Hang Gliding & Paragliding Vol47-Iss6 Nov-Dec 2017 by US Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 Volume 47 Issue 6 $6.95

For change of address or other USHPA business:

+1 (719) 632-8300 info@ushpa.aero

Martin Palmaz, Executive Director executivedirector@ushpa.aero Beth Van Eaton, Operations Manager office@ushpa.aero Galen Anderson, Membership Coordinator membership@ushpa.aero Julie Spiegler, Program Manager programs@ushpa.aero

USHPA OFFICERS & EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Paul Murdoch, President president@ushpa.aero Alan Crouse, Vice President vicepresident@ushpa.aero 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: Ken Andrews, Dan DeWeese, Alan Crouse. REGION 4: Bill Belcourt, Ken Grubbs. REGION 5: Josh Pierce. REGION 6: Tiki Mashy. REGION 7: Paul Olson. REGION 8: Michael Holmes. REGION 9: Dan Lukaszewicz, Larry Dennis. REGION 10: Bruce Weaver, Steve Kroop, Matt Taber. REGION 11: Tiki Mashy. REGION 12: Paul Voight. DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Paul Murdoch, Steve Rodrigues, Greg Kelley, Jamie Shelden, Mitch Shipley. 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. 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.

COVER SHOT BY

EVERARD CUNION Over the countryside near Kingstead, England.

WARNING

Hang gliding and paragliding are INHERENTLY DANGEROUS activities. USHPA recommends pilots complete a pilot training program under the direct supervision of a USHPA-certified instructor, using safe equipment suitable for your level of experience. Many of the articles and photographs in the magazine depict advanced maneuvers being performed by experienced, or expert, pilots. These maneuvers should not be attempted without the prerequisite instruction and experience.

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2017 FLY SMART

5 LIVE WELL 5 GO FAR

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER

18 22

FREE-FLYING IN CHINA Jungle-crusted Limestone Cliffs ARI DELASHMUTT

2 WINGS | 2 WEEKS Following an Alpine Route BIANCA HEINRICH & EDUARDO GARZA

30 36

BRASILIA Hang Gliding World Championship DENNIS PAGEN

REFUGIO! XC Fun for Everyone NIKI LONGSHORE

THROW! All About Reserves MATT WARREN

ELECTION

FLYING FIRST-AID KIT

TATER HILL

HOW TO SPEED

Candidates make unedited statements in hopes of winning your vote.

VOTE BEFORE DECEMBER 15!

Pack these 18 items before you run off the mountain.

A friendly comp where you just might find exactly what you need.

Sometimes the early bird gets the sink.

ANNETTE O'NEIL

GRACE STANSBERY

BRUCE GOLDSMITH

8 34 62 64 64 66

AIRMAIL CENTERFOLD RATINGS CALENDAR CLASSIFIED FINAL

HANG GLIDING

PARAGLIDING &

Martin Palmaz, Publisher executivedirector@ushpa.aero

he hunt to satisfy our flying hungers is a glorious pursuit. We all have felt a serious fear of missing out (FOMO) while watching online as friends fly midday, mornings, and evenings and we sit in the rain or

wind, or while taking care of real-world obligations. I use this FOMO as inspiration in the air if I’m thinking about landing early, or not even bothering to

check out the hill if the weather looks light or stable. But what would I be missing? Driving to meet my flying friends so we can carpool to launch and giddily chat, full of excitement, about the weather, recent flights, and gear that no one in the world who does not fly has a remote interest in. Getting gear out and making your way to launch to lay out gear you’ve fastidiously researched and meticulously curated over decades. Pulling out instruments whose incredibly grating tones are pure sweetness to your ears, straightening the hook knife that you custom sewed so that the Velcro is perfect, getting the radio frequency for the site and dialing it, lining out a Camelback so that the tube does not get a kink, and preparing all your in-flight snacks. The sublime nature of ritualized behavior is outright rampant in free flight, and that’s before we launch. As the season winds down I have downright FOMO for everything we have the fortune to experience each summer, and I’ve already booked tickets to a winter destination to stave off the cravings. Hopefully you’re able to do the same. The November/December issue starts off with candidate bios for the USHPA’s board of directors. This volunteer position helps shape free flight in the US, and from sitting in on 20 board meetings over last 10 years I can tell you it is an impressive group. Please take a moment and vote for the candidate who best represents how you want the organization to work for you. Ari DeLashmutt is back with a grand tale of his trip to China where highlining and paragliding are going gangbusters, and Bianca Heinrich reports from her first class X-Alps-style adventure with Eduardo Garza. The issue continues with works from Dennis Pagen on the 2017 Hang Gliding World Championships in Brasilia where goal was set in a sprawling metropolis every day, and Niki Longshore reports from a newer Texas big-distance site, Refugio, where a team of pilots set personal bests and battled the Texas terrain for hours at a time. We have commissioned two pieces more on the safety side with an amazing report on the current crop of reserves by Matt Warren, which first appeared in Cross Country Magazine earlier this year, and an article from staff contributor Annette O’Neil that details a good start for a flying first-aid kit. Grace Stansbery reports from Boone, North Carolina and the Tater Hill open, and Bruce Goldsmith chimes in with a master class on pushing the speed bar. Finally, we have an endearing farewell from long-time USHPA member, Dave Brown, who is going to miss all the rituals listed above, but more importantly the thing that matters the most in regards to flying—the community. Dave, I think can speak for all of us when I say we’re glad we got to spend time with you, and you’ll always be welcome around the campfire.

Nick Greece, Editor editor@ushpa.aero advertising@ushpa.aero Greg Gillam, Art Director art.director@ushpa.aero C.J. Sturtevant, Copy Editor copy@ushpa.aero Staff Writers

Photographers

Annette O'Neil

John Heiney

Dennis Pagen

Jeff Shapiro

Jeff Shapiro C.J. Sturtevant

SUBMISSIONS HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING welcomes 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 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. ADVERTISING ALL ADVERTISING AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES MUST BE 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.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING (ISSN 1543-5989) (USPS 17970) is published monthly by the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc., 1685 W. Uintah St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80904, (719) 632-8300, FAX (719) 6326417. Periodical postage is paid at Colorado Springs, CO and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER Send change of address to: USPA, 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 ©2016 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. HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

UNITED STATES HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING ASSOCIATION

STATES UNITED LIDING HANG G GLIDING & PARA ATION ASSOCI

2018

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

I have to disagree with

vortex we actually create, and where

Bruce Goldsmith’s conclusion in his

our flight paths actually take us

become unloaded and collapse. It is

article “The Killer Vortex.” I have

when we leave a spiral dive.

similar to how an airplane can slide

seen pilots come out of spiral dives

Rather, I believe the correct ex-

This causes one half of their wing to

out of a turn if they have more bank

and take serious collapses. I’ve even

planation is that these pilots exited

angle than is appropriate for their

heard some say that they “waked”

their spiral dives too quickly and in

rate of turn. If someone properly

themselves, meaning they flew

an uncoordinated way that left the

bleeds off the energy of a spiral dive

through their own wake. This is

momentum of their body moving

properly, they will not have this

hogwash and doesn’t stand up to the

through the air, out of sync with

problem.

laws of physics and how much wing

the direction of travel of their wing.

Cheers, Ted Smith

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ELECTION Regional Director Candidate Statements Voting closes at 12:00 midnight [Mountain Time] on December 15, 2017 their treasuries for this effort. We have certainly had some growing pains, learning as we go, but the

ing as its interim CFO. (By the way,

key thing is this: We still have liabil-

we’re looking for a pilot with a CPA or

ity insurance, and with it, our flying

CFA background to help out if you’re

sites and schools. We are working

interested. Contact me and we can

out the kinks in the program as we

discuss it.)

go, but so far it has been successful.

Please take a minute to vote, either

The RRG completed its first year of

for me or for someone else if you

operation with a profit and no major

don’t like the way I’m doing the job.

claims. If we are able to continue on

Once again, voting will be all-elec-

Mark Forbes | Region 1

with a successful record of minimal

tronic using an online voting service.

It’s been a busy couple of years, and

claims, we will see significant reduc-

Thanks for participating!

I’m asking once again for your vote

tions in our future cost for insur-

as your USHPA regional representa-

ance, both for USHPA and for flight

tive. Last time I wrote my candidate

schools. The goal of the RRG is not to

statement, I said that there were

make maximum profit, unlike typical

interesting challenges on the horizon.

for-profit insurance companies. The

I was not wrong. I had no idea just

RRG is focused on providing reli-

how “interesting” things were about

able, comprehensive insurance that

to become!

protects our members, landowners

Shortly after I wrote, we learned that our Lloyd’s insurance policy was

and schools, at the lowest possible cost. We are in this for the long term,

not going to renew. That precipitated

not to make a quick buck and bail out

the huge effort that resulted in the

when things don’t go well. We’re put-

creation of Recreation Risk Retention

ting that money in our own pockets

Matt Henzi | Region 1

Group, our captive insurance com-

now, not some outside investors. The

Hi Pilots,

pany which now provides us with

cost of insurance is a major portion of

Thank you for the nomination!

coverage. Thanks to the efforts of

our total budget, so driving that down

Perhaps I received this nomination

many volunteers, and the incredible

will reduce the cost of our member-

for regional director because some of

generosity of our members, we raised

ships in the future.

you feel that USHPA should be an or-

the $3 million we needed to capital-

RRG side as one of the five directors of the company, and currently serv-

Now that the dust has settled a

ganization by the Pilots, for the Pilots.

ize the RRG and pulled off what is

bit, I find myself still doing most of

Maybe some of you would like to see

normally a two-year project in under

the same jobs for USHPA; elections

active and passionate pilots making up your Board of Directors.

six months. Thanks again to each one

chair, insurance/finance committee

of you who stepped up to help, and to

co-chair, radio committee chair and

the clubs in our region who emptied

treasurer. I’m also working on the

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

When elected I will strive to have USHPA do more to protect Pilots, our

flying site access and our flying free-

many of the headaches and growing

doms. I will emphasize using USHPA

pains that have been felt nationwide

to bring on higher standards of pilot-

by instructors and our new USHPA,

ing proficiency, higher standards of

PASA, and RRG.

training and instruction and more freedom of flight to qualified Pilots. I welcome your thoughts or sug-

Hang gliding’s decline has been a major issue for a long time, without as many instructors as possible,

gestions. What do you want to see

training as many students as pos-

USHPA do for you and for flying in the

sible, and increasing exposure to the

US? Send me a line at matt@cloud-

general population, we will see an

surfparagliding.com and let me know

increase in the cost of Hang Glider

how you would like to be represented.

specific equipment as less and less

Josh Cohn | Region 2

people join our lifestyle. Instructors

I have been on the board long enough

Thanks again, I would be honored to serve. You guys rock!

must be respected and valued by

to realize that it is too large to get

our community and its leaders. We

done most of what needs doing. As a

cannot do all this by ourselves. We

result, the Executive committee ends

need the support of general pilot

up doing most of the important work,

community and we need leaders that

which is asking a lot of them. As part

help put systems in place to increase

of the strategic planning committee

growth nationwide. Specifically, for

I’ve been involved with developing a

Region 2 we need more instructor ad-

plan to reduce the size of the board to

ministrators, instructors, and quali-

a level where it could take over most

fied observers and mentors. I urge all

or all of the important work. I will

pilots to talk with their local instruc-

almost certainly vote to reduce the

tors and ask them how you can help

size of the board if it comes to a vote,

support them. Instructor have felt

likely voting myself out of a position. Thanks for your consideration.

Robert Booth | Region 2

abandoned and disrespected nation-

Now more than ever it seems that the

wide. This change must start with the

USHPA needs input from the region

local communities and adapted but

2 instructors. There have been so

the USHPA, PASA, and the RRG. It’s

many changes in our SOP’s that have

time the community come together.

lacked clear communication, clear

Anyone that knows me will tell

implementation protocols, and lack of

you that I have always respected and

any education and training that it has

upheld the rules. Let’s help iron out

become very tough for the instruc-

the wrinkles in the system together.

tors to adapt and comply to the new

I am very accessible as I teach at Ed

systems. As a regional director, my

Levin most days of the year. I look

goals are to stream line the commu-

forward to serving my community at

nication from the USHPA to the San

the national level I would be honored

Francisco Bay Area instructors and

if you would have me as your Region

PAUL GAZIS | Region 2

to ensure that the instructors’ voice

2 director.

Some candidates may have noble

is taken into consideration during

Qualifications: Instructor since

goals. Others may be champions of

USHPA board meetings. I believe that

2011 - Wings of Rogallo Club

famous causes. My ambitions are

instructors are the absolute key to

President 2015 and 2016 - Ed Levin

more modest. I think of myself as

the secured growth of our free flight

site committee member since 2015 -

a diplomat rather than a warrior. If

community. Listening to the daily

Owner / Operator of East Bay Hang

elected as Regional Director, I’ll do

instructor’s needs, building systems

Gliding School since 2013

my best to keep things running, fix

that help them succeed, and proper

things if they’re broken, and help

training accompanied with the imple-

grow our sport. That third goal may

mentation procedure can alleviate

be the most important. When I began

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

so for many of the flight schools and

there PEOPLE then?), the sport was

chapters in Region 3. Thanks to a tre-

who make up the USHPA board of

thriving, our most popular local sites

mendous amount of hard work by our

directors.

were crowded with young enthusias-

entire flying community, from the

tic pilots, and you might have to wait

USHPA board members, to those with

in line an hour to launch. It was great!

a disdain for USHPA, we have risen

I’d like to see those days return! This

to meet those challenges. Together,

will mean encouraging new pilots,

we have started our own insurance

maintaining a healthy network of

company, and a certification system

schools, instructors, and observers,

for flight schools in the form of PASA.

and keeping the older pilots happy

Results from the first year of opera-

-- simple tasks, I’m sure you’ll all agree.

tion indicate that we are successfully

Well, maybe they aren’t so simple, but

achieving a new level of financial

if we wanted something simple, we’d

stability and professionalism. By no

wouldn’t have taken up flying, right?

means are all of our problems solved,

By now, most of you in Region 2 may

but I have faith that we are now

Alan Crouse | Region 3

have met me. In the LZ. Doing my

addressing after-shocks rather than

Calm, Steady, Balanced

best to maintain a philosophical atti-

earthquakes.

tude after I got flushed. I began flying

Through the turmoil, I have tried to

Thank you for electing me in 2013 and 2015. It has been a dramatic

hang gliders in 1986, determined

be a voice of reason and compromise.

second term, with the emergency

to lower the bar for foot-launched

I have done my best to exchange

creation of our own insurance pro-

aviation, and in 2006 I began to fly

information between our region and

gram, and the triumphs and issues in

paragliders as well. Or poorly, as the

the rest of USHPA, and to help out our

tackling the oversight and regulation

case may be. As a confirmed recre-

Region 3 chapters, and schools, and

of our new reality. I hope I have been

ational cross-country pilot, I follow

pilots, when it was within my power

able to help or answer questions for

the Number One Rule of Recreation XC

to do so. With your support, I will

those who have reached out. It is often a tangled and confusing set of

Flight: “Always finish the day at a good

continue to work on behalf of our

restaurant!” Except for that time I had

region and the entire free-flight com-

rules and acronyms. Figuring out

to settle for ice cream after a short

munity.

which body is doing what and why

flight from Hadley. Which was not too

For those who do not know me,

things are like they are (or seem) can

terrible a burden on a hot summer day.

Sylmar is my home site, and I am

take a lot of digging to figure out. We

I’ve served as Regional Director before,

pleased to maintain memberships

got into this for the flying, but there

and both the USHPA and I survived

at several other sites in Southern

turns out to be a lot of administration

the experience, so I know what I’d be

California. On weekdays, I’m an elec-

in owning a nation-wide insurance

getting into here.

trical engineer working on spacecraft

operation.

telecommunications at NASA’s Jet

Ken Andrews | Region 3 The last couple years have been challenging ones for USHPA, and doubly

work with the remarkable volunteers

flying, back in the 80s (gosh, were

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

I am an H4/P3 pilot who has been

Propulsion Laboratory; on weekends,

flying in Southern California since

I am pretty dependably flying a hang

2002. My ‘day job’ is in management;

glider somewhere. I am an H-5 pilot

serving a variety of governmental

and an observer, and have dabbled

and private agencies over the past 35

in the national competition scene

years with a background in computer

enough to admire those who fly so

science and management. Crestline

much better than I ever will. While

and Soboba saw fit to have me as

I’m ignorant about the ways of para-

Treasurer (both sites, including

gliders, aside from a lesson or two, I

currently at Soboba) and President

firmly believe that we’re at our best

(2 terms at Crestline). My member-

when united as a single free-flight

ship dues also support SDHGPA and

community. I would be grateful for your vote, and for the privilege of continuing to

SHGA J. Finally, I operate the Soaring Predictor www.soaringpredictor.info for southern California and beyond.

zation down to manageable levels.

