Hang Gliding & Paragliding Vol43/Iss09 Sep 2013 by US Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association

SEPTEMBER 2013 Volume 45 Issue 9 $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 instructor, using safe equipment suitable for your level of experience. Many of the articles and photographs in the

ON THE COVER, Felix Wölk snaps another classic for Gradient gliders. MEANWHILE, Flying

the coastal breeze | photo by Bruce Borchers.

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-

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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.

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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.

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

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BRIEFINGS

AIRMAIL

CENTERFOLD

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RATINGS

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SEPTEMBER2013

EDITOR

Focused on Safety Hidden Hazards �� by David Norwood

Tales from the Training Hill Selecting an Instructor ��by Paul Voight

The Fourtheroad Gang Takes to the Sky �� by C.J. Sturtevant

Accentuate the Negative Preventing Feedback �� by Dennis Pagen

FEATURE | Flying the Wettest Place on Earth Shillong, India �� by Anthony Green

FEATURE | Silver Hawks Pilots Over 65 ��by Christina Ammon

FEATURE | Paradise Lost Thailand ��by Matt Senior

The Leading Edge Trailblazers ��by Andy Pag

GALLERY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . photography by Seth Warren

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Practice day at Woodrat Mountain | photo by Nick Greece.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

EDITOR S

eptember already? In most of the USA the flying season is winding down, as calmer winds and mellower lapse rates begin to prevail. Now is the time—before the fall USPHA board meeting—to consider who deserves special thanks in your community and send in your award nominations. It is also time to reach out to your regional director if there are pressing issues that your club or chapter could use help with from the national level. The awards and issues will be discussed at the upcoming USHPA board meeting in Seattle on October 10-12. The September issue kicks off with a classic cover shot by Felix Wölk. There are so many ways to enjoy flying, from sled rides to cross-country to aerobatics. Wölk’s photo epitomizes the last: a highly trained professional aerobatic pilot having a good time. David “Preacher” Norwood has assumed the helm of the Safety Reporting committee, as co-chair with Mitch Shipley. In his first installment, David discusses manufacturers’ quests for higher performing gliders and what that means for pilots’ safety on a practical level. If you have questions or personal accounts for articles regarding safety, please reach out to David. Paul Voight weighs in on how to choose an instructor, and C.J. Sturtevant is back with a fascinating piece on a daughter/father duo who took hang gliding lessons together from John Heiney, after bicycling from Florida to California. Dennis Pagen reports in with another great technique piece on preventing feedback in hang glider landings. I ran into Pagen at the World Championships in Bulgaria, where he was doing a superb job as the FAI meet steward and picking the brain of one of the best hang glider tuners in the world for an upcoming article. Stay tuned! As the weather changes, pilots often head to Asia to fly in exotic locales. The September issue includes a piece by two such pilots: Anthony Green, about flying in India, and Matt Senior, about a new towing and XC location in beautiful Thailand. Chris Ammon’s monthly installment focuses on pilots over 65 years of age who are still soaring with the eagles, and Andy Pag relates another who, what, where, when, and why piece on competition paragliding, including interviews with Josh Cohn, Nate Scales, Isabella Messenger, and national champion Arnold Frankenberger. Finally, this month we have a special treat from photographer, filmmaker and adventurer, Seth Warren. Many of these shots were compiled while he and his fiancée, Sara Close, were making one of the best hang gliding discovery movies of all time—Live the Dream. If you haven’t seen it, check out http://vimeo.com/48887865 to view the trailer and get more information about where to find the full release!

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BRIEFINGS

PILOT

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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

handling and safety. However, its

2014 SANCTIONED COMPETITION APPLICATIONS

weight is considerably less—de-

Applications for the 2014 competi-

pending on the wing size, up to 30%

tion season must be submitted

less. NOVA achieved the weight

by October 1st for review during

reduction by developing completely

the October board meeting.

new smart risers and using lighter

Applications are submitted via the

fabrics as well as cleverly slimmed

member’s only section of the website

internals. Accordingly, it is also a

at: https://www.ushpa.aero/member_

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THE 2013 USHPA FALL BOARD OF DIRECTORS & ANNUAL MEETING will be held in Renton, WA. Oct 10-12 Please check the website for updated meeting times and schedules. Please save the date USHPA would love to see you there. More information: http://ushpa.aero

LANCE MERRILL

AIRMAIL

HAPPY CAMPER

Wanted to drop you guys a line to say how happy I am with the positive changes you have made to the USHPA. I really like the improved quality of the magazine and its content. The article “Glider Nuts” was great. Keep up the great work! The website is much improved, too. Sincerely, Kevin Kish

Thanks Kevin! We are also thrilled at the direction the USHPA board, executive director, and staff are steering the ship. -ED

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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

FOCUSED ON SAFETY

HIGH PERFORMANCE, HIDDEN HAZARD by David “Preacher” Norwood n recent years manufactures have made significant improvements in glide ratio and trim speed across all categories of paraglider wings. They have been able to make these improvements while maintaining passive recovery specifications within a given category of wing. Better performance is good news, right? Well, maybe not always; higher performance comes with a cost. Newer wings require larger landing zones than comparable wings from previous generations. Larger landing zones are also needed when a pilot steps up to the higher performance inherent in a higher EN category of wing.

PILOT REPORTS An experienced P-3 rated pilot, with three years of flight experience and about 200 flights, moves up from an EN B to a C wing. During his first three to five flights, he finds he keeps coming in long at his home LZ. He begins to hone his landing skills on the new wing and is excited to stretch his wings, when an XC opportunity presents itself. After about 45 minutes in the air, the pilot is unable to find lift and sets up to land in a schoolyard. The field is smaller than his home LZ, and trees are obstructing part of his approach. On final, he realizes that he is going to be long, because of better glide and higher speed. He sees the

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

fence at the edge of the field and decides to make an s-turn to lose altitude. While making the second half of the s-turn, his wing spins. The pilot drops quickly from about 20 feet. Result: visit to hospital, followed by release with minor compression fracture of L3. A P-4 pilot, with 120 flights on her EN C wing, borrows a friend’s EN D wing to see if she likes it. After about five minutes of flight, she is “scratching” over a ridge, which is thermally active, but not booming. Slow wing speed results in a spin and rapid descent to ridge. Broken back, surgery and eventual full recovery. A P-5 pilot (yours truly) returns to his EN D wing on a trip to Nepal. He had been flying his C wing during the winter ridge-soaring season but brought out the EN D for the thermic adventure. On his first flight, tired from three days of travel, he is in a thermal at about 1000 feet AGL. Failing to let the outside wing fly, his overall wing speed was too slow and a spin was induced. “Hands up” response; recovery was fast, but 250 feet of altitude was lost The pilot decided to end his flight early and get some rest.

ANALYSIS These three reports have several dynamics in common. In each case, the pilots were flying higher performance gliders than they were accustomed to.

In each, there was an increased level of stress or impairment, and an unexpected spin occurred. The curse of automaticity inheres in the lack of flexibility and control that results when we learn things too well and are not conscious of doing them. We may make maladaptive or immoral unconscious responses that we then regret or simply fail to notice. And we may find under conditions of mental load or stress that the automatic processes that occur to monitor the failure of our conscious intentions ironically create that failure. (T. Wheatley and D.M. Wegner, 2001, Automaticity of Action, International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, p. 993) To dig deeper into these events, which are representative of a number of other similar reports, one of which resulted in a fatality, it may prove useful to examine both how wings of different classes respond to pilot input and how the human brain responds to stress. Generally speaking, lower performance wings can tolerate heavier brake input and slower flight speed than higher performance wings. When I say tolerate, I am talking about how slow one can go before inducing a spin or stall. When I flew my beloved Ozone Buzz 2 (EN B), I would slow to minimum sink speed for my best thermaling results, and I never came close to spinning. On my Airwave Cobra (EN C), similar heavy-handed flying didn’t have the same benefit, and I learned to “let her fly,” while coming close to spinning several times. When I fly my Mantra M4, if I maintain too much outside brake pressure for much more than a full turn, I risk a spin—letting her fly is not an option, but a necessity. This is not a complaint about my D; it is just the way the D’s need to be flown. Heavy hands may work with a

lower-class glider, but they can prove deadly when stepping up a class. Are we aware of how we fly when we fly? Our brains are amazing in their ability to process millions of bits of information and adapt rapidly to complex and changing stimuli. Some of our actions and responses to stimuli are conscious, others not so much. We are aware when our flight computer indicates, with a loud beep, that we have made a turn point, and we consciously turn in the direction the instrument recommends. In doing this, we don’t think to ourselves “pull harder on the right brake and lean to the right.” Those actions are sub-conscious, automatic, like driving a car and stopping at a red light. We just make the turn without conscious thought. Automaticity, the automatic response to stimuli, occurs when we have learned well a particular response to a given situation and repeat the learned behavior in reaction to the similar stimuli. The deeper our learning is, the deeper the automaticity, in a sense, the more SUB-conscious are our actions. How much pressure one uses to turn a glider is at first a conscious act. But, after a bit of learning, the amount of pressure used becomes an automatic response to the conscious decision to turn. Even the decision to turn may become an automatic response to rising air and a beeping vario. The benefit of automaticity is that the sub-conscious response occurs very quickly and very efficiently, freeing the conscious mind to focus on problem-solving and willful intent. The cost of automaticity is that it tends to be inflexible and may not respond correctly to one’s intended behavior. Automaticity is also more likely to engage when the global mind encounters stressors. The higher the

stress, the deeper the retreat into learned automatic behavior, freeing the conscious mind to focus on the stressor or danger. For example, when our first pilot was stressed by being too high on final and saw the fence at the end of the field, his conscious mind engaged in active problem solving (s-turns), while his sub-conscious mind executed the automatic actions of brake pressure, surge control, and slowing. This is where the actions of the brain, still deeply trained to fly the lower performance wing, failed the true desire of our pilot. Because his deeper learning of proper brake pressure was still linked to the handling of his EN B glider, he applied too much brake pressure when turning and spun his new EN C wing.

THE DILEMMA Automaticity is automatic; you can’t change it. Spin brake points are more sensitive on higher performance wings; we can’t change that either. What is a pilot to do? The best advice I can make is to fly much more conservatively when stepping up a wing class. Give yourself larger landing field options, don’t scratch as much, back it down until your automatic response rises to the needs of your new wing. Give your mind plenty of time to deeply learn your new wing response and proper automatic brake input. Building this deep learning may take longer than you think. The patterns of old automaticity may linger even after 15 or 20 flights and a number of hours of practice. Remember: The greater the stress, the more likely the most deeply learned auto-response will engage, even though we wish our new learning would take over. This is a hazard hidden in our sub-conscious mind. Fly high. Fly safe.

Martin Palmaz, Executive Director executivedirector@ushpa.aero Eric Mead, System Administrator tech@ushpa.aero Beth Van Eaton, Membership Services membership@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.

