Hang Gliding & Paragliding Vol43/Iss03 Mar 2013 by US Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association

MARCH 2013 Volume 43 Issue 3 $6.95

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

WARNING

Hang gliding and paragliding are INHERENTLY DANGEROUS activities. USHPA recommends pilots complete a pilot training program under the direct supervision of a USHPA-certified

ON THE COVER, Josh Cohn (above) and Gavin

McClurg (grey) gliding to the start at the 2013 Monarca paragliding open. Cohn went on to win the event! Photo by Nick Greece. MEANWHILE, Scot Trueblood and student over the Floridian coast.

instructor, using safe equipment suitable for your level of experience. Many of the articles and photographs in the magazine depict advanced maneuvers being performed by experienced, or expert, pilots. These maneuvers should not be attempted without the prerequisite instruction and experience.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine is published for foot-

ADVERTISING ALL ADVERTISING AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES MUST BE

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.

SENT TO USHPA HEADQUARTERS IN COLORADO SPRINGS. All advertising is subject to the USHPA Advertising Policy, a copy of which may be obtained from the USHPA by emailing advertising@ushpa.aero.

SUBMISSIONS HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine welcomes

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING (ISSN 1543-5989) (USPS 17970) is

editorial submissions from our members and readers. All submissions of articles, artwork, photographs and or ideas for articles, artwork and photographs are made pursuant to and are subject to the USHPA Contributor's Agreement, a copy of which can be obtained from the USHPA by emailing the editor at editor@ushpa.aero or online at www.ushpa. aero. HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine reserves the right to edit all contributions. We are always looking for well written articles and quality artwork. Feature stories generally run anywhere from 1500 to 3000 words. 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. 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, (516) 816-1333.

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:

Martin Palmaz, Publisher executivedirector@ushpa.aero Nick Greece, Editor editor@ushpa.aero Greg Gillam, Art Director art.director@ushpa.aero

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

C.J. Sturtevant, Copy Editor copy@ushpa.aero

COPYRIGHT Copyright (c) 2013 United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc., All Rights Reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission of the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc.

Staff Writers Steve Messman, Dennis Pagen Christina Ammon, Ryan Voight, C.J. Sturtevant

Terry Rank, Advertising advertising@ushpa.aero

Staff Photographers John Heiney, Jeff Shapiro

BRIEFINGS

CENTERFOLD

CALENDAR

CLASSIFIED

RATINGS

USHPA STORE

ON GLIDE

MARCH2013

EDITOR

Focused on Safety The Target on Your Back ��by Paul Voight

Pilots Who Make Goal Frank Gillette ��by Ron Matous

FEATURE |Swingers All About Acro ��by Andy Pag

FEATURE | Rat Race Inside, Outside & Sideways ��by Julie Spiegler

FEATURE | Flying Accidents Psychological First Aid �� by Patrick McGuiness

FEATURE | Log Book Colorado ��by Alex McCulloch

Hang Gliding Finishing School Part XIV �� by Dennis Pagen

A “Bearly” Soarable Day At Hull Mountain �� by C.J. Sturtevant

WW T2C

Made in the U.S.Aâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;proven worldwide.

Congratulations to WW pilots Filippo Oppici, Pedro Garcia, and Zac Majors, as well as our US Team and our friends in Italy, for their top performances at the 2013 Worlds.

500 West Blueridge Ave . Orange, CA 92865 . 1.714.998.6359 . WillsWing.com

Photo by Felix Wรถlk

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

EDITOR E

very so often an image comes across the wire that inspires us to take action. Images spur viewers to donate to charity, help causes, rebel against tyranny, choose adventure, or travel down new paths. Felix Wolk published such an image ten years ago that inspired many in the free flight world—the dam dive. For example, this one photo inspired me to sell some possessions I didn’t need (my bar?? and Technics turntables) and start travelling the world with my wing. I was teaching at Torrey Pines Gliderport at the time and flying every day. But this photo, coupled with Bob Drury’s photo of flying in Morocco, not only sent me searching for the Zagora Ridge, but also sparked my desire to get into publishing. The dream of our publishers and magazine staff is to inspire others through photography and writing. One of the USHPA magazine’s goals is to create a communal fire pit where inspirational tales can be recounted for all levels of pilots. The March issue begins with the tale of a pilot who has been setting the standard as an instructor and an example as a free-flying enthusiast for over 40 years—Frank Gillette. From longstanding record-breaking flights in the Rocky Mountain West to gentle sled rides from his backyard hill, Gillette has been living life on the wing since most can remember. Andy Pag is back with a piece about what it takes to get into aerobatic flying. The process usually begins with an over-the-water safety exercise. Once that feat is accomplished, he details how to progress into placing one’s wing in alternative flying configurations. The ever-popular Rat Race is covered from a volunteer’s perspective in this issue. In addition to reporting that Arnold Frankenburger took home the title of national champion, this article emphasizes the importance of the cadre of pilot volunteers who make competitions possible. And while these pilots rarely take home trophies, they are just as inspiring as those who stand on the podium. Patrick McGuiness checks in with another thought provoking sport-psychology based piece, and Alex McCulloch dissects a classic big-air Rocky Mountain cross-country flight through photos. Rounding out the final sections are staff illuminati Dennis Pagen, with another installment of Hang Gliding Finishing School, and C.J. Sturtevant’s tale of a bear who could fly. We hope some piece in this year’s magazines will inspire you to reach out of your normal milieu into a personal adventure, which you will, in turn, share around the fire pit. We are a community where one experience can inspire both current and future pilots to break the mold.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

BRIEFINGS

PILOT

L to R: Mike McFadden (Team Leader), Robin Hamilton,

 SKYWALK'S CHILI3 CERTIFIED Skywalk’s CHILI3 has achieved EN/ LTF-B certification in the sizes M, S and XS. The goal was to construct a kilometer-hound with moderate demands that spoils pilots with simple and direct handling. The glider has a 2-3 line system (two main lines per side in connection with a three-line system),

THANK YOU FROM THE US HG TEAM

that reduces parasitic drag to an ab-

As the saying goes, the way to make

solute minimum. For more information

one million dollars in hang gliding is to

go to www.skywalk.info.

 SKYWALK'S MESCAL4 CERTIFIED achieved EN/LTF-A certification in

different. The logistics and expense

foil in the nose for even simpler launch

several of our best declined to go because of these factors. It costs some-

technology. More information at www.

where between $6000 and $8000

skywalk.info.

per pilot to attend and that doesn’t count the equipment and competition costs it takes to make the team! So it was fantastic that the

2 paraglider, a worthy successor to

Foundation for Free Flight (FFF)

the popular U-Sport. The U-Sport 2

stepped up to the plate in a big way to

was created as a three-line paraglider

support the men and women on the

to facilitate easy launch character-

team. The Foundation defines itself as

istics and the appropriate safety for

a “charity staffed entirely by unpaid,

most pilots with skills to fly the EN-D

accountable volunteers dedicated

performance class, and is designed

to the preservation of hang gliding

as a cross-country and competi-

and paragliding in the United States.”

tion glider. The use of aramid lines

Luckily for us they also support com-

reduces line shrinkage, and the use of

petitions. Special thanks goes out to

the AirCross U-6 two-line open-class

Executive Director Connie Work for

glider planform allows for a higher

going to bat for us and handling the

projected aspect ratio for better climb

last-minute grant application from the

and glide. With Rigifoil in the lead-

men—the guys are terrible procrasti-

ing edge, the Gibus arch 2 for the

nators! Check out all the great things

attachment points, and mini-ribs in

the FFF does for us all at www.ushgf.

the trailing edge, AirCross believes

org.

they have the winning combination

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

rent for many pilots to attend, and

now has 3D-shaping and JET FLAP

AirCross USA announces the U-Sport

for travel to Australia for the 2013 World Championships were a deter-

performance, and the upper surface

 AIRCROSS U-SPORT 2



raderie and the beauty it brings into their life. Your US National Team is no

The Mescal4 is equipped with rigid



start with two million! Most pilots fly for the love of the sport, the cama-

Skywalk’s MESCAL4 has successfully sizes M and S.



Jamie Shelden, Paris Williams, Mitch Shipley, James Stinnett, Linda Salamone, Zac Majors, Kraig Coomber

The team would like to also ac-

for unsurpassed high performance

knowledge the support of many other

and passive safety in this class. Call

individuals, clubs and business that

AirCross USA at 970-376-0495 for

helped get us ready and down to

more info, and check out the AirCross

Australia. Steve Kroop of Flytec, an

website at www.aircross.eu. Dealer

ever-present supporter of all things

inquiries welcome.

hang gliding, generously assisted

 The book contains videos as well as with T-shirt sales and Flytec products.

photos. Describing maneuvers with-

Kraig Coomber of Moyes has been

out being able to see videos doesn’t

busy retrofitting the women’s wings

give the reader a clear picture.

and coordinating glider transport. Local clubs and flight parks ran fun-

Also, since the book is virtual as well as printed, it can easily be

draisers, matched funds and made

updated and expanded. Periodically, I

outright donations. Rochester Area

will add new videos and comment on

Flyers and Quest Air deserve special

real-life accidents on YouTube. After

mention here. And of course so many

someone has paid for the book, he/

pilots, tug pilots, and non-pilots in

she can download updates in the

our community have bought T-shirts,

future.

a big part of the women’s team

The price for the book is approxi-

fundraising where a special thanks

mately $25US, depending on which

goes out to Flyte Park and Yesterday’s

iTunes store you buy it from.

Sportswear for product and support. At this autumn’s USHPA BOD meet-

The book starts with a short intro-

ing, just about every member present

and a dictionary of SIV-related terms.

bought a shirt!

In the body of the book I have clas-

So it takes a village, and your US

sified SIV into three types of maneu-

National Team sends out a big THANK

vers: Collapses, Stall Maneuvers, and

YOU to theirs!

Rotational Maneuvers.

From the US team members: Kraig

Finally, a “further reading” sec-

Coomber, Robin Hamilton, Zac Majors,

tion covers many subjects that are

Linda Salamone, Jamie Shelden, Mitch

not pure SIV but are important topics

Shipley, James Stinnett and Paris

related to advanced flying techniques.

Williams.

Some of these topics have appeared

 SIV BIBLE (by Bruce Goldsmith) After I produced two Instability films, pilots have



ductory video, followed by an index

in my Icaristics articles in XCMagazine, but I have updated them and added new photos and video content. Not all of the videos are of produc-

been urging me to write an advanced

tion gliders; some are prototypes, so

book about paragliding safety. The ar-

do not expect identical reactions from

rival of Apple’s iBooks Author finally

similar-appearing production gliders

pushed me to collect my experiences

as you see in the test-flying clips of

Osceola hang gliding. The book, An

and publish them in an ebook.

the protos in the SIV Bible.

Eagle’s Sky, My Life as a Birdman is a

Although this means the book is

I have also used videos of real-

true story about how John wields his

designed for the iPad and is only for

life accidents from YouTube with

sale through the iTunes stores, per-

voiceovers of my explanation of what

that ultimately leads to giving Osceola

haps limiting its audience somewhat, I

caused them. Thanks, also, to those

a second chance to fly. Follow John as he leads you down the remarkable

visceral passion for birds and flight

believe the features available through

YouTube pilots who gave me permis-

this app make this sacrifice worth-

sion to use their real-life experiences

path of his life, from his early fascina-

while. Anyone interested can down-

in the book to help others learn to

tion with sparrows to later establish-

load a 15-page preview, which also

avoid problems.

ing a bird rehabilitation program

contains a couple of films that shows

This is the link from the US iTunes

where he meets Osceola, the eagle

store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/

that changes his life. Learn about

book/the-siv-bible/id552411696?ls=1

the influences and events that lead

mation comes directly from my own

 An Eagle's Sky

The book is available at https://

you roughly what the book looks like. To my knowledge, this is the only guide on how to do SIV. All the infor-

to John’s goal to work with eagles.

experiences through testing gliders as

John Stokes has written a book about

www.smashwords.com/books/

well as teaching SIV courses for many

his life and the events that led him to

view/246776, or at various other

years.

take a one-winged bald eagle named

e-book retailers.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

FOCUSED ON SAFETY

by Paul Voight

THE TARGET ON YOUR BACK “Fate is a hunter. Every time you choose to fly, you have a target on your back, and fate is hunting you. YOU control the size of that target with your judgment and decision making.”

T 10

he above paragraph could easily stand alone, without any more writing needed. But that would

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

be an awfully short article! The quoted opening paragraph above was derived during a post flying day campfire chat. A local pilot (whom I consider a legend) was pontificating on the book Fate is a Hunter, and its applicability to our sport and safety. This was many years ago, (about twothirds of the way into my flying career)

but it really struck a chord with me then, and sticks with me to this day. It changed my whole approach to flying. I present the concept at every lesson and clinic I give. It has morphed a few words here and there, but the current rendition is pretty solid. I realize there isn’t really a guy out there in the air “hunting” us. However, we do put ourselves into circumstances when flying that really do “put a target on our backs.” It’s a concept. Bear with me.

As soon as you launch, you expose the target on your back, and it remains a target until you land back on Earth safely. The more times you fly, or the more years you fly, the more opportunities fate is given to hit the target. Keeping this target tiny is your primary job as a pilot. From my observations, fate is an inaccurate shooter. This is fortunate and unfortunate at the same time. I see many bad choices made, and poor judgment exercised, almost every flying day, most resulting in no negative outcomes. This is one of the most insidious forms of reinforcement in our sport. Pilots commonly draw the conclusion that their conduct and choices are justifiable because they “get away with it” (often repeatedly). “Back in the day,” when I was learning, I now realize I repeatedly enlarged the target on my back to gargantuan sizes. Somehow, through crazy good luck, and some acquired flying skill, I managed to come out unscathed. It’s a miracle, really. In my (and other pilots of the times) defense, everybody was learning back then. We were mostly all self-taught, and the flying community didn’t have the reserve of knowledgeable, educated, seasoned mentors and instructors that today’s new pilots have available. You new guys are very lucky! Make use of (and listen to) those valuable resources. The point of this article is to simply raise pilots’ awareness of the direct effect they can have on their safety and on their longevity in the sport, by simply exercising good judgment and making good choices. More importantly, I hope some readers will realize (like I did) that they have all too often made large targets on their backs and fate just hasn’t been able to nail them yet. Trust me, if you repeatedly put a big enough target out there fate will

hit its mark. It may result in just a big scare, or an actual incident. Take heed of those big scares. They are only a form of “good luck” (more accurately “coincidences with favorable outcomes” for those that don’t believe in luck). Regardless, you’d be much better off not repeating those circumstances again. Don’t get me wrong. I do believe one of the more satisfying elements of flying is piloting our way out of the risky situations that we all find ourselves in from time to time. But my current opinion is that we don’t have to instigate risky situations in order to experience them. They present themselves often enough on their own, enlarging our targets despite our best efforts. No normal-size article can review all of the common ways to stay safe (minimize the target). Review the excellent safety articles that have adorned these pages the last few seasons. I will review just the four major culprits that in my opinion cause a large degree of target-enlargement in our normal flying. 1) Choosing to fly. This choice in itself is huge. I know pilots want to fly. They drive long distances. Conditions aren’t always suitable, or they deteriorate during setup. Choosing NOT to fly takes incredible discipline. Choosing to wait out mid-day conditions for more reliable conditions later in the day takes just as much discipline. If you show up at a site, and there are some pilots flying, but others are not, analyze who is NOT flying (yet), rather than who is. Often, the ones in the air are not the wisest decision-makers, or are skilled enough to fly, AND LAND, in those advanced conditions. Prioritize keeping your flying enjoyable and safe. Flying just because it was your plan for the day will certainly cloud your judgment, and eventually result in nondesirable results.

