Hang Gliding & Paragliding Vol45/Iss04 Apr2015 by US Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association

APRIL 2015 Volume 45 Issue 4 $6.95 HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

her glider. MEANWHILE, Stefan Mitovich captures a unique cloud moment in Valle De Bravo, Mexico.

WARNING

ON THE COVER,Â Jamie Shelden on the dunes, enjoying

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 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 footlaunched 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.

ADVERTISING ALL ADVERTISING AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES MUST BE

SUBMISSIONS HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine welcomes

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

editorial submissions from our members and readers. All submissions of articles, artwork, photographs and or ideas for articles, artwork and photographs are made pursuant to and are subject to the USHPA Contributor's Agreement, a copy of which can be obtained from the USHPA by emailing the editor at editor@ushpa.aero or online at www.ushpa. aero. HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine reserves the right to edit all contributions. We are always looking for well written articles and quality artwork. Feature stories generally run anywhere from 1500 to 3000 words. News releases are welcomed, but please do not send brochures, dealer newsletters or other extremely lengthy items. Please edit news releases with our readership in mind, and keep them reasonably short without excessive sales hype. Calendar of events items may be sent via email to editor@ushpa.aero, as may letters to the editor. Please be concise and try to address a single topic in your letter. Your contributions are greatly appreciated. If you have an idea for an article you may discuss your topic with the editor either by email or telephone. Contact: Editor, Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine, editor@ushpa.aero, (516) 816-1333.

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

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

POSTMASTER Send change of address to: Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine, P.O. BOX 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330. Canadian Post Publications Mail Agreement #40065056. Canadian Return Address: DP Global Mail, 4960-2 Walker Road, Windsor, ON N9A 6J3

COPYRIGHT Copyright (c) 2014 United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc., All Rights Reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission of the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc.

Martin Palmaz, Publisher executivedirector@ushpa.aero Nick Greece, Editor editor@ushpa.aero Greg Gillam, Art Director art.director@ushpa.aero C.J. Sturtevant, Copy Editor copy@ushpa.aero Beth Van Eaton, Advertising advertising@ushpa.aero Staff Writers Christina Ammon, Dennis Pagen, C.J. Sturtevant Ryan Voight Staff Photographers John Heiney, Jeff Shapiro

APRIL 2015 FLIGHT PLAN

BRIEFINGS

CENTERFOLD

RATINGS

CALENDAR

CLASSIFIED

THE 1

16 Tennessee Tree Toppers

Cow, Cat, Tiger

by Sofia Puerta Webber

Team Challenge

by Claudia Mejia

Flying Yoga

Ooooooh Idaho! by Nate Scales

28 Search and Rescue

After All These Years...

by Russ Locke

Preparing in Colorado

by Rich Jesuroga

Return to Dinosaur

Confessions ...of a Broken Pilot

by Brianna Kufa 56

44 Rat Race Super Clinic THE Grad School for Paragliding

by Kari Castle, Kay Tauscher & Ken Hudonjorgensen

Think Outside the Blocks Part XV: House Lift Lines

by Dennis Pagen

HELMETS

paragliders

bags

RESERVES

harnesses

ACCESSORIES VARIOS

w w w . s u p e r f l y i n c . c o m Our online store is open for business 24-hours a day, seven days a week for all your flying equipment needs

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Our offices are open Monday thru Friday 9-5. Call or stop by for free information or advice.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

FLIGHT PLAN

s we welcome the harbingers of a long awaited spring, the USHPA membership is preparing for another whirlwind flight-filled summer. This issue includes its usual inspiring stories as well as three articles that focus on issues related to safety. We hope to challenge the USHPA membership to take a long, honest look at the culture of safety that surrounds our local communities. Free flight sits in an interesting space in relation to our aviator brethren. We are seemingly equal parts sport and aviation. We jump in our cars, drive our aircraft to launch, hike our wings to where we will lay them out, and proceed to assemble and review what few checklists we have in a social environment. It seems that in our socializing at the flying hill, we may be doing a disservice to our pre-flight checklist and our ability to initiate a mental shift toward the serious business of aviation. Consider the serious nature of a pre-flight check conducted by a pilot flying a plane. This checklist functions not only to make sure all mechanical parts are in a good working order, but also to set a tone of seriousness of purpose in the pilot who will succeed in repeatedly defeating a universal principle—gravity. USHPA is a diverse culture of individuals who generally do not appreciate being told what to do, and an organization whose members fly across the country,

where customs and views drastically change from site to site and region to region. That is why the onus for creating a culture of safety must come from within each pilot and be religiously applied to his or her flying. With discipline, each pilot can create the continuity of a safety system, no matter where and with whom they fly. We must strive to create our own “pilot-in-command protocols” that focus on pre-fight checks, flying in conditions with which we are comfortable, and following a game-plan on every flight that methodically addresses our safe landing when the lift runs out. Folks often say, “I fly for fun.” Everyone has his or her own interpretation of what this means, from morning sled rides to long cross-country flights, but what we should be thinking is, “I fly safely. And that’s fun.” As you prepare for the coming season, we hope you will help USHPA, your fellow pilots, and, most importantly, the people who care most about you—your family—by making concerted efforts to focus on what your “pilot-in-command protocols” are and how you can best implement them in your lives.

left James B. over Nantucket | photo by Peter Bysshe. HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

PILOT BRIEFINGS FLYTEC CONNECT

7 NEW FLYING ACCESSORIES

Flytec is pleased to announce

by Yoon Kim

the new Connect 1 flight instru-

For those who work for outdoor gear

ment, ideally suited for XC pilots

companies, the month of January

ready to set new personal bests or

is often referred to as tradeshow

take the next step in their competi-

season. At least nine major outdoor

tion flying. Similar to smart phones,

tradeshows happen during the first

the Connect 1 is the first smart vario

month of the year, many of which

featuring a touch screen, a multitude

overlap in dates. We had the chance

of sensors, and a range of connec-

to attend four of these: the Consumer

tivity options. With an emphasis

Electronics Show (CES), Outdoor

on connectivity, pilots can easily

Retailer Winter Market (ORWM), Surf

exchange data with their Connect 1 without a computer. The Connect

Expo and the Snowsports Industry · Advanced options available:

1 brings together the latest tech-

FLARM anti-collision, pitot and

search of the latest and greatest ac-

nologies with Flytec’s 30+ years of

FlyLink for connection to additional

cessories for our readers. Here are

expertise.

Flytec sensors

some toys that caught our eyes...

Highlights of the Connect 1 · WiFi and Bluetooth wireless

Early-adopter pricing model Connect 1 initially will be

Goal Zero Flip 20 and Flip 10

connections allow for upload and

launched with limited functional-

Where Seen: CES

download of files directly from the

ity to early adopters at a reduced

Price: Flip 20 N/A, Flip 10 $29.99

instrument

price. Over subsequent months,

Date Available: Flip 20 Summer 2015,

Flytec will issue free updates to the

Flip 10 is Available Now

the pilot when a software update

early adopters until the Connect 1

Anyone who has ever spent an ex-

is available by merely connecting the

reaches full functionality. Timeline of

instrument to the Internet periodically

software releases for early adopters:

· Smart software updates inform

· Multiple thermaling tools, including Graphic Thermal Assistant, help

· March: Basic instrument with easy WiFi update capability

the pilot find the strongest lift in a

· May: Waypoints, airspaces

thermal and stay there

· July: XC routes

· Graphic airspace display provides navigation around airspaces on cross-

· September: Race routes · November: Maps

country flights · Map with main features including roads, rivers, towns · Easy connection to computers

For pilots looking for even more, later this year Flytec expects to release the Connect 3, based on the

(Mac, PC, Android, Linux, etc.) with-

Connect 1 but geared towards high-

out any drivers

level XC and competition flying. For

· Connectivity to third-party

Association Snow Show (SIA) in

more information on the Connect,

smart devices such as tablets, smart

please visit www.flytec.com or call

phones, Google Glass, etc.

800-662-2449.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

Martin Palmaz, Executive Director executivedirector@ushpa.aero Beth Van Eaton Operations Manager & Advertising office@ushpa.aero Ashley Miller, Membership Coordinator membership@ushpa.aero Julie Spiegler, Program Manager programs@ushpa.aero

USHPA OFFICERS & EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Rich Hass, President president@ushpa.aero Paul Murdoch, Vice President vicepresident@ushpa.aero

tended amount of time outside knows

Outdoor Tech Chips

about Nomophobia, or the fear of

Where Seen: SIA

not having a mobile phone. While the

Price: $129.95

Flip 20 can’t help you recover a lost

When not listening for wind noise

phone, it can help keep it charged.

or vario beeps, music in the air can

The Flip 20, available in the fall, can

be a beautiful thing. The Outdoor

charge a typical smartphone about

Tech Chips are compatible with just

twice while the smaller Flip 10s can

about any helmet on the market (they

almost fill a full charge.

slide right into the ear flaps) and are

AWARD WINNER NOTICES & ERRATA

It has come to our attention that Bob Reynolds—recently recognized in the February issue as the recipient of a USHPA 2014 Commendation for his work with the West Rutland (Vermont) site—has passed. In her article announcing the 2014 award winners, C.J. Sturtevant wrote, “ Bob has been a tireless and generous friend to free flight in New England. West Rutland, Vermont’s hang-and-para friendly site has benefited from Bob’s energy and caring spirit for many years.” Robert Allan Reynolds, 55, died Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015, in Rutland, Vermont. Memorial contributions may be made to Vermont Hang Gliding Association, PO Box 1425, West Dover, VT 05356. Also, in that same issue, we inadvertently misspelled the names of two 2014 Award recipients: Shawn MacDuff and Jack Yount Walters. We apolo-

Steve Rodrigues, Secretary secretary@ushpa.aero Mark Forbes, Treasurer treasurer@ushpa.aero

REGION 1: Rich Hass, Mark Forbes. REGION 2: Jugdeep Aggarwal, Josh Cohn, Jon James. REGION 3: Corey Caffrey, Pete Michelmore, Alan Crouse. REGION 4: Bill Belcourt, Ken Grubbs. REGION 5: Josh Pierce. REGION 6: David Glover. REGION 7: Paul Olson. REGION 8: Michael Holmes. REGION 9: Felipe Amunategui, Larry Dennis. REGION 10: Bruce Weaver, Steve Kroop, Matt Taber. REGION 11: David Glover. REGION 12: Paul Voight. DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Ryan Voight, 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.

gize to these pilots for the error.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

perhaps the safest option for quickly

GoPro accessories plus some snacks

hydrated. The filtration straw can

turning on/off your tunes. Each

and perhaps a post-flight libation.

remove 99.9% of waterborne bacteria

“Chip” is essentially one large button

The pack has a slot for a hydration

and protozoa from hundreds of liters

that can be pressed with a mitten if

reservoir and there are two integrated

of water. The best part of this “bottle”

need be. One click turns the music on

mounts on the pack so you can film

is when it’s empty, if compacts down

and one click turns the music off.

from multiple angles.

to 2.7 ounces of flatness.

Thule Legend GoPro Backpack

Vapur MicroFilter

Helly Hansen Active Flow Baselayer

Where Seen: ORWM

Where Seen: Surf Expo

Where Seen: ORWM

Price: $199.95

Price: $69.99

Price: $85

Date Available: Fall 2015

Date Available: Now

GoPros are notorious for jumbling

You never know where or where

The Active Flow from Helly Hansen

around at the bottom of packs.

you’ll get thirsty. Having one of these

isn’t as skin-tight as other baselay-

Jumble no more! This 24-liter day

in your pack means as long as you

ers that can feel rather awkward if

pack is perfect for holding all your

can find fresh water, you can stay

worn as a shirt. This synthetic layer is

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

43rd ANNUAL

Hang Gliding

Spectacular

made of moisture-wicking polyester

company. But we know better than

and because of the way it fits, can be

that. The visor on this carbon com-

worn as a performance piece under a

posite-fiber helmet slides right under

shell or even as casual clothing. Helly

the brow eliminating any gap be-

Hansen has steadily built a reputation

tween the goggle and the helmet. It’s

for their synthetics (and wool mix).

EN 1077 certified, 100% made in Italy.

OSBE Majic HELMET

Bergans Airojohka Jacket

Where Seen: SIA

Where Seen: CES

Price: $549

Price: $369.00

Date Available: Now

OSBE has been making helmets for

This windproof, waterproof shell

the Italian Air Force for decades and

has a four-way-stretch Nylon fabric

only recently entered the US, posi-

that doesn’t constrict movement.

tioning themselves as a ski-helmet

The hood is helmet compatible for keeping the drafts off your neck and the seams all are fully welded leaving water with no possible way to get in. At 420 g (14.8 oz.) it weighs just a little more than a can of soda and rolls up nicely into the hood when not in use.

May 15-18, 2015 Outer Banks, NC Jockey’s Ridge State Park Kitty Hawk Kites Hang Gliding School

Schedule, registration & more at

HangGlidingSpectacular.com Sponsorship Packages

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CHARLESTOWN, NH

603.542.4416 · FlyMorningside.com

SEASON STARTS MAY 1ST

elcome to Flying Yoga. I hope to help you create a healthy routine that incorporates endurance, strength, balance and flexibility into your flights by sharing with you simple yoga postures, exercises and tips which can become an important part of your flying lifestyle. When I first arrive at a flying site, I perform my inner “energy ceremony.” I am inspired by my surroundings to take deep yogic breaths: I inhale through the nose, extending my abdomen, and then exhale through the nose, pulling the abdomen in. This is a rhythmical exercise that gives one prana, or energy, and activates the lowest part of the lungs. By practicing belly-breathing, one becomes fully conscious of the action of breathing, facilitating awareness and relaxation. For yogis, breathing is also an expression of gratefulness—a demonstration of gratitude—and a great instrument for meditation. Air is vital, and pure air is crucial for achieving prana. Prana is the vital energy that gives us fuel to live our lives, like the wind that lifts up our wings. We get energy through the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, our friends, our thoughts, our conversations, places we go, decisions we make and the wonderful flights we get. In order to have pure air, we need to make a commitment to having smokefree flying zones. Let’s treat our bodies like our flying equipment. If you have ever heard an inner voice telling you to quit smoking, heed it. To further prepare yourself to fly, I encourage you to practice Cat/Cow and Tiger Poses.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

FLYING YOGA by Sofia Puerta Webber CAT AND COW SEQUENCE (marjaryasana to bitilasana)

Start with your hands and knees on the ground with your spine in neutral position. Place your knees directly beneath your hips and your hands beneath your shoulders. Inhale, while gently bringing up your chin and your tailbone. Cow pose. Exhale and arch your spine, tuck your tailbone in and under and round your back, lifting it in an arc, as you draw your abdomen up and in, like a cat. Repeat this sequence 10 to 20 times, breathing rhythmically as you move. Benefits: Both of these poses warm up the spine. The combination of the two is beneficial to your nervous system, helping you remove anxiety and increase prana.

