USHGA Paragliding Vol13/Iss2 February 2002

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Wsabo"tfollowiagyodeams... challenging yourself... finding your way ... reaching your goals ... flying new skies ... it's about GOING FURTHER.

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AIR M~IL

Ul?DATE

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

PRESIDENT'S MESSAG'

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

COVER: Tim Nelson flying an Airwave Logic over Marshall Peak near Crestline, California.

Photo by Mitch McAleer.

See Tim's glider review on page 32.

BABADAG

by Judd Weaver

FUGHTS OF BAPTISM

by Royce Ann and Phil Martin

GLIDER REvlEW: THE AIRWAVE loGIC

by Tim Nelson, photos by Mitch McA/eer

DJSCLAJMBR 0F WARRANTIES CN PUBIJCA· TIO.NS: The material pre· sented here ls published as part of an li1formation dissemination service for

USHG.A members. The USHG.A makes no war· r.llllies or rep~ntatlons and assumes no liability concerning the validity of :my advice, opinion or recommendation expres..'iCd in

MONACO PARAGLIDING

article andphotos by Andre Gupta

the materil\l. :All individuals relying upon the material do

so at their own rifik.

Copyright © 2002 United States H~ Gliding Assn., Inc. All rights reserved to Paraglfdtng and Individual contributors.

FEBRUARY

2002

3

Gil Dodgen, Managing Editor/Editor-in-Chief Steve Roti, Contributing Editor Dave Pounds, Art Director Will Gadd, Dennis Pagen Staff Writers Office Staff Jayne Depanfilis, Executive Director, jayne@ushga.org Jeff Elgart, Advertising, jeff@ushga.org Paul Defranco, IT Administrator, paul@ushga.org Sandra Hewitt, Member Services, sandra@ushga.org Natalie Hinsley, Member Services, natalie@ushga.org

USHGA

Committee:

Jim Zeise!, President, jimzgreen@aol.com Mark Ferguson, Vice President, mark@ballvarios.com Russ Locke, Secretary, russlocke@juno.com

Bill Bolosky, Treasurer, bo/osky@microsoft.com REGION 1: Bill Bolosky, Mark Forbes. REGION 2: Ray Leonard, John Wilde, Tim West. REGION 3: David Jebb, John Greynald, Alan Chuculate. REGION 4: Mark Ferguson, Jim Zeiset. REGION 5: Frank Gillette.

REGION 6: James Gaar. REGION 7: Bill Bryden.

REGION 8: Doug Sharpe. REGION 9: Randy Legg(~tt, Felipe Amunategui. REGION 10: Tiki Mashy, Matt Taber. REGION 11: R.R. Rodriguez. REGION 12: Paul Voight. DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Jan Johnson, Dennis Pagen, Russ Locke, Steve Kroop, Chris Santacroce.

HONORARY DIRECTORS: Aaron Swepston, J.C. Brown, Ed Pitman, G.W. Meadows, Bob Hannah, John Harris, Larry Sanderson (SSA), Dave Broyles, Gene Matthews, Ken Brown, Rob Kells, Liz Sharp, Dan Johnson, Dixon White. EX-OFFICIO DIRECTORS: Art Greenfield (NAA).

The United States Hang Gliding Association Inc. is an air sports organization affiliated with the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) which is the official representative of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), of the world governing body for sport aviation. The NAA, which represents the U.S. at FAI meetings, has delegated to the USHGA supervision of FAl-related paragliding activities such as record attempts and competition sanctions.

PARAGLIDING magazine is published for paragliding sport enthusiasts to create further interest in the sport, and to provide an educational forum to advance paragliding methods and safety. Contributions are welcome. Anyone is invited to contribute articles, photos and illustrations concerning paragliding activities. If the material is to be returned, a stamped, self-addressed return envelope must be enclosed. Notification must be made of submission to other paragliding publications.

PARAGLIDING magazine reservHs the right to edit contributions where necessary. The Association and publication do not assume responsibility for the material or opinions of contributors. PARAGLIDING editorial offices: 31441 Santa Margarita Pkwy., Suite A-256, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688, phone (949) 8887363, fax (949) 888-7464, e-mail: GilDodgen@aol.com.

The USHGA is a member-controlled sport organization dedicated to the exploration and promotion of all facets of unpowered ultralight flight, and to the education, training and safety of its membership. Membership is open to anyone interested in this realm of flight. Dues for full membership are $59.00 per year (of which $15 goes to the publication of Paragliding), ($70 non-U.S.); subscription rates only are $3.5.00 ($46 non-U.S.). Changes of address should be sent six weeks in advance, including name, USHGA number, previous and new address, and a mailing label from a recent issue.

PARAGLIDING (ISSN 1089-1846) is published monthly by the United States Hang Gliding Association, Inc., 219 W. Colorado Ave., Suite 104, Colorado Springs, CO 80903 (719) 632-8300. FAX (719) 632-6417. PERIODICAL POSTAGE is paid at Colorado Springs, CO and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: SEND CHANGE OF ADDRESS TO: PARAGLIDING, P.O. BOX 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330.

4

THERMAL RESPONSE Dear Editor, Let me respond to my respected friend and old colleague, Peter Gray and his article in December 2001 Hang Gliding and December 2001 Paragliding.

Peter performs an exhausting study of .some of the physics describing thermals and their behavior, then concludes that our popular concept of "thermal triggers" is a myth. He references my book Understanding the Sky as well as the articles by a number of other writers to point out where in some part we go astray. I cannot be responsible for the exuberance of other writers, so I'll focus on what I wrote and the research I have done.

To begin, I totally agree with the mathematical analysis Peter has provided.

I went through much the same process over the years in writing the various forms of my book (the first edition was written in 1975). The calculation of the weight of a thermal appears on page 213.

However, most of the mathematical analysis Peter presents is left out of my book because it is intended for the average reader who wants to know conclusions, not every step along the way.

When writing about the real world there is always a fine line between great detail for exactitude and breviry for clarity.

We'll revisit this point later.

I also agree with Peter that surface tension has no role to play in the birth, release and rise of a thermal. However, I disagree with his statement that there is no such thing as thermal triggers. And since I believe that thermals linger near the ground as they build, I think it is a very good model for the average reader to use their observed experience with surface tension to form a working picture in their mind. Dixon White has used the concept of surface tension as an analogy to explain the dynamic of heat being trapped by bushes, trees, rocks, etc. Heat will simply "bleed" off of areas where it isn't trapped, which is certainly a valid point. Scientific literature is chock full of similes such as this to help us imagine the behavior of nature. For example, in electronics we describe a diode as being like a door that only lets electrons pass in -------- -- ----

one direction and not the other. No one seriously thinks there is a door on hinges with a little man in uniform regulating passage. The important thing for pilots is to form models in their mind that are easily accessed, track realiry as nearly as possible and are not overly complicated in order to avoid using too much mental process while the world of lift passes us by.

If I read Peter's write-up correctly, he believes that thermals form at the surface when the sun heats the ground which in turn heats the overlying air. All right so far. Then he chinks the thermal automatically begins lifting off as soon as it has a bit of buoyancy (less density than the surrounding cooler air). This liftoff, according to what he wrote, occurs over the entire heated surface in a more or less uniform fashion. As this heated mass rises it coalesces to become the somewhat discrete column that we know and love as a thermal.

I think Peter's "Realistic Model" is faulty for a couple of reasons. First, note that convection currents form very readily in a fluid due to density differences caused by heating. These currents serve to distribute the heat more uniformly throughout the fluid. They are more or less steady-state and continuous.

However, when the heat is applied at the bottom of a fluid at such a rate that that convection currents cannot keep up with the process, then more chaotic penetrative convection occurs. In this case the warmer air "comes away from the heated (surface) in lumps, which we call thermals." The quote is from R.S. Scorer's book, Natural Aerodynamics. (This book was the first comprehensive text written on micrometeorology and is a wonderful source of in-depth information for anyone who wants to really understand how smaller-scale atmospheric effects work.

Unfortunately, it may be only available through the libraries of large universities.

Scorer himself was perhaps the world's foremost meteorologist in his day. I believe he died in the l 970's.)

When the heating from the sun's insolation reaches a certain rate, the volume of air being heated over good absorbing surface areas expands. The expansion rate is faster than the convection currents PARAGLIDING

within it can distribute the heat beyond the boundaries of the growing thermal.

This process can continue for half an hour or more as you can readily sec by sitting in a thermal-generating field.

With a little patience, waiting in the quiet field, you suddenly feel a rush of wind as the grass waves and the leaves toss. A thermal has just lifted off. The buoyant thermal air docs not bleed off gradually. It sits on the ground until a discontinuity starts it penetrating upward, then it releases in a whoosh. It has been triggered.

There are several mechanisms that account for the tendency of a thermal to rest on the ground despite its lower density compared to the air above it. The first is inertia. Peter correctly calculates the weight of a thermal as being from tens to thousands of tons. In order for this great weight to begin rising as a cohesive mass ir must overcome a good deal of inertia. Second, in order for a thermal to lift off it must be replaced with air from the side (remember, nature abhors a vacuum). If the air is being heated more or less uniformly over a wide expanse, there is no great horizontal differential that will induce an inflow from the side. As a heated blob expands it exerts a pressure outward that helps oppose the inward pressure from cooler, denser air at rhe sides.

An important point to note is that air of different densities does not readily mix, in a manner similar to oil and water. That's why squall lines or gust fronts maintain their integrity for hours over many miles of travel. That's why you can watch a cumulus cloud take half and hour or more to lose its cohesive structure. Thar's why fronrs persist for days and the jet stream exists. That's why a thermal maintains its integrity through thousands of feet of rise, despite the mix-ing from mechanical turbulence along its edges. That's why a thermal isn't penetrated by countless incursions of cooler air as it sits on rhe ground waiting for a trigger.

A thermal growing on the ground is conditionally unstable (or more appropriately, rneta--stable). That means it remains in a tenuous equilibrium as long as a certain process continues. That

FEBRUARY

2002

process is the continued growth of the thermal. When that growth slows down (which it always does since the heat comes from the surface and it is getting distributed over a larger and larger volume), the expansion forces are lessened and the thermal is prime for a disturbance to start its upward motion. There is an analogy we can use here to illustrate our model. This is the supercooling of water. Pure water can be cooled several degrees below freezing and will remain a liquid until a discontinuity or disrurbancc occurs. Then it will ice up in a sudden rush. In the same way a thermal lies on the ground until it is disturbed.

The second point that disagrees with Peter's analysis is that a thermal lifting off as a large, flat, pancake blob would have an exorbitant amount of drag. Drag goes up linearly with the surface area, so such a thermal would have to quickly consolidate to the ideal shape (a sphere or column) or be soon torn apart. I don't believe (and the models don't show) that thermals lift off even initially like a pancake. They penetrate with arms upreaching in several places until they coalesce, sometimes several thousand feet up (that's why there are often several cores).

What often starts this penetration is a trigger point.

The final thing to observe regarding Peter's model is that if thermals didn't sit on the ground for a spell there would be no excess of heat built up on the ground, so there would never be a superadiabatic lapse rate. Any excess heat would be continuously carried aloft by little convection currents that would not be large enough to lift us. We'd be limited to boring soaring. Since our observations indicate that thermals do sit on the ground for a spell as they build, and they often release suddenly, we can conclude that the mechanism that releases chem is something that disturbs chem from their quasi-equilibrium state. We call this mechanism a trigger.

What arc possible triggering mechanisms? One of the most ubiquitous triggers is the presence of downdrafts caused by the thermals themselves, especially in wind. Downdrafts are a necessity in thermal conditions, since "what goes up must come down." Downdrafts are usu-

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ally more spread out than thermals, but when they reach the ground their gustiness disturbs the tranquil thermal and releases it. Wally Wallington, in his wonderful book, Meteorology for Glider Pilots, has a good illustration of this matter on page 128, and Scorer shows it on page 177 of Natural Aerodynamics.

Another common trigger is a blocking of the flow when wind is moving the heated ground-air along. A hill, buildings or a tree line can produce this blocking effect. Elevated ground such as hills and mountains are good thermal sources, both because they are often more readily heated than the lower ground, but also because they provide automatic triggers.

They do this by virtue of their upslope (anabatic) flows that assist a thermal in its initial upward flow.

Now let's address the controversial idea of moving objects disturbing the festering hot air to release it. Peter argues that a relatively small tractor, car or glider could have no effect on a multi-multiton thermal. I disagree, because, for all the above reasons, I believe that only a very small portion of the thermal needs to be disturbed to start the chain reaction that results in the thermal rushing upward. Starting a small portion of it swirling or roiling can initiate the process that unbalances the quasi-equilibrium, allows air on the side to undercut the thermal and achieves liftoff As Dave Broyles pointed out, "Chaos theory describes many systems that show massive changes resulting from very small causes. Thus, in all likelihood, chaos theory would strongly support the trigger paradigm." Small perturbations are often responsible for large effects in nature.

Now we come to the less analytical part. This is where pilots get up and give testimony like at a revival meeting.

Peter's reference to the perpetuation of myths is well founded (I'm glad he reads the Skeptical Inquirer- if more people did we'd have fewer astrologers and Jerry Falwells.) However, in this case I don't believe we are in the throes of a myth.

Let me give you some examples.

Australian pilot Rohan Holtkamp, who took second at this summer's hang gliding World Meet, and who is recognized as being one of the world's top flatland

6

pilots, stated in an interview that he goes to tractors very frequently as a primary source of thermal triggering. He described a number of times in the world meet when top pilots did the same for a low save. The well-known Helmut Reichmann (former world sailplane champion) discusses triggers in his book, Cross-Country Soaring. He specifically mentions ground vehicles (among many other things) on page 6 of the revised edition. On the same page he describes experiences where he went to triggering areas to get a thermal.

Of course, all these top pilots could be subscribers to the myth as well as we mortals (no facetiousness intended). But here's one last argument: If there were no such thing as thermal triggers or trigger points, it would make sense for all crosscountry pilots to simply fly in as straight a line as possible over a flat desert area such as in Australia near Hay, or Chelan (perhaps altering course a bit to avoid stronger sink) and rely on chance to find a thermal. Since we all are rational and don't believe any one pilot is guided by "The Force," the result would be a mix of pilots going the farthest or winning on successive days. But this is not the case. In fact, certain pilots with superior decision-making abilities are consistent winners. In my interviews with them they declare that everyone climbs about the same, and it's the decision-making about where to go that makes a difference. They all believe in trigger points.

Perhaps it can still be argued that most of us are deluded, but flying involves hundreds of subtle decisions on the wing, and if the model we have helps us excel, then it is a valid model even though it may not be absolutely accurate. All the top pilots know that X-C flying is a game of percentages and they try to load the dice by seeking thermal sources and thermal triggers. No one believes that potential trigger points are 100% reliable, but they up the percentages of finding a thermal.

One final point I wish to dispute is Peter's statement that since I mention thermal bubbles in my book that I "implicitly accept the surface tension idea ... " Nothing could be further from the truth, as I've already mentioned. I

also mention thermal columns in the book. I believe Peter misinterpreted what I'm modeling. When we describe thermals as bubbles or columns, other authors and I are not talking about how they act or operate on the ground in this case. We are describing their shape in the air after they have consolidated and are rising. This is somewhat a historical matter, which arose as a question when sailplane pilots in the l 920's first discovered thermals. As I point out in my book, thermals can be either bubbles or columns, according to how much air is available to supply them from underneath. Here in the Northeast we frequently have bubble thermals since the heated layer is often not as thick as it is out West, and the heated areas tend to be determined by field size. It is not uncommon to see a gaggle of gliders or birds define the top and bottom of the lift in a couple of hundred feet.

For a really good picture of thermal shape and progress, I recommend the Scorer book. He presents photos of a dense, white solution (barium sulfate) being released as a blob in water. The downward flow, vortex ring, erosion and cohesion of the solution is a very good model (upside down) of a thermal. I would also direct the reader's attention to the OSTIV publications on technical soaring, especially publication nr. l 1.