TALES

RYAN VOIGHT

FROM THE TRAINING HILL by Paul Voight

HOW TO SELECT AN INSTRUCTOR Finding a good instructor to safely teach you to fly shouldn’t be too hard a task. Because our kind of aviation is not “mainstream,” and tends to have concentrations in certain locales and be absent in others, your location may affect your number of options or choices. You may need to travel to get quality care if there are no experienced instructors in your area. Starting with a “perfect world” scenario, if you are near a flying site or schools (usually the two co-exist), your best resource is word-of-mouth. Mingle with the pilots at the site, and ask them who the good instructors are. Pilots are not shy, nor are they lacking

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

in strong opinions. You’ll get straight talk on who the great instructors are, and who to stay away from. Sample a few opinions, and normally you’ll find a trend towards a certain school or instructor. It is definitely in your best interest to seek out certified instruction. The USHPA has a short list of Instructor Training Program (ITP) administrators, who run instructor clinics to train and screen instructor candidates. A well-designed training syllabus is taught to potential instructors, and once they have passed the clinic requirements, fulfilled the apprenticeship pre-requisites, and passed several

written exams, you (the consumer) can count on a certified instructor being knowledgeable, safety conscious, and in possession of the most current teaching methods. If your situation is such that you need to select instruction through a web search (or other research method other than word-of-mouth), you can still gather enough information to make a reasonably confident decision. I’d caution you to be careful if you gain access to pilot “chat lists,” as the author of a post may (or may not) really have the credentials to be offering advice. Certified instruction goes without saying. Experience is certainly a plus. Actually call the schools you might be considering, and ask how long they have been in operation, how many students they graduated last season, and how their safety record fares. Generally (but not absolutely always) the larger, long-established schools have a good handle on safe, efficient instruction. I’m a believer in evaluating honesty and sincere professionalism via a live conversation, since it’s hard to evaluate from an e-mail conversation. LISTEN to the person selling you on the phone. If they hit you with big numbers, and seem to be too busy to spend time with you on the phone, be cautious. Also, be wary of claims of being able to get you “flying high” in very short time frames, or at very low prices. There really are no effective (safe) shortcuts for the progression from “first-day newbie” to “high-flying

JEFF SHAPIRO

solo pilot”. The skill set you need to acquire to safely operate an aircraft on your own, in even optimum smooth air, takes many days of practice with a logical, gradual progression to highaltitude flying. Quality instructors need to buy groceries and can’t give away their time inexpensively. “You get what you pay for” is true in life, and aviation instruction is no different. I need to be fair to the “little guys”—schools that might have only a single individual on staff—and to new instructors who might have just begun teaching. There are certainly instructors in this category that I would rate as some of the best out there. While they don’t pass some of the screening criteria I mentioned earlier, you CAN receive exceptional instruction from a professional, small, and even new instructor or school. Again, a live chat can be very informative in qualifying a lesser-known instructor. Who are the absolute no-doubtabout-it, best instructors out there? Pick a USHPA Instructor of the Year winner. About 10 years ago, the USHPA began offering annual awards for the best hang gliding and best paragliding instructor for each year. A national committee screens all of the nominations submitted each season, and only one instructor in each disci-

pline receives the award each year. An instructor who is on that list of award winners is a high-quality instructor, without a doubt. Obviously, the list is short, and these folks may not be conveniently located for you. If you are lucky, there might be one in reach. Lastly, I recommend, whenever possible, sampling your choice before committing to a significant investment. Commit to a first day lesson or small package and see how it goes. If it all goes as you hoped, stick with them. If they fall short of your expectations, start researching new options! I hope this article is helpful. There are plenty of sources of quality instruction out there. Please remember that you need to commit time, energy, finances, passion and patience to the endeavor of learning to fly safely. Good instruction will take you through a gradual, safe, incremental progression, for which shortcuts don’t exist.

A complete list of certified instructors can be found on the USHPA website (www.ushpa.aero) and from there, you can start your screening. 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 holds a master rating (H-5) in hang gliding and an advanced (P-4) in paragliding, and is an administrator for USHPA’s tandem and instructor programs. He has been the USHPA director for Region 12 since 1989, was named hang gliding Instructor of the Year in 2007, and in 2010 received the USHPA Rob Kells award for his outstanding contributions to hang gliding over more than three decades.

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The

FOURTHEROAD Gang Takes to the Sky

ast winter I emailed John Heiney, hoping he’d have some photos to accompany my article on past US hang gliding champions. John couldn’t help me out right then as he wasn’t at home—he was, he told me, off teaching hang gliding to a father-daughter team who’d just arrived in California after bicycling from Florida along with the rest of the family. “Is there a story in this?” I asked John. He assured me that the Four the Road gang were definitely article-worthy, gave me their contact info, and this story began to take shape. Just to be clear, the Four the Road family didn’t ride across the country with the intent of learning to hang glide when they reached the West Coast. Theirs is an interesting tale, and you can find it on their website, fourtheroad.com. The family motto is a quote from Andy Dufresne: “Get busy living, or get busy dying.” Finding adventure is what they do as a family. When an opportunity to learn to hang

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

by C.J. STURTEVANT

glide presented itself to them, how could they not take advantage? Rob, the family patriarch, provided the backstory. Once they’d determined that a cross-continent ride was an adventure they could all embrace, they loaded a work truck with bicycles and gear and drove from their home in Indiana to Jacksonville Beach, Florida. After unloading the gear and selling the truck on the beach via Craigslist, they—Rob and Gail, their 15-yearold daughter Dakota and 8-year-old son Luke—began their three-month journey across the country on bicycles, reaching the Pacific Ocean on January 7. We pilots all know that California is an awesome place for winter flying, but I asked Rob what brought him to that realization. “Gail and I took a flight on a trike several years ago,” he explained. “Since then it had been one of those things we were ‘going to do,’ but never did. The bicycle journey was a catalyst

of sorts to quit talking and start doing.” So, when they got to San Diego, Rob googled hang gliding. “I ended up on a forum where someone mentioned John Heiney and identified him as a ‘legend’ in the sport. I did a bit of research and then called John. From that point forward, I never considered any other instructor.” Originally Gail, Rob and Dakota signed up for lessons, but Gail soon decided she’d rather wait for the day when she could take a tandem flight with Rob, and instead became the photographer and, along with Luke, the cheering section. “We trained on the beloved hill known to us as Spider Woods,” Rob says, and explains, “I use ‘beloved’ as one who has run down it over 130 times. Dakota has run down it over 150 times.” I didn’t get in touch with them until they’d finished their lessons and were about to head back to Indiana (driving, not biking, this time). Once they

LEFT Dakota and Rob with huge post-flight smiles. BELOW Rob launching from Blossom. Photos by Gail.

arrived back home, Rob and Dakota spent some time reminiscing about their hang gliding adventure, and provided me with detailed responses to my interview questions. As John pointed out to me at the outset, there’s a good story here! You’ve both participated in lots of adventure sports—what was unique about your hang gliding adventure? Rob: The people in this sport are so diverse. I’ve met college professors as well as folks who sleep in their van, and everything in between. Their commonality is their love of flying. Dakota: Hang gliding is the only sport I’ve participated in where it is just you and the elements. You aren’t competing, or fouling, or being fouled, or chasing a ball, or watching for vehicles that could run you over, or using a gas pedal. Obviously if there are other people in the air you are watching for them, but for the most part, you are alone with nature. You are a bird. For that 20-minute flight you are as carefree as the birds that are flying with you. All of us who fly recall our traininghill days as the most challenging (and

occasionally most frustrating) aspect of hang gliding. What did you find most challenging? Rob: What is frustrating about running down a hill over 130 times and not getting more than a second of flight? The training was tough, but well worth it. I put my trust for my safety and my daughter’s safety in John’s hands. I tried not to second-guess his instruction. For me, learning to flare properly took a bit of time. Dakota: The most challenging part for me was definitely my running speed. I will admit that I was occasionally frustrated with John constantly nagging me about my speed. I understand now why he was so concerned (having the power for a low-wind launch), but that was definitely frustrating. Another difficult thing for me was having to really muscle the glider. It wasn’t until later in my training that I had a 140 Falcon, a glider that fit me and responded well. I just toughed through the early training at Spider Woods, and once my 150 runs were over, the rest of the training was easy comparatively. Did you have any “OMG, this is so amazing!” moments? If so, give us a verbal picture of what led you there. Rob: I had several but I’ll share three. I launched from a lower point at

Dakota shared some of her tweets and Facebook posts from her training-hill days. “Got my first tandem MOUNTAIN flight today! The air was rowdy, but John let me take over for a little bit. Launch was at 2500 feet. Talk about sensations! Free like a bird. :)” (In a conversation with a friend) “Well, Dad and I have been taking hang gliding lessons! I got to launch tandem with my instructor at Lake Elsinore, here in California. The launch was 2500 feet or something! It was sooo scary! Then once we were in the air it was OK. I got to fly it for a little while....it was awesome!” “We are about to get mountain flights! Eeeeeeeeeeeeeek!” (yes, there were actually 14 e’s.) “Still can’t believe that I’ll have a hang gliding license before I can legally drive a car!” “Just passed the test to be a USHPA Hang-2 pilot! :) Crazy excited!” (In response to some congratulatory comments) : “Yeah, it is pretty awesome. You should definitely be jealous! ;)”

Winchester (maybe 15 feet). I probably got three feet off the ground and was amazed that the ground was moving. After all the practice, I was finally flying! The first time I launched at Winchester from about 60 feet was both terrifying and amazing. After launching I realized my instructor wasn’t next to me, so it was probably a good idea to control the glider. Dakota said she could hear my deep exhaling from the ground. Lastly, the first time I launched from Blossom at about 1000 feet, everything about that flight was amazing, but seeing two ravens flying 200 feet below me is permanently etched. I couldn’t stop smiling at the thought that I was flying with birds. Dakota: Like my dad, I had several. I’ll start with a “OMG, what did I get myself into?!” moment. The first time I launched off Blossom, I had a little bit of nervous energy, but once I ran off the mountain and realized that I was actually flying, and I was alone, 1000 feet in the air, I started thinking “What the heck have I done?! What was I thinking?” Then I realized that John

wasn’t with me and I’d better calm down and control the glider or bad things could happen. My really clear “OMG, this is amazing!” moment was when I got hooked. I wasn’t actually completely passionate about hang gliding until about my fourth flight off Blossom. I did a semi-fast 360° turn before my landing, and I felt the complete adrenaline and I was like, “OK, I’m hooked, I want to be able to do this everyday! This is amazing!” Another one was the first time I was solo, and seeing a hawk flying below me. I was thinking “Wow, I’m flying like a bird!” Isn’t that what all kids dream of? I also was really happy with my great landing on my very last flight. That is a great feeling, and left me pumped up for hours.

Hang gliding training is a real workout, both physically and mentally. What kind of self-talk went on in your head that kept you going at it for the time on the training hill? Rob: Well, compared to crossing the country on bicycles, the training wasn’t bad. The main battle I had was to trust John’s wisdom to know when I was ready to get off the training hill. Trusting him made it much easier to take the abuse of the training hill. Dakota: Pretty much my stubborn nature is what kept me going. My brain was saying, “You’re sore, you’re wasting your time, you aren’t getting anywhere except the bottom of the training hill,” but my heart was saying, “You have to prove yourself. You have to prove to John that a 15-year-old girl can do it.” I know that there were times that John doubted I would be LEFT Rob approaching the LZ. TOP RIGHT Dakota

almost on the ground. Photos by Gail.

