USHGA Paragliding September/October 1997

AIR MAIL

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

USHGA

AATINGS

REPORTS

CLA$SIFIEl>S

UPDATE '

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COVER: George Larros flying from O'Neill Crater near Ragstaff, Arizona. In the background is the north side ofSan Francisco Peak. Photo copyright © 1997 by Jesse Kaltenbach.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

1997

3

Gil Dodgen, Managing Editor/Editor-in-Chief Steve Roti, Jon Goldberg-Hiller, Contributing Editors Dave Pounds, Art Director Will Gadd, Dennis Pagen Staff Writers

Office Staff Phil Bachman, Executive Director Greg Huller, Ratings & ICP's Jeff Elgart, Advertising D. Dean leyerle, Insurance & Membership Services Karen Simon, Member Services

"FREE FLIGHT" AND MERGING THE MAGAZINES

USHGA Officers and Executive Committee: Bill Bryden, President Randy Adams, Vice President Russ Locke, Secretary Dan Johnson, Treasurer REGION 1: Bill Bolosky, George Sturtevant. REGION 2: Russ Locke, Ray Leonard, Paul Gazis. REGION 3: Ken Baier, Joe Greblo, Gregg Lawless. REGION 4: Mark Ferguson, Jim Zeiset. REGION 5: Frank Gillette.

REGION 6: Ron Kenney. REGION 7: Bill Bryden.

REGION 8: Randy Adams. REGION 9: Pete Lehmann, Geoff Mumford. REGION 10: G.W. Meadows, Matt Taber. REGION 11: Jeff Hunt. REGION 12: Paul Voight.

DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Claudia Stockwell, Paul Rikert, Dan Johnson, Jan Johnson, Dennis Pagen. HONORARY DIRECTORS: Chris Dupaul, Bob Hannah, Gene Matthews, Lars Linde, Arjan Ala, Barbara Flynn, Alan Chuculate, Ed Pitman, Ken Brown, Sandy King, Mike Meier, Rob Kells, Fred Stockwell, Gregg McNamee, Michael Robertson, Greg DeWolf, Tracie Fifer. EXOFFICIO DIRECTORS: Art Greenfield (NAA).

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

PARAGLIDING magazine is published for paragliding sport enthusiasts to create further interest in the sport, and to provide an educational forum to advance paragliding methods and safety. Contributions are welcome. Anyone is invited to contribute articles, photos and illustrations concerning paragliding activities. If the material is to be returned, a stamped, self-addressed return envelope must be enclosed. Notification must be made of submission to other paragliding publications.

PARAGLIDING magazine reserves the right to edit contributions where necessary. The Association and publication do not assume responsibility for the material or opinions of contributors. PARAGLIDING editorial offices: 31441 Santa Margarita Pkwy., Suite A-256, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688, phone (714) 8887363, fax (714) 888-7464, e-mail: GilDodgen@aol.com.

The USHGA is a member-controlled sport organization dedicated to the exploration and promotion of all facets of unpowered ultralight flight, and to the education, training and safety of its membership. Membership is open to anyone interested in this realm of flight. Dues for full membership are $54.QO per year (of which $15 goes to the publication of Paragliding), ($65 non-U.S.); subscription rates only are $26.00 ($32 non-U.S.).

Changes of address should be sent six weeks in advance, including name, USHGA number, previous and new address, and a mailing label from a recent issue.

PARAGLIDING (ISSN 1 089-1846) is published bimonthly by the United States Hang Gliding Association, Inc., 559 E, Pikes Peak Ave., Suite 101, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903-3657 (719) 6328300. FAX (719) 632-6417. PERIODICAL POSTAGE is paid at Colorado Springs, CO and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: SEND CHANGE OF ADDRESS TO: PARAGLIDING, P.O. BOX 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

Dear Editor, I am a hang glider and paraglider pilot.

From my perspective there is no substantial difference between the sports and I love them both. I think John Heiney is right.

We should merge Hang Gliding and Paragliding magazines into one great "Free Flight" magazine (rigid wings included).

Let's start an open discussion; I am sure all of us will benefit. After all, we share the air we fly and breath.

Tim Hall Trust Fund c/o San Diego Police Officer's Association 8388 Vickers Street San Diego, CA 92111

Manuel Ruiz

FELLOW PILOT NEEDS HELP Dear Editor, On Sunday, June l, 1997, Tim Hall, a San Diego police officer, husband, father and hang glider and paraglider pilot was critically injured while landing in his paraglider at a San Bernardino flying site referred to as "Marshall," At this writing he remains in critical, unstable condition in San Bernardino Medical Center. His injuries are extensive and he is not expected to have use of his legs and will be on kidney dialysis. His wife Esthi and seven-year-old son David remain by his side. Two other sons remain at home in San Diego with their mother.

Tim was one of the most active and adventurous individuals I have known. He did not think this would ever happen to him. The reality is that it has, and he and his family have been placed in a financial situation that they have yet to imagine. I am desperate to find a way to help my friends. I know that there is nothing I can say that can make a difference, I know that by myself! can contribute emotional help and support, but I feel I need to help them with their future needs.

When Tim is transferred to San Diego for rehabilitation and eventually sent home there will be extensive medical expenses, not only hospital but regular-type home

1997

VOLUME

necessities: wheelchairs, home care, medication, food, specially equipped transportation, etc. The list will go on and on for many years to come.

I need your help. A trust account has been established for donations for the family. I am planning several other local events to raise funds, but for those of you who live elsewhere and are capable of contributing a few dollars to help a friend, fellow hang glider/paraglider pilot, police officer, husband and father, I ask that you send your donations to:

8, ISSUE #5

Thank you for your consideration and thoughtfulness. I thank you and I know the Halls will appreciate your kindness.

If you have any questions regarding this plea, please call Debra Bralla at (619) 5601303.

NO fl.YING AT IPOLIPOU Dear Editor, Due to an accident two and a half months ago there is currently no flying at the popular Maui site "Polipoli." I recently spoke with the landowner and tried to persuade him to reopen the site. His answer was, "Can't do it at this time." Why? He fears that a lawsuit is imminent and can't take the chance of undergoing more than one at a time.

So, until a suit has run its course or the plaintiffs fail to file before the claim period expires (possibly two years), the site may not be reopened. I have a good relationship with the owner, and if he felt he could reopen the site to flying he would.

Just to set the record straight, this was a tandem accident. Our school was not involved.

Steve Amy, co-owner of Proflyght Hawaii Paragliding Kula, Maui

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Financial Impact Of The Waiver Lawsuit A Fundraising Request Dear USHGA Members, As you know, the USHGA is currently being sued by five former members (Dan Brown, Vic Powell, Michael Carlyle, Gene Hilborn and Thomas Carey) in an attempt to block implementation of a waiver.

Their action against this organization has had inevitable and painful financial consequences. Through the end of May, 1997, the USHGA has spent $24,694.50 on legal expenses directly related to this lawsuit. Your Association is confronted with the distinct possibility that these costs could easily reach $60,000 for this calendar year.

Even that astonishing figure may not be sufficient to cover the full cost of the lawsuit which could drag on into 1998. The significance of these figures must be viewed within the context of the USHGA's general financial structure.

The USHGA is a non-profit organization whose annual budget is designed on an essentially break-even basis. As a result, when we are struck with unexpected costs like this lawsuit, we are ill-prepared to fund such expenses. A potential $60,000 bill represents about 6% of the Association's total annual budget and will in effect produce a net loss of that amount for the year.

At issue here is a waiver which has now been currently signed by over 98.57% of the membership, and that already-high figure will approach 100% by the end of the full renewal period. Experts in the insurance field have demonstrated their desire that we have such a waiver program in place. Complying has helped to assure continued coverage, so critical to flying site preservation.

However, more will be due to fend off the lawsuit from the above-named members. The plaintiff's legal action has thus far cost close to $2.64 per USHGA member, a figure which by year's end may grow to $6.40 or some 12% of your annual dues.

USHGA cannot afford this expense and we wish to make an appeal for your support.

The Board is doing everything it can to defer or reduce overhead as a consequence of this financial crisis, but a great many of our expenses are fixed costs (such as rent, insurance, magazine expenses, printing, salaries, and mailing costs) which cannot be altered.

Simply stated, we require additional revenue. In an attempt to meet this major unexpected financial cost we are appealing to you, the members of this organization, for a one-time financial contribution directed toward defraying our costs to defend against this unfortunate action.

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We are soliciting voluntary contributions to whatever extent you feel you can back your organization in this action. We will publish the names of all donors (any size) to show your support of the USHGA. You'll also help send a strong signal to the plaintiffs.

Additionally, as contributions arrive we will notify you monthly in the magazine of the status of the fundraising campaign. In the event that some residual donations remain at the conclusion of the lawsuit we will allocate them to the Site Preservation Fund.

Those of you who are due a renewal notice will find enclosed a request for a contribution. If you have already renewed this year we strongly urge that you respond with your donation at your earliest opportunity.

We cannot overstate the seriousness of this situation for the financial health of your organization. Your help and support will be sincerely appreciated.

The USHGA Executive Committee Bill Bryden, President Randy Adams, Vice President Russ Locke, Secretary Dan Johnson, Treasurer

FlV MEXICO'S THERMALS THIS WINTER! Do what the birds do, head south!

Plush thermals, warm air, cool nights, cheap beer ... what more could a pilot want?

SESSION 1 Sunday, Jan. 18-Sunday, Jan. 25 SESSION l Sunday, Jan. 25-Sunday, Feb. 1

Organized Instruction and XC/thermal coaching provided by GRANGER BANKS, a U.S.H.G.A. advanced tandem instructor with six years' experience taking paraglider pilots to Mexico. WIU GAPP is a tandem instructor, US distance record holder (138 miles), competition pilot and Mexico veteran/fanatic.

LO~flOM lgualla, Mexico, two hours from Mexico City or Aq1pyl~Cl. ~IT~ Iguana is famous.for its excellent XC opportuniti~; cohsistentltJljab\e <onditions, a perfect launch and i•ea · ~~p,.a<;;Ce5s, Ws rn;it only an outstanding site for P2 .., .... ', . ;~l$~0ao,amazl~gly scenic area to visit. ' .. . . ;n9tel;ffnd dally guiding.

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USING THE USHGA PHOTO VISA SUPPORTS SITE PRESERVATION

he VISA card for USHGA members has been a successful program for several years, and the revenue it produces continues to grow each year. When the Board of Directors made site acquisition and preservation a high-priority issue two years ago, we began to look at ways of funding these efforts. The Board approved that the allocation of revenue from the VISA card and telecard programs be restricted to site preservation use only. Currently, we forecast $10,000 per year in revenue from the VISA program. This money is generated from a royalty on your use of the card and your application and renewal of the card. It is a valuable source of funds for the USHGA for site preservation activities.

If you are currently using the USHGA VISA card, thank you. If you do not have one, please consider applying. It is an easy and effective way to support the USHGA's never-ending fight to preserve flying sites.

For additional information call MBNA at 1800-847-7378. ll'l

FIRST FRUITS OF USHGA WANER PROGRAM - USHGA OBTAINS PARTICIPANT INSURANCE or many years, USHGA has consistently been able to negotiate with insurance companies for the provision of thirdparty liability insurance to protect its members and qualifying site owners/managers from the expense of lawsuits by non-pilots who are injured as a result of hang gliding/paragliding activities. This insurance has not been easy to obtain because of the

8

public perception of these sports as dangerous. Because this insurance did not provide coverage against claims by pilots for injuries to the pilots themselves (participant coverage), some landowners would not accept the insurance. In an effort to position the Association to be able to obtain participant coverage for its members and site owners, USHGA established the waiver program. It was believed that the waiver program would open the door to obtaining participant insurance since waivers are known to be legally effective in preventing lawsuits by participants in recreational sports and, thus, insurers would have a confidence level that participants will not be able to recover in a lawsuit for injuries they receive while participating in hang gliding or paragliding activities.

The waiver program is now fully in place and has accomplished its objective: Because of the waiver program, USHGA has been able to negotiate for the purchase of participant insurance. The new participant insurance went into effect on August 1, 1997. The new participant insurance is a major tool for clubs and chapters to use in negotiating for the acquisition and retention of hang gliding and paragliding sites. Now the landowner/manager can be insured to protect against claims for injuries by pilots as well as injuries to pilots. This coverage is only in effect at insured sites and only provides participant coverage if the participant has signed the USHGA waiver.

NEW MEMBERSHIP CARDS IDENTIFY WAIVER-SIGNED MEMBERS Because the participant coverage only applies if the participant has signed the USHGA waiver, it is important that site monitors be able to recognize a pilot as someone who has signed the waiver. In order to assist site monitors with this determination, USHGA will be sending out replacement membership cards in the month of September to all current members who have signed the USHGA waiver. The new cards will be distinctive in that they will be encased in yellow plastic laminate. The yellow laminated card will indicate that the member's signed USHGA Release, Waiver and Assumption of Risk Agreement is on file at the USHGA office. ll'l

NOTICE TO USHGA MEMBERS uring 1996 we committed to a considerable amount of time to have the Association's bylaws thoroughly reviewed and reconciled with all Board of Director decisions and with the current California Nonprofit Corporation Code. As a result of this legal audit, proposed changes were recommended in the bylaws. A draft of these changes were mailed to all Regional Directors in the fourth quarter of 1996.

Proposed bylaw revisions will be voted on by the Directors at the November 6-9, 1997 Board of Directors meeting which will be held in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

USHGA members may obtain copies of the proposed bylaws by submitting a written request to the USHGA office via: U.S. Postal Service: P.O. Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901 E-mail: ushga@ushga.org Facsimile: (719) 632-6417 Two of the proposed changes to the bylaws do require a membership vote. This vote will take place at the general membership meeting which will also be held at Kitty Hawk, NC, at 4:00 PM local time on Thursday, November 6, 1997. Proxies for this vote may be obtained from your Regional Director or by submitting a written request to the USHGA office. Your Regional Director's contact information is listed in this issue.

The two items to be voted on are: Item #1 - "Reclassification of the current full and family USHGA membership categories into three classes of membership constituting Contributing, Pilot and Rogallo memberships."

The USHGA Planning Committee met in 1996 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, at the Experimental Aircraft Association facilities.

We received valuable input from Tom Poberezny, President of the EAA, on the lessons they learned over the years as they were struggling to increase their association membership. The basic lesson that helped them turn the corner was the realization that they needed to appeal to a broader base of prospective members, not just those who were interested in building a homebuilt airplane.

As part of the Planning Committee's report it recommended to the Board of

PARAGLIDING

Directors that we become proactive in soliciting new members, and that we not restrict membership to just pilots so that members could first learn about the sport and then later become pilots. The Board voted to put this plan into effect. However, in order to initiate the program, we need a new class of membership for non-pilots. This would be called a Contributing Membership. Those in this membership category would not be able to participate in the pilot rating program but would receive a USHGA magazine, be able to vote and have access to USHGA educational programs. Since this is a new membership category, according to the California non-profit corporation code, it requires a general membership vote.

The organization currently has two different types of full members: those involved solely in their own flying as a form of recreation and those involved in a commercial fashion, offering instruction and related services. The Pilot and Rogallo membership categories are simply meant to differentiate between those members involved in the sport on a purely recreational basis and those involved in the commercial/instructional side of the sport. A copy of the classification of members in the current and proposed bylaws are included at the end of this article.

Item #2 - "Ratification of the action of the Board of Directors limiting the class of life members to the current number ofUSHGA lifetime members."

In 1979 the USHGA Board of Directors, in response to an urgent need for immediate cash for the Association, voted to create a membership category called lifetime members. In 1980, with the cash flow crisis partially resolved, the BOD voted to terminate the sale of lifetime memberships. During the time frame between the two meetings, the California Corporation Code was changed.

The first meeting which created the lifetime membership class was in compliance with the Code. However, with the change in the Code, the vote to terminate the sale oflifetime memberships was ineffective to amend the bylaws to limit this class because the code had been changed to require a general membership vote for any change in classifications of memberships. The 1980 BOD was unaware of this, and therefore made an incorrect procedural move. This problem was found dur-

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

ing a legal audit of the USHGA bylaws and it was realized that we needed a general membership vote to correct the problem. This ratification is to approve the action taken by the BOD 17 years ago. The USHGA presently has 28 life members.

The USJJGA bylaws currently categorize the members as follows: Article HI - Membership Section 1. The membership of this Association shall consist of the charter members and individual members whose applications for membership have been accepted by the Association.

Section 2. Classes of membership shall consist of the following: Lifetime Member, Full Member and Family Member. Services, privileges and annual dues for each class of members will be as provided in these bylaws and as established by the action of the Board of Directors.

Section 3. A Lifetime Member and Full Member will receive the Association's periodic publication at no charge as a benefit of his dues, and may vote as provided for in the bylaws.

Section 4. A member of the immediate family of a Full Member, residing in the same household, may become a Family Member upon payment of half the Full Member dues. A Family Member receives the same benefits as a Full Member, except the Association's periodic publication.

Section 5. A subscriber will receive the Association's periodic publication.

The new proposed bylaws on membership classifications will read· There shall be four classes of membership in this corporation: Contributing Membership, Pilot Membership, Rogallo Membership and Limited Life Membership. The general qualifications, rights and privileges of each class of membership shall be as set forth in these bylaws and as determined by the board from time to time. (a) Contributing Membership-. Any person of good character, and dedicated to the purposes of this corporation shall be eligible for a Contributing Annual Membership upon completion of such prerequisites and requirements as may from time to time be fixed by

1997

the Board of Directors and acceptance of his or her annual dues and application by the Board of Directors or its authorized designee.

The benefits of a contributing membership are as follows: 1) the right to vote on matters presented to the members of the corporation; 2) all member notice and inspection rights as set forth in these bylaws; 3) a subscription to one of the publications published by the corporation; and 4) access to USHGA educational programs. Upon the election of a member who resides in the same household with an immediate family member who is also a member of the corporation, the members will receive only one publication per household and will receive a discount as established by the Board of Directors. (b) Piwt Membership: A Pilot Annual Member must meet all of the qualifications and shall have all of the benefits of a Contributing Member as set forth in paragraph (a) of this Section. In addition, the benefits of a Pilot Membership shall include: 1) participation in the USHGA pilot rating program as it exists from time to time at the discretion of the Board of Directors (a rating is not guaranteed); and 2) participation in whatever insurance programs USHGA arranges, if any, for the benefit of its members in connection with his or her recreational hang gliding/paragliding pilot activities. (c) Rogallo Membership-. A Rogallo Annual Member must meet all the qualifications and shall have all of the benefits of a Contributing Member and Pilot Member as set forth in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this Section. In addition, the benefits of a Rogallo Membership shall include: 1) participation in the USHGA instructor certification program as it exists from time to time at the discretion of the Board of Directors (certification is not guaranteed); and 2) participation in the USHGA training program. (e) Limited Life Memberships; The corporation has issued twenty-eight (28) lifetime memberships. No additional life memberships shall be offered for sale by the corporation unless approved by the members. The current life members shall have all the rights and benefits and restrictions of a Rogallo Membership as set forth in paragraph (c) of this Section for their lifetime except that they shall not be required to pay annual dues. 1111

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PHOTO CREDIT

I

n the July/August issue we neglected to credit Jesse Kaltenbach for the photos that accompanied Dixon White's "Ariwna Distance Record" article. Our apologies. Jesse is also the photographer who took this month's cover photo.

ne of Pierre Bouilloux's dreams was to complete a triangle of the Bauges, west of Parmelan, including a highaltitude flight over the magnificent Mont Blanc mountain range in France. He had considered this the most beautiful flight realistically feasible in his area. Pierre made several unsuccessful attempts in 1996, but is happy and relieved to report that he was successful this year.

Exceptional weather conditions the day of the flight permitted him to fly fast without taking risks.

The circuit was a 198-kilometer triangle. Pierre commented, "What a drag to have missed the 200-K mark by only two kilometers!" One hundred eighty-one kilometers was needed for the official record.

Pierre experienced many adventures during the flight. At one point a southwest wind caused him to lose an incredible amount of altitude but he made a spectacular low save. He then barely made his turnpoint, but later gained 3,500 meters in smooth lift.

Pierre commented on the beauty of the flight which took him over many snow-covered mountain peaks and glaciers, and which included a brief excursion into Switzerland.

0

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON ever has the phrase "like father, like son" been so aptly personified as in this photo of Tim Bollinger, son of Josie and Hans Bollinger of Nods, Switzerland. Hans was the World Paragliding Champion from 1993 to 1995 and is always among the top finishers in major competitions. Besides owning Zorro (a hang gliding and paragliding school) in photo by Ed Stein the Chasseral area of Switzerland, he is also a factory test pilot for Advance.

His son Tim got an early introduction to paragliding at the age

N

10

of two when he started flying tandem with his father. Now, at the mature age of four, he has his own Epsilon II which Advance made for him.

Ed Stein, from the San Francisco Bay Area, visited Hans this past spring, and said that he was awed by Tim's abilities with the glider. The younger Bollinger took Ed to the Chasseral area, which is basically in his backyard, and demonstrated his independence in the sport by skillfully laying out the glider, untangling the lines without help, putting on his harness and launching. Ed was amazed by the four-year-old's ability to stabilize the glider while running with it. Sounds like quite a few pilots could take lessons from young Bollinger.

Tim, like his father, has separate helmets for different sports, is upset when he can't go out to the mountain when other pilots are flying, and demonstrates an aggressive nature. Beware Hans, the competition may soon be your son!

NEW NORDIC RECORD ON FIREBIRD FLAME

0

n June 1 Finnish pilot Tuomas Seppanen set a new Nordic record on his Firebird Flame. The flight was made in southwest Finland from Jamijarvi to Turku for a distance of 155 km. Tuomas launched at 12.45 pm on a cloudless day in light winds and released at 250 meters after car towing. After two hours the first clouds appeared and the wind speed increased, with Thomas maintaining at about 1,500 meters AGL. In the afternoon cloudbase rose to around 2,600 m and Tuomas reached his highest altitude of the flight at 2,550 m. After six hours and 45 minutes of flying he landed near Turku to claim the new record. The Flame is Firebird's new sport wing and is certified DHV 2, AFNOR Performance level.

For more information contact: Edel USA (208) 726-1100, fax (208) 726-1149, edelusa@micron.net.

PARATECH PRODUCTS NOW AVAILABLE IN NORTH AMERICA Paratech Paragliders of Switzerland is pleased to announce its entry into the North American market. Importing and sales are being managed by Canada's Mescalito Adventure Company, one of the continent's oldest schools and equipment distributors.

The PA-23 is Paratech's all-new DHV 1/2, AFNOR Standard Class entry- through intermediate-level glider which was designed entirely from the ground up. Germany's leading paragliding and hang gliding magazine, Drachenflieger, recently tested the PA-23 and reported a 7.2/1 glide and stall/trim speed/top speed of 14/24/27 mph. The PA-23 comes stock with split A-risers and deluxe X-C pack. The glider has diagonal ribs built into the trailing edge to optimize steering performance, seam-tape on all fabric edges and internally-finished, quadruple-stitched seams.

The 51-cell PA60S has received D HV 2 certification and was

PARAGLIDING

described in February by a Drachenflieger test pilot as the fastest intermediate paraglider he had tested to date. He reponed a 7.8/1 glide at the 24-mph trim speed and a 30-mph top speed.

Paratech's all-new P7 for competition-level pilots has informally been clocked at 37 + mph within the specified pilot weight range.

Finally, the P4 l tandem glider offers standard Paratech design features (including split A-risers) and was designed with ease of launch in mind for tandem , motorized and heavier solo pilot flymg.

Serious dealer inquiries are invited. Contact: Mescalito Adventure Company Ltd., 50639 O 'Byrne Rd., Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada, V4Z 1B4, (604) 858-2300, fax (604) 858-3080, mesc@uniserve.com.

NEW FROM APCO

T

he APCO Clinch Bag is designed for the quick packing and transporting of paragliders and flying gear. It is made of heavy-duty nylon and is designed so that a paraglider can be stuffed away quickly with the pilot's flying equipment.

Two heavy-duty shoulder straps allow the Clinch Bag to be carried like a standard rucksack, so it can also be used as a lightweight X-C bag.

