USHPA Hang Gliding & Paragliding Vol37/Iss1 January 2007 by US Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association

Volume 37 Issue 1 January 2007 $4.95

A Publication of the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc.

The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding 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 USHPA supervision of FAI-related hang gliding and paragliding activities such as record attempts and competition sanctions.

Calendar of events items may be sent via email to editor@ ushpa.aero, 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@ushpa.aero, (425) 888-3856. For change of address or other USHPA business, call (719) 632-8300, or email info@ushpa.aero. U

E D S TAT

The USHPA 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 $69.00 per year (of which $15 goes to the publication of Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine), ($90 non-U.S.); subscription rates only are $52.00 ($63 non-U.S.). Changes of address should be sent six weeks in advance, including name, USHPA number, previous and new address, and a mailing label from a recent issue. You may also email your request with your member number to: info@ushpa.aero.

Feature stories generally run anywhere from 1500 to 3000 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.

NG GLID

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@ushpa.aero. ALL ADVERTISING AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES MUST BE SENT TO USHPA HEADQUARTERS IN COLORADO SPRINGS.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine welcomes editorial submissions from our members and readers. We are always looking for well written articles and quality artwork.

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.

The material presented here is published as part of an information dissemination service for USHPA members. The USHPA 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 © 2006 Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine.

REGION 1: Bill Bolosky, Mark Forbes. REGION 2: Jim Macklow, Urs Kellenberger, Paul Gazis. REGION 3: David Jebb, John Greynald, Tad Hurst. REGION 4: Steve Mayer, Jim Zeiset. REGION 5: Lisa Tate. REGION 6: Gregg Ludwig. REGION 7: Tracy Tillman. REGION 8: Gary Trudeau. REGION 9: Felipe Amunategui, L.E. Herrick. REGION 10: Dick Heckman, Steve Kroop, Matt Taber. REGION 11: Gregg Ludwig. REGION 12: Paul Voight. REGION 13: Dick Heckman. DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Russ Locke, Elizabeth Sharp, Dennis Pagen, Bruce Weaver, Riss Estes. HONORARY DIRECTORS: Connie Locke, Jennifer Beach, Dutcher Sterling, Len Smith, Bill Bryden, Randy Leggett, John Harris, Jan Johnson. EX-OFFICIO DIRECTORS: Art Greenﬁeld (NAA).

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES IN PUBLICATIONS:

OC. INC

Lisa Tate, President: lisa@soaringdreamsart.com Felipe Amunategui, Vice President: dr.amunategui@att.net Elizabeth Sharp, Secretary: Elizabeth.Sharp@heii.com Mark Forbes, Treasurer: mgforbes@mindspring.com

Canadian Post Publications Mail Agreement #40065056. Canadian Return Address: DP Global Mail, 4960-2 Walker Road, Windsor, ON N9A 6J3

USHPA Ofﬁcers and Executive Committee:

POSTMASTER: Send change of address to: Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine, P.O. BOX 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330.

Office Staff: Jayne DePanfilis, Executive Director: jayne@ushpa.aero Rick Butler, Information Services Director: rick@ushpa.aero Martin Palmaz, Business Manager: martin@ushpa.aero Erin Russell, Office Manager: erin@ushpa.aero Michelle Burtis, Member/Instructor Services Administrator: michelle@ushpa.aero

USHPA.Aero (ISSN 1543-5989) is published monthly by the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc., 1685 W. Uintah St., Colorado Springs, CO 80904, (719) 632-8300, FAX (719) 632-6417. PERIODICAL postage is paid at Colorado Springs, CO and at additional mailing ofﬁces.

Jayne DePanﬁlis, Publisher: jayne@ushpa.aero C. J. Sturtevant, Editor: editor@ushpa.aero Joe Hartman, Art Director: jhartman@brandingironmedia.com Martin Palmaz, Advertising: martin@ushpa.aero Matt Gerdes, Contributing Editor: mattg@FlyOzone.com Staff writers: Lisa Colletti, Matt Gerdes, Joe Gregor, Thayer Hughes, David Jebb, Steve Messman, Dennis Pagen, Tracy Tillman

RAGLI

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

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

Flying tandem near Chamonix, France Photo courtesy Gin Gliders

DEPARTMENTS Editor’s Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Pilot Brieﬁngs: News and Events . . . . . . . . . . 8 Airmail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 USHPA: FAA Exemption #4721 . . . . . . . . . . 11 Herding Individualists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 USHPA Committee and Sub-Committe Chairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

THE REAL ROOTS OF HANG GLIDING: A TRIBUTE TO JOHN DICKENSON Even Francis Rogallo agrees that the credit for inventing the sport of hang gliding is not totally his. Two pilots, an American and an Australian, delve deeper into the background of footlaunch ﬂying. By Ken de Russy and Graeme Henderson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

HG Accident Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Master’s Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Towline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Travel: My Week As a Pampered Pilot . . . . . 45

RESEARCHING NEW PARAGLIDING GEAR A paraglider pilot looking for lightweight, responsive and safe equipment shares the results of his research.

Pilot Proﬁle: Frank Gillette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Comp Corner: Rat Race. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

By Jim Harmon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

TENERIFIC!

New Ratings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

How about an all-expenses-paid paragliding trip to the Canary Islands, AND on top of that being paid to wow the crowd with awesome acro? It was a tough assignment, but this staﬀ writer was up to the challenge.

Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Classiﬁeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 One Last Thought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Index to Advertisers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

By Matt Gerdes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

SANDIA SOAR’N 2006: THE HIGH-MILE CLUB

Volume 37 Issue 1 January 2007 $4.95

Photo: Julien Wirtz

A Publication of the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc.

Philippe Nodet, trying to stay warm at more than 24,000 feet in the Karakoram Mountains of Pakistan. Philippe and his partner Julien Wirtz circumnavigated Nanga Parbat and flew over 270 miles during a five-flight, 10-day vol bivouac expedition in the Karakoram Mountains in September of 2006.

Pilots who love XC ﬂying yearn to be members of the high-mile club. At last year’s Sandia Soar’n, several pilots beat their personal bests, some even passing the 100-mile mark.

By Gigi Van der Riet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

January 2006: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

In a few hours, it will all be recollection . In between, it's why you fly. Why settle for anything less than everything the experience has to offer?

LLS~

Nti

It's all about the flying.

WWW.WILLSWING.COM 500 WEST BLUERIDGE AVE. ORANGE. CA 92865 TEL: 714-998-6359 FAX: 714-998-11647

PUT YOURSELF INTO THE PICTURE In this ﬁnal installment of his threepart series, USHPA’s photo archivist oﬀers suggestions for managing and manipulating your images, and for getting them expeditiously from your computer to ours. By Thayer Hughes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES Reaching “The Big Five-Oh” goaded this pilot into moving his dreams oﬀ the wish list and into reality.

By John Christof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

ITALIAN HEAVEN AND HELL On the surface, it would appear that Italy’s restrictive laws would make it an unlikely choice for a flying vacation. Once in the air, however, it’s obvious why pilots flock to this sunny destination for challenging competition and free-flying fun. Copyright © 2006 By Dennis Pagen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Gallery. . .63

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lines. While the icon on the page header indicates one wing type or the other, the content of these articles is relevant and of interest to all of us free-fliers. Luckily all the pilots mentioned in these articles escaped serious injury, but that’s not always the case when one of us flies into a power line. Please read both these columns, and be extra alert for power lines whenever you fly in an unfamiliar area. USHPA president Lisa Tate’s column has the irreverent title, “Herding Individualists,” but Lisa reminds us seriously that even though our goals and visions vary so widely throughout our diverse population, we all rely on the strength of our numbers and the excellent reputation of USHGA/USHPA’s ability to manage our sites and our members in order to preserve our opportunities to fly freely in today’s crazy world. Tracy Tillman and Lisa Colletti’s hang gliding Towline column explains the implications of new FAA regulations on aerotowing, and its implications for our tugs that are currently used for getting hang gliders airborne in the flatlands. You’ll find other official-type information in this issue as well. A list of all the USHPA committee chairs and sub-chairs, along with their contact information, will help you determine who can best answer your questions or present a concern to the USHPA board at the next meeting, in March. We’ve published for your information the entire text of the exemption to Part 103 that allows us to conduct twoplace (tandem) operations in hang gliders and paragliders. In the Comp Corner there are two announcements of sanctioned paragliding meets, the Rat Race and the Nationals, both coming up in late spring. Registration for the 2007 comps will begin soon; check the calendar of events in each magazine, as well as online, to find out details on sanctioned and unsanctioned comps, as well as fly-ins, clinics and tours, as they become available. Photo archivist Thayer Hughes completes his threepart series on contributing photos for magazine use in this issue, with some tips on managing your photo collection, and on submitting your photos and articles to the magazine. I hope you’re finding time this winter to sort through your images, and are setting aside some that are worthy of contributing for our use in upcoming issues. Steve Messman’s One Last Thought column this month is on New Year’s Resolutions. We are almost always guests on the lands we use for launching and landing – let’s all resolve to show our gratitude to all those who make our flying possible, and to commit aviation in a courteous and safe manner every time we fly, everywhere we go. I wish you all good times with loyal friends, great lift, and gentle landings in 2007!

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Photo: George Sturtevant

Happy New Year! Actually, I’m writing this column during that wonderfully hectic time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. George and I just returned from two weeks in Chile with the Atlanta Paragliding guys, Luis Rosenkjer and Todd Weigand. I thought that our trip to Switzerland last summer was about as good as it could get (my article on that adventure is in this issue), but I’d have to put this Chile vacation right up there on the top of my “favorites” list as well. Coming after a month of incessant rain, and putting us in summer sunshine while the rest of the “Northwet” endured heavy snow and bitter cold, was just that much more icing on the cake. Now, I’m back home in Washington State, looking out on snowy Mt. Si and daydreaming about last month in Chile and next summer – wherever! This issue contains plenty of daydream fodder, with stories about cool flights, interesting travel destinations, and inspiring individuals. In the Comp Corner, teenager Wil Brown and baby-boomer Jack Grisanti reminisce about the great paragliding they had at last year’s Rat Race. Staff writer Matt Gerdes’s feature story, “Tenerific!” entertains us with tales of nonstandard paragliding escapades on an island paradise. Gigi van der Riet’s “High-Mile Club” feature just may entice hang pilots with aspirations of long XC flights to head for the Sandia Soar’n fly-in next June – or perhaps you’d prefer to go farther afield, on a flying tour of Italy, which Dennis Pagen describes as both heavenly and hellish for hang gliding. Just-over-the-hill pilot John Christoff realized last summer that it was time to turn a long-time dream into reality, and writes of his hang gliding vacation that took him to California’s Torrey Pines and Yosemite National Park. Have you ever heard of the Australian pilot, John Dickenson? Ken de Russy and Graeme Henderson have been doing a bunch of research on the background of hang gliding, and they present an interesting and informative paper on John in their feature article, “The Real Roots of Hang Gliding.” Back on our home turf, Bob Holland profiles Frank Gillette, a long-time Idaho hang glider and paraglider pilot. Frank was for many years the USHGA Region 5 director, and as fellow Northwesterners we’ve flown together at many sites and events. I hope you enjoy reading Bob’s article about this colorful, adventurous old-timer as much as I did! If replacing your paragliding gear is on your to-do list for 2007, Jim Harmon provides some information that will help get you started in your search. Jim considers the hike up to launch to be an integral part of his flying experiences, and his research on the new, lighterweight options for wings, harnesses and reserves is summarized in his “Researching New Paragliding Gear” feature article. On a more serious note, in both our Accident column (hang gliding-related) and Master’s Tips column (aimed at paraglider pilots), the topic is encounters with power

C.J. Sturtevant Photo archivist and former contributing editor Thayer Hughes has been selecting the cover, centerspread and gallery photos for the magazine for nearly two years, along with managing the archive. While he will still be the guy you deal with when sending photos for our consideration, Matt Gerdes has taken over the task of selecting the photos for each issue. I’ll miss Thayer’s unique and sometimes quirky contributions and perceptions, but I’m thoroughly enjoying Matt’s youngergeneration outlook and energy level.

My apologies to John Heiney – the photos on pages 57, 60 and 61 in the December issue (except where otherwise credited) were taken by him.

Red Bull X-Alps 2007 Is ON! Beginning on July 23, 30 athletes from around the world will begin racing day and night across the Alps, tracked by the most advanced media technology around to deliver thrilling stories over three weeks to an audience of millions. In 2007, Red Bull X-Alps will be even harsher and more exciting than before. Solidifying its reputation as one of the world’s toughest adventure races, the competitors will be faced with an

exhausting journey of deprivation, pain and hazard. New route and start date: As a novelty for 2007, the race will start in the world heritage site of Hallstatt, Austria. From there, the participants will hike up the Dachstein, cross the glacier by foot and launch their paragliders from a windswept, icy cornice perched perilously over thousands of feet of vertical wall, the Dachstein south face. letes’ long and cumbersome journey From this first take-off spot the ath- continues, leading them across the most beautiful peaks of the Alps including the turning points of Dachstein (Austria), Marmolada (Italy), Eiger (Switzerland), Mont Blanc (France) and Mont Gros (France) – until they finally reach their goal in Monaco. Athlete registration now open: Any athlete truly willing and able to compete in the toughest adventure race of his or her life is invited to register on www .redbullxalps.com. Those who make it to the final round in the selection process will be required to attend a test camp in June to verify their endurance, paragliding and orientation skills so that the Red Bull X-Alps committee can get an overall impression of their body and mind. The athlete selection process for the final round should be finished by the end of January 2007. Stay tuned for more information on www.redbullxalps.com.

©ulrichgrill.com/Red Bull Photoﬁles

Safe Pilot Award

The USHPA congratulates Kenneth J. Pelkey of Billings, Montana, on his achievement of logging 3000 consecutive safe flights, earning him the Third Diamond Safe Pilot Award. Kenneth included this note when he filed his paperwork: “I would like to take the opportunity to thank a few people whom I believe helped me to achieve this award. First of all would be David Jebb, with some very wise counsel over the years. There’s also Ki Hong with his mastery, love and passion for both paragliding and hang gliding, who helped to guide me. Herb Fenner who, in his seventies, after years of hang gliding, took up and learned to be a proficient paraglider pilot – he is an inspiration to those a third of his years.” Helmut Eichholzer in the 2005 X-Alps

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Photo: Parapente Valley, courtesy SOL

New Paragliding Wings from Sol

Renato Lopes on the new SOL Sonic

students of paragliding and experienced pilots looking to expand their knowledge and understanding of this dynamic sport. The book covers all of the basic essentials of aerodynamics and principles of ﬂight, along with pilot techniques from the beginner through expert level. The focus is on presenting technical subject matter in a manner that is easy for the average pilot to comprehend without the need for complex theory or equations. The authors emphasize safety throughout, with techniques for risk management and dealing with common emergency scenarios. The companion DVD allows the pilot to see the speciﬁc techniques described in the manual actually being demonstrated, and to review the demonstrations as often as desired to enhance the learning process. The introductory section of the DVD is also a great way to introduce your friends and family to the great sport of paragliding. Paragliding – A Pilot’s Training Manual is available from paragliding schools and dealers, or direct from Wills Wing (www.willswing.com), from Amazon.com or from the USHPA (www .ushpa.aero).

Photo: Suby Lutolf, courtesy SOL

SOL’s new Sonic was designed for the created the Tracer to allow pilots to fly “acro” and “freestyle” concept, and is in- “in faster velocities,” and to provide an tended for experienced pilots who wish option for a competition wing with “nonto pursue this aspect of paragliding. The conventional characteristics in this paraSonic has evolved from prototypes de- glider category, such as weight, construcveloped by André Rottet and the pilots tion, materials, performance and stability of the SOL aerobatic team. Many expe- in high speed.” rienced pilots such as Renato “Curreca” More information on these wings Gonçalves, Renato Lopes, Hernan and all Sol products is at http://www Pittoco and Horacio Llorens have tested, .solparagliders.com.br/en/. flown and endorsed the Sonic. The new SOL competition para- Paragliding – A Pilot’s Training glider, Tracer, was flown by SOL pilot Manual – 8th Edition Released Frank Brown to a first-place finish in By Mike Meier the 2006 Brazilian paragliding chamWills Wing has released a new pionships. SOL designer André Rottet 8th edition of its very popular book, Paragliding – A Pilot’s Training Manual. The 8th edition includes an expanded bonus DVD, now with a full 90 minutes of narrated video footage. Enhancements in the new 8th edition include numerous additional photos and improved illustrations, and significantly expanded content, including new material on the latest and most proven kiting techniques. Both the written manual and the accompanying DVD have been expanded and enhanced. The 8th edition is now available in two bindings, paperback or hardcover. First published in 1991, the Training Manual has sold more than 13,000 copies. Following the release of the greatly expanded 7th edition in 2004, Paragliding – A Pilot’s Training Manual has become the SOL’s new comp wing, the Tracer complete resource of choice for both new January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Don’t Toss That Flying-Related “Junk”! While corresponding with Ken de Russy for an article in this issue, I visited his Web site and found the information on his home page tremendously relevant to my pack-rat instincts. If you, also, have drawers full of old T-shirts and boxes stuﬀed with ﬂyingrelated mementos that you can’t bear to toss, read on!

The story of hang gliding can only be fully appreciated in the context of the many ancillary components of the day-today practice of the sport. All too often gliders are the only things that come to mind when thoughts turn to preservation. Although there are many more gliders I would love to acquire, I am conﬁdent that they will survive in the rafters and lofts of the world, out of sight and out of mind, just too much work to dispose of, for many years to come. One by one they will become available to me.

What worries me are the items more easily disposed of, lost or disbursed to the hidden nooks and crannies in closets and storage lockers around the country only to be eventually found out of context and appearing so unremarkable as to prompt no recognition as something to be saved. Even some obvious treasures like photos, ﬁlms, posters, T-shirts, log books and such may eventually be tossed out when someone passes on, let alone less likely candidates for preservation like receipts, X-rays, broken parts, correspondence, contest applications and thousands of other odd bits that seem unimportant. Nearly everyone imagines that someone else’s story is more interesting and overlooks the treasures in their own hands. I am of course sympathetic to anyone that chooses to hang on to these items. All too often, however, the desire to hold on to these things can switch abruptly to the desire to purge one’s life of years of accumulation and it all just goes to the dump. In any case I encourage everyone to gather together all their hang gliding

bits into one place. Attach a note that in the event of your death your box of hang gliding stuﬀ should be sent to the Hang Gliding Museum. Any written descriptions will help to interpret and I suggest that you add your signature and date directly on the artifact if possible or at least on an attached tag. This insures correct attribution and it is fun for others when viewing these items. Ken de Russy, USHPA Life/Charter Member #5114 Hang Gliding Museum Collector Guy, WEFLYUNIV@aol.com http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ HangGlidingMuseum/ Anacortes, Washington, (360) 293-8621

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Photo: Peter Darian

FAA EXEMPTION #4721

4. Prior to all two-occupant training flights, the student must be informed that the flight is conducted under an exemption granted by the FAA and that the ultralight vehicle (Tandem Exemption) does not meet aircraft certification standards set forth by the FAA. 5. Both occupants on all two-place flights, other than for training purposes, must possess a current pilot rating issued by the USHPA and at least one occupant must possess a current Advanced hang gliding rating issued by the USHPA. 6. For identification purposes, the USHPA shall issue an individual authorization to each person allowed to conduct operations under this exemption. Each authorization shall include an identification number and a copy of this exemption. The USHPA shall also have a procedure to rescind this authority when needed. This exemption to Federal Aviation Regulation 103.1(a) and 7. Each individual who operates an ultralight vehicle 103.1(b), permits pilots to operate an unpowered ultralight veunder the authority of this exemption must be familiar with hicle with another occupant for the purpose of sport, recreation the provisions contained herein and must have in his or her and/or training. This exemption is subject to the following conpersonal possession a copy of the authorization issued by the ditions and limitations: USHPA and a copy of this exemption. These documents shall 1. Each operation must comply with all sections of Part be presented for inspection upon request by the FAA. 103, except §103.1 (a) of the FAR. This exemption was extended to terminate on October 31, 2. For training purposes, this exemption applies only to 2008, unless sooner superseded or rescinded. flights for the purpose of giving instruction in two-place un- John M. Allen powered ultralight vehicles from USHPA-approved launch Acting Director, Flight Standards Service sites. Issued in Washington, D.C. on October 30, 2006 3. Both occupants on all two-place training flights must possess a current pilot rating issued by the USHPA and at least one occupant must possess a current USHPA Instructor rating.

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Herding Individualists

By Lisa Tate, USHPA president, lisa_tate@ushpa.aero

of highly dedicated members who donate considerable time and financial resources to the association. We have an outstanding office staff and management team to implement policies and oversee our business. There’s a lot of good news to report about the health of your association. The bad news is that the membership numbers are shrinking.

Photo: Martin Palmaz

The Good News: We have a strategic plan and aggressive goals. The Challenge Is: To grow takes everyone’s help and talent.

USHPA president Lisa Tate (center) with VP Felipe Amunategui (L) and secretary Liz Sharp (R)

Last year, 2006, was a very interesting year. I entered the organization as president in one of the most controversial and divisive periods I think our association has ever experienced. The name-change vote and the powered harness issue polarized our membership, our board of directors, our entire organization. At the same time, we were initializing our first-ever strategic plan, with aggressive goals focusing on the growth of our sports, hang gliding and paragliding. Our organization is unique. We are a membership organization where the members are empowered. Members can run for positions on the board of directors, and have other specific rights and privileges which are not typical in most non-profit membership organizations. Organizations like USHPA are the most difficult types of non-profit membership organizations to manage and run. I spent a good part of last year traveling to clubs and chapters to interact with our members, and to educate them on USHPA and our new strategic plan. I heard a lot of concerns from the membership, all of which were taken seriously. I would like to point out, however, that despite our flaws we have a lot to be proud of! The USHPA is over 35 years old. As

a direct result of our programs and membership services, we are largely exempt from governmental oversight and regulation. The association’s purpose is to provide benefits to its members, including a pilot rating program which maintains a standard of excellence recognized nationally and internationally. We also offer and administer an instructor certification program including tandem flight and aerotowing. Membership benefits in USHPA include a liability policy to members, site insurance and a full-color monthly magazine. USHPA is financially strong, and in 2005 we purchased an office building to serve as our national headquarters. We contract a CPA firm recognized for their expertise in nonprofit organizations to perform every year an audit of our financial reports. Our association is governed by a board of 20 regional directors, elected by the members, and four directors-at-large, elected by the regional directors. The board meets twice a year, in the spring and fall, with the executive committee (the officers of the organization) corresponding almost daily and teleconferencing monthly. Our board of directors is comprised

The Good News: We have terrific instructors, and are working on a new mentor program. The Challenge Is: We live in a lawsuithappy society, and a society where, unfortunately, video games are often more attractive than active recreation. The Good News: We are developing a scooter-tow training program and restructuring our competition program with greater focus on regional competitions. The Challenge Is: It’s a small step... we need to do more. The Good News: More assistance is available to help secure sites. The Challenge Is: Fewer members means fewer resources. The Good News: We are a memberempowered association, The Challenge Is: We are an almost all-volunteer organization. The Good News: We have many issues to help us shape our future. The Challenge Is: Issues are divisive and polarizing... but they help us define who we are. The Good News: We are financially

strong. The Challenge Is: We have a declining

membership.