TIGER POSE (vyaghrasana)

Start on your hand and knees. Lift one arm even with the shoulder and stretch it forward. Raise the opposite leg up behind you at the same level and stretch it out. Look straight ahead. Take five deep breaths. Repeat with the other arm and opposite leg. Benefits: This pose helps you learn to stabilize your center while moving your limbs, thereby improving your pelvic stability and strengthening your gluteal muscles. It will give you balance, not only physically but also mentally and emotionally. It tones spinal nerves, relaxes the sciatic nerve, loosens legs, tones reproductive organs, stretches abdominals, promotes digestion, stimulates blood circulation. And it helps you strengthen your willpower.

ONE-HANDED TIGER POSE (eka hasta vyaghrasana)

Start with Tiger Pose. If you feel any discomfort, kneel on a blanket. Shift your weight onto the hand that is on the ground. Bend the raised knee and reach back for your foot with the opposite raised hand. If you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t reach your foot, try to grab your leg or your clothing. If this is still is too difficult to achieve while balanced, bring your knee up as high as possible. Lift up your head, keep your hips parallel to the ground. Breathe and hold for five breaths. Repeat with the other leg and opposite arm.

Benefits: Stretches the shoulder and front thigh, strengthens arms and tones kidneys. Stimulates adrenal glands and the prana in the body. Tips: Â Please breathe! The places we fly are full of prana. Your bad habits can be replaced by good habits. Yoga helps. Set yourself free. Be the pilot of your life! Tell me how you feel at shiwido@ gmail.com.

Sofia Puerta Webber is a journalist, certified yoga therapist, fitness instructor and pilot in the San Diego area. She conducts Flying Yoga sessions on Fridays at 9:00 a.m. at Torrey Pines Gliderport, La Jolla, CA. www.shiwido.com.

Your bad habits can be replaced by good habits. Yoga helps. Set yourself free.

oooOOOh IDAHO! by Nate Scales C

entral Idaho is known famously—and even infamously—in both hang gliding and paragliding for the big-air sites of King Mountain and Sun Valley. These sites have regularly hosted contests for some of the best pilots in the sport and been the site of numerous records. But Central Idaho also has a different side, one that is not so well known yet in flying circles. The Boulder/White Cloud Mountain ranges are some of

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

the premier hike-and-fly areas in the world. The Boulder/White Clouds (nice name for a flying range!) are located in the heart of the state, forming the headwaters of the Salmon and Big Wood rivers. This area has recently been in the national news as the heart of the nation’s next possible national monument. It is no wonder people want to protect this area; the mountains are beautiful, the streams

are clear, the wildlife is abundant, and the flying is awesome. These combined ranges are farther north than Sun Valley and King, making them just a little farther from the desert that causes Sun Valley and King to pump so hard. They get more moisture, making the flying slightly softer. The majority of the south faces are still free of vegetation, allowing for almost unlimited launch and landing possibilities. The ranges are

LEFT Russ Ogden over King Mountain near

Arco, Idaho | photo by Nick Greece.

almost entirely surrounded by public land, so landing out is never a problem. Highway 75 runs up the front of both ranges, and well-used dirt roads run regularly into the ranges. This makes retrieve easy, if you are lucky enough to have a driver, and hitchhiking an easy possibility if necessary. Local pilots have been hiking in and flying from these mountains since the early 1990s, when paragliding first came to the area. The Boulder/White Clouds did then, and still do, provide an ideal place to practice the sports we love. If you get on your computer and examine the area, you will see the possibilities are almost unlimited. As the proposed Boulder/White Cloud National Monument continues

to be promoted by the Obama administration, it is super important that the powers that be know of our flying history in the ranges. Our awesome executive director Martin Palmaz is on the ball, working with other outdoor recreation industry groups to make sure we don’t lose this valuable flying area. What’s best for us to do is to continue to get out and fly. If you have a desire for a great new flying adventure in a beautiful setting, please consider coming to Central Idaho and checking out the Boulder/White Clouds. For more information on flying in the area, please feel free to contact me, Nate Scales, at natescales@msn. com, or the local school/tandem operation, Fly Sun Valley at info@ flysunvalley.com.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

Tennessee Tree Toppers

Team Challenge by

C l a u di a m e j i a

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

he only word I can use to describe the fall of 2014 is FANTASTIC! Towards the end of the summer, my calendar was almost empty, especially between September and November. So I was surprised to end up participating in two different events that led me to new places where I met old and new friends, flew new sites and learned so much that I was sad when I boarded the plane to go back to Europe at the end of November. One of the events that provided a wonderful experience for me was the Team Challenge (TC) organized by the Tennessee Tree Toppers, to which I’ll devote this article. In a subsequent article, I will recount the story of how I finally made it all the way to Dunlap, Tennessee. My adventure began last fall with the decision/opportunity to work with Jamie Shelden and her group of assistants at the 8th edition of the Santa Cruz Flats (SCFR) at Casa Grande, Arizona. You probably read about this competition in the January 2015 issue of the magazine; however, more information about it will be revealed in the second part of “Adventures of the Fall.” I heard about the TTT from Barry Klein, a member, who told me about their location when we met during the Santa Cruz Flats Race 2010. The organization sounded great, especially gathering for the Team Challenge just when the leaves start turning. But only last fall did I see the possibility of being able to go. I realized it could be

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

difficult to get there, because we had planned to visit the Wills Wing factory as well as some California sites and, since we were already in Arizona, going back and forth seemed like a looooong way to go. This was the first time I would attend a flying event that was not a competition, and I was interested in having a new experience. The Team Challenge is aimed at encouraging new or less experienced pilots to start flying more XC, while maintaining or even enhancing their safety. It is hosted by the TTT, the famous flying club founded in September 1974 with 137 paid members (info updated January 2015). The first Team Challenge was held in 1989, organized by Rick Jacob and Dennis Pagen. It is a unique event. Multi-level teams (six this year) of experienced pilots called the “A” Pilots work closely with two or three “B” and “C” Pilots. They mentor, review flights, clarify doubts, respond to questions, fly with the “B’s” and “C’s,” and probably even share a beer after the flight! Some years ago, the original format of a single task for all pilots changed. Now on every flying day, three different tasks are set: one for each level. The tasks overlap and get longer for each level. For instance: All pilots (“A”, “B” and “C”) go to turnpoint 1, which is also goal for the “C” pilots; “B’s” and “A’s” continue to turnpoint 2, which is goal for the “B” pilots, and “C” pilots keep going to turnpoint 3 and, perhaps with another leg, to goal. This way, the more

advanced pilots have the opportunity of working with those pilots flying shorter tasks, by trying to help them fly better, complete their tasks and then fly the rest of the way to goal. This system of three overlapping tasks gives—as Eric Carden says—“…even the less-experienced pilots the thrill of making goal.” And it maintains a level of difficulty for each grade of pilots. This format also calls for a specific scoring system, including the “Pilot Promotion Bonus,” and set of rules. After the meet I contacted Eric Carden, who has been working on it for some years now, and asked him to give me information about this aspect of the TC. Eric explains: “While the TTT probably started from scratch when designing the scoring rules, I (personally) didn’t start from scratch when creating the rules document we used in 2013 and 2014. I started with the 2011 rules document (no rules document was provided in 2012). My first motivation was to simply make sure we HAVE a rules document. As I worked on it, I saw opportunities to clarify and document rules that we had used in years past, but that weren’t documented; then, my thoughts moved on to improving the rules themselves: We made several rule changes, mostly aimed at fairness and clarity. “The exact scoring formulas/rules and computerized scoring ‘systems’ used for the TC have changed over the years, maintaining two constants: (1) the scoring is done as teams and (2) it encourages helping one’s less-experienced

teammates. Many of the scoring-related changes since TC 2012 made the scoring formulas so complex that it, more or less, demanded software to do the scoring. There was a tug-of-war between the desire for fairness and the desire for a simple scoring solution. I concluded that there isn’t a SIMPLE way to FAIRLY score a team contest in which the makeup of a team may vary widely in pilot skill level and glider type. So, I proposed, the rule changes needed to increase fairness. “I volunteered to do the programming to create a scoring system that could manage the necessarily-morecomplex scoring formulas. I felt that scoring fairness was important enough to warrant this effort. This part of the effort I did start from scratch and created a scoring ‘system’; this system is a Microsoft Excel workbook (i.e. file) containing a lot of code, which Excel calls ‘macros’ and the language is Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). The look and feel of the system is similar to that of an ordinary Windows program, but it has the advantage of not requiring any special software development programs; therefore, code changes can be made within the system on any computer with Excel. This makes it easy to pass the project to the NEXT programmer who volunteers to work on it, allowing code fixes during the contest and on the scorekeeper’s computer. For instance, this year I was just there to help Bruce learn how to do the scoring; he did it all on his own and he did great! I had developed a similar

LEFT Pilot briefing, Ollie speaking; Sequatchie Valley as background | photo by Timothy Cocker. ABOVE Gliders beautifully set up at the TTT property. PREVIOUS Edwin Ayala running down that beautiful ramp! Photos by Jamie Shelden.

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scoring system using Excel a few years earlier for a golf league in which I played at the time (we played as teams, with individual handicaps), so I applied what I learned in that project to help me develop the TC scoring system a bit more quickly. We’ve made some significant changes over the past two years; some were more meaningful than others, but maybe the MOST significant, in my opinion, is the change to make it so that each team (regardless of its ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ or glider types makeup) has the exact same daily points potential, something that had never been the case in the TC pre-2013. “We also implemented the ‘Pilot Promotion Bonus’ (PPB) because, almost every year, a ‘B’ or ‘C’ pilot asks: ‘What if I make my goal and want to keep going?’ We’ve wrestled with how to answer this question because, on the one hand, we want to encourage the ‘go for it’ attitude to

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

some extent, but, on the other hand, we want to minimize landings at places other than goal LZs in the interest of not imposing on our neighbors in the Sequatchie Valley too much. In the past, we’ve gone as far as penalizing pilots just for trying, even if they succeeded, which we felt was going a bit too far. Loiter in the area as long as you want, even fly a few miles past it and then come back if you want, but land at your goal LZ. However, some pilots REALLY want to try to make it to the next-higher goal, so we gave

them a way: the PPB. If they make it, they earn a few extra points (about 25 points for a typical team); each team has the potential to earn 1000 points per day, so this bonus is fairly small (deliberately so) at only 2-3% of the daily potential. The ‘catch’ is that the pilot who succeeds is then ‘promoted’ and will be scored as a next-higher-level pilot for the rest of the contest e.g. a ‘C’ pilot will be scored as a ‘B’ pilot from then on. He’s credited with making this goal if he makes his ‘virtual’ goal first; however, if he lands out with-

TOP LEFT Jamie getting “acquainted” with Charly, her new Falcon4, and loving it | photo by Timothy Cocker. MIDDLE Mitch about to flare at goal – T3 | photo by Pedro Garcia. BOTTOM Mike Barber staging on T1, with some spectators under his wings. ABOVE Beautiful “sea of fog” below take off the morning of Task 2. Photos by Jamie Shelden.

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out making it to the attempted next-higher goal, he will get full credit for the original goal minus the ‘Goal-Maker Land-Out Penalty.’ This penalty is fairly small (about the size of the PPB), but its purpose is to minimize our impact on local landowners. We’ve given pilots a CHANCE to earn more points by completing the next task, yet made it risky enough points-wise that the pilot’s team leader would probably be wise to discourage any of his teammates from trying this—if they care about points, that is! “The main target of the TC is the mentoring and learning, but the framework of that experience is the contest and, if there’s going to be a contest, I believe that it should be as fair as possible, designed to encourage the things the organizers intend (i.e. mentoring). To some extent, we ‘lure’ pilots to the TC with a nice contest experience and then sneak in a lot of education while they’re there. It isn’t a ‘bait and switch,’ since they get the promised contest, but they get so much MORE than just a contest.” Eric also commented about his personal experience with the TC, focusing on the editions since 2011, organized by Ollie Gregory, that he has attended: “Seeing

the way Ollie ran the contest/experience in 2011 made me regret not having flown in it EVERY year it was run by him. He’s enthusiastic, positive, and energetic; most importantly, I saw in him two key things I don’t remember seeing NEARLY to this extent in earlier-year’s TCs: (1) large emphasis on safety and (2) large emphasis on learning. He’s careful to consider the least-experienced competitors when considering whether to hold a contest round on a day with questionably safe conditions. And the nightly educational content is AWESOME! Dennis Pagen, Mike Barber, and Mitch Shipley routinely attend and volunteer their services, educating us during any available downtime; there are plenty of other volunteer ‘teachers’ as well, who are willing to give presentations on virtually any flying-related topic. I almost HOPE for a few rain days during the contest so we have enough ‘classroom’ time. Reading an instructional book or magazine article is one thing, but getting to have open discussion with the experts is priceless…” He summarized all this as: “I’m a big fan of the mentoring, fun, and safety-focused spirit that Ollie has brought

ABOVE The only rigid wing (Ollie Gregory) on take off | photo by Timothy Cocker.