APCO now offers a front-mounted container for emergency parachutes that affords easy, quick access to the deployment handle. The container uses a skydiving-type cable deployment system for fast, reliable deployment. The container is aesthetically designed and is backed with a sheet of polyethylene to protect it from the elements.

The Silhouette harness has replaced APCO's Top harness . It has the same webbing system as the Contour and the same general shape with a huge back compartment for a combination of protection systems: Airfoam, CABS (Closed Air Bottle System), Kevlar plate or a combination. Only top-quality materials and webbing are used and Quick Lock buckles are standard. It features an aerodynamic profile for performance-oriented pilots. The harness comes in two sizes, is DHV certified, and is competitively priced.

Contact Aerolight USA (305) 639-3330, aerousa@shadow.net, your local APCO dealer, or APCO Aviation Ltd, Chalimish St. 7, Industrial Park, Caesarea 38900, Israel, tel.

972-6627-3727, fax 972-6627-3728, apco@netvision.net.il, www.apco.demon.co. uk.

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER

1997

• Tracer Harness: Loaded - S52s.oo • Ffight Suits: Summer/Winter - s1as.oo • Reflex Helmet: # 1 Best Seller! - S165.oo • Steerable PDA Reserve: from - S4so.oo • The Legendary Mirage: ask your Dealer for a full AT Package.

AT Paragliding School -Sun • Fun • Soaring Certification • Tours • Mountains • Mexico Motors • Retail Shop • Repairs •.. year 'round!

USA'S COHN WINS TASK 7!

sol@paragliders.com, www.paragliders.com.

F

GMI/SUP'AIR NEWS

or the first time in paragliding history an American pilot, Josh Cohn, won a task in the World Paragliding Championship.

Flying a Pro-Design Max, Josh bested the field of 181 other competitors, the best pilots from around the world, by completing the 79-km (47.4-mile) route in just under three hours. As is typical, the task was chosen to be sufficiently difficult to ensure that the majority of these top pilots were unable to reach goal at all.

Two other U.S. pilots, Dave Bridges and Todd Bibler, were among those who did reach goal, about 20 minutes after Josh.

The U.S. team was ranked ninth going into the seventh task, 600 points behind Japan. At this point Switzerland was leading the competition.

For photographs of Josh and the meet in general, see: http://www.kurious.org/ us-pg-team-1997.htm. For official stats, standings, etc., see: http:l/193.148.29.227/castejon/competition.htm.

- submitted from Spain by Paul Klemond, US. Team Captain

ALPINE MARINE NEWS

O

n Saturday, August 9, Mark Telep flew his Freex Spark paraglider from Dyer Hill/Bridgeport (northeast of Chelan) to Wenatchee and continued south to Ellensburg. This 80-mile route had not been flown by either hang glider or paraglider pilots. On Sunday, hang glider pilots were threatening to trade their lawn darts for airbags.

As we go to press we have also been notified that Mark has flown his FreeX Spark around a 47.5-mile triangle in four hours: Chelan Falls, Yeager Rock, Bridgeport, Chelan Falls. This may be U.S. record. The week before, he and Jay Caroll succeeded in the first crossing of the north Cascade Mountains fom Winthrop/Goat Peak to the west side.

The medium-size Freex Spear for 1998 has been flown in Chelan and in fairly turbulent air, demonstrating excellent performance, stability and speed. The large size has been certified DHV 2 and will be available by September. A small-size glider is in the works.

Contact: Alpine Marine (425) 432-8900, fax (425) 4322876.

ABSOLUTE SKY OUTFITTERS NEWS

S

teve Mayer has taken over everyday operations at Absolute Sky Outfitters, home of Peel helmets and Sol paragliders and accessories. Steve runs Cloud 9 Paragliding, Utah's largest paragliding school.

ASO has entered into a licensing agreement with Charlie Harnesses. This agreement is similar to that with Nova which allows Sol to produce their products under license for both North and South America. The company will have a new helmet design available soon. Their new glider, designed by Hannes Papesh of Nova, is due out in November. Ir is a DHV 2 wing.

Contact: Absolute Sky Outfitters, 9630 S. Mumford Dr., Sandy, UT 84094, (801) 553-1834, fax (801) 523-1854,

12

A

new aerial sport may be on the verge of being born in France. The French company Nervure, with financial help from the government, is developing a contraption marrying skydiving and paragliding canopies. One can jump out of an airplane, reach terminal velocity, deploy and glide to earth at 6/ 1.

The wing looks like a beginner paraglider. Sup'Air, in collaboration with Xavier Demoury of Nervure, is designing a special harness for the new exotic bird. Imagine jumping out of a plane and catching a thermal at 10,000 or 12,000 feet above the airport!

A French pilot recently died after entering a 360° spiral dive during which his microlines totally separated from the paraglider. He deployed his reserve but the reserve bridle broke under the intense shock load. This accident has raised questions about the reserve parachutes most of us use. Tests were recently conducted by the Italian Federation of Vol Libre and some popular brands did so poorly that they were pulled out of the testing altogether. A video of the tests can be purchased from the Italian Federation (FIVL). "Freestyle" reserves (Mand L) from Sup'Air performed the best in these tests.

Contact: Sup'Air USA (516) 676-7599, fax (516) 676-0106, SupAir@macconnect.com, www.macconnect.com/ -SupAir.

SYSTEM X NEWS

T

he top three pilots in the British Paragliding Nationals this year were all sponsored by British accessories manufacturer System X. Hugh Miller, Steve Senior and Innes Powell took the top three slots and the current British Champion, Barney Barnes, who finished seventh, was also flying with System X equipment.

System X manufactures harnesses, flying suits, airbag systems, flight decks and other accessories. The company developed the combination airbag/foam sandwich system used in airbag protection systems.

System X USA sales manager Barney Barnes may be contacted at 44-1983-756661 or visit the System X web site at: ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/systemx.

UP SOUL -

PARAGUDIER Of THE YEAR

P's sport class paraglider, the Soul, has been declared Performance Glider of the Year by both the Spanish paragliding magazine and Vol Libre, a French paragliding publication. Of the many recently introduced sport and competition gliders, the UP Soul stood out as the "most fun glider to fly" according to Vol Libre.

The Soul has received a French AFNOR Performance rating and a German DHV Level 2. It exhibits superb handling characteristics and maneuverability with excellent stability in and out of turns.

The UP Soul is now available in the U.S. Contact MoJo's Gear Ltd., exclusive U.S. distributor of UP gliders and accessories, for a dealer in your area: 1-800-664-1160, fax 1-800261-MOJ O, mojos@tstar.net.

U

PARAGLIDING

Jan Ala (H) 938 N Olsen Tucson AZ 85719 (520) 327-9741

REGION 5

USHGA BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGION 1 Bill Bolosky (R) 24622 SE Mirrormont Dr Issaquah WA 98027 (425) 557-7981 bolosky@microsoft.com George Sturtevant (R) 502 Ogle Ave NE North Bend WA 98045 (206) 888-3856 georges@nwlink.com Bob Hannah (H) 9920 51 st Ave s Seattle WA 98118 (206) 328-1104 paraskr@aol.com

Luen Miller(HG Accident Chair) 316 Berkeley Way Santa Cruz CA 95062 (408) 423-9919 lumiller@pacbell.net

REGION 3 Ken Baier (R) 253 Rodney Ave Encinitas CA 92024 (619) 753-2664 airjunkies@worldnet.att.net Joe Greblo (R) 16145 Victory Blvd Van Nuys CA 91406 .

(818) 353-5580 windsports@earthlmk.com Gregg Lawless (R) 9127 Bittercreek Ln San Diego CA 92129 (619) 484-2056

Frank Gillette (R) Rt 1 Watercyn 8 Declo ID 83323 (208) 654-2615 Watercyn@cyberhighway.net

Barbara Flynn (H) 705 E Marks St Orlando FL 32803 (407) 894-5715 skygods@ix.netcom.com

Tracie Fifer-Welch (H) PO Box 8225 Jackson WY 83001 (307) 733-5835 di_wyo@compuserve.com

Gregg McNamee (H) 14141 SE51stAve Summerfield FL 34491 (352) 245-8263 graybird@praxis.net

REGION 6

Greg De Wolf (H) PO Box 607 Corolla NC 27927 (919) 453-4800 DeWolf7@aol.com

Ron Kenney (R) PO Box 356 Leoti KS 67861 (316) 375-2995 kenney@elkhart.com

REGION 1 Bill Bryden (R) 6608 North 100 East Rd Seymour IN 47274 (812) 497-2327 bbryden@hsonline.net

REGION 8

Jan Johnson (L) 585 E Frank Applegate Jackson NJ 08527 (908) 928-8370

Randy Adams (R) PO Box 369 Claremont NH 03743 (603) 543-1760 bkramer@mvuts.lucent.com

Claudia Stockwell (L) Fred Stockwell (H) 8901 Rogue River Hwy Grant's Pass OR 97527 (541) 582-1467

Mike Meier (H) 500 Blueridge Ave Orange CA 92665 (714) 998-6359 mike@willswing.com

Pete Lehmann (R) 5811 Elgin St Pittsburgh PA 15206 (412) 661-3474

REGION 2

Rob Kells (H) 500 Blueridge Ave Orange CA 92665 (714) 998-6359 rob@willswing.com

Geoffrey Mumford (R) 750 First St NE Washington DC 20002 (202) 336-6067 gkm.apa@email.apa.org

Alan Chuculate (H) PO Box 13451 La Jolla CA 92039 (619) 687-8993

Dennis Pagen (L) 368 Dunkle Rd Bellefonte PA 16823 (814) 383-2569

Gil Dodgen (Editor) 6950 Aragon Cir Ste 6 Buena Park CA 90620 (714) 994-3050 gildodgen@aol.com

Chris DuPaul (H) PO Box 801 Gloucester Pt VA 23062 (804) 693-6742

Paul Gazis (R) 428 Madera Ave Apt 1 Sunnyvale CA 94086 (408) 736-0764 gazis@arwen.arc.nasa.gov Ken Brown (H) 3620Wawona San Francisco CA 94116 kennyb2u@aol.com Ed Pitman (H) PO Box 188 Shasta CA 96087 (916) 359-2392 epitman@c-zone.net

REGION 4 Mark Ferguson (R) 6595 Odell Pl Ste C Boulder CO 80301 (303) 652-3496 mark@ballvarios.com Jim Zeiset (R) 13154 County Rd 140 Salida CO 81201 (719) 539-3335 jimzgreen@aol.com

REGION 12 Paul Voight (R) 5163 Searsville Rd Pine Bush NY 12566 (914) 744-3317 ryanv1 OO@aol.com

Sandy King (H) 360 Travelodge El Cajon CA 92020 (619) 444-8956 slark@worldnet.att.net

Russ Locke (R) 868 S Mary Ave Sunnyvale CA 94087 (408) 737-8745 rsslok@aol.com

REGION 11 Jeff Hunt (R) 4811 Red River Austin TX 78751 (512) 467-2529 RRAJeff@aol.com

Dan Johnson (L) 8 Dorset St St Paul MN 55118 (612) 450-0930 CumulusMan@aol.com

Gene Matthews (H) 15308 111th Ave NE Bothell WA 98011 (206) 488-1443 skydog@gte.net

Ray Leonard (R) 3650 Research Wy #22 Carson City NV 89706 (702) 883-7070 advspts@pyramid.net

Matt Taber (R) RR 2 Box 215H Rising Fawn GA 30738 (706) 398-3433 hanglide@chatt.net

REGION 9

104410.1150@compuserve.com

Art Greenfield (X) 1815 N Ft Meyer Dr Ste 700 Arlington VA 22209 (703) 527-0226 NAA@ids2.idsonline.com

REGION 10 G.W. Meadows (R) 109 Carlow Ave Kill Devil Hills NC 27948 (919) 480-3552 justfly@interpath.com

Paul Riker! (L) 101 N Broadway# 2B-3 White Plains NY 10603 (914) 946-9386 Lars Linde (H) (PG Accident Chair)

954 W Front St Red Bank NJ 07701 (908) 747-7845 larslinde@compuserve.com

REGION 13 (lnt'I) Jan Johnson (L) See Region 12 Michael Robertson (H) RR 5 865 Con 7 Claremont Ontario Canada L 1Y 1A2 (905) 294-2536 flyhigh@inforamp.net USHGA Executive Director Philip Bachman PO Box 1330 Colorado Springs CO 80901 (719) 632-8300 ushga@ushga.org

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE President-Bill Brydan Vice President-Randy Adams Secretary-Russ Locke Treasurer-Dan Johnson

KEY: (R)-Regional (L)-At Lar~e (H)-Honorary (X)-Ex Off1c10

rldWide

FREE CATALOG! To learn about Paragliding and Motorized Paragliding in the New York area call GMI Paragliding School.

Information?,... please check the Sup' Air-USA home page.

www.macconnect.com/ -su pair

Calendar of events items WILL NOT be listed if only tentative. Please include exact information (event, date, contact name and phone number). Items should be received no later than six weeks prior to the first of the cover month (i.e., January 20 for the March/April issue).

UNTIL SEPT. 30: Lakeview, OR Best "Flight ofthe Month" contest. Winners receive $100 and a plaque for the longest flight each month. Also, monthly random drawing for all registered pilots (hang and para) - winner gets $50 just for flying Lake Counry!

Contact: Lake Counry Chamber of Commerce (541) 947-6040.

UNTIL DEC 31: WOR year-long X-C Contest. Sum of the best three HG/PG flights in three categories: Bay Area, Region II and anywhere. For more info visit http://members.aol.com/worxc and submit your flights on-line. Contact: Ramy Yanetz, 302 Easy St. #13, Mountain View, CA 94043, fax (415) 968-6212, worxc@aol.com, or call Mark Mulholland (408) 929-1753.

SEPT. 6-8: Sky Hook Sports Annual Thermal Clinic, instructed and hosted by Phil Pohl, $175. Includes camping, transportation from LZ to launch, dinner Sat. & Sun. 30 minutes to motels. Contact: Phil (541) 389-4086 SEPT. 12-14: Thermal Clinic. OCT. 4-5: Mtn. Flying Clinic. OCT. 25-26: Tandem Clinic. At Point of the Mountain, Draper, UT and Utah mountain sites. Contact: Ken Hudonjorgensen, Two-Can Fly Paragliding, 474 E. Tonya Dr., Sandy, UT 84070 (801) 572-3414.

SEPT. 12-14: Advanced Maneuvers Clinic presented by Joe Gluzinski of Air America Paragliding in cooperation with advanced instructors Ed Pitman, Tom Switzer and John Yates. Novice through advanced pilots coached through a series of maneuvers at their own pace; no one will have to do anything they are not comfortable with. Pilots encouraged to master each skill before progressing to the next maneuver. After learning che basics of towing you will be coached through really big ears with speed bar, pendulum control and wingovers, small, medium and large asymmetricals, B-line stalls, leading edge tucks, spiral dives, full stalls and reserve deployments if desired. Last year we even added a new maneuver to the clinic asymmetrical with speed bar engaged! Limited number of slots available. Contact: (800) 259-6729, airampg@aol.com.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

SEPT. 12-14: Thermal Clinic. OCT. 25-26: Tandem Clinic. NOV. 7-9: ICP. Contact: Ken Hudonjorgensen, Two-Can Fly Paragliding, 474 E. Tonya Dr., Sandy, UT 84070 (801) 572-3414.

SEPT. 13-14: 7th Annual Pine Mountain Fly-In, Pine Mountain, Oregon. Contact: Raven Young (541) 317-8300.

SEPT. 18-21: 24th Coupe !care and

International Free Flight Film Festival, St. Hilaire du Touvet, France. Contact: tel. Ol l33-476-08-33-99, fax Ol l-33-476-97-20-56.

SEPT. 19-21: Air America Challenge. Fly cross-country from Elsinore, CA for three days. The pilot with the most miles at the end of the weekend wins his weight in beer.

Special prizes for the first pilot to make it over Mount San Jacinto and the best new crosscountry pilot. Entry fee includes cross country clinic, site introduction for visiting pilots, retrieval in air-conditioned comfort, cold drinks, prizes and awards ceremony dinner.

This will be your last gasp chance to go X-C for the '97 flying season. September is the best month of the year to fly X-C at Elsinore.

Last year we were getting 8,000' to 10,000' over launch until early October. Contact: Air America Paragliding (800) 259-6729.

SEPT. 19-21, OCT. 3-5: Fall Maneuvers Clinics by Skytimes Paragliding and John Yates, Lake Shasta, CA. $350, lunch included. With two tow boats and seven years of experience this is the premier clinic in America. Learn recovery techniques for asymmetrical collapses, recognition of constant stall and negative tendency for spin. Greatly enhance your paragliding skills. Contact: (415) 868-1330, Switzer@hooked.net, http://www.hooked.net/ ~switzer/.

SEPT. 27-0CT 4: Owens Valley Paragliding X-C!Thermal Clinics/Tour with Kari Castle.

OCT. 10-13: Owem Valley Paragliding X-C!Thermal Clinics/Tourwith Kari Castle.

Call for schedule in May: (619) 872-2087.

OCT. 3-4: East Coast Basic and Advanced Paragliding ICP. Lars Linde, Administrator.

Hosted by Southern Skies Paragliding. Fee: $300 (women qualify for $150 tuition reimbursement through USHGA program).

Location: NY or NC (depending on demand). Contact: Southern Skies Paragliding (704) 632-6000.

Mtn., Pamo Rd., Ramona, CA. $35 and $45 for one- and two-day stay for out-of-town pilots, $30 and $35 for locals. Includes barbecue, Fly-In T-shirt, contest entry and campground use. Contest both days with prizes.

Launch is 2,900' AGL with huge, flat LZ and best glass-off in San Diego. Contact: Rod Mitchell (619) 744-2463 (days), or Mark LaBianca (619) 484-9025 (nights).

OCT. 11-13: 13th Annual Columbus Day Air Festival & Costume Contest. Bi-wingual event Contact: Morningside Flight Park (603) 5424416, morningside@cyberportal.net, htt p://www.cyberportal.net/morningside.

OCT. 23-24: California Coastal Ridge Soaring Clinic. Soar the Golden State's breathtaking coastal sites. Earn your Ridge Soaring sign-off with USHGA-certified Instructor Hugh Murphy. Contact: (805) 544-8190.

OCT. 24-26: Paragliding ICPby Adventure Sports, Carson Ciry, Nevada with MarkAxen and Ray Leonard. Basic, Advanced and Recertification A comprehensive course of instruction. Years of instruction experience provide the best learning environment for all levels of instructors. Mark draws on years of Owens Valley experience to teach about meteorology. Contact: (709) 883-7070, www.pyramid.net/advspts.

OCT. 30-31: Powered Paragliding Seminar.

Syllabus will cover a smooth transition from non-powered to powered paragliding through a safe, easy learning curve. P-2 rating required. Special pricing for all new and used equipment. Contact: Hugh Murphy (805) 544-8190.

NOV. 1-2: Womens Halloween Fly-In. Expertly organized by Kristin Armstrong (509) 327-8172, and Kristin Janosky (509) 925-2190 again! Start making your costume plans now.

NOV. 1-3: Thermal Clinic sponsored by Air California Adventure and Sky Hook Sports at La Salina Ridge, Baja, CA. Contact: David Jebb (619) 452-9858, aircal@netcom.com.

NOV. 6: A USHGA general membership meeting will be held in conjunction with the Board of Directors meeting in November.

The membership meeting will be called to order at 4:00 PM local time, Thursday, November 6, 1997, ac the Ramada Inn, Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.

OCT. 11-12: San Diego 's3rd Annual Hang Gliding & Paragliding Fun Meet, Big Black

1997

15

NOV. 6-9: Fall USHGA Board ofDirectors meeting, Kitty Hawk, NC. All members are encouraged to attend! Please send your agenda items in writing to the USHGA office.

Contact Karen Simon at USHGA Headquarters for information and reservations: (719) 632-8300, ushga@ushga.org.

flying with launch sites at 11,000', 12,500' and 13,700'. Snow on launch is a possibility.

Includes prize money, 4WD ro launch, free T-shirt, retrieval, guide, free ocean-side camping. Discounts on flights to Hawaii available.

Contact: Achim Hagemann, Paraglide Hawaii, P.O. Box 797, Mountain View, HI 96771 (808) 968-8685, hagemann@gte.net, http://homel.gte.net/hagemann/index.htm.

NOV. 21-Dec. 1: Worldwide Adventure Tour in Chile. Join Mike Eberle and North American Paragliding, Inc. for their third year ofX-C flying in the famous Atacama desert of Northern Chile. Accommodations, airfare, ground transport and retrieval included.

Small group size/limited space. Para 3 or equivalent recommended. Log serious airtime and miles, break a world record or just have a nice X-C flight. Contact: (509) 925-5565, napi@eburg.com.

JAN. 15-29, 1998: 7thAnnualMescalito,

Mexico Thermal and X-C Paragliding Clinic and Tour. Tropical southern Mexico offers delightful sunset glass-offs and world-class thermal conditions in a holiday setting.

Instructor, guide and vehicle services for all skill levels. Free tandem flying for non-pilots.

Individualized coaching. Contact: Mescalito Adventure Company Ltd., (604) 858-2300, fax (604) 858-3080, mesc@uniserve.com.

DEC. 12-14: Paragliding competition, Valle de Bravo, State of Mexico. Contact: Roberto Pous, pous@servidor.dgsca.unam.mx.

JAN.18-25, JAN. 25-FEB. l, 1998:

Organized instruction and X-C!thermal coaching in Mexico by Granger Banks, USHGA

DEC. 14-19: Mauna Kea Fly-In. HG/PG. Intermediate and advanced pilots. Incredible

?!;;

n "'

;;

:

J

1-,,

1

l 1 ,

Advanced Tandem Instructor with six years

~

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z

I

j

experience taking paraglider pilots to Mexico, and Will Gadd, Tandem Instructor, U.S. distance record holder (138 miles), competition pilot and Mexico veteran/fanatic. Location: Igualla, Mexico two hours from Mexico City, or Acapulco site. Igualla is famous for excellent X-C opportunities, consistently flyable conditions, a perfect launch and easy drive-up access. Outstanding site for P2 or better pilots, very scenic. Cost: $900.

Transportation, hotel and daily guide service included. Food, beer and everything else is cheap. Contact: Parasoft Paragliding School, 4445 Hastings Dr., Boulder, CO 803036614 (303) 494-2820, parasoft@csd.net.

FEB. 6-15, 1998: NewZeakmd '98. North American Paragliding, Inc. rerurns for their umpteenth annual trip to the beauriful Southern Pacific and some incredible flying.

Great for pilots of any skill level.

Accommodations, transport, retrieval, chopper (conditions permitting), etc. provided.

Contact: (509) 925-5565, napi@eburg.com for reservations.

"-"'"HJ!i

llUhO!I~ ~I~ ~IHII ~~i,m. llii WdiflJJl~tfe; Only a one hour drive south of San Diego.

THERM l CllNI $195 INClUDEf Campsite with showers, restrooms, pool, tennis, beach, spa, restaurant, general store, classroom & Contino.

Unlimited flight transportation to & from the LZ.

November 1~3

USHGA certification & thermal sign-off upon successful completion.

Breakfast included.

Custom accomodations package available upon request.

Spouses - Come along, we'll have fun!

Study materials, hand-outs & personalized instruction.

Clinic sponsored by UP SAN DIEGO/AIR CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE, David Jebb-Advanced USHGA Instructor, Tandem Instructor and SKY HOOK SPORTS Phil Pohl Advanced USHGA Instructor/Tandem Instructor. Sun & Fun!

Call for Reservations now (619) 452-9858 or Email: aircal@ix.netcom.com

16

PARAGLIDING

* MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION * AlTENfION: USHGA RELEASE (ON BACK SIDE) MUST BE SIGNED FOR MEMBERSHIP PROCESSING

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(OJ/97)

RELEASE, WAIVER AND ASSUMPTION Of RISK AGREEMENT In consideration of being granted membership in the USHGA, I , - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - for myself, my personal representatives, heirs, executors, next of kin, spouse and assigns, do agree as follows: A. DEIFINITION::£ - The following definitions apply to terms used in this Agreement I. "PARTICIPATION IN THE SPORT means launching (and/or assisting another in launching), flying (whether as pilot in command or otherwise) and/or landing (including, but not limited to, crashing) a hang glider or paraglider.

