USHGA Hang Gliding March 2002 by US Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association

A Publication of the United States Hang Gliding Association • March 2002 • $3.95

DEALERS CAUFORNIA Dreamweaver - Doug Prather (209) 556-0469 drmwvrhg@softcom.net

VIRGINIA Blue Sky - Steve Wendt (540) 432-6557 blueskyhg@yahoo.com

NEW YORK Mou nt ain Wings -Greg Black (845) 647-3377 mtnwings@catskill.net

a.c. CANADA Kim Jenner (250) 453-9983

Lookout Mountain Hana Glidina 800.688.5637 - www.l.tan9lic1E:.con1

Integrated Instruction of foot launch and aerotow tandem skills The Industry Leader for over 20 Years

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

ntents (USPS 017-<)70-20 - ISSN 0895-4.33X)

24 Long-Range Soarcasting by Davis Straub Forecasring when you can fly really far.

30 The Non-Drinking Pilot by Daniel L. Johnson Understanding rh irsc and flying.

39 More Stubborn Than A Mule by Ellen Lilley k.irning to fly in Colombia in her late 50's.

47 Hang Gliding Photo Gallery

This month's featured photographer is Steve Rathbun.

Colwnns

Departments

Wing Tips, by Rodger Hoyt ..................4

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

President's Corner, by Jim Zeiset ......... 16

Update ......... ......... ......... .........................8

Competition Comer ........................... 18

Calendar of Events .... .......... ................. 12

Product Lines, by Dan Johnson .........55

Classified Advertising ..........................42

---

lndex to Advertisers .. ................ ........... 54

MARCH 2002

Editor, I read the USHGA Reports in the Janissue of Gliding magazine and I support the combination of this pubwith Ptm~gJjding magazine. While arc many differences such as perforcontrol and use that separate the sports, have much in common each other. We hang glider pilots many things with paraglidcr pilots: same air, the same thermals, and many the same sires. fn these areas a coml)tr1ed mi1gazrn1c can provide informa·both sports. At rhe sarne time we share many of the concerns, not only threats of injury safr:Ly-rdated issues, but threats to our and occasional regulatory threa1s. is where a closer relationship betwecn and paragliding can be most tie11et1u;1!. When dealing with an issue as the potential closing of a or rq:~uJ:1t1rms that restrict our flying, we be spoken for as one large group, similar expectations and guideCombining our publications would tac:llirnteeasicr communication between us matters such as these, helping to keep all on the sarnc page (lirerally). 1 would also like to complimem the addition of rnore photographs ro magazine. J{ang gliding is a very visuand fr'.aturcs such as the Photo and rhe spectacular covers and ce11tersrire:1ds speak volumes about why are so involved in this sport. Keep up good world

by Rodger Hoyt

Crrn,trated with wind socks or flags that d11antcs'.ra11·e faster than dime: store underwear? Idaho pilot Kevin Frost imroduces us to rhe Superman of materials, 'TyvekTM. Tyvck is an insulating barrier manufacmred by DuPont and is used between interior and exterior walls in new home construction. According to Kevin, pilots scrounge scraps of the stuff from construction then ftshion ir into the wind indicator of their choice. "l'vc seen them last more than two " he claims. And remcrnlicr, Kevin at King Mountain, notorious for severe weather, winter and

summer. Besides cheap and durable, explains Kevin, another advantage to Tyvck wind socks: "They're not very pretty, so no one steals them!" Sure Kevin, that's what the construction crews thought.

OF ADDRf:SS TO: BOX 1:rn1, Colorado Springs,

Vorhis

Have a hot tip? E-rrwil rhhoyt@go.com or rrwil Rodger Hoyt; 956 Glengrove Ave., Central Point, OR 97502. All contributors suhmitting a usahle photo (print or slide) will receive a free set ofGateSavers. I ·IANC GIIDINC

NEW MEMBER

,.-,.-" "''"------------- ---------------- SEX (M/F)_____ __ _

BIR.TI-ID ATE --------- ---------------------------------Monlh

EMAIL'"'""'-"""'"''·-'----------- _______ ------------------- ------------

Day

Year

***************************************************************************** Includes I issues of HANG GLIDING magazine (HG Div.) or 12 issues of PARAGLIDING magazine (PG Div.), liability insurance, and other membership benefits.

[J Hang Gliding

[] Paragliding

I Division - $59.00 U.S. ($70.00 Non-U.S.*) ..................... -................. a,-----------------------[] Both Divisions - $84.00 lJ .S. ($100.00 Non-U .S.

FAMILY MI~MHER: I Division - $27.00 (Family Member(.1) must sign separate releasefi·om Full Member) (Includes all hcnclits except

Gliding

[]

[] Paragliding

the magazine. MlJST reside Both Divisions - $39.50 (Must sign separate releascfi'om F'u/f Membe,~ ..... with li11l 111c111ber of' same division.) Name and lJSI !GA number of J'ull mcrnbcr _____ -----------------------------------

[] Hang Gliding Magazine $35.00 U.S. ($46.00 Non-U [] Paragliding Magazine $35.00 U.S. ($46.00 Non-U.S.) *international payments must he in lf..",', fimd.1· drcrwn on a U.S. bank.

********************************************************************** addition to costs.) 1ST CLASS MAIL SERVICE PER DIVISION: ($24.00-lJ s .. Canada, & Mexico only) .................................. q, AIR MAIL SERVICE PER DIVISION: ($30 00-Wcsll:rn llcrnisphcre, $40.00-Europc, $50.00-/\ll Others)-···------~----------~-------

********************************************************************** [! lJSIIGJ\ GENERAL FUND - For 1hc general use of' lJSl !GA ..................................................................... $ IJ LEGAL FUND - For the use of'USl!Gt\'s legal issues ................................................................................ . [I HANG GLIDING & PARAGJ,JD[NG MAGAZINE To improve the quality & con1ent. .......................... __________ _ IJ USIIG FOUNDATION INC GENERAL FUND - For the general use of the Foundation ......................... .. LJ DOUGLAS EVANS FUND - To improve safety and training ................................................................... .. LJ KOCSIS FUND For the preservation of flying sites .................................................................................. . IJ WORLD TEAM I understand that US! lGA will match this contribution. II Class II Rigid Wings 11 Speed Gliding ----·------CJ Class I Flex Wings ---------!] Women's l lG World Tearn 1:J Class Ill Paragliding World Team

**************************·'- -:c:.:-:,::c:.: ****************************

[] TO

: Discover Ilang Gliding Today

Please send me

****

[ 0 min. video, NTSC format. $9.95 each ....

____ ____ copy(ie.1) oft he TO FLY video.

Canada/Mexico;$ 18 Int'/; Add $5 ea. f<Jr

here)

*********************************************************************** liny undefined ow1 1Jayment less than S5 will be treated as a donation lo the ( !.\'!/GA General Fund

MC SIGN ME ur FOR AUTOMATIC ANNUAL RENEWAL

UNITED STATES HANG GLIDING (719) 632-8300 /12101 J

INC, PO BOX 1330, COLORADO FAX 9) 632-6417

co 80901-1330

In consideration of the benefits to be derived from membership in the USMGA, and the parent or legal guardian of a minor, for themselves, their personal representatives, heirs, executors, next of kin, spouses, minor children and assigns, do agree as follows: The following definitions apply to terms used in this Agreement: I. means launching (and/or assisting another in launching), flying (whether as pilot in command or otherwise) and/or landing (including, but not limited to, crashing) a hang glider or paraglider. n11>1r1;:nn~I Or 2. as a result of the administration of

means the following, including their owners, officers, directors, agents, spouses, employees, officials (elected or otherwise), members, independent contractors, sub-contractors, lessors and lessees: The United Hang Gliding Association, a California Non-profit Corporation (USHGA); a) Each of the person(s) sponsoring and/or participating in the administration of Pi/ot~proficiency rating(s); b) Each of the hang gliding and/or paragliding organizations which are chapters of the USHGA; c) The United States Of America and each of the city(ies), town(s), county(ies), State(s) and/or other political subdivisions or d) governmental agencies within whose jurisdictions Pi/otlaunches, flies and/or lands; Each of the property owners on or over whose property launch, fly and/or land; e) All persons involved, in any manner, in the sports of hang gliding and/or paragliding at the site(s) where D "All persons involved" include, but are not limited to, spectators, hang glider and/or paraglider pilots, drivers, instructors, observers, owners of hang gliding and/or paragliding equipment; and All other persons lawfully present at the site(s) during g) the any and all liabilities, claims, demands, or causes of action that I however caused, even if caused by the negligence (whether active or passive) of any of the n,;;;Jr..,;;,111,1;:;;,v may hereafter have for to the fullest extent allowed by law. I A CLAIM against any of the loss or damage on account of 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 1111..,..11...,,,.,,11..,v I this shall be and in accordance with the

If any part, article, paragraph, sentence or clause of this Agreement is not enforceable, the affected provision shall be curtailed and limited only to the extent necessary to bring it within the requirements of the law, and the remainder of the Agreement shall continue in full force and effect. f, I at least 18 years of age, or, that I am the parent or legal guardian of and am making this agreement on behalf of myself and If I am the parent or legal guardian of I the for their defense and indemnity from any claim or liability in the event that Pilot suffers even if caused in whole or in part by the negligence (whether active or passive) of any of the n11,,,,r.11...,,,.,,11...v

I have

and

Ad11/t !'!lot's fignat11re

Date

fip1at11re ofPilot's Parent or Legal G11;mlian l !'!lot 11nder 18years ofage.

Date

MMR 12-97

Coming in May! You've heard about it and it's on its way. The May issues of Hang Gliding and Paragliding will be combined into a single, exciting, more robust magazine. This is a test. Read it and let us know your thoughts. The results will be published in a following issue.

;~ '!'11111 ''!!!'

iiiiiiiiiiii.F YT EC Aiiiiiiiiiiiiii

BLUE SKY AVIONICS

Within the May issue you will find a postage paid response card. Fill out the card and send it back to be automatically entered in our drawing. You may be the Lucky winner of a Flytec 4005, a Ball M-1 9, or a Brauniger Sonic. Thanks to Steve @ USA Flytec, Scott@ Blue Sky Avionics, and Rob @ Wills Wing for their generous donations to t his test issue

BACKDATING OF USHGA MEMBERSHIPS ue to a recent USHGA policy change we will be unable to backdate your membership to ensure uninterrupted magazine delivery service. Until recently, a full member or subscriber could allow their full membership or subscription to expire and the database would automatically backdate the renewal two months to facilitate uninterrupted magazine delivery service. USHGA'.s renewal forms also had a check box enabling members to backdate their membership for continuous magazine delivery service. Insurance considerations prevent USHGA from backdating memberships. Backdating also requires the staff to ship hundreds of magazines first class each month because members renew after the mailing labels are generated for the next month's magazine(s). We are mailing a flyer with the renewal notices informing you that you must renew your membership by the 20th of the month that your membership expires in order to receive the next month's magazine(s). IfUSHGA has not received your renewal by the 20th day of the month that your membership expires, you will not receive the next magazine with your renewal until the month after next and your membership expiration dare will change. For example, if your membership was scheduled to expire on January 31st and you waited until after the 20 th of]anuary to renew, you would nor receive February's magazine unless you purchased it separately at full price plus shipping. The mailing labels for the February magazine would have been printed before you renewed and your name would not have been on the mailing label report for the February magazine(s). The March issue will be your first issue with your renewed membership, and your new expiration will be February 28. You will still receive 12 monthly issues. If you renew by the 20th, USHGA guarantees uninterrupted magazine delivery service. Members may want to consider automatic renewal as a great way to ensure continuous magazine delivery service. If you select the automatic renewal function, your membership and/or subscription will renew automatically at 1:00 AM on the first day of the month your membership expires. Be sure that your credit card expiration date exceeds your next membership renewal date or the automatic renewal function will fail. U5HGA requires your e-mail address so an automated e-mail message can be sent to you confirming that your membership has been automatically renewed. If the autorenewal function fails for any reason and we have your e-mail address, an automated e-mail message will also be forwarded to you asking you to either go online to renew or to call the office for assistance. Thank you for your understanding as we strive to improve membership services.

Jayne DePanfilis Executive Director, U5HGA

NEW GARMIN GPSMAP 76S armin USA is pleased to announce the GPSMAP 765. In addition to those features found in the popular GPSMAP 76, the new GPSMAP 765 ("S" for sensors) offers a built-in electronic compass, barometric sensor, 24 megabytes of internal memory and 5,000 track points. Unlike a traditional GPS , which requires movement to show a heading, the builr-in electronic compass will give a heading while the user is standing still. The barometric altimeter provides extremely accurate elevation and

pressure information. The GPSMAP 765 is designed co receive correction data obtained from the Wide Area Augmentation System (WMS) and position accuracy can be less than three meters! The GPSMAP 765 provides large number displays and graphic navigation screens, all easily accessible through Garmin's userfriendly operating system. A built-in basemap contains cities, interstates, coastlines and more. This unit has 24 megabytes of internal user memory for storing optional MapSource detailed maps. This memory is preloaded from H ANG GLIDING

In the history of hang gliding t here have been just two flights of more than 400 miles. They had just one thing in common:

Brauniger Competition/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 Brauniger !

/Jc BRAUNIGER

FLUGELECTRONIC

Service and Distribution in USA by Wills Wing, ph: 714-998-6359 fax 714-998-0647

www.willswing.com

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

the factory with worldwide cities (populations greater than 200,000). The GPSMAP 765 is also preloaded with tide data for the United States. GPSMAP 765 includes: Unit, PC Interface Cable, Manual and Quick Start Guide. Some of the other noteworthy features are: • WMS-enabled, 12-channel GPS receiver • Electronic compass • Barometric sensor with automatic pressure trend recording • Unit dimensions: 6.2" H x 2.7" W x 1.2" D • Display: 1.6" W x 2.2" H, high-resolution FSTN, four-level grayscale (180 x 240 pixels) • Battery life: 10 to 12 hours • 5,000-point automatic track log • Permanent user data storage - no memo1y battery required • Water resistant (submersible one

• • • •

merer at 30 minutes) 500 user waypoints Large numbers option for easy viewing 24-Mbyce internal memory Elevation computer provides current elevation ascent/descent rare, minimum and maximum elevation, total ascent and descent, average and maximwn ascent and descent rate.

The new GPSMAP 76S will prove to be an invaluable tool for serious competition and X-C pilots alike. For more information on this exciting new GPS unit as well as the complete Garmin recreation, marine and aviation line, contact: Flytec USA, 1-800-662-2449 or 352-429-8600, fax 352-429-8611 , info@flycec.com.

HIGH ENERGY SPORTS MOVES TO ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA

etty Pfeiffer of High Energy Sports has announced the move of her com-

Horne Page

The Internet Era Virtually every reader of Hang 6/itling magazine is wired to the Internet. ltJs the way we find information ... 24 x 7J up-to-dateJ and hassle-free (well OKJ pretty much hassle-free) The ByOan}ohnson.com Website will offer you over 20 years of "Product LinesJJ columns-for researchingJ or merely wandering through the history of hang gliding in the USA. You can also find flight reviews by Dennis Pagen for several modern gliders among hundreds of pilot reports ana thousanas of photos. Unique features like PlaneFinaerJ PlaneView, SpecCheckJ or Pros & Cons will help you zero in on the right purchase for you. Or-just read it for fun. ComingJ uh... soon! Sign up now to be notified when the site goes live.

pany from Santa Ana to Anaheim, California. The new factory location will allow High Energy Sports to continue to produce custom hang gliding harnesses (the Tracer side-entry pod harness, HES cocoon, knee-hanger, double-decker tandem harness, and "Tracer Torso" hill-training harness) as well as rhe famous Quantum series of reserve parachutes. Production times have been very good throughout the years, usually three to four weeks for custom orders, and the new location and assembly process may allow production times to be even faster in 2002. Many pilots who have been flying wirh High Energy Sports harnesses and parachutes throughout the years would be surprised to learn chat High Energy also produces powered parachutes and a diverse line of hang gliding and paragliding accessories. Please bookmark the website and update your address book with rhe new

P~e&

Places

Ask Dan

Coming Feab.Jres

Dan ... the Man

2002 Buyer's Guiae Ever wantea to compare specifications on the hang gliders that interest you? How about paragliaersJ or ultralight sailplanesJ lightweight soaring trikesJ or paramotors (powered paragliders)? Those interested in powered aircraff might want details on trikesJ ultralightsJ microlightsJ homebuilt designsJ helicoptersJ powerea parachutesJ gyros ... the list goes on for 256 pages-all in full color. Photos of each wing (or aircraff)J addresses of manufacturersJ and lots more information on wings and aircraff from the USA ana Europe. NowJ obtain your own copy of the Worttl Directory orLeisure Aviation. Only $9.95 + $3.95 Priority Mail. In stock nowsend a check for $13.90 to: Oan Johnson • 265 Echo Lane • South St. Paul MN 55118 • USA • (no credit cards or phone orders)

HANG GLIDING

and phone mtmb~:rs: Inc., 1()81 Shep,ud Amth.e1irn, CA 92806,

v .• ",,,.~, 1:·h,.... ,.,.

and Sunday barbecues. Con~ tact: Florida Ridge at (86.3) XO''i-04Lr1:1. or James Tindle at (305) 285-8978.

(714)

pons.com.

James 'findle's The Florida Ridge Flight Pads. wiH be opt:n to the hang gliding community on March 22. They will be a nre-:sea:son fly-in from March it is opento all hang gliding enthqsiasts. Join world-class hang glider pilot~ for a fun-filled of hang gliding and competition. Wills W.ing will be offering.demos of thdr new line of Eagle entry,,level gliders :tll sizes for all three days.Workl,-renowned Mike Barber will be hosting a Fhmg Ill clinic, and will also be demoing gliders Moyes Arnerica. Malcolm Jones of \Xli1llaby Ranch will be the meet director frlr the IV competid1m. will be an X-C prize and a purse to be.announca:d for the Hang JV competition. Other competitive events include duration, bomb-drops and spot landings for Hang II's. The entry fee $39 plus aerotows, and will be Saturday

MARCIi 2002

11 April Wills Wing will be celebrating 29 years in business and you arc invited. For the fifth year in a row, W;1llaby will roll out the red (along witb six tu.gs) so you a great time flying. Everyo11e should go to the Sun 'n' Fun fly~in at least once, and it's happening at the same time just a few miles away. 'n' Fun is the world's second-largest show, and tbe largest gathcriJJg of ultralight on the planet. gliders of all models and sizes will he available for qualified pilots to .Hy W:1llaby Ranch is located outside Orlan.Jo, Plodda in the l).$., and boasts all friendly lots of airtime (http:/ /www;wallaby.com)! For more information check www.willswing.com.

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

MARCH 16-MAY 27: 2002 Region Nine Regirmah and Region Nine YetJr!ong X-C Contest. The Regionals adds up a contes· tant's three best weekend flights between March 16 and May inclusive. The yearlong contest is to honor longest individual flights of the year on any day between February 15 and November I 5. Classes for Rookies, Miles, Open, Rigids and Paragliders. fees $10 and respectively. ( :ontact: Pere Lehmann, lplehmann@aol.com, (412) 661 5811 Elgin Sr, Pittsburgh, P/\ 15206.

APRIL 13-19: 2002 Wallaby Open and US. Nationalr.

Sanction: USHCA Class A Location: Wallaby Ranch, l 805 Dean Srill Rd., Davenport, FL 33837, (863)424-0070 Entry fee: $400, 50% deposit reciuired at registration. Docs not include towing. Organizers: Malcolm Jones and Laurie Croft Meet Director. J.C. Brown Safety Director. Malcolm Jones Scorekeeper. Peter Gray USHCA Meet Stewardr: Jim Zeiser and J.C. Brown Awards and Prizes: A minimum of $5,000 prize money will he distributed as follows. Class 1: A rninimum of $3,500 will be awarded in Cfoss 1. First: $1,000, Second: $700, Third: $500, Fourth: $300, l~ifth: $250, Sixth: $200, Seventh: $175, Eighth: $150, Ninth: $125, Tenth: $100. Class 2: A minimum of $1,500 will be awarded in Class 2. First: $800, Second: $350, Third: $250, Fourth: $100. Mandatory pilot briefing: April 12, 2002, 7:00 PM at meet headquarrers.

APRIL 21-27: 2002 Flytec Championships at Quest Ail: Sanction: USHCA Class A and CJVUWPRS points meet Location: Quest Air Soaring Center, 6548 Groveland Airport Road, Groveland, Florida, 34736, 429-0213, fax 429-4846, www.flytec.com. Entry fie: ($325 within 30 days of the meet). Does not include towing. Meet Organizers: Steve Kroop and the Quest Air family Meet Director. David Glover Safety Director. Russ Rrown Scordeeeper. David Glover USHGA Meet Steward: John Borron Awctrds and Prizes: A minimum of $5,000 prize money will be

split over at least 13 places rl1roughom Class 1 and Class 2 based on registration breakdown. Mandatory pilot briefing, Saturday, April 20, 2002, 5:00 PM at meet headquarters. IMPORTANT !NFORM/\TION TO RE/\D that applies to both meets: Registration begins on December 7, 200 I (see contact in(cmnarion above). April 20 is a rest/transition day. No official rest days are planned during the meets. No official practice days are planned. There are no rain, weather, or contingency plans to extend or postpone the competition. Number of pilots: 90· 120 pilots, 65?fi of tl1e available positions will be held for U.S. pilots for the first 30 days of registration. Competitor entry requirements include: USHGA membership, USHGA (or foreign equivalent) Advanced pilot rating (Intermediate at Flytec) with Aerorow signoff. Gliderleciuiprnent entry requirements include Class l and Class 2 hang gliders. G PS receivers arc rcciuired for flight documentation. The fo) .. lowing models of GPS receiver will be supported: Garmin models 38, 40, 45, 12, l2XL, 12 Map, IT, J[f and Ilf+. (Others may also be supported. Please contact meet directors J.C. Brown at jcbfly@msn.com and David Glover at david@david· glover.com frH more info.) The meet format is cross-country race to goal with or wirhom rurnpoints. Rules: 2002 USHGA Competition Rulebook and tlie 2002 and Local Meet Rulebooks. Scoring: GAP/G/\P modified.

