Hang Gliding & Paragliding Vol38/Iss11 Nov 2008

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero

NOVEMBER 2008Volume 38 Issue 11

$4.95

www.USHPA.aero

http://www.flyozone.com

MAGAZINE STAFFUSHPA, Publisher: [email protected]

Nick Greece, Editor: [email protected] Greg Gillam, Art Director: [email protected] Palmaz, Advertising: [email protected]

Staff writers: Alex Colby, Steve Messman, Dennis Pagen, Dean Stratton,Mark “Forger” Stucky, Ryan Voight, Tom Webster

Staff artist: Jim Tibbs Staff photographers: John Heiney, Jeff O'Brien, Jeff Shapiro

OFFICE STAFFPaul Montville, Executive Director: [email protected]

Rick Butler, Information Services Director: [email protected] Palmaz, Business Manager: [email protected]

Erin Russell, Office Manager: [email protected] Burtis, Member/Instructor Services Administrator:

[email protected]

USHPA OFFICERS & EXECUTIVE COMMITTEELisa Tate, President: [email protected]

Riss Estes, Vice President: [email protected] Rich Hass, Secretary: [email protected]

Mark Forbes, Treasurer: [email protected]

REGION 1: Rich Hass, Mark Forbes. REGION 2: Dave Wills, Urs Kellenberger, Paul Gazis. REGION 3: David Jebb, Rob Sporrer, Brad Hall. REGION 4: Mark Gaskill, Jim Zeiset. REGION 5: Lisa Tate. REGION 6: Gregg Ludwig. REGION 7: Tracy Tillman. REGION 8: Gary Trudeau. REGION 9: Felipe Amunategui, L.E. Herrick. REGION 10: Dick Heckman, Steve Kroop, Matt Taber. REGION 11: Gregg Ludwig. REGION 12: Paul Voight. REGION 13: Dick Heckman. DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Leo Bynum, Riss Estes, Mike Haley, Jon James, Dennis Pagen. EX-OFFICIO DIRECTOR: Art Greenfield (NAA).

The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association Inc. is an air sports organization affiliated with the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), which is the official representative of the Fédération Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), of the world governing body for sport aviation. The NAA, which represents the United States at FAI meetings, has delegated to the USHPA supervision of FAI-related hang gliding and paragliding activities such as record attempts and competition sanctions.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine is published for foot-launched air-sports enthusiasts to create further interest in the sports of hang gliding and paragliding and to provide an educational forum to advance hang gliding and paragliding methods and safety. Contributions are welcome. HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine reserves the right to edit contributions where necessary. The Association and publication do not assume responsibility for the material or opinions of contributors. HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING editorial offices email: [email protected]. ALL ADVERTISING AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES MUST BE SENT TO USHPA HEADQUARTERS IN COLORADO SPRINGS.

The USHPA is a member-controlled sport organization dedicated to the exploration and promotion of all facets of unpowered ultralight flight, and to the education, training and safety of its membership. Membership is open to anyone interested in this realm of flight. Dues for Rogallo membership are $270. Pilot memberships are $75 ($90 non-U.S.). Dues for Contributing membership and for subscription-only are $52 ($63 non-U.S.). $15 of annual membership dues goes to the publication of Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine. Changes of address should be sent six weeks in advance, including name, USHPA number, previous and new address, and a mailing label from a recent issue. You may also email your request with your member number to: [email protected].

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) 632-6417. PERIODICAL postage is paid at Colorado Springs, CO and at additional mailing offices.

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

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine welcomes editorial submissions from our members and readers. We are always looking for well written articles and quality artwork. Feature stories generally run anywhere from 1500 to 3000 words. 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 [email protected], 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, [email protected], (516) 816-1333.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES IN PUBLICATIONSThe material presented here is published as part of an information dissemination service for USHPA members. The USHPA makes no warranties or representations and assumes no liability concerning the validity of any advice, opinion or recommendation expressed in the material. All individuals relying upon the material do so at their own risk. Copyright © 2008 Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine.

For change of address or other USHPA businesscall (719) 632-8300, or email [email protected].

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.

On the cover, Jeff O'Brien mows the lawn at the Point of the Mountain, Utah. Meanwhile, Nick Greece captures Matt Combs in Alpine, Wyoming during leaf season.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE08NOV

by Mark "Forger" Stucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

by BJ Herring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

by Lauren Tjaden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

by Katrina Mohr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

by Chris Ammon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

by Stephanie Cone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

by Dennis Pagan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

EDITOR

PILOT BRIEFINGS

AIRMAIL

USHPA

SAFETY BULLETIN

CENTERFOLD

DISPATCH

RATINGS

USHPA STORE

PAGE 78

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HANG IN THERE

WORld RECORd ATTEMPT

EAST COAST CHAMPIONSHIPS

bRAd SANdERS TAlkS

OUT OF THE NEST : YElAPA, MEXICO

UNFOld AS IT MAY : SlOVENIA

PRE-WORld AIR GAMES : TURINO, ITAlY

Gallery

54HOlIdAY GEAR REVIEWS

But it looked so easy when he did it...

Texas heats up and BJ sends it.

It's more than a comp, it's a party.

The new world altitude record holder.

The sunny fishing village makes for a great escape.

Eastern Europe's uncrowded sites await.

It's all fun and games.

You know you want it. Take a break from economic worry and dig the holiday goods.

November2008

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 5

http://www.willswing.com

http://www.paragliders.com

How many of you have waited all day on a windy hill only to pack up your gear and drive

down? A large part of free-flight (in the beginning, anyway), is hang or para- waiting. Hours creep by as we throw rocks, discuss gear and tell bad jokes, waiting for the often fickle winds to kick up or die down.

The reality is that regardless of what you’re flying, you and your “flying ma-chine” only get in the air 20-30 percent of the time. But isn’t that a huge part of what makes this sport so amazing? Over the years I’ve ended up in some of the coolest places on earth with an army of like-minded folks who come from diverse geographies, backgrounds, and experiences.

Sometimes we spin our wheels as the weather figures out our day…other times we posse up and explore the local terrain. But running amok recently for ten days in the Owens Valley with good friends reminded me of the “halo” value of our sport. We got the good flights, but, to be honest, it got to the point where I was just as happy to plan for a hike the next day as to fly in the Sierras.

Work, play—perhaps life-balance is what is important, even on flying trips. But it’s a tricky perspective to maintain when flying is in the mix.

One thought on profiting from a trip like this is to step out of the box and learn something new. So, I ar-ranged my first date with hang gliding in Salt Lake City. Tom Webster of Hang Glide Utah (hangglideutah.com), patiently coached me through some ini-tial steady progress, mixed with a few classic mistakes, on a Falcon. Over the course of a week, I completed 41 flights from half-way up the South Side. It was awesome to be a newbie again. I’m also happy that my increased wind-window will double my airtime each season.

As we hunker down for the winter, think about your flying this past year. Did you capitalize on all the amazing opportunities flying provides both in the air and on the ground?

7

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero8

AdVANCE lANdS ON THE POdIUMAfter an exciting contest

made up of four days’ cros-

country, two ADVANCE team

pilots ended up on the podium

in Spain.

103 pilots from all over the

world made their way to Spain

to take part in the second

round of the 2008 XC Open

World Tour. Conditions in

Piedrahita were windy, but

despite this problem it was

possible to fly on four days.

Our team pilots managed to fly

the farthest on three of them.

Chrigel Maurer won the second

and fourth, Godfrey Wenness

clocked up the best distance

on the third. This legendary

ADVANCE pilot from Australia

also finished in third place

overall, despite having had his

vario break after 20 minutes on

one occasion. Battery failure

is cited, and no more informa-

tion has reached Thun as to the

reason for this, but his podium

finish shows that traditional

bushcraft can contribute to

vol libre success every bit as

much as expensive electronic

gadgetry. Mario Pfister also

had a good run on the first

day. The Spälti OMEGA 7 team

pilot might have finished in

the middle of the open class

with his serial wing; but on the

last day he lost more than 600

points and fell back from fifth

place in the serial results. Khobi

Bowden, half of Cloudbase,

our South African distributor,

missed a podium place in the

women’s result by just by one

place – but was more than

happy with the accelerated

stability and performance of

her new Sigma 7.

AIRWAVE'S GT lIGHTAirwave has made available

its latest lightweight harness,

the GT Light. The rucksack,

designed specifically for para-

trekking, allows for packing of

all equipment except a full face

helmet. One advantage of the

harness is its tube container for

the rescue parachute under-

neath the seat, which features

a carbon seat board. The

harness has two airbags, which

has resulted in some of the

best test results among airbag

harnesses, as well as 10mm

high density comfort foam for

harness and rucksack back

support. The harness has been

certified LTF 35/03 & EN 1651

and comes in 2 sizes: Small/

Medium (160-185cm) and

Large/X-Large (180-200cm).

The Rucksack includes plexi-

glass rods in the back for

support, which can be removed

for easy packing, 2 ice-axe or

ski-stick loops with quick at-

tachment, and side pockets for

small skis and loops for larger

skis. Total volume: 70-90

liters. Total weight: 1.8kg. Visit

EagleParagliding.com for more

information.

dIGIFlY'S NEW INSTRUMENTSThree new ‘PRO’ instruments

from Digifly: Cartesio PRO

Bluetooth, Leonardo PRO and

Leonardo PRO Bluetooth. It’s

the new high-end family with

a more powerful rechargeable

lithium battery, lasting for 30

flight hours and back-up AA

size battery for 20 more hours.

The instruments now have

a new stronger body, anti-

scratch dark painting, new anti-

reflection display glass and new

function-printed command

keys—to make it easier for the

pilot to identify the right opera-

tion options. The firmware 6.2x

is new, but fully compatible

with the previous models. But,

the true revolution is the telem-

etry, the new software provides

a 10 time per second flight data

output, and the instruments are

able to dialogue thru Bluetooth

(via cable for Leonardo PRO),

with any hand-held computer

or pocket PC, providing all

flight data suitable for all the

main current real time flight

analysis software (e.g. Soaring

Pilot, Compe gps, C.Pilot). At

the same time, the PRO family

can also dialogue with a smart-

phone for the teletracking:

sending the pilot’s coordinates

via SMS or web server the for

flight tracking safety require-

ments, and even for a real time

competition tracking. All the te-

lemetry software, documenta-

tion and transmission protocols

are open source, and available

for free. The new ‘PRO’ family

is now the hardware base for

all the open source developers,

and Digifly is encouraging the

information exchange among

users. But Digifly doesn’t forget

the older Leonardo model: the

‘PRO’ firmware will always com-

patible with it, and it’s going to

be release a new lithium bat-

tery upgrade kit, to double the

battery lifetime. More informa-

tion at www.digifly.com.

RAUl ROdRIGUEZ ROllS OUTAustrian paraglider company

NOVA is proud to announce

a cooperation deal with Raul

Rodriguez, multiple world

champion and one of the

world's most famous acro

pilots.

The agreement was signed

at the Coupe Icare flying festi-

val. The collaboration includes

the introduction of special

acro paragliders under the new

brand “Raul Rodriguez Acro

Wings”. They will be developed,

produced and distributed by

NOVA. Raul Rodriguez holds

the trademark and is in charge

of all flying Tests, and the image

of the new brand.

In 2009, the partners will

start with three models: The

PilotBRIEFINGSNew | Improved | Buzzworthy


RADIX is an Acro competition

wing ñ radical and for profes-

sionals only. The first proto was

visible in skies over Saint Hilaire

during the Coupe Icare. For very

experienced pilots, who want to

seriously pursue acro flying, an

Acro Intermediate will be intro-

duced. Mid 2009, the range will

be complemented by an Acro

beginner wing with homologa-

tion (EN / LTF). This wing can

be used as a normal paraglider,

yet combines high safety and

agility and thus allows an easy

introduction into the world of

acro flying.

NOVA ANNOUNCES NEW WINGNova announces a new wing,

the FACTOR–new class 2 /

EN-C wing. The “-or” at the end

of its name shows the relation-

ship of the new NOVA class 2

/ EN C wing FACTOR with the

Mentor (class 1–2). Currently,

the Mentor outperforms other

rival wings in its category. In

the various online competitions:

the pilots praise the wing’s out-

standing performance, its high

safety potential and its agile yet

solid handling. This is exactly

what NOVA promises with

the FACTOR. Design engineer

Hannes Papesh explains: “The

FACTOR was actually perfect

from the drawing board. I dare

say it is one of best wings

NOVA has ever designed. Its

high wing curve provides the

FACTOR with extreme stability,

which together with precise

steering and a generally un-

complicated behavior, delivers

a beautifully balanced flight

feeling to the pilot!“

FlIGHT PARk GOES GREEN (GRASS)Quick news flash. Several

acres of sod are now being in-

stalled at the North side of the

Point of the Mountain, UT.

Further announcements about

the 760,000 dollar flight park

construction/improvement

project will be forthcoming.

X-AlPS APPS ClOSING SOON

RECORD APPLICATION

NUMBERS FOR RED BULL

X-ALPS 2009: LIMITED TIME

LEFT TO ENTER!

There is just a short amount

of time left before applications

for the Red Bull X-Alps 2009

close, and all budding athletes

are invited to apply online at

www.redbullxalps.com.

There have been a record

amount of entrants so far, but

anyone who thinks they have

what it takes to compete in the

world’s toughest hiking and

paragliding adventure race

should send in their forms im-

mediately.

“The level of interest in the

2009 race has been greater

than ever,” says Race Organizer

Hannes Arch. “We have a tough

task selecting 30 athletes to

compete since the standard of

applicant is extremely high.”

Potential participants have

until September 30, 2008 to fill

out the online form, and an of-

ficial selection announcement is

scheduled for mid-October. The

race starts on July 19, 2009.

Defending champion, Alex

Hofer has already signaled

his intention to race again in

2009, and says in an interview

on www.redbullxalps.com that

he wants to be more prepared

than in 2007.

“This time I will come to

Europe quite some time before

the competition to fly some

hundreds of kilometers,” says

the 31-year-old Swiss who cur-

rently lives in China. “I am bit out

of practice after the years!”

Mosquito Power Harness

Two New Options Available• Internal Fuel Tank• High Performance

Exhaust with Silencer

Dealers across America & Canada

www.mosquitoamerica.comTraverse City Hang Gliders/Paragliders

Bill Fifer • Traverse City, MI231-922-2844 phone/fax • [email protected]

New tank pictured above

Pilot: Paul Farina Photo: Greg Dewenter


lUCkY bUCkS Thank you for the USHPA

bucks. I haven’t won a raffle since high

school, when I got a gas tank for a boat—

which of course I didn’t have.

I will use these USHPA bucks soon, I

hope.

I hope you have good flights with what is

left of the year. I’m looking forward to get-

ting into the air next week, when work slows

down a bit. I’m eager to try our new grass at

the Point of the Mountain, Salt Lake City.

Submitted by Carl Johansen

The survey was done to help USHPA create a demographic profile of the membership in order to be able to target marketing and outreach effectively. USHPA offered 100 USHPA Bucks to a randomly selected survey respondent to sweeten the deal. USHPA surveyed roughly 1/3 of the membership this year. Future surveys are planned.

GIVING bACk Woodrat sits high over the

Applegate Valley. It’s a small commu-

nity. Nothing happens here without com-

ment. The Rogue Valley Hang Gliding and

Paragliding Association (RVHPA) flying

community is a prominent citizen in the

valley. Landowners and others all know

what transpires here. A single transgres-

sion or kind gesture reverberates through

the community.

It’s important to keep everyone happy.

An ounce of preemptive kindness offsets

many an LZ mishap. Christmas and the sur-

rounding holidays provide an opportunity

to spread some good cheer. As heavy-

handed as it might seem, a few turkey and

ham baskets make asking for landing rights

significantly easier.

Each November, the RVHPA convenes

to approve roughly $600 in thank-you gifts

for our landowners. We select both ac-

commodating LZ owners, and potential LZ

owners. Last year, the club sent baskets

to a dozen landowners. With each gift, we

include a hand-written note thanking them

for accommodating the occasional landing.

An impromptu guest from the sky is an im-

position, and we thank them in advance for

their tolerance.

In addition, we have the Hunter family,

whose generosity is legend. The Hunter’s

own our primary LZ, and endure thousands

of landings, cars, and people each summer.

As a thank you, we donate a monthly gift,

providing a regular reminder of our grati-

tude. Further, in the event that our coffers

show a surplus, we donate those funds to

the charity of their choice. In years past,

that has been as much as $4,000 to the

local school music program.

Our core-gifting program costs rough-

ly $1,000. An insignificant amount when

spread over our membership. Consider the

funds we spend on our own gear. An addi-

tional $20, $50 or $100 per member pales

in comparison. Yet this simple gesture se-

cures the most basic requirement for our

sport—a spot to land.

This holiday season get the pilots in your

local community together and think if this

policy can help your local flying area. It is

well worth the effort.

Submitted by Paul Murdoch

Rants | Raves | Ramblings

AirMAILThe opinions expressed in the letters published in this column are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the magazine staff or USHPA officials. While every effort is made to verify facts stated in letters, readers are urged to check the accuracy of any statement before taking action or forming an opinion based on the contents of a letter.

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EditorialCALENDARMission | Policy | Membership | Involvement

NOW ON THE USHPA WEbSITE In hopes of

boosting contributor submissions there’s

a new Editorial Calendar online. You can

find the calendar at

http://www.ushpa.aero/editorial_calendar.asp

The new calendar outlines topics for

inclusion in each issue for the next six

months. I have a great feeling this will

help immensely in guiding the magazine

effectively. Please let me know if you

have any ideas for interesting topics to

add to the calendar.

USHPA MAGAZINE EdITORIAl CAlENdAR

January 2009

Content close: Nov 15th

Advertising close: Nov 20th

BOD meeting news

Winter Flying Gallery

Top rookies of 2008

Best cross-training ideas and tips on condi-

tioning for success

February 2009

Content close: Dec 15th

Advertising close: Dec 20th

Annual Safety Issue

Women in flying

Top 10 items to fly with for XC

Top 10 things to fly with for recreational flying

March 2009

Content close: Jan 15th

Advertising close: Jan 20th

Annual chapter issue

Weather issue

April 2009

Content close: Feb 15th

Advertising close: Feb 20th

April Fools’ Day issue

Art Issue

May 2009

Content close: March 15th

Advertising close: March 20th

Instruction and growing the sport issue

Instruction, Site development,

New pilot experiences, etc.

