USHGA Ground Skimmer May 1976

ONE DOLLAR

•

MAY 1976

'Y

GROunn ,HlfflffllR fflAGAZlnE

.)

.

~ (

...

The

PHOENIX REVOLUTION

JOIN OUR FORCES WITH THE FINEST CROSS COUNTRY COMPETITION MACHINE

RADIAL TIP. PHOENIX VI-B

J (I

/ky/petV P.O. Box 441-GE Whitman, Mass. 02382, U.S.A. Telephone (617) 447-3773 Factory (203) 872-7317

Joe Greblo flying a Kestrel over California's Malibu coastline.

photo by W.A. Allen

'41 Sky Sports, Inc., and its dealers are happy to present you with three excellent hang gliders. ~.

The KESTREL is a unique cla~-4. double-surfaced flexib le wing with superb stability and dive recovery characteristics.

Designed for light-wind soaring, the Kestrel's penetration and high-speed performance is among the best available in comparable gliders. Coming in two sizes for pilots weighing 135-185 or 170230 lbs., the Kestrel is priced at $850-$940.

The new BOBCAT II is at the fo refront of the new generation of beginner/intermediate gliders. You can learn more safely with it and continue to fly happily after you would have outgrown lesser-performing std. Rogallos. The Bobcat II also meets FAI/ CIVL/USHGA/H arker standard class rules for competition, and .gives you an edge with two billow settings (3.0° /3.5°) .

It comes in two sizes for pilots weighing 125-165 or 150-210 lbs. at $690.

The LARK is our answer for those who insist on starting with a std. Rogallo, or who want extra economy ($440-$560) or a kit.

(All prices FOB Ellington, Conn., without cover or harness, subject to change without notice. Comprehensive owners manual is included.)

For more information, please write for spec sheets or send $1.00 for complete information kit. Buy Poynter's Hang Gliding for $5.95 from Sky Sports and •' receive information kit free.

Also make sure to contact your nearest dealer for a personal introduction to this great sport of the sky and Sky Sports products: ALASKA Palmer- High Perl. Ki tes ot Alaska: Rick Herrick; (907) 745-4750. 688-2986

'

CONNECTIC UT Bloomfield-Wind Ryders: Bruce Von Kummer; (203) 242-0501. 872-3530 Milford-So. Conn. School of H.G.; Harry KOS'llh; (203) 877-33.JJ. 877- 0294 .

ILLINOIS Skoki e-Firecraft Ai r Sports Corp: Arnie Norum; (312) 674-9159 KENTUCKY Lexington-The Sky"s the Limit; Bob While; (606) 252-09 10 Louisville-Great Outdoors; Bob White; ( 502) 895· 7353 MAINE Bethel-Gliders of Mt. Abram: Joe Robiller; (207) 824- 2183 Kingfield-Sky Truckin'. Inc.: Paul Laliberte; (207) 246-4971 MARYLAND Hagerstown-Lillie Wing: Skip Messersmith; (301) 733- 2693 MASSACHUSETTS Amherst-Eco Flight; Rob Stewart: (432) 253-5852 Centerville- Cape Wind; Dana Littlefield; (617) 771-0351 Woburn-Ultralight Wings, Inc.; Ed Howard; (617) 933-5010 NEW HAMPSH IRE MIiford-Terry's Glider Supplies; Terry Sweeney: (603) 77 4'3700 North Conway - Sf<y People, Inc.; Don McCabe; (603) 356-5872 NEW JERSEY Wharton.-.beltasoarus: Bob Andrews: (201) 386-0925 NEW YORK Long lsland-Dixson·s Glider Supplies: Setty Dixson; (516) 58$- 7562 Monroe-Aerial Techniques: Jim Aronson: (914) 783-6751 New York City- Aerial Techniqu,;s; J im Aronson; (212) 889-7745 Pittsford-Rochesters Hang Gliders, Inc.; Tom 'Frutiger; (716) 381 ·0075, 223-6213 Saratoga Springs-McCarron Aeronautical Corp.: Mike Mccarron; (518) 587-1957

NORTH CAR()LINA Asheville- Freedom Sports, Inc.: Bob Trestman; (704) 274-4060 Linville-Killy Hawk Kites, Inc.; John Sears: (704) 963-4969, 733-5242 Head- Kilty Hawk Kites. Inc.: John Harris; $247

. IA

Cgne Qtean Air Aviation:i on Nocito; 121Sj '45~·KITE • ,, erlaJ-Ihr~ Rivers Hang'.Gliders; Ron 'K1sow;

?) 771 -4~9 " Tri®li-The Hole In ijje Sky; Jim Hutbi)ing~ (2J.5) 298-2674'1< State C,gllege-Skl( Light F1igllt; Dennis Pagen; (814) 234-1967 RHODE ISLAND Providence-Wings ·n Things; Al Ardente; (401) 274-8050 TENNESSEE Chattanooga-Crystal Air Sports: Dan Johnson; (615) 825-1995. 821-2546 Clarksville-Buster Yates; (615) 648-,8915 Johnson Ci ty-Or. Jekyll & Mr Gli de; Ray Tucker; (615) 929-3468 Knoxville-Butterfly Industries. Inc.; Ron Muecke; (615) 522·0202 VERMONT Newbury-Green Mountain Sky Sports; Carl Blaisdell; (603) 787 ·6315 VIRGINIA Roanoke-Windsong: Ri chard Yarnell; (703) 989-6487. 345-8136. 774-9986 WASHINGTON Spokane-Sky Ryders, Inc.: Conrad Agte; (509) 484- 1606 WEST VIRG IN IA Huntington-Mt. State Hang Gliding: Marc Kenyon; (606) 324- 1600 INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTORS Send to distributors tor their respective dealer fists.

Canada-Sky Sports of Canada: John Farnan; Box 574, Dundas, Ontario, Canada; (4 16) 627-0672 Germany-Sky Sports Germany; Jorg Magener; Schornstr. 15 A. 81 Garmisch P, W. Germany South Africa- Frans De Klerk; 15 Livingstone Ave., Brakpan 1540. Transvaal, So. Africa Spain-Homes-Ocells; Roman Camps: Beethoven 12, Barcetona-6, Spain; 2590985

- ,.

POSITIVES

For nearl y four years now, Seagul l Aircraft has been innovating, designing, and building t he f inest hang gliders in the world. Look at the high performance gliders on the market today, and you wi ll see concepts originated

by Seagull years ago. Seagull Aircraft conceived , perfect ed, and produced the d istinctive truncated conical shape, machine bent spars, cambered keel$, cambered sai Is, applied tapered leading edge pockets, the first practica l high aspect wing, coated cab les, padded contro l bars, adjustable trim, and the list goes on. A ll Seagull gliders exhibit positive dive recovery without externa l or "add-on" devices. There are no " instant" gliders from Seagull. Every glider p roduced for sale had been under development for over a full year, and the t ime spent is evident in the finished product. Each glider type continues to be refined during production , and these refinements may be incorporated into o lder gliders. You w ill never own an obsolete glider from Seagu ll Aircraft.

If you are serious about your f lying, you should be flying Seagull.

Seagull Aircraft offers superb gliders for all flying, from training to relaxed soaring, to full-orr competition. Whatever your flying needs, Seagull builds your glider.

SlflllCUll ll!IRCRl!!lr:1 3021

Airport Avenue, Santa Monica, California 90405 (213) 394·1151

j I

. ..

ISSUE NO. 40 MAY 1976

GROUftD ,HlfflffllR

EDITOR: Rich Grigsby LAYOUT & DESIGN: Mark Al lison EDITORIAL ASS ISTANT: Sharon Grigsby OHICE STAFF MANAGER: Carol Velderra in Susan Bischof, Hedy Kleyweg, Janet Meyer

fflAGAZlnl

USHGA OFFICERS P,RESIDENT: Vern Roundlrce VI CE PRESIDENT: John Lake SECRETARY: John Harris TREASURER: Lloyd Li eber

CONTENTS 4.

USHGA REGIONAL DIRECTORS REG ION I : Vern Roundtree, Gil Dodgen. RE· GION 2: Lee Sterlos, John Grace.REGION J: Lloyd Li cher, Dan Poynler, John Lake, Chris Will s, REGION 4: Don Ben ch. REGION S: Gary Osaba. REG ION &: Darryl Sm ith. REGION 7: Mike Zi askas. REG ION 8: Tom Pcgniny, Dan Chapman. REGION 9: Vic Powell, Chuck Slusarczyk. REGION IO: Harry Rob,b, John Harris. REGION 11: Dave Broy les.

DIRECTORS-AT-LARGE: REGION 1 : Bill Johnson. REG ION 8: Al Mulazzi. REGION 9: Dennis Pagen. REGION 1 1: John While.

HONORARY DIRECTOR: Hugh Morton. EX OFFICIO DIRECTOR of USHGA as we are a d ivision of NAA: Genera l Brooke Allen.

CONSUMER ADV I SORY: GROUND SKIMMER and USHGA, Inc. do not endorse or take any responsibility for the products advertised or mentioned within these pages.

Please consult the HMA or pilots and dealers In your area.

CROUN IJ SKIMMER i, published for hang ~lidlnR sport cnthus,~st, to rtti'IIC fur1hor 1nic,e~1in the )purl, be i1 rnt•dns of OP<'" communic..alio,, 11nd to arlv;inc;-c

h,rng gliding mc1hod, ,,nd ;Jle1y Contribu1ion, arc? w~lron,c. A11yo,w 11 llwlicd 10 contrlbuw ,11llclcs, photo\, ~nd lllu,1ra1ion; concerning hong glid,ng ,lC·

ULTRALIGHT CONVERSATIO N

10.

ULTRALIGHT NEWS

18.

DOG MOUNTAIN by Tom Gau l

21.

PROTECTING SELF- REGU LATI ON by Vic Powell

23.

HMA MEETING by W. A. All en

25.

BEST FLIGHT SPEEDS TO THE NEXT THERMAL by Pau l 8. Mccready, Jr.

28.

HANG TEN WORLD HANG GLIDE R CHAMPIONSH IPS

by W. A Roecker (Pork)

40.

SYLMAR TO PALMDALE by Trip Mellinger and Rich Grigsby

44.

THE BAROGRAPH by Ll oyd Lic her

46.

BEEN UP SO LONG SO LONG IT LOOKS LIKE DOWN TO ME .

by Mike M c l ane

47.

WARN ING - TURBULENCE AHEAD by Paul B. McCready Jr.

48.

TRAINI NG WITH A M ED IUM PERFORMANCE GLIDER

by Steve Mccorkle

----

1ivities. 1r 1he material i, 10 be re1 urned. a ,wmoed,

,elf-addre»cd rc1urn envelop~ mus, be <·nc loscd.

GROUND SKIMMER rij;e,vc, the ri~III 10 cull wn• 11lbu1lon; where M(CS\Jry. ThcA,WCl,Hlorl .,nd pub· lic:.1tlon Uo not tb:.tmw r!!)pOn!'iiblllty for tht• mJlt.'rial or opinions or con1ribu1or,.

GROUND SK IMMER Is put)ll<hcd mo111hly by th~

56.

CALEN DAR

57.

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

United S1,,1es H~ng Clldlng As;ocoa lion, Inc. who,c malling addre,, I< P.O. Box 66J06. los Angele<, CJ III, 90066 arid whos~ ofrlcc< ar<' lor,ll<'d ,11

11312 Y, Venice Blvd ., Los Angeles, Cali f. 90066; tclcpho,,c 121 J> .l90-306S. Second-c lass 1X>stagc• Is paid JI Los Angeles. CJlif. GROUND SKIMMER Is prin1od hy Slnc l,iir Prl111ing & l.11ho, Alhambr,1, Calif.

Subsulprion is JvJI IJblc on ly,,, pa11 of mcmber,hlp In 1hc USHGA, J m('n,bor-conorollcrl cduc,1110,1a l and scien1ifk or11Jni1J 1ion dcdicJ1cd 10 exploring all laco1s ol ruellcss, scli-launchcd uilraligh1 (light.

Member,hlp " open 10 anyone ln1ercs10d ,n 1hl, realm oflligho. Ou~~ a,e $ 10 perycM ($1 1 for roreign Jddre,;e;J ol which $4 are dc~lgna1~d for subsrrrp.

1ion 10 GROUND SKIMMER. Chaflge; of .iddrc,s should be sen, six weeks In adv,1ncc, lncludl11g name, USHCA mcmhcrshi1-> number, ~rl'vioui ilrlcf nt!w ad~

dress, •nd ,1 m,,lllng label from,, recent Issue.

,,

Brian Porter shows that crowd-pleasing accuracy as he parachutes his UFM Easy Risec onto the b ull's eye at the Hang Ten World H ang G lider Champ ionsh ips. Br.i an's co nsistent fly i ng and landing sk ill s earned him first p lace in a <>ne-class meet dominated by fl exible wings. Sec st<>ry page 26. Photo: W. A . Al len

High Performance Gliders

HOWDOYOU

DECIDE? There's a lot more to selecting a high-performance glider than Just seeing which one flys highest or listening to manufacturers' claims. If you really want to be confused Just compare ads in Ground Skimmer Magazine.

There's a better way ...

Now you can go to one place and fly just about any high-performance glider that Interests you.

Our weekly High-Performance Glider Cllnlc lets you learn first hand the difference In feel between batten tip and truncated tip gliders.

Compere roll response, pitch response, yaw sensitivity, Inertial lag, control pressures. and stall and landing characteristics - all Important points to consider.

We don't want to sell you Just any glider. we want to sell you the one that's best for you.

For more informoflon call or write to:

Southern California School of Hang Gliding Box 2165-GS2 Van Nuys, CA 91404 (213) 789-6200

Accident Statistics Dear Editor, In the March issue of Ground Skimmer, I noticed the long awaited statistics on hang gliding accidents. As Chairman of the USHGA Accident Review Board, Robert V. Wills, has, in my opinion, made one of the most significant contributions to our sport.

The hours he has spent away from his law practice and family in cataloging the data and reporting it, is truly remarkable. He has provided us with our best defense based on factual data, not theories, rhetoric or sermons.

Anthony F. Kirkpatrick, Omaha, Nebraska

"Do a Good Turn" Dear Editor, I just finished reading the article "Do a Good Turn", by John Lake. It was a great article so I thought I would let you know how I responded to it.

After reading John's article I actually realized how a turn is made. The intermediate pilot he was talking about was me. I'm sure there are other pilots such as me who have been just as re-enlightened on the subject. This is the first article I have read that has caught me like this; maybe due to the fact that you won't be around to do another bad turn.

It is a great article that needs reprinting every so often.

Tom Martin Winton, Calif.

Self-regulation. vs Federal Control Dear Editor, This letter is a response to Larry Sherrer's letter in the March issue of Ground Skimmer.

Mr. Sherrer seems to feel that hang glider pilots, as a group, are incapable of regulating their own sport. He wants the bureaucrats in the FAA to set up regulations for hang gliding. I wish Mr. Sherrer would look closely at how well the federal government

regulates the things that it now controls. Ht should also look at the sport itself. He would find that many of the controls he .wants the FAA to enact are being developed within the sport by fliers. I don't want the FAA setting up rules for my flying, since I am certain they woyld over regulate.

The USHGA and the many clubs and associations around the country are the people who should control the sport, since they are hang glider pilots who know when a rule is beneficial because it affects them directly. When outsiders make the rules you end up with situations like the controversy over flying in OUR national parks. I suggest that the USHGA could be in charge of most of the aspects of the sport Mr. Sherrer mentions so that when we lose a bit of freedom it is because we think it is a good idea; not because a bureaucrat, who has. never flown a kite, wants a new rule to enforce.

Dave Wilson New Brunswick, N.J. Dear Editor, A letter, "The Icarus Syndrome," in the March column of "Ultralight Conversation," caused me increasing concern as ·1 read it th rough. I wondered first if the author was employed by the FAA, and trying to work his employer into a take-over of our movement -or whether a low level of understanding exists, through lack of experience with the Federal Bureaucracy.

Larry Sherrer proposed some very good thoughts, ideas which are doomed to failure if FAA is the controlling agent.

If FAA regulated Hang Gliding, the Quality of Equipment, Design Approval, Site Categorization, Pilot Proficiency, Reinspections, Etc., - resultant costs would drive out all but a few affluent people, an effective method of control. Be aware, it is the FAA's avowed intention to ultimately control every aircraft movement.

Once Federal regulation dictates. which materials and equipment can be used in flying vehicles, the cost of that C?rtification drives the price out qf reach of most (continued on page 6)

MAY, 1976 4

•

"T

HELP SUPPORT OURTEAffll Hang Gliding History will be made in 1976 and you can be part of it all. How? In September 1976, the First World Hang Gliding Championships will be held in Kossen, Austria. A total of nine pilots plus three alternates will comprise the U.S . Team. These pilots will be chosen from the top three places in Standard, Open, and Rigid Wing classes at the U.S. National Championships at Dog Mountain, Washington.

The anticipated budget could go as high as $22,000. Considering air fares, uniforms, accommodations, and the entry fee of $200 per person, one can appreciate the amount of money required to send a team to the World Championships. Vern Roundtree, USHGA President, will be Team Leader. We are approaching our menlibers to support the U.S . team with cash donations. Since no money will come out of the regula11 USHGA funds to finance the team, they will be supported entirely by your contributions.

Remember, eve1y little bit helps - it all adds up. Any and all contributions are appreciated. Donors of $1 or more will receive a World Hang Gliding Championships decal. All donors' names will be published in Ground Skimmer - and remember, donations are tax deductible and are used only for the support of our team in Kossen.

The U.S. Rang Gliding Team will become World Champions with your heln. Send youi;. check to: USHGA BOX 66306 LOS ANGELES, CA. 90066 NOTE: U.S. HANG GLIDING TEAM FUND

r-·----------------------------------1

I I I I I

NAME _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ __ _ USHGA # _ _ __ STREET ADDRESS _ __ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ __ _ _ __ _ CITY - -- -- -- - -- -- - - , STATE _ _ _ _ZIP _ _ __ __ AMOUNT ENCLOSED - -- -- - -- - - -- - -- - -- - -

I I I I I

~-----------------------------~----·

CONTRIBUTORS Dan O'hara, WI Dave Stewart, PA James Jackson , VA Chris Cairns, IA C. F. Flaig, CA Rick Downs, PA Robert Ochs, NY Sue Miller, CA Charles Matheson, OH Carol Velderrain, CA Russ Velderrain, CA Stephen Baran, MT Anthony Hunter, FL Del Harman, OK Lena Harman, OK Jon McVicker, OH Walt Conklin, CA Carter Phelps, CA J im Austin , CA

David Essig, CA Mack Bums, CA Big Bird, CA Paul Clark, CA Al Berumen, CA Bob Dart, CO Sun Sail Corp., CO Dick Grisham, CA Larry Fisler, CA Chuck Graham, CA Chuck Stahl, CA So. Cal. Sch. of Hang Gliding, CA Robert Shuss, CA Bob Bowen, CA Tom Milkie, CA Don Crawford, CA Jim Chronister, CA J im Baxes, CA

George Buckley, CA Kas De Lisse, CA Jan Herbert, NY Steven Mazanek, NJ Hal Wilkie, Canada Kirk Vernon, NC Jim Conrol, NC Jim Conrod, NC Jeff Steber, OH .

F. Hemenway, NY' Dougl/!S Stewart, PA Doug Levy, Right Bros.

Kite Co., NY Bob Van Devander, IN Robert Poland, CA Kevin Vallely, NY Edward Cox, TN Mike Gilmore, NY Aeolus H. G., Inc., MA

Jim Clark, CA Mitch Trost, CA Mendij, CA Vicki Hudson, CA John Davis, CA Raul Gonzalez, CA Cheap Thrills Flt. Systems, CA. Larry Witherspoon , CA Bob Lafay, CA Edy Townsend, CA George Radmiller, CA Ear1 Manning, CA Jack Benedict, CA Bob Licher, CA Scott Ripley, NY Frank Kotyk, PA Peter Stalle, NY Michael James, CA

Crazy Bear Moreno, CA Steven McDonald, MD John Weiss, MN Evelyn Grzeskiewicz, IN Ray Duryea, NY Mark Defriece, MD Rod Ostrander, WI Philip Moyer, OR James Walker, CA Tony Peralta, AZ. William Griffith, MO James Trapp, CA Jeff Gruver, MO Richard Zwinger, CA Seneca Sky H. G., NY General Wings, Inc , OK Aerodynamic Adventures, Inc. John Pleman, CA Chuck Owens, Ml Jim & Mary Peghiny, MA David Hall, NJ John Graoe, CA Dean Whisler, CA Michael Foster, CA Dr. Anthony Kirkpatrick, NE Michael Puza, NJ Charles Lutz, AZ. Donald Cooney, NY Bob Hooper, CA Fred Kruger, IL Thomas Reuter, Ml Steve Huckert, CA Robert Wiggin, OR David Lewis, NJ John Esterline, Ml Mark Lippe, TX Jeff Hjo11, CA William Wood, NV

\OIMER AIRCRAFT Blueprints Now Available

VJ-24 Sunfun

• Airplane controls • All metal, except fabric.

• Easy to build.

• Semi-cantilever, m0noplane hang glider.

• Send $2 for brochure.

VJ-23 Swingwlng

• Has been soared for 42. min. on 34'-high hill, 23-slope, 17 mph wind.

• Takes off and lands in 2 steps in a 15-mph wind.

• Fully controllable in 3 axis.

• World's first high performance hang glider.

• Send $2 for literature, 3-view, and color photo

VJ-11 So-Lo

• Build the world's first fully controllable hang glider.

• Standard aircraft controls.

• Fully engineered.

• Can be built in 6 weeks spare time.

• Material cost approximately $400 • Send $2 for literature. specifications, and photo

Plans & Brochures

Kits & Materials

VOLMER AIRCRAFT OSK AIRCRAFT BOX 5222 DEPT. G 14547 ARMINTA ST. GLENDALE, CA. 91201 VAN NUYS, CA. 91402

6

people. A small airplane engine now costs as much as a brand new Cadillac! Electronic Black-box "Goodies" often cost as much as the rest of the airplane! Investigating into this rip-off we're stopped short with a terse, "If you can't pay the dues, stay out of the system."

USHGA is, we strongly feel, the ideal vehicle for logical, safe development and continuation of "Foot Launched Flying."

We see USHGA leaders as being aware of the value of self-regulation. February GROUND SKIMMER listed the latest of 1,034 people recorded to have earned Hang 3 and Hang 4 ratings, our own pilot proficiency program. Materials testing equipment and facilities are available.

Planned and existing flight training and vehicle evaluation sites are around, as investigation will show. University professors and E.A.A. designers are usually happy to help solve construction problems. We really do not need governmental intervention. Fact is, in this adventure of low, slow flying, collectively WE, not Uncle Sam , are the experts. It is best that this expertise be shared among hang gliding enthusiasts, not through the government.

As president of the South Jersey Chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association, I have experienced where FAA, under the guise of "Safety," has actually created UNSAFE conditions. We can show where FAA, through unconcern or inability, has allowed the KILLING of flyers to continue, due to obstructions at airports. We know of pilots who .have moved their households to areas of unregulated airspace. We have experienced the STONEWALLING at all levels of the bureaucracy, Local, State(s), and at Washington, and are willing to provide elaboration on request.

No, Larry, it is just not possible to make the large-scale institutions respond in the way that we may like.

There seems to be a wide acceptance of the viewpoint, across this country, that regulation is the panacea. Quoting the latest Library of Congress data, a total of 404 laws were passed in 197 4. In the same period, an incredible 7,496 new or ammended regulations were cranked out by the Federal regulatory agencies. A ratio of 187 rules for ever law! These rules carry the force of Law. Violators are subject to fines and jail. The cost of this regulation, in 1965 dollars (adjusted for inflation) has risen from $4.43 per American, to an equivalent $10.36 now - a 2% times increase in only 10 years.

Sadly, very much of this regulation goes unchallenged.

Embracing II Authority" to do all the

thinking, planning, and programming, makes many people comfortable. We here in the "Crowded East" have had enough of that! You cannot climb into bed with Governmental Bureaucracy, as suggested, on a "limited basis." There's no such thing as being partly pregnant.

Icarus was fabled to have flown foo near the Sun. So, many others in modem times will be drowned by "Bureaucratic Overkill," should a Federal take-over of Hang Gliding be allowed.

Matt Gillis, USHGA #359 11 FEnimore Drive, Collings Lakes Williamstown, New Jersey 0894 Dear Editor, Larry Sherrer's letter (GS, March, 1976) started off great. I agree - we al I have total responsibility in our flying.

He then does a 180 and suggests that the take F.A.A. become involved, i.e. responsibility.

It won't work. If the F.A.A. became involved as Larry suggests, progress will be slowed tremendously while costs will skyrocket.

As an alternative, I would suggest putting more teeth into self-regulation. If a pilot continually shows a lack of judgement, pull his rating card. Peer pressure just might work if we get mean enough.

Les King Gaithersburg, Md.

Have something on your mind? GS welcomes letters to the editor. Please address your letters to Ground Skimmer, % USHGA, Box 66306, Los Angeles, CA 90066.

