USHGA Paragliding Vol13/Iss12 December 2002

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Gil Dodgen. Ed~or i, Chief Steve Roti. Contnbuting Editcr Tim Meehan.Art D,rector Dennis Pagen StaffWriter Office Staff

Jayne DePanfilis. Exec.utNe Director. jayne@ishgaorg Jeff Elgort.A<i,,ertising jelf@Jshga.org Sandra Hewitt. Meiroer Ser,ices, sandra@ushgaorg Narae H~ Mesmer Services, natalii@Jlhga.crg USHGA Officers and Executive Committee: Bill llolosky. Pres,dem, bolosk)@\,shga.org Jim Zeise, Vice Pres1dent. l{mig,~ol.com Russ Lod<e, Secretary,russ@lockelectnc.com Randy Leggett.Trea5urer ia~t.com REGION I: BJII Bolosky. Mark Forbes. REGION 2: Ray Leonard, John Wilde, Tim West REQON 3: David Jebb.

John Greynald, Alan Chuculate. REGION 4: Mark Fe,1JUson, Jim Ze,set RfGION 5: Frank Gillette. REGION 6: James Gaar. REGION 7: Bill Bryden. REGION 8: Doug Sharpe.

REGION 9: Randy Leggett, relipe Amunategu,. REGION I0: Tiki Mashy, Matt Taber. REGION I I: R.R. Rodriguez.

REGION 12: Paul Voight. DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Jan Johnson. Dennis Pagen, Russ Locke, Steve Kroop. Chns S,mtacroce. HONORARY DIRECTORS:/\aron Swcpston, J.C Brown, Ed Pilman, G W Meadows. Bob Hanna!'.

John Harris. Larry Sandef$0n (SSA), Dave Broyles, Gene Matthews, Ken Brown. Rob Kells, Liz Sharp, Dan Johnson, Dixon White. EX-OFFIOO DIRECTORS: Art Greenfield (NAA).

The Un~ed States Hang Gliding Associa~on Inc. is an a,r sports organ11.a1ion aflihated with the National Aeronaut,c Associa~on (NAA) which is the official repre=tat1ve of the Fed~ration Aeronaut,quc Internationale (FAI), of the 'Al()rtd g011em1ng bcdy for sport a-,iation.The NM whKh represcril.S the U.S. at FAI meetings. has delegated to the USHGA supervision of FAl-related paragliding adMties such as record attempts and competioon sanctions.

CONTENTS

December. '

Features

Departments

2002Paragliding NationalsBishop, California ]. C. Brown & Peter Gray

Air Mail

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Updates

Seizing the Day

Calendar of Events ~

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PARAGLIDING (ISSN I089-1846) ,~ published 11 limes .; year: Jan., Feb.• March, Apnl, June, July, Avg.. Sept., Oct., No,., Dec. by the Un,ted Stiltes Hang Gliding Association.

Inc., 219 W. Color,ldo Ave_., Surte 104. Colorado Spnngs, CO 80903 (7 19) 632-8300. FAX (719) 632,M 17.

PERIODICAi. POSTAGE is paid al Colorado Springs, CO and at ad<itlonal mailing offkes.

POSTMASTER: SEND CHANGE OF ADDRESS TO: PARAGLIDING, P.O. BOX 1330, Colo111do Sp~ngs. CO 80901 1330.

Paraglidi ng: December, 2002

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Classified Advertising Thermal Lore- Part 2

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Advertiser Index

Quantum Series History

_c_a_n_1t_Yt_a_st_ro_v________,~ Photo Gallery

Andy Stocker

Hang Gliding and Paragliding magazines welcome editorial submissions from our members and readers. We are always looking for good material.

Please send copy as a Word attachment or text pasted into an e-mail, directly to tl1e editor al cditor@ushga.org. Photo captions and byline credit .ire critical. Please remember to include you r name and a title for the article in your copy.

PARAGLIDING magazine ,s published for paragfid,ng spor: enthusiasts to create further ,merest in the sport. and to provide an educatiooal forum lo advance paragliding methods and safety Contributions are welcome. Anyone is 1nvrted to contribute articles. photos and illustr·auon, concerning paragliding activtties. If the matenal ,s lo be returned. a stamped. self-addressed return envelope must be enclosed Not>ficat,on mUlt be made or submission lo other paragliding publications. PARAGLIDING magazine reserves the right lo edit contributior.: where necossary. The Associatioo and publication do not dSsume respon~Mty for the material or opinions of contnbulon..

PARAGLIDING editorial offices e•ma,I· editor@-,shsgaorg.

ALL ADVERTISERING AND ADVERrlSING INQUIRIES MUST BE SENT TO USHGA HEADQUARTERS IN COLORADO SPRINGS.

ne USHGA ,s a member-controlled sport organization dedicated lo lhe exploration and promotion of all facets of unpowered ultrahght flight and to the eouca:,on. tra,n1ng and s.1fety of rts membership. Membership 1s open to al1)'0ne interested in this realm of flighL Dues for full membership are $59.00 per year (of which $15 g:,es to the p,blicatior of Paragl ding), ($70 non-U.S.); subscripllon rates 011ly are $35.00 ($46 non-U.S.). CJ,anges of address should be sent s,x weeks ,n advance, 1ndud1ng name, USHGA number; previous and new address. and a mailing label from a recent issue.

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USHGA Reports

SIV: You Mean Me?

David Morris

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Feature stories generally run anywhere from 1,500 to 3,000 words, bowever, you r topic may demand more or less than this. You may discuss tl1is with the editor.

News releases are welcomed, but please do not send brochures, dealer newsletters or other extremely lengthy items. Please edit news releases with our readership in mind, and keep them reasonably short without excessive sales hype. You arc welcome to submit photo attachments, preferably jpeg files smaller than a megabyte.

DISCWMER OF WARRANTIES CN PUBLICATIONS: The material presented here is published as part of an information dissemination service for USHGA members. The US HGA makes no warranties or representations and assumes no liability concerning the validity of any advice, opinion or recommendation expressed in the material. All individuals relying upon che material do so at their own risk.

Copyright © 2002 United States Hang Gliding Association, Inc. AU rights reserved to Paraglidtrtg ancl individual contributors.

Calendar of events items may be sent to the e-mail address above, as may letters to the editor. Please be concise and try to address a single copic in your letter.

Your contributions are greatly app,·cciatcd.

If you have an idea for an article )'Oll may discuss your ropic with the editor either by c·mail or phone.

Contact: Editor, Hang Gliding and Paragliding magazines, editor@ushga.org.

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Nationals Thanks

Dear Editor,

There are many words about the 2002 Paragliding Nationals I could share, but many of them have already been said by those who experienced the flights and events personally. Truly, there is only one word that really reverberates in me: "Thanks."

So many wonderful volunteers reached horizons beyond what I (or I imagine any of the competition staff) could have expected. They are the ones who allowed us to meet the needs of 9 3 competitors and this celebration of paragliding.

Gerry Donohoe from Pennsylvania, our volunteer retrieve director, spent not only endless days but a few seemingly endless nights working HQ's radio, coordinating drivers and landed pilots for rides back home.

Then he ventured even further to help coordinate search-andrescue efforts for two pilots who successfully deployed reserves just a bit too far back in the canyons for an easy hike out.

Susan Dyer of Colorado, our volunteer launch director, did an amazing job coordinating all of the pilots, eager for the perfect launch window, and, as always, added an air of calm competence and strength to all the events on launch. She and volunteer Bob Hannah handled the upper and lower launches like clockwork.

Viviene Kukutai, of New Zealand and California, our volunteer special-events assistant, went far 4

beyond the bounds of events and into the realm of everything that needed doing. She readily assisted me with registration, parties, and every little nuance I could not possibly have planned for, but that had to be taken care of.

Supporting these three were many more volunteers than we had planned on. Many came to crew for a favorite pilot and happily joined in the fray of helping all the pilots. I would like to include all of their names, however, I am sure I'm missing a few who didn't sign waivers. I owe them great thanks nonetheless.

These valiant volunteers include: Berndt Nording, Richard Harris, Mollie Scott, Charles and Mary Hoisington, Allen King, Greg Brown, Casey Rodgers, Donna and Howard Standard, Chris Schrogner, Jack Grisanti, Jim Steltzer, Fred Lawley, Wayne Sayer, David Wuescher, Dana Grossman, Gerald Warthmann, Carol Giuliani, Raquel Santamaria, Paul Splan, Chantelle Prinsloo, Judy and Steve Garthwaite, John Greynald, Hesham Ghoborah, Bernd Burkhardt, Norman Warthmann, Sue Morford, Sam Gaylord, Bobbie Bratz, John Thee, Jack Brown, Mark Pratt, George Sturtevant, Bob Cochrane, Nick Greece, Christine Leahy, Scott Blaylock and Gary (of the really big truck) from Telluride.

There were even a few pilots who somehow managed to lend a hand, despite the busy competition schedule. Kate and Eirik Stout arrived early to help with all the preparations for the onslaught of

competitors. High in my esteem is Carl Snitselaar who helped us prepare the oxygen dispenser before the meet and finished off the last task day with a "hike" through the Inyo National Forest.

Concerning that same "hike" I would like to honor Bill Belcourt, Uwe Schachtely, Thayer Hughes, Quentin Kawanakoa, Chaz and Ross Bishop for their selflessness.

And add a note of appreciation goes to Brian Kibler, Cookie, CJ and George Sturtvent, John Greynald and Bob Hannah for all their added assistance.

Of course, the direction and guidance given to the volunteers and the competitors by our great staff was fabulous. JC Brown, Peter Gray and Mark Axen laid the groundwork for an excellent meet.

Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to our sponsors: Nova USA, Flytec USA, Advance, Torrey Pines Gliderport, Super Fly and Fly Above All, and our supporters Sup'Air, Malletec, Flight Connections and Gingerita.

Their support allowed us to offer free oxygen, retrieves, parties and more.

Thank you all!

Lee Anne Norris Chad Bastian

See the cover story in this issue.

-Ed.

Paragliding: Decembec 2002

USHGA Presents Awards at Orlando, Florida Board of Directors Meeting

editorial process for the magazines by creating an online repository for magazine submissions and editorial works.

The Board of Directors also praised the work of a trio of volunteers, midst all their work honoring Joe Gregor, Bill during the long Bryden and Mike Meier with eekend of meetings, the Exceptional Service Award. the USHGA Board of Directors Joe, Bill and Mike spent much of made sure to recognize the the past year helping to keep all valuable work of others in hang glider and paraglider pilots the organization.

Several in the air. They worked tirelessly outstanding individuals and to represent free-flight pilots in the groups were singled out as FAA's Sport Pilot NRPM (Notice of recipients of USHGA's annual Proposed Rule Making). The trio awards. drafted USHGA's response to the Federal Aviation Administration's Topping the list of this year's award winners is Steve Roti. ____..--, proposed Sport Pilot (SP) and Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) rules, who was given helping to preserve and protect the USHGA the rights of USHGA members Presidential to fly our gliders. These threeCitation.

This award -Joe Gregor, Bill Bryden and is the highest Mike Meier--have endured honor given to endless bureaucratic meetings a member of and read --and responded the Association to -- reams of paperwork. for outstanding In short, they has done what few contributions to the sport at could -- they effectively worked the the local, Regional and national political and bureaucratic processes. level. Steve, a Master-rated And they did it all for the USHGA paraglider pilot from the pilots.

Portland, Oregon area, is an active member of the Cascade Mark Windsheimer of Paragliding Club. He is a Airtime Above Hang Gliding past USHGA Board member, (airtimeabove.com), based in and for the last few years Evergreen, Colorado, earned has played an invaluable role the honor of as a member of the USHGA's Hang USHGA publications Gliding Instructor team. Most recently, Year for of Steve reenergized the 2002. Mark is Association's website, an Advancedbringing several new rated instructor tools and functional and a valued changes online. He has also helped streamline the Continues Next Page

by Dan Nelson

SKY TRIK The easy way to hike.

An innovative backpack design with a removeable frame that transfers the weight to your hips. The suspension system frame can still be carried in almost every modern harness.

ID I RT 1B AG Protect your paraglider from damaging dirt and harmful UV damage. Our Dirt Bag is an innovative backpack that unzips on each corner to become a tarp.

TRUii COMFORT All of our paragliding packs have multiple suspension adjustment points to fine-tune the fit. Also included are comfortable padded foam shoulder straps and hip belts - just like hiking and climbing packs.

ININOYATBVII IDHUGN We have analyzed each feature and every function to make sure the packs arc practical without excessive "bells and whistles." True innovation is in the details.

MA'flllUALS Each Critter backpack is built to the highest standards with carefully selected materials including Cordura, large YKK zippers and military spec webbing. We take the extra time to tape and double stitch every seam for added durablity.

100% Guaranteed. Order yours today.

critter@crestedbutte.net www.crittermountainwear.com

Paragliding: December; 2002

5

. member of the Rocky Mountain Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association. Mark truly earned this award, by meeting and exceeding all the award criteria. That is, the award goes to the individual who best exemplifies a leader and teacher. The criteria for the award include skills as an instructor, serving as a role model for the sport within the pilot and general communities, and involvement in and support of USHGA and local club programs. Mark Windsheimer does all this and more, living up to his new title of USHGA Hang Gliding Instructor of the Year.

On the paragliding side of things, Robb Spotter ofEagle Paragliding ( www. eagleparaglidin received the USHGA Paragliding Instructor of the Year award.

Robb owns and operates E a g I e Paragliding in Santa Barbara, California. An Advanced-rated instructor, Robb has the enviable talents of a natural-born teacher.

His instruction methods focus first and foremost on safety, and then on the great enjoyment to be had in this sport. Like Mark, Robb meets and exceeds all the criteria for this honor. Robb is an active member of the South Coast Paragliding Association, and works with that club to preserve and enhance flying opportunities in Southern California. But Robb also lives a second life - that of a model. His work in this field can be seen most readily in an Old Navy TV ad with

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Morgan Fairchild (that's Robb with the pitchfork).