2. "HY SPORTS INJURIES' means my personal injury, my bodily injury, my death, my property damage and/or any other personal or financial injury sustained by me as a result of my PARTICIPATION IN THE SPOR1and/or as a result of the administration of any USHGA programs (for example: the Pilot Proficiency System). l "RELEASED PARTIES' means the following, including their owners, officers, directors, agents, spouses, employees, officials (elected or otherwise), members, contractors, sub-contractors, lessors and lessees: a) The United States Hang Gliding Association, a California Mon-profit Corporation (USHGA); b) Each of the person(s) sponsoring and/or participating in the administration of my proficiency rating(s); c) Each of the hang gliding and/or paragliding organizations which are chapters of the USHGA; d) The United States Of America and each of the city(ies), town(s), county(ies), State(s) and/or other political subdivisions or governmental agencies within whose jurisdictions I launch, fly and/or land; e) Each of the property owners on or over whose property I may launch, fly and/or land; Q All persons involved, in any manner, in the sports of hang gliding and/or paragliding at the site(s) where I PARTICIPATE IN THE SPORT. 11AII persons involved 11 include, but are not limited to, spectators, hang glider and/or paraglider pilots, assistants, drivers, instructors, observers, and owners of hang gliding and/or paragliding equipment; and g) All other persons lawfully present at the site(s) during my PARTICIPATION IN THE SPORT. B. I RELEASE, WAIVE AND DISCHARGE the RELEASED PARTIES from any and all claims and liability for HY SPORTS INJURIES, however caused, even if caused by the negligence (whether active or passive) of any of the RELEASED PARTIES, to the fullest extent allowed by law.

C. I WILL NOT SUIE OR MAKE A CLAIM against any of the RELEASED PARTIESfor loss or damage on account of HY SPORTS INJURIES. If I violate this agreement by filing such a suit or making such a claim, I will pay all attorneys' fees and costs of the RELEASED PARTIES. ~ ACKNOWLEDGE that the non-participant third party liability insurance obtained by USHGA does NOT provide coverage for HY SPORTS INJURIES. D. TIERMINATION. I can terminate this Agreement only by either (I) sending written notice of termination to the USHGA National Office postage prepaid return receipt requested, in which case the termination will not be effective until one year after I cme being a member of the USHGA or 30 days after I place the written notice in the mail, whichever is later; or by (2) signing and returning to the USHGA National Office a later version of the Official USHGA Release, Waiver and Assumption of Risk Agreement. However, even if I terminate this Agreement, all of the terms of this Agreement will continue to apply to HY SPORTS INJURIESwhich I suffer in whole or in part before the termination of this Agreement.

IE. I AGREE THAT this AGREEMENT shall be governed by and constrned in accordance with the laws of the State of California.

All disputes and matters whatsoever arising under, in connection with or incident to this Agreement shall be litigated, if at all, in and before a Court located in the State of California, U.S.A. to the exclusion of the Courts of any other State or Country. f. SEVERABUUTY. If any part, article, paragraph, sentence or clause of this Agreement is not enforceable, the affected provision shall be curtailed and limited only to the extent necessary to bring it within the requirements of the law, and the remainder of the Agreement shall continue in full force and effect.

G. I VOLUNlARILY ASSUME All RISKS, KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, Of HY SPORTS INJURIES, HOWEVER CAUSED, EVEN IF CAUSED IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY THE ACTION, INACTION, OR NEGUGENCE Of THE RELEASED PARTIE~ FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY I have read, 11.mderstariid, and agree to the above IR!ELEASE, WAIVER AIND ASSUMPTION OF RISK AGREEMENT.

Participant's firnaturr

Date MR-3/97

THE 1997

Gorge Games Fly-In

by CB. Schmaltz, photos by Michael Hildreth

This year's Timberland Gorge Games was another fantastic event. The one-week Sports and Music Festival, held July 12-19, drew 800 contestants. Competitions were held in the following sports: windsurfing, kite skiing, outrigger canoeing, kayaking, 49er sailboats, snow boarding, mountain biking, climbing, and, of course, paragliding. The games offered not only competition but intro clinics for the public, lessons, and many "fun for kids" activities.

T

he Fly-In was a great time and a real crowd pleaser; spectators crowded the landing zone to watch more than 40 pilots fly "The Gorge." The event was sponsored by Edel, ITV and Firebird, importers and distributors of quality paragliders and equipment, and cosponsoring were two of their area dealers from Portland, Over The Hill Paragliding and Hang Gliding & Paragliding School of Oregon.

Contributions were also made by White T Designs, Perin-Mowen Candles, Ancil Nance Photography and High Gear, Inc. The total Fly-In purse, including cash and prizes, was over $4,500! Thank you sponsors, contributors and all of the businesses that donated prizes!

There were three separate categories in the paragliding event: spot landing, duration and, new this year, cross-country. The spot-landing and duration scores were totaled to determine a combined winner.

Saturday, July 12, was blown out with winds at 25-35 mph, but the windsurfing was awesome. On Sunday the weather looked good and the window opened at Bingen, Washington. More than 40 pilots from the Northwest and places as far away as Paris, Los Angeles and British Columbia participated. The Bingen site is at 2,100 feet AGL with a west-facing launch, and offers one of the most beautiful panoramas in the Columbia River Gorge. The river rolls to the west for 20 miles, and it seems as though you could almost reach out and

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touch Mt. Hood's and Mt. Adam's snowcapped peaks in the Cascade Mountains.

The spot-landing event involved a 30foot circle with a silver dollar as the bull'seye. Winds were strong at 18 mph with lots of bumps, and some peaks as high as 24 mph were recorded by the Windsight wind-reporting system. This is a new service you will no doubt hear more about in the future . The system has wind meters all over the U.S., and you rent a pager with the locations you want programmed into it. You can then turn on the pager any time you like and get readings for the locations that interest you. Pretty cool!

In any event, the bumpy air made hitting the bull's-eye difficult, and only one pilot scored a direct hit and won the silver dollar - congratulations to Mike Sterling of Vancouver, Washington. The duration event was won by Jay Carrol of Bingen, Washington with a two-hour, 57-minute flight. Cross-country conditions were poor all week because of high winds, however, on Saturday the 19th Steve Rori of Portland, Oregon got up 2,500 feet over Burdon Mountain at Bingen, Washington and flew over the Columbia River to Hood River, Oregon. He landed at the Gorge Games Expo Center to win the crosscountry event. The combined winner was Jim Donaldson of Newport, Oregon.

The awards dinner on Sunday was held at Montero's in Hood River, and there was plenty of food, drink, prizes and awards for all the contestants. In addition, contestants

raised more than $300 for the U.S. Paragliding Team's trip to Spain. After the awards dinner there was a rock.in' street dance in downtown Hood River. It was great fun, but fun is serious business, so to top that on the last day of the Games we came up with a plan.

A closing concert featuring The Skatalites was held on Saturday the 19th at the Bingen Marina in Washington.

(Anyone who knows reggae knows this group.) In addition, a full buffet dinner was offered at the VIP tent on the shores of the Columbia River. Hey, this was a fly-in, so to celebrate the closing of the Games about 15 pilots flew into the concert. The crowd of over 1,000 went wild when they saw us circling overhead above a "gorge-ous" sunset. Each and every pilot made a perfect landing, but Tina Pavlic was the hero of the evening and stole the show on her Edel Saber, making a beautifully-banked turn and landing next to the VIP tent.

Thank you Timberland, Edel, ITV and Firebird, and everyone else who helped make this a great fly-in! If you missed this year's event put it on your calendar for 1998, and don't be late!•

GORGE GAMES FLY-IN RESULTS TIME/DURATION ALOFT

Jay Carol . . ............. . ... 2:57 Richard Sperling ....... . . . . .. 2:50 Jim Donaldson ... . .... . . . . . . 1:12 Dave Rasbourn . . . .... . ...... 0:45 Dave Kauffman ........ .. . .. . 0:40 SPOT LANDING

COMBINED

Mike Sterling Chris Santacroce Jeff Clemenson Jay Mayden Barry Barr

Jim Donaldson Jeff Clemenson Jay Carol Mike Sterling Richard Sperling

CROSS-COUNTRY

Steve Roti

r '

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FLY BAJA MEXICO!

$750PERWEEK INCLUDES: • EXPERT INSTRUCTION • RESORT ACCOMMODATIONS • GROUND TRANSPORTATION

BRONZE SAFE PILOT AWARDS KATHLEEN WILDE

1ST DIAMOND SAFE PILOT AWARDS

REITER, ROBERT: Berkeley, CA; W. Anderson/Chandelle SCULL, WILLIAM: Los Altos, CA; J. Lucas/Glidell WILKINSON, JASON: Tahoe City, CA; S. Jolicoeur/Adventure Addicts ZYLKA, SANDRA: Montara, CA; P. Hirsr/Westcoast PG

DALE COVINGTON

BRONZE LILIENTHAL AWARDS GERALD KING

BEGINNER RATINGS Region 1 ADAMS, JEFF: Seaccle, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG ADLER, GREGORY: Renton, WA; C. Mulack/Chelan PG AYERS, MARK: Porcland, OR; D. Raybourn/HG PG School of OR BATES, BRUCE: Fairbanks, AK; B. Hamler/Golden Eagle PG BOROK, BILL: Porcland, OR; D. Raybourn/HG PG School of OR BOSSLER, GLEN: Porcland, OR; D. Raybourn/HG PG School of OR BURBANK, ROBBIE: Wenatchee, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG CAUBLE, ROB: Vida, OR; B. Hill/Over the Hill PG CROSTON, DENNY: Issaquah, WA; M. Chirico/Chirico's Fright School DANIEL, KARIE: Redmond, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG DIXON, JOANNE C.A.: Seatcle, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG DOMOGALLO, JOHN: Portland, OR; D. Raybourn/HG PG School of OR DUDLEY, ART: Bremerton, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG EMRICH, LINN: Camano ls, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG ERICKSON, CURT: Porcland, OR; D. Raybourn/HG PG School of OR GENDE, SCOIT: Juneau, AK; G. Randall/Flying Dreams PG GEROY, ALAN: North Bend, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG GROOTHOFF, MAARTEN: Renton, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG HEATHMAN, GERI: Asotin, WA; F.S.Johnson/US Air Borne HUDSON, KENT: Girdwood, AK; R. Higgins/Sun Sports JOHNSON, KEVIN: Vashon, WA; M. Chirico/Chirico's Fright School LANTIS, ED: Yalcima, WA; L. Pindar/Over the Hill PG LITT, MARIANNE: Hood River, OR; R. Higgins/Sun Spores LONGAN, CLIFF: Issaquah, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG LUCERO, RICHARD: Forest Grove, OR; L. Pindar/Over the Hill PG MAC INNES, SCOIT: Issaquah, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG MCCUNE, THOMAS: Issaquah, WA; L. DoChirico/Chirico's Fright School MC NABB, GREGORY: Bellevue, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG NASSAR, KHALIL: Seatcle, WA; L. DoChirico/Chirico's Fright School POSS, JAY: Anchorage, AK; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG ROLISON, GARY: Porcland, OR; D. Raybourn/HG PG School of Oregon SARVER, PATRICK: Salem, OR; D. Whire/Dixon's Airplay PG SCOTT, GREG: Juneau, AK; G. Randall/Flying Dreams SULSER, JR, DAVID: Juneau, AK; G. Randall/Flying Dreams TROTT, BRYON: Bellevue, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG VALENTINE, LARRY: Milwaukie, OR; D. Raybourn/HG PG School of OR VOGEL, BILL: Seaccle, WA; M. Karren/Dixon's Airplay PG WEIGAND, TODD: Madras, OR; F.S.Johnson/US Air Borne WENTWORTH, CATHERINE: Waldport, OR; R. Higgins/Sun Sports WHEELER, DAVID: Redmond, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG WHEELER, DAVID: Redmond, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG WILLIAMS, STEVE: Seatcle, WA; M. Karren/Dixon's Airplay PG Region 2 AALAND, HANS: Livermore, CA; W. Anderson/Chandelle ANUE, ROBERT: Los Gatos, CA; H. Murphy/Surf the Sky BAXLEY, LANCE: Atascadero, CA; H. Murphy/Surf the Sky BEIER, MONDIE: San Jose, CA; K. Schluter/Altus PG BROWNELL, TODD: Tahoe City, CA; S. Jolicoeur/Adventure Addicts HAAN, CINDY: San Francisco, CA; J. Stenstadvold/Ajax PG HACK, BARBARA: Las Vegas, CA; R. Leonard/Adventure Sports KRAUS, TOM: Fair Oaks, CA; P. Hirsc/Westcoast PG KRUSE, DARYL: Palo Alco, CA; K. Schluter/Altus PG KRUSE, DON: Morgan Hill, CA; K. Schlucer/Alcus PG KRUSE, NEIL: San Jose, CA; K. Schluter/Altus PG LIEBENDORFER, PAUL: Carson City, NV; R. Leonard/Adventure Spores MASSOUD!, ARASH: Montara, CA; P. Hirst/Westcoast PG MELCON, M.B.: Durham, CA; E. Hern/Skyn4hi PG MOLL, GEORGES: Santa Clara, CA; J. Lucas/Glidell NAMES, PAUL: San Francisco, CA; P. Hirst/Wesccoast PG PERILLO, CHRIS: San Francisco, CA; W. Anderson/Chandelle

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

1997

Region 3 CAGWIN, WENDY: Laguna Beach, CA; M. DeBarros/Atmosphere PG COOKSON, GREGORY: San Pedro, CA; R. McKenzie/High Adventure FARNSWORTH, SCOTT: Thousand Palms, CA; R. McKenzie/High Adventure LEVITT, ANDREW: Manhattan Beach, CA; J. Gluzinski/Air America PG MUIR IV, DOWNIE: Newport Beach, CA; M. Taggart PFEIFFER, JAN: Huntington Bch, CA; M. De Barros/Atmosphere PG RAYMOND, ANTHONY: San Diego, CA; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG WILKINSON, CINDY: Thermal, CA; B. Shook/Cheap Thrills WILKINSON, STEVE: Thermal, CA; B. Shook/Cheap Thrills Region4 AUBANEY, RONALD: Basalt, CO; C. Smith/Aspen PG BASICH, MIKE: Sandy, UT; E. Oman/Personal Flight BINNS, JONATHAN: Keystone, CO; B. Shook/Cheap Thrills CONNALLY, CASEY: Vail, CO; G. Kelley/Vail Valley PG DOGAN, PIERRE: Morrison, CO; B. Laurence/Fly Away PG DUBROFF, ADAM: Telluride, CO; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG DUKE, DAVID: Sunnyvale, CA; G. Sternik/Skycimes FITZGERALD, MATTHEW: Vail, CO; K. Husted/Vail Valley PG FOSTER, DAVID: Telluride, CO; S. McLowry/PG Telluride FRIAS, ROBERTO: Steamboat Spgs, CO; R. Higgins/Sun Spores HINTZE, KEVIN: Riverton, UT; K.Hudonjorgensen/The Soaring Center HINTZE, KEVIN: Riverton, UT; K.Hudonjorgensen/The Soaring Center HOLMES, CHRIS: Telluride, CO; S. MacLowry/PG Telluride KANZLER, JAMIE: Sale Lake City, UT; K.Hudonjorgensen/The Soaring Center KNIGHT, JOHN: Albuquerque, NM; W. Smith/Men Flyers PG MONTGOMERY, ANDREW: Salt Lake City, UT; K.Hudonjorgensen/Above & Beyond MOODY, DICK: El Paso, TX; K. Mayforth/Paradox O'DONOVAN, JOHN: Aspen, CO; K. Davis/Aspen PG O'NEILL, BRIAN: Telluride, CO; S. MacLow1y/PG Telluride OHLGREN, R SCOTT: Durango, CO; K.Hudonjorgensen/Two Can Fly OLIVER, RANDY: Orem, UT; K.Hudonjorgensen/The Soaring Center RICE, AARON: Vail, CO; G. Kelley/Vail Valley PG RIVA, GRANT: Edwards, CO; G. Kelley/Vail Valley PG SELF, LAYNE: Golden, CO; W. Laurence/Fly Away PG WHITFIELD, ROBERT: Colorado Spgs, CO; J. Smith/Colorado PG WIPPRECHT, ROB: Mesa, AZ; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG Region 5 AAMOLD, STEVE: Yellowstone Prk, WY; B. Shook/Cheap Thrills ADAMS, CYNTHIA: Jerome, ID; K.Hudonjorgensen/Two Can Fly BENNETT, BRITTE: Wilson, WY; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG EXLEY, MD,JACK: Columbus, MT; Steve Amy/Pro Flyght HI HUGHES, RHONDA: Nampa, ID; K.Hudonjorgensen/Two Can Fly IANTUONO, DAVE: Jackson, WY; T. Bartlett/Peak PG JAMES, JIM: Boise, ID; K.Hudonjorgensen/Two Can Fly LOPES, JAMES: Libby, MT; E. Oman/Personal Flight SMITH, GREGORY: Lewiston, ID; F.S. Johnson/US Air Borne Region 6 CARSON, JASON: Disney, OK; M. Osowski/Hill Country PG EDWARDS, BRAD: Lawrence, KS; K. Mayforth/Paradox KING, GERALD: Oklahoma Ciry, OK; N. Stanford/Hill Country PG LUBKER, ERIC: Wahoo, NE; D. White/Dixon's Aiprlay PG VINSON, JAMES: Corning, AR; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG VINSON, JOHN: Corning, AR; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG VINSON, STAN: Corning, AR; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG Region 7 BIERLEIN, JEFF: Elgin, IL; M. Osowski/Hill Country PG BROWN, MARCUS: Stewardson, IL; C. Bowles/Southern Skies PG CHAMPLIN, RANDALL: Battle Creek, Ml; B. Fifer/Traverse City HG PG CURTIS, STEVE: Grosse Ile, Ml; B. Fifer/Traverse City HG PG MEEDER, JOHN: Bellaire, Ml; B. Fifer/Traverse City HG PG

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SIXTA, JULIE: Paynesville, MN; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG WEST, CHRIS: Milwaukee, WI; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG Region 8 BASKETTE, GEORGE: Mystic, CT;J. Nicolay/Morningside FP CREEKMORE, STEVEN: Greenwich, CT; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG FEHR, RETO: Danburg, CT; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG GREIS, PETER: Arlington, MA; J. Nicolay/Morningside FP HACK, PATRICIA: Winooski, VT; R. Leonard/Adventure Sports LAWRENCE, CHRISTOPHER: New Canaan, CT; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG LOPES, DINILSON: Marlboro, MA; J. Nicolay/Morningside FP NISBET, BRIAN: Meriden, CT; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG SAVAGE, DAVID: East Falmouth, MA; K.Hudonjorgensen/Above & Beyond SEEDS, KENNETH: Harrison, ME; J. Nicolay/Morningside FP TAKEUCHI, TOSHIAKI: Southboro, MA;J. Nicolay/Morningside FP Region 9 BRODHEAD, BILL: Riegelsville, PA; C. Bowles/Southern Skies PG EARLE, LAWRENCE: Severna Park, MD; M. Karren/Dixon's Airplay PG FOLGER, JEREMIE: Cincinnati, OH; R. Liggett/Eastcoast PG HENRY, CAROLINE: Chester Spgs, PA; J. Stenstadvold/Ajax PG LACK,JOHN: Erie, PA; B. Fifer/Traverse City HG PG OBRECHT III, HOLLIDAY: Mt Airy, MD; C. Bowles/Southern Skies PG Region 10 LANA, WILLIAM: Johnson City, TN; C. Bowles/Southern Skies PG LEECH, COLLIE JO: Amory, MS; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG LEECH, JOHNNY: Amory, MS; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG OLSON, DAYID: Sarasota, FL; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG OLSON, URSULA: Sarasota, FL; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG PRIVETTE, VAUGHN: Lagrange, NC; C. Bowles/Southern Skies PG QUINTAS, FRANK: Ft Lauderdale, FL; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG WELCH, RAY: Charlotte, NC; C. Bowles/Southern Skies PG Region 11 BRADY, JUDY: Richardson, TX; M. Osowski/Hill Country PG CARRIGAN, TIM: Bandera, TX; N. Stanford/Hill Country PG CORRY, TOM: Rockport, TX; N. Stanford/Hill Country PG CRIGLER, MIKE: Houston, TX; N. Stanford/Hill Country PG GARCIA, BRUNO: Laredo, TX; P. Hirst/Westcoast PG MORGAN, MARK: Flower Mound, TX; N. Stanford/Hill Country PG SAMUELS, JOHN: Carrolton, TX; N. Stanford/Hill Country PG WAGNER, GERALD: Mc Kinney, TX; D. Broyles/Kite Enterprises Region 12 BLAYER, MARIE: Haskell, NJ; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG CAPPEL!, LOUIS: White Plains, NY; R. Liggitt/Eastcoast PG CONTE, ANTHONY: Wanaque, NJ; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG DAVIES, MARK: New York, NY; R. Liggitt/Eastcoast PG DEJOHN, MIKE: Montclair, NJ; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG FUCHS, VAL: Brooklyn, NY; R. Liggett/Eastcoast PG GERBER, HEINZ: Valhalla, NY; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG HERSEY, BAIRD: Willow, NY; R. Liggett/Eastcoast PG HERSH, STUART: Douglaston, NY; M. Karren/Dixon's Airplay PG HOGAN, PAUL: Maspeth, NY; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG KELLEHER, JOHN: Homer, NY; G. Hamilton/Mm Motion LASKARIS, GEORGE: Brooklyn, NY; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG UBOR, JANOS: New York, NY; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG POLOGE, BENNETT: Bronx, NY; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG SCHMIDT, GUNTER: Fairport, NY; H. Murphy/Surf the Sky SOLOMON, FREDERICH: New York, NY; R. Liggitt/Eastcoast PG YAHL, C ROBERT: Allegany, NY; G. Brightbill/Enchantment PG WAUSH, MICHAEL: New York, NY; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG Region 13 AGFORS, MARTIN: Sweden; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG BEND LIN, ROLAND: Paraguay; J. Hagemann/Advanced Air Tech BILL, URS: Switzerland; R. Leonard/Adventure Sporrs BJORENAS, JAN MICHAEL: Sweden; A Whitehill/Chandelle CHO HAN, SUJAY: India 400028; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG HALLBERG, JOHAN: Sweden; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG LEE, HYO KOO: Japan; R. McKenzie/HighAdvnemre

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NOWELL, MARTIN: England; P. Hirst/Westcoast PG SCHATZMANN, BARBARA: Switzerland; R. Leonard/Adventure Sports SEGAL, ADAM: England; D. Raybourn/HG PG School of OR