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

The Good News: We have a full-color

It’s what each instructor does... It’s what each member should keep in The Challenge Is: We need great writ- mind for joining in or spearheading even ers and photographers... you, the contrib- one project a year... utors, the pilots, the members. …and in the end, it puts the whole association on the right track and helps The Good News: We are a member- everyone secure our sports’ place in this empowered organization. changing society. The Challenge Is: You, the members, can make it or break it. To learn more about how you can help secure a future for hang gliding and paraThe Good News: You, the members, gliding, please contact a committee chair, can make or break the organization. your regional director, or me. It’s going The Challenge Is: It takes dedicated to take all of us individualists, working work and a clear purpose/goal to keep together, to keep this herd not just surmoving in a positive direction. viving, but thriving. monthly magazine.

Useful URLs and phone numbers: For magazine submissions: http://ushpa.aero/magazine.asp For accident reports: http://ushpa.aero/emailacca.asp

Growth of the association, and therefore the sports of hang gliding and paragliding, is everyone’s job. It’s what the board members do on a monthly or biannual schedule... It’s what the executive committee and oﬃce staﬀ do daily...

For membership info, change of address, and other USHPA business: info@ushpa.aero (719) 632-8300 Members only section: https://ushpa.aero/member_ login.asp

USHPA COMMITTEE AND SUB-COMMITTEE CHAIRS (as of September 2006): Awards:

Planning:

Len Smith, SmithLI@bv.com

Riss Estes, parariss@yahoo.com

Bylaws:

Instructor Support Working Group:

L.E. Herrick, le_herrick@verizon.net

Paul Voight, ﬂyhigh@frontiernet.net

Competition:

Publications:

Dennis Pagen, Interim chair, pagenbks@lazerlink.com

Urs Kellenberger, urs@bearimpressions.com

Elections and Allocations: Mark Forbes, mgforbes@mindspring.com

Finance: Bill Bolosky, bolosky@microsoft.com

Web Site: Steve Roti, steveroti@hotmail.com

Safety and Training: Dave Broyles, D.Broyles@comcast.net

Hang Gliding Accident:

Insurance:

Joe Gregor, air_medal@mac.com

Mark Forbes, mgforbes@mindspring.com

Paragliding Accident:

Membership and Development: Dick Heckman, hekdic@worldnet.att.net

Internal Marketing: Peter Birren, peter@birrendesign.com

National Coordinating: Dennis Pagen, pagenbks@lazerlink.com

Sport Pilot:

Steve Roti, steveroti@hotmail.com

Site Management: Russ Locke, russ@lockelectric.com

Tandem: Paul Voight, ﬂyhigh@frontier.net

Towing: Tracy Tillman, cloud9sa@aol.com

Tracy Tillman, cloud9sa@aol.com January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Hang Gliding Accident Report,

With a Caution For Those Who’ve Had Eye Surgery By Joe Gregor, staﬀ writer

This month we will hear from another again, I headed towards Salmon. I had I made it to within 35 feet of goal, before lucky pilot who lived to tell his tale of never been to Salmon before and thought encountering those power lines. “I had arrived at the LZ with enough an expensive lesson learned, perhaps not the airport I could see was the bonus cheaply, but at a gratifying discount all LZ as defined by the King Meet rules altitude to do a few 360s and study the the same. We thank this pilot for sharing – although my GPS was still showing 14 lay of the land. I was happy to see another his experience, and the lessons he learned miles to goal. Just as I was about to enter pilot on the ground to give me wind difrom it, and we hold his story out as an a spiral dive to the airport, several people rection; I hollered down a couple times in the chase car below me informed me but the pilot seemed to be ignoring me. I example for others. If you experience an accident or in- I had to fly to the Salmon fairgrounds was getting lower so I threw my streamer, cident that you believe might teach a a few miles north of town – I guess my which immediately got hung up on my rear flying wire. I yelled a couple more valuable lesson, don’t be shy in relating GPS was right after all! “I had to choose between trying to times. I could see one person moving your story via a USHPA accident report (http://www.ushpa.aero/emailacc.asp). make it on a glide to the bonus LZ sev- around under the glider on the ground Who knows – your effort may end up eral miles north of town, or veering 90 and another person standing next to the degrees off course to a little spine that glider looking straight up at me. saving a life someday. extends out on the south side of Salmon, “I glanced around the LZ to see which and gain enough altitude to guaran- way would be best to set up my approach. The Flight That Ended Too Soon “I was 105 miles into my flight, and five tee my final glide to the bonus LZ. I I noticed power lines along the road on hours and 30 minutes had elapsed since was still close to 14 miles out and only one side of the LZ, and two power poles I’d taken off near Moore, Idaho. This was about a mile above the ground with a at the corner of the field where two roads the July 2006 King Mountain competi- slight headwind. I’ve been told high- intersected. One more yell to see if maybe tion, and I was concluding the second- performance flex-wing hang gliders I could get a wind direction, but the pilot best flight of my life. While flying on get a 14-to-1 glide with no headwind on the ground still seemed to be ignoring the base leg of my landing approach, I but I think that is optimistic. I decided me as he moved his gilder slightly. “By this time, I was extremely low and smashed directly into a four-wire, 35- I wouldn’t make the bonus LZ without foot-high, 34,000-volt power line. The more altitude, so I veered off-course 90 it was decision time. At the last moment, the other pilot held up a streamer and ‘ran’ impact created sparks, cut both nose degrees towards the spine. across the field. Well, wires and a side wire, and there is my wind direcdid extensive sail damage. tion, I figured, assuming The glider tail-slid through I was on base leg preparing to turn onto final he was running into the the power lines and landed wind. I had time for one upside down on a barbwire while focusing on the guy running across the S-turn and was on base fence with one wing impaled by a fence post and field when WHAM! I slammed right into those leg preparing to turn onto final while focusthe other wing lying on the ing on the guy running ground. I lit on my back on power lines. I had failed to see a power pole, across the field when top of the upside-down sail, WHAM! I slammed bounced up, unhooked and and the lines leading to it, as it was near a right into those power walked away without even a scratch. I didn’t even get lines. I had failed to see tree off to my right. the wind knocked out of a power pole, and the me! The one-year-old Wills lines leading to it, as “It was almost 6:00 p.m. and I knew it it was near a tree off to my right. I was Wing T2, however, I deemed unrepairable. I was justifiably upset, as the day would be hard to find another thermal as spitting mad after unhooking because I had started out so well… by now everything appeared to be very knew I had ruined my glider and messed “Earlier, I had flown over another pilot stable. Another piece of luck – my mile- up the second-best flight of my life. who’d landed in the town of May (for a long detour took me to a little bubble “As the glider’s tail slid through the respectable 65 miles or so), where I exe- over the spine and back to 12,500’. I power lines toward planet Earth, two cuted a very low save from a few hundred now had the fairgrounds on a glide, even thoughts went through my mind: This is feet on the foothills of the Lemhis. Up with a slight headwind, so I headed out. going to hurt . . . and then . . . Maybe I’ll

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

get lucky. I got lucky. The left wing was held off the ground by the fence post and the top barbwires of the fence. The glider landed flat (horizontal) and I landed squarely on the top of the sail just to the left of the keel, which ended up a couple feet above the ground. The glider deflected, absorbing all of the impact forces, and gently bounced me to a stop with no ill effects – other than to my pocketbook. The next day, I flew my old Pac Air K4 to 15,500 MSL and glided 23 miles. I’ve since ordered another T2. “Of course, as with most accidents, mine resulted from the contribution of many factors. I’d like to touch on a few of those now. “First, I was tired. After more than five hours in the air, I had to be tired, even though I was jazzed to have the secondlongest flight of my life. “Second, I was ‘over-worried’ about the wind in the LZ. When I asked the pilot and his driver on the ground why they didn’t give me the wind direction, they replied, ‘We yelled it up to you.’ When I pointed out that I can’t hear anything in a hang glider, the pilot responded, ‘I turned my glider into the wind for you.’ Neither of these gestures proved helpful to me. “Yet on my way toward the LZ, I had seen the chase car below with one other pilot and our driver. I’d asked for a wind report on the ground and was told that there was a flag showing light winds out of the north. I had been pushing a slight northerly headwind, and should have just planned on landing to the north, and focused on spotting obstacles in the LZ. “A third possible contributing factor was the effect of hypoxia. I had run out of oxygen about an hour and a half before the flight ended, and had been up over 15,000’ MSL for a short time after I ran out of O2. I don’t think this played a major role in my decision-making and judgment, as I had been flying smart right up until the accident, and conversing normally with the chase car and other pilots in the air. We were actually joking about hypoxia and asking each other complicated math questions during the flight. Given the same circumstances, I don’t know what I would have done differently. “Fourth, and possibly most importantly,

I just didn’t see the power lines because my vision was impaired. This was due to a complicated reaction from major radial keratotomy (RK) eye surgery in combination with exposure to high altitudes. “Every hang glider pilot is 100% responsible for his decisions, and the pilot in this lucky accident (I’m going to invent my own oxymoron) is no different. While a number of factors contributed, to my mind the major issue was the fact that I did not see those power lines. My chosen landing field was bordered on three sides by power lines. I saw most of them, but obviously not all of them. “An ophthalmologist who’s also an avid hang glider pilot offers an insight. He believes that I experienced severe hyperopia (loss of vision) due to a major RK eye surgery I had in 1984, aggravated by prolonged exposure to high altitudes (approaching 17,000’ MSL early in my flight). RK surgery, the predecessor to the well-known Lasik procedure used today, was in its infancy when I had my procedure done. The ophthalmologist’s conclusion made sense, as I had complained to several people about my vision, and it was still slightly distorted the next day during my 23-mile flight. I chose to fly with my reading glasses during this flight, to make sure I could see where I was landing. I haven’t worn glasses for anything but reading for 22 years, so there were some big changes taking place in my vision at King. By the time I arrived back to a sea-level San Diego a couple days later, my eyes had returned to normal. “As a sidebar to this article, you’ll see an annotated research study documenting the problems with RK surgery and exposure to high altitudes. One well documented case talks about Dr. Beck Weathers climbing Mt. Everest in 1996. While ascending Everest, some years after successful RK surgery, Dr. Weathers suffered visual changes that worsened with increasing altitude. Poor vision at approximately 27,000 feet rendered him unable to safely ascend or descend. Left alone, he was forced to remain overnight at this altitude until he was finally able to blindly stumble into a high base camp. Although he survived the incident, he lost both hands to frostbite. “Hang gliding can be a rewarding sport

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

but it has many inherent risks. We are the only ones responsible for the decisions we make. I’m an engineer by training and a very analytical person. I’ve analyzed this accident and enumerated my conclusions below, in the hopes that others may be able to gain some insight from my experience: 1. Don’t dismiss the experiences of your fellow pilots with a flippant ‘How in the heck did he do that?’ This applies to many of the errors common in our sport, including the infamous failure to hook in. It can happen to anybody. In the past, I’ve always questioned how a person could hit a power line in a hang glider. Now I know, and I’m (luckily) here to tell you that a dismissive attitude can kill you. 2. Arrive at your chosen LZ with enough altitude to study it carefully, looking for any and all obstacles. There have been many articles written on this in the past but it can’t be over emphasized. 3. If you have had RK eye surgery, be very careful flying at high altitudes. As shown in the sidebar, people climbing Mt. Everest have had similar problems. I know this contributed to my accident in a major way. 4. When flying in cold air, wear goggles or a helmet visor to keep your eyes from tearing. The cold air had made my eyes water so much on this flight that the tears actually spotted my sunglasses. Dried tears on a pair of sunglasses can greatly diminish vision. 5. When flying cross-country, carry two streamers that are easy to access in flight. Throw them down and away so they don’t hang up on the glider. The second streamer can be used in the case of a low save or in case the first streamer doesn’t deploy correctly. 6. Make sure your oxygen system is in good working order before a high flight. 7. If the wind is light out of the north at altitude and it was reported to be light out of the north 10 minutes earlier on the ground AND it’s late in the day, don’t overly worry about wind direction. It’ll still most likely be out of the north when you land. 8. If you’re on the ground and someone in the air asks for wind direction, use the universal wind-direction sign: head down and into the wind with arms out to the sides to simulate a hang glider on final.”

The following information was provided by the mospheric pressure per se. The clinical effect of accident pilot: the hyperopic shift depends on the refractive error It is now well documented that patients who have after RK and the subject’s ability to accommodate had RK for correction of myopia experience refrac- (refs. 1,2). tive changes at altitude (refs. 1,2,3). These changes range from minor irritations to severe disability References 1. Mader, T.H, C.L. Blanton, B.N. Gilbert, K.C. Kubis, (ref. 3). In one study, after 24 to 48 hours at altitudes greater than 3000 meters (9900 feet), study S.C. Schallhorn, L.J. White, V.C. Parmley, and J.D. Ng. subjects experienced signiﬁcant, progressive and “Refractive changes during 72-hour exposure to high reversible hyperopic shift. In another study (ref. 3) altitude after refractive surgery,” Ophthalmology one subject could not read his watch or assemble 1996; 103(8):1188-95. 2. Winkle, R.K., T.H. Mader, V.C. Parmley, L.J. a cook stove. Reading glasses did not improve near vision. Distance vision was also reduced to 20/50 White, and K.A. Polse. “The etiology of refractive without correction, which led to difﬁculty in dis- changes at high altitude after radial keratotomy. tinguishing people and terrain features. This same Hypoxia versus hypobaria,” Ophthalmology 1998; deterioration of vision might have also hampered 105(2):282-6. 3. Mader, T.H. and L.J. White. “Refractive mountaineer Beck Weathers during the storm on Everest in the spring of 1996, in which eight climb- changes at extreme altitude after radial keratoters died. The suggested etiology of these changes omy,” American Journal of Ophthalmology 1995; is corneal hypoxia, rather than just a change in at- 119(6):733-7.

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Power Line Encounters

Photo: Ivan Tomacek

By David Jebb, staﬀ writer, davidj@ﬂytorrey.com

This pilot had nearly an hour to endure, hanging upside down in a snowstorm, before the power was shut down and he could be safely extricated.

During the past several years, paraglider and hang glider pilots have been crashing into electric power lines with increasing frequency; some pilots have survived the crash, but others unfortunately have not. I will examine why such accidents occur, explain some basic electrical safety measures and oﬀer postcrash survival tips – what to do while awaiting rescue after encountering electrical power lines.

potential hazards, particularly the layout and location of power lines. There is no reason not to thoroughly know where power lines are running near launch and landing areas. From aloft the power poles are often visible before the lines. Even if the power lines are not visible from high aloft, we can assume they run parallel to most main roads. Another reason for pilots encountering power lines is our aging pilot population may not realize that the eye’s ability to Psychological or physiological reasons focus diminishes as we get older. Many of our older pilots need glasses for readfor power line encounters: There can be a multitude of reasons for ing, but they may not be aware that their pilots flying into power lines. However a distance vision has deteriorated as well. simple analysis reveals that most pilots If you wear glasses for flying, keep never saw the power line until it was too them clean; dirty glasses may cause the late, or made an error in judgment think- eye to focus on the smears, making the ing they could glide over/under the line distant vision blurred. Polarized sunwithout impact. When conducting site glasses are said to block out or diffuse familiarization, pay careful attention to blue light, while allowing the longer January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

wavelength reds and oranges through. Reportedly polarized sunglasses make electric lines more difficult to spot from the air. Obviously cutting down the amount of light entering the eye degrades distance vision. Polarized glasses cut out 50% of the light and if the glasses have a dark tint, even more light is blocked. The more light that is blocked out, the more the pupil size must enlarge to let more light in. This reduces the depth of focus, making vision more compromised. It is difficult to imagine why a pilot would risk crossing a power line without guaranteed clearance. A good number of power line encounters are initiated much like the game of Russian roulette. Call it lunacy or poor judgment, but one should never attempt to cross if there is even a slight doubt that one might not clear a power line. Once you understand the overwhelming power flowing through

A power line encounter in Lumby, British Columbia

Photos courtesy westcoastsoaringclub.com

the electric lines you’ll begin to under- to climb down or reach a tower or if stand the magnitude of the consequences someone tries to reach you with a ladder or rope before disconnecting the current. of such an encounter. There are typically tens of thousands of volts on these wires, so do not complete Understanding electricity: Most of us understand that metals the circuit with any other wire or the such as copper and aluminum are good ground, or anything that touches the conductors of electricity. But what you ground. Electricity has been known to might not know is that water is another arc to a nearby wire or a nearby grounded great conductor, and because our body is object, so once again your body could mostly water, electricity can also travel become a conduit. In some instances when power line easily through our body. Electricity travels at the speed of light, 186,000 miles circuit breakers have been tripped, thus per second – you will have no time to shutting off power, the power will autoreact! Electricity does not travel easily matically be switched back on. Therefore through certain materials like special it is conceivable that power can automatirubber, plastic and glass. These materials cally be resumed in the case where lines are known as insulators and they are used have arced and the breakers tripped. If to keep electricity from leaving the wire your crash into the line results in a live wire and you dropping to the ground, it travels on. Electricity is always trying to get to you must retreat from the area, since electhe ground. Like all good travelers, electricity can travel through the ground. If tricity takes shortcuts whenever it can. If you are running away from a live ground something that conducts electricity pro- wire, it is important that only one foot vides an easy path to the ground, elec- contacts the ground at any given time, or tricity will take it! Yet some pilots have if there is nowhere to run, stand on one remained suspended from a power line foot. Another means of escape is by shufwithout being burned or electrocuted. fling away from the area, keeping both Just like birds landing on power lines, feet together. I’ve even heard of people they avoided electrocution as long as hopping away from the power source. they didn’t ground the current by touch- The main idea is to eliminate two points ing the ground, or anything connected to of contact with the ground. If one part the ground like a tree, a ladder, a person of your body touches a high-voltage zone while another part of your body touches a or another electric line. Electric power stations deliver power low-voltage zone, you will become a convia lines supported by tall steel power ductor for electricity. towers. Typical voltages from longdistance transmission lines are in the Post-survival tips: range of 155,000 to 765,000 volts. These If you come to the aid of a pilot lying high-voltage power lines eventually run unconscious or “frozen on a live cirthrough transformers so that the power cuit,” the very first thing you must realcan be stepped down. The lines that bring ize is that if you touch the person being power to residential areas are typically shocked, there may be enough voltage carrying 7200 volts. Residential poles dropped across the body of the victim to usually have transformers that reduce the shock you as well, resulting in “freezing” 7200 volts down to the 240 volts that run two people instead of one. In home acfrom the power pole to the household cidents, one would normally shut off the electrical service meter. power, but in power line incidents, you If you impact a power line and become may not be readily able to determine if suspended high above the ground, it is the power has shut off. If the power disrecommended that you remain in your connect cannot be ascertained, it may be harness until the electric company shuts possible to dislodge the victim from the down the power and you can safely circuit they’re frozen onto by prying them be rescued. Under no circumstances or hitting them away with a dry wooden should one attempt to lower oneself to board or piece of nonmetallic conduit. the ground. If the wire is live, you’re One problem with power line inciguaranteed to get zapped if you attempt dents is that the source may not be easily

found in time to save the victim of shock. If a shock victim’s breathing and heartbeat are paralyzed by electric current, their survival time is very limited. If the shock current is of sufficient magnitude, their flesh and internal organs may be quickly roasted by the power that has run through their body. If the rescuer is trained in CPR, they should follow the appropriate steps of checking for breathing and pulse, then applying CPR as necessary to keep the victim’s body from deoxygenating. If the victim is conscious, it is best to have them lie still until qualified emergency response personnel arrive on the scene. An electrical shock insufficient to cause immediate interruption of the heartbeat may be strong enough to cause heart irregularities or a heart attack up to several hours later, so the victim should pay close attention to their own condition after the incident, ideally under medical supervision. This is understandably a difficult and unpleasant topic to discuss with pilots. But it’s not until you have lost a good friend that you realize how senseless and cruel a power-line encounter can be. I hope that this article will help keep you vigilant and passionate about safety.

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

The Real Roots of Hang Gliding:

Rod Fuller (L) and John Dickenson with the replica of the Dickenson Wing, 2006 Photo: Graeme Henderson

A Tribute to John Dickenson By Ken de Russy

In 1973 I began hang gliding and, unique insight into the many, often littlelike so many others did in those days, known details of our sport’s development. also immediately began teaching my It has been a journey with many twists friends...even before I could launch re- and turns. The 5000 or so students who attended liably! I started teaching this new sport professionally in the beginning of 1974 my schools – and I as well – are indebted and by opening my own school and retail to someone for the life-changing experistore in Santa Barbara, California, that ence that is hang gliding... but to whom? spring, I made it my full-time occupa- Who made this all possible? In the midtion. The question of exactly where this 1990s I phoned Francis Rogallo and marvelous sport came from burned in my thanked him. He was very gracious but mind from the very first moment I heard oddly reluctant to take credit. In 2002 of hang gliding. It was never far from my I was thrilled to discover Barry Palmer mind as I practiced my new vocation, and living not far from where I now live in Washington State and was stunned to it has never left. That nagging desire to know our his- find that he had designed, built, and tory, combined with the opportunity of flown extensively the first-ever footknowing and flying with many of our launched Rogallo wing in 1961 and sport’s great names, has led to the as- 1962! Was Palmer the progenitor of our sembly of the largest collection of hang “species”? It is embarrassing for me to admit gliding history in the USA. The process of collecting the equipment and build- that the answer to my quest is a person ing the extensive archive has given me a whose name is known to me but one that January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

I had never investigated. As the result of Graeme Henderson’s recent effort to bring John Dickenson’s story to light, and the melding of that information with what I already knew from my extensive research, my revised understanding of Dickenson’s role in the story of hang gliding has led me to the following conclusions: John Dickenson, through much research, modeling and trial-and-error, conceived of and created the airframe and pendulum weight-shift control method, collectively known as the Dickenson Wing, that has served as the template for the wings flown by probably 90% of all the hang glider pilots who have ever lived right up to the present time. The physical characteristics of the Dickenson Wing are readily apparent in the most popular hang gliders of every year since 1963 when it was invented by John Dickenson. It is my firm belief that the invention of the Dickenson Wing was directly

How It All Got Started…

Photo: Ashley Wilmott

responsible for the explosive rebirth of the sport of hang gliding in the 1960s and 1970s. It is not only fair to say that John Dickenson invented the modern hang glider, but it can also be said that there is no certainty that the modern sport of hang gliding would have come into existence at all had Dickenson By Graeme Henderson, flying free@aapt.net.au not discovered this formula for success. A great many people made many important contributions to our sport, and they all deserve to be recognized, but no other person in the history of the sport is so indispensable. Dickenson’s wing was so ubiquitous in the early days that we took to calling it a “standard Rogallo.” We got the first part right. Francis Rogallo himself calls it the Dickenson Wing. Henceforth I will make every effort to call it by its correct name, “the Dickenson Wing,” and will encourage others to do the same. Few others have invested more time investigating the history of hang gliding than I have. I am publishing this information to assist John Dickenson in gaining the recognition that has been denied him for so long, and as a profound “thank you” to the man whose creative genius produced the sport that has so John Dickenson evaluating the latest Airborne glider, July 2006 defined my life. I regard this endorsement as possibly the most important thing I have ever done for our sport. On the 20th of last May I happened across Mark Woodhams’s Ken de Russy , USHPA Life/Charter Member #5114 article in a 2004 British Columbia newsletter, http://www Hang Gliding Museum Collector Guy, WEFLYUNIV@aol.com .bchpa.org/newsletter/may04/hghistory.htm. Two things struck Anacortes, Washington, (360) 293-8621 me. The first was that I had been to the spot in Grafton (New South Wales, Australia) where this all happened and had been oblivious to the sacred ground upon which I had walked. The second was Mark’s closing comments about the lack of recognition John Dickenson had received, especially in Australia. I immediately fired off an email to the Clarence Valley Council asking in a rather cheeky manner why John Dickenson was not recognized. I honestly expected to hear no more about it. However on the 26th of May Clarence Valley Mayor, Ian Tiley, contacted me for more information. I was stumped. I had sent him the Mark Woodhams article, and given the obscurity of the story I fully expected that John was dead and the rest of the story lost. I contacted Vicki Cain at Moyes and she kindly gave me John’s contact details. I then thought that he must be a bit of a recluse and fully expected him to send me away. He didn’t. Since then I have made five trips to Grafton, spent many days with John, and well over a hundred hours on the phone, that could easily be well over 200. I have made firm friends with John, and with Rod Fuller and Pat Crowe. I have met and talked with Norm Stanford, and become friends with Mike Burns. I have had two long talks with Steve Cohen. All of this has been a great honor and extremely enlightening. I have also had the great honor of starting to get to know a few legends of the sport in other countries, and a few museum curators. How lucky can one person be! I wrote an article that has been published in many places, and can be found online at http://www.lilienthal-museum.de/ olma/edick.htm. I set out to change 40 years of mis-history, I didn’t give myself much of a chance, but as a lover of flight I felt that

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Captions for page 21 photos are on page 73.

it was my duty to pay my dues to these heroic characters. There have been many small breakthroughs over this time, but the big one was when Ken de Russy picked up on the point I was attempting to make, and presented it with an eloquence I am humbled by. John Dickenson is very thankful for Ken’s testimonial. It is hard to work out how to thank Ken enough. John has found a sense of peace about his life in recent weeks and that is a good thing. On the 28th of October the Clarence Valley Council unveiled a memorial to the invention of the modern hang glider, a dinner was held and at long last, The Hang Gliding Federation of Australia has recognized John Dickenson, Rod Fuller and Pat Crowe for their eminent role in the global sport of hang gliding and ultralight aviation. The story is still unfolding. Fortythree years is a long time but the guys are focused on it now and details keep appearing. Hang gliding did not start in Grafton, but the Dickenson Wing was

invented there. Many others have contributed to the design since then, and many offshoots have appeared. Tribute is still due to Francis Rogallo, for while his involvement in the initial invention of the Dickenson Wing was small, it was important, and after 1964 his research became a significant factor in the refinement of the wing, and the development of the sport. His dream of a “Wing In A Bag” has been fulfilled with the development of the paraglider and he is much admired by both myself and John Dickenson as a man of great intellect and honour. I started this campaign alone and simply can’t express my thanks enough, for the support of Ken de Russy, Joe Faust, Davis Straub, Bill Degen, Stephane Malbos, Dr. Bernd Lukasch, Peter Selinger, Andy Abbott, and many, many other great people who have recognized both the truth of my story and our moral need to do something to address the situation. This certainly feels like the most important thing I have done with my life, and it has also been the most rewarding,

and not in ﬁnancial terms. Graeme Henderson began ﬂying hang gliders in 1978 in New Zealand, but was forced to drop out of the sport in 1988 due to a bad case of lawyer-induced poverty. He is currently living “as a reclusive artist” in Australia, and expects to regain his rating in the near future. It was his explorations of hang gliding-related information, in preparation for returning to the fold, that led him to his research on John Dickenson.