••

.!IIOME OF TM£ 'TOPICS Oll:T'All..&Cc

o(;ENERAL ~ER•ATMOOCIRICUL-.T tON-•lflf' MA,...._'S•f"~ •TaTtMe - .. llt,OM"TS- C.U::,VO ~P9;'11

•TURBULENCE. -~UIIIE$--C.ONOl'TCN& 5'T""91LtW -flOTOPle ... c,,,a,..-..a&Pt.a P'~Yl"IG, "Tl!<:HHtq,Ult'lS-wtND ~AOOw'

•W'INDCONDITtot-45-sc::~e:z.c

...,.,.._~c.

At40~"'T'~BNnc w1,..:05 AL.Tt,VQC S,Pfl'~-W1NC> ~DfDtT'

•!!SOA.RtNGr- t1t1c.as- fl'ltOH'ra ~EJlitMAI.S-W"""*. . . . CtVtr.lA,MIC..

•l!ln"I!: RE....ciNG-T-. -

... NDJNQo L.tf'T -WtHC:, · ~ I N .

••T& a,ur,..MPl,.KS

I

THl9" "'A°""-C M,._P-ro'TMLs.cv" i& A.9 11!!!:&SENTI.-.L."'Tt> ~E'l"L.Vl.... AS"' HEL..Ml!.T - f"'OFI. e•&tNNl!RS e; x ~ RTS

,-o

::~~1.-.."c~: c2...t1.:!1 ~:r-· SICY LIGHT P'~I-HT -

~ND 1184 ONlllOA ,..,.. tl/T'l'<f'lt C.ou..W•tr fCls.NNS'YL.V~NIA 1.801

..............

,..llt:INT N ......... ,,.. .... o .,..ODfltaee

MAY, 1976

VARIOMETE/R

THE PRICE PRONE HARNESS

.........

AUDIO TYPE, DUAL RANGE 00 FOR HANG GLIDERS

$sa.

I

Send for FREE information sheet, See your deal e r or send to:

I

COLVER SOARING INSTRUMENTS 3076 RO~NOKE LANE

I

..... *...........

~

COSTA MESA, CALIF. 92626

Quanti ty Discounts Available Price 1ulolect to change without notice .

Ca l if . re s id e nts odd 6°/o s oles tax.

TO GET THE BES T PER FORMANCE FROM YOUR GLI DER , YOU NEED ACCURATE CONTROL OF YO UR

Deve loped especially for flying prone in hang gl iders, the Price Prone Harn ess is the ultima te in comfort, safet y -and minimum drag.

AIR SPEED ASK YO UR DEALER ABOUT THE)ll!J#9" A IR SPEED INDICATOR 0 to 38 MPH Mode l .. ...... ... . .. . . . .. .. ...... $22. 50 Guy Wire Moun ting ~rocke t .. .. .... . ... . . . . ..... 3 . 00 Con tro l Bar Moun ting Brocket. ........ .. .. .. ... .. 7 .50 (Please spec ify .gl id er mfgr .,type and type of harness on order)

MEHi L ENTER PRI SES (21 3) 648-3710 days

5900 Conte rbury,A l21 , Culver City ,CA 90230 (213) 641 - 7798 even .

FEATURING EIPPER·fORMANCE

FLIGHT

INSTRUCTION

THE HANG GLIDER SHOP SALES PARTS SERVICE 1351 S. BEACH BLVD. U HABRA . CA . 90631

JACK BRITTON All IIANDS

( 213) 943, 1014 Bulldlnr E

• Allows the pilot to fly comfortably prone, seated or standing.

•

• Full body support with no pressure points, stress areas, or body bend.

•

Completely Padded for Support and.Comfort.

•

Foam Filling Aids Floatation for Water Landings.

•

Extremely lightweight.

•

Low Drag With Only Three Streamlined Support Straps.

• Adjustable flying angle when prone.

•

Tired of Short Gl iding Flights, Then Try Our Light Weight Helmet Mount Pel.let Variometer and Soar Like The Birds standard 0-1,000'/min $ 65.00 dual range 0-500, 0-1000'/m in $ 85.00 automatic I dua l range 0-1,500'/min $115.00 All units include variometer, flask, hinged boom & tubing.

MAKIKI ELECTRONICS

P 0. Bo x 629 • Hauula, Hawa ii 96717

Adjustable seated height when seated.

• Five sizes for proper fit; XS, S, M, L, XL. • Assorted colors to match kite; Red, Blue, Orange, Gold, Yellow.

•

PELLET VARIOMETER

Special design lowers the pilot to the proper seated position.

Complete with Carabiner, Foot Stirrup and Attachment Loops.

Price: $72 .50 Carrying Bag for Harness & Helmet - $ 12.00.

Send Height, Weight and Two color choices to:

WILLS WING, IN~ 1208-H East Walnu! Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701 , {71<\) 547-1344

. ..

COLVER SOARING VARIOMETER

believe in

BELL

Researched and designed by Colver Soaring Instruments in conjunction with Wills Wing, Inc., the Colver soaring variometer is a dual range.audio and visual variometer that offers all the features that the best hang glid ing pilots require. It is a must for optimum soaring flight.

•

•

• •

•

•

DAVID CRO NK GARY THOMPSON

Audio and visual for total flexibil ity.

Dual sensitivity for even t he most marg inal or extreme cond itions.

Super sensitive aud io for the quic kest possible response to lift.

Damped visual for easy reading and a slight averagi ng effect although it is still quicker than the best sai lp lane e lectric variometer.

Proven circuit in productio n for over 21/i years.

En tire ly self contained with no exterior bottles or flasks.

Visual may be separated and mo unted separately to adapt to any design.

Aud io may be turned off for visual use only.

Shock resistant.

Streamli ned for minimum drag.

Extremely lightweight - only weighs 33 ozs.

Built in mou nts can be attached to any co n tro l bar.

Low power usage insures long battery life.

Can be adapted for use with two visual guages.

Distributed exclusively by Wills Wing, Inc.

Visit you r local dealer for a demonstration or write to:

WIUS WING, INC. "w' 1208-H East Walnut Street Santa Ana, CA 92701 Price $170.00 (7 14) 547-1344

,.:,..

STEVE WILSON

JOH N McVEY

$29.50

T HE BELL SOARING HELMET IS AVAILABLE THROUGH YOUR LOCAL BE LL DEALER. Distributed world wide by E ipper-Formance, Inc, Torrance, CA 90501

. ..

~un The Best Glider We Have Ever Built If you know and recognize quality, you know about Sun. We have earned our reputation on our design and building skills and the Swift reflects it.

The Swift uses a highly sophisticated air foil design which was pioneered by Scott Rojohn. The air foil design coupled with our planform creates a most unique membrane flying wing. Even a beginner can recognize the fact that glider design is rapidly out distancing all but the innovative and one only needs to feel a Swift's delicate balance and sure joy of flight to realize what a glider should be.

If seeing a picture isn't enough, (we don't think it should be) ask your nearest Sun Dealer for a introductory flight or ask someone who has flown one and see what he or she thinks of the Swift.

If you're still not convinced watch for the Sun Flying Te we use Swifts exclusively.

&..--

E

......-·

\

PLANFORM SPECIFICATIONS SWIFTB L/D Max Sink Rate Stall Speed Max Speed Roll Rate Pitch Response ' • Contest Potential

7tol@26MPH 250-260'/Min 13MPH 40+ MPH Excellent Excellent Excellent

7 to 1 @27 MPH 250-260'/Min 13MPH 40+ MPH Excellent Excellent Excellent

Area A/R Keel Wing Root Cord Span Tip Batten Cord Dry Weight

SWIFT A

SWIFTB

170 Ft• 5.28 12'0" 19'0" 11'1" 30'4" 37" 40 lbs.

190ff 5.38 12'0" 20'0"

ll'l'' 32'0" 27" 41 lbs.

' Performance figures are approximations and deriv~d-from pilot extrapolation and comparison to other claimed figures.

• • Due to it's exceptional handling characteristics and target hitting potential without loss of L/D or sink rate the Sun Swift was chosen unan imously by the factory sponsored Sun Flying Team.

Sun Sail Corporation 0 6753 East 47th Avenue Drive o Denver, Colorado 80216 0 (303) 321-8482

•

"f

Record Flights in California

fli ght so it cou ld not be submitted for an officia l record.)

March 4, 1976 Trip Mel li nger, fly ing a Phoen ix 68, and Rich Gri gsby, fly ing a Cumulus SB, flew from the 1500' take-off at Sylmar to Palmdale (Cal ifornia). Trip landed at Ave "S,'' a popular flying site borderin g the Moj ave Desert, a flight that exceeded 20 miles.

Rich landed in downtown Pa lmdale, a distance of 23.85 m iles.

These were the fi rst recorded flights i n a hang gl ider that successful ly used thermal soa rin g as a techn ique for extended cross-country flights. During the flight two altitude gains exceed ing 5000' were recorded by a barograph mounted on Rich's gl ider. The barogram along w ith witness statements we.re subm itted to the NAA for official acceptance as a national record for altitude gain - 5180' and distance 23.848 mi les. For a com plete account of the fl ights see articl e on page 40.

May 13, 1976 Chris Price, Rich Grigsby, and Joe Greblo took off from Pine flats, a 5000' mountain north of San Berna rd ino. Using thermals c reated by an advancing sn:iog front, they were able to gain enough altitude to drift downwind over the San Berna rdino Mountains and into the Mojave Desert.

Strong thermals generated by the intense desert heat carried them above 11,000 ASL. A barograph recorded an altitude ga in greater than 6000'. Joe was the fi rst to land outside the town of Hesperia, approximately 15 m iles from take-off. Chris and Rich continued unti l forced to come down 10 m iles north of Victorvi lle due to the presence of m i litary ai rcraft in the area.

They flew a d istance of nearl y 30 mi les, the last 10 miles into a head wi nd.

March 5, 1976

for Hang Gliders

Flying a W ILLS WING SST (Super Swallo•· tail) in a harness of his own design, U.S.Open Class Nationa l Champion, Chri s Price ofTustin, Cali fornia, set an unofficial world d istance record of 34 miles on a foot-launched soarin g flight. (The previous record was held by Bru ce Morton w ho flew 28 m iles in ridge lift in Hawaii.)

Chris Price took off in downwind conditions from Mount Lukens which towers 5,055 feet over the east end of the San Ferna ndo Va l ley i n Ca li forn ia. Us in g therma ls c reated by shea r co nditions, Chris was able to mai ntai n enough height to fly above pat tern al t itude over the Hollywood-Burbank and Van N uys Airports. A northeast w ind ca rried Chris the 34 miles in a little over two hours, givi ng h im a grou,:id speed of 17 mi les an hour.

He gai ned 3,000 feet three separate times during his fligh t. Chris and his SST touched down at the corner of Thousa nd Oaks and Westlake Boulevards in Thousand Oaks with 34 mi les, over two hours, and an unofficial world recQrd behind him.

(Note: No barograph was carried o n his

Wh ile hang gl iding inj ury and fata lities have shown an encouraging decline in the past twelve months, deaths from terminal d ives and other causes co nti nue to happen. Even one fatality is an extreme tragedy for a person engaged i n a recreational acti vity. To date there has not been a workable, practica l safety dev ice. We have been designing and testing for over 18 months, a deployment system for a parachute large enough to recover even a totally collapsed kite.

The device will consist of a chu te packed and d ischarged from the mod ified king-post w hich wil l replace the original.

Thus the device will be a self co ntained integral part of the hang glider structure and wi ll not depend on the pilot to fit a pack on himself or the craft each time he wants to fly. The total system should weigh less than four pounds net and w i ll be dis·c harged by two CO2 cy li nders readi ly obtainable at most d iving shops.

Prototype testing is now underway. The results have been impressive and suggest that perhaps the parachute size could be

10

Press Release: Parachute

reduced somewhat, but the data is in sufficient to be more specific at th is time. The intent of the testing program is to develop a high ly rel iable fi rst c lass system capable of easy use and reuse, with no major modifications to the gl ider.

Bori s Popov Dr. John Cesn ik Northern Sun Hang G I iders Co.

Top 10 Contributors to USHGA Membership OUR THANKS to the many hang gl id ing businesses who have contributed to the USHGA by recruiti ng new members. Their continuous support has made us a truely national orga nizat ion representing the enti re hang glid ing community. To the companies referrin g memberships, the USHGA c red its 25¢ fo r each new membe r to apply toward advertising in Ground Skimmer. Following is a list of the top ten contributors to our membership.

Free Flight Systems, Sylmar ....... . . 289 Hang Gliding by Dan Poynter ...... 286 Ei pper-Formance ..... .. ... ... . .. .. 247 Bennett Delta Ki tes, Van Nuys ... . .. 199 True Flight .............. . ..... .. .. 126 Skysports .... ... ... .. . . ...... . .... 111 Northwestern Hang Gliders Assn . . .. 11O Seagull .. .......... . . .. ...... . . .. . 97 Solo ... . .. .. . .. . .. . ..... • .... . . .. 47 Manta .... . .. . . . ... . ..... .. ....... 44 Sunbird .. . .. . . , . .. . .............. 44

Recall Notice on Harnesses Larry Newman, president of El ectraFlyer, issued a recall on all "Backsaver" prone ha rnesses. The 1" webb ing that connects the k nee hangers to the shou lder straps is not as strong as origina l ly thought to be. If you have purchased th is model, return it immediately to your local dealer for the necessary safety modifications. If there is no dealer near you, mail your harness to Electra Flyer Corporation, 3701 PrincetonNE,Albuquerque, NM, 87 107.

•

MAY, 1976

- .,.

$65.50 b y SUNE31i:=:.>C>

GL.IC> E i:=:.>S

HAWKSWORTH HANG GLIDING BOOT

• To order your harness or for more information write or call,

SUHBIRD GLIDERS 21420 CHASE ST. 7J CANOGA PARK, CA 91304 (213) 882-3177 • Please specify pilot height and weight when ordering by mail.

• A minimum $20.0Q deposit must accompany all mail orders • ONLY $65.50 f.o.b. Canoga Park. Californians add 6% sales tax.

- DEALERS INQUIRIES INVITED -

ITALIAN CUP SWISS CUP GERMAN CUP

. . 13 - 19 SEPT. . . 20 - 26 SEPT.

27 SEPT. - 30 OCT.

100 WORLD· FLYERS IN FIVE MAN TEAMS QUALIFIED THROUGH NATIONAL CONTESTS. CLASS I WORLD CUP 90° Nose angle, 3.5 Aspect ratio, 3° Billow, Roach battens, single deflexers, 50 cm Sail pocket.

Developed by Malcolm Hawksworth especially for hang gliding, the Hawksworth Hang Gliding Boot offers the kind of support, comfort, and protection that hang gliding demands.

• All E nglish leather with ankle padding for support and comfort.

• Special shock absorbant sole to cushion hard landings.

• Rugged tread design for maximum traction.

• Special lace anchors that cannot hook in flying wires.

• One piece leather tongue keeps boot waterproof to the very top.

• Sole designed to easi ly hook and hold harness stirrup.

• Completely lined with soft leather for a perfect fit.

• Complete selection of sizes for proper fit.

• Sold exclusively in the U.S. by WILLS WING, INC. and their dealers.

Send American shoe size {English sizes are slightly different) to :

CLASS II OPEN FLEX WI NG Weight shift control.

.

WORLD CUP HEADQUARTERS, • • GARMISCH, PAR T E NKIRC HEN , POSYF ACH 123, W, G l? R. 08821•56726 ,,;.1

21 day free room - $6,000 in troph ies - $10,000 cash new Ital ian Sport scar.

Will$ WING, INC.

~

·

1208-H East Walnut Street Santa Ana, CA 92701 Price $45.00 {714) 5 4 7-13 44

CONTACT YOUR NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

40/GROUND $KIMMER

11

Selection No C.O.D.

D D D D, D A

B C D E

Amount enclosed: Name Address State

Zip _ _ _

Photo b y J ac k Cox 1000 feet above flat l and take oft site. Lake M ic h igan shor eline 1s 5 miles away ,

for the Icarus II, Sunrise,, or Easyriser motor glider pilot I I I

INFORMAT IONAL PACKAGE-----

For an informationa l package containing color brochure, 16 pages of answers to often asked questions, performance data, and prices, complete this form and maii to:

Now, the hang glider pilot is not l imi ted to a hi ll w it h the wind blowing from just the correct direction. Now, the conventional aircraft pilot is not limited to an airport and runway (and hanger fees).

Taki ng off and landing easil y on yo ur feet, from any flat, safe terrain, you can f.!y your ultralight up to those lift p roducing goodies that undoubtedly are above you.

Then, turn off the motor and experience what f lyi ng is really like!!

Ultralight Flying Machines of Wisconsin P.O. Box 21867 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53221

0 Enclosed ,s S4 , please send informauon pack age.

I I

Name

I

Address

I

C11y

Staie _

__

Zip

I

'-----------------'

. ..

pacific gull :H:A.NG

GLIDERS

1321 CALLE VALLE · SAN CLEMENTE·CALIFORNIA · USA·(714) 492-0670 The HA Series is the most versatile Rogallo mode. With an L/D of 6:1, the HA Series is suitable for the beg inner or expert because of our variable airframe. Our patented extrvded one-piece wing slider and riser system allows variable soi l bil low and dyhedro l; our custom reinforced stainless keel channels a llow control bar adjustment, reflex and seated or prone flying in seconds with no tools. All ball - lok p ins ore sofety wired on with safety snap pins to insure foil-safe and loss-proof usage. All hardware is made and test ed exclusively for hang gliders by Pacific Gull and meet or exceed all HMA requirements. Al l un its ore test flown, balanced and come with an extensive instruction book. A detailed seven page picture brochure wi th soil cloth color samp les and location of our nearest dealer is available for one dollar to cover postage and handling.

. ..

\

\

L/D

9: 1

Minimum Sink Aspect Ratio

210 FPM 135 - 210 lbs 6.2

Airfoil

Wortman

Stall Speed

9 mph.

Surface Area

185 sq. ft.

Nose Ang le

115° 10 - 50 mph.

Pilot We ight

Speed Range Flying Style

Seat/prone

Leading Edge

19 .5ft.

11 ft.

Keel Empty Weight

50 lbs .

6.5 min.

Set-Up Time

PACIFIC GULL introduces the

A.LPINE

The Alpine is the product of o 10 month deve lopment program aimed ot perfecting on ultrahigh performance cross-country soaring glider. The Alpine derives exceptional stabi l ity (no spin tendency), o streight- oheod stall, and vi rtual ly no yaw from its unique double-surfaced soil, The full-length pre - formed cambered battens prevent so il inver1ions and mainta in the shape of the modified Wortman/Murray sai lplane airfoil throug hout t he glider1 entire speed range.

Special adjustable truncated tips, on oirfoiled keel, double deflexers, and the patented Pacific Gul l sliding wing make the so il draw up tight during set-up to provide o "stationary" airfoil like o fixed wing, yet fold up quickly ond easily in 6! minutes too Rogol lo size beg, The cross-country success of the Alpine lies in its abi lity to hove on extreome ly low minimum sink rote ond o high VD rat io. Th is al lows the flier lo core light thermals in o tightbanked radius to gain a ltitude, ond then achieve o long flot glide to the next lift zone. The VD de teriorates very little over o wide speed range of JO - 50 MPH, al lowing the pilot to "power" through turbulent oir withoi:,t sign ificant loss of altitude. In ridge soaring conditions, the Alpine will soar in virtual ly wisps of wind, and the VD wi ll ol low you to cross ridge gaps· to make longer flights .

The Alpine: A cross-country soaring machine designed to be used os o sai lplane. If you ore o proficient flier, perhaps you should further investigate the Alp ine. Pric ing and further information availab le by request. Please include $1 .00 to cover postage and handling.

-~ -

- - =sse:s;-=i,e-.?":. ~ .~ ~

~..--.,...-- .._/- "'·.---..-- ---

. _,,....,...,_~;;;:::::~;::::,~~

1321 CALLE VALLE · SAN CLEMENTE·CALIFORNIA · USA· 014) 492-0670

r /

A NEW ADDITION TO OUR FAMILY

1818 flliHI\ -..

'l

'-,

I

f

".'

'--

I

N

l

822 W. KATELLA AVE ORANGE, CA. 92667 TPlephorw (7141997-0701 Member of Hanglider Manufacturers Association

Manufacturers of QUALITY kites and components DEALER INQUIRIES INVITED

The last word in HANG-GLIDING! ALL OUR CONSTRUCTION MORE THAN MEETS HMA REQUIREMENTS •::•:..:..:, ATTENTION BUYERS •:

0 :••:. .:-

As a 111a1111fizcturerufq11ality xlider ,:t • We've got the best performing beginner :i::!: hardii•are and so.fiwarc we will he :~: and intermediate gliders available. :/: hafJ/JY to quote q11a11tity prices of :j:

• Our safe and comprehensive flight school offers instruction at a reasonable cost.

·:· any Sf)ec!ficatio11s. ll'c carry (),\' 'i' ::: II/IND a large i11re11to1T o/sta11d- ::: :/: ard [)arts and '.\'llf)/Jlies. ll'ri1e or •:• /!hone fr>r q1101c.1.

•:•

:i:

.:=:· •:• •:• •!•.:• .:. ·=· •!• •:• •:••!• •!• •!• •:. •!. •!• ·=· •!• •:••:• •!• ·=· .::=·

•

'I'

It is as light and simple as a Rogallo, is easy to fly and handle, can be flown either prone~\&: nine minutes without tools, and breaks down into a slim Rogallo type bag for easy transportatiQn; In performance, stability, control, and quality of design and engineering, the SUNDANCE has establishedlr standard in ultra light development. · All this means that SUNDANCE offers you the versatility of a Rogallo, with performance unexcelled by any other. Why fly anything else?

SUNDANCE A Span Area Aspect ratio L/D Sink rate Pilot weight Bag length when disassembled

27 ft.

134 sq. ft.

5.8 8:1 seated, 9:1 prone 3.2 fps. under 160 lbs.

16 ft.

NEVADA

SUNDANCE B

32 ft 156. 75 sq. ft.

6.5 9.5:1 seated, 10.6:1 prone 2.6 fps

over 160 lbs.

18 ft.

by Tom Gaul This is an introduction to the flying site of the 1976 Nationa ls. The event promises to be exciting fo r competitors and spectators alike. The agenda ca lls for nine days of flying, with some of the best conducted events ever staged by the l.Jn ited States Hang Gliding AssociatL0n and affiliate clubs. We who fly Dog Mounta in feel that it offers an ideal setting for this

important competition.

The tasks to be flown have been enumerated in GS and wi ll be fully outlined in the rules to be issued to all clubs. The tasks wil l be f ina lized in the last two or three weeks before the Nat ionals. They will al low the pilot to fly the most demand ing tas ks without placing himself in danger due toterrain, w ind, or crowds . An attempt w ill be made to conduct as many as ten rounds throughout the week - tl'ius eve ry pilot who enters on Saturday will compete all through the week until the follow ing Sunday evening. At that time, the top ten competitors in each class wil l be recognized for their abi l ity and ski ll during the awards ceremony.

All Photos by Tom Caul

Expect mild flying conditions at Dog Mt. Little rain has ever been recorded on these dates, but rain gear isn't a bad idea - remember, this is Washington.

The daily wind conditions are generally mild ..ln the morning, there is very little if any wind coming up the face of the mountain. It usually blows about 7-10 mph around 11 :00 a.m., and by 1 MAY, 1976

.

,.

p.m. you can expect 15 to 18 mile an hour w inds - all of which is smooth.

The actual launch site is very safe.

There are no stumps, rocks or trees to inhibit a pilot's exit from the top. Clear visibility from 360 degrees is one of the features of this particular launch.

There is a hundred foot wide launch area planned for the west so that two l ines can be formed and launches made from two separate points adjacent to each other. This shou ld faci litate a smooth flow of traffic at the launch site.

All competition will exit the mountain and head in a genera lly westerly to northwesterly direction. (The west fact of Dog Mt. is a clean, logged-off face which has been known to produce good therma l activity.) The base of the mountain reaches out almost half a mi le into the lake' and is headed up with a small kno ll which forms a rotor. Th is area is wel I out of the reach of any glider in the competition. Dog Mountain has been flown now for just over a year. The Pacific Northwest Hang Glider Association in conjunction with the Oregon Hang G lider Association, have been the primary users of the site. Both of these organizations are made up of individual fliers who are very safety conscious. There will be no stun ting or any aerobatics of any kind allowed either during the competition or during the free flying exercises that wi ll be conducted before, in between, or after the competition. The site has been v irtual ly accident-free because of th is attitude of safety that has been conducted by all of the pilots flying it.

Planning for the '76 Nationals has been thorough. Comm ittees have been set up for various functions as follows: Central Committee - They will establish the sequence and location of all tasks.

Communicat ion Committee They have set up a comprehens ive system al lowing judges and the starter to have c lear communication at all times. Other meet act ivities wil I communicate via Citizen Band radio.

A public address system wi ll keep pi lots and spectators abreast of the program.

Technical Inspection Committee This comm ittee will issue the neces40/GROUND SKIMMER

sary inspection certificate required in order to fly. It wi ll save time and frustration if each pilot is sure that his machine meets the HMA specs prior to sign up.

Transportation Committee - Shuttle- transportation to the top of Dog Mounta in wi ll be provided on the logging road which is one -way traffic only. The refore it wil l be important to carefu ll y control traffic flow. Pilots will be advised of the time they must be on top of the mountain for launch check in. Gliders will be set up in numerical order at prearranged times to accommodate the heavy flight schedule.

