USHGA Paragliding Vol12/Iss6 June 2001

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reaching your goals... flying new skies... it's about GOING FURTHER.

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~ GI N SUPER FLY, INC. · EXCLUSIVE NORTH AMERICAN IMPORTER/OISTRIBUTOR · !801 J 255-9595

info@4superfly.com · www.4superfly.com · 552 W. 8360 5....... UT84070

PARAGLIDING• JUNE 2001

AIR MAIL

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

INCIDENT REPORTS

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

UPDATE

HARNESS REvlEw: THE GIN GENIE II

by Kelly Kellar, photos by Larry Pintkir

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

THE DAVE BRIDGES M0UN'trAIN RACE

by Cherie Silve1'a, photos by_ Dave Hanning ,.

LANDING STAATEGIES .AND COURTESIES Part II, © 2001 by Dennis Pagen VENTURING INTO VENEZUELA

by Mark Dale, sidebar by je1'emiah St. Ours QISCLATMER OF WARRANl)ES lN PU1)LICA-

PARA-FLIGHT AFTER 50 · article and photos by Dr. }Jonn Kekey

110NS: The. matedal pl'.¢· '

sented here is puhlishect 11s part of an information dis.

semina.t'ion service for · USH(;i\ members. 'rhe-

COVER: Soaring at Placivel in Venezuela.

Photo by Mark Dale.

See story on page 20.

ACTIVELY AVOIDING OvElUDAD

by Richard Thompson

U~BGA makes no war· ranties or representations and assumes no ij,ilbillty

concerning the validity of any advice, opinion or rec.

ommendation expressed lo

AN AUSTRALIAN ExPERIENCES MARINA, CA 4rticle and photos by Alis.tait' Dickie

the material. All lndiyicluals relyi11g upon the matedal do

so at their own risk.

Copyrigh L ©) 20() J United

States Hang Gliding Assn.,

we. AJJ rlghcs reserved to Paraglitling and individual comrlbutor$,

JU NE

2001

3

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

Jayne Depanfilis, CEO, jayne@ushga.org Jeff Elgart, Advertising, jeff@ushga.org Joanne Peterson, Member Services, joanne@ushga.org Sandra Hewitt, Member Services, sandra@ushga.org Natalie Hinsley, Member Services, natalie@ushga.org USHGA

Jim Zeiset, President, jimzgreen@,10!.com M,3rk Fergus<m, Vice President, mark@ballvarios.com Russ l.ocke, Secretary,russlocke@juno.com Bill Bolosky, Treasurer, bolosky@microsoft.com REGION 1: Bill Bolosky, Mark Forbes. REGION 2: Jamie Shelden, Ray Leonard, Scott Gasparian. REGION 3: David Jebb, John Greynald, Gregg Lawless. REGION 4: Mark Ferguson, Jim Zeiset. REGION 5: Frank Gillette.

REGION 6: Jeff Sinason. REGION 7: Bill Bryden.

REGION 8: Doug Sharpe. REGION 9: Randy Leggett, Geoff Mumford, Felipe Amunategui. REGION 10: David Glover, Matt Taber. REGION 11: Kent Robinson.

REGION 12: Paul Voight. DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Jan Johnson, Dennis Pag~n, Russ Locke, Steve Kroop, Aaron Swepston. HONORARY DIRECTORS: Geoff Mumford, J.C. Brown, John Borton, Paul Rikert, Ed Pitman, G.W. Meadows, Bob Hannah, John Harris, Larry Sanderson (SSA), Dave Broyles, Gene Matthews, Ken Brown, Rob Kells, Liz Sharp, Dan Johnson. EXOFFICIO DIRECTORS: Art Greenfield (NAA).

United States Hang Inc. is an air sports organization affiliated with the National Aeronautic Association (NAAJ which is the official representative oJ the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAil, 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 enthuslasts 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. PARAGUDING editorial offices: 31441 Santa Margarita Pkwy., Suite A-256, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688, phone (949) 8887363, fax (949) 888-7464, e-mail: GilDodgen@aol.com.

The USHGA is a member-controllod sport organization dedicated to the exploration and promotion of al I 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 fllght. Dues for full membership are $59.00 per year (of which $15 goes to the publication of Paragliding), ($70 non-U.S.); subscription rates only are $35.00 ($46 non·U,S.). Changes of address should be sent six weeks in advance, including name, USHGA number, previous and new address, and a mailing lebel from a recent Issue.

OBJECTIVE GLIDER REPORTS Dear Editor, About a year ago an alert reader by the name of William Baumgart! wrote a concerned and insightful letter for this column (March/April 2000). He asked two simple questions: 1) How can we trust glider reviews when the reviewers themselves stand to profit from the sale of the reviewed gliders? 2) Isn't there somewhere we can locate objective reports on wings and equipment? k you can imagine, the first question caused quite a stir. There was a lot of singing and dancing, bobbing, weaving and covering of okolis. When the dust cleared, no one seemed to have noticed that Mr. B's second question had never been answered.

IfI may, I would like to respond.

Thank you for your interesting letter Mr. Baumgard. I am pleased to report that, yes, you can get objective reports on wings and equipment. Get on the Web, go to your search engine and type in "Big Air Paragliding." Once you get to that website check out the left side of your screen under Free Services. Make special note of two items: Paragliding Manufacturers and Paragliding Forum. Click on the first and a list of all paraglider manufacturers will appear. Click again on any manufacturer and a complete list of all their wings will appear.

Click again on a specific wing and you will see a screen that will show you the year of the model, best glide, colors, DHV reports, etc.

You can click further and find out even more. I warn you chat many hours may be spent in chis pursuit.

When you have finally narrowed your

choices, go to the Paragliding Forum, click on "search" and type in the wing that interests you. Up will pop any reviews or comments, good or bad, ever written about chat wing. You can also post a message on the forum asking cyber-pilots what they chink of your choice.

I have no financial interest in Big Air Paragliding.

Eugene "Iokane" Dursin Captain Cook, HI

THANKS TO USHGA Dear Editor, I would like to take chis opportunity to thank the USHGA staff for their outstanding support of our club. We were recently contacted by the National Geographic Society to participate in their showing of the "Best of the Banff Mountain Film Festival."

Included in the festival were two films about paragliding, the winner of the People's Choice Award, A Higher Calling, and a delightful film about a costume paragliding festival in France.

USHGA provided MAPA (Mid-Atlantic Paragliding Association) with an amazing assortment of promotional items to dispense at the showing. Because ofUSHGA's support, the club was able to donate T-shirts as door prizes and hand out hundreds of magazines, contact cards and other promotional items. Our local school at flywv.com received more than 40 contacts from this event alone.

LE. Herrick President, MAPA

PARAGLIDING (ISSN 1089-1846) is published monthly by the United States Hang Gliding Association, Inc., 219 W. Colorado Ave., Suite 104, Colorado Springs, CO 80903 (719) 632-6300. FAX (7191632-6417. PERIODICAL POSTAGE is paid at Colorado Springs, CO and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: SEND CHANGE OF ADDRESS TO: PARAGLIDING, P.O. BOX 13301 Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330.

4

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DESERT THERMAI, SITE A pilot with about 25 hours of experience attempted a 360 too close to the hill in a tight thermal. He impacted hard but did a PLF and suffered no major injuries.

by Peter Reagan ANOTHER DESERT THERMAL SITE

T

here have been several recent reports of midair collisions, and also some accidents in which pilots have flown into the ground. So this month's column will be on the topic of not hitting things.

We need to manage only three factors in order to be safe when it comes to this problem. The first is accurately perceiving our surroundings. The second is allowing enough room for errors in judgment and for unexpected turbulence. The third is the Golden Rule.

MOUNTAIN SITE, MIDDAY THERMAL CONDITIONS A relatively new pilot sank a few hundred feet below launch and then found a good thermal at about 300 feet AGL. He started circling right. Back at the launch elevation he encountered another glider circling left in the same thermal, somewhat higher than he was.

They didn't have enough time to turn, and the higher pilot lodged in the reporter's upper right lines near the canopy. Both pilots deployed reserves, landing hooked together and uninjured.

FNEWINGS SOARING AT A WESTERN MOUNTAIN SITE WITH A LOT OF ROOM An inexperienced pilot turned without clearing and flew his wing into another pilot a bit higher. The second pilot was wrapped in the lines and unable to throw his reserve, but yelled at the first pilot to do so. They descended together under one reserve, hitting tall trees, then falling into a slot in the forest onto very steep terrain. Neither was injured and they were able to hike back to launch.

One glider was totaled.

EASTERN MOUNTAIN SITE A relatively inexperienced paraglider pilot was flying at a fairly popular site when suddenly he was hit from behind by a student hang glider pilot. He was never aware of the presence of the hang pilot. He lost control of the wing and spiraled into the forest, sustaining a major laceration of his leg.

6

An inexperienced pilot was crossing a slope and entered moderate sink. He didn't turn away, and attempted a side-hill landing.

Unfortunately, the slope was ve1y steep and he fell 20 feet after landing, breaking his ankle and requiring hospitalization.

BEACH SITE A fairly experienced pilot on an intermediate glider was doing wingovers dose to the ridge.

He impacted the top of the hill and slid down the steep slope, sustaining triple tibial fractures and resulting in a five-day hospitalization and several months off work.

are not even aware of the keenness of the perceptual skill they have acquired. Therefore, we need to learn from experience not just the complex stuff (like how to judge what the air might be doing), but also some really elementary stuff. How far away is that hill?

How fast is that glider approaching? How big is that bird? How big are my turns? And how good am I at judging my own perceptual skill level?

While we are learning these new skills, the only way to remain safe is to maintain a lot of physical space around ourselves. As we spend a lot of time in the air we will naturally hone our ability to judge size, distance and speed. Without even trying we will gradually be able to perform the magic we see the sky gods do. But it is critical to respect what we're doing by allowing enough time and margin for it. Sometimes this means pulling out of heavy traffic that others may still seem comfortable in.

We also need to experience a very subtle but very comprehensive set of social perceptions and expectations. Over several years we improve our ability to estimate what other pilots may do next, and what they expect of us. We receive periodic reports of hostile comments shouted air to air between hang pilots and para pilots. There are also reports of intentional aerial hazing. I am not aware of any serious injuries that this behavior has produced to date.

Several factors make it harder for plumbers to get along with boneless chickens. For one thing, people are tribal. We follow the birds-of-a-feather rule. Our gliders behave differently in the air and need different sizes and shapes of airspace. It's hard for each of us to learn how the other behaves and how we can be most considerate. Even more basic is the fact that we have to learn to be able to reliably find each other in the sky.

This is a learned skill. The tension generated by these forces is sometimes unfortunate.

Patience, time, communication and compassion are the elements we will need to overcome this. But it's worth the trouble. We'll all have a better time, and some of us will live longer.

Please keep reporting your accidents. It does make a difference. Not all will be reported in the magazine, and occasionally a report will be so significantly altered in order to protect confidentialiry chat even the participants won't recognize it. But each reported mishap is an opportunity for improvement for all of us. •

Last summer we reported a high-profile accident in which a very experienced pilot sustained serious injuries after hitting a mountain thousands of feet above the valley floor. This is a statistically unusual occurrence. Most of the incidents we hear about involve less spectacular surroundings and pilots with much less experience.

The key to avoiding this kind of accident is to respect the perceptual learning curve.

Learning to fly involves mastering many skills, some of which are quite explicit (coordinating a turn or centering in a thermal) but many are quite implicit and never discussed in a step-by-step way. An example of this is learning how to see past our own pride to accept advice and help from locally experienced pilots. But one of the most important implicit tasks is learning accurate aerial perception.

Children learn to perceive partly through experience and partly by through instruction.

They interact directly with senso1y data and also organize it according to a scheme that mentors teach them. Our perception is well trained for our familiar environment. But when we venture into an unfamiliar setting we need to learn how to perceive it in a useful way. Consider how much the skill of surfing depends on a new way of perceiving waves. Rock climbing skill is vety dependent on learning new ways of perceiving the rock.

Most of us have no experience with perceiving the environment we enter while in flight, even though it looks sorta vaguely familiar.

Our fellow pilots usually don't help us with this very much. Most experienced pilots ----------- --------------------------'

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Contact: Claude Fiset, Ojai Paragliding, (805) 646-9660, fax (425) 699-0576, info@flyojai.com, http://www.flyojai.com/.

SUPER FLY NEWS Super Fly announces that Ryan Swan is their new customer service team member.

Ryan has several years of experience as a traveling and in-house paraglider sales person. He is also an Instructor/Tandem pilot with many long flights to his credit.

His pleasant demeanor and technical know-how make him a perfect addition to the Super Fly Team. Look forward to hearing Ryan on our end of the phone line, and expect to see him at competitions, fly-ins, and on Super Fly guided tours. You can welcome Ryan by dropping him an e-mail at ryan@4superfly.com.

The Gin Gliders replacement for the Bonanza is the "Nomad. " The Nomad

8

has passed DHV 2-3 certification and fearures smooth and coordinated handling, excellent glide ratio in transitions, fast climb rate in thermals, high resistance to deflation , easy takeoff, rapid yet progressive reinflation characteristics, and fast and smooth acceleration to high maximum speed. The Nomad incorporates a new construction technique, using Gin Gliders' patented "Rigifoil" system. The Rigifoil is a reinforcement on the leading edge that performs several functions: 1) It keeps the airfoil in perfect shape, producing smooth airflow over the wing and a constant internal pressure, resulting in a glider char retains more energy, pitches less and glides better. 2) Ir makes rhe lead-

Continued on page 39.

PARAGLIDING

HARNESS

A FULL GLADIATOR-STYLE PROTECTION HARNESS

by Kelly Kellar, photos by Larry Pindar (Over The Hill Paragliding) he new Genie II harness looks like a Stealth aircraft and not a modified parachute harness, with a very smooth finish that holds its shape. There is no excess fabric to create loose, sagging flaps or folds, and the Genie really lives up to the streamlined design concept. The whole harness is well balanced and rounded overall, and it looks like it was designed in a wind tunnel, with a neoprene torso cover to deflect wind from the sitting pilot's natural cupped position and a pointed stuff-and-go back storage unit. (Okay, so we may be flying a bit too slow for this to make any noticeable difference.)

What I did notice after having three pilots of different sizes and shapes lie back on the ground or simulate a PLF, is that the aerodynamic back storage container tended to add extra protection for the back of the head. The pointed stuff-and-go storage unit unzips at the top and can easily hold everything, maybe even the kitchen sink. All kidding aside, I like not having to fold and minimize my gear to stow it away.

This no-stress, easy-to-use harness system includes only two buckles to dip in (you may have seen this on a few Woody Valley harnesses). Both leg straps come up from the inseam to a dual-buckled center chest strap, which when adjusted to the optimal position on the harness will be about at your lower abs. This also makes it impossible to fall out of the harness as long as you at least dip in one of the two buckles. This system is a real pleasure when it comes to ground handling, leaving your legs unrestricted, and the seat board, while dipped in on the ground, rests high on the back of your thighs and leaves you unencumbered.

The hang points are just high enough on the harness so that you guys practicing no-hands inflations and kiting will find it very workable. I thought that these combined features would make the launch tran-

10

TOP TO B01'1VM, LEFT TO RIGHT: Speedbar buildup by carabiner. Leg strap/chest strap combo. Se[flocking leg strap adjustment. Neoprene ftont cover. Hip protector. Large container on back.