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strong enough, or would stick with it. I think knowing that John had a little doubt in his mind is what made me go through with it. I’m pretty stubborn, but in this case it definitely was a good thing! When you set out on a new adventure, what are you hoping to gain from the experience? Did hang gliding measure up to your previous adventures? Rob: I look to gain life experience. I look to push my comfort zones. Hang gliding more than lived up to previous adventures and will always be a part of my life even as new adventures beckon me. Dakota: I am pretty much of the same opinion as my dad. I want to live as much of life as possible, while I’m still young enough to enjoy it, before I become an adult and have to earn money and all that jazz. My dad is like “Heck, let’s pick up and go do this crazy thing,” and I’m a little more reserved, but I am definitely game for a good adventure as long as it’s within sanity. I don’t like being TOO far outside my comfort zone. Hang gliding definitely measured up to previous adventures, and I’m really excited to excel, and eventually get my H-4. I am definitely “hooked,”

and I can’t wait till the next time I can fly. Leonardo da Vinci said, “Once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to

return.” Is that true for you? Rob: It is. The idea touches the romantic in me almost to the point of welling up. Dakota and I can hardly see a hill, cliff, mountain, without talking hang gliding. When I see a bird, I watch it to see how it hang glides. I indeed long to return. Dakota: It is funny that you mention this, because this quote goes through my head at least once a day. I actually like it so much I put the quote on Facebook during my training. Every time I see a bird, or a mountain, or feel the wind, I am thinking about the wind direction, and where a good landing zone would be, and if there are thermals, and how I wish I had a builtin hang glider that I could activate by hitting a button. I actually had a dream that I was like Iron Man, except with a built-in hang glider. That’s how much I think about it and long to return.

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SETH WARREN

Accent'uate The Negative Preventing Feedback in Hang Glider Landings by DENNIS PAGEN

he touchy-feely psycho-healing types like to talk about positive feedback as in: “Gimmie some props, dude.” More apropos, in our sport instructors know how important it is to encourage early students with positive reinforcement as in: “Way to go, you almost landed on your feet!” The implied ending…“and avoided stressing me and my glider out once again,” is never verbalized. So positive feedback in human situations is desirable. But in physical systems, it is almost never OK. Here’s an example of positive

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feedback we all are familiar with: Someone speaks/sings/yodels into a microphone, the signal is amplified and broadcast out the speakers. The microphone picks up the sound from the speakers then amplifies that until a resonant frequency is hit, the whole thing goes into overload and an earsplitting squeal fills the room. That’s positive feedback. What we want is negative feedback, so the output signal comes back into the input in a manner that reduces or attenuates the input signal, not amplifies it. In an aircraft, the pitch stability system is supposed

to input a nose-down force when the nose is lifted by the pilot or a gust, and a nose-up force when the pilot or air makes the nose drop. That is negative feedback because the stability system is inputting the opposite force compared to the original force. A stable system uses negative feedback while an unstable system experiences positive feedback. On an airplane the tail or horizontal stabilizer provides this negative feedback force, while twist, batten reflex and reflex bridles do it on a hang glider. So in a real sense, we want our feedback in flight to be negative.

Now we come to the meat (or tofu) of our topic. When landing a hang glider there are feedback situations that occur, both physically and psychologically. In all cases we want these systems to be negative, not positive. We will cover three here, although there are more. Thinking about and adjusting these systems may help us achieve better landings.

UNFLATTERING FLATTENING LANDINGS Some years ago I noticed my glider didn’t have the pure sink rate it used to have. It didn’t sit as high in the flock of flyers floating in the soft lift as it used to. I could have just said “flock it,” and bought a new glider, but instead I thought about science, specifically physics. I wondered if something had changed. The situation was this: I was suffering from compromised rotator cuffs plus a real desire to preserve my favorite spine so if a post-flare situation called for me to hold up the glider as it descended (any time the wind

“We have all been there. Once we are nearly ready to flare and the glider breaks to one side we know it isn’t going to be pretty.” was nearly zero or the flare was a bit early), I would simply let the glider drop to the ground. That’s a little jarring on the glider, but a glider heals with an injection of money much more readily than my body does. In fact, as I continue to suffer from the syndrome known as A.G.E. (Acute Gerontological Erosion), I expect the occasional glider jars to occur. But here’s what I found out: While I was saving my back I was flattening my nose batten. The nose batten on a hang glider is not typically made of 7075 aluminum, so it is most prone to flattening in any scenario that tends to flatten, such as pounds, bad storage, lowering the nose in high winds, etc.

When the nose batten is flattened the result is an inability to fly as slowly before stall and a higher minimum sink rate and speed. Thus you won’t float as high in comparison to others, but more importantly you can’t slow down as much during the landing phase and the stall during flare will be more abrupt. Simply put, perfect landings will be harder to achieve. So that’s where the positive feedback system is: In general, bad landings flatten the nose batten, flatter battens make landings harder, so more bad landings occur, so the nose batten gets flatter, so landings get worse, so battens get flatter, landings get worse, battens flatten, landings…you get the picture. To stop

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this positive feedback cycle it is necessary to first be aware of it and second to correct the battens. Most modern gliders use 7075 alloy battens that rarely flatten, but it is still necessary to check them all periodically, especially when operating in higher winds. Taking your all-important nose batten out, truing it to the pattern, then tracing this batten’s shape with an indelible marking pen on the inside of your glider cover lets you easily check it in the field whenever the notion strikes you. It should strike you any time you suspect reason for a change or when the ground strikes you during landing. Keep your feedback systems negative.

UNILATERAL LANDINGS Here’s another common landing feedback system: A glider comes in with the pilot clam-happy and focused on performing perfectly. As he nears the ground and levels off, the glider buoys along in ground effect and energy payoff, slowing towards flare speed. But without provocation the glider starts a gradual turn to one side. The pilot tries to correct, but the glider doesn’t respond due to the low airspeed and the fact that ground effect loads up the tips more than in free flight away from the surface. We have all been there. Once we are nearly ready to flare and the glider breaks to one side we know it isn’t going to be pretty. All we can do is try a roll input at the same time we stand up and produce a minimum flare (a large, hard flare amplifies the sideways turning, just as a push out increases the turn rate during a normal roll control). The result is a dropped wing and an awkward or crashed landing, the severity of which depends on the pilot’s agility, the degree of the dropped wing or both. A dropped wing can bend the leading edge of the dropped side a bit when it hits the ground. This result may not

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be felt in the air, but only show up during the landing phase when the outboard section of the wing is loaded more. Fortunately this bending is less frequent with the stronger tubing and beefier leading edges of today’s gliders, but what can happen is a stretching of the sail, stretching of the sail fastening system or tweaking of curved tip anchoring on the dropped side. Even more commonly, a hard pound on one side jerks hard on the sail that doesn’t drop and stretches it in the fore-andaft direction so it is looser. The result is the sail may wash out a bit on the non-dropping side, making the whole set-up uneven. During landing the tighter side (the dropping side) will stall first, thus dropping that side. Now here’s where the feedback (positive) system comes in. A dropped wing causes a hard one-sided pound (a unilateral landing) which alters the side-to-side balance, which causes a dropped wing tendency even more, which stretches the sail more which drops the wing more, etc. The only way to stop this feedback system is to retune the glider. Retuning in this case means restoring the left-to-right balance. It should be noted that if a sail is stretched asymmetrically (or in some cases sewn asymmetrically), sighting and tuning for symmetry probably will not solve the problem. The proof is in the flying. Usually a turn problem shows up during the landing phase, and especially the flare, before it does in free flight. This is not an in-depth piece about tuning, but the first thing I like to do if there is a landing problem is observe if the glider has either a tendency to turn to one side or drop one wing consistently. I usually like to note a dropped wing three times before being convinced there is a syndrome. If it is a wing I am flying or one I am observing I carefully note if there is a crosswind and if so, throw out that result. Note again there are two factors

that can lead to the same result: The glider begins a turn when you slow down in ground effect, or it breaks to one side when you flare. To stop a turn during the landing phase (whether before flare or during it) requires getting the sail to twist evenly on both sides. A turn before the flare usually means the lowering wing is lifting less and needs to be corrected by either having the tip batten cambers increased a bit, having the sail tightened a bit or having the leading edge eccentrics turned a bit to slightly droop the outboard leading edge. A dropping wing during the flare—when the glider is stalled—requires a turning up of the tip or a loosening of the sail to allow more twist. In any case, consult your owner’s manual on the best way to tune your glider for these effects, or hire a professional who (seems to) knows what he is doing. Keep your feedback systems negative or the problem will only get worse.

PSYCHO-PATHETIC LANDINGS Earlier we grinned at the psychological approach to feedback, but in truth, there is a major psychological factor in landing skill and outcome. We all probably know that alert relaxation is our best mental state for performing a physical activity that requires dynamic judgment, timing, reaction, and controlled muscular response. There is a bit of physical feedback here too, because there should be an automatic variation of the flare force and speed according to the glider’s initial reaction to the push (this reaction depends on the wind speed, the wind gradient, the glider’s speed, the speed of your initial flare, etc.). But we will discuss a different feedback here. When a pilot performs a perfect landing all is well with the world. He carries off the field content and confident. But when he blows the landing he may create little doubts or confidence corrosion behind the initial

feelings of disgust and shame. This corrosive effect serves to make him a bit more uptight during the next landing, and especially during the more difficult—gusty, no-wind, crosswind, etc. landings. Alert relaxation is gone with the wind. A bit of uptightness may result in less-than-perfect timing or style, resulting in more uptightness the next landing, resulting in a worse landing, resulting in more pucker, then deteriorating landings and tighter pucker. That’s a positive feedback system and that ain’t good. We all should be aware of the syndrome and can perhaps see these pilots at our home sites (or in the mirror). They limp along by relying on luck, big wheels and a quiver of replacement uprights. (Note, there’s nothing wrong with wheels, mind you, but they shouldn’t be the primary means of landing safely except for individuals with compromised physical factors on smooth surfaces.) The only cure for such an ingrained problem is either the help of an instructor at a training hill to relearn all the steps and proper feelings—retraining muscle memory—or a strong will to overcome anxiety and perform properly. Probably the latter will not work if the problem has been going on too long. Keep your feedback systems negative or you will be paying for it in negative cash flow. We can see that there are feedback systems all through our flying experience. Truly when we make controls to change speed or turn we are using feedback to vary and terminate our control input. In turbulence we are using feedback all the time to keep our gliders as level as possible. The glider itself responds using feedback effects for all its stability regimes—pitch, yaw and roll. Even this article is a feedback system if you think about it, apply it, rethink, reapply. Hopefully it is negative feedback to calm your flying experience rather than make you screech with anxiety during landing.

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Shillong, INDIA:

Flying the Wettest Place on

Earth

by ANTHONY GREEN

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oki, Tim, and I were straddling an underpowered motorcycle as we zigzagged up a mountain road, dodging potholes and passing a line of taxis and trucks, tuk-tuks, during a midnight torrential downpour. Not surprisingly, the clutch broke halfway up. With a quick phone call, Toki found a temporary solution, and four hours of traffic later, we were home. This was our return journey from the first day of the Autumn Festival in Shillong, India. Most of my expectations were shattered, but some were simply reinforced. Numerous extremist rebel groups in northeast India are fighting for independence from India. Newspapers headline the violence of these groups towards everyone except foreigners and the military, since their response is usually massive retaliation. Most people don’t witness the violence, but everyone knows it is occurring. Despite the ongoing, sometimes violent, protests against the government, Shillong is a relatively safe place for tourists. There is almost no crime, so during our first visit to India, we felt safe. The Meghalaya or Khasi people are proud. There is no sign of begging, pickpocketing or homelessness. There are no slum dogs here. The large lower class has dignity, and the people seem happy with what they have. One evening at the local golf course, we helped Arnon Lufi from Israel fly some tandems, and I foolishly left our professional camera uncovered on the seat of the tuk-tuk for an hour on a busy road. When I returned, it was still there. According to Toki, nobody would even consider taking something he didn’t recognize. In addition to being honest, they are scared of the unknown.

