USHGA Hang Gliding May 2001 by US Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association

DUST DEVILS ·· Tl1e Women's World HG at Lal<e

AERONAUTES An anci visually stunning documentary on the state of hang gliding today. 43min. ,,._ ......,.."" WEATHER TO FLY

Crie!an, WA. 24

HANG GLIDING EXTREME · Fly

Dixon White

Owen's Valley,

helps us answer that very question. Instructional mlcrometeorology. SO min.

SPEED GUDING: TEAR UP THE SKIES Canada ancJ

TURNING

GLIDING Covers t11e

Telluride

ami Torrey Pines. SO min. :ll:S•lf."J'!'ll, BORN TO FLY· Fly with the "Green Team", follow a cloud street Guatemala & more. SO min.

ntents (USPS 017-'J?0-20 - lSSN 089'>-433XJ

16 What King of Pilot?

') .') ,

22 Hang Gliding Interviews: Bob Grant by Jim (Sky Dog) Palmieri A visit with the genrlernan of hang glid ing and master phomgraphcr.

30 2001 Forbes Flatties ~y Da11is Straub One of rhc besr hang gliding competitions in the world.

34 Copa Millenio 2001 by Nici? Kennedy Grear llying in Valle de Bravo, Mexico.

38 Landing Strategies and Courtesies -

Part I

40 Otto Lilienthal's Concept of "Flight as Sport" by Derlnt' Williams Thoughrs abour gliding Aighr from rhc fu rhcr of our spore.

Columns

Departments

High Perspective .................... ..............20

Airmail .............................. .....................4

USHGA Director Nominations ...... ....43

Update ...... .. ............. .. ..... .............. ........ 1.0

Produce Lines, by D an Johnson .... ..... 55

Calendar of Events .. ............................. 14 C lassified Advertising ... .......................44 Index to Advertisers .. ........................... 54

M AY 2001

Heiriey, Gerry Charleboisr Leroy Grn1111is, Mark Bob Low<! l'holo8f,ip/wrs

M~rtln, //fusfi'aror Pagen, Mark Stucky, Rodger Hoyt, G.W. Mcaao,ws,Jim Pahnle1·i 1 Bill aryden Staff Writers

the inhuman barrier

FLIGHT DESIGN

Cloudbase Ccmnti:y Club

THANKS PROM THE WOMEN'S WORLD TEAM Dear Editor, The women pilots would like to thank rhcse sponsors for their generous support of rhe 2002 Women's Team, which will be competing in the Eighth Women's World Championships in Chelan, WA. Each of these individuals, organizations, or companies has pledged $:-300, nor a small chunk of change to anyone in the hang gliding or paragliding community or business these days! These logos will be primed on our fond-raising T-shins, which will be avail-able from women pilots beginning at the Florida comps. Of course, we want you ro support the Women's Team by buying the shins, bur we also hope you will support our supporters, or at least let them know that you arc cognizant of their generosity and arc glad they're helping the women fund their competition expenses. We continue to be overwhelmed by the unfailingly positive response toward our fund-raising drives, and want to be certain that everyone who contributes is aware of how gratcfol we arc. Thank you, from all the women comp pilots. Sturtevant North Bend, WA

MAY 2001 VOUJME 31, ISSUF No.

ABUSING BERNOUILU l kar Editor, l would like to draw the attention of those pilots i nrcrcstcd in aerody11;1mics to two recent publications. In the April 200 I issue of Discover a short article describes a new entitled nu,·:r.,,,unuuw Flight. This book has only two equations in its cnri 1·c 239 pages (one is Ncwwn' s second law, force equals mass times acceleration). fr ralks you thrnugh most of the important concepts clearly and dispels many misconceptions. It can be understood by anyone who can frillow a logical argument. Some of the misconceptions it addresses arc ground effect, wing circulation and insect flight. But the big one is misapplicarions of the Bcrnouilli Principle. I 11 fact, rherc is a chapter at the end of the book entitled just that. Those who to describe night using Bcrnouilli an incomplete understanding of the principle and needlessly complicate maners. This book clears up the concepts and uses only Newton's rhrcc laws as a basis for all flight. I recommend reading the Discover arriclc to gain more insight inw why the book rejects Bcrnouilli as a basis for undersrnnding aerodynamics. Of cou rsc, this book docs not cover all aspects of aerodynamics. Missing for our

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LIZARD CORRECTION

purposes is much discussion on gliding flight (one page appears), Reynolds num· bcrs, low-speed flight and flying-wing sta· bility. However, the reader will acquire a good, inmirivc undcrsrnnding of how our wings work. l ncidcurally, rhc rwo aurhors arc a physic:i.st at J:ermilab and a profossor of acronaurics at Washington University. This book is published by McGraw I Jill and you can get it frorn your bookstore frir

instructor's manuals explain aerodynamics using Newton's simple hiws, not Bcmouilli, for all the above reasons. Likewise, all my hooks on hang gliding, paragliding and 11ltralights follow a similar policy.

I )cnnis Pagcn Bcllefont, PA

Dear Editor, The lizard being harassed in the upper photo on page 20 of the March 200 I edition of Hang is a shinglchack skink (Tiliqua Rugosa) also known as a bobtail, stumpy-·tail, pinc--conc, or double-headed lizard, bur nor a blue tongue lizard.

J:or rhosc who want a more in-depth undcrsranding of how aerodynamics work using Newton's laws, I highly recommend rhe book Ncwtonir1n Aerodynamics Fundmnentalr hy Gale Craig. You can get it from rhe EA/\ for $20. I heard Mr. Craig speak at Sun-11-Fun :1bout 10 years ago and have discnssed rhesc matters with him there and through correspondence. J !is hook requires high school mathematics to he thoroughly understood. He was a physics professor and again was put off by the Bernouilli Principle because it doesn't really explain anything understandable by the average student (i{ is ,m engineering tool for calculating forces in fluids). Also, erroneous assumptions arc made in order to use it rn explain lifr (such as that the air flow over the top ofa wing h:is to speed 11p ro meet the airflow under the wing, or that increasing the flow over a surface decreases the static pressure). This book is one of my favorites on the subject and is highly rec-· om mended. I was first made suspicious of the Bernouilli model in the early days of hang gliding by one of the sport's fo11ndcrs, the brilli,mt Richard Miller. He sent me a series of questions (no answers, just quest ions). When I thought them through, ir made rnc realize rhar the various arguments that go along wirh the Bcrnouilli Principle applied ro how lifr and drag arc created on a wing arc erroneous. That began a long search on my pan for the basic elemental physical principles underlying rhc work· of our wings. The last hook mentioned above w:1s the flrsr J found rhar put ir all rogctlicr. There is a distinct tendency ro blindly for the press (books and follow platitudes or givens without really communicating understanding when it comes to aerodynamics(] have been guilty of' rhis myself on occasion). Those of us who arc instructors should stop this nonsense and our students a clearer and more correct introduction to how our wings fly. lnsrrucrors will note that both the US] IC/\ hang gliding :md paragliding

MAG COMMENTS

Keith Jenne, D.V.M. Berkeley, CJ\

Dear Editor, I had to laugh after reading Dennis Bowman's plea ,igainsr rhc merging of' US! JGJ\'s two mags. It may surprise Dennis to know 1ha1 the last issue of Hrmg Gliding contained a snperh piece 011 thcrmaling by Will Gadd, who is (GASP!) a paraglidcr pilot. Will's series of articles (cleverly illus· rratcd by 'fcx Forrest) were more detailed and useful to me than anything on X-C thcrmaling that I've seen in the pages of Hang Gliding hy any other author in the 10 years I've been flying hang gliders. I must confr:ss that I have been flying "panties" since 198(1, bur I probably get over 90911 of my airtime on hang gliders. Neverrhelcss, I musr say rhar I find the paraglidcr magazine for the most part more interesting than rhc sister hang gliding rag. The majority of whar I read about now in Hang Gliding is usually some variation of a narrative that goes something like this: "There I was, though I I w;is going to die ... There I was, rhoughr I was going to sink out. .. There l was, found a bug fan and got srinkin' high ... There I wasn't, got really stinkin' far. .. " While mildly entertaining, I don't usually get much of real tcchni· cal value out of rhese kinds of articles. Taking a look a mag, you'll sec valuable technical applicable to both spons, freely by top-ranked comp pi Iors such as Will Cadd and Josh Cohn. Its also nice to sec a wide range of :irriclcs on flying sites all over rhc world with a truly international comnrnnity of pilob. I do /ind colorfitl pictures of' day· glow-clad bag wingers in cxoric locales more inrcresring th:rn yet :rnorhcr group shot of jcans-1H-ccs 4-0 and 50 sumpthins (yup, I'm pan of that group too) out in rhc middle of a dmty desert.

GOLDEN NUGGETS Dear Edi tor, Something pleasantly surprising just happened. After watching it lay on the cof foe table for the last fow weeks and realizing it wasn't going away I decided to browse through the larcst issue of llmtg Gliding. I nsidc was one oF those special neats that all too rarely appears. I .o and behold, here was a grand, well--told talc of hang gliding that portrayed our sport in irs /1ncsr sense. There were majestic, not-always-asinv iI ing·as-thcy-1 oo k- from-a -distance mounrains. Big, whitc ..knucklc, arm· wrenching thermals. High-alriruclc gains, low saves, good luck and bad. More to the point, here was a tale f111l of hard-core adventurers hanging it over the edge, liter.. ally bleeding adrenaline in the process, rcrdling the experience with heliumpitched voices, hut still willing to go hack for more. None of that wimpy, country .. club p;1blum that has hccomc all the rage in recent years. No sir, rhis was abom real flying by real pilots with the desire 10 really live. Well familiar with the Owens Valley's big air, mountains and distances, this was one story that kept my r;1pr attention throughout. Goose humps covered my arms; I was right rhcrc wirh rhcrn! J\ rip of the h:n to Kevin Frost for his rclling of"Black Diamond Flying" and to all the pilots who participated in the last King Mou main meet. Thanks for bringing such a wondcrfol saga to life. Being ;1cquainrcd with a number of' the participants, I know first hand thar rhis is a group oC pilots who know hang gliding in irs purest f<.Jrm. Though generally not interested in compctirions, this was one meet I regret having missed. One thing's for sure; one way or

Marc Pink Washington, DC

HAN(; Ci /1)/N(;

another J gotta get to King Mountain. Soon, too! Frank Peel Mountain View, CA PS: Even though it doesn't exist, I' cl like to nominate Kevin's submission for "Story of the Ycac" Who cares if it's only fehruary?

ONLINE ACCIDENT/INCIDENT REPORT FORM

Dear Editor, The new and improved online acci-dem/ineident report form is now available on the USHCA w(;bsite at http://www.1tshga.org/ emailacc.asp. The Form is easy to use. J usr click on radio buttons and checkboxes and type information into the appropriate ftclds, then click on the submit button at the bot-tom of the forrn. Hang gliding reports arc e-mailed directly to Bill Bryden, and paragliding reports arc e-mailed to Pete Reagan and Jim Little. Jim came on board at the beginning oF 2001 when Paul Klcmond retired from paragliding accidenr analysis work. Please let the pilots in your Region know that the on line accidenr/incidenr report form is on the USHCA website, and encourage rhern to use ir whenever possible because it's quicker and easier than the paper form for the person filing the report as well as for the person reading the report. The easiest way to find the on line acci-dent/incidcm report form is to go to the USHCA home page and click on the but-rnn labeled "Forms." That rakes you to the USHCA Forms page where the online accident/incident report form is listed under the heading "Safety and Tandem." Steve Roti Portland, OR

MARCH COVER INPO Dear Editor, The pilot in the photo on the cover of the March issue is Jeff Beck of Bellingham, Washington, fly at Mounr Erie. John Baird Anacortes, WA

MAY 2001

HIGH PERSPECTIVE COMMENTS Dear Editor, I-low in the world did Michael Robertson's inaccurate and totally misleading article get past your eagle eye in the March issue? l--Iow can Mr. Robertson even imagine himself as a "Young Eagle"? Anyway, let's pamper him and call him OBE and put forrh some true facts that prove him to be a mishandler of the truth. His account of the A WSA Kite Championships at Bridgeport, Texas (not Fort Worth) in 1969 is fimrasy frorn start to finish. The first appearance of the Rogallo (Dclra Wing) at an American Kite flying Championship simply stole the show from YE, and he was so deflated that for over 30 years he has haled the folks who introduced this stiperior new kite. Another inaccuracy was whose glider OBE was trying to fly when he crashed and broke his ankle. He did this on a hcap--of-jnnk glider he had copied and built using speed-rail fittings and hardware store materials. He was lucky not to have killed himself. As for having several gliders and not letting him fly one, there were only two gliders there. One was mine and the other belonged to "Born Not To Kill." You can be sure he was not going to let "Crash YE" use his only glider to learn on, and YE was correct, neither would I. So YE then pro-· ceeded to demonstrate his flying skills on his own "speed-rail special." Result: only a broken ankle. YE almo~t never made it to he OBE. No beach starts were made in knee-deep water with a 1 5--mph tailwind. This is stupid and photos show trick skis being used to slid off rhe beach. There were no beaked landings and the only "white knuckles, wide eyes and face frozen in fear" belonged to YE when he went screaming inro the water in an uncontrolled crash in his speed-rail special. 'These arc the true facts, not some "mind--bending experience" he speaks of. And speaking of world champions, where was Don lto, the real champion, during all of YE's heroic winning?

Span:

Aspect Aatlo: Weight:

Bill Bennett The Aussie Dude

PH :(801 1~:1!.:i•'>'::::iq.q. FAX :(801 )~!1!5·'Y•Dl:Sl:S E-Mail: oltalr@mlcron.net http://net:llow.mlcron.net/-oltoir/

m update LAST CALL FOR 2002 CALENDAR PHOTOS

he May 31 deadline is almost here, and we need your help! The USH GA Hang GlicLng Calendar relies heavily on our esteemed membership for photo contributions co chis wonderful project. If you have some hoc hang photography send it to us and send it today! Launching, landing, setup, breakdown, truck/aero/boac/dogsled cowing, whatever. If there is a hang glider in the photo, we wane co see it. Imagine yo ur mug/glider/site being immortalized for all the world to admire. The deadline is May 31! Send your photography (horizontal slides preferred) co: USH GA Calendar, PO. Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901. All photography will be created with the utmost respect and properly returned. Don't delay; send 'em today. If yo u should have any questions, please call Jeff Elgart at (719) 632-8300 or e-mail jeff@ushga.org.

AEROS STALKER RELEASED

INFORMATION IS PERFORMANCE

B RAU N

A fcer three years of develop.f"1ment, Aeros has released the DHV-cercified Stalker. This longanricipared wing is the first modem rigid wing co utilize ailerons for roll wirhour incorporating vertical drag devices for roll/yaw coupling. According co the chief designer Oleg Skirko, "Utilizing ailerons makes so much more aerodynamic sense than using spoilers co cum a rigid wing. " The new wing from Aeros is a truly unique hang glider in char ir flies much like a 8ex wing but without the roll pressures, allowing a pilot co 8y for longer periods of rime without as much fatigue. Sporting a "gel-coated" D-cell, the leading edge of chi s wing looks much like a sailplane's wing. Aeros has des igned a very simple and quick setup method which rakes no longer than a cur re nt topless flex wing. The Stalker has a maximum LID of over 19: 1 and a minimum sink race of less than 140 fpm. Orders are now being raken for summer deli veries. T he retail price of the Stalker is 9,495. Contact: G.W Meadows, U.S. Aeros, (252) 480-3552, gw@jusdly.com. LANCE LARSON GLIDERS

Braunig er Fl ight Instruments provide y ou w ith accurate, timely digital flight data to enhance y o ur perform an ce and flying enjoyment. Whether your thing is loca l recre ational soaring or wo rld-class competi t ion , Brauni ge r has an instrument to give you the information y o u need .

Di str ib u t ed And S erviced By

LLS"1N"ING

Find out more from your Wills Wing dealer, Our website: www.willswing.com, or phone 71 4.998.6359

ase year I interviewed Lance Larson , che artist and pilot w ho makes stainedglass hang gliders. His work is outstanding. I personally had Lan ce design and m ake a series of chem showing the multitude of glider designs from the early days of our sport thro ugh the present day. They han g high on my wall and are

H ANG GLIDING

Looko,.t MouHtoiH HoH9 GlidiH9 8 0 0 • 6 8 8 • 5 6 3 7 - WWW• It G H 9 Ii d E: • CO tM

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Put Yourself in Expert Hands at Lookout Mountain Flight Park & Training Center Lookout Mountain, Georgia Since 1978

exceptionally beautiful. Presently, Lance is making a smaller version of his hang gliders with wire pilots. These gliders have a wingspan of six to eight inches and have a place for a string or wire to attach should you want to hang the glider from a ceiling, rearview mirror or windowpane. The gliders are of excellent quality and look exceptionally nice on a work desk, counter, or even when used as a paperweight. Lance Larson is selling the stained glass gliders for $25 each or three for $60, and that includes shipping. He will custom-design the sail to the color or shape of your choice. These smaller gliders make excellent reminders of where you really want to be while at the office, and they make great gifts for pilots, friends, drivers and landowners. Dealers please inquire about special pricing. Orders can be placed by contacting: ,Lance Larson, Lancesglass@aol.com, (206) 762-7328, 10214 11th Ave. S.W., Seattle, Washington 98146.

- submitted by Jim Palmieri Jim sent me one ofthese gliders and I can confirm that they are beautiful works ofart. - Ed.

pilots who want to learn to foot launch, Lookout Mountain has combined sotne of their excellent, proven training packages into a foot-launch, flat-slope-launch and cliff-launch clinic to teach aspects of foot-launching step by step. This is an ideal clinic for all tow pilots who want to experience and enjoy the exciting world of foot-launch flying. While you are learning these new skills you can still aerotow and get more airtime. Clinics are held daily. Call 1-800688-LMFP for further details or visit their website at www.hanglide.com.

FREE OWEN'S VALLEY MAP

lying the Owen's Valley Big Air is hard enough without having to worry about getting lost! On X-C flights, visiting pilots and chase crews frequently won't know where they are, and hang gliding place names aren't on most maps. Landing out after a hard flight can turn into a real problem when nobody can find you. After years of flying the Big 0, Hungary Joe's Flying Circus has developed a flying map for the Valley. Popular hang gliding locations are in bold letters, so the map can be carried by both the pilot and chase crew to improve communications and minimize navigation problems. The map includes lamination instructions for carrying in-flight on the control bar. The free map is available by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: Hungary Joe's Flying Circus, 5051 Alton Pkwy., #55, Irvine. CA 92604.

MOUNTAIN WINGS CELEBRATES20YEARSIN BUSINESS

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK UPDATE

ookout Mountain Flight Park has taught tens of thousands of people to foot launch, flat slope launch and cliff launch over the last 20 years. With an increase in the number of aerotow facilities throughout the country, and an increased number of requests from tow 10

his year marks the 20th anniversary of Mountain Wings, Inc. It seems like just yesterday that I believed I was going to make a million bucks teaching hang gliding and selling hang gliders. What a dreamer I was. As Bill Umstattd once said to me, "The only way to make a small fortune in hang gliding is to start out with a big one." So why do we keep doing it? It's because of a pure love of the sport and an addiction to seeing the look on a student's face when he finally gets off the ground for the first time.