PARAGLIDING

sition from running to sitting difficult, but I was wrong. Getting back in your seat in this harness is automatic, and was so quick and easy that it took me by surprise. I also thought that the simplified leg/chest strap combo would be loose and less than ideal for thermaling. Again, I was wrong. I found it quit nice for thermaling. Flying in and out of thermals, malcing corrections for the turbulence, and then finding, mapping out and coring thermals was a breeze in the Genie II. Even with all the protection it does not desensitize the pilot, but does give a very solid, comforting feel. In short, I could feel everything I needed to know.

The Genie II is well thought out and designed. I felt that the center of gravity on the harness was well balanced and dispersed evenly from two-thirds of the way up the back to two-thirds of the way down the thigh toward the knee while in flight. The long seat board made it very comfortable for long flights but was quite easy to get out of for touch-and-goes, top-landings, etc.

Many harnesses I have used in the past have gone out of adjustment easily, even if only slightly. This makes a difference to me.

I have been known to either sew the adjustment to the position I feel to be best for me, or duct-tape the adjustment buckles in place. I am very picky about having my harness adjusted exactly the same every time I fly, once I get it to chat ideal position.

The Genie II has a nice self-locking adjustment system built in. The leg straps use one simple adjustment pull under the seat that evenly adjusts both leg straps simultaneously, with a self-locking, tworing, equestrian-style saddle cinch. This was

JUNE

2001

very popular on motorcycle helmets in the l 970's. The lumbar straps are metal pressure cam buckles. Both of these systems hold the adjustment perfectly, and do not come undone or loosen up as a result of throwing your gear in and out of chase vehicles, etc.

Lower back support while flying is the best I have ever felt around the entire back and sides, with no pressure on just the two lumbar straps that is common on many harnesses. Gin has also built in removable side protectors that cover more than just your hips. The reserve parachute is located under the front of the seat or it can be optionally front-mounted. I used the under-the-seat reserve container. The handle-to-deployment-bag strap is ideally short, and the handle is located on the side of your thigh. After doing a few simulated reserve deployments I felt like a gun-slinging quick-draw McGraw. I have never been a fan of under-the-seat reserve placement, but Gin has come up with a good one here.

Even while sitting on launch in the harness the reserve parachute is positioned far

enough forward so it won't be sat upon or compacted.

The Genie II has not missed a step with the ease-of-use concept - even the speed bar connections are located through a grommet at the bottom of the carabiners so you don't have to go fishing around behind you for them. To further reduce drag, the speed bar system reclines the pilot automatically upon engaging the accelerator at the highspeed end of the range.

I have to admit that I have never been a big fan of full-blown protection harnesses, but this is a real dreamboat. I feel it is ideal for students and recreational pilots of all skill levels who are looking for maximum protection, and I would not be surprised if we see this harness used in competition in near future, if it is not already.

The only negative thing I could come up with is that it is a little large, however, it is very lightweight. You can purchase or demo a Gin Genie II at your local Super Fly dealer. To find one near you go to www.4superfly.com or call (801) 2559595. Ill

11

The Dave Brid es

ountain Race

SUN VALLEY FLY-IN, MARCH 23-25, 2001

by Cherie Silvera, photos by Dave Hanning

Before getting into the details ofthis year's Sun Valley Fly-In, let me indulge and share a personal experience about an awesome pilot, climber and person . .for those not lucky enough to have known Dave Bridges, he was terribly talented at most things he tried, and he had a certain magic that motivated and inspired those around him. preserve the memory and magic of Dave, the Dave Bridges Mountain Race was created as part of the Sun Valley Paragliders Annual Fly-In. It was only a year ago when the First Annual Mountain Race took place, and I was sweating and panting my way up 3,300foot Baldy, Sun Valley's ski-mountain. When I banked half way up, Dave gave me a kick in the butt, and my partner Chuck Smith and I made it up the hill with a respectable fourth-place finish, despite our botched spotlanding on a tandem glider. The uphill course was one of Dave's old training routines for his mountaineering adventures, and as I followed in his footsteps up Baldy in similar "training" spirit, it was only part of a bigger journey I was embarking on, a journey on which he would continually be looking over me.

Three weeks later I traveled to Shishapangma, the mountain in Tibet where Dave had been lost. Although I went there under the auspices of a film assignment, my journey was far more personal, as Dave had been a great friend, and it was while working on another of my films that he perished on this same mountain. Dave's job was to film the first American ski descent from an 8,000-meter peak, when the journey was cut short by a massive avalanche. Seven months after the accident I was back on Shishapangma, with similar job responsibilities to Dave's, but lacking similar talent or climbing skills. Given my experience, I question whether I should have been climbing that mountain, but when the circumstances fell into place I found myself climbing and documenting the successful ascent and ski descent of this peak. I'm not really superstitious, bur I swear I felt his presence on the mountain

12

keeping me safe and giving me a little extra strength to succeed at those altitudes.

When I came back to Sun Valley this year for the second Annual Dave Bridges Mountain Race, I was hoping to find the same magic I had been spoiled with the previous year. I soon discovered that I wasn't the only one in search of Dave's spirit.

Participants had converged in Ketchum, Idaho from as far away as Japan, California and the East Coast. I have never seen so many fit people (in the paragliding community) in one place before. Dave would have been psyched! Hopefully it was his memory that inspired the pilots to partake, but the $2,000 prize purse didn't hurt either.

The object is to climb 3,300 vertical feet to the top of the ski mountain and fly down to a spot-landing at the base of the moun-

tain. The person with the fastest time wins, but for each foot away from the spot-landing, a 30-second penalty is added to the overall time. Last year's winners were busy doing loops and spins over Cabo San Lucas, but their boots were quickly filled with possibly even faster competitors. My bets this year were on uber-fit Will Gadd, who was a competitive equal to Dave, but the local favorite was Honza Rejmanek, a Czech tandem pilot who had been training hard for this race and had devised a time-saving deployment system to launch his glider. The rumor was that Honza could live for a year on the $1,000 first prize, and Fly Sun Valley might need to look for a new tandem pilot.

At 8:00 am on March 24, 40 pilots toting paragliders on their backs were lined up at the base of Baldy to battle for cash. It was a

PARAGLIDING

fierce race (a challenge Dave would have relished), and the guys (and a few of us women), many with super-light alpine flying setups, battled for the glory. We raced up that mountain at a snail's pace (although a snail would have beaten most of us). Gadd won the uphill portion with a record time of 59 minutes, but Honza, 30 seconds behind, was able to overtake him at launch with his speedy deployment setup. Honza missed the spot-landing (a giant loaf provided by sponsor Bigwood Bread) and Will took home the $1,000 first prize and one of the gorgeous trophies made by Russell Lamb. Honza had to settle for second place and will have to go back to work in six months.

Another Fly Sun Valley Tandem pilot, Janne Bojrenuas, made the summit checkpoint in third position but succumbed to the excitement of the spot-landing and placed fifth. Third place went to Matt Combs from Jackson Hole, and local Nate Scales was rewarded with the fourth-place money.

Dave's girlfriend Heidi Kloos was keen to hike up with a glider and beat most of the guys, even though she didn't get the benefit of flying down (she doesn't fly solo yet).

There were lots of little epics to create more excitement: One glider rolled down the launch hill (before it was hooked in) and the owner had to hike it up again. I made a splash, or rather a thud, in the LZ after avoiding some mid-air action and forgetting to put down the landing gear. Jackson competitor Demian McConnell had a scare when his lines wrapped around a camera mounted in his glider (not recommended while flying). My apologies to Kim

Czismazia for sabotaging her launch (taking out the female competition), and poor Bob Rinker from Seattle sacrificed his ankle in his quest for the spot-landing. Music, drinks, friends and a great atmosphere were in the LZ, so it was worthwhile to survive the hike and make it down.

The rest of the morning was dedicated to the spot-landing contest, sponsored by Gary Poole Painting and Finishing, with accumulated distance for the best two landings of the morning. Chuck Smith, co-owner of Fly Sun Valley, redeemed his honor from last year and managed two spot-landings tandem! One counted for the contest and Chuck deservedly won the day. Second place went to Will Gadd. Len Szafarin, who traveled from Los Angeles, took third. Both Dave Hennings from Missoula and Susumu Iwanaga from Japan hit the spot once but failed to record a second flight.

There were prizes galore in the evening (for anyone who bribed me when I drew the raffle tickets), and a great party hosted by Bigwood Bread. The Fly-In had started with two days of great spring flying conditions, so when the final day was washed out with rain, hail and hangovers, no one was too disappointed. Start training for next year!

Fun events like these are only possible as a result of the selfless efforts of organizers and sponsors: Chuck Smith and Garth Callaghan at Fly Sun Valley, Michael Ann Lee and Wolf Riehle, Bigwood Bread, Trinity Springs, Smith Glasses, KSKI Radio, Sun Valley Phone Directories, the members of Sun Valley Paragliders, Inc., and the many volunteers. Thanks. •

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JUNE

2001

13

Landing Strategies And Courtesies

Now ask yourself, "How did I get in this situation in the first place in light of last month's strategies?"

Part

CROSSWIND

© Copyright 2001 by Dennis Pagen ast month we tried to exhaust the subject of conflicts during a crowded landing. If we didn't exhaust it, ,.....__,we at least tired it out plenty. This month we'll continue our quest for problem-free landings with a look at other things that can go wrong. To wit: turbulence from tip vortices, crossing winds and switching winds. Each of these items is commonly encountered and each of them can be handled as well as possible with a few little tricks. Let's peer into the bag.

LANDING WITH VORTICES The vortices in this case are the organized swirls that are produced at the tips of all wings. These vortices are stronger the slower a glider flies, so the period preceding flare and the flare itself are particularly apt to produce virulent vortices. Of course, you won't encounter your own vortices in straight flight, but you may encounter those of a glider landing immediately before you. The problem is one of control. An airplane's vortices can ball your wing up, while those of another glider can cause a tip fold or a center fold.

When this happens close to the ground, as when landing, the consequences can be bitter.

Figure 1 shows how vortices behave.

They are left swirling by a passing glider and move slowly downward and outward as they grow larger. When they hit the ground they tend to move apart more due to the downward-flowing air entrained between them. When produced by a glider of our size, they can last for more than a

minute, especially on a still, stable day.

The standard aircraft trick for avoiding vortices in a landing situation is shown in Figure 2. Here we see that the following pilot's track is above that of the preceding pilot and the landing point is beyond that of the first pilot. Remember, vortices are no longer produced the moment the glider quits flying.

Unfortunately, there are occasional situations in which you cannot remain above a preceding pilot's path. If that pilot is flying slowly, the problem is even worse, for you might catch up and encounter stronger vortices. Also, the slower he or she is flying, the greater the energy in the vortices, and if you are forced to fly very slowly, the less control you will have. If you are met with this situation, your best escape procedure is to move to the side, speed up and bypass the churning air as shown in Figure 3. If you are a leading pilot in this situation, your responsibility is to fly as fast as you safely can, as low as you can. The worst thing you can do as a leading glider is to fly a slow, floating final. Don't cause an accident.

Sometimes, the pilot in front of you will be oblivious to your presence (or to reasonable courtesy rules) and you don't have room to cast out to the side. Your only defense is to maintain as much maneuvering speed as the pilot in front allows, then focus on keeping the glider straight. The turbulence you experience may be like that of entering a thermal. Fly actively and make quick controls to catch an induced turn the instant it happens.

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Another commonly encountered situation is a wind crossing to the normal or desired landing direction in a field. The desired direction can be dictated by field length, field slope, setup, obstructions or simply habit. When the wind doesn't suit your ideal, you need a strategy.

The primary and simplest strategy when the wind is light is to land as you would normally with only a few additional considerations. Chances are you will be crabbing due to the crosswind, so your touchdown may be with a bit of sideways movement. Don't trip.

In a stronger crosswind you will be crabbing even more (see Figure 4), so crosswind effects are again diminished.

The landing should proceed as normal along the chosen path. Do not flare vigorously or the canopy may tilt downwind and jerk you off your feet.

Remember, more pilots get in trouble trying to make last-second gyrations and jukes to point into the wind than do those who go ahead and land with the wind crossing to their path. Be that as it may, in strong winds I prefer to make an adjustment into the wind as low as 15 feet off the ground. The reason for this action is to avoid the effects of a surprise severe cross in switchy winds.

SWITCHYWINDSTRATEGY Besides the prospect of landing along with a swarm of other gliders, perhaps no other landing complication commands our attention like switching winds. In a severe case, strong thermals can cause a 15-mph ground wind blowing one direction, soon followed by an equally strong wind in the opposite direction. Fortunately, these con-

Stay above first pilot's path and land past him or her.

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Figure 1: Tip Vortices

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Figure 2: Avoiding Vortices

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Figure 3: Moving out of the Way of Vortices

Figure 4: Crabbing Landing in Crosswind

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Figure 5: Landing in a Varying Wind

ditions are rare, but in protected sites the wind will often vary considerably as thermals tear away from the ground.

Let's look at several possible situations. First, consider a wind switching up to 90° with a fairly open landing field.

The situation is depicted in Figure 5. The best strategy in this case is to split the difference between the extremes of the wind's direction and use this as your landing direction. In the figure the pilot heads along the bisector of the angle between the maximum of the wind's variation. In strong winds, a last-minute, careful adjustment may be made to head more into the present wind.

The second possibility occurs in a narrow field. The worst case in this situation is a wind swapping 180 degrees as

16

shown in Figure 6. Here the wrong choice can result in a direct tailwind landing negative fun! The strategy with the best chance of avoiding such a fate is to commit to the landing final direction at the last possible moment. How do you do this? The answer is depicted in the figure.

Begin by losing altitude off to the side of the center of the field. Using 360° turns is best in this situation. Monitor the wind indicators and once you are at the height where you have to choose a landing direction, make your setup according to the current sock information. If the field is short, do a downwind, base and final approach. If the field is long, fly to the center of the field and do a 90° turn to head in the chosen direction.

Refinement to this technique involves watching the sock for the timing of cycles.

If the wind blows for a minute or more in one direction you may choose to dive down quickly and take a cycle. If multiple socks or streamers exist along a field and one shows more consistency, land near that sock in the direction it dictates.

Finally, if a wind is showing extreme, sudden switches, be ready to perform the downwind emergency procedure (PLF) as discussed in The Art ofParagliding, page 95.

Landing is akin to waking up from a lovely flying dream. It can be gentle or abrupt. There's nothing that can spoil a great dream like a rude awakening or ending. But we have strategies to ease our passage from dream to earthly responsibilities.

We have presented some of the tricks for dealing with the complications of landing in this and the previous article.

Learn them, review them in your daydreams and use them when the situation demands. II

Note: Many ofthe items discussed in these articles are covered in more detail in our book The Art of Paragliding. The references below provide an easy guide.

The Art ofParagliding 1) Landing in traffic

189

2)Landing in crosswinds 3)Landing in a tailwind 4) Landing in switchy winds 5) Landing in obstructed or small fields

186 185 184

193

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summer at Chelan, WA. Hang glider and paraglider pilots come from all over the world to fly this exciting choose-your-task competition - straight-line, out-andreturn or triangle. Check out http:/ /www.cloudbase.org/ChelanComps and contact: Russ Gelfan, (206)367-8963, russlfboe@home.com.