MAY J2. 18: Canritlian Hang Gliding !) Open Championships. Lum by, British Columbia (north of Cbelan). Prize money. CJVL Class 2 Sanctioning and U.S. N'fSS Sanctioning. Contact: www.dowsen.ca/cdnnats. JUNE 26-30: King Mountain Meet; Mountain, Moore, Idaho. This year's meet will offer a different format from previous years. We will be scoring the best three out of five days, so if you can only make the weekend you still have time to get your flights in. We will still have the best world-class trophies, Open, .Recreation, and Tt:am classes, Driver Award, Staff Choice Award, barbecue Saturday night, handicap scoring with bonus LZ's, Open Distance great scenery, flying, and fon! Entry $50 includes a beautiful foll-color shirt designed by renowned Montana artist, Dan Gravage. Contact: Meet Director/Organizer Lisa fatc, or a pre-registration packet from 11716 Fairview Ave., Boise, Idaho 83713 (208) 376-7914 or e-mail to Zoolisa@aol.com. Information also available at hnp://hometown .aol.com /zoolisa/ m yhomcpagc/ extreme.html. 0

] l-21: The First Atos-C'Lzss World Championships, Chelan, Washington. JULY 11 ·21: The Eighth Worner!'., World Championships, Chelan, Washington. · l 1··21: The Ninth Swifi-Class World Championships, Chelan, Washington. Contact: Chelan Flyers, P.O. Box 907, Chelan, WA 988 J 6, skyd og@televar.comhttp://www.chcla n flyers.com I ( :hclanWorlds.

HANG GLIDING

MAY 25,27: Starthistle 2002, 26th Annual Hang Gliding/Paragliding Fly.. Jn a.t Woodrat Mt., Ruch, Oregon. Contact: http://rvhga.org/Siarth istle2002. btm. MARCH 22-24: South florida'.r pre-sectson fly-in at Florida Ridge Flight Parle Fun for all pilots, X·C prize, purse to be announced for Hang 4 competition, X-C clinic for H3's, and other competitions including duration flights, bomb drops and spot landings for Hang 2's. Entry fee $39 plus aerotows. Saturday and Sunday barbecue. Contact: Florida Ridge (863) 805·· 0440, or James Tindle (305) 285-8978. May 17 .. 19: South Carolina 5jJringtime Fly-In, at Glassy Mountain near Greer, SC. Come enjoy flying :md competing (spot, duration, x.c, balloon toss, etc.) at this beautiful south-facing mountain. Plaques awarded to all first, second and third place finishers in all competitions (except balloon toss). $20 entry fee for competition flying, $10 for fun flying. llly-ln T-shirts avail· able. Glassy launch is 1,500' AGL. Contact: Paul Peeples, PO Box 2121, Brevard, NC 28712, (828) 885-2536, pbranncnp@citcom.net.

MARCI-I 9-10: Mexico 2002, Cotes Clifl~, Baja California, 80 miles south ofEnsenada, Mexico. Annual series of winter flying trips. l 0-mile-long, 250 ..foot-high cliff located on a deserted Mexican beach. Plying starts before noon, lasts all day. No facilities, so bring everything you will need for the flight to Glen Crater and The Point. Bring household donations for the local population. Contact: Mike Hilherath, (949) 455,00:'32, eteam, er@hotmail.com, or eteamrules@evmwdorks.com. MARCH 9 .. 10: Midwest Parachute and Safety Clinic with Betty Neiffer and Bill Gargano. Hosted by Raven Sky Sports, lnc., Whitewater, Wisconsin. Annual clinic of safr:ty and risk,rnanagement training, including proper use of emergency parachutes. Seminar presentations, indoor simulator,based training, outdoor parachute handling (weather permitting), Q&A,

We Need Receive Your Renewal llY Ml\ RCI l 20th Or you will miss the April Magazi'llf:!. ll'Your USl !CiA Membership Expires On (H/30/02 We Need To Receive Your Renewal BY APRIL 20th

Or you will miss the Mizy Magazine.

Airspeed lmJic:itorTM ®

A precision instrument !'or the serious pilot. Rugged, dcpcmlablc and easy lo read.

NEW! SMALL HALL C,rcat ror hand--hcld wind measurement or pmaglidcr

Airspeed Indicator using Bracket. Small llall ................ $23.50 Paraglidcr Bracket ..... $6.50 Now nvailable: Small l Jail for hang ,µ!idcrs, 0 to 70 mph

5" Dia. ABS Plastic Wheels $24.00/pair

Hall llrothcrs, P.O. Box 1010-II, Morgan, UT 84050, USA• Mastcrcanl/VlSi\/C.O.D. Phope (80 I J 829 J2:J2, Fax (801) 829,(iJ49 hallhros(dJcnrthl ink.ncl

H/\NC CLIDINC

inspections and repacks . $40 per person ($30 for Wisconsin HG Club annual members). Fee includes either a repack of your parachute, or, if you don't yet own one, use of a school harness/parachute during the clinic. New pilots and wanna.bees welcome. Attend either day, not both. Held at a school gymnasium in Ft. Atkinson, WI. Coma.ct: Raven Sky Sporn (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com.

APRIL 4-7: Wills Wings 29th Anniversary/Wallaby Demo Days. Wills Wing will be celebrating 29 years in business and you are invited. For the fifth year in a row, Wallaby will roll out the red carpet (along with six rugs) so you can have a great time flying. Everyone should go to the Sun 'n' Fun fly-in at least once, and it's happening at the same time just a few miles away. Sun 'n' Fun is the world's second-largest air show, and the largest gathering of ultralight aircraft on the planet. Demo gliders of all models and sizes will be available for qualified pilots to fly. Wallaby Ranch is located outside of Orlando, Florida in the U.S., and boasts all the amenities, friendly service, and lots of airtime (http://www.wallaby.com) . For more information visit www.willswing.com.

MAY 1-5: Torrey Pines Hang Glider And Paraglider Manufacturers Exhibition. Manufacturers showcase the world's newest and most complete lines of hang gliding and paragliding gear. Open to the general public. MAY 3-5: Torrey Pines Hang Gliding and Paragliding Air Races, featuring the world's fastest hang glider and para.glider pilots. Held at world-famous Torrey Pines Gliderport. All categories of Serial and Open Classes will compete. Entry fee for three days is $150. JULY 6-7: Torrey Pines Paragliding And Hang Gliding Costume Fly-In. California's most extreme, fun costume fly-in. Dress up your para.glider 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. Coma.er: 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.flyrorrey.com. JUNE 1-2: Second Annual Cape KiwandaAntique Hang Glider Spectacular, Pacific City, Oregon. Sponsored by the ValleyVille Hang Gliding Club. Dust off the old kite, round up the family, whip up your favorite dish and come relive the old days. Camping accommodations for all, either on the beach or in one of the close-by campgrounds equipped with full RV hookups and tent sites. Gourmet potluck and party Saturday night. Cape Lookout and other flying sites nearby. See phoros and event information at: http://danimal.ats.orst.edu/anriq ueflyin.hcml.

OCT 25-27: Fall 2002 USHGA Board ofDirectors meeting, in the Orlando, Florida area. Contact: www.ushga.org, (7 19) 6328300.

MARCH 2002

by Jim Zeiset, USHGA President

ne of the projects I inherited as USHGA President was the problem of both of our magazines arriving ever so much later to the members each month. Truth is, I was not aware that it was happening until one day last summer about the middle of the month when I started to look around for my current magazine. I asked my secretary if she had seen it (she sometimes cakes it into the lady's room) , but she reported that hers hadn't arrived either. I got it the next day and she got hers as well, so I blew it off as a postal or onetime situation. By the end of the summer it became obvious that there was a problem. There were financial issues at headquarters that still had my primary attention and then, suddenly, it was September 11. Ac that point we had only one problem, and char was getting hang gliders and paragliders back in the air. Once that was solved we had to gee the schools back in service. By then it was close to the end of October and my e-mail was ringing off the wall with, "Where's my magazine?" Well, hey, where's mine? I called the office and Jayne cold me she had a bunch of complaints too and was checking it out. She didn't have hers either. As you know, Gil Dodgen has been our editor since the beginning of time. For years and years he has been getting out our magazine on time. He knows what deadlines are. I remember when I would receive Hang Gliding magazine in the fuse few days of the month. I also recall, when I submitted an ad, that the drop-dead deadline was the 20th of the month, six weeks prior to the month of issue. Hmmm, the drop-dead deadline for my President's Corner article was January 8 to make the February issue. Hang Gliding magazines are arriving as lace as the end of the month for the month of issue in California, and Paragliding magazines rwo weeks after that. We are nor happy with char, the members are not happy with that, and neither is Gil. How did this come about? Here's my cake on it. Back in 1995 we published Hang Gliding every month and you could set your clock by it. Then we bought out the Stockwells and dropped the job of Managing Editor/Editor in Chief of Paragliding magazine on Gil too. When the smoke cleared we were cruising along with Hang Gliding once a month, Paragliding once every rwo

months, and we had lose a few unnoticed days in the schedule. At the end of 1999 Paragliding members amounted to over a third of our membership and were growing, while hang gliding growth was stalled. During the fall BOD meeting ir was subsequently decided to publish Paragliding magazine monthly. This greater responsibility was also dropped on Gil. Now, instead of putting together one magazine per month and another one over an eight-week period, he had to get a magazine out every 10 working days. So, every other month you would get your magazine a day lacer. Noc many members noticed, including the BOD. Then this past summer we changed printers for both magazines, saving the members $4,500/month. Unfortunately, while we saved money, the total turnaround time increased by four days because of the printer's greater production time. In addition, the printer was in Canada and the bulk-mailing house was in New York, causing west-coast members' magazines to be delayed a few extra days. Finally, September 11 came around and the post office dropped the ball for a week. Then we all noticed. So what can we do about it? What have we done about it? Well, we've moved all the deadline daces up a couple of days for each of the last rwo months. Lase month the printer put a trace on the magazines with the post office but they haven't heard the results yet. The printer is also curring four days from their production schedule to match the old program. We have asked the printer to express the magazines to a Chicago mailing house to see if that can reduce average delivery times. Jayne had the February issue shipped to Chicago to test that theory. Gil moved his ship dace up by seven days for February Paragliding and four days for February Hang Gliding, but he did it by working seven days a week. He repons that by the time of the May test/combined Hang Gliding and Paragliding issue he will have it in the members' hands by the first week of May. The May issue will have combined content but respective Hang Gliding and Paragliding covers (at least that is the plan as of this writing). This will take a monumental effort by editor Gil Dodgen and guest art director for the May issue, Aaron Swepston. The USHGA office and BOD will be supporting them in any way they

can. Jayne has issued a letter to the advertisers, moving the ad reservation deadline co eight weeks before the month of issue with a drop-dead dare of six weeks. Yes, we are getting the problem fixed but it's not a permanent fix. We can't expect Gil to maintain this kind of work schedule. The real fix is to combine Hang Glidingand Paragliding into a single, oncea-month issue. The larger magazine (more pages) will open up new advertising possibilities as well as better exposure (more newsstands). The reduction of duplication will allow for more time to be spent on quality and content issues. Combining the magazines isn't something that is going to happen in spite of the membership's desires. Yes, the BOD and Executive Commirree are in favor of it, bur we won't rake that action without the support of the members. Look the May issue over, fill our the enclosed card and indicate your preference. The last time we broached this question less than rwo percent of the members responded. This time we would like to get at least 20% of the members to respond to the survey. In order to facilitate this goal we have teamed up with Flytec and Wills Wing to offer Flytec 4005 and Brauniger Sonic variomerers as prizes in a sweepstakes drawing made up of all the returned insert cards. The staff and the BOD request that you rake the time to vote your preference and return the card as soon as you have had an opporruniry to review the May combined issue. •

HANG GLIDING

USHGA 2002 HANG GLIDING CALENDAR· Outstanding photography. CLEARANCE! ..... ... 1/b USHGA 2002 PARAGLIDING CALENDAR. First ever' Outstanding photos. CLEARANCE! ... 1/b

PRICE $ 5.00 $ 5.00

l,HANG GLIDING SPECTACULAR 70 great flying stories, over 250 pages, w/comp CD .......... 1/b

$24.95

,A,BIRDFLIGHT: As the Basis of Aviation. Otto Lilienthal's flight documentation a century ago 11b HANG GLIDING FOR BEGINNER PILOTS by Peter Cheney. Official Training Manual.250pgs .. 2/b

$19.95 $29.95

TOWING ALOFT by Dennis Pagen/Bill Bryden. Covers ALL aspects of towing. 372 pgs...

. .... 3/b

$29.95

HANG GLIDING TRAINING MANUAL by Dennis Pagen For the beginner/novice pilot. 350 pgs.2/b PERFORMANCE FLYING by Dennis Pagen For the Intermediate-Advanced pilots. 340 pgs ... .3/b

$29.95 $29.95

UNDERSTANDING THE SKY by Dennis Pagen. THE most complete book on micrometerology.2/b

$24.95

INSTRUCTOR'S MANUAL by Dennis Pagen, used in IP's. Illustrated. Check one [l HG[] PG.2/b

$15.00

>',THE ART OF PARAGLIDING by Dennis Pagen *NEW*. Covers ALL aspects. 274 pgs ......... 3//J PARAGLIDING-A PILOT'S TRAINING MANUAL by Mike Meier/Wills Wing. Covers all aspects.2//J RIGHT STUFF FOR NEW HG PILOTS by Erik Fair. Reprints of Erik's HG column. Classic ......... 11/J

$34.95 $19.95

.... fib

$10.95

A RISK MGMT MANUAL by M. Robertson. Includes Cl1arts/l~eliability Become a better pilot!.. 11/J DELUXE FLIGHT LOG BOOK 4.25" x 7" 68+ pages. Log over 270 flights .............................. 3oz

$ 9.95

DOWNWIND by Larry Fleming. Share the experience of over 20 years of hg flight..

FLIGHT LOG BOOK The Official USHGA flight log book. 40 pages. Log those flights!

.. 2oz

QTY Jotal Weight JOTAL

$ 8.95

$ 6.50 $ 2.95

All our videos are in USANHS NTSC format only. ,HO FLY: DISCOVER HANG GLIDING TODAY Special promotional video. (10 min) ................ 11b

$ 9.95

,'<WEATHER TO FLY Dixon White educates us on this very important subject. (50 min) .......... 11/J

$39.95

SPEED GLIDING: TEAR UP THE SKIES Great camera angles & animation. (24 min) ............. 1/b

$24.95

STARTING HANG GLIDING Basic preparation, attitude & what to expect. (30min) .............. 1/b DUST DEVILS Fly with the Women's World Hang Gliding Tearn in Chelan, WA (24 min) . 1/b PARTY AT CLOUDBASE A hang gliding music video, set to hard driving music. (20 min) ......... 1/b TELLURIDE AEROBATICS Follow the dynamic history of this event. from "81-95" (50 min) .. 1/b BORN TO FLY HG action. Meet Larry Tudor & Green team, fly Owens, Sandia, etc. (50 rnin). 1/b HANG GLIDING EXTREME Fly spectacular sites in the US Meet the top pilots. (50 min) . 11/J ,'<SPEED TO FLY World tour instructional video on XC PG flying techniques & tips. (70 min) 11b GROUND HANDLING & Tl1e Art of Kiting PG Instructional. Learn techniques & tips. (44 min) .. 11/J A HIGHER CALLING Superb paragliding XC adventure in Nepal. Excellent editing. (45min) .... Jib THE PERFECT MOUNTAIN Spans the globe for the quintessential paragliding site. (44 min)... 11/J

$29.95 $19.95 $19.95 $24 .95 $34.95 $34.95 $39.95 $36.95 $32.95 $36.95

BALI HIGH Exotic paragliding adventures in Indonesia. (38 min)..

.. Jib

$29.95

STARTING PARAGLIDING Basic preparation, attitude & what to expect. (30min) ... ................ 11/J MASTERS AT CLOUDBASE A paragliding music video. set to hard hitting music. (20 min) ....... fib FLY HARD Rob Whittal & C. Santacroce paraglide the westcoast. Rock soundtrack. (36 min) ... 11/J CLOUDBASE PARAGLIDING Great intro. video. Meet the hot pilots, fly the hot sites. (36 min) 1/b All our videos are in USA/VI-IS NTSC format only

$29.95 $19.95 $35.95 $34.95

WINDSOK 1 M 1.5 oz. ripstop nylon, 5'4" long w/11" throat. Pink/yellow or pink/white (circle one) 2/1; $39.95 ZING WING Flying toy Launch it skyward and watch is soar ..................................................... Boz $ 2.50 LAPEL PIN Two color enamel. Check one I.] HG I.] PG ............................................... 2oz $ 2.95 USHGA EMBLEM DECAL Our original logo, in its original colors, on a 3" circular sticker ........ 1oz $ .50 LICENSE PLATE FRAME l'ci Rather Be I-fang Gliding or I'd Rather Be Paragliding (circle one). 1/IJ $ 6.50 PAYMENT must be included with your order. NON-USA orders must be in U.S. FUNDS drawn on a U.S. BANK! SUBTOTAL WEIGHT (for shipping)

SHIPPING (USA)

CHARGE MY VISA /MC/AMEX

Up to 2 LBS ADD $5.00 2.'l-4 LBS .. ADD $6.00 4.1 .. 6 LBS .. ADD $6.50 6.1·8 LBS .. ADD $7.00 8.1-10 LBS .ADD $8.00 Over 10 L.B..Call/fax/ernail NON-·USA S/-1/P'PING-Calllfaxlemai/

SUBTOTAL Colorado residents add 3% tax Y_"·------·-··. --. Shipping (see chart) . ··-"·--..----·---

Street Address (if

United (719)

iding Assn., PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs 80901 1330 www.ushga.org (719) 17 email ushga@ushga.org

~y Stephen Bellerby s dozens drive their long hauls home, the clubhouse is quiet and the sun sets over the Sequatchie Valley. With a dozen personal bests, many hundreds of miles flown in three epic back-to-back distance soaring days, and not a single injury, however slight, it's been a meet ro remember. lndccd, afrcr September I I we were very lucky to have a meet at all. Nor only did many from the Northeast hail out, but as of just a couple of weeks before the event all gliders were grounded. Without an okay from the FAA we couldn't even fly. In Dunlap, 'Tennessee debate raged within the ranks: "Meet Director, what is the break-even?" "ls this meet on?" "Shirts cost us about IO bucks each and we need to order them now. ls 50 enough or should we make it And the Ti:ee 'foppers perennial: "It better not cost us any money. \lVith all the expenses this year and all those northerners gone towing, we just don't have it." When word came, days before our event, that the Feds again allowed us to fly, we took a chance and put our money down. The meet was on, but with so many hurting in the wake of America's most disturbing and disruptive event in decades, it was anyone's guess if' anyone would show. But what a showing it would be. The hang gliding was spectacular, but it was the helping hands and the hanging our that really made tbis meet. And we couldn't have had a berter bunch. That folks will make the haul from Alabama and Pennsylvania is always encouraging, but when so many wing it from Wisconsin, Canada, C1lifornia and even Bermuda a special meet is in srore. Teams set themselves up and signed up. The Alabama boys made Rudy's Raiders, the California crew formed the Fabulous Thunderbirds, the Northeast· crners comprised 'foam Challenged and

Sky Sailors, and Lookout regulars (with some outside and offahore help) created two formidable forces: the Vee Gees and the Black Seals. Latecomers and leftovers created a final powerhouse team. The Stragglers would soon show their colors and prove to be the gang to beat. Sunday had a slow start. With a task that seemed way optimistic, folks slowly set up or traded rail mies as conditiontechnicians dutifully sledded through the still, stable air. Bur dozens wished they'd stuffed battens sooner, when one soul in a Spectrum ont. Pilots charged back and set up. A soaring day after all. At least now it had been proven possible. Sadly, no one was ready. It was 30 minutes before the first competitors bailed and flailed. All missed the moment, and spot-landings scored the day's sole points. Monday's sofr, southeast: wind was an amazing shift of gears, and scr the pace for the next rhree days. The task commince called a Whitwell day, and a familiar goal more than 15 miles up the valley. North of Dunlap, with a challeng.. ing upwind valley the task was Henson's own LZ. [(enny Brown had arrived with a truckload of Lirespeeds, and guest pinchhitters Curt Warren, Claire Pagen and Mr. Moyes 'Merica himself would take to the sky afrer outfitting a few lucky pilors to demo their legendary wings. With efficicm assistance from locals Annie and Linda, Canadians Mike and Gino composed a crack crew of wire,. people. Fifry gliders would be safely set soaring that afternoon, and most would make many, many miles. When the smoke cleared, nearly a third had shot down the valley and smoked the sev.. era] miles straight upwind to goal. Another third had made it to or past Dunlap, and every single Hang !II had soared. Fifteen miles along the course,

the Sequatchie County High School field was twice raided. ·rhe band took a breather to wimess an early··afternoon beak-in, but tbe football team didn't even clear some room on the field as the Meet Director pur down with an all-too-· rare (for him) no·wind no-stepper. And most remarkably, a new LZ had been invented right below launch. A minisculc bald spot provided a brandnew bailout for an optimistic John Muldoon. Tc:am tallies were alt too close. rewcr than 50 points would separate the top four teams, and the Stragglers had strag· glee! into first place. lligher cloudbases and slightly stronger winds made T\.1esday even better. 'T'hc task committee, in a rare fiveminute speed-negotiation session, set the bar higher, or at least farther: 24 miles up the valley to the vocational training school, or more exactly, anywhere past the school. 'l<) satisfy the inevitable "Why can't we fly farther?" complain1 voiced by the best in the bunch, the stipulation was only that pilots cross this field. All points past rbe magic school buses would be deemed goal. Again, the wire crews were ready, and die launch window was a wcll--oiled machine. or not since the ECC's of many years ago, had so many gliders been tossed safely skyward from om south site in so little time. Hours later, foct would ground a r points as far as the end of the Sequatchie Valley, half the field would pass Dunlap, nearly 50% rnade goal, and a couple of' spectacular landings would cosr no more than a bit of bent metal. Okay, a lot of' bcnr metal. But not more than a scratch on anyone. Well, maybe three or four scratches on our wild wind dummy Curly Dunn. Rudy's R;iiders made a strong showing, taking the day and securing second place overall. 'Ii1csday night was an island treat from Ted. Mr. Gosling brought more than a gallon of his offshore distillery's finest fluids, Black Seal rum, and Goslin gs and Judyfood sponsored a wonderful evening. Bermuda's national beverage a rum and ginger beer concoction called the Dark and Stormy