Being a USHPA Regional Director

Public education and outreach,

and now Vice-President has had its ups and downs. There are some

membership growth in both Hang

great times like rewarding safe pilots,

Gliding and Paragliding, safety and

supporting P5/H5 applications, and

competition are all very important

writing letters to PASA on behalf

right now and I have spent the three

of our instructors. There are also

years bringing myself up to speed on

unpleasant duties when trying to

these and many other issues so as

corral some of our more free-spirited

to become an effective Director on

brethren or banging my head regard-

your behalf. I am excited about the

ing some insurance nuance. I hope

future of our sport and look forward

most members recognize we have a

Ken Grubbs | Region 4

to many more years of fellowship

volunteer board and tiny staff trying

Hello to all Region 4 pilots, those of

and enjoyment that flying can bring. I

to do good things for our sport and

you who I have met and those I hope

believe that the enthusiasm we see in

help it survive in the face of insur-

to meet. I am one of your current

places like Salt Lake can be spread to

ance, impending commercial use of

Region 4 Directors running for re‐

all our flying communities if we work

drones, land development and legal

election in 2017.

hard at developing new training and

challenges. When I ran two years ago, I made

I have been an active HG Pilot in Region 4 for a long time and still

flying sites that are accessible to new and old pilots alike. I first became aware of hang

some promises and I hope you

intend to begin PG training so as not

watched me keep them. I continue

to miss the enjoyment I see all my PG

gliding after seeing the famous

to work to get information out to the

buddies having (though I have been

Popular Mechanics (or was it Popular

membership BEFORE the board meet-

saying that for a few years now). I

Science?) article from the early 70’s,

have been an examiner / observer

which tells me that popular exposure

ings (see www.flyregion3.com).

since the 1980’s and have been work-

to our sport is the most important

balance; particularly in our train-

ing hard to promote and support

issue we face for the future. As I

ing, discipline and insurance pro-

safe and memorable Hang Gliding

get older, I realize that not only do I

grams. We can’t go back to the way

and Paragliding in Region 4 all those

change (in appearance), but the pub-

things were, but neither can we fix

years. I haven’t flown at every site in

lic’s views of our sport changes. Let’s

everything immediately. We need

Region 4 but my goal is to get to many

make sure that we work hard to pro-

to chart a course that is fair to our

more and meet as many new pilots

mote the positive perception of our

pilots, chapters, instructors, and our

as I can.

sport. Please support our organiza-

If re-elected, I promise to work for

captive insurance program. We need

I also serve as an officer of the

tion and me as your Region 4 Director

to be able to work together within a

Storm Peak Hang Gliding and

in effectively getting our message out

predictable framework that is fair

Paragliding Association in Steamboat

to the public to help them understand

and transparent.

Springs, Colorado and I am a member

the beauty and benefits flying can

of the UHGPGA and the RMHPA.

bring.

Staying with the ‘no surprises’ theme, I am not independently

Please give me a call if you are in

wealthy, and do not operate a hang

Steamboat.

gliding/paragliding business to write

The most important goals I have as

off expenses against, so I will accept

a Director of the United States Hang

the airfare and hotel expenses associ-

Gliding and Paragliding Association

ated with Board meetings. Travel to

are to promote the safe growth of our

board meetings costs about $1,000

sport and to encourage our mem-

and USHPA reimburses $600.

Get out and vote for your chosen candidate this year, participation in your organization is more important than ever.

bership to take an active role in the USHPA’s active support of the flying community. I have had a successful 30+ year career as a geophysicist which I hope can aid in bringing the complex issues facing our organi-

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

experience with the disciplines has

binds us all. That cohesion is vital in

been overwhelmingly positive.

keeping our community safe, strong

In summary, I aim to promote our sport, iterate training curriculum

and satisfying. In any event, if you are a cheer-

and integrate speed flying. I would

leader for the RRRG/PASA, that’s

look forward to representing Region 5

great; if you are on the very fringes of

and enjoy sharing the skies with the

our organization – you should know

many forms of flight!

you are still a vital part of our flying community. As I have said to many people, as RD I want USHPA to be an organization for all who enjoy free

Randall Shane | Region 5

flight; and I want to bring home those

I come to the paragliding community

who feel left out in the cold by their

possessing over a decade of skydiving

organization. I know these fringe

experience and have been paraglid-

folks aren’t the people sending in a

ing since 2013. I learned on the East

RD ballot, but you are still very much

Coast (NYC) and moved to Boise,

a part of our community, and it is

Idaho in late 2014. I am an active cur-

incumbent upon USHPA to earn back

rent paraglider and I am seeking the

your loyalty. In every single meeting I try

Region 5 director position. From a

Tiki Mashy | Regions 6/11

having solicited discussion and issues

Yep it’s that time again, when Region

sults, and not change for the sake of

related to our sport.

6, 11 & International are asked to “x”

change. I am truly the roadblock for

the box for your choice of Regional

unnecessary change, ask my Co-

next iteration of training curriculum

Director. And so here I am having to

Directors.

for paragliding and speed flying. Our

pitch to you why you should “x” the

The first is to look critically at the

We are coming into some new

P1 through P4 progression has served

box next to my name instead of all

uncharted waters as USHPA presses

the community well and given this

the names that are NOT running. Let

forward, and now, more than ever it

positive basis, we have an opportu-

that sink in for a moment;-)

nity to ameliorate our training for

Having started hang gliding in 1980,

is important not to lose sight of our core values. This makes my posi-

future generations. Secondarily, I

in my tender teenage years, I have

tion in running a fulltime HG school

aim to promote the awareness of our

seen USHPA morph in so many differ-

since 2003 such a benefit, in that I

sport and recruit new students. Our

ent ways. There were times when it

truly have “skin in the game” and

sport has the capacity to grow sig-

was okay to quietly go with the status

understand the value our free flight freedoms afford us. I am truly on the

nificantly through the combination

quo and times when I stompidity-

of public awareness and a tangible

stomped my number 10’s to effect

front line, so I hear your angst, and

training progression. I would also

change. I have to admit my shoes are

your praise, and I take it all on the

like to assess the viability of promot-

getting a bit worn over the last couple

field with me to each and every BOD

ing the H1 through H4 progression.

of years.

meeting.

Moreover, being your RD over the

Thank for your confidence over the

the Region 5 skies and I believe this

past years, I’ve lent my help, advice

years and for your support as we sail

should change. Lastly, paragliding,

and expertise to USHPA and our

forward together.

Hang gliders seem all too rare in

to effect positive productive re-

goal standpoint, I have 3 basic tenets

in specific, shares many aspects of

flying community. I like that you

the sport with speed flying. As speed

folks in our region (hang glider and

flying increases in popularity, it pres-

paraglider pilots alike) think of me

ents an opportunity to integrate the

as not only your RD, but as someone

two disciplines safely and augment

you have come to rely on to assist,

both membership growth and popu-

advise and mediate your free flight

larity. Often speed wings, mini wings

issues. We are a flying community;

and paragliders share sites and my

the enjoyment of that free flight

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

of active pilots and working towards continued safety for pilots, passengers and spectators. Currently I am the chairman of the Site Development and Chapter Support Committee. I look forward to being of service to our pilots, Region 9, and the USHPA.

Larry Dennis | Region 9

Bruce Weaver | Region 10

My interest in flying began when I

I've been working in the sport of free

was very young with plans to fly for

flight since I was 19 years old. During

the United States Air Force. After

that time I've had the good fortune

being commissioned into the USAF

to work with many great people,

my first assignment was at a research

both locally and nationally. Over the

laboratory and during this time, hang

years our sport has seen many op-

gliders were just starting to come on

portunities and challenges and each

the scene. I bought a book on hang

time I have seen good, smart people

gliding with the hope of flying one

Matt Taber | Region 10

step forward to address them. The

someday. Unfortunately life, my

As a Flight Park manager/owner I

insurance issue is just the latest ex-

career, and further schooling put

share many of the same issues and

ample. Thanks to the dedication and

flying on hold for a while. Paragliding

challenges that face USHPA. I feel

hard work of pilots from across the

training began in 1998 and I have

that my experience in dealing with

country, we met that challenge. As a

been flying ever since.

these same concerns qualifies me to

community we have a lot to be proud

be a part of the management body

of, but there is still a lot of work to be

glider certification in 1999, I joined

Shortly after obtaining my para-

of USHPA. During my tenure as one

done.

our local club, the Southwest Virginia

of your region 10 directors I feel I

Hang Gliding Club ( Skywackers for

have made strong contributions and

changed. We find ourselves in a new

short ) and I have been an active

if elected for this next term I have

reality with a new set of opportuni-

member of the club. I have had the

the interest and desire to continue

ties and challenges. Now, more than

privilege to serve as our chapter

to work on the many challenges that

ever, we as an association need to

president since 2008. Our club has

face our organization. I have the

work to the best of our ability to make sure that the needs of all our

The landscape of our sport has

been quite active over the years in

memberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interest at hart and I am

assisting with opening, maintaining

easy to get ahold of for your needs. I

pilots and instructors are met. We're

and improving a number of launches

appreciate your past support and will

not there yet, but I know a lot of good

and LZs in the area. I have been inti-

continue to earn your support in the

people are working on it. As your

mately involved in the development

future if elected.

Regional Director, I look forward to

of the Eagle Rock flying site in south-

continuing to work with them both

west Virginia. In 2009 I received the

here in Region 10 and nationally.

USHPA Outstanding Service Award; however this award truly was earned by our club due to the work of the members over the years. My interests in serving as the Region 9 Director are in the areas of site acquisition and retention sites, assisting in improving landowner relationships, increasing the number

GEAR 18 Items for Your Flying First-aid Kit by ANNETTE O'NEIL

f you run off the edges of moun-

higher-end Elete brand because I can’t

bandages and too little of anything else

tains for fun, let’s face it: You have

taste it in my water.

is a common first-aid-kit gaffe.

no business wandering around

without a purpose-built first-aid kit

2. Iodine tablets Let’s get this out of the way first: I

4. Wet wipes Because who lets themselves be

and the know-how to back it up. If the

hate the flavor of iodine disinfectant,

caught without wet wipes in the middle

situation arises, you will be glad to

too. That aside, you shouldn’t be in the

of nowhere? Nobody smart.

have both the kit and the attendant

backcountry (or potentially out in the

5. folding knife

knowledge to save yourself and your

backcountry, if you end up making a

First-aid scissors fail miserably in

companions much unnecessary misery

surprise landing) without the means

nearly every task that matters—like

on launches and landings.

to purify water on an emergency basis.

chopping young branches to use for

Iodine tabs are the smallest, lightest

splints. Keep the knife clean and sharp.

Everyone’s first-aid kit looks a little different, of course—but, to get you started, here’s what I carry myself. All

method of doing so. Important note: iodine-purified water

6. Pain meds/anti-inflammatories I keep mine in a pill bag marked with

of this fits in a quart-sized freezer bag,

is not just for drinking. This method

the data of the drug that’s inside (dose

which snuggles into about half of my

will also sterilize the water you’ll need

and date).

helmet by volume.

for item #16.

1. Electrolyte liquid This little dropper bottle makes two

3. adhesive bandages I only personally bother to carry the

7. notebook and permanent marker When something has gone seriously wrong, you’ll need to take detailed

and a half gallons of electrolyte water,

large rectangles and the hourglass-

notes for the help that eventually ar-

which turns the tap water in your

shaped finger bandages; both, water-

rives (or you drag yourself out to).

Platypus into a sports drink. I use the

proof. Carrying too many adhesive

You’ll learn what needs to be noted when you do your Wilderness First Responder course—a subject I wrote about at some length for Dropzone.com. Paper and pen are also useful for notes left at camp, for tirades left on windshields and for chasing down campfire hookups after the fact. Essential, n’est-ce pas?

8. Oral rehydration salts Bad water? Dirty ice? Questionable pre-mission street food? Dangerously high desert temperatures? Keep a few packets of these in your first aid kit to get you through it.

9. trim-your-own dressing strip These are great for covering long,

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

nasty scratches. The strip is a foot-long

16. irrigation syringe

out the end of a roll when you really

bandage that trims down to the length

If you or an adventure buddy have

need just a little bit more is inconvenient, to say the least.

you need to cover a wound and adheres

sustained a “dirty” injury—the kind

there, eliminating the need to carry

with rocks and dirt ground into it—

gauze and tape. This particular configu-

you’ll need to flush out the injury with

Earlier, I mentioned the neces-

ration is a little tricky to find in the U.S.;

about a liter of clean water before the

sity for athletes of our type to hold a

try shopping online from a Canadian

injury sets. (That’s the other reason

Wilderness First Responder (“WFR,” for

pharmacy or picking some up in the EU

you’re carrying those iodine tablets,

short, pronounced “woofer”) certifica-

(where I found mine).

y’know.) An irrigation syringe has a

tion. Here’s the logic: If you do danger-

10. Laminated instructions regarding how to operate the human body

curved plastic business end that helps

ous stuff for fun—and don’t we all—it’s

you direct the flow of water to thor-

well worth your time to spend a few

18. WFR certification card

oughly rinse out the wound. If you don’t,

days in a lovely setting and emerge

your class at your Wilderness First

the hospital will have to scrub it out

knowing how to help yourself and

Responder course—more on that,

later, which is the polar opposite of fun.

Even if you were at the top of

later—your memory will fade. Search online for “Wilderness First Aid Reference Cards” to have printed and laminated as reference. You can also buy a bandana printed

17. self-adhesive athletic wrap

the adventurists around you. I took mine through the National Outdoor

The 17th item in my kit doesn’t

Leadership School (nols.edu), but orga-

appear in this image because it was

nizations around the world offer WFR

being used at the time: self-adhesive

courses. They’re engaging, enjoyable

athletic wrap. I prefer the kind that

and profoundly empowering. Remember: At the end of the day, it’s

with the information, but you’ll need

tears by hand, and I don’t bother with

to remember to have it with you. It’s

wraps that require the little metal

what you carry in your skull as much as

useless if it’s in the laundry bin when

hooks to stay attached. I keep at least

what you carry in your kit that will save

you’re out on the mountain trying to

one full roll in my kit, because running

the day. Pack correctly.

remember how to assess heatstroke.

11. A first-aid antibiotic Neosporin, bacitracin, Bactroban (as shown here)…whatever you prefer. Check the expiration date reasonably regularly and remember that some people are allergic to Neosporin.

12. Non-latex gloves Keeping a line of defense between yourself and fluid-transmitted pathogens is only important when it’s important—but then, it’s the most important thing ever.

13. Pre-cut moleskin If you’re doing any serious hiking, you’re going to use ‘em.

14. Adhesive stitches a.k.a. “steri-strips,” a.k.a. “butterfly strips.” There are some ouchies for which adhesive bandages just don’t cut it. Be ready for those.

15. emergency survival blanket You say you’ve never been stuck at the launch or the basecamp in the freezing cold? Lucky you. When you eventually are, you’ll be glad you have this.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

Free-flying in CHINA by ARI DELASHMUTT

n America, the concept of China seems to be shroud-

peted against teams from all over the world, on national

ed in mystery, if not downright contempt. We talk

TV. We set the world record for the longest waterline,

about the Chinese pollution, their massive popula-

(2,231’!) and we did countless demonstrations for the

tion and their communist government. We wonder if they

Chinese spectators. It was an incredible opportunity to

are the next world military superpower and if they are

slackline with the best in the world, not to mention doing

trying to take over our country by buying our debt. But

it in China, but after a few days, the glider was moaning

let me assure you, we’re asking the wrong questions. I

in its bag. Calling me, begging me: “flllllyyy meeeeeee...”

went to China to get the answers to the only questions

The glider began to haunt my dreams, and I could feel

that really matter: Does the air rise there? If so, how

its hatred for slacklines growing. It was time to go—the

high? If it rises high, how far can we go?!

glider needs to have its way, and we’ve got important

My trip to China was spurred by an invitation to an

questions to answer.

international slackline competition at Wan Fo Lake, in the Anhui Province. I was one of four North Americans invited, but the only one to bring a paraglider. The glider sat idle in my hotel room for nearly 10 days as we com-

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

BELOW Limestone cliffs covered in thick jungle create perfect thermals | photo by Chris Hoyte.

y partner in photographic crime, Chris Hoyte,

and calmly cleared the malfunction before catching the

and I set out on a journey to what is arguably

house thermal. What followed was something I’d only

China’s best flying site, Linzhou. (Pronounced

dreamt about, and it seemed to answer our first impor-

Lin-jo) To get there, we’d need to take a generic Uber, a

tant question. Sergei hooked into that first thermal and

taxi, a bullet train, stay in a pod-hostel (yeah, they exist),

started rocketing up. Within just a few turns, he had

another taxi, another bullet train and a final two-hour

climbed hundreds of feet over launch. In five minutes, he

shuttle. It was a lot of schlepping our huge bags, eating

had completely specked out and was deep over the back. I

terrible travel food and barely making our departures, but

guessed that he was 3000’ over launch, but I later learned

we did it. Upon arrival to the hotel that is adjacent to the

that he had gotten over 6000’ above launch and climbed

flying club, our minds were blown. A range of mountains

in more than 8m/s lift. I also later learned that during

a kilometer tall appeared to erupt out of the earth and

this flight, he had reached over 10,000’ absolute altitude,

run as far as we could see in both directions. Limestone

where he encountered huge shear and had a series of cas-

cliffs jut upwards out of a dense and persistent forest that

cading collapses that took over 3000’ of falling to control.

snakes its way up the rocks, clinging to the cracks and

I was hoping to have his luck climbing, but please, for

shelves. The air was clear and clean, the sky was perfectly

god’s sake, keep me away from that shear.

blue. There was substantial wind, and only one glider in the sky that looked pretty much parked, fighting the cross-

More pilots launched, confirming a positive answer to the question of going up. We launched to keep asking. I

wind, but staying up. We dropped our bags, ate lunch, then

was immediately in a big, easy climb that seemed to be

walked to the club to get the scoop on flying.

endless. Up and up, around and around. The view quickly

We arrived to a bustling clubhouse. Lots of people

changed into one of the best of my life; looking over the

milling around, a huge LZ and a modern building full of

back I could see far into the range. These mountains were

paramotors, trikes, and a shop full of flying gear. The club

like a high plateau that had been sliced and diced by

secretary, Min, greeted us in perfectly functional English.

eons of water. Gorges so deep, I couldn’t see the bottoms.