The USHGA named The Fly Paper (or, as it is affectionately known by its readers, eFly) as the Newsletter of the Year.

The Fly Paper,(www.paraglider.org/ flypaper) is the online publication of the Northwest Paragliding Club, and is edited by Ernie Friesen, with assistance from C.J. Sturtevant, George Sturtevant, Thayer Hughes, Beth Friesen, and a host of contributors.

The USHGA Board voted The Fly Paper as the best example of a newsletter which exemplified the ideals of: valuable infonnation content, support to members and clubs, layout, safety promotion and instruction.

Four pilots were singled out for USHGA Board Commendations for outstanding contributions to the promotion of safe, enjoyable flight, and for their volunteer work with their local clubs and the national Association. Those pilots receiving the USHGA Commendation are:

Matthew Graham of the Capital Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association. Matthew is a Directorat-Large on the CHGPA leadership roster, and as such promotes the sport to the general public, and helps bring new pilots into the fold.

Wixon, of the Southern New York Hang Glider Pilots Association. Bill is a tireless volunteer, serving the SNYHGPA as both secretary and editor of their newsletter, Hawk Talk.

Dick Vobroucek, also of the Southern New York Hang Glider Pilots Association. Dick, an Assistant Professor of Hospitality and Tourism at Rockland Community College, was recently named "Rookie of the Year" by the SNYHGPA. Dick started hang glider pilot training two years ago and has been a valued volunteer for the local club ever since.

Mike Daily, for the work he's done on the Trafton Training Hill. Mike is a hard-working volunteer with the Cloudbase Country Club, located in the Seattle area.

The Board also presented a Special Commendation to Mr. and Mrs. Rick Walker. The Walkers are Texas ranch owners in the Zapata area, and are great friends to the flying community. They have hosted parties - complete with barbecued wild javelina taken on their ranch - and flying events for hang glider and paraglider pilots for many years. Indeed, Rick has gone so far as to use his helicopter to assist with pilot and wing retrieval from far-flung corners of the Texas countryside. Davis Straub notes in his June 20, 2002 Oz Report that Rick flew his helicopter out on retrieval of the rigid wing (Flight Design Exxtacy) belonging to Jamie Sheldon after she set (but didn't officially claim) the Women's Rigid Wing World Record.

Paragliding: Decembe" 2002

Continued from prei1io11s page...

USHGA awards are presented annually at the Fall Board of Directors meeting. To find award criteria and nomination information, visit www.ushga.org.

NEW FLYTEC FLYING GLOVES

These gloves are custom made for Flytec USA and are made from Wind Bloc fleece. This special material does an excellent job of

keeping out the wind while also wicking away moisture. The neoprene palm provides superior grip on aluminum, carbon fiber

Paragliding: December. 2002

and other hard to grip surfaces. A Velcro wrist strap adjustment provides a snug aerodynamic fit. $34.95 from your Flytec dealer (inquiries welcome).

For more information contact: Flytec USA at 1-800-662-2449 or 352-429-8600, FAX 352-4298611, www.flytec.com, E-mail: info@flytec.com Blokart Wind-Powered GO-KART Debuts in North America

Blokarting is the newest wind-powered sport from New Zealand that has captured the imagination of hang glider and paraglider pilots across the U.S. On blown-out days, blokarting brings the thrill of playing in the breeze to the ground. Pilots are

blasting around runways and grass fields in excess of 50 mph. The blokart can be assembled without tools in minutes from a storage bag that fits conveniently in tl1e trunk of any vehicle.

The name blokart is a bit of a Kiwi takeoff on go-kart with wind.

Blokarting combines the thrill and excitement of go-karting with the challenge and serenity of sailing.

A sliver of open space and a bit of wind are tile only ingredients needed for a fun blokarting session.

Contini,es on page 9...

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500 West Blueridge Ave, Orange, CA 92865 ph: 714.998.6359 fax: 714.998-0647

www.willswing.com

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Trekking Carver

Continued fi'om page 7...

The prestigious award of Best New Summer Hardware product was bestowed on the blokart at the 2001 Summer ISPO Trade Fair in Munich, Germany last August. The blokart also won the Outdoor Leisure Innovations Award at Soltex, the British outdoor sporrs exhibition held annually 111 Manchester, England.

The blokart is the brainchild of Paul Beckett, founder of Blokart International and a former land yachtie, hang glider pilot and outdoor adventurer.

With more than 1,000 blokarts sailing in New Zealand, and with distribution in Australia England, Holland, Denmark, Germany and France, blokarting is earning worldwide recognition as a fun, easy-to-do activity that the entire family can enjoy. )

Trekking announces the new 2003 Carver, which was designed for fun, pleasant thermaling and easy handling. It is certified AFNOR Standard for security in all flying conditions. The price is $2,650 Euro and the glider is guaranteed for two years with unlimited airtime.

Contact: trekking.sa@wanadoo.fr, www. trekking. fr.

Sperwill Helmet

Sperwill has developed a new leisure aviation helmet. It is an integrated uru-s1ze (58-62 cm) helmet, complete with a communications system, to be used with all twometer radios with standard twinjack sockets. The system comes complete with helmet, HlO-type ear protectors, and coiled lead with jack plug set.

There are three different compatib le

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The blokart fits into a carry bag, assembles in less than five minutes, fits in the trunk of any vehicle, weighs 55 pounds and can be sailed anywhere there is a hard-sand beach, parking lot or recreation area.

There are two blokan models: a high-strength, steel, zinc powdercoated frame with an MSRP of $2,595, and a stain.less-steel version with an MSRP of $3,395.

The blokart is available at specialty outdoor adventure retaUers throughout North America, or contact blokan USA toll free at 877-blokart, www.blokartusa.com.

Paragliding: December. 2002

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communications systems: Icom and similar-type configurations with 9.5-cm jack spacing; Kenwood with 9.5-cm jack spacing; and Motorola with 7.5-mm jack spacing. Two pressto-talk buttons are installed, one mounted on the ear protector and another as a remote finger, riser or bar-mounted button.

The price is £200 + VAT. The helmet is white and uni-size. Options available soon include black and Oxford blue, visor, integrated radio module, and sizes x-small (53-54 cm) and small (55-57 cm).

Contact: Sperwill Ltd., phone/ fax:++ 44 (0) 117 9531850, mobile: ++ 44 (0) 7855 742 153, www.sperwill.com.

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Model S Hook Knife

Benchmade's new Model 5 Rescue Hook is designed to be a simple, low-profile tool that offers the user many uses.

Machined of stainless steel, the unique scalpel-sharp hook blade can readily slice through a multitude of fibrous or pliable materials (e.g. , safety belts, harnesses, rope, webbing, clothing, etc.). The blade is purposely set back into the hook design to allow you to rapidly grab hold of the material to be cut, while at the same time effectively minimizing the chance of any peripheral damage from the blade.

(DHV 2)

with leading ~HIT (High-speed Intake Valves) and integrated battens.

59+ km/hr top speed 0.9 llt/sec min. sink rate.

Ai1y chance of injury to the user is also accounted for. A generoussized finger hole combined with aggressive finger treads along the spine provide plenty of grip in a hurry. Ai1d for the EMT's, the Model 5 Rescue Hook includes an oxygen valve wrench for double duty.

The knife is available with either a molded, hard sheath for mounted carry (MSRP $35), or with a softwebbed belt sheath (MSRP $25 ) for traditional carry.

For more information contact an authorized Benchmade dealer, call 1-800-800-7427, or visit www.benchmade.com.

(DHV 1-2)

with leading edge HIT . (High-speed Intake Valves) 50+ knVhri top speed 1.0 mttsec rnn. sink rate.

USH GA Ratings Web Site

Features high-tech synthetic materials designed for use in tive sports. Iron Clad offers creased protection without compromising dexterity. 1\vailabk in Summer/ recreation and Winter/ cold styles. The way a glove should be built!

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Solid Cordura construction protects your investment!

Fully opens to cover gear or cinches up around unfolded wing, harness, etc .. offering protection and portability. Uniyue "Cinch Closure" design stays closed! Built in shoulder straps and extra cinching buckles. X-C J .ire version also available!".The best quality and

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design available today!

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Compact yet incredibly rugged, the VX-series 2 meter and Tri-band handhclds are derived from the Vertex commercial transceiver line, providing exceptional receiver performance along with clean, clear tra11s1nit audio. 2w or 5w output, Kev-lock, full featured!

PTT's and antennas available for all radios.

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This comfortable "One Size Fits All" radio harness instantly all-( :or<l urn c:onstruc tion, large bellow cargo pocket a pen/antenna pouch.

Beautifully crafted, anodized aluminum hook knives. ,\ll feature lightweight construction, replaceable blades and knife pockets. The 8" raptor, designed to fit in your hand while wearing gloves. The 4" single blade is the best compact knife available.

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www.thermaltracker.com 1920 North I •:ast ]) St. Crants Pass, Oregon, 97S2(, phone/fax 541.955.1737

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Guided Tours - Instruction Sales - Ser.vice Paragliding: Decembec 2002

Are you interested in seeing when your submitted new rating was processed by USHGA, besides looking up your own recordr The USHGA Web site now has a new function for its members, listing new ratings issued within the last 30 days, at http://www.ushga.org/ ratings_last30days.asp.

Florida Towing at Graybird Airsports

Now paraglider pilots can enjoy the great warm-weather flying available 111 sunny Florida.

Graybird Airsports, operating at Dunnellon Airport one hour north of Orlando, is catering to paraglider pilots who want to tow up to those beautiful thermals. Tow-rating courses are available, and flying is available every day from December through the winter. With the Florida tow comp in May, come practice with us. Gregg McNamee and Ray Leonard arc your hosts. Paragliding, hang gliding, ultralights, and powered paragliders are all available. Contact: fly@graybird airsports.com, www.graybirdair sports.com, (352) 245 8263.

S1.mSports Paragliding News

SunSports Paragliding is pleased to announce a new member of our sales team. Jay Lindgren will join Mark Telep and Rick Higgins with paragliding sales and service. Jay is a P3 with three years of flying experience and is located in Portland, Oregon to better serve our customers there. Jay Lindgren can be reached at (503) 244-7658 or at jsunsports@hotmail.com.

Alex Hofer/GIN Boomerang Win the 2002 World Cup

After Mexico, Italy, France and Turkey, the World Cup finals were organized in the home country of Gin Gliders, Korea. Alex Hofer (CH) won the overall ranking.

Scotty Marion (USA) and Jean Marc Caron (FR) placed second and third. Scotty Marion (USA) won the Korean World Cup event.

Team Gin NCV Porcher Marine took the team trophy for 2002.

Frederic Jacques Breaks Paramotor World Altitude Record

Frederic Jacques has just broken yet another world paramotor record flying an Airwave glider and a Backbone paramotor unit. frederic took off at 1:29 pm on October 5, 2002 at Vaumeilh, Germany at an altitude of 540 meters, and climbed with the motor and some wave-lift assistance to a height of 5,243 meters. The climb took 90 minutes to reach the record altitude, beating the old record by just under 200 meters.

Frederic was still climbing when he reached this altitude, but it was so unbelievably cold that the plastic buckle holding his helmet cracked and broke. His climb rate during the attempt also broke the existing world record but initial calculations show that it was not by a sufficient enough margin to be accepted by the FAI as a new record.

Paragliding Pre-PreWorld Cup

The paragliding Pre-Pre-World Cup will be held in Billing, India. For more information visit http://www.nirvanaadventures.com.

11

Calendar of events items WILL NOT be listed if only tentative.

Please include exact information (event, date, contact name and phone number). Items should be received no later than six weeks prior to the event. We request two months lead time for regional and national meets.

COMPETITION

Until Dec. 31: The Michael Champlin World X-C Challenge.

No entry fees or pre-registration requirements. Open to paragliders, hang gliders, rigid wings and sailplanes. For more details visit the contest's Web site at: http://www.hanggliding.org or contact: John Scott (310) 447-6234, fax (310) 447-6237, brettonwoods@email.msn.com.

CLINICS, MEETING, TOURS

Through Dec.: Dixon's Airplay Arizona open all year (near Flagstaff). Specializing in new pilot instruction. Start out right with thorough training in meteorology, kiting, flight dynamics and much more. Only one or two new students per instructor. Wide-open, 360° drive-up launch sites from 20 to 1,200 feet. Limited weekday and weekend space available.

Make reservations early. Complete paragliding store and service center.

Contact: dixon@paraglide.com, www.paraglide.com, (928) 526-4579.

December 2002 through March 2003:

Advanced Paragliding Mexico paragliding tours. Juan Laos and Fabio Blancarte will host seven-day paragliding tours in west central Mexico, including Tapalpa, the site of the 2002 Paragliding World 12

Cup. One of the best paragliding areas in Mexico, with 10 sites within a two-hour drive. Launch from a 15,000' volcano, soar the coastal ridges and enjoy some of the best seafood in the world at very reasonable prices. Sites include Jalisco, Colima and Michoacan.

Tours include pickup and dropoff at Guadalajara International Airport, transportation to all launches, lodging and other accommodations, detailed site introductions with maps, daily meteorology information and retrieves. Thermal flying and crosscountry coaching and instruction. $1,500 includes pickup at the airport on a Saturday morning and drop-off at the airport on the following Saturday. $500 USD deposit required. Credit cards accepted. Contact: Juan Laos, (925) 377-8810, juan.laos@realpvs.com, www.advancedparagliding.com.

December 12-23, December 29-January 9:

Thermal Tracker Paragliding Fly Ecuador Tours. Getaway tours to the beautiful, awe-inspiring mountains and coastal regions of Ecuador. Explore the High Andes, flying among some of the most beautiful peaks in South America.

