USHGA Hang Gliding & Paragliding Vol34/Iss6 June 2004 by US Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association

Volume 34 Issue 6 June, 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

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

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 Joanne Peterson, Member Services, joanne@ushga.org Michelle Johnson, Member Services, michelle@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 Juneer, 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, 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: June, 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. 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.

Jeff O’Brien banks it up past 90 over Point of the Mountain, Utah. The United States Hang Gliding Association, a division of the National Aeronautic Association,

Photo: Jeff O’Brien

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

WILLS WING U2

DEPARTMENTS

Dennis Pagen reviews Wills Wing’s high-performing kingposted glider, and ﬁnds the U2 can hold its own against the topless comp wings.

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

Dennis Pagen................................... 17

Pilot Brieﬁngs: News and Events ............ 7 Faces of the Future: The Rinker Brothers.. 9

FLYING PARADISE Air Mail: Readers Write In ...................... 10 USHGA: Director Nominations................ 13 Master’s Tips: Parachute Packed Right? .. 15

World traveler/pilot Bruce Goldsmith takes us on a tour of an exotic island destination with incredible ﬂying opportunities. Bruce Goldsmith .............................. 23

Comp Corner: ..................................... 48 Towlines: Bill Bryden ............................. 50 2003 Accident Summary: PG ............. 52 Marketplace........................................ 57 Site Guide: Central Oregon Coast .......... 59

THE RATINGS GAME An IPPI card helps smooth the way for visiting pilots ﬂying in the U.S., or U.S. pilots traveling abroad. Ed Bennett ....................................... 27

Gallery ................................................ 63 New Ratings ....................................... 67 Calendar ............................................. 68 Classiﬁeds ........................................... 72 Index to Advertisers ........................... 77 Product Lines: By Dan Johnson ............. 78

PG REPAIR & MAINTENANCE It is inevitable that sooner or later your paraglider will need to be repaired. Matt Gerdes shows how to do simple ﬁeld ﬁxes, and points out who to contact for repairs on damage beyond the scope of owner repairs. Matt Gerdes ..................................... 30

June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

J U N E ,

KING CLIMB-A-HIGH-A A Hang 3 pilot discovers the highs and lows of ﬂying XC in Chelan, Washington. Steve Kincaid ................................... 33

PARAGLIDING PRE-WORLDS Brazil: pilot’s paradise, with an overabundance of beautiful women (or men), broad thermal-studded skies, low-cost living, vibrant night life and the laid-back, fun-loving Brazilian attitude. Dennis Pagen................................... 37

CHERIE SILVERA Kay Tauscher’s proﬁle of one of the top U.S. paragliding comp pilots shows that you don’t have to be one of the “big boys” to earn a spot on the podium. Kay Tauscher ................................... 39

HANG GLIDING STAMPS Postage stamps are small posters, meant to elicit a reaction about the subject on the stamp and what it represents. More than 20 countries throughout the world have showcased hang gliders on their postage stamps. Terry Ferrer ...................................... 45

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E D I T O R ’ S

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Editor’s Notes I’ve just returned from Florida, where your editorial staff and photographer Jeff O’Brien spent several days enjoying the hospitality of the Quest Air staff during the Flytec Championships. It’s been four years since I’ve C. J. Sturtevant attended a hang gliding comp, and this was art director Tim’s first time to experience the incredible dynamics of launch at an aerotow competition. It was definitely strange being on the sidelines of the flight line, rather than in it, but the different perspective was interesting. Our stated purpose for being in Florida was to conduct seminars on writing and taking photos for publication in Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine, but what pilot could spend more than a day hanging around a flight park without craving airtime in one form or another? I turned down the offers for tandem rides in the ultralights, hoping the wind would calm down enough for me to catch a soaring flight on the 140 Falcon that Wills Wing provided for me (and it did, eventually), but paraglider pilot Tim jumped at the chance for an early-morning tandem hang flight and some airtime on the tugs as well. Jeff O’Brien managed several flights with his camera equipment on both a solo hang glider and in the back seat of a tug. Expect to see some of those photos on magazine covers and in the galleries in the near future. We’ve assembled a variety of articles in this issue to help get your equipment and your mindset ready for the summer’s flying. Looking for technical advice or assistance? Our contributing editors are glad to oblige. Dennis Pagen reviews Wills Wing’s U2, a high-performing kingposted hang glider, and Matt Gerdes provides excellent information for paraglider pilots on how to make field repairs for small wing dings and where to obtain expert assistance for mishaps that result in damage too extensive for “outpatient” repair. Rob Kells discusses some potential Velcro-associated hazards of reserve parachute containers, and Bill Bryden brings us up to speed on the impact of the Sport Pilot rule on our aerotowing operations. For the competition minded, this issue’s Competition Corner features information about the hang gliding nationals, as well as family activities for the ground crew in Big Spring, Texas. Most paraglider pilots, and many students as well, will recognize Cherie Silvera, the comp pilot featured in Kay Tauscher’s Pilot Profile column. Hoping to travel this summer? If you’re going international, you might find Ed Bennett’s article on the benefits of carrying an IPPI card useful. A closer-to-home destination, the Oregon coast, is the focus of Greg Krutzikowsky’s Site Guide article. His wellrounded description of the amenities at or near numerous sites 6

on the Pacific coast may entice your entire family to vacation in the Northwest this summer. Jim Little summarizes and analyzes the paragliding accidents of 2003 in this month’s Accident Reports column. Please continue to send in your reports of accidents and incidents that you witness or experience, no matter which type of wing you fly. If you are concerned about the repercussions of having your report appear in the magazine, please let me know, or indicate this on the submitted report, and the person writing the accident column will contact you to make sure that appropriate measures are taken to prevent fallout from your sharing of this important information. The online accident form is here: http://www.ushga.org/emailacc.asp. On the lighter side, Steve Kincaid tells an entertaining tale of the ups and downs of going XC in Chelan, and points out the fine line that separates King of the Hill from Royal Idiot. Bruce Goldsmith’s description and photos of the flying sites on Reunion Island will have you hungering for some airtime in exotic locations. Hang glider pilot and philatelist Terry Ferrer has spent considerable time searching out postage stamps that have featured hang gliders (or some reasonable facsimile of a “real” hang glider!) and has compiled his research into a fascinating series of articles featuring the history, geography, culture, and of course graphics of the actual stamps, from countries around the world and spanning the several decades during which hang gliders have been part of the sport aviation scene. The first installment is in this issue, with the remaining three slated for publication later this year. Kick back with a cold drink, enjoy the stories, and take time to look closely at the pictures! If there’s something that you’d love to read about in your magazine, or if you feel that your area of the country needs more representation, please let me know and I’ll find someone with the interest or expertise to make it happen. Better yet, take a shot at writing something yourself. The authors of the articles featured in your magazine are, for the most part, simply pilots like yourself. Their contributions are greatly appreciated by the editors and, even more, by the readers. And doesn’t every pilot have a tale worth telling? A correction: In the article on the Hall Quadruplane (April Hang Gliding & Paragliding, p. 52.) the email address for Hall Brothers Manufacturing Company was incorrect. The correct address is www.hallwindmeter.com.

C. J. Sturevant, Editor June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

PILOT

APCO Introduces the Wonder Stirrup APCO’s new two-step integrated stirrup will, according to Anatoly Cohn of APCO Aviation Ltd., “improve your quality of life when paragliding and will also add to safety.” The design is unique (patent pending), and allows all of the accelerated speed range to be used, in contrast to other stirrups available on the market, which always sacriﬁce some speed range.

The stirrup is made from Zicral aluminum tube, with integrated stainless steel wire, and comes complete with rope and clamps for quick attachment. The design is universal and can be used on every harness and every glider. Neat, elegant in construction, and top quality as you would expect from APCO, the Wonder Stirrup is available from stock and is inexpensive. For more information, contact your APCO dealer.

Contemplative Paragliding Course Offered at Lake Tahoe Josh Weinstein, of “A Higher Calling” fame, holds a Masters of Divinity degree and an advanced pilot rating. Josh will lead this ﬁve-day course in Contemplative Paragliding, which will explore the possibility of integrating spirituality with the sport we love. To contemplate literally means “to view with continued attention” or “to hold as an intention.” Contemplation also can mean a personal Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

state or devotion towards spiritual awareness. Can paragliding serve to make us more spiritually aware? No one really knows, but we hope to find out. To aid us in this inquiry we will engage in activities that have been used by humans since before written history to cultivate selfawareness. We will begin and end each day with meditation, council practice, and other awareness activities. We will check the weather and decide what part of the Reno or Tahoe valleys to fly. If weather prohibits flying, we will decide as a group on an alternate activity. Parawaiting, hiking to launch and even being shut down due to weather will be used as opportunities for more mindfulness practice. On a contemplative journey the goal is the process, so we will remember to look forward to the unknown and let go of our expectations. The course will be held July 12-16 at Lake Tahoe, and attendees are welcome to camp out or to lodge in the cabin built by Josh’s great-grandmother in the 1940’s. Come join us in this exploration of the full potential of paragliding as a part of our lives. Recommended for pilots rated P3 and up. High alpine thermalling experience strongly recommended. For more information contact Kay Tauscher at (303) 817-0803, or email kay@peaktopeakparagliding.com.

Date Change for the Annual Ellenville (N.Y.) Fun Fly-in & Music Festival In order to NOT conﬂ ict with the National Fly-in on Labor Day weekend (being hosted at Finger Lakes Aerosports Flight Park in Rochester, N.Y.), the Southern New York Annual Fun Fly-in dates have been changed this year to the 4th of July weekend, July 2-5. Land owner/pilot/musician Tony Covelli has organized as many as eight bands to perform on a temporary stage during the event. The rumor of another spectacular

BRIEFINGS

“field art” design by artist Roger Baker is also circulating through the grapevine. The “big top” tent will be erected, and camping in the LZ (in the shade along the stream) is available. Your entry fee of $20 will be used (along with local club sponsorship) to ensure that the party on Saturday evening is as good as it gets. Local area fi rework displays will occur both Saturday and Sunday, and Wills Wing demo’s will be available during the fly-in. Bring your toys, coolers, pyrotechnics, family, friends and good weather to Ellenville for the long 4th of July weekend. The event will be relatively unstructured in format, and is open to all mountaincapable pilots rated H2/P2 and above. For more info, contact Paul Voight at (845) 744-3317, or Tony Covelli at (845) 6471008, or email flyhigh@frontiernet.net.

Free Owens Valley Flying Map Flying the Owens Valley big air is challenging enough without having to worry about getting lost! On XC flights, visiting pilots and chase crews may not know where they are, and hang gliding/paragliding place names aren’t on most maps. Landing out after a hard flight can turn into a real ordeal when nobody can find you! After years of flying the Big O, Hungary Joe’s Flying Circus has developed a flying map for the Valley. Popular launch and LZ locations are in bold letters, so the map can be used by both pilots and chase crews to improve communications and to reduce navigation problems. The map includes lamination instructions for carrying in flight on a hang glider control bar. The free map is available digitally by sending an e-request to ghoag@brwncald.com, or by snail mail by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to Hungary Joe’s Flying Circus, 5051 Alton Pkwy #55, Irvine, CA 92604. 7

News from Sup’Air-USA Airbrushed helmets: Sup’Air-USA is offering a new service: custom airbrushed painted helmets. They can use your photograph or artwork, or will create a custom design for you. Details are here: http://www.greenice.com. If this doesn’t take you right to the helmet section, click on “gallery” and scroll down to helmets. All the information on how to proceed is there. Sup’Air promises that GreenIce’s work is outstanding and among the best airbrush techniques available. Harnesses and parachutes: Sup’Air has an entire new harness line to offer (18 models) as well as new reserve parachutes. You can find details on all the Sup’Air products, and view their new reserve repacking movie, on the Sup’Air Web site (http://www.supair-usa. com/). The movie is in QuickTime format, and you’ll need a fast connection (DSL, cable) to view the 43 MB file. Other cool products: Sup’Air claims to have the toughest harness/wing backup connection in the world. They call it the ToughLock, and suggest that it is a must for hang gliders, paragliders, motorized paragliders, motorized hang gliders—in other words, for anyone who needs to be certain that their harness will stay connected to their wing, Every foot-launched aircraft should use the ToughLock for peace of mind! It also has numerous other applications, such as hanging your skis or bicycle in your garage, or as the toughest ankle bracelet anywhere! It weighs only 12 grams (about half an ounce) but has a load factor of 2500 kg (5500 pounds). Sup’Air also has two new self-locking ‘biners, one for the narrower webbing found on specific models and the other a steel ‘biner made to connect the tandem paragliding spreader bar to the tandem wing risers. Ironically, the ToughLock mentioned above has a higher load factor than most carabiners, but should only be used as a back up in addition to the main ‘biners. 8

You can ﬁnd more information about the ToughLock, the new ‘biners, and many other accessories, on the Sup’Air Web site under “Accessories.”

Region 8’s Director Makes Certain Emergency Personnel Can Find Pilots

Representing Trudeau Enterprises and the United States Hang Gliding Association, Region 8’s director Gary Trudeau recently presented two Magellan 4000 XL Global Positioning Systems to Deputy Chief Keith Phillips of the Pittsﬁeld Massachusetts Fire Department’s Technical Rescue Team. This donation is a small sign of appreciation for their assistance with the rescue of one of our USHGA members on Mt. Greylock in May of 2003. The GPS units were purchased by Trudeau.

A Few Quick Notes from Claude Fiset UPtimal in California is now importing SKYWALK paragliders in the USA. Jet Flap technology is available on the Mescal (DHV1) and Cayenne (DHV2). For more information, visit www.SKYWALK-USA.com. The Malibu Paragliding Club is ofﬁcially active. To join or to get more information, visit the club Web site: www.malibuparaglidingclub.org.

June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

F U T U R E

F A C E S

Seattle. He’ll be showing this video at a reserve parachute clinic organized by his dad and being held at Meany Middle School, with all profits going to benefit Peace on the Streets, the agency for homeless teenagers with which Clark did his volunteer work. Clark made his own decision to pursue paragliding, but he was no doubt influenced by his older brother, Woody, who is also a paraglider pilot. Woody had his first solo flight barely two months before Clark’s, at the age of 15. “How come Clark gets to fly at 12 when I had to wait until I was 15?” Woody asked just before his younger brother’s first solo. Sometimes the older brother has to set the precedent and pave the way for his younger sibling! The Rinker Brothers

By Bob Rinker Photos by Mike Eberle

wo summers ago, from a grassy slope above a wide, sandy beach on the Oregon coast, one of USHGA’s youngest members was fledged on a paraglider. Clark Rinker was 12 years old at the time. Two years later, Clark is still actively flying his paraglider, mostly at his home site of Tiger Mountain in Issaquah, Washington. In his short flying career Clark has enjoyed flights at several sites, both coastal and inland, in ridge lift and thermals. One of his most memorable flying days was at Saddle Mountain, in eastern Washington. He was able to top land after a soaring flight and then drive a hang glider pilot’s truck down the dirt road from launch—under his father’s close supervision, of course! Not many of his classmates at Meany Middle School in Seattle could boast of similar adventures! Clark currently holds a P2 rating, which took him two years, lots of ground handling, and 60 flights at five different sites to complete. Clark is certain that he could have earned his rating sooner, but he points out that when your dad and three of his best flying buddies are all paragliding instructors, they watch you pretty closely when you are learning. Clark does not limit his extracurricular activities to paragliding. During the winter he enjoys snowboarding with his family, and if there existed a good video game version of paragliding, he would probably opt for that on the marginal flying days. He is also on his school’s soccer team and in the Jazz and Concert band.

Woody’s first solo was an early-morning sledder from Chelan Butte’s Lakeside launch, down to the Lone Pine LZ. Bob Hannah and Mark Heckler were his instructors, and they insisted that he spend lots of time ground handling and take several tandem flights before he soloed. The long training paid off: Woody has a solid foundation with more than 60 flights by the ripe old age of 16. Woody has flown Chelan, Saddle, Baldy (in eastern Washington), Whidbey Island (in Puget Sound), and of course his home site of Tiger Mountain. The brothers have been very active volunteers during the last two Tiger Mt. fund-raiser fly-ins, but this year Clark will be on his own. His older brother is spending his junior year abroad in Germany with the AFS program. Woody is enjoying his host family and the traveling opportunities, but imagine a teenage pilot spending an entire year in Europe and not being allowed to fly! This was part of the stipulation of the AFS program: no “extreme sports.” No worries, says Woody, who is also an accomplished tenor sax player and has a regular gig at a local jazz club on Tuesday nights to focus his energies. Woody and Clark will be reunited when Woody returns to the States at the end of the summer, and next fall both will attend Garfield High School in Seattle, Clark as a 10th grader and Woody a senior. They’re looking forward to flying together, and have committed to keeping their homework current so they can participate in the September 2004 Bike and Fly in Chelan. Their youngest brother, Benjamin, will also be there, helping to lay out wings. At three years old and 45 pounds, Benjamin is still a bit light to start ground handling, but his older brothers have established the precedent, and they expect Benjamin to join the Rinker Brothers Flying Team before much longer.

Recently Clark worked with several of his schoolmates to complete a video examining the issue of teenage homelessness in Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

D EA PI AR R M T M A IE LN T

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. Kudos from Kazakhstan (USHGA Web site, 3/1) [G.W. Meadows hasn’t been president of USHGA since 1998, but he is still writing excellent articles aimed at students and advancing pilots and, apparently, of beneﬁt to instructors as well. – editor]

absolute agree with you. I think I have found a great ally. I often clash with people, who decide that I make paragliding inaccessible for simple people, because I try to be strict and severe in questions of security. Certainly, I put your article on my Web site. My students have already appreciated it. If USHGA has such a competent and professional president, I consider it an honor to become a member of USHGA. Sergey Yunyazov (not yet a USHGA member)

Dear Mr. Meadows, I am Sergey Yunyazov, Head Coach of Kazakhstan’s National paragliding team and I have a paragliding school. I read your article in Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine. It is wonderful. Thank you very much! You wrote this article on behalf of all experienced instructors. I

Paranglider??? (email, 3/22) Just because I am from Arkansas does not mean I fell off the turnip truck yesterday! Actually, I was totally engulfed in the article,

despite the similarity of “Wang’s Wing” to another large hang glider manufacturer. The Chinese funding venture in America seemed a little strange, but I kept reading. Even the “passing wind” Chinese translation was possibly believable. The wanted poster in Seattle comment did raise some question marks. It was ﬁnally my mentioning of the new concept to the older pilots that busted you. “What month’s edition was it?” they asked. “April,” I replied. “April Fools!” they countered. Too bad. I loved the concept. Kevin Smith, USHGA #80896 Fort Smith, AR

“Going Biwingual” — Why Would They? (email, 4/19) When hang glider pilots were being asked by the USHGA to accept paragliders into

June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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the organization, one of the incentives given was that many paraglider pilots would eventually “graduate” to hang gliding, thereby increasing our pilot base. Alas, history has demonstrated that it’s easier to make gays go straight than to convert paragliders to hang gliding. After all, what motivation are we hang glider pilots providing for paragliders to start essentially from scratch and learn a whole new ﬂying discipline? While hang gliders may have a 15/1 glide, most of us pilots are using about 4/1 of that. After bobbing up and down over takeoff for an hour, our longest glide is to the LZ. More often than not, it’s the paragliders going XC or doing wild aero. We hang pilots are setting a pitiful example of our wing’s potential. And if a curious paraglider pilot does decide to dabble in hang gliding, trainer gliders (like that pictured in the article) have probably half the glide and twice the sink rate of the intermediate bagwing the PG’er was ﬂying just yesterday. Also not exactly inspiring. But perhaps the biggest deterrent for paraglider pilots to switch to hang gliding isn’t just that they’d have to change their wings; it’s that they’d have to change all their friends too. Sure, we’re mediocre pilots with antiquated wings, but at least we can make PG’ers feel welcome to join us! Rodger Hoyt, USHGA #37302

An Articulate Member Speaks Up on the Issue of Growth (email, 3/22) I am not anti-growth, but I have concerns that the USHGA would be wasting money trying to “promote” the sport. Everyone talks about our numbers in the U.S. declining. Really? DC [on the hg digest] said, referring to the numbers of hang glider pilots: “5500 (today) from a steady 10K in the 80’s and early 90’s.” Mark Forbes wrote: “A while back, I dredged up some membership numbers from the old board minutes, to see where we’ve been in the past. Here are the numbers: 1992 HG: 7949, PG: 1316, Dual: 489 Total: 8,776 2004 HG: 5450, PG: 3652, Dual: 1350 Total: 10,452” It looks to me like the overall numbers in the USHGA have increased over the last decade. It is true that the number of pure HG pilots has decreased, but the number of PG pilots has increased, offsetting the loss. So, could it be that some of the new pilots, who would have taken up hang gliding, tried paragliding? The numbers look pretty obvious. Do you think that the invention of the hang glider hurt the sailplane community? Are there pilots flying HG or PG that would be flying sailplanes had the ultralight forms of flying not been invented? I know that I would be flying some form of soaring craft if there were no HGs or PGs! Locally, our club has tried many, many ways to promote the sport. Simulators and videos at air shows, trade shows, museums and malls, demonstrations to school kids, etc. Lots of people come and gawk, almost none go on to lessons. All my friends and family know that I fly; I would estimate my sphere of influence to