“Here to sign up for the competition?” she asked. We were

Beautiful forests clung to everything sub-vertical and

not here to compete; I had just my phone app and my acro

sheer, vibrant limestone cliffs were everywhere. I was

harness, but when she informed us that the site would

4000’ over launch, so I stepped on my bar, proceeding to

close to any non-competitors in just two days’ time, we

my next series of questions.

started to think hard and fast. “Maybe you fly tomorrow and decide if you want to compete?” Min suggested. Yes, I think that’s exactly what we should do. The next day we headed up to launch, which is no small journey. Fifty minutes of hairpin switchbacks, tunnels through the mountain, and single-lane roads perched on what seemed to be the edge of the world. At certain spots on this road your vehicle would tumble down thousands of feet if you went through the guardrail. The launch is 2850’ above the LZ and there are a few turns on the road at this height that are nearly as sheer. We arrived at a beautiful site—a massive launch fit for over a hundred pilots. The surface of launch was that of a running track, and its shape was convex, allowing launches into wind directions varying by over a hundred degrees. This was the most established, biggest, most legitimate flying site I’d ever seen, but the important questions were still unanswered. Would we go up? It was about 10:30 a.m., and the conditions seemed good, with wind coming up the face and clear blue skies. A Russian pilot, Sergei, launched on an Enzo2, with a huge cravatte. Everyone on launch was mortified and mouthing their concerns. Sergei didn’t seem to mind

ABOVE Peter

Pan lost in China | photo by Chris Hoyte.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

TOP You’re

bound to pass through one of the biggest cities on the planet en route to Linzhou. MIDDLE A 15-year-old Nepali pilot launches on the third day of the comp. BOTTOM Ari walking on the 2231’ long waterline world record on Wan Fo Lake, Anhui. Photos by Chris Hoyte. On glide, I continued to appreciate the scenery. I went really far on my first glide and was still above the tops of the cliffs. I saw someone on a Sigma coring what seemed to be a steep climb. I headed his way, but encountered some stiff sink. I sped up and worked around the corner to see what he was getting lift from. Once I could see the terrain, the steep climb I saw the Sigma in made sense; a massive bowl littered with huge cliffs was baking in the hot, midday sun. I was relatively low, so I cautiously approached the cliffs. I was headed downwind towards the rocks, going up steadily. By the time I reached them, the smooth lift had brought me over the top of the ridge and I pushed back to find the core. When I found it, it nearly ripped my glider in half. I was going up fast and rowdy. The lift on the left side of the wing got so strong, the right side collapsed even with huge brake input. I was essentially staring at the glider, fighting to keep it open, fighting to stay in what was one of the best climbs I’d ever found. It got better and better the higher I took it, and I wound up maxing my climb at 7m/s and topped out at 9100’—more than 6000’ over launch. My questions were getting answered! Another glide, another climb. This was quickly turning into the greatest flight of my life. Ripping lift over unbelievable terrain, in a country as foreign as they get, with your best friend: the pinnacle of paragliding! About 30km down the range the terrain started to change. The continuous ridge began to break up into individual mountains and buttes. There was a large reservoir (the region is known for massive irrigation infrastructure), and I used it as my turnpoint to head back towards the LZ. I was feeling quite satisfied with the answers that I had found, first flight. I was alone at this point; Chris had sunk out, and we got separated. He made a low save and headed all the way back to the LZ. He came on the radio and told me how great it felt to pee on the ground. Since I’d been in the air over two hours, I didn’t appreciate the reminder. By now, the sun was on the opposite side of the terrain from where it had started, and flying back was like a new site entirely. The lift was coming out of the gorge and converging with what was rising over the flats. I pushed back into a bowl that had marvelous stone pillars, freestand-

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

ing in front of the cliffs. I was looking for lift when I found a bird. Not a big soaring eagle or vulture, but a little bird,

ABOVE A

committed crossing of some deep terrain | photo by Chris Hoyte.

fluttering wings and a small, red body. I started to follow it, wondering if this kind of bird knows what the big birds

biggest glide of my life and ended up with my longest tri-

know. Sure enough, we started to climb together. He

angle to date. Once the competition started, the weather

would flap his wings quickly to get into and stay in the

changed, of course. Wind over the back. Cross wind.

core of the lift. We were perfectly mirroring each other’s

Smog. The tasks were less than amazing, but they were

flight path in the thermal. He flapped much less in the

challenging in the conditions. We had some crazy gaggle

consolidated part of the climb, and I relaxed as well. We

sessions: everyone smashed into weak thermals right on

went up about 2000’ together and he never seemed to

the cliffs, nerve racking, yet incredibly exciting.

mind me much. I went on glide and tipped my hat to a great avian guide. When I arrived back over launch, I was thousands of feet above. I pushed out over the flats, the club LZ just a

By the end of the trip, I had learned so much about the culture, the people, the way of life in China. I contemplated the common American conceptions of this place and came to my own realizations. The Chinese pollution

tiny rectangle below me. I did some acro to come down

is caused, in no small part, by producing the majority

and maxed out my descent rate at nearly -17m/s with a

of the first-world’s goods, China is undoubtedly a world

fast spiral—the cherry on top of what was clearly a para-

superpower, and communism definitely, definitely sucks.

gliding sundae.

These are things that you, too, will contemplate if you

Once on the ground, we immediately signed up for

go, and I don’t need to try to fill in all the answers for you

the competition. We couldn’t miss a day of flying here!

here. All I will say is that if you go in search of rising air,

America became the 17th nation represented in the com-

you will find it in China.

petition. The next day was another one for the books. I got higher above the ground than I’d ever been, did the

To see the videos and learn more about booking your own trip to China, go to www.ariintheair.com.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

2 Wings | 2 Weeks by Bianca Heinrich & Eduardo Garza

e have arrived in Chamonix, France, at the begin-

But our main goal is to enjoy this adventure together.

ning of our two-week trip across the Alps, both

Flying, hiking, camping, witnessing amazing views, eating

excited and nervous. Eduardo has completed a

local foods—it was all about to start!

similar trip, but this is my first time flying with everything

The morning kicked off with blue skies and light winds.

I’ll need for two weeks as well as trying to reach a destina-

Severe thunderstorms are expected for the afternoon and

tion over 700 km away. Our plan is to go from Chamonix to

the forecast for the next couple of days looks windy. So

Switzerland, to Italy, and, finally, to Tolmin, Slovenia, where

we know we have to make our way out of here today, if

our return flights are booked. We hope to cover as much

possible. When we ask some locals at the Planpraz launch

of the route in the air as possible, but we also know the

about the Sion airspace that is lurking around the corner

weather in the Alps can be fickle. In addition, we are carry-

just after the French/Swiss border, they immediately asked,

ing over 20 kg (~50 pounds) each, which somewhat limits our mobility in terms of hiking long stretches of the route.

“You want to make it to Sion today?” Hmm…maybe...? Quietly we go back to packing our gear.

Consequently, we decided to follow a route with good train

Lots of gear. Even though we practiced with full kits in New

support, where possible.

England, I somehow have too much stuff to fit in my har-

LEFT Excited to fly the Dolomites! The Langkofel in the background. ABOVE Heading from Disentis towards Chur.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

ness. Sheepishly, I walk over to Eduardo and ask: “Do you

conditions. Trees are bending and swaying, and torrential

still have space?” to which he responds with a resigned nod.

rain obscures the beautiful scenery—a sight we’ll become

This would become an (almost) daily launch routine… As soon as the locals are able to stay up, we get in the air.

used to in the next two weeks. We buy some local wine and cheese, plus a proper Swiss (?) baguette, and after a

It is about noon, and conditions are looking nice, although

two-hour hike, we put up our tent on top of Crans Montana

the wind has picked up a bit. It is impressive to fly next to

and celebrate our arrival in Switzerland. We are officially

Mont Blanc with its 4808m (15,774 feet), the highest summit

on our way!

in the Alps. As we gain altitude, we are able to look over to

That night, we get pummeled by three or four thunder-

the northwest towards Geneva and notice some very dark

storms. Our tent weighs about a kilo, so we are surprised by

skies. Darn! It’s decision time! “That somewhat snuck up on

how well it puts up with the forces of Mother Nature. When

us,” I’m thinking. We either try to go now or make our way

we emerge in the morning, it blows strongly from the east,

down to the LZ within the next half an hour. Of course, we

a sure sign that the forecasted foehn winds have set in ear-

decide to go.

lier than anticipated. Disappointed, we hike further up to

I’m glad we had gotten our radio communication dialed

the gondola to re-check the forecast and, eventually, decide

in just before we left home. We head towards the Col de

to ride down, as the following day shows even stronger

Balme, where the Chamonix Valley ends and Switzerland

foehn conditions. Predicting the weather in the Alps is com-

starts. Winds are strong on top of the Col as the valley con-

plex. Next to the regular check-list items like cloud cover,

stricts—or are they a sign of approaching weather? I’m not

meteo winds and cloudbase altitude, we need to consider

sure. We make the jump and cross into Switzerland. With

valley winds, foehn probability, and, as we already had

dark clouds chasing us, we glide past Martigny and end up

experienced, possible severe local effects of thunderstorms.

landing in borderline conditions (which landing backwards

So, we are stuck in the foehn! Good news is that Fiesch is

probably qualifies as) right before the Sion airspace. “If we

just around the corner, only a bit further down the Rhone

do this every day on this trip, we most likely won’t get away

Valley, and a hike around the Aletsch Glacier is something

with it,” I say to Eduardo. And we promise each other to

that has been on my list for a long time. With a length of

take it a bit easier in the future.

23 km, it is the largest glacier in the Alps and a vision of

Psyched to have escaped Chamonix and to have covered

primeval beauty. The next day, we embark on a seven-hour

40 km in the air, we hike to the next train station, and after

hike that will leave us with impressions of ice and rock

a short ride (that also took care of the airspace problem),

not easily forgotten. Tired, but excited about the promising

get off at Sierre. Meanwhile, the mother of all thunder-

flying conditions for the next day, we fall asleep next to the

storms breaks loose, making us happy to be on the ground

constant ringing of cow bells on top of the Fiescher Alp.

and under some needed shelter to wait out the doomsday

On day 4 of our journey we make our way over to launch,

LEFT Eduardo packing all his gear before our start in Chamonix. RIGHT Crans Montana—good morning, Switzerland!

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

ABOVE Nice

view onto the Aletsch glacier from the air.

stoked to see other pilots laying out their wings. Wind

often than not, things don’t go as expected and you have

dummies! Woohoo! We watch them launch and get washed

to go with the flow (actually, just like regular life). The fol-

down the valley by a strong crosswind from the West. Ah!

lowing day, for example, we had planned to take the train

Really? I had hoped for some great views of the Aletsch

to the Grossboden mountain just above Andermatt, where

Glacier from the air. When a couple of other pilots hike up

we wanted to hike up to a launch area we had identified on

higher, we follow. They seem to know what they are doing.

Google Maps. But a family with bikes and kids was blocking

We all launch together and work hard to gain altitude.

the door so it was impossible to get out in time. We decide

Finally, we fight our way up the Eggishorn and get re-

to see what the universe has in store for us and to simply

warded with beautiful views on the Aletsch and Fiescher

get out at the next stop, the Oberalp Pass station. Turned

glaciers. What a sight. I’m the happiest camper ever and

out to be not a bad call.

can’t believe my luck. This is the stuff I had dreamed of for

We spot a nice-looking launch area and hike up. Winds

this trip. After having taken in the views around the area,

are blowing in perfectly, so we get ready and fly off to-

we head towards the Goms valley. At the end of the Goms

wards Disentis, the famous PWC site. In fact, this is where

lies the Furka pass, which is famous for being tricky to

we would spend our next night, unplanned, as we had

cross, due to the spilling-down winds of the Grimsel pass,

originally hoped to do a late afternoon flight from there

which lies right next to it. On our way, we fly past the most

after having bombed out a few kilometers before, due to

amazing scenery we have ever seen: high snowfields, sharp

a shaded sky. This was not meant to be. We got greeted by

rock faces and deep-blue glacier lakes.

a downward-blowing wind sock and a fairly dark-looking

The crossing of the Furka pass turns out to be as compli-

valley in the distance. After having hiked up for over an

cated as expected, causing me to pull out my “Glider pilot

hour from where the gondola stops, we decide to simply put

needs ride” sign. I'm happy to have not taken it for nothing;

up the tent in hopes for a good flight in the morning. Only

a family on their way to Andermatt stops just for the reason

not-so-ideal part: dinner consists of one Clif Bar each and

that we are pilots. “See…very useful,” I say smirkingly to

some blueberries we collect from adjacent bushes. In the

Eduardo, since he had given me a hard time for taking it

wilderness, we apparently revert to our roots of hunters

along.

and gatherers…

During a trip like this, you get used to improvising. More

While packing up our tent the next morning, we sud-

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

denly hear the ski lift next to us being turned on. Pilots

Pontresina. From our launch spot, we can already see

appear to be riding up. What? What? They turn out to be

magnificent high peaks and glaciers. The sky is filled with

early birds for the upcoming World Cup. Wind dummies

beautiful looking clouds and we start to get ready (a little

again! Sweet! I can’t believe my eyes when I see Bill Hughes

bit distracted by the views, but we finally get there). Lift

walking up to launch—Bill is a regular (and score keeper)

is good and we quickly gain altitude. We start making

in the US competition scene. We chat, laugh and enjoy the

our way towards the Bernina Pass, our gate to Italy. The

coincidence.

Bernina pass has different wind systems colliding and

Then, of course, we fly. For the first time, Eduardo and I

is famous for its windy and turbulent conditions. But the

get separated quite a bit, as I bomb out early. Now, a good

route is the route, so after gaining plenty of altitude and

thing about the Alps is that there is cell-phone service

almost reaching cloudbase at 3300m, off we go towards the

almost everywhere, so I’m able to follow his course on his

Swiss/Italian border. The views over the high, moon-like

SPOT live tracking page. After about 35 km, he experiences

terrain are stunning! We are gliding past the Piz Palü, a

“After a few passes in front of the cheering restaurant customers, we head towards Italy and our goal for the day, Tirano.” a tricky landing in strong valley winds around Brigels, even

large glaciated massif in the Bernina range. Things go well,

though he made the decision to stay on higher terrain.

until we reach the heart of the Bernina pass, where our tail

The locals at Disentis had warned us that the valley winds

wind switches to full on headwind and we end up in the

would be particularly intense today due to the overall

lee of another valley wind system that runs parallel to the

strong north-wind conditions. We learn that the best way

Bernina pass. We lose altitude quickly and have to squeeze

to meet up again is at a train station along the route. I hike

it in between way too many power, train, and cable car

past idyllic Swiss villages and inhale the aroma of freshly

lines. A bit the opposite of stress-free…

mown hay. We reunite on the train towards Bonaduz,

The good news is that we landed again close to one of

our next waypoint, and decide to head further southeast

our train stations, this time the unique Bernina Express,

towards St. Moritz/Pontresina. The weather looks promis-

the highest railway across the Alps. Half an hour later,

ing there for tomorrow. Our plan is to leave Switzerland for

we hop on the next train that will bring us over the pass.

Italy as soon as possible, not just for the better weather, but

The Bernina Express from Chur over St. Moritz to Tirano

also for our wallets’ sanity.

is famous for its panoramic views, passing by glaciers,

Wow! We didn’t really expect the majestic views

waterfalls and mountain lakes, and is actually listed as a

that were awaiting us when we decided to go through

UNESCO World Heritage Site. We can only recommend it!

LEFT Hiking

up in Gemona towards the small church on top of the ridge. RIGHT Our complete route as recorded by our GPS satellite trackers.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

ABOVE Over the

moon-like high terrain in St. Moritz/Pontresina, Switzerland.

About 20 minutes and a couple of stops later, we get off, still

Day 9 of our journey starts with a ride up the Col Rodella

at high altitude (2100 m), to fly off at the other side of the

gondola in Canazei. The sheer rock faces of the Dolomites

pass, from a spot above a lovely Swiss mountain hut. After

are, to say the least, impressive and intimidating, even

a few passes in front of the cheering restaurant customers, we head towards Italy and our goal for the day, Tirano. Lots

from the ground. Our plan is to do the usual round of the “must sees” (or better, “must flies”) of the valley, such as

of headwind due to the valley winds put us on the ground

the Rosengarten, the Langkofel, the Sella Group and, of

again, but we are only 10 kilometers away from Tirano.

course, the Marmolada, also known as the “Queen of the

Ciao, Italy! It’s Sunday and we know today is not flyable anywhere in the Alps. We have a pressure difference of -10 hPa be-

Dolomites.” Then we’ll head off further on our route to the east, with a possible goal being Cortina d’Ampezzo. We are careful not to launch too early, as the last thing

tween the northern and southern regions of the Alps. They

we wanted to do was to sink out and have to ride the gon-

already had cancelled Sunday’s Disentis PWC task when we

dola up again. The strategy paid off. We take off at around

were there on Friday. Rain, wind, foehn: you name it!