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to the Team Challenge over the years.” I thought all these inside details about the format, rules, scoring system were quite interesting, since they are what makes this event different from all others (at least the ones I have attended). Plus, getting all these facts from Eric was a unique opportunity to learn even more. Let’s now look at the overall event. There was a total of 27 official participants making up six teams (look at chart for teams’ details and enjoy the names) and a couple of pilots just hanging around, plus the awesome support team (HUGE thanks to those helping us out). You could say this year’s TC was really international because, other than pilots from the US, we had Edwin Ayala from Puerto Rico, Vitaly Pogrebnoy, originally from Russia and now living in the US, Pedro García, from Spain and myself, born American, officially flying for Colombia. There were four tasks called; the first one was cancelled and the other three were flown (check out the table with the tasks’ details). I must admit this worked perfectly for us, since we got there a day late. The flying area, with the given weather conditions, was the Sequatchie Valley. We took off two days from the famous TTT Radial Ramp and once from Whitwell, just across the valley. Some pilots also went there for an early recreational flight before

Task 3; the official goal fields were the main TTT-owned LZ, below the ramp takeoff, and the Galloway Airport down the road. I really enjoyed the flying and the mentoring experience and sincerely hope I transmitted something (e.g., enthusiasm, knowledge, motivation, etc.) to the other pilots. Individually, my favorite flight was on Task 3; however, thinking about the essence of the TC, I have to say my favorite task was the last one, the one where I was definitely paying more attention to “my C” pilots than to my own flying: I waited to take off so I could launch with them, but we took off on a weak cycle, and I was so focused on them that we all landed at the “Church’s bomb-out.” I thought it was over, but I was far from correct. When our fantastic driver, helper and, in this case, coach—George Grey— came to pick us up and saw the three of us on the ground so early, he immediately started trying to show us that it was still flyable, encouraging us to “go for another try!” We were not easy to convince, because we had given up. But he insisted until we finally “saw the light”; moreover, he also helped us carry our gear, drove us up the hill (a really interesting drive during which time we were all asking questions about flying), helped us get ready and cheered us off the ramp! The three of us flew together, while I tried to

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TOP James Dean & Erik Grabowski on their “karaoke encore.” MIDDLE Prize-giving ceremony's audience. BOTTOM “Blind Squirrels” 3rd place overall. Photos by Marie Gónzalez.

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I had heard references to the TTT and their Team Challenge, but after being there, I realize that what I’d been told was just the tip of the iceberg. help Leigh Sheridan and David Fynn find the thermals; unfortunately, David’s radio was not working well, so he could not hear my cues, but Leigh did. She was able to thermal up and got high enough to make a glide to her goal. She was happy and David, George and I were proud of her. Despite being late, I decided to fly to our first turnpoint, which was also the goal field, where I knew the rest of my team (plus a nice cold beer) would be waiting. Once I arrived, I thought twice about whether to try to make the task. But the truth is that it was late, and I decided the wisest move was to ensure a good landing at a nice, long field with a windsock in it. So I called it a day and landed

Liberty

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there. It was a tough decision, because our team had won the two previous tasks, but without many points, so our lead was not huge. Not making goal, while many others did, meant sacrificing the team score, but I am sure we (the “A” pilots on my team) all agreed that staying back to help the “C” pilots was a good decision. We still held second place and had two happy and motivated “C” pilots! Our retrieve driver, George Grey, was another surprise of the event. He is a fairly new pilot who learned to fly in upstate New York and wanted to fly in this TC but, at the last minute, felt he wasn’t ready for it, so decided to stay and enjoy the event while driving for a team. And he was not just any driver; he was devoted, happy, supportive and

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TEAMS participated at most of the talks given. He definitely had a great time and learned quite a lot; I hope he comes back next year as a competitor. However, the best part of this story to me is that he has been living in the state of New York for many years but is actually Colombian. A Colombian pilot we did not know about—what a great surprise! Besides the flying, there were informative, interesting talks, amazing meals and the care of those “behind the scenes” cooks Wayne and Sandy Collins, who fed us beautiful warm, home-made food in the evenings, and Aldona Johnson, who prepared our hearty breakfasts. Board of directors members Buddy Cutts and James Anderson were there to hold our wires during take-off; we also appreciated all the retrieve drivers/ supporters, and Bruce Perry who did the scoring. For some additional fun, there was a karaoke night. (To be honest, our initial plan was to sneak out, unnoticed, because we do not like karaoke.) This “TTT Karaoke” was mostly about hang gliding; go figure! Despite numerous participants, the majority agreed that the best act was James Dean and Erik Grabowski; they were so good that a couple of days later, during the prize giving ceremony, we all asked for an encore, which they gave. The two songs were: “The Wait” (to the tune of “The Weight” by The Band) and “Gimme Three Turns” (to the tune of “Gimme Three Steps” by Lynyrd Skynyrd; I wish this magazine had a way to play the songs back to you, so you could understand how funny they were. Thanks, James and Erik (and all the rest), for the best karaoke performance ever. I did not have any expectations when driving towards Dunlap; I never imagined that place would be so great or that I would grow so fond of it. I feel the TC could be described as a “place and time” that unfolds new realities for the different pilots who visit, helping us make new or stronger friendships, grow and become better pilots (and people). I don’t think I am just speaking for myself because, for instance, I found out that this was the scenario where Matt Barker first went XC; Frances went on her first retrieve-adventures with him and Cory Barnwell (who I later met in California and who said he missed the TTT) learned many tricks that have helped him climb the ladder to the top of the WPRS Sport-Class list. I had heard references to the TTT and their Team Challenge, but after being there, I realize that what I’d been told was just the tip of the iceberg. My time there was so special that I would love to see it grow and develop, giving the chance to many more pilots to live such a wonderful experience. I wish to thank the Tennessee Tree Toppers for their warmth, their enthusiasm, their support and their help with this article (especially Eric, Ollie and Tim), to congratulate them for their efforts and their achievements, and to wish them the best of luck for coming events. Next edition: August 16th – 22nd 2015. Don’t miss it!

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Altitude Deficit Disorder Eric Carden – A Timo Conover – B Pedro García – A Bruno Schnedl – C David Tilinghast – C

Blind Squirrels Edwin Ayala – B Linda Salamone – A Mitch Shipley – A Richard Van Zyl – B

Clowns & Jokers James Dean – B Erik Grabowski – C Ollie Gregory – A Jamie Shelden – A

Critical Mass JJ Cote – C Jeff Curtis – A Max Kotchouro – C Tom Lanning – A Vitaly Pogrebnoy – B

Sky High Griffin Hochstetter – B Ian Hochstetter – B Al Sasser – A Bill Snyder – A

Wind DumbyZ David Fynn – C Maria Gónzalez – A Dennis Pagen – A Aaron Rinn – A Leigh Sheridan –C

WINNERS TASK 1 Overall tie: day cancelled ;-)

TASK 2 1st – Wind DumbyZ 2nd – Blind Squirrels 3rd – Clowns & Jokers

TASK 3 1st – Wind DumbyZ 2nd – Blind Squirrels 3rd – All other 4 teams tied

TASK 4 1st – Clowns & Jokers 2nd – Blind Squirrels 3rd – Wind DumbyZ

OVERALL 1st – Clowns & Jokers (844pts) 2nd – Wind DumbyZ (635 pts) 3rd – Blind Squirrels (610pts) 4th – ADD (385pts) 5th – Critical Mass (382pts) 6th – Sky High (223pts)

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Preparing for

SEARCH and RESCUE by

earch and rescue is a bit like insurance. We don’t think about it much but when we need it we’re glad we have it. In preparation for Colorado Fly Week 2014 at Villa Grove it became obvious to event organizer Larry that we needed a more formal and closer relationship with local area search-and-rescue (SAR) organizations. Over the previous year there were several pilots who were caught in strong conditions and carried up and over the back of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. One pilot suffered injuries and a SAR helicopter was called to help locate the downed pilot. There were difficulties communicating with the helicopter pilot about where to look for the injured party that frustrated Larry. Fortunately the downed pilot managed to walk out on his own. Other pilots looking for him rushed him to the hospital and the search was called off. That incident underscored how unprepared we were to work with our SAR agencies. Larry felt that it was imperative that we introduce the SAR community to our Villa Grove flight activities. We needed to share information such as where we fly, altitudes we reach, distances we cover, and to familiarize SAR personnel with our gliders, harnesses and equipment should they ever respond to a crash site. Likewise, we needed to better understand how to communicate to them where a given emergency rescue is needed and also learn how they mobilize. I agreed to help coordinate our SAR response training to support Colorado Fly Week. We started meeting with Wesley Moores, chief of the Northern Saguache County Fire Protection District, and his staff in May of 2014. We described in detail how and where we fly and the potential risks associated with soaring above

R IC H JE S U ROG A

the Sangre de Cristos, and we included our plans for the upcoming fly-in. This group, many of whom had never seen a hang glider before, showed great interest in free flight through the questions they asked, both about hang gliding and paragliding. When they learned that we might have 150 to 200 pilots attend the fly-in, they saw this as a training opportunity for their paid staff and volunteers. Together, we made plans to conduct on the mountain simulated search and rescues of downed pilots.

Introducing rescuers to our equipment To start, we arranged an evening to conduct a show-and-tell of our flying gear for about 20 SAR personnel at the Villa Grove firehouse. To represent the type of aircraft we fly, Jeff Bevan brought his paraglider, harness and helmet; Ken Grubbs brought his T2; and Larry brought his ESC rigid wing. Eyes were wide open and jaws dropped as our wings were set up, particularly among those personnel enamored with Larry’s ESC. After showing them a professionally produced 20-minute video of flying Villa Grove, Jeff spread out his wing, harnessed up and spoke briefly about how he launches, flies and lands his paraglider. Ken did the same thing with his T2. There were several private pilots in attendance who were particularly impressed with Larry’s glider, the spoilerons, tail assembly, etc. Following the introduction to our wings, I put on my harness and demonstrated how a pilot is secured via leg straps and chest buckles; how we store food, water and radios; and how a reserve parachute can be deployed. The equipment demonstration provided an opportunity to discuss how to treat our flying gear should a responder come

LEFT Rescuers preparing to move Tony to the rescue vehicle.

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upon a crash site. Through discussion the due order of safety of the pilot and respect for our equipment was determined so that equipment would not be destroyed as long as the pilot’s life, limb, and overall safety were not in danger. We were asked and answered many questions and at one point we even passed around Ken’s Flytec 6030 for our newly interested friends to examine. By evening’s end we had established a good rapport with our local partnering SAR agency. We agreed to conduct an all-day simulated rescue of a paraglider pilot and a hang glider pilot the following weekend.

On-the-mountain Rescues The following Saturday morning local pilots, plus about a dozen SAR staff from the San Luis Valley, met in the Villa Grove landing area. For our simulations to be realistic both Larry and I felt that it was important to have the rescuers on the steep rocky mountainside wrestling through the scrub oak that covered the terrain, as most responders had never been up to our launch before. I had thought a lot about various scenarios of what might happen during fly week. The thought of a paraglider pilot or hang glider pilot coming

down into the thick ponderosa pine forest that blankets either side of the Sangre de Cristos kept me awake at night, and I wondered if we should attempt to simulate a tree extraction and rescue. We decided against that for fear that the risk of injury to a rescuer or would-be pilot was too great. Instead, we would conduct a simulated rescue of a paraglider pilot 100 feet below launch, and a simulated rescue of a hang glider pilot near the landing area. With that determined, we all drove up to launch. Members of the Rocky Mountain Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (RMHPA) donated an old hang glider and an old paraglider, each with their respective harnesses, for us to conduct our exercise*. The hang glider and paraglider were no longer airworthy and could be destroyed. We asked the rescuers to spare the harnesses.

Paraglider Pilot Rescue Jeff Bevan and I hiked down below launch and spread out the old wing amongst the scrub oak, lines tangled everywhere. I dutifully wedged my good friend Jeff between rocks, scrub oak and bear excrement. I called Larry on the radio and told

ABOVE Search-and-rescue personnel responding to the site of a simulated hang gliding crash near the Villa Grove landing area. Tony Sitts was our crash pilot. INSET An EMT tending to Tony.

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him of our emergency. Larry was equipped with a radio that included the frequency for the Sauguache County 911 dispatch center. The dispatcher contacted the rescuers who were already on launch and described the emergency to them. Soon (but not soon enough for Jeff) rescuers led by Dan Wheeler, an experienced mountaineer and emergency medi-

cal technician (EMT), arrived with a litter rescue basket and first-aid equipment. The steep and difficult-to-navigate terrain required that they take a side path down the mountain below Jeff, then cross sideways and back up to where he was located. Good practice! They stabilized Jeff, transferred him into the litter and then carried him back up the steep terrain to an

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Here in the US the hang gliding and paragliding population is relatively small, which means building relationships with partnering agencies means everything to the survival of our community. awaiting emergency vehicle. When he was safely in the vehicle we took some time to talk through the whole event, exchanging ideas about Jeffâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rescue and what could have happened differently. Larry and I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have been happier. And Jeff was just happy to be out of there. We all broke for lunch with a BBQ at the firehouse.

Hang Glider Pilot Rescue

Larry and I ate lunch quickly and left the firehouse early and set up our crashed hang glider in a field near the LZ. Local pilots Greig Ballantine and Tony Sitts joined us. We hooked Tony into the upside-down Airwave Eclipse with an old harness, and laid him down on the underside of the double surface. Larry called 911 dispatch once again and within minutes SAR fire trucks arrived. Tony played the consummate crash victim and rescuers tended to him accordingly.

LEFT Rescuers moving Jeff in the litter rescue basket up the hill to a rescue vehicle. RIGHT Search-andrescue personnel responding to a hang glider pilot who tumbled his glider on the last day of the Villa Grove Fly-in. The pilot was seriously hurt with a severely fractured leg and a head injury requiring immediate evacuation to the hospital.

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Larry answered Tony’s cries for “please call my wife” with “we talked to her and she said to tell the son-of-a-bitch not to come home”. When Tony was secured in the litter rescue basket we followed up with a summary of the day’s activities. I know Larry felt a lot better about our preparations for Fly Week. So did I.