Much of the above discussion is a rehash of an article I wrote for my Wingtips column in the l 980's for what was Glider Rider magazine at the time.

I'm sure Peter and many readers have missed it. As I have been pointing out in the talks and seminars I present, there is a new emphasis on small-scale meteorology due to the military importance of drones. There are many new studies of the effects and characteristics of thermals.

For these reasons I have been planning an updated article on thermals for some time. Look for it soon. In the meantime, keep your finger on the trigger.

Dennis Pagen Spring Mills, PA

PARAGLIDING

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one way to go • • •

FlyTEC 352-429-8600 • soo.662-2449 • www.flytec.com

REGION NINE YEARLONG X-C CONTEST: PARAGLIDER CLASS Last year's longest paraglider flight was made by Jim Maze who enjoys that honor for the second year in a row. His best flight of 50 miles was made on May 19 from Little Gap, Pennsylvania and took him to near Princeton, New Jersey.

Dwayne McCourt produced a fine 25.9mile flight from Big Walker, Virginia to take second place. His flight was a ridge-run to the southwest on the same day that gave Tim Donovan his overall contest-winning 110-mile flight along a nearby ridge.

Dwayne's account of his flight drives home to the reader how much more difficult ridge-running and gap-jumping is on a paraglider than on a topless hang glider.

He's to be commended for the flight!

THERMAL TRACKER PARAGLIDING MARCH TOUR OF ECUADOR

F

rom March 8-30 Thermal Tracker will offer instructional coaching, experienced critiquing and assigned tasks on the warm

Ecuadorian coast. Strengthen your skills!

The tour is designed for pilots and nonpilots alike and is guided by Advancedrated Tandem Instructor Kevin Lee and the pilots at Ecuadorian Expeditions (www.ecuadorianexpedirions.com) .

The March tour will pur a strong emphasis on supporting P-2 pilots with light airtime, but it is also designed for any pilot who chooses to strengthen his present skills. The tour will include inland exploration of the High Andes, with an emphasis on the Indigenous cultures and communities, Inca ruins, white-water rafting, photography, hiking and mountain biking, exploring national parks by train, with possible extensions into the Amazon region available.

For strengthening your flying skills and accumulating airtime, the coast will be the place, with miles of smooth, coastal ridge sires. Past participants have accumulated more than six hours in a day without landing. Instructional tandem flights will be available, as well as warm-water swimming, fishing and a visit to Machalilla National Park on the coast (www.birecuador.com/

national_parks. htm).

Accommodations range from family-run pensions to beautiful Haciendas high in the Andes. Each group is limited to six pilots to promote quality, so reserve early and secure your space. Price depends on length of stay, so call for info. The tour includes all ground expenses in Ecuador, lodging, transportation, drivers, guides, air shuttles to the coast and other fees . A professionally produced tour video and past participant referrals are available.

Contact: Thermal Tracker Paragliding, Kevin Lee, (541) 660-8839, thermaltracker@bigfoot.com. Links for stories and photos: www.BigAirParaGliding.com/Ecuador. htm, www.rvhga.org/Oldweb/Ecuador99. htm.

NATIONALS CORRECTION

I

n December Paragliding the dates for the Owens Nationals were listed incorrectly.

Assuming that all the paperwork goes through, the correct dates should be Sept.

21-29. Contact: http://flyaboveall.com/ 2002nats/.

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USHGAAnd The FAA General Aviation Ban

by Jim Zeiset, USHGA President

I

n the aftermath of the tragic events of September 11, the privilege of hang gliding and paragliding was taken from the American public in a broad, sweeping ban of general aviation. Reinstating these privileges instantly became the focus of the USHGA EC (Executive Committee) and the entire Colorado Office staff. The ED (Executive Director), Jayne DePanfilis, was as you may imagine totally consumed by this project.

First she had to clarify the FAA's position concerning Part 103 operations. On September 11 she consulted with the EC, USHGA's attorney, Dennis Pagen (National Coordinating Committee) and Bill Bryden (Safety and Training Committee) before talcing the initiative to contact other air sports associations and the FAA. Rob Kells and Mike Meier of Wills Wing were also trying to evaluate whether or not the ban on general aviation applied to ultralights, and how this ban affected recreational flying and instruction.

The USHGA worked closely with the USUA (United States Ultralight Association), the NAA (National Aeronautics Association), the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association), the AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) and the FAA to clarify the applicability of the FAA ban to Part 103 operations. Each of the sports associations operating under Part 103 immediately wrote an executive memorandum concerning our need for the clarification of how the ban on general aviation (Part 91 operations) would affect our specific operations.

We also expressed our desire to comply with FAA regulations once we knew for certain how these new rules applied to us.

Our first challenge was to detail our specific recreation and training operations as they relate to each of our activities. Our hope was to obtain directives for each of these operations separately even though it appeared as though the FAA was lumping all Part 103 operations together in the ban on general aviation. In the USHGA's memorandum to the FAA, Jayne addressed training hill lessons and solo flights, soar-

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ing and non-soaring flights, solo aerotows, foot-launched and aerotow tandems. All of this information was compiled into one memorandum by Tom Gunnarson of the USUA and forwarded to the FAA in Washington, DC. Jayne worked most closely with Tom Gunnarson, Executive Vice President of the USUA and with Sue Gardner and Mike Henry of the FAA in Washington.

Mike Henry is in charge of the FAA division that oversees Part l 03 operations. Sue Gardner works for Mike Henry. Within a few days, the USHGA received clarification direccly from Mike Henry of the FAA that, in fact, the ban on general aviation did apply to Part 103 operations - all of our operations. Hang gliders and paragliders were grounded across the country.

Our next challenge was to determine an effective strategy for compliance.

Clearly, the FAA was taking its cues from the National Security Council. It was the USHGA's position that the flying of hang gliders and paragliders was not permitted and that a breach of this rule would not be acceptable. It was also clear that the FAA was not always in constant contact with their field offices. There were times when local FAA representatives were not issuing the same directives or enforcing the same rules as the home office in Washington. In fact, it was a challenge to get the FAA to "spread the word" to their local offices on the rulings related to Part 103.

It was difficult to obtain clear directives for Part 103 operations until after the USUA was able to contact the person in the FAA who was responsible for writing the directives. It was clear that the FAA representative who was writing the FAA directives was unfamiliar with Part l 03 operations. Once this awareness was created, we were able to detail how the FAA's directives applied to our operations. While the FAA acknowledged that there was very little likelihood that certain aspects of our operations would represent a threat to our national security, it was obvious that they wanted to minimize solo instruction of any kind. They wanted to minimize the poten-

tial threat from new pilots flying solo for the first time, whether these flights were five feet above the ground or 2,000 feet above the ground.

The communication efforts between the USHGA, other aviation-related associations and the FAA were constant. The USHGA website was updated immediately when verifiable news about the ban became available. The ED was also in daily contact with the USHGA EC, the Board of Directors, many operators and all members who called in with questions. She answered all phone calls and e-mail inquiries regarding the ban and dealt exclusively with the media. This intense focus was maintained throughout the duration of the ban, and even after the ban was lifted, as many schools were closed due to being within enhanced Class B Airspace. Most of the schools were able to get permission to teach through their local FAA office. Within two weeks the restrictions as they related to enhanced Class B Airspace were lifted which allowed almost all schools to resume instruction.

Now Jayne and the local pilots around Salt Lake have a new problem. General Aviation has been banned within 45 miles of the Winter Olympics from February 6 to 19. Jayne, the Salt Lake Clubs and the local Director are working with the local and National FAA offices to get the ban lifred for ultralights. The club website will maintain the latest information. Ill

PARAGLIDING

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UNITED STATES HANG GLIDING ASSN., INC., PO BOX 1330, COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80901-1330 (719) 632-8300 www.ushga.org FAX (719) 632-6417 (12/01)

RELEASE, WAIVER AND ASSUMPTION OF RISK AGREEMENT In consideration of the benefits to be derived from membership in the USHGA, (Piloi'j and the parent or legal guardian of Pilotif Pilotis a minor, for themselves, their personal representatives, heirs, executors, next of kin, spouses, minor children and assigns, do agree as follows: A. DEFINITIONS - The following definitions apply to terms used in this Agreement I. "PARTICIPATION IN THE SPORT means launching (and/or assisting another in launching), flying (whether as pilot in command or otherwise) and/or landing (including, but not limited to, crashing) a hang glider or paraglider.

2. "SPORTS IN/I/RIES' means personal injury, bodily injury, death, property damage and/or any other personal or finam:ial injury sustained by Pilotas a result of Pilot's PARTICIPATION IN THE SPORTand/or as a result of the administration of any USHGA programs (for example: the Pilot Proficiency System). If Pilotis under 18 years of age, the term "SPORTS INJIIRIES11 means personal injury, bodily injury, death, property damage and/or any other personal or financial injury sustained by Pilot as well as personal injury, bodily injury, death, property damage and/or any other personal or financial injury sustained by Pilot's parents or legal guardians, as a result of Pilot's PARTICIPATION IN THE SPORTand/or as a result of the administration of any USHGA programs.

3. "REI.EASED PARTIES' means the following, including their ownm, 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~proficiency rating(s); c) Each of the hang gliding and/or paragliding organizations which are chapters of the USHGA; d) The United States Of America and each of the dty(ies), town(s), co1mty(ies), State(s) and/or other political subdivisions or governmental agencies within whose jurisdictions Pi/otlaunches, flies and/or lands; e) Each of the property owners on or over whose property Pilotmay launch, fly and/or land; D All persons involved, in any manner, in the sports of hang gliding and/or paragliding at the site(s) where Pilot PARTICIPATES IN THE SPORT. "All persons involved" include, but are not limited to, spectators, hang glider and/or paraglider pilots, assistants, drivers, instructors, observers, and owners of hang gliding and/or paragliding equipment; and g) All other persons lawfully present at the site(s) during Pilot's PARTICIPATION IN THE SPORT. B. I FOREVER RELEASE AND DISCHARGE the RELEASED PARTIESfrom any and all liabilities, claims, demands, or causes of action that I may hereafter have for SPORTS IN/I/RIES, however caused, even if caused by the negligence (whether active or passive) of any of the RELEASED PARTIES, to the fullest extent allowed by law.

C. I WILL NOT SUE OR MAKE A CLAIM against any of the RELEASED PIIRTIESfor loss or damage on account of SPORTS IN/I/RIES. If I violate this agreement by filing such a suit or making such a claim, I will pay all attorneys' fees and costs of the RELEASED PARTIES. D. I AGREE THAT this AGREEMENT shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California.

All disputes and matters whatsoever arising under, in connection with or incident to this Agreement shall be litigated, if at all, in and before a Court located in the State of California, U.S.A. to the exclusion of the Courts of any other State or Country.

E. SEVERABLIUTY. If any part, article, paragraph, sentence or clause of this Agreement is not enforceable, the affected provision shall be curtailed and limited only to the extent necessary to bring it within the requirements of the law, and the remainder of the Agreement shall continue in full force and effect. f. I REPRESENT THAT Pilot is at least 18 years of age, or, that I am the parent or legal guardian of Pilot and am making this agreement on behalf of myself and Pilot If I am the parent or legal guardian of Pilot, I AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND REIMBURSE the RELEASED PARTIES for their defense and indemnity from any claim or liability in the event that Pilot suffers SPORTS IN/I/RIES as a result of Pilot's PARTICIPATION IN THE SPORT, even if caused in whole or in part by the negligence (whether active or passive) of any of the RELEASED PARTIES.

G. I VOLUNTARILY ASSUME All RISKS, KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, OF SPORTS INJURIES, HOWEVER CAUSED, EVEN IF CAUSED IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY THE ACTION, INACTION, OR NEGLIGENCE THE RELEASED PARTIES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED LAW. I have read, understand, and agree to the above RELEASE, WAIVER AND ASSUMPTION OF RISK AGREEMENT. Adult Pilot's Jifnature

fi[nature ofPilot's Parent or lepl Guardian ifPilot under /8,ears ofap.

--~--~!_ _ IJatt

MMR 12-97

Calendar of events items WILL NOT be listed if only tentative. Please include exact information (event, date, contact name and phone number). Items should be received no later than six weeks prior to the event. We request two months lead time for regional and national meets.

MAY 19-25: Canadian Paragliding Open Championships, Lumby, British Columbia (north of Chelan, Washington). Prize money. CIVL Class 2 sanctioning and U.S. NTSS Sanctioning. Visit www.dowsett.ca/cdnnats for more info.

COMPETITION

FUN FLYING

MARCH 16-MAY 27: 2002 Region Nine

FEB. 16-17: February Frostbite Festival at Cliffside or Bingen in the beautiful state of Washington. For more information call John Sargent at (503) 639-2284. Bring warm clothes!

Regionals and Region Nine Yearlong X-C Contest. The Regionals adds up a contestant's three best weekend flights between March 16 and May 27, inclusive. The yearlong contest is to honor longest individual flights of the year on any day between February 15 and November 15.

Classes for Rookies, Sixty Miles, Open, Rigids and Paragliders. Entry fees $10 and $5 respectively. Contact: Pete Lehmann, lplehmann@aol.com, (412) 661-3474, 5811 Elgin St, Pittsburgh, PA 15206.

MAY 3-5: Torrey Pines Hang Gliding and Paragliding Air Races, featuring the world's fastest hang glider and paraglider pilots.

Held at world-famous Torrey Pines Gliderport. All categories of Serial and Open Classes will compete. Entry fee for three days is $150. MAY 1-5: Torrey Pines

Hang Glider And Paraglider Manufacturer's Exhibition. Manufacturers showcase the world's newest and most complete lines of hang gliding and paragliding gear. Open to the general public. JULY 6-7: Torrey Pines Paragliding And Hang Gliding Costume Fly-In. California's most extreme, fun costume fly-in. Dress up your paraglider and fly free. Games, contests and prizes for the most outrageous and original flying costumes. All pilots welcome to camp overnight on the property.

Saturday night cookout and party for all attendees. Media and filming bluffs welcome. Contact: David Jebb, Director of Operations, Torrey Pines Gliderport, Air California Adventure, Inc., D&M Distributing, LLC, 1-858-ZULU (9858), Toll Free: 1-877-FLY-TEAM (359-8326), www.flytorrey.com.

MARCH 23: Eighth Annual Spring Fly-In. Fly at the Ranch in Tollhouse, CA, located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, east of Fresno. Hang glider and paraglider pilots welcome. Contact: Western Hangers (831) 384-2622, or Paul Splan (559) 449-0211, splan@mediaone.net.

2002

MAY 25-27: Starthistle 2002, 26th Annual Hang Gliding/Paragliding Fly-In at Woodrat Mt., Ruch, Oregon. Contact: http://rvhga.org/Starthistle2002.h tm.

MARCH 28-31: Annual Sun Valley

CLINICS/MEETINGS/TOURS

Paragliders "High Risin"' Fly-In and Dave Bridges Mountain Race. Over $3,200 in prize money in the Dave Bridges Mountain Race and Spot Landing Contest. Other highlights include aerobatic displays, DJ music and festivities, product expositions, kickoff party at Bigwood Bread, and awards ceremony.

Cost $65. Event schedule: Thursday, pilot registration, open flying from Bald Mountain; Friday, pilot registration, open flying from Bald Mountain, kickoff party at Bigwood Bread; Saturday, Dave Bridges Race and Spot Landing Contest, awards ceremony. Sunday, open flying from Bald Mountain. Contact; Chuck Smith, Fly Sun Valley , P.O. Box 6632, Ketchum, ID 83340, (208) 726-3332, info@flysunvalley.com, www.flysunvalley.com.

THROUGH OCT.: Dixon's Airplay Washington, a.k.a. the "Ranch" (near Wenatchee) will reopen April 20 for the summer season through October.

