USHGA Hang Gliding & Paragliding Vol34/Iss4 April 2004

Volume 34 Issue 4 April, 2004 $4.95

R &TPAM NI NT HD A N GE GP L I DA ING R A GEL I D G

Jayne DePanfilis, Publisher: jayne@ushga.org C. J. Sturtevant, Editor: editor@ushga.org Tim Meehan, Art Director: artdirector@ushga.org Steve Roti, Contributing Editor Matt Gerdes, Contributing Editor Davis Straub, Contributing Editor Office Staff Jayne DePanfilis, Executive Director, jayne@ushga.org Jeff Elgart, Advertising, jeff@ushga.org Trina Richard, Member Services, trina@ushga.org Bob Archibald, IT Administrator, bob@ushga.org Joanne Peterson, Member Services, joanne@ushga.org USHGA Officers and Executive Committee: Bill Bolosky, President, bolosky@ushga.org Mark Forbes, Vice President, mgforbes@mindspring.com Elizabeth Sharp, Secretary, Elizabeth.Sharp@heii.com Randy Leggett, Treasurer, ias@ot.com REGION 1: Bill Bolosky, Mark Forbes. REGION 2: Ray Leonard, Urs Kellenberger, Paul Gazis. REGION 3: David Jebb, John Greynald, Tad Hurst. REGION 4: Steve Mayer, Jim Zeiset. REGION 5: Lisa Tate. REGION 6: Len Smith. REGION 7: Bill Bryden. REGION 8: Gary Trudeau.

REGION 9: Randy Leggett, Felipe Amunategui. REGION 10: Steve Kroop, Matt Taber. REGION 11: Dave Broyles.

REGION 12: Paul Voight. DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Elizabeth Sharp. Bruce Weaver, Dennis Pagen, Russ Locke, Chris Santacroce. HONORARY DIRECTORS: Alan Chuculate, Tiki Mashy, 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, Dan Johnson, Dixon White, Jan Johnson.

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 United States 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.

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 email: 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. You may also email your request with your member number to: ushga@ushga.org.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING (ISSN 1543-5989) is published monthly by the United States Hang Gliding Association, Inc., 219 W. Colorado Ave., Suite 104, Colorado Springs, CO 80903 (719) 6328300. FAX (719) 632-6417. PERIODICAL POSTAGE is paid at Colorado Springs, CO and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send change of address to: Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine, P.O. BOX 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330.

Canadian Post Publications Mail Agreement #40065056. Canadian Return Address : DP Global Mail, 4960-2 Walker Road, Windsor, ON N9A 6J3 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 © 2004 Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine welcomes editorial submissions from our members and readers.

We are always looking for good material.

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 email address: editor@ushga.org, 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 email or telephone.

Contact: Editor, Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine, editor@ushga.org, (425) 888-3856.

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

Cover Image: Flying at “The Eliminator” near Santa Barbara Photo: J. Patrick Cudahy

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

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COLD FUSION

DEPARTMENTS Editor’s Corner ..................................... 6

A morning’s ground handling session, augmented with a large dose of luck and a dash of ingenuity, leads to a record flight on a new wing.

Mark Stucky .................................... 27

Pilot Briefings: News and Events ............ 7 Faces of the Future: Kelly Lawson ......... 10 Air Mail: Readers write in ....................... 11 USHGA News ...................................... 13 USHGA: Executive Director’s Letter ......... 17 Master’s Tips: Rob Kells ........................ 20 Accident Reports ................................ 23 Pilot Profile: Kay Tauscher................... 53

HANG GLIDER PILOT GOES TO MARS: An Interview with MER team member Juan Cruz When things go terribly wrong, many pilots are comforted in knowing that a yank on the red handle will offer them a second chance. For the Mars landers, recently safely deposited on the surface of the red planet, having a parachute that worked the first time was their only chance.

Thayer Hughes .................................................................................... 32

Calendar ............................................. 60

OVER KHUMBU

Gallery ................................................ 63

What began as a personal promise to give back to the Sherpa people of the Khumbu region became, for a team of U.S. pilots and mountaineers, the opportunity to fly and photograph some of the world’s most incredible mountains.

Index to Advertisers ........................... 67 Site Guide: Morningside ....................... 68 New Ratings ....................................... 68

Dick Jackson ....................................................................................... 39

Marketplace/Classifieds ..................... 71 Product Lines: By Dan Johnson ............. 78

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April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding April

D E A P PA RRI LT , M 2E0 N0 T 4

GOING BIWINGUAL FOR ALL THE WRIGHT REASONS A personal celebration of the 100th year of flight

Hal Smith ........................................................................................... 47

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN: Larry Hall’s Quadruplane

Startling images from USHGA Region 14… page 63

The late 1970s saw an explosion of creativity in hang glider design that will likely never be equaled, but even in that environment nothing came close to the sheer audacity and inventiveness of Larry Hall’s Quadruplane.

Vaughn Entwhistle .............................................................................. 48

FLYING THE NEW PARANGLIDER Whether you fly on your tum or your bum, your current wing is now obsolete. W.E Duptya reports on his test flight of the brand-new Paranglider.

W.E. Duptya ....................................................................................... 57

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

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E D I T O R ’ S

C O R N E R

Editor’s Notes My Sister, the “Ed”

By Ginny Farnsworth, H4, P3, and younger sister of editor C.J. Sturtevant C. J. Sturtevant

A

s the 2004 flying season develops, we all anticipate the great flights, events, and competitions it promises to hold. We “old” pilots have the advantage of looking back at previous years’ experiences to fuel our dreams for the season. New pilots look forward to testing skills and learning from others who share their experiences. All pilots love reading about flying, and our national magazine is a wonderful forum for this. It’s a place for sharing information and experiences, making plans, dreaming and scheming about flying.

The new season begins with a new, energetic editor, C.J. Sturtevant. She has been soaring the skies of the world since 1982, when she and her husband George took hang gliding lessons in the Pacific Northwest and got hooked on flying. C.J. has strong connections to the flying community, a passion for flying, and a talent for writing.

Of course, as C.J.’s sister, I may be a bit biased in her favor, in spite of any left-over sibling rivalry from our early days. She has a broad perspective on flying, as a H5 and P4 who has more than a thousand combined hours at sites all over the world. She’s flown in the Women’s World Hang Gliding Championships several times, competed in national and regional contests, and each fall can be found at her favorite event, the annual light-hearted Women’s Halloween Fly-In in Chelan. C.J. and I and our husbands get together for a yearly family flying reunion at Lakeview, Oregon, which generally bestows at least a few flyable days upon us during our week-long stay.

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When she’s not flying, C.J. devotes her time to such diverse activities as editing club newsletters, writing magazine articles, fund-raising for the WWT, and organizing competitions. You may have noticed Dennis Pagen’s acknowledgement of her editing skills in the front of his Art of Paragliding. More recently, she’s been offering her talents as copy editor to the publications team of Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine. An accomplished quilter, C.J. turns those favorite flying Tshirts into works of art which I’ve dubbed “story quilts.” In her quieter moments, she can be found working in her garden or meditating with her teddy bears, many of which she has created from bits of fabric, imagination, and spirit.

C.J. brings enthusiasm, history, and vision to this editorship. As the magazine moves forward in its theme of combining the spirit of both hang gliding and paragliding, it reflects our willingness to embrace growth and change as pilots. I know as our new editor she comprehends the challenges this offers, and welcomes this opportunity to be a part of the transformative process.

So, come land that wing, C.J.—you’ve got work to do on the ground today!

Editor’s notes: As my sister Ginny says, there is work to be done today! I’ve conversed with so many of you via phone and email as this April issue of the magazine came together, and I hope you’ve caught a taste of my “style” in this, my first issue as your editor. One of my goals is to increase the visual appeal of our publication by featuring more photographs and artwork, something on every page. Yes, you need and want the information from the office about what’s new or different in the business aspects of USHGA, but we all remember from our schoolbook days that pictures on the pages make any text so much more captivating! You can help

me make the informational sections more reader-friendly by sending photographs or illustrations that would lighten up the “USHGA business” pages.

Another of my goals is to have in every issue something that will make you readers smile, or better yet, laugh out loud. The April issue is the perfect venue for such material, and I hope you’ll find yourself chuckling over some of the articles and artwork in this month’s magazine.

Of course, I intend to continue to provide you with the educational material that you’ve come to expect from the likes of Dennis Pagen, G.W. Meadows, and our Master-rated pilots who provide tips each month. Finally, our magazine would be lacking indeed if it did not feature in every issue the well-written reports and photos of comps and fly-ins and personal bests and individual challenges and triumphs that you, the members, choose to share. Please keep those coming—your contributions are the lifeblood of this publication. I can’t publish great stories if no one is writing them, and all those breathtaking photos are being shortchanged if they’re never displayed beyond your office or living room!

If you have an idea for an article but aren’t sure how to get started, or you are uncertain about what the editors would be looking for in a story or photograph or drawing, please call me (425-888-3856), or send me an email (editor@ushga.org) so we can talk about it. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

C. J. Sturevant, Editor

April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

P I DL O E TP AB R ITE M F I EN NG T S

NEW GARMIN COLOR GPSMAP 76C(S) Garmin USA is pleased to announce the GPSMAP 76C and GPSMap 76CS. In addition to those features found in the very popular GPSMAP 76 and GPSMAP 76S, the new GPSMAP 76C(S) boasts a new TFT 256-color display that produces one of the brightest sunlight-readable displays available. These two new units are completely waterproof, will operate for up to 30 hours on two AA batteries, have 115 megabytes of internal memory for uploading MapSource detail and 10,000 tracklog points. The GPSMAP 76C(S) is designed to receive correction data obtained from the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) and position accuracy can be better than 3 meters! The GPSMAP 76C(S) provides large number displays and graphic navigation screens, all easily accessible through Garmin’s user-friendly operating system.

