USHPA Hang Gliding & Paragliding Vol37/Iss9 September 2007

Volume 37 Issue 9 September 2007 $4.95

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

The1lue 1-2 ...,,,.

-Advanced profiling fOf' efflc1en1 glide performance In active arr -Ught and c lean sail de$ign fot easy launching and in-flight agility -Balanoed .salt tension for stebllfty In acttve air end moderated glkter feedba,;k -Available In 6 sizes to ensure that you have a wing that is taib'ed perfectly to your in-flight welghl! Changing from a Vibe? ••.Choose the same sl.te.

-DHV 1-2 / EN B Certification

lhe--.:e

lhe Buzz Z Isa ,olld mid.f81,ge DHV 1-2 gliderwlm belween per1onnance, h.wl, and safely for plots ..t,o fly loss than 50 hours per~

St:abllity Md comfort in active air Is: what Mt\$ lhO Buz:t Z apart from thO coml)et~lof\, and DHV 1-2 pllots can fly this glide< with confide..,. In a wide variety or cOC'dtions. ThO <firoct handi ng and agile tum Of the 8ua. z makO it a,, Ideal lhennallng and XC gll<lerl« DHV 1-2 pilot• who want lo fly XC ln-, xc conditiotls, with comfort and COf\fidcnee in thoir wing.

-

USHPA, Publisher: info@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, Joe Gregor, Steve Messman, Dennis Pagen, Mark Stucky, Tracy Tillman Staff artists: Josh Morell, Jim Tibbs Office Staff: Rick Butler, Interim Operations Manager: rick@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 Officers and Executive Committee: 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 REGION 1: Rich Hass, Mark Forbes. REGION 2: Dave Wills, Urs Kellenberger, Paul Gazis. REGION 3: David Jebb, John Greynald, Brad Hall. 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).

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.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine is published for foot-launched air-sports enthusiasts to create further interest in the sports of hang gliding and paragliding and to provide an educational forum to advance hang gliding and paragliding methods and safety. Contributions are welcome.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine reserves the right to edit contributions where necessary. The Association and publication do not assume responsibility for the material or opinions of contributors. HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING editorial offices email: editor@ushpa.aero.

ALL ADVERTISING AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES MUST BE SENT TO USHPA HEADQUARTERS IN COLORADO SPRINGS. 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 and Pilot membership are $69 ($90 non-U.S.).

Dues for Contributing membership and for subscriptiononly are $52 ($63 non-U.S.). $15 of annual membership dues goes to the publication of Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine. 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.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING (ISSN 1543-5989) (USPS 17970) is published monthly by the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc., 1685 W. Uintah St., Colorado Springs, CO 80904, (719) 6328300, FAX (719) 632-6417. PERIODICAL postage is paid at Colorado Springs, CO and at additional mailing offices.

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

Canadian Post Publications Mail Agreement #40065056.

Canadian Return Address: DP Global Mail, 4960-2 Walker Road, Windsor, ON N9A 6J3 DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES IN PUBLICATIONS: The material presented here is published as part of an information dissemination service for 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 © 2007 Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine.

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

Feature stories generally run anywhere from 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.

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.

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.

LZ kiting in the Canary Islands Photo: Matt Beechinor

Departments Editor’s Corner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Pilot Briefings: News and Events . . . . . . . . . . 8 Airmail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Foundation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 HG Accidents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Master’s Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Comp Corner: The Region 9 Hang Gliding Regionals Go Long and Get Kinky. . . . . . 26 Flight Report: Flight to the Borderlands . . . . 30 Pilot Profile: Angelo Crapanzano . . . . . . . . . 39 Towline: Dragonfly Tales. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

IF PIGS COULD FLY…

Who says pigs can’t fly? A tandem pilot takes the two piglets tandem and signs one up for paragliding lessons, but has yet to convince Mama Javelina to leave the ground. The flying season is far from over in the Northwest, and there’s still plenty of time …

By John Kraske. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

FLYPA: A Funfor-all Event in the Canaries

Next April, consider visiting this island where free-flyers are treated like rock stars, and the acro teams provide non-stop entertainment.

Pilot Profile: Dean Stratton. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Comp Corner: Show Me the Money. . . . . . . 56 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 New Ratings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Marketplace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 One Last Thought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Index to Advertisers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

By Matt Beechinor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

TAKEOFF STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES

In this second part of his series on perfecting launch techniques and strategies, Dennis focuses on figuring out the optimum time to launch into a thermal cycle, with an eye to both safety and performance.

COPYRIGHT © 2007 by Dennis Pagen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Throwing Down

Have you been wondering if a paraglider maneuvers course is for you? A first-time SIV participant sheds light on what to expect during – and after – the clinic.

Volume 37 Issue 9 September 2007 $4.95

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

4

Photo: Jeff O’Brien

Aaron Swepston over the Columbia River, just east of Chelan, Washington

By Jeff Goin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

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

OU

E

L:

IT TO BELi V

:ALK T

SOM ONE

Unless you have flown one of our current models. it'.s. goiing to be pretty much impo:Ssib!e:f,or-you to,believe how much bielter they are than the hang gliders of even just a few ye1u:s ago. So. yo1u sha1uld Hy one. D1r, yo111could talk, as we have, to some of the pilots and i.nsinJ,c tus out ther,e who hau-e,.

..Just wanted to congratulate and thank you again for designing such ihiglfl: quality wJings. Besides being i1111love with my new T-2.1 test flew a customer's Sport 2135 ve·sterday and ittlew great anlil was alil absoluoo pleasure to thermal.

The Sport 2. In my estimation, is, the fim and only true "beg·nn·ng to a.dvanced· will11.g out there. I hav.e, new H-2 students doing extremely well on them and experienced H-4s.thail:fly XC and lo1Je them a,s.well. Thanks and well done.

I think the Falcon and now the Sport 2 are truly Ile best things that have·happen.ed to the saf,ety and overall expe.riem:e for p,e:o~le learnint ow tD flV hang gliders s:ince· I· have been flyi1111g." ·J'eff Shapiro1 Five Valley H.G. "I finally got mv new Falcon 3 outfor asoaring flight yesterdav. What an a·me,zing glider! I feel like I am dri1ving a little sports, car aim11nd in the s,ky, It's an absolute joy to Uy," -Dean Slocum

"'Thanks so muc'lii 00 Wills Wing for lettiri.g me borrow their great new Fa con 3 110. The glider was a joy to tty I was confident in all the thermals no matter how wild. I could whip it aro,und withot1t a problem. I was pushing ourt and flving , d

at less than 19 mph."

-Da11is Strnob latter his record 205 mile ftightl

"This wes by far lha best day I've had under a wmgl This 1s a great glitJerl" -Ken Foote (after demo flight on a Spar 2)

Browse the complete collection of pUot: comments at www.wmswin,g.com Crick on the glider model you're interes.te·d in from the hom:e page•.and the:n select "Pih1t Commenf ' on the left-side menu.

'0r. just g,o ·nvon.eI

It's all abo U1t tJlne fll y i n g .

LLSWlNG.C

M

Flying Thailand

Thailand welcomes visiting hang glider and paraglider pilots, but you’ll need a local guide to keep you on the right side of the law.

By Ed Pitman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

“Hang In There” Part Deux – Introduction Back in the ‘80s, George Worthington’s “Hang In There” article indicated that he was well on his way to incident-free hang gliding. He was mistaken, of course, but Mark Stucky figures it can’t hurt for us to continue George’s quest for safe airtime.

By Mark “Forger” Stucky. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Gallery. . .62

6

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

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

C.J at Dog Mt., May 2007

Photo: Aaron Swepston

How has your summer been? I’ve received stories paragliding options and where Ed hopes to set up a hang (for this and future issues) of some amazing flights this gliding flight park in the near future. John Kraske’s lightseason, as well as tales of weather woes that have left hearted “If Pigs Could Fly…” showcases a Northwest many pilots frustrated with opportunities lost. The hang family who’ve been enjoying airtime both as solo pilots gliding World Meet is about to begin as I write this column and as tandem students. Matt Beechinor suggests – I hope the rain cloud that seems to be anchored over paraglider pilots plan ahead, and schedule a trip to the Texas this summer will move on and allow the world’s best Canaries next April for spectacular free-flying along with hang pilots some typical Texas racing conditions! high-class entertainment by the world’s best acro pilots.

Without the trusty Dragonflys to pull them aloft, Nine years ago, at the Women’s World Meet in there would be no spectacular hang gliding in Texas, or Hungary, I met Angelo Crapanzano, the “A” in the wellFlorida, or at many other sites throughout the country. known GAP scoring system. While we were in Hungary Tracy Tillman and Lisa Colletti offer some insider tips for Angelo showed me a better way to short-pack my hang getting the most from those trusty tugs in this month’s glider for air travel, to keep the Mylar leading edges from Towline column. getting creased; he also joined forces with some of the Last spring’s weather in Florida was also atypically U.S. team to silence the world’s worst party band by wet, but that didn’t stop the hang glider pilots from having skulking across the dark fields and disconnecting them a best-ever event at Quest. Jamie Shelden’s “Show Me at their power source. It’s hard to fathom why someone the Money” introduces a new twist to hang gliding racing, so bright and fun-loving would choose to leave this world, one that may well catch on for future comps. Region 9 but Angelo is gone. Davis Straub provided me with a lastpilots, on the other hand, had the best spring hang gliding second profile of Angelo, which we slid into this issue just conditions they’ve seen in years. Pete Lehmann’s annual before we went to press.

Comp Corner report on the Region 9 regionals includes You’ll notice there are two months of Ratings in this tales of several hundred-milers and many personal bests. issue. The list published in July had the wrong “issued Paraglider pilots also enjoyed some spectacular racing in” month; the same list was repeated last month, with at two comps in Oregon. Rob Sporrer profiles Dean the correct “issued in” month. Rather than have the lag Stratton, who won the Rat Race and, the following week, time between issue month and publication month inraced his way to the podium as 2007 U.S. paragliding crease, we’ve doubled up this month and are now back national champion. on schedule.

With an eye towards safety, Joe Gregor’s Accident Some photos were not properly credited last month: Report column uses one H-2 pilot’s own words to ana- The photo on p. 54, credited to Gin Gliders, was actually lyze an accident that could have ended much more di- taken by Bjorn Nelson. Tom Bair is the photographer for sastrously. Paul Gazis’s Flight Report column, the first of the uncredited photo on p. 77. The unidentified image three segments of his tale of an incredible survival story from the USHPA archive, in the top left corner of p. 34, is from over a decade ago, reads like a thriller novel, but it’s of pilot Bill Kaelin, taken by Don Fitch. all true – and I suspect there are many who’ll be shivering Steve Messman closes this September issue with with memories of “that almost could’ve been me!” Dennis some thoughts on schedules and airtime. Steve is recentPagen continues his “Takeoff Strategies and Techniques” ly retired from teaching, and right now he’s reveling in his series with some advice for timing your launch into thermal freedom from schedules, lesson plans, evening meetings cycles, and Riss Estes has some Master’s Tips for landing and tons of papers to grade, and in the realization that in high-wind, thermally conditions. Jeff Goin attended a the “back-to-school” ads have nothing to do with him paragliding maneuvers clinic, and reflects on what one any more. should expect – or not – from SIV training. Long-time Finally, a big “thank you” to all of you who’ve written pilot Mark Stucky begins a new series of safety-related up the tales of your road trips, comp experiences, perarticles with his first “Hang In There” feature column in sonal bests or personal challenges. Our magazine’s mix this issue. We’re arming you with lots of information to of entertainment and education, hang gliding and parahelp you make the best decisions (and therefore have the gliding, text and photos and artwork, is solely dependent most fun) whenever, wherever and whatever you go fly! upon you, the readers and writers and photographers.

From across the country and around the world come Keep those contributions coming! You can reach me, as reports of flying opportunities and travel destinations. always, at editor@ushpa.aero.

Riss Estes, a trustee for the Foundation for Free Flight (formerly USHGF), updates us on the newly created flight parks at Point of the Mountain in Utah. Ed Pitman invites us to travel to Thailand, which currently offers excellent

Who Should We Recogize?

It’s time for the 2006 USHPA awards – nominations are due before the fall BOD meeting, October 11. Nomination forms, along with a list of the awards, are online at ushpa.aero/ emailaward.asp. Some awards require submission of photos, newsletters or videos. Be sure these materials are received by the office before October 10 so they’ll be available to the Awards committee at the BOD meeting. Questions? Contact Martin at HQ: martin@ ushpa.aero.

7

Captain Tony Gomez Enjoys “Just Another Flight”

8

In fact, Othar thermaled back up, took more photos, flew just a little ways out front, and gave a second crazy-ass, private aerobatics show before heading out to the landing zone!

“What makes Tony unique is that these flights are just a normal part of life for him – neither of us thinks twice about it,” said David Frank, Tony’s friend, paragliding instructor, and longtime tandem pilot at Aspen Paragliding. “Usually when an older person goes flying at any tandem Tony and David thermaling up at Aspen flight operation, it seems to be regarded almost as a stunt, with launch assistance Captain Antonio D. “Tony” Gomez and lots of fanfare and family watching has done it again! Last July 10, the 94- from the LZ, a one-time deal. Not so year-old resident of Ketchum, Idaho, with Tony. We’ve flown mountains tolaunched from Ruthie’s Run in Aspen, gether for 10 years now; this was his 22nd Colorado, as the oldest person on the tandem flight with me. The last one we planet (as far as we know) to fly tandem flew together was the beautiful 10-mile on a paraglider! Tony enjoyed a ther- cross-country flight from El Peñon to mal flight of almost an hour high above the beach in Valle de Bravo, Mexico, in Aspen Mountain, flying the glider him- January. People are always blown away self much of the time. As a special bonus, when he pops his helmet off and they Othar Lawrence, a friend who is on the find out his age! He’s really inspired a Red Bull team and is one of the best lot of people with his passion and joie de aerobatic paraglider pilots in the world, vivre, as well as his myriad of great stories. flew alongside Tony for much of the He has an incredible sense of adventure flight, taking pictures and then putting – he’s headed on a tour to Antarctica in on a spectacular aerobatic show for him. November! And he does all of it without

94-year-old Tony launching in Aspen

Photo: David Frank

Tony and David flying to the beach in Valle de Bravo, Mexico

any fuss or hubbub whatsoever – it’s just another day above ground for Tony, and he’s lived that way his entire life.”

Tony was born in Malaga, Spain, in March of 1913. He was a bush pilot in Alaska in the early ‘40s, and has a seniority hire date with Delta Airlines of January 1945. Every time he boards a Delta flight, he’s treated like a king, and the captain is always sure to acknowledge his presence with an announcement over the PA to all the passengers. He flew with Delta for 33 years before reaching the mandatory retirement age, at which point he bought a vineyard and grew grapes for the next 20 years before selling to what is now the respected “Screaming Eagle” brand winery.

Throughout his flying career he also flew aerobatic bi-planes, sailplanes (including a flight to 28,000’), and he became the oldest USHPA student to earn a P-2 paragliding rating (at age 85), celebrating with a solo flight off Bald Mt. at the Sun Valley ski resort, where he had enjoyed skiing for 50 years.

A heartfelt congratulations to you, Captain Tony Gomez, on “just another great flight”! Thanks for leading the way on the road less traveled.

Tony and David in the Aspen LZ September 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

Photo: Othar Lawrence

Photo: Othar Lawrence

Photo: Othar Lawrence

Tony and David preparing to launch in Valle de Bravo

Photo: Carl Frank

By Sean Groover/Aspen Paragliding

Twister tricks

Photo courtesy APCO

APCO Vista pilots enjoying a sunset flight

(L to R) Patrick Berod (2nd), Thomas Merigout, and Gregory Blondeau

Dean Stratton topping out the last thermal just before the Applegate goal at the Rat Race

Sup’Air: The “smallest and lightest reserve parachute in the world” is now available from Sup’Air. Their Extra-Light is certified in three sizes; the small size weighs 2.12 pounds (.96 kg) and is appropriate for pilots whose all-up weight is below 176 pounds (80 kg), while the large version weighs just under three pounds (1.35 kg) and is for pilots who weigh less than 253 pounds (115 kg) all-up. More information at www.supair-usa.com.

Photo courtesy SOL

These three photos courtesy ADVANCE

SOL: Thomas Merigout, flying SOL’s Tracer, took first place in the French national championships held at St. Hilaire last July. Thomas has been flying for three years, and although he never won a task his consistent flying placed him first in the field of 119 pilots. Full results at www.frenchopen.free.fr.

APCO: The DHV 1-2 Vista has passed certification both trim and accelerated in sizes S, M and L, and is also available in a paramotor version.

competitions in Oregon last July. In the nationals Dean finished a mere 36 points behind the overall winner, Frank Brown, who scored 2506 points to Dean’s 2470.

Dean took first place in the Rat Race, which ended the day before the first task of the Nationals. See Rob Sporrer’s profile of Dean Stratton beginning on p. 52 in this issue.

Photo: Matt Beechinor

The Twister, APCO’s acro wing, has been taking top honors at the summer’s acro events. Pál Takáts and Gábor Kézi have finished on the podium, both as a synchro team and individually, at the Acrolac in France and the VertigoVoss in Norway. At VertigoVoss, Ove Tillung placed first and Christian Hagan was fourth, both on Twister 18s. APCO has recently launched the Twister 16, “for lighter pilots (and those looking for even more adrenaline).” More information on all APCO products at www .apcoaviation.com.

Photo courtesy APCO

Short Notes and Gloats From the Paragliding Manufacturers ADVANCE: Slavac Matras, on an Omega 7, won the 2007 Greek Paragliding Championship. More information at www.advance.ch.

SOL pilot Frank Brown, also on a Tracer, won the U.S. Paragliding Nationals in Lakeview, Oregon, last July, narrowly beating the U.S. champion Dean Stratton. The final task, an amazing distance of 145.3 km, was a close race with Frank finishing just one minute 20 seconds ahead of Dean. Full results are at www.vip2comp.com/files/Nats_ Overall.htm.

UP: U.S. pilot Dean Stratton is the 2007 national champion, flying his UP Targa 3 to victory in two back-to-back

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

9

USHPA Safe Pilot Awards Gabriel Evans of Portland, Oregon, and Jim Harmon of Bainbridge Island, Washington, have logged 100 consecutive safe flights, earning each of them the bronze Safe Pilot award for paragliding.

James Tibbs of Grants Pass, Oregon, has logged 300 consecutive safe flights, earning him the silver Safe Pilot award for hang gliding. Jim is one of our staff artists, and finds time between flights to produce most of the hand-drawn illustrations in the magazine.

USHPA offers congratulations to all three of these pilots for their achievement.

leader in Germany with their high quality, cutting-edge technology. The new Arcus 5 promises to be as successful as the very first Arcus. Contact Southern Skies at (828) 632-6000 for a list of all dealers, or see www.southernskies.net for a complete listing of all the SWING products.

New Paragliding Media From XC Shop

By Marcus King

Manilla Sky 2007 Paragliding Worlds DVD

Thermal Flying For Paraglider and Hang Glider Pilots

Photo courtesy SWING

New Importer for SWING Paragliding Products Established

10

level competition in a way rarely seen before. Even the excitement and risk of competing at this highest echelon is portrayed with several mid-airs caught on film.

The entire package is set to a thumping soundtrack from a selection of great new Aussie bands to create an unforgettable experience that tells the tale of what really happened down under in the 2007 Manilla Worlds.

Language: English Running Time: 1hour 40 minutes Format: 16:9 PAL (This DVD may not play in all U.S. players)

The 2007 Paragliding World Championship held in Manilla, Australia, was one of the most closelyfought contests in the history of the event. Despite less-than-ideal weather conditions, 150 pilots did battle over six tasks culminating in a nail-biting Effective immediately, all SWING finish that saw British multiple cham(Germany) products are being exclusively pion and designer of Airwave paragliddistributed by Southern Skies LLC of ers, Bruce Goldsmith, crowned world Taylorsville, North Carolina, through champion. the existing and expanding network of This one-hour-40-minutes-long professionally filmed documentary takes SWING dealers.

This includes the full line of glid- you deep into the heart of the action. 3D ers like the new DHV 1 Axis 4, DHV tracks and Google Earth landscapes are 1-2 Arcus 5 and the DHV 2 Astral 5, as used to analyze each task blow by blow, well as a new harness line and the line giving you the chance to learn from the of Powerplay (motor) gliders like the best pilots in the world, who talk candidSting and the Silex. Watch for a new ly about their decision-making processes.

Powerplay glider called the “NaJa” to Stunning onboard footage and high come out soon. quality in-air and ground-based camera SWING has long been the market work capture the highs and lows of high-

This best-selling book is complete guide to cross-country flying, written by the highly respected German competition pilot Burkhard Martens, translated into English by PWC pilot Mads Syndergard, and given a serious update including a new section from world champion Bruce Goldsmith. It covers all aspects of crosscountry flying and spells out priceless information on reading conditions and thermal flying like no other book. With something to learn, whether you are a beginner or seasoned campaigner, this is a book that should be on every serious XC pilot’s bookshelf!

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

.aero

WWW.USHPA.COM

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

WWW.USHPA.COM

A coupld of Twister pilots pushing the limits of “sane” flying

Photo courtesy APCO

Thermal Flying and Manilla Sky 2007 (Read about one P-2’s impressions of are available now from www.xcshop the Iquique flying in Summer Barham’s .com, and may also be available from the “Traversing Chilean Skies” in last USHPA store (ushpa.aero/store) by the June’s issue.)

It’s a good idea to sign time you read this. up early (now!) for winter .aero escapes, both to be sure Summer’s Almost Over – But The there’s room for you on your Flying Goes On and On… chosen tour and to take Don’t let your wing languish in its bag for months once your home site’s weather advantage of lower airfares for advance gets cold and wet! The Calendar section booking. Some tours are family-friendly, of each magazine has plenty of “escape” with non-flying activities easily arranged options for both hang gliding and para- for ground-bound members of your party.

Check the online calendar (ushpa.aero/ gliding tours to sunshine and thermals.

Atlanta Paragliding/Wallowa Para- calendar.asp) as well as the magazine gliding offer an extra incentive to join for the latest postings for winter flying them – on their November week-long options, and make some phone calls or tours to Iquique, Chile, they promise send some emails to find out which tour paraglider pilots that every day will be is custom-tailored to help you retain your flyable, or you’ll get your money back sanity this winter! for any days the group is grounded by wind or weather. Pilots who have flown in Iquique warn you not to expect a refund; last year’s tour participants flew every day, often at more than one site, even on the afternoon of their arrival and the morning of their departure!

11

The opinions expressed in the letters pub- it. The old logo represented a bygone era, lished in this column are those of the authors sort of like the Army Air Corps as opand do not necessarily reflect those of the posed to the modern Air Force. Times magazine staff or USHPA officials. While change and two years from now, who every effort is made to verify facts stated in will even remember the logo argument? letters, readers are urged to check the accu- It is high time to bring in fresh ideas and racy of any statement before taking action or growing both sports of hang gliding and forming an opinion based on the contents of paragliding, so united we have better political clout. The forces that work to limit a letter. our flying areas are a more important More Comments on the New Logo fight than what the logo looks like and (email, 6/25) whether or not every member had a say Much has been said about the logo. I in it. appreciate the chance to buy copies of the Ken Pelkey, USHPA #76089 old logo, which is really nice because it has a thermal full of (abstract) paraglid- (email, 7/6) ers behind the hang gliders. Thanks for I have to agree completely with including one with the July magazine.

Mr. Witherspoon’s letter regarding the Ancil Nance, USHPA #56311 change of the USHPA logo. Even if some of the details are hazy the idea that some guy can suggest that it should be (email, 6/25) I just got done reading the rather changed and the board of directors just long rant about the new logo by Larry makes it happen is not right.

Witherspoon. All I can say is, “Dial back Mr. Birren’s reply comes across as arthe caffeine!” I love the new logo and rogant. And his statement that the new kudos to the person that came up with logo is not for the members but for re-

12

cruitment is particularly galling, especially as I particularly detest the new logo.

Outsiders should join up and then share in the logo with the rest of us.

I had mounted the new sticker on my truck, even though I really dislike it, because I am proud of the organization. I am seriously considering removing it. It is not a particularly nice design. Just a few crummy impressions. The only thing decent is the bird and it is done with negative space. The color scheme is especially offensive. It is obviously supposed to be U.S. flaggish but there is entirely too much “uninformed” patriotismic flag waving these days and I do not care to be a part of it.

Please undo this injustice and give us back the pilot’s (people’s) logo.

Will Swanson, USHPA #52769

An Artist Speaks Out – Four Rants For The Price of One! (email, 7/3) Rant #1: The new USHPA Logo

I was informed that I might be the

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

only one who submitted three designs to the new USHPA logo contest and all three made it into the finals, albeit low on the “totem pole.” Even so, as all my designs made it to the finals, I think I should be declared the winner! And as the new winner, I want all three of my designs used – one every month on a constant rotating basis!

Even better still, use every design submitted for the contest on a regular bi-monthly rotation. Every other month the USHPA logo would change – a constant visual surprise – hee hee! This is an unconventional use of logo art to be sure, but the audaciousness, press coverage and notoriety would be tremendous. (Wow – an organization that changes its logo bimonthly. How cool of them! What bold, far-reaching thinkers/designers – a new degree of branding!) Of course, there’s a good chance no one outside our little flying world would notice, either. So why not do it? What have we got to lose?

We’ve featured member’s photos for years – why not their art for a change?

Regarding the logo contest: personally, I had, well, gobs of fun, going through the design process in coming up with three designs – all different! And after reading the rules, it was obvious that the committee could elect not to accept any of the logo designs submitted, and design their own. I figured in the end

Terry’s designs

that would be the case anyway (they’d contest and was subject to the same judgment want to get in on the gobs of fun, too.) as all other submissions.