Specializing in new pilot instruction.

Each instructor works with only one or two new students. Excellence in instruction with complete training in weather, flight dynamics, kiting and much more.

Learn at a private flight park, no crowds, perfect grassy slopes, drive-up 360° launches from 20 to 1,800 feet. Limited weekday and weekend space available.

Make reservations early. Complete paragliding store and service center.

Contact: dixon@paraglide.com, www.paraglide.com, (928) 526-4579.

APRIL 6-7: Schweitzer Caribbean Carnival And Fly-In, at Schweitzer Resort (seven lifts, 2,400' vertical) overlooking Sandpoint, Idaho and beautiful Lake Pend

THROUGH DEC.: Dixon's Airplay Arizona open all year (near Flagstaff).

Specializing in new pilot instruction. Start out right with thorough training in mete-

-

FEBRUARY

Orielle. Fly from the top of a high-speed quad that takes you up 1,700' in just five minutes. Two-day fun competition.

Saturday, time aloft contest. Sunday spotlanding contest judged on accuracy, style and grace, bonus points for ski/snowboard landings. Annual event with a big party the last weekend of the ski season.

Other festivities include: live music, downhill dummy races, the Rasta Relay (ski/snowboard slalom, 10 k X-C ski, mountain bike slalom on snow), costume contest, pifiatas, snow kayaking and more.

P-3 and above only. Limited to 30 pilots, so reserve your place early. $80 entry fee includes two days of lift tickets, longsleeve T-shirt, and para-ski signoff.

Contact: Morgan Hollingsworth, (509) 927-7798, flytherockies@yahoo.com

-·-··-·-----------'-

-----------··-·

13

orology, kiting, flight dynamics and much more. Only one or two new students per instructor. Wide-open, 360° drive-up launch sites from 20 to 1,200 feet. Limited weekday and weekend space available.

Make reservations early. Complete paragliding store and service center. Contact: dixon@paraglide.com, www.paraglide.com, (928) 526-4579.

THURSDAYS: Torrey Pines Gliderport paragliding talk show on Internet radio, airing weekly on wsradio, Thursdays from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. Hosted by Gabriel and David Jebb, open to a worldwide audience. Call in toll-free at 1-800-327-0061 (U.S. and Canada) or 1-760-476-4111 for the world audience. Surf to www.wsRadio.ws and click under the "live" section. Contact: David Jebb, Director of Operations, 2800 Torrey Pines Scenic Drive, San Diego, CA 92037, (858) 452-ZULU (9858), www.flytorrey.com FEB.-MARCH: Brazil tour. 12 days, $1,200-$1,500. X-C flying in winter!

Experienced U.S. instructors guide you to one of the premier flying sites in Brazil.

(Governador Valadares, north of Rio, is a popular site for world-class competition.)

Thermal conditions, light winds and gentle terrain allow magnificent flying from morning until dusk. Whether you fly X-C or locally, it is the best mid-winter flying anywhere. Entertainment and dining.

Contact: Ray Leonard, (775) 883-7070, advspts@pyramid.net, www.pyramid.net/ advspts/brazil.htm.

Harris, (307) 690-TRAM (8726), www.jacksonholeparagliding.com.

MARCH 1-8, 9-16, 17-24: Fly Brazil with U.S. National Champion Scotty Alan Marion and highly ranked U.S. pilots and instructors Dale Covington and Kevin Hintze. $1,000 is almost half the cost of other tours, and we have a 3/ 1 student-to-instructor ratio. Get yourself there, and we take care of the rest. Nicest hotel in town, the best thermaling and X-C instruction, all rides and retrievals.

Join us at Governador Valadares, which is quickly becoming the premier thermal and X-C site in the world for beginners to advanced pilots. Space is limited. Contact: 801-Fly-Away, scotty@pointofthemountain.com.

MARCH 1-10: Super Fly Brazil Tour, Governador Valadarcz, Brazil. Fly in a T-shirt and shorts at cloudbase. One of the most consistent sites in the world.

Known for super-smooth thermals and easy X-C. Book a ticket to Governador and we handle the rest. Comprehensive thermal and X-C clinics, thorough instruction in active flying and basic maneuvers. Conditions appropriate for many levels of experience (P2 rating with 50 flights minimum). Come for one week or more. Space limited, make reservations soon. Guides Jeff Farrell and Chris Santacroce promise to help you to have the best flying trip of your life. Trips include transportation, lodging, guiding, X-C and thermal coaching, and retrieval.

Contact: info@4superfly.com, (801) 2559595.

just in time to enjoy the largest paramotor fly-in of the year. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in record attempts, attend informative sessions, and test-fly gliders and motor units. Plan on bringing your reserve and your glider.

Attend the whole week or only a few days.

Bring the family, as Disneyworld, the beach, etc. are close by. Contact: Super Fly, info@4superfly.com, (801) 255-9595.

APRIL 13-14: ITP with Dixon White.

Comprehensive Instructor Training Program for first-time instructors and recertification. Flagstaff, AZ. APRIL 15: Tandem Clinic for T3 rating with Dixon White. Contact: dixon@paraglide.com, www.paraglide.com, (928) 526-4579.

APRIL 18-21, 25-28: Texas Towing, From Tandems to Tumbles with Jackson Hole Paragliding. The Wyoming Cowboys are heading south to sunny Austin to do maneuvers training courses. Train with the Jackson Hole Aerobatic Team, featuring world-class aero pilots Matt Combs and Ranyon D'Arge. Let us coach you to a breakthrough in your flying skills.

Progress at your own pace and gain confidence in a safe and fun atmosphere.

Clinics begin Thursday evening with syllabus and simulator work. Towing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Weather day Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday are team practice days, inventing new tricks and perfecting routines. Space is limited to provide the best possible learning experience. Contact: Scott Harris, scharris@wyoming.com, (307) 690-8726, www.jhvisionquest.com.

UNTIL MARCH/APRIL: Jackson Hole

Paragliding presents "Texas Towing, From Tandems to Tumbles. "Join the Wyoming Cowboys as they head south for maneuvers training courses designed for pilots of all ability levels. Progress at your own pace. Improve your skills and gain confidence in a safe and fun atmosphere.

Features Pro-Tow Aerobatics Contest Champions Ranyon D'Arge and Matt Combs. Call now to reserve space: Scott

14

APRIL 1-8: First-ever Super Fly Powered Paraglider Conversion Session, Tampa, FL. This session is designed to introduce pilots to the new lightweight, clutchequipped, weight-shifr and super-reliable paramotors. Most participants will have no motor experience. No minimum experience level. The session will enable participants to learn to fly powered paragliders

JUNE 13-AUGUST 28: Paraglide in France, 10-day tours, $499. Sites such as Chamonix, Megeve, La Clusaz, St. Andre and many more. Details at: www.skyingout.web.worldonline.cz/home.htm.

Contact: skying.out@tiscali.cz or call Ladio Novotny 011 420 606406952.

PARAGLIDING

In the history of hang gliding there have been just two flights of more than 400 miles.

Tiiey had just one thing in common:

Brauniger Campetitian/GPS! More standard features than any competing vario, and at a lower price.

Two year warranty. See your dealer for details Stay up longer, go further, fly Briiuniger !

Service and Distribution in USA by Wills Wing, pb: 714-998-6359 fax 714-998-0847

www.wlll•wlng.com

Delta's Flight 72, a New York-Istanbul Boeing 767, was only onequarter fall as it lifted off.from New York two weeks after the attack on the World Trade Center. I was boundfor Oludeniz, a little beach town in southern Turkey, a Mecca for European pilots, but almost unknown to US. paraglider pilots.

16

eople had told me I was nuts, heading for an Islamic country at that time, but they were the same people who had been telling me for years what a nut I was to be flying a paraglider.

I'd started thinking about the trip a year ago. At least that's when Mike Eberle had mentioned he might start leading trips to Turkey, and I told him to save me a place on the first one. In May, Mike went to Turkey, looked at a several sites and decided upon Oludeniz. Now the tour group was gathering for a week of flying and a few more days of travel.

My itinerary had sounded daunting:

P

PARAGLIDING

Perry and Wes Hill, Torrey Pines P3's from San Diego, California, had also ignored well-meaning advice. I'm from Ellensburg, _ _ _ _ _ _ _....._._ _ _ _....l...__ _ a small town one hundred miles

five hours from Seattle to New York, nine hours to Istanbul, a seven-hour layover before a domestic flight to Dalaman, a local bus to Fethiye, then a van to Oludeniz. I had envisioned myself as so exhausted that I missed the bus or couldn't find the van. But the bus was waiting at the airport and the van at the bus depot.

The van dropped me at the door of the Hotel Bronze at 8:00 PM. The desk clerk helped me take my bags up to my room and told me that Mike and our group were waiting for me at the Oba, a nearby outdoor bar and restaurant. The group was smaller than expected; three last-minute cancellations had whittled us to four. Lyne

FEBRUARY

2002

east of Seattle, Washington. We sized each other up over Pilsens, the Turkish national beer, and the first of a series of great Turkish meals. Lyne is a consulting geologist whose knowledge of rocks we were to frequently call upon. Wes is the captain of one of Scrip p's research vessels, and I'm a dentist.

Any jet lag I might have had vanished as we headed up the mountain the next morning. The mountain is Babadag, 6,500 feet of limestone rearing up in cliffs and spires, incised by gullies and canyons, heavily forested and starkly bare.

Take your three favorite mountain sites, pile them on top of each other, throw in a couple more ·· around the edges, plop the Med out in front, crystalline clear, neon blue, add a two-mile strand of white sand LZ, and you've pretty much got it.

Several paragliding companies do business in Oludeniz. They make their living from $90 tandem flights, but they're willing to fill their trucks with as many solo pilots as they can cram in for about eight dollars per trip. (All prices will be in dollars, as the Turkish lira is volatile. The lira was trading at 1,450,000 when we started the trip. In two weeks it had gone to 1,600,000.) The standard shuttle vehicle is a Chrysler-made, four-wheel-drive pickup.

The older ones are called Fargos, and more recently Lhey've become Dodges. These vehicles carry 10, 12, or 14 pilots jammed into the cab, facing benches in the bed, and up on the top racks with the gliders.

The diesel fours hammering and the suspensions pounding, the trucks are pushed as hard as possible. A trace of fourwheel power skids around the steeper and tighter switchbacks, double-clutched downshifts into low range as the engine starts to lug on the upper mountain, the Turkish drivers leaning an elbow out the window and chain-smoking Marlboros it's quite terrifying. We all soon agreed that we'd launch into almost anything rather than ride back down the mountain.

Initially, the road switchbacks up through a forest of gnarled pines. The trees seem to grow from bare rock. Bands of goats, the creators of the strange ecosystem, wander

through the trees. The road breaks out of the trees about 1,500 feet from the top, the last thousand feet carved into the side, and occasionally across the top of the knifeedged summit ridge.

Launch is a babble of German, Turkish, French, Russian, Brit, Aussie, South African, and American English. Trucks from all the paragliding companies arrive at about the same time and there are frequently 50 to 100 pilots wanting to launch. The tandem guys are fast. Most of them are set up and gone in under 15 minutes, launching into anything not coming over the back. Most solo pilots take more time, waiting for a wind dummy to find a big thermal, waiting to launch into rising air. Voices are occasionally raised, but mostly people help each other out, and 45 minutes after the trucks left I laid out and took off. The wait was wise, as the wind had come up a bit, and as I drifted down the ridge my vario chirped cheerfully. Mike launched soon after me, and for a half hour we sailed up and down the ridge, joined by more and more pilots.

I heard Lyne's voice on my radio ask, "Which way do these guys turn?"

"Right," I replied.

"But they drive on the left."

"Not in Turkey, only England," I said, with more conviction than I felt.

Just then a non-turning guy was coming right at me. I pulled way out to the right, even though it seemed that there was plenty of room for him to move in, just in case he was a left-turning Brit, and lost the lift. I got back over the ridge 500 feet down, and there was no ridge lift, just an occasional thermal puff to slow me to 100 fpm. Nobody else was going up either; everybody from the last shuttle was heading out over Oludeniz, the Blue Lagoon, or

17

the sea itself.

A 6,500-foot sled ride is not all that bad. It gives you lots of room to go exploring, miles of aerial roaming without having to look for lift. High pressure covered Turkey during our entire trip. From the top of Babadag we watched the inversion at 3,500 feet grow darker every day with accumulated smog. The thermals that got through were punchy and short-lived, and the sea breeze seldom got to 10 mph. I never found such easy ridge soaring again, but there were always thermals to be found. We averaged about an hour per flight, and even a straight sledder lasted long enough to be satisfying.

The LZ is the entire beachfront of Oludeniz, soft sand backed by a 50-footwide, paved boardwalk, tarps laid across it for packing gliders. The tandem pilots make spots on their home company's tarps.

I grew to like landing in the sand and accordioning the wing onto one of the tarps or nearby. Mike came in low across town, dodging the trees in the park that separates the boardwalk from town, and setting down just 20 feet from our favorite lunch stand.

18

The second your wing hits the ground, boys arrive to help you out of your harness and arrange the glider for folding. They dump any sand you might have acquired during a sloppy landing and carefully arrange your lines, all this for a little over a buck while you rip off that flight suit that was so comfortable just a few minutes before. On my second flight that first day I went to get changed while one of the boys packed my glider. The next morning my vario was missing. Watch your gear.

After the first flight we dumped the wings at the shuttle for a 1:00 PM trip up, and headed for food. "Donors," Mike said, "are the only way to go." Donor kebaps are the ubiquitous street food ofTurkey.

Chicken or lamb slices are pounded thin and packed onto a skewer, forming a twofoot-long, eight-inch-diameter cylinder of meat. The skewer is mounted vertically in front of a charcoal fire, thin slices are trimmed from the outside and slapped onto pita bread, baguettes, or pancalces, along with tomato chunks, lettuce, pickles, and a garlic yogurt sauce. They sell for two dollars in Oludeniz, but in less touristy places they're under a dollar, and I wish I

could get one in Ellensburg.

We ate our donors in the shade of the park's trees. While we ate, we watched paragliders. All day long paragliders fly over Oludeniz. Up the 3,000 feet of Babadag you can see from town, columns of wings outline thermals, and stately processions glide over cliff tops. The real display is off shore in front of town. The hot pilots come straight out from the mountain; a mile out to sea they've still got 4,000 feet to play with. Tight spirals, huge wingovers, full frontals, horseshoe collapses, full stalls, flat spins, essentially every maneuver a paraglider is capable of can be seen in a space of 15 minutes in front of Oludeniz.

Most of these guys don't wear life jackets, and there are no chase boats.

After lunch we were back up for another flight. After that flight Mike, Wes and I went swimming. Hundreds of chairs and umbrellas line the shore in front of Oludeniz, and all day long they are full of sunbathers, and yes, many of the women are topless. All the men, even the fattest old Germans, wear skin-tight suits. We were the ones out of place in our baggy shorts. A beautiful Turkish boy clad in a tiny triangle PARAGLIDING

by Dennis Pagen

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The hook eve1yone has heen waitingj(Jr: • The most complete manual on the market • Beginner, Novice and Intermediate levels • Follows USHGA teaching methods • Ground handling, step-by-step training, judgement, equipment, troubleshooting, weather, learning to soar and more.

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of fuzzy blue cloth, held precariously in place with thongs, paraded the length of the beach at the water's edge. Some of the tandem pilots cheered.

None of the sunbathers swim, so we had the sea to ourselves. The water was just the cool side of tepid, and so clear as to be invisible. Foot-high swells crested and broke just off shore. Wes gave a demonstration of body surfing, sometimes gliding five or six feet before jamming his face in the sand.

Our days swiftly seeded into a routine.

Breakfast was out at eight, served on the terrace by the swimming pool. A Turkish breakfast consists, invariably it seems, of bread, feta cheese, olives, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes and cucumbers. The tomatoes were ripe and sweet like only homegrown are in the States. We were regulars on the first truck up at 9:00 AM, and by the third day our Brit friends, Phil and Debbie, met us there. Usually we'd be back for the 11 :00 AM round, then lunch, maybe another round, or something else.