Martin Palmaz, Executive Director executivedirector@ushpa.aero Jeff Mosher, Program Manager programs@ushpa.aero Robin Jones, Communications Manager communications@ushpa.aero Eric Mead, System Administrator tech@ushpa.aero Beth Van Eaton, Membership Services membership@ushpa.aero Terry Rank, Office Coordinator office@ushpa.aero

USHPA OFFICERS & EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Rich Hass, President president@ushpa.aero Ken Grubbs, Vice President vicepresident@ushpa.aero Bill Bolosky, Secretary secretary@ushpa.aero Mark Forbes, Treasurer treasurer@ushpa.aero

REGION 1: Rich Hass, Mark Forbes. REGION 2: JugDeep Aggarwal, Josh Cohn, Pat Hajek. REGION 3: Corey Caffrey, Dan DeWeese, Rob Sporrer. REGION 4: Ryan Voight, Ken Grubbs. REGION 5: Donald Lepinsky. REGION 6: David Glover. REGION 7: Paul Olson. REGION 8: Michael Holmes. REGION 9: Felipe Amunategui, Dan Tomlinson. REGION 10: Bruce Weaver, Steve Kroop, Matt Taber. REGION 11: David Glover. REGION 12: Paul Voight. REGION 13: TBD. DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Dave Broyles, Bill Bolosky, Steve Rodrigues, Dennis Pagen, Jamie Shelden. EX-OFFICIO DIRECTOR: Art Greenfield (NAA). The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association Inc. (USHPA) 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. 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.

2) Avoid getting into situations that exceed your level of skill or your glider’s performance range. It pains me when I see new pilots follow veteran pilots back into areas and terrain that they have no business being in, experience-wise or performance-wise. Similarly, pilots should learn spot landing and accuracy in the safety of their normal LZ before going too far from the LZ, going XC, or top landing. Build these skills BEFORE you find yourself needing them in dire situations. Venture, in small increments, and cautiously, into areas that are out of reach of the primary LZ. 3) Stay alert to conditions. Learn to recognize when conditions are getting worse and get back on the ground well before they actually get dangerous. A couple of my wildest (now considered dumb) flight stories involve staying up too long and barely surviving re-entry. It is not fun fighting conditions while trying to survive a landing.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

4) Lastly, landing technique greatly affects your target size. When still well above your intended landing spot, make a conservative landing plan and approach. Other than pilots choosing to fly in inappropriate conditions, the most frequently repeated target enlargement I can isolate is simply poorly executed landing planning. Bad landings can maim or kill you. You should strive for near-perfect landings every flight. This topic is an extensive article all on its own, so I won’t get into all of the details at this time. The crux of the matter is, remove low turns, traffic issues, low airspeed, late transitions, and high round-outs from your landing sequences and your target during landing will remain very small. Why give fate any more of a target than you need to? Paul Voight is a long-time hang gliding enthusiast, photographer, and author from the Ellenville, N.Y., area. He first learned to fly in Kitty Hawk, N.C., in

1972, as one of Kitty Hawk Kites’ first students. He has been instructing hang gliding since 1980, and paragliding since 1990. His flight school, Fly High, opened in 1984. Paul is H5/P4 rated, is an administrator for both the tandem and the instructor programs, and has been Region 12’s USHPA director since 1989. He was the USHPA Hang Gliding Instructor of the Year in 2007, and received USHPA’s Rob Kells Memorial Award in 2010.

A beautiful sunset caps the end of an incredible soaring day... Will future generations be able to enjoy the same? We can help.

Each year we grant thousands of dollars to help dedicated individuals and organizations achieve their goals of:  Site Preservation  Safety  Education  Competition Your contributions during this season of giving are greatly appreciated!  USHPA matches your gift (up to $500) if you donate with membership renewal  Please consider naming the Foundation as a Will or Living Trust beneficiary

P.O. Box 518, Dunlap, CA 93621

888-262-4264

www.ushgf.org

PILOTS

by Ron Matous

off... Oh yeah, it came down pretty good. And I landed over by Idaho Falls on the Interstate. “And when I finally got out of that I swore I wouldn’t go flying again. I was gonna quit. I did for a week [laughs]. Then I went and did it again [laughs].”

WHO MAKE GOAL I FRANK GILLETTE

“Another bad one was up at Big Southern Butte, 1980 or so. I was at 18,500 when I flew out of that one. I fell out of the top of that sucker. Cavanaugh was in it, but I wasn’t close to him. I couldn’t hear him on the radio... he’d changed his frequency... but anyhow, later on I found out that he’d gone into that cloud same as I did—we was up at 14,000 or so when we went in it—and he had the presence of mind that he was going to pass out and probably die so he threw his parachute [laughs]. And I thought, oh boy, that wasn’t my plan. I didn’t throw my parachute. He threw his parachute, so he zipped up. But he was in a different part of the cloud than I. He said he crawled down (he was upside down with his chute out)... he crawled down and read his altimeter and he was at 20,000. Well I never went above 18,500. I flew out of that darn cloud. I started south... Well, at first I couldn’t follow my compass... it was spinning, I was everywhere... I don’t know, I might have been upside down part of the time [laughs]. I had a Ball [compass] with the water in it and that thing was... oh, they were terrible. I talked to a guy on the ground who’d been flying [RIGHT] Frank with grandson Joshua, launching from his long, steep front yard.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

with me, and he said, ‘There’s a little bit of clear sky off to the south’ and so I tried to hold a south direction, and it was really hard, ‘cause it was moving... finally it kind of calmed down just a little bit, I was getting higher and I think it was starting to top out, and I held to the south and I come out and I read my altimeter when I got out of there at 18,500. I flew out into clear, smooth air, with a quarter-inch of ice everywhere. And I flew around and decided I wanted to get down. I seen some sagebrush clearing, so I spiraled down to that, and it was about 12,500 or 13,000 the ice started breaking off the glider, and I could hear it rattling

f there is a living re-creation of the spirit of Daedalus, it is Idaho rancher Frank Gillette. Frank would fly a sheet of plywood if he could. Through his long career he has owned a Centurion 210, a Kit Fox, paragliders both powered and not; and of course, his instrument of choice for cross-country flying, a hang glider. The Kit Fox is a homebuilt two-seater that Frank would use, he said, on “days when there’s no wind and you just like to go out and look around. I take off right here,” pointing to his sloping front lawn, “down the hill, and land back up the hill.” “I was probably forty before I started flying. Or close to that. I was a ski instructor at Beaver Mountain in Logan, Utah, and we went to Aspen. We went there in the middle of winter with a

Liberty

148



158

high performance with stable, responsive handling VG Sail Control · Mylar Full Race Sail available H3+ · for Intermediate and higher skill levels

Visit NorthWing.com ATF and SOLAIRUS soaring trikes FREEDOM hang glider

1st place, 2012 Chelan XC Classic · Kingpost Class 2nd place, 2012 Spain Championship · Kingpost Class

HANG GLIDERS  ULTRALIGHT TRIKES

northwing.com

bunch of ski instructor families, and there were some guys up there flying off of that thing, off the mountain and landing there at the bottom. That’s where I first seen hang gliding.” Frank, it should be noted, turned forty in 1968. I asked about his airtime; 5,000 hours? “I’ve got as much or more...” I was talking with Frank in his home office. The walls were covered with photos, magazine covers, and a large set of topo maps taped together to show the various long flights he had done in the states of Idaho, Utah, and Montana. It was 2007, and a serious hip injury from a rough landing had him walking with a cane. By his tone of voice I could still hear him planning to launch again, unpowered and unaided, into a sky filled with soaring birds of prey. One of the flights carefully delineated on that wall map was a 1992 distance record, which only ended, according to Frank, when “I finally ran out of lift.” But didn’t I read something

509.886.4605 somewhere about old pilots and bold pilots? I had his cloudsuck story in mind one summer at the King Mountain meet, when Frank was still a youthful 79 and in need of a partner. Let my logbook help me out here: July 11: (Funny, that was only five years ago. Why do I feel so much stiffer?) After years of listening to Frank Gillette lecture the assembled pilots about the vagaries of King Mountain thermals, the Ramshorn venturi, and the best method for utilizing Saddle Mountain on Route 3; and after years of listening to Frank Gillette stories told in a disbelieving tone, I am now going to have to try to keep up with him. His usual partner being unavailable, he has asked if I needed someone to fly with. Never mind that I have never actually been able to fly with someone, for the same reason that I

have never been able to ski with someone: it requires too much paying of attention. In fact, I usually don’t want another glider anywhere near me, as I’m struggling enough just to stay out of clouds and off of the ground. Frank’s only 24 years older than me, so maybe I can keep up with him. But of course I’ ll join you, Frank; maybe I’ ll learn something. I was ready sooner, so I launched earlier. It would turn out to be the last cycle before a considerable lull. I am at almost 16,000 feet before Frank finally has a chance to launch. His radio contacts have been of the nature of: “Well, I’ll catch up… just start across and I’ll call you when I finally get off the ground.” I was starting to think that this wouldn’t really count as flying with someone. But then I remembered Frank’s telling me while he was yet stuck on launch that I was high enough, that I should get going, and not dawdle around waiting for him. Okay.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

I’m used to being passed by people above me; after all, the higher pilot can afford to fly faster to a given point. But having somebody well below you go zipping by is just plain humiliating. At

least I’m not dawdling around waiting for him. And I think he’s on his Falcon today. Frank butts his head up against Saddle Mountain to no avail, turns

around, and still lands about ten miles further on than me. Somehow I don’t think the fact that he’s 79 years old has anything to do with it. By his own estimate Frank has

2013 CALENDARS

ON SALE

ONLY $15.00

www.ushpa.aero/store 16

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

[LEFT] Frank with his grandsons, Joshua and Kaleb.

taught four or five hundred students to fly; for over a decade his 162-mile Idaho record was unsurpassed, and even so it is now the third-longest footlaunched flight known in that state. The other two record-holding pilots, like Frank, ended up in Montana. My own 2007 flight with Frank only ended up in Howe… but wow! Frank’s knowledge of the topography was what really came through to me. Topography, I think, comes naturally to a ski instructor. That, and the use of your body to counteract gravity. Perhaps now I could count myself as one of his students. As John Woiwode said, in his article about the July 2000 flight that finally broke Frank’s state record: “…we’ve all been chasing Frank Gillette for a long time.” The question remains: Are there flying people, whose bodies never entirely adapt to gravity after birth? Let’s rephrase the question: Are there certain people, born in Declo, Idaho, who learn to ski at an early age, who begin flying at forty, and never stop? The answer is, apparently, yes. I gave Frank a call the other day at his winter home in Quartzite, Arizona to see how that hip injury had turned out: “My hip doesn’t give me any more trouble but I got these other old-age things going on.” And had he been able to fly at all since that injury? “Oh yeah, I fly my paraglider every day with Clair [one of his oldest flying partners] off these hills right out of here.” Powered or unpowered? “Both—we usually spend the morning flying.” Does he still have the Kit Fox? “You bet. It’s back there in Declo.” Saving it for a day when there’s nothing to do so he’ll have something to do. Keep flying, Frank.

Mosquito Power Harness Dealers Wanted! US & Canada

Options: • Internal Fuel Tank • Dual-start Engine • Folding Prop High Performance Exhaust now Standard

Dealers across America & Canada

www.mosquitoamerica.com Traverse City Hang Gliders/Paragliders Bill Fifer • Traverse City, MI 231-922-2844 phone/fax • tchangglider@chartermi.net Pilot: Paul Farina Photo: Greg Dewenter

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

Swingers

by Andy Pag

The Who, What, Where, and Why of Flying Acro 18

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

ight after I landed from my first solo flight, I looked up to see another pilot swinging left and right, performing lovely smooth wingovers. Far from appreciating the grace and smoothness of his maneuvers, I thought…what an idiot! I was happy to be able to touch down without hurting myself. Why would I want to provoke fate by swinging around like an orangutan, 1000s of feet over the hard, deadly ground? I vowed then that if the sky gods kept me safe in the air, I wouldn’t tease them by wasting my altitude with any spirals, dives, or flippy mists. But lately I haven’t been true to my side of the bargain. Every time I find myself high over the landing field, I can’t help bleed off the altitude by “playing.” I recently “clicked” with wingovers and love the sense of engagement with the air and the wing they give me, even though it still makes me uneasy when I look up at the wing and see the ground behind it. Wingovers are a great way to master pitch, roll and yaw control of your

glider, but practicing them has given me a window into what attracts pilots to spend hours working on acro moves. So this month I tracked down a trio of pilots who like to swing and asked them if they thought I could make it as an acro pilot.

Who

My desire to stir up my adrenal glands ranks alongside my enthusiasm for cleaning the bathroom. Surely without a healthy appetite for setting my own heart racing, I’m going to be at a disadvantage when learning to helicopter (helico) through the great blue. As usual, I started by asking them— in the hope of discovering who makes a good acro pilot—about the character traits they rely on when flying. Anthony Green, one-half of the Acro Twins, has built a reputation for creative acro stunts, famously launching from the turret of a Spanish castle. “Acro pilots need to have the balls to do acro and the common sense to stay alive,” says Green. “The best acro pilots have a good combination of these traits;

www.flymaster-usa.com

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

obviously, the more crazy the pilot, the more responsible he has to be.” Nova Dasalla, the USA’s top acro pilot, was the first in the States to pull off an infinity loop. Dasalla thinks that acro appeals to a cross-section of pilots. “There are so many pilots who just try it and get some excitement. But very few have the desire, dedication, time, and resources to really get to the world-class level and compete internationally.” My third expert, Gavin McClurg, is an up-and-coming pilot who caught the acro bug and has been training at every opportunity ever since. “When I got into flying, I never thought I’d be interested in learning acro. But after my first SIV and first taste of basic acro, I was hooked. “I think there’s a huge contingent of pilots to whom acro appeals, wider than one would think. Certainly being an ‘adrenaline junky’ is part of it, but I’ve seen a lot of acro pilots who really aren’t adrenaline junkies, nor are they super athletic. Some are big ego daredevils, but in flying that ego is going to get anyone into trouble. “The people who excel,” Gavin continues, “love the g-force, love the thrill, and, most importantly, understand the dynamics and have quick reflexes. More than anything else, they have to love acro, because they have to

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

practice a lot, even if they are amazingly talented. “Not everyone can learn to tumble, but I think anyone can learn some acro. In fact, I would say if you can’t, then you should think twice about XC, which only leaves ridge soaring, the so called ‘third discipline’ of paragliding.”

When

I’ve been flying for three years, but I only felt confident to work up to bigger wingovers after I did my first SIV course. This is a common catalyst in a pilot’s progression when his/her attention turns to acro. While performing acro, Dasalla had a debilitating accident that left him struggling to walk. His fight back to full health is an inspiring story; he has no regrets about the path he’s taken. “I knew I was going to do acro the first time I saw the scene of the acro competition in Never Ending Thermal in 2005. I knew then that my whole reason for flying was to eventually be at the highest levels of acro paragliding and compete internationally. Within my first year of paragliding, I was taking SIV courses and, soon after, learning some basic acro tricks.” Anthony Green and his twin brother, Tim, also had an early calling to start doing acro maneuvers. “We did an SIV course three months after we started

flying, then moved onto ‘real’ acro, with a little less than a year of flying experience. It just seemed like the natural progression towards becoming better pilots.” Many acro advocates say the time spent perfecting maneuvers improves their piloting skills, making them safer in the air. “I started thinking about acro during my first SIV,” says McClurg. “It was my first summer of real flying, in 2006. Chris Santacroce called me up to do some ‘bro-towing’ on the Columbia River. On my first tow, Chris hooked me up, gave me no brief, and I launched! After I did a bunch of maneuvers, Chris called on the radio and said ‘Hey, listen! The cops are at the landing now, so find somewhere else to land. I’ll come pick you up and we’ll head up river.’ I was hooked. On those initial flights I was working on maneuvers that aren’t even considered acro. The core guys don’t consider an SAT real acro as it’s so easy, but it’s so much fun that it counts to me.”