HANC GLIDINC

flowed freely, and the beautifully--rcno vared 'Th:e 'foppcr clubhouse hosted an epic hang gliding party. ror the third day running, Wcdnescfoy continued rhe trend of stronger conditions, southerly winds and super flying. More rhan a little south made rhis a day where safety was atop ,,v,·,n,·nn«'c agenda. Gusts gave the wire crews a hand/id of work, but once again p:ltience prevailed and not one takeoff w;is blown. Cloudbase had improved yet again, and folks flew higher and farther even th;in forecast. Several blasted to the valley's end and Curt clirnbcd the Cumberlands, landing beyond rhc Sequatchie. for the next few days Hang [l's would work on their III's (Rachel even got rared) and a few experienced pilots would profit-rake and sneak out as the weather closed in. But thanks ro our gen·

MARCI 12002

erous sponsors the closing ceremonies were well worth the wait. Team Challenge 200 I saw so many personal bests, and an amazing number of miles flown. Hundreds of hours had been soared, and companies across the country and the Caribbean shelled out generously to congratulate the happy pilots. Quest Air and the Walbby Ranch were wonderfi.d. Their donations tallied more than a thousand dollars worrh of Hytec weather and wind instruments, tow packages, and great gliding gear. Wills Wing, Just Fly and US Acros, Kitty Hawk Kites, l lawk Airsports, Windsok, l fall Brothers, Cosling's Rum and the US! !CA were among the most generous sponsors who awarded big boxes of goodies. Local businesses also kicked in more than their share, with dozens of

meals and gifr certificates sweetening the pot. Special thanks must be extended to Moyes America for outfitting our flyers with a fleet of fast demo gliders iu a foll range of sizes. Dozens of great flights were logged on Litespecds throughout the week Just ask Curly! 'Thanks also to all the wonderful locals, Canadians and the Bermuda busi-ness, who each donated time and resources to make this meet the safe suc-cess it was another great meet that more than met even the 'l1·ee "foppers' tall expectations. As the Cratefril De;id said in T;m. nessee Jed, "Baby won't you carry me back to 'lcnnessee? Ain't no place I'd rather be." II

You are standing there, holding a glider in takeojfposition as you have many times bf:fare. But this is notfamiliar. The ground in front ofyou is flat, there is some aw!,wardfieling contraption in your mouth, and there is a large chainsaw idling very close behind you. You are at this moment trying very hard to recall why you thought this would be a good idea. You are about to try your.first taleeojf with a power harness. few lucky pilots have access to experienced power-harness pilots and instruction, but rnosl lf us do not. As one pilot said, too many launches arc simply "full throttle, run and hope." l am far from being an expert in ];rnnching or flying a powered harness. I took my first demo flight in the spring oflast year and got my own unit al the beginning of summer. But l have spent considerable time in discussion with more experienced pilots and tried out many of their ideas and approaches. There comes a point for any hang gliding student when they finally understand the clements of a good launch. 'fhey may not yet be able to do it repeatedly, but they can generally tell what they did wrong if it was not good and what they did right if il was. They are also able to observe and knowledgeably critique the launches of others. I feel f have reached this point with flying my powered harness. 1 was a hang gliding instructor for several years and later an Advanced Instructor. What l am going to present is how [ would go about teaching someone to fly a powered harness today, based on what I have learned up to now. Most of these ideas arc not original with me but came from more experienced pilots. I will talk about the ideas I have tried and found useful, and ] will try to put them into ;1 framework for an incremental approach to learning t:o fly a powered harness, one that will hopefully remove many of the pitfalls that a new convert may encounter.

ANGLE OF ATTACK TS KEY

THE IDEAL TAKEOFF

A successful takeoff with a power harness

We'll start by describing an ideal power harness takeoff. We will assume that the air is still, which is the most challenging situa tion. Wind would simply make things happen more quickly and be less demanding when it comes to technique. The pilot remains upright throughout the run, allowing forward acceleration to he provided by the push of the engine. The pilot does not use his legs to accelerate but only to carry the weight of himself and the glider. Acceleration is smooth wirh a light touch on the control bar, allowing the glider to fly itself at trim position. The pilot runs as long as necessary, taking strides of ever-increasing length ("moon walking") until flight is achieved. During the last steps, most of the pilot's weight will be carried by the glider. To an observer it wi11 be difficult to tell exactly when the transition to flight was achieved. There will be no noticeable change in pitch angle, and the pilot will have stopped running only after the lasr steps no longer touch the ground. In zero wind the entire launch may take from 15 t:o 25 steps (or more). Kevin Cosley of Washington state writes about his experiences using a station·ary winch for beginning hang gliding instruction. The technique he describes applies equally well to launching a powered harness: "I used a stationary winch to instruct students for a couple of years so they were getting their first-ever airtime launching this way. I would have them stand and hold the glider at an appropriate attitude while 1 brought np some line ten-

depends on precise control of the nose angle, especially in light winds or at alti·· tuclcs above sea level. Tc)() low and you will simply not fly no matter how far you run. If it is too high it will create excessive drag and you will never get the speed you need. Probably the worst situation is just slightly too high. While the wing is not yet loaded with your full weight, the induced drag will be low enough that flying speed can be achieved (especially if there is any wind). But as soon as you become airborne the additional weight increases the induced drag, which will tend to slow the glider. A reduction of speed effectively increases the angle of attack and further increases the drag, and alrnost immediately you will be a couple of feet off the ground, at full power and in a near stall. You can also get into this predicament hy trying to force rhe glider to fly before it is ready by pushing out during the run. Either way, you will be in "mush mode" with very poor control authority, which is likely to result in dropping a wing and doing a ground loop as you settle back to earth. 'This is where it can get expensive. The legs that keep the prop clear of" the earth are designed to be sturdy as long as the force on them is pushing down and dragging hack. But they are not strong in resisting a sideways force and will easily fold under when being dragged sideways during that ground loop. If the pilot is not quick enough to spit tbc throttle, the prop will not survive contacting the ground at full power.

1IANC GLIDINC

Richard Cobb flying the Mosquito NRG and Airborne Sting near Blacksburg, Virginia.

sion. They would stand and resist, and when they felt ready they would just start running. For the fuse flights I would not even bring up tension beyond what they were resisting (they would still barely climb), so these were typically longish runs with low power. "What I would tell them is that once the glider floated off their shoulders, just lee ic fly ac trim. We let the glider life us off the ground flying at trim speed but would pull in a little bit as we lifted off and climbed away from the ground. If the glider is trimmed right you can let it launch you without hardly couching the downcubes. If it's trimmed too slow, the nose pops up and yo u have a drag chute (and no control). "For the running part I had them relax their legs like their arms were relaxed. The legs were not co add power; they were just to keep the pilot under the glider. The key is to have a relaxed grip so you can feel the

MARCH 2002

glider. As soon as anyone resisted anything or tried co power the glider with their arms or legs, the whole thing usually went to pot." Kevin brought up two key points that bear further discussion: remaining upright during takeoff and having a properly trimmed glider. Failure co remain upright throughout the takeoff run is one of the main problems I am still working on. After 20 years of launching from a slope, my tendency is to move toward prone position as soon as I feel the glider lifting. With many launches, such as from a launch ramp, there is no reason co be upright past the end of the ramp, so I will progressively lean forward into the takeoff all the way through the run. But with a flat-ground takeoff you do not have the hill dropping away from you ro help achieve flying speed -you need to provide "running gear" up until the time you are firmly established in a climb. What

The author flying the Mosquito NRG and Airborne Sting near B'-acksburg, Virgi,nia. can often make the difference between a successful takeoff and settling back to earth is those last one or two "moon walking" steps. If you are not upright you cannot take tl1ose steps!

GLIDER TRIM POSITION A powered launch is easier to do well if yo u allow the glider to achieve flight from trim position, so you want to mal<e sure this trim speed is fast enough for safety. If yo u are trimmed right at min imum sink (very close to mush/stal l) it is advisable to move yo ur hang point forward to where you have good roll response and control authority (without pulling in) . Setting the trim speed higher will mean you have to run a rad faster, but when you do gee airborne it will be at a safer airspeed and there will be less drag for the motor to overcome. Some pilots say they just move their hang point forward an inch or so whenever they are using their power harness. My perso nal preference is to tind a single trim setting char works well for both free and powered flight.

A WAY TO APPROACH THAT FIRST TAKEOFF What follows is an outline of the steps I would use to introduce an experienced hang glider pilot to launching a power harness. This discussion will assume the worst case of no appreciable wind. The stages of the takeoff would be the same with wind,

but they would happen so much faster that it would be difficult to separate them. In practice I would recommend doing the pitch control practice in zero wind and then trying your first flat-ground tal<eoffs with a light and steady wind. If you can get someone to record your learning process with a camcorder it is very valuable. It will show you what you were actually doing versus what you thought you were doing. Pn cH CoNTJIOL PRA CTICE

For chis first step yo u do not need the power harness, only yo ur glider, a regular harness (I pulled my old knee-hanger out of moth balls for this part), and a flat tield. There should be little or no wind to get the most out of this part. You are going back to your first day on rhe training hill, learning to fly rhe glider on flat ground again . This was not as easy as I had expected it to be. In truly zero wind the control of the nose angle had to be very precise. Slightly low and the glider would not fly, just slightly high and there is signiticant drag from the glider chat holds you back. It also requires some readjustment because you will need to have the nose a little bit higher on the flats than you are used to for launching on a slope. You should work on this stage until you can repeatedly achieve hands-free flight efticiently and smoothly. By "hands-free" I do not mean not touching the control bar, but only that you are not introducing any signiticant control forces. Ic is important to

have a harness on so you can fly the glider against the tug of the hang strap. When the glider is flying smoothly at trim, spend some time imagining that you are in the power harness and able to advance the throttle to full power. Practice smoothly accelerating to as fast as you can run while the glider maintains its trim position. Visualize yourself running even faster than you are now (the harness is providing the power) and chat you are becoming lighter and lighter on your feet, until at some point they are no longer touching the ground. I still take at least one or two brief runs with just the glider before I actual ly do a flat-ground takeoff, although most of the time I don't use the knee-hanger any more. These runs are very useful in that they build confidence in having the nose angle set right, and also provide good information about the day's conditions. They help to tell me just how smooth the air flow is and how fast I will have to run on this particular day. If I'm feeling a little rusty I put the knee-hanger back on and do more extended practice. HAND POS!TJON

It really pains me to say this, so I'll get it over as fast as I can: I am finding that I prefer a "beer-can grip" of the control bar for light-wind powered harness takeoffs. For years I have been a vocal proponent of the ''grapevine grip," which I feel gives far better glider control in a wide range of conditions. It is still the only method I consider using on a mountain launch, especially in soaring conditions. But for the ligh t touch required during the potentially long runs of a no-wind powered takeoff, I am finding that the beer-can grip seems to work better. I am still limiting myself to smooth and/or light-wind takeoffs. When I feel contident enough to try more challenging tal<eoffs in stronger conditions I may find that I will prefer the grapevine grip, but I have not reached that point yet, so I do not have a firm opinion one way or another. ADDING POWEii

Once you feel like you have a good understanding and control of pitch throughout the run , it is time to move on to the power harness . You need nor progress directly to trying a takeoff, bur can try some partthrottle runs to get a feel for the harness push ing you. If you do not intend to fly at HANG GLIDING

first, the only caveal is ro not 11se roo much throttle; use just enough so that rhc harness is not dragging you, hur also not pushing very hard. Your goal is to get a feel for nm ning with the addition of power, comrolling the mourh throttle, and flying rhe glider with the s,1me light touch you were using earlier. On one of these runs, when everything is going smoothly (the glider is flying itself; the wings arc level and you arc ready), advance to foll thronle and keep on running! Concemratc on keeping your legs underneath you and letting the thrust ;icceleratc you. At some point you will find that your feet arc no longer contacting the ground and you will have made your first powered-harness takeoff! TWO STAGES OF A TAKEOFF ft may be apparent by now that there arc two st;1ges to a powered-harness takeoff The fost is to the glider stable and flysmoothly at trim position. Ytm should he applying very little control pressure if you have indeed achieved this stage. ff this is not happening (a wing is low or you arc fighting the glider), it is time to spit the throttle and figure Olll why bcfcm: you go any further. Stage two is simply maintaining the equilibrium you have achieved in stage one while you smoothly accelerate wich strides of increasing lrngth. Never try to begin stage two umil you arc sure you have been successf1 ii at stage one. It should be noted that d1cse two stages may be very close together, especially if' there is any wind. The cmirc t:1kcoff in that case rnight only be live OJ' IO steps, and it would be difficult frir an observer ro tell that it was nm all just one event. But in terms of your mental checklist it should still be two stages, even if they arc very dose together. CNTOTIJEAIR As soon as your legs have windmilled into the air and you arc flying, pull in the bar just a bit from trim to make sure you have adequate airspeed. Once you arc confident you arc safely clirnbing be sure to get into the normal prone flying position (or supronc position if you arc flying the Doodlelrng). lt is easy to fly a power harness when upright without power, as in landing. Bur at full power you will he pushed forward so that your hands on the downtubes will be at (or even slightly behind) your shoulders. This is not a good position for either pitch or roll control. Also, wirh any or the prone harnesses you will have much MARCI I 2002

better control of the thrust direction with your legs back in the harness. Once in the normal flying position you will most likely wam to pull in rhc bar even more. Your "best glide" position is defined by the maximum ratio of lifr to drag. In any steady flight regime (climbing, gliding, level) the lifr will always equal your total . 'J 'har means your minirnum total drag will occur at the best LID position. Whatever t:hrusr from the engine that is not !icing used ro overcome drag will be avail.iblc fcJJ' climbing, and the glider's best I.ID angle of attack will provide rhc best climb rate. ABORTING A Ti\ KEO FF It is very uscfrd to at least practice aborting a takeoff once or twice. This is to simply establish rhat it is an option for every takeoff Unlike a moumain launch, where your best ber is usually to continue once begun, significant sorrow and money c;1n be saved hy aborting a powered-harness takeoff if things arc nor going C5'1c:dy right. 'li-ying 10 continue a launch 011cc begun is a habit rhat can he hard to break. ·!'hat is why it is very useful to have the experience of doing it. If iris something you h;1vc done before it becomes more of an option when you need il. 'fo abon a r;1kcoff do not just srop nm-ning! Between yourself; the glider and the harness you will have a !or of momentum. let rhe rhronle return to idle while you cont inuc running, then the drag of the will help you to bleed off the momentum rhat horh you and the glider have achieved. Learning 10 let go of the d1rorclc cm he one of 1:hc hardest parts; when things start to go wrong the general tenis for everything to clench up, including our jaws! You might want to work up to th is in stages, first aborting a takeoff while running at low speed, then do several more at speeds. SOME FINAL NOTES I am not recommending that your first takco/lbc in still air on flat ground. If you have a nice hill or mountain launch available that would be a very good way to become familiar with flying under power. And if you have a smooth breeze for your fost flar-gronnd takeoffs they will be much less demanding. l would, however, strongly recommend doing the pitch comrol practice in very light winds. Ytrn will learn more that w;1y.

Throttle control: There arc two schools of thought on this. One is immediately going to foll thronlc as you begin your run; the other is lO match throttle to speed, that is, the faster you arc running the more thrordc you apply. Both seem to work pretty well, although right now my preference is frir the gradual approach because it seems to make the process flow more smooth] y. I'd like to update my own experiences since [ wrote the article that appeared in rhe October 2001 issue of Gliding. At that time I had been flying my Mosquito N RC with the Airwavc K4. l frrnnd roll control to be a rc;i] bear with the K4 under fu II power. If I to more than about a 30° bank under foll 1hro1rlc it was nearly impossible for me 10 roll out of it without reducing the throttle, regardless of how much I pulled in the control bar. Thar glider is stiff in roll and a bit spirally unstable. 'I 'he additional roll instability of powered climbing flight really made it a ha11dfr1l. Since then I bought an Airborne Sting XC2 175 which has proved much more suitable. With the Mosquito I am right in the mid die of the glider's weight range (I was over the upper limit with the K4). As wirh any glider, the Sting is harder to roll out 0L1 turn with full power than with power off; but it is entirely manageable. I can confi-dcnrly roll out ofa 4rj hank al full power. As ;Ill cxrra bonus th is glider comes with a detachable so no modi/karions were required to add rhc power harness. In rhc previous article I wrote about the Wisconsin pilot who said that he "learned with his wallet," breaking a number of props while teaching himscH: Since that article came out he had this to say: "] still love my Mosquito over l 00 flights so far and l'm looking forward to years oHun ahead." So, even if' you have problems at first don't give up too quickly! [ have flown the Sting/NRG combina· tion from my favorite mountain site several times. These days I rake both harnesses to the mmmrnin. ff it is obviously soarable l use my standard h;irncss. If it looks light and marginal f use the NRC to be sure I get ;1ll the airtime I want. I have soared for over an hour with the power off and did not find it to be very difforcnt from my reg· ular harness. On one marginal day I did abour half a dozen restarts to keep me up between cycles. I watched almost everyone else that day rake off, fly for a while, and go 0

pagf 2l

Long-Range Soarcasting by Davis Straub

In my last article I showed you how to answer the question, "Will it be soarable?" Now, we'll look at the question, "Will it be soarable enough to fly for a long distance?" Thus the reference to "long-range, "in the title.

he Internet provides hang glider pilots with immense power when it comes to forecasting the weather. Rank amateurs can now abuse weather prediction models that were once available only to professional forecasters. No need for you to forbear. Big distances require big weather features. You can't go far if things change halfway through the flight. Hang gliders are pretty darn slow, relative to the normal winds. Therefore, a good wind can be a major component in a hang glider's average speed over the ground. So, the first things you want to look for are the major weather features. There are plenty of places to find large-scale weather maps which show the fronts, the highs and the lows. You'll find forecasts at: http:/ /www. in tellicast.com/LocalWea ther/World/UnitedStates/ForecastTomorrow/, http:/ !weather. unisys.com/index.html, or http://www.hpc.ncep. noaa. gov /basicwx/94f.gif At the 2001 Flytec World Record Encampment we were looking for a high pressure to dominate the Gulf of Mexico and provide south-southeast winds in southeast Texas. We also wanted to check to see if there was an east-west front that would affect the flight later in the day in the panhandle.

Figure 1 shows a high on the eastern side of the Gulf of Mexico, which indicates that there will be clockwise winds and therefore southeast winds in southeast Texas. There is an occluded front in the panhandle that will turn the winds. Also , the low on the northern border indicates a counterclockwise flow that would stop a long flight. The next step is to look at the prediction for surface winds and winds aloft. We're looking for winds in a consistent direction. We'd also like to have the surface winds and the winds aloft going in the same direction - stacked. This promotes our chances of getting cloud streets. The windcast is our first choice for surface-wind forecasts. For example, http:/ /www. in tellicasr. com/Local/USLocalS td. asp? loc= ksat&se g=LocalWeather&prodgrp= Forecasts&product=WINDcast&prodnav=d0 _ 12. Next, we look at the 850 mb (5, 000') winds. Go to http:/ /weather.unisys.com/index.html, Unisys Weather, click the "Eta Model" under Forecasts on the left, click "850 mb plots" on the right, and then click "24 hour forecast" or any one of the forecasts. You'll go to something like this address: http://weather.unisys.com/ eta/60h/ eta_850_60h.html. You need to read the top of the graphic in Figure 3 to figure our what time the forecast is for. In Texas, in the summer, you subtract five hours from Zulu time to get the local time.

Figure 2: Windcast. Back up and go to another region using the menu at the top ofthe screen (not shown here).

H ANG GLIDING

Fortunately, the Unisys site gives you a navigation bar right on top of the Eta model's output graphic, and you can switch to ocher times, other models, ocher elevations, etc. It's really a very convenient site, and no ads. The MAP forecast also gives you the winds from the surface up and you can compare chem with the forecasts you get the Eta model and windcast from. You'll want to check the winds given in the MAPs model along your proposed course, predicted for the time you expect ro be at a given location. Look in the previous article for the

If you want to fly far, you've got to start early. You'll want to know how early you can get going and still have lift to a certain minimum altitude, say, 1,500' or 2,000' AGL. You'll want to know if the lift is going to be organized in cloud streets so that you'll increase your chance of staying in lift, and increase your speed over the ground by allowing you to fly straight while staying in lift or at least sinking slowly. Here again, the MAPs predictions are your best bet. You'll want an early-morning forecast like the one shown in Figure 5. CAPE 977 Cln -161 h"===l~==+=-=~ =t===~ P\11 40 TT 44 Kl 25 LI -1 SI 2 14.9 (59 Fl 160 L 131°112 ' LFC 644 EL 428

iCAPE 71 iCln°-24 iLCL 947

Figure 3: Winds at 5,000'. Notice that the little white arrows are showing good winds straight out ofthe south right up the center ofthe state of Texas.