Colorado Fly Week The event began on August 23, 2014 and it was evident that Larry and his wife Tiffany took meticulous care planning all the flying and entertainment festivities. There were soarable windows every day accommodating the 167 pilots who showed up to fly that week. There were two paraglider pilots who were carried aloft in strong conditions; one threw his chute, both landed safely on the backside of the Sangre de Cristos and only needed a retrieve. Pilots attending the event saw the ambulance parked near the main LZ with EMTs staffed each day. What they didn’t see was the Flight For Life helicopter parked close by. In preparation for Fly Week, Wes Moores arranged for a helicopter to be located nearby, and also notified nearby Chaffee County and Fremont County emergency management of our event in case pilots flying cross country needed their emergency response services. Everything went smoothly right up until the last day of the fly-in.

The Crash I had just finished my shift as launch director and started setting up my glider to take an afternoon flight. A visiting pilot flying his topless glider close to the hill began flying erratically, diving at the ground and then pushing out and climbing into a stall. It was mid day at a big-air site and this occurred very near launch, catching the attention of all of us nearby. Suddenly, the pilot pulled the glider into a steep high-speed dive, pushed out hard and climbed vertically into a whipstall. The glider stopped climbing with the nose pointing straight up, tail slid and to our horror, it tucked and tumbled. The control bar was ripped out of the pilot’s hands and he was flung backwards over the trailing edge. Someone on launch yelled, “Throw your chute!” but it appeared the pilot became incapacitated during the tumble. After several tumbles the glider stabilized upside down with the pilot underneath. The glider descended rapidly and the pilot hit the ground hard with a crushing sound I’ll never forget. There was no movement by the downed pilot. The crash site was in a small clearing less than 100 feet from the road up to launch, making access relatively easy. Larry was driving down the mountain when the call went out that there’d been an accident and help was needed. A

group of pilots near launch jumped into a truck and headed down the hill to the crash site. I went back and closed launch—there were too many distractions and it was not known if a helicopter rescue would be needed. As fast as it could possibly happen EMT rescue staff that were already in the landing area arrived at the crash site. The pilot had suffered a head injury and a severely broken leg. The parachute pins were in place indicating that there was no attempt to throw the reserve. After being stabilized and transferred into the litter rescue basket he was evacuated off the hill by vehicle and transported by ambulance to the Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center in nearby Salida. From there he was air lifted to St. Anthony’s hospital in Denver for an extended stay that included surgery to rebuild his leg. We were glad to hear that he would recover from his injuries but are unsure if he is even aware of how lucky he was. Had his accident occurred somewhere else along the 155 miles of the very sparsely populated Sangre de Cristo mountain range, the outcome would likely have been much different. Here in the US the hang gliding and paragliding population is relatively small, which means building relationships with partnering agencies means everything to the survival of our community. On that day, when that hang glider pilot who crashed hard near launch arrived at the hospital, he would not know that the activities that led to his rescue actually started several months earlier. The author would like to thank Mark Windsheimer from Airtime Above Hang Gliding for the hang glider and harness donation that was used during our simulated rescue of Tony. I’d also like to thank Ross Robinson for his donation of the paraglider that was used during Jeff ’s simulated rescue. Our search-and-rescue training would not have been possible without their help.

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Valle de Bravo, Mexico | photo by Stefan Mitrovich

Return to Dinosaur H by

R US S L OC K E

ang gliding competition returns this summer to Dinosaur, Colorado, from Sunday, August 30, through Saturday, September 5, encompassing Labor Day weekend. This is great news for many of us â&#x20AC;&#x153;old timersâ&#x20AC;? who have flown in past competitions at this site. Once again, Terry and Chris Reynolds are the organizers, and GW Meadows will be the meet director. As a bonus,

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pho to s by

Te rr y Re y no l d s

add to that illustrious group Bubba Goodman as safety director, Rick Jacob as launch director, Tim Ettridge as scorekeeper, Davis Straub as technical advisor and Amy Zeiset as driver meet director (more on that following). This meet will have one of the most experienced and quality groups of officials ever assembled. The latest information can be found at the Dinosaur 2015 website, rockymountainglider.com.

Dinosaur is normally launchable in almost any wind direction, because the cliff creates its own micro-weather pattern.

For those not familiar with Dinosaur: The town is located on US 40, three miles east of the Colorado-Utah border, approximately midway between Denver and Salt Lake City, with the Dinosaur National Monument to the north and the Rangely oil basin to the south. The town’s prosperity fluctuates with the boom-and-bust cycles of the oil-and-gas industry. Currently in a bust cycle, the town council is seeking to diversify the community’s economy, and promotion of the area’s hang gliding potential is a popular and important item on the council’s agenda. Commercial services include two small motels, three restaurants (one with a bar), two gas stations, a liquor store

and a Loaf ‘n’Jug convenience store. There is also a library, post office, and Colorado Tourism office. Wireless Internet is available in numerous locations. AT&T is installing an LTE 4G tower on Blue Mountain and Verizon is expected to follow suit. The nearby larger communities of Rangely, Colorado (18 miles), and Vernal, Utah (30 miles), offer the services of small cities, including municipal recreation centers, airports, hospitals, large supermarkets and a variety of restaurants and lodging. Pilots from anywhere in the US can easily reach the area via the Interstate Highway System, before transitioning to the major artery of US 40. Pilots wishing to travel by air can

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take commuter airlines from Denver or Salt Lake City to nearby Vernal. They may ship their gliders in care of the meet organizers in Dinosaur. Pilots will foot launch from Cliff Ridge on the Blue Mountain Plateau, slightly west of the Colorado/Utah border, just north of Dinosaur. There are several launches facing south to southwest at 8100’ msl, 2100’ above the nearest landing area at an approximate 4.6-to-1 glide. Driving time from that landing area to launch is 45 minutes (2-wheel drive). Driving time from Dinosaur on the paved US Park Service road, followed by a good 2-wheel drive gravel road through BLM grazing land, is 50 minutes. Light, straight-in thermal cycles are the usual summer condition throughout most of the day. The launches are 150 and 200 yards apart, allowing several pilots to safely take off simultaneously. The area behind the launches is clear and perfectly level, with space to set up several thousand gliders. Pilots will be able to drive close to their favorite setup spot, unload their equipment and park nearby. Unlimited parking with a level walk to any takeoff is available on top. A clearly marked, convenient parking plan, with a separate area for spectators’ vehicles, will be overseen by staff. Spectators will be cordially, but definitely, restricted from moving into cordoned-off areas surrounding the actual launches. Dinosaur has traditionally been a premier foot-launch site. Ryan Voight will teach an on-site foot-launch and big-air clinic before the competition, free to those registered for the meet. Recognizing that many pilots prefer aerotowing, the organizers, the landowner, the town of Dinosaur and Moffat County have built a runway (1800’ x 75’ at 5922’ msl) specifically for this contest. Tim Collard, hang glider pilot and by far the most experienced aerotow pilot in Colorado, supervised the initial construction. Both Dinosaur International and the foot launches from Cliff Ridge are within the same 10-kilometer-diameter start circle. A 2250’ tow will place the towed pilot at the same altitude as the pilot foot launching at 8140’ from Cliff Ridge. (At this time, the meet organizers are not providing tow pilots or tugs. Pilots should make their own arrangements. The organizers will help coordinate a meeting of pilots and tow operators. Contact rockymountainglider@gmail.com.) As for flying conditions, Dinosaur is normally launchable in almost any wind direction, because the cliff creates its own micro-weather pattern. It is primarily a thermal site with some ridge soaring opportunity and great XC potential. The area is high desert, averaging 6000’ msl, punctuated with numerous peaks at approximately 8000’ and river valleys at 5000’. The terrain in the contest area varies from spectacular rocky cliffs to river-valley pastures. There are expanses of level desert and various-sized hills. Ranch and oilfield service roads

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form a network for easy pilot retrieval. Vegetation includes ponderosa pine, Douglas fir and aspen at the highest elevations and irrigated grassland and cottonwood trees at the lowest. In between are juniper, cedar, and pinyon pine trees. For safe landing, open fields of desert grasses and sagebrush are plentiful at all elevations. Wildlife is abundant, particularly soaring birds. Everyone will see deer, elk, and antelope. Pilots can count on flying with eagles. The bail-out LZ, called the Snake Pit, is an easy glide about a mile from the base of the mountain. The Corral LZ is another mile farther from ridge. Mornings usually bring light winds, suitable for experienced Hang-2s. Midday finds very strong thermal activity, and climbs above 17,000’ msl are common. During the post-monsoon period of this meet, pilots can expect a weather pattern dominated by high pressure, with light westerly winds aloft and blue thermals/small cumulus. Unlike a high mountain site that might have unflyable condi-

ABOVE TOP Looking east on launch. BOTTOM To the west on launch.

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tions for a week, it is anticipated that during the time of year for this meet, a safe, valid task will be called every day. Safe landing fields and roads are plentiful. Fences, power lines, and other hazards are sparse (except in the oilfield near the town of Rangely, an area that will be avoided in task calls). With several thousand competitions and free-flying foot launches having been completed over 29 years, an excellent safety record has been established at Dinosaur. In an effort to make this competition even safer, the rules will allow Open Class pilots to drop their lowest score and Sport Class pilots to drop their two lowest scores. This gives pilots more flexibility when making flying decisions, all designed to make the meet as safe as possible. Those wanting to come fly the area ahead of time are encouraged to do so. Terry Reynolds is personally committed to facilitate this pre-comp flying as much as he can. During the meet, prearrangements for search and rescue, ambulance, and medical facilities will be made and coordinated by the safety director for all potential routes of flight. The Dinosaur 2015 Hang Driving Championships also will be held during this meet. This contest awards points to retrieval drivers for a variety of tasks, including: number of pilots retrieved, observing pilot’s landing, helping other crews (partial retrieval), providing cold beverages, making sure pilots get back to Dinosaur at a reasonable hour, insuring no pilot has to spend the night away from his/her camp, etc. Besides promoting safety, this contest makes retrieval duties more fun for both drivers and pilots. Additionally, it means a pilot without retrieval can show up at the meet and likely be “drafted” by retrieval drivers looking to add pilots to their team. Prizes? We don’t need no stinkin’ prizes. Nevertheless, we have them, and significant cash prizes will be awarded. Besides cash prizes and certificates for retrieval drivers, Terry and Chris Reynolds have guaranteed $10,000 for the winner of the Open Class. Jim Zeiset has pledged an additional

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$5000 to be awarded to the Sport Class. More prizes are being worked on. Check the website for the latest information. In the past, accommodations in this area have been plentiful and inexpensive. It’s even better this year. In addition to the two motels in Dinosaur, there are numerous motels available in Rangely and Vernal. Pilots are welcome to camp for free on the grass in the fenced town park. There are bathrooms and a large covered area with picnic tables and chairs. A discount has been arranged at the Blue Mountain RV Park, a 100-unit RV park set up by an oil company to house its employees during an earlier boom. Located a short walk from the town park, it has electricity, water, and sewer hookups for RVs, plus large men’s and women’s shower and bathroom facilities. Camping is also free at launch and portable toilets will be provided. Again, check the website for the latest information. The meet is planned to accommodate 150 competitors. Slots for US and internationally-ranked pilots will be reserved per the USHPA Competition Rulebook and CIVL to maximize meet validity/NTSS and WPRS point values. Before June 1, 75 slots will be allocated for Open Class and 75 for Sport Class. Beginning June 1, any remaining slots may be filled on a first-come, first-served basis, regardless of

class. Entry fees: before March 1, $275; until May 1, $325; until July 1, $350; until August 1, $375; until August 28, $400; beginning August 28, and on site, $450 (cash or money order). The significantly lower early-entry fees facilitate much better planning, which benefits everyone. The meet organizers anticipate that all of the slots will be filled. Enter early to avoid disappointment. Booklets containing aerial photos and written descriptions of most likely turnpoints and goals will be provided to each pilot. A five-pilot task selection committee, chosen by the competitors, will be used in setting each day’s task. The meet director and the safety director will have the power to overrule the task selection committee. Friendly owners of grassy fields located from 10 to exactly 100 miles from launch have given their permission to use their land for goals. The number of goals and turnpoints available will provide a considerable range of task options to the task-selection committee after they have reviewed the day’s weather forecast. The rules will be available by July 1, 2015, and may be amended up until the first launch in competition. Once the competition begins, alterations to the rules will only be made

in the case of extreme and obvious necessity. For the latest information on this meet, including pilot lists, definition of Sport Class pilots, official meet rules, oxygen refill availability, tow providers, camping information, cash and other awards, check the Dinosaur 2015 website. If you fit into any of the following loose categories… * Active cross-country pilot; * Pilot who enjoys the challenge of competition; * Pilot with good basic skills who wants to learn XC skills in a controlled environment; * Pilot who enjoys seeing, learning and flying with the top pilots in the US and the world; * Pilot from the eastern part of the US who is curious about this “big western air”; * Person (pilot or not) who enjoys being around/involved with large organized competitions …you should consider attending this event. Flying or not, I’ve already made plans to be at Dinosaur for this meet. It is a magic place where I know I’ll find a ton of people I enjoy being around. Join me.

ABOVE Looking south on launch.

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Rat Race SUPER CLINIC

THE Grad School of Paragliding K A R I C A S T LE K a y TAUS C H E R K EN H UDONJOR G EN Se N

by IN S T RU C T OR S and

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The Mission of the Rat Race Super Clinic is to provide an enjoyable, rich, learning environment for paragliding pilots to advance their skills and understanding of how to fly thermals, compete and fly cross-country, with instruction from some of the best mentors in the sport.

hen Mike Haley approached us about running the Super Clinic, we LOVED the idea, opportunity and vision. Mike and his wife Gail are renowned for starting one of the best and biggest paragliding competitions in the world, especially for pilots who want to learn to compete or improve their competition skills—The RAT RACE (RR) and SPRINT. These competitions are held in June of each year at Woodrat Mountain in Jacksonville,

Oregon. Mike’s passion for the sport results in his continually developing ideas and improvements primarily geared toward teaching and making our sport safer. As he described his latest vision to us, Mike’s eyes twinkled. We could tell this was a topic near and dear to his heart, and ours. He focused on the fact that once paragliding instructors sign off pilots with their Novice (P-2) licenses, a huge gap in education occurs. As a result, many pilots get discouraged by not being able to make longer flights, or get injured and decide to leave the sport. Mike proposed to alleviate these problems by developing a weeklong SUPER CLINIC to be taught by a few of the best instructors in the country. He then invited the three ABOVE The class talking on luanch.