What

These guys all knew from early on in their flying careers that they wanted to do acro, so I’m already playing catch up. What moves should I work on to start? “I think the most important maneuver to learn is the full stall,” says

Dasalla. “This will, in most cases, get pilots out of trouble if a trick goes bad, as long as they’ve got the height, of course. A pilot should be able to do this a hundred times without incident, before seriously considering doing acro. From there, I think flyback tailslide with no deflations, asymmetrical spiral, wingovers, and the SAT are appropriate maneuvers to start learning.” Green believes: “Asymmetric spirals are the best trick to learn first. Wingovers are, in my book, the most dangerous, because pilots believe they are easy and then allow themselves to get out of control, causing very large deflations, from cravats to crashes. Asymmetric spirals are basically wingovers in the same direction every time; they are the ultimate building block for all acro, since asymmetric SAT, tumble, misty flip and dynamic full stall, can all be done out of an asymmetric spiral. After I have really good asymmetric spirals under my belt, I move on to SATs, then tail slides, wingovers, loops, asymmetric SATs, helicopters, and so on. You will naturally invent interesting transitions along the way for all the maneuvers.” McClurg agrees that wingovers can be risky. “Wingovers are insidious and are highly dangerous if done incorrectly. But they are definitely the foundation of acro, because to do them well, you have to get a lot of things right. It takes practice, coordination, an understanding of the wing’s dynamics, and timing. A bad wingover sends you right into the canopy, or could easily cascade into a reserve toss. “Beginners’ gliders are designed to collapse when they pitch forward between 45° and 90°. This prevents the pilot from being thrown into the fabric and ‘gift-wrapped.’ But when the wing is arced over one side, as it is in a wingover, you can’t rely on those dynamics. Acro gliders are designed in such a way that they keep accelerating

Host your own

USHPA ACCREDITED EVENT

(ACE)

Go to www.USHPA.aero or call 1-800-616-6888 •

Training Events and Demos

•

Spot Landing Contests

•

Friendly Competitions

•

Fly-Ins and Cook-Outs

•

Community Awareness

Enjoy full coverage event insurance, branding opportunities, access to free online and print advertising, organizational and support tools, community involvement, increased local support and participation.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

as they pitch forward to maintain the energy needed to tumble and roll from one maneuver to another. “An open secret about pulling off great wingovers is that it’s easier if you are heavy on the wing, and I found a great way to learn the timing required is to experience it as a tandem passenger.” McClurg recommends being comfortable with full stalls before working your way through this list: Spiral dive Wingovers Asymmetric spirals Spin Fly Back (tail slide) Deep stall SAT SAT without supports Loops Asymmetric SAT (aka dynamic SAT) Dynamic full stall

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

“Then,” he says, “comes helicopters, mac twist, misty flip, rhythmic SAT, infinite tumbling. But before you even broach these later moves, you should be able to sequence all of the above, one after another, in various combinations in perfect form and full control.”

Where

So I have my checklist, and I’m already a couple of rungs up the ladder. Where is the best place to practice? Acro flights use up altitude like a Dodge Ram guzzles gas, so how do you get the airtime to build up proficiency? McClurg brings up a few safety considerations. “Great coaching and great videos are available. If you care about your body, you should play it safe and not try to teach yourself. People should never, ever learn new acro moves over the dirt. It’s just too dangerous. Do it over water with an instructor in your

ear, preferably with video, so you can watch your moves back each night and learn more. “Probably the most famous place on earth for acro is a site called Organya in Spain, because you can quickly thermal back up after each run. But it’s over the dirt, and people get hurt and sometimes killed there, too.” Dasalla also is a firm believer in learning over water. “I think the safest, but not necessarily the most ideal, way to train and learn in the US would be towing over a lake, as you’d typically get 2000-3000 feet in altitude. But while it’s the safest, it’s one of the most expensive. The ideal would be to train at a place that offers re-fills, altitude, and water. There’s only one place in the US where you can find that, and it happens to be my chosen training and vacation spot— Makapu’u in Hawaii.” “I never try a new trick over the dirt,”

confirms Green. “Find a cheap place to get lots of altitude over the water. My favorite spot is Lake Garda, in Italy, since it is only €20 (~$30) a day for unlimited cable-car trips up to a 1400m (4600’) high take-off. When you find a place like this, you will notice that the number of flights you can take in a day is restricted by the mental overload of flying acro, but your capacity quickly strengthens, just as it does when you’re building up a muscle.”

Why

So now I know what I should be learning, and where I can practice. But I’m still hesitant. I’m left wondering why these guys do it. “Why do the sport at all?” replies Green. “Acro pilots do acro for the same reason we all fly; it is fun. Acro also helps your glider-control skills, making XC flying much safer. If we always practice in a controlled environment with good equipment, I believe acro is safer than XC flying. We have never had a death in an acro competition. I wish we could say the same for XC comps. I personally have never had a serious accident and have only thrown my reserve parachute once.” McClurg smiles. “It’s just crazy fun. And the truth is, acro pilots definitely have the best control of their wings, which makes them much safer and more capable in the air. This is why some of the best XC pilots have a firm foundation in acro. But the main upside is that it’s seriously good fun.” When I ask Dasalla why he loves acro, he quotes big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton. “‘ It’s for those searching for something more than the norm. We lay it all down, including what others call sanity, for just a few moments on waves larger than life. We do this because we know there is still something greater than all of us. Something that inspires us spiritually. We start going downhill, when we stop taking risks.’”

Solairus

Light Soaring Trike

ATF

Light Soaring Trike

Climb to cloudbase shut down engine and soar!

HANG GLIDERS  ULTRALIGHT TRIKES & WINGS ultrikes@northwing.com 509.886.4605

RAT RACE

Inside, Outside & Sideways

by Julie Spiegler 24

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

at Race, a paragliding competition organized and run by Mike and Gail Haley at Woodrat Mountain in Oregon, is geared towards training and education. First held in 2003, the format has been changed over the past 10 years, either by altering the competition’s length, time of year, or level of competition and task calling. More recently, it evolved into two separate meets: the Rat Race, designated as the US Nationals in 2012, and the Rat Race Sprint, a smallertask race resembling the original Rat Race. This resulted in a great event both for the nation’s top competitors and those newer to competition, with tailored task calling and pilot safety being taken into account. You can participate at Rat Race in many different ways: You can compete (and wait in the hot sun in long lines to fly in giant gaggles), volunteer (and help out at HQ and on launch), or you can wind tech plus volunteer (and, after helping, get rides to launch, along with lots of other benefits). I’ve been at Rat Race in all three capacities and want to encourage anyone interested in improving his/her flying, learning about competitions,

or getting immersed in paragliding experiences to come check out Rat Race. And if you’re not already a hardcore competitor or ready to try your hand at the strange new world of competition paragliding, then you should seriously consider coming to Rat Race as a volunteer. I first went to Rat Race in 2007 as a competitor; my husband, Gever, and I competed tandem. However, we weren’t serious competitors. We wanted to experience a competition, but actually were just flying to have fun and learn what we could. We confirmed our suspicions that we weren’t cut out for competition, but appreciated the mentoring and other educational opportunities available at Rat Race. OPPOSITE Michele McCullough writes up the Consequently, I decided to go back Sprint task for the day | in 2008 as a full-time volunteer. I was photo by Gever Tulley. LEFT able to help out Gail (although due to Competitors clearly mark the an injury, I was pretty much grounded one thermal out front while that year), learned a lot about Rat Race waiting for the start | photo by Julie Spiegler. from an “insider’s” perspective, and took advantage of the mentoring and other learning opportunities provided. I kept going back: In 2009 and 2010, I volunteered and flew as a wind tech each day. In 2011, I volunteered, then chased after the Sprint pilots each day. At the end of the week that year I made goal—my first time out of the Applegate Valley. After 22 years of flying, I discovered I liked going crosscountry and thought I’d be able to go farther if I flew alongside the Sprint pilots, instead of chasing after them. So in 2012, I flew Rat Sprint as a competitor. (Of course, plenty of people have shown that you can fly as a wind

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

tech and still make goal. Dave and Jug launch early and just stay up—through the wind-tech window, through the launch window, and then blend in along the course. However, it helps that they’ve flown competitions before.) Perspective of a Competitor Going to a competition means flying with support; basically, you show up and fly. Everything ABOVE Competitors queue else is taken care of: weather reports, up to launch; top pilots can rides to launch, food (daily lunches and “push” to the front of the organized dinners), launch assistance line | photo by Julie Spiegler. (wing setup and safety checks) and OPPOSITE TOP A rowdy leeside thermal resulted in a retrieves (and rescue when needed). riser twist while low, followed There is also task calling (telling you by a clean reserve deployment where to fly) and scorekeeping. Every and a safe touchdown next day is highly structured and follows to a tree | photo by Henriette the same routine: Pilot meeting in the Howett. BOTTOM Pilots scribble down the details of morning, bus to launch, unpack and the day’s task, so it can be prepare gear, wait for the task, learn task, transcribed to their GPS, backup make preparations for flight, launch, fly, GPS, flight deck or phone app | return to HQ, get scored. And do it all photo by Julie Spiegler. again the next day.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

However, competitions offer challenges as well as support. In addition to the highly structured days and daily flying, you’re told exactly where to fly (via the waypoints and goal) and when to start flying (during a specific launch window); you’re subject to a lot of pressure on launch (everyone is trying to launch into the same perfect window); you’re told which way to turn when you’re in the vicinity of the start, and you’re up in the air with a lot of pilots. It can be crowded, especially at the start. The first day of my 2007 Rat Race competition experience, there was a minor mid-air collision at the top of the gaggle, causing one of the pilots to throw his reserve and come down through the entire gaggle, landing unharmed in the trees. This incident didn’t inspire us to rush out and join a gaggle with 100 other pilots. Competition flying comes with additional risks. Some of the less serious ones are boredom from waiting on launch and sunburn (there is almost no shade on launch at Woodrat). Some of the less obvious risks are changing weather conditions and being pushed beyond your personal comfort levels. Competition paragliders fly fast, so acceptable wind speeds are high, relative to most recreational free flying. In order to complete big

tasks, you often need big conditions, so launch cycles can be strong. And since you’re going cross-country, you may face challenging landings. Of course, flying close in gaggles or in strong conditions also increases the risk of throwing your reserve, and flying cross-country often increases your risk of landing in a tree, depending on the remote LZ options along a particular route. Competition flying also has its rewards. They include making goal, learning from experienced pilots (Rat Race matches newer pilots with experienced mentors for flying strategies and task review), and awards. Rat Race gives daily recognition of personal bests and notable flights with plenty of giveaways, trophies for top finishers overall, and national rankings, since the Race is sanctioned.

creating websites, cleaning the HQ, preparing snacks and meals, registering pilots, doing radio checks, filling water jugs and ice chests, collecting tickets at dinner, washing windshields, coordinating volunteers, providing live Internet coverage of the event, flipping burgers, and, ultimately, doing whatever the organizers/directors need. Whatever your skills and schedule, there is a job for you!

Perspective of a Volunteer Competition flying is fine and good, but I want to encourage people to volunteer. Competitions couldn’t exist without volunteers, since it’s they who provide essential support required for competitors. The chores that need to be done are seemingly endless: launching assistance, driving retrieve, making lunches, dealing with trash,

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

My biggest reward for volunteering was giving support to the Rat Race. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an excellent educational event. After I attended that first year, I was inspired to do what I could to help make it happen for others. Some additional reasons to volunteer at Rat Race: - Appreciation from the pilots - Tandem flights for non-pilots - Schwag - Free food and drink (Gail treats her dedicated volun-

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

teers right!) - An insider perspective of a competition - Pool access (especially after cleaning and before the overheated competitors return :-) - Time (and energy) for glass-off flights Plus, as a volunteer you get access to all of the competition non-flying benefitsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in particular, the nightly mentoring lectures, conversations with the top comp pilots, and access to social events.

Perspective of Wind Tech+ Volunteer Pilots who aren’t ready or interested in competing can get the best of both worlds by volunteering and flying as a wind tech. After my shoulder healed, I did this for three subsequent years, before I decided I was ready to try my hand at competing solo in 2012. When you are a wind tech volunteer, there is no registration fee, as long as you fulfill your agreed-upon commitment. As a volunteer, you have access to all of the comp’s

non-flying benefits, while supporting this great training event. As a wind tech, you also get access to many of the comp’s flying benefits. You can load the waypoints on your GPS, practice creating daily tasks, and set goals for each day’s flight. You get rides to launch, retrieves, and lunches. You have access TOP Left to Right : Meet director Mike Haley calls to all the mentoring, pilot meetings, competitors to the pilot maps, GPS and first aid classes, etc. meeting. | photo by Gever But since you’re not actually commitTulley. Volunteers have ted to the highly structured competitor the pool to themselves schedule, you get free time. You don’t mid-day | photo by Robyn Orr. Launch has virtually no have to fly every day or go to pilot meetshade, so some pilots bring ings; you won’t be waiting on launch, their own | photo by Julie since you launch before all the competiSpiegler. BOTTOM LEFT tors; you are free to pick your own goal In order to keep launches (my favorite is always Longsword, with flowing smoothly, an army of volunteers help get wings its free glass of wine); you’ll have energy set up and lines cleared. to fly glass-off, when the competitors BOTTOM Right Cycles are usually too tired to get there; you can be strong, resulting in have time to watch and photograph the challenging conditions for competition launch scene, even after a competitors on launch. Photos flight, if you go early enough. by Julie Spiegler.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

If you’re a new pilot, you can launch early (morning) and late (evening) and then learn a ton about paragliding all day in between. If you’re a more experienced pilot, you can learn a lot by flying the same site day after day and observing how the changes in weather affect it, practice working the terrain, and practice thermaling in small gaggles with other wind techs before the competitors fill the sky. Just taking the challenge of trying to fly the first one or two waypoints of the task provides a huge amount of valuable information to the comp organizers and gives you practice RIGHT Mike and Gail in using your GPS to follow a task. recognize the work of the (Then, if you’re like me, you program in volunteers, sometimes with Longsword as goal!) giant glass trophy vases | photo In exchange for access to the air and by Gever Tulley. OPPOSITE There are usually a few tandem flying support benefits given to a wind pilots around who are willing tech, you have to accept additional to take volunteers for a flight | responsibilities. You must be available photo by Robyn Orr. to launch on request (possibly earlier than you want to launch, although this is rare, and there are retrieves for the first wind techs who sink out). You might be asked by the task committee to provide an evaluation of conditions; you might even be asked to fly to a particular location to check it out. You’re potentially highly visible: If conditions are questionable, all eyes will be on you. If some pilots are bored, and you do something “interesting,” you might have a large audience. And all those pilots on launch will definitely have an opinion about your launch and how you’re flying (if they happen to notice). Mentoring is a vital component of the Rat Race. It’s what sets this comp apart and makes it educational and supportive of new competitors. The pilot leading a particular session may change, but he/she is always a seasoned competitor, selected by the organizers for their expertise and willingness to share information. Past

ALL OF THE GREAT BENEFITS OFFERED AT RAT RACE FOR VOLUNTEERS AS WELL AS COMPETITORS: First-aid class with CPR certification (only cost is for the certificate) GPS training class (with lots of people who have the same GPS as you) Nightly mentoring sessions Camaraderie with literally hundreds of paraglider pilots Daily weather information Analysis of the task, day, and flights Access to the top US paragliding pilots Social gatherings

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

mentoring sessions have been led by Len Szafaryn, Jeff Farrell, Bill Belcourt, Rob Sporrer, Bill Hughes, and Chris Galli, among others. Mentoring sessions cover topics such as gaggle flying and race start strategies, competition tips and tricks, using your speedbar (your most important tool), and optimizing cylinders and turn points. If you choose to fly at Rat Race, you’ll face the same risks as at any other time you fly. But the nature of competition requires that you challenge yourself, sometimes at levels set by others, which can increase risk. As a volunteer or wind tech, you will more likely be choosing your own flying adventure. But be mindful that

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

competitions provide a different sort of flying context, sometimes increasing for anyone the chance of a reserve toss, tree landing or trip to the hospital. I think of it as two sides of the comp flying coin. See the table below. You need to weigh the pros and cons of flying in a comp. My first experience with competition flying confirmed that it wasn’t for me, although I did learn that I love my GPS’s happy “waypoint reached” noise! And after five years at Rat Race, I discovered that I actually like flying cross-country. Participating RIGHT When she’s not in Rat Race—whether as a competitor, bringing happy pilots back to volunteer, or wind tech—is a great way HQ (“One hand on the wheel, to learn more about yourself. one on the radio, one eye for I hope you will check out Rat Race the road and one for the map!”), Raven pitches in baking 500 and decide how you can participate. servings of dessert! | photo Regardless of what you choose to do, I by Gail Haley. OPPOSITE recommend that you: Without the hectic pace of - Determine your personal goals competition, volunteers and ahead of time, before peer pressure sets wind techs can relax on launch | photo by Julie Spiegler. them for you. - Be aware of your comfort level and personal limits and decide how far you want to push them. - List your goals and limits. - Have fun!