The third afternoon we rented a speedboat and explored the nearby coast. Fivehundred-fooc cliffs outline much of the coast, and valleys with sand beaches cut through every few miles. Five miles south of Oludeniz we ran up a particularly narrow liccle bay and landed. The place was called Butterfly Valley. In the spring, millions of butterflies decorate every tree and rock. By October their numbers were much reduced, but the place was still lovely. Only a couple of hundred yards wide at the beach, the valley closes in quickly, and within a mile there is just a slot through which a waterfall pours.

Just back from the beach is a primitive resort. A tin-roofed kitchen and bar, cables under a grape arbor, showers and toilets back another hundred feet, and thatched hues that could have come from some African savanna are the amenities offered.

The valley can be accessed only from the sea or the air. In the middle of the day, from eleven to four, the place is overrun with people from excursion boats, but once they leave, the 20 or 30 overnighters have the place to themselves. A grass hue, a mattress, blankets and three meals are 10 dollars. The place is owned by an old Turk who lives in a cinder-block cottage a couple of hundred yards up the valley, but it is run by an informal group ofTurkish boys and Bric girls. The girl tending bar cold us chat

20

PARAGLIDING

paraglider pilots occasionally land there, and that if we did we could get a ride back to Oludeniz on their supply boat. We made reservations for the next night.

Our nights assumed a sort of routine as well. We separated for an hour or two afi:er our afternoon flights, some to the Internet Cafe, some back to the rooms for a read or nap. We'd usually form up at the Hotel Bronze bar, an open-air but quite elegant affair by the pool, around seven. Adam, the bartender and hotel facrotum, quickly became one of our group, spending much of his time with us on our side of the bar while Mike mixed the drinks. By eight we were ready to take on the food purveyors.

The Mike Eberle restaurant selection method consists of looking at menus, maybe haggling with touts, perhaps peering at food in steam tables, and walking on. Keep repeating this until your companions threaten to strangle you, then go four or five places more until you are finally dragged into the next place that's remotely acceptable, all the while muttering that the place up the hill and a couple of streets over, the one with the baked chicken with gravy, was a better deal. The third night was notable, because Debbie had sprained her ankle landing, and Phil was carrying her around piggyback while Mike dithered over the perfect meal.

After dinner we'd usually wander to Cloud Nine, the paraglider hangout. Every evening they show videos on big-screen 1V's of the day's launches and landings, and nearly every pilot in town turns out to watch. It was usually a humbling experience. An especially good tumble down launch might merit three or four reruns.

Wes had one we saw several times that looked a lot worse on 1V than it had on the hill. My clumsy departures and returns were always sandwiched between elegant and graceful affairs. The worst bloopers of the season were featured one night: guys crashing through umbrellas and beach chairs, into street signs, tourists and trees; disastrous launches chat got worse and worse for a hundred yards; humiliations that would last people's entire flying careers.

On the morning of day four we packed for Butterfly Valley. I stuck a toothbrush and pair of sandals in my wing pack. We wore swimsuits under our flight suits. We went up the mountain a bit later than usual, not sure if we would go to Butterfly

FEBRUARY

2002

on our first or second flights. It turned out to be the best flying day of the trip: Wes got two and a half hours, much of it near the top of the pack in the big thermals over the south bowl; Lyne and Mike were up well over an hour; without a vario and not enjoying being bounced around in a pack of 20 wings, I headed out sooner.

The valley looks tiny from 3,000 feet. I had second thoughts about our decision, but little choice. Ac lease there wasn't much

wind; the bay was unruffled as I dropped below cliff level on my downwind and took the obligatory between-the-feet picture of the approach. I flew up the valley and turned steeply against the cliff, seconds later another turn close to the other wall, then down the middle of the valley in S-turns, the 30-foot-wide beach looking increasingly narrow. At the last moment I noticed the three-foot-high stone wall separating the beach from the valley brush. I

21

The road up to the launch.

turned again and landed crosswind in the brush, filling my lines with prickly twigs and almost raking out a grass hut. Lyne chose the brush too, and we spent our time waiting for Mike and Wes to come down, clearing tangles from our lines. The guys managed more elegant and tidy beach landings, as a group of German pilots that we had befriended started to follow us in.

I glanced up from folding Mike's glider just in time to see the last few hundred feet of a spiral dive taken all the way to the water several hundred yards offshore. The pilot hit with a terrific impact. We were all stunned for seconds, then Mike was running down the beach shouting, "Get a boat! Get a boat!"

In less than a minute Mike had a couple ofTurks in their little fishing boat headed for the pilot. Hanging upside down under his harness and unconscious, a few more minutes could have been fatal. The pilot, Karl, a nice older guy that Mike and Lyne had met on Rhodes, had partially revived by the time the boat got to the beach. But he lay there vomiting sea water and spitting blood for 45 minutes until a boat could be found to take him to the ambulance in Oludeniz. He was still in intensive care when we last heard about him several days later, but he is expected to fully recover.

The crash brought the dangers of our sport a bit close for comfort. The four of us sat at a table under the grape vines and in near record time demolished a bottle of Scotch that Mike produced from his wing bag.

I was the first person up in the valley the next morning. As the sun was coming up I hiked up to the waterfall. Most of the tourists from the excursion boats take the

22

hike, so the trail is pounded into the dirt, and in the upper, narrower portion the rock is polished from thousands of climbing feet. There are ropes to help you up the last few hundred feet, then a pool with the waterfall dropping down a sheer cliff. I sat there for a half hour as the sun line worked its way up the valley.

The boat that was to cake us back to Oludeniz, a 30-foot wooden long boat, wouldn't start. The captain leaned into the engine compartment alternately with his two tools, a large screwdriver and a hammer, and pried or pounded vigorously, then got back behind the controls and ground on the starter. After an hour of this we weighed anchor and took a tow from the fishing boat that had rescued our friend the day before. By the time we got back, angrylooking clouds had formed over the top of the mountain and we decided to take a day off. A couple of hours later the clouds had dissipated into harmless little puffs, but by then it was too late to go up.

It was just as well, as we caught up on e-mails and took dirty clothes to the informal laundry across the street. Wes got a Turkish shave from the barber next to the hotel, pronounced the shave the finest he'd ever received. Good that we rested, too, for that night Mike led us on a true marathon restaurant search in the resort town a couple of clicks up the hill, a place for Brits on $400 week-long packages, airfares, hotel and brealctasts included. Dozens of cafes and restaurants competed for the Brit's lunches and dinners, and all prices were in pounds. We finally settled on a popular Italian place and had a great meal, its deliciousness doubtless helped by our advanced state of hypoglycemia.

The next day dawned beautifully. Our

shuttle service said there'd been five or six days in May when they couldn't fly, but since then they'd never missed a day. Wispy little cumies were usually starting to form at about 3,500 feet by the time the first shuttles let us off. It was strange to come to cloudbase from above. The slight prevailing winds we'd had the first few days stopped entirely, and there were only thermal cycles to launch into, coming up one side of the mountain for a half hour or so, then switching to the other. We would just manage to work our way to the front of launch when the cycles would shift and everyone would bunch and get in back of the line on the other side of the mountain, fortunately only a couple of hundred feet away. We finally learned patience, and simply waited for the next shift, frequently launching from a near deserted site.

The thermals were as unpredictable out from the mountain as they were on launch, sometimes carrying pilots strongly to several thousand feet over, and just as suddenly vanishing, leaving nothing but sink in the miles to the beach. Wes got a thousand over behind launch one morning, only to sink out so badly that he couldn't make it out and had to land on a bench a couple of thousand feet below. Both Lyne and I had anxious moments watching the trees come up as we scratched across the ridge above town. It's hard to figure where all that air is going - right into the earth?

But there were also flights when everything went as it should. Thermals popped off the ridge top, enough so that everyone had his own private column of rising air.

The cliffs above town became soarable as the afternoon sea breeze came up. Shortlived clouds led us to unexpected lift. And always, there was the pretty little town at the foot of the mountain. We settled on a couple of restaurants we particularly liked, traditional Turkish places where the food was cheaper and spicier than in the tourist joints. Even Mike was willing to stop the nightly food searches.

We spent a few days in Istanbul on our way home, took a ferry up the Bosphorus, haggled for rugs in the bazaar, wandered crowded streets and ate food from carts. On our last day we were looking at the Blue Mosque, one of the most magnificent buildings in the world, when we realized that all of us were really watching the gray-breasted crows ridge soaring the huge dome.•

PARAGLIDING

by Dixon White ou could make a huge difference!

Take a look and help us with submittal of any areas.

After tremendous effort we have an opportunity to change the rulings for footlaunched aviation at National Parks. This is a huge deal. It's extremely important that everyone take a moment to reflect on the possibilities. Is there somewhere in your

National Park area, or other public lands, that you'd like to jlj. Please be sure to check the USHGA website (www.ushga.org) for more details.

Here's an excerpt: "The NPS has agreed to help us streamline the flight authorization process with a single, broad rule concept covering many National Parks of our own choosing. If passed, this rule will make it easier for managers of these parks to say yes instead of no by eliminating the existing park-by-park regulatory burden. It will also be a step toward hang gliding and paragliding being treated as a traditional and accepted use of Federal lands."

Our current task is to review all of our National Park lands and formulate a list of parks that we consider to be "flight appropriate." These parks will then be reviewed by the NPS and if found appropriate will be included in an NPRM (Notice of Proposed Rulemal<:ing) that will apply to all listed parks.

This input from the foot-launch flying community is critical, as it will affect the future of site acquisition and preservation in the Federal land-management system, with likely spillover to state and local public lands. Even if you don't know of a dream launch or landing area in a National Park today, please consider the future. If adopted, this new rule will lessen the time and effort required to open sites in these parks.

If we overlook a flight-appropriate park now, the approval process for that park will likely be harder later on.

The Regulations Program at the NPS will be reviewing the list of"Flight Appropriate National Parks" and drafting the rule beginning in April of 2002. It has taken three years of struggling with the L __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

FEBRUARY

2002

NPS to get this time slot on their agenda.

Once the proposed rule has been written and published for public comment we will be called to action in the form of a letter writing campaign in support of this rule.

Tal<e just one minute and list the areas that you would like to have included in this discussiorr. Get your friends to send in additional requests for the same areas to provide as much support as possible. Please pass this information on to everyone.

Send your suggestions to Jack Eckert (jaeckert@ptdprolog.net). Jack is very proactive. You can write him and he'll forward to you the latest rendition of the NPRM (NPRM0401.PDF) chat was written almost entirely from the perspective of the hang gliding and paragliding community. Jack comments, "We received input for it from many USHGAers around the country over a three-year period. It is specifically aimed at unpowered gliders weighing less than 155 lbs. (essentially the FAA's definition of hang gliders and paragliders)."

We hope that whatever eventually gets published in the Federal Register will help to remove the stigma attached to hang gliding and paragliding as a "Special Use" of public lands. Unfortunately, the terms "Special Use," "Special Use Regulations" (SUR's) and "Special Use Permits" (SUP's) are often embedded in the bureaucratic mindset as referring to activities that are considered inappropriate, unintended or high-impact uses of public lands (like large wedding parties, exhibitions that attract

hordes of uncontrolled spectators, commercial operations, and utility rights-of-way).

This is one of the reasons that public land managers and park superintendents often find it easier, and find themselves under less scrutiny, if they simply say no instead of yes. It means fewer headaches and less red tape for them.

While we may not achieve everything in NPRM0401.PDF, we now have supporters in the Park Service Operations and Regulations Divisions who are trying to incorporate its essence into the Park Service regulations - that is, a proposed rule that helps to promote unpowered hang gliding or paragliding as traditional and acceptable recreational uses of public lands, essentially making it easier for park superintendents to say yes, and maybe a tad harder to say no.

The first step in their own NPRM writing process was to ask the hang gliding and paragliding community to pick and choose the parks that we feel are appropriate and go from there. That's what we're trying to do now.

If you have a little more time, please also try to get one of your congressional representatives to support congressman Patrick Toomey's (R-PA, 15th) efforts to get the Park Service to publish as much of NPRM0401.PDF as they can while recognizing the bureaucratic constraints they're working under. It would be nice if you could actually touch base with his office and directly stir the pot a little on this issue. II

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

s

Flights of Baptism (VUELOS DE BAUTIZO)

by Royce Ann and Phil Martin ·························

24

PARAGLIDING

"Mds cerca a la montaiia, mds cerca a la montaiia!" (closer to the mountain) were the words reverberating in our headsets. The commands were clearly transmitted by our diligent and attentive Chilean guide. We tracked back and forth in our Sol and Nova paragliders maximizing altitude before attempting to land on the Pacific coastal beach known as Playa Brava in Iquique, Chile. trong ridge lift accompanied by moderate to occasionally intense thermals were clearly marked by the soaring "joces." These buzzards were busy chasing each ocher and seemingly oblivious to the assault of the gringo couple who had arrived to test their incense desire to soar the airspace ofiquique. Who would have ever guessed that learning to paraglide at Torrey Pines Glider Pore near San Diego, California two years earlier would have led us to chis paragliding paradise?

Two hours and 10 minutes lacer we landed successfully at Playa Brava. We were exhilarated by the flight, burnt crisp red by the intense Chilean desert sun, and nearly dehydrated. But none of those details seemed a molestation; we were enjoying our shared passion, paragliding. All of our successes during our five-day stay were due entirely to the tireless energies of our patient, native Chilean guide (and part mow1tain goat), Hernan Figueroa Chacon. More about Hernan (herycec@encelchile.net) and his credentials and abilities lacer.

S

GETTING THERE The value of this unforgettable experience cannot be concisely seated in dollars or even in pesos, the currency of Chile. Airline ticket prices vary significantly, and as we traveled over the Christmas and New Year's holidays we paid premiwn prices. Travel time from our home in west central Ohio to Iquique, Chile was about 24 hours door to door! This included a 4,869-mile sleepless overnight flight from Dallas to Santiago on American Airlines. If you have never experienced a 10hour, all-night flight in coach, you haven't missed anything, we promise. This was only one of a series of memorable Flights of Baptism.

We were prepared to pay the Chilean encry fee of $20 U.S. upon arrival in Chile, bur tl1e new current entry price was a disappointing surprise: $75 U.S. each. One good bit of news is mat the fee is good for me life

FEBRUARY

2002

of the passport, so if you have a newly acquired U.S. passport, it is good for 10 years. Trust us, you will return to enjoy some of the most awesome flying possible anywhere - an unexpected baptism.

Lan Chile is a great domestic airline.

The service was wonderful, the food exquisite, and me wine appropriate to me meal.

Our flight to Iquique was not pare of the initial international itinerary, which eventually can1e to haunt us, born in terms of ticket price and baggage weight. International baggage limits permit one carry-on and two check-in bags of 70 pounds each, usually one of which is your packed paragliding equipment. Because me flight to Iquique was separate and during me holiday, me cost of me ticket was pricey. The oilier bad news was that for domestic flights, travelers are limited to 25 kilos ofluggage. The airlines also assess an additional charge for parapences, (Spanish for paragliders), as mey are considered excess sports baggage. The good news was mat the sports baggage fee, for parapentes, is only calculated on 13 kilos, regardless of actual weight. (Other sports baggage, such as skis, surf boards, etc. , are assessed their own specific rates.) So me cost of our excess baggage, based on a combined 26 kilos, was approxinmely $95.

Another unexpected baptism!

An aerial view ofPlaya Cavancha in the forground and Playa Brava to the right.

OUR GUIDE/INSTRUCTOR Hernan, 42, is a retired aircraft mechanic from the Chilean Air Force. He is totally conswned wim paragliding and holds i.nsrructor and tandem pilot ratings issued by me DGAC, me equivalent of me FAA in Chile (Direcci6n General Aeronautica Civil, www.dgac.cl). He never tires, always sports a warm smile, and is completely connected to me inhabitants ofiquique. If you need anyming, he knows someone who can secure it for you.