June 2009

Content close: April 15th

Advertising close: April 20th

Marketing and public relations issue—a

grass roots PR guide

July 2009

Content close: May 15th

Advertising close: May 20th

Site preservation and acquisition stories

Foundation For Free Flight Successes

http://www.lazerlink.com/~pagenbks

In North America, the best flying of the year happens each winter in Valle de Bravo, Mexico.

�is year, don't miss out on the fun!

Join Team Super Fly for a week of incredibly good flying that includes fantastic accommodations, excellent dining, cultural experiences and great camaraderie.

�is is not just a site guiding trip… We provide comprehensive thermal & XC clinics as well as thorough instruction in active flying & basic maneuvers.

Conditions are appropriate for a broad range of experience levels from P1 to P5.

�e cost is $2,000 for the week excluding airfare. Come for one week or more, but reserve your spot now. Space is limited and filling fast.

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With over 12 years of experience flying and guiding in Valle de Bravo, we guarantee that you will come home a better pilot with some great flights under your belt.

V B M TDecember – January, 2008 – 2009

Call us at 801.255.9595 to make your reservation now or email us at:

[email protected]

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In this column we summarize the report for our first hang gliding fatality of 2008 . As of this writing there are three more fatal ac-cidents on which to report . At least two of these four accidents contain elements, either contributory or probable cause, involving medical issues that have important implica-tion for our aging pilot community .

April 27, 2008 Approx. 5:40 pm

lookout Mountain, GA

64 year old male, H-2 working on H-3

Glider – Airborne Sting

Harness – Pod-style

Helmet – Unknown

Winds straight-in 10-15 mph.

SUMMARY An experienced Novice

pilot crashed while maneuvering to

land in an unfamiliar field on top of the

mountain. He was attended to in a

reasonably timely manner, but appar-

ently died of head injuries while being

treated at the hospital.

CONdITIONS Conditions at the time of

the accident were described as ‘ideal

with wind speed less than 15 mph with

minimal cross wind and minimal gusts.’

The lift band was sufficiently strong

to lift the accident pilot’s glider sev-

eral hundred feet above the top of the

mountain.

lOGbOOk The accident pilot was re-

ported to be an experienced Novice

with 40 – 60 hours total time and

200+ flights. He was working on his

Advanced rating, and was reported

to have good intermediate-level skills

and fair judgment. It was noted that

the USHPA membership rating infor-

mation listed the accident pilot as a 49

year-old P-2 with no hang glider rating.

Information from the accident pilot’s

hang-gliding school concerning his

ratings and experience is considered

authoritative in this case.

MEdICAl There were no known pre-

existing physical conditions or illnesses

prior to the accident flight. One wit-

ness reported that he was concerned

with the accident pilot’s complexion –

which was flushed yet pasty – and was

wondering if the accident pilot had

an underlying health issue. It was re-

ported that the doctor at the hospital

stated that the accident pilot had suf-

fered a heart attack. This fact could

not be substantiated first-hand due to

medical confidentiality issues.

SYNOPSIS The accident pilot per-

formed a good controlled cliff-launch

and established his glider in the lift

band; climbing several hundred feet

over the top of the mountain. After

soaring for approximately 15 to 20

minutes, the accident glider was last

SafetyBULLETINAnalysis | Preparedness | Incidents

http://www.thermaltracker.com


witnessed very low over the back of

the mountain, flying what appeared to

be an intentional approach to landing

in a small field located on top of the

mountain. One witness reported that

the glider made an aggressive turn

and then flew an approach pattern to

a field on top of them mountain, at or

near to the field in which the accident

pilot was later found. Another witness,

who was flying a hang glider at the time

of the accident, saw the accident glider

clip a tree on the edge of a very small

field and spin to the ground. This wit-

ness landed in the normal LZ to notify

others that a hang glider had crashed

on top of the mountain. Within a half

hour word was received that the ac-

cident pilot had been found and was

being taken to the hospital. The acci-

dent pilot was later pronounced dead

at the hospital.

AIRFRAME A detailed damage descrip-

tion was not available. However, it was

reported that damage to the glider

was minimal. All damage to the glider

was consistent with tree and ground

impact.

HElMET The type of helmet being

used by the pilot at the time of the

accident is unknown. It was report-

ed that the accident pilot had begun

flying with a bicycle-type helmet. This

could not be confirmed, as the helmet

was lost during first-responder action.

However, the severity of head and

facial injuries resulting from this acci-

dent is consistent with the use of this

type of helmet.

ANAlYSIS No electronically recorded

flight information (GPS or barograph)

was available for analysis in this acci-

dent. The accident occurred at a site

that is not generally considered top-

landable. While the field within which

the accident pilot crashed was consid-

ered ‘do-able’ by an expert pilot flying

a near-perfect approach, it was not

ideal in size, configuration, or location

– being described as a cross between a

small field and a large backyard. The

accident pilot had performed a good

launch and soared for 15 to 20 minutes

before the accident – indicating that

he was experiencing no immediate dis-

tress, and that the glider was perform-

ing normally. Several witnesses later

observed the accident pilot trying to

land in a field that was considered too

small for a safe approach. This field

was located in an area just behind the

mountain known to be dangerous and

hazardous due to rotor. Witness state-

ments indicate that the accident pilot

had sufficient altitude to glide to the

normal LZ in the valley below, although

it would have taken longer for the pilot

to get onto the ground. Damage to

the glider was minimal, and there was

no sign of equipment malfunction that

would justify an emergency landing

on-top. Injuries to the pilot indicate

that he was likely still prone, and not

in the landing position, at the time of

ground impact.

PRObAblE CAUSE Failure to main-

tain an appropriate clearance from

ground-based objects while executing

a technically demanding approach to

landing.

Love Canopy Flight?Come Play with Us!

How big was it?

http://www.uspa.org


dISCUSSION The accident pilot had no

history of reckless or careless flying.

Yet by all accounts he pilot made a

controlled approach into a very risky

LZ. There are two plausible scenarios

that might have compelled the acci-

dent pilot to attempt a landing when

and where he did: 1) He found himself

behind the ridge with insufficient alti-

tude to make it out front to land in the

normal LZ, or 2) he experienced some

condition he felt required putting the

glider onto the ground as quickly as

humanly possible.

There are three likely conditions

that could compel a pilot to quickly

land: an unfavorable change in flying

conditions, equipment malfunction, or

physiological distress. Thermal activ-

ity was present, but there are no re-

ports of sink massive enough to catch

an inexperienced pilot unawares and

place them in a poor position to make

the main LZ. Similarly, there are no re-

ports of any sudden dramatic increase

in the wind that might make penetra-

tion out to the main LZ difficult or im-

possible. A post-crash inspection of

the glider revealed no indication of

in-flight equipment malfunction that

might have rendered the glider difficult

or impossible to control. But witness

statements and medical information

obtained after the accident indicate

that there was the possibility of physi-

ological distress during the flight.

One witness on the ground com-

mented on the appearance and health

of the accident pilot prior to his flight.

In addition, there were unconfirmed

reports the accident pilot had suf-

fered some sort of cardiac event either

in-flight or post-crash. In the absence

of any other indication, this possibility

remains the most likely contributing

factor to the accident.

RECOMMENdATIONS While flying always

maintain an appropriate distance from

the terrain, commensurate with condi-

tions.

Ensure that you are physically qual-

ified and mentally prepared to engage

in a prolonged physically and mentally

demanding activity before each flight.

Fly with a good quality helmet, pref-

erably full coverage.

dISCUSSION The modern hang glider

has two important defining character-

istics: A very low Reynolds-number

wing controlled primarily via weight-

shift, and (typically) single place op-

eration. These characteristics place a

significant premium on pilot skills, ca-

pabilities, fitness, and judgment.

The modern hang glider is a weight-

shift controlled, wing-warping miracle

of technology. But it still suffers from

the same deficiency that cost Otto

Lilienthal and many others their lives

“While flying always maintain an appropriate distance from

the terrain, commensurate with

conditions.”

http://www.ushgf.org


09UNITED STATES HANG GLIDING AND PARAGLIDING ASSOCIATION INC.


2009

$15.00

CALENDARSON SALE NOW!

www.USHPA.aero/store

NEW DESIGN!

EPIC IMAGES!

– a minimal level of control authority

resulting from the inevitable compro-

mise between wing loading and con-

trollability. Such aircraft must be flown

with great caution. The modern hang

glider can land in a remarkably small

area. But the limited control author-

ity available to the pilot multiplies the

danger when flying in close proximity

to fixed objects and under conditions

of rapid changes to the prevailing

wind. The very low speed range (from

stall to Vne) dramatically increases the

danger imposed by even moderate

amounts of rotor, wind shear, or other

rapid changes in wind direction and

velocity.

Virtually all hang glider operations

are solo in nature. Once airborne, there

is no one available to ‘take-the-stick’

if things get out of hand. The only

person who can get you safely on the

ground is you yourself. The premium

this puts on flying skill, physical, and

mental abilities is supreme. Modern

hang glider pilots must employ judg-

ment to ensure that they do not end

up in a position they are incapable of

safely extricating themselves from.

This of course involves evaluating con-

ditions compared with their current

skill and proficiency level. With the in-

evitable ageing of our pilot population,

medical issues can be expected to

increase in relevance. Reaction time,

flexibility, and resilience (among other

things) all decline with age. We are not

as strong, and we don’t bounce nearly

as well as we once did.

No FAA Medical is required to fly

ultralights; each of us essentially self-

certify our medical fitness to fly. The

typical hang glider pilot is flying single-

place aircraft requiring a significant

amount of strength and endurance

to properly control under the type of

conditions often considered ‘premium’

for soaring. Great care must be taken

that we make a reasonable and respon-

sible evaluation of our physical and

mental fitness to fly before we commit

aviation. Any condition or event that

could compromise our ability to con-

trol the glider in-flight is potentially life

threatening. There is no one available

to help once airborne. If a solo-pilot

finds him or herself too impaired to

safely navigate and land their glider,

their only chance for survival would

lie in throwing their chute (if capable)

and hoping for the best.

“Ensure that you are physically qualified

and mentally prepared to engage

in a prolonged physically

and mentally demanding activity before each flight.”

http://www.ushpa.aero/store


Editor's Note : This article was originally published in the Feb ’83 issue of Hang Gliding .

lAkE ElSINORE, CA This is the story of a hang glider pilot’s somewhat ill-fated at-tempt at a loop. The story begins at two thousand feet above launch over Lake Elsinore, CA. The author, a visiting pilot, is diligently working to tag along in the thermals with a local pilot named Ron Young. Ron is an advanced pilot, current aerobatic champion and is flying a Comet Owens Valley Racer (modified for higher speeds and lower drag).

Ron left the thermal at 5,000 feet MSL and headed straight out from the ridge. I tagged along to see what he was up to. After a couple of minutes I turned back thinking he was just heading out to land. Glancing over my shoulder I saw Ron’s Comet diving, pulling up, and going over the top in a nice loop. The pitch rate slowed coming down the backside as he gained speed and executed another. I counted

seven consecutive loops and aside from oc-casional small heading and roll variations they looked quite good. I did a couple of past vertical wingovers, leveled out, and ran into a nice liftee. Thermalling back up, I forgot about aerobatics for a while.

After an hour of airtime I headed out over the landing area. I started with win-govers and progressed to wangs and pitch backs. A pitch back is started like a loop but as the nose pitches up a roll is initi-ated to change the plane of motion from the pure vertical to the oblique - a maneu-ver needing less energy than a true loop. These were my most aggressive maneuvers to date and I was experimenting with dif-ferent techniques and trying to define the boundaries of the envelope. On a couple I kept excess speed over the top, allowing my G loading to decay to near zero. I’d feel the sail start to float and I’d push out to keep the positive loading as I carved on around to complete the maneuver.

A sudden “go for it” flashed in my mind and I tucked in the bar and pulled my legs

forward to achieve maximum speed for a loop. Once the acceleration stopped I al-lowed the bar to go forward and the nose started its rapid rotation up. I felt rushed and I immediately aborted the maneuver by pulling in which resulted in a quick climb and level off. One word of caution here: do not abort once committed or the steep climb will turn into a zero airspeed departure whipstall with a good chance of tail slide and subsequent inversion.

I did a couple of wingovers to gain speed and collect my wits. At max speed I started another loop. The ground turned to blue sky as the glider went up and over. It was rapidly getting quiet and at the ¾ point, where the nose was just starting to drop below the horizon, my airspeed and G loading dwindled to near nothing. I felt that I couldn’t pull in to gain airspeed because the pitch rate would stagnate and I’d stay inverted, nor could I push out any more to force the nose around because I’d stall and the pitch rate would stagnate anyway. I knew I was in for a ride but since the glider’s nose was already point-ing a little below the horizon I thought the imminent negative angle of attack wouldn’t present too much of a problem as the Comet’s reflex and fixed tips would take over and keep the nose rotating on through. It didn’t happen that way. The onset of negative G’s was quick and severe. My hands were ripped off the bar and I was thrown back and aft, crashing into the keel and the first couple of left battens.

When I looked up the glider was upside down in a slow flat spin. The rate of descent seemed slow and it was eerily quiet. My vario was fixed to the control bar facing forward so I was unable to check the verti-

HangInTHERETechnique | Safety | Training | Flights

by Mark “Forger” Stucky


cal speed. I decided against throwing my reserve because I still felt I had other op-tions.

I had to try to right the glider and I fig-ured the easiest way was to get off the top (bottom) of the Comet so I simply pushed myself off the rear of the sail. Relative to the earth, the Comet pitched nose up, stopped, and tail slid inverted.

The next approximately seven to ten seconds were filled with lightning-fast glimpses of sky, ground, and sail. I really have no idea if the glider was tumbling, cart wheeling or whatever, but the extreme aft CG was well outside of the stability en-velope and the resulting gyrations were ex-tremely violent as the multiple bruises on my arms and back later attested to. I was thinking that I needed to get to the control bar and by pulling myself hand-over-hand along a flying wire I was able to grasp it. The glider was now right side up but some-thing was restricting my body movement so that I was unable to move forward and to the right. This had me doing mild stalls and dives in an oscillating left hand 15- 45° banked turn. My harness felt as if it was caught on something above, behind, and to the left of me. I immediately climbed into the control bar. Standing inside it I had more control but was unable to stop a gentle left turn and was mushing about on the verge of stall. I decided there wasn’t enough of a margin for a safe landing so I glanced over my shoulder to see what the problem was with my harness. My suspen-sion lines were wrapped twice around the left aft flying wire in a clockwise direc-tion when viewed from behind. That was somewhat surprising, I could see how the initial inversion had put me on the wrong

side of the wires but to be wrapped twice really showed the violence of the inversion, tail slide, and post-stall gyrations.

At around 2,000’ AGL I again consid-ered chucking my laundry. First, though, I attempted to unlock my carabiner so I could unwrap my harness lines and then hook myself back in. But the lines were so tight that I was unable to unhook from the suspension straps. I relocked the cara-biner in case I would still have a use for the chute.

Time was getting short so I tried the last option I could think of aside from making a “silk approach.” I stepped to the far left side of the bar and as the glider again stalled and started a dive and steep left turn, I jumped left over the aft flying wire, grabbing the wire as I swung around it. By now the glider was undergo-

ing moderate G very high banked turns. I was facing the rear of the Comet holding my body tight against the left aft wire as I swung my legs over the top of it. I crawled over the wire, spun myself around, and pulled myself to the control bar in time to level the wings, lower the nose, and pre-vent another aggravated stall. That was it. I was now flying straight and level around 1,000’ AGL with a flying glider and an un-tangled harness. I climbed back onto the control bar, fastened my knee hangers that had been ripped off, and went prone as I headed back towards the LZ.

The landing was fast but uneventful. Carrying the glider clear I looked at the other pilots who were walking around nonchalantly. I couldn’t believe it but those few exciting minutes had been un-observed. I called Ron over and informed him what had happened. Examination of the glider revealed to him that I had indeed gone upside down. All the battens were bent to some degree but the inner three left side battens had taken the brunt of the punishment. The fiberglass por-tions were broken on the first two battens and the third all-aluminum batten had more reflex than camber. No doubt this was caused by the initial impact with my body. A rudimentary walk around showed no damage to the sail, spars, or wires but a later teardown inspection revealed elon-gated boltholes in the leading edges and bent washout strut anchors.

Like most aviation incidents and acci-dents there were many small factors that made up what falls into the ambiguous category called pilot error. Firstly, in the few days preceding my flight I had been asked questions by some of my fellow

“My hands were ripped off the bar and I was thrown back

and aft, crash-ing into the keel and the

first couple of left battens.”


squadron pilots about the capabilities of a hang glider. I told them that some had even done loops. When asked if I had ever done a loop I said no. Inside I wished I could have said yes. Then during my flight I saw Ron perform his loops. I hate to admit it, but seeing Ron’s success, albeit with a modified glider, had an effect on me. Lastly, I had just descended below the magic altitude of 3,000’ AGL that I had mentally set as a minimum for attempting a loop. This rushed me into the maneu-ver when what I should have done was to incrementally increase the vertical plane of my pitch backs in order to discover my pilot/glider limitations.

I’m sure a number of people will dis-agree with my decision to not immediately deploy my reserve. I felt that although I was in an emergency situation I still had sufficient altitude to attempt a recovery. Even though I was getting banged around pretty good I didn’t feel I’d have any prob-lems deploying the chute if the situation deteriorated further. This was a gamble I chose to make and it worked out OK in this instance.

The purpose of this article is not to dis-

suade or persuade, it is to inform. There are a significant number of pilots now contemplating loops. If you are one of these people you owe it to yourself to learn as much as you can on the subject. Remember that flex wing hang gliders controlled by pilot weight shift with flexi-ble harnesses pose special problems. In the

coming months more pilots will attempt loops. They are possible on some stock gliders but the margin of safety is very small. Some may succeed one time but fail the next. Think about it before hand so you won’t be too surprised if you find yourself upside down and out of airspeed and ideas. Smooth light winds are a must, not just because it’s structurally safer but because drifting downwind into moun-tainous terrain underneath a parachute is an emergency in itself. Let us all hope that the loop does not become as much a hazard to safety as the 360º turn did in the early seventies.

Author’s Update – There are still no hang gliders certified for aerobatic flight, however, modern topless gliders enjoy higher maximum speeds and better energy retention so overhead maneuvers are more easily accomplished. Doing so, however, requires speeds in excess of maneuvering speed, meaning an excessive g-load or turbulence can result in structural failure prior to stall. For anyone attempting aero-batics on a hang glider, structural break-ups, tucks, and tumbles remain a very real possibility.