NOVICE RATINGS Region l ADAMS, JEFF: Seattle, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG ADLER, GREGORY: Renton, WA; C. Mulack/Chelan PG AYERS, MARK: Portland, OR; D. Raybourn/HG PG School of OR BOROK, BILL: Portland, OR; D. Raybourn/HG PG School of OR BOSSLER, GLEN: Portland, OR; D. Raybourn/HG PG School of OR BURBANK, ROBBIE: Wenatchee, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG BURKS, BILL: Bend, OR; P. Keane/Pete's Flight School BUTLER, ARCHIE: Seattle, WA; K.Hudonjorgensen/Two Can Fly DANIEL, KARIE: Redmond, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG DEPPNER, MICHAEL: Juneau, AK; J. Kreinheder/Alaska PG DOMOGALLO, JOHN: Portland, OR; D. Raybourn/HG PG School of OR DUDLEY, ART: Bremerton, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG EDEN-EILERS, ROBERT: Kirkland, WA; K.Hudonjorgensen/Two Can Fly ERICKSON, CURT: Portland, OR; D. Raybourn/HG PG School of OR GENDE, SCOTT: Juneau, AK; G. Randall/Flying Dreams PG GEROY, ALAN: North Bend, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG GROOTHOFF, MAARTEN: Renton, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG G UTE, JAMES: Juneau, AK; J. Kreinheder/Alaska PG HALLMARK, TERRY: Marysville, WA; K.Hudonjorgensen/Two Can Fly HERNLEY, CAROL: Cordova, AK; J. Gluzinski/Air America PG HILL, STUART: Bend, OR; P. Keane/Pete's Flight School HUBBARD, RICHARD: Seattle, WA; M. Karren/Dixon's Airplay PG HUDSON, KENT: Girdwood, AK; R. Higgins/Sun Sports LANTIS, ED: Yakima, WA; L. Pindar/Over the Hill PG LAURENT, MOLLICONE: Kirkland, WA; M. Karren/Dixon's Airplay PG UTf, MARIANNE: Hood River, OR; R. Higgins/Sun Sports LONGAN, CLIFF: Issaquah, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG MAC INNES, SCOTT: Issaquah, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG MCCUNE, THOMAS: Issaquah, WA; L. DoChirico/Chirico's Fright School MC NABB, GREGORY: Bellevue, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG POSS, JAY: Anchorage, AK; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG ROLISON, GARY: Portland, OR; D. Raybourn/HG PG School of Oregon ROSS, WILLIAM: Anchorage, AK; B. Hamler/Golden Eagle PG RYAN, MARK: Bellevue, WA; B. Hannah/Paraglide Washington SANFORD, RALPH: Juneau, AK; J. Kreinheder/Alaska PG SARVER, PATRICK: Salem, OR; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG SCOTT, GREG: Juneau, AK; G. Randall/Flying Dreams SIEG, SHELLEY: Kent, WA; L. DoChirico/Chirico's Fright School SPECKER, CHRIS: Everett, WA; M. Karren/Dixon's Airplay PG TAYLOR, ALAN: Seattle, WA; M. Eberle/North American PG TROTT, BRYON: Bellevue, WA; D. White/Dixon'sAirplayPG VALENTINE, LARRY: Milwaukie, OR; D. Raybourn/HG PG School of OR VOGEL, BILL: Seattle, WA; M. Karren/Dixon's Airplay PG WEIGAND, TODD: Madras, OR; F.S.Johnson/US Air Borne WELKER, WILL: Gig Harbor, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG WHEELER, DAVID: Redmond, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG WILLIAMS, STEVE: Seattle, WA; M. Karren/Dixon's Airplay PG Region 2 ANUE, ROBERT: Los Gatos, CA; H. Murphy/Surf the Sky BAXLEY, LANCE: Atascadero, CA; H. Murphy/Surf the Sky BEIER, MONDIE: San Jose, CA; K. Schluter/Altus PG BRAKE, ALAN: San Leandro, CA; P. Him/Westcoast PG CALANDE, ERIC: Mountain View, CA; T. Switzer/Skytimes PG CHIN, RODNEY: Oakland, CA; R. Leonard/Adventure Sports EISLER, CARLOS: San Francisco, CA; J. Lucas/Glidell KLINGBERG, ROLLIN: Sunnyvale, CA; P. Hirst/West Coast PG KRAUS, TOM: Fair Oaks, CA; P. Hirst/Westcoast PG KRUSE, DARYL: Palo Alto, CA; K. Schluter/Alms PG KRUSE, DON: Morgan Hill, CA; K. Schluter/Altus PG KRUSE, NEIL: San Jose, CA; K. Schluter/Alms PG LOCATELLI, ERNEST: Camptonville, CA; P. Hirst/Westcoast PG MASSOUD!, ARASH: Montara, CA; P. Hirst/Westcoast PG MELCON, M.B.: Durham, CA; E. Hern/Skyn4hi PG MOLL, GEORGES: Santa Clara, CA; J. Lucas/Glidell NAMES, PAUL: San Francisco, CA; P. Hirst/Westcoast PG

PARAGLIDING

NERI, PHIL: S San Francisco, CA; P. Hirst!Westcoast PG REITER, ROBERT: Berkeley, CA; W. Anderson/Chandelle SCULL, WILLIAM: Los Altos, CA; J. Lucas/Glidell SHERIDAN, NOAH: Larkspur, CA; W. Anderson/Chandelle STOCKER, ANDY: Palo Alto, CA; T. Switzer/Skytimes PG THOMAS, GREG: Richmond, CA; J. VanMeter/Westcoast PG WILKINSON, JASON: Tahoe City, CA; S. Jolicoeur/Adventure Addicts ZVLKA, SANDRA: Montara, CA; P. Hirst/Westcoast PG Region 3 CAPRIO NI, FRANK: Lahaina, HI; Scott Amy/Pro Flyght HI COOKSON, GREGORY: San Pedro, CA; R. McKenzie/High Adventure DELONG, LISA: San Diego, CA; K. Baier/Airjunkies PG FARNSWORTH, SCOTT: Thousand Palms, CA; R. McKenzie/High Adventure JENNINGS, DAVID: Newbury Park, CA; T. Truax/Sky Sports LEVITT, ANDREW: Manhattan Beach, CA; M. DeBarros/Atmosphere PG MICHEL, BIAINE: Lemon Grove, CA; K. Baier/Airjunkies PG MUIR N, DOWNIE: Newport Beach, CA; M. Taggart RAYMOND, ANTHONY: San Diego, CA; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG ROCK, JOANNE: San Diego, CA; S. Hassell/Airtek San Diego STOCKWELL, DAVID: San Diego, CA; L. Love/UP San Diego WILKINSON, STEVE: Thermal, CA; B. Shook/Cheap Thrills Region4 BINNS, JONATHAN: Keystone, CO; B. Shook/Cheap Thrills BROWN, MIKE: Payson, AZ; K. Mayforth/Paradox CRITCHFIELD, REED: Hyrum, UT; D. Sharp/The Soaring Center DOGAN, PIERRE: Morrison, CO; B. Laurence/Fly Away PG DUBROFF,ADAM: Telluride, CO; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG DUKE, DAVID: Sunnyvale, CA; G. Sternik/Skytimes FOSTER, DAVID: Telluride, CO; S. Maclowry/PG Telluride FRIAS, ROBERTO: Steamboat Spgs, CO; R. Higgins/Sunsporcs GREER, NATHAN: Orem, UT; K. Lee/Thermal Tracker PG HINTZE, KEVIN: Murray, UT; K.Hudonjorgensen/The Soaring Center HOLMES, CHRIS: Telluride, CO; S. McLowry/PG Telluride KANZLER, JAMIE: Salt Lake City, UT; K.Hudonjorgensen/The Soaring Center KAUFMANN, PIRMIN: Boulder, CO; G. Banks/Parasofi: PG MOODY, DICK: El Paso, TX; K. Mayforth/Paradox O'DONOVAN, JOHN: Aspen, CO; K. Davis/Aspen PG OHLGREN, R SCOTT: Durango, CO; K.Hudonjorgensen/Two Can Fly PORTER, FRED: Salt Lal(e City, UT; C. Warren/Above & Beyond RICE, AARON: Vail, CO; G. KelleyNail Valley PG SELF, LAYNE: Golden, CO; W. Laurence/Fly Away PG STRONG, BOB: Vail, CO; G. KelleyNail Valley PG TIERNEY, SEAN: Phoenix, AZ; J. Ala/Alazzurra WEGEMUND, CAMERON: Crested Butte, CO; D. Hase/Pterodactyl PG WIPPRECHT, ROB: Mesa, AZ; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG ZOELLICK, GREG: Almont, CO; G. Pax/PAX Region 5 BENNETT, BRITTE: Wilson, WY; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG BONAR, PAULA: Helena, MT; D. Covington/Big Sky PG HUGHES, BRUCE: Nampa, ID; K.Hudonjorgensen/The Soaring Center HUGHES, RHONDA: Nampa, ID; K.Hudonjorgensen/The Soaring Center IANTUONO, DAVE: Jackson, WY; T. Bartlett/Peak PG JAMES, JIM: Boise, ID; K.Hudonjorgensen/Two Can Fly WILCOX, BONNIE: Jackson, WY; K.Hudonjorgensen/The Soaring Center Region 6 EDWARDS, BRAD: Lawrence, KS; K. Mayforth/Paradox LUEKER, ERIC: Wahoo, NE; D. White/Dixon's Aiprlay PG VANROYEN, JEAN JACQUES: Kansas City, MO; D. Broyles/Kite Enterprises VINSON, JAMES: Corning, AR; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG VINSON, JOHN: Corning, AR; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG VINSON, STAN: Corning, AR; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG Region 7 BROWN, MARCUS: Stewardson, IL; C. Bowles/Southern Skies PG MEEDER, JOHN: Bellaire, Ml; B. Fifer/Traverse Ciry HG PG SCHOLTES, NICK: Joliet, IL; S. Hassell/Airtek PG SIXTA, JULIE: Paynesville, MN; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG WEST, CHRIS: Milwaukee, \)(Tl; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

1997

Region 8 CREEKMORE, STEVEN: Greenwich, CT; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG FEHR, RETO: Danburg, CT; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG GREIS, PETER: Arlington, MA; J. Nicolay/Morningside FP LAWREN CE, CHRISTOPHER: New Canaan, CT; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG MC GRAIL, TOM: Burlington, VT; C. Warren/Wind Dance NISBET, BRIAN: Meriden, CT; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG SAVAGE, DAVID: East Falmouth, MA; K.Hudonjorgensen/Above & Beyond SEEDS, KENNETH: Harrison, ME; J. Nicolay/Morningside FP TAKEUCHI, TOSHIAKI: Southboro, MA; J. Nicolay/Morningside FP Region 9 EARLE, LAWRENCE: Severna Park, MD; M. Karren/Dixon's Airplay PG FOLGER, JEREMIE: Cincinnati, OH; R. Liggett/Eastcoast PG Region 10 BROTHERS, JERRY: Tavares, FL; R. Bachman/Kitty Hawk Kites GILMER, BENJAMIN: Charlotte, SC; C. Bowles/Southern Skies PG JENKINS III, GEORGE: Atlanta, GA; C. Bowles/Southern Skies PG JOHNSTON, ADAM: Nashville, TN; C. Smith/Aspen PG LEECH, COLLIE JO: Amory, MS; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG LEECH, JOHNNY: Amory, MS; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG OLSON, DAVID: Sarasota, FL; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG OLSON, URSULA: Sarasota, FL; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG QUINTAS, FRANK: Ft Lauderdale, FL; S. Mayer/Cloud 9 PG WELCH, RAY: Charlotte, NC; C. Bowles/Southern Skies PG Region 11 GARCIA, BRUNO: Laredo, TX; P. Hirst!Westcoast PG HEAD, MICHAEL: San Antonio, TX; M. Osowski/Hill Country PG LIMA, ANDRE: Austin, TX; M. Osowski/Hill Country PG RUSSELL, JONI: Katy, TX; N. Stanford/Hill Country PG Region 12 BLAYER, MARIE: Haskell, NJ; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG CAPPEL!, LOUIS: White Plains, NY; R. Liggitt/Eastcoast PG CONTE, ANTHONY: Wanaque, NJ; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG DAVIES, MARK: New York, NY; R. Liggitt/Eastcoast PG DEJOHN, MIKE: Montclair, NJ; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG FUCHS, VAL: Brooklyn, NY; R. Liggett/Eastcoast PG GERBER, HEINZ: Valhalla, NY; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG HERSEY, BAIRD: Willow, NY; R. Liggett/Eastcoast PG HOGAN, PAUL: Maspeth, NY; L. Linde/Easccoast PG LASKARIS, GEORGE: Brooklyn, NY; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG LIBOR, JANOS: New York, NY; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG POLOGE, BENNETT: Bronx, NY; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG SOLOMON, FREDERICH: New York, NY; R. Liggitt/Eastcoast PG WAUSH, MICHAEL: New York, NY; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG Region 13 AGFORS, MARTIN: Sweden; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG BJORENAS, JAN MICHAEL: Sweden; A. Whitehill/Chandelle CH OHAN, SUJAY: India 400028; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG HALLBERG, JOHAN: Sweden; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG LEE, HYO KOO: Japan; R McKenzie/High Adventure NOWELL, MARTIN: England; P. Hirst/Westcoast PG SEGAL, ADAM: England; D. Raybourn/HG PG School of OR

INTERMEDIATE RATINGS Region 1 BERGER, JOSEPH: Portland, OR; S. Rori/Observer BURNS, LEE: Bellevue, WA; M. Chirico/Chirico's Fright School CARLSON, BRIAN: Duvall, WA; B. Hannah/PG Washington LINK, WILLIAM: Seattle, WA; M. Chirico/Chirico's Fright School LYNCH, MALLORY: Talent, OR; E. Hern/Skyn4hi PG MAC INNES, LESLIE: Issaquah, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG MAC INNES, SCOTT: Issaquah, WA; D. White/Dixon's Airplay PG MARSH, PETE: Anchorage, AK; H. Murphy/Surf the Sky MAY, RICK: Seattle, WA; M. Chirico/Chirico's Fright School MC NABB, ANDREW: Redmond, WA; D. Hannah/Paraglide Washington OBERN, READE: Pasco, WA;]. Gluzinski/Air America PG TRINKL, KIM: Seattle, WA; W. Mickel/Alpine Descents

25

Region2 BILLS, RICHARD: Palo Alto, CA; K.Hudonjorgensen/Two Can Fly BONIFACIO, PAUL: San Jose, CA; A. Whitehill/Chandelle BROYHILL, TIMOTHY: Sacramento, CA; M. Yost/Observer CHILDS, TIMOTHY: San Francisco, CA; J. Greenbaum/Airtime SF DE LA TORRE, LUIS: Carmel Valley, CA; D. O'Hara/Observer DE VILLIERS, P FRANCOIS: Monterey, CA; D. O'Hara/Observer DEVIN, INCi: San Francisco, CA; A. Whitehill/Chandelle DWYER, FRED: Larkspur, CA; A. Whitehill/Chandelle FENTRESS, MIKE: Lotus, CA; L. Friend HARIS, IAN: San Luis Obispo, CA; H. Murphy/Surf the Sky LADES, MARTIN: Livermore, CA; J. Lucas/Glidell LEMANSKI, BETHANY: Tahoe City, CA; M. Bell/Discover Flight MADDUX, MIKE: Seaside, CA; D. O'Hara/Observer MONA, UELI: San Francisco, CA; R Ost/Blackwing PG MORKEN, BOB: Incline Village, NV; R. Leonard/Adventure Sports OLIVER, GORDON: San Luis Obispo, CA; H. Murphy/Surf the Sky PG PFEIFFER, GENE: Los Gatos, CA; J. Gluzinski/Air America PG REED, ERIC: San Francisco, CA; J. Gluzinski/Air America PG ROBBINS, MICHAEL: Porn, CA; D. O'Hara/Observer VAYDA, GREGORY: Monterey, CA; D. O'Hara/Observer YAMAUCHI, KEISUKE: Sunnyvale, CA; J. Lucas/Glidell Region 3 LEE, GINA: Gardena, CA; J. Gluzinski/Air America PG MARTIN, RANDY: Dana Point, CA; R. Ryan/PG & Hang Sports MEYERS, JOSHUA: Tierra Santa, CA; D. Jebb/UP San Diego MORRIS, STEVE: Ventura, CA; R. Liggett/Boise PG NIEDERMEIER, BERT: San Diego, CA; D. Jebb/UP San Diego PRUE1T, RICH: Santa Monica, CA; T. Switzer/Skytimes PG Region4 INOUYE, DAVID: Crested Butte, CO; W. Laurence/Fly Away PG KAMM, RHETT: Littleton, CO; J. Smith/Colorado PG WHETTEN, CLARK: South Jordan, UT; K.Hudonjorgensen/Two Can Fly Region 5 CASTLEBERRY, TROY: Polson, MT; D. Covington/Big Sky PG TASKER, TIMOTHY: Jackson, WY; C. Warren/Wind Dance WAYCOTT, DIANA: Jackson, WY; T. Welch/Jackson Hole PG Region 8 FEHR, RETO: Danburg, CT; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG FREUDENTHAL, KARIN: Norwalk, CT; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG GALLAGHER, JOHN: Ashland, MA; S. Berk LUPO, JOE: Newport, VT; K.Hudonjorgensen/Two Can Fly MASTERS, RUTH: Colchester, VT; R. Leonard/Adventure Sports MIDDLETON, CURTIS: Gales Ferry, CT: J. Nicolay/Morningside FP

GLISSMEYER, CHAD: Redding, CA; J. Yates/Pro Design GO URSO LLE, KI1TY: San Leandro, CA; J. Gluzinski/Air America PG HAWES, BRIAN: Las Vegas, NV; K. Biernacki/Upper Limits LEE, DAVID: San Jose, CA; P. Hirst/Westcoast PG NORBERT, WUCHERER: Santa Cruz, CA; P. Hirst/Westcoast PG ROBIN,JEAN-YVES: Corte Madera, CA; P. Hirst/Westcoast PG STIVER, SHAWN: Novato, CA; A. Whitehill/Chandelle THORPE, STEPHEN: Santa Clara, CA; P. Hirst/Westcoast PG 7.ABETIAN, MAHBOUD: Walnut Creek, CA; J. Gluzinski/Air America PG Region 3 CHANG, JAEIK: Garndena, CA; J. Gluzinski/Air America PG GAGE, CHARLES: Tujunga, CA; J. Gluzinski/Air America PG GUNALL, DAVE: Ventura, CA; R. Liggett/Boise PG KI-HONG, KYOUNG: Gardena, CA; J. Gluzinski/Air America PG NORDING, BERNDT: Oak View, CA; K. deRussy/HG PG Emporium OCHOA, RODRIGO: San Diego, CA; P. Somerset/AT Sports WILLIAMS, JEFF: Dana Point, CA; J. Gluzinski/Air America PG Region4 BRAINERD, CHUCK: Salt Lake City, UT; M. Bell/Discover Flight FETTERS, MARK: Loveland, CO; B. Laurence/Fly Away PG MC CLURE, KEVIN: Littleton, CO; G. Banks/Parasoft REALINI, CLAUDIO: Salt Lake City, UT; K.Hudonjorgensen/Two Can Fly Region 5 GRAHAM, ADAM: Laramie, WY; M. Bell/Discover Flight KIRBY, WALTER: Wilson, WY; K.Hudonjorgensen/Two Can Fly Region 9 HERRICK, BEN: Gaithersburg, MD; L. Herrick/Observer HERRICK, LE.: Gaithersburg, MD; F. Lawley/Accelerated Flight Region 10 BOWLES, TAMARA: Taylorsville, NC; C. Bowles/Southern Skies PG Region 11 YOUNG, TERRY: Livingston, TX; R. Higgins/Sun Sports Region 12 GILL, SARA: Mahwah, NJ; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG MAZE, JAMES: Trenton, NJ; T. McClement/Beyond Cloudbase Region 13 GRANT, NICHOIAS: New Zealand; B. Hannah/Paraglide Washington MI CHIO, OKADA: Japan; R McKenzie/High Adventure PRADI,ADEMIR: Brazil; P. Hirst/Westcoast PG

MASTER RATINGS Region 11 STONE, JOHN: San Antonio, TX; M. Osowski/Hill Country PG Region 12 GERBER, HEINZ: Valhalla, NY; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG MONSAERT, PSY D, RICHARD: Wyckoff, NJ; P. Voight/Fly High HG Region 13 HALLBERG, JOHAN: Sweden; L. Linde/Eastcoast PG PORTER, IAN: Canada; R. Ost/Blackwing PG

Region 5 COVINGTON, DALE: Missoula, MT;

TANDEM ONE RATINGS CLARK SAUNDERS CHAD GLISSMEYER JUAN LAOS PETER SCHERTEL NICHOLAS GRANT

ADVANCED RATINGS Region l ENGLE, PATRICK: Kent, WA; M. Chirico/Chirico's Fright School FORD, BRIAN: Bellevue, WA; M. Chirico/Chirico's Fright School FRENCH, ROBERT: Anchorage, AK; B. Hamler/Golden Eagle PG KEHL, RAY: Seattle, WA; B. Hannah/Paraglide Washington KELLAR, KELLY: Gresham, OR; L. Pindar/Over the Hill PG WHITFIELD, SEWARD: Portland, OR; S. Rori/Observer Region 2 BRUDER, GEORGE: San Carlos, CA; P. Hirst/Westcoast PG CASPARIAN, SCOTT: San Francisco, CA; P. Hirst/Westcoast PG

26

TANDEM 1WO RATINGS TODD ONKEN

TANDEM INSTRUCTOR RATINGS WALLACE ANDERSON CHRIS SCHRAGNER

Continued on page 42...

PARAGLIDING

Paragliding INTERVIEWS

C

H

R

I

S

ANTACROC--by Roy Haggard

Paragliding magazine interrogates, er, interviews Chris Santacroce (probably the most aggressive US. pilot) of "Fly .J J• ~aruer mJf;,amy. p _arag1·mmg

H,

~

JJ.

attempts to determine why and how he learned to fly the way he does, and what we can learn .from his experience to improve our flying.

RH: How you pronounce your name properly?

CS: Santacrochay (spelled phonetically).

RH: Cro-chay. C-H-A-Y? CS: Yes. Beat up my name however you want! My middle name is Whitecloud, maybe you can say that?

RH: We all know you from the "Fly Hard" video. We know you fly like a maniac. How long did it take you to learn how to fly like that? When did you start flying?

CS: I started in early 1991.

RH: How often do you fly?

CS: With the exception of a couple of months, I've been flying every possible day.

RH: How much is that, five days a week?

CS: Hard telling. It depends on the season.

RH: That is a lot of days! What's the average flight time, an hour or two a day?

CS: Hard telling.

RH: I'm trying to estimate how much experience you have here.

CS: Thousands and thousands of flights, hundreds and hundreds of hours, over years and years.

RH: Okay. Well, judging from the video, you like to do maneuvers. Obviously, the first day you got in a paraglider you did not go out and start doing negative spins or ver-

28

tical wingovers. How long did it take you to build up to comfortably performing the maneuvers you do today?

CS: Well, I still haven't gotten comfortable doing them. But the negatives and the big wingovers started in late 1992 and I had the opportunity to practice over water on several occasions.

RH: Did you ever throw your parachute during those practices sessions?

CS: No. I never have RH: While learning the extreme maneuvers, did you every hit the ground?

CS:No. RH: Good. Well, probably what I am most interested in is what and how the average pilot can apply what you have learned to improve his flying.

CS: There is a whole bag of tricks that I can teach people that will keep them safe over the course of time.

RH: What are the most important?

CS: Really I don't ever get into it without doing it in a formal setting, like a maneuvers clinic.

RH: Okay. So first of all, advancing pilots should attend a maneuvers clinic. What should they learn from such a clinic?

CS: How to sit in a harness, tip folds, asymmetries, full frontals, B-stalls, surge control, mild wingovers and consecutive circles - at a minimum.

RH: Circles bordering on spiral dives?

CS: Yes. And at the other extreme, pilots with upwards of a couple of hundred flights usually can perform all of those maneuvers with some sort of skill and then they are qualified to do a stall.

RH: There is a large variety of maneuvers clinics out there, and we know about the pilot last year who actually unhooked one of his carabiners and attempted to fly down, lost control, did not get a good reserve deployment and injured himself splashing down. The fact that it happened in an "approved " maneuvers clinic does not give one a lot of confidence. How does the average guy decide who is qualified to provide a safe and effective maneuvers clinic?

CS: The only people who are qualified to teach maneuvers clinic are people who do maneuvers regularly, and who do them on a variety of gliders, because in a maneuvers clinic you'll find a variety of people with a variety of skill levels and a variety of gliders, and you have to know the ins and outs of each glider and each maneuver in order to coach people through them with any sort of predictability.

RH: Do you endorse any particular maneuvers clinic?

CS: I would only recommend some maneuvers clinics and those sponsored by folks like Robbie Whittall and Andi Hediger, Jokey Sanderson and anyone else who is actively doing maneuvers professionally on a regular basis.

RH: So, of those individuals you mentioned, who is in the United States?

CS: I'm probably the only one, with the exception of Robbie who is around occasionally.

RH: How do we find out when your maneuvers clinics are scheduled?

CS: E-mail me at edelusa@micron.net or contact Edel USA. I did five clinics last year and I'll likely do more this year.

RH: Great. How about a brief description of your technique for flying in active air?

PARAGLIDING

CS: The first thing the pilot has to do is be ready to be busy. There are a tremendous number of inputs that a pilot has to make during a flight in thermal conditions, and the bulk of them are weight shift, hip movements and the addition and subtraction of brake pressure as the glider moves through the air.

RH: What speed do you like to fly when you are thermaling in strong conditions?

CS: In strong conditions I tend to let the glider fly at trim as much as possible, but at various points during the flight I go to what I call a "maximum brake for turbulence." That is, the most brake that a person would apply at a given moment, for an instant, to keep a glider open and then return back to trim.