Spend time relaxing on the warm Ecuadorian coast - swimming, fishing and flying miles of smooth coastal ridge sites. The first tour (Dec. 12-23) is for strong P2 pilots and above, with flying at some of the more challenging Ecuadorian paragliding sites. The second tour (Dec. 29-Jan. 9) will focus on instructional coaching, experienced critiquing and assigned tasks on the warm Ecuadorian coast, with Andean flying if appropriate.

Guided by Advanced-rated tandem

instructor Kevin Lee and the pilots at Ecuadorian Expeditions. Contact: Kevin Lee, Thermal Tracker Paragliding, (541) 660-8839, thermaltracker@bigfoot.com.

December 14:

Will Gadd presents "X-C and adventure flying, the psyche sessions."

In July of this year Will broke the U.S. and world distance record by flying 263 miles! He has flown across America using a paramotor on an adventure called Paraglide America.

This weekend session starts with a free slide show on Friday night at 7:00 pm at a location to be aimow1eed, with clinics on Saturday and Sunday starting at 9:00 am, flying at 11:30. $200.

Contact: Fly Above All, Inc., http:/ /www.flyaboveall.com, info @f 1ya b o v ea 11. com, (805) 965-3733, P.O. Box 3588, Santa Barbara, CA 93130.

December 20-February 16, 2003:

Airplay Paragliding Central Mexico tours, with Marty DeVietti and Dixon White. Ten -day tours with a max offive students at a time. Topnotch thermal/ X-C flying, eating and lodging. With seven years of guiding experience in Mexico and a combined 22 years of teaching paragliding you can count on a great experience. You should be a solid P2 (at least 70 flights, 10 hours, solid basic skills) to consider this trip. Contact: dixon@paraglide.com, (928) 526-4579.

January 4-1 I , 2003:

Valle de Bravo trip with Academy instructors Ken Hudonjorgensen and Kevin Biernacki. Contact: Twocan Fly Paragliding, 474 East Tonya Dr., Sandy, UT 84070, phone/fax (801) 572-3414, hudonj@qwest.net, www.twocanfly.com.

Paragliding: December, 2002

January 27-3 i, 2003:

Parachute Industry symposia, meetings, trade show, Jacksonville, FL. More For the 2002-03 winter season, Thermal Tr ker Paragliding will be carrying on t~e yearly ~radi~i?n of than 800 parachute winter getaway tours to the beautiful, awe mspmng mountains and coastal regions of Ecuador. manufacturers, Opportunities will abound, with time spent explori_ng the Hi~h Andes, fl yin$ among some of the_ most beautiful dealers and suppliers peaks m South America. Spend time relaxmg on the warm from more than 30 Ecuadorian coast: swimming, fishing, and flying miles of smooth coastal ridge sites! countries are expected For pilots and non-pilots alike, we have a strong . commitment to exploring the ground based beautyot this at the Adams Mark, country, from hikini; to.mountain ~i~i~g, ~ou~ing rums to river rafting, explormg 1ungles to v1s1ting indigenous 225 Coastline Dr., markets full of crafts and textiles. Come fly South America!

Jacksonville, FL. The exhibit is open to the ~~~ public and admission ~~' www.thermaltracker.com is $5. Skydivers will 1920 North East D St. descend in front of Grants Pass, Oregon, 97526 the Adams Mark on phone 541.660.8839 Monday the 27th thermaltracker@bigfoot.com at approximately 1: 30 pm. The public January i 2-19, 2003: is invited and admission is free.

Parasoft Paragliding 10th annual Contact: Marge Bates, PIA Press trip to the mountains of Igualla, Room, (860) 655-0534 (cell), Mexico. Come fly where it is still margepara@cox.net, or Dan summer! Parasoft Paragliding will Poynter (805) 448-9009 (cell). offer its 10th year of trips to the mountains oflgualla, Mexico. P2+, February 8-12, 2003: 25 pilots are welcome to improve 2003 Mauna Kea Thermal Clinic, their thermaling and X-C skills from on the Big Island of Hawaii. Mauna a 300' drive-up site. Curriculum at Kea (13,796' MSL) has flying http://www.parasoftparagliding.co sites at various altitudes, some of m/WinterF!ying.html. them suitable for intermediate pilots. Pilots should expect big January 19-26, 2003: air, high-altitude takeoff's and Parasoft Paragliding trip to Valle challenging X-C flying. Mauna de Bravo and Igualla, Mexico. Be Kea and the surrounding areas are picked up at the airport and guided still unexplored to a large extent. to popular mountain sites. Parasoft Requirements: Intermediate Paragliding offers P3 pilots 18rating or better/Novice with mile X-C flights with chauffeured instructor signoff. Everything retrievals. Stay in comfortable you need for high-altitude X-C hotels with breakfast discussion flying. $275 before Dec. 15 of X-C skills. Pictures at http: (registration deadline). Food and //www.parasoftparagliding.com/ gas money extra. Clinic includes WinterFlying.html.

4WD transportation, airport pickup, guide service, free ocean Paragliding: December: 2002

site camping, daily state-of-the-art weather report. To register contact: Paraglide Hawaii, P.O. Box 797, Mountain View, HI 96771, tofly@excite.com, (808) 968-6856.

March 29-April 6, 2003:

Flight Fest 2003. Torrey Pines Gliderport will be hosting their 11th annual paragliding and hang gliding speed races. The hang gliding races will be held March 29-31 and the paragliding races will take place April 4-7. The races will be held in conjunction with a manufacturer's exposition in which pilots will be able to "try and fly" a wide variety of free flight gear. Stay tuned for further info.

March 2003:

The original Adventure Sports Brazil Tour. Five years of flying, fun and a bit of confusion with the best guides in Governador Valadares. USHGA instructors fluent in Portuguese and with local knowledge. Side trips to Bahia and Rio de Janeiro also available for coastal flying adventures. $100 per day includes hotel close to the LZ, breakfast, rides and guides for local or X-C flying. Make the most of your Brazilian experience.

Contact: Adventure Sports, (775) 883-7070 http:// www.pyramid.net/ advspts/ brazil.htm.

13

ccYou want me to do whatt) he same question kept trying to push past my tongue as I listened to Enleau O'Connor describe the things we would be doing later in the day. But I kept my teeth clenched and my ears sharp. If I was going to do this, I didn't want to miss a single kernel of information before the big event - my first tow-launch, and more frightening, my first SIV clinic.

The three-day event was also called a maneuvers clinic, but I liked the term SIV, as it gave the activity a safe, indistinct feel - nobody seemed to know what SIV really stood for. Then I made the mistake of looking it up: SIV is short for the French term, simulation d'incident en vol (translated: simulated incident in flight). In other words, intentionally forcing your glider to do bad things while aloft. The idea is, if you can experience the incident en vol in a controlled situation, you'll be better prepared to handle it when it comes up unexpectedly in a free flight.

I'm relatively new to this sport and wasn't at all sure I was ready for this. My partner, Donna Meshke, and I have been flying for about 18 months, and still consider ourselves rank amateurs.

Our friends, Doug Stroop and Denise Reed - instructors at the Airplay Ranch in Cashmere - had organized the SIV Clinic in southwest Washington, and they assured us we were well prepared and qualified for the experience.

Indeed, Doug told me, we were perfect for it because we were just starting to fly the sites and conditions that could cause things like asymmetric folds or frontals, or could force us to need skills like B-line stalls and spiral dives to get out of the sky safely.

Still, we vacillated. Should we or shouldn't wd Our uncertainty helped fuel our anxiety, until we finally said to hell with it: We need to do this, and signed up.

So early Friday morning, during the first part of April, we drove to the rural town near the lake, and while enjoying a wonderful breakfast at the local deli/restaurant we met our classmates.

Several Seattlearea pilots were in the group, but we also enjoyed the company of a trio of Alaskan pilots and a pair from Continues page 16 ...

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Paragliding: Decembe" 2002

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Enleau and Ann are among the top acrobatic pilots in the country, and have competed in the Aerobattle in Issaquah, Washington. But they weren't here to fly - Ann would pilot one of the rwo tow boars, while Enleau would talk us

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through the maneuvers. To get the clinic off the ground, as it were, we started with a morning in the classroom. Enleau explained, in detail, each and every maneuver we might be doing in the course of the three-day clinic. He described to us what the gliders would do in an asymmetric collapse, or full frontal fold, or deep stall, etc., and then talked us through the steps we would take to help the glider recover from the incident and return to stable flight. He also explained to us how we would induce ci1e glider to fo ld, or frontal, or stall, or (and this one freaked me out a bit) twist up the risers, and ci1en how to recover from them.

For a while, as he talked, I got more nervous. Surely, I thought, I wouldn't be asked to do an)rtlling drastic, like tank down both A-risers on my first flight, would I? A full frontal collapse? I'm just a rookie; he wouldn't do ci1at to me. But as the morning went on and we moved from lecture to simulator practice, ci1en to loading up and heading for the lakeside launch, I loosened up. Enleau noted that he would take us through stages, progressing only so quickly as we were comfortable, and Doug and Denise continued to coach us, assuring us mat we had the skill and talent required

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Paragliding: December; 2002

to handle these trials.

As comforting as their confidence in us was. their confidence in our wings was more reassuring to me.

Donna and I both fly Windtech Ambars, and they assured us these were stable gliders that recovered very quickly. I was feeling a little better, but the butterflies were still fluttering.

her to reach up, grab both A-risers, and yank down.

She did and, through the lens of the camcorder, I saw the front of the glider ruck back underneath itself and almost instantly whip back up in full inflation.

"Pull down the left A-riser," Enleau said, and through the lens I saw about 50 percent of the left side of Donna's wind drop.

The bright green glider pivoted a bit, then the wing was reinflated and flying straight. No more than about a 10-degree change in heading.

Hmm,maybe these Ambars are as stable and forgiving as they say.

Shortly after lunch we were on the sloping bank of the lake.

We had been assigned numbers before we got started - Donna was 6, I was 11. We watched a couple of the Alaska pilots go, and they had no trouble pulling big 50+ percent asymmetric folds, B-line stalls and frontals. We watched Frank and Steve fly and have no trouble at all.

Dvnna worked through a few rleflations, then some B-line stalls before having ro set up for her final approach into the LZ. By the time she landed and we talked about her flight, it was my rum to gear up and get on deck to launch.

Then, aU of a sudden, Donna was up. I helped Denise rig the tow strap for Donna, then stepped back and turned on the video. With a strong wind blowing in, Donna was able to launch reversed, bur the san1e wind that helped with the launch proved to be a hindrance in flight. She was bucked and tossed a little as she was pulled upward through a persistent thermal cycle. Then the call came, "Release," and the towline fell away and Donna was in free flight. Enleau calmly told

The ,vind had calmed as the sun slipped back behind the clouds, and I had to launch forward. I'm more comfortable launching reverse, C\'en in nowind conditions, so this had me a little uneasy - not to mention the fact that I was tied ro a 300-

Continues a e 37 Paragliding: December; 2002

17

The story of a flop over the back of Burke Mountain, Vermont

by David Morris his flight-up was originally written for the NEPHC newsletter to encourage more New England pilots to fly X-C. Although not a particularly long flight, it was hoped that by describing the decisions made from beginning to end, more local pilots would try to repeat it and discover the joys of landing somewhere completely different. It seems to be working!

The models on the previous Tuesday showed a great synoptic picture shaping up for the weekend: a slow-moving cold front pushing off the coast, high pressure centered to the west, and an upper trough axis slap bang over New England to keep temperatures cool aloft and the atmosphere unstable. I didn't get too excited, though, having seen it all before, only for it to change at the last minute. Either the high would push in, resulting in no wind and suppressed thermals, or the isobars would tighten up, making it too windy to get off the hill. On Wednesday Erick called and we aimed to keep Saturday free for a possible trip to Burke. By Thursday (with massive thunderstorm development along the front) the excitement began to build, with models continuing to show an epic day. On Friday it was time to fold maps, charge batteries and fill my Platypus, with Saturday looking better than ever.

18

Christmas morning I awoke at the crack of dawn and hit the road after a quick glimpse at the latest models (still looking good) and a bowl ofWeetabix (secret weapon). I arrived at Burke around 9:00 AM and carried my glider over to launch, nearly stepping on two nice-sized snakes sunning themselves under the first rays. I was quite disappointed to find no

wind at the top of the mountain whatsoever. The only clouds in the sky were the black flies around my head. Perhaps the high pressure was building slightly more quickly than the models suggested, but it was still early and the ground was very wet. The sun would need to climb a little higher before its energy went into making thermals and not just evaporating surface moisture.

Paragliding: December; 2002

By 10:00 AM the first wisps of cu began to form low down - illdefined bases but with towering, short-lived columns, toppling, drying and disappearing as quickly as they had developed. There was still no wind at the surface, and these clouds had no drift at all, but at least they showed that an unstable column existed. I took cover from the black flies by hiding in my car. The lack of sleep the previous night quickly caught up with me and I fell into a deep sleep (which makes it a vol-bivouac expedition, rightr). At 11:30, Erick, Sammy and Leo arrived just as I woke up. A lone hiker walked past, laughing and muttering that he thought I'd died when he saw me passed out in the front seat earlier. The leaves were beginning to rustle ever so slightly, and the clouds were getting that "epic look." Higher, there were darker bases with well-defined, towering ed es. The excitement mounted

Paragliding: Decembe~ 2002

By 12:15 I was in my harness and poised for takeoff. The day still looked like it was going to improve, but with one car at the bottom of the hill, bombing out wouldn't have been too much of a problem. I could be back up and ready to lob off again within 20 minutes or so. I launched into the next weak cycle and spent 10 minutes working small bubbles just to maintain. Erick also took off and we boated around, looking for anything that would get us above takeoff height and buy us some time between cycles. It seemed that we were fighting a losing battle. Erick pushed out to the landing field and I headed just to the west oflaunch on another thermal hunt.