Witchcraft is practiced in the region, and the locals are terrified of it. Most are scared to go into forests, caves, or anywhere except their homes. While flying, I discovered OPPOSITE Flying in India is a unique experience. LEFT Laitlum, The author over Shillong. a tiny isolated village 700m down a cliff, and decided to make the hour’s hike down. When I arrived, the villagers reacted to me with curiosity and fear. The kids crept up behind me, never coming closer than four meters, either laughing uncontrollably or dead silent. It is rumored that witches cast evil spells and sacrifice people for their practice. Villagers who discover someone practicing witchcraft will form a mob and attack that person. Strangely, they will do the same to someone who hits and kills a cow on the road, although most are happy to eat one. Personally, I would be more frightened of an angry witch than a dead cow. Traffic is frustrating. The residents of Shillong seem to have patience, since they are able to sit in a traffic jam for four hours without moving an inch. Yet, traffic jams occur because of people’s impatience. It doesn’t make sense. The roads have no lines designating lanes, so when

“Until 1947, Shillong was an English World War II mountain station. It has been called the ‘Scotland of India’ because of its landscape.”

drivers need a lane, they just make one. The problem is that everyone makes his own new lane, until the entire road is blocked. This happens when no police or army are present to direct traffic. It is every man for himself and an aggressive race for every inch. Two trucks broke down on the dam the night before our first airshow, causing traffic to be blocked on both sides for days. It took us three hours to reach a potential takeoff that was only five kilometers away. Once we reached the site, we hired a few boys to chop grass, cut trees, and clear brush until we had a Europeanstandard launch. Flying down to the venue was quick but fun; we had almost enough height for a SAT or loop. Unfortunately, the spectators had more trouble getting

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there, and attendance at the event really suffered as a result. Despite the small audience, Tim and I were there to perform, so we tested the homemade D-bag we had constructed for 10 euros the night before, based on what we remembered from our Ava Sport bags. Arnon took Tim up to 800 meters above the venue with his tandem motor. Tim dropped, sorted out a cravat, and performed some synchro with me, down to the lake. It worked and looked cool for our almost-50-person audience. The Khasis are a minimalistic people in a materialistic world. There is no nationalized plumbing; the water emerging from our guesthouse shower was a trickle. It was OK窶馬ot a waterfall, but enough.

When we took a taxi across town, I was impressed by how conservatively the driver drove. At every little hill he cut the engine and bump-started the car again at the bottom. In fact, any time he stopped, he cut the engine, never letting it rev more than 1000rpm, even up steep hills. Taxi drivers everywhere else resemble rally racers in comparison. In Shillong, a plate of food generally consists of a huge mound of rice, a few vegetables and two little pieces of meat, mostly fat or gristle. I love their simple diet, because I hate wasting things, and everything in Shillong is conserved and reduced. However, large international corporations are taking advantage of the area’s natural resources with no concern for the environment, if protecting it will cost them money. A large French cement factory operates in the area, exporting mountains of Meghalaya to the rest of India. Flying over the plant, I could see the extent of the destruction the company is wreaking on the countryside. Coal trucks were lined up for miles to cross the town, with black smoke pouring out of them and polluting the air. A few years back, the government put a limit on the amount of coal each truck could carry, as there had been so many accidents. Now, five times as many trucks are on the highway, causing more traffic jams.

This may be the reason Shillong is the cancer capital of India, and India is the cancer capital of the world. The Shillong people are told it is due to their smoked meats. No one is allowed to drink alcohol on Sunday, according to the Christian church that seems to control certain segments of the population. Anyone who disobeys is really looked OPPOSITE Cultivated fields abound creating create topdown upon and even punished somelanding sites after harvest. times by the church. Consequently, ABOVE RIGHT A potential we felt as if we were getting away with takeoff at Orchid presents breaking the law by buying alcohol on some challenges. the black market and smuggling it into the concert. Unfortunately, during my airshow, five drunken young boys went out on an old canoe but, tragically, only four returned. We extend our condolences to his friends and family. Communication is easy in Shillong. The literacy rate is 23% higher than in the rest of India, and almost everyone speaks English. They seamlessly switch from English to Hindi to Khasi in one sentence. Until 1947, Shillong was an English World War II mountain station. It has been called the “Scotland of India” because of its landscape. With only four months of flyable conditions wedged between monsoon seasons, the Shillong region is pos-

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sibly the wettest place on earth, with rainfall reaching 25 meters per year. The water has cut deeply into the range and created beautiful flying sites with lakes, waterfalls, and lush green rainforests in abundance. Over 1200 new species have been recently discovered in the region.

After the festival ended, we set about exploring what free flying the area has to offer. One of our obligations was to find suitable sites for the Meghalaya Paragliding Association. Finding new sites has always been one of our favorite aspects of the sport; Tim even crashed into a tree testing out a potential takeoff at Orchid. We are going to need to remove some trees for that one! The Meghalaya Paragliding Association has plans to create a school, develop the sites we found, and organize a paragliding festival in the future. The region is so rich in culture and has so much flying potential! Hopefully, everything will be ready soon so everyone can share in the adventure.

ABOVE The villagers at Laitlum are wary of strangers. LEFT Kwai is made with powdered limestone, areca nut, and betel leaves; chewing it provides stress release, gives people something to do all day and apparently warms them up in cold weather. Most elder Khasis have stained red teeth and lips from chewing it for so long. OPPOSITE Visiting Shillong is like going back 50 years in time. There are constant power outages and a limited infrastructure.

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SMIT (ready to fly) | 350 ft This site will serve as the official Meghalaya Paragliding School training ground. It is ideal for training: the hill has a gentle, obstruction-free slope that faces the prevailing southerly wind, and the landing zone is ideal for kiting and paramotor instruction. NONGRAH VILLAGE (ready to fly) | 1300 ft An intermediate to advanced site with a cool 20minute hike to halfway up the mountain, allowing pilots to reach the thermals and get away easily. The local military has used this site for many years; however, despite its great potential, few big flights have been made from here. The landing zone is large and easy to access. LAITLUM VILLAGE (under construction) | 3500 ft Laitlum Village will become a more technical site, since it has ideal thermal activity for big crosscountry flights and a small uneven landing zone. The takeoff is situated at the edge of the plateau, with a gentle slope that gradually gets steeper. It faces southeast, so is ideal for early starts for long flights. Top landings are very easy, and there is a lot of space. Once a landing zone has been established, a two-hour hike out is required. The site is well worth the risk. ORCHID (under construction) | 1000 ft This will be a free-flying site for beginner to advanced pilots, providing the possibility of crosscountry flights and gentle top-to-bottoms. It will have three takeoffs oriented north, west, and south to cater for those wind directions. The landing zone will be situated below the hill at the shore of Lake Orchid. MAWKAJEM (under construction) | 1800 ft This site will be developed for intermediate to advanced pilots, due to its strong thermal activity and limited landing area. It will have one takeoff facing west and a landing zone at the bottom of the valley, with the possibility of a drive down.

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SILVER HAWKS

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by CHRISTINA AMMON

When I first thought to interview pilots who were over 65 years old, I’ll admit I had a few assumptions.

ainly, that our gray-haired compadres were heroically defying the natural order of things. Athletics, in my mind, were for young people; the older people I knew played bingo and knitted sweaters. These pilots-of-a-certain-age, I thought, were sort of outliers–flying in spite of their age. OPPOSITE Michael Zanger I wasn’t the only misguided one. prepares to fly at Whaleback One pilot recalls having pre-flight in California. BELOW jitters at the Rat Race, and then seeing Michael Zanger. 66-year old C.J. Sturtevant plow her under-five-foot-tall self off in the spicy conditions. How cool, he recalls thinking. If she can do it, so can I. As he watched her top out the gaggle, he wondered if he’d underestimated her. He had. Sturtevant has been flying 31 years, is biwingual, and in fact was once a member of the US Women’s Hang Gliding team. Hopefully, we whippersnappers can be forgiven for our admiring, but occasionally patronizing, attitude. In our minds, senior citizens retire to LZ-Boy recliners, not Sup’Air harnesses; they study crosswords, not skew-Ts. At most they play a little golf. But they don’t do extreme-ish sports such as paragliding or hang gliding.

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Or do they? When I contacted Beth Van Eaton at the USHPA office, I was surprised to learn that of the 9000 active members in USHPA, 790 of them are over 65 years old. That’s over eight percent—a higher percentage of our little subculture than I would have guessed Why are so many elders taking to the sky? After completing my interviews, I realized that far from being at a disadvantage, older adults are in many ways better equipped for flying than their younger counterparts. Retirement means they’ve got free time to give flying the attention needed to stay current. Not only that, but their judgment is often better honed. With over 65 years on this earth, they’ve fallen down enough times to know the effects of gravity. And, as most pilots know, a bit of humility can go a long way in sound decision-making. Still, I’ll never stop being amazed when I see pilots like Gert Pokorny, 79 years old, land from a flight at Woodrat and then head back for an early dinner at the retirement community where he lives. It’s almost like he’s got a double life. It definitely defies most conventional notions of aging. Weathered Feathers? OK, it’s true: Their knees are creakier, backs stiffer, and bladders less continent. Obviously, older folks face some physical challenges. Fortunately, flying has pretty minimal physical requirements. “It takes some strength, but mostly finesse,” says Dave Blizzard, 67,

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president of the Cascade Paragliding Club in Seattle, Washington. Still, mastering this finesse was tricky for Blizzard. “I didn’t just learn as if I were in my 20s. That was a little blow to my ego.” A former soccer “sweeper,” his approach was always if it doesn’t work, just push it harder. “In paragliding that same attitude will get you smacked,” he laughs. Not to say the physical aspect of flying isn’t important. You need to be able to haul the gear around, muster a few strong strides off launch, and absorb the landing. This can require some adjustments. Blizzard says staying nimble for paragliding has motivated him to shed 30 pounds. He is now at his high-school weight. Hang gliding equipment can be ungainly, and seems to present more challenges to the older set. “Just lugging it around is a major pain in the A,” says 66-year old pilot Chip Henly. Although he still hang glides, especially in Mexico, these days he is spending more time flying his motorized trike for “the ease of it.” World-record-holding hang gliding pilot Davis Straub, 66, is still going strong with his hang glider—and actively trying to break his own 205-mile record on a single-surface glider. He has few physical complaints, but does have a pulley on his helmet for neck support—helpful for multi-hour flights. He lifts weights to maintain the upper body strength required for hang gliding. Although biwingual, C.J. and her husband George Sturtevant, 67, now opt to paraglide, primarily because the gear is lighter and more comfortable and “things happen more slowly than in a hang glider.” Noting that their older bodies take longer to heal, most have scaled back their flying ambitions somewhat. Michael Zanger, a 71-year-old pilot from Mt. Shasta, is more scrupulous about avoiding cloudsuck. Pokorny has toned it down as well, opting not to fly an advanced glider or go cross-country. “I’m not even tempted. It’s a risk management thing.” Wise Owls Since flying isn’t particularly demanding physically, one could argue that the mental aspect is more important. This is where our elders might have the edge. Henly has been hang gliding for 33 years and feels

that having many hours in the sky gives older pilots a leg up. “Airtime,” he says. “It’s all about how much airtime you can get.” Blizzard entered the sport late—at age 63—and sees this as an asset. “Because of my age, I’m actually a safer pilot than I would have been if I were a younger pilot. When you are young you sort of think you are going to live forever.” C.J. echoes that: “Even as a 30-something, I was not really aware of how fragile life is, how one’s future can be drastically altered in an instant. That awareness comes with age and experience, I think. Things that might have seemed cool 25 years ago now seem risky and silly.” “How does one come to wisdom?” Blizzard asks. “By making mistakes.” Almost all the senior pilots could recall a few youthful mistakes: broken shoulders from skiing, mountain biking accidents, getting caught in undertows. Zanger owes his safer, more-seasoned perspective to a long mountaineering career, in which he’s had friends injured and killed. “I’ve developed a healthy and mature respect for inherently dangerous activities.” “I have a little more equanimity now,” he explains. “I weight the situation and conditions more carefully.” This attitude means that older pilots may not always take the lead in the sky (with the exception of Straub!), but luckily they have a healthy enough sense of self to be OK with that. “I’m at the back of the