A built-in basemap contains cities, interstates, coastlines and more with tide data for the United States.

GPSMAP 76C(S) includes unit, PC interface cable, manual and Quick Start guide. Some of the other noteworthy features are: • WAAS enabled 12-channel GPS receiver • Unit dimensions: 6.2”H x 2.7”W x 1.2”D • Display: 1.2”W x 2.2”H, highresolution TFT, 256 color (180 x 240 pixels) • Battery life: 76C up to 30 hours, 76CS up to 20 hours (typical use) • 10,000 point automatic track log (up to 20 tracks) • Permanent user data storage — no memory battery required • Water resistant (submersible 1 meter @ 30 minutes) • 1000 user waypoints • Large numbers option for easy viewing • 115-megabyte internal memory • Electronic compass (GPSMap 76CS) • Barometric sensor with automatic pressure trend recording (GPSMap 76CS) • Elevation computer provides current elevation ascent/descent rate, minimum and maximum elevation, total ascent and descent, average and maximum ascent and descent rate (Map 76CS) The new GPSMAP 76C(S) will prove to be an invaluable tool for serious competition and XC pilots alike. For more information on this exciting new GPS unit as well as the complete Garmin recreation, marine and aviation line contact Flytec USA at 1-800-662-2449 or (352) 429-8600, FAX (352) 429-8611, email: info@flytec.com

Wills Wing Announces The Following World Record Contingency Awards: Any pilot flying a Wills Wing hang glider can be eligible to win up to $7000 for setting an FAI Class 1 Open Distance World Record.

For flights made during the period from April 1st, 2003, through December 31st, 2005, Wills Wing will pay the following amounts as contingency awards, to a pilot who meets all other eligibility requirements, based on the following performances: a) $1000 for an official FAI World Open Distance record in Class 1 that is set with a flight that is also longer than the longest open distance flight in a Class 1 hang glider at the time the record flight is made. b) $3000 (total—i.e. $2000 in addition to the $1000 awarded for case [a] above) for the first open distance flight in a hang glider of more than 500 miles great circle straight line distance that is subsequently verified as an FAI World Open Distance record in Class 1. c) $2000 if, as of midnight on September 30th, 2004, the record flight in a) or b) above is still the longest open distance flight in a Class 1 hang glider. d) $2000 if, as of midnight on September 30th, 2005, the record flight in a) or b) above is still the longest open distance flight in a Class 1 hang glider.

Some restrictions apply. For more information contact mike@willswing.com.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

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P ID L EOPT A B R RT I M E FE INN TG S

Antique Glider Fly-In, Cape Kiwanda, Oregon, June 12-13

New USHGA Branding & Identity Plans Unveiled

Red Bull Divide & Conquer, June 19, 2004

Consistent with previously undisclosed plans to change the name and very character of the sport of hang gliding itself, USHGA announces a new logo and corporate branding image to replace the current familiar but outdated USHGA logo image.

It’s time to dust off your ‘Dactyls, shake out your Seagulls and load up your Lancers!

Show up for a weekend of fun on the dune with antique gliders and antique pilots, as we re-live the days when hair was long and money was short. Dollar snatch, spot landings and other fun contests for bragging rights and cheesy prizes. Saturday night potluck/barbeque/disorganized music/T-shirts, etc. Special permit camping on the beach under the stars.

Any glider is welcome, and there’ll be a lot of old ones to play with. Grab your old diver and hit the beach! More info on the Web site at www.vvhga.org.

Airbag for your Nikon Coolpix Camera After breaking 25 cameras while flying paragliders with a camera slung around his neck, Bruce Goldsmith has designed a new shock-absorbing camera bag. The bag is designed to fit like a glove on the digital Nikon Coolpix 5700. You keep the camera in the bag when taking pictures, protecting the camera even while it is being used. The bag is made from neoprene which acts in a similar way to an airbag by absorbing shock through the tiny air bubbles trapped in the material. In Bruce’s experience his “Black-skin” can double a camera’s lifespan in the rough-and-tumble world of paragliding. Currently Bruce is working on a Blackskin for a Canon EOS 300D. You can find out more on www.black-skins.com or write to bruceg@wanadoo.fr.

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Originally proposed and developed by a secret task force in the Pacific Northwest, the new logo and branding image is expected to draw more dues-paying members from the Midwest, Southeast and Eastern Seaboard regions of the U.S. where true hang gliding no longer takes place on a regular basis. = : - )

Adventure Seekers Wanted For First-Of-Its-Kind U.S. Mountain Sports Relay Red Bull Divide & Conquer is an open, coed competition for expert-only athletes in four disciplines including paragliding, trail running, white water kayaking and mountain biking.

The race will take place along the Continental Divide of southwest Colorado this summer.

Teams compete for their share of a $17,500 purse and an all-expense paid trip to Europe to compete in the September 2004 Red Bull Dolomitenmann race.

Need to meet a kayaker, mountain biker or trail runner to help you conquer the Divide?

Visit www.redbulldivideandconquer.com which includes postings for “teams seeking athletes,” “athletes seeking teams” and a message board for tips on training and technique.

Pre-established teams of four may register at http://www.redbulldivideandconquer. com./register.php or email Patrick Harper at pharper111@aol.com.

A maximum of 50 four-person teams will be selected to compete.

April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

P I DL O E T P AB R R ITE M F I EN NG T S

APCO Aviation Announces New Tandem Wing

sive and thorough, and prior to certification PLAY FOR 2 was used by a number of APCO dealers. Their feedback has been excellent! APCO is proud of the final results and will let the pilots be the judges.

PLAY FOR 2 targets the professional tandem market as well as recreational tandem pilots. Its design is focused on: • Perfect launches with trims closed or open in any wind condition (cross wind, back flow, or no wind)

The best things are always worth waiting for, says Anatoly Cohn of APCO, when he announced in February the release of APCO’s long-awaited new tandem wing, the PLAY FOR 2. This is the finest tandem wing APCO has ever developed, designed to satisfy even the most discriminating tandem pilot. Development was exten-

• Easy, light force, quick and responsive handling • Fabulous flare • Reassuring safety

with trim tabs, included in the certification) assisted by APCO’s exclusive HIT Valve system • Traditional APCO materials, including their famous double coated siliconised cloth and heavy duty SuperAramid lines, assuring many years of use (twice as much as any other tandem wing) making your investment per hour of flight much more attractive PLAY FOR 2 has successfully completed all certification for ACPUL/AFNOR Tandem Class (with trim tabs on risers).

For more information on the PLAY FOR 2, visit the APCO Web site at www.apcoaviation.com.

• Wide speed range (risers equipped

through the USHGF

➢ Site Preservation ➢ Safety and Education ➢ Competition Excellence The United States Hang Gliding Foundation supports activities that help ensure that the free-flying community has a future.

Make a tax-deductible contribution today.

The USHGA will match your contribution up to $500 each year when you join or renew your membership.

Contact us at 719-632-8300 — or on the WEB at www.ushgf.org

roasted hot dogs in the LZ after the grownups finished their flying.

Then, one weekend, four-year-old Kelly asked her dad for a tandem flight. That’s all it took—one flight and she was hooked. Suddenly hang gliding weekends became a whole new adventure for her.

by Lori Lawson

Kelly Lawson “Procrastinating at the precipice” is how 18-year-old Kelly Lawson described her waiting on launch for just the right cycle to begin her first solo flight. She didn’t procrastinate long! Kelly took advantage of Dog Mountain’s beginner-friendly conditions and executed a perfect launch, followed by an awesome first solo flight and an excellent landing. Her proud papa chased after her on his own glider with camcorder in hand to videotape her entire flight, air to air.

This perfect first solo was the culmination of a marathon training program Kelly completed for her three-week high school senior project. Her dad and instructor, Tom Johns, was both excited and apprehensive about this project. However, he immediately scheduled time off from work so they could condense all the training into the required three weeks. With exactly 33 training hill flights, 11 tandems, ground school, parachute clinic and 15 solo flights, Kelly earned her novice rating with just enough time left to prepare a PowerPoint and video presentation for her school project.

(By the way, she got an A.)

Over the next 14 years Kelly flew tandem with her dad at spot landing competitions, performed candy drops, flew into Microsoft company picnics and even went XC from Chelan Butte. She amassed a lot of air time but no training hill practice because she was just too small. “Ninety pounds,” we told her. She weighed herself every day, and the very day her scale registered the magic number we took her to the training hill. She still seemed so tiny to me, but I was so impressed that she could pick up the 140 Falcon by herself and launch, control pitch and roll, and even flare her landings. Kelly and her dad have been keeping a log book since her very first tandem flight.

It’s so much fun to go back and read her entries sprawled across her logbook pages in the careful and energetic writing of a child. After her first training hill flight she wrote, “It was my first solo, even if it was only 10 feet off the ground. I had fun but my legs got tired.”

She was nine years old.

Like most teenagers, Kelly has many other interests, one of which is horseback riding. Our hang gliding weekends have, over time, turned into horseshow weekends. As a mom, I think both sports offer far too many opportunities to get hurt, so I’ve been in no hurry to have Kelly flying solo from anything. I guess you just can’t stop the inevitable, though, and it’s so magical to see Tom and Kelly sharing the thrills and responsibilities of this awesome sport together.

Our little fledgling is flying solo now in more ways than one.

She is attending the University of Washington, working part time teaching horseback riding lessons and pursuing her other passion, rock climbing. Kelly has about 40 solo flights under her wings and hopes to kick off spring flying at the 2004 Oceanside meet on the Oregon coast. I’ll be there, too, driving and admiring my hang gliding daughter.