“For anyone attempting

aerobatics on a hang glider,

structural breakups, tucks,

and tumbles remain a very real possibility.”

Ph

oto

by I

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Th

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filo

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The competition this year in Big Spring, Texas, provided a variety of airtime and plenty of good times

with like-minded souls. Some said condi-tions were windier than in other years, and we only completed a triangle course once; that was a treat because we didn’t have to break down and set up again for the next day. To mix-it-up, they called the longest task ever completed in HG competition, 214 miles. James Stinnett reached goal, and I came in second, at 180 miles, land-ing before the 10-mile-wide Palo Duro Canyon. It was then that we realized how close we were to David Glover’s declared world record of 221 miles. With that in mind, Robin Hamilton appeared on the last day of the meet with a Swift, hoping to break the 186.4 mile-triangle (300km) speed record. And he did!

On that morning, the wind looked the same as on our previous high mileage days, but the sky brightened and was peppered with clouds by 10:30. It happened fast; it was as if a thermal switch had suddenly lit up the entire sky. At that moment, I said to myself: “Why not try for it?” I ditched the morning spot-landing contest in order to find a map from someone and get a sectional to see if a suitable route existed. Since I had failed the H4 test the week before because of sectional-type questions, I felt this could be a learning experience.

And since my truck and Jim Yocom were headed back to Colorado the next day, this day with S to SW wind just seemed too good to pass up. I would be able to stash my glider where I landed until Jim came north the following day. The airport in Pampa, Texas (PPA), which was 236 miles-out according to my GPS, would make a good goal. I needed a USHPA member to sign a statement with my intention to go to PPA, and David Glover was happy to oblige. He offered me all kinds of valu-able advice. David, a gem to hang gliding, has been the pillar of laughter at the Santa Cruz flats and the Big Spring meets.

Kim, the tug pilot, let me off in beau-tiful lift which I rode straight to cloud base at 8500 feet, and I was on my way. Two hundred thirty-seven miles to go said the Flytec 6030! For the first 150 miles, I bounced from cloud-base to cloud-base, with the exception of one 1000ft save that I can’t remember. Cloud flying is so cool. I radioed the rest of the guys who were flying the day’s 60+ mile zigzag task and exchanged updates. (It’s wild that one guy on task, who was at least 120 miles away from me, could hear me when I was 150 miles out.) Cloud-base continued to rise from 8500 feet to 10500 feet as the day wore on.

Then hard times came. When I was 179 miles from Big Spring, I got SOOO low I

was on final with harness opened, coming down to land. The LZ seemed like a distant cousin of Egypt, located in hilly terrain in the suburbs of the boonies with no road for miles. I suddenly realized I’d be walk-ing a LONG distance to get to a road. (My only thought was that Jim was going to kill me for this retrieve.) I’m comfortable scratching low, but this time I was forced to stop trying to get up and get my legs out and focus on a safe touchdown. I had just enough room to turn back into the wind and penetrate closer to what looked like a shack ahead. When I was on final, I went through a well-behaved evening dust-devil that presented a chance to try one circle, the climb was going up at least 400fpm all the way around so I took it and got back to cooler air and happier thoughts. That was my most desperate save. Fortunately, the lift didn’t stop till cloud-base at 10,600 feet. Here’s the area on Google Earth (The light brown is a river bed, NOT a road!):

Back in the game with 50+ miles to go, I held on to every piece of lift. The clouds/thermals were now far apart, and the wind was perhaps 60 degrees crossing/tail. That was the last time I got to cloud-base. There were a few wispies here and there, so I tried to move downwind/upwind of anything that looked like lift. (Campbell Bowen had drilled into me the importance of lift lines, and it was paying off.) I crossed the eastern

by BJHERRING

Epic ConditionsPrompt World Record Attempt


section of the Palo Duro Canyon that had stopped me on the 180-mile flight earlier in the week. This time I wasn’t at 5500msl; I was cruising over at 8000-9000 feet. Since I wanted to push upwind a bit, I headed West/NW over the far side of the canyon that was soaking up late day sun and went directly into the SW wind, hoping for glass-off air. I worked zero-sink for several miles. When I encountered more wispies,

I turned back on-course under them. Unfortunately, up ahead a large area of

high clouds cast shadows on the ground. It was getting late in the day, and lift was more difficult to find. I maxed out the last climb for 20 minutes before going under the shade, even though its lift was broken and only got me to 8700 feet. The 6030 said I would get to goal with -1000ft (not good). I had 32 miles to go in the shade.

I was still determined, but had started to admit that I might have to be satisfied with a personal best instead of a world record. The overhead clouds were solid, and there were no cumulus clouds or wispies ahead. So, I floated downwind on a wing and a prayer, trying to be happy about being able to join the 200-mile club. On glide, I racked my brain for ideas about how to in-crease my L/D and efficiency. I tried tuck-ing one arm back. That kind of worked, but I was zig-zagging too much. I tried taking flaps all the way off and pushing the bar out to go 32 mph (best glide speed), and attempted getting low and gliding for 17.5 miles(burning 3700 feet). Without a bump of lift, I had worked the -1000 to -800 feet at goal. I only had 2000 feet left to try to cover 15 miles, but the trend wasn’t going to get me there.

Finally, after burning most of my al-titude by cruising through baby-smooth buoyant air, the 6030 made a beep, barely. I came around in the weakest lifting circle I’ve ever made, but it tried to beep all the way around! Flying very slowly, I made a bazillion circles in it, drifting the right di-rection and when I went back on glide, I had -400 feet at goal! So at least if I didn’t make goal, I’d be closer to the town ahead. During this stressful low flying/scratch-ing, my camelback fell out and dangled around my neck. I jettisoned it as fast as I could because it was a huge air-dam. My climb rate improved instantly. Having gained 350 feet in seven minutes, I con-tinued flying the remaining 12 miles of the journey. Once again, I went back to efficient gliding, pushing-out in anything that seemed extra buoyant. I could see the town of Pampa,Texas, that was just before the airport goal. I groveled to the big Man and made promises that I hope I can keep. I was 1500 feet over the ground and needed to squeak out 11 more miles somehow.

Just before the town, I made a radio transmission for the heck of it, and a HAM guy happened to answer. Then, unbeliev-ably, I came into a 150fpm ripper and stayed with it as if my life depended on it. That baby brought my predicted goal altitude from negative to 3000 feet posi-tive! No more worries, just smooth air to goal and a great feeling of accomplish-ment. I knew I had goal on glide, and I even had some altitude to burn. I relished and enjoyed the super-smooth air. I asked


the HAM guy to call the airport to see if they’d step outside to witness my landing for a world-record attempt. Sure enough, he got them out there. I came over PPA in 50 mph high-banked turns with altitude to burn, to a perfect landing next to their hanger and a Lear jet. I had flown 236 miles in seven hours and seven minutes airtime to a declared goal. And the World Record has been refreshed. (Pending NAA and FAI ratification).

I had to miss both the awards ceremo-

ny that completed the 2008 Big Spring Competition that night, and a chance to protect my third place because I skipped the last day. Consequently, I ended up in fifth place. Travis, the owner of Allegra Aviation, helped me haul my glider into his hanger, offered me water and beer and gave me the keys to the Chrysler New Yorker airport courtesy car–free of charge. I bragged to the Sonic waitress that I had broken a world-record that day, but only got: “That’s nice, that’ll be $7.68,

honey.” So I just cruised the Pampa strip and checked into the Best Western, sore as heck, but happy for the best ending to my second competition that I ever could have imagined.

BJ HerringMorrison, Colorado

http://blog.fourherrings.com (This story, video, and other flying

adventures on my blog)

http://www.skywings.org.uk


It’s overcast. Even the vultures are flapping. The scud darts across the sky, a mere 2000 feet above the ground. Any hang glider pilot with the intelligence

of a goldfish would opt out of flying, much less decide to go cross-country. Nevertheless, the task committee, in their infinite wisdom and optimism, has called a task of 30 miles.

I, in my infinite wisdom and optimism, am hooked into my glider, dressed as if I soon will be strolling through the Antarctic in search of polar bears, instead of groveling around close to the corn and soybeans in 100-degree temperatures.

Sweat is fogging my goggles, and I am already sip-ping from my camelback, but I can’t help grinning when Barb crews for me and George gives me a thumbs up, telling me I can surely make goal. This is where I learned to fly; these are people that I have laughed and cried with, people I consider my family.

Another of my old buddies pulls me into the sky, above the fields that stretch as far as I can see. He drops me in a thermal subdued by a spring rain, where I circle

with my husband. My Litespeed flies quietly, willing to do my bidding, soft in my hands. The currents of air carry tiny spiders. It smells clean. I find myself grin-ning again and think welcome to the 2008 East Coast Championships (ECC).

THE MEET Though conditions were often light, the 43 pilots that gathered for this year’s ECC were reward-ed with five days of safe flying and a good learning ex-perience, in addition to one-heck-of-a good time.

The meet ran smoothly, thanks to many folks. Davis Straub, with his enormous knowledge of the weath-er, provided detailed forecasts as well as served as a member of the task committee. The inimitable David Glover added to the enjoyment with his quick scoring and quick wit. The many volunteers and highly quali-fied tug pilots were big contributors to the ECC’s suc-cess as well.

The ECC has garnered a reputation for low-stress flying and safety because Highland Aerosports is nestled in the rich farmland of Maryland’s Delmarva Peninsula, where the terrain is flat and the landing fields are only slightly smaller than Nebraska. The air is rarely ragged or rough. Furthermore, Highland’s owners and manag-ers, Sunny Venesky and Adam Elchin, are always safety conscious—part of the reason the meet draws such a large sports class (this year, 12 pilots).

As anyone who has competed much knows—no matter how seemingly impossible the task, or how weak the conditions, some pilots will likely make it to goal. The ECC drilled home the point that much can be ac-complished if a pilot is willing to try, assuming his or her skill level is high enough.

While efficient thermaling and gliding are vital to a pilot’s success, it seems to me that the pilot’s brain, at-titude and judgment are even more vital. It is that hunk of grey matter between the ears that determines which cloud to go to and whether to race or play it safe, that sees that wall of blue sky in the distance pressing next

by LaurenTJADEN

ChampionshipsThe 2008 East Coast

A Recipe for Fun

[below] Pilots waiting for the task to begin | Photo by David

Glover [opposite] A pilot prepares to launch | Photo by

Jamie Sheldon


to the clouds, notices where it is going, and knows what conditions will be like on either side of it or against it. This—besides all the crazy fun and camaraderie—is why I compete. Yes, you can learn a lot.

DANGEROUS GAMES Though flying at the EEC was reasonably safe, when two days of the meet were cancelled due to monsoon-like weather, the danger level rocketed. The activities included trekking out to a railway trestle that stretched 30 feet over the Tuckahoe River. Balancing on the spindly rails was gut-wrenching, but soon victims were leaping into the water swirling far below them. Straightforward jumps were deemed unimpressive, so aviators struggled to outdo each other

“Eventually, I skimmed across the muck success-fully, gleefully terrorizing

several frogs.”

[clockwise from above] Jonny Durand wakeboarding the

Highland swamp | photo by Jamie Sheldon. A glider over Highland Aerosports | photo

by David Glover. JD Guilemette dangles over the Tuckahoe

River. Pilots hike back from fun at the Tuckahoe River. Sunny Venesky prepares to launch |

Photo by Jamie Sheldon.


with back-flips and worse (much worse), uncompleted back-flips. Only a few pilots were slightly mangled, and none badly enough that they needed hospitalization.

Jim Rooney’s scooter-towing system found a new duty as a wakeboard-towing system in a monstrous but shallow puddle that the monsoonal rains formed in the camping area. I suffered several head-plants, but was anesthetized enough with Bombay Gin that I kept trying. Eventually, I skimmed across the muck suc-cessfully, gleefully terrorizing several frogs. Although I scrubbed in the shower for half-an-hour that evening, I could still smell the stench of swamp in my hair af-terwards.

Tornado chasing was another pursuit for the bored pilots, as was climbing into commercial dryers at the local laundromat. Thankfully, decent flying weather soon returned, and with it a modicum of safety.

THE RESULTS The open class drew some of the big-gest names in hang gliding. For those of you who have been living on another planet, Jonny Durand is ranked among the best pilots in the world. So how good is he? I swear on my leading edge that I have seen him thermal-

ing at 600 feet a minute while he stood in his control frame filming the landscape, and offering advice to his students on the radio. Saying he’s talented is akin to saying dry ice is cool—a vast understatement.

That makes U.S. pilot Dustin Martin’s accomplish-ment even more remarkable. On several days of the competition that were barely soarable, Dustin glided-off under overcast skies and somehow crawled into goal. Dustin out-flew everyone else so profoundly that those days were severely devalued as a result, netting few points for his enormous accomplishments. Nevertheless, at the end of the week, Dustin stood in first, and Jonny was in the unusual position of having to settle for sec-ond-place honors.

Sunny Venesky, co-owner and manager of Highland, was the third place finisher in the open class. Although an accomplished pilot, Sunny has had limited cross-country and competition experience – but that certain-ly didn’t slow him down. His good showing deservedly had people questioning him about trying for a spot on the U.S. Team. So, what about it, Sunny?

Although it can be used as a transitional vehicle to the open class, the Sports Class at the EEC was a fiercely contested division in its own right, where tal-ented, experienced pilots pitted their skills against one another on similar ships. Popular local pilot Danny Brotto proved he knew his way around a thermal with a consistent performance that left him in first place. Both Brian Boudreau and Rick Brown were hot on Danny’s keel, finishing in second and third place, respectively.

In the rigid wing division, which included five en-trants, local pilot Christian Titone charmed the crowd with his obvious enthusiasm and enormous smile. Christian won two days, but his friendly rival, James Stinnett, made few mistakes and soared past him into first place. Florida pilot Campbell Bowen rounded-out the top three places.

I’ll see you there next year!

[clockwise from upper left] Belinda Bolter and Davis Straub | photo by David Glover. Jamie Sheldon soars over the Delmarva fields | photo by Jonny Durand. Danger! Men flying | photo by Jamie Sheldon


In February of 2003, Brad Sander completed a six day training course in Colorado. He has spent the last four years traversing the globe

with a blinding dedication to adventure free-flying. This year Brad cracked off astonishing flights in the Karakoram Mountains in Pakistan, putting him in an elite group. He not only flew 140 miles in the big mountains, but he also shattered the paragliding world altitude record—25,400 feet! (See April, 2008, Flying in Pakistan.) Katrina Mohr caught up with Brad while he was visiting his family in Colorado, awaiting his visas to return to the land of big climbs and thermaling birds.

How did you get into paragliding? Ever since I was a little kid, I knew I wanted to be in the air. At first, I only knew about hang gliding and parachut-ing. When I started looking into hang gliding, I found out about paragliding. The convenience of carrying a wing on my back made it an easy deci-sion. At a rudimentary six-day course that I took in Colorado, I walked up a hill and flew back down a number of times, but I didn’t experience a thermal until I flew by myself. Shortly after, I bought my own glider and began wandering around, flying at different locations.

So you basically taught yourself? Yes. My story is classic: You learn and then you’re dangerous. During the first three years of flying, I had a flight or two that should’ve ended it for me because of bad decisions I made. In Nepal, during my first season, I found myself in a river valley going backwards with no landing options, experiencing collapses that I didn’t feel coming. I managed to duck out a side valley and land on my second approach, but I’m still flying today because of luck, not skill. Now, even though I’m pushing myself harder, I’m no

longer having experiences like that—times during my flights when things are happening that I don’t understand.

Hold on. Right after learning the basics you went to Nepal to paraglide? What brought you there? To me the world is a big, white map. I had no knowl-edge of the area, but I knew there were mountains, and that’s where I learned to thermal. Since then, there have been some political problems which seem to have been resolved. (I contacted Adam Hill at Frontiers Paragliding, http://www.nepal-paragliding.com, and he encouraged me to come. He assured me that Nepal is safe for Americans, despite the U.S. Embassy warning). Later I went to India, which has more intermediate flying, and after several trips to Nepal and India to gain experience, I went to Pakistan—the wild frontier.

You wrote in your blog that Pakistan is the best place in the world to fly. Can you explain why? I love flying big mountains, and nowhere else compares. Unlike South America, Pakistan has very little valley wind for the size of the mountains because of the glaciers. The flying is big and crazy, but overall there are fewer complicated condi-tions and more flyable days in a season. Basically, Pakistan has big mountains and a high cloud base as well as a rich culture and history and the friendliest people. Even though they are impoverished, the Pakistanis offered me gracious hospitality

by KatrinaMOHR

Brad SanderTalks

[opposite] Reflective at the end of the record flight June 22nd 2008. [below] Brad and Melissa landing in Hunza cemetary.


and food wherever and whenever I landed. Where else does that happen? Contrary to what some might think, the people here are not terrorists. I’ve had such rewarding experiences, and I want to correct the misconceptions. I emailed all my paragliding friends and begged them to come fly with me, but the only person who came was my father.

You seem to fly with your family a lot. How does shar-ing that add to your experi-ences? Dad and my sister have both come to Pakistan and flown with me. When I first told my family about my pas-sion, they often humored me by saying, “That’s nice.” Until my dad flew with me and saw glaciers at altitude, he couldn’t understand the attraction of paragliding. We all know that words and pictures can’t cap-ture it. Paragliding is usually so individual, but tandems give two people the same experience. It has allowed our relationships

to develop and deepen.

What was your world altitude record flight like? Was it planned or did it just come together? The events that conspired were unique. My sister had just left Booni; no other pilots were around, and I was paying $30 just to get to launch. I called my friends, John Silvester and Eddie Colfox, and asked them to meet me, but they couldn’t.I’d gotten the confidence to leave the local area, and the idea to head east to meet up with them in Hunza occurred to me. Three hours into the flight, I had one low save, but as the day improved and there was no threat of overdevelopment, I thought it might be possible to arrive at my goal in a day. I had driven there before and made note of the wind and landing spots, so I knew what I was going to encounter. In the process of trying to go from point A to B, I broke the previous record, setting it at 7752 meters. After more than nine hours of flying, I landed in a cemetery in Hunza. While still in my harness, I called my sister, and then I grabbed my wing and went down to the hotel to share the experience with John and Eddie. No retrieve, a hot shower, dinner with friends—it was incredible. Other people will talk about the new record, but it was my own experi-

[above] Get to know your enemy. Chitral district near

the Afghan border [opposite] In flight photo opp. [below]

Guiding in the big mountains, Colin Hawke my first client pioneering a new site and

going XC. Ozone Buzz Z glider.


ence. Trying to recapture it seems almost sacrile-gious,

What about cross-country flying appeals to you? I use many different skills, such as reading my wing, the weather and the terrain, and then I make estima-tions and judgments based on what I encounter. It’s an engaging process. It’s also incredible to cover ter-

rain and climb up a mountain by using the air. It’s a dream, really.