Even so, that didn’t stop us from doing the art. The new USHPA logo is a good Rant #2 – The magazine name one! So get over it. BTW – A note to the change. three members who voted for my designs: Even more, on the over-and-above the if you’re ever in Berkeley, look me up. As “too much fun!” scale: relating to a suga gesture of thanks, I’ll buy you a beer, or gestion in the magazine by Peter Birren a glass of vino. in the article before the logo contest rules, Moving on: Let’s “get rad” like in the I submitted a new name for the magagood ol’ days of gliding. Think “outside zine and even designed a mock-up cover. the thermal” for a change. The majority Did anyone else do the same? Print it of USHPA pilots don’t really care about (and any others) to show the members logos and such anyway. They just wanna the possibilities! I don’t mind saying that fly. That’s all well and good, but I’d like to mine turned out quite nicely, thank you. I see everyone’s logo proposals highlighted did my homework, chose a name directly in a manner that celebrates the pilots, related to the wings we fly – a name not and others, who deemed it an honor to used by any other magazine. I can only take the time to submit (pro bono) some- tell you that it wasn’t “Aero.” That name thing creative to the organization that is already taken by a magazine dedicated represents the air-sport they love. to WW1 aircraft enthusiasts. My new Thus, in that free-thinking vein, I magazine’s name proposal? It’s a trade think there were some excellent logos secret. See the mock-up cover! Don’t submitted for the contest. There were bother submitting any other names – you some mediocre ones too, but that’s for can’t come up with a better name than the beholder to judge. They were fun to I did. I patiently await my prize money. look at and I marveled at the variety of Editor’s note: According to Peter Birren, no ideas. I hope everyone had a chance to other mock-up covers were submitted. Here’s view them. (They should’ve been featured Terry’s: in the magazine!) They would look great, one being used every other month in the magazine, organization documents, email, etc. Think of the framed USHPA logo collection on the walls of your den or clubhouse. I even liked the design that incorporated the smiley face – it brought a hearty LOL as I thought what a great logo it would make. The irreverent humor factor alone would be worth the price of trying to justify it (tongues firmly in cheeks) to prospective pilots and the non-flying public. I’m already “gittin’ my rap down” in hopes that the powers that be will see the error of their ways and choose the smiley-face submission as our new logo! After all, aren’t we happiest when we’re in the air? Really! I wanna buy the artist who designed the USHPA smiley face logo a beer, or glass of wine!

P.S. A “little bird” (not the ‘copter) told me the logo was already designed before Rant #3 – On a more somber note: the contest began; folks just wanted to the woman paraglider pilot in see what the flying/soaring membership Australia who cheated death! would come up with, and if we were even Why haven’t we read anything about interested at all. Editor’s note: Committee the Swiss woman Paraglider pilot in the members assure me that the winning logo competition in Australia who got sucked was submitted within the timeframe of the up into a thunderstorm, with lightning

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

13

crackling all around her, and lived to tell about it? I came across the incident in a very short blurb in the margins of TIME Magazine’s weekly “Numbers” section a few months ago. Alas, I’ve been sitting on pins and needles, anticipating the arrival of the magazine each month, anxiously waiting to read her story – in vain as it turns out. Seems like she blacked out, in and out of consciousness, for up to 40 minutes, as she was taken against her will, up the delirious dark, into a thunderhead to heights over 25,000 feet!

And a male paraglider pilot flying near her was struck by a bolt of lightning and killed (RIP) while in the same thunderstorm. I wanna see her on the cover of the magazine and read the first-personaccount of her on-high, close encounter with the grim reaper! Why should we have to accidentally run across it in TIME Magazine, then have to search out the item in an obscure Australian newspaper on the web, which didn’t give much detail of her ordeal. What are we afraid of? Where are our European and Australian correspondents? This woman’s

14

frightening experience and happy ending needs to be told. Her story is in the same category as the book, The Man Who Rode the Thunder, about a 1950s military pilot forced to bail from his jet aircraft as it broke apart in a thunderstorm. He was tossed around by violent winds for 45 minutes or so, before he finally fell low enough to throw his chute safely.

There are important lessons to be learned here! New pilots need to read stories like hers, as well as the fun-flying/ soaring ones. Why is it that every generation of glider pilots has to repeat the misfortunes of previous generations? To wit: In the early ‘30s, soaring in sailplanes was a relatively new sport. Some top European pilots wanted to find out what would happened if they thermaled into a thunderstorm for the first time. Their experiment ended in tragedy as they encountered violet updrafts, downdrafts and extremely turbulent air. Sailplanes broke up all over the sky, and more than a few of the pilots lost their lives.

In the ‘70s, hang glider pilots in the Swiss Alps got sucked up into a thunder-

storm accidentally. One crashed into the side of a mountain and was rescued, the others’ gliders broke up in mid-air, pilots perished, and I understand they never found one pilot and his glider at all!

From these incidents, and others, sailplane pilots and hang glider pilots have learned of the perils of thunderstorms – you do everything in your power to avoid them and the meteorological conditions that create them!

And now history repeats itself as paraglider pilots “Down-Under” suffered the same fate as their soaring brethren in the past. Please, someone, somewhere, interview the Swiss woman pilot and share her story with us. Passed out for 40 minutes! Hanging limp in her harness while being tossed about by the elements! Did she witness the other pilot get hit by lightning? How did she survive the thin air and freezing temperatures at altitudes above 20K? How did they get sucked up into the thunderhead in the first place?

Let’s hear about it!

Editor’s note: Kari Castle, who was in Oz with the U.S. paragliding team during

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

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

they’ll never get around to it. Even with a specific invitation in the last several magazines, our “artwork issue” is sadly short on artistic content.

Thanks for letting me vent. Sharing a piece of aviation wisdom for all: as my lil’ ol’ fat momma used to say, “Straighten up and fly right!”

Terry Ferrer, USHPA #16279

Synchro flying on the new Twister

Photo courtesy APCO

this event, spoke with Ewa in the hospital would be spread out over many months, and wrote a thoughtful account of the inci- we would be exposed to a good variety dent on her blog. Ewa requested that Kari of art/graphics/illustrations, and it would remove that posting because Ewa hoped to make a pleasant change from constantly be able to sell her story as an exclusive tale to seeing photos all the time (which is nice, someone (like TIME Magazine) who could but a balance of art, graphics and photos pay her what she knew her amazing story is better!) Of course you would be exwas worth. HG&PG magazine has neither pected to make the same offer to the arta big budget nor a bevy of reporters who can ists whose art you use, as you do to the follow up on stories such as this one, and so authors of the stories and articles that there are times when we have to leave the appear in the magazine. Think about it – sensational stories and the incredible photos it’s a bargain. There’s been a dearth of art to those who can afford them. Luckily, in to- and graphics in the magazine for years day’s connected world, it’s possible for anyone now. It’s almost as if y’all are scared stiff to get information and view photos from of art and graphics! Well, are ya? sources that would not appreciate our “ borEditor’s note: I’m always looking for art, rowing” their material for our publication. and when I receive some spontaneously, it almost always gets published. It’s almost as Rant #4 – Pilot art in the October if artists are scared of sending in their work – we pay artists the same as we pay photograissue of the magazine.

It’s commendable of the magazine to phers, and we don’t mess with their creations. want to print everyone’s art, graphics and It seems the only way I can get anyone to acphoto-illustrations, but all in one issue? tually go to their computer and submit an I’ve got a better idea. Why don’t you save image of their artwork is to declare an event the best art to illustrate some of the ar- (Artwork Issue!!) and then put out constant ticles and stories that don’t have photos reminders. Adults and school kids seem to to go along with them? That way the art share this trait: If they don’t have a due date,

15

“The Foundation for Free Flight was very instrumental in UHGPA obtaining a state flight park.”

Mark Gaskill, vice president Utah Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association.

Point of the Mountain Grant Is “In the Can”

By Riss Estes Photos by Mark Gaskill

OK, so it’s an outhouse. But the environmental toilet that was recently installed on the south side of the Point of the Mountain played a key role in preserving one of the nation’s premier flying sites.

For those who aren’t familiar with the Point of the Mountain, I’ll describe it as a wonderful freak of nature. Salt Lake City is framed by mountain ranges, which run north and south along either side of the city. At the north end of the resulting valley is the Great Salt Lake, and at the south end, where the two

16

mountain ranges come closer together, is the Point of the Mountain. The Point is a remarkably reliable ridge-flying site with two sides to fly. Basically, a sea-breezelike flow sets up off the Great Salt Lake, blowing up the south side of the Point in the morning and back across the north side in the afternoon.

In recent years, both the north side and the south side of the Point of the Mountain have been facing closure through encroachment as the area of Salt Lake City has expanded. The key to saving the south side lay in having the

land become an official state park. The state was willing to make the land a park but lacked the resources to install all of the facilities required to meet various park standards. In particular, the most glaring hole in the plan was the absence of said “hole” – proper parks need proper restroom facilities.

Mark Gaskill, vice president of the Utah Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (UHGPA) led the effort to seek a grant from the Foundation for Free Flight (FFF). Matched with locally raised funds, a permanent,

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

serve such an important flying site,” said John Greynald, volunteer and project lead for the Foundation. The Foundation exercises careful diligence to ensure that all grants awarded by the Foundation are for the best causes benefiting our flying community.

More work still needs to be done, but both the north and south sides are out of danger and on track to be with us for future generations of pilots.

And for the record, it’s a very nice outhouse!

Riss Estes is a pilot, instructor, director of USHPA and a trustee for the Foundation for Free Flight (formerly the U.S. Hang environmentally friendly toilet was in- forts to preserve the north side. Because Gliding Foundation). The Foundation for stalled on the south side of the Point, the UHGPA was able to complete their Free Flight is an accountable organization, allowing the site to become designated deal with the Utah Park Service for the staffed solely by volunteers, that seeks to prean official Utah state park for free flight, south side, the club was able to focus serve and protect free-flight opportunities preserving it for future generations their attention on the difficult conserva- nationwide through grants utilizing your to enjoy. tion issues being faced on the north side. tax-deductible contributions. Please donate “I’ve written many grant proposals over Each grant request is assigned an to the cause: www.ushg f.org. the years, and the Foundation was very internal champion at the Foundation easy to work with,” said Mark. He also in- to help make the grant process run as dicated that the ease of the Foundation’s smoothly as possible. “The Foundation grant process indirectly helped in the ef- was very pleased to be able to help pre-

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

17

IF PIGS COULD FLY…

By John Kraske Photos by John Havlina

John and Gillian (on the red wing) soaring the bluffs at Ft. Ebey

18

“If pigs could fly…” This age-old adage suggests that something can’t be done, is impossible or at least would never be accomplished until the unlikely event that pigs sprout wings and fly. Orville and Wilbur Wright might have heard that very same phraseology when they prepared to launch their first flight at Kitty Hawk. I wouldn’t be surprised if Charles Lindbergh had closed his ears to the nay-sayers who used that same maxim as he prepared the Spirit of Saint Louis to cross the Atlantic.

The fact is, pigs can fly, at least they can if you accept these two things as fact: First, the desert-dwelling pig-like critter that is indigenous to the southwest U.S., Mexico, Central and South America, the javelina, also known as razorback hog, is a distant member of the pig family, and second, “Havlina” is phonetically pronounced almost the same as javelina – or at least that’s how it sounded to my ears on one very special day last year.

So, when I first met the Havlinas at Fort Ebey on Washington State’s Whidbey Island in the late spring of 2006, I immediately thought of razorback hogs. John, Cathie and their two daughters, Ryan and Gillian, in my mind will always be the four wild pigs.

Being called a pig is often – but not necessarily – derogatory. The javelina is an extremely cunning, intelligent, and adaptable pig-like creature, to say the least. And then there are the three little pigs, who outfoxed the big bad wolf, and the game, “This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home, this little piggy had roast beef, this little piggy had none, and this little piggy…” that endeared piggies to many of us during our toddler days. Pigs just get a bad rap sometimes. But those are probably Old World pigs. Javelinas are New World pigs.

I actually met Mama Javelina first. She was standing at the launch picnic table on one of those E.B. Tease days at the Fort when the winds get almost, but not quite, strong enough to fly. Pilots were kiting and testing the lift conditions, but nobody was flying. I walked up to Cathie and introduced myself. I was thinking I might recruit her as a tandem passenger, and so I handed her my Ravens Dance Paragliding business card.

“What’s with the raven?” she asked,

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

no mention of flight or flying.

I sized her up and replied, “The raven’s my totem animal.”

“Mine is eagle,” she one-upped me.

“That’s great! So I guess I’ll be taking you for a tandem flight, then.”

“No way! I’m not leaving the ground and I don’t fly.” Her hands were on her hips in a somewhat defiant, firmly grounded stance.

“Terra firma, huh? That would make you a penguin, not an eagle.” I thought about ostrich, but she didn’t seem like the kind to stick her head in the sand. Cathie seemed just a little taken aback by my challenge. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes narrowed as if she couldn’t quite believe her ears. If I’d been her I’d have been pissed off, too – I was a stranger getting in her face.

“Eagles fly,” I reminded her, as if she might not have considJohn flying a sunset tandem at Ft. Ebey ered that. I don’t usually come off so forward and insulting but her no-nonsense, get-in-my-face approach just seemed to fire me up for some reason, and I felt like her attitude warranted a protective of their young, and have been known to attack aggressors much larger than themselves when their families little combative truth-as-I-see-it response.

“My husband flies.” She argued as if her gilded winglets are threatened.

Papa Javelina was significantly larger than I am, and I was would lift her above my not-so-subtle reproach.

“Then he’s the eagle, not you.” I was feeling cocky and was relieved to find that he was a very friendly guy and was just lit having a lot of fun with her even though she was beginning to up by the idea of flying soon. When Mama Javelina told him I look just a little rattled. Her two young daughters were taking had called her a penguin because she didn’t want to leave the earth, he cracked up, stuck out his ham-sized paw and said, in our combative posturing from across the picnic table.

“I’ll go,” piped in the elder of the two girls, perhaps in an at- “I’m John Javelina. This is my wife, Cathie.” He nodded his head tempt to subdue the rising tempest.

“Hey,” I replied, “I’d love to take you, but you’re going to need your parent’s permission first.” I looked at Mama Javelina, my eyebrows posturing the question. Then I turned and looked at the smaller of the two girls. “How about you?” I asked.

She just backed away, eyes wide, shaking her head in the negative. It seemed as if she couldn’t believe anyone would challenge her mother the way I was. Maybe she was anticipating that old proverbial brown stuff was about to hit the fan and she didn’t want to get splattered by the aftermath.

After a few brief moments for consideration, Mama Javelina told the older girl, “Ryan, go get your father.”

I thought, Uh-oh, now I’ve done it.

Ryan was off. She returned a few minutes later in the company of a very big and menacing guy. I just thought, Oops.

Papa Javelina looked like one formidable guy and I hoped he wasn’t sporting the attitude of his namesake. Javelinas can be feGillian and John at Ft. Ebey rocious animals, highly September 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

19

Photo: John Kraske:

Ryan and John flying high at Tiger Mt. in Issaquah, Washington

20

towards the two girls and said, “These are my girls, Ryan and Gill.” I wouldn’t learn until later that it was Havlina, not Javelina.

“Daddy can I fly tandem? Can I, can I, can I?” asked 10-year-old Ryan, all bouncy with enthusiasm. Mom looked doubtful, so I proceeded to spill out my qualifications and experience. A couple of my friends came to the rescue and supported my claims of having a safe tandem record.

Cathie was a hard sell, but eventually she agreed with her husband to let Ryan go for a flight. She did emphatically reassert, “I’m not going.” We filled out all the appropriate papers and jumped through all the preliminaries before hooking Ryan in. The winds were just a little on the light side and we had to land about 20 feet up the edge of the upper north bench to avoid the dreaded hike off the beach 140 feet below. Ryan seemed very athletically coordinated and we were able to keep the wing overhead and kite up the bench together, to a higher level where we could re-launch into a little stronger wind.

That was last year. Since then we’ve all become fast friends. Cathie is the adopted granddaughter of Chief Red Cloud of the Sioux Nation. I’ve been in several sweat ceremonies with the Havlinas.

Both girls, Ryan and Gillian, have flown tandem with me several times at various sites. John learned to fly paragliders with Kevin Biernacki in Nevada, achieving his P-2 rating in February 2006. He flies a red-and-black Sky Atis. This spring we enrolled 11-year-old Ryan in my paragliding classes – a piglet who’s longing for wings of her own.

As I come to closure with this piece, I’m really disappointed to discover that javelinas are not members of the pig family after all. Cathie of the Eagle Clan,

When the wind is too cross to soar, Fort Ebey pilots practice kiting.

Ten-year-old Ryan and John preparing to launch at Tiger Mt.

John and lightweight Gillian get a launch assist at Ft. Ebey

AKA Mama Javelina, still has not flown but there’s yet time. Maybe tomorrow, after all, (if you will allow creative license) this pig will fly.

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

1!T 4

~

1¥ ti 0 0 0! • "' •

·i;,-~

•

'

•

---

17' IJ 0 [:1 • • • • • •

Hang Gliding Accident Report

By Joe Gregor, staff writer

grinned as I got into my harness. As I neared the LZ at 500 feet I approached a hawk about halfway between me and the At this time we have seen over a year less embarrassing report, but have reluc- ground. I did a 360 with him in lift too pass without a single hang gliding fatal- tantly decided that I should fully expose weak to do me any good, shadowed him ity. This is an enviable record, especially myself, as it were. Not just because it once, then moved on to as sweet a landwhen compared with the rash of acci- would make Oprah happy, but because ing as I’ve ever made in near-zero winds. dents we experienced the year I first took I know that, to all those ground-bound I was almost bagged up when my wife over this column. We are to be congratu- skeptics, I am representing the flying pulled up and said, ‘It’s only 10:15 – you lated as a community for achieving this community every time I fly. This story, gonna go again?’

“Back to launch we went. By this time result. Let us all strive to maintain this then, represents an apology for conduct the wind had switched and I moved unbecoming a pilot. record for another year.

“The accident site was a mountain around the point to face into a three- to This same period has also seen the number of reports on non-fatal accidents launch in Nevada. My wife (driver) and I 10-mph straight-in breeze from the east. go down dramatically. Anecdotal report- arrived in town and pumped people about My second launch at just past noon was ing causes me to doubt that things are pilots and gliding opportunities. We another textbook affair. This time I pulled getting that much safer out there. Please learned that, while there is no known ac- the VG a hair over half on, with the plan keep submitting those reports, even if tivity now, there was a meet of sorts held of gliding south along the mountain and you experience an incident that resulted some 15 years ago. Armed with knowl- staying far enough out for a 360 if somein little damage or injury. Your luck may edge of the prevailing winds we scouted thing worthwhile presented itself. As I not hold for the next guy. Share your out a flat, open LZ. We then drove up to meandered along the face of the mounexperiences so that all may learn the les- launch and noted the wind speed, direc- tain I spotted a rock outcropping on a sons they may teach – lest one of those tion, and terrain features – and watched prominent ridge that extended down lost and forgotten lessons becomes the a lovely sunset together. Come morning from the mountain, and headed for it. As we checked the forecast again, went to I neared the ridge I decided that I would grounds for our next fatal accident.

This month we hear from a fairly new breakfast, then drove to the LZ where I turn left over it, away from the mountain (H-2) pilot whose story teaches us a valu- placed a wind indicator. Bright pink and and toward my chosen LZ. As I glided able lesson concerning personal limits yellow streamers adorned the top. We over the outcropping I soft-handedly and the wisdom of moving up slowly. drove to launch, placed my launch sock, teased the minimum controllable airHis lesson was learned at high cost in and set up. I attached my harness to the speed position on the control bar, in an equipment, but at remarkably low cost in hang loop and checked my harness lines, effort to lose as little altitude as possible physical pain and suffering. Take heed, as is my habit. I did a preflight, checked while remaining sensitive to any sign of and imagine that in a similar situation the weather and wind, swallowed some lift. When I attempted to turn left, I was water, and checked my mental state. flying too slow for the maneuver, and the you may not fare nearly so lucky.

“I fell down. There, I said it! I’m em- Everything was a go. I got into the har- glider quickly passed to ‘stall.’

“What followed was typical of a barrassed, disappointed in myself, ticked, ness while leaving it hooked to the hang and dismayed because an avoidable mis- loop and audibly went through my pat- hang glider in a turning stall. The nose take has compromised my enjoyment of tern: legs in leg straps – check; carabiner dropped and went looking for airspeed. I the greatest hobby on earth. I have spent closed – check; zipper zipped – check; went weightless and, upon becoming so, the last seven months passing through al- parachute hooked – check, and so on pulled the bar all the way aft for a few moments. I quickly regained flying speed ternating phases of remorse and recovery, through my list.

“It was 9:30 a.m. on a beautiful cloud- and eased the bar out as the glider recovwondering how I could do something so dumb when I knew better, wondering less morning and the winds were blowing ered. By this time the glider had executed if I should fly again, missing my wing, a steady five mph straight up the launch, a three-quarter turn and recovered headand awakening in the middle of the perfect conditions for my experience level. ing south in the direction I was originally night only to re-live the blunder in my My flight plan was to fly straight out, flying. Glider and pilot passed over the head. Recently, my fidgeting in bed woke get beyond the lift band, then meander rock outcropping with plenty of room to my wife from her sleep. “What are you northeast to the LZ with the VG on my spare. I was at ease and getting oriented.

WW Sport 2 set at one-third. I launched I initiated another turn, this time with doing?” she mumbled. “‘Trying to kick myself in the ass,’ I aggressively, cleared the lift band and plenty of airspeed, to the left away from the mountain when to my surreplied. Having done penance by writing ‘I will not stall’ 200 I did a 360 with a hawk in lift too weak to prise the world went silent, the nose dropped, and I went weighttimes on the chalkboard, I wish do me any good, shadowed him once, then less.

How? Why? now to share my experience, so “Because of my proximity that others may avoid a similar moved on to as sweet a landing as I’ve ever to the unfamiliar, uneven terfate. I considered the option of made in near-zero winds. rain, the last portion of my stall turning in a brief and therefore

22

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

recovery was counterfeit. I had Because of my proximity to the unfamiliar, thetic flight – alone. Down below I broke the glider down, inadvertently zoomed the glider. uneven terrain, the last portion of my stall cut the tip wands out with my This second stall would result in more dire consequences. I knew recovery was counterfeit. I had inadvertent- pocketknife, donned the fallen helmet and bagged harness and I was out of room on two, maybe three sides. I pushed out for all I ly zoomed the glider. This second stall would started dragging. My wife arrived and hiked uphill to help was worth and could hear someresult in more dire consequences. me. We loaded up, got my hand one yelling, ‘Ohhh, sh----t!’ as cleaned and stitched and began trying to raise you for over two minutes. we dropped. the mourning process.

“My turn at the initiation of this stall How are you?’ my wife asked.

“What caused the accident and what “‘Fine, relatively speaking,’ I wasn’t as aggressive, so the glider only could I have done to prevent it? First, the executed a half turn as it plummeted. responded.

“We discussed a route for getting the obvious proximate cause: In brief, I flew I watched the terrain blur toward me from just under the glider’s nose. At last car close to me from below. This done, the glider too slowly. I refer interested and too soon, open air was in sight, just I finished my body check to find that parties to section 6.03 of the USHPA beyond a dominant protruding rock on my only wound was a gash in the heel ‘Novice Hang Gliding Rating, item F’ the outcropping. It happened so fast it of one hand. It had already bled out. I which says: ‘Flight speed. Should not seemed there wasn’t time for the glider had indeed been out a couple of minutes. attempt to fly slowly when encountering to respond even if I’d tried to turn. I I pulled the wound together with some lift, but instead, concentrate on mainwatched as the last five feet of my left electrical tape, slipped a cloth glove over taining attitude, heading, and airspeed. leading edge met the rock. I heard a it to keep it clean, elevated it above my Slow flight must be preceded by stall exsound I never want to hear again, the heart, then observed my situation. The perience gained far from any object.’

“Next, the less obvious but more imsound of 7075-T6 tubing breaking, and glider had contacted some jagged rock I felt a shudder going through the entire formations and landed upside down on a portant underlying reasons for this acciwing. Still pushing out on the bar, I went slide, then slid downhill tail first to come dent could be summed up in one word: to rest with the end of the keel and some attitude. It was attitude I think, maniinto a spin.

“At this point I was screwed, and I knew battens dug into the top of the same fested in the form of poor judgment, it. What was it like? It was like a piece of rock formation upon which my feet now which caused this accident. You see, I fly film I saw on TV years ago. A tourist near rested. This formation qualified as a cliff for the sheer thrill of it. When I say thrill Disneyland had boarded a ‘copter to take launch, as it dropped away some 40 feet I’m not talking about the titillating responses acquired by intentionally flirting an aerial tour of the Orange County area to a sparse sage incline.

“The view even from this far down the with death. I’m talking about the kind and had put his 8-mm movie camera on ‘auto’ and was pointing it out the window mountain was impressive. My glasses of thrill which can come from hooking ‘at altitude’ when the copter lost its tail were gone. I pulled my helmet off and into a big fish, having the last run down rotor. The camera stayed on and was re- set it aside on the sail. Dumb move! My the ski slope turn into a race, or watchhelmet made a few slow-motion revolu- ing a glorious sunset with my favorite covered at the crash site.

“That portion of my mind that pro- tions down the rock before disappearing girl. These are fairly safe activities. What challenges our ability to maintain safetyvides sight and orientation shut down over the edge.

“Taking a lesson from my helmet, I un- first is the very human tendency to crave upon impact. However, my black box stayed on. My mental audio system buckled my carabiner from the hang strap unusual experiences. It is a behavioral heard and my memory recorded the and climbed the keel to a place where I pattern that insists that as a given task is word ‘sh--’ being forced from my lungs could get a foothold. Upon inspection I repeated, any thrill associated with that by a sudden burst of air, the sensation of found both leading edge tubes and the task is proportionally diminished.

“This phenomenon is not all bad. We my body sliding over a rough surface and left crossbar broken, the sail shredded at the sound of someone moaning. When I both leading edge/crossbar junctures and commonly use it to our benefit, as it mocame to it was in ‘High Def.’ The sun was holes in the Mylar inserts there. Other tivates us to fly higher, farther, longer, in my eyes. I was pain-free, lying on my less drastic sail and wire damage led to faster. It is to this desire to ‘go boldly back on top of the glider and being kept the conclusion that what wasn’t obvi- where no man has gone before’ to which from sliding downhill by my hang strap. ously damaged was untrustworthy. I had we owe the advance of our sport. But it Sitting up, I looked about, amazed that totaled my ‘dream come true.’ Dear God, can represent a danger, this zeal to test the edge of our personal envelopes. It is a I was alive. Then I recalled accident re- did I feel low!

“I started breaking the glider down phenomenon we must all learn to master ports telling of victims who were awake and alert when reached by rescuers, only but on that incline, with one hand, it if we wish to continue the enjoyment of to fail within an hour due to blunt trauma. was a joke. Realizing that it was totaled, our sport.”

So I unzipped my harness and was going I picked up the ripped nose, worked over my body when my radio sounded. myself down the keel and flipped my ‘I’ve been watching for movement and friend into the air for his last short paSeptember 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

23

Landing in High-Wind, Thermic Conditions

By Riss Estes Photos by Josh Morell, staff photographer

There are times when the day’s thermals are still popping, but we want or need to go land, maybe because we have to pick the kids up at school, or we didn’t manage our “fluids strategy” very well, or maybe it’s just damn scary up there!

