USHGA Hang Gliding & Paragliding Vol34/Iss5 May 2004 by US Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association

Volume 34 Issue 5 May, 2004 $4.95

A P u b l icatio n of the U nite d States H a ng G l i d i ng A ssociatio n • w w w.ushga .o rg

IT DOESN T MATTER WHATVOU THINK YOU WANT.... WE'VE GOT IT. 1

You want the most reassuring, most docile characteristics available in a DHV 1 entry level wing? You still want good handling and excellent soaring performance? We've got that-the Airwave Wave and the brand new Swing Axis 3. Been there and done that, and ready for a slightly more active wing with some more performance? Got that too - the new Swing Arcus 3. Ok, past that too, huh? Lots of time on the more docile DHV 1 and 1-2 wings, ready to try the top end of the performance spectrum in a more advanced DHV 1-2? Yep, we've got that too: Airwave Sport 2 and Swing Mistral 3 - both brand new and both incredible. (If you haven't flown a current generation wing, you'll find it hard to believe how much performance a top end DHV 1-2 can offer these days.) Or, if you'd like to step up a little farther to DHV 2 class performance - there's the Swing Astral 3. Ok, who's left? Right, the veterans with multiple hundreds of hours that fly every weekend, usually both days - looking for a true high performance wing with cross country speed and glide, and ready for DHV 2-3 flight characteristics. We've got that too - the Swing Cirrus 3 and the Airwave Magic 3. Instructors? Looking for the ultimate tandem wing? Check out the Airwave Combi or Airwave Scenic- outstanding teaching tools for your school.

Who's that last guy over in the corner there? Oh yeah, the competition pilot. Yep, we've got your wing too. Airwave Magic FR or Swing Stratus 5-take your pick. Either way you've got the performance to win in a competition class wing.

So there it is. And you thought this was going to be hard.

BEGINNER

RECREATION

COMPETITION

MISTIIAL3 SPORT2

MAGIC3

MAGIC FR

Wills Wing, Inc. 500 West Blueridge Ave, Orange CA 92865 TEL 714-998-6359 FAX 714-998-0647 e-mail: info@vvillswing.com

R &TPAM NI NT HD A N GE GP L I DA ING R A GEL I D G

Jayne DePanfilis, Publisher: jayne@ushga.org C. J. Sturtevant, Editor: editor@ushga.org Tim Meehan, Art Director: artdirector@ushga.org Steve Roti, Contributing Editor Matt Gerdes, Contributing Editor Davis Straub, Contributing Editor Office Staff Jayne DePanfilis, Executive Director, jayne@ushga.org Jeff Elgart, Advertising, jeff@ushga.org Trina Richard, Member Services, trina@ushga.org Bob Archibald, IT Administrator, bob@ushga.org Joanne Peterson, Member Services, joanne@ushga.org USHGA Officers and Executive Committee: Bill Bolosky, President, bolosky@ushga.org Mark Forbes, Vice President, mgforbes@mindspring.com Elizabeth Sharp, Secretary, Elizabeth.Sharp@heii.com Randy Leggett, Treasurer, ias@ot.com REGION 1: Bill Bolosky, Mark Forbes. REGION 2: Ray Leonard, Urs Kellenberger, Paul Gazis. REGION 3: David Jebb, John Greynald, Tad Hurst. REGION 4: Steve Mayer, Jim Zeiset. REGION 5: Lisa Tate. REGION 6: Len Smith. REGION 7: Bill Bryden. REGION 8: Gary Trudeau. REGION 9: Randy Leggett, Felipe Amunategui. REGION 10: Steve Kroop, Matt Taber. REGION 11: Dave Broyles. REGION 12: Paul Voight. DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Elizabeth Sharp. Bruce Weaver, Dennis Pagen, Russ Locke, Chris Santacroce. HONORARY DIRECTORS: Alan Chuculate, Tiki Mashy, Aaron Swepston, Steve Roti, Dick Heckman, Michael Robertson, Bob Hannah, John Harris, Tom Johns, Ed Pitman, Jennifer Beach, James Gaar, Dave Broyles, Ken Brown, Rob Kells, Dan Johnson, Dixon White, Jan Johnson. EX-OFFICIO DIRECTORS: Art Greenfield (NAA). The United States Hang Gliding Association Inc. is an air sports organization affiliated with the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) which is the official representative of the Fédération Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), of the world governing body for sport aviation. The NAA, which represents the United States at FAI meetings, has delegated to the USHGA supervision of FAI-related hang gliding and paragliding activities such as record attempts and competition sanctions. HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine is published for foot-launched air-sports enthusiasts to create further interest in the sports of hang gliding and paragliding and to provide an educational forum to advance hang gliding and paragliding methods and safety. Contributions are welcome. HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine reserves the right to edit contributions where necessary. The Association and publication do not assume responsibility for the material or opinions of contributors. HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING editorial offices email: editor@ushga.org. ALL ADVERTISING AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES MUST BE SENT TO USHGA HEADQUARTERS IN COLORADO SPRINGS. The USHGA is a member-controlled sport organization dedicated to the exploration and promotion of all facets of unpowered ultralight flight, and to the education, training and safety of its membership. Membership is open to anyone interested in this realm of flight. Dues for Rogallo membership are $59.00 per year (of which $15 goes to the publication of Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine), ($70 non-U.S.); subscription rates only are $42.00 ($53 non-U.S.). Changes of address should be sent six weeks in advance, including name, USHGA number, previous and new address, and a mailing label from a recent issue. You may also email your request with your member number to: ushga@ushga.org.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING (ISSN 1543-5989) is published monthly by the United States Hang Gliding Association, Inc., 219 W. Colorado Ave., Suite 104, Colorado Springs, CO 80903 (719) 6328300. FAX (719) 632-6417. PERIODICAL POSTAGE is paid at Colorado Springs, CO and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send change of address to: Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine, P.O. BOX 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330. Canadian Post Publications Mail Agreement #40065056. Canadian Return Address : DP Global Mail, 4960-2 Walker Road, Windsor, ON N9A 6J3 DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES IN PUBLICATIONS: The material presented here is published as part of an information dissemination service for USHGA members. The USHGA makes no warranties or representations and assumes no liability concerning the validity of any advice, opinion or recommendation expressed in the material. All individuals relying upon the material do so at their own risk. Copyright © 2004 Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine. Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine welcomes editorial submissions from our members and readers. We are always looking for well-written articles and quality artwork. Feature stories generally run anywhere from 1,500 to 3,000 words. If your topic demands more or less than this, you should discuss options with the editor. News releases are welcomed, but please do not send brochures, dealer newsletters or other extremely lengthy items. Please edit news releases with our readership in mind, and keep them reasonably short without excessive sales hype. You are welcome to submit photo attachments, preferably jpeg ﬁles smaller than a megabyte. Calendar of events items may be sent via email to editor@ushga.org, as may letters to the editor. Please be concise and try to address a single topic in your letter.

Chris Santacroce over Mandoza, Argentina, crossing the Andes with Will Gadd during the Red Bull Trans-Andes Paragliding Expedition Photo: © Christian Pondella

Your contributions are greatly appreciated. If you have an idea for an article you may discuss your topic with the editor either by email or telephone. Contact: Editor, Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine, editor@ushga.org, (425) 888-3856.

The United States Hang Gliding Association, a division of the National Aeronautic Association,

is a representative of the Fédération Aeronautique Internationale in the United States.

FLYING MOMS

DEPARTMENTS Editor’s Corner ..................................... 6

Kay Tauscher interviews two H4 moms who raised young children while they were developing their ﬂying skills.

Kay Tauscher ................................... 24

Pilot Brieﬁngs: News and Events ............ 7 Air Mail: Readers Write In ...................... 11

WHY THE RAT RACE? USHGA: Director Nominations................ 14 USHGA: Executive Director’s Letter ......... 15 USHGA: Bob the IT Guy ......................... 18

Last year’s Rat Race participants commented at the 2003 National Paragliding Championships that they’d received some of the best training for the competition arena at the Rat Race. Mike Haley ...................................... 31

USHGA: Gary Trudeau ........................... 19 Master’s Tips: Dixon White ................... 22 HG-101 ................................................ 28 2003 Accident Summary: HG............. 50 New Ratings ....................................... 53

2004 NATIONAL FLY-INS Two National Fly-Ins this year means two chances to ﬂy with all your old and new buddies and to party in some of the most beautiful countryside in the U.S.

Marketplace........................................ 57 Davis Straub.................................... 32 Calendar ............................................. 59 Gallery ................................................ 63 Comp Corner ...................................... 67 Site Guide: Sequatchie Valley ................. 69 Classiﬁeds ........................................... 72 Index to Advertisers ........................... 77

RED BULL TRANSANDES EXPEDITION Ever since professional paraglider and ice climber Will Gadd hiked through the Andes 10 years ago he’s dreamed about ﬂying there. Last December, he ﬁnally made his dream come true. Shanti Sosienski ............................... 36

Product Lines: By Dan Johnson ............. 78 4

May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

M AY,

FLYABILITY Appearances can be sometimes deceiving: The sharp mind of a skilled pilot lurks within Steve Varden’s handicapped body. George Ferris.................................... 44

Page 63

BEGINNING SOARING In order to maximize lift and ﬂy safely, paraglider pilots need to understand how their wing performs at different speeds. James Bradley .................................. 47

DEVELOPING THE SPORT2 Airwave’s new Sport2 has improved glide, better speed range, and greater stability than the already-topperforming Sport1. Bruce Goldsmith .............................. 54

Page 28

2 0 0 4

E D I T O R ’ S

C O R N E R

Editor’s Notes

y the time you read this we’ll all be well into the spring flying C. J. Sturtevant season, but as I write these notes it’s still just two days past the official end of winter. Surprisingly, since I live in the Pacific Northwet (yes, that’s how we spell it, this time of year!) my flying muscles are aching from my first-in-a-long-time multi-hour thermal flight on my Stealth. Spring has arrived, without a doubt! I think the end of winter caught a lot of us by surprise. If you’re looking forward to participating in some of the spring comps and fly-ins, be sure to check out the Pilot Briefings and the calendar – we had several last-minute new additions, including a tow comp for paragliders that’s happening in Florida this month, and the Just Fly music video contest with an entry deadline of May 7th. Farther in the future, we have two national fly-ins this summer — both are tow meets, and the one in Texas is a biwingual event. I’ve flown my hang glider in Texas, back when I was a P2, and I can recall thinking that the gentle thermals and plentiful LZs would be really paraglider-friendly. Davis Straub provides enough detail about both fly-in sites to entice pilots to make these events a family vacation destination. To get you tuned up for the “get high, go far” season, G.W.’s almost-monthly HG-101 column reminds us that there are times when it’s best to “Just Not Fly.” Even though this article is slanted towards new hang glider pilots, his material is worthwhile reading for pilots of all wingual persuasions and skill levels. Paraglider pilots will find some useful tips on getting the best performance from their wing in an article by an enthusiastic newcomer, James Bradley. And to remind us that determination combined with a bit of luck can turn impossible-seeming dreams into reality, Shanti Sosienski tells the tale of Will Gadd’s and Chris Santacroce’s incredible paraglider flight across the spine of the Andes.

Kay Tauscher reminds us that Mother’s Day is coming up with her timely article about two Hang 4 moms whose hang gliding lifestyles have had a tremendously positive impact on them and their daughters. You’ll find another positive message, and a few good laughs, in George Ferris’s article about Steve Varden, founder of UK’s Flyability organization. Steve’s refusal to allow cerebral palsy to keep him on the sidelines of life is truly inspirational. On a more serious note, this issue contains the 2003 accident summary for hang gliders. Tom Johns spent quite a bit of time analyzing the accident reports you’ve sent in, and has compiled the information into a format that will hopefully allow all of us to learn from the mistakes that others made. This month’s Masters Tips column by Dixon White has a similar focus: we are all part of a community whose strength lies in our ability to work together and help each other improve our skills and fly safely. There are some big issues facing our organization in the near future: a need to relocate the office, the name change debate, declining membership, potential new airspace and towing restrictions. Your regional directors and the USHGA EC try to keep you informed of what’s going on behind the scenes both nationally and at your local sites. This magazine is our “national newsletter,” and I as its editor rely on you to keep me informed about what’s happening in your neck of the woods. Please stay connected and involved, and send in your letters and articles, news items and photos. The few of us “in charge” of one thing or another can only be effective if the 10,000 or so of you out there doing the flying keep us abreast of the latest concerns and happenings in your communities. I look forward to hearing from you!

C. J. Sturevant, Editor

May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

P I L O T

News from Dixon White/Airplay

late evenings throughout the summer, you can avoid strong midday conditions and still get loads of airtime. See the calendar in this issue for clinics in July and August.

A Good Day For a World Record by Davis Straub, contributing editor

Pilot meeting at headquarters at the 2003 Rat Race

The second annual Rat Race USHGA sanctioned competition will be held June 2-5 near Medford, Oregon. Registration is now open to the first 75 pilots. Dixon White will be the meet director, same as last year. http://www.cascadeparaglidingclub.org/ ratrace.html UP and Windtech are looking for qualified competition pilots to receive partial sponsorship this season. UP has the prizewinning Targa, and Windtech is coming out with the Tactick to replace the Nitro, which Josh Cohn used to set a WORLD RECORD. Rave reviews on these gliders: The Windtech Pulsar continues to be a highly popular DHV1/2 glider. The UP Summit 2 and Gradient Aspen rate very highly among DHV2 gliders. The Windtech Kinetic is a top-rated motor glider. UP now has the Rock acro glider and Makalu2 (awesome extra-small glider!). All of these gliders available now from Airplay. Denise Reed and Doug Stroop are officially Aerial Paragliding at the Cashmere, Washington site. They have Airplay’s full support as a sister school, and Airplay students can still go back and forth between Washington and Arizona for continuing education. Visit the new Web site www.aerialparagliding.com for more information. Power: Airplay is getting fantastic support as we boost our motor training with WALKERJET. We’re very excited to train you in Arizona throughout the year. Since we’ll teach motoring early morning and Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

The last day of the 2003 U.S. Nationals in Big Spring was a good day to set one of the fastest hang gliding world records ever. We’d had great weather all week, with the previous day being the best so far. You can read about the 2003 U.S. Nationals starting at http://ozreport.com/toc.php?Ozv7n200. shtml. Click the red right arrow to read about each succeeding day. Kraig Coomber and I were the reduced task committee for this last day and we didn’t want to short-change the pilots with a wimpy task on a day that promised 10,000’ AGL cloud bases, light winds and strong lift. Paris Williams, U.S. National Champion, had reported 1,600 fpm on his averager the day before and it looked like this day would be similar. With temperatures in the 90s in Big Spring on the first day of August, we were reveling in the great conditions. We called a 72-mile out-and-return task with a five-mile start circle and figured that pilots would be hanging out at cloud base near the edge of the start cylinder just north of Big Spring. What we didn’t realize until the next day (because we were working in miles) was that this was a 100-kilometer out-and-return task and there was a chance to set a world record. I fly with an IGC-certified data logger tucked into my wing, so whenever we fly a task that just happens to be on the world record task list, I’ve always got the chance of setting the record, even if I don’t realize at the time that the task is of the world record variety. When I’m on a task committee I do try to set tasks that can be world record tasks.

B R I E F -

As we expected, the day was phenomenal. In spite of being alone for much of the flight and out in front after the turnpoint, I was able to find strong thermals. Then on the way home after the turnpoint I ran to a cloud which turned out to be formed by a fantastic smooth strong core that got me quickly (and alone) up to 10,000’ AGL. I went on a final glide of 22 miles under a line of lift marked by clouds stretching all the way to goal. I was the first pilot into goal at the Big Spring Airport, 12 minutes ahead of Campbell Bowen who came in second. The next day I realized that my flight was a world record task flown in a world record time. Mine would be the first world record application for a record set in a competition using cylinders around turnpoints. The distance is calculated as the least distance between the edges of the cylinders, in this case from the edge of the five-mile start cylinder to the edge of the 0.25-mile turnpoint cylinder back to the edge of the start cylinder. On the 12th of February this year the FAI homologated (ratified) my flight as a new world record, setting the record for the first time in Class 5 (rigid wings) and breaking Robin Hamilton’s Class 2 (Swift) record set in Texas in 2001. The day was so good that world record speeds were possible. Swift pilots flying 45 minutes later and having the advantage of seeing the gaggles in front of them flew even faster than I. Kraig Coomber, flying a Moyes Litespeed and starting late like the Swifts, flew the task 14 seconds faster than I, and won the day for the flex wings. But none of these pilots logged their flight with IGC-certified data loggers nor did they take pictures of the task, so they were unable to claim world records. The new world record is one of the fastest record flights ever flown. Only the out-and-return records set flying along the cliffs at the Australian Bite, and one of Robin’s Swift’s world records, are faster. 7

P I L O T

B R I E F I N G S

I averaged 51.43 km/h over the 103 kilometer task, or 32 mph. It is faster than all the other flex wing records, all other rigid wing records, and all other Swift records. This record was two records in one, as records set by rigid wings (Class 5) also apply to Class 2 (Swifts) if they beat the existing record in that class. You can find out more about world records at http://records.fai.org/hang_gliding/ and at www.ozreport.com/compWorldRecords. php. You can see the results of the 2003 U.S. Nationals at: www.flytec.com/usnats03/scores.html Oh, I flew the record on my beloved AIR ATOS-C.

Wills Wing Web Site Provides Important Safety Information and Tech Support From time to time, we at Wills Wing receive pilot reports from our hang gliding customers of incidents in which a pilot’s safety was compromised. We often ﬁnd that these incidents involve speciﬁc maintenance or inspection issues that have been previously addressed by us through the publication of a technical bulletin. Because there is no regulation that requires the registration of hang gliders, Wills Wing has no way to maintain an accurate contact list of the present owners of the hang gliders we have manufactured and sold. As a result, Wills Wing has no reliable way to directly contact those owners regarding service and safety issues. It is therefore, of necessity, the owner’s re-

sponsibility to check periodically for service advisories and technical updates that relate to your glider. You can do so most easily by going periodically to our Web site at www.willswing. com and clicking on “Support” on the top menu bar. Then, in the support section, on the left hand side menu, click on “Tech Bulletins.” On the Technical Bulletins page, select your glider model from the drop down list, click on the “Select Model” button, and you will see a list of all Technical Bulletins that pertain to your glider. Review each of these to make sure that there are no outstanding service or inspection advisories for your glider that have not been completed. If you have questions about the servicing of your glider, please contact your

P I L O T

Wills Wing dealer or send an email to tech@willswing.com or write to us at Wills Wing, 500 West Blueridge Ave. Orange, CA 92865 USA.

Paragliding Courses, Trips and Lessons Designed Speciﬁcally for Women by Women

Women with WHAT... Women with Wings is a series of paragliding courses especially designed for female pilots. It is hosted by Peak to Peak Paragliding LLC of Boulder, Colorado, with the support of Super Fly, Inc. of Sandy, Utah. The purpose of these courses is to provide the highest quality paragliding training to women across the nation in a manner speciﬁcally designed for their learning styles and needs. WHO... The courses will be given by Chris Santacroce of Super Fly, the best paragliding instructor in the country (handsdown!) and Kay Tauscher, who trained with Chris and who specializes in the instruction of female pilots. Chris has been awarded “Instructor of the Year” more than once and Kay owns and operates Peak to Peak Paragliding LLC, one of the few woman-owned paragliding schools in the nation. Women with Wings (WWW) grew out of Kay’s desire to bring the incredible sport of paragliding to more women across the country.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

MORE... Each beginner course (WWW-I) will be comprised of three days of paragliding classroom instruction and hands-on training. Students will be taught the principles behind and the basics of paragliding. Each woman will be provided with the skills and guidance to perform solo ﬂights during the course. Each student need only arrive with sturdy boots, warm outerwear (pants and jacket), gloves, and a positive attitude. Peak to Peak Paragliding and Super Fly will provide the equipment (paragliders, harnesses, helmets, etc.) and the necessary literature. WHEN & WHERE... Women with Wings will be kicked off at Point of the Mountain, Utah, June 5th, 6th, and 7th with an introductory course (WWW-I). Point of the Mountain is a paragliding site known for its consistent conditions that are conducive to teaching new students. At this time, two beginner WWW courses are scheduled: • Point of the Mountain, Utah June 5th, 6th, and 7th • Boulder, Colorado July 30th, 31st and August 1st Depending upon the success of these courses, Peak to Peak Paragliding hopes to offer WWW courses in other cities across the country, including intermediate course offerings, and trips for women pilots both domestically and abroad. If you would like a WWW course in your home location, then solicit other women pilots or “want-to-be” female pilots near you and contact us as indicated below. Locations currently being considered for future courses include Austin, Texas and Boise, Idaho.

B R I E F I N G S

Kitty Hawk Kites Music Video Contest In celebration of Terry Sweeney’s classic hang gliding ﬁlm Sweeney’s Glider, Kitty Hawk Kites will hold the 2nd Annual World Wide Terry Sweeney Hang Gliding Music Video Contest at the Just Fly Film Festival, May 14, 2004. Anyone can submit up to two VHS or DVD homemade hang gliding music videos. All videos must be four minutes or less, relate to hang gliding in some way and obviously contain music! Last year’s videos were really great and there were a lot more entries than anyone expected. It was a very close contest, but G.W. Meadows of US Aeros and Just Fly took home that $250 check for his video, Crank it up! G.W. obviously has what it takes to make some great videos so it will be fun to see what he comes up with this year! On the night of the event the crowd will vote for the best video and the winner will receive $250 in cash! The winner takes all. All VHS videos must be received no later than May 7th, 2004. For any questions please see our Web site: www.hangglidingspectacular.com/ videocontest.html or contact Bruce Weaver bruce@kittyhawk.com. Please put “Music Video Contest Questions” in the subject line. (252) 441-2426.

For more information on the dates, locations and costs of these exciting opportunities, log onto www.peaktopeakparagliding. com or email info@peaktopeakparagliding. com. Phone Peak to Peak Paragliding at (303) 817-0803. 9

How to cross more country. Gin and his factory test pilots invested over one year of developing, prototyping and testing the Zoom in practically every spot known for great cross country potential: Texas, Mongolia, Switzerland, France, Austria……and others well known for their difficult conditions: Japan, Korea and Portugal. Hundreds of hours in flight and many many kilometers flown. The result? A new DHV 2 XC machine that is a masterpiece in performance, stability and simplicity… With more than 15 years of designing experience, comfort has been one of his main focuses - “To perform well in-flight the pilot must feel confident and comfortable under his wing, without this he cannot use the performance” – Gin Song Gin’s goal was to design a new high performance wing without designing the safety out. You’ll know it the minute you fly it, because you’ll always feel confident and comfortable under this wing. With its racy looks, easy head wind transitions as well as smooth and efficient acceleration – you’ll be eating up the kilometers on The Zoom. DHV 2 ::: 4 sizes

zoom x country Photos: Jerome Maupoint

GIN GLIDERS USA - SUPERFLY ::: tel. +1 (801) 255 9595 ::: info@4superfly.com ::: www.gingliders.com

A I R

We love hearing from you. In order for us to print your letter, you must include your USHGA member number and telephone or email contact information.

An Open Letter of Appreciation (email, 3/6) On March 6 Greg and Marcy Berger hosted a parachute clinic at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona. Betty Pﬁeffer and Bill Gargano of High Energy Sports gave an excellent multi-media presentation, safety lecture, multiple practice deployments/comedy routines, harness egress training, harness and chute inspections, repacks and lunch. Thanks to all for such an informative and enjoyable event. Dale Major, USHGA #77782

A Thank-you from a Member (email, 2/27) It is easy to take pot-shots at our organization and our officers. I’ve done it plenty myself. But we elect unpaid directors to run our organization. If we don’t like the job they are doing we can try to get elected ourselves, or elect other new directors. I wouldn’t want the job, any of them. Most of us are happy someone else will do it. Most of us just want to fly. I’m continually surprised we can get anyone to take on the task of regional director, for nothing. They must like committee work a lot more than I do! It seems to me we’re getting quite a deal. I’m much happier to help with the road clean-up or work parties at our local sites, or to help raise money at our fly-ins or whatever. I know a lot of people who put in a lot of time for free. There is lots of work to do at the local level, and there are people who have been at it for what, thirty years? I do like having USHGA to cover our backs. That USHGA got us through the 911 crises without huge new restrictions is worth every penny of my dues. The fact Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

that we have liability insurance has saved and helped to open quite a few sites. I don’t agree with everything that USHGA does or doesn’t do—none of us do. But I do know of several times that both Bill Bolosky and Jayne DePanﬁlis have taken the time to help out with site problems in the Northwest. They may not always do things the way I would wish them done, but I do believe they’re sincere and care about foot-launched ﬂight. I know USGHA can’t solve all of our problems, but we’ll get a lot farther if we are all working together.

M A I L

show a drop in revenue of almost 10% between 2002 and 2003. The fact that net income stayed almost flat is not material; the numbers show normal fluctuations in operating expenses, and if you adjust for a single $25,000 grant that was made in 2002 and not repeated in 2003 the organization was less profitable in 2003. Perhaps more significant, according to the introductory letter on the Web site revenue first reached $1,000,000 in 1996, which means that revenue for both 2002 and 2003 is roughly flat with 1996. (Financials from 1997 to 2001 are not posted, so I can’t comment on the intervening trends.)

Murdoch Hughes, USHGA #70708

Name Change Needed to Improve Our Image and Increase Our Membership (email, 3/9) As president of a creative agency that develops identities and brands for companies and products, I probably qualify as a branding professional. As a newcomer to flying and to USHGA I may benefit from a more detached perspective than many long-time members. My thoughts on the renaming question are based on less information than I would ask for from a client, however, so I may be missing things. Perhaps I can at least provoke some discussion. As some of the arguers have suggested, this is a branding and marketing issue. The question is not do paraglider pilots feel left out, or was hang gliding here first, or do hang gliders represent a larger percentage of the membership, or is there some cost associated with changing the name. These things are irrelevant. The question is, what will help us market our sport and our organization, help us build the revenue that makes all our organizational activities possible, and help us grow our ranks going forward? Recent USGHA financials, which are available to members on the Web site,

The financials are a key barometer to the health of our organization. Even ignoring the year over year decline, the fact that we are at the same revenue level as 1996 means that in real dollars we are slipping downhill. If there was a higher peak between 1996 and 2002, then we are in worse shape. This means that some important things, I think including our brand, are not working well for us and we need to make some changes. It’s easy to see that our membership base drives our revenue. More members means more dues, more magazine subscriptions, more sales of goods. Expenses do not rise with membership as fast as revenue; it’s easy to tell the printer to print more magazines. Membership revenue dropped in 2003, which means we lost some members we had the year before. If we’ve been stagnant since 1996, this must also mean that the hang gliding membership has dropped since then, because paraglider pilots now make up a healthy percentage. The aging of the hang glider pilot population and the difficulty of attracting new pilots to the sport have been widely acknowledged. To me, as a recently converted non-pilot, it’s not hard to understand. The image of hang gliding in the non-flying public is still one of over-the-top insane risk. Paragliding in its own early days may 11

A I R

M A I L

have been just as dangerous, but for whatever reason it didn’t acquire such an evil public reputation. I believe this difference in image contributes to the greater growth of paragliding. Even people like me, who have participated extensively in other “extreme” sports, often gravitate to paragliding. As a non-pilot, I was very aware of some early hang gliding fatalities years ago, but I never heard of any paragliding accidents. Again, which of the two is actually more dangerous is irrelevant. We’re talking about the perception of our brand. If I am right about the difference in public image, then we need to consider how we can make use of the relatively positive image of paragliding in our brand going forward. The best result for the organization will help all of us on both kinds of wings.