COMPETITION UNTIL NOV. 15: 2001 Region 9

Regionals and Region 9 Yearlong XC Contest. The Regionals totals three weekend flights in Region 9 from March 17May 28. The Almost Yearlong Contest acknowledges a contestant's longest flight on any day between March 15 and November 15. Classes for Rookies, Sixty Miles, Open, Rigid and Paragliders. Entry fees $10 and $5 respectively. Contact: Pete Lehmann, lplehmann@aol.com, (412) 6613474, 5811 Elgin St., Pittsburgh, PA 15206.

JULY 3-8: 2001 US. Paragliding Nationals and Pre-PWC. Join the country's best pilots at the premier competition site in the U.S. Register and book accommodations as soon as possible, as entries are limited to 100, and Chelan is very busy on the Fourth of July weekend. Contact: josh_cohn@hotmail.com, www.chelanpg.8k.com.

JULY 5-10: 2001 Red Bull Wings Over Aspen, Aspen, CO The format for this year's event has changed. The Paragliding Cross Country will be replaced with Paragliding Aerobatics. The competition will feature three disciplines: Paragliding Aerobatics, Hang Gliding Aerobatics and Hang Gliding Speed Run. 15 pilots in each discipline will compete for a $36,000 prize purse. For more information or if you are a top pilot and would like to compete contact: Othar Lawrence at fly@redbullwings.com or visit www.redbullwings.com.

JULY 9-14: Chelan X-C Classic. Since 1979, one of the nation's top events of the

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JULY 28-29: Ojai Comp. Duration event on the 28th, taking off from the Chief and landing in downtown Ojai. Race to goal with turnpoints on the 29th, also from the Chief, landing in Ojai. Contact: Claude at info@flyojai.com.

SEPT 1-8: SnowbirdX-C Competition.

Sanctioned Class l, open distance, serial class, GPS verification. Come and help us set new records again this year. Contact: Ken I ludonjorgensen, Two-can Fly Paragliding, 474 E. Tonya Dr., Sandy UT, 84070, (801) 572-3414, www.twocanfly.com, khudonj@qwest.com.

FUN FLYING JULY 14-15: Gorge Fly-In in Hood River, OR. A fun fly-in with prizes for longest flight duration, highest altitude gain, longest X-C and best spot-landing. Flying sites are Bingen, Bald Butte and Cliffside.

Call made each morning to determine the flying site. Dinner and/or party on Saturday evening. Contact: Rick Higgins (541) 387-2112, cell (541) 490-2643, rsunsports@aol.com.

SEPT. 8-9: 11th Annual Pine Mountain Paragliding Fly-In, Pine Mountain, Oregon. Contact: Phil Pohl (541) 3883869.

tently provided pilots with their personal best X-C flights. Beginners to experts can benefit from Chelan's average of five X-Cable days per week in June/July/August.

Contact: Mark Telep, Sunsports Paragliding, (54 l )490-8197.

THROUGH SEPT.: Airplay offering beginner and advanced classes in Washington and Arizona daily. Classes are small with only one or two beginner students per instructor to provide focus.

Advanced clinics covering WX, thermal, XC, and kiting for P2- and higher-rated pilots occur daily. Classes restricted to six maximum. Reservations required.

Contact: dixon@paraglide.com, (520) 526-4579.

THROUGH OCT.: Two-can Fly Paragliding Clinics/Competitions, Point of the Mountain and Utah mountain sites.

JUNE 15-17: Aerobatics clinic with Chris Santacroce, at Bear Lake, UT. JUIY 20-22: Thermal Clinic. AUG 10-12: Maneuvers SIV Safety Clinic, with Chris Santacroce and Bo Criss, at Bear Lake, UT. AUG 14-16: Maneuvers SIV Safety Clinic, with Chris Santacroce and Bo Criss, at Bear Lake, UT. AUG 17-19: Maneuvers SIV Safety Clinic, with Chris Santacroce and Bo Criss, at Bear Lake, UT. SEPT 1-8: SnowbirdX-C Competition. SEPT 29-30: Mountain Flying. OCT 5-8: Instructor Training.

OC1: 20-21: Instructor Recertification.

OCT 27-28: Tandem II & III NOV. 5-10: Six-day SIV/maneuvers clinic at Lake Powell, UT. Room and board provided aboard luxurious 72-foot houseboat. Just bring your flight gear. We provide everything else! Contact: Two-can Fly Paragliding, 474 East Tonya Drive, Sandy, UT 84070 (801) 572-3414 (ph/fax), khudonj@uswest.net,www.twocanfly.com.

CLINICS/MEETINGS/TOURS CHELAN BUTTE SUMMER 2001: Tandem X-C flights, private/group guiding, personalized X-C instruction. The eastern Washington flatlands have consis-

JUNE 22-24: Pilot Tune-up Weekend, Point of the Mountain, Utah. $300. JULY 13-15: Pilot Tune-up Weekend, Point of the Mountain, Utah. $300. JULY 20-22: Maneuvers Clinic, Prineville, Oregon.

PARAGLIDING

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JULY 25-AUG. 3: Europe Tour, Switzerland and France. SEPT. 20-30: Oludeniz, Turkey Tour. Maneuvers clinic and X-C clinic. For all of the above contact: Super Fly, Inc., (801) 255-9595, info@4superfly.com.

AUG: 4-12: Four Cross-Country Paragliding Clinics in the French Alps.

Contact: Philippe Renaudin (516) 6767599. Info at: http://www.supair-usa.com/

AUG. 18-SEPT. 2: Fly Hard, beautiful British Columbia. 16-day "Fly Hard" tour through British Columbia (BC) Canada.

Commences in Vancouver, and ends in Calgary. Fly Ipsuit, Mt. Currie, Blackcomb/Whistler, Black Tusk, The Chief, West Lion, Mt. Mackenzie, Mt. Cheam, Mt. Slesee, Grouse Mountain, Mt. Mercer, Mt. Elk, Bridal Falls, Woodside, Anarchist, Blue Grouse, Coopers, King Eddie, Mara Lake, Mt. 7, Mt. Swansea. Contact: www.iparaglide.com.

AUG. 6-8, 10-12: Parasoft Paragliding School Safety Clinic, at Lake McConahay, NE (since 1992). This year's improved simulator will allow participants to practice difficult recoveries on the ground before performing them over water.

Contact: http://parasoft.boulder.net/ safety.html.

Mtn., Tiger Mtn. and others. Contact: (206) 320-9010, www.fun2f1y.com.

SEPT. 29-0CT. 7: Olu Deniz, Turkey.

Join Mike Eberle on his second adventure to the Aegean Sea. Soar above the 9,000foot launch site and look out over the Mediterranean and Greek islands.

Contact: www.fun2fly.com, (206) 3209010. OCT. 13-14: Octoberfast. Have fun at the second annual Baldy Butte Octoberfest in picturesque central WA. Contact: Jeff Davis (509) 697-7835, Peter Gray (509) 925-9280, or Mike Eberle (206) 320-9010. NOV. 17-26: Chile.

Mike Eberle once again leads you into the Atacama desert of northern Chile for the adventure of a lifetime. All the X-C you desire. Check out the tour section at www.fun2fly.com for articles and photos of past trips. Contact: (206) 320-90 I 0.

THROUGH NOV.: JULY 7-8: Flight Design Rigid Wing Clinic. Geared toward dealers and instructors who are already flying rigid gliders or have an interest in them. Two days in the greater Seattle area with two designers and test pilots from Flight Design. Contact: (206) 320-9010.

AUG. 16-19: Pacific Northwest Campout.

Visit Baldy Butte, Saddle Mtn., Cleman ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ----- - - - - - - - - - - · - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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JUNE

2001

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VENTURING INTO

enezue a article and photos by Mark Dale

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read onl,y a page.

-

Saint Augustine (354-430)

ate January, 2001 - My longawaited trip to Venezuela was finally happening. It had been delayed by disastrous flooding, fraught with an ebb and flow of would-be traveling companions, and warned against by concerned family and friends .

Perseverance paid off, however, and the last leg of a long flight from Seattle had just touched down in the steamy darkness of midnight outside the capital city of Caracas.

Venezuela is a paradoxical place of great natural wealth and beauty juxtaposed against abject poverty, a nation that is the major oil supplier to the United States yet whose president's leftist anti-American rhetoric would leave any visiting U.S. citizen with a lingering sense of paranoia. It is ranked by some as one of the more dangerous countries in the world due to the astronomical rare of crime in the large cities as well as continuing violence along the Colombian border. Yet, I find it best not to judge a country's inhabitants by the manner in which its government behaves, nor by sensationalistic media accounts. Ostensibly this was to be a paragliding trip, a chance to practice our sport in new places. Bur for me paragliding is also an activity that forms a vehicle for exploring different cultures, meeting interesting people and visiting locales far off the beaten path.

Thus I found myself with three traveling companions, Dr. Charles Chaffee (a.k.a. Chaffee), Jeremiah Sr. Ours and Dave Verbois, all primed with anticipation of adventure. Our plan was nor to focus on a particular site in hopes of flying great X-C distances, but rather to sample the smorgasbord of paragliding opportunities in northern Venezuela. Initially we would

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20

visit the city of Merida, located in the Andes below the highest peaks in the country and home to a small community of paraglider pilots. Our intentions afterwards were vague, which opened up a lot of possibilities.

Lovers ofair travel find it exhilarating to hang poised between the illusion ofimmortality and the fact ofdeath.

-

Alexander Chase (1926- )

The following afternoon we were bound for Merida, speeding down the runway on an ATR-47 twin turboprop whose engines and propellers had reached an impressive crescendo. Once airborne, we quickly climbed through scattered cumuli. The passage southwestward was over mountainous terrain. In its folds could be seen small towns and settlements that occasionally appeared amongst breaks in the clouds.

The blue and gray expanse of the Caribbean, visible earlier, had disappeared from view. The drone of engines and the stuffy cabin put me into a stupor. I regained awareness an hour lacer when the pilot announced the descent. The atmosphere became increasingly turbulent as the plane dropped into the high valley cradling our destination. We banked steeply into a 180-degree turn and soon crossed over the runway threshold at great speed. Indeed, it took almost the entire length of the runway for the aircraft to come to a halt. Due to the nature of the terrain, downwind landings at this airport are commonplace.

Little did we know that the previous day a Ruraca Airlines DC-3 had crashed near Ciudad Bolivar in the eastern part of the country, killing all of those aboard, including six Americans. This news caused some distress for those back home until they realized we had no plans to visit that area. Had we ourselves known of this accident prior to our little jaunt to Merida, our

Chaffee and Mark on final approach to the gravel bar at Las Gonzales. Photo by Jeremiah St. Ours.

Dave and Chaffee on final approach to Parque Santa Maria (Merida LZ) in strong valley winds. Photo by Jeremiah St. Ours.

21

knuckles might have been even whiter as the plane finally rolled to a stop.

Waiting to greet us at the airport was Tony Perera. I had discovered Tony via the Internet in 1999 while researching accommodations in Merida. Tony is the proprietor of La Casana de Margot, a small posada in the central part of town. In addition to offering an attractive and economical place to stay, Tony also spoke fluent English and was a paraglider pilot himself.

With Tony was his friend Alonso Carrasquero, whom we came to know by the nickname Chivo ("goat" in Spanish).

Chivo, also a pilot, is an incredible athlete and was ranked third in Venezuela and second in Central America among marathon runners. We were to become good friends with them over the next several weeks.

Tony and Chivo had agreed to act as our guides for the visit. l don't normally

hire guides, but in this case it seemed the prudent thing to do in order to make the most efficient use of our time. In retrospect it was a wise decision. Rather than having to rent an expensive 4WD vehicle we used Tony's rugged Land Cruiser. Instead of wasting hours of precious time searching for obscure launches and LZ's, we had their intimate knowledge of the country to rely on. Smooth transitions through numerous military checkpoints along the roads, good deals on accommodations as we traveled, and their acquaintance with local pilots scattered across the country were all added benefits.

Our first afternoon involved an introduction to Merida. This is a metropolis of some 370,000 people and home to the Universidad de los Andes and a sizeable academic community that lends it a somewhat cultured, bohemian atmosphere. A5

by Jeremiah St. Ours Jen is the little girl on the left, holding her smaller brother (Torococo, Venezuela). Photo by Jeremiah St. Ours.

re are a lot of reasons why I like to paraglide, and flying is only one of them. More impottant to me is being outside, enjoying the camaraderie of my fellow pilots, and myriad ways in which

22

the sport introduces you to new peor,le.

On a recent trip to Venezuela out guides took us to a remote and rarely flown site known as Torococo, a furested, mound-Hke ridge overlooking a large, subtropical flat-

Tony and Chivo frequently pointed out, and with which we wholeheartedly agreed, the city is also home to many beautiful women. This has been said more than once of Venezuela in general and I have no reason to argue!

Merida sits on a huge mesa between two rivers, the Rio Chama and the Rio Albarregas, at an altitude of 5,300'. The weather is mild year round and is distinguished by a dry season from December through March and a rainy season during the remaining months. It is one of the most pleasant climates imaginable, with daytime highs near 80 degrees F and nighttime lows around 60 degrees F. Along each side of the valley rise the highest peaks in Venezuela, including Pico Bolivar at 16,500', the "pico mas alto de Venezuela."

Tropical vegetation abounds, banana and plantain plants, coconut and palm trees, land. Upon disembarking f1;-0m the truck we cliscovered a low..ang;telaliifich, covered· with ta)l, spiny weed~ that were fri:{esred with ticks. Davc: quk~y decided that .it wasn't worth.it, ."given the thermals .weredt particularly wii:11 dcvele>ped." Mark volun-. teered to trJ :first, so Chaffee an:q I were rlSht behiti.d him. Remarkably (after a long Md awkward running thrash) we all made · it off successfully.

Barely airborne, after nearly clipp:ihg a small t~e at the lip, I proceecled to sirjk like a stone. The gradual slope and laQk oh.11y significant lift: left me no. option but to lanij almost lrrnnediately iti. a dtiy s¢hoolyard not. far below the launch. Fortunately, the dirt · patch they called a soccer field was produc~ ingi and I rose back up to the cheers of rhe kid,~just let out rete$s. .

For a while l was able to stay alpft ov~r. a series of small, forested bowls Ju~t beyond , the schooL Nurs~11g :tanclom pocket's of Ufr, but unable to gain .any significant ahitud(;:11 'I began to consider i:ny landing options ..

Much beyond my rat:1ge was the planned LZ in a grasb'Y farmer's field. I.could see it, bur I sure wasn't going to make it. l3efow me was an impenerr11ble can:o.py of mature · tree,,;. 1\1:ybest bet.Wit& therefo~e,~o squeak my way along one of the ridges tl:iat spilled off the bow.I andJand in. a narrow clearing cut into the jungle frofu asi:na.11 farm b~low; . . ...

Had the conditions been windy this wottl.d have been madness, as the bowling~

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PARAGLIDING

From a paragliding standpoint, the flying sites near the city offer their own peculiar challenges. The valley is filled with densely packed buildings including a lot of highriscs, and has a restricted airspace due to the airport. Most landing options are on the northern fringes of town where it pushes up against the steep hillsides of the Sierra La Culata Range. Although several of these LZ's are spacious, many are small and surrounded by obstacles. On the other hand, the launches are reasonable. As at most sites around the world there are times of day during which mellow flights can be had,

typically before midmorning or in the early evening hours. However, to soar or fly cross-counny in the vicinity of Merida one must be airborne midday and deal with tight, bullet thermals and the anabatic wind from the southwest which builds like clockwork. This creates a very strong valley flow that can make landings problematic, and causes a lot of rotor activity behind the steep ridges and spines that make up the complex topography. Combine all of these ingredients and you have the recipe for some heart-thumping flights!