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

M A I L

be maybe 500 people. I have never talked one into flying. Everyone in Denver knows that HG and PG happen on the west side of Denver on the mountain with the big white “M” on the side (Lookout). Thousands of people take the Coors brewery tour and look up to see us flying. We are very visible to everyone in Denver. Local TV news channels have done reports—everything from reporters doing tandems to an untrained idiot from Missouri launching a garagesale HG into a deep canyon resulting in a paramedic becoming a quadriplegic during the rescue. I think there is a limited pool of people who have the desire to fly. There is an even smaller pool of people who want to fly without an engine. The few that have gotten into HG or PG through me have sought me out. They come out to see us fly and ask questions, call an instructor and get lessons. I don’t have to twist their arm, they are compelled to fly. I live near a large city, so there are HG and PG instructors making a living of sorts. In smaller areas there won’t be formal instruction. So if someone in your small town wants to learn to fly, they either learn on their own (maybe with your help?) or go to the big city areas. There is nothing stopping any of us from teaching someone to fly. You don’t need a license from a voluntary association (USHGA). If your training site requires insurance, have your “student” join the USHGA. Even H1s get the insurance. What is the real reason none of us teaches? It is not that the USHGA is standing in the way. It is simply that we do not want to take the time away from our flying to teach and we don’t want to expose our “ass”ets to the potential liability when our “student” crashes. So there is no training in areas away from big cities. Simple supply and demand. All the promotion money we can spend isn’t going to change that. I think we have reached critical mass. There seems to be around 11

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populated area. Good luck getting anyone interested to fly if you live in a rural area. You probably don’t have a Smithsonianquality museum near or Broadway-quality plays either. Living in an area with a small population has its advantages and disadvantages. Those that want to fly will find a way. We all did. Heck, today it is easy to find a HG/PG school using the Internet. It might not be close or convenient, but the most worthwhile pursuits usually involve some effort. Jim Yocom, USHGA #27723, H4, P2

Rogallos on eBay?? (email, 4/14)

10,000 people in the U.S. interested in flying foot-launched soaring craft. There are more in Germany and Australia, fewer in France. There is probably a host of reasons for the differences—culturally, politically, and socially. I doubt the USHGA is going to be able to change the U.S. culture. I think the USHGA works best by serving the needs of the current pilots. Working with the FAA to preserve our ability to fly. I think we could do more regarding site acquisition and preservation on a national basis. A central file at the USHGA with copies of agreements local clubs have with landowners, cities, counties, states, federal agencies would be very helpful when trying to get permission to use land. Maybe a fund to purchase launches and LZs? Our best advertisement is to get out there and fly. Better still if you fly a site in a 12

I realise that hang gliding was often created and expanded by “trailblazers” doing questionable things in questionable places and in questionable ways. Many lived through that and many died from it. With all due respect to the age of the standard rogallo wing (the pictures of/and flights on by others that hooked me as a kid), it is OVER. Those standards had a high enough death rate to earn the title of death trap. The two at last year’s Antique Glider Fly-in in Oregon...even there they seemed out of place! Wow—we have come so far! Is it not the ultimate respect to a parent/founder to grow so far that the past mechanically can be left behind?? I love my boy, but when he is 30 I will hope he is not still reading first-grade books. As a father, I want progression in his life, not a 30-year-old first-grader bringing the world down to a stale old place. So how about the rogallo wing? DONE, PLEASE!! Please stop selling what is best made into an awning anymore. I see on eBay a guy (item 3672221941) talking down (as an “experienced pilot” but I have to wonder) instruction, USHGA sites and “the political types” that oversee it/us/them. Apparently the seller hopes the naive dreamer of flight will buy his

personal story of flight (complete with a couple “thank you, Lord’s” to heighten the religious experience of flight he wants to sell...excuse me, I meant pawn off). I support the USHGA in the number one safety aspect in regard to pilots. What else can be a better foundation for any organization? Hail, certification of gliders and pilots! If the renegades still want to fly outside of us, the least they can do is trash their trash when they are done and let the new renegades buy something more airworthy. I did complain to eBay about this. Not as a controller, but because some guy crashing into the ground or perhaps leaving this world at the same time, will (again) not only be tragic but a tragedy that should be conquered by now. I hope all pilots will contact such sellers and let them know what USHGA is REALLY about. Will we stand by while a rogallo and a romantic story entice a new-age dreamer to the worst entry into hang gliding they can have? You know: the kind that news cameras show up for? I hope not. I fly an ‘81 Javelin. Not meant to impress anybody. At least it is valid in its design for recreational flight, very far ahead of the standard rogallo. I respect new technology to be sure, though I cannot afford it. Better broke and on the ground (or in a Javelin) than rich and flying a standard rogallo! This is so far out of whack for what USHGA and its members need that again I hope that pilots will speak out on it. A little bad goes a long way against our sport. Commercial ventures from blatant renegades who want to damage hang gliding’s reputation for $149 (reduced from $199 and zero bids on his first run of the ad!) and cost the buyer more than the buyer can realize are, I feel, important enough to not be silent about. Geren Wyke, USHGA #81769

June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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

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).

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

This form is provided for your convenience.

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

I hereby nominate

REGIONAL DIRECTOR ELECTION NOMINATION FORM

as a candidate for regional director for Region # I understand that his/her name will be placed on the ofﬁcial ballot for the 2005

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

regional director election if nominations are received at the USHGA ofﬁce by July 20, 2004.

NAME USHGA# Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

REGION# 13

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June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

M A S T E R ’ S

Is Your Parachute Packed Correctly?

By Rob Kells

’ve been on the road lately, doing Rob Kells parachute seminars among other things, and have seen some sticky situations that need to be addressed. For a more complete treatise on the subject of parachute repacking, see “Parachute and Harness Care” in the articles section at willswing.com. The majority of harnesses sold in the U.S. use a one-inch Velcro perimeter on the parachute container, along with a pin lock system, to secure the deployment bag to the harness. This works well enough, provided pilots and parachute packers are aware of some constraints and potentially dangerous Velcro-related situations.

PEEL VS. SHEAR

Velcro peels easily

Velcro together and peel them apart from the same end it takes less than one pound of force to separate them, but if you try to pull them apart from opposite ends in shear, a one-foot overlap will not separate even under a 50-POUND load! PROBLEM – Deployment handle packed towards the pilot’s chest

Incorrect handle position

If the handle is mounted facing the pilot’s chest instead of towards the front of the container, it is very ineffective at peeling the front ﬂap of the parachute container open. This will cause the required pull force to be much higher than it should be, and in some cases the pilot will be unable to pull the parachute out of the container at all!

Proper position on the handle in Velcro

PROBLEM - Incorrect stowage of the parachute bridle

With the deployment bag handle mounted to the front, away from the pilot’s chest, the handle will peel the Velcro apart with much less effort.

Adjusting the bafﬂe upwards in the container to ﬁt a smaller LARA 175 parachute into the container

Correct handle position

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

PROBLEM - The top of the container not divided into thirds by the deployment handle This is the peel vs. shear situation again. If the handle is in the extreme edges of the top corners of the parachute container, the Velcro in the center of the container will have to be sheared apart. This photo shows a properly positioned deployment handle, insuring that the Velcro at the top of the container will come apart in peel.

Velcro is relatively easy to open if it’s peeled apart, but very difﬁcult to pull apart in shear. If you put two pieces of

Velcro is strong in shear

T I P S

DO NOT use the adjustable bottom pocket in the container to stow the parachute bridle. The design purpose of this pocket is to allow for different sized parachutes. The Velcro bafﬂe ﬂap is moved up inside the container for small parachutes, and lower in the container for larger ones. Also DO NOT use rubber band stows to keep the bridle tidy inside the container. The 25-foot parachute bridle should be free to fall from the container to its full length when you open the container. The long 15

G U A R A N T E E D

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length is designed to keep the parachute and lines inside the deployment bag until it gets past the wing tip of your glider. If you have rubber bands securing your bridle, or you have stowed it in any way that keeps it from falling free when you open the container, you risk having the lines and canopy deploying long before the parachute gets past the wreckage, making an entanglement more likely. You can pack the bridle anywhere in the container that makes sense based on the dimensions of your container as compared to the dimensions of your deployment bag. Just be sure it will fall out if you deploy, and don’t bundle it together with rubber bands. PROBLEM - Pins/Bungees that lock the stows are too loose Most bungee stows are installed much too loosely. This can create several problems ranging from pins that always creep out, to completely locking the parachute into the container. The first example is a nuisance that will rarely cause an accidental deployment, but the second one mentioned is potentially life-threatening. Some manufacturers have used cut-off fishhooks for locking pins. These work fine unless the eye of the hook works its way through the bungee stow.

Be prepared for that, errrrr, uhhhhh, lessthan-perfect landing at about half the cost.

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PROBLEM - Parachute bridle is on the front of the carabiner

If your gate were to come unlocked during ﬂight and you deployed your chute, there is a good chance it would become disconnected from your harness.

Have a look at your harness and parachute, and get assistance from someone with experience to be sure your gear is as ready for the ﬂying season as you are!

We’re so sure you’ll be 100% satisfied with Attack Tubes that we’ll pay for return shipping if you’re not satisfied.

* HP-AT VG-side and Exxtacy Attack Tubes are higher price, call. + half-price compared to an average of manufacturer’s prices.

Parachute pin has larger eye and is much less likely to get on the wrong side of bungee. Strong leach line is used to pull the bungee while installing the pin.

Rob Small eye of ﬁshhook can get on the wrong side of bungee, making deployment difﬁcult or impossible.

Rob@WillsWing.com

If the bungee loop is too loose it can be retied or shortened with washers. Be sure to use a washer if your bungee stow is made with a knot. A tightened knot can pull right through a typical grommet.

June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

U 2

THE WILLS WING U2 A GLIDER FOR YOU, TOO

his is a good time to be alive. Not only can we watch 120 TV channels in the comfort of our recliners while eating Godiva chocolates and drinking endless lattes, but we also have the luck to be able to choose from a number of great intermediate gliders that perform like thoroughbreds and obey like well-trained ponies. These gliders are only a slight step down from the top topless racers. With a the addition of a kingpost for lighter weight and lowered cost, then a slight bit of detuning for friendliness, the designers have achieved the gliders 98.6% of us warm bodies have been waiting for since that ﬁrst Australian pilot took a leap of faith into the air.

R E V I E W

ﬁttings don’t have to be strong enough to support the wing in the negative load. So instead of a carbon (read expensive) conduit (read heavy), a reasonably light-weight aluminum tube can be used for the crossbar. Lighter weight sometimes adds a handling bonus as well, because there is not as much outboard weight to ﬂing around in a roll.

Wills Wing has offered the public their version of this class of gliders with the U2. Certainly this venerable company has been in the mix since the beginning of time as we pilots know it. Anyone who has flown the various incarnations of their Sport will recognize that they have had a great run of success with their intermediate gliders. But in this new era, nobody can rest satisfied with past success, for this is a competitive and constantly evolving market. The bar has been ratcheted up again in the never-ending quest for perfection. How does Wills Wing’s U2 compare? I set out to answer this question when I met Rob Kells, Wills’s point man, at the Finger Lakes Aerosports Park near Rochester, New York last fall. After several flights involving cruising the area with a host of other gliders, twirling up in thermals scattered all over the power spectrum and flying little out-and-returns, I think I have an answer: very favorably. THE OVERALL U2 Let’s take a look at the layout of the U2. The first thing to notice is that it has curved tips. It seems that the new bloom of intermediate gliders, even more than the topless gliders, is settling on curved tips as being the ideal for the best combination of performance and handling. If all else were equal, I think I would choose curved tips every time. Maybe I am just a fan of curves, but in my mind it renders a shape to a glider that is sensual, graceful and birdlike. The U2 has a kingpost which is readily apparent in the photos, and in keeping with the philosophy of reducing weight on intermediate gliders. (It is interesting to note that we obsessive racer flyers are willing to add 10 to 15 pounds for a mere nudge of performance.) We mentioned this matter above, but it is useful to understand the principle in order to help make a glider choice decision. With a kingpost and upper wires, the crossbar and central Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

U 2

R E V I E W

pitch stability. But the last 10 years have taught us something and one of those somethings is that internal rigid dive sticks (sprogs) do a fine job of providing pitch stability. The U2 incorporates two sprogs per side that support transverse battens to hold a minimum amount of twist in the wing, just like the topless gliders or even the rigid wings. The result is less drag (no wires slicing through the firmament) and perhaps even more pitch stability (it is my supposition that gliders with a good sprog system are more resistant to a pitchover event because more of the outboard wing is held with rigid twist and more dampening occurs). The penalty may be a tad more weight, but the U2 is admirably light for a glider of its class (see the specs below). I think that designers in general and Wills Wing in particular have taken advantage of the many little tricks learned over the years to make glider forms efficient in terms of performance and weight. If you ignore the kingpost, the U2 appears very similar to Wills Wing’s popular topless Talon. But the span for a given area isn’t as large on the U2, and the nose angle is a couple degrees less. Also, the variation of nose angle with the VG line pull isn’t as great on the U2 as it is on the Talon, so the crossbar doesn’t have to be oversize (very tight VG settings increase the compression load on the crossbar). This is the detuning referred to earlier. The results are really great handling on the U2 with performance about equal to anything topless at thermaling speeds. Many intermediate gliders thermal with the big boys because handling and slow speed are two of the main requisites for thermal efficiency. Where they fall off is during long glides between thermals or at racing speeds. But you would expect to buy an intermediate glider to buoy up to the top of the stack, not enter the Golden Eagle Award XC Championships. THE LITTLE PICTURE Let’s toss away our telescope and get out the microscope. We should look at hardware and other little Wills Wing touches. One of the first things I noticed is that the U2 got the Talon’s slick appointments in the cleanliness department. We don’t need to linger on those curved tips, since you already know how I feel. But look at the undersurface near the top of the uprights. The lower surface continues on back and fairs in the hang strap, the top upright fittings and any other unsightly mechanical items threatening to create turbulence. This under section has a flap closed by zippers for easy access to the innards for your preflight, or even your lunch if you choose to store it there. The lighter weight, lower cost and possibly handling sweetness are what we gave up when we went topless, but Wills Wing has gone one more step in the right direction: They have gotten rid of the reflex bridles that on the older kingposted gliders routed from the top of the kingpost to the trailing edge. Their purpose is to hold up the trailing edge in the event of a nose-down rotation, and thereby assist in 18

Now turn your attention to the trailing edge and notice the batten ends. They are levers that easily insert in the sail hem and straighten out to tighten the batten in the sail with a minimum of stress, work or error (early versions of this type of batten ends involved springs which were unkind on your ﬁngers and patience). There always seems to be a better way and in this case the U2 shows it. June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

U 2

R E V I E W

GLIDER REVIEW CRITERIA & POLICIES Features: Easy to Fly, Ultra-High Performance, Intermediate Design Litestream Performance Control Bar

It has been some time since I have explained my methods of glider reviews in this magazine. In a sentence, it is this: If I like a glider, I write it up with as much useful information for the prospective buyer as possible; if I don’t like a glider or feel it is in some way not up to standards, I don’t write it up.

Fully Internal Stability Systems Four-Sprog Stability System Composite Transverse Battens Machined Aerodynamic Corner Fittings New Button Spring Lock - Tang Attachments Very lightweight - all 7075 airframe New Lever Type Rear Batten Tips Bottom Surface Battens & Internal Shear Ribs Control Sail Shape PX15 Mylar Leading Edge Hydranet Trailing Edge (Some inventory gliders may be built with 205 MT SQ instead, depending on cloth availability. See ‘PANEL 4 Trailing Edge’ column of inventory list.) Extended Bottom Surface at Root Fairs in the Hang Loop Sail Fit and Finish Comparable to a Talon Two Color Bottom Surface Keel Kickstand Curved Tip Planform Medium Weight, XC–Type Glider Bag, Control Bar Bag, Batten Bag, and Velcro Sail Ties Comprehensive Owner / Service Manual and Batten Diagram

Options: Custom Choice of Colors ................... $150.00 Slipstream/Litestream Control Bar Wheel Kit ........................ $140.00 Hydranet Leading Edge ....................... $75.00 Some options may be incompatible with others. See your Wills Wing dealer for details.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

Let me briefly illuminate this position. Firstly, some of the matters that make a glider “good” in the eye of the beholder (or hand of the manipulator) are subjective. So something I dislike may be something the next avid flyer really likes. An example of this is the tendency for a glider to be very roll stable (roll out of a turn). This is a mild example, and not one that would warrant returning the glider—I would just comment on this characteristic—but you get the picture. I would be remiss to trash a glider on a subjective matter, so I just send it back if it is too extreme for me. Included in this judgment is the understanding that techniques and control feelings change over the decades, and if I am not up to flying something I shouldn’t be reviewing it. Furthermore, if a glider has some safety issue, I would prefer to send it back and give the manufacturer my opinion of what the problem is. Without real testing equipment available in general, I can only use my judgment in flight. This approach is not infallible. Finally, anyone who has tested gliders knows that it is very difficult to get hard reliable data concerning actual performance. Any report of performance is suspect unless there are many trials performed in various conditions with a spectrum of pilots. In addition, a group of gliders of the same design will have some variation in performance, so it is hard to pinpoint a particular design’s actual performance. However, I believe that competition with its daily comparisons of hundreds of glides and climbs is the best indicator of a glider’s performance. The perceptive reader will see some references to competition results in my high performance reviews. This approach doesn’t work for intermediate and lower gliders, of course. My approach in view of all these matters is to simply experience the glider and try to convey to the reader a measure of the qualities that I think most pilots look for in a glider. I hope that each prospective buyer takes my oft-repeated advice to fly a model before they buy it. But if that isn’t possible, I believe that my reviews at least let the pilot know they are not erring too much in buying a glider that I write about. Enjoy your new wings.

U 2

R E V I E W

Much of the hardware on the U2 is new compared to Wills’s earlier offerings. The clearest example is the control bar system. The U2 is the only glider of its class that comes stock with a faired base tube. This base tube is an aluminum bar and is the same one that comes with the Talon. The uprights are known as Litestream tubes with an easy-grip ﬂat back and a faired body 2 1/2 inches front to back. The corner ﬁttings are made of machined aluminum and have been redesigned to reduce drag. The calculations show a full point in glide over the older-style Fusion setup. The other details we should mention are the sail construction and haulback system. The sail comes with a Mylar leading edge transitioning to a Hydranet main body. This latter cloth is a good durable material with a spectra line in it for strength. It is lighter and more convenient (folds smaller) than the Mylar sails of the topless gliders. The haulback system attaches and detaches with a new spring-activated detent button. It is similar to what Icaro has used in the past, and is perhaps the easiest system going. While we are at the tail end of the glider, we should mention the kickstand which lets you lift the tail up to hold the tips off the ground. This comes into play during setup and breakdown. All in all, I give Wills Wing accolades for the hardware appointments on the glider and I think in these details they have excelled. The attention to detail is apparent and I have learned over the years that anything that looks good just feels good. GETTING SET Lately I have been dispensing with setup procedures in my glider reviews, because that’s what glider manuals are for. You can only read about stuffing battens so many times before the yawns overcome you. But when there is a deviation from standard procedure, I feel compelled to mention it. With the U2, it is good to follow a set procedure which isn’t the same as with other gliders. IN A JIFFY:

Open the bag, triangulate the control bar, then flip the glider upright, and spread the wings as efficiently as you can so as not to miss the thermal of the day. Then insert the transverse battens all the way. They were pulled out a bit in breakdown to allow the sail to fold neatly. Next, Wills wants you to insert the tip wands (fiberglass curved ends) and put on the cams, but don’t tension them. Follow this by attaching the nose battens (doing this later makes it a much harder job) and inserting the innermost four battens per side and levering them up tight. Now the crossbar haulback should be pulled and attached at the rear of the keel, followed by an erection of the kingpost. It is held up by attaching the rear upper wire at the haulback attach point. Next, if the wind isn’t too powerful or wayward, lift the keel, pull out the kickstand and set it up so the tips are lifted. Now you can 20

crank in the tip cams easily. Here’s the important point: Pull the VG on to tighten the sail and then insert the rest of the battens. If you don’t pull the VG, battens #5 and #6 are very compressed as you slide them in. Follow this by folding the sprogs to their working position and zipper them in. The idea is that the tightened sail allows the sprogs to fit into the lower surface without stretching or ripping the sail. Finally, do the nose cone, pre-flight, harness up, do a walk around then go catch some quality airtime. The breakdown is essentially the reverse of the above. Note that you should not put the glider up on the kickstand in anything more dynamic than mild, steady air. You can still perform all the setup or breakdown procedure with a little more knee bending. In any case, don’t forget to tighten the VG to manipulate the sprogs in or out. I have noticed that other gliders benefit from this procedure as well. Don’t forget to loosen the VG before taking off. It should be part of your normal preflight. (Don’t have a heart attack if you forget. The glider handles well enough with the VG full on. Slip it off as soon as you are clear of the hill, and put a black mark in your log book.) FLYING PERFORMANCE We have been calling the U2 (and others in its class) an intermediate glider, only because it handles and lands so well that any intermediate pilot worth his, her or its Hang 3 can fly it with confidence and competence. In truth, this glider as well as the Litesport and Discus, for example, could be called intervanced or admediate designs because their performance is nearly that of a hawk, with the docility of a pet parakeet. They are true allaround gliders for everyman (or omniwoman). I towed the U2 aloft on every flight I took (four). I found it to be very easy to track on aerotow. This aspect reflects its yaw stability and its predictable response to an input. I am used to towing tuned-up blade wings, and these intermediate gliders are a welcome refreshment. Once the line was popped, I headed off to the nearest thermal to try my luck. Well, luck didn’t have much to do with it since the thermal was marked by a tall stack of gliders of various performance, guided by pilots of various skill. I soon found the U2 would respond to my every whim. It was nice to be able to think “turn” and turn with the speed of thought. OK, I may be exaggerating a little, but I sure grew fond of the glider’s quick follow-through to my roll commands. I was able to fly very slowly because I didn’t need as much control airspeed as on a topless glider. I believe that made me very efficient in the climb department. I soon found myself at the top of the thermals with the better pilots no matter what they were flying. I seriously believe that a glider such as the U2 will improve most pilot’s thermaling skills, for unless you can put your wing exactly where you want it, you will not only be missing some climb, but will not learn as quickly because you won’t be able to feel the opportunities or the little mistakes. Enough said. June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

U 2

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CLASSIFIED: AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED

The U2 Story

by Steve Pearson, Wills Wing designer eveloping a new hang glider design in the performance-intermediate class is a deceptively ambitious task. Any new design in this class faces its largest competition from an abundant supply of relatively inexpensive, used high-performance and competition gliders. These gliders set a benchmark for performance that is just marginally less than current competition wings. A pilot ﬂying in this performance category expects to be able to match the best-performing current generation gliders in anything except an all-out racing task. To be successful, a new glider design has to offer not only this level of performance, but also a compelling advantage in ﬂ ight characteristics and other features. Simply put, it has to perform as well, and be lighter, better-looking and

much more fun to ﬂy.

nology that started at Wills Wing in 1983 with the fi rst angle-of-attack optimized control bar assembly with integral streamlined basetube. More recently, the World Team Carbon Control Bar was the industry’s fi rst high-temperature carbon- composite ultra-low-drag control bar. It was followed by the Slipstream aluminum profi le, which is the most common high-performance downtube available on competition class gliders today. The Litestream design improves on the Slipstream bar for the non-competition pilot by offering a smaller and easier-to -grip profi le and lighter weight with almost no loss of performance. The Litestream fittings are CNC machined from solid wrought aluminum for maximum strength and durability. The U2 airframe tubing, except for the control bar and kingpost, is completely 7075-T6. Wills Wing introduced the use of 7075 on a mainstream production glider with the origina l Sport 167 in 1986. For many years afterwa rds our use of 7075 was subject to scrutiny and criticism from others in the industr y. The “contro versy” has taken almost 20 years to resolve but 7075 is now universally recogni zed as the premium choice for airframe tubing. The U2’s exceptional light weight certain ly wouldn’t be possible without this high-strength materia l.