Mountain Wings has grown from a little storefront in a small town in upstate New York. We now operate out of a modern storefront facility with our own training hill, and from the local airport in Ellenville, NY. Mountain Wings evolved from a one-man show to a momand-pop business (after meeting and marrying my wife Judy), to what it is today. Our instructors teach hang gliding, paragliding, ultralighting, do tandems and towing, and sell all the best, most popular hang gliders and rigid wings available today. My inspiration came from wizards of the sport like Matt Taber, John Harris, Pat Denevan <1,nd Joe Greblo. They seem to make it look so easy. My hat is off to you all. Knowing these wonqerful people and learning from them has been what kept me going through the lean years. I learned so much from these leaders in the sport. Thank you. There are not many schools and flight parks left in the U.S., and even fewer own their own sites or training hills. Thesepeople have made sacrifices in order to buy and secure sites and training hills, and are the people who keep hang gliding alive. Without this kind ofloyalty and dedication the sport we know today would not exist. We are happy and excited to have made it this far. Twenty years is a long time to be in the same business, but I would not want to be doing anything else. Let me take this opportunity to thank all our loyal customers who have trained with us, bought gliders from us, or taught for us. You are what made it all possible. Thank you. Thanks also go out to the manufacturers who stood by us when we were starting out. They provided us with demo gliders, stocked our shelves with accessories, and extended us a helping hand when needed. We received much moral support in the beginning from Bill Bennett, Natalie and Jean Michele Bernasconi, Dick Boone, Todd Beaumont, Dan Racanelli, the crew at Flight Designs, Bob Trampenau and others. These people believed in my dream and in me. And I won't forget my mom and dad for being there for me when I needed them. HANG GLIDING

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In consideration of the benefits to be derived from membership in the USHGA, and the parent or legal guardian of a minor, for themselves, their personal representatives, heirs, executors, next of kin, spouses, minor children and assigns, do agree as follows: The following definitions apply to terms used in this Agreement: I. means launching (and/or assisting another in launching), flying (whether as pilot in command or otherwise) and/or landing (including, but not limited to, mshing) a hang glider or paraglider. 2. or 11:01"Jn1r~.,,v"" as a result of the administration of

sustained by PIiot~ parents or legal guardians, as a result of administration of any USHGA programs. 3. nc,r.1:A1J1:,v P,~R,r!E.Y' 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 Pilot's proficiency rating(s); c) Each of the hang gliding and/or paraglidin1~ organizations which are chapters of the USHGA; d) The United States Of America and each of the dty(ies), town(s), county(ies), State(s) and/or other political subdivisions or governmental agencies within whose jurisdictions Pl/otlaunches, flies and/or lands; e) Each of the property owners on or over whose property launch, fly and/or land; All persons involved, in any manner, in the sports of hang gliding and/or paragliding at the site(s) where Pih,tJ~l,l'Tll'JP,ffl:l "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 Dl~iC~IA.R:GE the any and all liabilities, claims, demands, or causes of action that I may hereafter have for IN)'IJR,fES, however caused, even if caused by the negligence (whether active or passive) of any of the n,;;11.1,,,111..1,,,,"" PAJrTli~S. to the fullest extent allowed by law. I OR A against any of the loss or damage on account of .f:P111nrr IJVJU:'Rltl'. If I violate this agreement by filing such a suit or making such a claim, I will pay all attorneys' fees and costs of the ns.,,,...,,.•.,L./V P'ART!t~ I this shall be and r,0111~tr111ed matters whatsoever arising under, in connection with or incident to this Agreement U.S.A. to the exclusion of the Courts of any other State or Country. E, 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 at least 18 years of age, or, that I am the parent or legal guardian of am making this agreement on behalf of myself and If I am the parent or legal guardian of I the for their defense and indemnity from any claim or liability in the event that Not suffers even if caused in whole or in part by the negligence (whether active or passive) of any of the nc,r..c;;1,:,cv P.'AR.TIJ::S:

I have Ad11/t !'!lot's J1jnat11re

Date

S1jmt11re ofPilot's Parent or le11al G11ardi:m ifPilot under /8 years o/J!fe.

Date

MMR 12-97

I would ,ilso like to thank the people who help me going now: Brown and the Moyes boys, John and Peter at Altair, Meadows at Just Fly/ Airwave/ Matt Taber and Aixbotne, ,H Plytec (the the world), Betty Pfoiffer ofI:ligh the

offke, and to all

competition out

who make me try hai;dcr and do 'fhanks to all the iristn1ctors who have for me over the without whom I would never have gotten to where am today, and to Rodney Pendry who helped m.e more than anyone with his untiring belief in what I was doing, H.e litei:ally put his lifo on line helping me woi:k out bugs in some on my projects and prototypes, and helped develop my tow And thanks to my wifo and Judy foi: her cotitlllllt:cl.(:ttc)rts to make snre I was doing the: right thing, acting as my public relations m,:dhtM, doing the books, our great kids, helping bi.dld our house, and Kristin, Kendra and K,1itlin. When I that paragliding to be a valid sport I <1dded it to the list of flying activities we uwclx,.,. After four years of successful paragliding instruction, one of my instmc.tors at the Lars U11de, became our partner in a new business called Eastcoast Paragliding. 'This ventJ.1te has into one of the paragliding schools in the .l;;ai,tcciast Paragliding operates mider the same roof as Mountain Wings, although Mmmtain Wings is still owned and operated hy and m,~. I hope I wlll be form.any more years to co.me, ing the joy of flight to willing r.o plop down the big bucks, Tbat look in a after his first flight or the tirne he lands on his reward enough for me. We will be celebrating our 20 years with a blowont/pig··roast party at the Ellenville on June I 0. For mote info on the you can

MAY 2001

mtnwings@.catskilLnet, www.mtnwings.com,

subn:litted by

Black

Greg Black is a Marter~rat:edpi/ot who startedf/:yin,(!; in . lie also holds an Advanced Instructor rating with all sign.-offe. C!reg worked for tt hang glider mr,mufacturer called Stratus in Notthern California in the kite .1970's, then moved back to New York in l.981 to start his own hang gliding busine,s ctilled.Mountain Wing:r, was a halfp4rtner in the operation ofthe l.3'/lenville .Mountain site.for four years, He owns his own seven-acre training facility in E'!lenville, rtnd h,is r:1. lifetime, long-term lease on their advanced 200:foot training hill· along with their 45:fbot, north·· east-facing tMininghill. Mountq.in Wings also rents a hangar at the .EtlenvilleAitport whm he teachfs ultralighting and operates a tow park. is also an tJ.ltralight BPI. Mountain Wings is one ofthe top five schoolr in the U.S;

Calendar of events it,:ms \Vil ,I, NC YI' he list· eel if only rentarivc. Please include cx;1cr infordate, comac1 name and phone Itcms should be received 110 lmcr than six weeks prior to the evcnr. We request two months lead time for regional ,md narion·· al mccrs.

,,,,,,,, '"·"""" 9 Regionals torals three weekend flights in Region 9 from March I 28. 'I 'he Almosr Yearlong C011resr admowlcdges a on any day between conresranr's March 15 and November 15. Classes for Rookies, Miles, Opt:n, Rigid and Paraglidcrs. I\mry fees $10 and $5 respec:rivcly. Conrnct: Pete Lehmann, lplchmann(ii)aol.com, (Ii 12) 5811 Elgin St., Pinsburgh. PA l 'i206.

UNTIL DEC. 31: 200 l falcon Comest. Now includes any oth· er singlc.·surfacc flex Sponsored by man· instTuctors and the gencr· om. Support invircd. Where: /\ll ofthc U.S. as divided into four scelions to make skill, not flying sites, the determining focror for rhc winners (plus the rcsr of rhc world as a group for foreign For complcrc in for. mmion and entry forms (c··mail prcfrrrcd) conracr:

hnp:// rekfl ight. tripod .co1n/folco11xc.h1ml, tek/.!1Js:nc11'.11<.:l or SASE ro Tck Flight Winsted, CT Products, Colebrook 06098. MAY 11-12: Steeple Chctse R11ccs, by Western Hang Gliders and Coastal Condors. foe Sponsors solicited. Comact: 'vJ..l csrcrn Hang Cliders (8:"\ I) fox (831) 384

May 30, $125 afrcr. Contact: Aclvcmurc Sports, 883-7070, advspts@1pyra1nid.net.

2121, Brevard, NC 28712, (828) 885-2536, pbranncnp@>citcr1m.net.

JULY 5· l 0: 2001 /(eel Bull

! !tmg Garnes, Outer Banks, NC. Party with friends at the bcacl1 and fly the famous dunes of'Jockey's Ridge. Spor..Lmding and pylon course cornpe1irion. Individual (beginner through advanced) and team events. Bring a team or join one once you arc here. Sec rhc latest and greatest hang gliders and ultralights at the Air Games held at ( :urrituck Coumy Airport as we compete in spot-landing, bomb drop and altitude gain. lnc:ludcs Just Fly l~ilm Festival, Woody Jones Street Dance, and newly formed Annual Kitty Hawk Kites Instructor Reunion. Pri'f.es for ;11\ competitors. Visit www.kitryhawk.com/evcnrs.di11. Comact: Bruce Weaver, hrucc@kiuybawk.com, 4/t 1-2426.

Over !11pen,

Aspen, c:o. Paraglidinp; Cross Counrrywill he replaced with Paragliding Acrobatics. The compctirion will feature three disciplines: Paragliding Acrob,1tic,, Hang Gliding Acrnbarics, and Hang Gliding Speed Run. 15 pilots in each discipline will compete for a $36,000 pri'f.e purse. Por more infrirmation or if you arc a top pilot and would like ro compete, contacL: Othar Lawrence, fly@rcdbullwings.com, or visit www.rcdbullwings.com.

JULY 6-8: 200 I Moore, lcblio.

entry fee. Opcn.disrancc

X-C along a specified route. T(ms of pri'f.es, handicap scoring, barbecue, great shirrs, wondcrfol bonus super cxtr;i-,.spccial lTO· nice people, great incentives for early registration! Contact: Lisa Tare, Meet Director/Organizer, J 1716 Fairview Ave., Boise, Idaho 83713, (208) (208) 48/i.6667 cell, Zoolisa0i\1ol.com.

Chelan, WA.

JULY 8-15: Chekm X C

Class A-sanctioned meet. Since 1979, one of the nation's top evcms of rhe summer, 11:Jr hang glider and paraglidcr pilots. Meet runbefore and aficr. "Choosc·your·task" compct·irion: out-and··return or rriane,lc. ( :ontact: http://www.clot1dbasc.org/ChclanComps, R11ss ( ;clfon, (206) 367-8%3, russlfboc@)home.c(llll.

AUGUST I J. . J8: US Nationals, Tcx:1s, Ausri11 Air Sports, Hearne, TX. Contact: sburns(a\msrinairsporrs.com, (979) 279·9:382, www.ausrinairsports.com for more info.

MAY 18-20: South Ctimlintl ,\J1,"tnJ,tzr,11e In, at Mountain near Greer, SC. Come enjoy flying and competing (spot, duration, X-( '., balloon ross, m this beau· tifitl 1noumain. Plaques awarded to all second- and d1ird·placc finishers in all competitions balloon toss). $20 cmry fee for competition flying, $10 for fun Fly-ln T-shirrs available. Glassy launch is 1,500' /\CL. Contact: P,ml Pccples, P.O. Box 1

for all levels or pilots over a timc·vrovcn course. I\ grca1· opportunity ro improve your skills and learn abom compcti·· lion flying. hm competition with some of die bcsr pilots in the West. Sierra sires include Slide Mm. and McClellan Peak wid1 wide· open LZ's. I .ocarion: Carson C:ity/l .ake Tahoe, NV. Includes: party, T-shirts, Silver Belt Buckle /\wards. $100 umil

MAY 19-20: La/er, McClure Coyote Howl Fun Meet. !fang Ill and above, improved launch and landing areas. only $25. Cool tro· pliics for all spccd·rnns, x.. c, pylon comsc, endurance, spot landings. Enter as many categories as you like for one low fee. Pay when you get here or send check to: Doug Prather, 1691 Vivian Rd., Modesto, CA 95358, ( 209) 55G·Oli69, drmwvrhg@sofrcom.net.

Yosemite MAY 26-SEPT. 4: National Pa.rk. Por informmio11 and rcgistra· tion visit W\1YVv'.VlH!;1,.01·u. MAY 26-28: Starthistle Annual Wood rat Mtn., southern Oregon. Fun flying, barbecue, rests of flying skills. Some of the globe's best flying. Contact:

www.RVHGA.org/Sranhisdc2001.htm, PrcsidentCrhlNHGA.org,

) li82-5117.

MAY 26-28: Tennessee Tree TojijJm Mayhem. Fun flying and a great party on Saturday night. At the famous Henson's radial ramp ;incl/or rhc club's Whitwell launch, depending on winds. Conran: www.trceroppcr.org, or Jeff or Alli Dodgen ar 949-3384 for more info. MAY 26-28: Third Annuril Foothills Fun Meet, in Stony Point, NC:. Plex and rigid wings welcome. Open X.C:, triangle, and local duration awards. Aerorow launch. Emry

HANG CLIDINC

fee plus rows. Contact: Brad G1ydcr, foothillsflight@lmtmail.com, (828)632·98 I0. MAY 26-28: The 21st Annual Dry Fly-In, in Alamogordo, NM. Contests, tro· phics, barbecue. Good air and wonder winds. Enjoy desert thermals while your family enjoys rbe cool pines of Cloudcroft. Minimum Hang 2/Para 2, with mountain experience, TUR and AWCl,. Entry fee: Contact: Robin I-lastings, (505) 541·571t4.

JUNE 2: l I th Annual AOPA Fly!n and Open ! louse, AOPA Headquarters, hederick Municipal Airport, Maryland. Contact: Warren Momingsw, (30 I) 695-2162, warre11.momi11gstarc?haopa.org. JUNE 23--30: Srmdia Soaring.Association XC Chrillengc. Big X-C: from Sandia Crest. Seven days to make your best X-C's! Last year I()() .. milers were common and a couple over 200 miles were logged. ·rrophies: Longest J:lighr, Cumulative Three Best Days. $100 entry ($125 afi.er June I) gets you guide pilots, free oxygen refills, T-shirt, maps, barbecue party and more. Bonus: x.c seminar by top pilot Dave Sharp. Minimum raring Hang 3, 50 hrs., with X-C, mounrain thermal, foot. launch and turbulence experience. Drivers available. Hang gliders Class I and ll only. Contact or send registration: Sandia Soaring /\ssociation, P.O. Box 14571, Albuquerque, NM 87191. Visit www.flysandia.org with questions or to print a copy of the registration form. Register early as spots arc limited. JUNE :3: l,a/eeview, Oregon Umpteenth Annual Festival ofFm: Flight. Registration on June 29, pilots' meeting and registration onJunc 30 at 9:30 AM at Chamber of Commerce headquarters. r:ly June :)0, July l and 2, awards on July 3. hm and prizes for hangies (Sugar Hill-1.akevicw Trophy Dash, Spot·Landing Comest), and Baggies (Most Accumulated Miles, Spot· I .anding Contest). Fly Lake County's friendly skies, land in our friendly l Z' sand party with at Jules and Ma,y's place your buds. on July I and you can fly in! The best "nohasslc" free flight event on the Lcfr Coast. C:onrnct: L:1kc County Chamber of Commerce, 126 N. E St., Lakeview, OR 97630, I) 94760/iO, or "Ccneral" Gilpatrick, I .akevicw Air Force, (541) 947.

MAY 2001

:$330, freeflire@transport.com.

/\UG. 25-26: FiF,hth Annual Mt. Nebo Fnd Ply!n, with the Central Arkansas Mountain Pilots, at Mt. Nebo State Park, Dardanelle, Arkansas. Pilots must be a current Hang 3 or better to fly. Camping and cabins arc available through the State Parl<. Contact: James Linscomc, (501) 890.4849, wispy02lrcaintcrnet.com, or Dave Dunning, (501) 967-0570. For information on cabin and c;1mp site reservations call Mt. Nebo State Park at ].8()().261t.21t58. SEPT 15-16: Ninth Annual McConnclL,burg: Fftmg Gliding McConnellsburg, PA, Region IX. Fun flying for Hang II (with Observer) to Hang V. Capitol Hang Glider /\ssociation and the Maryland I lang Gliding Association will donate proceeds ro McConnellsburg Fire and Rescue. Contact: Carlos Weill, (21t0) 631-3821. Check www.mhga.com for derails.

MAY 11 ·· l 3: Instructor certification and recerr.mr.m.um clinic:r at Fly I figh Hang Gliding (horh hang gliding and paragliding). ( :ontact: l)aul Voight, Fly High JIG, Pinc Bush, NY, 7/ilt-3317, flyhighGDfrontiernct.nct. MAY 11-1:3: Cochrane, Alberta, Ctmadc1. l'araclmtc Seminar. Join Vinccne and Chris Muller and Roh Kells for one of Rob's in for-· mativc and practical parachute seminars. Contact: Muller Windsports, 1.td., (lt03) fax (lt03) 851-0737, fly@nrnller· windspons.com, www.mullerwindsporrs.com. MAY 18-20: Whitewclter, Wf. r:ly a variety of Wills Wing hang gliders at Brad Kushncr's excellent aero·· row sire. Contact: Raven Sky Sports, (262) 473-8800, fax 473-8801, brad@hangg· liding.com, www.hangglicling.com. MAY 22··2:3: IArmd, 11.. Fly a variety of Wills Wing hang gliders at a great flying site. Contact: ]fang Glide Chicago, (815) 325-1685, gofly0)hangglidechicago.com, www.hangglidcchicago.com. MAY 25-27: Draper, UT Demo Days and Parachme Seminar. Hang glider demos plus one of Rob's informative and practical parachute seminars (for HC & PC). Call Cloud 9 for actual date of the seminar. Com act: Cloud 9 Soaring Center, (80 I)

576-61t60, fax (801) info@paraglidcrs.com. MAY] 1-13: North American Flight Design ri;~id Covers carbon-fiber repair, full annual inspections, pans repair and replacement, runing, trim measurements, flying tips, new products, performance charts, and more. Hope to fly as well. Free for dealers. Contact: Mike Eberle (206) 320-90 I 0, napic?ilfun2fly.com. MAY 17-21: JP MAY 19-20: tion fr;r both hang gliding and paragliding. Contact: Michael Robertson, High Perspective, lnc., (905) 294-2536, 1-800359-9979, staff(d>flyhigh.com, www.flyhigh.com, RR.#5, 865 Concession 7, Claremont, ON Canada LlY 1A2. MAY 25-27: fnternationr1l Great Lalces Parachute Safety Scminctr rmd Demo Days. Wills Wing demos for qualified acrorow pilots with the Draachen rlicgcn Soaring Club at Cloud 9 Field, Michigan. Also, Roh Kcll's safery seminar for I-IC and PC pilors. Seminar fee $30. Pre··rcgistration required. Contact: Cloud 9 Sport Aviation, Cloud9sa(d>aol.com, (517) 223.B683. .JUNE 3·4: (overflow/rain datcsJ11nc 8-·9, 10-11) Moyes America aerotow clinics, at Crazy Creek Soaring, three miles north of Middletown, CA. USJ-IC/\ members, Hang lll minimum. Price: Two days of aerotow instruction, five slow-climb tows ro 2,500', use of glider, all tow equipment, sire use for two days and one night. Contact: Kenny Rrown/Moycs America, Ayamoycs@\1ol.com.www.moyc.samcrica.com, www.moycs.com.au (Moyes Delta Glider info), www.zip.corn.au/ ~moyes (Dragonfly Info), 200 Hillcrest Dr., Auburn, CA 95603, (530) 888- B622, fax 888-8708. JUNE 2·:3: Tandem Clinic (hang gliding) at Fly 1-.[igh Hang Cliding. Contact: Paul VoighL, Fly High HC, Pinc Bush, NY, (81t5) 744-:3:3 l 7, flyhigh@frontiernct.net. JUNE 10: Mountain Wings blowout!pig·rottst party ar the Ellenville Airport, NY. ( :ontact: Crcg Black, mtnwings(a)catskill.ner, www.mrnwings.com.