There are times when a rebranding is a good idea. I think we might be at one of those times. I believe a new name will help us.

away from sounding like a hang gliding club. It may be easier to get strong PR results with a name like this.

All that said, I didn’t like the staid quality of the names proposed in the poll. There are better possibilities; of the write-ins I like two. One is Paragliding and Hang Gliding USA. The emphasis on paragliding plays to the more positive image of paragliding in the public’s eye and the growing ranks of paragliders. Some people who are drawn to paragliding will become bi or switch to hang gliding as they learn more about it. Getting people into either kind of ﬂying by making us more attractive will help all of us.

I can hear the yelling. It doesn’t matter if we are or have always been a hang gliding club. We’re talking about how to present ourselves to the non-ﬂying public in a way that will help us. As a hang gliding club is categorically not the right way.

The other one I like is The American Free Flight Association. I appreciate that that could be construed to include more things, and it doesn’t describe us as well, but for that same reason it also gets us

There is a wider following out there for our sport if we can educate people about it. PR over time could also change the image of hang gliding among non-pilots. But PR, while cost-effective, costs money.

I think we need to do more external PR. Typical commercial promotions are likely to be ruled out by insurance issues; a radio station will not be able to give away tickets for free hang gliding lessons. But there are many ways to approach great PR.

May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

A I R

The question we need to ask now is, what will get us more of that soon, the most effectively. Call me names, but I think a name that de-emphasizes hang gliding is the right direction. James Bradley, USHGA #81591

Why Do We Fly? (email, 3/4) People have come to our sports for various reasons, but with all this talk about our sports shrinking, our future in doubt, our need to grow the sport, marketing strategies and all, and with all the latest polls that we have been taking about whether we should “rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic,” there has not been a single poll taken that would find out what brought people to the sport in the first place. Not one poll designed to find out what we were like when we started, not what we are now, but what we were like when we were looking for something to do, when we were looking and when we found flying. It seems to me that would be a pretty decent first step towards figuring out where to find new members who would grow up to be old belligerent farts like we seem to be now. Aaron Swepston, USHGA #25633 [Jayne addresses this issue in her ED column, beginning on page 15 – editor]

Non-denominational Name Needed (email, 3/4) I just voted on ballot #3 [on the USHGA Web site] about a proposed name change for the United States Hang Gliding Association. It was interesting to note the results so far. As expected, it’s split almost evenly between those who ﬂy only hang gliders and those who only ﬂy paragliders. Technically speaking we’re all “hang” glider pilots. Since we all “hang” beneath our respective aircraft, the current name of the association still applies. However since the name “hang glider” is used on one type of aircraft already you had to come up with something to call what is Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

now known as a “paraglider,” since the name “hang glider” was already taken. The whole point to all of this is to update the name of the association to reﬂect the different types of aircraft being ﬂown now and those that may be introduced in the future. We need a name that is truly “non-denominational.” I’d suggest something along the lines of “United States Free Flight Association.”

M A I L

to ﬂy there sometime. However, I was concerned about the possible repercussions of over-enhancing the image into something that “looked somewhat better to me” versus keeping the image true to the original contributor’s submission and intent. I hope this addresses some of your concerns. Please don’t hesitate to write with concerns in the future.

Jeff Schwartz #72658l

Perspective is Everything (from the hang gliding digest, 3/8) I happened to be looking at the cover [of the March issue] this morning. I saw a washed-out picture—check the edges. I lived on Maui for approximately ﬁve years and didn’t recognize the area in the photo, a classic view of the west Mauis toward Kihei and Lahaina. What purpose does this washed-out effect accomplish? Somebody, anybody, please enlighten me. Otherwise, I thought the photo of the paraglider pilot and his duck was cool. Ray Berger, USHGA #791 Thanks for noticing the cover image of the March issue. We’ve been going back and forth for some time on the relative beneﬁts of enhancements to the cover images. In this issue, the main area of the image which you perceive as being washed out is actually the image as submitted, with minimal enhancements to the contrast and sharpness.

Respectfully, Tim Meehan, art director, #58950 artdirector@ushga.org

Novice Pilot Expresses Concern About Decisions of RecordBreakers (email, 2/21) I was disappointed and a little angry there wasn’t any editorial comment made about Josh Cohn’s decision-making during his world record flight [p. 8, February magazine]. He states, “…but the strong desires to fly far and to avoid the 5-kilometer walk out helped me drift with the thermal over the lines.” This sounds like the kind of decision making that gets pilots injured or killed. No record is worth dying for. Nor is any single day’s flying worth launching into conditions that can get a pilot killed; yet it happens far too often. It’s not usually the cautious and conservative beginners getting killed. More often it’s the more experienced pilots pushing the limits of safe flying. Craig Paulaha, Novice, USHGA #73714

The outside edge of the page was intentionally darkened to create the impression of “framing the image” and to contain it to the page better. Had we darkened the entire image, we’d be having a similar conversation, but with a different outcome, and the original photographer/contributor of the photo may have been upset that the magazine staff had altered his image from what he originally submitted without consulting him. I’ve been to Maui, been to the top of Haleakala twice. Love the area, would love

Craig, you spoke to this issue as well as anyone could. Each of us ﬂies for our own reasons, each of us must make many decisions every time we ﬂy, and each of us must speak up when we see or read something that makes us uncomfortable or causes us to question judgment or safety. Thank you for your comments. C.J. Sturtevant, editor USHGA #37684

N O M I N A T I O N S

USHGA is issuing its annual call for nominations to the national Board of Directors. Nine positions are open for election in October 2004 for a two-year term beginning January 2005. Nominations must be received at the USHGA ofﬁce by July 20, 2004. Nominations are needed in the following regions. The current directors are up for re-election in 2005: Region Current Director 1 Bill Bolosky Alaska, Oregon, Washington 2

11 Nominations are not needed in Region 11 for this election. Texas (excluding El Paso), Louisiana

Ray Leonard Northern California, Nevada

12 Paul Voight New Jersey, New York

David Jebb Southern California, Hawaii

Steve Mayer Arizona; Colorado; El Paso, Texas; New Mexico; Utah

Nominations are not needed in Region 5 for this election. Idaho, Montana, Wyoming

Nominations are not needed in Region 6 for this election. Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas

Bill Bryden Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota

Gary Trudeau New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont

Ballots will be distributed with the October issue of Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine. USHGA needs the very best volunteers to help guide the safe development and growth of the sports. Forward candidate material for receipt no later than July 20th to USHGA, PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330. USHGA members seeking position on the ballot should send to headquarters for receipt no later than July 20, 2004 the following information: name and USHGA number, photo and resumé (one page containing the candidate’s hang/paragliding activities and viewpoints, written consent to be nominated and statement that they will serve if elected).

This form is provided for your convenience. REGIONAL DIRECTOR ELECTION NOMINATION FORM

I hereby nominate 9

Felipe Amunategui Washington DC, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia

10 Steve Kroop Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico

as a candidate for regional director for Region # I understand that his/her name will be placed on the ofﬁcial ballot for the 2005 regional director election if nominations are received at the USHGA ofﬁce by July 20, 2004.

NAME USHGA#

REGION# May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

U S H G A

USHGA: Notes from the Executive Director

ter having witnessed the effects of his illness. Flying became a deeply philosophical and almost religious experience for me.

There are numerous reasons why someone decides to try a tandem hang gliding or paragliding flight or takes lessons to learn to fly solo at altitude. I spent almost 10 years signing people Jayne DePanfilis up for tandem discovery flights and novice packages, helping them take those first steps in our sports.

That’s when I discovered it was the same for many others. I was identifying a pattern I hadn’t even set out to recognize. When I tried to explain this to David Glover, past USHGA president and tandem instructor, he balked at my theory. But he soon realized, after conducting some research of his own, that there really is something about the timing of our decision to learn to ﬂy that explains who we were when we got into these sports. Matt Taber, David and I used to talk for hours about the signiﬁcance of this timing thing.

I remember what it was like to wait my turn to fly early in the morning and at the end of the day. I shared tandem benches with new student pilots at Wallaby Ranch and while I was employed as director of operations at Lookout Mountain Flight Park. Since I lived in the Being “in transition” seems to be a major contributing factor, landing zones at these flight parks, it wasn’t unusual to find me up maybe even an essential component, to taking that first step toearly and wandering around in my pajamas, cup of coffee in hand, ward learning to fly. talking to pilots who were visualizing their next training flights. We spent a lot of time discussing the reasons why On the flip side, I have also developed a theory we wanted to learn to fly. We discussed things you about why pilots stop flying. There is something experienced pilots don’t notice any more during about being in transition that elevates our risk …in my humble your extended flights. I loved those mornings! And threshold. We are willing to “endanger” ouropinion, there is only after having swapped so many stories with student selves to learn to fly like a bird. We’ll risk just pilots for nearly 10 years, I’ve developed theories about anything for the perspective that can only one reason why pilots about why we eventually learned to fly. Timing, I be gained from high in the air, peering at the believe, is one of the keys. landscape below.

continue to participate

Nearly all the pilots I spoke with during that 10year period had one thing in common when they ultimately decided to pursue our sports: They were in some kind of transition. Many had just relocated and discovered that there was a ﬂying school within driving distance. They’d signed up for a lesson or two, enjoyed the camaraderie they shared with other pilots and decided that they wanted to belong to a community of like-minded individuals.

in the sport of free ﬂight over time: PILOTS LOVE TO FLY!

The flying community became a surrogate family for many of them. One student pilot commented to me that he thought “we were the most enlightened group of people” he’d ever met. Boy, did we have him fooled! I recall thinking on occasion that I would give up just about everything I owned or loved for the ability to take one more flight. I wasn’t an accomplished pilot, but I was hooked. Some student pilots confided in me that a loved one had died or was seriously ill, or they’d been ill themselves. They were in search of a life-reaffirming experience. Others had just experienced a bad divorce or their children had grown and moved away so they were on their own, free to pursue their dream of flight. In my case, I’d already been exposed to hang gliding through my position as the director of marketing at Kitty Hawk Kites when my father died of lung cancer. I couldn’t wait to learn to fly afHang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

Flying high brings us closer to the clouds and in some cases, closer to our concept of God or to those who have departed this life. It gives us a new way of looking at things (from above). It helps us forget about our problems, to go with the ﬂow. Lori Croft, hang glider pilot and resident of Wallaby Ranch, once commented that “up there, no one can tell you what to do or how to live your life.” She is right.

Being “in transition” is often what leads people to try hang gliding or paragliding. But, eventually, the divorced pilot meets another significant other, the newcomer develops friendships outside the flying community, those who had lost loved ones realize they aren’t likely to die right away. The newly-married pilot has a first child or another child. Pilots re-evaluate the risks involved with free flight. They recognize that free flight takes them to an edge. The willingness to assume the risks associated with flying solo is eventually overpowered by the realization that they could be seriously injured or die in these sports. There can be tremendous guilt involved. This sends many of them packing. A few years ago I read a passage in Jane Mendelsohn’s book, I was Amelia Earhart, that best summarizes the flying experience for me. From chapter twelve: 15

U S H G A

N O T E S

“There is a time known as the between. The between voyager travels through uncharted territory, navigating dangers, attempting passage into the next life. There are times in life, after a death of some kind, when we are open to the slightest shifts, when our powers are acute, when we can change the future. The between voyager temporarily possesses an immensely heightened intelligence, extraordinary powers of concentration, special abilities of clairvoyance and teleportation, flexibility to become whatever can be imagined, and the openness to be radically transformed by a thought or a vision or an instruction.” There are events in life that create a window of opportunity for us to learn to do things we never thought we were capable of doing, or to teach others things we never thought we could show them. I sincerely believe it is this kind of experience or awareness that brings many people into flying, but it doesn’t explain why some stay with it and remain life-long participants in our sports. The threshold for risk; the possibility of personal injury, incapacitation, or death; the guilt associated with taking time away from loved ones; the expense: All these things begin working on pilots, especially newer ones who have not yet bonded with our sports or with other pilots in our community. For many, the risks and pressures overpower their desire or need to continue flying. And so they drop out. USHGA experienced its 20th anniversary on March 26, 2004. We have assigned more than 80,000 membership numbers since 1974. And yet, only about 10,000 to 10,500 pilots have remained in the ranks of our membership over time. Membership rests at 10,000 to 10,500.... And it rests... and it rests... and it rests. Why? Inertia? Injury or fatality rates? Lack of promotion and visibility? Fear of asking friends or family to fly because these are dangerous sports and they could die trying? USHGA is allowing hang gliding and paragliding to become extinct because we don’t have a marketing plan or a strategic plan? Flying is a drug that not everyone knows about or wants to take?

sports. What was happening in their lives when they decided to learn to fly? Were they in some kind of transition? Clearly, there is a multitude of reasons why people start flying and why pilots get out of our sports. However, in my humble opinion, there is only one reason why pilots continue to participate in the sport of free flight over time: PILOTS LOVE TO FLY! If you don’t love to fly, if you don’t have a burning desire to fly, you will drop out of the sport. It is only a question of when. How many longtime pilots do you know who don’t love to fly? How many are still flying simply because learning to fly was a challenge, something they thought they could never do? How many are still flying just because they were once new to the area and stumbled into a warm and welcoming community? Not many, I bet. A hang glider pilot who now flies mainly sailplanes commented to me recently, “You won’t stay in these sports if you don’t love to fly.” There are simply too many barriers, too many inconveniences, too many risks. Only the desire to fly and a love for free flight will keep you in the sport.

How many pilots represent an “optimal number”? We need a certain critical mass to be able to pay for insurance and for research and development. We need more pilots for effective lobbying power to keep flying sites open. From what I can tell, the flying community wants to increase participation in our sports as long as the new pilots aren’t flying “our” sites.

As pilots, you probably know why your friends stop flying. You also know what brought them to these sports. But how often do you discuss the reasons why you are still flying today? Maybe this is what’s missing from our mission or our vision. Let’s revisit our mission and make sure it still holds true today. As individual pilots our mission isn’t about planning or promotion or development and research. It’s about what motivates us to fly. If your mission as a pilot doesn’t include “because I love to fly” or “flying is the best feeling in the world,” you aren’t on a mission that will sustain you as a life-long pilot.

So much conjecture, so many theories. So much criticism about who isn’t doing enough to grow the sports. My theories aren’t based on scientiﬁc research. Yet, they aren’t completely unfounded either. They are just my theories, developed after more than 10 years of asking people why they decided to get into our

Do you spread the word about why you love to ﬂy? Do you know of other groups of people who might love to ﬂy, too? Have you reached out to them? Should USHGA reach out to them? Let’s focus our research on why you stay in the sports and why you continue to be a USHGA member, and let’s target other groups

May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

U S H G A

or individuals who might do the same. Let’s talk about why we love to fly rather than spend a lot of time theorizing about why pilots stop flying. I’d like to see USHGA begin to invest time and resources into finding other groups whose members are likely to want to fly rather than investing resources in finding out why pilots stop flying or drop out of the USHGA. Let’s try to focus on the positive, on what keeps us flying, rather than focusing on organizational deficiencies. Here’s what USHGA’s Articles of Incorporation say about the association’s purpose: “The purpose of the United States Hang Gliding Association is to promote the growth of sport flying in foot-launchable soaring aircraft.” SOP 2-0 USHGA Mission Statement To this end the USHGA will: 1) Develop and administer programs that foster the growth of the association membership and the public acceptance of the sport. 2) Develop, standardize and administer programs that will foster and promote practices for safe flying and disseminate information on such practices and programs to its members. 3) Maintain a working relationship with the FAA, and other appropriate regulatory organizations, which will function to insure our continued access to airspace. 4) Administer programs and maintain working relationships with public and private entities that will promote the procurement and maintenance of flying sites. 5) Maintain a working relationship with manufacturers and the manufacturers’ associations that will serve to promote the sport. 6) Represent the membership at the national and international level through the NAA, CIVL and FAI. 7) Recognize and reward those who make outstanding contributions to the association and/or the sport. 8) Promote the documentation and preservation of the history of our sport. Does USHGA’s mission ring true to you today? If USHGA’s mission doesn’t include the pilot’s mission—your mission—our organization and our sports may suffer because of it.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

How can we promote the growth of our sports? Here’s one possible strategy: We should consider investing in programs that target “youth development.” I spoke with Lea Worth, the marketing director for USA Shooting, a few weeks ago just before the spring USHGA board meeting. We discussed association marketing budgets and plans. USA Shooting has between 4,000 and 5,000 members but they also have huge industry resources to tap into for fund development. We do not. Other sports associations take advantage of spectator participation for promotion. Except for aerobatics, hang gliding and paragliding aren’t really spectator sports. Lea and her husband John, who has been flying hang gliders for more than 20 years, strongly believe that we at USHGA need to invest resources to create awareness of our sports with youth. “Youth development,” apparently, is the single most important strategy USA Shooting relies on to increase awareness of this Olympic sport. Lea advised, “If you wait until young people are in college to reach them about your sports, it will be too late.” I feel certain that Lea and John are right. Our world team athletes should consider appearances at local schools. They have just the right stories to tell. They can show young people that flying is fun—it’s a little scary sometimes, but with proper training, it’s mostly a lot of fun. Let’s become ambassadors for our sports in our hometowns. Let’s de-mystify our sports for youth today. This is where we can make a difference if we want to know who tomorrow’s pilots will be, and where they will come from. Let’s demonstrate to the young people where we live that flying is a skill just like riding a bike. Young people embrace new activities and learn new skills easily. This is where we should focus attention and energy. Does this seem like a reasonable point of departure to you? A place for us to start? Something you can do today in your neighborhood or your hometown? A lot of you already are bringing flying into your local schools and youth organizations. You’ve experienced the energy and enthusiasm that youngsters can bring to free flight. Let’s show today’s school children—tomorrow’s accomplished pilots—that flying is cool! A special thanks to Warren Schirtzinger, who challenged me to focus on what makes a difference.... Jayne DePanfilis Executive Director, United States Hang Gliding Association, Inc. Executive Director, United States Hang Gliding Foundation, Inc. Jayne@ushga.org, (719) 632-8300

BD O E B P TAHRE T IMT E G N UT Y

By Bob Archibald Hello again. It’s Bob, your friendly IT guy. This month I want to help you become familiar with the USHGA online message board forums. This feature of the USHGA Web site is not new, but has been greatly underutilized in the past. It is such an excellent tool for communication, however, that I feel obligated to let all our members know where these forums are, how to use them, and what to use them for. As Thomas Magnum (from Magnum P.I., one of my favorite TV shows) would say, “I know what you are thinking…” Why in the world would you want to read about this boring computer geek stuff in your flying magazine? Well, if you have an interest in voicing your opinion, which I know from working in the office that many of you do, then this information will be of great benefit. First, what is the message board? Basically it is a Web discussion area on the USHGA Web site where members can post opinions and messages to the general membership, individual committees, the board of directors members, and even me, the IT guy. It also allows replies to be posted to your messages. You can have online conversations, express opinions and talk about our sports with other message-board users, right on the Web site. Right now, the message board is divided up into forums for different topics of discussion. There is a separate forum for each individual USHGA committee, including Membership and Development, Finance, Insurance, Safety and Training, and Competition. I have asked each committee chairperson to check these forums regularly so that any opinions can be addressed directly, and action requests can be added to the agenda for each committee meeting. There are also forums for each individual region, and general forums for discussion of the sports. Your postings can be placed in any of these forums for discussion and response by the 18

membership. We at USHGA are always open to suggestions for additional forums as well, so let me know if you have a topic that requires me to create a new one. How do you use the message boards? The answer is, it is not difficult. First, as I am sure EVERYONE knows, our Web site is located at http://www.ushga.org. Simply click on the “Members Only” button and enter your USHGA member number and password. If you do not currently have a password or do not know what your password is, please call the USHGA office and we will assist you very quickly, with no automated telephones transferring you around in circles. The toll-free USHGA office number is: 800-616-6888. From the “Members Only” section you have access to the message board button. The first time you visit the boards, you will have to register. Please register with a user name and password that you can remember. No fear, though: if you do forget it, just give me a call at the above number and ask for Bob the IT Guy. You will find the action items from the last BOD meeting posted here by committee. Have an interest in what the committees are doing and how it affects your membership? Have any comments to make about them? Take a look and see what others are saying. Also, you will find discussion on the current hot topics that are being talked about in the hang gliding and paragliding communities, and you can ask questions on anything you don’t understand or talk to other pilots about competitions and events. So there it is. Come on, now, I know that most of you have at least some things you want to talk about. How do you feel

about powered harnesses? What about changing the USHGA’s name to include paragliders? Have suggestions on what the USHGA should be doing to grow the sport? Yeah, I knew you had something to say! Well, this is your chance. Let us know what you think, and let the membership know too. As always, I appreciate hearing what new ideas you have and how I can improve on what we are already doing. I can be reached at my email address: bob@ushga.org or by phone at the ofﬁce. Remember to just ask for Bob, the IT Guy.

USHGA News Nuggets The 2004-2005 USHGA liability insurance policy is now posted on the Web site, in addition to the printed copies that have been available on request from the office. You’ll find the policy, along with a summary of its coverages, at www.ushga.org, under the “Members Only” section. Policy details may be amended over time, so you should contact the office if you need to verify the current coverage details. For questions about the policy, contact insurance committee chairman Mark Forbes, mgforbes@mindspring.com.

Art Director’s State-of-theMagazine Report Art Director Tim Meehan has produced a “state of the magazine” annual report for USHGA’s board of directors and general membership. Interested in taking a look at the inner workings of your magazine? Want a glimpse at what’s in store for the magazine over the next year? You can download your own PDF copy of the report by clicking the link on USHGA’s home page at http://www.ushga.org.

May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

TRUDEAU’S

N O TE S

Note from the Region 8 Director By Gary Trudeau

protect the assets of the foundation. The foundation will bring this up for a vote to the board of directors.

I attended the USHGA Board of Directors meeting in March this year and prepared the following summary of my notes. I would recommend that you read the actual minutes, when they are available on the USHGA Web site. If there are any discrepancies, assume that the online minutes are more accurate.

Joint venture with SSA: Randy Leggett suggested exploring the possibility of a joint venture with the SSA. The SSA is in serious ﬁnancial trouble but might offer some beneﬁts to our organization. Randy will explore the options and report back to the executive committee.

Gary Trudeau

I arrived in Colorado Springs early Thursday morning. The executive committee allowed me to sit in on their meeting. I learned that the executive committee meets monthly by phone to discuss issues important to USHGA, and in between these conference calls they are also constantly talking back and forth via email. Here is what the EC discussed at their meeting. Financial report: Indications are that USHGA is in better financial shape than ever. Office location: The building where the office is currently located is going condo by October of this year. The owners want us to purchase the office space and pay a monthly maintenance fee nearly three times our current rent! The subject of moving local or long distance will be taken up in committee. Instructor liability insurance: This topic was discussed and is ready to move to the next step of conducting a survey to find out how many instructors might be interested in purchasing it. Ground-based towing: The FAA still has not sent out information to its field offices explaining the difference between our ground-based towing operations and flying a kite as described in FAR 101. We fall under the FAR 103 rules. If an FAA field officer questions the legality of your towing operations, contact me and I will straighten it out for you. Name change survey: The association has a survey on its Web site dealing with a possible name change. The current standings are about 50/50 for and against. With the amount of responses already we believe there is enough interest in bringing this topic to the membership. The Membership and Development committee will discuss the best way to do this. USHGF: The United States Hang Gliding Foundation received legal advice to separate from the USHGA. The reason for this is to Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

Magazine editor: The search for a permanent editor should be ﬁnished within three months. Vote on powered harnesses: The vote on including powered harnesses has to be redone. One of our members has threatened a lawsuit based on his opinion that the people who voted for powered harnesses to be included in USHGA did not know what they were voting on. Our lawyer will rewrite the question and it will be voted on again. Multi-year memberships: The possibility of multi-year memberships was discussed. We can see some beneﬁts to this but there would need to be a membership vote to change the bylaws to allow this. The meeting of the board of directors Friday and Saturday started with a general session which was followed by committee meetings. Sunday ended with a general session. Friday’s general session included the approval on the minutes of the last BOD meeting, and the executive committee’s report of what was discussed in their meeting. Bill Bryden spoke about the status of the Sport Pilot ASTM. More information to follow in the committee reports about this subject. We then broke into committees for the duration of the day. Safety and Training committee started with a proposal by Gary Trudeau to introduce emergency procedures for USHGA. This was passed with minimal changes by the board. The next step is to go through the Publications committee for the best way to distribute these procedures to the membership. Tim Herr (USHGA lawyer) recognized that some school waivers, when signed along with the USHGA waiver, might cancel each other out and make both parties prone to a lawsuit. Tim will draft a waiver that schools can use to best protect both USHGA and the schools. Carrying a tandem passenger without signing a waiver or issuing a student rating will result in the immediate suspension of the pilot’s tandem rating. Dutcher Sterling will create a program on certifying reserve parachute repackers. This program will not affect the pilots who want to repack their own reserves but will affect the people packing reserves for others. The USHGA packets for new instructors, examiners, and observers were examined and updated. The apprentice instructor rating was removed from the SOPs, since no such rating is ever 19

T R U D E A U ’ S

N O T E S

given. This does not remove the instructor apprenticeship from the training program. Bruce Weaver will review the current apprentice program and make suggestions at the fall BOD meeting. Membership and Development committee adopted a program submitted by Mark Forbes: bring in two new members in a year and get your membership free. This program was developed to help the small school instructor and to increase membership. Bill Bryden brought up an idea for a program to make it easier for instructors in rural areas to recertify their instructor rating. This program would help reimburse instructor trainers to travel to rural areas to give a clinic. Another company might be starting up something similar to this. This will be investigated and discussed at the fall BOD meeting. Bruce Weaver and Gary Trudeau will create a program to introduce hang gliding/paragliding in public/private schools. This program will be presented at the fall BOD meeting. A survey will be developed to target students to find out why they signed up for lessons, and to find out from former instructors and former pilots why they gave up teaching or stopped being a USHGA member. We hope this survey will give us the reasons that draw people to our sport and find out some of the reasons our membership has declined. Knowing this will help us develop a plan of attack to increase membership and retain our current members. USHGA

will start providing in the membership renewal package business cards with phone numbers and Web site information. This will be an easy way for our members to get out information about USHGA to people who might be interested in our sport. Name change was discussed. We (USHGA BOD) feel that this is a two-year process if it is to be handled properly. The name change issue will likely come up for a membership vote by spring of 2006. David Jebb will contact some European organizations to discuss member retention and development of new members. He will report back to the BOD this fall with his ﬁndings. Publications committee talked about ad rates, contributor pay, editorial content balance and market place. Last year there were concerns brought up about editorial content, which were mirrored in a recent poll on the USHGA Web site. The Publications committee already addressed these concerns and believes the recent magazines reﬂect a change toward what members have indicated they want to read. USHGA is out of the current orange stickers. We decided to reorder enough for one year while we explore new design options for the stickers. Design options for a new logo will be presented this fall. The magazine will develop a regular column to deal with competition. This section will be called Competition Corner (or something similar). This will put competition information in a regular place in the magazine and minimize it in other parts of the magazine. Online newsletter was discussed and we believe this is not practical due to the information already getting out on the Web through sites like the OZ Report and on the Hang Gliding Digest. We also believe this would overuse our list server and not get important information to our non-computer members. Gary Trudeau brought up the subject of the best way to get USHGA emergency procedures into the hands of our members. Gary will write an article for the magazine, and will work with Tim Meehan to develop a credit-card-size version of the emergency procedures to be distributed to our members at their renewal. This way members can carry a copy of this information with them and refer to it when an emergency happens. The emergency procedures will be distributed to all chapters and meet organizers, and will also be posted on the USHGA Web site for members to download. Tim Meehan brought up the subject that many contributors don’t accept payment for submissions. Tim will explore framing the cover and centerfold for the contributing photographers in lieu of payment. Mark Forbes brought up the subject of calendars. We decided to produce both a hang gliding and a paragliding calendar for 2005, even though past experience indicates that there is a good chance the paragliding calendar will lose money. This will allow time to explore the option of privatizing the production of both calendars for 2006. The National Coordinating committee submitted the CIVL report. CIVL is USHGA’s way to keep abreast of what is happening with hang gliding and paragliding around the world and how it might affect us. CIVL is concerned mostly with competition but also

May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

T R U D E A U ’ S

deals with many other subjects. Two things are of major interest. First, Europe is looking at adopting new airspace restrictions for VFR aircraft (this is us). This airspace might limit us to a maximum of 6500 ft. MSL above flat ground and 2000 ft. above the ground in the mountains. The second thing is the FAI is about to sign an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Association. This would lead to drug testing for all competition pilots during the competition and between competitions. We believe this would eventually lead to all pilots being subject to drug testing. USHGA strongly opposes this because we feel this is an invasion of your privacy. USHGA will monitor these subjects closely and keep you informed. The Insurance committee met and discussed the removal of powered harnesses from our insurance policy till the subject is resolved and we can come up with a generic wording for the many different types of powered harnesses. A survey will go out to instructors to gain information of interest in liability insurance for instructors. The Site committee discussed issues at several different sites. They also discussed the fact that the NPRM for national parks was delayed by the current Federal Administration. This rule would set a standard for flying in all federal parks. We believe this would also make it easier for us to start flying in federal parks. The site acquisition program to be submitted by Gary Trudeau was delayed to the fall meeting. Hopefully Gary and the pilots working with him can finish it up and submit it by the fall BOD meeting. The Finance committee met and had several important issues resolved. Our executive director presented a budget and it was approved. Money was approved for digitizing our old magazines along with a donation for the USHGF. The committee also approved the separation of the foundation from USHGA, as long as wording was added that the foundation could only change its mission statement with the approval of the USHGA Board of Directors. Our lawyer feels that separating the foundation from USHGA would help protect the foundation assets from possible lawsuits against USHGA. The Organization and Bylaws committee met and modified 10 different SOPs to reflect things that have been approved and are currently in effect. They also discussed and approved the wording for the re-vote on the powered harness issue. The Tandem committee reviewed the tandem packages that USHGA currently sends out to tandem pilots. They also reviewed the current tandem administrators and approved another administrator. The committee also discussed a recent tandem accident and decided to draft a letter on the importance of filling out the proper paperwork.