In the U2 development program, I also intended to target another group of pilots that normally wouldn’t consider this type of glider as a new purchase. I often joked that my goal was to develop a glider that my partner Mike Meier would want to purchase. Despite the fact that Mike is an extraordinarily experienced and skilled pilot, if he were to purchase a new glider, it would more likely be a simple, fun-to-fly glider—even a Falcon—rather than something like a Talon, which offers dramatically increased performance, but at a cost in weight, complexity, and more demanding fl ight characteristics. If Mike already owned a good performing, easy handling glider like a Sport, he’d likely be a hard sell on a new glider. I haven’t asked Mike if I succeeded in making a glider he would want to buy, but judging from his expression after a production test fl ight on a new U2, I’m sure that I came close. The Litestream Performance control bar with streamlined basetube was designed expressly for the U2 and is included as standard equipment on every glider. The aerodynamic design of the Litestream bar builds on techHang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

Two other factors that contribute to the U2’s performance are the large percentage double surface and the completely-enclosed 4-sprog stability system. The large percentage double surface is supported by interna l paraglider-type ribs, which were introduced to hang gliding by Wills Wing and were quickly adopted by the rest of the industry. The cable-supported sprog conﬁguration with a universal joint mounted to a bracket on the back of the leading edge is another Wills Wing innovation that has been widely adopted by other manufacturers. The pitch and roll control pressures are reduced by a kingpost hang system, another design feature introduced on the original Sport. These features, together with a wide-range VG system, contribute to the U2’s light and responsive handling characteristics. I recommend that pilots considering a U2 go to www.wi llswing.com and other online forums to read comments about the aerotow, landing and other handling qualities of the U2. Better yet, check the calendar section of our Web site for an upcoming demo day in your area and test ﬂy one yourself.

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I grabbed a handful of line and pulled the VG on tight. I felt the glider accelerate to my command with a reasonable reserve of bar pressure when fully stuffed. That pressure is assuring, I can assure you. My eyes didn’t water as much as with a speeding bullet wing, but the velocity was ample for all but a competition race. The glider tracked fine in this mode and could be made to respond with a bit of persuasion. In fact, I typically glide between thermals with the VG 3/4 on in a topless glider. Often if I hit a thermal I want really badly, I have to turn before I can get the VG off. The result is sometimes a wandering around before I can center up. With the U2 I was able to hook right into the thermals I blundered into without delay or miscue. In other words, the response with full VG was adequate for the initial catch and coordination of a thermal climb. In a thermal I would back off the U2 to about 1/4 VG since it handled well enough and slowed well enough to make this efficient. I expect if I had a bit more airtime to compare with other climbers I would find that absolute sweet VG settings for different conditions (strength, roughness and width of thermals). It is nice to fly a glider which allows you this latitude. The landing of the U2 was a non-event. No nebulous flare timing, no extraneous roll/yawing, no seismological endings. I like to do a diving turn to final to gather speed and to control my height. After flying more gliders than I can name, I have learned to do this cautiously on a new glider. But the U2 took to the maneuver like an old pro, or rather a young ace. There was nothing unpredictable about its acceleration and it yawed to the new heading right on track. I think this little test sums up the glider in flight: It is responsive and predictable. In general sink rate and all-around performance, the U2 is as good as Wills’s former topless glider, the Fusion. That glider (the Fusion) was pleasant enough and climbed well, but it was not a blazer. So the U2 glides as well as the first generation topless gliders, and it does it with better handling and 10 (or more) fewer pounds. It is worth noting that particular spec: the smaller U2 weighs 63 lbs. (!) while the larger size is a reasonable 68 lbs. I had a chance to fly both sizes of U2s. The 145 (representing nominal area in square feet) felt like a little rocket in my grasp. I could go anywhere and do anything. I am at the upper end of the ideal range for this size (see spec chart), so would not expect to have a world-busting climb with it, but in fact I did climb as well as most gliders plying the air. On the larger size (160), I felt right at home and this would be what I would normally fly, so my comparisons here were most pertinent. The comments above were based on this glider. Both gliders felt like they came from the same mold with the same feel and balance. Landings were similar, despite the one being smaller, because they are so forgiving and slow landing. 22

I’m not the only one who likes the glider, for I have heard two former world team pilots (not Wills factory pilots) raving about the fun and performance of this glider. I think that after a while those of us trying to live life in the fast glide forget how simply effortless flight can be. A glider like the U2 can bring back all the fun to jaded pilots or offer a newly-arrived thermal pilot an unlimited wealth of experiences. You get all this performance and kindness with every U2. There are no options to worry about except sail colors. Every one has the faired control bar and the lever battens. Oh, yeah, there is one other thing: you can get Wills’s wheels, which consist of a neat machined fitting that slides over the basetube and extends down to form an axle for a small wheel for the temporally challenged (those who struggle with flare timing). A pair of those items will cost you $140.00 retail. ENDING In the end we find that the U2 offers plenty of likeable qualities and no unpleasant surprises. But that shouldn’t be surprising. Wills & Co. have been at this game a long time. There is no doubt that Wills has exposed the falsehood that we are at the end of hang gliding evolution. We hear this bemoaned about every decade. The U2 is one of the examples of bringing the latest design techniques together in one package. I see the U2 as an exercise in ergonomics, efficiency and elegance. If you long for any or all of those Es, I suggest you find the closest place to take a test dive, then get in line. I’m sure it will be love at first flight. Feel privileged, and consider giving up those 120 channels and going flying more. Manufacturer’s Specifications: Specification U2 160 Area (ft2) 160 Span (ft) 33.1 Aspect Ratio 6.8 Glider Weight (lbs) 68 Hook-In Weight (lbs) 160-260 Optimum Body Weight (lbs) 170-210 Nose Angle (deg) 125-128 Double Surface (%) 84 USHGA Rating 3 Vne (mph) 53 Va (mph) 46 Vms (mph) 20 HGMA Cert.

U2 145 145 31.3 6.8 63 140-220 140-170 125-128 84 3 53 46 20

3/20/2003 11/12/2003

For a ﬂight and more information, contact Wills Wing at www.willswing.com, email info@willswing.com, telephone (714)998-6359, fax (714) 998-0647 June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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I S L A ND

eunion Island is a small volcanic island lying off the east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. Even though it is 12,000 km (that’s a bit more than 7,000 miles) from mainland France it is a colony of France, one of the last colonial possessions in the world.

Story and photos by Bruce Goldsmith

Reunion is a very popular tourist destination for the French, but outside of France it remains a closelyguarded secret, so you’ll meet very few non-French tourists on the island. The two main languages are French and Creole, and unlike in most other tourist destinations, here English is not broadly spoken. Even though Reunion is only 60 km across it has an amazingly varied geography. The Piton des Neiges, in the center of the island, rises to 3000 meters and there is also an active volcano on the south side. On the Piton des Neiges are three enormous craters, known as cirques, with walls of steaming jungle that rise vertically upward for 2000 meters. This amazing scenery is a paradise for walkers, and Reunion has become a mecca for them. There are numerous mountain refuges scattered throughout the cirques to accommodate the hikers on their routes through this nature wonderland. Reunion Island used to be known as Isle Bourbon, and the culture of the island is still greatly inﬂuenced by its history of slavery. Runaway slaves used to hide in the cirques, which are inaccessible places with no roads and very radical topography. One of the locals picked me up when I was hitching out from an XC ﬂight and told me how the French in Reunion are know as “Les Oreilles” (French for ears), because they used to cut off the ears or hands of their runaway slaves. Nowadays

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the multiracial population seems to be well-integrated with few racial tensions for such a diverse society. Reunion Weather Reunion is a ﬂying paradise for recreational pilots. Conditions are very consistent with smooth gentle thermals and light winds every day. Local pilots talk about an incredible 350 ﬂyable days a year. This is possible due to a special microclimate that protects the west coast of Reunion. The island sits in the Tropics and is battered constantly by the easterly trade wind, known locally as the Alize. The trade wind is very consistent and brings low cloudbase and rain to the east side of the island. The wind then accelerates around the north and south sides of the island to a velocity typically around 50

kmh (30 mph), great for windsurﬁng but too strong for paragliding. The ﬂying area is the west coast, which is protected from the wind and the rain by the towering peaks in the center of the island, the highest of which is the Piton des Neiges. The whole west coast is actually in the lee side and has light winds, which are bordered on both sides by convergence clouds where the light winds meet the trade winds rushing around the sides of the island. These light west coast winds circulate in the form of large vortex rings—normally there are two rings that form, each rotating in a different direction. The precise position of these vortex rings depends on the exact wind direction of the trade winds, which varies from NE to SE. This situation is very similar to the weather pattern on Tenerife.

June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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The hill drops away very slowly in front of the launch, but this presents no problem for any modern paraglider. Gentle thermals waft up the slopes and the ﬁrst thermals normally start around 8 a.m., with easy thermal soaring possible most days till sundown at 6 in the evening. The landing is at the Coral farm on the beach directly below launch. Five paragliding schools operate at Colimasons, with a total of 25 paragliding

instructors with a constant flow of tandem flights all day long. Belemene was used in the PWC, and a huge amount of work was done to turn it into a launch suitable for a competition. Belemene is not quite as “perfect” as Colimasons, and the landing area out in front of the take-off is very wet and boggy, although there are a few dry fields out there.

The trade winds also bring another beneﬁt to the weather of Reunion for ﬂying. There is an inversion at around 2000 m in the air mass that forms the trade winds, which means that cu-nimbs are very rare, and when there is over-development it is only temporary and gets blown away by the trade winds. The cumulus development forms a cap of cloud during the day, which keeps the center of the island cooler. Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

The Flying Sites About 95% of the ﬂying in Reunion takes place at Colimasons on the west coast of the island. There are several launches in this area, but the main one, at 800 m, has just been turned into a perfect launch with grants from the local government. With these improvements, this launch must now be one of the best in the world.

Maido is the most spectacular launch, but it is only for highly experienced pilots because the take-off is on a cliff edge and the glider is in rotor when on the ground. It is best to launch between 8 and 9 a.m. before the clouds arrive and envelope launch. The ﬂying is absolutely mind-blowing—the lift is extremely strong with small bullet-like thermals off the scale on the vario! Dos D’ane is at the entrance to the Cirque of Mafate and lies to the north of the Rivieres des Galets, the gorge that enters the Cirque of Mafate. Launch is from the 25

top of a knife-edge ridge and the landing is in the riverbed of the Rivieres des Galets. This site also is only for the most experienced pilots. There are some less-frequented flying sites as well, at Riviere des Remparts, Piton des Neiges and Dimitile. Piton des Neiges is worth a special mention as it is the highest peak on the island at just over 3000 meters. I have flown up there by helicopter and then launched from the top to land in the Cirque of Cilaos. There is also a popular walk to the peak for the more energetic. Tropical Paradise Reunion is not only a flying paradise but is paradise for “normal” human beings as well. The sea is warm and teeming with fish. The beaches are white sand or black volcanic sand, and coral reefs protect you from the huge crashing waves of the Indian Ocean. The surfing is very good indeed and the steady wind makes it perfect for windsurfing and kite surfing. The island’s culture is a mixture of French and Creole, and the population has a huge variety of backgrounds including European, African, Indian, Chinese and Arab. The music and art of Reunion reflect this amazing diversity, as well as links with the neighboring islands of Mauritius and Madagascar.

June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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Playing the

of ﬂying you do. The IPPI card doesn’t cover the subtleties that our Special Skills section addresses, but we are supposed to say to an international visitor with one of these cards, “Oh, cool, that means you’re like the same as our X rating.”

Rating

Game at Home and Abroad

G A M E

By Ed Bennett

while back I got a phone call from a guy named Zoran who said he would be in the USA for a while and was wondering what it would take for him to be able to fly our sites here. He’s from Croatia, flies a paraglider in comps, and has a tandem license issued by Macedonia. His good glider is at home and his other one is in Mexico and he’ll buy a glider and do whatever it takes to be able to fly here. “Heck, I don’t know what you need to do,” I told him, “but I’ll figure it out for ya.” (By the way, I’m a hang glider pilot in a hang gliding community. I used to think paragliding was bringing two hang gliders with you...) My first thought was to contact the USHGA office and see what I could Coastal soaring in Holland Photo: Bart Doets learn. I had this vague idea that all he had to do was get with an Observer, but is that really all there is to it? I’m like really anal about knowing the rules I’ll probably break. Would he “need” to take all our tests and do all our tasks for each step up the ladder? I hoped not, since after talking with the man over a few drinks I was convinced that he’s “one of us.” So I called the USHGA office and learned about IPPI cards and how we are supposed to honor them. That’s “International Pilot Proficiency Information” cards, and you can find out all about them at http://www.fai.org/hang_ gliding/safety/ if you want. It’s actually a pretty neat system for covering the accrual of skills. Basically it’s a 5-step color-coded proficiency ranking method for flying skills. Ground Skimming is yellow or 1. Altitude Gliding is orange. Non-turbulent Soaring is 3 or green, and Turbulent Soaring is 4 and blue. XC is 5 or brown. As you can see it doesn’t exactly align with the numbers in our rating system. I think an IPPI Green could be 2-nearing3, and our Hang/Para 5 is about much more than just the types

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

Zoran didn’t have an IPPI card, though, so we went a different route. After emailing back and forth with the USHGA office a bit I learned that a USHGA Observer does not have to make the established pilot “jump through all the hoops” that a new student would. In fact, an Observer can grant a rating based entirely on a discussion with the pilot and a review of their documentation from their home country— spot landings and tests are simply not required. It was starting to look like working within the rules might be easier than bending a few... I hooked Zoran up with the local paragliding Observer and explained everything the office told me. JC felt he did not want to issue a rating without seeing some flying happen, though, so he and Zoran got together and flew a nice H2/P2 site twice. Based on the talk and the licenses and the flying, JC felt confident in issuing Zoran his USHGA P4 rating. Ten days from “I just want to fly” to his P4. Not bad, eh? Not long after this, I got an email from a Canadian pilot. Seems Richard has heard of my site and wants to fly it when he vacations in New Mexico this year. Well, heck, Richard got on my good side already—anybody who wants to fly here is my friend! So my new friend Richard wants to be on the up-and-up. He’s a rated Hang 3 in Canada, and has his IPPI card. He’s flown in the U.S. and the lack of USHGA rating just didn’t seem to be a problem, but he wants to make sure with me first. Cool! Should be no problem, right? Just do like Zoran did, but maybe there’s a better way? Could he get the paperwork done BEFORE hitting the border? In short: no. He already has everything he needs to fly here, or I should say ALMOST everything. If you read USHGA’s SOP 12-6 you’re partially crazy and need a life, but you would see where an IPPI card and a valid USHGA membership are all it takes. No USHGA rating is required, and in fact one won’t be issued if the 27

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visitor asks. I say “almost everything” because the only missing piece is working with the local Observer, and that’s critical.

The IPPI card doesn’t cover the subtleties that our Special Skills section

As every American knows, your rating card is ﬁne... at home. I explained to Tom (my local hang gliding Observer) everything I learned through my experience with Zoran, and what I had learned about those who possess an IPPI card, and got what I expected: a reserved agreement. Just like with any other Hang 3 that comes here, Tom worries. He worries whether they are OK on high altitude cliff launches. He worries that they know how to land at high altitude in an LZ that releases thermals like clockwork. He worries for their safety, and that’s why he’s the Observer. Tom was game

addresses, but we are supposed to say to an international visitor with one

for all kinds of sources, too: ratings from home, the IPPI card thing, pictures of the pilot’s sites and him launching them would be the coolest (so pick ones with good form, eh?), but even Web sites with message boards in English would be cool.

Richard hasn’t been here yet, so I don’t know if everything will work that easily because it’s not my call to make. It’s possible that “something” about Richard could set off Tom’s Observer Alarm, but that’s OK too because we can always use the method Zoran used: fly a friendly site and see what there is to see. Richard also wants to test-fly a new glider at a training hill-type of site, so I will try to get Tom there for that, thinking “real live flying” is probably better than any picture ever taken.

of these cards, “Oh, cool, that means you’re like the same as our X rating.”

June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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So if you have an international visitor who wants to fly here in the U.S., tell them to relax! Remember that for a lot of our visitors, back in their home countries they had to get licenses like we do for cars. They’ve already jumped the hoops back home and now want to fly our Phat American Air. They might be concerned that there will be rules and laws and official government forms and agencies, unprepared for our method of self-regulation. Imagine dreading a day at a foreign DMV thinking, Will they make me parallel park again?

Zoran at Blue Springs…

If our foreign friends can satisfy a USHGA Observer, then they can ﬂy here with USHGA’s approval, but they have to be prepared to satisfy the Observer. Zoran did it by displaying the skills. Richard has tried to bring the correct paperwork, so he is a leg up on it but will still need to satisfy the Observer. Explain to the visitor how we’re self-regulated and how that means we’re always afraid of losing our sites to a visitor’s lack of skills—and make sure they know we have the same fears regarding “visiting” American pilots.

