USHGA Hang Gliding & Paragliding Vol33/Iss8 August 2003

Volume 33 Issue 8 August, 2003 $4.95

A P u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s H a n g G l i d i n g A s s o c i a t i o n • w w w. u s h g a . o r g

By J. C. Brown

You’ve got to be kidding!

By Davis Straub

Jayne DePanfilis, Publisher: jayne@ushga.org Dan Nelson, Editor in Chief: editor@ushga.org Steve Roti, Contributing Editor: steveroti@hotmail.com Contributing Editor: Matt Gerdes CopyEditors: C. J. Sturtevant and Dick Girard Tim Meehan, Art Director: artdirector@ushga.org Office Staff Jayne DePanfilis, Executive Director, jayne@ushga.org Jeff Elgart, Advertising, jeff@ushga.org Sandra Hewitt, Member Services, sandra@ushga.org Natalie Hinsley, Member Services, natalie@ushga.org Bob Archibald, IT Administrator, bob@ushga.org USHGA Officers and Executive Committee: Bill Bolosky, President, bolosky@ushga.org Jim Zeiset, Vice President, jimzgreen@aol.com Russ Locke, Secretary, russ@lockelectric.com Randy Leggett, Treasurer ias@ot.com REGION 1: Bill Bolosky, Mark Forbes. REGION 2: Ray Leonard, John Wilde, Tim West. REGION 3: David Jebb, John Greynald, Alan Chuculate. REGION 4: Steve Mayer, Jim Zeiset. REGION 5: Frank Gillette.

REGION 6: Len Smith. REGION 7: Bill Bryden. REGION 8: Gary Trudeau, REGION 9: Randy Leggett, Felipe Amunategui. REGION 10: Tiki Mashy, Matt Taber.

REGION 11: R.R. Rodriguez. REGION 12: Paul Voight.

DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Jan Johnson, Dennis Pagen, Russ Locke, Steve Kroop, Chris Santacroce. HONORARY DIRECTORS: James Gaar, Aaron Swepston, Steve Roti, Dick Heckman, Michael Robertson, Bob Hannah, John Harris, Tom Johns, Ed Pitman, Jennifer Beach, James Gaar, Dave Broyles, Ken Brown, Rob Kells, Liz Sharp, Dan Johnson, Dixon White. EX-OFFICIO DIRECTORS: Art Greenfield (NAA).

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

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine is published for foot-launched air-sports enthusiasts to create further interest in the sports of hang gliding and paragliding and to provide an educational forum to advance hang gliding and paragliding methods and safety. Contributions are welcome. Anyone is invited to contribute articles, photos and illustrations concerning hang gliding and paragliding activities. If the material is to be returned, a stamped, self-addressed return envelope must be enclosed. Notification must be made of submission to other hang gliding and paragliding publications. HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine reserves the right to edit contributions where necessary. The Association and publication do not assume responsibility for the material or opinions of contributors. HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING editorial offices e-mail: editor@ushga.org. ALL ADVERTISING AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES MUST BE SENT TO USHGA HEADQUARTERS IN COLORADO SPRINGS. The USHGA is a member-controlled sport organization dedicated to the exploration and promotion of all facets of unpowered ultralight flight, and to the education, training and safety of its membership. Membership is open to anyone interested in this realm of flight. Dues for Rogallo membership are $59.00 per year (of which $15 goes to the publication of Hang Gliding & Paragliding Magazine), ($70 non-U.S.); subscription rates only are $42.00 ($53 non-U.S.). Changes of address should be sent six weeks in advance, including name, USHGA number, previous and new address, and a mailing label from a recent issue.

801 255 9595 552 West 8360 S Sandy, UT 84070

www.4superfly.com info@4superfly.com

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING (ISSN 0895433X) is published monthly by the United States Hang Gliding Association, Inc., 219 W. Colorado Ave., Suite 104, Colorado Springs, CO 80903 (719) 632-8300. FAX (719) 632-6417. PERIODICAL POSTAGE is paid at Colorado Springs, CO and at additional mailing offices.

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

CPM#40065056 DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES IN PUBLICATIONS: The material presented here is published as part of an information dissemination service for USHGA members. The USHGA makes no warranties or representations and assumes no liability concerning the validity of any advice, opinion or recommendation expressed in the material. All individuals relying upon the material do so at their own risk. Copyright © 2003 Hang Gliding & Paragliding Magazine.

Hang Gliding and Paragliding magazine welcomes 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 the editor at editor@ushga.org. Photo captions and byline credit are critical. Please remember to include your name and a title for the article in your copy.

Feature stories generally run anywhere from 1,500 to 3,000 words, however, your topic may demand more or less than this. You may discuss this 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 are welcome to submit photo attachments, preferably jpeg files smaller than a megabyte.

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 topic in your letter.

Your contributions are greatly appreciated. If you have an idea for an article you may discuss your topic with the editor either by e-mail or telephone.

Contact: Editor, Hang Gliding & Paragliding Magazine, editor@ushga.org, (253) 840-1372.

The United States Hang Gliding Association, a division of the National Aeronautic Association,

is a representative of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale in the United States.

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Departments Editor’s Notes ....................................... 6 Air Mail................................................. 9 Calendar............................................. 12 Pilot Briefings .................................... 15 USHGA News ..................................... 19 Master’s Corner.................................. 20 (Better Equipment for Less)

TRACKING WIND-BLOWN LIFT

By Dennis Pagen .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Santa’s List.......................................... 21 (Weight Shift Works!)

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New Ratings ....................................... 50 USHGA BOD contact list..................... 59 Marketplace ....................................... 62 Gallery................................................ 74 (Raven Sky Sports Midwest Nationals)

FIELD TEST OF THE BEST FLIGHT INSTRUMENTS

By Dan Nelson and Marty Devietti....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Product Lines...................................... 78

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(Back where it belongs)

Cover Image: Pilot and professional photographer Brett Schreckengost soars over Telluride, Colorado, site for the 2003 Paragliding Nationals.

2 0 0 3 M I D W E S T R E G I O N A L H A N G G L I D I N G C O MPETITION

By Davis Straub ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

N E W N O R T H E R N C A L I F O R N I A D I S TA N C E R E C ORD

By Sandy Stein ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

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By John Gamble ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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By J. C. Brown ....

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Photo by Dale Guldan, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, during the 2003 Midwest Regional Competition at Raven Sky Sports 5

EDITOR’S

NOTES

N

ot too long ago, I spent a rainy evening watching flying videos.

Toward the end of Aeronauts: Hang Gliding Masters one of the featured pilots, Dino Dinaso, made the comment that, when he goes out to a flying site, “I’m seeing the same old scruffy faces that I’ve seen for many years and I’m thinking, ‘they’re not breeding fast enough—we are dying out.’”

That line struck a chord in me. At the time I watched the video I was wrapping up some preliminary marketing research for our sports. After polling more than 100 random shoppers at a variety of outdoor retail shops (places like REI stores), I realized that the problem is not one of breeding—it’s one of recruiting. My early research revealed that the general public, or at least the outdoor recreating public, holds the free flight community in high regard.

Hang glider and paraglider pilots are respected and almost revered at times as brave, adventurous souls. Fortunately, the respect and awe weren’t so advanced that we seemed unapproachable. As one person told me, “It’s so cool that you do that. I don’t know anyone who flies a hang glider, but I want to try it myself—I’d love to do that!”

Many others expressed the same feeling. Indeed, after a brief five to 10 minute discussion of hang gliding and paragliding, more than 55 percent of the respondents expressed an interest in trying the sports themselves. That doesn’t mean those people would all become pilots, but they might try a tandem flight, and certainly some of them would go on to become rated pilots in their own right. If only they could connect with instructors.

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EDITOR’S

Here are some of the comments and opinions expressed by non-pilot outdoor recreationists during our initial public surveys:

While conducting the random surveys, I also oversaw a few focus groups, some involving pilots, others involving non-pilot outdoor recreationists.

Interestingly, when asked to identify problems facing the U.S. Hang Gliding Association, all the groups mentioned lack of visibility, and more specifically, lack of visibility of instructors as an obstacle to growth.

It appears then, we have a marketable ‘product’ in hang gliding and paragliding. We have instructors.

We can increase participation in the sports. We just need to create the means of bringing the interested public into the fold.

To bridge the gap in knowledge that currently exists, we need to establish firm foundations on many fronts. First, we need to identify the groups we want to target with our message. We need to get the message to those targeted groups. And once the message is delivered, we need to get the interested parties in contact with the instructors.

In this initial round of research, we’ve targeted folks already active in the outdoors—hikers, skiers, climbers, mountain bikers, kayakers, motorcyclists, and the like. This seems a likely group to target first. We know these people have a passion for playing outdoors, they have a proven willingness to invest in their sports, and they generally have the spirit/courage/temperament to enjoy an active, adrenalin-pumping sport.

Once identified, we must find communication vehicles to deliver the free flight message to that audience.

These ‘vehicles’ include magazines and

That means, the USHGA must work with the instructors to make it easy and affordable for them to take in new students, and we need to make sure those instructors are providing the students the best training possible.

“I’ve always dreamed of flying— it would be so cool to be able to fly over the mountains I like to climb.”

I have full confidence in all our USHGAcertified instructors, but after talking with several schools and independent instructors around the country, I know many of you have several issues of concern that USHGA must address to help you bring in new students. And since we need you to bring in new students if USHGA and the free flight community are to grow and prosper, we need to make sure your concerns and problems are addressed.

—Will, 34. mountain climber.

Seattle, WA



“Hang gliding is something I’ve thought of doing, but I don’t know anyone who does it and wouldn’t know how to go about even trying it.”

—Beth, 42. Hiker and skier, Portland, OR



“I see the paragliders out at Issaquah (Tiger Mountain) and I think about trying it. It just seems like the ultimate sport—soaring on the wind with the birds. Is there a club or something I can join?”

—Carson, 24. Snowboarder and mountain biker. Redmond, WA

NOTES

Improving the positive image of hang gliding and paragliding can be achieved in a number of ways.

It can be as simple as keeping your local media outlets supplied with positive, fun images of our sports.

During the Summer Solstice, my partner, Donna, and I enjoyed a day of soaring at Fort Ebey State Park in Washington. Following that longest day, the photo above was sent to a local Seattle TV station—the station runs a viewer-submitted “Weather Pix” each evening during the weather forecast. The picture was selected for the on-air display not because it is an outstanding photo, but because it shows a fun, unusual (for the mainstream audience) activity. So if you want to help improve the image of hang gliding and paragliding, send your pictures to your local newspapers and television stations— show the public what they’re missing by not being free flight pilots!

association publications. That is, getting free flight stories (and possibly ads) in the publications read by the target audience—for instance, SKI magazine, National Geographic Explorer, Outside, etc.

It may include presentations by pilots at public venues (possibly community rec centers, community colleges, etc.) We also need to bring positive, informative stories to the mainstream media. And when we as pilots talk to media reporters, we need to focus on the positives—a recent show on the Discovery Channel featured a hang glider pilot talking not about the joys of flight, but about the risk of death or injury. This of course is something we have to accept in free flight, but we face death or injury in anything we do—and we are more likely to die while walking through a supermarket parking lot than we are while flying. So we all need to remember to always focus first and foremost on the positives when representing our sports to the media.

You can find this photo at: www.king5.com Click on the Weather tab, then select “Weather pix”

After stirring up interest in hang gliding and paragliding, we need to ensure that the would-be pilots have easy access to qualified, USHGA-certified instructors.

To do that, we need to make sure there are instructors available wherever we have folks interested in free flight.

So, as I work on the first front—raising awareness of our sports—I invite any and all instructors to share your thoughts on how we can best work together to get the potential new clients into your hands.

Please send your comments to me, Editor@ushga.org, and I’ll forward them to the appropriate folks in the organization. Also, let me know if you want your comments to be confidential, or if we can share them as Letters to the Editor.

Safe flights, Dan Nelson

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A I R

Pilots must fly, but can do so safely Not long ago, in the course of a single week, I lost two good friends to the sport of hang gliding. I had known Chad for a long time, but only recently had I realized that we could be really good friends. Guys stink at figuring out and acting on that sort of stuff.

I had known Terry less well, but we were sharing a house in Florida at the time of his accident. Both belong to the local flying community where I live. I stood down from flying one day that week – in solidarity with my remaining friends. I flew the remainder of that week – again, in solidarity with my friend—and because it was not clear to me that I would ever fly hang gliders again, once I returned home from that trip.

During our stand-down day, I thought hard about the risk/reward ratio of this sport. I pointed out to one of my fiends that our probability of crashing had not changed due to recent events.

His reply was, “yea, but my assessment of that probability has changed.” I suppose I have always maintained a realistic (perhaps inflated) assessment of the risks involved. What I now held in question was the denominator of that quotient: the reward. I was no longer sure that this sport was worth the immense cost. From these two directions we were asking the same question: Was the risk/reward ratio for hang gliding truly large enough?

I did some soul-searching during the weeks following my return from that trip. Rainy weekends writing two accident reports, and thinking. Once I had sorted through my feelings – about life, about flying, about hang gliding in particular – I arrived at two fundamental conclusions: 1. I am a pilot. I am going to fly something. To deny this would be to deny a part of myself.

2. Of all the options available to me–weighting the factors of risk, reward, cost, and Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

availability–hang gliding is still the best platform for me.

Why? With over 3,200 hours in the cockpit, an ATP certificate (LearJettype rating), tailwheel signoff, and a reasonably good job, I did have other options. Why hang gliders? Well, the rewards were obviously higher than anything I could afford to fly on the certificated side of the house. The real question centered on relative risk.

Anything worth flying on the cert-side would have a stall speed at least 2-3 times that of my hang glider. That is 4 to 9 times the energy. Crash a light aircraft in unfriendly terrain, and the result will most likely be serious injury or death. Do so in a jet and the results will be closed-casket. You don’t hear too many stories of fi xed-wing pilots walking away from a crash under anything but ideal circumstances.

I’ve heard many stories of hang glider pilots balling up their gliders over unfriendly terrain and literally walking away from the altercation with relatively minor injuries. The energies involved are that much less.

Plus, as a hang glider pilot I would have a backup option not available to most GA pilots–a reserve parachute.

In the event of an accident, it seemed to me, I’d be better off flying my hang glider. So the question next becomes: how safe is the platform itself?

Certificated aircraft, properly maintained and operated, generally don’t come apart in the air. Neither do hang gliders. The vast majority (85 percent sticks in my mind) of all aviation accidents are the result of pilot error. The most likely cause of an accident is independent of the aircraft – it is ME! And I would still be the pilot of whatever aircraft I chose to fly. Given that, I should choose the aircraft that would hurt me the least in the event of an accident. What’s

M A I L

more, I could choose to operate my hang glider as conservatively as the government would compel me to fly a GA aircraft—and still gain far greater rewards from the experience. All I need to do is exhibit the requisite degree of maturity and judgment, remain well within the envelope for my aircraft and abilities, and be able to do so without the aid of Big Brother. I believe that I am up to the task.

The decision was made, then: I will continue to fly hang gliders for as long as I am physically able.

Joe Gregor

Flying HGs from seated position?

Is it possible to fly a hang glider from a seated position rather than prone? I assume it is but I’ve been reading your magazine for a year and have never seen any pictures of references that would verify that. I’m asking because a mild whiplash injury resulting from a car wreck makes it impossible for me to hold my head up very long while prone. I managed it during my only tandem flight but had hours of serious neck pain afterward. I would love to continue in hang gliding but will have to do it from a seated position.

Are harnesses available? Are there safety issues or performance penalties? Would some wings work but not others? An article in the magazine about this would be greatly appreciated. Individuals with information can also contact me directly.

Edmund Pickett, edmundpickett@hotmail.com

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M A I L

A I R

Spectators secondary to comp integrity

Non-flyer offers additional suggestions

When I started to read the article about the professional hang glider pilot, I thought (hoped) it was a joke. Does Mr. Boyd really think hang gliding competitions should be changed to more of a spectator sport? If so, I have some further suggestions:

I enjoyed reading The Significant Other’s Guide by Chris Santacroce.

The article was informative, especially for the newly-involved significant other of a flier. But it was clearly written by the pilot, not the significant other. After many years of being ‘the non-flying partner’ and being a supportive driver, let me add a few suggestions for the flying partner.

1. No more thermaling in competitions - how can the spectators enjoy the “show” if the gliders are too far away to see? In fact, let’s stop having competitions in mountains —they’re too hard to get to.

• When flying cross-country, check in by radio often enough so the driver knows generally which direction to drive.

2. Distance tasks should be limited to 100 yards, or 200 yards for out-and-returns - that way they’ll fit in a football stadium.

• When setting up at launch, don’t ask your S.O. to babysit your glider while you go socialize.

These suggestions would result in competitions that aren’t related to the type of flying most people do, but it would increase the chances of someone making a living by competing. What is it with some people who, rather than enjoying a sport, decide it should be changed so that a (very) few participants have an opportunity to make a living while doing it? I’d suggest that anyone who thinks this is a good idea attend a supercross, or, better still, and arenacross motorcycle event, to see how lame a motocross event can be when it’s modified to be “spectator-friendly.” It’s apparently led to some top riders making a lot more money, with a side effect of many more serious injuries due to the double and triple jumps added as crowd-pleasers.

Should we follow a similar path?

• If your S.O. doesn’t accompany you, a phone call home when you land or are on the way home helps reassure him/her that all is well after a day of flying.

Dick Fisk

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• Be sure to provide your S.O./ driver with all the necessary equipment to drive in comfort: maps, cold drinks, full tank of gas in the vehicle, compass, etc.

Marketing

In regard to the Editor’s Notes column that was headlined “Equality is in the eye of the beholder.”

I’d like to comment on the subject of the marketing of hang gliding. How can you market something when there is limited availability? Until there is instruction available within a twohour drive from anywhere and sites to match, all you can really expect to do effectively is market a sort of flying amusement park, which may yield short-term members but not a stable membership.

Excellent points. No one could have said it better. Keep up the good work.

George Ferris

Jazz up the magazine any way you can The first Hang Gliding magazine I ever read was the 1981 May issue. I read and re-read that thing over and over.

I loved reading Bob Thompson’s XC flight. I seem to recall that there were several black and white photos in that article, so perfect color isn’t always necessary for a great story.

On another note, I think you guys are doing fine trying to make the magazine better and I think as you all settle in, you’ll get better. I liked that sexy Flytec ad. I knew there would be some “politically correct” types out there, but you can’t make everybody happy, huh?

• Being the S.O. can be a fun and rewarding experience for some significant others; for others it is simply a drag. It is up to the couple to define what is right for them.

I like the attempt to jazz the magazine up any way you can. Keep it up. You probably don’t remember Glider Rider magazine, edited by Buzz Chalmers.

There was a sci-fi hang gliding series running in that magazine that mentioned a time traveling hang glider pilot in a different world where there were purple women with six breasts.

Back then there were no rules. I miss that! It was fun to read. I believe Buzz edits an ultralight magazine in Chattanooga now. He used to work at Lookout Flight Park in the late 1980’s.

Anyway, good luck with the new magazine. I know I couldn’t do it!

Rita Whisman

Roland Whitsitt

• Be sure to show lots of appreciation, and never, ever, take advantage of your driver by assuming they will spend every spare day chasing you.

Editor gets it right

August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

The whole thing boils down to, if you want hang gliding and paragliding to grow, you need instructors and sites. The USHGA cannot control site acquisition but it does control the instructor certification process.

The current process sucks. Fiction in the hang gliding community is that the new, more stringent process was initiated because of liability concerns.

Wrong. The new program was initiated to try to cure with bureaucracy what could only be cured with some form of infusion of ethics into the instruction program. Bad instruction for the most part is due to the fact that it is more cost-effective short term to rush the instruction to sell a glider and not care about what happens in a year or so (or maybe a day or so).

Next on marketing, it would really pay—at least short term—to include a pilot’s first rating with membership.

The monthly arrival of magazine from an organization in which you are a flying member would dangle a carrot in front of what might become a longterm member.

If I could tell a fourth day student “If you join the USHGA today, your H1 will not cost you anything” instead of -- “If you want a H1 it will cost you an extra $15.00 so unless you want it, you can wait until your H2 to join.”

I’d probably get four to 12 members a year who just might stay with it instead

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of forgetting all about flying over the winter and all they can remember is the days that they rained, blow or snowed out.

Ok, my rave is done.

Ben Davidson, Tek Flight Products Dear Ben: Allow me to suggest an alternative strategy that saves the student $15.00 and addresses eligibility for the USHGA’s insurance benefit at the same time. I highly recommend that USHGA certified instructors make it a requirement that “serious” students and students enrolled in training packages join the United States Hang Gliding Association at the beginning of their training program. Student pilots are eligible for the important third party insurance benefit as long as the three requirements for USHGA membership are met: 1. Full paid annual dues, 2. An approved membership application, and 3. An original member signed waiver on file in the USHGA office. Once a student pilot fulfills these membership requirements, they are eligible for the third party insurance and the monthly magazine. Your students will thank you when you explain this benefit to them at registration.

Receipt of the monthly magazine at the outset of the training program helps the new student pilot feel they are connected to a larger group of free flying enthusiasts.

If student pilots are required to join the USHGA as a part of their registration, the cost is $59.00. If student pilots wait until they have achieved the Beginner and Novice ratings to submit ratings paperwork, the cost will only be $15.00 because the charge to process a “Rating Application” is $15.00 per form -- not $15.00 per rating. This strategy ensures that the student pilot becomes a USHGA member making them eligible for the insurance and magazine benefits, and it ends up saving them the $15.00 you reference in your letter.

Instructors sometimes argue that student pilots need the sense of achievement gained from the issuance of the Beginner rating, but it is my experience that if explained properly to the student, the student won’t mind waiting for a new membership card that displays their Beginner and Novice ratings.

Jayne DePanfilis, Executive Director Jayne@ushga.org 11

C A L E N D A R

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. For more complete information on the events listed, please see our Calendar of Events at www.ushga.org

Competition JULY 27-AUGUST 1: 2003: CLASS 1, 2 & 5 HG X-C MEETS: US Nationals, Big Spring, Texas Sanction: USHGA Class A sanctioned and CIVL/WPRS points meet: Flex, Rigid and Swift class. See http://www.flytec.com

AUGUST 7-9, 2003: Sierra Nevada Open Distance Hang Gliding Championships, Reno, Nevada area. Contact Rose Carter (775) 359-3933 or rose_carter@hotmail.com also heliumharris@worldnet.att.net

AUGUST 8-10, 2003: 3rd Annual Intermountain League. $25, with open distance and race to goal tasks. Jackson Hole, WY. For more information contact Nate Scales 208 720 6165 or scales@velocitus.net

AUGUST 20-24, 2003: Second Annual SoCal Open Paragliding Open, to be held at Lake Elsinore and Marshall/Crestline California. See our website www.socalpgopen.org for details.

Matt Carter, SoCal Open 2003 Organizer

AUGUST 29-SEPTEMBER 1, 2003: 3rd Annual Intermountain League. $25, with open distance and race to goal tasks. King Mountain, ID. For more information contact Nate Scales 208 720 6165 or scales@velocitus.net

SEPTEMBER 6-7, 2003: Open Distance GPS Competitionsponsored by Summit Paragliding, at Copper Mountain Colorado. Entrance fee $50. (970) 968-0100 or email info@summitparagliding.net

SEPTEMBER 16-20, 2003: Paragliding US Nationals. USHGA sanctioned, hosted by the Telluride Air Force at Gold Hill, Telluride. Pre-registration $250/$300 after Aug31. Official practice dates : September 14 & 15. Sept 21&22 weather dates.

Scott MacLowry at (970) 369-4696, tellurideairforce.org 12

C A L E N D A R

SEPTEMBER 21-27, 2003. Tennessee Treetoppers - Team Challenge, Limited spaces. Information at http://www.treetoppers.org/

OCTOBER 1-18, 2003: Canungra Paragliding Cup 2003, Australia - Cat 2 CIVL Competition. For more information: canungracup@hotmail.com http://home.iprimus.com.au/plenderleithm/canungracup/

UNTIL DEC. 31, 2003: The Michael Champlin World X-C Challenge. Open to paragliders, hang gliders, rigid wings and sailplanes. Visit http://www.hanggliding.org or contact John Scott (310) 447-6234, fax (310) 447-6237, brettonwoods@email.msn.com.

fun flying AUGUST 30 - SEPTEMBER 1, 2003: Brad Koji Memorial Fly-In, North Park, Colorado. Details at www.rmhga.org

SEPTEMBER 20-21, 2003: Paragliding Mountain Flying and Site Pioneering. Two-can Fly Paragliding/ Ken Hudonjorgensen, Draper UT, (801) 572-3414, khudonj@qwest.net, www.twocanfly.com

THROUGH SEPTEMBER, 2003: Jackson Hole Paragliding, WY schedule of events: Scott Harris (307) 690 8726 www.jhparagliding.com July 2-6: SIV Clinics at the Palisades Reservoir. Contact: Scott Harris (307) 690 8726 www.jhparagliding.com

OCTOBER 3-5, 2003: Paragliding Instructor Training. Two-can Fly Paragliding/ Ken Hudonjorgensen, Draper UT, (801) 572-3414, khudonj@qwest.net, www.twocanfly.com

OCTOBER 3-5, 2003: 2003 Fall USHGA Board of Director’s Meeting, Ramada Inn, Outer Banks Resort and Conference Center, PO Box 2716, Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948, Telephone Reservations: 1- 800-635-1824 or (252) 441-2151, Fax: (252) 441-1830 See www.ushga.org/hotnews.asp for more details.

SPECIAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING is scheduled for OCTOBER 4, 2003, during the Board of Director’s Meeting in Kitty Hawk, NC. Members are invited to attend.

OCTOBER 4, 2003: Paragliding Instructor Recertification. Twocan Fly Paragliding/ Ken Hudonjorgensen, Draper UT, (801) 572-3414, khudonj@qwest.net, www.twocanfly.com

OCTOBER 11-12, 2003: Paraglider Tandem Clinic (T2 & T3) Two-can Fly Paragliding/ Ken Hudonjorgensen, Draper UT, (801) 572-3414, khudonj@qwest.net, www.twocanfly.com

OCTOBER 16-18, 2003: Paragliding Lake Powell Maneuvers (SIV) clinic. Two-can Fly Paragliding/ Ken Hudonjorgensen, Draper UT, (801) 572-3414, khudonj@qwest.net, www.twocanfly.com

AUGUST 30 - SEPTEMBER 1, 2003: Dragonfly Cup Grand Finale and Wills Wing demo days at Cloud 9 Field, Michigan. See http://members.aol.com/dfscinc or call Cloud 9 Field at (517) 223-8683.

clinics, meetings, tours AUGUST 8-10, 2003: Paragliding 3-Day Maneuvers (SIV) & Thermal Clinic. Two-can Fly Paragliding/ Ken Hudonjorgensen, Draper UT, (801) 572-3414, khudonj@qwest.net, www.twocanfly.com

AUGUST 12-14, 2003: Paragliding 3-Day Maneuvers (SIV) & Thermal Clinic. Two-can Fly Paragliding/ Ken Hudonjorgensen, Draper UT, (801) 572-3414, khudonj@qwest.net, www.twocanfly.com

SEPTEMBER 19-21, 2003: Ridge Soaring Clinic at Reader Mesa and Anvil Point, Colorado with Parasoft Paragliding School. www.parasoftparagliding.com/Reader.html, www.parasoftparagliding.com/AnvilPoint.html

August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

13

C A L E N D A R

PILOT BRIEFINGS

NOVEMBER 23 - DECEMBER 6, 2003: Fly Nepal 2003. Contact: Dale Covington, Big Sky Paragliding (801) 699-1462, www.bigskyparagliding.com

OCTOBER 26 - NOVEMBER 8, 2003: Tour to northern India, fly the Himalayas! Contact: Dale Covington, Big Sky paragliding (801) 699-1462 www.bigskyparagliding.com

NOVEMBER 2-8, 2003: Ridge Soaring Clinic in New Mexico with Parasoft Paragliding School. www.parasoftparagliding.com/NewMexico.html

NOVEMBER 9-15, 2003: Ridge Soaring Clinic in New Mexico with Parasoft Paragliding School. www.parasoftparagliding.com/NewMexico.html

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER/JANUARY 2003/4: Mid Atlantic Airsports – Spain and the Canary Islands. http://midatlanticairsports.com/trips.html

DECEMBER 13-20, 2003: Paragliding Southern CA trip. Twocan Fly Paragliding/ Ken Hudonjorgensen, Draper UT, (801) 572-3414, khudonj@qwest.net, www.twocanfly.com

JANUARY 3-10, 2004: Valle de Bravo Mexico with Ken and Kevin Biernacki. Two-can Fly Paragliding/ Ken Hudonjorgensen, Draper UT, (801) 572-3414, khudonj@qwest.net, www.twocanfly.com

1. They don’t use power and are cheap to operate in California.

2. They’re portable.

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5. They guide you long after you leave your instructor.

By Dennis Pagen: • Hang Gliding Training Manual (Hang 1 to 3) - $29.95 • Performance Flying (Hang 3 to 5) - $29.95 More flying books • Towing Aloft - $29.95 (also by B. Bryden) and videos at • Understanding the Sky - $24.95

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Order of up to $25: $4.50 Order of $25 to $50: $5.50 Order of $50 to $100: $7.00 Contact us for larger orders 14

Mike Kueng makes history over the English Channel Q. What costs $50,000, was 3 years in the making, and is a new world record?

A. The first paraglider crossing of the English Channel.

n June 2, 2003, Mike Kueng successfully piloted his Ozone Vulcan across the English Channel after launching from a helicopter over the north coast of France at 17,000 feet.

Just over 200 years after the first air-crossing was made by a balloon flying the opposite direction, and just less than 100 years after the first powered aircraft crossed from the same direction, Mike Kueng enters the history books with another world record for his crossing of the Channel.

Why Books?

Shipping:

The History Channel

E-mail subject line: Book /video order Box 43, Spring Mills, PA 16875 - USA SPORT AVIATION PO Tel/Fax: 814-422-0589 pagenbks@lazerlink.com PUBLICATIONS E-mail: We accept credit cards.

August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Photo: Hannes Schmalzl, Austria

OCTOBER 19-25, 2003: Paragliding Lake Powell Deluxe Maneuvers (SIV) clinic. Two-can Fly Paragliding/ Ken Hudonjorgensen, Draper UT, (801) 572-3414, khudonj@qwest.net, www.twocanfly.com

Three years ago, Mike’s plan had been to launch a balloon on the North Coast of France near Calais and climb to 8000 meters (approximately 26,000 feet) where he would release and glide across the channel with enough spare altitude to make it most of the way back. But the plans were destroyed by winds too strong for the balloon to fly safely, and Mike spent the next few years gathering the support and the funds needed to launch a second attempt, this time with helicopters.

Obviously, it wouldn’t be possible to fly to 8000 meters with a helicopter, and the lift/drag equation demanded at least 5000 meters of altitude to make the 35-km crossing with no wind.

Because winds aloft are predominately strong northwest in northern Europe, which is exactly the wrong direction for the crossing, a very special weather pattern would need to develop before it would be possible. At 51 degrees Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

North Latitude—where the jet stream whips around the planet—a tailwind would be highly unlikely, especially at the launch altitude of 17,000 feet. The team would need light and variable winds from the surface to 18,000 feet.

In short, it would have to be a very special day.

helicopters passing effortlessly through 3000 meters. But as they reached 4000 meters and thinner air, the helicopters struggled and began to overheat. At 5300 meters, after a close call with a 747 on final approach to London, the helicopters were taxed to their limits, and Mike had to release.

That day came early this summer. On the evening of June 2, Mike’s team made the final checks to oxygen systems, D-bags, helicopters, and made final negotiations with port authorities from France and Britain. The forecast was L/V to almost launch altitude, with a slight push from the west at the upper levels—as good as could be hoped for.

Still, being able to launch from just 5000 meters for a 35-km glide, there was no room for error.

At this point, there were two major factors that were concerning the team: the wind, and the opening of Mike’s wing. Even a small headwind would make the crossing impossible and likely result in a water landing in the 5°C North Sea. The same outcome was probable if he burned up too much altitude recovering from an imperfect opening of the glider.

As the helicopters warmed up, Mike’s oxygen system failed and he was forced to make a decision: fly without supplemental O2, or delay the launch while the team troubleshoots the problem.

With sunset approaching, Mike opted to fly without oxygen, and the ascent began with Mike hanging from a rope 20 meters beneath the center helicopter. The first 30 minutes of the ascent went quickly, with the

There was also the concern that he might not be his normal sharp self after spending more than a half hour above 12,000 feet without an oxygen system. But, when he released, his glider popped open immediately and he set a course for the south coast of England 35 km in the distance, hunted by three black helicopters, which followed just a few feet behind him for the whole journey across.

Crosswinds during the beginning of the glide at higher altitudes made for a tense start to the crossing, and for a 15

PILOT

BRIEF-

Photos: Hannes Schmalzl, Austria

while, no one was sure that he would make it. Mike was

wearing a drysuit beneath his signature Adidas Speedsuit in case of a water landing in the Channel— one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

Thirty minutes later, Mike saw the cliffs of Dover through the haze. Mike would make it with altitude to spare. Because the coast near Dover is National Forest, he chose a Cricket field just inland and set up for his landing with a nice display of aerobatics for the crowd of people in the field.

The historic crossing took about 40 minutes for a 35-km glide through light crosswinds from an altitude of 17,384 feet.

16

PILOT BRIEFINGS

Fun Fly-In and Friendly Comps Cap the Summer The quiet solitude of free flight ranks high as one of the greatest thrills of the hang gliding and paraglidng lifestyle. But sometimes its nice to forget the solitude and enjoy a rousing good time with friends and fellow pilots. Fortunately, local clubs and USHGA chapters host an assortment of fun Fly-Ins, friendly regional competitions, and plain old pilot gettogethers each year.

Copper Mountain Open Distance Comp Summit Paragliding hosts an open-distance GPS competition on September 6 and 7 at Copper Mountain, Colorado, about an hour and a half west from Denver. Pilots must register to participate (registration required for insurance reasons). All pilots rated P3 or higher are welcome, though P3 pilots must have a P4-rated sponsor. A cash prize will be awarded to the winner. Entrance fee is $50.

Launch is at 12,300 feet, so pilots should carry supplemental oxygen.

Here are the details of a few we know about. Send a brief announcement of your next open-to-the-public event and we’ll do our best to get it in the magazine. Send the information to editor@ushga.org, or mail it to: Editor, Hang Gliding & Paragliding, PO Box 1537, Puyallup, WA 98371.

This friendly competion will be a good warm-up task for the 2003 Paragliding Nationals in Telluride a week later!

Volunteers are also welcome—the organizers need drivers with radios and cell phones. For more information, contact (970 ) 968-0100, or send email to: info@summitparagliding.net

Ellenville, NY, Fly-In News!

Once again, the organizers of the 15th Annual Ellenville, New York “Labor Day Fun Meet” are planning to put up the big-top tent and host another great summer’s end party.

Single-Surface Hang-Glider XC Event The Annual Falcon X-C Contest for single-surface hang gliders (now renamed the “EZ-Falcon X-C Contest,” since the Northwing EZ got the big miles in 2002) runs all year for notoriety and April 1 through Dec. 31 for prizes.

This year’s event dates will include fun flying and practicing the week of August 25 to 29. The Fun Meet proper will occur on August 30 and 31, with September 1st (Labor Day) as a rainday option.

The event is open to all mountaincapable H2 pilots on up. The actual contest involves four-person teams, which are formed on the spot or in advance. Pilots may also be scored solo against other pilots with the same rating. Winners receive cash prizes, trophies, and other goodies. Most importantly, the legendary Saturday Night Party and Team Songfest is not to be missed!

For information, call Paul Voight, Fly High Hang Gliding, (845) 744-3317, or send e-mail to: flyhigh@frontiernet.net.

No entry fee. Visit www.tekflight.com/ falconxc.html for contest information and entry forms. Prizes are awarded to top pilots in the comp.

Information and contest forms can be sent to you by mail if you send a SASE (Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope) to: Tek Flight Prodcuts, Colebrook Stage, Winsted, CT 06098.

Enjoy the Desert at Pine Mountain, Oregon Pine Mountain, located 20 miles east of Bend in the central Oregon desert, offers big-air thermal flying.

There are numerous launch sites (15 at last count), though the most popular is the true summit of the cone-shaped mountain.

August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

The summit offers north, northwest, and west launches, which are the most common wind directions during high pressure. At 1,800 feet above the desert floor, this is the highest of Pine Mountain’s launch sites. The local hang-glider pilots, with the Desert Air Riders, paid for the construction of the road to the summit.

The Pine Mountain Fly-In—one of the largest fly-ins in the country—is free, and open to hang glider and paraglider pilots. The XC flying opportunities are outstanding, and the evening glass-offs are legendary! Camping locations are abundant, and fly-in participants can partake of shuttle rides all day up to the summit.

For more information, contact site liason Phil Pohl (541) 388-3869, or visit www.desertairriders.org.

Flight for the Plight II Flying for fun and a good cause: saving other thermal flyers The Rare & Endangered Species Trust (REST) is excited to announce the scheduling of its second Flight for the Plight of the Cape Griffon Vulture, a biennial international hang gliding and paragliding fundraiser in Namibia, Africa. This year’s Flight will take place Oct. 14-23, 2003, and will raise funds for Namibia’s most endangered species, the Cape Griffon Vulture (Gyps coprotheres).

The Plight The Cape Griffon Vulture is endemic to southern Africa and is experiencing continuous declines as the result of poisoning, electrification, habitat destruction, and diet deficiencies. There are only about eight to 11 birds at Namibia’s only-remaining colony at the Waterberg Plateau Park near REST Headquarters.

site of Spreedshoogte and the dunes of Sossusvlei in the south, and then ending at the edge of the Kalahari Desert for more tow launching.

pilots and vultures share the same air space and use the same engine

The Flight October 10-13 will be orientation and test-flight days, with participants arriving from all over the world at REST near the town of Otjiwarongo in north-central Namibia. On October 14-16, pilots will launch in the vicinity of REST headquarters. Flight days will consist of downwind races with open distance in order to accumulate as many sponsored kilometers as possible and to add to the possibility of a pilot breaking a local or world record.

On Friday, October 17, brings a Community Awareness Fly-In day at the Otjiwarongo Airfield. The public and press are invited to visit and watch the pilots launch. There will be information on Cape Griffons, and REST founder Maria Diekmann will be available to answer questions. Nelson, REST’s educational Cape Griffon vulture, will be on hand to meet visitors and show off his beauty.

Chris Lotter, a Namibia Legend…

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

Two years ago, 23 pilots—representing three continents and six countries— participated. Because the pilots and vultures share the same air space and use the same engine—thermals and the sun—organizers believe this is an excellent way to raise international awareness and to generate funds for this endangered species.

On the 18th, our pilots will depart on a crosscountry tour, heading toward the mountainlaunch

Gail & Pete Prukl, tandem record holders All Funds Go To The Following Projects: * Satellite telemetry collars for the ultimate flight so that REST can collect vital information on the bird’s foraging, behavioral & social patterns. * Testing the birds for contaminates and heavy metals. * Photographing and expanding our “vulture passports” so that REST can positively identify the current population. * Supplemental feeding programs at REST’s Vulture restaurant.

For more information, contact Laurie Carreira, REST USA, (312) 573-1730, email RESTafrica@aol.com, or visit www.RESTafrica.org.

17

USHGA NEWS

W

hen the USHGA was created in the 1970s, the people who formed the association wrote a legal document called the Articles of Incorporation. These founders filed the Articles with the State of California to form the United States Hang Gliding Association, Inc. In the Articles, there is a statement that sets out and limits the primary purpose of the USHGA. In relevant part, it reads: The specific and primary purposes are to engage exclusively … in the … use of fuel-less flight systems and aircraft capable of being launched by human power alone ….

This places two limits on the type of aircraft that we can deal with: they must not use fuel, and they must be launchable by human power alone. These restrictions cause two problems for the USHGA. The first is immediate: it’s not entirely clear that the Articles permit us to have programs for any kind of towing system that uses fuel. Since towing of all sorts is an integral part of both hang gliding and paragliding, and since the USHGA has programs relating to towing, it seems clear that we need to modify the Articles to remove any ambiguity with regard to towing.

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The second problem relates to a direction that we may want to go in the future. In recent years, powered harnesses for hang gliders, and powered backpacks for paragliders have become increasingly popular. We have been receiving requests from our members to develop programs to cover these aircraft, and we have been approached by an association of powered paraglider pilots asking us to provide programs that would encourage their members to join the USHGA. If we want to do these things, then we need to modify the Articles to allow them.

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Deciding to take on powered harnesses is a fairly major expansion of what the USHGA does, and even if it wasn’t required by law, we wouldn’t consider doing it without the informed consent of our members. The membership will make this decision in the form of a vote to modify the Articles and the Bylaws. We will have a special membership meeting for the purpose of adopting these amendments during the Fall Board of Directors’ meeting on Saturday, October 4, 2003 in Kitty Hawk, NC. All members will be able to vote either in person or through the mail in the form of a proxy vote. The official notice and proxy form will be published in the September Hang Gilding & Paragliding magazine.

The second question will be to remove the phrase “fuel-less” from the purpose clause. Adopting this amendment will allow us to handle powered harnesses, as long as the basic aircraft are still able to be launched by human power alone. Because we’re keeping the human power restriction, the USHGA will continue to be prevented from getting into heavier aircraft, such as trikes or Light Sport Aircraft, unless they are to be used for towing.

The third change will be to amend the bylaws to create a new membership class for pilots using power. This will allow the USHGA to charge different membership fees for powered and glider pilots, which may be necessary because the cost of insurance may vary depending on the presence of motors. We expect that the dues would be the same for pilots regardless of whether they fly unpowered gliders, powered harnesses or both. In the future, however, the insurance company may offer us higher or lower rates for powered harnesses, based on their loss history, and we’d like to be able to reflect that in the dues paid by those pilots. We need a different membership class to make that possible.

The Board of Directors thinks that the right way to go is include powered harnesses. The main reason for this is that we have seen that many of the people flying them are the same people who fly unpowered hang gliders and paragliders. It is common to use a powered harness to launch from flat ground, get into lift and turn the motor off for the remainder of the flight. That is, they are us. Of course, there will be people who will choose to fly with the power on for the entire flight, and if we adopt these amendments we will be working to help them, too.

In the end, this decision belongs to the membership and not to the Board of Directors. We hope that this will be a topic of discussion among the members between now and the final vote so that everyone will have ample opportunity to make an informed and thoughtful decision.

Special Membership Meeting is scheduled for October 4, 2003, during the Board of Director’s Meeting in Kitty Hawk, NC. Members are invited to attend.

We will structure the amendments as three separate questions: the first is to add to the purpose clause the phrase “and methods and systems for getting these flight systems and aircraft airborne” right after “human power alone.” This amendment will make it clear that we can have programs related to towing.

The USHGA Executive Committee believes that this should be a non-controversial question, and strongly encourages all members to vote in favor of it. If it fails, we will have to consider whether we can continue to support towing in the future.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

19

MASTER’S CORNER

Want Better Equipment for Less Money?

Read On…..

By Rob Kells

number of people have asked me why we don’t sell gliders factory direct. The concept behind this question is if we sold direct to the pilot, we could sell the gliders at the same price that we now sell to the dealer, and the pilot could save some money. This is the way more and more products are being sold these days – customer direct – and there has been a drop in price on many products. Another observation that many advanced pilots make is that the local instructor (who is most often the local dealer) is usually on the training hill instead of in the mountains going XC with the local hot guys. “So if I’m a better pilot than my local instructor, why should I buy from him?” is the question that follows.

The three most important reasons why we don’t sell gliders direct are pilot

Photo by WA “Pork” Roecker Scott Angel and I launch in the Torrey Air Races 20

S A N T A ’ S

safety, customer service, and to support the instructors that are teaching new pilots to fly.

Aircraft should be delivered only to people who have the necessary knowledge and training to use them safely. We can’t individually qualify, teach or train pilots remotely, so we depend on our dealers to make sure a pilot has the required skills and knowledge, and to provide training.

A network of instructors is necessary for pilots to be able to obtain quality service. We can’t be everywhere to provide that service – we need help.

Instructors are necessary for the sport to survive. No matter how incredible the experiences of hang gliding and paragliding are, some pilots will leave the sport. New pilots are essential to keep the sport healthy.

irst off, you can over-do almost everything in paragliding except ‘weightshift.’ Second, there are only a few things that you can master in a simulator and weightshift is one of them. Third, it is never too soon to learn to weight shift (first day of training!). Fourth, we never, ever learn to weight shift well enough.

Photo by Mark Daisey New grass in the Crestline desert LZ

Weight Shifting Works

did he or she learn to fly? Instructors create the market for your used gear.

by Chris Santacroce

The instructors open and maintain your flying sites.

The equipment you buy is less expensive if the market is bigger.

Manufacturing is all about the economies of scale. If a manufacturer can make 1000 units of a given model / size, he can take advantage of quantity savings on the development as well as the purchase of parts and materials.

At 100 units, it gets tough. At 25 units (not uncommon for some model /size combinations), it becomes almost impossible.

The new pilots that instructors teach to fly will give you money.

Who did you sell your last glider to when it was time to buy a new one?

Hopefully you sold it to a pilot. Where

Photo by Greg Holcomb Training on a Condor at Dockweiler Beach

continues on page 60…

Main Entry: weight shift Pronunciation: ‘wAt shift Function: verb Inflected Form(s): weight shift, weight shifting Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French to shift ones weight from Latin shiftom butuki maximus, cara binerus discrepitus ; probably akin to get your shift together Date: 13th century intransitive senses 1 a (1) : to shift your weight <caused the paraglider to turn well> (2) : to proceed toward

August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

In our local Southern California area, three great examples come to mind.

High Adventure has been involved with keeping the Crestline area open to flying for twenty years. They even planted grass in the LZ which is sweet smelling, cool and rare amongst California’s dirt and rocks.

Torrey Pines Glider Port has been kept open for flying by a number of different schools over the years. The absence of a school running the concession at Torrey would mean NO FLYING there. The current school run by the Jebb family has made significant improvements at this beautiful site.

A skier who actually knows how to turn, wins world cups. A paraglider pilot who actually knows how to weight shift wins both acro and cross country comps. We can all keep working on it.

If you only fly in perfect conditions, at a perfect site a few times a year, then maybe you don’t need to. But if you want a high level of safety and enjoyment out of the sport, then you might want to “tune-in.” As you get started, realize that weight shifting in the harness manifests in a tilting of the harness board, a discrepancy in carabineer height, from one to the other and a subsequent difference in the gliders “airfoil.” The direct affect is “roll,” along with a co-coordinated turn.

Following these policies in the long term create the opportunity to buy better equipment at a lower price.

Here’s why: The equipment you buy is better if the market is bigger.

The research and development dollars available to designers are directly tied to the number of gliders sold. If glider sales increase, the quality and performance of the gliders you buy will improve also.

L I S T

using less brake for the purpose of turning <weight shifting so that we don’t pull too much brake> <weight shift into flying better> (3) : to become a better pilot <pilots who weight shift are better than those that don’t> (4) : to keep pace with the sport <weight shifting into the future> b : to stop being the pilots that we used to be 2 : the dynamic/ mechanism by which a hang glider turns <weight shift instead of control surfaces>

Technical jargon aside, we want our turns and we want them to be fast, smooth, flat or steep. We don’t want to show up in the accident reports having “over braked” or “under-turned” and if we can get it, we want the best glide that we can get.

A disclaimer; you can weight shift “too much” if you are on final approach (close to the ground) or if you are trying to make an exceedingly flat turn in a thermal.

Now, the details: • There are a few things that can prevent good weight shift: 1) a restrictive front mount reserve; 2) an exceedingly tight waist strap; and 3) when your head/ 21

S A N T A ’ S

L I S T

helmet ends up in between or in front of the risers.

• Ideal posture for weight shifting includes: 1) head a minimum of six inches behind the risers; 2) 38-cm minimum between the carabineers: 3) hips below the ‘biners (that is, pelvis forward); 3) a reclined position in the harness such that the shoulder straps are supporting the upper body; 4) knees bent such that the feet are almost touching the harness; and 5) legs crossed at the ankles (right over left or left over right) There has been much discussiong regarding the technique of crossing one foot over the other and putting one knee over the other in an effort to affect a weight shift input. It is my opinion that these two techniques are “tricks” used to help pilots to begin to learn to weight shift. If you want to fully subscribe to my line of thinking, then stop doing both. Replace said technique with this instead: crossing your legs at the ankles, bending your knees, leaning back and giving a pelvic thrust to move your “butt” forward on the harness board. You will know that you are doing the right thing if there is a basketball-sized void behind your lower back (depending on the harness).

Interestingly, the main reason to stop crossing one leg over the other and subsequently, switching your knees each turn is that it distracts you from moving your hips which are what really define our “weight shift.” A better trick for beginning weight shifters is to put your head on the right side of the right riser to assist in making a right turn.