Can you explain more about parahawking and why it’s im-portant to you? How do the birds enhance your flights? In the Asian countries of Nepal, Indian and Pakistan, you’re always flying with wild birds—something that is not common in North America. By flying with them, you learn a lot about locating thermals and how they operate.The parahawking birds have different personalities; it’s been

incredible to learn about them. For example, Kevin is a young Egyptian Vulture. Watching him interact with wild Steppe Eagles has made me pay attention to how the birds behave during different seasons. For example, during mating season, the wild eagles get aggressive and territorial. At first, Kevin flew around, trying to interact with the other birds, but they at-tacked him, and he didn’t understand. However, he quickly learned. One time we tried to call Kevin in, but he kept thermaling up as a Steppe Eagle climbed up after him. Kevin out-climbed the other bird, and once he was safe, he tucked in his wings and dived back down to us. It was incredible to watch. Check out http://www.parahawking.com/index.php for more information.

Where do the birds come from? Scott Mason, the pioneer of parahawking, has always rehabilitated birds on the side. Last year about 12-14 birds were brought in and released. Any bird fit to be released will be, but the infants can’t go back into the wild because they no longer see humans as dangerous. Those are the parahawking birds that Scott keeps and trains.

You’re trying to raise awareness about diminish-

[above] Brad Sander landing in Hunza | photo by John

Silvester. [below] Mountains of Pakistan.


ing vulture populations in Asia. Why is this a big problem? Vultures clean up carcasses. A vulture eats about a kilo of rotting flesh each day. In recent years, an anti-inflammatory, diclofenac, given to livestock in Asia has caused kidney failure in vul-tures that eat the carcasses. There used to be millions of vultures, but now they number in the thousands. Consequently, many carcasses are now rotting away and urban areas have seen an infestation of dogs and rats that are becoming aggressive and spreading disease.Some steps are being taken to protect the vultures. In one area locals have been informed about alterna-tives to diclofenac and created a vulture-safe area where uncontaminated carcasses are placed. Good results have come from this. At one site where there were 14 active nests last year, there are 28 this year. It’s a problem with a solution, but without an effort from people interested in birds, vultures will become extinct. Check out http://www.vulturerescue.org for more information as to how you can help.

Where do you see yourself in a few years? I don’t ask myself that question. I don’t have a five-year plan; I’ve never had one and things seem to be working out. The future is an Illusion for which

many people sacrifice the present. If I wake up to-morrow and my heart is not into flying, I’m out. I do what is right for me at the time. Right now there is no question of where I’m supposed to be or what I’m doing. I’m flying in Pakistan in the summer, flying with birds in Nepal in the winter, and trying ton convince people that Pakistan is not what is seen on television. I’m also trying to prevent the imminent extinction of Asian vultures. That’s my passion. However, I don’t want it to be something that I define myself by and then can’t walk away from. I’m not flying for anyone but myself. There are plenty of routes I want to do in Pakistan,and the more knowledge and skills I get, the more I can do. I’ve only started. Once other pilots go to these countries, they’re going to put up some incredible routes. It’s my golden hour in Pakistan, but only because I nailed the timing and I’m one of the few who are there.

[above] Brad and Melissa Sander (Brad's sister) 20,000ft in the Hindukush. [below] Locals.


Holiday

ReviewsGEAR

One would think that with all the design work that goes into creating a paraglider, every

company would have an amazing backpack. However, only a few com-panies have consistently given their at-tention to the aircraft’s carrying device. Advance tops that list. Their bags have been superior for years, providing a pack that both effectively carries its load and fully accommodates the ever-increasing gear that a pilot must fit into the bag.

The newest offering from Advance is called the EASYPACK 2. Its trapezoid design allows for good packing and easy closing, even for bulky harnesses. The new shape gives the EASYPACK 2 the volume where it’s needed, namely in the small of the back, where the main support strap is the largest. A purpose-specific internal strap aids in back-protector compression, thus assisting air-foam volume reduction. An ergonomically designed waist-belt (that can be removed to avoid any bag-gage carrousel from detaching it with-out authorization) disperses the load

like a hiking pack. Around the neck area, the rolled-fabric eliminates a seam that could cause an ir-ritation. The shoulder straps are plush com-pared to other bags on the market and do a good job of reducing the lack of circulation on longer walks to launch. The “Identity” window on top can only be accessed from inside, which means that your name card will not accidentally fall out, and the bag has a small pocket for a phone, wallet, and/or keys.

All in all, the EASYPACK 2 is a great, well-designed carrying bag. It comes in three sizes, catering to everyone, from mini-malist hike-and-fly folks to pod- car-rying XC pilots.

AdvanceEASYPACK2

It’s the holiday season once again, and the staff at the United States Hang Gliding & Paragliding Magazine have been busy scouring the scene for items that may pique your interest. We’ve

compiled a Gear Review, from staff contributors, of a few items that may help you get through the long winter with a little retail therapy. If you have a product you would like reviewed for the next Holiday Gear Review please get in touch with us. Happy holidays and we hope these reviews are helpful for your shopping lists!


There are many different types of soar-ing pilots, and a different class of flight instrument that’s appropriate

for each. Ascent Products, of LaVerne, California,

has developed an instrument that seems to solve this problem. It combines the small size of a beeper vario with a just-big-enough LCD display that shows the altitude, aver-age climb rate, temperature, and time.

The Ascent Vario is essentially a basic variometer that is small enough to wear like a watch, and operates with the kind of menu-driven system you would expect to see in the age of the iPod. Here are some of the features:

Temperature corrected, user calibrated altitude. You can toggle between absolute and relative altitude in flight.

Audio rate-of-climb indicator, with cus-tomizable tone and five volume settings.

Average rate-of-climb display. You can set the average to any interval between one and 64 seconds.

Adjustable sink alarm.A “suppressor” that can keep the audio

off until you have left the ground. Some people like their vario to make noise while they’re waiting to launch, and some don’t.

An internal log book that can store basic data for up to 200 flights and load it into your computer.

The accessories that come with the vario

are as minimalist as its design. A single cable and two small adapters enable you to recharge it from a wall outlet, a car’s ciga-rette lighter, or your computer’s USB port. The lithium polymer battery is supposed to work for up to ten hours of flight time, so as long as you can get near a computer, a car, or a wall once every few days, the Ascent should be able to keep beeping on a road trip of any length.

I took the Ascent for several test flights during this review, some on a paraglider and some on a hang glider. The ergonom-ics worked fine on both wings, though while hang gliding, I did have to get used to reading the display sideways. The audio tone and response was similar to most other varios I have used, so it was easy to get used to sniffing out the weak lift. The real advantage of the Ascent vario, I found, is simply in having the basic functions that I want (altimeter, averager, audio, logbook) in a package so light and unobtrusive, it almost isn’t there.

Touch the upper left button and you’ll see the current time and your flight dura-tion for about five seconds. The upper right button will reveal your maximum height and best rate of climb, the lower right one brings up your altitude relative to launch and the temperature, and the lower left one can change the beep volume. A glance at the altimeter and averager every 30 sec-

onds or so gives plenty of information, and doesn’t distract you in your search for the next thermal.

The Ascent Products website offers a handy software application. The Ascent Control program lets you view your log-book data onscreen and fine tune the vario settings. A recent firmware upgrade now allows users to record and download the entire flight track in user selectable incre-ments. The Ascent Control software cur-rently works only with a PC, not a Mac. I would expect this to be corrected soon.

The buttons have a sort of loose feel to them. I am not a button expert, however; they might last forever.

The Velcro wrist strap works fine now, but Velcro wears out and wrist straps get stinky. A slight redesign could make the strap easy to replace and thus improve comfort and security years down the road.

As the years go by, I seem to lean more toward simplicity in my flying than toward high levels of functionality. The Ascent Vario strikes an excellent compromise, eliminating the need to mount an instru-ment while retaining the most important (in my view) functions of a vario. As soon as I can buy a tiny GPS to wear on my other wrist, life will be complete.

For more information, check out the Ascent Products website: http://www.as-centvario.com/

AscentVARIO


The Cloud Street Design Winch is remarkable for a number of reasons. Primarily, it was designed and manufactured to very exacting

aerospace tolerances. It’s an industrial grade, pro-fessional level workhorse capable of continuous operation at the highest levels without the need for heavy maintenance.

The Cloud Street is characterized by normal and consistent hydraulic payout winch behavior, highlighted by a rewind mechanism that is faster than anything available worldwide. And, finally, the Cloud Street is lighter and more portable than the competition. It weighs just over two hundred pounds and is designed to go in the receiver hitch of any vehicle. All these attributes, combined with a guarantee and a centrally located manu-facturing, distribution and training center, make the Cloud Street an amazing new option for those interested in increasing airtime through mechani-cal means.

Justin Brim, the engineer behind the project, expands on the development of the Cloud Street winch. “The design philosophy of the Cloud Street winch is simple. We made a robust, reliable, easy-to-use and operate, hydraulic payout winch that fits in a trailer hitch. Taking already proven technology of hydraulically operated tow systems and simplifying it as much as possible has proven to be a winning combination.

As with any design, the process of developing a solid product is usually a blend of both theo-retical mumbo-jumbo and physically testing the product before its release. Since this winch was completely designed using 3D CAD software, I was able to go through several design iterations before any actual fabrication took place. This allowed me to look at different frame variations, perform a stress analysis of each, and pick from the best solution for frame geometry and material thicknesses. Finite Element Analysis was used to ensure that the hand calculations agreed with the computer solution for stress values on the frame while under tow loads. The resulting frame for this winch is the lightest possible configuration that could be achieved yet still provide adequate, but not excessive, strength.”

This portable, professional, and light winch is a “must have” for the tow-minded individual or club as it can easily be transferred from vehicle to vehicle.

CloudStreetWINCH


A new comer and not, Michigan Suits has been making jumpsuits for skydivers for 25 years, and

has a full line of jumpsuits still in produc-tion. Their current clientele includes World Class competitors as well as many military groups. They have made suits highlighted in many TV commercials as well as the 1988 Olympic opening ceremony. Having a skydiving history of over 34 years, Mike Michigan (or just “Michigan”, company founder and owner) has now found a real passion for Paragliding and sees a place in the Flight suit and Jacket market for his expertise.

First, a new flight suit design that steps away from the usual heavy and over insu-lated flight suits that are common to the market and pretty uncomfortable waiting to launch. Michigan has come up with a lightweight suit design that allows the wearer to use the concept that mountain-eers have known about for years; layering.

The front of the suit is made from strong 1.9 oz. Ripstop Nylon with low drag aero-dynamics in mind. In the back, a com-fortable and breathable Supplex seat and legs, along with a Spandex back panel for flexibility and ventilation. It has leg zip-pers that run up past the knee allowing the biggest flight boots to step through, these

zippers are placed in the inseam, out of the wind, to maintain low drag aerodynamics and warmth while flying.

Pockets? It has plenty. There are two stand around pockets at the hips, as well as two inside chest pockets that have been sewn in a way to let you have a place to tuck your radio or phone without having to dig around. The collar is angled high in the back so it fits all the way up to the top of your neck, even when you are laid out flat. This cut contours along the edge of most flight helmets and keeps the back of the neck warm and protected from the elements.

Other features include Cordura re-inforced knees and, a new addition, COOLMAX lining for comfort.

With the increased use of pods in both paragliding and hang gliding, Michigan Suits has come up with a new racing jacket design. From the waist up, the jacket has all the same features as the full suit, with the addition of a few well-planned extras.

Most jackets and suits worn at launch have arms that are sewn in the hanging-down-at-your-sides position, which is great when you’re ground-bound and stand-ing. But on Michigan’s racing jackets and flight suits, the arms are cut in an upward angle and sewn with flying comfort in

mind. When your arms are in a normal flight position, there isn’t any binding at the shoulders that constricts your move-ment during long flights. Also, a strip of Spandex running up the back of the arm from shoulder to wrist allows greater flex-ibility. And the Spandex cuffs are cut extra long to come up over your gloves.

The collar is cut in the same manner as the flight suit; it is angled high in back so it fits all the way to the top of the neck, even when you are prone. This cut also contours along the edge of most flight hel-mets, keeping the back of the neck warm and protected from the elements.

Both the Aerolite suit and racing jacket are custom fit with measurements you supply.

CloudStreetWINCH

MichiganFLIGHTSUITS


So you’ve waited until December, and you still need some-thing for that hang glider or paraglider pilot in the family? There are several items every pilot will appreciate.

The first is Blueye Goggles. Imagine that you’re a pilot. You’ve just had an epic four-hour

flight. You raced your buddies up, down, and all over the sky. You land, break down, and speed home for some shut-eye, right? But what happens when Johnny Law pulls you over, and your eyes are beet-red from withstanding gale-force winds for four hours??? Good luck explaining that one!

But, seriously, your vision is particularly important in sports like hang gliding and paragliding, and the best way to keep your eyes focused on that next thermal-trigger is to get yourself a good pair of glasses or goggles. Flytec USA offers a full line of Blueye glasses/goggles, all of which are made specifically for free flight pilots. They are available in a variety of lens colors and are not polarized. Yes, you read that right—NOT polarized. Polarized glasses tend to block out LCD screens, such as those found on watches and varios. (Photos available from Flytec website, www.flytec.com

If you prefer the over-the-ear sunglass style, check out the Blueye Rodeo, $69.00, available from www.flytec.com. If you want even better wind protection, great for those pilots (like me) who have to wear contact lenses, check out the Blueye Zoo or Caged goggles. Both feature interchangeable lenses in a rubber frame with an elastic band to secure them. The Zoo and Caged are basically the same, except that the Zoo fits better on a smaller face and vice-versa for the Caged. The Zoo and Caged are $79.00, again available from www.flytec.com (or your local Flytec dealer).

Another desirable item is some type of apparel.Pilots are a special breed, and we tend to stick together. We’re

proud that we’re pilots, and most of us want the world to know (or at least other pilots). If you don’t know what to get the pilot who is so dear to you, go for any sort of flying apparel—something that might signal his interest in flying to another pilot. I’ve met pilots in airports, in big cities, even at a car show, simply because they were wearing something that said they were a pilot. To make it really meaningful, find out what brand of glider he flies and check out that manufacturer’s web site. I know Wills Wing has a full line, from boxers right up through coats and flight suits (www.willswing.com, also available from local dealers). Many of the BIG flying sites do their own merchandising. For example, Wallaby Ranch has a full line, as does Kitty Hawk Kites. With a small amount of searching, you could surprise that special pilot in the family with some flying-related apparel!

A third choice might be a glider bag. One great hang gliding specific gift is a Gunnison Glider Bag!

Made by Rusty Whitley in Gunnison, CO, they offer a variety of glider bags. For those cross-country hounds looking to shed some weight, they make a highly praised XC bag. One review I read on hanggliding.org said the bag weighs only 2-3 lbs, and folds up to about the size of a Foster’s can. That means a pilot will be able to replace that saved weight/space with an ACTUAL Foster’s can for

a post-flight victory dance while he waits for his ride. Gotta stay hydrated, right?!

Those who are road-trippers might like an all-weather travel bag. If a pilot wants to make it rain, he plans a flying-related road trip! If he has an all-weather bag, his glider will stay dry while he isn’t flying, so he can set up and go the next clear day, without waiting for it to dry.

In addition to the XC and all-weather bags, simple replace-ment bags are available. Nothing is worse than a glider bag with a blown-out zipper when someone’s 200 miles from civilization with only duct tape to close the bag! If you want to buy a bag, give Rusty a call at (970) 641-9315. Your pilot will thank you!

SpotTRACKER

Ryan'sWISHLIST

An exciting new communication capability is now available for pilots. It’s called SPOT (Satellite Personal Tracker), and what makes this product unique is that it uses satellites, so its coverage area includes most of the world (see the coverage map on their website; www.findmespot.com).

SPOT can call for help, even if you’re in a remote area hundreds of miles from the nearest cell phone tower. And because it uses GPS to locate and track your position, they’ll know exactly where you are.

Unlike satellite phones, the price is right. The SPOT unit costs around $150, and basic service is only $99 / year.

One nice feature is that it can send a check-in message to your family and friends. This means that it can also be used for casual communications. It’s designed to work with Google Maps, so the message that your friends receive as an email includes a hyperlink that instantly displays your position on a map or aerial view. The email also includes a text message that you can customize from a website.

SPOT only has four buttons, so it’s easy to use. Before a flight, you set up a list of email addresses or

cell-phone text numbers that you want to receive your “check-in” button messages. You then set up another list of contacts that you want to receive a “help” message; most likely this would be your ground crew, if you’re fortunate enough to have one. A separate “911” emergency button is used to contact local emergency per-sonnel, so no set-up is neces-sary for that button.

By holding the check-in button for several seconds, the

by Ryan Voight

by David Guidos


unit enters a special SPOTcasting mode that automatically sends your position every 10 minutes to the check-in contact list. This service is an option that costs $49 / year for unlimited use. Imagine the bragging rights you’ll have later when fellow pilots tracking your progress at home watch you break the state cross-country

distance record AS YOU’RE DOING IT! When you open the box, a message on the flap says “Welcome.

Opening this box is the first step to making sure that you don’t come home in one.” I wouldn’t think of flying a cross-country by myself without one of these.

http://www.ascentvario.com


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by ChristinaAMMON

MEXICO

“I feel like I’m sending 13 year-olds off to college.”

Those were the words of Kevin Lee before Allison Trafton and I departed for a month-long trip to Yelapa, Mexico,

with newly issued P-2 cards and crisp Ozone wings. Kevin Lee had been our paragliding instructor at Woodrat Mountain in south-ern Oregon, and we clung to his every word. He had the curious ability to instruct like a Jedi sky-master while remaining as down-to-earth as a farmer. Like devotees who are certain they’ve found the One True Path, we assumed the annoying habit of constantly quoting him. It was always: “Kevin Lee says this, Kevin Lee says that.”

So we had to concede that he had a point: a paragliding trip to Mexico was a little pre-mature for fledgling pilots. Except for a few Bic pen doodles of puffy cumulus clouds, my flight log was nearly blank. Allison didn’t even have a log book. But it’s not as

if we were heading to Valle to get tossed in monolithic thermals. Yelapa’s flying sites are comparatively serene; there, we would be swaddled in the thick, smooth air of the coast. Like geese compelled to fly south in the winter, we thought flying in Mexico was a mandate and nothing could sway us. Not the local allure of wintertime powder stashes, or the hesitations of guru Kevin Lee.