MAPS

sounding for - 99.10, 12 UTC, 30- un-2001

26.96)

Figure 4: The winds are given in the right-hand column. MARCH 2002

Figure 6: 700 mb chart. The red area indicated high vertical air velocities. 25

Notice that the dew point temperarure in Egure 5 (the dark blue line) is very close to the air temperature (dark red line) near the ground. This means that the air near the ground is almost saturated with moisture and with any heating, clouds will form. Notice also that the two lines diverge at higher altitudes. This means that rhc air is drier aloft. If the dew-point line tracked the air-temperature lines, it would indicate that there was a lot of mid-levc:l moisturc all the way up and we could expect the clouds to stay all day. The air is moist near the ground in this forecast for Zapata, Texas because it is coming up from the Gulf of Mexico overnight and that very morning. This chart is for 7:00 AM. The air higher up has been over the desert for a while and bas dried out. In most cases, that much rnoisture near the ground would foretell ovcrdevelopment or fog, but not in a desert area like Zapata. lr indicates that there is a possibility of early morning cu's and cloud streets soon after dawn. Notice the pink Ii ne on the right, which is rhe dry adiabatic, and the black horizomal line. This black line indicates cloudbase (ar about 2,000') when the ground temperature is abour 80 degrees. This chart states that clouds will forrn when the ground gets to 80 degrees. Now, if the air is very moist, the parcc:ls of air rising fron1 the ground will be moist and will rise not at the rate indicated by the dry adiabatic but by the wet adiabatic. One way to approximate this is to add two to five degrees to tbc predicted air temperature at ground level. For example, assuming 77 degrees air temperature, use 80 degrees. Click on the FSL interactive plot at 80 degrees and 400' elevation (the elevation at Zapata) to determine cloudbase when the air temperature at ground level is 77 degrees, but the air is moist. Now, if the air is not moist enough to create cu's early in the morning, the black horizontal line would be to the left of the air-temperature line. This would indicate that while the air packets arc rising up to the height indicated by rhc air-te·mr,crature line, they won't climb any higher and won't get high enough to form clouds. This exercise has told us whether we will get cu's early in the morning. I have an idea of the early-morning temperatures so I can just use what I know ro approximate the 7:00, 8:00, or 9:00 AM ground temperature. If l want to use a predicted ground temperature, J can use the three hourly predictions. For example, for Laredo, at: http://wcarhcr.uwyo.edu/cgibi n/ mos?type~ngmmos&ou tputco tcxt&msg l =, J,arcdo<Y<J2C+TX&msg2,,Laredo%2C+TX&stid ,] ,

The MA PS model is 1101 accnrate enough to be completely reliable in determining whe1her there will he low-lcvc:I, earlymorning cu's. 1t is a large-scale model, and using it to target the air mass right over Zapata, for example, will miss any local terrain effects. Still, iris a good indicator the night before about whether there is a reasonable chance oF cu's early in the morning. Now that you have your early-morning conditions forccasr you've got to check to sec how conditions will look later in the day our on your course. You'll want to check MAPS forecasts for sites farther along the course, and you'll want to look at other large-scale fore-· casts. On June 30, 200 I 1 flew 289 miles from Zapata and was stopped by a cu-nimb 260 miles out. I had to make a left turn and fly 49 miles to the west to try to get around the cu-nimb. No luck. We actually had a good idea that this might happen, bur we ignored the warning. That morning we looked ar the 700 mb chart (l0,000') at hrrp:/ /weathcr.unisys.com /eta/18h/eta_700 __ 18h.htrn1. This gave us the forecast: for l :00 PM. The 700 mb cbart shows the forecastcd vertical velocities (colors), heights (bold white lines), temperature in Celsius (thin red lines) and wind vectors. The chart indicated that there would be a cu-nimb northeast of Sonora. The cu-nimh is indicated hy the high vertical air velocities that are predicted for that area in the afternoon. T'hesc air vertical speeds arc associated wirh updrafrs inside cunimbs. You'd like to know if you have a good chance of having clouds along your course. You can check on the predicrcd rela-tivc humidity to give you an overall look at lmp://wcathcr. unisys.com/ern/ 18h/eta.Jk_ l 8h.html. IF you sec a pattern of, say, a tongue of similar humidity going along your course line, this would tc:11 yon if the earlier winds brought in moist air overnight that will nun to clouds during the day. You can also use the MAPs models to sec if winds from the night before carried moist air along your route. You can look at the dew point temperature curves predicted for the early morning and sec if they arc close to the predicted air-temperature curves at airports along your proposed route. [f you see a pattern of moist air near the surface along your route, you can be assured that the winds have indeed put the rnoist air in place. ff you just practice using these models you will quickly get the hang of things. 'They are very graphical and easy to use. Compare their prediction with what actually happens during the day to ger an idea of how to understand what they arc saying. Soon you'll have greatly improved your understanding of how to predict soaring conditions. 11111

RD 26

HANG GLIDINC

Continued frorn page 23. out to land. Sometimes it would start with just a pull or two, other rimes fr took more effort, but it starred eventually. One of my most memorable flights was on a day when the ceiling was low. It was stable with lin:lc wind and my main goal was to get some light-wind takeoff prnctice. On my final flight of the day I decided to go exploring ancl it was great! l was in a little valley so it was like being in an aerial playpen, surrounded hy ridges with a cloud ceiling. Staying under the cloud hyer, I flew all over the valley. There were plenty of Gelds available, so losing power was nol a worry. It was great robe able to enjoy the view from only 400 foet up. At that altitude J have always been roo busy sethng np a landing approach to have much time to look around. lt was a real treat to he able to relax and sec the world from that close (and 011 a day that no other hang glider pilot was flying)!

SAFETY ADVISORY There have been several rcpons of pilots their harnesses 011 glider cables. A power harness contains a frame witl1 bars that nm llp both sides of rhc harness to the vicinity of rhc pilot's waist. On some harnesses these bars extend an inch or two past the lasr poim of conncc tion, or have throttles, ere., on the end of them. Under rare, but possible, circumstances a rear flying wire or downtube can bcconic caught between the frame and harness, preventing roll control. Normal emergency procedures dictate pulling in whenever there is difficulty in trying to roll out of a rnrn, which only 1mimains the om on the snag. 'fo overcome this situation simply control bar and you will be free again. I most newer harnesses arc designed to reduce or eliminate this bility. Check your harness and glider combinmion circfolly to sec if it is a potential problem. If it is you can either find a way to prevent~ cable from t1ocot11u1i! trapped, or just fly with an awareness that this situation could develop. It docs not normally occur during typical control motions.

Richrird Cobb has tmd was a infimnation .fr1und on his web page: httJJ:!,rwznd dr·l/t1'r:c,om.

I by Daniel L. Johnson

Soaringpilots and instructors know that dehydration malees good pilots into thirst

ones, and causes hydration, and I

hearing pilots talk misunderstanding.

pilots who know and unaei-"stuma will make wise aet:·zsums.

HANC GLIDINC

long with good ideas, misconcep-· tions about thirst and hydration <eep getting spread around, like bad jelly on good toast. "'Thirst can't be trusted," tops the list. Like many miscon .. ceptions, ir's partly true: thirst isn't a "fuel gauge." 'J'his is an oversimplification; well intended, bur like all oversimplifica· tions it fails to educate, and sometimes misleads, causing bad decisions. This common advice, given to pilots and ath .. lctes, assumes that people arc dumb ani·rnals who need to be fooled into doing what's best. Such people exist. We've all met a bm they're not the type who would read this article.

THIRST CAN BE TRUSTED The truth is that thirst can be trusted but you must know bow it works. If you're happy with the idea rhat thirst can't be trusted, that the only way to avoid dchydr;nion is ro keep the pec--botde foll or the nappic wet, simply stop reading here and do somcrliing rnore inrercsting, like reviewing consumer ratings of adult diaper capacity or skin adhesives ftH con-dom catheters. But if you do believe this, please don't nm around teaching it. Ir's like teaching that rhe hcst way ro ;woid stall-spin accidents is not 10 teach spins. lt might "work," hut ir doesn't make a more proficient pilot. 0 K, now that I have you upset, let's talk. ln truth, thirst will not keep you ideally hydrated. Thirst is not a fuel gauge; it's a warning light. Thirst begins after we're already mildly dehydrated, it doesn't increase in intensity proportionately with our degree of dchydr;ition, and it's relieved before we've folly rehydrated. But thirst can be trusted because it's con-· sistcnt and reliable; if you understand how it works (read on) and pay attemion to your own thirst, it can teach you how and when to hydrate.

MARCH 2002

WHEN DOES THIRST BEGlN? This v,uics from person to person. Stud-ics of dehydration variously estimate that we arc 2% to Y!li> dehydrated before tbirsl hcgi ns. But it's not correct to make the obvious connection and assume that the average J '7() .. pound pilot must lose 3.4 pounds of water before feeling thirsty. [ ,ast summer, when some of us weighed in and out at the glidcrport, it was pretty clear that pilots can learn 10 detect thirst at 1%. Why is this? Are the researchers wrong? Have they picked poor subjects? Herc's the If you read scores of scientific articles carcfrdly, you will dis .. cover that there's a lot of talk about per .. ccm dehydration, hut a !or of silence abom just what zero dehydration might he. You might think that your normal, comfortable starns is :1 non-dehydrated situation. Wrnng. ln fact, it's not all that easy to define what is a "fully hydrated" human. Herc's the deal: Our bodies arc Fancy soup, with a specific gravity o( 1.010 to l .O 12 (somewhat more dense than If the specific of our urine is less than 1.010, l rying to get rid of extra water, thar is, we're ovcr·-hydrat-· ed. Ir it's more than 1,0 I 0, we're conserving w:Her, and arc becoming dehydrated. People operate most of rhc time in warerconscrvation mode because it's i nconvcnicnt to urinate often. On the average, we run happily around, abom 1Of<> shore of optimal hydration. The worst that happens in this state is a hare! stool, not usually something to wrirc to the editor of the local newspaper abom. This means that we can normally tank up with water equal to about I <Yo of our body weight, before undergoing hear stress, without causing excessive, inconvc-nicnt urination. Since a pint is a pound, one or two pims of water early in the day

can give us a head start on avoiding thirst (and dehydration remember, thirst means we're already dehydrated). This also means that when the research says that thirst begins at 2% dehydration, that thirst begins after a loss of I% of our usual body weight. We're not conscious of tbe flrst 1% that we're always short o( and once we're thirsty we can get back to our mildly parched normal state by drinking water equal to 1%> of our body weight. (A liter of water is a kilogram of body weight.)

I'l1irst is a reliable thm we need to drinle a pint to a quart (depending on our right now and to increase our rctte offluid intalee. Tl1c fow studies on dehydration and mental performance show that mental acuity and coordi11ation arc already decreasing at I %1 dehydration, and arc consisrcntly and significantly decreased at 2%. You can probably keep walking at 5<)11 to 8<X>, but you'll have trouble figuring out whar direction you're going, and you surely won'r be able to thread a ncc-dlc or calculate a hending. lkc;rnse thirst begins arc mildly dehydrated, we want to stay ahead of ir for peak pcrforma11ce. This means that we shouldn't wait until we're thirsty to begin hydraring.

WE CAN LEARN FROM TllIRST We will somcrimcs accidentally get thirsty, or we can deliberately lcr oursPlvcs get thirsty, in various conditions of weather and activity at times when ir's safe t:o be dehydrated, and take note of our symptoms, weigh ourselves, and rehydrate. By intelligent observation we can teach ourselves how ro recognize our thirst, how rapidly it develops, and there·· fore how to avoid it. The delayed onset of rhirst is pragmatically usefol, for ifwe became thirsty

your present hydration strategy isn't working and needs ro be revised. Let yourself get dehydrated in safe conditions, such as during ground operations, and note the conditions under which your thirst appears: how hard you were working; how appropriate to the temperature your clothing was; what the air temperature was, the wind, the relative humidity; to what extent you were out in the sun. When you become conscious of thirst, ask yourself whether you might have been suppressing this appetite, whether there might have been some earlier inklings of thirst you migh t have picked up if you'd been paying better arrenuon.

When his sunglasses no longer had a place to rest,Chuck tried to remember what he had read about dehydration. as soon as we needed an ounce of water, we would be continually looking for water, a waste of rime. And if thirst were exactly proportional to the need, we'd be in agonies of thirst, a distraction, when we don't need to be. (Thirst can be suppressed, as well.) Thirst is analogous to shivering: Shivering is a sign that we are already hypothermic. To repeat: Thirst is a sign that we are already dehydrated. You can trust it. Thirst reliably tells you that you have become dehydrated, that you've missed your goal of staying hydrated. As we noted, thirst appears at about 2% dehydration. The actual level varies from person to person, and sensitivity to thirst decreases substantially in old age. We can train ourselves to suppress this and other body appetites, or to be more sensitive to them. We can discipline ourselves to respond to thirst. We can also learn from urine color. Dilute urine made by the well-hydrated pilot is pale, white. Concentrated urine made by the pilot flirting with dehydration is golden and sinks to the bottom of the toilet. As you empty your bladder before takeoff, think of this. If your urine is dark, drink now, a pint or two. LOST ABILITY Dehydration is a problem because physical work capacity and mental sharpness are both measurably decreased by dehy-

drarion. At 2%, athletes have lost about 5% of their aerobic capacity - nor an issue if your only activity is to gently roll someone else's glider up to the flight line - and coordination and thinking ability are then substandard. Interestingly, there are many studies of dehydration's effects on athletic performance, bur few on mental performance. But enough have been done to know that our ability to do arithmetic, to recall words we hear, to trace a line quickly and accurately on a piece of paper, all are decreased at just 1% dehydration and steadily worsen as the water deficit grows. THIRST IS AN ALARM Is this clear? You lose your edge before you get thirsty. You can trust this. Thirst is a reliable sign that you are actually impaired, nor a casual him to rake a slurp of water to wet your whistle. Ir's a sign that you should not get into an aircraft right now. It's a message, in the air, that large quantities of water should be drunk immediately, and if no water is available, it's rime to land and solve the problem. This is especially true if you're airsick; water is not absorbed when we're nauseated. THIRST IS A MENTOR You can use thirst as a guide to learning how to hydrate. Thirst is a clear sign that

HOW MUCH TO DRINK? Thirst should guide your rehydration strategy. If you weigh a hundred pounds, and you sense thirst at 2% dehydration, when you notice you're thirsty you're down a quart already. T his should lead you to immediately begin rehydrating. Simple mental arithmetic should tell you how much you need to drink to be fully rehydrated, and how much you need to drink each hour to maintain hydration. (For runners, this is usually about fo ur ounces every 20 minutes.) For example, if it took two hours assembling gliders in the sun to get thirsty, and you plan to continue working as ground crew, you need to drink a cup of water every 30 minutes to stay hydrated in these conditions in addition to the quart you need to restore yourself, to change yourself from a raisin to a grape. Double these numbers if you weigh 200 pounds, as I do. Yes! A pint every 30 minutes! Or, more importantly, if you are about to fly, you should take an additional step. You are about to launch your glider in a dehydrated state. Instead of hooking in, delay your launch and rehydrate. ESTIMATE WAT ER N EEDS Does this give you some clue as to the water you should be carrying? O n a hot day (or with vigorous activity even on a cool one) you will lose 300 co 600 ml of water (a cup to a quart) every hour. You might lose up to twice this much if you've don ned heavy clothing for highaltitude flight. You may need to allocate H ANG G LI DING

one or two quarts of water just for the ground-operations phase in order to ensure chat you don't scare the spectators with an interesting takeoff. While we're aloft, we usually go up where it's cool or even cold, and the rate of sweating abates considerably, perhaps down to the minimum of about 30 to 50 ml per hour (one or two ounces per hour) . You can use chis as an indication of the minimum amount of fluid you should consume during flight, about an ounce every halfhour, with no thermal stress and no sensation of thirst.

12.0

INTENSE 10.0

8.0

Thirst ymptoms

6.0

chapped lips 4.0

2.0

WE CAN BE FOOLED We need to be disciplined about rehydration, as thirst may be, under some circumstances, quickly slaked by small amounts of water. For example, when bicyclists were given water during a race (and their water consumption actually measured), and asked to estimate rhe actual volume of water consumed, they overestimated their water intake tenfold. This essentially means that when they drank a scant ounce, they said they had drunk more than a pint. Amazing. Bur in few studies have people been so dramatically wrong - chis is unusual. The lesson for us is probably that when we're busy, distraction hinders accuracy. In another study, people were dehydrated by depriving chem of water for 24 hours. Everyone rehydrated fully within 20 minutes after they were given access to water. And in other studies of athletes,

norm;.;.a::1:..-----.. weakness

MILD 0

Percent of Dehydration

Figure 1: As dehydration increases, symptoms ofthirst worsen. Attention is offpeak at 1%, aerobic capacity decreased by 5% at 2% dehydration. rypically about two-thirds of rhe water deficit was taken promptly after stopping, and the rest with the next meal. WE DELUDE OURSELVES ABOUT THIRST Packing a lot of water is annoying. Urinating aloft can be messy; condom catheters fall off, cubes kink, diapers leak, baggies spill, and our bladders can burst. We can suppress thirst consciously, and the symptoms of dehydration don't point to water. A friend of mine said after a

weeklong bike tour, "I get a little weak after a couple of hours. I don't know why. " His wife interjected briskly, "Ir's because he doesn't drink!" She was right. Physical weakness is a sign of dehydration. Unfortunately, a late sign of dehydration is impaired judgment, including the idea chat it's nor necessary to drink

yet. When our body is working hard to conserve water, urine flow is scant. This may eliminate the need to collect urine during flight. But chis is bad judgment.

600 foot/min~ 100 foot take off and landlng 22 HP engine Attaches to most hang gllders Easy to set up, break down and trarisport Ready to Fly, Not a Kit

SkyCyc:le Video Available

MARCH 2002

Looko1tt Mo1tntain Han9 Glidin9 800. 688. 5637 - www. ltan9lidfZ. com

Your brain needs the warer, and it is nor hard to plan for urine collection.

THIRST SENSATIONS INTENSIFY Thirst symptoms increase as we get more dehydrated, as illustrated in Figure l. This means, basically, that if you've been focusing on your tasks and have suppressed thirst until it can't be ignored, you can use the intensity of your thirst as a reliable guide to just how important it is to not !au nch, to devote earnest and foll rime attention t:o sitting in the shade and rehydrating, or to consuming ,l large pt:oportion of the wmcr you brought with you on the flight. You did bring water, didn't you? Let me suggest that if you are definitely thirsty during flight, and have less than a pint of water on board, you should seriously consider terminming the flighr at the nearest safe:: LZ that- has water. 'T'hirst is a danger signal, an alarm, not a hint. WEIGHT REVEALS DEHYDRANOT MORAL CHARACTER An excellent: way t:o accurately estimate water loss is to weigb yourself. For about 25 bucks you can pick up a simple tal electronic scale. (Don't get an analog scale; they're too hard to read precisely. Spend the money on a battery-opcrarcd one.) Keep the scale on a hard, level surface in the shade (you'll nor be able to read the display in the sun), near launch (so pilots will actually take a moment to weigh), and weigh yourself before you start the day's activities. Weigh you rscl f before yon launch to see if you're already dehydrated. Weigh when you begin to feel thirsty, so you know where your own

thirst rhresl10ld is. And weigh at rbe end of the day, to gauge your success at keeping hydrated. Always weigh with the same gear, of course: holding that barngraph in your h;ind only afrcr a flight, and not befrire, will cause a delusion. a log a pen next to the scale, because we more or less forget what that n was. If your weight embarrasses you, lie consistently.

WHERE DEHYDRATION OCCURS Most of our water losses happen on the ground, before we fly. The main reason pilots get in trouble with dehydration, f believe, is that we take off dehydrated, and then we don't correct the prnblern well enough. DEHYDRATION IN lTIE COLD Once we get up in that cool air aloft, sweat losses to a minimum, and we may lose as much moisture in our breath as from sweat. It's important for pilots to know that in the cold, we will get dehydrated for another reason. When we get cold, the blood vessels in our hands and arms consrrict to conserve heat. 'fhis and makes the blood vessels over-full, and our kidneys, just their job, rid of the extra. So when you get cold, even if you're already dehydrnted, you'll lose water and some Perhaps you've noticed that when you cold, you soon have to pee. 'fhis is why. ·!'hen: is no way, my friends, to avoid this

cold-induced dehydration except by staying warm. And if it's really, really cold up there, you're not going to be able rn wear enough to stay toasty warm. This dehydration is not a risk while high alofr. In it tends to compensate for the dehydration that you developed befcire you launched. If you hydrated aggressively on the ground and early in the flight, you lose much of it when you get cold. Nothing you can do about it. This is how your body works. Set up the pee-collection device and use it. The risk to you is what happens when you come back down. You warm up. Yom blood vessels dilate again. They dilate tremendously if you come back especially if it's down to a hot humid. But if you've been cold, the water you need to fill these blood vessels is in yonr nappie, in your bladder, or vented out the tube. It's gone, my friend, and the warmer you get, the worse off you arc. The consequence is low blood pressure, low G tolerance, and fuzzy thinking or uncoordinated flying, and excitement fcir the spectators. 'The solurion to this is to rehydrate vigorously as you warm up, a cup ma time, not a sip at a with the goal of drinking at least a quart and possibly two during the descent. ff you ride the escalator up and down, cold, then warm, then cold again, and again warm, it's importallt to realize that the body's fluid volume contracts anew each time you go up, and you need to rehydrate each time you descend.