A transformed piece of Australian red cedar, that came to Graeme as a chunk of ﬁrewood!

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

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Learn more-call toll-free 1-866-438-6262. TIY users, call 1-800-833-6262. Please refer to priority code FAAIPR when speaking with a representative to apply. *For information about the rates, fees, other costs, and benefits associated with the use of the card; or to apply, please ca.II the above toll-free numbers. This credit card program is issued and administered by FIA Card Services, N.A. Any account opened in response 10 this application shall be governed by the laws of the state of Delaware. Travel planning services are provided to Bank of America Customers by an independently owned and operated travel agency registered to do business in California (Reg. No. 2036509-50); Ohio (Reg. No. 87890286) Washington (Reg. No. 6011237430) and other states, as required. Visa is a registered trademark of Visa International Service Association, and is used by the issuer pursuant to license from Visa U.S.A., Inc. Bank of America is a registered trademark of Bank of America Corporation. 0 2006 Bank of America Corporation

MISC 604091-0413-06

Photo: Steve Messman

The author with his lightweight gear on Saddle Mt., Washington, last October

Researching New

Paragliding Gear By Jim Harmon, USHPA #75866

There have been a lot of improvements to paragliding gear since I bought my first kit in 2000. At that time I relied totally on my instructors, Dixon White and Marty Devietti, to outfit me with the right gear. That kit has served me well, and I appreciate the choices they made for me. But this summer I realized that, while safe, the wing I was flying was not very responsive. So I started doing some research, which turned into a larger project than I care to admit. But it was a learning experience that I thought worth sharing. It may sound strange to some, but I consider the hike up to launch part of the paragliding experience. I enjoy the exercise, and feel I’ve earned the flight once I’ve humped my gear up the hill. I plan to do more mountain flying as I travel for work, so the weight of my pack is important to me. Recent articles about, and ad-

vertisements for, lightweight “mountain” wings struck a chord. If I’m looking for a new wing, why shouldn’t I consider this new minimalist approach? I checked into lightweight wings and found that there are lots of choices, depending on how you want to ﬂy. The lightest wings are really meant for descending from peaks. They’re smaller, and they tend to be DHV 1 rated. Most are matched with a minimal harness, and the whole kit packs down really small. I didn’t think this was the kind of gear I wanted to ﬂy with every day…. And I need one wing to do everything. So I focused on DHV 1-2 wings that are also lightweight. Overall, some of the biggest advances in paraglider performance have been in the DHV 1-2 range. This is the sweet spot of the current market. Modern 1-2 wings have as much performance as DHV

2 wings of three or four years ago, while retaining the safety of DHV 1 types. There are several lightweight wings in the DHV 1-2 category. Others might use different criteria, but here’s what I looked at: size, aspect ratio, speed and glide, DHV test results, and weight. I whittled the list down to the two lighter-weight wings from manufacturers that I knew had solid reputations: Gradient and ProDesign. (I’m sure there are others, and I don’t mean to slight anyone left off my own list.) Specs for the two wings I considered are very similar. Both are first-class, and aren’t meant for just descending from peaks. They can thermal, they can go cross-country, and both are under 5kg, so I figured either one would work for me. The choice came down to color and cost. Next I looked at harnesses. My Sup’Air Evo has been a great harness. It’s

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

comfortable, I slide right in off launch, and the protection has served me well through what has sometimes been a bumpy learning process. Actually, I’ll be learning for years to come, so I still need good protection. But my flights are getting longer, so comfort and responsiveness are important, too. And, again, I want one set of gear to work for everything. Since I wasn’t going to demo harnesses, I went to www.paraglidingforum .com and read reviews…lots of them. For harnesses, the answer for weight savings is “Cygnus.” If you haven’t heard of it you might want to check it out. Cygnus is an air bag that fills as you take off. It offers protection without the weight. The Woody Valley Peak harness kept coming up as a Cygnus harness that is comfortable, full-featured, and weighs only 3.1kg. It also has a carbon seat plate for added protection. And it turned out that the wing supplier I found had a near-new Peak in his shop. I smelled a bargain. The final piece for my new kit was a reserve. I talked with several local instruc-

tors and suppliers, and the one that kept coming up was the Lara Gold. There’s a recent article in our local newsletter (nwparagliding.com) about a reserve deployment at one of our mountain sites, and the Lara Gold opened quickly enough to save the pilot’s life. That’s a great testimonial! I also looked at what the Europeans use. By far the most popular reserve in Europe is the Charly Second Chance. Performance evaluations are hard to compare but both these reserves open quickly and consistently, and have loyal followings. And their weights are very similar (under 2kg), so either one would work for me. (One recommendation: Don’t choose a reserve based on price – bad karma!) I have lots more info I can share with anyone who is looking for lighter weight gear. I ended up with a new wing, harness, and reserve that weigh a total of 9.7kg (21.5 pounds). With pack, helmet, radio, vario, water, I am at 33 pounds for the whole kit. My old kit came in at 45 pounds. Most of the guys I ﬂy with are my age

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

or older, and 12 pounds on the back makes a difference to us. I could have gone even lighter, but performance, reputation, and safety led me to the choices I made. The first few flights have been short, but so far so good. By the time you read this, I’ll have a lot more data collected. You can reach me at JHarmon@seashare.org. Disclaimer: My research is by no means exhaustive. And I don’t claim to be an expert. Every one of us needs to define what factors are important for us, and listen to the local, experienced pilots in our flying community. I appreciate all the help from my friends and mentors. Fly safely. Jim Harmon is a pilot from Bainbridge Island, Washington, and is a member of the Rainier Paragliding Club and the Northwest Paragliding Club. Jim spends as much time as possible in the mountains with his wife, Mary, and their three kids, ages 1015. Last October Jim’s 10-year-old took his first tandem flight. And so it spreads.

Sport Pilot: An Overview

Photo: Bob Grant

By Lisa Colletti and Tracy Tillman

Welcome to the second edition of our Towline editorial column. In our first column, we discussed the existing FAA Part 103 regulations and exemptions that affect aerotowing of unpowered ultralights and tandem-aerotow hang gliding instruction, to help readers develop a baseline understanding of our situation prior to transition to the more complex FAA Sport Pilot regulations that will soon affect our sport. In the next several Towline articles, we will specifically focus on Sport Pilot issues. Tracy: In this issue, I think that we should present a general overview and implementation timeline of the Sport Pilot regulations. Then, we can focus on specific aspects in future issues, such as (a) transition of tugs to FAA-certified Light Sport Aircraft (LSA), (b) transition of pilots to FAA-certified tug pilots, and (c) maintenance and required inspections of LSA tugs. Lisa: Sounds like a good plan. How about starting with a bit of background information about the creation of the new Sport Pilot regulations? Tracy: OK. The new Sport Pilot rule was announced by the FAA on July 20,

2004, on the day of the 35th anniversary of mankind’s first walk on the moon. Although the implementation of Part 103 regulations for ultralights in 1982 was a big deal for many of us, the implementation of the new Sport Pilot rule is probably the most significant change in general aviation regulations in the last 50 years (ref. 1). Lisa: It is ironic that this all really started with hang gliders. In 1974 the FAA published advisory circular AC 6010 that outlined the position of the FAA regarding the operations of hang gliders. They suggested that to avoid further regulatory action, hang gliders should not fly above 500 feet AGL, stay out of controlled airspace and airspace surrounding uncontrolled (non-towered) airports, not fly over buildings, populated areas, or assemblages of persons, and that organizations representing the sport should develop procedures for quality control, safety, and training (ref. 2). Tracy: Right, and then as hang glider technology and performance improved, and as motorized hang gliders evolved into ultralight aircraft, the FAA created Part 103 (ref. 3) to regulate both hang

gliders and powered ultralights, under the classification of vehicles, rather than aircraft. And now, as ultralight technology, performance, practical weight, and two-place popularity have increased, the FAA reacted by creating the Sport Pilot rule (ref. 4). Lisa: Hang glider pilots should realize and appreciate the fact that many past and current USHPA board members, committee members, and volunteers have spent countless hours working with the FAA and other organizations to help create a system of safety and training that is recognized as credible by the FAA and thus has enabled hang gliding to remain relatively unregulated, in comparison to other forms of aviation. Tracy: Yes, and the current efforts of the USHPA continue to be effective. The other ultralight organizations in the U.S. have been unsuccessful at renewing their exemptions to Part 103 for two-place training, due to the implementation of the Sport Pilot rule. The USHPA is the only one among them that has been able to renew its exemptions to Part 103 – specifically for two-place (tandem) training in hang gliders and paragliders (ref. 5), and for aerotowing of unpowered ultralights (ref. 6). Lisa: So, what is the basic deal now with the new Sport Pilot regulations? Tracy: Fundamentally, hang gliders and powered ultralights that meet Part 103 criteria are not considered to be Light Sport aircraft. Very light tugs may continue to tow hang gliders under Part 103 and USHPA’s aerotowing exemption #4144. However, more powerful (and heavier) tugs, which are generally considered to be safer for towing than very light tugs, will not meet Part 103 criteria, and will be regulated as aircraft under the new Sport Pilot regulations. And, unlike towing with ultralights, we will be able to aerotow on a commercial basis using Light Sport aircraft. Lisa: What is the definition of a Light Sport aircraft? Tracy: It is an N-numbered registered aircraft that has passed an airworthiness

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

certification inspection, and which may fit into the categories of airplane, glider, weight-shift (trike), gyroplane, powered parachute, or lighter-than-air. Fundamentally, an LSA is limited to a maximum gross (fully-loaded) weight of 1320 pounds, twoperson occupancy, fixed landing gear, one reciprocating engine, fixed (or ground-adjustable) propeller, with a maximum stall speed of 45 knots (51 mph) and a maximum level-flight speed of 120 knots (138 mph) (ref. 7). Lisa: It seems most likely that a tug used for towing hang gliders would be either an LSA airplane, a motor-glider, or a trike. Nearly all of the current fleet of tugs in the U.S. are either single-place overweight (“fat”) ultralights or trikes, or two-place trainers, and will have to be converted to LSAs. Tracy: Correct. Our current tugs will be able to be converted to E-LSAs (experimental Light Sport aircraft). We hope that, in the future, manufacturers will produce E-LSA kits or fully-built S-LSAs (special Light Sport aircraft), motor gliders, or trikes, specifically designed as tugs for towing of unpowered ultralights. Lisa: What kind of pilot certificate will be required for flying an LSA? Tracy: As a minimum, a Sport Pilot (SP) certificate will be required to fly an LSA, and a Sport Pilot instructor (SPI) certificate will be required to instruct using LSAs. The FAA has provided a grandfathering clause that does make it somewhat easier (and cheaper) for registered ultralight pilots and instructors to upgrade to SPs and SPIs. Also, pilots with higher-level ratings, such as private or commercial pilots, may fly LSAs, and certified flight instructors (CFIs) may instruct using LSAs. Lisa: It is my understanding that a private pilot certificate will be required in order to aerotow using an LSA. Tracy: That is correct, but the wording in the new regulations suggests that we will be able to tow on a commercial basis with a private, rather than commercial, certificate. Lisa: What is the timeline of the grandfathering clause, making it easier for registered ultralight pilots and instructors to transition to Sport Pilots or Sport Pilot instructors? Tracy: The deadline is January 31, 2007, for the SP ticket, and January 31, 2008, for the SPI ticket. Basically, the grandfathering clause allows a properly registered ultralight pilot to sit for the SP written exam without taking additional ground school, and to take the SP checkride without taking additional flight instruction, if done so by January 31, 2007. There are similar benefits for ultralight flight instructors transitioning to SPI, if done so by January 31, 2008 (ref. 8). Lisa: What is the timeline for conversion of our tugs to E-LSAs? Tracy: The deadline for converting our current fleet of overweight or two-place ultralight tugs to E-LSAs is January 31, 2008. We may use them indefinitely after that, if they’re kept airworthy, inspected, and registered. If a pilot does not convert his overweight or two-place ultralight to an E-LSA by that date, he or she may continue flying it as an ultralight, but only until January 31, 2010. After that, the tug will become scrap material or a lawn ornament, as the FAA will consider it to be an unregistered aircraft without an airworthiness certificate. Lisa: That was a good overview on how the new Sport Pilot January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

rule will aﬀect us. In a future column, we’ll present more details on how to convert our tugs to E-LSAs. References:

1. “What’s the Buzz? Sport Pilot and Light Sport Aircraft, What’s It All About?” by Dan Johnson, EAA Sport Pilot magazine, August 2005. 2. “Proposed FAA Sport Pilot Certiﬁcation” by Joe Gregor, Hang Gliding magazine, September 2001. 3. FAR Part 103 – Ultralight Vehicles: http://www.usua .org/Rules/faa103.htm 4. FAA Sport Pilot Rule: http://www.sportpilot.org/learn/ index.html 5. USHPA Tandem Exemption 4721: http://www.ushpa .aero/hndbook.asp#EXEMPTION4721 6. USHPA Exemption 4144: http://www.ushpa.aero/hndbook .asp#EXEMPTION4144 7. EAA Sport Pilot Sourcebook: http://www.sportpilot.org/ resources/sourcebook.html 8. “The Clock Is Ticking: Deadlines for Sport Pilot and Light-Sport Aircraft Transitions” by Dennis Demeter, Light Sport and Ultralight Flying magazine, May 2006.

Tenerific! By Matt Gerdes, staﬀ writer

Paramotor world champion Mathieu Rouanet spiraling over the surfers at Los Realejos Photo courtesy www.cactuscreacion.com/

Photo: Benoit Pichot

PPhoto courtesy www.cactuscreacion.com/

walking scented candle that burns 24/7, constantly emitting eau de 2-stroke fuel and cigarettes. The Renegades are huddled together packing D-bags in their characteristically exact Germanic fashion, creasing fabric and tensioning lines like scientists. The Acrotwins, Timothy and Anthony Green, are in a heated and enthusiastic discussion about new and impossible paragliding acro maneuvers and launching from building roofs in downtown Paris, and Antoine Boissellier, the French acro ace, is a picture of serenity, relaxing as usual behind dark glasses. Meanwhile, I’m chugging water, trying to stay hydrated and chuckling at the scene we are making. The hotel manager is glaring at us from across the manicured lawn, biting his nails and How many paraglider pilots can you fit inside a Eurocopters A-Star? Five, if four of them have D-bags and one of them is actually only wearing a parachute. fuming at the sight of the Austrians who are smothering the grass with their It hits me just as the Eurocopters 130 massive as he watched his glider come gliders, the smoking French guy who noses forward and pulls away from the close to either shredding its leading edge just spilled gasoline on the pool tiles, parking lot, accelerating us away from on the skid, or worse, becoming snagged and the Latin gang (half of whom are sleeping and drinking here every night the coast and over the crystal blue of the and ruining us all. The last Renegade hops out and cranks without actually being paying guests) Atlantic: I’m getting paid right now, and I’m getting paid twice. I am, of course, into a spiral as soon as his wing opens, who are engaged in an animated being paid by Ozone for my efforts as in order to join his other two team- discussion about the very expensive lookmanager of our Team pilots, and on mates and begin their formation. As they ing camera equipment the leader of the top of that, the organizers of this show, come closer and begin their stack, I step gang is holding. I wonder if we’re in Turismos Realejos, are paying the entire out onto the heli’s skid and with hand danger of being evicted, even though Ozone team to perform here. To sum- motions guide the pilot back towards the we’re special guests of the town and the marize: I’m on double salary to take a beach to hover over the LZ. I then smile mayor is now our personal friend. My free week-long trip to the Canary Islands, at the camera as I tumble off the skid guess is that so long as we are drinkwhere my job is to fly paragliders over towards the beach, accelerating from 0 to ing the bar out of beer and rum every the black sand beaches of Tenerife and 120mph in 8 seconds. evening, we’ll be OK. The next morning, back at the hotel – BASE jump out of helicopters, tandem The show today should be the same paragliders, and even out the back door the ridiculously nice hotel that Turismos as yesterday’s and the days before. The Realejos is putting us up in – the Ozone Renegades and I will start from the port of a camouflaged T-19 military aircraft. Team chills out by the pool: Herminio in the helicopter, Herminio’s film crew Hey, somebody’s got to do it. My salary daydream is short-lived, Cordido, of Never Ending Thermal fame, will head to the beach LZ, and Herminio however, and I snap back to reality is tuning his Canon XL1 to work in himself will go with Antoine and the because I’m supposed to be steadying synch with his digital still-camera, for twins up to the launch site to begin their Hans of the Ozone Renegades as he leans “spayshul eyffects, man!” Herminio is from acro routine 2800 feet above the picturout of the open door of the aircraft to Venezuela, and today he is supporting esque playa that the festival is based at. assist his teammates with the D-bags as the old adage that you never meet just At the port, the helicopter pilot is they back carefully out onto the skid and one Latin acro pilot, as he is simultanethen jump backwards into the rotor wash ously making camera corrections and and the sub-tropical scenery. Hans is a holding court with his entourage of six bit nervous, but probably doing a better rapidly speaking Spanish/Argentinean/ job than I was two days ago during the Venezuelan acro pilots, all of whom are training jump when I was charged with tan and shirtless. Mathieu Rouanet, the same task but didn’t lean forward world champion paramotor pilot, is enough with Paul’s D-bag. Paul’s canopy rocking out to some French crap on his brushed against the skid, scraping right iPod while fueling up his PAP motor The American AcroTwins, Anthony and Timothy over some bolt-heads and causing his with the ever-present Marlboro Red Green, in synchro spiral over the surf eyes to go from wide to bugged-out- glued to his lower lip; Mathieu is like a January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Antoine ﬂying his wife’s Rush XS, while she shoots photos – proof of their ridiculously happy marriage!

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Photo: Melanie Boisselier

taking the door off the left side of the aircraft, and Mathieu is fueling up his motor again, again with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Mathieu is ready and flying long before us, and he disappears down the coastline in the direction of the beach, where he will busy himself by giving the organizers and the spectators an afternoon-long series of minor heart attacks as he does paramotor death-spirals above the crashing waves and the sharp rocks that hem in the crowded beach. He flies back and forth along the face of the waves with one heel in the water, the waves curling up behind him, over his head. He gains altitude and uses his motor to power himself into the world’s gnarliest loops – they are almost reverse tumbles, he gets so high above the middle of his wing. And he winds up into dynamic SATs as the crowd gasps and the freeflight pilots shake their heads in disbelief. Although the paramotoring world championships do not include an acro competition, Mathieu’s performance makes us all wonder if there are any paramotor pilots out there who are as thoroughly nuts as he is, and who have the skills to back it up. The twins are next, and although their routine doesn’t involve synchro infinite tumbles like the Rodriguez brothers, even Raul and Felix congratulate them on their synchro routine in which they touch wings during spiral and rodeo SAT maneuvers at least three times per run. After the twins, Antoine and Herminio fly solo acro routines in close succession, finishing with death-spirals and perfect landings stomped on the beach. Finally, the helicopter that somehow six grown men with three gliders, two cameras, and one parachute managed to fit into is centering over the beach in a near hover. The Renegades are crammed into the back seat and are forced to squirm and struggle to get past each other and back out of the door with their D-bags in hand. Being “the BASE jumper” at many events, I’ve assisted countless different acro pilots from countries all over the world with their D-bags as they jump from helicopters, but a similar facial expression can be seen on almost all of them. It’s usually not fear, not totally, but

Matt Gerdes deploying his BASE rig over the beach Photo courtesy www.cactuscreacion.com/

Photo courtesy www.cactuscreacion.com/ Photo: Melanie Boisselier

Paul and Wolf of the Renegades, on ﬁnal approach. They will stay in stacked formation until the bottom pilot ﬂares to land.

a rapid scanning of the system and the situation, a scanning so rapid in fact that it’s blurry to the pilot himself. It’s a hyperstimulative combination of helicopter blades cracking overhead as the pilot adjusts pitch to accelerate or decelerate, the wind and downdraft from above, the crowd below, and balancing the unwieldy D-bag while holding onto brakes and the side of the machine at the same time. With more than a couple of pilots in the helicopter jumping in succession, it is very inefficient to attach the D-bags to the helicopter itself. Doing this creates a nasty web of cord and carabiners that is more likely to snag and endanger the other pilots than to keep the jumping pilot safe, so in this scenario it is best to have an extra person to hold the D-bag as the pilot jumps. Of course, this means that if the extra person, in this case me, lets the D-bag go when the pilot jumps, the pilot will be instantly freefalling with his wing packed neatly into a tight little D-bag with no chance of inflation or deceleration, and I will probably lose a friend. So, I usually hold onto the straps of the D-bag tightly. The Renegades are what Anglophones refer to as “analretentive.” They are the only professional acro pilots that pack their D-bags so meticulously, with brake lines rubber banded individually and the wing folded symmetrically into a BASEparachute-like configuration. Ironically, they are also the only professional acro pilots I know of who jump with DHV 1 wings. Needless to say, their openings are universally perfect. That doesn’t stop “the look” from creeping onto their faces though, and now as Daniel, the last of them, is about to go, that familiar look of apprehensive trust and hope comes into view as he nods at me and jumps backwards into the void he can’t see.

