availabl e on the lee side of the lake. I parked myself in zero sink ar 3,000

············4"f

feet AGL until Laurence showed up. She was more than surprised co find me sci!! tightly working thermals so late in the day and after such a long Bight. Despite having spent over seven hours cowing and driving, she again cheered me on! Talk about motivational support. Slowly losing alcirude, I told her I was going on final glide co maximize the distance flown. She suggested I might want co hang on for an extra 13 minutes co gee co six hours of airtime. Taking the rne, I stuck with lifr until it petered om, then glided our downwind, working smaller scuff once or rwice. She gave me a countdown co six hours, which I met by mere seco nd s! I did my usual airborne "running" on final co get the blood flowing in my legs, then pulled off a half-decent, nowind landing by 7: 15 PM in a ditch beside a power line. As we were congratulating each ocher in che middle of nowhere the local farmer quickly arrived, looked up and asked where my plane was. After telling him the

shore version he kindly invited us for dinner, but we declined . We quickly checked the distance, estimating it at roughly 140 miles, which was larer verified co be slightly over 230 km or 143 miles. The long drive back co our campsite somewhat interfered with our celebrating, but there was definitely no complaining going on! I'd like co conclude with a few remarks. First, never give up. I was convinced chat I would sink out during the first hour, then truly thought that I had wasted my time covering only 50 km in rwo hours. Second, while this was undoubtedly a great flight, I had Bown 143 miles on a 200-mile day. It's only a matter of time before a longer flight is made by someone with better skills, a better paraglider, or better flying conditions. Third, it should be painfully obvious that so me of the best flying in this country can be found in the flatlands. Cloud bases around 10,000 feet, obvious weather patterns, huge LZ's everywhere, and uncongested airspace all create rhe perfect mix

for long-distance flying in rhe spring. Fourrh, pilors all across Canada should nor hesitate ro share these incredible conditions with us. Please get in touch. Finally, I could not have had such a awesome fliglu without the help and guidance of several people. In addition co acknowledging the excellent advice I received from various pilots in Edmonton, Wetaskiwin and Calgary, I would like to express special thanks to the following individuals: Robert Gagne, for introducing me to this outstanding form of flying after years of inept hang gliding on my part; the Mullers and staff, for providing top-quality training and mentorship; Roger Nelson, for sharing with me so me of his X-C flying tactics; and Ross Hunter, for telling me abom endurance flying. Above all, I must thank Laurence for her tireless dedication and support, towing, chasing, cheering me on, and always looking out for me. I got my dream flight ; hopefully you'll get yours soon! •

PARAGLIDING

hat's what I used to think. Sure, l knew it was possible, but I had become more careful than I had been l O years ago, and I was certain l would never have a tandem accidenc because I am so much more careful when flying tandem than I am when solo flying. Plus, I had the best official safety record in the U.S. and I intended on keeping it. I was proud of this award because it gave us, the flying community, another area in which to have a friendly competition, an area that emphasized safety rather than danger and risk-taking, an area that extended our limits for safety consciousness. My record felt like a significant accomplishment. It has been very humbling for me to discover my vulnerability, and to see my high expectations about my goals, myself, brought back down to earth. The powers of nature deserve deep respect and consideration. On April 8, 2000, at about 3:30 PM, I set up to launch with my Tandem P2-rated passenger, Tom Vayda, to offer some thermaling instruction at Inspiration Point in Provo, Utah. We had been on launch with 1 5 other pilots for about 50 minutes, feeling the cycles that had been moderate and unusually straight in. We had just watched one Intermediate and one Advanced pilot try to find thermal activity big enough to work, only to sink out with very little success. l cautioned some newer pilots from out of state, "If you do fly, go straight away from the hill and only turn in lift if you have a lot of ground clearance." Too bad I wasn't listening to myself: I had decided quite a few years ago to stop the dangerous practice of turning in thermal lift right off launch, mostly for safety reasons, but also because it is more challenging and satisfying to find and use lift away from the hill. To this day I still don't know what possessed me to turn in lift so close to the hill. It has been years since l have done this kind of thing at Inspo. I pulled the glider up into a cycle that was strong enough to Ii ft us straight up. These are the conditions we like at lnspo. It was later reported to me that l O or so seconds after we launched, the cycle switched its direction to over 90 degrees cross and became significantly stronger than the other cycles had been. This is about all I remember about the flight and accident except for flashes of memory here and there, so most of the rest of this account I have had to piece together from eyewitness reports that I have gathered. Ir is amazing how many different

JULY

2000

eve

ave e

by Ken Hudonjorgensen views there are of the same event. I have mostly relied on Tom's view because he was there with me and was not injured other than suffering a sore neck. I flew straight out and was I 00 to 150 feet over and 150 to 200 feet out in front of launch. Then I decided to execute a 360 in the lift. This was the mistake I made. I had not yet achieved enough distance vertically or horizontally from Mother Earth, who was apparently not ready to let go of us. Her pull is stronger when we are closer. I know this because astronauts float in space without a wing. The acceleration as we faced the hill was quite noticeable, and I increased the speed of the turn but the glider was slow to come around because of a fast downwind leg. When we got behind launch, we started sinking as we got squared up and faced away from the hill. At this point I remember, and it is confirmed by observers, that the glider wanted to spin first in one direction and then the other before stalling. I was able to stop both spins and then the glider stalled about 30 to 50 feet from the ground. There were no deflations but the glider pitched way back into a full stall position and then started pitching forward as we hit the pavement. My hands were not in a position to stall the glider (according to my personal memory and observations of others). I have since spoken with t\NO other pilot friends who have been in dust-devil conditions close to the ground and report that the same things have happened to chem - spin, spin, stall. The consensus is that I got into a strong thermal core or a small dust devil that stalled the wing. We impacted on the asphalt road behind launch about two feet from a trailer with some ATV's on it. We are lucky to be alive. I was unconscious for a few minutes, and sustained a bruised heel, three non-displaced fractures in my foot and a broken elbow that required surgery with some temporary internal hardware. There is emotional injury also, and an emotional healing process. So far mine goes something like this: Nothing (unconscious-

ncss), gratitude (for Tom's wellbeing), shame (for having had a tandem accident), gratitude (for being alive), embarrassment (for having an accident), fear (is the risk too great?), disappointment (in myself), gratitude (for all the great help from many friends), acceptance (there is risk in just being alive in a body), humility (what goes up must come down), gratitude (for my wife, Janet), gratitude (for all the good wishes from a huge number of people), gratitude (for my physical and emotional healing), acceptance (of the accident), forgiveness (for my creation of it), gratitude (for the medical people's expertise,) and peace (such is life, just another experience). I'm certain that there will be more. What did I learn? I hope that I have learned, solidly this rime, to stick to my own safety advice and not to start thinking that I can get away with something. Safety considerations apply to everyone, even the person with the best official safety record in the U.S. I support many or all of you in taking this opportunity to extend the safety record, which has now stopped at 8,270 flights. Interestingly, I had just set a new goal for myself of reaching 10,000 safe consecutive flights. Ir's going to take me a lot longer to get there now than I had originally planned since I presently have not yet achieved one safe consecutive flight. It would be great if we would improve our practices as a result of each and every accident. What should we learn from this accident? Don't thermal close to the ground. Anticipate less penetration in gusty conclitions and don't get trapped behind takeoff I had on a very good $350 helmet, which cracked in two places and saved my life. 'fom landed on top of me and I feel immensely grateful that he was not injured. He made a comment a few days after the accident that I found inspirational. He said, "Ken, I want to be the first person to fly with you when you are ready co do tandems again." This comment touched my heart very deeply. Since the accident I have had the thought a few times that I could be dead right now. \Vhat an interesting thought! Ill

Calendar of events items WILL 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 event. We request two months lead time for regional and national meets.