Let’s now consider the words, “weight shift.” My friend and original instructor Monte Bell once tried to stop us from using the words. His argument was that “body roll” is far more descriptive. Try using these words, it might help. My friend Marc Chirico encourages his students to be “swivel hipped.” Again, 22

T H E R M A L

L O R E

the words that we use to describe this dynamic determine our ability to implement these techniques.

As an aside, we should all know about “adverse roll.” It works like this; when you pull a little brake on the right side of your glider it creates lift. That lift, if your hips aren’t completely stiff and locked, will weight shift you to the left.

Yes, the first bit of brake that you pull will work against you and cause a turn the opposite way. Try it; make sure that your hips are completely loose and then “jab” your right brake for a moment and then release. Notice what it does to your hips. Needless to say, this is one reason why, when you turn; you should look first, weight shift second and pull brake third. The other reason is because when you weight shift first, you get to see how much turn the input yields and then add brake in order to achieve your desired turn intensity. Above all, aim to weight shift first before pulling brake every time you turn.

The average recreational pilot might object to this line of thinking by saying that a loose harness and the feeling of leaning off to the side of the harness is unnerving and impractical. To this, I suggest that learning to weight shift is a life-long pursuit. We take little steps toward adjusting our harnesses, our techniques and our ways of thinking.

Meanwhile, we need to remember that we are training. Whether we are in our first few days of instruction or we have been flying for a decade, we are training for situations. The situations that we are training for include: • a difficult approach to a restricted landing zone • a miss managed launch resulting in a half open glider during launch

Story continues on page 60 August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

However, some of us got stuck going to the turnpoint at a ski area to the north before heading south to the next turn point. Three of us were on our way back south—one thermal behind the leaders—when the cold airmass caught up with us. We were in the middle of the broad valley when suddenly we felt good lift that turned into exceptional lift. We started with tight turns, but soon realized that we could waltz around in huge orbits and still climb like an Enron executive bank account. My fellow pilots were two U.K. ladies, Jenny Auckland and Niki Hamilton. We waved at each other to celebrate our good fortune.

By Dennis Pagen

ith a little reflection, perhaps most of us can identify our most memorable thermal. Mine gained that status for several reasons: First, it was one of the most incredibly large blessings of lift I have ever experienced. Second, it was shared with friends in a beautiful sector of the globe. Third, it placed me high above the tops of the clouds. And fourth, it resulted in my winning a day of competition.

Now the last point is significant, for I can count the number of rounds I have won in international competition on the fingers of one hand, even if that hand had been stuck in a snow blower.

It all started during one of the World Hang Gliding Series (WHGS) meets at Castajon de Sos in the Spanish Pyrenees in 1975. That area sits just south of the French border, and boasts incredible vistas, abundant thermals, and cheap hotels. The day in question was reported to have an expected incursion of cold north air coming in over the passes, so we tried to leave early to avoid winds.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

The thermal didn’t quit. We reached the base of clouds that were forming in the warmer air sector a couple miles to the south, but the lift didn’t stop there. We kept climbing at a gratifying and gravity-defying rate, up past the tops of the nearby towering cumies, up above the distant snow-capped peaks, and on up to hang gliding heaven.

The beneficent buoyancy petered out about 2000 feet above the cloud tops and we were on our way. There was no doubt that we were lifted by the cold air plowing south under the warmer ambient air to release the whole valley in an orgy of lavish lift.

If you are going to experience such an orgy, I recommend it be with members of the opposite sex!

The fun was just beginning, for soon we reached the clouds that led in a line directly to the next turnpoint. The three of us started at the tops of these clouds and skirted along their sides, dodging in and out of the nooks and crevices like little minnows along the Great Barrier Reef.

I hit the turnpoint at cloudbase, caught the leaders, and started back just under the clouds. I had a street to follow and took full advantage of the gift of suck from above. I returned to the Castajon valley into a headwind and went west to the 23

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last turnpoint before goal to the north. Niki was with me, and Oleg Bondarchuk—a threat even back then—had caught us. Oleg and Niki got into race mode on final glide and landed short in the stiff wind that was squeezing through the valley. I played the maximize-glide game and crossed with at least inches to spare to win the day. Praise Allah!

But as satisfying and levitating as that thermal was, there are plenty others that give up their lift only grudgingly. Anyone can blunder through liberal lift, but it takes a well-schooled pilot to master the elusive wisps, the scraggly shreds, and the moving cores with a high rate of return. So we are going to devote this installment to talking about the tough stuff. All our theoretical discussion in the previous parts of this series will pay off with some practical guidelines that all pilots of soaring wings can use to enhance their skills and success.

I should point out here that while much of this information is filtered through my own 29 years of wallowing around in thermals, some of the ideas come from insights passed along to me in the course of interviewing almost a score of the world’s top (hang gliding) pilots for the book, Secrets of Champions. What follows is a compendium of thousands of hours thermaling and hundreds of years of flight experience.

broken apart in blobs that relate to one another only in the sense that they are in the same general lifting area from the same ground source. Eventually, as the wind strength increases, the lift becomes so broken and blown apart that it is unusable.

Perhaps you can grab on to a passing pulsation, but it soon peters out and leaves you beating upwind in turbulence. The fun factor has gone with the wind.

Now let’s explore flying techniques. When the lift tilts in a wind-impinged thermal, staying in the core requires a bit more concentration, and also more control adjustments. Essentially, you cannot expect to set a uniform-radius circle and stay with the lift. If you do circle uniformly, you will typically fall out the back of the thermal. The reason is that you and your glider are never climbing as fast as the thermal.

You have a still-air sink rate, remember.

So, if a parcel of air is rising at 500 fpm (feet per minute) and drifting at 10 mph in a wind, and your sink rate is 200 fpm (which means you

are climbing at 300 fpm), the parcel’s trajectory exactly with the wind, due to so that a constant is angled upward at 29.6 degrees, while yours their great mass. If you seem adjustment must be made is only 18.8 degrees. Figure 1 shows this to be losing thermals in windy in order to stay in the best relationship. conditions, try making these lift. As many top pilots aver, types of adjustments. they are always working to wring What you have to do to remain within the a thermal out. In addition, when confines of the thermal in this situation The previous description was the wind gets over a certain strength, is to elongate the upwind portion of for a fairly-large thermal say 15 mph, I find that the opposite fault your circles. Perhaps you only have to in a moderate wind. As starts happening: we begin to drift out the do this every few 360s. But in some the wind gets stronger, front of the thermal. thermals, a constant cheat to the things get a bit more upwind direction is required to complicated. First, you I believe that this error is mainly due to climb most efficiently. should expect the cores psychological factors: we perceive that we are going to be more varying, slow upwind and speed up going downwind, so we make Often, the upwind adjustment adjustments to balance both legs and thus lose the fastthat is required isn’t all paced thermal. My belief is based on my experience that this that dramatic, which is happens most often to pilots when they are down low enough no doubt due to the fact to have a strong sense of ground speed. I don’t recall drifting that thermals don’t drift out the front of a thermal when I’ve been high, even in winds over 20 mph.

When a thermal is encountered while we are ridge soaring low in stronger wind, we are always reluctant (reasonably so) to follow it back as we should to stay in the best part. When a thermal comes up a cliff face to the top of a plateau, it often makes a sudden jump back behind the edge. I have experienced this effect at Dinosaur, Colorado, in the Sequachie Valley of Tennessee, in the Alps, and elsewhere.

Thermals in windy conditions have their special considerations and techniques. When you want a thermal ride in flowing air, you have to be prepared to take that flow into consideration— like a hobo hopping the 6:15 Cannonball. If that hobo doesn’t catch the boxcar handle just right, he ends up splayed out in the gravel alongside screeching steel wheels.

If you don’t follow the lift in a fast-drifting thermal, you’re floundering in sink wondering why it always has to be you that decorates the landing field.

The reason this happens is that the relatively hot plateau, compared to the cooler air out front, sets up a circulation similar to a sea breeze (see Figure 2). In both of these cases we tend to lose the thermal by flying out the front. If ground clearance is adequate, try to ignore the ground and focus on the feeling of the thermal to remain in the best lift and avoid drifting out the front. To be an expert thermal pilot, it is necessary to thermal by feel and sound (that old nightingale vario) as much, or more so, than by sight.

If you think back to a previous Thermal Lore installment and consider the depiction of a thermal in an instant in time, you will note that that image was for a thermal in calm or very light wind. You may be able to project what happens when a wind starts pushing on the thermal. Your conclusion should be that the whole affair begins to lean over in the downwind direction.

As the wind gets stronger, more turbulence will occur around the thermal perimeter—the core areas may actually get taller as more warm air is fed into the thermal at the bottom, but the tilt becomes greater.

Now here’s a secret from the champions: the wider you make your circles, the more likely you are to lose the thermal. That’s because a tighter circle is more easily adjusted. A tighter circle carries more airspeed and thus the glider is more responsive.

Moreover, if the cores are small and moving, scribing small circles lets you stay within them. Finally, if we think of assessing our circle every 360, it makes sense that more circles in a given time will result in more assessments! One of the biggest mistakes that pilots make is thermaling too flat. There’s more on this topic next.

Now imagine the wind getting even more stronger.

The turbulence at the thermal edges becomes stronger, but also turbulence inside the thermal is encountered. The thermal no longer extends in large or tall cohesive cores, but is often 24

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One other discussion of thermals in wind is appropriate. There is a seeming contradiction in the testimony of many experienced August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

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pilots. Common wisdom has it that when exiting a thermal, you should do it at a 45-degree angle to the downwind direction (assuming your course line is intended to be in the downwind direction). The reason for this tactic is to avoid the greatest sink that is supposed to lurk directly downwind from a thermal.

However, we also have gobs of experience flying upwind on windy days where a thermal is approached in the upwind direction on its downwind side. Frequently, we encounter lift lines and buoyancy, leading as much as half a mile into the thermal. How do we resolve this apparent controversy? I believe my experience has been that when the wind is moderate, and the thermals are fairly strong, the sink on the downwind side of the thermal is greatest. On the other hand, in stronger wind with weaker thermals, the lift gets strung out, so a downwind lifting line occurs.

What would cause such differences? One thing could be that the stronger thermal pushes up through the surrounding air with lots of momentum and causes the wind to venturi over and around it and then plummet on the downwind side. On the other hand, if the wind is stronger and the thermal weaker,

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the thermal gets blown apart or is spread in the downwind direction. There can still be good cores in the midst of such an elongated thermal, as shots come up from below in the general boiling warm air.

One research paper I read found that such thermals are often 10 times as long in the direction of the wind as they are wide.

Another cause of strung-out lift in wind can be multiple rapid releases from a ground source, or a nearly-continuous feed in wind. Finally, streeting action could be occurring as well. Street activity is very common (and thus important), so we’ll cover that in a later installment.

What’s a pilot to do in light of all this uncertainty? The answer is to detect the situation early in the day’s flying to assess the best plan for the conditions. Usually the lift and sink patterns stay the same for hours unless the wind picks up. One of the first things I do at my local sites when flying in significant wind is to strike out directly upwind from a thermal to learn how things sit in the sink-and-flush game. The top pilots always seem to be able to figure things out sooner than the rest of us. It is discussions such as this that point out how we are still

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August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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learning more about thermal behavior, and dangling our bodies from a wing is a good way to probe for knowledge.

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those thermals and try to apply your knowledge to really get the picture. Experience and knowledge are symbiotic: one feeds the other and they grow together.

Our last topic will cover those Focus is the big mental mindset that good thermals that come from the other pilots have. You must be aware of the side of life—the torn, the broken, nuances in the thermal texture to really the wanderers, the wayward, the understand how it is trying to slide out dispirited, the unfriendly, the from under your control. If I could offer angry, the violent. What all these one bit of advice to help pilots thermal anthropomorphized thermals better in the initial stages, it would share is an elusive character. In be to learn to enhance your sense of other words, they are hard to feel in thermals by focusing on this work or stay with. An example is sense alone—at least initially. The a thermal broken apart in wind. often-repeated suggestion to practice Or a thermal with multiple shortthermaling without a vario is lived cores. Or a thermal that intended to enhance your feeling. hits an inversion. Or a thermal Perception is 90 percent of the in high-pressure conditions. climbing game.

All these conditions are common enough that a consummate pilot must learn to excel in them. There are four factors (or attributes) that lead to this excellence.

They are: knowledge, experience, focus, and technique.

Now on to technique. Let me tell you a story, and from that

Perhaps some of those factors are patently obvious, but hear me out: Knowledge gives you a jump-start on skills such as thermaling because it can load your bag of tricks with things to pull out in different situations.

You gain knowledge at first by talking to experienced pilots and reading (hey, you’re already doing that). But knowledge is only book-learning unless it is backed by experience.

You have to feel Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

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100 95 75

you will see where I am coming from. In the past few years, I have been putting 25 on week-long cross-country seminars in Europe. We work mainly with 5 intermediate-to-advanced pilots from a variety of countries.

0

One of the things you have to work on to become a good XC pilot is thermaling skills. You can’t go anywhere if you ain’t got nothing in your altitude account. I always start the thermaling lecture with two points. The fi rst is thermal with tighter circles, and the second is go to better lift identified by circling gliders. Those two points are almost universally violated by new thermal pilots (and plenty of more-experienced ones as well).

One day we were flying from Aspres in the French Alps. There was an inversion about 1000 feet above the mountain, and we kept bumping up against it. At that site, a grand isn’t enough to go anywhere with much probability of success. So we lingered. Different pilots would get high, then bounce off the ceiling and sink back down. Finally, about seven of us hit a good core—the day was heating up.

We rode high and fast, until the inversion cooled our jets. The thermal became broken, but there were little shots that you could wrap up in. I was already wrapped, so up I went. Some of my students with me had been climbing at my rate with larger circles. I ended up above the inversion by a good 2000 feet, while they wallowed below. Eventually the thermals broke up the inversion and we got on our way, but at the 100 post-fl ight debriefi ng, the pilots with me recognized what had happened. I 95 had reviewed the tight-turning theory that morning. It’s not often we get such 75 instant feedback.

What is this theory? Essentially, when thermals hit an inversion, they get slowed—they often break into pieces and act quite like high-pressure thermals. That makes sense, since a high-pressure system often creates stable conditions. When a thermal enters the inversion, it tends to shed its outer coat fi rst. This is what gets mixed into the surrounding air readily. Also, inversions are frequently associated with shear layers, and the sudden change in wind will tend to break apart the thermal.

In summary, to work the tough stuff, you have to learn to perform nice, tight thermal turns at the most efficient speed. Without that skill, you will not excel on the days when the thermal character is anything but benign. And in my experience, less than half the days exhibiting thermals produce benign ones.

Note: There is an entire section in Performance Flying on the ideal turn radius for different types of thermals. This discussion doesn’t take into account the presence of shots of lift, nor the breakdown or moving of lift, but forms the basis for understanding why there is an ideal circling radius. When the thermal changes character, it is the tighter turners who will be riding the changes.

Only by remaining in the best shots can you penetrate an inversion (if it is penetrable). Only by wrapping up tightly can you stay within the best shots. Figure 2 illustrates these matters.

I have seen one or two pilots who understand this principle get zillions of feet above everyone else countless times at recreational sites.

Thermal characters change daily, if not hourly. Any rule of thumb is just a general guideline. The best pilots are those who can adjust to changes, shift gears when necessary, and pull out the saves we all envy. To become one of that elite group, we must know how to work the tough stuff as well as the easy booming days. Then perhaps every thermal will be our favorite thermal, at least while we are mastering it.

You may think that turning tighter increases your sink rate, and you would be correct. But we are not trying to minimize our sink rate when thermaling—we are trying to increase our climb rate. And that goal is for the extended period of the thermal life, or at least our time within it.

Oh, go ahead and do your Sunday driving in big Italian-momma thermals if you want, but that will not improve your precision skills. And, when that mother starts breaking down, you will be too late to catch the last uplifting puff, which may make all the difference in staying up and going on. Don’t go out there and drill spirals into the sky, but experiment with your bank angles to see what gets you highest long-term.

If you fi nd yourself climbing with everyone up to a certain point, but then start falling behind, chances are you are not coring tightly enough to stay efficient when the lift gets spare.

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August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

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POD-MASTER

LEE

POD-MASTER

at his home in Taos, New Mexico and asked him these 10 questions.

J.C.: Had any good flying adventures lately?

Jim: On September 20, Jim and Amy Zeiset invited a dozen people to spend a week on a houseboat on Arizona’s Lake Powell, and, of course, JZ brought along his water-gliding boat. We towed a 225 square-foot Wills Wing Falcon with pontoons up to 2,000 feet AWL over the red sandstone buttes and cliffs of the canyon lands. I flew with a fellow who has leukemia, a woman with cancer, a pregnant heiress, and scores of beautiful bikini-clad deck lizards.

We made about 60 flights over the lake, contouring the cliffs on the way down to a water landing next to the boat. The hard part was waiting till the flying was over to start partying.

J.C.: Would you tell the readers of Hang Gliding & Paragliding about your private world-record flying site?

by J.C. Brown im Lee has been a mainstay in the world hang gliding scene for more than 20 years.

He’s set FAI records, won big contests, and designed and built all kinds of high-performance flight accessories. Jim’s success in freeflight could not have been achieved without the assistance of his wife Kathy.

She’s the ultimate crew. She’s not just a driver— she’s a ground-based teammate, well versed in navigation, weather and tactics. I caught up with my old flying buddy at the end of the 2002 season 30

Jim: Kathy and I own six acres at the edge of Wild Horse Mesa, which is on the New Mexico/Colorado border. It has 900 vertical feet and sits at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, which rise to 14,000 feet MSL and run 200 miles north and south. The terrain upwind (west) of the mesa is flat.

Kathy has launched me into 35-mph winds, and I’ve successfully crossed the Sangres in high winds, but running the mountains on light-wind days is definitely the best. I almost always use oxygen. There are no regulations — anyone who can handle the verticalcliff launch into a 1000-up dust devil is welcome to fly there. The only request is an advance phone call so we can join in the fun.

J.C.: You made some important distance flights 20 years ago, including a 168-mile world-record open-distance flight from New Mexico’s Sandia Peak, and more recently some FAI triangles at Wild Horse Mesa. Are there any more record flights in your future? Will you go to Texas next season?

LEE

Jim: As Kathy and I both get a little older, responsibilities have a tendency to tie us down more. I’d love to fly out of Texas for records if I have the time.

Some more triangle-record flying from Wild Horse Mesa is more likely.

J.C.: I had my first paraglider flights on your UP 11-cell way back in the late 1980s. Why did you give up paragliding after being so enthusiastic about it in the early days of the sport?

Jim: That was a lot of fun, J.C. I remember when you pitched a rock over Mark Mocho’s head after a flight in that early paraglider. Your response to his indignant yell was, “Just comparing glide ratios, Mark!” Anyway, in the early 1990s, I was climbing all the highest peaks in New Mexico and flying a prototype UP Swift back down.

No soaring, just morning sled rides without a backup parachute, figuring with my flight experience I could pick the conditions and not encounter

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turbulence. I flew from Wheeler Peak, New Mexico’s highest at 13,200 feet, and encountered a swirl of air that folded the glider like a napkin. It spun fast and wound all the lines up. I grabbed the risers and spun my body like a cannonball. When I caught up to the spinning glider it reinflated. I lost 2,500 feet and was only 500 feet above the deck when the wing reopened, and that was my last paraglider flight.

J.C.: Quick, Jim, while Kathy is out of the room—will you ever take up flying paragliders again?

Jim: I love all forms of flight, but I can’t get past the fact that in paragliding, collapses are the norm. Besides, it’s too much fun being a plumber and stirring up trouble with the pair-o-panties.

When we retire on a sailboat, I may need a bagwing for some coastal flying.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

J.C.: Is Florida getting boring as a contest venue? Where’s the next great place to race hang gliders? Will U.S. comps ever return to the mountains?

Jim: Comp flying is never boring. The pilots are the winners in the Questversus-Wallaby comps, as the two flightparks work hard to outdo each other. I’d love to see them hold a World Championship together. However, I do miss mountain comps and I hope that it won’t be too long before the pendulum swings back that way. It’s more a matter of where a meet organizer wants to hold a comp. Hold a meet and they will come!

J.C.: You completely revolutionized hang gliding harness design in the mid-1980s with your composite-pod harness. Your design is still the strongest and cleanest harness around. Why

haven’t you ever mass-produced them?

Is it so you can have a performance advantage over your competitors, or is your harness simply a one-of-a-kind work of art?

Jim: Composites do not lend themselves to mass-production. I will build a custom carbon harness for anyone willing to pay $3,000 (150 hours of work go into each one). My current harness is 11 years old, so I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of it. I guess most pilots would rather spend $700 every couple of years. A rigid harness is sort of clunky and goofy looking on the ground, but so is a goose. I’m astonished every time I hang in a fabric harness at how uncomfortable it is. Nothing comes close to full rigid support (just ask my wife), and that’s why this old geezer flies in a carbon harness even though fabric harnesses can be virtually 31

VARIO PRODUCT REVIEW

equal when it comes to aerodynamics. Plus, I never have zipper blowouts or get my unit caught in it like “Zippy” did during the last Wallaby Open.

J.C.: Why haven’t you taken up sailplanes, or at least those Atos-type hang gliders like most of the other old hang-glider pilots in the U.S.?

Jim: I really enjoy how flex wings connect the pilot to the texture of the air, and they go pretty darn good, too. Our comptuned flexies get 15:1, and the rigids get 16:1. That’s not enough to entice me off my Wills Wing racers yet. However, I’m looking forward to 25:1 folding-Horten wings in our near future.

J.C.: Who’s your mommy?

Jim: No pilot in competition history has had the long-term support and comp companionship of a crew/mate like I have.

Kathy is still a gypsy at heart and is more comfortable in our Airstream travel trailer than our home. She loves going to comps, seeing new places, and getting together with all of our old friends. She adheres to the advice given to crews in George Moffat’s book, Winning on the Wind. Our daughter Rachel is eight and wants to be a pilot. I’ll teach her to drive as soon as Kathy lets me.

J.C.: Since you brought up the Moffat book, a somewhat obscure but valuable competition soaring text, I have to ask you: Are there other less-well-known books that could help guide an upcoming comp pilot or crew member? Everybody’s read Dennis Pagen and Helmut Riechmann. Who else should the youngsters study?

Jim: I have a few books pertaining to the mental side of competition, and of those my favorite is Psyched to Win by R.N. Nideffer. We’ve all heard someone say, “You need to focus more,” but the chapter on the four elements of attentional focus really nails down what this means.

J.C.: It’s always fun chatting with you, Jim. Thanks for taking the time to share some of your ideas and stories with the readers of Hang Gliding & Paragliding.

Field test of best “first” flight instruments

H

By Dan A. Nelson

igh above the dry brown valley in central Mexico, each pilot nailed the core of the thermal. With all six pilots stacked in the same thermal, there seemed to be no noticeable difference in the performance of the different variometers we used.

That came as no real shock— while we were specifically fieldtesting a variety of variometers, and during the initial use, we quickly gained confidence in the technical functions of each.

Throughout the 10 days of flying, each pilot had the chance to hook into lift before the others.

While flying, each variometer proved effective in aiding the pilots locate and stick to lifting air. And each provided accurate records of the flight—though the depth of information recorded did vary somewhat.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

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In short, each of the instruments did what it was supposed to. That’s not to say there aren’t differences, however.

A total of eight pilots field-tested variometers from Flytec, Brauniger, and Digifly. We fiddled with all their various functions, rating them on a number of categories, including ease of use, sound quality and clarity, screen layout and readability, and more (see rating grid).

Brauniger AV Pilot, Street price ~ $325

Looking at these criteria, we did find differences—some great, some small— and it soon became apparent that while each variometer would be a solid performer in terms of basic function, there were differences that would make each appealing to various pilots.

Contact: www.WillsWing.com

To launch the field-testing process, we asked the manufacturers which products in their line they’d recommend as the best variometer for novice or novice/ intermediate pilots. We told them we were looking for a pilot’s “first vario.”

The specific units we used were the Brauniger AV Pilot, the Digifly Explorer, and the Flytec 4010. We also used the Flytec 4005 and the Brauniger Sonic, though the Sonic proved to be different enough from the rest that I asked one top pilot, Marty Devietti, to review it separately (see sidebar story).

All the varios we put through the paces featured accurate sensitive altimeters.

There seemed to be no real difference in sensitivity (except when sensitivity of the varios was intentionally changed) nor basic function.