Everyone’s Rat Race experience is a little different. Volunteering is the first step that leads some individuals on a path towards competing. Others find satisfaction in participating as a volunteer. Rat Race has so much to offer. There really is something for everyone. As we were driving home after the 2012 Rat Race, Gever couldn’t stop talking about his ideas for better live coverage over the Internet for next year. And I was thinking that if I get better organized, I will be able to volunteer AND compete next year. I hope we’ll see you there!

PRO

CON

Supportive context for pushing your limits

Increased likelihood of incident on launch or in-air event

Race course provides challenges you might otherwise not encounter

Increased likelihood of tossing your reserve or landing in a tree

Air/course marked by other pilots

Conditions and launch window chosen by others

Happy waypoint feedback; structured challenges

Peer pressure to perform

Satisfaction of achieving goal(s)

Increased frustration if performance “falls short”

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

PHOTO BY NADER COURI

BRAZIL 34

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

Flying Accidents and Psychological

First Aid

by Patrick McGuinness

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

fter a beautiful flight, you approach an LZ you’ve used in the past. You don’t remember some bushes or small trees you see there, but otherwise the landing seems pretty straightforward. You pick up speed for your final approach, and, as you round out, you feel a strong gust. Your right wing begins to lift, but there’s no time to adjust, and suddenly… a sharp pain in your arm wakes you up. You’re lying in a bed in a hospital room, groggy, experiencing extreme pain in your arm. You try to move but find you are somehow restrained and suspended. Two medical professionals introduce themselves and explain the situation: “You’ve had a concussion,” they tell you, “and a very bad break. We need to get you into surgery.” A strong visceral sensation accompanied by a feeling of dread sinks in as you begin to realize the severity of your situation. Several more excruciating hours of pain ensue. Eventually, you’re discharged and sent home with a bottle of pain pills and a packet of aftercare instructions on head injuries. After a few days of sleep, the pain subsides, and you start to talk about the accident. You

begin to remember what happened. Your friends help you piece together the events of the day in chronological order.

crash like the one above will have an impact on your thoughts and feelings, and in some cases, on your mental health. Anxiety resulting from a traumatic experience can take several forms. When responding to a pilot who has been in an accident, you need to remember that they may be psychologically overwhelmed. How can we best help someone reduce and utimately recover from anxiety after an accident? Adopt a non-judgmental approach, process the incident, actively learn from it, and move forward with greater wisdom. If you’ve been in a serious hang gliding accident, you’ve probably suffered more than just physical pain. While some pilots return to the sport with a matured attitude, others come back feeling shaky or never return to the sport they once loved. No protocol has been devised for how to recover mentally from a bad accident and, as a result, many suffer unnecessary psychological

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

“Don’t damage yourself further with negative selfevaluation related to the accident. Only one type of information is helpful in putting the pieces back together: the facts.” damage. The following guidelines will help if either you or a fellow pilot is involved in an accident. Psychological Injury You might experience a number of stress reactions immediately following a significant accident. Psychological injuries of this type fall into three basic categories: blocking or mentally avoiding the thought of it, replaying the memory involuntarily with increasing intensity, and, finally, getting overly aroused or over-reacting. Both intense emotions and blocking of emotions may constitute reactions to an accident. A pilot might be unusually anxious or fearful at certain times when flying or become controlling and angry in an effort to cope with fear. He may also become apathetic or noticeably unemotional. Many learn to “tune out” anything that reminds them of the event. Pilots demonstrating this coping mechanism might have nightmares or become suddenly upset by memories of the incident, or something that arouses vivid feelings and sensations. Psychological First Aid: ACT In responding to an injured pilot, consider the person when you are helping him debrief. A pilot’s emotional response depends on a number of factors, including the severity of the accident, other traumatic events in the pilot’s past, and resiliency. Remember that while his behaviors might seem unusual, they are probably normal reactions to an abnormal event. Even bystanders and first responders can be shaken by what they’ve seen. For most, the emotional experiences will disappear in a relatively short period of time. What is most crucial in the first day or two after an

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

accident is how the individual interprets the event. A reaction such as, “I’m glad I’m alive,” reflects some inner resilience. Another pilot might react to the same incident by saying, “I can’t trust my own judgment.” The acronym ACT will help you remember how to respond. Acknowledge that the incident happened along with its outcome. Have Compassion and understanding, without judging the person or how they’re feeling. Then, Transition them into thinking about the immediate future. Depending on the scope of the accident, the pilot may have to make decisions about everything, from how to get back home to logistical concerns about gear. These decisions can be difficult to make for someone who is overwhelmed. Letting them fend for themselves or, conversely, trying to control the decisions they make can be counterproductive. Helping them problem-solve and develop options and solutions to these matters will restore a sense of control. Mental Processing Mental processing requires that you explore all the reactions you need to work through the experience. This means not only recalling the sequence of events and the decisions you made but also the emotions and the physical sensations associated with them. People tend to run into difficulty when they avoid dealing with strong emotions. For some, the accident will lead to remembering traumatic events from earlier in the past. Rather than avoiding uncomfortable emotions, allow yourself to feel them without judging them. This will help you move on and have less anxiety in the future. Interpreting the Experience Don’t damage yourself further with negative selfevaluation related to the accident. Only one type of information is helpful in putting the pieces back together: the facts. When recovering psychologically from an accident, it’s important to differentiate what happened from what it means about you as a person. For example, “I flared too late” is a fact. “I’m such an idiot” is the meaning we attach to it. An exceptional hang gliding student with a background in general aviation, good judgment and respect for proper technique and safety had a bad landing on the training hill. The classic, “Whack!” was not easily shaken off. His lack of experience with bad landings heightened the perceived risk of this accident. The pilot decreased his activity in the sport, and, when he returned, he was noticeably anxious about his perfor-

mance as a pilot. Consequently, his anxiety inhibited his ability to continue learning. Reconstruct the Event As you review the accident, be formal in your problem solving—stick to the facts instead of making assumptions about what happened. It’s common to short-cut problem solving by not considering all the options during the brainstorming phase. A few new facts brought to light can lead to a quick and convincing explanation. However, this may not be the best explanation. It’s important to reconstruct the accident by laying out all of the facts, including pictures, video and accounts of bystanders, as well as developing questions as to what went wrong, to see what holds up as evidence. When problem solving, be sure to consider all possible explanations before drawing conclusions. Fight the human tendency to favor information that comes from people you like or are friendly with and reject the advice of those you don’t. How you feel about them has little to do with how pertinent their information is. If there’s valuable information in what they say, take it and apply it. The point is to learn from your mistakes in order to safeguard against them in the future. Develop a Plan Once you understand what actually happened, learn from your mistakes and develop a plan to build skills to prevent the same type of accident from happening again. Next, re-examine your overall approach to assessing risk in all aspects of your flying. Focus on bolstering your resilience to the negative aspects of the experience and learning from your mistakes. Resilience is anything that helps you bounce back from the demoralizing impact of the trauma. The best way to rebuild your confidence is to practice self-compassion and maintain a nonjudgmental understanding of how you will move forward with the sport of flying. How to handle criticism First, consider adopting a non-defensive approach. If you have an accident, you will receive a range of responses from family, friends, and fellow pilots. Some will be thoughtful and caring, while others may be judgmental and even antagonistic. Hang gliding and paragliding are such involved pursuits that they become part of your identity. Therefore, when someone criticizes your flying, it can feel as if he’s attacking you as a person. When you have a mishap, the tendency is to

“The goal of recovering from an accident is to learn from the experience in a way that makes you wiser and helps you have better judgment.” defend yourself, withdraw, or lash back. Try instead to notice self-judgment and let go of anger and fear of judgment. Learn and Let Go The goal of recovering from an accident is to learn from the experience in a way that makes you wiser and helps you have better judgment. This is much different from having symptoms of anxiety, which cause you to overcorrect or underreact. You also need to seek the support and advice of pilots whom you respect for their good judgment and skill in dealing with others. In discussing his concerns and revealing his negative self-evaluation, the student pilot mentioned above was able to “let go” of some self-doubt. Instructors and more experienced pilots were able to recount similar personal experiences, which made his reactions feel more “normal.” Flying accidents are traumatic experiences that can lead to anxiety and emotional responses. In most cases, these will go away within a day or so. They are normal responses to an overwhelming experience. When responding to a pilot who has been in an accident, remember he/she is human and probably overwhelmed, depending on the scope of the accident. Being sensitive and helping the pilot problem-solve to meet his or her immediate needs is what’s required of you. If you’re the one who crashed, remember to separate facts from meaning and suspend self-blame and judgment. Focus instead on problem solving, correcting the problem and reassessing your overall approach to flying safely. Patrick McGuinness is an H4 instructor with a masters degree in applied psychology. His company, Mountain View Performance Coaching, offers on-line life coaching, business coaching and mental skills seminars and workshops. www. MountainViewPerformanceCoaching.com

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

LOG BOOK:

COLORADO by Alex McCulloch

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

Wolcott Launch

s human beings we weave a web of expectations of what today, tomorrow, and the next day will be like. Then once in a blue moon, life reminds us that our expectations are just that: a fragile web shattered by some turn of events that we had no clue was coming. Flying is no different. It shatters expectations and administers equal doses of joy and humility. Maybe thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why we like it so much? In September of last year, I found myself waking up to just such a day. Our dog Diogee had an alarming cough. My wife took him to the vet, but the results were inconclusive. They suggested he rest for a day or two and see if it got better. She was going to be home for most of the day, so I headed to the high country for some crisp fall mountain air. Flying in Colorado is work, the drives are long, the air is thin, and the conditions can be inconsistent. The rewards are worth the sacrifice with spectacular scenery, altitudes that make flat-landers shudder, and this particular week aspens that were just shy of peak fall colors. My Wills Wing T2C and flying skills were fresh from the Santa Cruz Flats Race, I was confident that a little work would be rewarded. The Wolcott launch is located on an 8900â&#x20AC;&#x2122; ridge between Vail and Eagle. On launch the thermal cycles were light and inconsistent. I picked a bad cycle and found myself groveling so low that I thought I was going to be landing for sure. I kept the disappointment of driving three hours for five minutes of flying at bay and focused on getting up. Finally, after what felt like an eternity I latched on to 50fpm lift over a rocky fin south of launch and clawed my way back into the sky. From there I surfed light ridge lift north along the ridge so low that it felt like my feet were dragging in the trees. The aspens below were ablaze in the brilliant colors of fall. The view

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

The Gore Range from 17,000'

of the yellow trees framed by distant snow-capped peaks was quintessential Colorado flying. After making a few laps in light ridge lift I caught a real climb to 16,000 feet. I had no expectation of going XC that day, but at 16,000 feet I realized I had been granted an opportunity. I choose to take advantage of it by venturing downwind into the mountains north of Vail. Like life, so much of hang gliding is like that. A safe, but significant, tailwind combined with the energy machine that is the Wills Wing T2C gave me an impressive ground speed. North of Vail the landing options were scarce, but my high altitude offered several alternatives. When I reached the Gore Range I was at a crossroads. The Gore Range is a formidable barrier to any eastern route from Wolcott. It is one of the most rugged mountain ranges in Colorado, filled with steep peaks, unlandable designated wilderness areas, and the headwaters of the Colorado River. I had the choice to commit and cross it or dive out into the valley. If I committed and things didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work out I could bail out to a soccer field at the bottom of Vail Pass. Physically, it was a great LZ, but I knew it would be unfriendly territory if I landed there. If I could just make it to the divide of the main range, there were more LZâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in next valley. I put my head down and pressed on. I dabbled along at 15,000 feet in broken lift, drifting downwind above the peaks. Over Red Peak I spotted two bald eagles circling. They welcomed me graciously in their thermal and the three of us climbed to 17,500 feet. I had no idea bald eagles went that high! As I topped out, I felt like the world was at my fingertips. The tailwind had increased significantly which gave me the glide to cross the valley north of Silverthorne and get up on the Continental Divide. If I could do that,

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

Tenmile Peak

landing at the LZ in Golden was just a few climbs away. It would be the stuff of legend—at least in my mind. As I pondered pressing on, I couldn’t shake the sound of Diogee coughing that morning. The day had rewarded me with several unexpected opportunities and I didn’t want to be greedy. I had a potentially sick dog at home that my wife might need help with. If I landed out it would be hours of retrieve. It was agonizing; but today I would not be crossing the Continental Divide. I broke hard right out of my 60mph (ground speed) glide and headed upwind. Copper Mountain Resort seemed like a good landing option. It was only 10 miles upwind, which from my altitude I could easily make on glide. I could land on the golf course and walk to I-70 for an easy retrieve. On the way I dragged my feet on the peaks of the Northern Collegiate Range in Breckenridge Resort and made a pass over the top of the J-bar lift at Copper. That set me up for a perfect speed glide down the big ski runs below the Super Bee lift. After a few celebratory wingovers I stuck a perfect spot landing on the golf course. I was nervous about the surface winds in the confluence of the threeway valley, but no katabatic drainage had set up yet. I decided to throw my drogue and make a conservative landing just in case. I made it home just in time to discover Diogee’s condition was more dire than a cough. My wife and I spent all night in the animal hospital and he left this world in our arms the next day. It was a rare form of brain cancer that the vet considered un-diagnosable. My comfortable web of expectations was shattered. The paradox of the highs of that day and the lows of that evening were stark. I couldn’t help but think there was a lesson in both. That day I was rewarded with a fantastic Colorado flying experience. Best not take it for granted.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

Avalanche Chutes, Tenmile Range HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

HANG GLIDING

by Dennis Pagen

FINISHING SCHOOL

PART XIV: MORE LEARNING TO THERMAL Last month was our thermal inauguration. We discussed the basics for starting a career of getting high. This month, without any further ado, we look at some more wrinkles and nuances in the thermal experience.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION Let’s cut to the chase: When pursuing thermals, some early philosopher said: “Thermals are where you find them.” That guy wasn’t over-massaging the philosopher stone; he was expressing the true nature of things. Thermals are somewhat elusive and unpredictable, so the first quality that makes for a better thermal pilot is to be ready to hit a thermal at any time and place, and be able to quickly wrap up in it when you do hit it. Be prepared and always on the hunt like a ravenous shark. Philosophy aside, there are ways to maximize your chances of encountering a thermal. As we mentioned last month, there are “house thermals” that exist at certain places. These places are where a good heating source occurs, along with perhaps a terrain feature that channels the thermal. For example, where I fly there are several quarries along the ridge, and these quarries tend to pump out the most thermals and the longest-lasting thermals. It behooves all pilots to find out the location of

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

local house thermals. Do that by the simple method of asking experienced pilots in the area. If they don’t tell you, they must have some combination of egomaniacal-insecurity-cryptomania syndrome, or maybe they just don’t know. Sometimes there isn’t a reliable go-to thermal area, but inquiring minds always inquire. And often improve their lot. Other well-known thermal generation areas are those that heat up well in the sun. You’ve probably heard about this already. There are some nuances such as dry ground is better than moist ground; rocks take longer to heat up than dirt surfaces; tall dry crops create more heated air than low crops, etc. (For much more on the subject of finding thermals and thermal sources, look in Chapter 5 of Performance Flying.) A second factor when exploring for thermals is to look where features of the terrain will help the thermal trigger off. For example, a hill, a tree line, the edge of a lake, etc. may give the warm surface air a little boost to help it start buoying upward. The most common place we find a thermal is along the top of a mountain or ridge. The thermals normally track up the ridge and release from the top edge. These matters are also discussed in the above-mentioned book.