Security Comm ittee - They are working w i th the Lew is County Sheriff's Department to provide security on the road and at the launch.

Overn ight security wil l be provided for gliders left on top of the mountain.

Other committees include: scoring, timing, and judging, finance, med ica l, publ icity, site preparation, and sponsorsh ip.

Visitors are sure to be p leased with the facil ities at Dog Mountain. Severa l hundred acres of land are ava il able adjacent to the land ing site for camping and parking. The area is clear and level w ith plenty of driftwood for campfires. Water is avai lable from the lake and from seve ral streams that flow into the lake. There wi ll be toi let

faci lities, and play areas for ch il dren.

The local popu lace w ill be providing activities in the even ing for al l the pi lots and spectato rs. There are plans for steak feeds, pancake breakfasts, and dances throughout the week.

Dav ison Reservo ir, wh ich fronts the west half of the site, w il l be the setting fo r tow-kite demonstrations, boating, sw imm ing and fishing for al l visitors.

TheFe are grocery stores with in ten minutes cfrive from the Dog area, and the site itself wil I have concessions for hot dogs, candy and drinks. Expect to find a festive atmosphere . Pilots and spectators will long remember Dog Mt. as one of the most outstanding weeks hang gliding has ever experienced.

The following motels are within ten minutes drive from Dog Mountain: Tall Timber Motel - (206) 497-5908; Evergreen Motel - (206) 496-5407; Mount Adams Motel - (206) 497-5145; Silver Brook Motel -(206) 497-5691; Silver Sp ruce Mote l (206) 497-5346; In addition the following motels are w ith in one hour drive from Dog Mountain : Nendell's Mote l - (206) 748-0101; Cascade Motel - (206) 748-8608; Ambeau Motel - (206) 736-9362i Park Motel -(2 06) 736-9333; Riverside Motel (206) 736-4632; Ha ll mark Motel (206) 736-2875; Lake Shore Motel (206) 736-9344.

•

SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES FOR UN ITED STATES NATIONAL HANG G LIDI NG CHAMPIONSHIPS May 27, Thursday 12:00 to 5:00 P.M.-Contestant check-in.

May 28, Friday 10:00 to 5:00 P.M.-Contestant check-in, and glider inspection.

7:00 to 9:00 P.M.-Contestant check-in .

May 29, Saturday 10:00 to 5:00 P.M.-Contestant check-in and glider inspecti0n.

All Day, Practice flyi ng fo r al l contestants.

8:00 P.M.-LJSHGA meeting for all members.

May 30, Sunday 8:00 A.M.-Pilot's meeting.

10:00 to 6:00 P.M.-Competition flying.

May 31-June 5, Monday through Saturday 8:00 A.M.-Pi lot's meeting.

9:00 to 6:00 P.M.-Competition flying.

Ju ne 6, Sunday 8:00 A.M. -Pilot's meeting.

9:00 to 4:30 P.M. - Competition flying.

4:30 P.M.-Award Ceremony.

June 7, Monday 9:00 to 5:00 P.M.- USHGA Board of Director's meeting.

II 19

Ii

•

'r

the

A

moderately high aspect ratio, truncated tip, Sail Glider.

The ASG-21 has a fully combe r ed sail & keel pocket & vses cvstom tapered Seamon battens to support the airfoi l. For a cleaner truncated tip, it hos adjustable compression struts. It's safe assembly technique requ i res no tools & tokes only min,;tes.

Specifications; area-165 sq. ft . · span - 31 5 Ft. aspect ratio - 6.0 sweep angle - 2 7. 9° mean chord - 5. 24 ft.

Ke ith Nichols soaring Torrey Pines photo by Bettina Gray

ALBATROSS SAILS P.O. Box 192 Solana Beach, CA

92075

Phone • ( 714) 755-7 000 Send

20

for our free

All Albatross Sail Gliders ore scaled to different weight ranges & use 2024 - T3 .tubing for the best · st rength to weight co.;;binotion possib l e.

brochure!

MAY, 1976

-- :""f

PROTECTING SELF-REGULATION

by Ui1: Pawell Federal regulation of hang gliding is seen by some as helpful, beneficial, and inevitable. Others view it as the death of the sport, a development to be avoided at all costs. In the middle of these two extremes are the uncaring and uninformed who couldn't care less about what the federal government does because they intend to continue doing their thing no matter what. It's an area the sport can no longer afford.

One of the biggest dangers to hang gliding in the general picture of government regulation has never been mentioned, yet it could have as large an impact on the sport as any regulatory dictum from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). And if hang gliding doesn't get its manufacturing act together, the sport could very well find itself under fire from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Not likely to happen? The business world is full of regulated companies that at one time thought the Feds were pretty distant. The CPSC is flush with success after clamping down on the bicycle industry. Seems there were some shoddy manufacturers producing bikes that were low on quality, in fact the parts would sometimes break, and a few injuries resulted. The bicycle industry failed to have its manufacturers agree on parts quality. The CPSC saw a regulatory void and potential danger to bicycle riders and stepped in. All manufacturers must now construct bicycles containing parts that meet CPSC specifications, whether or not a design change could later dictate a substantial alteration.

So while some items have been nailed down for reasons of safety, the nails can slow down the process of development and change. The parts are now federally contralled, and federal 40/GROUND SKIMMER

Vic Powell is a member of USHGA Board of Directors, Region 9 and editor of Skyline, the Capitol Hang Gliding Association publication. He is familiar with the workings of governmental agencies, as he is Congressional Assistant for Senator Whitehurst. Vic also serves as Committee Chairman for the International Hang Gliding Commission on the rating and awards committee for the FIA. regulations are extremely difficult to change. Further, the manufacturers must file compliance statements, forms, paperwork-red tape. To illustrate a point I have used one example.

There are hundreds of industries and manufacturers adversely affected by the CPSC and other federal agencies, and each company has its tale of woe.

Hang gliding shouldn't allow itself to slide into the clutches of any federal agency.

Some important shortcomings in hang gliding's attemptat selfregulation were outlined recently in these pages, and a call was made for cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration while we improve our self-regulation efforts. The comments by author'Bill Allen (GS April, 1976) were pointed and designed to get the sport off its lethargy.

While I support communication with the FAA, I disagree that FAA regulation of the sport is inevitable. I do not

believe that all we have done in the past toward self-regulation is meaningless and that we should roll over and give·up because they are going to get us eventually. It has been two years since the FAA has said anything publicly about hang gliding. In the July 1974 edition of FAA AVIATION NEWS, a three-page article entitled "Shades of Icarus" briefly reviewed the sport's history and status. A few paragraphs were given on how to fly a rogal lo, and hang glider accidents were discussed. But the most important paragraphs to hang gliding enthusiasts were near the end and were good news: "The FAA fact finding team concluded that hang gliding, when practiced with modest caution in flying habits and choice of sites, need not be a hazard to the operator, to other users of the airspace, or to the general public.

The sport in its present form allows I ittle opportunity for flight into controlled airspace, and constitutes little threat to people or property on the ground. No accidents or incidents of this nature have been reported. The team further concluded that the h~ng glider community, including manufacturers, .pilots and organizations,· is making a sincere and safety-oriented effort at self-regulation, and has already begun formulating manufacturing standards and safety rules for training and flying.

21

I

After evaluating the team's final report FAA has· decided that no rulemaking action will be taken at present, but for the time being, FAA will observe the progress of the activity and the efforts of the industry to keep it safe."

I contacted the FAA this past April to find if there were any revisions in that statement. Atone point an attempt was made to place hang gliding under the same rules as parachutes. At a hearing in northern Virginia of the Biennial Operations Review, an FAA proposal to regulate hang gliding under parachute rules was spoken against by Ralph Buxton and Les King, members of the Capitol Hang GI ider Association. They pointed outthe unworkability of the proposal, the unjustified method of regulation, and the fact that hang gliders are not parachutes, despite the FAA reasoning that since they descend they are similar to parachutes. In their presentation Buxton and King said hang gliders do not descend through operational air space, and that the proposal had not been circulated to the USHGA, the national hang gliding association. The proposal, however, had received the acceptance of the Air Traffic Controllers Association, and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. They saw nothing wrong with it.

FAA indicates they will not implement the proposal, that it has been dropped. Hang gliding came that close to being regulated. The next step resulting from the Biennial Review would have been a proposed rule making, and then issuance of rules.

But the 1974 statement sti 11 stands, the sport has been given another breather.

I believe we should use the time to further shape our sport. We've already come a long way from the early freespirit days. In those beginning years there weren't many of us, and nearly every flyer was jumping from small hills and sand dunes. Now there are thousands in the sport, and some are forging new flight paths going several miles along mountain ridges. Not only is there a need for better kites as the level of experience advances, there is an urgent need for' acceptance of responsibility such performance places

22

on a flyer_ and manufacturer.

It is th is aspect-that causes uneasiness in the federal agencies. It is incumbent upon the members in the sport to demonstrate that the basic and increased responsibilities are being met. How is this accomplisheq? There are several things flyers can do individually, some to be done by the national association, and others by the Hanglider Manufacturers' Association.

For the individual flyer the most obvious, but by no means the least important, is to fly safely - no accidents - while observing site protocol.

Doing all that one can reasonably do to insure that no accident happens. If an accident does occur resulting in damage to the kite or flyer be sure the information about it is circulated to ensure it is not repeated, as almost all accidents are pilot induced. The flyer should join a local hang gliding club

and the national association, USHGA, to keep ab~ast of developments. And v~~ in those organizations, There-are niany other things the individual flyer can do, but performing just these few items reveals to the outsider that we are actively concerned about safety and we are organized. It's very impor-

tant. for USHGA, I believe it is moving forward in the important areas offlight instruction, insurance, getting hang gliding's story to the public, and liaison with the federal government.

At the Board of Directors meeting in Dalls, Texas last January, a flight instructors' certification program and manual was approved. It is now available-to all interested persons for $2 from national headquarters. Schools will be established in each region by Regional Directors as often as demand warrants. The program was outlined in the March 1976 GROUND SKIMMER, Page 34, and additional information can be obtained from USHGA headquarters. The manual is the result of the Safety and Training Committee, chaired by Dennis Pagen of Pennsylvania. The committee has done an excellent job, and I believe the manual and program will prove to be a significant benefit to the sport. The Membership and Development Committee, chaired by Gary Osaba of Kansas, is investigating proposals of various insurance companies to obtain the best coverage at an affordable price for USHGA members. A presentation to the board is expected at the next meeting on June 7, following the Nationals at Morton, Washington.

When the program is operating it will significantly enhance the sport's safety picture. The board also approved a program to place GROUND SKIMMER on a greatly expanded number of newstands accross the country. This gets the word to the general public and should increase membership. Regarding liaison with the federal government, the board recently approved sending complimentary copies of this magazine to selected Members of Congress and FAA officials to help inform those who could be overseeing legislation _and rule-making affecting the sport.

Further efforts must be done in this area. It is vital to the continued freedom of the sport that an active ~nd robust national organization represent hang gliding to those who would attempt to regulate it. The individual flyer can play an important palt in this effort by voting for the Director who they believe will best represent them MAY, 1976

do otherwise. on the board. . .· . . 't • J'S~il:\AS tbe tl:atiio:r{at . I pray. it never happe.nsf btJtth~ttii'it' The technology of the sport has - . . ;\ova·~g glid;¢rmanufac~ time a glider and. aijcraftceflide, n:o t~rers;)t.Sl2tppoi;dly speaks .for those been changing rapidly. Nearly every matter wh i.clj.~ at}a,µl{jhaQll~i¢i n:g is.. man ufactur~·~s .... Butil'laddHion,ith as,a ·. month. ther.e is a ldte with a new going to. be ufl'aei'lrem·~oou:us<'pfos~ .· i:e$pOriS i biTrttyhc;i thos~. per~sohs• ;\\/,H:O ·· break.. througn or addition which sure from general avaiation, 'sOme purchase the prod.wets df those manchanges its ·performance. In defense of people in the FAAamt Congress.· I . u.facturers. Totakes.ucha long period HMA it is extremely difficult to write want to ensurethat as many as pbssispecifications for products that of time toissue spectfic:ati6nsfor 8 1id~ ble. in these, posittons are knowledgee:ts: places aR uncertainty onthe sport. change that rapidly. But has there able about hang gliding and its efforts HMA .mu.st act the.best interests of bee.n a focus on basics or the general to safely regulate itself, becaus~these · the,sport, there .is:topm.yc:hthtos~.to picture? The basic ro&allo hasn't (continued on page 52) organizations will a.lso be un.derpressure to "do something." · ...•... · Bill Allen took the HaogJipE:irN\:.,n... . , .. · · •. c \ ..• "'\ : : i : :··.

In

:r-,-------------~---~--------------.. ~,:·~~~:~ti:rt~J .~M; ·. · ' .;,:U{MJJf:·J.f:tlil·~ by W.·A. Allen 'c;t~I~"; ~'~l):;M~:. ~'t.~i~1r ";t~~""c:i1~tt*~~~l1J12!l~t ~~;t:'~1:~~:~: :~:u'.:~;: is' oJs1!~Gf}Y too'r~1~t4 0

~~ah~t~:~e~~s~~::t~

0

~:

that no hang glider dn the market ca:p·ed .·~asfily nr~ . and ·it was al$Othe.only one which has HMA approved, that no com~IE:ite !!1J{zr~.\ft1eet1ng of. t~e H~~gl1d~r M~nbeen sued. ;, . standards have been implemel'.lted}ft. l1£act[l!e.rs;Assn. !1eld c.onJunc:t1onw]th ..

It was decided to hire somebody such as , · ··. ..··. ; :· .... "',~ ;. the E.scape:£9tmtry Hat1gfenwode:h:neet, Dennis Pageh o(Ed. Cesar to. write up a doesn t see~ to_bean enviable recor.<,t':;/ (ten maf11,1tgI:turers ·(including tl:ifee horn new set of ttinstrl!Jction standards to be The organization mu~t _corr"ec;t; 1~s,,; ~·qutofstat~t:hili)p:e11edto have reptesehta~ presentedto'thegen~ra1,membershipatan

m

~:~~~e~sr ~~~ ~:~:;:::~~u:r~?~~···· ·'\t,~~,~:~t~j~:iti~A:~~iiHentfnJ~ndary, ..r~:l:a~fJA!t :r~~t:~i~:;:ith. the

gli'ders, which is to say both rogaflo - l974;r'eviewedtl5d~fttwhat had hapAn interim newboard of directors was and fixed wing. pened since the lasfgeffiil:ral membership elected unaminously: Bill Bennett, Pete meetingin,Pecember,197'!>. Emphasized ~rock, Chris Wills, Burke .Ewing (Hawk Such action by HMA is necessary if we are to be in a position to reasonably was a dlfti:c.ult search for product liability Industries),· MJ~ Riggs (Seagull Aircraft), defend the sport to such agencies as insuranc.e fof~emb~rs. He reported that and Kent Trirnltf~anta Products}. the Consumer Products Safety Comsuch coverage,was finally found, but had Variousmeans.of fin'andn8 a more ef. · A t d ·h· g. gl"id to be dropped .when some manufacture.rs fective HMA were discussed but no conm1ss1on. s we s an now, an · ·. . . .

Id b I I d f I . could not afford it. Pete.expressed fear that sensus was reached. It was stated that ing wou e. arge. Y e ense ess. in all members would be liable in a suit Brock's Ultralite Products had spent any confrontation with such agencies. against one member under an officiaUy "$3,000" of it own in the last 1Vi years And it should be remembered that organized and incorporated HMA (espe~ supporting HMA "without any return to some States have similar consumer cially bad for the few well-capitalized thecompanyatall."$1,300wasreported protection divisions. businesses-W.A.A.). Without insurance, in the HMA bank account.

The powers of the CPSC are imhe suggested that HMA would be better Pete Brock to ld that the summer, 1976, mense. It has stopped the manufacturleft:as a loose-knit discussion group. ComTelluride meet will be supervised by HMA ing of items it decided were danger- _pleiion of:the HMA by-laws and incorpoand open only to 60 manufacturer's pilots. us, it has caused a I readyration papers had not been pursued, 1975 Tracy Knauss (Glider Rider) was selected 0 manufactured products to be demembership dues checks had been held as competition director.

by Pete uncashed and unreturned, and A debate over HMA goals and purposes stroyed, and issued recall and stop or1976 dues had not been solicited. Thus, in took up much time without any concluders for products never having a re-· fact the group has been veryc informal, as sfon. Knauss volunteered to provide a cord of hurting anyone, but possessed further seeh in a 16-month gap in general · proposed list of goals. FAA involvement in what the CPSC decided was a potenmembership meetings. the sportwas discussed asUnwanted. Dan tial for injury. As hang gliders are not Three di~erent responseswere rnad~ to Poynter reported that he knows of 400 aircraft, and therefore not under the Pete Brock's emphasis on obtaini[lg proh·ang gliding businesses, including a maxjurisdiction of the FAA, they are wide duct liability insuranee. °Chris Wills (Wills imum of 70 involved in manufa<:turing. open to being controlled by the CPSC. Wing) spoke out strongly and repeatedly This was a confab confounded by conlndeed, even the FAA could offer little for gettingbackto workon HMA construe- . tradictio11s. Fpr almostevery.positive suginterference to aircraft already under tion standards as the first priority regardgesfion, ~omeo.rre had a negative reits control if the CPSC decided an item less of insurance. Bill Bennett. (Bennett sponse. Little was accomplished except Delta Wing) .siate.d that retaining a good tlfat new life mayJ1aveoeeri breathed into is unsafe.

1 For hangglidingto be in the position s!t~~::::a~e:~;d~h~' ~:e 'd,~~h ;~1~:ec::i:~!~~t~,~~~: of not having safety specifications for has such a lawyer whose services also get-togethertoseewhetherornotwewant its products rs, I believe, a threat to the have been used by .other manufacturers. to get together." The answer from most continuance of the sport as we know And several members qoestionedthewispresent seemed to be''yes/' it. HMA's obligation is larger than just dom of insurance at all. Dan Poynter re0

~fi:~

r~~t~:~ t~f

40/GROUND SKIMMER

·~~~·~~·

23

....

WILLS WING SST ALREADY STARTING ANOTHER WILLS WING LEGEND

Although only 14 WILLS WING SST's entered the 1976 World Open at Escape Country among a field of over three hu ndred and fifty competitors, 10 SST's qual ified among the top one hundred gliders. When the field was cut to fifty, 8 SST's were still in the running. When it was cut again to ten, there were stil l 4 SST's in contention, and when it was all over a WIL LS WING SST was the highest placing rogallo in the meet, as Dave Saffold finished second overal l in a production SST 1OOC. The other three in the top ten were Dave Vincent, Curt Kiefer, and Bob Wil ls, all in production SST 100B's.

Meanwhile, Al Bartholomew was fly ing his SST 1008 in the U.S. Nationals qualifying meet at Dog Mountain . Al took first place by over 1,000 points.

These impressive accomplishments fol low on the heels of Chris Price's incred ible 33.6 mile world record cross-country flight across the San Fernando Valley in a production SST 1 l OP. Find out for yourself why the SST is performin~ these feats. Don't just talk to a salesman. Test fly an SST and discover,

THE WILLS WING EXPERIENCE WILLS WING, INC.~ 24

1208 H East Walnut Street Santa Ana, .Californi a 9270 1 (714) 547-1344

Summary In thermal soaring with a hang glider, it is beneficial to fly toward the next thermal at a speed which gives the flattest glide considering the down current you may be in. This lets you have the greatest chance of reaching the nextthermal -usually a tough task considering the performance limitations of hang gliders . The correct speed can be conveniently shown automatically by a speed scale, tailored to the performance curve for the particular vehicle, affixed to a rate -ofclimb indicator. This is a simplified version of the best-speed-to-fly technique used in sailplanes.

The Concept of Optimizing Speeds

Over the last th ree decades crosscountry therma l soaring techn iques have become we ll -developed for sa il plane fly ing. Instrumentation, sa il planes, and fl ight techniques have all been ta il ored to p roduce better crosscoun try speeds . Hang gliding is enteri,:ig a phasewhere cross-country thermal flights of a few tens of mi Jes are being made. It is intriguing to exam ine how the sail p lane expe rience might be adapted to improve this aspect of hang gliding.

40/GROUND SKIMMER

The cross-count ry fl ight technique involves the gl ider ascending in a therma l by circling, then glid ing at a fa irly h·igh speed toward the next thermal, cl imbing up in that thermal, and repeating the process until the destination is reached. Circl ing in thermals is d one at a slow speed where the vehicle sinking speed is near the min imum - whether the vehicle is a sa il plane or hang glider.

In order to max imize its ave rage speed over many therma l sequences, the sailplane's speed to the next thermal is selected by cons idering its perfo rmance cu rve, the strength of the downcurrent through wh ich it is fly ing, and t he expected strength of the next thermal. If the downcurrent is strong t he sa il p lane flies fast so as to get through it quickly and hence reach the next thermal as high up as poss ible . ILthe next therma l w ill be strong the sa ilp lane fli es faster; even though the sailplane t hen encounters the thermal lower down, the ri se rate in the thermal more than compensates.

Wind is no(considered here; one is maxim i zing the ave r age speed through the moving air mass without rega rd to the mean movement of the air mass (this still achieves max imum average ground speed) .

To explo re fo r a hang gl ider the tradeoff between the goa l of max imum average speed and the goal of improving you r chances of reaching the next thermal, conside r the follow ing example.

Take a hang glider with the performance curve as given in Figure 1. This is the representative "Superkite" curve of the article, "Hang GI ider Performance - Comparisons, Fundamenta ls, and Potentials" in the Ma rch 1976 i ssue of Ground Skimmer.

"Superkite" is the catego ry covering the h igh aspect ratio Rogallos, with battened or truncated or extended tips, and with w ire -braced leading edges. Take the meteorological cond it ion of a 12 ft/sec upcurrent (netting a cl imb rate of 8 ft/sec cons idering the glider sinks 4 ft/sec in the rmaling), and a 2 ft/sec downcurrent between thermals. In Figure 2 if you fly at the optimum speed for cross-country soaring, 36 mph, you will achieve an average of 14 mph . If you fly at the speed giving the best glide angle, 23 mph, your average speed w ill be less but only sl ightly less, 13 mph. However, at the lower flight speed you travel 5678 feet fo rward whi le descending 1000 feet, as opposed to on ly 4240 feet at the h igher speed. The large

25

. ..

Fig. 1 Performance Curve and Influences of Downcurrent.

10

5 4

5

w.

3

Best glide angle in downcurrent of strength w.

2

0.. :::)

w

/

I

30 (MPH)

20

50

40

0 30 (KNOTS)

20

z

I

0

2

5

3

IO

:---------/----

40

?:

w.

Q

0Lil

6

Performance Curve (wo vs v)

7~ 0 8~

U)

....

I-

!!;

15

extra distance is a better choice for a hang glider than the slight extra average speed - and the slower flight speed wil l be mo re comfortable and, in extreme cases, even safer.

Calculating the Speed Ring From the performance curve on Figure 1 p repare a table giving W vs. v. v is ve locity. W is a total descent speed, the sum of the norma l sinking speed w 8 and downcurrent speed Wd. Pick any point on the performance curve, and draw a hor izontal line through it and a tangent line through

it. W is the distance between where these lines intersect the vertical ax is.

Repeat the process for other points.

The W vs. v re lation is unique for each performance curve. In general one prepa res a W vs. v table. However, for the case shown he re, the W vs. v relationsh ip turns out to be almost linear and can be approximated by the fo l lowing equation (w ith v in mph and W in ft/sec). v = 19 + 0 .73W For both v and Win knots, the formu la becomes v = 16.5 + 1 .07 W , or, equiva lently W = 0.93 V - 15.4

You should use a W vs. v table or formula having un its which are consistent w ith the units on whatever rateof-climb and airspeed indicator you will be using.

The final step is putting the W vs. v relationship on a paper scale outs ide the ra te-of-cl imb indicator, as shown on Figure 3. This is the Speed Ring.

The performance curve involved in Figure 1 is an assumed one for a particular category of hang glider. Hopefully, someone wi ll soon do quantitative performance tests w it h hang gliders so that you can sta rt w ith a more real is tic curve des igning a Speed Ring.

a I

!~~

I I I

I I I

I

13 MPH (A VE RAGE)

I

~

0~ I I I

I I

Fig. 2 Comparison of Airspeed between thermals and average ground speed.

26

i

14 MPH (AVERAGE)

MAY, 1976

'

-·· --~- ~ ,-, .., '

,..

.' "''}""

Using t6~l$~ Ring · It turntqu{f:fuat deciding fi.Js't Wf1af speed touse·r~@srsidering all these factors sim1:1ltaneot1sly, is actually simple, with an indicator which continuously shows you the answer. An airspeed scale (commonly called a Speed Ring) is setaround .the rate-of-climb instrumentface. The Speed Ring scale is tailored to the performance curve.of the particu~ar vehicle and the rate of climb indicator s.cale, and it is ad~ justed in position around the rate ·of climb indicator depending on pected next thermal strength. If the speed toward which the rate of climb needle points is your flying speed, you are· in the optimum condition. Thus you adjust your flight speed accordingly, altering speed as yo·u get·into varying downcurrent conditions. It turns out that the optimum speed is that which, gives you the best glide ratio when the local downcurrent and the expected upcurrent are both added to your normal sinking speed.