In short, each unit performed as it was designed to perform. The differences, then, were in the features, functionality, and other criteria (ease of use, display configuration, service, and so on).

Anyway, here’s what our team of testers found:

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Dimensions: 5-7/8 in x 3-3/8 in. x 1-1/2 in.

temperature gauge, and chronograph top the feature list. There’s also a continuously-displayed battery indicator on the bottom of the screen to help ensure you never run the batteries completely dead while in flight.

popular with all the testers, and Denise dubbed it her favorite of the three primary test units.

Other Brauniger Variometers IQ Comfort, $375. This unit allows HG pilots to add a speed probe, includes a stall alarm, and includes more memory features (including the ability to store up to five preset altitude values for your favorite launch sites, for example).

Weight w/batteries: 9 ounces Batteries (estimated battery life): 2 -AA (100 hours)

Several testers praised the digital and analog displays of the variometer reading—the dial-like digital display proved easier to read than any of the other test units. Adjustability of the lift tone was a popular feature, though the tone itself caused some testers some discomfort. Dixon White noted that the rising pitch of the tone in everstronger lift sounded like the vario was screeching, “What, are you crazy?”

IQ Comp GPS, $650. Includes interface for linking GPS receiver with vario.

IQ Compeo, $1380. GPS receiver integrated into variometer. Host of other competition-quality features included as well. (Brauniger IQ Compeo was developed jointly with Flytec and is essentially the same unit as the Flytec 5030).

The fact that the tone could be turned down, or off, mitigated the stressinducing nature of the tone, White said.

Other testers—myself included—had no issues with the sounds. I actually liked the higher pitch as it could be heard above the sound of blood pulsing in my ears when the air got extra active.

A great, easy-to-use variometer with solid set of features at a decent price.

With its intuitive operations, sharp, easy-to-read screen, and accurate readings, the AV Pilot was a favorite of several testers. Denise Reed noted that the Brauniger allowed her to “just turn it on and go.” With large, well-marked buttons, pilots can also scroll though functions and displays easily, even with gloves, said Doug Stroop. “You don’t have to have the instructions to get it going,” he said, “but you will need them to adjust the various settings, such as lift sensitivity.”

For all its ease of us, the AV Pilot boasts a host of features. Two independent altimeters, 50 flight-log memory, two lift tones (with adjustable volumes),

Digifly Explore, Street Price ~ $299

Size: 5-1/4 in x 2-7/8 in. x 1-1/2 in.

On the other side of the coin, the sink tone could be turned on or off with the push of a single button, but its sound and volume could not be adjusted.

Weight w/batteries: 7 ounces

The flight log begins automatically when the vario records a modest change in altitude. So as long as the vario is turned on, your flight will be recorded, with flight duration, maximum lift and sink rates, and high point. You can also view total altitude gain during the last flight.

Batteries (estimated battery life): 2 AA (150 hours) www.paraglider.net A bargain price with great performance, though strong technical skills required to get the most out of this unit.

With mounts for both hang gliders and paragliders, the AV Pilot serves all free-flight pilots. The AV Pilot does not have a computer interface, nor can it be linked to a GPS, so it is an unlikely choice for future competition pilots.

But it serves well as a “first vario” for anyone. In fact, it offers more than enough features to keep virtually any pilot happy. The Brauniger proved August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

The Digifly Explore generated more discussion and debate than any other vario in the field test. The unit proved a study in contrasts. The compact Explorer is the smallest full-featured vario we tested, yet it boasts a large, clear screen. It offers as many features Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

as any other entry-level vario, yet costs less than the rest. It sports a clean, simple look, yet requires a great deal of study to use.

The Explorer includes three independent altimeters, a digital compass, thermometer, highly-adjustable sounds for lift and sink, a 100-flight log, as well as other standard vario functions.

Using all the functions, however, proved tricky.

Some “tech-geek” testers (pilots who love to delve into computers and electronics) loved the broad range of lift tones and sound levels available.

Dixon White noted that, after reading the instruction manual a few times, he found a very soothing tone that lacked the stress-inducing nature of some varios he has used. “It (the tone) didn’t have the sense of urgency in it,” White said. “I could listen to and know what was going on without having it affect my concentration on flying.”

Denise—a pilot who prefers a simpler approach to electronics—didn’t bother tinkering with the setting, so she was stuck with a high, squealing tone that she found unappealing.

As a self-avowed electronics geek, I was eager to play with the assorted settings, yet I frequently found myself frustrated by the unintuitive nature of the setting procedures.

Eventually I worked through the difficulties and mastered the settings. But after setting aside the Explorer for a few weeks, I found that I had to start from scratch when I tried to change things. For pilots who don’t fly every weekend, that could be problematic—especially if they are the type who have trouble programming the clock on a VCR. 35

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Aside from the instruction manual shortcomings, the Digifly Explorer excels. White and I appreciated having three altimeters. I liked the fact that I could leave Alti 1 on mean sea level, zero Alti 2 at launch, and set Alti 3 to the LZ. That way, when I was closing out my flight, I could flip to Alti 3 and have an accurate above-ground-level (AGL) reading right at hand.

Doug Stroop praised the electronic compass, which is centered on the screen, though he would have preferred some sort of separators between the various readings on the screen. “There are no separations between the fields,” he lamented. “You have to really look for what you want to see rather than just see it at a glance.”

V A R I O S

virtually identical, though the Flyer does not feature the digital compass found on the Explorer.

Other Digifly Variometers Digifly Runner (previously, the Voyager), $499. Includes glide computer, McCready functions, and automatic speed-to-fly functions.

Digifly Gravitor, $649 . Includes all features of the Voyager, but is GPS-compatible and supports a PCinterface.

Flytec 4010, Street Price ~ $575

Size: 5-1/2 in x 3-1/4 in. x Marty Devietti pointed out one small feature that he really appreciated that no other vario has: it uses the new, industrial-grade hook-and-loop fastener (Velcro) on the back of the unit. “The Velcro is super-tough stuff that will not—ever—come loose accidentally.

They riveted it to the back of the vario— that’s how tough it is,” he said. “If they just used glue, the glue would come off before the Velcro separates.” The semirigid industrial-grade material adheres to any other grade of hook-and-loop fastener, so mounting it on a flight deck or existing vario mount is as easy as pushing it onto the Velcro already in place. IF you don’t have a flight deck, the unit comes with a leg-band with the industrial-grade material mounted on a fitted panel.

Donna took to the Flytec 4010 like hawk to a thermal. She loved it. Five minutes after she pulled it out of its protective bag, she had it set up and ready to fly.

That’s how intuitive the unit is.

But that’s not to say the Flytec varios lack functions. Indeed, the 4010 is rich enough in features that it could comfortably serve as your primary flight instrument in any level of flying competition. The Flytec 4010 offers a PC interface so you can upload the unit’s flight log into a computer database. The unit can also be directly connected to a serial printer for log printouts.

Other features include dual altimeters, temperature readings, automaticstarting flight recorder (with 20 flight memory), and a timepiece (date and time as well as chronograph). With use of an optional probe, the unit provides airspeed (and it automatically compensates for changing air densities at altitude).

Several hang-glider pilots—including Johann, a visiting pilot from South Africa whom I met at Chelan Butte— praised the Flytec 4010 for its ease of use and durability, but also insisted that the real value of the unit was its service and warranty. “While all the altimeters in the test include a standard two-year warranty, Flytec USA promised nextday turnaround on warranty service.

That means that they will fix and ship the unit back to you within 24

hours of receiving it on a warrantyrepair job. Johannes also noted that Flytec provides outstanding support to competition pilots.

The 4010 doesn’t offer all the features that a professional competition pilot will demand, and it costs more than any of the other entry-level varios.

But with the features it does offer and its incredibly easy-to-use design, the Flytec 4010 is a vario that novices can use immediately without fear of “outgrowing” it (at least not before they turn pro).

Other Flytec variometers Flytec 4005, $465: Same general features of the 4010 without the computer or printer interface. A good option for pilots who don’t regularly use personal computers.

1-1/2 in.

Flytec 4020XL, $599: All the features of the 4010, plus the ability to record a barograph of each flight, the ability to customize audio settings, and more.

Weight w/batteries: 8 ounces Batteries (estimated battery life): 2 AA (150 hours)

Flytec 4030GPS, $749: All the features of the 4020XL, coupled with an interface for linking directly to GPS receivers.

www.flytec.com A durable performer capable of serving you through your entire flight career, from novice pilot to competition pilot.

Doug praised the Explorer as a durable, feature-rich vario that he enjoyed using.

“It has a lot of features for the money,” he said. “But you do need to read the instruction manual—a few times.”

As one of the least-experienced pilots in the test team, my first impression with the Flytec 4010 was that it cost substantially more than the other varios in the test. Even the lower-priced 4005, selling for about $475, carries a higher cost than the other two units in the test.

But cost isn’t always the best criteria on which to base a buying decision. So I took out the Flytec and put it through its paces, as did the other seven pilots in the test.

NOTE: After this review was completed, Digifly announced that a new model, the Flyer, has replaced the Explorer— which we tested. The two products are

My partner, Donna, resists technology with the same fervor that I embrace it. That is, neither of us really do instruction manuals. The difference is,

36

I like to tinker and play with a gadget until I figure it out, while she simply wants gadgets that can be used without any study, tinkering, or fuss.

Flytec 5030, $1380. GPS receiver integrated into variometer. Host of other competition-quality features included as well. (Flytec 5030 was developed jointly with Brauniger and is essentially the same unit as the Brauniger IQ Compeo).

Sonic Booms Tone-only vario proves great alternative Review by Marty Devietti Sometimes the answer is simple. Or rather, simplicity.

The Brauninger Sonic Variometer proves that point.

While soaring off the sun-baked flats of central Mexico and the highlands of northern Arizona, I put this vario to the test. In a nutshell, the Sonic is a delight to use! It is simple, easy to use, and compact. The design provides two different modes of use selected with a single switch.

The first mode is for up-acoustic only, and I was happy with that one alone!

The tone volume proved perfect right out of the box—no problems hearing it in any flight scenario. The sound has an easy-to-understand ascending frequency and pitch that corresponds to increasing lift. In very strong lift, I found the tone to become quite high pitched—I later joked that “only dogs could hear it” to describe the highpitched squeal. I found this to be a good thing, though.

Some pilots don’t want the sound to get increasingly “alarming” as the lift increases, but this tone sounded less dramatic than others I have experienced. It seemed less distressing to listen to in strong lift. Tandem pilots in particular might consider that fact, since we really don’t want to annoy or distress our passengers!

The second function setting on the Sonic allows you to select both up-tone and sink alarm. There is an adjustment for the sink-alarm threshold, so pilots can “dial in” the Sonic’s sink tone just the way they like it. Personally, I am not a big fan of sink alarms (I know all too well when I’m in sink!), and didn’t use that particular function beyond testing how well it worked—which was very well indeed.

August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

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V A R I O S

W I S C O N S I N

The volume and the sink-alarm threshold can be adjusted quite easily. To adjust either, remove the cover of the unit (requires removal of just two screws) and carefully turn the corresponding potentiometer (read “small screw”) inside, as illustrated in the directions. The only caution in adjusting the “pots” is that there is a third pot (clearly described in the manual) that is used for calibration, and should NOT be adjusted. I don’t think I would adjust it at all, as it seemed to be dialed in perfectly right out of the box. With that in mind, I am glad it is devoid of knobs and dials on the outer case, keeping it streamlined, simple, and durable.

Wisconsin? You’ve got to be kidding!

By Davis Straub

The unit is made of a strong “crystal-blue” plastic case, complete with lanyard and Velcro for mounting on your helmet, flight suit, radio harness, or whatever. There are speaker holes on both sides of the unit so that it can be easily heard regardless of where you mount it—as long as it is within two or three feet of your ears.

The Brauninger Sonic would make a great first vario for pilots on a budget, or pilots who don’t plan on needing recorded flight data at any point. Perhaps a better use for this little wonder is as a back-up for comp pilots.

The best use, though, may be for flying tandem. When used in this situation, it allows me to leave my other equipment (flight deck) in my solo glider pack. The Sonic, as a tandem vario, affords low bulk, high durability, low cost, and simple use with a pleasing sound that is really all I need to site-fly with my passenger.

The unit takes two flat watch-style batteries that are easily found in most department stores and camera shops. When traveling, it might be smart to take an extra set of batteries with you so you don’t have to worry about locating the right size in remote parts of the globe.

Just when I thought I had everything, I realized there is always room for more, or in this case, LESS!

L

et’s get serious here. What kind of goof would think that they could put on a major US competition in Wisconsin? I mean maybe a flat-water canoe race on the Rock River, a mountain bicycle trek through the Kettle Moraine, perhaps a birders’ gathering to check out the sandhill cranes, but a big time hang gliding competition? You must be kidding.

It wasn’t that long ago that all the major hang gliding meets took place in the hot dry west, where you could be sure that almost every day you would fly in rough and tumble conditions.

Everyone felt that you needed the high mountain launches, the strong lift, and the big winds to carry you far.

Okay, so now we’ve got major competitions in Florida, but at least there they’ve got warm air, major flight

parks, and reasonably consistent flying conditions. Would it really be possible to get satisfactory flying conditions in the land of non-irrigated row crops and milk cows?

Even if someone put on a competition, would anyone come to Wisconsin?

Brad Kushner, president of Raven Sky Sports, tried to do this last year and couldn’t get anyone interested. Most people must have thought he was some kind of “kook.”

This year Brad approached the prospect of putting on a competition, which he hoped would attract some of the top US pilots, with some trepidation. How could he talk the prospective pilots into coming, when it sounded somewhat suspect? What was this Raven Sky Sports anyway? Who was this Brad Kushner guy? What does he know?

He’s got a flight park in Wisconsin for god’s sake. No one on the circuit knows anything about him.

Sure we’d heard that Raven, at the Twin Oaks grass airstrip, was the first hang gliding flight park but I, at least, wondered whether he could have chosen a place that was less conducive to business success. I had visited his flight park a couple of years previously in an attempt to get away from the summer heat of Florida and had a nice little flight. At the time it was hard to believe that Raven was a financially viable operation. The flying on that day seemed very iffy.

Situated in the “suitcase” college town of Whitewater, halfway between Milwaukee and Madison (the state capital and a big university town), Raven seemed unlikely to have enough good flying days to make a viable business. (“Suitcase” means that the students go home on the weekend – weird.)

But Brad, with strong support from America’s premier meet director, David Glover, decided to give it another try this year. This time he

Brauniger Sonic Weight: 1.5 ounce Dimensions: 3 1/2 x 1 7/16 x 3/4 Suggested Retail Price: $189 Information: www.willswing.com

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August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

39

Dale Guldan, a photographer for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, takes his first tandem flight in a hang glider with Mark Furst during the 2003 Midwest Regional Competition at Raven Sky Sports.

Photo: Dale Guldan

W I S C O N S I N

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persisted, no matter the likely paucity of initial turnout, using word of mouth to build from there. David agreed to reduce his meet director fee to help keep the meet within reasonable cost bounds.

Word could spread out that this was a meet worth going to because your friends and worthy competitors would also be there. A core group from Florida (including Campbell Bowen, Russell Brown, Paris Williams, Bo Hagewood, Ron Gleason, and me) committed to the event, as did other dedicated pilots from around the country.

As we gathered for the event, we all heard about the big flights that the locals here and in northern Illinois had been having over the last two weeks.

Chris Grzyb had gone 185 miles from a flight park near Leland. Had the good conditions already happened? Were we too late? We’d soon find out.

The next day, two days before the meet, got us to over 8,000 feet. The winds were moderate out of the northwest and the lift was almost too strong to be comfortable. This was not at all what I had expected. I was getting worried.

Would we use up all the good weather before the meet? Well not to worry: the next day it rained. This was more like it. The meet was scheduled to last eight, maybe nine days, so I figured we’d get four or five days of flying, maybe less. We’d just have to put up with the boredom when the rains came.

The fi rst day of the meet began with a bang. The cu’s were cracking and there was 400 fpm lift over the airstrip. The lift was weaker elsewhere, but Bo, Paris and I got up to cloudbase at 3,200 feet AGL, upwind of the course line at the

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� three-mile start circle circumference for a great start.

Well, well, this was pretty cool. The lift was good, but not great. We’d have to stop and work weak stuff and make some low saves on the second leg of our first day’s triangular task. No one had gotten much past the second turnpoint when even thicker clouds came in, completely shading the ground, and we were unable to work our way back to Whitewater against the wind under the dark clouds with low (3,200 feet AGL) cloudbases. Still, we’d had an exciting and thoroughly pleasant race for 40 miles.

The rain that we had assumed would be part of our competition came in thick and furious on the second day, making sure that all the surrounding farm lands were well and truly irrigated.

Southeastern Wisconsin is quite beautiful from the air, with farm fields, marshes, rivers, woods, and plenty of open areas near country roads if you need to put it down.

On day three we got a wind out of the west and needed to go to the northeast to stay away from Milwaukee. The lift was a bit sporadic and not particularly strong. So far no one had made goal.

Perhaps the task committee (of which I was a member) didn’t yet have a good feel for the conditions.

Day four was completely overcast with low clouds at about 1000 feet AGL.

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That wouldn’t have been so bad, but the winds were quite strong, looking to be in the upper 20s or low 30s (mph) from the movement of the low clouds.

The FSL chart also showed strong winds. We figured it would be unsafe to fly even if we could have stayed up.

decided to not try to catch them or come in under them, since the margin for error was so small given our altitude above the ground. I also let Jim Lamb go after I climbed up through him and then saw him relatively low a mile further down the course line.

On Wednesday, the fifth day of the meet thick low cumulus clouds streaming out of the east from Lake Michigan again greeted us.

The winds had died down considerably though—to 10 knots— so it didn’t feel unsafe.

It just appeared that there won’t be any lift, since the sky was so dark and so was the ground. Still, these were cumulus clouds, even if they filled up 100 percent of the sky.

Lots of things go through your mind at a time like this. The lift is weak, you are low, the chances of staying up on your own are less than with friends, no one else is visible yet, the one guy you can see is lower, you don’t know if the conditions are going to improve with more sunlight or deteriorate with less lift as the day goes on. I had been finding lift in most places, so I finally headed off on my own downwind to the five mile start circle circumference, and got up again just as I arrived there.

We called a 1 p.m. launch opening, under the assumption that we could just move it back if things didn’t seem to improve. They didn’t, and we moved it back to 2 p.m., and then 3 p.m. Just before 3 p.m. Bo went out to the launch area, forcing us to make a decision.

We saw no reason to postpone it even further, since the day would only get weaker. We might as well test out the air. Besides, the start window wouldn’t open until 4 p.m., although it was quite permissible to go earlier.

Guess what? The air was buoyant. We slowly climbed out under dark skies and complete shade to 2000 feet AGL (ground level is 820 feet) and stayed at cloudbase without any chance of being sucked into the clouds. I hung around the start circle, repeatedly getting back up to cloud base and waiting for the later start window and perhaps some sunshine, which I saw little pieces of, and maybe some guys to fly with.

Bo and Ron Gleason drifted off right after launching early. I had already Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

Perhaps I should have gone with Jim instead of feeling superior to him, since he ended up going seventeen miles.

I went ten miles, going on glide just outside the start circle and not finding any more lift. Perhaps in partnership with Jim I would have had more luck. As I packed up I spied five flex wings circling up from low just half a mile to my north.

They were working together and staying up. Many of them were able to fly twice as far as I did. Moral: fly with your buddies on weak days.

Well, guess what? On the next day we again got light winds, light lift, and thick dark low cumulus clouds that completely covered the sky. Only this time, we knew that we had been able to stay up in almost the same conditions.

Still, it would have been nice to have some sunlight.

The hope was that the thick clouds would dissipate later in the afternoon.

We were all out in the west launch area with our gliders, watching the sky and postponing the launch window opening to 1:30 p.m., when the sky did open up a little and we finally got to see some sun.

Just as quickly it closed over again, and by the time we were launching it was completely overcast. The air, of course, was gentle as could be as we climbed out under the clouds. In fact, the air conditions so far in the meet had been unbelievably nice. I had plenty of opportunities to carefully feel out the air and center up without any qualms in any of the cores. It was completely delightful to be in the air, the closest thing to the experience of flying in your dreams.

I had gone from dark sun glasses to orange ones and it was still dark and somewhat gloomy. I was wishing for my yellow cloud glasses at this point.

The lift was of course very light, but plenty of pilots were launching, staying up and gaggling together. The task was downwind so we could just circle and drift. The task committee hadn’t felt it would be possible to go upwind at all, and was very thoughtful in their choice of tasks.

We all collectively knew now that our best chance was to fly with our buddies. I was with nine flex wings as we drifted low toward the start circle. Three gliders went down right near us as we hung on in zero or less ‘lift’ just to keep in the air. Paris kept thinking he could “race,” but he had to come back and stay with his friends. It took us 25 minutes to climb 500 feet and drift three miles. A few pilots were slowly dropping out below us.

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Flying with flex wings, I was able to stay on top given the slightly slower sink rate of the AIR ATOS-C. This gave me a great positional advantage as I could watch everyone and go to the best lift that anyone found. I could also venture out a little bit with less chance of losing track of my buddies.

Flying together was a wonderful experience as we all searched around for the best part of the light lift and repeatedly came back together to work whatever anyone came up with to keep us going as a unit. It felt like we were weightless in a medium that wanted to support us, but just barely.

In the end there were four of us: Paris, Bubba, Terry, and me. Unfortunately

W I S C O N S I N

there was an area of sun ahead that was also perhaps a blue hole. We’d been staying alive at low altitudes in the dark for so long that any change was a worry. We would have no time to recover if we didn’t find lift right away.

We missed a good climb just before we went on glide to the sunlit areas. Paris and I landed together to win the day twenty two miles out from Whitewater.

We couldn’t help but wonder what might have been if we’d just been a little more patient and found that last 500 feet under the clouds.

All the pilots were thoroughly enjoying the extremely pleasant flying experience, but still hoping for a day or two that we could at least make goal.

Finally on day seven the sun came out to play with us. We were feeling pretty cocky, having stayed up and gone pretty darn far in conditions that shocked the locals, so we called a 50 mile triangle with the first leg into the light wind.

The average overall climb rates did improve from the 40 fpm of the previous two days to 140 fpm: still not super strong, but much better.

Plus, we were getting a few thousand feet higher. While the task required one low save with six or eight of us all working together, overall the contest now became more of a race than a test to see how long you could survive. The air still felt great.

With a 10 mph wind out of the northeast on the eighth day we called a task downwind to the westsouthwest. There were soft fuzzy cu’s over the field as we got ready for a 12: 30 p.m. launch. Jim Lamb thought it was drying up from the east, and that we needed to get going.

We found good lift to 3,600 feet AGL. The clouds were looking sharper and better formed, and were plentiful for now. We’d still have to work with our friends, so most of us headed out together long before the start window began.

Ten miles out we find ourselves confronted with a 15 mile long cu-nimb just a few miles to our south. Thankfully we could get up just on its northern edge, even though now the ground is completely shaded for the next fifteen miles. I spotted some lightening and lots of rain, but the storm was barely moving, and the winds would be pushing it away from us.

We were able to negotiate our way around the storm and find the sunshine and good lift on the other side and to goal. We thought the storm might come and get us at the airport, but it dissipated, only stopping the guys who started late behind us.

Now it was our last day at the Midwestern Regionals, and the sky looked like what the locals assume to be a classic midwestern flying day in June. Puffy cu’s with bases at 4,000 feet AGL filled most parts of the sky. With

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Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

a brisk northeasterly wind we finally decided on a short task 45 miles to the south, hoping to get two thirds of the pilots to goal.

I managed to find a patch of weak lift after a six mile glide through the first blue hole and had to stay in zero or a bit above until I could move over to get under better clouds. Still, the climb rates had increased greatly over the previous days. We now averaged over 250 fpm during the task, with some climbs over 600 fpm to 5,000 feet AGL. The air was still almost completely comfortable, even when my vario’s twenty second averager was showing 900 fpm. Just bank it up and twirl around.

All the rigids make goal that last day, and a good number of flex wings also. We got to land at a farmer’s beautiful airstrip which he has neglected to mow; apparently he didn’t have an aircraft any more.

Having virtual goals with quartermile cylinders around them sure made it easy to pick spots we’ve never been to (usually grass airstrips taken from the maps) for goals.

In all it was a phenomenal meet and the most fun I’ve had so far this year competing—mostly because of the great conditions in the air. We flew seven days out of nine and in conditions that were very enjoyable but also challenging.

Everyone really enjoyed the area, the flight park, and the people at Raven Sky Sports who were very professional and friendly. With four Dragonflies on the weekend they were able to get everyone in the air in twenty minutes. I’m sure that the flight park can handle a much bigger crowd.