Bart launching…

Explain to visiting pilots how our federal government has made very few laws, and that the USHGA really has no legal authority regarding free flight. Make them understand that USHGA is a club that provides a training and rating system, but that it is always up to the locals to decide who flies what site, and that sometimes local clubs have local rules to follow. Let them know that a USHGA Life Member with a Hang 5 rating might not be allowed to fly a site if the site requires certain special skills that are not signed off on their card. Since IPPI doesn’t cover those special skills, how can the locals know if a visitor is qualified? (Go fly! That’s how.) SOP 12-6 is where USHGA spells out how it works. 12-6.01 tells us about the way Zoran got his P4, but it also tells the Observers some key things. Yes, you need to give the person the appropriate test, but you can just talk through it. Make sure they understand Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

G A M E

our FARs and our right-of-way rules. An Observer granting a H/P3 or H/P4 to an American pilot advancing his or her rating normally wouldn’t need to cover those basics, so it makes sense for the SOP to point it out. 12-6.02 is all about how we honor the IPPI card. It says a visiting pilot applying for USHGA membership with his or her IPPI card will NOT get a USHGA rating granted, but it also says a 30-day membership with an IPPI card is enough to get them their liability insurance. 12-6.03 just says if a wannabe visitor contacts the office, they’ll be told to buy a membership and will be sent a paperwork package. Here’s another thing to make sure visiting pilots understand, and it comes out in 12-6.01 using different words: Our national org is not the law. It’s always up to the locals to decide who does or doesn’t fly their sites, and waving paperwork around like it matters doesn’t help. It’s possible that a community here and there might not feel good about the IPPI thing and say “tough - do all the moon walking and ground skimming and spot landing or just go away.” That would be pretty lame, but tell your guest to just smile at the beautiful day and move on because that community has every legal right to behave that way. Hey, by the way: remember to get an IPPI card (through the USHGA store online or by working with your RD or the USHGA office) if you’re planning to travel abroad. Many countries respect them, some even expect them, and they do look a little bit more “official” than our handy yellow card. *** Ed Bennett is a H3 with a basic instructor certification, and flies mostly Falcons or his Eagle at Dry Canyon in Alamogordo, New Mexico. He professes to be a full-time hang gliding instructor, but since he currently has no training hill or students, his world is actually filled with coding and cashing in cans for coins. Ed’s motto is “Will wire crew for food.” He has his IPPI card, just in case… 29

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PARAGLIDER Paraglider Repair and Maintenance by Matt Gerdes

t is inevitable that sooner or later your glider will need to be repaired. Our flimsy aircraft are far too susceptible to damage; lines can break during launches or landings in rough terrain, sailcloth can tear in an aborted launch or an encounter with a tree. In just the few years that I have been flying I have witnessed or heard of paragliders sailing off the back of speeding boat trailers, being slashed by angry baggage handlers (or their innocent machinery), meeting up with tram or chairlift cables at unplanned moments, and even being attacked by angry birds of prey. Most of these instances required hefty repair work—beyond what is doable in the field—to return the wings to safe, flyable condition.

AND Lesser, more common glider injuries usually occur during launches and landings in rough terrain. What can you do if your glider is injured in an aborted launch or an XC landing in five-foot-tall sage? What options do you have for repairing it in the field, or who can you call if the damage to your wing is obviously beyond what can be fixed with repair tape and a spare line? What if, heaven forbid, you purchased your wing while traveling abroad or from a private party, potentially leaving you stranded outside the support group of dealers and importers? Luckily these difficult situations are not as bad as they may seem, as there exists a paraglider “medic” who treats ailing wings without regard to color, background, or country of origin. Bill Anderson runs Rising Air, Inc, an independent glider repair, check and maintenance facility in Idaho. Fifteen years ago

Bill began gluing patches and sewing lines. At that time there wasn’t much paraglider repair service available in the U.S., and Bill was one of only a few pilots in the country who owned a sewing machine and knew how to use it. He refined his skills working for Edel USA and learned the finer points of glider repair and maintenance from Mitch McAleer. Bill quickly decided that U.S. pilots would benefit from a shop dedicated to fulltime paraglider repair and service. The result is Rising Air, an operation fully equipped to handle repairs, maintenance and inspection for any and all brands of paragliders. Field Work Most new gliders come with a small amount of repair tape, which usually is compatible with the color scheme of the glider. Small tears to the upper or lower sail of most glider fabrics can be easily repaired in the field using this adhesive sailcloth. This tape can

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Bill Anderson uses a heavy-duty machine and thread to make repairs.

Round off the corners and offset the patches for the most effective repair to small tears.

A ﬁgure eight knot has a mellow bight and won’t reduce the line strength as much as some other knots.

also be purchased from a local dealer, or from a kite shop if you’re in need and there’s no dealer available. (Kite shops often carry clear repair tape, which is handy for making almost-invisible repairs on a wing of any color.) It’s a good idea to have some glider repair tape stashed away in your harness for ﬁxing small injuries to your wing.

You’ll need to match the material and the diameters of the replaced line—forget about using a shoestring or a clothesline. Knots greatly reduce the strength of the line, so a strong knot with a mellow bight must be used; a bowline or figure eight will work best. The length of the replaced line must be within one centimeter of the corresponding line on the other side of the glider. Needless to say, line replacement in the field is only a temporary fix in a difficult situation, and the best-case scenario would be to have the line matched perfectly by the manufacturer or an experienced repair facility. It is also a good idea to have a “mid” and an “upper” line stashed away with your repair tape in your glider first aid kit.

bility and longevity contest hands down over all other brands of sailcloth.

For field repairs, cut a patch of tape large enough to overlap the damage by at least 3/4 of an inch around the perimeter of the tear. Round off the corners of the patch and apply one inside and one outside, slightly off-setting them to prevent a sharp edge. For holes smaller than the diameter of a pencil, an inside patch may not be necessary but a smaller patch applied to the inside will keep dirt and debris from sticking to any exposed tape glue. If the damage is on a seam, repair is not possible in the field. Fortunately, tears usually occur in the area between the cross port vents because the rib material is usually lighter weight and less subject to abrasion. If you don’t have the proper tape necessary to repair your glider, resist the urge to duct tape it. Duct tape rots miserably when exposed to the elements, and the glue may have detrimental effects on the sailcloth, not to mention that it attracts dirt, is difficult to remove, and will make any eventual repair with proper cloth more costly. Carry some repair tape in a Ziploc bag somewhere in your harness. Repairing Lines If absolutely necessary, it is possible to temporarily repair up to two lines in the field. Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

Flying with broken lines is, simply put, a bad idea. This might seem like common sense to most pilots, but you’ve probably seen someone doing it. All of the lines on your glider are designed to be there for a reason, and any missing lines will affect the performance of your glider and void its certification. Repairing Gelvenor Sailcloth If your glider is made of silicone-coated Gelvenor, normal repair tape will not adhere to the surface of the sailcloth. One manufacturer recommends that small field repairs be made by applying a piece of Gelvenor with silicone glue, as you would with a piece of adhesive tape. This works quite well but cannot really be considered a field repair, as it is messy and takes hours for the glue to set. This is one drawback to Gelvenor, but according to Bill, the trade-off is that it wins the dura-

Inspection There aren’t always clear signs that your glider needs to be inspected. One hundred hours or every two years would be considered absolute minimum by most manufacturers, and depending on the type of flying you do and the locations you fly in, twice as often could be recommended. Some pilots who regularly fly aerobatics can put enough wear on their equipment to justify inspections as frequently as every 25 hours of airtime. Frayed lines, soft material, and handling problems are obvious indications that your glider is badly in need of inspection—by the time these symptoms appear, it’s probably way overdue. When you send your glider to Bill at Rising Air, he’ll return it with a written report detailing the steps of the inspection. This will allow you to catalogue the wear and tear, and as the glider ages you can catch potential problems before they become a crisis. Porosity, line strength and fabric strength are all hard to assess accurately without specialized equipment. Checking for hidden weaknesses in these areas is a good reason to have your glider inspected regularly by a professional. The two most common problems that Bill sees in wings sent in for inspection are in porosity and line strength, which are mainly a result of age and use. Another common 31

D E P A R T M E N T Harness Care Harnesses should also be inspected regularly, as there are several points on a harness that may become worn or damaged. Speed system cords can fray inside your harness, out of obvious sight. Check these occasionally as a break on one side or the other with the speed system engaged has the potential to be a less-thanpleasant experience. Back and side protection can move around and become displaced, greatly reducing their effectiveness. Make sure all buckles are in good condition and working order. Most importantly, check the stitching of the straps at all attachment points, including the leg loops beneath the seat board and everywhere else they are not easily seen. The straps, stitching, and buckles of your harness endure a lot of wear and tear, especially from pilots who tend to subject their gear to larger amounts of stress through aerobatics. It’s worth repeating: Check all your harness attachment points regularly.

problem that is easily prevented and repaired is debris inside the wing, which directly affects porosity and fabric strength. Other preventable problems, or ones that could be easily repaired by the pilot, include missing line locks (which may seem insignificant, but your main lines will last much longer with the line locks in place), loose mallions, uneven or maladjusted brake mains, and Bill’s favorite, dirty and squeaking brake pulleys (if a pulley locks up, you can shred your brake main in a hurry). Another major problem that may go unnoticed by a pilot is damage to the internal ribs of the wing. “Beaking” the glider, or smashing it into the ground leading edge first, can actually separate the top and bottom sails from the internal ribs. On many of the rib repairs Bill has performed, the pilot didn’t even know there was a problem until another pilot noticed a bulge in the airborne glider. If you beak your wing and hear that characteristic “Whoomp” sound, check inside for center and V-rib damage. Overall, the most important aspect of glider maintenance is regular inspection awareness of your equipment’s condition. It is crucial to recognize issues before they become serious problems. Bill Armstrong’s Rising Air repair and service shop is located in Moore, Idaho. You can contact him at (208) 554-2243, or by email at badbones@risingair.biz, although he says he doesn’t always answer his email right away. His Web site, www.risingair.biz, provides details on inspection and maintenance specifics and costs. ***

June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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The Rise and Fall of

By Steve Kincaid Photos by Stefanie Kincaid

aturday, July 5, 2003, turned out to be an epic day in Chelan, a day when a couple Washington state records would be broken and many personal bests would be ﬂown. I didn’t want to interfere with the Chelan Classic competition and even more, I didn’t want to stand behind comp pilots who were launch potato-ing for hours on end in the heat. So I waited, and ﬂew RC. By the time I set up my hang glider and launched there was rumor of a single surface glider “going long” and Mike Daily and Larry Jorgensen were on course in their rigids for a “really big day.” Still, for every pilot I watched get up, I saw several others sink out…

The king (top and bottom) and Aaron Swepston prepare to launch from the butte.

Now that I have been doing a lot of “Zagi” ﬂying with my RC, I’ve become convinced that thermal blocking is for real. When you are standing on launch and the wind is in your face, it’s because the lift is behind you. Now I stand there waiting, hooked in, ready to go. The wind in my face begins to die and the streamers change from steady up the hill to trickling up the hill, and I charge down between the rocks. Launch is smooth and straight and I have plenty of height and time to go prone before the “bump.” Boom-beepbeepbeep—I love that blast you get as you come through the rocks! This one is really strong and I push out to get as much as I can out of it. By the time I fall out the back I am much higher and farther away from the hill than I expected to be, so I muster up my conﬁdence and yank off a 360—right off Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

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launch. My low wing gets lifted a bit, causing me to go farther back over the hill than I want. I tighten up the turn and end up diving right back between the rocks only about a hundred feet over. Boom! again, and this time I milk it for everything it has. Now I have plenty of height to make flatter turns in that same lift between the rocks. In just a few minutes I am a couple thousand over and climbing at a sustained 1000 fpm. Yeah, baby! I am a superstar. I am a hang gliding god. I launched into an awesome cycle and spent zero time scratching. I am a king. Call me “King Climb-a-High-a.” Drifting downwind, I top out just shy of eight grand, already over the soccer field LZ, a couple of miles from launch. There is a clear street of clouds across the Columbia River and to the flats so I turn on course, my vario lightly beeping all the way to the rim. It doesn’t get any better than this! At the rim I finally hit sink. But I am King Climb-a-High-a so I push on. After losing a couple grand I also lose my confidence. I don’t have a radio and I hadn’t planned on going XC. I turn back for the Butte, expecting to get back up in that same lift I’d started in. From

the rim almost all the way back to launch there is nothing but sink. I make it back past Three-Tree before getting below launch but I still find nothing. I turn back for the soccer field, knowing I am heading right back through that same sink. Surveying the sky, I can see the entire butte area is a big blue hole surrounded by beautiful white cumies out on the flats. I land at the soccer fields for a total flight time of 30 minutes. I am a royal idiot. The next day, Aaron and Kerie Swepston graciously agree to take me XC. The plan is simple: I’ll chase Aaron out to the flats, and Kerie and my wife Stefanie will chase the two of us. The day is looking dubious, though—at 10 a.m. we’d had dust devils ripping across the setup area every 10 minutes or so, but by the time we set up and hook in around 1 p.m. it is ominously calm and there still isn’t a cloud in the sky. We can’t even tell where the prevailing winds are from. After waiting over an hour, there is a sudden rush for the Lakeside launch, where it has been blowing up steadily for over 15 minutes. By the time we all waddle over there with our wings and gear it has switched back to Between the Rocks. We are all idiots.

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Aaron picks up and stomps his way down to Green Monster with Tom Pierce following. I only follow halfway down the hill, convinced we are going to change our minds again before we launch. I don’t want to hike back up this hill…

Looking out towards the Columbia River from Green Monster launch.

Aaron launches from Green Monster, and the game is on. Tom follows and gets bumped pretty hard to the right. Yuck. Two pilots have already bombed off Lakeside and they are climbing very slowly, but they are above launch. That’s good. Tom and Aaron are below launch and scratching to maintain. That’s not good. I wait. Five minutes later the pilots at Lakeside are up, way up. Tom and Aaron have been steadily climbing and they are now above launch. I pile off the hill, still fairly certain that I’ll be lucky if I get an extended sled ride. For the second day in a row the thermal gods smile on me like never before. A few turns out in front and I’m above launch. The lift I’m in is tight and ratty, but it’s working. A couple minutes later I’m a solid 1500 over working one of the knolls in front of the rocks. I look up and Aaron and Tom are specking out. Still no clouds. Man, they look high! I look back to launch and there’s a killer dust devil tormenting all the parked cars. I level out, push out the bar, and crawl back towards the top of the butte, listening to my vario growing more and more frantic. I meet up with the dusty 2000 feet over the top of the butte and my vario pegs. I’m climbing at over 1600 fpm! Tap taptaptap. That sounds like rain!?! Is it hail? There isn’t a cloud in the sky. Then I realize: It’s dirt. I can taste it. It’s tastes like... warm apple pie. I am a superstar, King Climb-a-high-a. Houston, we have lift-off. Go baby go baby go baby go! 7000, 8000, wow, 9000 feet. Aaron radios me—time to go! We start across the Columbia at 9700 feet, my highest ever at the butte. We lose some crossing the river, then climb back up to 7500 or so on the rim and we push on. Aaron is right in front of me and he is out-gliding me. I go from 2/3 to full VG and I lower my harness to a more head-down position. Ugh. I don’t like flying like this. I look out at my wing tip. It’s so flat. My glider gently yaws from left to right. I’m pretty sure I’m causing this but I’m not sure how to stop it. It doesn’t bother me. My glide visibly improves but I’m still lower than Aaron. My brain starts to OD on questions: Where the hell do you land out here? What are the names of these roads? Does my cell phone work out here? I see the big power lines but I’m sure there are also small power lines that I don’t see. The golden fields are wheat. I know I don’t want to land there. There are plenty of plowed fields. Landing safely isn’t a problem. Landing where a car can get to me is another thing entirely. This is so cool. We are still on course and I’m coming down through 6000 feet. Where’s the lift? To the right there is a big dusty. It’s pretty far, Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

but I can make it. Aaron turns a bit to the left. We make a couple turns in light lift but it’s not enough so we press on. I’m starting to regret flying past that dust devil. Then I see Aaron is much higher that I am. He must be in lift. I’m at 5000 feet. I want back up so bad… My vario chirps. Should I turn here? I slow down and my vario comes to life. Suddenly to my amazement I see a hawk (or possibly an immature baldy) coming toward me but below me. As he passes under me he banks over 45 degrees and turns. I follow in kind and together we climb. I look up. Aaron is now considerably higher than I am and climbing. Off my right wingtip, my feathered friend is also outclimbing me. It’s great to watch him thermal up past me. Soon he’s 500 feet over me and heading out on course. I stay with perfectly good 400 fpm lift. Aaron calls on the radio. “I’m at 7500 and kerrrasschhhhhhhh.” I assume that means he’s topped out and is heading on course. I look up but don’t see him. Where did he go? I keep turning, keep climbing, and keep looking. I can’t see him. I can, however, see Bump-in-the-Road, a well-known landmark. It’s an easy glide from here and I’m no longer worried about landing where people can find me. Beyond Bump-in-the-Road is Mansfield, 19 miles from the butte. It’s out of glide but in clear sight. At 6500 feet I push on. In the field in front of me a small dust devil begins to stir. VG full on, I race toward the up elevator that will soon take me to power tools and women’s lingerie. By the time I arrive over the dusty, he’s been joined by several other dust devil buddies. Together they dance and become one, then become several again. The lift here is good, very gooooood. Big fat smooth juicy and 800 fpm good. Ahhhhhh. My E-ticket ride takes me up to almost 9000 again where the air is cold and clean and the world is my oyster. 35

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Kerie and Stefanie radio that they are on the flats. I can see their truck coming toward me now and I radio them. “I’m over Bump-in-the-Road” “What?” “I’m over Bump-in-the-Road” “Sorry, I can’t tell what you are saying” I pull the VG off and push the glider into a stall: “I’m right above you!” “Oh, you are right above us... I don’t see... Oh, there you are. You are so high!” Aaron radios that he is landing. Oh, there he is. I am so much higher than he is. I’m a superstar! I am the king! VG full on and I’m on course again. I get to watch Aaron land dead center in the high school football field. An excellent LZ selection—I’ll have to remember that. I arrive over Mansfield with 4000 feet to spare and there is only one thing to do—keep going! I am burning up my altitude but the dusties are right in front of me. I arrive over a plowed field at 4000 feet and pounce on the dusty dancing below. Come on, baby. I am only about 1500 feet over the ground. It’s ratty and I’m just fine with that. Just get me up. Dance with the king. We dance.

While I’m breaking down my glider I see that the thermal I’d left to get back to my landing ﬁeld has built up in strength and is now a well-formed dust devil. Stefanie takes a picture of it while I break down. It truly was “the one that got away.” The king will be back to dance with you, dusty.

When my vario shows 5000, I push down the road to the next field where there’s a better-looking dusty. By the time I get there, it’s gone. The lift is there but it’s not what I wanted. I circle and drift downwind. Kerie is parked right below me and she’s checking out the field for me. No way, Kerie, I’m not giving up now! I spend at least 20 minutes between 3800 and 4200 feet trying to get up, with the girls waiting below and Aaron sitting back at the football field. My last thermal causes me to drift away from a known good LZ with a ride waiting for me. I fly through sink to get back and now I’m only 1000 over. The writing is on the wall: This is it for me. I flare too soon and balloon up a bit. I hold out the flare for a perfect no-step, no glory, pancake landing right on my belly in the soft dirt. I am an idiot. This is the worst landing I have had in over a year. “Nice landing!” Kerie yells as she runs out to greet me. I get up and pat some of the dust off and pick up my glider. The entire front of me including my face is covered with dirt. Hmmm, tastes familiar: It tastes like warm apple pie.

***

Steve Kincaid is the chairman of Cloudbase Country Club, the hang gliding club located in Seattle, Washington. He is a H3 pilot and a software test engineer for Microsoft Corp., and ﬂies as often as he can get away to Dog Mountain or Chelan. He prefers the taste of the warm apple pies baked by his wife Stefanie.

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arch in North America is typically tempestuous and otherwise stormy. Cold follows cool and breezy follows brisk. When the lion and lamb romp and gambol it’s time to head way south—to where else but Brazil? Ahh, Brazil: a pilot’s paradise, as long as he (or she) likes an overabundance of

beautiful women (or men), broad thermal studded skies, low-cost living, vibrant night life and the laid-back, fun-loving Brazilian attitude. And that’s what I hoped to ﬁnd when I hopped on the overnighter out of Washington D.C. bound for Rio in the ﬁrst week of March. TROUBLE IN PARADISE Govenador Valadares (GV to the cognoscenti) has been on the pilots’ map ever since the pre-pre-worlds of hang gliding in 1989. The place has become legendary for the quality and quantity of its tall, plump thermals with light winds. The lo-

The U.S. team smiles from the podium in second place. From left to right, Kevin Biernacki, Len Szafaryn, Dale Covington, Jeff Huey, David Prentice, Brett Zaenglein

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cal launch is an old volcano core sticking up about 2500 feet above the surrounding hills, forests and ﬁelds. They call it Ibutiruna Peak. Now many tour groups come here to belly up to the Get High/Go Far bar. You can spread your wings forever in good ol’ reliable GV…normally. The hill and valley system traps warm air that develop into smooth, reliable thermals…normally. Light winds allow daily out-and-returns or triangles…normally. The combination of stepping-stone clouds and good XC routes make this ideal for improving pilots…normally.

Our Canadian neighbor, Nicole McLearn, accepted the trophy for ﬁrst-place female pilot.