We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable;

that all men are created equal. .. -

Thomas Jefferson, Preamble to the Declaration ofIndependence

n most contexts, Mr. Jefferson is absolutely right, but he sure wasn't talking about hang gliding - and what about women? Depending on your basic physical attributes, you fly a particular size glider. Based on your skill level, you fly sires and conditions that are commensurate with your experience. Harnesses and parachutes are matched to your size, shape and weight, and your whims and economic srarus dictate what kind of transportation you use to get to rhe flying sites. So why is something as personal as hang gliding instruction often issued in a one-size-firs-all manner? Certainly ir would be impossible to write an article about, let's say landing, and tailor it to each pilot's stature, reflexes, glider rype and state of tuning, experience, awareness, conditions, sire, state of mind, acceptable risk level, and abiliry to avoid physical damage (bouncibiliry) and cover all permutations of these factors. However, covering some of these factors in articles on technique and style would be possible and, I believe, very desirable. To make the job easier, there is another method available to account for the inherent disparities between pilots; char is, for each pilot to inventory himself and learn to factor his peculiar traits into all discussions on technique. To that end, this second in the Hang Gliding Technique and Style series will discuss the personal factors that affect our ability to hang glide successfully.

PARAMETERS Physical Traits The weight, shape and dimensions of yo ur anatomy, as well as your muscle strength, determine nor only whom you'll marry and how your kids will look, bur also what model and size glider you'll fly. This is common knowledge. However, in future

articles we'IJ use your physique to determine the landing technique best suited for you, the sryle of launch to use in light winds on a flat slope, and even how to turn your glider most efficiently. The physical traits we will take into account include weight, dimensions, mength, conditioning and bouncibiliry of your body.

Mental Qualities Your mental qualities have as much, if not more, effect on your flying sryle than do your physical characteristics. However, most pilots will find assessing these abilities difficult. There is no ruler for measuring awareness, and it's difficult to assess your ability to handle fear and panic without first-hand experience in potentially disastrous situations. In addition, ego often colors self-analysis, and the nebulous nature of emotions causes large swings in your level of awareness at any given time. So, try to be honest and conservative in your analysis and maybe ask your flying buds for their opinions too. The mencal qualities we will discuss are experience, reflexes, coordination, awareness, foresight, abiliry to visualize, state of mind, perceived and accepted level of risk, how you manage pressure, fear and panic, and the perceived amount of spare cash you have. The piloting skills that these physical traits and mental qualities affect are ground handling, launching, in-air handling, landing and crashing.

Constants A pilot with short arms might have the same effective extent of flare as her knuckledragging counterpart if she is flying a proportionately smaller glider, using bar extenders, hanging much higher in the control bar, or using a more efficient technique. However, to be able to compare a given parameter we must assume that all other

variables are equal. IfI state, "The longer a pilot's arms, the easier it is to produce a fulJ flare," I'm considering the arms to be the only variable. Body height, flare technique, glider size, harness rype, weather conditions, and everything else in the world is constant. This limitation is essential to ensure that we isolate the one parameter under discussion. In future articles we will discuss considerations of technique, equipment, conditions and site topography, bur again, we will only introduce one variable at a ume.

Where Tm Coming From My knowledge is derived from well over 10,000 logged flights of all kinds (68 logbooks) and many more tho usands of unlogged, mostly training-hill flights. I've taught hundreds of students, filming or videotapi ng many of them, and have studied those rapes in slow and stop morion. I've practiced and demonstrated techniques such as safe crashes and downwind, uphill landings in soarable conditions during the hundred seminars and thousand lessons I've administrated. (I'IJ inform you of any techniques I haven't personally practiced.) H owever, I've learned the most from the 6,000 tandem training flights I've shared with smdents. These flights have allowed me to watch and experience a variery of techniques employed by both inexperienced and advanced pilots. In the next section of this article I'll describe the physical traits that affect yo ur abiliry to control yo ur glider, and in next month's article I'll tackle the mental qualities that hold sway over yo ur decision-making. For both of these articles I'll provide a form via e-mail that yo u might complete and rerurn to me or just keep for yo ur own reference. I'll nor only create a database of the bodies and minds in our sport that I'll share with you, but the information will allow me to learn more about those who have an interest in my ramblings and about rhe extremes and averages of hang glider pilot characteristics. With yo ur cooperation this should translate into more accurate articles.

TRAITS AND TECHNIQUES Height (Shoulders To Soles) - This Measurement Is Made In Inches From The Floor To The Top Of Your Shoulder: The greater chis distance, the more H ANG GLI DING

Trouble

FlyTEC 352·429-8600 www.flytec . com

800. 662. 2449 W a rni ng: use of FlyAgra has been shovvn, in most cases, to have the follovving side effects: extreme a ltitude gains, exhi laration, euphoria, ear popping, hypoxia, hypothermia, and a repetitive highpitched beeping In ears. Consult your physician If lovv-elevatlon symptoms persist. Use only as dir-ected.

on the doumtuber. Um'ortJma,tely,

pilots will 11ml to ground clearance you have with rhc hast>· tube and wings while ground handling and launching. All else being equal, the taller you arc, the easier it is to walk to launch hooked in or clear obstacles under your wings during launch. You can also use larger wheels on your basctube than shorter pilots. A shorter distance means you will be in a more comfortable position while potatoing on launch with the basetube on the ground ·· no need to stoop. Also, it's easier to set the glider clown or bump rhc corner bracket on t:be ground to regain control of a wing--bigh position during ground handling. If you arc shorr, you may want ro consider not being hooked into the glider while ground handling, in order to reduce fatigue when dealing with many obstructions leading to launch. J·fowever, if you change yom ground handling technique you may have to modify the methods you use to ensure that you're hooked into the glider prior to flight.

Width Of'Shoulders Measure In Inches From Arm To Arm, A Couple Of'lnches Below The ?op OfYour Shoulders, Where rour Arms Contact rour Downtubes While Carrying rour Glider. This is a difficuh measurement to do alone, so employ a friend or stand in a doorway with one arm (two inches below the top of your shoulder) against the door jamb and the other touching the partially opened door. Now spread your elbows frorn your side approximately the distance they arc while ground handling your glider. You might have to lean forward a little to keep your elbows from contacting the door or jamb. This measurement, in conjunction with height, will determine basetubc and

wing ground clearance. As you'll notice, you have some conrrol over this mcasurcmem the wider your elbows rhc greater the disrnncc. Of course, your glider has much 10 do with ground clearance, bllt we'll get to that next month. 'fhc method you employ in holding your glider can affect your anxiety on launch. If you are worried about hitting your basetubc on the ground or kicking it while you're nmning, thar's one additional pressure experiencing at a time when most of us arc already overstressed.

Weight Measurement In Pound,, Get On A Scale. While there is most likely not more than a 50% increase from the shortest to tallest pilots, there surely is at least a 250%) increase from the lightest to heaviest pilots. Even though this trait is one oF the most talked about in hang gliding, and is well understood and considered, some aspects of wing loading arc not obvious. Even with your body, equipment and glider weights, and sail area all remaining constant, your wing loading can increase l OO<J<, or more! Any kind of groundbased towing can easily add 300 pounds to your glider, and a simple 60° bank doubles your loading. Everyone knows that higher wing loadings mean higher stall, minimum sink, best glide, top and trim speeds, but did you know that a higher wing loading trims your glider closer to srall and moves rhe trim basctube position rearward? In other words, a glider normally trimmed at minimum sink might trim at or below stall speed when experiencing a higher wing loading. 'T'hc fact that the airspeed is higher and the bar position may be farther back (lower on your body in prone position, closer to your body in

with their flam.

standing position) makes it impossible to recognize a stall from rhcsc typical indicators. I don't contend that groundbased towing lockoms don't exist (I strongly believe in all manner of wild control problems associated with air-toair towing) bm it is rny opinion that the vast majority, if nor all, of earth-based rowing "lockouts" arc stall induced and recoverable! This topic will require an article or two t:o cover completely becaw;e there arc myriad reasons, both physical and psychological, why pilots don't gain speed or weight-shift properly to exit these situations. In a foture article I'll relate my experiences from more than 7,000 truck tows.

Locrttion Of'Body Center Of Gravity (BCg) Determine By Hanging In Your Harness. Lie in your harness, hanging from a secure support. Unhook or disconnect all lines (being careful to mark their lengths if you have to untie any) that limit a head-down position. You may also need to not use your leg straps and to leave your legs hanging out of your pod or cocoon boot. Also, wear your helmet to include its weight and just in case ... You might also load your harness with all the paraphernalia you usually carry in flight. Move your body forward or back until you balance in a prone orientation, once with your arms in your typical flying position and then with your arms extended Fully overhead in a foJl-.flarc position (there's not much difference, but a little). 'fake note of the point on your body directly below the middle oF your main harness supporrs. Knowing your center of gravity is not only important for ordering a h,irncss, HANG GLJIJING

but will lic:lp determine rhc hcst narc technique for you, and might you some insight into your launch method. I/rm ('i'houlder To Palm) /\Ilea surement In Inches From Yr;ur ltrmpit liJ The !-ler:l Of YrJUr Palm. Your arm length will determine how you hold your glider for ground handling, the position of your hands For launch, where to hold the conrrol bar for optimal roll and pitch control in the air, and hand placemem and technique for flaring. All and all, rhe longer your arms, the more options you have, but you already knew that the last time you reached for howl on rhe top shell: that

This fr II Judgment Call Ratt' /Is W0ctl,, llvemgc, Or Gorilla. This is not only a measme of the strength of your biceps and triceps, hut also your pectoral and lateral muscles. Use the following scale: can't lifr your glider ro your shoulder alone (weak); can just get glider to shoulder can press glider above yom head (strong); can press glider multiple rimes (gorilla). Strong arms arc usually bcndicial in all aspects of hang gliding since we use them as our sole imtrumcn ts of' weigfn sh ifr, however, strength can be a real detriment to learning subtle techniques and becoming aware of feedback. Control actions for which many pilots use brute strength can be accom-plishcd more efficiently with light pressures in another direction. 'Jiy this experiment. The next time you're flying in smooth air, away from the ground and other gliders, rake your left hand off your basctube. Now, try to push yourself into a left turn. Now, still using only your right arm, gently pull into a bank by pulling the basctube an inch toward your navel. Which dTort is more efficient?

Vg /,ength (lnmnn) The Following Jv!easurements !Ire Made In Inches hwn The Noor '/() Crotch. hnt, Jl1ettsure StandSeconcl, lvlr:asurc Crouched !Is /,ow /Is Possible. The length of your legs while standing will give you a fair indication of'liow fost you can run. Have you ever seen a Pygmy sprimer? And ihc difference bcnvccn rhe rwo measurements will you rhc distance of uavcl of your shock MAY 2001

absorbers when contacting rhe earth feet firsL. That distance is relative Lo the forces you can endure during landings (and less-than-perfect landings). Measurement In Inches' C-forccs arc a measure of acceleration or decelerarion. C's arc computed by dividin velocity by rhc rime it ing the rakes ro afft'.Ct rhat change. If you were traveling at 52 feet per second (approximately 22 mph, reasonable for a hang glider) and slowed to a stop in one scc-ond (about the time ii takes to run three your body would experience one the same force your legs experience from"(, while sranding. Basically, every rime you land you will come to a stop, and rhe longer the period over which you spread that decclcrarion the easier it will be on your body. Stand with one shoulder next to a wall, reach up with that ;irrn and touch the wall with your omsrretchcd fingers as high as possible without standing on your toes. Mark rhat point. Now crouch down wirh your butt: on your heels, spring skyward, and again touch the wall at the apex of your leap. Notice that point or pm a linlc chalk or rape on your 1111gcrs to make ;1 mark where you rouch. Measure the vcrrical distance between the rwo marks. Jusr for comparison, stand on your hands with chalk on your toes and make the same measurements doing a handspring. Now try it doing a headstand, pushing yourself into the air with your neck muscles. These measurements will help you decide what part of your body absorbs shock the best, and therefore which part you wish ro contact the earrh first on landing. Longer is better.

Length Prom Rody (z (V<lith llrms In Nare Position) "!(; Pa/ms Heid Over Head-Measurement In Inches. Measure from your center ol'graviry to your palms. Noricc how this distance lengthens as you move your palms from our in front of you to over your head. Tc) find the arm position that allows you the maximum extent of flare, hold the end of a tape rneas11re with one hand at your center of gravity and let the rape slide through rhe crook of your thumb and forefinger of the other hand. Now, swing

your arm through an arc from om in front of you ro over your head. When the tape stops sliding through your hand, you have found the position you should end up in for a full flare. Measure this distance. This measurement will determine your rnaximum extent of Rare. Never fear, there arc rcchniqucs rhat allow even short-armed pilots to consistently execute good landings. l,ength From Palm To Pa/m (Arms Held Horizont1d Out '/h The Side) Measurcmmt In Inches. This will help you dcterrninc the optimum hand position for launch, landing approach and flare. Of course, arm length is nol the only factor involved in rhe above techniques, bm it is the only one we're dealing with in rhis aniclc. Patience! Strength OfBones llnother/udgemcnt C'a!!. Rate Vour Hones /Is Whck /Wem:vr,. Strong Or Gorilltt. Have you ever broken a bone? Did it seem to break easily? ] lave you suffered accidents in which you thought you should have broken ;1 bone but didn't? By determining your "bouncibility factor" (rlic ability of your body to absorb hard knocks) you can decide which hang gliding school you wish to attend one where you can learn with reduced risk or the school of hard knocks. Even with weak hones there arc many techniques that will improve your ability to remain unscathed during hard landings and help minimize damage to your body in a crash. Afrhough these techniques arc among the rnosr difficult lo learn (because it can lie difficult to override our they arc very simple actions.

'Thar's it for a survey of your body, and l didn'1 even ask any embarrassing questions. lfyou e-mail me I'll send a cli;1rt you cm fill in with your statistics and compare to mine. If you aren't online, get a friend to e-mail me and have him print the chan for you. Next momh we'll explore your mind (scary thought), and following that, your glider. Greg may be contacted at dt'UJ{)lf7<!1\wl.com. ed. 1B 19

({:) 200 I by MichtJel Robertson ur stories of old continue to unfold in the guise (or maybe dis-guise) ofYE (Young Eagle), our central fictionalized figure. His older, hopefully wiser, but still made-up manifrsrarion, OBE (Old Bald Eagle), purportedly pens these pages. Or to put it more plainly, the names are changed and the events are more or less imaginary. Any relationship to persons living or dead is purely coincidental, although possibly appropriate. OBE's writing mainly about competition this month. He knows you're reading this in May but for OBE it's January, a time to reflect on another turn around the sun. It's another crop of amazing students and inspiring tandem discovery passengers. It's kids, older, brighter and bolder. It's wonderfi.il weeks basking in the glow of Cuba's beautiful fun-loving people, subterranean wonders, clear, colorless sunrises and sunsets and magical beaches. It's more books read, cramming his head. It's also the muchprophesied millennium of peace. OBE wonders if we'll make it? A high perspective is about seeing through the smoke of personality and revealing the universal teachings beneath, about seeing situations for the lessons they yield, about having fun cooperatively, ah out maximizing plea·· sure and minimizing pain, about being positive, loving and learning. Gotama, the Buddha, said I ,300 years ago, "Let all beings be happy[" Arc we leaving the barbarity of com-

petition and achieving cooperation? Arc we winning without the downside more or less? Joan Baez is singing, "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda," telling of the carnage at Gallipoli. Pierre Berton writes ofVimy Ridge, a great WW I victory, with only 75,000 Canadians mowed down in a month. WW II had fewer casualties except for the holocaust and the atom bomb. World wars arc to international affairs what Tricky Dicky was to politics and some defensive tackles are to football. You can insert whom, on the hang gliding competition scene, would fit the mold. Defeat the enemy at any cost. Winning is everything 'The rest are losers. Bu 11, ch! World wars made it patently obvious, in retrospecr at least, that we'd gone roo far in the name of winning. We have hopefully passed through the age during which many lived in fear that some overzealous cornpeditrot (competitive patriot) would push a bur-· ton and annihilare the world. The current movie, Days, shows bow close we came to an apocalyptic "Guns of August" in our lifetime. Devilish Strobe is in Australia awing us with his OZ as always. We see that competition in hang gliding has not descended into the kind of head--bashing (physical and psychological) that occurs in some other sports. 'I\vo of OBE's favorites, hockey and football, have been sadly diminished by the esca-lation of violence and the blind win-atall-cost attitude. In OHE's opinion, now everyone loses, because so many fantastic players get mairned. Biological research with angelfish and wasps inclicates that being spectators to violence escalates testosterone levels and machismo. Studies show rhat escalation in incidents of human domestic violence support this theory. Conversely, OBE's extensive research indicates that incidents oflove increase after the viewing of, or participating in, pleasurable activities. Hence the trnism, hang glid-

er pilots arc better lovers. Now to pause for a reality check. Theories and philosophy often pale when the dark clouds of personality clash. Such was the situation at the recent BOD meetings in Indiana when rhe usual turbulence associated with the competition corn m inee overdeveloped into ;i towering cu-nim. Thunder roared as acrimony and insult flashed across the room. For many hours, in committee and general session, the storm raged. Suddenly, it was not about having a pleasant, safe fligbt. It was abom whether to crash in the trees or into the side of the mountain. lt was a lose-lose situation. Sad for a sport that normally should soar in the win-win column. "Those who enjoy s;iusagc and the law should never watch either one being made!" It was ugly. Many were embarrassed to be there but the situations had to be handled. After a while the torrential downpour slowed to a drizzle and in close votes decisions were made. It was exhausting work but your BOD did the job. Kudos arc due them. It raises many questions in OBE's mind. Is personality more important than principal? Is a rulebook more important than the competitor it rules? When docs the exceptional allow for an exception? Change is essential f<Jl' growth. Stagnation means certain, albeit slow, death. Ifow can we keep everyone happy and still keep up. In a perfect world there should be a way. Some day maybe we'U figure it out, but for now we're still hashing egos to make the competition omelet. It's part of the reason that in an imperfect world, high-level competition scores low on the Windividual chart of reliability. Competition can cause us to push lirn-· its and abandon caution for the win. On the other side, cooperation can make competition a joy for all. New ideas and designs flourish in the fertile warmth of many like-thinking minds. How can we maximize the lift and minimize the sink? HANC GLIDING

Let's back up for a moment and ask ourselves, "Why do we fly?" ls it because of the particularly personal pleasure and joy that we experience, the epitome of freedom? Or is it to go home with the gold? ls it for fun or profit? Arc they mutually exclusive? It's dangerous in any activity, and in life in general, to push the limits of safety. When we compete too hard to win we often lose big time. As a recent Canadian casualty to competition wrote, "(] went) from hero to zero!" Competing against rather than for can be costly. We need constant reminders about taking on mother nature, peers, friends, advanced glider designs, or unreliable sites (sec Pdm1ary's "Black Diamond" article) as pointed out at the BOD hy JG (John Gentle-walled). Even taking chances at sex is ha1.;1rdous.