Moreover, many places start getting windy during the thermic part of the day, especially mountain sites which often generate strong valley winds and where our landing options are also frequently constrained.

At a paragliding event at Woodrat Mt. last June, many pilots who wanted to fly only in the milder early-day conditions were disconcerted that they were unable to get down when the conditions began getting strong. Each time they’d manage to get low enough to set up for a landing, a thermal would blast off in the LZ and carry them back skyward. I found myself repeating the following advice for getting down into windy, thermic LZs; perhaps you’ll find it useful, as well.

Most paragliding schools teach two general types of landing approaches: the “downwind, base and final” approach (a.k.a. “DBF” or “boxing the field”) and the figure-8 approach. I’ll forgo a detailed discussion of each here, but if you’re not familiar and adept with both approaches

Coming in fast on final at the Woodrat LZ

24

you need to be, and you should seek out additional training, a mentor, and/or consult a training guide such as The Art of Paragliding by Dennis Pagen.

The DBF is generally considered better for lighter wind conditions while the figure-8 is generally considered better for higher winds, the scenario we’re examining here. The standard figure-8 approach entails making successive figure-8 flight patterns over the downwind end of the target landing field and exiting the figure-8 pattern onto a straight final approach and touchdown into the wind.

Two common mistakes pilots make in executing the figure-8 approach are (1) setting up the figure-8 pattern too far downwind in very strong winds where the pilot gets blown downwind of the LZ or stuck sinking behind the wind shadows of terrain features, and (2) flying figure-S patterns instead of figure-8 patterns, causing the pilot’s flight path to creep forward with each successive repetition, thus using up the space in the landing field needed for the final approach.

The problem with the textbook version of the figure-8 approach for landing in very thermic conditions is that thermals build and release in cycles, and they drift downwind creating alternating

Rush-hour traffic in the Woodrat LZ

zones of lift and sink blowing downwind across the LZ. So, when it’s thermic, the time we need to execute enough figure8s to get down can be longer than the cycle times between thermals, so that before we can get low enough to go on final approach we’ve exhausted the zone of sink and entered a new zone of lifting air, sending us back upstairs before we’re able to land.

Pilots can grow impatient or scared under these conditions and try to force a landing with some dramatic and potentially dangerous maneuvers low to the ground. Instead of trying to force the glider down through rising air, go find some sink upwind of the LZ. The objective is to find an area of sink upwind of the LZ that’s large enough that we can turn circles or figure-8s as we float back (downwind) over the LZ, then turn on final approach and land safely inside that same sinking zone, before the next big thermal comes ripping through.

Here’s how you do it. While you’re still several hundred feet over the ground, fly straight upwind of the target LZ, perhaps over the next field or even farther if you’re higher. As you move upwind, pay attention to your vario and the air around you. You can get a sense of how wide the upcoming zones of lift and sink are upwind of the LZ. If you’re flying through a large thermal presently over the LZ, you’re looking for the zone of

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

Landing a hang glider in switchy thermic conditions may require some fast footwork.

sink on the other side. If the air is already sinking over the LZ, you may need to fly upwind through the next thermal to the sink on the other side of it to start setting up your landing. Once you hit a zone of sink, keep flying a bit farther to make sure that it’s a wide zone of sink that will give you enough time to land and not just a small pocket with little maneuvering room.

Once you find a suitably large sink area upwind of the LZ, start making circles or figure-8s, losing your altitude as you drift back over the target LZ. As you’re descending, pay attention to your descent trajectory. If you’re coming down quickly, you may find that you need to

A goal landing during the 2007 Rat Race

turn and fly downwind to get back over the LZ for your final approach. Or, if it looks like you’re going to arrive over the downwind end of the LZ too high, try to increase your descent rate a bit or set up a fresh approach farther upwind or at a lower starting altitude. Ideally, you’ll descend to a suitable altitude to start your final approach above the downwind side of the LZ with a proven zone of sink still upwind of you over the LZ. Proving out an upcoming zone of sink before coming in to land isn’t just a nice tool, it’s a way to increase safety. One of the more common causes of accidents is thermic activity low to the ground. By scoping out the air we’re going to land

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

in while we’re still at a safe altitude, we significantly improve our landing safety anytime we’re landing in potentially thermic conditions.

Two more parting thoughts: First, if we time our landings shortly after a major thermal release has completed in the LZ, or when the LZ has become well shaded by cloud cover, we greatly reduce the probability of a major thermal coming through the area while we’re trying to land. And second, if it’s so thermic that it’s hard to come down, we need to consider whether it might just be safer to keep flying than it is to place ourselves low to the terrain trying to land.

Riss Estes is an advanced pilot, instructor, a director of USHPA and a trustee of the Foundation for Free Flight. He’s also a really nice guy; if you profit from these tips you should buy him lunch next time you see him. Normally he’d be flying big XC flights at home in Texas right now, but this year’s incredible rainfall has him building an ark instead!

25

The Region 9 Hang Gliding Regionals Go Long and Get Kinky

Photo courtesy Steve Wendt

By Pete Lehmann

26

After untold years of sub-par weather, Region 9 experienced a cross-country season for the ages. Altogether there were six hundred-mile flights this spring, including four that occurred on April 29 from two different sites. Ironically, in a year of excellent cross-country weather, the ever-diminishing hang gliding activity was reflected in the smallest participation in this contest since its inception.

The reduced numbers of contestants was in part a reaction to a change in the rules to be discussed below. However, the contest’s winner Nelson Lewis was an unequivocal beneficiary of one of those changes. In the past a contestant’s longest possible flight was capped at 60 miles. Over the years Nelson had repeatedly prodded me to remove the 60-mile limit and measure each flight’s entire distance. Well, this year the rules were changed in conformity with his wishes and he took full advantage of the opportunity presented. Nelson’s three flights totaled 284.5 miles, including flights of 135 and 103 miles.

We will return to the details of Nelson’s flights, but first mention must be made of the other beneficiary of a rule change, Tom Tom McGowan McGowan. In the past, flights had been scored on the basis of straight-line measurement from a startpoint to landing. This year the contest has incorporated the more sophisticated measurement techniques enabled by data-logging GPS units and flight-analysis software such as Flychart or SeeYou. The benefit of these technologies is that they provide a more realistic measure of the distances actually flown, and incorporate multipliers to reward pilots for flights of increased difficulty. In any event, there were two pilots in this year’s contest who took full advantage of the opportunities presented by this new measurement procedure – Tom and Bruce Engen – and they did it from the same site, Woodstock.

Had Tom’s flight been scored last year, it would have measured a straight-line 107 miles. But by incorporating the dogleg miles flown, his flight is scored as 143.6 miles, more exactly measuring the distance he flew.

Open Class: The Long…

From the above it should be obvious that Nelson Lewis not only won this year’s Regionals, but crushed everyone else in doing so. Flying a Wills Wing T2-144, his first flight of 103 miles took place on an unusually early date for the region, March 18. The temperature was 30°F at launch and not far above zero at cloudbase. The day was highly unstable and turbulent, with launch winds varying from nothing up to 15 mph. Above the mountain the air was nasty enough that Nelson’s instruments were knocked off their downtube location and left hanging by the Velcro straps. The turbulence was bad enough to induce him to leave the mountain top and depart toward a large, safe LZ atop a hill.

But along the way he ran into a smooth 500-fpm thermal that got him to 7000’ MSL and on his way out of the mountains. After going on glide from there he first dodged some snow showers before finding a thermal to almost 9000’ before continuing downwind.

Thereafter he continued finding thermals until his long, buoyant final glide brought him to his ultimate destination in a huge field over which a bald eagle was flying. During the entire flight Nelson used zero-sink patches and thermals as opportunities to beat some warmth into his frozen hands, and during glides he positioned his head so as to keep some of the wind off his hands. Fortunately for him, his buddy John Harper arrived at the LZ before Nelson had even gotten out of the field.

Nelson’s longest flight of 135 miles took place on the epic XC day of April 29. It was not a day for the faint of heart, with surface forecasts for winds as high

John Harper

as 15-25 mph. By the time Nelson had set up atop Tobacco Row at 2900’ MSL it was gusting in the twenties and he feared the day was blown out. But after half an hour it backed off to 5-10 mph and the assembled pilots began to launch.

It took Nelson a little while to find a decent thermal that took him high enough to leave (7000’ MSL) in the company of John Harper. The two of them were following Steve Kepler who had left a bit earlier, and who was to be the third member of the day’s hundred-mile club. Over the back, Nelson got stuck working garbage lift with Steve as John Harper flew over their heads, a position that would soon be reversed as Steve and Nelson got high while John was stuck.

They remained within sight of one another until the 40-mile mark, at which point Nelson got ahead of them and flew the rest of the flight alone. The other two flew together to about the 80-mile mark.

The early clouds were large but somewhat ragged, and the lift, while strong (700 fpm), was broken. Curiously, as the day went on Nelson was getting progressively lower with each succeeding climb until he landed at 6:30 near Lasker, N.C. His maximum altitude was 7800’ MSL in a flight that lasted five hours.

John Harper landing

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

…And the Kinky

Tom McGowan, flying a Moyes Litespeed, took second place in the contest largely on the strength of his extraordinary dogleg flight from Woodstock, Virginia, to the Blue Sky flight park in Manquin, northeast of Richmond. It should be noted that this flight also occurred on April 29, the same day as the hundred-milers referred to above.

Tom’s day began with another application of modern technology to an old hang gliding problem, finding a driver. Earlier in the spring Tom had begun advertising on Craigslist in an effort to secure the services of retrieve drivers. The ads were successful, and Tom called one of those who had responded, Laurie, to drive for him. One final step in his preparations involved erasing all of the waypoints in his GPS except those needed to define a route from Woodstock to the Blue Sky flight park. He did this because his fellow pilots Bruce Engen and Hank Hengst were planning on flying that route. Tom thought it too tough a task, but was nonetheless willing to give it a try.

Like the conditions at Tobacco Row in central Virginia, it was strong at the Woodstock launch, which meant that the early, ridge-soaring parts of Tom’s flight were easily accomplished with a minimum of thermaling. From launch he first went to the right along the ridge for eight miles before turning around and then running 35 miles south toward the southern end of the Massanutten ridge.

At that point he climbed off the ridge in a decent thermal to 7500’. The strong winds drifted Tom far over the back such that by the time he’d topped out he only needed another small climb to give him the clearance needed to cross the 3000’ MSL Blue Ridge behind him. Once that crossing was safely accomplished, Tom was out into the open country of Virginia’s Piedmont and well on his way toward his goal of the flight park. Still, Manquin was 85 miles beyond the Blue Ridge and it was already quarter to three in the afternoon.

The flight across the open country proceeded well, with Tom getting to over 8000’ MSL a couple of times, and only once getting as low as 1800’ AGL. However, after 3:30 the climb rates diminished considerably, and the flight became one marked by patience that finally got him to Manquin still at 6000’ MSL. Too tired to consider continuing on, he spent 15 minutes burning off altitude before landing.

Tom’s only other contest flight, of 60.5 miles, was made from Ridgely, Maryland’s Highland Aerosports flight park. This flight too began in the company of Bruce Engen, but on this occasion they team-flew for almost the entire distance to the Atlantic coast. The only difference between their flights resulted from Tom’s ballsy decision to continue across the 1.3 miles of water dividing his landing field on Fenwick Island from the mainland. Thinking that he might have miscalculated, Tom was grateful that if he was to be going swimming he was only going to lose his old, depreciated glider.

In the event, he made solid ground with 500 feet to spare and no need to purchase a new glider.

In third place is Bruce Engen flying a big Wills Wing T2. His flights echo Tom’s above. Bruce’s longest flight was also a long, kinky one from Woodstock, and his second longest was the flight from Ridgely to the beach in the company of Tom. Bruce’s longest flight of 80 miles began at three o’clock on May 19, three hours later than had Tom’s long one a few weeks before. Otherwise the flights were quite similar, the difference in their absolute distances being accounted for by Bruce’s later start time. Like Tom, Bruce

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

John Simon getting ready to tow

went north to the end of the mountain, and then returned past launch to the south before getting stinking high (8000’ MSL) as he drifted over the back of the main Massanutten ridge. From that altitude he easily made it across the Blue Ridge and into the plain beyond. But by the time he found his first thermal in the flats it was already past five o’clock and the mediocre climb only went to 5500’.

At six o’clock he began a smooth final glide from the top of a last weak climb, landing at the Orange, Virginia, airport.

Bruce’s second longest flight of 59.2 miles was done in Tom’s company from Ridgeley. They left the tow park together and were pretty much in sight of one another for the entire flight, although at various points one or the other would get out in front. The first time they were separated was about eight miles out when Tom zigged while Bruce zagged and snagged a thermal while Tom went hunting snakes. Fifteen miles later Tom had caught up and they were together again until around 40 miles out when they began what were essentially long final glides along slightly divergent tracks to the beach, Bethany Beach in Bruce’s case.

Finally, unlike Tom, Bruce had a third long flight. This one of 58 miles was made from Woodstock on the day of Tom’s 143 miler, and, again, in Tom’s company for part of it. Bruce began by launching half an hour before Tom; he headed north to the end of the ridge and then on the way back towards launch he encountered Tom still on the outbound leg. However Tom didn’t go quite as far north as had Bruce, and moving quickly along the ridge, Tom had caught up with Bruce before crossing the ridge’s big Edinburg Gap. From there until they neared the southern end of the ridge they

27

his driver Steve Walko found him in a cheerful state of mind in the aptly named Friendly Tavern.

In addition to his spectacular flight, Pat also had a 28.5-mile flight from Templeton, and one of 11.1 miles from High Point in Cumberland, Maryland, to complete his scoring.

Behind Pat in second place is our vario-free Luddite contestant Bacil John Simon towing on his Discus Dickert who flew his Wills Wing Eagle flew together, but at that point their fates three times from Woodstock, including diverged. Bruce had gotten a mile ahead a longest of 25 miles. Third place goes to of Tom and they both began climbing at Dan Tomlinson who describes himself as the same time. Unfortunately for Bruce, a semi-Luddite for not having the techhis thermal only got him to 4800’ MSL nical wherewithal to exploit the contest’s while Tom’s thermal took him 3000 feet new scoring rules. Still, he submitted higher. The difference in altitudes meant three straight-line measured flights that that Tom could then continue across the included a 16.2-miler at Ridgely and a Blue Ridge and out into the open while 15.2-miler from Woodstock.

Bruce was trapped on the west side and forced to land near Elkton.

The Best of the Rest – And Awfully

around the Philadelphia airspace that often hampers long cross-country flights from Ridgely. The southerly wind gave him a decent tailwind around the airspace, thus saving him the need to waste time and altitude pushing crosswind.

In closing, our final flight is John Harper’s 107.1-miler made from Tobacco Row on “Hundred-Mile Day,” April 29.

He has been referred to above in the account of Nelson Lewis’s longest flight.

John and Nelson flew within sight of one another (and Steve Kepler, who also went over a hundred miles that day) for a considerable period before Nelson scraped him off. Continuing on by himself, John just made it into North Carolina, landing north of Lake Gaston at the hamlet of Henrico after a flight of three hours and 40 minutes.

Conclusion

It has been a rare pleasure to write In most years this section is a catchall up the results of this year’s contest. The of the contest’s better flights that didn’t ever-declining participation is regrettaplace the pilot in the top three. Typically, ble, but the quality of flying was remarkthat encompasses flights of over 50 or 60 able. Furthermore, while the use of the miles. However this year’s remarkable HOLC scoring method has been controspring means that we have thus far not versial, I am pleased with the outcome. mentioned two flights that in the past While some might criticize the optimiwould typically have ranked among the zation function for including short legs year’s longest. For reasons of space, I will in its calculations, it is unquestionably only briefly mention the flights, leaving true that the program does a fundamena detailed discussion of them for a later tally good job of measuring how far a article on Region 9’s overall flying. pilot actually flew. It frees the pilot from Flying a borrowed Aeros Combat, the constraints of the map and ruler.

John Simon’s flight of 113.2 contest miles As the scorer with access to the conwas made from Ridgely’s flight park and testants’ track files, I would add that represents a new site record. Interestingly, the software’s ability to simultaneously John, a pilot with Southwest Airlines, “re-fly” two flights occurring on the same ripped the record from the hands of day is fascinating. Viewing flights in that its prior holder, Ric Niehaus, a fellow fashion provides interesting insights into Southwest Airlines pilot. That may result the roles played by strategy, tactics, skill and dumb luck in determining the outin a somewhat tense cockpit for a bit.

Cockpit relationships aside, it was a comes. The consequences of a zig here fine flight that was remarkable for the and a zag there can be profound. consistency of conditions experienced If this contest continues next year, I over a period of four and a half hours. will make arrangements for the igc flight Thermal strength was mediocre, aver- files to be posted on-line so that conaging less than 350 fpm, but the climbs testants and others may experience the were never far apart. Only once did John flights of others in this way. ever find himself in trouble, when late in the flight he was down to a thousand feet over the ground. Otherwise, he was only once less than 3000’ AGL, which is the low-stress way to go cross country. John was a further beneficiary of an easy route Good, Too!

Sixty-Mile Class

This class was won by Pat Halfhill flying a Wills Wing Sport 2-FB. Pat’s very creditable overall placing of sixth was attributable to his fine 82.7-mile flight from Templeton to Saxton, Pennsylvania. Pat made a determined effort to get out more often this spring, expressing a desire to finally make a 50mile flight. His determination has been well rewarded with three contest flights, one of which handily blew past 50 miles.

The long flight was made on a spectacularly good day that in the end became perhaps a bit too strong, or at least too windy. At altitude the tailwind averaged a bit over 20 mph, accompanied by solid lift beneath reliable clouds. At the time he launched from the 480’ launch ridge conditions were still reasonable, and he very soon climbed out to 4500’ MSL (3200’ AGL) and departed downwind.

His next thermal got him over 7000’, and after that he only once briefly went below 5000’ MSL before approaching his final landing area. Along the way he reached nearly 9000’ MSL as he enjoyed an effortless, patient crossing at cloudbase of Allegheny Mountain’s wide, wooded slopes. He then easily continued on past Altoona until he lost some altitude just as he approached the next stretch of heavily wooded terrain. Seeing no LZs ahead of him, he chose to land in Saxton where

28

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

Photo: Pat Halfhill

Pete Lehmann (L), John Fenner (R), and the Mennonite family

I landed at the Mennonite farm on one of my XC flights this spring. The middle-aged couple was charming, and I was astonished to see their adoptive children of color in rural white-bread America. The black boy and girl were adopted out of some Philly slum, and the tall young boy seemed to have been of Middle Eastern or Latin American heritage. I imagined them all having been rescued from some hellish urban existence to find themselves being raised in a curious, old-fashioned religious community in a village fittingly named Arcadia.

This is an example of one of the serendipitous element in my cross-country flying.

One seldom knows where one’s going to land, and so often I have met individuals or seen sights that I would otherwise never have encountered. And only rarely are those surprises unpleasant…

Rank Pilot 1 Lewis, Nelson 2 McGowan, Tom 3 Engen, Bruce 4 Simon, John

Class Glider Open Wills Wing T2-144 Open Moyes Litespeed Open Wills Wing T2-154 Open Aeros Discus/Moyes Litespeed

Flight1 135 143.6 80 113.2

Flight 2 103 60.5 59.2 40

Flight 3 46.5 0 58 17.4

Total Miles 284.5 204.1 197.2 170.6

HOLC Points 686.6 pts 492.6 pts 476 pts 411.7 pts

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Open Wills Wing Talon/Moyes Litespeed Fifty Wills Wing Sport2-175FB Open Wills Wing Sport2-155 Open Moyes Litespeed 5 Fifty Wills Wing Eagle 145 Fifty Wills U2-160 Open Wills Wing Fusion SP Open Wills WingT2-155 Open Moyes Litespeed 4.5S Open Aeros Stealth 3 Open Wills Wing T2-145 Open Moyes Litespeed

106.1 82.7 42.3 40.3 25 16.2 37.5 29.4 14.5 0 0 0

23 28.5 39.1 26.7 17 15.2

6 11.1 35.3 21.3 11.5 11.4

135.1 122.3 116.7 88.3 53.5 42.8 37.5 29.4 14.5 0 0 0

326.1 pts 295.2 pts 281.9 pts 213.1 pts 129 pts 103.3 pts 90.6 pts 71 pts 35 pts 0 0 0

Harper, John Halfhill, Pat Lehmann, Pete Fenner, John Dickert, Bacil Tomlinson, Dan Moreland, Shane Ball, Larry Dullahan, John Gardner, Mark “Ground Poundin’ “ Kelley, PK Proctor, Dave

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

29

Flight to the Borderlands

By Paul Gazis Artwork by Jim Tibbs, staff artist

Photo: C.J.

Like all desperate tales, it began quite innocently. Ed, Don, and I emerged from our tents in the campground at Big Sur, ready for a day of California flying.

The sight that greeted us was spectacular.

A cold front had passed during the night, the sky was clear as crystal, and the tops of the mountains were covered with a fine dusting of snow. It seemed too incredible to be real – the pale blue sky, dark green hills, snow-covered peaks to the east, and shimmering Pacific ocean to the west – but there it was, plain before our eyes. It was obvious that the day would be flyable, and might even be good. It was also clear that there was no reason to hurry, so we lingered over breakfast and took our time heading up the hill.

We didn’t have the slightest inkling how this day would end.

By the time we reached launch, conditions had changed. Clouds had formed – indeed, the higher launches were socked in – and the wind had picked up to almost 20 miles per hour. This seemed rather strong for Big Sur, which is usually a sled ride to the beach a long way away, and I felt somewhat intimidated by the glide. But Ed and Don didn’t seem worried, and the Plasket launch was still below cloudbase, so we unloaded there and began to set up.

Conditions may have been marginal, but they hardly seemed dangerous. The wind might have been strong, but it wasn’t so strong that we couldn’t penetrate out to the beach. The clouds might

30

have been spreading, but so far they were all safely above and behind the ridge. My chief concern was the launch itself. This would be near my self-imposed limits for wind speed and direction at an unfamiliar site. I elected to go second – the timid pilot’s position – so I could watch Don go first and still get some wire assistance from Ed. I needn’t have worried. The launch itself was easy. I held the nose down, balanced the wing, and waited for a cycle.

Then I yelled, “Clear,” ran, and was off.

If the launch was anticlimactic, the flight was anything but. Quite the contrary – it was glorious! My early concern about a brief white-knuckled dash to the beach was entirely unjustified. There was no danger of sinking out. It was easy to stay up! Lift was everywhere! A few small clouds had formed below my altitude in front of the ridge, but they were scattered and easy to avoid. In minutes, I had climbed to 3800’ MSL – 600 feet above launch.

I spent the next hour playing around in the air. The mountains, the ocean, and the sky all shone with a beauty that defies any power of description. Some moments are so glorious, so overpowering, so overwhelming, that they seize you by the senses and drag you out of the prison of your skull, straight out into the world. Language is too feeble a tool to describe such an experience. One struggles for words, but the only words that come are, “I saw mountains,” “The ocean

There’s a lot of topography between launch and the Big Sur LZ!

was dark,” or, “The sky was very blue.”

For that timeless hour, I was not just a man flying a hang glider. I was the glider.

I was the mountains. I was the ocean. I was the sky.

I remember watching great dark cloud-shadows sweep across the ocean.

I remember glimpsing dark green hills appear and vanish behind brilliant swaths of white. I remember flying along a mere wingspan upwind of a cloud as my shadow, surrounded by a rainbow, hurtled through the mists beside me.

I do not remember the slightest hint of danger.

The first sign that something might be wrong came when Ed left the ridge, stuffed the bar, and began to fly out towards the beach. I watched him go with some curiosity. He seemed to be heading down to land. Why was he leaving so soon, I wondered? It was still quite early in the day – surely we could fly for several more hours. My friend Don seemed to agree with me, for he was headed north along the ridge, looking for more places to play. As I watched, he vanished from sight.

After some thought, I decided to follow Ed. Perhaps he knew something I didn’t. But I was not in a hurry to follow his route, for Ed had chosen to sacrifice altitude for speed. Given the conditions, this seemed unwise. Sacrifice too much altitude and I might end up below the lift band, down in a valley, trying to penetrate out to the beach in a venturi. This would not be fun, so I chose to fly slower and stay as high as I could while still making progress towards the LZ. By now the clouds were closer together.

Cloudbase was well below me, so I had a few tense moments, as I dodged between them. But it wasn’t hard to avoid getting whited out, and I wasn’t worried, yet.

Then, as I watched, a wall of cloud formed between me and the beach.

I did not, at first, grasp its implications.

Surely that wall of clouds had nothing to do with me! It was more than a mile away!

I was still in compliance with the cloud clearance regulations prescribed by the Federal Aviation Regulations Part 103 for flight more than 1500 feet above the terrain: three miles visibility, and either 500 feet below, 1000 feet above, or 2000 feet to the side of the overcast. Surely I could

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

not be in any danger if I was in compliance with the FARs! But the wall of clouds was unbroken. It reached from the treetops, two thousand feet below me, to a point thousands of feet above my head and stretched for miles to either side. It might have been more than a mile away, but it was blowing up the hillside at 20 miles per hour. It would reach me in three minutes. As those three fateful minutes ticked past, I realized that I had precisely two choices. I could roll into a steep bank, dive down, and stick the glider into a tree while I still was able to see, or I could keep flying straight and level, into the wall of clouds, and hope to make it through to the other side.

I made the wrong choice.

In my defense I must say that the decision to deliberately crash into the trees would have been a difficult one.

Even now, knowing what was going to happen, I am not sure I could make it.

That is certainly what I should have done.

I might have failed in my attempt at a tree landing, I might have been injured, I might even have died, but I would still have been able to exercise some control over my destiny. I would still have been a pilot. But instead, I tried to fly through the clouds.

Visibility vanished in a heartbeat. In an instant, the familiar world of colors was gone. The ocean, mountains, coast, and sun were nowhere to be seen. I was alone in a world of pure white. I was not immediately concerned. Surely, I thought, these clouds could not be very thick. In a few seconds I would be able to see the sun.

Seconds passed.

More seconds passed, with no sign of the sun.

I began to feel concerned, but I was able to deny the gravity of my situation.

Surely it only seemed that I had been in the cloud for a long time. Surely I would see the sun in a few minutes.

Minutes passed. I began to feel the first stirrings of real fear.

At last, it became evident that something was terribly wrong. Either the

ly be directly in front of me and too close to avoid.