Still it was nice to be with a small group and get all the benefits of the personal attention from such a dedicated crew.

It may sound crazy to have a flight park in Wisconsin, but it turned out for us to be a wonderful experience. Raven Sky Sports has been hiding under our noses all this time.

We think Brad can be convinced to share southeastern Wisconsin next year with a bunch of outsiders sometime in June when the weather looks like it will be “typical.” If all competitions were as much fun as this one, you’d want to go to every one. Don’t miss it in 2004.

Results can be found at http:// www.flytec.com/mwregionals. Be sure to check out the photos and the animated track logs of the top three pilots in each class. Thanks to Flytec for all the cool prizes, and to Brad for treating us all to Mongolian Stir Fry on the rain day. Thanks also to David Glover for again letting the pilots decide how to run the meet—and to all the folks at Raven Sky Sports for their warm welcome and gracious help.

For more detailed reports on the event, visit www.ozreport.com

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P G D I S TA N C E R E C O R D

R E T U R N

“A

By John Gamble

rmy Bob” carefully walked around my rented Falcon 170 nestled in the launch cart. With a cigarette expertly dangling from his lips, his keen eyes carefully examined the glider and pilot.

New Northern California Paragliding Distance Record

T

Bob Linebaugh is not only an aviation mechanic extraordinare, but also director of flight operations. He knew how to examine an aircraft and it’s pilot. He assessed that I was correctly positioned in the cart, hooked in, and ready for my solo flight. He looked at me and said “Are you ready, John?” I nodded and said yes.

by Sandy Stein

Ed Stein took a two-year break from paragliding for two years (except for an occasional little flight). He ended his sabbatical from free flight this spring— he said he missed the adventure of cross-country paragliding flight.

Returning to paragliding, Ed proved that a break can be a good thing. On April 30, 2003, he set a new Northern California paragliding distance record of 85.7 miles. In doing so, he broke his own record. It should be noted that Ed also owns paragliding site records for both Mount Diablo (70 miles) and Mission Peak (76.5 miles).

Leading up to his record-breaking flight this year, Ed enjoyed an unusual 51.1-mile flight from Mount Diablo north—over the Sacramento River Delta area and wet marshlands—to Sacramento. On this particular day, the atmosphere was so unstable that there was hail and snow at the 5000-foot level, along with a lot of virga and malevolent-looking clouds.

During this flight, there were times when Ed was in a holding pattern as he waited for a clear (and safe) route 46

so he could continue.

He arrived at West Sacramento at 5000 feet, in the middle of a cloud street, with the drift directly toward downtown Sacramento and the foothills of the Sierras. However, the restricted airspace of Sacramento International and Sacramento Executive airports were in his flight path (as was the Sacramento metropolitan area—its never a good idea to fly over a major urban area). Needless to say, Ed was forced to spiral down for a landing.

Ed, in his low-key manner, described this trip as a “nice little flight,” which whet his appetite for more.

On April 30, 2003, Ed launched from Mount Diablo, flying his Advance Omega 5 proto in a light-to-moderate north-northwest wind. The flight took him over the north peak of the mountain, crossed Interstate 580 on the east side of Livermore Valley, continuing southeast over restricted area “2531” (but with 1500 feet over

the top of the restricted airspace), and on to Mount Oso.

Sensing a little anxiety in my face (or maybe it was the shaking of the glider), Bob looked me square in the eyes and said “You’re ready, you know it, we know it, and we wouldn’t let you solo if we didn’t think you were ready.

But if you don’t want to go, don’t.”

That helped.

From there he continued south over the middle of the Diablo range and crossed the Pacheco Pass at 6400 feet.

The electric-generating windmills to the west of San Luis Reservoir were barely moving and there was hardly a ripple on the surface of the lake.

I was ready. I asked if traffic was clear and Bob continued orchestrating the launch. The tow plane took up the slack and I loudly voiced “GO, GO, GO.” Bob signaled the tug and I could hear the engine coming up to speed and the towline beginning to pull me forward. Bob said ”Have a good flight” and off I went. In short order I felt the keel rise, and when the time felt right, I let loose of the cart and was airborne.

The flight path continued south over the mountains, and he landed at 5:15 p.m., just southeast of Potrero Peak— far from any roads or towns. True to his cross-country flying philosophy (and one that he shares with pilots who attend his cross-country clinics), Ed was “totally focused on the flight and task at hand and not thinking about retrieval.”

He set his sights on the Pinnacles National Park (further southwest), But, due to what he describes as a couple of “bad decisions,” he had to land.

Route 5 was approximately 15 miles to the east. So Ed hiked in that direction until 10:30 p.m. He then stopped for the night. continues on page61 August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Photo: Chris Santacroce

aking a break can be a good thing—your skills may improve after a period of inactivity in a given field. That may mean stepping back from paragliding and focusing on something else (such as sailplanes).

No solo flight is without some history leading up to such an event. Time to roll back the calendar and add some color to this story. While driving along State Highway 22 enroute to our annual Michigan summer vacation at Crystal Lake, I find myself once again scanning the skies for hang gliders and ridge-soaring birds as I near the dunes.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

F L I G H T

RETURN FLIGHT I don’t see anything soaring the ridges today, but the sunny day has produced some nice thermals with hawks circling inland of the dunes. My mind drifts back to my fun-filled hang gliding days in the late ’70s and ’80s. There were quite a few pilots that came to the Frankfort area back then, a couple shops, a small sailplane museum, and even an annual hang gliding festival.

Great times.

I sure missed flying, I thought to myself. But I was reminded that I had quit flying because I had tired of the very long drives to any decent place to launch from. A lot of driving and little flying accrued over those years.

As we drove along, I craned my neck to watch a pair of hawks circling above. My wife rolled her eyes as she once again saw me scanning the sky, and asked me for the millionth time ”What do you find so fascinating about those birds?“ I took the bait and started to answer again, but caught myself and just shrugged my shoulders. I had given up trying to adequately answer that question some years back. Only those fascinated by soaring flight can understand.

During that summer vacation in 1999 I decided that I needed to find some way to get back to flying hang gliders, even though I lived in Northeast Indiana. As luck (or fate) would have it, I was offered an attractive job in Madison, Wisconsin. Not the flying

capital of the world mind you, but only 40 miles away from a flight park that I had inquired about several times over the last few years— Raven Sky Sports, run by Brad Kushner and his expert crew.

I had spoken to Brad several times a few years prior to moving to the area.

He was encouraging, informative, and invited me up to fly. But living 350 miles from his flight park brought me to the reality that I probably wouldn’t be flying on a regular basis. I was only going to rejoin the sport if I could keep my skills current.

With my family settled in the Madison area and my job on track, I finally decided to venture out one spring day in 2001 to check out Brad’s operation. As I neared Twin Oaks airport in Whitewater, Wisconsin, I was delighted to see a fair number of colorful gliders carving graceful turns in the blue sky near the airport.

I was getting excited. Really excited.

Especially as I came down the last stretch of road and witnessed my first aerotow. “This is going to be great,” I said to myself. I’d been searching for a place like this for a long time, I remember thinking. That day is still quite vivid in my mind. It was a busy day at the flight park and the sky was dotted with colorful flex wings and rigid wings. Two tow planes were busy filling the sky with pilots anxious to fly. I enjoyed the warm welcome 47

R E T U R N

T U F L EI G DR EE P A RR NT M N HT T

F L I G H T

I received by the many pilots I talked with. I could feel my passion for flying stirring.

I spent most of the first day in evaluation mode. I wanted to study the safety of the aerotow process, how safe the operation was run, and look and touch some lovely gliders. I enjoyed just hanging out and immersing myself in an environment I had long missed. As I watched the operations of the day progress, I was extremely impressed with the “safety first” approach present.

After not flying for 10+ years, I was a bit apprehensive about flying, let alone aerotowing. To be honest, on first seeing the aerotow process, I was intimidated. Aerotowing looked complicated and dangerous. I would come to learn that I was wrong on both counts. Familiarity and training would address both concerns.

Brad talked me through a tailored “reaquiantance” process to include hill time and aerotow training with an instructor.

To solidify my decision that I wanted to get back in to hang gliding, I went up for a tandem flight with Terry Kramer towards the end of the day. I was a little nervous, but Terry’s calm, careful approach getting ready for the flight helped relax me. The knowledgeable and friendly Janice Haraldson assisting the launch helped distract me from my mild anxiety as well.

2004 USHGA

various adjustments he was making as well as alignment to the tow plane (tug). After releasing, we glided around a while and he then let me fly some figure-eights and 360s. It had been a long time since I had flown, but things were coming back. I relaxed and was having fun. Sadly we were landing all too soon. What a wonderful experience. Over the years, I had acquired some sailplane stick time, but the experience wasn’t the same. The hook was set. Time to get some lessons.

Calendar

A few days later, Brad sent me out to a training hill to brush up on my launch and landing skills. Egor Korneev worked with me and several other pilots present that day. The Wills Wings Falcons we were using helped the process. What a fun glider.

The Falcon was easy to balance, launch and flare.

On my first run down the training hill, my ridge-soaring experience immediately had me going prone after lift-off. Egor pointed out the error of my ways with a tree-rattling call of “UPRIGHT!” Well noted. Shaking his head, he jokingly said something about “These old-time pilots.” I retorted with some Vodka-related joke.

11.

$

Time on the hill was fun and helpful. I had many flights on the training hill, getting the rust off my take-offs and landings. Igor really gave me a tune-up. Things came back to me pretty quickly, which I attribute to all those years practicing on the dunes in Michigan.

95

Now an even better value!

The tow up to 2000’ was amazing. On tow, Terry explained

13-months of the world’s greatest hang gliding and paragliding photography.

Over the next several weeks, I set my sights on soloing on aerotow. This would be a methodical process working with Terry in the mornings and late in the day when conditions were calm. Along the way, I watched with envy as experienced pilots launched mid-day into good soaring conditions.

They would slowly work up into the sky and frequently disappear over the horizon for some XC flights. I hoped to one day join them.

Terry was extremely thorough in teaching me to aerotow. He always took me through the glider preflight procedures, assessed flying conditions, and kept a close eye on my progress. He worked with me on proper alignment to the tug, simulating weak-link breaks at different altitudes, quizzing me on what I would do in certain conditions, teaching me landing approaches, practicing figure-eights over landmarks to study my drift, and making sure I was having fun and progressing at a comfortable pace. At the end of each flight, he would critique what I had done well and what I needed to work on. His technique was always very thorough and confidence-inspiring. I felt lucky to have such a good instructor.

After landing late one afternoon, Terry told me I was ready to solo. “You’re ready, let’s get it done if you are Story continues on page 58…

Take advantage of special early bird pre-order pricing!

Order online by Sept.1 and save a buck! http://www.ushga.org/store/ Photos: John Gamble

48

August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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RATINGS Region

H-1 1 H-1 2 H-1 3 H-1 3 H-1 3 H-1 3 H-1 3 H-1 3 H-1 4 H-1 4 H-1 4 H-1 4 H-1 4 H-1 6 H-1 7 H-1 7 H-1 7 H-1 7 H-1 8 H-1 9 H-1 9 H-1 9 H-1 9 H-1 10 H-1 10 H-1 10 H-1 10 H-1 10 H-1 10 H-1 10 H-1 10 H-1 10 H-1 10 H-1 10 H-1 11 H-1 11 H-1 11 H-1 12 H-1 12 H-1 13 H-2 1 H-2 2 H-2 2 H-2 2 H-2 2 H-2 2 H-2 3 H-2 3 H-2 3 H-2 3 H-2 4 H-2 4 H-2 4 H-2 4 50

Name

RATINGS

REPORT City

KELLY LAWSON REDMOND MIKE DEACON SANTA CRUZ TOM ZYLAK OCEANSIDE STEVE GAISER SIERRA MADRE COREY GEMME N HOLLYWOOD CHRISTIAN WILLIAMS PACIFIC PALISADES JOHN DANIELS PACIFIC PALISADES JAY BAUER SHERMAN OAKS DAVID DOTTER GLENDALE STEVE NYHUS DENVER DAN PARVU GILBERT RON REEDER PROVO JASON MCKAY ALBUQUERQUE KEVIN SMITH FORT SMITH HUMAM ABUAMARA NAPERVILLE MICHAEL SMYK EARLVILLE DAVID PHILLIPS CHICAGO ANGELICA KUSHI ST. LOUIS PARK RANDOLPH BROWN BEVERLY JASON SPRINGER FALLS CHURCH GARY TURNER FAIRFIELD CLARK CHANG ALEXANDRIA DIANA KOETHER COLLEGEVILLE JOSE MORALES DOVADO JOHN SUMNER SAVANNAH HARRY FIGUEROA CENTENO LAS PIEDRAS DOUG CRITCHETT ALPHARETTA DAVID ROSNER KILL DEVIL HILLS MICHELLE MACDONELL NAGS HEAD LARRY GARNER CLEVELAND VINAY BOSE ATLANTA TIM RAMSAY ARMUCHEE ANDREW MACISAAC NAGS HEAD AARON LIEBERMAN BOCA RATON WILLIAM BAIN RIO FRIO PAUL JOHNSON MCDADE IAN BARCLAY FORT WORTH STEPHEN KITKO NEWTON JAMES BROWN LAKEWOOD SOTOS CHRISTOFOROU YERI KELLY LAWSON REDMOND SETH DUNHAM MANTECA MICHAEL SODERSTROM OAKLAND RAYMOND BAILEY FAIRFIELD EUGENE ZAKHAROV HAYWARD MIKE DEACON SANTA CRUZ TOM ZYLAK OCEANSIDE FRANCISCO SEVILLANO VAN NUYS STEVE GAISER SIERRA MADRE COREY GEMME N HOLLYWOOD DAVID DOTTER GLENDALE STEVE NYHUS DENVER DAN PARVU GILBERT RON REEDER PROVO

State

WA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA AZ CO AZ UT NM AR IL IL IL MN MA VA OH VA PA PR GA PR GA NC NC TN GA GA NC FL TX TX TX NJ NY CYPRUS WA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA AZ CO AZ UT

RatingOfficial

TOM JOHNS STEPHEN SCHUSTER ROB MCKENZIE ROB MCKENZIE ANDREW BEEM ANDREW BEEM ANDREW BEEM ANDREW BEEM GALEN JARRELL ERIK GRAPER PATRICK DENEVAN ALAN PAYLOR MEL GLANTZ TONY MIDDLETON BRAD KUSHNER ARLAN BIRKETT CHRISTIAN THORESON ANDY TORRINGTON DAVE BAXTER H BRUCE WEAVER III JOHN ALDEN PETER DREHER ANDY TORRINGTON KEISHYA SALKO MALCOLM JONES ROBERT HASTINGS DAN CRITCHETT KEVIN COLTRANE H BRUCE WEAVER III CHRISTIAN THORESON CHRISTIAN THORESON CHRISTIAN THORESON H BRUCE WEAVER III JAMES TINDLE GREGG LUDWIG STEVE BURNS STEVE BURNS ANDY TORRINGTON ANDY TORRINGTON PAUL VOIGHT TOM JOHNS MICHAEL FOY CLARENCE PRATHER ERIC HINRICHS KURTIS CARTER STEPHEN SCHUSTER ROB MCKENZIE ANDREW BEEM ROB MCKENZIE ANDREW BEEM GALEN JARRELL ERIK GRAPER PATRICK DENEVAN ALAN PAYLOR August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Region

H-2 4 H-2 7 H-2 7 H-2 7 H-2 9 H-2 10 H-2 10 H-2 10 H-2 10 H-2 10 H-2 10 H-2 10 H-2 10 H-2 10 H-2 10 H-2 11 H-2 11 H-2 12 H-2 13 H-3 2 H-3 2 H-3 2 H-3 2 H-3 2 H-3 3 H-3 3 H-3 3 H-3 4 H-3 4 H-3 7 H-3 8 H-3 9 H-3 10 H-3 10 H-3 11 H-3 13 H-4 2 H-4 2 H-4 3 H-4 4 H-4 6 H-4 7 H-4 7 H-4 8 H-4 10 H-4 13 H-5 3

Name

City

State

JASON MCKAY ALBUQUERQUE NM ANTOINE BOSE ANN ARBOR MI HUMAM ABUAMARA NAPERVILLE IL MICHAEL SMYK EARLVILLE IL RICHARD HEALY ALLENTOWN PA REINALDO MEDINA CRUZ GURABO PR JOSE MORALES DOVADO PR EDWIN AYALA DORADO PR JOHN SUMNER SAVANNAH GA HARRY FIGUEROA CENTENOLAS PIEDRAS PR DOUG CRITCHETT ALPHARETTA GA LARRY GARNER CLEVELAND TN VINAY BOSE ATLANTA GA TIM RAMSAY ARMUCHEE GA AARON LIEBERMAN BOCA RATON FL PAUL JOHNSON MCDADE TX IAN BARCLAY FORT WORTH TX RONALD LETZIN ROCHESTER NY SOTOS CHRISTOFOROU YERI CYPRUS CHARLES WAGNER NOUNTAIN VIEW CA VERLYN FISCHER SAN JOSE CA ROBERT BAY CHICO CA DAVID M FOLKER NEWARK CA ALI JOSEPH RASTEGAR GILROY CA KATE FREEMANTLE PASADENA CA MIKE HARPER DANA POINT CA JESUS LEDEZMA SAN DIEGO CA DAVID DOTTER GLENDALE AZ DAN PARVU GILBERT AZ MICHAEL SMYK EARLVILLE IL RANDOLPH BROWN BEVERLY MA HOLLY KORZILIUS DUMFRIES VA KENNETH BERRY HIXSON TN PAUL MERCHANT WILDWOOD GA IAN BARCLAY FORT WORTH TX SOTOS CHRISTOFOROU YERI 2202 GENE LEYERLE, JR SANTA CLARA CA LOU BARTELL ANGWIN CA DAVID SUSKO REDONDO BEACH CA DAN PARVU GILBERT AZ WALTER JORDAN BLYTHEVILLE AR DAVID WILLIAMS HINSDALE IL MICHAEL SMYK EARLVILLE IL MICHAEL ROBSON EXETER NH CHARLES CARDER CHATTANOOGA TN SOTOS CHRISTOFOROU YERI 2202 LAWRENCE CHAMBLEE WEST HOLLYWOOD CA

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

REPORT

RatingOfficial

MEL GLANTZ TRACY TILLMAN BRAD KUSHNER ARLAN BIRKETT CHRISTOPHER MC GUINESS ROBERT HASTINGS KEISHYA SALKO BRUCE HASTINGS MALCOLM JONES ROBERT HASTINGS DAN CRITCHETT CHRISTIAN THORESON CHRISTIAN THORESON CHRISTIAN THORESON JAMES TINDLE STEVE BURNS STEVE BURNS KARL FANGHANEL PAUL VOIGHT PATRICK DENEVAN PATRICK DENEVAN JAMES REYNOLDS PATRICK DENEVAN NICANDRO MORA JOE GREBLO ROB MCKENZIE STEVE STACKABLE GALEN JARRELL PATRICK DENEVAN ARLAN BIRKETT DAVE BAXTER STEVE WENDT CHRISTIAN THORESON CHRISTIAN THORESON STEVE BURNS PAUL VOIGHT THEODORE MACK THEODORE MACK JOSEPH SZALAI PATRICK DENEVAN JAMES LINSCOME ARLAN BIRKETT ARLAN BIRKETT MALCOLM JONES CHRISTIAN THORESON PAUL VOIGHT JOE GREBLO

51

RATINGS

Region

P-1 1 P-1 1 P-1 1 P-1 1 P-1 1 P-1 1 P-1 1 P-1 1 P-1 1 P-1 1 P-1 1 P-1 1 P-1 2 P-1 2 P-1 2 P-1 2 P-1 3 P-1 3 P-1 3 P-1 3 P-1 3 P-1 3 P-1 3 P-1 3 P-1 3 P-1 3 P-1 3 P-1 4 P-1 4 P-1 4 P-1 4 P-1 4 P-1 4 P-1 4 P-1 4 P-1 4 P-1 4 P-1 4 P-1 5 P-1 5 P-1 5 P-1 5 P-1 5 P-1 5 P-1 5 P-1 5 P-1 7 P-1 7 P-1 7 P-1 8 P-1 9 P-1 9 P-1 10 P-1 10 P-1 10 52

REPORT

RATINGS

Name

City

State

RatingOfficial

KEN KLAPATCH KERRY RYAN JEFF FENSKE MELINDA PROPP NATHAN GRICE ULF HALLEN DENNIS KOGELMAN STORMY HAUGHT KAREN WALLMAN MICHAEL MC KEE J ERICK CLARK VIACHESLAV KARULIN MAREK LECHOWSKI JUAN CARLOS RESTREPO MATTHEW LEEDOM BRADEN COOLIDGE MARIO DELUCA FAUSTO SILVEIRA YOUNGMOO KO STEVE SHAW IGOR SHEN ROBERT STRATTON JASON JOHNSON JANEL STEWART TOBY FULTON GAVIN BEHR EDDIE KISFALVDY RICK WILSON “SAM COX, JR” JACK HARPER DAVID VANWYKE PAUL CHRISTIAN MIKE MCKILLIP RADU MIHAILA CHRIS AHRENS MORGAN LEWIS KONA MRAZEK RUSTIN NANCE CLAIR PACKER HECTOR KENT NIKI MUELLER KELLY CHADWICK ROLF BELDEN JR CHRIS PETERSON TIM LYON DANIEL ROOF NATE DEMERS JON SKILLING IAN KOTT GUEN GIFFORD ALLEN SPARKS “HUGO RODRIGUEZ, JR.” BENEDICT MCALEVEY DANIEL CARVER JR ANUT SHAH

CRATER LAKE KENT ANCHORAGE PORT TOWNSEND RENTON BELLEVUE MAPLE VALLEY ANCHORAGE SEATTLE WEHATCHEE WINLOCK BELLEVUE SANTA ROSA ALAMEDA GROVER BEACH SANTA CRUZ COSTA MESA IRVINE GRAND TERRACE SAN DIEGO COSTA MESA CANYON COUNTRY CANYON COUNTRY SANTA BARBARA SAN DIEGO SANTA MONICA SAN DIEGO SALT LAKE CITY SANDY SALT LAKE CITY CRESTED BUTTE ALAMOSA WESTMINSTER SALT LAKE CITY AVON BOUNTIFUL PARK CITY SALT LAKE CITY MORELAND MISSOULA WILSON KELLY JACKSON BILLINGS BOISE TETON VILLAGE CHINA CARMEL W BLOOMFIELD BURLINGTON BOONSBORO KIMBERTON WEST PALM BEACH GAINESVILLE ATLANTA

OR WA AK WA WA WA WA AK WA WA WA WA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA CA UT UT UT CO CO CO UT CO UT UT UT ID MT WY WY WY MT ID WY MI IN MI VT MD PA FL GA GA

GRANGER BANKS MARC CHIRICO CHAD BASTIAN KELLY KELLAR DOUGLAS STROOP JAROMIR LAHULEK ABE LAGUNA MIKE STEEN ROB SPORRER DOUGLAS STROOP DOUGLAS STROOP MARC CHIRICO WALLACE ANDERSON JUAN LAOS HUGH MURPHY GABRIEL JEBB MARCELLO DE BARROS MARCELLO DE BARROS KYOUNG KI HONG GABRIEL JEBB ROB MCKENZIE CHAD BASTIAN BO CRISS CHAD BASTIAN KYOUNG KI HONG KYOUNG KI HONG KYOUNG KI HONG DAVID BINDER THOMAS WEBSTER CHRIS SANTACROCE RICHARD KOCUREK DAVID PRENTICE GRANGER BANKS STEPHEN MAYER DAVID CHAMPAIGN STEPHEN MAYER DAVID BINDER KEVIN BIERNACKI FRANK GILLETTE RICK SHARP THOMAS BARTLETT JAMES MATT COMBS JAMES MATT COMBS ANDY MACRAE BRIAN SCHENCK JAMES MATT COMBS KYOUNG KI HONG MIKE STEEN DOUGLAS STROOP RICK SHARP DWAYNE MC COURT PEDRO TIRADO KYOUNG KI HONG CHRIS BOWLES J P SALDANA August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Region