WHEN TO STOP REHYDRATING Last, you can trust thirst to vanish before you're fully hydrated. When people are · free access to water afrer dehydrating though physical activity, they reliably drink about two-thirds of what they need, and finish making up the deficit at their next meal. So to rehydrate well, drink until you're satisfied, and then, when your stomach feels cornfortable again, drink half again that much. Enjoy your winter and summer flying, ,md remember that thirst is a reliable idiot light. Use it wisely. II

HANC CUDINC

by Dennis Pctgen

this third installment oftuning

the real nitty-gritty (f tuningftJr turns. The subject ofturns

includes undesirable turns as well as tuning in desirable turn chriracteristicsfvr sr.zfety andpe~fr1rmance. We'll investigate the.first matter this month and next, then fool: at the latter in Part V. urns you don't wam arc aggra-· vating, performance robbing and sometimes dangerous. '1'!1i11k of driving a car tha1 con· standy pulls to one side. Do you enjoy the scenery when you arc constantly occupied with keeping your SUV between tbc lines? Can you enjoy flying to the max if your glider bas a will of irs own? We think not. So lcr's find our how 10 make a glider fly straight and true in all or flight.

THE SETUP We begin with a link preparation. First note that we arc still focusing on the topless, flex-wing gliders. I lowcvcr, throughout this discussion everything applies to kingpostcd gliders (including inrcrmcdiate gliders), except where we mention sprogs you can insert the terms wrishout struts or dive stick, for the older gliders. The next point is LO repeat the advice: When you go about making tuning ch,mgcs, write everything you do down in a notebook There may only be a few minor adjustmcnrs that arc easy to remember, but you will he able to them in the fi.1ture and will also learn more about tuning gliders if you make a written record of cause and dfocr. It also bears repeating that when you first anempt to tune gliders you should rnrthe all changes in small increments. Once you gain a hir of experience you should be able to fly a glider and Hx a problem with one or two adjustments based on how strong the t:urn tendency is. let's develop a way to think about mming problems that readily leads to the MARCI I 2002

correct solutions. l have read a number of hang glider owner's manuals that talk about undesirable turns in a glider hy reforring to one wing moving fr)Jward or flying faster while rhc other retards or moves back. ·1ci me rhis is confusing and not illuminating. The reason being, roll, not yaw, is the dominant action in a turn and is rhc way we generally depict rums when gestures or illustrations. J,ur. thermorc, it is possible to make a tuning change by adding camber to the tip battens, for example and end up rerarding that (due to more drag) while at the same time making it lift more (due to the increased lift). In rhis case, speaking of a wing retarding gives an opposite sense of the effects of ,1 change. It should he noted that 1he main thing you feel when there is a rnrn problem in a glider is a roll tcndcn-· cy. For the above reasons, we recommend thinking of turn problems in terms ofroll and lift. If a glider tends LO turn lcfr, you need to do something to increase the lifr on the left or reduce it on the right The tuning we do tend to have more effect on the lift distribution than the dr:1g distribution on a wing anyway. Think of your as a narrow canoe with two outriggers, afloat on the ocean of air. };or it 10 trnck true it mnsr be perfectly balanced with each outrigger providing the exact same buoyancy. The main way we tune om all turns is altering the lift distribution along the (from tip rn tip). The way we do that is the twist either by changing sail tension, batten camber, batten tension,

sprog setting or tip setting. We'll get into the specifics of these matters below. Herc we present a list of the types of turns for which we will be resting and cor-· rccting. They arc listed in the order of casi-cst to dcrccr to the most diflicult. Th is is also essentially rhe order of their case of correction. TU!IN /J,NnhNC!l:S

I) A rnrning to one side at high speeds. 2) A consistent turn to one side at lower

speeds. 3) Dropping of a during landing flare. 4) A winding in or winding out to one side or the other during thcrmaling turns. Witl1om furrhcr ado or delay, let's solve these problems.

HIGH-SPEED TURN PROBLEMS You should be motivated to remove high·· speed rurn tendencies for safety and pcrfrmnancc reasons. lf a glider turns with it:s own will when you arc diving to escape a rhundcrstorm or a venturi, safoty is compromised. Likewise, if you arc diving ro get out of sink or to cross goal in cornpcti·· tion, performance will suffer. I Iigh--spccd turn tcndc11cics arc usually an independent case while the last tlircc turn tendencies in our lisr arc usually rclat·· cd to one another. In focr, once you gain experience you can check out both highspeed and low-speed halancc in the same flight and make the corrections simultanc-· ously. By high speed we mean anything

foster than with the base bar at your navel. Really, we arc relating to the speeds where your outboard sail area comes down 10 lie on the sprogs (or reflex bridles and dive sticks in kingpostcd gliders). High-speed nirns ,ire the result of rhc lefr and right wings not being shaped the same. The cause of this dissimilar shape is sprogs in different positions. 'fhey may appear to be ser the same by looking ar the number of threads on the fittings, but the only thing that maners is how they arc positioned in relation to the rest of the airframe. Thus, the flrst rliing you should do when you detect a turn at high speeds is w sight the relative twist of the outboard wing areas (comparing lefr ro right). urc l shows how ro do this. Have an assistant lifr the keel of the glider while you locate yourself six to I 0 feet in from of the nose and centered exactly on the wing. Tell the assistam ro raise or lower the keel so that one of the wing tips (rhc lower one) lines up with the Lop of the sail (see the figure). If rhc other one is sticking up above the top of the sail line, the sprog(s) on that side arc too high. Nore that all current topless gliders have two sprogs per side, so have the assistant move the keel a small amount so you can look at both sprog positions 10 sec if one or borh sprogs need adjusting. lf you don't have an assistant, you can prop the keel up with a ladder and move your head up and down to make rhe necessary sighting changes. Your adjustmcllts process should be to make a small change, re-sight, fine···tunc and repeat as necessary. You should strive to get rhe sail shaped exactly die same on both sides all along the trailing Use the batten ends to identify your sighting positions. Once you get the trailing to match you should have a glider flying perfectly straight at high speeds. I have

never known this however, it's possible for ro he some anomaly in the airframe rhar results in a high-speed turn even wirh rhc nailing In this c:isc perfectly always), the and flnal comes from flying tests. There arc a couple here to polish your tuning first is to note that i-o babncc the you can either lower one side or raise will reduce your die other. I will increase it. We assume that you have read about rl1csc two installments

ments for pitch case, the hest both sides of 1he

potential of the air. Another thing to he aware of is that the newer gliders with stiffer leading edges and tight sails have very critical tolerances. 'That means that as little as one-eighth of an inch alteration of a scam position can induce a turn in a glider. A slight difference in tubing wall thickness on either side can do the same (thankfully, 7075 tubing seems to have better conforrnity to the nominal wall thickness than 6061). The first things to do when tuning a glider for low-speed turns is to make sure the leading edges arc not bent and to check the battens. If the glider is brand new, chances arc the leading edges arc straight, but it's still worth sighting along them as best you can. I like w do rhis sighting with the crossbar spread, no battens installed, the keel held up and my head inside the double surface. I try to look for a similar bowing on each side. Tf the glider is not new and a turn suddenly shows up, suspect a bent leading edge, especially if you've recently had a bad landing more details about sudden turns next month). In general, such bends arc too small to detect by the sighting method just mcmioncd. You really have to pull out the leading edge, which you must do anyway to replace or straighten it. With reasonable assurance that your leading edges arc straight, next attend ro the battens. Tf your glider is new, true bat-rens up to the patt:crn and check all batten tics for identical tension at the same station on both sides. The reason we did not say true the battens on every glider is we rccogni,.c the possibility that you may have a glider that has already had some camber altered to make it Ay straight, at least partially. If the lefts and rights are different in a consistent manner (only the outboard three or four -- all other battens should be the same shape), leave them that way, make a note of it, then proceed. If they are randomly out of uniformity put them back to the pattern shape. I would discourage anyone from trying to tune out a turn by using dissimilar batten tensions. Batten tension can affr:ct roll initiation, but they should be rhe same from side to side. In general, the accepted batten tensions should be tight in the center (the root), gradually getting less rcnsion at mid-span, then gradually tighter up to the tip batten, which should be the tightest. This setup provides the best overall handling and performance package. MARCI-I 2002

Once this preliminary check is com-pletc, the procedure for removing unwanted low-speed turns is in a manner similar to that with high-speed turns. We test-fly, uotc the direction and severity of the turn, sight the sail, adjust, then repeat the process until satisfied. 'fhc way you should detccr such a turn, especially if it's very slight, is to fly in smooth air at trim speed wirh your bands off the bar (you see one reason why we prefer to correct the trim speed of a glider before correcting rums). To make the matter clear, let's imagine that your glider has a noticeable left turn when you :ire trying to fly straight and level. That means the right side is developing more lift. It's as if the right side had a down aileron applied, and that's a good way to look at it because the right side is not twisted as much, so it- bas a higher angle of arrack. Tei fix the turn we have to do something to make the twist on both sides equal. In this example we have to twist the right side up more or the left down. The main things to alter for low-speed turn correction arc: 1) the sail tension at the tip, 2) the tip twist adjustment, and 3) the batten camber. l) 'l'ightening the sail at the rip will reduce twist and raise the angle of attack, since the tension line goes over the high points of the battens and pulls the sail down. I ,ooscning the sail increases twist and lowers rhc angle of attack at the tip. This adjustment is normally made on square--tip gliders (like the Fusion or the Aeros gliders) by adding or removing shims at the leading edge tip. On curved-tip gliders you can add an insert in the tip lever cup to tighten the pull on the sail once the wand is in place. Nore that in general we don't recommend altering the tension on

curved-tip wands. The reason is that ofren tightening the tension there results in more bowing of the wand, which actually reduces the tension in rhc trailing edge. These tips arc designed to be mated to the sail within a very narrow range of tensions. 2) More directly, you can turn the tip fitting on most gliders (both curved and square-ripped) to alter the rwist. 1lirn the fitting to rotate the trailing edge down and you will create more lift (less twist, higher angle of attack) and vice versa. On the La Mouett:e 'foplcss and Aeros gliders, twisting the tip is not readily achievable, so altering the rnmber is the official method of turn tuning. Twisting the tip is described below. 3) Cambering (curving) the battens up more actually moves the trailing edge down because the tension over the batten keeps the top in about the same place, while the rear of the batten moves down. Angle of attack is thus increased. Cambering adjustments arc described below. Now let's see how to apply these concepts. ADDING SHIMS Once you land, sight the glider for symmetry in tbe wing. "fo do this you must unfasten the sprogs and swing them out of play so the sail sags unhindered (remove dive sticks and preferably reflex bridles from older gliders). Now sight for equal twist lefr and right. Tf your sighting confirms an imbalance in twist that agrees with the feeling in tbe air, make an adjnstment to equalize the twist. In general, f prefer to set the tip tensions the same and work with the tip twist serring to correct a turn. However, in at least one case (the Klassic), a persistent turn resulting from rbc manufacturing process required different size shims on the left and right to get the sail in the regime where you could take out the turn with the twist adjustment. If you just used the tip twist adjustment you would end up having a great difference on the two sides, and the down-twisted one would always stall first on landing ... Whack! If you do add or subtract shims at the tip to make an adjustment, remember that adding shims will hurt handling (make the glider "stiffer") and removing shims will help it up to a point (a sail that is too loose will not scat right and may have some undesirable handling characteristics). The way to make a shim adjustment without affecting handling is to subtract the same

amount from one side that you add to the other. Manufacturers usually supply different width shims to allow fine adjustments. However, at times T've had to grind them down to the desirable size. 'fWISTING TIPS With a square-tip glider (becoming rarer these days) you can normally adjust the tip twist directly. Most typically there is some sort of screw w hack off which allows you to tum the fating. Re sure to clearly mark the tube and the fltting so you can line the marks back up to return to the original setting if necessary. A scratch with a sharp point is the most permanent mark. Make your adjustments a maximum of a quarter of an inch or less around the circumference at a time (see Pigure With a curved-tip glider, you must remove the set-screw and twist the plastic eccentric at the tip (see Fig· ure 3). Moving the fat pan of the eccentric downward moves the tip wand up, and vice versa. Sometimes these eccentrics arc hard to move, hut a set of channel locks solves the problem. Be sure to pad the jaws to avoid unsightly marks on rbc eccentric. 'fo make the matter clear, if you have a lefr 1:tlrn and the left tip is twisted up more than the right (that is, the left trailing edge is higher in your sighting so it will have a lower angle of attack), rhe obvious thing to do is ro twist the lefr tip clown or the right tip up. Here you have to decide which side to adjust. Base your decision on the following: Moving a tip down (reducing twist) makes ir harder to roll to that side and slightly increases rhe glider's trim speed as well as best glide. Moving a tip up docs the opposite. One option is to work on both sides, moving the appropriate one down and the other up. however, the turn may be lefr and the lcfr tip is twisted down more than the right. That mem1s that rhe rum effect is in the frame or a miss-·sewn sail, and the glider was already partially tuned for the turn, but not enough. ln this case down you can continue rwisring the lefr more or combine this adjustment wirh one of the orher two in our list above. r prder to use tip twist in combination with batten cambering rather than adding tip tension, although I have used all three in various combinations on some problematical gliders. ln the next the articles we'll sec that these different types of adjustments have different on wing dropping and thcrmaling turns.

11:X..

Al:Ul!,"5r!NG 77P ·rw1:sr

fimrth batten from the tip if necessary. If CHANGING CAMBER The batten cambering method begins by adding camber (curve) to the outside (tip) batten on the side that the glider turns toward to increase its lift (that's the left side in om cxarnplc). At the same time you should flatten the corresponding batten on the opposite side an equal amount. T'his amount should be about a quarter of an inch initially. When adding or removing tbe general shape of the camber, rry to curve similar to that of the partem no sudden departure The area to work on is the high ofthe batten. (Note:

Our book, Hang Gliding Training Manual, describes how to bend barrens, while Perother aspects of glid· er runing.) Ycm probably will not notice the effects in flight of such a change in one barren. 'T'hus, the standard procedure it is to make the changes in the outside three battens b:men inboard getwith each ting less camber change. If your test-flight indicates rhat this adjustment wasn't enough, do some more and rake another flight. You can alter the camber as much as half an inch more or less than the pattern on each batten and go inward as far as the

this much alteration doesn't correct the turn, you have a very severe imbalance and should suspect a bent leading edge, a misssewn sail, or some other anomaly. Jn that case, once you check the leading edges, crossbar lengths and symrnetry, cable lengths and symmetry, sail positioning on the airframe, and any other thing you can think of that may cause an imbalance, you should apply a combination of the three mentioned methods (tip tension, tip adjustment and batten cambering) so that any one isn'r too extreme from one side ro the or her. As you with your adjustments, take frequenr to check your progress. Once you gain experience you will need fewer flights, bnt still you should be very sensitive to the subtlest effects. Do not settle for less than perfection. Next month we'll discover how to stop a tip from dropping on landing, and then develop a troubleshooting list that will include some bizarre episodes. In Part V we'll find out how to achieve the ultimate turn balance on a glider for performance. Unril then, keep flying straight from thermal trigger to thermal trigger. Ill H/\NC GLIDIN(;

t?-,r""""fhere they were, sitting in a sort of sling under a triangle of cloth. I know now that the gliders were called Rogallos, and the pilots were bare· headed, wearing shorts and sneakers, and obviously having the time of their lives. l stared at the pictures and knew that this was wha1· I wanted to do. 1 am always ready for adventure. Several years passed. We were living in Bogota, Colombia, and one day I saw some hang gliders landing and decided that I wanted to find out more about the sport. Later, I found a flier from a hang gliding school, so I called and the instrnctor was very nice. He asked how old l was and l told him the truth 57! There was a long pause, he took a deep breath, and said I could come along. So I began lessons, every weekend at 6:00 AM in the mountains. I would pick up the big glider, try to balance it, and then run. At sorncwhcre between 8,600 and 9,000 feet above sea level it took your breath away. But one can get used to anything, and l ran, and ran, and ran some more. Eventually the black marks on my arms went away and l started to move up the hill a few meters at a time until I finally fdt the wing lift me ever so little. What a feeling! All the younger swdc:ms, most less than half my age, sur-· passed me of course. It would take more than six months to finally learn to soar. But I ;im stubborn, and slowly but surely I worked my way up the bill until l actually floated down for a few seconds. T'hen it was up to the 200-foot launch. 'fhis involved climbing up the mountain, carrying the glider with a friend, setting it up and waiting for the wind to be just right. Finally, I launched. [ was in the air! And I landed without crashing! It was so beamifol. The big grin on my face was still there when l went to bed rhar night. After several flights of less rhan a minute l finally heard the magic words: "Lcr's fly in Neusa!" Thar was the big one. One afternoon the instructor, Santiago, another veteran, Barbas, and I traveled there in two cars. Nc:usa is a national park with a big reservoir high in the mountains, wirh an ample LZ alongside:. The launch is at about 10,000 feet. \Y/c: MARCI I 2002

by Ellen Lilley

Onefi.ne day, many years ago, J was looking through one rifNational Geographic'.r wonderful books on the beauties ofthe U.S., cmdisaw a picture that made rr~y eyes open wide, It was ofsome young men flying what they called hang gliders near Seattle, Washington. left one car in the LZ and wc:nr up together on a long, winding dirt road. We set up and go1 ready. The conditions were nice a smooth glass-off. Santiago launched first, then Twas to fly. Bdtirc he flew he showed me where I should begin my run. I didn't like it, hut Tam an obedient female, launched from that location, veered right and nosed into the hill. "What's going on?" we heard over the radio. The LZ was far rncmgh away that you can'i sec what happens on launch very well. Barbas and I quickly picked up rhc glider and [ went to launch at a spot where I folt more com1<.mablc. Soon l was off. There l was, upright, since [ had not yet flown prone, but I was in the air-·far, for up in the air! While there, every cell in my body was singing hallcluya. I was in contact with Santiago on the

radio, and he brought me down genrly, saying, "You did fine," or rather, "Muy bien, Ellen." Wow, and double wow. Nearly 60, and I did it! l1ang glider pilots comprise a tribe, and I foci very special belonging to that tribe. We arc ,ill buddies, and tolerant of each other's wcalrncssc:s and ages. J do not try to look younger; l don't wear makeup and my hair has been white since my forties. I am what you might call a natura] .. born platinum blonde, and after a day in a helmet my hairdo can get bizarre. [ do not think that looking old makes any difference ifycm don't behave old. lt was getting dark in Nc:usa. At those latitudes daylight and nightfall arc on a 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM schedule:, all year, so we had to race up the mountain to collect the other car. We finished packing

up the gliders and started the hour-long trek back to town. On my third flight at Neusa f approached a bit low, saw a stone fence threateningly near my knees, and hecame scared. That is when you do really stupid things. I cleared the fence fine, but just before touchdown I put a foot down. There was a small ditch and my foot was wrenched back. I landed, took off my boot, and realized that I had broken my foot. Oh shoot! Luckily for me, one of the pilots was a doctor doing his residen· cy in orthopedics. He took me to the military hospital and got his professor. I had broken my heel bone. I soon had a pin in my foot and a cast, plus two crutches and strict orders not to put my foot: down, not for a second. The bad news was that this particular bone takes a long time to heal. 'J'he good news was that I never suffered any pain, physically or emotionally. J thought, "l don't have time for this," but I guess that

as long as you are alive, you have time. After three months I was walking again, running, dancing, but was not permitted t:o fly. So I hung out with my buddies when they flew and did a lot of driving for them. Santiago was making gliders, and made a tandem glider for me, since l

wasn't sure I should fly solo at this point. It was a green-and-orange, very large wing, which I called the Flying Carrot. Sanriago wcnr to the U.S. for postgraduate work, and a friend of his gave me a flight on the Carrot. Then a buddy who had learned with me (and passed me up quickly) took me for a flight. It was great, HANG GLIDING

bur there was something about flying solo that I missed. Then our old training site was lost because a reservoir was being built there. But there was another school starting up with a new location for training. The new instructor, Jorge, was handling Airwave sales, so with about three or four guys I signed up and bought a Vision Pulse 9 a beaury! So, I started again. During the instruction we had several good ground school sessions at which we learned about meteorology, turning, emergency procedures, etc. This was very helpful, and I learned a lot. By and by the instructor left co become a commercial airline pilot. The guys had graduated, but one nice fellow continued co help me fly on the bunny hill, and I made about 28 flights. He continued co help me as I progressed, but it was grueling. Getting co launch was hard, hauling the glider down a slope and up a small mountain, and all the while my buddies were flying from a higher mountain. I really wanted co fly there coo. That was when I realized that everyone was afraid of me. No one said yes, but I had co do it. So I wenc, and persuaded one of the pilots co help me. Everyone was helpful and nice on launch, but I had the sneaking feeling chat they had all written me off as a completely crazy lady. MARCH 2002

I am just a completely stubborn woman who wanted to fly! I had a good launch, flew deliciously, prone for the ftrsc time, and landed well. Another wow! Guys came out to help with my glider after I landed, and as I walked back co the road a group of veteran pilots gave me a round of applause, which made me feel supremely happy. I was walking on air and felt 10 feet call. I was able co fly there many times, and had many good flights. There was never a dull rnoment. After 35 years in Colombia my husband and I decided to leave that beautiful country. So we packed up everything (including my glider) and left for North Carolina. My husband, Jack, doesn't figure in this story, simply because I never cold him what I was doing. I still have not given up, even though my most recent birthday was number 70. I found another pilot, a fellow in Pembroke, who gives hang gliding lessons, and he did not ask my age. Unfortunately, the heart of Carolina is "geographically challenged" when it comes co flying hang gliders. You need co cow. Strange scuff. So, I unpacked my glider, put on my boots, and began again, for the third time. I guess I'm what you might call a veteran beginner. Is char more stubborn than a mule? •

SHIPPING in the USA Up to 2 lbs add s.oo 3 - 4 lbs add 6.00 5 - 6 lbs add 6.50 lnt'l-email us for cost. Ushga@ushga.org

USHGA PO Box 1330 Colorado Spring: co 80901-1330 1-800-6 16-6888 www.ushga.org

HANG GLIDING ADVISORY Used gliders should always be disassembled before flying for 1lic firsl time and inspcc1cd care1ully for fatigued, bent or dent· ed dowmubes, mined bushings, bent bolts (especially 1he bean boil), re-used Nyloc nms, loose thimbles, frayed or rusted cables, rangs with non-circular holes, and on flex wings, sails badly rnrn or rorn loose from their anchor points front and back on the keel and leading edges. lf in doubt, many gliding business· cs will be happy to give an objective opinion on the condi1ion of equipment you bring them w inspect. Buyers should sclecl equipment thm is appropriate for their skill level or rating. New pilots should seek prof,·s· sional instruc1ion from a USHGA CERTff!ED JNSTRUCT()R.