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of us to join his endeavor. Each of us has shared a similar passion, so Mike’s program felt like a quantum leap for us and for our sport. Thus, the RR SUPER CLINIC was hatched—a virtual graduate school of paragliding extending over an eight-day period, occurring concurrently with the Rat Race and Sprint competitions. We have held two successful clinics in 2013 and 2014, with between 30 and 40 pilots attending each clinic. On June 14th through the 20th of 2015, we will once again conduct the Super Clinic. We instructors are challenged to create a meaningful educational environment in the field, while tag-team teaching, and give the pilots plenty of opportunities to practice what they are learning as well as the opportunity to watch some of the competitions. This is a big order for us to deliver. But there are many benefits of combining these events simultaneously. The amount of information shared among three instructors and the give-and-take of students is more than we can cover in this article. But below we provide a flavor of the

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topics we attempt to cover during the seven-day course. The night before the course officially begins, we hold a “meet and greet” social gathering to become better acquainted with each other. The first day the instructors begin to get a feel for the pilots’ experience levels and learn their goals for the week. This year we will be providing handouts in digital format prior to the course, so students can begin to read and print them before they begin if they so choose. The instructors review logistics and schedule for the week, the where, when, what and how. We visit the landing zones and review important site details, including where NOT to land, what to do when you land out or how to report an emergency. We explain the staggered launch times for the separate groups (Super Clinic, Sprint and Rat Race) and how this alleviates crowding at and near launch. A sequence in skill development fosters safety and longevity in the sport: Launching in lighter conditions for newer pilots is one of these factors. Therefore, we start the day early and get to launch in time for early-morning flights in light conditions. As the morning progresses and condi-

tions pick up, more experienced pilots launch. We typically launch, land, and have time to return to launch before the races begin, in order to watch the race events. Those comfortable in bigger conditions usually get an opportunity to launch midday and/or later in the afternoon as the conditions mellow. Transportation can be tricky for such a large event; each year we do our best to improve the availability of retrieves and opportunities to re-launch. We generally fly most of the days that weather allows. Non-flying days are usually filled with classes. Days 2â&#x20AC;&#x201C;8 we conduct early morning class sessions, typically between 7 and 8 a.m., then head to launch (if flyable), while continuing our discussions, watching conditions, and, finally, launching. Most of the pilots return to launch in time to watch the competitions begin. Then many

launch and fly again. We provide lunches for the participants, including vegetarian and gluten-free when requested. The days are FULL and long, and the week is jam-packed with learning and activities. Sometimes you have an option to listen to a mentor speak or attend a class. You will likely not be able to do everything on the agenda. We advise accepting your role as a student and honoring your own personal energy level throughout the week and in your decision-making to fly. The focus of the weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s learning is on skill development in the areas of increasing your comfort in the air, thermal flying, cross-country flight and competition flying. Some of the topics covered include adjusting equipment, understanding the input from your glider, and thermaling techniques and efficiency. We will also give an introduc-

LEFT Practicing thermalling in a gaggle on the ground is a safe alternative to learning to gaggle in a competition.. ABOVE The launch from above.

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LEFT Thermaling over Ruch, Oregon. NEXT PAGE Last year's class.

FEEBACK from participants Chuck Moore These words describe my first Rat Race Super-clinic experience: safety first, impressive,

tion to XC flying, information about restricted landing fields, competition strategy, and maneuver review, as well as an overview of the rulebook, weather to fly, general safety topics, flight instruments (GPS/SPOT/varios), kiting, using speed bar, gaggle flying, and right-of-way rules. With each year we find ways to improve the SUPER CLINIC, but we seem to have hit our stride by combining classes, field, and in-air teaching that help our pilots develop wherever they are in the learning process. With feedback from participants, our ability to work together effectively as a team of instructors has grown and changed for the better.

friendly, caring, memorable, a place to return, organized, tiring, and great wine tasting. I originally planned to fly competition in the Sprint Class. But I soon realized after a practice day that the SUPER CLINIC was the place for me. Everyone enjoyed themselves, built great memories, and expanded their experience. If someone was not around, people were asking why and if they were OK. It was a nice feeling of community. I walked away with new friends, improved skills, new goals, and most importantly, an improved mental awareness. All those good feelings come pouring back when I browse the RRPG Facebook site. Each photo and comment makes me stop and appreciate that week. I plan to do it again next year!

Kari Castle is a three-time world hang gliding champion and a national champion in both hang gliding and paragliding. She lives and teaches primarily in the Owens Valley, renowned for massive XC flights, and travels the world as a guide. Kari may have more competition experience than any pilot in the US. She is a thoughtful and thorough instructor, but her strength lies in her vast competition experience and XC flying experience all over the world. She holds two Women’s Hang Gliding World Records along with a long list of other titles. Kay Tauscher owns Peak-to-Peak Paragliding in Boulder, Colorado. She is a Nova Team Pilot, specializing in highalpine flight. Kay has a reputation for excellence in instruction and safety. Her hands-on approach to teaching adds to her focus on strong flying technique and form, kiting and maneuvers, gear, high-altitude flight and thermals. She guides trips abroad in the Alps, Alaska, Mexico, Ecuador and other international locations annually. Ken Hudonjorgensen is presently the senior paragliding instructor at The Point of the Mountain in Draper, Utah. Understanding, reading, and mapping thermals has been a prime focus for Ken, and incorporating this knowledge into XC flying adventures has resulted in a powerful mix of experience and knowledge. Currently, he has over 14,000 flights and 4000 hours. He was the first pilot to receive the highest safety award in the US and has been a Master-rated and Tandem and Instructor Administrator longer than any other paraglider pilot. He has hosted 14 paragliding competitions, four of which were US Nationals, and has been teaching people to fly since 1989. Ken is the owner of Two Can Fly Paragliding.

Brian Clark The Super Clinic is a great learning opportunity. It’s hard not to learn a lot being immersed in paragliding for a week! With multiple instructors we pilots were able to pick and choose what we needed to work on the most. A typical day would start off with morning classes and continued with a provided lunch, flying, afternoon recaps of our flights with questions and answers. Each evening we were encouraged to attend optional talks on a number of different topics. Here is a short list of a few things learned at the Super Clinic: thermaling techniques, help with technology (radios, SPOT, varios, setting waypoints), weather, safety, keeping your wing open, launching, landing techniques, descent techniques, tree rescue, emergency procedures, local flying conditions including convergence flying, equipment adjustments, race strategy and more.

Bill Beninati In 2011 I had a great start to my thermal soaring career as a new P-2 but pushed too far too fast. While I was awaiting delivery of my dynamic C wing I took my B wing into savage spring lift in the mountains and was lucky to survive. Then I started feeling every ripple on my new wing, which set me way back. I eventually got comfortable in thermals again, but I still hadn’t put it all together in the air. This Super Clinic I had a chance to get my equipment dialed in, learn about my vario, get my launch sequence efficient, and get physically comfortable while actively flying. Thermal soaring has gone from a negative emotional experience to an intellectual and spiritual experience.

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CONFESSIONS of a Broken Pilot by Brianna Kufa

ike most paragliding accidents, mine was a combination of a riskier-than-normal decision and some bad luck. Long story short, I was trying to land midday, before it got too turbulent, and hit a dust devil 20 feet-

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or-so up and full-stalled. Four months, two broken vertebrae, a broken wrist, and two surgeries later, here I am. They say I’ll make a full recovery, eventually. But this story isn’t about what led to the accident or how to prevent it. It’s about what happened after impact. For

as common as back injuries are in paragliding, I knew surprisingly little about what the recovery would entail. I knew I did serious damage the moment I hit. I did not bounce. It was a bone-jarring, screeching halt. The world seemed to stop for an instant, as if my impact had been so powerful

LEFT Flying in Valle under a classic sky | photo by Stefan Mitrovich.

that I briefly altered the earth’s course. I tried moving my arms and legs immediately, careful to not move my spine in the process. Everything moved OK. I didn’t feel much pain. I yelled at a pilot in the LZ to call 911. I managed to stay surprisingly calm as I awaited rescue. Fortunately, I had crashed in an LZ that was easily accessible and close to a hospital. While awaiting my rescue, the pilot offered to help me remove my wing from my harness. Frequently, rescue personnel don’t know what to do with gliders and cut the lines on the glider or the straps on the harness, rather than release the carabiners. Fortunately, my position allowed my harness to be removed without agitating my back. In the 20-or-so minutes that I awaited the ambulance, I sincerely doubted that my back was broken. It was certainly sore, but I registered only a 2 or 3 out of 10 on the pain scale. I figured I would play it safe, just in case. I had heard far too many bad stories of friends and acquaintances to risk moving. The discomfort gradually increased until it was almost unbearable. What I remember most was the heat. It was a hot day, late in the summer, nearing the hundreds. I was wearing my thick down jacket, along with a flight suit and winter gloves. I asked for help removing the gloves and, while removing the left one, I felt an excruciating pain. The effort to undress me stopped there. The ambulance arrived shortly after. They loaded me onto the backboard and began to cut off all of my clothes, including gloves and flightsuit. I slipped into a morphine-induced haze that would last for weeks.

Shortly after I was admitted to the hospital, I learned that my left wrist had been badly broken. The doctor said it was as close as possible to a compound fracture, without actually being one. They reported that my spine was fractured, but nobody could tell me how severely until the next morning, when the neurosurgeon visited me. I had two broken vertebrae. He described my fracture as “triply unstable,” meaning I had cracks traversing vertebrae in three places. He added that multiple fragments of bone had broken off. He said it was highly likely I would have been paralyzed if I had tried to get up. When I learned the details of my condition, I was devastated and distraught. I resolved to make my story known to prevent anyone from making the mistake I had almost made. Let me reiterate: I had NO IDEA my back was broken as I lay in that field. I thought I was playing it safe. If you even remotely suspect back injury, the best thing to do is call an ambulance or get to the hospital ASAP and, as carefully as possible, be sure you are OK. The consequences are too dire to take a risk. I needed surgery on both my back and arm. The surgeons fused four of my vertebrae, the T9-T12 vertebrae, and placed two large titanium plates in my left wrist. The eight days I spent in the hospital were a special kind of hell. I had just moved to the area, so I didn’t have many close friends nearby. Fortunately, one good friend came that night and visited often and, eventually, my mom flew in to help me. I can’t describe how indebted I feel to both

of them. Most of the time it didn’t matter who was there, just that I had company. The long hours alone were among the darkest I’ve had. I got lost in self-pity, began sobbing uncontrollably, and started pushing the magic morphine button in hopes of retreating back to that comfortable haze. But it never quite did the trick. As soon as I was able to fly to my parents’ home to San Diego, good friends began calling and visiting, which boosted my spirits. Those visits carried me through the long days of lying on the couch, stoned out of my gourd. (In the past, I knew a few pilots who had been injured, but I hadn’t visited anyone at the hospital. I will never skip visiting again. Those visits meant the world to me.) For better or for worse, I decided to return to school at Cal Poly, four weeks after my accident. At 23 years of age, I couldn’t imagine postponing my education any longer. I was still very weak and a complete mess emotionally, but it felt like the right thing to do. I figured: worst-case scenario, I could drop my classes and return home. Turns out, I was ready. The university HOOKED me up. With the permission of my professors, I was excused from the first week of classes. When I arrived, the school provided me with golf-cart rides to class, personal note-takers in all of my classes (even though I didn’t break my good hand), and time-and-a-half on exams. I didn’t use the golf carts, but I took full advantage of everything else. The next hurdle to clear, around week five or six, was getting off the morphine and Percocet. My primary motivation arose from my desire to drive again. My doctors said I couldn’t drive while taking the drugs: If I were pulled over while on narcotics, I would get a DUI. They made it

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sound as if many of their patients had faced this problem. My secondary motivation was that I was concerned about my craving for the pills and my counting the minutes until my allotted “wait time” was up. I really came to love the relaxed, numb feeling they gave me and knew that wasn’t healthy. I still crave the pills and expect I always will. As I started to withdraw from the medications, I found the pain was manageable with Arnica Cream, some herbal “pain management” tea, and Advil. I also had good success with Kratom powder (look it up). These substitutes made quitting the pills less painful, but it was still far from easy. I had become, at least to some degree, physically dependent on the narcotics. I slowly weaned myself off them, and when I got down to only a few pills per day, I stopped taking them all together. Looking back, I should have gotten down to only one per day before quitting, because the week after I stopped was pure hell. It may have been worse than the week in the hospital. The first and perhaps worst withdrawal symptom was insomnia. I hardly slept for five or six nights in a row; I spent a lot of time tossing and turning and crying. The other obvious symptom was being even more emotional that I had been during the rest of my convalescence. I sobbed for hours without reason. It was incoherent, noserunning, screaming-at-anyone-thattalked-to-me, ugly crying. I had heard about becoming emotional while quitting, but I didn’t think it would be anywhere near that bad. Since getting off the narcotics, I’ve been gradually regaining strength and returning to my normal, cheerful self. It took me a while—at least six or eight weeks after my accident—

before I felt genuinely happy again. I still feel blue occasionally, but overall, I’m optimistic and genuinely excited about the future. I have begun to fly again, although only in the most gentle of conditions. I’ve also returned to my other favorite hobbies—rock climbing and working on my old Mercedes. In spite of my complaints, the recovery time was quicker than I could have asked for. I was able to stop wearing my wrist brace at ten weeks and the back brace at twelve weeks. Through physical therapy, I’ve regained most of the flexibility and strength in my wrist and back. Life is pretty damn close to how it was before. I just always hurt a little, am considerably weaker at the spots where I was injured and require more rest. Many folks have asked if I’ve learned my lesson. What possible lesson is there to learn from this? That paragliding is dangerous? That I should be careful about when I fly? That I’m not invincible? I was by no means a newbie or risky pilot before the accident. Those are all things I knew before I crashed. If anything, the lesson I will take away from this is that we are all more fragile than we think. My world was rocked to its core by the final three seconds of that flight. I was broken physically, mentally, and spiritually. I completely lost control of my emotions for a long time. I lost the capability to do most of what I loved for many months. I could have lost so much more. If I had trusted the cocktail of adrenaline and shock I felt right after impact that told me my that back was fine, and I had tried to stand up, I could have lost use of my legs. Forever. But I didn’t. I survived. Life goes on. I lived to fly another day.