More minutes passed. The clouds turned from white to gray.

I did not know what this meant, but I was fairly sure that it didn’t mean anything good. For several moments, I tried to persuade myself that I was dreaming. It was the only way I could think of to escape the situation. I might seem to be in serious trouble, helpless, and quite likely to die, but if it turned out that I was only dreaming, everything would be OK. If only it would turn out that I was dreaming! But I wasn’t dreaming, of course. No matter how much I might wish otherwise, I was really awake. This was clouds were thicker than I thought, or I really happening. And I really was in sehad been turned around. I was not going rious trouble. Alas.

At last, at long last, I resigned myself to see the sun in a few minutes. Indeed, if I didn’t find a way out of this situation, to death. There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to die. There was no I might never see the sun again.

I reviewed my options, but these doubt at all. I was no longer a pilot in any were few: I could keep trying to fly in a meaningful sense of the word. Lacking straight line, I could try to turn around any sense of attitude or direction, I and fly back the way I had come, or I was just a helpless passenger aboard a could throw my parachute. The first glider that was almost certainly headed option was futile. In the absence of any downwind back towards the ridge. My visual reference to the ground, there was last sight would be a brief glimpse of a no way I could hope to fly in a straight cliff rushing up at 50 miles per hour to line. The second option was even more kill me.

At such moments, as one stares into the futile – if such a thing was possible. As for the third, a parachute seemed like an abyss, one is supposed to have a sudden extremely bad idea. It was a windy day. If attack of religion. One is supposed to I came down under canopy, I would go pray to some god – any convenient god into the trees at more than 20 miles per – avowing that you always did believe in hour. This would almost certainly leave them, you are sorry for all of your sins, me injured and immobilized. In this and if he, she, they, or it will just get you terrain, in this kind of weather, I might out of this mess, you will head straight to never be found. Unable to move, I would the nearest church, temple, or neighborhood reading room. I’m glad to say that eventually die of exposure.

All I could do was keep flying at best such a thought never crossed my mind. glide speed – I knew from past experi- Oh, I did consider it in an abstract sort of ment that this was the speed at which way – i.e. “How interesting. I’m about to my glider was most stable – keep look- die. I suppose I could pray to Kwannon, ing ahead, and hope I spotted the terrain Goddess of Mercy, in the hope that she in time to react. This was not much of a might rescue me, or promise my soul to hope. Indeed, it was no real hope at all. I Odin if he will accept me into Valhalla.” had no idea how much altitude I’d lost, But this seemed like a pointless waste of for I was afraid to look at my altimeter, time. If I only had a few minutes left to but I was almost certainly below the level live, why should I waste them praying of the surrounding ridges. When I spot- to some oppressive myth invented by a ted the terrain – assuming that I spotted bunch of ignorant desert pastoralists? I anything at all – it would almost certain- had better things to do! I was going to

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

31

cloudbase – I distinctly remember a lid of gray above me – but I was also way back in a narrow valley, deep down in some kind of rotor turbulence. I must have flown straight towards a ridge, been picked up by ridge lift, cleared the terrain by less than a hundred feet – those must have been the trees I saw – and been dropped by sink into the valley on the other side.

By reflex I turned to fly down the valley, and edged towards the downwind side to look for lift. I thought I knew my position – I would later discover how wrong I was – and I assumed that if I made it around a bend in front of me, I would be within sight of the landing zone. But it was by no means clear I could make it that far, for I was sinking like a stone, and hadn’t had all that much altitude to begin with. Indeed, it was all too likely I would not make it out of the valley at all.

At last, too late to do me any real good, I finally had an attack of common sense. “Paul,” I told myself, “you have made nothing but bad decisions for the last five minutes. It’s time to make a good decision. You are going to go down. Why not pick a good place to land and put this glider on the ground while you still have some control over the situation.”

There weren’t any good places to land, not really, but I picked the best place I could, and headed towards what I thought was a flat spot (I was wrong) near what I thought was a settlement (once again, I was quite wrong). It felt strange to be setting up a landing approach for what was obviously not going to be a landing.

Pull in, kick out of the harness, hands on the downtubes. Turn base, turn final, keep speed up, watch out for the rotor of the trees, and keep aiming for that spot which is not flat it’s not a landing zone it is a steep slope covered with trees this is not a landing this is going to be a crash!

The trees rushed up to meet me. I pushed out to slow down, let go of the control frame, and curled up into a ball.

There was a moment of indescribable violence... …then I found myself hanging in my harness a few feet above the ground.

To be continued next month…

Photo: Donna Matthias

savor the few brief moments I had left!

I realized two things. The first was that my life until that moment had been miserable. I had spent too many years in a place that I hated, living under horrible conditions, with a companion I was learning to despise. Why had I endured this nonsense when life was so short?

It was now precisely too late to change things. Even worse, there was money left in my bank account that I was not going to be able to spend! Other people were going to get it!

This sucked. If I got out of this mess, things were going to change!

My second realization was that I hadn’t told my friends that I loved them.

This seemed like a terrible omission. Now I was going to die, and they would never know. If I ever got out of this mess, I was going to call everyone I cared for and let them know that I cared.

The mists below parted for an instant, and I saw trees rushing past less than a hundred feet below. I did not recognize the trees and didn’t have the slightest idea where I was. I only knew, as the clouds closed in again, that this was the end. Sometime in the next few seconds, some dark hard thing was going to reach up and claw me out of the sky.

Then, suddenly, the clouds were gone!

I did not, at first, realize what had happened, so sudden and shocking was the change. One moment I was surrounded by gray, the next I could see again!

Unfortunately, things hadn’t changed all that much for the better, for I was not in a good place. I had dropped below

Big Sur on New Year’s Eve, 2003 – from launch to LZ, it’s a long flight over nothing but trees.

32

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

FLYPA:

A Fun-for-all Event in the Canaries

Article and photos by Matt Beechinor

Nick Greece flying the island of La Palma

All around pilots are falling from the sky. No worries though – apparently these folks know what they are doing.

With a mere 150 feet of ground clearance, Raul Rodriguez winds his glider into a perfect helicopter. Surely a few more spins of this maneuver and he will hit the hill! Just when I think there is no escape he transitions into a perfect tailslide and flies his glider backwards away from launch, all the while never looking up,

Matt Gerdes, Mike Steen and a Team Ozone tandem pilot

SAT team fly out over the black sands of Soccoro beach to perform a group acro demonstration. Watching one person do good acro is always entertaining, but watching a professional team like this perform together is inspiring. Four people at a time doing infinite tumbles will get everyone out of their seats.

The FLYPA festival is held in the Canary Islands, in Los Realejos, Tenerife, every April. Top aerobatic teams from around the world are invited to Tenerife to perform heart-stopping maneuvers for four days over the Soccoro beach. Team Ozone, the SAT team, the Renegades, the Draco paramotor team, and paramotor world champion Mathieu Rouanet consistently wowed the crowds with unbelievable piloting skills. Launching from the ever-consistent La Corona take-off, the teams would perform several demonstrations daily.

To make sure the crowd never turned their eyes from the sky, the organizers threw in some Red Bull athletes hucking themselves from perfectly good military aircraft and throwing their parachutes only hundreds of feet from the ground.

There were also a few outstanding F-18 air shows put on by the Spanish Aerial Army.

To kick off the event, team Draco member Ramon Morillas set a new paramotor distance world record of 1101 km, flying from Jerez (Cádiz, Spain) and landing in Lanzarote, another of the eyes fixed forward with a huge grin on Canary Islands, after 14 hours and 40 his face as he drops out of sight. I assume minutes in the air.

Organization for free-flyers attendhe is laughing at the gape-jawed crowd, all pushing one another around in pur- ing the event was outstanding. Visiting suit of the best view on the edge of the pilots were treated as stars of the event, cliff launch. Some of the spectators receiving drastically discounted prices for surely must have experienced temporary four-star accommodations. Buses would heart stoppage watching his display of pick up pilots in the morning and deposit them at one of two take-offs – La Corona aerobatic paragliding perfection!

All of this is just a warm-up; the real for some extremely consistent mixed show starts when Raul and the rest of the ridge and thermal soaring, or up to the

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

33

Marcus King winding it up at the beach after a flight from El Teide

Nick Greece and Matt Beechinor playing in smooth ocean air

RedBull athletes tandem on an acro glider; bottom person is a BASE jumper

A pilot heads out for a XC flight on the Island of La Palma.

The SAT team warms up at La Corona launch before a show

Izana takeoff for a beautiful scenic flight on the flanks of Spain’s highest peak, the volcano El Teide. When not flying or watching the never-ending acro demonstrations, pilots could amuse themselves by perusing new gear and flying gadgets on display in tents set up near the landing zone.

The USA was surprisingly well represented at the event.

Matt Combs and Matt Gerdes put on some impressive acro displays, both flying for Team Ozone. The Matts and Mike Steen, also a Team Ozone pilot, were constantly basejumping from paragliders and military aircraft. The “hermanos green,” a.k.a. the Green brothers, were in full effect with beautiful synchro acro routines.

If you’re looking for a flying vacation with the opportunity to see some of the top athletes in the sport – and a side benefit of feeling like a star yourself – look no further and sign up for next year’s FLYPA festival! Family-oriented pilots could conceivably deposit the kids and spouse on one of the many beautiful beaches and escape for some soaring or acro shows, and return to join the family before Junior can shake the sand from his diaper.

Matt Gerdes and Mike Steen hang from a Team Ozone tandem pilot before BASE-jumping over Soccoro Beach.

34

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

TAKEOFF STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES Part II – Short-Term Timing

Photo: Josh Morell

COPYRIGHT © 2007 by Dennis Pagen

Steve Forslund launching at Woodrat Mt., Oregon

Last month we focused on conditions at launch with most of our attention going to those lovely little lift masses we call thermals. Thermals are ever-changing, so it requires a bit of judgment as well as strategy and technique to use them to the fullest during the launch phase of flight.

While there are other considerations when launching, dealing with thermals will be the main meat of our flying feast this month.

We will further limit our scope by just looking at short-term strategies.

This means figuring out when and how to launch in the current thermal cycles, both with an eye for safety and an eye for performance. The two are not necessarily always compatible, as we shall see.

So here we go pursuing thermals and, by good fortune, altitude…

WRANGLING WITH WEAK THERMALS As we discussed in Part I, thermals come in all shapes and sizes, depending on the day’s conditions and the site. Let’s begin looking at weak or small thermals – in short, tough conditions. Thermals may take on such an anemic quality due to weak solar heating, dampness on the ground or simply because the site is low and they don’t have time to gain much

or wavers. If yours does the latter, pracumph before they pass by launch.

In this situation, if the thermals are of tice your launches on good, smooth days long-enough duration, the best strategy (without noticeable thermal disruptions) is to launch into the thermal itself, after by getting in position, then off the hill the initial rowdiness has passed (see last with minimal delay. The process should month’s piece to recall the nature of a be: Get in launch position (relaxed), thermal cycle at launch). The idea is to check the wind (steady and straight place yourself in the maw of the thermal enough), pick up or loft the glider (mainfor as long as possible, in order to gain taining perfect control), clear and run (no clearance above the terrain to really work hesitation). Remember, our learning and the beast efficiently. If you have been practice doesn’t and shouldn’t stop at the timing thermal cycles at launch while training hill. The best thermal pilots in getting ready to fly you will know ap- weak conditions are the best launchers proximately how long the thermals last, almost invariably.

Two paragraphs earlier we stated, “… but also how long the initial turbulence goes on before it settles down to more if the thermals are of long enough durasteady thermal wind. It is right after that tion…” How long is long enough? The turbulence passes that your golden op- answer depends on your launch technique – do you get off launch efficiently? Most portunity resides.

Of course, we are making an assump- of us should be able to launch within 15 tion here that you can control your glider seconds. But a good pilot can hoist or inon the ground in the wavering wind as- flate the glider and run off the hill within sociated with a thermal, and furthermore a three- to five-second interval. Give a that you have the confidence to launch few seconds for judging that the wind carefully without delay. If you are the has truly settled in the thermal and we type to stand at launch, wishing for a have a six- to eight-second smooth cycle perfect breeze and washing your laundry requirement. I have seen expert pilots use while nature passes by, chances are you even shorter cyclic conditions.

Now let’s look at the techniques for will miss the meat of many a thermal.

Most of us know our inner mind on snatching the thermal immediately after launch and how our confidence bucks up launch. In weak thermals, especially at

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

35

small hills, we usually have to wallow in the thermal a while before we have clearance from the terrain to begin turning 360s in the core. The tried-and-true starting technique is to perform figure8s within the side-to-side confines of the thermal. These figure-8s never seem to be as efficient as continuous 360s because the turn reversals lose position in the core, and increase the glider’s sink rate, since additional speed must be achieved for control. Once your eights have added up to provide ample hill clearance, carry the turn around in a 360, and center in the core. Of course, the smaller the thermal, the harder this is to do. In a very small thermal you can pass in and out of it and still get a net climb if it is strong enough. I find the best technique here is to enter it in one direction and get a full 180° turn within the thermal before passing out, then turning back as quickly as possible. I want to start 360-ing quite steeply in such a narrow thermal as soon as I safely can.

Another technique wrinkle for small thermals is to launch in the thermal cycle and immediately turn left or right to parallel the hill (ridge), then turn 180 degrees back the other way while still in the lift, all the while looking back at the hill to judge clearance (see Figure 1).

The idea is to get a full 180-degree turn in the thermal with the hope of having

enough altitude to continue the turn into the thermal, so be ready for it.

When you are in the thermal proper a 360. If we simply go straight out from launch and then turn we have only 90° of you can slow and turn in the core. The turn to climb before we will start heading biggest mistake made with this technique back at the hill. Often this is not enough is flying away from the hill. Remember, time to rise above the ground and clutter, we described how thermals tend to track especially if you are launching in areas up a slope and have a definite outside where trees stick up above the ground. boundary, usually accompanied by sink This practice gives you the most time in away from the hill. So, even if there is no the lifting air before you make the go or ridge lift, it pays to remain along the hill crest just as if ridge soaring, waiting for no-go (into a 360) decision.

All the above discussion mainly took the thermal. This process is more importhe stance of a pilot trying to gain peak tant the earlier you launch compared to performance. If a pilot has less-than- when the thermal cycle will hit.

The above technique is good for lesseradvanced skills at takeoff, a different strategy might be used. In this case the experienced pilots, but it is also the necpilot should launch in the lull between essary technique for all in a couple of thermals (as long as the wind is reliable cases: if the thermals are too narrow – enough) and hope to meet a thermal a that is, the cycles at launch are too short ways away from the hill. This strategy is – to launch into safely, or if a wider thernot too bad, especially if there are signs of mal is so rowdy that conditions are never a thermal’s approach, such as rustling in smooth enough to launch into safely leaves or grass well below launch. Where during the thermal passage. In the first I typically fly, in the eastern U.S., we can case, it takes very good timing and a see a thermal’s approach and progress due good, tight thermal turning technique to to all the trees that cover our slopes. In latch on to the passing elevator. In the this case, knowing the timing of thermal second, timing again is of the essence, cycles, the best bet is to launch when the but you can be a bit farther away from thermal is 100 to 200 feet below takeoff. the hill when you catch the thermal.

In any case, catching a thermal right The idea is get off before the thermal disturbance and to meet the rising blob in after launch is almost always the most the air with good clearance and control difficult part of a flight. Part of the probspeed. As thermal pilots know, there will lem is the presence of the hill itself, and be some initial turbulence when entering part of the problem is that thermals are frequently not consolidated or organized so close to the ground. But there are plenty of days when many or most pilots are successful at catching that first ride right off launch and rising above the difficulties.

Remember, in weak conditions timing is everything. As a general rule the best pilots launch into a thermal just as soon as it settles down.

STRUGGLING WITH STRONG THERMALS Strong thermal cycles coming through launch often require a different and more cautious technique. My personal policy when faced with strong conditions (lots of wind, and/or turbulence) is to try to determine if it is a general over-all wind causing the turbulent gusts or if it is thermals, or both. In the former case, I may choose to launch into the thermal in the smoothest part, as described above. If it is only thermals that are causing the thrash-

36

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

Take some time to observe and assess conditions before launching.

from the experience of others, there is no substitute for local lore when thermaling.

Listen to what others have to say about the general experience at a site and learn through the practice of other pilots, while thinking about what you experience on each varied day.

FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS Now let’s add a few more wrinkles to our fabric. We should be aware that in strong wind with strong thermals it might still be necessary to figure-8 directly off launch since the drift may be too much into the hill to clear it. On the other hand, in very light winds it is almost always possible to 360 right away as long as the thermals are wide enough to contain a typical 360 within their confines.

Another matter to consider is that sometimes strong wind cycles passing through launch are sinking air that is bringing down higher winds from aloft.

We see this most often in the East where inversion layers limit the upper reach of thermals and higher winds exist a thousand feet or more above the terrain.

Check the temperature of the gusts to help determine if they are thermals or sink. If you can’t determine which, here is another reason to launch in the lulls between the blows.

Next, let’s consider crossing winds.

Even though a thermal may straighten out a crossing wind, it is usually best

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

Photo: Phyllis Cron

ing at launch, I may choose to launch in the lulls between thermals and catch the lift in the air with good clearance. In any case, observing the conditions at launch lets me know if there are smooth cycles of long enough duration in the midst of a thermal or if I will have to launch outside of the thermal. Indeed, I will have to determine if there is even enough smooth air outside the thermal to launch in. In strong thermal conditions with frequent thermals, sometimes safe, launchable air is hard to come by and being groundbound is our destiny. There’s the rub, as Bill would say.

In all situations in strong thermals it is necessary to observe carefully to determine cycle timing. Remember, we are interested in how long the thermal blow lasts, how long the turbulent parts are and how long between thermal blows. It is also important to note how abruptly the thermal arrives (and leaves) and how abruptly the wind change is. Finally we note the difference in peak and lull wind strength to help judge how strong the turbulence will be when we get into the air.

In strong thermals I will always consider launching in a lull between thermals, as long as there is some sustaining wind or enough height to give me time to find a thermal. I do this partially as a matter of positive outlook and optimism, but on the other hand it usually works and tends to be safer than trying to scramble off launch in swirling air. This policy isn’t just for safety, for in fact, it reduces pre-launch tension to the point that I can relax and pay attention to the many other factors necessary to performance flying.

On the other hand, if I determine that it is only thermals bringing strong wind, I will be more interested in launching into the midst of the thermal. But in general my philosophy is that there are always thermals coming up in other parts of the ridge that I will follow and find even if it isn’t cracking right at launch at the time. This procedure works well here in the eastern U.S. with the long ridges, but in areas with a rounded hilltop or persistent house thermals only at launch, it may be necessary to leap into the thermal or to time launch to meet the thermal as it comes up. Just as anglers learn

to turn after launching in the direction (into) a crossing wind. That is, if the general wind is crossing from the right, turn right. There are two reasons for this policy. The first is safety related: If the thermal quits and the crossing wind returns while you are entering into your first turn, it may over-bank you if you are turning away. Over-banking can threaten to aim you at the hill – an obvious tense situation. The second is for performance: When you turn into a crossing wind, if you pass out of the thermal you won’t drift as far away from it before you turn around to reenter it.

When the wind is cross, expect the possibility of thermals rolling along the slope a bit and thus having some rotation (see Figure 2). We can actually observe something like this when fog is on a slope and a crosswind exists. In the lower 1000 feet or so of a thermal’s climb I am always conscious of the possibility that there is some rotation to the thermals.

I will experiment early on with thermals of the day to see if I get a generally better climb turning one way or the other (against the thermal rotation is the most efficient way to turn). In crosswind conditions I always try to turn a 360 so that I am opposing any rolling tendency of the thermal, as shown. If you are paying attention, you will note that this means I am turning the opposite direction my initial turn off launch directs.

In fact the policy is difficult to follow

37

Photo: Darren Darsey

38

since we may get carried behind the hill.

In the case of higher winds and possible venturi, I have found that it pays to cheat to the upwind side of any thermal I encounter. For example, right after launch, if I haven’t launched within a thermal, I turn to parallel the ridge or slope. When I hit my first thermal, I turn away from the hill and fly upwind in the lift as far Ajay Kalhan launching at Rampart Ridge, as I judge possible without exiting the Washington thermal before performing the rest of my immediately after launch as we see from turn. Thus I gain a little breathing space the following example: Imagine a wide and may just get to complete a 360 as opslope with a wind crossing from the posed to a 180.

Another consideration in wind is that right. Thermals are coming in and may straighten out the wind, but we suspect thermals may be elongated parallel to they are rolling a bit from right to left. the wind and/or tilted. In the first case, We take off and turn right to hug the hill the thermal cycles should be extended a bit and hopefully be in the best thermal at launch. Sometimes you can detect lift, assisted by any ridge lift and anabatic the difference between big thermals upslope wind. Then, if we have launched and elongated ones by noting how far to into lift (and have settled into a good the side the disturbance along the slope control speed) or encounter a thermal extends. On the other hand, a thermal in our right pass, we turn away from the cycle may last a long time simply because hill – to the left through a 180 to remain there is a large supply of warm air in the in the lift. This turn is performed in the valley that gets roused and routed up the same direction of any thermal rolling, so slope in the vicinity of launch. In any is not as efficient as it could be. However, case, such a long cycle is a boon, for it if the180 hasn’t lifted us above the hill makes it easier to climb out after launch. enough to continue with a 360, we Especially in an elongated thermal, we straighten out and are now going along can cheat upwind immediately after the ridge in the same direction as the launching into it and get ample clearance cross wind. Now if we encounter a ther- from the hill.

When a thermal is tilted by the wind, mal patch we turn away from the hill and are turning opposite any thermal rolling. as most often happens near the hill and This is good, and if we are lucky enough a few hundred feet above, we sometimes to rise above the hill after turning 180 feel a greater surge of lift on the upwind degrees of this turn we will continue a part of a 360 and a diminution or disap360 and probably be turning as efficiently pearance of lift on the downwind portion. In this case, the best way to climb as possible.

All this discussion assumes fairly light most efficiently is to flatten out the turn winds. For safety reasons, when cross in the upwind direction, then steepen it winds are stronger, I prefer to fly along to come around quickly in the downwind the ridge in the upwind direction so if the direction, thus remaining in the best lift worst nightmare happens (I get dumped as long as possible. In all cases of nontoward the hill) my groundspeed is circular or uniform thermals, you have to go with what you feel, but the general minimized.

When a general wind hits a slope or approach should be to expect to have to ridge it can cause a venturi effect, which extend a portion of your turn, starting means the air is accelerated in the area right after launch. of the top of a ridge just as water rushes between two rocks in a stream. This HOW FAST OR SLOW? The final subject in this month’s coleffect complicates our initial catch and climb because the drift in the thermal lection is flying speed. When thermals may take us too close to the hill. Even are teasing launch, it is very important with good hill clearance we may not be to maintain good control speed from the able to climb very long in the thermal get-go (or rather the get-off). Close to

the ground, with turbulence a distinct possibility, is no time to be flying at minimum sink-rate airspeed, or dire results may ensue – that is, you may become a statistic. I like to have a good run with a hot launch away from the hill and use this speed to pay off in my first turn to parallel the ridge, or circle in the thermal. The idea is to maintain good control speed (which may be between minimum sink and best glide, or best glide and faster, depending on the level of turbulence), then pay it off (slow down with a bit of climb from the glider’s speed) once inside a thermal. This is a safe approach and is very efficient because you can turn more readily into a thermal and use your energy to quickly establish a bank in the core. Only when conditions are very weak and smooth do I feel it is reasonable to assume minimum-sink speed right after launching. Remember, thermals are inherently turbulent and the name of the game is control for finessing every ounce of lift from their midst.

SUMMARY We have covered a lot of ground right around launch. It should be clear that when thermals caress our takeoff area nothing is static and nothing can be taken for granted. Predicting where the thermal lift will reside is always tricky.

Sometimes luck will have it that all the thermals miss the launch area, and other days they track right into our waiting wings. Next month we’ll look at strategies for such situations as well as longterm strategies.

The main idea of this piece is to know the thermal cycles before sitting at launch, then use them safely and effectively. We do the former by launching in the smoothest possible air (hopefully within the thermal, but between thermals if necessary). We do the latter by launching at the opportune time just after the thermal rim passes and things settle down. Pilots who wait too long in a thermal cycle are those who often miss the airlift. Cycles are as ever-changing as the word implies, and it is our challenge to learn perfect thermal launch timing.

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

A Few Reasons Why We Will Miss Angelo Crapanzano

By Davis Straub, http://ozreport.com Photos by Flavio Tebaldi

Oleg Bondarchuck (L) and Angelo

Angelo with Vicki Cains and Molly Moyes at the Forbes Flatlands

pecially in Europe. Luciana, Angelo’s widow, continues the business, which she Angelo, spot-on has been running for years.

Angelo was passionate about the parachutes that save our lives. He repeatedly tested parachutes and was most adamant about swivels (against ‘em) and size (better to get a small and therefore fast-opening one out before you hit the ground). You can read what he had to say at the Metamorfosi Web site under the FAQ’s. Angelo was quite willing to challenge – intelligently, in detail and Angelo and Christian Ciech at the Icaro factory passionately – those who disagreed with Michael Zupanc) to develop a SeeYou version of the GAP 2000 and OzGAP 2005 him on these issues.

Angelo was also a competition hang scoring systems. I am in debt to Angelo glider pilot, and was twice Italian cham- for making this material available to pion in his younger days. I last saw anyone with an interest. Of course, GAP him flying in the rigid-wing Worlds is built into the RACE scoring software at Quest Air in Florida in May 2006, provided at no cost from CIVL. You where his Italian team placed second can read about the background for the GAP scoring system at the Metamorfosi behind France.

Angelo was very concerned about the Web site.

Lately Angelo was working with fairness of hang gliding competitions.

This led him to have a very active hand Icaro 2000 developing the latest version in the development of the GAP scoring of their top-of-the-line competition flexsystem that is used for all national- and wing hang glider. You can find out more international-level hang gliding and para- about that glider at the Icaro Web site.

You can read more about Angelo and gliding competitions. The A stands for Angelo, who first came up with the idea; Metamorfosi by going to the Oz Report the G is for Gerolf Heinrichs (search for Web site and searching for the terms many articles in the Oz Report) and the “Angelo Crapanzano” and “metamorfosi.”

Our condolences to Angelo’s widow P is for Paul Mollison (at Airborne).

Angelo provided all the background and family, and to all those pilots who development material for the GAP will miss Angelo’s presence in their lives. system online so that I and others could use it (along with additional material from

Photo courtesy Icaro

My friend Angelo drowned himself in Lake Maggiore, Italy in the night between July 3 and 4. This act of suicide was not his first attempt, just his Angelo Crapanzano first successful one.