Actually, Kelly has been around hang gliding since she was a baby.

At first, her perspective of hang gliding was playing in the dirt on launch with the other hang gliding rug rats, or bonfires and

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April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

A I R

We love hearing from you. In order for us to print your letter, you must include your USHGA member number and telephone and/ or email contact information.

Becoming our parents (email, 1/29) Our aging pilot population is finally showing their age! We now have readers whining about the magazine content just like their parents did. I can hear it now...

Cut your hair! Turn down that loud music! I can’t believe that girl is showing her bellybutton! Why would anyone ever do something crazy like Hand Gliding?

Those young paragliding whippersnappers! Come down out of that glider or you will fall and break your neck!

Has our membership gone sedentary enough to listen to Barry Manilow and drive the speed limit? We need to draw in younger members, but I did not think that the OLD members would complain so much.

I find the new magazine refreshing and different. I can now keep in touch with how the other half flies. I like their perspective. Now I do not see them as air pylons.

Extreme Kauai. I invested 18 months of flying, diving, kayaking, hiking, surfing, etc. with three chip cameras to capture my vision of this island of Kauai. I had to mortgage my house to the rafters to pay for editing, music, graphics, voice-over and so on. The end result was a film that shares the beauty of flying and other action sports with the average person. I think it might be the first time a hang gliding triking video has gone mainstream. When I walk into the local WalMart and see a five-foot rack of Extreme Kauai DVDs with a TV running overhead with John Heiney or G.W. Meadows flying with onboard cameras and 10 shoppers standing there with eyes glued to the screen, it is a good feeling! The flying bug will reach more people. My photos are not on the cover or the centerfold as they were through the 80s and 90s (this may be a relief to some readers!) as I am now devoting time to video.

think we’re out of our minds (and some of us are). Non-flying spouses and significant others actually wish we would do something else, like knitting or jigsaw puzzles—something safe that keeps us at home. That’s a reality we must learn to understand. We often feel that we are lone birds, loose on the air currents, but we need to remember that whenever we fly, we take along everyone who loves us.

Whatever happens to us will happen to them, too. When we take to the air, we should have a thought for them as well.

Keep up the good work publishing this mag. I am very proud that you folks were the first magazine to feature one of my shots on your cover. That led to over 16 covers with USHGA and 45 covers spread around the globe on other publications.

Thank you!

Imagine my surprise as I opened HG&PG magazine and saw a “Master’s Tips” column on relationships! I checked the cover.

No, it was not Cosmo—definitely a hang glider, not cleavage. Perhaps we need to organize a fund to send Chris south of the equator for the winter? Remember, looking for advice on relationships from the flying community is like asking a vegan where to find a good rib joint.

Blue Skies!

Wake up and get as young as you were when you started dreaming of flying!

Editors of the magazine, keep up the good work!

Gerry Charlebois, USHGA 35672

Sean Riley, USHGA 29891

When I pick up Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine, I rarely expect to be laughing out loud at the articles, but Chris Santacroce’s “Master’s Tips” (February issue) left me in stitches. “Don’t slobber,” indeed! Good advice, all of it.

Aloha from Kauai (email, 2/2) As I approach my 27th year of being a flying addict, I am still thrilled when I get the latest edition of our flying mag. I check out the cover shot and who shot it, the centerfold and who shot that, then straight to Dan Johnson’s “Product Lines” (it’s my injection of what’s happening in the industry that pays my bills). I was very proud to read Dan’s opinion of my film, Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

M A I L

Thanks for a great article and keep up the good work on the magazine. Don’t listen to the whiners.

James Brown, USHGA 59742 Niigata, Japan

USHGA needs a new rating? (email, 2/3)

Steve Forslund, USHGA 26985, P2, unrated in matters of the heart Re: Master’s Tips by Chris Santacroce (email, 2/3)

Also, some of us got into the sky sports thing after we were already married, but there are some good pointers in there for us, too. The main one is that nobody cares whether we fly foot-launched aircraft or not. It isn’t sexy. Most people

Hang gliding should be a family sport (email, 2/4) Lately, I (and others) have noticed that some of the ads the magazine has chosen to publish have gotten rather racy. I have focused on trying to make hang gliding a family activity. I have managed to get my daughter nearly as excited about my flying as I am. She loves watching flying videos with me, and when the magazine comes each month she insists on reading it with me. Needless to say, I am not happy with the direction the magazine 11

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advertising has recently gone. My daughter is yet young and quite impressionable.

I don’t want to have to cut her out of our tradition because the magazine ads have gone sleazy. When she is older, I hope she too will want to become a pilot. The magazine should be something that inspires her to become a pilot, not teaches her that she will grow into nothing more than a sexual object.

gliding excitement with my family and my friends, so please keep the hang gliding magazine about hang gliding and let others go elsewhere for their non-flying interests.

Hang gliding is something that I really enjoy and seek to share with others. The magazine should be an excellent medium for sharing the sport with others. When other families or friends come over I like to have the magazine placed so that they will take notice of what a cool sport it is. The magazine should be something I proudly display, not something to be stashed underneath the mattress! Others who have expressed that they like to see ads like that have plenty of other magazines to choose from which cater to that sort of thing. For those of us who do not like the ads, don’t force us to accept the ads in order to accept the magazine, or to shun the magazine because we shun the ads. Hang gliding is cool by itself, a sport that doesn’t need “spicing up.”

Since reading the abundant amount of complaints about the layout format in the magazine, I can only conclude that every graphic designer in the U.S. has become a USHGA member. What is it that makes them think USHGA is such a large organization that distributes its magazine to millions? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe there are currently only three paid employees working on the magazine, which means that there’s a lot of volunteer work that puts together the magazine for about 10,000 subscribers. So instead of blatantly criticizing the staff of USHGA, have any of these “designers” ever thought about moving to Colorado to help out, or as many of you have offered, sending a few “Jacksons”?

In the meantime, I would recommend adding some positive attitude, and I’m sure you’ll find something in the magazine that you’ll enjoy.

Others have made the argument that those ads will attract people to the sport.

I really don’t think this is likely. People are attracted to hang gliding because it is hang gliding! I doubt that anyone will take up hang gliding because they saw a racy ad. Even if the ads could somehow seduce people into the sport, the magazine has far too small of a circulation outside of the already-existing membership to be effective in that way. The editors of the magazine have commented lately on their efforts to give the magazine a new professional look to attract more advertising dollars. I think that the sleazy ads undermine these efforts, and some advertising dollars will be lost because of it.

Jeff Noall, USHGA 81765

Put your money where your mouth is! (email, 2/6)

Fly safe and keep up the good work.

Kenneth Alfheim, USHGA 71641

Hang gliding is an exciting sport. I look forward to continuing to share my hang April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

U S H G A

2003 In Review: Scattered Lift with Occasional Sink

on the staff, as Trina Richard and Joanne Peterson have joined up, and Sandra Hewitt and Natalie Hinsley have left. Paul DeFranco left early in 2003 and was replaced by Bob Archibald as IT manager. Jeff Elgart continues in his many roles supporting office operations and the magazine.

The past year had some ups and downs, and clouds on the horizon that might turn to thunderstorms or cloudstreets.

We’re watching how they develop, and we’ll keep you posted on how things are progressing.

Membership in USHGA declined slightly, from 11,005 to 10,660 or about 0.4% over the year. One serious concern is that our average age is going up at about one year per year, which means we’re not adding younger people at a rate that will replace us as we get older. We need to be working on ways to attract new members to the sport. We’re doing a better job of retaining existing members, but that’s offset by a troubling trend. New student ratings are down over the past few years, reflecting the decline in the national economy and the retirement of some historically-active instructors. We’ll have more to say about this subject in upcoming articles and emails to members.

Financially, we’re in reasonably good shape. Net income for the year was about $77,000, down from $131,000 in the previous year. Revenue was down, but so were expenses. Some changes put in place this last year should start paying off in the coming year, so we can expect to see some long-term savings in the future.

Total assets are $587,000, and we have no debt and only current bills as liabilities.

Most of our “debt” is on the books as deferred revenue; that is, we’ve taken payments for annual dues, but we haven’t delivered a full year’s worth of services yet. We’ve nearly reached our reserve cash target, so we can start looking at ways we might use any small operating profits to fund new services or ways to promote our sport.

A few years ago, the best description of our situation was “scratching in zero sink at fifty feet AGL.” We had a couple weeks’ worth of operating cash in the bank, no Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

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savings, and we were paying last month’s bills with tomorrow’s dues payments.

Today, we’ve got three months’ operating cash in the bank, the bills are paid on time, and we’re able to survive minor variations in month-to-month revenue.

And we’ve managed this without a dues increase or significant cut in services to members. Cool, eh?

Speaking of dues...back in 1979, dues were $30. Good deal, huh? If you just adjust for inflation alone, that $30 price would be $76 today. With the current rate of $59 for annual dues, the real price has actually decreased about 25% since the late ‘70s. We’ve talked about doing some marketing/promotion/etc. to attract new pilots, train new instructors and so forth, but this all costs money. Is it time to consider adjusting dues up, and using the money for promotion of the sport? We’re not in favor of just raising dues arbitrarily, but we should be thinking about what we want the organization to accomplish, and how we’re going to pay for it. We’ll have a survey out later this year to see what you think.

Magazine staff changed over, with Dan Nelson taking over from veteran Gil Dodgen, and Tim Meehan assuming the role of art director. Dan has recently resigned to take a new position, so for the next few magazines C.J. Sturtevant will assume the editorial responsibilities, pending a decision on a permanent replacement.

We took a vote last fall on changing the Articles of Incorporation to include powered harnesses and powered towing. Both amendments passed, and those changes will be incorporated in future programs that will be developed over the next year or two. Most pilots won’t really notice much difference; it just means that we’ll be able to add instructional programs and insurance coverage for pilots using powered harnesses as a means of getting aloft.