12:20 p.m. and have a much easier time staying airborne

Tomorrow, however, looks pretty epic everywhere. Hmm, hmm…including the Dolomites… It is on our route, but I had

than the other pilots who had launched earlier. We manage to gain enough altitude to drop back towards the

not really thought we would get a chance to fly there. That

Langkofel, where it beams us all the way up to base, and

place is “overdevelopment central” at this time of the year.

we head towards the rose-tinted spires of the Rosengarten

If you have never been to the Dolomites, it’s one place you

massif. Clouds were forming nicely, but to our liking they

have to check out. We decide to get over there via a rather

never looked like they were overdeveloping. Just past the

indirect train ride that takes us through Milano, Verona,

Rosengarten, we get a bit low and try to catch some lift

and almost to Bolzano. From there, we take a bus ride into

right next to some rugged-looking rock faces. Suddenly my

the Fassa Valley. Originally, we wanted to go through the

vario screams, and a rough, strong ripper grabs my wing. I

Brenta area by bus, but it wasn’t until we learned the actual

almost hold on to my risers—or did I? I remember think-

meaning of the word “feriale” (weekdays only), that we real-

ing, “Guess this is what you get for flying the Dolomites in the

ized this wasn’t going to happen.

middle of summer!” But I’m smiling, because apparently this

LEFT Fantastic view

towards the Sella massif in the Dolomites. RIGHT Our landing spot in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

flight is not over just yet. I catch up with Eduardo back at

The forecast for the next day was strong—turns out, it

floating in between the spires of the light-grey rock and I’m

was too strong. It certainly isn’t (very) safe to launch into

fiddling around with my GoPro to try to get some good foot-

gusts up to probably 30 km/h from an otherwise very invit-

age. Next we are off to the Sella group. Down below, I see

ing looking launch spot. Ergo, we take the gondola from the

people walking on top of the flat surface of this epic realm.

top of Tondi di Faloria down again to Cortina d’Ampezzo

Eduardo is already on the way to the Marmolada, so I

and try to make our way to Tolmezzo, our next waypoint,

stop sight-seeing and make my way over there. For some

by other means. We find a bus route that would do just that,

reason, I miss the connection and get stuck for about an

so after five hours on the road we reach Carnia, a small

hour on the bottom of the Marmolada. Eduardo waited on

town close to Tolmezzo, a good base for tomorrow’s mission.

top, while it was shaded out on the bottom. I maintain and

This will entail hiking up the mountain east of Gemona del

maintain and maintain for what seems like forever. Finally,

Friuli, finding a proper launch spot, gaining enough alti-

the valley becomes somewhat sunny again and kicks off

tude to make the pass onto the Stol ridge, and then riding

some decent lift. I make it up, and together we cross the

the ridge towards our final goal, Tolmin in Slovenia. If some

Marmolada on the south/backside. What a breath-taking

part of this plan doesn’t work, most likely we will be spend-

experience! I take over the navigation as Eduardo’s Oudie

ing one or two days hiking through the boonies to Tolmin.

is on strike and refuses to find any satellites today. I

Predictions are showing fairly sunny skies, but strong-

announce that Cortina must be on the other side of this

ish winds from the southeast for tomorrow, August 9th

upcoming pass (Giau Pass). We squeeze over and, looking

and Day 11 of our journey. For the following two days, the

back, its bright green grass glistens in the evening light.

weather looks even worse, with rain and cloud cover for

More fiddling with the GoPro… We try to go further up the

the whole area. We only have until August 12th to reach

valley past Cortina, but the valley wind from the south is

Slovenia, as our flights are leaving early on the 13th. Since

too strong to make good headway that late. With scarce

there is no ground support for this last stretch, we have to

landing options down the valley, we turn around and fly

include enough time for us to not get in trouble. We will

back towards Cortina. By coincidence, we touch down five

have to go for it tomorrow.

minutes away from a nice campground that even has an

Italian Alps.

the striking pinnacles of the Langkofel. Wisps of clouds are

We start hiking early, right through downtown Gemona

adjacent bar & pizzeria (plus highly sought after electric-

del Friuli. It is 7 a.m. and we had planned on buying some

ity plugs). After five hours and 60 km in the air, we are

breakfast and food for the day, but everything is still closed

tired, but blown away by the beauty we had just seen. We

this early. Ah, well...no food it is, then. Hopefully, we won’t

feel fortunate that our timing worked out to give us such

get stuck in the boonies. While hiking up, two light rain

a fantastic day, in probably the most gorgeous part of the

showers come through, but we just keep hiking. When

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

ing to us how satisfying those flights still were, presenting us with incredible views over magnificent glaciers and the moon-like landscapes of the high terrain. With those impressions carved into our memories, it somehow didn’t matter anymore how many kilometers were actually flown. It was amazing to travel so unbound and free of anything that usually ties you to the ground. There was no car or home to get back to, no retrieve to worry about. It simply didn’t matter where we ended up that day. Worst case scenario, we could always put up the tent wherever we were and see what the next day brought. It was liberating! Probably one of the most fun parts of this trip was discussing the flight plan of the day, talking about the difficulties we expected to encounter and the timing we thought was best for each of the sections. It certainly is an entirely different story when trying to fly and travel together as a team, than when the only person you have to worry about we reach the top, around 4.5 hours later, we are greeted

is yourself. The pace will certainly be different. You might

by sunny skies and super strong and gusty winds from

be faster, or you might be slower than when traveling alone,

the east, which is directly the direction we need to head to.

but being able to share your experiences is priceless. We

What, what?? What happened to the south wind forecast

discovered together what foehn entailed for different sec-

that had suggested a quite doable ride along the Gemona

tions of the route, where the valley winds were helping us

and Stol ridges? We try to check the latest forecast, but are

or were working against us, and how the meteo winds in-

getting no cell phone signal. We keep hiking further up

fluenced the valley systems on each individual day. As such,

in order to find some decent signal on top of the ridge and

the trip was not just a travel adventure, but also a learning

finally find it, plus a tiny church. No, really, a church right

experience, and discovering all those lessons together was

on top of the ridge. Only in Italy...

definitely the most satisfying part about this journey.

The forecast promised us that winds would straighten

Finally, we would like to say a big thanks to everybody

out to the south around 2-3 p.m., so we give the forecasters

who followed us on our trek, gave input, advice and sup-

a chance. Parawaiting! After a while, winds indeed switch

port. We loved hearing from you, and we hope to have

more to the south and also mellow out nicely. I can barely

inspired some of you to experience, perhaps, a new way of

believe it! Should we be that lucky? We launch at around 3

traveling!

p.m. to give it a try. Lift was good, so the next move was to transition to the huge Gemona ridge behind our take-off. Huge vultures show us the way. Done. The next crux was to transition to the Stol ridge, a big gap that we needed to cross if we didn’t want to hike 40 km to Tolmin or hike up another 2000 meters to the next launch without food and a deteriorating forecast. Surprisingly, the air was lifty in the crossing, so we continued without a problem into the Stol ridge and into Slovenia! Woohoo! After another hour in the air in which we bypass the highest mountain in this valley (Krn), we had finally covered the last 50 km of our route and gotten to our ultimate goal, the official landing zone of Tolmin! We smile, we laugh, we hug. What a journey! In 11 days, we had made nine flights to cover ground on our route. As we encountered high passes, valley winds, or another one of those darn thunderstorms, certainly some of those flights were shorter than we wished for. But it was surpris-

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

COMPETITION Brasilia: Hang Gliding Worlds by DENNIS PAGEN

to drive up, and, in fact, with the excep-

e hold a world champion-

We held a Worlds at this very site 15

ship to choose the world’s

years ago. In case you missed this one,

tion of two days, the goal was on the

best team and the world’s

here are a few details: The launch site,

esplanade in the very heart of Brasilia.

best pilot. Of course, by “best” we mean

a high cliff ridge facing the Southern

Take a pause to digest this fact: Brasilia

the best at the time the meet takes

Hemisphere’s morning sun, produces

is the capitol city of Brazil. Our special

place. But whoever takes home the

abundant upslope flow and gentle ther-

permission to land at the Esplanada is

trophy isn’t the only one who scores. All

mals. The stronger stuff in the semi-

akin to using the Mall in Washington,

of the 131 pilots from 26 nations in the

arid air tends to be further back on

D.C., as a goal—ain’t gonna happen in

mid-August World meet in Brasilia flew

course. The launch is located about 1.5

our lifetime.

two weeks and nine rounds of head-to-

hours from Brasilia, which housed the

The only problem with using the

head, launch-to-goal XC racing. The rest

headquarters and our hotels. But that’s

Esplanada was the blockage of build-

of us simply had a ball.

not bad, since many sites take an hour

ings on the approach. Rules were made

ABOVE From

L to R: Zac Majors, Patrick Panese, Bruce Barmakian, Niki Longshore, John Simon, Derreck Turner, and Robin Hamilton.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

ABOVE Coming

into goal in a city landscape is always exciting. Especially the final glide calculation. “special” people.

(with penalties) to help assure that

Santos. Chico knows his stuff, for he

pilots made their final glide with ample

had previously organized the paraglid-

height to safely clear the hard stuff—

ing Worlds in Governador Valadares,

THE FLIGHTS

buildings, trees, power lines, and buses.

in 2009.

I’m not going to detail every flight, but

Our day consisted of driving to

Those of us working on the meet

launch around 8:30 or so, setting up,

were left on the ground, but not out in

saw classic Brasilia conditions, with

getting briefed on the weather and task,

the cold, for world meets are nothing

pilots getting nearly 10,000’ MSL to

launching, then flying back home to

if not a big reunion and party. Maybe

bump up against the airspace limits we

thrill the spectators getting out of work

it’s the age or our collective ages, but I

had. As it turned out, 99 pilots made

from all the government offices. It’s

never heard so many pilots mention,

goal for the 66-mile task. There were

nice to think that we may have dis-

“We are family!” I have been flying in

smiles all around, and everyone began

tracted some of them from their burden

or working on worlds, pre-worlds and

to expect big air all week. But don’t

of fighting the current calls for ending

continental championships since 1988,

count your thermals before they’re

corruption. Maybe we need a meet in

so I count many pilots on many teams

hatched. The following days were

Washington, D.C.!

as my friends. I met friendly pilots from

various sorts of tough, as an unusual

Paraguay and Uruguay for the first time

high pressure burdened the lift and

organization and a ton of helpers. I can’t

with invites to “come visit and fly with

compressed our hearts. But every day

name them all, but the dynamo behind

us!” Anyone who comes to a world meet

pilots struggled into goal to the cheers

this one was my long-time friend Chico

is soon adopted as part of the family of

from us all.

A meet of this caliber takes a ton of

I’ll hit some highlights. The first round

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

The Italians have been a hang gliding

The meet progressed with struggling

things look good for the future. In the

powerhouse for the past eight years,

pilots until the last day returned the

words of team leader, Jamie Shelden,

having won the last four champion-

high bases and robust thermals. Alex

“They flew better as a team than ever

ships. That record is helped by the fact

and Christian only had to cover the

before—the guys were working well on

that either Alex Ploner or Christian

Czechs, but they hung back a little too

the radio. It was super-fun with guys

Ciech—both Italians—have been the

often, and suddenly Petr Benes, a young

like John Simon, who has been win-

individual champs during that time

Czech, jumped ahead of them by 10

ning US comps, but had never been to

period. So it was no surprise that each

km, winning the day. In fact, when the

a World Meet, and was scoring for the

day we watched either Alex or Christian

dust had settled and the scores wrung

team. Robin Hamilton scored every day.

zoom across the line first, whether the

out, Petr had become the new World

Zach Majors did great, nearly winning

weather was booming or busted.

Champion! When I talked with him at

three days. I think that’s why we were

But gradually the dice were tossed.

the party that evening, he was as sur-

fighting for third place. Niki Longshore

On the sixth day, only one pilot, Tanaka

prised as anyone that he beat them all.

was so enthusiastic and energetic and

Genki (Japan), made goal at a remote

But when you consider that his coun-

learned so much. I expect her to be

field chosen due to the weak lift, while

tryman, Thomas Suchanek, was the

on the team in Italy, site of the next

Czech pilot Dan Vyhnalik was three

three-time world champion, you have

Worlds.”

km short. Imagine Taka’s joy at finding

to realize that the country breeds them.

Niki herself echoed those words.

himself arriving alone. No doubt he’ll

What about the Americans? They

She told me that she was amazed at

remember that day for the rest of his

were in the battle all the way, fighting

how good the pilots were in this, her

life. The Czech team was happy because

for a spot on the podium behind the

first world meet, and how much she

they had gradually moved into second

Italians and Czechs. But the last day

absorbed from flying with them. I

place, behind the Italian mafia.

saw the Germans edge them out. Still,

also had a chance to talk with Bruce

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

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ULTRALIGHT TRIKES

Barmakian, a veteran of many a comp.

lift, a landing below a powerline in an

about four seconds. He got a penalty

He gave me his impression of the meet:

emergency field and three mid-airs.

from the meet director, but he could

“The organization was great and on the

Two of the collisions resulted in para-

have been penalized by the director of

good-lift days this place can’t be beat.

chute salvations. One pilot, flying ag-

dire fate. But no use dwelling on pilot

Where else can you get to 10,000 feet

gressively, stuck his wing between the

foibles or failures, for the great parts of

across the flatlands and land in the

side wire and upright of another pilot,

such a gathering of friends and fellow

capitol city?”

and they remained hooked together for

flyers far outweigh the few negatives. Under the backdrop of world-famous

With all this positive energy and attitude, we expect the Americans to keep

architecture, we held the awards

moving up the coveted podium steps.

ceremony. The top female pilot was Corrina Swiegershausen (Germany) and

INCIDENTS

the top male was Petr. Robin Hamilton

As most pilots know, if you don’t attend

was the top US pilot, in 9th place. The

to your glider’s incidence angle, you’ll

Italians won again as a team, followed

have an incident. As it was, despite

by Czech Republic, then Germany.

the easy launch conditions, we had

But all of us won, for we basked in the

three of them blown (out of at least

Brazilian sunshine, Brazilian hospi-

1300 launches, counting practice days

tality, Brazilian pulchritude and big

and free-flyers). Only one of the three

Brazilian air. At the end of the ceremony, Chico

needed medical attention. From my observation, most shaky launches oc-

handed the FAI flag to Flavio Tebaldi,

curred because the pilots started too

the Italian team leader, as Italy is the host for the 2019 Worlds. The site is in

far back from the drop-off in stronger conditions. We had a few other exciting incidents, including a rollover in strong

ABOVE Wolfgang

Seiss near a fire that burned for days, showing wind direction but clouding the sky.

the very northeast of the country, and we are all eager to be there. Do yourself a favor and join us!

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

34 HANG GLIDING &&PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE HANG GLIDING PARAGLIDING Magazine

HANG GLIDING &|PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE 35 Chris Galli near Wamsutter, Wyoming photo by Bill Belcourt

! o i g u f Re

e n o y r e v E r fo n u F C X ig B

by NIKI LONGSH ORE

n the heat of the Texas summer, an array of eight ambitious pilots traveled to Refugio,

the US Open Distance to Goal was

come back again.

Texas, for a week of long-distance

set by Marion Griffiths, Jr. who flew

This year the Refugio pilot list

flying. Though we all had different

645 miles from Refugio all the way

consisted of a friendly bunch of XC

goals, some bigger, some smaller,

to Liberal, Kansas, in a Glasflügel

enthusiasts: Larry Bunner, Robin

the challenge was to see just how

604. The Refugio Soaring Circle

Hamilton, Mick Howard, Kelly

good Refugio could be. Ambition,

confirmed the written reports of

Myrkle, Tyson Taylor, Glen Volk, Nate

skill, equipment and good decision-

excellent early soaring conditions

Wreyford and myself. Gregg Ludwig

making will go far, but it all starts

in the area. In 2016 Robin and I

was our tow pilot, and his wife Kim

with the right conditions. Every day,

scouted the site with Mick Howard

was ground crew. Jeff Kannard, who

except for one, was a 100-plus-mile

as our tug pilot and driver. We were

was a key figure in organizing this

day. By the end of the week almost

delighted to find soaring conditions

event, wildly cheered us on from his

everyone achieved a new personal

at 9 a.m., and even happier to find

home in Dallas. Everyone involved

record in distance or duration. More

landing options everywhere. Robin

was serious about chasing miles and

importantly, we all left with exactly

launched mid-day and knocked out

interested to see just how far Refugio

what we came for: miles of fun!

150 miles, landing in Utopia, Texas.

could be.

Robin Hamilton recognized

ABOVE Niki, a happy pilot after her 200-mile personal-best flight.