N O TE S

exemption held by the ultralight organizations. This rule would limit the experience grandfathered towards the new certifications. For this reason USHGA recommends that all tug pilots join an ultralight organization and get a pilot designation. This must happen before the FAA releases the new sport pilot NPRM. The FAA might release the new Sport Pilot as soon as April 1, 2004. New information about this subject will be posted on the OZ Report and the USHGA Web site. We also are planning on sending it out to our tug pilots via email as soon as we receive more information. The Towing committee also reviewed the towing packages currently issued by USHGA. They also are going to provide a link on our Web site to the towing SOPs. The Planning committee recommended and it was approved by the BOD that we bring in an outside consultant to review our procedures and help us streamline them. The Competition committee met and discussed issues related to competition. Drug testing was also discussed along with sponsorship for world team members. The idea of requesting funds to start a mentoring program for meet organizers was approved in committee but still has to be approved by the Finance committee. An ad hoc committee was formed to discuss the relocation of the USHGA office. Local and long-distance moves were discussed for possible new location of our office. These are going to be investigated by this committee. The committee will make their suggestion to the BOD by email or a telephone conference call. The decision of the BOD will be carried out immediately following this call due to the October deadline for vacating the current office location. The spring meeting ended on Sunday with another general session. The location of the fall BOD meeting was moved to either the new office location or to Boise, Idaho. Remember, this is just a summary of my notes, with some bias towards information of particular interest to members in Region 8. The actual minutes, when available on the USHGA Web site, will contain a lot more detail. Gary Trudeau began hang gliding in 1994 and paragliding in 2002 in New England, where he’s lived most of his life. He’s an observer and an examiner for Region 8, as well as a tandem pilot and tandem administrator. He served as an officer in both the Massachusetts and the Vermont Hang Gliding Associations, and newsletter editor for the latter, for several years before he became regional director about a year and half ago. You can contact Gary at GTET595@aol.com

The Towing committee discussed a very important subject: the short-term impact of the sport pilot rules. There is a concern that the FAA might suspend the current two-place training Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

M A S T E R ’ S

T I P S

Taking Advice— Community Awareness. Our foot-launched flying activities are life-changing for most of us. Flying Dixon White is “everything”—it can become the reason we exist. Consider yourself lucky to be so passionate about an activity, very lucky. If you are a successful pilot who’s really feeling confident about your flying, you probably owe a great deal to your instructor and to the flying community that you hang with. Want to make that feeling last? We instructors have the daunting task of helping to engineer the training environment so that our students flourish and have nothing but positive flying experiences. We try to maintain a balancing act between letting our students explore while not allowing them to get into enough trouble to get hurt or scared out of the sport. A key aspect of long-term success for ALL pilots is a flying community that encourages cooperative education. We should have a flying community made up of pilots who love to fly but who are determined to give guidance to the less experienced, or to help the more experienced see that they are getting a little crazy. I see the flying community as being the most precious gem that an instructor can develop. Without the community being an extension of the instructor we end up with more injuries, a loss of flying sites, and folks who just throw in the towel. We’ve all seen pilots drop out, disappear. Could this be correlated to a flying community that isn’t supportive, or one where pilots fight among themselves, or one that just doesn’t exist?

be very tough. It’s hard for new pilots to hold back and wait for appropriate conditions. There’s so much passion, so much energy—judgment and attitude grow dimmer as the enthusiasm reigns supreme. The summary term for this problem is “intermediate syndrome.” It’s so hard as an instructor, or for a concerned citizen of the flying community, to step up to the task of helping a pilot stay on the “path.” There will always be differences in talent, age, communication skills or training background. Getting pilots together who can relate to each other is a first step in providing guidance. Instructors and community leaders can work together to help protect pilots who are about to get into trouble. When a problem first appears, a solid community may see that certain members might be best at resolving the issue—don’t be afraid to tag team a problem! I once had to get help from two other senior pilots at our flying site in order to get a new pilot’s attention. The 23-year-old seven-day pilot, thinking he had his novice license, actually claimed he could now do whatever he wanted. He claimed he was better than some of the more experienced pilots with 300-400 flights who were walking down the slope to a more manageable launching area. He was putting himself and, more importantly, others at risk by trying to launch

A key aspect of long‐term success for ALL pilots is a flying community that encourages cooperative education.

Classroom time at Ellings Park in Santa Barbara, California

Taking advice is crucial for every new pilot. The community needs to be willing to give solid advice and the new pilot needs to be willing to listen. Anyone who’s been in the sport for very long has witnessed pilots who don’t heed advice, and often this leads to an event that is unfortunate and unnecessary. Instructors need to build pilots who seek advice and information, and this can 22

May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

M A S T E R ’ S

Towering cu-nim should put a pilot off, but we had to actually talk a newer pilot out of ﬂying! The ensuing gust front was probably 35 mph.

from the top of a small ﬂat launch in windy conditions—the chances of being blown into others or their trucks and equipment was very high. We had all seen this situation before. After the other two senior pilots and I tried to talk sense to him, and he still disrespected the situation, I had to tell him that his new license was suspended and he needed to leave the area. In a letter

“Your license at EVERY level is a privilege, not a right, to fly at any USHGA-regulated site. An instructor has authority at these regulated sites. If you are breaking rules and showing a disregard for proper judgment or attitude you will be ‘on the carpet.’ Take a moment and appreciate that someone, in this case the other two senior pilots and I, cared enough about you and the site to get in your face after you’d been politely requested to ‘back off’ three other times within an hour. With people, trucks and hang gliders set up on launch, this wasn’t the time to practice launching in higher winds. It wasn’t just you and your equipment that could have been damaged. ALERT: You were supposed to figure this situation out on your own! “You can either own this situation and come back out and hang with us and prove that you actually want help and advice, or you can slink off and suffer through the delusions you create about your situation. I’ve seen this many times over the years and can tell MANY stories about the results of disregarding advice. There’s the overconfident

Two pilots discuss their ﬂight plan before launching in Arizona.

that he wrote me later, he asked what right I thought I had to “control” him. It’s times like this that I don’t really enjoy my job, but here’s some of what I wrote in response to the situation and his questions about authority. Except for the speciﬁcs of this incident, it applies just as well to all of us. Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

50-year-old guy who needed a refresher, but to impress his cute young girlfriend he ﬂew a demanding site and ended up hanging for hours from power lines while 250,000 homes suffered a power loss in the heat of the summer. There’s the cocky 40-year-old who, claiming he didn’t need lessons after

T I P S

two days of training, mail-ordered equipment. His tib-fib compound fracture cost our flying community a beloved flying hill when the government put up signs saying ‘NO PARAGLIDING.’ “Guess what: You can be another flying story we tell. Or you can be tough, own your mistake, grow from it, appreciate that you are being taught and then help us with the next new student who thinks he knows everything—you can be a valuable part of the crew that helps us get his/her attitude and judgment sorted out. “The best pilots I’ve trained almost never needed to be called on the carpet. They anxiously sought out guidance, and they would have never shown a lack of respect for advice and those who offered it. Don’t be one of those guys who works harder to defend his wrongs than his rights. Self-actualization is a very good thing when it comes to flying, a healthy way to stay in ‘check.’“ My bottom line rule as an instructor (and in helping our flying community grow stronger) is this: “Don’t have a wreck, don’t piss off the land management people, and never piss off the government.” There’s been a strong flying community in our northern Arizona area for at least 20 years. When I first came to Arizona, the hang pilots who had been flying the area helped me understand site preservation, weather, and cooperative education. I owe a great deal to those wise pilots and am thankful they were generous with their time and energy. Our local pilot base is still full of happy, confident pilots who continue to be mutually supportive. As a result we rarely have accidents and our site is still going strong.

Dixon can be reached for comment at dixon@paraglide.com. 23

D EH PGA RMT OMME SN T

Flying Moms

By Kay Tauscher

hat might an attorney currently living in Florida and an Excel Communications rep from Washington State have in common? A fair amount, it turns out. Jamie Shelden and Tina Jorgensen are both Hang 4 pilots who yearned to fly from the time they were little girls. Both were able to realize their dreams through the support and mentorship of their significant others. And last, but far from least, they are both mothers who love the joys that freeflight has to offer. Their stories, provided below, are written in honor of Mother’s Day 2004, as a tribute to all the “mom pilots” out there and to all our moms, wherever they may be, and whatever their passions include. Jamie Shelden, Hang 4 pilot, mother of one daughter, Brooke Jamie Shelden, at age 37, is an advanced hang glider pilot who’s been flying for 13 years. She’s an attorney by profession, but is currently taking time away from her desk and living a rather nomadic lifestyle. Her 19-yearold daughter Brooke is in college and living in California, leaving her mom free to do some traveling. So, at least for this spring, Jamie is hanging out and flying at Quest Air in Florida.

How does Jamie’s daughter feel about her mom ﬂying? “I think she worries about me a lot,” admits Jamie. “She is constantly telling me to ﬂy safe and be careful up there! But, since this has been such a part of her life for so many years, she has adjusted to it all right.”

When Jamie first began to fly, she admits that she didn’t think much about the potential consequences of flying. “Because I had wanted to do this all my life, all I could think was now that I had my opportunity, I wasn’t going to let it get away.” But the more she flew, the more she worried about her daughter and the potential risks of the sport. Her concern grew to the point where she took out a large life insurance policy on herself. “That was pretty silly, I suppose. But part of me thought that if Brooke didn’t have me she would at least be taken care of financially.” But now that Brooke is a young adult, Jamie worries less about the risks of flying and its potential impact on her daughter. Jamie and Brooke at the Grand Canyon

Jamie yearned to fly from the time she was a child. She first saw hang gliders as a 10-year-old out for a Sunday afternoon hike with her parents. She suspects the flying site was Dog Mountain in Washington State, but she isn’t certain, and it doesn’t really matter. What matters is the impact that scene had on her psyche and how it has held her captive for the past 25 years. That fortuitous Sunday afternoon, she and her parents came across some hang glider pilots launching off a mountain and landing on a beach. Her parents thought, “Those people are crazy!”, while Jamie thought, “Someday I’m gonna do that!” But more than 10 years passed before Jamie realized her dream by starting hang gliding lessons.

Her instructor and mentor in hang gliding was John Borton (JB), who she claims was “the best instructor on the planet!” They became close and he was her boyfriend for 11 years. JB helped her develop her skills from basic ridge soaring on the dunes at Marina Beach to competing and ﬂying all over the world. Jamie is certain that she can never thank JB enough for all he’s done for her. 24

Jamie’s daughter Brooke began flying tandem with JB when she was only five years old. She used a pink knee-hanger harness specially made for her. She loved ridge soaring at the beach, but she also flew with JB in the mountains. It’s been a couple of years since Brooke has flown tandem; her last flight was with David Glover at Wallaby Ranch in Florida. She had a blast but was dismayed that David made her work for the flight by piloting the hang glider most of the time!

It can be very difficult for pilots who are also mothers to cope with the opinions and attitudes of family, friends and acquaintances. Many people are judgmental about a mother’s decision to participate in a high-risk sport. When asked about this, Jamie shares that her family has always struggled with her decision to be a free-flight pilot and a mom more than she has. This is the case even now that her daughter is grown and living away from home. “I suppose every pilot says this, but I really don’t think I will die flying.” But Jamie admits that this is no comfort to her family of origin, who still make her feel guilty about taking the risks of flying when “I have someone so important to consider,” she says. She once had a male pilot comment to her, back when she was first learning to hang glide, that it was “totally irresponsible of me to take up hang gliding when I had a child to raise.” This comment surprised and inflamed her. ”I thought that was a pretty sexist comment, to say the least,” Jamie admits. May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

H G

M O M S

confidence. I encourage every woman I have ever met who has expressed interest in hang gliding to go for it. I know it sounds cliché, but it has changed my life in such a huge and positive way. I don’t know that I ever could have done anything else that would have such a huge effect on me.” Tina Jorgensen, Hang 4 pilot, mother of two daughters, Sierra and Jasmine Tina Jorgensen, also a Hang 4 pilot, lives in Spanaway, Washington, with her husband, Larry and her daughters, 12-year-old Sierra and 17-yearold Jasmine. Tina works as a rep with Excel Communications and volunteers twice a week at Sierra’s school teaching gymnastics. I suppose she qualifies as an “old-timer” since she’s been flying hang gliders for 23 years. Jamie getting ready to commit aviation

Regarding the impact of motherhood on her mindset when flying, Jamie states, “I don’t think it affects specific thought processes while flying, but of course I do often remind myself that I need to be as careful as possible.” Jamie’s favorite places to fly overall are Florida and Texas. Although she prefers foot-launched flight as a result of her flying background, she loves the mellow, smooth air that towing offers in these two topographically relief-challenged states. She points out that the landing possibilities in Florida and Texas are “wide open.” For the past few years, Quest Air in Florida has been her primary flying site, but before that it was the San Diego area (Horse Mountain, Mount Laguna, Blossom Valley, and others). According to Jamie, “Mt. Laguna is by far my favorite site in the world!” What are her greatest accomplishments? Jamie considers simply flying a huge accomplishment. She recalls learning to hang glide on the beach and says, “I was convinced that I really couldn’t do it. I thought to myself that those people (i.e., other pilots) had something that I didn’t and I was fooling myself into thinking that I would someday actually do it.” Eventually she conquered these feelings of inadequacy and went on to become a confident, skilled competition pilot. What are her overall thoughts on flying? “I truly feel there has never been another thing in my life that has created so much selfHang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

Tina with her daughters

A desire to fly seemed inherent in Tina, who began trying to fly as a youngster. These attempts included launching a sled (with wings) from their barn roof into the snow. She also attempted the proverbial “jump from the tree with a pillow case as a parachute” trick. At nights during these early years she literally dreamed of flying like Superman. At age 12, she took to gymnastics with ease in order to catch fleeting moments of “airtime.” It was 4th of July in 1980 when she met her future husband Larry at Lake Tapps, Washington. She was almost 18 years old, had recently graduated from high school and was taking classes at a community college. She and Larry spent that summer together rock climbing, camping, bridge jumping, and water skiing. By the end of the summer, they were “shacked up” for life. In 1981 a friend of Larry’s bought a hang glider at a garage sale, and Larry thought they could teach themselves to fly. Tina was a bit more skeptical and called a local instructor whose name she found in the yellow pages. Youth and limited funds led them to believe that Larry could take lessons and then teach Tina how to fly. They also expected that they could both fly the same glider—the one bought at the yard sale. Tina laughs now at their naiveté: “That shows how much we didn’t know!” They soon found out that the standard-style glider with the swing seat that was bought at the yard sale was potentially dangerous, even deadly. At the time, the hottest glider on the market was the UP Comet. Larry decided he would buy one, so they got a bank loan. Little did they know that you don’t train on a double25

D EH PGA RMT OMME SN T

surface, high-performance glider! According to Tina, Larry was one of those “naturals” to flying. He was competently flying his Comet after four days of training, wowing the local hang gliding community. Flying for Tina, on the other hand, did not come so easily. She spent a year on the training hill flying a 190 UP Firefly. She eventually nailed her launches and landings, showing up even the most veteran pilots. Her teacher was Chris Bailey, but her toughest critic was her husband. “Larry wanted me to be flawless, so he made me practice over and over.” She recalls that when she would go to Dog Mountain to fly at altitude, she wasn’t even allowed to soar. “Back in the old days,” she recollects, “new pilots spent their days making as many flights as possible, so I would get in three or four flights off Dog in a day.”

Her husband Larry is still Tina’s mentor. “He always pushes me to improve, but allows me to stay within my comfort zone.” She admires her husband’s skill as a pilot. “He can jump from flying a Falcon tandem, to being a tug pilot flying the ‘Wannabe Ranch’ Dragonfly, to setting our state distance record…Not only does he mentor me, he mentors many other pilots in our flying community.” (“Wannabe Ranch” is what Tina and Larry affectionately call the Packwood Airport in Washington, where they store the Dragonfly they co-own with other pilots.) Tina and Larry have two daughters, Jasmine and Sierra, ages 17 and 12. Jasmine has already started taking classes at the local community college, and won the title of Ms. Washington Teen USA 2003. As part of her presentation in an NBC live broadcast of Miss Teen USA last August, Jasmine showed a video clip that featured her setting up her Falcon and talking about hang gliding, and also showed her dad launching his Flight Design Axxcess during the Chelan XC Classic. Jasmine has gone tandem many times, flying the glider throughout the aerotow and approach, but she has yet to solo. According to Tina, the family plans to go to the beach for spring break where Jasmine hopes to have her first solo flight. Tina describes her younger daughter Sierra as “the Energizer bunny times 10!” She is into everything. As a 6th grader, she loves gymnastics, skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, rollerblading, motorcycling, reading, playing the flute and creating art. Tina points out that both girls have been flying tandem with their dad since they were old enough to convince him they were ready, which happened when they were around the age of four. When asked what her girls think of her flying, Tina replies, “It’s normal for them. I was back flying 10 days after Jasmine was born, and just a week after Sierra was born. By the way,” she adds, Left: Tina launches her Stealth at Dog Mountain. Below: Tina and husband Larry Photos provided by Tina Jorgensen.

May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

H G

“Sierra is named for the rowdy Sierra Mountains in the Owens Valley.” She went into labor with her older daughter while driving for Larry during his longest flight at the time from Chelan Butte. At age three, upon entering preschool, Jasmine inquired of her peers, “What color is your mommy’s hang glider?” Tina has no qualms about being a mother and a hang gliding pilot. She says she worries more about the danger of driving to the mountain than she does about actually flying. The Jorgensen family weekends have evolved from tent camping at flying sites in those early days to traveling in a motor home now. They are most often found “camping” in their home LZ at Dog Mountain. “We can hardly say we are camping,” Tina laughs. “It’s become a real family atmosphere. We have potlucks almost every weekend, along with big campfires, and BIG stories told at night!” The only time Tina recalls being concerned about flying as a mother was while she was nursing her babies. She thought, “If I hurt myself, I wouldn’t want to take any pain medication so I could still nurse.” This concern resulted in her flying more conservatively. When Jasmine was 18 months old, Tina set an unofficial record in the Owens Valley for an altitude gain as a woman (13,000 feet). She admits, though, that her age is now affecting her flying habits. “I’m 41, and two years ago I tore the ACL in my knee while doing gymnastics. I had surgery and it has taken me a long time to fully recover. Thank God for Falcons!” She flew by aerotowing and landing on wheels while she healed. By spring, she expects to be ready for her Stealth glider again. Tina feels that being a flying mom has given her daughters their own “wings.” She sees this evidenced in their willingness to take on any challenge, to wish for the impossible, and in the self confidence they show in themselves in order to makes their dreams happen. “They aren’t afraid to step out of the box,” Tina points out. Her examples of this include Jasmine entering the USA teen competition in Washington and winning, despite having no prior experience. “We thought she didn’t stand a chance to even make the top ten!” And Sierra, despite being the smallest on her sports teams, is typically one of the best players. “She has a heart of gold, and loves every challenge that comes her way,” says her mom. What are Tina’s overall thoughts on motherhood and flying? “My girls are the way they are because of the wonderful family of friends we have in our hang gliding community. You know the saying, ‘it takes a village to raise a child.’ Well, I believe my girls are shaped by the rich culture of pilots (hang glider and paraglider) and their families who join us each weekend, at a competition, or in our travels. My girls have met wonderful people from all over the world because of hang gliding. They continue to learn about Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

M O M S

our flying friends’ homelands, languages, customs and foods. I am so grateful for this sport and the people we call our friends, who have made a difference in their lives.” The flying community as extended family: Therein lies the essence of how the hang gliding lifestyle of this “flying mom” enriches the lives of her daughters and broadens their perspective on the world.

Kay Tauscher is a USHGA-certiﬁed instructor, tandem pilot, and the proprietor of Peak to Peak Paragliding located in Boulder, Colorado. Her greatest accomplishment, however, is mothering her three freespirited children: Jesse (age 10), Max (age 7), and Beau (age 4) who are currently sprouting wings of their own.

Women with Paragliding courses, trips and lessons designed speciﬁcally for women by women.

June 5-7, Point of the Mountain, UT July 30-August 1, Boulder, CO Additional dates and locations to be announced. Check our web site for more information!

303/817-0803

w w w. p e a k t o p e a k p a r a g l i d i n g . c o m 27

H G - 1 0 1

The Psychology of Flying:

Knowing when NOT to ﬂy. By G.W. Meadows rom 1980 until 1988, on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. eastern time, those so inclined could tune in to CBS and view the latest episode of Magnum P.I. Magnum started off as a fairly campy series

that gradually became better before it left the airwaves, and while it was quite predictable after a few seasons, there was something that could be learned from the hedonistic investigator: Listen to your “little voice.” You see, whenever Magnum was about to get in trouble, his “little voice” would tell him something was wrong. Sometimes he listened and sometimes he didn’t. Naturally, the times he didn’t were when he took the proverbial bullet in the shoulder.

Most of us have our own “little voice” that talks to us. (I’m not referring to the little voice that has the men in the white coats coming to take us away.) The little voice that I refer to is the one that comes from inside—a bit instinctual—that lets us know that danger is lurking close by. It’s whether we decide to listen to it or not that can make the difference between a fun and enjoyable day of ﬂying or a day where we wish we’d gotten some yardwork

May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

H G - 1 0 1

done instead. Cultivating a relationship with our little voice is key. You see, that little voice may not always be right. This is where the tough part begins. It has been proven statistically that most aviation accidents are the result of a chain of events/decisions that lead to an irreversible situation. Some of the most important decisions you’ll ever make about flying will be simply whether or not to get in the air. When you spend an hour or more to get to the flying site and then take the time to put your glider together and arrange for a driver, there can be a lot of pressure to fly. Well, the purpose of this article is to let you know that it’s completely acceptable to not fly if your little voice tells you not to. There can be an unlimited number of things that just don’t “feel right” sometimes and flying could be the last thing you should be doing in those situations. I’ll list a few of them here and, hopefully, your little voice will whisper in your ear when they arise. Your Physical Condition Of course, you know when you’re flat-out sick. A hacking cough, a severe headache, a belly ache or any of the normal “sick” symptoms should have you deciding that aviation is not the best course of the day. There are other more subtle physical signs that we need to work a little harder to notice, and then take the time to evaluate their likely effect on our success as a safe pilot on any given day. Hangovers: Not that anyone reading this would actually know what this condition feels like, but the “unattached” feeling of the improving hangover is a situation that screams for flight success evaluation. Injury: Everything from sore shoulders to a sprained ankle needs to be evaluated as to how it will affect your flight. Some practice runs for lower extremity injuries and some test hanging in your harness for torso injuries would be a Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

good idea if you have injuries that you haven’t yet flown with. Another good idea is to make sure you have a “plan B” for your flight in case you’re still injured more than you think you are. Some injuries call for you to fly with wheels “just in case.” Now, I should tell you to NEVER fly with any physical injury—but that’s not realistic. But please do put some extra time into evaluating your condition before getting back into flying after an injury. Fatigue: In today’s hectic lifestyles, there are many days when we’re operating on only a few hours of sleep. Whether it’s due to working overtime, a new baby that won’t let you sleep or just insomnia, sleep deprivation can take a real toll on your decision-making ability. At least one hang gliding death that I know of has had “lack of sleep” as a contributing factor. It’s not uncommon for pilots to fly on less than a full night’s sleep which of course means a less-than-normally-acting brain. Evaluate this for yourself and if you’re not “operating on all cylinders,” then think about that yardwork instead of flying. Your Mental Condition This one is a little more difficult to evaluate than the physical condition. As we all know, aviation accidents are by majority caused by pilot error. This includes the decision to fly in situations that the pilot should not have flown in. Included in these situations is a compromised mental condition. Now, this isn’t limited to folks who should be in the “cuckoo’s nest”— rather, it includes especially pilots who are under extra stress that can be brought about by many factors. Did you have an argument with your spouse before heading out to fly? Did you leave work early with unfinished tasks that you can’t get off your mind? Is someone in your family very sick? Well, if you don’t have the ability to “leave it all behind you” and focus exclusively on flying, then you should really think about not flying.