Complacency breeds on the illusion that we can roll the dice again and again with similar results. We automatically assume that because we got away with pushing the odds once, we can twice and thrice. Getting lucky is never guaranteed. We left a noHo-lucky YE hopping around on a sore ankle from which he learned a valuable lesson. If your instructor is competitive for attention and has a large ego, he may thrive on proving himself at rbe expense of others. If he tells you to do something tbar seems anti-intuitive, don't do it! OBE feels that the broader applications of th is adage also apply. If we take full responsibility for our lives then the advice of a doctor, lawyer, or even the normally reliable Indian Chief, should be taken with saline solution. Intuition

and common sense rule! In the perfect world we'd be just that, flawless. T'he dark ages of towing featured ads in magazines touting 20 features of a glider, l 8 of them faults flies great with or without battens). There were 50 "manufacturers." M,rny were dead against weak links. Some advocated 3/8" towline: "A line break can kill you?" So towing huge standards on hawsers was common. 'They won a lot of competitions because of their size, but they went upside-down lots ancl tore releases and A-frames apart. Seven top pilots died towing in the U.S. in one year. Towing became synonymous with death. Yet for YE, towing through the dark ages was acciclcm though there were some exciting incidents. II

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MAY 200'1

HANG GLIDING

INTERVIEWS

Bob The Gentleman of

Will the Real Sky Dog Please Step Forward? by Jim (Sky Dog) Palmieri

P: Bob, you know hat I teach the biologi.cal sciences but you probably don't know this. You are personally respomible for more inattentive students in my dassroom than any other single factor. On the computer in my classroom I have about 200 hang gliding photographs on the screen saver, many are photographs ofyou and by you. Now is my chance to get back at There are few pilots in the sport who have the heritage and the background that you have, and I ask that you share these with the readership. Would you please introduce yourselfto the membership? BG: H i Jim . It's good to hear from you

again. To the pilots who do noc know me, I am Bob Grant and I live in London, Ontario, Canada. I have been hang gliding since 1972.

JP: As you know, it is difficult to balance being married and being active in hang gliding. People who ask me what is the single most dangerous aspect ofhang gliding get this response ftom me: AIDS (Aviation Induced Divorce Syndrome)! It is obvious that your wife Maureen must be a special person. Can you tell us about her? BG: My wife, Maureen and I met while row kiting. She was caking lessons and soon bought her own glider, a Bill Bennett Delea

Wing TX chat Maureen used fo r her waterrow lessons. Maureen and I scarred footlaunching che 1,000-fooc mountains in the Finger Lakes region of New Yo rk Scace. O ne of Maureen's first foo t-launch flights was from Harriet Hollister State Park law1eh, a 1,160-fooc agl site. As long as I live, I will never forget her big smile after she successfully landed in the rather rolling LZ. We have since made che five-ho ur trip from our home in London, O ntario to the Finger Lakes hundreds of times and still enjoy the fan tas tic scenery and the time together. Maureen has always been interested in 35-mm photography and still shoots many rolls on our trips around the United Scates. Many of Maureen's photos are featured on H ANG GLI DING

Hints On Aerial Photography by Bob Grant

our website at www.skynec.ca/ ~skydog.

JP: You have been hang gliding for many years. How did you initially become interested in the sport? BG: I was first introduced to sport flying as an avid water ski enthusiast. The water ski club that I belonged co was known as the London Ski Serpents. They had two flat kites, which were cowed by a 120-foot rope, which always stayed attached to the rowboat. Normally, the highest we would fly would be about 60 feet off the water, swerving back and fo rth behind the boat and doing all kinds of neat tricks like hanging from our knees and M AY 200 1

have done lots of aerial photography and it seems to me that one of the first things to secure 1s a proper mount so that your camera will stay stationary throughout the flight. The mount should also be adjustable for different angles of view and it must be very sturdy. The camera itself should be lightweight, although many of us aerial photographers have used some monster cameras, making counterbalancing necessary. If I mount m y camera on the leading edge/crossbar junction I always use a similar weight on the opposite side, but ifI fasten my camera on the rear keel I don't use a counterbalance on the nose. I have not noticed a difference in the control of my glider when I carry a can1era. When mounting a video camera I always just lee it run from scare co finish. Trying to use a scan/stop button usually doesn't work our. A wide-angle lens usually works best, but when using chis lens remember that ocher gliders in your shoot will appear much farther away, so it is best co fmd a lens size that is pleasing co yo u. I usually try co photograph at many different angles and with different lens sizes for variety. When yo u use photographs that resulted from different lens widths in your editing it makes for a real nice mix. I usually try co get as much of my sail in the picture as possible. If you are using a still camera, cry co find a wired remote that yo u can fasten co your control bar close to your trigger finger. I recommend a wired remote because I have not had any luck with the hand-held infrared types, and trying co point that type of remote cakes your mind off controlled flying for coo long. The shots I like are those of other gliders at unusual angles, bur my flying buddies often tell me that I am flying coo close, so it is very important to ask your flying friends if it is okay co get close to them in the air. Plan some side-by-side flying co get those great, unique shots. It is usually quire difficult co organize these shoes because as soon as your buddy hooks a thermal, he's gone. Most importantly, when shooting with any type of camera cry co keep it simple so you can concentrate on and give priority co yo ur flying. •

Dead Horse Point near Moab, Utah as seen .fivm Boh Grant} Moyes M,1xi in 1979. turning backwards. In the fall of 1971, Bill Moyes was doing a tour of the United States and Canada, putting on towing exhibitions at many of the fairgrounds along the way. Well, Bill Moyes did a show at our fall fair, the Western Fair, right here in London, and that was the start of it all for me. A water ski friend of mine, Tcm1 McClatchic, soon purchased one of Bill's gliders. I would watch him fly up and down Wildwood Lake, just 30 miles from home. I knew that I just had to fly like Tom and Bill Moyes. 'fom had promised he would let me try it sometime soon, but being rather impatient and with a little (maybe more than just a little) enco11ragernem from my friends l was going to try flying without 'Tom. While 'fom was on a picnic with his girlfriend down at the lake, we hooked that 13-foot-leading edge Moyes glider to the boat and away I did fly. I passed over 'fom some minutes later. He must have had a fit thinking that J would kill myself, not having taken any lessons. As it turned our, I had a great first flight, releasing from the 500-foot towrope and landing perfectly on skis in from of the cottage. Well, I was hooked on the sport and was immediately off ro purchase my first delta wing from the now-famous Michael Robertson who lived near Toronto, Canada. JP: V;/ith the heritage: you have in the sport you

must have somefi1mous mentors. Who were the most influential fr1r you? 24

BG: Well Jim, when J think back, I would say my mentors were Bill Moyes, Bill Bennett and Bob Wills, along with a cast of hundreds of others. I looked up to many of the big names in hang gliding and longed to fly with those wonderful, exciting and innovative people. In 1975 and l 976 I lived out my dreams, along with my flying buddies Chris Srnith (Cloudbase Harnesses), Sandy McDougal and Gary Knevcs of I mi don. We drove the hours to the Escape ComiGliding Competitry World Open tions near San Diego, California. l entered those competitions but did not place very well, but I sure did meet many of the top pilots of tbat era. l recall getting a ride llP to the 1,500-foot launch at Escape Counrry with none other than Bob Wills (founder of Wills Wing) and I think that was probably one of t·he most memorable events to have happened to me ar those competitions. Bob was a very sofr--spokcn, enthusiastic pilot, and sharing stories with him was exquisite. stay with me today. The many photographs published in Tfang Gliding magazine always impress me. I would like to thank all those hang gliding photo experts and our great editor, Gil Dodgen, who us all a great show every month. JP: Anyone who visitsyour website has to br: impressed with the quality of'the photographs you ttd:e. When did the photography become integmtc:d with your.flying? BG: l have been shooting both photographs and video from both my glider and from the hills wherever I go to fly fcJr as long as I can remember. J recall chat on my !1rst glider I really wanted ro get some shots from the air and so I asked my friend and fellow pilot, Eric Walne, ifhe thought his dad would let us use his eight-mm movicnlm c;1mera. Sure enough, Eric was only too happy to fasten his dad's movie camera onto the end of my Moyes crossbar. We were pretty nervous about getting the camera wet but away we went tow-ing down the Thames

River right through the center of our great city of London and over Storybook Gardens in Springbank Parle Because the river is only about 150 feet wide we could not turn and so we had to land close to the park. The camera didn't get very wet, but maybe just a little. It is so great to look back at this l 970's footage and sec the amusement park far below. Presently; my wife Maureen and I arc using the newest digital cameras and really enjoying the versatility and quality that is available. Now with computer video editing, 1have been putting together many of the great shots that we have captured over the years and I have listed many of my videos on our website (www.skynet.ca/e skydog). 0

JP: Boh, l notice that you go by the handle

'Skydog "In hool,, Sky Adventures, fantasies Of'Free Niy,ht, Jon Solon had an ''lhe 5'leylinc Skydogs, "about the early ofhang gliding in the western [alee Superior outside if Duluth, Minnesota. ls there a connection? BG: Yes Jim, I noticed that you arc also a Sky Dog and you ask bow [ acquired this nickname. Well, it all goes back to the l 970's when Maureen, many friends and I would take trips to 'Tennessee to meet and fly with the many great pilors who would journey to the self~proclaimcd Hang Gliding Capitol of the East. Lookout Mountain was also a favorite, and I remember riding

the gondola up ro the takeoff ar Crystal Air Sports Raccoon Mountain. What a great time we would have! So how did I get that Skydog name? As it turns out, we met an enthusiastic group oC pilots from Minnesota, and one oC them, Dan O'Hara, had this great license plate with the letters Skydog, and we all thought it was ne:tt. A couple of years later when my wife Maureen was renewing my license plates she surprised me with new plates, with the letters Skydog, and so there it was, an original Canadian Sky Dog. Some people might think it's kinda goofy, bm I still like it. There arc lots of skydogs around, especially from the Minnesota area, and i1 may be interesting to have all skydogs everywhere sign in with either you or me so there can be a skydog list. Wouldn't that be fon?

JP: Bob, with your ex;mience, I ccmt let you get away without sharingyour most rnernorable .fiights with us. BG: My rnost memorable flights arc many, some so beautiful and others so scary that J don't want to think about them. My most mcmor,1blc flights include the Red 'E1il, The Shadow, Mount St. Pierre and The Scare. The Red 'fail: For some reason rhis one flight still flashes through my mind occ;1sionally. It wasn't the greatest Oight in length or distance, but ir left me with a somewhat indescribable feeling. I was alone at what l call my home site, Hammondsport launch, near Rochester, New York. T had driven there on a Priday but no one else showed up, so I went to the landowner's home and asked if he would help launch me. Dick Paroulski, the landowner, was only too willing, so I was off. lt was a gorgeous day with nice curnies popping up late in the afternoon. While flying at Hammondsport we ofren saw hawks and turkey buzzards, but on this incredible day I bad a Red Tail pop out of the trees and slowly soar up to me at about 1,500 feet. A, I was slowly tmning in the 400-ft,m smooth lift, the Red 'fail was coming up and gaining on me. I became fearful that he might bump into me, as I am sure he did nor sec me, so when he was about 20 feet below and in front of me I gave a giant scream which made the little devil flip over and dive away from me. Boy, that was close and so spectacular, being so close to such a beautiful bird and sharing the same air with it. J contiuued on to fly by myself; making a cross-country artcmpt, which took me 20 miles to Coming, New York. I landed on a MAY 2001

riverbank right in town and received a ride from the first person 1 encountered. Most peo-· pie arc so nice, especially when they arc excited about seeing a hang glider and pilot land next to their home. l think that what made this flight so memorable was the fact that l was all alone and fending for myself among the clouds, ultimately making the correct choices to get me safely on the ground after a two-hour flight There is something about being alone up there, when no other pilots are in the air and no one is on the ground waiting for you, that makes yon feel good. I just don't know why. 'l'he Shadow: Another mystical flight took place for me at Wallaby Ranch in Florida just last year on another really nice thermally day. I was climbing up to ,(000 feet above the Ranch, found myself near a cloud and thought, "Okay rhat's cool, but l had better get out of here," so l headed toward the brighter side of the cloud. As I was leav-· ing the cloud l turned and looked back at it, and much to my surprise, there it was, a very large shadow of my glider pasted on the side of the cloud. It seemed that this well-defined shadow was about 300 feet wide! WOW! What an awesome sight. In all of my 29 years and 700 hours of airtime, this was the firsr time I had ever seen this happen. After landing, talking with other pilots and relaying my sighting, they told me that this occasionally happens and is a picture to behold. If only l had taken my camera on that flight. Mount St. Pierre: Another wonderful few flights were experienced at the Canadian Nationals around 1980 at Mount St. Pierre, Quebec. This is a very picturesque site with the giant St. Laurence River out front and mountains inland for miles. Many sweet flights were experienced here when the air was so smooth that we could float anywhere in a wonder-wind. These arc the times when I like to do my wingecs, which arc usually less than 90 degrees but feel like 150 to me. That sure is fun. ff any pilot reading this interview gets a chance to visit and fly Mounr St. Pierre, it would be well worth his effort and an experience he will never forget. I promise thar. The Scare: This was my scariest flight ever. I headed down to the river, downtown London, to do a little towing after work one summer evening. f got the bmit in the water and ready to tow, and then found out that an old friend, Nelson Stephens, was to replace my regular boar driver. Nelson had

towed me previously on my 13-foot Moyes, but

never on my new high-performance Delta Wing glider. Nelson did not realize that much less speed was necessary to tow the new Delta Wing. After a pop-launch off the beach 1 found myself going up and up and up and screaming. My slow-down signal went unnoticed. l tried to release, which would have meant a certain loop or something worse, but rhat seemed like the lesser of two evils. When I tried to release, the release mechanism failed. I was fastened to my glider, a screaming rocket, which was now locking om and heading for the green grass next to the pollution plant. Oh no! Not the pollution plant! I was crying in my mind and thinking about my three kids just when all ofa sudden, whang, Ken McBurrney released the 700-foot rope from the boar and T was doing a great wingover at 50 feet above the ground. I man·· aged a perfect water landing. Well, you know, l still have nightmares reliving those fow rnoments. What makes us keep flying after such a close call? It must be the love of flight. t<lying hang gliders is special, but then there is the comradeship, the getting together with all the other pilots before and afrcr flying that makes the sport of hang gliding so great. Sharing the many stories from so many different pilots and their excitement always fills me with awe. Seeing a new pilot show his or her overpowering enthusiasm afrer a simple do-good flight is magic to me, and I will always cherish the many friends I have made throughout my bang gliding career.

JP: Ofthe hundreds ofj;ifots you have shared the sky with, who is the rnost rnernorable? BG: Well Jim, you ask who is the most memorable pilot I have flown with and to pick one would not suffice, as there have been so many. The people who come ro mind are Chris Price, Bob and C:bris Wills from the old days. During 1975 I was reading an article in Hang Gliding magazine authored by Chris Price. It was about a flying trip in the mountains somewhere out west

Another glider cauf!.ht on film andjust asfote would have it, a vu/. by This photo wf.ls ta/:.:en f.lt Wr,llaby Ranch, February, 1997. BG: Yes l have been and still am involved

and the content of th;n article made me wanr to go there so much that it was over· whelming. Chris's writing made the trip so exciting and rnagical. Then [ recall meeting Pete Brock (Ultralite Products) and his fomi··· ly at Escape Country where his ni11e-yearold son, Hall Brock, w,1s flying a small standard. Tfilrned the youngster land dab on d1e center of the target bull's-eye from 500 feet up! Hall was a beautili.d young pilot and I will always remember bis happy face frorn my movies. I also must mention one of my favorite pilots, Larry 'liidor, whom I would run inro at many meets. He was always so nice to talk with, and what a great pilot he continues to be. 'The list goes on as there are so many wonderful hang glider pilots to remember.

JP: Of'rdl the places you have flou;n, u;hich are your favorites? BG: 1 have so many favorites and I think one of them would have to be "Dead Horse Point" near Moab, Utah, and nor because I had a great flight there but because of its awesome and unique beauty with the red sandstone and the Colorado River running below. Another favorite site of mine is Chelan. I can't say enough about the grandeur of Chelan with the Columbia River Gorge running along one side and J ,ake Chelan on the other. fr is pretty darn nice. Definitely, the variety of the many different scenic places that hang glider pilots travel to, that the average person will never see in his lifetime, is something to acknowledge as unique. Shooting photos and video ar these locations leaves many an audience in awe. JP: Bob, you seem to participate in so many

other extreme sports, which are your favorites?

in other extreme sports, but J feel that hang gliding is the most extreme of the sports l have e11co1m-· tercel and it undoubtedly has a high potential for clanger, but it also offers one of the highest degrees of sat· isfr1ction.

Bob, what are yourfeelinf!.S about the saj1::· ty ofthe present crop o/h,mg gliders and hang glider pilots?

mind is that we all need to take our time learning this sport. If we rnsh, it is too easy to forget something or make mistakes. This really hits home with me as] lost a close friend, Jerome Duprey, only because he was in a hurry to get off Lookout Moun rain and forgot to hook in. Okay, so now I will try to answer your question. Beginner pilots: Always pay close ancmion to what your instructor is saying, and if you don't understand a particular subject be sure to clarify it with the instructor. Even with all the excitement and antici· pation, try to ral,e time to learn thoroughly. Inrermecliate pilots: Please don't assume that you know enough to get you through all sirnarions since you will be rudely smpriscd when a situation arises rhat you arc not prepared for, due to changes in conditions. Old timers: Be careful nor to become complacent, and remember that many of us older pilots may not have t"he quick reaction and reflexes that we used to have.

BG: It appears that the hang glider manu· facturcrs have done their part to make gliders very safo when it comes to their flying characteristics, leaving only the most imporrnnr aspects of our sport to include instruction and safe flying habits. Sometimes anxiety can muse a pilot to make unsafe judg" ments, and l think back and realize that I have committed these types of errors and have been lucky to have survived these situations. All pilots need to Ix: care/iii not to let the excitement of a flight lead us to do things that may result in acciclems. Always be aware that your desire to have a great flight may fog your rational thinking process, and therefore we need to rake a step back and enjoy the momcm, since hen er flying days will come along.

BG: Jim, I can't imagine what Twould change abour hang gliding, since it has so much to offer as iris. l just love all aspects of the sport. JP: Bob, this next

is prohahby the most in interview. fr there any ad1Jice you rould give to your fellow pilots?

BG: J am not comfortable giving advice since lam subject to making mistakes like all other pilots. T'l1e one thing that comes to

!just ordered ct co/J)' ofyour new video, The Best Of Hang Cliding. What wfls your

compiling the videofr1r the hang gliding community? BG: Thanks Jim for ordering lt;e Best Of' Hang GlidinJ!.video that I just recently completed. For this video I assembled many of our greatest shot's taken over the past 10 years. Maureen and J have traveled to many bang gliding sites across the United Stares and we always shoot photos and video on our trips. Great sites like Dog Mountain, Washington, Lakeview, Oregon and the famous Salt Lake area of Utah arc just a few. Then there is a variety of towing sryles at many different areas including Wallaby Ranch. The Best Of Hang Gliding is an hour and 20 minutes long and a real value at $lli.95 plus $3.00 shipping in rhe U.S. [ have plans to produce a similar paragliding video in the near future. Thank you Jim for allowing me to speak to our membership. I hope to see you all in the sky. Always fly safely and the best of flights to all.