Next, we have to mention clouds. Cumulus clouds indicate where a thermal is (or has been) feeding. If you are high enough to place yourself somewhere below this cloud, your chances of finding a thermal are quite high. When you are ridge soaring, the most thermal-productive strategy is to go along the ridge and hang out where cumi clouds are drifting above, even if that area is in shadow. Finally, we must mention birds and other gliders. These flying co-pilots are the best sign of a thermal, bar none. If you see them turning, go to them to up your chances of a thermal encounter to almost 100%. And yes, you guessed it, these matters are also discussed in the book. As a summary, you find thermals above heated areas, above trigger areas, above high points or ridge lines, under cumulus clouds and right close to birds or other gliders. Find them and enjoy the ride. All that being said, we must go back to our original statement: Thermals are where you find them—and when. Sometimes you get surprised. We went flying recently in a 100% overcast. We expected only a bit of floating in ridge lift, but to our surprise thermals were abundant and we climbed up to 300 feet per minute. On a couple of

occasions I was still climbing at 2300 feet over, but pulled out of the thermal because it was turning into cloud suck. Getting sucked up into a benign cumulus is one thing, but getting sucked up into a stratus layer spread as far as the eye can see is way up there on the no-fun list. (We deal with cloud suck next month.)

GETTING ESTABLISHED You may have heard the rule to count three seconds—one potato, two Mississippi, three hippopotamus— when you encounter lift before beginning your turn. Let’s briefly look at the numbers. Assuming your glider has a 20mph normal stall speed, a 20-degree banked 360 will take a bit over 16 seconds to complete with a diameter of 157 feet. A 30-degree banked 360 will take 10.7 seconds to complete with a diameter of 107.6 feet. Flying

with a bit of speed over stall—say 22 mph—means you will cover about 97 feet flying straight ahead, so the three-second wait will mean the lift area is just big enough for you to circle in at a 30 degree bank and remain in its lift. But most beginners do not use a 30-degree bank, so an even wider lift area will be needed—perhaps four seconds of straight-ahead lift. For a beginning thermal pilot this counting method works to help you get the feel for timing and thermal size. Most experienced pilots do not count, and if they did would not necessarily wait for three seconds to begin turning, especially in areas or times of day when the thermals are smaller. Probably two seconds is the norm. The reason for this is that more experienced pilots use steeper bank angles and we don’t necessarily hit the thermal dead center. If the thermal is off to our side a

bit we may only have a little piece of it and waiting too long makes us miss it. Figure 1 helps picture this matter. If you encounter a thermal off to the side, usually your wing will lift on the same side as the thermal. So we always turn toward the lifted wing. That is a basic rule of thermaling effectively and efficiently. Perhaps you have heard of the thermal “core.” The core is the center of the thermal, which typically has the strongest lift. Even if we enter into the meat of a thermal, if we haven’t center-punched it the stronger core will tend to lift one wing, so again we turn towards the lifted side (can you see how important it is to be as comfortable circling right as left?). The idea is to end up circling the core with the center of our circle coinciding with the core’s center. Figure 2 shows how to detect when you are centered.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

So in sum, your beginning game plan should be to learn the timing for initiating a turn in a thermal; practice smooth continuous circles in the thermal; gradually work on tightening your circles. Begin with about 20degree banks and work towards 30- to 45-degree banks.

STEEPER Why should we want to progress to tighter 360s? There are several reasons for us to tighten our circles. First, except for big, fat evening thermals, the best cores are typically smaller than a 20-degree 157-foot-diameter circle inscribes. If you want to climb best in them you need to tighten up. Secondly, as a thermal climbs it expands, but also mixes and sheds area on its borders. Consequently, thermals often eventually erode to have only a small diameter lifting area. If you are circling too wide you will eventually feel the lift weaken and disappear long before it actually totally dies out. Thirdly, if a thermal encounters an inversion on its way up, it will often be slowed, broken up and sometimes moved to the side with only the very inner core retaining its cohesiveness. If you are circling wide, you’ll probably lose it, while you may be able to hang on and ride it up through the inversion with a tighter circle. Often a thermal will reorganize above the inversion. Especially in the East, thermals often encounter weak inversion layers— sometimes several—as they climb. Finally, in wind thermals have a tendency to drift and be tilted, as shown in figure 3. In addition, in some areas with light wind thermals may be snaky and shift drift directions several times on the way up. If you are thermaling with a flat bank angle it takes up to 10 seconds longer to perform a 360, which gives the thermal more time to move while you are heading upwind. It is much easier to follow a thermal when you are tighter. In some cases thermals

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

drift so fast or are so close to the terrain that you should vary your speed constantly in the thermal to follow it, and for control. The safe technique in this case is to slow down when heading in the upwind direction, then pull on speed before starting the downwind portion of the circle. This action gives more control in the downwind portion of the thermal where it can be more turbulent. Some years ago we were flying a NNW facing site with good thermals. We would grab one and take it up to drift over the back of the mountain, but within about 500 feet of the top we found ourselves drifting the other direction, out towards the valley in front. Those pilots who were turning tighter were able to follow this unusual thermal behavior. (I attribute the strange drift to the presence of an enclosed valley behind the ridge which was sending off thermals to feed those rising in front of the ridge.) As you gain more thermal experience you will find that thermals in wind and stronger mid-day thermals often are variable as they push upward. Good pilots are aware that they may have to make a circle adjustment quite often. You can start this awareness by paying attention to the feel of the thermal and your vario sound. If you encounter a part of the circle that is producing better lift or a surge, try to center on that area. We usually do this by tightening our circle as soon as we encounter the surge (it takes time for the glider to respond, so the timing is about right) and then flattening out to the chosen bank angle about when you have changed 180 degrees in heading. Practice this technique until you know the timing and can follow the cores like a trained dancer.

now welcome little nudges—welcome because they announce a thermal. In fact, there is a factor called “bump tolerance.” We develop it with time in the bumps. The strength of turbulence is relative. In the East, what we call strong bumps are considered mild in the West. I recall all the meets I attended out West and how we would build up our bump tolerance on the first few days until slack side wires and getting rolled strongly to the side felt like just another day at the office. Pilots would discuss this factor and it compelled me to write a parody song about 15 years ago, sung to the tune of “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay”:

SITTING ON THE TOP OF THE HILL Verse 1 I left my home in Kansas, headed out west with a song, I had enough of that towing; I’m going where the thermals are strong.

Chorus Now I’m just Sitting on the Top of the Hill, watching the pilots soaring their fill, Sitting on the Top of the Hill— ‘cause I’m scared.

Verse 2 Two thousand miles I drove, just to reach this site I know, Now the wind is coming in, but I’m feeling afraid again.

Chorus then Bridge Looks like nothings gonna change, I’ve been here for over a week, I can’t find the gumption to launch, so I guess I’ll remain a geek!

Verse 3 Sitting in the morning sun, I’ll be sitting ‘til the evening comes, Watching the pilots get high, with my glider on the car and still tied.

Last Chorus

EAST AND WEST As you rack up hours of thermal experience you will find that what felt like earth-shattering bumps at first are

Now I’m just Sitting on the Top of the Hill, watching the pilots soaring their fill, Sitting on the Top of the Hill— just tossing stones.

We’re only being a little facetious here. In truth, desert area thermals can be powerful and overpowering. There are two defenses for the hapless pilot. First, we should maintain more speed (for control) both between thermals and inside the thermals. Typically, we fly between thermals faster than best glide because we will usually be in sink. We also add some VG pull for efficiency and want more speed for control with added VG (see Part VII of this series). In strong western-type conditions, we must fly even faster to maintain control (and also because where there are stronger thermals the sink is normally stronger as well). Inside the thermals it can be turbulent even when near the core. Extra speed improves control and also helps prevent a strong upsurge from stalling our glider. A steeper bank angle helps maintain speed because the glider must be pushed out more to slow down at higher bank angles. Also, there is a

greater safety margin in a steeper bank angle because the turbulence at the edge of a thermal cannot roll you out as easily, as shown in figure 4. So here we have another reason to thermal with a steeper bank angle to add to the previous section. Very strong thermals can have sharp edges—there is strong up flow in the thermal and strong down flow just along the thermal border. If we head out of the thermal without good control speed we may go “over the falls.” What this vivid description refers to is suddenly having our nose dropped while our tail is lifted. In an extreme case we can be rotated nose down so fast and hard that we tumble. Fortunately today’s glider designs help prevent such dire pitch excursions, but we still need to take all precautions to avoid exiting a thermal too slowly. You will soon acquire a feel for the strength of turbulence in a thermal and will be able to judge how much extra speed you need for control.

here is much to learn—we have only scratched the surface—but that’s what keeps thermal flying fresh and interesting. The books Secrets of Champions and Performance Flying will add a lot to your thermal knowledge and skill. While there are a few added precautions we must take in thermals, they are nearly always benign, fun and fulfilling. If you do your learning gradually, mainly by starting out in gentle conditions, you will quickly learn their behavior and come to love them. Thermals are your ticket to the upper reaches of the sky. They provide you a perspective like no other. The first time you climb in a thermal you will start keeping track of the height gain, until you have climbed so many times it all runs into a blur, but still there are red-letter days. Sometimes you top out so high that you can see all around the world to the back of your head. And you will know why we spend so much time perfecting our climbability and trolling for warm currents.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

A “BEARLY”

SOARABLE

DAYAT HULL MOUNTAIN As told to C.J. Sturtevant by Fuzzface Snuffs and Ludwig von Bearthoven, first published in the 1988-89 winter issue of Women With Wings newsletter, and reprinted with permission

About the authors: Fuzzface Snuffs is not himself a hang glider pilot; he is a teddy bear, nearly 6” tall and weighing about three ounces. He is not your typical “couch potato” type of bear, however. At the time of this story, he’ d logged over 100 hours of airtime, most of it on the right downtube of C.J.’s glider. He had also twice participated in bearobatics demonstrations at the Grouse Mt. Invitational, flying with Ron Young in 1985 and with Mitch McAleer in 1986. Fuzz is pictured with Mitch in the September ‘86 issue of Hang Gliding magazine. Ludwig von Bearthoven objects to being called a “teddy” bear; he’s about two feet tall when he sits up straight (rarely), and weighs nearly eight pounds. He’s accumulated perhaps five hours of airtime flying tandem with Wally Anderson in the Bay Area, and hundreds of hours of hang driving and hang watching. He participates with enthusiasm in all hang gliding events, particularly those that involve eating.

“Too hot!” grumbled Fuzzface Snuffs, sprawled on his back in the shade of C.J.’s mini Magic IV. Fuzz is a Northwest bear, and

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

having left the rains of Puget Sound only three days before, he was still finding it difficult to adapt to the California sunshine. “And smoggy,” observed Ludwig von Bearthoven. Coming from the Bay Area, Ludwig—Wigs to his buddies—did not usually notice smog. But he’d tagged along on enough hang gliding trips to realize that on a “good” day the view from launch did not fade out in a reddish murk. He sat propped up against the rocks by the launch ramp, looking out towards the landing field and Lake Pillsbury, 5000’ below and maybe six miles away. “Stable, inverted, cirrus, murky, and hot,” he commented. “Looks even worse than yesterday.” Yesterday, actually, hadn’t been all that bad. The four pilots, C.J. and George, Ginny and Wally, had optimistically dressed for high flying. But the thermals had topped out at about 7800’, a mere 1000’ over launch. With some effort all were able to get as much airtime as they wanted, but it was very hot scratching in those heavy coats. Hot, but not unsatisfying. For Ginny

and C.J., sisters who live 800 miles apart, any time they get to soar together is special. Ginny and Wally had flown at Hull before, but for C.J., George and Fuzz it was a new site, and in spite of the smog a beautiful place to fly. The northern California mountains seemed to stretch out in all directions, the sunshine sparkled on Lake Pillsbury nearly a mile below, and with sharp eyes and a little stretch of the imagination it was possible to pick out their campsite in the trees near the lake shore. Wigs, soaking up some sun in the back of the truck on launch, had enjoyed a perfect view of the entire flight. The four pilots (and one small bear) were up, then lower, then up again, now close to the mountain, now out towards the lake, never very high but never in danger of sinking out, either. After an hour or so they landed, stripped down to summer attire, exchanged hang gliders for windsurfers, and spent the rest of the afternoon catching some two-dimensional airtime on the lake. Fuzzface, not into getting wet, watched lazily from shore while Wigs snoozed up on launch,

waiting for the guys to come retrieve the truck. That was yesterday. Today, the pilots agreed, did look less promising for soaring. Ginny, ever the optimist, decided it had to be cooler in the air than on the ground; she pulled on her jacket and launched first. The bears watched her climb to about 1000’ over launch, then lose it and drop back to launch level, then below. From his perch on the rocks Wigs could see her flying search mode but finding little as she headed out toward the LZ. As soon as Ginny appeared above launch, George quickly donned his flight suit and was in the air before she’d lost her lift. He, too, got up, but then sank lower and lower. Wigs reported his progress: “He’s scratching low over the red spot out towards the LZ—both he and Ginny are low, but maintaining.” It looked like a repeat of the day before. That left C.J. and Fuzzface, and Wally and Wigs, on launch. Fuzz, being a very small bear, never misses a flight with C.J., securely strapped to the downtube of her 133 Magic IV. Wigs, however, is BIG! and so far had only flown a couple of times at Mt. Tam— smooth coastal soaring—with Wally on his HP II. The bear has his own custom harness of ropes and slings that allows him to fly like a tandem passenger. He tends to get rather excited in the air, however, and often spends as much time facing backwards as forwards. Eight pounds of exuberant bear can be cumbersome ballast in turbulence, so Wally only invites Wigs along in mellow conditions. This day certainly looked mellow enough. And hot; judging from Ginny’s and George’s flights, hot enough for

[OPPOSITE] Wally & Wigs at Hull | photo by Wally Anderson. [LEFT] 25 years later, Wigs holds Fuzzface on his right and Cubster on his left. In the back row, L to R, George, C.J., Ginny and Wally | photo by George Sturtevant.