pack and always usually last and that is just fine with me,” Blizzard says. This abiding calm extends to other aspects of this life as well. “One of the most beautiful things about being 67 is that I have nothing to prove. I can be at Rat Race with beautiful women hanging out on launch, and I’m not hustling. I’m just hanging out.” Birds of a Feather Ed Wenker, 65, is a regular pilot at Woodrat Mountain. With his brash personality, he attracts a fair bit of ribbing. When he shows up on launch sporting pressure socks, he is greeted with a chorus of “Hi, Grandpa!” He takes it well, confident in the knowledge that he has out-flown and out-partied youngsters everywhere from Mexico to Turkey. OPPOSITE Davis Straub packing up at Temple, Texas In flying, he finds an antidote to [photo by Belinda Boulter] the sense of invisibility that can come ABOVE Davis Straub flying with age. “All of a sudden I’m not as a Wills Wing Falcon 3170 over irrelevant as I could be,” he explains. the airport in Zapata, Texas “It’s good for the self-esteem. It shows last year. that you are not folding up the tent quite yet.” Barbara Summerhawk, 67, also flies Woodrat and like Wenker, is not reluctant to take up space. Her voice is loud, clear, and commanding, and she moves with an agility rare to her age group. Summerhawk makes a gender distinction in the over-65 set. She is correct to do so. Of the 790 older pilots, only 38 are women, making her a definite

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venating.” Henly feels accepted too, although when he shows up with his hang glider, some people joke about him being an “old fart.” “But when it comes to thermaling,” he says, “I’m right there with them.” George Sturtevant is sometimes surprised to find himself one of the elders. “It’s been hilarious to become the ‘old, experienced guys’ we looked up to with awe in our beginner days!”

minority. “It might be harder for older women to fly because of the atmosphere,” she suggests. Although she feels her home sites of Woodrat, and Asagiri in Japan, are very supportive, she recalls one site in particular where the guys hadn’t seen many female pilots. “They were friendly, but patronizing,” she recalls. Summerhawk feels older women should be encouraged to fly so that there are more role models. “It makes you think you can’t do it because you don’t see examples.” But she doesn’t see herself as a victim, and actively claims her place among the pilots: “You are in community as much as you wish to be. If you feel out of it, you opted for that.” In general, older pilots feel admired and welcomed into the paragliding scene. “Pilots are always glad to see me,” says Pokorny, who describes flying as “reju-

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Rare Birds If their hang gliding and paragliding peers understand why they fly, sometimes their non-flying friends and family do not. “They don’t get it,” says Blizzard. “My kids don’t get it. They don’t understand why I put myself at risk because they don’t understand the rewards.” Although the residents in Pokorny’s retirement community are “a very intelligent bunch,” they also have trouble relating. “They think I’m crazy and probably have other comments that they make when I’m not there,” he speculates. “But they probably admire me too. I try to explain that I don’t jump off; I fly off.” Colleagues can even be even less sympathetic. When Summerhawk took early retirement, the president of her University was caught off guard when she explained it was to fly more. C.J. also felt judged for her decision to fly. “When I was teaching, two of my principals (both women) thought it was totally irresponsible for me to fly hang gliders, and were very antagonistic towards my competition activities.” Wenker is undeterred by the judgment of his nonflying peers. “You are either telling stories, or you are making stories. I choose to keep making stories.” Swan Song Most older pilots known that sooner or later, their age will catch up to them and they will need to stop flying. George says, “I have to say that when I bought my present wing, I wondered if it would be the last wing I’d buy.” How will they know when that time comes? Blizzard is hoping for another 10 years, but will look to other people for cues—mainly his family. “I can have an honest enough conversation with my wife that she can get through to me.” Wenker thinks the quality of his launches will be the determinant: “My launching ability will tell me when its time to stop. Launching is really the only

athletic part of paragliding.” But none plan on turning themselves “out to pasture” anytime soon—unless that pasture is hung with a windsock. Henly won’t stop flying until he can no longer turn the ignition, or pick up his hang glider. “I plan on flying until I die,” says Summerhawk. Zanger: “I’ll be the person with the walker.”

fter interviewing the over-65s, what I was most struck by was their sharp appreciation for the privilege of flying. Senior pilots simply seem to enjoy it—and everything else—more. “I enjoy every little thing a lot more,” notes Michael Zanger. “Every day is a gift—especially outdoors.” “I’ve found my expectations, my goals, my sources of satisfaction and pleasure have evolved along with my joints and my eyesight,” says, C.J. “There’s plenty of goodness left in life—even though I can no longer turn cartwheels across the LZ after a great flight.” Blizzard says his happiness quotient has “definitely gone up” in his 60s and candidly attributes this to the sense of mortality that comes with age. “There is an acceptance of the fact that we are all going to die. It’s in your face all the time—every time you look in the mirror. I know it’s coming. But a lot of good things are coming, too.” He continues: “Young people should learn to live every day. It’s the advantage of being older. You know your days are limited. If you can learn that without waiting until you are older… that’s better.” Christina Ammon lives at The Crash Pad at Woodrat Mountain in Oregon. Contact her at woodratcrashpad@ gmail.com. OPPOSITE George powering off launch in Verbier, Switzerland [photo courtesy Verbier Summits]. RIGHT, TOP TO BOTTOM Gert Pokorny, a regular pilot at Woodrat Mountain, turns 80 in November [photo by Andy Pag]. Chip Henly, 66, takes a passenger on a tandem flight at Mt. Tam in California. Although one of the only 38 female pilots over 65 years old, Barbara Summerhawk feels accepted in the paragliding world. “You are in community as much as you want to be,” she says [photos by Christina Ammon]. C.J. has made some adaptations to her gear as she has aged: “I traded my topless hang glider for a single-surface Falcon, and I’ve always flown an EN-B paraglider (Gradient Golden 3)” [photo by George Sturtevant]. Ed Wenker, 65, says flying keeps him young: “You are either making stories, or you are telling stories.” [photo by Christina Ammon].

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Shawn McDuff over Torrey Pines

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Paradise

LOST

ying in a hammock between coconut palms, while listening to the sound of gentle waves lapping on the beach and waiting for enough wind to go kite surfing, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard as a paraglider pilot not to notice the cloudstreets trailing off into the distance. Surely they are working. Are they working?Â For the past three years, Pak Nam Pran in the Gulf of

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Thailand has provided three of us a welcome reprieve away from the dusty jeep rides up to hustle another 30-minute tandem flight at Sarangkot, Nepal. Brad Sander, Graham Saunders and I met there about five years ago, when we all worked as tandem pilots for Frontiers Paragliding. During the last four years, we have worked together as guides for paragliding tours in

by MATT SENIOR

Nepal and flown together on some bivy trips and tours in northern India. Pak Nam Pran in Thailand is an oasis in a country filled with beauty. The town is a quaint coastal squidfishing village surrounded by pineapple plantations, coconut groves and fields filled with aloe vera. Our day there starts early, with a serving of krapao

moo (spicy basil pork) and a pineapple ABOVE The great mountains one can bench smoothie. Shortly after, we’re ready to back to off tow call to crosstow from the beach right in front of our country pilots. favorite breakfast spot. Within minutes, Veso, our Bulgarian acro friend, is completing his first misty to heli, followed by an infinite tumble to the beach. He’s pumped and ready for another training

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flight. As I run to the boat to grab the drogue shoot for him, I notice the first cumulus clouds starting to pop. It’s only 9:15 a.m.—now I’m pumped. I race back to our Saling (motorbike side car) that is loaded with various wings and grab my Icepeak 6, in anticipation of an XC flight. I’m ready and have prepared myself for the day, after having learned many lessons ABOVE Veso Ovcharov from my first XC from the beach-tow goes over the falls at an site two weeks earlier. international kite-surfing My first XC from the ocean was nothcompetition. OPPOSITE ing short of a junk show. My preparaTOP On tow in paradise. tion involved bringing my wing to the beach, with the idea of towing up and trying to connect with the clouds and see what happened. After a fun morning of acro and a few tandems, the day lit up, and the sky was filled with perfect popcorn-like clouds. I hadn’t been paying attention to the conditions and was probably an hour too late. Upon landing my tandem, I scrambled to get my XC kit ready and launched in a mad rush of frustration that I might have missed part of the day. In my frantic rush I somehow forgot to bring sunscreen, money,

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and water. It wasn’t until I climbed to base under the first cloud that I realized what I needed and radioed a desperate plea for someone to chase me on a scooter. Armed with the knowledge that at the very least I had a phone, a radio, and a friend on the ground, I continued to surf the clouds farther inland, eventually finding a couple of cracking 900fpm+ climbs that took me to over 5000 feet. The easterly flow pushed me farther inland, where the clouds were better and the base higher, forcing me to quarter the wind and head to the north in order to avoid the jungled mountainous interior that leads to the Burmese border. After several slow hours of quartering the wind, I ended up landing about 60km from Paradise Bay, stoked by the knowledge that our suspicions were confirmed. It is possible to tow up off the ocean and fly XC, and cloudstreets we’d all seen and dreamt of do work, and work very well. During the night, the light offshore breeze forces the ocean into a mirrored lake, but around 10a.m. on most days the land heats up, and the cooler, humid air from the Gulf of Thailand fills the coastline with perfect cumulus clouds. As the morning progresses, the sea

breeze strengthens and cumulus clouds move slowly inland. Although XC flights are possible most days during the “thermal season,” a more southerly flow aloft is preferable if you want to cover more ground. After my junk show last time, I was prepared for the right day. Water, check! Sunscreen, check! Cash, check! Shortly after I downed my pineapple smoothie, the first small cumulus started to pop right over the beach. (Usually they’re a kilometer inland, but I’m not complaining.) I laid out my glider, put on some sunscreen and clipped in. As our 200hp custom-modified jet boat equipped with a beefed-up supertow hydraulic winch sped away, I climbed smoothly to well over 2000 feet, released from the towline, and made the short glide to the first cloud. As I climbed to base in the light lift, I noticed a light westerly flow at base pushing the cloud and me towards the beach. Gliding along a tropical white sand beach lined with coconut palms under a cloud street was a dream I’d never had, but it is now something I long for every day. It wasn’t until the third climb I took over 3000 feet that the clouds and I started to move inland.