For 11 list of,zll Bob Grant videos check out his website at wwu1.slrynet. cal~ shydog; or write to Bob (;rant; Burbrooh Place, Iondon, Ontario, Canada N5V(! 1B5, or e-mail him at slrydog@slrynet.ca. Ed. Ill

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hyDavis

How about this as a proposition? For about $250

you can enter

one ofthe best hang gliding competitions in the world and we'll throw in towing you up behind our Dragonflies at no additional cost. No need for a static-line tow setup. justpark yourse{fin the paddock and get in line when you are ready to go. What could be better than that? 'm remembering a few years back at the Pre··Worlds in Forbes, Australia where we had to pay something like $700 U.S. just for the towing. That was pretty outrageous, and it encouraged me ro get my own static-line towing sys· tern together. Now, with Bill Moyes and his daughter Vicki organizing the towing (she organized the meet as well), I was more than happy to just be pulled up. And, the Porbes Flatlands is indeed one of the finest hang gliding compcti· dons anywhere in the world. What's the point of going to a competition in a location with marg.inal conditions (just what upcoming imernational meet is the author referring to here)? Why not go to

a spot where you are going to have plenty of lifr, get plenty high, and unless you screw up badly, go far? Sounds like Forbes or Hay (site of the Australian Nationals) to me. You should sec all the European and American sailplane pilots who come over to fly in Australia during the southern· hemisphere summer. There is a big glid· ing center just up the road from Forbes at Narrorninc, and one a bit to the south, southeast of Hay at Tocumwal. These arc the big ones locally, and there arc plenty of other smaller ones th tough· om Australia. Doesn't it just make sense that pilots go to the places where they will have a good time?

Since we're rowing anyway, you might think that we should just tow out of a sailplane port, and it looks like that might happen in the future. But, they did up a paddock just for us at Forbes, and Bill was quite ready to bring down the Dragonflies and a trike or two. It is son oflikc setting up a flight park for a week in the middle of an isolated field a ways from the conveniences. I've checked with Vicki, and this meet was the first all--acrotow meet in Australia sort of following up on the Wallaby Open, variously named meets at Quest Air, and the Lone Star Cham pi .. onships in the U.S. over th(: last few years. Those meets were held at estab .. lishcd flight parks with on .. si te facilities for tug maintenance. Bill Moyes brings quite a crew with him when he heads out into tbc wilds. Not only did he have Bobby Bailey, his partner in Dragonfly production and the guy who designed and builds these things, but also Rhett Radford, chief mechanic and flight operations director at Wallaby Ranch. It was always great to find Rhett or Bobby at the other end of your rope when you got towed up. This year the Australia competitions were a very big deal for the top American Aex .. wing pilots because the points they could gather at these meets would count toward their 2001 U.S. national team ranking. Their ranking would determine who went to the Worlds in Spain in 2001. Some of the pilots who came to Australia would move up the ladder enough to join the national team, potcn· tially kicking out pilots who stayed home. There were plenty of points available in Australia because there were plenty of world--rankcd pilots there to compete. In fact, there were more international pilots at the three major Australia competitions than there were Australian pilots. All these pilots were here because they know that they arc going to have a good time and that the competition will be at the highest level. Unlike in the with their really short meets, the Forbes Flatlands was eight days long, long enough to get a very valid meet. 'The Australian Nationals were nine clays long, and the Bogong Cup with its iffy conditions was ten days. Combine long meets with good conditions and great representation from HANC GUIJINC

Mikt Barher,

MAY 2001

The Moyes rneet-organizing tecnn put rm a spectacular meet and allof us pilots got a lot more than we deserved,

international pilots, and the meets in Australia arc much more valuable to top U.S. flex-wing pilots than any U.S. meet. lt is really unfortunate that U.S. meets must be restricted ro seven days, as this devalues them grea1~Iy compared to the Australian meets. Both the Australian Nationals and the Forbes Flatlands were worth 660 NTSS points to the winner. The U.S. pilots got plenty of points and they got them as a ratio of their score to the winner's score. Now it will be up to rhe meets this spring in rlorida. If some of the pilots who didn't go to Australia can do well there, they have a chance to get back 011 the U.S. national team. The validity of the Florida meets will be a big factor in mining whether they have a chance or not:. T'he Australian meets are a big show· case for Moyes gliders and their Litespeed hang glider. The Moyes folks do have a bit of competition in Australia from Air· borne with their new Climax, but Air· borne doesn't have the number of pilots flying their glider that Moyes docs. Gerol f Heinrichs, Litespecd designer for Moyes, encouraged two of his Austri-;rn Litespeed flying buddies to come over and join in the fray. Add Mike Barber from the U.S., Andreas Ohlsson from Sweden, Bctinl10 Schmitz from Brazil, Jean.Charles Balcmbois from France, Attila Benok representing I lungry along with Balazs Ujhclyi, Brett Hazlett from Canada, Gordon Rigg from the UK,

Oliver Barthelmes from Germany (and Bright), etc. Then throw in all the Australians flying Litcspeeds, as well as many more international pilots, and you've got a Litcspccd·dominated meet. Fifty-eight of the 79 pilots flying at Forbes were flying Moyes gliders, and almost all of them were flying Litespecds. Oleg Bondarclrnck was there with his new Aeros Combat, but he was awfully lonely. Paris Williams and Richard Wal· bee were flying Wills Wing prototypes in Wills Wing's new program to do development through competition. Speaking of all these pilots, don't you think they would rather be flying in Aus .. tralh1 than Europe? Check out the reports on the European Championships over the last two years if you have any doubts. Sure, it is bcautifl!I and green there, but that green comes at a very high price. I've written extensively about the rneer and you can follow its daily progress on my website at hnp://www.davisstraub. com/OZ. Just click on any of the Oz Reports labeled "Forbes Flatlands." So who won this meet? Well, just like he did at Hay, at the 2001 Australian National Championships, Cerol f Hein .. richs was first in the Forbes Flatlands. He was followed rather closely by Bctinho Schmitz, who would win the Bogong Cup the following Mike Barber, who would move into first place in the and Brett Hazlett. Every one of these guys flies a Moyes Litcspecd. Ccrolf is an pilot with a

very refined glider, harness and control frarne. l le has the best glide and the best climb of any of die flex--wing gliders flying at the meets in Australia. He is not shy about flying out in front of the lead gaggle and in the strong conditions at [-lay and Forbes, and this served him well. Gero If is not so aggressive that he would leave other pilots behind. He'll often go with Attila or other top pilots to provide help in finding the next thermal with the least amount of wasted time. He flew very well and definitely deserved to win. The Moyes Litcspecd performed very well and definitely deserved to win. The Moyes rncct·organizing team put on a spectacu-· Jar meet and all of us pilots got a lot more rhan we deserved. Can Moyes Litespccd dominance continue this spring in the Florida meets? Vicki has signed up a bunch of top Moyes pilots, including Gerolf, Betinho, Attila, Mike, and 'fomas Suchanek. They proba· blywon't overwhelm in numbers like they did in Australia, but will they use quality when they don't have quantity? Will Manfred and the rest of rhc Austrians (those not flying Litcspceds under Ccrolf's tutelage) come back to challenge with their Laminars? Will Wills Wing have a hot new version of its prototype? And what about the Acros Combat? Oh, and yes, what about those rigidwing guys? Will they be able to completely dominate even the hottest flex wings with the world's best pilots on them this spring in Florida? There is a chance. 'We'll sec. ta HANG GLIDING

MAY 2001

Copa Millenio 2001 Valle De Bravo Mexico by Nick Kennedy

nter here in Telluride, high in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado, comes in late October or early November, hits hard, and hangs around into May most years. Hang gliders are carefully rolled up and put away for most of the ski season. Once the high temperatures fall into the teens, all hopes of cross-country adventures end unless one is dedicated to travel to some distant part of the globe where he can once again spread his wings in the hot sun. After climbing our to base, we fly through a start gate, head down the course line, and connect the cumulus cloud dots over our heads as we try to make it to our goal in the beautiful town of Valle de Bravo, way down central Mexico way. This is a story of such an adventure that really happened. A story of road-tripp ing, crazy overnight driving, and Federale Mexican drug and gun inspection stops at four o'clock in the morning. A story of Mexican Federales as young as 18 years old with machine guns standing next to a blazing bonfire in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night, asking questions about our trip and what the strange cargo on the roof of the truck was. A story of great pilots from distant foreign lands, all converging on one site in Mexico for the sheer pleasure and challenge of cross-counny competition. The story features gaggles of pilots climbing high and fast and gliding even faster in pursuit of a finish line that sometimes seemed so far away, and a convergence line that sets up almost every day. This is what makes flying in Valle de Bravo very special - special, that is, if you li ke running up and down cloud streets in the middle of winter when almost al] of our friends up north in America are comparing ski and studded snow tire performance. In Valle, in early February, we were comparing glide angle performance, climb rates, and GPS uack logs . Telluride Air Force members Kevin Gendren, Leo Van Der Bosch and I set our from Colorado one cold, snowy Friday evening after work. We opened up the throttle on Leo's red Pathfinder and put the . hammer down for a non-stop drive 1,800

miles to the south. After two nights and two days, and three Federale inspection stops, we pulled into Valle de Bravo 46 hours lacer, road weary bur excited to be in town for two weeks of nothing bur flying every day, historic Mexican culture, and some real R&R. Kevin and I came down last year so we knew the lay of the land, the good restaurants, the rockin' discos and, most importantly, where to get the best and baddest fireworks. (In Mexico they are sold without a license!) There are two comesrs in Valle de Bravo this time of year: a paragliding crosscountry contest for a week and then a hang gliding X-C contest for a week. During the first week in town we launched after the paraglider pilots took off and flew the dope-chute task, getting back in hang shape, tuning up our GPS's, tuning up our gliders and tuning out the real world. We didn't have phones, Internet access, a , or messages to weather channel, C return. All we were interested in was cl1e sky, our bunch of cool fellow aviators, low saves right off the deck, smooth, strong lift, cloud sueers, and an awesome area to fly around and explore by air all day until our arms didn't work and our neck muscles burned and ached. After six straight days of this we rook a day off to rest, as the comest was to start Monday morning. We finished up rhe first week all runed up, with a bunch of miles under our wings, relaxed and psyched to go. What follows is my perception of the action that wem down this year in Valle.

DAYl We woke up to overcast conditions after a night oflighr rain showers. Ir is rare chis rime of year for rain to fall in Valle and the locals like it, as it gives the sueers and buildings a washing and a fresh look. Our driver from the previous year was with us again, a happy, middle-aged, professional truck-driving local named Martine. He seemed to like driving and hanging out with us, and did wonders for my Spanish as he doesn't speak a word of English! I had several key phrases written down in my notebook so I could get picked up if I

bombed short of goal. Martine is a very mellow driver and the 45-minure ride to launch chilled us right out. Still a solid overcast at launch. We were sure it was going to be soarable at the launch ridge but the big question was, Would the convergence still set up and would it get strong enough to get us high enough to get away? We called a 64-km task to the end of cl1e range to the west, to a set of radio antennas called Divisadero, back to the east and down the main range to the town of San Ramon, with goal on the lakeside in Valle de Bravo. The lake was a little bit lower this year and it was possible to call the "in-town" LZ as a goal. Even though the lake was lower than last year, you still had to fly a precision aircraft approach over the water and then stick your final leg in exactly the right place, with proper airspeed or else! We saw a couple of approaches go sour during our visit and I was glad that our team H ANG GLIDI NG

Of course, it only cook about half an hour of chis before we lost sight of the fast lead gaggle. Lacer in the afternoon the sun came out, the convergence set up, and we had a excellent day. Several pilots made goal and all agreed it was a good cask call. The condicions last year were sometimes very strong on the launch ridge, almost Sandia-like. This year we also saw some incredible average climb races on the launch ridge, but what was missing was the bad turbulence, and lee me cell you, I did not miss the freefalls and sharp edges! It was strong but much smoother than what we had experienced the previous year.

DAY2 We looked outside off our deck co find clear skies and the remnants of a party chat cook place at our house - tequila bottles, beer bottles, dishes and gear spread out everywhere. Fireworks are big in Valle and we held up our end when it came co the nightly barrage. Strange pilots we didn't know were sleeping in the basement, and the maids had tl1eir work cue out for chem. Kevin fixed an "all-day" breakfast, we got our gear off the chargers, Martine showed up on rime, and we had another mellow drive co launch. I mention tl1e "mellow drive" because a lot of Mexican drivers must watch a lot of auto racing on TY, because chat is what they like to do - race. In Mexico it seems chat if there is a car in sight you muse pull out all the scops co pass it, even if there is no place co pass! Up at launch Chris Santacroce had a tour group of paraglider pilots, and they was very good at the aircraft-style approach. The day had a slow, very mellow scare, but eventually we all got enough altitude co get the start gate - which was about a couple of miles out in front (depending on which direction you approached from) in a valley - and gee back to the ridge. The contest was small enough co use a mass scare time for all, and it was great fun for us all co gee co base together, all go out in the valley high together, gee the start and then all leave on the first glide together. Watching and flying with really fast pilots like Manfred Ruhmer, Josef Zweckmayer and Paris Williams & Co. is one of the main reasons I go to these contests. It was fun co watch these guys glide like crazy right to the deck on the course line. They always seem to only climb in the best lift, so my gaggle would come in underneath chem in a few minutes, climbing in the same area. MAY 2001

would launch early, giving 11s a colorfol show. There was also a large rour group of pilots from Denmark. El Penon, the launch site, is frequently soarable as early as 9:30 AM, bur by l 0:00 AM there was always a hunch of paraglider pilots up in rhe early soarablc conditions. We were launching at about l :00 PM with our sran times around ]

PM.

We had a task meeting, looked at rhe weather, and called an 86-km task with rhe following turn points: start tarp, out to the west again to the towers at Divisadero, back to near launch, to a ranch a few miles out in front cilled Ranchero C Lago, back to the west to rhese awesome formations called rhcThrcc Kings, turn aroulld, offro the cast to the last town in the area called Los Saucos, then back to the beach in Valle. If the convergence were to set up on the task lines it could be a really fun race course. We all programmed the start: and turnpoints into our GPS receivers, as this was an FAT-sanctioned, GPS-scored contest, and with some great launch conditions we all trotted off into some truly epic conditions. The daily drill was to first get a couple of grand over launch, fly to the right of launch for two miles to a place where you can get up higher and faster (called the "Wall"), then go another mile past that to La Mesa where you can get up the highest and most quickly. On this day thermal skills were not really all that crucial, as the whole area lifted off at once and it was going up quickly and smoothly. There were calls warning of cloud suck on the radio, and needless to say we had an awesome start. While I'm not generally a really fast pilot, I made my first two glides at over 50 mph and the racers still dusted me. It was very strong but smooth. J hooked up with Kevin on the first glide and we flew together the whole day. Sometimes he was in front and above, and sometimes J was in from and above, but most of the rime we

were wingtip tu wingtip. It was so much fun, and this is what we came here for. We both had the same gear pcrfcJrniance·-wise: 1hree-year-old topless gliders (Kevin's Laminar and my Stealth), kind of draggy har·· nesses, and a real strong desire to not land early, which for us meam not flying too fast. We were both in the cruise league fr1r sure. 'This was another great day in Valle. The convergence set up and we flew with a bunch of different pilots like Aldo Zamudio and Oliver Hoffman, both great local pilots. We made :ill the turn points, h<1d ,l couple oflow saves and did a lot of cloudbase flying. The goal was in a strange place most clays, above the launch of a ridge site called El '] b1Te. You approached the goal from the downwind side of tl1e largest mountain in the area, carefully diving to goal, wondering if Mr. Rotor was around to greet you on arrival. A positive aspect of this goal stuff on a mountain top was that once you crossed the finish line you were ridge soaring above a beautiful, huge lake in glass-off conditions. Then you got to land in completely smooth conditions on a beach wirh a beer bar. Several pilots c1gain completed the task. Watching the warm sun sink into the lake with a beer in my hand at goal made me seriously wonder why rhere were not a lot more pilots here, especially from the States. Manfred told me that he and the Austrian team came here again this year instead of going to Australia because he thought the place was so good. Valle is a really cool, inexpensive, userfriendly town, and features excellent openair markets and restaurants, good places 10 stay, reliable conditions with smokin' cloud streets, easy local chase driving, and an exchange rate of 9. 5 pesos per dollar. There were pilots from France and Great Britain in attendance. Why not more from the States? As far ;is we conld 1ell it was still snowing up there.

DAY3 One thing you get used to in Valle is that you fly every clay. Tip Rodgers told me that he once Hew 45 days in a row. John "Ole" Olsen has flown 59 days in a row. The deal is that Valle is far enough south to be missed by almost all of those low-pressure systems spinning our of the Gulf of Alaska. Another factor is that Valle isn't so far below the 'Eopic of Cancer that the tropics starr ro adversely affect the site. h's like Goldilocks, rhe three bears and the porridge; V.1lle is just right! While we were in Valle we saw a few mares' rails cirrus clouds going by up high, and phone calls to the States confirmed that a strong low-pressure system was indeed tearing up the southwest. Nothing adverse happened in Valle, just a fow beautiful cirrus clouds and normal conditions. We were trying to keep the evening festivities down to a dull roar, but with active houscmares like Leo and Kevin, Jeff Hunt next door, the paragliding household on the other side of us and a constant stream of visitors, we did a lot of part:ying. We had this great house right on the lake, right in town, with two decks overlooking the water. This meant rhat we could walk everywhere we wanted to in the evening which was great with us. We called the longest rask of the contest at l 05 km. Pilots were feeling good and conditions were looking great again: light winds alofr from the south-southeast, with a clear, early-day sky that would cu up around noon. The rask was: start" tarp, our to a town ro the southwest called San Pedro, all the way back to the cast up to the highest turnpoim in the area, along the road LO Mexico City called the RC Pista, a radio-controlled model pnved strip at I 0,000 foet, mm around, go way back to the west almosr ro the radio towers, to a pond up on a plateau called Lake Lugeia, back ro rhc RC Pista then back to rhe lake at Valle. Kevin and l were in the air flying H!\NC CLIDINC

together almost the whole way for live hours, but we made it in again! We all had a great start and it seemed that if you just kept going frwward and didn't get stuck somewhere in first gear you made it. We flew again the whole day together except at the very end. We hooked up and flew with Jeff Hunt, Aldo, American pilot Dave Prentice and local Heiko Jancz.ak. Hciko is easy to spot in the air as he flies a Laminar totally plastered with a bright yellow Sol beer mural. At the end KC gor a couple or miles in front or me and he was taking a good one to base. This was the last climb to get into goal. I saw a great-looking cloud on the course line and headed to it, thinking I might catch up to him or n1aybe even pass him and beat him to goal. Unfortunately, that cloud didn't work, drilled me to the trees, kicking me oUL at GOO feet, scratching on a tree line to get up as Kevin called with "good luck" and "be patient" as he got to base and left for goal. Well, I spit the dummy and was beating my fot on the basetubc as I was flying out to land at five o'clock and as my friend was gliding to goal, bt1t I blundered into a late-day boomer at 400 focL that went from 150 fpm at the start to 950 at base. The goal at the lake never looked so good and the beer never tasted so cold. Austrian Robert Reisinger's VC cord broke as he pulled on the rope /cir his glide to goal. VC ofC he made his fo1al glide to goal with his forearms draped over the basct:ubc. He crossed the morn1taintop goal wirh 20 mci-crs, having to bank it up ro miss the antennas on top! A lot of pilots made it rhis day which made for ;1 fostive finish. Valle at night is really nice, as a lot of people come out to the plaza to socialize and hang out very different from the States where everyone just goes home and stays inside for the evening. There is great food at the plaza, a bunch of open-air shops, restaur;ints, all sorts of raco cans and, of course, people watching. Leo is an accomplished unicyclist and he brought his "uni" with him. Ile provided lots of entcr-tainmcnt, riding the stairs and walls around the plaza and turning some adventurous kids on to the one-wheeled world.