Over the course of the following week we flew at four sites in the area. Loma de Los Angeles and Tachipirin are both thermal sites in Merida which offer X-C possibilities. Las Gonzales is an evening soaring site southwest of town with consistent laminar winds in an arid, desert-like landscape. Then there was La Aguada, accessed

alley-like clearing was just wide enough to accommodate the width of my wing.

Though the branches were still, and the slope not too steep, the air close to the ground was unexpectedly hot, humid and buoyant. I was forced to pull big ears to reach ground before being strained through a now-visible barbed-wire fence.

Mark was having better saw me land, and radioed that it looked as though I could follow a dirt doublNrack down past a farm then out to the the time that it took me to fold up, my wing was covered with ticks. I proceeded downhill where I had to cross over the fence that I had just avoided. It was a good thing I landed short; Venezuelan barbed wire is particularly nasty. I then followed a creek that ran down toward a primitive dirt road.

Cautiously approaching a small farmstead, I gathered a handful of stones to ward off the family's perros. Near the house, l was stopped by a labyrinth of barbed wire fences, too rickety to climb over and too tall to dogs were emaciated, posing no danger, so I dropped my ammo.

Fortunately, a girl stooped over a small plastic tub was washing dishes in yard. I called out to her from behind the first fence, "Buenos dfas!" Startled, she dropped dishes, fell backward, looked up and L;>" sat'd, "('), "<-Uc. No doubt she was wondering what I burst upon her remote I was no one travels. I

had funny skin and hair, a radio and ca.i;nera everyon,e's curio$ity wok over. They pep~ on my chest, an altimeter watch, fancy sun- pered me:withql;lesdons.i~Spanish: · glasses and boots, and a huge badi,pack. ·I ''Wlli.at are. you doing ;here? Are yo.u lost? . repeated my greeting to allay her fears, and Why do you .talldut1.nyf What is al;l that told her that I was trying to reach the tda,:t stuffii' I; e;flained in the !,est Espafio[l As her trepidation waned, her b.til\iiµlt could mu~ter that Th~g; jµmped :qtf.d)e smile overtook her otherwise dirty face: mou.ntain behin:d them, and that I had Before crossing the first fence I learned that flown: downto.tlieir pa,stii,re with the'air~ her name was Jen, she was seven, and she craft that wasi:U my backpack. :Brom th¢. had never seen a gringo before. She wore a puzzled loeks eh th~ir f.tces l mlght as well brown blouse with a Mickey logo .on the. ··hiive said, ''Take me tq•yqux l~der." front, she was shoeless !lnd thin1 b:ut happy.

Aftety.isitin~ fo.r.:a while ~4 l~arnbtg · Soon she came forward to gujqe me m0ie abowt each otker I t~.rru:ed my Joy through the maze, showing.me whkh ···offoreigti.t;tavel1 t'eople are·.·people, wher~. "gates" to open and which <ilt:u;s to1tvt;1id. e:ver you SQ.They have·equal .asJ;>imtion:s Scruffy chickens pecked.about, while a at:i.d .t,ats, .µ1d all, latigli..µ1d .cry the :si~e. . pie of earnest pigs bluffod lo~g•eno1Jg9 ·This &mUy:was ma,tetially .desiii;uie .,_ :t1,,e. to make me wish I had held ontlb thbse · •· monetary valu,e: of ~y p:ii!!lpher~i.a w~> : stones a little longer. . . ... ·• .. .

Vl':ortb more th~ thi~fwltl,~verseePbut A5 we approacl1ed hen;ltarch<i\d~root . ritjt ln:ki.ndnes~ i!l.lld str9n,g:in spitit; adobe-block houseshera!'l~eadtG·ca.ll'oQ.t •l~~iyas~di£l·coul.4f~e.th~1r pho'" to her mother. There was· +ib glassi slitreehs to11,t~ppc. 1:'ho.u~·th~li# ~ever had it• or doors. Black soot rose above the wrn.dow taken before; morn qtlk;kly:tgre~ il.lld through which also wafted d1e muted · :gath~red her bxpod, l ~nipped Q~e pictµre, sound of a battery~powered radio; Wieh · smiled, an:dHeacled ~Wlifhep~th; electricity or running water, they s4bsist~d C1imbfng oyef bne:last fcir~~efot~J~Gh· on what nature provid.ed iµld their fa.tm in:g the r0fdI :foqkedi bac1¥. iowaxd. my n;~ produced. · .· f~1ends wh41.wci:e·alb1\.ia,virig!ood.b)re~ •· · Kids were everywhere; soon.follow~dhy .. They were :1u.m(jst out.ci(earsl!rt;11: yqhe:rt j their mod1er who scurried.fr.om thehouse looked up and:yeUeli ''M;irr:dMirn1Mt not sure what she would flnd; She :tt;:>O was afrligu.. (!std ai11ibaen ,tiiiJlo!'1 p~yehid bare-foot, missing mosrofher teeth, la;nd · de¢id~d to la~1ch.aftti! ~I<,. arid ~!';reheir breast feeding her youngest son. She ainazement, a$ he.s~ir~9 o;vej: eheJfhQUSe seemed stunned to see me., but not .apx;ioqs, on his way to the 1Z~ ~b :U~Wtttingly:co:r~ In fact, after the initial shock wore offi rqborated my tale. •: ·

and profusely flowering bougainvillea, to name a few. Surprisingly, there were no bothersome insects.

Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.

--- African Proverb

JUNE

2001

from the second station of the teleferico that rises from Merida to the upper flanks of Pico Bolivar.

A little rebellion now and then is a good thing.

- Thomas Jefferson (17 43-1826)

Our first and only flight at Loma de Los Angeles was spiced up with strong thermals, a low cloudbase, and 25-30 mph gusty winds at the primary LZ. We flew Tachipirin several times during the week, which provided us with some memorable experiences both in the air and on the ground. One day, after landing at the primary LZ on the university grounds, Jeremiah found himself sandwiched between a mean-looking bull (fortunately tethered) and an unruly student demonstration. Demonstrations occur here quite

me

ii. >.·

23

often, but far from our notion of their counterparts in the U.S ., these affairs involve tire burning, rock throwing, window smashing and various ocher confrontational tactics. Jeremiah was rescued in the nick of time by Tony and Chivo.

My best flight from Tachipirin was a thrilling affair during which I followed a couple of the local pilots, Espaldo and Jorge, on a convoluted route that took us around the far northeastern fringe of town.

The thermals produced by several of the spines we flew above were nasty suckers, the kind chat make me wonder why the stitching didn't rip our of the wing. My anxiety meter eventually pegged and I landed in strong winds at a field east of town. It was not a great distance as the crow flies, but hard earned nonetheless. Flying X-C in Merida may not result in huge miles bur will challenge most pilots.

We visited the Las Gonzales site several times and were rewarded with enjoyable soaring into the twilight hours. Indeed, many pilots carry strobe lights as they will often fly until well after dark! The landscape is remarkable and quite different from Merida. Cactus, agave and various ocher desert plants abound. The terrain is harsh and dry, eroded into deep gullies and ridges chat are composed of various brightly colored layers of soil and rock. The spacious launch sits at the top center of a huge bowl chat allows everyone plenty of room to play. The LZ is located beside a small settlement where pilots gather in the evening at the local cantina to drink cold cervezas and swap stories.

Our last flight in Merida was from La Aguada. As mentioned earlier, chis is near the second station of the teleferico chat runs from Merida up the side of Pico Bolivar. This is the world's longest and highest tram , built by the French in 1958 and rising 10,000' from valley floor to its terminus at over 15 ,000' in four stages.

The stations at the end of each stage are named, ascendingly, La Montana, La Aguada, Loma Redonda and Pico Espejo.

Although flights have been made from near the penultimate Loma Redonda station, it requires rare conditions to fly safely. La Aguada, more commonly flown, offers a breathtaking morning flight to the valley floor from an altitude of 11,500'. The LZ for this site is near the airport on the south side of the valley and requires coordination with the air traffic authorities. There must

PARAGLIDING

be an active NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) specifying that paragliding activity is taking place in the vicinity. Also, the control tower needs to be notified via radio just prior to launching. Actually, notification of the control tower is required when flying any of the sites in Merida proper. No problema, as there is a good working relationship between the local free-flying community and the aviation officials.

We were fortunate in that we were all able to fly from La Aguada, which lies in the paramo climatic zone, characterized by open, grassy meadows and the unique frailejon plant. The wind was light and across the hill, requiring a strong run down a steep slope that was interspersed with large rocks. I was gasping for breath in the thin air after becoming airborne. The flight was sublime with the slanted morning light lending great depth to the massive valley. As I flew over the steep canyon of the Rio Chama I was joined by several huge black vultures. My eyes were drawn up and down the lush basin as I cried to take in the huge dimensions of the vista.

Like everyone else, I landed with a big smile on my face.

When not flying we were relaxing at the posada, eating delicious, inexpensive food at one of the countless restaurants, or strolling through town, typically to Plaza Bolivar which is the city's heart. There are

JUNE 2001

many landmarks and plazas in Venezuela named after Simon Bolivar, the great liberator and national hero. Did I mention food?

My favorite meal was the pabellon criollo, considered the national dish. This delectable offering consists of shredded beef cooked with garlic, coriander, tomatoes, onions and green pepper. It is typically served with fried plantain, rice, black beans and perhaps boiled yucca root or a salad.

Most meals come with arepas, hockey puck-shaped pieces of fried corn or wheat flour. A typical meal with a beer will only set you back about four or five dollars U.S.

There is not a mountain so high that an ass loaded with gold cannot climb it.

-

Spanish Proverb

One of our goals for the trip was to climb Pico Bolivar. Despite its 16,500' height, it can be climbed in a relatively shore time due to the easy access provided by the teleferico . Chaffee, Jeremial1 and I decided we would try it as a two-day outing. The Inparques (park service) requires climbers on Pico Bolivar to use a guide, so we made arrangements with Natoura Adventure Tours. Our guide, Jorge, a local university student, was a handsome athletic young man of 23 years who I'm sure has broken the hearts of many women. He was a great person and we thoroughly enjoyed our

time with him.

Once again we found ourselves on the teleferico, riding it to the terminus at Pico Espejo. From here we followed the downand-up trail to Laguna de Timoncitos, a small, azure lake at 15,400' that is base camp for climbs on this side of the mountain. The lake sits in a windswept alpine basin devoid of vegetation and surrounded by towering rock walls. Our arrival during the early afternoon gave us plenty of time to attempt the summit. We donned our climbing harnesses and rope and proceeded upward with Jorge taking the lead. The altitude started making itself felt in a big way.

The route to the summit involved several sections of moderate rock climbing and led up and around to the north face for the final pitches to the top. Our position was dramatic. A large broken glacier clung to the steep face below us and clouds swirled between the pinnacles of the summit ridge. We arrived on top during late afternoon and shared the summit with a fiberglass bust of Bolivar himself A series of rappels and downclimbing led us back

26

to camp. The wind picked up and the temperature plummeted as soon as the shadows fell over the basin. After a filling dinner we retired to the tents for an evening of cold and fitful sleep. The dome of stars overhead was breathtaking in its brilliance and clarity. We were up at dawn and made the trudge back to Pico Espejo where we caught one of the first rides down. It was like slipping into a warm bath as we descended from the frigid heights to the semitropical valley.

I have wandered all my life, and I have traveled; the difference between the two is this we wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.

Hilaire Belloc (1870-1953) The following morning, now 10 days into our journey, we said goodbye to Merida and piled into the venerable Land Cruiser for the second half of our adventure, a road tour concocted by Tony to visit various flying sites between Merida and Caracas. Our first destination was La Puerta, a small

town with two free-flying sites nearby and a handful oflocal pilots. The ride was long, bur the monotony of the road was broken by the hell-bent driving habits of Venezuelans. Along the way we visited the site of a captive Andean condor breeding program and were actually able to stroke the head of one of these magnificent birds.

We also crossed the highest pass on the Venezuelan highway system at over 12,000', the Paso del Aguila (Eagle Pass).

It was late in the day when we arrived at La Puerta. A lovely village in a long narrow valley, La Puerta sits at 5,400' elevation and is a popular getaway for citizens of Maracaibo, a large tropical city that is situated on a gargantuan lal<e by the same name near Venezuela's northern coast.

Tony quickly made arrangements for us to rent a house for two days that came to less than $20 apiece. That evening after dinner we had a great time hanging out on the town plaza. It being a Saturday night there was a lot of activity and we had plenty of opportunity to practice our Spanish.

Chivo, as always, seemed to quickly make PARAGLIDING

friends, especially when they were of the female variety. There was a bit of excitement when a highly intoxicated man's vehicle started rolling down the hill unattended. He ran behind it to try to stop its progress. The truck knocked him down, rolled over his legs, then crashed into a parked car, narrowly missing a street vendor's hotdog stand. Miraculously, the victim rose from the pavement after a few minutes and began to walk around to assess the damages, followed by a large entourage. He was likely injured but too drunk to notice!

The next morning we headed up to look for a site above town that Tony had flown years before. New cultivation on the hillside had removed the previous launch and it took a while before we could find a small pasture at 7,200' and get permission to fly from a wizened old farmer. By this time it was midday and the east-facing launch was being subjected to switching winds. The terrain forms a bench out in front of launch and beyond that strong thermals were ripping up the hillside. This made for an exciting departure from the slope, but once over the valley things calmed down considerably. The flight provided us with a sweeping view of the watershed and the higher peaks not visible from below. We landed among a group of excited school kids not far from the plaza. I was so distracted by the mob of children that I didn't notice an angry bull trotting up behind me as I carried my bundled glider. "Mark, watch out!" Jeremiah yelled, and I turned around just in time to see the bovine come up short on his tether. Whew!

We radioed a warning to Dave. The bull, staring intently at Dave as he made his final approach, was contemplating, I'm sure, how best to gore the gringo!

That afternoon we visited one of the most enjoyable sites on our excursion, El Olympo, suitable for pilots of all skill levels. Located several miles down the valley from La Puerta, it offers a nice launch as well as a huge LZ. Upon arriving we quickly set up our wings and flew. Chaffee and I circled up several hundred feet in a mellow thermal and crossed a side valley to a ridge where Tony promised us we would find lift. Indeed, we did, and had no trouble climbing over the summit of the peak behind us. We could see a large fire creeping up the hills between our position and La Puerta, its smoke filling the sky (we saw JUNE

2001

many fires and charred hillsides during our journey, the result of a regional drought).

After enjoying the flight for some time a dark, menacing cloud started creeping toward us. fu always when flying an unfamiliar site, I chose to err on the side of caution and headed out to land. The storm cell eventually passed to the north.

On our subsequent trip up the hill we encountered several of the local pilots and spent the rest of the afternoon soaring with them in very nice conditions. Jeremiah and Chaffee let Chivo and Tony, respectively, fly their wings as the two didn't have any PG gear with them. At the end of the day we spent time with our new friends at what they jokingly call the "Iron Bridge Club." As you might have guessed, this is an old iron bridge spanning a creek just off the main roadway, and conveniently near a roadside stand serving icy cervezas. We had a wonderful time as dusk fell, chatting with Rafael, Victor, Julio, Felix and others.