My vario squeaked and I managed to get half a turn in something really quite good. On the second pass it felt rowdier, and with a little initial tip deflation I hooked

then Leo launched and flew over to join me. He found a separate core but kept falling out of it. I climbed away and lost the thermal at around 4,500 feet MSL, still directly above the peak of the mountain. The cloud shadows had an imperceptible track across the ground, showing the lightest north-northwest wind at the top of the boundary layer.

It was decision time. I love this bit.

Weighing the pros and cons while singing, "Should I stay or should I go nowr" I decided that with no dynamic lift on the mountain, and as much chance of getting a thermal there as anywhere else, anywhere else sounded like the best option. I switched my GPS on and headed southwest toward the Lyndonville Valley. The umbilical was cut.

Two minutes later (past the point of no return) I regretted

.

.

19

stratosphere above Bishop, California, was the

A perfect contest day.

Seventy percent of the pilots who fly complete the 47-mile task, and only five percent land inside the start cylinder. Many of those who make goal are in their first serious contest, and some report personal bests in distance, altitude, duration, or all three. We hear that conditions were "powerful," but "not too rough."

~~~Il~ fwij:A competition nightmare. In gusty conditions at launch, a pilot lifts off without his brake toggles in hand, then pendulums in on a hard shale slope, suffering critical injuries.

Meet officials call a rescue helicopter. Meanwhile, the task takes pilots through the launch area on their return leg. We try to steer them away from launch, without being sure they will all tune into one of the broadcast frequencies. At least one pilot takes an epic collapse during the task.

Paragliding: December. 2002

Where did those diverse events take place? At the same site, in the same contest, on the same day.

Welcome to the Owens Valley, a soaring Mecca for sailplane pilots since long before most of the 2002 Paragliding Nationals competitors were born. This was the site of all the early altitude records in the mid-40,000foot range. A high fatality rate

Bishop attracted the first crosscountry hang glider pilots as well, for all.the early flights exceeding 100 miles. Again, the Owens claimed its share of victims, with fatalities and many injuries. Scary air provided part of the motivation to seek other sites for flying big distance. This place epitomizes Big 20

Air and Big Terrain, complicated by vast expanses without roads or habitation.

Far from a minor consideration, the place is spectacular. Anyone who climbed above the mountains, not

Santa Barbara, California, prepared the ground months in advance. By the time pilots arrived, the White Mountain Research Station, at the base of the mountains, was set up as meet headquarters, complete with dorm space and meals for those who wanted those amenities.

Four-wheel-drive transportation to launch was included, as was all the compressed oxygen anyone cared to breath: MarkAxen was on hand as Safety Director, and we had veteran local sailplane pilot Walt Lockhart as weather man.

Cheerful volunteers, too many to list, made everything run smoothly.

ru-t~mnn~~

Only a handful of the 90-some paraglider pilots who registered for the comp had ever been to the Owens Valley. Once again, we would be pioneering at, potentially, one of the most extreme flying sites on the planet. Even more than at other comps, safety would be an overriding concern.

Were we crazy to hold the Paragliding Nationals here? Without trying to answer that question we can note that, just as hang gliding along the Inyo and White Mountains at less than 18,000 feet is far different from flying sailplanes in the Sierra Wave, flying conditions in late September arc a far cry from the booming conditions ofJuly. By all accounts from people who had flown paragliders there, if we did it in September, the contest would at least be practical, and possibly outstanding.

Paragliding; December. 2002

to mention going X-C, would not soon forget it. Although both of us had flown hang gliders at Bishop in the '70s and early '80s, and one of us (Gray) had grown up there, we had done tittle Owens flying in the past 20 years.

Yes, a paragliding comp can work in the Owens Valley, and experienced, careful pilots who go there in late summer or autumn can expect epic flights.

TII ~~ ~M~Ilitm~

Aside from world-class pilots, the key ingredients ofa successful comp are the ones that tend to go unnoticed when they're done right.

That proved to be the case with the USHGA-sanctioned 2002 U.S. Paragliding National Championship competition held in Owens Valley in September. Lee Anne Norris and Chad Bastian ofFlyAbove All in

For at least two days before the meet, up to half the pilots took flights from Gunter at about 8,000 feet elevation, and most of them had evening flights from Flynn's Hill, about three miles from headquarters and 1,000 feet above the valley floor. During the evening flying sessions at Flynn's, we noticed that one pilot went up faster-and came down slower than all the others. That pilot was Martin Orlik, a dreadlocked young Czech flying a Gin Boomerang 2. His instrument deck includes a vario, a GPS receiver and a stereo with external speakers.

At Flynn's, in smooth evening conditiops, a would-be competitor was badly injured as a result of reverse launching with brake toggles swapped, and then neglecting to fly his wing while trying to free a toggle from the risers.

Aside from the one accident, pilots had a great time) with plenty of altitude, some respectable distances

I

and great views of the Sierras to the west and the endless expanse of Nevada to the east.

On Saturday, September 21, Walt Lockhart predicted a beautifol, early-fall, high-pressure day, with light winds and abundant lift. The task committee selected a simple 43.9-mile out-and-return, north to the Mountain View mine in the foothills on the way to Benton, then back south past the Gunter Canyon launch for a goal at meet headquarters.

Forty-six pilots made goal, more than half of those who launched.

Martin Orlik won the day with an average speed of 19.5 mph. Orlik attributed his placing to luck, and his speed to the fact that he mistook one of the wind dummies for a competitor, so he thought he was behind the field and needed to catch up. Second and third, Ryan Swan and Len Szafayrn, also flew Gin Boomerang 2s. Bishop resident (when she's not traveling the world to hang and para comps) Kari Castle was fourth on her Windtech Quarx 2. Jeff Huey was fifth on his Ozone Proton GT. Jeff had flown in some of the Owens Valley hang '~'~ ,,,""'

gliding meets of the early 1980s, and he reported that all his favorite house thermals were right where he left them!

Dave McCutcheon threw his reserve at about 14,000 feet near White Mountain Peak and landed in the wilderness. He called on the radio to say he was uninjured, and a couple of days later he walked out on his own.

Swiss pilot Joerg Ewald, who finished 36tl1, reported: "I had my longest flight ever (4 hours and 10 minutes) and my farthest flight today - and boy am I tired now."

Sunday's forecast was nearly identical to what we had experienced the first day, witl1 light wind and slightly taller thermals. The task committee upped the ante slightly in distance, with a more difficult second turnpoint (ilie Caltech Radio Astronomy Observatory, dubbed "Big Ears" locally) several miles away from ilie mountains. To maximize task validity, we wanted to reduce goal completion to about 30 percent of ilie field. The task took pilots norili 11 miles, south 37 miles, and back to the Research Station for a total of 46.7 miles.

Nearly all ilie pilots were already out on course when comp pilot Jody Lucas crashed on launch and required evacuation by helicopter.

His extraction was very quick, due in part to the exceptional emergency personnel and services that the organizers had available at launch.

Although conditions were somewhat gusty at Gunter, tlus accident seems mainly attributable to the pilot talang off wiili the bralce toggles in his "wrong" hands, ilien letting go of ilie brakes as he tried to spin out of a riser twist.

Aside from tlus incident, each day we observed at least a few scary scenes due to swapping, getting distracted by harnesses or speedbars, or scratching unnecessarily close to the terrain. Habits that work well enough at mellower sites don't seem to be abandoned easily. By tlus time we had gotten the impression iliat some pilots had arrived wiiliout reading, or not believing, ilie published warnings about extreme conditions in ilie Owens Valley. The place demands an unusual level of preparation in terms of equipment, judgment and skills. Unfortunately, but probably wisely, a few withdrew or stoppe,q Q)'jmt

Despite a more difficult task, 55 pilots made goal. Nate Scales arrived first on his Advance Sigma 5, but Martin Orlik beat him with departure and arrival points to again talce first for the day. Nate was second, Ryan was third and Kari was fourth again. Eric Reed was fifth on a Gin Nomad. Tales oflow saves and high climbs filled the air at goal, and many pilots had their best flights ever.

The high pressure hung on through Monday, with light winds and strong thermals predicted.

The task is set at 47.8 miles, with some challenging valley turnpoints at Hammil and Laws. In response to some concerns about power lines on the north (approach in this case) side of the Research Station, the task committee set a Flynn's LZ goal, close enough to headquarters that high finishers would be able to land there.

The first item at the pilots meeting was Martin Orlik's speech about his winning flight on Day Two,

transcribed here in its entirety: "I was lucky." No one believed that.

Not so lucky was Andrew Roberts from Zimbabwe, who had to throw his reserve right before the 1:30 PM start time while most of the pilots were gaggled with him at the edge of the start cylinder.

As Joerg Ewald described it: " ... when the start window opened, one pilot put on a very special show for everybody by taking a big whack, a cravat (part of the wing tangled in the lines) and subsequently spiraling through the whole gaggle, spiraling harder than anything I'd ever seen before, until finally, with a big 'WHAM,' the reserve parachute opened and he floated down into a deep canyon."

With so many eyewitnesses, the rescue operation was off to a good start. Comp pilot Thayer Hughes side-hill landed near Andrew and reported that he was okay. The fact that Andrew walks with the aid of a cane would complicate his rescue, but for the moment he was doing fine.

The racing was difficult, with a crux at Hammil that ushed number of pilots.

Only six pilots made goal.

behind on his serial wing at 15.98 mph. Len Szafayrn was third, Eric Reed fourth, and Dustin Pachura finished fifth on a Nova Vertex.

Ryan Swan was in 11th place this time, and Kari took 16th.

Several pilots joined Safety Director Mark Axen and Launch Marshall Bob Hannah in the attempt to extract Andrew from Paiute Canyon, but despite their best efforts, taking turns carrying him in Carl Snitselaar's modified Ozone backpack, they couldn't make their way to the road before dark. Andrew and some of his rescuers had to spend the night out in the canyon.

This was only the second major U.S. paragliding Nationals to use the latest verification and scoring technology. GPS is revolutionizing competitions, from the director's and scorekeeper's perspective as well as the pilot's. While everyone involved appreciates the flexibility of GPS-based tasking, as well as the freedom from cameras and turnpoint identification hassles, there have been some glitches.

The saddest cases were a number of excellent flights that had to be scored shorter than they should have been, due to errors in setting up or operating GPS receivers. In the face of this and other adversity, a consistently high level of sportsmanship was remarkable.

GPS flight verification is sure to become standard, even in smaller meets. Pilots just getting into comps could benefit from our experience. Make sure to have a GPS receiver that is compatible with the available verification software, and that communicates 23

ywith a PC. Also, take the time to learn how to set up the tracklog and other functions, and practice with the instrument on several flights (simulated flights on foot or by car will do in a pinch) before heading off to a contest.

Walter predicted stronger wind for Tuesday afternoon, and by the time we headed up the canyon at 9:00 AM, lenticular and rotor clouds were forming in a loosely organized but still daunting Sierra Wave.

While the task committee planned a 29.6-mile race with multiple turnpoints, the Navy sent a helicopter to extract Andrew and his rescuers. The helicopter dropped a smoke bomb that started a fire in Paiute Canyon. From launch we watched the smoke form a dome of cumulus and then lenticular clouds over the top. of the plume. Miscommunication and other problems delayed the rescue.

By the time a helicopter had lifted ,Andrew and company out of the canyon, the fire was unpleasaptly close to them. They were in a tight spot tharwould have been difficult

Meanwhile, back on Gunter launch, Safety Director Mark Axen canceled the day due to weather conditions. John Greynald, the lone hang pilot-wind dummy, flew his Laminar while everyone else drove down the hill. By afternoon the sky was full of virga and mamata, and downdrafts kicked up big dust clouds in random spots around the valley.

The fire in Paiute Canyon was burning strong on Day Five.

The-Forest Service brought in more than l 00 firefighters and two helicopters to fight the fire, and they closed the airspace in a five-mile radius from the fire, up to an. elevation of 12,000 feet. Gunter launch was within that no-fly zone. Forest Service headquarters was willing to work with us on easing the restriction to allow us to fly, but left th~ final decision to the helicopter pilots.

Axen and Brown negotiated with the chief pilot, who wasn't willing to accommodate us. The day was canceled. In the mid-afternoon the day blew out "Owens Valley style,"

complete with virga and small dust fronts. Some ·o f us went to other sites to fly hang·gliders, others went rock climbing or mountain biking, or flew traction kites. Most of us sho.wed up at Keogh Hot Springs to soak and swim, followed by a barbecue dinner.

..

On Day Six the Paiute fire continued to burn. Mark and JC met with the helicopter honcho, who was obviously angry and dismissed us with a firm "No!,, Next we sent over a couple of para pilots with military helicopter experience. They were told that a helicopter had to dodge a free flyer the day before, and that there would be no chance ofopening the airspace for us.

We moved the contest to Flynn's, which wasn't ideal, but it was outside the no-fly zone and it would have to suffice. Again, stronger winds were forecast for the afternoon. Wmd dummy Othar Lawrence, flying an <:>zone. prototype, took a ,vindy, sinlcy ride to the LZ. Dust devils appeared in the valley. A 31.4-mile task was called, but due to high winds, Mark Axen closed launch before any comp pilots took off.

Paragliding: December, 2002