DAY ti T got up early in the dark and with no stars

visible in the sky, and wondered how thick the overcast was. The overcast that hung on through the day was strange, but luckily it did not seem to stop us from flying cross-country. Up at bunch we picked a (iJ.km task that went like this: start tarp, back up imo Mi\Y 2001

the mountains to the RC Pista, ont to the west to the radio towers to Divisidcro, back to rhe RC pista, then to goal in Valle de Bravo. We thought that staying on the highest terrain would be the best, and it turned out to be a good task call. KC, a bunch of others and I could not get high enough for over an hour to go our to the valley under the overcast sky to get our start, so we hung on and scratched and searched fr>r over an hour on La Mesa, sometimes getting very low. A couple or pilots bombed, bur the Austrians climbed our in something we missed and left as we circled and circled, sometimes !r)r five min-urcs in 1.cro, determined not to go to the bottom. After an hour the day warmed up and it was enough for us to get 1,800 fr:cr over and out to the stan, then back to the hill and climb up enough to go over the back to the higher terrain. KC, Mexican pilot David Segura (flying a Litcspeed) and I left rogcd1cr kind oFlow and puckered up. We were low to begin with and were flying into higher although totally landablc terrain, and in just a few rni11utcs we were only 800 feet over. We snick together and ali:cr searchi11g in zero, someone, probably KC, found a nice 350-f1rn1 thermal to get us to base and what looked like the beginning of the convergence to the first rurnpoim. Alter about 3:00 PM the clay came on in fine Valle style, once again rhc convergence set up nicely along rhc course line, and several pilots again made goal. Our gaggle of three worked well together and we had a hunch oflong climbs and glides together. Ar the third turn point, as I thought we were going to get to base one more time and make it into Valle, KG and Tflew into a strong sinkhole together, and in spite of going different directions at that point WC bumbled around and landed together in Los Saucos. We immediately had about 50 kids to help us break down and pack up our gear. I.er me tell you, it is fun bur agonizing to watch four ninos zipping up your glider bag! Oh well, they make those zippers every day I suppose. We didn't make it back to Valle this day bur KG and I flew together frJr four and a half hours and landed together. It was anotl1er great, long day filled with lots or climbing and gliding, gliders crossing paths ar cloudbasc, some strong lifr, and good launch and landing conditions. We had flown l O out of 11 days at this point and it was amazing to me how quickly one's skills improve during these contests. We had almost no distractions from flying and it was great. When you stop having to think so much about the basics like climb-

FINAL RESUI:rs l)

2) 3)

4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) JO) 11)

13)

14) 15)

lG) 17) 18) 19) 20)

Manfred Ruhmer Robert Reisinger Josef Zweckmayer Paris Williams Mario Alonzi Aldo Rohlfs Zamudio Nick Kennedy Oliver Hoffman Martin Leitner David Prentice Kevin Gendron Kathleen Rig Beiko Janczak Rodrigo Russek Jeffrey lhmt David Segura Garza Bosch Leo Van Martin Pfeffer Alejandro Olazbal Efren Fierro Krug

4055 3781 3708 3447 2111

202G 1951 1796 1563 1509 1449 1443 1213 114G 813 582 497 416

228

ing dfkicntly in thermals and always moving toward the hor spot, and head-down body positioning during glides becomes automatic, the time just flies by. On a couple of days we landed afrer five o'clock and I couldn't believe how quickly the day had slipped by. Tc:am Colorado was achieving its goals of getting high and going far, not breaking all our spare parrs and not getting hurt, and it felt good.

Overcast again, only this tirnc it was a really dark overcast with the sun completely obscured. Not to worry though, after the previous day almost everyone was optimistic that we could call a valid task and rhat we would gcr away from the hill. We decided to get in some km's early, and to ensure a valid task we threw in three LUrnpoims on the ridge before going over the back, then onward to the Gnish in Valle. 'fhe task call was: start tarp, to the end or our local ridge about miles away ro a spot called Espiazo, back to launch, then to Espiazo again, over the back to San Ramon, then on to Valle for 57 km under a dark sky. A couple of wind dummies were just floating around in front <inly 200 to 300 feet over, and with a surprising lack of cycles coming through ar launch il didn't look real promising. We postponed the start rime twice, but finally ar 2:00 PM it looked a link: better and we all lobbed off the hill in pcrfoct launch conditions to find our that it was in fact a lot better than it Continued on page 18. 37

All good things must come to an end, so say the r;zrmchttir philosophers. No matter how good the #fi~ how much you are at one with your u;ing or hou.J lost you are in the ecstasy offlight~ you must eventually land anding in itself is not a bad thing, hm it usually signals that the fun is over. In addition, it olten prescnrs ...---some special challenges, be they of a field-size, turbulence or traffic nature. Most of us learn lirrlc strategics for dealing with less-than-ideal landing situations, but simply observing at any popular flying site clearly indicates that not every pilot is so educated or experienced. In an effort to help us all fly "up to speed" and "on the same page," we offer a fow simple stratagems and points of comm01Hcnsc courtesy. The goal is conflictfree setups and accidenr--free hmclings. Seeking such a goal is something that should never end.

LANDING CONRICTS 'T'he wuffos ask, "What do you do when the wind quits?" Land, of course. But what do you do when the wind quits with 20 pilots in the air? Land in a massive traffic jam, of course. And so we have our first point of concern: nmltiple glider landings. l have been in landing situations with as many as 15 other gliders in some stage of landing, but most ofrcn it is one to five other gliders at fly-ins or competitions. The problem arises when more than one pilot is intent on touching down ar the same rime. The problem increases the smaller or more tricky the landing field. Any serious conflict in the landing pattern can have disastrous effects, so we offer these guidelines: 1) The low mrm (or woman) over the

The lowest pilot in a group over a land· ing field has an ro lose altitude rapidly so the next pilot can lose altitude rapidly after ample clearance from the first pilot accrues. altitude rapidly docs not mc:m doing lazy 3GO's or turning back and forth. lt means doing diving %O's or some od1er maneuver to increase sink rate while the remaining pilots arc in a holding pattern. If everyone knows and follows this rule, landing conflicts are essentially eliminated. Occasionally you will be ar the same altitude as another pilot. Who goes first? Sometimes one pilot will rake the initiative and begin to auger down. The best policy to follow is to give a hand signal by waving a hand down if you intend to go first (first come, first served). In general, the least

experienced pilot should go first so the way is more clear. 1-Iow do you tell who is most experienced? Flying style and equipment arc usually dead nni·,,~,xr~, Nothing is more exasperating than taking rhc initiative to dive down first, then having the other pilot dive down at the same time. Be observant and stop diving if the other pilot is diving. Another goat-getter is when it's your rum to dive down next and a pilot above you decides to dive down past you. All you can do is wait for the next win·· dow and hope you arc not too low. Almost equally frustrating is when a pilot lower than you is the low man in a group, yet docs not auger down. The frustration can Lo fear if you arc part of a gradually descending horde catching up to him while he floms around in low-level buoyancy. lnex:pcricnccd pilots often make rh1s mistake, perhaps because arc trying to prolong their flight or because they arc oblivious ro the log jam ,ibovc rbcm. Don't linger if you arc the low pilot. Clear the air or you may be one of the conflict victims. Remember: Low pilot bas an obligation to clear first. 2) Keep offlll gliders. This rule goes hand-in-·l1and with the f1rst rule, for you can't determine who is lowest unless you know where all rhc gliders arc. Certainly, when more than five gliders arc orbiting the landing field, keeping rrack of them is like babysitting a bevy of simian imps. But there are strategics to help you.

Other gliders orbiting

Landing Field

!tmdingfield should lose altitude and land This is rhe most important rule, and the rule that is most ofrrn violated by inexperienced pilots. It should Ix: taught in every novice program, for when a pilot starts flying high, landing conflicts arc bound to happen.

IIAN(; Glll)INC

l;irst, keep rrack of who leaves the lift to go out ro land. I\ general view of how high they arc leaving and how buoyant it appears to be over the landing field will infcm11 you as to how many gliders are likely 10 be Second, before you head out yourself; make a mental note of how many pilots are still soaring so you have an idea of how many can potentially join you if you find lifi: over the landing field. Third, on your way out, carefully scan the sky ahead and to either side to get an exact coun1 of how many glid, ers arc in the landing airspace. While doing this, glance back a couple of times to sec if any pilot decided to head our when you did. f<inally, when you get oul there, keep track of all the gliders' positions and mentally reduce the number as one lands, or add a number as anorher one comes out below you. 'fo pcrfrirm this tracking successfully you must practice spotting gliders readily and predicting their position from their heading and previous position each time you look for them. Clearly, a bit of experience with one or two other gliders in the air is necessary before you mix it up with a flock. Naturally, it is important ro follow these same practices while soaring with a group, and this practice carries over ro landmg. 3) Do your setup ,I bit to the side ofthe landingfield. ff you orbit over the landing

area you will not have as complete or continuous a view as you will if you arc off to the side. /\n ideal position is enough to the side so you can keep all the other pi lots within a 60° viewing angle as shown in ure 1. /\!so, if you perform flgure 8's or large rectangles rather than 3GO's, you can main· rain everyone else in visual cont:act. Beware of hanging out too far away frorn the landing fleld. Pilots who do this ofren surprise others with a long, straight·in approach t:o the landing pattern which can cause serious conflicts. Gliders can be surprisingly hard to sec when they arc exactly at your level or below you enough to mingle with the ground as a background, especially at dusk. Remember, the unwrinen codicil ro "sec and avoid" is "be seen and be avoided." 4) feave the or amt alone. If another pilot leaves j usr as you do, consider turning back to soar a bir longer. Alternately, you can try diving ou1 to the landing field if you have the altirudc and won't conflict with 01hcr gliders in the holding pattern. If you sec another glider leave, allow a time interval that lets him or her be below MAY 2001

Long landin9 field: Avoid shaded area to give other {Jliders room.

• Top view to side~~~~~;;~~"'"

if clearance allows.

* Large Field Avoid center (shaded area) to give other gliders clearance.

you when you get to the landing field. This time interval will typically he 30 seconds to one minute. 5) lJl'e as little of'the landing_field as is possible. When it is your turn to enter landing pattern (downwind, base and fliial or figure 8), do so in a predictable manner. ff the field is large, set up so your final is off to one side in case an unseen pilot is coming in right behind you. If the field is long and narrow, carefully land either shon or long 10 allow a following pilot a clear shot at an open area and a better chance ar avoiding your voniccs. Landing in Lhc middle of a field when the sky is crowded is bad etiquette. If you do it repeatedly you m:1y not invited back to the party. Figmc 2 illustrates these concepts. 6) Finally, rnoZJe.Your glider well off-'the .field as soon as you land. There arc two pct

peeves here: pilots who land in the middle of a landing field and stay there and pilots who park their gliders as soon as they reach the edge of another parked glider. ' In the first case, you can grcady compli. cate a following pilot's landing if the field is relatively small and you are an added obstruction in the middle of it. The general rule when t:he sky is raining gliders is to land near the edge of the field if you can, and keep running until you're well out of the usable area. One exception ro this glider is breathing down your neck as you turn to final. In that case it

is usually better to remain still once you touch down so he or she won't have to dodge a moving targcL. Normally, the fol-lowing glider's flnal will be beside yours, so remaining still will avoid conAicL. In the second case, gliders that stack up on the edge of a field gradually cat up the landing field as each subsequent one gets plopped down further out. This is a com· mon experience and one that has led to gliders landing on gliders. Don't be part of rhis gtneral negligence. Move your glider well off the field by carrying it around the other parked gliders if necessary. Most of these points of discussion come under the heading common sense rules, right· of way rules, or the golden rule. One of the blessings of our flying sport is that we arc self-regulated. But the burden of that bless· ing is that we must abide by some convcn· rions to avoid bouncing off one another and bringing our whole self-regulated stntC· tmc tumbling down in the process. f!ave you ever been guilty of not follow· ing the guidelines outlined above? Shame on you! Were you ignorant of their existence? Oops! Now you know, so go with grace and sin no more. Your flying fellows will like you better and we'll all more rcadi-· ly achieve our accidcn1·-free goal. Next month: I ,anding with vortices and adverse conditions.

Otto Lilienthal's Concept Of "Flight As Sport" by Deane Williams

Otto Lilienthal was a spirited engineer who lived in the I BOO's in Germany. He is considered the "father ofhang gliding. ,, During the last 20 years ofhis life he devoted his spare time to discovering how birds fly, building flying models, and then building lightweight gliders in which he ran down hills to become airborne.

though others around him in Europe and America were very nreresred in flight, none of them ook this interest to nearly rhe exrem that Otto did. During a five-year period in the 1890's he made literally thousands of gliding flights from hills near Gross Lichrerfelde, near Berlin, Germany. He was the first person in history known to fly often and with complete confidence. The mode of operation of his flying was to launch by facing his wing imo a wind blowing up a slope and run hard, thus attaining flying speed ar which the craft wo uld lift off. Landings were also conducted on the feet. This is, of course, exactly cl1e mode of flying used today by hang glider pilots around the world, only the equipmenr is far more advanced now. Liliemhal pioneered most of the techniques now used by hang glider pilots: foot-la unching, foot-landing, weightshift control in all axes, the ability to fold the craft up for storage and low-cost, simple consrrucnon. Unfortunately, he did not pioneer the use of helmets and he was killed tragically in 1899 when a protruding bolt penetrated his skull during a crash landing that he might have survived otherwise. Many today might think that Lilienthal was eager to perfect gliding flight so char an engine could be added. They might think that mis engin eer had great visions of large aircraft crossing the oceans to speedily transport people and cargo around

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gigcmtic hounds into the when the gymnast safely steers his soaring machine house--high over the heads ofthe spectators. " ls hang gliding really safo enough that peo-plc can take it up with assurance of reasonable risks? The father of the sport thought so:

"!(such e:x:ercises are gone through within a reg· ular and approved method, they are not more 1111110/'r(}j',f,( than engages in riding; or sctil-

the planet. Not so. The primary motivation /cir his thousands of hill-launched glides was tliar it was (and is) incredibly fun! His writ· ings show this enthusiasm for the beauty and thrill of gliding /light. He referred to his acrivity as a "sport." Herc arc some quotes from an article he wrote in the 1896 edition of the Aeronautical Annual by James Mean.

"The charm ofruch.flight is indescribahle, and there could not he a healthier motion or more exciting sport in the open ail: " 'The idea of making a fun sport of flight was so strong that he envisioned it as a pop· ular acrivi ty:

"ffa place for this sport is procured where young persons wishing to indulge in flight can disport themselves into the they will then have r1 chance to make instructiv1: 1md interest· ing sailing_flights... " "And when, from time to time, competitive flights were arranged, we should soon have a national amusement in this as in other sport., which we have already. One can see even now that the pleasure and interest ofthe puhlic in such races, when the gymnasts skilled in/lights,

shoot through the ail; would more intense than, fin· un,u1nc. boat

and

What type of competition did I .ii icnthal envision? Why, cross-country flying, of comse! He saw the lure of flying distances as the prime motivator for manufacturers to create better ships.

"He who in'f61ing the.farthestfrom tt certain startingpoint; will comefimhfrom the contest as conqueror. This.fact will necessarily lead to the production ofmore and more improved flying apparatus. In a short time we shall have ofwhich today we Several times he refors to rhc pilot as a because of the quick weight,shifi:. ing motions during flight:

"ft is with astonishment and cidmiration th11t wc.fi;llow the swinging himself from traJJeze to "Can any sport be more exciting than flying? Strength and adroitness, courage cmd decision, can nowhere gain such triumphs as in these

"That the here is avoided when one practices in a reasonable waJ1, I have suffi· rient!y proved, as ! myselfhave made thousands ofexperiment, within the lastjive years, and hf-We hctd no 11ccidents whtttever. a.few scratches excepted" In the course of his experiments he dis-covered many concepts that aircraft incorpo· rate today. On the need for better control sur-faccs he wrote:

"Although, while these J was thrown about by the wind quite violently tmd was made to execute quite a dance in the air in order to leeep halance, Jyet was always enahlecl to effect a landing; hut still I came to the conviction that cm increase in the size of the wings, or the utilizing ofstill stronger winds which would lengthen the journey in the would necessit11te something heing done to per-· feet the to facilitate the management qfthe apparatus. " Using weight-shift to roll the eraft, he realized that sbort wings would roll faster but would not provide enough surface area for slow flight. I-Tis solution was to invent: the biplane, with twice the surface in the same

"The smaller the surface extension ofthe appa· ratus is, the better control I have over it; and yet ifl employ smaller hearing surfaces in stronger winds, the results are not more.favorttble. The idea therefr;re occurred to me to apply two smaller surfaces, one ahove the other. which both hm;e a lifiing effi:ct when sailing through the air. Thus, the same mustfollow which would he gained hy a su1.face qftwice the bearing mpacitJ1, but on account ofits small dimensions this apparatus obeys much hetter the changes of the center " Otto Lilienthal's birthday is celebrated on May 28. He was born in l 848. We all owe him a big thanks for bis amazing pioneering work in a mixture of sport and science that we can deeply appreciate. II

HANG CIIDING

s USil is issuing its annual call for nominations to the national Board or Directors. Eleven positions arc open for election in November 2001 ror a Lwo-ycm term beginning January 2002. USJ IC/\ members seeking position on the ballot should send to headquarters for receipt no later than the following i11f'orrnatio11: name and LJSJ !Ci/\ number, photo and resume (one page containing the candidate's hang/paragliding activities and viewpoints. writte11 co11sent lo be nominated and that they will serve if elected). Candidates must be nominaled by at least lhrcc lJSJ !Ci;\ members residing in the candidate's region

Nominations arc needed in the following regions.

2001

current Directors, whose terms arc up for reelection in

2002, arc listed below.

Ballots will be di butcd \vith lhc Novernber issue or!JANCi ClUJ)JNCi and J>!/RAGUDING magazines. USI IG/\ needs the very best volunteers to help guide the safe development and growth of' Lhc sports. Forward candidate material for receipt no later than August 20 lo: US! IG/\, PO Box 1:no, Colorado Springs 80<)() 1-1330.

Current rector Mark Forbes Jamie Shelden Scott Gasparian John Grcynald I ,awlcss

States within region Alaslrn. Oregon, Washington Northern California, Nevada Southern California, I lawaii

5 6

Jeff Sinason

Nomination.1· w·c not needed in Region

this election.

No111i11ulio11s ure not needed in Rc:,'.ion 8fi;1· !his election.

Randy Leggett

Matt Taber

Kent Robinson

Nominulions ure 110/ ncedcd in Rcgion! 2/iJr this election

Arizona. Colon1do, Fl Paso TX. New Mexico, lJtah Idaho, Montana, Wyoming Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ncbraskn, /\rkansas Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota. Minnesota I lc1111pshire, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont Washington DC, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia Alabnm,1, Florida, (3corgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virgin lslancls, Puerto Rico Texas (excluding El Paso), Louisiana New Jersey, New York

The /()!lowing Corm is Cor your convenience.

******************************************************************* ********* **** ******* REOION/\L DIRECTOR l(LEC'TION NOMINATION FORM as a candidate for Regional

l hereby nominate ----- ----- -- --- -------------- -

Director for Region II

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

2002 Regional Director Election il'thrcc nomim1tions arc received at the US] l(iA office by August 20, 2001.

NAME

US! IG/\/1

---- - - - ~ - - - - - - - -

------- -------·-

REGJON/1 --·--------------·------

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WW/5 - Only $550 OBO. Ron (.310) 779 53/i8, dcniron62!r7lhotmail.cotn w/LARA gold parachute, BOTH (603) 7757ii9/i, (253) l09

good coudition, red/white, I 00 hours, 111he 1ra11spor1<:d $2,000. (9,19) 260-(, 160.