Antoine Boisselier soaring the northwest coast, with the volcanic cliffs of the Punta de la Gaviota in the background January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Looking up at the Renegades in their “Hangover” formation. When the bottom pilot releases, he will add brakes and tumble forward over his leading edge. January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Antoine Boisselier on his morning commute from our hotel to the venue, using the most ecological form of transport – wind power

Photo: Melanie Boisselier

Photo: Melanie Boisselier Photo courtesy www.cactuscreacion.com/

Sunset on the beach in Los Realejos, the community that sponsored the FLYPA ‘06 event

Photo: Melanie Boisselier

Antoine Boisselier and Matt Gerdes reviewing the team’s plan, after the day’s work

Antoine Boisselier felling small over no-man’s-land, on the very volcanic southwest coast of Tenerife

Photo: Melanie Boisselier

Once the Renegades link up in the air, the formation flying begins. Their routine, which began relatively simple with fourglider stacks and downplanes, is now a complex and shocking collection of downward spiraling, inverted flying, and backwards looping tricks. Even pilots who weren’t impressed by the early downplanes nod their heads with respect at their newest maneuvers. The “Hangover,” in which one pilot flies completely inverted beneath a two-glider stack for hundreds of meters, is a crowd favorite. And new this season, the “Dark Dog Down” is a spiraling downplane in which both gliders actually appear to

be in a version of SAT with the two pilots attached at the feet. The Renegades are subjecting their wings and their release systems to sustained forces of more than 6Gs during this maneuver, and I finally understand why the team captain, Wolf, was so urgently requesting that we build them Ozone Atoms with overbuilt line attachment points, tandem lines, and internal strapping. We never load-tested the Renegades’ version of the Ozone Atom, but it could be the strongest wing in the world. The crowd goes wild for the Renegades’ performance and applauds their landings, and then, to the rest of the team’s total disbelief, several hot young Spanish girls approach them, fawning. While the pale, bespectacled Austrians sign autographs and accept cold beers from gorgeous bikini-clad young women, Herminio and I accept congratulations and get our photos taken with a couple of fat German men. Sometimes life just isn’t fair. I shrug it off and say, “Cheers!” to Herminio and remind him that we’ve just finished a day at work, and we smile to each other, satisfied again.

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Sandia Soar’n 2006: The High-Mile Club Article and photos by Gigi Van der Riet

Adrian on Sandia Crest launch in very windy conditions, with wire crew John Hesch (L), Jim Stelzer (R) and Andrew Vanis (nose)

My husband Adrian and I first visited Albuquerque, New Mexico, in April of 2006. We spent five wonderful days there, two hang gliding under the expert guidance of Andrew Vanis, Sandia Soar’n coordinator, and the other three sightseeing around Albuquerque and nearby Santa Fe on Andrew’s knowledgeable recommendation. My hang glider pilot husband and I, a willing recovery driver, had recently emigrated from South Africa, and last spring and summer we were traveling the USA in search of a new home. Our six-month tour of the country was mapped out to include as many hang gliding sites as possible, and the city of Albuquerque and its sentinel peak, Sandia, had captured our hearts. June is the time for the annual Sandia Soar’n, so we returned to Albuquerque to fulfill the promise of excellent hang gliding and cement new friendships. We arrived in mid-June, a few days early for the official start of the fly-in, to learn that the day prior to our arrival our friend Andrew Vanis and Kent Robinson, a pilot from Dallas, had flown east over 160 miles. Andrew had set a personal

best of 186 miles – just a few miles short of the Texas state line. Kent landed at the Tucumcari airport, 162 miles from launch. This was an auspicious start to the week and we made plans to go up the mountain that Monday for a lateafternoon warm-up soaring session. On Tuesday morning we joined Sandia hang gliding guide John Nagyvary and another local pilot, Curt Slack, on the Sandia Crest launch, which is set among large communications towers on top of

Sandia. High clouds covered much of the sky and the wind, albeit light, had a southerly component coming in across takeoﬀ. Light cycles, however, were consistently pulling straight up launch and all three pilots launched successfully. Adrian, after initially sinking low, had caught a small thermal that rocketed him to over 17,000 feet and, as the wind had turned westerly, decided to go east on cross-country. I started down the mountain in pursuit after hearing that John

Kent Robinson on launch with wire crew Andrew (nose) and Jim Stelzer (R)

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Adrian safely on the ground at Big Sky LZ

and Curt had landed safely at the Big Sky Hang Glider Park LZ in town below. I expected to hear from Adrian that he was going down in one of the many suitable fields, but he radioed to say I should take I-40 east as he was high and moving fast. It seemed I would have a bit of a chase on my hands after all! Nine hours after launching, Adrian flagged me down as I drove along the main street of Tucumcari after dark. More than seven hours of flying had seen him through light sleet at 16,000 feet where he suffered the elements, a thermal caught low over the deck that shot him back up to 12,000’, loss of radio contact due to a dead battery and, finally, no cell phone signal on the ground. Lack of lift, uninhabited landing areas and a headwind 10 miles beyond Tucumcari had prompted him to turn back and he landed in a field, owned by the district attorney, adjacent to the airport. The DA kindly offered Adrian the use of his telephone and drove him into town to wait for my arrival. I, after losing radio contact, had frantically searched the fields along the highway in the fading light before turning into town to find my husband, tired

Pilots lined up and ready to step up to launch on Saturday, 17 June.

but pleased with a new personal-best John Hesch, joined Andrew, Kent and cross-country flight of 168 miles. Adrian, and a local paraglider pilot, Jim The next day, the official start of the Stelzer, volunteered his services as recovSandia Soar’n, conditions unfortunately ery driver. deteriorated. More high clouds and a Adrian, feeling the effects of his exerstrong, gusty southwesterly wind did tion from the day before (partly due to not bode well. A pilot from California, having foolishly refused the loan of an January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Adrian on Sandia Crest launch ready for the triangle task

oxygen tank), decided not to fly. John, Kent and Andrew all got off the mountain safely and we left the confines of the tower compound to sit at the public lookout point and watch them soar. They all soon climbed above the threshold of 13,000 MSL that would allow them to safely go over the back of the mountain, and headed off. As forecast, conditions proved difficult for the pilots to stay aloft and one by one they landed within a 25-mile radius of takeoff. Kent and Andrew headed northeast and John took a more easterly direction. We retrieved Kent, who was nearest, and carried on up Highway 14 to pick up Andrew, who had notched up the flight of the day. Jim went in search of John, who had landed in the Cedar Grove area; we all met up in Madrid, a little artist town full of galleries and restaurants, for an early dinner of “buffalo” burgers.

Conditions for Thursday were predicted to be poor with high winds on launch. Since many of us in the group are avid rock climbers we spent the day in the Jemez Mountains at an easily accessible sport-climbing site. This was a welcome change of mountain scenery and, I believe, a well-deserved break for a hardworking recovery driver. On Friday we all traipsed up the mountain again. At 10 a.m. it was already blowing quite strongly and Kent was quickly rigged and ready. With the aid of a wire crew he was soon launched and climbing fast. The wind speed picked up signiﬁcantly and the rotor could be felt in the rigging area behind launch. I held Andrew’s glider while Adrian was up on launch with an apprehensive wire-crew, waiting for a lull. They stood some time in the strong, turbulent conditions and after

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a brief consultation Adrian backed off, much to my relief. A quick check of his vario showed that it had actually registered a flight! Blissfully unaware of our blown-out plight, Kent racked up 50 miles for the only flight of the day. Local hang glider pilots arrived en masse on Saturday, along with two visitors from as far afield as Las Cruces and Denver. The morale was high as the day’s weather was forecast to be excellent. An open-distance task was set and the general rules and responsibilities were discussed at the pilots’ briefing. One by one pilots stepped up to launch and 12 gliders took to the air in fairly short order. A gaggle, including Adrian, Kent, Brian Kurowski and Bill Lemmon climbed up over the southern end of the mountain and headed east in loose formation.

Adrian ﬂying above Sandia, south of the Crest take-off

Flying IFR – “I Follow Roads” – the gaggle cruised high above I-40 to the east. Having learned his lesson, Adrian had accepted the loan of oxygen and bar mitts and was well dressed for high flying. Jim and I drove down the mountain to follow the gaggle heading east. At about 35 miles out I saw a glider turning for final approach in a field next to the highway near an overpass. I radioed to say I was taking the off-ramp and could easily retrieve him from the frontage road. Jim drove on to maintain communication and visual contact with the remaining three. Brian – the downed pilot – and I were soon instructed to head south off 1-40 toward Encino as the wind had turned northwesterly. We quickly caught up with Jim, who had spotted a glider low over a field to the east, but that pilot had soon climbed out again, and all three

were now cutting the corner toward Vaughn to the southeast. Kent was leading the pack and at the next junction in the roads it was agreed to head east along US60 toward Ft. Sumner. About 30 miles farther along course the gliders began to lose altitude. First Kent made a smooth landing at 102 miles. Bill sailed by for another mile or so and deposited his glider safely on the ground. Adrian, not to be outdone, added another 13 miles to the total and, in no-wind conditions, also landed safely – if not exactly elegantly. This delighted trio of pilots had each ﬂown over 100 miles in not quite six hours. The conditions had proved good, but their skills even better as the day had remained blue without a thermal marker to be seen anywhere. At the pilots’ (and two recovery drivers’) celebratory breakfast on Sunday

morning, Kent received a prize for the greatest cumulative distance, Adrian for the longest ﬂight and Jim for the most altruistic recovery drive. I, of course, have a vested interest. The support of the hang glider equipment manufacturers is heartening and meet organizer Andrew had wonderful prizes and gifts for everyone. Sunday dawned as promising as the day before and a suggestion to set a triangle task was greeted with enthusiasm. Breakfast was quickly consumed and all pilots without prior Father’s Day commitments were once again headed for the hills. Only a small group remained. Steve Ford, the pilot from Denver, joined the three amigos, Andrew, Kent and Adrian. It took some time for Adrian to get rigged and ready – a minor readjustment was necessary to get the VG on his glider operating smoothly. So, with energy

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Andrew Vanis on launch with wire crew Adrian (nose) and Jim (R)

levels flagging, the other three settled in Edgewood and Adrian succeeding in his to rest in the shade or in the back of a car. attempt to cross back over Sandia again Shortly after 2:00 Adrian was the first – an extremely rare and challenging feat to take to the sky, followed by Kent and that has only been done a handful of then Steve. Twenty minutes later I saw times, according to locals. Five hours and 11 minutes after takeoff I was at Big Andrew off and the race was on. The task, first to reach goal at Sky to see Adrian achieve another perEdgewood, included a turnpoint over sonal best, a completed launch-to-launch Estancia airport (39 miles southeast triangle (unfortunately not FAI spec), of takeoff), then Moriarty airport (15 that covered 84 miles. Four days of flying netted 372 miles miles north of Estancia) and a run into the wind for 12 miles to goal at for Adrian and ratcheted him up to 27th position in the OLC. However, he was Edgewood airport. Adrian was determined to attempt one not alone in racking up the miles at this further goal – to fly back over the moun- truly magnificent site. Anyone can join the mile-high club, tain above launch and land in the LZ in town. He is an avid competitor in the but only a talented few achieve memberhang gliding Online Contest (OLC) and ship in the high-mile club. The Sandia Soaring association would was hoping the triangle would be FAI spec and score him the highest points like to thank all the sponsors of the 2006 Soar’n, especially Flytec, Moyes, High possible for each mile. Three pilots made goal, two landing in Energy, and Airtime Above. January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

The 2007 event is June 6-10. You can get details from Andrew Vanis, (505) 304-5306 or vanis13@yahoo.com. More information about the site and the event are online at www.ﬂysandia.org. Gigi, a public relations consultant and freelance writer from South Africa, began hang gliding training in South Africa and hopes to complete her training once the couple settles down in the USA. Adrian, trained in South Africa, is a H-4 rated pilot and is currently ﬂying an Aeros Discus. At the Big Spring Pre-Worlds in Texas, held in August last year, he placed third in the Sport Class.

Enjoying the sunset at Blanchard, in northwest Washington State Photo: Darren Darsey

Put Yourself Into the Picture!

Photo: Ancil Nance

By Thayer Hughes, staﬀ writer and photo archivist

Just as the volumes at your local library are locatable by author, genre, type, etc., In the previous two issues of this so should be your files. Up until now you magazine, I touched on several points may have had a very limited number of regarding traditional film vs. digital photos and might be sorting them in photography, digital “pot holes” to avoid folders by the date they were taken, the stepping into, and some advantages (and vacation trip or location, or whatever disadvantages) of formats when saving makes sense to you. You may even be reyour digital photos. Additionally, every naming the files for easier identification photographer working with digital files like “John launching at Torrey before his will need software management tools: 68-mile XC flight in 1998 number 53.jpg.” one to organize all the photo files, and Well, this tactic can only take you so far another to manipulate them. The more and as your library grows, so should your sophisticated (and expensive) applica- image management tools. Keeping track of hundreds and thoutions even do a respectable job at both. This month I’d like to offer suggestions sands of files has gotten much easier as on how to manage your ever-increasing digital photography has become more library of digital photos and what to do widespread, and each new revision of with them when you decide to offer them computer operating systems has attempted to include, at least at a basic level, some for publication. rudimentary image-management capabilities. While this may be better than a Managing Your Photos Having gigabytes of photos on your shoebox under the bed for your photos, hard disk will be self-defeating if you you should consider the plethora of thirdcan’t locate the one you are interested in. party software out there, ranging from Contributing Photos to USHPA for Publication

free to profe$$ional. When considering these software tools, you should be looking for the capability to easily search for, view, sort and tag your photos. A good data access management (DAM) tool should NOT require the renaming or relocation of your files. When you consider any photo/file management tool, look for the capability to write and read metadata – descriptive information that is inserted directly into the file. Anyone with the capability to read metadata will see all the information you’ve entered about “John and his 68-mile flight back in 1998,” and more. For instance, when I receive your image files I’ll often copy and paste your included email description and info directly into the image file as metadata. Years from now and wherever the file goes, we will easily know any and everything you had to say about your image. A word of advisement: Some management tools may appear to be using something like metadata but actually only keep this

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

information in a local file on your com- plication used by most professionals and it. In addition to a multitude of free and puter. That may work just fine for you serious amateurs is Photoshop. Whether low-cost dedicated FTP programs for all and your computer, but another person you get the low-end version of Photoshop computer platforms, many Web browsers receiving your image will have none of Elements for $75 or the more professional and even MS Windows and Apple’s OS CS version for $600, buy Photoshop and X provide built-in FTP capability. It is the information you have keyed in. A good photo management tool should learn to use it. It is NOT a “push-one- beyond the scope of this article to explain also allow you to easily sort though your button-and-fix-everything” tool and will these programs to any useful depth so I growing number of shots, categoriz- take some investment of time and inter- recommend that you do a little research ing them in any number of ways, and est to learn, but the differences between and learn to transfer files from and to your winnowing the winners from the chaff. “before” and “after” can be subtle yet computer. This may be as easy as typing the ftp://ushpa.aero/magazine link into Comparable to using a light-table for truly amazing. The CS versions of Photoshop also your OS window and then simply dragtraditional slides, the ability to easily view and reorder your selections on your have file browsing, organizing and meta- ging and dropping your folder of images computer screen is crucial to narrowing data editing capability built in, but if you into the window. The USHPA magazine the field to those best few shots worth really can’t spring for them and iView, Web site offers basic instruction and sending in to publish. If you have trouble check out Google’s Picasa (for PCs). It’s links to many popular FTP programs selecting, here’s a suggestion for narrow- free and, although basic, is a good intro- (http://ushpa.aero/magazine). ing your choices – rather than anguishing duction to what is possible with the right over picking the best, instead try tossing tools. Going the other direction, if you Uploading Your Material: out the ones you LEAST like. The right shoot RAW I recommend that you check USHPA maintains an online “drop tools make this a simple exercise, and the out Apple’s Aperture. box” for you to upload your files into. very capable DAM we currently use for Once there, we organize them in prepthe magazine photo database is iView. Submitting Your Photos aration for use in the magazine. The Even though we are primarily an orga- USHPA magazine Web site offers addiManipulating Your Photos nization of photo amateurs, nonetheless tional information and resources to help You may view photography as an art, USHPA is committed to maintaining a you upload your files, but basically we ask or consider it journalism, but nearly any professional attitude towards the material that you: photo can be improved with judicious it prints. It is important that we provide 1. Do NOT enter a username or passimage editing, and I certainly don’t mean accurate credit and captioning info for word to log in. As an anonymous user “faking” your shots in any way. The whole photos and this best comes from you, the you are given certain rights to move point of a good photograph is to draw the photographer. Submitted photos that do around in the FTP drop box, create new viewer’s attention and convey your mean- not include required information (such as folders, and upload your files and folding. You wouldn’t show up for a job inter- your name and contact info) are dropped ers. You are not allowed to view, rename view with wrinkled clothes or unkempt into the “orphan” bin and won’t be used. or download any material already in the hair, and the presentation of your photos It is also important that you know your drop box even if it is something you have is no less important. They are, after all, a rights as a photographer. For a great previously uploaded. If you attempt to reflection on you. primer check out Bert Krage’s excellent enter a user name when logging in, even if it is “Anonymous,” your access will When we use your photos in the mag- .pdf called “The Photographer’s Right.” azine they will nearly always be resized PLEASE, please, never ever send your be barred. or cropped to fit within the page layout. photos to us via email unless specifically 2. We must know who you, the conIf there are specks, scratches, or other requested! Email is a tool for correspon- tributor, are or we WILL NOT use blemishes on scanned submissions we dence and FTP is the proper medium your material. Create your personal diwill normally brush those out. I’ll also for file transfer, especially large files like rectory in the drop box with the format confess to spending substantial time res- photos. Besides being discourteous by “Firstname_Lastname” and put your files urrecting otherwise great photos from jugging up the receiver’s mail server and into that. The easiest way to accomplish the gross distortions caused by file com- inbox, emailing photos is impractical. this is to simply upload a pre-named pression in order to use them for covers Just imagine if your email was bursting folder from your computer that already and center spreads. We normally don’t with hundreds of megabytes daily! There contains your files. 3. It is VERY important that you ingo much farther than that but you, as are additional reasons why NOT to send the photographer, have the allowance to your large files in email so I strongly urge clude a text file describing what you have improve your shots with things such as you to observe proper Internet etiquette uploaded, and I’ll reiterate this later. We red-eye removal, color and contrast bal- and use an FTP application of your need your email and/or phone number in ancing, illumination or shading, dodging, choosing. order to contact you with any questions correcting lens distortion, noise removal, FTP = File Transfer Protocol – it has about photographer or photo credits, and so on. become so easy to properly transfer files subject and location info, caption suggesAll this and more is possible with over the Internet using FTP applications tions or general information about your proper image editing tools, and the ap- that even my 70-year-old mother is doing shots. If you have the capability to embed January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

those who do save in TIFF format, uploading a high-resolution JPG version is still preferred but please let us know that you have the original TIFF format should there be a need to ask for it. As you might now understand, the reason is that TIFFs can range from 25-65 MB (vs. a 5-MB JPG) and, although we have a large hard drive, we will ultimately For Photo Submissions: If you have any doubt on whether we have to convert the TIFF to a JPG for “want them or not,” and you have the use in the magazine anyway. If you save For Magazine Articles: bandwidth, it’s easier by far to simply in TIFF, I figure you already know what 1. To avoid application-specific prob- upload your image files and let us know you’re doing. Shoot RAW, or shoot TIFF, lems or complications, the content for they are there. The cataloging application but send hi-res JPG. In closing, if you have a suggestion for your article is greatly preferred in simple we use easily manages and displays your text format. Simply include your article uploaded files but please be judicious in articles or photo exhibits please discuss your idea or questions with the editor as a text file within your folder. When choosing what you send in! you notify the editor of your upload, it If you have the capability to embed either by email or telephone. Photos may also really helps to paste your article text metadata within your files, please do. be uploaded at any time. Contact: Editor, Hang Gliding & into the body of the email message. Otherwise we can do that for you when 2. Please include a modest biography you include a simple text file (file suffix Paragliding magazine, editor@ushpa.aero, of yourself – a few lines or a small para- ending with “.txt”) that includes your (425) 888-3856, and/or visit http://ushpa graph – to be included along with your contact information (name, email, phone .aero/magazine for additional info. Many article. number), and all information regard- thanks to all of you who have sent in 3. Do not include any file formats ing the photos (names of the subjects if your great photos thus far, and keep ‘em other than text (or JPGs) without prior known, location, caption info, anything coming! To the rest of you... grab your else you think is camera and get busy! relevant or interesting). An example might be: “Joe Blow soaring his Falcon at Point of the Mountain, 1998. Photo by M.E. Myself, me_myself@ hotmail.com, (666) 555-1212.” Thayer currently manages the USHPA We greatly appre- photo database and has worked professionciate that many ally in the graphics and design field for over contributors also 26 years. He can be reached at thayer@ushpa include this info .aero to answer any photo or database access within their email questions. notifying the editor of the files having been uploaded into the drop box. It is extremely important Learn from every flight. that we have this credit informaUsually you can learn more tion or your files from the hard or the poor cannot be used in flights than you can from publication! the easy ones where everyHigh-res JPG thing works. format generally – Andre Wolf is preferred. For

Exif and other metadata with this information into your files then please do. 4. Please notify the editor when you have uploaded your material (editor@ ushpa.aero). 5. If, after reading the suggested information, you are still having any technical difficulty and feel like you’re stuck, we would be happy to help you figure it out.

arrangement with the editor (example: track logs). If you want these included in your article, first convert them into an image file. Note: At the most basic level, all computers are capable of doing screen captures. Simply save the screen image file as a JPG and upload it.

Safety Tips

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

My Week As a Pampered Pilot

George, getting his daily dose of Alpine scenery

My husband George and I have always the Alps. “Go with the Verbier Summits mountains, hop off in the village of Le been addicted to travel, even before we guys!” we heard again and again from our Chable and into the Verbier Summits started flying. Since we took up hang flying buddies, for reasons ranging from van for the short ride up to the chalet gliding 25 years ago, our typical flying “Verbier is such an awesome place to fly!” in Verbier. Switzerland’s transportation system is so very civilized, with connecvacation days go something like this: Get to “The twins are SO cute!” We already knew that Verbier flying tions easy and trains running on time up when the sun hits the tent. Light the stove and heat water for breakfast and was over-the-top scenic, as we’d been – and views of mountains and glaciers and washing up. Make sure camp is secured there with our hang gliders (camping puffy clouds out every window, no extra against the critters, pack a lunch, go find on launch…) back in ‘89. A visit to the charge. In contrast to a Sturtevants’ “on the a place to fly. Get some airtime (one or Verbier Summits Web site confirmed both of us, depending on toplanding and that identical twins Mike and Stu Belbas, cheap” travel routine, a Verbier Summits retrieve options). Head back to camp, who own the business and run the tours, light the lantern, fire up the stove, cook are, yes, cute. They’re also young, energetic, super dinner, clean up, enjoy the stars if it’s not too cold, crawl into the tent if it is. friendly and very professional. They found us an open week that worked with Repeat daily. This routine has long been, and for the my editorial schedule; we paid our demost part still is, our favorite way to spend posit, and started dreaming. Getting to Verbier was easy enough: a vacation. But last winter, with George just past, and me coming right up on, the Fly to Geneva, take the train from the big 6-0, we decided to treat ourselves airport to Martigny, transfer to the tiny James walking out to Savoleyres to the luxury of a guided flying trip in St. Bernard Express that goes up into the

Photo: C.J.