Rafael was the most experienced local pilot, and regaled us with his tale of discovering and flying a site at over 12,000' in the mountains just northeast of La Puerta.

He believes it might be possible to fly from there to Lake Maraicabo which sits at sea level. After dark we said goodbye and retired for the evening.

The following day was a long one. Our destination this time was the tiny hamlet of Guarito, but first we planned to stop en route and fly at Torococo. Named after a nearby town, Torococo was a newly discovered site that had only been flown a few times. Rafael was quite excited about its potential and had urged us to take time to visit it. After a couple of hours of driving we took a winding, paved road that led to the launch. This was the most tropical locale we had yet encountered, very hot and humid. The hillsides were lush with vegetation including a profusion of apamate trees that were covered with bright orange blooms. There were two choices for takeoff and neither was appealing. One, right off the road, required laying the wing out on pavement, then running off the shoulder onto a steep, brushy slope. The other choice was a very shallow pasture covered with two- or three-foot-high thorny vegetation and reputed to be home to a multitude of ticks. After looking at each option, all of us except Dave chose the pasture.

Despite the heat we put on our long

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27

pan rs and rucked them into our boors ro keep the criners ar bay. Well, everyone save Chivo. For some reason he wore his shores and by the time he had helped us launch he was covered wirh ricks. He was srill picking chem off over a week lacer! I flew fi.rsr and my takeoff run seemed ro lase forever as I crashed through the nasty flora char rore at my churning legs. After a sprint of over 150' the slope finally steepened enough char I became airborne. I flew out quire a ways before finding a weak thermal char coalesced with several others into a nice far one. From that point it was easy ro work up ro cloudbase 2,000' over launch.

Whar a wonderful view! In front was a wide expanse of culrivared fields on the flatlands, while behind were gentle verdanr hills. I watched Jeremiah and Chaffee working various pieces of lift in the vicinity. Ir rook Dave some time ro get airborne from the road launch. After gaining and losing a couple of thousand feer of altitude several rimes, I finally headed out ro the flats ro see whar would happen. l was able ro hop from cloud ro cloud for a bit until they perered om away from the hill, and was forced down on the eastern fringes of the rown ofTorococo.

A group of about 17 kids convened as I put away my gear in rhe fallow field. I enlisred several of them ro help me fold my wing. The heat was oppressive and I was sweating like a pig. I gave them each a small toy in appreciarion of their assistance.

28

They led me in a procession back to rhe main road, and I was muck by the politeness of both children and adults as I passed by rheir poor homes, some builr of nothing more than mud and sricks. After an hour's wait my companions arrived to retrieve me. Given whar I had seen I believe that very long flighrs would be possible over the flatlands here. Ir was sarisfying ro be a part of pioneering a new site.

No vacation goes unpunished -

Karl A. Hakkarainen

Another four hours of driving in the swelrering hear brought us to Guarito, where Tony has a friend whose father owns the only horel in rown, situared right on the small plaza. When I opened the door ro our room my anention was drawn to a mulritude of cockroaches scurrying to hide in the dark places. A single bare light bulb hung by a cord from the cracked ceiling and the air was perfumed with the putrid essence of garbage. Then we discovered that no water issued forth from the shower.

Due to the ongoing drought there was a limited water supply. Ir would be turned on in the evening bm only lasted a short while. Those unlucky enough to shower late had to douse themselves with buckets of cold agua that had been saved earlier in rhe day. There was some consolation in chat the hotel restaurant was good. That evening we enjoyed tasty dinners, mine

being the local catfish.

The next day we ventured om to what was the friendliest appearing site we had yet seen in Venezuela. The launch, a long, high, grassy ridge wirh countless places to lay out, faced an immense agricultural valley wirh countless options for landing. The prevailing wind was straight into the hillside. Unfortunately, despite being ideal in appearance, it turned out ro be the only site we visited that we didn't fly. Winds of 30+ mph pounded us as we waited hours for it to abate, which never happened.

However, adventure is where you find ir.

Abom the time we decided to leave before rurning into desiccated mummies under the intense sun and blowtorch gale, our salvation from boredom appeared in a group of local teenagers. They carried flashlights and ropes and were off ro explore a nearby cave. We were invited along and within an hour were descending into a cramped slot that split the limestone foundation of the hill. Lowering ourselves into the darkness hand over hand on a frayed hemp rope looped around a short rock horn, we followed the young explorers. The narrow, twisting passageway was slimy with bat guano, and one of the winged creatures kept jetting by our heads.

Hmmm, I remember reading something abom vampire bats in Venezuela. There was barely room to move. At the front of the Line several of the kids were shoving each other headfirst into a small hole much Like loading a cannon with shells. That was enough for me. As the light from my headlamp began to yellow and dim from weak batteries I decided it was time ro retrear. It felt good to emerge from the claustrophobic worm hole into the great wide open. I think the locals were a bit disappointed that there were no Rambo types among the Americans!

Back in Guarito that evening we decided that if condirions tomorrow remained unchanged we would cm our visit short and head for the next destination. After dinner we relaxed in the town square and were the object of polite curiosity from the locals.

Not many gringos visit this hamlet and, according to Tony, everyone knew of us.

The weather looked the same in the morning, so we started the long drive ro El Jarillo, our final srop on the road tour. This village is located about a 1.5-hour drive from Caracas and was one ofTony's favorite places to fly. On the way there we

PARAGLIDING

were subject to several military checkpoints where soldiers stood in the road shouldering shotguns and automatic weapons. We passed through the city of La Victoria above which sits Venezuela's premier X-C flying site, Loma Lisa. This site is notorious for very strong thermal activity but also for a hazard not familiar to us visiting pilots.

Surrounding the site is a series of barrios (slums), which one absolutely does not want to land near. A Japanese pilot made the mistake of doing just that during a competition several years ago and was robbed of everything except his underwear.

Some of the local pilots fly with pistols for protection. This might seem over-reactive but consider this: In neighboring Colombia, the country's hang gliding champion was murdered when he landed in a barrio. We did not fly Loma Lisa.

Beyond La Victoria we drove up a long valley and began climbing the hills at its far end. We stopped briefly to look at the Placivel site, a beautiful place with a nice takeoff and landing field and one of the more popular flying destinations in the country, with great X-C potential. We would return to fly it a few days later. We continued on the winding road, passing through the incongruous town of La Colonia Tovar. Settled by German immigrants in the early l 800's, La Colonia Tovar is still inhabited by their descendents whose fair skin and blonde hair are seemingly out of place in Venezuela. The buildings are all of the Bavarian style of architecture and cling to the steep slopes of cloud forest at 7,000' elevation.

In the early evening we arrived at El Jarillo, a collection of homes, farms and a church scattered along a steep slope. The owner of the solitary hotel assured us that there was plenty of hot water available, which we were relieved to hear after our experience in Guarito. The assurance wasn't a lie but the source of hot water was quite frightening. An electric showerhead, the likes of which I hadn't seen since a visit to Peru in 1985, sat menacingly over the bathtub. Bare wires led to it from the open window. Standing in running water with this thing hovering inches from one's head required diligence. Overzealous bathers whose hands bumped the device were rewarded with a display of sparks, but luckily no electrocutions.

The following afternoon we enjoyed several flights at the local site, a nice, grassy

30

off during the early evening hours we were only able to have brief soaring flights as the lift quickly died. All or nothing it seemed.

Little did we know that these were to be the last flights of our trip, as a weather system moved in and laid a blanket of clouds and light rain over the area for the next few days.

The more I traveled the more I realized that fear makes strangers ofpeople who should be friends.

-

ridge-top launch that allowed one to fly from either side. The LZ is a small dirt play field bulldozed out of the steep slope far below. It is imperative that one be careful to set up for the landing approach, for if you overshoot the field and can't climb up again for another try you are screwed. The valley, which falls away for a couple of thousand feet below town, becomes steep and narrow with dense forest covering the sides and very few bailouts. Our best flight that day involved climbing up the ridge behind launch in silky smooth lift to one hill's summit, then following a connecting ridge out to another summit and back. As the lift gradually died later, we all practiced multiple top- and side-hill landings.

On our second day we drove to Placivel but were unable to fly until very late due to blown-out conditions. While we were waiting, one of the largest dust devils I've ever seen formed on the lee side of the launch, ripping up pieces of vegetation from the recently burned slope and carrying them all the way to cloudbase. It twisted and danced in demonic fashion before tracking out of sight. When the wind finally backed

Shirley Maclaine (1934-)

Tony received the bad news that his grandmother in Caracas had died. We wouldn't have a chance to see him again so we said our good-byes prior to his leaving to attend the funeral. We used our remaining time to explore the area during the day and hang out with the locals at the bar in the evenings. Those were great opportunities to break down cultural barriers and to understand how like ourselves people in other countries are, rather than how different. Our discussions ranged from flying to politics, and it was a wonderful chance for us to practice our Spanish. Funny how the fluency of one's non-native language increases in direct proportion to the amount of beer consumed!

Our last evening was melancholy as we knew the adventure was near its end. Dave remained in the area for another week to meet two paragliding buddies from the east coast of the U.S. for more flying. In the dark silence before dawn, Chivo drove the rest of us to the airport where we said our final good-byes. After numerous checkpoints, bag searches, X-rays and metal detector scans we were finally allowed on the plane that was to take us back to our familiar routines. And with us we carried new memories to be woven into the fabric of our lives.

EPILOGUE

Danger and delight grow on one stalk.

-

English Proverb

It is now more than two months since we returned from Venezuela. A week ago we received the sad news that one of our new friends, Benjamin Siegler, once mayor of El Jarillo and patriarch of the local pilots, died in a paragliding accident. May he rest in peace. Ill PARAGLIDING

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THE BEGINNING was having lunch in La Jolla, California over two and a half years ago, facing north looking toward the cliffs at Torrey Pines. I noticed brightly colored objects hovering or flying above and along the cliffs. After some time I realized chat it was not birds I was watching but paragliders.

After lunch my wife and I drove toward Torrey Pines, getting our driving directions from the gliders and sailplanes in the air, flying over one area of the cliff which I lacer discovered was Torrey Pines Glider Port. Torrey Pines is one of the only historic soaring sites still active in the United States. Charles Lindberg landed a sailplane on the beaches below Torrey Pines in his early days of flying.

As a longtime fixed-wing pilot, hot-air balloon pilot and sailor, I have always been interested in wind sports, and I am always on the lookout for something unique. Paragliding is definitely unique, especially for chose of us who learn to fly chem after the age of 50. I am now 54 years old.

I cried hang gliding at a park above a beach in Santa Barbara, California in the mid-1970's with the urging of a friend who invented the ballistic parachute, Boris Popov, a high school friend and university sports teammate. I first saw paragliding about 10 years ago while traveling in Europe. I was fascinated by the possibilities as I watched brightly colored, parachute-like gliders silently skimming down the slopes of a ski area 150 feet above the ground, gliding like birds, wings extended above the slopes.

Mose peopie find paragiiding interesting but would most likely not consider learning to fly. When I told one of my friends chat I had taken up paragliding, he stood up, lifted one foot off the ground and proclaimed chat chis was as far as he was interested in being off the ground, other than flying in a commercial airliner.

I

FIRST IMPRESSIONS, TORREY PINES, CALIFORNIA It was surreal. I watched as more than 20 gliders floated on the wind effortlessly, as far as the eye could see. Gliders were caking off and landing in slow motion as pilots floated to smooch landings. They appeared to be stepping out of the air, flying their gliders to the ground while

32

blowing whistles. I lacer found out chat there are very good safety reasons for this.

That early April day at Torrey Pines, paragliders, hang gliders, RC gliders and full-sized sailplanes where all launching, flying and landing at once; the air was so full of aircraft. Off in the distance hoc-air balloons could be seen floating to the ease over Del Mar, California. What a sight!

FIRST PARAGLIDER FLIGHT My first flight in a paraglider was a tandem with David Jebb, master pilot at Torrey pines. I was surprised at how

secure I felt and how effortless flying a paraglider seemed to be from takeoff to landing. The launch was smooth and the landing was even smoother as we floated to the ground after a 15-minute flight.

This was really something, as both David and I are 200-pounders and we were flying in light-wind conditions.

This first tandem flight spoke volumes about the efforts put forth at Torrey Pines Glider Port to promote paragliding and gee new people interested in the sport.

This was a free tandem flight with no strings attached. I chink he may have felt PARAGLIDING

er Fifty

sorry for an old guy like me, standing there with my mouth wide open, watching everyone fly chat day.

FIRST LESSONS My first lessons were also at Torrey.

Learning co kite beat the hell out of me, as I was overweight, lazy and focused on getting into the air as opposed co honing my kiting skills, which I paid for later.

The ocher thing I had co learn was co forget everything I knew about flying fixedwing aircraft. Yes, weather knowledge and the ability co judge speed, direction and

JUNE 2001

glide are valuable skills, but when it comes co flying a paraglider, skills learned flying fixed-wing aircraft do not necessarily help, since your body is a part of the aircraft. What you do or don't do with your body has a major effect on what happens co the glider on the ground and in the air. I found paragliding co be somewhat like windsurfing. However, one thing fixed-wing airplanes and paragliders have in common is, "Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing."

Another phrase I often think about just before launching is, "It's not the fall chat hum you, it's the sudden stop at the bottom."

When you're over 50, or 40, or even 30, muscle memory is slower co develop, and there is no question chat for those learning co fly after 40 or 50, paragliding is a great weight-reduction and unique weight-training program. It surprised me that it was so difficult for new student pilots co figure out chat you want co be directly between the direction of the wind and the glider co successfully kite, and that the glider will almost fly by itself, if one lets it. After much observation, it appears that whether you're over 50 or just over 20, the same thought processes can be difficult co grasp.

If someone would have cold me I would be carrying a 65-pound pack up steep hills, walking great distances co "para-wait," and then launching for a five-minute sledder (or "fuffy," as our South African paraglider friends call them) I would have cold them they were crazy. Amazingly, chat's just what I did during my first sweaty summer of flying the hills and mountains of Southern California at sites like Litcle Black Mountain, Otay Mesa, Horse Canyon and Crescline/Marshall for a real treat in I 00+ degree temperatures.

The other dynamic I continue co learn about concerning paragliding is what is going on invisibly around us every day with wind currents in the atmosphere.

Whether you fly thermals or ridge lift you soon discover that every day is a new day of flying; the dynamics of micrometeorology are complicated and can change in minutes. It amazes me how subtle and complex the movement of the air in our atmosphere is.

My first paraglider flights were at Torrey Pines, running down the upper

'-

.--.._,

ABOVE AND LEFT Soaring at Torrey Pines, California.

33

s USHGA is issuing its annual call for nominations to the national Board of Directors. Eleven positions are open for election in November 2001 for a two-year term beginning January 2002.

USHGA members seeking position on the ballot should send to headquarters for receipt no later than August 20, 2001 the following information: name and USHGA number, photo and resume (one page containing the candidate's hang/paragliding activities and viewpoints, written consent to be nominated and that they will serve if elected).

Candidates must be nominated by at least three USHGA members residing in the candidate's region.

Nominations are needed in the following regions. The current Directors, whose terms are up for reelection in 2002, are listed below.

Ballots will be distributed with the November issue of HANG GLIDING and PARAGLIDING magazines.

USIIGA needs the very best volunteers to help guide the safe development and growth of the sports. Forward candidate material for receipt no later than August 20 to: USHGA, PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901-1330.