P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2

11 12 12 13 13 13 13 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 7 7

Name

City

AMY TOMKO SANDRA ECKER FELIX ECKER BOB FARMER ALEX CHI VI TANG KATIA ROSAS HARRY SIEMPELKAMP BRUCE ZORNOW JEFF FENSKE MELINDA PROPP NATHAN GRICE DENNIS KOGELMAN STORMY HAUGHT MICHAEL MC KEE J ERICK CLARK VIACHESLAV KARULIN LINDSAY MAGNUSON MATTHEW EPPERSON MAREK LECHOWSKI JUAN CARLOS RESTREPO ALLAN THULIN MATTHEW LEEDOM MARIO DELUCA FAUSTO SILVEIRA GRANT MEISENHOLDER YOUNGMOO KO KAORU FELDMAN IGOR SHEN ROBERT STRATTON GUY BUCKLAND JASON JOHNSON JANEL STEWART TOBY FULTON GAVIN BEHR EDDIE KISFALVDY RICK WILSON “SAM COX, JR” JACK HARPER DAVID VANWYKE RADU MIHAILA CHRIS AHRENS MORGAN LEWIS RUSTIN NANCE CLAIR PACKER HECTOR KENT NIKI MUELLER KELLY CHADWICK ROLF BELDEN JR CHRIS PETERSON TIM LYON EDDY PETRANEK DANA WELLINGTON DANIEL ROOF NATE DEMERS JON SKILLING

LEANDER TX MORRIS PLAINS NJ MORRIS PLAINS NJ ROSSLAND BC CHAI WAN HONG KONG KUNA 18 PERU DELTA PERU BELLEVUE WA ANCHORAGE AK PORT TOWNSEND WA RENTON WA MAPLE VALLEY WA ANCHORAGE AK WEHATCHEE WA WINLOCK WA BELLEVUE WA ARCATA CA ANTIOCH CA SANTA ROSA CA ALAMEDA CA LAS VEGAS NV GROVER BEACH CA COSTA MESA CA IRVINE CA SAN DIEGO CA GRAND TERRACE CA COSTA MESA CA COSTA MESA CA CANYON COUNTRY CA VENICE CA CANYON COUNTRY CA SANTA BARBARA CA SAN DIEGO CA SANTA MONICA CA SAN DIEGO CA SALT LAKE CITY UT SANDY UT SALT LAKE CITY UT CRESTED BUTTE CO SALT LAKE CITY UT AVON CO BOUNTIFUL UT SALT LAKE CITY UT MORELAND ID MISSOULA MT WILSON WY KELLY WY JACKSON WY BILLINGS MT BOISE ID BOISE ID BOISE ID TETON VILLAGE WY CHINA MI CARMEL IN

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

State

REPORT

RatingOfficial

NANCY STANFORD FABRICIO RODRIGUES LARS LINDE MIKE EBERLE JOHN MC DONALD MIKE HALEY DELVIN CRABTREE MARC CHIRICO CHAD BASTIAN KELLY KELLAR DOUGLAS STROOP ABE LAGUNA MIKE STEEN DOUGLAS STROOP DOUGLAS STROOP MARC CHIRICO WALLACE ANDERSON WALLACE ANDERSON WALLACE ANDERSON JUAN LAOS RAY LEONARD HUGH MURPHY MARCELLO DE BARROS MARCELLO DE BARROS KYOUNG KI HONG KYOUNG KI HONG KYOUNG KI HONG ROB MCKENZIE CHAD BASTIAN BO CRISS BO CRISS CHAD BASTIAN KYOUNG KI HONG KYOUNG KI HONG KYOUNG KI HONG DAVID BINDER THOMAS WEBSTER CHRIS SANTACROCE RICHARD KOCUREK STEPHEN MAYER DAVID CHAMPAIGN STEPHEN MAYER KEVIN BIERNACKI FRANK GILLETTE RICK SHARP THOMAS BARTLETT JAMES MATT COMBS JAMES MATT COMBS ANDY MACRAE BRIAN SCHENCK BRIAN SCHENCK BRIAN SCHENCK JAMES MATT COMBS KYOUNG KI HONG MIKE STEEN 53

RATINGS Region

P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 T-1 T-1 54

7 8 9 9 10 10 10 11 12 12 12 13 13 13 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 7 7 7 8 10 12 13 13 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 8 8 10 13 2 3

REPORT

Name

City

IAN KOTT GUEN GIFFORD ALLEN SPARKS “HUGO RODRIGUEZ, JR.” BENEDICT MCALEVEY DANIEL CARVER JR ANUT SHAH AMY TOMKO ADAM BERGER SANDRA ECKER FELIX ECKER ALEX CHI VI TANG KATIA ROSAS HARRY SIEMPELKAMP KEN KLAPATCH THOMAS KOGER RICHELLE SWEARINGEN KERRY RYAN ERIC SANDBERG VIACHESLAV KARULIN MICHAEL HARRIS PETER COOK DON FRICK JUAN CARLOS RESTREPO DAVID WUESCHER BRIAN KEOWN WOUTER OLIVIER STERLING EGAN CARTER BROWN ERIK LARSEN BRENT BACKUS CHARLES SYMONS MIKE CANNELLA TERRY ECKERT ERIC RYS ALEX SOCQUET DANIEL BECK WLODZIMIERZ LAS KATIA ROSAS HARRY SIEMPELKAMP ALLAN WOOD KURT KLEINER TIMOTHY BROYHILL KENNETH ALFHEIM JUAN CARLOS RESTREPO NICK PISAR RICHARD PARRY HEINRICH OLIVIER JOHN TICE SUSAN DYER JAMES VERNER CHARLES WARREN ROBERTO GALERA HARRY SIEMPELKAMP DR JUGDEEP AGGARWAL ADAM MCVAY

W BLOOMFIELD MI BURLINGTON VT BOONSBORO MD KIMBERTON PA WEST PALM BEACH FL GAINESVILLE GA ATLANTA GA LEANDER TX NEW YORK NY MORRIS PLAINS NJ MORRIS PLAINS NJ CHAI WAN HONG KONG KUNA 18 PERU DELTA PERU CRATER LAKE OR BELLEVUE WA SNOQUALMIE WA KENT WA PUYALLUP WA BELLEVUE WA MORRO BAY CA SANTA CRUZ CA SANTA YNEZ CA ALAMEDA CA RESEDA CA SANTA MONICA CA NEW CASTLE CO FLAGSTAFF AZ BOULDER CO TELLURIDE CO FLAGSTAFF AZ JACKSON WY WILDWOOD IL WOODRIDGE IL CHANNAHON IL PLANTSVILLE CT ARAB AL BROOKLYN NY KUNA 18 DELTA BC REDMOND WA WINNEMUCCA NV SACRAMENTO CA PLEASANTON CA ALAMEDA CA RANCHO PALOS VERDES CA POWAY CA NEW CASTLE CO SALT LAKE CITY UT BAILEY CO FAIRFIELD CT NEWMARKET NH BESSEMER AL DELTA BC SANTA CRUZ CA SANTA MONICA CA

State

RatingOfficial

DOUGLAS STROOP RICK SHARP DWAYNE MC COURT PEDRO TIRADO KYOUNG KI HONG CHRIS BOWLES J P SALDANA NANCY STANFORD DOUGLAS STROOP FABRICIO RODRIGUES LARS LINDE JOHN MC DONALD MIKE HALEY DELVIN CRABTREE KEVIN LEE BOB HANNAH ABE LAGUNA MARC CHIRICO KELLY KELLAR MARC CHIRICO HUGH MURPHY SCOTT GASPARIAN CHAD BASTIAN JUAN LAOS GABRIEL JEBB CHAD BASTIAN ARNOLD MARX DIXON WHITE CHRIS SANTACROCE KEN HUDONJORGENSEN DIXON WHITE SCOTT HARRIS ALAN CHUCULATE STEPHEN MAYER ALAN CHUCULATE KYOUNG KI HONG J P SALDANA MARCUS SANTOS MIKE HALEY DELVIN CRABTREE ABE LAGUNA JONATHON HOVIS SCOTT GASPARIAN JUAN LAOS JUAN LAOS ROMAN PISAR DAVID JEBB ARNOLD MARX JOSH WALDROP MICHAEL SMITH KEN HUDONJORGENSEN JOHN GALLAGHER J P SALDANA DELVIN CRABTREE SCOTT GASPARIAN TIM NELSON August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Tug pilot Tim Thompson towing a glider southbound from Raven’s main runway during the competition in June.

2003 Midwest Regional Hang Gliding Competition

7 -14 June, 2003, Whitewater, Wisconsin, USA Photos by Jeff & Pam Nielsen

Jeff & Pam Nielsen met and married in the 1980s, shortly after Jeff met Brad Kushner in medical school and Jeff first saw a hang glider up close. About 8 years later, Jeff saw an ad for ‘a local hang gliding flight park,’ only to find out that it was run by his old friend, Brad. Jeff and Pam started hill flying lessons and tandem aerotow flights in late 1992, and Jeff solo’d on aerotow in late 1993 (Pam solo’d the next season).

Since then, Jeff and Pam have gone on to become ultralight pilots (both fixed-wing

and trike), sailplane pilots, and General Aviation pilots. Even so, they’ll both be very quick to remind you that hang gliding is still their absolute favorite form of aviation.

Pam is a USHGA Advanced pilot, and Jeff is a USHGA Master pilot and Tandem Instructor. Their children were born into a hang gliding household. They have two boys, Alex (7) and Kyler (1), neither of whom can relate to Muggles that don’t know anything about hang gliding.

Meet Director David Glover jokes with Russell Brown of Quest Air about his Flytec vario settings.

Team Raven members “Army Bob” Linebaugh, Annette Bade, Jacob, Laurie Jessup, Janice Haraldson, and Mark Furst, all trying to be the same height and not being very successful.

Competitor Dan Morris of Whitewater, Wisconsin and his girlfriend and retrieval driver, Laurie Jessup, who also hang glides at Raven.

Campbell Bowen from Quest Air launches his Flight Designs Axxess.

A windsock atop Raven’s new manmade 360 degree training hill is visible in the background.

Clockwise from upper left: competitors’ gliders in the main setup area; one of our two campfire areas; our clubhouse; our four hangars; and parking for hang-mobiles.

Erich Richey, Dale Maas, Matt Thoreson, “Sport Bob” Hendrickson, and Tommy “the Pinball Wizard” Thompson do the hang gliding equivalent of the Babe Ruth gesture.

R E T U R N

2003 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

F L I G H T

…continued from page 49 ready. Are you ready?” I said yes before my over-analytical nature had me translating my gut reaction of readiness into a run for my truck. Bob pulled over a Falcon 170 and harness for me.

All the equipment was handy and ready to go. Did they plan this? Bob helped fit the harness to me and we pre-flighted the glider. I then hooked up, positioned the glider on the cart. and moved to the launch area.

Now back to my solo flight. After lifting free of the cart. I was immediately delighted with how nimble the Falcon 170 was on tow compared to the tandem glider I had trained on with Terry. Makes sense, but I didn’t anticipate how much easier it would be to fly on tow by myself. I kept careful watch of my alignment with the tug and in no time at all I was at 2000’ and the hand signal came to release. I released and slowed down to a nice gentle glide.

I acquired my relationship to the airstrip quickly. Terry had drilled in me to always keep track of where I was relative to the airstrip on tow, and when in doubt watch where the tow plane goes as it will head for home.

There was a lot going on in my mind on tow, but somehow I remembered to keep an eye on “home.” I relaxed and started to be simply filled with awe and joy. I scanned the horizon and then looked back towards the flight park. I’m just sure they could see the smile on my face down there. I worked on some 360s as well as experimented somewhat with the speed range of the Falcon. I was feeling good.

As I descended, I started to plan my approach and check the wind direction. Bob and the tug pilots were huddled together below, taking a break, and their chain-smoking was making a nice wind indicator. The wind socks on the field were helpful, but the trail 58

of smoke up to 1000 feet really gave a nice read on the winds. Thanks guys. Just kidding!

I used some figure-eights and S-turns like Terry taught me to get my approach altitude correct. I came in nicely, slowed down, and then flared a little late. I made a lessthan-perfect landing, but I was delighted to have soloed.

The Raven Sky Sports crew and fellow pilots present gave me a cheer. I felt good.

I came home that night with a glow that had my wife wondering what I had been up to. I had accomplished my first goal to solo on aerotow. Time to gain some experience and soar.

I spent the following few weeks getting as much experience as I could. I also tried a larger-size Falcon as well as an Eagle. Both very docile gliders. On each flight, I made sure to stay in the learning loop with the ground crew and the tug pilots that were observing my progress. I wanted their valuable input and tips.

As I gained experience, the flight crew felt more comfortable letting me try some mild lift conditions. One beautiful July day, I towed up in a Falcon 195. I released at 2000 feet and stumbled into a light thermal. I made a few 360s and was able to drift in the lift. The sensation of going up instead of down was wonderful. My God — I was soaring!

I slowly gained altitude. With no vario, my reference was “things were getting smaller.” I was joined by a couple of other gliders that saw me climbing. I circled with them a while and then headed out to explore. I bumped into some more lift, started to

circle, and incredibly, a hawk swooped into the thermal with me at about 50 feet below.

I had never watched a hawk fly from above and I was mesmerized watching him make minor adjustments with his wing tips and tail. I watched as he gracefully carved around me and soared well beyond my reach. After 30 minutes or so of working the light lift, I lost the thermal and headed back to Earth full of awe and feeling that I was one very lucky person to be able to experience soaring.

I landed and later shared flight experiences with the many fellow pilots present. Always a good group to talk with and share the sky with. What a great atmosphere.

I wish to thank the great staff at Raven Sky Sports for not only making available such a wonderful flight park, but also for being the helpful and gracious people they are. They helped rekindle my love of flight.

What a nice return flight.

August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Tim West (R-03) REGION 1 Bill Bolosky (R - 04) 18 Salada Ave Apt 4 8426 316th Pl SE,Issaquah WA Pacifica CA 94044 98027 (650) 355-3115 (425) 222-7702 tim3west@yahoo.com bolosky@microsoft.com Russ Locke (L - 03) Mark Forbes (R - 03) 868 S Mary Ave 1840 SW Allen St Sunnyvale CA 94087 Corvallis OR 97333 (408) 737-8745 (541) 766-2515 russ@lockelectric.com mgforbes@mindspring.com Ken Brown (H - 03) Aaron Swepston (H - 03) 200 Hillcrest Dr 3717 163rd Ave Ct E Auburn CA 95603 Sumner WA 98390 (530) 888-8622 (253) 826-1112 flyamoyes@aol.com tontar@mindspring.com REGION 3 Bob Hannah (H - 04) David Jebb (R - 04) 9920 51st Ave S 2800 Torrey Pines Scenic Seattle WA 98118 La Jolla CA 92037 (206) 328-1104 (858) 452-9858 bhannah@ davidj@flytorrey.com paraglidewashington.com John Greynald (R - 03) Steve Roti (H - 04) 2774 Puesta del Sol 3024 NE 18th Ave Santa Barbara CA 93105 Portland OR 97212 (805) 682-3483 (503) 284-0998 throgrog@aol.com steveroti@hotmail.com Alan Chuculate (R - 03) Tom Johns (H-05) 6709 Salizar St 10704 206th Ave NE San Diego CA 92111 Redmond WA 98053 (858) 292-1552 (425) 898-8163 alanc@san.rr.com cascadesoaring@hotmail.com Rob Kells (H - 04) Ed Pitman (H-05) 500 W Blueridge Ave 34039 Hwy 19 Orange CA 92865 Kimberly, OR 97848 (714) 998-6359 (541) 934-2711 rob@willswing.com ed@good-deal.com Dan Nelson (Editor) PO Box 1537 Puyallup WA 98371 (253) 840-1372 dan@ushga.org REGION 2 Ray Leonard (R - 04) PO Box 20066 Carson City NV 89721 (775) 883-7070 advspts@pyramid.net John Wilde (R- 03) 3553 Jefferson Ave Redwood City CA 94062 (650) 556-1320 wildeblu@attbi.com

REGION 4 Steve Mayer (R - 04) 12665 S. Minuteman Dr #1 Draper UT 84020 (801) 576-6460 stevem11@mindspring.com Jim Zeiset (R - 03) 13154 County Rd 140 Salida CO 81201 (719) 539-3335 jimzgreen@aol.com Chris Santacroce (L - 03) 552 West 8360 South Sandy UT 84070 (801) 255-9595 chris@4superfly.com

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

Liz Sharp (H – 03) 5555 Bowron Pl Longmont CO 80503 (303) 530-0718 Elizabeth.Sharp@heii.com

Felipe Amunategui (R- 04) 3122 Huntington Rd Shaker Heights OH 44120 (216) 751-0347 dr.amunategui@att.net

Dixon White (H – 03) PO Box 2626 Flagstaff AZ 86003 (928) 526-4579 dixon@paraglide.com

Dennis Pagen (L - 03) 318 Bitner Hollow Rd Spring Mills PA 16875 (814) 422-0589 pagenbks@lazerlink.com

Jennifer Beach (H-05) 11533 E Alaska Ave Aurora CO 80012 (303) 365-9215 dragonworx@aol.com REGION 5 Frank Gillette (R - 03) 903 East 500 South Declo ID 83323 (208) 654-2615 watercyn@pmt.org REGION 6 Len Smith (R - 03) 13141 Bluejacket St Overland Park KS 66213 (913) 897-7857 SmithLl@bv.com James Gaar (H-05) 4924 Canterbury Road Roeland Park KS 66205 (913) 236-4461 blindrodie@hotmail.com REGION 7 Bill Bryden (R - 04) 6608 North 100 East Rd Seymour IN 47274 (812) 497-2327 bbryden@hsonline.net Dan Johnson (H - 04) 8 Dorset St Paul MN 55118 (651) 450-0930 CumulusMan@aol.com REGION 8 Gary Trudeau (R - 04) 595 Outlook Avenue Cheshire MA 01225 (413) 743-0147 gtet595@aol.com REGION 9 D. “Randy” Leggett (R - 03) 7112 Little Creek Rd Bangor PA 18013 (610) 258-6066 ias@ot.com

Art Greenfield-NAA (X) 1815 N Ft Meyer Dr Ste 500 Arlington VA 22209 1-800-644-9777 awgreenfield@naa-usa.org REGION 10 Matt Taber (R - 03) 7201 Scenic Hwy 189 Rising Fawn GA 30738 (706) 398-3433 fly@hanglide.com Tiki Mashy (R - 04) 1805 Dean Still Road Davenport FL 33837 (863) 424-0070 tikimashy@earthlink.net John Harris (H - 04) PO Box 1839 Nags Head NC 27959 (252) 441-4124 ucanfly@kittyhawk.com Steve Kroop (L - 03) 6548 Groveland Airport Rd Groveland FL 34736 (352) 429-8600 steve@flytec.com Dick Heckman (H - 04) 3401 Lookout Dr Huntsville AL 35801 (205) 534-1461 hekdic@worldnet.att.net REGION 11 R.R.Rodriguez (R - 03) 1980 Hilltop Drive Wimberley TX 78676 (512) 245-2400 rr@swt.edu Dave Broyles (H-04) 203 Whisenant Dr Allen TX 75013 (972) 390-9090 broydg@attbi.com

REGION 12 Paul Voight (R - 04) 5163 Searsville Road Pine Bush NY 12566 (845) 744-3317 info@flyhighhg.com Jan Johnson (L - 03) 70 King Rd Middletown NY 19041 (845) 695-8747 jjohnsn2@hotmail.com REGION 13 Michael Robertson (H-04) 1150 Hwy 7, RR1, Locucst, Ont Canada L0H1E0 (905) 294-2536 Michael@flyhigh.com EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: Exec Director- Jayne DePanfilis jayne@ushga.org President- Bill Bolosky Vice Pres.- Jim Zeiset Secretary- Russ Locke Treasurer- Randy Leggett R=Regional H=Honorary L=At Large X=Ex Officio COMMITTEE CHAIRS: Competition-Ron Gleason xcflying@earthlink.net Mem.& Dev-Matt Taber Site Mgmt-Randy Leggett HG Accid.-Tom Johns PG Accident-Steve Roti Awards-Jan Johnson ByLaws-Liz Sharp Nat’l Coord.-D. Pagen Planning-Russ Locke Safety&Training-Dave Broyles Tandem-Paul Voight Towing-Steve Kroop Publications-Dan Johnson Insurance- R.R.Rodriguez Finance-Randy Leggett USHGA FOUNDATION: President-Jim Maze paramaze@aol.com Vice Pres-Randy Leggett Treas.-Stephen Onstad sonstad@worldnet.att.net Secretary-Doug Sharpe dbsharpe@earthlink.net Trustee-Jim Zeiset Trustee-Bill Bolosky Exec Director-Jayne DePanfilis Rev 6/09/03

59

K E L L S ’

K O R N E R

S A N T A ’ S

…continued from page 20 Windsports reopened Dockweiler beach for hang gliding after more than TEN YEARS of effort. They have also been working with the local club at Kagel for the last twenty years to improve that site for all of us to enjoy.

The local instructor makes it happen The situation seems to be the same everywhere I visit when doing demos around the country. Where there is activity and growth, you can point to the instructors who are helping the club, teaching new pilots, servicing gear, improving the flying site and making the whole scene happen. When this person burns out, quits, or moves away, the activity level slowly diminishes. It is hard work trying to make a living in the aviation business. As in most small businesses, the owner of a hang gliding school must wear many hats.

Most of the instructors are struggling financially, and all schools need the revenue from lesson AND equipment sales to even survive, much less prosper.

When was the last time you saw an instructor driving a Ferrari??

Today is a great day to support your local instructor.

For all the reasons cited above, it is in your best interest, as well as in ours and in the instructor’s best interest, to support them. Why not grab a friend and sign them up for a flying lesson?

While you’re there why not get that new equipment you deserve -- it’s a great day for a new toy!

Please fly safely.

Photo by Joe Greblo

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…continued from page 22 • a deflation that turns us at the hill

L I S T

P G D I S TA N C E R E C O R D

Spending the night in the wilderness, wrapped in his glider, is not new to Ed. He has done this several times in the past and always flies prepared with numerous energy bars, water, survival gear, cell phone, and two radios. Rising at 4:30 a.m. the next day, he continued hiking until early afternoon (almost reaching Route 5). He was fortunate to get a ride to Los Banos, and from there hitched a ride to his car (which he had left in the town of Clayton, at the foot of Mount Diablo).

competition gliders and had race type harnesses; they suffered riser twists and threw their reserves. They were fine.

• a near miss • any situation demanding a deliberate turn In these situations, average pilots on all levels are met with the challenge of resisting the temptation to over-brake.

Accident reports are full of conclusions such as: pilot stalled or spun while on approach, pilot got aimed at the hill and over-braked during the recovery, pilot entered a thermal and spun, pilot exited a thermal and spun and finally, pilot suffered a deflation and then suffered a spin subsequently.

Many accidents can be linked to an absence of weight shift. Do we know how that works? Let’s review; the right side deflates, the glider turns right toward the hill. Alarmed, the pilot pulls left brake. So much left brake that the left side of the glider is too deformed and it stops flying. The right side generally opens and the spin to the left ensues.

At the last world championships, two of our favorite pilots; one, a designer for the biggest brand of paragliders in the world, the other, a top-ranked U.S. pilot with world record flights to his credit. Both spun their gliders inadvertently in response to near mid-air collisions. This is important, because it points to the idea that when we need a deliberate turn, we need weight shift. When the weight shift is absent and the brake input is excessive, we spin. None of us are “good enough” at weight shifting. Even the best pilots in the world sometimes come up shy in this area. Meanwhile, there is really no such thing as too much weight shift. If we exercise maximum weight shift first and then pull brake, we will spiral and we may even do the SAT but we won’t spin. Both pilots were flying

Rob Whittall championed the idea that a reclined posture and loose hips can prevent deflations, yield better performance and add to your overall enjoyment of the sport. Rob recently said that his experience as a test pilot where he often flies “hands-off” to see how gliders behave led him to the conclusion that almost all pitch movement in turbulence could actually be countered by maintaining the proper posture and by allowing weight shift to happen at will.

Shortly after landing, Ed called me to report that he would probably not be home for dinner (not the first time). Such is life with Ed Stein. He is never satisfied with the norm—he always craves that extra bit of adventure. His enjoyment of a flight is not confined to airtime. Hiking out of unknown areas, even spending a night in the “wilds,” is all part of his gratification of a great flight.

Ed Stein began flying in 1987 and has been a paragliding instructor since 1990. He was a member of the paragliding World Team in 1991 for the World Meet held that year in St. Andre, France, and competed in several world-cup competitions in the early 1990s.

He has been flying for the manufacturer Advance exclusively since 1989.