The fire was out on Day Seven, 'Friday, September 27, but the airspace restriction continued to allow for helicopter reconnaissance flights. The weather prediction was for more wind and poor soaring conditions, and by noon the U.S. Nationals, which started with three great days of racing, ended with a whimper.

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Out of a possible seven we had three really good flying days, two that were shut out by the Paiute Canyon fire (under marginal conditions), and two that were definitely blown ouf The three good days saw very we!J-validated tasks, and the overall winner received an amazing 2,984 points out of the maximum possible 3,000. At the request of the Forest Service, comp pilots Bill Belcourt

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and Carl Snitselaar, both of whOJl! bad been_part of Andrew's rescue, hiked bac.bnto Paiute Canyon to retrieve the smoke bomb that bad ignited the whole fiasco. The Forest Service was pleased to receive this bit of evidence from Bill and Carl, since the clearly marked, out-of-date smoke canister pinned the blame, and the bill, for the fire on the Navy.

The awards party was at the Gray family house, which Ray and Marty graciously volunteered for the event. Dinner was catered by Red Bull and a local restaurant, Barbecue Bill's. Martin Orlik won all three days, so of course he won the U.S. Nationals. Second place overall went to Len Szafaryn. Since Martin is Czech, Len was crowned the U.S. National Champion. Kari Castle is the new Women's Champ, and Josh Cohn is the Serial Class

Champ. All four of these pilots flew very well and deserved their wins.

It was dark by the time all the awards were given, and everyone hung out to watch videos from the meet and socialize into the night. There was a strong sense of unity in the group that shared this meet, a feeling that we'd dbne something pretty cool together. As meet director and scorekeeper> the real. reward of such a contest js the chance to hang out v.rith such a fun and interesting group of people.

Somehow Martin wound up getting thrown into the backyard pond, and despite the icy water (lripping from his dreads, he looked very, very happy.

Complete scores, with task maps and some photos, are available http://www.elltel.net/peterandlinda

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Place Name Pilot# 1 ORLIK, Martin 59 1 2 SZAFARYN, Len 4 3 SWAN,Ryan 114 4 COHN,Josh 36 5 CASTLE, Kari 5 6 REED,Eric 7 SCALES, Nate 13 7 8 SILVERA, Cherie 12 9 HOISINGTON, Zachary 10 HOFFMAN, Doug 44 11 ROSENK]ER, Luis 64 12 PRENTICE, David 9 47 13 KELLBY, Greg 14 BBN-TOVIM, Yariv 29 22 15 PATIERSON~Jon 40 16 DEVIETTI, Marty 11 17 IIlLDEBRANJ), Chip 222 18 GORPON, Bill 19 DREYER, Andre 18 337 20 HUEY, Jeff 17 21 ROBINSON,.Ross 22 HOLLINGSWORTH, Morgan 91 88 23 REJMANEK, Honza 41 24 EWALD, Joerg 68 25 SPORRER, Rob

Glider Gin Glider Boomerang 2 Gin Glider Boomerang 2 Gin Glider Boomerang 2 Windtech Synchro Wmdtech Quarx Gin Glider Nomad Advance Sigma V Advance Omega 5 Gin Glider Oasis Wmdtech Synchro Pro Design Titan Orone Proton GT Firebird 'fribute Pro Design Project Gin Glider Nomad Windtech SyndJro Gin Glider Nomad Gin Glider Nomad Apco Prest.a Ozone Proton GT Martha Orone Proton ApcoSimba Edd Exel Firebird Hornet SP Wmdtech Serak

Nation Task l Task2 CZE 1000 985 825 807 USA USA 835 917 USA 671 810 USA 769 909 881 USA 581 USA 643 926 530 832 USA 674 754 USA USA 533 845 ARG 689 708 USA 676 701 USA 485 7.63 ISR 554 649 620 USA 583 · USA 538 7?1 USA 630 607 USA 625 525 ZAF 472 596 698 740 USA 525 527 USA USA 472 576 USA 494 581 725 CHE. 477 USA 45-S 653

Task 3 1000 972 769 979

745 958 707 864 772 732 699 705 760 782 779

~H 638 718 781 401 765 753 f,97

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Paragliding: December.2002

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the sun. They cavort and leap about bright day like a schoolboy ·~•-,Jt•·-·· piss and vinegar after long sessions of math, Latin and etiquette. They dance in the hall of the sky to the tune called by the wind and clouds.

To understand the dervish tempo and raucous nature of their dance ' we must know details of their upbringing and surroundings. To illuminate our metaphor, we must comprehend the meaning and effects of the lapse rate.

I have tried to put off discussing the subject of lapse rate for as long as possible, for you have no doubt heard the expression, "He who lapse last, lapse best." But we can no longer dodge the inevitable: To really know the heart and soul of thermals, we need to grasp their intimate involvement with lapse rate.

Meaning Revealed

It is not hard to understand the basics of the lapse rate if we simply realize it is a graph of the air's temperature at heights from the surface upward. We can also call such a graph the air's temperature profile.

A typical morning lapse rate or temperature profile may appear as in Figure 1. Let's look at

significantly - is known as a stable condition. In this case, thermals are what we can learn.

First, we notice that the ground the air's temperature is cool (55° Fahrenheit in this example). As we go higher, the temperature actually gets warmer up to the 1,000-foot level (70° F), in this example. Then the air cools off with altitude up to 3,000 feet.

Following this, it cools rapidly with altitude until we reach an altitude of 5,000 feet where it actually gets warmer with altitude again. Finally, above 5,500 feet, the air again cools off with increased altitude.

suppressed faster than tort reform talk at a lawyer's convention. Any wayward upward puff quickly dies out so the atmosphere is not active vertically (even though a wind may be blowing). It lies there limp as an overly liquored lover and is about as disappointing to a soaring pilot.

Why do thermals rise in an unstable environment and fall back to earth when it's stabld For an answer free of numbered (or numbing) details, note that the air pressure falls off with increasing height because there is less air above pushing down. You can feel that effect when your ears pop as you go up in an airplane,

The air's normal temperature change with increasing altitude is to get cooler. That's because nearly all the heat in the air comes in at the bottom from surface heating.

But moisture, movement and pressure systems serve to alter this UNS1"AB14i!l. "normal" picture as we shall see next month. For now, note that when the air cools off rapidly with height, the conditions arc known as unstable because they promote 1 • 4000 the nse and continuation of "' thermals. In other words, the ~ ao,x/ atmosphere is folding itself inside~ ·;-------\.--1.---.-50001

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Paragliding: December, 2002

a tall elevator or ski lift. A rising glob of air (a thermal, for example) experiences the reduced pressure as it rises as well, and thus it expands.

Its head swells so to speak. As it swells it cools off because the same amount of heat energy is distributed throughout a greater volume.

But the reason it began its rise in the first place was because it was heated at the surface, expanded and became less dense than its surroundings. Consequently, the glob will rise as long as it remains less dense than the surrounding air, which in general means warmer. Thus, when the air's temperature drops quite a bit with increasing altitude, the glob always remains warmer or less dense than its surroundings and continues to rise, even though it is cooling as it is rising. The glob in this type of environment is what we call a thermal.

In the opposite condition - when the surrounding air doesn't cool off at the rate the glob is cooling with increased height - the glob eventually reaches the same temperature and thus density as the surrounding air and is no longer buoyant. This condition is the stable situation.

Note 1: Lapse rates can be quite varied, so conditions can be anything from extremely unstable to neutral to extremely stable.

You can imagine the different buoyancies or upward impetus of thermals in these varied air conditions. The amount of available heating and wind in combination with the lapse rate is what determines the nature of the thermals of the day.

Paragliding: Decembe1; 2002

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Note 2: For details on actual temperatures and changes of thermals with height, see Understanding the Sky. Now let's return to our figure. In view of our previous discussion, we see that the lower layer (to 500 feet) is very stable because it gets warmer with height. We call such a layer an inversion because the situation is the inverse of the normal cooling with altitude.

The inversion that occurs at the ground is called (what else/) a ground inversion.

A bit higher in our figure, the air cools off quite a bit with altitude, and is labeled unstable. Higher still its cooling is reduced to the point that the air is stable. Then we come to another layer that warms with altitude (at 5,000 feet) which is another inversion.

Finally, above that the air is again unstable.

Lapse Rate Changes

Since we know the thermal prospects change from day to day, it doesn't take an Airistotle to figure out that the lapse rate itself changes. Let's see how these changes occur and how they affect thermals.

The most obvious change in the lapse rate is caused by the sun's great variation in heating as the 24-hour day progresses. At night, as the earth's heat radiates off, the air at the surface is cooled so the ground inversion of Figure l is formed. The thickness of this inversion depends on the extent of cooling (how clear the air is and whether or not clouds block the radiation process). Also, in mountainous areas, additional cool air will cascade down the mountain sides to increase the pooling of cool surface air.

In the morning, this surface air begins to heat from the bottom up.

Small plumes of warmed air rise a bit and mix the warm air upward.

This process is shown in Figure 2.

In our example, the lapse rate is being changed from the bottom and appears as a dashed line at various times in the morning. By 11: 30 AM, we sec that the spreading of warm air upward by convective mixing has wiped out the ground inversion. In fact, it no longer exists once the surface temperature has reached about 73° F (in this example). As the surface heats even more, any warm blob rising from the surface finds itself warmer than its surroundings well past the 1,000-foot level and continues on upward. The warmer the blob, the higher it goes, as shown.

When the surface temperature reaches 73° F in Figure 2, thermals rise rapidly in height. This magic number is called the trigger temperature. (Of course, the trigger temperature varies daily and from place to place, depending on the thickness and temperatures of the ground inversion.)

27

Thermal Heights

How high do the thermals gor Figure 3 illustrates the possibilities.

In case 1, they rise until their cooling results in their temperature equaling (approximately) that of the surrounding air. The warmer the surface gets, the higher they go. You can see one reason why thermals in the Western U.S. are much taller than their Eastern counterparts.

In case 2, the thermal never

cools to the point of equaling the surrounding air temperature, but gradually erodes to nothing as it climbs higher. The erosion process is due to the mixing caused by friction at the thermal's edges and

entrainment of outside air into the thermal (more on this process in a later installment). The situation in this case often occurs when there are weak thermals (those produced under a layer of high cirrus, in hazy conditions, over water or in winter). In this case, the larger the thermal, the higher it will climb.

In case 3, the thermals reach an inversion layer and get the brakes put on as if they were trying to penetrate molasses. We have also shown one situation where the thermal enters an inversion layer, gets slowed, but bursts through the top, then continues rising. In this case it may continue upward

until it erodes away, meets another (higher) inversion or forms a high cloud. Only the strongest thermals will burst through a thick inversion in this manner, so the clouds and thermals above an inversion will usually be few and far betwixt.

Finally, we have case 4, in which the thermal reaches the dew point level and forms a cumulus cloud. The dew point is the temperature at which the water vapor contained in the thermal condenses to water droplets.

The millions of water droplets are visible as cloud. Once cloud forms, great reserves of heat energy are released (this

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Paragliding: December, 2002

energy is the latent heat of \'aporizatioo stored up when the surface moisture evaporated) so the thermal becomes roiled and mixes rapidly with its surroundings. This mixing with cool ambient air soon spells the demise of the lift in that particular area unless a continuous font of thermals is feeding the cloud.

What determines the height of the dew point, and thus cloud base/ The answer is the humidity of the air and the actual air temperature (warm air can hold more water vapor than cool air). With talent we can learn to predict the height of cloud base (or whether or not clouds will form ) by taking the surface dew point displayed on a chart called a skew T or a tephigram. By running the surface relative humidity value up a line called the constant energy line, we find the dew point where it crosses the lapse rate. However, this technique is beyond the scope of this series.

We should note that cases 1, 2 and 3 result in blue days (no cumulus clouds forming from ground sources). Thankfully, case 4 occurs often enough to give us frequent skies marked with soft, white stepping stones guiding our aerial paths.

Hopefully the above concepts give you the idea that we can predict the thermal height of the day if we know the air's temperature profile (now available on the Web for most of the country), the maximum predicted surface temperature, the surface dew point and how much a thermal cools as it rises. This latter value is 5.5° F per 1,000 feet of rise. (You knew we'd slip numbers in eventually, didn't you?)

Now here are a couple of wrinkles in the process. As the day progresses, the earth's surface tends to dry out as thermals wick moisture upward. Consequently, cloud base rises higher (the dew point moves up) since the thermals' water vapor content is less.

A typical daily process is shown in Figure 4. We have already seen that thermals rise higher as the surface temperature rises, so these combined effects produce higher rising lift until a peak at about 3:00 PM. Of course, this typical cycle may \'ary if heating is delayed, or excess clouds reduce heating. Next month we'll see tl1e effect such a process has on inversion layers.

The final point tO understand is that thermals are like massive hot-air balloons that have great inertia.

Paragliding: December; 2002