On me fuse day of flying we took what we believed would be me title-page photo for mis article. There was a "huaso," a

Landing at the beach.

25

Chilean cowboy, with his mount, watching the launches from Alto Hospicio, surrounded by several of the local stray dogs. The "manga" (windsock) in the foreground, two paragliders ascending from the 1,700-foot MSL launch, and the cowboy in the background made for a perfect Kodal( moment.

Unfortunately, the Nikon fell to the ground, opening the back of the camera and exposing the photo to the destroying rays of the sun. The tumble also caused the camera's internal light meter to fail. A disaster on the first day. Yet another unexpected baptism.

Hernan was not worried; he had a friend who was a camera repairman. At the end of the day we located this miracle worker. For a mere 20 "lucas" (20,000 pesos, or approximately $30 U.S.) the camera was operationally as good as new the next day.

We also managed to break one of our pairs of sunglasses. Twenty lucas later we had a wonderful pair of Bolles. In addition, one of the antennas on our Icom was broken and we were able to find one in the "Zona Franca." This is the tax-free shopping center where everyone in Chile goes to shop if they visit Iquique. There were some other necessities which all seemed to warrant 20 lucas.

Eventually, when the price of something was asked, we all chimed in laughingly, "20 lucas!"

The next day of flying was physically demanding, walking up and down some mammoth sand dunes. The Atacama desert is one of the most arid deserts in the world.

(The last recorded rainfall was eight years ago, and it was merely a sprinkle.) Not realizing the stress of walking or the apparent

loss of water, and perhaps even some possible heat stress, our muscles ached. Hernan suggested a therapeutic massage. That was just the 20 "lucas" ticket! The most worthwhile hour and a half one can spend at the end of the day is at the hands of an experienced masseuse. We wish we could have ended every day with a massage.

The transport vehicle, referred to as a "furg6n," was a 15-passenger van with a roof rack capable of hauling everyone and everything. Not all the paraglider operators, instructors or schools have such a nice transportation vehicle. One operator has only a small taxi, capable of transporting two peo-

ple maximum. Considering that typical paragliding equipment is rather bulky, the taxi's hauling capacity was nearly impractical for two pilots and their respective equipment.

Hernan has been operating his parapente business for approximately four years, all without incident. That surely attests to his professional qualifications, his cautious nature and a desire to succeed in a competitive environment. Pricing and payment are in U.S. dollars. Tandem flights are approximately $50 depending on desired duration and choice of landing location. A week's course is approximately $600 per person

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26

PARAGLIDING

Phil with his Sol paraglider preparingfor /,aunch at Alto Hospicio.

when training with a group, more for private lessons. We utilized I-iernan's services both as an instructor and guide, with two days of private flying, and then combined our flights with those of his visiting clients.

We thoroughly enjoyed all the time we spent with Hernan.

During our five-day visit some of the "parapentistas" Hernan was working with came from Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Israel and Canada. This constant mix of pilots of all skill levels made the flying days incredibly more pleasurable. The use of Spanish was interesting, considering all the varied accents

FEBRUARY

2002

among the participating pilots. Second to Spanish was the use of English. Although Hernan does not presently speak much English, no one seemed to have too much difficulty understanding his directions or instructions. Besides, there was always someone available to assist with translation, and with both of us having been Spanish majors in college, it only served to malce this baptism more truly authentic. Hernan can be reached anytime on his cellular phone: 0 l 1-

56-9-545-3935.

THE LAUNCH AND LANDING ZONES There are three primary launch sites in and near Iquique: Alto Hospicio, Palo Buque and Patillos. Each location has its particular benefits with respect to pilot skill, flight conditions at time oflaunch, and cross-country flight capabilities. June is reputed to be the absolute perfect month to fly. However, as far as we were concerned, and from talking with the locals, every day of every month seems perfectly suitable to fly. The wind is almost always west or slightly southwest, offering excellent ridge soaring every day.

Since Iquique is situated in a desert, as the

27

day's sun bakes the never-ending sand, the air boils up "respectable" thermal activity.

Due to these incredible thermals, the outstanding ridge lift, and the lack of obstacles in the numerous LZ's, Iquique is deservedly renowned as a parapentista's flying paradise.

Alto Hospicio is the best known and best developed launch site. An enormous 150foot, prepared pre-launch site overlooks the souLl-i edge of Iquique and is 495 n1erers high. The city is realizing the benefits of para-tourism, so it is nearly doubling the size of the latmch zone, much to the delight of the 100 or so local parapentistas. Instead of a single launch, the sire will be capable of three simulraneous side-by-side "despegues" or takeoffs. Future plans are to install a toiler (badly needed) and to incorporate a refreshment area for both pilots and observers. The ever-present "jores" always indicate where the best lift areas are located and make excellent guides ro go from thermal to thermal. With little effort you can easily gain 200 meters above launch, and often rimes more.

From Alm Hospicio you can travel the entire ridge north oflquique ro the statue of the Unknown Sailor. The eight-mile journey is nor for the inexperienced pilot, however, as there are numerous high-tension lines ro cross

28

with few suitable landing areas. Also on this cross-counrry, a pilot will cross several closely spaced, four-foot-high posts covering an area of 1,000 feet horizontally and 300 feet vertically on the mountain slope. These potential pilot snatchers contain the numerous lights that constitute the immense series of lighted signs which adorn the dark mountain fac;:ade in the awesome obscuration of night.

In addition ro flying the ridge until you are exhausted, you can fly westward to the 250-merer sand dune known as the Dragon.

Butting up to the city and separating the

city from the mountains is this immense, curving sand dune over which you can fly in both thermal and ridge lift conditions. It is fantastic fun floating past the tourists who aspire to climb the ridge. Landing at the base of the Dragon near a basketball court is appealing since there is a refreshment stand across the street selling assorted "cool" drinks. Avoid the valley between the north end of r.._l-ie dur1e a..'1d t'ie mountain ridge as there is a prevalent strong rotor and intense columns of descending air.

Eventually, cruising the Dragon can bore you and you will aspire to cross over the top of the city and land on the Playa Brava beach. Those flights were our most memorable. Listening to the sow1ds emanating from those terrestrial bound below was awesome. Dogs barking, children playing, and the constant armoyance of traffic horns were all clearly audible. This particular beach is usually sparsely inhabited due to the intense waves which crash upon it. Playa Brava constitutes one of the largest LZ's we have ever had the pleasure to land on, approximately two miles long and 400 feet wide. Numerous flags and pendants adorn the entire area so there was never a doubt as to wirtd direction for the landing. Big ears were common for

PARAGLIDING

Hernan helping prepare Phil's equipment for "'1unch at Al,to Hospicio.

.

-

che descent because che city created huge heat bubbles chat could hold you aloft for an amazing amount of time, longer chan your bladder would desire. Cooling your feet at che water's edge emancipated your spirit and you certainly felt "baptized"!

Palo Buque is about 30 kms souch of Iquique and is considered both the playground and training ground for less-experienced pilots. Steady souchwest winds allow for numerous short flights of one to several minutes. What a great way to practice law1ches, landings, and add numerous flights to your logbook! If conclitions are really good and there are strong afternoon chermals, it is possible to fly up che side of che mountain and then soar 30 kms north to land in Iquique. We talked to some pilots who managed chat cross-country, but we were not fortunate enough ourselves to encounter chose conclitions.

No matter where you choose to land chere is an overabundance of thick, soft sand. If you don't like sand, chen Iquique is not the place for you. One stumble, one fall, and your entire being will be permeated wich sand. In some areas che sand is extremely salty, and cherefore somewhat irritating. You will most certainly bring home

FEBRUARY

2002

some souvenir Chilean sand in your equipment, somewhere. It can't be helped, so just accept it. There are few, if any rocks, and chere is absolutely no vegetation to get your paraglicling equipment tangled up in. So, except for che sand, desert flying appears to us to have mostly advantages, wich only minor irritations.

Patillos is about 50 kms souch of Iquique. You need to check wich che airport officials to see if che "poligono," or warning area, is active. There is live gun and cannon fire as well as high-speed, low-flying aircraft on low-level training routes chat routinely fly che area. Needless to say, an experienced guide is a must to keep a visitor out of trouble. You launch halfway up a 3,000-foot ridge, and due to che extraorclinary lift, are in1mecliately catapulted 1,000 feet above che crest of che "cerro," or mountain. If che prevailing conclitions are prime, you can easily traverse the 50 kms to Iquique. As an alternative, you could choose to make a four- or five-hour flight passing a course north and souch along che parapet.

Regardless of yo ur choice of venues, do not forgo che opportunity to fly from Patillos. One word of caution: The launch area is extremely small and situated along a

29

road, and you ready your glider out on the road. Huge trucks hauling salt don't give much priority to a paraglider pilot, so launch with extreme care and a vigilant lookout. Elsewise, you could become a roadkill specimen.

ACCOMMODATIONS AND MEALS Since Iquique is virtually a tourist resort town, every level of accommodation is available, from the posh seaside resort hotel to $10 a night or less for a hostel. Hernan's situation is unique in that he has a 10-bed "albergue," or boarding house. What better way to anoint yourself with paragliding in Iquique than to surround yourself with other parapentistas. There is a full kitchen, two full baths, television, VCR, and most importantly, a washing machine. The $14per-night charge is well worth the investment in both facilities and company. The convenience of having everyone under one roof makes planning activities easier, and the camaraderie is an excellent plus.

Meals in the city range from two dollars to as much as 20 dollars. Our daily lunches were at the college kiosk. A steak sandwich three times the size of a Whopper, with all the trimmings, could be bought for a $1.50 and a drink was 40 cents. Oddly enough, this seaside town seems to prefer meat to seafood, but the seafood was incredible. Our favorite was "congrio," or conger eel. You

USEFUL VOCABULARY Some Spanish words and their translations are offered here. You may find this vocabulary helpful with your nex:tvisit to a Spanish speaking country where you wish to fly.

Send to: USHGA PO Box 1330 Colorado Springs CO 80901 1-800-61 6-6888 www.ushga.org

Spanish

English

Ala Derecha A la Izquierda Aca Aire Dina.mica Anda Aquf Arboles Arena Armes Aterrizar Bebida Borde de Araque

Go Right Go Left Here Ridge Lift Walk Here Trees Sand Harness To Land Drink Leading Edge (of wing) Trailing Edge (of wing) Boots

Borde de Fuga Botas

30

would swear it was the best fish you ever ate and it came prepared in every manner imaginable. One would be remiss if they left Chile without trying the national drink of choice, the "pisco sour." The "bebida" (beverage) is made with lemon juice, egg white, sugar to taste, ice, and of course, pisco. It was the ultimate relaxer. Mango sours were also on our list of favorites. "Empanadas" are a kind of meat pie and are delicious hot or cold, but be careful with the olive and its tooth-brealcing pit. Hot, it is eaten with a fork and knife; cold, it is eaten like a sandwich. At 50 cents apiece you can enjoy two or three.

ECONOMICS, SAFETY, AND RECREATION The Chilean peso is reasonably stable and strong, with an exchange rate of 650 pesos to the dollar in January 2002. If you decide to exchange money at the airports in the U.S. before departing, be forewarned that you will get a less-than-favorable exchange rate than you can get at a "casa de cambio" (currency exchange house) in Chile, and there is an exchange fee as well. Regardless, we would recommend $50 to $100 in pesos to be available for use upon arrival in Chile. Credit cards are widely accepted everywhere.

In our opinion, Chile is one of the safest Latin American countries to which we have traveled. Yes, the homes and businesses have barred windows and gated entrances, but Bueno Good Cajones or Celdas Wing Cells Helmet Casco Beer Cerveza Circuito Flight Pattern A Line Tangled Corbata Wing Tip Cordinos Lines (A, B, C, D) Corre Run Corre Mas Rapido Run Faster Cruce Cross Cumulos Cumulus Cloud Despegue Takeoff Despegue de Espaldas Reverse Launch Espera Wait Extrados Upper Wing Surface Frenos Brakes Furg6n Transport Van Guantes Gloves Humedad Humidity Intrad6s Lower Wing Surface Mail16n Carabiner Malo Bad Windsock Manga

PARAGLIDING

with respect to our physical safrty, we never felt any concern. Ultimately, having a local guide should help keep you out of harm's way.

As for recreation, there is an abundance of tourist activities to take advantage of in Iquique. Examples are deep sea fishing, scuba diving, gambling at the casino, visiting the local ghost town or peering at petroglyphs. However, we were so consumed with the flying that the typical tourist activities were completely avoided so that we could fill pages in our logbooks.

Yes, indeed, lquique is a parapentista's paradise. We kept our guide busy from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM daily. Wow, you sure can sleep well after a full day of flying!

Connection. He is currently employed by FlightSafety International as a ground and simulator instructor in the Citation 650 program where he also regularly instructs in Spanish to clients.from Chile, Mexico and Spain. Traveling and paragliding remain his ultimate passions.

Dr. Royce Ann Martin is a licensed airpl£me pilot and a certified FAA Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic. She served as an aircraft maintenance officer in the Air Force, worked as a technical writer at the Smithsonian Air and Space museum, was a simulator instructor for Northrop Aircraft (teaching.fighter pilots ofthe Euro-Nato joint jet Fighter Pilot Training Program), and worked as a technical writer for Grumman Aircraft. Royce Ann also owned her About the authors: own company, Intensive Aviation, a management consulting firm that conducted managePhil Martin is a.former Air Force B-52 pilot ment audits ofairport businesses, as well as a and T3 7 instructor pilot, former Navy instruc- flight training company in Texas where she and tor pilot in the T-2C and currently holds an her husband provided sales, service, and FAA Airline Transport Pilot Certificate with instruction in Quicksilver ultralights. She is type ratings in various Cessna Citation jets. He also a recognized Master Instructor as designatalso holds a Gold Seal Flight Instructor certified by NAFI, and she and her husband were cate with ratings for single-engine, multicelebrated as the first married Master engine, instrument airplane, and glider. He is a Instructors at the annual EAA Airshow in recognized Master Instructor as designated by Oshkosh, Wisconsin. She is presently an assisthe National Association ofFlight Instructors tant professor in Aviation Studies at Bowling (NAF!). He is also a basic flight instructor for Green State University, Ohio. Ill poweredfixed-wing ultralights under an exemption granted through Aero Sports Manos Arriba Raise Your Hands More Brakes Mas Frenos Menos Frenos Brake Less Muy Bien Very Good!

Nubes Clouds Nudo Knot (a speed or a tied knot) Paracaidas de Emergenda Emergency Parachute Parapente Paraglider Pare Stop Piedras Rocks Planear To Glide Plata Money (slang) Poligono Warning Arca Sigue Continue Silla Seat Sube climb Suspentes Risers Sustentad6n lift Temperatura Temperature Termica Thermal Tu You Valle Valley

FEBRUARY

2002

Vari6metro Variometer Vela Wing or Sail Veloddad Speed or Velocity Viento Wind Relative Wind Viento Relativo Vino Wine Vuele Fly (a command) Vuelo Biplaza or Tandem Tandem Flight Zona de Aterrizaje Landing Zone Zona Despejada Clear Area We could elaborate more, but if you want additional details you may contact us via e-mail at aviator@bright.net and/or consult the following web pages: http://www.geocities.com/pipeline/rapids/ 3277 www.parapenteiquique.cl/index2.html www.geocities.com/yosemite/trails/2631/ www. parapenteonline.d/zonas.htm www.parapentelatino.com.ar/agenda/

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31

When Wills Wing asked me to do a review ofthe new Airwave Logic I was hesitant. As we all know, none of us has ever seen a negative glider review printed.

They must have felt very confident about the new Logic to ask me to do this review, as locally I am known for being rather opinionated and brutally honest.