AIRWAVE SPORTSTER lli8 Exccllcnr condition, featured in OI /01 H(; review, 75 hours $3,200. ()Ol) 67ii-21i51. AIRWAVE SPORTS'l'FR 159 Like new, 10 hours or less, w/exm, downmhc $:J,IJOO. (303) (i71i-2li51. ALTAIR SATURNS lli7, 167 flight park, low hours, dean, priced to sell. 8800, info(a,hanggliding.com AV8 ICARO The MRX700 World Record Fditions arc in slock. We can help yon RIGID if you wan1 to. (760) 721-070 I, and www.icaro2000.cm,, DOUBLE VISIONS & FLY2 New and used. WALLABY RANCH (863) li24-0070.

park, low hours, clean, priced to sell. i,,fo(i.ilhanggliding.com FVFN-Ul' TRADES Looking to move np /'rom your Beginner or Novice glider, buf cm\ p111 up cash? (7.62) 4/l 8800,

AEROS STFALT!l OLEG RACER III New in 2000, ..fiOhrs, very fast, incredible handling $2,700 OBO. Bubha (828) 266-3871.

FREE PVC GI.IDER STORAGE/TRANSPO!ff TUBE Wirh the of' any new glider. (517)

22:\-·868:l, Cloml'JSAQJlaol.com. Largest selection of

xca nn,111d oG:1\wl .con 1

PUSlON 150 Serial ti% 171, 30 hours, pink LE with blue panels, grcar machine $?.,000! Two Yacsu radios, like new $150 each. Z:l harness with chute $'500. Mike: Days (60 I) 932-0?.50, home (60 I) 81') 850).

/\EROS STEALTH COMBAT l'il

New 2001, "60hrs, climbs amazing, glides the same, pcrfocr $3,900 OBO. Bubba (828) 2h63871.

FALCONS CI.FARANCE SALE School 11sc, one season. J\ll sizes$] ,2'i0-$2,500. (262) 473·8800, infolihha,,ggliding.com

1:usroN

FI.EX WINGS Atmos STEAITH 129 Topless, easy handling, acrotows incredibly well $1,600. Call or email for digi, ral photos and details. (619) 379-8357, cspcrry3 l 8&>yahoo.cmn

FA!.( :ON 19'5 Crear pod harness, wheels, hdmcr $1,800. (:l60) 592·2.922, hugfisbn 1liilaol.com

FUSION - Demo dailr. WALLABY RANCII (863) 421-0070.

EXXTACY NEW & USED IN STOCK, DEMO DAILY. WALLABY RANCH (863) 421t-0070. 00/0 l'lorida, glidcrs0t\vallahy.com

AIRBORNE Cl.IMAX 13 One nearly new $1J,')95; One demo, looks new $/i,595. 1·800-688-5637, Oy@hanglidc.com AIRBORNE SHARK, BLADE RACE, STINC, BUZZ. New and nearly new. Demo rhily. THEW AL-· LABY RANCH (863) 424-0070.

lliO, 170, I 95, WALLABY RANCH (86:l) li21J-0070.

l !PAT Ili5 Co()(! condition, new leading edge cloth and recent snpcrprcflight $9')5.(?.62) 17:3-8800,

!'Al.CON 170 --- Blnc/whitc $1,'SOO OHO. (619) /1979'/0, jrav8Qilyahoo.com owner, ![O homs, excellent condition $1,750. (505) 325-7157, winksfiil/isi.llel

ATRWAVE EXTREME Topless, 3 hours, yellow and blue, priced to sell. l!y(ivh,mglidc.com

rainbow nndersurface, great sink rare and lundling $1,250 ono. (609) li9'HM5.

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: column inch. (phone numbers: 2 words, P.O. Box: 1 word, E-mail or Web 3 words) $25.00, line art $15.00 (1.75" maximum) uc,,ui.mc; 20th of the month, six weeks before the cover date of the issue in which you want your ad to appear June 20 for the

SECTION

U F1arts Accessories Business & Employmtml IJ Miscellaneous

Prepayment required unless account established. No cancellations or refunds allowed on any advertising after deadline. Ad insertions FAXed or made by telephone must be charged to a credit card. Please enter my classified ad as follows:

& Dealt',rs iJ Ultralights :J Win[Js I rlllf'~Tl,~rlQ &

Para[Jliders Videos Begin with

2002 issue and run for

consecutive

money order is enclosed in the amount

of$ NAME: ADDRESS: -·--·----·· .,,.-.,..,.,,,._,,, __ ,______.,.,_.., ..,,, .,_,_,,,,_ ....,,_,...,,___________ ,_.,,,,,,,,_. ·CITY: PHONE: Number of Number of words:

I li\NC CIIIJINC

LAMINAR MRX 2001 Mylar 11, simply lx:amif,,1, white!flomo red/magenta. Email for pixs, I year old, babied. Faired lnscrnbe. carbon ribs available $1i,99'i. Scott (310) 559-12.;l l, cloudbase(almcdiaonc.nct LAMINAR ST, 14, 13 in stock. WALLABY RANCH (863) 421 0070. SX, XTL, XS.~, XT, etc. New and MOYES CSX nearly new. AvaiLrblc: immediately. Narion's largest Moyes dealer. WALLABY RANCH (861) 12.1-0070. MOYES CSXJ I }7 Topless, excellent condition $1,GOO 01\0. (7-08) 237-91 cava~llida.net

Green condition, MOYES C:SX4, SX!i, SX5, MAX very low hours, priced 10 sell. (2G2) liTl·8800, infr)<?9hanggliding.co1n M OYFS LITES PEED Ii New in April 2001, zoom & fast control frames, low hours, excellenr condition. offer. (70G) :398-2./i(,7, bnlttsfly~1lcompuserve.co111

SUPJ•:R.'il'ORT 153 Supcrneat intricate custom sail, ;ilmost zero hours $1,700 or trade for? (262) 473-8800,

WWXC 142. Very low hours, clean, near new condition .~2,/i{)() or trnde for? (262.) lil:'l-8800, info~llhanggliding,.com

SUPFRSPO!ff l6j ·-· Heavy trailing edge $1,:)')5. ((, 19) 286 'iGOli Picrurcs: we! ,siretrafficbnil clers.corn/ st tperspon.lt nu

MOYES LITESPFED 5, All white, Dacron sail, airfoil baser ube, cxcclle111 shape, low homs $Ii ,000 AlRWAVF KLASS IC: 155, Red/White/Blue, Fxccllent shape, $I, 500 PULS!' 11 MFTFR. !line/White, good shape $2,000 PlJJ SF 10 MFITR, White/Pink, very good shape $2,200 Jl\JJ.SF 9 MET!-:!{, good shape $2,000 VISION MK4-17, several $1,W0-$1,500 DEMON 185, blue J.E, fair shape $500 COM ET 185, fair shape $/iOO I.EAi' '1'1\LON rrainer $200 '89 MACIC l([SS I 'iii Whi1e/magcn1a/Cyan, Coby fins, excellent shape $1,000 Kite Enrerpriscs (972) 390-9090

TALON HO & 150 Demo any time. Kite Fnterprises (9'/2) .'l'.10-9090. TAI.( )N 1'50 I .ow hours, excellent condition, never whacked. Mylar, blue undcrsurface, slipstream, carbon baserube $Ii ,250. (9/0) (,4 1-29:37 days, (970) 641 %54 eves. w/slipstrcam control frame; 1/i() w/dacron sail & b:JSctube. Bot·h new, not demos! Special pricing, immediate delivery. I .. 8()0-688SG'.\7, flyvllhanglide.com edge $2,000 or trade for clean 170 size Falcon or Target. Also Stealth 155, clean $2,900. (248) ,l<Jli 1220 Michigan,

MOYES I.ITESPEED l/i(i Red & white $4,800. RamAir iii(, w!tips $1,200 OBO. !WAT Iii'), green lrouorn .~500. Mosquito, brand new $,l,500. (30:l) (,7/i-2451.

UJ TRASPORT I 35 !'!own 3 rimes, folding conrrolbar $2.,:lOO. (714) /i()8.:H5 I

MOYES XT PRO JG'i The Novice model before the SONIC, two available $1,500., $2, I 00 or trade for? (262) 47:\-8800, info@hanggliding.com

UJ:J'RASPOl(T Jli7 Fxcellent condition, white borrom, folding basetube, 70 hours I) 688- 3902, mlaQ1lobec.com

All white $1,100 or trade MOYES XTRAl.lTE 147 for? (262) li73-8800, inl,1vDhanggliding.com

ULTRASl'ORT 147 - Very very clean, teal&. black, folding basetubc, spare dowmubc $2,100. (G 19) li40l '.)73 San Diego.

MRX 200 I 14 -- The Best. Whitc/black/blnc $1i,200. (262) 78:l·77/i7, Snrfi\ir~1lcxecpc.com

EMERGENCY PARACHUTES 20 CORF PDA w/swivcl $3'7'i. 2.0 gore $199. Used Qnanrum :nos, 550s. more avail,rble. Raven Sky Sports (262) 17}-8800, HARNFSSES

ur:rn.ASPORT I li7, I(,(, Renral gliders at flight park, low hours, dean, priced to sell. (262) liTl-8800,

J'ncrgy 22 gore parachute, swivel, excellent $850. (970) 728:l905. DOODLE BUC Motor harness, sales, service, instrttction. Dealers welcome. www.flyl OI .corn (702) 2G07050. HICH FNFRGY TRACF.R POD HARNFSSES -Si,.cs and styles change monthly, $300-500. Cocoons $1 ?,'i-$200 each. Many others available. (2G2) li7J8800,

l'Ul.SE JO METER 20 hours, purple :rnd yellow, airfoil dt's, clean. flyvrlhanglidc.com l'Ul.SF, VISION 11 M Perlcct condition! One hour air time! Not flown since Annual $2,500. C,17) 8/i:J. 008'5, dhoelter(ti\vorldnct.all.nct

SENSOR 610F 11/i l'laps, new wires, extra downtubcs, 70hrs $ I ,GOO. John (540) 98')-1 jtg'/57viljuno.corn SPECTRUM llili, I 65

Ren ml gliders at flight park, (267,) li7.3-

to sell or trade for?

Fxcellenr, extras $1,700. (970)

72.8 3905. hours, red and

fl yv1lhaur,lide .corn SUPERSl'ORT 15:l Mint condiriou, 80 homs $1, l 00. High Energy harness, Qnannun chme w/swiv cl & air rocket 6ft $900. (5.'lO) 5/ifi .. (i(i() I, ( ;A frccspirirs(iJ\_'s,com

MARCIi 2002

U I.TRASPORT I<,<, -- Fxccllcnr condition, low honrs, folding basc111bc, rail ftn, red nndcrsurface, white top $2,GOO. ((,<,I) 822.,8852. clanarmsrrnQilaol.corn

one hour ainime, complcre OllO. l-800-088-5637, fly~'111anglidc.com PARA GLIDERS

WW FUSION SP1 50 EXCELLENT CONDIT!ON, w/only 90 hours, less than one year old, all white w/lcading edge inserts, spring tip battens, folding bascrubc, 2 spare downmbcs, removable WW wheels $3,000 OBO. Ron (.310) li7')· I :l(,O, dl'niron62(ft)Jionnail.com WW FUSION 150·1 hrs, yellow l.E, red (large), ye! low asymmetric, black WW, folding specdhar $1,100 OBO. (50')) 'i25-728l, WW SPORT AT I 61 Very good condition, ripstop trailing edge, flies great $850. Joe (81i7) 895-5858 Illinois. WILLS WINC SUPERSPORT l 53 Recently inspected, <50 !toms $300 ()Jl(). (3 H) 308-(,STl, jsi,,asonlihswbcll.net WWXC: 112 - Like new, .l(, !toms, winglcrs, xc bag $1,999. ('i:lO) 5/i,1-6601, c;MreespiritsQ1lcs.com

RIGID WINGS ATOS Small, brand new, in stock. Not a demo. Why wait? (262) iiTl8800, FXXTACY 13'5 Small, 80lbs, '70hrs, comes with extras. MAXIMUM HOOK-IN WEICHT 230lbs $5,700. (:WC,) 21i4-512.2, rcdrisJvil;rrrhi.com C:I IOSTBUSTFR PARTS ---· Sail, spoilers, ribs, hardware, wires, cvcryrlring bm the leading (')70) G4 l-920/, skyout 1Crilwehtv.net MlLLENlUM CUSTOM RED & WHITF SUN BURST SAIi., ALL THF LATEST MODS, RlJDDTm PEDALS, SET IJP FOR TOWING BUT FOOT l.AlJNC:HABLE, I.IKE NEW, NO PARACHUTE. YOU PICK UP IN CARSON ClTY, NEVADA. $5,500. (T75) 720-4157 SEE CENTER FOLD !IC MAGAZINEJUI.Y200l.

NEW STALKER From Aeros, located in Southern California $7,500 OHO. Mme (562) 129-8033,

FLY AWAY llANC GJ.Jl)!NC Santa Ba rhara. l'crsonalized instruction. (805) 957-9145,

rn;1rcw(,1Jspri11tmail.com

TIU: IIANC GL]])ING CENTER PO Box I 'i 15/i2, San I )icgo CA ')21 l'i, (619) 26'i-5320.

UURALIGHTS A!R SPORTS USA WWW.FLYFORFUN.NEf llRACONl'LY TUG F.xcclknt condition, sec www.gcociries.com/kimdonndenman/tug.htrnl for derails.

LARGEST HANC CLIDTNC SHOP

In rhe West!

Our deluxe retail shop showcases the I.nest equipment

SCHOOLS & DEALERS

and has 1wo virrnal reality hang gliding Aight simuh· tors. We stock new mid used ... Wills Wing, Altair and Moyes and all I he hottest new harnesses. Tradeins ;ire wclcmnc. Our comprehensive 1rnining prop,rnm, located a, the

San l'r:mcisco Bay Area's f1ncs1 site foa1mes: gemly sloped "bunny hills," Wills Wing Falcons of all sizes and comforrnblc training harnesses! 'TIRST !'LICHT' I minure video tom of our beginner lesson program shows a student's skill progression $20 (shipping included). 1 l l 6 Wrigley Way, Milpitas CA 95035 (near San Jose). (408) 262-1055, fax (408) 262- 1388.

NATIONAL SC:!1001 NF.TWORK RINGS LOCALLY. For informa1ion call David (71 ')) 630· 3698, daviM1\lavidglovcr.com

DON'T RISK BAD WF.ATHER Bad insrrucrion or dangerous training hills ..150 flyable days each year. and qnickly. Trail\ Learn foot bunch flying skills wi1h profossional CFl's a1 world Dockweiler Beach training slopes (5 min mes from I.A airport.) l'ly winter or summer in genrk coastal winds, sofr sand and wii-h 011c of America\ n1ost over 25 years. COLORADO AIRTIME ABOVE HANG GLIDlNC l'ull-1imc lcssol\S, sales, service. Colorado's mos1 expcricncedl Wills Wing, Moyes, Altair, Aeros, Airwavc, High Energy, Ila!\, Flyrec, Fligh1 Connecrions and much more. Call (:303) 67/i,-2/i '51, Evergreen, Colorado Ain imel·IGGilaol.cont CONNECTICUT'

ALABAMA ,MOUNTAIN WINGS LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLlGHT PARK ad under Georgia.

l m,k under New York.

Sec FLORIDA LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN l'JJGHT PARK

CALIFORNIA

Sec

ad under Ccorgia. Nearest 111011111:ain training ccnrer to

DREAM WEAVER HANG GLIDING Train on srnre·of-1he-an WILLS WING FALCONS. I.ESSON PACKAGES: One four hour lesson $100. Three four hour lessons, plus randcrn off 2,000ft. $300. Five lessons for $/iOO. Ten lessons plus tandem $750. lesson programs. Year-round instrucdon. and landing and thermal clinics available. Call for group rmcs. Tired of hiking your J'II hdp you! Deakr for Wills Wing, Altair, Sports, Ball varios, Camelhaks and more. We love trade-ins. I'm yonr nonhern California MOSQUITO HARNESS DEALER. ff you live in central northern California, give me a call or email ro yom Mosquito dernonstr:irion or clinic. Call or email, scheduling lessons five a week, rbrough Tuesdays. ]deal training hill, up ro 1 600f1. mountain. 1,200ft. mountain. Tandem instrucrion. USHGA Advanced Instructor DOUG Plli\'rIIF.R (209) 556,-0469 Modesto, CJ\.

Orlando (only 8 hours).

TORREY PINES GLIDERPORT Come soar in San Diego! This family owned :md operated sire offors US! !CA ceniflcd insrnrction, tandem flight i nstrucrion rnowrizcd inst ruction) p,u;i .. chrne repacks, rcirnirs, and sire tours. We also have an extensive 011tfi1ting shop and dining with a view when you cat at our own Cliflhanger Cafe. lmporrers for ADVANCE, PAlZI\TFCH, AVA Sport Accessories, Mike flight Crispi boots, Center of Cravity helmets, suits, C:rn Smff gloves, and carabiners and dealers for mosr orher brands. ns om onlinc for sales and questions at: www.fly1orrcy.com, or call roll free ar 1-877--l'LY.'J'EAM. Also, trrnc in to the Internet Talk Show al www.wsradio.ws every Thursday 5-7:00 pm (PST). 1

WI'. 1TAVF The most advanced training progrnm known 10 you in half the time it takes on the training-BUNNY BILL, and wirh more in flight air time. YES, WE CAN TEACH YOU FASTER AND SAFER. For year-round training rim in die sun, call or write Miami llang Gliding (:305) 28',. 897B. 2550 S Bayshore Drive, Coconut Grove, l'lorida

'.)313:l.

I I/INC GLIDINC

by more The Acrotow Plight Park Sarisfact ion C uara uteed

HAWAll

with

JUST 8 MILES PROM DISNEY WORLD

YEAR ROUND SOARING OPEN 7 DAYS A WEE!< SIX TUCS, NO WAITING • EVERY DIRECTION

BIRDS IN PARA])]SF Hang gliding&. ulrrnliglr1 flying on l<auai. Ccnilied tandem instruction. (808) 822-5309 or (808) 6:19-1067, birds<i1lbirdsinparadisc.com www.hirdsinparadisc.con1

50 ,. NICF demos to fly: Topless to Trainer Gliders: Laminar, Moyes, Wills, Airborne, Airwavc, Fxxtacy, l ,a Monett<.', Sensor;

vo1~' a/?sc;,fute!v have tof1y with the best!

also harnesses, varios, etc.