This has the potential to open up new areas of the country to hang gliding and paragliding, where mountains or towing may not be available.

Financial results are now up on the Web site at www.ushga.org, under the “Members Only” section. Log in and you’ll find a link that takes you to the monthly reports, starting in September of 2003. As required by the bylaws, membership and financial records are maintained at the office, and you can get a copy of the annual report by requesting it in writing.

On the subject of towing, the Sport Pilot program is nearing completion, and may be law by the time you read this. We didn’t get everything we wanted from it, but we were able to avoid most of the things we were worried about. We’ll have to wait to see how the final rules come out. We’re continuing to work with FAA officials, and the relationship we have is good. If there are glitches, we’ll get them worked out. The FAA folks have been very accommodating, and they understand that we’re a unique segment of the aviation community with some unusual needs.

At the office in Colorado Springs, Jayne DePanfilis continues on as our executive director. There have been some changes

So what about those clouds on the horizon? Training new instructors and new students continues to be a concern, and 13

UDS H E GP AA NRE W T S M E N T

we need to think about ways to attract younger people into the sport and retain them. With all the “X-Games,” “big air,” “extreme sports” stuff going on, you’d think that hang gliding and paragliding would be at the top of the list. We aren’t, and we need to see if we can change that.

We also need to train new instructors, and make it easy for them to stay current on instructional practices without spending a huge amount of time or money.

Some serious-looking anvil heads are off in the distance. These would be the rumblings from Europe, where commercial aviation interests want to severely restrict flight by pilots who aren’t under Air Traffic control. While we might not care *now* in the U.S., history suggests that changes in Europe will show up here a few years later.

That was the case when the last airspace

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reorganization happened, to form the current structure of airspace classification we have today. Restrictions like “no flying above 2500 feet” are on the table, and we need to keep a close eye on what happens in Europe. It could be years before this gets sorted out, but we’ll let you know as things progress.

Mandatory drug testing is another topic being pushed at the international level, in part because some countries subsidize their air sports teams and insist on it. That’s not the case here, and we’re making our opinion heard in these discussions. USHGA does not currently have a drug testing policy, and we’re not planning to implement one. If future rule changes demand that we impose one, we’ll have to decide whether to go along with it, or withdraw our participation in those competitions if

that’s the only other choice.

We’ll be working on ways of communicating better this year, including occasional emails on flying-related topics, and some online surveys to get your opinion on what we should be doing. Please take a minute to respond and let us know what you think. Individual responses really do make a difference, and we’ll need your input to choose a course for the next good thermal. Without your feedback, it’s like flying without a vario! We need your help to stay cored in the lift.

Fly safely!

USHGA Executive Committee: Bill Bolosky, president; Mark Forbes, vice president; Liz Sharp, secretary; Randy Leggett, treasurer

April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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Evolution of the USHGA’s Web site

By Bob Archibald First, a disclaimer: I’m an IT guy. Coding and scripts are what I write and modify all day long, and journalistic writing is a very foreign concept to me. When the executive director of USHGA asked me to write this column about what USHGA is doing to take advantage of all the wonderful technology available to us today, I didn’t exactly panic, but it was close. But I understand how important it is to you members to know what resources are out there for you and how to take advantage of what we offer. So, I’m going to give this a shot and see what happens.

This month I’m going to focus on one of the USHGA’s best assets: its Web site.

What?! USHGA has a Web site? Yes we do, and it may surprise you what a great resource this Web site can be for you.

When I was hired by USHGA about 11 months ago, the Web site was a tool mostly for the few members who took advantage of online registration or who downloaded a few forms here and there as needed to satisfy the paperwork requirements of the office. Due to USHGA’s waiver collection policy and the legalities associated with that, we had to remove online registration from the Web site. So, what good is the site now?

Well, the answer is, it is better than ever!

Our Web site has become a huge repository of information for USHGA members and the board of directors, and you’ll find it much easier to navigate around the site and find the information you need. Almost every form needed for USHGA business is available for download, and we’re updating constantly, so you can always be sure you have the most up-to-date form available for membership renewals, accident reports, instructor renewals, competition sanctioning, or whatever paperwork you’re needing to conduct your USHGA business or your flying activity.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

structor renewal letters are sent out by the office, to when the Flytec Championship is taking place. You can see when the staff members will be out of the office, and when the executive committee is meeting. And if you have an event you would like published, we can easily add it to the calendar!

Other information available on the Web site includes a “hot news page” featuring the latest and greatest info on what is going on at USHGA, online listings of instructors and schools available in your area, regional director contact information, information on the next board of directors meeting, and minutes from all the past BOD meetings. Members can also still modify their contact information and buy official USHGA merchandise (like the fabulous 2004 combined calendar) from the online store.

OK… but aside from paperwork and purchasing, what else has changed and where are we going with the Web site now? Well, for starters, we have completely re-vamped the online membership message boards.

We now have online discussion forums available for all the USHGA individual regions and committees. Any USHGA member can register to use the message boards, and participate in discussion with any committee chairman, or post concerns or comments about any topic. All action items resulting from the BOD meetings are also posted in the message forums and the membership may track the progress being made on the action items. So surf on in and poke around—the new and updated USHGA Web site is a great tool for communication!

We have also implemented a brand-new online calendar which can be accessed directly at http://www.ushga-cos.org.

This calendar is an interactive way for the membership, staff, executive committee, and regional directors to post upcoming events that might be of interest to you.

You’ll find everything from when the in-

If you want to know where your money is going, check out the online financial statements, which will show you the progress the USHGA national headquarters is making from month to month. You’ll also find articles about digital photography and aerotowing, and even a bit of streaming media. The competition rulebook, membership handbook, and pilot proficiency program details have all been updated and are there for you to download and read.

That’s where we are right now, but we are working to make the site even more useful. The USHGA office staff and BOD are constantly coming up with more ways to take advantage of what our Web site can do for us. Future projects include real-time reporting from the BOD meetings; publishing integrated magazine information and articles; an instructors-only section where instructors will be able to download the latest packets, tests and IP information; and a photo gallery where you can view the pictures that are being submitted for publication in the magazine, and maybe even help the art director decide which pictures would make an attentiongrabbing magazine cover.

So, where is this Web site and what do you need to know to use it? Well, all you need is a computer, a Web browser and a mouse.

The site is located at http://www.ushga.org.

We are always open to suggestions on how to make our Web site better and more convenient to use. You can submit your suggestions to me directly at bob@ushga.org or by calling the office. Just ask for “Bob the IT Guy.”

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D E P U SA HRG TA MN EE N WT S

A Letter from the Publisher USHGA is publisher of Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine, so as executive director of Jayne DePanfilis our organization, I have had the privilege of assuming the title “publisher” since 2002 when I accepted full responsibility for the business, staffing and production of the magazine.

Interim editor C.J. Sturtevant is responsible for the magazine’s content, and art director Tim Meehan is responsible for the design and layout. Tim also manages the monthly production schedule to make sure everything is delivered to the printer by the deadline each month for on-time delivery to the members. A successful magazine requires collaboration between the editor, art director, and publisher, with input and contributions from the contributing editors, writers, photographers and illustrators. All of these participants share the real credit for the content and appearance of your magazine every month.

As publisher I’ve learned a great deal during the first 14 months of production of the combined magazine. Based on feedback from you, the members and readers, I’ve established this short list of goals for 2004: • On-time delivery of the magazine every month • Development of an editorial calendar that results in a balance of hang gliding and paragliding content every month • Well-edited content, and design and page layout that do not overpower the content • Balance educational and entertaining information to promote safety and reinforce the fun and joy of flying Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

• Selection of the best available photos for covers, center spreads, and galleries every month • Integrate content from the magazine and the Web site

On-time delivery of your magazine every month You spoke and we heard: Your magazine must arrive in your mailbox, no matter where in this country you live, during the first week of every month. You’ve been getting your magazine on or near the first day of each month on a regular basis for a little over a year now. We had to advance advertising and contributor deadlines to achieve timely delivery on a consistent basis. An example: The editorial and advertising deadlines for the May magazine were March 10 and March 15. Editor C.J. worked with the text during the first half of the month. Art director Tim began actual layout and production of the May magazine on or near March 20, and he will deliver the May magazine to the printer the first week of April, at about the same time you are reading this magazine. This is why we ask you for your ads and events and news items six weeks in advance.

Balanced hang gliding and paragliding content every month We know that you do not want to receive a magazine that alternates between mostly hang gliding one month and mostly paragliding the next. We pay a lot of attention to ensuring that you really do receive a “hang gliding & paragliding” magazine every month. The editor is responsible for selecting content that is fairly and equitably distributed between hang gliding and paragliding in every issue.

Individual interpretation and perception of the magazine’s content, however, can create interesting challenges in this area.

We want to ensure that close inspection of the magazine reveals fair representation of both sports. Our editorial calendar reflects this goal. Balance won’t hap-

pen by coincidence, and it won’t happen if the editors aren’t proactively soliciting or providing content. Most definitely it can’t happen if participants and enthusiasts in our sports stop contributing to our magazine.

Well-edited content, and design and page layout that do not overpower the content Well-edited copy is important to you. We can’t allow a more relaxed approach to the style of the magazine to compromise the quality of the copy editing. The magazine is the voice of our organization, and thus the quality, credibility and integrity of the magazine’s content reflect directly on us as pilots, and on our sports. We’ve implemented consistent style guidelines and editing tools to make sure our magazine reflects well on our organization, its members and their flying activities.