32

PARAGLIDING

warned them that I would not compromise my integrity or ethics, that I would write what I found to be true even if they would not like it. Imagine my surprise when they still offered the Logic in two sizes for as long as I needed to do this review!

Mitch McAleer encouraged me to train new students with the gliders so I could see how it went for people who have never flown before. Never have I heard of any company willing to let a reviewer put a glider through such a comprehensive test.

The review of this new glider is not based on a couple of flights. Wills Wing provided a medium and a small Logic for almost two months. This gave me the freedom to fly both gliders in a wide variety of conditions and with a wide variety of wing loadings.

I

AIRWAVE COMPANY BACKGROUND Airwave has been involved in foot-launched aviation since 1979. In 1989 Bruce Goldsmith set up a paragliding program.

The company has since gained a reputation for designing and building high-quality paragliders.

In November 1999 Markus Villinger took over Airwave and moved the company to his home town, Stubai, high in the Austrian Alps. Markus ran Wills Wing Europe very-successfully for many years during the early l 990's.

After several very successful years, Markus sold his share in the business and went into property development. He was successful in this too, but he always longed to return to the flying world. He saw the availability of Airwave as exactly the opportunity he was looking for.

Markus has now set up the impressive and modern Airwave factory in his home town of Fulp mes in a lush green valley in the Austrian Alps. He designs and manufacrures hang gliders at this factory. However, all of the paragliders are manufacrured by sub-contractors that have been carefully selected for their production quality.

Bruce Goldsmith joined Markus at Airwave in May 2000 and is again designing Airwave's paragliders from his home in Greolieres, France. Bruce has chosen Greolieres as the place to do his design work since the conditions are constantly flyable. This enables him to test gliders all year round.

THE DESIGNER FEBRUARY

Bruce Goldsmith is a unique talent in our spon. Not only is he a top competition pilot but he competes on gliders he designs himsel£ Originally qualified as a professional engineer, Bruce fuse designed hang gliders for Airwave and then created Airwave Paragliders.

His first design was the Black Magic in 1989. This was later followed by the Taboo, Voodoo, Jive, Samba, Duet, Rave, Rave Race, Alto XM, Harmony, XMX, Fusion, XXX: and Duplex. The XXX: was such a successful competition glider that it won the World Championships and also took fuse, second and third places at the French Championships. Bruce also became British Champion on one the following year.

Bruce then spent 18 months away from Airwave during which time he founded Ozone Paragliders. As Ozone's designer he created a very successful range of gliders, including the Electron, Proton, Cosmic Rider and Octane. Bruce won the 1999 PWC Serial Class on a Proton.

Bruce rerurned to Airwave in May 2000 and has continued to compete on the gliders he designs.

Wills Wmg has been around since 1973 and is recognized as one of the top hang glider manufacrurers in the world. In 1991 they became involved in paragliding, and contributed to its growth in the United States by hosting one of the first large-scale training and cenification seminars for paragliding instructors. Wills Wmg currently distributes Swing and Airwave

paragliders and accessories.

Having flown and done business with Wills Wing for nine years now, I can attest to the company's strong business ethics.

They do not sell direct and they refer all inquires to the dealer in the potential customer's area. They run a truly professional company that supports their dealer network.

However, until recently, I felt that Wills Wing was a hang glider company that sold paragliders. They did not have any dedicated staff or programs to promote our growing sport and many people felt that they were not serious about paragliding.

They have since changed my mind.

This occurred when they added long-time industry jack-of-all-trades Mitch McAleer to their staff. Mitch has been involved in hang gliding and paragliding since 1977 and is committed to making Wills Wing a leader in paragliding sales, service and repaus.

Mitch's new full-time job is to promote Airwave and Swing gliders and the dealers that sell them. I know Mitch well and am very happy to see his level of energy devoted to making Wills W mg a true paragliding company.

MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGY FABRIC

Airwave used a variety of materials, individually selected for their unique properties.

The top surface is Gelvenor and is heavier than most fabrics at 49 gm/sq. m. Porcher 9092 E29A furn is used on the ribs for

Leading-edge opening and V-rib attachment at the top ofthe rib.

2002

33

look very cool; they scream technology.

Each cell on the Logic is taped and very clean. There is a level of workmanship and design not often seen in this area.

The diagonal ribs have been standard on many intermediate gliders for quite a while. It is likely that it will be standard on most new D HV 1 gliders throughout the industry soon.

are great; they hold us up! strength and dimensional stability. It also has a special coating to reduce diagonal stretch. The bottom surface uses a new, lightweight Porcher 9017 E38A soft on the bottom surface and diagonal ribs for the best strength-to-weight ratio.

Gelvenor is my favorite fabric because of its ability to withstand hard use and UV. This is important for both schools and new students since the gliders will last longer and retain their resale value better.

Be forewarned though, Gelvenor gets very dusty. On the first day out the glider soaked up everything. Due to the silicone coating, it takes a good 40 hours for Gelvenor to lose its ability to gather dust and start looking normal. It's kind of a nice feature if you think about it. Show up at a new site with a glider that has only been flown once at a dirty site and you will avoid dreaded comments like, "shiny" or "pretty" or the ultimate, "Sorry buddy, we only allow experienced pilots to fly here. " LINES

The Logic uses Kevlar lines from German manufacturer Edelman and Ridder (Edelrid). Made ofHMA (High Modular Arimid) it is a special form of Kevlar that offers very low stretch and excellent durability. It is much less brittle than some of the earlier types of Kevlar that gained a bad reputation in the mid- l 990's.

Eighty-kg lines are used for the top lines, 120 kg for the mid lines, and 180 kg for the lower lines. When new, all gliders are tested up to eight times the maximum weight. This allows a safety factor of 10 on all lines.

They are also color coordinated to help sort things out easily. What can I say? Lines

34

RISERS, BRAKES AND HARDWARE

Airwave chose all-black, 20-mm, 1,800-kg woven nylon webbing for the risers.

Stainless steel triangular links from Mallion Rapide were used for connecting the lines to the risers. They wrapped the hook-in point on both risers with bright red cloth for durability and visibility. Also, the end of each riser is color-coded. As is standard these days on most gliders, the Its were split to aid in doing big ears.

The brake handles are soft, seamless, tubular nylon webbing with a foam insert.

They were very comfortable and easy to wrap, and there are magnetic keepers on the handles. The brake pulleys are brass and aluminum from Austi-Alpin.

The speed system has an average amount of travel and uses two pulleys for a total leverage of 3: 1. Speed pulleys are brass and aluminum from Austi-Alpin and they used Brummel hooks (sometimes called sister clips) for connecting the speed system.

Overall, I would give the riser set a 10 except for the magnetic brake clips. The small size of the risers made working with the glider an absolute joy. It was very easy to grab everything in one hand and workmanship was topnotch.

The term "Wing Flex" is actually rather misleading. It is really a system that reduces the flex in the wing by distributing the line attachment points (tabs) in an unconventional way on the bottom surface of the glider. The traditional way of designing a paraglider is to fix the positions of the tabs at percentage positions along the chord of the profile. Typically, the A tabs will be at 10%, the B tabs at 30%, the C tabs at 55% and the D tabs at 80%. These same relative positions are then maintained for all the ribs with lines across the entire span of the glider. The lines are linked to the risers and the speed system on the risers, which speeds up the glider by changing the relative lengths of the risers. Because the chord is much longer at the center of the glider than the tips, the tips will be accelerated much more than the center. The faster tips then collapse too easily, limiting the attainable top speed.

With the Wmg Flex System the tabs are kept the same distance apart across the entire wing. This means that if the distance between the A and the B tab at the center of the wing is 50 cm, it should also be 50 cm at the tip. This means that when you accelerate the wing, the whole wing is accelerated uniformly, providing more stability.

An offshoot of the Wmg Flex System is that the D-lines fall off the back of the wing about halfway across the span, thus the total line length is also reduced.

FLYING THE GLIDERS CLOSED CENTER CELLS AND DIA GONAL

These are nice features to see on a DHV 1 glider! Closed cells produce a cleaner sail around the nose of the glider and typically add to better stability throughout this area.

Also, with closed cells on the tips and open cells in the center, gliders have less tendency to spin on exit from maneuvers. Gliders with closed tips inflate more progressively than gliders without, and are easier to control during inflation.

I hate to admit it, but closed cells also

The first day I had the medium Logic. It was a 400-fpm day, I flew lightly loaded, and was very impressed with the pitch stability. Not once in 20 minutes and almost 1,500 feet of altitude gain did I touch the brakes (literally). Not a single collapse or pitch surge.

Although I would have to say that flying the Logic lightly loaded requires an aboveaverage effort to weight shift, it also has a tendency to flatten out the downwind leg of a 360° turn. Both problems are common

PARAGLIDING

on most DHV 1 gliders and to be expected, especially when lightly loaded.

After flying the Logic in a wide variety of conditions I did not take a single collapse the entire time I had either glider. However, because of the amount of feedback from a Level-I glider, an experienced pilot will seldom, if ever, take hits on one. So, please do not take my comment to imply that this glider will not collapse. All paragliders will collapse when flown into bad or severely mixing air, and less-experienced pilots tal(e more hits than experts.

When I first flew the small Logic I was very pleased with the ease of weight shift and the surprisingly quick roll rate.

Weighing in at 150 pounds put me at the top of the small's weight range and made the glider super fun ro fly! Taking it out on 1,000-fpm days provided much joy, as I could almost let the glider fly itself most of the time, just enjoying the view.

Both gliders penetrated well into thermals and held a bank angle throughout the downwind leg of a 360° turn when well loaded. Flying the small or the medium with ballast lefr me with none of the complaints I had when loaded lightly on the medium. Every student who flew the gliders loved them.

After about 10 hours on each size of the glider, I have decided that this wing likes to be loaded up. In strong thermals the Logic will push you around iflightly loaded, and the speed is dismal. Thankfully, both of these problems went away on both gliders when well loaded, and I found them both quite fun to "flick" around. They moved into thermals well and the speed was good for a DHV 1 glider.

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with many other Level-1 wings that do not have the same lag time and often overshoot on inflation.

GROUND HANDLING My favorite game! Locally I am known for playing quite a bit on the ground, and a glider with good behavior is a must for both my students and me. The Logic did not disappoint in this category either. It was easy to point and follow the glider for everyone who flew it. The only quirk I could find was a tendency for the glider to fall back behind the pilot if they outran it in light winds.

As an instructor I would rather have the glider fall behind the student if they are out of shape during launch. This is preferable to a glider that is constantly out-flying the pilot, since there is less risk of being pulled off (or down) a hill or cliff.

LAUNCHING INFLATIONS The Logic excelled in this area. The dosed tip cells on the glider allow the pilot to use only the center /\s during inflation. Both sizes came up quickly and evenly with no tendency to overshoot. Inflations required very little pressure on the center /\s in all but the lightest conditions.

The students had no problem getting this glider to come up smoothly and evenly on their earliest inflations. There was, however, a tendency for both sizes of the glider to "lag" a little if not pulled completely overhead in light winds. This was likely due to the higher-than-average pitch stability of the wing.

As an instructor, this was easier to overcome with students than when working

FEBRUARY

2002

Once inflated and overhead, the glider is easy to load and the feedback from the brakes is excellent. On the training hill I had a couple of students push off the hill and jump into their harnesses. Usually this is followed by a sudden and sometimes nasty pitch surge. The Logic hardly cared, surging less than 10 degrees.

MANEUVERS Often I hear the following statement about dealing with malfunctions on DHV I wings: "Put your hands up and let the glider fly." This has been a longstanding misconception regarding DHV I wings. It is indeed true that gliders must recover from all maneuvers without input from the pilot to earn a DHV I rating, however, the DHV

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test-pilots let their hands up and provide "no input" at the proper time for each maneuver.

New pilots often do not let their hands up at the right time, and will sometimes suffer a series of malfunctions due to not letting the glider fly at the right time. One pilot I know thought he could "just let his hands up" when recovering from an intentional negative spin. Unfortunately, he did this when the DHV I glider he was flying was behind and to the side. The resulting "bundle of joy" was unrecoverable due to serious cravats, resulting in a safe but scary, low-altitude reserve deployment.

When I test-flew both gliders it was my intention to mis-time the maneuvers a bit to better simulate a real-world student malfunction. Listed below are my impressions of each maneuver I did with these gliders.

All of the maneuvers were performed at least three times to get a better average reaction. Negative spins were done many times (lost count afrer 20 one day), as they were just way too much fun on this glider.

BIG EARS

Pulling ears on the Logic is a no-brainer.

The split /\s help out a lot since the tips have an above-average desire to stay open.

Once pulled they are fairly easy to keep in and provide a decent descent rate. Add speed bar after pulling ears and you fall out of the sky quickly. Opening is instant with almost no noticeable surge.

B-L!NE STAUS

The Logic wants to fly, so much so that pulling a B-line stall required a pretty fair effort. When lightly loaded on the medium

35

would be appropriate. Flying the glider in a shallow 360, I slowly added inside brake until the inside half of the wing stalled. The inside barely backed up before the outside banked up and the glider entered a steep turn (in the same direction) changing heading a total of only 160° before flying flat and level. There was a two-second window during which letting up on the inside brake caused the glider to recover immediately.

Negative spins were so predictable and fun that I performed them more than 30 times in order to enter steep spiral dives (requiring application of the inside brake to continue). A new pilot would have to try very hard to spin this glider.

FULL STALL -

The author (left) and Mitch McAleer on the Marshall launch near Crestline, California. it was especially tough. On several attempts I released the B-lines very slowly to induce parachutal stall. Each time the glider would go parachutal for less than two seconds before jumping into flight. The surge upon recovery was less than 10° every time. I also tried a "chicken stall." This is the type of B-line stall in which new pilots get "chicken" as soon as they feel a falling sensation, and release the risers while the glider is behind them. The resulting surge was only about 45° and did not lead to any other problems.

ASYMMETRICS -AT TRIM

Pulling a 50% asymmetric collapse on this glider was not an easy task. It takes significant effort to pull both A-risers. Once pulled, the glider underwent a direction change of only about 45° when no input was given, and it was easy to weight-shift in the opposite direction. When I allowed myself to "fall" into the collapse, the glider turned only 90° before recovering without input. Openings were spontaneous with very little surge, even when opened a bit behind.

Top-landing at Marshall Peak while holding an asymmetric became a comedy when a couple of people noticed a peculiar bucking as the glider kept trying to open, despite me holding it closed!

ASYMMETRIC COLLAPSE -ACCHERATED

Pulling in the side at full speed bar required more effort than I first thought it would.

Once pulled, the glider rotated about 50° when flat in the seat and recovered with no input once the speed bar was let up. When

36

I allowed myself to "fall" into the glider and held the speed bar down, it rotated 90° and recovered steadily, but not spontaneously. It was flying straight and level with only a 120° change in heading despite doing all the wrong things.

SYMMETRIC FRONTAL -AT TRIM

The Logic has a serious resistance to this maneuver. Taking significant effort to pull, it opened quickly with less than 10 feet of altitude loss when quickly released. There was virtually no surge upon recovery, even when let up slightly behind (this took effort). Holding a full frontal was difficult, as again it tried hard to reopen.

Just for fun I also tried pulling in the center two A-lines. Pulling five feet ofline into my lap, the glider's tips would not come forward at all. The line pressure was so high that any hope of doing a horseshoe stall faded more quickly than the pain in my hands.

SYMMETRIC FRONTAL -ACCELERATED

Pulling down all of the Ns was nearly as difficult as doing this maneuver at trim. I£ the Ns were quickly released the glider again lost no more than 10 feet of altitude and recovered on its own with only a minor pitch surge. I performed this test without releasing the speed bar or using the brakes to stop any surges. Trying to hold a full frontal was again difficult, as the glider tried very hard to fly.