The concept is described more fully in the article "Optimum Airspeed Selector" in the March-April, 1954, issue of Soaring.

If the Speed Ring is adjusted for the case in which the next expected thermal has zero dimb·rate, the speed it indicates becomes that giving the flattest glide angle (hence reaching the next thermal as high up as possible, or gliding as far as possible through the air from a given height).

the ex-

Applying the Concept to a Hang Glider For any glider there is always a tradeoff to consider in setting the Speed Ring. If your main worry is being able to stay up at al I, you .set th-e Speed Ring to the position where the expected next thermal has zero strength, and you maximi.ae the horizontal distance through the ai.r which you can cover 1 If your main concern is average speed, and you are not worried aboutbein:gal;>letosfind and reach the next therm'al~.'you .set the Speed Ring for the,e}){'p~:~Jed strength of the next thermaL'·;,;,\::,,f' > The hang glfcJ~iiin.not achieve very high inter-thermal speeds aod flat gliding angles. This performance limitation puts the premium on just reaching 40/GROUND SK.IMMER

the nextthe~rnal and ignoring considerations ~bout ,optimum average speeds. Thus a hang glider you can always l'ea.veth~ Speed Ringset for zero expected thermal s:trength. The ring need no{be rotatable. It turns out that the penalty you pay' in decreased average speed is very smal'I, in the hang glider case. For a high performar-ice sailplane, you set the Speed Rtng to the expected nexfthermal strength and thl.is achieve high average speeds. If you get into conditiuns where you are worried about finding or reaching the next thermal, you will still readjustthe Speed Ring pbsitiveto suit weak ·Ot z6!r() therrt\al expecta:.. ti ohs.

0

fo-r

Fig. 3 Rate-of-Climb Indicator with Speed Ring (rate-of-climb and velocity in knots).

Figure 3 showS the Speed Ring 111ounted ona sailplane-type·of rate~ of-climb indicator such as some hang glider pifots have been using. Because hang gliders at high speeds sink rather fast compared to sailplanes the rateof-climb instrument must cover a wide range. The glider is in a downclirrent of 2.4 knots, is flying at 24 knots, is sinkingthrough the air at 4.1 knots, for a net descent rate of 6.5 knots. The needle points at 24 knots, and so the glider is being flown at the correct speed. If the glider were flying at 35 knots in this downcurrent the needle would point at 10.5 knots sink and .27.5 knot;rspeed, so you would be ·f~ng too fast. As you slow down, only at24 knots would the indicated speed equal the actual speed. Thus achieving the correct speed is an iterative process, but in the practical case only

a one step iteration is required to get acceptable accuracy.

To convert this Speed Ring to the sailplane type which optimizes cross-country speed, you merely make it rotatable and, if the next thermal i.s expected to give you a climb of 4 knots, rotate the ring clockwise by 4 · knot divisions on the rate-of-climb scale.

A very sophisticated te~hnology has bu.ilt up around rafe~of-dimb indicators and speed.to~fly computatiQn for sailplanei ~ acceleration correc· · tion (total energy variometer), automatic sinking speed correction (netto variometer, permitting a speedto-fly ring without iteration), electronic computatfon,. and various display methods. For hang gliders, the compe~ity of sophistication is inappropriate, sJnce it takesthe pilot away ffom the joyous simplkity of the sport.

But for effident thermal soaring a rate-of-climb indicator (visual or audio type) is necessary. The visual type at least makes the Speed Ring feasible. Airspeed is sometimes measured, but more often sensed by "feel."

Even with a Speed Ring, the actual airspeed can be guessed at if tbe pilot has bu iltup some experience; a 5 knot errorwill not make much.difference in the glide angle.

The spacing of thermals is such that commonly over flat ground the thermal nearest the one you are leaving ,is about four times as far away as the height of the thermals. Considering the glide ratio of the hang glider, the existence of downcurrents between thermals, and the fact that the very tops and bottoms of thermals are not really usable, this spacing is just too far for a hang glider to bridge. This means that cross-country soaring requires probing the conditions where thermals are closer - and can be located by the piiot. Thermals are often closer where topographic features tend to help create and localize them, such as around slopes. Thermals tend to Jine up in. cloud streets along,the wind in certain wind shear conditi;pns in flat terrain. This realm of soaring, wel I-developed over the eons by soaring birds over land and ocean, is a challenge for the development of new soaring techniques.

W,, 27

\

•

"f

-

1. Dave Saffold flying an SST into 2nd place. Pholo : Bettina Gray 2. Brian Porter parachutes his Easy Riser just past bull's-eye during practice.

Photo: W. A. Allen 3. Dragonfly leaves 500' hill during qualifications.

Photo: W. A. Allen 4. Dr. Howard Long brings his Mitchell Wing in for a low and fast landing approach. Photo: Bettina Gray

Hansleti m.World Hang Glider Championships

by W. A. Roecker (Pork) Back in the hot rod fifti es, sout hern stock car and drag racers had a saying.

"Run what you brung," it went, and applied to stoc k-appearing eng ines bored and stroked out to mammoth propo rtions inside, the max im p rovided plenty of thrills for the spectato rs. " Fly what you b rung" might have been the motto for the 1976 H ang Ten World Open Hang Glid ing Championsh ips, held at Escape Country, nea r El Toro, Ca lifornia, A pril 10 18th. Ce rtain ly the spectato rs and some of the pilots themse lves got their share of th rill s.

28

Any foot-launched glider was eligib le for the meet, and some strange crafts appeared, includingthe startling new Mi tc hell W ing, which looked very much I ike p ictu res of some WWI I p rototype bombers, and sported an L/ D in the ne ighborhood of 16 or 18-1 .

On one flight from the 500 foot qua lifyi ng hill, in no- lift conditions, the M itchell Wing, never ris ing above the top of the h ill , fl ew an incred ible distance out to Escape Country's moto cross cou rse.

Plen ty of other rigid wings were there, of cou rse, and all the new mod -

els of Rogallo wings t hat the manufacturers b ri ng out at th is time of year.

Early favorites of the c rowd included lcaruses, Easy Risers, SST' s, Phoenix V1 -B's, Dragonfl ies, Cirruses, Hawks, Merl ins, Cumu lus V's, and Sun's new Sw ift, among others. Favored pilots included George Follman, winner of the "Dry Run" meet he ld a month earlier, the Wills b ro thers, the Arrambide brothers, Tom Pegh iny, Burke Ewing, Trip Mellinger, Bria n Porter and Steve Patmont, and of course the Mitche ll brothers (no rela tion to the surgeonw ing designer); Greg Mitchell be ing MAY, 1976

the reigning champion. Most of these pilots did well, as expected, but many of them failed to make the top ten.

Saturday and Sunday found Escape Country enjoying its usual good weather, as approximately three hundred pilots began arriving to compete. Monday morning was sunny, but the afternoon was blustery, turning to rain, and the meet was rained out on Tuesday and Wednesday. There was a bit of flying Thursday morning in choppy air, and then the rain returned, bringing gloom and despair to a co uple of hundred pilots who had not had a chance to qualify. Friday morning April 16th brought strong northwest winds, clear skies and a jammed qua lify ing hill. The wind mellowed that afternoon, and pilots who had already made their slalom runs from the 500 foot hill enjoyed themselves by soaring the ridge for the 1500 foot take-off point, watching their less fortunate peers crowded and waiting their turns to qualify below them. As many as 20 gliders soared the ridge at once, playing "king of the hill." For a half-hour, editor Rich Grigsby ruled there.

Down in the landing area, pilots and spectato rs re l axed, enjoy i ng the weather that made southern California famous. Reggie Jones checked out his new Cumulus Vafter ad justing its sail.

The first fit had been much too tight. It fe lt, said Reggie, "Like a pie plate on grease."

The course for first round el iminations offered a poss ible tota l of 105 points. Seventy points could be gained by flying around three pylons, thirty points for a bullseye land ing (five points less fo r each ring away from the bu ll ), and five safety points fo r making a clean landing. These flights were made from the 500 foot hill, and the top 100 pi lots then began the next round of eliminations from the 1500 foot ridgetop.

This writer, like so many others, did not survive the first round. On my first practice run, the new prone harness I was using malfunctioned, and would not allow me to rotate forward into prone. I was forced to fly standing up, and the strain of pul ling the bar toward my body in th is position slipped ad isc in my back. I landed safely, but the resu lting spasms along my back-bone 40/GROUND SKIMMER

2

3

..,

4

•

"t

put me out of the contest, and my new SST and I spentthe next few days along the sidelines. An o ld lesson painful ly re-learned: Never try unfam ilia r equi pment from a hill larger than a beginner's slope.

Saturday the 17th found the top 100 flyers making speed runs. Pilots drew numbers for their order, and one of the first to go in the calm air that morning was Irv Alward, flying a Cirrus 3. Irv's spark ling time of one minute, fiftynine seconds made h im first in the early going . Pi lots who flew later were

somewhat disadvantaged by the bu il ding I ift, but Burke Ew ing managed a 2:03 on h is br ightly colo red new Hawk, wh ich was sho rt of his hill record of 1 : 51, but good enough to move h im into th ird p lace at the time.

Dry run winner George Fo ll man slipped badly in the standings as headw inds and rising air kept him aloft for two m inutes and thirty seconds . Spectato rs began crowd ing the lower areas of th e course, and when Steve Patmont's lovely new Easy Riser rounded the firs t of two speed pylons,

cameras clicked l ike crickets in the grass as the b l ue and gree n seethro ugh biplane wh istled overhead.

The difference between models was wel l il lustrated during the speed runs.

Richard Jones popped and fluttered his way down the cou rse on an old D ragonfly wh il e another D ragonfly stunted high above h im . Richard, wringing every b it of speed his ship could muste r, arri ved at the ta rget in the grandmotherl y time of 2:42. He was fo llowed by Barry Go rdon, flying a new Dragonfly with battens. Barry got

•

"T

there in 2:19, and where Richard bellied in severa l yards short of the bul lseye, Barry had no trouble making the distance, and d ropped in nicely nea r the cen ter.

The day progressed bright, warm and breezy, and the public crowded the land ing area, keeping the concessions busy. Several booths sold hang glider paraphernalia: T-shirts, jewelry, and the like, and a lady clown appeared among the children. Wearing a bright orange wig and white paint, she had the small fry chasing

after as she juggled balls and pu lled impossible lengths of paper from her mouth. Soon the speed runs were fi ni shed, and Irv A lward had a substa ntial lead of seven points with 86 total points. He was followed by Mike Parks, Steve Brown , Simon Smith, Tom Pegh iny, Dave Saffold, Stan Palmer, Larry Newman, Burke Ewing and Jerry M attson. Ewing and Peghiny were no su rprise here, but only three of these pilots were sti ll in th e top ten at the end of the slalom event.

That event was begun immed iately

after the speed runs, in mid-aftern oon when lift conditions are usually at their best. Burke Ewing felt himself fortunate to draw number one, but d iscovered to his dismay that it "j ust wasn't happening," and had to settle for only two of the four distance pylons of the slalom course, not enough to stay in the top ten. The next dozen pilots after Burke had even worse luck - sinking air in the approach to the land ing area.

None of them made the fou I Iine. It looked as though everyone was in for a tough t ime, but then the air eve ry(conlinued on page 36)

1. Pat Johnson.oneof five female entrants, carries her Cumulus V to loading area during preliminaries. Photo: w. A. Allen 2, 3, 4, Qualifications were plagued with rain, but blessed with beautiful clouds.

Photo: Bettina Gray 5. Steve Patmon! (with hat) works on his Easy Riser. Brilliant reflections deco rate its custom green and blue monocoat wing covering. Photo: W. A. Allen.

6. Irv Alward lost chance at Championships by two grass blades. Photo: Stephen McCarroll

40/GROUND SKIMMER

The

Spat landing ...

1. Unidentified pilot flying a painted Cumulus VB works for the bull's-eye. Photo: Bettina Gray 2. Paul Courtney hangs ten over the bull's-eye with has Merlin.

Photo: Stephen Mccarroll 3. Steve Moyes, skims in for the bag. Photo: Bettina Gray 4. Spoilers and landing gear up, Dr. Long ,n his Mitchell Wang heads for the spot. Photo: Bettina Gray 5. Dave Cronk steps onto bag. Cumulus wing was hand painted

by Mendij. Photo: Bettina Gray 6 Phantom pilot relearns parachuting limitations or highperformance Rogallos. Photo: Bettina Gray 7. Brian Porter about to demonstrate Easy Riser's parachuting capabilities. Photo. W. A. Allen

8

1. Hands on controls, Howard Long inside Mitchell Wing surveys the world through polyethelene and plexiglass. Photo: Bettina Gray 2. Dr. Howard Long. Photo: Bettina Gray 3. Pilot of tomorrow does dance in anticipation of his victories. Photo: W. A. Allen 4. Fledgling flies over spectators in grass accented by infrared film.

Photo: Stephen Mccarroll 5. Sun crew from Denver watches wor1d fly by. Photo: W. A. Allen 6. Chris Wills, with SST, did not make it into finals. Photo: W. A. Allen 7. Paul Courtney of Hawaii poses for the press with Miss Hang Ten .

Photo: W. A. Allen 8. Two Cirrus flyers cavort during practice. Photo: W. A . Allen 9. Tom Peghiny takes off with his Mer1in. Photo: Bettina Gray 10. SST pilot flies over Seagull flyer waiting for ride to top. Photo: W. A. Allen

- ...

where seemed to beg in to rise.

On ly fifty fliers were left for the slalom, and after those first dozen or so, lift conditions stead il y improved , and late r f l ights went h igher and higher, with some p ilots " maxing" the course easily . They flew through tf gate near the ta rget, did a 360 ack through the same g / er 360

around the other side, nd then one more pass th ro ugh the ga and back toward the launch, past four · tance markers, after wh ich they made eir approaches to the target. Thirty pain were poss ible for the gate and f igure eight, forty more fo r the d istance, and the usua l target scoring al lowed a potential 105 points.

Those later pilots found such good I ift that many of them had hundreds of feet of altitude to burn off in making their approaches . Bob Wil ls appeared to soar the land ing area fo r seve ral m inutes before making his usua l perfect landing. His brother Chris, however, had a bit of bad luck, and the safety points he lost by droppin g h is bar on the target cost him entry to the fina l ten.

Soaring b irds shared the airspace w ith the gl iders that afternoon. Redta iled hawks and "Texas Eagles" were seen, and a pa ir of mating Cal ifornia kites performed some spinning d ives that carried them to earth, from

whence they flew upward in the warm lift to repeat the The slalo

PLACE

-

s 6

7 8 9 10

NAME

POINTS KITE CITY 183 Me,lin Newton, Mt1>s.

178 Electra Flyer Irving, TX Sa,11a l\na, v\ 0ob Wills 176 SST David Saffold 178 SST Sia. Barbara, CA Brian Porter 170 Easy Riser Merced, CA Paul Courtney 172 1Vlerli1) Honoh.1 lu, H I TripMellingcr 169 Phoenix 6 Canoga Park, CA Honolulu, HI ~ave Vincen1 157 SST Bruce Waugh 155 Albatross Eugene, Oregon Curtis Kiefer IS4 SST Hunt. Beach, CA

Tom Peghiny Simon Smith

Before the moon rose late Saturday n ight, campfires dotted the darkness around the landing area, and speculat ive consensus among the partiers had

the three favorites as Brian Porte r, because he was flying the last f ixed wing craft in the competition and had already demonstrated its pa rachut ing abi lity; Bob Wi lls, because he always ems the man to beat; and Tom Peg · y, because he has won mo re firsts at ng glide r events than any other pilot. reat deal of Coo rs went

down dur i ng th arguments, music from a zen stereos cou ld be hea rd at so e d istance.

Sund dawned blue and warm, and ere was an Easter sunrise serv ice i ront of the hanger that rem inded one more of a nostalgic midwestern past than the southern California present. Fl iers made fun flights from al I the usual take-off points, just as t hey had been doing whenever no competition even ts were ongo ing. Orange Cal ifo rnia poppies nodded on the grassy hi ll side as the westerly breeze began, and k ites began to appear in t he sky near Sadd leback mounta in. One of them was red and b lack, heavil y scalloped, and belonged to Steve Moyes of Sydney, Austra lia, and it thermal led over the val ley between Saddlebac k and Escape Country for the better part of an hour.

Around noon,the Day of Champions began w ith the first of three events, the speed run. Brian Po rter' s biplane had the fastest t ime of one minute, fi fty-

1. Unidentified SST pilot "gets it on." Photo: Bettina Gray 2&3. Large Easter Sunday crowd gets into the flying spirit with string kites and fnsbees during a pause in compet1t1on.

Photo: W. A. Allen

4. Setting up a five .point landing, Eileen Abrams and Bruce Morton participate in E·Z Wider Tandem Contest between events. Photo: W. A. Allen.

5. Paul Courtney execu tes past-vertical wingovers with his Merlin 1n the aerial ballet. Photo: Stephen Mccarroll 6. Professional ball et dance instruclors sco re Paul Courtney's flight. Photo: Bettina Gray

,.

1. Bob Wills uses his body for glldepath control on landing approach. The veteran. having bad luck w ith conditions and held back by a bum leg, survived to get 9th place . Photo : W. A. Allen 2. Tom Peghiny, headed for 5th place, flys his Merlin all snug in a Sundance harness.

Photo W. A. Allen 3. Trip Mellinger gets up and over bar for extra speed after rounding last pylon with his Phoenix 68. Trip placed 3rd overall. Photo: W . A Allen 4. Announcer John Smith awards Brian Porter (trophy In hand) the Championship as Miss Hang Ten looks on. Photo: W. A. Allen 5. A look of determination in Brian Porters eyes during launch. Photo: Bettina Gray 6. John Smith toasts Jim Robinson on holding another successful meet. ("Here's mud in your eye." maybe?) Photo : w. A. Allen

four seconds, though he was pushed a bit by Simon Smith's Cirrus, wh ich registered 2:01, and Trip Mell inger's Phoen ix V1-B, w ith 2:04. Trip got his knees on the bar and h is hands on the w ires in h is efforts to increase speed.

Ta rget points counted as usua l, and when it was over, Br ian was ahead w ith 86 points and Paul Cou rtney was next w ith 80.

Next was another aerial slalom, and it was he re that disaster befell Bob Wil ls. Experienc ing the same lack of I ift that Burke Ewing had earl ier found, Bob was forced to cut sho rt his d istance run to two pylons, and then the same sink cond itions forced him to the ground short of the foul l ine for zero points in the event. The crowd seemed to buzz l ike high tension w ires, and as a dejected Wil ls ca rried h is SST to the sidelines, a kind of electr ica l ap-

38

prehens ion and jub ilat ion went on among t he su pporters of the other p il ots. The othe r fliers fared better, and when the sla lom was over it appea red Brian Porter had it " locked up," though the re was stil I a chance, just a chance, th at a kite m ight come through the aerial ba llet to steal first place from the w ing.

Other t h ings were go ing on, of course. In between events there was an attempt at hold ing a small tandem fly ing competition, sponsored by the Easy W ider roll ing paper company, but it was called off after a coup le of c r ashes atop the 1500 foot h i ll.

Richard Frtck and his gi rl Barbara sta lled on takeoff and spun in beh ind the hill w ith what appeared to be a bad crash, but despite heavy damage to "Butch's" glider, they were un inju red except for a tw isted ank le suffe red by

Ba rbara. This writer's SST final ly got to do some work as it transported Bu rke Ewing and Kammy Low to the target, but it wanted to go up instead of down on the bu ll, and they overshot the last ring.

A much more serious crash was expe rienced by Wel ls Baum, flying from Saddleback. Turn ing fast into thermal l ift, We lls, on a p rototype gl ider, was "spit out" and went into a vertical luffi ng dive. The kite inverted, both wing spa rs broke near the crossbar, and Wel ls found h imself leafing upside down. " It seemed I i ke there was p lenty of time to f igure out what to do," he sa id later, and by maneuvering h imse lf on the bar between flashes of sky and ground, he managed to right h imself after a descent of around 1500 feet. Pu lling in made the disabled craft act li ke a pa rachute, an d he crashed MAY, 1976

PLACE NAME & GLIDER

1

Brian Porter, Easy Riser

2

QUALIFYING ROUNDS

SPEED AERI AL RUN SLALOM

AERIAL BALLET

TOTAL

170

86

100

82

438

David Saffold, SST

178

74

85

90

427

3

Trip Mellinger, Phoenix 68

169

71

80

88

408

4

Paul Courtney, Merlin

172

80

65

90

407

5

Tom Peghiny, Merlin

183

70

80

72

405

6

Simon Smith, Cirrus Ill

178

59

80

70

387

7

Dave Vincent, SST

9

69

75

72

373

8

Curtis Kieler, SST

154

49

65

78

346

9

Bruce W augh, ASG-21

155

43

65

70

333

9

Bob W ills, SST

178

65

0

90

333

ten feet up in a twenty-foot bush.

Wells Baum walked away, a very lucky man. " If it ever happens to you," he advised, "don' t quit flying."

It was time for the last event, the ae ria l bal let. As the crowd w atched the gliders set up on the 1500 foot hi II, a black-headed tern flew across the landing area, turn ing its head from side to side as though bemused by all these peop le quietly standing around what used to be a cow pasture. The bird was just as out of place, some twenty or thi rty mi les from the sea .

The bal let began. Each f lier had chosen his own music on cassette to be played over the PA system , and each had a series of " moves" worked out in hi s head prior to takeoff. A complex Ol ympi cs-style scori ng was made by a number of ballet-knowledgable judges, and they held cards over their 40/GROUND SKIMMER

heads on th e completion of each pi lot's fli ght. H igh and low scores were thrown out, with the possible scores ranging from one to ten. The crowd loved it. When it was over, Br ian Porter had won first place, a $2000 stereo, a motorcycle and a new harness. Dave Saffold , flying an SST, was second. He also won a stereo and $100 . Trip Me ll inger was th ird, win ninga 100Suzuki and $100. The other fliers in order of finish, were: Paul Courtney, Tom Peghiny, Simon Smith, Dav id V incent, Curt Kiefer, and Bob W ills and Bruce Waugh, who tied for ninth place.

In the Escape Country office, with tbe darkness of Easter Sunday evening outside and a parade of ca rs mov ing slowly past the eucal yptus trees lining the drive, Brian Porter picked up his c heck. H e was t i red and qui et ly

happy. "I feel like the airplane won it fo r me," he sa id , emphas izing the word. "It dives, penetrates, turns and parachutes exactly like you want it to." Jim Robinson and John Smith, who had j ust pulled off the biggest private hang glid er meet eve r, smiled in agreement and said good night as Bri an walked out the door.

"See you next yea r."

"See you next year. " ~~

39

SVlfflAR··10 PAlfflDAlE

by Trip Mellinger & Rich Grigsby

On March 4, 1976, Rich Grigsby and Trip Mellinger flew from Sy/mar to Palmdale (California). Their flights were unique in two ways -they bettered 20 miles without following any ridges or mountain ranges, Their flights were made solely by thermal soaring.

In the following article, each pilot tells the story of his flight to Palmdale. Their accounts are combined here to allow the reader to follow both flights simultaneously.

TRIP-On March 4, 1976, the weather at Sylmar was incredible. The lapse rate was great and cumulus clouds were forming over the mountain range. Those enticing weather conditions found Rich Grigsby, Jerry Jacobson, Joe Greblo and myself assembling our gliders at the Sylmar 1500 foot launch site.

It was comfortably warm, but we all knew low temperatures existed above us, so gloves, parkas and long underwear were added to our flight gear. I noticed a familiar sight next to me as Rich attached a barograph to his king post, adding to the atmosphere of cross-country possibilities.

Shining in the bright sun was my new Phoenix VI-B, awaiting its maiden voyage. While attaching my variometer to my glider, I looked up through the soaring windows and saw cumulus clouds drifting across the sky.

Anticipation increased as I thought about learning to fly the new glider in such great conditions. Everybody was excited, like when you know the soaring is excel lent and your feet are still ground-bound. Cross country cha I lenges were being exchanged with wishful thinking tones as we prepared to launch.

RICH-Today was the opportunity we had been waiting for. Cloud base was high, nearly 8000', with no sign of over-development, and thermals drifted past take-off every few minutes. Confident that I ift was strong and frequent, we all took off. Great expectations soon .turned to disappointment as we encountered heavy.,;sink. Small frustrating bubbles of lift merely punctuated our slow descent to the landing area. Flyers that launched before us had already landed and things looked very bad. At about 500 AGL, I encountered turbulence followed by strong

40

lift. Circling cautiously in my Cumulus VB, knowing I wouldn't get another chance today, I began rising steadily.

Trip soon cored the same thermal and we were on our way to recovering lost altitude. By the time we passed our take-off, we were ascending at over 500'/min. A few minutes later, we found ourselves riding the crest of a strong thermal climbing constantly at 800'-1000'/min.

Ground dropping away, we circled together until mist surrounded us.

TRIP-Looking at my altimeter for the first time in the accelerated climb, I was presented with 6500 feet - 5000 feet above our take-off. This incredible altitude gain put us so high over the mountain range that everything looked flat. The take-off point was even hard to find. I took some time to enjoy the view, but glancing at Rich circling in lift snapped me back to the matter at hand. In fact, that would be the last I would see him for many miles, because we both disappeared into the cloud that our thermal was generating.