The magazine’s design and layout should not overpower the well-edited and balanced content. Readers reported the new design of the magazine was sometimes too “dynamic,” making it difficult to read the text. The art director’s challenge is to maintain a design standard that is interesting and eye-catching without making it difficult to read the content. We shouldn’t have to revert to a boring “association newsletter”-style of design to achieve this!

It’s important for members to be able to find information easily in the magazine.

We’ll continue to create departments and icons to do this. Currently we differentiate between hang gliding and paragliding content, knowing that many readers enjoy reading about both sports but also realizing that many prefer to be able to find “their” sport’s content without searching.

Balance educational and entertaining information to promote safety and reinforce the fun and joy of flying Some readers have indicated a preference for more “substantive” content. We’ve received requests for more articles from 17

the masters and experts in our sports. We created the “Master’s Tips” department in answer to these requests. However, we’re still working on increasing the content addressing the technical side of our sports (“Dennis Pagen-like” material). It is a challenge to provide content appropriate for prospective pilots and beginning pilots, but still of interest to our many mature pilots. We’re continuing to work on this. I remember when one of our newer contributors asked me a few years ago if he had to have an engineering degree to contribute to the magazine. I assured him that all contributions, from pilots of all skill levels, are welcome. Since then, Jesse Boyd has been sending us well-written articles from the perspective of a new pilot.

Selection of the best available photos for covers, center spreads, and galleries every month Art director Tim has been increasingly proactive in his effort to acquire an extensive library of photos suitable for covers, center spreads and galleries. It’s very difficult to publish great flying-related photography if nobody contributes any to the magazine!

Last I knew, Tim reported having more than 5,000 images in USHGA’s photo library. That sounds impressive, but unfortunately only a very few of these images meet the criteria for special placement (covers and center spreads, in particular). Editors of other hang gliding and paragliding publications report the same problem, and the shortage is especially critical for hang gliding photography. You can find guidelines for submitting photographs here: http:// www.ushga.org/editorial_guidelines.

Tim is currently working under new guidelines for the monthly photo gallery section. He is no longer constrained in his choice of photos by the expectation that he will feature just one photographer in each gallery. Under the new philosophy the gallery will be composed using the best quality photos available to him that fit his chosen theme, which could be as broad as “hang gliding” or as narrow as “paragliding at the Telluride Nationals.”

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The March photo gallery is a good example of this new approach.

Tim is also establishing a regional network of the very best photographers in the flying world. We look forward to seeing these developments grow and mature in the coming months.

Integrate content from the magazine and the Web site You’ll occasionally find references to Web site content in the magazine this year as we begin to implement icons highlighting links to www.ushga.org. Our plan is to develop the USHGA Web site into a library that members will visit on a regular basis for information about programs, regulatory action, current events, comps and fly-ins, benefits, special offers, online polling and more. Look for a more dynamic site as Bob the IT Guy introduces streaming video and other enhancements.

As pilots, we’re constantly challenging ourselves or being challenged—to fly higher and farther, to overcome our fears, to apply what we’ve read or learned to real flights. Our magazine must address these challenges. It should involve us and connect us to each other. It should reflect our hopes for future pilots. The magazine will always include references to the timeless aspects of our sports. But if the magazine is going to be truly useful to us as pilots it needs to evolve and address the current realities of our sports. The fact is, as hang glider and paraglider pilots, we need to support each other as members of the community of free-flight pilots. Our magazine and our Web site provide the voice for our community. We welcome your comments and your contributions.

Jayne DePanfilis Publisher of Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine Jayne@ushga.org

April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

D E P A R T M E N T

Liability Insurance Policy Renewed We have signed the contract for insurance for the 2004-2005 period, and your club should have received the certificates for your insured sites by the time you read this. This year’s policy looks pretty much like the last one, with a one million dollar per occurrence limit, and a $1000 deductible that the pilot pays before coverage takes over. We are continuing coverage with Markel International, as in past years.

One minor change this year is an increased “aggregate limit.” Last year it was $1 million for both occurrence and aggregate, which meant that we didn’t really have a full million in coverage left, if any claims were filed during the year. This year we raised the aggregate to $2 million, so even if we get hit with a huge claim, we’ll still have some slack left to cover anything else that might happen during the year.

Have fun! (But fly carefully.)

Publications Editor Steps Down to Pursue Other Exciting Writing Opportunities After much deliberation, Dan Nelson and the USHGA have mutually decided to part ways. Dan has stepped down as editor of Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine after completing the March issue, the 13th issue of the combined magazine. Dan plans to pursue other writing opportunities, including assuming an expanded role with a number of Rodale Press magazines and The Mountaineers Books. C.J. Sturtevant, who has served as copy editor for the past several months, has assumed full responsibility as publications editor of the magazine through the June issue, while applications from other highly qualified candidates are being considered.

On behalf of the USHGA board of directors, executive committee, publications committee, and staff, I’d like to thank Dan for his commitment to the successful combiHang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

nation of two separate monthly magazines into one. The magazine staff, under Dan’s editorial direction, pioneered a brand-new magazine. This was no small feat. In many ways this transition required much of the same effort necessary to bring a successful start-up on line. Dan’s vision for the magazine took us in some new directions. And because the magazine was new and different in some ways, it made some of us feel uncomfortable at times, and reminded all of us that we should be open to change.

The USHGA editorial staff may still be reached at editor@ushga.org. C.J.’s homeoffice phone number is (425) 888-3856 and the editorial office is located at 502 Ogle Avenue NE, North Bend, WA 98045.

The art director may still be reached at artdirector@ushga.org. Tim Meehan’s homeoffice number is (303) 420-4344 and the art director’s office is located at 9723 West 83rd Avenue, Arvada, CO 80005.

Jayne Depanfilis Executive Director, USHGA

USHGA HQ Welcomes Joanne Peterson Back to the Office Joanne Peterson is the latest addition to the USHGA office staff. She’s not exactly a “new” member, however—some of you may remember that Joanne previously worked in the office from 19982001. She left USHGA in September of 2001 to have her second baby, Blake, who is now two and a half. After Blake’s birth Joanne was a “stay-at-home” mom for nine months, caring for Blake and his older brother, Seth, now four. She re-entered the work force in women’s retail, but when the opportunity came along to re-join the USHGA staff in membership services last January, Joanne was delighted to accept the position. Once again she is on the phone and answering emails, taking care of USHGA members’ customer service needs.

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M DA ES PT AE RR T’ SM ET NI PT S

Masters Tips – Hang Glider Maintenance

By Rob Kells

Spring is a great time to inspect your glider to confirm that it’s airworthy. While maintenance is not a glamorous subject, it is absolutely critical to your safety!

Rob Kells

All periodic maintenance is important, but I want to stress that you must replace the bottom side wires on a regular basis. We know of at least TEN in-flight structural failures that have occurred due to damaged bottom side wires.

Here is an abbreviated spring checklist to consider in your quest to prepare for a safe flying season: • Harness inspected • Parachute repacked • Pin lock bungees in good condition

Mike Meier launches the new WW Sport II - 155 at Crestline, California.

Photo: Gene Atkins

• Carabiner (steel) in good condition, gate lock functioning properly • Glider inspected, critical and damaged components replaced I have borrowed heavily from Wills Wing’s U2 manual, written by my partners Mike Meier and Steve Pearson, to give you a few examples of issues you should be aware of to keep your glider in airworthy condition. Please refer to your specific glider Owner’s Manual for procedures related to your glider.

If you are not experienced in glider inspection and repair, I encourage you to seek out a professional dealer. Most dealers offer an annual inspection service to ensure your glider is ready for the new flying season.

A note about cables and cable maintenance The cables which support the glider’s airframe are critical components of the glider’s structure, and must be maintained in an airworthy condition. It is a general practice in the design of aircraft structures to design to an ultimate strength of 1.5 times the highest expected load in normal service. Thus hang glider cables, like other structural components on the glider, are typically designed with a structural safety factor of only about 50% above the expected maximum load. No significant loss in cable strength can be tolerated.

A cable with even a single broken strand must be replaced before the glider is flown again. A cable which has been bent sharply 20

enough to have taken a permanent set (will not lie flat in a straight line when all tension is removed) must also be replaced immediately. If it is not, subsequent tensioning and de-tensioning of the cable will induce fatigue, and the cable will fail. In tests we have conducted, a cable bent one time to 90 degrees, and then loaded to the equivalent of a normal flight load 100 times (corresponding to 100 or fewer flights) failed at only 56% of its original strength. Some degree of fatigue due to repeated bending of cables is almost unavoidable in an aircraft that is assembled and disassembled with every flight. Bottom side wires are subject to the highest loads in flight, and are therefore the most critical. This is why it is recommended that these wires be replaced annually, even if there is no known damage. The requirement for immediate replacement of a cable known to have been bent or otherwise damaged supersedes this annual replacement requirement. Replacement cables should always be obtained from the factory, or, if not from the factory, from a reliable source known to use proper fabrication procedures.

An improperly-made cable may appear perfectly OK on visual inspection, but could fail in flight at a load much below the intended design strength of the cable.

April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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The top cables are 3/32 7x7 (seven bundles of seven strands each), good for about 1000 pounds.

The bottom cables are 6/64 1x19 (nineteen single strands), good for about 750 pounds.

Every Six Months • If your glider has sprogs, check their adjustment.

• Check your battens on a flat, level floor against the batten diagram provided, and correct any that deviate from the pattern by more than 1/4".

• If you fly in a dusty or sandy environment, it will help to prolong the life of your batten pockets if you wipe each batten with a rag before you install it in the sail.

• Inspect all cables and suspension system components, and replace any suspension system component that shows any wear, and any cable that shows any kinks, wear, damage, corrosion, etc. Replace any structural cables that are less than 3/32” diameter.

Note that I put obvious kinks in one of each size to illustrate what a badly kinked cable looks like. Any cable that is not straight (like the other cables in the photo) should be replaced immediately.