COMPETITION UNTIL DEC. 31: The Michael Champlin World X-C Challenge. No entry fees or pre-registration requirements. Open to paragliders, hang gliders, rigid wings and sailplanes. For more details visit the contest's Web site at http://www.hanggliding.org or contact: John Scott (310) Lf476234, fax (.')10) 447-62.17, brettonwoods@email.msn.com. AUG. 12-19: First World Paragliding Accuracy Competition. Full details available from the BHPA at: http://www.bhpa.co. uk/bhpa/about/ co ntacr. html. AUG. 19-27: Baff Varios!U!tra-JreeX Paragliding Open. USHGA-sanctioned meet at Lookout Mountain, Colorado (near Denver). Pilot meeting night of the 19th, first competition day the 20th. 27th reserved as rain day. Low entry fee of $95. Foot-launch flying from Lookout has taken place since hang gliding began. Contact: Mark Ferguson, mark@ballvarios.com, (30.1) 439-8542. AUG. 26-30: 2000 French Open National junior Championship, at la Vallee de la Blanche (Dormillouse/St. Vincent les Forts) and la Vallee de l'Ubaye (Barcelonnette). Organized by Lame in Air and Les Ailes de la Blanche clubs. 21 years old and under only. Contact: http://www.citeweb.net/lpvl/ parasol j r/ ang la is/ anglmen u. html, parasol.jr.2000@mailclub.net.

SEPT. 9-16: Snowbird X-C Competition. Open-distance event and new state record attempt. No turnpoints, no race. CPS required. Contact: Ken Hudonjorgensen, 'lwo-can Fly Paragliding, 474 E. Tonya Dr., Sandy, UT 84070, (801) 572-5414, khudon j0)uswest.net. SEPT. 23-24: l"{Y and Bike Festival, Chelan, WA. Spot-landing contest at Chelan Falls Park, scored on accuracy and landing form. Three best landings count. Contact: Marilyn Raines (509) 682-2251. for accommodations call Chelan Chamber 800-4CHELAN.

FUN FLYING JULY 15: Gorge Games Fly-In. Spot-landing, duration, altitude gain and combined events make for a full day of fun flying followed by a salmon feed award celebration. Lots of prizes. Pilots' meeting at 9:00 AM. Registration and site information updated daily on the message line. Fly-in registration is $55 (includes T-shirt, LZ salmon feed and launch shuttles). Preregistration information available at Gorge Air (509) 493-2070, or e-mail Jay Carroll at Jamon@i)Corge.net, T White at 1inkwhi tctdesign@mindspring.com. Gorge information page: v.ww.J foto.com \GorgeCamesFlyln.h tm. JULY 28-AUG. 5: 23 Annual Fete de Vol Libre, Mont St. Pierre, Quebec, Canada. Hang gliding and paragliding festival. Three launch areas. Entry $35. Gentle ridge lift to rock 'n' roll convergence with gains to 6,000'. X-C flights common, phenomenal scenery. Contact: Concept Air (418) 54 5-8368. SEPT. 2-4: 10th Annual Pine Mountain Paragliding F!y--ln, Pinc Mountain, Oregon. Contact: Raven Young (541) 317-8500.

SEPT. 4-8: 2000 Mrwna Kea Fly-In, Hawaii. Weather is more favorable in September, airfares lower and accommodations and car rentals more easily available. Fun fly-in designed for intermediate to advanced pilots. Entry fee of $250 includes airport pickup, five days of 4wd transportation, retrieval, guide and stateof-the-art weather information. HG and PG pilots invited. Contact: Achim Hagemann, (808) 968-6856, tofly@excite.com. OCT. 28-29: Womens Halloween Costume Fly-In, Chelan, WA. Prizes for best costume, best food, best flying contraption and more. Contact: Marilyn Raines (509) 682-2251. For accommodations call Chelan Chamber 800-4C:HELAN.

CLINICS/MEETINGS/TOURS OWENS VALLEY 2000: Fly with a World C'h{lmpion, 10-time National Champion and X-C world record holder Kari Castle as your guide in the Owens. Private oneon-one or group instruction available. further your flying education. Contact: Kari Castle (760) 872-2087, karicastle@telis.org, www.northwestout doors.com/fly/ FEB. 1-28, 2001: Brazil Paragliding Tour 2001. Warm X-C flying in the middle of winter! Experienced U.S. instructors guide you to one of the premier flying sites in Brazil. Governador Valadares, north of Rio, is a popular site for worldclass competitions. Mild thermal conditions, light winds and gentle terrain allow magnificent flying from morning until dusk. Fly X-C or locally; the best midwinter flying anywhere. Hospitable city, pleasant entertainment and dining are abundant. Transportation to launch and retrieval available. Lodging and two meals per day provided. $1,200 for any 12 days. Contact: Adventure Sports, (775) 8837070, www.pyramid.net/advspts. PA RAC LI DING

UNTIL OCT. Jivo-Can Fly paragliding clinics, by Ken Hudonjorgensen, Point of the Mountain and Utah mountain sites. JULY 28-30: Thermal. AUG. 1-3, 4-6: Safety Maneuvers Clinics with Chris Santacroce and Ken Hudonjorgensen at Strawberry Reservoir, Utah. AUG. 26-SEPT. 9: X-C Intensiw and Snowbird/UT X-C Competition. SEPT. 1-3: J'herm{d. SEPT. 22-26: X-C Fraining Competition. Friendly comp with instruction from Ken Hudonjorgcnscn, Dale Covington and U.S. team members Todd Bibler, Bill Belcourt and Mary Anne Karren. OCT. 7-8: Mountain Flying. OCT. 13-16: Instructor Training. OCT. 21-22: Jimdem (T2 and T3). OCT. 28-29: Instructor Recertification. Contact: Ken Hudonjorgensen, Two-can Fly Paragliding, 474 E. Tonya Dr., Sandy, UT 84070, (801) 572-j414, khudonj([iluswest.ncc. For clinic desuiptions and prerequisites visit www.twocanfly.com. JULY 14-15, JULY 21-22, JULY 28--29: Weekend Wing E11hancer. Custom-tailored, intense personal development of paragliding skills and strategics for long-term flight development. Enhanced training using in-flight video and wrirren summaries to critique flying flaws and deficiencies. $75 per day or $1 50 per weekend. AUG. 4-6, AUG. 25-27: Grouped Pairs. OCT. 20-22: Baja Thermal Clinic. Best thermal skill development sire in rhe western hemisphere, just 40 minutes south of San Diego, CA. Three days of intense thermal flying development and fun. Gees include pickup and delivery from resort ro LZ every day, breakfast buffer, campsite fees, shower, pool and spa. Bring a friend or spouse, only $225. Contact: Tcmey Pines (CA) Gliderport, Delbello or David Jebb, 1--877-FLYTEAM, (858) 452-9858, (619) 6653477, aircaJG::llix.nercom.com.