DONE PROPERLY

A proper full stall exit requires holding the bral<.es down and letting them up to trim only when the glider is directly overhead of the pilot (on most gliders). Doing this maneuver properly resulted in an extremely predictable exit every time I did it. The Logic would only surge about 15° before flying again. The glider had little desire to turn while in a stall, and never turned more than 10° on opening. The openings were smooth and symmetrical when both brakes were let up evenly. One well-known pilot asked if the glider surged at all after watching me play.

FULL STALL -ACCIDENTAL ENTRY AND RECOVERY

Once again, because I was reviewing an entry-level glider, I felt a responsibility to do maneuvers as a student might do them accidentally and with less than test-pilot skills.

Start with the following scenario. A new pilot is flying deep in the brakes when suddenly he goes weightless and rotates onto his back. The worst possible and most likely thing for a new pilot to do is let up on the brakes immediately, "letting the glider fly."

The resulting surge can lead to a cascade of other problems, including pitching the pilot into the wing. That being said, this is exactly what I did to the Logic. The resulting surge was about 50° with no brake input. Doing this maneuver three times never led to anything more than an additional 25% tip collapse! Letting the brakes up unevenly when the glider was overhead resulted in selfrecovering tip collapses and turns of only about 45°.

NEGATIVE SPIN--ACCJDENTAL

Because the Logic is an entry-level wing I thought that the following type of test

SUMMARY The Logic is as close to bombproof as any-

P AR AG LID ING

thing I have ever flown. In my opinion, there will be few gliders available any time soon that will compare with the ease of use and level of passive safety the Logic can offer a new pilot.

Personally, I feel that this glider is perfect for the recreational pilot who goes out and bobs around the local flying site one or twice a month. The quality of workmanship and ease of getting service is topnotch, and the glider will hold a good trade-in value with your local dealer because of the quality of the materials.

The Logic would also be great fun to take to an SIV course, as it will help a new pilot safely gain the confidence to step up to an entry-level cross-country ship. In my opinion this is one of the best gliders currently available for a new student or anyone whose primary goal is to never get hurt.

As someone who makes a living from paragliding I would love to see every recreational pilot flying wings like this. There would be fewer folks getting scared out of this sport, fewer injuries, and more interest from the public at large.

PRO'S AND CON'S PRO -

PRO -

CUSTOMER SERVICE AND REPAIRS

Wills Wing is able to do inspections, service and repairs within a week of receiving gliders. They have also recently added porosity and fabric strength testing equipment to their factory in Orange, California.

PRO -

FLYING WELL LOADED IN THERMALS

The Logic loved to be thrown about when loaded up. Stability was beyond compare.

The experience was the same on both gliders, although I felt a small performance advantage on the medium size.

PRO -

BOMBPROOF

I would train my wife, girlfriend, or grandmother on a Logic and feel good about it.

Heck, I would train the entire legal department at the law offices of Jacoby and Myers on this glider.

CON -

FLYING LIGHTLY LOADED IN l'HER-

MALS

The glider pushed me around a little bit and had a tendency to flatten out on the back of 360's. Lots of weight-shift was needed to keep its tip up, and I got passed on glide by everything else in the sky every time I flew the medium glider lightly loaded.

LATEST TECHNOLOGY

Airwave and Bruce Goldsmith did an amazing job of combining all the latest techno-stuff into a wing that is in a category often overlooked. Most manufacturers seem to be focused on the 1-2 class these days. It is great that a new pilot can have all of the new technology in an exceptionally safe wing.

CON -

GLIDER BAG

When the first glider arrived I was initially impressed with the glider bag. The construction seemed pretty good and the heavy Cordura looked tough. There was ample space for a large, well-padded harness, the wing, my helmet and flight suit.

Trying to fit the heavy Cordura into my harness left little room for anything else, however - a byproduct of the heavy con-

struction that I personally could do without.

There was also a bit of a struggle trying to close the top of the bag when packing up. This was due to the cord-type closure being a little stiff. Also, the plastic locks on the cord both promptly broke. Not long after, the cord locks broke, and so did the outside compression buckle. IfI were buying a new glider bag this would not be a first choice.

CON -

MAGNETIC BRAKE CLIPS

The magnetic clips on the brakes were a pain. Here in Southern California we have lots of iron in the dirt. I often found myself with brakes that would not clip up at all (without cleaning) after being dropped in the dirt once. Having the brakes continuously falling or getting knocked off and getting tangled up in the lines when working with students was frustrating.

In all fairness, however, all current brake attachments have problems. Snaps break, Velcro wears out, and magnetics gather iron. There is currently nothing that seems to work perfectly long term.

THE REVIEWER The great conditions in Southern California (and lack ofa real job) have allowed Tim Nelson to fly almost 2,400 hours injury-free since 1993. Currently he is Master-rated, an Advanced Instructor, a Three-Diamond Safe Pilot Award Recipient (soon to be five!), and a Tandem Instructor. His partner Michelle and he own and operate Thermal Dynamics Paragliding andflyaGlideuom out of Marshall/Crestline fall time. Check out their website and the new live fly cam they have set up at Marshall Peak. It's pretty cool. 1B

HAND-HELD WIND METER Monitor changing wind conditions. Responsive to slightest variation in wind velocity.

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37

Last fall at a college party in Glendale, Arizona a young Hungarian pilot, Eva, told me about her experiences flying over Monte-Carlo. Every February she went there with her local club .from Budapest. She told me about her fun times there and the serenity offlying over the sea and then landing on the beach.

article and photos by Andre Gupta

took a keen interest in her descriptions, knowing that the following spring I would be going to finish my MBA in France in a town near Geneva, and probably have the opportunity to visit Monaco, a five-hour drive away.

The idea of flying in Monaco seemed surreal. To me the entire concept of Monaco seemed amazing. There was in my mind this little principality where the rich and famous lived and played. Ir was sunny every day and warm. And in this fairyland you could fly - not just fly, but soar over the town, the private swimming pools and the coast. You could even land on their dollarkissed private beaches. Monaco was where everything glitters in gold, n' est-ce pas?

Being in Geneva I had to check it out, and this is what I found.

Getting there was a challenge. There is no simple way from Geneva. There were three options: a) drive through the Alps and cross into Italy and then come via the coastal highway, passing by San Remo; b) skip the Alps by going west and then south through the Rhone Valley, passing by Lyon, Valence, Aix-en-Provence and Toulon; or c) drive to Grenoble and talce the Napoleonic Route straight south over the Alps, a windy thoroughfare reputably slow. I chose option a), and despite the numerous turns and crazy French drivers, lived to tell about it.

Just driving in Europe can be an amazing adventure. I have never seen so many tunnels. In fact, you start to develop claustrophobia, hoping for an end to the tunnels.

Instead, they continue one after the other, relentlessly turning left and right with hairpin turns in and after the tunnels.

Coming from Italy, once in France you are very close to the flying which is actually over eastern Monaco and the little bit of France between Monte-Carlo and Italy. You need to get to Rochebrunne, a small town on the coast bordering Monaco. The town beach is actually quite laid back and not the ,. ..dollax;.ki~s.ed beach I had imagined. I

38

Ii i

parked my car by the train station and caught a shuttle to launch, a 20-minute, five-mile drive away (every hour starting at 10:00 AM, costs five U.S. dollars).

The main launch is off Mt. Gros and is 650 meters above sea level, with MonteCarlo on the right and Rochebrunne and the LZ (on the beach) straight out in front.

Conditions were weak, so, although I managed to take off, staying up was a challenge.

I hung out a little too long in the house thermal which comes up the steep hillside on the right over the Monaco border. The view is cool there and you provide entertainment for the occupants of cars on the mid-level highway. You have to be careful because there is a high-tension wire, so thermals must be dealt with delicately.

After about half an hour of playing with thermals over the electric wire I decided to land. This was cool and inspiring.

With the truly azure waters of the Mediterranean below and Monaco in the background it would be tough to find a nicer landing. I landed on the rocky part of the beach near the bar. You can also opt for sand, but watch the cells. The cafe bar was alive with pilots and sun worshippers, some nude on the beach.

That evening I learned a lot about Monaco, its people and values. I met Mustaffa through a friend of mine. He didn't fly and was in fact from northern Africa.

He lived in nearby France and worked in Monaco where "even the little guys do well." Monaco has no king because it is in actuality a principality. Monaco was not always wealthy. In fact, the reigning Grimaldi family were Italian refugees who came several centuries ago. The exact details of their arrival in what was then France remain a mystery, however, it can be assumed that the French government wanted a loyal royal family to guard the border with Italy. The Grimaldi's were not liked in Italy, and since they had fled, France assumed that they would not betray them

by supporting Italian interests.

Wealth came to Monaco only during the l 960's when the Greek shipping baron Onasis invested in the Grand Palasi Casino project. Along with Prince Rainier they starred a casino, and Monaco became a tax haven for the rich. In return for sovereignty from France, Monaco has agreed not to harbor French tax evaders. As Monaco got rich, the royal family managed to expropriate Onasis by nationalizing (to the royal family) part of the casino and buying his share (at, of course, below market value).

Nor only are there no income taxes, but the casino provides a great way to make money legally - or to make illegal money legal, shall I say. Arrive with $100,000 in cash (not declared in your home country) and hand it to the casino. Officially, you gave them $1,000, and gambled and won $70,000. All of a sudden you have "won'' this money in Monaco. You only have to declare the original $1,000 in your home country, and since you made the money in Monaco you don't pay income taxes on the other $69,000. The other $30,000 is profit for the casino. Why do you think a hotel room costs $1,000 a night or port docking fees are $10,000/m/night? These are business expenses for many, much of which is reimbursed cash under the table by the royal family (from the casino profits, which, of course, aren't declared because they show a loss). Much of the casino is owned by the "royal family," and the French government has a large stake as well. The Grimaldi's are just businessmen and have actually earned their wealth (rather than inherited it), albeit by questionable means.

The next day was partly to mostly cloudy, again shattering the myth of flying in winter sun. And it was cool, only in the low 60's at sea level. At launch there was a nice breeze. I took off and flew out toward the electric wires. There was light lift everywhere so I continued toward the cliffs over PARAGLIDING

FEBRUARY

2002

39

Monaco. I started to get up and soon was way over the cliffs. I flew toward the golf course and was now a solid 3,000 feet over Monaco. Monaco and all its dirt was now at my feet, 3,000 feet below where it belonged. Perhaps there still was not enough space between me and Monaco, so I flew toward some lift and found myself going up, fust at one meter per second. The lift grew as I climbed, and was welcome at first. I was now 4,000 feet over Monaco and nearing the clouds. At cloudbase I felt comfortably high enough so I started to fly toward France, and just as I crossed into France I wanted to come down. I was too high, and besides, the land beneath me was clean - or cleaner, clean enough to land. I flew out over the water and was an amazing 3,000 feet over the beach. I entered into a spiral dive and started to get dizzy, so I changed directions. After landing on the beach I was relieved to have left all the filth behind in Monaco and happy to know that this precious flying site was after all in France!

WHEN TOGO It is best to go any time between November

40

1 and May 1. Although the site is flyable in the summer, the best conditions are in the winter and it is forbidden to land on the beach until after 6:00 PM in the summer.

There is always plenty of space to land on the beach except during warm fall and April weekends and the Easter holidays. The flying is reputedly the best during the cold winter months of December, January and February when snow covers the Alpine foothills behind, keeping them much colder than the relatively mild Mediterranean waters, creating abundant lift and a convergence over the ridge (see the sidebar article).

It is possible, although cold, to swim in the water which rarely dips below 60° F, even in the winter. The morning is usually best for flying, although afternoon flights are possible and routine as well. Try to keep altitude gains to within 2,000 feet over launch, as planes do occasionally fly low on their approach to the airport in Nice.

WHERETO GO The LZ is on the beach very near the train station in Rochebrunne-Cap Martin. The shuttle (navette) passes on the road about 100 meters from the train station and where the stairway to the beach LZ meets the

road. The shuttle costs five euros per ride and will bring you back for free if you can't fly. I recommend that you take it, because if you drive up to launch you will probably get lost unless you follow someone (normal cars pass). The first one leaves at 10:00 AM and there seems to be one every hour.

WHERE TO STAY The Hotel Westminster on the non-train station side of town above and west of the beach LZ is the best. Doubles cost approximately 65 euros (U.S . $55) depending on the sea view. Breakfast is five euros. The view is awesome and the owner, Maurice, is also a pilot who takes great care of paraglider pilots and often organizes a shuttle to launch. Otherwise, the public shuttle is a IO-minute walk away. He also has a shuttle to take you to a nearby restaurant, and for U.S. $50 (for up to six people) will provide a private taxi van from the airport in Nice.

Contact Maurice by e-mail at westminster@iftance.co mm or by telephone at O11 33 4 93 35 00 68 (he speaks English). The hotel website is www.westminster06.com.

HOW TO GET THERE Take the train from N ice. Nice has internaPARAGLIDING

IT GETS BETTER AND BETTER Important for any pilot when choosing a flying destination is its reliabiliry. I had the fortune to make a second trip to Monaco during Christmas of 2001.

What I found was amazing. When I left Geneva a snowstorm was on the doorsteps-snow was already falling and it was cold 25° F. For three weeks I had been freezing in Haure-Savoie. The idea of flying in the winter sun was too alluring and I was smitten. So I went to fly at Grasse and Monaco two sites on the Southern Coast of France. The flying was awesome-incredible. Although it was a bit too cold to go in the water (I think the water was in the 40's) due to an unseasonably cold spell the thermals were very powerful. Plus 10-18 feet/second climbs were common with 2000 foot climb-ours occurring several times. I flew over 8 hours during a five-day period.

Each day I flew one flight between 60120 minutes. The launches ranged from 650-800mASL and the ceiling ranged from 1025m-1650m. One day I was 1650m (5500ft) over Monte-Carlo and 1OOOm (3300feet) over launch. Also be careful as twice helicopters flew near where I was flying. All the photos are from this most recent trip.

tional flights and there is a shuttle that leaves for Menton which drops you off 100 meters from the Hotel Westminster. It leaves every couple of hours from the airport and is most convenient because it is direct.

ON A BLOWN-OUT DAY Try the regional wines. Work on your suntan. Seriously, visit Nice, a beautiful medium-sized town. The views of the old port, the snow-covered Alps and the water are beautiful from the ruins of the chateau a 10minute walk above the old town (leave from the Place du Justice). The town has a beautiful pebbly beach that goes on for miles. The boardwalk is nice. The Nicoise food is worth sampling - try the soucca, a chickpea-based cake resembling cornbread. They also have onion pizzas called pissaladier. Nor to miss is their carnival held for two weeks in February every year. It is perhaps the largest concentration of people on the streets in southern Europe every year and is worth at least an apres-flight visit even by night.

Go for a run. A seaside trail leaves from the Rochebrunne train station and goes all the way to Menton, about 10 km. Go all FEBRUARY

2002

the way and take the train back or stop at the Cap Marrin and come back. If you want a less natural jogging experience take the Sentier des Duaniers that goes to Monte-Carlo. It starts by the launch shuttle stop.

A BIT OF FLYING HISTORY Flying starred on Rochebrunne 23 years ago. The first Ilinx (Greek for vertigo) Air Show Competition was organized in October 1984. Back then there were mostly hang glider pilots flying over Monte-Carlo, competing primarily in aerobatics. Bertrand Picard, a Swiss pilot who subsequently flew a hot-air balloon around the world, won the first competition. This was the first true vertigo air show with landings on the water.

It has been copied and there is one every summer now on Lake Geneva near Momreux. Two American pilots, Larry Tudor and Eric Raymond, were also instrumental in encouraging free flight over Monaco.

The competition continued for over 10 years, with paraglider pilots joining in 1994. Their competition was a match rallytype of event in which two pilots would fly

straight out over the water and then make the only permitted turn to return to the beach to land. The winner for each round was decided on who flew the farthest before getting to the LZ. A tie was broken based on who got to the LZ beach first. And, yes, pilots did ofren come up short and land in the water. The winner of each match would then compete against the winner of the next match, a bit like a tennis tournament.