Maintenance I outline below a recommended schedule of periodic maintenance for your glider. A strict maintenance schedule is, however, no substitute for the continual and consistent practice of proper pre-flight inspections and immediate maintenance of any items on the glider which require attention. Safety dictates that your glider be fully airworthy for every flight. Nuts and bolts must always be secure, safeties must always be in place, and damage to any part which could compromise the airworthiness of the glider cannot be tolerated. If you have a question about the need to repair or replace some part of your glider, feel free to contact your dealer or manufacturer directly. It is not always obvious which items require attention and which may not. Minor dents or dings in a non-critical location on an airframe tube may not need any repair or maintenance. On the other hand, a wire that has been kinked one time can fail very quickly after that, and should be replaced immediately. A control bar corner fitting that has had a significant landing impact may have a crack that is almost undetectable, but which could cause the part to fail catastrophically at a later time. Again, I recommend that you have all maintenance work done by your dealer, who will be familiar with the details of your particular glider.

When replacing a part on the glider, always compare the old part with the new one to make sure that the new part appears to be the correct item. Also, be sure to do a thorough inspection of the glider after the installation of the part, to ensure that the part has been installed correctly and appears to be functioning correctly, and that the rest of the glider is properly assembled.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

• Inspect all bolts for tightness, and all safeties for proper installation and possible damage. Inspect plates and fittings for damage, holes in tubes for elongation. Inspect the ball lock pins for any sign of damage or wear and replace the pins if damage or wear is found. Inspect the keyhole tang button locking mechanisms at the nose and rear keel for proper operation — adjust or replace as necessary if the button locks do not operate smoothly and engage fully.

• Inspect the sail for wear, tears, UV damage, loose stitching, etc.

• If your glider has a VG, check for free operation of all pulleys. Disassemble, clean and lubricate, or replace as necessary. Inspect all VG ropes for wear or damage and replace if necessary.

• Lightly spray with silicone spray lubricant any zippers on the glider that show indication of excess friction. Do not use any other type of lubricant. Wipe off any excess silicone so that it does not attract dirt.

• If your glider has sprogs, inspect the sprogs, sprog hardware and sprog cables. If the sprogs have been loaded heavily, it is possible that the sprog tubes may have been bent, and the cables may have been stretched.

Every Year In addition to the normal six-month service items, also perform the following: • Remove the sail completely from the frame, and disassemble all frame components. Inspect every part of the glider for any damage or wear. Inspect the tubes for straightness, dents, cracks, and for signs of corrosion.

Inspect each hole or slot in each tube for elongation, cracks, wear, loose bushings, or other signs of damage.

21

M DA ES PT A E R ’T SM ET N I PT S

• Any time you have the sail off the frame, turn the sail inside out through the bottom surface center zipper and inspect all of the batten pockets and batten pocket terminations.

• If your glider has a VG, replace the ropes.

• If your glider has transverse battens, remove them and inspect for damage.

Special circumstances Any time you suffer a crash or extremely hard landing you should have an “annual” inspection done on your glider to ensure that you find all damaged parts. Following any hard landing, be sure to inspect the apex hardware, the control bar legs and base tube, and all control bar fittings and fasteners (including the ball lock pins) for damage. Any time you replace a control bar leg or base tube, you must carefully inspect all related fittings and replace any that are bent or damaged. Hard landings may also impose very high loads on sprog assemblies and transverse battens.

Inspect accordingly.

If your glider is ever exposed to salt water you will need to have the glider completely disassembled in accordance with the recommended annual inspection procedure. All frame parts will need to be disassembled (including the removal of all sleeves and bushings), flushed liberally with fresh water, dried completely, and treated for corrosion inhibition with LPS-3 or other suitable agent.

Cleaning Your Sail Keeping your sail clean will extend the life of the cloth. When cleaning the entire sail you should generally use only water and a soft brush. You may clean small spots or stains with any commercial spot remover that is labeled for use on polyester. Such cleaning agents are available at the supermarket or drug store.

You’ll find more information on glider maintenance, and many other important subjects, on the Wills Wing Web site, www.WillsWing.com, under “support.”

Please fly safely!

Rob

22

April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

A C C I D E N T S

Paragliding Accident Report

By Peter Reagan n addition to the fatal accidents already reported, three more paragliding deaths occurred in 2003.

Like all fatalities, these remain more mysterious than nonfatal accidents since we don’t have the pilot’s point of view.

The first of the three fatalities raises many more questions than it answers. The only information we have is from news reports.

The Dumps, San Francisco, California, steady soaring conditions: Companions noticed that 55-year-old intermediate pilot Stephen Rather was having a lot of trouble with his asthma. After the accident, one of his friends reported to police, “He could hardly walk. We told him to take a nap in his car.”

A non-pilot witness saw five to seven paragliders swoop below him at Avalon Canyon. He noticed one pilot very close to the hill. This pilot made a sudden left turn, crashed through a tree, and plummeted toward the ground. The witness heard him screaming. A bystander reached the pilot and found him unconscious and within a couple of minutes he had stopped breathing. EMTs pronounced him dead at the scene one minute later. A second report stated that the coroner’s office felt the injuries sustained from the crash would not have been sufficient by themselves to cause the pilot’s death, and were searching for signs of drugs or medical illness.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

This is the least detail I’ve ever had in reporting a witnessed fatal accident, and I apologize for this. One wonders how the pilot could have been screaming if he was having a severe asthma attack. Also, was the turn induced when some lines caught in a tree, or was it the primary event? If it was the primary event, how did asthma induce a sharp turn? As reported in the news media, this event certainly makes one wonder about the best way to persuade a person to wait for another day when they are obviously not well enough to fly. Perhaps a retelling of this story would be sufficient persuasion.

This next fatality has already been mentioned in a previous issue of this magazine.

The U.S. National Paragliding Championships, Telluride, Colorado, high-altitude mountain site with mild thermal conditions in September: Dr. Bruce Tracy, a very experienced 55year-old Master-rated pilot, launched at high altitude during the first day of the competition. He was flying a DHV 2-3 wing on which he had considerable experience. Bruce had extensive mountain flying experience but never before at altitudes requiring the use of oxygen.

Telluride’s Gold Hill launch Photo: Mitch McAleer

While working the light lift at around 13,000 feet before the start of the race, Bruce attempted to enter a gaggle but was

turning opposite the designated turn direction. He was reminded by several pilots in the air of the proper turn direction, but instead of joining the gaggle Bruce flew away. Shortly after the start of the race he experienced a major collapse and an uneventful recovery.

A few minutes later, Bruce had sunk lower and was scratching for lift approximately 100 feet above the mountainside. Another competitor became aware of erratic movement several hundred feet below him and looked down to see that Bruce was either experiencing a negative spin or recovering from a full stall with his wing far behind him. Bruce then swung backwards and impacted the cliff face with great force on his back/right side. He slid about 10 to 15 feet down the talus slope and came to a stop.

The observing pilot immediately reported the accident and seconds later experienced major air turbulence. Other pilots landed and were at the scene in a few minutes.

Bruce was found unresponsive and not breathing. Resuscitation was unsuccessful.

We do not know the precise cause of this accident. Competition wing, older pilot, very high altitude (and therefore decreased judgment), and “competition mentality” may all have played a part. Scratching for lift close to rugged peaks at high altitude in thermal conditions is dangerous. Bruce was a consummate athlete, and also an extremely ambitious pilot. In all of his years of experience he’d never had a truly serious accident. Some of us (me, for example) seem to need a major injury to learn that paragliding has big risks, and to value a large safety margin. But Bruce had never experienced a bad enough crash.

The following final fatal accident of 2003 makes last year the worst in our history, with nine unpowered paragliding deaths. I don’t think gliders have become more dangerous, and I know that given the small denominator, it’s not clear how much this number simply reflects statistical variation. It’s getting hard to remember that just three years ago we had no fatalities at all for the year.

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A C C I D E N T S

Tropical coastal location, smooth evening conditions: Alberto de Jesus, with advanced ratings in both hang gliding and paragliding, was doing perfect touch-and-go’s from the mountaintop. He then flew out over the LZ, radioed his friends to get their attention and at 400 feet AGL he intentionally put his DHV1-rated glider into a spiral dive maneuver. He never exited the maneuver and impacted violently, bouncing a few feet and losing his helmet. The ambulance arrived 50 minutes later. At first he was barely conscious but he died in the hospital several hours later, from internal injuries and head injuries. His glider was only damaged where it became caught on a fence.

the pilot made a second error by deciding to continue the launch rather than aborting before getting in the air. The pilot recognizes that he made a third error by fixating on trees ahead of him instead of steering around the obstacle. He flew through the tops of the trees and came down on his airbag harness. He sustained minimal injuries and was able to walk away from the crash site without assistance.

An aggressive launch at Saddle Mt. in eastern Washington.

Photo: Chris Amonson

Paragliders require time and altitude to recover from maneuvers. Spiral recoveries are especially unpredictable and depend on many factors.

A few days earlier this pilot had been admonished to leave more ground clearance for his maneuvers and had been unreceptive. Remember this next time someone makes a safety suggestion to you.

This next incident report describes launching mistakes that we have probably all made with varying levels of consequences.

A relatively new pilot launching at an unfamiliar site a long way from home.

In addition, the pilot was using a forward launch, with which he had very little experience. When the wing came overhead, he let it overshoot him. He was able to run under it, but ended up too far down the hill before becoming airborne. At this point, 24

leased the brakes but the tow operator, 300 feet upwind, had noted the wing hanging back and released the winch. The pilot observed the ground approaching rapidly and impacted violently in a reclined position, striking the seat first and hitting sequentially from mid-back through neck, striking the back of his helmet sharply on grass. He was momentarily stunned, but insisted on standing with assistance after several minutes. A good helmet probably prevented head injury and the harness padding was heard to deflate on impact, possibly preventing spinal compression fractures. His left wrist began to swell but initial X-rays showed no fracture.