JULY

2000

JULY 15-16: Powered Pamgliding Clinic by USHCA Certified Advanced Instructor Hugh Murphy. The California's ccnrral coast is the most beautiful place in the country ro develop rhe skills unique to motorized paragliding. Syllabus covers a smooth transition from paragliding to motorized paragliding with a safe, easy learning curve. JULY 22-23: California Coast Ridge Soflring Clinic by Hugh Murphy. Soar rhe Colden State's beautiful coastal sires from Monterey Bay to Santa Barbara in smooth ocean breezes. JULY 29-30: High Wind Clinic by Hugh Murphy. Take your paraglider confidently all the way to the top of its speed range in rhe ultimate safety of our soft: sand dunes. Clinic will increase pilot's control authority and confidence in strong--wind launch and landing techniques. Make reservations early. AUG. 11--12: Powered Paragliding Clinic. AUG. 18-19:

Cril1frJrnia Codst Ridge Sotlring Clinic. AUG. 25-26: High Wind Clinic. Contact: SurfThe Sky Paragliding, (805) 7728989, www.bmac.net/paragliding. AUG: 8-10, 11-13: Three-day Pmasofi Safety Clinics, with scooter winch. Six parriciparw, max, Lake McC:onahay, Nebraska, three hours northeast of Denver Contact: h rep:// parasofr. boulder.nee/ safery.hunl. AUG. 20-26, SEPT. 3-9: Cross-Country Excellence Clinics. Join Airplay X-C and thermal specialises Mark Telep and Dixon White for intense thermal and crosscountry skills development. Thorough training on active piloting, reading terrain, weather, reserves and more. Air-conditioned luxury retrieval vehicles, glider demos and more. Lodging options available with complete transportation. Sevenday clinics, maximum of four clients per clinic. Sign up now for the most valuable clinic you'll ever rake. (Take more than one!) Contact: dixon@lparaglide.com, (509) 782-5543.

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Superior Ski by Peter Reagan superior pilot uses superior judgment to avoid needing to use his superior skill." A very experienced biwingual pilot with a new DHV 2-3 glider was watching conditions gradually calm down with two friends at a southwest-facing launch. The site is a bowl with a somewhat twisted inlet and small hills out in front. Thermals were decreasing from 20 mph down to more like 15, but remained gusty. He launched and made a pass first to the west and then cast, gaining about 80 feet and then losing it as he went back to the east. The turn on the end of the easterly pass was close to the hill. He got good lift in the turn and rolled out ro fly the glider straight away from the hill. Then there were two big "steps" oflift; the second ended with most of the wing downplaning toward him in a collapse. \li/itnesses reported that he spiraled into the hill. He reports noticing that he was close to the ground and decided not to throw his reserve. He suffered an LI compression fracture and an ankle sprain. He was able ro climb out with help and is recovering well. A very experienced pilot launched from a site renowned for gusty mid-afternoon conditions. Some others were flying; several had chosen not to. The pilot chose to try co gain altitude in fairly choppy air right off launch. He was flying a DI-IV 2 glider, turning very rightly in a narrow bubble of lift, when he entered a flat spin. He raised his hands, but noted terrain close by and made another brief attempt to steer, and went hands up again. The spin continued and he chose ro throw his reserve 75 feet above the treetops and 125 feet above the ground. He noted that his wing started to fly again as the chute inflated, bur began to dive forward as his weight was suspended from the reserve. He was lowered gently into the forest, suffered no injuries, and was able to fly again later that day.

An intermediate pilot at the same site on a different afternoon launched a DHV 2 glider in similar conditions at an organized fly-in. The wind w:L~ gusting 0-12 mph directly upslope. His flight began minutes after another intermediate pilot made an uneventful launch. He was lifted hard, then his glider dived to below the horizon. It recovered, but moments later he described a 50<Yci collapse and rhe initiation of a spiral dive. Witnesses reported two and a half 360° rotations before impact on hard ground between tree stumps. The pilot suffered a knee sprain but no other important 111JLirtes. All three ofthese accidenrs illustrate a distressingly common problem, collapse and loss of control in rowdy air near launch, and all could have led to far more serious consequences than what occurred. Many threads are interwoven in these events. Perhaps the most basic is an underestimation of the seriousness of conditions. In all three cases the gust factor was high. Wind speeds were fluctuating between zero and 12 to 15 miles per hour rapidly. This sirnation places more demands on the pilot and wing than steady air at higher speeds. You must be more conservative in gusty wind and stack the odds in your favor. I ,aunching will place you in a situation in which you may well need to demonstrate superior skill. Do you really want ro be flying a high-performance wing? How good is your active piloting? How tightly is it safe to turn in such turbulence? Wing choice is discussed frequently in this column. The pilot in example one believes that the rating of-' the wing was a factor. He writes that he still wants to master the higher-performance wing f·or use in calmer conditions. He is extremely experienced and has flown this site many times, but he may in time reevaluate whether the small increase in performance is worth the large increase in risk. At any rate, using a hot wing demands much more dependence on superior skill. Another detail concerning wing choice is that the third pilot was close to the top of the weight range on his wing, which has relatively short lines. Both of these factors will increase the suddenness with which collapses or dives become spirals. Being heavy is an advantage in strong conditions, but perhaps

works against you in gusty wind. Allow for It.

Some pilots question whether there may be a "fly-in syndrome," in which less-experienced pilots fly in conditions that are over their heads because they emulate more experienced pilots. I can't back this up with statistics, so I can only remind us all rhat just because someone is in the air docs not mean that it is safe for you to be there. You need to make your own independent assessment of the situation, and only go when you are satisfied that you can handle it with your training and particular gear. Active piloting means keeping the wing over your head at all times. This is a learned skill. Improvement is gradual and will go on for hundreds of hours offlight time. Yearling pilots are not as good at it as seasoned veterans are. CI 'his is the main reason that P2 pilots are supposed to respect lower gust-filCtor limitations than P4 pilots are. Keep practicing surge control. Learn to sense when the surge is about to happen, but also keep in mind how much of your skill you really should be testing close to a turbulent launch, where muffing it can cost your life. Pilots discussing each of these events have brought up questions about reserve deployment. The first pilot decided against it, the second one successfully used it, and the third one didn't even think of it. In an irretrievable crash situation it is always safer to throw, even close to the ground. Who knows how high you really arc, or how much the lift will mitigate your fall. Throw the reserve. I guess the one exception might be if you are so low that throwing your laundry will interfere with your ground contact preparation. The third pilot didn't think of it. This is a knottier problem. The second pilot actually commented rather eloquently on his own technique for remaining calm and doing the right thing under pressure: "It would be nice if there were a better way to prepare, if you haven't been blessed with as many opportunities as some of us. My best suggestion is to 'visualize' disaster happening, because someday it might - even to you! And practice grabbing that handle." Report your accidents. Ifwe can't learn from your accidents we are doomed to repeat them. II