Try it! Wherever you are sitting, try it right now. Cross your legs at the ankles, bend your knees such that your feet are under your knees, do a pelvic thrust, slouch. Now try rolling your hips from one side to the other. Notice how your whole upper body, starting with your hips, is moving freely and smoothly from side to side without delay. DHV test pilot Mike Kung suggests spreading your knees while your ankles are crossed with knees bent to achieve a more stable platform. Pretend that you are flying at your favorite, having the flight of your life. Hold the brakes, drop your elbows in next to your body and let them hang from the toggles.

AIR MAIL

… continued from page 11 If student pilots are required to join the USHGA as a part of their registration, the cost is $59.00. If student pilots wait until they have achieved the Beginner and Novice ratings to submit ratings paperwork, the cost will only be $15.00 because the charge to process a “Rating Application” is $15.00 per form -- not $15.00 per rating.

This strategy ensures that the student pilot becomes a USHGA member making them eligible for the insurance and magazine benefits, and it ends up saving them the $15.00 you reference in your letter.

Wait, that’s a different article, different subject, different issue.

Instructors sometimes argue that student pilots need the sense of achievement gained from the issuance of the Beginner rating, but it is my experience that if explained properly to the student, the student won’t mind waiting for a new membership card that displays their Beginner and Novice ratings.

Jayne DePanfilis, Executive Director Jayne@ushga.org

August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

61

M A R K E T P L A C E

M A R K E T P L A C E

HANG GLIDING ADVISORY

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

PA R A G L I D I N G A D V I S O R Y

Used paragliders should always be thoroughly inspected before flying for the first time.

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

Some gliders pass porosity yet have very weak sailcloth. If in doubt, many hang gliding and paragliding businesses will be happy to give an objective opinion on the condition of equipment you bring them to inspect.

62

August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

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

FALCONS — 140, 170, 195, 225 new and used. WALLABY RANCH (863) 424-0070.

FLEX WINGS

AIRBORNE CLIMAX 13 — One nearly new $4,995; One demo, looks new $4,595.

1-800-688-5637, fly@hanglide.com AV8 — ICARO The Laminar MRX 700+ is available. Fly the glider flown by the US National Champion and both the Men and Womens World Champions. (760) 721-0701,

indasky@yahoo.com

and

www.icaro2000.com EAGLES 145, 164, 180 — Rental gliders at flight park, low hours, clean, priced to sell.

(262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com

EVEN-UP TRADES — Looking to move up from your Beginner or Novice glider, but can’t put up cash? (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com

FALCONS CLEARANCE SALE — School use, one season. Falcon 1s and 2s. All sizes $1,250-$2,500. (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com FREE PVC GLIDER STORAGE/TRANSPORT TUBE — With the purchase of any new glider. (517) 223-8683, Cloud9SA@aol.com.

Largest selection of new and used gliders in Michigan.

FUSION 150 & 150SP — Low hours, meticulously maintained, excellent condition, two of the last ones built $1,700 or trade for?

(262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com

63

M A R K E T P L A C E

LAMINAR 14 MRX 700 — Excellent condition!

Extras include 2 spare downtubes & an extra set of wires. Only $3,900! (310) 779-5348, deniron62@hotmail.com MOYES LITESPEED 5 — Excellent condition.

(406) 253-7078 Montana.

MOYES SX4 — Great condition, very low hours, under $2,000. Moyes Xtralite 147 — All white $1,100 or trade for?

(262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com MOYES SX5 — Very good condition, minor scrapes on nose, complete w/batten patterns, extra downtube & PVC “hanger”, $700 or trade for WW Falcon. (509) 4643534, cranknbank@aol.com MOYES XTRALITE 137 — 120 hours, XC bag, spare downtube $700. (720) 733-0313, dgcrabb@hotmail.com MOYES XTRALITE 147 — Flies great, excellent condition, original owner $1,200.

(231) 352-4908.

M A R K E T P L A C E

PACIFIC AIRWAVE VISION MKIV 17 — Excellent condition, crinkly sail, upgraded sail cloth, kingpost hang. Blue/magenta/yellow/ white. A joy to fly, you won’t find a better one. One owner $900. (916) 939-0396.

PULSES AND VISION MARK 4S — Low cost novice gliders.(262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com SPECTRUM 165 — The Wills Wing novice model before the Eagle. One left, low hours, clean, priced to sell or trade for?

(262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com SPORTSTER 148 — Brand new, white and red, priced to sell or trade for? (262) 4738800, info@hanggliding.com TARGET 180 — Near new, rental glider at flight park, clean, priced to sell. (262) 4738800, info@hanggliding.com TRX 160 — $600. WW Sport $700. Magic 177, 25 hours $800. kob7150@hotmail.com, (570) 629-0522.

E M E R G E N C Y PA R A C H U T E S

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 RISING AIR PARAGLIDING SERVICE AND REPAIR — Since 1988, specializing in all types of paragliding & powerchute repairs, repacks, inspections. Pricing and service request form available at www.risingair.biz, badbones@risingair.biz. (208) 554-2243.

20 GORE PDA — w/swivel $375. 20 gore $199. Used Quantum 330s, 440S, 550s. some paraglider reserves, too. Inventory changes monthly, some trade-ins accepted.

Raven Sky Sports (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com HARNESSES

DOODLE BUG — Suprone power harness.

Stability, performance and comfort. Climb to altitude on your terms! Complete harness ready to fly. Electric start, silencer, bivvy bag for XC. Delivered $5,346. Ken Brown (530) 888-8622, sportwings@aol.com HIGH ENERGY TRACER POD HARNESSES — And other brands, too. 5’ to 6’6”. Sizes and styles change monthly, $300-500. Cocoons $125-$200 each. Many others available.

(262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com CARBON CG - w/Lara Gold chute $1,500.

Eric Raymond harness w/tandem chute & swivel $800. Reggie Jones (619) 445-3633 reggieandvicki@cox.net PARAGLIDERS

ADVANCE SIGMA 4 M, new A lines $900 970/544-5161 AIR SPORTS USA – WWW.FLYFORFUN.NET APCO KEARA All-up wt. 170-220 lbs, $2300. 970/544-5161

Summit Paragliding & Mountaineering, LLC 0189 Ten Mile Circle Village Square #110 Copper Mountain, Colorado 80443 970-968-0100 www.summitpargliding.net

EDEL ATLAS — Medium, cobalt blue, flown 3 times, Balance harness, Pocket Rocket reserve, Brauniger alti/vario, Yaesu FT-11R radio, all excellent condition. Ed (208) 7266218, fax (208) 726-8474, mcg5B@aol.com PERCHE ECCO — Medium, 85105Kg, new $2,000. (970) 728-1754, cristol8750@hotmail.com PRO DESIGN PROFIL 33 — Excellent condition, 140-175lbs. Compact 29-good condition 135-160. Both crispy, <20 hours.

Either wing includes: back pack, Pro Design Jam harness w/back protector, never used Pro Design XS360 steerable reserve, black graphite Icaro 2000 helmet. $1,500 set OBO. Also: training harness, Sympatex Cripsi boots (size 37), Kestral 1000 windmeter. (808) 6618085, tanna@mauiguesthouse.com WINDTECH QUARX — Large, red/white/ blue, low hours $1,800. (509) 243-4988.

P O W E R E D PA R A G L I D E R S

DK WHISPER GT — Great shape, low hours, electric start, w/two 38” 3-bladed prop & guard, one 47” prop & guard, large Pro Design wing $3,700. (715) 582-2915, michaelbberger@cs.com

THE MINIPLANE — Is the paraglider pilot’s paramotor, very comfortable harness, weight shift option, low weight, very quiet, clutch w/ quick brake down frame and custom travel box. www.usairborne.com, (509) 243-4988.

RIGID WINGS

ATOS B — 2001, good condition, 5 flights since thorough April 03 annual, 135 total hours, mostly flown in comps, latest V-tail and other upgrades, many extra parts $5,000 OBO. Tom Vayda (530) 521-6500.

AV8 — STRATOS RIGID. World championship rigid wing. We stock Stratos and Atos parts. Call (760) 721-0701 or email indasky@yahoo.com EXXTACY 160 — Larger control frame, tandem or solo, 150 hours, flies great $4,000.

EK (970) 209-8376, erik_kaye@msn.com EXXTACY 160 — 1997, good condition, new/reinforced keel $5,500 OBO. (315) 9862931, (585) 202-8090.

M A R K E T P L A C E

M A R K E T P L A C E

EXXTACY 160 — 1997, excellent condition $4,000 OBO. (714) 898-4121, grimjay@oco.net EXXTACY 160 — New in 2001, less than 10 hours!! Clean, almost new, priced to sell.

(262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com GHOSTBUSTER — 2000, excellent condition, plus spare downtubes & custom xc bag $7,000. Steve Wertheimer (415) 385-0423, swerthei@earthlink.net.

GHOSTBUSTER - 2000, very clean, looks new, complete with recreational control frame w/wheels and full race Wills Wing control frame w/carbon fiber base tube. Extra flared down tubes, keel, split bags, padded glider bag, no dints or dings $6,000. Reggie Jones (619) 445-3633 e-mail rigidreggie@cox.net ULTRALIGHTS

AIR SPORTS USA — WWW.FLYFORFUN.NET

Whassuupp?

“What’s taking so long with your Website?” — “Are you ever going live?”

I’m aware some of you have been waiting anxiously so you can read almost 25 years of “Product Lines” columns, Dennis Pagen flight reviews of several modern gliders, or hundreds of other pilot reports with thousands of photos.

OK, maybe “anxiously” is a little strong. But after all these ads, you’re curious, aren’t you?

To speed up the effort of posting all the articles, I’ve hired Whole Air magazine editor Starr Tays Weiss to help, and our former teamwork will pay off once again.

So, really — I mean it — ByDanJohnson.com IS coming. Please sign up now to be notified when the site 66 goes live.

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK — See ad under Georgia.

Comprehensive ground schooling with an emphasis on micrometeorology.

Great new and used gear, specializing in Windtech, Gradient, Swing and Airwave. In Arizona or Washington RESERVATIONS are required. POB 2626 Flagstaff, AZ 86003 call (928) 526-4579. www.paraglide.com or dixon@paraglide.com

ARIZONA

CALIFORNIA

DIXON’S AIRPLAY PARAGLIDING - Dixon White: USHGA’S Instructor of the Year! Airplay: Top ranked school for years and featured in the best selling paragliding training videos “ Starting Paragliding”, “Weather to Fly”, “The Art of Kiting”, “Paraglider Towing” and “Lifting Air”. Airplay and it’s sister schools are dedicated to thorough and competent instruction at perfect beginner training areas.

Drive up to 360 degree treeless, rockless and uncrowded launches. Land in wide-open fields, beginners enjoy many flights each day. Excellent individualized instruction with state-of-the-art lesson plans and equipment.

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

Call (760) 753-2664 for information, airjunkies@worldnet.att.net

PARAPLANES — Two, good condition, asking $5,000 for both. Jennifer (775) 463-7106, stevetrenten@aol.com SCHOOLS & DEALERS

ALABAMA

Brand New 2003 Buyer’s Guide Last year’s edition sold out.

And the new 2003 model is bigger and better than ever.

WDLA has got: 36 pages of paragliders, 16 pages of hang gliders, 10 pages of ultralight sailplanes, 19 pages of powered hang gliders or paragliders… plus… over 1,000 aircraft including powered parachutes, trikes, ultralights, kit-built aircraft, rotorcraft… and… contact info for many suppliers, schools, dealers, and clubs.

Thought you’d seen it all? Hardly!

Get your own copy of the 2003 World Directory of Leisure Aviation. Only $9.95 + $4.95 Priority Mail. Limited stock—send a check for $14.90 to: Dan Johnson • 265 Echo Lane • South St. Paul 55118 • August, 2003: Hang GlidingMN & Paragliding USA • (no credit cards or phone orders)

DREAM WEAVER HANG GLIDING — Train on state-of-the-art WILLS WING FALCONS. LESSON PACKAGES: One four hour lesson $125. Three four hour lessons, plus tandem off 2,000ft. $400. Five lessons for $550.

Ten lessons plus tandem $1,000. Complete lesson programs. Year-round instruction.

Launching and landing and thermal clinics.

DON’T HIKE YOUR GLIDER YOURSELF, I’LL HELP YOU! Dealer for Wills Wing, Moyes, Aeros, High Energy Sports, Rotor harnesses, Ball varios, Flytec, Brauniger, Garmin GPS, Camelbaks and more. 80 MILES EAST OF BAY AREA. I’m your northern California MOSQUITO HARNESS DEALER. Call or email to schedule your Mosquito demonstration or clinic. Giving lessons five days a week, Fridays through Tuesdays. Ideal training hill, up to 150ft., 600ft mountain, 1,200ft mountain. Tandem instruction. USHGA Advanced Instructor DOUG PRATHER (209) 556-0469 Modesto, CA drmwvrhg@softcom.net THE HANG GLIDING CENTER — PO Box 151542, San Diego CA 92175, (619) 265-5320.

EAGLE PARAGLIDING — ROB SPORRER: USHGA’S 2002 INSTRUCTOR OF THE YEAR! 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. We offer year round instruction, equipment sales, SERVICE, and support. By appointment only. www.FlySantaBarbara.com (805) 968-0980.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

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.

SAN FRANCISCO HANG GLIDING CENTER — Tandem instruction, solo lessons, gliders new and used. Ultralight seacraft instruction over San Francisco Bay. Apprenticeship program.

(510) 528-2300, www.sfhanggliding.com

LARGEST HANG GLIDING SHOP — In the West! Our deluxe retail shop showcases the latest equipment and has two virtual reality hang gliding flight simulators. We stock new and used…Wills Wing, Altair and Moyes gliders, and all the hottest new harnesses.

Trade-ins are welcome. Our comprehensive training program, located at the San Francisco Bay Area’s finest beginner site features: gently sloped “bunny hills,” Wills Wing Falcons of all sizes and comfortable training harnesses!

“FIRST FLIGHT”15 minute video tour of our beginner lesson program shows a student’s skill progression $20 (shipping included).

1116 Wrigley Way, Milpitas CA 95035 (near San Jose). (408) 262-1055, fax (408) 262-1388. mission@hang-gliding.com www.hang-gliding.com

TORREY PINES GLIDERPORT — Come soar in San Diego! This family owned and operated flying site offers USHGA certified instruction, advanced training, equipment sales, tandem flight instruction, motorized pg/hg instruction and site tours. We also have an extensive pg/hg outfitting shop offering parachute repacks and full-service repairs.

Bring your family for our amazing sunsets and dining at the Cliffhanger Cafe. Importers for PARATECH and INDEPENDENCE gliders. We also carry AustriAlpin, Center of Gravity, Crispi and SupAir. Check us out online for sales and questions at: www.flytorrey.com, or call toll-free at 1-877-FLY-TEAM (359-8326).

Also, tune in to the Internet Paragliding Talk Show at www.worldtalkradio.com every Tuesday 9-11:00am (PST).

DON’T RISK BAD WEATHER — Bad instruction or dangerous training hills.

350 flyable days each year. Learn foot launch flying skills safely and quickly. Train with professional CFI’s at world famous Dockweiler Beach training slopes (5 minutes from LA airport.) Fly winter or summer in gentle coastal winds, soft sand and in a thorough program with one of America’s most prestigious schools for over 25 years.

COLORADO

AIRTIME ABOVE HANG GLIDING — Full-time lessons, sales, service. Colorado’s most experienced! Wills Wing, Moyes, Altair, Aeros, Airwave, High Energy, Ball, Flytec, MotoComm and much more. Call (303) 674-2451, Evergreen, Colorado AirtimeHG@aol.com 67

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M A R K E T P L A C E

CONNECTICUT

GEORGIA

MOUNTAIN WINGS — Look under New York.

FLORIDA

WE HAVE — The most advanced training program known to hang gliding, teaching you in half the time it takes on the trainingBUNNY HILL, and with more in-flight air time. YES, WE CAN TEACH YOU FASTER AND SAFER. For year-round training fun in the sun, call or write Miami Hang Gliding (305) 285-8978. 2550 S Bayshore Drive, Coconut Grove, Florida 33133.

18265 E. State Road 80, Clewiston FL. (863) 805-0440, www.thefloridaridge.com GRAYBIRD AIRSPORTS — PARAGLIDER TOWING, XC, thermalling, instruction, equipment. Dunnellon Airport (352) 2458263 www.graybirdairsports.com LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK — See ad under Georgia. Nearest mountain training center to Orlando (only 8 hours).

THE BEST AEROTOW — Instruction available. The only U.S. hang gliding school with TWO NATIONAL CHAMPION INSTRUCTORS and U.S. WORLD TEAM MEMBERS Bo Hagewood 2000 National Champion and Paris Williams 2001 & 2002 National Champion. From your first tandem to advanced X-C racing instruction. Open every day with beautiful remodeled 90+ acre facilities. Plenty of other activities like our screened in pool, hot tub, private lake, canoes, fishing, volleyball and just minutes from Orlando attractions. Learn from the best.... at Quest! www.questairforce.com Email: questair@sundial.net (352) 429-0213 Groveland, FL 68

The Aerotow Flight Park Satisfaction Guaranteed JUST 8 MILES FROM DISNEY WORLD *YEAR ROUND SOARING *OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK *SIX TUGS, NO WAITING *EVERY DIRECTION 50+ NICE demos to fly: Topless to Trainer Gliders: Laminar, Moyes, Wills, Airborne, Airwave, Exxtacy, La Mouette, Sensor; also harnesses, varios, etc.

Ages 13 To 73 have learned to fly here.

No one comes close to our level of experience and success with tandem aerotow instruction.

A GREAT SCENE FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS...

10 motels & restaurants within 5 mins., camping, hot showers, shade trees, sales, storage, ratings, XC retrievals, great weather, climbing wall, trampoline, DSS TV, ping pong, picnic tables, swimming pool, etc.

Flights of over 200 miles and more than 7 hours.

Articles in Hang Gliding, Kitplanes, Skywings, Cross Country and others.

Featured on numerous TV shows, including Dateline NBC, The Discovery Channel & ESPN. Visit us on the Web: http://www.wallaby.com Please call us for references and video.

1805 Dean Still Road, Disney Area, FL 33837 (863) 424-0070 - phone & fax fly@wallaby.com 1-800-WALLABY Conservative . Reliable . State of the Art F.H.G. INC./FLYING FLORIDA SINCE 1974 Malcolm Jones, Laurie Croft, Carlos Bessa, Rhett Radford, Tiki Mashy, Jeremie Hill, Tom Ramseur, Roger Sherrod, Mike Barber, Neal Harris, Bart Weghorst, Carolina de Castro, Paul Moncure, Bob McFee, Emily Boespflug

FULL HOOK-UPS — Laundry, propane, recreation room. 1-800-803-7788.

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK — See our display ad. Discover why FOUR TIMES as many pilots earn their wings at Lookout than at any other school! We wrote USHGA’s Official Training Manual. Our specialtycustomer satisfaction and fun with the BEST FACILITIES, largest inventory, camping, swimming, volleyball, more! For a flying trip, intro flight or lesson packages, Lookout Mountain, just outside Chattanooga, your COMPLETE training/service center. Info?

(800) 688-LMFP. HAWAII

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 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) 874-5433 for more information or check us out at WWW.PARAGLIDEHAWAII.COM

MICHIGAN

DOWNEAST AIRSPORTS — Paragliding and hang gliding instruction; quality equipment sales.

Specialize in “biwingual” cross-over training.

Extended training/tour packages with lodging in magnificent Acadia NP available by reservation. in_a_cloud@hotmail.com, Marc (207) 244-9107 www.downeastairsports.com,

CLOUD 9 SPORT AVIATION — Aerotow specialists. We carry all major brand hang gliders. Free PVC glider storage/transport tube with new glider purchase. Now in stock: 2003 Upgrade Wills Talon Comp, U2 145, U2 160, Falcons; Moyes Litespeed 4, Sonic 165; Airwave Magic Kiss 154. Outrigger wheels and other accessories in stock. Cloud 9 Field, 11088 Coon Lake Road West, Webberville, MI 48892. Cloud9sa@aol.com http:// members.aol.com/cloud9sa Call for summer tandem lessons and flying appointments with the DraachenFliegen Soaring Club at Cloud 9 Field (517) 223-8683, DFSCinc@aol.com http://members.aol.com/dfscinc

MEXICO

IDAHO

KING MOUNTAIN GLIDERS — Alluring site plus shop supplying all your HG/PG needs. Instruction, equipment sales, complete accessories. Visit our website www.kingmountaingliders.com or (208) 390-0205.

ILLINOIS

HANG GLIDE CHICAGO — Full service aeropark, 2 tow planes. Full time certified instructors, ultralight instructors, East Coast record 217 miles. (815) 325-1685, www.ha ngglidechicago.com RAVEN SKY SPORTS — (312) 360-0700, (815) 489-9700 or (262) 473-8800. 2 hours from Chicago, 90 minutes from Elgin, Palatine or Libertyville. The best instructors, the best equipment, the best results in the Midwest. 7 days/week, March thru November. Training program for combined/integrated FOOT LAUNCH AND AEROTOW certification. Apply 100% of your intro lesson costs to certification program upgrade! Please see our ad under WISCONSIN. info@hanggliding.com

BIRDS IN PARADISE — Hang gliding & ultralight flying on Kauai. Certified tandem instruction. (808) 822-5309 or (808) 639-1067, birds@birdsinparadise.com www.birdsinparadise.com August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

MAINE

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

MEXICO — Summer in Monterrey, winter in Valle de Bravo. 1-800-861-7198, www.flymexico.com MARYLAND

TRAVERSE CITY HANG GLIDERS/ PARAGLIDERS — Put your knees in our breeze and soar our 450’ sand dunes. FULLTIME SHOP. Certified instruction, beginner to advanced. Sales, service, accessories for ALL major brands. VISA/MASTERCARD. 1509 E 8th, Traverse City MI 49684. Offering POWERED PARAGLIDING. Call Bill at (231) 922-2844, tchangglider@chartermi.net. Your USA & Canada Mosquito distributor.

NEVADA

Baltimore and DC’s full time flight park Tandem instruction, solo aerotows and equipment sales and service. We carry Aeros, Airwave, Flight Design, Moyes, Wills Wing, High Energy Sports, Flytec and more.

Two 115 HP Dragonfly tugs Open fields as far as you can see Only 1 to 1.5 hours from: • Rehoboth Beach • Baltimore • Washington DC • Philadelphia Come Fly with US! Ph 410.634.2700 Fax 410.634.2775 24038 Race Track Rd Ridgely, MD 21660 www.aerosports.net hangglide@aerosports.net

ADVENTURE SPORTS — Carson City, Sierra tours, tandems, sales. (775) 883-7070 http://home.pyramid.net/advspts NEW JERSEY

MOUNTAIN WINGS — Look under New York.

NEW YORK

AAA FLIGHT SCHOOL — In Ellenville.

Mountain Wings Hang Gliding and Eastcoast Paragliding Center.

The Northeast’s oldest, largest and most professional training center. Sales, service, demos, towing , ultralight training, pro shop and the “best damn training hill” anywhere. mtnwings@hvc.rr.com www.mtnwings.com (845) 647-3377.

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AIR SPORTS USA — NYC’s first and only certified hang gliding, paragliding, microlights (trikes), powered paragliding.

Distributors for Avian. Dealers for most major brands. Full service and equipment at best prices. The most friendly service in the area. Store address: 29 31 Newtown Ave., Astoria NY. Phone (718) 777-7000, WWW.FLYFORFUN.NET

M A R K E T P L A C E

NORTH CAROLINA

GO...HANG GLIDING!!! — Jeff Hunt. Austin ph/fax (512) 467-2529 jeff@flytexas.com www.flytexas.com 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.

FLY HIGH HANG GLIDING, INC. — Serving S. New York, Connecticut, Jersey areas. Area’s EXCLUSIVE Wills Wing dealer/specialist. Also all other major brands, accessories. Certified school/instruction. Teaching since 1979.

Area’s most INEXPENSIVE prices. Excellent secondary instruction...if you’ve started a program and wish to continue. Fly the mountain! Towing! Tandem flights! Contact Paul Voight, 5163 Searsville Rd, Pine Bush, NY 12566, (845) 744-3317.

TX FLYSPORTS — SPECIALIZING IN POWERED PARAGLIDING, certified instruction. Sky Crusier and Airfer power units, US importer of MUSE and EDEN II paragliders. (713) 494-1970 Houston, www.txflysports.com UTAH

HIGHLAND AEROSPORTS — See Maryland.

Internet Address: http://www.kittyhawk.com E-Mail Address: info@kittyhawk.com

SUPER FLY PARAGLIDING ACADEMY — The nations foremost training 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.paraglidingacademy.com

MOUNTAIN WINGS — Look under New York.