RICH-Not fond of flying in clouds, especially with someone nearby, I finally managed to break clear. A magnificent panorama.of snow-clad mountains and valleys came into view, and with all this altitude, a cross-country flight was assured. Committing yourself to leave your flying area is often a lump-in-the-throat decision. I've frequently made cross-country flights paralleling the mountains that face the San Fernando Valley, but with all this altitude, turning downwind seemed to be an easy way to gain some mileage. Forsaking familiar terrain, I headed downwind toward the Santa Clarita Valley and (hopefully) the mountains beyond.

I soon found myself in heavy sink. For several minutes I MAY, 1976

was losing hard-won altitude. I flew from one cumulus cloud to the next only to find them dissipating. Often my vario read 1000' /min. down. My concentration was broken. I looked longingly back at Sylmar to see Trip at cloud base heading east, staying in the mountains. Had I flown the wrong way? Was it wise to risk such a good day over unfamiliar country?

TRIP-Everything was working so well, I left the cloud and began heading east, cross-country toward Mt. Wilson.

Miles and miles of snow covered mountains lay 3000' below. It was useless looking for thermal-source areas on the ground because of the altitude, so cumulus clouds were my only lift indicators.

My first problem occured when the batteries went out on my vario several miles downrange. Well, if the gods had decided the flight would be on sensory, so be it. Beautiful. I was sailing in a sea of clouds on currents of lift. Circling in each thermal, I would leave it as soon as cloud base was reached. Departing each cloud, I was surrounded by tumbling, swirling white mistthat defined the areas of sink.

Corridors of sunlight separated each cumulus and would deal out rolling punches of sink when flown through. These corridors were traversed as fast as possible to avoid the sink.

RICH-Now more than half-way across the valley with less than 1000' of altitude and only six miles from Sylmar, I located and started circling small marginal bubbles of lift.

Ten minutes passed without a significant aP,in in altitude, but I was able to drift a few miles downwind. A decision had to be made. I could land safely next to Hwy. 14, (a major highway leading back to L.A.) or continue at low altitude into the hills. When I noticed a very small cumulus 40/GROUND SKIMMER

cloud forming back in the hills, the decision was made and I tried to align myself upwind of the cloud. Flying fast through strong sink and turbulence, with less than 500' of altitude left, I encountered zero sink. As I started to circle, I surveyed the surrounding landscape only to find no landing sites within reach of my present altitude! Now I was committed. My eyes remained fixed on my vario. I turned maybe a dozen 360's constantly tightening and widening to seek out the best lift and succeeded only in maintaining altitude.

Suddenly a hawk caught my attention. Less than 200 yards away, he was gaining altitude at a tremendous rate of speed. That was my ticket out of there! Flying toward the hawk, I encountered lift that pegged my vario at 1000'/min.

41

....

The hawk eventual ly left and I said goodby to a true friend.

Looking up through my soaring windows, I noticed the . cloud grow ing closer. I soon reached cloud base, almost 8000' above sea level.

Now ten mi les from Sylmar, I re-eva luated my goa ls and I was full of confidence. Never have I felt such a s-ense of freedom, so removed from the rugged landscape be low.

The wind now had shifted direction sl ightly. It lead up·the valleys and canyons through the mountains to the Mojave Desert. That seemed like a log ical direction to fly, so I headed for the sma ll town of Aqua Dulce.

TRIP-Over the mounta ins I encountered a large area of strong sink. Eventually, I was forced to leave. Flying low, I turned downwind into the Santa Clarita Va lley.

Much-needed altitude was retrieved as I circled in a thermal that seemed to come from a farmer's f ield. Once again I was at cloud base, about 6000' above ground level. l"t was spectacu lar! The who le Santa Clarita Valley appeared to be popping cumu lus clouds. Large cloud shadows were cruising the flatland and were surrounded by bril I iant sun I it areas. The" go for it" signal flashed, and I began heading for the northern horizon.

M il e after m ile fel l away as I flew across the large va ll ey toward a group of mounta ins separating it from the desert.

Moving dots followed freeway lines, and occasionally a plane would fly under me, accentuating my altitude. I knew the valley went form iles in a northeast direction and most of the clouds were over the valley floor, so my flight path changed northeast, more or less the same direction as H ighway 14. My goa l was then decided. "Avenue S" is a popular flying site for our northeast w inds and is located just past the end of the va ll ey I was flying over. It takes about one hour by car from Syl mar to get there. The distance is some twenty miles as the crow flys. Look ing ahead, and 5000' below, I spotted Rich circling what looked to be very close to the ground near Aqua Dulce Airport.

42

RICH-Between strong areas of I ift, there were correspond ing areas of strong sink, and once aga in I was descend ing, this t ime near Aq ua Du lce A irport. Carefu l to avoid the air traffic in the area, I headed slightly downwind of some furrowed acres of land. Traversing bac k and forth scoutig for lift, with most of my altitude gone, I f inally fe lt some turbulence fo llowed by lift. Circl ing, I climbed up underneath a small cloud street that lead toward one fina l mountain ridge separating me from the expanse of the Moj ave Desert. The next seve ral miles we re guaranteed .

Look ing back toward Aqua Dulce, I caught a gli mpse of Trip turn ing low overt he ground. The sun I ight flashing off his wing looked like a distress signal. Was this the end of his fl ight? Since I hadn't seen Trip for more than an hou r, I was surprised to find him fol low ing the same route through the mouta ins. It must have been a logica l direction. It was reassuring to know I wasn't alone.

TRIP-I encountered heavy sink near Aqua Du lce and my altimeter began giving up precious feet. It was real ly getti ng critical and landing sites were being chosen. Sylmarwas to the rear on the distant ho rizon and there was satisfaction in getting as far as I had, but there had to be a thermal somewhere. Was I go ing up, down, mainta ining? My vario was si lent and I wa ited out the minutes as the ground began encomp_ assing my environment.

A hawk! I twas love at first sight and I joined him in what I hoped was I ift and not a final approach. We both entered a bomber therma l that snatched us up severa l thousand feet into a cumulus cloud. I assumed the hawk was fly ing with me for amusement and he was a welcome companion . The country we were fly ing over had snow on the ground and the tempe rature at cru ising altitude was well be low freezing. It's amaz ing how the co ld really doesn't bother you when you're so engrossed in what you're do ing.

RICH-At cloud base, PalmdalE} was clearly vis ible 8 miles away. Just as I decided that would be my goa l, I ran into some strong sink. Flying fast for maximum glide efficiency,

MAY, 1976

I sadly watched Palmdale slowly disappear as I se!tled behind a ridge that separated me from my goal. If only I could find one more thermal. I was afraid this flight would turn into one of those " if only ..." flights. The sky appeared dark, and over-developed - a bad sign. Working small puffs of lift on the back side of the ridge, I wasn't losing much altitude. But that wasn't enough. I needed a thermal. Soon Trip c<1ught up to me and joined in the final search for lift.

As luck would have it, a sma ll break in the clouds allowed areas of the ridge to become bathed in sunlight.

Trip and I sepa rated to look for lift. Th is wa s the last I would see him. I turned back toward the ricli::e and found what I h<1d been looking for. The nose of my glider popped up hard, and I began to c limb. With more than 1000' to spare, t pointed my glider straight for Palmdale.

TRIP- I left Rich to look for lift along the sunlit ridge that formed the back-side of Ave. "S." Work ing weak areas of intermittent lift, one final thermal lifted me over the top of the ridge. My goal had been reached. I began circling down, base leg, final , base let; whi ch way was the wind blowing? I was too cold to care and finalized down a paved road tha t dropped away at about 10 to I. Of course it was down wind and my frozen feet scrambled back lo life as I tri ed to keep up with my glider. A new environment c losed in around me. Earth, ground, walking; th ey seemed foreign to me. Different muscles reluctantly responded as I tried to adjust to being once again on the ground.

Thawing o ut with reflection, I thought about how rny cross country dreams were materializing and the flight, just 40/GAOUND SKIMMER

a beginning of the c ross country potential of the new generation gliders. And where was Rich? How to get home?

I guess the real pleasure of flying is only in the doing, not th e reflec tion so, still feeling uncomfortable walking, I found a phone for recovery.

RICH-I was now very cold and tired, and Palmdale was a welcome site in the distance. As I passed over the final ridge I was blissfully unaware that two jets flying formation were headed in my direction. I was caught by surprise and horror stricken when they passed less than 500 yards away.

I was now painfully aware that airspace around Palmdale is a testing ground for aircraft, and flying a hang glider here would not be wise or healthy. Any aspirations to continue my ilight were quic kly forgotten. !3y the time I reached Pc1lmdale I stil l had 2000' of altitude. A vacant field next to a Howard Johnson's Restc1urant looked I ike a good place to land. Circling down, I attempted to exercise my frozen legs in preparation for landing. My landing was not graceful, stumbling over my numb legs, but I still managed to impress some o f the loca l townfolk . One spectator, sensing I was cold, rushed up to me with a fla sk of brandy. We proceeded to toa st the first hang glider flight from LA to Pa.lmdale.

The flight wi ll probably stand as an official NAA record for distance - 23.848 miles, and altitude gain - 5180' .

The flight wasn't the farthest nor probably th e highest, but a precedent needed to be set for proper documentation.

More important than any record was the sense of adventure and free-sp irited fe eling that comes with flying a hang glider cross-country.

•

43

....

THE

BARDliRAPH

by Lloyd li1:her

44

Hang glid ing has advanced to the stage where flying for Lil ientha l hang awards and records requ ires phys ical proofoffl ight performance . One of the proofs for distance fl ights is that no intermed iate land ing was made betw een the beg inning and en.d of the flight claimed. In the field of soaring, th is proof is prov ided by a sea led barogra ph, an instrument that reco rds alt itude over a period of time. The trace made by the barogr;iph on paper or aluminum foil is called a barogram.

There are a numbe r of comme rcially ava ilable barographs, the least expens ive and lightest of which is the Replogle, for $169 .00 postpai d, from

E. H. Replogle, 23 Ways ide Court, Buffalo, NY 14226, and other supp liers such as Graham Thomson, Ltd., and RAINCO. The rules for Li lienthal hang awards al low for other ways to provide phys ical proof of no intermedi ate landing and two that have been suggested that cou ld be less expensive than a barograph wil l be mentioned briefly here befo re explain ing in more deta il how ba rographs work and the procedures for hand Iing them. (All record fl ights require a barograph). One device could have a clock drive a flat disc or drum, upon which a stylus linked to a va ne in the airstream wou ld record a t ra ce of airspeed or

fl ight/nonflight. Such a device could not be used when the surface w ind was nea r the sta ll ing speed of the glider, however.

Another method could make use of a mov ie camera set for a si ngle exposure, aimed down to prove the glider was airborne, including in the view a sea led c lock to show when each frame was ex posed. The pilot would then take a picture every min ute or so during the fl ight.

The barograph is available off the she lf and w ill no doubt be used most often so the correct procedures for using it wil l now be described. It contains a clock- d r iven drum and a sea led -be I lows/Ii n kage mecha nism connected to a long, po inted stylus wh ich touches the drum . The sea led bellows expands as the outs ide air pressu re is reduced by the barogra ph being ca rr ied to higher elevations, the reby mov ing the stylus up on the drum. Descent moves the sty lus down.

To pre pare t he barograph fo r use, the drum is removed so a piece of press ure-sensitive paper or alum inum foi l can be taped to it, being careful so the overlap wil l not get caught by the stylus. If foil is used, it is then smoked by rotating it on a wire above a burning piece of camphor (available at any .d rug store). The drum is then reinstalled in the barograph.

Shortly before take-off the USHGA Official Ob server (a n y US H GA member who holds a Hang Rat ing, has earned a leg of a Lilient ha l Hang Award, o r is a USHGA Examiner, Obse rver or Inst r uctor) who w i 11 be supervising the fl ight attempt, w inds the barograph clock mechan ism, turns the barograph on so the stylus touches the drum and, if the re is on ly one sty lus, rotates the drum one turn to scribe a base l ine at the known eleva tion o f t he take-off site (from which flight alt itudes ca n late r be meas ured; if the barograph has a second, fixed , base- line stylus th is step is not necessa ry) . He then closes the barograph, seals it with a lead sea l ($ .08 ea. from SSA, Box 66071, Los Ange les, CA 90066, minimum order $2 .00; or uses braided wire and fish in g sinkers; tape won't do); initials the seal, sets the barograph fo r its fastest drum rotat iona l speed (if it has mu lt iple speed options) to spread the trace out (it's OK MAY, 1976

. .. if the flight I asts more than one re vol uti on of the drum and the trace overlaps), makes sure it is TURN ED ON, and installs it on the glider, out of reach of the pi lot. For record flights the barograph must be sealed to the glider, also. On Rogallos, it is recommended that the barograph be attached to the king post. The supervising Official Observer must ensure that the barograph is not removed from the gli der before take-off, and writes down the time of take-off. Al I record attempts must begin by flying through an imaginary "gateway" (start line) 300 meters (984 feet) w ide by 100 meters (328 feet) high, so for footlaunched flights it is best to establish the gate just beyond the take-off point.

After landing, from a successfu l flight, hopefully, the pilot should let the barograph run for about 10 minutes so the landing site elevati on will be scribed on the barogram, then turn it off to prevent the retrieve from being recorded also. It is im portant for the pi lot to have a "Certification of Landing Place" filled out as soon as possible after land ing, specify ing the pilot's name, glider, date, time and place (name the coordinates), signed by two witnesses or one USHGA Official Observer, w ith addresses.

The barograph may be removed from the glider and should be returned to the supe rvising Observer with the "Certification of Landing Place" as soon as practical. The ONLY person who can break the seal on a barograph is the Observer who sea led it, otherwise he cannot certify that the trace is for the flight claimed .

After verify in g the sea l as the one he installed , the Observer breaks it, ca refully removes the drum and identifies the trace by writing near its top the fol lowing required items: Pilot's name, flight date, make and serial number of barograph, drum rotation rate, and the Obse rve r's SIGNATURE. In addition it is helpful to indicate the glider used, take-off site, and award leg or record claimed. Smoked-foil barograms must be "fixed" after being identified by the Observer, so they will not smudge. To fix a barogram, coat it with a clear finish from a spray can of lacquer or plastic, or in a tray of shellac. Be careful not to obliterate the fl ight trace.

40/GROUND SKIMMER

If this flight is for a height-gain record the Observer should send or deliver the barograph to an approved calibration lab (Graham Thomson Ltd., or RAINCO are two) fo r a new cal ibration. The new calibration trace must be submitted with the record application to USHGA. The Observer shou ld also check the time calibration of the barograph by letting it run for some measured time, deflecting the stylus slight ly at the beginning and end of the time and comparing it to the length of the trace for one full rotation of the drum . The duration of the flight, from Observer's record of the take-off time and time given on the " Certification of Landing Place," should agree w ith the flight trace. Barograms must be retained by USHGA as proof of the accomplishment; copies shou ld be made before subm ission by pi lots so inclined.