PARAGLIDING

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lb odd 21bs odd 4.75 3-41bs odd .50 5-6lbs odd More tnon 6/bs, or an

Jnrt order, call/fax/ema/1. VISO & MIC k;ce ted

Continued from page 26 of rebuffs by uncertain farmers I visited the Bureau of Tourism, whose director looked at my photos, looked at my USHGA card, listened, and promptly typed up a "Certificate of Cooperation for Whatever Purposes it May Serve." I was overwhelmingly encouraged to fly and to please, please, bring as many friends as often as possible! From then on when I wanted to fly I stopped first at village headquarters to show someone my endorsement. This was usually at a thatched shack with the baryo captain and his T-shirted liemenants smoking at a table piled with their automatic rifles and sawed-off shotguns. (There are more guns in the open there than here. There is sometimes trouble with rebels, too complicated to explain, but I always felt safe and I noticed that single women walked everywhere unafraid at night. The other thing concerning guns is that most businesses have heavily armed but very polite guards as doormen, even the weirdly ubiquitous Dunkin Donuts.) I do encourage anyone to visit and bring their wing. Folks pressed for time, folks who want a lot of sure flying more than footloose adventure, and perhaps novice pilots as well, should probably contact Gabriel Jebb in Manila. I was so impressed with the Philippines and its flyand-fun potential that I almost left my older wing there. I'll certainly be going back. Of course, another reason I just might go back is that before I left I married Christy, the beautiful lady with the Mazda pickup! Now, now, no jokes about

The author launching Carmen Hill with local advice. Photo by Celia Bunce.

the lengths some pilots will go to to keep a good driver, that had nothing to do with it (although the way she peels those mangoes may have), and besides, she wants to learn to fly herself. Outrigger canoes fishing the black waters at night with lights, the best calamari I ever tasted, beamiful people with beamiful smiles, the sweet meat of young coconut, palms in the breeze, tropical storms, strange and delicious fish in the market stalls, amber rum and ice and little green limes, gourmet meals served on palm leaves, tiny sweet bananas still on the stalk, feeling exotic and welcome because you are from America(!), blue skies with piles and piles of white clouds, cold, cheap beer, bamboo architecture, killer sunsets, shining rice terraces, wooden carts and

water buffalo, jungle hot springs, waterfalls, orchids as common as dandelions, coral sands, street shopping par excellence, rustic chapels, lightning in the brooding mountains at dusk, stars in the fragrant darkness, romance. Are you still sitting there? CONTACTS Gabriel Jebb Philippine Sky Sports, Inc. www.skysports.ph gabe@skysporrs.ph 011 63 (2) 825 7756 Seward Whitfield flyingpen@excite.com (503) 236-2422 •

PARAGLIDING

Low aspect ratio wing. The air travels a greater distance, which allows it to deflect more, creating turbulence, which produces more induced drag.

High aspect ratio wing. The air travels a short distance, so it deflects a small amount, creating less turbulence, hence Less induced drag. At higher speeds this wing has more frontal area, and would create more form drag due to the increased frontal space area. This limits the upper speed limit ofthe glider.

Figure 3. Effect ofaspect ratio.

Continued from page 39. the wingtips of all aircraft. Light aircraft have been thrown inverted or slammed into the ground behind heavier aircrafr when rhey encountered wake turbulence during takeoff or landing. If you fly into the wake of another glider, particularly a heavily loaded, slow moving one, you stand a good chance of encountering anything from a little whack to a complete collapse of your wing, depending on how you enter or cross the wake. (See Alan Chuculate's ridge-soaring article in this issue for more on this. - Ed.) The induced drag created by moving a wing through che air is directly related to the aspect ratio of the wing. Aspect ratio is the ratio of che average wingspan divided by the average chord. Looking at Figure 3 we can see che effects of two different wing planforms of equal surface area. On the left is a shore, fat, lowaspect-ratio wing typical of an entry-level glider. On rhe right is a high-aspect-ratio wing typical of intermediate- or competition-level gliders. You can see that highaspecc-racio wings generate less induced drag, since rhe air has less distance to travel, hence the deflection of che air and drag produced is minimized. Induced drag increases as speed decreases because of the spanwise defection of the airflow. If a wing is moving quickly through the air it doesn't get much chance to bend spanwise. Slow rhe air down as ic moves across rhe wing, and the air will deflect further. This increases che mixing, and generates larger vortices and increased amounts of induced drag. JULY

2000

The drag will continue to increase until rhe point at which the wing stalls. If you have ever looked ar a fixedwing glider, you have probably noticed their long, slender wings. When you consider chat they are generally flown at low speeds you can rationalize the reason for the design. Since they fly slowly, form drag is a much smaller concern than induced drag, and induced drag requires rhe shore chord line to reduce the time che air is moving across rhe wing. Conversely, designers of fast-moving aircraft are much more concerned with the increase in form drag, and a long wing imparts a heavy form drag penalty. To reduce this drag they generally have shore, far wings. Since the air is moving quickly across these fat wings ic gets little chance to be deflected spanwise, hence induced drag is nor a significant concern. Since paragliders generally spend most of their rime operating at low speeds, reducing the induced drag generally produces better performance than reducing the form drag of the wing. This might lead one to rhe conclusion chat a long, skinny wing is best for our needs. As evidence has borne out, a few designers may have pushed this a wee bit too far, resulting in wings char were prone to catch many pilots by surprise. Next month we'll cake a look at polar curves for our wings and how we can use the information they provide to maximize our in-flight performance. •

. ......... . . ...;i'~i

PARACLIDINC ADVISORY: Used paragliders should always be thoroughly inspected before flying for the Ii rst 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 ADVANCE SIGMA 3 - Medium, 75-95kg. approx 65 hours, good condition $1,200. Contacr aizadi@posr.harvard.edu. EDEi. ATLAS - Medium, RS2 reserve, Proto harness, Cvex helmet, under one hour airtime $1,500. (202) .387-8171, hufuauer@erols.com EDEL SABRE - Medium, <50 hours $975. Mike (307) 739-2797. (307) 739-8945, mfoster<Ziljacksonhole.com flRFBIRD BOOSTER - Large. 80-lOSkg .. Fast (50kmh). exceptionally stable, next to new condition, I 0 hours $2.900 OBO. (604) 836-4923. aizadi<1hpost.harvard.edu CIN BOLERO - Medium, like new, <10 hours, purple/red, Edel Balance harness (large). Secura Max reserve $2,500 takes all. Contact Judy (6.16) 53(,-2'!55

PERCH!·: CRAFFITY - Beginner, DHV 1-2, large, 1OOkg., 15 hours, very good condirion, w/back protection harness, reserve $1,700. (718) 458-0139.

WOODY VALLEY X-ACT - XI., used twice. includes front mounred reserve $'J'i0 OBO. (80'i) 64.l-

i'ERC:HE SONIC - XI.. excellenr condition, intermediate, high performance. DHV 2, 9S-120kg, 10 hours, wlback protection harness, reserve $2,500. (718) 45801.W

SCHOOLS & DEALERS ARIZONA

UP SOUL - Medium, 85-1 OOk., 15 hours, good condition $800 OBO. Torn (910) 231-7060.