We were leaving the nest.From the tourist-choked hub of Puerto

Vallarta, the village of Yelapa is a 40-minute water-taxi ride across the Bay of Banderas. En route, you zoom over the San Andreas Fault before jetting southwards, passing sev-eral Gilligan-style settlements along the way. Ocean fauna are plentiful: Pelicans plane keenly over the water and the slick backs of dolphins glimmer in the sun. Whale sight-ings, though routine, are never taken for granted. At the merest glimpse of a fluke, the boat captain cuts the engine to wait for another appearance. Sometimes, during that drifting silence, the sleek, flat body of a manta ray—as mysterious and black as the

ocean itself—surfaces. Driving to Yelapa is possible, but seldom

attempted. The narrow, rutted road that cuts through the thick jungle of the Sierra Madres Mountains is difficult to navigate, and, after arriving in the village, cars are of no use. On Yelapa’s rambling labyrinth of walkways, flip-flops are the main mode of transport. Supplies boated in from Puerto Vallarta are distributed the old-fashioned way: horses trudge through town saddled with all manner of merchandise, from cin-derblocks and rebar to carrots and cabbages.

It’s an unexpectedly rustic place. Electricity, introduced just eight years ago, sizzles and pops through low-slung wires. There are no ATMs and credit cards are use-less. There is little to buy. Yelapa is a dismal destination for shoppers looking to cart home piñatas and strings of pooka shells, though there is a small selection of beauti-ful bead work from the traditional Huichol Indians.

As a paragliding destination, Yelapa is a reliable workhorse. It’s nothing epic; you

YelapaOut of the Nest :


won’t see pilots pulling infinity tumbles from 10,000 feet. But with its combination of ridge-lift and thermals, you can count on a Sunday cruise almost every day. When you do sink out, all is not lost. The landing zone is a beachside bar called Juanitos. There, your fellow pilots run over to you with a cold Pacifico before your feet even touch the ground.

The first morning in Yelapa I woke to bright sun and salt air. The house we were renting had few walls and was only partially roofed with thatched palm fronds. Known as a “palapa,” its traditional open-air archi-tecture brought nature indoors. Coconut palms towered over the dining room and fallen passion fruits dotted the floors. Frogs squatted in the shower and moonlight flood-ed our rooms.

Despite my peaceful surroundings, I lay in bed feeling nervous about flying. Though I had successfully learned to launch and land at Woodrat Mountain, I wondered if my skills would translate to these very different conditions. Instead of the sprawling 20-acre cow pasture I was accustomed to, the land-ing zone here was a small beach pounded by threatening surf. Also, I was used to flying on radio. Would I know what to do without the voice of Kevin Lee in my ear? Could I trust my own voice?

“Coffee’s ready!”Our friend Scott banged around the

kitchen preparing Nescafe and toast. A fellow pilot and professional photographer from our home site, Woodrat, he joined us for the first week of our trip. We agreed to waive his rent as long as he made coffee, took pictures, and coached us on flying. We play-fully called him “palapa boy” and feigned being pilot princesses with outlandish de-mands. His indomitable ego could not be indentured, however: Scott had many great flights and returned to Woodrat feeling more like Casanova than manservant.

After leisurely rounds of coffee, toast, and passion fruit, we psyched ourselves up for the first flight of the trip.

At 600 feet, Tapita (meaning “little top”) is the lower of two launches in Yelapa. Covered in astro-turf and flanked by menacing thorn bushes, it’s located up a narrow drainage referred to by locals as “shit creek.” After a

[left] Frigate birds fill the air in Yelapa. [right] Chris and Allison lounge on Tierra firma.

[below] Chris Ammon turns to land. Photos by Grant Taylor


sweaty march to the top, we were greeted by two local pilots—Chris and Aldo—who sat observing the conditions. They gave us a sobering rundown. “The meat grinder is over there,” Chris explained, pointing his lit cigarette at a distant ridge. “If you get blown back, aim for the soccer field up the canyon.” Allison and I watched the windsock buck up and down.

Not one to stew, I unpacked my wing and set up. Guru Kevin Lee’s voice was right there with me: Safety check. Wait for a straight cycle. Pull it up straight and steady. Kite for a second. Turn and go. His voice remained as my feet lifted from the ground: run-run-run-run-run! Soon I was looking down on the palm trees that formed a canopy over the jungle. A waterfall rushed below. Frigate birds circled and made eye contact.

Unsure of where to find lift, I went straight to the landing zone, a strip of sand flanked on one side by a lagoon and the ocean on the other. Anticipating the long final glide I was accustomed to at Woodrat and wary of an ocean landing, I set up far back over the lagoon. But instead of flying forward, I was lowered vertically, like a rope unreeled into a murky well. One drunken night a few years back, a friend of mine fell face-first into this same lagoon and came down with a condi-tion called “amoebas-on-the-brain.” Though locals regularly shortcut through its knee-

high waters, I wanted no part of amoebas-on-the-brain. But I splashed in anyway. The wing fell behind me, each cell filling with water and slowly sinking.

I later learned that lagoon landings are almost an initiation rite in Yelapa. Until pilots get used to the “speed bump effect” of

the beach that causes the glider to slow down suddenly, it’s easy to undershoot. Almost no one falls ill and the water isn’t salty, so pilot and wing emerge unscathed. In the end, the main damage is to your ego as tourists sup-press smiles from their beach towels.

While I dredged my wing from the lagoon, Allison launched. On radio, Chris tried to guide her over to some lift but she found herself too low. She kicked a palm tree with her tennis shoe on her way in to land.

Not perfect first flights. But we survived.On the second day I landed on dry

ground. After a perfect launch, Allison headed smartly over to the LZ, set up to land, and then hit the notorious speed bump. Her glider began to slow and, by all calcu-lations, she was lagoon-bound. The sun-bathers perked up from their towels. With our hands full of celebratory Pacificos and limes, Scott and I grinned and rooted her on. But our amusement turned to horror when Allison abruptly initiated a 360-degree turn, aiming herself downwind at a fast clip. With her back now to the landing zone, her land-ing options sharply narrowed into a macabre multiple choice:

a)a pontoon boatb)a palm treec)a barbed wire fence. It is shocking how quickly the carefree

spirit of flying can evaporate in the face of an accident or a near-miss. One moment we are all high-fives and festive smiles, and the next, we are instantly sobered. This was one of those moments.

Allison careened toward the boat. I could see the crash coming, the med evac flight, Kevin Lee’s disappointment.

It. Was. Over.Then she started to pull the toggles up

and down. Though she’d never even seen this maneuver before, I had once described

“Flying, which I’d at first

thought of as a hobby, was now rerouting

my life.”


it to her: it was something I had seen acro-pilot Brad Gunn do in order to land fast. Allison’s glider rumpled and dropped her onto a three-by-three foot stamp of sand in front of the boat. The wing drifted overhead and draped the canopy frame of the pontoon boat like a tablecloth.

Similar to a cat that never stumbles, Allison maintained her characteristic grace even under the specter of disaster. Not one to lose face, her explanation for such a low, radical turn came as no surprise. “I didn’t want to land in the lagoon.”

We all have personality traits that don’t serve us well. Ordinarily just annoying or counterproductive, in paragliding these traits can lead to trouble. It’s as if the deci-sions we make in flying render our personal-ity tangible. For some, it’s a need to show-off that goes bad. For me, it’s a lack of attention to detail. Spacey and philosophical, I risk clipping-in wrong, while admiring the trees on launch. For Allison, it’s a competitive streak. Underneath her calm countenance is something fiercer. This inner strength has favored her in every sport: She wins ski races and can humble the best yoga teachers with her super-hero asanas. But at this early stage of paragliding, she struggles to keep this win-at-all-costs attitude in check, knowing that the consequences of trying to stay up longer, go higher, and not land in the lagoon are too big. This time she pulled it off. But she was shaken.

“Do I have any business flying?” she asked Scott and me.

“Of course,” I said. “But let’s not tell the guru about this.”

With time, Allison and I put these first flights behind us and became more confi-dent, smarter, and relaxed. Flights and flight hours accumulated in our log books and we were evolving as pilots. We started launch-ing from “Tapa,” the upper launch. At 2,300 feet it’s a higher and trickier launch with a short runway. Guru Kevin Lee’s voice began to recede, leaving us to make our own judg-ment calls. We hardly registered his hovering disapproval when we began to fly in shorts and sandals.

We formed our first gaggle, experiencing the bonding that occurs among pilots who share the sky. Together we went on flying trips. In Puerto Vallarta, Miguel, the most adventurous and experienced among us, showed us the way to a launch above the city. Safety conscious, but always willing to

chaperone a measure of trouble, he led us across steep boulder fields and through thick jungle that required bush-whacking while staggering across logs, and, ultimately, to the realization that sometimes the only safe way down is to fly.

Eventually, Allison had to leave to fulfill her obligations at work. I gave away my free-lance assignments so I could stay in Yelapa for another month. I was too smitten with this new life to go home. Flying, which I’d at first thought of as a hobby, was now rerout-ing my life.

Already close, Allison and I forged an even tighter bond during this trip. But it was important for us to part. Similar in tempera-ment and appearance, we were always being mixed-up, or treated as interchangeable. We shared clothes and approached everything through consensus: what to eat, where to go. It was fun. But through flying, we were learning the importance of detangling our-selves in making our own safety decisions. After she left, I was put to the test.

Allison, Scott and I met up again at Woodrat Mountain, once again under the protective wing of Kevin Lee. We traded in our shorts and flip-flops for high-top boots and jeans and readjusted to a landing zone full of cow-pies. Like anyone reuniting with friends, there were stories we shared, and sto-ries we didn’t. We’d found the edge, pushed it, and learned a few lessons.

We continue to fly together and plan to take more trips, enjoying the switch-wind excitement of being single and free, not yet touched down by the landing zones of chil-dren, houses, or nuclear families.

We still review photos and videos from our trip to Yelapa, recalling the irrepressible thrill of all the launches and landings, of soaring the sky. Sometimes I wish to relive it all in real life. If I could, like in a film, I would keep rewinding this episode and play-ing it over—our jumping into the nest and out, saying: “This part is a good part. Let’s do it again.”

Christina Ammon is a pilot and freelance writer from Woodrat Mountain in Ruch, Oregon. Contact her at [email protected] or visit her blog at www.flyinghobogirl.com

[left] packing up after another day of flying | photo by Grant Taylor. [right] Tandem flying in Yelapa | photo by Grant Taylor. [middle] Launching from

the 2,300 foot Tapa launch | photo by Scott Harding. [below] flying in car-free Yelapa requires lots of

hiking with your wing. Photos by Grant Taylor


by STEPHANIECONE

SLOVENIA

Something spectacular for everyone. That’s how I’d sum up our recent two-week trip to Slovenia. A bit of back-

ground: I’m a Seattle-based P2 pilot with 100 post-training flights at 18 different sites over the last two years, since my instruc-tion from Aerial Paragliding. This was my first non-guided-instructor-supported flying trip. My partner, Matt, and I initially chose Slovenia based on the advice of experienced traveling pilots, Matty Senior and Heather St. Clair. Then, we learned about the relative uniqueness of the location, the varied, abun-dant and easily accessible flying sites, the lack of crowds and relaxed and friendly local cul-ture, the natural beauty, and the costs that were lower than Western Europe! Slovenia is about the size of New Jersey with a popu-lation of two million, positioned south of Austria, east of Italy, north of Croatia, and southwest of Hungary. Slovenia’s paraglid-ing association has 1100 members.

Matt and I arrived at Ljubljana Airport on June 27th with gear in-tow, a four-day reservation at the cozy and modern

Apartma Gorjan in the town of Tolmin, notes on the who, what, where, and how from Matty, who had been to Slovenia a year earlier, and not a lick of the local language. We usually prepare for trips abroad with at least the pleasantries, but, alas, we were “too busy” before the trip and most importantly…

drum roll, please!…big- time, positive, go-with-the-flow attitudes of “allowing the ad-venture to unfold as it may.” Without fail, our favorite trips involve little planning to create space for spontaneous adventure. And unfold it did! As we were waiting for our bus to take us to the train that would take us to

SloveniaUnfold as it May :


the taxi that would take us to our apartment in Tolmin, we made a spontaneous decision to rent a car. We agreed the price was worth it, as it gave us many more flying options. The topography of the Julian Alps is such that if it’s not working at one site, you can drive an hour and fly some mighty-fine air.

Since paragliding is so popular in Slovenia, most pilots make use of parataxis to get to the more popular launches. The two parataxi services that Matt and I used cost about 8-10 Euros per trip and involved an hour’s drive up, up, up winding, scenic, well-groomed roads. It was fun to listen to the banter of the local pilots, even if we didn’t understand a word of what they were talking about. Paragliding pilot banter is universal anyway, isn’t it? There was always someone who spoke some English to give us a site briefing.

Based on the varied weather conditions while we were there, we were able to fly a different site, or two, nearly every day we wanted. Initially, we set up residence in Tolmin for four days, flying the Kobala site one day, the stunning Lake Bohinj site, Lijek Lokve, another, and, finally, Stol. All of these sites offered a splendid mix of ridge-soaring and thermaling.

I experienced my very first XC flight off Lokve. I thermaled from ridge to ridge get-ting high to cross valleys, and, finally, land-ing in a freshly mown field in front of a small family vineyard to the sound of melodic church bells. The vineyard was located in a village dotted with quaint stucco houses and anchored by the ubiquitous white steeple church. Hitchhiking in the heat of day back to the LZ, I received a knowing proposition

by a down-to-business, heavily perspiring, older man driving a flatbed truck. Our only communication—exaggerated hand-ges-tures, nods, yeahs, and smiles—made the journey all the more sweet.

For me, the joy of paragliding comes largely from the process of getting there, getting up, and, now that I’m a XC pilot, getting back. For example, take the dra-matically beautiful Lake Bohinj site. The modes of transportation we used were: a car, followed by a car-train (where you drive your car up onto an old flatbed train, engage the hand-brake, sit back and relax while you are transported through mountain-pass tunnels), followed by a cable-car up to the mountain resort, followed by a chairlift to launch, followed by a pretty red, yellow and orange Ozone Buzz, followed by a hitchhike with a nice Dutch couple on holiday. I love going with the flow, allowing for “whatev-er,” not tied to any particular outcome. It’s about the process.

While para-waiting at the Lokve launch one sunny afternoon, Matt struck up a con-versation with Klavdij Rakuscek, a friendly local pilot who runs a parataxi service and lodge in the town of Dreznica, 30 kms north of Tolmin. This was great timing since our Tolmin apartment rental was expiring. We were unable to extend our stay with our warm and lovely hostess, Vlasta, due to the impending arrival of Metal Camp 08, the huge, annual, heavy-metal festival that draws thousands from all over Europe and takes over the town for a week. Every other place in town was booked as well. The next day we called Klavdij, and as luck would have it, they had one room left for us. We

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ended up staying at Jelkin Hram, along with a group of 10 pilots from England, three pilots from Sweden, and three pilots from Japan. This place was paragliding central. Local pilots were available in the morning to give us weather forecasts and recom-mendations about which site looked best for flying that day and, of course, the use of the parataxis was made available to us.

One perfect day Klavdij introduced us to the Stol site. Stol is down-range from the outdoor adventure mecca of Kobarid. After about a hour parataxi drive up, up, up to launch, we were greeted with impossibly breathtaking views of the endless Alps, val-leys of contiguous hay fields, farmland and villages, and the brightest emerald-green

river I’ve ever seen—as clear and green as the actual gemstone. The flying was a fabu-lous blend of ridge-soaring, thermals and valley crossings. I want to return to this place someday.

Klavdij and his business partner, Paolo, have a sweet set-up in Dreznica. The ter-raced-village, sitting serenely into the moun-tainside, is surrounded by several mountain peaks, the highest being Mt. Krn, which stands proudly at 2,245 m. I was surprised to see inhabited villages with modern infra-structure on these precipitous slopes. Just as I was thinking the next place we were ap-proaching looked like heaven—Bam! Yet another perfectly quaint village with charm-ing houses bedecked with window flower-

boxes, hay barns, and central water fountain appeared. Ok, so it wasn’t so perfect. Every morning at 6:00a.m., the perfect-looking village church announced its presence to the world with a bell-ringing cacophony that went on for nearly ten minutes. And those bells sounded so pretty at noon! Did I mention that said lovely church was so close to our lodge that when I arrived in our room and stuck my head out the window to look at the idyllic view and sneezed, I nearly sprayed something on the church’s big old door? I admit I’m not a morning person.

One day when we awoke at 6 a.m. to dark skies and thunderstorms without much hope that it would clear anytime soon, Matt and I decided to head to Italy, once

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again based on a simple recommendation from Matty, to stay at the Rifugio in Pieve D’Alpago. He had told us that from there we could fly another spectacular range on the southern edge of the Dolomites. After spending a rainy-turned-hot and sunny morning in Venice, we made our way to Pieve D’Alpago, near Belluno, and followed signs to Rifugio. The Rifugio, an alpine bed & breakfast & dinner & lunch & much more, is conveniently located at launch, a 45-minute drive into the mountains on another perfectly paved narrow road. The owner of the inn, paragliding instructor Mauro, and vivacious innkeeper, Francesca, took good care of Matt and me, providing us with abundant and delicious food, wine,

grappa, site-briefings, conversation, vistas, and a comfortable bed. We spent two nights at the Rifugio and felt like part of the family by the time we left. Gotta love Italian hospi-tality! We enjoyed a couple of glorious flights during our stay. Mauro sent his right-hand man, Gigho, to retrieve both of us at the LZ after our first flight. For our second flight of the day, Matt top-landed, I suspect so he could gallantly retrieve me while I soaked in the stunning beauty of the mountain range, lake, and villages during a sledder to the spa-cious and groomed LZ that was flanked by the local flying clubhouse. Our brief stay at the Rifugio was a fun, cultural highlight for sure. I’d go back in a heartbeat.

Not only was this trip chock full of per-

sonal firsts and big-time growth in skill and confidence, including my first XC flight, my first flights over an hour, my first time hitch-hiking, etc., but also, more importantly, this trip reaffirmed that the attraction and fun of flying contains the same spirit that happily propels me through my daily life. I realize that it takes part-experience, part-skill, and part-understanding that it’s about having fun, as well as a whole lot of positive attitude, to accept things as they come, without at-tachment to landing anywhere in particular. Oh, and part knowing to pack the earplugs when traveling to places where you might end up sleeping within sneezing distance of an old church.