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This year, push came to chuva (the Brazilian word for rain) in this free-flight paradise. Blame it on the war in Iraq, the orgiastic Rio Carnival, the effects of global warming or that proven law that scheduling a meet brings rain, but an unusual cold front crept into our corner of Brazil and decided to take up residence. Things move slowly in the tropics, including the weather systems. The affects of that obnoxious front lingered on like the smell of a fetid fish in a perfume factory. To see how unusual this matter was, note that GV is sitting at 19º south latitude and mid-March is the end of summer. So a cold front then and there is like one coming down to linger over Puerto Rico in mid-September in the Northern hemisphere. Thanks to this wayward weather, we flew in, around, under and over rain, clouds and fog. Some 10 U.S. pilots were in GV to compete, plus many others to free-fly, in the three weeks I spent in that formerly fair city. I was there to serve as steward for the paragliding Pre-Worlds, so I had an excuse for only getting one paragliding and one hang gliding flight the whole time. But the fun crew and the U.S. team were there to get airtime. Disappointment was palpable, but we compensated by doubling up on the eating, drinking and merry-making. THE MEET OF THE MATTER Day one, March 4, ‘04, was a lovely day and would have been a classic GV day except for the low cloudbase. By the time the ceiling raised high enough to stick 156 pilots into orbit above launch, time was running out. No one made goal, but a few got within wishing distance. The neat thing from our perspective is that U.S. pilots Dale Covington and Brett Zaenglein took 7th and 9th place respectively, behind a few Brazilians and a motley crew of Europeans. The next day was a great big zed (or was that sled?). The sky looked great; cumulus clouds were blooming and a killer task was called. Just as the round started, a big grey-on-gray veil passed across the sky. 38

Some pilots could hang out at the hill, but eventually everyone went out on a lift-less, hopeless glide. One hundred percent landed short of the 5-mile minimum distance. It was a universal goose egg club. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow, or better yet, the festivities tonight. For the uninitiated, scoring in a modern meet begins when a pilot downloads his or her GPS track log (stored info as to exactly where the pilot has been) into the master computer. The GPS track doesn’t lie. On display is every little triumph, but also every little mistake. You can see a pilot stop and thermal, you can see the long hunting glides. You can see where aviation turns into hiking. (This GPS capability had some pilots talking about taking their GPS along on their evening escapades to have a much better chance to display success than when flying with it!) Once the computer has all the pilots’ data, it then calculates the day quality, based on the kilometers flown and where everyone ends up. Finally, the pilot’s individual score is calculated based mostly on where he or she ends up. But there’s a wrinkle. The 2002 GAP system we used rewards pilots for leaving early (known as early bird points) and for leading other pilots (leading bonus). The philosophy is this: If you are out in front, you are making the decisions. That’s infi nitely harder than hanging back and following others around the course. But in this meet it was cooperate and elevate. Cloudbase was so low and thermals so anemic that usually the pilots who hung together carried the day. Bonus leading points be damned. We went up the hill every day, no matter how dismal things looked in the morning. Invariably, the skies cleared enough to foster hope, but then the clouds usually thickened as the sun boiled the surface. We tried like troupers and managed to pull off two more rounds for a total of three. The last two were plagued by cross winds that suddenly set in along

the course, or an over-shadowing shutdown. All told, out of more than 450 attempts in the three rounds, only one pilot made goal! Figure the frustration felt by the officials, task committee and pilots. Oh well, there were always the parties, and did we mention the lovely young GV citizenettes? The best party of all was the awards ceremony, for there on the second podium step were our favorites, the U.S. team. They flew with courage, patience, skill, luck and pluck. We should be proud of our boys, for that’s their best showing in a big international paragliding meet that I can recall. The team meet was won by the Brazilians, and individually by Brazilian Frank Brown, who had taken second in last year’s World Meet in Portugal. For the U.S., Brett Zaenglein garnered 5th place, having placed 3rd in task three. Overall, Dave Prentice took 12th, Kevin Biernacki was 15th followed by Len Szafaryn, 16th, and Dale Covington in 26th. Our neighbor, fouryear Canadian pilot Nicole McLearn, won the woman’s trophy. Next year the field will be tougher, but so will we be. For one thing, we learned to dodge rain, duck disappointment and scrape out of the clutches of gravity. Govenador will be there to welcome us for the World Meet. Surely the weather can’t be as bad as this year. If it is, we’ll know the sky is falling, literally and figuratively!

Post script: As I write this, the news reports a hurricane hitting the south coast of Brazil! That’s the first time in history a hurricane has appeared in the south Atlantic. Perhaps there is something to this global warming after all… June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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Women of the Sky By Kay Tauscher I began ﬂying four summers ago. It didn’t take many truck rides to the top of Aspen Mountain before I began to notice a certain trend. Most pilots are men. While I learned years ago that it isn’t a bad thing to be outnumbered by men, it can still be somewhat disconcerting. I quickly came to appreciate the days when the estrogen level in the truck and at launch was higher. The conversation stayed within my comfort zone; I felt more a part of the herd.

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Cherie Silvera A Woman Flying in a Man’s World

By Kay Tauscher

As women we act differently, we think differently, we learn differently. This was something I especially realized the first winter I returned to flying after not having touched my glider for several months. I went straight to launch without ground handling first. (“I never blow launches,” I thought.) Naturally, I blew three launches in a row ~ boom, boom, boom. How did I handle this disappointment? To my instructor’s dismay, I sat down at launch and I cried. It was not a sad cry, but a frustrated, angry-and-disappointed-with-myself kind of a cry. And mind you, I am not generally a crying female. But my confidence was completely shot. My instructor had no clue how to deal with me. In a frustrated tone he informed me there was no reason to cry. I responded by jumping down his throat and telling him that I was angry and disappointed in myself and to just leave me alone. Needless to say, we had an awkward truck ride back down the mountain that morning. That was probably the first time that I realized how much more comfortable I would have felt if there had been a woman instructor around, or even an advanced female pilot who could have better understood my reaction. The seed that grew into my desire to become an instructor was planted on that day. Let’s face it, we pilots are a unique breed whose numbers are few. Because of this, I always notice other women pilots. I try to meet and get to know them. I have a profound respect for every one of them. There have been many that I have emulated as I’ve advanced in my training; some were older and some were younger than I. We come in all ages, shapes and sizes. Some (like myself) are utterly addicted to the sport with a passion. We have little control over our desire to fly and know no end to our flying goals. We shape our lives around flying. Others are mellower about it, and fly when and where they can. This series of profiles focuses on Women of the Sky. These are just of a few of the feminine faces I’ve met during my flying career. They all have a story behind them that is worth sharing. They are all unique, beautiful and daring. As I see it, every one of them is a Sky Goddess. Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

ay the words “competition pilot” to yourself and allow your mind to wander and envision what that pilot might look like. Chances are, you’ll think of a pilot in a flight suit and Hanwag boots with a high performance wing of some kind, maybe a Gin Boomerang or a Windtech Nitro. He’ll likely be wearing a slick helmet, and his face will be weathered beyond his years from the sun, the wind and the stress of competition. He’ll walk with a confident stride, like he knows he’s going to make it to goal first in the next task. He might exude a high level of intelligence, which goes hand-in-hand with his desire to be the best at everything he does. 39

Cherie strikes a pose on Independence Pass outside of Aspen, Colorado. Photo by Sally Shatz

Backlit by strong summer sun, Ed Stein prepares to launch at Mission Peak Regional Preserve, Fremont, California. Canon Elan II/15 mm; Fuji Velvia ISO 50 Photo: Mike Kellogg

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Now envision a strong, attractive woman with long brown hair and a quick wit. Maybe you see her standing next to our comp pilot? OK, now place this woman IN the flight suit holding the performance wing, her sparkling eyes and broad smile looking out from under the slick helmet. Her face is not weathered from years of flying and stress. But she does speak intelligently, as her Harvard degree would compel, and she does walk with the confidence of someone who will make goal today. But, she’s not exactly “one of the boys.” Meet Cherie Silvera, member of the U.S. paragliding team and adventure filmmaker by profession. Cherie is the type of woman that women in cheap novels and soap operas love to hate. She’s attractive, smart, friendly, well-educated and lives the life that most of us only dream about. But in real life it’s impossible to dislike her. Grace and charm exude from her pores and her easygoing, take-as-it-comes attitude quickly puts people at ease. And

OF SWITZERLAND Flying the Swiss Alps with European Paragliding Legend Urs Haari. Fly the ﬁnest sites in Switzerland and Europe including 2-days of over-water SIV training.

August 6-15, 2004

303/817-0803

www.peaktopeakparagliding.com 42

In Aspen’s Northstar landing ﬁeld, photo by Melissa McManus

her flying, well, it speaks for itself. Cherie has competed abroad against some of the best pilots in the world. She placed 8th overall in the 2002 Paragliding National Championships in the Owens Valley, and took second place, close behind Kari Castle, in the women’s division. At 37, Cherie is a veteran in the sport of paragliding. She learned to fly 10 years ago in Queenstown, New Zealand. In 1994 she moved to Aspen for a job as a producer of outdoor adventure documentaries. She had no idea at the time that Aspen was a “mountain mecca” for flying. During the next six years, she worked full-time and was the classic “weekend warrior” pilot, catching her air fixes when and where she could. Cherie’s growth in the sport and in competition has been a steady upward climb. According to Chris Santacroce, “Cherie’s progress has been slow and steady; she has a great approach to the sport. She once came to an over-the-water course and did about 12,000 feet of speed system asymmetric collapses on her new 2-3 glider. She couldn’t get it under control in less than a few turns. But, she was OK with it...” Cherie’s attitude has clearly kept her safe and carried her far in the sport. After being around Cherie for any amount of time, you realize that there is a genuineness about her that few great athletes have. She has a distinct style, and she is confident, yet humble. Selfadmittedly, she takes pleasure in friends’ and co-competitors’ accomplishments. But Cherie is also known for her direct communication style. Paulina Vander Noordaa, a good friend to Cherie, said, “Cherie is smart, sassy, and always tells it like it is! [There’s] no mincing words!” One of Cherie’s early friends in paragliding was Dave Bridges. One day in 1998, Dave informed Cherie that he had signed her up for the Red Bull Cross Country competition being held in Aspen. Dave’s argument to Cherie was that there was prize money for the top three women pilots, and there were only two currently June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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entered! Cherie reluctantly competed and was pleasantly surprised to find out that she enjoyed it, despite never making a turnpoint! This event hooked her competitive spirit and kept her coming back for more. As pilots often do, Cherie modified her life to find more time to fly. In order to compete abroad, in the year 2000 Cherie gave up her full-time job, began doing freelance work, and sacrificed her home. She minimized her expenses and used her newfound freedom and her savings to chase the comp scene across the world. Cherie is grateful to friends in Aspen who would provide her with work and a room to rent on short notice, for however long she needed it. This pseudo-nomadic lifestyle, or “upscale couch surfing” as she likes to call it, suited her well at the time. “It definitely had its drawbacks and living out of a bag gets old really quick. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t have traded in the last four years for anything. The freedom of roaming the world has been awesome…the people, the experiences, all of it!” As a result of these lifestyle changes, Cherie has had the luxury of flying in many exotic places, including the Alps, Europe, Turkey, Greece, and Mexico. She is currently working on finishing a film for Marmot based on a paragliding trip to Nepal with pilots Dick Jackson, Dale Covington, Lori Fitzgerald and Chuck Smith. She expects the film to be completed some time this year. Cherie is grateful to Advance USA for sponsoring her since early on in her career. She flies an Advance Omega 5 (DHV 2-3) provided to her by her sponsor. “They took a chance on me. Thanks, Lars,” she says. When asked about competing, Cherie replies, “Competition brings out that addictive aspect of the sport. You always want to improve, and you do. It demands more from you than you think you have to give.” She enjoys the camaraderie of the competition scene abroad, but admits that it can be highly frustrating. “You fly alongside the best pilots in the world in wild locations. But, it humbles you and shows you how far you still have to go. You fly farther than you ever have before, but you never meet your personal goals with respect to the competition.” Her best performance abroad was in the Tapalpa, Mexico, PWC, where she “just missed the podium by a few points” despite the fact that she bombed out one day. “So then you can’t help thinking, what if I didn’t bomb out that day? What if I’d flown another 2 km? You always end up wanting one more task to prove yourself.” According to Cherie, this is the curse of the competition pilot—who isn’t winning. Having competed both domestically and abroad, Cherie feels one of the main differences between the two scenes is the infrastructure around the sport. “Here in America we are a tiny sport Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

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struggling to find acceptance and fighting to keep our sites open. In the European alpine nations paragliding has a huge following with the commensurate support from community, sponsors, clubs and their federation. In World Cup and Championship competition, the teams from these nations are well-funded with a support crew and coaches who help strategize about the task prior to flying each day. In contrast, the Americans have hardly any support, both with respect to mentors and financially (the U.S. team was entirely self-funded at the World Championships last year). Nor do we have a competition league that prepares pilots for the international competitions.” Cherie admits that she has felt at a slight disadvantage due to these factors, but she points out that at least we are not subjected to the politics and bureaucracy that go along with the European system. With all this said, does Cherie intend to continue competing? She enjoys the competitive spirit, flying with like-minded pilots,

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and having a venue to discipline her to fly well. But, she doubts Ozone. Louise Crandal, the former World Champion, is a female she’ll continue on the World Cup circuit due to the time commit- comp pilot whom Cherie greatly admires. In the U.S. paraglidment to be competitive at that level, and the expense of attend- ing scene she notes that Scotty Marion was “awesome and ining the competitions worldwide. “It’s especially frustrating when spired. He tried to figure out flying like it was a puzzle.” Chris you spend the time and money and get blown out,” as she refers Santacroce, in addition to his enviable instruction and piloting to last year’s PWC in Greece. She would like to participate in skills, has done so much for the sport here in the U.S. And Josh more “fun” competitions around the world, or branch out to do Cohn and Zach Hoisington are noteworthy in her mind “because more adventure flying in wild they were great pilots when 2003 world championship team in Portugal, photo: Brett Zeinglein places. “I would love to try a they were young punks hangbivvy flight someplace cool, if ing on my front porch, and I can find the courage and get they are STILL flying at the top myself organized,” she says. of their game.” As far as mentors and role models, she credits Dave Bridges and Matt Taggart for encouraging her to start competing and taking flying to the next level. She met both pilots originally in Aspen while they were flying tandems there. Dave’s life, as many of you know, was tragically taken in an avalanche in Tibet (while filming a documentary Cherie was producing) four years ago. Matt is now with

Well-liked and respected among her male colleagues in the world of paragliding competition, Cherie has many close friends, including fellow comp pilots Josh Cohn and Ryan Swan. When asked if they have any good Cherie stories, her cohorts responded with a couple of funny incidents and some kind words. Josh’s story highlights Cherie’s tenacity: “Cherie was learning to kite-surf at around the same time I was, in 1999 during the world cup in Portugal. Matt Taggart had started a few months earlier and gave us some pointers. One of the first ways to practice is body-dragging, which is pulling oneself through the water with the kite and no board. I saw someone come body-dragging from across the reservoir— maybe 1.5 miles away. I watched the movements of the kite grow more erratic until finally the kite spiraled out of control into the water. But by that time I could see it was Cherie and she was within an easy swim of shore. She had shown impressive endurance, no doubt helped by her climbing training, hanging on to the kite for probably 15 minutes with no harness until finally she had to use both hands on one side of the bar to turn the kite but never got them back to the other side...” Len Szafryn, former U.S. champion, enjoys telling about when he and Cherie were flying at a Paragliding World Cup in France a few years ago. “Two hours into a great task, with many low saves and fast transitions, I finally caught the glider I’d been chasing for the past five kilometers. While thermaling, I recognized the voice yelling to me: ‘Hey Len, you’re flying like a girl!’ That’s when I knew Cherie was going to be a special pilot.”

Studying conditions at the 2003 world championships in Portugal. Photo: Brett Zeinglein 44

When asked if she is still energized by ﬂying, Cherie responds: “Absolutely. I still love going out ﬂying whenever I can. But I am also battling demons, dealing with my fears in big air, scary places and the inherent risks of the sport, while still pushing myself to improve.” She feels there have been too many injuries and deaths of friends who share her passion, especially in the (…continues on page 56) June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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Hang Gliding Marks Stamps of the World

By Terry Ferrer ang gliding was born in the USA. We nurtured the sport of hang gliding through its early, formative years to what it is today—an exhilarating way for humans to ﬂy like birds. Our unending gratitude is extended to Francis M. Rogallo, the father of the wings which became hang gliders in the early 1970s. So after a successful 30plus years, why isn’t there an American hang gliding postage stamp? Has no one ever proposed one? Has someone tried, and been rejected? If so, to honor the sport, maybe it’s time we try again. To that end, and to experience what other nations have accomplished in this regard, let me introduce the hang gliding postage stamps of the world. They’re presented in chronological order from the earliest to the latest. If you’ve never seen a hang gliding postage stamp before, you’re in for a real treat. My selection of unique stamps features Rogallo-type hang gliders, circa 1970 to

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the present. I’ve also included stamps with a hang gliding fantasy theme, but missing are stamps bearing glider designs of yesteryear by Leonardo da Vinci, Otto Lilienthal, Octave Chanute, John J. Montgomery, the Wright brothers, Piersze Wzloty, Aurel Vlaicu, et al. They’ll be saved for another article. The hobby of stamp collecting is called philately. It involves collecting not only stamps, but also souvenir sheets, ﬁrst-day covers, cachets and postmarks. This presentation is a thematic collection of philatelic material (a lot of hang glider stamps). Relevant deﬁnitions of philatelic terminology are inserted throughout. And several stamps have been enlarged for closer inspection. An added bonus, and another reason for this mini stamp exposition, is to showcase hang glider art. Most images on stamps are illustrated. Unless it’s a fantasy hang gliding illustration, I like to see some accuracy in the drawing of hang gliders. Postage stamps are small posters, meant to elicit a reaction about the subject on the stamp and what it represents—what makes it special. Once you appreciate the stamp art for what it’s portraying, you can begin to examine the detail in the images.

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This collection pays tribute to over 30 years of hang gliding history via the art and graphics of men and women around the world who contributed their talents and skills to producing these delightful, miniature pictorials. Some of the publishers of these stamps didn’t have access to the kind of hang gliding reference material we have in the U.S. They did the best with what they had. That’s reason enough to laud the achievements of the stamp artists, designers and photographers. So without further ado, let’s begin our hang gliding stamps world tour.

INDONESIA: The First Stamp Subject: Hang Glider Issue date: March 21, 1980 Stamp title: Remaja Pencinta Alam (Teenage Naturalists Alliance) Denomination: 150 rupias Description: Low-angle-view illustration of a hang glider ﬂying over an exotic landscape. The stamp is part of a set of stamps commemorating teenager “adventure” sports in Indonesia. 45

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World’s first hang gliding stamp belongs to Indonesia! Issued in 1980. Congratulations are due. The image on the stamp is a wide-angle look at a single-surface, deflexored, high aspect ratio, truncated-tip hang glider, circa 1979–80. The pilot looks like he’s preparing to land, as his hands are on the downtubes and he’s semi-prone in his knee-hanger harness. The glider, which resembles an UP Dragonfly, is admirably illustrated, but the keel is short and the flying wires are a little thick. Highlighted in the illustration are the rain forest and misty, snow-capped Mount Jaya in Indonesia’s Lorentz National Park. Good artwork. This is one of only three vertical format hang gliding stamps—the vertical format being more difficult to show a broad-winged aircraft to its best advantage. Hungary and Turkey have the other two. In this format it’s probably best to “crop out” part of one wing. Aesthetically, it’s also better to have more air space in front of a flying object—notice how the nose of the glider crowds the left edge of the stamp? Compare this one with the stamp from Turkey, which will appear in the 4th installment of this series. Pleasantly surprised at my discovery of this gorgeous Indonesian stamp, I believe it’s the very first hang gliding postage stamp of the world.

YEMEN ARAB REPUBLIC Subject: Fantasy Glider Issue date: May 10, 1982 Denomination: 25 ﬁls Description: Fanciful proﬁle of stylized hang glider, orbiting astronomical observatory, and view of earth from space. The stamp is part of a set commemorating “Progress in Air Transportation.” Yemen produced this fantasy art stamp of a hang glider in space, meant to illustrate how far we’ve progressed in the realms of aviation. Shown here is the special imperforate issue with a decorative border of Islamic design. (Imperforates are stamps without separating holes, or perforations; they are usually separated by scissors and are collected in pairs, strips or blocks.) The stylized wing resembles one of Otto Lilienthal’s gliders, but 46

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with a strange tail. The line drawings of the view of earth and the satellite telescope are simplistic but realistic. It’s the pilot and glider that are the fantasy part. The pilot (rendered in a “ﬂuid” style) is hanging by his hands from the keel—he’s not wearing a seat harness. The phrase, “Hang in there!” comes to mind. Unless you want “Popeye” forearms, I don’t think anyone will be ﬂying hang gliders in this fashion anytime soon. The remaining stamps in this Air Transportation Progress set (with various other satellites and views of earth from space) are: Alberto Santos-Dumont’s aircraft, the 14–Bis, a single-wing Antoinette, a Pfaltz bi-plane, a Trimotor aircraft and a Tigermoth bi-plane. For a stamp set commemorating progress in air transportation issued in 1982, they didn’t make it past the 1940’s. Where are the Flying Boats, DC-3, Piper Cub, DC-4, Cessna, DC-7, Constellation, helicopter, 707, DC-8, Learjet, 727, 737, Airbus, 747 and Concorde? Yemen is located on the Arabian Peninsula, south of Saudi Arabia and bordering on the Red Sea. ROMANIA Subjects: Hang Gliders Issue date: June 20, 1982 Denominations: 50 bani through 5 lei

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the fifth, and the sixth and seventh as well. An Iron Curtain country issued a set of hang glider stamps before America did! Our bad. The gliders are realistically illustrated, deflexors and all, but some of the flying wires are drawn too thick. A thin gray line is best for delineating flying wires. Portions of gray lines tend to fade out, depending on the color value of the background. When the art is reduced to size, the flying wires are less prominent. The end products are just suggestions of wires—the mind “connects” the lines. Check out the sail of the Entuziast on the 2.50L stamp (at left). Never heard of the AK-22 or the Excelsior D? They’re Romanian hang gliders. From the Terom 1 “Standard,” through the deflexored Dedal 1, to the bow-sprit Grifrom, the Romanian hang glider designs of that era paralleled the designs of the West. Evident in the scenery of the stamps, Romania has quite an assortment of hang glidable terrain: coastal, cliffs, mountains, foothills, and thermal-producing valleys. I admire the Romanians for issuing these six attractive stamps in 1982. It’s quite a coup to get a history of your country’s hang gliders on postage stamps. No other nation has done it since. Fittingly enough, they’re airmail (posta aeriana).