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Thinking Outside the Blocks

by Dennis Pagen

Part XV: House Lift Lines

was flying back from the USHPA board meeting last October, heading for Cleveland with Felipe Amunategui, the Region 9 director. We got to talking about flying—surprise—and he was telling me about flying around his local tow park. He related how he often finds lift lines located in the same place, over the same stretch of terrain. This is flatland flying, folks. Remember, last month we delved into house thermals. At the end of the article we looked at house thermals in flat lands. Now we’ll go a step further and look at what we will term house lift lines. Just as house thermals are spots of lift that tend to reside in the same areas, we can think of house lift lines as pathways of lift that tend to show up on a more or less regular basis. Most often we would encounter reliable lift lines when going cross country, since that is the flying that takes us in relatively straight lines. However, there are some situations where knowing where reliable lift lines occur around your favorite site is helpful. We’ll explore both of these matters.

LIFT LINE REVIEW To start, here is a little review of lift lines. Lift lines are any area where the lift extends in a line. The line of lift can be parallel to the wind (as it is most often) or at any other orientation, including perpendicular. The lift can be weak or strong and can be continuous unvaryingly, continuous in changeable strength, or intermittent. The line of lift can be wide or very narrow. Finally, the line can be short or very long—extending 10 miles or more in extreme cases.

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The known sources of lift lines are: 1. Thermals in wind. A thermal lifting off on a windy day will get strung out parallel to the wind. If the thermal feed is continuous or long-term in supply, the thermal lift can last for miles. For example, if the thermal feed lasts 15 minutes and the thermal tops out in a 20mph wind, it is possible it stretches for five miles in the upwind/ downwind direction. Typically a lift line created by a single thermal will only be a mile or so long at the most in the East (greener, less heated air on the ground) and three miles or so in the West (bigger thermals and lots more supply of heated surface air, although there tends to be less upper-wind strength). 2. Cloud streets. When the sky is streeting—producing long lines of thermals—the pathway underneath the clouds is obviously a lift line. The lift (and clouds) may be solid in the line or it may be strong under the cloud, weaker or non-existent between the clouds. In either case, we can often fly beneath the street—along the lift line—without turning and remain aloft, gain height or only lose a little as we cover ground. The lift line in this case generally is parallel to the lower winds. Of course, thermals can be lined up parallel to the wind when there are no clouds (we call them “blue streets”). Cloud streets and their associated lift lines can extend for hundreds of miles as shown on satellite photos. 3. Along a ridge. It should be obvious to any soaring pilot that the ridge lift along a ridge or wide mountain is a lift line. Often we can soar along it without turning. If the wind is per-

pendicular to the mountain, then this lift line is perpendicular to the wind. A different form of this type of lift line occurs when a small ridge or rise triggers thermals in a line so that there is essentially a street oriented perpendicular to the wind. This effect may be significant but subtle. More on this matter later. 4. Waves. Terrain effects or impulses in the atmosphere can form undulations in the flow: waves. The upward flowing part of the wave is a line of lift generally orientated perpendicular to the airflow. Of course, the downward flowing “backside” of the wave is a line of sink. Wave lift lines can extend for tens of miles if the terrain feature initiating them is long enough, but judging from the clouds they produce, they are typically less than 10 miles long. 5. Convergence. Anywhere the airflow comes together will produce convergence, which is an upwelling of the air. Often this upwelling is in a line. Look at a stream flowing around rocks or other obstructions and you will see some lines of higher water indicating a convergence area. The air does the same thing when disturbed by mountains in the flow. In addition, the air sometimes meanders, even over flat country, perhaps due to pressure impulses from distant disturbances. These meanders create convergent and divergent areas, usually in lines. These are lift lines and sink lines, respectively. 6. Thunderstorms. A thunderstorm's overdeveloped thermal mass can present a line of lift under its “bench”—the flat feeding area on the upwind side of an advancing storm. I once flew straight

15 miles at high speed under such a bench as I escaped the storm to the side. Thunderstorms are too dangerous and unpredictable to have bearing on our theme here (reliable sources of lift lines). But it should be noted that there are places where thunderstorms develop most readily when thunderstorm conditions are present. For example at Greifenburg in Austria during the 2005 Europeans, thunderstorms always built up first about 12 miles to the west of launch when they did develop. 7. Also, an advancing cold front and specifically an advancing sea breeze (which can act like a small cold front when it is strong enough to advance quickly) will produce a line of lift perpendicular to its advance. This lift line is normally perpendicular to the wind as well. Pilots in England and elsewhere have used the border of a sea-breeze front to fly long distances. If a sea-

breeze front is present a good percentage of the time in a given area, it can be used reliably as a house lift line. We will be looking at these sources of linear lift a bit more when we describe how they can set up regularly in the next section.

REGULAR SOURCES Hopefully all readers are convinced about the importance of house thermals to our successful soaring, especially right after launch or when trying to stay up on a weak day (see last monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s article). We note that they are very common (almost every site has one or more) and vary in frequency of production as well as duration (depending on the wind factors, the instability of the day and ground cover). One reason we know about house thermals is because hundreds of flights (thousands for a popular site) take place covering the

same small area, so eventually the specific location of lift builds up in the collective lore of the locals. What helps this lore develop is that generally we fly local sites in winds of fairly similar velocity (strength and direction). At most sites winds from zero to perhaps 15 mph and not more than 20 degrees off straight-in may be the norm. Such restricted conditions usually produce similar thermal conditions and locations, although there may be a difference from the extremes of direction. On the other hand, with flat-land flying around a tow park the wind may come from any quarter, so lift lines may have a greater variety of orientation, location and extent. Even so, when launching from a mountain site and even a tow park there is often only a handful of directions that pilots typically fly, so the awareness and knowledge of common lift-line locations can be acquired. For example, at a site I fly there is a solid ridge about five miles upwind, broken by a gap that goes all the way through the mountain. The wind converges in that gap because it flows in from the side and wells up, as shown in figure 1. This effect is similar to that when water rushes between two rocks or logs. This convergence tends to promote thermal development and release, and the lift carries downwind because unlike the thermals that form up against the ridge, there is no downflowing air on the backside to suppress the thermal. Typically, when we follow a thermal over the back it is attenuated or completely dissolved in the leeside downward air behind the long ridge, as the figure illustrates. But this thermal line through the gap is usually there extending part or all the way across the valley. When I practice flying upwind I use this line in my attempts to fly to the ridge in front. This is one of my

known house lift lines. As another example, in Florida around the areas of the Wallaby Ranch and Quest Air, there is a convergence that sets up as sea breeze comes in from both coasts. In the many competition flights and thousands of free flights that have taken place there over the years, we have learned the location and frequency of this extremely long line of lift. It doesn’t happen every day, and it isn’t always in the same place, but its visibility (usually a line of clouds) and frequency make it a house lift line. In Felipe’s account, he notes that his house lift lines are often present in weak conditions or at the end of the day. His flight park is just south of Lake Erie so I suspect some of what he is experiencing comes from sea-breeze effects, just as with the lines in Florida. Another place where we have experienced sea-breeze convergence lift lines is along the Delmarva peninsula (made up of parts of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean). We should expect these breeze effects to occur anytime we are flying near the sea. And if our local site is in such an area the smart money will be put on those who pay attention and try to figure out the patterns of the lift lines. Repeatability makes them house lift lines. Other convergences may be caused by obstructions (hills, mountains) far upwind making the flow meander from side to side. The reader may remember a recent photo I had in this series that I took last winter, demonstrating how meanders cause lines of convergence and divergence parallel to the wind’s flow. You can see the long lines of snow ridges where the convergence occurs and the valleys where there is divergence. You can see such meandering in water flow on wide rivers, and no doubt it happens in the air on a much larger scale than in the field of snow I photographed, and it should continue for long distances judging by other

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oscillation effects in the atmosphere (waves and horizontal impulses). If meandering convergence is caused by a terrain formation, it should be repeatable in similar wind conditions. An approaching front or storm can also cause such meandering or impulses that create convergence, but these factors are not around all the time and tend to move, so they don’t qualify as house lift line sources. Above I mentioned the area in Greifenburg that tends to blow up first with thunderstorms. As explained by the weatherman for the meet—a very experienced meteorologist and local pilot—the area is a point where three valley flows come together. So it is a localized convergence zone. While no one smart is going to fly towards a thunderstorm to get up, it should be noted that this general area is known to be a good thermal producer even without thunderstorm buildup or even clouds. The point to take away from this discussion is that an area where you frequently see a line of clouds, either as a street of cumulus or a more spread-out mass indicating convergence, suspect that there may be lift lines in the same locale, even without clouds. By exploring these areas you just may discover a reliable lift line for at-once and future use.

FLYING HOUSE LINES Flying lift lines, whether reliable, repeated house lines or not requires being sensitive to the lift and sink you are in as you float along. Sometimes the line is obvious because clouds mark its position, but often we are using them between thermal cumuli, on cloudless days or on weak days. The main trick is to pay attention to the lift-and-sink feeling and feedback from your vario and make little heading adjustments as necessary to remain on the line of the best lift. Sometimes, of course, a line peters out, but often if the lift diminishes or disappears it only takes a little side adjustment to find it again.

How do you know which side to adjust towards? Paying attention to your instrument and seeing if there is an increase or drop off of lift as you move to one side or the other usually lets you know which the lift is on. However, you must catch the changes fast or you will be too late and may feel sink in either direction. Part of the trick to flying lift lines is being on top of things and constantly making necessary adjustments or being ready to do so. With practice you can learn to stay in, and ride to the fullest, lift lines almost automatically, just as we do with thermals after many thermaling hours. We listed ridgelines above (source 3) as an obviously reliable source of lift lines. But such a terrain feature as a very low ridge (too low to soar), or berm, or escarpment can be a thermal trigger for multiple thermals in a line parallel to the ridge (and perpendicular to the wind if it is blowing into the ridge). The thermal line will be somewhat downwind of the ridge—the further back the higher you are in significant wind. This concept is shown in figure 2. It is possible that general up-sloping terrain perpendicular to the wind can trigger thermals in a line, especially where such a slope meets a tree line or changes its angle of slope. Even if the wind isn’t perpendicular to such a low ridgeline, a thermal triggering along it may induce others to trigger simply because the break of the ground disturbs the airflow. Besides flying similar routes in an area, one of the best ways to discern possible house lift lines is to look at an accumulation of track logs, just as we suggested with house thermals. With color-coded displays we can see when we are rising or falling and any line that reduces our sink or provides a climb is probably a lift line. By comparing multiple track logs along the same general corridors, you can see if any lines are repeated and if so, how frequently. Clearly, if you have a community of

track logs from the same area you will have many more comparisons and find house lift lines more readily. Sounds like a good club project to me. As we mentioned earlier, lift lines are most often important for XC flying, but there are many times when they are helpful while flying locally. When you top out a thermal and have to fly back upwind to position in front of the hill or locate the next bloom of lift, it’s nice to follow a lift line. Often such a line will be strung out upwind of the core you leave, but since the line depends on where the thermal is located, it cannot be considered a house lift line. However, anywhere there is a house thermal the lift line it creates in wind can be somewhat depended upon. One site near me has quarries that tend to put out thermals that linger longer than the surrounding thermals, so the lift trains out. I go to them for the house thermal effects, but also expect to get repeated cores or at least help flying

back upwind when I top their thermals out. Other local house lift lines may be caused by convergences due to terrain. Again, if we are trolling for thermals at a given site it is good practice to note where we have the best glide performance. After years of flying a given site it is the smart pilot who notes all of the patterns of the area. Recurring lift lines are an important part of the site’s lore. Of course, part of the mountain or ridge extending perpendicular to the wind will produce a lift line, but many times there are spines or protrusions extending upwind or partially upwind. These are excellent terrain features to explore for lift lines.

ouse lift lines are perhaps more difficult to discover than house thermals, mainly because there is much more ground to cover and we do it less often. But for flying crosscountry, or even going on short ventures

within a few miles of launch, such as my jaunts across the valley, you can see how valuable they are. Once we have found house lift lines in our local area and on our normal routes, the next step—just as with house thermals—is to note their probable cause and then try to find the resident lift lines further along our routes, or at other sites entirely. We start by becoming aware of the possibility and presence of such natural factors in our flying, then we learn more about their behavior, then we learn to anticipate and predict their presence and behavior. This is the process most of us went through in relation to thermals in general. We didn’t even know they existed before we began to fly. Then we learned their nature and how to exploit them. Then we learned to predict them to better locate and master them. The same process should take place with house thermals and then, house lift lines. Happy hunting.