Everything was going well for the first couple of hours. I was getting strong climbs under nice clouds, base had lifted to just under 5000 feet, and I had a nice fivemph tailwind. By noon, I was already over 50km from

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where I had launched, and the best part of the day was still ahead of me. As I continued my easy progress north, the first anvil looking cloud presented itself about 20km to my northwest, shortly followed by the second one about the same distance off to my left. It’s time to land, I thought, so I left my climb and glided downwind to find a safe landing next to a road. Although I was a little frustrated at ABOVE Landing zones are being on the ground so early, I was hard to come by, but do exist stoked at having flown 75km over where there is coastline. beautiful, interesting terrain that no one before had crossed in a paraglider. Predominantly flatland, there were a few small features along the way that seemed to work just as they should. Within minutes of landing, I had three friendly farmers checking out my lines and canopy, feverishly speaking Thai to one another in shocked wonder as to how I had arrived in their neighborhood. Not having any real grasp of the Thai language, I used my Google Translate to

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satisfy their curiosity, which led to one of them offering me a ride to Phetchaburi, where I could get a minivan back to Pak Nam Pran. It ended up being one of the easiest retrieves ever. I made it home in just over two hours after landing, and the trip cost less than a beer in most countries. Back in Pak Nam Pran, it’s easy to feel as if you’re in a special place. Its quiet beauty, friendly people and complete contrast to other tourist destinations throughout the country make it one of Thailand’s best-kept secrets. We invite pilots to come and share this oasis with us. Our season is from December to May. We are hoping to offer people the opportunity to not only fly XC from the coast but also to take SIV/acro courses at our huge fresh-water lake. In addition, we will give you the opportunity to thermal up along the gorgeous Sam Roi Yot range that creates six different coastal soaring sites in the area. If this sounds like something that might interest you, please check us out at 300peaks.com.

Please join the Foundation for Free Flight at the first

Site Preservation Fund Raising Fly-in

October 5th and 6th, 2013 Morningside Flight Park 357 Morningside Lane Charlestown, NH flymorningside.kittyhawk.com Announcing the Deed Restriction (Restrictive Covenant) securing Morningside as a flying site for 99 years!

TWO SITES. ONE CAUSE. Working to preserve our home sites across the country.

But, we still need your help! Please join the Foundation For Free Flight in our efforts to save the Point of the Mountain (Northside) Flight Park in Draper, UT Donations can be sent to: www.ushgf.org/donate.html More information can be found at: SaveSteepMountain.org

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The Leading Edge I

entered a competition once and wrote about my abysmal results in this magazine last year. I’ve finally recovered from the back trouble caused by stooping down to check my scores posted on the results board. Humbling placement aside, I really enjoyed the comp. The experience was a notable steppingstone in my progression as a pilot. It opened my eyes to what’s possible with a paraglider and the type of goals I should be aspiring to reach. In the wake of that experience, I notice my piloting and decision-making skills have improved. Now that the psychological scars have healed, I’m ready to try again. But this time I’d actually like to do some racing. I wanna be a contender. To give me a head start on the racing line, I tracked down four US top competition pilots to ask them the Who, What,

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Where and How of flying with the lead gaggle.

Who I’m not sure I have the right sort of character traits to get to the podium, so I started by asking my quartet of experts to describe the type of person who wins paragliding competitions. According to Arnie Frankenberger, USA National Champion in 2012 and Serial Class National Champion in 2011, “The best pilots are those who can remain calm and relaxed during the stress of competition. Many complex decisions are made every minute during a competition, and it is nearly impossible to make the correct decisions if you are rattled by the conditions or the stress of competing.” Nate Scales, the granddaddy of comp flying in the US who has 20 years’ experience and a national rank-

by ANDY PAG ing of 6th, points out that it helps to have some brains. “You must be smart. There are a million different inputs coming into your brain, and you must be able to prioritize and process all that info to make good decisions. All of the pilots I admire are superconfident: they are confident with their glider control skills, and they are confident about their landing skills, allowing them to fly over areas where others don’t see landing areas. They are completely committed to what they are doing.” Bella Messenger, a dual US and German national, races for the German National team. She’s one of our sport’s leading female ambassadors and is so competitive that her results challenge the preconception that there should be separate categories for men and women. She agrees with Scales that you can’t win without a commitment to

LEFT Bella Messenger is a German National Team

member and runs guided XC tours in Nepal, the proceeds of which support scholastically-achieving children from low-income families in Nepal. ABOVE Josh Cohn has been winning competition tasks and setting XC records since 1997.

flying. “Every successful comp pilot I know has put her life on hold for some large chunk of time and dedicated herself to paragliding. There are different learning curves, of course, but no one just ‘picks up’ competition flying.” “Some pilots seem to be naturals at it more than others, but that tends to even out after a few seasons of practice,” says my fourth expert, Josh Cohn. Cohn has regularly finished in the top five of the US Nationals since 1999, including six first places. “Pilots who develop the right attitude can become very consistent. The main qualities are practice and attitude.” “Successful comp pilots are also

incredibly stubborn and resilient,” adds Messenger. “You have to be stubborn to put up with all the bomb-outs and short-of-goal days, and resilient to bounce back from those inevitable disappointments. People who get easily disheartened soon realize comp flying isn’t for them. Good comp pilots also don’t seem to scare easily. That doesn’t mean they turn off risk-assessment; they just trust their decision-making and are able to confidently assess their limits, their equipment and the meteorological conditions. And when they get it wrong occasionally, it doesn’t rattle them.”

What I checked with my mother, and she confirms that I’m calm, clever and pretty pig-headed, so there is hope for me to make the podium one day. Next my thoughts turn to what gear I will

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need. “When you’re starting out, the gear is not especially important,” says Cohn, “as long as it is appropriate for the pilot and has decent performance. As you get to the upper levels, it becomes more important. Spend some time getting your gear dialed in before taking it to a comp.” All four experts reiterated that familiarity with your gear is crucial. Frankenberger also recommends: “Don’t make any changes at the last minute. You want to be comfortable enough with your gear that you can stop thinking about the equipment and focus on flying and strategy. “The Icepeak and Enzo are the two most popular competition wings this year. The Enzos outnumber the Icepeaks in Europe, and the situation is reversed in the US. Both seem to be very comparable in terms of performance, with the Icepeak being the more user-friendly of the two. One good or bad move during the task has a far bigger impact on your result than the difference between these wings.” Messenger warns: “If something is uncomfortable and distracting, it’s going to slow you down. Generally, for comp flying I like to be quite close to the top of the weight range. Of course, if you are fully loaded for speed, make sure you are still able to climb well with others in the weak stuff. If you feel as if you are getting consistently left behind in the thermals, analyze your technique or drop a few kg off that beer belly or ballast.” Scales asserts that to fly in the lead gaggle, you have to be on the latest wing. “To be competitive you must be on the best equipment. All of the top guys’ flying skills are fairly similar; if you are not on an equal glider, there is no way you will keep up with them, even individually. When you put them together in a gaggle, the pace increases another 10-20%; if you do not have

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similar gear, there is no way you can hang.” When it comes to gear, the stalwarts seem to follow a “less-is-more” philosophy. “I try to keep the gear as simple as possible, but no simpler, so it’s useful but not distracting,” says Cohn, who’s wary of even PTT systems. Scales also keeps his flight deck uncluttered, having just a Flytec 5020 and a Garmin 60 GPS. “I think many newer pilots never learned the art of navigation. They don’t look at the map ahead of time and try to think about the best way to fly the course, with regard to the wind and the terrain. They spend way too much time following the arrow to the optimized point on the cylinder.” In the spirit of keeping mind and body uncluttered, Scales also flies with a pee tube, as well as his pitot tube. “The best standout piece of gear I have found is the condom catheter. It makes taking a pee an easy joy. I think it is super important to have food and drinks to keep your brain fed, so you can continue to make good decisions.” I ask him about ballast and, again, his approach is simplicity. “My advice is to get a glider that fits, so you don’t have to mess with ballast. All that weight takes some feeling away from the glider, and it is a pain to haul around.”

How I’m curious to know how the change in competition rules—excluding uncertified gliders—has affected the racing. Does this make it easier for newcomers to get on the podium? For example, Frankenberger has always raced certified gliders, and last year he earned a surprise victory at the US Nationals at Woodrat. Cohn and Scales both think competitions are better now. “The barrier to entering the top level has been lowered a bit. Some of the new gliders seem to

be really nice all-around, while others are more compromised. I recently sold my R11 and won’t miss it,” says Cohn. Scales thinks the move is good for the sport in general. “It makes the contest much fairer and a lot more fun, having more guys in the lead group. My new IP6 is, for sure, the best glider I have ever had. My R10 may have had a bit more top speed, but this glider launches easier, turns nicer, and has almost the same performance. I think there are some truly brilliant designers, and they are going to have no problem continuing to evolve the performance, no matter what level of certification is put on them. I am all for serial class, and I can’t wait to see what the designers come out with next. “I don’t think the sport is much safer with the new certification; we are still way above the ground hanging on shoestrings and bed sheets. Let’s not try to fool anyone that what we are doing is ‘safe’,” he adds.

Where Another chat with my mother confirms she won’t loan me the money for an Icepeak 6, Impress 3 or the latest Flytec, despite my assurances I’ll pay her back with my future winnings. So while I hunt around for the best subprime loan sharks, I’ll start working on key flying skills. Where does the race get won or lost? In the thermal or on the glide? “There are lots of opportunities to lose a race,” says Messenger. “For me, the race starts as soon as the task is put up on the board. Lots of races are lost before the task starts, with data input mistakes. Get a good look at the map. Make note of where the edge of the cylinders are and think about what each of the turnpoints will physically look like, their altitude and if the turnpoint is into or with the wind. Talk with more experienced pilots, or someone who knows the area well,

LEFT Nate Scales has been racing paragliders for 20 years, and puts his current 6th place in national rankings down to how long he’s been flying. RIGHT Arnie Frankenberger has been finishing on the serialclass podium since 2010, and has continued to win since the change in competition rules.

about where they see potential route choices and what they think works best with the day’s meteorology. “Walking a scaled-down version on the ground while you are thinking about the flight and visualizing it has helped me a lot. Also, have a postlaunch plan; you should have been studying the wind dummies during the briefing and getting a good idea of where it’s working best for your first climb. Think about where you want to be placed for the start and how long it’s likely to take you to get there. The best comp pilots are hitting the start cylinder at maximum altitude, at the optimal tangent, the second the race is on.” Cohn also thinks the path to victory is paved with losing side roads. “It’s easy to lose by making a mistake and compounding it by taking more risks to try to catch up. Making goal and thermaling efficiently are most important for beginners. Cutting off just a few unnecessary turns in thermals adds up to minutes.” Scales has a lot of tips for both thermaling and gliding. “You must be able to thermal well and turn your glider tight to get in a small core, but I think gliding is a super under-appreciated art. Lots of pilots work super hard in the climb and then totally space out on glide; it’s a huge mistake. Gliding requires an equal amount of concentration to stay in lifty air, look for signs of the next thermal, and, most importantly, manage your glider. When you are not thermaling, you should be on the bar for several reasons: speed-to-fly theory says we should almost always be going faster, and I think you are much safer when you are on the bar. You have

a direct link to the leading edge, and you can feel exactly what is going on there. If the leading edge does begin to fold, popping off the bar and relieving all that tension is a great way to prevent a collapse. Flying with the rear risers, you should work to keep the glider consistently pressurized and over your head as much as possible. “More important than thermaling fast is choosing when to leave the thermal. I like to leave a thermal as soon as I think I can comfortably make it to the next climb. It is also important to find the core of the thermal. Don’t waste time in 200fpm if all the thermals that day have been 600fpm. Go to where the thermals are; glide all the way into the peak. When I am with a group, I love to leave them to mark the core and try to search on every circle for a stronger bit, knowing that I can come back to the marked core if my search is not fruitful. “But even with the best piloting skills,” Scales concludes, “a race gets won or lost by the decisions you make.” Frankenberger agrees, and has a simple approach to decision making. “I think one of the most important decisions is whether to be aggressive or conservative and when to switch be-

tween the two modes. Being aggressive means leaving lift or not stopping to turn in lift, leaving the gaggle you are in if they are flying slowly, and flying faster on glide. You can be aggressive when you are high and when there are known sources of lift ahead of you. You have to recognize changes in conditions and switch gears before you get too low to recover or before you get left behind. I work on this every time I fly.” “One of the most common timekillers in racing is people not reacting quickly enough to new information around them,” adds Messenger.