Reg!t Current Director 1 Mark Forbes Jamie Shelden 2 Scott Gasparian John Greynald 3 Gregg Lawless 4 Jim Zeiset Frank Gillette 5 6 Jeff Sinason Nominations are not needed 7

8

in Region 7 for this election.

Nominations are not needed in Region 8.for this election.

9

Randy Leggett

10

Matt Taber

11 12

Kent Robinson Nominations are not needed in Region/ 2 for this election

States within regi_Qn Alaska, Oregon, Washington Northern California, Nevada Southern California, Hawaii Arizona, Colorado, El Paso TX, New Mexico, Utah Idaho, Montana, Wyoming Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont Washington DC, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico Texas (excluding El Paso), Louisiana New Jersey, New York

The following form is for your convenience.

****************************************************************************************** REGIONAL DIRECTOR ELECTION NOMINATION FORM I hereby nominate _____· · - · - · - - - - - · --·-··-··- as a candidate for Regional Director for Region # _ _ .. - · - · I understand that his/her name will be placed on the Official Ballot for the 2002 Regional Director Election if three nominations are received at the USHGA office by August 20, 2001.

NAME - - - - · · - - · · - - - · - - - - - - - - - - - - - · -USHGA# - - - · - - - - -REGION#- - - - - -

launch area for a 100-foot glide and semiflared landing well before reaching the 340-foot cliff above Black's Beach. My next flights were from small hills at Otay Mesa right on the Mexican border, for quarter-mile sledders and more landing practice. These successful flights led to more flying at Little Black Mountain, using forward launches in low winds and running like hell straight off the hill, several times with no glider overhead.

Fortunately, my instructors, Armin and Gabe, stopped me before I ran off launch with my glider dragging behind me. This experience does get your attention. You quickly learn to hold pressure in the glider, weight forward, and to glance up at your glider to see if it's there! I also learned to wear long pants after some baseball-like slide-ins due to aborted launches.

I remember my first cliff launch and flight at Torrey vividly. It was a late summer afternoon with only few other pilots flying, and there was a five mph wind from the west. With the sun low in the sky I launched under instructor supervision via radio, and made a slow, controlled launch and a short glide to a landing on the beach. I will never forget it!

This had been my dream, to fly at Torrey Pines. Now that dream has evolved into going cross-country for 30 or more miles and flying at a few competitions.

My first glider was a "bullet-proof" Paratech P-24. Being on the high side of the weight range, the glider was pressurized to the max, stable, and very forgiv-

JUNE

2001

ing. It was also fast for a DHV 1-2 glider with good wind penetration. The glider was of great interest to everyone, as it was one of the first Paratech gliders to be delivered and flown in Southern California.

Excitement over this glider started from the time it was first flown. At my request, Urs Imhoff, visiting expert testpilot and instructor from Switzerland (who had helped design the P-24) testflew the new glider for me, unbeknownst to the other instructors and experienced pilots at Torrey. Suddenly there were pilots and instructors yelling and screaming, and whistles were blowing signaling a serious problem on the hill. Everyone was screaming, "Kelsey's going down on his new glider!" as I walked up from behind them to ask what was wrong after a brief restroom break Imhoff was test-flying my glider with my helmet and a look-alike Paratech flight suit, performing spirals, negative spins and steep wingovers over the ocean in front of the north face of Torrey. Everyone thought it was me - in big trouble! This was followed by great relief on everyone's part and lots of laughter once they realized that I was on the ground, standing with them, watching Imhoff perform.

The Paratech P-24 was so stable and solid I was given the nickname "Flying Rock" by my fellow student pilots and new friends from Switzerland. As everyone knows, rocks can't fly! Later, upon returning home from flying in Europe, I found the words "Flying Rock" on the

wingtip of my glider when I kited it for the first time at 1orrey.

That glider was later handed off in great condition to another student at Torrey Pines. I still see it several times a month flying at Torrey or in the mountains around San Diego.

INSTRUCTORS AND EXPERIENCED PILOTS HELP My first couple of days of instruction were with David Jebb, Master pilot, instructor, and director of Torrey Pines Glider Port. The first several days of torture (mostly self-inflicted) led to more lessons and patient instruction from Ki Hong, an internationally known pilot and great instructor. Ki is a wonderful instructor who genuinely cares about his students and safe flying. Gabe Jebb and Armin took over from there. My later P-2 activities were supervised by Urs Imhoff, a test-pilot, instructor, and glider and chute designer. Urs is a great instructor and pilot, and is very calm and confidenceinspiring.

Urs understands how gliders fly, what it takes to fly them, and the issues new pilots face and need to master in order to fly well and fly safely. He is what I would call a "four-dimensional" instructor, the four dimensions being wing, air, technique, and most importantly, mind. It would take another entire article to tell you about Urs, his instructional approach and his flying school in Switzerland. If anyone is interested in flying in Switzerland, and enjoying some wonderful experiences with the local pilots, I would highly recommend that you contact Urs. Feel free to contact me at r2k@pacbell.net and I will provide you will his e-mail.

Airfare from the U.S. west coast to Zurich is only about $500, and the Sarnin and Interlocken Valleys are only an hour's train ride away. You can stay at a great hotel called the Angle in Sarnin right near the lake for $60 per night. You can fly the valley, land for lunch at one of the mountainside "farmer mountain homes," enjoy fresh cheese, fruits, meats and drinks for six dollars, and relaunch to fly until late afternoon. You can land within blocks of the train station and take the train back to Sarnin and your home at the Angle Hotel. Sledders from many sites

36

PARAGLIDING

are 30 to 40 minutes in duration with huge verticals.

Monty Bell, now of Maui, Hawaii, influenced me just by watching him fly and listening to him, and he helped my flying strategy and conservative approach to the sport. He can watch you fly for 10 minutes and make a simple suggestion, solving a problem you may have been trying to resolve for months or years. It might be something as simple as your harness being adjusted improperly, which doesn't allow weight to be placed appropriately on the front (A's) of the glider, causing kiting and launch problems.

Anyone who knows Monty has heard the phrase, "If you can't handle the glider on the ground you won't be able to handle it in the air." You will almost always see Monty ground handle and "test the air" before flying. I also benefited from and enjoyed the fact that Monty will get into the air with you, so you can play follow the leader and learn better landing techniques, or fly a site better than you thought possible.

After my trip to Switzerland, where my instruction continued, I started to fly many Southern Californian flying sites with an expert husband-and-wife team who noticed that some of my skills still needed work. They watched an aborted launch as I tripped over a rock at Horse Canyon, resulting in a big bump and bruise on my left arm that did not go away for months. Luckily, I did not break my arm. After that incident I literally stopped flying for more than a month just to work on my skills. This is something more pilots should consider if they run into problems - go back to the basics.

The husband-and-wife flying team took pity on me and offered to help with my kiting and launching skills. It's amazing how putting that glider up and down hundreds of times, learning to use the D's, and hours of kiting can help your confidence, control and launch skills. It really helps to practice kiting in all kinds of conditions and launch situations.

This extra work was not a poor reflection on my instructors, but a comment on the sport in general and that burning need to get into the air. Maybe there was a little intermediate syndrome involved, and the fact that if you take up flying after age 50 it might take a little more time to develop your physical and mental flying skills. II

JUNE

2001

Active~ AvoiOin~ Over aO

by Richard Thompson ave you ever been on glide, needing in the worst way to clear some gnarly terrain, and you realize that you sat forward in your harness as if that will put you closer? Or how about this one: You're driving along and suddenly realize you don't know where you are. Without thinking, you turn down the radio as you peer out at the next street sign. Is that dumb or what? Let me ask this: Can you tell the difference between being "dumb" and suffering from what is called task-loading or sensory overload?

A few months ago while flying at Torrey Pines I was confronted with that very question. It was a classic Torrey Sunday with a good west wind, blue sky, warm air and beautiful people everywhere.

Literally everywhere. Every flying contraption imaginable was showing up and sharing the airspace. Then, suddenly, and without much warning, the good wind started shutting down. With that, the green grass at Torrey became a honey pot to bees, the bees being hang gliders, paragliders, radio-controlled whatchamacallits and even a real live sailplane. (In my memory there was a helicopter, a Cessna and an F-4 Phantom jet.) The truth is that these last three aircraft were in sight but most likely not actually trying to top-land at Torrey at the same time I was. It only seemed that way.

With a hang glider overtaking me on the left, two paragliders intersecting me at right angles, a pilotless whatchamacallit directly underneath me and tracer rounds from the F-4 being fired overhead, I made a snap and not -so-smart decision to land into the side of a downwind knob. The impact was of such a nature that both my wing and I bounced high enough that we landed twice. A nearby pilot who was

distance Oregon 83 miles set record by

already on the ground, known to me only as Red, sauntered over and exclaimed, "Jeez man, that was the dumbest thing I ever saw ya' do!" Monte Bell, a Torrey flight instructor who was also coming over responded, "That wasn't simply being dumb, Red, that was overload."

After thanking Red and Monte for their concern for my wellbeing I limped off to my truck so I could wash the Torrey sod out of my teeth with a cold beer, patch my bruised ego and think about this thing Monte called "overload." After a long tug on a fresh Budweiser two words came to mind: Drunk Drivers.

Before retiring from the police department I had more than my share of contact with "impaired" drivers. What came to mind here at Torrey was what officers do in the field to determine levels of impairment. In short, they divide a suspected driver's attention by having him perform a task while asking him simple questions.

Believe me, impaired people can look pretty dumb. If they're allowed to focus on just one thing they can seem pretty normal (like I must have seemed just before I decided to make a controlled crash into that knob). But hey, wait a minute, I wasn't "impaired," was I? The truth is that drugs (that great-tasting Bud' is in this category) are not the only things that can impair someone and thus lower his threshold to "overload."

Fatigue and illness can also be factors, but beyond that there's another big one - one I had overlooked. It's anxiety, that feeling you get when you perceive danger or a threat. When you sense this, your capacity to divide your attention decreases and thus your susceptibility to overload greatly increases. Do you think hanging yourself from ] 5 pounds of cloth up in the sky by means of strings no thicker than twine might have an affect? If you're not at least anxious at some level before you take flight you're probably in need of counseling. I mean, this paragliding thing we do is, or should be, inherently scary.

However, should it be so "scary" that fear diminishes our capacity to make smart and quick decisions? Isn't there a contradiction here - be afraid, but not too afraid?

Dr. John Yarbrough wrote an article

38

about this very subject in the January issue of Divers Alert Network magazine. (If you're not familiar with DAN you may want to consider joining. DAN provides a kind of insurance that can come in handy.

If you are more than 50 miles from home and need emergency air transport, or if you're outside the U.S., hurt, and need to get home, DAN will help you do that.)

Anyway, for starters, Dr. Yarbrough states, "Studies have found that mild degrees of anxiety actually optimize performance in certain instances." However, he then goes on to say that "an overly anxious state" can have a negative effect. This can be a very real contradiction. While lower levels of anxiety can lead to heightened awareness and caution, too much caution can lend itself to fear, and fear in turn to a kind of outright panic. "On this far end of the anxiety continuum, panic refers to a sudden, overwhelming anxiety of such intensity that it produces feelings of stark terror," which in turn can cause reactions that are "unpredictable or self-endangering."

But what could possibly cause an otherwise cautious pilot to act in a way that is "self-endangering"? Well, how about this scenario: A pilot is flying an unfamiliar site and is on a different wing than he is used to. Conditions change, start deteriorating, the pilot becomes more active in response to the instability around him, and then boom, a big one hits, and the pilot responds with too much brake and goes negative all the way to the ground.

Or, maybe he goes the other way and freezes up, locking into an unintended

death spiral. Dumb, or overloaded?

How about this one? An advanced pilot on a newer wing hasn't flown much in the past few months, travels to an unfamiliar ridge-soaring site and soars for hours on end. She wants to come down to go to the bathroom but it's just too good.

Finally, after even more hours in the air the conditions start to deteriorate and nature's bell is really starting to ring, so the pilot heads out to land, but in the process goes directly through an obvious rotor zone and gets totally worked.

Overload? Unpredictably endangering?

Dr. Yarbrough points out some things that are "stress-specific to diving," but they seem to jump off the page as being applicable to flying as well. They come under the heading of" [flying] for the wrong reason": 1) peer pressure (this includes flying to save face or fear of being left out); 2) flying when you don't feel good (sick or hung over); 3) getting in the air because someone else is already in the air; 4) flying with new or unfamiliar equipment.

Beyond the above, two contributors to a diminished capacity for "task loading" that seem to me to be especially difficult to recognize and deal with are: 1) fatigue, and 2) that already discussed, hard-todefine, seemingly contradictory level of caution. Fatigue is difficult because its effects can come on slowly as a flight progresses, so you can end up with the frogin-the-warm-to-boiling-pot syndrome. I know of two very advanced pilots who were recently hospitalized with severe injuries from wrecks that came after questionable decisions were made, and both occurred at the end of long flights.

What makes the overly cautious thing so difficult, as much as anything else, can be well-meaning friends and very thorough instructors. I know of one instructor who is so thorough at seeing to it that his students are cautious (by giving at least one lecture per club meeting on the ills of bravado) that the freshly certified pilots pretty much just do sledders in the early morning hours and then again in the late afternoon. That is totally fine all by itself.

But, then, after some time and some flights have passed, and the ever-present nay-sayer isn't watching, they venture out

PARAGLIDING

on their own with flying buddies, perhaps at a fly-in, huck themselves into the midday abyss, or attempt a seemingly easy ("all the other pilots were doing them") top-landing at a thermal site - all this to a bad end. It's been said that it's never a bad decision not to fly. It's also been said that you can't be too cautious. I'm not so sure now that I would agree.

There are physical symptoms of a rising stress level if you have the awareness and time to observe them: 1) heart rate increases (rapid breathing or shortness of breath); 2) pupils dilate; 3) digestion stops along with salivation (cotton mouth); 4) moisture rises to the surface of the skin (perspiration causes body cooling). You may have some personal ones too, things you do that are specific to you.

A couple that I have detected in myself are the already mentioned sitting forward in my harness, or sometimes I find myself biting the inside of my lower lip. When I catch myself doing these things I know it's time to either get a grip (i.e., determine if the anxiety is realistic or just imagined), and then, if warranted, to start looking around for a parking place.

But what about those surprise moments when a sudden "event" distorts the wing and with that your mind, which immediately leads to tolerating very low task loads? For me, these are the moments when the KISS principle becomes the golden rule. IfI'm going to be dumb (read "stupid") anyway, I might as well Keep It Simple Stupid. Rick Higgins (an accomplished X-C pilot and instructor here in Oregon) put it best once during one of those longwinded Internet discussions between winter-inflicted, landlocked pilots when he said, "Just fly the wing; if it ain't flyin' fix it." That translates to me: Don't overcontrol but fly actively and in that order.

The same can be said about overload.

I want to be actively on top of my anxiety level but not overcontrolling it in the process. "Active" means being ahead of what's coming. If the worst that's going to happen is you might do something dumb, then the best would be that you do something smart, like make a critical decision before things actually get critical, actively avoiding overload. Ill

JUNE

2001

Continued from page 8. ing edge more resistant to pressure on the top surface, offering increased acceleration, stability at speed, and high maximum speed. 3) It holds open the air inlets, allowing fast and progressive inflation and reinflation. Super Fly Team Pilots Eric Reed, Bo Criss and Bill Bellcourt have already chosen the Nomad for the U.S. Competition season and the World Championships. Look forward to seeing the glider at POM Demo Days.