This event was organized for two years, side by side with the Ilinx air show. Also unique was an SN flight school organized before the event, at which the best hang glider pilots such as Aaron Swepston taught their favorite aerobatic maneuvers under the guise of SN maneuvers.

Unfortunately, due to an insurance problem, the complexity of organizing such an event, and the lack of a party willing to assume responsibility for the event, there is no longer an air show over Monaco every fall. However, the prior organizer of the event, a local pilot since 1989 and owner of the Westminster Hotel, Marice Peregrini, would like to see the event return, and is hoping that a new event can be organized. •

41

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PARAGLIDING ADVISORY: Used paragliders should always be thoroughly inspected before flying for the first time. If in doubt, many paragliding businesses will be happy to give an objective opinion on the condition of equipment you bring them to inspect. BUYERS SHOULD SELECT EQUIPMENT THAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR THEIR SKILL LEVEL OR RATING. NEW PILOTS SHOULD SEEK PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION FROM A USHGA CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR.

GIN NOMAD - Medium, DHV 2-3, 70-llOkg, under 5 hours, new technology ridged foil system $1,900. Edel Response-medium, DHV 2-3, 60-90kg, under 20 hours $1,400. Edel Sector-small, DHV3, 6090kg, very good cross country and aerobatic, no damage, crispy $700. (213) 999-4664, kkhfly@yahoo.com PRO DESIGN COMPACT 33 - Excellent condition, 10 hours airtime, w/Pro Design harness $800. (719) 539-0177, books@harvardranch.com

PARAGLIDERS ADVANCE EPSILON 3 - 30m, DHV 1-2, 105122kg., red w/black trim, Woody Valley airbag harness, reserve, radio and backpack. U oder 5 hours on all. Will sell entire package for $2,350 OBO. Steve (570) 3263120, smc@suscom.net ADVANCE EPSILON 3M -- Excellent condition, 6582kg, <7 hours $2,300 OBO. Windtech harness, small w/reserve $500. (360) 385-5338, ericablewis@netscape.net APCO BAGHERA- Small $1,800. Octane M DHV 1-2, 05/01 $1,830. !\'ova Carbon M, 04/01 $1,995.

Booster M, 65-95kg $1,750. Super Space II, medium, reserve, harness $1,700. Bolero, small, like new $1,900.

(808) 968-6856, tofly@excite.com APCO SIMBA - Medium, 35 hours, several small repairs, new line set $1,900. APCO BAGHEERAmedium, 250+ hours $500. GIN BONANZA-large, good condition, <200 hours $1,000. (970) 728-6843, neal@dawntreaderfilms.com

PRO DESIGN RELAX- Small (65-90kg) Crispy! Less than 20 hours, includes Pro Design Jam harness w/ side mounted reserve (never thrown), backpack & stuffsack, Kiwi helmet w/ installed radio earpiece and PTT system. Everything in excellent shape-$2,000 for the whole package. Erika (307)734-4450, erikaboggs@yahoo.com UP GROOVE - Large, w/Advance harness, red, 15 hours $2,200. Advance Alpha lI 24-small, red/white, 5 hours, with harness, flown once $2,200. (954) 3167786, jbogarrz@mediaone.net POWERED PARAGLIDERS 3 ORIGINAL PARAMOTORS - Moving, must sell, never used $4,000. 50 hours $2,500. 150 hours $ I ,500.

Extra props, canopies, trike. (302) 654-2498, kadapo@aol.com DK WHISPER GT - With large Symphony wing $3,500. DK Beat with medium Symphony wing $3,000. Both ready to fly. (321) 956-8943.

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EMERGENCY PARACHUTES AUTHORIZED CHUTE REPAIR - And service center for APCO, Elan, Chiron powered parachutes and UP/Perche/Independence paragliders and more! We have a full-rime loft available with quick turn around for small to huge repairs and annual inspections. Ship your chute to MoJo's Gear Ltd. Co., 1475 CR 220, Tow, TX 78672 Attn: REPAIR or INSPECTION. Include a note about the service(s) you require as well as a contact phone number and email. We will contact you with an estimate prior to starting rhe work. Office: 9 I 5-3791567, www.mojosgear.com HARNESSES EDEL HERO - Used harness $120. Reserve $270.

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

r------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------, USHGA CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING ORDER FORM 50 cents per word, $5.00 minimum Boldface or caps: $1.00 per word. (Does not include first few words which are automatically caps.) Special layouts or tabs: $25 per column inch. (phone numbers: 2 words, P.O. Box: 1 word, E-mail or Web address: 3 words) photos: $25.00, line art logos: $15.00 (1.75" maximum) DEADLINE: 20th of the month, six weeks before the cover date of the issue in which you want your ad to appear (i.e., September 20 for the Nov. issue).

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Begin with ________ .. 2002 issue and run for _ __ consecutive issue(s). My O check, 0 money order is enclosed in the amount of$ _ _ _ _ __ NAME:---------------~· ADDRESS: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _~ - - - - - - - ~ CITY:

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SCHOOLS & DEALERS ARIZONA OIXON'S AIRPLAY PARAGLIDING - Dixon White: USHGA's Instructor of the Year! Airplay: Top ranked school for years and featured in the best selling videos "Starting Paragliding", "\'(feather to fly" and the "Art of Kiting". The perfect beginner training areas at both our Washington and Arizona locations. Arizona's "best" beginner season is September through May. \Vashington is open May through September. At both locations drive-up to 360 degree treeless and rocklcss launches. Land in wide open fields, enjoy many flights each day! Limited access to the Flight Parks reduce traffic and crowding. Excellent individualized instruction with state-of-the-art lesson plans and equipment.

Comprehensive ground schooling with an emphasis on micrometeorology. Great new/used invemo1y, specializing in Windrech Paragliding Gear and M2 Harnesses, repair center, and superb customer service. In ARIZONA or WASHINCTON appointments are required.

PO Box 2626 Hagstaf{ AZ 86003. (928) 526-4579 www.paraglide.com or dixon@paraglide.com CALIFORNIA A!RJUNKIES PARAGLIDING - Join KEN BAIER for your "Pursuit of Paragliding Excellence" in the land of year-round, excellent paragliding: Sou them California and the Raja. Courses for Kovice, Intermediate, Advanced and lnsuucwr racings. Powered paragliding, soaring and maneuvers clinics, guided tours, tandem and towing instruction and special events. USHGA certified.

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TORREY !'INES Gl.!DERPORT - Corne soar in San Diego! This family owned and operated flying site offers USHCA certified instruction, equipment sales, tandem flight insrruction, motorized pg/hg instruction, parachute repacks, repairs, and site tours. We also have an extensive pg/hg outfitting shop and dining with a view when you eat at our own C:liffl1anger Cafe.

Importers for ADVANCE, PARATF.CH, AVA Sport Accessories, Cris pi boors, Center of Cravity helmets, Hy Mike flight suits, Gut Stuff gloves, and AustriAlpin carabiners and dealers for most other brands. Check us out online for sales and questions at: www.flytorrcy.com, or

call roll free at 1-877-1'1.Y-TEAM. Also, rune in to the lnrerner Paragliding Talk Show ar www.wsradio.ws every Thursday 5-7:00 pm (PST).

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44

AIR SPORTS USA - Lessons, service, equipment.

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rowing. The Jackson Hole Paragliding team features advanced instrnc10rs Scott Harris and Tom Bartlett, x-c masters Jon Hunt and Chip Hildebrandt, world class aero-pilots Matt Combs and Ranyon D'Argc, tow tech Randy Alfano, and vidcographcr Demian McConnell.

Call to set up a vacation package tailored to improve your flyinf, skills and to build your confidence. (307) 6')0-TRAM (8726) flyrun~ilwyoming.com www.jhvisionquestwww.jacksonholeparagliding.com

1000 items for foot-launched and powered paragliding, hang gliding, stunt and power kiting, and powered parachutes. 24// secure online shopping. Books, videos, KITES, gifts, engine parts, harness accessories, electronics, clothing, salety equipment, complete powered paragliding units with training from Hill Country Paragliding Inc. www.hillcountryparagliding.co111 800664-1160 for orders only. Office (915) 379-1567.

HAVE EXTRA EQUIPMENT - Thar you don't know what to do with. Advertise in the Paragliding classifieds, $. 50 per word, $5 minimum. Call USHGA for details (719) 632-8300, ushga@ushga.org or fax your ad with a Visa/MC:, fax (719) 632-6417.

TEXAS HILL COUNTRY l'ARACLIDINC INC - Learn complete pilot skills. Personalized USHGA certified training, ridge soaring, foot & tow launching in central

Texas. MOTORIZED PARAGLIDING INSTRUCTION & EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE. (915) 3791185. 147'> CR 220, Tow TX 78672.

KITE ENTERPRISES - Slope, stationa,y winch, payout winch training, sales, rentals and repair. Wills Wing, l'irebird, Cin, Ozone. Dallas, Fort Worth and north Texas area. (972) Y)0-9090, www.kite-cmerprises.com

FEBRUARY

2002

More than 4,000 paragliding enthusiasts read our magazine every month. That's more than 8,000 eyes seeing your ad.

Windsok. Made of 1. 5 oz. rips top nylon, UV treated, 5'4" long w/1 I" throat. Available colors fluorescent pink/yellow or fluorescent pink/white. $39.95 (+$4.75 S/li). Send to USHGA Windsok, P.O. Box U.30, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330, (719) 632-8300, fax (719) 632-6417. VISA/MC accepted.

45

VIDEOS

FLY HARD: Viking Films newest release. Rob Whittall, Chris Santacroce & a vintage Buick convertible full of paragliders. Outrageous flying at several west coast flying sites. Meet HG aerobatics champion Mitch McAleer along the way. Excellent rock soundtrack, professionally filmed & edited, 35 minutes $35.95.

Call or fax USHGA (719) 632-8300, fax (719) 6326417, please add +$5 domestic s/h for 1-2 videos, add $6 for 3-4 videos (lnt'l orders, email us at ushga@ushga.org for shipping charges.) Great to impress your friends or for those socked-in days. Order online at www.ushga.org!

MISCELLANEOUS

MINI VARIO - World's smallest, simplest vario! Clips to helmet or chinstrap. 200 hours on batteries, 0-18,000 fr., fast response and 2 year warranty. Great for hang gliding too. ONLY $169. Mallettec, PO Box 15756, Santa Ana CA, 92735. (714) 966-1240, www.mallettec.com MC/Visa accepted.

PUBLICATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS

THE ART OF PARAGLIDING - By Dennis Pagen.

HOT OFF THE PRESS!!! Step by step training, ground handling, soaring, avoiding dangers, and much much more. 274 pages, 248 illustrations. The most complete manual about paragliding on the market. $34.95 +$5.00 s/h. USHGA, PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901. (719) 632-8300, fax your MC/Visa/Amex to (719) 632-6417, www.ushga.org, ushga@ushga.org 'NEW* PARAGLIDING INSTRUCTOR'S MANUAL - By Dennis Pagen, available through USHGA. Covers: Learning to teach/Teaching to learn; school organization; teaching beginners; teaching novice; weather considerations and much more. 140 pages packed with illustrations. $15.00 +$5 s/h. USHGA, PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901. (719) 6328300, fax your MC/Visa/Amex to (719) 632-6417, www.ushga.org, ushga@ushga.org SOARING - Monthly magazine of The Soaring Society of America, Inc. Covers all aspects of soaring flight. Full membership $55. Info. kit with sample copy $3. SSA, P.O. Box 2100, Hobbs, NM 88241. (505) 392-1177.

May classifieds deadline: March 20 46

*NEW* SPEED TO FLY with Jockey Anderson. A complete video guide to cross country paragliding. Great air-to-air and in-board footage with Jockey as he takes you around the world, providing flying tips and interviewing the top pilots. Covers thermaling, decision making, competition flying and speed to fly. 70 minutes $39.95 *NEW* A HIGHER CALLING by Dawn Treader Productions. Winner "People's Choice Award" at the Ban ff Mountain Film Festival 2000. A stoty of six friends attempting to fly cross country together as a group through western Nepal, where finding launches & landings becomes a daily routine. Become immersed into the Nepal culture upon every landing. Superb editing. 45 minutes $32.95 *NEW* PARAGLIDER GROUND HANDLING & THE ART OF KITING, by Adventure Productions.

Learn techniques and tips for easy ground handling with this instructional program. Get in tune with your glider and improve your flying skills while on the ground.

Various wind conditions are covered with the successful and proven industry-standard techniques of Dixon White-Master rated pilot, USHGA Examiner and USHGA's PG Instructor of the Year. This is for the beginner, intermediate & advanced pilot who wants to do some brushing up on his skills. Be a master of your paraglider. 44 minutes $36.95 IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT MOUNTAIN By Adventure Productions. Searching for the perfect mountain, perfect flight, and the perfect experience that challenges our essence and satisfies our quest for adventure.

This paragliding odyssey takes you to St. Anton, Austria; Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany; Sun Valley, Idaho; Point of the Mountain, Utah; and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Features in-air footage, aerial maneuvers, and local pilot tours. 44 minutes $36.95.

BALI HIGH, by Sea to Sky Productions. A paragliding adventure film. Great flying and a great adventure on the exotic island of Bali, Indonesia. A result of wild imaginations, weeks of filming and three unsupervised pilots in a land of serious fun. Great flying footage. 38 min $29.95.

WEATHER TO FLY, by Adventure Productions. A much needed instructional/educational video on micrometeorology. Dixon White, Master pilot and USHGA Examiner, tal<es you through a simple step-bystep process showing where to acquire weather data and how to interpret it. For pilots of any aircraft. Learn about regional & local influences and how to determine winds aloft and stability. "Weather To Fly" is an over-all view packed with useful details and includes great cloud footage. A straight-forward presentation that is easy to follow. 50 min. $39.95.

STARTING PARAGLIDING by Advenrure Productions. Covers basic preparations, weather, proper attitude, ground handling & those first exciting launches.

30 min $29.95.

FLIGHT GUIDANCE AND XC - In the Sierra Nevada, Spain: Horizonte Vertical, www.granadainfo.com/hv/, hv@granadainfo.com, Tel/Fax: 011 34 958763408 VIDEOS, BOOKS & APPAREL - Call USHGA for your Merchandise order form (719) 632-8300, fax (719) 632-641 7, email: ushga@ushga.org, www.ushga.org DON'T LEAVE YOUR GROUND-BOUND EQUIPMENT SITTING IN THE GARAGE. SELL IT IN THE CLASSIFIEDS. CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES The rate for classified advertising is $.50 per word (or group of characters) and $1.00 per word for bold or all caps. Phone number=2 words, PO Box=2 words; weight range i.e.

137-185lbs=2 words, web site or email address=3 words.

MINIMUM AD CHARGE $5.00. A fee of $15.00 is charged for each line art logo and $25.00 for each photo.

LINEART & PHOTO SIZE NO LARGER THAN 1.75" X 2.25". Please underline words to be in bold print. Special layouts of tabs are $25.00 per column inch.

AD DEADLINES: February 20th is the deadline for the April issue. Please make checks payable to USH GA. Send to: PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE, Classified Advertising, P.O. Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330 (719) 632-8300 or fax (719) 632-6417, email jeff@ushga.org with your Visa, Amex or MasterCard.

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS Adventure Productions ........................... 37 Aero light USA ........................................ 19 Apco ........................................................ 8 Critter Mountain Wear. ...................... 5,31 Dixon's Airplay ..................................... .47 Flytec ....................................................... 7 Hall Brothers ......................................... 37 Sport Aviation Publications .................... 19 Super Fly, Inc ........................ 2,Back Cover Torrey Pines Gliderport ......................... 29 USHGA ..................... 9,11,19,26,27,30,42 Wills Wing ............................................. 15

PARAGLIDING