8593. MOYES CSX SX, XTL, XS3, XT, etc. New and nearly new. Available immediately. Nation's largest Moyes dealer. WALLABY RJ\NCl-l (863) /i2li--0070.

MOYFS XS l 55 ('i05) l2lil92.

l'.xccllcnt rnndi1io11 $1,000 OBO.

l IJTRASPOJff lli7 New 7/00, 10 hours, underwheels, surface deep blue w/or:rnge wingtip, "Just spare downmbes $2,500 OBO. (307)

WWZS - Medium, only G nights, includes parachute-hand deploy/rocket $500. (6l'J) 173-97ii3, Ll ,crts!ri>ucscl.ed 11 PARAGLIDERS

MOYES XT !'RO 1(,5 --- Novice/intermediate double surface, two av:ii\;,hl,· $ I ,600., $2,300. (262) liT\-

\JLTRASl'ORT I li7, 166 - Renral gliders at flight park, low homs, clean, priced to sell. (262) ii73-8800, info(d1hangglidi11g.con1

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XTRAI.ITF

Well kept, (2(,2) /i7 l-8800,

VISIONS & PULSES Boughr,SoldTradcd. Raven Sky Sports (262) /ilJ.8800, infoQi>hangglicling.com

WW SPORT AT l 6/

good condirion,

RIGID WJNCS

ATOS - Low hours, low price, extras. Day (203) ii38G559, Fvcnings (860) 350-8041.

Oies great $850. MRX2001 LAMJNARS ARF I IERE Experience the highest petforrnance Oex available. New and lightly used STs also (760) l ), 1-0/0 I, i11dasky(1Dyahoo.rnm and www.icaro2000.com

WW lJLTRI\Sl'Olff i/i7 - Cood condition, bri 14ll yellow TF $1,/i()() priced to sell. (541) 50/i- 5416.

l'UI.SE 11 !VI - Excellent condition, custom sail, hea11tiCul! Sec at www.linc1work.com/P11lse.h1ml, ((i31)

- Jvlage111a/lilac, no beach or desert time, 10 homs $2,500. (%0) 98:kl 195.

72/i-12')'i.

l'Ul.Sl'S & VISIONS llought-SoldTraded. ll.avcn Sky Sports (2<,2) iiTl-8800, infotri>ha11gglidi11g.corn SPECTRUM 165 lnclmks tail kit, new nose cone, condition $1,500 or looking for Ultraspon 16(,. hangchccl< Vl>y:1 \100 .con1 SPECTRUM CIEAR1\NCE SAI.F

Three 1 65

Spcctrlltns in near new condi1io11, w/all options

$2,liOO-$:l,200. Raven Sky Sports (262) IJTl-8800, in fo({1lhanggli< 1i 1 ig.corn

SPORT AT 1(,} ELRO Like new, fidl r:icc, imcrrncdiatc, lli0-210lhs, I ow11cr $1,500 OBO or rn1dc for randcn1. (l60) ')fifi,6881, j 11a nca rloscos1 ;1CrtJho1 rnai I.com

\XIWXC 15'5 A11geles.

1.ikc new $2,750. (909) 2Ali-0786 Los

wwxc 15'i

EXCl'LLENT CONDITION, w/·w111td,:ts, magenta & blue. I'm no longer flying and this has nor r'vcn been out of the bag in over a year this is a BAR.CAIN' $1,500. OBO. 0%) 723 12')2, NC SauratownSkyG1>aol.corn W\'(!XC 15'i I.ow hours, clean, nice condition $2,100. (262) li73-8800, info(,i>h:mgglicling.com

ATOS ..~ Like new, no mods, flown in comp only ?.'58-/i81i0, davicl(11ldavidglovcr.com UL'!'J{A!JGHTS 1(i l!ORSE Minimum power unit with Salir and harness $2,':JOO. Susquehanna Flight Park 866-6153. AIR SPORTS USA-WWW.Fl,Yl'ORl'UN.NET TRIKF Set up lcir acrorowing hang gliders. All accessories, BRS, includes nice slow flying l .:i Jvloucne Crear way to start a new aero tow club. $10300. 895,42/iO, xch:1wkvil:1ol.com

WANTED

EMERGENCY PARAC:J IUTES 20 c;ORJ: PIM - w/swivcl $375. 20 Many more available. Raven Sky Sports 8800, infot<ilhanggliding.corn

I !ARNESSES SUFJ:RSl'ORT l li:l Cood condition $'i00. (619) li7.'l-97ii:l, l.bettslr''11csd.cdu SUPF.RSPORT 15 l low hours, \XIW fin infotri>ha11gglidi11g.co1n

Supc1·nea1 rnstom sail, very $2, I 00. (;?62) li7:3-8BOO,

C:T RAC:I'. Like new, all accessories, clean, comfortable, 'j''J"-5' 11" $475 OBO. (505) 28(,-3871, flysharp 1(,tlaol.cmn MK/i needed. J-800-688-563'7. HARNESS EXCHANGE CHUTES (970) 6li 19:l I h11p:l/gunnisongliders.com/ I l!CII 1,'.NFRGY POD HARNESSES Sizes & styles $.300,400. cc; lOOO's $250. Cocoons 1.MFP pod, 5'')" $400. Knechangers & stirrups also available. (262) iiTo--8800, info~i)Ju ngglid i ng. coin

MAY 2001

USED LICIITWFICl!T TRIKE And (2.I9) 65Gli950

USED SUPRONE IIARNFSS I'JO lb. (714) 6/i 1-1 J70.

l'araclrnre 5'8"

WANTED WILLS WIN(; HP 82.5-li 51i8.

- I, 1.5, 7.. (601)

COLORADO AIRTJME ABOVE !JAN(; CLilllNG

SCHOOLS & DEAI.F.RS

F11ll-1ime

lessons, sales, service. Colorado's rnosi- experienced!

I.ARC EST IIANC CI.J])INC SHOP In the West! Om ddux<: retail shop showcases the latest equipment and has two virtual reality flight sirnulalors. We stock new and used. Wing, Altair and Moyes gliders, and all the hottest new h:1rncsses. Trndci ns arc wclcom.c. Our comprehensive located at the San Francisco Bay Area's site fcau1res: gently sloped "bunny hills," \X1ills Wing Falcons of all

Wills Wing, Moyes, Altair, l ligh Ball, Flyrec, Conncc1io11s and much more. (:303) 67/i · , Ewrgrccn, ( :olorado Airrimd !Ctrl:wl.com CONNECTICUT MUUNTJ\!N WINGS

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FLORIDA

sizes and cornfonahlc tr;1i11i11g harnesses! "FIRST FI.TCHT"l minute video tour of our beginner lesson program shows :1 snidcni-'s skill progression

NATIONAL SC:lJOOI. NETWORK RINGS LOCALLY. For inliirrnation call David (706) 6578/i85, david(;ildavidglovcr.co1n

$20 (shipping included). 1116 Wrigley Milpitas CJ\ 95035 (nertrSrm/osr). (li08) 262 1055, (408) 262 1.'l88. 1nissio1tV1)ha11g-gliding.com \Vww.hanftgliding.com

ALABAMA I.OOI<OUT MOUNTAIN FLIGI IT PARK

Sec

;1d 1Jndvr ( :corgia.

CAL!H)RN!A

DEl<?PORT

DREAM WEAVER HANG Cl.ll)]NG · !'rain 011 state-of.the-an WILLS WING FALCONS. LESSON PACKAGES: One lrn11 hour lesson $100. Three l,mr hour lcssom, plus t:111clcrn off 2.,000!'t. .rloO. Fiw lessons Cor $!iOO. Ten lcssnns plus 1a11clc111 $750.lnrroduce someone new 10 our sport. For each new srndcm that yon introduce that rakes three or more lessons from me, you'll get a free lesson or $50 off a fotme purchase. lcssnn programs. Yearround instruction. and landing and rhcnnal clinics available. Call for group rates. Tired of' hiking I'll help you! Dealer for Wills Ali air, llncrgy Sports, !\all varios, Camdb;,ks more. New and used cquipme11t. We love rradc .. ins. I'm your northern California MOSQUITO HARNESS DEALER. If' you live in central me a call or email to yonr Mosquito dcmc,ns1rat10,n or cli11ic. Call or email, sched11ling lessons five cbys a week, Friday through T11c'schys. Ideal training hill, tip to 1 'iOCt., (,OOI't. n1011ntain. I ,200fi. mountain. Tandem instruction. US! I( ;A Advanced lnstrncror DOUG PRATHER (209) 556-0169 Modesto, C:A. drmwvrhg~ilsolicom.net

FLY AWAY HJ\NC CLIDTNC llurcar (805) 957"') 14 5,

paragliding school. Equipment sales, service, :ll Somhcrn C:alif'orni:1's mile high site, Crestline. USH(;A Instructor Roh McKenzie. By appointment year round. (909) 88)--8·'188, www.l1y1andem.com

major

and acrotow cq11iprnc11t) 1.5

U1sne1,worlcl. Call 052) li89-9%9. ily~1lgraybirdairspor1s.co111 www.grayhi1dairspons.co1n ll/\NC CUD INC AND P/\ll/\Cl.lDINC .. lJSI !CA instn1nion, sales) service, rcp:1irs,

and silc wur:,,. Sau

Diego's Visa and Master( :,wl accepted. Ii 52 .. 1)858 or roll free 1--877-FLY TEJ\M. Check us 0111 and order online at ,vww.!1ytorrey.co1n

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FI.ICIIT PARK

Sec

ad 11ndcr Ccnrgia. Nearest mountain training center to

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BUNNY .. 'THE HILL WITH rn

WF l JAVE The most adv:rnccd known w hang teaching yon in time ir takes on the lllU., and with more in-flight air time. YES, WE CAN TEACH YOU FASTER AND SA\1ER. for year-rouncl training lt111 in the snn, call or wrire Miami Ifang Gliding (:JO'j) 285g,)78. 2'i50 S Bayslwn· Drive, Coconn1 Crcivc, i'lorida

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THE I IANC GLIDINC CENTER 6.'l 12 Malcohn Drive, San Diego ( :J\ 921 I 5, ((,I')) 265Sl20.

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:l'l I Tl. 01 dangerous training hills. :l'iO I.earn foot launch skills with ;n \Vorld Beach training slopes ('i minrnes fro111 l.A airport.) Fly winter 01 snnm1er in gt·ntlc coastal winds, sof't sand and in a thorough wirh one of' Amcrica)s most prestigious schools over 25 yc:m.

ad is by more than 8,000 hang gliding enthusiasts. Advertise with us HAN(' CiiDINC

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JUST 8 MILES FROM DJSNEY WORLD • YEAR ROUND SOARING • OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK • SIX TUGS, NO WAITING • EVERY DIRECTION

QUEST AfR SOARJNC CENTER Your vacation hang gliding location. 052) li29-02 Ll, fax (35?,) 429· lt81i6. Visit our website at: www.questairforce.com or email us: qucsrnir~ilsundiaLnct

BIRDS IN PARADJSE ···· Hang gliding & ultralight flying on Kauai. Ccni/1cd tandem instruction. (808) 822.S:JO') or (808) 6391067, llltc\stiDb,m'imqx1rac.llscc.cc)m, www.birdsinparadisc.com

GEORGIA

ILIJNOIS HANG GLIDE CHICAC~O Full service 2 tow planes. Full rime certified instructors, instructors, East Coast record 213 miles. (8 J 5) 22 l 2, www.h,an,~gl<Clccl11c\go.,:om

50+ N_\GE demos to fly: Topless to Trainer Gliders: Laminar, Moyes, Wills, Airborne, Airwavc, Exxtacy, I ,a Moucttc, Sensor; also harnesses, varios, etc.

(312) 360-0700, (815) RAVEN SKY Sl'ORTS 489-9700 or (7-62) 473-8800. 2. hours from Chicago, 90 minutes from Flgin, Palatine or l.ibenyville. The best instructors, the best equipment, the besr results in the Midwest. Training progrnm for cornbined/intcgrat· cd foot launch and aero tow cerri/1carion. Apply I 00')1, of your intro lesson cosrs 10 ccnificition program upgraclcl Please see our ad under WISCONSIN.

Ages J 3 To Tl have learned to fly here. No one comes close to our level and success with 1andc1n acrotow instruction. A GREAT SCENE FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS ...

10 morels & restaurants within 5 mins., camping, hot showers, tiha<lc trees) sales, storage) ratings, XC

retrievals, great weather, climbing wall, trampoline, DSS TV, ping pong, picnic tables, swimming pool, etc. Flights of over 200 miles and more than 7 hours. Articles in flrmg Gliding, J<itplanPs, Skywings, Cross and others. frawred 011 nmncrous TV shows, Dateline NBC, The Discovery Channel & ESPN. Visit us on the Web: http://www.wallaby.com Please call us for references and video. 1805 Dean Still Road, Disney Arca, FL 33837 (863) 424-0070 · phone & fax fly@wallaby.com 1-800-WALLABY

1-800-803-7788

!Nl)JANA

FULL HOOK-UPS Laundry, propane, recreation room. l -800-80.3-7788

RAVFN SKY SPORTS (262) li73-8800. Please sec our ad under Wisconsin. infoQilhanggliding.com

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FL!CHT PARK Sec our display ad. Discover wiry FOUR TIMES as many pilots earn their at Lookout than at any other school! We wrote Official Training Manual. Om specialty-customer satisfaction and fun with the BEST FACILITIES, largest inventory, camping, swimming, volleyball, more! For a flying trip, intro flight or lesson packages, Lookout Mountain, just outside Chattanooga, your COMPLETE training/service center. Info? (800) 688-LMFP.

MARYLAND MARYLAND SCHOOL OF HJ\NC Cl.lDINC, TNC. -~ Certified instruction, specializing in foot bunch. Dealers for Wills Wing, Moyes, High Energy, year-round instruction. (4 J 0) 527-0975, www,mshg.com MICHIGAN CLOUD 9 SPORT AVIATION ists. We carry all major brand gliders. glider storagc/rranspon rube with new glider purchase, Now in stock: Laminar ST; Wills Pusion, XC, llltrnsporr, Sonic; Aeros Stealth 2; Falcon; Moyes Kiss. Outrigger wheels and other accessories in Call for summer tandem lessons and flying appoint· ments with the DrnachcnFlicgcn Club at Cloud 9 field. 11088 Coon Lake Rel. W., \Y/c:bb,crville. MI 48892. (517) 223-8G83. Cloud9sa@aol.com http:/ I mcmbers,,101.coml elm 1d9sa

Conservative• Reliable• State of the Arr F.H.G. JNC,/FLYfNG FLORIDA SINCE l974 Malcolm Jones, Ryan Glover, Carlos Bcssa I ,auric Croft, Jeremie Hill, Kerry Lloyd Tom Ramseur, Roger Sherrod, Rhett Radford Tiki Mashy, Paris Williams BUNKHOUSE WARM&. COMFORTABLE -- By LMFP! 32 bunks, hot showers, open all year, 2/i hour tion. 1-800-803-7788!

MAY 2001

MICHIGAN SOARING - Delivering VALUE with the best combination of SERVICE, QUALITY & PRICE. ALL major brands of gliders and gear. Call Doug Coster (23]) 882-474/i, wingman@trnvcrsc.com

Continued ftom page 3 7 looked, with some occasional boomers. Com ing back from the first cumpoint over the best hoc spot in the whole area, La Mesa, I had a average climb race of 970 fpm under the overcast! Paris, Mario and the Austrians flew like crazy again, and showed the rest of us chat there is a big difference between the real racers and guys like me and KG. Flying up and down the local ridge co gee the first three curnpoincs was fun, as everyone was in the same area for an hour an a half or so. Lace in the flight I teamed up with Heiko and Jeff Hunt - a Laminar, a Stealth and a Fusion. We flew together for about an hour and did some real searching for life in an area of funky air chat we found. le cook forever co gee up and away from the ridge after the third cumpoint but we stuck it out and all left together and got away. However, we didn't gee very far before we had co go into full-on search mode down low. Going in to land in the Tanka de Gas area I fo und a big area of zero in a very unlikely place, a shady, dark, lee-side hole. This one lase thermal of our trip got huge, and even though it never got over 120 fpm (more like 70 on the averager) it stayed together and Jeff and I took it co the cop as there was no one else in sight climbing. After a long delay (which gave me plenty of time co chink about how lucky we are co live in chis era of unregulated, affordable, foot- launched aviation) we got up as high as we could and continued our flight into San Ramon, our eventual landing site. Several pilots again made the course and into Valle, making for another

good, valid cask call in spice of the iffylooking conditions. Will we make the trek to Val le de Bravo again next year? I think so, but next year we are going to cry to stay for three weeks. Of che 28 total days I've spent in the Valle area, every one was a good if not excellent cross-country day. Pilots flew from che El Penon launch site over the

back to Valle every day and landed at the lake. The Mexicans are a laid-back, generous bunch of awesome people. We met and became friends with bunch of real cool locals during our trip. Thanks go to meet directo r Erick Salgado and family, our local contact and landlord Jeff Hunt, drivers Beto and M artine, our Wills W ing deal er and friend Alex, and den mothers Beatrice and Caroline who kep t a eye on the Colorado team. We hope chat more American pilots will make the trek down co Valle next year, as it really is a trip. Erick Salgado is going to u y to gee the prize money together again wh ich should help promote a bigger contest. I wish I were sti ll down in Valle right now flying my brains out, because as I write chis che snow is falling chick and heavy outs id e my window, and so metim es the strong summer thermals seem so far away. •

ONLY $5*

_..,.,.........._

*Special USHGA member price. includes USA s/h. Normal retail price S15.95.

THIS IS THE VIDEO YOU GIVE TO YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDS An d they' ll also receive a $20 gift certificate redeemable off their 1st lesson from a participating school. U.S. Hang Gliding Assn., PO Box 1330 Colorado Springs CO 8090 I -1330

I -800-6 I 6-6888 MC/Visa ushga@ushga .org

Looko11t Mo11ntain Hans Glidins 800.688.5637 - www.ltaN9lid-.:.com

H A G Guo, G

•Wind Speed • Temperature •Wind Chill •Humidity •Dew Point •Heat Index

•Rugged •Accurate • Waterproof •Easy to Use

Nielsen-Kellerman 1.800.784.422 1 www.nkhome.com lnfo@nkhome.com

Our Most Popular Item These 2 piece wheels come complete with a brake kit so yo u don't "ro ll " down the hill while wa iting o n launch On(>

Helmet~·Drag Chutes• heels•PTT's•tfa11d Fai, ing:.•Mo,e Check us out ONLINE : www.JustFly.com

Our Latest Style ew Design, Same Certification! Available in Silver and Carbon Optic Full Fact Helmets From

Just Fly A iation Gear 1125 Harbo,view D,. Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948 252 480 3552 • stuft@justfly.com

TRAVERSE CITY HANG GLIDERS/PARAGLIDERS FlJU.-TlME shop. Certified instruction, foot launch and tow. Sales, service, accessories for ALL major brands. VISA/MASTERCARD. Come soar our 450' dunes! 1509 E 8th, Traverse City Mf 49684. Offering powered paragliding lessons & dealer for the & used units. Call Bill ar (2J 1) 922-2844, 1cban:gglider(i:Djur10.,:orn. Visit onr pa1mglidi.ng Jackson, Wyoming. Call Tracie at

SUSQUEHANNA FLIGHT PARK Cooperstown, NY. Certified Instruction, Sales and Service for all major manufacturers. 40 acre park, 5 training hills, jeep rides, bunk house, camping, hot showers, 600' NW ridge. We have the best facilities in N. New York state to teach you how to fly. c/o Dan Guido, Box 293 Shoemaker Rd, Mohawk NY l.3ii07, (315) 866-6153. NORTH CAROLINA

MOUNTAIN WINGS

Look under New York.