Are you having “one of those days”? Are you setting your glider up “out of order”? Did you leave your gas cap at the gas station? Did you have to go back into the house three times before you left the driveway to get one thing or another and then kept forgetting what you went in there for? These are all clues that you might not be operating at 100% mental capacity on any given day. Any of these symptoms by themselves may not be enough to make the decision to NOT ﬂy, but still, you should pay attention to the cues.

The Weather This subject alone has had more than one book written about it. Suffice it to say that if you’re seeing weather conditions that make you question whether or not you should fly, then it’s quite possible that you shouldn’t. Ask some of the more seasoned pilots at your site what that weather means and how it will affect you. When in doubt—just don’t fly. There’s always tomorrow. Launch Conditions As an up-and-coming pilot, you will frequently be performing flights in more challenging conditions. The trick is to only approach new conditions that you are ready for. This is where a good instructor or a mentor pilot really comes in handy. Sure, maybe you’ve done no-wind launches at your home site where the slope is steep or where you’re relatively low to sea level, but things change in the same conditions at flatter slope launches and higher density altitudes. Increasing wind conditions at launch are something that can catch pilots off guard. The force of the wind goes up dramatically as the velocity increases. (Force 29

H G - 1 0 1

increases by the square of velocity.) What this means is that the force of a 20-mph wind is much higher than the force of a 10-mph wind. For example, if a 10-mph wind exerts 50 pounds of pressure on you, then a 20-mph wind would be exerting 200 pounds of pressure. So the effect of a 20-mph wind is much more than just twice that of a 10-mph wind. When the wind picks up signiﬁcantly beyond what you’re used to launching in, pay close attention. Things really happen fast in higher wind launches. It’s equally important to pay attention to cross winds. Many launches will allow safe launching in cross winds from one direction, but not from another. New pilots need to pay attention to the slight changes in launch conditions and evaluate whether it’s safe for them to try and launch. Just because some pilots are ﬂy-

ing doesn’t mean that you should. If the launch conditions are new to you, then converse with other pilots—especially ones who are familiar with your flying skills and habits. New Equipment Do you have a new glider or a new harness? No matter how much you’re looking forward to flying with your new gear, if the weather conditions or the site are not familiar to you, then you should wait to try out your new stuff. When stepping up to new equipment, most novice and intermediate pilots should wait for very smooth conditions before learning the traits of the new equipment. By flying in predictable conditions on your new equipment, you’ll know what behavior can be attributed to the gear and you won’t have to wonder if it was the conditions that created a situation that was new to you. Be patient in trying new gear.

In your flying career, there will be many days to fly. There will be a few where it would be best for you to not fly. It is important to try your best to recognize those days as they come. Listen to your “little voice.”

G.W. Meadows has been hang gliding for more than 20 years and has held every rating issued in the sport. G.W. has written or co-written much of the USHGA’s tandem and training programs. His Hang Gliding 101 articles are condensed versions of the chapters of his upcoming book, Hang Gliding 101.

May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

RAT RACE 2004

WHY THE RAT RACE?

By Mike Haley

fter conceiving the idea for the 2003 Rat Race and then acting as the competition’s organizer, I’m keenly aware of how many people helped shape the competition with passion, participation, and continuing education. All this hard work paid off: Rat Race participants commented at the 2003 National Paragliding Championships that they’d experienced some of the best training for the competition arena at the Rat Race. Feedback like this gave our volunteers a deep sense of satisfaction. Our conclusion was that pilots depend on and need a safe and educational training environment. Every great event has a strong support team and the Rat Race is no different. Our 2003 event was publicized in two national magazines as well as local newspapers. We even had local television coverage promoting the beauty of the sport of paragliding. The communities of Jacksonville, area landowners, and local shop owners have been encouraging us to do it again. USHGA, Dixon White (2003 meet director,) Bill Gordon (2003 safety director/scorekeeper), Kevin Lee and Tom Chesnut (local instructors), along with instructors from other national paragliding schools, have expressed an interest in a repeat performance: the second annual Rat Race. Given this level of interest and support, I am happy to announce Rat Race 2004. Dixon White and Bill Gordon are committed to return as meet director and safety director/scorekeeper respectively. At the request of many pilots and organizers, this year’s event will be extended to a four-day competition beginning on Wednesday, June 2 and ending Saturday, June 5, 2004 with a rain day scheduled for Sunday the 6th. This will allow pilots to stay for the awards dinner on Saturday night and then travel home on Sunday. Your registration fee includes a Tuesday night GPS training session and workshop, hosted by Dixon White and Bill Gordon and focusing on the strategies of a successful XC pilot. Also included in the entry fee is a registration night baked potato buffet, sack lunches each day of competition, and salads and beverages for the Saturday night awards and dinner/party held at meet headquarters. The entry fee will be $125 pre-registration/$150 after May 1st ; registration limit is 75 pilots. GPS and a current USHGA card/P3 minimum rating are required. Tasks selected will be achievable by P3 pilots. Contact information: www.mphsports.com/ratrace Mike and Gail Haley 503-657-8911 mphsports@comcast.net

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

NATIONAL

FLY-INS

The 2004 National Fly-Ins

Text and photos by Davis Straub ational Fly-Ins are so much fun that we thought we’d have two of them this year, one in late July in Leakey, Texas (in the hill country near San Antonio) just before the U.S. Nationals, and a later one in western New York State on an extended Labor Day weekend. Two get-togethers, two chances to fly together and talk with all your new buddies afterwards. Two opportunities to party in some of the most beautiful countryside in the U.S. with hosts who are going to do everything they can to make you feel welcome. What is a fly-in after all but a great opportunity to be with and fly with like-minded individuals who understand how cool hang gliding (and in the case of the fly-in

in Texas, paragliding also) really is? Flying with other dedicated pilots and sitting around the communal fire afterwards is just that much more fun. Combine that with the opportunities to learn new skills in a friendly atmosphere, and the result is you’ll be sorry if you don’t make it. Fly-ins are a big part of the flying community and I’m sure plenty of you will be going to Memorial Day events at your local sites. Now, take your local fly-in and multiply it a few times, add lots of resources and new pilots to get to know and you’ve got a national fly-in. And this year, you’ve got two. The Texas Open—2004 National Fly-In in Leakey, Texas Yes, that is pronounced Leaky (see the plaque in town). You’d think that someone would open a plumbing shop there, and call it Leakey Plumbing. But the town is too small for a plumbing shop and besides, I don’t think the business would get too much business.

Leakey is a wide spot in the road, north on highway 83 out of Uvalde, a site famous for often hosting the U.S. National Gliding (Sailplane) Championships. Leakey is also just to the right of our crosscountry course line out of Zapata toward Big Spring, site of the 2004 U.S. Hang Gliding Nationals. It’s a beautiful wide spot and a charming little town that plays host to folks from Austin and San Antonio coming up to the Texas hill country to escape the heat and play in the fresh water of the Frio River. Relax after a hard day of flying in one of the many put-in spots along the crystal-clear river. With low tree-covered ridges on both sides of the open valley that surrounds the Frio, the hill country has a surprising alpine feel even though it is only about 1,600’ above sea level at the valley floor and 2,400’ on top of the ridges. You can easily fly up and down (north and south) the wide valley, head off up another valley to the northeast, or head first south then either east or west into other valleys. Last year there were a number of 50-mile out-and-returns and there are plenty of opportunities for triangle routes. The ridges are not so wide that it is much of a problem jumping them to the valleys to the east and west. Depending on your desires, local or long distance flights are possible far up into the Texas panhandle. The site record of 126 miles was set last year by Scot Huber at the Texas Open. Flying from Leakey is an easy way to get a handle on some of the longdistance flying that we regularly get from Zapata and in Big Spring and Hearne. In spite of being very small, Leakey has some excellent restaurants (due to tourists and hunters) and two small groceries—but I’d suggest bringing your groceries with you if you are a gourmet or don’t want to eat out every night. Lodging options include camping, RV’ing, and motels.

David Glover and Bo Hagewood introducing hang gliding to another eager pilot-to-be 32

The highways are open and paved and it’s easy to get to Leakey from anywhere including California and the Midwest. People May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

NATIONAL

FLY-INS

Outstanding towing services courtesy of Flytec USA and Team Quest

drive friendly in Texas, and will let you pass by going over onto the wide shoulder.

hang glider pilots. There will also be truck towing on the runway.

The Texas Open is a towing fly-in. It will take place on the north side of town at the Real County Airport on July 23 through 25th. There will be Dragonflies coming up from Zapata on their way to the U.S. Nationals at Big Spring and they’ll be stopping in Leakey for the National Fly-In. In addition, Dave Broyles will be there with his scooter tow operation to tow up paraglider and

Because it’s between the WRE and the Nats, the Texas Open participants have had some of the top pilots in the country join them in the past. You’ll have a chance to hang out with some of the best competition pilots in a relaxed environment. There will be fun competitions for those who don’t wish to go cross country, with prizes for all the events including spot landings, bomb drops, and duration. Manufacturers have generously supported the Texas Open in the past, with everyone getting a prize for something: t-shirts, caps, books, videos, glow sticks, and so on. The airport has both a paved strip and a large grassy area that local (as in Leakey) pilot Sam Kellner will have whipped into shape before you get there. Sam learned to fly in Leakey and at Torrey Pines (where he flew first as a Hang 2 while in the Navy).

Chris Zimmerman climbing out into a perfect Texas sky

Bring the family. There is the Frio River with ﬁshing and tubing. Garner State park is very close. There will be discovery ﬂights with the exceptional service of the Quest Air gang—and of course downhome true Texas BBQ. The whole town comes out for the event. One of the things that makes the Texas Open exceptional is the incredible hos-

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

Jean Saldana works on his kiting skills before the day turns on

NATIONAL

FLY-INS

pitality provide by the folks of Leakey. Landing out on a cross-country flight is never a problem—within minutes a complete stranger will stop, give you a ride to the highway, and probably all the way back to the airport with a refreshing beverage in your hand. You can find out more about the Texas Open/2004 National Fly-In at http://danbarb.org/txopen. Register there to join in the fun. The Late Summer 2004 National Fly-In Late summer is a great time to head north to western New York to find the best conditions for flying just south of the Great Lakes, in this case the Finger Lake country just to the east of Rochester and Buffalo. It’s very accessible from the East and the Midwest.

This is the apple and wine country that benefits from the soothing influence of Lake Ontario, and late summer is the beginning of the fall harvest season and prime time for fresh-picked corn at the Long Acres Farm, home to the Finger Lakes Aerosport Park. Doug, the head of the farm family, makes sure that the corn is picked fresh every morning, and you just have to walk across the country road to pick it out at their roadside store. The Finger Lakes area is geologically fascinating with lakes, obviously, and drumlins, which are long thin mounds of glacial till. You’ll find the runway for the Finger Lakes Aerosport Park right on top of a north-south running drumlin (they all run north-south here), surrounded by the cultivated fields of corn at the Long Acres farm. There are numerous foot-launch sites overseen by the Rochester hang gliding

club within a few miles of the flight park. In fact the Rochester Area Flyers have included in the Fly-In pilot package a week membership to all RAF foot-launch sites. (There is a site for every direction except due south.) Like the Texas Open—2004 National FlyIn, the National Fly-In at Finger Lakes Aerosport Park is an aerotowing get-together. Marty and other pilots will be towing up hang gliders behind Dragonflies and perhaps some trikes. Come and learn to aerotow if you haven’t had a chance to do it before. They will be doing aerotow ratings until Sept. 1 (Wednesday) or the weekend before the Fly-In starts but not later. Not only can you fly here but you can visit numerous fine wineries, as well as Niagara Falls, which is about two hours to the west. There is a cheese store not far from

May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

NATIONAL

FLY-INS

the farm that specializes in all the best New England and New York cheeses. This is wide-open farm country with few developed areas nearby. Landing places are plentiful and there is very good cross-country potential especially to the south and east. Winds should be light and prevailing out of the west. Conditions are very mellow and the air is just a joy to be in. Finger Lakes AeroSports Park from above

The take-off and landing area at the flight park is huge. You’ll also find plenty of room for camping, putting up your RV, and setting up your glider. Long Acres Farm has activities for the rest of the family including the Amazing Maize Maze, a bakery, petting zoo, and farm store. There are also many places nearby to visit. There will be several manufacturer representatives at the Fly-In all week and during the weekend. Be sure to go for a demo flight. There will also be a few guest speakers. The National Fly-In will take place between August 30th and September 6th. The limit is 100 pilots, so sign up early. You can find out more about the Finger Lakes Aerosport Park at http://www.fingerlakesaerosportpark.com and more about Long Acres Farm at http://www.longacrefarms.com. You can find a picture of a drumlin at http://www.priweb.org/ed/finger_lakes/ images/drumlinovals.jpg. Your hosts in Texas and New York are very much looking forward to welcoming you to their areas and will be doing everything that they can to provide a memorable experience. Think about how much you are going to enjoy flying with your friends, getting effortlessly towed up into the thermals. Two National Fly-Ins this year and two chances to experience country-club conditions.

Greg Chastain sets up in the comfort of one of Real County Airport’s hangars. Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

RED BULL TRANS-ANDES

Will Gadd and Chris Santacroce ﬂy over the spine of the Andes By Shanti Sosienski Photos by Christian Pondella

ver since professional paraglider and ice climber Will Gadd hiked through the Andes 10 years ago he’s dreamed about flying there. The steep granite walls, deep canyons, and beautiful empty rolling grassy landscape tantalized him until last fall he decided to make his dream a reality. The flight plan was simple in concept—follow the Trans-Andes Highway for the 90 km between Santiago, Chile and Mendoza, Argentina—but execution proved to be difficult. The combination of unknowns, from topography to wind patterns to the simple fact that few people have flown much of anything through the region, made it hard to know if such a flight was even possible. After all, this is the place that the infamous movie Alive took place—you know the story about the Uruguay rugby team that crashed in the Andes in 1972, surviving by snacking on the dead. Not a pleasant thought. Still that didn’t stop two of the best aerobatic pilots in North America, Chris Santacroce and Othar “OJ” Lawrence from Salt Lake City, from joining Will in pursuing his vision. If you’re down with paragliding, then you’re definitely familiar with Chris and OJ, but an outsider like myself had no idea who these guys were. After traveling with them for two weeks I can see why they are considered the best! Not only are their flight skills amazing, but they have vast knowledge about the sport, and when I got to know them better I could see how their excellent sense of humor keeps them in the limelight of paragliding. Chris Santacroce (aka Santa) told me he didn’t expect me to know who he was because no matter how famous you may be in the paragliding world, in North America people still won’t recognize your name. “We’re just ding-a-lings on a string,” he explained candidly about his chosen profession.

Chris at Portillo, Chile — notice the broken lines from taking off in a rock pile. Full camping kit serves as back protection. 36

May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

RED BULL TRANS-ANDES

To document the trip, Will brought along a friend and top-notch mountaineering vidoegrapher and photographer Patrick Moore and photographer Christian Pondella. Our guide was David Owen, a seven-year Chile resident who owns a guide operation called PowderQuest (www.powderquest.com) and runs backcountry ski tours throughout the winter. The group quickly discovered that without David our mission would have been impossible. We were definitely the stupid North Americans stumbling our way through Chile and without David to navigate through all the legalities and compensate for our lack of Spanish, we’d have been sunk. I arrived in summery Santiago on December 7. The sun was blazing, but David warned me that we would be heading up to a ski area above Santiago where it would be colder because of the altitude. The guys wanted to acclimatize at 10,000 feet, so they could ready themselves for flying at 12,000 feet and higher. They had lofty dreams of climbing to 24,000 feet and flying over Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America. Our mission, as I said earlier, appeared simple enough: we would spend the week researching the Santiagoto-Mendoza route through the Andes, the Will above Lago del Inca, Chile, the lake the only landable place pilots would learn the in the area... Peaks in the background are 14-16,000 feet. area, watch the wind patterns and hopefully fly through the narrow, steep canyons in about a week. This was the plan. The reality became a much more complex situation. PICKING A ROUTE In the early ‘70s a war between Chile and Argentina created a rift that divided the two countries permanently. At that time both governments banned all sales of topographical maps of the Andes to

OJ Lawrence over the Andes Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

RED BULL TRANS-ANDES

protect themselves from each other. While the countries are at least politely amicable today, the spicy tension still sits quietly underneath the South American façade of smiles, and that means it’s still impossible to find maps. Will didn’t realize this would be the case, so when he had trouble finding maps in North America, he assumed it would be easier in South America. He was unfortunately wrong and the first stumbling block of the trip arose. For three days the group searched the streets of Santiago, visiting the military, embassies, even museums, in search of maps that would help determine the route.

they couldn’t ﬂy the Trans-Andes route they would head south to a larger valley called Cajon del Maipo. On December 13, a windy but fair-weathered Saturday morning, Will, Chris and OJ began hiking up over the ﬁrst pass leading them into the Andes. On their backs they carried close to 80 pounds of gear including their wings and limited camping supplies. The wind ripped through the valley, the altitude gnawed at them, but they hoped if nothing else they would be able to glide down from the tops of the passes. They knew there would be two and possibly three passes they would come across—

Othar Lawrence ﬂying with full camping kit

People smiled and politely told the group that it was impossible to obtain such documents. The crew was forced to get creative and look for other ways to learn about the Andes. Will met with the sailplane club of Santiago who laughed at his intentions of ﬂying over the Andes. One younger pilot, who also had a background in hang gliding, said to him, “I can’t even wish you good luck because what you are doing is suicide.” Known for his incredible tenacity and drive, Will Gadd is not the kind of man who gives up easily. In spite of the mounting odds against the trip, he continued to push on, deciding if 38

the question was how high and how long it would take them to travel over the 90 km. There were actually many more questions than this, but they left most quietly locked in the backs of their minds so they could stay focused on pushing forward. Two and a half days later we picked them up in Argentina at a small high mountain border crossing about 60 miles south of Mendoza. There hadn’t even been one ﬂyable moment. “There were times when the wind was so strong it took everything we had to keep upright,” said an exhausted Will. May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

RED BULL TRANS-ANDES

THE TESTING GROUND The group was disappointed, but it wasn’t quite over. The next day they headed to Portillo, Chile, a high-altitude ski area east of Santiago that was part of the original route on the Trans-Andes highway. On the morning of December 17 the pilots went out for their first flight in over a week. The air was still, conditions were a little questionable, but they had an itch that needed scratching. After a test flight the group determined the area was shifty, but doable, so they went for a second flight. OJ landed after only about 10 minutes, but Will and Chris spent a good 30 minutes playing high above the ski area. Below, a group of curious military trainees came out of their bunks situated just down the road from Portillo and waited for the pilots to land so they could ask questions. Will came down, but Chris stayed up, catching thermals higher and higher. The wind picked up as the day wore on and suddenly Chris made a sharp turn left and began flying down the valley, away from the safety of Portillo ski area and the deep blue glacial lake below that had offered them a safety net. He traveled slowly over the highway toward Santiago, seeming to almost stop mid-air at times as the wind ripped up the canyon. Finally he landed about a kilometer south of the ski area down the valley. Chris’s flight led to a realization that this valley that they’d once thought impassible might actually work if they got to know the area better. That afternoon the pilots had a meeting about their next move. With Christmas fast approaching, OJ decided he was ready to head home. “I have a lot of respect for these mountains,” he said. “But I think if I am going to fly in them it’s going to be alone and on different terms.” Chris opted to stay on, saying jokingly, “I need to keep Will safe from himself.”

Willl Gadd, on a prep ﬂight ﬂying with full camping kit over Los Farrellones, Chile Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

John Heiney’s signature sail adding some color to the skies above western Utah Photo: John Heiney

THE FLIGHT That evening as OJ loaded into an airport shuttle, Will and Chris launched off the top of the ski area. The air was surprisingly still again, the sun setting, the thermals cranking— Mother Nature was truly cooperating for the ﬁrst time since the group had arrived in South America. Taking advantage of this window of calm Will and Chris climbed higher and higher above the ski area, eventually turning toward the south and then east. It became clear that while they had just intended to test the waters further, this might actually be the moment they had been waiting for. The spine of the Andes, the border crossing, was just two kilometers to the east and within a half hour they were sailing smoothly over the station that marked their departure from Chile. “We’re going over,” Will announced over his radio. “I’m going to wait for Chris to get up to my altitude and then we’re going for it. We will lose radio contact once we cross over the border.” Chris Santacroce ﬂying into Argentina

An Andean condor ﬂew alongside the two, possibly wondering what they were doing up there at 12,000 feet. They circled higher and disappeared from view, eventually reaching approximately 14,000 feet where they were rewarded for their efforts with a heart-stoppingly beautiful view of South America’s highest peak, Aconcagua. Forty minutes later they landed safely in a 20-km stretch between Chile and Argentina that has been used since the ‘70s as a natural dividing border between the two countries. In this no-man’s-land they were no longer in Chile, but they hadn’t quite illegally entered Argentina. Using their satellite phone they radioed back to us, the support crew, waiting anxiously at the border station. We were so shocked that they had gone over the spine—we hadn’t even considered that we should be packed and ready to roll toward Mendoza! 42

May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

RED BULL TRANS-ANDES

The executive decision was to let the adventurers sleep out where they landed, retrieve them in the morning, and once we were all back together decide what was next. In total Will and Chris had been in the air only about two hours and had covered a mere 25 km (barely a flight when considering Will’s distance record flight that took him 11 hours). But the guys agreed that this had been the flight of a lifetime. Because of the ramifications, the beauty of the scenery, the preparation it took to make that moment happen, the simple fact that no one has ever paraglided across the Andes—all of these made the trip even sweeter for both. “In terms of an actual flight it wasn’t necessarily anything out of the ordinary,” said Chris, “but the ramifications once we decided to go over were what made it interesting, and the fact that it all worked out made it a noteworthy flight in my book.” To a paraglider enthusiast who, like me, has barely left the ground, this was definitely the trip of a lifetime. To watch the skill, determination and talent of a group like this was inspiring. The question now is, will this one flight change anything in the sport? The truthful answer is, it probably won’t resonate around the world, but it did open doors for local pilots and those who have the time to wait out conditions to test more flights in the Andes. “If you stick with anything long enough you’ll eventually succeed, but if you never get up off the couch to try it you’ll never know what’s possible,” said Will, who hopes to return to the Andes in the near future. Even if nothing else was accomplished, at least for Will his question of whether or not it was possible to fly across the Andes was answered with a defiant—and jubilant—“Yes!” When Los Angeles-based freelancer Shanti Sosienski received a call from Red Bull asking if she’d be interested in writing an article about a paragliding expedition in the Andes, she didn’t even have to pause for a moment before agreeing. Prior to this trip her only paragliding experience had been in Queenstown, New Zealand, where she had flown tandem with a local pilot last May. After her return from the Andes she has taken a few tandems in the Salt Lake area and hopes to get her rating in the next year. Shanti writes for numerous magazines, including Men’s Journal, FHM and Outside. She loves to cover adventurous pursuits and the people who make them happen. To see more of her work check out www.shantisos.com.

Intrepid pilots, world travelers and full-on dreamers; Othar Lawrence, Chris Santacroce and, in the background, Will Gadd

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

F L Y A B I L I T Y

Founder of Flyability Proves Disabled Persons Can Achieve Dreams

By George Ferris

anuary, Wallaby Ranch: I was leaving the pole-barn making my way to the bathhouse late one evening when I noticed someone attempting to open one of the bathhouse doors. It was dark and hard to make out details, but there was no mistaking that this individual was out of control. His arms and hands were gyrating back and forth over his head and he was swaying first one way then the other, his spindly legs barely supporting him. As I watched in concern, he managed to open the door and enter the bathroom, letting the door close behind him. It must have taken him a full minute to take those few steps from the outside of the door to the inside. How he had managed to get himself to the door, and where he had come from before that, I did not know. The only thing nearby was a golf cart. Maybe someone had dropped him off? But there was no one else around. I didn’t wait around to try to solve this mystery as I was in a rush to see Rhett and needed to be on my way. But later that evening, when I described this person to Tiki, she knew immediately who I was talking about. “His name is Steve Varden,” she told me. “He has cerebral palsy and he came over from England with Judy Leden’s group.” I should have asked some further questions, but I didn’t. The next morning the roar of the tug planes towing tandem gliders into the air woke me early. I jumped out of bed, grabbed a quick shower, and rushed out to the airstrip to observe. It’s always a thrill to watch these first flights and witness the students’ initial apprehensiveness, and then their elation as they take off into the air. This particular morning I noticed Steve 44

Varden sitting on one of the golf carts used to shuttle people around. He had a constant smile on his face. I didn’t know much about cerebral palsy—yet—but I noticed that this morning Steve seemed collected. There were no gyrating hands flailing around as if he was desperately signaling someone, like I’d seen last night at the bathroom door. The tandem glider came in and landed, and as the ear-to-ear smiling passenger was stepping out of the harness I heard Malcolm holler out, “Come on, Steve, you’re next.” I turned to look at Steve who, still smiling, was already out of the golf cart and making his way to the glider 10 feet or so away. Once again he was gyrating wildly, and I couldn’t help thinking that his spindly legs would snap at any moment and send him plummeting to the ground. I felt the need to offer assistance but I resisted. As he reached the glider he was helped, like any other tandem student, to step into the harness. I was captivated, as others were, by his out-of-control motor movements. His body was twitching wildly, his hands and arms going in every direction like he was trying to swat a fly. As he lay down in the harness he fought to guide his hands toward the control bar. When he finally managed to grab onto the basebar, an amazing thing happened: all his gyrations came to a halt and, still smiling, he looked straight forward and started laughing. I could hear Malcolm talking to him but could not make out Steve’s responses. I thought it was the roar of the engine that restricted me from understanding him. I would later find that, for Steve, talking was as difficult as guiding his hands to the basebar. Controlling the muscles of his mouth to form a word was a feat in itself. That evening I went out to eat at my favorite restaurant, Randy’s. I was waiting to be seated when I heard a voice call my name—a few of the guys who were visiting the Ranch from England were inviting me

From top: Steve Varden preparing for a solo aerotow at Wallaby Ranch, rigged up for a tandem paraglider launch, ready for a ﬂight in an ultralight, and ﬂying tandem with Judy Leden May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

F L Y A B I L I T Y

to join them. As I walked to their table I noticed Steve’s wheelchair, and ﬁnally saw Steve hidden behind Chris at the far end of the booth. I said hello to Chris and Mike, whom I’d met earlier, and introduced myself to Steve. Struggling to make the muscles in his face conform to a word that was unclear to me, he said hello. He followed with a series of questions that had to be interpreted for me by his companions. It would be a few hours before I was able to understand anything that Steve was saying. Chris knew I was writing a setup/breakdown procedure for the Atos and they asked me how it was going. I explained that it had been going well until a short time ago when my laptop locked up and I lost hours’ worth of work. Worse yet, I couldn’t get the document back. Steve spoke up and volunteered to take a look at it. I looked askance at Chris, who said, “If

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

anyone can help you, it’s Steve.” It’s funny how foolish we can be sometimes—OK, how foolish “I” can be. I had assumed that because Steve is physically disabled he must be mentally handicapped. What a pompous ass I am. It’s strange how fate works. My computer crashes and I go to Randy’s to drown my sorrow in Elma’s famous pie à la mode. The next thing I know I’m back in my hooch (the room I stay in at the ranch) with this guy that I’d pegged for an idiot a hour ago, but who is about to teach me, in one week, more about positive human spirit than I have acquired in a lifetime. That evening Steve stopped over to look at my computer. I watched for several minutes while he battled to strike the correct keys by holding the wrist of one hand

with the other. He turned and looked me in the eye with a serious expression on his face, the first serious look I had ever seen from him, and he muttered something to me. I couldn’t make it out at first, but Steve always willingly and patiently repeats the words until you can understand. “Yeyee MUC,” is what I heard the first time. “What, Steve?” “Yeeerrr FUNCHED.” “Sorry, Steve, one more time.” “YOU’RE FU*KED!” The expression on my face must have registered the change from hoping that he could salvage my manuscript to the knowing that I’d lost two months of work. “You’re f*cked!” was followed be hysterical laughter as his gyrating hands tapped my laptop and made my manuscript appear.