It does not make any of us happy that Angelo felt the need to take his life, nor that he succeeded.

Just because he ended his life of his own volition should not detract from the glories of that life, nor from our memories of our interactions with him. I especially appreciate Angelo because he personally sold me the parachute that saved my own life when my glider tucked, tumbled and destroyed itself in mid air in Australia.

Angelo was the proprietor of Metamorfosi (http://metamorfosi.com/), the maker of the Conar brand of pulldown-apex (PDA) parachutes that are very popular around the world but es-

Angelo (L) and Alex Ploner

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

Didier Mathun, the French team leader and coach (L) with Angelo

39

Sebastian Meier chasing Matt Gerdes around the Lauterbrunnen Valley in central Switzerland Photo: Olivier Laugero

Throwing

Down

Article and photos by Jeff Goin

Phil Russman enters a stall and recovers nicely.

42

Note: Indented/italicized text tells the tales of a few memorable maneuver moments.

Some things are best done over water. Experimenting with abnormal paraglider flight regimes certainly qualifies and that’s what I wanted to do. I’m flying a small, sporty, high-aspectratio, uncertified wing (sorry, Mom) and it was high time I explored its darker side in the relative safety of an over-the-water maneuvers clinic. My real impetus was a synchro spiral gone bad.

Phil Russman and I fly in close proximity a lot for filming and have been doing these spirals more often together. During one of them, after unexpectedly tasting his wake I ended up pointing straight down with but a couple hundred feet to earth.

Then a tip collapsed. Recovery was actually uneventful but then the seriousness started sinking in and my stupid-meter pegged.

I pledged to change my ways and also pledged to go to a maneuvers clinic. So the call went out to Chris Santacroce.

This was it – a full stall. Long ago during my first clinic, just before the world was to end in 2000, I chickened out of the full stall. Not this time.

After releasing from tow and stowing the bridles, I checked out my rig one last time. Chris came on the radio almost right away.

“OK, when you’re ready, pull the brakes …” As those words floated by I discovered my speedbar routed wrong. Uh oh. My reserve, if needed, would foul in the speedbar. Chris continued “Whenever you’re ready…” I thought for a moment of doing the stall anyway. No, that would read poorly on the gravestone. So I took my gloves off and reconnected it properly. Now back to the stall. “Whenever you’re ready…”

Phil put together a group of pilots who mostly knew each other, which made the clinic even more appealing. But the real icing on the plan was some afterwards soaring in Utah’s sprawling mountains. I’ve soared the Point, a special place for sure, but never had enough nerve to take on the mountains. It was time.

Towing Boat towing was intimidating. Phil suggested a launch order for our little group and put me first. He reasoned that, since I’d done it before, I’d be the most familiar. Yeah, right, that was seven years ago! Back then Alan Chuculate cautioned me, “Whatever you do, don’t go first.”

I’d gone first anyway. Just after launching, as I started getting seated, the boat quit and I started settling towards the water. My instructor barked through the radio, “Go, boat, go!”

I was intensely agreeing – “Yeah, go, go!” It didn’t go and I went splush. It was actually rather uneventful and that water back then was a tolerable 78°.

Not here in Utah – nope, here it was 57°. I did not want to go in the water. I don’t do cold.

I psyched myself up. We’d gone over what to expect and rehearsed what to do, so here goes. I pulled the brakes down and locked my hands under my thighs as instructed. The wing slowed, then Wham! It yanked me back so hard I thought I’d be thrust right out of the harness, head first – distinctly bad. After swinging back under the wing and fighting the wing’s attempt to snatch September 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

up the brakes, I stabilized for a second or two before Chris called for hands halfway up. Soon the bucking bronco regained a measure of composure. When Chris had me go hands up she lurched forward in a sudden restart and was happily flying.

I eventually also did my first spin and SAT entry. Very enlightening, scary, nowhere near as bad as I expected but nothing I’ll ever do intentionally over land. I also had an encounter with strong wind while on full speedbar and fast trimmers. A gust folded the right side into a nasty dive-y turn that just about reversed my course. But even worse was a close encounter of the nylon kind. Lord willing, I’ll never be that close to my wing again unless I’m folding it up.

So I got set up, once again the first to go; Chris idled a few hundred feet away and the wind turned tail. Great. Standing there, A’s in hand, all dressed up, everybody watching and now wanting no part of launching in this condition. Eventually the wind turned so that it was only a dribbling quartering tail and I went for it. Thankfully the wing came up straight enough to work and I launched uneventfully. That was a relief.

The tow itself is surprisingly brainless, although you do want to pay attention. You basically keep pointed at the boat and go outside the turn as instructed to get maximum tow height.

More is better. Lockout is really only a concern for the first part of the tow with little line paid out. Chris uses a tow-assist bridle that helps reduce the chance for complications.

Boat speed varies quite a bit depending on wind conditions aloft. The operator varies tension on the line through a hydraulic payout winch. This ingenious arrangement gives resistance to the spinning drum by running a hydraulic motor in reverse.

A rotary valve lets the operator control the resistance. More resistance means more line tension which pulls the pilot up faster. I took a ride on the boat with Chris and it’s quite a dance for one person. If the pilot gets into a headwind, line pays out quicker and Chris slows the boat down to keep the payout rate within an acceptable range. Attention stays on the pilot at first but then must spread to various other tasks: keeping a lookout for boat traffic, adjusting speed in response to the tow, planning the release spot, adjusting the tension and probably other things that I didn’t notice.

This tow simulation was how we got ready for the towing experience.

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

What I learned For me the clinic’s benefit was enormous. Besides some specific techniques that Chris offered, several having nothing to do with maneuvers, I learned that this little sporty wing, when sufficiently provoked, will snap back at me. There is a price to be paid for flying such Chris body-motions a maneuver a mount. I especially learned while describing it to us before that spins, stalls, super-steep the next day’s flying. maneuvers and large accelerated collapses involve lots of unknowns. Your results may vary and some variations will not have happy endings. Although everybody stayed dry, there were a few questionable moments.

I learned that there is no way I’m going to become proficient at these maneuvers because I’m unwilling, for good reason, to practice them over dry ground or without a coach handy. It would take repetition of both success and unsuccess before I’d even begin to feel comfortable. It’s just not an area that I’m interested in.

Most importantly I learned some techniques and refinements in my flying that I can take to practice on my own. Some of these helped me in soaring over the next few days. Not that I’ll actually handle collapses or turbulence any better, but rather I’ll handle long flights better.

We had some fun with Phil. After launching from the beach, Chris reeled him in for pictures. Obviously lockout is a concern but Phil is well equipped to recognize it and stayed nicely in position.

43

Does a clinic make you safer?

Whether a clinic makes you safer depends entirely on your attitude. If you leave feeling bulletproof then you’re probably less safe. But if it instills more respect and a commitment to gain experience before taking on bigger air, then you’re probably safer.

There aren’t enough statistics to be meaningful but anytime a pilot better understands his aircraft, safety can be improved.

Literature given out before the clinic was blessedly clear on this: If you come in a P-2, you’ll go out a P-2, but with a few more tools and knowledge on how to practice. But practice you must – nothing steep, of course, but drills that are safe to do over land to improve your responses.

The clinic leaders go over which ones are appropriate for you to work on after you leave the clinic, depending on your performance.

The clinics themselves enjoy a decent safety record, especially given what they do. There is no requirement for any participant to do anything wild. Chris says that he tries, as much as possible, to match pilot maneuvers to pilot skill levels – if a pilot struggles with the basics, he’ll spend more time working on basics.

There’s no sense trying spins if recovery from a steep turn hasn’t been mastered.

Most new pilots and even some seasoned pilots don’t ever do spins, stalls, SATs (a now-common aerobatic maneuver) and such. The course is tailored to your level with no pressure to exceed personal limits or desires.

That boat sure is small. The view was spectacular, especially on day two when Sol joined us. Enjoy the view on tow, because after release there’ll be little time for looking around.

44

Appropriateness Clearly a maneuvers clinic is beneficial for experienced pilots – not a necessity, but beneficial. It’s fun, too, in many regards, albeit more stressful than an afternoon at the soaring site. It takes a lot of work and concentration, and requires stretching yourself a bit to realize the greatest gains.

An SIV clinic also seems beneficial to new pilots. The three fairly new P-2’s in our group all felt it was worthwhile, and even visibly improved in certain maneuvers, learning techniques that will serve them well in the wild.

For me it instilled more respect, especially since one of my maneuvers went September 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

The wing comes overhead quickly and must be dampened appropriately lest the morning meal of dirt be consumed.

so bad. While exploring the darker corners of an uncertified wing I nearly became cocooned in it. The video looks like I went clean over the top.

There’s also an enormous opportunity for experienced pilots to learn and rehearse things they can only do in such an environment – advanced things that may not have much use but are fun for their own sake if you’re willing to accept the higher risk.

I’m not likely to ever do SATs again but I think the experience was valuable no less. Just getting yourself into an unusual situation that requires processing commands while jousting actively with the snake will help when poop and fan meet.

Overall I easily recommend the experience and am glad I went for it. In fact, I look forward to enjoying one more day that I didn’t use because I decided to go soaring in the mountains instead – a decision that enabled my first paragliding crosscountry flight.

But then, that’s a whole other story.

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

45

Many fly-ins and low-key competitions are hosted at Thailand’s sites, bringing pilots and tourists together for some flying fun.

Flying Thailand

By Ed Pitman, ed@pitmanair.com

Thailand, often referred to as the “Land of Smiles” in tourist brochures, has been a winter retreat for me for over four decades. It’s a beautiful place to escape the oftentimes-harsh winters of North America. Hang gliding and paragliding are now a significant part of the attraction to this tropical paradise. There are about 2000 paramotor pilots in Thailand but only a couple dozen purist paraglider pilots and a few hang glider pilots native to Thailand, although many foreign pilots are enjoying the friendly skies. The Web site http://www.thaiglider.com is a useful first reference to hang gliding and paragliding opportunities in Thailand; http://thaigliderclub.thaiparagliding .com/site.html has a site map and more

46

detailed information.

The Thai paraglider or hang glider pilot Online information provides a good is required to take a written test similar background, but there are a couple of to that required of the Cessna pilot. And reasons you need to “buddy up” with they have identifying numbers, like our a Thai pilot when you visit Thailand. “N-numbers,” assigned by the governFirst, the Thai pilots have many of the ment and displayed on the glider. same site issues we face, such as obtainAs an out-of-country pilot, you can ing land-owner permission whether it join their flying club and fly with the is privately owned or government lands. local pilots so they can act as a buffer These issues can change on a daily basis, with the government and keep you in the so being with a local pilot is the only way good graces of land owners. Thai clubs to be well informed and not jeopardize will recognize your USHPA and other their sites. Please don’t “pirate” any sites foreign pilot ratings and assist you on on your own. some of the issues that may arise. Joining Second, flying and airspace are regu- with the local pilots is the best way to get lated by the Air Transportation Ministry. some flying in without going through To them, everything that flies is an “air- a maze of government procedure. The plane” and requires a “pilot’s license.” clubs have made provisions with the September 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

pilot ratings in Thailand, you have been checked out by one of their instructors.

I inquired about flying airplanes and ultralights, and was told in both cases that I could submit for a Thai pilot’s license by filing a simple two-page form through the flying club. They will even honor your instructor ratings and certificates, if you’re a member of their club and remain current. The best place to find current information for flying heavier craft is www .thaiflyingclub.com.

With the Internet, you can plan your vacation well in advance. Let the locals help you find budget accommodations; hotels in Bangkok can be expensive, but the rest of the country is filled with friendly people and very reasonable prices. I can live like a wealthy man on Soaring above the Petchaburi launch is easy in the afternoon sea my retirement pension in Thailand. The breezes that come on after the midday thermals. food is fantastic if you like spicy, and it’s government to accommodate foreign on many days you can still get in some very nutritious.

My desire is to start or join a flight pilots, although the protocol may vary early flights before the rain starts.

The potential for moderately long XC park in a location that has nice hills for from site to site.

Most of the mountains in Thailand flights is very good. With low cloudbase, free flight and offers aerotow, ultralights, don’t have usable roads – or any road at normally under 6000 feet, and restrictive Light Sport aircraft and perhaps even all! – and are usually covered with dense airspaces, you will need a local pilot to general aviation. I’m still looking for that vegetation, making it hard to find launch help plan XC routes. Aerotow, which the perfect spot, but meanwhile there are sites. The Thai flying clubs have cleared Thai pilots hope will become part of their plenty of places to get airborne. Perhaps many beautiful launch and landing areas, launch repertoire in the future, would be some day I might see you there, in the and they have shuttle vehicles to trans- the best starting point for this type of friendly Thai skies. port you to these launches. Customary excursion.

There are also general aviation places fee is about 100 baht for this ride up, and there’s a takeoff access charge for another to rent aircraft, and ultralight fields where 100 baht (total about $6.00 U.S. per day). you can rent ultralights. If you hold those Clouds develop early and everywhere, much like in the southeast section of the U.S., and the clouds usually extend as far as you can see, frequently overdeveloping into thunderstorms as summer approaches. July through September is the rainy season in most of the country, but

Petchaburi launch offers easy takeoffs in the afternoon breeze.

Looking back at Petchaburi launch

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

47

Dragonfly Tales: Tails, Tips, Tricks and Treats Article and photos by Lisa Colletti and Tracy Tillman

In this month’s column, we will discuss some configuration and modification aspects of our Dragonfly tugs, in response to a question that we received from a visiting pilot at our field.

Question of the Month: “When I came to fly with your club at Cloud 9 Field, I was very impressed with the climb performance of your tugs and how quiet they are. How did you do it?”

Lisa: First, credit must be given to Bobby Bailey and Bill Moyes of LiteFlite in Australia [ref. 1] for the design and manufacture of the Dragonfly. The stock Dragonfly configuration typically uses a 65-horsepower Rotax 582 two-stroke engine, which provides good performance at minimal cost and weight. However, the Rotax two-stroke engines do not provide the higher power output, fuel economy, long-term reliability, and timebetween-overhaul (TBO) qualities that are inherent in the Rotax four-stoke engines. Although their four-stoke engines cost more and weigh more, we felt that having more power and reliability would be safer, especially for tandem instruction tows, and that the greater up-front cost would actually be an investment that would be offset in the long term by faster tow turnaround times, greater fuel economy, and fewer rebuilds over time. Less noise generation was something that we did not expect, but found to be a great benefit of the four-stroke engines.

Tracy: Use of the four-stroke Rotax engine on the Dragonfly was not our idea.

Credit must be given to Russell Brown of Quest Air [ref. 2] for that development. As far as we know, his original 1996 Dragonfly Model A TurboTug was the first Dragonfly to use a Rotax fourstroke engine. We were very impressed when we flew behind it back then, and we were convinced that it was the best way to go for us. Russell has made and supplied most, if not all, of the Rotax

48

four-stoke engine mounts for Dragonflys in the U.S. One of our tugs uses the 80horsepower Rotax 912 four-stoke engine, and the other uses the Rotax 914 Turbo, both hung on Russell’s engine mounts.

We usually use the 912 tug for solo hang glider tows, and the 914 TurboTug for tandem hang glider and sailplane tows (see Photo 1). Our 914-powered Dragonfly is a Model A with a reinforced Model B fuselage boom tube, while our 912-powered Dragonfly is a Model B, which came with a reinforced boom tube.

LiteFlite is now producing the Model C Dragonfly, which has gained certification overseas [refs. 3 and 4].

Photo 2: Rotax 912 on the Dragonfly

out Mike Stratman’s article called “The Stealth Rotax,” which is reprinted in his company’s catalog [ref. 5].

Lisa: Another thing that we did to significantly reduce noise and improve thrust was to use propellers customdesigned for our Dragonflys by Lonnie Prince of Prince Aircraft Company [ref.

6]. Whether he uses science, art, or magic, he can really create a great propeller.

Tracy: As can be seen in Photo 3, the inboard 60% of our 78-inch-diameter prop is a wide paddle-blade of six-inch chord, while the outboard 40% has a swept leading-edge taper that ends in a curved P-tip. While knowing neither the science nor the art, my guess is (a) that wide inner chord (as often seen on paramotor prop blades) helps to produce more static and low airspeed thrust; (b) the swept leading edge (as seen on high-speed airplane wings) helps to reduce compression at the leading edge and shock-wave formation along the propeller surface, which results in more efficiency and less Photo 1: Lisa on tow in the AL12 sailplane noise at the higher airspeeds encountered near the tips; and (c) the P-tip helps to Lisa: One thing that we did to both eliminate the loud transonic vortex usuengines to help make them quieter was ally produced at the tip and turn it into to add an after-muffler silencer, avail- sub-sonic thrust. In fact, Lonnie claims able from Rotax, part number 978650. that his P-tip has the effect of not only reAlthough designed for their two-stroke ducing noise, but also of adding thrust as engines, we have found it to work very if the prop was six inches larger in diamwell with both of our four-stoke engines, eter. If that is the case, we are getting the as well. As you can see in Photo 2, we thrust of an 84-inch propeller from our made the exhaust exit point up to the sky, which significantly reduces noise propagation to people on the ground.

Tracy: Not only will that after-muffler silencer configuration work well on tugs powered both by the Rotax four-stroke engines and their two-stroke engines, but a Rotax intake silencer (p/n 825762) can also be added to their two-stoke engines for more noise reduction. For more Photo 3: A 78-inch Prince P-tip prop information about that, you can check on a Dragonfly

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

78-inch prop – which is a 22% increase in effective prop disk area – with much less noise produced because with less diameter, the tip speed is not as close to the speed of sound. Less diameter also helps to reduce stress on the gearbox caused by the prop’s moment of inertia.

Lisa: That seems like a pretty educated guess. Maybe you do know something about the science….

Tracy: Well, with a little research, we can find that: (a) we want to keep the tip speeds below Mach 0.7 to 0.75 (about 550 to 600 mph) if possible [refs. 7 and 8]; (b) a swept-back leading edge does work to reduce compressibility and shock-wave formation [ref. 9]; and (c) that the P-tip acts as a winglet to control air spillage over the tip to reduce drag, turbulence, and noise, and to increase thrust [ref. 10].

Because winglets reduce induced drag, they have the effect of increasing span and aspect ratio, so that they produce the efficiency of a longer and more efficient wing without it actually being longer [refs. 11 and 12]. Likewise, the benefit of the P-tip is that it produces the thrust of a larger-diameter prop, while maintaining a shorter prop diameter to help keep the tip speed lower. A simplified equation for determining prop speed and Mach number is: [(Engine rpm/redrive ratio) x prop diameter] / 336 = propeller speed in mph. [ref. 13] For example, the propeller speed on our tugs is [(5800/2.43) x 78] / 336 = 554 mph. The speed of sound at standard 59°F temperature is about 760 mph, so the mach number of our tip speed is 554/760 = Mach 0.71. If we were actually using an 84-inch-diameter blade, our Mach number would be about 0.76, which would result in a greater likelihood of compressibility, shock-wave formation, less efficiency, and more noise generation.

Lisa: The Prince prop is a two-blade prop. What about having more blades?

Tracy: Well, as a kid flying in model airplane contests years ago, I saw that that some speed-plane competitors used counter-weighted single-bladed props, claiming that a single blade is most efficient due to less airflow disturbance encountered by the blade with each revolution. More blades do help to improve

efficiency if it allows the diameter to be reduced so that the tips are not spinning so close to the speed of sound. Lonnie’s P-tip design helps to resolve that problem, so we can use a large-diameter twobladed prop to gain more effective prop disk area (not quite that of a helicopter, though – darn!) with less noise and less loss of efficiency. Single-bladed props are not practical as they become larger and heavier (beyond model airplanes), so a two-bladed prop is probably best.

Lisa: What about our 68-inchdiameter five-bladed prop, as shown in Photo 4?

power engines; they exceeded the Rotax moment-of-inertia limit, causing gearbox problems. Our Prince props are well below the limit.

Lisa: Speaking of gearboxes, readers should know that we put a 914 gearbox onto our 912 engine to reduce the tip speeds and noise even more. The stock 80-horsepower 912 comes with a 2.27:1 gearbox, whereas the 100-horsepower 912S and 115-horsepower 914 come with a 2.43:1 gearbox. This change helped to reduce the tips speeds on our 912 by about 7%, so they are the same as that on our 914. Mike Stratman has another article reprinted in his catalog about optimizing gearbox and propeller combinations for two-stoke Rotax engines [ref. 15].

Tracy: Also, you can see in Photo 2 that we mounted two oil coolers backto-back above the wing, while the radiator is mounted below the wing in front of the engine. We found that the single Rotax radiator (p/n 995697) mounted in Photo 4: A 68-inch-diameter five-bladed that position is fine for both the 912 and ground-adjustable prop for the Dragonfly 914 engines, while both engines need dual oil coolers due to our slow towing Tracy: We have that prop as a back-up. airspeeds, especially for higher tows on It is ground-adjustable in pitch, so that hot days. The 912 works great with two we can use it on either of our engines. smaller Lockwood oil radiators (p/n Note that it has a scimitar-shaped leading OILCOOL1), but the 914 needs two edge, which is a good alternative tech- large Rotax oil radiators (p/n 886034) to nology for noise reduction. It is almost as stay cool. We have also found Lockwood’s quiet as our Prince props, but there are oil thermostat (p/n OILCOOLTH) to five blades producing noise rather than be very helpful for getting the oil up to two. It is a good smooth-running prop, operating temperature before the first but it just doesn’t quite match the thrust tow of the day, and it helps to keep it up to operating temperature during the produced by our Prince props.

Lisa: How big of a prop can we put on power-off glide back to the field after each tow. Do you think we should menthe Dragonfly?

Tracy: Well, the main physical limita- tion anything else? tions are (a) clearance with the airframe, Lisa: Yes, the mirrors! For both of our and (b) the moment of inertia of the prop. tugs, we put two of the biggest automoWe really don’t have any more room for tive rear-view mirrors that we could find a prop with a diameter larger than 78 onto both sides of the cockpit, as you can inches. Moment of inertia is caused by a see in Photo 5. Not only is it helpful to combination of size, weight, and weight distribution of the prop. The momentof-inertia limit is listed as 6000 kg/ cm 2 in the Rotax engine manual. Mike Stratman of California Power Systems provides a great explanation of how to test for propeller moment of inertia in his company’s catalog [ref. 14]. The groundadjustable Ivo Magnum props that we originally used on both of our tugs were fairly heavy and were meant for higher Photo 5: Two mirrors on the Dragonfly

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

49

have a large viewing area, but it is especially beneficial and safer to easily see what is going on behind the plane, on both sides. This is helpful when tensioning the line, it allows me to see launch assistants on both sides of the glider, I can see wing-tip launch assistants on either side for rigid wing launches, I can more easily and quickly see and react if a pilot (the dope on the rope…) is getting out of position or locking out on tow, and I can see where you are at the left and right extreme positions on tow when teaching tow-position maneuvers to students during tandem instruction (two dopes on the rope – double trouble!).

Tracy: Well, thanks, DEAR. I guess that we can finish this month’s article with that thought, and a tale of the tail of our Dragonflys. Because of our high climb angles, our planes have a very nosehigh attitude on tow. That can cause a lot of stick pressure on tow, so we lowered the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer by about 1 ½ inches on both planes (see Photo 6) for good trim on tow and for the glide back down after tow. When a hang glider pilot is in proper tow posi-

Photo 6: Dragonfly, tail view

tion, there is very little stick pressure on tow, and this modification also enables the tug to glide back down to earth poweroff at about 40 mph with no stick pressure and positive pitch stability, so that it maintains a 40-mph glide on its own.

Lisa: It is also common on many Dragonflys for the Velcro on the stabilizer gap covers on each side of the vertical fin to not hold after a while. An easy fix for this is to use a large cotter pin on the front, just like a bobby pin, to help hold

Celebrating 10 years of making Flight and Dreams come together!

HORIZON ET 180 & 160 The easy-to-fly novice hang glider with performance that makes it a fun-to-fly glider for intermediate pilots!

Easy landing, excellent directional stability for towing. Excellent slow-flight handling and sink rate

Radial curved tips, VG system for performance Streamlined kingpost and downtubes included

FREEDOM 170 The new, easy-to-fly hang glider with the perfect combination of features and flight performance!

Very easy landing, excellent slow-flight handling. Quick set-up, kingpost hang system

Radial curved tips, 35% double-surface Streamlined kingpost and downtubes included

Freedom

The NEW high performance, single-surface glider!

View our aircraft and find a dealer at

www.northwing.com HANG GLIDERS  ULTRALIGHT TRIKES & WINGS

509.886.4605 ultrikes@northwing.com

North Wing Design  3904 Airport Way  East Wenatchee, Washington 98802

50

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

the gap cover in place at the front (see Photo 6).

Tracy: Well, I guess that telling the tail tale marks the tail end of this month’s column. As a reminder, our Towline articles and links to other Sport Pilot-related information are posted on USHPA’s “Sport Pilot” information Web page at http://ushpa.aero/info_sportpilot.asp [ref. 16]. We are happy to receive questions directly from individuals regarding Sport Pilot and other towing-related issues, and encourage you to email us at cloud9sa@aol.com [ref. 17] with your questions. We are always looking for a good new “Question of the Month”!

References

.aero

.aero

1. LiteFlite Pty.Ltd. (manufacturer of the Dragonfly) Web page: http://www.liteflite .com.au

2. Quest Air Web page: http://www.questairforce.com 3. “Interview with Bill Moyes” December 5, 2002 post in Oz Report: http://ozreport.com/6.252

Articles/Article.asp?reqArticleName=winglets 13. “Prop Quiz: Speed of Sound Calculation” June 30, 2002 discussion on FLY-UL@yahoogroups.com 14. “Part #31: Measuring Prop Inertia” by Mike Stratman, The Proper Care and Feeding of the Rotax Motor Part series in the California Power Systems Catalog. CPS Web site: http://www.800-airwolf.com 15. “Part #6: A Buyer’s Guide for Selecting a Propeller”

by Mike Stratman, The Proper Care and Feeding of the Rotax Motor Part series in the California Power Systems Catalog.