Stamp titles: 50b Terom 1, 1L Ex D, 1.50L Dedal 1, 2.50L Entuziast, 4L AK-22, 5L Grifrom Description: This six-stamp set reveals the lineage of Romanian hang gliders throughout the history of gliding in Romania up to 1982 when the stamps were issued. Each has an illustration of a particular glider ﬂying over varied vistas. (A “set” of stamps is a series of stamps with similarity in design or purpose.)

Located in southern Europe, bordering on the Black Sea, the Romanian republic was established in 1948.

This is the ﬁrst of four installments of Terry Ferrer’s article on Hang Gliding Stamps of the World. Terry can be reached for comment at terryferrer@hotmail.com.

Romania issued the world’s third hang gliding stamp—and the fourth, and Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

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Big Spring—the U.S. Hang Gliding Nats on Steroids

By Davis Straub, contributing editor

ig Spring, Texas is in the lemonade-making business. When the Air Force left town in 1977 and left them with a big abandoned air base (the lemons), it was perfectly set up for towing hang gliders (the lemonade—although they didn’t know it at the time). With encouragement from David Glover and strong support from civic-minded citizens, Big Spring has become the preferred destination for pilots looking for a fun competition in a hang glider pilot’s paradise. Years ago, few hang glider pilots (outside of Texas) thought of Texas as the place to be for big cross country flying. But those who were really into the big miles were already flying there, truck towing up on the border at Hobbs, New Mexico, or at Big Spring (Geoff Loyns flew 273 miles on a kingposted glider from Big Spring in 1991). Of course, the U.S. National Sailplane Championships had been happening in Marfa (to the south of Hobbs), or over in Uvalde, south of Big Spring, so somebody had known all along that Texas was a great place to soar. We’ve now had two major hang gliding championships there in a row and we’re going back for our second U.S. Hang Gliding Nationals this year after a very successful one last year. You can read all about last year’s nats in the October, 2003, issue of Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine or online starting at: http://ozreport.com/toc.php?7.196#0. Just click the red arrows to the right to read successive issues that cover each day’s events. The great thing about Texas flying is that the air is often both smooth and powerful. You can get really high, say 12,000’ MSL (about 9,000’ AGL), in solid cores going up at 500 to 1000 fpm. Getting that high that fast—in air that you really want to be in—makes it a lot easier to get around the course and complete the task, even if you aren’t the most experienced competition or cross country pilot. Big Spring is situated up on the Edwards plateau, at the south end of the panhandle. The land around it is essentially flat. You’ll find large areas devoted to cotton, cows and beans. There are few people living in the area, which means few fences, so you can land just about anywhere without having to worry about locked gates. The winds are at their lightest during the timeframe of the hang gliding nationals (August 1st through 7th), so most of the tasks

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will be designed to get you back home in time for dinner. Last year we were calling tasks that, no matter how hard we tried, were lasting a lot less than three hours, even when we were going over 75 miles, out-and-back. It was easy to call 100-mile tasks down wind and easy to ﬂy them. The best thing about putting on a Nationals in Big Spring is that it really just gives us an excuse to be able to provide all the resources that get folks up into the great Texas air. Usually there is no hang gliding in Big Spring, or in much of Texas, so this is a once-a-year opportunity to get in on the fun. You might expect that on the ground, Big Spring would not be as accommodating to your biological needs (like the need to keep cool) as it is in the air. Fortunately, the Air Force left Big Spring with some big hangars, and we use these to the fullest to keep the pilots cool and the hang gliders protected from the elements. When you are ready to launch, you wheel your glider from the hangar out to the launch line and get ready to be jerked up into the air. You get to roll out on a paved taxiway, so it’s as smooth as can be.

The people of Big Spring think that hosting the U.S. National Hang Gliding Championships is a big deal, and for this little town where not much else is happening, they’ve got a point. They are proud that we are there and we’re doing our best to make them proud. So many locals come out to help us and the town puts a bunch of money into making sure we have all we need for a successful competition. I can’t think of another town that does so much for hang gliding. If you’ve always wanted to fly in a hang gliding competition, or you’d like to get a taste of some of the finest flying air on the planet, no kidding, think about coming to Big Spring this year for the U.S. Hang Gliding Nationals. You can register starting June 15th at http://www.flytec.com/usnats04/index.html.

Sandia Solstice Soar’N: Come to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for Two Hang Gliding Events in One!

We also have the use of the new general aviation lounge and terminal that is air-conditioned and provides high-speed wireless access to the Internet. We’ve been treated to welcoming dinners there the last two years, and the lounge is a comfortable place to set up your vario and GPS at the morning pilot meetings. You can wait here and organize your gear just before you walk over to the hangar to get ready to launch.

Fly-in at Sandia Mountain, June 19-27, sanctioned competition June 21-26. Entry fee for the sanctioned comp: $100, $25 discount for the fly-in without the comp scoring. Included in the entry fee: daily local guides (required), daily prizes, oxygen refills, quality T-shirt, awards party. For more information, check the Web site (www.flysandia.org) or call Andrew Vanis at (505) 304-5306.

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D E T P O AW RL TI M N E N S T

Towlines

By Bill Bryden

eaders from a dozen or Bill Bryden so years ago may recognize the Towlines column title. Editor C.J. Sturtevant asked me to write a towing column running every 2-3 months so I am reviving the old title. Paying homage to some towing history going back over 20 years seems appropriate. In this column I will be addressing fundamentals, readers’ questions and current issues related to the various dimensions of paraglider and hang glider towing.

(DOT) secretary, and this ﬁnal proposal went to the OMB for ﬁnal approval on 24 December 2003. So, according to the presidential order, the OMB was required to render a decision by 24 March 2004. Unfortunately, the OMB still had a number of questions about the new rules

DOT approval and then bring the revised proposal to the OMB again. That process would likely have stalled things substantially, possibly a year or more. As I read the executive order, the OMB and the submitting agency’s head can agree to extend the OMB’s review period once by an additional 30 days. It does not seem that

Of interest to many tow pilots is the status of the FAA’s proposed Sport Pilot rules. As many of you are aware, on 5 February 2002, the FAA released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) for new rules creating a new pilot’s license and certification procedures for very small sport aircraft, including

ultralight trainers. These proposed rules will have extensive impact upon hang glider aerotowing, and paraglider aerotowing as well should those methodologies further evolve and develop. All new federal administrative agency rules must be signed off by the secretary of the agency issuing the rule and then by the White House’s Ofﬁce of Management and Budget (OMB). To keep new rules from languishing for years pending approval, which had been a problem previously, Executive Order #12866 requires the OMB to act upon proposed rules within a 90-day period. The FAA’s proposed rules were ﬁnalized last summer, then signed off by the Department of Transportation 50

and was not prepared to approve them by the required date. It is my understanding that much of the reluctance to approve was based upon economic impact issues. So, rather than rejecting the rule, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey withdrew the proposed rules from OMB consideration on 24 March 2004. Had the rules been denied, then the FAA would potentially have needed to re-work them, re-approve internally, re-obtain

this is what was done. Withdrawing the rule essentially stops the clock and buys time for the FAA and OMB to resolve the OMB’s questions and issues and then the FAA re-submits. It is entirely possible that by the time you read this article, the rule will have been published. And then again, possibly not. Some information that we have received from our friends at the Experimental June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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Aircraft Association (EAA) suggests the FAA might issue some changes with regards to current exemptions for operations in two-place powered ultralight trainers upon rule publication. The NPRM had provisions for ultralight pilots and instructors registered with a recognized ultralight organization to

Photo: Peter Darian

be able to receive “credit” for their experience and training and waive some of the requirements for the new pilot and instructor certificates. Essentially, these people wouldn’t need to meet the logged hours and instruction requirements, but would only have to pass the written test and fl ight test and then receive the appropriate certificate. However, the EAA’s recent concern is the FAA might only permit this to apply to people who were registered pilots and Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

instructors prior to the rule publication date. People registering with ultralight organizations after the rule publication might not be eligible for this grandfathering. So, why is this important? We are skeptical that the FAA will alter the new rules from those in the NPRM with respect to the prohibition for Sport Pilot certificate holders to tow anything, despite the outstanding NPRM comment from our membership demanding that towing be accommodated. We suspect that tug pilots will need at least a private pilot license to pilot the new Light Sport Aircraft when towing. Since the new sport pilot license can be used as a stepping stone to a private pilot license, being able to grandfather logged hours and instruction requirements into the sport pilot ticket does cut a substantial amount of training, flight time and cost from the process of getting the private pilot certificate. Many of our tug pilots are registered ultralight pilots or fl ight instructors with one of the three other organizations with Part 103 exemptions: the EAA, Aero Sports Connection (ASC) or United States Ultralight Association (USUA). For those who are not registered and do not have a pilot’s license already, it would be very advantageous to become registered with one of them in case the EAA’s concerns are valid and the USHGA is not on the recognized ultralight organization list. We were not listed as one in the NPRM. We have provided information on all our aerotug pilots, current and expired members, to the EAA for the purpose of listing them as being registered pilots with the EAA. We were able to pull this off quickly in March and early April to cover any pilots that aren’t registered presently. They will just need to contact the EAA and complete some details but will have been “registered” prior to the rules being published. The USHGA wants to be certain we can move all our tug pilots as easily as possible into whatever rules

come to fruition. Jayne DePanfilis, our executive director, points out that registration with one of the three above-named recognized ultralight associations will be beneficial only if the pilot provides information as to whether they do their towing with a fi xed-wing or a weight-shift aircraft. It is of no direct benefit to a USHGA ATP-rated pilot to be a registered member of one of the ultralight associations without having provided this additional information about the towing vehicle, which the ultralight associations will be required to provide to FAA to meet the NPRM requirements. So, USHGA ATP-rated pilots should join EAA, ASC or USUA and let the organization know whether they use a fi xed-wing or weight-shift aircraft for towing. USHGA is mailing a notice and application form to all USHGA ATP-rated pilots to make it easier for them to take advantage of an EAA special offer for pilot registration. Please contact USHGA executive director at jayne@ushga.org with questions or concerns. This month’s Towlines seems more like the Washington Week in Review than our traditional Towlines column, but this is important stuff. I expect to discuss more flying- or equipment-related towing aspects in my next installment. If you have specific questions or topics you’d like me to address in the future, please send the editor or myself a note or email. Tow high.

Bill Bryden can be reached via email at bbryden@hsonline.net. 51

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2003 U.S. Paragliding Accident Summary by Jim Little

SHGA received 95 reports of paragliding incidents and accidents in 2003, a substantial increase since 2002. Thirty-two reports (34%) were about incidents, which are broadly defined as any outcome of a flight that was not intended by the pilot but did not result in an injury. The remaining 63 reports (66%) were for accidents, which are defined as any incident resulting in an injury to the pilot or passenger. Fatalities Unfortunately, there were nine paragliding fatalities occurring in the U.S. in 2003. This comes on the heels of a similarly bad year in 2002, when we had seven fatalities. This is a stark contrast to 1999-2001 with only two fatalities in that three-year period. Three of the fatally injured pilots held advanced or tandem ratings. Five of the pilots were P2s or P3s, and one pilot was self-trained/unrated. Four of the P2s had low airtime on paragliders. One of these was an extremely experienced hang glider pilot who was transitioning to paragliders and under instruction at the time of the accident. Another pilot was flying alone and disappeared and is presumed dead. A third was flying an advanced desert site at a time when thunderstorm activity with lightning was observed in the nearby area. One fatality involved alcohol and it is speculated that the pilot may have intentionally crashed to commit suicide. One pilot was observed to have been experiencing an asthma attack prior to flying, and was cautioned not to fly because of his medical condition that day. It appears that asthma may have been the cause of the accident and his death. The self-taught pilot was attempting to fly in high winds by tethering to a fi xed object on the ground. A bystander was 52

seriously injured in this accident. Fixed rope towing and tethering to objects with fi xed ropes is extremely dangerous and has resulted in several other serious injuries and fatalities in the U.S. Training is essential in any form of aviation. Pilots are encouraged not to sell used equipment to people who do not have proper training. Safe towing requires a weak link, proper tow device, and training for both the pilot and tow operator. Two fatalities were caused by intentional aerobatics over ground. There have now been three fatalities in the past two years in the U.S. that were caused by aerobatics. All three occurred over ground instead of water, although one of the pilots did impact in a shallow river. One of the pilots Year may have blacked out due to high g-forces from the 1991 aerobatics. 1992 The final fatality was a very experienced P5 pilot who crashed while competing in the U.S. Nationals. This pilot was flying close to mountainous terrain in light lift. He experienced several collapses before being swung into the cliff face. Several reporters speculate that a “competition” mindset may have contributed to this pilot’s decision to fly in that location rather than risk not completing the task. This accident also happened at higher altitudes than this pilot was accustomed to flying, and it was the first time he had flown with oxygen supplementation.

cidents that occur in the U.S. This does not diminish Scotty’s tremendous contributions as a leading U.S. competitor, instructor, and advocate for the safety for our sport. The types of fatal injuries included head, neck and internal injuries. All pilots were reported to be wearing helmets. One report stated that a sharp object had penetrated the helmet. None of the pilots who were killed attempted to deploy a reserve. Last year—2003—has now replaced 2002 as the deadliest year for paragliding in the U.S. since the birth of our sport. The cumulative fatality rate for USHGA from

Deaths

USHGAPG Pilots

Rate *

1000

4.00

1316

2.28

1993

1908

3.14

1994

2388

0.42

1995

2624

0.76

1996

2991

1.34

1997

3167

1.26

1998

3337

1.20

1999

3650

0.27

2000

3843

0.26

2001

4267

0.00

2002

4430

1.58

2003

4526

1.99

It is worth noting that Scotty Marion’s disappearance is not included in the nine fatalities reported in this article. Scotty disappeared in Europe in 2003 and in this annual summary we only include ac-

* per 1000 pilots

1991-2003 is 1.42 fatalities per thousand USHGA members per year (standard deviation 1.2). If you exclude the years 19911993, the average fatality rate is 0.9 deaths per USHGA member per years (standard deviation 0.65). The fatality rate in 2003 was 1.99 per thousand USHGA members. June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

A C C I D E N T S

Phase of Flight

Severity of Injuries: There were a Phase 2003 2002 2001 2000 Injury Type total of 63 inKiting 4% -1% 2% jury accidents Fracture 47 Launching 17% 21% 32% 20% reported. FortySprain 5 six pilots (48%) In-Flight 38% 49% 29% 52% Bruise 5 sought care in Aerobatics 6% 6% 1% -- the emergency Minor 4 department or Landing 33% 28% 38% 25% Concussion 4 from their physiTow 4% 1% --- cians, and 33 acDislocation 2 cidents resulted Internal 2 The table above summarizes the phase of in overnight stays in the Unknown 9 flight in which accidents occurred. The hospital (35%). Minor accidents that involve less serinumber in parentheses is the total number of accidents reported for that category. ous injuries are not reported as often, so Qualifications of Injured Pilots Kiting means the pilot is clipped in but did these accident statistics will tend to overThere have not been statistically significant not intend to leave the ground. Launching estimate the severity of injuries. differences in the accident rates by pilot accidents include the takeoff phase (setup, building wall, kiting, and launching) Back injuries occurred in one-quarter of rating over the past three years. and departure (from leaving the ground reported accidents. Half until established in flight). Landing acci- of the back injuries were Rating 2003 2002 2001 dents include problems during approach, fractures. The most typiStudent/None 1% 4% 6% or problems occurring in the actual LZ. cal back fractures reported P1 14% 8% 11% Accidents are attributed to aerobatics if are compression or burst the pilot is performing the maneuvers in- fractures of the lumbar P2 18% 22% 36% vertebrae. The majority of tentionally. P3 25% 21% 18% these pilots were using soft foam type back protectors. P4 16% 31% 15% Back protectors are believed Nature and Severity of Injuries P5 3% 1% 3% Here is the breakdown of injuries for the to reduce injuries, but they past several years: will not prevent all fracT3 6% 4% 5% tures. Luckily, Unknown 17% 10% 1% Nature of Injury 2003 2002 2001 none of the fractures reQty % Qty % Qty % sulted in paralysis but sev- Wing Rating Back 24 25% 15 21% 20 25% eral resulted in surgery and For the reports that included information Leg 22 23% 20 28% 27 34% about the wing, here are the DHV ratings prolonged hospital stays. for those wings: Arm 13 14% 7 10% 11 14% Leg injuries Head 4 4% 3 4% 0 0 remained the DHV Rating 2003 2002 second most Pelvis 3 3% 6 8% 0 0 1 21% 17% common type Neck 3 3% 4 6% 1 1% 1-2 48% 25% of injury, with Chest 2 2% 9 13% 3 4% fractures or 2 17% 32% sprains of the Abdomen 2 2% 3 4% 3 4% 2-3 14% 17% ankle being Face 1 1% 2 3% 0 0 the most common.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

The growing popularity of DHV1-2 wings is reﬂected in the increasing proportion of accidents occurring on them. Although many pilots are selecting 1-2 wings because of 53

A C C I D E N T S Occurences

Thermal Turbulence

24%

Strong Wind

15%

perceived improvement in safety, we don’t have the statistical power from this analysis to prove that 1-2 wings are indeed safer. As has been pointed out in other articles, the DHV ratings evaluate how a wing responds to certain types of induced collapses, but not how prone it is to experience them. There is also a wide range of stability within the 1-2 rating class.

Asymmetric Deﬂation

14%

Spiral Dive

11%

Stall

Rotor

Negative Spin

Too close to Ground

Preﬂight Error

Contributing Factors The table below summarizes the most commonly reported factors. Most accidents have multiple contributing factors. The number and percentage represent the number of times that factor was cited out of the 95 total reports received, so the percentages won’t add up to 100%.

Aerobatics

Blown back

Poorly Inﬂated Takeoff

Turning in LZ

Obstacle in LZ

Pilot Error

Outside LZ

The most common contributing factors were thermal turbulence and strong wind.

Equipment Failure

Line Tangle

Reserve Not used/too late

Tow accident

Excessive Brake Flare

New Equipment

Turning into Ridge

Wake Turbulence

Unusual LZ

There were no incidents in 2003 involving power lines, but one involved collision with a chairlift cable. There was only one mid-air collision in 2003 and it was between a paraglider and RC glider. The paraglider pilot was too low to deploy his reserve but was luckily not injured. There were six aerobatics accidents, including the two fatal accidents mentioned above. Five of these occurred over ground. One extremely lucky pilot had two reserve deployments in a two-week period, both while doing aerobatics over ground. The reserve deployed correctly once, but the pilot was too low in the second incident. Landing on soft bushes saved him from injury or death. This was reported to be his sixth reserve deployment from aerobatics gone wrong, raising the question of what it will take to get the message through to this pilot. One pilot experienced a “massive line failure” while doing aerobatics on a glider on which he was signiﬁcantly over the placard weight. Aerobatics has become increasingly popular in our sport, but it is clear that the number of pilots who have the skill and abilities to do aerobatic maneuvers safely over ground is smaller than the numbers who are attempt54

Contributing Factor

Unknown LZ

Power Lines

Under Instruction

Dragged by wind

Alcohol/Drugs

Unknown

Valley Wind

Object Fixation

No Brake Flare

Mid-Air Collision

RC Glider collision

Crowded Airspace

Cross Wind Launch

Lack of pilot Currency

Over/Under weight range

High altitude

Spot landing attempt

Other

June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

A C C I D E N T S

ing them. Most pilots who do aerobatics should probably perform their maneuvers over water, with a skilled instructor, proper safety equipment, and a rescue boat close at hand. We have already received a report in 2004 of a serious injury tandem accident resulting from intentional aerobatics over the ground. Two accidents involved very experienced hang glider pilots who were transitioning to paragliders. Unfortunately, one of these was fatal and the other resulted in serious injuries. The pilot who is missing and presumed dead was a very experienced military ﬁghter pilot who was relatively new to paragliding. Paragliding instructors should be aware that experience in other types of aircraft does not necessarily translate directly to paragliders. Instructors should take this into account when training pilots who are already experienced in other aircraft. Training programs for paragliding instructors may want to emphasize this difference. Reserve Deployments There were 15 intentional reserve deployments in 2003, which is an increase from 2002. Most of these resulted from line tangles or asymmetric deﬂations resulting in spirals or spins from which the pilot was unable to recover. Three of the pilots sustained fractures of the back or arm, but the other 12 pilots had minor or no injuries. With the possible exception of the pilot who is missing and presumed dead, none of the pilots who were killed in 2003 attempted to deploy their reserve. Four of the deployments were after intentional aerobatics. There were two inadvertent reserve deployments caused by incorrect repacking of reserves resulting in a handle that was too tight, causing the pin to be pulled. Neither of these resulted in injuries. Tandem Incidents There were 10 tandem incidents and acciHang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

dents reported in 2003. This is an increase from the four reports in 2002. Six of these involved only minor ankle sprains or no injuries to the instructor or student. Students tripping during launch or landing caused four of the minor injuries. Athletic ability and passenger weight were both cited as contributing factors. Three of the accidents involved more serious injuries to the tandem pilots including fractures of the back or the lower extremity. There were no mid-air or reserve deployments involving tandem flights in 2003. One tandem incident involved a tree landing and is worth pointing out because the tandem instructor pilot was well prepared for a tree extraction. It is worth noting that tandem instructors are required to file accident reports with USHGA. Nine of the 10 reports this year were official reports from the tandem pilots. Thanks to all the tandem pilots who took time to submit reports. Please continue to report your incidents and accidents! We have seen a gratifying response from pilots to our requests for help. Pilots may submit reports online at http://www. ushga.org/emailacc.asp or use paper forms available on the Web site or from USHGA. We really prefer you use the form (either online or paper) because it helps us collect data about ratings, number of flights, wing rating, etc. You are welcome to attach your narrative to the report form. The narratives provide Pete Reagan with some great insights for his monthly accident columns, but for the year-end summary we need the additional details from the forms.

even desirable, to eliminate all of the risk from paragliding. But I don’t think it is acceptable for us to tolerate a fatality rate of somewhere in the range of 1-2 deaths per thousand USHGA members per year. As Groucho Marx said, “I don’t care to belong to any club that will have me as a member.” This article wouldn’t be possible without the encouragement, editing, and mentorship of Steve Roti and Pete Reagan, and without the reports submitted by the pilots.