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RATINGS ISSUED IN DECEMBER HANG GLIDING RTG RGN NAME

STATE RATING OFFICIAL

RTG RGN NAME

STATE RATING OFFICIAL

RTG RGN NAME

STATE RATING OFFICIAL

H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-3 H-3 H-3 H-3

CA CA CA CA CA FL NY CA CA CA AZ GA GA GA FL FL NY WA CA CA FL

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

3 4 6 6

Major Bryant Wilfrid Thibault Rena Brown Lau Ka Yee

CA NM OK

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

6 6 6 6 7 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 4

Chiu Ho Nam James Lewis Samantha Liddelow Aaron Liddelow Hamed Taghikhani Allison Wibby G. Mark Griffith James Scott Jr Stephen Karney Rod Ragsdale Elena Ursachii Hattie Schmidtkunz Jesse Mayo John Casey Junichi Nakamura Solomon Lee Michael Petragallo Ulysse Voyer-bolduc Daniel Shabtai Peter Pivka Major Bryant David Eubank Max Montgomery Wilfrid Thibault Erik Niklason

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

2 2 2 2 2 10 12 2 2 2 4 10 10 10 10 10 12 1 2 3 10

Daley Kutzman Matthew Pearson Jennifer Hu Christopher Blume Rainer Hessmer Fred Minix Andrew Drossman Mark Larsen Jim Sillars Parul Gujral Douglas Hale John Blank Lamar Burnham Tim Burnham Fred Minix John Aubrey Andrew Drossman Paige Ollikainen Good Dog Test - Director Charles Bether Antonio Mercado

Barry Levine Barry Levine Barry Levine Barry Levine Eric Hinrichs James Tindle Matthew Masters Patrick Denevan Robert Booth Robert Booth Richard Waters Julie Julian Joe Bedinghaus Joe Bedinghaus James Tindle Eric Williams Matthew Masters Rob Nichols Paul Voight Rob Mckenzie Jon Thompson

PARAGLIDING

RTG RGN NAME

STATE RATING OFFICIAL

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

AK CA CA CA

1 2 2 3

John Casey Michael Petragallo Ulysse Voyer-bolduc Peter Pivka

Frank Sihler Christopher Grantham Christopher Langan Marcello Debarros

Tips & Tricks #1 contributed by Bill Bredehoft

Wind noise on your radio making it

IL OR WA OR WA OR WA AK AK AK CA CA CA CA CA CA CA NM NM NM UT

Rob Sporrer T Lee Kortsch Ron Kohn Ma Chiu Kit Ma Chiu Kit Steven Yancey Steven Yancey Steven Yancey Sam Pasha Maren Ludwig Marc Chirico Justin Boer Ross Jacobson Steve Roti Jerome Daoust Scott Amy Scott Amy Frank Sihler Jeffrey Greenbaum Chien (charlie) Dinh Christopher Grantham Christopher Langan Jesse Meyer Marcello Debarros Rob Sporrer Charles (chuck) Woods Charles (chuck) Woods T Lee Kortsch Chris Santacroce

4 6 6 6 6 6 6 7 11 1 1 2 4 5 8 8 8 10 1 2 3 4 4 4 6 6 6 6 6

Kerry Smeester Nilson Araujo Jing Xiao Cen Eric Yam Lau Ka Yee Chiu Ho Nam Bernardo Vasquez Gary Jagodzinski Max Bennett Jr Donneta Grizzell Jeff Rafuse Mark Playsted Andrew Hodge Chad Jakubowski Erik Webb Michael Fredericks Kristin Rokos Ed Hunsinger Sr Owen Shoemaker Dave Kornberg Zahra Panahi Jeff Slotta Mitchell Lemieur Eric Townsend Mosum Mujawar Balasaheb Kudle Vitthal Shete Yagya Bhul Lok Bhul

MN TX OR WA CA UT WY MA MA MA NC WA CA CA AZ UT UT

Granger Banks Steven Yancey Steven Yancey Ma Chiu Kit Ma Chiu Kit Ma Chiu Kit Miguel Gutierrez Steve Sirrine Hadley Robinson Kevin Lee Marc Chirico Jesse Meyer Stephen Mayer Scott Harris Luis Rosenkjer John Gallagher Benoit Bruneau Jeffrey Greenbaum Matt Senior Patrick Eaves Hadi Golian Matt Senior Steve Sirrine Stephen Mayer David Hanning David Hanning David Hanning David Hanning David Hanning

Some photographers are talented. Some are lucky. ant your Talented, lucky, or both, we w ar. best shots for the 2016 calend

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difficult for others to understand you? Rather than putting a foam boot over the entire mic, making it bulky and difficult to use in flight, cut out a small donut of adhesive-backed fuzzy Velcro and center it on the microphone hole. A piece about .75 inch in diameter with a small hole in the center seems to work well.

2015

United

States

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2015

ion gliding Associat g Gliding & Para United States Han

Go to www.ushpa.aero/calendarproject.asp for details. 60

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can be submitted online at http://www.ushpa.aero/email _ events.asp. A minimum 3-month lead time is required on all submissions and tentative events will not be published. For more details on submissions, as well as complete information on the events 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 80901-1330. 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) 632-6417 HANG GLIDING ADVISORY: Used hang glid-

ers 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), reused 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 isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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

APRIL 5-11 > Groveland, Florida. The Green

Swamp Sport Klassic at Quest Air Hang Gliding. Come be a part of the growing Sport-class competition scene. Experience our huge LZ, full fleet of tugs and park-like facilities. Come early and brush up on your XC and aero tow skills or just to have fun. This will be a race-to-goal format for Sport Class pilots only. Technical support for instrument-related questions will be available prior to and during the competition. In addition to the excellent flying conditions this time of year, take advantage of this opportunity and go for a discovery flight in the Dragonfly, Flyboard or Hoverboard on Lake Carl or visit any of the Orlando attractions. More information: Mark Frutiger, 352-429-0213, or email info@ questairhanggliding.com.

MAY 3-9 > NeverLand flight park, La Belle, Florida. East Coast Paragliding Championships: The only east-coast sanctioned PG event. Come race the world-class flats of Florida at the NeverLand flight park. We average 6 out of 7 tasks flown, with potential 100-mile tasks. Epic cloud streets and strong, smooth lift are what Florida is world renowned for. P3 with ST sign-off required limit of 60 pilots. More info: David Prentice, earthcog@yahoo.com, www.earthcog.com, or 505-720-5436. MAY 9-15 > 2015 Quest Air Open National Championships. "National competition comes back to Florida and to Quest Air. We'll be flying in the best time of the year for big cross-country triangle and out-and-return tasks up, down, and across the state. Quest provides full flight-park services with plenty of Dragonflies on site, camping, clubhouse, kitchen, rental rooms, flyboarding, swimming, sun bathing, huge field for launching in any direction. More info: Belinda Boulter and Davis Straub, http:// ozreport.com/2014QuestAirOpen.php, or belinda@davisstraub.com, or 836-206-7707.

MAY 17-23 > Flytec Race & Rally. The Flytec

Race & Rally is back! We will follow the Quest Air Open, starting at Quest and flying (hopefully) north toward some of our favorite airfields in Georgia and South Carolina including Moultrie, Americus and Vidalia. Late spring in the southeast generally brings southerly winds driving us toward the north and we plan on aggressive tasks between 80200km each day. We have arranged to have goal and tow out of dozens of beautiful small airfields as well as a whole fleet of Dragonflies following pilots on course each day and then towing them all up again the following day. If you missed out on our last Rally in 2012, now's your chance to come join the traveling flying circus once again. More info: Jamie Shelden, www.flytecraceandrally.wordpress. com, or naughtylawyer@gmail.com, or 831-2615444.

MAY 31 - JUne 6 > Ridgley, Maryland. East Coast Hang Gliding Championship. More info: Highland Aerosports, http://www.aerosports.net/ ecc.html., hanglide@aerosports.net, or 410-6342700. JUNE 14-20 > Rat Race/Sprint Paragliding Competitions Woodrat Mt. Ruch, OR. Thirteenth annual Rat Race/Sprint Paragliding Competition 2015. Practice day June 13th. Two parties, daily lunches, retrieve and mentoring provided. Join the experience, travel southern Oregon, bring your family and see why the Rat Race is more than the largest paragliding festival in the USA. Go here to see what southern Oregon has to offer: http://southernoregon.org Registration opens February 15, 2015 $495.00 until April 15th, 2015. More info: mphsports.com, and 541-702-2111. Sign up at MPHSports.com. JUNE 28 - July 3 > Chelan Butte, Chelan, WA. 2015 Chelan Cross-Country Classic and National Open-Distance Championships, Pilots will choose their own tasks to get the most our of each day and points will be awarded based on the distance they fly. This will be a sanctioned event this year so pilots can earn points for national rankings. Go straight out on days with tail winds or complete a triangle on light winds. Then go for a swim in the lake and hit the town for dinner to finish the day. This competition is also for new cross-country pilots as a great way to learn the art of cross-country flying. Evening seminars and on-launch/LZ coaching programs are in planning. Individual scoring as well as team scoring and a para vs. hang rematch. Bring the family too! Chelan is great vacation destination and the meet dates are before the 4th of July to avoid the crowds. More Info: Lennard Baron, lennybaron@comcast.net, 425 275-2162. AUGUST 2-8 > Big Spring Nationals. The Big Spring Nationals is the premier hang gliding competition in the US with the best and most consistent racing conditions.Tasks average 100 miles. Many days we are able to come back to the airport and your glider can rest the night in the hangar. We usually fly every day. No other city supports a hang gliding competition like Big Spring, with use of their air-conditioned terminal, hangar, free water and ice cream, golf carts, runway, welcome dinner, prize money, and much more. As a national competition, it will again be a high NTSS points meet and count toward the National Championship. More info: Belinda Boulter and Davis Straub, http://ozreport.com/2015BigSpringNationals.php, belinda@ davisstraub.com, and 863-206-7707. AUGUST 30 - SEPTEMBER 5 > DINOSAUR

2015 More info: Terry, and Chris Reynolds, rockymountainglider.com, terryreynolds2@gmail.com, 970-245-7315.

SEPTEMBER 13-19 > Santa Cruz Flats Race Mark Knight Memorial Competition . The Francisco Grande Resort is once again welcoming us back for another week of great flying. If you're up for 7 out of 7 days of awesome technical flying conditions, come join us for the 9th Annual Santa Cruz Flats Race. Registration opens at noon eastern time on April 11th. More info: Jamie Shelden, www.santacruzflatsrace.blogspot.com, naughtylawyer@ gmail.com, or 831-261-5444.

SEPTEMBER 20-26 > OVXCC - Owen's Valley Cross Country Classic 2015. More info: KARICASTLE.COM, Jugdeep Aggarwal, kari@karicastle. com, or 7600-920-0748 . NON-SANCTIONED COMPETITION APRIL 26 - MAY 1 > La Belle, FL. Spring Fling:

XC clinic, fun comp and Rivalry of the Regions for intermediate pilots. Improve your thermal and XC skills in world-class conditions through training, coaching and clinics by David Prentice. Most pilots fly new personal bests, distances flown are between 40 to 60 miles. Register your region for team points to claim the traveling trophy and regional infamy! Entry fee: $300, and tow fee: $150 which includes T-shirt, scoring, XC retrieval, XC clinics, awards dinner, and prize money. Register at www. earthcog.com.

AUGUST 16-22 > Dunlap, TN. Tennessee Tree Toppers Team Challenge is an instructional competition pioneered by the TTT for the cultivation of cross-country and competition skills. The unique scoring format awards more points to less experienced team members for the same distance, encouraging their more experienced team members to assist them along course. Teams are led by some of the finest XC and comp pilots in the country! Nightly seminars explore the finer points in greater detail, covering topics from forecasts to landings. More info: www.tennesseetreetoppers.org

JULY 4> Lakeview, Oregon. Lake County Umpteenth Annual Festival of Free Flight. Save by PreRegistering by June 18th 2015 for $30.00 after June 18th it’s $35.00 at our website: www.lakecountychamber.org 877-947-6040. We have been welcoming both Hang Glider and Paraglide Pilots since the early 1980’s. Please visit our website and click the FFF tab for info and registration.

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JUNE 20-28> King Mountain Glider Park Safari. Free Annual Idaho event. Fly the longest days of the year just east of famous Sun Valley. Paragliders, hang gliders, sailplanes, and self-launching sailplanes are all welcome. Awesome glass off and cloud bases up to 18,000’. Fly to Montana or Yellowstone. Wave Window. Campfire, Potlucks, Star Gazing, Hiking, Mountain Biking and Fishing. Free camping at the Glider Park. Big Air and Big Country! For an outtake about King from Dave Aldrich’s awesome movie production see vimeo. com/104771241 Explore kingmountaingliderpark. com for directions and more info. Spot Locator with tracking function or equivalent required. Call John at 208- 407-7174. SEPTEMBER 4-7 > Ellenville, NY. THE USHPA NATIONAL FLY-IN! Calling all hang gliders and paragliders. Come one, come all–let's gather and fly and celebrate the sky! More info: at www.SNYHGPA.org. clinics & tours

FLY-INS APRIL 3-5 > Lake Alamo, AZ. The Sling Ma-

chine Easter Fly-in is a new tow event near Lake Alamo, AZ. $75 covers T-shirts, Saturday dinner, and close retrieves. $10 per tow for the drivers/tow operators. Come witness an attempted tow altitude record! Surface-tow clinic on Friday for those who have never towed, and bridles can be rented or purchased during the event. Contact Arizona Paragliding at 480-294-1887 to schedule your training session. Register for the fly-in at azhpa.org. XC, spot landing, bomb-drop contests! More info: azhpa. org.

APRIL 25-26 > Oceanside, Oregon. 29th An-

nual Oceanside Open. Fun comp events for both HG and PG. Banquet, awards and raffle Saturday night at the Elk’s lodge. More details and online registration at www.oceansideopen.com Hosted by the Cascade Paragliding Club.

APRIL 29 - May 4 > La Salina Flyng Ridge,

Baja California Norte . 9th ANNUAL FlyLaSalina. com Luna Llena Fiesta Del Cielo FLY- IN! Deemed “The Perfect Ridge” by ‘70s HG pilots, La Salina is known worldwide as Baja’s best air-sport venue. Launch from 700’ ridge less than a mile east of Pacific Ocean. Soar for hours, climb to above 3000 ft. in desert thermals, then land on big/beautiful sandy beach, OR XC into Baja’s world-class wine country. Fly PG, HG, PPG, and trikes. Sponsored by TEAM FlyLaSalina.com; Ejido La Mision; and BajaBrent (who handles accommodations at his beachfront B&B complete with beachfront astroturf LZ). More Info: BajaBrent.@msn.com; 760203-2658 (US); 646-155-8194 MX .