shirt-sleeve flying. C.J. and Wally stowed their coats in the truck, secured their passengers, and were ready for another day of low-altitude (and this time, low-sweat) scratching. C.J. launched, and as Ginny and George had done, she climbed above the top. But her thermal didn’t quit at 1000’ above the 6800’ launch—Fuzz kept his eye on the “bragometer” on the other downtube and called out the altitude: “8000 feet, 9000—Wally and Wigs are coming up under us—now we’re at 10 grand, 11,000 feet! We’ve never been above 11,000 before! Let’s keep going!” Fuzz was jubilant, and comfortable in his fur coat. C.J., however, was in the teethchattering stage, and at 11,100’ announced, “New personal record—that’s it for today!” and took them down to a warmer altitude until she stopped shivering. So much for the comforts of T-shirt flying! Wally and Wigs were still working several hundred feet below. Even a highly skilled pilot on a full-race HP II has a difficult time overcoming the

disadvantages of an overstuffed ballast bear. “Good thing!” Fuzz mumbled ungraciously. He’d have been bummed if Wigs had gotten higher just because C.J. wimped out. Bearly soarable, we said? How about “beary soarable,” for those who flew with the bears. Fuzz and Wigs cruised around at 9000’ or above for about an hour, Fuzz enjoying the view from his downtube, and Wigs turning every which way to be certain he didn’t miss anything. This was his first mountain flight, his first high-altitude experience, and the first time he’d been in the air with another bear. Fuzz was stoked about getting above 11,000’ for the first time. Both felt that this flight was a real milestone towards gaining recognition for soaring bears. The moral of this story is two-fold: If you want to get high, fly in your T-shirt. (But you already knew about Murphy’s Law, didn’t you?) If you think it’s “bearly soarable,” take along your favorite bear. We can’t guarantee a sky-out every time, but you can be assured you’ll be a big hit with the spectators in the LZ! Twenty-five years later, Fuzzface has logged nearly 1500 flights, and still flies with C.J., occasionally on her Falcon downtube, more often tucked into a pocket in her paraglider harness. Wigs has outgrown his tandem harness, but he still tags along as ground crew on all of Ginny and Wally’s adventures, flying or otherwise. These days Wally’s co-pilot is Cubster, who’s small and well enough behaved to fly in turbulence without inviting disaster.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

CALENDAR ITEMS will not be listed if only tenta-

tive. 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, see our Calendar of Events at: www.USHPA.aero CLINICS & TOURS 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. For more complete information on the Clinics & Tours listed, see our Calendar of Events at: www.USHPA.aero 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. AD DEADLINES: All ad copy, instructions, changes, additions & cancellations must be received in writing 2 months preceding the cover date, i.e. September 15th is the deadline for the November 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 809011330. If paying with credit card, you may email the previous information and classified to info@ushpa. aero. For security reasons, 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) 6326417 HANG GLIDING ADVISORY: Used hang gliders should always be disassembled before flying for the first time and inspected carefully for fatigued, bent or dented downtubes, ruined bushings, bent bolts (especially the heart bolt), re-used Nyloc nuts, loose thimbles, frayed or rusted cables, tangs with non-circular holes, and on flex wings, sails badly torn or torn loose from their anchor points front and back on the keel and leading edges. PARAGLIDING ADVISORY: Used paragliders should always be thoroughly inspected before flying for the first time. Annual inspections on paragliders should include sailcloth strength tests. Simply performing a porosity check isn’t sufficient. Some gliders pass porosity yet have very weak sailcloth.

If in doubt, many hang gliding and paragliding businesses will be happy to give an objective opinion on the condition of equipment you bring them to inspect. BUYERS SHOULD SELECT EQUIPMENT THAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR THEIR SKILL LEVEL OR RATING. NEW PILOTS SHOULD SEEK PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION FROM A USHPA CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

CALENDAR MEETINGS MARCH 14-16  Colorado Springs, Colorado. USHPA Board of director meeting. More information at www.ushpa.aero.

SANCTIONED COMPETITION PG MAY 5 - 11  LaBelle, Florida. East Coast Paragliding Championships/USHPA Sanctioned PG Race to Goal Regional Competition- AT. The Florida Ridge. Requirements: P3 with tow signoff and a GPS. Entry fee: $300. Tow fees: $150. Registration begins 2/1. More information: David Prentice, 505-720-5436, earthcog@yahoo.com, or earthcog.com. HG MAY 10-16  Souther Field, Americus, Georgia. Flytec Championship/USHPA Sanctioned HG Race to Goal XC Regional Comp - AT. Requirements: H4 or foreign equivalent for open class, H3 or foreign equivalent for sport class, aerotow rating, XC & turbulence signoffs, extensive aerotow experience on the glider to be flown in the competition, and 3D GPS. Registration: 12/10 to 4/10. Entry Fee: $325; Tow Fees: TBA. Prize money TBA. Trophies and day prizes. More information: Jamie Sheldon, 831-261-5444, naughtylawyer@gmail.com, or www.flytec.com. HG June 2-8  Highland Aerosports, Ridgely Airpark, Ridgely, MD. East Coast Hang Gliding Championship/USHPA Sanctioned HG Race to Goal XC Regional Comp - AT. Requirements: H4, H3 with meet director approval, XC, Turb, AT ratings, previously flown in a USHPA aerotow competition or have written approval(acquired prior to registration) from meet director, and a GPS. Pilots must have successfully aerotowed their glider in competition at least 10 times. Must have USHPA membership & H3 aerotow sign-off minimum 7 days prior to start of the meet. Entry Fee: $525, $575 after 4/15 OPEN; $425, $475 after 4/15 SPORT. Registration dates: 3/31-6/02. Prize money TBD from entries. More information: Highland Aerosports 410-634-2700, hanglide@aerosports.net, or www.aerosports.net. HG JUNE 16-22  Sandia, NM. Sandia Classic/ USHPA Sanctioned HG Race to Goal XC Comp – FL. Requirements: H4, Turbulence, Cliff Launch, XC, Restricted Landing Field. Entry Fee: $300. Registration dates TBD. More information: Andrew Vanis, 505-304-5306, andrewvanis@ gmail.com, or www.sandiaclassic.org.

HG JULY 7-14  King Mountain, Moore, ID. 2013 King Mountain Championship/USHPA Sanctioned Race to Goal & Open Distance Fly-In – FL. Requirements: H4 or H3 with H4 sponsor, turbulence sign-off, USHPA membership, and standard safety equipment. Entry fee: $100. Registration dates: 1/1-7/7. All the elements of a fly-in with a huge dollop of learning experience, then add a smidgen of competition, stir it up with an unbelievable amount of camaraderie and what you get is a recipe for the most fun you can have while expanding your horizons. This year we are going to try something new, we are going to have both race-to-goal and open distance at the same competition. Come join the fun! More information: Connie Work, 559-338-2370, connie@ lockelectric.com, or www.flykingmountain.com. HG AUGUST 4-10  Big Spring, TX. Big SpringU.S. Hang Gliding Nationals/USHPA Sanctioned HG Race to Goal National Championship & Open Distance Comp – AT. Requirements: H3 USHPA rating, current experience aerotowing on glider to be used during the competition. Entry Fee: $350; towing Fees: TBA - similar to previous meets. Registration Opens: 4/1. Trophies to be awarded. Best flying conditions for a competition anywhere in the world! Great locals and excellent facilities. Tons of airtime, long flights, high cloudbase. Longest continuously sanctioned competition in the US! More information: David Glover, 405-8306420, david@davidglover.com, or endlessthermal.com. PG AUGUST 25 - September 1  Inspo, Jupiter, Monroe, UT. Utah O.D. Nationals and Mentoring Comp/USHPA Sanctioned PG Open Distance National Championship – FL. Nationals & Mentoring Comp with three levels of competition including mentoring teams. Requirements: P3 with RLF & good kiting skills. Entry Fee: $428; late fee after 7/1 $495. Awards for all three levels & all participants. SPOT locators with live tracking required. More information: Ken Hudonjorgensen, 801572-3414, twocanfly@gmail.com, or twocanfly. com. HG SEPTEMBER 15-21  Francisco Grande Resort, Casa Grande, AZ. Santa Cruz Flats Race/ USHPA Sanctioned HG Race to Goal XC Comp – AT. Requirements: H4 or foreign equivalent for open class, H3 or foreign equivalent for sport class, aerotow rating, XC and turbulence signoffs, and extensive aerotow experience on the glider to be flown in the competition. 3D GPS required. Registration dates: 4/15-8/15. Entry Fee: $325; Tow fees: TBA. Trophies and day prizes. More information: Jamie Shelden, 831-2615444, naughtylawyer@gmail.com, or santacruzflatsrace.blogspot.com.

HG PG SEPTEMBER 27 & 28  Salt Lake City, UT. Spot Landing Nationals/USHPA Sanctioned HG & PG Accuracy Spot Landing National Championship – FL. USHPA-sanctioned HG & PG Accuracy Spot-landing National Championship. Hang gliding nationals held on September 27th and paragliding nationals held on September 28th. Entry fee is $75. Registration from 11/1/12 to 9/15/13. For more information: Stacy Whitmore, www.cuasa.com, or stacy@cuasa.com, or 435-979-0225

clinics & tours THRU MARCH 31  Valle de Bravo, Mexico. Yep, hang gliding and paragliding daily at the winter flying paradise in central Mexico— Valle de Bravo. Base packages $895 PG, $1195 HG. Sunday to Sunday includes airport transportation, lodging, flying transpo and guiding. Getting close to 20 years of providing service. FlyMexico! More information: Jeffrey Hunt, 800-861-7198, jeff@ flymexico.com, or http://www.flymexico.com. february 23 - march 17  Brazil. Espirito

Santo, Governador Valadares, Pancas, Bixou, and Guandu. Come join us as we trek and fly across the amazing sites of Espirito Santo. Seven to 14 day tours. We will fly the amazing monoliths of Pancas, and Bixou Guandu, on our way to the world-renowned Governador Valadares. Improve your thermal and XC skills under the guidance of David Prentice, who has 20 years paragliding experience including 11 years guiding. World-class lodging and logistics. More info: David Prentice, 505-720-5436, or earthcog@yahoo.com.

APRIL 12-14  Sebring, Florida. SIV: Over the

water Maneuvers training at one of the best locations in the world. Advanced instructor David Prentice, with over 20 years of experience, guides each pilot at their own pace. From the basics to the most advanced maneuvers. White sand beaches, crystal clear water, and warm coastal air, just seconds from downtown Sebring. More information: David Prentice, 505-720-5436, earthcog@yahoo.com, or Earthcog.com.

April 19-21  Sebring, Florida. SIV: Over the

April 24-26  Sebring, Florida. SIV: Over the

April 26 - May 8  Owens Valley, CA Owens

Valley with Kari. Fly one of the best sites in the US with one of the best pilots in the world. Kari is a Bi-Wingwal pilot and a 3-time world champion, World Record holder with multiple national champion titles under both of her wings. Let Kari’s 30 years of flying and 23 years of living/flying the Owens Valley be your guide! I will help customize your 3-4 day adventure to fit your needs whether you want one on one or a group setting. We will work on everything from take offs to landings, high altitude launches, dust devil awareness, reading the sky, how to map a thermal, goal setting and cross country. For more information contact: kari@karicastle.com, 760-920-0748, or sign up at www.karicastle.com

6030

APRIL 27-28  Utah. Tandem (T2 & T3) with Ken

Hudonjorgensen. Phone 801-572-3414, email: twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly.com

April 28 - may 3  La Belle, Florida. The 9th Annual Spring Fling: This is a XC clinic, and fun trainer competition, for newer pilots hosted by David Prentice. Daily briefings and discussions about PG XC. Come learn and enjoy some of the best xc flying the USA has to offer. 30 to 80 km tasks in strong,smooth lift. Scoring,retrieves and lectures included. Entry fee:$300 tow Fee $150 space is limited to 30 pilots. More Information: David Prentice 505-720-5436 earthcog@yahoo. com, or Earthcog.com. may 17-19  Sebring, Florida. SIV: Over the water Maneuvers training at one of the best locations in the world. Advanced instructor David Prentice, with over 20 years of experience, guides each pilot at their own pace. From the basics to the most advanced maneuvers. White sand beaches, crystal clear water, and warm coastal air, just seconds from downtown Sebring. More information: David Prentice, 505-720-5436, earthcog@yahoo.com, or Earthcog.com. may 25-27  Utah. Thermal Clinic. Utah flying sites with Ken Hudonjorgensen. Phone 801-572-3414,email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly.com. June 15-16  Utah. Mountain Flying and learn-

ing how to pioneer a new site in Utah with Ken Hudonjorgensen. Phone 801-572-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly.com.

July 5-7  Utah. Instructor Training with Ken

Hudonjorgensen. Phone 801-572-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly.com.

AUG 7  Utah. Instructor Re-certification with Ken Hudonjorgensen. Phone 801-572-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, www.twocanfly. com.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

AUGUST 25 - September 1  Open Distance

XC Nationals and Mentoring Competiton. Paragliding OD Nationals and a mentoring competition for those who are new to competition; Inspiration Point, Jupiter and Monroe, Utah, wherever the weather tells us to go. Register and pay before July 15, late fee after. Phone 801-572-3414, email: twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly. com.

SEPTEMBER 16-30  Owens Valley, CA. Geared

for Strong P4/H4 pilots. Fly one of the best sites in the US with one of the best pilots in the world. Kari Castle is a Bi-Wingwal pilot and a 3-time world champion, World Record holder with multiple national champion titles under both of her wings. Let Kari’s 32 years of flying and 25 years of living/flying the Owens Valley be your guide! I will help customize your 3-4 day adventure to fit your needs whether you want one on one or a group setting. We will work on everything from take offs to landings, high altitude launches, dust devil awareness, reading the sky, how to map a thermal, goal setting and cross country. For more information contact: kari@karicastle.com, 760920-0748, or sign up at www.karicastle.com

SEPTEMBER 28-29  Utah. Mountain Flying

and learning how to pioneer a new site in Utah with Ken Hudonjorgensen. Phone 801-572-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly. com.

OCTOBER 3-7  Owens Valley, CA. Women With

Wings only. Geared for P3 and P4 pilots. Back by popular demand! This year I’ll be limiting the number of pilots to keep the instructor to pilot ratio down as well as keeping pilots with similar skill level and goals together! Sign up early to secure your spot!! Owens Valley with Kari. Fly one of the best sites in the US with one of the best pilots in the world. Let Kari’s 32 years of flying and 25 years of living/flying the Owens Valley be your guide! We will work on everything from take offs to landings, high altitude launches, dust devil awareness, reading the sky, how to map a thermal, goal setting and cross country. More information: Kari Castle 760-920-0748, or kari@ karicastle.com.

OCTOBER 13-14  Owens Valley, CA . Ow-

ens Valley with Kari Castle. Fly one of the best sites in the US with one of the best pilots in the world. Kari is a Bi-Wingwal pilot and a 3-time world champion, World Record holder with multiple National Champion titles under both of her wings. Let Kari’s 32 years of flying and 25 years of living/flying the Owens Valley be your guide! I will help customize your 3-4 day adventure to fit your needs whether you want one on one or a group setting. We will work on everything from take offs to landings, high altitude launches, dust devil awareness, reading the sky, how to map a thermal, goal setting and cross country. For more information contact: kari@karicastle.com, 760920-0748, or sign up at www.karicastle.com.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

OCTOber 18-21  Owens Valley, CA . Owens Valley with Kari Castle. Fly one of the best sites in the US with one of the best pilots in the world. Kari is a Bi-Wingwal pilot and a 3-time world champion, World Record holder with multiple National Champion titles under both of her wings. Let Kari’s 32 years of flying and 25 years of living/flying the Owens Valley be your guide! I will help customize your 3-4 day adventure to fit your needs whether you want one on one or a group setting. We will work on everything from take offs to landings, high altitude launches, dust devil awareness, reading the sky, how to map a thermal, goal setting and cross country. For more information contact: kari@karicastle.com, 760920-0748, or sign up at www.karicastle.com. October 24-27  Owens Valley, CA. Women

With Wings only. Geared for P2 and P3 pilots. Back by popular demand! This year I’ll be limiting the number of pilots to keep the instructor to pilot ratio down as well as keeping pilots with similar skill level and goals together! Sign up early to secure your spot!! Owens Valley with Kari. Fly one of the best sites in the US with one of the best pilots in the world. Let Kari’s 32 years of flying and 25 years of living/flying the Owens Valley be your guide! We will work on everything from take offs to landings, high altitude launches, dust devil awareness, reading the sky, how to map a thermal, goal setting and cross country. More information: Kari Castle 760-920-0748, or kari@ karicastle.com. NOVEMBER 8-26  This year we have divided

the tour into 4 different segments: Instructional Days, Iquique Days # 1, 2 and 3. Our Tour leaders are: Todd Weigand, Luis Rosenkjer and Ken Hudonjorgensen. The entire tour will be packed with instruction for all levels of paragliding (including P1thru P4). For anyone wanting to fly this is the tour to join. The last tour will focus more on XC. Phone: 801-572-3414, or email: twocanfly@ gmail.com, www.twocanfly.com .