CPS Web site: http://www.800-airwolf.com 16. “Sport Pilot” USHPA Web page: http://ushpa.aero/ info_sportpilot.asp 17. Tracy and Lisa’s “Cloud 9 Sport Aviation” email address: cloud9sa@aol.com

4. “Bailey Moyes Dragonfly C Model” October 2, 2003 post in Oz Report: http://ozreport.com/7.258 5 “Part #46: The Stealth Rotax” by Mike Stratman, The Proper Care and Feeding of the Rotax Motor series in the California Power Systems Catalog. CPS Web site: http:// www.800-airwolf.com WWW.USHPA.COM

WWW.USHPA.COM

6. Prince Aircraft Company Web page: www .princeaircraft.com 7. “Transonic Airfoils for Propellers“ in Propeller Dynamics by Stuart Sherlock: http://www.supercoolprops .com/articles/transonic.php 8. “Design of high-Mach propeller tips. The Profile Efficiency Problem in Propeller Dynamics” by Stuart Sherlock: http://www.supercoolprops.com/articles/ propstips.php 9. “Simple Sweep Theory” in Applied Aerodynamics: A Digital Textbook by Desktop Aerodynamics, January, 2007: http://www.desktopaero.com/appliedaero/ potential3d/sweeptheory.html 10. “About Us” Prince Aircraft Company Web page: http://w w w.princeaircraft.com /html /carbon_f iber_ brochure.HTM 11. “The Design of Winglets for High-Performance Sailplanes” by Mark Maumer, 2001: http://www .mandhsoaring.com/articles/Winglet_Design.pdf 12. Wills Wing Winglets Q&A: http://willswing.com/ September 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

51

The Sky’s the Limit!

An Interview with Dean Stratton, U.S. Paragliding Champion

By Rob Sporrer

ing the next climb most of the time. He won four of the six tasks at the Rat Race, and at the end of the longest task in U.S. Paragliding Nats history he found himself racing to goal with Frank Brown, a well known Brazilian pilot who has been flying for 25 years, and was once ranked second in the world.

The interview: Rob: Congratulations on your back-

Packing up at goal

52

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

Photo: Josh Morell

Photo: Matt Beechinor

to-back wins at the two premiere paragliding competitions in the U.S.! I imagine it was a bit surreal winning both events. How did you mentally prepare for each day of racing, and did you focus on anything in particular?

Dean: Surreal is exactly how I’ve been Dean Stratton and Matt Dadam just behind Blackcap launch, en describing the state I’ve been in over the route to goal at French Glen, 145km and about four hours to the east last two weeks. It’s too bad you can’t just walk into Wal-Mart and buy a bottle of in the Santa Barbara mountains, the Topa Surreal Feel – what a drug! As for mental Some background For the first time in history the same Topa mountains in Ojai, and big flights preparation, I keep it fairly simple. On pilot who won the Rat Race, typically from Pine Mountain (near Ojai) in the each task day I do my routine gear setup the first sanctioned paragliding comp of summer and fall. Dean got his first 100- and mentally map the course once the the season, also became the U.S. national mile flight from Pine Mountain, known task is given. For newer comp pilots I champion. This same pilot broke Tom for its XC potential, in August of 2005. can’t say enough about having a mental Truax’s California state distance record Long-time south-coast pilot Toni Deleo map of the course line for the day. If you in the Owens Valley by flying 147.4 miles set the state distance record of 139 miles hadn’t had the chance to fly the site prior last June, just two weeks before the com- from Pine Mountain in 1999, snatching to the event you’ll be much more efficient Tom Traux’s 1994 record of 124 miles. in the air and be much less confused petitions.

Who is this guy, and where did he Tom took the record right back with a when the task begins if you have some come from? Most of his sky tribe on flight of 145 miles from Walts Point in idea of where you’re going and what terthe south coast of California call him 2001. The record has changed hands rain you’ll be flying over.

“Deano.” Mike Haley, meet organizer once again with Dean’s 147-mile flight After the gear setup and mental for both the Rat Race and the Nats, was in the Owens Valley last June. Dean has map session what I really FOCUS on calling him “Mean Dean Stratton” when blogged this record flight on the South is DISTRACTION. That’s a bit of an handing over the hardware at the two big Coast Paragliding Association forum, oxymoron but that’s exactly what I do. paragliding competitions this year. Dean http://scpa.info/bb/forum/viewtopic Talking with friends or helping newer is only “mean” when he’s racing his para- .php?t=606.

Dean may have been relatively unglider. You couldn’t ask for a more humble and genuine guy to steal the show. Dean known in paragliding circles before this Stratton made paragliding history this year’s competitions, but the comp regulars knew he was someone they would be summer, and here is his story.

Dean lives in Santa Clarita, California. chasing. Dean showed up at the 2006 U.S. He started paragliding in early 2003 in Nationals in Sun Valley with a UP Targa nearby Santa Barbara. His father started 3 competition wing, and finished fifth flying paragliders at the same time and overall. In the months leading up to the his uncle and two cousins jumped into competitions, he’d spent time training the sport as well last year. Dean has a with Airwave team pilot Marty DeVietti long history in competitive sports but and UP team pilot Andy Palmer on the paragliding has firmly taken center stage. South Coast and in the Owens Valley.

There is no doubt that Dean was on He runs his own business, and gets away to fly with the rest of the South Coast a mission to win at this year’s Rat Race Paragliding Association air junkies when and Nationals – he seemed to always the weather looks favorable. California’s be pushing. You would see him leading south coast offers him year-round flying out, stomping the speed bar and find-

step up to a comp glider. In my case the wing served me more like a crutch rather than a tool to improve my efficiency. I didn’t know how to exploit its potential yet and the big competition picture was still a bit fuzzy. The picture didn’t really take shape for me until the Rat Race in 2006. Soon after Eagle Paragliding put me in a UP Targa 3 just before the 2006 Nationals in Sun Valley, and it was “love at first flight.” I haven’t flown any of my other gliders since then.

On a side note, having good flying skills and a knack for XC is a good base but it takes some time to understand competition strategy and deal with the related stress. For those of you thinking about upgrading to a comp glider, be patient – you’ll know if and when it’s time.

Rob: Tell us about your local and favorite flying sites. Are these sites similar to what you had to deal with at the two competitions?

Dean: I’m very fortunate to live where I do. I’m not close to any of the flying sites but I’m central to all of them. I’ve got the Santa Barbara mountain range on

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

2007 U.S. National Champion Dean Stratton finished an extremely close second behind Frank Brown of Brazil

Photo: Rob Sporrer

pilots with comp-related questions on launch puts me in a much more relaxed state. There’s plenty of time for stress once you’re in the air.

Rob: How long have you been flying a comp wing? Was it an easy adjustment mentally and physically?

Dean: I bought my first comp wing, a UP Targa 1, from “Bad” Brad Gunnuscio just before the 2005 Rat Race. Physically I’d say I slid into it like an old comfortable shoe since I’d been wanting more speed.

It was a bit more to handle but I’d been flying a Zoom up until then and it had its own set of behavior problems, so from a glider-management standpoint the upgrade to a comp glider didn’t seem too big. Mentally, however, I believe I was a victim of the old “cart before the horse” scenario. I’ve heard it said many times before, and I’m now a great believer, that if you’re making goal consistently just behind the leaders and making confident decisions during the race, the glider is probably holding you back if winning a comp is your desire. If this is not the case then there’s really no GOOD reason to

the coast an hour and a half to my east for some great winter technical flying, and Pine Mountain two hours to my NW for summer and fall big air and XC. The very consistent Marshall is an hour and a half to my SE – it works from spring to winter and is great for finessing basic skills.

53

54

Photo: Josh Morell

Dean (L) preparing his gear on Blackcap launch

Get a good start and you’ll have plenty of options to choose from; get a bad start and you’ll spend the entire task catching up, usually making risky moves to do so which puts you in a highly stressed state.

I might not have reached the starts early every time but I did manage to get there in time to join the lead gaggles, and this is where the efficient teamwork begins.

Rob: What are the things you do to try and get yourself in a position to get the best start possible?

Dean: Most importantly, I get in the air early enough to give me plenty of time to explore the air and determine where I want to start. Maybe on launch I’ll plan to start upwind of the start cylinder but once I’m in the air I might find conditions are better suited for a downwind approach. Again, I like the options that getting into the air early will give me. I used to think I was smarter than the rest by staying on launch until the last minute. After all, why waste energy turning in endless circles when you don’t have to, right? I’m a bit dense and it took several bad starts for me to realize that the consistent race leaders who were always in the air early were actually on to something.

Rob: You led out quite a bit after climbs. Do you look over your shoulder to see if the rest of the leaders are starting a climb, or are you just focused on the terrain or clouds ahead in order to find your next climb?

Dean: Most of the time my focus is straight forward if I’m high or very familiar with the terrain. If conditions along the course line change, get ugly, or I get real low my head is spinning like a top looking for options, but I try

to hold the course as much as possible.

I’ve learned the hard way that indecision costs you both time and altitude, so I try to plan two or three moves in advance and commit to that line with minor course corrections along the way.

Usually it works out, but I’m certainly no stranger to landing out. There were a few occasions during the Rat Race, that I’m sure other pilots witnessed, that could’ve turned ugly and put me on the ground early. Luck is always a good wingman to have around when you need him.

Rob: How do you keep your cool when you get low and need to find that climb to stay in the ballgame?

Dean: I wish I had a great answer for that but I’m still fighting my patience demons in flight. It’s something I’m trying to work on. Usually when I find

Dean on launch at Blackcap in Lakeview, Oregon

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

Photo: Kevin Biernacki

Owens Valley, three hours to the north, provides big, big air and great XC at select times of the year. I can fly virtually year-round if I want. The Santa Barbara range and the Owens Valley are my favorites – the views are unmatched! These sites are very distinct from one another and they’re great preparation for a wide variety of conditions. Santa Barbara is a good prep for the Rat Race and is usually good to fly up until just before the event.

Pine Mountain and the Owens Valley, both high deserts, were good training for Lakeview. I feel like I’ve got all the flying I could want at my doorstep, but finding the time to take advantage of it is another story. Work sucks!

Rob: What was the one thing you did consistently well while racing at the two competitions?

Dean: I’ll say it, it’s been said many times before, and many more after me will continue to say this – a good task start is vital. I was fortunate enough on almost all the tasks to get great starts. A good start sets the tone for the entire task.

confident and comfortable flying it. I bought my first pod harness this year, the Woody Valley X-Rated 4, and I believe it too has given me another slight edge that I didn’t have before.

Eagle Paragliding also provided me with a Flytec 5030 before this year’s events. After flying with it at both events I feel foolish for not having acquired one sooner. It cut my flight instrument stress and workload to a fraction of what it used to be – it virtually does everything for you. The 5030 and 5020 aren’t cheap, but knowing what I know now I’d pay double for it. Just one GPS mistake can ruin your day and potentially destroy your chances for a good standing at the end of the event.

Trust me and buy one – you won’t regret it.

I hope I have inspired some of you to jump into the competition scene. Besides making you a better pilot it will boost our overall talent pool and give us a stronger field in the competitions which will in turn make us all better pilots. I’m hoping to see some new faces at the next competition.

Dean Stratton topping out the last thermal just before Rat Race goal at Applegate

The way things are shaping up for the 2009 World Championships in Valle de Bravo, Mexico, is quite interesting. Valle is a frequent myself low I’m not alone and I’m inspired to stay in the game by destination for American pilots in the winter, and many fly the others struggling as much as myself. Put me in that same situ- Monarca Open, held there every January. The U.S. has a good shot ation all alone and my mind starts to think about all the great at getting one of our pilots on the podium in 2009, and it’s clear ice cream that might be had at the little store below me if I land Deano is up for the challenge. out. I’ve seen some flight decks where pilots have put inspiring notes to themselves – words like “Believe” or “Never Give Up” are popular and the notes are a smart idea. I think I’ll do the same but my note will read, “Free ice cream at GOAL!” Rob: What did you learn while racing at the two events?

Dean: I came away from the competitions with a few thoughts. First, I learned that I’ve still got a lot to learn about this amazing sport that we’re all very fortunate to have discovered. Secondly, sometimes things just seem to work out heavily in your favor and what may work one day may not work the next. I have to be ready to change gears quickly. Last, but most important, I’ll never underestimate my competitors. Just when I thought I’d given them the slip during a task I’d look over my shoulder and there they were, nipping at my heels.

Rob: Any last comments?

Dean: Winning one event fulfilled one of my paragliding dreams; the second was a surprise bonus. The ultimate dream for me is making the U.S. team, and I’m going to work very hard to make it happen for 2009.

If you’re reading this and these dreams sound very familiar, just put yourself in the best position possible for it to happen and let the laws of attraction do the rest. For the last three years I’ve read, cut and copied every article I could find related to competition from our paragliding and hang gliding publications and Web sites. I also strongly suggest you pick up a copy of Dennis Pagen’s book, The Secrets of Champions – it’s loaded with great tips.

With a good bank of information and strong flying skills you’ll be ready for the last ingredient: the best equipment you can afford. Len Szafaryn wrote in a previous article, and I absolutely agree, that you should buy the very best equipment available that will help give you the edge you’ll need to pull off a win.

As I mentioned earlier I love my UP Targa 3 – I’m completely September 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

55

Photo: Dan Duggan

Rob “Captain Canuck” Clarkson

blood, spectators, competitors, volunteers, drivers and crew were able to buy, sell and trade the likes of Jonny Durand, Jr., Gerolf Heinrichs, Kraig Coomber, Mario Alonzi, Leo Dabbur and 20something more of the best hang gliding has to offer.

Anyone who has been to the Flytec Championship knows meet director and expert fast-talking jokester David Glover. His quick wit and speedy banter were ideal for auctioning off the shares of the top guys. As each pilot’s name was called, David talked up his latest accomplishments, provided a few totally inappropriate comments about his sex life and speculated about his hot new glider with the sprogs turned down way too far. Then the gamblers – I mean investors – started their bidding.

I have to say, for someone who didn’t fly the meet (and probably for many who did), this auction was one of the highlights. The natural comedian in David had half the bidders literally falling out of their chairs with laughter. In the end, the two highest-priced pilots (Gerolf and Unusual alliances?

When Australian champion Jonny Jonny) went for about $500 each – both Durand told me about a bit of “bet- to the inebriated girlfriend of one of the ting” they do each year at the Canungra competitors, earning her the affectionate Classic in Oz, we all decided it had to nickname, Drunk Girl. You’ll see from happen here, too. For those who aren’t the final results below that it was a good familiar with the term: A “Calcutta” is a investment, even if she was intoxicated. tournament format in which the players are bid on in an auction format before the Pilots soar in response to event begins. The highest bidder wins heavy trading With the share certificates floating the player (or pilot in our case) and can then keep or sell “shares” of their stock in around, it was an entertaining side game that player. The auction earnings are split all week long as spectators and pilots proportionately among the stockholders alike followed the market. Each morning at the pilot briefing, David gave the daily of the winning pilots.

Stock certificates were printed for stock report so that those whose shares each of the 30 top-ranked pilots. Calling were slipping could work on dumping up images of the opening bell at the them – provided they could find a less New York Stock Exchange, trading informed “investor.” The value of Drunk began Saturday night after the first pilot Girl’s shares was reported daily based briefing. With a little gambling in their on how hard Gerolf was racing, or how

SHOW ME THE MONEY:

56

Some last-minute tuning by Jeff O’Brien and Jeff Shapiro

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

Photo: Dan Duggan

Photo: Dan Duggan

Hang gambling, Calcutta style No one would argue that we don’t have a great time each spring at Quest Air in Florida! But after eight years hosting some of the best aerotow competitions in the world, we decided the game was ripe for some shaking up. Instead of just the usual seven-day event, this year we added a hardcore three-day race at the end where only the top finishers from the Flytec Championship would be racing head-to-head for big prize money.

We also wanted to find a way to encourage more spectator participation by forming unusual alliances between competitors and spectators. To encourage more outside participation, we introduced real-time event updates via a dedicated blog featuring plenty of photos and audio posts directly from competitors while on course.

Photo: Dan Duggan

New concepts at the most popular aerotow comp

By Jamie Shelden

much Jonny had partied the night before.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: This has little to do with hang gliding. But as organizers of the Flytec competition, we strive not just to support a fun and fair competition format, but also to bring new excitement and fresh talent and ideas to the sport. We welcome anything that will spark new interest and bring focus to the old game!

Photo: Jamie Shelden

Say goodbye to the records

Perfect sky for 79 pilots to fly a 128-mile task!

In the months leading up to the Flytec Championship and Race of Champions, we were concerned about conditions for the April comps, as the spring weather had not been nearly as good as it usually is in Florida. As it turned out, of the seven scheduled task days, one was rained out and one was blown out, so we were only able to get off five rounds. Of those five tasks, conditions were a bit soft on two of the days, but the other three days were full-on races!

On the fourth task the record books were torn apart, stomped on and tossed in the garbage. Task 4 was 128 miles (206 km) south from Quest Air to another great flight park in Florida, The Florida Ridge. This is the longest task ever called at the Flytec Championship, or anywhere in the eastern U.S., and it’s second in distance only to a task done at the pre-worlds in Big Spring last year. Of the 76 flex wings that flew that day, 71 made goal. That makes it also the task with the highest completion rate: 93%! Since all of the rigid wings also made it to goal, the completion rate is even higher once they’re factored in to the total.

This task also brought the highest number of cumulative miles flown in the U.S., and maybe in the world: With a total of 9360 miles (15,064 km), it beat the previous U.S. record by 50%. Gerolf Heinrichs won this day with a course time of only two hours and 46 minutes, giving a course speed of 43.7 mph (70.3 kph) and breaking the previous course speed record of 39.2 mph set by Brett Hazlett on a 126-mile task in 2004.

There’s a lot of ink and photos on this and the other task days that can be seen at: http://ozreport.com/blog.php http://naughtylawyertravels.blogspot.com/ http://hang6.blogspot.com/ http://scottgravelle.blogspot.com/index.html

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

57

Dustin Martin throwing some wingovers at the start circle

Flytec Race of Champions

Photo: Jamie Shelden

The daily and cumulative results are at http://flytec.com/Events/2007/Flytec_ Championship/scores.htm.

58

Photo: Dan Duggan

Results 1. Jonny Durand – Moyes Litespeed RS 2. Robin Hamilton – Moyes Litespeed S 3. Hakan Anderson – Moyes Litespeed RS 4. Gerolf Heinrichs – Moyes Litespeed RS 5. Bruno Guillen – Moyes Litespeed RS 6. Kraig Coomber – Moyes Litespeed RS 7. Mario Alonzi – Aeros Combat L 8. Bernard Winkelmann – Moyes Litespeed RS 9. David Guiducci – Moyes Litespeed RS 10. Andreas Olsson – Wills Wing T2

would encourage pilots to lead and race hard.

The format ended up like this: The top The gloves are off. The prizes are big. The competitors are the best in the world. The 30 finishers in the Flytec Championship would be invited to fly in the Flytec Race rules are simple – only the fast survive!

The Calcutta was just the beginning of Champions. On the first day of this of new ideas and the exchange of funds. three-day race, the top three finishers For several years, Flytec USA owner would win $2000 of the total $10,000 Steve Kroop (primary sponsor of the prize money and the bottom ten would Flytec Championship) and David Glover be eliminated. On Day 2 the top three have tossed around the idea of trying finishers would share $3000 cash and an entirely new hang gliding competi- the bottom ten would again be elimition format. Steve has always looked for nated. The grand finale then was on Day a way to give the top guys what they’re 3, when the best of the best raced for constantly complaining they don’t get $5000. There would be no cumulative enough of: grueling tasks that are geared scoring; each day was its own separate toward the best pilots, rather than tasks competition.

This “last man standing” format dethat are aimed at achieving parameters livered exactly what we had hoped for. set to satisfy the scoring programs.

The Flytec team spent several months Traditional strategies were rattled; with working on an innovative format that this format, pushing too hard on one day would allow for difficult tasks and the could mean falling short of your goal and kind of racing among the top pilots that therefore immediate elimination with no we all want to see. Instead of the same chance of return. On the other hand, not old covering and pimping until it’s time pushing enough could keep you in the for final glide, we wanted a format that race, but with no real reward to show for it. And simply flying conservatively would get you eliminated.

Both the Brazilians and Australians decided to team-fly and share their winnings, regardless of which individual pilot actually got on the podium. The biggest upset of the race came on the first day, when Aussie favorite Kraig Coomber pushed a bit too hard, landTop Aussie pilot Jon Jr. shows off big winnings ing two kilometers short of goal and on Day 3 of the Flytec Race of Champions September 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

eliminating himself from the race in the very first round.

The Brazilian team-flying proved successful. After a little tree-trimming incident on Day 1, Guga Saldanha, working closely with his teammates Nene Rotor and Leo Dabbur, took first place on Day 2. This gave Guga some prize money that would be helpful in repairing the effects of using his glider as a chain saw the day before. On Day 3, in the Brazilian teamflying style, Nene and Leo lined up to cross goal precisely at the same time and shared the third-place prize money.

But the ultimate winner of the big money was solo player and U.S. national team pilot Phil Bloom. The final ten pilots ran a difficult 180-kilometer square around the green swamp. Phil made it an exciting finish for the crowd with a long nail-biting final that had us all betting on whether or not he would make it home.

We had great fun reporting on the race via the blog at www.Flytec.com/race.

There are photos and a short “bio” (using that word loosely) of each pilot, along with many event photos. While the competitors were on course, meet officials spoke with them via radio to get updates about their progress. You can listen to these live-recorded audio updates on the blog – you can really hear the excitement in the air, particularly on the final day.

This 2007 season has been by far the worst, weather-wise, that central Florida has seen in years, but we hope these few new tricks made for the enjoyable comps we’ve all come to expect at Quest Air. With a little luck, we’ll be able to pull off something similar next year!

Flytec Race of Champions winners:

Photo: Jamie Shelden

Day 1: Hans Kiefinger, 1st; Davis Straub, 2nd; Primoz Gricar, 3rd Day 2: Guga Saldanha, 1st; Nene Rotor, 2nd; Paris Williams, 3rd Day 3: Phil Bloom, 1st; Jonny Durand, nd 2 ; Nene Rotor/Leo Dabbur (tied), 3rd

Brazil’s Nene Rotor and Leo Dabbur crossing goal at the same time September 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

59

“Hang In There” Part Deux – Introduction George Worthington was a hero of mine. From 1977 through 1980 he established himself as the preeminent cross-country hang glider pilot, setting numerous open-distance, goal, and outand-return records on both rigid and flex wings. Hang gliding came late in George’s life but it did not come easy for him even though he was a retired Navy pilot and accomplished sailplane soaring pilot.

Adapting to weight-shift flying turned out to be difficult for a near-sexagenarian pilot who had decades of stick-andrudder experience ingrained in his muscle memory. In fact, it was only after he became the premier XC pilot that he wrote an illuminating article entitled “Hang in There.” The article was a compilation of logbook entries in which George described his trials and tribulations in learning to hang glide. He had somehow managed to survive a number of potentially tragic crashes relatively unscathed and was able to learn a valuable lesson from each one. What jumped out in my mind, however, was George’s view after each incident that he now knew all there was to know about flying a hang glider and that he would not have any more incidents.

George had the perfect mix of knowledge, experience, determination, and love for cross-country soaring that enabled him to dramatically show the rest of us just what was really possible on a hang glider. In his quest for adventure, George began flying a promising new rigid wing called the Wanderer.

The Wanderer looked like a wood-and-fabric remote-control sailplane that had been scaled up until it was large enough to carry a pilot. Perhaps not surprisingly, it was designed and constructed by a self-taught RC modeler. Unfortunately the design had not undergone any structural analysis nor any proof loading prior to flight. The project was publicly criticized for this lack of engineering rigor by some prominent soaring pilots in the SSA’s Soaring magazine, and George was specifically chastised for his willingness to promote what the authors considered an inadequate design.

George wrote a rebuttal letter to the editor explaining how he had personally inspected the Wanderer and felt it to be airworthy and that he had the skills to fly it safely. The ink had barely dried when the Wanderer’s wings folded up shortly after takeoff. George had insufficient time to open a breakaway panel and toss his reserve and the old man of hang gliding, the worldrecord holder, an acquaintance and idol of mine – was dead.

In the 25 years that have elapsed since George’s ashes were scattered from a soaring hang glider over his beloved Torrey Pines, my aviation skills have increased in breadth and depth.

As a military pilot I’ve lost friends, colleagues, and even former students to fiery crashes, and I’ve read about hundreds more. In an effort to improve the safety statistics of Navy and Marine aircraft, the Naval Aviation Safety Center began publishing “there-I-was” articles in their monthly Approach magazine.

Aircrew are encouraged to submit frank and honest stories of

60

their mishaps and incidents and the rest of the community gains critical insights and therefore becomes safer.

One thing that stands out when I read Approach articles is the number of them that begin with, “I never thought it would happen to me…” When I read such words I always wonder why the authors had mistakenly thought they had some special set of skills, brains, or divine blessing that would give them immunity to pilot error, mechanical failure, carelessness of others, and random acts of Mother Nature.

Although military pilots may be famous for it, they are not the sole population group in the “Type-A Personality and Big Ego Club.” Whether we admit it or not, deep down inside we all like to think that we’ve got better skills than the average person. In fact, insurance surveys have shown that the average driver considers himself to have above-average driving skills.

Despite rumors to the contrary, statistics – when compiled from a foundation of factual data – do not lie. Over the years I’ve read several articles that indicate that hang gliding and paragliding are relatively safe sports. I disagree, and it is my view that if such articles make you feel safer and more secure in the knowledge that the sport you love to obsess over is not an extreme sport then they are increasing your risk.

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

Photo: © 1982 Bettina Gray, as published in the November 1982 issue of Hang Gliding magazine

By Mark “Forger” Stucky

Photo courtesy Mark Stucky

My friend and co-author of Paragliding – A Pilot’s Training Manual, Mike Meier, authored the following quiz and answer: Aviation is: (a) Not inherently dangerous, but very unforgiving of incapacity or neglect. (b) Inherently dangerous and often forgiving of incapacity or neglect. (c) Inherently dangerous and forgiving of incapacity and neglect, but not often enough.

The answer is (c). If you’ve been inside an aviation shop or office, you’ve probably seen a poster with answer (a) above. It’s a favorite among pilots. It’s a comforting sentiment, because it implies that what one does as a pilot is not really dangerous after all. It’s one of those things that is so cleverly written and sounds so good that it ought to be true. But it isn’t. Aviation is inherently dangerous; it’s one of the most dangerous things you can do. It is sometimes forgiving; anyone who’s been in aviation for very long can tell you endless stories of pilots who suffered spectacular crashes and walked away from them. But aviation does not forgive often enough, and it does not forgive with any sense of fairness. Pilots sometimes survive the grossest errors in judgment, while other times what seems like a simple mistake leads to a fatality.