The Firebird Choice Tandem replaces the successful Monster. The Choice has a revolutionary design feature, a zipper in the middle of the glider, that allows the glider to be 42 meters or 38 meters. The variation in wing size allows the pilot to compensate for passenger weight or conditions. The Choice offers simple launch characteristics with short takeoff, easy handling with light brake pressure, and a huge flare area for soft landings.

The new Ozone Atom has passed DHV 1 in Small, Medium and Large, and all three sizes are now available. From first inflation to thermaling, the Atom exhibits a combination of good performance and handling.

Paraglide America is launched. Check out www.paraglideamerica.com. Will Gadd, Jim Grossman and company have launched from Ventura, California and are headed all the way across the country via powered paraglider. Sporting Ozone Octanes as the glider of choice and Fresh Breeze motors, they are armed and ready to make history.

US PARAGLIDING TEAM WEBSITE Is it to late to get the web page for the US Paragliding Team that is going to Spain in June published in the next issue of Paragliding Magazine? http:/ !worlds. paraglide.tv.

PARACHUTE INFO A large collection of excellent articles which focus on Parachute Deployment and Repack Clinics are posted on the HPAC Flight Safety Section: http://www.hpac.ca/safety/. See: http://www.hpac.ca/ safety/ parachute/ pfeif fer.html. Ill

FLYING SITES

A

bout a year ago my Australian army bosses suggested that I take my family and move to California for a couple of years to undertake technical military study. I jumped at the opportuniry for personal reasons with absolutely no regard whatsoever · for my paragliding passion. My destination was the town of Monterey on the coast, about two hours south of San Francisco. In my five years of flying I had heard rumors of the great sites throughout California. An extensive on-line search, however, yielded only limited information about the local sites and I was a bit disheartened.

I had never lived really close to any popular sites during the previous five years of army postings. Like many occasional pilots, I had clocked up many more hours paradriving than paragliding. While a bit disappointed, I was not awfully concerned that it looked like this posting would yet again keep me on the ground most of the time. But after a few weeks an e-mail reply from a U.S . pilot let me know that there was a coastal site about 20 minutes north of Monterey at a place called Marina. Great - finally something close to home.

Although the first order of business was to find a house and get ready for school I kept an eye on any potential flying sites. To my surprise I spotted some paragliders with my first glance at some big sand dunes just up the coast. Yes, yes, yes! It looked like I had landed in heaven .

My paraglider was traveling with the rest of my household goods and I had at least a couple of weeks before it was to

The oui ammunition depot looking north.

40

An Australian Experiences Marina, California artick and photos by Alistair Dickie

arrive. By the time it did I was in the middle of starting school and moving into a new house. It was about a month before I had free time and I saw other pilots flying.

I turned up at the site one day and had a chat with the locals about all of that stuff that you should know before you unpack your glider.

I will describe the site in more detail, but first, a quick disclaimer. I am not an expert on this site. Anything I say is just what I have observed and pilots should investigate further before flying here for the first time. The site is really two sites that are at either end of a sand dune about six miles long. The height varies between about 10 and 150 feet and there are a cou-

pie of gaps that are crossable about half of the time. The site takes a west-northwest breeze, which is fortunate, as this is the direction of the sea breeze almost every day of the year.

Normally the breeze comes on around one o'clock in the afternoon and stays on until about an hour before sunset, although sometimes the beach heats up a bit much and the wind seems to pass over the top of a bubble of hot air that shuts down the site. The locals say it is soarable about 200 days per year. We had just finished winter, and while there were a few flying days the best flying period is from March through to October.

The northern half of the site is known as Marina and the main launch is located at the northern end on Reservation Road (off Highway 1). The local hang gliding school, Western Hang Gliders, has a shop and school near the main launch ramp.

This is where most of the hang glider pilots go to launch. There are also quite a few RC glider pilots. A second launch is located about a mile south, at the end of Lake Court. The second launch is a bit higher and this is where the paraglider pilots who fly Marina generally launch.

To fly Marina (the northern half of the sire) you need to have an official pilot raring, sign in at the hang gliding school, and fly with a sheathed knife strapped to your leg in case you land in the ocean (a hook knife is unacceptable). The site officially terminates at the end of the reservation about a mile and a half south of the main launch, but no PARAGLIDING

one I have met really takes any notice of this when they are in the air. Ir is an easy flight with no real gaps to Stillwell Hall, an old, red-roofed army barracks on top of the dunes about a mile further on.

The southern half of the site is known as Sand City and is where most of the paraglider pilots fly. Both of the Sand City launches are about a five-minute walk from the northern end of the Sand City shopping center car park. The southernmost launch is an ideal slope on top of an 80foot sand dune. Ir is really easy to soar this dune for about half a mile to the south, however, it's almost never possible to cross a gap from here to the rest of the site to the north. The local paragliding school is the main user of this launch.

The other launch at Sand City is where I fly most of the time. Ir is only at about 35 feet, and immediately after launch you have to cross a short gap to reach the rest of the site. This must be the most frustrating launch I have ever been to. Generally, to fly here the winds have to be pretty strong with a few whitecaps our on the ocean, so even ground handling is difficult.

On my first few flights here I bombed out three or four times before finally making it to the main part of the site. I have since discovered that if you bomb out, there is a re-launch on the other side of the gap. Once you are on the main part of the site it is a really easy flight for about two miles north to an old ammunition depot that the sea is slowly reclaiming as it marches inland. I spend most of my rime flying this stretch of the site. An out-andremrn flight to the end of the ammunition

depot is about 20 minutes (normally with only one mm during the whole flight!).

There are a couple of little bowls and peaks to play around on, and the lift extends out over the ocean farther than at any other coastal sire of similar height I have flown. Past the ammunition depot there is a small gap to cross before you get to Stillwell Hall to meet up with the Marina half of the site. It is sometimes a bit tricky to get past Stillwell, and often quite difficult for paragliders to get back across the gap. However, every second flying day the full six miles are within reach of semi-experienced pilots like your author.

This screech of the beach is out of the way of most people, as you have to walk to it. In fact, many of the dunes from which we launch are part of an old glass dump.

No one ever seems to bother us. The site is never really busy like some of the more popular sites back in Australia, but on any flyable day you will see a few pilots flying.

Like many of the locals I can see the site from my house just around the bay, and when I see ocher pilots flying I can get my stuff together and be in the air in less than 25 minutes without really rushing.

I hear that there are a few other good sites in the area, but with two kids under three I have not really had the chance to get away to any of them yet. Big Sur, about two hours to the south, is a 2,500-foot launch on the coast. Apparently you normally only get a sled ride, bur it is supposed to be the most spectacular one you will ever get.

There are a few sires co the north on the coast, such as Pacifica ("The Dumps"). I hear that Pacifica is quite a good coastal sire

with a couple of cliffs up to 400 feet high.

The Wings of Rogallo club administers three inland sites in the south Bay Area that are supposed to be pretty good if you can get past the regulations.

Finding my little flying site on the other side of the world came as a bit of a surprise to me. It is not anywhere near as exciting as thermaling above Bright or soaring Beachmont in Australia but it is close to where I live and very reliable. There is nothing quite like being able to knock of work at 4:00 PM and be home at 5:30, having gotten in an hour of soaring.

This oppormnity is something I have never had before, and I have only a year and a half left to enjoy it. I expect to remrn to Australia in late 2002 to seek out new flying adventures .

A FEW LINKS

www.mapblast.com - Type in "Marina" for a variety of street maps of the area. www.topozone.com- Topographical maps of the area (Sand City launch is at Lat = 36.615948, Long= -121.836886). www.wingsoftogaLLo.org - The south Bay Area club that administers the inland sites. www.westernhanggliders.org- The hang gliding school located at Marina. www. weather. nps.navy. miL/profiLerlord_s.ft.gif - Current and historical (24 hours) wind conditions. If it is above six mis and just over 270° it is on. www.sfbapa.org - San Francisco Bay Area Paragliding Association. www.ushga.org - U.S. Hang Gliding Association. aLnreLLy@pacbeLL.net - My e-mail address.•

,

~.,; "" ~-About one mHe Ith ofSand City • -ifC. launch lot11d.ng south-;: ~

JUNE

2001

~

41

PARACLIDING ADVISORY: Used paragiiders should -1lways be thoroughly inspected before flying for the first rime. If in doubt, many paragliding businesses will be happy lO give an objective opinion on the condition of equipment you bring them to inspect. BUYERS

PRO DESIGN EOLE 31 - 28 flights, green top/white bottom, 80- !00kg. Supair Profeel Cygnus harness with detachable airbag; ventral packet w/High Energy chute; Sol large helmet; Pro Design rucksack. A complete beginner/intermediate package $2,400. (650) 821-2849, George.Suter@flysfo.com, San l'rancisco.

SHOULD SELECT EQUIPMENT THAT IS Al'PROl'RIATE FOR THEIR SKILL LEVEL OR RATING. NEW PILOTS SHOULD SEEK PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION FROM A USHGA CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR. PARAGLIDERS ADVANCE SIGMA ,\ - Great condition, 65-85kg, 1501m $1,200. (202) 543-1588, c.shi nn(a\}dfac. usyd .l'd u .au ADVANCE SIGMA 4 26M Immaculate! lllue/white. ONLY ten ilights/5 hours. Retails for $3,600, asking only $1,600 1 Spring is near; buy it before I fly ir' (50.,) 658-4052, devierciQ,lhotmail.com APC:O !'!ESTA - DH\/ I $1,999. Apco Allegra DHV 1-2 $2,800. Apco Simba DHV 2 $2,900. SupAir harness $425. I'lytec 4005 vario $399. Hanwag boors $225.

(541) 387-2112, Rick Higgins, SunSportsPCl!ilaol.corn, Mark Telep, thatspec(i_llhotmail.com APCO FUTURJ\ 42 TANDFM -

DEMO AND USED WING SALE! - Find a great price on a demo of the glider you've always wanted or get even greater saving by buying used. Visit www.flyaboveall.com/sale.htm or call (805)965-.3733.

FDEI. PROMISE - DHV II, medium, Edel Corona harness, Edel reserve, 4 hours, almost new, all $7.).00. (.310) 991-4664, kkhfly@pacbell.net EDEL SPACE 24 - 75-95kg, 60hrs, looks new and always well cared for, w/Charly harness $875. Brauniger Basis SP vario w/legstrap & bag, excellent condition $250. Herb (416) 265-0659, herb.hornig@sympatico.ca

Still crispy, sky

blue, 20 hour~, sptTadcr bars and passenger harne~s

included $1,600. Ross (808) 572-5160.

GIN BOLERO - DHV-1, 75-95kg $1,800. Edel Atlas M DHV 1-7. $1,680. Edel Atlas L DHV 1-2 $1,400.

Swing Arcus S, $1,800. Swing Arrns M $1,800. Edel Atlas M DHV 1-2 $1,200. Pro Design Effect, demo $2,490. Edel Space $1,200. Omega 2 $950. Edel Promise XI. or Edel Response M $1950 new. Advance Omega 5 /27 DHV 2-3 $7.,750. Relax 34, DHV 1-2 $1,990 new. (808) 968-6856. rofly@excite.com

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: 20lh of the month, six weeks before the cover dale of the issue in which you want your ad to appear (i.e., September 20 for the Nov. 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: --~· - - - - - - - - - - - -

PRO DESIGN RELAX - 1998, small 65-90kg. Very low hours, well cared for, never landed on the beach.

Aqua top surface/white undersurface. SupAir harness w/17cm foam back protection and chest mounted UP reserve chute (never deployed). New carabiners, heavy duty backpack, all gear is in excellent condition. Sell as package, a very suitable entry level package for new !'2 pilot $2,500 OBO. John Corry, (808) 572-8494 john@johnpeacc.org REDUCED IN PRICE' Gin Bolero "XI." now $1,650! Firebird Booster "L" now $1,990! US Voiles Williwaw "100%" now $690! Prices include shipping and insurance. (406) 439-2239.

Details at: http://hometown.aol.com/hiplainz (click on "Equipment Specials and Used Gear").

SOI./NOVA TAXI - Tandem glider, mint condition, only 10 hours air rime. Long lasting Gelvin or fabric, easy to launch and fly $1,700 OBO. (604) 732-1/13, docroramir@yahoo.com

POWERED PARAGLIDERS ADVENTURE F3 1998 15 hours, total package ready to fly $4,800 OBO. (5 I 8) 745-5841.

Number of months: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ SECTION O Paragliders O Emergency Parachutes O Parts & Accessories 0 Business & Employment O Miscellaneous O Powered Paragliders ,o Videos Begin with _

19

O Towing O Schools & Dealers O Ultralights 0 Publications & Organizations 0 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:

42

_ _ @$1.00 =__

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

PARAGLIDING

POWERED PARAGUDER - Solo 210, 2.8 to I belt drive reduction, 42 inch prop, T-6061 frame, Ll gallon tank, tiny tach, dry weight 621bs., comes w/harness, Space 27 wing , new reserve, weight range I"10- I 90lbs $ 1,900 OBO. Call or email me for some pictures, (802) 877-2486, angierfamQ1lsurfglobal.net

COLORADO

EMERGENCY PARACHUTES

COLORADO'S PREMIER PARAGLIDING SCHOOL

CANOPY REPAIRS - 30 years experience, factory quality repairs, .l FAA Master Parachute Riggers. J -800526-2822, gearG_llparaequip.com

Over 30 years of combined paragliding experience

SCHOOLS & DEALERS ARIZONA DIXON'S AIRPLAY PARAGLIDING - Dixon White: USHCA's Instructor of the Year 1 Airplay: Top ranked school for years and featured in the best selling videos "Starting Paragliding", "Weather to Fly" and the 'An of Kiting". The perfect beginner training areas at both our Washinf,ton and Arizona locations. Arizona's 'best" beginner season is September through May. Washington is open May through September. At both locations drive-up to 360 degree treeless and rockless launches. Land in wide open fields, enjoy many flights each day' Limited access to rhe Flight Parks reduce traffic and crowding. Excellent individualized instruction with state-of-the-art lesson plans and equipment.

Cornprehcnsivc ground schooling with an c1nphasis on micrometeorology. Grear new/used inventory, specializing in \'(/indtech Paragliding Gear and M2 Harnesses, repair center, and superb customer service. In ARIZONA or WASHINGTON appointments are required. l'() Box 2626 l'lagstaff, AZ 86003. (520) 526-4579 www.paraglide.com or dixon@paraglide.com

FLY ABOVE ALL - Experience year-round paragliding instruction in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA! Our friendly, experienced staff offers hands-on, personalized, radio-controlled lessons. Enjoy soaring the best training hill in the Western US and when you land, shuttles will whisk yon back to the top for your next scenic flight.

USHGA certified, solo, tandem and powered paragliding instruction, equipment sales and tandem flights.

Visit our Website at www.flyaboveall.com or call at (805) 965-3733.

Hl(;H ADVENTURE - Paragliding, hang gliding school. Equipment, sales, service at world famous Marshal Peak. USHGA tandem instructor: Rob McKenzie. By appointment year round (909) 883-8488, www.Aytandem.com OJAI PARAGLIDING - Ojai is Southern California's best kept secret. Year-round, great soaring in this beautifol valley surrounded by the Los Padres National foresr.