F L Y A B I L I T Y

“You son-of-a-bitch, Steve, I’ll be on my toes from now on. No more feeling sorry for your ass!” That night we talked for hours. By the end of the night I was getting pretty good at understanding, thanks to his patience and, as I mentioned, his willingness to repeat the words until I understood. In those hours I learned that Steve is not only a computer wizard (he fully restored my document and then increased my computer speed by 85 percent) but he is also an accomplished hang glider pilot who has been flying since 1993. Not only that, Steve Varden is the founder and head of a charitable organization called Flyability (www.flyability.org.uk/), the disability initiative of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association. Steve is responsible for raising the money for his charity, which recruits and pays for disabled individuals to learn the sports of hang gliding and paragliding and achieve their solo ratings. To top it all, Steve has met with the queen of England and has flown across Africa to raise money for Flyability. The next day I was up bright and early to experience Steve’s solo aerotow flight. Though he is an accomplished pilot he did

not have his aerotow license and he’d come to Wallaby to seek the instruction to receive one. As on the previous day, we spectators watched in amazement as Steve made his way from the golf cart, which I saw him driving earlier, to the glider. After being harnessed into the Falcon he received instructions from Malcolm and away he flew, having a perfect tow to 2500 feet. I was there to congratulate him when he landed. I spent the following two weeks hanging out with Steve and was constantly amazed by his outlook on life. I can easily describe it in one word: POSITIVE. Steve never stopped smiling, not once (except, in jest, that first night at my computer). His keen sense of humor always had us laughing and his wit kept us on our toes. One evening around 11 p.m., just as I was getting ready for bed, an auto horn started blaring outside my hooch. I peered out to find Steve behind the wheel of his rental van. He ordered me to get in—they were going out partying, he said, and he was to be the designated driver. I was a little concerned about how Steve would be accepted tooling around in his wheel chair at the gentlemen’s clubs. I shouldn’t have worried—as soon as he and his wheel chair got through the door Judy Leden and Steve after a tandem flight

he disappeared, and I found him later with several girls. They couldn’t resist his smile and he was the life of the party. I asked Steve during the drive home if he’d had any difﬁculty getting his driver’s license. He told me that it had taken him three years to convince British Motor Vehicle to give him a permit. He persisted until they gave him the break he needed, telling him he would have to take and pass a driver’s course and produce a certiﬁcate before they would issue him the permit. He did so readily and had his license within that year. Steve told me that day, while laughing and smiling as he always did, that the only thing he hated in life was failing. Steve drove to Tampa and back to Orlando that night. It was an hour’s drive each way and the only time it registered on me who was driving was when he went to switch hands on the steering wheel. The hand that would leave his lap would gyrate wildly as he commanded it to the wheel. During the exchange there was always a slight warble—no, a WARBLE!—of the car as one hand left the wheel and the other grasped on. I had to speak up: “Steve, would you please not make the exchange while passing a tractor-trailer?” He laughed loudly while doing several hand switches alongside the tractor-trailer. As time went on I began to realize the message that Steve was sending to everyone: Look beyond what you think you see! People like myself are no different from anyone else and I don’t expect to be treated differently. *** Steve, Thanks for opening my eyes and those of many others. It was a pleasure meeting you. — George

May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

P G

P E R F O R M A N C E

Beginning Soaring: Understanding Minimum Sink, Maximum Glide, and Stall Speed

By James Bradley

o understand these important terms, it can help to look at the “performance curve” for a paraglider. A sample performance curve for a novice wing is plotted in the graph on page 48.

The thick red line is the wing’s performance curve. Each point on the curve represents a combination of horizontal speed through the air, shown across the top in kilometers per hour, and vertical speed or sink rate, shown down the left side in meters per second. (One meter per second is the same as 197 feet per minute.) Whenever your wing is flying, it will be somewhere on this curve. You use brakes or speedbar to control where. Some interesting points on the curve are marked in the diagram. The yellow lines point to “trim speed.” This is where the manufacturer has trimmed your wing to fly in smooth air if you hold your hands up, making no control inputs. The green lines point to “maximum glide.” This is the point where the red curve touches the diagonal green line. It is where your wing will fly the greatest distance over the ground in still air. At this point the wing’s forward speed is best optimized against its sink rate. Note that on this curve trim speed is close to maximum glide. For practical purposes you can consider that when you have your hands up you are flying at maximum glide through the air. It will only be maximum glide over the ground if the air is still. More on this in a minute. The purple lines point to “stall speed.” This is the slowest the wing can fly; one tick slower and it will stall. Stalling means the wing stops flying, which means you start falling. You will keep falling until your wing recovers, which is obviously dangerous if you are anywhere near the ground. Fortunately, if you have a recent model novice wing it will not be easy for you to stall. You would have to brake very hard and hold it, almost the way you do when you flare for landing. If you have an older or more aggressive wing, like a DHV 2 or 2-3 or a competition wing, be aware that it will stall much more easily and be harder to recover when it does. Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

There are no conditions when we want to fly near stall speed. We can get the same or better sink performance on other parts of the curve without being at risk of stalling the wing. Stall speed just marks one end of the performance curve as the slowest your wing can go and still be flying. The blue lines on the graph point to “minimum sink” speed, or “min sink” for short. On the sample wing you can see this is 28 km/hr, or about 17 mph. At this speed the sample wing is sinking just 1.2 meters per second, or 236 feet per minute. Since min sink is where your glider is sinking through the air the slowest, it is the speed where you can climb the fastest when you are soaring in lifting air. In light lift, flying at min sink can make the difference between climbing slowly and sinking slowly relative to the ground. You can experiment on your wing to find where you need to hold the brakes in order to fly at min sink. One way to do this is to pick a smooth day when you have plenty of altitude and you are flying with a vario. Start with your hands up, then—very gradually and slowly—apply the brakes, evenly on both sides, while you watch or listen to your vario. You will see that as you apply more brake you are sinking a little less and a little less. You will feel less wind on your face as the glider slows down in the air. At some point as you continue, the vario will indicate that you have started to sink more again. When that happens, slowly ease off the brakes. Experiment until you find the brake position where you are sinking the least. This will be your min sink position. Because there is a risk of stalling your paraglider if you do this too quickly or misunderstand what is going on, you should try it only with a licensed instructor on the radio, one with whom you have discussed both what you are going to do and what altitude you are going to do it at. What you did when you gradually applied the brakes was you moved your wing along the red performance curve. You started at trim speed with your hands up and moved to the left as you applied the brakes. When you started to sink more again, you had passed the peak of the curve, which is the min sink 47

D E P A R T M E N T

point. It’s important to do this move slowly so you don’t risk stalling your wing. With practice you will memorize the min sink brake pressure and position for your wing. You may notice a reference point on your risers that can help you. Then when you are soaring and busy paying attention to thermals, turbulence and trafﬁc, you can still get close to min sink easily. Remember that it’s always better to err by ﬂying a little faster than a little slower. Another time to use min sink is if you know you have a good tailwind and you want to extend your glide over the ground. Flying at slower than max glide in this circumstance will keep you up for a longer time and give the wind a chance to carry you farther. If the tailwind is light, then your brake position should be in between min sink and max glide (hands up).

Graph borrowed from http://parapente.para2000.free.fr/wings/index.html. Used with permission.

There is one more point on the performance curve to talk about. The red lines point to the other end of the curve, which is your wing’s fully “accelerated” performance. This is how your wing flies with full speedbar applied. With the speedbar on you are sinking faster, but you are also going forward through the air faster. One time you would use your speed bar is if you are having trouble penetrating into a headwind to get to your landing zone. Imagine flying at maximum glide into a headwind of 35 km/hr. Since your airspeed at maximum glide is also 35 km/hr, your wing would be flying happily through the air but you would not be moving forward at all over the ground. You would simply go straight down until you 48

May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

D E P A R T M E N T

landed. The speed bar will make your wing fly faster through the air and help you penetrate against the wind. Remember to keep your hands up when you have the speed bar on, and to ease it off quickly if you run into turbulence. Another time you might use your speedbar is when you are flying between thermals and you encounter some strongly sinking air. You want to fly fast through the sinking air to avoid losing a lot of altitude. So on a thermal soaring day you might be alternating between flying at minimum sink when you are in lift, and flying with speedbar when you are in sinking air. Remember not to use brakes and speed bar at the same time. This is counterproductive, like stepping simultancously on both the gas and brake pedals. It’s also dangerous, since the speed bar raises your stall speed at the same time it raises your glide speed, and braking could cause you to stall. Since your wing is more vulnerable to collapses with speed bar on and will recover from them more slowly, you should also avoid using speed bar near the ground, close to terrain, or in strong turbulence. Have fun and be safe.

James Bradley is, in his words, an “enthusiastic newcomer” to the sport of paragliding. He earned his P2 from Mark Leahy in L.A. last January, has a dozen or so hours of ridge and thermal soaring at Kagel and Marshall, and enjoyed doing the research to prepare this article. He can be reached for comments at jbradley@earthlink.net.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

D AE CP CA IR DT EMN ET NS T

2003 Hang Gliding Accident Summary By Tom Johns he USHGA received online or paper accident reports describing 46 non-powered hang gliding accidents including 13 serious injuries and two fatalities in the U.S. in 2003. To those who submitted reports, thank you for taking the time. Your efforts will help us all to ﬂy more safely. To those uncertain about whether an accident report should be submitted, please don’t hesitate to report any event you may be involved in or witness where someone is injured, or could have been injured, while participating in or observing the sport of hang gliding. If you’re not sure whether somebody else submitted a report, please take the initiative. When USHGA receives duplicate reports on the same event, it’s easy to create one entry for the accident summary. When no report is received, there is no entry and any hard-learned lessons (for which the accident pilot may have paid steeply) are lost to the rest of us. Paper reports are acceptable, but the best method is to ﬁll in the online accident report form. It’s easy! Go to the USHGA Web site (www. ushga.org) and click on “Forms.”

when the pilot’s shoulder dislocated while attempting to correct for turbulence-induced roll during the launch run.

The Accidents As usual, the most popular way to crunch aluminum, wound the body, and bruise the ego is during the takeoff and landing process (see Figure 1). Three-quarters of all reported accidents (35 of the 46 events in 2003), 85% of the serious injuries (11 of 13), and both of the fatalities were the

result of takeoff or landing events. Towing problems showed up in third place, followed by in-flight events (collisions, tumbles) and finally equipment problems (incorrect pre-flight/assembly). Takeoff Accidents All accidents in this category were traditional foot-launch takeoffs. The majority of foot-launch takeoff accidents (11 of 18, or 61% in the 2003 reports) are attributed to insufficient airspeed (see Figure 2). Causes for the shortage of airspeed include slow, weak or brief launch run followed by pushing out, and failure to control pitch attitude and angle-of-attack during the launch run. Launch conditions, including high density altitude, crosswind, and turbulent/gusty winds were identified as the second leading cause of takeoff accidents (4 of 18, or 22%) and were a likely contributor to several of the accidents in the insufficient airspeed category. Two launch accidents resulted from collision during or immediately after takeoff (an observer in one case, and a tree in the other). One accident occurred

This looks like a high-leverage area where improved training and proﬁciency could result in a reduced number of accidents and injuries, since foot-launch takeoff accidents had the highest rate of occurrence, and the second highest number of serious or fatal injuries in 2003. With insufﬁcient airspeed as a leading cause, our instructor and observer community, as well as individual pilots, needs to re-emphasize the importance of pitch attitude, angle-of-attack and airspeed control during the launch run. There is an ever-present desire on the

part of newer pilots to rush past the training hill days in order to experience the magic of soaring. While we all understand this eagerness, it must also be recognized that scraping oneself out of the sagebrush will severely diminish the aforementioned experience, and that proﬁciency in the basic skills of launching is therefore a necessary means by which to achieve the magic of ﬂight. Landing accidents The reported causes of landing accidents are more broadly distributed. The most common reported landing event is the ubiquitous nose-over, or whack (see Figure 3), in which the base tube stops abruptly on contact with the ground, the glider pitches down sharply, and the pilot’s remaining forward momenMay, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

A C C I D E N T S

tum is arrested by the ground and/or glider. We all witness this scene repeated with some regularity at our local flying sites, and while it typically results in nothing worse than minor glider damage and bruised egos, it accounts for four serious injuries in the 2003 reports and is therefore worthy of some scrutiny. Safety wheels can be effective in many cases; however at least one of the serious injury nose-over accidents in 2003 occurred despite the use of wheels. Even the large-diameter training wheels can be stopped abruptly, depending on terrain and vegetation. It has been my experience that the pilots who repeatedly encounter landing whacks (and are thus more greatly exposed to hard nose-over injury accidents) tend to be pilots who round out too low, or are inconsistent in round-out height. This is another area of potentially significant benefit from improvements in pilot training and proficiency. Several of the landing whacks reported in 2003 occurred when landing in somewhat more challenging terrain or conditions, including downhill, downwind, or tall grass. One of the landing whacks occurred when the unsuspecting pilot inadvertently stepped on his VG cord after an otherwise successful landing. Park the string if you plan to land VG-on. The second category of landing accidents involved inadvertent contact with the ground while maneuvering to land. All three of the reported events in this category involved experienced pilots on high performance gliders. Modern high performance gliders can accelerate quickly and can rapidly develop high sink rates during un-coordinated turns. Ground contact when the glider is steeply banked and with a high sink rate poses a significant risk of injury. Pilot proficiency on the equipment, and pilot transition to more advanced equipment are important issues here. Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

Author Tom Johns catches a late-winter ﬂight off his home site, Tiger Mt. Photo: Lori Lawson

Two accidents occurred as a result of impacting an obstacle in the LZ. One of the reports included an excerpt from a previous accident description which I reprint here: “[the accident pilot] executed a brilliant spot landing. Why he chose Paul for his spot remains a mystery.” The surest way to hit the obstacle is to stare at it while on approach. One landing accident occurred as a result of impacting an obstacle while on approach. This is another scenario with extremely high injury potential as even minor contact of one wing with an obstruction such as a tree can result in loss of airspeed and rapid yaw, pitch and roll with insufficient altitude for recovery. Training, practice, proficiency, and a conscious decision to fly a conservative approach pattern are required. Always opt for a safe landing in a less convenient alternate rather than trying to squeak back to the regular LZ just over the treetops. Towing accidents There were five towing accidents reported in 2003, three aerotow, and two stationary winch/scooter. The aerotow accidents included an early release from the cart, where the glider settled and contacted the ground (no wheels), one event involving a tandem release at 30 feet in crosswind

conditions with insufficient altitude/airspeed to execute a safe landing, and one unusual (hopefully) accident where the glider reportedly pitched over backwards when the tow line force was suddenly released while the glider was high above the tug. The pilot was able to recover normal flying attitude and execute a safe landing. None of the aerotow accidents resulted in serious injury. One scooter tow training accident resulted in minor injury, and one stationary winch accident occurred when the pilot was unable to release the towline due to incorrect attachment, and landed downwind. In-Flight accidents Three successful parachute deployments were reported, one as the result of an inflight collision with a sailplane, and the other two because of in-flight tumbles (one tumble resulted from turbulence and the other was pilot-induced during attempted spin entry). The fourth reported accident in the in-flight category was a collision with a tower near launch, resulting in serious injury. Equipment problems There were two reports involving equipment problems. Neither event resulted in serious injury, but both pointed out the 51

A C C I D E N T S

importance of a thorough pre-flight inspection. One report involved a spoiler lever not properly secured on a rigid wing glider, and one involved rolled-under Mylar in the wing leading edges. Both problems adversely affected controllability. Injury and fatality statistics The 2003 accident reports included two fatalities, and 13 injuries classified as “serious” (following NTSB Part 830 injury severity definition—see below). The remaining 31 events involved minor or no injury, or the injury severity was unreported (see Figure 4). The USHGA encourages reporting of any and all events where the potential for injury existed, in order to develop a more complete picture of accident trends for accident prevention efforts. However, we need to emphasize the importance of complete reporting of accidents where serious injury occurs in order to have a complete statisti-

cal record. If you are aware of an accident involving a serious injury or fatality, and are uncertain whether it was reported, please submit a report with whatever factual information is available (e.g. date, time, location, extent of injuries, etc.). When using the online form (it’s a rather lengthy questionnaire) simply ignore the fields for which you have no information. Serious injury can be defined as broken bones, internal organ damage, or injuries requiring overnight hospital stay (paraphrasing NTSB Part 830). Historical comparison The number of hang gliding accident reports received by USHGA declined sharply after 1999, probably due, at least in part, to a lack of emphasis on data collection and accident analysis. Reducing the number of accidents will benefit everyone associated with the sport. Reviewing accident information and publishing accident

studies can help in the accident prevention efforts, but quality accident analysis relies on quality data collection. Let’s all fly safely this season, but when accidents occur, please ensure they are reported. The safety of the sport has improved dramatically since its inception nearly 40 years ago. If we had accurate accident rate information (e.g. the number of accidents per 100,000 flights) it would probably indicate a fairly stable current rate trend. Further improvements in the accident rate require a certain amount of effort, such as more thorough training, and a higher level of pilot skill and proficiency. Improvements are achievable, and the efforts are certainly worthwhile. Regular review of accidents and publication of accident reports can help us achieve these goals.

May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

N E W

R A T I N G S

R ATING/R EGION

CITY

STATE

OFFICIAL

R ATING/R EGION

CITY

STATE

OFFICIAL

H-1 1 TERRY REID

GRANTS PASS

R. HOYT

P-3 1 DAN NELSON

PUYALLUP

D. WHITE

H-2 1 TERRY REID

GRANTS PASS

R. HOYT

P-3 1 DONNA MESHKE

PUYALLUP

D. WHITE

H-1 2 ERIC BURROUGHS

FREMOUNT

B. LEVINE

P-2 2 SIGRID BYLSME

ARROYO GRANDE CA

C. BASTIAN

H-4 2 KEITH EMINGER

ATASCADERO

M. JONES

H-4 2 JIM CASSIDY

MILPITAS

M. FOY

H-2 2 MARC STELZER

SAN MATEO

H-2 2 BARAK HAIBY

P-4 2 DAAN EGGENBERGER CRYSTAL BAY

K. MUNN

P-2 2 PAUL NAGY

TEMPLETON

K. WONG

P-2 2 DARIN HONOROF

STATELINE

R. LEONARD

P. DENEVAN

P-2 2 JAMES WILLIAMS

CARSON CITY

R. LEONARD

SAN FRANCISCO CA

P. DENEVAN

P-2 3 JAMES BAUER

MAKAWAO

D. BINDER

H-2 2 DAVID OFFIELD

MOUNTAIN VIEW CA

P. DENEVAN

P-2 3 BRUCE BOUCHER

PAIA

D. BINDER

H-3 2 SETH DUNHAM

MANTECA

P. DENEVAN

P-3 3 R. VAN DEN BYLAARDT IIKANEOHE

D. HOFFMAN

P-1 3 ROBERT WOOD

OCEANSIDE

G. JEBB

H-1 3 ROBERT KUCZEWSKI

LA JOLLA

A. BEEM

P-3 3 TIM ONEILL

VISALIA

H. MURPHY

H-2 3 ROBERT KUCZEWSKI

LA JOLLA

A. BEEM

P-4 3 LYNE PERRY

ALPINE

J. MEYERS

H-1 3 ALEX GEORGHIOU

LOS ANGELES

J. GREBLO

P-4 3 J ROGER MARSH

NEWPORT BEACH CA

J. MEYERS

H-2 3 GEORGE HERRERA

SAN DIEGO

J. HEINEY

P-1 3 DAVID CHONG

LOS ANGELES

K. KI HONG

H-2 3 KEVIN GREENE

SANTA ANA

R. MITCHELL

P-3 4 DELL SCHANZE

SANDY

D. WHITE

P-2 4 TROY BREWER

HOLLADAY

T. WEBSTER

H-2 3 MIKE LOPEZ

JOSHUA TREE

R. MITCHELL

P-3 6 TIMOTHY DOUGHTY

OAK GROVE

J. WALKER

H-4 4 SANDY BUCHANAN

STEAMBOAT SPGS CO G. LONGSHORE III

P-3 7 GLORIA GROVES

FERNDALE

P. POHL

H-1 7 SCOTT HOUSEMAN

CARMEL

M. JONES

P-4 9 GREG GILLIAM

LONDON

C. BOWLES

H-2 7 SCOTT HOUSEMAN

CARMEL

M. JONES

P-1 9 R.J. WURTS

ROANOKE

R. SHARP

H-1 7 STEVE DJOKIC

WARREN

T. TILLMAN

P-3 9 WALTER HINES

WAYNESBORO

R. SHARP

P-2 9 MICHAEL SOSNOWY

READING

R. SPORRER

H-2 7 STEVE DJOKIC

WARREN

T. TILLMAN

P-3 10 SIMON WHITEHEAD

FT LAUDERDALE

M. GUTIERREZ

H-2 10 BENEDICT MCALEVEY PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL D. CRITCHETT

P-2 10 LUIS AMEGLIO

SUNRISE

R. HASTINGS

H-1 10 KENNETH PALCZENSKI PORT CHARLOTTE FL

J. TINDLE

P-2 12 VIJAY AKASAPU

JERSEY CITY

A. RITCHIE

H-2 10 KENNETH PALCZENSKI PORT CHARLOTTE FL

J. TINDLE

P-4 13 GREGORY KNUDSON

LUXEMBOURG

P-1 13 FERNANDO STEIN

PORTO ALEYNE, RS

C. SANTACROCE

P-2 13 FERNANDO STEIN

PORTO ALEYNE, RS

C. SANTACROCE

P-3 13 FERNANDO STEIN

PORTO ALEYNE, RS

C. SANTACROCE

P-4 13 FERNANDO STEIN

PORTO ALEYNE, RS

C. SANTACROCE

H-4 10 WALTER BELMONTE

CAROLINA

C. BASTIAN

R. HASTINGS

H-4 10 F. RODRIGUES VIEIRA GROVELAND

R. LANE

T-1 10 F. RODRIGUES VIEIRA GROVELAND

R. LANE

H-1 12 ERIC KOENIG

HUNTINGTON

S. PREPOST

P-4 13 ROBERT SAMPLONIUS ABBOTSFORD

H-2 12 ERIC KOENIG

HUNTINGTON

S. PREPOST

P-1 13 GUENTER SCHMID

MARSH HARBOUR, ABACO

D. WHITE

H-1 13 MITSURU SAKATA

SIZUOKA

P-2 13 GUENTER SCHMID

MARSH HARBOUR, ABACO

D. WHITE

P-2 13 J. BAUMGARTNER

KARLSRUHE, GERMANY

G. JEBB

P-4 13 ZORAN BOSKOVIC

ZAGREB, CROATIA

P-1 13 ROSS MC MURDO

STONEWALL MANITOBA

R. SHARP

P-2 13 ROSS MC MURDO

STONEWALL MANITOBA

R. SHARP

C. WARREN

H-1 13 JONATHAN BEDFORD PARIS

R. CIZAUSKAS

H-2 13 JONATHAN BEDFORD PARIS

R. CIZAUSKAS

H-4 13 SERKAN OZCEZARLI

MERSIN 10 LEFKOSA

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

S. CHRISTOFOROU

D. CRABTREE

J C BROWN

DESIGN/DEVELOPMENT

Improvements requested: • Reduce the weight of the glider • Increase its resistance to collapse • Increase its stability when accelerated • Reduce the pitching (dynamic) of the wing so the glider is easier to ﬂy

Developing the Sport2 The best just got better Information provided by Bruce Goldsmith

he Design Brief: When the original Sport was released it was the best performing DHV1-2 on the market, a glider with DHV2 performance but a DHV1-2 certification. Even two years down the road the Sport is still one of the top performers in its category, but Airwave’s designer Bruce Goldsmith says, “We don’t stand still—we’re always wanting to develop and improve our products.” Airwave asked a selection of existing Sport pilots what they liked about their wing and which flight characteristics they would like to see improved. This gave the designers a clear direction for their research based on the experiences of the pilots who were already flying the Sport. There was a wide variety of answers and it was difficult to draw direct conclusions but there were some clear themes that emerged: Liked: • The remarkable glide performance • The smooth handling

Along with these important considerations, Airwave also felt it was essential to keep the DHV1-2 certiﬁcation. The new DHV requirements are now much stricter than they were two years ago, and the current DHV1-2 certiﬁcation requires a wing with considerably improved passive safety. New Developments: Pilots often express the opinion that paraglider design is getting close to the “end of the road.” Bruce says he could not disagree more! He assures us that the rate of design understanding and development is as rapid as ever. This “end of the road” opinion is comparable to a car manufacturer in 1920 stating that he felt cars could not continue to develop seeing as they had already been in production for 30 years!! Paraglider development is a continuously evolving process. Each month or so Paracad, the CAD program used by Airwave,

By taking advantage of the increased rigidity of wing structure and aerofoil stability, Airwave has been able to reduce the overall amount of line parasitic drag while maintaining excellent launch characteristics.

• The overall feel and look of the wing • The quality and durability of the materials 54

May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

DESIGN/DEVELOPMENT

incorporates new changes which makes the sailcutting process more precise. Bruce is constantly working on the high performance gliders to enhance glide, speed and stability, and this thrust of research is directly fed into the whole Airwave range.

dynamic airflow simulation software as well as full-scale experimental tests. These have produced a profile with enhanced pitch stability which makes the glider easier to fly, requiring less active piloting.

The biggest single change from the Sport1 to the Sport2 is the internal structure of the wing. Careful optimization both on the computer and in full-scale experiments has produced the new internal structure of the Sport which is both lighter and more structurally rigid than previous paraglider designs. But this rigidity is carefully balanced to be rigid where it helps to be rigid and to be soft and flexible where flexibility helps the overall feel of the wing. The new internal structure is very complex, and is composed of 224 carefully optimized internal structural members. Each of these members is individually designed using CAD techniques to produce the optimal stiffness and strength to support the wing, giving a clean profile while minimizing the weight of material used to create the structure. The pitching characteristics of the aerodynamic profile have also been carefully analyzed using both computational fluid

“We listened to our feedback — and we have not made the Sport2 faster than the Sport1. Instead what we have done is made the speed range easier to use.”

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

DE DS E I GPN /ADRE VTE LMO P EM NE T NT

the short section above gives an idea of a few of the areas of research he’s been working on over the last two years since the Sport1 was released. The End Result = Sport2: By the time the Sport2 reached the end of the design process, its designers were happy that the new wing accomplished all the design criteria set out at the start. Comparative glide performance tests showed that the glide performance at trim speed was signiﬁcantly better than the Sport1. Airwave’s measurements show that if the best glide of the Sport1 is 8.2, then the Sport2 glides at 8.5. On top of that, at higher speeds the improvement in glide performance increases as you accelerate.