By C.J. Sturtevant

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James Bender climbing out on a mid-day ﬂight Photo courtesy Verbier Summits

Photos courtesy Verbier Summits

George demonstrating perfect alpine launch form

(L to R) George, Peter and James at the breakfast table

our wings and be ready for an in cycle. From our meadow we could see the LZ, a grassy field in the valley bottom and a 15-minute direct flight for the students. Stu suggested a more ambitious flight plan for us: Scratch up on the steep rock face (already baking in the morning sunshine) beyond the bowl to the right, cross the two-mile-wide valley, find lift above the trees on the steep hillside or, if no lift was to be found, glide to the LZ. This was no ho-hum sledder! Even early in the morning the rocks were working, and we typically were able to gain enough altitude to cross the valley, often high enough to work lift above some rocky outcrops on the far hillside. We’d scratch in close to the mountainside, often looking down on steep meadows where farmers were piling up their hay with wooden rakes, and cows wearing huge bells were clanging along in search of bovine breakfast. By the time the last of us arrived in the LZ, the sun would be hot and we’d appreciate the shade cast by the tiny chapel nearby. Our driver Rachel would be waiting with the van to whisk us all into town for lunch, where Stu and Mike would discuss the options for mid-day thermal flying. This was our chance for some real XC, and Stu was always available to guide us on a tour of the valley or, if conditions permitted, to lead us somewhere even more adventuresome. Our group was of mixed experience levels, and the weather all week was less than stellar, so we ended up staying in the valley, venturing as far as we could towards the glacier at the head of the valley before the wind picked up or the clouds overdeveloped. Every flight was different, and challenging, and incredibly scenic – nobody felt “skunked,” although of course everyone hoped for that get-high-go-far day that would allow us

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

to reach our goal of climbing out above the glacier at the end of the valley. On one beautiful afternoon I was feeling a bit “under the weather, “ and by the time we’d bumped and jounced our way up to launch, the strong and punchy conditions were more than I wanted to deal with that day. I didn’t even take my wing from the van, expecting to ride down with Rachel, but on a whim I asked Stu if he’d consider taking me tandem. He graciously agreed, and even seemed pleased with my request, saying that he rarely was asked to take an experienced pilot for a tandem flight. We had a spectacular adventure! Stu flies very much like my favorite tandem buddy, so I was totally comfortable as we scratched our way up the rocky hillsides and crossed low above knife-edge ridges, unable to gain much altitude but instead getting up close and personal with the terrain and the hikers below. I’d never have flown that aggressively on my own in these big mountains and intimidatingly deep valleys! Instead of losing out

Photo: C.J.

flying day begins something like this: Wake up to sunshine coming in the fullwall window of our luxurious chalet room. No need to heat water – our private bath has plenty for washing up. Wander out to the kitchen area, where Rachel is already making coffee and setting the outdoor table. Pitch in with carrying out the fresh bread and croissants, butter and jam, juice, cereal and milk, sit in the sunshine with the rest of our group and enjoy this catered breakfast. This was unaccustomed luxury, and we all loved it! During the rest of the day we were equally pampered. Stu and Mike would join us during breakfast and brief us on the day’s weather (“sunny, hot by afternoon, chance of thunderstorms late in the day” was the forecast every day we were there, and for the most part that’s what we got). The twins typically have students as well as clients like us to take flying, so the early flight each day was always from a site appropriate for a mellow sledder to a huge LZ. We’d help load the dishwasher, pile into the vans and head up into the mountains. Savoleyres, the launch that works best in the morning, required a short walk across a ridgetop with incredible views down to the Rhone valley on the right, and to the Val de Bagnes on the left. The wildflower-meadow launch was huge, with room for all of us to lay out

Mike launching tandem from Savoleyres

Photo courtesy Verbier Summits

Peter, above cloudbase

“I never trust a skinny cook,” George on this afternoon’s flying, as I’d expected, I was treated to the coveted full tour to had teased Leah when we first arrived at the chalet, but he quickly changed his the glacier at the valley’s end! George and Peter also had their best tune. Leah, tall and slim and barely out flights on this day. They’d launched of her teens, had spent the ski season in ahead of Stu and me, and were well out Verbier and didn’t want to leave the Alps “on course” before we were airborne. Stu come summer. So she learned to cook kept in touch with them via radio, soon and hired on with the twins – and no one catching up with Peter, and pointing out would ever have guessed that a year ago the ski lift lines (get high before cross- she’d never prepared a gourmet meal for ing!) and the house thermals along the herself, much less for a houseful! Each way. George was a ways ahead of us and night’s dinner was delicious and plentiful, Peter, who eventually dropped behind; with good wine and homemade desserts they didn’t catch the elusive lift that al- – a perfect finale to the day’s flying! Rachel, our driver, was another young lowed Stu and me to cross the valley high and venture back alongside the glacier, and slim Brit, and often our only clue to but they still had a long and scenic tour whether we were riding with Mike or before the wind picked up and we all had Stu. If Rachel hopped in the front seat and scooted right over next to the driver, to land. On days when the predicted thun- we knew it was Mike. We tried numerderstorms materialized, one of the staff ous other ID methods to figure out which would often stop at a bakery and bring of the twins was which – ponytail style, home a ballast-building cake or pastry to T-shirt color, choice of wing – but nothtide us over till dinner. On flyable eve- ing had the guaranteed accuracy of the nings, if we weren’t too worn out by our Rachel test. Stu and Mike, also Brits, have been two earlier flights, we’d go up to Croix de Cœur for an evening of ridge-soaring flying one thing or another since they were 17; now, at age 28 and living in before coming home to dinner by Leah.

Switzerland, they are energetic, dedicated, knowledgeable and highly qualified guides for hang glider and paraglider pilots looking for an Alpine adventure. The chalet easily accommodates families, and the twins will arrange activities for non-flying family members as well. George and I and James, another of our Verbier group, went to France for a week of self-guided flying following our stay in Switzerland. We should have done the on-our-own part of the trip first – it wasn’t easy fending for ourselves after our week of total pampering, courtesy of Stu and Mike and the Verbier Summits staff. If you’re considering the Alps this summer, check the Verbier Summits Web site, www.verbier-summits.com. Whether you’re a hang or a para pilot, no matter what your skill level, Stu and Mike will help you put all the pieces together for the flying vacation you’ve been dreaming of.

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Endless Possibilities By John Christof

A magical ﬂight at Torrey Pines Photo: Jerry Gillard

Photo: Renie Christof

My fiftieth birthday had just come and gone, reminding me that so many travel and flying dreams were waiting to become a reality. I asked a well-traveled comp pilot in the Lookout Mt. LZ where he considered to be the most consistent flying site in the U. S. He said, “Torrey Pines, and if you are going to California, try to fly Yosemite.” A call to Torrey Pines confirmed that I could rent a hang glider there. I did not want the hassle of putting my glider on an airplane. Next, I called Mike Butler, flight monitor at Yosemite. Mike gener-

Launching at Glacier Point, Yosemite

ously offered to meet me with a glider I could rent, and take me flying at Glacier Point. We were ready to make some lifelong dreams come true! Arriving at Torrey Pines, I looked up Steve Stackable. He pulled a Falcon out of his glider barn and showed me around. Paraglider pilots flew above the cliff and others practiced kiting on the green, grassy lawn that sloped toward launch overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Steve took the Falcon for a quick flight to demo a top landing. I was highly motivated to land on top, since landing on the beach required hiking glider and harness up a steep 300-foot cliff on a narrow, twisting dirt path. I had been told, “They fly Torrey every day.” This may be true, but on my first day there every pilot logging airtime was flying a paraglider. The launch faces west and the breeze was south. A local biwingual pilot told me he didn’t launch his hang glider in a south cross anymore. Another pilot hiked with me below launch on the eroded cliff to show me the lower cliff line that produces a nasty

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

rotor in south-crossing wind. I watched and waited, not wanting to be the day’s entertainment. The next day, winds were forecast 10 to 15 west-southwest. After a morning hike on the state park beach below launch, I set up my borrowed wing. I launched into a perfectly smooth sea breeze and found solid lift up to 400 feet over launch. Life is good! Finally, I had a bird’s-eye view of the blue Pacific Ocean all the way to the horizon. I flew over a $23-million mansion that reportedly belonged to a Washington lobbyist. I had been coached to read the lines on the ocean indicating stronger wind and calm spots moving inland. I tried to stay lined up with the most active wind lines. I also found smooth thermals and lift I could follow out over the ocean. Several other hang gliders launched and dozens of paragliders floated below. This was my first time to fly with a whistle – site rules require blowing a whistle each time we entered the radio-control flight area near launch. At Lookout, RC pilots share the glider launch and

Photo: Jerry Gillard

Torrey Pines

Photo: Dan Veneman

Photo: Renie Christof

occasionally try to collide their RC wings into their friends’ passing hang gliders for fun. No whistles needed. After almost two hours of Torrey Pines flying ecstasy, the breeze got lighter and the lift became weak. At about 150 feet over, I flew downwind and set up for my first top landing. It was very convenient to be able to land within a short walk of the same place I had launched! Flying at Torrey Pines is very fun, and if I lived in San Diego, the first thing I would do is learn to paraglide. In the early 1980s, I saw a poster of a hang glider flying in front of tremendous rock cliffs and a heavenly waterfall. The poster was entitled “Yosemite.” That image froze in my mind, and I dreamed that someday I would do that, too. On Father’s Day, 2006, at 7:30 a.m., Yosemite ranger Mike Butler and I carried our gliders to the set-up area at Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. Once I was set up, I let the beauty of the place soak in. Directly across from

Eves Tall Chief

then called, “Clear!” It is easy to run hard on a surface that steep! After two steps, I was airborne. I flew along the edge of the canyon walls, watching Yosemite Falls, then crossed the valley toward Lower Yosemite Falls. The mist from Lower Yosemite boiled up as water crashed down 620 feet into a rocky creekbed. I felt energized by the dramatic wilderness scenery. The rich reality of the moment far surpassed the dream I had carried of becoming the pilot in the poster. I scanned below for my appointed LZ and saw a big green meadow, thinking, That is it. Later, I saw two gliders setting up to land in what looked like a swamp. I wondered, Why are they landing in the flooded field? Then I realized that “swamp” was Leidig Meadow. It looked like half of the field was covered in water. Beyond the flooded area launch, Yosemite Falls dropped 1430 was a small patch of green. Beyond that feet down into a swirling mist. I could were big trees and a river. I focused on see Half Dome and North Dome. Bare my spot as I set up my approach. I really canyon walls stood so huge they ap- didn’t want to end up in the trees or the peared close, even from across the valley. river, so I was conservative, judging my The early morning air felt fresh and still. angle on base. Pulling in for speed on Sunshine illuminated the mountains and final, I felt my Falcon descend fast. This offered a comforting warmth at 7200 feet thing does not glide like my U-2, I realized. I slowed down and tried to stretch MSL, near snow-capped peaks. Mike led me across several boulders to my glide as far as possible. I felt my our launch site, a smooth slab of gran- glider’s energy begin to fade and still I ite sloping steeply down to the edge. He was over the water. When I could wait explained, “You cannot see the LZ from no longer, I rotated up and flared. My here,” and offered some aerial photos feet went down in ankle-deep water 40 of the field I should look for down the feet short of my intended spot. My fellow valley, since the park service required us pilots told me that was considered a to land at Leidig Meadow. Three other “splash down.” What a great flight! Mike invited several curious children pilots would fly before me. I expected who were watching us to climb into his their landings to mark the LZ. Our monitor for the day was Chief. harness and hang beneath my glider. He assisted me as I took my perch on Three of us lifted the glider up so their the steep rock 3000 feet above the valley parents could take photos of their chilfloor. He moved to safety, saying, “It’s dren hang gliding. The kids’ smiles and laughter translated into good PR for your glider.” I hesitated to soak in the excitement, us and the park service. A happy pilot opened a bottle of champagne and offered toasts as we shared our flying stories. This first-ever visit to Yosemite had just begun in the most fun way I could imagine. Life is filled with endless possibilities, and dreams do come true!

Yosemite’s steep granite launch ramp January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Hanging Out With Frank Gillette

By Bob Holland Photos by Jody Holland

with Frank, we were all on Wills Wing gliders. I moved up to the HP AT, Jody flew a Sport AT, and Christopher owned a Sport. Not bad for a family originally from Florida! This is a tribute to Frank’s enthusiasm and teaching skills. Frank has always been a multiwingual pilot. He took our family up in his Cessna Centurion for long flights. He used to fly from Idaho down to visit his family in California. For playing around his house he had a two-seat ultralight in which he took my sister for a ride from his back yard. Frank jumped on the bandwagon when paragliders came out. After soaring his house, Frank Gillette makes a picture-perfect landing on his own LZ. He currently has Falcon 2 and Sport 2 hang gliders, an Arcus 2 paraglider (all hat better way for mountain-starved from Wills Wing, of course), and many flatlanders to get back to their roots assorted older hang gliders and paraglidthan by attending Frank Gillette’s fly-in ers. He also keeps a two-seater Kit Fox on the first weekend of August 2006? It airplane in his shop – he launches it from had been six years since we’d flown in his front lawn – and has a powered paraIdaho, and we needed to return to our glider for winter flying in Arizona. Frank was giving hang gliding inpast home. It’s no wonder Frank was a USHPA Commendation award recipient structions to a new pilot, from his front – he truly has “made things happen in the lawn, on a single-surface Falcon, when flying community.” He has taught and we were there last summer. His lawn helped many pilots advance their skills, is a great place to learn – he has a little and my wife, son, and I have been grate- trailer that is towed behind his ATV ful for his tutelage. It was a pleasure to to bring the hang glider and pilot back visit with him and his wife Lorna (and up to the top of his gently sloping lawn. their extended family) who have done so Paragliding training is conveniently close much for us and others. Frank started flying hang gliders back in 1972 with gliders made by a man in Salt Lake City. He talked about how low the glide ratios were for the early gliders – he couldn’t make it over the wires at “D,” one of his favorite sites. He became totally obsessed with flying – just ask his family. But that’s a testimony many of us share for the beauty of pure, free flight. He flew the “standards” and other early models and eventually became a dealer for Wills Wing, a company to which he is still faithful. After our family left the training of Lookout Mt. Flight Park in 1989, I was flying a Vision Mk IV, and Jody and Christopher shared the Lite Dream 165. After a couple of years flying

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by also, and Frank uses his old yellow pickup, the BumbleBee, to carry people up the hills near his house. It seemed like our escapades with Frank were always bigger than life. One amazing attribute Frank has is his energy level. Kari Castle once likened this energy to that of a flea hopping around on a hound dog. We never could keep up with him and still can’t. This past summer, we witnessed Frank taking his hang glider and paraglider up to the top of Cougar Ridge and flying both wings, during different times of the day. Since there are so few other pilots in his home locale, Frank has become very adept at top landing either wing. He launches when soarable, and if the winds lighten, he just lands back on top. We watched in awe as he landed his Sport 2 hang glider on the narrow level strip of ground at launch. On another day when it was blown out up top for paragliders, we went halfway down the hill to where it was launchable, and he stayed out front so as not to be blown back. Pulling ears to land side-hill between sage bushes was a little beyond me, but we learned a lot as we watched Frank. We had just moved out to Idaho in 1989 and were up at the King Mt. meet when Frank set the new Idaho state

record, flying his WW HP AT 162 miles from King up to near Anaconda, Montana. This wasn’t his first 100+ flight by any means. His record held until 11 years later when John Woiwode set the new record of 187 miles. Frank and his family always fix a great meal at his fly-ins. His wife, Lorna, and her extended family made a super meal for us this time. We were reminded of a time in the early ‘90s when we were living in Albion, Idaho, a valley below Mt. Harrison near Frank’s home. Since his family had fixed supper on Saturday night, we decided to return the favor by Frank on launch at Cougar, having a lengthy discussion with his launchmaster, Tina (miniature schnauzer) preparing Sunday breakfast. Of course with Frank’s energy level, he rousted all the pilots up at daybreak and got them we were introducing some pilots to grits Many summers ago we’d met Dennis and Claire Pagen on top of Connor’s up Mt. Harrison for a smooth morning – imagine never having eaten grits! Frank has a number of flying sites Ridge, and they’d enthused about the sledder to our back yard for “ breakfast at Bob’s.” Kinda like you had to earn close to his home. Test Hill right behind width of the launch area at that site – you your breakfast! Everyone made goal. It his house gives a nice 500-foot flight, could launch four hang gliders simulwas amazing watching John Heiney do with the landing in the mowed LZ in taneously. Mt. Harrison’s west launch a couple of loops before landing in our front of his house. Brad Bloxham had works in anything from SW to WNW backyard to enjoy the food. We’d fixed brought some students from Boston wind, and is an amazing site with the a nice spread and were surprised that there for training this past summer. whole Magic Valley out in front. Many

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Frank and Lorna Gillette’s granddaughter, Mallory, created this tribute. It depicts Granpa ﬂanked by Bob and Jody Holland, paragliding. Down below is Granpa’s BumbleBee leading the Holland’s SUV on another ﬂying safari.

to his benefit. Once, we were speeding through Craters of the Moon National Boy, we’ve had some adventures! We Park in order to be able to launch King a pilot has soared the “D” hill, a 1300’ peak with one of the gnarliest roads ever remember when Frank got his ATOL on time and we got stopped by a Park up to launch – at one point all you can see winch for the front of his truck, and we Service patrol. Frank proceeded to tug ahead is the hood of your vehicle and the went towing down in the Malta valley. on the officer’s heartstrings about how As it turned out, the jets from Hill AFB the clouds were starting to OD, soon we blue sky beyond! One of our most memorable “Frank” used to make some ground-hugging ter- couldn’t launch, how far we’d driven, the moments was when I was kiting Jody’s rain training flights in this same valley, thermal development during the day, etc., glider, an Edel Atlas, on Frank’s front 90 degrees to our tow path. But we didn’t and the officer felt sorry for this old guy yard one afternoon. A thermal picked know when they would make their runs. who wanted so desperately to get into me up off the ground to about 150 feet We weren’t in controlled airspace. Have the air. I thought I saw that officer’s eyes AGL and started carrying me down you ever had a bomber fly under you? We start to tear up as he put his ticket book the valley. Not knowing if I was going would nervously look down the range away, and told us to drive on. Frank has had pilots from around the to be whirled around in a dust devil or for incoming before starting our tow. I what was going to happen, we were all in don’t even know if the jets ever saw us. world stop in to fly with him. One of my shock as this unintended flight unfolded. My wife helped squelch that site after a favorite tales is of the Scandinavian lass I was an early P-2 with no thermaling ex- few sessions got too hairy. I think this who enjoyed topless sunbathing while perience, so I did what Frank had taught: qualifies for Chris Santacroce’s “get the the gang was setting up their gliders on Don’t panic or overreact, don’t jam on you-know-what scared out of you some- Harrison. Quite a sight for Idaho farmboys! Did you know it can take over two the brakes, let the glider fly. For some time” list. Frank’s never been one to complain hours to set up a hang glider, given the reason I had to unwrap my left brake, so I got hold of that, then proceeded to about injuries. I remember when he hurt right conditions? I could go on and on with other advenhead the glider into the wind to land in his ankle in a paraglider landing and had the lee of a neighbor’s house. No, I didn’t a hard cast on his foot and lower leg. The tures – each flight seems like a beautiful have to change my underwear, but I was doctor told him to rest it and keep it el- gem in my mind, frozen in crystal clarity surely unnerved. Frank and Jody’s jaws evated, so he took the doctor literally. We to be cherished forever. That’s the beauty had dropped open watching this poten- had to laugh, watching him launch upper of free flight. Otherworldly. Magical. tial disaster, and everyone was greatly King in a hang glider in order to get it Jody and I have been greatly privileged relieved as I calmly walked back up to really elevated, resting in his harness. to have shared some time with Frank as Frank’s lawn. We credit Frank’s train- Somehow he pulled it off. His nickname he advanced our flying careers. The fact ing, the superb safety of the Atlas (Bill at that time was “Bigfoot.” that he was 78 years young when we flew Frank has done a lot to develop the with him in the summer of ’06 should be Anderson once remarked that you could hang a sack of potatoes under an Atlas sites he flies. We have helped (a little) in a selling point that we can use in enticing and it’d fly down just fine), and my past some of his roadwork by moving large new pilots to our sport – you can do it hang gliding experience with my staying rocks. He has mowed many a launch/ into your golden years. cool in tight situations to saving my life. landing site. He has leveled the road up Idaho can be proud of this native, Frank, being the gung-ho instructor that to King Mt. launch several times with Frank Gillette, the dean of Idaho pilots. he is, asked me why I didn’t just keep his grader and is willing to do it again. thermaling up for my first XC flight. In He takes pride in well-groomed sites. On occasion Frank would use his age jest? Of course! January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Photo: Jack Brown

way. These are just some of the reasons why Mike and Gail Haley, organizers of the Rat Race, picked Woodrat Mountain as the location for this introductory competition. My first-ever XC flight was at Woodrat during the 2004 Starthistle Fly-in just prior to the start of the second Rat Race. I’d done lots of thermal flying but I’d never left the nest, and I remember how intimidated I was by leaving the home LZ and going off to land somewhere I’d never been before. I’m sure everyone can remember their first XC flight and the apprehension they felt at watching their perfectly good landing zone slowly slipping away! Once it’s gone, however, you begin to understand what it is that XC junkies are so stoked about: the climbs, the views, the freedom. It’s an experience that you can’t wait to share with every other pilot you meet. Competition lets pilots do just that. The goal of the Rat Race is to allow relatively new pilots to experience competition/XC flying for the first time without feeling alone in a field of expert pilots. To help newer pilots, Len Szafaryn started a mentoring program that pairs up an experienced comp pilot with someone who is new to the scene. The mentor and the protégé meet up on launch to talk about the day and evaluate the task at hand. The mentor program also includes lectures at night on important competition topics. Experienced pilots present lectures on topics like speed-to-fly, scor-

Twelve-year-old Wil in Alaska

Wil, age 12, in Hawaii

Photo: Gail Haley

Photo: Jack Brown

My name is Wil Brown, I am 17 years old and I have been paragliding since I was 12. From my perspective, going cross-country is what most paraglider pilots consider to be the sport’s most valuable facet. It is the most sought-after step in the evolution of learning to paraglide, and Woodrat Mountain in Oregon is a perfect place to take that ﬁrst step towards the new world of XC. With moderately sized mountains and large, green, grassy valleys, it is a very forgiving place to ﬂy. It’s a place where bad XC decisions will land you in a friendly farmer’s cow pasture instead of a sketchy postage-stamp LZ or the median of a high-

Bruce Goldsmith speaks to a packed house at an afternoon mentoring session on a rained-out day.