TEXAS

VIRGINIA

PUERTO RICO

AUSTIN AIR SPORTS * CHECK WEBSITE FOR SCHEDULE OF EVENTS * ALL FLYING BY RESERVATION ONLY * DRAGONFLY/TRIKE INSTRUCTION * INTRO FOOT LAUNCH CLASSES * AEROTOWING/WINCH TOWING * EXCELLENT XC FLYING * TANDEM INSTRUCTION * SALES AND SERVICE Steve Burns - 979.279.9382 email: sburns@austinairsports.com Fred Burns - 281.471.1488 email: austinair@aol.com 3810 Bonita Lane, La Porte TX 7771 WWW.AUSTINAIRSPORTS.COM

HIGHLAND AEROSPORTS — See Maryland.

SUSQUEHANNA FLIGHT PARK — Cooperstown, NY. Certified Instruction, Sales and Service for all major manufacturers. 40 acre park, 5 training hills, jeep rides, bunk house, camping, hot showers, 600’ NW ridge. We have the best facilities in N. New York state to teach you how to fly. c/o Dan Guido, Box 293 Shoemaker Rd, Mohawk NY 13407, (315) 866-6153.

• TANDEM INSTRUCTION • AEROTOWING • BOAT TOWING • BEACH RESORT • TRAINING CAMPS • FOOT LAUNCH • OPEN YEAR ROUND • PARAGLIDING • EQUIPMENT SALES AND SERVICE

PENNSYLVANIA

FLY PUERTO RICO — Team Spirit Hang Gliding, HG classes daily, tandem instruction available. Wills Wing dealer. Glider rentals for qualified pilots. PO Box 978, Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico 00741. (787) 850-0508, tshg@coqui.net TENNESSEE

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK — See ad under Georgia.

LIFE ON EARTH IS EXPENSIVE, BUT IT DOES INCLUDE A FREE TRIP AROUND THE SUN EVERY YEAR.

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HANG GLIDER AND PARAGLIDER TOWING — Aerotowing for hang gliders with tandem lessons and training. State of the art platform truck and scooter towing for hang gliders and paragliding. See Blue Sky ad above. 2 hours south of Washington DC, minutes NE of Richmond. (540) 432-6557 SILVER WINGS, INC. — Certified instruction and equipment sales. (703) 533-1965 Arlington VA, silverwingshanggliding.com WASHINGTON

DIXON’S AIRPLAY PARAGLIDING — Please see our classified ad under Arizona. www.paraglide.com

U.S. AIRBORNE SPORT AVIATION CENTER — Full service flight school & sales.

Paragliders, hang gliders, paramotors, light trikes, Explorer harnesses, AirBorne trikes, aero towing, flight suits, Lynx helmets and headsets, BRS, tours and a full line of accessories. USHGA advanced paraglider instructor, ASC advanced flight instructor: trikes & paramotors. Nice bluegrass strip near the Blue Mountains of SE Washington and Hells Canyon. Scott & Terri Johnson, www.usairborne.com, (509) 243-4988.

WISCONSIN

RAVEN SKY SPORTS HANG GLIDING AND PARAGLIDING — The first and oldest aerotow flight park in the USA, open 7 days a week since 1992. Featuring INTEGRATED INSTRUCTION of foot-launch and aerotow tandem skills, at package prices to beat any in the USA. Seven beautiful, grassy training hills facing all wind directions and a new 360 degree manmade hill under development. Four Dragonfly tow planes, no waiting! Four tandem gliders on wheeled undercarriages. WW Falcons and Falcon2s for training from the very first lessons. USUA ultralight and tug instruction. Free camping.

Sales/service/accessories for all brands. Open March 1st thru December 1st. Contact Brad Kushner, PO Box 101, Whitewater WI 53190 (262) 473-8800 phone, (262) 473-8801 fax, www.hanggliding.com, info@hanggliding.com

KITTY HAWK KITES — See North Carolina.

BLUE SKY — Fulltime instruction and service at Manquin Flight Park near Richmond. Wills Wing, Moyes, Flight Design, Aeros, Doodlebug and Mosquito dealer. Steve Wendt (540) 432-6557 or (804) 241-4324, www.blueskyhg.com, blueskyhg@yahoo.com

August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

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WYOMING

JACKSON HOLE PARAGLIDING — Come to Paragliding Paradise and enjoy Alpine flying at its absolute best! Jackson Hole Paragliding can help turn flying dreams into reality with our quality instruction and guide service.

Long known as an outdoorsman’s paradise, Jackson Hole has evolved into a Mecca for paragliding activities. JHPG offers tandem flights, beginner through advanced instruction, mountain thermal clinics, XC clinics, towing, maneuvers training, aerobatic demonstrations and paramotoring. A perfect flying day-Launch the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Aerial Tram in the morning, Tow at the Palisades Reservoir in the afternoon. Contact: scharris@wyoming.com www.jhparagliding. com (307) 690-TRAM (8726)

• ORDER ONLINE AND SAVE • Water/Dust Resistant Push Button • Field Replaceable Finger Switch • Heavier Gauge Wire/Improved Plugs • Increased Strain Relief at ALL Joints SUMMER SPECIAL $99.95 Extra finger switch $19.95 w/purchase. Dealer inquiries welcome. Call (636) 390-8919. MC/Visa.

Visit our website at www.flightconn.com, mikedillon@flightconn.com

PARTS & ACCESSORIES

The world-class XCR-180 operates up to 3 hours @18,000 ft. and weighs only 4lb. Complete kit with cylinder, harness, regulator, cannula and remote on/off flowmeter, only $400.00.

ABSOLUTE LOW — Ball/Blue Sky VARIO prices! www.websitetrafficbuild ers.com/vario.htm, email bob@websitetraffi cbuilderscom QUICK RELEASE CARABINERS — By Finsterwalder, $50 each. www.smartgroups.com/groups/ parapentismo Don’t Pay Retail for your Flying Gear

Certified Full Face Helmets $149 www.OnlineFlyingGear.com onlineflyinggear@mindspring.com MC/Visa/Paypal KLASSIC OR CONCEPT WINGLETS — One pair left, brand new in box $350 OBO or trade for? (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com 72

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. w w w. h i l l c o u n t r y p a r a g l i d i n g . c o m 1-800-664-1160 for orders only. Office (915) 379-1567.

XC $60., heavy waterproof $100. Accessories, used stuff. Low prices, fast delivery! Bar mitts, harness packs & zippers. Gunnison Gliders, 1549 County Road 17, Gunnison CO 81230.

(970) 641-9315, orders 1-866-238-2305.

MINI VARIO — World’s smallest, simplest vario! Clips to helmet or chinstrap. 200 hours on batteries, 0-18,000 ft., fast response and 2 year warranty. Great for paragliding too.

ONLY $169. Mallettec, PO Box 15756, Santa Ana CA, 92735. (714) 966-1240, MC/ Visa accepted, www.mallettec.com

HAWK AIRSPORTS INC — P.O. Box 9056, Knoxville, TN 37940-0056, (865) 9452625. World famous Windsoks, as seen at the Oshkosh & Sun-N-Fun EAA Fly-Ins. Hawk@windsok.com, www.windsok.com TEK FLIGHT PRODUCTS

Camera mount (A or B) $48.50 ($6 S&H).

Vario mount $23 (S&H included). 6” wheels $29.75, 8” wheels $34.75, $10 S&H pr.

Web page www.tekflight.com for more. TEK FLIGHT Products, Colebrook Stage, Winsted CT 06098. Or call (860) 379-1668.

Email: tek@snet.net

HARRY AND THE HANG GLIDER is a beautifully illustrated, hardcover children’s book with 40 color pages written for pilots to share the dream of flight! To order: send $24.95 plus $3 shipping to SkyHigh Publishing, 201 N. Tyndall, Tucson, AZ 85719 or call (520) 6288165 or visit http://www.flash.net/~skyhipub Visa/MC accepted.

SOARING — Monthly magazine of The Soaring Society of America, Inc. Covers all aspects of soaring flight. Full membership $55. Info. kit with sample copy $3. SSA, P.O. Box 2100, Hobbs, NM 88241.

(505) 392-1177.

PUBLICATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS

SOARING DREAMS

SPECTACULAR TROPHIES, AWARDS! — Hang gliding & paragliding gifts and accessories.

Contact Lisa Tate, 11716 Fairview Ave., Boise ID 83713, (208) 376-7914 or (208) 484-6667, www.soaringdreamsart.com

Otto Lilienthal’s genius in scientific observations and analysis, documented in this work, became the basis for the experimentation of the early pioneers in aviational flight. The “hero” of the Wright brothers, Otto is considered to be “The Father of Gliding Flight.” Lilienthal’s definitive book has been out of print for almost a century, but is now available to everyone for a wonderful and absorbing journey into aviational history. 176 pages, 16 photographs, 89 drawings and 14 graphs. $19.95 (+$5 s/h) Call USHGA 1-800-616-6888, or order off our website www.ushga.org

August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

FLY THE WING! Hooking Into Hang Gliding,

by Len Holms. This is the perfect book for those curious about the sport of hang gliding. Written at a level which will not swamp the reader with daunting amount of technical details, you will learn about hang glider wings and the skills needed to fly them. 84 pages with photos and illustrations. $12.95(+$5 s&h). USHGA, PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901. 1-800-6166888 www.ushga.org 73

M A R K E T P L A C E

M A R K E T P L A C E

REAL ESTATE

BAG IT! — If you don’t have your copy of Dennis Pagen’s PERFORMANCE FLYING yet, available through USHGA Headquarters $29.95 (+$6 s&h for UPS/Priority Mail delivery). USHGA, PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901. 1-800-616-6888 www.ushga.org

ATTENTION PILOTS — Fly home to 40 acres as your personal LZ! only minute away from a 360 degree launch site. Unique “off the grid” timber frame house w/large deck and spectacular views of the painted desert and craters. 40’x60’ barn, fenced pasture and out buildings. Enjoy “glass off” from the comfort of your deluxe hot tub. A must see @ $325,000. For additional information call Charlie at Village Land Shoppe @(928) 526-8747 or email lashercat@hotmail.com.

More info and photos @ www.northernariz onamls.com listing #104814.

TOWING

AEROTOWING ACCESSORIES — Headquarters for: The finest releases, secondary releases, Spectra “V” bridles, weak links, tandem wheels, launch cart kits, etc.

THE WALLABY RANCH (863) 424-0070.

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

with simulator training and paraglider wing ground handling, equipment fundamentals of the wing and power pack, importance of weather to fly, and expert pilots showing advanced techniques. Features animated modeling to illustrate climb/descent attitudes and flight patterns plus spectacular in-air footage and great soundtrack. 44 minutes $36.95 ALSO AVAILABLE IN DVD, same great price. *NEW* LIFTING AIR For Paragliding-How to Thermal and Soar. Master the principles of lifting air with Dixon White, Master Pilot, USHGA Examiner, and USHGA 2002 Instructor of the Year. Learn where to look for thermals and ridge lift, how to stay in the lifting air to climb efficiently, and deal appropriately with the dynamics of the soaring conditions. This is for beginner, intermediate and the advanced pilot wanting to brush up. A must for all paraglider and powered paraglider pilots. Divided into 5 sections: Prerequisites for Lifting air, Active Piloting, Ridge Lift, Thermal Lift, and Cross Country. 40 minutes $39.95 ALSO AVAILABLE IN DVD, same great price.

VIDEOS & DVDS

*NEW* PARAGLIDER TOWING Instructional. Learn the fundamentals of paraglider towing with Dixon White, Master Pilot, USHGA Examiner, and USHGA 2002 Instructor of the Year. Basic how-to and safety tips are covered along with a discussion on towing rigs. Gives you a better understanding of paraglider towing. 24 minutes $24.95 ALSO AVAILABLE IN DVD, same great price.

*NEW* STARTING POWERED PARAGLIDING is a great introduction to the sport of powered paragliding. It shows what to expect from first lessons, first solo flight, to advanced techniques. Covers ground school

SUPER FLY 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,

STATIONARY TOW WINCH — Super safe unique system, professionally built, adjustable tow pressure, level wind, can train to operate $2,000. (330) 425-9460 Ohio.

Switzerland, Turkey & Utah. This films shows the beauty of flying, the latest aerobatic maneuvers and an introspective look into why we fly. 40 minutes $35.95 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 the world, providing flying tips and interviewing the top pilots. Covers thermaling, decision making, competition flying and speed to fly. 70 minutes $39.95 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 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 PARAGLIDER GROUND HANDLING & THE ART OF KITING, by Adventure Productions.

Learn techniques and tips for easy ground handling with this instructional program.

Get in tune with your glider and improve your flying skills while on the ground.

Various wind conditions are covered with the successful and proven industry-standard techniques of Dixon White-Master rated pilot, USHGA Examiner and USHGA’s PG Instructor of the Year. This is for 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 ALSO 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 experience 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 price.

WEATHER TO FLY, by Adventure Productions. A much needed instructional video on meteorology. Dixon White, Master pilot and USHGA Examiner, takes you through a simple step-by-step process showing where to acquire weather data and how to interpret it. This video will help pilots of any aircraft understand more about modeling and forecasting. You’ll learn about regional and 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. It is a straight-forward presentation that is easy to follow. 50 min. $39.95 ALSO AVAILABLE IN DVD, same great price.

STARTING HANG GLIDING, by Adventure Productions. Produced especially to promote the sport. Covers basic preparation, weather, proper attitude, ground handling, launching and those first flights. 30 min $29.95

August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

TO FLY: DISCOVER HANG GLIDING TODAY — USHGA’s 7 minute promotional video, now only $9.95 PLUS FREE SHIPPING (in the USA). 1-800-616-6888, www.ushga.org MISCELLANEOUS

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

HANG GLIDING EXTREME & BORN TO FLY by Adventure Productions, great hg action $34.95 each. ALSO AVAILABLE IN DVD, same great price.

Call USHGA (719) 632-8300, fax (719) 632-6417, email: ushga@ushga.org, or order off our web page www.ushga.org.

Please add +$4 domestic s/h (+$5 for two or more videos). Great to impress your friends or for those socked-in days. Perfect gift for the launch potato turned couch potato.

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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

“AEROBATICS” — Full color 23”x 31” poster featuring John Heiney doing what he does best-LOOPING! Available through USHGA HQ for just $6.95 (+$5.00 s/h).

Fill that void on your wall! Send to USHGA Aerobatics Poster, PO Box 1300, Colorado Springs CO 80933. (USA & Canada only.

Sorry, posters are NOT AVAILABLE on international orders.) SPECIAL-Aerobatics poster & Eric Raymond poster-BOTH FOR $10 (+$5 s/h). Check the merchandise section of our web site www.ushga.org for a color picture of these beautiful posters.

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M A R K E T P L A C E

NEW APPAREL, VIDEOS, BOOKS & POSTERS — Check out our web page www.ushga.org DON’T LEAVE YOUR GROUND-BOUND EQUIPMENT SITTING IN THE GARAGE. SELL IT IN THE HANG GLIDING CLASSIFIEDS. WORLDWIDE INTERNET PARAGLIDING TALK SHOW — WWW.WORLDTALKRADIO.COM Listen live or to the archives! Live Tuesday 9-11:00 am (PST). Call toll-free, 1-888-5142100 or internationally at (001) 858-2683068. Paraglider pilots and radio hosts David and Gabriel Jebb, want to hear about your stories, promotions/events or insight: they also take questions!

PINBALL MACHINE — 1976 Bally ‘Hang Glider’ theme machine, lovingly restored.

Several to choose from. (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com STOLEN WINGS & THINGS

APCO XTRA COMP PARAGLIDER & SUPAIR HARNESS — Paraglider, stolen June 4th, 2003 from SEATTLE, WASHINGTON. Purple w/white underside, minor repair work. Purple SupAir backpack comp harness w/whire rear mount reserve, log book, green Protech helmet. Terry Stuart, (425) 3699920, upland_contracting@yahoo.

TRACER HARNESS — By High Energy Sports, stolen Feb. 9, 2003 from car at VALLE DE BRAVO, MEXICO. Magenta with blue stripe and new parachute. Also taken: panoramic helmet size small, wills wing back pack. Please contact Somer Hughes, somer@austin.rr.com GIN BANDIT — Stolen May 4th, 2003 from pick up truck in GREELEY, COLORADO. Size x-small, purple w/ Jackson Hole Paragliding logo, w/blue Critter stuff bag.

Contact Matt Combs (307) 690-7555, mcparagliding@hotmail.com 76

M A R K E T P L A C E

ADVANCE SIGMA 5’S — Two, stolen April 10th, 2003 from LAHOLLA VILLAGE (close to TORREY PINES GLIDERPORT, LA JOLLA, CA).

One Advance Sigma 5, 28 meter, aqua, serial # 26702, w/black & dark blue bag. One Advance Sigma 5, 31 meter serial # 26813, w/yellow & black bag. Reward$$$ Bob Ryan (714) 350-7860, turbobobryan@cox.net VISION CLASSIC — Stolen October 25th, 2002 from a van in SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS. Size small, orange/white. Small women’s harness, black w/orange trim, w/front mount reserve chute. Flight bag w/helmet, boots, pants, etc. Trisha Ross (360) 402-5767, diligentanesthesia@yahoo.com SMALL GIN BOLERO #31247 & Genie II Harness by fraud ring in Singapore at Jl.Gandaria IX No:4, Gandaria kebayoran baru, City: JAKSEL, JKT-IND. Also fraudulently ordered by delta_trikes@astaga.com: Alinco DJ-195 radio, Gin Flight Suit, Gin Reserve and Lazer helmet. Contact granger@parasof tparagliding.com or (303) 494-2820.

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

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES

The rate for classified advertising is $.50 per word (or group of characters) and $1.00 per word for bold or all caps. 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 $25.00 per column inch. Phone number=2 words. Email or web address=3words.

AD DEADLINES: All ad copy, instructions, changes, additions and cancellations must be received in writing 2 months preceding the cover date, i.e. July 20th is the deadline for the September issue. Please make checks payable to USHGA, P.O. Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330, (719) 632-8300.

Fax (719) 632-6417 or email: ushga@ushga.org your classified with your Visa/MC or Amex.

August, 2003: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

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P R O D U C T

L I N E S

© By Dan Johnson <cumulusman@aol.com> www.bydanjohnson.com

St. Paul, Minn. — High times in Minnesota… a story about great thermals up here in the southern tundra. In late May this year, a group of Minnesota pilots had flights that may have set a record for the midwest. Bruce Bolles, who formerly worked with me at BRS parachutes, related events of this surprising day. • Bruce’s Flytec logged a gain of 10,460 feet from the landing area. He could’ve gone a bit higher (one pilot did) but at that height the temperature was 21 degrees F. with a 30 mph wind chill equating to something like zero. Bruce had gloves on but none of the pilots expected such huge altitude gains so they weren’t dressed for the occasion. Minnesotans are keenly aware of factors like wind chill, so Bruce wisely elected to go down to warmer altitudes before he sustained frost bite damage.

“I couldn’t feel my nose or thumbs,” he recalls. Other pilots Ralph Karsten, Paul Kilstofte, and Bill Manual — all made it to the five-figure mark. ••• An important part of this story is the use of Mosquito engines on Woody Valley harnesses.

While many pilots in the west and elsewhere around the country disdain powered hang gliders, it may be time for an new sense of tolerance. • “We don’t want anything to do with #@*&°) engine noise [either],” Bruce emphasizes.

“We use the power to launch up to a couple thousand feet and then we shut down.” He admits that if the powered pilots get outfoxed by a dud thermal, they can restart in the air and try again. However, he notes that they also enjoy the luxury of landing, grabbing a sandwich and a soft drink, and then relaunching, all without the need for a tow plane and pilot or other trappings of towing. • “Everybody’s got them,” says Bolles, referring to his core group of active hang glider pilots. “After the first one arrived and we all saw what it offered, everyone ended up buying a machine from Bill Fifer” of Traverse City Hang Gliders. With ground truck tows, a mile-long road only yields about 1,000 feet and this won’t assure you get into steady lift in the midwest. The group contemplated a Dragonfly, but then you need a place to keep it, fly it, and you must have a pilot. Such talk died when the Mosquitos began arriving in the northern state. Interested in Mosquito? For details, call: (231) 922-2844 ••• Power isn’t just happening in the flat midwest. Moyes of America boss Ken Brown recently informed me he’s the new national distributor for the Doodle Bug powered harness from Flylight Airsports in England. This different rig allows you to fly suprone inside the bar after normal foot launch. “More comfortable for long flights,” is one advantage says Brown of the feet-first posture, plus a “change of view.” Ken adds, “The handling is very predictable and controllable.” About his Mosquito, Bolles said the engine-off handling was virtually identical to an unpowered hang glider, so obviously these secondgeneration suppliers of powered harnesses have figured things out well. Ken believes the Doodle Bug can climb under full power with greater stability in turbulence than P r 78

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prone powered harnesses. Additionally, the space formed by a rear fairing — to lower drag and ensure smoother air to the prop — can contain “a glider bag, sleeping bag, or even a light tent,” says Flylight. A two-gallon fuel tank is also contained inside. Even during a full power climb the 14-hp Radne Rocket engine (same as on the Mosquito) consumes less than a gallon an hour. At cruise this drops to a half-gallon an hour, giving the rig 2-4 hours of operation.

• Ken concludes, “The Doodle Bug can be used on the Moyes Sonic 190, Litesport 148 and160 and Litespeed 146 and 156 with no modifications.” Doodle Bug has been fitted to a wide variety of brands and models says Flylight.

For details, call: (530) 888-8622 or flyamoyes@aol.com ••• Regardless how you get aloft, we must all come down sometime. When we do, we need reliable wind indicators.

One of the most dedicated suppliers is Hawk AirSports with their popular Windsok line. • Boss Bruce Hawk recently announced a new office manager, Joe Harper. “A whizz on computers and in manufacturing and business management, Joe will streamline the company and provide superior service and quality,” says Hawk. “His new web page design for www.windsok.com will enable easier online ordering of the entire product line.” Hawk AirSports offers both permanent and portable models. For details, call: (800) 826-2719. ••• Many of you can remember the Attack Duck, Wills Wing’s oddly named high performance glider of its day. Now bid welcome to the Attack Falcon.

“The PX05 mylar sail ‘Attack Falcon’ caused quite a stir at Wallaby,” says Wills Wing, referring to their spring bash last April at the Florida towpark. Available in the 195 and 170 sizes for $3,650, Attack Falcon includes the Litestream control frame including streamlined aluminum base tube, PX05 mylar in the top surface behind the leading edge panel, and your choice of sail colors in selected panels.

“The Attack Falcon looks really cool; they fly great, and the Litestream frame puts the glide over 10 to 1,” exclaimed Wills! • Team WW also brought and flew their 20,000th and 20,001st gliders at the spring event. The new wings displayed well alongside Chris Wills’ original 1973 U.S. Nationals-winning standard hang glider — serial number 35. WW brand has come a long way, and I’m pleased to see Chris still involved with the company (as an owner; he’s a physician who branched out into ultralights and a GlaStar homebuilt). ••• Raven Sky Sports, the midwest’s largest towpark went live with version 2.0 of their website in mid-May. Grab another look at www.hanggliding.com.

Proprietor Brad Kushner says, “This is the first really significant update to the site since the mid-1990s.” ••• So, got news or opinions? Send ‘em to: 8 Dorset, St. Paul MN 55118. Messages or fax to (651) 450-0930. E-mail to News@ByDanJohnson.com. THANKS! i

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D E P A R T M E N T INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

Adventure Productions................................................77 Aerolight USA .............................................................77 Angle of Attack ...........................................................42 Apco Aviation .............................................................71 Baja Thermal Clinic .....................................................77 Big Sky Paragliding .....................................................29 Cloud 9 ........................................................................8 Critter Mountainwear .................................................13 Dan Johnson ..............................................................66 Dixon’s Airplay............................................................79 Fly Market/Independence ...........................................31 Flytec USA ..................................................................80 Hall Brothers ...............................................................11 High Energy Sports .....................................................30 Mojo’s Gear ................................................................74 Moyes...........................................................................3 MPH Sports ................................................................29 North American Paragliding........................................28 The Paraglider Network ..............................................73 Skyco Sports ...............................................................65 Sport Aviation Publications .........................................14 Summit Paragliding ....................................................64 SuperFly........................................................................2 Thermal Tracker .........................................................27 Torrey Pines ................................................................38 Traverse City/Mosquito ..............................................63 US Aeros ....................................................................61 USHGA .................................................................49, 62 USHGF........................................................................26 Volant Technica...........................................................35 Wills Wing...................................................................18

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: August, 2003

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