One problem with safety statistics with regards to ultralight soaring is that it is so tough to quantify the real relationship between flights and accidents. The aviation standard is the ratio of accidents to flight hours, which is applicable for airlines but doesn’t tell the real safety story for our sport.

As an example, if I want to rack up hours then I’d go to Point of the Mountain or Torrey Pines. Both sites are renowned for year-round ridge soaring and I consider them safer than standard as long as they are not overly crowded. So some people propose that a more accurate statistic would be the ratio of accidents to number of flights. I once had fourteen flights in a day, flying from a smooth little hill in Kansas. I think that day was September 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

much safer than a competition XC day when folks are scratching for thermals close to rocky terrain.

For us, the more applicable statistic would include a risk assessment that took into account pilot experience, currency, glider, site specifics, weather, and other influences such as competition, visiting family and friends with cameras, and similar distractions.

For me the bottom line is that the first step to being a safer pilot is to recognize the fact that aviation is dangerous. If you want to enjoy a long flying career then you need to do your best to recognize the risks and mitigate them. You have likely heard the phrase “I’d rather be lucky than good.” That’s cute, but when luck runs out you will wish you had developed the skills and knowledge to safely handle the situation.

As a first step, recognize that it can happen to you. Visualize realistic emergency scenarios and mentally chair-fly the proper reactions. For example, you will be a safer pilot if you have already thought about what you would do if you drifted behind launch in a thermal and were unable to penetrate back, or if you were surprised by a set of power lines during your landing approach. In the next issue I’ll start with the there-I-was stories.

I trust you will find them enjoyable and enlightening. Hang on and enjoy the ride.

61

Gallery

Brad Hill soaring his custom-colored wing on the mini-dune in front of his house in Oregon Photo: Dan Nelson

62

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

The future is bright! Val Stephens and friends prepare for take off in the Crawford Mountains, Utah.

Photo: Val Stephens

Hang glider pilots kindly providing shade for themselves and the parapilots at Villeneuve, Switzerland Photo: Denis Balibouse

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

63

Chrigel Maurer suffering through another day at work, on Reunion Island, France Photo: Martin Scheel

Vince Furrer soaring in front of Echo Ridge, Arizona Photo: Nicole Schopflin

64

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

Collins Loupe sneaking in some late-season soaring at Steptoe Butte, Washington Photo: Tim Cox

Greg Billow and his Wills Wing U2 during his first flight in Yosemite Photo: Greg Billow

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

65

In weak lift, strong pilots strike out on course at Governador Valadares, Brazil.

Photo: Josh Waldrop

Mike Küng playing with the famous Swarovski Crystal fountain, at the Swarovski factory in Schwaz, Austria Photo courtesy www.madmikekung.com

Steve Stackable spreading the love at Torrey Pines, California Photo: Jerry Gillard

66

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

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.

Competition September 22-23, October 6-8: Northern California CrossCountry League weekends, location to be decided three days before the weekend. All sites will be within a four-hour drive of the San Francisco Bay Area. Cost: $10 per race. More information: Jug Aggarwal, jaggarwal@es.ucsc.edu, or check the Web site for the Northern California XC League at http://www.sfbapa.org/ and follow the link for the XC League.

September 30-October 6: 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 www.treetoppers.org.

Fly-Ins August 27-September 3: Ellenville, N.Y. East Coast National

Fly-in 2007. Tony Covelli (Ellenville Flight Park owner) and the Southern New York Hang Glider & Paraglider club will host a fun fly-in for both hang gliders and paragliders, from Wednesday through Monday (Labor Day).

The “big party” will fall on Saturday evening in the LZ. Come enjoy flying, music, camping & camaraderie in the Hudson Valley of New York. For information contact Tony Covelli at (845) 647-1008 or covellitony@yahoo .com, or Paul Voight at (845) 744-3317 or flyhigh@frontiernet.net.

August 31-September 2: Riggins, Idaho. The Resurrection Fly-in

– bringing back a blast from the past, last celebrated circa 1985. Hang glider and paraglider pilots, come see what Idaho has to offer: excellent flying, great parties, plenty of family fun. More information: Mark Hollon, marknmiss@frontiernet.net or John Bilsky, udaleaf@nep.net.

September 1-3: Mingus Mountain, Arizona. Come enjoy the beauti-

ful views, pine forests, free camping, and the great flying at almost 8000 feet above sea level. Help the Arizona Hang Glider Association celebrate at our annual fundraiser to keep and maintain this world-class site. XC tasks and a spot landing contest are planned. More information on our Web site, www.ahga.org, or contact Jerry Dalen at (623) 217-1561 or Alan Housel at (520) 235-0868.

September 26-October 1: LA SALINA, Baja Mexico. Second An-

nual Full-Moon “Fiesta Del Cielo” Fly-in at La Salina Flying Ridge. Intermediate and advanced hang and paragliding pilots welcome. Also open to PPG, ultralight trikes and others. La Salina is Baja’s most diversified airsport venue with various launches and LZs. Located 1/2 mile east of the Pacific Ocean (and La Salina beach). Launch from the 700’ ridge, soar for hours in ridge lift combined with strong thermal conditions and land on the sandy beach. Bajabrent will handle accommodations at his beachfront B & B or other local facilities. XC and flying task competitions Friday-Sunday. More information: www.FLYLASALINA.com or www .BAJABRENT.com, or call Bajabrent at (760) 203-2658 or 01152-646155-4218, or email bajabrent@msn.com.

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

clinics, meetings, tours September 14-16: Utah flying sites. Paraglider thermal flying clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen. More information: (801) 572-3414, twocanfly@gmail.com, www.twocanfly.com.

September 29-30: Utah flying sites. Paraglider mountain flying clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen. More information: (801) 572-3414, twocanfly@gmail.com, www.twocanfly.com.

October 6-28: Tapalpa, Mexico. Improve your PG thermal and XC

skills with top-ranked U.S. pilot David Prentice. Week-long tours include airport pickup/drop off, lodging, transportation, guiding, XC retrieval.

Plenty of fun and adventure for the family. More information: (505) 7205436, www.earthcog.com.

October 11-14: USHPA fall BOD meeting. Red Lion Hotel, downtown

Salt Lake City, 161 West, 600 South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101. More information from USHPA office, (719) 632-8300.

October 27-28: Utah. Paraglider tandem (T-2 and T-3) clinic

with Ken Hudonjorgensen. More information about the clinic and prerequisites for participation: (801) 572-3414, twocanfly@gmail.com, www.twocanfly.com.

October 31-November 11: Travel tour in Michoacan, Mexico.

We will fly several different PG sites as we travel across the beautiful state of Michoacan, including Patzcuaro, Escalera and Zitacuaro.

Tour includes airport pickup/drop off, lodging, transportation, guiding, XC retrieval. More information: David Prentice, (505) 720-5436, www .earthcog.com.

November through March: Valle de Bravo, Mexico. Again after over 14 years, FlyMexico keeps going and growing. Sunday-Sunday packages, hang gliding and paragliding. Every stinkin’ day we go flying!

Contact: www.flymexico.com, 1-800-861-7198.

November 2-4: Utah flying sites. Paragliding instructor training and instructor re-certification clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen. More information about the clinic and prerequisites for participation: (801) 572-3414, twocanfly@gmail.com, www.twocanfly.com.

November 4-11: Phoenix, Arizona. Escape the winter cold – fly three nearby sites. Details at www.parasoftparagliding.com/travel/ phoenix.php.

November 12-December 11: Oaxaca, Mexico. Improve your thermal and XC skills with top-ranked U.S. PG pilot David Prentice. Fly over the world-famous Monte Alban camp of pyramids. Week-long tours include airport pickup/drop off, lodging, transportation, guiding, XC retrieval. Plenty of fun and adventure for the family. More information: (505) 720-5436, www.earthcog.com.

November 15 through Feburary 17: Valle de Bravo, Mexico.

VOL VALLE! allows pilots to choose what level of service they want, from just a room to everything including guide, meals, transportation. Based on the sprawling Rancho de San Ramon, a large hacienda with stunning views that can house up to 20 guests. A 10-minute drive from Valle de Bravo with its own large LZ, on the route to the butterflies. Nightly shuttles to and from Valle de Bravo included. Lots of activities for the family: sailing, hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, sightseeing. More information: David Prentice, (505) 720-5436 or earthcog@yahoo.com.

67

November 17-December 3: Iquique, Chile. Luis Rosenkjer and Todd Weigand guarantee you’ll fly every day of your tour or get your money back for non-flyable days! Don’t take our word for it – check out our trip program for more details. Luis is a multiple Argentinean PG champion and owner of Atlanta Paragliding. Todd has been seasonally guiding, instructing, and perfecting his acro and XC skills in Chile since 2001.

Both hold open-distance records in Argentina and Chile. Multiple tours available. www.atlantaparagliding.com, info@atlantaparagliding.com, wallowaparagliding@gmail.com.

December 12-January 14: Valle de Bravo, Mexico (site of the 2009 world PG championships). Improve your thermal and XC skills with top-ranked U.S. PG pilot David Prentice. Week-long tours include airport pickup/drop off, lodging, transportation, guiding, XC retrieval. More information: (505) 720-5436, www.earthcog.com.

December 27-January 7: Valle de Bravo, Mexico. Guided PG

tour with thermal and XC instruction with Bill Belcourt (from 12/30 to 1/7 only) and Ken Hudonjorgensen. More information: (801) 572-3414, twocanfly@gmail.com, www.twocanfly.com.

January 6-13: Tapalpa, Mexico. P-2 week with Parasoft Para-

gliding School. We’ve been taking pilots to fly in Mexico since 1991.

The P-2 week focuses on long easy flights from 2500’. Details at www.parasoftparagliding.com/travel/tapalpa%20_mexico.php.

January 13-20: Mexico. P-2 week with Parasoft Paragliding School.

We tailor our weeks to your pilot skills. In the P-3 week we focus on thermaling and short XC flights. After starting in Tapalpa, we fly both San Marcos and Colima. Details at www.parasoftparagliding.com/travel/ colima.php.

February 10-17, 2008: Southern California PG flying trip with Ken Hudonjorgensen. More information: (801) 572-3414, twocanfly@gmail .com, www.twocanfly.com.

Index To Advertisers Cloud 9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Deimos Paragliding. . . . . . . . 19 Fly La Salina. . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Flytec USA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Foundation for Free Flight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 High Energy Sports. . . . . . . 58 North Wing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 O’CONNOR Flight School. . . 55 OZONE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 ssa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Sky Wings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Sport Aviation Publications . . . . . . . . . . . 29

SuperFly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Thermal Tracker paragliding. . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Torrey Pines. . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Traverse City HG&PG. . . . . . . 51 USHPA BANK OF AMERICA . . . 79 USHPA Contributor Member. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 uSHGA DVD Magazine Archive. . . . . . . . 57 USHPA Renew . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 USPA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Wills Wing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

MarketPlace Adventure Productions. . . . 71 Flytec USA GPS . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Flytec Thermal . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Kitty Hawk Kites . . . . . . . . . . 71 Lookout Mountain. . . . . . . . . 71

moyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 North Wing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 USHPA Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 USHPA Stickers. . . . . . . . . . . . 71 USHPA XC Award. . . . . . . . . . 72

February-March: Governador Valadares, Brazil. Leave the cold northern hemisphere and enjoy the beauty and warmth of Brazil. February and March are the best months for soaring and consistently good thermaling with flying virtually every day. With 10 years of flying in GV we can offer bilingual guide service, USHPA hang gliding and paragliding instructor, transportation, retrieval, hotel accommodations and a warm welcome at the GV airport. Limited to 4 - 6 pilots at a time to insure personal attention and service. Every level of pilot skill welcome. 10 days: paragliding $1500; hang gliding $2000 with your glider, or with our equipment $2500 single surface, $3000 double surface. Special airfares available plus assistance with all your travel plans. Adventure Sports Tours, (775) 883-7070, email skybirdwings@hotmail.com, more info at http://www.pyramid.net/advspts.

Photo: Josh Morell

68

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

Ra t i n g s i s s u e d d u r i n g A p r i l 2 0 0 7

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

1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 8 8 8 11 11 12 12 13 13 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 8 8 8 9 11 12 12 13 1 1 1 1 1

Name

City

State

Daniel Bentley Oregon City OR Shannon Olivarez Portland OR Sergei Gerasimtchouk Santa Clara CA Michel Davenas Pebble Beach CA Robert Fiori Morro Bay CA Morgan Wilson San Francisco CA Gordon Olson Alameda CA James Cooper Diamond Springs CA Dieter Becker Napa CA Russ Costa Aroura Hills CA Courtney Pelz Lahalna HI Billy Arone Steamboat Springs CO Matthew Mckenna Frederick CO James Miller Boulder CO Tom Karpeichik Boulder CO Judy Karpeichik Boulder CO Gunnar Jeannette Sandy UT Randy Colyar Draper UT Robert Norwood Salt Lake City UT Jeremy Stegall Benton AR Dan Sobotka Norwalk CT Gabriela Kaplanova Norwalk CT Alice Smith Honsatonic MA Sonny Michalsky Crosby TX Terry King Fair Oaks Ranch TX Vytautas Gurskas Riverhead NY Charlie Stewart Woodside NY Samuel Cullingworth Fethiye Herbert Ochtman Fontaine Le Port Robert Leonard Enumclan WA David Burke Edmonds WA Daniel Bentley Oregon City OR Robert Fiori Morro Bay CA Chris Considine Fair Oaks CA Cody Richardson Laytonville CA Michael Obrien Roseville CA Ivan Martinetti Lake Forest CA John Samson San Marcos CA Justin Merrill San Diego CA Jiah Yim Honolulu HI Cristinel Balasa San Diego CA Russ Costa Aroura Hills CA Courtney Pelz Lahalna HI Billy Arone Steamboat Springs CO Matthew Mckenna Frederick CO James Miller Boulder CO Tom Karpeichik Boulder CO Judy Karpeichik Boulder CO Steven Snyder Phoenix AZ Eric Sigler Boulder CO Ted Smith Colorado Springs CO Gunnar Jeannette Sandy UT Dennis Pekny Salt Lake City UT Randy Colyar Draper UT Robert Norwood Salt Lake City UT Jeremy Stegall Benton AR Dan Sobotka Norwalk CT Gabriela Kaplanova Norwalk CT Alice Smith Honsatonic MA Joseph Hartley Alexandria VA Sonny Michalsky Crosby TX Frank Welte Rochester NY Vytautas Gurskas Riverhead NY Herbert Ochtman Fontaine Le Port Mike Mcintyre Port Hadlock WA Jim Harmon Bainbridge Island WA Scot Lamb Olympia WA Chris King Port Ludlow WA Ashley Guberman Lake Forest Pk WA

Rating Official

Jonathan Jefferies Kelly Kellar Greg Babush Jeffrey Greenbaum Chad Bastian Jeffrey Greenbaum Greg Babush Kirkeby Deffebach Bill Armstrong Rob Sporrer David Binder Stephen Mayer Kay Tauscher Kay Tauscher Kay Tauscher Kay Tauscher Mike Steen Jonathan Jefferies Ken Hudonjorgensen Chad Bastian Rob Sporrer Rob Sporrer David Binder Bud Wruck Bud Wruck Philippe Renaudin Ciaran Egan Cemal Ovet Stephen Mayer Lawrence Wallman Marc Chirico Jonathan Jefferies Chad Bastian Mike Fifield Kevin Biernacki Mike Fifield Gabriel Jebb Bill Armstrong Bill Armstrong Marcello De Barros Bill Armstrong Rob Sporrer David Binder Stephen Mayer Kay Tauscher Kay Tauscher Kay Tauscher Kay Tauscher Jim Eskildsen Granger Banks Granger Banks Mike Steen Chris Santacroce Jonathan Jefferies Ken Hudonjorgensen Chad Bastian Rob Sporrer Rob Sporrer David Binder Marc Chirico Bud Wruck David Jebb Philippe Renaudin Stephen Mayer Michael Smith Michael Smith Michael Smith Michael Smith Jaromir Lahulek

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

Rating Region

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-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-5

1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 5 8 8 11 12 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 5 1

Name

City

Rebel Brown Lake Oswego Gilead Almosnino Seattle Andy Wood Sammamish Daniel Bentley Oregon City Ian Panton Los Altos Frank Marquis Richmond Stephen Collard Millbrae Ben Eaton Crested Butte Danny Downey Burbank Michael Washlake Canyon Country Andy Harrah Newport Beach Daniel Linehan Carlsbad Carlos Alonso Kihei Tyler Sporrer Oceanside Sudad Shahin Venice Christopher Larkin Escondido Gaurav Deshmukm Carlsbad Wade Jefferis Jackson Charles Ziering Concord James Hobart Hartsville Dominic Hughes Fort Worth Namir Naoum Bronx Luke Aikins Kapowsin Brian Menzies Mountain View John Beason Newark Anne Rzepiela San Mateo Denis Barkats Pasadena Joseph Debriyn Aliso Viejo Kris Lunt West Jordan Gal Bar-or Wilson Richard Shallman Richland

State

OR WA WA OR CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA HI CA CA CA CA WY MA MA TX NY WA CA CA CA CA CA UT WY WA

Rating Official

Stephen Mayer Marc Chirico Marc Chirico Jonathan Jefferies Brad Weiss Rob Sporrer Jeffrey Greenbaum Kyoung Ki Hong Bill Armstrong Bill Armstrong Bill Armstrong Bill Armstrong David Binder Rob Sporrer Bill Armstrong Bill Armstrong Bill Armstrong Scott Harris Rick Sharp David Binder David Broyles Carlos Madureira Othar Lawrence Tim Kuenster Tim Kuenster Bill Armstrong Joshua Meyers Bill Armstrong Stephen Mayer Bill Armstrong Marty Devietti

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

2 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 8 8 10 10 10 10 10 1 4 8 8 9 10 10 10 10 10 2 2 6 6 12 12 12 12 7 12 13

Name

Ian Sanford Mark Thyer Ashley Kitto David Sanders Randall Rickert Joel Holzman Stephen Dewalt Timothy Johnson Thomas Cochran Anthony Ameo Jeffrey Nibler Chris Davis Timothy Cartwright Keith Wright Slava Batgrev Lester Partna Stephen Dewalt Thomas Cochran Anthony Ameo Eric Proulx Jeffrey Nibler Roosevelt Naciff Timothy Cartwright Keith Wright Slava Batgrev Andrew Nagata John Simpson Steven Prater Sean-paul Atreides Robert Roth Jr Daniel Berkowitz Glenn Wagner Gavin Riley Patrick Dow Bryon Estes Yaron Levin

City

State

Cameron Park CA Rosaville CA Redwood City CA Sunland CA Los Angeles CA Carbondale CO Colorado Springs CO Grand Junction CO Keene NH Sheffield VT Atlanta GA Jacksonville NC Ft Pierce FL Marion NC Atlanta GA Portland OR Colorado Springs CO Keene NH Sheffield VT Westerville OH Atlanta GA Lavelle FL Ft Pierce FL Marion NC Atlanta GA San Francisco CA Pacifica CA El Dorado AR Little Rock AR Bloomfield NY Pittstown NJ Hewitt NJ Tarrytown NY Chicago IL Middletown NY Givataym

Rating Official

George Hamilton George Hamilton Patrick Denevan Paul Thornbury Paul Thornbury Rusty Whitley James Tindle Rusty Whitley Gordon Cayce Daniel Zink Gordon Cayce Andy Torrington James Tindle Gordon Cayce Daniel Zink Peter Cj Anderson James Tindle Gordon Cayce Daniel Zink John Alden Gordon Cayce James Tindle James Tindle Gordon Cayce Daniel Zink Eric Carlson Patrick Denevan Chris Price Chris Price Joel Spano William Umstattd Greg Black James Louis Donovan Patrick Denevan Paul Voight Paul Voight

69

Ra t i n g s i s s u e d d u r i n g M ay 2 0 0 7

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-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

70

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 8 9 10 10 11 11 11 12 13 13 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 7

Name

City

Roy Morris Stanwood Benjamin Doyle Central Point Kjell Sporseen Eagle River Jason Turnbull Anchorage Sean Mitchell Eagle River Sinead Pollom Seattle Brice Alexander Anchorage Dean Hobb Walnut Creek Lars Sorensen Lafayette Thomas Peterman Waipahu Priscilla Deaguiar Lawndale Brad Comyns Mission Viejo Brian Downing San Diego Ronald Hargrave Stanton Claudia Barreda Santa Barbara David Shanks Murray Kevin Gendron Telluride Gary Brewer Sandy Damon Parker Golden David Chesterton Boulder Robert Mcdonald Draper Tucker Davis Ruidoso Dan Osulliivan Colorado Springs Michael Pfau Hailey Aaron Palmer Jackson La`el Lowry Kalispell Deborah Matush Kirkwood Lindsay Matush Webb City Catherine Niles Salisbury James Griffith Stoystown Douglas Cole Plantation Ada Mandolini Charlotte Karen Huaulme Austin Dean Kobza League City Lauren Kobza League City Adam Lewis New York Esin Imer N/a Joseph Smolders Toronto, Ont Patrick Johansen Sherwood Roy Morris Stanwood Benjamin Doyle Central Point Leif Vick Fairbanks Michael Walker San Mateo Steven Park San Jose Sebastian Collet Sebastopol Alan Hunley Honolulu Roger Simons Keaau Elizabeth Hunt San Diego Bill Hockensmith Kaneohe Miguel Toro Oceanside Brad Comyns Mission Viejo Brian Downing San Diego Konstantin Willmann Oxnard David Shanks Murray Kevin Gendron Telluride Paul Christian Alamosa Chad Fleischhacker Cottonwood Heights Gavin Mcsweeney Phoenix Gary Brewer Sandy Tucker Davis Ruidoso Michael Pfau Hailey Aaron Palmer Jackson Blythe Cox Jackson La`el Lowry Kalispell Jim Matush Kirkwood Lindsay Matush Webb City Danny Dewitt Ft Smith Jiri Sindler St Louis G Jennings Iv Commerce Twp

State

Rating Official

WA Jaromir Lahulek OR Kevin Lee AK Phil Smith AK Phil Smith AK Phil Smith WA Jaromir Lahulek AK Jake Schlapfer CA Jeffrey Greenbaum CA Jeffrey Greenbaum HI David Binder CA Marcello De Barros CA Marcello De Barros CA David Jebb CA Marcello De Barros CA Lee Kahn UT Kevin Hintze CO Scott Maclowry UT Jonathan Jefferies CO Granger Banks CO Granger Banks UT Bill Heaner NM T Lee Kortsch CO Granger Banks ID Chris Santacroce WY Jonathan Jefferies MT Stephen Mayer MO Luis Rosenkjer MO Luis Rosenkjer CT Christopher Grantham PA Stephen Mayer FL David Jebb NC Chad Bastian TX Rob Sporrer TX Kirkeby Deffebach TX Kirkeby Deffebach NY Jonathan Jefferies M Can Gul Jonathan Jefferies OR Larry Pindar WA Jaromir Lahulek OR Kevin Lee AK Kevin Mcginley CA Wallace Anderson CA Wallace Anderson CA Wallace Anderson HI Pete Michelmore HI John Ivey CA Bill Armstrong HI Pete Michelmore CA Kyoung Ki Hong CA Marcello De Barros CA Bill Armstrong CA Claude Fiset UT Kevin Hintze CO Scott Maclowry CO Robert Peloquin UT Carson Klein AZ Chris Santacroce UT Jonathan Jefferies NM T Lee Kortsch ID Chris Santacroce WY Jonathan Jefferies WY Scott Harris MT Stephen Mayer MO Luis Rosenkjer MO Luis Rosenkjer AR David Broyles MO David Broyles MI David Jebb

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-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-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

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

Name

Catherine Niles Paul Brennan James Griffith Ian Noble Neil Treadgold Ada Mandolini Joleen Bishop Karen Huaulme Roy Andermann Adam Lewis E Nobel Esin Imer Joseph Smolders Jack Dennett Bill Arras Martin Machacek Richard Velazquez Nathan Braun John Iraggi Jim Blakeslee Bryan Schaefer Robert Posey Cham Lloyd Felling Jon Kayyem Ivan Martinetti David Nichols Kevin Thompson Frank Highsmith Scott Walker Cornel Manu Wade Walker Grac Williams Kevin Gendron David Duncan Scott Tomlinson Zack Heim Jason Wallace Alan Abair Markus Hofmeister John Melfi Sol Kahn Roberto Shimizu Greg Newhall Tim Oneill Larry Newby Doug Mc Kee Roy Zaleski Michael Preston Chris Kurowski David Thulin

City

Salisbury Windsor Stoystown Winder Hoschton Charlotte Houston Austin Baton Rouge New York Rotterdam N/a Toronto, Ont Yt Bend Seattle Redmond Bend Bend Anchorage Marina San Jose Garden Grove Pasadena Lake Forest Honolulu Three Rivers Honolulu Loma Linda San Diego Del Mar Edwards Telluride Littleton Sun City Mesa Eagle Mountain Syracuse Pompano Beach Tampa New York Sao Paulo Bellevue Cambria Porterville Visalia El Cajon Ojai Bozeman Jackson

State

Rating Official

CT Christopher Grantham MA Kevin Mcginley PA Stephen Mayer GA Luis Rosenkjer GA Luis Rosenkjer NC Chad Bastian TX Jonathan Jefferies TX Rob Sporrer LA David Broyles NY Jonathan Jefferies Murat Tuzer M Can Gul Jonathan Jefferies Robert Peloquin OR Steve Roti WA Jaromir Lahulek WA Bob Hannah OR Steve Roti OR Steve Roti AK Apa Equivalent CA Jeffrey Greenbaum CA Jeffrey Greenbaum CA David Jebb CA Rob Sporrer CA Bill Armstrong HI Bill Armstrong CA Kyoung Ki Hong HI Pete Michelmore CA Rob Mckenzie CA David Jebb CA Bill Armstrong CA Kevin Mcginley CO Scott Maclowry CO Granger Banks AZ Carlos Madureira AZ Jim Eskildsen UT Stephen Mayer IN Marcello De Barros FL Claude Fiset FL Rob Sporrer NY Ciaran Egan Miguel Gutierrez WA Lan Chirico CA Tom Morris CA David Prentice CA David Prentice CA Kyoung Ki Hong CA Rob Sporrer MT Andy Macrae WY Ken Baier

Hang gliding ratings issued in May are on p. 72.

Photos on page 78, L to R: Top row: Mike Steed hiking to fly in Grindelwald, Switzerland Photo: Steve Roti

Chamonix, France Photo: Steve Roti

Middle row: The Verbier Summits twins team up to get a small passenger airborne (Switzerland) Photo: G. Sturtevant

It’s a dog’s life!