Imagine a rainy Saturday afternoon, nothing much to do, so you turn on the tube. Surfing through the shop-

ping/religious/cartoon/talk show fluff, you see the ESPN sports lineup. Looking closer you have some choice…golf…no, too slow; soccer…no, too slow; baseball…no, too slow; NASCAR…no, too fast. Suddenly you see something to pique your curiosity gene: World Air Games. Holy shinola, you think, what could this be? What it could be is exactly what it implies: a sporting event that takes place in the air.

The World Air Games (WAG) consists of aerial competition involving all the dif-ferent forms of flying you can imagine—from skydiving to helicopters. In fact, in June next summer, the WAG will include

26 different events all located near Torino (Turin), Italy. Our sports will include aer-obatics and accuracy landing for paraglid-ers, and aerobatics and speed gliding for hang gliders.

Our events take place about 15 klicks

west of Turin at the little village of Avigliana. High mountains overlook two little lakes and Avigliana nestles near the larger lake. This lake (appropriately named Lago Grande) served as the land-ing “field” for all events in this year’s test

TorinoPre-World Air Games :

ITALY

by DennisPAGAN

[above] A pilot rounds the first pylon. [opposite top, left to right] The inflatable

speed gliding start gate pylons going up. The large target on the raft. [right] Boarding

the helicopter for a wild ride and a kiss for good luck in the wild maneuvers.


comp. Actually the landings mostly took place on a large raft placed strategically for the pilots and spectators. The scenic setting couldn’t be better for the media. Make no mistake about it, the WAG is in-tended to be a media event, and as such is an invitational with pilots from as many different countries as possible, and events chosen to be photogenic, exciting and sure to make stars of our best reps. Well, that’s the dream. We have a good start with this year’s meet. It helps that the organizers are the same who put on the last winter Olympics and already have the media con-nection.

This year we met in the second week of August to put on the show. There were seven hang gliding pilots on the aerobat-ics roster. They were towed aloft behind trikes from a nearby airfield and released about 2,500 ft over the lake. Then they did their stuff, which did include stuff-

ing the bar, looping, wanging, split-Sing, spinning and generally pulling enough G forces to clean the dust off their wings. When that dust had settled, the winner for the most perfect loops, the pretti-est spins and the slickest wingovers was Ignazio Bernardi. Ignazio is the designer of the Woody Valley HG harness and a longtime Icaro team pilot. A surprise was second place finisher, Alex Ploner. He is best known as a world-class contender in XC meets. I watched him do his first loop one day before the competition, so the fact that he beat experienced aerobatic pilots who had been in previous world meets was a marvelous testimony to his natural skill.

Speed gliding had a fair run in the mid-to-late 90s, but fizzled out due to lack of media attention. But there are still plenty of enthusiasts for zooming like a downhill skier through chutes, pylons and gates. This year the pilots were towed

above the start gate a couple thou up on the mountain. The pilots rounded the gates down the steep ridges, blazed along a plateau bordering the lake, then dove like an osprey into the lake to skim across the surface, make the finish gate and pop up on the landing raft.

This year the first place speed demon was Wolfgang Seiss, a relatively new-comer from Austria. Second place went to the irrepressible Alex Ploner, and third to Austrian XC team member, Seppi Salvenmoser. Some have wondered why anyone would want to race down a hill on a hang glider. I can answer that ques-tion in two words: adrenaline rush. After a speed run, if you can’t calm down after several beers, a few more usually does the trick.

Paragliding accuracy took place over several days with fifteen pilots from eight countries. This event simply requires a

pilot to land as close to the center of a spot as possible. Spot landing is familiar to all of us. But precision landing—to within a centimeter—is something else altogether. Accuracy is big in Europe and especially in Eastern Europe. It’s fun, has great ca-maraderie and appeals to the spectators. Some of the gyrations and close attempts are very entertaining and that’s what the WAG is all about. When the mist had settled, the winners were Rafael Kerin (Slovenia), Claudio Cattaneo (Switz.) and Matjaz Feraric (Slov.). The raft was a long reach out for them on some rounds, but mostly they stayed dry. Funny thing, those that landed in the drink garnered the most applause from the public lining the banks of the lake.

The long-established Acroaria aero-batic event in Omegna, Italy took place the days preceding the WAG. We took a couple hour bus ride to go there and bring the invited pilots to Avigliana, along with the judges and officials. It was a movable feast. Because of our responsibilities, the WAG meet director and I were ferried back by helicopter. It was fun cruising the Italian countryside and we took a little detour to pass by a site—Andrate—that I have flown and reported on a couple times in the past.

Paragliding aerobatics had two events: solo and syncro. The pilots wnet up in the helicopter (it wasn’t really hired just to ferry us officials) and they bailed out. Actually they had a very experienced jumpmaster and they all had special D-bags that let the canopies come out clean, in stages. All the aero pilots are familiar with heli launches, but they report it is still a thrill. Who would have expected them to be thrill seekers?

The solo pilots wrung out their brains, flipped their gyros and twisted their equi-

librium with spins, wingovers, SATs, in-finite tumbles and what all. It is always dizzying watching aerobatics and these guys and gals are the best. The only sur-prise was that there wasn’t a Rodriguez in first place. Felix R. (Spain) actually took second with Mr. Nice Guy, Gabor Kezi (Hungary) winning. Third was Xandi Meschuch (Austria).

Syncro is my favorite event because not only do the pilots perform incredible maneuvers, but also they do them in close proximity to another pilot doing equally incredible maneuvers. An aerial dance is the best way to describe it. Points added for touching in a controlled manner. Nothing looks better than a mutual spiral where both pilots are on opposite sides of the twist with their inside wings touching. Sometimes they take that right down to the slick surface, soliciting a roar from the crowd. How do you say wow! in Italian? There were eleven teams competing and the winners were Against the Grain (Xandi Meschuch and Bernd Hornboek—Aus). Second was A-Synchron Team (Alexandra Grillmeyer and Peter Szabo—Hungary).

The Pre-Worlds Air Games was just the warm-up. Next year we expect to invite 10 HG acro pilots, 10 speed glid-ing, 20 PG acro pilots and 20 accuracy pilots. It should be a funfest in the Italian Piedmonte sunshine. If you can’t make it, I predict you’ll be able to watch it on your TV right in the comfort of your living room. That way you won’t be distracted by the fine Italian food, wine, weather and women (or men).

[from lower left, clockwise] Winners of the HG aerobatics get ready to go in the lake. Finish gate pylons floated on the water. Pilots were all housed and fed in the elegant Ninfa hotel. A syncro pair winds down. Syncro buddies land together on the raft.

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GALLERY | JOHN HEINEY

From the early eighties, John Heiney’s special brand of glider-mounted photos took hang gliding photography in new

directions. John’s engineering background and imagination allowed him to fabricate mounting gear with long booms that produced views of an airborne glider never before seen. The addition of aerobatics gave spectacular results to these new camera perspectives.

John is a world-class photographer. His photos have been featured on at least 65 magazine covers, including foreign free-flight magazines and non-free-flight publications. From the late eighties to mid-nineties John often had five or six shots each year in the European free-flight calendar produced by Uli and Jindra Blumenthal of Windsports Wildbad. He’s also had at least one photo, sometimes two or three, in each issue of the USHGA/USHPA calendar since 1981 until present (except 2007), and a few shots in the Fly Forever calendar.

John has sold photos to consumers over the years for commercial and editorial uses and has mounted video and movie cameras for many TV shows, documentary films and some commercials. About 36 center-spreads by John have appeared in Hang Gliding Magazine and Hang Gliding & Paragliding Magazine as well as several in foreign maga-zines.

John has always been highly motivated to document the great fun and adventure of the sport of hang gliding and paragliding. As a gesture of his love for the sport, he has made his photos available to the national organiza-tion for their promotional needs. While doing promotional photography for Delta Wing Gliders, UP International, and, later, Altair, John’s photos appeared in countless ads in the magazines.

When asked to comment on his long his-tory in the sport, John responds: “Time flies when you’re having fun flying”.

More info on John’s work at johnheiney.com

JohnHEINEY

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The dream is always the same and has been since I was young. It’s dusk, and I’m running, and my strides get longer until finally I don’t touch the ground at all. I

lean forward until I’m horizontal to the ground and spread my arms and begin to climb. The buildings below are oddly crooked and ancient-looking. There are steeples and black roof slates; it’s England. I move out past the buildings and over pastures. My flight is silent. When I roll my body a little to the left, dipping down my arm, I begin a long, slow loop back towards the village. I swoop low and land barefoot on dewy grass.

There is not much difference between the dream and the reality. When you lean forward and the paraglider—a fabric wing much like a hang-glider—inflates above and behind you, you are moments from flight. Your strides extend, and the wing pulls up; it wants to fly. Then your boot touches the ground for the last time, and the slope drops away as you slide forward through the air on a flawless glass rail. You are suspended by an array of thin lines that bridle out to the wide wing above. The feeling of suspension is deeply familiar, reminding you of something very important.

Then you realize; you are being held.

The sky is holding you.

Foothills slide steadily beneath you. It’s strange to move without touching the Earth. There is no engine scream, only an endless splash of air. The wing senses every whorl and ripple of air; these are telegraphed down the lines to you, and your body picks them up as a swift rise or a soft long shove that crabs you sideways. By shifting your weight in your seat, or drawing lightly on a brake line, you turn the wing back the way you want to go. Flying is easy. Looking two thou-sand feet down, at pine-tops, you are muted by the simplicity of the paraglider and the calm of flight.

You are not afraid.

You do not want anything.

Release by CAMERONSMITH

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http://www.ushpa.aero/forms


CALENDAR ITEMS will not be listed if only tentative. Please include exact information (event, date, contact name and phone number). Items should be received no later than six weeks prior to the event. We request two months lead time for regional and national meets. For more complete information on the events listed, see our Calendar of Events at: www.USHPA.Aero

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES - The rate for classified advertising is $10.00 for 25 words and $1.00 per word after 25. MINIMUM AD CHARGE $10.00. AD DEADLINES: All ad copy, instructions, changes, ad-ditions & cancellations must be received in writing 2 months preceding the cover date, i.e. September 15th is the deadline for the November issue. ALL CLASSI-FIEDS ARE PREPAID. If paying by check, please in-clude the following with your payment: name, address, phone, category, how many months you want the ad to run and the classified ad. Please make checks payable to USHPA, P.O. Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330. If paying with credit card, you may email the previ-ous information and classified to [email protected]. For security reasons, please call your Visa/MC or Amex info to the office. No refunds will be given on ads cancelled that are scheduled to run multiple months. (719) 632-8300. Fax (719) 632-6417

HANG GLIDING ADVISORY: Used hang gliders should always be disassembled before flying for the first time and inspected carefully for fatigued, bent or dented downtubes, ruined bushings, bent bolts (especially the heart bolt), re-used Nyloc nuts, loose thimbles, frayed or rusted cables, tangs with non-circular holes, and on flex wings, sails badly torn or torn loose from their anchor points front and back on the keel and leading edges.

PARAGLIDING ADVISORY: Used paragliders should always be thoroughly inspected before flying for the first time. Annual inspections on paragliders should include sailcloth strength tests. Simply performing a porosity check isn’t sufficient. Some gliders pass porosity yet have very weak sailcloth.

If in doubt, many hang gliding and paragliding business-es will be happy to give an objective opinion on the con-dition of equipment you bring them to inspect. BUYERS SHOULD SELECT EQUIPMENT THAT IS APPROPRI-ATE FOR THEIR SKILL LEVEL OR RATING. NEW PI-LOTS SHOULD SEEK PROFESSIONAL INSTRUC-TION FROM A USHPA CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR.

COMPETITION

HG PG october 31 - November 2 Puebla, Mexico. Vuela Puebla 2008, Paragliding and Hang Glid-ing Open Championship. FAI/CIVL Category 2 Events. Competitions will occur at same time at two different launches. Great flying, and cool colonial city. 75$ entry fee. More information: www.vuelapuebla.com.

HG JANUArY 2-11 Forbes, Australia. Forbes Flatlands Hang Gliding Championship 2009. Nine days allowing for one rest day. Open, A Class, Sport & Club Class - Duration and spot landing – Open to all gliders. Competition fees $200 plus 350$ Aerotow fees. All registration and competi-tion details at www.moyes.com.au/forbes2009.

HG JANUArY 14 - 22 Australia. Bogong Cup Hang Gliding Championship 2009. Open Class Category, Sport, Floater & Womens Class. Com-petition Fees $220 by December 10th, 2008—$240 thereafter. Book your place by entering on-line at www.xcflight.com.

CLINICS, MEETINGS, TOURS

october 1-November 30 Phoenix, Arizo-na. Fly Arizona with the locals this fall and winter. Improve your thermal and XC skills with a comp pilot Carlos Madureira. Just fly to Sky Harbor in Phoenix and we’ll pick you up at the airport, set up hotel, transfers and full retrieval. Coaching for all you’ll need to fly safely. P2 with strong skills or higher are welcome. More info: www.flyhighpara-gliding.com, or call (480)266-6969.

october 25-November 1 Nicaragua. Join Nick Crane and Paracrane for the third an-nual paragliding tour to Nicaragua. This is the best time of year to fly Nicaragua, a little known and great place to paraglide with tons of potential. You’ll fly beautiful Laguna de Apoyo, near the his-toric Colonial town of Granada, as well as Mom-bacho Volcano. This is a trip for experienced pi-lots comfortable with top landing, small LZ’s and XC flights. More information on this trip and oth-ers to Costa Rica: www.paracrane.com, or call (541)840-8587.

November 3-17 Iquique, Chile. Paragliding Instructor Clinic with Luis Rosenkjer. Limited po-sitions. Open to basic and advanced paragliding instructor candidates. Contact: [email protected], or call (404)931-3793.

November 5-30 Iquique, Chile. Join Luis Rosen-kjer and Todd Weigand to fly the never ending thermals where the Atacama Desert meets the Pacific Ocean! As Co-Chilean Open Distance record holder (193 km) and Iquique Open Competition Champions, Luis and Todd have over 11 years of combined guiding experience in Iquique. Multiple tours for all levels and USHPA certi-fied instructional courses available. Fly every day or get money back! Don’t believe us…. check out our pro-gram for more details! www.paraglidechile.blogspot.com www.atlantaparagliding.com.

November 7-9 Florida. East Coast SIV clin-ic. More information: [email protected], or (505)720-5436.

November 8-16 Phoenix, Arizona. Come to warm Phoenix for some last flights before winter. Para-soft offers pilots rated P-2 and higher a chance to im-prove your skills in warm thermals. Fly into Sky Harbor on these dates and we will take you flying nearby. We have hotel, transport and guiding all arranged. Details at http://www.parasoftparagliding.com/travel/phoenix.php.

November 10-15 Florida Ridge. First annual East coast X-C team challenge. This event will be based around a X-C clinic to help pilots improve thermal, and X-C skills. Format: Five pilot teams will be formed to compete in classic task and open distance tasks. Each team will have an experienced mentor pilot. This is a tow launch event. Limit if 50 pilots. More information: [email protected], or (505)720-5436.

November 8-15 &/or November 15-22 Iquique, Chile. Flying sites w/Ken Hudonjorgensen , Bill Belcourt and local guides. A great trip to what many pilots consider to be the best place to fly in the world. Phone (801) 572-3414, or email [email protected]. More information: www.twocanfly.com.

November 21-23 Florida. East Coast SIV clin-ic. More information: [email protected], or (505)720-5436.

December 5 - JANUArY 16 Valle De Bravo, Mexico. Fly south this winter! Improve your thermal and X-C skills with David Prentice World Class El Pe-non site, which is the launch for the 2009 world cham-pionships. Lodging, transportation, and guiding In-cluded. More information: [email protected], or (505)720-5436.

December 27 - APrIL 4 7-Day Costa Rica Paragliding Tours this winter and spring 2009 with Nick Crane. Fly with toucans and scarlet macaws over lush tropical forests, land on pristine beach-es. Tours include small groups, reasonable rates, nice accommodations, great flying. USHPA cer-tified instruction available. Phone 541-840-8587. More information at www.paracrane.com, or www.costaricaparagliding.com, or (541)840-8587.

DISPATCH



2009CALENDARS AVAILABLE! see page 76


FLEX WINGS

EVEN-UP TRADES - Looking to move up to a differ-ent glider, but can’t put up cash? (262)-473-8800, www.hanggliding.com

FALCONS, EAGLES, SPECTRUMS, PULSES - Wide variety of gliders for sale, inspected & test flown. (262)-473-8800, www.hanggliding.com

PARACHUTES

INSPECTED RESERVE PARACHUTES - For HG or PG $199 & up. Quantums and LARAs from $499. Some trades accepted. (262)-473-8800, www.hanggliding.comBUSINESS & EMPLOYMENT

NORTH WING DESIGN - is accepting applications for metal shop/wing and trike airframe mechanic. Also ac-cepting applications for sail maker and sewing machine operator. Send App. To: 3904 airport way, E. Wenatchee, Wa. 98802 or Fax 509-886-3435 (www.northwing.com)

HARNESSES

HARNESSES - All sizes. Trainers $99 & up. Cocoons $125 & up. Pods $200 & up. Some trades accepted. (262) 473-8800, www.hanggliding.comSCHOOLS & DEALERS

ALABAMA

ATLANTA PARAGLIDING - 20 years of experience, top instructors, top pilots and very consistent weather conditions all year around, make us your best choice on the east coast. www.atlantaparagliding.com (404) 931-3793

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK - The best facil-ities, largest inventory, camping, swimming, volleyball, more. Wide range of accommodations. hanglide.com, 877-hanglide, (877)-426-4543, hanglide.com.

ARIZONA

FLY HIGH PARAGLIDING.COM - over 10 years of ex-perience, offers P-1 to P-4 certification, tandem flights, towing, new and used equipment, the best weather to fly in USA. (480)-266-6969.

CALIFORNIA

AIRJUNKIES PARAGLIDING - Year-round excellent in-struction, Southern California & Baja. Powered paraglid-ing, clinics, tours, tandem, towing. Ken Baier (760)-753-2664, ` airjunkies.com.

EAGLE PARAGLIDING - SANTA BARBARA offers the best year round flying in the nation. Award-winning in-struction, excellent mountain and ridge sites. www.Fly-SantaBarbara.com, (805)-968-0980

FLY ABOVE ALL - Year-round instruction in beautiful Santa Barbara! USHPA Novice through Advanced certi-fication. Thermaling to competition training. Visit www.flyaboveall.com (805)-965-3733.