Photographic procedures for verifying that a pilot reached a declared turn point fo r an out-and-return fl ight, if there was no ground-based USHGA Official Observer there to certify it, w i 11 fo rm the subject of another article in a subsequent issue. "":ii

~~~~\\

-.f!CP.(;)

l\~MS_ li:\~fil-·--..

-.·;

lL-l-lA,TR.ATlON5 DEVOTED

E..N1ll<E.L-Y

TO

llvFO~MATION

PIL-OT

&.

SAFET Y

APPR.OVED AND lASED BY U5HGA & 5C:HOOL5

• FOi< T+!E BEGII--Jt,.Jl:::R PILOT - \5JTE.

se::u:..c.Tl Orv

- ME.TE.OROLOGY -T~EORY - PRACT1 CE- PL.ANS - ST"Ef" -TlA!e"t,,J

e,y STEP PROC.E'Dv1RE5 DE'5CRIPTIONS

• FO~ 11-lE: INiERMEDlATE PIL.OT - fc:1 DGE: 50A~ l l-.JG

-114ERMAL SOARltvG - CROSS WIND TAKE OFFS

TWO GREAT BOOKS

•-1--lAI-JG RATl~08 IL.\....I.N5T.

ON ULTRALIGHT FLIGHT

111\t'G

-

• • - 'GI. I D!J'!9

t Jl' .... , -...o

200 pages on toot launching. 6th revision over 100.000 sold. $5.95 postpaid. (Coli· fomions odd.36e soles lox)

100 pages on tow launching. 2nd revision over 12.000 sold. $3.95 postpaid. (Collfornions odd .24¢ soles lox) Write for FREE hong gilding information kit.

Dan Poynter, Box 4232-96 Santo Barbaro. CA 93103

e::co-NAVrlCS • PO. SOX. 11~4- , R€DL.A1'JD5,CA .

92?)7?5

45

BEEN U·PSO:LONG,·.IT ~OOKS LIKE DOWN TO ME or A True Account of In-flight Structural Failure

by Mike McLane nose first, and the aluminum crinkled The Santa Ana's were quite gusty and tore. I said, "Oh no," and then I that day on the north side of Mt. Wilwas under it again. Next, I was snapson. It was the 28th of December, ped into a violent spin, and I couldn't 1975. I reasoned that John Muir and find any control bar to hold onto. I myself had flown off of Mt. Lukens two tried to reach the cross bar, but I days previous when the wind was couldn't get my hands above my face coming up both sides. That was also a because of the G's. I couldn't even similar kind of Santa Ana. That day, w~'d hiked down the south slope recognize my kite.

I knew I was dead when the about 200 feet as the wind continued aluminum bro~e. I guess that I got coming up the slope. I elected to be rather involved with how long I had. I the wind dummy and took off first in was spinning so fast that I couldn'ttell my new SST, went out about 1/2 mile, had a few bumps, then an effortless how high I was. Then there was brief flight ending in multiple 360's left and hindsight; "You shouldn't have taken right into a smooth landing. off, you dumb shit; I wish that I hadn't So here we were on Mt. Wilson. The put al I of my marbles into one bag; wind was strong on the north side, why don't I have a parachute?" That's gentle on the south side. (Pros and all the time I spent kicking myself. cons. Is it a rotor or is it a wind shear?)

Down below I could see greenery Mt. Wilson is a large canyon flight everywhere, but in the middle of the with an altitude of about 5600 feet at trees was a very large rock - no hope take-off. We got out the field glasses at all. All I could think was, "0.K., if and looked for bush and tree movethis is what you've gotten yourself into, it's alright'; -If you transgress the ment on both the right and left ridges. rules of the element you're in, then There was none, and at the landing site, in Eaton's Canyon, flags were you'll have to make payment. I found blowing straight up the south side of myself resigned to this. "It's alright." I the mountain. The strong wind on the said that out loud three times to try and north side still had me worried, but fortify myself. In a way, I became deMt. Lukens turned out alright so ... ,; tached; I got bored with being so helpwhat the hell! (It almost turned out to less. i thought about disengaging mybe the last time I said, "what the self, so I'd be flung out into the bushes heil.") I was repeatedly warned by my or trees, but I still couldn't tell how friends not to fly. high I was. Then I began to make out details in the rock that I was going to It was a good take-off, and all went smooth for about a mile. There were crash into.

The next thing I knew, I was going some good, hard bumps - then all through trees feet first, pulling off went calm again. I had just said to branches then whole bushe.s out of the myself, "Now that wasn't so bad," loose, granular ground. The last bush when the kite yawed left 180°! There I was, flying away from the mountain held, just like in the old serials. There I was, lying on my back, grasping that backwards, still level with my take-off bush and grinning with tears in my site. I got it turned around, and started eyes. , a bank to the right to get out of the turbulence. The kite went level for .. So, wh~t's next? Was I really alive? I about 1 second, then shot up 1000 feet ·'\\ras still in the serial, so I wasn't sure. If in about 6 seconds. All through the I was alive, for how long? There was ascent I had the control bar against my no real way to tell how badly I was hurt. My left foot was pointing off at a navel.

Then the kite popped upside down, weird angle, so I knew that my leg was

46

broken. I eased my grip on the bush and didn't slide down the mountain any farther. I felt my thlgh and it was tight and numb so I figured it was the femur that had let go. I felt around the leg to see if anything was sticking out.

There was a strange lump, but my pant leg wasn't damp so I wasn't bleeding badly. Feeling around as much as possible, I didn't find anymore numbness, and I could move my head with no strange feeling or pain.

Pain was starting to come on now all over, so I decided that I'd better secure myself to the bush, just in case I passed out. I pulled myself straight up the mountain, so that I could get my arm around tJ,e bush and wrapped my hand through the cord that held the front of my field jacket closed.

By the way, it was this heavy jacket, gloves and helmet that kept most of my skin intact. Even though I was wearing heavy hiking boots, my toes were completely black.

I looked up the hillside and saw my new kite. It was mangled, having struck nose first, about five feet from a cliff which rose another 150 feet. I was about 120 feet down the slope from the ki.te. I'm still not sure how I got away from the rock that I was looking at in the middle of my spin. Nor can I figure out how I came undone from my swing seat. (Apparently, what I was contemplating when I was falling actually happened.) I was flung down at an angle similar to the slope of the mountain, much like that of a landing ski jumper. The trees slowed me down quite a bit. I may never know what really happened because I can't remember the impact.

Fift~en minutes after the crash a helicopter showed up and hoyered above the kite, blowing it aw,ay. I realized that my field jacket was green, so were my pants. Only my blue helmet was not the same color as the surrounding brush. The helicopter moved off to my right, hovered for MAY, 1976

.... about 1/2 minute, then flew off. Now l was fee ling very dejected at not being seen because I had so cleve rl y camouflaged myself. Then I hea rd someone climbing around above me. I couldn't·yell out because my ribs were sore and reall y starting to interfe re with my breathing. I cou ld whistle and the rescuer ye lled for me to keep it up so he co uld find me. I guess that we looked pretty good to each other, he my salvation, and me not looking like ground hamburger. One hour after the crash that rescue team had me in the hospital. I wound up with a broken left femur and a sl ightly paral yzed, broken left shou lder. r was told later that from where I fl ipped upside down, it took me about 15 to 20 seconds to crash 2000 feet below. I guess that I probably never wi ll figu re out how I su rvived that crash .

I owe a lot to many people; th e Montrose Search and Rescue Team for getting me out; my brother, John; Glen Brown and Chr is Pr ice, for getting what was left of the kite out of ve ry rugged, dangerous moun ta ins. The list goes on and on. · Dying in a hang glider should be left as a vica rious experience. Dy ing is incredibly easy to do when you've exhausted al I means of surviving. The terror of being so he lpless is beyond my comprehension, even though I went through it. It's a frighten ing door that I don't ever want to remember open ing, let alone go through. I hope nobody else has to experience what I went th rough. Maybe you could and surv ive to relate it to othe rs like l have, but most l ikely not.

You're go in g to fly after you read th is. That's good , so will I if I'm physica lly and mental ly able. However, don't kid you rse lf about you r ability to conquer al l. "If you're in doubt about the wind, don't fly." Never heard that before, I bet. I got away with it before too, just I ike the rest of you. It took me almost 1/2 an hour to make the decision to fly. If it took that long for me to decide, then I shouldn't have taken off.

I hope that all this has made a dent so that we' 11think more w ith our heads and less w ith our glands. That nicely includes you girls too. So do it right and fly for a long time. ·~ 40/GROUND SKIMMER

..

WARNINGTURBULENCE AHEAD

by Paul B. MacCready, Jr.

The good performance of Superkites (the high aspect ratio Rogallos, with battens, and deflexer-braced leading edges), and their good pitch stability in normal flight, is now luring hang glider pilots into more thermal flights and cross-country ventures. In strong convection conditions, especially in rugged terrain and when winds are not light, the turbulence can be quite strong - strong enough to give you momentarily negative G' s and sail inversion. There is not yet good evidence that these kites will recover, quickly or slowly, from a severe upset with sail inversion or from a full luff dive. Until such stability and control has been proven, the pioneering pi lot should be warned about how severe convective turbulence can be. A special problem with turbulence is its statistical nature - you can fly in these conditions for many m inutes and get just moderate gustiness and think everything is fine, and then suddenly find yourself jolted by a severe negative gust giving you a pitch downwa rd with sail inversion. The chance of hitting the bad gust is especially high near the ground in mountains - just where hang gliders do most of their flying.

The article 1 'Micrometeorology and Hang Gl iding" in the January 1975 issue of Ground Skimmer gave a formula for gust loads on a typical hang glider: -4 ..L ag=l3 · 10 Ve 3 where O"g is the gust load severity (the root-mean-square gust load relative to the normal load), and d· is a turbulence intens ity in un its of cm 213 sec1 • The border! i ne between safe flight, and unsafe flight with a high probability of sai l inversion and negative 1 loads, was set at eT =9 fo r a slow

e-t

flight speed of 20 knots, and at =45 for a speed of 40 knots. (4 .5 wou ld be called "moderate" by an airplane pi lot flying a regu lar airc raft at normal speed through th is turbul ence. and 9 wou ld be considered "severe"). From a large A i r For cesponsored Boeing study of turbulence ca I led LO-LOCAT, there are probabi 1ity curves for the average e found on 32 m ile flight paths for various terrain and stabilities. The main resu lt fo r our conside ration is that in u nstab le mountainous cases at an altitude of 250' an d · averaging 9 was reached on a few percent of the runs, of the order of 1 to 3%, and an ET averaging 4.5 was reached often, 25 to 35% of the time. The LO-LOCAT data are not presented in a form where at the moment one can be more precise than this, and the turbu lence values selected as critical may not be just the ones to choose, but any more detailed study will still come to the same conclusionthat turbulence incompatible with safe hang glider flight is not rare.

The fo rmula shows that in a given turbulence fie ld you r gust load is proportional to your speed. Therefo re, for avoiding sail inversions (and excessive gust loads on the structure) you should mot fly fast when turbu lence is strong. Slow flight may mean stal ling occas ionally, bul stalling is not a catastrophic maneuver.

Many thermal conditions are safe for flying, but the nonsafe thermal conditions can be hard to distinguish from the safe conditions. Pilots should exercise caut ion, and hang glider designers shou Id keep working toward designs that are foolproof in all conditions because some pilots will never be cautious enough. Don't become a statistic this sumrrier.

•

47

TRAINING WITH A MEDIUM PERFORMANCE GLIDER

by Steve Mccorkle In August 1975, Manta Wings began production on the Windlord Ill, a medium aspect kite which, designed

by Rich Finley, was to be Manta's answer to the "World Cup Kite". We, as one of the retailers of Manta Wings ' in the San Francisco Bay Area, met with the people at Manta in late August to establish guidelines as to whom we should sell the Windlord and if it was appropriate for beginners.

Up until this time almost everyone in the flying community (including many fixed-wing pilots) had trained on the Standard Rogal lo. The Wind lord came to us recommended for "advanced" pilots only. The question, then, was: Is this the only market for this machine?

I had previously been flying a. Manta 19/18 80SK with an approximate wingloading of .95. I had been happy with the sink rate of this wing, but the response left something to be desired.

(I have since become an adherent of heavier wingloading). My first flights in the Winglord proved to be very exciting ... after soaring it at Ft. Funston for 15 minutes in perfect conditions I was absolutely elated! The new wing could only be compared to a spiffy little sports car; surprising performance with very good stability.

What's more, it was the easiest wing I'd ever flown! Being a professional instructor, I knew this kite would open new horizons to all of us, including beginners! My associates agreed.

We purchased a 19.5/16 Windlord

Ill and, after learning its total flight characteristics, began putting some of our more "talented" students in it. We were teaching on the soft sand of Thornton Beach, and our initial task was to keep'em close to good ol' Mother Earth. Our primary concerns were twofold: SPEED/ACCELERATION: The novice's tendency to overcontrol, coupled with the wing's ability to accelerate rapidly could cause some nasty nose-ins. STALL/SPIN: When stalled, the wing, like any shor,t-keeled kite, has a greater tendency to spin than the Standard. This would certainly be a freaky and potentially dangerous situation for anyone close .to the ground, especially a beginner.

Our previous experience in teaching on the Standard yielded a wariness for the all too common "Nose-in". We really didn't sweat stalls; they may break wing spars, but very seldom students. Our philosophy in teaching has always been geared toward a safe, fun, learning experience, rather than a "get 'em high" macho adrenalin trip.

So, we proceeded. Days passed to weeks and then to months. We could hardly believe the results we were getting. Our Windlord students were consistenify learning their tasks faster .and with greater ease! We went from choosing the people to learn on the Windlord to a random "whoever-fitsthe-wing-flies-it" selection. The results remained impressive.

We found the Windlord Ill to be superior to the Standard for teaching purposes in three distinctive areas: a) The easier take-off characteristics enable the beginner to get into the air more easily ... we stress an aggressive, unassisted running launch and things seem to come together much better with the Wind lord, ) The short keel (3% foot differential), coupled with the recommended heavier wingloading (between 1 and 1.1) increases the pitch response substantially. The student gets "instant feedback", a phenomenon found to facilitate any learning experience; when the student pushes out, something happens immedfately. When he shifts his weight to one side, something happens ... immediately. In practical application this yielded no nose-ins on the Windlord and very few stal Is ... a greater sense of control over the wing had been gained by the students. In contrast, the more sluggish Standard, with its slower roll rate and pitch response tends to confuse the student. All too often a shift is made and nothing dramatic happens; the student starts moving around, confused, groping for the correct positioning to actuate the desired control. c) The longer glide (5.5 to 6.0) and better sink rate (325 to 350) give the students a "longer;ride for their money". This is obviously advantageous in that the student is having more fun and he is getting more air time to feel the wing. I also helps to create a greater sense of accomplish(continued on page 50)

48

MAY, 1976

....

SPECIFICATIONS: Keel. ................... 13 feet Leading Edge..... 19 feet Nose Angle........ 91° Billow ................. 1.25° Weight ................ 38 lbs.

Wt. Range........• 140 - 180

FOR A REAL BIRD - LIKE FEELING FLY THE CIRRUS 3

&tut,ea,';&,e,t ~ 3701 PRINCETON, NE ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO 87107 PHONE: (505) 344.3444

PERFORMANCE: Sink Ratio : As good as most Truncated Tip gliders.

L/D: Almost too good to believe.

Stability: So outstanding it is now being offered to advanced Hang Ill's.

In the Wright Brothers' ·t1·on traal NORTH CAROLINA Kirry Howk Kite$--MOrgonron Jae Carswell/ Ernie Morgon Margantof'I. N. C. ( 704) 437-5566 Kirry Howk Kires-Chorlorre Terry Harpe Davidson, N. C. (704) 892-5394 K,rry Howk Kires-GrondfOlher Mounioin John Seo~ Linville, N. C. (704) 733-5242 (704) 963·4969 Willard Machine Co. Nchord Homs Greensboro. N. C. (919) 892·5394 SOUTH CAROLINA

Wirh rhe ropi.d growth of hong gliding in recent years. Kirry Howk Kires hos ser rhe example of profess1onolism.

We hove benefired from the leadership of pilers who ore conrinuolly responding ro rhe refinements and changing rechnology of rhe sporr. This group of Eosr Coast profess1onols is now in nine different locations. Offering only rhe finest equipment, refined insrrucnon techniques and service.

Each location provides on ample inventory so rhor we con pur you in your glidernow-rhere' s no need to wait our 4 -6 weeli focrory delays. Our experienced rhoroughly trained pilers conducr Firsr Flighr School or mosr locorions. For learning ro fly or selecring your wings-go firsr class. Come ro rhe professionals.

VII\GINIA Klrry Howk Kite-Richmond Herb Pons Ashland. Vo. ( 804 ) 798·5729 MARYLAND Econ-0-Flighr 5ysrems. Inc. Dob Morrin Rondollsrown. Md. (301) 655·6818 PENNSYLVANIA

011 Ciry Hong Gliders

The Grear Escape Mike McMoins Greenville, 5. C. 29607 (803) 242 •4229

Dob Young Oil Ciry. Po. (814) 645-5104

Fly First Class

Sparr Aighr Les King Oerhesdo, Md. (301) 840-9284

WASHINGTON, D.C.

P. 0 . Box 386, Nags Head, N. C. 27959 Phone 1-919-441-624 7.

Send ~2 for posrer/ corolog. Dealer inquiries 1nvired.

ment, thus giving him more sel{CD!lfi:t, with th is vEl_ry effectively, so far. First, dence to tackle the next task. Over the ,,we try take an~ctive interest in what. months we have noticed more than eac:h student's personal needs and onejealous glance toward the ,;Wind- abililities:.~re. find that there are lord students." We've even begun .to .c'.rrot dnly,some students.who don't receive requests from new students for ''have ttie,ph.y,M~11.I ability. to deal with the Windlord. It seems that they've · tl'ie\Wlndl:01t~'.,s'·tHght characteristics, been turned on to the new wing by tl{ere ate'i'hosJwho, because of their their friends, our school graduates! ' pwh level, and other perAll of this is notto saythat100% of :.s:Qcya{le'asons, prefer to begin their our Windlord students have ~ad, perglid'fng c;areerjo 5pr:t1ething which is feet lessons, minor problems have ocnqtquite sodenJi,1f1dJng.Thes~peQple curred: If a stall does occur, there is would ohvi~@J:l;f,itp(behap;py~.r\d/or the tendency to spin. Our experience secure wrth-:V\/iri~.lord· performance. has shown thatthis tendency seems to Secondly, wherieverany wing Jssold increase with higher winds (10 to 12 we·endeavor to teach tlie flying mph) and higher flights (10 to 15 feet chafi:!.Cteristics in detail, i,e ..IF YOU AGL) before the student is adequately STALL THIS WING IT WILL SPIN. prepared. Many times the former pro- YOU LEARN ED WHAT A ST ALL ducesthelatter,whichseemstobethe FEELS,LIKE IN YOUR LESSON, NOW real culprit, students interpret airs- AVOID IT UNTIL YOU HAVE THE peed by ground speed, greater altitude EXPERTISE AND ALTITUDE TO DEAL "slows the'world down". Tlieobvious WITH IT KEEP UP YOUR AIRSPEED solution solyes the prqbleni: Keep 'ern WHENEVER YOU'RE CLOSE TO THE low and in mild wind untifthey're abGROUND, EASE YOUR WAY .INTO solutely ready to advance. Al~b, a gre- · NEW SKIUS. We also have encouraged our customer/friends to return to ater emphasis on a fasterthal,norrnal air speed during the early stage~ of the training area and fly near enough learning contributes to a greater con- to our beginner classes to receive the trol over the wing, and·eliminates albenefit of our tutelage during the betogether any chance of stalling. The ginning stages. second problem was really no probSo far new stud~nts flying their new Wind lords have fared extremely well lem at all: we no.longer could teach on the beach at high tide!! and are very happy with their new Our experience points to the fact wings. I attribute this to thi::!. students' that the greater sensitivity of the higher general willingness to I isten and comaspect wings can be a great asset in a ply with an "authority" until he has teaching situation if the potential dan- absorbed enough information to make gers are REALISTICALLY evaluated rational decisions on his own. This is and dealt with. We have also taught in q:rntr,ast to the intermediate pilot, beginners on the Fleclgling; many who'sometimes lets his.overzealousprospective fixed-wing pilots are now ness get the- best of his better judgebeing taught on the. craft which they ment. There have been situations will eventually buy and fly. It is my where intermediate pilots trained on opinion that a greater emphasis on Standards have had problems with safety and fundamentals yields a overcontrol. So far, there has been higher quality learning experience; more embarrassment than actual pain the better the equipment the better the and injury. It appears thatth~ "experiresults. · enced" pilot has all too often built an Our second problem presented it~ ego which matches and sometimes self at the end of the lessons: Who exceeds his flying skills and judgeshould be allowed to purchase the. men{ 'Anyone who has ever flown a Wind lord? Giving les:;ohs on the hang .gli~:¢r knows what I'm talking dunes with constant supervisidnofthe about This "ego state" can make it student and sending him o·ut alone i§'ifficult for the advanced pilot to go with itaretwodifferentthingsentirely. back to the training site a.nd prdce.ed Let's face it, there are those people with caution. According to R. V. Wills' who don't belong in ANY aircraft! article (re: G.S. #26) "Intermediate Discretion and education have dealt Syndrome", this tendency is most

to

W:f

cqftli'den~e

50

pronouncedirfthe intermediate, level HI pilot ... the. very one who is likely at this point in time to be making the transition from his Standard to a medium aspect wing.

A note of caution should here be stressed. Anytime that any pilot goes to ariy new wing, no matter how easy thetransition, that pilot should realize that a new learning experience must take place before that pilot is qualified in that wing. Each design has its own unique handling characteristics and each wing within a given design has its own "p.ersona}ity". These subtlties must be recognized and dealt with.

We are dealing with balance (coordinated movements) and ·timing.

Different sensitivities to balance and timing must be re-negotiated before old skills can be depended upon in new wings.

Ueel that the medium aspect designs pose a greater· potential danger to the intermediate pilot than the new pilot due to the face that these differenc:es are very subtl·e. The subtlty is often misleading and it is easy for a false sense of security to lead the intermediate pilot into "strange" situations before he actually has a good "feel" for the new design ..A little self control and.,sourrd'jud.gement go a long way in fadJitatingthe transition :into any new wi ng.Thetransition pro~ cess won't be difficu'lt· if done pro,perly, probably easieflhan,you suspect, but it must beslowan,dsure. Time is always'involved in .rriaking a clean transition; shortcuts usually cost in the long run. Currently we are developing a training program on the Seagull IV. Preliminary results are very good.

Again, we are finding;that a minimum 1.0 wingloading in conjunction whh the higher aspect yields greater control along with increased performance for our students. A more comprehensive report will be forthcoming.

Research and development is bringing to us so many new designs with greater. performance that it literally boggles the mind. There are so rr,iany options opening to us; some ::will "feel" better and appeal to us aestheti ca 11 y; others won't. Make your choice, take your time, and enjoy, '9 enjoy, enjoy . . . . .

MAY, 1976

- ...

.

General * Wings INC. 3117 N. PORTLAND• OKLA. CITY 73112 • 942-8100

OKLAHOMA'S LARGEST DEALER

• Kite sales and lessons • Delta Wing and Electra Flyer dist.

• Dealerships available • Buffalo Mtn. information • Prone harness $40 • Sail repair by master rigger • Bungee straps 6 for $5.00 • Kite bag $24.95 - two compartments - 3 straps free with bags

General* Wings

BUILD THE ROGUE FUN -to build to fly to display A NICE EVENING PROJECT Realistic 1/6 sca le model Rogallo hang glider with colorfu l polyvinyl wing.

O Exclusive weight positioning system and adjustable reflex permits your model to duplicate the flight characteristics of your big kite. Kit contains all parts pre-cut and drilled with pictures and very complete instructions for easy 2-hr. assembly. O Plus a compilation of Safety Suggestions for flying safely on your big kite. $8.95 plus 85¢ mailing fee, in the U.S.A. ($5.00 Air Mail Postage overseas.)

W. B. Products Co. 560 S. Helberta Ave., Dept. GS Redondo Beach, Calif. 90277

INC.

SWEET SQYINE Harness by

HAWKWING INDUSTRIES 551-B Northbrook Rd. West Chester, PA 19380 Supine and seated harnesses, kite bags and other accessories

iTH E DELTA WING FLIGHT SCHQQ[ _ ___, For more information and reservations, Delta Wing offers weekly classes for beginning flyers with all equipment furnished. The fee is $25 which is applied toward the purchase of your Delta Wing ki°te or glider if purchased after the course. You will be learning only from qualified, top notch instructors and. of course, the equipment is the best available. Lessons begin with ground school.

After complete instructions on flight techniques, the student gets into the Ready? glider assisted by the instructor.

write or cal l: The Delta Wing Flight School, P.O. Box 483. Van Nuys, California 91408. Phone (213) 785-24 74 or 787-6600.

.... (coniinued from page 23)

Serving the Midwest for over six years with quality Hang Gliders, equipment and service.

4252 PEARL RD. CLEVE., 0 44101 PHONE: (216) 398-5272

fE-zTOTEKlroRRiER'-'Tn ~, I d DESIGNED f-OR PILOT COMfORT

MI\KES BURDENSOME TREK\ I\ PREEiE I' ENI\PLEI FULL UIE OF Hl'.NDI ., l'.DJUITMLE mR PILOT IIZE & COMmRT Cl'.RRIED ON WING DURING FLIGHT Pl'.DDED IHOULDER ITRl'.P NYLON WEBBING

I

Il l ;\i)

QUICK RELEASE WITH SECONOARY SAFETY SYSTEM

'i

-

,-

V

SSNO $14.95 PWS tSO

POSTAGS ANO lWfOLING N.Y.S. RES.ADO 7\ TAX

DEALER INQ5 INVITloO PATE.Off PENOISG

-

NEW YORK CITY'S FIRST AND ONLY HANG GLI DER SHOWROOM & N.Y. STATE HANG GLIDING ASSOCIATION INFORMATION CENTER

~~E~!~~~r ~

. . .m!~~~s~!e?e~r~S Monday night - 7:30 P. M. Showroom hours: Mon .. Wed .. & Fri. from 7-10 P.JYI. 225 East 24th St., Manhattan - 2nd floor Phone: (212) 889-7745 AERIAL TECHNIQU ES SKY SCHOOL FOR FLIGHT TRAINING, MONROE, N.Y. (Just 40 miles north of N.Y. Cityl PHONE for appointment: (9 141 783-675 1 Train on the BOBCAT II by SKYSPORTS