We kept a positive relationship with

Refugio (pronounced “Refurio”)

Refugio a few years ago when look-

the wonderful airport manager, Ruth

still has its challenges. As a coastal

ing through old Texas sailplane

Vandervlugt, who was more than

site, early over-development is

records and flight reports. In 1981,

welcoming and encouraged us to

common in the summertime, and

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

can quickly shut down any intention

Glen Volk, Larry Bunner—these guys

is it’s like a chess match. I take that

of going XC. Avoiding San Antonio

have been flying longer than I have

back–it is like a 3-D chess match and it

airspace also requires early plan-

been alive. My best XC was 123 miles,

requires your full attention. I was able

ning by jumping streets every avail-

but I launched at 12:30, with plenty of

to hang on with Kelly, and we eventu-

able chance. The local predominant

time to let the sun warm things up.

ally started getting higher and higher

ESE winds were missing in action this year, so on some days we were

As we were setting up our gliders at 7:30 a.m. the sweat just starts

in our climbs. Kelly was gassing it and I soon lost sight of him. I headed out WNW and was as-

not able to track west towards the

pouring, and there is no escaping the

Edwards Plateau, where the magic

heat. Shade comes at a premium in

tounded by the thermals coming off

happens and the miles fly by.

Refugio; it is traded like a commod-

the Eagle Ford Shale drilling sites. As I

“I am not going to lie, I was nervous about flying out of Refugio. All the talk of the early morning launches made me doubt myself.” Despite these challenges, Refugio still gave us hundreds of miles. Here

ity. Even at 7:30 in the morning, you

pushed further, cloudbase was getting

feel yourself getting sunburnt, and all

up to a chilly 7995’ and I had to endure

are the stories, the tales of glory,

the pilots slather on zinc to save their

the cold at this altitude. I was under

and the memories from our Refugio

faces from blistering off.

dressed, with a T-shirt and a single

experience.

TYSON TAYLOR

As soon as the first pilot launches

speed sleeve. This was the highest I

and releases from tow, I let out a sigh

have ever been in Texas, a personal

of relief: “He’s staying up!” All the

best altitude. Inevitably, you have to

Houston, TX | Wills Wing U2 160 Goal: New Personal Best

other pilots are taking off and staying

jump cloud streets and the sink was

up. Now it is my turn, the moment of

punishing me, but thankfully there

Ty is an up-and-coming pilot from

truth. I get let off and it’s 11:40 a.m.

were plenty of black vultures and

Texas who has advanced very quick-

and some of these thermals were

swifts to mark the thermals.

ly. Though he is always gung-ho to

downright throwing me around!

go XC, his best flights seem be on the

Staying up at the 2000’ cloudbase

Eventually it was time to wind it down, I had Leakey (pronounced Lake

days when he is least prepared. His

was not so tough after all. The real

Key) airport in view, but there was just

first 100-mile flight, which you can

challenge here was to pick the best

one more cloud downwind that was

read all about in the Sept/Oct issue,

line. I think the best way to explain

calling my name. It was nearly 7:00

was only to test out his new harness.

the long-distance XC flying experience

p.m. and the sun was turning the lime-

Similarly, Ty rocked up to Refugio without a driver and knocked out a massive flight from his first launch in Refugio. Not to worry—he got picked up after he was fed a delicious meal by a local family. Ty held the local site record for a few days, and he did it on a kingposted glider! Here is his big flight report, and you can find more from thermalcowboy. com: I am not going to lie, I was nervous about flying out of Refugio. All the talk of the early morning launches made me doubt myself. I thought that I was not going to be able to hang in the weak lift at 9:00 or 10:00 a.m. Look who I was flying with: Robin Hamilton,

ABOVE Texas

skies can quickly overdevelop, so it is always a good idea to plan to navigate around some unexpected rain. Don’t forget to stop and take a picture! Photo by Kelly Myrkle.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

“Up ahead it looked like sky highways that would take you any direction you desired. ” stone cliffs golden orange. The swim-

had flown that day. Nate knew best!

and mental space without trying it. An

mers down in the Frio River shouted at

He also continued to top his personal

8.5 hour flight the day after a 7 hour

me as my shadow passed over them. I

bests each day: “I had three distance

17 minute flight was mind bending.

had to scare a herd of deer out of my

PB’s—125, 135, and 178 miles; two en-

LZ. When I landed and set my glider

durance PB’s with 7.5 and 8.5 hours.”

gratitude to Mustang Airsports who

down, I couldn’t believe what my GPS

Here is more of what Nate had to say

made this possible. Gregg is a towing

was telling me: 185 miles after 7 hours

after returning home:

machine. That was some serious work

34 min!

I assume like almost everyone else,

I would like to extend some serious

to help us swing for some bests. Thank

today I am busy mixing back into

you. Jeff Kannard also tops my grati-

the world of people without low-save

tude list for pulling this together. From

Austin, TX | Wills Wing T2C 144 Goal: 200 miles and Personal Best

stories. Before I get sucked back into

the early stages of discussion, he did

the vortex of life, I wanted to say thank

the hard work of taking the lead for

Nate is a pilot I always looked up

you to all my fellow participants. It

putting the pieces together. Thank you.

to as I was learning how to fly. His

was a joy to watch you fly and an

local knowledge of Austin and the

honor to fly with you. I am a better

surrounding airspace gave him a

pilot for it.

NATE WREYFORD

KELLY MYRLE Henson’s Gap, TN | Moyes Gecko 155 Goal: The Gecko Challenge

big advantage above the rest. On the

My goal was a 200-mile flight and

last day he flew, the southerly winds

personal best. The only things holding

Whether it is a race to goal or to a

gave us the option to track east or

me back from 200 miles were my own

new record, Kelly is always ambi-

west of San Antonio. The favorable

decisions. Getting to fly the entire cycle

tious to win. Though we may be

conditions were to the west, but Nate

of a day was an amazing experience.

good friends, we will always be each

chose to go east and up towards his

Reading about how to pace yourself

others’ number-one opponent. When

home terrain. After carefully thread-

through a day as it evolves is not

Moyes introduced a new Gecko

ing the needle between San Antonio

the same as living it. A world-record

Challenge, Kelly was determined to

and Austin airspace, Nate landed 177

day involves over 10 hours in the air.

smash my winning Gecko record

miles away, farther than anyone else

There’s no way to explore that physical

of 212km. Of course, he did. I could

LEFT Kelly

is on his way to breaking a new Gecko record. It’s good to be near cloudbase! knackered. Kelly waits for his ride 141 miles away from Refugio.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

RIGHT The

Gecko Guy is

searching for something to get me up. I was not finding anything and the lower I got the more I thought about relighting. Next thing I know I am at 1000’ trying to make it back to the airport. While gliding to the airport I was trying to judge if I had enough altitude to make it over the fence or if I would have to land short and break down. I had a feeling I was going to be short, but then I felt a little surge and my vario went off. I decided it was good enough to turn in, looked at my vario, and saw 380 feet agl. Each turn I gained a little until I was able to center the thermal. Next thing I know, I’m at cloudbase looking at a classic cloudstreet-filled Texas sky. Up ahead it looked like sky highways that would take you any direction you desired. In the distance I saw Nate climbing under a nice cloud and decided to head his way. Ty joined up with us and the three of us flew together TOP Ground crew

member, Kim. She and Gregg worked hard getting us up and away.

for a bit until everyone scattered and I was, once again, alone. It was slow going for the first 50km/31miles, taking me nearly two

not have been happier for Kelly, who

hours to cover that distance. Around

now holds the longest flight on a

190km/118miles from goal the lift

Moyes Gecko. Here is how he did it: Day 2, Middle of Nowhere, Texas: I

started getting stronger with climbs around 500-600 fpm. I felt like the

woke up this morning feeling pretty

day was turning on and decided to

good about flying today. The condi-

pick up the pace a bit to make up for

tions were not going to be epic for

the slow flying earlier on. The next

this location but they were better

80km/49miles were pretty much a

than yesterday. The task I set was for

blur with good climbs and high cloud-

Utopia, Texas, 255 km/158 miles away.

base.

I did not know if I was going to make it

It was slow going to the right of

that far but I needed a waypoint to fly

course line during the flight to avoid

towards to stay on track.

a big blue hole. At one point I found

I launched fourth for the day around

myself 15km/9miles off track. Going

11:30-12. I was told conditions were

too far right would fly me into San

a little rowdy getting out of the field,

Antonio airspace so I decided to dive

which made me happy because there

into the blue hole in hopes of finding

would be lift. I pinned off around 2000’

a climb that would give me enough

in what I thought was weak lift. Once

altitude to reach the next cloudstreet.

off tow I realized that what I was in

While gliding in the blue I watched

was a bunch of trash that I could not

Mick blaze under the cloudstreets I

do anything with. So I went downwind

just left. I almost decked, but I man-

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

and picked an awesome cloudstreet

aged another low save over some

have gone flawlessly. We have south

dried corn fields. I managed to make it

winds again today, with a better veloc-

that held together for most of the day.

228km/141miles, landing in a nice field

ity early but slowly dying down as the

Soon he was pulling away as I was

next to a paved road for easy retrieve.

day wears on. We all decide to take the

zigzagging downwind trying to pick

New personal best and new distance

northerly route around the east side

the best-looking clouds. Robin mean-

record for the Gecko! Texas: What a

of Austin. I set a waypoint at Bastrop

while got a later start and was rapidly

place to fly!

and then Draughton Miller Airport in

closing the gap on my same line. The

Temple with a goal at Mineral Wells to

winds slowly diminished to 10-12 mph

LARRY BUNNER

get 500 km. Launch was at 9:58 and Gregg gave

but we were all still making good progress.

Byron, IL | Wills Wing T2C 144 Goal: 330 miles

me a high tow as no one else was quite

North of Cuero, the climbs were above 5000’ however a bit of a blue

I do not know of anyone else in the

ready yet. Three days earlier he towed

world who is more excited to fly than

me high between the clouds on a sur-

hole had to be crossed to get to the

Larry. His positive attitude gets him

real tour from the topside of the cumu-

good cloudstreets. Once there, the

far, and he is always having fun. On

lus. Today he took me high to the SE

climbs improved to 700fpm and

the last day, while everyone else was

as the clouds were sparse and quickly

topped out over 7000’ at base. Robin

feeling a little more negative about

evaporating. I released and found a

passed me at this point and we ran

the low cloudbase drying out, Larry

climb at 200fpm to 3000’ in 15mph

into high cirrus that completely

took off first and flew the farthest

south winds. The clouds were quick

shaded the ground. Putting on the

that day. I found Larry’s exciting

to dissipate so it was important to

brakes, I crept across the shade under

flight reports on his blog, lbunner.

pick those that were just beginning to

a good cloudstreet but no lift. I con-

blogspot.com, and posted his big

form rather than in full bloom. Climbs

tinued north looking for any kind of

flight here:

topped out above 3500’ by 11:00. The

climb to get me back to the sunshine

winds were holding at 10-15 mph and

and eventually hit 100fpm at 1500’

have done an awesome job all week.

I was about 35 km out from Refugio

above the ground. It improved to 300

Gregg’s BMW-powered trike is a

after an hour.

and then 500fpm getting me over 5000’

Day 6, the last day: Gregg and Kim

pleasure to tow behind and launches

LEFT Larry

Glen was about 10 km to my east

so I could dive for the nice-looking

just flew 250 miles and is full of smiles. Not only did he set a new Refugio record, but a personal best as well! RIGHT In Kelly’s point of view, Refugio was the best place for him to fly his first 100 miles. Here he takes to the skies behind Gregg in the early afternoon.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

we experienced for the entire week

clouds in the sunshine.

for a northwesterly direction and the

Glen meanwhile worked his excellent line to the east and was now 37

easiest flight of the week for staying in

km in front. He was battling sore

the air and making ground. Staying

shoulders and eventually decided

high for most of the flight and passing

to land around 250 km out. Robin

high over Castroville provided a clear

made it through the shade as well

view of the valleys we had planned to

and was slowly pulling away. The

explore to make the jump over the hill

clouds worked much better now with a

country to the Edwards Plateau. The

couple climbs at 700fpm to 8100’ near

first valley is Bandera, where the land-

Temple.

ing options from my vantage point

I picked a line to the west of Waco

looked sparse. This was confirmed

and thought I was going to land when

when Joanne, who was driving for

I spied some birds, climbing. I clawed

me, said, “I don’t know where you’re

my way back up from 1500’ and made

going to land if you fly this way!” I had

it over 6500’ again. From there a line

already decided to work my way over

of little wispies marked my way and

to the Utopia Valley, which was wide

I spent the next 1 1/2 hours slowly

open with plenty of landing options. At 160 miles out, while climbing

climbing up and gliding until I left the last one and went on final glide, land-

to 7400’ I was thinking about flying

ing 20 km north of Waco. I moved my

downwind to Leaky in the next valley,

glider to the edge of the field, dropped

but then decided to leave my climb

a pin and made two quick calls only to

and turn north to explore the Utopia Valley. I thought I was alone out there

see John pull up next to me six minutes later! He is one amazing driver! Incredibly, I felt very good after such a long flight. I actually had fuel left in the tank! Flight time was 9:34 and

ABOVE Picking

up Nate through the tall grass after his 177-mile flight. Sometimes the retrieve can be as challenging as the flight!

achieved his massive personal best flight—185 miles. It was getting late and while I was

distance was 403 km.

MICK HOWARD

but it turned out that Ty was close by and heading towards Leaky where he

explains: Day 2, Tuesday 18 July 2017: I believe I was third to launch but had a tortur-

still finding plenty of lift, the clouds were drying up making the planned jump at the end of the valley to the

Houston, TX | Moyes RX 3.5 Goal: Personal Best or 200+ miles

ously slow start as I watched others

Edwards Plateau too risky. I therefore

You will never see Mick do two

such as Kelly and Nate, who launched

decided to fly 170 miles and turn back

things: Miss an opportunity to go XC,

long after me, topping out and cruis-

to find a landing field that would not

or the chance to help someone on the

ing along at cloudbase while I was

be in the lee-side rotor of the hills. I

ground. “Mick Masters,” aka “Saint

struggling low, covering only six miles

tracked two miles into the headwind

Mick,” flew every single day, even if it

in the first hour and a total of only 20

and landed on an exotic game ranch

was not the day to break a record. He

miles after two hours. It took a few

where zebras, exotic breeds of deer,

also tirelessly helped others who had

hours to eventually pick up the pace

and elk roamed as I broke down.

issues with instruments and air-

and start making ground. I caught up

Joanne was just minutes away when I

space. Mick is a go-getter, and even

with Ty but then lost sight of him soon

landed!

though he did not break his personal

after when we took slightly different

distance record, he did in duration.

paths, and then I passed Kelly who

After eight hours of flying, he flew

was out in the blue while I was cruis-

146 miles on a day that took us all

ing under a nice cloudstreet.

nearly 6 hours just to go 100. His

Lift was abundant and just about

NIKI LONGSHORE Texas, USA | Moyes RX PRO 3.5 Goal: 300 miles I came to Refugio with one goal in

farthest flight that week took him

every cloud worked providing climbs

mind: 300 miles. This would not only

170 miles to the hill country. From

between 400-700fpm. The wind speed

be more than twice the distance

his flight report, here is what Mick

and direction were probably the best

of my personal best, but also the

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

there was a little cloud forming. It did not last long, but the good news was another one forming ahead, and then another. They were all very short-lived climbs, but it kept me up and kept me bumbling along between 4500’ and 5500’ AGL. My favorite climb of the day was at 7 p.m. I found 500 fpm that took me back to cloudbase (over 7 grand now). Wow! When it was time to leave my last climb, it was a very memorable final glide. I looked around and soaked in the beauty of Texas. It did not matter how far I flew; I was in heaven. I landed at 7:30 p.m. after 8 hours and 50 minutes in the air, and 200 miles away. I was stoked!

ROBIN HAMILTON ABOVE

Niki and her Moyes RX PRO 3.5, after nine hours in the air.

Houston, TX | Moyes RX PRO 3.5 Goal: 500 miles Robin is a Houston hero. He is an

longest time I would spend in the air.

backwards on course to try to get the

XC expert, and one of the top 10

Would I make it?

timing right. It took a lot of patience.

competitors in the world. Robin’s

Eventually I crossed I-10 an hour after

hidden talents include a knack for

everyone else.

weather observations, consistently

Day 6: The last day, so make the most of it! I spent a few days of the week conserving my energy for the

Then the tactics came in. By then

right conditions. Today was the last

the high cirrus clouds had completely

hundreds of miles in a single flight.

chance to go big.

shaded the next 20 miles. I made it

So when Robin picked Refugio, no

through after carefully topping up,

one had their doubts. Robin flew an

The southerly winds had us all set-

making goal, and knowing how to fly

ting a course to fly east of San Antonio.

picking the right cloudstreet, and

impressive 220 miles on the last day,

I launched around 10:30 and struggled

watching the sunshine peek through

and could have gone farther with

to connect with the thermals. It must

over certain areas. By this time I had

an earlier start. Here are some of

have been a personal problem. Both

gone 100 miles.

Robin’s thoughts:

Mick and Robin launched after, caught

The day was more than half over, so

I initially had high hopes of record-

up, and passed me. They took a street

300 miles was out of the question. But,

setting conditions for the event, but

to the east, and I went west. I had

could I still do 200? The winds were

they were tempered by what the

studied the option of threading the

good, there were still clouds ahead,

weather conditions would allow

needle and was interested if the condi-

and with a bit of encouragement from

through the week. Meanwhile I had a

tions allowed, so I wanted to stay as

George Longshore, I kept going. Finally,

lot of curiosity about the place and in

west as possible. The only issue was

the climbs were relaxing.

the end had a blast. I am still buzzing

staying up.