While this accident happened on tow, the contributing factors are common to many launch accidents both foot-launch and tow. First, the pilot flies infrequently and admits he should kite more to stay sharp with ground handling. He felt he had neglected forward inflation practice in favor of reverse. Poor wing layout and inadequate preflight along with excessive brake application are also common contributing factors to accidents on launch.

Good launching requires an aggressive approach and a positive attitude, but these skills can cause us to focus on getting into the air when in fact we need to abort the launch. Practice creates confidence that helps dispel nervousness, so practice your launches.

Experienced but low-airtime pilot on tow: A pilot who has several years of experience, but has averaged less than 10 hours of airtime per year, was launching by static towline in increasing thermal activity. After aborting his first attempt, the pilot laid out the wing asymmetrically before his next effort. This resulted in uneven canopy inflation. The pilot corrected for the uneven inflation with right brake input but a thermal gust rocked the wing back and lifted the pilot six feet off the ground. Startled by the sudden lift, the pilot believes he may have pulled even more brake. Then the pilot re-

A carefully-laid-out wing is crucial to a successful launch. Photo: Chris Amonson

Here are a few more reports from very experienced pilots. These issues surrounding these accidents are very subtle, and the pilots quite conscientious.

April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

A C C I D E N T S

Inland winter tropical thermic conditions, building cross wind:

Experienced pilot working on flying in stronger conditions:

This accident occurred at an east-facing ridge with spines projecting out to the east towards the LZ. A crossing south wind tends to build during the day. A very experienced, relatively light pilot with lower wing loading was flying in parallel with a more average-weight instructor with higher wing loading. The pair was flying along a spine toward the valley. Perceptions of the events differ in the reports from both parties. The instructor thought the pilot veered off the ridge downwind over a canyon. The pilot reports being blown off the same ridge by the increasing cross wind.

Again, he is light on his small glider. The speed bar was engaged, but the pilot was unable to fly out from between the ridges.

There was a frontal collapse at about 150 feet. The glider started to recover but then entered a spiral to the right. It appeared to recover after two revolutions but just above the ground it rotated another 1/2 turn. There was debate about the amount of brake applied. Impact caused bruised ribs, and the pilot was able to walk out of a fairly rugged area, after being evaluated by other pilots who top-landed on the spine.

I received this first-person report from an anonymous pilot: “I launched around noon and flew for two hours in 1500 fpm torn-up thermals, with a slight onshore wind. At 800 feet AGL the air suddenly became very calm for a few seconds. The glider then dove beyond the horizon and

The common denominator in both reports of this accident was that the pilot ended up in the lee of the ridge. It is obvious that flying into a rotor zone is dangerous and to be avoided. If being blown back puts you in this situation, you need to turn and fly with the wind or at least across it to get as far from the rotor source as possible before sinking below ridge level. Small pilots (or anyone who flies light on their wing) need to be especially conservative in choosing conditions. This gets complex when flying with a group. Lightly-loaded wings are more likely to be blown back. (The tradeoff is that they can soar in lighter conditions).

We have been advised to only change one thing at a time. Here was a pilot flying a glider that was a bit big, on new terrain, in marginal conditions. That is a lot to keep track of. The pilot was also touring from a more northerly climate, and thus was a bit out of tune with thermal flying.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

We are offered big drinks of the sublime. It’s powerful and seductive stuff.

Accidents remind us of the fairly thin line we tread between ecstasy and disaster.

Lower the ante. You’ll have enough fun. wadded up like a tissue, despite my having the brakes wrapped and buried below my seat. The wind switched via a strong trade shear, coming over the back of the mountain, and in a moment I went from pilot to passenger. I had time for one brief thought: I didn’t know a 1-2 wing would do that! As I pulled my arms and legs in, the slack lines and glider itself went whizzing past me at great speed. I thanked the creator for reflexes, as I buried the brakes even further under my seat. The jolt of the slack lines going tight almost tore my arms off. I looked up after a few seconds hoping the wing was centered over my head in a full stall. It was. I knew at 300 feet AGL that I might only have one chance to recover from the stall. I had rotated toward the hill and it was coming up

incredibly fast! So I let up on the brakes while leaning slightly away from the hill.

The wing opened perfectly and flew away from certain death. I lost 500 feet in just a few seconds—suddenly 800 feet didn’t seem as high as it used to. I spiraled down to land immediately and never flew in prefrontal conditions that strong again.”

Pete Reagan’s comment: This report is not very clearly written. I included it mainly to illustrate a pilot with intermediate syndrome who would see value in “working stronger conditions” and who would be surprised by what a 1-2 wing might do in severe turbulence. The most important conclusion is to avoid air this strong.

Chris Santacroce writes: Only the strongest conditions cause surges to the horizon and beyond. While a brief, big brake input is often the best response to a big surge, this should not involve taking wraps with hands “buried” below the seat. Stalling the paraglider is rarely a great solution to a problem like a surge (particularly if the pilot hasn’t already done dozens of intentional stalls over water).

Admittedly, the sensory experience associated with stalling a glider and the subsequent recovery is awesome, as the pilot indicates. Still the recovery should be simpler than his was. It might have been worthwhile for him to use his reserve parachute at his altitude. Finally, after suffering inadvertent maneuvers, we all want to land as soon as possible. But it’s rarely advisable to do anything as drastic as extreme spirals in order to get on the ground. As most aviators will admit, when we are in a hurry, we are in danger.

Thermal conditions during a competition: An advanced pilot was looking for a landing field over deceptively hilly terrain. He was uncertain of the exact topography.

“The terrain looked very flat from above, but once I got low enough I could see that it did have some significant relief to it. I spent too much time looking for the distant goal field in sink, when I should have been climbing. I passed up a good accessible field when I should have just landed and gotten a ride later. I wanted to land 25

A C C I D E N T S

next to the main road where it intersected the highway (an easy retrieve). As I got low, I noticed too late that the wind was much stronger than I had realized, destroying my glide and penetration. I found myself putting down not on the crest of a hill but directly downwind of it, with zero penetration, and over a paved road!

retrieve. He thus didn’t notice until too late that his options were narrowing rapidly. “A case of trying to land conveniently, when landing safely is ALWAYS the right choice!”

He didn’t notice the strong wind on the ground. He reports being extremely glad he was out of his seat high up so he could PLF successfully.

“I got out of my seat early, expecting a hard landing at best. I did a PLF after dropping at least 30 feet in rotor, feeling almost weightless for that time, and crumpled onto the asphalt, with no forward speed to roll out of it. I landed on both feet, bruising badly both heels, and breaking three metatarsals in my right foot.”

The pilot feels that he was quite tired after the long flight. He was trying to make a more “official” LZ to take access of meet

26

Bruce Tracy was a friend of mine. I was out flying today against a glorious sunset at Oceanside in Oregon. It was a winter reminder of the spectacular opportunities our wings give us to participate in the meteorology of beautiful places. We are offered big drinks of the sublime. It’s powerful and seductive stuff. Accidents remind us of the fairly thin line we tread between ecstasy and disaster.

Lower the ante. You’ll have enough fun.

PLEASE keep your accident reports coming. We don’t include all of them in this column, but they are all summarized in the yearly statistical article, and the data is critical not just for individual pilots, but also, and even more so, for instructors and designers.

Photo: Pete Anderson

April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding April

C O L D

F U S I O N

handling glider with a nine-to-one glide ratio were really true.

But that would have to come later. This day I would get whatever satisfaction I could with my feet on the ground. I tucked my everpresent tow bridle out of the way and began kiting.

For twenty minutes I tried every reverse inflation method I could remember. British standard, crossed-hands on the brakes with opposite riser, left hand on the A’s and right on the C’s... I was running out of ideas and didn’t want to let the sun fade my canopy unnecessarily so I decided to kite it for one last time before packing it up for the day.

By Mark “Forger” Stucky Artwork by Ancil Nance Reprinted with permission of Steve Roti, Aloft magazine

M

y mouth tasted like cotton and I couldn’t stop licking my cracked lips, despite my realizing that they would only hurt worse in a minute. My vario wailed a flat bass serenade as the lone town in the distance sank out of view. It was a final predicament, a fitting end to the day.

Joan would never understand. “Please tell me you are not really leaving on your business trip looking like that!?” she had pleaded.

“Honey, a little ground handling on my new Fusion will do me good. Besides, it will give me something to do while I’m missing you.”

“You don’t have to rationalize it to me, dear,” she replied, “but normal people don’t stroll through the DFW airport wearing a paraglider backpack over their business attire.”

Ground handling was all I had planned on this morning. It was a postfrontal sunny day with puffy cumies and southeast winds forecast at ten to fifteen mph. It had been hot for this early in the season but the morning dawned cool and the air seemed void of the normal Dallas humidity. The abandoned drive-in theater next to my hotel on the north side of town seemed like a decent spot to practice reverse inflations without attracting much attention. The theater’s lot was a series of terraces, dropping into a clearing that once housed a children’s playground at the base of the giant screen. The wind was blowing down the terraces, directly toward the screen. I carefully laid out my new wing on the wild grass that sprouted through the thin layer of pea gravel that still remained after years of Texas-style winds. I paused to admire the Fusion’s sleek planform before donning my harness and helmet. I couldn’t wait to fly it to see if the claims of an easyHang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

The gust hit without warning, pushing the Fusion back and pulling me off balance. I let the brakes up and took a couple quick steps to get underneath the wing, but after the second step my feet were no longer touching the ground. I cringed, having visions of the canopy hitting the movie screen and my body swinging into the earth on a big pendulum. I yanked on the A’s and the wing surged back overhead and stabilized. I still hadn’t landed.