DIXON'S A!Rl'l.AY PARAGLIDINC our display ad. www.paraglide.com

Plusc· Sl'C

XIX R)RM 1 - Afoor performance, medium, beautitttl red, excellent condition $1,000. Perche Bigfoot tandem, DHV 1-2. teal blue, like new $2,000. Pro Design Compact, medium, my girlfriend's wing, great condition, very stable and forgiving $1,000 CJBO. Mike (206) 241-1767, CREENSMARINF~ilearthlink.net XIX WINCS - New and used. demos, excellent condition, from $1,800. Arr, Inter, Form. Ordering 10 for big discount, get in on this and save hundreds. Also Firebird £'lame, excellent condition, 209-264lbs $1,300. Call rns8) 279-6997 or email skypilotbrianl!ilyahoo.com. POWERED PARAGLIDERS SPY MOTOR 007 - Practicallv new, 7 hours. stainless steel cage, electric start, tuneJ exhaust, Edel reserve chure, Edel harness $4,700. Windtech Isis paraglidcr S 1,900. Mike (SO!i) CA2-311 'J VA. EMERGENCY PARACHUTES

LETS TRADE - Complete HG package for complete PC package. (559) 58/i-1019.

HARNESSES

BRAND NEW $3'!5 - .,8sq/m & 42sq/m. Used $200 meets military specs. UO.o) 547-8995.

LIKE NEW - Omega IV $1,900. Cult $700. Companion trndem $1,100. (808) 280-0985. mcndcs(/')shalu.Lom

AC:Cl'LERATFD H.ICHT SYSTEMS - Personal L:SHCA cenilied paragliding & hang gliding instruction. Course~ art· expertly run on cl friendly, informative bc1_..,is. We Juve been introducing pcopk to rhc world o!· l,,ot launched !light since 197(,. New and used gliders ctnd accessories. Ilc,11. Comet, Edel, Nova, SupAir, Pro llesign, Firebird, Airwave, Wills Wing/Swing and others. All skill levels welconw. PO !lox 122(,, Del Mar CA 92014. (858) /i81-7400 Southern C:alifornict.

r------------------------------------------------------------------------------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., September 20 for the Nov./Dec. 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 8 Paragliders J Emergency Parachutes J Parts & Accessories J Business & Employment J Miscellaneous J Powered Paragliders J Videos

J Towing J Schools & Dealers J Ultralights J Publications & Organizations J Wanted J Harnesses

Begin with _ _ _ _ _ _ 19

issue and run for _____

consecutive issue(s). My J check, O money order is enclosed in the amount of$ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ NAME: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ ADDRESS: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ CITY: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _STATE: _ _ __ PHONE:_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _~ Number of words:

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

L-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------50

PARAGLIDING

AIRJUNKIES PARAGLIDING - Join KEN BAIER for your "Pursuit of Paragliding Excellence" in the land of year-round, excellent paragliding: Sourhern California and the Baja. Courses for Novice, Intermediate, Advanced and Instructor ratings. Powered paragliding, soaring and manc.:uver,<,, clinic:-,, guided tours, tandem and towing instruction and special events. USHGA certified. Handling the latest equipment. Call (760) 75-1-2664 for in!'ormation.

FLY ABOVE ALL - Experience year-round paragliding instruction in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA' Our friendly, experienced staff offers hands-on, personalized, radio-controlled lessons. Enjoy soaring the best training hill in the Western US and when you land, shuttles will whisk you back to the top for your next scenic flight. USHCA certified, solo, tandem and powered paragliding instruction, cquipml.'nt sales and tandem flights. Visit our Website at www.flvahoveall.com or ull at (805) %5-lHl. HICH ADVENTURE -

GRAVITY SPORTS. HAWAII'S ONLY PARAGLIDING AND KITE SURFING shop is now open. Corne fly where the sun always shines and rhe wind alwavs blows with USHGA TANDEM INSTRUCTOR PETE MICHELMORE and MARC "NA.LU" HILL and PWC'S PETER BRJNKEBY (Edel) in beautiful Kailua, Hawaii. Flv the famous MAKAPUU se,1 dills, 80km out and ret;,rn flights arc possible ,1t .l,OOOfr msl and land on WHITE SAND BEACHES. Our complete PARAGLIDING and KITE SURFING shop is located just one block from the I<ailua beach. l.ook us up on rhe web at www.paradiscp-

FRS -

Pul vour knees in our breeze and .)oar our /i50'

sand dunes. FULL-TIME SHOP. Cerrilted instruction, beginner to advanced, fool launch and tow. Saks, ser-

vice, accessories for ALL major brands. VISA/MASTERCARD. 150') E 8th, Traverse Cirv Ml 4%84. Offering POWERED PARAGLIDING l~ssons & dealer lin the Explorer & used units. Call Bill ar (2.31) 9222844, rchangglidcr0)juno.corn. Visit our paragliding school in Jackson, Wyoming. Call Tracie at (.107) 7.1')8620.

aragliding.com or www.gravicysports.org. Start your

HAWAIIAN EXTREME VACATION NOW! Call (808) 2C,I-SURF.

Paragliding, hang gliding

school. Equipment, sales, '>crvice at world famous

I !!CH PLAINS PARACLIDING - Superior paragliding gear. Outstanding service. !'hat web sire! http:/ /hornerown.aol.com/hiplaim Closer encounters (406) /i42-7163, hiplaim~'\wl.com Dream ir. Sec ir. Soar ir!

Marshal Peale USHCA t.\Jldem instructor: Rob McKenzie. By appointment year round ('JO'J) 88.l-8488, www.llyrandem.com

ADVENTURE SPORTS - Sierra soaring at i" hes1. Tours and tandems available. Instruction from certified USHCA instructors with 25 years experience. s~de.), service and instruction by appoincmcnr C,uson City/Lake

F!r TORREY PINEJ L DERPORT 2800 Torrey Pines Scenic Drive San Diego CA 92037

Sina I iJ 28 l'ARACI.IDINC AND HANC Cl.![)INC

FLY MAUI' www.ParaglidcHawaii.com - Locals Oy 320 davs a vcar. Soar from Haleakala Crater. Maui is quickly becoming the KITE SURFINC CAl'ITAI. ofthe world. The new sport of kite surfing is natural tl)r most piloLs, especially chose who also enjoy water sports. l'roflyghr is now offering kite surfing :-.erninars in the afternoons, after thermal soaring in the mornings. Year-round guid-

ing, training, equipment rental and sales. Toll hee 877CO-FIY-HI.