IDAHO Ages t:l To have learned to fly here. No one comes close to our level of experience and success with tandem acrornw inst ruction. A GREAT SCENE FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS .. , IO motels & resraurallls within 5 mins.,

hot

showers, shade t recs, sales, sroragc) rai ings,

retrieval...,, great wc:1thcr, climbing wall, trampolirn\ DSS TV, ping pong, picnic tables, swimming pool, etc

Flights of over 200 miles and more than honrs. Articles in l/11nf!, (,'!iding; !(itplanes, Sky,uings, C:ross

THE BEST AEROTOW Instruction available. The only lJ.S. hang gliding school with TWO NATIONAL Cl!AMPION INSTRUCTORS and U.S. WORLD TEAM MEMBERS Bo Hagcwood 2000 National ( :ham pion And Paris Williams 200 I Notional Champion. From your Cirst tandem to advanced x.. (: ins1ruction. Open every day with heautifid 90 1 acre facilities. Plcn1y of other activities like our screened in pooli hot tuh, privarc lake, canoes, volleyball and minulcs from Orlando attractions. !.mm Jrom best ... 111 CJuest! w,vw,q1.1csl<11rle,mc.cDm Enuil: qucstairvllsnndial.nct

ESl'N.

equipment sales)

ILLTNOJS I !ANC (;Lll lE CHICAGO Full service tow planes. Full 1ime certified insrrnnors, instruc1ors, East ( :oasr record 21 :l miles, (81 5) www.hangglidechicago.com

RAV EN SKY SPO I{ I'S - (:) I 2) %0-0700, (fl 1 5) 189-9700 or (262) 173··8800. 2 lronrs from Chicago, 90 minutes from Flgin, i',1latinc or Libertyville. The bcs1 instnrcrors, rhc best rhc best results in the Midwest. 7 March Noven1ber. con'1irn1cd,l1nteg1,t1cd FOOT cer11il,c:atio11, Apply I 00'){, of your intro lesson costs ro ceniflca1ion program upgrade! Please sec our ad under WISCONSIN. info«11ha nggl idi ng.com

.ou11trya11d others. l;c:it11rcd on nu1ncr011.s 'J'V shows,

!)arclinc NBC:, 'J'lrc I liscovcry Channel &

KING MOUNTAIN GLIDERS Alluring sire plm shop supplying ,di your HC/PC needs. lnstruc1ion,

CEO RC IA

Visir us on the Web: http://www.wallaby.com Please call us for references and video. 1805 !lean Still Road, Disney Arca, FL :l:l8J7 (863) 121-0070 phone & fax fly~''wallahy.corn J.800·WAI,l.ABY

INDIANA Conservative

Reliable

State oC die An (262) 173-8800, Please sec RAVEN SKY SPORTS our ad under \Xlisconsin. inf'oC2Pl1angglicling.con1

F.H.C. JNC/1'1 YJNC FLORIDA SINCE 1971

Malcolm Jones, Laurie Croft, Carlos Bessa, Rhen Radford,· J'iki Mashy, Jeremie Hill, Tom Ramseur, Roger Sherrod, Mike Barber, Neal ITarris, Bart Weghors1, Carolina de C:as1ro, Paul lvloncnrc, Bob Mcl'c:c, Emily Bocspfln1,

! ,800-803-7788

HJLL HO()l(..lJPS - Laundry, propane, recreation room. 1-800-80,},T/88

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN l'LJCI IT PARK Sec our display ad. Discover why FOUR TIMES as many pilors earn 1bcir wings :n Lookout than ,ti any other school! We wrote UST [(;A's Official Training Manual. Our satisfaction and fun wirh the FAC!UTJES, lmgesr invcmory, camping, swtlfr ming, more! h1r a flying trip, intro !light or

saw

MARCIi 2002

lesson

Lookour Mountain)

Ch,11tanoog:1, your COMPLETE ""· Info? (800) 688-LMFP.

outside

ccn·

(719)

MARYLAND

TRAVERSE CITY HANG GLIDERS/PARAGUDERS FULL-TIME shop. Certified instruction, foot launch and row. Sales, service, accessories for ALL major brands. VISA/MASTERCARD. Come soar our !/50' dunes! 1'i09 F. 8th, Traverse City Ml li%84. ()fforing powered paragliding lessons & dealer for the & used units. Call Bill at (231) 92228/i/i, tcltaugg.ltd,cr~0 cl1arternu.cot11. Visit our paragliding in Jackson, Wyoming. Call Tracie at (.'\07) '73'). 8620.

NORTH CAROUNA

•

MINNESOTA Baltimore and De's fi,11 rime /light park Tandem instruction, solo acrorows and eq11iprncnt sales and service. We carry Acros, Airwavc, Flight Design, Moyes, Wills Wing, High Energy Sports, l'!ytcc and more. Two 115 HP Dragonfly tugs Open fields as far as you can sec Only l to I. 5 hours from: Rehoboth Beach llalrimore Washington DC Philadelphia

RAVEN SKY SPORTS (612) 31i0- I 800 or (262) fiTJ.8800. Please sec our ad under WISCONSIN. NEVADA 1\DVENTURE SPORTS Sierra soaring at its best. Tours and tandems available. lnsrmcrion from ccrtif'icd USI !GA instn1crors with 25 years experience. Sales, ;-;crvicr and instruction by Carson Tahoe NV. 8fl3,7070

I.AS VFCAS AIRSPORTS UST !GA certified hang gliding instruction. S,1lcs and service, ho:11 tow, mmm" tain soaring, XC. (702) 260·7'>'50, www.flyl OJ .corn

Come Fly with US! NEW JERSEY Ph 410.634.2700 Fax 410.631i.2T75 21i038 Race Track Rd Ridgely, MD 21660 \tvww.acrospons.nct

MOUNTAIN WINGS

I .ook under New York.

NEW YORK

hangg!idctZDacrosporrs. net MEXICO MEXICO Ycar·round, s11mmcr in Momcrrey, win· ter in Valle de Bravo. J .8()().861,7198, www.fly1ncxico.con1

AAA FUCIIT Sc:JIOOI. MOUNTAIN W[NCS INC. Your full service Pro Shop serving the North Fast. We sell and service all the best brands. w~1w.rmnw·tn,\S.corn mtnw·mi;s«11 ca1tsl«tll.r1er 150 Canal Street, New 121i2.8 WOODY VAL· LEY HARNESSF.S, v.MJTTS $25.00 Paragliding, Ulrraligltts, Towing. (81i5) 6fi7.3377

• TANDEM INSTRUCTION • AEROTOWING • BOAT TOWINC BEACH RESORT • TRAININC CAMPS • FOOT LAUNCH OPEN YEAR ROUND • PARAGLIDING • EQU!l'MENT SALES AND SERVICE

(~~~) JJ4-4;ll NAG~ HEAD, NC lnrcmct Address: http://www.kittyhawk.com f>:.Mail Address: infovhldttyhawk.com

MICHIGAN CLOUD 9 SPORT AVIATION Acrorow special· isrs. We :t!I major brand hang gliders. FREE PVC glider rube with new glider purchase. Now in stock: Wills TALON COMP!, XC l 55, Falcons; Moyes Lircspccd Ii, Sonic I 65; Magic Kiss 151i. Outrigger wheels and other accessories in stock Call for spring randem lessons and flying appointments with the DraachenFliegcn Soaring Club at Cloud ') Field. 11088 Coon Lake Road West, Webberville, MI li8892. (517) 2.23-8(,83. C:lond'Jsa(ril;tol.corn. hn p:// members.aol.com/ clond9sa Delivering VALUE with MICHIGAN SOARING the bcsr combination of SERVICE, QUALITY & PRlCE. ALL brands of gliders and gear. Cdl I )oug Coster

88?,-474/i, wingtnanG'Drraverse.com

AIR SPORTS USA hang paragliding, microlights powered par·agltcitng. Distributors for Avian. Dealers for most major Pull service and equipment at best prices. The most friendly service in the area. Store address: 2'.I 31 Newtown Ave., Astoria NY. Phone (718) 777· 7000, WWW.FLYFORFlJN.NET PI.Y ll!Gll I !ANG CL!DING, INC. Serving S. New York, Connecticut, areas. Area's EXCUJ. SIVE Wills Wing Also all other major brands, accessories. Certified school/instruction. Teaching since 1979. Area's most [NEXPENS[VE Fxccllent secondary instruction ... if you've startand wish to continue. Fly the mormtain! 51 (,:l Contact Paul NY 12'>66, (81i'5) SUSQUEHA\INA i:J.ICHT PARK Cooperstown, NY. Certified Instruction, Sales and Service for all major manufacrmcrs. liO acre park, 5 training hills, jeep rides, hunk house, hot showers, GOO' NW ridge. We have the best in N. New York stale to teach you how to fly. c/o Dan Cuido, Box 29:l Shoemaker Rd, Mohawk NY 13407, Cl 15) 866,615:'l.

PENNSYLVANIA HIGHLAND AEROSPORTS -- Sec Maryland. MOUNTAIN TOP RECREATION Certified instruction, Pittsburgh. (4 I 2) 767-1882. C'MON OUT AND PLAY! MOUNTAlN WINGS

Look under New York.

PUERTO RICO

FLY PUERTO RJCO Team Spirit Hang Gliding, HG classes daily, t.rndcm instruction available. Wills Wiug dealer. Clidcr rentals for qualified pilots. PO Box ')78, Punta Sanriago, Puerto Rico 0071i 1. (787) 8500508, tshg(iilcoqui.nct TENNESSEE LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN l'LlGITT PARK ad under ( ;corgia.

Sec

HANC CUDING

Steve is a self-employed professional civil engineer and land surveyor. He is 43, lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is married to Lisa Verzella.

began learning to hang glide in the summer of 1980, instructed by Jim and Sara Bowman and Johann Nield of Eagle Air in Dayton, Wyoming. Being rather isolated in Wyoming, I would read Hang Gliding, Whole Air and Glider Rider magazines from cover to cover again and again. I was inspired by the work of Eric Raymond, Leroy Grannis (and the pilots who flew his cameras) , John Heiney, Larry Tudor and ochers. Those images were burned into my brain. I was already into photography before I learned to fly, so it was logical char I would combine my interests. I first mounted a camera on my glider in 1982. Like most hang gliding photographers I was motivated by the need to show friends and family just how amazing hang gliding is. Now I am more motivated to produce "eye candy" for myself and fellow pilots just for "rhe grins. " My philosophy for glider-mounted photography is rhat rhe image should be a landscape wirh a hang gliding subject in rhe foreground. I try to capture rhe special moments of a flight. A great shot is one rhar

draws rhe viewer in. As wirh all photography, light is an important factor. There is a magical rime of rhe day when rhe light is just right. IfI am persistent and lucky, it all comes togerher in a single frame. For my money, nothing bears rhe richness and sharpness of 35-mm film. I especially like Fuji Velvia. I use a Ca.non T-70 wirh a 17-mm Ca.non FD lens. Ir's rhe lens rhat makes all the difference. It gives a really wide view bur wirhout rhe curved distortion of a fisheye. If you shoot a !or of glider-mounted shots, you fmd rhat rhey all come om rhe same unless you change rhe angle. I'm always looking for ways to get a new angle. Good angles require some rhought from a photographic point of view and also good engineering with respect to rhe glider's handling, stability and structure. By necessity, I design and build all my own booms and mounts. I try to get rhe camera as far away from the glider as possible so rhat rhe view appears separate from rhe glider. Wirh long booms, it is always a compromise between stiffness, weight and lengrh. I think some of my booms are right on rhe edge. My camera wirh lens and film weighs 2.25 pounds, but wirh rhe boom and counterweights it can add over 20 pounds to rhe glider. There have been some excellent articles

on camera mounts published in Hang Gliding magazine by John Heiney and Paul Hamilton. Hamilton turned me on to rhe High Sierra Mfg. Clampette. When uimmed down and attached wirh a hose clamp ir makes a very strong, adjustable and lightweight connection between the camera and rhe boom. Flying with a camera brings a new set of challenges. First, one must rake extra care nor ro be distracted from flying. This includes setup, preflight, hooking in, etc. I like to have at least an exua hour of setup rime. Ir is all experimental and potentially dangerous. The handling of rhe glider is often adversely affected. Some of my mounts put a rum in rhe glider. Some just make it harder to turn. In turbulence, rhe booms will flex and rhe camera will bob around, sending oscillations rhrough rhe airframe. Launching and landing can be exua challenging wirh a heavy wing and a ca.n1era hanging down, ready to whack into rhe din. I am fortunate to live in Utah near Point of rhe Mountain. There, I can test-fly my camera mounts in smoorh ridge lift and top-land to make adjustments. Utah has many beautiful flying sites, a great variety of seasons and ouuageous landscape to photograph. I hope to be making "eye candy" for a long time ro come. •

TEXAS

HIGHI .AND AFROSPORTS Kl'J'TY HAWK KITl'S

• SEASONAL OPERATIONS (JUN NOV) • EXCEi .LENT XC l'LYINC • TANDLM !NSTRUCTJON • AERO TOWING • DRACONl'LY/TRJJ<F lNSTRUCTION • TNTRO FOOT LAU1'C:J-l CLASSES • FLY-INS AND CLINICS • SALES AND SERVICE 600 ACRE FACJUTY • ALL fl YIN<; BY RESERVATION ONLY Steve Burns - 979.279.9382 email: sburnst?1l:dphal .net 800B Pinc St., llcarnc TX T/859 Fred Burns - 28 J A71. 1488 email: ausrinairt?1\10l.com ;$8 IO Bernita I.:me, La Porte TX 77571 WWW.AUSTJNAIRSPORTS.COM C;o ... I-JANG GLIDING!!! -- Jc/fl lull!. Austin ph/fax

(512) 467-2529 jcfft?nflytexas.com HJLI. COUNTRY PARACLIDING INC Learn complete pilot skills. Personalized LJSHGA certified training, ridge soaring, foot & tow launching in central Texas. MOTORIZED PARAGI.TDING JNSTRUCTION & EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE. (91 5) l/9 l 185. 1li75 CR 220, Tow TX 78672. KITE ENTERPRISES Slope, sration:Hy winch, platform launch and aerotow training, s,iles, rentals and repair. Wills Wing, Moyes, Nonhwings. Dallas, fort Worth and north Texas area. (972) .'l'J0-9090, www.kitc··C11terprises.co1n

UTAH WASATCH WINGS Utah's only Cull service gliding school, Point of the Mountain, regional rno11ntain sires, rowing. Dealer for Acros, Airwavc, Altair, Moyes, Wills Wings and much more. Call Zac (80 I) ?.44.-7494, wingsQilwasatch.com www.wasatch.cond ,,,.,wings

VIRGINIA

Sec Maryland.

Sec North Carolina.

FLY AT VlRGlN!A'S NEWEST TOTI\!. fl.lGIIT PARK MANQlJIN offers aerotowing, tandem lessons, platform truck rowing, training hill and scooter towing for beginner tbru advanced pilots. Certified instruction, glider cqnipm<:nl sales, service and repair

through "BLUE SKY" Virginia's leading hang gliding school. Try :l-axis flying with ccrri/icd ultralight instruction rhmugh "FLY RAWL.lNG", learn to fly and soar the Srtpcrl'loatcr. Just 2 hours south of Washington DC, minutes NE of Richmond. Free camping and close ro fast food, restaurants and Kings Dominion theme park. Visit www.hlucskyhg.com. (540) li.'\2--6557 SILVER WJNCS, INC. ~ Certified instruction and equipment sales. (70:l) 533-1 %5 Arlington VA, silvcrwingshanggli,ling.conr WASHINGTON HANGTJ ME-~ Dealer of rhe MOSQUITO powered harnesses. Call for CLINIC dates. Right here in the pacific northwest. (509) 525--357/i, lbbrown(albmi.nct WISCONSIN

PARTS & ACCESSORIES AEROTOWING ACCESSORIES Sec TOWING. THE WALLABY RANCH (863) li24-0070.

MARCH 2002

Price $119.95. Fxtra finger swirch $19.95 w/pun:hase. Dealer inquiries welcome. Call (785) 8li:l l 8ii2, rnikcdillonGDflightconn.corn. MC/Visa. Visit our website al www.Hightco11n.com

FOR ALI. YOUR FLYING NEEDS Check out the Aviation Depot at www.mojosgcar.com I 000 items f,,r li.,ot--launched and powered s1un1 and power kiring, and powered secure on line shopping. Books, videos, engine pans) harness accessories, electronics, safoty cquipmrnt, complete powered paragliding units with training from J Iii] Country Paragliding Inc. I 800--66/i--l l 60 for orders only. Office (9 l 'i) 37') 1567.

CJ IOSTI\USTFR !'ARTS -- Sail, flaps, spoilers, ribs, hardware, wires, everything but the le:iding edges. (970) (,Ii I -9207, skyout I Grlwcbtv.nct

RAVEN SKY SPORTS l!ANc; Gl.]])JNG AND Pi\RAGLIDING The Midwest's Premier :icrotow park, founded in I')92. l'earuring INT'EGRAT ED INSTRUCTION of foot--launch and aerotow tan-dern skills, at prices to heal any in the USA. Seven beautiful, grassy training hills facing all wind directions. Fo11r tow planes, no waiting! J!our tandem on wheeled undercarriages. WW Falcons for training from the very lirsr lessons. USIJA ultralighr and u1g instruci-ion. Free camping. Salcs/scr-vice/acccssorics l,,r all brands. Open a week, PO March rhru November. Contact llrad Box IO I, Whitewater WI 5:l l ')0 (267) li73--8800 phone, (262) ltl:l-8801 fax, www.hanggliding.com, infoQDl1anggliding.com

BLUE SKY~ Fulltimc instruction and service at Mauquin Flight Park near Richmond. Wills Wing, Flight Design, Acros and Airwavc gliders. Mid-Mosquito dealer. Steve Wendt (5/iO) li:32 6557 or (80/i) 2/il-li:374, blucskyhgG1)yahoo.con1

• ORDER ONLINE AND SAVE Water/llust Resistant Push Burton • Field Replaceable Finger Switch • Heavier Gauge Wire/Improved Plugs • Increased Strain Relichtt Al.I. Joints

AV8 Li\MTNAR PARTS. We have what you need :ind we arc committed to same day shipping. AV8. Call (760) 721-0701 or email at indasky/irlyahoo.com

llOUBLF Bi\C;r

XC: $GO., heavy w:nerproof $100. l Iarncsscs, accessories) used p;i.rrs. Low prices) fast

delivery' Cunnison Gliders, I 51t9 County Road 17, Gunnison CO 81230. (970) 6/i 1-9:l 15, orders I 866238--2305 http://gunnisonglidcrs.com/ HANG GLIDIN(; BOAT --- For sale, sec at www.fly IO I .com. (702) 260--7950. KLASSIC: OR CONCEPT WfNGI.FTS One pair left, brand new in box $350 OBO or trade f,H? (262) 47:l-8800, info(i1Jhanggliding.com

'ii

USED GEAR Ball MSO $US. Harnesses: WW Flylitc, Moyes Extreme, Tccrna. Reserves, Uvcx helmet, barmirrs, wheels. (206) 244-5122,

MTNI VARIO World's smallest, simplest vario! Clips to helmet or chinstrap, 200 hours on hatteries, (). 18,000 fr., fost response and 2 year warramy. c;rcat for par:igliding too. ONLY $169. Mallettec, PO Box 157'56, Santa Ana CA, 92.Tl5. (714) 966·1240, MC/Visa accepted, www.ndlcu.ec.corn

HAWK AIRSl'ORTS INC P.O. Box 9056, Knoxville, TN .'37940,0056, (865) 945-2625. World famous Windsoks, as seen ar the Oshkosh & Sun··N· Fun EAA www.windsok.com

OXYGEN SYSTEMS

The world-·class XC:R · 180 opernres up to 3 hours ~hJ 8,000 fr. and weighs only lilb. Complete kit with cylinder, harness, regulator, cannula and remote on/off llowmctcr, only $/i00.00. SPECTACULAR TROPHIES catalog. Soaring Dreams 7.t,olisa@aol.com

Awards & gifrs! Free (208) 376·79 H,

DON'T GET CAUGHT LANDING DOWNWIND! 1.5 oz. ripstop nylon, LJV treated, 'j'/i" w/11" rhroar. Available colors fluorescent or fluorescent pink/white. $39.95 (+$5.00 Sil I). Send to USHCA Windsok, P.O. Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330, (719) 632-8300, fax (719) 632-6417, VISA/MC

BUSINESS & EMPLOYMENT TEK FLIGHT PRODUCTS

Otto Lilienthal's genius in scicnrific observations and analysis, documented in this work, became the basis for the experimentation of the early pioneers in aviarional flight. The "hero" of the \':(!right brothers, Otto is con· sidered to be "The Father of Gliding Flight." l.ilientld's definitive book has been out of print for almost a ccntnry, but is now available to everyone for a wonderful and absorbing journey into aviational histo· ry. 176 16 89 drawings and H graphs. 9.95 s/h) Call USHGA 1·800-6166888, or order off our website www.ushga.org

lf you don't have your copy of Dennis Pagen's PERFORMANCE FLYING yet, available through USH(;A Headquarters $29.95 (+$5.50 s&h for UPS/Priority Mail delivery). US! !GA, PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901. l -800·616-6888

l IA Ne; GU DER INSTRUCTORS-~ Needed /want· ed. Also needed: tandem instructors, sales people, trike instructors. Spend rhe summer in New York. Mountain Wings lnc., mtnwings@carskill.net (8/i5) 647,3.,77. WANTED TANDEM PILOTS Seasonal or foll time. Mnst be willing to work long hours. Send resume to fly~1lhanglidc.com or fax to (706) 398··2906. PUBLICATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS

Camera mount $48. 50. Camera remote (ask abom rebate) $45. Vario mount $23. 6" wheels $29.7'i, 8" wheels $3/i.75, Add $4 S&H per (US) included. TEK FLIGHT Products, Colebrook Stage, Winsted CT 06098. Or call (860) 'l79· l 668. Email: tckC<1>snet.nct or our page: www.tekflight.com

?.00 HANG GLIDING MAGAZINES 1974 ro 199/i, misccllaucous issues including Ground Skimmer and first l lang Gliding (November I 976). Call or e-mail for list and condition of each. (303) 841,7216, popsk 123@cs.com HARRY AND THE HANC GUDER is a beautifully illusrratcd, hardcover children's book with 40 color pages written for pilots ro share the dream of flight! To order: send $2/i.95 plus $3 shipping to SkyHigh Publishing, 201 N. Tyndall, Tucson, AZ 85719 or call (520) 628-8165 or visit Visa/MC accepted. HANG GLIDING

SOARJNC -

Mond1ly magazine oF The Soaring

VIDEOS & Fil.MS

by Adventure Productions, great hg action $:lli.95 each. Call US11CA (/l9) 6.'28300, F.,x (719) 63),.(,li17, email: usJ1ga·~1Jnsll1;a.,ng,

Society of !\mcrica, Inc. Covers all aspens of soaring

flight. Full membership $55. Info. kit with $3. SSA, P.O. Box 2100, I lohbs, NM 392-117"7.

copy . (50'1)

www.usl1ga.org.

1wo or 1norc videos). ( ~reat to i1T1prcss

friends or for those sockcd--in days. Perfect gilt rhc launch potaro turned couch pornto. Also, ask us abom our paragliding videos!