PUERTO RICO FLY PUERTO RICO Team Spirii Hang Gliding, HG classes daily, randem instmction available. Wills Wing dealer. Glider rentals for gualificd pilots. PO Box 978, Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico 00741. ('787) 8500508, tshg@coqui.net

MINNESOTA

TENNESSEE

RAVEN SKY SPORTS (612) 310-1800 or (262) 473-8800. Please see om ad under WISCONSIN.

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK ad under Ccorgia.

NEVADA

TEXAS

ADVENTURE SPORTS Sierra at its besr. Tonrs m1d tandems available. Instruction certified USI-IGA instrnctors with 25 years experience. Sales, service and instruction by Carson City/Lake Tahoe NV. 883-7070 lttrp://homc. pyran,icl.nct/advspts

XC CAPITA!. OF THE CAROLINAS (828) 6:12-9810 foorhillsf1ight@hormail.com

LAS VEGAS AIRBORN WATERSPORTS USf IGA certified hang gliding instruction. Sales and service, boa1 row, mountain soaring, XC. (702) 2607950, www.v11Tualh,,sts.net/hanr,.lmn

• YEAR ROUND SOARING • EXC:ELLENTXC FLYING • TANDEM lNSTRUC:TlON • AERO TOWING/THREE TUGS DRAGONFIY/'l'RlKE lNSTRUC\'lON • INTRO FOOT LAUNCH CLASSES • l'ARAGL!DlNG TOWS • WINCH TOWING• FLY-INS AND C:LIN[CS • SALES AND SERVlCE • 600 ACRE FACILITY Steve Burns 979.27').')382 email: sburns@alpbal.net 800B Pinc St., Hearne TX 77859 Fred Burns 281.471. 1488 email: austinair@aol.com 38 l O Bonirn I ,ane, La Porte TX T7571 www.austinairsports.com

NEW JERSEY MOUNTAIN WINGS

T,ook under New York.

NEW YORK AA!\ FLIGHT SCHOOL MOUNTAIN WINGS I ELLENVILLE AIR SPORTS. Full service shop, flight park, 1500ft. tow field, winch and aero towing, tandems, two-place lJ.L training. Airwavc, Altair, Moyes, Aeros, learn 2000, Flight Star U.L., MOSQUITO powered harness, WOODY VALLEY harnesses in stock. The original V-MITTS $29.00. mrnwings@catskill.net or (8li5) 647-337'7 www.flightschool.net, 150 Canal St., Ellenville, NY 1212.8. The most complete HG Pro .. sbop in the North East. AIR SPORTS USA NYC's fost and only cerrificd bang gliding, paragliding, microlights (trikes), powered paragliding. Distributors for Avian. Dealers for most majm brands. Full service and equipment at best prices. The most friendly service in the area. Store address: 29 31 Newtown .Ave., Astori:l NY. Phone (718) T/77000, WWW.FJ,YFORFlJN.NET FLY HIGH HANG GLIDJNG, INC. New York, Connecticut, Area's EXCLUSIVE Wills all other major hrands, school/instruction. Teaching since 1979. Area's most INEXPENSIVE prices, Excellent secondary instruction ... if you've finished a program and wish to conrinuc. Fly the mountain! ATOI. towing! Tandem flights! Contact Paul 5163 Scarsvillc Rd, Pine Bush, NY 12566, (845)

Sec

GO .. .llANG GLIDING!!! Jeff Hum. Austin ph/fox (512) 467-2529,jeff@flytcxas.com,www.flytcxas.com HlJ,J, COUNTRY PARAGUDING INC I.cam complete pilot skills. Personalized lJSHGA certified training) ridge soaring, foot &. !"OW launching in central

Texas. MOTORIZED PARAGLJDING INSTRUCTION & EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE. (915) 3791185. 1475 CR 220, Tow TX 78672.. • TANDEM INSTRUCTION • AEROTOWING • HOAT TOWING • BEACH RESORT • TRAINING CAMPS • FOOT LAUNCH •OPEN YEAR ROUND •PARAGJ,lDlNG • EQUIPMENT SALES AND SERVICE

(800) 33f4777 NAGS HEAD, NC Internet Address: llttp://w•,vw•.lot1yi1a,vl(.c0Jn E-Mail Address: ml'cl(q'lottyllawk.com

KITE ENTERPRISES Foor launch, platform launch and aerotow instruction too, Training, sales, renrnls and rep,iir. Airwave & Wills Wing. Dallas, Fon Worth and north Texas area. 211 Ellis, Allen TX 75002. (972) 390-·9090 nights, weekends, www.kitc-enrcrpriscs.com TOTAL AIR SPORTS Area's OLDEST Wills Wing dealer. Certified instruction available. "J only DEAL with WILLS". 16121 Lakeview, llousron TX 770/iO. ('713) 937-86 H, roralairsportl Q(i1lhormaiLcom

PENNSYLVANIA MOUNTAIN TOP RECREATION Cerrified instruction, Pittsburgh. (412) 767-4882.. C'MON OUT AND PLAY!

HANG CUDING

UTAJI

WISCONSlN

CLOUD 9 SOARINC: C:FNTFR The nation's largest paragliding and 1"tng gliding shop, is now oiler· ing gliding lessons, g11id1· services, rcp:1irs and sales at Point of' the Mountain, Utah. Contact us l,,r an information packet or stop l,y the shop. (80 I) 57(, <,/i<,O, inli,vllparaglidcrs.com 12'5'5(, S. Mi11t1trntatt I)r. 111 Draper, UT 8/iO?.O.

RI\ VEN SKY SPURTS 111\NC CL!ll!NC /\ND l'i\Ri\CLIDINC The Midwest's Premier acrotow lligh1 park, founded in 1')92. h·arnring INTEGRAT ED INSTRUCTION of foot-Lntnch ,rnd acrotow tan· pricl's to beat any in the US/\. dcrn skills, ,ll Seven hcautiliil, grass,· training hills all wind directions. Four I tow planes, no waiting! Three Jandcm gliders on wheeled undercarriages. WW hrlrnns for training frnrn 1he very first lessons. USU/\ nltraliglit and tug instruction. Paragliding i-ows. Free can1ping. Salcs/scrvice/acccssorics for all br:inds. Opl'll 7 days a week. C:on\:ll'l Brad I<11shncr, PO Box 1()1, Whit,watcT WI 'i:l 190 (?(,)) li73-88()() phone, (2G2) iiTl 8801 fox. www.lunggliding.com,

WASATC:11 WINGS lJL1h's only {i,11 service hang gliding school, Point of' the Mountain, regional rn0t1n·· u1in sites, towing. Dealer for Aeros, i\irw;ivc, Altair, Moyes, Wills Wings and much more. ( :all /,1c (im I) )/i1 "7 1i9/i, wings<?i\vasatch.com www.wasatch.com/, wings

VIRCINlA

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BECOME A PROFFSSlONAI. FLl(;HT INSTRUCTOR A limited numbn of intern positions arc available in Los Angeles at one of America's ilncsr hang schools, For information contact Joe Creblo at

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ily h<:11, you realize your dreams 10 ONLY $5.00. Created to show how hang gliding has evolved into a sale, affordable, and ii,n way "To Fly". Filmed ar several major hg schools in the US "This productiou has my best packed into a short IO minure eye opener. 10 min.! This is the video you show your family a11d friends! ON LY $5.00. NEW' WFATI!ER TO 111.Y, by Advcnnrrc Productions. J\ much needed lnstn1ction~1\ video on meteorology. I )ixon White, Master pilot and USI IC:A Lxantincr, takes you through a simple step-by-step process showing where to acq11irc weather data and how 10 i111erprct it. ·1 his video will help pilots of' any

first flights. :JO min $29.95. TURNING POINT - IN ALPINE TI-llm MALI.ING, by Dennis Trott/Alpine Flying Centre. 50'Y<, I IC, 50% PC. Discover techniques to tame the elusive :1lpi11e thermal. lle:rntiful lcJ01age sci against Luropc\ most dramatic n10111Hai11s. /\lso features comments from top pilots & great animation. 2/i min $35.95 Currl'lltl)' our ho1tcst selling video! AERONAlJTS JIANG GI.IDING MASTFRS, by Photographic Expeditions. J\ clornmen1ary of' hang gliding today. Superb gr:iphics & interviews. /i:J min $29.'Vi. I !ANG GLIDING EXTREME & BORN TO FI.Y by Advcmure ProdJJctions, great hg action $3/i.')5 each. Call lJSI I CA (71 'J) Ci:\2 8500, fax (71 '!) <i:,2 . (,fi I email: usliga!J1!ushg;i.org, or order off our wch page www.ushga.org. Please add ,$Ii domestic s/h ( t $5 ft,r two or more videos). ( ;rcat ro impress your friends or

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A I ook ell the Sport of 1-/,::inCJ (j/1:'J1ncJ fl1c WincJ ,::incJ W11y IL Works FliCJr11 Skills 10 trie Level /11cJr1I Skills 10 1/-1<::· Novice Level Conditions More c1tiou1 1J1e or Prepc11inCJ for HiCJr1 AltitucJe CielllnCJ Startccj in SmrincJ Tcmdern ancJ Tuw Trr:11riincJ IJi/01 91oulcJ Know Glmc,r:1ry or C:il1cJing Tmnc, BONlJ\l lf'S.~&:!1~r1 c 1)ro..llies"

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C:I.ASSJl'IFD ADVFRTISINC RATES The rare for cl.issificd is $.'i() word (or group of char· aners) and $1.00 per word bold or :di caps. MINI MUM AD C:J!ARCE $S.OO. A fee o/' $15.00 is charged l,ir c:1ch line art logo and $25.00 l,,r each [>ho· ro. I.INEART & PHOTO SIi.i·: NO LARCl'R Tl IAN I X . Please nndcrlinc words to be in bold print. layouts of' tabs $25.00 per column inch. Phone numher·,2 words. Email or web addrcss,C:lwords. All l)F;\[)l.lNES: !\II ad copy, instrnction.s, additions and GH1Cc!btions must he received in writing 1.

months

date, i.e. l\1ay 2.0tlt for rhc J nly issue. make checks to lJSI l(;A, P.O. Box I :no, Colorado Springs, C:0 80'!0 I LDO, (71 'J) 632. WlOO. Fax (/19) 6.\2-(,!i 17 or email: yom cl:1ssi!1cd with your Visa or M:1.1rcrCard.

Adventure Producrions ........................ 5 i\ lr:1ir ................................................... 7

Angle of Attack Arai Design ...................................... .41 From the Telluride Festival in 1981, to the moclcrn day freestyle competition. Follow the history of this dyn:1tn·· ic gathering. $2/i.95 Call lJSI IC:A (719) 632-8:300, Cax (719) (i:l2-61 l order from our web site www.ushga.org. Please add +$Ii domestic s/h. MTS(:J(I.LANI\OlJS

Dan Johnson .................................... .41

i:light Design .............................. 13, 42 ................................................ 17

Hall Bros ............................................. 5 High Energy Sporrs ........................... 21

High Perspective ................................. 5 Just Fly ............................................. .49 Kitty I lawk Kites ............................. .40 Lookout Mtn. J!ligh Park ....... 9, 40, 48 Mojo's Gear ..................................... .41 Moyes ............................................... 49

Nielscn .. Kcllcrman ........................... .49 "AEROBATICS" hill color 2.'l"x :'l 1" poster featur· ing John I lciney doing what be docs hcst--l.OOPlNC! Availahlc through US! !CA! IQ f,,r just $6.')5 ( +$/i.00 s/h). Fill that void on your wall! Send to USI!(;;\ Acrobatics Poster, PO Box I:300, Colorado Springs C:O 80'):l:l. (USA & Ca11,1da only. Sorry, posters arc NOT AVAIi.ABLE on intcrn:11io11al orders.) Sl'li CIAI.-Aerobatics poster & Frie Raymond poster· BOTH FOR $10 (+M.'75 s/h). Check the merch:rndisc sccrion of our web site www.ushga.org for a color pic-

ture of' these \,cautilid posters.

Quest Air .......................................... 17

Sport Aviation Puh!icarions ................. 2 I"raversc City Hang Glidcrs ................. 9 U.S. Acros ......................................... 13 USHG/\ .................................... 2, 11, 27, 48 West Coast Arns .......................................... .5 Wills

8,Back Cover

Phone: 209.543.7850 Toll-Free: 888.530.9940 E-Mail: custsvc@a ng leofattack. net Website: http://angleofattack.net

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HANC CIIDINC

S'J'. PAUL, MINN. , GW Meadows reported that the Aeros rlqid wing Stalker haB now passed. all tests by IJ1e Gec,rman DHV airworthiness cer adds, "Only paperwork Dil\7 certiLLcate will be granted," tllouqr1 he adds t.hat docurnentat:ion wil] "at: Thi prove that even thouqll it government: agency (DHV sanctionec'I but pr:ivate) the german counterpart to our HGMA can like a bureaucracy. Congratulntions to AeroE, and good luck to GW. I'd been comrmmicat:ing wi tJ1 Gec~Dub t:o his advice on vjsiting Aeros factory Aft:er the German Aero 2001 airshow, plan to fly to for Look tl1is eas European success st.ory. really. I toured the former reflected that only the Ukraine remained Curtain. In tbe space, of qeneration, capital i.sm has startc,d growing like weed in many of thm,e countr:ie1:;. 'l'hough the, morph from communh;m ho still causinq pain, companies like Aeros have Eiqured out Uie game and have even been able to pone that ion of capitalism, the USA. ••• Maybe isn't your r;tyle (and it won't: be mine either if U1ey don' L i:oend tbe mandatory pretty darn soon) but France ho,, of appeal. "Any pilots who want: to come and fly the South of France, are welcome to stay at our house, " say Arna and Bruce Go1dsmi th. Intriquinq lJOuses in Europe ore often named and so' th.i one: Chateau in deference to artistic des :Lqner. Goldsm Lll says, "We, have bed and breakfa,3t facilities for [about: $20] a night and alE;o a fully fitted apartment available for for just a fc~w dayc, or weekly. " Chateou·-·de-Mox located near excellent featur.inq easy ac:ces13 plus guests can obtain advice from veteron Euro , Bruce Goldsmith, about con di tiom, and where to www. cha tenu ·de--max. com ••• FlyLec showed off their new AltiKnife at the recent board of director It' a nifty Swiss Army knife concept for the diqital aqe with a built-in altimeter. Hikers may also like the qizmo. Fellow Mac user, Steve~ Kroop, beorned when he told me about the new 4020 instrument that should now be avai1ab1e. With :i.t,i translucent blue case it lookro like a mate t:o the iMac and I say why not? Hey, was a b.iq hit Apple,. also feaLures much lorqE:c,r baroqraph memory 12f3 hours worth .. t:hJnk you can sust:aJn that Long? Plus the iBlue 4020 comes witri full cust:omizable audio E,O you can select the tones you wan a bundled and enhance FlyChart ( $75 upqrade), and the blue box can record and post polar performance dota. Price was not expecl:ed to rise. Excf,ll,0nt! Info: 800·-662:;;449. I!. F'lytec also noted that 2000 was one of the best in their hi,;tory. 11111118 Gerry Charlebois

MAY 2001

is about. invo Yosemite.

to embark on video excurcdon, lying Uie Sierro Nevadas and Using tr Lll tra.l ghts to l to m(,:sas or to aero tow PGs and HGs, to fly in places wi h more chal1 enqing access. Stronq .i ntere t Paul Hamilton's Monumental Triking mm3 video bas Charley··boy. He'll work with PauJ and they'll be joined by paraql guru Andy Whitehill, base jumper and film maker, Tom Sanders, plus, accordinq to Gerry, '\Jim J·.c "' olso tryj ng to be invoJvec,d. " Knowing both Gerry' c, photo and Paul's video prowe:;s, may produce one heckuva video . Info on the, aerial . com 8118 clos this month, I'm pleased to update you on t.he only U.S.-built rigid the Raptor, now in 2 Plus ve ion. Developer /manu Matt Kollmann say;:., he has enough :Ln "hard ki tc," l_r) keep him busy and \:hat: a "co11apsib1e (foldablfj] Raptor has been p11t on the back burner for now." course his pace isn't bliE;tering only one kit every three months so keeping busy means somethinq di than it doec:; for Wj] W:i nq. f3ut t.ha t may chanqe :if American pilots b0,come more awonc of his work and succerrn. I!. Chanqes in the Plus mode] include a om,- foot lengthened kec.c,l whicll moved aft: tbe keel fj n which Mat:t "seE,med to eliminate yaw oscillation " completely. His hard wing mode] con use Jightc~r ribr, and because "el irninates weiqh of the sail," it is now much lighter overall. The savingc., were employed l;.o make tlle spar stronger and 75--pound wing can now corry a 350 pound hook-in weight! n excit tatement to E,oarinq trike entllu,,iasts, says it' touqh enough that he can now experiment with mountinq the Raptor 2 Plus on a lightweight trike. He's also planrd nq a 1 to haul th.e winq. I!. te Matt recently tried and was to an esl:ab1ished HG manu acture interest in the Raptor 2 Plus. In hie; explorat:ion of potential partners reports \\Ex.is [qlider] manufacturers seem to fa11 into one of two . Either thc~y hurting from rigid winqs and don't hove the capita] t.o inve13t or they haven' t been hurt bad enough and l:he rigids are just a fad and will adds, '"l'here is also a fantasy that Lhe qliders will perform as wel as the rigids." I!. Thouqb Ko11mann waB unable to Lind an interested builder, he says many pilots who ew the were impressed, "so the Raptor ki have started sellinq." Info: mKol1mann@insiqht.rr.com ••• So, got news or "? Scmd 'em to 8 S . Pau.l MN 5'5118. Messages or to 6 1··4.500930, or e-·mail to CumulusManC?aol. com. ALI "Product Lines" columns will be available later this year at www.ByDanJohnson.com THANKal 1

!i,ij

WILLS WING DEMO DAYS ARE COMING TO AN AREA NEAR YOU ALL OUR LATEST AND HOTTEST GEAR - MARK YOUR CALENDAR! April 18- 19 Groveland Florida Qu est Air Voi ce: 352 429 0213 Fax: 407 678 7009 http://vvvvvv.questairforce .com/ QuestAir@sundial .net

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April 21-22 Mi ami Florida Miami Hang Gliding Voi ce: 305/285-8978 Fax : 305/285-7259

May 11-13 Calgary Canada

April 24-25 Orlando Florida W a ll aby Ranch Voi ce: 863 424-0070 Fax: 863 424-0070 http://vvvvvv.vvallaby.com/ fly@vvallaby.com April 28-29 Wildvvood Georgia Lookout Mountain Voice : 706/398-3541 Fax: 706/398- 2906 http://vvvvvv.hangglide .com/ mailto:fly@hanglide .com

May 4-6 San Jose California Mission Soaring Voi ce: 408/262-1055 Fax : 408-262-1388 http://vvvvvv. hang-gliding .com/ mission@hang-gliding.com

Parachute Seminar Mull er Wind sports Voi ce: 403/932- 6760 Fax : 403 851 0737 http ://vvvvvv.mullervvindsports.com/ fly@mul lervvindsports.com

M ay 18-20 Wh itevvater Wiscon sin Raven Sky Sports V oice : 262/473- 8800 Fax : 262 473- 8801 http ://vvvvvv. hangg l iding .com/ brad@hanggliding .com May 22-23 Leland IL Hang Glide Chicago Voice: 815 325 1685 http://vvvvvv.hangglidechicago .com/ gofly@hangglidechicago .com

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