RH: So in strong conditions you want to keep the glider moving fast to keep it firmly pressurized and then as the brake pressures drop off you can apply brake momentarily to maintain tension on the brake lines.

CS: Correct. Also, the reason you move around quickly is so you can sample the air and maneuver your paraglider into the air that is ascending most readily.

So far as feeling the glider goes, the only important thing is to be linked up with both sides of the glider and to have tension in both brake lines, absolutely all the time never any slack or bow in the brake line.

Most pilots let their brake lines go slack at some pretty inopportune moments.

Apart from that, one area people do not tend to address is "active" flying by varying the carabiner height through your hips.

RH: Active seat steering?

CS: Yes. RH: Okay. Let's jump to making the Fly Hard video. How long did it take to shoot that piece of footage?

CS: About 10 to 12 days.

RH: Any close calls during the filming?

CS: Yeah. We planned to have Mitch fly by in his hang glider with an on-board camera and slap the top surface of my glider, and

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

silly me, I thought he would come by and hit me, going in the same direction, and that he might hit my top sail while we were away from the terrain. As you probably know, he hit me going head on right next to the hill.

Needless to say I giggled after that was all over.

RH: So that was a little bit of surprise, huh? Do you think you know Mitch a little better now?

CS: Mitch is a wild card and that is one thing you can count on.

RH: When you fly for cameras do you feel that you push your performance to a higher level?

CS: Absolutely not. I have rules about my fly-

ing and one them is to always fly with the same mind-set. So far as mind-set goes, I tend to give each and every situation a tremendous amount of respect. I believe that at whatever point you become callous and let your mindset be molded or modified - if you ever become, for example, complacent and let your mind-set or your operating parameters be modified by the presence of a crowd, or a camera, or anything else that might be going on in your life - then you are at risk.

RH: So, with the type of flying that you did for Fly Hard, do you feel that you are setting an example for others to follow?

CS: I don't think there ever has been or

1997

ever will be anything wrong with demonstrating the dynamics of paragliding maneuvers for people who have not had the opportunity to spend as much time working up to them as I have. Besides, I can't help it; I'm doing maneuvers so that I can speak about techniques, products and safety issues. Most importantly, I'm a student of glider design, so I have to keep learning.

RH: You can't help it. Okay. Since the filming of Fly Hard Two, or Fly Hard, have you added any new maneuvers to your bag of tricks?

CS: Yeah. I've been working the learning curve on what people are referring to as loops, but I tend to characterize them as barrel rolls. A loop for me means going straight over the top, and most of what is going on is a little bit off to the side.

RH: These maneuvers end up pretty much straight upside down?

CS: Yeah.

RH: Are positive G's maintained? Lines are tight over the top?

CS: Yeah.

RH: Most of the time? Some of the time?

CS: Well there are a few pilots who do them all very predictably, and consistently.

RH: Anybody else in this country doing that?

CS: Robbie Whittall, maybe Othar Lawrence.

RH: Robbie Whittall.

How about Europe?

CS: In Europe there are probably quite a few.

They are mostly doing them on special, small looping gliders. I like certified, stock equipment, however.

RH: How did you start building up to that?

CS: I almost exclusively practiced those maneuvers - roll reversal, out - of spiral - over water.

RH: Over water, with a chute.

CS: And a life jacket.

RH: Have you ever measured your speed when in a spiral? What is your entry velocity for these maneuvers?

CS: The loop doesn't come from an aggressive spiral necessarily.

RH: So high entry-speed is not necessary?

CS: No. My loops have largely come from

29

a series of aggressive wingovers and then maybe two consecutive circles, maybe just two and a half circles, and then roll reversal in the other direction.

RH: So roll reversal happens quickly enough that you end up pretty much over the glider and then, during the followthrough, you swing around?

CS: Right.

RH: Do you have this on film yet?

CS: I did some for the Extremist on ABC, but they didn't use it. But there is footage around.

RH: Is there potential for a Fly Hard Two or Fly Harder video?

CS: Yes, there are some embarrassing moments in Fly Hard and I have an appetite for redeeming myself.

RH: Oh really?What was one of the embarrassing moments?

CS: Well, I saw an opportunity to lay the meanest, most aggressive, what has been called "death spiral" ever, because of the presence of the water, so I went after an aggressive one hoping to skim my body across the water and have the wing tip drag considerably. I guess I didn't anticipate the water being so adhesive.

RH: So it was a little bit of a splashdown?

CS: It was, but it was in as controlled an environment as I could imagine. I have done a hundred death spirals and numerous people have seen them over the course of the years. You know, the wing tip touching the ground and my body skimming the ground.

Having had that experience during the making of Fly Hard I think it is safe to say that I lost my nerve when it comes to death spirals.

RH: You backed off?

CS: Yeah. I realized just how badly things can go wrong and just how much you can sort of misjudge. So now I prefer to do a more mild sort of spiral into a landing.

RH: Let's get back to flying techniques that you feel are important.

CS: I really want to talk about flying without cross restraints - reclining in your harness, crossing your legs at the ankles, not using big ears.

RH: Why not big ears? Big ears for glidepath control seems benign. So what is the big complaint about big ears?

CS: Yeah, they work for glide path control, but, my biggest beef is that some pilots who have had good enough training to have learned to feel both sides of the glider in a variety of types of turbulence, get to the most critical portion of the flight, landing, and in the face of being able to feel the glid-

30

er actively they pull the outside two A lines.

They're not feeling the brakes! The ears will prevent small collapses because the tips are already in, but they won't prevent the most dangerous and potentially threatening eventuality, which is larger than tip collapse.

Whereas, brake pressure (i.e., feeling both sides of the glider) will prevent even a full collapse. So I have seen a number of problems on that front and just have to recommend that, in general, anyone who has ever spent any time and has any experience feeling the glider move toward not using big ears. The only exception is when a very steep descent into a very restricted landing area is necessary. I don't think anyone can argue with the fact that this is the proper situation for big ears.

RH: In other words, the application of big ears can actually prevent the pilot from obtaining the proper feedback from his glider, and that the most important feedback from the glider is brake-line tension. If brake-line tension is decreasing rapidly then you should be adding brake pressure to maintain a fully inflated wing. With big ears, brake tension feedback is masked and the glider can't tell you what input it needs.

CS: Yeah.

RH: Consequently, pilots may be putting themselves at risk by desensitizing the input from the glider to the pilot?

CS: Right. It's just not sensible to grab your outside two A lines when you are close to the ground.

RH: So, if one were to use them as a method of descent control, at what altitude would you recommend that they be cleared?

CS: At least a hundred feet. I would say that we need to follow the example of successful World Cup pilots and professional pilots, and you will not see them using big ears - period.

I have spent years and years teaching at Point of the Mountain, and have seen numerous people blown back because at whatever point they thought they were being compromised, in terms of penetration or position, they applied big ears and it instantly made them start going backwards.

In other words, if you are borderline and are barely tracking forward over the ground, if you engage big ears you will go backwards.

RH: Your forward speed diminishes, your LID diminishes, and if you are in danger of being blown into the rotor you can ensure that by applying big ears at the wrong time?

CS: Right.

RH: So it is not an instant, safe fallback

position?

CS: Correct. People who don't need to use it as a crutch, and I would like to see that stopped. Turning l 80's and steep circles are both excellent means of descent. They can be used, plus the ground approach. You will never catch me doing big ears - never.

RH: Do you know how to do big ears?

CS: I can do the biggest ears in the land and do them quick. But I don't. They're not recommended.

RH: What is your opinion about B-line stalls?

CS: B-stalls should only be learned and practiced over water, at least for the first six to ten stalls. Once a pilot has six to ten under his belt he can keep it in his bag of tricks if he ever has trouble and needs a means of descent.

RH: Why is that?

CS: Despite what people may have heard, B-stalls have to be performed in a certain way in order to be predictable. They have to be exceptionally deliberate. The B-risers need to be pulled down quite far, but not so far that the glider starts to horseshoe, and the release needs to be absolutely deliberate.

Just the B-risers need to be released immediately and quickly so that the glider surges as much as needed to return to normal flight.

RH: How does one get into trouble with poor B-line stall technique?

CS: The normal scenario is B-stall to parachute, to negative, which can be a major handful for someone who has never had safety training. I know of a half-dozen accidents in the last year that can be attributed to that. One of my very first epics was a B-stall parachute to negative. Anyone who advocates slow release of the B-risers is spreading bad information.

RH: In other words, if the glider does stay in a parachutage mode after s-1-o-w-l-y releasing the B-lines, then it is very easy for the glider to drop into a spin (negative) from that position.

CS: Yes. In a maneuvers clinic the preface to doing a B-stall is learning how to do what I refer to as arcing the A's. The pilot flies with both hands behind the A-risers and "tweaks" them forward to lower the angle attack enough to bring the glider into normal flight from parachutage. This is a critical part of preparing for a first B-stall.

RH: During my first trip to France visiting the Edel R&D center, I had the pleasure of watching Robbie Whittal perform DHV maneuvers for several days. Watching him made the maneuvers seem almost mundane.

PARAGLIDING

At that point I had not performed any maneuvers myself. After one of Robbie's flights I found myself several thousand feet over a lake in a Super Space II and I had to do it. I tried my first B-line stalls. No problem. The glider just started flying again.

Then I did my first full frontal stalls by grabbing the A-lines and just jamming, pulling them down until all the inlets collapsed. Doing all this over the lake seemed exciting but reasonable. Later I performed my first B-line in a higher-performance glider half out from Marshall. When I released the B's I was just coming down! I knew that I had to perturb the glider somehow to get it flying again. So, your recommendation for getting out of a B-line stall is to push slightly forward on the A-lines, thereby increasing the trim speed?

CS: Yes. And you can bet that ifI ever do a B-stall close to the ground that my hands will immediately be behind the J\s, ready to tweak them forward if necessary.

RH: Is it possible to push hard enough to cause a full frontal collapse?

CS: You can't hardly get it to collapse. It's too hard to describe really- just don't try using brakes to fix parachutage as some people prescribe; it's the best way I know of to go negative.

RH: So, let's worst-case-scenario here. We have just slowly released our B-lines and we're stuck in parachutage. Now we have shifted our weight in the seat and applied brake on one side and have dropped into a negative spin. Now what?

CS: Hands up, absolutely. The only technique for recovering from a negative is to go hands up and let the glider do what it's certified to do - come back into normal flight.

Unfortunately, there is some information in print that is to the contrary. It bugs me. The very worst case scenario will be a surge to collapse, which in reality is "rebirth." The glider is coming back to life, and that's your clue that things are going well. When you watch the glider surge to collapse you should be quite happy because that means you're safe. And that's a best-case scenario.

RH: So, we are spinning to the left and the last thing you would want to do then is apply right steering toggle?

CS: Correct. There never has been and never will be any steering or weight shifting out of a spin. Absolutely no pilot input is the solution in that situation, until the glider comes into a configuration that looks familiar, like an asymmetric, in which case the pilot knows what to do.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

RH: So, as the glider recovers from the negative spin and is starting to surge forward, there is no reason not to control the surge at that point?

CS: Yeah. You know that mild surge control is appropriate, but I don't believe that the average pilot, after being in a negative spin, will necessarily be able to identify what mild surge dampening is.

RH: Right. So one needs to be cautious, because trying to stop the surge too soon can easily drop you right back into the negative and off you go again?

CS: Right.

RH: So the purpose of a clinic is to learn these maneuvers over a body of water with a dry reserve while under expert supervision.

What do you do in your maneuvers clinic when someone splashes in? Do they keep flying with a wet reserve?

CS: They get handed a dry reserve and glider so they can continue flying.

RH: Wow. That sure sounds like the right way to do it!

CS: So, the ultimate goal of a maneuvers clinic is that pilots learn what these different malfunctions look and feel like and how to recover from them, so that when they are out flying in a given piece of air and realize, for example, that this is the type of air in which they could experience a 70% asymmetric, they can picture what the recovery will be like, and if they happen to be dose to the ground they can move away from the terrain. Likewise, if they get the glider into a negative and happen to be in dose proximity to the ground, they will know that they are absolutely in a situation in which their reserve is the only option. They can identify conditions for what they are. At the very least they will be conscious of what kind of situation they are in.

RH: If there is an ultimate paraglider pilot's nightmare it would be having a big collapse, recovering from that, ending up in some kind of a negative spin with a bunch of line twists, and all of a sudden you are flying at the hill and can't steer. How do you deal with that?

CS: Suffice it to say that by going to a maneuvers clinic you can learn the various and many tricks that can get you out of situations like a riser twist, a stable spiral, a tip stuck, or a line-over. How does a pilot deal with riser twists? The answer is primarily that the glider doesn't care that the pilot is twisted up, it will respond to a brake input readily, and the pilot can have total positive directional control of the glider with numer-

1997

ous riser twists.

RH: Regardless of which direction he's pointed?

CS: Yes. For that reason, should the pilot take off and twist the wrong way, for example, the solution is not to untwist, but to simply steer the glider straight.

RH: So rule one still holds true, right?

CS: Yeah. Aviate.

RH: Yes, aviate. Pay attention to the direction that your device is flying and keep flying. In your maneuvers clinics you actually teach control of the glider with riser twists?

CS: It is largely a classroom exercise. But it is something that can be practiced and I have practiced it in maneuvers clinics. It just depends on the conditions, how much time we get, and a given pilot's experience level.

RH: Paraglider security has improved markedly over the past five years. Can you chronicle the changes that have taken place over this period, and what would you pay attention to with the current crop of gliders?

CS: The dangers used to be largely asymmetries, inadvertent negatives and stalls, but the areas that are now most potentially dangerous are different. Current gliders are so dynamic and responsive that the trouble areas are wingovers and spirals - spirals, because of the tremendous forces involved, wingovers, because energy can increase significantly over a short period of time. The days of problematic asymmetries are over; these gliders are fairly impervious to collapse and they resist stalls and negatives. It is refreshing on some fronts, but on other fronts the average pilot needs a tremendous amount of education.

RH: So what goes wrong in a wingover that turns it into a dangerous maneuver?

CS: The most common scenario for the average pilot is setting up an approach.

Throughout the entire flight all the turns have been mild in bank. While setting up an approach pilots are busier, and while making S-turns they begin to oscillate, and can let that oscillation progress to a wingover and collapse. Or they may simply oscillate and not give the glider enough time to fly straight and let the oscillation dampen out, and they just pendulum into the ground.

With all the various videos that are available pilots aspire to spiral. They believe a spiral is a maneuver that is just "performed" one day. In reality spirals are the most aggressive maneuver you can perform in a paraglider. They require that a student

Continued on page 34.

31

How Our Wings Work

Part I -

Airfoils And Collapses © 1997 by Dennis Pagen

aragliders are peculiar wings. They have no tail, no fuselage, no solid stmcture, and they live in a bag. But you know that. What you may not know is that a paraglider has many other features that make it unique in the world·of wings, and. so it has some special flying characteristics. The unique featui:es include anhedraled (bowed down) wing tips, pendulwn stability, a variable airfoil and drag brakes for control. Add this to the fact that a straight (non-swept) flying wing is a very unusual design and you get the point.

But this whole discussion is just a. science project unless it has som.e practical application. The real reason for learning about our wing's characteristics is so we can understand its behavior and better coax it to do our bidding. For example, Why does a paraglider deep stall? What is a reverse spin and how do we prevent lt? Answering these questions atid more is.the quest of this .two-part series.

The first thing we must do is establish some of the basics of how our wings work We begin with the. nature ofa standard airfoiYs reaction to the air, then tailor our information to paraglider specifics.

cubic foot at sea level. This results in the air pressing down on us on all sides with a force of about 14.7 pounds per square inch at sea level. We call this force static pressure.

What we feel as static pressure is simply the weight of the air, and this weight pushes on all sides because the air is fluid and transmits pressure just as water does. But there's another type of pressure that's important. We call it dynamic pressure because it involves air moving against a solid. The standard hand-out-of-the~carwindow demonstration readily lets you feel the· power ofdynamic pressun;. The force of dynamic pressure is easily understood as the result of air molecules moving along .and bashing into the solid obJectin their way, and thus transmitting a force due to their momentum.

Armed with our knowledge of the two · types of pressui:e, let's attack.the airfoil idea.

When a solki moves through ,the air .it parts the air $0 flow occurs all .around the solid.

This flow may be smooth or turbulent. An airfoil is a gently contouted shape which allows the air to flow qy it in a smooth fash~ ion as Figure l shows. Ifwe tilt this airfoil up at the front, we give it an angle of attack and it distons the flow as shown in the fig. ure; AWINGANBTHEAIR ·Air ruts rha8$}and welght. It isn't as hefty itS There are several things to notice in this other fluids such as water, but:it does.weigh flow around an airfoil;. Firsti some of the air about.076poundsor 1.22ounces.per that originallywas in a position: to pass ·. below ·the airlbil actually gets pushed over the. top as streamline A~A-A shows.

This feature is .caused by the air in front ofthe airfoil reacting to .the. air nearer the airfoil which is being pushed outofthe.way, much like the bow wave of a ship. You can readHy see a demonstration of this aspect of fluid flow by shaping your ha11d like an airfoil and running it along the surface of your bath water

Figure 1: Flow around an airfoil.

32

(make sure the water is used so plenty of scum shows the flow dearly); The result of this flow distortion is much more air and thus faster flow passes over the top of the airfoil than below. Also notice how this upper flow is more curved than that below the airfoil. Hnally, check out the streamline that ends at the nose of the airfoil labeled B. This is called the stag1 nation point, and at this point the airflow is brought to .zero at the airfoil's surface.

Thus, the airfoil experiences maximum pressure at this point because it feels the static pressure plus the dynamic pressure of the air molecules slamming into it. This point will have great signifkance when, we look at a paraglider wing,

AIRFOIL FORCES Now let's talk about the rest ofthe forces on the airfoil. Figure 2 shows all the little forces. along the surface represented by arrows. These forces are caused by the airfoil surface deflecting the flow or curving away from the flow. You may haire heard along the way that "every action causesan equal and opposite reaction" from some guy named Newton. Welk it turns out he was i;ight. For.every air molecule the airfoil <ieflects, a fo~ce is irnparted on the airfoil · equal to the deflection force, It doesn't matter if the deflection. is a pushing down by the bottom surface or itpullingdown by the top surface, the result is the .same ~ little forces all over the .airfoil surface.

We have. drawn the general shape a.nd direction of&efoi;ceso1.1 the figure. Note . thanhey are larger: at the front ofthe air~ foH and of gi:eatet size on the tpp swface.

The reason for this is that there is greater . curvature onthe ffunt anc.itopso;the deflection is greater. Also, the faster airflow over the top results in greater deflection . forces. We can add all these,little forces U:p to. get one big total force a$ ,shown in Figure. 2. Notke that thi$ force is located toward the front ofthe. a:irfoilwhich·make~ sense, because that's where the la.rgesdittfo individual forces reside.

Finally, to complete the picture we can divide the total force into two com~ ponents: By definition, lift equals alhhe component of the force directed perpen~ dicular to flight, and drag equals the component of force parallel to the flight. direction. This separation is shown in Figure 3. Here we have drawn lift six times. the size of drag which indicates PARAGLIDING

Total upward force Total force

Individual forces felt at each point

o?

Figure 2: Forces on an airfoil.

Figure 3: Lift and drag on an airfoil

that the LID (lift to drag ratio) is si:x:.

By looking at the progression in Figures 1 to 3 we can see that lift and drag are really the same thing except for their orientation.

In Figure 1 (top), with the flow perfectly head-on to the airfoil, the forces perpendicular to the airflow above and below the airfoil will cancel each other, so only parallel drag forces will be felt. In Figure 2 we can see that each little force has a .component of drag and lift. (In fact, some of the forces on top up front actually have components of thrust that help offset some of the drag.)

Included in these little force representations is also the skin friction of the airfoil's surface which adds to drag,

of the outside air is transferred to that of the inside air in the form of pressure. The dynamic pressure becomes an additional static pressure inside the canopy as shown.

This increase in pressure is on the order of 0.6 pounds per square foot, an4thar1s enough to keep the canopy inflated.

The question is often asked; Why not open up the rear of a paraglider like aWind sock so the air can flow through it? It should be dear that if this were done,· the internal pressure wouldn't exist and the canopy would have a hard time maintaining its shape. In addition, we would now have two very thin airfoils (the top and the bottom surface) which wo11ld n:ot be very efficient because they disturb the desired airflow around each other. (For this reason a monowing airplane is more efficient than a biplane.) Ifyou think about a windsock you'll realize that it takes a good bit of wind to make it stand out rigid. You can get an even better object lesson concerning the necessity of dosing the back of a canopy by pulling a plastic shopping bag through the air and watching it bulge outin a stable form due to dynamic pressure. Now cut out its bottom and repeat the process. It flutters and will not hold any particular shape.

PARAGLIDER AIRFOILS It doesn't take a rocket scientist to notice that our paraglider wings don't have solid, unbroken airfoils like those in the previous figures. In fact, some paraglider surfaces are somewhat wrinkled, and how about that gaping hole up front?

Figure 4 shows a paraglider airfoil and the flow around it. We see a similar flow to that of Figure 1. That's because dose to the wing's surfac:e the air isn't moving much anyway (this is called the boundary layer and itworl<:s much like the wind gradient close to the earth's surface) so small imperfections don't matter.

Now look closely at the point that was the stagnadon point in our previous conventional airfoil. In a paraglider, this is the point that is opened so the air can flow inside. Actually, in steady flight there is no flow, for the air from outside runs smack into the air that's already there and stops, just as it does when it meets a solid surface.

The only difference is that the momentum SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

smaller was a benefit since it reduced drag while at the same time reducing the chance of pressure leakage during extreme changes in the direction of the incoming air. As a result, we ·have canopies that are more collapse resistant, or conversely can be made with higher performance (wider span and less chord) with. the same collapse resistance.

A collapse occurs for two reasons: First, the dynamic pressure in the canopy is lost due to the airflow outsi.de the wing being altered so much that the air no longer flows toward the canopy opening. This can happen during certain maneuvers such as a canopy surge or as the result of a gust. The second reason is a massive swirl of turbulence slashing at the wing. The second occurrence is similar to a hang glider sail going negative. Generally, both of these things happen at once in severe turbulence.

We are helped by the canopy design in preventing collapses. First, the mass of air inside the canopy has inertia, and this must bl.! displaced somewhat for a canopy to collapse _:... we have to literally knock the wind out ofit. We can calculate this mass if we know the volume, and this turns out to be from three to five pounds, depending on the paraglider species. That doesn't sound like a lot, but this volume of air is also pre~ vettted from escaping en mass by the ribs which are only partially opened for transmission of pressure. Finally, the arched shape of the canopy in flight causes the outboard areas of the wing to pull somewhat outward to keep the tips from folding in as Figure 5 shows.

Before we conclude we should mention the defense against collapses. From your training you know that holding some brake pressure is the b.est way to prevent a collapse. This would seem contrary to what we have discussed here, since this will slow you down which reduces dynamic pressure.

That is true, but adding some brake control makes the brake area act like flaps on an air-

COLLAPSES One of the secrets of modern paraglider design is locating the canopy openings or pressure holes at the perfect point to attain maximum pressure inside the canopy.

In fact, making the holes

1997

Figure 4: Airflow around a paraglider airfoil.

33

Outboard lilting forces pull the

lowering the angle of attack a bit to increase dynamic pressure, plus the addition of brakes, would seem the best collapse defense. However, increased speed also increases the sharpness of the gusts - just like going fast in waves on water increases their impact force. With a paraglider, a more abrupt gust impact will warp the wing more, so the benefit of added speed is questionable.

Llfllng forces

canopy apart.

Figure 5: Outwardforces on a paraglider. plane; they increase the load on the braked area of the canopy which is outboard.

Redistributing the load on the canopy outboard helps hold the tips more firm and thus helps prevent collapses (see Figure 5).

For gliders equipped with a speed stirrup,

This completes the first step in our exploration of our unique wings' singular behavior. Next month we'll look at the various kinds of stalls and spins. Until then, fly safely by developing more awareness of how that breathing wing above your head is working.

If readers have any questions concerning these or other aerodynamic matters pertaining to paragliders, please write the author c/o this magazine. We will publish a discussion of those items of general interest. II!