Why So after all this advice, I’m no longer expecting to be at the top of the scoreboard next time I race, but I am keen to enter more comps so I can work on these skills. That’s my motivation, but why do they do it? Scales’ answer sums up the joint sentiments best: “That we are able to pull this toy out of the bag and jump off the side of a hill and race around the sky is a magnificent concept to me. Comps are the best way to improve your flying skills and test your theories against a bunch of buddies while learning their tricks.”

GALLERY SETH WARREN 46

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Jeff O'brien HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

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Jeff Shapiro | Montana

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Randolph, Utah HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

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Montana HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

FIRST DESCENTS by Rob Roberts ith my feet up and my back to the woodstove, I’m slowly settling into this well-used rocking chair. Friends mill about, drink strong coffee, and turn the conversation my way, but my thoughts are elsewhere, and I fail to reward them with much response. There’s a recent issue of an outdoor magazine lying on the wooden table, so I pick it up to pass some time. Each article describes a feat more harrowing than the next. I flip through tales about the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the world and the first woman to ascend some peak. Whether about crocodiles on the Congo or a litany of record breaking attempts, everything is described as epic, dangerous, and gnarly… I laugh to myself, maybe at myself, thinking about the little adventure I have planned for the following morning. We drove through a spring snowstorm to get to this little nook of western Montana, where a blue-ribbon trout stream is sandwiched by steep hills and grassy ridges. The cabin, laboriously renovated by volunteers and now rented by the US Forest Service, is located on an old homestead site. A hand pump by the back door supplies clean, cold water, and large rounds from beetle-killed ponderosa pine fuel the stove. Many decades ago, optimistic cattle herders settled here, and fisherman eked out a living in the valley by selling trout to local miners. Legend has it that a runaway slave disappeared in these mountains and found lasting

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peace while nursing trappers and other hard-working, worn folk back to life with natural remedies. This cabin is one of the few surviving remnants of that bygone era. As we pulled into the long drive that leads through the old pasture, I saw a golden eagle soaring overhead. I immediately climbed up a rocky ridge that overlooks the cabin and found a perch that opened views of the valley for miles upstream and downstream. A few inches of fresh snow made the wet grass and snow-covered scree glisten, and heightened the sense of contrast in the seemingly endless horizon. I grabbed my walking stick—a freshly cut alder branch—wrapped it with a few strands of construction flagging and jammed it into the ground, piling rocks around its base to keep it from falling over. In clear view from the cabin window, that stick would become my beacon, as I impatiently watched the makeshift windsock signal with the shifting mountain breezes. To fishermen, every bend on this river is known, talked about, trampled and named. There’s Valley of the Moon, The Dalles, Gilles Bridge and so on. But the surrounding peaks and ridges are less talked about, though no less remarkable. Renting this cabin has become an Easter tradition for my friends and me, because mid-April brings a March Brown hatch to the valley. Starting about noon on most days, the short-lived but dense emergence of the March Brown, a mayfly, has large trout feasting wantonly on the surface. It’s not unusual to catch 20 or 30 fish in a short afternoon. In past years, I would drive the narrow, serpentine road with my gaze focused on the river, looking for signs of the rising insects and “noses,” or feeding fish. But this year, my eyes were trained skyward. Passing by southfacing slopes where deer, elk and

bighorn sheep grazed, I couldn’t help but see the possibilities, the numerous possible launch sites and the potential landing areas in open areas of the floodplain, old oxbows and abandoned fields. Nearly every time I hike to fly, which is usually the case in Montana, I have a sense of urgency about getting to the top, as if the wind speed and direction will only allow me to fly at that very moment. Not later in the day, not in 30 minutes, but now. As if the mere act of walking uphill is actually speeding up time, I feel stuck in a slow, painful gait that is outpaced by the chaos and rapidity of the swirling, unpredictable movements of the clouds and wind patterns above. Maybe it’s a similar feeling—call it edginess or an irritation—that leads others to grander adventures, to risk their life to do something no one else has done before. Maybe my impatience was also born of this desire to be unique, to see a place like no one else has before, at least in that moment. My risks just happen to be on a much smaller scale. I was especially wary as I began tracing my flight plan, because I had never flown in this valley before. I didn’t know anyone who had. I’m more accustomed to time-tested flying sites, where the accumulated wisdom of my free-flight predecessors has more or less done the dirty work for me. In other words, I had worries, and I rattled them off in my head. Will I clear the row of trees below the launch? Will the wind shift as the morning progresses? I didn’t want to be the first person to attempt this flight, as well as the first person to fail. The next day a small storm cell blew through as we ate huckleberry pancakes for breakfast but, quickly, the skies opened up to a crisp, blue day. I could see the windsock slowly fluttering downslope, pointing towards

the cabin. In contrast to my contemplative mood earlier in the trip, I paced around the cabin, looking at the windsock every five minutes and waiting. I had been thinking about this flight since last year, since our last Easter feast when we all gathered— stacked shoulder to shoulder on long benches—at the beaten wood table, communing under flickering propane lights. By mid-morning, the winds were still catabatic but starting to shift. A light breeze started traveling up the slope in cycles. I grabbed my wing, an Ozone Buzz Z, reversible harness, helmet and gloves and nodded to my friends. As I headed off alone across the field, I crossed old irrigation ditches that have long since been reclaimed

by ground squirrels and wildflowers, and started laboring up the hill. It was 15° outside, and the cool air stung my wakening lungs. The wind was light at the top, but mostly due west. Perfect. I laid out my wing and watched the flagging. I scanned the sky for clouds, for any sign that I was making a mistake. Puffs of smoke slowly drifted out of the cabin below, the only signs of life in a still morning that the sun was just beginning to warm. I waited for a friendly wind cycle, yelled “launching” for effect and in several steps I was airborne. The air felt full and buoyant, humid from the steaming snow on this southern face. As I rocked back into my harness, I could tell that I would easily clear the trees. I would not need

the escape route I had planned—a small slot between two enormous fire-scarred ponderosa pines, standing like sentries midslope. I relaxed and noticed the ribbon of water meandering through the valley, saw a deer scoot away under my shadow, and laughed. This flight would not be my longest, nor highest, nor really that remarkable for any reason. With little fanfare, I landed just a few paces from the cabin, under the watchful eyes of a lab, a mutt and a golden retriever. After stowing my gear, I grabbed the guest logbook and wrote, with more than a subtle tang of irony, the following entry: “April 7, 2012 – Possible first paragliding descent of Hogback Ridge?” My feat had been duly noted.

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Jeremy Ellis Jacob Pratt Sean Mcilvenna George Beirne Thomas Tiju Adrian Atman Lori Sanwald Clayton Beethe

WA WA AK AK WA WA WA AK

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

Manish Harpalani CA Andrew Goessling CA Josh Jarmie CA Yiran Wang CA Chris Brabeck CA Cuauhtemoc Cardin CA Nicholas Redditt CA Charles Coffman CA Nicholas Coolridge CA Eugene Kolkey CA Aaron Wheeler CA Danny Murphy CA Kyle Tortora CA Jeffrey Ploetner CA Mark Taylor CA Mike Redman CA Eric Steinmann CA Fernando Augusto Da Silva CA Theresa Rocco Short HI Paul Collins CA Richard Thunder CA Jeffrey Matthews UT Adam Wendling CO Randy Oakley UT Ethan Vance CO Adam Bojan CO David Ector CO Melissa Nelson UT Todd Wickand NM Paul Leck UT David Peck UT Dan Cookson UT Christian Rossner NM Clayton Doty UT Mickey Nuttall CO Willi Cannell ID Elliot Welder MT Jeff Townsend ID Taylor Hensen WY Philip Morgan AR Robert Simpson Jr AR Andrew Szymikowski IL Christopher Jones IL Douglas Snadecki MA Shawn Bullis VT Robert Hadley OH Robert Shelby FL Alexander Canedo FL Robert Meier FL Ana Maria Moura FL Shane Shaffer FL Kenneth Fullmer TX Mark Cleugh TX Eric Bergman TX Hermann Leick TX Caitlin Fleming TX Darren Hepple

Lan Do Chirico Marc Chirico Scott Amy Scott Amy Jesse Meyer Marc Chirico Denise Reed Andy Macrae Wallace Anderson Jeffrey Greenbaum Jonathan Jefferies Wallace Anderson Jeffrey Greenbaum Rob Sporrer Klaus Schlueter Rob Sporrer Rob Sporrer Jonathan Legg Aaron Price Stephen Nowak Max Marien Max Marien Jerome Daoust Max Marien Jerome Daoust Magno De Barros David (dexter) Binder William Purden Jr William Purden Jr Wallace Anderson Kay Tauscher Ken Hudonjorgensen Chris Santacroce Kevin Hintze Granger Banks Chris Santacroce Charles (chuck) Woods Jonathan Jefferies Stephen Mayer Ken Hudonjorgensen T Lee Kortsch Jonathan Jefferies Nik Peterson Chris Santacroce Andy Macrae Mike Steen Andy Macrae Britton Shaw Britton Shaw Jaro Krupa Steven Amy Stephan Pfammatter William Purden Jr Michael Appel Max Marien Ron Kohn Kevin Hintze Kevin Hintze Kevin Hintze Patrick Johnson Rob Sporrer T Lee Kortsch Anthony (bud) Wruck Murat Tuzer James Reich

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David Clarke Daylian Rousseau Ahmet Bilal Arslan Jonas Leissner Jennifer Eller Sebastian Pagden-ratcliffe Felix Pagden-ratcliffe Jeremy Ellis WA Brent Taylor WA Jacob Pratt WA George Beirne AK Thomas Tiju WA Adrian Atman WA Lori Sanwald WA Clayton Beethe AK Konstantin Othmer CA Timothy Stewart CA Marc Siedband CA Mark Budenbender CA Josh Jarmie CA Cuauhtemoc Cardin CA Charles Coffman CA Nicholas Coolridge CA Ronald Tarbell CA Eugene Kolkey CA Aaron Wheeler CA Rex Pebsworth CA Mark Taylor CA Eric Steinmann CA Fernando Augusto Da Silva CA Theresa Rocco Short HI Jeffrey Matthews UT Adam Wendling CO Ethan Vance CO Adam Bojan CO David Ector CO Melissa Nelson UT Paul Leck UT David Peck UT Dan Cookson UT Christian Rossner NM Clayton Doty UT Mickey Nuttall CO Willi Cannell ID Elliot Welder MT Jeff Townsend ID Taylor Hensen WY Andrew Szymikowski IL Christopher Jones IL James Hall NH Douglas Snadecki MA Alexander Canedo FL Robert Meier FL Ana Maria Moura FL Shane Shaffer FL Kenneth Fullmer TX Mark Cleugh TX Eric Bergman TX Darren Hepple David Clarke Daylian Rousseau Ahmet Bilal Arslan Jennifer Eller Sebastian Pagden-ratcliffe Felix Pagden-ratcliffe

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RTNG NAME

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If you

FLY, THEN YOU NEED the 2014

CALENDAR SAVE $ WHEN YOU PRE-ORDER YOURS at www.USHPA.aero/STORE

ADAM DOBBS

RATINGS ISSUED IN MAY

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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 SANCTIONED COMPETITION 2014 Sanctioned Competition Applications Applications for the 2014 competition season must be submitted by October 1st for review during the October board meeting. Applications are submitted via the member’s only section of the website at: https://www.ushpa. aero/member_sanction_application.asp 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. 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, 831-261-5444, naughtylawyer@gmail.com, or santacruzflatsrace. blogspot.com.