Around 5 p.m. the sky started to dry

a week later. I had an interest in un-

out. I had gotten myself right in front

derstanding how early we could truly

flights, I continued to struggle. I won-

of a blue hole with the streets on either

launch and how the morning streets

dered if I should have gone east with

side and too far away. I was concerned

developed—I was REALLY encouraged

Mick and Robin. By the time I was

the end was near. I could not believe

by both. I also wanted to know how

able to top out the lift and go to the

I did not see this coming, but I had to

the different (NW and NNE) routes

next cloud, it was dying. This pattern

keep going. What do you know, my

might work and how good the terrain

continued for over an hour. I even flew

vario started to beep! I looked up and

for thermal generation would be along

As with all of my most successful

them. I was again very impressed with both. Also, the cross-winding we had to do ahead of possible airspace complexity was very easy on the days we did it. Refugio is a 500-mile distance flight start point, given the

TOTALS FOR THE WEEK

right conditions. I think it is probably also an excellent place for people to do their first long-distance 100/200 mile flights. Other locations on the Gulf Coastal plain like Wharton (that has the full-time Cowboy Up tow operations) are also good for these types of flights.

len Volk arrived later in the week for the big condi-

Niki Tyson Nate Mick Larry

3 DAYS 3 5 6 6

370 MILES 370 536 628 788

18:15 AIRTIME 18:37 27:00 29:29 31:17

tions, which unfortunately

never arrived. However he still had two 100+ mile flights from Refugio.

On the last two days the originally forecasted ESE winds shifted south, which meant we were flying up towards Dallas. Throughout the

PERSONAL BESTS

week the strong winds tended to fade with altitude as we flew farther north. Part of the magic of flying XC in Texas is covering distance quickly with the wind. However, it did not prevent us from flying hundreds of miles. It just took us a little longer to get there. In the end we all had an amazing week, and there are many people to thank. Thank you, Robin, for being

Niki Tyson Nate Mick Larry

8.8 HOURS 7.5 8.5 8 9.5

200 MILES 185 178 250

a kick-starter and developing a positive relationship with the airport. Your interest in Refugio brought us there! Jeff Kannard, thank you for helping with communications and organization. We missed your presence. Gregg and Kim, thank you for devoting your time and expertise both in the air and on the ground. It is always a pleasure to tow behind you, Gregg. Finally, thank you, Ruth Vandervlugt, for your hospitality, and allowing us to return to Refugio. We look forward to returning next year, and with bigger goals ahead!

Congratulations to Larry, who flew 250 miles on the last day! Larry holds the Refugio hang gliding distance site record.

THROW! by MATT WARREN

Choosing a reserve How do you choose a reserve that

ABOVE Pulled-down apex round reserves have been used in paragliding for more than 25 years | photo by Andy Busslinger.

works for you? We asked for some advice Tom de Dorlodot is well known as a professional adventure pilot and Red

“The sink rate and opening time are

prepared for a few surprises. Tom: “If I’m flying in more remote, more technical areas, like Pakistan,

Bull X-Alps athlete. He’s flown every-

roughly the same as a round canopy,

then I fly with a steerable Beamer

where from the beaches of France to

but they are super stable, which is a

3 Rogallo-type parachute. It’s 500g

the Karakoram in Pakistan. “Which

big advantage.”

heavier, but you can steer it and that’s

reserve you fly with should depend on

Chris White is an instructor, guide

very important in areas like that. You

what you’re doing,” he says. “Where

and SIV expert. He works with SIV

can land them anywhere. I opened one

possible, I try to be as light as possible

guru Jocky Sanderson and has helped

in Organya and managed to land it on

and take the lightest possible round

hundreds of pilots successfully get

the take-off.

parachute—around a kilo. When I’m

through their SIV courses. “I suspect

“But it’s worth remembering that

doing hike-and-fly or bivvy flying, I

square reserves are more stable be-

these steerable parachutes quite often

usually know the area and I’m flying

cause they develop drive,” he says.

open with a twist. It’s not too big a

over landable terrain, so a round is

“They actually track across the

problem. If it opens twisted, it will

ground—although not necessarily

start off going down straight, so you

pilots in the Red Bull X-Alps when

forwards. It could be backwards or

just have to get the twist out and find

weight is a major consideration.”

sideways. Nevertheless, they are less

the handles and you can fly it.

fine. This will also be the case for most

In recent years square parachutes, not round, have come into vogue.

tion. “Certainly everyone is now speaking about square reserves,” she says.

likely to oscillate and aren’t much more complicated to repack.”

“There are also the Base system parachutes, and they are by far the best. But at the moment, they’re too heavy.

Randi Eriksen has seen the develop-

Should you get a steerable reserve?

ment of these up close, as a member

Steerable reserves give you some au-

of the Air Turquoise test house, where

tonomy over where you land, but you

Randi agrees that steerables are

equipment goes to get its EN certifica-

must know how to use them—and be

more complicated for the pilot. “They

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

That will change, though.”

do quite often open twisted. The Rogallo system, for example, mostly

RESERVE TYPES

opens into wind and so you may have to react quickly to correct its direction. This is fine for more experienced

Round Pulled-Down Apex (PDA) parachutes are the type most pilots

pilots, but less so for beginners, espe-

will recognize. They descend verti-

cially when you have to deal with the

cally—although they will drift with

paraglider as well.” Chris: “The main thing is that to use a steerable successfully, it makes

the wind. They are the simplest, and cheapest, systems.

sense to have some form of cutaway system. But that adds more potential problems. They’re more suitable

Square reserves (also called cruciform) deploy and descend like

perhaps if you’re likely to deploy your

a round, although they do tend to

reserve at a higher altitude. But in my

track. They offer greater stability for

experience, people don’t. “If you’re high, then people seem to use that height to try and recover their main. This means that most deployments happen relatively low. And if you’re using a steerable it can take

a slightly higher price tag. Hybrid square/round reserves marry elements of both round and square reserves. Some are steerable.

some time to gather in the glider and get to the control handles to make the steerable actually steerable. “There are advantages and disadvantages to all of the systems and in the right situation any one of them could have an advantage over another.

Rogallo-style reserves are steerable. They are more complicated to pack and require a greater level of skill but, within reason, you can spotland. They are pricier still.

Unless you have an idea what sort of incident you’re going to have, it’s very difficult to know which will be best.” What does he use himself? “I changed my parachute last year and did quite a lot of research. In the end, I bought a very simple, straightforward, foolproof, lightweight, pulled-down apex. That was the best compromise.”

being prepared to use it

Base systems can cut away the glider, leaving you with a fully-functioning, steerable ram-air parachute. On the downside, they are bulky, expensive and best left to those who really know how to use them—pro acro pilots or those with skydiving experience.

You also need to choose whether you want your reserve out of the way in your harness, or in your lap, using a front-mounted system. Tom: “When people start paragliding, I often advise them to fly with a front-mounted reserve. It’s easy to find as the handle is right in front of you. You can also deploy it with either hand. “When I was 16 or 17, I was practicing full stalls and I didn’t really know

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

ABOVE A real-world deployment in Organya, Spain. The acro pilot deployed his Rogallo first, then his round. The glider has numerous twists and is still flying, conflicting with the reserves–a tricky situation. Photo by Tex Beck.

what I was doing. Anyway, it went very

the Plan B, but they don’t know what it

should be your first option. If you’ve

wrong and I had five twists and I was

does and how it behaves.”

already tried it out on an SIV, you’ll

going down really fast. Trouble was, I

understand how it works and be more

never thought about the rescue. I was

SIV? I firmly believe that if you’ve

prepared for that. Of course, some-

just trying to recover.

already thrown it in a controlled envi-

times, you’ll be in a right mess, throw

“But then, just at the very last moment, I saw the reserve handle there, right under my nose and I threw

ronment, you’re more likely to throw it

your reserve, and all the twists in your

when you need it.” So that’s a yes.

glider will come out. That’s annoying,

Finally, consider the color—if you

but at least you’ll be safe.”

want to be found after landing in a

You also need to think about how

probably saved me from a very bad

tree, ensure that you don’t have a

you’ll throw it—and this can start on

accident.

green one. Yes, some manufacturers

the ground, not just in your pre-flight

still use green fabric.

checks, but in understanding and

it. Having that front-mounted reserve

Chris: “I think it’s also a good policy to get a matching system, so that if you

being familiar with your harness.

have a Gin harness, you also get a Gin

Deploying it

reserve. Otherwise, it’s a bit like put-

So, you’ve picked and packed your

where your handle is. Check that it’s

ting a Volkswagen engine in your Ford.

reserve. Now think about how to use it

in place, on the right side for you—per-

Tom: “Whatever type of parachute

Chris: “Should you throw it on an

“You must be prepared to throw it—

you fly with, test it. Go on an SIV

early,” says Tom de Dorlodot. “Many

course and ask to deploy it. Many

people leave it too late and break their

people consider their reserve to be

back. In fact, when all goes to shit, it

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

“First, you need to know exactly

haps you’re using someone else’s harness, or it’s just been repacked and the handle’s been put on the wrong side – and that the pins are in: The handle

can often drop out on the way to take-

Randi Eriksen has advice on what

off. In the air, practice reaching for it.

to do if you do end up in a horrible

Know how to find the handle without

mess. “It depends on the circum-

thinking about it.

stances. Certainly, don’t take too long

“How you throw it is also very impor-

trying to fix the problem—depend-

tant. You have to pop the pins, pull the

ing on your height, of course—before

reserve out strongly, look at what the

throwing your rescue. In terms of

glider is doing and then throw it hard

getting the paraglider in after deploy-

away from your wing. If you’re in an

ment, we have tried different methods.

auto-rotation, for example, don’t throw

Certainly, the longer you wait after

it in front of the glider or your reserve

deployment, the harder it is to get the

will get caught in the lines. You need

glider in, so grab in as much of your

to throw it behind the glider.

glider as possible as soon as possible

“And remember it’s not just a case of throwing your reserve and that’s it. You also need to get your paraglider in

after throwing your reserve. “What you grab depends on what you can reach. We have tried being asym-

so it doesn’t fight against your rescue.

metrical and pulling in one wing tip,

Generally, I take one of the brakes,

which worked really well one time, but

wrap the line around my hand and

was a catastrophe the next.

pull it all the way in until I can grab

“We then tried only the brake lines,

the wing tip. I then bunch the glider

pulled in symmetrically. This also

up between my legs. This also helps

worked one time and was very messy

when you land.

the next. It really does depend on what

“I was flying acro once when it all went wrong and I threw my round

is happening. “Whatever you do, though, try and

reserve. I came down really fast into a

bring the paraglider into you as tightly

huge cattle trough, but the paraglider,

as possible. Paragliders can really in-

which was stuffed between my legs,

terfere with your reserve if you leave

acted like another airbag.”

them flying.”

SEQUENCE In this deliberate SIV deployment the pulled-down apex round reserve has deployed after four seconds. The main wing stops flying and the pilot starts to gather it in—this allows the parachute to do its job without the main wing interfering. There is some penduluming apparent as the pilot descends and splashes down. Photos by Andy Busslinger.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

ABOVE A

steerable rogallo-style Beamer 3 | photo by High Adventure / Urs Haarittle. reserve—especially if you pick a really

pushed the button and the helicopter

reserve, the key thing to remember is

light one. You can really easily break

was there in just 16 minutes.”

that the parachute comes out of the

your legs.

Chris White: “When deploying a

harness in the opposite way to which it went in. “In other words, if the reserve sits sideways on a shelf beneath the seat,

Caring for it Don’t just stick a reserve in your har-

should also be ready to do a good

ness and forget about it. You need to

parachute landing fall (PLF)—that’s

care for it, regularly repack it—and

then you must pull it out sideways. In

another protection. Always land on

understand it. Chris White repacks

this situation, if you pop the pins and

your legs and be prepared to roll. I’ve

over 100 parachutes a year – and there

then pull it up towards your chin, as

broken my back, and you really don’t

are some all too familiar problems...

if you were doing a bicep curl, then

want to do that.”

you’re trying to pull it out at 90 degrees from the angle it went in.

Tom adds that you also need to

“In general, avoid anything that could compromise the system—and

think about what happens after you

that includes all those seemingly neat

land. “Perhaps you’re in a tree or

‘tricks’ that your mate might tell you

then let it go. A lot of people forget

you’ve broken a leg. How do people

about. For example: Don’t tie your

that.”

find you? You can’t always rely on your

bag to your reserve. It’s really bad

phone. And it’s often very dangerous

practice. I feel similarly about tying a

“The other thing is to swing it—and

Tom: “You should also always fly with a hook knife (within easy reach).

to try and get out of the tree.

float to the handle. You want to avoid

“The best option is to have a device

anything that could interfere with the

can cut a paraglider line if it’s inter-

that can share your location without a

deployment. Is it really worth risking

fering with your reserve, or even cut

phone signal. A tracking device, some-

it to save £20? I don’t think so.”

away your whole paraglider.

thing like an inReach from Garmin, is

Not many people do, but it means you

You also need to understand how

essential. I had an accident when I was

your reserve could be suffering

though, you’ll find that you come

flying around the Adriatic with Paul

unseen damage, most commonly from

down faster than you think on a

Guschlbauer. I’d landed badly in a tree,

Velcro. “Be very careful of the male

“Even if everything works perfectly,

“The rescue is one protection, the back protection is another, but you

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

fail. Water landings tend to make the

(sharp) side of Velcro. It can very easily

I do mine every 12 months. But you

damage the bridle, the outer bag and

also must be very aware of the lifes-

fabric more porous, especially with

the parachute lines. I’ve even seen it

pan of a parachute, which is some-

lightweight systems. Basically, if you

rub through the bag and create holes

thing that is often overlooked.

land in water or get your reserve wet,

in the reserve. It’s more and more

“Most manufacturers recommend

get it checked straight away.” Chris adds: “You can also get it wet

common to see harnesses using zips

that you don’t use one for more than

instead of Velcro for the channels,

10 years, but I did one repack recently

by sitting on it in a field. In fact, you

which is brilliant.

where there was a parachute from

should never sit around in your har-

the 1970s. There’s still a lot of very

ness on your reserve. Sand can also be

“Basically, it should be stressed that if there’s any excess of male Velcro it

old kit out there. After about 10 years,

very aggressive if you land on a beach,

should be on the outside of the chan-

the material visibly starts to degrade,

as can snow. Your reserve isn’t particu-

nel, where you can see it and it can’t do

which may very well affect the sink

any harm. Velcro damage is some-

rate.” Getting your reserve wet is also

larly sealed when it’s in your harness – you have to be aware of that.

thing we come across in around 50%

not a good idea. “Immersion in water is

“Interestingly, the degradation hap-

of repacks. The trouble is, if you have

never good, and this doesn’t just mean

pens to both reserves and paragliders

a bridle damaged by Velcro the only

landing in a lake under it.”

way to test it is to do so to destruction,

Salt water obviously does all sorts of

irrespective of how often they are used. In fact, the age of the equipment

which isn’t much use. There’s no other

unseen, corrosive damage, but Randi

is as big a factor in determining how

way to know how much it has been

says the Air Turquoise team have also

degraded it is as the amount it has

noticed the characteristics of reserves

been used. Even if you’ve got a reserve

weakened.” And make sure you’ve put a repack in your diary. “The BHPA (British Hang

often change after a water landing. “For EN certification, we test all the re-

that has never been used or even seen the light of day, the material still degrades with time.”

Gliding and Paragliding Association)

serves twice to ensure that the results

recommends a repack every six

are the same, but if we do the test a

You should also get your reserve

months, but many manufacturers rec-

second time with the same reserve

checked if you have an accident, even

ommend every 12 months. Personally,

after a water landing, it will often

if the harness looks fine. The reserve

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

could have been dislodged. “You either need to be very familiar

“When I repack reserves, I encourage the owners to attend so they get

the most common problems we come across is that the lanyard that con-

with your system or take it to some-

familiar with their own system. I think

nects the handle to the parachute bag

one who is,” says Chris. “I checked a

people who don’t understand para-

goes tight before the pins release. That

friend’s recently and he had been to

chutes and how they work are less

means you can’t get the reserve out of

a club repack where it had been put

likely to throw them should the need

the harness in the first place.

back incorrectly. It was supposed to go

arise.