January 8-12, 2014  Southern California.

Let’s go warm up and get ready for the spring flying season with Ken Hudonjorgensen . Phone 801-572-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly.com.

CLASSIFIED FLEX WINGS A GREAT SELECTION OF HG&PG GLIDERS (ss,

ds, pg) -HARNESSES (trainer, cocoon, pod) -PARACHUTES (hg&pg) -WHEELS (new & used). Phone for latest inventory 262-473-8800, www. hanggliding.com

BUSINESS & EMPLOYMENT Hang Glider instructors needed May thru

November 2013 Full and part time, certified or will train Mountain Wings Inc. www.mtnwings.com

SCHOOLS & INSTRUCTORS ALABAMA LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK - The best facilities, largest inventory, camping, swimming, volleyball, more. Wide range of accommodations. hanglide.com, 877-HANGLIDE, 877-426-4543, hanglide.com.

ALAska AK Paramotor - Paragliding & Paramotor School. Year-round: USHPA+USPPA certification. Novice, Refresher, Training, Equipment. Frank Sihler 907-841-7468 www.USAparagliding.com

ARKANSAS RIVER VALLEY PARAGLIDING - Year-round

paragliding and paramotoring school on the Arkansas/Oklahoma state line in Fort Smith. More information: www.RvPPG.com

CALIFORNIA PARAGLIDING - Year-round excellent instruction, Southern California & Baja. Powered paragliding, clinics, tours, tandem, towing. Ken Baier 760-753-2664, airjunkies.com.

AIRJUNKIES

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 805-9653733.

FLY AWAY HANG GLIDING - Learn Year-round on Santa Barbara’s World Class Training Hill, Lessons, Glider Shuttle, Tandems, Sales, Service, 20 Years Experience, 805-403-8487, www. flyawayhanggliding.com THE HANG GLIDING CENTER - PO Box 151542,

San Diego CA 92175, 619-265-5320.

Mission Soaring Center LLC - Largest hang gliding center in the West! Our deluxe retail shop showcases the latest equipment: Wills Wing, Moyes, AIR, High Energy, Flytec, Aeros, Northwing, Hero wide angle video camera. A.I.R. Atos rigid wings- demo the VQ-45’ span, 85 Lbs! 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. Pitman 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, Mission Soaring Center LLC, leading the way since 1973. www.hang-gliding. com TORREY PINES GLIDERPORT - NEW NEW NEW

- we have been working hard to bring you more! Let’s start with the LIVE music and off the charts BBQ festivities happening every Saturday during the summer months. For all you snow birds, call us this winter for details on our domestic and international thermaling clinic/tours we are now offering. Speed Flying your thing? Come test fly our new mini wings from Little Cloud. USHPA certified instruction for ALL ratings including Tandem and Instructor Clinics, SIV and PPG. We have expanded product lines to include Triple 7, Little Cloud, Aircross, SkyWalk, Niviuk, Ozone, UP, Plussmax Helmets, Paratech, Independence, Crispi Boots, Black Hawk Paramotors, GatorZ, FlyMaster, GoPro, Flytec, Ki2Fly, Sup Air, Dudek, MacPara, Woody Valley, Maillon Rapide, and much more! Our full service shop offers reserve repacks, annual glider inspections, repairs and more. We also carry an extensive certified used invemtory of gliders and harnesses. Check us out at flytorrey. com or give us a call 858-452-9858.

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 GUNNISON GLIDERS – X-C to heavy waterproof

HG gliderbags. Accessories, parts, service, sewing. Instruction ratings, site-info. Rusty Whitley 1549 CR 17, Gunnison CO 81230. 970641-9315.

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.

6020

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 Hang Gliding - We offer the

best instruction, friendliest staff, beautiful grounds with swimming pool, private lake and clubhouse, lodging, plus soaring in our superfamous, soft, Sunshine State thermals. Come fly with us! 352- 429- 0213, Groveland, FL, www. questairhanggliding.com

MICHIGAN

WALLABY RANCH – The original Aerotow flight park. Best tandem instruction worldwide,7-days a week , 6 tugs, and equipment rental. Call:1-800WALLABY wallaby.com 1805 Deen Still Road, Disney Area FL 33897

Cloud 9 Sport Aviation (hang gliding equipment), North American Soaring (Alatus ultralight sailplane and e-drive systems), Dragon Fly Soaring Club (hang gliding instruction), at Cloud 9 Field, Webberville, MI.More info: (517) 223-8683, Cloud9sa@aol.com, www.DFSCinc. org.

GEORGIA

TRAVERSE CITY HANG GLIDERS/PARAGLIDERS

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, 1-877-HANGLIDE, 1-877-4264543.

HAWAII PROFLYGHT PARAGLIDING - Call Dexter for

friendly information about flying on Maui. Fullservice school offering beginner to advanced instruction every day, year round. 808-874-5433, paraglidehawaii.com.

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 Mountain Wings Inc - New location at

INDIANA

77 Hang Glider Rd in Ellenville next to the LZ. We service all brands featuring AEROS and North Wing. 845-647-3377 mtnwings@verizon.net, www.mtnwings.com

CLOUD 9 SPORT AVIATION - See Cloud 9 in

FLY HIGH, INC. - Serving New York, Jersey, and

Michigan

MARYLAND HIGHLAND AEROSPORTS - Baltimore and DC’s

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

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, 845-7443317.

SUSQUEHANNA FLIGHT PARK - Cooperstown New York Serving the North East since 1978. We have the best training hill in New York. Dealers for Wills Wing and others. Trade-ins welcome www. cooperstownhanggliding.com 315-867-8011

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

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-FLYTHIS, 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, 1-877-HANGLIDE, 877-426-4543.

TEXAS FlyTexas / Jeff Hunt - training pilots in Central Texas for 25 years. Hangar facilities near Packsaddle Mountain, and Lake LBJ. More info: www.flytexas.com, (512)467-2529

UTAH CLOUD 9 PARAGLIDING - Come visit us and check

out our huge selection of paragliding gear, traction kites, extreme toys, and any other fun things you can think of. If you aren’t near the Point of the Mountain, then head to http://www.paragliders. com for a full list of products and services. We are Utah’s only full time shop and repair facility, Give us a ring at 801-576-6460 if you have any questions.

Super Fly Paragliding – Come to world

famous Point of the Mountain and learn to fly from one of our distinguished instructors. We teach year round and offer some of the best paragliding equipment available. Get your P2 certification, advanced ratings or tandem ratings here. We have a full shop to assist you with any of your free flight needs. 801-255-9595, info@superflyinc.com , www.superflyinc.com.

WINGS OVER WASATCH HANG GLIDING - Salt

Lake / region 4 area. Certified HANG GLIDING instruction, sales, service. World class training hill! Tours of Utah’s awesome mountains for visiting pilots. DISCOUNT glider/equipment prices. Glider rentals. Tandem flights. Ryan Voight, 801-5992555, www.wingsoverwasatch.com.

VIRGINIA BLUE SKY - Full-time HG instruction.

Daily lessons, scooter, and platform towing. AT towing part time. Custom sewing, powered harnesses, Aeros PG , Flylight and Airborne trikes. More info: (804)241-4324, or www.blueskyhg.com.

WASHINGTON AERIAL PARAGLIDING SCHOOL AND FLIGHT

PARK- Award winning instructors at a world class training facility. Contact: Doug Stroop at 509-7825543, or visit www.paragliding.us

INTERNATIONAL BAJA MEXICO - La Salina: PG, HG, PPG www. FLYLASALINA.com. by www.BAJABRENT.com, He’ll hook you up! site intros, tours, & rooms bajabrent@bajabrent.com, 760-203-2658 COME AND FLY GUANAJUATO MEXICO. Contact: dannorman@mail.com, or call 473-732-9102 in Mexico. COSTA RICA - Grampa Ninja’s Paragliders’ B&B.

Rooms, and/or guide service and transportation. Lessons available from USHPA certified instructors. USA: 908-454-3242. Costa Rica: (Country code, 011) House: 506-2664-6833, Cell: 506-8950-8676, www.paraglidecostarica. com.

MEXICO - VALLE DE BRAVO and beyond for hang gliding and paragliding. Year round availability and special tours. Gear, guiding, instruction, transportation, lodging - all varieties for your needs. www.flymexico.com 1-800-861-7198 USA

PARTS & ACCESSORIES FOR ALL YOUR FLYING NEEDS - Check out the

Aviation Depot at www.mojosgear.com featuring over 1000 items for foot-launched and powered paragliding, hang gliding, stunt and power kiting, and powered parachutes. 24/7 secure online shopping. Books, videos, KITES, gifts, engine parts, harness accessories, electronics, clothing, safety equipment, complete powered paragliding units with training from Hill Country Paragliding Inc. www.hillcountryparagliding.com 1-800-6641160 for orders only. Office 325-379-1567.

Gunnison Gliders – X-C, Factory, heavy PVC

HG gliderbags $149 Harness packs & zippers. New/used parts, equipment, tubes. 1549 CR 17 Gunnison, CO 81230 970-641-9315

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

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.

OXYGEN SYSTEMS – MH-XCR-180 operates to 18,000 ft., weighs only 4 lbs. System includes cylinder, harness, regulator, cannula, and remote on/off flowmeter. $450.00. 1-800-468-8185. SPECIALTY WHEELS for airfoil basetubes, round

basetubes, or tandem landing gear.(262)4738800, www.hanggliding.com.

PUBLICATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS SOARING - Monthly magazine of The Soaring

Society of America Inc. Covers all aspects of soaring flight. Full membership $64. SSA, PO Box 2100, Hobbs NM 88241. 505-392-1177, ssa.org.

SERVICE CLOUD 9 REPAIR DEPARTMENT - We staff and maintain a full service repair shop within Cloud 9 Paragliding; offering annual inspections, line replacement, sail repair of any kind (kites too!), harness repairs and reserve repacks. Our repair technicians are factory trained and certified to work on almost any paraglider or kite. Call today for an estimate 801-576-6460 or visit www.paragliders. com for more information. Get your annual inspection, repair or

reserve repack done quickly and professionally. Super Fly does more inspections, repairs and repacks than any service center in North America. Call or email for details and more information. 801-255-9595, info@superflyinc.com.

NEW! HERB FENNER is coating paragliders at Torrey. You can expect “Instrument Varified” results in UV A/B, Waterproofing and porosity. “Your Enhanced Glider Stays NEW Longer”, herbfenner@aol.com RISING AIR GLIDER REPAIR SERVICES – A full-service shop, specializing in all types of paragliding repairs, annual inspections, reserve repacks, harness repairs. Hang gliding reserve repacks and repair. For information or repair estimate, call (208) 554-2243, pricing and service request form available at www.risingair.biz, billa@ atcnet.net.

WANTED Cash for your used harnesses, parachutes,

helmets, etc. Cal atl Rik 269-993-7721, or www. wisconsinhanggliding.com

WANTED - Used variometers, harnesses, parachutes, helmets, etc. Trade or cash. (262) 473-8800, www.hanggliding.com.

RATINGS ISSUED IN NOVEMBER HANG GLIDING

PARAGLIDING

RTNG NAME

STATE RATING OFFICIAL

RTNG NAME

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 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-3 H-3 H-3 H-4 H-4 H-4 H-5

CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CT VA FL AL AL TN GA FL GA GA TX NY NY CA CA CA CA CA CT PA VA TN FL AL AL TN GA FL GA GA CA CA CA CA AZ UT AR MD GA TX NY NJ CA AZ RI NY

Peter Ledochowitsch Brandt Sheets Julian Schwartz Mark Playsted Doug Wiedwald Irene Zarco Campero Shane Junior Deniz Burnham Nathan Addy Ignacio Galaz Trevor Shirey Daniel Friedman Knut Ryerson Daniel Doyle Cooper Bennett Kali Bennett Christopher Bray Stan Prater Jacob Billups Aaron Stanford Keith Sturges Ted Sullivan Jia Wei Chen Brian Van Wagner Brad Darfler Michael Quinn Robert Stanley Julian Schwartz Ignacio Galaz Daniel Friedman Jason Lindenmuth Knut Ryerson Cory Barnwell Daniel Doyle Cooper Bennett Kali Bennett Christopher Bray Stan Prater Jacob Billups Aaron Stanford Keith Sturges Richard Cochran Chris Ellis Christoph Abe Robb Derringer William Bennett Sean Cumiskey Patrick Nelle Mark Vivell Adrian Sanchez Jeffery Bohl Stephen Bailer Richard Norman Zach Hazen William Bennett Noel Avendano James Donovan

Barry Levine Kurtis Carter Barry Levine Barry Levine Barry Levine Barry Levine Dave Suits Sr Eric Hinrichs Robert Booth Rob Mckenzie John Middleton Adam Elchin John Middleton Derreck Turner Daniel Zink Daniel Zink Daniel Zink Daniel Zink Daniel Zink Daniel Zink Clifton Bryan Jeffrey Hunt Greg Black Greg Black Patrick Denevan Robert Booth William Dydo Barry Levine Rob Mckenzie Adam Elchin Randy Grove John Middleton Daniel Zink Derreck Turner Daniel Zink Daniel Zink Daniel Zink Daniel Zink Daniel Zink Daniel Zink Clifton Bryan David Yount Zac Majors John Simpson Joe Greblo Mark Knight Kevin Koonce Philip Morgan Steve Wendt Daniel Zink John Simpson Greg Black Greg Black Karl Allmendinger Mark Knight Rhett Radford Paul Voight

STATE RATING OFFICIAL

P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1

Andreas Presthofer Phil Garvey Nathan Fligge Oleg Ace Takeshi Yoshizawa Bryan Cormy Michele Campeotto Aaron King

OR AK OR CA CA CA CA CA

Maren Ludwig Marc Chirico Samuel Crocker Wallace Anderson Jeffrey Greenbaum Jeffrey Greenbaum Jeffrey Greenbaum Kim Galvin

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

Andrea Shanti Andy Tompkins Ethan Delano Ryan Howland Ryan Smith Jimmy Clark Mark King Mark Earhart Shonda Smith Alex Petersen Cesar Nunez Richard Federley Elliot Jacobs Joao Marcos Passos Shauna Sanchez Alexandre Coura Greg Kreuder James Grube Mauricio Stella Jonathan Fitzpatrick Gary Mudrow Charles Kincaid Sean Brenner Nicholas Bader Cameron Mckenna Mark Gardiner Andreas Leitner Jennifer Kaatz Andri-jonathan (nico) Swan Gary Miller Jeff Fothergill Phil Garvey James Hodges Krischa Berlinger Ariel Austria Aaron King Andrea Shanti Andy Tompkins Ryan Howland Ryan Smith Yuri Nikolsky Katie Myers Jimmy Clark Mark King Mark Earhart Shonda Smith Alex Petersen Cesar Nunez Richard Federley Adam Majors Nick Stelma Richard Staton Greg Ballou Joao Marcos Passos Shauna Sanchez Alexandre Coura Greg Kreuder Jason Prezant James Grube