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 Spotlanding 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

FLY-INS SEPTEMBER 30 - OCTOBER 5  Richfield, UT.

Richfield Red Rocks Fall fly-in. Fall colors and beautiful mountains and flying activities for all levels and interests. Thermaling clinics, spotlanding contest, ridge-soaring task competition, morning sledders, distance challenges, and maneuvers clinics. Low pressure, fun flying activities to give everyone a chance to mingle and enjoy flying from Central Utah’s many world-class flying sites. The mountains will be dressed in the fall formal colors, and flying from verts of 6000 feet is breathtaking. More information: Stacy (Ace) Whitmore, 435-979-0225, stacy@cuasa.com, or www.cuasa.com.

SEPTEMBER 28-29  The Craters, Flagstaff, AZ. Dixon White flew away 5/30/04. Join us to celebrate his life, and enjoy the classic Crater conditions. Everyone who loves to fly should join us. Call or email stevekonves@cox.net, or 928-6999362.

clinics & tours 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 13-15  Dunlap, CA. Foothills of the Western Sierras. Dunlap Thermal and Cross Country Clinic with Eagle Paragliding. Dunlap offers some great flying in the foothills of the west side of the Sierras. This trip is one of our favorite 3-day excursions. Join us for some nice flying with some great people. More information: Rob Sporrer, 805-968-0980 rob@paraglide.com, or www.paragliding.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-wingual 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 22-24  Napa, CA. Over-the-wa-

ter maneuvers clinics in Northern California with Eagle Paragliding. America’s top all-around acro and former National Champion Brad Gunnuscio will be coaching you over the water with our state of the art towing set up. Eagle is known for high quality tours and clinics with lots of staff, and this clinic is no exception. More information: Rob Sporrer, 805-968-0980, rob@paraglide.com, or www.paragliding.com.

SEPTEMBER 26-28  Napa, CA. Over-the-wa-

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 4-6  Bishop, CA. Owens Valley Thermal and Cross Country Clinic with Eagle Paragliding. We have had great success in the Owens Valley with our groups. The eastern side of the Sierras and the White mountains are our playground for this clinic. We have had participants go over 60 miles in these clinics. View photos and videos from previous clinics at www.paragliding.com. More information: Rob Sporrer, 805-968-0980 rob@paraglide.com, or www.paragliding.com. OCTOBER 13-14  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-wingual 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 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-wingual 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.

6030

October 25-27  Elephant Butte Lake, New Mexico. Three days of over-the-water maneuvers training with David Prentice. Come expand your skills with an instructor with over 21 years of paragliding experience, from beginner to advanced maneuvers. The best value in SIV training in the USA. More information: David Prentice, 505-720-5436, earthcog@yahoo.com, or earthcog.com. NOVEMBER 8-26  Iquique, Chile. Where can

you ride thermals everyday of the year? Only in Iquique! Soar endless sand ridges high above the Pacific Ocean, then land on the beach next to our 4 star hotel! Your guides, Luis and Todd, have been multiple Iquique XC competition champions and have pioneered many new sites and XC routes over the last 15 years. Join them on a paragliding trip of a lifetime where most pilots gain more airtime and flying skills in one week than they normally would in an entire year! Instructional days available at the start of the trip focusing on building pilot skills. With amazing XC potential, many clients have flown 100 km flights! With over 18 years of combined guiding experience in Iquique, they guarantee you will fly everyday, or get money back!More information: Todd Weigand, wallowaparagliding@gmail.com, or www.paraglidingtrips.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 .

NOVEMBER 8-10  Santa Barbara, CA NInstruc-

tor Certification Clinic with Rob Sporrer of Eagle Paragliding in Santa Barbara, California. This three-day clinic is open to Basic and Advanced Paragliding Instructor candidates, and those needing recertification. We invite you to apprentice with us anytime to get as much hands on experience as possible before the clinic. More information: Rob Sporrer, 805-968-0980 rob@ paraglide.com, or www.paragliding.com.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

NOVEMBER 8-10 & 12-14  Yelapa, Mexico. SIV/

maneuvers clinic. Join us for another great learning and fun experience in beautiful tropical Yelapa. Tow up and land on the beach in a warm friendly location with lots of great places to stay and eat. Brad Gunnuscio, world-class xc, acro pilot and USHPA Instructor of the Year will be teaching the courses. Cost: $750 for three-day course with an extra day for weather. More info: www.ascensolibre.com, brad @paraglideutah.com, 801707-0508 or Les in Yelapa at: 011 52 322 2095174, or stingertail23@cs.com.

NOVEMBER 11-12  Santa Barbara, CA.Tandem

Paragliding Clinic with Rob Sporrer of Eagle Paragliding in Santa Barbara, California. We will be doing classroom and practical training at the best year round training hill in North America. More information: Rob Sporrer, 805-968-0980, rob@ paraglide.com, or www.paragliding.com.

NOVEMBER 8-10 & NOVEMBER 15-17  Sebring, Florida. Over-the-water maneuvers training course at one of the best locations in the world. Advanced instructor David Prentice, with over 21 years experience, guides each pilot at their own pace, from the basics to the most advanced maneuvers over white sand beaches and crystal clear water, just seconds from downtown Sebring. More information: David Prentice, 505720-5436, earthcog@yahoo.com, or earthcog. com. NOVEMBER 15 - MARCH 15  Valle de Bravo,

Mexico. Daily hang gliding and paragliding 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 transportation and guiding. 20 years of providing service. FlyMexico! More information: Jeffrey Hunt, 512-467-2529, jeff@ flymexico.com, or http://www.flymexico.com. DECEMBER 1 - JANUARY 31  Valle de Bravo, Mexico. Fly south this winter! Come fly the worldclass air of El Peñon in Valle de Bravo. Advanced instructor David Prentice, with over 21 years of experience and 14 years guiding tours in Valle de Bravo. World-class lodging and logistics, the best valued tour in Valle de Bravo, airport pick-up, local transportation, in-air guiding and XC retrievals included. We fly twice a day every day. More information: David Prentice, 505-720-5436, earthcog@yahoo.com, or earthcog.com. DECEMBER 6-8  Santa Barbara, CA. Santa Bar-

bara Thermal and Cross Country Clinic with Eagle Paragliding. Santa Barbara offers some of the best winter mountain flying in the USA. Our mountain flying season starts in September and ends the beginning of May. More information: Rob Sporrer, 805-968-0980 rob@paraglide.com, or www.paragliding.com.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

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. January 19-26  Tapalpa, Mexico. P-2 pilots

will fly word-class sites with 2500-foot vertical near Guadalajara. Enjoy four different drive-up sites within an hour of your luxury hotel room: Tapalpa, San Marco, Jocotopec and Colima. Avoid Valle crowds! Airport pickup, private hotel room, breakfast, site fees, guiding and coaching for six days of incredible flying for $1600. More information: Granger Banks, granger@parasoftparagliding.com, or http://parasoftparagliding. com/tapalpa-mexico-trips/.

FEBRUARY 2-9  Tapalpa, Mexico. P-3 pilots

will fly word-class sites with 2500-foot vertical near Guadalajara. Enjoy four different driveup sites within an hour of your luxury hotel room: Tapalpa, San Marco, Jocotopec and Colima. Avoid Valle crowds! Airport pickup, private hotel room, breakfast, site fees, guiding and coaching for six days of incredible flying for $1600. More information: Granger Banks, granger@parasoftparagliding.com, or http://parasoftparagliding. com/tapalpa-mexico-trips/.

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

HARNESSES FLY CENTER OF GRAVITY CG-1000 - The most affordable single line suspension harness available. Individually designed for a precise fit. Fly in comfort. www.flycenterofgravity. comflycenterofgraity@gmail.com, 315-256-1522

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.

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.

Quest Air Hang Gliding - We offer the

6020

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

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

GEORGIA LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK - Discover

why 5 times as many pilots earn their wings at LMFP. Enjoy our 110 acre mountain resort. www. hanglide.com, 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.

New York State’s Finger Lakes Good News–The flying’s great here! Start by landing in your ideal home with New York’s leading REALTOR®

INDIANA CLOUD 9 SPORT AVIATION - See Cloud 9 in

Michigan

Photo courtesy of SkyDogSports.com

COLORADO

MARYLAND

GUNNISON GLIDERS – X-C to heavy waterproof

HIGHLAND AEROSPORTS - Baltimore and DC’s

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. 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.

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.

MICHIGAN 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. TRAVERSE CITY HANG GLIDERS/PARAGLIDERS

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

Timothy Alimossy

Real Estate Salesperson | NYS Lic. No. 10401238145

(607) 351-4755

talimossy@nothnagle.com TimothyAlimossy.com | TimARealEstate.com H2 Pilot

NEW YORK AAA Mountain Wings Inc - New location at

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

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

Connecticut areas. Area’s exclusive Wills Wing dealer. Also all other brands, accessories. Area’s most INEXPENSIVE prices! Certified instruction/ service since 1979. Excellent secondary instruction! Taken some lessons? Advance to mountain flying! www.flyhighhg.com, 845-7443317.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

Let's Go Paragliding LLC - Paragliding flight

school offering USHPA-certified instruction for all levels, tandem lessons, tours, and equipment sales. www.letsgoparagliding.com 917- 359-6449

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

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

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.

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

WINGS OVER WASATCH HANG GLIDING - Salt

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.

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 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.

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 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.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

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 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.

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

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.

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

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.*

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Ongoing contributions made when you continue using your card.

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

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

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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.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

USHPA STORE

B O O K S

F I L M S

A P P A R E L

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DELORME INREACH | $299.95 inReach enables you to send and receive text messages, trigger an SOS for help, and track your GPS coordinates, wherever your trip takes you. It keeps you connected when off the grid.

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

BUMPER STICKERS | $3.00

Our blue baseball cap is 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

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THE ART OF PARAGLIDING | $34.95

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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 SAYING GOODBYE The United States Hang Gliding Association published my first article for this magazine in October 2005. It has been my pleasure to be with you for so many years, and I certainly hope that I have been able to bring you some equivalent amount of pleasure and good feelings about our chosen sport of foot-launch flying and the people who participate in this sport. However, it’s time for me to say goodbye and bring this long series of articles on the last page of our magazine to an end. I feel like the quality of my writing has been suffering of late, and I certainly do not

by Steve Messman

want to leave you with bad feelings about “that guy on the last page.” Most of my efforts have been toward writing essays that make folks feel good about what we do. That part was easy. Hiking toward launch on anything from logging roads to deer trails. Viewing this vast countryside from the highest points in the state. Traveling to and flying in distant countries. Discovering the formation of clouds. Feeling the coolness of a hot breeze. Learning to time cycles, and knowing what that means. The mental game of analysis before, during, and after every flight. This is a breathtaking sport that puts you in the center of nature at every turn, be that a quiet

and reflective turn in a pure, blue sky or a more adventurous turn wingtip-towingtip with eagles sharing the same thermal. Those are the very qualities of our sport that made my job so easy. How could one not feel good? Lately, I have been trying to refocus on writing novels and short stories. Ultimately, that is where I want to be. If I have captured your attention as a writer, check me out at www. stevemessman.com or any of your favorite online book stores. (Sorry, I shamelessly had to get some free advertisement in there.) Thank each of you for your time, your energy, and your kind comments. See you all on the hill. Be safe.

JEROME MAUPOINT

My CArT

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