The line layout of the wing has been optimized compared to the original Sport. By taking advantage of the increased rigidity of wing structure and aerofoil stability, Airwave has been able to reduce the overall amount of line parasitic drag while maintaining excellent launch characteristics. In addition, the likelihood of cravats has been reduced through careful positioning of the line bifurcations. Obviously, Bruce would not give away all the design secrets of the new Sport2, but

more stable at 1/4 bar than at trim speed. Stability is no longer a worry when you accelerate on the Sport2 — you decide how fast you want to ﬂy, and off you go. The new Sport2 makes transitions easy and gliding fast actually becomes a chance to relax. The Sport2 has now passed the new DHV1-2 tests, which include much tighter controls on asymmetric collapses as well as spiral stability, pitching and dynamics. Airwave is pleased that the DHV concurs that the Sport2 is much easier to ﬂy, while performing even better than the Sport1.

None of the feedback from customers on the Sport1 asked for more speed! This seemed surprising because the need for speed is one of the criteria pilots use for choosing a glider. Bruce says, “We listened to our feedback and we have not made the Sport2 faster than the Sport1. Instead what we have done is made the speed range easier to use. The Sport2 is a revelation at speed. Whereas on all existing DHV1-2 gliders stability decreases with speed, on the Sport2 stability actually increases as you accelerate.” Like many modern comp wings, the Sport is

May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

M A R K E T P L A C E

The Bug Suprone Harness Sit back and enjoy the view!

North American Distributor:

Kenny Brown sportwings@aol.com (530) 888-8622 www.moyesamerica.com

EXCLUSIVE US DISTRIBUTOR WWW.4SUPERFLY.COM• 801-255-9595

WWW.PARAGLIDERS.COM

Digiﬂy Runner more features, lower $$ than the competition

On Sale NOW! (866) SNOW-FLY

w w w.p a r a g l i d e r.n e t

M DA ER PK AE RT TP M L A E N C T E

through the USHGF

➢ Site Preservation ➢ Safety and Education ➢ Competition Excellence The United States Hang Gliding Foundation supports activities that help ensure that the free-ﬂying community has a future. Make a tax-deductible contribution today. The USHGA will match your contribution up to $500 each year when you join or renew your membership. 58

May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

C A L E N D A R

Calendar of events items WILL NOT be listed if only tentative. Please include exact information (event, date, contact name and phone number). Items should be received no later than six weeks prior to the event. We request two months lead time for regional and national meets. For more complete information on the events listed, please see our Calendar of Events at www.ushga.org.

June 18-20: Wild West Region 2 Regionals. 15th annual competition, new formats but same friendly fun ﬂying. $100 before April 1, $125 after. Contact: Adventure Sports, Box 20066, Carson City, Nevada 89721, (775) 883-7070, www.pyramid.net/advspts

USHGA Sanctioned Competition

June 21-26: Sandia Solstice Soar’n—formerly known as the Sandia Open/ Classic. Six hang gliding XC comp days within a 10-day fun ﬂy. For more information, call (505) 304-5306 or email: vanis13@yahoo.com

May 23-29: Team Challenge at Henson’s Gap, Dunlap, Tennessee. Fun hang gliding meet with a competitive edge. Nationally-ranked pilots teamed up with less-experienced competitors. Field limited to 70 pilots. Cash prizes for top 5 teams. Individual and team scoring. All entrants must be USHGA members with aerotow signoff and GPS equipment (some loaners available). Registration: $145, $195 after May 1. More info and online registration at www.treetoppers. org, or send application and check to: Tennessee Tree Toppers, P.O. Box 1286, Dunlap, TN 37327. Meet director David Glover. Meet organizer Chris Field, (865) 882-3690, crf@mindspring.com

June 23-27: 2004 King Mountain Hang Gliding Championships, King Mt., near Moore, Idaho. Best 3 out of 5 days of open distance XC along a speciﬁed route. Handicap scoring, bonus LZs, Open, Recreation and Team classes, drivers award, staff choice award, BBQ, free camping, great prizes and trophies. $50 entry fee includes membership in Idaho Hang Gliding Assn. Inc. and a full color shirt designed by Montana artist Dan Gravage. Contact meet organizer/director Lisa Tate at (208) 376-7914, lisa@soaringdreamsart.com. Rules online at www.soaringdreamsart.com/kingmeet

June 2-5: Rat Race. USHGA sanctioned Region 1 Paragliding Regional at Woodrat Mountain in southern Ore. Registration: $125. $150 after May 1. Limit 75 Pilots, P3 or better rating required. More information: www.mphsports.com/ratrace (503) 657-8911 or mphsports@comcast.net

July 9-11: Compete at 12,200’ Copper Mountain. High-altitude ﬂying at its best! Cost is $75. For details visit www.summitparagliding.net or phone (970) 968-0100.

July 5-10: Chelan Cross Country Classic. Sanctioned for hang gliders, paragliders and rigids. Register starting April 15 by phone (425) 788-0308, online at www.cloudbase.org, or at meet headquarters in Chelan on July 4.

Fly‐Ins

August 1-7: U.S. Hang Gliding Nationals—Big Spring, Texas. USHGA sanctioned meet at a location with excellent soaring conditions and airport facilities. 75-pilot field limit. Flex, rigid and Swift classes. Cross country race to goal. Eligibility: USHGA membership, intermediate/H3 rating with aerotow signoff, previous aerotow meet experience (or written approval from the meet director) and GPS required. Awards & prizes, fairly distributed. Meet organizer: David Glover. Registration: $290 before July 1, $350 after. Pilots responsible for tow fees. Mandatory pilot meeting July 31, 7 p.m. in the airport lobby. Registration opens April 30, 9 a.m. EST. Register online only at: www.flytec.com. Questions? Email: david@davidglover.com August 21-28: U.S. Paragliding Nationals, Squaw Peak Lookout (Inspo), Utah. Contact Ken Hudonjorgensen, www.twocanfly.com

Competition May 6-15: Second Annual Superﬂytec Championships, paragliding tow meet at QuestAir, Florida. May 6-7 practice, 8-15 comp days. Entry fee $150 plus tow fees. P3 with surface tow sign-off required. Meet director David Glover, safety director J.C. Brown. Organized by Dave Prentice and Chris Santacroce. More information/registration earthcog@yahoo.com, phone (505) 417-6593 May 21-23: 100K Vol Bivouac paragliding event starts at noon on Friday May 21st at the Tiger Mountain LZ, Issaquah, Wash. The ﬁnish is at Lake Kecheelus in Snoqualmie Pass, Wash. This is a staged event with planned bivouac sites on Friday and Saturday nights. For more information contact Bob Rinker, cell (206) 396-6110 or Bob.Rinker@roadway.com. Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

May 1-2: Boise Cinco de Mayo Fly-In. Boise, Idaho area flying sites (most likely Pickles Butte or Melba Ridge). Great fun, paragliding, and hang gliding to be had! Entry fee is $0.00 (free!) and includes a BBQ. Free camping is also available at Lisa Tate’s Big Dog Farm. For more info contact Kevin Frost (208) 342-1350 kevinfrost@cableone.net or Lisa Tate (208) 376-7914 lisa@soaringdreamsart.com May 13-17: 32nd Annual Hang Gliding Spectacular & Air Games, Jockey’s Ridge State Park, Nags Head, North Carolina. The hang gliding competition begins the 14th on the sand dunes of Jockey’s Ridge. Demonstrations, aerotow competition, Woody Jones Memorial street dance and awards ceremonies are all features of this spectacular event. For more information visit www.hangglidingspectacular.com/index.html May 14-16: South Carolina Springtime Fly-In, at Glassy Mountain near Greer, South Carolina. Come and enjoy flying and competing. $20 entry fee for competition flying and $10 for fun flying. Due to site restrictions, this fly-in is limited to hang gliders. Contact Paul Peeples, PO Box 2121, Brevard, NC 28712 (828) 885-2536 or email: pbrannenp@msn.com May 28-31: 24th Annual Dry Canyon Memorial Day Fly-In. Alamogordo, N.M. Contests include race-to-goal, spot landing, XC, flight duration, and bomb drop. Contact Tom or Cindy West, (505) 437-5213 or email tommy716@charter.net May 29-31: 2004 Spring Fling at King. Great paragliding and hang gliding fun at King Mountain, Idaho. Cash prizes for both hang gliding and paragliding categories: XC, racing, flight duration, no handicap scoring this year. Pig roast dinner Saturday night. Visit www.kingmountaingliders.com or call (208) 390-0205. 59

C A L E N D A R

May 29-31: Memorial Day Weekend annual Starthistle Fly-In at Woodrat Mountain, Ruch, Ore. Sponsored by the Rogue Valley Hang and Paragliding Association. Two launches, one at 900 feet, one at 2000 feet agl. For preregistration forms email Rena Scott at renazzz@earthlink.net . For further information, lodging, camping, photos, go to www.rvhpa.org or contact Gert Pokorny, club president at gertpokorny@yahoo.com, (541) 488-5416 or Ron Scott @ 541-858-2800 May 29-31: Fifth annual Winds of a Hurricane Fly-In, Hurricane Ridge and Cedar City near Zion National Park, Utah (about 130 miles NE of Las Vegas on I-15). Green pastures, red cliffs, sandy ﬁelds, dust devils, farmlands and no houses! For more info, and to get maps beforehand, contact Grant Hoag, (949) 387-5976, cell (949) 370-8446, ghoag@brwncald.som

May 1-3: Instructor training clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen, Point of the Mountain and other Utah sites. For clinic description and prerequisites refer to Two-can Fly’s Web site at www.twocanfly.com. May 2: Instructor recertification clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen, Point of the Mountain and other Utah sites. For clinic description and prerequisites refer to Two-can Fly’s Web site at www.twocanfly.com. May 6-9: Instructor Training Program at Torrey Pines Gliderport. This seminar is a requirement to attain your basic instructor or advanced instructor rating. P3 and above are eligible. More information and registration at http://store.flytorrey.com/docs/store.asp?categoryid=86

June 19-27: Sandia Solstice Soar’n, Sandia Mountain near Albuquerque, New Mexico. Hang Gliding competition and ﬂy-in. For more information contact Sandia Soaring Association’s Andrew Vanis (505) 304-5306, or email vanis13@yahoo.com

May 7-9: Tow XC clinic over the ﬂatlands of Colorado. For more information, visit www.parasoftparagliding.com/safetyclinic.html, or call (303) 494-2820.

July 1-5: The Umpteenth Annual Festival of Free-Flight, Lakeview, Lake County, Oregon. Fly, schmooze and party with your buddies for 5 days. Fun contests with cash prizes and trophies. For details go to info@lakecountychamber.org.

May 7-9: Paragliding maneuvers/aerobatics training by Enleau O’Connor, Salt Lake City, Utah. (209) 536-9192, cell (530) 227-5235, gonetowing@hotmail.com

July 2-5: Annual Fourth of July pilots’ gathering in Creede, Colorado. Great ﬂying for both hang gliders and paragliders. No entry fees for the gathering and the site is open to all, though high mountain experience is recommended. Contact Larry Smith at (970) 209-5212 or Bill Lemon at (505) 280-3552 or email: blemonbryconaz@aol.com

May 8-9: Tandem (T2 and T3) clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen, Point of the Mountain and other Utah sites. For clinic description and prerequisites refer to Two-can Fly’s Web site at www.twocanﬂy.com.

August 30-Sept. 6: East Coast National Fly-In, Aerotow event for hang glider pilots ONLY, and limited to the first 100 pilots to register! There will be free flying as well as individual and team flying. Paraglider pilots are welcome to fly the local mountain sites sponsored by the Rochester Area Flyers. Cost for the National Fly-In is $65.00 at the event or $55.00 if pre registered by July. Fee includes one-week membership to Finger Lakes Aerosport Park, one-week pass to all RAF foot launch mountain sites, discount passes to the Amazing Maize Maze, Party / dinner, and discounted tandems. Minimum H2 required with AT rating. Aerotow ratings will be available until Sept. 1 ONLY. Web site: www. fingerlakesaerosportpark.com .Other information may be obtained by email to the website to Martin, Mark or Joan, or email Martin at baronvon@rochester.rr.com. Telephone contacts are Martin at (585) 202-8090 or Joan at (315) 986-4202.

May 14-16: SIV/ Safety Clinic over the water. Learn how to self-induce and recover from the some of the more dynamic paragliding maneuvers. Build confidence in your pilot skills, while learning exciting maneuvers, recovery procedure, boat tow skills, and improved flight techniques. Lake Isabella, Southern California. More information and registration at http://store.flytorrey.com/docs/store.asp?categoryid=86 May 15-16: Tandem clinic with Rick Higgins, USHGA tandem administrator in Hood River, Ore. T1, T2, and T3 ratings to qualified pilots. Contact: Rick Higgins, SunSports Paragliding (541) 387-2112, SunSportsPG@aol.com http://members.aol.com/rsunsports/myhomepage

September 11-12: 14th annual Pine Mountain Fly-In, Pine Mountain, near Bend, Ore. Contact Phil Pohl at (541) 388-3869, philpohl@coinet.com

May 14-16: Paragliding maneuvers/aerobatics training by Enleau O’Connor, Salt Lake City, Utah. (209) 536-9192, cell (530) 227-5235, gonetowing@hotmail.com

clinics,

May 21-23: Thermal clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen, Point of the Mountain and other Utah sites. For clinic description and prerequisites refer to Two-can Fly’s Web site at www.twocanﬂy.com.

meetings, tours

April 29-May 2: Glider demos, Boulder, Colorado. Hosted by Peak to Peak Paragliding. All pilots. Contact Kay Tauscher at (303) 817-0803, or email kay@peaktopeakparagliding.com April 30-May 2: Spring training in Florida—paraglider maneuvers and XC clinic in Groveland, Florida. Maneuvers training over water in the mornings and evenings. XC ﬂights in the mid-day. 50 mile ﬂights are possible. Disney World and Universal Studios located nearby for the family. Space is limited, so register early. Contact David Prentice at earthco@yahoo.com 60

May 21-23: Paragliding maneuvers/aerobatics training by Enleau O’Connor, Central California. (209) 536-9192, cell (530) 227-5235, gonetowing@hotmail.com May 24-26: Paragliding maneuvers/aerobatics training by Enleau O’Connor, Central California. (209) 536-9192, cell (530) 227-5235, gonetowing@hotmail.com May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

C A L E N D A R

May 27-30: Pre-Nationals cross-country competition clinic. A friendly introduction to XC ﬂying with instruction from U.S. and North American XC record-setter Bill Belcourt, and Ken Hudonjorgensen. All aspects of XC competitions will be covered. Utah XC sites. For clinic description and prerequisites refer to Two-can Fly’s Web site at www.twocanﬂy.com

July 10-11: Gorge Games Paragliding Fly-In, Hood River, Ore. A Fun Paragliding Fly-In to be held at Bingen, Wa., Bald Butte, or Cliffside. This is a free event! Rain Dates: July 17-18. Contact: Rick Higgins, SunSports Paragliding (541) 387-2112, cell (541) 490-2643, SunSportsPG@aol.com, http://members.aol.com/rsunsports/myhomepage

May 29-30: Kiting and Safety Clinic with Rick Higgins, USHGA advanced instructor in Hood River, Ore. Everything you need to know after your P2. Contact: Rick Higgins, SunSports Paragliding (541) 387-2112, SunSportsPG@aol.com http://members.aol.com/rsunsports/myhomepage

July 16-18: Thermal clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen, Point of the Mountain and other Utah sites. For clinic description and prerequisites refer to Tow-can Fly’s Web site at www.twocanﬂy.com

May 31-June 1: XC/thermal clinic with Dixon White, Woodrat, Ore. Great warm up for the Rat Race $100. dixon@paraglide.com

July 16-18: Ridge soaring and kiting clinic and demo at Point of the Mountain, Utah, with Chris Santacroce. Hosted by Peak to Peak Paragliding. All pilots. Contact Kay Tauscher at (303) 817-0803, or email kay@peaktopeakparagliding.com

June 4-6: Paragliding maneuvers/aerobatics training by Enleau O’Connor, Central California. (209) 536-9192, cell (530) 227-5235, gonetowing@hotmail.com June 5-6: Mountain flying clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen, Point of the Mountain and other Utah sites. For clinic description and prerequisites refer to Two-can Fly’s Web site at www.twocanfly.com June 5-7: Women with Wings Fly-In. All-women flying course hosted by Kay Tauscher with guest instructor Chris Santacroce. P1/P2 pilot levels. Contact Kay Tauscher at (303) 817 0803, or email kay@peaktopeakparagliding.com June 11-13: SIV/Safety Clinic over the water. Learn how to self-induce and recover from the some of the more dynamic paragliding maneuvers. Build confidence in your pilot skills, while learning exciting maneuvers, recovery procedure, boat tow skills, and improved flight techniques. Location to be announced. More information and registration at http://store.flytorrey.com/docs/store.asp?categoryid=86

July 17-24, and July 24-31: France Paragliding Tours with David Prentice and Daniel Schooneveld, Annecy, France. $1500 includes 7 days of flying, transportation from lodging to sites, XC retrieval, guide, and thermal clinic. Space limited to 6 pilots per tour. Contact David Prentice at earthcog@yahoo.com or Daniel Schooneveld at dvanschschooneveld@yahoo.com July 24-25: Tandem Clinic with Rick Higgins, USHGA tandem administrator in Hood River, Ore. T-1, T-2, and T-3 ratings to qualified pilots. Contact: Rick Higgins, SunSports Paragliding (541) 387-2112, SunSportsPG@aol.com http://members.aol.com/rsunsports/myhomepage July 30-August 1: Women with Wings Fly-In. All-women flying course hosted by Kay Tauscher with guest instructor Chris Santacroce. P1/P2 pilot levels. Contact Kay Tauscher at (303) 817-0803, or email kay@peaktopeakparagliding.com

June 11-13: Paragliding maneuvers training by Enleau O’Connor, Central California. (209) 536-9192, cell (530) 227-5235, gonetowing@hotmail.com June 12-13: Thermal and XC clinic with Rick Higgins, USHGA advanced instructor and Oregon state PG XC record holder (83 miles) in Hood River, Ore. Contact: Rick Higgins, SunSports Paragliding (541) 387-2112, SunSportsPG@aol.com http://members.aol.com/rsunsports/myhomepage June 20-30: Paragliding maneuvers training by Enleau O’Connor, Summer Solstice Fly-In, Alaska. (209) 536-9192, cell (530) 227-5235, gonetowing@hotmail.com June 25-27: Mountain XC and thermal clinic at Copper Mountain, Colorado, with Greg Kelley. Launch is at 12,200’! $450, limited space available. Call (970) 968-0100 for your reservation. June 26-27: Tandem Clinic with Rick Higgins, USHGA tandem administrator in Hood River, Ore. T1, T2, and T3 ratings to qualiﬁed pilots. Contact: Rick Higgins, SunSports Paragliding (541) 387-2112, SunSportsPG@aol.com http://members.aol.com/rsunsports/myhomepage July 1-4: Backpack powered paraglider clinic in cool Northern Arizona with Dixon White. Base fee $200. dixon@paraglide.com Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

D E P A R T M E N T

August 1-8: France Paragliding Tours with David Prentice and Daniel Schooneveld Annecy, France. $1500 includes 7 days of flying, transportation from lodging to sites, XC retrieval, guide, and thermal clinic Contact David Prentice at earthcog@yahoo.com or Daniel Schooneveld at dvanschschooneveld@yahoo.com August 5-8: Backpack powered paraglider clinic in cool Northern Arizona with Dixon White. Base fee $200. dixon@paraglide.com August 28-29: Tandem Clinic with Rick Higgins, USHGA tandem administrator in Hood River, Ore. T1, T2, and T3 ratings to qualified pilots. Contact: Rick Higgins, SunSports Paragliding (541) 387-2112, SunSportsPG@aol.com http://members.aol.com/rsunsports/myhomepage September 2-5: Instructor program and Tandem program in cool Northern Arizona with Dixon White. Base fee $300. dixon@paraglide.com September 10-13: Ridge soaring and kiting clinic and demo at Point of the Mountain, Utah, with Chris Santacroce. Hosted by Peak to Peak Paragliding. All pilots. Contact Kay Tauscher at (303) 817-0803, or email kay@peaktopeakparagliding.com September 11-19: Thermal XC clinic in Northern Arizona with Josh Cohn (U.S. National Champion many times) and Dixon White. Base fee $300/3 days. dixon@paraglide.com September 25-26: Tandem Clinic with Rick Higgins, USHGA tandem administrator in Hood River, Ore. T1, T2, and T3 ratings to qualified pilots. Contact: Rick Higgins, SunSports Paragliding (541) 387-2112, SunSportsPG@aol.com http://members.aol.com/rsunsports/myhomepage September 25-26: Mountain flying clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen, Point of the Mountain and other Utah sites. For clinic description and prerequisites refer to Two-can Fly’s Web site at www.twocanfly.com October 22-24: Instructor training clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen, Point of the Mountain and other Utah sites. For clinic description and prerequisites refer to Two-can Fly’s Web site at www.twocanfly.com. October 23: Instructor recertification clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen, Point of the Mountain and other Utah sites. For clinic description and prerequisites refer to Two-can Fly’s Web site at www.twocanfly.com. October 30-31: Tandem (T2 and T3) clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen, Point of the Mountain and other Utah sites. For clinic description and prerequisites refer to Two-can Fly’s Web site at www.twocanfly.com.

May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

G A L L E R Y Wills Wing’s designer, Steve Pearson, test ﬂying a customer’s Falcon 2 at Lake Elsinore prior to delivery Photos: Gene Atkins

Tight formation ﬂying at Utah’s Point of the Mountain during Demo Days 2003 Photo: Steve Mayer

Chris Santacroce touches down on a spire in Arizona’s Monument Valley during the Red Bull Huckspedition in January of 2003. Photo: Christian Pondella

Dragonﬂy aerotow launches at Wallaby Photo: Walter Rowe

Mike Meier launches a Wills Wing Talon at the “Regionals” launch on Marshall in San Bernardino. Photo: Gene Atkins

Aimee Jacoby kiting in the autumn sunset at Willow Creek, Colorado Photo: Kiernan O’Donnovan

C O M P

King Mountain Hang Gliding Championships Anatomy of a Great Meet By Kahlil Kasaab What makes a great hang gliding competition? Site, geography, organization, logistics, and support are all key factors. No one knows this better than Lisa Tate, organizer and director of the King Mountain Hang Gliding Championships (Moore, Idaho). Lisa and her team have been putting together this competition for years, and have raised the eyebrows of pilots around the world. King Mountain is located in Moore, a small farming community in the south-central portion of Idaho. The launch is on the edge of the Craters of the Moon National Monument and the Little Lost River Valley. Craters of the Moon is over 250,000 acres of black, hardened, tar lava from volcanic activity tens of thousands of years ago. This creates a thermal generator of atomic proportions, bubbling up the Little Lost River Valley to the King Mountain launch, creating consistent conditions conducive to 100+ mile flights. Advanced conditions include turbulence, unpredictable winds, and a high altitude launch. King also affords some of the most dynamic scenery in the world. With such a dramatic XC site in hand, the Idaho Hang Gliding Association sponsors the annual competition as a fund raising event. Meet director/organizer Lisa Tate and launch director Terri Edington have been working together for nine years to pull off what is fast becoming one of the most prestigious competitions in the U.S. Current attendance averages between 80 to 100 competitors, evenly dispersed on two launches. Upper launch is 8100’ msl and offers three corridors with limited parking. Lower launch is 7500’ and shallow, but offers virtually unlimited set-up and parking. The rules and scoring for the meet are relatively simple. Three competitors, experienced at reading the weather conditions and at flying King Mountain, are chosen to serve as a task committee. There are three main routes for the task committee to choose from, with the meet director having final say. Each route has a flight corridor between 20 and 30 miles wide that pilots must stay within. Bonus LZs are set up along each route to give pilots safe options for landing. Points from the best three flights over a five-day period are added for the final score. One of the most ingenious aspects of the King Mountain meet is the handicap scoring system. This allows all types of gliders to fly together. Handicapped mileage is determined by what type of glider you opt to fly: single surface, double surface kingposted, topless, or rigid. Two classes are available for entries, Open Class (open to anyone) or the Recreation Class (open to pilots who have never flown Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

C O R N E R

75 miles before). A Team Class is also available for teams of five pilots, one of which must be entered in the Recreation Class. The trophies for this competition are world class. Lisa is a professional artist and hand crafts the top three trophies in each class, as well as the five First Place team trophies. Additional awards are given on a daily basis for good sportsmanship, as well as a Drivers Award sponsored each year by the Aerial Chair Company. A new category, the King’s magnificent launch can’t help but Staff Choice Award, inspire thoughts of big XC flights. Photos: Ernie Camacho. is for pilots who help out or do nice things for the volunteer meet staff. This was created to make the otherwise grueling and thankless job of the launch directors more fun and rewarding... hopefully enough to entice them to come back in future years. The little town of Moore welcomes the competitors with open arms. Free camping is available to pilots, and the town even puts on a breakfast Saturday morning. That evening a BBQ is also held for the pilots, sponsored by the local EMT group. King Mountain Gliders, owned by Alan Paylor, is a local shop with an impressive stock of flight gear and accessories. Oxygen is also usually available at KMG, which is conveniently located on the road to launch. One of the best and most impressive things about the King Mountain Hang Gliding Championships is the modest entry fee. For a meager $50 a competitor receives yearly membership to the Idaho Hang Gliding Association, a high-quality long-sleeve shirt with a beautiful full-color design, maps of the area, and a pilot program booklet containing extensive information on the site and biographies/photographs of the competitors. 67

C O M P

C O R N E R

The format of this competition has proven so successful that three other major meets have adopted the system almost word for word. To experience it yourself, contact meet organizer Lisa Tate at (208) 376-7914 or lisa@soaringdreamsart.com. The dates for this year’s meet are June 23-27. More information is also available at www.soaringdreamsart.com/kingmeet.

U.S. Paragliding Nationals Dates: Aug. 21-28, 2004.

Launch director: Dr. Susan Dyer

Class:

Sanctioned class A

Weather days:

Format:

Race to goal, with or without turnpoints.

Location:

Squaw Peak Lookout (Inspo)—the most consistent and well-used thermaling and XC site for large groups in Utah. Launch spots for over 20 pilots to set up simultaneously on the upper launch. Launch is above Provo, Utah, about a one-hour drive from the Salt Lake International airport.

Skill level:

P4 or greater.

Conditions:

High desert mountain ﬂying. Launch is at 6760 ft .msl and the valley ﬂoor is about 4600 ft. msl. Climbs typically are to 11,000-14,000 ft. msl at a climb rate of 400-1200 fpm.

Rules:

Transportation: During the task days shuttles will be provided, and necessary, to launch from a central location below launch and after the task back to that same location. Retrieval along the route will also be provided. You are welcome to provide your own retrieval if you prefer. Awards, Prizes and Trophies to be determined for Women’s 1st, Sport class 1st, and Overall 1st, 2nd and 3rd. There will be no “ﬂy-in” during the nationals. Volunteers are appreciated.