Author’s Note: This is my third year compiling the paragliding accident statistics for USHGA. I’m a P3 pilot and family physician in Portland, Oregon. Part of my justiﬁcation for undertaking this task each year has been an attempt to prove to myself that the criticisms of my friends and family about the perceived risk of the sport are not justiﬁed. The past two years have made me question this. I don’t think it is possible, or 55

P DI E L O P A T R PTR MO EF N I LT E

(…continued from page 44)

competition scene. “Sometimes I’m OK with the chances we take and choices we make, and other times it just doesn’t seem right and I get into a mind[game]. In the last year, often my fear weighed in heavier than my enjoyment of flying. [This told me] I needed to take a step back and make sure I’m flying for the right reasons.” How would Cherie describe flying to her non-flying friends? “Flying is the ultimate freedom…feeling birdlike. On an ideal day you can go anywhere. It’s empowering. When it all comes into sync, it is an amazing feeling.” She laughs now about what a bad pilot she started off being. She says she “cored sink” for years when trying to thermal. Now that she’s had some success, she’s looking for the “next chapter of her life.” But she doesn’t quite know what that will entail. Having just completed her tandem rating (T3), she may fly commercially for Aspen

Paragliding in the near future. She also purchased a condo in Aspen and is enjoying settling into her new pad. She looks forward to having a place of her own to return to after work or flying take her away from home. Knowing Cherie, the next chapter will surely be something exotic and exciting, and she will no doubt be highly successful at whatever that is. That seems a given. *** Kay Tauscher is a USHGA-certified instructor, a tandem pilot, and a mother of three. She owns and operates Peak to Peak Paragliding, a school in Boulder, Colorado. She can often be found playing either at cloudbase with her husband and friends, or at the local playground with her kids. Kay met Cherie when learning to fly in Aspen and has always admired Cherie’s dedication to the sport they both love.

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. 56

June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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Flying the Central Oregon Coast

G U I D E

The Cape Lookout headland Inset: Looking north from Carmel Knoll

By Greg Krutzikowsky 2004

f you’re like me, much of your flying is at “local” sites. I live in the temperate rainforest on the central Oregon coast where bald eagles and peregrine falcons reign over our spectacular flying sites. Here is a brief look at some of my local coastal flying sites, which straddle the 45th parallel, half way between the North Pole and the equator (see map). All of these sites are less than two hours drive from my home near Newport. I fly hang gliders and share the joys and frustrations of flying here with paraglider and rigid wing pilots. In this guide to flying Oregon’s central coast I provide site information pertinent to all wing types, but my descriptions of flying are from a hang gliding perspective.

Carmel Knoll: West winds turn our coastline into an aerial playground; you just pick your launch. Back when I was learning to fly, a wise pilot told me, “Never leave a soarable site to go flying.” So when the west wind blows I usually set up and fly at my closest site, four minutes from my driveway to launch. There are launches suitable for all wings at Carmel Knoll, just west of Highway 101. With space for over a hundred gliders and rarely more than three of us flying, there is always room to set up. The crowd arrives as spectators pull off the highway to watch. This 75-foot bluff gives access to six miles of west-facing ridge, with Yaquina Head on the south end and Cape Foulweather on the north. There is usually enough room to dodge the rain squalls that often accompany soarable conditions. For its full potential to be realized, Carmel Knoll requires a cosmic convergence of weather and tide. The LZ is on the beach, so it is important to make sure there is enough beach before launching and to know if the tide is flooding or ebbing. Winds just a bit south of west during low tide make it possible to fly over the Devil’s Punchbowl and marine gardens near Otter Rock to the 500-foot sheer rock face that drops into the ocean at the Cape Foulweather viewpoint. Of course the marine gardens are underwater at high tide and no one wants to drink seawater punch with the devil! Let’s just say landing in this area is not advised, so you’d best be sure to stay aloft if you venture north of Otter Rock. Once you’ve made it to the face, it’s an easy ride up over the towers atop the 1050-foot peak at Cape Foulweather and it’s common to reach altitudes of 2000 to 3000 feet. Craig Demott is the only human who has ventured north from Cape Foulweather flying a hang glider. From about 2500 feet on a day the wind was backing to the south, he managed a seven-mile glide north, much of it without a bailout LZ other than the misnamed Pacific Ocean. Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

Newport: The ridge in front of town offers a scenic alternative in west winds. If tide is a bit high, there is a little more beach for landing in this area. Launch here is next to the Newport Visual Arts Center, and is suitable for all wing types. It’s a low spot, only about 30 feet above the beach, near the center of the fourmile long ridge that averages about 80 feet high. Flying here is bounded by Yaquina Head with its lighthouse to the north and the entrance to Yaquina Bay with its historic lighthouse to the south. It’s convenient to land on the beach by the car ramp access at the Nye beach turnaround so that you can walk your glider up to the parking area to break down, then walk up the stairs to your car. Cox Rock: Even with these sites so close to home, I have been known to leave when it’s “on” here to ﬂy elsewhere. What lures me away? Variety, and greater potential, at sites such as Cox Rock. The launch at Cox is about an hour’s drive south for me, just 59

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G U I D E

high pressure starts to build in, occasionally in fall and winter, but most frequently in spring. West winds are as ﬂeeting as your last thermal, so you have to get while the getting is good. The good news is that there are other sites for N, NW, S and SW winds, which happen more frequently. Cape Foulweather: There is a launch near the lookout at Cape Foulweather. It faces SW and has been used by both paragliders and hang gliders. Personally I wouldn’t launch here unless it was soarable at low tide, but then I ﬂy a hang glider and as I mentioned, the marine gardens below are not an attractive landing option. Paraglider pilots have made sidehill landings on the hillside well above the beach.

south of Sea Lion Caves, a large natural sea cave that is the yearround home of Steller sea lions. This launch requires help getting your hang glider over the guardrail next to the road and is not appropriate for paragliders. Fifteen miles of ridge stretch northward along this spectacular section of coastline where mountains drop to the ocean. You can fly over the most-photographed lighthouse on the Oregon coast at Heceta Head on your way north to Yachats river mouth on a good day. It’s best to fly at low tide to maximize the possible landing options, which can be few and far between. Rock Creek: Although the Cox Rock launch isn’t paragliderfriendly, paraglider pilots can fly this ridge by hiking up and launching from Rock Creek, a grassy slope launch a bit north of Heceta Head. This place works best with W winds but can be flown in WNW to SSW winds. Our local octogenarian para-pilot, Harry Kaufman, has flown the ridge from Rock Creek to Yachats multiple times. Tierra Del Mar: All wing types launch from this grassy area near the intersection of Sand Lake Road and Cape Drive. This 50-foot-high launch allows access to the west-facing ridges from Cape Kiwanda up to Cape Lookout. The amount of flyable area depends on the day and what type of wing you fly. The ridge south to Cape Kiwanda is right along the beach. Northward, after crossing a small gap, the hills are higher and fade back from the shoreline, offering thermal opportunities that augment the ridge lift. To get back out to the coastal ridge south of Cape Lookout requires a long glide into the wind. Joe Evens, a Tillamook County local who flies a rigid wing, recently flew out to the coastal dune just south of Cape Lookout after reaching cloudbase at 3400 feet above the hills north of launch. He dove down and soared the dune back to Tierra del Mar. The only bad news about these sites is that west winds are infrequent. Typically, west winds occur in postfrontal conditions as 60

Yaquina Head: If I’m short on time but desperately in need of airtime, I go to Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area, a small headland managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). All wing types in any of the above-mentioned wind directions can fly this little headland. The flyable area expands or shrinks with the westerly component of the wind. The north launch is a fairly easy hike, but the south side launch requires that you burn a few more calories carrying your gear up the gated road about a halfmile and a few hundred vertical feet. Paragliders usually land close to launch on the north side, but the best LZ for hang gliders is on the beach near a stream about a mile north. There is a road to the beach that makes packing and loading up here easy. I’ve never failed to make that LZ, but those flying single surface gliders may find it more challenging. There are other ways off the beach, but none are as convenient. The south side LZ is on the beach and is an easy glide for any wing type, but requires that you pack your gear up the paved Lucky Gap trail. Yaquina Head offers a quick airtime fi x, but flying a blade wing here sometimes reminds me of SCUBA diving in a pool—your options are limited. If you fly here make sure you read, understand, and observe the posted rules. Some areas are off-limits and there are seasonal restrictions on the south side. The BLM has handed out a couple of tickets in the past (charges which were later dropped). Local pilots set up meetings with BLM personnel and all parties now clearly understand the regulations and have worked things out in an amicable way. Relations are quite good now. We’d like to keep it that way. Cape Perpetua: Just south of the town of Yachats, Cape Perpetua lies in the Siuslaw National Forest. Up past the visitors center is a launch near an old lookout station where observers scouted for Japanese submarines in World War II. The launch faces south and is 800 feet higher than the beach. Hang glider pilots flew this site in the “old days,” but these days paraglider pilots use the site. The LZ on the beach below is big enough for paragliders but would be pretty tight for today’s hang gliders. June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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Cape Kiwanda: Heading north up the coast there are several flying sites off the scenic Three Capes Drive in Tillamook County. Cape Kiwanda, known as “mother Kiwanda” to my friends who flew here in the “old days” when they were learning, has been a premier sand dune training site for more than a quarter-century. Access to the dune is via a short drive on the beach. Cape Kiwanda works in NNW to W winds and is a good spring and summer site. When the wind picks up the dune and headland become soarable and top landings can be practiced. As with some of the other sites, the flyable ridge expands as the wind swings west. Cape Kiwanda is the locale for the now infamous Antique Glider Fly-In, sponsored by the Valley Ville Hang Gliding Association, which has been held here for the last three summers. Soaring aviation has been committed at every AGFI to date.

G U I D E

The weather in Oregon is not always so cooperative for ﬂying. Here are a few suggestions for other things to do at the Oregon coast: Beaches: Oregon has 230 miles of sandy beaches. That’s a lot of beachcombing. Hiking: Excellent trails can be found at Cape Perpetua, Cascade Head, and Cape Lookout. Some trails are through old growth forests. Cape Perpetua alone has 23 miles of hiking trails and an interpretive center that’s worth a visit (http://www.newportnet. com/capeperpetua). The hike out the tip of Cape Lookout is another favorite (although it’s much quicker and easier to ﬂy out there on a good day).

Cape Lookout/Andersons: The next cape north is the crown jewel for pilots on this emerald coastline. Cape Lookout is a fingerlike headland composed of Columbia River basalt, which juts two miles out into the Pacific. If you fly out to the tip of the cape it looks all of the two miles back to the nearest LZ at the beach. Although both sides are soarable, the north side is much more user-friendly and is flown more frequently than the south side.

Surﬁng: Plenty of good waves are to be had along our coast. Make sure you have a warm wetsuit with a hood, booties and gloves. Water temperatures are usually in the upper 40s to lower 50s.

Known as “Andersons” for the lookout where the NW-facing launch is located, this site is a favorite for soaring pilots of all persuasions. It is most predictable and works best in springtime. Although NW winds predominate along our coast during summer, the combination of a more northerly component to the wind and some micrometeorological oddity about the place that can keep the wind and white caps just offshore makes Andersons a ﬁckle site all summer long. Generations of bald eagles have grown up sharing the air with us here. The curious youngsters follow pilots around the sky, occasionally diving down for a closer look or ﬂying wingtip to wingtip with us.

Kite ﬂying: If you didn’t bring one, there are kite shops in Newport, Depoe Bay, and Lincoln City with a great selection.

There is a 5.5-mile stretch of workable ridge from the tip of the Cape to the north point, part way up Netarts Bay. There are thermals to be had flying the section north from launch, which has deep bowls and drops back from the ocean. The LZ is on the beach in front of the picnic area in Cape Lookout State Park. The amount of beach available depends greatly on the tide, ocean conditions and season. Winters strip sand off the beach here; sometimes it is replaced in summer. Thus you may have to wait for the tide to drop to expose enough beach for landing. The picnic area provides a grassy breakdown area that is out of the wind. Landing in or bringing a wing into the camping area incurs the wrath of state park officials, so please stay away from that area. Andersons is a gem we don’t want to lose. Andersons also offers some XC potential. There have been some interesting XC flights from here, north to Oceanside, south to Cape Kiwanda and Pacific City, and inland to another flying site near Tillamook. Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

Windsurﬁng/Kiteboarding: More and more folks are windsurﬁng and kiteboarding here. The south jetty at Newport is one favorite spot.

Lighthouses: I’ve mentioned lighthouses at Heceta Head, Yaquina Bay, Yaquina Head, and Cape Meares. These are all worth a visit. The old light keeper’s place at Heceta Head has been turned into a bed and breakfast—see http://www.hecetalighthouse.com. Attractions: Sea Lion Caves just north of the Cox Rock launch offers an elevator down to a huge sea cave where Steller sea lions live. The Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport is a favorite for all ages. The Hatfield Marine Science Center has a public wing with educational displays. Breweries: The Pacific Northwest is the land of micro-breweries. The Rogue brewery can be found near the marina on the south side of Yaquina Bay in Newport, there is a McMenamin’s brew pub in Lincoln City, and the Pelican Pub in Pacific City near Cape Kiwanda brews their own beer. Whale watching: Gray whales can be seen along the Oregon coast all year long. Most of the population migrate from feeding areas off Alaska to breeding lagoons in Baja. Peak numbers pass south in late December and north in March. Some gray whales spend all summer feeding along the Oregon coast. Watch for their blow from headlands or get a whale watch boat tour out of Newport or Depoe Bay. 61

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The south side of Cape Lookout (see photo) works in S to SW winds. I know of only a few pilots who have flown the south side. The launch, located off the hiking trail that goes to the tip of the cape, is not for the faint of heart. It drops to the water and should not be attempted unless you are positive you will soar. The most convenient LZ is inland next to Cape Lookout Road on the open sand frequented by off-road vehicles. Landing on the beach at the base of the south side of Cape Lookout earns you a long hike with your gear. Oceanside: Last stop on our tour is Oceanside. The launch here is on private land at the top of Maxwell Butte just above town. This site is the home of the Oceanside Open, a free-flight festival sponsored by the Oregon Hang Gliding Association each April that has become a NW tradition for pilots of all wings. Oceanside works in SSW to WSW winds. It is possible to fly north to the Cape Meares lighthouse in WSW winds, but more typically pilots fly south about a mile and a quarter to Happy Camp near the entrance to Netarts Bay. In all you can soar along almost three miles of ridge. The main LZ for Oceanside is on the beach in front of town. Landings can be made on a beach north towards Cape Meares if you want to hike up and out, but Cape Meares itself drops straight to the water. A few adventurous souls have managed to go XC inland from here. Both hang gliders and paragliders have flown to Andersons along the small sand dunes on the Netarts spit after crossing the mouth of Netarts bay on days with more westerly winds. Some closing comments on flying the central Oregon coast: It is our good fortune that the state of Oregon has public access to its beaches and that it encourages landowners to make their land available to the public for recreational purposes by limiting their liability. Both of these facts are of great importance to our ability to fly along this coastline. Many of these coastal “ridge” sites typically allow for 2000 to 3000 foot altitude gains from launches of a few hundred feet or less. Flying is usually best here in March, April and May, but good days happen all year. Always consider tides, sea conditions, and weather when making decisions about flying. A 20-foot swell can eat up a lot of beach and make beach landings impossible on what might otherwise be a great flying day at the coast. This is a temperate rainforest averaging about 80 inches of rain a year, which falls mainly from October through April. When flying in winter and spring, you earn extra points if you can “bag ‘em dry.”

June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Randy Skywalker, pilot from Phoenix about to launch his UP Predator at Mingus Photo: Gill Couto www.gillcouto.com

Motoring over Blue Hawaii Photo: Gerry Charlebois

Above: Dropping in for lunch at Torrey Pines Glider Port This image: More PG action at Torrey Photos: John Small

Red Bull synchronized aerial ballet team members Othar Lawrence and Chris Santacroce Photo: Denis Balibouse

Othar Lawrence and Chris Santacroce airing it out over Chicago in 2002 Photos: Christian Pondella

N DE EWP AR RA TT MI N E N G T 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

P-4 2 DAAN EGGENBERGER CRYSTAL BAY

K. MUNN

H-4 2 JIM CASSIDY

MILPITAS

M. FOY

P-2 2 PAUL NAGY

TEMPLETON

K. WONG

H-2 2 MARC STELZER

SAN MATEO

P. DENEVAN

P-2 2 DARIN HONOROF

STATELINE

R. LEONARD

H-2 2 BARAK HAIBY

SAN FRANCISCO CA

P. DENEVAN

P-2 2 JAMES WILLIAMS

CARSON CITY

R. LEONARD

H-2 2 DAVID OFFIELD

MOUNTAIN VIEW CA

P. DENEVAN

P-2 3 JAMES BAUER

MAKAWAO

D. BINDER

H-3 2 SETH DUNHAM

MANTECA

P. DENEVAN

P-2 3 BRUCE BOUCHER

PAIA

D. BINDER

H-1 3 ROBERT KUCZEWSKI

LA JOLLA

A. BEEM

P-3 3 R. VAN DEN BYLAARDT IIKANEOHE

D. HOFFMAN

H-2 3 ROBERT KUCZEWSKI

LA JOLLA

A. BEEM

P-1 3 ROBERT WOOD

OCEANSIDE

G. JEBB

H-1 3 ALEX GEORGHIOU

LOS ANGELES

J. GREBLO

P-3 3 TIM ONEILL

VISALIA

H. MURPHY

H-2 3 GEORGE HERRERA

SAN DIEGO

J. HEINEY

P-4 3 LYNE PERRY

ALPINE

J. MEYERS

H-2 3 KEVIN GREENE

SANTA ANA

R. MITCHELL

P-4 3 J ROGER MARSH

NEWPORT BEACH CA

J. MEYERS

H-2 3 MIKE LOPEZ

JOSHUA TREE

R. MITCHELL

P-1 3 DAVID CHONG

LOS ANGELES

K. KI HONG

H-4 4 SANDY BUCHANAN

STEAMBOAT SPGS CO G. LONGSHORE III

P-3 4 DELL SCHANZE

SANDY

D. WHITE

H-1 7 SCOTT HOUSEMAN

CARMEL

M. JONES

P-2 4 TROY BREWER

HOLLADAY

T. WEBSTER

H-2 7 SCOTT HOUSEMAN

CARMEL

M. JONES

P-3 6 TIMOTHY DOUGHTY

OAK GROVE

J. WALKER

H-1 7 STEVE DJOKIC

WARREN

T. TILLMAN

P-3 7 GLORIA GROVES

FERNDALE

P. POHL

H-2 7 STEVE DJOKIC

WARREN

T. TILLMAN

P-4 9 GREG GILLIAM

LONDON

C. BOWLES

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

P-1 9 R.J. WURTS

ROANOKE

R. SHARP

H-1 10 KENNETH PALCZENSKI PORT CHARLOTTE FL

J. TINDLE

P-3 9 WALTER HINES

WAYNESBORO

R. SHARP

H-2 10 KENNETH PALCZENSKI PORT CHARLOTTE FL

J. TINDLE

P-2 9 MICHAEL SOSNOWY

READING

R. SPORRER

R. HASTINGS

P-3 10 SIMON WHITEHEAD

FT LAUDERDALE

M. GUTIERREZ

H-4 10 F. RODRIGUES VIEIRA GROVELAND

R. LANE

P-2 10 LUIS AMEGLIO

SUNRISE

R. HASTINGS

T-1 10 F. RODRIGUES VIEIRA GROVELAND

R. LANE

P-2 12 VIJAY AKASAPU

JERSEY CITY

A. RITCHIE

H-1 12 ERIC KOENIG

HUNTINGTON

S. PREPOST

P-4 13 GREGORY KNUDSON

LUXEMBOURG

H-2 12 ERIC KOENIG

HUNTINGTON

S. PREPOST

P-1 13 FERNANDO STEIN

PORTO ALEYNE, RS

C. SANTACROCE

H-1 13 MITSURU SAKATA

SIZUOKA

C. WARREN

P-2 13 FERNANDO STEIN

PORTO ALEYNE, RS

C. SANTACROCE

H-1 13 JONATHAN BEDFORD PARIS

R. CIZAUSKAS

P-3 13 FERNANDO STEIN

PORTO ALEYNE, RS

C. SANTACROCE

H-2 13 JONATHAN BEDFORD PARIS

R. CIZAUSKAS

P-4 13 FERNANDO STEIN

PORTO ALEYNE, RS

C. SANTACROCE

H-4 10 WALTER BELMONTE

H-4 13 SERKAN OZCEZARLI

CAROLINA

MERSIN 10 LEFKOSA

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

S. CHRISTOFOROU

C. BASTIAN

P-4 13 ROBERT SAMPLONIUS ABBOTSFORD

D. CRABTREE

P-1 13 GUENTER SCHMID

MARSH HARBOUR, ABACO

D. WHITE

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

J C BROWN

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.