Photo: J Patrick Cudahy

Spring on Chelan Butte Photo: C.J.

Bottom: Savoring a desert sunset, Iquique, Chile Photo: Chris Amonson

The launch window is OPEN! 2004 Pre-PWC, China Photo: C.J.

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

THERMAL NUCLEAR DETECTION

Use your Glider, or our STRATUS Glider!

North Wing A.T.F. Soaring Trike

HANG GLIDERS  ULTRALIGHT TRIKES

509.886.4605

www.northwing.com September 2007: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – w w w.ushpa.aero

71

Safety Tip:

Useful URLs and phone numbers:

Thermaling Tip: When a parking lot is full of cars it becomes an even better thermal source, as more hot air may be trapped among all the parked vehicles.

For magazine submissions: http://ushpa.aero/magazine.asp For accident reports: http://ushpa.aero/emailacca.asp

~Burkhard Martens, in Thermal Flying

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

Ra t i n g s i s s u e d d u r i n g M ay 2 0 0 7 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-1 H-1 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

72

1 2 3 3 3 4 4 5 6 6 6 7 8 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 11 12 12 12 13 2 2 3 3 5 7 8 9 9 9 10 10 10

Name

Alexander Furches John French Jr Peter Hill Emil Khashadourian Janyce Collins Steve Luerman Kyle Mcelroy Jeremy Deyoung Gordon Koops Drew Cogan James Ziegler William Mink Jim Nordle B Millican John Mallory Robert Ballinger Christopher Bodin Johnathon Bland David Segrest Daniel Farnsworth Matthew Bouchard Bobby Stubbs David Johnson Jacob Mitchell Beau Stevens William Barnum Iii Charles Elberti Marlin Salmon Ben Hull-bailey Stephen Soo Uday Illindala Shaiwal Priyadarshi Randall Rickert Jeremy Deyoung William Mink Michael Reilly B Millican Craig Plaisance Robert Ballinger Johnathon Bland David Segrest Daniel Farnsworth

City

State

Seattle WA Auburn CA Orange CA Glendale CA Los Angeles CA Boulder CO Broomfield CO Bozeman MT Austin AR Clarksville AR Clarksville AR Nineveh IN Hooksett NH Snowshoe WV Cutler OH Cleveland OH Richmond VA Raleigh NC Geneva FL Waleska GA Raleigh NC St. Simons Island GA Trussville AL Norcross GA Nacogdoches TX Springwater NY Rochester NY Batavia NY Aberdeen Cupertino CA Sunnyvale CA San Diego CA Los Angeles CA Bozeman MT Nineveh IN Brookfield CT Snowshoe WV Charlottesville VA Cleveland OH Raleigh NC Geneva FL Waleska GA

Rating Official

David Rosner George Hamilton Tammy Burcar Andrew Beem Andrew Beem Mark Windsheimer Mark Windsheimer Dugan Gravage Chris Price Peter Dreher Peter Dreher Gordon Cayce Steven Prepost David Glover Andy Torrington Daniel Zink Andy Torrington Gordon Cayce Malcolm Jones Gordon Cayce Andy Torrington Malcolm Jones Gordon Cayce Gordon Cayce David Rosner Henry Boessl Henry Boessl Henry Boessl Gregg Ludwig Patrick Denevan Patrick Denevan John Heiney Lynden Vazquez Dugan Gravage Gordon Cayce Malcolm Jones David Glover Steve Wendt Daniel Zink Gordon Cayce Malcolm Jones Gordon Cayce

Rating Region

H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-3 H-3 H-3 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 H-5

10 10 10 12 13 1 1 2 2 3 3 5 8 13 2 2 3 3 3 4 13 2

Name

City

State

Bobby Stubbs St. Simons Island GA David Johnson Trussville AL Jacob Mitchell Norcross GA Roger Mills Pittsgrove NJ Ben Hull-bailey Aberdeen Roone Maier Hillsboro OR Jeffrey Lemon Port Orchard WA J Patrick Cudahy Arcata CA Adam Gilmore Redwood City CA Gary Powell Trabuco Cyn CA Norman Poppy Lemoore CA Nicholas Franczyk Missoula MT Jeffrey Curtis Dunstable MA Ben Hull-bailey Aberdeen Ali Joseph Rastegar Gilroy CA Alex Cuddy Sparks NV Patrick Barszcz Visalia CA Dennis Johnson N Hollywood CA Jaromir Wagner Lawndale CA Warren Groom Lyons CO Ben Hull-bailey Aberdeen George Reeves Marina CA

Rating Official

Malcolm Jones Gordon Cayce Gordon Cayce Adam Elchin Gregg Ludwig Raymond Berger S Doug Campbell David Brose Patrick Denevan Rob Mckenzie Robert Soares Jeff Shapiro Gary Trudeau Gregg Ludwig Jim Woodward William Cuddy Robert Soares Andrew Beem Joe Greblo Robert Hastings Gregg Ludwig Dave Wills

Enes Beck getting a taste of airtime on the dune at Cape Kiwanda, Oregon Photo: Jeff Beck

September 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.

I f 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 2005 LAMINAR 07 13.7 – Mint condition. Purple/Green. $2500 Call Steve Lee (423) 949-2176 - TN. 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.

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.

PARAGLIDERS ADVANCE SIGMA 5 – Great condition, $750. Nova Aron, great condition, $750 OBO. California, (805) 2761852.

ULTRALIGHTS QUICKSILVER SPRINT ULTRALIGHT – New, partially built. No Sport Pilot license required. $7500. California, (805) 276-1852.

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.

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

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 and service – Colorado’s most experienced! Offering foot launch, tow and scooter-tow instruction. Wills Wing, Moyes, North Wing, AIR, Altair, Aeros, High Energy, Finsterwalder, Flytec, MotoComm, and more sold and serviced. Call for more info (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.

73

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.

FLORIDA FLORIDA RIDGE AEROTOW PARK – 18265 E State Road 80, Clewiston, Florida, (863) 805-0440, www.thefloridaridge.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 – #1 site for US competition & the biggest flights on the East coast. No-wait, 1-on–1 lessons from first tandem to advanced XC training. Towing 8amsunset everyday. All amenities including on-site accommodations, time-honored clubhouse, pool, hot tub and private lake. Demos, rentals, sales, storage & repairs. Minutes from Orlando in Groveland, FL. Phone (352) 429-0213, fax (352) 429-4846, www.questairforce.com, questair@ mpinet.com, 1-877-FLY-QUEST. 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.

74

HAWAII 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.

Aloha! Island Powered Paragliders/ThermalUp Paragliding – The Big Island’s only choice for USHPA certified instruction. Both free flight and powered tandems year round. DVD of your flight included. One-onone lessons from our private oceanside launches and training facilities. Contact Yeti, (808) 987-0773, www .ThermalUp.com or www.IslandPPG.com. Aloha!

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, complete accessories. Visit our Web site www .kingmountaingliders.com or (208) 390-0205.

INDIANA Cloud 9 Sport Aviation – See Cloud 9 in Michigan.

MAINE DOWNEAST AIRSPORTS – Paragliding & hang gliding instruction using tandems & scooter towing for easy safe learning. Quality equipment sales. www .downeastairsports.com, in_a_cloud@hotmail.com, Marc (207) 244-9107.MARY

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.

MARYLAND SCHOOL OF HANG GLIDING – Sales, service, instruction since 1976. Specializing in foot launch. www.mshg.com, (410) 527-0975. Proudly representing Wills Wing & Moyes.

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 summer 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.

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. – A eros, 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.

NORTH CAROLINA 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.

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.

TENNESSEE TREE TOPPERS – #1 club in America. Home of the world famous Radial Ramp; great XC, easy launch, huge LZ. Just north of Chattanooga. www .treetoppers.org.

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.

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

GO...HANG GLIDING!!! – Jeff Hunt. Austin ph/fax (512) 467-2529, jeff@flytexas.com, www.flytexas.com.U

uTAH CLOUD 9 SOARING CENTER — Once again, we are the closest shop to the Point of the Mountain. Utah’s only fulltime PG/HG shop and repair facility. Contact 1-888-9445433 or www.paragliders.com.

HANG GLIDE UTAH! LLC – The one and only fullservice hang gliding school in Utah! We provide lessons 7 days a week, including tandem instruction. We also provide mountain tours. Currently in stock: New Falcon 2 140 and North Wing Horizon ET 180, as well as a variety of used equipment. Please visit our Web site at www .hangglideutah.com, email pete@hangglideutah.com or call (801) 232-1964.

LEARN TO FLY with Super Fly, Chris Santacroce and a world class team. With very small classes, a fantastic training site (Point of the Mountain) and brand-new, state-of-the-art training equipment, you can’t go wrong. Over-the-water maneuvers coaching, optional paramotor training and experience in both high and low wind help us to output a very well rounded pilot.

Contact chris@superflyinc.com or at (801) 706-6076 to schedule your intensive paraglider training course. Don’t want to come to Utah? Learn with one of our 50+ instructor/ dealers throughout the continent.

REVOLUTION FLIGHT SCHOOL – with Bill Heaner and the Revolution Instructor Team. Closest paragliding school to the Point of the Mountain! Learn true wing mastery from some of the greatest instructors in the world. We offer P-1 through P-4, tandem flights, instructor certification, tandem certification, over-the-water courses, paramotor instruction, guided tours and a full-service shop within five minutes of the Point of the Mountain. Campground, shopping and hotel accommodations within walking distance of our shop. Contact Bill Heaner, 800-7072525, bill@rpmppg.com, to get on our schedule. www .rpmppg.com/school/facility. Virgin

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, (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.

WISCONSIN FREEFLIGHT AVIATIONS – The Midwest’s largest hang gliding school. Using both aerotow tandem and on-site training hill, 7 days a week, April through November. For the traveling hang glider pilot, rental equipment is available. (920) 728-2231, tommy@freeflighthanggliding.com, FreeflightAviations.com.

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.

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 $450. 1-800-468-8185.

MEXICO – VALLE DE BRAVO and beyond for hang gliding and paragliding. Year-round availability and special tours, PARASUPPLY – PTT $49, Radio 5watts+PTT $129, innovative flight deck/backpack $45, fast-packing tube Gear, guiding, instruction, transportation, lodging – all “Cocoon” $39, overall $139. www.parasupply.com. varieties for your needs. www.flymexico.com, 1-800-8617198 USA.P RISING AIR GLIDER REPAIR SERVICES – A fullservice shop, specializing in all types of paragliding repairs, annual inspections, reserve repacks, harness rePARTS & ACCESSORIES pairs. Hang gliding reserve repacks and repair. For inforALL HG Gliderbags, harness packs, harness zippers mation or repair estimate, call (208) 554-2243, pricing and zipper stocks. Instrument mounts and replacement and service request form available at www.risingair.biz, bands. Mitts, straps, fabric parts, windsocks, radios. Gun- billa@atcnet.net. nison Gliders, 1-866-238-2305.

TANDEM LANDING GEAR – Rascal™ brand by BIG EARS PTT – $99.95. Includes speaker and micro- Raven, simply the best. New & used. (262) 473-8800, phone, radio connection, sealed finger switch. Choose the www.hanggliding.com, info@hanggliding.com, http:// full-face or the open-face model. www.bigearsptt.com, stores.ebay.com/raven-sports.

(805) 965-3733.

WHEELS FOR AIRFOIL BASETUBES – WHOOSH! CRITTER MOUNTAIN WEAR – your one-stop Web site Wheels™ (Patent Pending), Moyes/Airborne & Wills Wing for paraglider equipment and accessories. You can find compatible. Dealer inquiries invited. (262) 473-8800, a full line of backpacks, stuff tarps, flight suits, clothing, www.hanggliding.com, info@hanggliding.com, http:// GPS and vario holders, flight decks, ballast containers, ra- stores.ebay.com/raven-sports. dio holders, tow bridles, windsocks, boots, helmets, hook knives, varios, windspeed meters and much, much more. WINDSOKS FROM HAWK AIRSPORTS INC – 1673 Corbin Lake Rd, Rutledge, TN 37861, 1-800-826-2719. WorldEverything you need to have the ultimate day flying your paraglider. Critter Mountain Wear also imports and distrib- famous Windsoks, as seen at the Oshkosh & Sun-N-Fun EAA Fly-Ins. Hawk@windsok.com, www.windsok.com. utes lightweight wings and harnesses from Nervures. Go Wild. Escape from overcrowded takeoffs to launch with cool serenity, share a mountain flight with good friends, or travel PUBLICATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS the world in search of poetic flights amidst stunning landscapes… that’s what the pilots and designers at Nervures *NEW* And the World Could Fly – And the World Could Fly tells the story of how piloting for the masses dream of. crittermountainwear.com, 800-686-9327. became a possibility and then a reality. This is a tale of FLIGHT SUITS, Flight suits, Flight suits, Warm free flight in every sense of the term. Edited by Stéphane Flight suits, Efficient Flight suits, Light-weight Flight suits, Malbos and Noel Whittall, And the World Could Fly conFlight suits in twelve sizes. Stylish Flight suits. www tains contributions from many parts of the world as well as .mphsports.com, (503) 657-8911. much new writing. Together, the editors have more than fifty years of undiminished enthusiasm for foot-launched FOR ALL YOUR FLYING NEEDS – Check out the Aviaflight. And the World Could Fly is produced by the Internation Depot at www.mojosgear.com featuring over 1000 tional Hang Gliding and Paragliding Commission (CIVL) to items for foot-launched and powered paragliding, hang celebrate the centenary of FAI. It is a book which will apgliding, stunt and power kiting, and powered parachutes. peal to anyone with an interest in free flight, whether an 24/7 secure online shopping. Books, videos, KITES, old-stager who can remember the early California days or gifts, engine parts, harness accessories, electronics, a newcomer who wonders where it all came from. Call clothing, safety equipment, complete powered paragliding USHPA 1-800-616-6888 or order off our Web site, www units with training from Hill Country Paragliding Inc. www .ushpa.aero. PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901. .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.

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

75

*NEW* BROKEN TOE ACRO – Broken Toe Acro is a full instructional-encyclopedia for paragliding SIV and acro maneuvers. Each chapter is six to 14 minutes and contains descriptions of the maneuver, explanation on how to (and how not to!) perform it, as well as in-flight examples from many simultaneous camera angles. All instruction and narration is by Enleau and Ann O’Connor, leading experts in Safety-in-Flight training. Two hours and 40 minutes running time! Call USHPA, 1-800-616-6888, or order off our Web site, www.ushpa.aero, or via snail mail, PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901.

*NEW* Red Bull X-Alps DVD – Red Bull X-Alps 2005 finishes in Monaco! This stunning DVD features over 70 minutes of footage, including pilot interviews and wild POV camera angles. $41.95. Call USHPA 1-800-616-6888 or order off our Web site, www.ushpa.aero. PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901.

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* 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 *NEW* Speed/Security DVD – “Speed to Fly” and Wing, the only surviving American manufacturer/dis“Security in Flight” are two great films designed to help tributor of hang gliders and paragliders. Two legendary you progress in paragliding, packed with stunning air-topilots guide the audience through these extreme sports air footage. $48.95. Call USHPA 1-800-616-6888 or with their narrative. The docupic features competition in order off our Web site, www.ushpa.aero. PO Box 1330, the extreme sports of aerobatic hang gliding, speed hang Colorado Springs CO 80901. gliding and high-altitude cross-country paragliding. Wingmounted POV cameras provide the docupic with an in- USHpA Magazine Archive 1971-2004 – The DVD the-air thrill ride from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific set holds the history of our sport, from the earliest days coast. Narrator Bobby Carradine threads us through the of bamboo and plastic to the present. Within these pages *NEW* Condor Trail, Paragliding the Central three decades. Call USHPA at 1-800-616-6888 or or- you’ll find the evolution of foot-launched flight from the Andes – the guidebook to paragliding and traveling in der off our Web site, www.ushpa.aero. PO Box 1330, first days of bamboo dune-skimmers to the modern vathe Central Andes. It’s packed with 256 pages of maps, Colorado Springs CO 80901. riety of hang gliders, paragliders and rigid wings. Each site descriptions, local lore, free-flight contacts and PDF file is one complete magazine, just as originally pubphotos, all the information you need to plan your own *NEW* Instability 2 DVD – Bruce Goldsmith’s new lished.

Pages with color are produced as color scans, the Andean paragliding adventure. Most of the launch and film is set to become the new benchmark in SIV instrucrest scanned as black and white images. Future issues landing access throughout the Andes is done with cheap tion. In 1992, the Airwave designer co-presented “Instawill be available on an update disk. Each disk includes public transportation. Condor Trail gives you bus routes to bility,” a film which helped thousands of paraglider pilots Adobe Acrobat Reader Version 7 for Windows, Macintosh catch, areas to avoid, traveler tips, and contacts for the gain insight into tips and tricks learned by the professional local flying communities throughout Ecuador, Peru, test pilots. $41.95. Call USHPA 1-800-616-6888 or or- and Linux systems. $30 for members and $90 for nonmembers. Call USHPA at 1-800-616-6888 or order off Bolivia, Northern Argentina, and Northern Chile. Call der off our Web site, www.ushpa.aero. PO Box 1330, Colour Web site, www.ushpa.aero. PO Box 1330, Colorado USHPA at 1-800-616-6888 or order off our Web site, www orado Springs CO 80901.

Springs CO 80901. .ushpa.aero. PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901. *NEW* Never Ending Thermal – This DVD is an FLY THE WING! Hooking Into Hang Gliding – “Endless Summer” for the free-flying generation. The acMISCELLANEOUS

By Len Holms. This is the perfect book for those curious tion-packed documentary features the adventures of Venabout the sport of hang gliding. Written at a level that will ezuelan pilots Herminio Cordido and Jorge Atramiz as “AEROBATICS” POSTER – Full color 23”x 31” poster not swamp the reader with a daunting amount of tech- they embark on an around-the-world paragliding odys- featuring John Heiney doing what he does bestLOOPING! See www.ushpa.aero under store/misc for nical details, you will learn about hang glider wings and sey. $41.95. Call USHPA 1-800-616-6888 or order off example. Available through USHPA HQ for just $6.95 the skills needed to fly them. 84 pages with photos and our Web site, www.ushpa.aero. PO Box 1330, Colorado (+$5.00 s/h). USHPA, PO Box 1300, Colorado Springs CO illustrations. $12.95(+$5 s&h). Call USHPA at 1-800- Springs CO 80901.

80933. (USA & Canada only. Sorry, posters are NOT 616-6888 or order off our Web site, www.ushpa.aero. *NEW* Paragliding: Learn to Fly DVD – This AVAILABLE on international orders.)

PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901.

DVD brings to life many of the hard-to-visualize concepts DVDS-VIDEOS-BOOKS-POSTERS – Check out our Web SOARING – Monthly magazine of The Soaring Society which are so important for us to understand, like airflow of America Inc. Covers all aspects of soaring flight. Full around hills and mountains, turbulence and convergence, store at www.ushpa.aero. membership $64. SSA, PO Box 2100, Hobbs NM 88241. dynamic and thermic lift, plus aerodynamics like lift and WORLDWIDE INTERNET PARAGLIDING TALK SHOW – (505) 392-1177, ssa.org. drag, speed to fly and so on. The production team have W WW.WORLDTALKRADIO.COM. Listen live or to the spent months on the 3D animation and video sequencarchives! Live Tuesday 9-11:00 a.m. (PST). Call toll-free, ing. $44.95. Call USHPA 1-800-616-6888 or order off VIDEOS & DVDS 1-888-514-2100 or internationally at (001) 858-268our Web site, www.ushpa.aero. PO Box 1330, Colorado 3068. Paraglider pilots and radio hosts David and Gabriel VIDEOS FROM USHPA – WWW.USHPA.AERO Springs CO 80901.

Jebb want to hear about your stories, promotions/events or insight; they also take questions! *NEW* Performance Flying DVD – When it comes to making paragliding films, Jocky Sanderson doesn’t pull any punches. The suave Englishman’s slick production skills were first evidenced in his debut films, “Security in Flight” and “Speed to Fly.” Jocky’s latest film, produced with Ozone’s test team, hones in on the finer piloting skills of flying XC, acro and SIV. $42.95. Call USHPA 1-800616-6888 or order off our Web site, www.ushpa.aero. PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901.

Photo: Tim Cox

*NEW* Cloudsuck: The Life and Death Struggle for the Hang Gliding World Record. Davis Straub tells the story of the dramatic 10-year race to fly “farther than anyone has ever gone in a hang glider.” From the historic 1990 flight that first broke the 300-mile barrier, through 10 years of adventure and challenge, this is a first-hand account of the driven individuals who struggled against each other and against nature to set the next hang gliding world distance record. $17.95. Call USHPA 1-800-616-6888 or order off our Web site, www.ushpa.aero. PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901.

76

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

Photo: Nicole Schopflin

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.

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) 690-5792.

Stolen from the Andy Jackson Airpark California, May 14, 2007. Falcon 195 #25038. Silver leading edge, red bottom surface, white trailing edge.

Contact Rob or Dianne through www.flytandem.com or (909) 883-8488.

WW XC 155 – White upper surface, white l.e., assymetric blue and green lower surface with XC logo. Chris Smith Cloudbase pod harness, purple. Lee full-face helmet, red. Flytec 4030 Race with airspeed. Taken from TTT Henson Gap LZ late afternoon Wednesday, June 5, 2007. Dan Shell at danshell@bledsoe.net, (423) 9496912, or (423) 667-9457.

GPS GARMIN 76 CSX – The last day of the Rat Race, after the tracklog information was downloaded, someone picked up my GPS from the table. It has white tape in the upper left corner with my pilot number 326 written on it.

If you discover this GPS in your possession, please contact me at USHPA. Martin, 800-616-6888. I borrowed the GPS from a friend, so it would be an enormous relief to have it returned.

STOLEN WINGS are listed as a service to USHGA members. Newest entries are in bold.

There is no charge for this service, and lostand-found wings or equipment may be called in to (719) 632-8300, faxed to (719) 632-6417, or emailed to INFO@USHPA.AERO for inclusion in Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine. Please call to cancel the listing when gliders are recovered. Periodically, this listing will be purged.

Safety Tip Always leave yourself an out: Do not drift downwind of launch (or a ridgetop) if there is any chance you won’t be able to penetrate back to the front of the hill.

A Red Bull X-Alps participant © U.Grill/Red Bull Photofiles

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

77

THE MEANING OF CERTAINTY

By Steve Messman, staff writer Photo credits on page 70

My wife and I had a huge argument the other day. Earlier in the day, I told her she needed to be ready to take me up South Mountain at 2:00 p.m. Well, to make a long story short, the mower broke (No! Really! It did!), so I went into the house at 1:15 and told her it was time to go. One brief second later I actually began to regret those words. The argument that ensued was a good one as arguments go, but I had to end it with this thought about my chosen sport: The idea is to fly. The idea is not to watch a clock.

When it is time to go, it is simply time to go.

Well, we went. I flew. She drove. And it was good. But the whole argument thing started me thinking.

78

How many times have I driven to the I was an officer in the Army in 1977 when I first learned to hang glide. I top of a mountain intending to fly, only hated my instructors. They would say to to fall asleep in the back of the truck be there at 10:00, then they would show because that is the thing that made the up at 11:00. They would say that we were most sense at the time?

How many times have I launched exgoing to fly, then we wouldn’t. They would say…and then,… pecting to hit cloudbase, only to hit the I just could not live like that. I needed LZ? structure! I needed a schedule!

And conversely, how many times have Somehow over the years, I learned I launched expecting a sled ride, only to that when it comes to flying, schedules find myself a grand over? and structure are so NOT important.

There are some things you absolutely Schedules imply certainty. And there do need to be certain about in this sport. is nothing certain about this sport we You need to be certain about your skills.

You need to be certain that you are in the enjoy.

How many times have I hiked up right frame of mind to fly. You need to be Tiger Mountain intending to fly, only to certain about your physical conditioning, especially if you are going to hike. You hike back down? need to be certain about your sobriety at flying time. But you absolutely do not need to be certain about your schedule.

You might get there on time. You might have to wait a little – or even a lot. You might not fly at all. But in all the uncertainty, there is one thing you can bank on.

When it’s time to go, it’s simply time to go.

The United States Hang Gliding Association Platinum Plus® Visa®Credit Card

VISA

BankofAmerica ~ USHPA

\IMftD IJATUI HNtlO Gt.DN0 .. NMCIIJCWO M*:11::M,'IIOf!

Power. Prestige. Flexibility.

•

There is a card that truly deserves to be the only card in your wallet. We cou ldn ' t be more proud to ofter you the U.S. I-Imi g G liding Assoc ic1tion Platinum Plus® Visa® cred it card at competitive rates.

Exceptional Benefits

•

No Annual Fee

• • • •

Low in troductory Annual Percentage Rate (APR)* Generous credit lines as high as $ 100,000 Emergency card replacement Cash access at thousands o f' ATMs worldwide

'World-Class Service • • • • •

24-hour Customer service Billing dispute advocates Complete onl ine account access and bill pay features Instant cred it line decisions Trave l planning serv ices

Complete Secu rity

•

Around-the-clock fraud protect ion

• • •

Zero liabi lity for fraudulent charges Secure access to your account o nline, all the time Common Carrier Travel Accide nt Insurance coverage

\Vhat's 111orc, each ti1nc you rnakc a purchase ,vith your c redit card, a contribution is 1nadc to the U.S. I lang Glid ing i\ Ssociation - at no additional cost 10 you.

Learn more-call toll-free 1-866-438-6262. TT Y users, ,c all 1-800-833-6262. Please refer to priority code FAAI PR when speak ing w ith a representa tive to apply. * For infon'nation about lhc ratc.s, fees. other costs, and benefits: associated \Vi th the use of the card; or to apply. plc.asc call the above toll-free nu1r~bcrs.

This credit card program is issued and administered by FIA Card Services, N.A. Any account opened in resJ)'onse 10 this applica tion shall be governed by the Ja,vs of 1he state ofDe)a,vare. Travel planning services are provided to Dank of A1nerica Custo1ners by an independently owned and operated travel agency registered 10 do business in California (Reg. No. 2036509-SO): Ohio (Reg. No. 87890286) Washington (Reg. No. 6011 237430) and other states. as required. Visa is a registered trademark of Visa International Service 1\ ssociation. and is used by the issuer pursuant to license front Visa U.S.A .. Inc. Bank of A1nerica is a registered rrade1nark of Dank of America Corporation. ,'12006 Bank of Ami:ric:n C1upclr:11ion

~i lS(. 60-U>C) J.()-I 1306