TOWING AEROTOWING ACCESSORIES Jlcadquarrcrs for: The iincst releases, releases, Spectra "V" bridles, weak links, tandem launch can kits, etc. THE WALLABY RANCH (863) lt21t-0070. DRAGONFLY I 9%, 2--placc, 810 hours, 587 w/dutch, 70 hours since major, salmon color $16,flOO. Mike (GOI) 932-0250W, (601) 8158503H

WEATJIFR TO FLY, hy Adventure Productiou,. J\

DRAGONFLY B-MODEL !GT · Bnilt by Bobby Bailey $13,600. Rotax 582 fitted and plumbed radiator, exhaust $6,626. Electric start, 6 blade lvo prop with dutch $1,100. Rear scat and controls $1,250. Brake kit installed $250. BRS 900 Vl.S $2,59'5. Instrument pack: Alt, AST, Tacho, temp gauges, Hobbs $1,017. l'ainted nnc color $1,200. Tow system $}7'5. Toral $28,013. A 50'J'i, deposit is required. Bobby Bailey can be available for basic training alier completion, Kenny Brown/Moyes America, ?.00 l-Iillcrcst I )rive, Auburn CA 95603, (530) 888- 8622, fox (530) 888- 8708, flyamoycs@aol.com,

ing, when: lo acq\lire to intcrprc1 it. This video will help pilots ot any aircra(i understand You'll learn more about modeling and about and local infh1cnces how to deter· mine alo!i :rnd stability. "Weather To l'ly" is an over--all view packed with usefol derails and includes cloud lt is a straight-forward presentation is easy to 50 min. $39.95 STARTJNG HANG GLIDING, by Adventure Productions. Produced especially to promote the sport.

much needed instructional video on ll\ctcoro\ogy.

Dixon White, Master pilot and USI-!CA Ex:uniner·, rakes yott through a

1vww.n1oycsamcrica.com

process show-

l'rom the Tcllmiclc Festival in 1981, to rhe modern day cornpt:titi1on. Follow the history of this dyn:llll· Call USIICJ\ (719) 632-8.JOO, fax order

from

our

wch

www.ushga.org. Please add +$4 domestic s/h.

Covers basic prcpar;nio11 1 weather, proper attitude,

ground handling, launching and those first flights. 30 min $29,95.

s A l 001< 211 tr1c o/ I lc:1ng CilicJinq I r1c Winq c:1nd Wl1y IL Works l'liCJhl Skills [() tr1c '5CCJ111r1CI LC'VC

l/ici1t Skills to tr1c Novice level FlyilKJ ConcJitioris

G1cJ1nCJ Equ1pmcr11

More i;/)()ut the IJnnc1ples or Hic/11 rm H1gr1 A!tit,JClc 1!ic1r11 Stc:1rtccJ in ScJc1nr1cJ rancJcm ;mcJ Tow Tr211nil1g n1in(J\ [very Pilot SrmulcJ l<nuw Clms('iry of H21rn1 Ci!1cJincJ lerrm IJUN I) 'A, rt IC Pro I' I1el''

\11'1

Colorado Springs, CO 80901 MARCH 2002

J -800-616-6888

fax (719) 632-6417 www.ushga.org

silc

M ISC ELLANEOUS

be rece ived in writing 1.5 mon ths preced ing the cover date, i.e. February 20th fo r rhe April issue. Please make checks payab le to USH GA, P.O . Box 1330, Colorado Springs, C O 8090 1- 1330 , (7 19) 632-8300 . Fax (7 19) G.'32-64 17 o r email: ushga@ushg:1.o rg yo ur classiti ed with you r Visa/M C o r Amex. STOLEN W INGS & T HI NGS

"AEROBAT ICS " - Full color 23"x 3 1" poster fea turing John Heiney do ing wha r he does bcsr-LOO PINO Ava ilable rhrough US H GA H Q fo r jusr $6.95 (+$5. 00 s/ h). Fil l t har vo id 0 11 you r wa ll ! Se nd to US H CA Ae ro bar ics Poste r, PO Box 1300 , Co lo rad o Sp ri11 gs CO 80933. (USA & Canada o nly. So rry, posters arc NOT AVA i L.ABLF o n inre rn atio nal o rd ers.) S P EC IA L- Ae ro bat ics pos te r & Eri c Ray m o nd pos te rBO TH FO R $ 10 (+$5 s/ h). C heck rhe mercha nd ise ,ecrion of ou r web sire www.ushga.org for a co lor picture of rhese bea utiful posters. AP P AR EL, VlDEO S , BOOKS & POST ERS C heck o ut o ur we b page www. ushga.o rg

BAG OF GE.A R - Stolen November 25, 200 1 in CO RVALLI S, OREGO N . Contained: older, small ish, purple H igh Energy pod harness with jury- rigged jamclea r system under tape wrappi 11g, yellow 24-gore H igh Ene rgy ch ute w it h sw ivel, w hi te 35 m m ca m e ra , Braun ige r AV Co mp vario sn. I 0993 14, several unusual home- made fl ight instrum ents (bubble level system a nd G - m ere r) . Steve Se ib e l, (5 4 1) 752- 8 1 25, se ibel999 @ho rm a il. com C o rva lli s p .d. case# 01 11495 . LA M OUETT E T O PLESS 13.5 M - Stolen August 4 , 2001 fro m W ASH OE, N EVADA. Purpl e/gree n wirh pink LE, miss ing (at the rime) 3 tip batte ns on each side . T wo wo rn areas (parched w it h grey d uct rape) on rhe green/ pur ple undersurface, 2" worn spots are .'3 fee t fro m keel resulting aro und hearrbolt. Contact Dave Merriman (9 16) 798-0704, asaceu@softcom.n et FO UN D - O n Apri l 28 , 200 I. Fligh t suit left on laun ch at Loo ko ut M oun ta in Fli ght Pa rk . Call and id entify , thnnlu p@chartanooga .net (706) 820-0365. STOLEN W INGS arc li sted :ts a service to US H GA members. Newes t e nt ri es arc in bol d . T here is no charge fo r this service and lost a nd fo und wi ngs or equ ipment may be ca lled in (7 19) 632-8300 , faxed in (7 19) 632-64 l 7, o r emailed at ushga@ushga.o rg fo r incl usion in H ang G lid ing magazine. Please call to cancel rhe listing when glide rs are recovered . Periodically, this listing will be pu rged.

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS BRO KEN G LASS T S HIRTS - Ba ck by po 1JLdar de mand. T hi s is the actua l X- Ra y from th e survivor, Do 11 "Broken" G lass, after a wron g turn at a speed gliding co ntest back in '97. $20 us+ $3 per shirr s/h. Profits benefit rhe Air Pirates Ca nadian W orld Hang G lid ing T ea m . Se n d a c hequ e ro: M a rk Dowse tt (m a rk@d owser r. ca), 353 Eas t 19th Srree t , N o rt h Vanco uver, BC. Canada V7 L 2Z4 . Black T, specify M, L, XL or Wom ens " Baby T'' (righter far ing) M, L, XL. Dea ler/ bu lk enq uiries are welcome. DON ' T LEAV E YOU R G R O U ND - BOUND EQU IP M ENT S ITT ING IN THE GARAGE. SELL IT IN T H E HANG G LIDING CLASSI FIEDS. CLASS IFIED ADV ERTISING RATES T he rare fo r classifi ed advertising is $.5 0 per wo rd (o r gro up of characters) and $ 1.00 per wo rd fo r bo ld or all ca ps. M IN IM U M AD C HAR GE $5. 00 . A fee of $ 15. 00 is charged fo r each line art logo and $25 .00 fo r each photo. LI NEA RT & P H OTO S IZE NO LA RGER T H AN 1.7 5" X 2.25". Please underl ine wo rds robe in bold pri11r. Special layo uts of tabs $25.00 per column in c h . P h o ne n um b c r=2 wo rd s . E m a il o r we b address =3word s. AD D EAD LI NE S: All ad co py. instr uctions, changes, addi tio ns and ca ncellations m ust

Adventure Productio ns .... .. .. .. ... .. .. ... .. 14 Adve ntures U nique ...... ... .. .... ... ....... .. 34 Airborne ..... ... .... ..... .......... ..... .. ... .. .... ... 9 Angle of Attack .. .. .... ..... .. .. .... .. ... .. ..... 54 AV8 .. .... ... ..... .. .......... ... .. .. ... ..... .. ..... .. 20 Dan Joh nson ........... .. ....... ... ....... .... ... 10 Fly G uatemala .. ........ .... .. .. ... .... ........ .. 13 Flytec .......... .. ...... ...... .... ... ... Bac k Cover Hall Bros ......... .. .. .. ......... .. ..... ..... .... ... 14 lcaro .... .. ... .. .. ...... .. .. ... .... ..... .. .. .... ... .... 13 Just Fly .. .... ...... ....... .... ... ... ..... ... .... .... .27 Looko ut Men. Flight Park .... .. ........ 2,33 Moyes ...... .. ... .............. ..... ....... ... ... .... 11 Spore Aviatio n Pu blicatio ns ..... ... .. ..... 13 Traverse Ciry Hang G liders .. .. .... .. ....... 2 US Aeros ... .............. .. ........................ 19 USHG A .............. ..... . 5,7,8 , 14, 17 ,4 1,53 W ills W ing .. .. .. .. ........... ............ .. ... 9,15 W indsporcs .. ..... .. .. .... ... .. .... ... .. .. ....... . 13

Ask us about Grippie'" Flying Gloves. Phone: 209.543.7850 Toll -Free: 888.530.9940 E-Mail : custsvc@a ng leofattack . n et Website: http://a ngleofattack.net

100% Guaranteed. If not satisfied, return unused tubes for l 00%money back. Major Credit Cards accepted. OEM/ Dealer inquiries encouroged. Ad b Peter Birren: 847.640 .0171

H ANG G LI DING

,c;•t. Pl\UT,, M.I NN. FAA released the Notice of Proposed Rule:making (NPl<M) qcnc,rc1 I ly Io Sport Pilot. I won'! dwcl.l on lhi;; 1 'vc, rcr:c,nl wr·iLLc 0 n about l he new rule Bui plc:i.10,C' wal.. cll lldmJ Cl iciincJ nv1qc1,c i m, ,rnd ,1:,k your W31!C/\ lei1dc:rc; 101·

c1dvi cc,

rc,r,poncLi nq

cilir- i 1CJ

l.. hc·

C:ornrncnl

lurncxi it. ( Moye,:; I.iqhU,pcc•d !J) who came .in firr:t in the "Combined Opc:n" c<ilc·qo~y ,1L I.he Australian Open i ,J,mu,11y. !Jc-·

pa::L

,.1 round

Now

J\liltionaJ,;.

Cor:q r·d Lu Id I. i om,

Yankc·c,;;

;;omc

Mike

l.o

Barber

"CliJHU I Open" behind IJkr·di.nian (/\crrn; Comba I ~) . + '.!.'hen, in I he /\uHlralian NaLionaJr;, Paris Williams (T,aminar ;;Ll~) t.ook l:11c: Lop r:pol in Cl cir;;; r.. Davis Straub (/\'I'm; Lini.cohcd

rc:eccmd

Oleg Bondarchuck

)

iniEohcd

the "Overal I" cat cqory

Cood

Spr'aldng of l.op Ul<:rdiric pilDL llor.darc~rnck, lJ.;;. i mpor I er, GW Meadows, wr i l "Wi Ui OI eq doinq r;o we! I in in /\w;trci l ia, J 'vo liacl lol.r, of cal I r·o111 customer:, want i.n<J Lhc 'I.ow down' on I.he new Crnnh.1L ? . " /\monq chanc,or; f 1·om U1e cilrl i rnode.l , CW rT:[lorl:r; Combat 2 incorporates a r;J i qh t ciiffocc n1 Hail cul, c1_i-cfoi], }_)pan wi::_;e:: t:;a Lcnt;.ion 1 and rib di ::\.r i I iun. U. . /\c,ror; :;aye; i I. ut.i I "comp! cLo ly di. f lcrc·nl clol:h on l.110 lecJciir1cJ c ci9c which mon, 1·el i able Hhilpi nq 1.llrouqhoul 1.hc, :;peed r·rmqc, of 1:11(> glider, l.lilmxl on [acl.ory l c:'31.ing and OI c·CJ' :; cont cxpc1,.icncc, CW report. "fLir1dlinq u;

qoi

Y,mlrn!

a,;

improved,

c1rc,

the

landinq

ch,.1racl.cric;ticr;."

!le

,;ayr; I.hill a bicJ di Lc,rcncc on Combc1t ? i Llie ilViJ i 1abi Li L.y o[ U1c, "micro-drag" control f:ra:me wh icl1 ul. i I i,;c,;

Wil J

Winq

upriqht

mc1Lcd

prof

1\cco:,' new modern cornc:r brackeU; iJnd U1c,i r

own c:dr·

bon r;pccdbiJ1'.. Pitch testing ba;; bc,e:n done and Combat ? Pil""cd w.it:11 "Llyinq colon;," n°port,; Mfa.1dow,;. Morc :info: gwicl-juut.Lly.com or ).',?.-,rn0--3','i?.. He vvhilc• we're Li1lkinq about pilol.'3 who clicl well in UH, 0

1\w;r;i e

contouU;, tJ1c story gets exciting. Nca r· the: end or ,J,mu,ny, Uav.i;; m:nrnb wrut.c in J1ir; CJ:c Ncpor! ll1at, "T Wil'3 r-Lyinq ll\'JUS l!J')j raiqhl ,md lc·vc·l wl1cn i mil ,mt I y my nor,c went. i qhl down ,md 1J1c qliclor picked up a wl10Le Jot or c1pecd in .I t l1cm c1 c:cconcl. I had no contro I of I he CJ I i ck,r al. l hi point 1md coulcln' hc,Ji U10 ,,[lced 01-- the lon:c·;; upon me,." l<r11iq Coomber wrm Ly·inq nGu-by and r;ilid Lhill. "I.he tuck and l:hc break or 1.hc, wi.nq hilppcncd ii,; one· 0

After

cve:nl .. 11

successfully deploying,

wa;; drcad:inq com.inq h<lppy l.o [)IJV(' il p,irildrul (' (C•V('fl i I rc•ciillc,c1,

One J·:11ropc,c1n pi Loi. hc'ilJ"i nq of wr·oLc:

" I

l 11Jr1wilil <1rrry,

c1:;kcd

ldboul

rnc1k i nq

pilr<Jcliutcr;

c.Hlcl

Lor

cxpcrl. I

c:,rnopy

i:--'.c 0 c:]

I.he·

Dul:c:h

r;o

wc1r;

·1 Ci

b11l

CJDJ"C)."

c3t.r,.rnb' :: cxpcr ic ncc l lcn ry l lc Im i ch I nim llc 0 workr: for Irie,

pa r,whu\.c:; and

:~t c21uh

l,1,;L, 1

I Loca I.

f o Id i nq

C:clCilldn

rmd

lie milkr:r;

hanq

qlidinq

mcukc:1-. Hee w,rn vc,ry clu,11--. '!'he difference in opening Li.me r or ,1 L,ll'CJC: c CK rnnal lcr 'chu l..c for· your we· i qhl is in tenths of seconds, if rncar;1irilblc1 c1l ill I. 'l'lw on I y l hi nq l.l1al. real ly count r; i:; I hat l.lw 'c:hut c i

Mi\RCI I 2002

ke:Co1-- of- omnrqcncy parachut:c.';,

you don 'C rcc1.l /y care·

how f ,mt Uw canopy open!.; an much c1s how much

J>cr i ocl

i:; now open. He 11on°iqnc,r:; hi.Ive cone wc•l.l c1L

whir:h

dry and recently folded. 'Chute, mdl.cri.a.1 abc:orbr; [corn t·he air, which makc:c, Lhe mal.cric1 Eol ick l.o each other and [olclinq .ii re:qularly kc c,pr; miltcT i I [I u fy. " ( l"rom my pc'r.';rxx·/: i. vc cw ,i n1c1r-

moir;t.ur0

d LL i

l_udc i.,; consumed bo!orr OJXYL-inq.) Dav qol_ Lhc, me·:, ;;c1cJe. ! Jc wn>l.c,: "J ,e,0;:;on qc1. iJ t·_w(:nl.y ·qorc chul.c." He Wills Wing computerized sail plotter.

plcil'°cd wit.h l.hc,ir new "Nine yc,1n; ilqo, in con--juncU on wi t_h our rnovC' Lo cl new, c,xp.indcd f i.lC LI i I y, WiJlr: Wing im;Lil.cd il ,;ta\ec-of l-hc-c1rl, cornputc,r nq rnacli i m,. " W i 11 prcci ,,e c11tlc·1·;p·J ott c·r h,1:; given Uwm I.he abiJi Lo produce prol-ol:ypc h,mq qi iCl('l" ,;r1i I ,md hc1n1r•c:r, dc•r;ic,n:; din,cl:Jy Lrorr. c:omput.cr· dc:oiiqn [i lcr;. + "Wc,'vc n,plilccd our ociqinc1 rnachim, with :.he, hqhly upqcdcJc,cJ /\ul.ornc•LrLx /\u1.oCul '/ODO model," c1,1y,; Willr; '!'he nc•w unLI n•r: c:onl

led

/\utomct r i

n?porU; the w;c of

\.hi

repeatable accuracy to within ten thousandths o:E an inch over· Lhc cnt:in: "ur[ilcc 01 U1c f i fool: by five-foot table, r,ay,: WiJ Jr-;. + L1actory lc:;t pi loU; 0

bc·co:TK' awa n, L:hat "d.i mcnc; iona I ac1 c;ixty lhorn;andU1,, of an inch over I.he l.. hi.rl.y-Lwo root. i>p,rn or a hancJ (JI i cfor can y i r•J cl pc0 rcc·pt. i b I c changes in flight characteristics, r;o th i I e:vc· I o I cJcc11r·c1cy :i r, il mc1ltcr· of pr,icl Leal imporL.ancc lianq q Ii dcr

mrmu facturc." rnf:o: Wi I L,;Wi_nq. c:om or Cil I '/H 'l'lil 6'l'i9. He l\lcrtc•d by \J . . di rih..1to1~, Hich llurton, T looked on their \r-k,bc;i l.. o ,_;c•c, m·wr; ol Icaro's new rigid wing. t,ich ,,dyr; 1.hr, new winq war: "dcvc I opc:d hy Chr i dn Cicch end M1.mJ- nxi l,uhmc:r." In c>2.irly 1-'cbrnary, Lhc firr;l pitch 1.c:,t work done, by I he Cc.•rrnan rntv pnivc,d m1ccef1c1h1l. So far, the· new riqid wing is unnamed. '/'hey c.1rc corn;idcrinq N;t.ron, llyncrnic, OrbiU11, .';trcilcm. II you want to intluc,ncc: the, judq u, go l:o caro7.00lJ.com. Info: i ncl,wkyGlyailoo.com or '/GO '171 0'/01 He 'l'i l Jed cif l llw !<ii.Ly tk1wk Kil:cr, annual event. or lhc i1ilmc name, Hang Gliding Spectacular i_:: dcdi c,1lcd Io Mi chllc "llol lywood" Champlin (who happr'm:d l.o c{vc c1dito1· Jim Palmieri Iii fi book ,;il Le) lfCc, i c1 ).!)'/ pc1qc, book w·il:)1 '/0 individu,il ,;tor·ic,r;. 'l'hrn1ql1 I didn't I I y ('XPC'C\. i 1., found myc;c, 1 [ f Lippinq Pi.lCJC[, I o yc:t dnothcr, ~;Lory. r Thccc~ -1 wc:1~>... f_;tor-i_c;3 ar-c Jcx1-cndc1ry in hang qLi.dinq. Once, in d wh c, 1;uch lillc·,; rue· f dr;c i 1·1c1l. i nq but Uf>Ud I ly l.hc,y' n· :;orncbody c: Lr;c,' r; cxpc,ricnc:c lhill: qct lonq in Lhc looth rdl.ltc·r quic:k ly. 'l'hrn;c, in lfC.'3 wc,rc quil.c J"cadabLc,, rc lt. 'f'hc ,:;2!J.')'i book ,1J;;o 1mw:uc1.I in offcrinq c1 CD with the printed volume mi a r; l.o pr ovi dc. vi cfoo c: I i pc1, rnilny pho1.o,;, ilnd ilL11::1.raLiunr;. Info: .';kydoqGkcv. net or ',!)() '/'/2 1)2(i2. .'!o, qol noJvr; rn· np i ni om:? ,;end 'c,rn Io: fl Don;c,t, flail I MN ')'i·I i fl. Mcr,r,ilqc;; or fax L.o Ci'i I -I) 'iO -()930. I) Lc,d:x, note: my new 0

c--rnai.J i II

adcln,m; of News@ByDanJohuson.com .. but_ you can uc;r) Cumulul;Man(.Jao I . com for t;;u fon";cci.lb.l c·

r II t U re . '.rBl\NKl?_ !

$599

The world's best vario, service, and price.

/~r Some may claim they have more features

... udderly ridiculous All the basic features, plus: • a 126-hour barograph • user programmable audio • selectable audio excitement levels • flight evaluation software that allows you to configure your instrument from your PC • FlyChart Professional CD-ROM and PC cable FREE • same day/next day turnaround on any repairs • real-world polar recording and graphic editing • unlimited flight log book • if you're interested in a competition vario, call us and learn all the high-end features that we have and they don't (allow some time- the list is long!)

Who Flies With Flytec? The only 3-time World Champion 2001, 2000 US National Champion-Flex 2001 1st place US Nationals-Rigid 2001 Speed Gliding top 3 pilots 2002 Top 3 current ranked US pilots 2002 Top 2 pilots at the Australian Nationals The most world record flights NASA space program and 3 aerospace contractors Brietling Orbiter 3- the only balloon team to circumnavigate the world World loop record holder

and every pilot who simply wants the best

l tJJ~ ~rrl

FlyTEC 352·429·8600 • 800,662,2449 • www.flytec.com