The lineup on the west launch

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Photo: Jack Brown

Rat Race 2006

By Wil Brown

ing, or just general racing technique and decision-making. I found the program to be very helpful during my first comp and I am thankful to all of the mentors for encouraging the newer pilots to fly farther, faster. The 2006 Rat Race – the fourth – stayed true to its roots as an introductory comp while at the same time accommodating its growing popularity. It is now the largest competition in the United States and the hardest to get into. This year it filled almost immediately, with many pilots on a waiting list. The first three years had near perfect weather with only a few no-fly days. This year turned out to be a little disappointing due to low ceilings and rain throughout the middle of the comp, but tacked on both ends of it were two spectacular days of flying. The day before the comp was the best flying I’ve ever experienced in Oregon. Cloudbase was right around 7500 feet, which isn’t extraordinarily high for Woodrat, and the thermals weren’t the strongest I’d ever felt there either. But all the climbs were smooth and the lift was consistent everywhere. I spent all day cloud surfing with my father and others. We flew out to Grants Pass, which is about 15 miles northwest of launch, and came back to land in the LZ. The whole route was scattered with other pilots taking the same route and enjoying the warm-up for the comp. The first day of the Rat Race looked promising from a visual and meteorological standpoint. Cloudbase was forecast to be at eight grand, the wind wasn’t going to be much of a factor, and each pilot had excitement smeared across his or her face. During the pilot meeting a few of us gasped at the length of the task

Wil and his dad, Jack, at goal

Ever hopeful, pilots wait on launch for conditions to improve. The day was eventually canceled.

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Photo: Gail Haley

Photo: Matt Senior Photographer unknown

The next day the weather turned on us. We went up to launch to evaluate the day’s conditions, but we came back down with our tails between our legs, forced to pursue other activities. The weather was worse on Wednesday – another day of hackysack and Frisbee golf. Thursday looked abysmal as well, but several pilots managed to fly off launch into awaiting cloud suck. I’d never seen so many pairs of big ears before! The forecast for the last day didn’t look promising and most of us expected a one-day competition. All of our hopes were shot and some of the competitors left early. But when we arrived at headquarters on Friday, patches of sun were poking through the thin cloud layer and there was once again hope in the remaining pilots’ eyes. It seemed that at best we’d get a short task in before the winds picked up in the A small gaggle at Woodrat afternoon, and we’d get an early start set: It was a 42-mile task (70km) and lots gaggle. It was probably the largest gaggle on the closing party at the headquarters. of us had never flown more than 20 or in U.S. paragliding history, and most The task committee called an almostperfect race that resulted in a 966-point certainly the largest I’ve ever flown in! 30 miles. The start was an entry cylinder a few day. There were fewer pilots in goal on I’d personally never made goal before, and I had been a competitor in miles away, so a few minutes prior to the the last day (35), but everyone was just the previous two Rat Races, so I’d had window opening the gaggle broke up as excited to fly after sitting in the rain for my chances. I wasn’t the only nervous- pilots took off across the valley towards three days. The winner of this last day, and the looking pilot – I could see lots of newbies the start cylinder. The course took us out like me fumbling with a GPS or sidling to Grants Pass, back to Woodrat, then competition, was Bill Belcourt. Bruce up to a group of seasoned comp pilots out towards Ashland for goal. Forty- Goldsmith took second overall, followed talking about the task. The atmosphere eight pilots made goal, surprising be- by Hayden Glatte. The beer kegs rolled out at the end of the day and everybody always makes me a little jittery, but it’s a cause it was a fairly ambitious task. I was absolutely stoked to make goal (except me, of course) unofficially toasted good feeling and I can always relax by reminding myself that I’m just there to fly. for the first time, even though I was one their brew to two good tasks. Mike and Woodrat’s dual launches (off the north of the last ones in. I was coming over the Gail Haley and all of the volunteers had and west sides) ensured an expeditious last ridge, looking for the LZ, when I hosted another successful Rat Race, and takeoff for all of the 130 participating heard my dad screaming, “Yeah, Willy!” all received well-deserved thanks for the pilots. There were lots of gaggles prior to I missed being a part of the photo of all opportunity they once again provided the start window, but at one point all of the pilots that made goal, but I’ll never the up-and-coming comp pilots in the United States. the pilots slowly merged into one giant forget the memory.

A Rat Race Reflection

some trees to dodge, just lightly blowing grassland. By Jack Grisanti On the ground and again looking up I How cool is this!! I am at 7100 feet was only mildly annoyed at the gaggle of with an eight-mile-an-hour tail wind pilots slowly rising up into the air in the and within sight of my fourth waypoint. very place I found sink only minutes earFor the first time in three years of doing lier. Ahhh, but I could feel a cool breeze the Rat Race I found myself thinking: and the warm sunlight on my face. All Hey, I could actually reach goal today. around me was a bazaar of multi-shaded Then, as fortunes often turn in our fickle green Oregon countryside. It was a beausport, my tail wind turned to a head wind tiful place to be. And if that was not and my line of lift turned to sink. Soon enough to appease any other compliant, I I found myself low over wooded moun- noted a fellow wayward pilot landing in tains, thinking it was time to look a little the adjacent pasture. Soon I was to find farther afield, any place with real roads out it was an old friend with stories to would do. So reluctantly I veered off share while we waited for our retrieve. course and indeed I soon found a great While the goal was not in the cards for landing field to settle in on, one with no me, I was well pleased with my achieveelectrical lines, marshy areas or cumber- ments and fortunes of that first day. As

the weather and flying conditions were not the greatest for the rest of the competition, I felt there had to be more to this little story of good fortune. I realized upon reflection what brought me back to the Rat Race every year since the first. It has to be the people I get to play with: old and new friends, great organizers, local pilots and interested country locals with welcoming smiles. And as exceedingly good as the sky gods are, they too are just good people to be around. I will be back to reach for that elusive goal in that big green countryside, and I know I will be able to count another great adventure in any case.

USHPA Sanctioned Competition Notice Paragliding Rat Race

Dates: June 17-23 – Landowner Cattle Feed,” daily lunches, retrieval, awards party, seven days! No rain, weather T-shirt, mentoring program, GPS training and more. or other contingency plans Mandatory meeting: 9:00 a.m. daily, 6950 Hwy. 238, Event description: Ruch, Oregon 97531 Cross-country race to Pilot qualiﬁcations: Current USHPA card, P-3 goal, with education and Equipment requirements: Paraglider and harness, training in GPS use and helmet, reserve, GPS, radio capable of receiving and transmitcompetition strategies ting on all USHPA frequencies. Subject to inspection by meet/ Location: Woodrat Mt., safety director. Ruch, Oregon Awards and prizes: Trophies, ﬂight suits, general prizes. Registration: Opens February 15, closes June 17. Open class 1st, 2nd, 3rd; Serial class (DHV 1-2 and lower) Registration limited to 130 pilots. 1st, 2nd, 3rd; Master class (50 years and older) 1st, 2nd, 3rd; Fees: $375 postmarked before April 15, $425 postmarked Women 1st, 2nd, 3rd; regional champion April 15-June 17. Fees include BLM land-use fees, “LZ More information: www.ratracecomp.com

USHPA Sanctioned Competition Notice VIP2 Paragliding Nationals

Dates: June 24-30 – seven days! No rain, weather or other contingency plans Event description: Race to goal in high-desert conditions. After a week’s training at the Rat Race, most pilots will be prepared to step up to this competition. Location: Black Cap Peak, Lakeview, Oregon Registration: Opens February 15, closes June 24. Registration limited to 130 pilots. Fees: $350 postmarked before April 15, $400 postmarked April 15-June 17. Fees include daily energy smoothie, retrieval, awards party, T-shirt, no-ﬂy day basketball tournament with $500 prize money, street dance with the Ladies of Lakeview.

Mandatory meeting: 9:00 a.m. daily, location TBA Pilot qualiﬁcations: All contestants must be current

USHPA members. No exceptions. P-4 required, or P-3 with turbulence and cross-country endorsements. Equipment requirements: Paraglider and harness, helmet, reserve, GPS, radio capable of receiving and transmitting on all USHPA frequencies. Subject to inspection by meet/ safety director. Awards and prizes: Trophies, $1000 prize money, general prizes More information: www.vip2comp.com

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Italian Heaven and Hell

Launching at Tre Pizzi

Italy during the long, hot summer of ‘06 could have been considered to be a close approximation of Dante’s version of hell. No doubt Dante was experiencing similar oppressive weather when he wrote his torrid tome, The Inferno. Italy was an inferno for those legions of baleful tourists sweating in the pits of Rome, sweltering along the walls of Assisi and swearing through the streets of Venice. OK, we did some of those things, too, but we also found out how to enjoy Italy from a cool 11,000 feet suspended on the currents sailing high from all that heat, and otherwise hang out in a swimming pool surrounded by shade trees and a bar. We were in Italy for the flying, not the tourist attractions (as a huge fan of great art, I have crawled all over Italy ten times, and now prefer the countryside and the sky). So, after visiting relatives near Venice, my girlfriend, Diane, and I hauled ourselves and her two kids over the mountains to the region of Umbria and the notorious flying area centered on Monte Cucco. Those in the hang gliding world may remember that Monte Cucco was the venue for the pre-world and world meets in 1998 and 1999 respectively. I flew during those events and was back there in 2004, so I know the area well. But this time I wasn’t there for pure flying fun. I had set up my annual crosscountry course to fly from the Umbrian heights. Here’s the scenario: Every year the Dutch national hang gliding organization chooses a spot in Europe to hold their national competition as well as an open comp. Since 2001 they have invited me to teach a cross-country course simultaneous with the meet. We share the sites, share the retrieve vehicles and share the fun. During the past six courses we have been to France twice, and once to Spain, Austria, Slovenia and Italy.

The mayor of Sigillo (on left) and Flip Koetsier, CIVL president (white T-shirt), greet the pilots.

Setup on Tre Pizzi

My job is fun because after all my four pilots are safely through the course or landed, I can go play in the afternoon thermals. (We use an instructor for every four students and class size is typically twelve students. Dutch pilot Harm Darwinkel with his lovely partner Annet is one of my usual co-instructors. Wayne Sayer from the U.S. is another, but this year Wayne decided to get married. Imagine that!) So, I work on my scratching skills for the weak days and ﬂagpolesitting (to remain with the students) on the booming days. Occasionally one of us instructors goes down while the students stay up. We turn that into a teaching opportunity to coach from the ground and illustrate how one bad decision or missed bit of lift can alter the outcome of a ﬂight (that’s our story and we’re sticking to it). Paradise Lost (and Found)

Before we get into some flying details, here are a few impressions for the potential flying visitor. Italy does not cater to tourists for one reason: It has too many of them. So they don’t try harder. For example, trains don’t run on time (unique in all of Europe in my experience); little English appears on signs, museum brochures, menus, etc.; and there is not much variety in most restaurants (if you like cheese, tomato sauce and white flour for every meal, you’re in hog heaven). For the cognoscenti, the trick is not to go to Italy for the tourist attractions, but for

the flying. Now we have to list a few laws right out of Dante’s hell before we give a final score to an Italian holiday. Some years ago the convoluted bureaucracy passed a law banning all foreign pilots. It has since been rescinded by virtue of the CIVL’s IPPI card, but what were they thinking? Next, they have banned all use of 2-meter radios by pilots. That ban is still in effect despite the obvious safety detriments. Finally, they recently passed an airspace law that reads: All pilots must remain within 300 meters (1000 feet) of the surface, within three kilometers (1.86 miles) of any high ground. What that means is that if you are near a mountain you can be 1000 feet over that mountain, but as you proceed farther you have to come down to 1000 feet AGL. Crossing a valley or any real XC flying would be nearly impossible following such guidelines. Why the stricture, I wondered, considering that I didn’t see a single airplane in the sky other than at the Marco Polo airport near Venice. OK, it would seem that Italy would be off the list of places to visit with a glider on your back, but not to worry. This is Italy, after all. Remember flexible application of the law, political machinations, The Sopranos…Well, the fact is, hang and para pilots simply become aware of the laws then go out and flaunt them while keeping their radios discretely hidden in the rare case a figure of authority is

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country, so the available fields increase in number about mid-July when the crop comes off. And beauty is everywhere. The intense light that spreads across the countryside gives an aesthetic glow to the brown and golden hues undulating in the valley. No doubt it was this exquisite lighting that made those Renaissance artists shine so many years ago. Amenities in the area include a large Dennis Pagen teaching the morning XC session grocery store with more selection than around. In fact, in all my flying in Italy we have a right to expect near such a (seven sites over the years), I never saw small settlement area, and of course, anyone look twice at anyone else. There plenty of pizza and gelati (ice cream) esseems to be no regulation enforced. That’s tablishments. Hotels are available right not to say that visitors should totally in Sigillo, the village on the way up to ignore the host country’s laws, but there launch, but we have two alternate sugis an old saying: “When in Rome…” gestions. The first is free camping with There is plenty to recommend the showers on top of the mountain near the Monte Cucco area to the avid traveler/ restaurant behind launch. The facility is pilot. For starters, the launches in the owned by a hang glider pilot and he is the region are huge, gentle grassy slopes with best source of local knowledge. The other top landings – perfect for gliders with is Rio Verde (Green River), a few miles tubes and Dacron or those with strings from the landing field. Here rooms in and nylon. Landing fields are ample and bungalows with showers and a kitchenplentiful, although many of the XC op- ette are 50 Euros a night for two people; tions have slopes. This is wheat-growing campsites are much cheaper. It is here

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Looking out over the Umbrian patchwork

we stayed for 11 days and it is here that we socialized around the Olympic-sized pool. When you get there, just ask for Francesca and tell her necessity sent ya. The Brave New World of Weird Weather

Monte Cucco, the mountain, rises 3500 feet above the valley floor with the launch at around 2100 feet up. It faces mainly west/southwest, and is nearly always flyable in the warm southerly flow of summer. Imagine our surprise to find out it had been blowing easterly for three weeks! And it continued to do so. Such weird wind behavior was unheard of up until the last few years. All we can do is

to longer XCs and selecting fields from the air. We were able to follow the full program at Tre Pizzi as good days followed mediocre days and student skills progressed. The comp boys and girls were in their element with some of the German national team members leading the way. They made goals on weak days when only the well-tested “cooperate and elevate” policy proved successful. On a couple German pilot Monique Werner receives the female flights it was grab anything you can sink pilot award. your wings into and hold on with all your chalk it up to global heating, or the high skill. The truth is, Tre Pizzi is less than price of oil, or some butterfly flapping its 40 crow miles from the Adriatic so it wings in China. Not to worry, for nearby gets some sea-breeze influence on some there is the well-used flying site Tre Pizzi. days. The sea breeze stabilizes condiWe had flown some rounds from there in tions, weakens thermals and makes them the previous meets, so life was good. But punchy, elusive and relatively short-lived who could have figured that we would go – a survivalist’s delight. But don’t sell the there every day except the last three for mountain short, for some days the lift was global and we traveled with impuour 10-day stay? Tre Pizzi has takeoffs facing from NE nity. to SE and an excellent toplanding area. On our sixth day of flying the winds We duly set up on that three-headed lightened up. They were still easterly, but mountain and went XC every day we now we could use the back side of Monte could. I start out with the students on Cucco. This site is no slouch, with a large easy forays along the mountains with takeoff bowl and thermals riding up a the main landing zone as the desig- spine just a short glide to the left. The nated target. This keeps pilots new to heat of the day sends up a general upwellcross-country in the comfort zone, espe- ing, so launch is a step or two into the cially since an instructor flies along with buoyant air. We found a sustaining thermal then them giving radio guidance and solace. But after a couple days we venture far- headed for a great climb two ridges over. ther away and pre-select large fields in In a few minutes we had topped out and which to land “out.” Finally we graduate aimed backwards to cross Monte Cucco Monte Cucco from above

The graceful lines of the Monte Cucco takeoff

proper, sail over the valley of Sigillo and bobble back about six miles to the hills and mountains that line the Gubbio Valley. There were several thermals along the way marked by turning pilots and you could take your pick. The Gubbio Valley is like a mini Sequatchie Valley (Tennessee) in that it is a long trench enclosed on all sides. The valley is about 15 miles long and three wide with mountains that surround it reaching up to 1700 feet above the valley floor. The valley stretches from NW to SE, so its right flanks face the southwest wind and afternoon sun. If the valley appeared on a pirate map, it would be labeled with: “Here there be thermals.” About 2/3 of the way up the valley is the ancient town of Gubbio, hence its name. Gubbio is a tourist attraction with its walled portion, plentiful shops and ancient Roman amphitheater. We have to wonder what the Romans would have made of all the colorful gliders gyrating in the breezes above their bustling city. Running up and down this valley was a treat for the students and, in truth, a real treat for me. For some reason we had never really spent much time there in the earlier meets, and I didn’t know what I was missing. With a little care we could boat along and sightsee while helping the students and watching the competitors race around the course. One student with little XC experience got a 70-km and several-hour flight there. Others set their own personal records for time aloft in thermals and distance. Smiles are easy to come by when every day brings eons of airtime and great spans of distance. The next day was a repeat of the magnificent flying from the back of Monte Cucco. This time we had a more aggressive task for the students while the comp gang went southwest past Assisi

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

A view of the back Monte Cucco takeoff

to Perugia and back. A great time in the air was had by all except the few racers who went down in the Gubbio Valley, including German team member, Roland Woehrle, who had been the meet leader up to that time. But the crowning glory of our days in Umbria was the last. The wind had switched back to its summer plan and we went up Monte Cucco southwest for a promising day playing in the liftwafts. Our hopes were not denied as thermal cycles rushed through to allow about ten pilots to launch at a time before the winds returned to quiet. The launch at the southwest site is shallow, but gets increasingly steep as you progress forward. But to avoid running your glider forever, it is best to wait for some wind. I was at the end of a cycle and had to wait. Finally a cycle began – not too strong, but I had students in the air – and went for it. The run was long, but I met the air and the building thermal with lust for lift. I was soon surrounded by about 10 other launchees and we bumbled into the core. This big elevator carried us up over 6000 feet to above 9000 feet MSL. We praised Allah, pulled VG and began heading north to our ﬁrst turnpoint.

I flew in formation with a couple of students, an eagle and some carrion crows and passed Harm coming from the turnpoint with his crew. I saw him catch a robust thermal in one of Monte Cucco’s daunting ravines and climb to the heavens. I marked it and on the way back aimed for Harm’s trigger. All I found was spotty, rasty, rodeo lift tossing me around like a dishrag in a washing machine. I was gripping with white knuckles and telling myself that I had to work on bump tolerance, when a little voice whispered in my ear, “Hey, man, this is Monte Cucco; you don’t have to hang around in Dante’s cauldron of hell. He died centuries ago. Go and find yourself some sweeter lift and enjoy life.” So I did. Back over launch I again found the resident cream-puff thermal and joined pilots topping up their altitude. This time I lingered since my students were progressing slowly. With a little work as the climbs slowed down, I edged my way up to cloudbase. At this point it was about 10,500’ MSL. I noted with glee that even though I flew without gloves my hands were warm enough to manipulate my vario page changer and even trade Italian

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Landing at Tre Pizzi

gestures with another pilot flying an aberrant thermal pattern at my altitude. Was this perfection, or what?! Soon my students were secure and we all headed south. The next turnpoint was the peaks beyond the large windmills that gyrate slowly on the Maggio Mountains. As I slid below the clouds on glide, it became obvious that there was vigorous convergence over the mountains with the large cumis lined up like sheep heading to greener pastures. I sidled over to where a sailplane was entertaining a thermal and joined the party. It was strictly an invitation-only affair, for he soon left. I took on a bit more altitude, ventured out to the turnpoint, then bee-lined back to the clouds. Mama mia! A wing-creaking thermal hit and up I rocketed. My spiral looked like a staircase in a prebellum mansion. Soon I found myself whistling through the wispies at 11,000 feet. A convergence zone isn’t based on a discrete thermal, so there were many tendrils, varied based heights and festoons. And there was Harm playing in the nooks and crannies of insubstantial whiteness. I joined him and we reaped all the rewards that come with flying near clouds: getting well above base, punching through holes in the wisps (not in them, mind you), and seeing our glories (the rainbow around a glider’s shadow projected on a cloud). We cavorted for nearly another hour, crossed the valley twice and actually managed to overflow our fun tank. That night we reveled in the closing ceremony for the competition at a sumptuous banquet of local specialties featuring truffles as a key ingredient. What a way to find paradise in the typical tourist Hades of a three-week vacation! What an inducement to return next year for another XC foreign-flying adventure! Dennis Pagen has been flying for 32 years, writing about it for 31, instructing for 30, flying cross-country for 29, and seeking aerial paradise forever. He has taught advanced-level courses in over 15 countries and runs cross-country seminars every summer.

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Gallery

Jon Gjerde keeps his eye on the raft as he smokes in for a landing at Vertigo 2006. Photo: Giorgio Sabbioni

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Antoine Boisselier gliding deep into the Ecrin range of the French Alps.

Paragliding acro ace and French hang gliding champion Antoine Boisselier pulls in the bar over his house in St. Hilaire, France. Paul Tjaden (front), an unidentiﬁed pilot (left), and Terry Spencer (right), set up to ﬂy at The Pulpit, McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania Photo: Ralph Sickinger

Lisa Verzella launching at the Crawford Mountains, Utah Photo: Val Stephens

In Speed-Flying, the fastest growing winter sport in Europe, pilots launch and land with skis using wings ranging in size from 10 to 14 meters in area. Here, Matt Gerdes launches and then skims the slopes of Hintertux, Austria. Photo: Alex Habeler

Dave Cherne looks for a hole in the clowds above the village of Mayrhofen, in the Austrian Alps. Photo: Noah Merrit

Alex Habeler launching his speed-wing with the Olperer Peak in the background, at Hintertux, Austria Photo: Matt Gerdes

Aude Piercy passing the time in Guatemala, during her 12-month paragliding journey around the world Photo: www.airborneplanet.net

Mark Stuart enjoying abundant ridge lift at Clough Head, in the Lake district, UK

A pilot scattering the crowd at the Adrenalina Competition on Lake Garda, in Italy

Photo: Jerome Maupoint

Photo: Giorgio Sabbioni

Antoine Boisselier shows off for his wife (the photographer) on the north coast of Tenerife, Spain. Photo: Melanie Boisselier

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.ushpa.aero. SANCTIONED COMPETITION

July 11-15: Moore, Idaho. King Mountain Hang Gliding Champion-

ships. Pilot briefing and multimedia show of the area on Tuesday evening, July 10. Lots of fun and superb flying in some of the most scenic mountains in the world. Open, recreation, and team classes. Open-distance XC along a specified route with bonus LZs and handicap scoring. BBQs, breakfasts, free camping, super-extra-special trophies and all that... plus the envy of the HG world – shirts by Dan G. (suitable for framing)! Entry fee of $60 includes pilot packet, shirt, maps, awards party, and a ton o’ fun! Contact Lisa Tate,1915 S. Arcadia St. Boise, ID 83705, (208) 376-7914, lisa@soaringdreamsart.com.