CA CA CA NV CA NM NM CO AZ UT UT CO ID MA ME MA VA PA MD SC GA NC NC AE

Brian Kerr Brian Kerr Max Marien Rob Sporrer Rob Sporrer T Lee Kortsch William Smith Granger Banks Kevin Hintze Chris Santacroce Cade Palmer Justin Boer Matthew Beechinor Nicolas Cauchy Kevin Hintze Rob Sporrer Peter Humes Terry Bono Peter Humes Luis Rosenkjer Luis Rosenkjer David Hanning David Hanning Marge Variano Mike Steen Chris Santacroce Rob Sporrer John Kraske Marc Chirico Kelly Kellar Kelly Kellar Marc Chirico Jeffrey Greenbaum Mitchell Neary Eric Hinrichs Kim Galvin Brian Kerr Brian Kerr Rob Sporrer Rob Sporrer Max Marien Rob Mckenzie T Lee Kortsch William Smith Granger Banks Kevin Hintze Chris Santacroce Cade Palmer Justin Boer Matthew Beechinor Matthew Beechinor Britton Shaw Heath Woods Nicolas Cauchy Kevin Hintze Rob Sporrer Peter Humes Terry Bono Terry Bono

WA WA OR OR AK CA CA CA CA CA CA NV CA CA CA NM NM CO AZ UT UT CO ID ID AR MA MA ME MA VA DE PA

RTNG NAME

STATE RATING OFFICIAL

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

Mauricio Stella Reed Hutchison Malcolm Vargas Luiz Fernando Peregrino Nicholas Bader Oliver Delprado Cameron Mckenna Mark Gardiner Andreas Leitner Ryan Grizzell Matthew Huntington Paul Frick Matthew Henderson Phil Garvey Ron Andresen Michael Soultanian Brian Riggs Courtney Pelz Lake Gibby Joseph Caulfield John Glime Nicholas Kaminski William Martsolf Mark Rich

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

Samuel Danielson Cleidimilson Lopes Anna Tsykalova Nelson Gray Erich Schultz Ludmila Demtchenko Mark Gardiner Jason Turnbull Jim Petersen Mark Rich Aaron Cromer Joseph Seitz Abdullah Kahraman

MD TX NJ NJ AE

OR WA OR WA AK CA CA CA HI HI HI UT AZ CO UT SD MA MA AE

AK UT UT AZ MA

Peter Humes Kevin Hintze Terry Bono Terry Bono Marge Variano Mitchell Neary Mike Steen Chris Santacroce Rob Sporrer Kevin Lee Douglas Stroop Rob Sporrer Marc Chirico Marc Chirico Nick Crane Marcello Debarros Max Marien Pete Michelmore Robert Edwards Pete Michelmore Stephen Mayer Kevin Hintze Darius Lukosevicius Chris Santacroce Max Marien Davidson Da Silva Murat Tuzer Hadley Robinson Murat Tuzer Murat Tuzer Chris Santacroce Pete Michelmore Jonathan Jefferies Chris Santacroce Kevin Lee Heath Woods Murat Tuzer

Photo by Scot Trueblood

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

USHPA STORE 2013 CALENDARS | $15.00

B O O K S

F I L M S

A P P A R E L

NEW USHPA T-SHIRTS! | ONLY $12.00! Get â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;em hot off the press. 3 Designs. Black shirts with graphics back and front. Only $12!

SOFT SHELL FLIGHT JACKET | $90

APRES VOL POLO | $30

Top shelf soft shell jacket embroidered with USHPA logo

Now you can wear the same

and name of the association on the back.

navy polo shirt we wear to the country club. Where we work our second jobs. USHPA logo embroidered proudly on the chest.

BASEBALL CAP | $18

SPOT-2 MESSENGER | $99.95

Our black baseball cap is

USHPA members receive 10% off the retail value of the membership every year on Medivac+. The Medivac+ program with GEOS can be used in conjunction with the SPOT.

made with sueded twill and brandishes the association logo proudly. Keep the sun at bay, the USHPA way.

HG or PG GREETING CARDS | $16

JEROME MAUPOINT'S STOLEN MOMENTS #2 | $55.00

Choose a 10-pack of either HG or PG on luxurious metallic card stock with matching

The ultimate coffee

4x9 inch envelopes. Inside is blank.

table book - part 2!

FLYING SITES OF THE ALPS | $56.95 Is there some reason you wouldn't buy this book? OK, maybe you don't fly in Europe, but you know you want to. Buy the book!

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

O R D E R

O N L I N E

U S H P A . A E R O / S T O R E

THE ART OF PARAGLIDING | $34.95

PARAGLIDING - PILOT'S TRAINING MANUAL | $39.95

This thorough guide by Dennis

Excellent illustrations and a

Pagen is a must have for any

companion DVD make this

paraglider's library. Get started,

paragliding tome a must-have

keep flying, or go back and

as an introduction or a

review. An excellent reference.

refresher reference.

DON’T MISS OUT. RENEW ONLINE. EAGLES IN THE FLESH | $14.95 Erik Kaye's nonfiction adventure

UNDERSTANDING THE SKY | $24.95 You'll read Dennis Pagen's

story about men who become

ultimate weather book again and

birds, who soar over mountains

again as your brain attempts to

and jungles, and who look upon

wrap itself around one of the

strange new lands and exotic

most complex topics in the his-

cultures while flying like Eagles

tory of topics.

and partying like Vultures.

PARAGLIDING: LEARN TO FLY DVD | $44.95

FLYING RAGS FOR GLORY | $47.95

Excellent animations and clear

The A to Z of Competition

explanations lead you through

Paragliding: For the beginner or

the basics. Great for review or

experienced pilot.

as a supplement to your training program.

BUMPER STICKERS | $3.00

PUBLICATIONS ACROBATICS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $41.95 AND THE WORLD COULD FLY. . . . . . . . . . . . . $32.95 ART OF SKY SAILING - A RISK MGMT MANUAL. . . . . . $14.95 ART OF SKY SAILING - A RISK MGMT MANUAL & DVD. . . $55.00 AVIATION WEATHER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $24.95 BEST FLYING SITES OF THE ALPS. . . . . . . . . . . . $47.95 BIRDFLIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $19.95 CONDOR TRAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $24.95 CLOUDSUCK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $17.95 EAGLES IN THE FLESH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $14.95 FLY THE WING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $12.95 FLYING RAGS FOR GLORY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $47.95 FUNDAMENTALS/INSTRUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . $12.95 HANG GLIDING TRAIN. MANUAL. . . . . . . . . . . . $29.95 INSTR. MANUAL (HG or PG). . . . . . . . . . . . . $15.00 THE ART OF PARAGLIDING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $34.95 TOWING ALOFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $29.95 PG-PILOTS TRAIN. MANUAL & DVD. . . . . . . . . . $39.95 PERFORMANCE FLYING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $29.95 SECRETS OF CHAMPIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $29.95

SLOVENIA: GUIDE BOOK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $31.95 STOLEN MOMEN TS 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $55.00 UNDERSTANDING THE SKY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $24.95 FLIGHT LOG BOOK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2.95

DVD BIG BLUE SKY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $29.95 BORN TO FLY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $34.95 FLYING OVER EVEREST. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $47.95 FRESH AIR RIDERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $22.95 FROM NOWHERE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $41.95 LIFT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $19.95 LIFTING AIR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $39.95 NEVER ENDING THERMAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $41.95 PARAHAWKING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35.95 PARAGLIDING:LEARN TO FLY. . . . . . . . . . . . . $44.95 PARAGLIDING: GROUND HANDLING TECHNIQUES . . . . $35.95 PARAGLIDER TOWING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $24.95 PARTY/CLOUDBASE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $24.95 PERFORMANCE FLYING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $42.95 PLAY GRAVITY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $41.95 PLAY GRAVITY 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $38.50

Be sure to renew your USHPA membership online to participate in the USHPA Green initiative. Online renewal is only available to current members, and members who have been expired less than 3 years. Members who have been expired more than 3 years will not have access to online renewal.

RED BULL X-ALPS 2007. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $45.95 PURA VIDA FLYING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $24.95 RISK & REWARD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $29.95 THE PERFECT MTN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $36.95 SPEED TO FLY/SECURITY IN FLIGHT. . . . . . . . . . . $48.95 SPEED GLIDING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $24.95 STARTING PARAGLIDING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $29.95 STARTING HANG GLIDING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $29.95 STARTING POWER PARAGLIDING . . . . . . . . . . . $36.95 TEMPLE OF CLOUDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $31.95 THREE FLIGHTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $37.95 WEATHER TO FLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $39.95

ACCESSORIES IPPI CARD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10.00 GREETING CARDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $16.00 LICENSE PLATE FRAME (PARAGLIDING ONLY). . . . . . $6.50 MAGAZINE BACK ISSUES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6.95 ORNAMENTS (PARAGLIDING ONLY). . . . . . . . . . $12.00 RATING CERTIFICATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10.00 USHGA / USHPA STICKERS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1.00

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

ON GLIDE BECAUSE I SAID SO by Steve Messman

y dad held a very simple philosophy. Life was easy for him. There was black and white, and there was right and wrong. There was never a shade of gray. There was never the remotest possibility of a maybe. Dad was an easy person to go to for advice because he had only one reason for everything. If you happened to ask “why” more than once, it became quite clear that this time, the next time, every time, would result in the same answer: “Because I said so.” When I got to be about 18 and had moved out of the house, I learned that the easiest way to get around my dad’s reasoning was to act first and ask forgiveness second. That’s how I moved out of my college dorm. That’s how I bought my first motorcycle. That’s even how I got married. I was drafted into the Army about two months after my wife and I exchanged vows. Some of you might remember those days; the Vietnam War was going on; folks were moving to Canada, etc. Not me, though. I took my draft papers to the recruiting station and enlisted with an OCS option. (If you’re going to go, go big.) So, I passed my tests and interviews, was accepted into Officer Candidate School, and I graduated six months later. I earned my commission, pinned

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

by Steve Messman

on my second lieutenant bars, and I went to work. I remember the first time my decision was questioned by a group of enlisted soldiers. “Why?” they said to one of my directions. I tilted my head to one side, cocked one eyebrow sort of Spock-like, and looked directly into their eyes. What else could I say? “Because I said so,” I answered. Suddenly, those words became much more than wisdom, or even reason. They became, in fact, the ultimate statement of respect and authority. My dad knew that way back then. I learned it much later in life. Today I find that the need for respect and authority, the need to follow directions “because I said so,” exists in everything we do—especially foot-launch flying. I remember one of my first high flights in a hang glider from a very famous glider port in the Rhön Mountains of southern Germany. The glider was a floppy-sailed delta, and in that era, there was no such thing as a handheld personal radio, at least not that any normal person could afford—or carry. I launched. I heard the instructor yell from behind “PULL IN!” This was not a time for discussion or for asking why. This was the time to follow, without question, the dictates of my instructor. It was a time to respect my instructor’s authority, endowed when I signed that all-important waiver and handed over my money. It was time for me to act simply because he said so. Discussions and training were certain to follow. Eventually, I would learn what had happened, what I did,

and what the possible consequences of a stall on launch were. In that second, though, I did exactly as I was told, and only “because he said so.” Quite some time ago I was sitting in a popular LZ watching pilots landing. A paragliding student was coming in under radio control. She was approaching a little too high for the landing zone and needed to lose some altitude. The instructor calmly radioed “Grab your outer ‘A’ lines and pull ears.” The student reached up to pull ears, but instead of pulling the two outside ‘A’ lines, she pulled the two inside lines. Radios crackled explosively. The instructor sprinted onto the field and yelled with every step, “Let go! Let go!” There was no time for a discussion of the consequences of a frontal collapse from fifty feet off the ground. There was only time for immediate action, and there was only a single reason for that action: “Because I said so.” The “because I said so” authority of a parent or an instructor is inherent in the position. It is essential, and it is all-powerful. As a child, or as a student, it is all you need to know when dad or the instructor sees fit to exercise that authority. You don’t ask questions. You simply do as you are told as if your life depends on it. Now, put this magazine down. Go fly. Because I said so.

Introducing the new USHPA custom Visa Platinum Rewards Card.

The card with Flare. Submit your own image or choose one of these custom USHPA Platinum Rewards Cards.

•

No annual fee.

•

$50 donation by the bank, to USHPA, when you first use the card.*

•

Ongoing contributions made when you continue using your card.

•

Low Introductory APR on purchases and no balance transfer fee for 6 months.**

•

Enhanced Visa Platinum benefits, including 24/7 Emergency Customer Service, 100% Fraud Protection, Auto Rental and Travel Accident Insurance and much more.

•

Earn points at hundreds of participating online retailers redeemable for namebrand merchandise, event tickets, gift cards or travel reward options.

Use your own photo. Apply today at: http://www.cardpartner.com/app/ushpa The USHPA Visa card program is operated by UMB Bank, N.A. All applications for USHPA Visa card accounts will be subject to UMB Bank N.A.'s approval, at its absolute discretion. Please visit www. cardpartner.com for futher details of terms and conditions which apply to the USHPA Visa card program. Donation made when card is used once within 90 days of issuance. After this period a low variable APR will apply. Powered by CardPartner. The #1 provider of affinity credit card programs.

To The Good Stuff

Gin Verso $900 Best Seller 2 - Seasons

Nova Mentor 3 10:1 glide, Best in class perfoemance Gin Rage A world class acro glider for making your acro dreams come true. Every trick.

$4100

Gin Atlas All-Access 1-2

$3400

$900 Advance Axess 3 Air 2nd Rev, Swiss Precision

Gin Genie Lite

$995 Beemer 2 Slow, Steady Control

Gin One G from $600 Best Descent Rate

Parajet

Aerodynamic and confidence inspiring at 4.6 kg— a winner with or without the pod. 12 cm foam protection - EN and LTF certification. The Genie Lite has a carbon fiber harness board which makes handling a dream. Rock the pod for all of your cold weather and XC adventures and zip it off for soaring and top landing. One harness does it all.

$1250 From the virtually indestructible Volution frame to the elegant, compact Zenith frame that fits in a suitcase, Parajet paramotors come with every powerplant configuration you could want. Shipped direct to you from the UK with domestic support to beat all. from

$7300

Own a Super Fly glider and don’t have a T-shirt? Holler. Want to try something? Holler— yes, we will send you something to try - fly - buy.

o Make This Your Best Flying Season Ever! Essentials

from $650

RR Akira Raul Rodrguez Acro

Yeti Reserve Light, Compact 27-60m

$189 Flytec Sonic Vario helmet mounted

Flight Mascot Schools/Kids

Gin Bobcat

$85

Ascent Vario $425 Wearable V2 with GPS

Go Pro HD Hero 3 Always a Best Seller

Plus Max $179 Opt Guard & Ear Covers

Yeasu FT-270 $175 Submersible, w/mod

X-Shot 2 $29.95 You are the Hero

Speedride Harness

The Bobcat defines speed flying freedom. You can be soaring in medium conditions with slow trimmers, then top land and launch again with fast trimmersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; hugging the terrain on and off the snow in your skis for the ultimate speedflying thrill.

from $199

$20

Stirrup

Best seller for the last two seasons, the Speedride harness is perfect for speedrding/flying, tandem passengers, hike and fly or travel. Keep the airbag on for most missions but zip it off when you need to wear your harnes on the chair lift. Speedride looks great with or without the airbag.

$450

This is versatility defined.

Advance Pi

Lightest Hike & Fly Kit from Advance The worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lightest glider with rucksack and harness weighs in at 3.14 kg! This multi talented wonder rocks the whole scene, from casual hike and fly to full-on mountain intense. EN certified from 50-115 kg.

$3700

$2495

801. 255. 9595