THE HANG GLIDING CENTER - PO Box 151542, San Diego CA 92175, (619)-265-5320.

MISSION SOARING CENTER - Largest hang gliding center in the West! Our deluxe retail shop showcases the latest equipment: Wills Wing, Moyes, AIR, High Energy, Flytec, Icaro. West Coast distributor for A.I.R. Atos rig-id wings including the all-new VX Tandem Atos. Parts in stock. We stock new and used equipment. Trade-ins welcome. Complete lesson program. Best training park in the West, located just south of the San Francisco Bay Area. Pitman Hydraulic Winch System for Hang 1s and above. Launch and landing clinics for Hang 3s and Hang 4s. Wills Wing Falcons of all sizes and custom train-ing harnesses. 1116 Wrigley Way, Milpitas, CA 95035. (408)-262-1055, Fax (408)-262-1388, [email protected], www.hang-gliding.com, Mission Soaring Center, leading the way since 1973.

TORREY PINES GLIDERPORT - Come soar in San Di-ego! This family-owned and operated flying site offers USHPA certified instruction, advanced training, equip-ment sales, tandem flight instruction, motorized pg/hg instruction and site tours. We also have an extensive pg/hg outfitting shop offering parachute repacks and full-service repairs. Bring your family for our amazing sun-sets and dining at the Cliffhanger Cafe. Importers for Paratech and Independence gliders. We also carry Aus-triAlpin, Center of Gravity, Crispi and Sup’Air. Check us out online for sales and questions at: www.flytorrey.com, or call toll-free at 1-877-FLY-TEAM (359-8326). Also, tune in to the Internet Paragliding Talk Show at www.worldtalkradio.com every Tuesday 9-11:00 a.m. (PST).

WINDSPORTS - Don’t risk bad weather, bad instruc-tion or dangerous training hills. 350 flyable days each year. Learn foot-launch flying skills safely and quickly. Train with professional CFI’s at world-famous Dockweil-er Beach training slopes (5 minutes from LA airport.) Fly winter or summer in gentle coastal winds, soft sand and in a thorough program with one of America’s most pres-tigious schools for over 25 years. (818)-367-2430, www.windsports.com.

COLORADO

AIRTIME ABOVE HANG GLIDING - Full time lessons sales and service Colorado’s most experienced! Offer-ing foot launch, tow and scooter tow instruction. Wills Wing, Moyes, North Wing, AIR, Altair, Aeros, High En-ergy, Finsterwalder, Flytec, MotoComm, and more sold and serviced. Call for more info (303)-674-2451, Ever-green Colorado, [email protected]

GUNNISON GLIDERS - Serving the western slope. In-struction, sales, service, sewing, accessories. Site in-formation, ratings. 1549 County Road 17, Gunnison CO 81230. (970)-641-9315, 1-(866)-238-2305.

PEAK TO PEAK PARAGLIDING LLC - THE Front Range paragliding school, located in Boulder, Colorado. Offer-ing excellent state-of-the-art instruction. Specializing in over the water & safety training. Equipment & tandems. Phone 303.817.0803 [email protected] www.peaktopeakparagliding.com.

CONNECTICUT

PLANET PARAGLIDING - New York City Area Finest In-struction. Come fly with us. Beginner through Advanced Instruction. Best prices on new gear. Bill (203) 206-3896, www.PlanetParaglidingTours.com.

http://www.flytec.com

http://www.mhpsports.com

http://www.hanglide.com


FLORIDA


FLORIDA RIDGE AEROTOW PARK - 18265 E State Road 80, Clewiston, Florida (863)-805-0440, www.the-floridaridge.com.

GRAYBIRD AIRSPORTS — Paraglider & hang glid-er towing & training, Dragonfly aerotow training, XC, thermaling, instruction, equipment. Dunnellon Airport (352)-245-8263, email [email protected], www.graybirdairsports.com.

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK - Nearest moun-tain training center to Orlando. Two training hills, novice mountain launch, aerotowing, great accommodations. hanglide.com, 877-hanglide, (877)-426-4543.

MIAMI HANG GLIDING - For year-round training fun in the sun. (305)-285-8978, 2550 S Bayshore Drive, Co-conut Grove, Florida 33133, www.miamihanggliding.com.

WALLABY AEROTOW FLIGHT PARK - Satisfaction Guaranteed. Just 8 miles from Disney World. Year-round soaring, open 7 days a week, six tugs, no waiting, every direction. 50+ nice demos to fly, topless to trainer glid-ers: Laminar, Moyes, Wills, Airborne, Airwave, Exxtacy, La Mouette, Sensor; also harnesses, varios, etc. Ages 13 to 73 have learned to fly here. No one comes close to our level of experience and success with tandem aero-tow instruction. A great scene for family and friends. 10 motels & restaurants within 5 minutes. Camping, hot showers, shade trees, sales, storage, ratings, XC retriev-als, great weather, climbing wall, trampoline, DSS TV, ping pong, picnic tables, swimming pool, etc. Flights of over 200 miles and more than 7 hours. Articles in Hang Gliding, Kitplanes, Skywings, Cross Country and oth-ers. Featured on numerous TV shows, including Date-line NBC, The Discovery Channel & ESPN. Visit us on the Web: http://www.wallaby.com. Please call us for ref-erences and video. 1805 Dean Still Road, Disney Area, FL 33837 (863)-424-0070, phone & fax, [email protected], 1-(800)-WALLABY. Conservative, reliable, state-of-the-art. F.H.G. INC., flying Florida since 1974

GEORGIA


LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK - Discover why 5 times as many pilots earn their wings at LMFP. En-joy our 110 acre mountain resort. www.hanglide.com, 877-hanglide, (877)-426-4543.

HAWAII

FLY HAWAII - Hawaii’s hang gliding, paragliding/para-motoring school. Mauna Kea guide service. Most expe-rience, best safety record. Big Island of Hawaii, Achim Hagemann (808)-895-9772. www.paraexpeditionsha-waii.blogspot.com, [email protected].

PROFLYGHT PARAGLIDING - Call Dexter for friendly information about flying on Maui. Full-service school of-fering beginner to advanced instruction every day, year round. (808)-874-5433, paraglidehawaii.com.

INDIANA

CLOUD 9 SPORT AVIATION - See Cloud 9 in Michigan

MAINE

DOWNEAST AIRSPORTS - paragliding & hang gliding instruction using tandems & scooter towing for easy safe learning. Quality equipment sales. www.downeastair-sports.com, in _ a _ [email protected], Marc (207)-244-9107.

MARYLAND

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

MARYLAND SCHOOL OF HANG GLIDING - Sales, service, instruction since 1976. Specializing in Foot Launch. www.mshg.com (410)-527-0975 Proudly rep-resenting Wills Wing, Flytec & Moyes

MICHIGAN

CLOUD 9 SPORT AVIATION - Aerotow specialists. We carry all major brand hang gliders and accessories. Cloud 9 Field, 11088 Coon Lake Road West, Webber-ville MI 48892. [email protected], http://members.aol.com/cloud9sa. Call for summer tandem lessons and flying appointments with the DraachenFliegen Soaring Club at Cloud 9 Field. (517)-223-8683, [email protected], http://members.aol.com/dfscinc.

TRAVERSE CITY HANG GLIDERS/PARAGLIDERS Put your knees in our breeze and soar our 450’ sand dunes. Full-time shop. Certified instruction, beginner to advanced. Sales, service, accessories for ALL major brands. Visa/MasterCard. 1509 E 8th, Traverse City MI 49684. Offering powered paragliding. Call Bill at (231)-922-2844, [email protected]. Your USA & Canada Mosquito distributor. www.mosquitoamerica.com.

NEW YORK

AAA MOUNTAIN WINGS INC. - New location at 77 Hang Glider Road in Ellenville next to the LZ. We ser-vice all brands featuring AEROS and North Wing. Con-tact (845)-647-3377, [email protected], www.mt-nwings.com,

6020

http://www.parasupply.com


http://www.kittyhawk.com


FLY HIGH, INC. - Serving New York, Jersey, and Con-necticut areas. Area’s exclusive Wills Wing dealer. Also all other brands, accessories. Area’s most INEXPENSIVE prices! Certified instruction/service since 1979. Excel-lent secondary instruction! Taken some lessons? Ad-vance to mountain flying! www.flyhighhg.com, (845)-744-3317.

LET'S GO PARAGLIDING LLC - Paragliding flight school offering USHPA-certified instruction for all levels, tandem flights, tours, and equipment sales. More infor-mation: www.letsgoparagliding.com, (917) 359-6449.

PLANET PARAGLIDING - New York City Area Finest In-struction. Come fly with us. Beginner through Advanced instruction. Best prices on new gear. Bill (203) 206-3896, www.PlanetParaglidingTours.com.

SUSQUEHANNA FLIGHT PARK COOPERSTOWN NY - 40 acre flight park. 160’ training hill with rides up. 600’ ridge-large LZ. Specializing in first mountain flights.Dan Guido mailing address 293 Shoemaker Rd Mohawk Ny 13407 Home (315)-866-6153 cell (315)-867-8011 [email protected]

NORTH CAROLINA


KITTY HAWK KITES - FREE Hang 1 training with pur-chase of equipment! The largest hang gliding school in the world. Teaching since 1974. Learn to fly over the East coast’s largest sand dune. Year round instruction, foot launch and tandem aerotow. Dealer for all major man-ufacturers. Ultralight instruction and tours. (252)-441-2426, 1-877-FLY-THIS, www.kittyhawk.com

OHIO

CLOUD 9 SPORT AVIATION - See Cloud 9 in Michigan

PUERTO RICO

FLY PUERTO RICO WITH TEAM SPIRIT HG! - Flying tours, rentals, tandems, HG and PG classes, H-2 and P-2 intensive Novice courses, full sales. (787)-850-0508, [email protected].

SOUTH CAROLINA


TENNESSEE


LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK - Just outside Chattanooga. Become a complete pilot -foot launch, aerotow, mountain launch, ridge soar, thermal soar. hanglide.com, 877-hanglide, (877)-426-4543.

TEXAS

AUSTIN AIR SPORTS - Hang gliding and ultralight sales, service and instruction. Steve Burns (512) 736-2052 [email protected]. WWW.AUSTINAIR-SPORTS.COM.

GO...HANG GLIDING!!! — Jeff Hunt. Austin ph/fax (512)-467-2529, [email protected],www.flytexas.com.

UTAH

CLOUD 9 PARAGLIDING - Come visit us and check out our huge selection of paragliding gear, traction kites, ex-treme toys, and any other fun things you can think of. If you aren’t near the Point of the Mountain, then head to http://www.paragliders.com for a full list of products and services. We are Utah’s only full time shop and re-pair facility, Give us a ring at (801)-576-6460 if you have any questions.

VIRGINIA

BLUE SKY - Full-time instruction at Blue Sky Flight Park near Richmond. Scooter, platform and aerotowing avail-able. All major brands of equipment, with Mosquitos and Doodlebugs in stock. Steve Wendt, (804)-241-4324, www.blueskyhg.com.

WASHINGTON

AERIAL PARAGLIDING SCHOOL AND FLIGHT PARK - Award winning instructors at a world class training fa-cility. Contact Doug Stroop at (509)-782-5543 or visit www.paragliding.us

INTERNATIONAL

BAJA MEXICO - La Salina: PG, HG, PPG www.FLYLA-SALINA.com. by www.BAJABRENT.com, He’ll hook you up! site intros, tours, & rooms [email protected], (760)-203-2658

COSTA RICA - Grampa Ninja’s Paragliders’ B&C (Bed And Coffee). Rooms, and/or guide service and transpor-tation. Lessons available from USHPA certified instruc-tors. Open January thru April. If enough interest, Decem-ber. USA: 908-454-3242. Costa Rica: 506-2664-6833 www.paraglidecostarica.com

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

PARTS & ACCESSORIES

ALL HG GLIDERBAGS, harness packs, harness zippers and zipper stocks. Instrument mounts and replacement bands. Mitts, straps, fabric parts, windsocks, radios. Gunnison Gliders. 1-(866)-238-2305

for Airfoil BasetubesWHEELS

Raven Hang Gliding LLC(262) 473-8800

www.hanggliding.com

Raven Hang Gliding LLC(262) 473-8800

www.hanggliding.com

http://www.ap-store.com/ushpa.html

http://www.hanggliding.com

http://www.moyesusa.com


FLIGHT SUITS, FLIGHT SUITS, FLIGHT SUITS, Warm Flight suits, Efficient Flight suits, Light weight Flight suits, Flight suits in twelve sizes. Stylish Flight suits www.mphsports.com (503)-657-8911

FOR ALL YOUR FLYING NEEDS - Check out the Avia-tion Depot at www.mojosgear.com featuring over 1000 items for foot-launched and powered paragliding, hang gliding, stunt and power kiting, and powered parachutes. 24/7 secure online shopping. Books, videos, KITES, gifts, engine parts, harness accessories, electronics, clothing, safety equipment, complete powered paraglid-ing units with training from Hill Country Paragliding Inc. www.hillcountryparagliding.com 1-800-664-1160 for orders only. Office (325)-379-1567.

GLIDERBAGS - XC $75! Heavy waterproof $125. Acces-sories, low prices, fast delivery! Gunnison Gliders, 1549 County Road 17, Gunnison CO 81230. (970) 641-9315, orders 1-866-238-2305.

HALL WIND METER - Simple. Reliable. Accurate. Mounting brackets, control-bar wheels. Hall Brothers, PO Box 1010, Morgan, Utah 84050. (801) 829-3232, www.hallwindmeter.com.

MINI VARIO - World’s smallest, simplest vario! Clips to helmet or chinstrap. 200 hours on batteries, 0-18,000 ft., fast response and 2-year warranty. ONLY $169. Mal-lettec, PO Box 15756, Santa Ana CA 92735. (949)-795-0421, MC/Visa accepted, www.mallettec.com.

OXYGEN SYSTEMS – MH-XCR-180 operates to 18,000 ft., weighs only 4 lbs. System includes cylinder, har-ness, regulator, cannula, and remote on/off flowmeter. $450.00. 1(800)468-8185

RISING AIR GLIDER REPAIR SERVICES - A full-ser-vice shop, specializing in all types of paragliding repairs, annual inspections, reserve repacks, harness repairs. Hang gliding reserve repacks and repair. For informa-tion or repair estimate, call (208)-554-2243, pricing and service request form available at www.risingair.biz, [email protected].

TANDEM LANDING GEAR - Rascal(tm) brand by Ra-ven. Simply the best. New & used. (262)473-8800, www.hanggliding.com

WHEELS FOR AIRFOIL BASETUBES - Moyes/Air-borne and Wills Wing compatible. (262)473-8800, www.hanggliding.com

WINDSOKS FROM HAWK AIRSPORTS INC - 1673 Corbin Lake Rd, Rutledge, TN 37861, 1-800-826-2719. World-famous Windsoks, as seen at the Oshkosh & Sun-N-Fun EAA Fly-Ins. [email protected], www.wind-sok.com.

PUBLICATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS

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

MISCELLANEOUS

ATTENTION PILOTS! Bamboo Chutes recycles grounded paragliders and parachutes into enviro friendly tote bags. We pay shipping and send you a tote! 541-301-3101 or [email protected]

WORLDWIDE INTERNET PARAGLIDING TALK SHOW — WWW.WORLDTALKRADIO.COM. Listen live or to the archives! Live Tuesday 9-11:00 a.m. (PST). Call toll-free, 1-888-514-2100 or internationally at (001) 858-268-3068. Paraglider pilots and radio hosts David and Gabriel Jebb want to hear about your stories, promo-tions/events or insight; they also take questions!

STOLEN WINGS AND THINGS

STOLEN WINGS are listed as a service to USHPA mem-bers. Newest entries are in bold. There is no charge for this service and lost-and-found wings or equipment may be called in to (719)-632-8300, faxed to (719)-632-6417, or emailed to [email protected] for inclusion in Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine. Please call to cancel the listing when gliders are recovered. Periodi-cally, this listing will be purged.

HANG GLIDING INSTRUMENT FOUND on Tennessee Tree Topper site. Identify for return. [email protected]

STOLEN FROM THE ANDY JACKSON AIRPARK CAL-IFORNIA, MAY 14TH 2007. FALCON 195 #25038. Silver leading edge, red bottom surface white trailing edge. If found please contact Rob or Dianne through www.flytan-dem.com or (909)-883-8488.

GEAR STOLEN FROM MEXICAN PILOT IN MEXICO - NIVIUK HOOK XXS (45-65Kg) wing, in orange and white, s/n C20664, and an Ava Sport XS harnes, in blue and black. The reserve is a Firebird R5 S; I don’t have the se-rial number of these last two. If this equipment is found, contact me [email protected] or her directly: Vinda Levy, [email protected] +52(312)3097665

NEW BOOK!!$32.95

Order online at www.ushga.org/store or call 800-616-6888

USHPAUSHGA stickers in limited supply so...