April 15-22: Florida Ridge, Clewiston, Florida. U.S. Hang Gliding

September 30-October 7: Dunlap, Tennessee. Tennessee Tree Toppers 2007 Team Challenge, offering Hang 3 pilots an introduction to competition and cross-country flying in “The Hang Gliding Capital of the East”! More information and online registration available at June 17-23: Woodrat Mt., Ruch, Oregon. Paragliding Rat Race. Reg- www.treetoppers.org. istration (via snail mail only) opens February 15, and the meet has filled up on that opening date in past years. Maximum 130 pilots, USHPA FLY-INS membership and P-3 rating required. $375 entry fee includes land use fees, daily lunches, retrieval, awards party, T-shirt, mentoring program, January 6-7, February 24-25 & March 24-25: Full-moon training sessions and more. Additional information and registration flying weekends at Cotes Cliffs, Baja California, 80 miles south of Ensenada, Mexico. Flying in Mexico, especially with the E-TEAM, is inexplicable! details at www.ratracecomp.com. Last year we made a new ramp on the 250-foot cliff launch. This year, June 24-30: Lakeview, Oregon. U.S. Paragliding Nationals. Regis- we have to try it out! Bring everything that you have that flies! The flytration opens February 15. Max 130 pilots, USHPA membership and ing site is a 10-mile-long, 250-foot-high cliff located on a very deserted P-4 rating (or P-3 with XC and turbulence endorsements). $350 before April Mexican beach. There are no facilities, so bring everything that you will 15, $400 after. Fee includes daily energy smoothie, retrieval, no-fly day bas- need to have fun, flying or not. Also bring along any household donations ketball tournament with $500 prize money, street dance with the Ladies of that can be left behind for the local population. Vaya Con Dios. ConLakeview, lots of prizes. Additional information and registration details at tact: Mike Hilberath, (949) 455-0032, eteamer@cox.net or eteamer@ www.vip2comp.com. yourmothersplace.com. July 29-August 4: Boone, North Carolina. Tater Hill Paragliding April 12-14: Florida Ridge, Clewiston, Florida. Wills Wing demos and Open 2007. Registration opens March 15. Cross-country race to goal at glider delivery, before the Florida Ridge competition. More information: a site friendly for first-time competitors; GPS and comp strategy sessions Miami Hang Gliding, (863) 805-0440. included. More information at www.flytaterhill.com. April 16-21: Wallaby Ranch, Davenport, Florida. 10th annual Wills Wing demo days and party – come celebrate Wills Wing’s 34 years in the COMPETITION hang gliding business with demos, seminars and parties. Catered dinner January 3-10: Forbes (Australia) Flatlands Hang Gliding Champi- and dance band on Saturday. It’s the perfect time of year to fly in Florida! onship. Aerotow-only, HGFA and FAI sanctioned, 72 pilots max, $200 More information at http://www.wallaby.com/, or contact Malcolm Jones, entry fee includes welcome party and awards dinner, $300 aerotow (863) 424-0070, fly@wallaby.com. fee includes unlimited tows from January 2-10. More information: June 6-10: Albuquerque, New Mexico. Hang gliding XC fun fly-in Vicki@moyes.com.au. – launch from 10,678-foot Sandia Crest. 2006 was tons of fun with January 13-20: Mt. Beauty, Victoria, Australia. Bogong Cup Hang many 100+ milers, including 3 at 150+ and one at 185 miles. More Gliding Championship 2007. AAA sanction. Contact: Carol Binder, information: Andrew Vanis, (505) 304-5306, vanis13@yahoo.com, info@xcflight.com or www.xcflight.com. www.flysandia.org. February 4-10: Dominican Republic. 2007 Ozone Caribbean XC CLINICS, MEETINGS, TOURS Challenge. Seasoned pilots as well as XC apprentices. Experienced XC pilots have plenty of choices flying in Vallejuelo, an outstandingly ver- November through March: Prime Valle de Bravo season with satile site, with two major valleys and three different mountain ranges FlyMexico. We have over 15 years at this and no one matches our knowwithin reach, while novice XC pilots enjoy the expert advice from Jocky how, facilities, or service. Lower priced packages available without airSanderson and the rest of the Ozone team, turning each flying day port transportation or instuctor/guide. Week-long base packages, in and into a great learning experience. More information and registration at out on a Sunday, $895 PG, $1195 HG (includes glider). Base package http://2007.CaribbeanXC.com. includes airport transpo, lodging, guide and transpo all day wherever you

Nationals. Registration open December 15, entry fee $285 + $215 tow fees. More information: Miami Hang Gliding, (863) 805-0440, www .theﬂoridaridge.com.

February 10-17: Bright, Victoria, Australia. Australian Open Paragliding Championship. AAA sanction. Contact: Carol Binder, info@ xcﬂight.com or www.xcﬂight.com.

go. www.ﬂymexico.com, 1-800-861-7198. December 9-January 20: Valle de Bravo, Mexico. Improve your thermal and XC skills with world-team pilot David Prentice. Week-long tours include, airport pickup/drop off, lodging, transportation, guiding, XC retrieval. Plenty of other fun and adventure for the family. More information: (505) 720-5436, www.earthcog.com. January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

champion John Pendry. Instructional coaching, room with breakfast and paragliding with good thermaling and excellent cross-country potential. ground transportation in RIO and GV are included. We are going to have a Conditions are appropriate for a broad variety of skill levels, however a blast and a half, and it’s only $1650. Special deals may apply for those conminimum of P-2 rating is recommended unless otherwise discussed with tinuing on to Peru and Chile with us. Contact Kelly Kellar at www.maxroc Kay. Includes thermal & XC clinic as well as instruction in active flying. .com, info@maxroc.com, (503) 464-6140. Email Kay Tauscher, info@peaktopeakparagliding.com or call (303) 817March 8-11: Colorado Springs, Colorado. USHPA spring BOD meet0803 for deposit and fee information. ing. Members are invited and welcome! Annual awards presentation January 3-14: Valle de Bravo, Mexico. Thermal and XC in- banquet on Saturday evening. More information online at ushpa.aero, or struction tour. For more information and prerequisites go to www email info@ushpa.aero. .twocanfly.com or contact Ken Hudonjorgensen, (801) 572-3414, March 12-18: Peru with Kelly Kellar and Jose Rosas. Come fly your twocanfly@gmail.com. paraglider at the increasingly famous Marriot in Miraflores, Lima, Peru. January 3-15 and January 24-February 5: Ecuador 2007 Tighten up your thermal skills and technique at Pachacamac and join our Adventure Tour. This is not a vacation, it’s an Adventure! Advanced in- 40k group flight attempt. Then on to tear it up in Paracas, and return to structor Kevin Lee of Thermal Tracker Paragliding has been leading para- Lima for more flying. Our tours are really a full-blown clinic for pilots of gliding adventures in Ecuador since 1996 and is supported by two Ecua- all skill levels. Non-flying guests and student types are welcome to join dorian guides/pilots who know and fly the local sites. Two-thirds of our us at a reduced rate. $1650 includes: Airport pickup and return, all lodgtour is spent among some of the most beautiful peaks in South Amer- ing with breakfast and all ground transpo with your instructor guides. ica, one-third soaring and relaxing on the warm coast, exploring miles We will make time for sightseeing for those interested. Book now at of smooth coastal ridge sites, in addition to swimming, fishing, and eat- www.Paratravels.com. ing great sea food to your heart’s content. More information from Kevin, March 21-26: Chile with Kelly Kellar and Jose Rosas. Come para(541) 890-7142, info@thermaltracker.com, www.thermaltracker.com. glide over the city of Iquique, fly past skyscrapers and land on the beach January 6-13, January 13-20, January 20-27: Costa Rica right in front of your hotel. Then off to Palo Buque in the late afternoons Paragliding Tours. Fly the tropical skies of Costa Rica. Week-long tours for some magical paragliding sessions you will not forget. This is all to include airport pickup and drop-off, lodging with breakfast, guiding. Ex- get you primed for the 80K open-distance flying of the weekend. Nonplore the land of Pura Vida, pure life! Contact Nick Crane, (541) 840- flying guests and student types are welcome to join us at a reduced rate. 8587, info@paracrane.com, details at www.paracrane.com. $1650 includes: Airport pickup and return, all lodging with breakfast and all ground transpo with your instructor guides. We will make time January 7-14: Mexico with Parasoft Paragliding School. We’ve been for sightseeing for those interested. Book now at www.Paratravels.com. taking pilots to fly in Mexico since 1991. We have been to Valle de Bravo (NOTE: You can get in on both the Peru and Chile trips for $1475 each and Igualla, but Tapalpa is world-class. The P-2 week focuses on long and we will include your lodging for the 19th and 20th at no charge.) easy flights. Mexico P-2 pilot details at http://www.parasoftparagliding .com/travel/tapalpa%20_mexico.php. April 12-14: Florida Ridge, Clewiston, Florida, and April 16-19: Wallaby Ranch, Davenport, Florida. USHPA in conjunction with Wills January 14-21: Mexico P-3 week. We tailor our weeks to your Wing is sponsoring scooter-towing seminars with Blue Sky’s Steve Wendt. pilot level; second week focuses on thermaling. P-3 pilot details at These programs are free to instructors who are interested in learning this http://www.parasoftparagliding.com/travel/colima.php. great teaching method. Contact Rob Kells, Rob@WillsWing.com, so the January 21-28: Mexico P-4 week. Geared towards flying XC from 4 organizers know how many instructors and pilots to plan for. sites. www.parasoftparagliding.com/travel/iguala%20_mexico.php. Spring 2007: Super Fly’s Chris Santacroce and Peak to Peak ParaJanuary 7-14: Valle de Bravo, Mexico. Enjoy consistent, summer-like

February 3-10, February 17-24: Costa Rica Paragliding Tours. Fly the tropical skies of Costa Rica. Week-long tours include airport pickup and drop-off, lodging with breakfast, guiding. Plenty of time to explore nearby beaches, enjoy fresh seafood, etc. Non-pilots will love it too! Contact Nick Crane, (541) 840-8587, info@paracrane.com, details at www.paracrane.com.

gliding’s Kay Tauscher will team up again in late April and early May in Colorado for a week of paraglider over-the-water courses. These courses will be focused toward supporting pilots ﬂying Advance, Gin and Nova gliders. Three consecutive 3-day courses will be offered. Exact dates and more information available at www.peaktopeakparagliding.com or (303) 817-0803.

February 6-10: Valle de Bravo, Mexico. FlyMexico hang gliding June 6-10: Albuquerque, New Mexico. Sandia Soar’n, HG XC-fun comp – five days of sure flying in a scenic world-famous site. $199 en- fly. 2006 was tons of fun with many 100+ milers, 3 at 150+ and one try includes transportation and retrieve. FAI Cat. 2 sanction. Contact Fly- at 185 miles. www.flysandia.org, Andrew Vanis, (505) 304-5306, Mexico, www.flymexico.com, 800-861-7198 U.S., ++1 512 467 2529 vanis13@yahoo.com. international. June 16-22: Girdwood, Alaska. Join Peak to Peak Paragliding for February 10-17: Southern California tour. For more information and prerequisites go to www.twocanfly.com or contact Ken Hudonjorgensen, (801) 572-3414, twocanfly@gmail.com. March 1-8: Brazil. We have room for 8 very fun paraglider pilots and/ or guests to “Rock It in Rio” – a guided paragliding tour of Rio De Janeiro and beach party for three days. Then travel overnight by sleeper bus to “Go for the Gusto in GV.” Governador Valadares is the perfect thermal and cross-country site and a favorite spot for pilots like twice worldJanuary 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

paragliding under the midnight sun. Kay Tauscher will lead a group of pilots to Alaska’s beautiful mountainous countryside for long days of great ﬂying. The primary destination will be Girdwood, Alaska, but other sites may be visited as well. Call (303) 817-0803 or email info@ peaktopeakparagliding.com for more information.

Ratings issued during September 2006 Paragliding Division Rating Region

P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2

1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 7 7 8 9 9 9 10 10 10 10 11 13 13 13 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Name

City

Mark Mckinney Seattle John Iraggi Bend Noah Soule Carson Thomas Bacon Yelm Mike Schuster Woodside Erik Nilsen Fremont Dennis Boic Redding Martin Roland Chico Claude Phillips Kailua Stephen Nowak Huntington Beach Roger Simons Keaau George Merk Paia Rafael Carrillo Santa Barbara Mike Bailey MDR Scott Mellinger Haiku Fritz Pfnur Sun City Bill Salak West Lake Village Dietrich Schuhl Sherman Oaks Katherine Morgenstern Makawao Cavan Rhodes Riverdale Clay Sharpe Albuquerque Robert Rowe Corrales David Barton Richﬁeld John Todd Boise Christopher Marcus Douglas Andrew Samuelson Laramie Dariusz Kozuch Round Lake Rafal Jakubek Riverwoods Samuel Dasilva Framingham Kristin Awrachow Flourtown Stephen Rumer Philadelphia Michael Thurmond Spotsylvania Richard Eunice Warner Robins Sharon Zucci Coral Springs Anthony Mounts Atlanta Erik Webb Lilburn Steve Baumgartner Amarillo Ryan Hemingway Oxford Karalee Hemingway Oxford Richard Isaacs Gambs John Iraggi Bend Kathryn Thomas Tacoma Clark Mccann Bellevue Noah Soule Carson Fred Langford Redmond Craig Brewster Bellevue Ryan Klingler Duvall Theodore Sopher Newcastle Ashley Ward Kennewick Chris Kontogianis Kennewick Paul Sharpe Merar Island John Erickson Bainbridge Island Iain Frew Duvall Michael Lervick Marysville Derek Baylor Seattle C. J. Brockway Seattle Mike Schuster Woodside Joseph Fabel Sacramento Brian Kliment San Francisco Erik Nilsen Fremont Alberto Cobas Scotts Valley Martin Roland Chico Michael Reenders Hanford Geoff Coolidge Makawao Scott Short San Diego Claude Phillips Kailua Stephen Nowak Huntington Beach George Merk Paia Rafael Carrillo Santa Barbara

State

Rating Ofﬁcial

WA John Kraske OR Steve Roti WA Kelly Kellar WA Douglas Stroop CA Greg Babush CA Wallace Anderson CA Jeffrey Greenbaum CA Chad Bastian HI David Binder CA Marcello De Barros HI John Ivey HI David Binder CA Chad Bastian CA Stephen Mayer HI David Binder CA Paul Somerset CA Rob Sporrer CA Chad Bastian HI David Binder UT Wallace Anderson NM T Lee Kortsch NM William Smith UT Stacy Whitmore ID Stephen Mayer WY Granger Banks WY Granger Banks IL Ken Hudonjorgensen IL Ken Hudonjorgensen MA Jeffrey Nicolay PA Stephen Mayer PA Christopher Grantham VA Ken Hudonjorgensen GA Stephen Mayer FL Stephen Mayer GA Luis Rosenkjer GA Luis Rosenkjer TX David Jebb Stephen Mayer Stephen Mayer Murat Tuzer OR Steve Roti WA Robert Rinker Jr WA Lan Do Chirico WA Kelly Kellar WA Douglas Stroop WA Lan Do Chirico WA Douglas Stroop WA Lan Do Chirico WA Denise Reed WA Denise Reed WA Denise Reed WA Denise Reed WA Lan Do Chirico WA Douglas Stroop WA Douglas Stroop WA Douglas Stroop CA Greg Babush CA Julie Spiegler CA Wallace Anderson CA Wallace Anderson CA Jeffrey Greenbaum CA Chad Bastian CA Hugh Murphy HI David Binder CA Robin Marien HI David Binder CA Marcello De Barros HI David Binder CA Chad Bastian

Rating Region

P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 7 7 8 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 13 13 13 13 1 1 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 7 8 9 12 12 13 1 1 1 2 4 5 5 7 10 10 12

Name

City

Wade Walker Del Mar Mike Bailey MDR Michael Mcquaid Pine Valley Scott Mellinger Haiku Fritz Pfnur Sun City Bill Salak West Lake Village Dietrich Schuhl Sherman Oaks Katherine Morgenstern Makawao Cavan Rhodes Riverdale Peter Honey Sandy Clay Sharpe Albuquerque Jared Walk Herriman Mark Williams Tucson Robert Rowe Corrales Kathleen Kristenson Ketchum John Todd Boise Dariusz Kozuch Round Lake Rafal Jakubek Riverwoods Robert Trueworthy Winsted Kristin Awrachow Flourtown Stephen Rumer Philadelphia Michael Thurmond Spotsylvania Antonio Cruz Bala Cynwyd Richard Eunice Warner Robins Sharon Zucci Coral Springs Anthony Mounts Atlanta Eric Ingraham Jensen Beach Willis Akin Round Rouck Steve Baumgartner Amarillo Stan Bennion Houston Ryan Hemingway Oxford Karalee Hemingway Oxford Nejat Aksoy Istanbul Ali Atarod Mugla/fethiye Rudolph Ciarfella Bingen John Havlina Issaquah Gary Shook Corning Charles Nuckols Mission Viejo Don Halvorsen Simi Valley Kiernan Odonovan Denver F Antognini St. George Kevin Douglas Edwards Canice Harte Park City Baxter Gillespie Cottonwood Heights Jurgen Durrschmidt Vail Mo Sheldon Maricopa Dariusz Kozuch Round Lake Anderson Santana Nashua Timothy Quarnstrom Woodbridge Miguel Afanador Patchogue Alex Berardi Sparta Deryk Yuill Calgary AB Matt Bonney Eagle River William Morris Stanwood Doron Logasi Seattle Loren Cox San Francisco Neil Mcgarry Park City Karel Koudelka Ketchum Brad Jezek Jackson Thad Spencer Minneapolis Hynek Cibula Sugar Hill Jose Beltran Santurce George Silva Ellenville

State

Rating Ofﬁcial

CA Bill Armstrong CA Stephen Mayer CA Bill Armstrong HI David Binder CA Paul Somerset CA Rob Sporrer CA Chad Bastian HI David Binder UT Wallace Anderson UT Jeffrey Farrell NM T Lee Kortsch UT Dale Covington AZ Santacroce, Chris NM William Smith ID Nicholas Greece ID Stephen Mayer IL Ken Hudonjorgensen IL Ken Hudonjorgensen CT Douglas Stroop PA Stephen Mayer PA Christopher Grantham VA Ken Hudonjorgensen PA Stephen Mayer GA Stephen Mayer FL Stephen Mayer GA Luis Rosenkjer FL Douglas Stroop TX Paul Greenwood TX David Jebb TX Dale Covington Stephen Mayer Stephen Mayer Murat Tuzer Murat Tuzer WA Robert Schmaltz WA Kevin Biernacki CA Kevin Lee CA Kyoung Ki Hong CA Kyoung Ki Hong CO Kay Tauscher UT Etienne Pienaar CO Gregory Kelley UT Brad Hill UT Stephen Mayer CO Gregory Kelley AZ Jim Eskildsen IL Ken Hudonjorgensen NH Jeffrey Nicolay VA Scott Harris NY Philippe Renaudin NJ Kay Tauscher Chris Santacroce AK Rick Ray WA Jaromir Lahulek WA William Laurence CA Jeffrey Greenbaum UT Ken Hudonjorgensen ID Honza Rejmanek WY James Matt Combs MN Ken Hudonjorgensen GA Luis Rosenkjer PR Robert Hastings NY Fabricio Rodrigues

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Hang Gliding Division Rating Region

H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2

1 1 2 2 3 3 3 3 5 6 7 7 8 8 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 11 11 12 13 13 13 1 2 2 3 3

Name

City

Jeremiah Mondello Cottage Grove Jeff Beeghly Seattle Michael Freed Carson City Lukas Marti Sunnyvale Steve Murillo Manhattan Beach Benjamin Strand Van Nuys Lance Riedel Altadena Dion Rezaei Santa Monica Nicholas Franczyk Missoula Joe Ramsey Rogers Sean Oleary Denmark Jack Mitch Yorktown Fumin Zhou Lowell Matthew Melvin Scituate Robert Scott Poquoson Rebecca Kelner Gainesville Conrad Cupit Lakeland Peter Stockey Elkmont Bill Powers Duluth Eric Waller College Park Janos Terdik Jacksonville Stephen Anderson Round Rock George Helms Round Rock Frank Welte Rochester Lawrence Barichello Kamloops BC Lee Harper Hants Peter Talbot Dublin 18 Jeremiah Mondello Cottage Grove Joseph Jackson III San Carlos Peter Wemm Danville Jim Fardette Kailua Julieann Sikora Sylmar

Allen Sparks launching off High Rock, PenMar, Maryland Photo: Ralph Sickinger

State

Rating Ofﬁcial

OR Michael Stevenson WA John Matylonek NV Patrick Denevan CA Patrick Denevan CA Paul Thornbury CA Paul Thornbury CA Andrew Beem CA Paul Thornbury MT Jeff Shapiro AR Gordon Cayce WI Gordon Cayce IN Christian Thoreson MA Jeffrey Nicolay MA Steven Prepost VA Christian Thoreson FL Robert Lane FL Robert Lane AL Christian Thoreson GA Gordon Cayce GA Gordon Cayce FL Malcolm Jones TX Jeffrey Hunt TX Jeffrey Hunt NY Henry Boessl Gordon Cayce Christian Thoreson Christian Thoreson OR Michael Stevenson CA David Yount CA Patrick Denevan HI Michael Robertson CA Paul Thornbury

Rating Region

H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-3 H-3 H-3 H-3 H-3 H-3 H-4 H-4 H-4 H-4 H-4 H-4 H-4

5 6 7 7 7 8 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 13 13 13 13 2 3 8 10 10 12 2 3 4 5 10 10 12

Name

City

Nicholas Franczyk Missoula Joe Ramsey Rogers Mark Hallett Bloomington Sean Oleary Denmark Jack Mitch Yorktown Jeffrey Curtis Dunstable Robert Scott Poquoson Donald Guynn Raleigh Rebecca Kelner Gainesville Conrad Cupit Lakeland Peter Stockey Elkmont Bill Powers Duluth Eric Waller College Park Janos Terdik Jacksonville Jody Chilson Richmond Pl Lawrence Barichello Kamloops BC Ray Dauphinee Onterio Lee Harper Hants Peter Talbot Dublin 18 Brenor Brophy San Jose Richard Shaw La Mirada Andrew Fischer Stow Diana Koether Rising Fawn Janos Terdik Jacksonville Bruce Cowan Schenectady Ian Darnell Livermore Robert Bustamante Sylmar Adam West Salt Lake City William Smith Jr Missoula Eric Moles Smyrna Janos Terdik Jacksonville Eric Douglas Howard Beach

State

Rating Ofﬁcial

MT Jeff Shapiro AR Gordon Cayce IN Malcolm Jones WI Gordon Cayce IN Christian Thoreson MA Steven Prepost VA Christian Thoreson NC Gordon Cayce FL Robert Lane FL Robert Lane AL Christian Thoreson GA Gordon Cayce GA Gordon Cayce FL Malcolm Jones GA Steve Wendt Gordon Cayce Martin Beckenbach Christian Thoreson Christian Thoreson CA Jim Cassidy CA Joe Greblo MA Jeffrey Nicolay GA Christian Thoreson FL Malcolm Jones NY Robert Lane CA Patrick Denevan CA Mike Butler UT Peter Cj Anderson MT Jeff Shapiro GA Christian Thoreson FL Malcolm Jones NY Steve Stackable

THERMAL NUCLEAR

ET .co AN

Skateboards Paragliders Sunglasses Unicycles Kites

DETECTION

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Photos on page 21, unless otherwise noted, are courtesy Graeme Henderson. Clockwise from upper left: John Dickenson prepares to test the control system in a half-scale glider, May 1963 Amy Dickenson with folded MarkIV, 1965 John Dickenson with Aerostructures glider, 1968 Launching the Aerostructures ski plane Photo courtesy Ken de Russy

John Dickenson, center, watching as Rod Fuller prepares to ﬂy the MarkIII, Grafton, Australia, 1964 John Dickenson ﬂying the MarkIII, 1964

Photo: Graeme Henderson

Rod Fuller launching the MarkI with A-frame, October 1963

Rod Fuller, John Dickenson and Pate Crowe during a break in the rain, preparing to join the Jacaranda Festival Parade, 2006.

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

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 USHPA CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR.

FLEX WINGS 2003 LAMINAR 700 – 14-meter, mint condition. Red/ purple $3000 OBO. Call Steve Lee (423) 949-2176. 2004 LAMINAR 07 – 13-meter, mint condition. Purple/ green. $3000 OBO. Call Steve Lee (423) 949-2176. 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, http://stores.ebay.com/raven-sports. FALCONS CLEARANCE SALE – School use, one season. Falcon 1s and 2s. All sizes $1250-$2500. (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com, www.hanggliding .com, http://stores.ebay.com/raven-sports. WW TALON 150 – Mylar sail, custom undersurface. Low airtime, excellent condition $2500. (970) 879-3935. tom@thomaswoodloghomes.com.