It takes a while to get them started and they are reluctant to slow down once they are buoying upward. As a result, they penetrate quite readily as much as 1,000 feet above the height where they are no longer warmer than their surroundings. They always penetrate a distance into inversions (while usually becoming broken) and may punch through a weak one. In fact, many studies have shown that by the time a thermal has reached two-thirds to three-fourths of its maximum climb, it is no longer warmer than its surroundings, although it still rises by virtue of its inertia and water vapor content which makes it a bit less dense than its surroundings. As a result of these factors, determining the height of the lift based on the lapse rate chart will always underestimate the actual experienced level. It takes a practiced predictor to guess the correct values.

WhatYou Can Use

Think about how the lapse rate changes from night to day and realize that just because the night is clear and cold doesn't mean that the next day will be one of great thermal production. What is important is the (in)stability of the air above the ground inversion. I recall one day during the East Coast Championships in the Sequachie Valley. Everyone thought we were going to have a great day since the air was clear, crisp and cool. A few anemic morning thermal currents came up to stir our juices, but the air mass was stable and we sled rode all day long. Someone could have written a thesis on group depression that day.

Part of the fun of flying engine-free is taking what you can find and making the most of it. However, if Continues on page 35 30

was climbing well in front of the mountain. I should've gone back.

Oh well, nothing I could do about it now. Had better just make the best of it and see what I could find out in the valley. Sammy, Leo and Erick said later that they watched me disappear from view and assumed I'd bombed out in the valley. Eventually the horrendous sink turned to normal sink as I curved my course to the southsouthwest. Landing wouldn't have been a problem with fields everywhere.

At around 500 feet over the ground I was just thinking how classic the sky was looking, when the air became more buoyant. Things appeared to be working well behind one of the mountain spurs. I hung around in zero for a bit and eventually the thermal kicked off.

I clung to it like glue as it carried me skyward and quickly became better than the initial thermal I'd taken at launch. The temperature plummeted as I ascended, and soon I was shivering at 6,500 feet, admiring the incredible view and thanking my lucky stars for the low save. Visibility was crystal clear.

Mount Washington and the ski trails at Cannon looking very distinctive off to the southeast.

I put my gloves on and trucked towards East St. Johnsbury, maintaining my hard-earned height all the way, slowing down to stay in the best lift longer, and now and again throwing a couple of turns in to work a really good core - mostly "hunting for krill" as Tom Lanning calls it. I had a nice cloud just above me and knew that with minimal drift I would need to push on whilst the going was good to cover a decent distance.

Happy to still be high and flying farther than the spot I'd landed in a month earlier, I left the cloud over East St. Johnsbury and pushed on toward the Connecticut River.

I had the choice of following the I-93 corridor with all its landing options, or heading down I-91 and its lining of fields. The clouds decided and I ended up cruising between the two, but the cloud I was heading for fell apart and the ladder was pulled up way before I arrived. There were still landing options toward West Waterford so I pushed on through horrendous sink once again. It looked as though I would be able to glide to the river, but landing on the opposite bank just to say I'd made it into New Hampshire seemed a little risky.

Getting lower and lower I noticed a new cloud forming ahead of me, and developing rapidly! This baby was ob,~ously fed by the mother of all tlmmals, but would I malce itr First came tl1e cobblestones, then the glider surged and bit as my vario screamed "Turn in this ya bastard!"

What an amazing climb. Just as I was getting warm, and with the loud buzz of outboard engines zipping around on the river a little too close for comfort, Motl1er Nature once again pelted me skyward. This time I made it into the wispies at 8,000 feet and pushed on soutl1ward.

Actually, the best course was a little south-southwest to avoid the rising ground and fewer landing options to my left. With the cloud behind me I once again encountered offthe-clock sink, but this time tlme was a perfectly positioned cloud mushrooming downwind and within easy reach. I connected and cored it to base before pushing on, now in full race mode.

Paragliding: December; 2002

This really was epic flying at its !;)est, and at this point I wished a camera. A sailplane approached from the south and flew around me at the same height, and waved at each other as I nibbled my chewy bar. It seemed that I could reach out and touch Mt. Washington and Cannon, looking like one of those plastic 3D topo maps spread out before me. The sailplane gave a farewell wing waggle and glided off to a turnpoint in Montreal probably, t'leaving me alone again.

I took a climb near Woodsville and '\..cruised on southward. The sky was beginning to look a little bluer ahead as I glided through buoyant air without finding any significant lift.

A thin veil of high cirrus appeared be slowing things down a little.

Below, an impressive grassy strip, as straight as a Roman road, at first glance appeared to be a great '· landing option to follow. On closer fr1spection, however, it was obviously a place to avoid, containing a massive set of power lines striding across tl1e countryside. To tl1e left of this line, once past North Haverhill, tl1ere , weren't many landing options to choose from - a shame because tl1e clouds were drawing me tl1at way and I probably would have climbed out, but ifI hadn't it wouldn't have been pretty. As I glided lower and " lower I curved my course away from the forests and peaks and toward the patchwork of fields along the Connecticut River Valley.

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Eventually I was low again, when I noticed two hawks climbing over ~;Catamount Ridge. By this time I was too low to follow them and was B t'/.fqrced to burble along over the fields Hooking for something else. I found h;lyself heading toward Piermont and in a dead end of fields. With forest my west, soutl1 and east, I didn't Paragliding: Decembec 2002

have enough altitude to make it over to the next clearing furtlm south. It was eitl1er get up from here, or land.

With absolutely no wind I picked the southernmost field and set up for a landing. Then I noticed a stag with a full head of antlers standing in the grass - as ifI didn't have enough to worry about with power lines, trees and houses, without getting mauled by ferocious wildlife on touchdown. I mean, what nextr Grizzly bears/ The stag turned out to be fiberglass, for target practice use by the locals, who actually turned out to be very friendly and let me use their phone. I called Erick's cell phone, but of course he had no service up at Burke, so I just left a message to let the others know that I'd landed safely.

After 66.7 km (41.5 miles) and 3.5 hours of flying I wandered down the road with my thumb out. I managed to hitch to Exit 16 on 1-91 with an ice cream dripping down my arm. Then, after an hour hitching on the on-ramp, a couple stopped and picked me up on their way to Wells River. They very kindly ended up taking me a long way out of their way, all the way back to Burke Mountain to find the rest of the gang still enjoying some lateday sled rides.

After a bite to eat we rocked up at Morningside around midnight, pitched tents and enjoyed a couple of icy cold beers in front of a roaring campfire with Lyle, Mike Dore and others. A perfect end to a perfect day. The "There I was at base ... " stories were well under way when the Brazilians shot off into the night to track down a telly for the World Cup Final only a few hours away.

But tl1at's another story altogether!

31

by Carol Yastrov

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The way it was

n the early days of hang tiding, when getting a pilot to fly with a parachute was like pulling teeth, parachute 11 manufacturers · compromised by building the smallest, lightest-weight, cheapest parachutes that would probably save a life. In the parachute industry they were called "meat savers," because they were designed only to "save the meat" without worrying about a pilot breaking bones.

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As emergency use of "meat savers" proved valuable, and indeed saved lives, hang glider pilots began to accept the emergency parachute as part of their flying gear.

In the late 1970's, hang glider designs became more efficient and pilots pushed the envelope, attempting never-been-done aerobatic maneuvers, flying in challenging weather conditions, and reducing drag any way they could. The attitude, "I have a parachute so I can do anything in my hang glider," was not uncommon.

the top of the rotation, then collapsing as the tumble continued. Tubular webbing bridles were cut by the wreckage, making a pilot's survival dependent upon luck. Newly developed ballistic deployment systems suffered from extraction-force, handle, heat and entanglement issues.

Spinning hang gliders had a rate of descent the same as or slower than a falling parachute, and as a result the parachute was never loaded so it could open. Spinning hang gliders under parachutes were twisting up the parachute bridle and lines, thus deflating the chute as it approached the ground.

Parachutes with short bridles, used with larger-span hang gliders, were not opening because of entanglement or lack of clear air.

Side wire failures folded up gliders Like butterfly wings, hurtling pilots toward the ground.

By the early l 980's it was clear that hang glider pilots needed parachutes that were better suited to low-speed deployment (below 60 mph) with very quick opening

times. Designer Jim Handbury had During this time, hang glider pilots experienced a series of problems with their parachute systems.

Bridles were wrapping around n1mbling gliders, briefly inflating at 32

been working with a promising design called the PDA (PulledDown Apex).

After Jim's death, several manufacntrers continued work on PDA designs. The goal was to make the smallest, lightest parachute that could bring a pilot and wing down at rates of descent similar to the common flat circular designs. During this time some PDA's would oscillate all the way to the ground. Very heavy pilots flew with 16-gore (extremely small) parachutes. There were reports of small PDA's with heavy loads failing due to poor construction.

1

Hang glider failure modes changed in keeping with the particular designs of the era. By the late 1980's it was clear that hang glider emergency reserve parachutes would need to be strong to withstand opening at very high velocities, be stable in turbulent conditions, open with minimal altitude loss for very low deployments, and open reliably even with a slowly falling pilot and glider.

The design challenge

By the early l 990's High Energy Sports had worked on a number of new designs, none of which met rigid design requirements.

Paragliding: December, 2002

excited; this can't be right." The instrument package was sent out to be recalibrated and the tests were repeated. This time Bill was excited.

The parachute had surpassed alJ expectations. It was serendipity, and the Quantwn Series Parachute was born.

Betty Pfeiffer, owner of High Energy Sports, contacted Bill Gargano to work on chute design. He politely refused.

The day of reckoning came at a PIA (Parachute Industry Association) International Rigger's Symposium where Bill was giving a series oflectures on parachute design. With Betty in the front row, publicly hammering him with questions, Bill had no choice but to succumb.

The rth of a new Bigeneration The following week Bill sent Betty a design to review. Betty wasted no time, immediately called Bill, and insisted that the parachute was "not good enough" for her beloved hang glider pilots. She knew he could do better.

Working with very specific design requirements, Bill would have to achieve performance never before realized. To do this he wanted to create a lifting force to bring the pilot and hang glider down as slowly as possible. He wanted the parachute to be aerodynamically efficient. Betty insisted that he design the best_parachute he could, no matter how labor intensive it was to build. Within a month the new parachute was ready for testing.

The first series of tests went off without a hitch. Test-jumper Paul Thompson was fitted with an elaborate inmument pack that gave readings for temperature, pressure, hwnidity and altitude 16 times per second. Camerawoman Paragliding: December. 2002

::::;;~···~····1M ,o~r~eTesting ancy Blank shot Several test days followed with videos of the reserve parachute from her ram-air sport chute as she followed Paul out of the airplane. There were \~deos and pictures taken from the ground, and still pictures taken by l'aul trom the air. It was clear that the new parachute was remarkable ' since it took Nancy several tries to

time her exit from the airplane so she could get footage of the top of the new chute.

After the first day of testing Bill plugged the data recorder into the computer. His first comment was, "Betty, don't get too

more live jumps and many highspeed tests using a torso dummy in a skydiving harness, pushed out of an airplane with various weights, traveling at various speeds. Bill and Betty wanted to know everything they could about this chute before it went to market.

By the end of 1993 the tests were complete and the Quantum Series was introduced in two sizes. The QS330 was geared toward average-weight pilots, and the QS 550 was fo r tandem flying. After seeing many pilots with parachutes meant for considerably smaller people, Betty decided that the QS330 would be the smallest parachute High Energy Sports would produce. Shortly thereafter she discontinued producing the old , inferior-style HES parachutes, exclaiming, "How could I, in good conscience, continue building life-saving parachutes that were less than the best?"

By the following year the QS 440 was introduced for hpavier pilots. contimies page 35...

33

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Quantum Series Hang Gliding reserve and beyond

Shortly after the Quantum Series parachutes were developed, smokejumpers in Missoula, Montana were looking for a new parachute. Bill Gargano made some small design modifications to allow steering capabilities and heavier loads. The FS-14 "smoked" the competition in opening reliability, stability, directional control and rate of descent.

The smokejumpers were sold.

NOW AVAILABLE IN THE USA from The Paraglider Network (exclusive Importer)

SPECIAL C~R!SlMAS RE-INTRODUCTORY PRICE

When the U.S. Army Special Forces, lO'h Mountain Division, got wind that smokejumpers had this tremendous parachute, they wanted to take a closer look. After several test series, which included several generals jumping the parachute, the Army was convinced that this parachute was the way to go.

With the onset of the war in Afghanistan, military orders increased. Currently there are 3,000 units in use and more have been ordered for delivery to our military, and it all started with hang gliding.

EXPLORER $299 (normally $349)

VOYAGER $479 (normally $549)