SkpSport.

Hcng"r 11 Linden lllrport Linden, NlliJtJ~an USR 4B4S 1

iii ~:::,

embark on a learning curve that could take upwards of a couple of years, and they are difficult to enter and to exit smoothly. In general spirals take a couple of turns to enter and a couple of turns to exit, and the average pilot can get himself in trouble because he may enter or exit too abruptly, which can result in a surge to collapse, or he may get the glider into an aggressive spiral and not leave sufficient altitude for recovery.

RH: Are there any modern gliders that want to stabilize in a spiral?

CS: Yes, there are a number of them, and I would say that gliders that exit spirals exceptionally quickly are the exception rather than the rule. It would be safe to generalize and say that the current crop of intermediate gliders take more time to exit a spiral than the gliders of three or four years ago.

RH: You commented earlier that you have a sure-fire technique for identifying an upcoming crash.

CS: Yes. I've been the victim of several crashes, and have seen a ton over the years, and there is one common theme in every crash. That is that the pilot is complacent; he is euphoric or elated which is manifested by yahooing or giggling.

RH: Euphoria-induced Murphyism?

CS: Truly, truly. I would argue that there is plenty of time for giggling and yahooing, and that is after you have unhooked from your glider. If you ever catch yourself giggling or yahooing, whether in the mildest conditions or when scratching in thermal conditions over a pile of rocks, it is a recipe for disaster.

RH: So there is a minimum altitude for this type of enjoyment?

CS: No. I would say the maximum altitude is on the ground! II

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NINE-INCH NAILS

A New U.S. Paragliding Cross-Country Record

What you can do with seven hours?Well you could see three movies, fly

across the Atlantic in a jet, drivefro m LA to San Francisco, or fly 138 miles

from Horseshoe Meadows, California to Luning, Nevada on a paraglider.

The in-flight movie is engaging, but the turbulence can be severe.

As of]une 24, 1997, the official FAI U.S . paragliding record was still held by Greg Smith: 65 miles, set on an Edel Space in the early 1990's in the Owens Valley.

The unofficial record was set by Tom Truax in '94, 124 miles, also in the Owens Valley, on an Edel Rainbow.

In early May I went to the Owens to see if very long X-C flights were possible or sensible, given the infamous reputation the conditions in the Owens have earned. On that trip, Othar Lawrence, Josh Cohn and I made several SO-mile flights, but it was obvious we barely tapped the potential of the place. The early-season air seemed reasonable, and after researching Chelan, Hobbs, Rock Springs and several other sites, I was convinced that the Owens was the place to try for a U.S. distance record.

Unfortunately, most of the gliding world didn't agree with me. Robbie Whittal wished me luck, but said that he'd flown his hang glider there enough to feel that it wasn't all that paraglider friendly. Kari Castle was also supportive, but said that she didn't even enjoy flying her hang glider there in full conditions after getting tumbled over the Whites several years ago.

Reassured (not!), I planned a second trip for late June/early July.

Light winds on launch are essential for paragliding; several sites in the U.S. offer record X-C potential, but they face west and are almost always blown out on the really good days, at least for paragliders.

The Owens is unique in that the launch is on the eastern side of the Sierras, which

36

generally means light east winds in the morning, but after the first 60 miles the usual flight path is to cross the broad Owens Valley and fly the west-facing White Mountains as the prevailing westerlies overpower the light easterlies in the early afternoon. After the Whites, pilots head north into the Nevada hills. Hang glider pilots have been flying this route for almost 20 years, and modern paragliders have superior performance to the old hang gliders. I was convinced that 100+ mile flights were very achievable, but so was a fast reserve ride if conditions were simply too strong.

In late June I returned to the Owens

with my wife, Susy Gadd. I'd planned to also meet Penguin there, but he had a hard landing and was incarcerated in the hospital Intensive Care Unit, or I'm sure he would have been there. Hopefully he'll come next time and meet his goal of a 100-K Lilienthal Award.

On our May trip to the Owens, Walt's Point, the classic hang gliding launch, was still snowed in, so we mainly flew on the west side of the valley at Flynn's and Paiute.

On June 24, after a 16-hour push from Colorado, I was finally standing in front of a sign that read, "Walt's Point Hang Gliding/Paragliding Launch." I don't know who decided that Walt's was a reasonable paraglider launch, but it wasn't anyone who had ever flown a paraglider. The options are to inflate in the rotor in the parking lot, then run off the edge, or stand on a 45-degree road-debris slope and inflate with your lines hopefully not snagged on any large boulders, bushes or some other piece of thorny desert stuff That afternoon the wind was blowing in nicely, but I was tired from driving so we all went for a walk instead of flying.

The next morning the winds were predicted to be light from the south all the way through 18,000 feet, so we all made the drive again. Aimee Ryan, the launch monitor, didn't look too impressed when I said I was there to fly my paraglider, but was helpful as I filled out all the paperwork and paid my $15 to chuck off a launch that was definitely worse than most of the surrounding hillsides from a paragliding per-

P AR AGL ID ING

spective. However, I'd come to possibly set the U.S. distance record, so I didn't want any problems with the legality of my launch. I quietly asked Aimee to be my official launch observer as I went through all the paperwork for FAI record attempts.

The hangs on launch were interested, if skeptical, as I laid out my wing and checked the lines, but the hang team of Scott and Dawn offered advice and to share their frequency. I was more than a little spooked to finally fly the Owens in full conditions, so I was anxious to simply get off the hill and find out how many sharks were swimming in the thermals.

The cycles were perfect, and the first two hangs off the hill climbed out smoothly. There was no good reason to delay any longer; Wale's faces east, so you can never be sure, no matter what the predictions, that the prevailing westerlies won't come roaring down the east side of the Sierras.

I've been trashed in the lee of the Rockies, my home mountain range, often enough to know that getting high early is key.

Finally I told Aimee that I was ready to launch, and she put her two small children in her truck with the comment that she didn't want them to watch if I augured in while launching.

Fortunately, everything worked out well thanks to several hang pilots holding my wing up to catch air, and I enjoyed a rowdy but solid climb-out in a light south wind.

Two of the hangs were soon below me, with two more starting glides north along the Sierras toward Bishop. Figuring that I'd use them as thermal markers until they were out of sight, I hit about 12,000' and went on glide over the first bowl north of launch. Unfortunately, the hangs soon sunk out, and I wouldn't see another glider in the air for about 50 miles. I flew straight to the first major spine north and had a dreamy climb to about 16,000 feet, looking down the length of the Sierras past 14,400-foot Mount Whitney.

The air was extremely powerful, and at times disorganized. I didn't take a photo or let go of the brakes for the first 50 miles.

Flying in powerful air isn't so much about recovering from big whacks, but simply preventing them in the first place - a dance of weight shift, brake, pump before the wing deflates, repeat. I fly with no cross straps and a very loose harness to help keep my wing pressurized; as soon as a side starts to go light, it's key to weight shift onto it, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

Preparing to launch at Horseshoe Meadows in California's Owens Valley. something even loose scraps may prevent.

Several rimes I hit thermals so violent that the only viable option was to thermal or be thermal ed.

The flying soon became a familiar large-valley pattern: Climb our over a spine/ridge, glide across a drainage, climb, repeat. I was extremely careful to always leave ar least 500 feet of good clearance between me and the outrageous rocky spines lurking below, as I had no desire to get trashed low over extremely inhospitable terrain. With the increasing south wind it would also have been easy to make a small error and find myself getting rorored deep into a canyon with more than the Sector's 9: 1 glide out to a safe LZ. The terrain on the eastern side of the Sierras is absolutely the most convoluted, rocky, radical terrain I've ever thermaled over. While thrilling, I found it somewhat hwnbling. My harness was laden with a good first-aid kit, food for several days, signal flares and other safety equipment, bur I had no desire to use any of it.

The best climb in the first two hours took place just north of the Whitney Portal, a road that ascends most of Mount Whitney. I'd done a long glide, skipped a spine and gotten down to about 9,000', nor that high for the Owens. In front of me was a barren, rocky ridge that might as well have been stamped with "THERMAL HERE" in 40-foot day-glo letters, so I headed in. About 500 lateral feet from the spine I heard a sound like a jet engine winding up, then my wing surged ahead to

1997

about 45 degrees before yanking me forward like I was on the end of a rubber band. The sound of the rushing air almost completely muted my vario, bur it was obvious from the intense G-force that I was going up fast as hell. My left wing started to not so much collapse as just thrash randomly, so I leaned hard right and went up on the fastest elevator ride of my career - I couldn't really picture falling off the far side of this train. The Owens does indeed have strong air.

My Ball vario/barograph, integrated with a GPS and airspeed indicator, was soon indicating glides of 25: 1 as I flew with the wind, but my ground speed started to exceed 50. My Edel Sector goes at about 25 at trim, which meant that suddenly the predicted light south winds were really picking up. My final Sierras climb rook me very rapidly from about 11,000' to 17,000', but I had to leave the climb to avoid going above the FM ceiling of 18,000 feet. I'd decided not to fly with oxygen as I'm generally well-acclimated to 14,000+ feet, but, probably due to the stress of flying in the Owens, my mental juice was severely limited. My hypoxic mind started playing full-color movies of what a 35-mph wind would do to my wing in a canyon rotor, so I flew out to join the dust devils; in the middle of the valley, high winds wouldn't be a problem, as I could land easily even if I were being blown backwards. It wouldn't be fun, but it would be survivable.

AB I descended toward the small cinder

37

cones in the valley I was thinking it would be difficult to stay up, but that my first flight in the Owens showed that flying was reasonable for a paraglider pilot experienced in flying very strong thermal conditions. Looking back up the valley I could see two hangs already on the dirt, but my radio had, as usual, died, so I didn't know where Scott or my wife were.

Strangely, the south wind dropped to about 15 in the middle of the valley, so I

38

hooked a light 200 up and went circling down the valley at about 6,000 feet, maybe 2,000' AGL. After 10 miles of drifting and slow climbing I was back up to about 10,000' in the middle of the valley. From my flights earlier in the year I knew the fan in front of Black Mountain, the first mountain in the west-facing White Mountain chain, worked well, so I glided over to it, arriving at maybe 500' AGL. Sure enough, right over the remnants of an

old quarry I found a nasty little dustie, swirling the usual collection of loose desert debris, which took me back to 10,000'.

However, the lift soon went to pieces, and I found myself battling an aberrant east wind with no north drift - exactly the opposite of what I expected or wanted to cover serious distance.

As I bounced between 6,000' and 8,000' over the massive satellite antennas of"Big Ears," Scott finally showed up on his hang. Knowing that Dawn and my wife were chasing, and due to the mellower air, I dug my spare batteries out of the back of my harness (not something I'd recommend, especially in turbulent air), and did a mid-air juggling act with my radio and a fresh set of four alkaline batteries. I took my biggest collapse of the trip when I took a hard surge with both brakes in one hand. I caught it, but lost a bit of the wing, oscillated, lost more of the wing, repeat, spin, okay, guess I'll put the batteries and shell under my butt, get a brake in each hand ... The whole experience was pretty silly, and it definitely lightened up my mood.

Soon I could talk with Scott and Dawn, but Scott slowly sunk out by the antennas and once again I was on my own.

I'd really planned to basically chase hangs along the range, but they seemed strongly attracted to the dirt, which bummed me out. It's lonely up there.

Dawn relayed to my wife that all was well; for some reason she could reach Susy on her base radio while I couldn't. I spent almost two hours groveling along between Black Mountain and Bishop, which I

PARAGLIDING

thought ruined my schedule for any serious distance efforts. However, the air was choppy but reasonable, which allowed me to drink some Surge, eat some Circus Peanuts and generally get my head back together at a lower altitude. I find my psychological state is much more important than the conditions; if I'm psyched, I feel like I can climb out in a gopher puff and that rowdy air is fun; if I'm cold, tired and hypoxic, terror and despair set in and I'm soon on the ground. I'd already been in the air almost four hours, so the food and liquids I'd planned with in-flight dining in mind were essential to keep my psyche up.

Finally, just north of Bishop, the air turned back on and I was soon looking over the tops of the White Mountains and out into the Nevada desert from about 16,500 feet. The air was very powerful with climbs consistently over 1,000 fpm, and the south wind was starting to turn back on, giving me ground speeds up into the 35-40 range, about where I wanted them for safe but fast flying. I opted to stay above the spines in front of the Whites rather than commit to the very top of the White Mountains, where the best cloud development was. I was concerned that the wind might increase, and the climbs out front were working just fine, so I opted for perhaps a slower but definitely safer route.

I'd seen no hangs since Black and never shared a thermal with even a bird, so I was starting to feel slightly alone. Paranoia almost set in; maybe the hangs had gone and landed for a reason, maybe massive gust fronts were ripping the satellite antennas from the ground like leaves ...

But conditions were ON, and nothing overcomes doubt like consistent, strong thermal climbs. I finally committed to the Whites just short of Boundary Peak, and had to stuff the speed bar and pull one of my three A-lines in to stay below 18,000 feet. Strangely, the altitude wasn't hammering me as badly. I had good glider control, and the air at 17,500' was definitely warmer than it had been earlier. Looking at the map on my flight deck, I intelligently and with careful thought made the biggest error of my flight. Perhaps I was a bit short on oxygen after all.

Because my previous flights over the Whites had all been at low altitude, I failed to see the proper turnoff to head north after Montgomery Pass. By the time I'd figured out exactly where the road was, I was SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

REPLECTIONS,ON THE FLIGHT

I

~

:c~,r;t~.a!!:ta~;;v.~o·b·l:.t1·•;r·b···:.:yth.,helll·Q····~.:.u.•.".'·s···t·l.;.···]·:·O.•. . en. ; :.'.~·a···e."·.vet·n·.o·t·h·r.ok·ar··h··. agij·a· · M· · .e·:·d·.b·e.·.:. ~.··.(fn. ·.• destroyed there.) It's strong and windy, and h.wextremely coro:plex:met~o~ology. l have more than 600 ho.urs ofllyingall OV(r the WO.dq, bud .didrit fly 1tlqJ.'.C:tp.an20 miles on any of the other eight d.ays I was in the Owens; there was si~plytQO mu¢h wind from the west or other directions.One>morninglflew £r9m Walt'switl,i a strong west wind aloft, and conditions were ainong the n~tiest J've eve11.expe~iem:ed~ l woJl't do that again. Tom Truax, who h~ld the old recot([~ hitthe'ground hard off~orseshoe a few weeks after my flight, and he's. a solid pifot. r:he Owens has daµined 0big:feeth, · I flew an Edel Sector on my,record at~e11tpt:lchqpse t<iflya perh~p$lessff<:1r~ivitjg but very high-speed competition wing.prillUU'ily he¢ause, instrong co11diciom, speed, ;is safety. I didn't want to get pinned on a ridge beea~e lwas flying.aslovvwing. .. .· However, with the right day, a good lntermediategtidersuch as a Saber or.Cµlt coµld easily make the flight I dkt. The SectorW;l,S e;cell¢ntforspeedingthrough.the;regulaf 1,500-fpm sink patches that COUJdlast tv\TO Or three i:rtinutes,.anq l:Cn:liitl1¢dstablewith l.·.

alotofspeedon. . . .·. ·. >. i> .. · ·.•.• .·..·.·•·.·. ·· ... ·.·•·.· · ................ 'y ,> I flew with far more .safety:gear th~Jn~tf\ltlr491 bud thinkit's pr~tty ltn4<:l{ mandatory for serious Oweµsflying. Itwouldpequ.ite p<;>s~ible.t~Jan<.i'QJMYiiOmiie/i. but a very, very long walk aVl(ay front help on a n~ty:ridgeor in µie'botto"1·~fsoflle' Dante-inspired canyon hole.. Cell coverage is sporaqic at best along .the roads in the area.

The mountain biking, dim.bing1 hjking and general recreation oppornini,ties in die Owens are awesome, even in the summer heat. I tried to fly in the Owens tor eight days but only had one good day, the flm.}soot1. came to view thi;: trip as m~re,of a vacation with flying as an addition, ram,er th~ a flying tl'ip; . . .:.

I can't help but think 200miles wotJl4J,ey~ryposslble ontherigh~qa*1~ n1ade:a couple of tactical errors because l wasn't {ilmili,3;rwiththear~a, errord:think;c~~tlµe;ar least two hours or 40 miles. I'll be back, but with oxygen.and a better understanding•· of the area!

I

•

'

•

too far east and low behind Boundary Peak. The air was extremely turbulent but with no lift - classic lee-side rotor.

Meanwhile, a beautiful cloud street had formed from the top of Boundary Peak straight north toward Mina and Luning, where I wanted to be. However, I was now picking out LZ's instead of boating effortlessly along beneath it. Still, I'd flown 100 miles, not bad for my first flight from Walt's.

For the next hour I chased dusties, birds and sun behind Boundary Peak, while a light north wind kept me from gliding very far north, the direction I really wanted to keep racking up miles in. Eventually I worked my way over the road to Tonopah, but with less than 2,000 feet of altitude to play with, and I was midway between the only two roads north. However, to the

1997

•

- -

' •

north of me was a small peak in the middle of nowhere with a little puffy cloud cycling over it. In one of those "what the hell, it has to work" decisions, I glided into the peak very, very low; if l went down I'd be at least 10 miles from a road at 6:00 in the evening.

A glide across the sunny but lee side of the peak produced nothing but more altitude loss. Desperate and just kicking myself for getting low in what I'd started thinking of as the Bermuda Triangle, I circled in zero lift and used every Lookout Mountain light-air trick I could think of, but slowly sank farther below the peak and deeper into one of the canyons I'd sworn I would not land in. The cloud street less than five miles to my west taunted me from 19,000 feet while I dove and rollercoasted down into the canyon's still

39

evening air. Not only did the cloud street torture me mentally, it was shading all but a few small patches of slope in my area. I cursed myself for blowing a prime opportunity to break the U.S. record, and now I was going to have to walk out of a rattlesnake-infested hell canyon even if I could land safely in the monster boulders and thorny shrubbery. I couldn't imagine being here in a hang glider; landing and walking out was a barely survivable option with a paraglider. The north wind put all the sunny slopes in a mild lee, but I'd flown lee a lot and knew it was my only chance to escape the Bermuda triangle.

At less than 500' AGL I saw a hawk climbing out above a sun patch in a small, rocky bowl ringed with yellow granite spikes. Time to climb or stack the wing.

The hawk eyed me with his beady eyes as I joined him at maybe 300' AGL, but the best thermal pilots on the planet are seldom wrong, and soon I was circling out of hell.

At 2,000 feet AGL the hawk tired of my company and left as the lift slowed to 300 fpm, but there was no way I was going to leave my thermal until I had enough altitude to glide out of the triangle. Amazingly,

the thermal kept me climbing straight up to 16,000 feet! Shivering and laughing, I was soon on glide over the spot I'd marked on my map as Tom Truax:'s record. Light but acres-wide areas of lift kept me up around 12,000 feet, where I let the trim out and glided over Mina toward Luning.

I'd been in the air almost seven hours, and the day was definitely ending. Only a few miles short of Luning I snapped some aerial photos to document my landing area, then glided along over the highway.

Picking a gap in traffic next to a nice dirt area I made a perfect landing in the still evening air. Actually, I rolled down the road embankment after my useless legs failed to work. A quick look at my GPS confirmed almost 140 miles, at least a dozen miles farther than the old record, which sent me into a demented giggling fit amidst the broken glass and debris of the ditch.

"Hey, are you okay?" I was shocked back into reality by a passing motorist who had seen me land. Captain Jim Williams, a retired military pilot, was more than willing to sign my FAI witness forms and give me a lift to the Mina Club where I left

messages for my wife (she hadn't seen me since Boundary Peak and her radio wasn't working), and enjoyed the bar's hospitality.

Thanks very much to Jim Williams for the ride and ensuing entertainment at the bar.

The flight was a little more than 138 miles, and if all my paperwork is in order I'll have the new FAI official record for the U.S. While that's a plus, my best memories are of chasing a bird out of the middle of nowhere in the Bermuda triangle and looking down the length of the Sierras from 16,000 feet. Life is good.

Will Gadd will be teaching thermal!X-C clinics in Mexico this winter with Granger Banks. The groups will be small and you can expect good fan in great conditions. The first session will take place January 18-25, 1998, and the second will run ftom January 25 to February 1. The $900 fee buys transportation, hotel accommodations, guide service and more air than any sane man can fly in a week. See "Calendar ofEvents" in this issue.

Contact: Parasoft Paragliding School 4445 Hastings Dr., Boulder, CO 80303-6614 (303) 494-2820, parasoft@csd.net. Ill

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Continued ftom page 26.

1997 TOP 30 SCHOOL/CLUB LEADERS IN BEGINNER (PARA 1) RATINGS ISSUED RANK SCHOOL ........................................... BEGINNER 1 Dixon's Airplay Paragliding ....................................... 53 2 East Coast Paragliding ............................................... 32 3 Cloud 9 PG .............................................................. 14 3 Hill Country Paragliding .......................................... 14 5 Glidell ....................................................................... 13 6 HG/PG School of Oregon ........................................ 12 7 Surf the Sky .............................................................. 10 8 Adventure Sports ......................................................... 9 8 Southern Skies PG ...................................................... 9 10 High Adventure .......................................................... 8 10 Monterey Bay Paragliding ........................................... 8 10 Morningside Flight Park ............................................. 8 10 U.S. Airborne .............................................................. 8 14 Altus PG ..................................................................... 7 14 Fly Away Paragliding ................................................... 7 14 Flying Dreams PG ...................................................... 7 14 Over the Hill Paragliding ............................................ 7 14 Two Can Fly ............................................................... 7 19 Airtime of San Francisco ............................................. 6 19 Aspen Paragliding ....................................................... 6 19 Chandelle .................................................................... 6 19 Chirico's Fright School ............................................... 6 19 GMI Paragliding ......................................................... 6 19 Traverse Ciry PG ........................................................ 6 19 Vail Valley PG ............................................................ 6 19 West Coast PG ........................................................... 6 27 Ajax PG ..................................................................... .5 27 Big Sky Paragliding ..................................................... 5 27 HG/PG Emporium ..................................................... 5 27 ProFlyght Hawaii ........................................................ 5 27 Skyn4hi PG ................................................................ 5

42

14 14 14 14 14 19 19 19 19 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23

Airtek Paragliding ....................................................... 8 Fly Away Paragliding ................................................... 8 Monterey Bay Paragliding ........................................... 8 Parasoft ....................................................................... 8 Sky Sports ................................................................... 8 Airjunkies .................................................................... 7 Altus PG ..................................................................... 7 Flying Dreams PG ...................................................... 7 High Adventure .......................................................... 7 Airtime of San Francisco ............................................. 6 Big Sky Paragliding ..................................................... 6 Chandelle .................................................................... 6 Chirico's Fright School ............................................... 6 GMI Paragliding ......................................................... 6 Hill Country PG ......................................................... 6 Skyn4hi PG ................................................................ 6 Surf the Sky ................................................................ 6 U.S. Airborne .............................................................. 6

Rankings were compiled.from ratings published in the January/February to September/October 1997 issues of Paragliding magazine.

DIXON'S Ill

I

PAIRAGUDING SCHOOL ANID FLIGHT PARK

1997 TOP 30 SCHOOL/CLUB LEADERS IN NOVICE (PARA 2) RATINGS ISSUED

MOUNTAIN THERMAL XC TOURS

RANK SCHOOL ................................................. NOVJCE 1 Dixon's Airplay Paragliding...................................... .47 2 East Coast Paragliding .............................................. .42 3 Cloud 9 Paragliding .................................................. 20 4 The Soaring Center ................................................... 15 5 HG/PG School of Oregon ........................................ 14 6 Glidell ....................................................................... 12 6 Two Can Fly ............................................................. 12 8 Aspen Paragliding ..................................................... 11 8 North American Paragliding ..................................... 11 8 Proflyght Hawaii ....................................................... 11 8 West Coast PG ......................................................... 11 12 Alaska Paragliding ....................................................... 9 12 Parafly ......................................................................... 9

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ounting the kid there are four of us on launch " looking out over Iguala, 3,000 feet below toward Oaxaca. The wind blows steadily at five to eight knots out of rhe sourh, rhen cycles up to twelve, switches to west for a minute, then comes back down and sourh

fellows comments on how good it looks, saying, "It's going to be epic you guys. Epic!"