EMERGENCY PARACHUTES INSPECTED RESERVES – For HG or PG $199+up. Used Quantum, all sizes $475+up. Some trades accepted. info@hanggliding.com, www.hanggliding.com, http://stores.ebay.com/raven-sports, (262) 473-8800.

EMPLOYMENT NORTH WING DESIGN – is accepting applications for metal shop/wing and trike airframe mechanic. Also accepting applications for sail maker and sewing machine operator. Send application to: 3904 Airport Way, E. Wenatchee, WA 98802 or Fax (509) 886-3435 (www .northwing.com).

HARNESSES 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, http://stores.ebay.com/raven-sports.

RIGID WINGS MISSION SOARING CENTER – Distributor for AIR Atos, world’s 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.

ULTRALIGHTS DRAGONFLY AEROTUGS – For up to $10,000 off the price of new ones! Enclosed trailer available for pickup/ delivery. www.hanggliding.com, info@hanggliding.com, http://stores.ebay.com/raven-sports, (262) 473-8800.

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.

ARIZONA FLY HIGH PARAGLIDING.COM – over 10 years of experience, offers P-2 certification, tandem flights, towing, new and used equipment, the best weather to fly in USA. (480) 266-6969.

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. DREAM WEAVER HANG GLIDING – Competitive prices, state-of-the-art equipment. Complete lesson programs. Northern California Mosquito harness dealer. Ideal training hill. Tandem instruction. USHPA advanced instructor Doug Prather, (209) 556-0469, Modesto, California. drmwvrhg@softcom.net. EAGLE PARAGLIDING – SANTA BARBARA offers the best year round flying in the nation. Awardwinning instruction, excellent mountain and ridge sites. www.FlySantaBarbara.com, (805) 968-0980. FLY ABOVE ALL – Year-round instruction in beautiful Santa Barbara! USHPA novice through advanced certification. Thermaling to competition training. Visit www.flyaboveall.com, (805) 965-3733. THE HANG GLIDING CENTER – PO Box 151542, San Diego CA 92175, (619) 265-5320. MIKE BUTLER HANG GLIDING SCHOOL – Located just 30 minutes west of Yosemite National Park. WW and Flytec dealer. mbutler@sti.net, (209) 742- 8540.

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 1s and above. Launch and landing clinics for Hang 3s and Hang 4s. 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. O’CONNOR FLIGHT SCHOOL – Specializing in Safety In-Flight Training & Maneuvers Clinics and Aerobatic Instruction. Enhance your knowledge, increase your level of confidence, take your piloting skills to new levels. Overthe-water safety and aerobatics clinics. Enleau and Ann O’Connor, www.oconnorflightschool.com, (530) 2274055 and reserve your clinic. TORREY PINES GLIDERPORT – Come soar in San Diego! This family-owned and operated flying site offers USHPA 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 fullservice repairs. Bring your family for our amazing sunsets and dining at the Cliffhanger Cafe. Importers for Para-tech 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 9-11:00 a.m. (PST). 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 – Full-time lessons, sales, service. Colorado’s most experienced! Wills Wing, Moyes, Altair, Aeros, High Energy, Ball, Finsterwalder, 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 – THE Front Range paragliding school, located in Boulder. Offering excellent state-of-the-art instruction. Equipment & tandems. (303) 817-0803, Info@peaktopeakparagliding.com, www .peaktopeakparagliding.com.

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

FLORIDA

HAWAII

FLORIDA RIDGE AEROTOW PARK – 18265 E State Road 80, Clewiston, Florida, (863) 805-0440, www.theﬂoridaridge.com.

FLY HAWAII – Hawaii’s hang gliding, paragliding/ paramotoring school. Mauna Kea guide service. Big Island Hawaii, Achim Hagemann (808) 895-9772, www.aircotec .net/ﬂyhawaii.htm, ﬂyaglider@yahoo.com.

GRAYBIRD AIRSPORTS – Paraglider & hang glider towing & training, Dragonfly aerotow training, XC, thermaling, 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 – For year-round training fun in the sun. (305) 285-8978, 2550 S Bayshore Drive, Coconut Grove, Florida 33133, www.miamihanggliding.com. QUEST AIR – FROM 1ST FLIGHT TO 1ST PLACE – From your first tandem to advanced XC racing, fly with the innovators of aerotowing and champion instructors. No-wait lessons. Higher tows = more airtime. 7 Dragonfly tugs. Safer carts. Huge LZ. Demos. Rentals. Storage. Sales & repair of everything HG. Clubhouse with kitchen, PC, satellite TV, cool toys, kegs, snakeboard races. Pool. Hot tub. Shade. Free wireless. Private lake. Rooms. Bunkhouse. Tent camping. RV hookups. Indoor/outdoor showers. Laundry. Bobby Bailey sightings. Flytec Championships. 2006 Worlds. Largest U.S. HG record/comp sponsors, helping to keep it all going for YOU. Minutes from Orlando in Groveland, FL. www.questairforce.com, questair@mpinet.com, (352) 429-0213. 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. Enjoy our 110-acre mountain resort. www.hanglide.com, 877-hanglide, (877) 426-4543.

ISLAND POWERED PARAGLIDING & THERMAL UP PARAGLIDING – The Big Island’s source for USHPA certified instruction. Power or tow from a private 25acre ranch. Guided site and flight tours. Equipment rental, service and sales. Call Yeti, (808) 987-0773, www.IslandPPG.com, www.ThermalUp.com. PROFLYGHT PARAGLIDING – Call Dexter for friendly information about flying on Maui. Full-service school offering beginner to advanced instruction every day, year round. (808) 874-5433, paraglidehawaii.com.IDAHO

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

INDIANA

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. www.mosquitoamerica.com.

NEW YORK AAA E-VILLE OUTFITTERS, MOUNTAIN WINGS INC. – Aeros, North Wing (845) 647-3377, mtnwings@verizon .net, www.evilleoutfitters.com, Ellenville, N.Y. 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. SUSQUEHANNA FLIGHT PARK COOPERSTOWN – 160’ training hill with rides up. 600’ ridge – large LZ. Specializing in first mountain flights. Dan Guido, 293 Shoemaker Road, Mohawk NY 13407. (315) 866-6153, dguido@dfamilk.com.

CLOUD 9 SPORT AVIATION – See Cloud 9 in Michigan.

NORTH CAROLINA

MAINE

KITTY HAWK KITES – FREE Hang 1 training with purchase of equipment! The largest hang gliding school in the world. Teaching since 1974. Learn to ﬂy over the East Coast’s largest sand dune. Year-round instruction, foot launch and tandem aerotow. Dealer for all major manufacturers. Ultralight instruction and tours. (252) 441-2426, 1-877-FLY-THIS, www.kittyhawk.com.

DOWNEAST AIRSPORTS – Paragliding and hang gliding instruction, quality equipment sales. Extended training/tour packages with lodging available. www.downeastairsports.com, in_a_cloud@hotmail.com, Marc (207) 244-9107.

MARYLAND HIGHLAND AEROSPORTS – Baltimore and DC’s fulltime 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! (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 and accessories. Cloud 9 Field, 11088 Coon Lake Road West, Webberville MI 48892. Cloud9sa@aol.com, http://members.aol .com/cloud9sa. Call for spring tandem lessons and ﬂying appointments with the Draachen Fliegen Soaring Club at Cloud 9 Field. (517) 223-8683, DFSCinc@aol.com, http://members.aol.com/dfscinc.

OHIO CLOUD 9 SPORT AVIATION – See Cloud 9 in Michigan.

PUERTO RICO FLY PUERTO RICO WITH TEAM SPIRIT HG! – Flying tours, rentals, tandems, HG and PG classes, H-2 and P-2 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 – Hang gliding and ultralight sales, service and instruction. Steve Burns, (512) 236-0031, sburns@austinairsports.com. Fred Burns, (281) 4711488, austinair@aol.com, WWW.AUSTINAIRSPORTS .COM. GO...HANG GLIDING!!! – Jeff Hunt. Austin ph/fax (512) 467-2529, jeff@ﬂytexas.com, www.ﬂytexas.com.

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

UTAH CLOUD 9 SOARING CENTER – Once again, we are the closest shop to the Point of the Mountain. Utah’s only full-time PG/HG shop and repair facility. Contact 1-888944-5433 or www.paragliders.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.

WASHINGTON AERIAL PARAGLIDING SCHOOL AND FLIGHT PARK – Award-winning instructors at a world-class training facility. Contact Doug Stroop at (509) 782-5543 or visit www.paragliding.us.

WYOMING JACKSON HOLE PARAGLIDING – 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).

INTERNATIONAL BAJA MEXICO – La Salina: PG, HG, PPG www .FLYLASALINA.com, www.BAJABRENT.com, He’ll hook you up! rooms, tours, & intros, bajabrent@bajabrent .com, 760-203-2658. MEXICO – VALLE DE BRAVO and beyond for hang gliding and paragliding. Year-round availability and special tours, Gear, guiding, instruction, transportation, lodging – all varieties for your needs. www.ﬂymexico.com, 1-800-8617198 USA.P

PARTS & ACCESSORIES BIG EARS PTT – $99.95. Includes speaker and microphone, radio connection, sealed finger switch. Choose the full-face or the open-face model. www.bigearsptt.com, (805) 965-3733. FLIGHT SUITS, FLIGHT SUITS, FLIGHT SUITS, Warm Flight suits, Efficient Flight suits, Light-weight Flight suits, Flight suits in twelve sizes. Stylish Flight suits. www .mphsports.com, (503) 657-8911. 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 (325) 379-1567.

GLIDERBAGS – XC $75! Heavy waterproof $125. Accessories, low prices, fast delivery! Gunnison Gliders, 1549 County Road 17, Gunnison CO 81230. (970) 641-9315, orders 1-866-238-2305. HALL WIND METER – Simple. Reliable. Accurate. Mounting brackets, control bar wheels. Hall Brothers, PO Box 1010, Morgan, Utah 84050. (801) 829-3232, www .hallwindmeter.com. MINI VARIO – World’s smallest, simplest vario! Clips to helmet or chinstrap. 200 hours on batteries, 0-18,000 ft., fast response and 2-year warranty. ONLY $169. Mallettec, PO Box 15756, Santa Ana CA 92735. (949) 795-0421, MC/Visa accepted, www.mallettec.com. OXYGEN SYSTEMS – The world-class XCR-180 operates up to 3 hours @18,000 feet and weighs only 4 lbs. Complete kit with cylinder, harness, regulator, cannula and remote on/off ﬂowmeter, only $400. 1-800-468-8185. RISING AIR GLIDER REPAIR SERVICES – A fullservice shop, specializing in all types of paragliding repairs, annual inspections, reserve repacks, harness repairs. Hang gliding reserve 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. TANDEM LANDING GEAR – Rascal™ brand by Raven, simply the best. New & used. (262) 473-8800, www.hanggliding.com, info@hanggliding.com, http:// stores.ebay.com/raven-sports. WHEELS FOR AIRFOIL BASETUBES – WHOOSH! Wheels™ (Patent Pending), Moyes/Airborne & Wills Wing compatible. Dealer inquiries invited. (262) 473-8800, www.hanggliding.com, info@hanggliding.com, http:// stores.ebay.com/raven-sports. WINDSOKS FROM HAWK AIRSPORTS INC – 1673 Corbin Lake Rd, Rutledge, TN 37861, 1-800-826-2719. Worldfamous Windsoks, as seen at the Oshkosh & Sun-N-Fun EAA Fly-Ins. Hawk@windsok.com, www.windsok.com.

PUBLICATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS *NEW* AND THE WORLD COULD FLY – And the World Could Fly tells the story of how piloting for the masses became a possibility and then a reality. This is a tale of free flight in every sense of the term. Edited by Stéphane Malbos and Noel Whittall, And the World Could Fly contains contributions from many parts of the world as well as much new writing. Together, the editors have more than fifty years of undiminished enthusiasm for foot-launched flight. And the World Could Fly is produced by the International Hang Gliding and Paragliding Commission (CIVL) to celebrate the centenary of FAI. It is a book which will appeal to anyone with an interest in free flight, whether an old-stager who can remember the early California days or a newcomer who wonders where it all came from. Call USHPA 1-800-616-6888 or order off our Web site, www .ushpa.aero. PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901.

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 aviation. 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 aviation history. 176 pages, 16 photographs, 89 drawings and 14 graphs. $19.95 (+$5 s/h) Call USHPA at 1-800-616-6888 or order off our Web site, www.ushpa.aero. PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901. *NEW* CONDOR TRAIL, PARAGLIDING THE CENTRAL ANDES – the guidebook to paragliding and traveling in the Central Andes. It’s packed with 256 pages of maps, site descriptions, local lore, free-flight contacts and photos, all the information you need to plan your own Andean paragliding adventure. Most of the launch and landing access throughout the Andes is done with cheap public transportation. Condor Trail gives you bus routes to catch, areas to avoid, traveler tips, and contacts for the local flying communities throughout Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Northern Argentina, and Northern Chile. Call USHPA at 1-800-616-6888 or order off our Web site, www .ushpa.aero. PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901. 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 that will not swamp the reader with a 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). Call USHPA at 1-800616-6888 or order off our Web site, www.ushpa.aero. PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901. 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.

VIDEOS & DVDS VIDEOS FROM USHPA – WWW.USHPA.AERO *NEW* DARE DEVIL FLYERS – The 94-minute digital video docupicture covers all thirty years of hang gliding and all seventeen years of paragliding. It begins with the Bob and Chris Wills story – they founded Wills Wing, the only surviving American manufacturer/distributor of hang gliders and paragliders. Two legendary pilots guide the audience through these extreme sports with their narrative. The docupic features competition in the extreme sports of aerobatic hang gliding, speed hang gliding and high-altitude cross-country paragliding. Wingmounted POV cameras provide the docupic with an inthe-air thrill ride from the Rocky Mountains to the Paciﬁc coast. Narrator Bobby Carradine threads us through the three decades. Call USHPA at 1-800-616-6888 or order off our Web site, www.ushpa.aero. PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901.

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

PURA VIDA FLYING – By GW Meadows. 3 pilots, 3 weeks, 1 jungle, no rules. A trio of competition hang glider and paraglider pilots discover the true meaning of “pura vida” as they enjoy the jungles and beaches of Costa Rica. Hang gliding, paragliding, ultralight towing, kiteboarding and more. Awesome flying. $24.95. Order yours at www.ushpa.aero/store. RISK & REWARD – By Jeff Goin. This 70-min. DVD exposes the risks and rewards of powered paragliding in a fun, action-packed adventure. You owe yourself this inside look that could easily save your life. Three years in the making, Risk & Reward gathers wisdom from a long list of instructors. Spectacular video from around the world sheds light on essential concepts with clarity and realism. $29.95. Order yours at www.ushpa.aero/store. *NEW* USHPA MAGAZINE ARCHIVE 1971-2004 – The DVD set holds the history of our sport, from the earliest days of bamboo and plastic to the present. Within these pages you’ll find the evolution of foot-launched flight from the first days of bamboo dune-skimmers to the modern variety of hang gliders, paragliders and rigid wings. Each PDF file is one complete magazine, just as originally published. Pages with color are produced as color scans, the rest scanned as black and white images. Future issues will be available on an update disk. Each disk includes Adobe Acrobat Reader Version 7 for Windows, Macintosh and Linux systems. $30 for members and $90 for nonmembers. Call USHPA at 1-800-616-6888 or order off our Web site, www.ushpa.aero. PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901.

MISCELLANEOUS “AEROBATICS” POSTER – Full color 23”x 31” poster featuring John Heiney doing what he does bestLOOPING! See www.ushpa.aero under store/misc for example. Available through USHPA HQ for just $6.95 (+$5.00 s/h). USHPA, PO Box 1300, Colorado Springs CO 80933. (USA & Canada only. Sorry, posters are NOT AVAILABLE on international orders.)

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES – The rate for classified advertising is $10.00 for 25 words and $1.00 per word after 25. MINIMUM AD CHARGE $10.00. Phone number=2 words. Email or Web address=3 words. AD DEADLINES: All ad copy, instructions, changes, additions & cancellations must be received in writing 2 months preceding the cover date, i.e. November 15th is the deadline for the January issue. ALL CLASSIFIEDS ARE PREPAID. If paying by check, please include the following with your payment: name, address, phone, category, how many months you want the ad to run and the classified ad. Please make checks payable to USHPA, P.O. Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330. If paying with credit card, you may email the previous information and classified to info@ushpa.aero. For safety reason, please call your Visa/MC or Amex info to the office. No refunds will be given on ads cancelled that are scheduled to run multiple months. (719) 632-8300. Fax (719) 632-6417

STOLEN WINGS & THINGS GRADIENT ASPEN – My paraglider equipment was stolen from my vehicle on November 7th in San Diego, California. The wing was a red, gradient Aspen 26m, SOL Large CX harness, SOL 33 CELL reserve, Ozone red and gray backpack. REWARD, no questions asked, $250 or please contact me with any information regarding the equipment. David Thulin, davidthulin@hotmail.com or (307) 6905792. 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 TO (719) 632-8300, FAXED TO (719) 6326417, OR EMAILED TO USHGA@USHGA.ORG FOR INCLUSION IN HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE. PLEASE CALL TO CANCEL THE LISTING WHEN GLIDERS ARE RECOVERED. PERIODICALLY, THIS LISTING WILL BE PURGED.

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS CLOUD 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 FLY BRAZIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 FLYTEC USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 FOUNDATION FOR HG&PG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 HIGH ENERGY SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 NORTH WING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 O’CONNOR FLIGHT SCHOOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 OZONE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 SKY WINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 SOARING SOCIETY OF AMERICA . . . . . . . . . 22 SPORT AVIATION PUBLICATIONS . . . . . . . . .11 TORREY PINES / PARATECH . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 TRAVERSE CITY HG & PG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 USHPA CALENDAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 USHPA DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 USHPA BANK OF AMERICA CARD . . . . . . . . 23 USHPA RENEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 WILLS WING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

MARKETPLACE ADVENTURE PRODUCTIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 FLYTEC USA GPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 FLYTEC USA THERMAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 KITTY HAWK KITES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 MOYES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 MPH SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 OZ REPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 SUPERFLY NANO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 SUPERFLY GENIE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 THEWINDYPLANET.COM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 USHPA BOOKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 USHPA XC FLIGHT AWARDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

DVDS-VIDEOS-BOOKS-POSTERS – Check out our Web store at www.ushpa.aero. WORLDWIDE INTERNET PARAGLIDING TALK SHOW – WWW.WORLDTALKRADIO.COM. Listen live or to the archives! Live Tuesday 9-11:00 a.m. (PST). Call toll-free, 1-888-514-2100 or internationally at (001) 858-2683068. Paraglider pilots and radio hosts David and Gabriel Jebb want to hear about your stories, promotions/events or insight; they also take questions!

Spotted in Orange Lake, N.Y., en route from Connecticut to the ﬂying site at Ellenville, N.Y. Photo: Mike Strother

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

By Steve Messman, staﬀ writer

Clearing out the launch and toplanding area at Ft. Ebey, Washington

I did a little easy research and found some amazing facts. The timber company that I spoke with manages 320,000 acres of land in Washington State. They budget $10,000 per year to clean up the garbage left by those unthinking others. That ten grand doesn’t do much more than scrape the top off a festering problem, actually paying to clean only about 60 to 70 percent of the dropped-off junk. When you think about it, every three years the company is still stuck with 100 percent of the problem. Even with ten thousand dollars thrown at the problem every year, trash in our woods will do nothing but get worse. Volunteers to the rescue. This particular company gets help every year from all kinds of people and groups. Concerned neighbors often call to report dumped garbage. Many volunteer groups collect dumpsters full of trash. The Squaxin Island Tribe, Enduro riding groups, rally car drivers, horsemen and many others have voluntarily picked up tons of garbage. So, the only thing I have left to say is THANK THE HEAVENS FOR PILOTS! It takes only a few hours of lurking on several of the local lists to find pilots at work serving the land and the landlords. Even in my little (Northwest) neck of the woods, the list of pilot-sponsored events is tremendous. There have been volunteer work crews at Dog Mountain. Pilots have spent many a wet morning clearing scotch broom at Fort Ebey. Tons of clean-up and maintenance continues to be done at the top of Tiger launch, not to mention along the trail to the top. Toutle has gathered significant attention from pilots who clean even small amounts of trash left behind by others. Pilot volunteers jumped

A trail through the newly cleared parkland on Ft. Ebey in Washington state – not only pilots enjoy the beneﬁts of our work parties!

Photo: Dan Nelson

I would like to combine a couple of thoughts here. One thought is that it is the New Year, and time for those New Year resolutions. The second thought is one I have been developing since I first started hiking in the Northwest woods a bunch of years ago. That thought: There are far too many people out there who abuse our woods and consider them a convenient place to drop their trash. I live in the woods, so I spend a great deal of time walking and driving past those big steel gates that serve as barricades between us run-of-the-mill folks and the woodlands owned by those huge timber companies. The inordinate amount of rubbish that I have found at any number of those gates has always amazed me. I have seen “normal,” dayto-day garbage as well as old beds, chairs, refrigerators and even burned-out cars. All of that junk has simply been dumped there by people who probably just wanted to save a buck. Possibly they just didn’t feel like driving all the way to the local dump. Their thoughts (maybe): “So what if I just toss all that junk next to that gate? The businesses that own those woods can afford a little clean-up cost anyway. Those people are super rich. They can afford to pay for removing a little garbage – or a car. And besides that, if they pay for disposing of all that junk then I don’t have to.” Of course, most of us know that thought process is not quite correct. We all actually pay for that thoughtlessness in ways that include higher lumber prices, locked gates, and (gasp) work. Someone has to pay, so we all do, much the same way that we all pay for the business losses created by shoplifters.

What could these rubbish-dumpers be thinking?

Photo: Steve Messman

New Year Resolutions

to the rescue one recent season when a driver crashed through Anderson’s launch on the Oregon coast. One pilot organized a group he has named “The Friends of Anderson Viewpoint.” And then, what about that organization called The Friends of Blanchard? Many of us have worked on our favorite sites individually and quietly. We have picked up trash or cleared invasive plants. I have a friend who often throws five-gallon buckets of rocks in his truck to fill potholes on the road to launch. Last summer I helped one of the local timber companies spot forest fires while standing on launch. How much work has been done at Baldy, Saddle, Sollie, Pine and countless others? And yes, the work is self-serving. It helps buy our ticket to launch. Through that work, we often gain permission to fly, to recreate, to pursue our passion. Our efforts make pilots and flying important to the landowners. It gives those very important people a valid reason to allow us to do what we do on their property. And most importantly, it allows us to be stewards of the lands that we so gratefully and graciously use. So, congratulations to all of you who serve the land in the pursuit of your passion. And now, it’s time to welcome in the New Year. Let’s all make a resolution to bring in the year by helping to clean our favorite flying site. As soon as the snow clears the road to your favorite launch, organize a clean-up effort. If you don’t want to do that, join a group that has already planned a work day at your flying site. If you are more of an individualist, then hike the three or four miles up to launch one day with a garbage bag, or possibly better, pick a non-flying day and hike down instead, cleaning along the way. Whatever you do, remember that the majority of the flying we do is on private land. Landowners love it when we are a help rather than a pain. So dig in, do a little cleaning, and above all, be safe this year in the pursuit of our passion of flying.

January 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

heat it up this

winter with a hot

P44

p R TECH Peace of Mind

torrey pines gliderport www.flytorrey.com