“When we check people’s reserves

“You should also be happy doing a

and harnesses before SIV courses,

been missed—and the next time he

pull test on your reserve, so you can

for example, we find that there’s a

flew with it, it actually ended up in his

check it works and then put it back

problem with about one in 10 of them.

pod.

together exactly how it was. One of

We’ve even come across parachutes

into a neoprene envelope, which had

RESERVES FOR HANG GLIDING Gordon Rigg explains reserve parachutes from a hang glider pilot’s point of view:

In hang gliding we might go our whole career without ever meet-

the individual’s decision.

chutes to paragliders, sized for the pi-

G that a deployment could be very

lot’s weight. On flexwings, the glider

difficult or impossible. After deploy-

weight is usually disregarded—but

ment, that spin can still occur, or con-

many rigid-wing pilots choose a larger

tinue—but with reduced violence. For

chute to include the glider weight. It’s

that reason, many pilots choose to try and prevent the lines winding up

serve. But that doesn’t make a reserve

and gradually closing the chute.

less important—if you do need one,

The chute is not normally rated

there’s little chance that anything else

for a full-speed deployment, as that

is going to save you. The main risks

would add a lot of weight to its con-

are the sort of extreme turbulence

struction. What we have is something

that you might encounter very, very

with a “good chance” of structural in-

rarely, or a mid-air collision.

tegrity in a freefall situation, but we do wonder about full-speed deploy-

Hang gliding chutes are designed with a long bridle that should be long

ment—with the glider already going

enough to clear the wingtip of the

140km/h plus. Some pilots have a Z

glider—so that means a longer bridle

sewn-section in the bridle designed

for a rigid wing compared to a stan-

to minimize the deployment shock, known as a screamer.

dard flexwing one. Now, parachutes are generally mounted on the pilot’s side—it’s the pilot’s choice if it is on the left or the right. Some pilots, particularly those flying aerobatics or who want to be a bit heavier on their wing, fly with one

ABOVE Still

from a video of a reserve ride in France. The pilot was performing an acro display flight in Laragne when it went wrong. Watch the ride down at www.goo.gl/2wGH0T.

I deployed my chute once. There was a dust devil and at 180m the glider suddenly stood up vertical, tail slid and tumbled. I threw the chute well, it opened in a few seconds and I landed gently. The glider was only slightly bent, but my harness was sig-

on each side.

have a swivel sewn into the bridle to

ing anyone who has thrown their re-

nificantly damaged.

We have regular debates over

The most important thing for us

chute size, mainly because we always

is a quick deployment. If something

In fact, I was able to launch again

carry it but seldom use it. Very small

goes badly wrong and the chute isn’t

half an hour later on a different glider

chutes were fashionable in the 1980s

thrown straight away, there is a good

and harness and flew to goal—I didn’t

but that’s now regarded as a bad

chance the wreckage will start to spin

even slip one place in the competition

idea. Usually, we use similarly-sized

violently. Then there can be so much

ranking!

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

that aren’t connected to the harness— and bridles that aren’t connected to the parachute.”

Soft or hard links?

qualified or professional advice.

Certification Any reserve parachute you buy should be EN certified. But how does a rescue

Chris is strongly in favor of using

make the grade? Randi Eriksen from

stainless-steel maillons for connect-

test-house Air Turquoise explains.

ing one component to another. Twenty years ago, a French pilot was killed

“There are two kinds of test for the EN (European Norm) standard. We test

when a fabric-to-fabric connection (a

in-flight and we perform a structural,

larksfoot knot) in the reserve melted

strength test. In the flight test, we

through friction (the “hot-knife effect”).

measure three things: opening time,

Today, materials technology has developed a long way and lots of harnesses use fabric-to-fabric connec-

the reserve’s stability and its descent ABOVE Testing with dead-weight.

rate. “We do this by flying over the

Photo by Sky Paragliders.

tions. The Paraglider Manufacturers

lake and deploying the parachute.

Association, Edelrid and Advance have

Obviously this involves going in the

just conducted a test to look at wheth-

lake a lot. Last year, we collectively

to snap at 20 decanewtons. We moni-

er fabric-to-fabric connections are

ended up in the lake 80 times. We test

tor the deployment with a camcorder

better or worse than steel connectors.

them without a paraglider, so as soon

and when the whittling breaks, we

We will look at that in a future issue.

as the reserve is deployed, we release

know the reserve is fully deployed.

The long and short of this advice is, if you are not sure, don’t make it up: Look in the manual first, then ask for

attach a piece of whittling, which is set

“Releasing the paraglider also starts

the paraglider. “The first thing we check is the reserve’s opening time. To do this, we

a pendulum effect. If the parachute is suitably stable, this effect should

W W W. W I L L S W I N G. C O M

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

CHRIS WHITE

GORDON RIGG

RANDI ERIKSEN

TOM DE DORLODOT

Works for Air Turquoise based in Villeneuve, Switzerland, which has been testing paragliding equipment to the EN standard for over 10 years. www.para-test. com. Chris is senior instructor at Escape and a longtime certified BHPA/EPPS reserve parachute packer. www. jockysanderson.com.

Gordon has been British hang gliding champion multiple times and has been flying hang gliders for more than 30 years, paragliders a little less.

Works for Air Turquoise based in Villeneuve, Switzerland, which has been testing paragliding equipment to the EN standard for over 10 years. www.para-test. com.

Professional paraglider pilot and adventurer. This year he will be competing in his sixth Red Bull X-Alps. www. thomasdedorlodot.com.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

reduce over time. If the pilot feels like it doesn’t, it fails. “We also have a ball hanging 30 meters below us. The time it takes between the ball hitting the lake and the pilots hitting the lake allows us to

LEFT The Charly Diamond Cross is an example of the new generation of hybrid reserves, in this case a steerable square (or cruciform) reserve. Photo by FinsterwalderCharly.

measure the descent rate. “To get EN certification, the opening

Almost all reserve manufacturers will

time should be under five seconds,

now go for the EN standard, but if you

the oscillations should reduce, and

get an older, secondhand reserve, this

the descent rate should be under 5.5

might be a problem.”

m/s. Steerables must come down no faster than 4m/s, largely because they

There I was…

also have forward speed. But these

“I’ve thrown my reserve in anger twice.

standards will soon change, meaning

The first time, I was right at the begin-

that to pass, reserves will have to open

ning of my acro progression. I entered

within four seconds.

a nice flat 360 spin, but stopped the

“It’s worth remembering that 5.5m/s

rotation too quickly with the out-

is still quite fast. Reserves are meant

side brake and twisted as the glider

to save your life, not necessarily to

stopped.

prevent you from breaking an ankle. If

“I then accidentally pulled the wrong

the parachute is oscillating, you will

brake and locked the glider into a

also have a faster descent rate. We get

nose-down spiral. Knowing I was at

the odd minor injury even landing in

around 400m, I took the safe option

the lake.

and threw my Rogallo (Beamer 2) away

“When a reserve is EN certified, it

from the glider. With the G-force from

should be marked—usually on the

the spiral, it was a clean opening—and

risers. Be aware, though, that reserves

a soft landing in the lake.

can also be certified according to the

“The second was a month later in

pull-and-throw—once you have pulled it, give it a big swing and throw it hard away from your glider. “Killing the paraglider is just as

(different) LTF standard, which allows

Organya, trying a Misty Flip (making

for far faster descent rates—up to 6.8

a 360° spin after a large pitch pendu-

important, so don’t delay once the re-

m/s. They don’t test for stability, either.

lum). I failed to stop the rotation and

serve is open. Pulling on the B lines, or

the glider turned and collapsed, again

any line within reach, is the best way

putting me into a series of twists. I was

to bring the glider under control and

high and in a safe box, so tried to cor-

stop a downplane situation. A good

rect the wing. My mistake was imme-

parachute landing fall (PLF) will help

diately letting go of the brakes in panic,

you land safely.

and the glider spiraled and looped out of control while I was twisted. I

“What do I fly with now? I’ve always liked my Rogallo reserves, though

took the safe option again and threw

they are not 100% reliable so I fly with

my Rogallo, which opened perfectly. I

a round as backup. I briefly flew with

killed the glider by pulling in the lines,

the Base cutaway system and this is

steered into wind and landed gently.

still the safest system on the market,

“Both incidents taught me a lot. Always understand how much height

but it requires additional knowledge for packing and deployment.”

you will need to safely throw your rescue, control your glider and land as softly as possible. Know where your handle is, and understand that throwing your reserve is not a simple

Brooke Whatnall is a U-Turn team pilot and photographer, currently based in Dubai at SkyHub Paramotors, brookewhatnall.myportfolio.com.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

COMPETITION Exactly What I Needed: Tater Hill by GRACE STANSBERY photos by NANCY TREADGOLD

o you’ve learned the basics,

like you’ve plateaued in some areas,

of this newfound confidence to the

you’re not 100% terrified to

your next step should be Tater Hill.

expert advice and clinics I attended,

bite into a friendly thermal

I’m here to give you the push.

anymore, and you’re sick of flying

and the other half to the campground’s post-flying hot-off-the-slab

that same little fly site where lift is an

rience, but this Appalachian learning

evening moonshine.) You know what

uncrackable code. If you feel like you

competition upped my confidence in

they say: Teachers are all around you.

have more skills to learn, or you feel

flight exponentially (I attribute half

Since that’s really all you need to

ABOVE

I can’t speak to anyone else’s expe-

Launch at Tater hill is on a well groomed hill that Bubba Goodman owns and operates.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

hear, and you’ve already decided to

feet up.

and order.) On launch, you can buy sandwiches

attend next year’s event, I’ll just walk

To get up there, you’ll hitch a ride

you through what to expect from your

in one of Bubba’s custom Suburbans,

and cold drinks from the coolest

first day at Tater.

in one of most well-coordinated re-

para-kids you’ll ever meet. Or, if you

trieve/rides up the mountain I’ve ever

prefer, you can spend your time pick-

When you arrive at Tater Hill, there will be a small group of pilots hang-

seen.(Just wait until you’re scram-

ing fresh blueberries from the bushes

ing around the registration area.

bling to re-light mid competition.

nearby. Most people shuffle around,

They’ll be giving hugs and shaking

You’ll want to send flowers to your

unpacking their gear, chatting and

hands. This is when you’ll start to see

retrieve driver for the promptness

getting ready. It’s a pleasant way to

the Tater magic. It will be in the form of the same two questions: Other pilots will ask you and your friends, “Is it your first time here?” and they’ll ask each other, “How many years have you been coming to Tater Hill now?” You’ll hear this dozens of times because these Taterheads are into it. It’s a pilgrimage for them. Tater pilots who’ve been around for a few years will tell canonized stories about each other; they hold cute little rivalries, they have code names, they remember each other’s routes from years past. They seem to really care about each other. Also: Welcome to the club. You’re in now. On your first day, you’ll learn quickly: If you hear a whip cracking, that’s Bubba, the Tater Dictator. But don’t let the authoritative hat embroidery fool you. Bubba’s here to make your week the best you’ve had all year. When he says you can bench up that dark, scraggly gray wall of convergence clouds like it’s a ridge, take his word for it. He’s been flying Tater for 25 years. The man knows his microclimate. Next year will be the 13th Tater Hill Competition, and at this point, Bubba and his crew have the whole thing dialed in, with all the tools already in the toolbox. From the start, you’ll get a detailed site introduction and recommended landing approaches for the three very accessible, beautifully manicured LZs in the valley. The veteran pilots will gesture up to launch from the LZ, but it won’t do justice to the large green clearing nearly 2000

Scratching to get up. BOTTOM The line forms here. Good thing we are orderly line-makers in the USA. TOP

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

start the morning.

your favorite wool socks, overlook-

In Boone during early August, the

ing the haze in the blue valley. Then

morning breeze is actually cold. (It’s

you’ll think of your buddies at home

no wonder Lance Armstrong says it’s

who are undoubtedly sweating in

he task committee surveys the morning weather and selects the day’s tasks, one for the

open class and one for the sport class.

his favorite place to train). You’ll sip

their harnesses—or if they’re really

Then the energy shifts from moun-

your coffee atop a mountain, wearing

unlucky, their suits and ties.

tain morning to excited fly day. If you’re like me, and you had no idea how that little Flytec on your deck works, you’ll join a small-group breakdown session to learn the ins-and-outs of using your vario in a comp. It’s remarkable, the details they cover. An added bonus: You’ll make friends this way, almost like a teambuilding exercise (but with more beeping). After you input your route, I strongly recommend you take one of the 10-year-Tater guys aside to get the cheat codes. Ask them to explain how they would approach the route, how long they might wait until going for that next waypoint, where they would find lift in the valley, when they would launch in these conditions, anything. They’ll happily tell you because, like a friend sharing his/ her favorite movie, he wants you to see the best parts. And then: You fly. The launch has lots of room. Depending on the wind, four or five pilots can set up and launch at once. You’ll quickly notice the launch crew, a few people whose job requires that they get “all up in your junk” to pull on your buckles, straps, and carabiners: a safeguard for competition jitters. They’ll fluff your wing, give you a pretty setup, and even help you pick a cycle if you ask their opinion. Then, go, go, go and you’re out over the blue yonder. I can see how Tater would be an ideal ridge-soaring site for tons of pilots, because of its multiple large faces and nobs. This year, however, we didn’t get much time to play on

A gaggle waits for the start in North Carolina. BOTTOM Launching in the beautiful hills around Boone, North Carolina.

TOP

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

the ridge. The wind direction wasn’t quite right, but the thermals were fat

Nothing like a little air show on launch. TOP RIGHT Neil breaks it down for the day of racing ahead. Winners are, left to right: Open Class: Jaro Krupa, Augusto Espinosa, and Mert Kacmaz. Women's First Place: Violeta Jimenez. Sport Class: Grace Stansbery, Patrick Terry, and Eric Esser.

TOP LEFT BOTTOM

and happy. With 2000 feet of ground clearance off launch, there was plenty

some killer BBQ.) While you’re in the air learning

markable, especially when you think of all the sweet flying loot they put up

of time to soak up everything each

new skills and smashing personal

for grabs on the final night of awards

thermal wanted to teach—and to take

bests, you might look across the ther-

and acknowledgement.

a few elevator rides to the top.

mal and see a skinny glider flying fast

For the competition newbies like

This year, they filled up an entire

in your direction. Look at the wing.

picnic pavilion with outdoorsy giveaway-swag. At Tater, the trophy-

myself, the sport-class tasks are built

Remember this pilot. Tonight, around

around designated LZs, which means

the campfire, you two will share

for-all mentality isn’t disingenuous

you have a phenomenal opportunity

a cold drink and smile about that

or philanthropic. It seems as if they

to learn XC and competition skills

moment. And, if you request it, you’ll

really just have too much free stuff to give out. It’s clear to see why: People

with one less thing on your mind. You

get one-on-one advice on your ther-

can bounce from waypoint to way-

maling technique, or anything else

fall in love with Tater. Then, those

point. And if you have a decent head

you’d like to improve. When teachers

same lovestruck pilots donate other

on your shoulders, you’ll always have

are all around you, listen up.

stuff they love to keep the competi-

glide to a safe LZ, free of powerlines

Tater Hill lives out a culture of edu-

tion going strong, thereby infatuating

or grouchy landowners. (As an aside:

cation and mentorship, which, for a

another generation of hopeless sky-

The people in Boone are some of the

group of paraglider pilots all compet-

eyed goobers like me.

sweetest out there. And they make

ing against one another, is totally re-

One Boone local sends nearly a

up to launch. It’s about the flying. And the flying is good. For my skill level,

port from other pilots primed me for

erous chicken-man has the sandwich-

there was enough security built-in to

a homerun, and I was able to nail a

es delivered to launch by airplane and

feel comfortable biting off more than I

good number of them as far as per-

then by gravity. (If you’ve never eaten

typically might.

sonal accomplishments go.

Chick-Fil-A flown in and airdropped

On days when it threatened to

For your first visit, Tater won’t be a

onto a fly site, I highly recommend it.

overdevelop, I watched other pilots

neck-and-neck competition, but it will

There’s got to be some sort of flying

for my cue to land instead of bailing

push you. The Tater Hill Open, as my

super-power involved with that kind

early. I took more thermals because of

first comp, pushed me outside of my

of thing, right?)

the high launch. And when I wanted

comfort zone, which had been holding

to try for a destination, I went for it,

me back from seizing XC flights at my

or the amenities or the freshwater

knowing an LZ was always within

local site. It pushed me to fly faster

mountain spring you pass every day

reach. All of this, combined with

than I ever had, and to aim for goals I

But Tater isn’t about the free stuff

genuine encouragement and sup-

hundred chicken sandwiches to the competing pilots every year. This gen-

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

normally wouldn’t. It also pushed me

way I did. And I intend to join in on

into an amazing community of pilots

next year’s campfire stories and be a

whose names I’d heard, but never met.

Taterhead like the rest of them. I’ll see

If you’re smart, you’ll let it push you,

you there.

too. You’ll spend your 10 days at Tater with a group of pilots who aren’t “too good” to talk with the P-2s, and who genuinely want to help you fly. They’re pilots who see the value in this place, isolated from everything

Every year the Tater Hill Competition is held the first weekend of August in Boone, North Carolina. The 2018 dates are July 29- Aug 4, with practice days on July 27-28 and a fun-fly on Aug 5th. Visit www.flytaterhill.com for more info.

and consistently flight-worthy. I’m lucky I got pushed into Tater Hill the

RIGHT Bubba. BELOW Class of 2017.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

INSTRUCTION How to Speed by BRUCE GOLDSMITH Bruce Goldsmith explains why flying fast is not simply a question of pushing the bar.

you are on your own, and you will need

is and that it will be strong, it is worth

to climb more, as well, both of which

speeding directly to the climb.

will take valuable time. By flying faster

Generally, it is better to try to climb

you have put yourself at a disadvan-

faster than glide faster to win competi-

1) Climbing faster is more important than gliding faster.

tage, because the pilots behind you can

tions. This is because the differences

use you as a thermal or sink indicator.

in climb rate are much bigger than the

Most competitions are races, and many

Even though you may momentarily feel

differences in speed. When you are

inexperienced pilots assume that you

happy with yourself for having beaten

trying to glide faster than someone

win races by accelerating more when

the other pilots to the next moun-

else, you may be able to glide 2km/h

gliding. This is generally not the way

tain, your lead will not last long. Very

faster than he or she, or perhaps even

to win paragliding races. If you push

quickly you will be overtaken by the

5km/h, if you are really pushing it.

the bar more than the next pilot, you

pilots just behind and above you.