The kid squints through the bright sun, then drops wrap-around raybands off her forehead and down over her eyes, then shades part of her face by holding a hand up against rhe glare. The wind coming up rhe valley is hot with an edge to it, cycles less than a minute apart. "Be flexible you guys!

Mid-day can be gnarly here," the kid says.

Gnarly is a San Diego surfer word, and rhough we are nowhere near the beach and a rhousand miles sourh of San Diego, gnarly sounds natural enough coming from rhis kid who isn't really a kid at all. She's our guide, Mary Anne Karren, a sun-bleached blond with sky-blue eyes, 22 years old, and until recently has been living in San Diego where she's been teaching paragliding. When she originally went to San Diego for the UP Soaring Center from the Point ofThe Mountain in Utah, she was only supposed to be going for a few weeks to check out the Torrey Pines glider port for her boss. She says she was "just a grunt doing recon." By rhe time she finally did leave Torrey Pines just a few months ago to help run the Airplay paragliding school in eastern Washington, she had been instructing old folks like the three of us on this launch site at Iguala for more rhan rhree years.

"It's going to get big today, guys," she says,

44

"R-E-A-L-L-Y big," she says again, stretching out the word to make her point. Her point is rhat she is concerned for our safety and isn't sure yet what all we don't know. It's our first day here and we've never flown with Mary Anne before. She says this is one of the tough things about guiding experienced pilots: You don't know what they don't know. New students don't know anything at all, so in a sense it's more straightforward.

It's easy to see that Mary Anne feels in some vaguely defined way responsible for our safety. She's more than just a guide, and it would be foolish not to utilize this toprated American comp pilot's instructional expertise. She will stop whatever it is she's saying if one of rhe men insists on talking himself instead of listening to her. That would be a mistake in most cases, so we learn quickly to give Mary Anne plenty of room so she can do her work.

All three men standing on rhis mid-winter Mexican launch site are a good deal older rhan our guide, the youngest of us at least twice her age, two of us with daughters older than she is. I'm a retired police officer from Southern California spending most of my winters skiing and snowboarding on Mount Hood in Oregon; Dave is a doctor from Sarasota, Florida and Dick is a jet-engine mechanic from Seattle. Between the three of us we have a total of a little over 100 hours

flying paragliders.

Mary Anne is a Utah farm girl turned parttime paraglider comp pilot, part-time guide and full-time instructor, who hasn't been as diligent as she should at keeping up her log book ever since she passed the 500-hour mark.

Averaging 100 hours a year for five years running suggests to us that Mary Anne is pretty serious about paragliding. She started flying paragliders at rhe Point of the Mountain when she was 17, and with the passion of her youth jumped in with borh feet, those feet only coming down to earth long enough to eat, sleep and get ready for the next flight. Her first instructor was Chris Santacroce who was equally enthusiastic about flying and not much older than she.

Chris Santacroce is a good friend of mine and I can see his influence, not just in Mary Anne's flying but in her total approach to it: preparation, safety considerations, and most of all feeling.

Mary Anne, like Chris, stresses just how important it is to always be feeling rhe air, or feeling the glider, or to be aware of your own overall feelings as you start out on each flight.

The policeman in me wants to know if she isn't really talking about an "attitude."

She says you can call it what you want, but to take care not to over-intellectualize rhis.

"Feelings come before thinking," she says, then she adds, "Flying is a lot like skiing or snowboarding; if you are thinking too much, you are at least a few seconds behind what's really going on. Right?"

The sign of a good instructor is to put what's being taught into the context of somerhing already known. Mary Anne just did rhat for me by relating paragliding to skiing.

Dick, the mechanic, doesn't get it, so to illustrate her point Mary Anne talks about feeling the internal air pressure inside rhe wing by feeling it through the brake pressure, not just in the handles but in the lines themselves by resting a finger against the line, and as she explains this she holds the tip of her index fingers barely off rhe tip of her thumbs, then makes contact making alternate C's out of O's, "Like points making contact in an engine which causes it to fire," she says, looking at the mechanic.

The mechanic says, "Mary PARAGLIDING

Anne, you must have spent a lot of time working on old tractors because modern engines don't have points."

Doctor Dave says, "That's not the point.

The point is, it's a feeling thing."

"And the point we are talking about here," Mary Anne says, "is about what you take with you when you are about to launch into a flight."

What Mary Anne is getting at is, if a person is uptight and rigid before they start out they will need to take care not to fly like that, because, "If you fly rigid, you are going to miss a lot of great thermals," she says.

And, thermal flying is what it's all about for Mary Anne Karren - the ghostly coming and going of thermals, their infinite variety of shapes, the awesome power, all of it demanding respect, diligence, and most of all flexibility. This process of constant assessment and reassessment combined with an almost ethereal "feeling" approach has intrigued this young woman to such an extent that she entered her first competition before she had ever actually gone cross-country, or hooked into a big thermal. She didn't get as high as most of the others, and she didn't go far either, but she went far and high enough to know that thermals are real and powerful with possibilities no less infinite than the shapes they can assume.

Within 30 minutes we are all in the sky, and in another 30 we are between three and four thousand feet over launch making circles in big, fat thermals looking for the cores. The air is bumpy but not wild, not yet anyway.

Another hour goes by with occasional chatter on the radio that swings back and forth between turbulence talk and whether or not to take off X-C. Mary Anne's voice comes over the radio saying anyone who isn't comfortable with the present degree of turbulence should go down and land; things are going to be picking up shortly. She doesn't recommend going X-C either, not today.

Dave Olson, the doctor from Florida, says he just took a 60-percenter and he's going to start working his way toward the LZ next to the lake. I start edging my way in that direction too. Suddenly I fall off to one side, going negative for a few seconds, my SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

Saber making enough whacking noise to tell me this is r-e-a-1-1-y big. I lean to the strong side, pulling long and steady on the opposite brake, saying out loud, "Steer and clear, steer and dear... " not realizing I have inadvertently pushed the talk switch on my radio.

Dave's voice comes out over my radio. He's laughing, "Who you talking to Ricardo?"

Then Mary Anne's voice chimes in, "Never mind that!

It's time to go down fellows."

Dick says he's not ready to call it quits.

He's working on a personal record. Mary Anne says in a strong voice, 'Tm recommending that you fly out over the lake, then land on the peninsula, but it's your call."

That's how Mary Anne guides us. She guides but doesn't try to control. She remains flexible at all times - strong and flexible but not overpowering. I hear the thrashing of material a good thousand feet overhead and behind me, and look up just in time to see Dick clearing a big collapse. Then he goes into ears and points his wing toward the lake, like the rest of us.

Later, while eating lunch at an outdoor restaurant on the edge of the small lake next to the fishing village ofTuxpan, Dave notices Mary Anne's elbow is swollen and scabbed. He says he can treat the swelling with some medication he brought from the States. He asks about tenderness, how sore it is. I wonder how it happened? A botched launch maybe? Landing in a crosswind?

"It's pretty sore," she says, wincing as Dave pushes against the swollen tissue surrounding the bone. She injured it landing all right - an unscheduled landing - but the fall just before the landing was from a siesta in a hammock she had tied to a dead tree not far from launch.

Irony abounds. Three weeks flying thermals big enough to take a person to outer space and this top-rated American comp pilot crashes during a nap two feet off the

1997

ground. The jagged rock she landed elbowfirst on didn't help. The talk shifts from Mary Anne's injury to how tough it is to fly the big air.

It's easy enough to see just how rugged Mary Anne is. You don't want to be misled by her 110-pound frame, her quiet voice, or the nervous giggle that comes when she describes the really big air, like the air in the Owens Valley in central California where she saw her first competition. It was at that competition that she also saw her first fatality.

But she didn't just watch a man fall to his death, she ran through the bush and buckpine to assist in the recovery, giving mouthto-mouth resuscitation for over half an hour before the pilot was pronounced dead.

But that is Mary Anne Karren, an enigma for sure: small and almost fragile looking at times, ferocious in her love of paragliding, young in age but well seasoned and mature in experience. Her plan after the winter touring season is over in hot southern Mexico is to go back to the cool high country of eastern Washington and get the Airplay flying ranch ready for the students who will be coming in the spring.

During seven days of flying with Mary Anne Karren in Mexico I got higher than I've ever been before, gained more altitude over launch than I ever have before, and had my longest flight. But the main thing I learned from this kid three years younger than my own daughter wasn't so much about flying as it was about everything else.

"You have to be flexible enough to let yourself feel the invisible," she said, fingers making alternate O's and C's as she said it. "It's all about flexibility, man!" II

45

BooKREVIEW

Airborne: At One With the Alps

by Andreas Busslinger Airborn e

- ..........

REVIEWED STEVE R OTI If you're like me, the visual splendor of the sport of paragliding is a large part of its appeal. Seeing the world from a different perspective - up close and personal while ridge soaring or looking like an aerial photograph while gaining altitude in a thermal that'swhat gets my heart pounding.

It's hard to capture that beauty in a photograph. I've tried and most times the picture doesn't match the image that's etched into my brain. But good photographers can do it, and now one of the best of them has put together a new book packed with some of the most inspirational paragliding photography I've ever seen.

Andreas Busslinger, a Swiss pilot, teacher and photographer, has produced Airborne: At one with the Al,ps. The photos cover the area from the French Alps in the west to -Alexandre Kobel, in the Dolomites in the east, with most in the Zentral Schweiz Airborne region around Interlaken and Luzern. Some are easily recognizable pictures of alpine landmarks, others are almost abstract images of the patterns produced by gliders, lines, landscape and shadows. A few selected photos from the book accompany this article.

STRUCTURE The images in Airborne have been paired with text by Nature gave us the patAlexandre Kobel, a Swiss teacher and freelance advertising terns. All we have to do is copywriter (!), in English, French and German. Kobel's rearrange them. Flying poetic ruminations on subjects from colors to weather to gives me a chance to light make a delightful accompaniment to Busslinger's phounderstand systems, to tos. discover how things fit Airborne is the ultimate paragliding coffee table book, together. Put just a few one you will want to look at again and again to behold the metres between yourself subtleties of the images contained within, and perhaps to and the world, and it help plan your next trip to the Alps. takes on a completely difAirborne is available from: ferent face. Now and then it's good to get away Verlag Kalt-Zehnder AG from it all.

Postfach 250 6300 Z ug -Alexandre Kobel, in Switzerland Airborne Phone ++4 1-4 1-7616666, Fax ++41-41-7616665 Price: $65 plus $ 10 postage PARAGLIDING LONGTNG

When I see the birds how they move, how they fly - I know we are worlds apart. And yet I have an irrepressible urge to share the sky with them. Standing alone on a mountainside, waiting for the right wind, uniting memory with desire: it's a very special sensation every time. And I am happy to feel it.

46

Computer Rendered Diagona l Profi le

C.R.D.P. 'KENA ' THE PERFO TO BE IN THE TOP The Kena is a new concept in the 'Performance Class " combining ex-cellent security with superb in-flight performance which until now was unavailable in this class of glider, making it 1 suitable for a wide range of pilots.

Minimal line use (less than 300 mis.} gives the Kena a /lat polar and a glider angle at speed beffer than/ most competition wings.

The design is enhanced with the use of CROP software resulting in a perfect paffern for a diagonal rib structure. This is a glider for the recreational weekend use or an aspiring com· petition pilot. The combination of security and accurate handling and speed will give you the winning edge.

This is the glider to help you achieve your goals. , Tlte Kena is a glider with an excellent perlor· mance suitable for any good pilot., Dante Ponta: Delta Parapendlo n'59 • The Kena has a glide angle above 8 with a sink rate around 1 mis. This is a fast wing , with an excellent handling that any experienced pilot wilf love.11 Mario Arque: Parapente Vuelo Libre n' 38

A Guide to Powered Paragliding

Video & Magazine This fu ll color periodical covers current information about Powered Paragliding in North America.

It contains over 30 color photos of the units.

Articles include FAR's, weather, thrust tests and more.

The video is a 46 minute documentary, covering the 3 day meet in Baja, Mexico. Showing low level fo rmation flig hts, tandem, scooter towing, air to air photography and muc h more.

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This is the NEW 3rd edition of the acclaimed Touching Cl011C!base book for paragliding pilots. More than j ust a history lesson . T.C. has tons of usefu l information to help you progress. Many schools use this book for their student manual. $ 22.50 plus$ 3. s+h

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Cloud Chart Poster Sti ll just $ 12.95 ppd. Learn about clouds and weather with this beautiful fu ll co lor pos ter. Full size 26"x 38"poster makes a great display for home or office. It also makes a great gift for your flying friends!!

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~Windfech®u.s.A.

PARAGLIDING ADVISORY: Used paraglidcrs should always be thoroughly inspected before flying for the first time. If in doubt, many paragliding businesses will be happy ro give an objective opinion on the condition of equipment you bring them to inspect. BUYERS SHOULD SELECT EQUIPMENT THAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR THEIR SKILL LEVEL OR RATING. NEW PILOTS SHOULD SEEK PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION FROM A USHGA CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR. PARAGLIDERS ABC AIRSPORTS - Best quality, best prices. New, demo and used gear in stock. Trade in your old PG or HG, any glider welcome. (805) 688-0343 ybajulaz@silcom.com http:! /www.silcom.com/-ybajulaz

ABOVE & BEYOND

ALL BRANDS 7937.

New & used. Toll free 1-800-882-

ADVANCE OMEGA III 32M - Low hours, 180270lbs, mint condition $2,700. Greg (714) 754-7041.

AIRWAVE REGGAE 30 - Complete package, 2 hours total time, all excellent new condition, 165230lbs, Next Hurricane harness w/back protector, water ballast, Apco pp/18 reserve w/optional front pack, full face kevlar helmet $2,450. Call Terry (203) 734-1314.

APCO SENTRA 28 - 1996, purple/white, 100 hours $1,500. Apco Top Secura harness, large, 1996, new never flown, airbag, kevlar plate $500 OBO. Fun-2-Fly Profile 27, 1994, 170 hours, similar to Edel Space (Apco material) $500 OBO. (307) 733-3417.

APCO XTRA 30M - August '95, blue, 2 sets risers (1 w!trimmers) $800 OBO. (619) 753-7499.

AT MIRAGE 23 - 1996, 99-145lbs, low time, w/Edel harness, steerable rese1vc $1,800 OBO. Page (805) 8870979 include area code.

EDEL SUPERSPACE 27 - Very good condition, I 902641b $1,500. Motor Cloudbasc, Alta 135-l 95lb., 25 hours $2,000. Swing Minoa 30, high-speed system, pink/yellow $1,400. Brauniger vario classic, like new $390. Several harnesses $100-$300. Woody Valley proro back protector, new condition $350. Oman power up winch, Honda 250 power, does tandem static tows $2,500. Phone 011-5261-701765. Write Brian Shook, PO Box 3370, Chula Vista CA 91909.

AT TANDEM 40M - Great for motorized flight, <20 flights, tandem risers w/trim system, large tandem bag $2,000. Greg (714) 754-7041.

EXCALIBURS (2) Each w/harness, good beginner/training wings. 27 cell, 1 l 5- I 65lbs $400. 39 cell, 130-l 90lbs $600. (406) 888-5954.

COMET CX19 - w/harness and reserve $700. Edel ZX32 w/Wills harness $900. Apco Supra 25 like new $1,800. (619) 225-8720.

FLIGHT DESIGN A4 - One hour use, l 75-2251bs.

Deluxe harness & pack, never used. Rese1ve & Uvcx XL helmet. Offers. Call Bede (206) 938-1507 bedek@cimetrix-cadcam.com

APCO XTRA 30 - Blue/white, low hours, excellent condition $1,100. (908) 747-7845.

EDEL SABER M - 60-80kg, top of the line Prolite harness and backpack, exactly 35 hours on both $2,600 ($1,000 off retail). Scotty (801) 572-7713 mayer@utw.com

FLIGHT DESIGN A4-25 - New inspection, great shape, perfect first glider $900 OBO. Call (509) 9255565.

EDEL SABER - Medium, excellent condition, light green top & bottom surface wiorange batwing. Includes speed system, glider stuffbag, backpack $2,000. Call Alex (801) 596-1287.

FLIGHT DESIGN AS SPORT - $2,400 080. Only a few flights and 10 minutes airtime. I did a trade with someone who's getting out of the sport and it's too big for me. Call Kristin (509) 925-2190.

EDEL ENERGY XL - 100 hours, SupAir harness, Flytec 3005 vario, helmet, flightsuit, Eq bag $2000.

Compact 29, Edel Soar harness, helmet, Eq bag, 25 hours, new $2,000. Shadd (970) 963-4179.

FLIGHT DESIGN A6VT - The latest greatest intermediate glider with diagonal ribs and a swept-back angle to offer you the most performance AND stability. Only $2,499. Call (509) 925-5565.

EDEL SUPERSPACE II - Large, excellent condition, !arc '95 model, Edel bat on underside, 72 hours $1,600.

(916) 621-3154 Lars.

USHGA CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING ORDER FORM 50 cents per word, $5.00 minimum Boldface or caps: $1.00 per word. (Does not include first few words which are automatically caps.) Special layouts or tabs: $25 per column inch. (phone numbers: 2 words, P.O. Box: 1 word, E-mail or Web address: 3 words) photos: $25.00, line art logos: $15.00 (1.75" maximum) DEADLINE: 20th of the month, six weeks before the cover date of the issue in which you want your ad to appear (i.e., September 20 for the Nov./Dec. issue).

Prepayment required unless account established. No cancellations or refunds allowed on any advertising after deadline. Ad insertions FAXed or made by telephone must be charged to a credit card.

Please enter my classified ad as follows:

Number of months: ___________ SECTION D Paragliders D Emergency Parachutes 0 Parts & Accessories O Business & Employment 0 Miscellaneous O Powered Paragliders O Videos Begin with

19

O Towing O Schools & Dealers O Ultralights 0 Publications & Organizations O Wanted O Harnesses

issue and run for

consecutive issue(s). My O check, O money order is enclosed in the amount of$ NAME: ----~~~~~-

ADDRESS: CITY: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ STATE: _ _ _ __ PHONE: _____________________

Number of words· - - - - - ~ @$.50 = Number of words:

48

@$1.00 =____

USHGA, P.O Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901 (719) 632-8300 fax (719) 632-6417

PARAGLIDING

FLIGHT DESIGN B3 29 - EXTREMELY LOW HOURS, excellent shape, with Alinco DJ-Fl radio.

Quitting flying due to healrh reasons. ASKING $1,500.

(406) 251-4336 PM or 1-800-477-9074 M-F days (work).

BEST PRICES IN U.S.! - Whisper, Whisper Plus NGT w/Symphony mornr canopy. New and used.

Check everyone's prices first, then call us. HPM Enterprises Inc., Henry Muller (910) 945-4647 hmullerl23@aol.com

l"lV MERAK 27 - '95, white/blue/yellow, -.o hours airtime $1,500. (516) 676-7599.

DK WHISPER - Demo. Japanese technology means light weight, easy launch, quiet and smooth $4,500.

Training available from USHGA certified instructor Hugh Murphy. Call (805) 544-8190.

ITV NUNKI 98 - Excellent condition, mylar top, 11 A's lB, harness, reserve $950. Chuck (801) 272-0695.

NOVA XYON - & Firebird G-Sport, both medium, excellent condition. (970) 925-1025.

PEGAS PONY 27M - Wt wing, beautiful, czech design, w/harness, only 2 flights $2,000. New learn helmet, size large $190. Brauniger alto vario $400. Lloyd (808) 879-3270.

PROFEEL 33 - With harness and XS 360/help reserve, 5 hours, excellent $2,800 OBO. (541) 3179594.

DK - Bolt pattern 4-blade wood prop $350, 36" or 39". Convert your Whisper Plus or GT from the DK pattern ro the Rotax patten for $150 ro use !VO props, etc. Call for DK parts and products, toll-free 1-888-6369111. Dealer inquiries welcome.

LA MOUETTE 210 - New, never assembled, complete package w/new wing $5,950. Dealer for DK Whisper, used powerpacks available. Training available from USHGA and ASC certified instructor. FREEDOM FLIGHT, Kurt R. Andersen (253) 863-8711.

PROFIL 24 - Intermediate, w/SupAir harness, reserve & helmet. 132-176lbs, <5 hours $2,100. (406) 2877878.

PEEWEE FLY - SUPER FLY TANDEM POWER 115 in stock, from $3,895. Video $19.95. Wings and Things, 951-2 Old County Road #321, Belmont CA 94002. (415) 574-8895.

RITMO 27 - 130-175lbs, <15 hours. Beginner/intermediate, crispy mylar top, 12 A's $1,600 w/harness.

Greg (619) 466-5593.

SOLO 210 - Motor, redrive unit, stock and tuned exhaust $1,200. Just add cage and prop. (403) 6609577.

SOL BALANCE 90 - 165-209lbs, great performing novice glider, one summer/35 hours of easy flying, perfect condition, backpack, stuff bag, repair kit and manual included $1,333. Call Eric (970) 926-7676.

EMERGENCY PARACHUTES

SWING MINOA 32C- New. Best turning glider ever built! Custom color, deluxe metal riser system, center flap system, absolutely pristine condition $3,500. Greg (714) 754-7041.

UP VISION - Midsize, includes SupAir harness and reserve, all excellent $2,500 including shipping nationwide. (619) 222-0782.

WILLS WINGS 123 - Beginner, new lines, low hours, crispy wing, basic harness, 22-gore reserve, $1500 for all.

(714) 775-8721.

POWERED PARAGLIDERS ADVENTURE F2 - w/deluxe harness, never flown, must sell for health reasons $3,800. (916) 365-0343.

ADVENTURE F3 - Electric start, internal & external decompressor, many spare parts, 25 hour TT, ITV Jade 30 wing with deluxe harness included. All for only $4,500, old age forcing retirement. (603) 895-3087.

BUILD/FLY - Your own BACKPACK POWERED PARACHUTE for fun/profit. Takes off from level ground unassisted. Safe, simple, inexpensive. Detailed book with sources. Now only $19.95. EasyUp, 1089 Medford Center #244p, Medford OR 97504. http://www.wave.net/easyup/

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

SCHOOLS & DEALERS

DIXON'S AIRPLAY PARAGLIDING - The perfccr beginner training areas! Year round temperate climare.

DRIVE UP ro 360 degree treeless and rockless launches.

Land in wide open fields. Master rared randem instructor Dixon White has supervised over 9000 srudent flights to date, teaching pilots is his profession.

Individualized training with state-of-the-art equipment, 2-way radios, comprehensive ground schooling with an emphasis on micrometeorology. Great new and used inventory. Specialized clinics including rhe CAGE, towing and BACKPACK MOTORS. Enjoy the Grand Canyon and orher spectacular scenery. Great lodging bargains or luxury accommodations. Dave Bridges, US National Champion says, "Dixon's students are extremely well-trained and competent pilots." Dixon's Paragliding in ARIZONA and WASHINGTON (appointments recommended), PO Box 2626, Flagstaff AZ 86004. (520) 526-4579. www.paraglide.com ARKANSAS SAIL WINGS - FLY power packs, five models, 3060lbs. (501) 851-4094 phone/fax.

ADVENTURE SPORTS LOFT - The repair center for Air America Paragliding. Reserve repacks, repairs, modifications. Master Rigger Scott Christensen (909) 657-2676.

HARNESSES ASCEND AIR - w/back protector/kevlar and Acrolite rese1ve, 22 gore $700. Greg (714) 754-7041.

ASCEND AIR - w/Quantum 440 reserve by High Energy Sports. Dual riser system w/Spectra lines. Second Chantz air-rocket w/hand deploy option. The best of everything $1,000. Greg (714) 754-7041.

WOODY VALLEY MODEL- Is now introducing its full line of unique Italian paragliding and hang gliding harnesses in the United States. For info call Eastcoasr Paragliding at (914) 647-3377. Dealer inquires wel-

USHGA certified paragliding & hang gliding instruction. Courses are expertly run on a friendly, informative basis. We have been introducing people to the world of foot launched flight since 1976. New and used gliders and accessories. Ball, Comet, Edel, Firebird, ITV, Pacific Aiiwave, Wills Wing and orhers. All skill levels welcome.

PO Box 1226, Del Mar CA 92014. (619) 481-7400 Southern California.

come.