Special thanks to Betty Pfeiffer of High Energy Sports, Inc.) and Bill Gargano of Quantum Parachutes, LLC, for making hang gliding and paragliding safety a top priority. "li!lael'!mal Lol'ie

Schoofs & Instructor Inquiries Welcome!

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continuous, short-lived, pumping, infrequent, etc.), the better you will be able to exploit their gift of lift. The lapse rate changes slowly during a day's progress, so the nature of the thermals changes slowly as well.

you are a pilot with limited time resources (read family obligations), and you have to choose your days, it behooves you to learn to read the lapse rate diagrams to predict the days with good conditions. In order to do this effectively, you must understand the principles.

Finally, when you begin your flight, it is very wise to scope out the type of "top conditions" you encounter. If you determine that an inversion is stopping the thermals, you can work hard to punch through it and possibly get hundreds or thousands of feet above those bouncing up against the ceiling. The technique for doing this will be discussed in our final installment.

Another useful point is to note that the nature of thermals of the day is greatly determined by the nature of the surrounding air. So, the sooner you figure out what the thermals are like (wide, narrow, short, tall, turbulent, smooth, tilted, shifty, multi-cored, strung out downwind,

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35

Sport Aviation Publications Paragliding Books I Videos

The Art of Paragliding

by Dennis Pagen The book everyone has been waiting for:

I$34.95 !

• The most complete manual on the market • Beginner, Novice and Intermediate levels • Follows USHGA teaching methods • Ground handling, step-by-step training, judgement, equipment, troubleshooting, weather, learning to soar and more.

• 8 1/2 x 11 format, 374 pages, 248 illustrations, 81 photographs, four-color cover

Responsive to slightest varialion in wind velocity.

AIR SPEED INDICATOR Use with optional PATENTED P.araglider mounting bracket. Maximize your performance and skill.

RUGGED & ACCURATE: Molded of super tough LEXAN® resin. Stainless steel rod. Calibration traceable to Notional Institute of Standards and Technology.

Specify: 0-30mph or 0-50km/h Airspeed Indicator $23.50 - Paroglider Bracket $6.50

HALL BROTHERS PO Box 1010-P e Margan, UT 84050 (801) 829-3232 fox 829-6349 MC/Visa/COD

OTHER PARAGLIDING BOOKS NEW! PARAMOTORING From the Ground Up - by Noel Whittall • The only book available on powered paragliding - $31.95 Flying With Condors, by J. Leden - World travels of a great pilot - $26.95 Understanding the Sky, by D. Pagen - The Weather Bible - $24.95

**Add $5.50 to your order for S&H**

Check our web site for Paragliding Videos (7 titles available) - www.lazerlink.com/-pagenbks

$Jt I I O .o <> .. !o.r~tJ:Pf l:loq ~.-ormorll) SAVEl10% Q(ft>rder ofbook and video combinations Sport Aviation Publications, PO Box 43, Spring Mills, PA 16875 Tel/Fax: 814-422-0589 - E-mail: pagenbks@lazerlink.com Visa and Mastercard accepted

(208) 554-2243 · • APCO Aviation Paragllders • FLY PrOducts Powered. Paragllders ,,f 1:BRAUNIOER Flight lq~{tuments .· •. :CRISPI Boots ..

KIW! tt.elmets

bad bones@rlsingair.biz www.risingair.biz 31 71 North 33 70 West Post Office Box 620 Moore, Idaho 83255

44 4f4k~

Specializing in ALL TYPES

of paragliding & power chute Repairs* Re-packs* Inspections

Located at the base of King Mountain.,

DON'T MISS OUT ON YOUR MAGAZINE!

i

1Rce1n,,@W' 01n1 'n1m(e!

If Your LJSHGA Membership Expires On 12/31/02 We Need To Receive Your Renewal

BY DECEMBER 20th Or you will miss the Jammry magazine.

If Your LJSHGA Membership Expires On 01/31/03 We Need To Receive Your Renewal BY JANUARY 20th

Or you will miss the February magazine.

~

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horsepower boat. Then it was time.

Ann, in the boat, signaled that she was ready. I bowed to her to signal my readiness, and we were off. The boat took off, the line tightened up and I pulled up my wing and started running. As I ran, Ann tightened the line tension and I was cased upward into the air.

Flying under tow, I realized, is a lot harder than free flying. There are far more forces at work, for one thing, and they are working in opposite directions. Your wing wants to go up and out, but you are tied to a moving boat in a broad circle far below. Still, I enjoyed the ride and within minutes was more than 2000 feet AGL. (Or is that AWL when flying over water/) I could look down on the ridges around the lake and out over the Cascade Mountains. The people on launch were mere dots. Keeping one eye on the boat as I was pulled up, I saw it crank sharply to the left - time to release. I leaned forward, grabbed the release toggle, and yanked. Nothing. I leaned out more, pulled, released, then yanked hard. Pop! The tow bridle flapped back into my face and I was free. I tucked the bridle straps into my lap as Enleau, speaking softly into my car, told me to reach up with both hands, grab my A-risers and yank them down. With my heart in my throat, I did, releasing them as soon as I had pulled them down about to my carabiners. My lines went slack, and I felt, rather than saw, my leading edge flutter down, then snap! back up. The glider had rcinflated and started flying in less time than it took me to yank down and induce the frontal.

Paragliding: Decembe" 2002

Next, I did a few asymmetrical folds. Grabbing an A-riser with the thumb up, I pulled down and released. About 50 percent of my wing went slack, I turned a few degrees, then it reinflated.

I barely felt it.

Okay, I thought, the next one, I'm going to the alternate grip. This time, with my pinky facing upward, I grabbed the A and yanked, letting my fist turn so I pulled down nearly twice as far as before. This time I heard the wing tip flutter and felt the diving turn begin before the wing reenergized and started flying again. Something like 60-65 percent of the wing folded that time, and still my heading changed by less than 20 degrees.

I worked through a couple ofB-line stalls. I learned that a quick yank, snapping downward quickly rather a slow pull-up style tug made it far easier to induce this "stall." Then, since I still had a ton of altitude to play with, Enleau coached me into some spirals. My first attempts were slow and loopy, but I cranked into my third turn and picked up some speed as I dove downward. I got a burst of adrenaline and was too aggressive exiting this steep turn, causing me to pendulum up out of the spiral. No problem, though, and I quickly banked into a turn and set up for final.

I landed, watched the last few pilots launch and, as we started round two, weather and darkness began to creep. Most of us got just one flight that day, and the rest of the weekend was blown out entirely, so our introduction to SIV was limited to a single tow.

That was a huge flight for me, however. With that single towlaunch flight I gained new trust and confidence in myself and my equipment. I also learned how much hm tow-launching can be. Ann O'Connor proved to be a master technician with her boat, providing a smooth, precision touch on launch and a flawless run-up on tow. Enleau, meanwhile, gave us detailed, confident instruction and coached us through our fears and apprehension.

Donna and I will return to complete the SIV maneuvers clinic, and I would encourage all rated pilots, of any experience level, to join one as well. Indeed, one of our follow "students" was a pilot and instructor with 15 years of experience, and he loved it! I've just begun my flying career, but already I know that the day I stop learning new skills and improving the ones I have, that is the day I'll stop flying.

37

F!A.RA.GLll:>IWG A.l:>VISC>RY:

Used paragliders should always be thoroughly inspected before flying for the first time. If in doubt, many paragliding businesses will be happy to give an objective opinion on the condition of equipment you bring them to inspect.

Annual inspections on paragliders should include sailcloth strength tests. Simply performing a porosity check isn't sufficient.

Some gliders pass porosity yet have very weak sailcloth. You don't want your glider simply falling apart, especially with you dangling underneath.

BUYERS SHOULD SELECT EQUIPMENTTHAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR THEIR SKILL LEVEL OR RATING. NEW PILOTS SHOULD SEEK PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION FROM A USHGA CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR.

windmeter, alitmeter watch, brand new pair Symplex paragliding boots size 12. $8,500 invested, asking $6,500. Walt (410) 977-7932.

EEMEERGDICY RA.RA.<::HU'T'EES

AUTHORIZED CHUTE REPAIR - And service center for APCO, Elan, Chiron powered parachutes and UP/ Perche/Independence paragliders and more! We have a full-time loft available with quick turn around for small to huge repairs and annual inspections. Ship your chute to MoJo's Gear Ltd. Co., 1475 CR 220, Tow, TX 78672 Attn: REPAIR or INSPECTION. Include a note about the service(s) you require as well as a contact phone number and email. We will contact you with an estimate prior to starting the work. Office: 915-379-1567, www.mojosgear.com S<::HC>C>LS & DEEA.LEERS

'RA.RAG LI I:> EE RS ARIZONA

APCO FIESTA - In new condition, medium, with Fly powered PG harness (no engine), zero airtime, stored in UVproof sail bag in dark garage $2,000. (561) 439-7664.

EDEL ATLAS ·- Medium, cobalt blue, flown 3 times, Balance harness, Pocket Rocket reserve, Brauniger alto vario, Yaesu FT-llR radio, all excellent condition. Ed (208) 726-6218, fax (208) 726-8474, mcgSB@aol.com Tl:RBO'S DEMO DAYS! - New Silex paraglider, small for motors, awesome performance, 5 hours, red $1,595 (new is S2800, steal.) Hardly used paramotor wing, 1hr, 30 meters, only $899 (new $2400.) Used Omega, large, only 50hrs, white/pink $450. Used paramotor w/ zenoh, good condition plus more $1,995.

Call Turbo Bob @(714) 350 7860, or (949) 495-8051. Your southern California paramotor dealer. Wanted, air creations trike floats! 1! ,RC>WEEREEI:> RA.RA.GLIDEERS

AZTEC PARAMOTORS Top performance and quality at dealer prices, visit www.paramotors.info EXPLORER POWERED PARAGLIDER - Tach, hour meter, upgraded carburetor, flown once. Adventure L34 wing, turquoise. Scorpio training harness, 2 helmets (one w/communications), 38

DIXON'S AIRPLAY PARAGLIDING - Dixon White: USHGA'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 "Art of Kiting". The perfect beginner training areas at both our Washington 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 the flight Parks reduce traffic and crowding. Excellent individn alized instruction with state of-the-art lesson plans and equipment.

Comprehensive ground schooling with an emphasis on micrometeorology.

Great new/used inventory, specializing in Windtech paragliding gear, repair center, and superb customer service.

In ARIZONA or WASHINGTON appointments are required. PO Box 2626 Flagstaff, AZ 86003. (928) 526-4579 www.paraglide.com or dixon@paraglide.com

soaring and maneuvers clinics, guided tours, tandem and towing instruction and special events. USHGA certified.

Handling the latest equipment. Call (760) 753-2664 for information, airjunkie s@worldnet.att.net

FlySantaBarbara..c:om

EAGLE PARAGLIDING - We are an Airplay sister school, and teach the same high quality program which has made Dixon's Airplay a top ranked school for years. We specialize in beginner instruction. SANTA BARBARA caters to paraglider pilots of all levels. Our training hill is unparalleled, and offers year round instruction, equipment sales, SERVICE, and support. By appointment only. www.FlySantaBarbara.com (805) 968-0980.

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 you 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.

CALIFORNIA

AIR.JUNKIES 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,

OJAI PARAGLIDING - Ojai is Southern California's best kept secret.

Year-round, great soaring in this beautiful valley surrounded by the Los Padres National Forest. Near Santa Barbara and Ventura. Great cross-country possibilities.

Courses for beginner to advanced pilots.

Motorized paragliding, guided tour and Paragliding: Decembe" 2002

]f!ds_2n Clark, hthy Wilcki d'atrick Townsend-Wells anilc site-near San Erancisco.

Caroline Paui Pa1tl Peck and Helena Wallenton at !fl! l)u1J!ps Ann- Sasaki-and others

tandems. New and used equipment, 12 years in the business! Tel# (805) 6469660,info@flyojai.com,www.flyojai.com

TORREY PINES GLIDERPORT - Come soar in San Diego! This family owned and operated flying site offers: USHGA certified instruction, equipment sales, tandem flight instruction, paramotor instruction, parachute repacks, repairs, and site tours. We also have an extensive pg/ hg outfitting shop and dining with a view when you eat at our own Cliffbanger Cafe.

Importers for: ADVANCE, PARATECH, and INDEPENDENCE paragliders; and dealers for most other brands. Accessories include: Center of Gravity clothing, gloves, UV stuff sacks, and helmets; Crispi boots; AustriAlpin Carabiners; Fly Mike flight suits and helmets; and GutStuff gloves. Check us out online for sales and information at: www.flytorrey.com and email us with your questions at info@flytorrey.com, or call toll-free at 1877-FLY-TEAM. Also, you can tune in to the only Internet Paragliding Talk Show every Monday, from 9:00-11:00 am (PST) at www.wsradio.com.

wake up and make your dreams a reality.

Join Dexter Clearwater and his team at Proflyght Paragliding for an experience of a lifetime. Never flown before/ Spend two weeks in paradise and go home with your rating. We offer complete instruction from beginner to advanced. Call (808) 8745433 for more information or check us out at WWW.PARAGLIDEHAWAII.COM

MICHIGAN

MEXICO

TRAVERSE CITY HANG GLIDERS/ PARAGLIDERS - Put your knees in our breeze and soar our 450' sand dunes. FULL-TIME SHOP. Certified instruction, beginner to advanced, foot launch and tow. Sales, service, accessories for ALL major brands. VISA/ MASTERCARD. 1509 E 8th, Traverse City MI 49684. Offering POWERED PARAGLIDING. Call Bill at (231) 922-2844, tchangglidcr@chartermi.net.

Visit our paragliding school in Jackson, Wyoming. Call Tracie at (307) 739-8620.

FLY BAJA MEXICO - February 22 to March 1, 2003. Join us for our ·llth year at La Salina, Baja, Mexico, one of the most consistently flyable sites on the North American continent. Last year we flew 7 out of 8 days at La Salina. Beginners (no experience required) $1,175. Para 2 and above rated pilots $899. For flight logs of prior years and more details, check our web site at www.paraflypg.com or call 1-800PARAFLY

MONTANA

HIGH PLAINS PARAGLIDING Superior quality paragliding equipment, excellent prices, and friendly service. On the web at: http://homctown.aol.com/ hiplainz or phone (406) 458-8636.

NEVADA

MEXICO - Summer in Monterrey, winter in Valle de Bravo. l-800-861-7198, www.flymexico.com

ADVENTURE SPORTS - Carson City, Sierra tours, tandems, sales. (775) 8837070 http://home.pyramid.net/advspts NEW YORK

HAWAII

C:

PROFLYGHT PARAGLIDING Imagine a 1000' foot training hill with nothing but grass between the launches and landing zone. Imagine a paved road that would offer easy access to multiple launches. Imagine that road continuing up to a launch at 6,500' AGL. Imagine telling your spouse that the next flying trip will be to Maui. (SNAP!) Now Paragliding: Decembe1; 2.002