2003-2004 USHGA competition rulebook

Pre-Registration: Present to Aug. 20 Registration:

Mandatory pilot brieﬁng and registration August 20, 8 p.m. at the Hampton Inn, 10690 Holiday Park Drive (next to the I-15 freeway) Sandy, UT, 84070 1-800-426-7866 or (801) 571-0800. Additional lodging across the street at Extended Stay America, (801) 523-1331

Entry Fee:

$295 before June 1, $330 after.

Organizers:

Janet and Ken Hudonjorgensen

Meet director:

JC Brown

Scorekeeper:

Peter Gray

Safety directors: Ken Hudonjorgensen and Dr. Susan Dyer 68

Two at the end although it is highly unlikely that we will need them

Pre-registration and questions: Ken Hudonjorgensen, Two-can Fly Paragliding, 474 E. Tonya Dr., Sandy, UT 84070 www. twocanﬂy.com khudonj@qwest.net (801) 572-3414

Snowbird launch and the view above Inspo Photos: Chad Bastian May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

S I T E

Flying the Sequatchie Valley Text and photos by Davis Straub Belinda and I drove south from Rochester in western New York for the 2003 Team Challenge (September 21-27, 2003). It took a while to skirt around Hurricane Isabel, which came through western New York after visiting the Outer Banks and took the roof off the hotel where the USHGA BOD meeting was scheduled two weeks later. Driving south on Highway 127 from Crossville we got a complete tour of the northern half of the Sequatchie Valley, a beautiful open farming area running northeast/southwest, west of Chattanooga. We followed the Sequatchie River, naturally, from its source right at the top of the valley. Seventy miles later it ﬂows into the Tennessee River just west of Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain. As we drove south I saw that the sky over the valley was blue, but there was a line of cu’s with significant vertical development all along the eastern ridge. It looked about as soarable as could be. Turns out it wasn’t soarable just yet. The valley was inverted (as usual), which explains the blue skies over it, and the inversion was just above the Henson’s Gap launch ramp on the eastern ridge just above the small town of Dunlap in the middle of the valley. There were cu’s right above us, but the lift was behind us, farther up on the plateau and not on the hillside facing the valley. Finally about 3:30 p.m. the cu’s started forming over the valley indicating that the inversion had broken and that there was lift out in front of us. It was a light and variable day and we were all at the main launch at Henson’s (just south of Highway 111). Whitwell’s launch, south down and across the valley, is used on south and east days.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

G U I D E

Northeast. There are plenty of open sites near the flight parks that we visited that are managed by the local clubs, but we were attracted by the flight parks when we planned our trip. Of course, the local private flight park is Lookout Mountain just to the south of Chattanooga a few miles (and the landing zone there is one of our goals for the 2003 Team Challenge). A few pilots got off at just the right time and were able to fi nd the lift under the clouds out in the valley and climb out ever so slowly to over 6,000’ MSL, eventually getting up on the western ridge. The Tennessee Tree Toppers, the local hang gliding club, owns the launches, and the large landing zone below the Henson’s launch. Financed through the purchase and subdivision of the land that includes the landing zone, this LZ is an easy glide out from the launch and big enough to provide a landing spot away from rotors coming off the trees.

On both Henson’s and Whitwell launches you’ll ﬁnd a secure box that contains the local waiver and also allows you to sign up to be a Tree Topper member. You can place your membership fee in the box. This makes it very convenient to get in a nice ﬂight in the Sequatchie Valley perhaps on your way to Florida. There is a three-day fee option which is substantially less than the yearly membership fee. One improvement I could see would be to apply the three-day fee structure to the

There are four designated landing areas near the Whitwell launch. The ones to the south are the easiest to get to and work well in east or west days. The ones near the church to the left of launch work better for north and south days. Check out the Tree Toppers’ Web site for more explicit directions to the LZs. The Sequatchie Valley sites are the only ones fully club-owned and club-managed on our tour of the

The club house to the left of launch at Henson’s

G U A R A N T E E D

ATTACK TUBES STILL ONLY

.50

EACH EACH

MOST MOST STYLES* STYLES*

LOWER THE COST OF REPAIR Attack Tubes are about half the cost + of most glider downtubes, and are often stronger than stock tubes. These replacement tubes are cut and precision milled so they’ll fit perfectly on: • Aeros • Altair • ATOS • Exxtacy • Ghostbuster • Laminar • LaMouette • PacAir • Seedwings • Stalker • UP TRX • Wills Wing. Don’t see yours? Call! We have aluminum replacements for most “safe edge” tubes and blanks, and we can fill your custom orders as well. We’re so sure you’ll be 100% satisfied with Attack Tubes that we’ll pay for return shipping if you’re not satisfied. Be prepared for that, errrrr, uhhhhh, lessthan-perfect landing at about half the cost. * HP-AT VG-side and Exxtacy Attack Tubes are higher price, call. + half-price compared to an average of manufacturer’s prices.

Team Challenge, their week-long regional meet, thereby making the event a bit more welcoming to out-of-town pilots who want to come and participate. The meet itself is quite inexpensive at $120. There is a warm club atmosphere with many hang glider pilots living near the Henson’s Gap launch. During the Team Challenge breakfast is included in the meet fee and is served every morning in the A-frame clubhouse next to launch. Breakfast one day is at the community center as a fund raiser, and a there is also a grill night with all the food provided. The local hang glider pilots get together for regular events that sustain and support the community. A few years ago membership was down to around 100, but with diligent organization and bookkeeping, it has been brought back up to 200 members. At $60/year for membership, club dues provide enough income to support the sites. While there are a few “do not land” areas in the long valley, they are mostly few and far between. The club appears to have a good working relationship with the various political bodies in the area. On the second day of the 2003 Team Challenge we found sweet post-frontal conditions that made for nice gentle thermals over the eastern plateau to 5,000’. The goal was 25 miles down the valley at the very friendly Marion County Airport. This is on the route that gets you to Lookout Mountain, or farther south along that ridge line if you are going for big cross country miles. You’ll want to skirt the Chattanooga airspace by going far enough south in the Sequatchie Valley before you hop the Tennessee River. During much of the Team Challenge we towed from Dr. Dale’s a beautiful farm/airstrip seven miles to the south of Henson’s Gap on the East Valley Highway. Dale has created the infrastructure of a magnificent flight park on his property, complete with a 360degree training hill. The Team Challenge had use of a Dragonfly from Lookout Mountain as well as the one Brad Gryder brought in from North Carolina. This made it

Right: Jeff Dodgen ready to launch from Henson’s Gap ramp late in the afternoon with Alli Dodgen on his right wing and a Zagi ﬂying above him

Phone: 209.863.1400 Toll-Free: 888.530.9940 E-Mail: custsvc@angleofattack.net Website: http://angleofattack.net 100% Guaranteed. If not satisfied, return unused tubes for 100% money back. Major Credit Cards accepted. OEM/Dealer inquiries encouraged. 70

www.BirrenDesign.com

Dr. Dale’s airstrip May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

S I T E

possible to tow up for reasonable ﬂights up the valley on southwest days when there really wasn’t any wind pushing the thermals up to the ridges.

other hang glider pilots to arrange for retrieval and other flying-related matters. More information about the Tennessee Tree Toppers and their flying sites can be found at http://www.treetoppers.org/flying.html.

Dr. Dale’s place has built-up and mounding grass runways that go in three directions. It is wide open with smooth air ﬂows. All the ﬁelds nearby are hang glider friendly. There is a sailplane port two miles away with a nice house thermal right over it. There is no noise issue with local neighbors. The place is huge. Dr. Dale would like to see more towing and a hang glider operation there and he is willing to do a lease for $1/year to protect himself from any liability issues. With opportunities for training, tandem, and towing, this would be a perfect setup for some small business.

G U I D E

A guide to things to see and do around Dunlap is here: http://www.see-tennessee.com/counties/ east_counties/sequatchie/sequatchie_to_ dos.htm. While the town of Dunlap is no great shakes (there is one decent restaurant), Chattanooga is only 40 minutes away. There you’ll ﬁnd the world’s largest fresh water aquarium and many other things to see and do. You can send the family off to Chattanooga while you hook up with

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004ﬂying machines like the Pod Racer and Escape Pod on Read about fascinating

ByDanJohnson.com

C L A S S I F I E D S

HANG GLIDING ADVISORY

Used hang gliders should always be disassembled before flying for the first time and inspected carefully for fatigued, bent or dented downtubes, ruined bushings, bent bolts (especially the heart bolt), reused Nyloc nuts, loose thimbles, frayed or rusted cables, tangs with non-circular holes, and on flex wings, sails badly torn or torn loose from their anchor points front and back on the keel and leading edges. PARAGLIDING ADVISORY

Used paragliders should always be thoroughly inspected before flying for the first time. Annual inspections on paragliders should include sailcloth strength tests. Simply performing a porosity check isn’t sufficient. Some gliders pass porosity yet have very weak sailcloth. If in doubt, many hang gliding and paragliding businesses will be happy to give an objective opinion on the condition of equipment you bring them to inspect. BUYERS SHOULD SELECT EQUIPMENT THAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR THEIR SKILL LEVEL OR RATING. NEW PILOTS SHOULD SEEK PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION FROM A USHGA CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR. FLEX WINGS

DREAM 165 – Great condition, training harness, helmet, wheels $600. (970) 247-2427. EVEN-UP TRADES – Looking to move up from your Beginner or Novice glider, but can’t put up cash? (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding. com, www.hanggliding.com FALCON 140 – Perfect condition, purple/ magenta/white, 64hrs ﬂight time $1,500 OBO. Also for sale: parachute, rocket, harness, wheels. (818) 789-0112, skygldr@juno.com FALCONS CLEARANCE SALE – School use, one season. Falcon 1s and 2s. All sizes $1,250– $2,500. (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com, www.hanggliding.com FREE PVC GLIDER STORAGE/TRANSPORT TUBE – With the purchase of any new glider. (517) 223-8683, Cloud9SA@aol.com. Largest selection of new and used gliders in Michigan. FUSIONS – Three sweet 150’s, low hours, great colors, spare down-tubes. Make Offers. Fly@TheFloridaRidge.com or (863) 805-0440 for photos, info. LAMINAR 14 ST – 1999, very sweet handling Well maintained and cared for $1,999 rvander1@san.rr.com, (619) 787-8653. 72

MOYES LITESPEED 5 – Excellent condition, mylar sail, low hours, yellow/purple/gray, round basebar, can be seen at Wallaby $4,000. (321) 724-8576, bndswag@cﬂ.rr.com

INSPECTED RESERVES – For HG or PG $199+up. Used Quantum, all sizes $475+up. Some trades accepted. (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com, www.hanggliding.com

MOYES XTRALITE 147 – Nice condition, frame & carbon ﬁber sail, handles great, 100 hours, XC bag included $1,200 OBO. (949) 257-9106, pdebellis@hotmail.com Crestline, CA.

METAMORFOSI CONAIR PARACHUTE – Like new $450. rvander1@san.rr.com (619) 787-8653.

PAC AIR KLASSIC 144 – Very good condition, good thermal glider, blue and green, cheap $500. (541) 504-5416. TARGET 180 – Like new, only 2 flights, 1-hour total. White upper, dark blue lower surfaces $2,000. (512) 335-9459. TARGET 180 – Virtually new, perfect condition, red/black/white, flown once by instructor, site closed, perfect beginner glider $2,100 OBO. (831) 443-0982 California, jferguso@guidant.com ULTRASPORT 147 – Top condition! White w/red LE, 2 glider bags, Price harness, vario, helmet, WW equipment bag. Your 1st & best XC machine $1,200. (909) 880-3055, racarlisle@eee.org SoCal. WORLD TEAM LAMINAR MRX 700 – 2003, loaded: MR A-Frame, high speed airfoil, carbon inserts on L.E. Hardly flown. Perfect condition $4,600. rvander1@san.rr.com (619) 787-8653. WWXC 132 – Good condition, bright yellow/magenta AS/white LE. 230 hours, extra downtube, folding basebar, xc bag, flies great $1,200. (530) 283-3046 Julie Hyde. WWXC 132 – Brand new sail, lilac/white LE/ blue AS. New wires, folding basebar, extras. Perfect! 3 hours $1,800 OBO. (530) 283-3046 Julie. WWXC 142 – Near perfect condition. Best offer. Fly@TheFloridaRidge.com or (863) 805-0440 for photos, info. EMERGENCY PARACHUTES

AUTHORIZED CHUTE REPAIR – And service center for APCO, Elan, Chiron powered parachutes and UP/Perche/Independence paragliders and more! We have a full-time loft available with quick turn around for small to huge repairs and annual inspections. Ship your chute to MoJo’s Gear Ltd. Co., 1475 CR 220, Tow, TX 78672 Attn: REPAIR or INSPECTION. Include a note about the service(s) you require as well as a contact phone number and email. We will contact you with an estimate prior to starting the work. Ofﬁce: (915) 379-1567, www.mojosgear.com

HARNESSES

AEROS VIPER RACING HARNESS – Matrix claw outer skin, incredibly streamlined, very comfortable, sized for 6'1" to 6'4". Barely used. New $1195, sacriﬁce at $695. rvander1@san. rr.com. (619) 787-8653. CG 1000 – Chest entry, excellent condition, like new, 2 parachute containers, yellow and red, ﬁts 5'10" and 40" chest $200. (541) 504-5416. CG HARNESS – w/Lara Gold chute & swivel $1,500 OBO. Reggie Jones (619) 445-3633, reggieandvicki@cox.net HARNESSES – 5'0"-6'5". Cocoons $125+up. Inventory, selection changes constantly. Some trades accepted. (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com, www.hanggliding.com MOSQUITO NRG POWERED HARNESS – Like new, XL, new carbon prop, many spares $3,750. (414) 241-0341, martin@ispros.net TWO HARNESSES – Both good condition. M2 5'11" 175lb $100. Moyes Contour $150. Call Glen Volk (858) 458-3370. PARAGLIDERS

AIRSPORTS USA – www.powerparaglider.com, www.ﬂyforfun.net. Manufacturing the BP Parawing! Americas #1 selling backpack motor. OZONE PROTON GT XL – DHV 2-3, good shape, re/blue, min. ﬂights, good sink rate $1,500 or Best Offer. tandemrudy@hotmail.com, (510) 776-2341. RIGID WINGS

AEROS STALKER – 2002, w/tips, white/ blue, under 10 ﬂights, under 10 hours, $8,000. (315) 498-5112, mclark@lodestonebanking.com ATOS 125 – Like new, 70 hours $5,500 Woody Valley harness, absolutely like new, 5’10” 150lb $400. (608) 221-3681, gdinaauer@aol.com GHOSTBUSTER – Excellent condition, low air time, many extras included. Enjoy high performance, excellent handling of this beautiful rigid $4,000. Bill (858) 775-6543, wsbuchwald@yahoo.com May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

C L A S S I F I E D S

ULTRALIGHTS

AIRSPORTS USA – WWW.FLYFORFUN.NET W W W. P O W E R - PA R A C H U T E . C O M Manufacturing the DFS Single and DFS dual. Trike or Powered Parachute, check out our web site for this amazing plane! COMPLETE AEROTOW TRIKE OPERATION – w/Rotax 503, 3-blade Ivo prop, 2-place seat, tow release, emergency chute, LaMouette Gulf wing, custom trailer, launch cart $8,000 gets it all. (770) 304-8475 or for pixs cctravel@mail3.newnanutilities.org WANTED

WANTED SUPERFLOATER – (806) 780-6773, srhmd@hub.ofthe.net WANTED – Used Mosquito NRG harness: large or x-large. (715) 477-2160, miles@nnex.net SCHOOLS & DEALERS ALABAMA

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK – The best facilities, largest inventory, camping, swimming, volleyball, more. Wide range of accommodations. hanglide.com, 877-hanglide, (877) 426-4543, hanglide.com ARIZONA

DIXON’S AIRPLAY PARAGLIDING – Dixon White & Marty Devietti: USHGA’S Instructors of the Year. Individualized instruction at perfect beginner training areas. Drive to uncrowded launches, land in wide-open ﬁelds, enjoy many ﬂights each day. State-of-the-art lesson plans and equipment. Reservations required. POB 2626 Flagstaff, AZ 86003. Call (928) 526-4579 for Arizona or (509) 782-5543 for Washington. www.paraglide.com or dixon@paraglide.com CALIFORNIA

AIRJUNKIES PARAGLIDING – Year-round excellent instruction, Southern California & Baja. Powered paragliding, clinics, tours, tandem, towing. Ken Baier (760) 753-2664, airjunkies@sbcglobal.net airjunkies.com FLY ABOVE ALL – Year–round instruction in beautiful Santa Barbara! USHGA Novice through Advanced Certification. Thermalling to Competition Training. Visit www.flyaboveall.com (805) 965-3733. FLY SANTA BARBARA – With Rob Sporrer of Eagle Paragliding. Award winning instruction and the nations best year round flying. www.FlySantaBarbara.com (805) 968-0980. Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

DREAM WEAVER HANG GLIDING – Train on state-of-the-art Wills Wing Falcons. Lesson packages: One four hour lesson $125. Three four hour lessons, plus tandem off 2,000ft. $400. Five lessons for $550. Ten lessons plus tandem $1,000. Complete lesson programs. Year-round instruction. Launching and landing and thermal clinics. Don’t hike your glider yourself, I’ll help you! Dealer for Wills Wing, Moyes, Aeros, High Energy Sports, Rotor harnesses, Ball varios, Flytec, Brauniger, Garmin GPS, Camelbaks and more. 80 miles easr of Bay Area. I’m your northern California Mosquito harness dealer. Call or email to schedule your Mosquito demonstration or clinic. Giving lessons five days a week, Fridays through Tuesdays. Ideal training hill, up to 150ft., 600ft mountain, 1,200ft mountain. Tandem instruction. USHGA Advanced Instructor DOUG PRATHER (209) 556-0469 Modesto, CA. drmwvrhg@softcom.net THE HANG GLIDING CENTER – PO Box 151542, San Diego CA 92175, (619) 265-5320. MISSION SOARING CENTER – Largest hang gliding shop in the West! Our deluxe retail shop showcases the latest equipment and has two virtual reality hang gliding flight simulators. We stock new and used… Wills Wing, Altair and Moyes gliders, and all the hottest new harnesses. Trade-ins are welcome. Our comprehensive training program, located at the San Francisco Bay Area’s finest beginner site features: gently sloped “bunny hills,” Wills Wing Falcons of all sizes and comfortable training harnesses! “FIRST FLIGHT” 15 minute video tour of our beginner lesson program shows a student’s skill progression $20 (shipping included). 1116 Wrigley Way, Milpitas CA 95035 (near San Jose). (408) 262-1055, fax (408) 262-1388. mission@hang-gliding.com www.hang-gliding.com TORREY PINES GLIDERPORT – Come soar in San Diego! This family owned and operated flying site offers USHGA certified instruction, advanced training, equipment sales, tandem flight instruction, motorized pg/hg instruction and site tours. We also have an extensive pg/hg outfitting shop offering parachute repacks and full-service repairs. Bring your family for our amazing sunsets and dining at the Cliffhanger Cafe. Importers for Paratech and Independence gliders. We also carry AustriAlpin, Center of Gravity, Crispi and Sup’Air. Check us out online for sales and questions at: www.flytorrey. com, or call toll-free at 1-877-FLY-TEAM (359-8326). Also, tune in to the Internet Paragliding Talk Show at www.worldtalkradio. com every Tuesday 9-11:00am (PST).

SAN FRANCISCO HANG GLIDING CENTER – Tandem instruction, solo lessons, gliders new and used. Ultralight seacraft instruction over San Francisco Bay. Apprenticeship program. (510) 528-2300, www.sfhanggliding.com VUELO LIBRE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA – We offer the best no-hassle flying vacations. Just bring your wing and clothes! We provide airport and site transportation, camping gear, site intros, retrieves, Tandem flights, scenic tours and more. Contact us at www.eparaglide.com or (925) 964-0476, we’ll make it easy for you! WINDSPORTS – Don’t risk bad weather, bad instruction or dangerous training hills. 350 flyable days each year. Learn foot launch flying skills safely and quickly. Train with professional CFI’s at world famous Dockweiler Beach training slopes (5 minutes from LA airport.) Fly winter or summer in gentle coastal winds, soft sand and in a thorough program with one of America’s most prestigious schools for over 25 years. (818) 367-2430, www.windsports.com COLORADO

AIRTIME ABOVE HANG GLIDING – Fulltime lessons, sales, service. Colorado’s most experienced! Wills Wing, Moyes, Altair, Aeros, Airwave, High Energy, Ball, Flytec, MotoComm and much more. Call (303) 674-2451, Evergreen, Colorado AirtimeHG@aol.com GUNNISON GLIDERS – Serving the western slope. Instruction, sales, service, sewing, accessories. Site information, ratings. 1549 County Road 17, Gunnison CO 81230. (970) 641-9315, 1-866-238-2305. PEAK TO PEAK PARAGLIDING LLC – New paragliding school in Boulder! Offering excellent state-of-the-art instruction. Equipment & tandems. Kay@peaktopeakparagliding.com www.peaktopeakparagliding .com FLORIDA

FLY THE RIDGE – At the epicenter of Florida’s converging coastal winds. XC over 75 miles in any direction. U2’s set up, harnessed and ready to fly. Professional management and staff, experienced aero-tow pilots, friendly instruction, camping, swimming, fishing. One hour from either Florida coast on State Road 80 between Clewiston and Labelle. (863) 805-0440. www.TheFloridaRidge.com GRAYBIRD AIRSPORTS – Paraglider & hang glider towing & training, Dragonfly aerotow training, XC, thermalling, instruction, equipment. Dunnellon Airport (352) 245-8263, email fly@graybirdairsports.com www.graybirdairsports.com 73

D C LE A P A S SR IT FMI E N D T S

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK – Nearest mountain training center to Orlando. Two training hills, novice mountain launch, aerotowing, great accommodations. hanglide.com, 877-hanglide, (877) 426-4543. MIAMI HANG GLIDING – We have the most advanced training program known to hang gliding, teaching you in half the time it takes on the training-Bunny Hill, and with more in-flight air time. Yes, we can teach you faster and safer. For year-round training fun in the sun, call or write Miami Hang Gliding (305) 285-8978. 2550 S Bayshore Drive, Coconut Grove, Florida 33133. THE BEST AEROTOW – Instruction available. The only U.S. hang gliding school with two national champion instructors and U.S. World Team Members Bo Hagewood 2000 National Champion and Paris Williams 2001, 2002 & 2003 National Champion. From your first tandem to advanced X-C racing instruction. Open every day with beautiful remodeled 90+ acre facilities. Plenty of other activities like our screened in pool, hot tub, private lake, canoes, fishing, volleyball and just minutes from Orlando attractions. Learn from the best… at Quest! www.questairforce.com Email: questair@sundial.net (352) 429-0213 Groveland, FL WALLABY AEROTOW FLIGHT PARK – Satisfaction Guaranteed. Just 8 miles from Disney World. Year round soaring, open 7 days a week, six tugs, no waiting, every direction. 50+ nice demos to fly, topless to trainer gliders: Laminar, Moyes, Wills, Airborne, Airwave, Exxtacy, La Mouette, Sensor; also harnesses, varios, etc. Ages 13 to 73 have learned to fly here. No one comes close to our level of experience and success with tandem aerotow instruction. A great scene for family and friends. 10 motels & restaurants within 5 minutes, camping, hot showers, shade trees, sales, storage, ratings, XC retrievals, great weather, climbing wall, trampoline, DSS TV, ping pong, picnic tables, swimming pool, etc. Flights of over 200 miles and more than 7 hours. Articles in Hang Gliding, Kitplanes, Skywings, Cross Country and others. Featured on numerous TV shows, including Dateline NBC, The Discovery Channel & ESPN. Visit us on the Web: http://www.wallaby.com. Please call us for references and video. 1805 Dean Still Road, Disney Area, FL 33837 (863) 424-0070, phone & fax, fly@wallaby.com, 1-800-WALLABY. Conservative, reliable, state-of-the-art. F.H.G. INC., flying Florida since 1974. 74

GEORGIA

MICHIGAN

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK – Discover why 5 times as many pilots earn their wings at LMFP. We wrote USHGA’s ofﬁcial training manual. hanglide.com, 877-hanglide, (877) 426-4543.