Tahoe NV. (775) http:! /home. pyramid.nct/advspts

88.l-7070

AIR SPORTS USA - Lessons, service, equipment. Paragliding, hang gliding, powered paragliding, trikes. Phone (718) 7'77-7000, WWW.FL YWRFUN .NET

IDAHO

cenilicd instruction, tandem Jlight instruClion, sales, service, repairs, p,irachutc repacks, motorized pg/hg instruction and silc Lnur.s. Sotnhcrn California Imponcr !'or

PARA'l'ECH, ITV and FDFI.. Visa and MasterCard accepted. Call (8'i8) 452-9858 or toll free at 1-877-FI.YTFAM. Check us out at and order on-line· at http:/ /www.flytorrcy.com FLORIDA SOUTHERN SKIES - Serving the SOUTHEAST, nearest MOUNTAIN FLYING, also POWERED PARAGLIDING. (828) 632-6000 WWW.SOUTHERNSKJES.NEl' GEORGIA SOUTHERN SKIES - Serving the SOUTHEAST, Ii hours from ATLANTA. MOUNTAIN FLYING, ,tnd POWERED PARAGLIDING. (828) 6.lH,000 WWW.S0UIHERNSK1ES.NET

JULY

2000

KING MOUNTAIN PARAGLIDING - Certified hill-time SCHOOL, taught by Master rated instructor Brad Bloxham. Tandem, RETAIL, major brands, POWERED PARA.GLIDERS, guide service, mountain tour:-., site information, including world famous King

Mountain ( 19'!7 US Nationals.) SUPPLIER/MFG: The mos1 rnrnprchensive, educational INFO/LOGBOOK in rh,· USA, $24.'J5, RADIO HARNESSES S.llJ.'J'i, PC CARGO/DUFFEL BAG (holds wing & everything else) $49.95. 101(,l) N 15 E, Idaho Falls, ID 8.l40 I. Phone or fax (208) 524-00YJ, email KingM r1'( ;~1\101.cum, Visa/Discover/Discover.

Sell your unused equipment here.

FAX your classified ad, membership renewal or merchandise order: (719) 632-6417. We gladly accept VISA and MasterCard.

------------- ·---------------------

NORTH CAROLINA

LEARN TO PARAGLIDE rtt Kitty Hawk Kites Outer Banks, NC Lessons Daily Towing & fool Launch Year Round Sales & Service CALL TODAY' 800-334-4777 252-441-4124

F-Mt1i! Address info~ilkittyhawk.com

-------------

TEXAS

PARTS & ACCESSORIES

HILL COUNTRY PARAGLIDING INC: - Learn complete pilot skills. Personalized USHCA certified training, ridge soaring, foot & tow launching in central Texas. MOTORIZED PARAGLIDING INSTRUCTION & EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE. (915) 3791185. 1475 CR220, Tow TX 78672. JUTE ENTERPRISES - Foot lattnch, payout winch tow and powered paraglider instruction too. Training, sales, rentals and repair. Edel, Airwave, Wills Wing, UP and DK Whisper. Dallas, Fort Worth and north Texas area. 211 Ellis, Allen TX 75002. (972) 390-9090 nights, weekends. www. ki re-en tcrprises.com

UTAH WHAT HAPPENS when you combine the largest paragliding school with the largest paragliding and hang gliding shop' Introducing the new CLOUD 9 SOARINC CENTER. We are open 7 days a week for lessons, sales and tandem flights for both hang gliding and paragliding. The shop is now owed by Steve Mayer. Our new repair facility run by Bill (Bad Bones) Anderson, is ready for any repairs or repacks. For more informationwww. paragl ide rs. com or stop by at 12665 S. Minuteman Dr., just a few n1inutcs fr01n world famous Point of the Mountain. inlo@paragliders.com 1-888944-543."l. In Utah, call (801) 576-6460.

DO YOU NEED A I.AR.GER BACKPACK for your new oversized harness, tandem glider, powcredPG or Cage? Do you hike to launch? Is your current backpack more of a potato sack than useful? Discover the benefits of backpacks designed for flying' Built with top quality materials including Cordura, YI<K zippers and more. $155-199. MC/Visa/DC 100% Guarantee. free brochure. Dealers wanted. Critter Mountain Wear 1800-686-9327 crittcr@crestedbune.net, www.crittennountainwcar.com rLIGH'J' CONNECTIONS, INC. !"/"I fl

VIRGINIA KITTY HA WK KITES -

SOUTHERN SKIES - MOUNTAIN FLYING and POWERED PARAGLIDING instruction, saks and se,vicc with foll-time shop, 1 hour north of Charlotte. 7 beautiful flying sites nearby. (828) (,.32-6000 WWW.SOUTHERN SKIES.NE"!' OREGON

Sec North Carolina.

SOUTHERN SIUES - Serving the SOUTHEAST, 1 hour from Virginia state line. MOUNTAIN FLYlNG and POWERED PARAGLIDING. (828) 632-GOOO WWW.SOUTHERNSKIES.NET WASHINGTON DIXON'S AIRPLAY PARAGLIDINC our display ad. www.paraglide.com

!'lease sec

U.S. AIRBORNE SPORT AVIATION CENTL-'.R Paragliders. poweredPC, trikes, harnesses etc. Wide

' New and Imp roved ' Water/Dust Resistant Push Button • Field Replaceable hnger Switch • Heavier Cauge Wire/Improved Plugs • Increased Strain Relief at ALL Joints

selection of manufacture!-> represented. I mportcr for

Miniplane poweredPG. Sales new and used. Beginner thru advanced instruction. U.S. AirBorne (509) 243-A988 Send $3 for info. pack (specifv info. requested) PO Box 579, Asotin WA. 99402, website: http://www.vallcy-internct.net/chp/usairhornc/ Email: usairbor11eCr./ho111e.con1

OVER THF HILL l'ARACI.IDINC - Oregon/SW Washington. Sales, service, beginner-advanced USHCA certified instruction. Nova, Firebird, Aprn, AT, l'ro Design, SOL, Ball, Flytec, HES Quantum parachutes. Service: ittll service shop, !'AA rigger repairs/mods. Out of state pilots: W c have great thermal, coastal and Corge sites. Call us for info. There is no sales tax in Oregon! New/used gear. Trades welcome. 22865 SE Yellowhammer, Gresham OR 97080. (503) 6(,7-li557, fax (503) 666-6979. Fmail: ()[hpara@spiritone.com web: http://www.ovenhehillparagliding.com SUNSPORTS PARAGLIDING - Hood River, Oregon. Beginner lessons, tandem flights, advanced instruction, consignment sales. Rick Higgins, Master rated pilot, Advanced Instructor, Tandem Administrator. (541) 387-2112, SunSportsl'C~1\1ol.com

WISCONSIN

Price $99. 95. Extn linger switch $19. 95 w/purchase. Dealer inquiries welcome. Call (913) 268-7946. MC/Visa. Visit our website at www.flightconn.com HAVE EXTRA EQUIPMENT - That you don't know what rn do with. Advertise in the Paragliding classifieds, $.50 per word, $5 minimum. Call USHGA for details (719) 6.12-8300, ushga0\ishga.org or fax your ad with a Visa/MC:, fax (719) 632-6417.

RAVEN SKY SPORTS -(414) 473-8800, info@lhanggliding.com

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

Paragliding.

More than 5,000 paragliding enthusiasts read our magazine every month. That's more than 10,000 eyes seeing your ad.