changed . Some sta nda rds co uld be produced for the straight-tube, equa l-lengt h rogal lo o f less than 90° nose angle . At least that cou ld be a p late to start. I don' t pretend there are no problems or conflicts, or gloss over positi ons and interests c onta ined in such an undertaking. Bu t it must be done. It is one of the key items in gua rding the freedom to conduct our sport through se lf- regulation.

I believe hang glid ing should be vigi la nt against govern ment control of our sport. If there are some w ho bel ieve the HMA or USHGA is d ictatoria l in its act ions, they should consider th e implications of government regu lation.

Through the ir vote peop le have a d irect input to those organizations. You don't elect anyone in a government agency. Li censes, fi nes, confiscation of equipment, and ja il terms are a terrible p rice to pay for neg lige nce . Yet th at c hilling, heavy ha11ded, and unnecessary approach faces everyone in the spo rt. There are already adequate laws and regulatio ns on the books to protect airlanes and airpo rts. A knowledge of those regulations could prove he lpful to ad vanced hang gl id er flyers. I support Bill A llen's suggestion that the pe rtine nt rules be made availa ble to advanced flyers and in cluded in the rating exams by USHGA. It makes good sense.

Despi te what some may advocate, it is to our distinct advantage to stay out from under goverment regulati on .

Un respons ive government is cu rren tly a hot issue in Congress. Seve ral bil ls have been introduced to deal w ith the subject, ranging from review of every government program eve ry four years (many receive no Congressional scrutiny once established), to abol ish ing agenc ies that fail to operate in the publ ic interest. If one has ever dea It with a fed era I agency they may have an appreciation of how exceedingly fine, the w heels of government grind. Complaints have been recently made to the government printing office that ordered pu bl ications can take as long as six months to be f illed. Health benefits can be, and are, t ied up for over a yea r pend ing case re view . Federal Commun ications Commission l icense for citize ns band radi o can take up to six months. Not all federal agenc ies accomp li sh their work in this ti me frame, but the re are enough to j ustify the po int that some are not known for a speedy response and ex hi b it a disrega rd for the p ub I ic.

One would think that those in government would be able to circumvent this problem. Bu t that is not always the case.

STREAMLINE! foarn-fi°lled for strength only 2.5 oz./ft.

Add streaml i ni ng to cross bar and ki ngpost to decrease drag and increase glid e ratio. (See the Mar. '75 issue of Ground Skimmer) • 4-ft. sections slip f it on 1 ", 1-1 /8", 1-1 / 2" or 1-5/8" t ubes (spec ify) • wh ite, black, red, bl ue or yell ow • specify glider type when o rdering • $7 /section. Add $4 per glider for postage and handling.

(Calif. residents add 6 % tax)

Tom Milkie LAMINAR SYSTEMS

5645 Ave. Vinedos Anaheim, Calif. 92807

In fact. just the opposite has occured, and a number of Congressmen have taken to rai ling against the agencies.

Indeed, they have issued public warnings about the loss of contro l of the regulators . Congressman M. Caldwell Butler of Virgin ia says," ... 0nce federal agenc ies write regulations 'they become carved in stone' - they can be overtu rned on ly by the agencies themse lves, the courts, o r a change in the basic federal law . It is extremel y difficult to persuade agenc ies to modify them, whatever the publ ic senti ment."

And Congressman William Whitehurst says, "Except in the field of foreign affairs, the President and Congress retain on ly nominal control over the affa irs of state . In t he field of domestic affairs, the reins of power have passed into the hands of a maze of overlapping agenc ies wh ich comprise a fourth branch of government - the bu reaucracy wh ic h, over -the yea rs, has become unaccountable."

Both Congressmen have jo ined others in introducing legis lat ion to correct agency abuse and return power to the elected officials of gove rnment. Even some members of the executive branch of government agree that the problem is out o f contro l. Treasury Secretary Wil liam Simon says, " One of the most glaring defects in government is the growth of regulation that has stifled and strangled so many areas of our free en terprise system, costing consume rs unto ld b il l ions of dollars. " The po int of all this be ing that regulation by federal agencies is to be avoided if at all possible. Government regulatory entangl ements w ill su rely lead to the end of the sport as we know and enjoy it.

General avi ation is having its p roblems. Although hang gl iding is not considered to be a section of general ava iation, one should not rega rd their hardships as someth ing remo te from us. The heavy hand cou ld someday knock on our doo r. Read ing genera l av iation l iterature one im med iate ly detects a recu rring theme: ' We're be ing regulated to death.' Commenting recently in an artic le on gen era l aviation Buzz A ldrin said, ''The fun is being bled from flying by ignorant bureaucrats who scam per to write regulations, seemingly to justi fy their existance. " The AOPA PILOT (Aircraft Owners & Pi lots Association) has often ed itorial ized on the destruction of genera l aviation by the FAA, and notes that eve ry major accident in civi l aviation in recent yea rs has invariably been with planes and pilots fully ce rt ified by the FAA . And while some may say, "Think what the accident rate migh t have been were it not fo r the FAA," few other than uninformed laymen and Sunday feature writers would be convinced .

There is an abundant amount of writing on the wall warn ing of regulatory dangers if we wil l but notice. It is time to rise above our internal confl icts, put them aside and heed the advice of others: Be organ ized; speak with one voice; value and defend your freedom.

I believe the people in hang gliding are ful!;y capable of self-regulation. The freedom to conduct our'sport for our best interests should be an incentive to avo id unnecessary government and the chill ing effect of regulation. •

FlYHIGHER .•. FARTHER ...

with a VARIOMETER

Delta stocks a big selection of both audio and visual variometers, perfect for use on your hang g lider. These are t he highest quality precision meters .. . ideal for determining location or best lift. Takes the guesswork out of gliding in thermals and cross country f lights where the lift is smooth and steady and the body may not sense it.

Our variometers are all designed for mounting on your control bar. Actually takes only a matter of minutes to mount your instrument and then it's ready to go. An essential soaring tool to help you fly higher and farther. See Delta variometers at our shop or write for complete brochure and prices.

Immediate delivery.

REMEMBER , . . . we also sto ck airspeed indicators and altimeters, too. Ask for fu ll i nfo rmation.

DELTA WING KITES and GLIDERS P. 0. Box 483 - Dept. GSVI Van Nuys, CA . 91908 OR PHON E US ANY DAY: ( 213) 785 -2474

HANG GLIDING BELT BUCKLES

Beautiful Brass Finish $4.45 each1or $9.45 with matching tanned leath_er belt.

(Specify size) Send check or Money Order to:

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DISTRIBUTORS P.O. Box 7815, Dept. 26 San Diego, Calif. 92107 ENCLOSE 50 CENTS FOR MAILING AND HANDLING ON EACH BUCKLE OR BELT & BUCKLE SET. - if not completely satisfied return for full refund -

40/GROUND SKIMMER

Dealer Inquiries Invited

- ...

pertect tween tne cross be B,E.05 and new 11'<6 dard. \Nitn raditional stan a carnbered . tne t O bi\\o\N and LO cUP IS a 3.S the \!'JOB. with cket, yet l(eeI p 0 \earn on, .., torward a bre ez.e tod sail cu t anucUP w1·11 d\lance oRLO its a tne \l'J LIO and a carnber' exce\\ent . t'{ you gi"e you an tnat will sat1s sink rate to corne. \o\N tor years

13000 Bellevue-Redmond Road Bellevue, Washington 98005 206 I 455-3950

WE HAVE SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

IN THE MANTA TRADITION OF QUALITY, SAFETY, AND LEADERSHIP

80S · standard rogal lo 80SK · one foot differential 80SK2 · two foot differential Winjammer

.mAnlA

Write or call for your FREE CATALOG 415: 536-1500 1647 East 14th Street/ Oakland, CA 94606 (dealer inquiries invited)

- ...

MAY 13-16, 4th Ann~1al Tacti le Fl ight <: hampionsh ips . Con tact C hamber of Com-me.rce, Kitty Hawk, NC 27949. Competition fo r cash prizes, high performance cl in ic and mfgs. sh.ow. lnstru€tor's Certification Clinic. Mr. Francis Rogallo, featured speake:r. Fun Fly. For questions, call (91 9) 4-41 -f>247.

MAY 15-16, USHGA Regional Qua lification Meet for U.5. Nationals. Escape Country, Trabuc0 Canyon 1 CA 92678. For more information cal l (714) 586-7964.

MAY 17, SHGA membe rsh ip meeti ng, 7 :30 P.M. Dept. of Water and Power auditori um, 111 N . Hope St., Los Angeles.

May 22-23, Fun Fly and Competition Meet at Leadvlood, Mb., sand dunes (south of St. Lo uis). Flyers wil l meet at 10:00 AM, both days at Roseners Restaurant on U.S. 67 between Hwy 8 (Desloge-Flat Ri ver) exit and Hwy 32 (E lvins-Flat River) exit. Entry fee is $2.00 in advance or $3 .00 at the meet. Gateway Hang G lider Club, 3314 Dix, St . Lo u is, Mo. 631 1 4. (31 4 ) 423- 7044.

MAY 22-23, 1976 Otto' Lil ienthal Meet and Instructor's Cl in ic at Guadal upe Dunes.

From Santa Maria, go west on Hwy. 166 to the beach. Dune buggy transportation ava ilable. No facil ities, bring food and water. For information call Al Wadd ill (805) 925-1548.

tional Championsh ipsJ Dog Mou ntain, Morton, Washi ngton. / , JUNE .5- 6, Hang Gliding Meet at Crystal Caverns Flight Park, Chattanooga, Tennessee. For further i nformation cal l (615) 821-0097.

JUNE 12, U ltrali ght Flight Ill. A ll day sem inar at Northrop Un iversity, 1155 W .

Arbor Vitae St., Inglewood, CA 90306. $8.00, includ ing lunch. Pay checks to sponsot, NU-AIAA Student Branch, and send to NU, attn, Prof. Paul Lord. Papers to be on sail design, diffuser tips, ri gid w ings, collapsi bl e. rigid w ings, therma l c ro sscountry ~oa ring, MPA's, etc.

JUNE 1-27, The Stowe Sky School is happy to announce thei r Spri ng Hang Gl iding Meet at Mt. Mansfi eld, Stowe, Vermont.

JUNE 19-20, Sierra Skysu rfers host the 2nd Annual Reno Fly-In at Reno, Nevada. Lots of fun fly ing for al l . For more information, call (702} 359- 2176.

JUNE 19-27, Fourth Annua l FrankfortElberta Open Soari ng and Hang GI id ing Festival. Hang G liding competition June 26-27 at the Elberta Bl uffs. Limited entry of 150 pi lots. Send $5 .00 fo r pre-entry fee to receive p i lot numbe r and info rmation.

Post entry $10.00 after June 10. Send to Betsie Bay Bl uff Buzzards, P.O . Box 70, Fran k fort, M i c h igan 49635. (616) 352-9312 .

MAY 29-3 1, Sp ring Fling Fun Fly-In at Ne lson, Wisconsin for Memorial weekend.

We are aware that the US HGA Nationals was moved up to that same weekend, but Washington is a long way from the midwest and our event is for local and regional flyers who are not planning on goi ng to Dog Mo untain. For more informatio n w rite: Northern Sky Gliders Assn Inc., P.O. Box 364, Mpls. MN 55440.

JUNE 26-27, The Great Wel lsville A ir Show and Poker Railey - Air Race at ,,Wel lsvi ll e Mun icipa l Airport. Whateve r your aviation interest, come and join i n the fun. For information ca ll (716) 593 -4270.

MAY 29-JUNE 5, 4th An nua l USHGA Na-

JU LY 2-4, Fireworks! Hang G l iding Meet

JUNE 21, SHGA membe rsh ip meeti ng, 7:30 P.M . Dept. of Water and Power Aud'itori um, 111 N . Hope St., Los Ange les.

-

~

at Crystal Caverns Fl ight Park, Chaf tanooga, Tennessee. For further information call (615) 821-0097.

JU LY 2-6, Hatcher Pass, Alaska "Suds in the Sun" Fly-In . 24 hour daylight - fly Alaska A irline package. Seattle, Anchorage, Honolulu $308.00. Plan on it after the Nationa ls at Dog Mo untain.

JULY 9-1 1, 2nd Annual Mo Isons Invitational Hang Gl ider Competition at 1100' Mt. Mc Ka y - Thunder Bay, O n ta rio, Canada. $4,000 purse. For more in fo rmation contact : Northern Sun Hang Gl iders, 240 N. McCarrons Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55 113. (612) 489-8300.

AUGUST 14-15, Hang Gl iding Meet at Crystal Caverns Flight Park, Chattanooga, Tennessee. For furthe r information call (61 5) 82 1-0097.

AUGUST 14 -22, Tel l uride Inv itatio nal Meet. The meet w il l be Hang G l ider Man ufacturer's Assoc. sanctioned meet.

The pi lots w i ll be chosen from and by this group. The Telluride area is closed to al l flyi ng except for the invitational fl yers during the meet. Spectators we lcome.

SEPTEMBER 1-12, First Worl d Hang Gliding Champio nships. Kossen, Austria. fmi: USHGA SEPTEM BER 24-26, Hang G l iding Meet at Crystal Caverns Flight Park, Chattanooga, Tennessee . For fu rther information ca ll (615) 821-0097.

Let Ground Skimmer help you to publicize your upcom ing hang glid ing events. Send in your calendar items at least 8 weeks in advance.

Ca lendar of Events Ground Ski mmer Magazi ne Box .663-06., Los Angeles, CA 90066

CONSUMER ADVISORY: Used hang gliders always should be disassembled before flying for the first time and inspected carefully for fatigue - bent or dented tubes, 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 Rogallos, sails badly torn or torn loose from their anchor points front and back on the keel and leading edges. If in doubt, many hang gliding businesses will be happy to give an objective opinion on the condition of equipment you bring them to inspect.

Rogallos BENNETT 17Y2' - Flown moderately. Real good condition. Great flyer, super stable. Adjustable control bar and custom zipper bag. $400.

Call (213) 583-3602.

BROCK 82-18' Standard. Factory Brock Frame, Albatross sail, multicolored. Kite excellent condition. No bends, dents in frame. No holes in sail.

Complete with deluxe bag, helmet. $475 after six. Jerry (213) 831-9189.

BROCK 19-S stretched for better handling and 5.0 L/D, red/black, Eipper seat, bag, $450.

MANTA 80-S, 18', orange sail in new condition, canvas bag, $400. VALKYRIE 30' unswept flying wing, white/red, excellent light wind soaring machine but clumsy on the ground. Fixed wing experience needed, also box or bag. $450.

OrigenPerkinsorSteve Moore, (805) 967-1958.

BRbCK 82-18' standard with wide control bar rigged for seated. Built from UP Kit. Excellent condition. $350. Bag & harness included. N.J. (201) 335-7386.

BROCK 19x17 Redtail $450. Case & seat. Wind Gypsy 106 rigg~d prone $475. California Gliders (714)452-0351.

Can we help you get into the air? Do you want to fly but are short of funds? We will trade anything to help you fly. Contact Delta Wing Kites & Gliders (213) 787-6600.

CUSTOM BUILT TRUNCATION 104°/18-14-T2.25/3° Albatross sail, cambered, white with blue leading edges. Anodized tubing, 1%" x .035 2024-T3, Tips 1W' x .035, 60" control bar, seat to prone. Very clean & mellow to fly.

Built Oct. 75. Beautiful new condition $550. John • (913) 287-3620, (816) 421-1239.

FLEXI FLOATER-19', White, good condition, · red harness, $370. (714) 884-3728.

FREE: FLIGHT ROGALLO - 17', Blue, cover, C.G. !:'late, $300. (714) 884-3728. ; FREE.FLIGHT 17' Sierra I-Advanced standard. ··.Rainbow sail. 5' control bar, tip deflexors, $350., '. also 18V:i' Bennett standard, new wires, stable .trainer, $225. (213) 461-5974.

··40/GROUND SKIMMER

FREE FLIGHT 19'-Good condition, black, red, yellow w/orange tip. $300. Bag harness included. Steve Brown (213) 768-0626.

EIPPER16'Std, purple, red, gold, yellow. Complete w/harness & bag. used only for 4 flights-girlfriend lost interest. $475. (414) 463-6892.

EIPPER-FORMANCE 17' Flexi Flier. Red and White sail. New frame. Prone harness and helmet included. $200. (714) 787-8357.

EIPPER 18' - Good condition, white sail, bag.

Call after 5. (714) 462-3622.

EIPPER 19' - Factory yellow, blue and red.

Seated supine with snap bag. Excellent condition. $650. New (1-75) $450. or Best Offer. (303) 247-3654 Michael.

EIPPER 20' - With bag and seat, almost new, $550, tandem seat extra. 18' with bag and seat, used only 2 mos. $520. 19x17 with bag and harness, 6 mos. old $540. Wind Gypsy 102° blue and white with bag, $650. Earl Christy, Box 38, Hesperus CO. 81326 (303) 533-7550.

FLAMINGO - Europe's hottest flying glider, made in Germany. Flown and tested only for industrial spying, brand new, ready to ship. Cost $1100, will sell for only $895. Call or write Delta Wing Kites & Gliders, P.O. Box 483, Van Nuys, CA 91408. (213) 787-6600.

FREE FLIGHT 18', $275; EIPPER 16\ $275; ALBATROSS 16x19.5 high performance, $475.

Tom (213) 670-1515 ex. 1551 days or (805) 495-7784 evenings, weekends.

MANUFACTURER'S CLOSE-OUT. NEW .· ROGALLOS - $300. Limited offer -while supply lasts! We are going out of business and must liquidate all remaining'stock of 15' and 16' standard Rogallos. Tf\ese are brand new gliders being sold at manufacturer's cost! Price includes swing seat harness, blue/white camber-cut Dacron sail, vinly-coated cables, stainless fittings, more. Clean, clean, clean! Shipped immediately, freight collect, from stock. Send 25% deposit for C.O.D. Want more information? Send stamp.

Sportwings, Box 1647, Lafayette, IN. 47902.

PACIFIC GULL HA-19 - Excellent Condition 6 mo. old. Cover, helmet, seated harness and new Hammock Harness. $650. (918) 258-3431.

PHANTOM 16' - Used twice ~ flying is not for me. Color sail, bag, coated wires, helmet, excellent shape, $350. (415) 726-9508.

land, NY 13045, (607) 756-7442.

ROGALLOS - New 18' Sun Sail, color, seated/prone, w/bag & harness, $500. New 18' Eipper, color, prone, Sun control bar w/bag & harness $450. New but older 19' Eipper Kit, white sail, good trainer, $375. Slightly used Sun IV, custom sail, Soaring windows, seated/prone, lots of lift and easy flying for $850. Hang 4 only.

Call Dick at (503) 654-3342, SEAGULL V - Red with purple L.E. and rudder.

Excellent condition. Bag included. $700. P.O. Box 386, Nags Head, N.C. 27959 (919) 441-6247.

SEAGULL Vforsale. Hardly flown, all white. Best Offer, call (213) 454-5126.

SKY SPORT 16' Std, adjustable rigging.

Seated/prone. No tool set-up, bag and harness, no damage. $300. Call Pete around 6. (215) 644-5301. 563 Tanglewood, Devon, PA. 19333.

STANDARD 17' - With harness and accessories, ready to fly. Blue & White, $250. Marina Del Rey. Mornings, (213) 821-3503.

SWALLOWTAIL -20' Radial sail design with 10 colors, excellent kite for beginners and intermediates. $500. (406) 227-5916 or (406) 721-1764.

SUN BIRD is having a used glider sale! Mint Performer II "20-17," large control bar, flawless Sunbird sail, carrying bag, harness, all for $650.

Performer II "2o-17," large control bar, good condition, carrying bag, harness, $550. New Performer 116' "Standard" multicolored sail, carrying bag, harness, $500. New Henco "Butterfly" sail for "20-17" airframe, only $200. Call (213) 882-3177.

SUNDANCE - Rel:!, white, & blue. Very Clean $595. Ask for Bill at (714) 234-3475days or (714) 462-6028 evenings.

U.P. DRAGONFLY-Very responsive and easy to fly - super clean sail. With Sunbird Hammock Harness $750. Scott (213) 335-6728 evenings.

WINDGYPSY 107.4 Red & White 18' leading edges, 11 ft. keel, 2V2 foot tips, 2%0 sail with 4 battens, 172 sq. ft. Brand new condition 271-4988. Three mos. old $650. 748-2967.

WINDLORD Ill - 18V2 x 15 - Albatross gold colored sail. Excellent condition. $625. Write: joe Lopez, 13131 Old West Ave., San Diego, CA. 92129.

1

PHANTOM 1'8 'Standard - One year old, used onw,;a few times. Perfect condition. Prone 'harness, special colors and sail pattern. Bag and many extras $475. Must sell (415) 726-9508.

ICARUS IIB - Excellent condition in heavy-duty car-top box $990. Dave (406) 848-7794.

PLIABLE MOOSE DIFFUSION TIP and other top models. Complete instruction, sales and service. RiQht Bros. Kite Co., 19 Parker Ave, Cort-

ICARUS V-Mint condition, new unci:ated Free Flight Kit-priced to sen~$700. Free shipment to lower 48. Must sell, buying a Bushplane. Ken

Rigid Wings

57

partial recovering) with lots of new extra tubing, fittings, aircraft dope, ~nd custom steel trailer to haul it.$525 (Work) (213) 378-1021. Ask for Dan.

Sherrod 2152 Wayne St.. Anchorage, Al ask~ 99504. (907) 333-2050. . · ICARUS V, new factory built, outstanding value, highest quality materials and craftsmanship save time by purchasing already as~embled.

Buy from the most experienced rigid wing mfg.

For information write UFM, Box 59 Cupertino, CA 95014. (408) 732-5463.

ICARUS V, Mint condition built from Free Flight Kit, pefectly trimmed, ready to fly, lemon yellow, including custom built box and other extras. Call (213) 933-9897 or (801) 467-2620.

ICARUS V - New, flies beautifully. With box. $1400. Denver (303) 333-0884.

ICARUS V - Perfect condition, with box. White with blue leading edge. $1500. Call Steve (805) 967-0346.

ICARUS V - Free Flight Kit completed by Craftsman except for color coat. Includes Box. Attending college. Must sell for only $1200.

Santa Barbara, CA (805) 965-1929 after 6 p.m.

ICARUS V 560-0888. .

New, ready to fly. $1200. (714)

ICARUS V 560-0888.

Free Flight Kit. $700. (714)

ICARUS V - With trailer. For Sale. Flown 8 mos., white and blue. Trailer will hold two "Icarus V's" - $1300 firm. Chuck Moore. 1177 Bryan Ave. S.L.C. UT. 84105 - (801) 466-1146 (80t) 582-7214.

NEED CASH -

Like to sell Icarus II (needs

QUICKSILVER - Excellent condition, ready to fly, complete with custom trailer, getting married, sacrifice. $550. (714) 628-2350 Chino, CA

QUICKSILVER C - Factory built, excellent condition, dark blue, light blue, orange. Supine harness, cover. Beautiful silver/blue anodized. $900. Call (714) 884-3728.

QUICKSILVER - Main wing, spars, king post, triangle bar assembly, main wing -cover with shaped ribs, both tail covers, ready to use. Neil Kleinman (213) 320-9101 days or (213) 598-2848 evenings $250.

RIGID or SEMI-RIGID wanted. Would accept second hand even if bent. Contact Dr. Mike Smith, Percy Moore Hospital, Nodgson, Manitoba, Rocino, Canada. Call Manitoba (204) 645-2144 collect.

QUICKSILVER B - Great shape. Flies like a champ. Includes VW car top carrier. $735. (714) 547-2692.

V.J.-23 Swingwing - ready to fly. Exceptional workmanship. Two airspeeds. $1250. Lance Rosecrans (303) 344-2418, 1064 Chambers Ct. Aurora, CO.

QUICKSILVER B-Professionally builtfrom kit.

Recently re-rigged. Custom design sail. Also custom made transport bag. Looks good, flies great. $500. Call (513) 254-4924.

ICARUS V - Complete with aluminum box mounted on trailer. Built from FF Kit. Test flown, mint condition. (516) 681-8738 NY area.

bag and rack included. (406) 721-1764 or (406) 227-5916.

QUICKSILVER B - The Bumble Bee - Yellow and Black wings. Never flown, just add cable wires and fly. Must sell immediately. Make an offer I can't refuse. (415) 726-9508 or (914) 229-7900.

QUICKSILVER B - Excellent condition, flies perfectly. Multi-colored with many extras. Moving, must sell. $625. Gerry Watkins 655 E. 5th St. Chico, CA. 95926. (916) 343-8962.

QUICKSILVER B - White/light blue. Excellent condition, ready to fly. Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

(414) 786-1937.

QUICKSILVER "C," with spoilerons, low time excellent condition. Asking $1000 or make offer.

(213) 559-9341.

QUICKS ILVER C - Looks and flies great, $750,

Schools and Dealers ALASKA KLEAN FUN KITES - dealers for UP inc., Sun sail, Seagull, Eipper, and Cal Gliders, Full parts dept. and repairs. Alaska Ultralight Flight School - USHGA and GSI Instructors and Observers - private and group lessons. Seated and ski launch. Over 350 Alaskans completed our school in '75.

ARIZONA Southern Arizona's only Hang-Gliding School and Dealership. CHANDELLE ARIZONA through SKI HAUS/ACTION SPORTS is staffed

by USHGA Observers and nationally certified instructors. Our lesson plans are comprehensive. Dealerships and service are with SEAGULL and EIPPER-FORMANCE. Contact Charlie Lutz

FLY THE FLATLANDS Hang gliding and tow kiting are brought together by the innovative Kite Enterprises tow system. This is the tow system engineered for your glider. No special cable set or expensive modifications required. ·Although on the market for only a short time, a Kite Enterprises tow system was used by Greg Mitchell on a Seagull 111 to win the 1975 Cypress Garden World Tow Kite Championship.

The Kite Enterprises tow bar is made in many different sizes, each a direct substitute for the model of hang glider bar it replaces. Non-standard bars may be specially ordered at no extra charge.

The tow system is of 6061-T6 aluminum, with a FAA approved 1200 lb. rated tow release. The whole system is exceptionally strong.

The Kite Enterprises System is suitable for all towing, but as we do not encourage land towing for any but experts, we wiJJ normally supply all systems with flotation.

Kite Enterprises Tow System Complete ...................$225 If larger than 5 ft. by 5 ft....... .' ................... $250 Top release system complete ........................... $ 75 Boat release ..........................................$ 30 Texas residents add 5% state sales tax Al I orders require 50% deposit

Kite Enterprises 1403 Austin St. Irving, TX 75061

58

Telephone inquiries Dave Broyles (214) 438-1623 Nights and weekends.

Standard flotation system not depicted.

Standard flotation mounts on control bar.

MAY, 1976

A soaring feeling of pure flight that takes you beyond the edge of mankind's final fantasy. With 9:1 performance capabilities Calypso is a milestone breakthrough in an infant sport. Imagine soaring along ridges for hours instead of minutes, flying supine beneath a 40 pound wing of aluminum and dacron. It's as close to pure, birdlike flight as man has ever come.

Dave Ewing, designer of the all new Calypso, put it this way: "I needed a glider with the good speed range, superior glide and minimum sink necessary for cross country flights. On distance runs you've got to cut through areas of sink and between thermals while moving from ridge to ridge. With Calypso's fully cambered leading edge, keel and sail I was able to create a slightly cylindrical high-aspect truncated glider that gives a balance of optimum glide and control at minimum sink."

''The plan is, essentially, to become wanderers-so that we may seek out new knowledge wherever it is to be found for as long as Calypso will carry us."

JACQUES-YVES COUSTEAU

"To ride on the crest of the wild raging storm ... Joyful and loving and letting it be. Aye, Calypso!"

JOHN DENVER

And each Calypso is built like an aircraft. Inspections performed at the plant (to FAA AC 43.13-1 standards) insure top quality construction.before Eagleman's serial nameplate is riveted to the airframe. Each spar clevis of the approved Boeing design is machined to 0.001 tolerance for 3 times the strength obtained with channel brackets. Eagleman's patented (pat. pend.) control bracket replaces the heartbolt with two ANS bolts and internal compression bushings while providing full CO·adjustment. These, and numerous other design · · improvements place Calypso in a class by itself.

If your proficiency rating is Hang 4 or above, why not go for it! The Calypso gets you up there higher and faster with response that is more like a wing and less like a parachute. If you're new to the sport Eagleman manufactures a complete line of Formula One World Cup Standards with 90 degree ·nose angles that pioneered the sport nearly two years ago. Write today for your free color brochure-and experience Calypso.

Eeagleman® ~ AIRCRAFT CORPORATION PO BOX 4411 • SANTA ANA, CA • 92702

or Doug Weeks, Jr;, SKI HAUSJAC;:Tl©N SPORTS, 2832 East Speedway, Tucson, Arizona 85716 (602) 881-4544.

CALIFORNIA FREE FLIGHT OF SAN DIEGO offers professional flight instruction at reasonable cost. Top quality gliders and accessories from Ultralite Products and Free Flight Systems. (714) 560-088&.

HANG GLIDERS WEST - DILLON BEACH FLYING SCHOOL Northern California's most complete hang glider facility. USHGA certified instructors. Free lessons with purchase of a wing. Stop by our NEW SHOP at 10 11 Lincoln in San Rafael. Total service, sales and repairs ..

Come to DILLON Beach and check out the Fledgling and the Windlord. After the sale, it's the service that counts. Phone (415) 454-7664 or (415) 669-1162.