CLOUD 9 SPORT AVIATION – Aerotow specialists. We carry all major brand hang gliders. Free PVC glider storage/transport tube with new glider purchase. Now in stock: 2003 Upgrade Wills Talon Comp, U2 145, U2 160, Falcons; Moyes Litespeed 4, Sonic 165; Airwave Magic Kiss 154. Outrigger wheels and other accessories in stock. Cloud 9 Field, 11088 Coon Lake Road West, Webberville, MI 48892. Cloud9sa@aol.com http://members.aol.com/cloud9sa Call for summer tandem lessons and ﬂying appointments with the DraachenFliegen Soaring Club at Cloud 9 Field (517) 223-8683, DFSCinc@aol.com http://members.aol.com/dfscinc

HAWAII

BIRDS IN PARADISE – Hang gliding & ultralight flying on Kauai. Certified tandem instruction. (808) 822-5309 or (808) 639-1067, birds@birdsinparadise.com www.birdsinparadise.com PROFLYGHT PARAGLIDING – Call Dexter for friendly information about flying on Maui. Full service school offering beginner to advanced instruction everyday, year round. (808) 874-5433, paraglidehawaii.com IDAHO

KING MOUNTAIN GLIDERS – Alluring site plus shop supplying all your HG/PG needs. Instruction, equipment sales, tandems, complete accessories. Visit our website www.kingmountaingliders.com or (208) 390-0205. MAINE

DOWNEAST AIRSPORTS – Paragliding and hang gliding instruction; quality equipment sales. Specialize in “biwingual” cross-over training. Extended training/tour packages with lodging in magniﬁcent Acadia NP available by reservation. www.downeastairsports.com, Marc (207) 244-9107, in_a_cloud@hotmail.com MARYLAND

HIGHLAND AEROSPORTS – Baltimore and DC’s full time flight park tandem instruction, solo aerotows and equipment sales and service. We carry Aeros, Airwave, Flight Design, Moyes, Wills Wing, High Energy Sports, Flytec and more. Two 115 HP Dragonfly tugs. Open fields as far as you can see. Only 1 to 1.5 hours from: Rehoboth Beach, Baltimore, Washington DC, Philadelphia. Come Fly with US! Ph (410) 634-2700, Fax (410) 634-2775, 24038 Race Track Rd, Ridgely, MD 21660, www.aerosports.net, hangglide@aerosports.net

TRAVERSE CITY HANG GLIDERS/ PARAGLIDERS – Put your knees in our breeze and soar our 450’ sand dunes. Full-time shop. Certiﬁed instruction, beginner to advanced. Sales, service, accessories for ALL major brands. Visa/MasterCard. 1509 E 8th, Traverse City MI 49684. Offering powered paragliding. Call Bill at (231) 922-2844, tchangglider@chartermi. net. Your USA & Canada Mosquito distributor. MONTANA

BOZEMAN PARAGLIDING – Montana’s connection for all things paragliding! Instruction, tandems, equipment, towing, XC, maneuvers, guided trips. (406) 522-3955 or www.bozemanparagliding.com for info. Come join the fun! NEVADA

ADVENTURE SPORTS – Carson City, Sierra tours, tandems, sales. (775) 883-7070 http://home.pyramid.net/advspts NEW YORK

AAA FLIGHT SCHOOL – In Ellenville. Mountain Wings Hang Gliding and Eastcoast Paragliding Center. The Northeast’s oldest, largest and most professional training center. Sales, service, demos, towing , ultralight training, pro shop and the “best damn training hill” anywhere. mtnwings@hvc.rr.com www.mtnwings.com (845) 647-3377. FLY HIGH, INC. – Serving New York, Jersey, and Connecticut areas. Area’s exclusive Wills Wing dealer. Also all other brands, accessories. Area’s most INEXPENSIVE prices! Certified instruction/service since 1979. Excellent secondary instruction! Taken some lessons? Advance to mountain flying! www.flyhighhg.com, (845) 744-3317. May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

C L A S S I F I E D S

SUSQUEHANNAFLIGHTPARKCOOPERSTOWN – 160’ training hill with rides up. 600’ ridgelarge LZ. Specializing in ﬁrst mountain ﬂights. Dan Guido, 293 Shoemaker Road, Mohawk NY 13407. (315) 866-6153, dguido@dfamilk.com PUERTO RICO

FLY PUERTO RICO WITH TEAM SPIRIT HG! – Flying tours, Rentals, Tandems, HG and PG classes, H2 and P2 intensive Novice courses, full sales. (787) 850-0508, tshg@coqui.net TENNESSEE

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK – Just outside Chattanooga. Become a complete pilot- foot launch, aerotow, mountain launch, ridge soar, thermal soar. hanglide.com, 877-hanglide, (877) 426-4543. TEXAS

AUSTIN AIR SPORTS – Check website for schedule of events, all flying by reservation only, Dragonfly/trike instruction, intro foot launch, classes, aerotowing/ winch towing, excellent xc flying, tandem instruction, sales and service. Steve Burns, (979) 229-2699, sburns@austinairsports.com. Fred Burns, (281) 471-1488, austinair@aol. com, 3810 Bonita Lane, La Porte TX 77571. www.austinairsports.com GO...HANG GLIDING!!! – Jeff Hunt. Austin ph/fax (512) 467-2529 jeff@flytexas.com www.flytexas.com HILL COUNTRY PARAGLIDING INC – Learn complete pilot skills. Personalized USHGA certified training, ridge soaring, foot & tow launching in central Texas. Motorized paragliding instruction & equipment available. (915) 379-1185. 1475 CR 220, Tow TX 78672. TX FLYSPORTS – Specializing in powered paragliding, certified instruction. Sky Crusier and other great ppg’s. US importer of MacPara Technology paragliders (Muse, Eden 2, Intox, Pasha). (713) 494-1970 Houston, www.macparaUSA.com UTAH

CLOUD 9 SOARING CENTER – Once again, we are the closest shop to the Point of the Mountain. Utah’s only full time PG/HG shop and repair facility. Contact 1-888-944-5433 or www.paragliders.com Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

SUPER FLY PARAGLIDING ACADEMY – Join Team Super Fly! We offer comprehensive pilot training programs, powered paragliding instruction, tandem ﬂights, maneuvers training, towing training/certiﬁcation and tandem pilot training. We make great pilots! We are the closest shop to Point of the Mountain, open year round and supported by the Super Fly, Inc. distribution and service center just minutes away. Call about demo and used equipment of all kinds. Instructors Ken Hudonjorgensen, Chris Santacroce, Kevin Biernacki, Dale Covington, Jake Walker, Jeff Farrell. Lessons start at $65. (801) 255-9595 or www.paraglidingacademy.com VIRGINIA

BLUE SKY – Full time instruction at Blue Sky Flight Park near Richmond. Scooter, platform and aerotowing available. All major brands of equipment, with Mosquitos and Doodlebugs in stock. Steve Wendt (540) 432-6557, (804) 241-4324, www.blueskyhg.com SILVER WINGS, INC. – Certiﬁed instruction and equipment sales. (703) 533-1965 Arlington, VA silverwingshanggliding.com WASHINGTON

AERIAL PARAGLIDING SCHOOL AND FLIGHT PARK – The premier place to realize your paragliding dream. (509) 782-5543, doug@aerialparagliding.com or visit www.aerialparagliding.com. WISCONSIN

RAVEN SKY SPORTS, INC (262) 473-8800 www.hanggliding.com, info@hanggliding.com WYOMING

JACKSON HOLE PARAGLIDING – Come to Paragliding Paradise and enjoy alpine flying at its absolute best! Jackson Hole Paragliding can help turn flying dreams into reality with our quality instruction and guide service. Long known as an outdoorsman’s paradise, Jackson Hole has evolved into a Mecca for paragliding activities. JHPG offers tandem flights, beginner through advanced instruction, mountain thermal clinics, XC clinics, towing, maneuvers training, aerobatic demonstrations and paramotoring. A perfect flying day, launch the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Aerial Tram in the morning, tow at the Palisades Reservoir in the afternoon. Contact: scharris@wyoming.com www.jhparagliding.com (307) 690-TRAM (8726)

MEXICO

FLYING VACATIONS – Valle de Bravo and beyond. www.ﬂymexico.com, 1-800-861-7198, Winter 04/05, in and out on Sunday, PG & HG. Discounts for returning clients, other discounts available. $895 PG, $1,095 HG w/glider included. Lodging at a Grand Hotel or houses, go ﬂying every stinkin’ day. PARTS & ACCESSORIES

FOR ALL YOUR FLYING NEEDS – Check out the Aviation Depot at www.mojosgear.com featuring over 1000 items for foot-launched and powered paragliding, hang gliding, stunt and power kiting, and powered parachutes. 24/7 secure online shopping. Books, videos, KITES, gifts, engine parts, harness accessories, electronics, clothing, safety equipment, complete powered paragliding units with training from Hill Country Paragliding Inc. www.hillcountryparagliding.com 1-800-664-1160 for orders only. Ofﬁce (915) 379-1567. FLYTEC VARIOS – Like new, no scratches. 4020 $175; 4005 $325. Call (308) 632-5100, ask for Leroy or leave message 2pm-8pm mountain time. GLIDERBAGS – XC $60! Heavy waterproof $100. Accessories, low prices, fast delivery! Gunnison Gliders, 1549 County Road 17, Gunnison CO 81230. (970) 641-9315, orders 1-866-238-2305. HALL WIND METER – Simple. Reliable. Accurate. Mounting brackets, control bar wheels. Hall Brothers, PO Box 1010, Morgan, Utah 84050. (801) 829-3232, www.hallwindmeter.com MINI VARIO – World’s smallest, simplest vario! Clips to helmet or chinstrap. 200 hours on batteries, 0-18,000 ft., fast response and 2 year warranty. ONLY $169. Mallettec, PO Box 15756, Santa Ana CA, 92735. (714) 966-1240, MC/Visa accepted, www.mallettec.com OXYGEN SYSTEMS – The world-class XCR-180 operates up to 3 hours @18,000 ft. and weighs only 4lb. Complete kit with cylinder, harness, regulator, cannula and remote on/off ﬂowmeter, only $400.00. 1-800-468-8185. RISING AIR GLIDER REPAIR SERVICES – A full service shop, specializing in all types of paragliding repairs, annual inspections, reserve repacks, harness repairs. Hang gliding repacks and repair. For information or repair estimate, call (208) 554-2243, pricing and service request form available at www.risingair.biz, billa@atcnet.net 75

C L A S S I F I E D S

TEK FLIGHT PRODUCTS – Camera mounts $48.50 ($6 S&H). Vario mount $23 (S&H included). 6” wheels $29.75, 8” wheels $34.75, $10 S&H pr. Web page www.tekﬂight.com for more. Tek Flight Products, Colebrook Stage, Winsted CT 06098. Or call (860) 379-1668. Email: tek@snet.net WINDSOKS FROM HAWK AIRSPORTS INC – P.O. Box 9056, Knoxville, TN 37940-0056, (865) 945-2625. World famous Windsoks, as seen at the Oshkosh & Sun-N-Fun EAA Fly-Ins. Hawk@windsok.com, www.windsok.com PUBLICATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS

BIRDFLIGHT – Otto Lilienthal’s genius in scientific observations and analysis, documented in this work, became the basis for the experimentation of the early pioneers in aviational flight. The “hero” of the Wright brothers, Otto is considered to be “The Father of Gliding Flight.” Lilienthal’s definitive book has been out of print for almost a century, but is now available to everyone for a wonderful and absorbing journey into aviational history. 176 pages, 16 photographs, 89 drawings and 14 graphs. $19.95 (+$5 s/h) Call USHGA 1-800-616-6888, or order off our website www.ushga.org FLY THE WING! Hooking Into Hang Gliding, by Len Holms – This is the perfect book for those curious about the sport of hang gliding. Written at a level which will not swamp the reader with daunting amount of technical details, you will learn about hang glider wings and the skills needed to fly them. 84 pages with photos and illustrations. $12.95(+$5 s&h). USHGA, PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901. 1-800-6166888 www.ushga.org HARRY AND THE HANG GLIDER – a beautifully illustrated, hardcover children’s book with 40 color pages written for pilots to share the dream of flight! To order: send $24.95 plus $3 shipping to SkyHigh Publishing, 201 N. Tyndall, Tucson, AZ 85719 or call (520) 628-8165 or visit http://www.flash.net/~skyhipub Visa/MC accepted. MAGIC WINGS – Author-publisher Alden Moffatt examines the dread, acceptance of fate, and elation of learning to soar. Filled with heartpumping action, adventure, gossip. Readers call it “excellent!” “a page turner!” 124 pages. Paperback. $10.95 + $3.95 shipping. Order from: A.G. Moffatt Publishing, 6400 Hwy 66, Ashland, OR 97520. 76

SOARING – Monthly magazine of The Soaring Society of America Inc. Covers all aspects of soaring ﬂight. Full membership $64. SSA, PO Box 2100, Hobbs NM 88241. (505) 392-1177. THE ART OF PARAGLIDING, by Dennis Pagen – Step by step training, ground handling, soaring, avoiding dangers, and much much more. 274 pages, 248 illustrations. The most complete manual about paragliding on the market. $34.95 +$5.00 s/h. USHGA, PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901. (719) 632-8300, fax your MC/Visa/Amex to (719) 632-6417, www.ushga.org, ushga@ushga.org REAL ESTATE

TETON CLUB – JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING. Own a million dollar condominium for a fraction of the cost at the base of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. Step out your back door onto Jackson Hole’s Aerial Tram and rise 4,139 vertical feet to the top of Rendezvous Mountain for S to E launching conditions. Come to Paragliding Paradise and enjoy Alpine ﬂying at its absolute best! For more information contact Fred Harness at fharness@tetonclub.com or 307-734-0745 Ext. 112 Check us out at www.tetonclub.com “This announcement is not an offer of solicitation to buy to residents of any state in which registration has not been completed.” VIDEOS & DVDS

*NEW* GRAVITY THE MOTION PICTURE – Shri-Brova Productions presents an artistic compilation of Hang Gliding and Paragliding action taking place at various sites in Eastern PA. Features fantastic flying footage of pilots from beginner to advanced. A wonderful tribute to our sport and pilots everywhere! 24 minutes. $24.95 for DVD or VHS tape. ShriBrova Productions, 741 Moore Avenue, Suite 1A, Bryn Mawr PA 19010. (610) 527-4064, jeff@gapflying.com VIDEOS FROM USHGA – WWW.USHGA.ORG *NEW* STARTING POWERED PARAGLIDING – Great intro to powered paragliding. From t first lessons, first solo flight, to advanced techniques. Covers ground school w/simulator training and paraglider wing ground handling, equipment fundamentals , weather to fly, & expert pilots showing advanced techniques. 44 minutes $36.95 ALSO AVAILABLE IN DVD, same great price. WWW.USHGA.ORG

*NEW* LIFTING AIR For Paragliding – How to Thermal and Soar. Master the principles of lifting air with Dixon White. Learn where to look for thermals and ridge lift, how to stay in the lifting air to climb efﬁciently, and deal appropriately with the dynamics of the soaring conditions. 40 minutes $39.95 ALSO AVAILABLE IN DVD, same great price. WWW.USHGA.ORG *NEW* PARAGLIDER TOWING Instructional – Learn the fundamentals of paraglider towing with Dixon White. Basic how-to and safety tips. 24 minutes $24.95 ALSO AVAILABLE IN DVD, same great price. WWW.USHGA.ORG MISCELLANEOUS

“AEROBATICS” POSTER – Full color 23"x 31" poster featuring John Heiney doing what he does best – LOOPING! See www.ushga.org under store/misc for example. Available through USHGA HQ for just $6.95 (+$5.00 s/h). USHGA, PO Box 1300, Colorado Springs CO 80933. (USA & Canada only. Sorry, posters are NOT AVAILABLE on international orders.) SPECIAL – Aerobatics poster & Eric Raymond poster – BOTH FOR $10 (+$5 s/h). FRANCIS ROGALLO’S – 1963 VW Westfalia Camper Van, professionally restored, serious inquires only. david@davidglover.com (719) 930-6967. APPAREL, VIDEOS, BOOKS & POSTERS – Check out our web page www.ushga.org DON’T LEAVE YOUR GROUND-BOUND EQUIPMENT SITTING IN THE GARAGE. SELL IT IN THE HANG GLIDING CLASSIFIEDS. WORLDWIDE INTERNET PARAGLIDING TALK SHOW – WWW.WORLDTALKRADIO.COM Listen live or to the archives! Live Tuesday 911:00 am (PST). Call toll-free, 1-888-514-2100 or internationally at (001) 858-268-3068. Paraglider pilots and radio hosts David and Gabriel Jebb, want to hear about your stories, promotions/events or insight: they also take questions! CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES

The rate for classiﬁed advertising are 25 words for $10.00 and $1.00 per word after 25. MINIMUM AD CHARGE $10.00. Phone number=2 words. Email or web address=3words. AD DEADLINES: All ad copy, instructions, changes, additions and cancellations must be received in writing 2 months preceding the cover date, i.e. April 20th is the deadline for the June issue. Please make checks payable to USHGA, P.O. Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330, (719) 632-8300. Fax (719) 632-6417 or email: ushga@ushga.org your classiﬁed with your Visa/MC or Amex. May, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

OK, JUST ONE MORE

STOLEN WINGS & THINGS

SOL YARIS XL & EQUIPMENT – Stolen Dec. 12, 2003 from car in HEMET, CA. Yellow top w/2 thunderbolts on undersurface, Paratech M3 harness, reserve, 2 stuff sacks, red/black back pack. Contact William Carpenter (909) 6582929, blwhite84@hotmail.com TRIM HARNESS PACK & EQUIPMENT – Stolen Sept. 21, 2003 on the road to the Rampart Ridge launch at SNOQUALMIE PASS, WASHINGTON. Black/blue trim harness pack With blue/purple striped CG-1000 pod chest entry harness, 26 gore Odyssey parachute, white Uvex carbon ﬁber helmet w/PTT2 mike & headphone, Ball M-19e vario, Garmin Etrex GPS. Contact Gary (206) 283-2185, braundesign@msn.com INDEPENDENCE DRAGON – Stolen August 29th, 2003 from a car in SAN DIEGO, CA. Red & Grey, size XS, 2” white patch on upper canopy, taped broken sheath, 3rd right D riser, upper line. Medium P4 harness, rear/top mount reserve, gloves & radio antenna in pockets. Both in light grey Independence backpack. Reward. Diana Tung (760) 271-0425, dineorama@yahoo.com

HARNESS – Lost Sept 20, 2003 at SADDLE MOUNTAIN, WA. Handmade harness in a 25lb green back pack. Also reserve, helmet, ﬂight instrument. Russ (206) 367-8963, russlfboe@concast.net STOLEN WINGS are listed as a service to USHGA members. Newest entries are in bold. There is no charge for this service and lost and found wings or equipment may be called in (719) 632-8300, faxed in (719) 632-6417, or emailed at ushga@ushga.org for inclusion in Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine. Please call to cancel the listing when gliders are recovered. Periodically, this listing will be purged. INDEX TO ADVERTISERS Adventure Productions ..................................58 Aerolight ........................................................20 Angle of Attack ..............................................70 Apco Aviation...................................................8 Atlanta Hobby................................................58 Cloud 9 Soaring Center .................................57 Critter Mountain Wear ...................................12 Dan Johnson ..................................................71

PRO-DESIGN TARGET – Paraglider, stolen August 8, 2003 from car at WINTER PARK RESORT, COLORADO. Red w/large comp numbers “42” on underside, Pro-Design Concept Air harness & reserve, blue helmet, Ball M19e vario, Yaesu FT-411E radio, Hanwag boots. Contact: Mark Ziegler (970) 887-3066 mzig@rkymtnhi.com STOLEN FROM MULLER WINDSPORTS, Cochrane, Alberta, Canada between July 1820, 2003. APCO ALLEGRA MEDIUM YELLOW #600271, in purple stuff sack; APCO FIESTA MEDIUM RED #765452 , new; APCO PRIMA 24 VIOLET #25818 , faded bag, w/ﬁrst harness; APCO FRONT MOUNT RESERVE MAYDAY 20 w/Y bridle; APCO CONTOUR LARGE HARNESS, black/blue; UP TETON HARNESS, large, grey/blue. Please contact us if you have any information: ﬂy@mullerwindsports.com, (403) 932-6760, fax (403) 851-0737 or contact Cst. H. Boilard, Cochrane RCMP (403) 932-2211, fax (403) 932-2842. APCO XTRA COMP PARAGLIDER & SUP’AIR HARNESS – Paraglider, stolen June 4th, 2003 from SEATTLE, WASHINGTON. Purple w/ white underside, minor repair work. Purple Sup’Air backpack comp harness w/whire rear mount reserve, log book, green Protech helmet. Terry Stuart, (425) 369-9920, upland_ contracting@yahoo. Hang Gliding & Paragliding: May, 2004

Dixon’s Airplay ...............................................57 Flight Connections .........................................57 Flytec .............................................................80 High Energy Sports ..........................................6 Independence/Fly Market ..............................48 Just Fly ...........................................................30 Kitty Hawk Kites .............................................57 Microgliders ...................................................57 Mojo’s Gear ...................................................56 Moyes America ........................................34, 57 Para-Ski LLC ...................................................57 Peak to Peak Paragliding ................................27 Pro Design .....................................................66 Sport Aviation Publications ............................52 SuperFly ...................................................10, 57 Thermal Tracker .............................................42 Torrey Pines ...................................................49 Traverse City ..................................................45 U.S. Aeros ......................................................62 USHG Foundation ..........................................58 USHGA ............................................................6 Wills Wing ..................................................2, 79

Red Bull Huckspedition team members coordinate the substantiation of and resistance to the forces of gravity. Photo: Christian Pondella 77

P R O D U C T

L I N E S

St. Paul, Minn.—Time is growing short! Perhaps by the time you read this, FAA may have issued their new rule called Sport Pilot/Light-Sport Aircraft (SP/LSA). ▲ Why should you care? Well, perhaps you don’t. If you fly solo in your hang glider or paraglider and are not towed aloft by a tug of some kind, you may continue to operate under F.A.R. Part 103 as blissfully as ever. However, if you’re one of the many who enjoy aerotow launches, you may be impacted by this rule. ▲ The good news is… the trio of Jayne DePanfilis, Mike Meier, and Bill Bryden have been pursuing actions on the new rule and have the matter quite well in hand. The issues of two-place flying have been addressed and face few obstacles. Aerotowing, however, is less certain. Operations such as Lookout Mountain Flight Park have been fighting local battles with adversaries who brought FAA into the picture. This problem may take more time to resolve. Fortunately, at least in a somewhat longer term, good news also exists. ▲ I recently had a conversation with Bill Bryden on this subject. Bill has been front and center, with Jayne and Mike, in negotiations with key FAA people and the ASTM standards-writing process that is at the heart of the aircraft side of the new rule. (Sport Pilot refers to pilot licensing which is being handled solely by FAA. Light-Sport Aircraft certification is being handled by a group of industry leaders under FAA’s watchful eye. ASTM is the organizing body helping industry create “consensus standards” for certifying aircraft of many kinds — fixed wing aircraft, weight shift, powered parachutes, sailplane-type gliders, lighter-thanair craft, and gyroplanes.) ▲ Bryden addressed concerns that towing is in jeopardy. Facts on the matter take two directions. Effort has stalled on a plan hatched with key FAA person Sue Gardner to issue an altered exemption to allow aircraft like the Dragonfly to keep flying. USHGA’s current exemption for aerotowing specifies only a Part 103 ultralight, that is, one which weighs no more than 254 pounds empty. That, regretfully, does not include the Dragonfly. However, while that effort has slipped into unknown territory, the long-term view is encouraging. Though SP/LSA was originally released as an NPRM with towing specifically excluded, discussions and plenty of public comment brought about change in FAA’s thinking. Therefore, ASTM groups writing standards for fixed wing aircraft and trikes added tow equipment standards. (The chair of the fixed wing group is Tom Peghiny, a longtime hang glider enthusiast whose company makes a tow-capable ultralight.) Pilots of tugs will have to show a Private License — the Sport Pilot license does not allow towing — but this should not sharply limit the number of powerjocks who can fly these machines. So, except for a delay during release and full implementation of the rule, aerotowing does not look threatened, though this spring and summer may have some challenges. ••• After resigning from BRS parachutes late last year, I started doing marketing on an independent basis. My newest client is EAA — the folks who put on that giant airshow in Oshkosh, Wisconsin — and this may bring some benefits for the USHGA and hang gliding and paragliding. EAA, with 170,000 members and therefore some serious clout in Washington DC, P

…

might be tapped to assist USHGA with regulatory issues. In fact, USHGA’s Executive Director, Jayne DePanfilis, and regional director, Bill Bryden, have frequent contact with this leader of recreational aviation. And now that I’m in EAA offices every other week, I may be able to further tighten that relationship. In the meantime, I’ve discovered other connections to hang gliding and paragliding. ••• Paul Hamilton, the hang gliding/paragliding video production czar, has convinced the EAA to carry a selection of his tapes and DVDs. While he still offers plenty of HG or PG videos, Paul has branched out into other aircraft. After doing so he says, “It took me two years to finally get EAA to handle my products.” EAA has a large merchandise operation so Paul’s sales should increase. He adds, “We just released the www.sport-pilot-training.com Web site to help pilots get going.” But while Paul’s Adventure Productions company has entered the powered aircraft arena, he remains a freeflight enthusiast. Here’s how he ended a recent note: “Keep up the pressure on the manufacturers for nanotrikes, and get USHGA to support soaring trikes with wheels!” Soaring will include such vehicles in the future, I think, and Paul will be ready for them, too. FMI: dial (775) 747-0175 or visit www.pilot-resources.com ••• Speaking of towing, work continues on Alan Chuculate’s Paratug, the powered aircraft he’s building to aerotow paragliders. Alan wrote in mid-March to say, “We’re running behind schedule as you probably guessed.” Alan’s essential talent, Floyd Fronius, “has been delayed fabricating our custom light trike because his music career has been blossoming with both local gigs and in the recording studio. The construction has been steady but slow and we currently project completion later this month.” Despite the tunes emanating from Floyd, Chuculate expects to be flight testing in April. He promises, “I’ll keep you posted on the status of our flight testing.” ▲ Although Paratug progress is temporarily slowed, a revised wing has been evaluated for handing changes with a 550pound load plus it’s been used for tandem hang gliding with experienced pilots and novices. In the noisier end of Paratug’s development, Alan writes, “We’ve abandoned the small engine approach.” While testing with a loaner trike powered by a Kawasaki 340 cc, Chuculate’s team found only marginal improvements when he tried different propellers. So he purchased an MZ 202 engine that puts out 60 horsepower. Floyd started building a custom trike in March to accommodate the bigger engine and prop. ▲ Alan’s only real competition for the Paratug is Bobby Bailey’s Biplane Dragonfly. Chuculate once hoped to meet the 254-pound weight limit to comply as a Part 103 ultralight but that idea appears to be melting away with the switch to the more powerful engine. The irony is that Paratug’s delayed development may dovetail nicely with the SP/LSA rule announcement mentioned at the start of this column. If so, keeping the weight down may not be the imperative it was at earlier stages of development. ••• So, got news or opinions? Send ‘em to: 8 Dorset, St. Paul MN 55118. Messages or fax to 651-450-0930. E-mail to News@ByDanJohnson.com or CumulusMan@aol.com. THANKS! n

THE

ALL NEIN INILLS INING

SPORT

HOW THE SPORT 2 COMPARES: GLIDE PERFORMANCE Lowest

Highest

Falcon

Eagle

Ultra sport

Sport 2

Talon

LANDING CHARACTERISTICS Easiest Falcon

Most Demanding

Eagle

Sport 2

Ultrasport Talon

OVERALL HANDLING QUALITIES Easiest Falcon

Most Demanding Eagle

Sport 2

Ultrasport

Talon

COST Lowest Falcon

Eagle

Highest Ultrasport Sport 2

Talon

SPECIFICATIONS SPORT 2 155: Area (tt2) 155 Span (ft) 31.5

Aspect Ratio 6.4 Glider Weight (lbs) 59 USHGA Rating 3 Sugg. Retail $4275

There's a new kid on the block - the new Wills Wing Sport 2 Wills Wing's newest glider is based on our oldest idea: the high-performance glider that's easy and fun to fly. While some have always been willing to accept gliders becoming more difficult to fly as the price of higher performance, Wills Wing has focused on making better-performing gliders that are also easier to fly. We pioneered the concept of "the high-performance glider you already know how to fly" 30 years ago. Nearly 20 years ago, with the introduction of the original Sport 167, we firmly established the parameters of the "Sport Class" glider, a true high-performance glider that an intermediate level pilot can fly effectively, and have fun on. Today, first with the U2, and now with the Sport 2, we've brought that concept to its highest levels of refinement. The Sport 2 is our latest, and arguably our best, in a long line of easy, fun to fly gliders that offer extraordinary levels of performance. Unlike other high-performance kingposted gliders intended for pilots with advanced skills, the Sport 2 is suitable for even a true intermediatelevel pilot. At the same time, the Sport 2 provides performance that will satisfy an experienced veteran. The Sport 2 utilizes internal sprogs for stability along with a single reflex bridle per wing. Equipped standard with the ultra-low-drag Litestream performance control bar and an effective VG system, the Sport 2 offers glide performance across the speed range that is just slightly below that of the U2. The Sport 2 tracks straight and true at any speed, with no tendency towards oscillations. The Sport 2's "on rails" directional stability makes aerotowing a breeze, and allows for confident, accurate landing approaches. The Sport 2's exceptional slow-flight handling and performance give it a climb rate in thermals that is unsurpassed. Its unusually light weight and good static balance make ground handling and launching easy. Landing characteristics are also easy and forgiving, ensuring that even the end of your flight will be something to enjoy. And finally, the Sport 2 comes with all of the built-in quality, and is backed by all of the extensive support, that you've come to associate with Wills Wing. If you're in the market for a glider that you can enjoy right now, and continue to enjoy as you advance your skills and expand your experience for many years to come, take a look at the new Sport 2. Quite frankly, we've never made a better glider. And neither has anyone else.

Hook-In Weight (lbs) 150- 250 Optimum Body Weight (lbs) 150- 200 Vne (mph) 53 Va (mph) 46 Vms (mph) 19

LEARN MORE AT WWW.WILLSWING.COM

Wills Wing, Inc. 500 West Blueridge Ave, Orange CA 92865 TEL 714-998-6359 FAX 714-998-0647 e-mail: info@willswing.com