MARCH 30 - APRIL 2 > Owens Valley. Torrey Pines Gliderport Cross Country (XC) Clinic. Torrey Pines Gliderport is offering advanced Cross Country flying in the Owens Valley. Hosted by Gabriel Jebb and XC SkyGod (to be announced), this clinic will offer four (4) days of basic and advanced XC flying. Start the morning with in depth weather briefings for the Owens Valley, then plan a basic flight route for the day. Learn how to use GPS and flight instruments to maximize your distance flying. More info at www.flytorrey.com

APril 3-5, 10-12, 17-19, 23-24 > Sebring, FL. Over-the-water maneuvers training (SIV) from beginner to advanced maneuvers training. Gain priceless and valuable knowledge and experience under your wing with radio guidance from David Prentice. Each pilot progresses at his or her own pace. Sebring offers a world-class SIV destination with white-sand beaches, crystal-clear water just seconds from main street Sebring. More info: David Prentice, earthcog@yahoo.com, or 505-7205436. APRIL 25-27 > Instructor Training. With Ken Hudonjorgensen in Utah. More info: Phone 801971-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www. twocanfly.com. April 26 > Instructor Re-certification with Ken

Hudonjorgensen in Utah. More info: Phone 801971-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www. twocanfly.com. HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

MAY 1-3 > Thermal Clinic. Utah flying sites with Ken Hudonjorgensen. Learn your wing’s language and what it is telling you about the parcel of air it is in. More info: Phone 801- 971-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly.com.

SEPTEMBER 19-20 > Site Pioneering. Utah

sites with Ken Hudonjorgensen. More info: Phone 801- 971-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly.com.

gensen in Utah. More info: Phone 801-971-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly. com.

SEPTEMBER 28 - OCTOBER 3 > Red Rocks Fall Fly-in, Richfield Utah with Ken Hudonjorgensen and Stacy Whitmore. More info: Phone 801- 971-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly.com.

MAY 23-25 > Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Tandem

NOVEMBER > Iquique Chili paragliding tour:

MAY 23-24 > Tandem Clinic with Ken Hudonjor-

Instructor Certification Clinic at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort presented by Scott Harris and Jackson Hole Paragliding. More info at www.jhparagliding.com

MAY 29-31 > Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Instruc-

tor Certification Clinic presented by Scott Harris and JH Paragliding. More info at www.jhparagliding.com

JUNE 3-13, SEPTEMBER 21 - October 1 & October 1-12> Paracrane European Tour.

Austria, Slovenia, and Italy. "The Sound of Music" meets the X-Alps! Early summer and early fall are perfect times for flying in Austria, Slovenia and Italy. We’ll base in Zell am See, Austria, with tram access to excellent flying. Other great sites are close by. On to the Alps of Slovenia, plus a stop in Venice. After classic Meduno, we shift north to some of the most spectacular flying in the world, the Dolomites. More info: nick@paracrane.com, 541-8408587, or http://www.costaricaparagliding.com/europe.html.

June 6-7 > Site Pioneering in Utah with Ken

Hudonjorgensen. More info: Phone 801-971-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly. com.

JUNE 14-20 > Rat Race Super Clinic : Kari Castle, Kay Taucher and Ken Hudonjorgensen will be helping Mike Haley at the Rat Race, training newer pilots with thermaling, launch-sequence proficiency, and restricted landing approaches, etc. All necessary skills for XC and competition. Contact: mphsports@charter.net. JULY 3-5 > Thermal Clinic. Utah sites with Ken Hudonjorgensen. Learn your wing’s language and what it is telling you about the parcel of air it is in. More info: Phone 801-971-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly.com. AUGUST 29, 30, 31 > Thermal Clinic. Utah sites

with Ken Hudonjorgensen. Learn your wing’s language and what it is telling you about the parcel of air it is in. More info: Phone 801- 971-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly.com.

This year we have divided the tour into four 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 P-2 thru P-4). Check the web site for more details. For anyone wanting to fly, fly, fly... this is the tour to join. The last tour will focus more on XC. More info: Phone 801- 971-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly.com.

DECEMBER 7-16> Brazil. Paraglide Brazil with

Paracrane Tour. We’ll start in magical Rio de Janeiro, flying over the tropical forest surrounded by granite domes and landing on the beach, or try a flight to the world-famous Christ statue! After 3 days we head to Governador Valadares, for incredible XC opportunities. Depending on conditions other sites we may visit include Pancas, Castelo and Alfredo Chavez in Espirito Santo. Brazil is a unique paragliding and cultural experience! Open to strong P-2’s and up. Please note, you will need a Brazilian Visa. More info: 541-840-8587, or nick@ paracrane.com.

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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

AIRJUNKIES PARAGLIDING - Year-round excellent instruction, Southern California & Baja. Powered paragliding, clinics, tours, tandem, towing. Ken Baier 760-213-0063, airjunkies.com. 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 Santa Barbara & Ojai from the 2012 US Instructor of the Year! More students flying safely after 10 years than any other school in the nation. flyaboveall.com 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. Tradeins 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. 408-2621055, Fax 408-262-1388, mission@hang-gliding. com, Mission Soaring Center LLC, leading the way since 1973. www.hang-gliding.com

WINDSPORTS - Train in sunny southern Cal. 325

flyable days each year. Learn modern flying skills safely and quickly. Train on sand with professionals at Dockweiler Beach training slopes (5 minutes from LA airport.) Fly any season in gentle coastal winds, soft sand and in a thorough program with 1 of the largest schools for over 40 years. 818-3672430, www.windsports.com

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.com; flycenterofgravity@gmail.com; 315-256-1522

SCHOOLS & INSTRUCTORS

SEPTEMBER 5-9 > Cross-country and open-

distance competition clinic with mentoring. Paragliding Intensive with Ken Hudonjorgensen and other mentors. Inspiration Point, Jupiter, West Mt. and Monroe, Utah, wherever the weather tells us to go. More info: Phone 801- 971-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly.com.

CALIFORNIA

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

COLORADO GUNNISON GLIDERS - X-C to heavy waterproof

HG gliderbags. Accessories, parts, service, sewing. Instruction ratings, site-info. Rusty Whitley 1549 CR 17, Gunnison CO 81230. 970-641-9315.

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.

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.

MARYLAND HIGHLAND AEROSPORTS - Baltimore and DC’s full-

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

MICHIGAN TRAVERSE CITY PARAGLIDERS - Soar our 450’

sand dunes. Full time shop. Certified instruction, all levels. Sales, service and accessories for all major brands. Call Bill at 231-922-2844 or email at tchangglider@chartermi.net Your USA & Canada Mosquito distributor, www.mosquitoamerica.com

NEW HAMPSHIRE MORNINGSIDE - A Kitty Hawk Kites flight park. The

Northeast's premier hang gliding and paragliding training center, teaching since 1974. Hang gliding foot launch and tandem aerowtow training. Paragliding foot launch and tandem training. Powered Paragliding instruction. Dealer for all major manufacturers. Located in Charlestown, NH. Also visit our North Carolina location, Kitty Hawk Kites Flight School. 603-542-4416, www. flymorningside.com

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

NORTH CAROLINA KITTY HAWK KITES - The largest hang gliding

school in the world, teaching since 1974. Learn to hang glide and paraglide on the East Coast's largest sand dune. Year-round instruction, foot launch and tandem aerotow. Powered paragliding instruction. Dealer for all major manufacturers. Learn to fly where the Wright Brothers flew, located at the beach on NC's historic Outer Banks. Also visit our New Hampshire location, Morningside Flight Park. 252-441-2426, 1-877-FLY-THIS, www. kittyhawk.com

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. 787850-0508, flypuertorico@gmail.com

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 TEAM - training pilots in Central Texas

FLYMEXICO - VALLE DE BRAVO and beyond for

HANG GLIDING and PARAGLIDING. Gear, guiding, instruction, transportation, lodging - www. flymexico.com 512-467-2529 / 1-800-861-7198 USA

CLINICS & TOURS COSTA RICA - Grampa Ninja's Paragliders' B&B. Affordable rates include breakfast, pool, free wifi. Guide service and/or transportation to all popular paragliding sites. Lessons available from USHPA certified instructors. Call USA: Mid April thru Dec: 908-454-3242. Call Costa Rica Jan thru mid April: (Country code, 011) House: 506-2200-4824, Cell: 506-8950-8676, or email fgrotenhuis@hotmail. com Website: www.paraglidecostarica.com ITALY - Fantastico! Great flying! Great food! Great

weather! ALL inclusive service suitable for all levels of pilots. Round topped grassy mountains and large flatlands. Flying with culture! www.flytaly.com

PARTS & ACCESSORIES SPECIALTY WHEELS for airfoil basetubes, round

basetubes, or tandem landing gear. 262-4738800, www.hanggliding.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

for 25 years. Hang Gliding, Paragliding, Trikes. Hangar facilities Lake LBJ, Luling, Smithville www. flytexas.com 512-467-2529

PUBLICATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS

UTAH

SOARING - Monthly magazine of The Soaring

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.

VIRGINIA BLUE SKY - Virginia's full time, year round HG

School. Scooter, Platform and Aero Tow. Custom sewing, paragliding, powered harnesses, trikes, representing most major brands. 804-241-4324, www.blueskyhg.com

INTERNATIONAL BAJA MEXICO - La Salina Baja's BEST BEACHFRONT Airsport Venue: PG, HG, PPG: FlyLaSalina.com. by BajaBrent.com, He’ll hook you up! Site intros, tours, & rooms. bajabrent@ bajabrent.com, 760-203-2658

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.

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.

EXOTIC THAILAND X/C CLINIC - Phu Thap Boek,Thailand's most awesome,highest flying site 5,200ASL.Open to P-2 and above.Come learn how to fly high and far! Very inexpensive! More info: pchumes@gmail.com

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

The 1

by Richard Elder

We know there was a day when it all worked for you. When your training clicked, the conditions were perfect, the stars aligned, and you soared to new heights (real or imagined.) Send in your tale of “The 1” flight you'll never forget, and we'll print it right here. You'll be entered into the annual drawing for USHPA soft shell jacket.

What on earth is that smell?

quite a lot above me, but there must That, replied the monkey in his usual be something here. There was, little condescending tone, is salvation. bubbles enough to sustain but nothing But what do an ungodly smell and very organized. I widened my search a random primate have to do with my area, found a few more bubbles. Things favorite flight? Both were key, but a story that should have been working weren’t, has to have a beginning, middle and end. I was just burbling around at 2000’, The end is easy: It was at a skydiving not going up, not going down. Sunny’s school airfield somewhere in Delaware advice (from Highland Aerosports) that was the farthest I had ever flown. earlier in the week boomed loud in my The beginning—well, as a low-airtime head—avoid sink, be patient and make H-3 trying to get the hang of thermalit to goal—was interrupted by Cory. ing and hopefully XC flying, I’d have to “Hey, Rich, I am at 5000 feet and going say that was the 2013 Tennessee Tree on glide. Where are you?” Toppers Team Challenge. Under expert “1950 feet, in 20fpm.” I think the guidance and mentoring, Cory Barnwell radio accurately transmitted my stress; and I built on our learning experience after a longer-than-normal delay there from Lookout Mountain Flight Park was a subdued, “Hang in there, buddy,” and finally fledged the nest, so to speak. in reply. And now to the middle. By now I had got the area of lift, or The final day of the East Coast non-sink, worked out and was widening Challenge (ECC), the longest task called my search, still finding nothing, really, so far—a good result could push me yet there was a broad area of consistent into the top 10, but that would require bubbly lift I kept coming back to. I blending all my past flights and new would lose altitude on search, then knowledge from earlier in the week into come back and claw my way back up to this one flight. Cory and I plotted and around 2000’. planned. We would fly together, for as Then it happened, on my farthest long as we were able to. We consulted foray away from the safe zone. What on with more experienced pilots, as the day earth is that smell? I thought. looked challenging. And then we were That, replied the monkey, is salvain the gaggle in the start cylinder. tion. Chicken poo, and lots of it, at 1800 The sheer exuberance of working feet. It had gotten up here somehow, together with a good buddy on a shared although the chicken sheds were up/ goal—talking, strategizing and then crosswind, off task line and a reasonexecuting the plan, and having it work, able distance away. Back to the comfort was just incredible! It was all going so of the safe zone I went—it might have well—right up until it wasn’t. turned on by now, but if not, I’d gain as I heard nothing, not a beep, yet Cory much height as possible, and then go for was climbing above me—admittedly those chicken sheds.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

That glide was the tensest I had ever experienced. If there was nothing there I would land way short of goal and lose places, if it was the same burbly lift as I had just left, well, I would be no better off, possibly worse off, as I was heading away from goal and I wasn’t sure I would make it back to the safe zone if I had to search over the chicken sheds. Then, Boom! Right over the sheds, broad, consistent 400fpm rising to 600fpm, a vertical column of salvation that took me to cloudbase. Again Cory interrupted. “Hey, Rich, where are you?” “I’m at 5000 feet going on glide— you?” “I’m at goal—see you soon?” “Hell, yes!”

hat was my last flight of the ECC. It was my longest in distance, one of my longest in duration, and I moved up into 9th spot. Flying with Cory, and making it work, was very special. Watching the distance to goal count down, monitoring speed and altitude, scanning ahead for the goal and spotting it, realizing that I was actually going to make it (a huge 53km!) was just magical. Having enough altitude over goal to beat up the airfield and burn it in to land to show the jump students the error of their ways was just icing on the cake. Best of all, though, were the huge grins and hugs from the other pilots at goal. This was easily my favorite flight! Oh, about that monkey: It’s a good-luck charm my wife gave me, that lives on my instrument pod. But that’s another story…

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