SOUTHERN MEXICO TOUR- Come spend a week with us in southern Mexico flying three of the country's most beautiful sites. From Mexico City to Oaxaca and back, we'll supply transportation, food, accommodation, and site supervision during a week long opportunity of thermal, XC and enchanting tropical soaring flights.

All combined with a unique cultural experience. PPG/Paramotor rentals are also available. Tour dates: January 5-12, 12-19, and 19-26. Instructors bring your students! Contact Sten Maldonado or Mark Silverberg Tel: Oll-52-951 5132763, web: airexplora.com

AIR SPORTS USA - Lessons, service, equipment. Paragliding, hang gliding, powered paragliding, trikes. Phone (718) 777-7000, WWW.FLYFORFUN.NET 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) 379-1185. 1475 CR 220, Tow TX 78672.

43

Sl!PER FLY PARAGLIDING ACADEMY - The nations foremost trammg paragliding center offering comprehensive pilot training programs, powered paragliding instruction, tandem flights, maneuvers training, towing training/certification and tandem pilot training. We are the closest shop to Point of the Mountain, open year round and supported by the Super Fly, Inc. distribution and service center just minutes away. Instructors Ken Hudonjorgensen, Scotty Marion, Chris Santacroce, Kevin Biernacki, Dale Covington, Jeff Farrell and Ryan Swan. Lessons start at $65.

(801) 816-1372 or www.paraglidingacad emy.com WASHINGTON

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

JACKSON HOLE PARAGLIDING - Come to Paragliding Paradise and enjoy alpine flying at its absolute best. Ten sites in a ten-mile radius including the 4,139' aerial tram. Jackson Hole Paragliding offers scenic tandem flights, beginner through advanced instruction, mountain thermal clinics, x-c clinics, maneuvers trauung, aerobatic demonstrations, scooter, truck, and boat towing. The Jackson Hole Paragliding team features advanced instructors Scott Harris and Tom Bartlett, x-c masters Jon Hunt and Chip Hildebrand, world class aero-pilots Matt Combs and Ranyon D'Arge, tow tech Randy Alfano, and videographer Demian McConnell. Call to set up a vacation package tailored to improve your flying skills and to build your confidence. (307) 690-TRAM (8726) flyrun@wyoming.com www.jhparagliding.com HAVE EXTRA EQUIPMENT - That you don't know what to do with. Advertise in the Paragliding classifieds, $ .50 per word, $5 minimum. Call USHGAfordetails (719) 632-8300, ushga@ushga.org or fax your ad with a Visa/MC, fax (719) 632-6417.

44

FLIGHT CONNECTIONS, INC.

1' i (( )) ~1' 0000

0000

• 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 (636) 390-8919, mikedillon@flightconn.com. MC/Visa.

Visit our website at www.flightconn.com FOR ALL YOUR FLYING NEEDS - Check out the Aviation Depot at www.mojosgear.com featuring over 1000 items for foot-launched and powered paragliding, hang gliding, stunt and power kiting, and powered parachutes. 24/7 secure online shopping.

Books, videos, KITES, gifts, engine parts, harness accessories, electronics, clothing, safety equipment, complete powered paragliding units with training from Hill Country Paragliding Inc. www.hillcountryparagliding.com 800-664-1160 for orders only. Office (915) 379-1567.

IS IT SOARABLE? - Be sure with a USHGA Windsok. 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 to USHGA Windsok, P.O. Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330, (719) 632-8300, fax (719) 632 6417. VISA/MC accepted.

MINI VARIO - World's smallest, simplest vario ! Clips to helmet or chinstrap.

200 hours on batteries, 0-18,000 ft., fast response and 2 year warranty. Great for hang gliding too. ONLY $169. Mallettec, PO Box 15756, Santa Ana CA, 92735.

(714) 966-1240, www.mallettec.com MC/Visa accepted. tet.JBS & OB.6S

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/Amex to (719) 632-6417, www.ushga.org, ushga@ushga.org PARAGLIDING INSTRUCTOR'S MANUAL - By Dennis Pagen, available through USHGA. Covers: Learning to teach/Teaching to learn; school organization; teaching beginners; teaching novice; weather considerations and much more. 140 pages packed with illustrations. $15.00 +$5 s/h. USHGA, PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901. (719) 632-8300, fax your MC/Visa/Amex 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. Full membership $55.

Into. kit with &1mple copy $3. SSA, P.O. Box 2100, Hobbs, NM 88241. (505) 392-1177.

Paragliding: Decembe" 7002

TO FLY: DISCOVER PARAGLIDING TODAY USHGA's 7 minute promotional video, now only $9.95 PLUS FREE SHIPPING (in the USA). 1-800 616-6888, www.ushga.org :NEW* SUPER HY HARD by Super Fly. A worldwide flying adventure film featuring Chris Santacroce Rob Whittall Othar Lawrence and Pablo' Lopez. Filmed at the most beautiful flying locations in the world- Hawaii, Switzerland, Turkey & .Utah. This films shows the beauty of flymg, the latest aerobatic maneuvers and an introspective look into why we fly. 40 minutes $35.95 *NEW* SPEED TO FLY with Jockey Anderson. A complete video guide to cross country paragliding. Great air-to-air and in -board footage with Jockey as he takes you around t_he _world, providing flying tips and mterv1ewmg the top pilots. Covers thermaling, decision making, competition flying and speed to fly. 70 minutes $39.95 *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 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 arc 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 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 NOW AVAILABLE IN DVD, same great price.

IN SEARCH OF THE PERFECT MOUNTAIN By Adventure Productions.

Searching for the perfect mountain perfect flight, and the perfect experienc~ that challenges our essence and satisfies our quest for adventure. This paragliding odyssey takes you to St. Anton, Austria; Garmisch- Partenkirchen, Germany; Sun Valley, Idaho; Point of the Mountain Utah; and Jackson Hole, Wyoming'.

Features in-air footage, aerial maneuvers, and local pilot tours. 44 minutes $36.95.

NOW AVAILABLE IN DVD, same great pnce.

BALI HIGH, by Sea to Sky Productions.

A paragliding adventure film. Great flying and a great adventure on the exotic island of Bali, Indonesia. A result of wild imaginations, 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 i;1structional/ educational video on micrometeorology.

Dixon White, Master pilot and USHGA Examiner, takes you thrmigh 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. NOW AVAILABLE IN DVD, same great price.

STAR.TING PARAGLIDING by Adventure Productions. Covers basic preparations, weather, proper attitude, ground handling & those first exciting launches. 30 min $29.95. NOW AVAILABLE IN DVD, same great price.

Call or fax USHGA (719) 632-8300, fax (719) 632-6417, please add +$5 domestic s/h for 1 2 videos (1 4 DVDs), add $6 tor 3-4 videos (Int'! orders, email us at ushga@ushga.org for shipping charges.)

Great to impress your friends or for those socked-in days. Order online at www.ushga.org!

VIDEOS, BOOKS & APPAREL - Call USHGA for your Merchandise order form (719) 632-8300, fux (719) 632-641~ email: ushga@ushga.org,www.ushga.org DON'T LEAVE YOUR GROUNDBOUND EQUIPMENT SITTING IN THE GARAGE. SELL IT IN THE CLASSIFIEDS.

14il•l Id~I\Yl~@f:I i# il~@W SMALL GIN BOLERO #31247 & Genie II Harness by fraud ring in Singapore at JI.Gandaria IX No:4, Gandaria kebayoran baru, City: JAKSEL, JKTIND. Also fraudulently ordered by delta_ trikes@astaga.com: Alinco DJ-195 radio Gin Flight Suit, Gin Reserve and Laze; helmet. Contact granger@parasoftparagli ding.com or (303) 494 2820.

GIN BOLERO & PARAGLIDING GEAR - Stolen May 17th, 2002 from car at REDMOND, WA Gin Bolero blue X-small. SupAir Evo h;rness, small red/ black w/tan trim & rear mount reserve container w/extra vclcro strips along both sides of the reserve container area it also has black clips attached to the tops' of both shoulder straps. Gin SS 301112 reserve parachute (inside the harness). Tree kit.

Contact Annie Sohn, (425) 493-2289, asohn@combimatrix.com SOL AXIOM - stolen with Toyota truck in Salt Lake City, Utah in late March 2002. Wing is size small, purple with pink stripe along the underside; also Sol Charlv harness (small/medium), grey Leedo1i'i helmet, Flytcc vario, reserve. All items were packed in a homemade black and green PG backpack. Contact Damion Mitchell, (801) 518-0768 or dzmitchell@hotmail.com GI_N BANDIT - Small purple w/red stnpe and GIN BOLERO, medium white w/red stripe STOLEN along with a car SALT LAKE CITY, UT around December 31, 2001. Both slightly used.

Also blue, medium Woody Vallev Express air bag harness, reserve, and Liack open tace Lazer Helmet. Contact Ryan Swan (801) 255-9595, ryan@4s1;perfly.cm~ www.4superfly.com STOLEN WINGS are listed as a service

WUS_HGA members. There is no charge

tor this service and lost and found wings or equipment may be called in (719) 632 8300, faxed in (719) 632 6417, or emailed ushga@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.

--------

Paragliding: Decembec 2002

45

STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION (Required by 39 U.S.C. 3685)

I. Title of publication: PARAGLIDING 2. Publication No. 1089-1846 3. Date of filing: October 2, 2002 4. Frequency of issue: Monthly, except May 5. No. of issues published annually: II 6. Annual subscription price: $35.00 7. Complete mailing address of known office of publication: 219 West Colorado Ave., Suite 104, El Paso County, Colorado Springs, CO 80903-3338.

Contact: Jeff Elgart (719) 632-8300.

8. Complete mailing address of headquarters or general business office of publisher: Same 9. foll names and complete mailing addresses of publisher, editor, and managing editor: Publisher: United States Hang Gliding Assn., Inc., P.O. Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330. Editor and managing editor: Gil Dodgen, 31441 Santa Margarita Pkwy., Suite A-256, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688-1836.

10. Owner: United States Hang Gliding Assn., Inc., 219 West Colorado Ave., Suite 104, Colorado Springs, CO 80903-3338. lts Officers arc: Jim Zeiset, President, 13154 CR 140, Salida, CO 81201; Mark Ferguson, Vice President, 1173 Ridgeview Cir., Broomfield, CO 80020; Russ Locke, Secretarv, 868 S. Marv Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94087; Bill Bolosky, Treasurer, 2422 SE Mirrormont Dr., Issaquah, WA 98027.

11. Known bondholder, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding I% or more of total amounts of bonds, mortgages or other securities: none.

12. The purpose, function, and nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt status for Federal income tax purposes: (I) Has not changed during preceding 12 months.

13. Publication name: Paragliding 14. Issue date for circulation data below August 2002 15. Extent and nature of circulation:

(A) Total No. copies printed: 5,000 av/issue. preceding 12 mo.; 5,000 for August 2002.

(Bl) Paid/requested outside-county mail subscriptions stated on Form 3541: 4,193 av/issue preceding 12 mo.; 4,223 for August 2002.

(B2) Paid/requested in-county mail subscriptions stated on form 3541: 0 av/issue preceding 12 mo.; 0 for August 2002.

(B3) Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, counter sales and other non-USPS paid distribution: 369 av/issue preceding 12 mo.; 346 for August 2002.

(B4) Other classes mailed through the USPS: 40 av/ issue preceding 12 mo.; 38 for August 2002.

(C) Total paid and/or requested circulation: 4,602 av/ issue preceding 12 mo.; 4,607 for August 2002.

(Dl) Free distribution by mail, outside-county as stated on Form 3541: 0 av/issue preceding 12 mo.; 0 for August 2002.

(D2) Free distribution by mail, in-county as stated on Form 3541 0 av/issue preceding 12 mo.; 0 tor August 2002.

(D3) Free distribution by mail, other classes mailed through the USPS: 20 av/issue preceding 12 mo.; 18 for August 2002.

(E) Free distribution outside the mail: 30 av/issue preceding 12 mo.; 25 for August 2002.

(F) Total free distribution: 50 av/issue preceding 12 mo.; 43 for August 2002.

(G) Total distribution: 4,652 av/issue preceding 12 mo.; 4,650 for August 2002.

(H) Copies not distributed: 348 av/issue preceding 12 mo.; 350 for August 2002.

(I) Total: 5,000 av/issue preceding 12 mo.; 5,000 for August 2002. ()) Percent paid and/or requested circulation: 99% av/ issue preceding 12 mo.; 99% for August 2002.

16. This statement printed in: December 2002 issue.

17. I certify that the statements made by me above arc correct and complete. Signed by: Jeff Elgart, Director of Circulation, 10/02/2002.

INDl:X TO ADVl:RTISl:RS

Adventure Productions ................... 45 Aerolight USA ............................... 36 Apco ............................................... 10 Cloud Nine Soaring Center.. ............ 2 Critter Mountain Wear ..................... 5 Dixon's Airplay .............................. 47 Flytec .......................................... 9, 15 Hall Brothers .................................. 36 Independence ................................. 34 Mojo's Gear ................................... 16 Rising Air ....................................... 36 Sport Aviation Publications ............ 36 Super Fly, Inc ........................... 16, 48 Thermal Tracker ....................... 11, 13 Torrey Pines Gliderport.. ................ 17 Wills Wing ....................................... 8 CLASSIBIED 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 numbcr=2 words, PO Box=2 words, weight range i.e. 137-185lbs=2 words, web site or email address=3 words. MINIMUM AD CHARGE $5.00. A fee of$15.00 is charged for each line art logo and $25.00 for each photo.

LINEART & PHOTO SIZE NO LARGER THAN 1.75" X 2.25". Please underline words to be in bold print. Special layouts of tabs are $25.00 per column inch. Please make checks payable to USHGA. Send to: PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE, Classified Advertising, P.O. Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 809011330 (719) 632-8300 or fax (719) 632-6417, email jeff@ushga.org with your Visa, Amex or MasterCard. DEADLINE FOR THE MARCH ISSUE IS DECEMBER20TH.

USHGA CLASSlfll:D ADVl:R"f1S1N6 ORDER FORM Prices:

50 cents per word, $5.00 minimum

Number of words:

@$.50 =

Boldface or caps: $1.00 per word. (Does not include first few words which are automatically caps.)

Number of words:

@$1.00 =

Number of months:

Special layouts or tabs: $25 per column inch. (phone numbers: 2 words, P.O. Box: I word, E-mail or Web address: 3 words) Photos: $25.00, Line art logos: $15.00 (1.75" maximum) DEADL1NE:20th of the month, IO weeks before the cover date of the issue in which you want your ad to appear (i.e., September 20 for the Nov. issue).

SECTION Paragliders Emergency Parachutes Parts &Accessories Business &Employment Miscellaneous Powered Paragliders

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.

Begin with

Please enter my classified ad as follows:

My

Towing Schools & Dealers Ultralights Publications & Organizations Wanted Harnesses Videos

2002 issue and run for _ _ _ consecutive issue(s). (month)

D check, D money order is enclosed in the amount of$_ __

name

a ress city

state

Zip

p one

USHGA,P.O Box 1330,Colorado Springs.CO 80901 (719) 632-8300/ax (719) 632-6417 46

Paragliding: December: 2002