------------ --------------- ----

PARAGLIDING

PARAGLIDE: THE MOVIE by Viking Films. Rock-nroll world class competition at Owens Valley. Professionally filmed & edited, 35 minutes $35.95. Call or fax USHGA (719) 652-8300, fax (719) 6326417, please add +$4 domestic s/h (+$S for two or more videos). Crear to in1prcs~ your friends or for those socked-in days.

IS IT SOARABLE? - Be sure with a USHCA Windsok. Made of 1.5 oz. ripslop nylon, UV treated, 5'4" long w/ 11" throat. Available colors fluorescent pink/yellow or fluorescent pink/white. $39.95 (+$4.75 S/H). Send to USHGA Windsok, P.O. Box 1.150, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1.DO, (719) 652-8500, fax (719) 652-6417. VISA/MC accepted.

PARAGLIDING: From Beginner to XC - By Sol\0111/Cook. A great addition to your paragliding library. Wonderl'ul XC tips. Sec Steve Rori's review in the March/ A11ril 200 Paragliding. Over 120 pages with superior illustrations & color photographs, $29.95 +$4.7S s/h. USHCA, PO Box U30, Colorado Springs CO 8090 I. (719) 6.32-8300, fax your MC/Visa to (719) 632-6417. S01\RINC - Monthly magazine of The Soaring Society of America, Inc. Covers all aspects of soaring flight. Full membership $5S. Info. kit with sample copy $.'l. SSA, 1'.0. Box 2100, Hobbs, NM 88241. (505) .1')2-1177.

HOVERCRAFT - Three person, 65hp, 45mph, full flotation kit, crash bar with light rack. Custom tilt trailer allows you ro deploy over water, land, ice or snow in just seconds. Sharp green paint with graphic $10,000. (209) C,03-5206. VIDEOS, BOOKS & APPAREL - Call USHGA for your Merchandise order form (719) 632-8300, fax (719) 632-(A 17, email: ushga(d\1shga.org, www.ushga.org

VIDEOS DON'T LEAVE YOUR GROUND-BOUND EQUIPMENT SITTING IN THE GARAGE. SELL IT IN THE CLASSIFIEDS.

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. Crear for hang gliding too. ONLY $169. Mallertec, !'() Hox 15756, Santa Ana CA, 9273'i. (71 It) %6-] 2,(0, www.mallcttec.com 'VIC/Visa accepted. 1

PUBLICATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS

PARAGLIDING: THE COMPLETE GUIDE - By Noel Whittall. The most complete guide to paragliding on the market. Over I 00 color photographs & illustrations, 200 pages, $26.95 +$4.75 s/h. USHCA, PO !lox 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901. (719) 632-8300, fax your MC/Visa to (719) (,32-6417. Our most popuLu book!

JULY

2000

'NEW' WEATHER TO FLY, bv Advrnturc Productions. A much needed instructi~)nal video on micrnmcteorology. Dixon White, Master pilot and US HCA Examiner, takes you through a simple step-bystep process showing where to acquire weather data and how to interpret it. hH pilots of any aircraft. Learn about regional & local influences and how to determine winds aloft and stability. "Weather To Hy" is an over-all view packed with usel'ul details and includes great cloud footage. A straight-forward presentation that is easy to follow. 50 min. $39.95. TURNING POINT IN ALPINE THERMALLING, hy Dennis Trott/Alpine Flying Centre. 'i0% HG, 50'Yc, l'G. Discover techniques to tame the elusive alpine thermal. Bcautihtl footage set against Europe's most dramatic rnountains. Also features comments from rop pilots & great animation. 24 rnin $35.95. STARTING PARAGLIDING by Adventure Productions. Covers basic preparations, weather, proper attitude, ground handling & those lirst exciting launches ..10 min $29.95. FLY HARD: Viking Films newest release. Rob Whittall, Chris Santacroce & ,t vintage Buick convertible foll of paragliders. Outrageous flying at several west coast flying sites. Meet HC aerobatics champion Mitch McAleer along the way. Excellent rock soundtrack, professionally lilrned & edited, 55 minutes $35.95.

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES The rare for classified advertising is $. '50 per word (or group of characters) and $1 .00 per word for bold or ,ill caps. Phone number=2 words, !'() Box=2 words, weight range i.e. l .'l7- l 85lbs=2 words, web site or email address=:l words. MINIMUM AD CHARGE $5.00. A fee of $15.00 is charged for each line .nr 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 layouts of tabs are $25.00 per column inch. AD DEADLINES: July 20th is the deadline for the September issue. !'lease make checks payable to USHCA. Send to: l'ARJ\Gl.lI)INC MACAZINF, Classified Advertising, P.O. Box 1.130, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1.DO (719) 632-8300 or fax (719) C,32-6.\ 17, email jjelgart@ushga.org with your Visa or MasterCard. STOLEN WINGS & THINGS "AMERICAN FLAG" l'ARAGLIDER - l.osr by FedX, identical to the one Scott Alan is flying in the inside back cover Paraborne display ad. (407) 9.15-9912, scott@paraborne.com FLIGHT DESIGN S2VT - Two paragliders lost by the US postal service, shipped from CALIFORNIA to HAWAII p,1rcel post on August 19th, 1999. One large w/purple top, one medium w/orange top. Lois Hulmes (530) 51i2-49.l7. AT BAG/FIREBIRD G-SPORT L - l.osr at LAKE CHELAN, WA bunch area by the towers on May 16th, \ ')9'!. AT bag is purple/green, Glider is pink/white. Also SupAir purple/white harness, reserve, Piccolo vario. Darren Hart (970) 925-248.'l.

EDEL CORVETTE 24 PG - Sro le n from sro rage locker in CLARK FORK, 10 on May 4th, 1999. H or pink/lime g ree n, with trim tabs. Also GQ secu rity chute, burgundy "ven er" helmet w/several sire stickers o n it (F unston , WOR, D unlap, Ed Levin, etc.) And older red helmet. Rhoda, (208) 266-1505. FR EE-X FLAIR M - Sro le n fro m a vehicl e in SAN FRANCISCO , CA a rea on Apr il 20, 1999. R ed w/w hir e LE. Adv a nce h arness a rr ached,

purple/ black/yellow. Call Srephen Ainge (5 16) 283 3240, ai nge@ham prons .com STOLEN WINGS are lisred as a se rvice to USHGA members. There is no charge fo r thi s service and losr and found wings or equ ip menr may be called in (7 19) 632-8300 or fax ir in (7 19) 632-64 17 fo r inclus ion in Paragliding & Hang Gl iding magazine. Pl ease call ro ca n cel rh e li sr in g w hen g lid ers are recove red. Period ically, rhis listing will be purged.

United States Hang Gliding Association, Inc .. w e b s i t e me Renew,,

WWW.u s h g a Or g

f1lbersh . rOur Rea!e1°n-/ine.