Near Santa Llarbara and Ventura. Great cross-country possibilities. Courses for beginner to advanced pilots.

Motorized paragliding, guided tour and tandems. New

COLORADO'S PREMIER PARAGLIDING SCHOOL - We focus on teaching comprehensive lessons to make you a safer, confident and competent pilot. Offering almost every equipment brand. Denver area. (303) 579-9971, rmparagliding.com

MAUI WOW WEE -

Proflyght Hawaii, first school in

Hawaii, located on Maui, is now under new ownership.

The best just got better. When it gets cold in the north, Maui is the place to fly, explore, relax and/or learn to fly.

Team Proflyght sports an incredible training facility, wonderful year-round weather, 1,000' training slope, 100' to 7'000 vertical decents off Haleakala Crater (10,0?.3'). Toll Free 877-GO-f'LY-Hl. Visit our website WWW.PARAGLIDEHAWAII.COM

and used equipment, 12 years in the business! Tel#

(805) 646-%60, infoG_ilflyojai.com, www.flyojai.com

CALIFORNIA 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 certified.

Handling the latest equipment. Call (760) 753-2664 for

G

L

DERPORT

2800 Torrey Pines Scenic Drive San Diego CA 92037 5,'ince 1928

information.

PARAGLIDING AND HANG GLIDING - USHGA

certified instruction, tandem flight instruction, sales, service, repairs, parachute repacks, motorized pg/hg

1'"'AX your classified ad, membership renewal or merchandise order: (719) 632-6417. We gladly accept VISA and MasterCard.

JUNE

2001

instruction and site tours. Southern California Importer

for l'ARATECH, AIRWAVE and EDEL. Visa and MasterCard accepted. Call (858) 457.-9858 or coll free at 1-877-f'LY-TEAM. Check us out at and order on-line at http://www.flytorrey.com

- Put your lmces in our breeze and soar our 450' sand dunes. FULL-TIME SHOP. Certified instruction, beginner to advanced, foot launch and tow. Sales, se1vice, accessories for ALL major brands. VISA/MASTERCARD. 1509 E 8th, Traverse City MI 49684. Offering POWERED PARAGLIDING lessons & dealer for the Explorer & used units. Call Bill at (231) 922-2844, tchangglider@juno.com. Visit our paragliding school in Jackson, Wyoming. Call Tracie at (307) 739-8620.

MONTANA

No time to mail your ad?

Fax it, 24 hours a day!

(719) 632-6417

HIGH PLAINS PARAGLIDING - Plying equipment without compromise for your next paragliding adventure. We offer Nova, Sup'Air, Apco, ThinRedLine, Renschler, Advance, Flytec and more. Whether your adventure is in the house thermal or on X/C, High Plains has what's right for you at the right price! On the web at: http://hometown.aol.com/hiplainz or call (406) 459-2239. Ya'll have an excellent summer!!

43

NEVADA

OREGON

ADVENTURE SPORTS - Sierra soaring at its best.

Tours and tandems available. Instruction from certified USHGA instructors with 25 years experience. Sales, service and instruction by appointment Carson City/Lake Tahoe NV. (775) 883-7070 http:! /home. pyramid.ner/advspts

DIXON'S AIRPLAY PARAGLIDING Please see our classified ad under Arizona. www.paraglide.com WYOMING

NEW YORK AIR SPORTS USA - Lessons, service, equipment.

Paragliding, hang gliding, powered paragliding, trikes.

Phone (718) 777-7000, WWW.FLYFORFUN.NET ----------------~~~NORTH CAROLINA

LEARN TO PARAGLIDE at Kitty Hawk Kites Outer Banks, NC Lessons Daily Towing & Foot Launch Year Round Sales & Service CALL TODAY! 800-334-4777 252-441-4124 E-Mail Address info@kittyhawk.com

WASHINGTON

OVER THE HILL PARAGLIDING/PPG: Now celebrating 10 years in business. Oregon/SW Washington Sales/Service/beginner/advanced Instruction/Tandem.

FREE guide se1vice/advice. We have ANY brand related to PG /PPG at the BEST prices. THERE IS NO SALES TAX in Oregon. 22865 S.E. Yellowhammer, Gresham OR 97080 (503) 667-4557 email: othpara@spiritone.com web: overthehillparagliding.com

FIRST CLASS PARAGLIDING - In beautiful Jackson Hole. Ten flying sites including the Aerial Tram (4,139 vertical feet). Awesome flying for pilots of all ability levels. Enjoy early morning sled rides, mid-day cross-country flights, and incredible evening glass-off soaring. Instruction-Tandem Flights-Towing-Kite Surfing-Sales-Service. Scott Harris (307) 690-TRAM (8726), Tom Bartlett (307) 690-4948, www.jacksonholeparagliding.com PARTS & ACCESSORIES AIRCOTEC PRIMUS VARIO (808) 572-5160.

SUNSPORTS PARAGLIDING - Hood River, Oregon. Beginner lessons, tandem flights, advanced instruction, consignment sales. Mark Telep, P4, Basic Instructor, Tandem Instructor; Rick Higgins, Master rated pilot, Advanced Instructor, Tandem Administrator. (541) 387-2112, SunSportsPG@aol.com, http://hometown.aol.com/ rsunspo rts/ myhomepage/ index. html

Best offer. Ross

CLOUD 9 SOARING CENTER - The nation's premier repair facility. Bill "Bad Bones" Anderson and the staff at Cloud 9 will take care of any repairs, reserve repacks, harness boo-boos or annual inspections. 1-800475-1504, 12665 S, Minuteman Dr. #1, Draper UT 84020.

FLIGHT CONNECTIONS, INC. PTT II

FLIGHT CONNECTIONS, INC.

TEXAS 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. 1475 CR 220, Tow TX 78672.

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. www.kite-enterprises.com UTAH CLOUD 9 SOARING CENTER - The nation's largest paragliding shop and school. Open for LESSONS, REPAIRS, SALES year round. Next to world famous Point of the Mountain. www.paragliders.com. 1-888-944-5433 or stop by at 12665 S. Minuteman Drive #1, Draper UT 94020.

VIRGINIA SOUTHERN SKIES - MOUNTAIN FLYING and POWERED PARAGLIDING instruction, sales and service with full-time shop, 1 hour north of Charlotte. 7 beautiful flying sites nearby. (828) 632-6000 WWW.SOUTHERN SKIES.NET

44

KITTY HAWK KITES-See North Carolina.

oooa C>OOO

• ORDER ONLINE AND SAVE • Water/Dust Resistant Push Button • Field Replaceable Finger Switch • Heavier Gauge Wire/Improved Plugs • Increased Strain Relief at ALL Joints Price $119.95. Extra finger switch $19.95 w/purchase.

Dealer inquiries welcome. Call (913) 268-7946.

MC/Visa. Visit our website at www.flightconn.com 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) 632-6417.

HELMET - Kiwi Evolution full-face, white, size 56 (small), never worn, still in original packaging $200.

(253) 840-0155, Dnelson024@aol.com

PARAGLIDING

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---- - - - - ----···

- - - - .----- - - - - - - - - - - - -

the beginner, intermediate & advanced pilot who wants to do some brushing up on his skills. Be a master of your paraglider. 44 minutes $36.95 *NEW* IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT MOUNTAIN l:ly Adventure Productions. Searching for the perfect mountain, perfect flight, and the perfect experience that challenges our essence and satisfies our quest for adventure. This paragliding odyssey takes you to St. Anron, Austria; Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Cermany; Sun Valley, Idaho; Poim of the Mountain, Utah; and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Peatures in-air footage, aerial maneuvers, and local pilot tours. 44 minutes $36.95.

IS IT SOARABLE? - Be sure with a USHGA Windsolc Made of 1.5 oz. ripstop nylon, UV treated, 5'4" long w/11" throat. Available colors fluorescent pink/yellow or fluorescent pink/white. $39.95 (+$4.75 S/H). Send ro USHGA Windsok, P.O. Box Ll30, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330, (719) 632-8300, fax (719) 632-6417. VISA/MC accepted.

PARAGLIDING: THE COMPLETE GUIDE - By Noel Whittall. Over 100 color photographs & illustrations, 200 pages, $26.95 +$4.75 s/h. USHGA, PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901. (719) 632-8300, fax your MC/Visa to (719) 632-6417, www.ushga.org, ushga@ushga.org SOARING - Monthly magazine of The Soaring Society of America, Inc. Covers all aspects of soaring flight. hill membership $55. Info. kit with sample copy $3. SSA, P.O. Box 2100, Hobbs, NM 88241. (505) 392-1177.

TOWING SPECTRA 12 - Braided tow line $0.18 per foot Minimum 1,200 feet. (702) 260-7950, www.virtualhosts.net/hang.htm VIDEOS

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. Crear for hang gliding too. ONLY $169. Mallettec, PO Box 15756, Santa Ana CA, 92735. (714) 966-1240, www.malletcec.com MC/Visa accepted.

PUBLICATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS

*NEW* A HIGHER CALLING by Dawn Treader Productions. Winner "People's Choice Award" at the Banff Mountain Film Festival 2000. A story of six friends attempting to fly cross country together as a group through western Nepal, where finding launches & landings becomes a daily routine. Become immersed into the Nepal culture upon every landing. Superb editing. 45 minutes $32.95

THE ART OF PARAGLIDING - By Dennis Pagen.

HOT OFF THE PRESS!!! Step by step training, ground handling, soaring, avoiding dangers, and much much more. 274 pages, 248 illustrations. The most complete manual about paragliding on the market. $34.95 +$5.00 s/h. USHGA, PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901. (719) 632-8300, fax your MC/Visa to (719) 632-6417, www.ushga.org, ushga@ushga.org

JUNE

2001

*NEW* PARAGLIDER GROUND HANDLING & THE ART OF KITING, by Adventure Productions.

Learn techniques and tips for easy ground handling with this instructional program. Get in tune with your glider and improve your flying skills while on the ground. Various wind conditions are covered with the successful and proven industry-standard techniques of Dixon White-Master rated pilot, USHGA Examiner and USHGA's PG Instructor of the Year. This is for

BAU HIGH, by Sea to Sky Productions. A paragliding advemure film. Great flying and a great adventure on the exotic island of Bali, Indonesia. A result of wild imaginarions, weeks of filming and three unsupervised pilots in a land of serious fun. Great flying footage. 38 min $29.95.

WEATHER TO FLY, by Adventure Productions. A much needed instructional/educational video on micrometcorology. Dixon White, Master pilot and USHCA Examiner, takes you through a simple stepby-step process showing where to acquire weather data and how to interpret it. for pilots of any aircraft. Learn about regional & local influences and how to determine winds aloft and stability. "Weather To Fly" is an over-all view packed with useful details and includes great cloud footage. A straight-forward presentation that is easy to follow. 50 min. $39.95.

TURNING POINT - IN ALPINE THERMALLING, by Dennis Trott/Alpine Flying Centre.

50% HC, 50% PG. Discover techniques to tame the elusive alpine thermal. Beautiful footage set against Europe's most dramatic mountains. Also features comments from top pilots & great animation. 24 min $35.95.

STARTING PARAGLIDING by Adventure Productions. Covers basic preparations, weather, proper attitude, ground handling & chose first exciting launches. 30 min $29.95.

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 McAleer along the way. Excellent rock soundtrack, professionally filmed & edited, 35 minures $35.95.

PARAGLIDE: THE MOVIE by Viking Films. Rockn-roll world class competition at Owens Valley.

Professionally filmed & edited, 35 minutes $35.95.

Call or fax USHGA (719) 632-8300, fax (719) 6326417, please add +$4 domestic s/h (+$5 for two or more videos). Great to impress your friends or for those socked-in days.

MISCELLANEOUS FLIGHT GUIDANCE AND XC - In the Sierra Nevada, Spain: Horizonte Vertical, www.granadainfo.com/hv/, hv@granadainfo.com, Tel/Fax: 011 34 958763408

45

"'·e.,..i'lllf'l~a-... 11:ul"IG '1'£ f"~

inch. AD DEADLINES: May 20th is the deadline for the July 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 jcff@ushga.org with your Visa or MasterCard.

Adventure Productions ........................... 19 Aero light USA ........................................ 19

STOLEN WINGS & THINGS

Pi112gau Rustrid 1999

1999 WORLD TEAM T-SHIRTS - We still have a few left. Commemorating the world championships held at Pinzgau, Austria. Soon to become collectors items!

Sizes medium & large, ONLY $10 {in the USA).

Proceeds benefit the US Paragliding World Team! Send your $10 to: USHG Foundation, c/o PG World Team '99 T Shirt, PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs C080901-1330. 1-800-616-6888.

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

·---------

EDEL QUANTUM - Medium. Stolen at Draper, Point of the Mountain, South Side on May 11, 2001 @2: IO p.m. Pink-yellow top; white bottom; a lot of tears. Old Edel Harness, blue-gray; black bottom, has crossed slings, one clip for the brake handle is broken. Side mounted reserve; blue (dirty) container with ~reen canopy inside. The guy who stole the equipment was driving a black truck with a black camper, probably Chevrolet {not sure). Contact Larisa Kats: 801355-6109, e-mail: selanna@sisna.com.

-

- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -

Apco ............................................ 35,37,39 Critter Mountain Wear .......................... 27 Dawn Treader ........................................ 15 Dixon's Airplay ........................................ 9 Flight Design ........................................... 8 Flytec ..................................................... 17 Hall Brothers ......................................... 19

GIN BOLERO - XL Stolen in the MEDFORDWHITE CITY, OR area in August, 2000. Fuchsia color, has damage in center/leading edge, and/or patch, generally in poor shape. Also: XL Pro-Design "Jam" har-ness, med. High Energy Quantum reserve, Charley "Insider" helmet XL white, Flytec 4010 vario, Alinco DJ-191 2--Meter radio. Contact Kevin Lee (541) 9551737, thcrmaltracker@bigfoot.com

Mojo' s Gear ........................................... 17

DON'T LEAVE YOUR GROUND-BOUND EQUIPMENT SITTING IN THE GARAGE. SELL IT IN THE CLASSIFIEDS.

"AMERICAN FLAG" PARAGLIDER - Lost by FedX, identical to the one Scott Alan is flying in the inside back cover Paraborne display ad. (407) 935-9912, scott@paraborne.com

Sup'Air ................................................... 15

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 arc $25.00 per column

------------- -----~

VIDEOS, BOOKS & APPAREL - Call USHGA for your Merchandise order form (719) 632-8300, fax (719) 632-6417, email:ushga@ushga.org,www.ushga.org

46

STOLEN WINGS arc listed as a setvice to USHGA members. There is no charge for this se1vice and lost and found wings or equipment may be called in (719) 632--8300, faxed in (719) 632-6417, or emailed ushgd@ushga.org for inclusion in Paragliding & Hang Gliding magazine. Please call to cancel the listing when gliders are recovered.

Periodically, this listing will be purged.

Paraborne .............................................. .47 Rocky Mountain Paragliding ................... 5 Sky Bee .................................................... 7 Sport Aviation Publications .................... 15

Super Fly, Inc ........................ 2,Back Cover Thermal Tracker .................................... 13 Torrey Pines Gliderport ......................... 25 USI-IGA ................................................. 31 Wills Wing ............................................... 7

PARAGLIDING

P.O. Box 423217 - Kissimmee, FL 34742-3217

Award winning Ranger now $1,995111

www.paraborne.com

Remember our Motto: "First time, Every time!"