USHGA Sanctioned Competition 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. 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. 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. 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 Open National Championship, Squaw Peak Lookout (Inspo), Utah. USHGA sanctioned Class A, also FAI Category 2 sanctioned. High desert mountain flying. Launch is at 6760' msl and the valley floor is about 4600' msl. Climbs typically are to 11,000-14,000' msl at a climb rate of 400-1200 fpm. P4 or higher rating required. 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 Lodging at the Hampton Inn, call 1-800-426-7866 or (801) 571-0800. Entry Fee: $295 before June 1, $330 after. Meet director JC Brown, scorekeeper Peter Gray. Contact Ken Hudonjorgensen, Two-can Fly Paragliding, 474 E. Tonya Dr., Sandy, UT 84070 www.twocanfly.com khudonj@qwest.net (801) 572-3414 68

Competition 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. June 20: Red Bull Divide & Conquer, San Juan Mountains, Colorado. Expert athletes compete in four disciplines: paragliding, kayaking, mountain biking and trail running. More information at www.redbulldivideandconquer.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. 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.

Fly‐Ins 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. 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.com. June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

C A L E N D A R

June 12-13: Antique Glider Fly-In, Cape Kiwanda, Oregon. Antique gliders and antique pilots, lots of goofy events and cheesy prizes. More info at www.vvhga.org. 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. 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. July 2-5: Southern New York Annual Fun Fly-in, Ellenville (N.Y.) Flight Park. Land owner/pilot/musician Tony Covelli has organized as many as 8 bands to perform on a temporary stage during the event, there will be another spectacular “field art” design by artist Roger Baker, local area fireworks displays on both Saturday and Sunday, Wills Wing demos, camping in the LZ (in the shade along the stream). Event format is relatively unstructured, and is open to all mountain-capable H2s & P2s on up. Entry fee: $20. For more info contact Paul Voight (845) 744-3317 or Tony Covelli (845) 647-1008, or email flyhigh@frontiernet.net. 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. July 23-25: 3rd Annual Texas Open—the National Fly-In in Leakey, Texas. Hang gliders, paragliders, aerotowing, platform towing, scooter towing, this year we even have a foot launch. Join us for fun after your record search in south Texas, or come on down and experienced the amazing soaring before heading up to the U.S. Hang Gliding Nationals in Big Spring. Fun competitions, great XC potential, great give-aways, prize money. Visit http://danbarb.org/txopen to register and get more info. August 30-Sept. 6: Flaming Fall Foliage Festival and East Coast National Fly-In. At Long Acre Farms, Macedon, N.Y. Fun fly-in to include team competition, team songs, Saturday party, Sunday dinner, bonfires, the infamous burning glider finale, glider and equipment demos by Wills Wing, Moyes, Flytec, Rotor and much more. Seminars and in-flight training by Mike Barber and Dennis Pagen. Aerotow ratings will be available until Sept. 1 ONLY. This event is limited to 100 hang glider pilots only, and pre-registration is preferred. Fees are $65 per pilot, $30 per adult spectator and $10 per child. Pilot fee includes 1-week membership to the RAF local mountain sites. Camping and showers available (camping fees are separate). Contact Marty at (315) 986-2931 or Joan at (315) 986-4202 or visit our Web site at www. fingerlakesaerosportpark.com. September 11-12: 14th annual Pine Mountain Fly-In, Pine Mountain, near Bend, Ore. Contact Phil Pohl at (541) 388-3869, philpohl@coinet.com. Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

clinics, meetings, tours May 24-26: Paragliding maneuvers/aerobatics training by Enleau O’Connor, Central California. (209) 536-9192, cell (530) 227-5235, gonetowing@hotmail.com. 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. 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. May 31-June 1: XC/thermal clinic with Dixon White, Woodrat, Ore. Great warm up for the Rat Race $100. dixon@paraglide.com. June 1-3: Safety Maneuvers Training with Enleau and Ann O’Connor, Salt Lake City, Utah. Visit www.oconnorflightschool.com, or contact Ann O’Connor at ann@oconnorflightschool.com or (530) 227-4055. 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. June 8-10: Safety Maneuvers Training with Enleau and Ann O’Connor, Salt Lake City, Utah. Visit www.oconnorflightschool.com, or contact Ann O’Connor at ann@oconnorflightschool.com or (530) 227-4055. 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 19-20: Tandem course. Participants will also receive ST ratings as the course will be done using the versatile High Perspective Hydrostatic stationary winch. Contact Michael Robertson, High Perspective Inc., Toronto, Canada, (905) 294-2536, 1-800-359-9979, michael@flyhigh.com, www.flyhigh.com. June 18-20: Safety Maneuvers Training with Enleau and Ann O’Connor, Sonoma, CA. Visit www.oconnorflightschool.com, or contact Ann O’Connor at ann@oconnorflightschool.com or (530) 227-4055. 69

C A L E N D A R

June 25-27: Safety Maneuvers Training with Enleau and Ann O’Connor, Sonoma, CA. Visit www.oconnorﬂightschool.com, or contact Ann O’Connor at ann@oconnorﬂightschool.com or (530) 227-4055. 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.

July 10-11: XC Course by Will Gadd based out of Boulder/Golden, Colorado. P3 & P4 pilots only. Free slideshow presented by Will on Friday, July 9th, open to all pilots. Weekend hosted by Peak to Peak Paragliding. Contact info@peaktopeakparagliding.com or www.peaktopeakparagliding.com. July 12-16: Contemplative Paragliding for intermediate/advanced pilots, with Josh Weinstein at Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Contact Kay Tauscher at (303) 817 0803, or email kay@peaktopeakparagliding.com.

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 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.

July 1-4: Backpack powered paraglider clinic in cool Northern Arizona with Dixon White. Base fee $200. dixon@paraglide.com.

July 16-18: Advanced kiting and high winds skills seminar 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@peaktopea kparagliding.com.

July 2-4: Safety Maneuvers Training with Enleau and Ann O’Connor, Sonoma, CA. Visit www.oconnorﬂightschool.com, or contact Ann O’Connor at ann@oconnorﬂightschool.com or (530) 227-4055. 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.

July 16-18: Safety Maneuvers Training with Enleau and Ann O’Connor, Sonoma, CA. Visit www.oconnorflightschool.com, or contact Ann O’Connor at ann@oconnorflightschool.com or (530) 227-4055. 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.

June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

C A L E N D A R

July 23-25: Safety Maneuvers Training with Enleau and Ann O’Connor, Sonoma, CA. Visit www.oconnorflightschool.com, or contact Ann O’Connor at ann@oconnorflightschool.com or (530) 227-4055. 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. 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 6-15: Pearls of Switzerland: Flying the Swiss Alps and a variety of sites around Switzerland and Europe with Urs Haari. Intermediate/advanced pilots. Contact Kay Tauscher at (303) 817-0803, or email kay@peaktopeakp aragliding.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 10-12: Advanced kiting and high wind skills seminar 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.

Hang Gliding &fascinating Paragliding: June, 2004 Read about ﬂying machines like the Pod Racer and Escape Pod on ByDanJohnson.com • Sign up today to be notiﬁed when the site goes live.

D C LE A P A S SR IT FMI E N D T 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), re-used 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.

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. PACAIR KLASSIC 144 – Mint condition, 1994, flown twice, blue LE, teal panel $2,000 OBO. (530) 265-6856, shawn@windyman.com TARGET 180 - Like new, only 2 flights, 1 hour total. White upper, dark blue lower surfaces $2,000. (512) 335-9459. 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) 887-3055, racarlisle@eee.org SoCal. WILLS WING SUPERSPORT 163 – Purple top, magenta/teal lower, fins, winglets, custom WW wheels $500. (856) 829-4571, kmyers3360@aol.com 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.

AIRBORNE STING XC 175 – New, perfect, 1 test ﬂight only $2,995 OBO (save $1,400). (863) 686-4299 or (719) 930-6967 in Florida.

WW TALON 160 – Glider in great condition, 125 hours. No dents, dings, rips or tears. Orange undersurface, hydranet trailing edge, spring battens, slipstream uprights. Located in Colorado $2,900. Work/days (970) 641-2937, eves/weekends (970) 641-5654.

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

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.

FLEX WINGS

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

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. RIGID WINGS

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

GUGGENMOS ESC – Small 122, great glider. I’ve owned large ones and little ones. Never felt little on the big one or big on the little one, and I hook in at 205lb. Perfer the little one, snappy character. Superb carbon ﬁnish. We love these Gugges in Colorado’s big air. Very stable, as it has a twitch more dehydral and sweep than other rigids. Great service also. Larry with Pendulum Sports, (970) 209-5212. MISSION SOARING CENTER - Distributor for AIR Atos, worlds most popular rigid wing. New! Atos VX tandem or powered harness, incredible sink rate with a solo pilot. (408) 262-1055, www.hang-gliding.com PARAGLIDERS

AIRSPORTS USA – www.powerparaglider.com, www.ﬂyforfun.net. Manufacturing the BP Parawing! Americas #1 selling backpack motor. 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 E M E R G E N C Y PA R A C H U T E S

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 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 METAMORFOSI CONAIR PARACHUTE – Like new $450. rvander1@san.rr.com (619) 787-8653. June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

C L A S S I F I E D S

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 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. High Energy Cocoons $200+up, Pods $200+up. Inventory, selection changes constantly. Some trades accepted. (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com, www.hanggliding.com ROTOR VULTO – New condition, only a few ﬂights, all black cordura. Size 155 04 for 5’8”-5’10’, 170lbs $600. (626) 332-3663, japarawlings@yahoo.com 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-theart lesson plans and equipment. Importer for Windtech. 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 Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 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 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. THE HANG GLIDING CENTER – PO Box 151542, San Diego CA 92175, (619) 265-5320. MISSION SOARING CENTER - Largest Hang Gliding Center in the West! Our deluxe retail shop showcases the latest equipment: Wills Wing, Moyes, AIR, High Energy, Flytec, Icaro. West Coast distributor for A.I.R. Atos Rigid Wings including the all new VX Tandem Atos. Parts in stock. We stock new and used equipment. Trade-ins welcome. Complete Lesson Program. Best Training Park in the West, located just south of the San Francisco Bay Area. Pittman Hydraulic Winch System for Hang 1’s and above. Launch and Landing Clinics for Hang 3’s and Hang 4’s. Wills Wing Falcons of all sizes and custom training harnesses. 1116 Wrigley Way, Milpitas, CA. 95035. (408) 262-1055, Fax (408) 262-1388, mission@hang-gliding.com., www.hang-gliding.com, Mission Soaring Center, Leading the way since 1973. 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

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). 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 73

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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 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 74

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-ofthe-Art. F.H.G. INC., flying Florida since 1974. GEORGIA

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. 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 MICHIGAN

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 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! June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

C L A S S I F I E D S

NEVADA

FLY LAKE TAHOE/RENO – Hang gliding and paragliding. (775) 721-7456 or (775) 883-7070, www.pyramid.net/advspts NEW YORK

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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 Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

UTAH

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

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 4005 VARIO – Like new, cost $475 new, asking $200. (856) 829-4571, kmyers3360@aol.com

WASHINGTON

FLYTEC VARIOS – Like new, no scratches. 4020 $475; 4005 $325. Call (308) 632-5100, ask for Leroy or leave message 2pm-8pm mountain time.

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.

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. 75

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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. (949) 795-0421, 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 TEK FLIGHT PRODUCTS - Camera mounts 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 WARM FLIGHT SUITS AT MPHSPORTS.COM - Flight suits flight suits flight suits flight suits flight suits flight suits flight suits flight suits flight suits flight suits flight suits flight suits. mphsports@comcast.net, (503) 657-8911. WINDSOKS FROM HAWK AIRSPORTS INC — PO 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

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. 1-800-616-6888 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. 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, ssa.org 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

PUBLICATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS

REAL ESTATE

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

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 @ 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 VIDEO “AIR TIME”- Shri-Brova Productions brings you breathtaking in-air footage with spectacular views of the scenic Blue Mountains in Eastern Pennsylvania. Fun action on a windy day at the Paraglider training hill and Hang pilots getting ready to soar! 35 minutes. $29.95 for DVD or VHS tape. Shri-Brova Productions, (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 ParaglidingHow 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.) SPECIALAerobatics poster & Eric Raymond poster-BOTH FOR $10 (+$5 s/h). 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. June, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

C L A S S I F I E D S

WORLDWIDE INTERNET PARAGLIDING TALK SHOW — WWW.WORLDTALKRADIO.COM Listen live or to the archives! Live Tuesday 9-11:00 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. 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) 658-2929, blwhite84@hotmail.com HARNESS – Lost Sept 20, 2003 at SADDLE MOUNTAIN, WA. Hand-made harness in a 25lb green back pack. Also reserve, helmet, ﬂight instrument. Russ (206) 367-8963, russlfboe@concast.net 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 Hang Gliding & Paragliding: June, 2004

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 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.

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

Adventure Productions ............................................57 Aerolight..................................................................14 AIR ATOS .................................................................57 Angle of Attack ........................................................16 Apco Aviation ..........................................................24 Atlanta Hobby .........................................................58 Big Ears PTT .............................................................57 Birren Design ...........................................................58 Cloud 9 Soaring Center ...........................................57 Critter Mountain Wear.............................................14 Dan Johnson ............................................................71 Digiﬂy ......................................................................14 Dixon’s Airplay.........................................................57 Eagle Paragliding .....................................................30 Flight Connections ..................................................57 Flytec .................................................................57, 80 Hall Brothers ............................................................43 High Energy Sports ..................................................12 Independence/Fly Market ........................................32 Just Fly .....................................................................28 Kitty Hawk Kites.......................................................57 Microgliders ............................................................57 Mojo’s Gear .............................................................58 Moyes America ..................................................34, 58 Peak to Peak Paragliding ....................................42, 58 Pro Design .................................................................8 Sport Aviation Publications ......................................70 SuperFly.............................................................58, 79 Thermal Tracker .......................................................54 Torrey Pines .............................................................26 Traverse City ............................................................10 U.S. Aeros ................................................................46 USHG Foundation....................................................56 USHGA ....................................................................77

Wills Wing ........................................................2

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. 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. 77

PD R EO PD AU R C T ML EI N ET S

a performance class all of its own. Arndt reports glide is an impressive 27:1. Sink rate, perhaps an even more important determinant of soaring performance, is a rather amazing 97 fpm calculated, though Steve says actual practice is about 115 fpm “circling sink rate.” On a day when flex wings and rigids got periodically flushed by light, sporadic lift, Steve managed a 4-hour flight and traveled 30 miles north to Quest and still returned to Wallaby before evening calm shut down the thermals. Arndt has logged over 480 hours in his special Magic Dragon. � Steve is aware of four or five other Carbon/Magic Dragons, but believe none of the others are currently airworthy. He’d like more pilots to tackle the few-hundred-hour build job as the design shows great promise. FMI: hanglyder@comcast.net. ••• EAA’s world-class museum in Oshkosh WI, is visited by folks all over the world (especially during AirVenture, the organization’s huge airshow event). Just opened on May 15th was a new section of the museum called KidVenture (a spinoff of the AirVenture show). This gallery in the museum will have several hands-on flying simulators, including hot air balloon, helicopter, radio control model, and… surprise, a hang glider. The last caught me off guard as I didn’t think EAA had any real interest in hang gliding nor any expertise to offer. � The system they are building uses three large-screen TVs arrayed in an arc in front of a pristine Delta Wing 6 single-surface glider with a swing seat (much easier for visitors to get in and out). An inverted joystick controller above the pilot receives input from the weight shifting and reflects this on the screens. A similar system, albeit with a prone harness, was seen at the Ontario, California Air Sports Expo. The effect of flight was uncanny, at least once you started focusing on those three big TVs and not on the folks walking around. EAA’s museum manager, Adam Smith, should be congratulated for making hang gliding a part of this new permanent gallery for kids interested in aviation. ••• In closing, I am extremely happy (and relieved) to announce that my long-in-development Web site is finally live. Hang glider and paraglider pilots may be most interested in the Hang Gliding section (click the button tab). While I’m asking you to pay a small fee to read pilot reports — to cover some of the cost of building the Web site and making it available 24x7 — you are welcome to read previous “Product Lines” columns free of charge; even the basic free registration is not required. At launch, the site offers all columns from January, 2000 to the present (with a 90-day waiting period to assure HG&PG is never scooped by this archival Web site). Though I’ve made you wait far too long, I hope you’ll come visit. Those interested in trikes or other powered ultralights will find many pilot reports I published in several magazines. Membership is only $29 — you then get over a dozen pilot reports for free — or you can register for free and just pay for the articles you want. Membership earns a lower price per pilot report and allows access to several other unique features of the site. Please have a look at www.ByDanJohnson.com ••• So, got news or opinions? Send ‘em to: 8 Dorset, St. Paul MN 55118. Messages or fax to 651-450-0930. Email to Dan@ByDanJohnson.com. THANKS!

Central Florida — At the start of the big Sun ‘n Fun airshow, I had the pleasure to fly John Dunham’s American Tug built for him by ultralight producer, M Squared of Alabama. This design resembles the popular Quicksilver ultralights that evolved from the original hang glider of the late 1970s. Beefed up for the hard duty that is aerotowing, the M Squared entry is a robust ultralight that should be capable of steady operation as a tractor of the air. American Tug is a single-place aircraft employing a 32-foot span, high-lift, slow-flying, single-surface, strutbraced wing. While Dragonfly has been the lone fixedwing tug in the USA, flight parks and clubs now have another choice. And, importantly, the American Tug — as opposed to the “Australian tug,” John says — costs substantially less. A basic Rotax 582-powered tug should sell for about $20,000, says John. � The American Tug I flew, with a custom-configured 680 cc Rotax engine rated at 100 hp, demonstrated an acceptable climb rate while towing plus excellent low speed controllability. Stall in the American Tug is very slow, with a tow speed range of 25 to 40 mph, depending on the individual tow requirement. John is able to tow hang gliders at speeds below 30 mph or up into the 30s for blade wings, rigid wings, or ultralight sailplanes like Steve Arndt’s Magic Dragon. Though he’s still refining the aircraft for production that should start in a few more weeks, John’s American Tug appears ready to start duty at flight parks. Additional hardware added aft of the tail now spreads the tow forces vertically much like the Dragonfly. And, since it is a tricycle-gear aircraft, some experienced tow pilots see an advantage over the taildragger Dragonfly in the event the towed hang glider pilot rises too high on takeoff. The nosewheel on the American Tug can wheelbarrow without digging in. � John was working at Wallaby Ranch after Sun ‘n Fun, learning the right techniques and being receptive to feedback from pilots and other tug pilots. He also performed at Quest and planned to visit the Florida Ridge towpark in the south of the state. An experienced aviation businessman, Dunham is doing this right, in my opinion, collecting information and making changes as needed to perfectly suit the American Tug to the marketplace. It’s been too long since I towed, but that changed with a nice evening flight behind the American Tug. We climbed easily at over 600 fpm, a rate John was also able to achieve with a tandem load behind. I experimented with various tow positions behind the American Tug. The new tug is not particular about position, proving the V-bridle system John and M Squared devised. Putting the tug’s wings, rather than wheels, on the horizon appeared to be the optimal position for best climb and overall controllability. FMI: 775-813-4318 (cell, while John travels). ••• Having mentioned the Magic Dragon above, let me tell you a little more about this rare ultralight sailplane. Even with its custom-designed ballistic parachute, the Magic Dragon qualifies as a legitimate Part 103 ultralight vehicle just like any solo hang glider or paraglider. Empty weight is 179 pounds; the 155 pounds allowed under Part 103 plus a 24-pound allowance for the emergency airframe chute. � However, Magic Dragon is in P

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