11 New & Improved Board of Directors REGION 1 Bill Bolosk~ ~R - 00) (425) 557- 9 1 bolosky@microsoft.com Steve Roti (R - 01) (503) 284-0995 sroti@uswest.net Gene Matthews (H - 00) (206) 488-1443 skydog@gte.net Bob Hannah (H - 00) (206) 328-1104 paraskr@aol.com REGION 2 Ray Leonard (R - 00) (775) 883-7070 advspts@pyramid .net Jamie Shelden (R - 01) (408) 353-5159 jrshelden@aol.com Scott Gasparian (R- 01) (650) 218-3984 gaspo@igi.org Ed Pitman (L- 00) (530) 359-2392 epitman@c-zone.net Russ Locke (H - 01) (408) 737-8745 russlocke@juno.com Ken Brown (H - 01) (415) 753-9534 kennyb2u@aol.com

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS Adve nture Prod uctions ... ... .... .. ... ... ... ...... 2 1 Aerolight USA .. ...... ..... ......... ........ .... ........ 5 Airplay Paragli ding ......... ..... ..... ... .... .. 28,29 APCO Aviatio n Ltd . ........ .... .. .. .8, 17,34,49 Baja C linic ........ .... ......... ...... .................... 5 Flight D esign ... .. .. .. ........ ... .............. ....... 55 Flytec ......... ... ........ ... .. ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .. .7 Hall Brothers .. .. .. .. ... ................. .... .. ..... .. 2 1 Mojo's Gear .. .. .. .. .. ... .. ...... .. .. ........ ...... .... 19 Pro Design .. .. ...... ......... .. .... .. .. .. ..... ... ...... 35 Sky Gear ................ ...... .. .. .. .. .... .. ... ... ...... 2 1 Sport Aviati o n Publicatio ns .......... .... .. .... 19 Sup' Air ... ... ..... ...... ... .... ... .. ..... ........ .. ....... .9 Super Fly, Inc ............. .. ......... 2,Back Cover T hermal Tracker .. .... ........ ... ... ... ... .. .. .... ..45 T hin Red Line ...... .. .... ..... ..... .. .. ...... .. .. .. . 10 Torrey Pin es G lid erporr ....... ......... .. .. 35,48 USH GA ...... ........ ...... .... 12, 13, 19,27,47,54 Wills W ing ... ........... ... .... ... ... .......... .. .. .... 55 Wome n Fly ............. .... .. .. .... ... .......... .. .. .... 5

REGION 3 Ken Baier (R - 00) (760) 753-2664 airjunkies@worldnet.att.net

REGION 6 Jeff Sinason (R - 01) (314) 542-24 73 jsinason@swbell .net

REGION 10 Matt Taber (R - 01) (706) 398-3433 fly@hanglide .com

John Greynald (R - 01) (805) 682-3483 throgrog@aol.com

REGION 7 Bill Bryden (R - 00) (812) 497-2327 bbryden@hsonline.net

David Glover (R - 00) (706) 657-8485 david@davidglover.com

Gregg Lawless (R - 01) (858) 484-2056 glawless@sempra-slns .com Rob Kells (H - 00) (71~ 998-6359 rob willswing .com Gil Dodgen (Ed itor) (949) 888-7363 (949) 888-7464 fax gildodgen@aol.com REGION 4 Mark Ferguson (R - 00) (303) 439-8542 mark@ballvarios.com Jim Zeise! (R - 01 ) (719) 539-3335 jimzgreen@aol.com Larry Sanderson (H - 00) (505) 392-1177 Larryssa@aol.com Liz Sharp (H - 01) (303) 530-07 18 eas@cmed .com REGION 5 Frank Gillette (R - 00) (208) 654-2615 Watercyn@cyberhighway.net

Dan Johnson (L - 00) (651) 450-0930 CumulusMan@aol.com REGION 8 Douglas Sharpe (R - 00) (978) 318-9714 dsharpe@tia c.net Randy Adams (H - 00) (603) 543-1 760 randyadams@cyberportal .net

G.W. Meadows (H - 01) (252) 480-3552 info@justfly.com John Harris (H - 00) (252) 441-4124 ucanfly@outer-banks.com Steve Kroop (H - 00) (352) 331 -6729 usaflytec@aol.com

REGION 11 Kent Robinson (R - 01) REGION 9 (972) 960-0516 David "Randy" Leggett (R - 01 ) fl ydallas@aol.com (610) 258-6066 REGION 12 ias@ot. com Paul Voight (R - 00) (914) 744-3317 Geoffrey Mumford (R- 00) (202) 336-6067 flyhigh@frontiernet.net gmumford@apa .org Jan Johnson (L - 00) Dennis Pagen (L - 00) (914) 695-8747 (814) 422-0589 hm janj@uarc.org pagenbks@lazerlink.com Paul Rikert (L - 00) Chris DuPaul (H-00) (914) 946-9386 (540) 672-0065 Krisdupaul@aol .com Lars Linde (H - 00) (732) 747-7845 Art Greenfield-NM (X) larslinde@compuserve.com 1-8 00-644-9777 awgreenfield@naa-usa .org

REGION 13 (lnt'I) Jan Johnson (L - 00) See Reg 12 Michael Robertson (H - 00) (905) 294-2536 flyhigh@inforamp .net USHGA Executive Director Philip Bachman PO Box 1330 Colo Springs CO 80901 (719) 632-8300 wk (719) 632-6417 fax phbachman@ushga.org ushga@ushga.org EXECUTIVE COMMITIEE President-David Glover Vice President-Mark Ferguson Secretary-Bill Bryden Treasurer-Geoff Mumford KEY: (R)-Regional (L)-At Large (HJ-Honorary (X)-Ex Officio COMMITIEE CHAIRS: Competition-John Borton CompCommitte@aol.com

Membership & Dev-Steve Roti Site Mgmt-Randy Leggett HG Accident-Bill Bryden PG Accident-Paul Klemond Awards-Jan Johnson Bylaws-Paul Rikert Nat'I Coordinat.-Dennis Pagen Planning-Geoff Mumford Safety & Training-Bill Bryden Tandem-Paul Voight Towing-Geoff Mumford Publications-Dan Johnson (03/14/00)

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P A R AG LI DI NG

t h e

new

swi n

"The ARGUS Is the best all around paragllder that I have ever flown It has It all; speed, glide, sink rate . great handling, light brake pressure, excellent thermalling characteristics, quality of materials and workmanship, as well as superior stability. There is no need for a pilot to even own a DHV-2 or DHV 2-3 to get performance anymore. Everybody from new P·2's to veteran P-4's will be happy with this glider · Wally Anderson Merlin Flight School

"I found the performance and flying enjoyment of Swing's new ARCUS beyond my expectations. Swlng's ARGUS has raised the bar with this newly released entry level glider All the speed, performance and looks of a performance glider, in a DHV 1 paragllder Any student choosing this glider will likely wear it out. rather than sell it off for greater performance as they progress down the line Advanced pilots w ,11 rediscover the sheer fun of safe flying without feeling overly restricted. My DHV 2-3 Is going to have to share air time with the ARGUS as I ended up buying one for myself.· Rob von Zabern Paragliding Magazine, July 99

"I never expected a beginning paraglider could have such a fantastic combination of great thermalling performance, eye-watering speed capability, rock-solid stability, and carefree maneuvering. The ARGUS is my Idea of a flying dream come true." Mark "Forger' Stucky Paragliding Magazine, .July 99

Guality

aircraft

for

exceptional

people .