That means you might be able to gain

will immediately end up in front of the

However, there is a notable ex-

a 10% speed advantage over the other

gaggle and lower. This means you will

ception to this rule: If you know in

pilot. But remember you will lose more

find it harder to find the next climb, as

advance exactly where the next climb

height and have to find the lift quickly. Compare this to a pilot who is able to climb in a 3m/sec thermal, instead of another pilot who can only find a 2m/ sec thermal. In the 3m/sec, you are climbing 50% faster than the slower pilot. This rate of difference can never be achieved by pushing the bar, but differences in climb rate happen in every thermal climb, so if you can climb faster than the others, you are a long way towards winning the competition. Not wasting time in sinking air and quickly finding the best climb is also of massive importance.

2) Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get stuck. Many times I have seen pilots glide ahead fast, only to arrive slightly too low to get up high enough to get over an important pass or ridge. There are ABOVE Racing

full speed bar in Colombia at 2015 Paragliding World Championships | photo by Nick Greece.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

certain times in every flight when you must not get below a certain height,

“By flying faster you have put yourself at a disadvantage, because the pilots behind you can use you as a thermal or sink indicator.” because you risk getting stuck and

sive decisions and act on them quickly.

make and coordinate with the pitching movements of the glider. Pitch control

ending up ridge soaring, while waiting for the next cycle. This can easily

4) Pitch control with the speed bar.

is equally important on paragliders,

waste 30 minutes, costing you a huge

Applying the speed bar is not simply

and by constantly adjusting how much

amount, compared to the minute you

a case of pushing on it. The speed and

speed bar you apply, you can actu-

gained by flying a little faster on the

timing of the application is crucial to

ally improve your glide performance

glide. If you never get stuck in a compe-

reducing the pitching movements of

by a considerable amount. This is

tition, you will always place very well

the glider as you accelerate, as well as

one major reason some pilots always

overall.

to damp out pitching movements of the

seem to glide better than others, even

glider induced by thermals or turbu-

though they are on the same glider.

3) Don’t dither.

lence. Hang glider pilots do this all the

Make fast decisions and act on them

time as they glide though moving air,

quickly. For instance, if you think you

by moving the control bar and con-

see a pilot climbing better than you,

stantly making minor adjustments to

don’t wait one 360 before making up

the glider. This movement feels very

your mind to go and join him. If you

easy and natural on a hang glider, as

training. The only way to learn is to

take one or two more 360s, it will cost

the speed bar is just floating round

fly in competitions of ever increasing

you a minute or so. You just need to

under your fingertips. On paraglid-

levels. It is incredible how the speed

do this a few times each flight to very

ers the same movements do not come

and efficiency of pilots differs in differ-

quickly lose a lot of time. Make deci-

naturally; they are quite difficult to

ent levels of competition.

lying fast takes a lot of experience and practice and is not something that comes naturally,

even to gifted pilots. It takes a lot of

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WA OR OR OR OR WA WA OR WA WA WA AK OR OR CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA NV CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CO NM UT CO CO UT CO UT UT CO AZ MT MT WY WY ID WY

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

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

Miguel Barron Leon Brown Eliezar Vigdorchik Michael Bowen Russell Spurlock William Mcginnis Nathan Hallahan William Maxwell Cary Pilon Daniel Hyslop Manuel Paradis Timothy Delisio Jesse Valenti Alain Giroux Lorenas Zilvytis Jovin Bosdell Adam Smith Leon Brown Joe Bullock Mark Neese Michael Woods Chet Wazny Ken Lightsey Rebecca Sloand Ronald Wolff Leo Glauber Sean Meyer Michael Harston Landry Poole Kevin Berry Alex Weldy Leon Brown Marshall Robin Bill Erickson Mike Cromwell Melodee Bray Melodee Bray Forrest Cox Richard Socher John Lockard Omi Chandiramani Sean Speer David Chasteen Nina Ilieva Vladimir Kremenovic Jeremy Jones Charles Bauer Christina Rudy Tyler Beattie Bryan Davis Patrick Minnaert Theo Nanin Agost Makszin Dee Dodson Pak Shing Wong David Park Jason Wallace Pascal Liddane Tania Fuentes-davitt Ross Desmond Beverly Kehoe David Douglas David Deem Jason Parrott Paul Singer Michael Moore Curt Oseland Lynnn Bryson Briana Bergman

AR NH MA NH CT MA VT NC FL OR OR OR WA OR OR

Robert Booth Malcolm Jones Glenn Zapien Eric Hinrichs Andrew Beem John Heiney Greg Dewolf Dan Deweese Kevin Koonce Rik Bouwmeester Matthew Hickerson John Alden Nolan Hollingshead Billy Vaughn Alan Friday Cj Giordano Alan Friday Malcolm Jones Scott Schneider Alan Friday Malcolm Jones Cj Giordano Billy Vaughn Daniel Guido Rick Brown Rick Brown Lyndon Thomas John Simpson John Heiney Mitchell Shipley H-bruce Weaver-iii Malcolm Jones Andrew Beem Kelly Kellar Kelly Kellar Kelly Kellar Kelly Kellar Todd Weigand Jeffrey Greenbaum Jc Perren Wallace Anderson Jeffrey Greenbaum Jeffrey Greenbaum Jeffrey Greenbaum Stacy Whitmore Jerome Daoust Gregory Kelley Jc Perren Gregory Kelley Paul Gurrieri Paul Gurrieri Paul Gurrieri Steven Yancey Ron Kohn Peter Humes John Dunn Mariyan Ivanov John Dunn John Dunn John Dunn Sam Chambers David Hanning John Dunn Nathan Taylor Kimberly Phinney Kevin Lee Marc Chirico Kevin Lee Kevin Lee

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Michael Pratt Will Taylor Curtis Nelson Jeffrey Olszewski Christopher Garcia David Byers Andrew Jensen Taylor Houshour Jonathan Delrosario Sako Hirata Jonathan Gleason Russell Devries Heather Griffin Kevin Griffin Mitchell Shipley Ryan Kimber Richard Socher Jean Weatherwax Blake English Melinda Salazar John Knox Brandon Price Evan Peairs Vladimir Kremenovic Jeremy Jones Jason Folker Greg Firth Jeff Lengyel Chris Kuech Saeed Barati Benjamin Cox Jason Lehel David Angel Christopher Dewey Enrique Gonzalez Calle Madeleine Crowley Jamie Liebert Sandra Zinovyev Martin Davis Keith Hutchinson Jonathan Szylobryt Pierre Tagliabue Christopher Lloyd Elaina Thornhill Katelyn Timroth Keven Weaver Justin Fisher Ryan Appleton Rose Moeser Thomas Reichert Joshua Phillips Nicholas Gilbert Natalia Valdizan Robert Luke Morgan Dinsdale Louis-pierre Bastien Marco Buoso James Ingalls Jr John Coleman Mark Herndon Tin Lap Lau Pak Shing Wong Chi Ho Chan Man Kit Wong Wai Hung Tse Ping Kong Ho Morrie Bowie Russel Bannister Sebastian Kimberk

OK OK

IL MA MA

Marc Chirico Kevin Lee Kelly Kellar Kimberly Phinney Kelly Kellar Denise Reed Denise Reed Kevin Lee Marc Chirico Denise Reed Denise Reed Nathaniel Mcclure Samuel Crocker Samuel Crocker Chris Santacroce Wallace Anderson Jeffrey Greenbaum Jesse Meyer Jesse Meyer Jesse Meyer Jesse Meyer Jesse Meyer Jesse Meyer Stacy Whitmore Jerome Daoust Patrick Johnson Jordan Neidinger Stephen Nowak Gabriel Jebb Gabriel Jebb Allen Thoe Christopher Grantham Rob Sporrer Philip Russman Stephen Nowak Jordan Neidinger Chris Santacroce Chris Santacroce Kay Tauscher Justin Boer Heath Woods Nathan Taylor Jonathan Jefferies Charles Smith Paul Gurrieri William Purden-jr William Purden-jr Douglas Brown Jason White Joshua Winstead Joshua Winstead John Hovey John Hovey William Purden-jr John Hovey Allen Thoe Steven Yancey Patrick Johnson Jonathan Jefferies Jonathan Jefferies Tung Ng Peter Humes Tung Ng Tung Ng Tung Ng Tung Ng Stephen Mayer Heath Woods Jesse Meyer

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

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Bert Nunley WV Jesse Carman VA Ariana Winder PA Jonathan Edwards VA Adam Smith TN Kyle Stich TN Tad Dennis FL Chris Gay GA Preston Drnek TN Elizabeth Hastie GA Greg Fergus TX Marilys Lacroix Samson TX Jeff Shellenberger TX Brandon Bartell NY Nilanjan Bhattacharya NJ Tim Scarborough OR Michael Bouwkamp AK Taran Morgan WA Julian Ansell OR David Shelton CA Huy Vu CA Austin Bryant CA Karl Krumme CA Vladimir Kremenovic NV Alina Grayeske CA Michal Maretta CA David Oddy CA Michael Partheymuller UT Ben White UT Dane Abruzzo NM Peter Miller UT Lucas Cottle CO Nicholas Berling WY Benjamin Brunsvold MT Chan Chun-keung Chun Hei Leung Angel Bello-caballero OK Tin Wai Chan Pak Shing Wong Joseph Sherman VA David Lane PA Tom Prouhet TN Brian Morris GA Jeremy Barr TN Matthew Brownstein FL Jerry Ortega TX Germain Tubert TX Franco Braggion NJ Annika Elias WA Randolph Ruffin OR Heather Amaryllis OR Violeta Jimenez WA Nicholas Hamblin WA Mark Playsted CA Evan Simmons CA Russell Cohen CA Vladimir Kremenovic NV Bryan Marincic CA Alina Grayeske CA Ben Abruzzo Jr NM Chan Chun-keung Chun Hei Leung Ed Kwok Leung Lam Chung Ka Po (cedric) Pak Shing Wong Ng Ping Chung (anthony) Jason Kerrick SD Michael Graef IL Flavio Souza Laignier MA

Jonathan Potter Stephen Mayer Bill Heaner Andy Macrae Alan Friday Denise Reed Christopher Grantham Etienne Pienaar David Hanning Christopher Grantham David Broyles Jon Malmberg William Purden-jr Philippe Renaudin Jesse Meyer Steve Roti Jake Schlapfer Marc Chirico Kelly Kellar Jesse Meyer Jesse Meyer Gabriel Jebb Jeffrey Greenbaum Stacy Whitmore Max Marien Jerome Daoust Max Marien Jonathan Jefferies Chris Santacroce Max Marien Jason White Kay Tauscher David Robinson Joshua Winstead Peter Humes Peter Humes Ron Kohn Peter Humes Peter Humes Matthew Ingram Philippe Renaudin David Hanning Marc Radloff David Hanning Stacy Whitmore Ron Kohn Ron Kohn Philippe Renaudin Bob Hannah Chris Santacroce Chris Santacroce Bill Heaner Stephen Mayer Juan Laos Juan Laos Jesse Meyer Stacy Whitmore Rob Sporrer Max Marien Charles Woods Peter Humes Peter Humes Peter Humes Peter Humes Peter Humes Peter Humes Charles Smith Jaro Krupa Luiz-fernando Costa

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Matthew Kilpatrick LA Charles Fuda WA Bob Jenkins WA Cameron Forster WA Aporn Stein AK Runnoeun (ryan) Suy WA Benjamin Coffman WA Ben Veasey AK Michael Turner CA Alexander Vogt CA Matthew Lawson CA Tiffany Pham CA Matt Renaud CA Gregory Hallihan CA Jordan Kilgore CA Oguz Uslu NV John Harden CA William Dydo CA Naya Sawah CA Rachel Anctil CA Charlie Hynes CA Daniel Berlandy CA Samuel Khalandovsky CA Ryan Carney HI Robert Quinn HI Kristian Hansen CO Christian Glover CO Adam Lendi CO Timothy Blagen CO Christina Rudy CO Bryan Davis CO Marcus Willis CO Sydney Schachter CO Daryl Vierra AZ Cody Finster UT Cory Brown CO Christopher Dobson Brandon Roadarmel MT Alexandra Xavier OK Johan Muller David Douglas Leung Wing Sang Vincent Stanley Wilk IL

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VT MA DC GA NC FL FL NY NY WA AK WA OR WA CA CA CA NV CA CA MT AR MO AR OK

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

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Stephen Mayer Luiz-fernando Costa Peter Van-oevelen David Hanning Jc Perren Marcello Debarros Rob Sporrer Philippe Renaudin Philippe Renaudin Steven Wilson Jake Schlapfer Roger Brock Jaromir Lahulek Marc Chirico Jesse Meyer Jesse Meyer Jeffrey Greenbaum Max Marien Max Marien Jerome Daoust Jonathan Jefferies David Prentice Marc Radloff David Prentice Marc Radloff Yuen Wai-kit Marc Radloff Peter Humes Matthew Ingram Matthew Ingram Royal Owens David Prentice David Prentice Gabriel Jebb Rob Sporrer Gabriel Jebb Chris Santacroce Chris Santacroce David Robinson Joshua Winstead Dave Turner Calef Letorney Davidson Da-silva

Take your ratings and expiration date

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Ron Kohn Denise Reed Steven Wilson Owen Shoemaker Denise Reed Denise Reed Marc Chirico Chris Santacroce Jason Shapiro Gabriel Jebb Robert Black Robert Black Jesse Meyer Rob Sporrer Cynthia Currie John Hovey Charles Beaudoin Rob Sporrer Jc Perren Jc Perren Jc Perren Jerome Daoust Jc Perren David Binder David Binder Kay Tauscher Kay Tauscher Gregory Kelley Kay Tauscher Jc Perren Paul Gurrieri Chris Santacroce Etienne Pienaar Rob Sporrer Gary Begley Rob Sporrer Denise Reed Andy Macrae Jerome Daoust Mert Kacmaz Mert Kacmaz Yuen Wai-kit Jaro Krupa

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Board Meeting and awards banquet. Be sure to RSVP if you plan to attend the banquet.

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clinics & tours

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ing in Warm Mexico Parasoft continues its trips to Tapalpa, Mexico for a 16 year! Join us for 6 days of guided flying, airport pack up & delivery, private hotel room and breakfast each morning where we talk about each days objectives---$1,800. P2 week Jan 28--Feb 4 or P3 Feb 4--11th. More info: http:// parasoftparagliding.com/mexico-flying/

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FINAL Knowing When to Let Go by DAVE BROWN

ike most people in my area, I

A lot has happened since then, so

annoying of them is Parkinson’s

learned to fly in a cow pasture.

bear with me while I rattle off a few

disease. It has left me unable to run

things and eventually get to the point

sufficiently on launch. I realize I’m

This meant I had to be careful

where I landed. That being said, I had

gone out one day with Barry Ellis to

of this article. I’ve met some fine people over the

check out conditions and maybe give

years, as well as some real airholes.

flying a try. We were using his old

But hey, it evens out in the end. I’ve

Flexi III as a trainer that must have

been an Observer and an Examiner

weighed at least 45 lbs. As I started

and was really proud when my mas-

down the hill, I could hear Barry yell-

ter’s certificate came in the mail. It’s

ing, “Faster, faster, RUUUUUN!”

still hanging on the wall, right where

of other pilots. I’ve talked this over

I put it that day.

I managed to get airborne for a few seconds, let it slow down, felt for the stall, pushed out and landed on

Hang gliding encouraged me to travel from Mont St Pierre in Canada

my feet... in a cow pie, of course. (You

to Wallaby Ranch in Orlando, Florida.

knew that was coming.) The hair on

From the toilet bowl and Seneca Rock

my arms stood on end, my brains

in West Virginia to Grandfather Mt.,

were on fire, and my fun meter was

Tennessee. I’ve watched technology

smoking a hole in the dashboard. I

change over the years for the better.

had committed aviation, and I was

I started out with a Pacific Gull 3 1/2 foot cut-keel standard (Wow! What

hooked. That was May 10, 1978.

would they think of next?) and ended

For those of you who

up with a WW RamAir. However, my

are math impaired, that’s 39 years

instruments remained the same, and I’ll miss the encouraging sound of a

and 10 girl-

climb from my Flytec vario. There is

dozens of times with friends and

friends

an exponential fun factor connected

mentors and considered “just one

with this sport that is not limited

more season.” But that could go on

to the air. Some nights around the

for a long time. And in my heart I

campfire after the day’s flying is done

know that safety is paramount, and

ago.

just can’t be described. I’ve reached

it’s time to take stock. So, with deep

the invisibility stage of Mescal and re-

regret, I must leave this sport. They

alized the full potential of the sacred

were the best of days; I wouldn’t trade

toenail of Boone.

them for anything. So to all of you out

Recently, I have developed some

not the only one up there, and I can’t abide adding to the danger levels

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

there: Get high, go far, and laugh a lot,

issues that prevent me from partici-

because you’re playing the greatest

pating safely in this sport—the most

game on earth.

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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

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