Stock up! Order online at

www.ushpa.aero/store or call 800-616-6888

Get your USHPA beanie on page 76.

http://www.ushpa.aero/forms/xcaward.pdf




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HANG GLIDING

PARAGLIDING

P-1 1 Ruaraidh Stenson Issaquah WA Bob HannahP-1 1 George Bogardus Jacksonville OR Kevin LeeP-1 1 Danny Matto Seattle WA Bob HannahP-1 1 Mark Ryan Redmond OR Chad Bastian, FlyaboveallP-1 2 Amy Donovan Davis CA Jeffrey GreenbaumP-1 2 Paul Kennedy Santa Clara CA Jeffrey GreenbaumP-1 2 Michelle Chan Santa Clara CA Jeffrey GreenbaumP-1 2 Josh Gartner Sacramento CA Jason ShapiroP-1 2 Kevin Petrik Sacramento CA Jason ShapiroP-1 2 Michael Sturdivant Las Vegas NV Bruce KirkP-1 2 Josua Gwiazda Cayucos CA Patrick EavesP-1 2 James Mac Donald Truckee CA Ed YoumansP-1 3 Chris Hassig San Diego CA Roy ZaleskiP-1 3 Christian Obregon San Diego CA Zaleski, RoyP-1 3 Weitao Wu San Diego CA Roy ZaleskiP-1 3 Rodney Teleford Kula HI David BinderP-1 3 Larry Mcelheny Haleiwa HI David BinderP-1 3 Tom Mathews Goleta CA Bruce KirkP-1 4 Mitch Duffin North Logan UT Randy LiggettP-1 4 Jeff Hall Parker CO Granger BanksP-1 4 Michael Smith North Salt Lake UT Stephen MayerP-1 5 Matthew Clos Jackson WY Thomas BartlettP-1 5 David Dayton Jackson WY Thomas BartlettP-1 7 Witold Krawczyk Gilberts IL Kevin HintzeP-1 7 Adam Granger Traverse City MI William FiferP-1 8 Sylwester Stroczkowski New Britain CT Adrian WitcombP-1 8 Margaret Stroczkowski New Britain CT Adrian WitcombP-1 8 Dalvino Silva Derby CT Jeffrey NicolayP-1 8 Edmar Santos Bridgeport CT Jeffrey NicolayP-1 8 Michael Hart New Britain CT Jeffrey NicolayP-1 9 Heidi Mclaughlin Lincoln University PA Jeffrey NicolayP-1 9 Richard Ware Arlington VA Chad Bastian, FlyaboveallP-1 10 Eric Deren Atlanta GA Stephen MayerP-1 10 Kaz Sheekey Neptune Beach FL Stephen MayerP-1 10 Scott Roberts Deland FL Stephen MayerP-1 11 Michael Nicolais Dallas TX Charles SmithP-1 11 James Trude Houston TX Bud WruckP-1 11 Chris Howard Galveston TX Bud WruckP-1 11 Faiz Almusalami Sugar Land TX Bud WruckP-1 12 Gennadiy Lysakov Staten Island NY Philippe RenaudinP-1 12 Juan Arias Stanhope NJ Philippe RenaudinP-1 13 Desuaux De Marigny Alesandre French Zaleski, RoyP-1 13 Ben Matthews Silverton, Bc Stephen MayerP-1 13 Joseph Matthews Silverton, Bc Stephen MayerP-1 13 John Matthews Silverton, Bc Stephen MayerP-2 1 Ruaraidh Stenson Issaquah WA Bob HannahP-2 1 George Bogardus Jacksonville OR Kevin LeeP-2 1 John Ellis Williams Lake Oswego OR Maren LudwigP-2 1 Danny Matto Seattle WA Bob HannahP-2 1 Levi Willmeth Ashland OR John IveyP-2 1 Scott Mcallister Bellingham WA James ReichP-2 1 Mark Thompson Hood River OR Maren LudwigP-2 1 John Balwit Mcminnville OR John KraskeP-2 1 David Milroy Sammamish WA Senior, MattP-2 1 Sabrina Krewin Kent WA Charles SmithP-2 1 Mark Ryan Redmond OR Chad Bastian, FlyaboveallP-2 2 Reto Schaerli Sacramento CA Jason ShapiroP-2 2 Robert Waring Palo Alto CA Jeffrey Greenbaum

H-1 2 John Peterson Carmichael CA George HamiltonH-1 2 Scott Bentson Belmont CA Michael JeffersonH-1 2 Jonathon Blome San Mateo CA Patrick DenevanH-1 3 Greg Launt Lake Elsinore CA Rob MckenzieH-1 3 Daniel Spitzer Woodland Hills CA Lynden VazquezH-1 4 James Traylor Yuma AZ Gordon CayceH-1 5 Paul Roys Missoula MT Jeff ShapiroH-1 5 J Patrick Wiggins Wilson WY Bart WeghorstH-1 7 Brian Ridder Dyer IN Steve WendtH-1 8 Ryan Mahoney Somerville MA Steven PrepostH-1 8 Kevin Hoffman Newport RI Edward GermainH-1 8 Kenneth Hazirjian Wayland MA Edward GermainH-1 9 Ronald Calhoon Harrisburg PA Gordon CayceH-1 9 Aj Calhoon Harrisburg PA Gordon CayceH-1 9 Tim Elliott New Hope PA Steve WendtH-1 9 Brad Elliott New Hope PA Steve WendtH-1 9 James Newton Iii Chesapeake VA H Bruce Weaver IiiH-1 9 Billy Vaughn Charlottesville VA Steve WendtH-1 9 Jonathan Morrison Front Royal VA Steve WendtH-1 9 Greg Morgan Purcellville VA Andy TorringtonH-1 9 Mike Coyne Portersville PA H Bruce Weaver IiiH-1 10 Trebor Clavette Kill Devil Hills NC Travis HallH-1 10 Joe Raymond Kill Devil Hills NC Thomas BaumannH-1 10 Clay Crowder Athens GA Gordon CayceH-1 10 Yukiko Indacochea Wildwood GA Gordon CayceH-1 10 Jonathan Burgess Decatur GA Gordon CayceH-1 10 Stephen Wickizer Trenton GA Gordon CayceH-1 10 Chad Gust Rutledge TN Gordon CayceH-1 10 Lester Davis Lawrenceville GA Diana KoetherH-1 10 Keith Davis Crossville AL Gordon CayceH-1 10 Eric Cook Greenback TN Gordon CayceH-1 10 Blair Abelson Signal Mtn TN Gordon CayceH-1 11 Michael Morath Dallas TX Gordon CayceH-1 12 Martin Hughes Livonia NY Henry BoesslH-1 12 Enrique Sallent Passar NJ Greg BlackH-1 12 Kiho Kim Bayside NY Greg BlackH-1 12 Sataudin Skenderi Wyckoff NJ Diana KoetherH-2 1 Mike Bomstad Spokane WA Russell GelfanH-2 2 Walter Whiteside San Francisco CA Michael JeffersonH-2 3 Greg Launt Lake Elsinore CA Rob MckenzieH-2 4 James Traylor Yuma AZ Gordon CayceH-2 5 Paul Roys Missoula MT Jeff ShapiroH-2 5 J Patrick Wiggins Wilson WY Bart WeghorstH-2 7 David Arnold Jeffersonville IN Gordon CayceH-2 8 Erika Klein Wellesley MA Lynden VazquezH-2 9 Ronald Calhoon Harrisburg PA Gordon CayceH-2 9 Aj Calhoon Harrisburg PA Gordon CayceH-2 10 Douglas Oleson Clarksville TN Gordon CayceH-2 10 Clay Crowder Athens GA Gordon CayceH-2 10 Yukiko Indacochea Wildwood GA Gordon CayceH-2 10 Jonathan Burgess Decatur GA Gordon CayceH-2 10 Stephen Wickizer Trenton GA Gordon CayceH-2 10 Chad Gust Rutledge TN Gordon CayceH-2 10 Lester Davis Lawrenceville GA Diana KoetherH-2 10 Keith Davis Crossville AL Gordon CayceH-2 10 Eric Cook Greenback TN Gordon CayceH-2 10 Blair Abelson Signal Mtn TN Gordon CayceH-2 11 Steven Underwood Austin TX Jeffrey HuntH-2 11 Mark Moore Iii Spring TX Jeffrey HuntH-2 11 Michael Morath Dallas TX Gordon CayceH-2 12 Jonathan Clark Beacon NY Greg BlackH-2 12 Sataudin Skenderi Wyckoff NJ Diana KoetherH-3 1 Mike Bomstad Spokane WA Russell GelfanH-3 2 Brett D`aquino Santa Cruz CA Michael JeffersonH-3 3 Fernando Escobar Sunland CA Joseph SzalaiH-3 8 Robert Chapman Skowhegan ME Steven PrepostH-3 8 F Ian Hochstetter Sharon CT Steven PrepostH-3 8 Daniel Germain Jr Haverhill MA Steven PrepostH-3 9 Mark Thogmartin Millersport OH Larry WrightH-3 10 John Nelson Cedar Bluff AL Daniel ZinkH-3 10 John Pignatelli Duluth GA Matthew TaberH-3 10 Jerry Keller Bradenton FL Malcolm Jones

RTNG REGN NAME CITY STATE RATING OFFICIAL RTNG REGN NAME CITY STATE RATING OFFICIAL

RTNG REGN NAME CITY STATE RATING OFFICIAL

H-3 10 Mario Luppa Tampa FL Malcolm JonesH-3 11 Zachary Castille Houston TX Matthew TaberH-3 11 Cakra Wicaksono Denton TX David BroylesH-3 13 Sebastian Grobys Rodgau Michael RobertsonH-4 3 Cody Sipos San Diego CA William HelliwellH-4 3 David Aldrich Rancho Cucamonga CA Rob MckenzieH-4 10 Christophe Thevenot Kill Devil Hills NC Andy TorringtonH-5 3 Fred Ballard Santa Clarita CA Brad Hill


RTNG REGN NAME CITY STATE RATING OFFICIAL RTNG REGN NAME CITY STATE RATING OFFICIAL

P-2 2 Adam Singleton Stanford CA Claude FisetP-2 2 Norbert Borschel Palo Alto CA Wallace AndersonP-2 2 Sylvain Florand Sunnyvale CA Jeffrey GreenbaumP-2 2 Derek Calhoon Oakland CA Jeffrey GreenbaumP-2 2 Stephan Haase Stateline NV Ray LeonardP-2 2 David Lehberg Mountain View CA Hugh MurphyP-2 2 Michael Sturdivant Las Vegas NV Bruce KirkP-2 2 James Mac Donald Truckee CA Ed YoumansP-2 2 Russ Sanoian Monterey CA Rob SporrerP-2 3 Christopher Adams Los Angeles CA Marcello De BarrosP-2 3 Mark Sexton Irvine CA Marcello De BarrosP-2 3 Robert Wilkinson Carlsbad CA Robin MarienP-2 3 Chris Hassig San Diego CA Roy ZaleskiP-2 3 Philip Wilson Winnetka CA Hadi GolianP-2 3 Christian Obregon San Diego CA Zaleski, RoyP-2 3 Rodney Teleford Kula HI David BinderP-2 3 Tom Mathews Goleta CA Bruce KirkP-2 4 Mitch Duffin North Logan UT Randy LiggettP-2 4 Kristjan Morgan Salt Lake City UT Chris SantacroceP-2 4 Cory Banks American Fork UT Cade PalmerP-2 4 Adam Bell Desert Hills AZ Bill HeanerP-2 4 Niels Liebisch Boulder CO Granger BanksP-2 4 Peter Wiedemann West Jordan UT Carson KleinP-2 4 Brian Hall Grand Junction CO Etienne PienaarP-2 4 David Jones Grand Junction CO Etienne PienaarP-2 4 Darren Payne Morrison CO William LaurenceP-2 4 Jeff Hall Parker CO Granger BanksP-2 4 Michael Smith North Salt Lake UT Stephen MayerP-2 4 Randy Welch Denver CO Granger BanksP-2 4 Patrick Kratovil Boulder CO Granger BanksP-2 5 Rex Cowie Butte MT Andy MacraeP-2 5 Ben Roth Jackson WY Chip HildebrandP-2 5 Matthew Clos Jackson WY Thomas BartlettP-2 5 Thomas Mikkelsen Jackson WY Scott HarrisP-2 5 David Dayton Jackson WY Thomas BartlettP-2 6 Chris Christenberry Iii Norman OK Etienne PienaarP-2 6 Roshana Ariel Salina KS Darius LukoseviciusP-2 6 Christine Doughty Oak Grove MO Chris SantacroceP-2 8 Karen Holt Northfield NH Jeffrey NicolayP-2 9 Richard Ware Arlington VA Chad Bastian, FlyaboveallP-2 10 Marcos Rosenkjer Royston GA Christopher GranthamP-2 10 Eric Deren Atlanta GA Stephen MayerP-2 10 Ed Venard Winston Salem NC Chip HildebrandP-2 10 Kaz Sheekey Neptune Beach FL Stephen MayerP-2 10 Scott Roberts Deland FL Stephen MayerP-2 11 Ricky Simmons Granite Shoals TX Jeffrey HuntP-2 11 Jeff Azulay Pflugerville TX Paul GreenwoodP-2 12 Gennadiy Lysakov Staten Island NY Philippe RenaudinP-2 12 Sebastien Nicolet Brooklyn NY Benoit BruneauP-2 12 Juan Arias Stanhope NJ Philippe RenaudinP-2 13 Ben Matthews Silverton, Bc Stephen MayerP-2 13 Joseph Matthews Silverton, Bc Stephen MayerP-2 13 John Matthews Silverton, Bc Stephen MayerP-3 1 Joel Ortega Newport OR Brad HillP-3 1 Stephanie Cone Seattle WA Douglas StroopP-3 1 Clark Mccann Issaquah WA Lan ChiricoP-3 1 Jeff Speer North Bend WA Lan ChiricoP-3 2 Karla Werninghaus Castro Valley CA Wallace AndersonP-3 2 Praveen Murthy Fremont CA Wallace AndersonP-3 2 Jim Jennings Moss Beach CA Jeffrey GreenbaumP-3 2 Dennis Stallings Sacremento CA Ray LeonardP-3 3 Delia White Santa Barbara CA Rob SporrerP-3 3 Katarzyna Milewska Palm Springs CA Randy AlfanoP-3 3 Tye Simpson Santa Barbara CA Kevin McginleyP-3 3 Chuck Srock San Diego CA Robin MarienP-3 3 Carlos Luna National City CA Kyoung Ki HongP-3 3 Shane Wimberly Escondido CA David JebbP-3 3 Jim Czarnowski Encinitas CA David JebbP-3 4 Paul Alley Flagstaff AZ Douglas StroopP-3 4 Terry Martin Phoenix AZ David JebbP-3 4 Christin Choma Lehi UT Bill HeanerP-3 4 Edward Wenker Ojo Caliente NM Rob Sporrer

R A T I N G S | J U L Y 0 8

P-3 4 Jason Sewell Carbondale CO Othar LawrenceP-3 4 Ed Armstrong Aspen CO Royal OwensP-3 5 Jeffrey Koslosky Dillon MT Andy MacraeP-3 5 Clancy Umphrey Weiser ID Stephen MayerP-3 5 Henry Wheeler Jackson WY Scott HarrisP-3 7 Walter Bosch Brighton MI William FiferP-3 8 Theodor Ficker Rochester Hills MA William FiferP-3 11 Cole Johnson New Orleans LA Ron KohnP-3 12 Rolan Yang Edison NJ Philippe RenaudinP-4 1 Todd Taylor Clackamas OR Kelly KellarP-4 1 Lance Woolen Portland OR Kelly KellarP-4 1 Edward Miller Jr Redmond OR Steve RotiP-4 1 Gilead Almosnino Seattle WA Marc ChiricoP-4 3 Jonie Millhouse Idyllwild CA Bill ArmstrongP-4 4 Jack Harper Salt Lake City UT Bill HeanerP-4 4 T Lee Kortsch Albuquerque NM William SmithP-4 4 Lance Murray Stansbury Park UT Ken HudonjorgensenP-4 8 Irina Starikova Cambridge MA Marty DeviettiP-4 9 Elisabeth Kim Arlington VA Marc FinkP-4 10 Scott Webb East Point GA Charles SmithP-4 13 Hasan Cansiz Oludeniz, Mugla Murat TuzerP-4 13 Muzaffer Can Ergin Olundeniz, Fethiye Murat Tuzer

Matt Epperson flies over the American RDS Tower at Mt. Diablo State Park | photo by Teri Epperson

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bE SurE to chEck out our EntirE SELEction At thE onLinE StorE!


By Steve Messman

I used to think clear cuts were extremely bad things. I grew out of that stage without too much trouble. I learned

that deer and elk might actually need those clear cuts, and with care and replant-ing, the clear cuts eventually grow back into thick forests. Of course, sustainable forestry is an entirely controversial subject all by itself, and certainly it is NOT the subject of this article.

Instead, this article is about a small piece of private forest that my neighbor, who lives a few miles down the road, cleared last year. It’s one of those not-so-bad clear cuts. Better yet, it’s a clear cut on a cliff. It’s not a huge cliff, by any means. From top to bottom it measures 275 feet. It runs north and south for about a tenth of a mile, then it transforms into gentle slopes that reach short fingers into the Satsop River valley. At the top is a large flat area that is reached by a nice gravel road. That area is large enough to park a car—and spread a wing. Below the cliff is a field that is prob-ably twenty acres of mowed pasture. And to sweeten the deal, my neighbor gave me

permission to fly and land there anytime I want. Suddenly, I have a whole new reason to love clear cuts. In ten minutes, I can be at the top of my own private flying site. I’m in so much trouble.

The fact that this cliff is in a valley presents some interesting meteorological issues. Farmers’ fields stretch through the valley almost as far as the eye can see from the top of the tiny cliff. The valley winds blow directly south to north on most days, directly into what I am now calling the launch area. Of course, thanks to those fields, thermals work their way up there, too, carried along by those short fingers on the gentle slopes I spoke of. When it’s working, this site can be very nice. I know because the first time I flew there, I was lifted to 1000 feet over the top and stayed there with no problem for as long as I de-sired—no exaggeration. I am in so much trouble.

So now, as I do my work throughout the day, everyday, I try to remain fo-cused on my work and not on the winds. Occasionally I do get up to look at the

wind sock. Rarely. Only occasionally do I look through the skylight. Rarely. Except when there are cumulous clouds forming. Okay, so when cumulous clouds fill the sky AND the winds are good, I check the conditions a little bit more than rarely.

Yesterday was a perfect example of my attempts to remain focused on my work. I was designing a small web site. I only checked the weather, I don’t know, maybe once every hour—until I noticed that the winds were more consistent. I had one thing going for me. It was a cloudy day, so I remained largely focused on my work, except for that hourly check of the weath-er. About 2 P.M. I noticed that the clouds were breaking up. In fact, cumies began to fill the sky. That did it. The web site got saved. The car got loaded. Fifteen minutes later I was watching a wind streamer from a comfortable little stump on the top of my 275 foot cliff. Thirty-five minutes. Two hundred feet over. A nice top landing just feet from the car. I’m in so much trouble.

Today is perhaps an even better ex-ample. The weather is actually rainy, and maybe thankfully, not at all what was fore-cast. I’m finding that’s best for me now. I have no problem staying focused on these rainy days. Except I know that if I get up to look at the wind sock, it will be blowing in the right direction because that’s what the valley winds do. Yep. I just looked. The driveway is wet, though. Whew! Safe! I think.

My wife, Carol, and I have a pact. She asked once how she would know where I was if I left while she was gone. I told her that if I went flying, I would make sure her radio was set to my frequency, and I would leave the radio on the kitchen counter. I know the driveway is wet today, but the winds are right. Well, Carol knows how to work the radio. It’s on the countertop, and I, definitely, am in so much trouble.

So Much Trouble


Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero

http://www.u-turnusa.com

Hang Gliding & Paragliding Vol38/Iss11 Nov 2008

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Transcript of Hang Gliding & Paragliding Vol38/Iss11 Nov 2008