Classified advertising: new Our advertising has a twolife for your equipment month lead time - plan and cash in your pocket. ahead.

What a deal!

1997

49

UGH1~ VEN1U~E QO~P.

us lve Importers for !he USA & Canada

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The best active protection once you've launched! Fits almost ALL harnesses.

Easy Installation. Over 4000 sold in Europe. Swiss Quality. The thickest & lightest protection in flight, yet the least in volume once packed. Can be used as additional protection to your existing one. A must for every pilot!

97 37 NW 41 st Street Suite 351 Miami, Florida 33178 Ph (305) 604-1991 Fax (305) 604-1994

,_ ..--iilllilil,11,

0 Air America Paragliding Joe Gluzinski

HIGH ADVENTURE - Paragliding, hang gliding school. Equipment, sales, service at world famous Marshal Peak. USHGA tandem instrnctor: Rob McKenzie. By appointment year round (909) 883-8488.

MAGIC AIR - Located in Northern California.

Lessons, sales, service. (707) 963-3455.

COLORADO

AIR AMERICA PARAGLIDING -- Learn to fly at MARSHALL PEAK in Southern California with JOE GLUZINSKI, USHGA certified tandem insttuctor.

UNLIMITED LESSONS with novice and intermediate packages. Year round guide service, individual coaching, tandem thermal lessons, flying tours and clinics (see calendar section). Dealer for Swing, Airwave, Nova, Firebird, Apco, Pro Design, Edel, Flight Design, ITV and more. TRADE !N's ACCEPTED. Open seven days a week by appointment. Visa/MC. Free camping and showers. Airport se1vice available. Phone/fax (909) 943-8664, email: Airampg@aol.com

VAIL VALLEY PARAGLIDING - Offers comprehensive instruction in all aspects of paragliding. Small student-teacher ratio promotes in-depth learning. We have several sites that face all directions with road access.

Close to Denver, via 1-70 corridor. Contact Greg Kelley at (970) 845-4154.

ADVENTURE SPORTS - Mountain tours for all levels. USH GA Certified school & ratings. Dealer for all major brands. 3650 #22 Research Way, Carson City NV 89706. (702) 883-7070, advspcs@pryamid.net

CONNECTICUT

NEW MEXICO

ECP -

COME LEARN TO FLY - New Mexico's high desert with New Mexico's full-service paragliding school.

Advanced/Tandem rated Gary Brightbill offers instruction from beginner to advanced at flying sites across New Mexico. Call for details (505) 281-2759.

Look under New York.

FLORIDA AIRJUNKIES PARAGLIDING - Join KEN BAIER for your "Pursuit of Paragliding Excellence" in the land of year-round, excellent paragliding: Southern California and the Baja. Courses for Novice, Intermediate, Advanced and Instructor ratings. Powered paragliding, soaring and maneuvers clinics, guided tours, tandem and towing instruction and special events. USHGA cenified.

Handling the latest equipment. Call (619) 753-2664 for information.

AIRTEK PARAGLIDING - In sunny San Diego.

Year-round thermal & ridge soaring, beginner chru advanced instruction, all major brands, phone/fax (619) 450-6696. Please see our display ad.

AIR TIME OF SAN FRANCISCO WEST COAST PARAGLIDING THIS PREMIER PARAGLIDING FACILITY - Is now under the management of LARS LINDE of East Coast Paragliding and GREG SMITH of Edel USA. We are qualified to issue all possible paragliding licenses pursuant to USHGA standards. THE BEST SHOP IN THE WEST! We offer a full spectrum of instruction, tandem, repairs and porosity tesrs. We stock all major brands of paragliding equipment available on the market. Enroll in our demo day-everyday program. SHOP (415) 759-1177, OFFICE (908) 747-7845.

HANG GLIDER EMPORIUM - Best training hill in the west! Full service hang gliding/paragliding shop, established 1974. PO Box 41339, Santa Barbara CA 93140-1339, (805) 965-3733, email: weflyuniv@aol.com

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

BIG SKY PARAGLIDING - Come fly the Big Sky with advanced rated tandem instructors, specializing in personalized training since 1990. Centrally located near King Mm ID, Chelan WA and Golden BC, we offer training, tandems, tours, XC and thermal clinics. Sales and se1vice on all major brands including Edel, Firebird, Flight Design, ITV, Ball & more! Visa/MC accepted.

(406) 728-2876, toll free 1-800-782-9204. PO Box 7843, Missoula MT 59807.

CLOSEST CERTIFIED SCHOOL - To Florida: SOUTHERN SKIES see North Carolina (704) 6326000.

NEVADA

NEW JERSEY ECP-Look under New York.

EXPERIENCE MEXICO! - Safari Sky Tours, December '97 through April '98. Reserve your airfare early for the holidays. (602) 285-4094 SkyTours@juno.com

NEW YORK

E A S T CC>A. T PAAAGILlll>IN«:a;

ERS -- Puc your knees in our breeze and soar our 450' sand dunes. FULL-TIME SHOP. Certified instrucrion, beginner to advanced, foot launch and tow. Sales, service, accessories for ALL major brands. VISA/MASTERCARD. 1509 E 8th, Traverse City Ml 49684.

Offering POWERED PARAGLIDING lessons & dealer for new & used units, including the Whisper and the Fly. Call Bill at (616) 922-2844. Visit our paragliding school in Jackson, Wyoming. Call Tracie at (307) 7398620.

AIRWORKS PARAGLIDING LTD - Located in Montana's "Flying Mecca" Missoula. Dealer for major brands. Instruction for all. I'm always trying-to keep pilots flying. 220 N Higgins, Missoula MT 59802. (406) 5432850.

1997

EAST COAST PARAGLIDING THE NUMBER 1 - Raced USHGA paragliding school in the United States 1995, 1996 and the first quarter of 1997. Our premier school and "WORLD CLASS STORE" are conveniently located only 1.5 hours outside Manhattan in the Catskill mountain range. We offer a full spectrum of instruction including our famous TAKE OFF PROGRAM which allows you to learn at your own pace. We now also offer full-time towing at our airport, located only 5 minutes from the shop. Importer of WOODY VALLEY MODEL, AIRWAVE and NOCAL (the US Paragliding World Teams official helmet) products. 150 CANAL STREET, ELLENVILLE NY, SHOP (914) 647-3377, OFFICE (908) 747-7845.

IKAROS SPORT AVIATION & Spartan Microlight Manufacturing. NYC's first and only certified school for hang gliding, paragliding and trikes.

Distributors/dealers for all major brands. Manufacturer for the BEST microlights in the world, SPARTAN. New and used equipment at best prices. The most friendly service in NY. For catalog send $5 to: ISA, 3811 Ditmars Blvd #110, Astoria NY 11105. Store: 2931 Newtown Ave., Astoria NY. Phone/fax (718) 777-7000, Internet: http://members.aol.com/ikarosl 1/fly.hcm email: ikarosl l@aol.com

51

NORTH CAROLINA

TEXAS

SOUTHERN SKIES - FULLY CERTIFIED full time school and shop. Group discounts Pl thru P4. TANDEM FLIGHTS. Towing clinics. POWERED PARAGLIDING instruction, equipment and service.

Beautiful training hills and mountain sites in Virginia and North Carolina. No reservations necessa1y, START YOUR TRAINING TODAY! Call now (704) 6326000.

HILL COUNTRY PARAGLIDING INC - Learn complete pilot skills. Personalized USHGA certified training, ridge soaring, foot & tow launching in central Texas. MOTORIZED PARAGLIDING INSTRUCTION & EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE. (915) 3791185. Rt I, Box !6f, Tow TX 78672.

LEARNTO~ PARAGLIDE~

PARTS & ACCESSORIES AT, EDEL - Pro Design, Norrh American Paragliding and more! Call Kentuckiana Soaring for your besr prices.

(812) 288-7111. Be sure to check out our display ad.

KITE ENTERPRISES - Foot launch, payout winch tow and powered paraglider instruction too. Training, sales, rentals and repair. Edel, Airwave, Wills Wing, UP and DK Whisper. Dallas, fort Worth and north Texas area. 211 Ellis, Allen TX 75002. (972) 390-9090 nights, weekends.

UTAH

at Kitty Hawk Kites Outer Banks, NC Lessons Daily Towing & Foot Launch Year Round Sales & Service CALL TODAY! 800-334-4777 919-441-4124 E-Mail Address hang-glide@outer-banks.com

ABOVE & BEYOND TOLL FREE- 1-800-882-7937.

CLOUD 9 PARAGLIDING - Utah's largest paragliding school. We offer BOTH AM and PM training sessions at Point of the Mountain. Para 2 certification is $650 for the unlimited lesson package which is I 00% applied toward the purchase of new paragliding gear. Call or email for information pack (801) 553-1834. Web site is www.paraglider.com email ar maycr@urw.com VIRGINIA CLOSEST CERTIFIED SCHOOL - To Virginia: SOUTHERN SKIES see North Carolina 1-800-8931555.

KITTY HAWK KITES -

DIXON'S AIRPLAY PARAGLIDING - Dixon has expanded his teaching philosophies with advanced rated tandem instructor MARY ANNE KARREN. This Northwest training center is located on the Eastern side of rhe Cascades where the weather is good year round! This 1,400 acre private flight park is ideal for the beginner with drive-up open launches and large landing fields.

Individualized training with srate-of-the-an equipment, 2way radios, comprehensive ground schooling with an emphasis on micrometeorology. Great new and used inventory. Specialized clinics including the CAGE and BACKPACK MOTORS. One hour from the CHELAN BUTTE. Ask about on-site lodging and camping. On-site climbing wall, skiing, mountain biking, etc. Dave Bridges, US National Champion says, "Dixon's students arc extremely well-trained and competent pilots." Dixon's Paragliding in Washington and Arizona (appoirnments recommended), 8101 Hay Canyon Road, Cashmere WA 98815. (509) 782-5543. www.paraglide.com WISCONSIN RAVEN SKY SPORTS - Largest and most popular in the Midwest. Training hills and winch towing for paragliders. Sales & Service! PO Box 101, Whitewater WI 53190. (414) 473-8800.

52

[SJ .

.

.

.

See North Carolina.

WASHINGTON

OVER THE HILL PARAGLIDING - Oregon/SW Washington. Sales, service, beginner-advanced USHGA certified instruction. Nova, Firebird, Apco, AT, Pro Design, SOL, Ball, Flytec, HES Quantum parachutes.

Service: full service shop, FAA rigger repairs/mods. Out of state pilots: We have great thermal, coastal and Gorge sites. Call us for info. There is no sales tax in Oregon! :,.,/ew/used gear. Trades welcome. 22865 SE Yellowhammer, Gresham OR 97080. (503) 667-4557, fax (503) 666-6979. Email: othpara@teleport.com web: http://www.teleport.com/-othpara/

THE NEW INCREDIBLE EARMIKE 515, 575 Just plug it irno the speaker/mic outlet in your car and press the ptt button from the control piece when transmitting. Can be fit through your sleeve and attach to your finger with vclco. The earpiece is washable.

Earmike 515 is for !com, Yacsu, Alinco and more.

Eannike 575 is for Kenwood. lntroducto1y price for the best mic in the market is $94.95. ISA ph/fax (/18) 7777000.

ACCOMPLISHED PILOT! - Bought hi-tech vario, with speed-to-fly, barograph. The GPS's dropped to $138 ... Maximize those investments! FlightView combines GPS & barograph data into 3-D color images of favorite flights. Zoom in/out, view any angle. Add mournains, towns, clouds, all in 3-D. Watch glider fly the flight! $59.95 (free upgrades lyr 1), Windows PC. FlightView: (970) 544-0720, nleigh@rof.net, PO Box 1711 Aspen CO 81612.

GPS, WHERE'S YOURS?!? - Flight cover for Garmin 38 G PS: padded cordura, velcro attachment. To order, send check for $29.95 +$5 s/h (WA residents add $2.10 rax): Alpha CO./GPS Carrier, 15 Buckskin Road, Appleton WA 98602. for brochure send SASE.

Our advertisers appreciate your support and patronage. Tell them you saw their ad in

Paragliding.

PARAGLIDING

KENTUCKIANA SOARING Communications Specialist!

Best Prices & Best Service!

GARMIN CPS 38 - $149. Many other flying accessories available. Call Chad at (805) 569-1667 for more info or visit our web site: http://www.bodyuends.com/ paraacc.htm HAVE EXTRA EQUIPMENT - That you don't know what to do with. Advertise in the Paragliding classifieds, $.50 per word, $5 minimum. Call USHGA for details (719) 632-8300, ushga@ushga.org or fax your ad with a Visa/MC, fax (719) 632-64 I 7.

Customer Satisfaction Guaranteed!

OVERSTOCK & CLOSE-OUT ITEMS! VARIOS: FLIGHT DECKS NEW BALL GRAPHICS PLUS ........................ $CALL BALL GRAPHICS COMP .......... DEMO ...... $900.00 BAIL M19 ........................................................ $360.00 AIRCOTEC Piccolo Plus, ............ Demo .......... $400.00 DIGIFLY ..................................... DEMOS ..... $400.00 FI.YI 'EC 4010 .............................. Demo .......... $5.B.OO FLYrEC 4020 .............................. Demo .......... $760.00 FLYJ'EC 4030 ................................................... $CALL MALLETrEC: .................................................. $159.95 GARMIN GPS 38 ............................................ $159.00 GARMIN GPS 45 ............................................ $299.00 .. .............................. $699.00 GARMIN GPS 90 ..

HELMETS PELLE & REFLEX Full Face ........ OVERSTOCK CLEARANCE..... Black & other ugly colors ..... $125.00 PANORAMIC ............................ Full Face ..... $149.00 l.EE-l'2, Used, Large w/PTT ............................ $200.00 UVEX .......................................... Full Face ..... $290.00 RADIOS-ALL MODELS AVAILABLE YAESU FT! 1R ............................ 5 watt.. ........ $305.00 KENWOOD TH22 .................... .5 watt ........... $CALL F/C I'ingerswitch/Headset ............ Heavy-Duty .. $89.00 5/8 TELESCOPIC ANTENNA ......................... $20.95 5/8 GAIN DUC:KANTENNA .......................... $17.95 EAR TALK-SPEAKER/MIC SYSTEM ... Sale .... $60.00 VC22 YAESU Vox/PTJ'.. ................................... $58.95 MOI3ILE .................................. .50 wart .... $299-375.00 TUNE UP w/Warranty lntact.. ..................... $35-50.00 !COM V68 ............................ 137-l 74mhz ....... $229.00 ALINCO ............................................................ $CALL

Windsok. Made of l.5 oz. ripstop nylon, UV treated, 5'4" long w/1 I" throat. Available colors fluorescent pink/yellow or fluorescent pink/white. $39.95 (+$4.75 S/H). Send to USHGA Windsok, P.O. Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330, (719) 632-8.300, fax (719) 632-6417. VISA/MC accepted.

More than 3,500 paragliding enthusiasts read our magazine every month. That's more than 7,000 eyes seeing your ad.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

PARACHUTES WILLS WING LARA ........... w/Paraswivel. ........ $CALL HIGH ENERGY QUANTUM ......................... $CALL Edel, NAS, WW, ProDesign, HES & More!

MISCELLANEOUS ARMAD ILI.O Glider Travel bag .. UV resistant ... $90.00 WIND ADVISORY AIRSPEED ... W/Clamp .... $23.00 HALL PARAGLIDER AIRSPEED .................... $28.95 HOOK KNIFE ................................................... $14.95 MASON'S TOW RELEASE.. ............................ $52.00 U-MrITS ..... CLEARANCE OVERSTOCK. .... $25.00 AVOCET PILOT WAT CHES ........................ $114.45 KENTUCKIANA SOARING 425 N Taggart Avenue Clarksville IN 47129 (812) 288-7111 fax (812) 284-4115 MINI VARIO- World's smallest, simplest vario! Clips to helmet or chinstrap. 200 hours on batteries, 0-18,000 ft., fast response and 2 year warranty. Great for paragliding too. ONLY $169. Mallettec, PO Box 15756, Santa Ana CA, 92735. (/14) 966-1240. MC/Visa accepted.

1997

Fingerswitch Radio Headset by Flight Connections.

HEAVY-DUTY HEADSET with finger mounted switch allows pilot to communicate while keeping their hands on the control bar or brakes. Safer flying and more reliable communications. Your instrument is protected with a 90 day mfg warranty with repair service available beyond the warranty. Currently available for Yaesu, !com, Alinco, Kenwood and other compatible radios. Available for full face or open helmets. $89 +$3. 50 shipping, MC/Visa, dealer inquires invited.

Kentuckiana Soaring, 425 N Taggart Ave., Clarksville IN 47129. (812) 288-7111, fax (812) 284-4115. SPECIALIZING IN ELECTRONICS, RADIOS, VARIOS, GPS UNITS & MORE! UVEX SAFETY HELMETS - Made with Dyneema SK60, German tested to the motorcycle test norm (DIN4848), ultra light & ultra strong, now only $275 with the strong US Dollar! Call (509) 925-5565 now.

BUSINESS & EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES PARAGLIDING INSTRUCTORS WANTED Eastcoast Paragliding Center is looking for paragliding instructors to join its team. For info call Lars Linde at (908) 747-7845.

PARAGLIDING INSTRUCTOR WANTED - For growing paragliding program. Raven Sky Sports (414) 473-8800.

FAX your classified ad, membership renewal or merchandise order:

(719) 632-6417. We gladly accept VISA and MasterCard.

53

PUBLICATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS

MISCELLANEOUS

STOLEN WINGS & THINGS

1998 PARAGLIDING CALENDARS - German made 12"xl6" color, classic scene1y. A must for every paraglider's home. Great Christmas gift! $19 plus shipping. Call Airworks, (406) 543-2850 credit cards wel-

EDEL SABER M - Lost/stolen at KITTREDGE, CO on August 4, 1997. Gold top, white under, frayed brake line on lefr side, also rainbow colored Ball vario. Mike Foster (303) 832-6716.

come.

ATTENTION MANUFACTURERS! - Need parachutes, engines, harnesses, prop guards, props. (954) 803-6414.

GLIDER MISSING: FLIGHT DESIGN A5 SPORT 26 - Blue, #512091D. Please call (509) 925-5565 if you have seen/have this glider.

IKAROS (KOREAN) PARAGLIDER - Stolen from SAN BERNARDINO, CA rental car on June 6th, 1996. Pink upper, white under with blue hawk design on right bottom, left brake line replaced with 505 hg cord. Contact MinHo Yoon (909) 887-4844 or Rob McKenzie, High Adventure (909) 883-8488.

PARAGLIDING: THE COMPLETE GUIDE - By Noel Whittall. The most complete guide to paragliding on the marker. Over 100 color photographs & illustrations, 200 pages, $24.95 +$4.75 s/h. USHGA, PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901. (719) 632-8300, fax your MC/Visa to (719) 632-6417, email: ushga@ushga.org.

SOARING - Monthly magazine of The Soaring Society of America, Inc. Covers all aspects of soaring flight. Full membership $55. Info. kit with sample copy $3. SSA, P.O. Box E, Hobbs, NM 88241. (505) 3921177.

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

CAL GLOVE Light-weight CABRETTA LEATHER GLOVES, world famous in equestrian circles, are now gaining popularity in the hang gliding, paragliding & parachuting markets. Available in mens, womens & childrens sizes, 9 different colors and priced from $27.95-$39.95. For more info on these superior leather gloves contact: Cal-Glove, 2920 Auburn Blvd, Sacramento CA 95821. (916) 481-8701, fax (916) 4811168, email: cal-glove@juno.com HAVE CAMCORDER -

Sony DV-1000, #1 in cus-

tomer raring) 3 year guarantee/warranty, many extras,

total worth about $5,500. Will trade for complete back pack paragliders, XL or tandem. (954) 803-6414.

VIDEOS & BOOKS - Call USHGA for your Merchandise order form (719) 632-8300, fax (719) 6326417, email: ushga@ushga.otg DON'T LEAVE YOUR GROUND-BOUND EQUIPMENT SITTING IN THE GARAGE. SELL IT IN THE CLASSIFIEDS. Powerful, light weight, easy to operate and maintain, convenient $1,400 +s/h. Call or visit our web page: http://www.jims-airsports.com or (203) 634-4039 8am-4pm EST M-F. VIDEOS & FILMS FLY HARD: Viking Films newest release. Rob Whittall, Chris Santacroce & a vintage Buick convertible full of paragliders. Outrageous flying at several west coast flying sites. Meet HG aerobatics champion Mitch McAleet along the way. Excellent rock soundtrack, professionally filmed & edited $35.95. POINT OF THE MOUNTAIN by East Coast, hg/pg action at this Utah mecca $29. PARAGLIDE: THE MOVIE by Viking Films. Rock-n-roll world class competition at Owens Valley. Professionally filmed & edited $35.95. DAREDEVIL FLYER Ill by Tatum Communications. Paraglide with the Wills Wing team & friends in scenic Telluride, Colorado $24.95. Call or fux USHGA (719) 632-8300, fax (719) 632-6417, please add +$4 domestic s/h (+$5 for two or more videos). Great to impress your friends or for those socked-in days.

54

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CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES The rate for classified advertising is $.50 per word (or group of characters) and $1.00 per word for bold or all caps. Phone number=2 words, PO Box=2 words, weight range i.e.

137-185lbs=2 words, web site or email address=3 words.

MINIMUM AD CHARGE $5.00. A fee of $15.00 is charged for each line art logo and $25.00 for each photo. LINEART & PHOTO SIZE NO LARGER THAN 1.75" X 2.25". Please underline words to be in bold print. Special layouts of tabs are $25.00 per column inch. AD DEADLINES: September 20th is the deadline for the November/December issue. Please make checks payable to USHGA. Send to: PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE, Classified Advertising, P.O. Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330 (719) 632-8300 or fax (719) 632-6417, email ushga@ushga.org with your Visa or Mastercard.

Adventure Productions .......................... 5 Air Play Paragliding .............................. 42 Airtime of San Francisco ..................... 22 Airwave ............................................... 14 AT Sports ............................................ 11 Ball Varios ............................................. 7 Edel ................................................. 2,55 Flight Design & NAPI.. ...................... 19 Fly Products ....................................... .43 Fly Castelluccio ................................... 38 Flytec .................................................. 27 Hall Brothers ...................................... 34 Mini Vario .......................................... 43 Mojo's Gear ........................................ .40 Northern Lights .................................. 50 Parafly ................................................. 22 Paragon Productions ........................... 47 Parasoft ................................................. 6 Pro Design ............................ Back Cover SkySports ............................................ 34 Skytimes Paragliding ........................... 34 Sport Aviation Publications ................... 5 Sup' Air ............................................... 14 UP Paragliding .................................... 35 UP San Diego/Air Cal. Adventure ...... 16 USHGA. .............................. 22,40,4 l,50

VISX ..................................................... 5 Wills Wing ......................................... 43 Windtech ........................................... .47

PARAGLIDING

.. Proven balance of seco~lty, hahdllng and performance".

U.S. Open Sport Class Championship: 1st Place - Zach Hoisington 2nd Place - Josh Cohn •

unique features of CONCEPT-AIR: • adjustable ma in hang points • adjustable seat extension • adjustable cross bracing • fully adjustable straps • rescue integrated on the side • side pockets • big back bag • container for water ballast • fully protection system consisting of: Carbon-Kevlar shield on the back Carbon-Kevlar shield under seat SIP (side impact protections) AirBag/foam layers • Stubai Click buckles • high quality workmanship • available in three Standard Color Styles

EAST COAST DEMO CENTER: East Coast Paragliding Ellenville, NY. Phone (914) 674-3377 ROCKY MOUNTAIN DEMO CENTER: Fly Away Paragliding Boulder, CO. Phone (303) 642-0849 WEST COAST DEMO CENTER: S~mes Paragliding San Francisco Bay Area. (415) 808-1330 E-MAIL: switzer@hooked.net

PRO-DESIGN USA · Shasta Air Inc. · 2608 Hartnell Ave. #6 · Redding, CA 96002 Phone: (916) 222-4606 · Fax: (916) 222-4640 · PH/FAX: 800-YATES-16 E-MAIL: prodesig@snowcrest.net · NEW HOME PAGE: http://www.pihg.at/members/pro-d/