THE HANG GLIDER SHOP - 1351 E. Beach Blvd. La Habra, CA 90631; (213) 943-1074.

Come in, visit, and see our displays featuring Eipper-Formance Hang Gliders, parts, and other equipment. Hours 4-9 Tuesday through Friday; 10-6 Saturday; Sunday flying lessons.

LEARN TO FLY with USHGA rated instructors.

The SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SCHOOL OF HANG GLIDING offers all levels of instruction. All training gliders are radio-equipped for novice to advanced training. Local dealer for all major brands of gliders. For the Hang 3-4 pilot interested in flying high performance gliders, we offer demonstration flights on: Seagull IV, Kestrel, Cumulus, Phoenix VI, Sunbird Strato. Learn

how to. ther.mal soar, private or semi-private lessons available. (213) 789-6200.

CANADA AURORA ROGALLO INC. Dealer for U.P. Dragonfly, SRT 20x16, RT 19x17, RT 18x16 Seagull Ill and IV, glider hardware, sales, service, and instruction. Box 9117€!, West Vancouver, Canada V7V 3N6, (604) 922-7275.

COLORADO GOLDEN SKY SAILS, featuring Sun and Seagull gliders. Our well equipped shop specializes in expert repair and custom work. Huge inventory of parts and accessories, including Chandelle replacement parts. Fast service mail order. Regular, advanced, arid high-performance lessons.

Mountain flights up to 2600' vertical. Ratings available. Located just west of Denver at the foot of Green Mountain. Call or write for free price list or further information: (303) 278-9566. 572 Orchard St., Golden, Colo. 80401.

IOWA IOWA Glider Co., Central Iowa dealer for Pliable Moose, New and used gliders, lessons, parts repairs. 2564 Boyd, Des Moines, Iowa 50317.

(515) 262-5080.

KANSAS Pliable Moose, Eipper and Blackhawk Kites.

Weekly instruction. Complete outfitting and sales for backpacking, canoe and kayak trips. Stop by and shoot the breeze! Voyageur's Pack and Portage Shop, 5935 Merriam Drive, Merriam, Kansas 66203 (913) 262-6611.

Hang Gliders Guide® To ARIZONA

MICHIGAN FREE INSTRUCTION with purchase of Bill Bennett or Pliable Moose Glider. Parts, repairs. Delta Wing, 1011 Chester S.E., Grand Rpaids, Michigan 49506. (616) 458-4078.

Michigan and Midwest Enthusiasts - Eco-Flight Systems, Inc. Eco-Flight Standard Wings, l;-lighest Quality. Kits $335-$455. Ready to fly $455-$575. Michigan distributor for Seagull.

Complete stock of supplies, instruction, sailmaking. 2275 S. State, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104.

(313) 994-9020. Send $.50 f~r information package.

The Midwest School of Hang Gliding has the Cumulus VB, the SST, and the the new FlexiFlier II, as well as all other models of Eipper, Wills Wings, and the Kestrel available for demo flights.

We have a complete line of accessories and instruction in all levels of hang gliding including lessons on the Quicksilver B & C. Qur training is done at the Warren Dunes since we are located 3/4 of a mile north of the park entrance. Call (616) 426-3100 or write: The Midwest School of Hang Gliding, 11522 Red Arrow Highway, Bridgman, Mich. 49106.

SOUTHEST MICHIGAN FLYEAS - Contact Jim (Scruffy) Lemieux - Southeast Michigan Hang Gliders, dealer for Wills Wing. Supplies, Lessons and USHGA ratings (313) 791-0614.

Mt. Clemens.

NEW JERSEY SKY ACTION SPORTS INC., Authorized dealer for Manta and Eipper-Formance. Gliders and

For Sale one of a kind

Motorized Icarus V

by Wilson Baker

A comprehensive index of Arizona's finest soaring and gliding locations.

• Detailed maps of each location.

• Complete flying instructions.

• Photographs of flying sites.

• The book for expert and novice pilot alike.

D Complete with all aluminum box and trailer. D 18 hp. D Golbs Thrust. D Cowling. D 3 blade propeller. DRebuilt hang cage. D Easy set-up. D Amazing specifications.

• Original artwork by Jeanette Bostick.

-Call SEND

~ 60

CASH, CHECK OR MONEY ORD:E~

TO:

SONOITA SOARING ASSOCIATION BOX 261 SONOITA, ARIZONA 85637

Long Island Kite Distributors Inc. 5 Beth Page Rd. Hicksville, NY 11801 (516) 681-8738 Ask for Vinny MAY, 1976

... parts in stock including cable and tubing. Send $2.00 for complete packet of information to: SKY ACTION SPORTS INC. 16 Weir Place, Ringwood, NJ 07456.

NEW YORK Bennett Delta Wings, Standard or high performance models in stock, new and used, repairs, tube straightening and instruction. Mark Flight, Ltd. 104 Gettysburg, Buffalo, NY 14223 (71 6) 836-3939.

WINDBORNE HANG GLIDERS - Dealer for Electra Flyer. New and used kites. Parts, accessories, repairs and flight instruction. 159-1 1 Horace Harding Expwy, Flushing, NY 11356.

(212) 461-1314.

40 miles north of N.Y.C. Aerial Techniques GSI Certified Beginners School with advance trainer kites. Dealers tor a!I Manufacturers. Everything for the beginner, intermediate, and advanced pilot. · Dan Chapman, James Aronson, Douka Kaknes, dedicated to the hang gliding movement. (914) 783-6751 , RD#1 , 49 Mine Rd., Monroe, N.Y. 10950.

ROCHESTER HANG GLIDER - lessons, parts, new and used gliqers. Dealer for EipperFormance and Sky Sports. (716) 381-0075.

WIND-RIDERS, Ltd. - " Member - East Coast Hang Glider Dealers Association" Dealers for Eipper-Formance, Manta, UP, Cal-Gliders, Electra Flyer, Zephyr. Sales, service, instruction.

Tom Russell, Chuck Stocking, Box 595, Newark Valley, NY 13811, (607) 657-8350, 642-8275.

OREGON Billy B. Beamway's Flying Machine Shoppe, representing Eipper-Formance and Sun Sail Corp. in Oregon. P.O. Box 22524, Milwaukie, Oregon, (503) 654-3342.

UTAH UTAH FLIERS AND VISITORS - Hang Glider parts, repairs and competent instruction. Free lessons when you buy a Manta Wing. The Kite Shop at Nature's Way, 9th So. 9th East, SLC, Utah 84102 (801) 359-7913.

WASATCH WINGS, dealers for Sun Sail and Seagull Aircraft. Expert instruction at reasonable

rates. $15 per lesson or $65 for 5. We also offer complete glider maintainence and a full line of accessories. Stop in and see us on your way through Utah and we'll show you the sites. Ask for Dave or Jerry at (801) 266-2922 or come by the shop at 3998 S. 300W, #66, SLC, Utah 84107.

Publications & Organizations BACK ISSUES O F GROUND SKIMMER MAGAZINE: Mimeo newsletters #'s HO, .50¢ each; printed issues, # 19-36, .75# each; current issues $1.00 each. USHGA, Box 66306, Los Angeles, CA 90066.

Books: Hang Gliding, comprehensive review of the sport by Dan Poynter, 205 pages, $5.95.

(Add $1 .50 for airmail); Man Powered Flight by Keith Sherwin, 176 pages, $6.50; Hang Flight instructional manual , 96 pages , $3.25; Simplified Performance Testing fo r Hang Gliders, by Jack Park, 17 pages, $2. All prices postpaid from lJSHGA Box 66306, Los Angeles, CA. 90066.

INTRODUCING

DIAMOND VOYAGER, COBRA.BALBOA, LAPAZ

GLIDERS

Diamond Gliders are manufactured by a new firm. General Sport Aviation. We have been in-

volved with the sport almost since its rebirth. Our policies are to fabricate deluxe flight equipment of the highest quality. Check this list of standard features of our Voyager. Then compare it to any.

• Main frame of 15/a x . 058 or 13/4 x . 058 6061-TB aluminum • All aluminum parts anodized (custom color combinations available) • Bolt holes& stress areas reinforced with 1/a wall, 1/4 wall, and solid aluminum cores .

• All weldments tested to 8 G. • All flying wires coated for your protection & beauty.

• Stainless CG adjustors to trim the sail to your preference.

• Coordinated tubing saddles supplied with all units.

• All tangs, cable fittings, nose plates, tip plates made of stainless steel.

• Custom fit storage covers for all units.

• Control bar pads & grips for comfort & safety.

• Multiple color sails with sail windows are of 3.8 oz. Dacron.

• Custom sail painting, patterns available.

• New design super prone harness for unbelievable comfort on long soaring flights.

The Voyager is an ultra-performance Rogallo for Hang IV pilots. SPECS: Nose angle - 110°, sail 116. 50°. keel - 12 Ft., span - 34 Ft., tip - 24 in.. aspect ratio - 7, L/D (max) - 7. 5: 1, sink - 295 Ft./min., set up time - 10 mins., weight - 44 lbs.

DIAMOND SATISFACTION POLICY-We understand the difficulty of buying a new glider and offer a money back guarante~·if you are not satisfied after inspecting your purchase. Take 5 days to really look it over. If you don't like the color, or whatever, return it. It's that easy.

General Sport Aviation, Box 27102, Milwaukee, Wisconson 53227

40/GROUNO SKIMMER

61

....

GUIDE TO ROGALLO FLIGHT - BASIC. Simple, but effective. $2.50 Prepd. FL IGHT REALITIES, 1945 Adams Ave., San Diego, CA 92116 HANGING IN THERE , $6/yr. 6301 Knox Ave. South, Richfield MN 55423.

SAMPLE - 25¢, HANG GLIDER WEEKLY, Box 1860-D2MY, Santa Monica, CA 90406.

SOARING MAGAZINE - Covers the sailplane scene with some ultralight coverage. Available with membership. (Member $20; Associate member, $12/year.) Info kit with sample copy $1.50. Soaring Society of America, Box 66071-G, Los Angeles, CA 90066.

CABLE SS 3/32 7x7 white vinyl $.20 ft . Uncoated $.15ft. Nicos $.07. Thimbles SS !.09; UP Tangs, $.60. Polyrope % $.10 ft. Send for free price sheet. We sell discount! BIRD BUILDERS 22225Y2 Pac. Coast Hwy., Malibu, CA 90265.

CLOSING OUT SALE - Like new portable swaging tool for attaching steel terminals to aircraft control cables. Case, dies, and gauges for ball and straight shank term on 3/32 cable included. Two used kites (17' & 18') T6061 .049 1W ' tubing and sleeving, some anodized. Cable, bolts, noseplates, nicopress, etc. Everything must go! After six (312) 235-3740.

Parts & Accessories ALUMINUMTUBING-6061 T613f.ix.049x20' , 21' 2-5 lengths $1.00 ft; H's x .058 x 12' 2-5 lengths $1 .25 ft.; 6063 T8321 W' x .049 x 15', 17', 18' 2-5 lengths $.70 ft., Nicos .07 ea.; thimbles .082 ea., stops, end caps, bushing also available - 3 32 7x7 coated stainless steel cable $.17 ft.; 1/ 16 7x7 uncoated $.12 ft. Call or write for price sheet. Leading Edge Air Foils, 214 W. Colorado Avenue, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903.

Phone (303) 632-4959.

CABLE galv 3/32 7x7 aircraft .07 ft; vinyl coated, .13 ft.; thimbles .08; nicos .08; stainless steel tangs .44; turnbuckles fork/fork & eye adaptor 2.25, 45" red or gold proofed nylon $1. yd.

GLIDER WEARHOUSE, 1061 Lakeview, Windom, Minn 56101.

NEW! The Hall Wind Meter. Accurate - each meter calibrated individually. Dependable - not affected by dust or static. Rugged. Easy to read.

Comes with denim bag. $12.50 postpaid in U.S. Foreign add $1 .00. Larry Hall, Box 771 Dept. M, Morgan, Utah 84050 .

PELLET VARIOMETERS: Improve your flying, learn to soar with one of our pellet variometers.

Our variometers attach to your helmet for convenience and easy reading. Models: standard

0-1,000' /min. $65. Dual range. 0-500' and 0-1 ,000' / min, $85. Automatic dua l range 0-1,500'/min. $115.00. Makiki Electronics, Box 629, Hauula, HI 96717.

PRONE HARNESSES -$30. Custom Harness Work$ Kite bags w/ 100" zipper - $25. All post paid. All Mil. Spec. Materials and work done by Master Parachute Rigger! Pacific Para-Sports, 418 3rd. Eureka, CA 95501.

SPECIAL SALE! PRONE HARNESSES: $35.

Regularly $50. 5,000 lb. nylon web construction.

High density foam padding. Adjustable for prone or upright flying. D-ring included. SM, MD, LG, XL. NICO TOOL: $10.50 Small home size nico tool allows easy, safe cable repair and replacement at home or at flying sites. BUSHING IN· STALLATION TOOL: $3.50 Allows you to install perfectly finished bushings on your kite or glider.

Installs copper or aluminum bushings. FREEFLIGHT SYSTEMS, INC., 12424 Gladsone, Sylmar, CA. 91342. (213) 365-5607.

"WIND-ST AND" Takes the stress off gliders while parked in heavy winds by elevating the nose. Makes it easier to set up and take down in w inds. Prevents loss of glider during w ind direction change. Light weight, portable, adjustable, can carry on glider. Send $35. to C.R.C. design and marketing, 2927 Millicent Dr. S.L.C., Utah 84108.

Plans Plans for unique roof rack specifically designed for sedans and small cars. Simple and inexpensive to build; easy to attach and remove from car,

An Exciting New Concept

MANTA FLEDGLING STABILITY FOR THE BEGINNING PILOT+ PERFORMANCE FOR THE ADVANCED PILOT

\

ffiAmA \

\

\

Can be: * flown seated or prone *folded compactly as a Rogallo *set up in 15 min with no tools *carried, handled, and launched ... ALL WITHOUT ASSISTANCE! \

' 62

mAnlA

LET MANTA BRING YOU · THE FUTURE OF HANG GLIDING NOW WRITE OR CALL FOR YOUR FREE BROCHURE ( dealer inquiries invited) 1647 East 14th Street/Oakland, CA 94606 call 415: 536-1500

MAY, 1976

yet sturdy enough to carry several Rogallos at high speeds. Can easily accomodate most fixed wings. Send $2.50 to 526 E. Manchester Terrace, Inglewood, CA 90301.

Miscellaneous Alaska helicopter hang gliding tours. Vertical flights up to 6000'. Write or call for information; P.O. Box 4-2990 Anchorage, AK 99509 {907) 274-4120.

CUSTOM EMBROIDERED PATCHES. Your design made in any size, shape and colors. One piece minimum. Send 13¢ stamp for price list and ordering information. Richard Hein, dept.HI, 4326 N. Albany, Chicago, IL 60618.

FLASH! "Wings of the Wind" has Just been nominated for an EMMY! W.O.W. is a hot new California film that shows the humorous attempts at flight by beginners trying to get "up" ... and it offers the viewer a vicarious sense of freedom as well as a brief history of the sport. An ideal film for club meetings, promotional use, and entertainment. 16mm Color, 27 minutes with sound $300.

Gibco Films, 12814 Collins St. No. Hollywood, CA 91607 (21 3) 766-3489.

MA NUFACTURERS - Explorer Post 592 (Nonprofit organization) is looking for companies to donate hang gliding materials. Donations are tax-deductible. Post 592, 2878 S. Orleans West Allis, Wis. 53227.

PATCHES & DECALS - USHGA sew-on emb· lems 3" dia. Full color - $1. Decals, 3W' dia.

Inside or outside application. 25¢ each. Include 13¢ for postage and handling with each order.

Box 66306, Los Angeles, CA 90066.

companion to share expenses for low-budget travel and flying June-Aug. Write Kurt Grutzner, 731 Harrison, Beloit, Wis. 53511 .

stolen 8 $100. reward. Cumulus SB. Colors from tip to center: Black, purple, blue, red and gold with windows. Scott Turner (213) 941-5880.

1976 HANG GLIDER CALENDAR, 12 full page black and white photographs, easy to read calendar format. A must for every enthusiast! $.75 postpaid. Order from USHGA, Box 66306, Los Angeles, CA 90066.

STREAKING HANG GllDING "FREEDOM POSTER," $2.00 or $.50/ 1000 3060 Sunset Lane, Oxnard, CA 93030 TEE-SHIRTS with USHGAemblem $5.50 including postage and handling. Cali forn ians add 6% tax. Men's sizes S, M, L, XL. Orange only.

USHGA, BOX 66306, Los Angeles, CA. 90066.

The rate for classified advertising is 15¢ per word (or group of characters). Minimum charge, $1.50. A fee of $5. is charged for each photograph. Please make checks payable to USHGA: Classified Advertising Dept.

GROUND SKIMMER MAGAZINE Box 66306, Los Angeles, CA 90066

FREE FREE

[)!<,COUNT I-MG GLIDER KCESSOW CNN.OG'UE

S°t'i\JE 10<30% OFF Ll'>T PRICE l(ND NN'I€ & fl~\\ IIND .-_FUGH! 81\G Mf\ll OR*Q CO.

134 111\MP OQ COIN 10 ~

W

We can put any size or shape of personal design or company logo on your Dacron sail. Qo it yourselfer? We have detailed instructions for anyone who wants to paint their own sail. We can even help you cut stencils. Price-$5.50. Write or call Karen and Bill Torell, Sail-Brush 283 Flower St. Costa Mesa, CA. 92627. (714) 645-7323.

P.O 8ox 61'2

GREN R~R N Y 11739

Hang Glider Weekly $12 Box 1860 52 issues Santa Monica, Ca. 90406

Young intermediate hang glider pilot desires

SKYDIVING AND KITING POSTERS

Hl;LMET VARIOMETER VERY SENSITIVE Micro pellet meter easily detects changes of 2 inches/ second This 1s more than sufficient for thermalling or calibrating kite sink rates.

I RELATIVE WORK

J SWISSALPS

2 26-MAl'f STAR

ALWAYS IMMEDIATELY VISIBLE Transparent 3/4 x 2" meter weighing l oz. is suspended 8" in front of any helmet at a point just above one's line of sight Air chambers (2 quart) conveniently carried on one's back. Visual referral lo a moving control bar is eliminated NON-ELECTRIC No electronic lag. No disturbance of the quiet by electronic noises.

PRICED RIGHT Less thermos liner (available al grocery stores) sales tax). Complete simple instructions supplied

5. SUNSET

4, S'IOWFLAKE

,7. SKY BIRO

6. 16-MAN NIGHT STAR

~)- [~.~ :'r-7~

. .-.

~

.

8 SKY SAi LORS

~,$,..

[ , •. ,

-·~4 ~.

• '

$5250 (Californians add 6%

MORTON ENTERPRISES

517 Chester St., Glendale, CA. 91203

AIR SPEEDOMETER

,:.... ,

9. FINAL APPROACH

DUAL RANGE 0.25mph Q.60mph HELMET MOUNTED Transparent 3/ 4 x 2" micro pellet meter weighing I oz. is suspended 8" in front o f any helmet at a point just above one's line of sight. May also be mounted with a Morton helmet variometer.

10 INTO THE SUN

11 SOARING t8& WI

An ideal gift! These 18" x 22" high quality color lithographs are ideal for framing. (Dealer inquiries invited.) Please send your order wit h payment in full plus'55 cents for handling to:

12 SEQUENTIAL RW ONlY S3.00 EACH •ANY 4. ONLY S 9.9S ANY 6, ONLY S14 95 ANY 8. ONLY S19 9S

i

PHOTO·CHUTING ENTERPRISES 1;>1, 1• '-OUTH lo!IAll!OR OR! Vl 11, , ,.,11011;..J

•

HA\\THORN£ CA «:!r..G USA

40/GROUND SKIMMER

ANY 10, ONLY $?'95 ANY 12 ON LY S29.95

VALUABLE FOR SAFE. EFFECTIVE FL YING Pennits the convenient determination of the following; l. Launch-wind velocity and direction 3. Minimum sink speed 2. Stall speed 4. Maximum L/D speed PRICi::D RIGHT Complete - $27.50. Less helmet mount. $25.00 (Californians add 6% sales tax).

MORTON ENTERPRISES

517 Chester St., Glendale, CA. 91203 63

.....

~Rainbow T-Shirts!~ "·

Kitty Hawk Kites Rainbow Sun Visor -

• ,

$2.5~

.,

'-..

$4.25

I

$4.25

$3.75

In the ,.1.r1·ght Brothers' ff :,t •t• raut 100 t J

$4.25

-

Five-color designs, as well as the famous Kitty Hawk Kites two-color design on high quality 100% cotton hi crew T-shirts.

T-Shirt Color and Visor Color Size (c ircle one) Smal l, Medium, La rge, X-Large First choice: l ight blue, yel low, beige (circle one) Second choice: red, white, orange, tan, green, (circle one) I enclose$............ for ............ T-shirts or visors $1.00 postage and handling for each shirt and Design (c ircle one) 50¢ for each visor. NC residents add 4% tax.

Total enclosed $ .................

Fly A Kite ..........................................$4.25 (5 color design) Surf the Sky ....................................$4.25 (5 color design) ORDERS PROCESSED DAY OF RECEIPT Get High - Fly A Kite ..................$4.25 (5 co lor design) Kitty Hawk Kites ............................$3.75 (2 color design)

+

Name ................................•....................................................

Address ................................................................................. .

City ........................................ State .............. Zip ..............

Send to : Kitty Hawk Kites P. 0. Box 386, Nags Head, NC 27959 Send $1 for poster/ catalog

\NINDLORD THE MAXIMUM WORLD CUP MACHINE

\ / This proven, time-tested design formula emphasizes a versatile yet controllable speed range.

Essential to this concept is the *Low -profile 3.50 sail *18% keel differential *850 nose angle .. *3.5 aspect ratio ·· ... .. yielding a low-drag, penetrating wing that . offers "reaching" capability with tight-radius efficiency.

WRITE OR CALL FOR YOUR FREE BROCHURE ( dealer inquiries invited) 1647 East 14th Street/Oakland, CA 94606 call 415: 536-1500

mAn IA

-

•

FLY

HIGH

...

FLY

SAFE

FLY

STAR SHIP

FLY

HIGH

FLY

SAFE

FLY

STAR SHIP

STAR SHIP DESIGN is proud to announce the arrival of STAR SHIP II, a truly revolutionary new design.

With its new "FREE FLOATING KEEL" the STAR SHIP 11 becomes a major break-through in design and performance.

The "FREE FLOATING KEEL" in conjunction with the specially designed leading edge pockets allow the sail to camber and form the most effective airfoil for the speed range experienced in Hang Gliding.

Designed for smooth aerodynamic shape, strength and beauty the STAR SHIP nose assembly is another feature of STAR SH IP 11 that is way ahead of its time.

"IT'S THE DESIGN THAT COUNTS"

ST AR SH IP DESIGN

•

1760 Monrovia Ave.

•

Unit 8-5

• Costa Mesa, California 92627 • 714/642-7979

- ...

,,

DIFFUSI NTIP!

Other manulacturers, in boosting the L/0 For the past year. we at Pliable Moose have been re· llgures ol designs currently available, have searching vario us high aspect ratio conllgurations in order concentrated heavily on improving the coel· to contribute our efforts to this important segment of hang gliding. Now, whie "state ot the art" experimentation is run· hc,ent of lift throogh increased aspect rat,os Thrs has been accomplished, ,n most cases, n,ng every vanet,on of the truncated bp 10 questionable extremes. we are proud to introduce the purest lonn ol flex· by larger l eading edge/ keel differentials. re· ductlon o f sweep-back, and special trailing 1ble wing aircralt to date; a dilfusor-tipped rogallo. edge cuts. However, for all practical purposes, A diffusion tip is the result of a downward fold In the eJam,nation ol drag lrom such mOdels has been wing along axes that intersect the center cho<dfine ahead ol ignored! There ate &mils to the amount of loft the wing. The d,ffUSO< ~P funcboos by prOViding smooth available from a safe design, so now, the name aerOdynamic transition between the main part of the wing ol the development game is reduction ol drag. with 11s titting pressures and an undisturt>od flow very close to the theoretical maximru _m_n_e_xt_t_o_th_e_t...;ip_._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _- .

Note what Richard Miller, a man who was foot-launci'long r0gallos back in 196 1, wrote in the Ju~/ Sept, '7 4 , issue of Ground Sl<lmmer: "The diffusor t,p offers what appears to be et once the swnplest, most practical and effecient SOiution to precisely that prOblem of drag-reduction of most concern ,n low velocity fhght; flow losses at the wing tip, Seldom, in facl. has a solution better fitted a problem. Co.,l:lled with the flying wing, the d iffusor tip resulfs In a cont,guration so ideal in all signilicanl respects as to leave little doobt that it has an Important, perhaps paramoont role to play in the unlolding history ol o.mllght f~ghl

Sport11g two diffusor panels. the dllfusion tip glider makes an outstanding cross-country Ship. In fact, it performs better in the 35-50 mph range than most trucated tip rogallos do In the 20·25 mph range In recent per1ormance tra,ls. an 60 foot ndge (45° slope) was soared ,n 1 3 mph winds. The diffusion tip was clocked at 40 seconds in zipping from point of takeoff to a hall-mile tum around point In such marginal conditions as these, ii yielded an average speed of 45 mph' How does rt handle at low speeds? Great• It's exceptional stab,hty even allows for controlled pa,aChute landings.

O/ T2

0/T 1 • Leadrng Edge 19 tt.

• Keel: 7 .5 tt.

• Primary Nose Angle: 1230 • Secondary Nose Angle 101• • O.tussor Angles: 10:1 • Sail Area: 135 It.' • PIiot Weight: 100 lbs . . t 55 lbs.

• Assembled Weight: 35 lbs

• Leading Edge: 2 1 ft.

• Kaet: 8.5 11.

• Primary Nose Angle: 123° • Secondary Nose Angle. 101• • 0.fussor Angles. 10:1 • San Area: 175 It.' • PIiot Weig ht: 150 lbs.· 225 lbs • Assembled Weight: 37 lbs

0$895

• $925

Features: Sa~ ,s sewn doubly reflexed and is luny battened The undersur· face, w hich is cut in sweeping arcs, covers 65% ol the main sur· lace and provides a double sur1ace alr1oH i11 these areas.

The most advanced flexible wing in the-world

Pliable Moose Delta Wings. lnc.

243 Mathewson Wichita, Kansas 6721 4 (316) 262-2664 Write or call for free pictures, specifications and performance data.

highest performance, lowest cost (and we're not kidding) That's the simplest way to describe the PLIABLE MOOSE STANDARD, and that's what the "'smart flyer is looking for today.

We're serious about our business and we're serious about performance. Our record proves that. The president of our firm is the first individual living outside the state of California who is classed to compete as an expert at Escape Country, California's mecca of hang gliding activity.

We figure that the purpose of competition is winning, and our kites give flyers the leading edge over others with amazingly low sink speeds and pinpoint control and handling.

Our gliders are individually constructed by a skilled group of craftsmen and engineers. You can be assured that each wing is assembled with precision and attention that would be impossible to achieve in a mass production system. Our sails have consistently attained a high degree of performance superior to that of any other enabling Moose flyers to establish the winning records that they hold! Our kites fly well because we build them well. After all, we've been experimenting, flying and building since March of f965.

what vou can do ...

We feel that it shouldn't cost you an arm and a leg to get into the nation's fastest growing sport. Neither should it cost you quality or safety. Consider these features: • We're the only firm using 4.2 ounce dacron on all production models. Although it costs us nearly twice as much as the popular 3.0 ounce sailcloth, it pays for itself in performance and durability.

• Moose sails are carefully cut to produce a "Traveling airfoil" •• giving you more lift per square foot.

• A patented process used in sewing the sails gives varying stresses to each seam or pocket, depending on the various loads each area receives during flight. This process results in perfectly smooth sails that whisper through the wind.

• The strongest frames in the industry ... constructed of 1-5/B"x.058" 6061 T6 -- double and triple reinforced at all points receiving stress.

• A finish you can be proud of. The special new control bar, cross-bar and king post are anodized in a rich, black finish, complementing stainless steel hardware throughout. Vinyl-coated flying wires enable easier ground handling, while turnbuckles on the top rigging allow you to tune your sail to your kind of flying.

• Materials and c;.011struction approved by the Hang Glider Manufacturers Association.

Call us. We'll direct you to one of more than 125 dealers that can help you with safes, service, or training. If there's no representative in your immediate area, we'd like to discuss a dealership arrangement with you. Act now -- you can be flying the world's finest high performance hang glider at a very reasonable cost. Take our

18 11. Sail-ready 10 IIY with soaring harness Included

Call (318),282·2884 or write to: 243 Mathewson

·'""

Wichita. Ks. 87214

PLIABLE MOOSE DELTA WINGS, INC. Free pictures, specifications, and performance data available when.requested ..

Photos by Dave Cronk: Flexi 2 soaring Pt. Fermin with Dave Muehl, 1975 U.S. National Hang Gliding Champion.

FLEXl2 The Fie.xi 2 results from Eipper-Formance's intensive effort to create a hang gli der with improved control, stability, and performance over the "standard Rogallo." The Flexi 2 has greater pitch controJ due to its shorter keel length. Two battens at each wingtip al low greater chord lengths at the tip , thus permitting a flatter sai l cut Performance increases, but also washout is concentrated at the tips and provides for a mild, parachuting stall as well as better pitch stability.

The Flexi 2 is versatile enough to be used by beg inners and intermediate pilots, but wil l also be apprec iated by the expert.

It is a fine craft to carry on the heritage of the Flexi Flier- the first production foot-launched hang g lider, probably the most numerous of all des igns, and certainly the most copied.

All tubing is anod ized 6061 T-6 alumin um, all wires are white vinyl coated, and the triangle bar is adjustable to prone and sitting positions. Finally, of course, traditional EipperFormance quality throug hout.

-[ippczr EiPPER-FORMANCE~ 1840-GS Oak St., Torrance, CA 90501 (213) 328-9100

Eipper-Formance also manufactures the Cumu lus VB high -performance Rogallo for c lass-4 flyers. Send tor free spec sheets. o r enclose $1.00 tor complete information kit.

. ..