Momentarily at a loss, I stared at the canopy as if it could give me a sign. I looked back down to see I was twenty feet high and climbing. I worried that the canopy might crest the top of the screen and collapse on the back side. “Fly the damn thing, don’t just be a passenger!” I admonished myself. I spun around, grabbed the brake handles and kicked into the speed stirrup as I heard the sickening sound of the crinkly-new sail cloth rubbing against plywood. After what seemed like an eternity, the glider inched forward and the sound stopped. A few moments later my peripheral vision noted the top of the big screen passing below. I felt like I was at least momentarily out of danger but that didn’t stop my knees from shaking.

The large walls bounding the drive-in formed a natural venturi accelerating the wind into the screen before ricocheting it skyward. Now that I had the paraglider stabilized I entertained thoughts that this could actually be a real flight, one I shouldn’t necessarily rush to end — after all, who else had ever soared a movie screen!? I relaxed the pressure on the stirrup and continued upward while drifting slowly back. I finally hung motionless, suspended 120 feet above the ground. “I know where this glider got its name,” I thought. “It makes its own energy!”

After a couple of minutes I began to relax and explore the lift band, crabbing back and forth, drifting in and out, trying to define the crest. I didn’t notice the police car until it was halfway down the parking lot, a trail of white dust rising behind. It coasted to a stop, red lights flashing and the siren quiet. I wondered if I had done something illegal. Was the cop sneaking up to arrest me for trespassing? The officer opened the car door and spoke through a bullhorn. The echoes distorted the sound and all I could make out was “.... come down.”

27

~ufotaD.

12', u ~ ~

compuUra,

~ft

cf'l~...

28

April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

C O L D

I watched as the dust trailing the car coalesced into a ball that rolled towards the screen.

The blossoming thermal rose, fed by the sun-baked gravel of the lower terraces that were shadowed from the stronger winds. I had never before seen so clearly an infant thermal; it was not a swirling dust devil but more like a building bubble. The Fusion dipped slightly when it met the downward curling air at the edge but then immediately tugged up on my risers. I thought of my vario, still tucked away in my harness pocket.

I didn’t need it, there was no doubt which direction I was headed.

Nearly 200 feet high, I again heard the bull horn—this time loud and clear—“LAND IMMEDIATELY!” Although normally a law-abiding citizen, I did what any redblooded paraglider pilot in the same situation would do. I banked the glider up on a wing. As I began my rising spiral I cried out in my most desperate voice, “Help me… please!”

I was in the core, easily rising at a grand per minute. I glanced at the cop one last time. He was gesturing wildly into his radio. I bit down hard on my lip, not wanting him to hear me laughing.

With each circle, I gained 200 feet while drifting about the same distance downwind. Several minutes went by. The Fusion had treated me well so far, no partial collapses, no tip folds, not even any real surging to speak of. I loved this glider. Leaning into the turn I unzipped my harness and carefully removed my vario. By the time it was strapped to my thigh and initialized, it registered over 4000 feet msl and a steady 900 fpm climb rate.

The lift finally petered out at 7800 feet. The wind was stronger at altitude and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex began to recede in the distance. There was no question which way to go; I could not penetrate back. Besides, cloudbase was higher downwind.

The next several hours passed in a blur. The thermals were abundant and each one seemed to take me higher. When I left the lift I pointed downwind and mashed the stirrup to overdrive. With each passing mile I became increasingly aggressive. For the last hour I hadn’t even bothered to turn much. I slowed down in each thermal and then sped between them, only bothering to circle when I dipped below 6000 feet. The occasional small town passed by but without a map I had no idea where I was, how far I’d flown, or where I was going. The cloudstreets pointed downwind and I followed.

Perhaps I wasn’t thinking clearly because of the altitude but I found myself thinking it didn’t really matter what I did. I was Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

F U S I O N

chilled to the bone in my short sleeves and fiercely in need of water but I ignored my discomforts. Perhaps a divine force had preordained this day to be mine. I would end up wherever I was supposed to, whenever I got there.

After six hours in the air, I wished I had a barograph and started wondering if I would be able to convince the policeman to be a launch witness. Barograph or not, witness or not, I knew this flight was the flight that would be talked about for years to come.

I envisioned fame and fortune, manufacturers begging me to fly their gliders and Europeans sending me Christmas cards begging for flying tips.

For the last couple of minutes the whistle of my lines had been joined with a bass chorus from my vario. This was the first time in the flight I had been in extended sink. I locked my knees trying to minimize the time spent on this downward escalator but I was hot and sweaty before I noticed I was no longer cold. The sink was unrelenting and now, below 2000 feet, I finally began to notice just how tired, thirsty, and lost I really was.

I knew I shouldn’t give up hope and swiveled my head looking in vain for a circling buzzard or any sign of life. The only possible sign of habitation in the brush-covered high plains was a lone microwave repeater tower. Perhaps a caretaker lived nearby so I altered my course towards it. In any case, a rutted jeep trail cut across the endless series of gullies leading to it. It would probably be the best way to hike out.

Closing on the tower, I toyed with the idea of top landing on the antenna platform. Perhaps I could relaunch when a cycle blew through. The mental image of the Vegas “Fan Man” catching some wires just before the boxing ring snapped me back to reality. I didn’t need to snag myself on one of those support cables. “No thousand-foot back gainers for me, thank you,” I thought. I turned the glider into the wind and pushed for speed.

The Fusion couldn’t quite buck the strong currents and drifted slowly backwards toward the eastern and uppermost wire. Not wanting to lose sight of it, I turned and angled towards where the wire was anchored to the ground.

I had a suitable landing area but realized that my first landing on this glider would be in winds that exceeded twenty mph. Without any forethought I released my leg and chest straps, thankful my harness had quick-release buckles. Holding full stirrup I had nearly stopped my backwards motion just prior to touchdown. I bent forward, trying to dig my feet in while holding the brakes.

The canopy pulled up and back, stripping the harness from my body. I remained on my feet, left holding nothing but brakes. As they pulled tight the Fusion rolled over backwards and fell to the ground like a dead duck. “Better lucky than good,” I thought.

29

CD OE LP D A R FT UMS EI N O TN

I gathered up the glider and surveyed the situation. I had followed miles of cumulus clouds strung together like popcorn on a Christmas tree, but now there were no clouds within five miles. In my quest for fast miles I had overflown the cloud street and put myself smack in the middle of a blue hole. How could I have been so oblivious? One last thermal and I could have reached civilization. Now I seriously wondered if I could endure my dehydration and survive a hike out.

I sat down to gather my thoughts, pondering my alternatives for twenty minutes before a passing dust devil snapped me back to attention. My best solution would be to somehow get airborne. If there was only some way to tow up. “Hell, a static tether would work in these winds,” I thought. I had heard of an experienced pilot who tethered his paraglider to a car in strong winds. It immediately locked-out and one by one the lines popped, the canopy progressively ripping itself apart. I really needed a payout winch to keep the pressures under control.

30

Like a bolt from the blue it came to me. An outlandish idea that if it worked would even make McGyver proud.

I removed the carabiner attaching the left side of the tow bridle to my harness and tied the bridle back in place with a bowline. I then laid out the canopy on the downwind side of the support cable and climbed into my harness. Next I fastened my three-loop tow release around the base of the spare carabiner. I mentally double-checked my equipment before turning around to face the cable. Inclined at a sixty-degree angle, it stretched to the top of the tower and was perpendicular to the wind. Without allowing time to second-guess myself, I hooked the carabiner to the cable, leaned forward and pulled the risers tight. The canopy jumped up with a start, pulling against the restraining cable. I leaned forward and the canopy arced overhead, lurching me off my feet.

The carabiner made a high-pitched metallic “zing” as it raced upwards along the cable. The wind velocity increased as I rose, pulling harder on the tow bridle which responded by sliding faster.

The acceleration reminded me of the rebound at the end of a bungee jump only this force was sustained. Looking to my right at the approaching tower I knew the release would be critical.

When within a couple hundred feet of the top I applied right

April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

brake, swinging the canopy towards the rapidly growing girders.

The Fusion now was straining against the cable as the canopy began to lock out. I waited a couple of seconds, letting the pressures build, before I jerked the release with my right hand.

The paraglider, suddenly released from the off-axis tether, immediately snapped downwind. I caught the surge with a momentary hard brake application and accelerated safely downwind. At just over 1200 feet AGL, I needed to find a thermal now. The first nibble was at 800 feet. I rose slowly, working the disorganized lift with everything I had. It was now after five o’clock and the thermals were weakening in the waning sun and increasing winds. Only after I crested 2000 feet did the size and strength increase enough that I could start to relax. It wasn’t until I topped out at 5800 feet, with what I would later find out to be the town of Oklaunion under my knees, that I felt assured of a successful end.

Like all flights, it wasn’t over until it was over. The winds were so strong I had to pull a B-line stall for the last 2000 feet to get down before I was blown past the city limits. At 200 feet AGL I was still racing backwards so I unfastened my chest straps. I released my leg straps at 100 feet and spun my harness around. Keeping the speed stirrup engaged I flew my “reverse inflation” until impact. I hit with a thud, rolled and held onto a single brake.

A passing trucker who was heading south on HWY 287 witnessed my landing and was all too happy to take me the 137 miles back to Dallas. The long drive back gave me time to reflect on the day’s events. I dismissed thoughts of a world record and began wondering if I would even be able to convince my buddies that the flight had really happened.

I read the newspaper over coffee the next morning before my business meeting. A small headline on the back of the first section caught my eye: Police Search for Missing Parachutist. They were requesting public assistance after a query of the local skydiving clubs had revealed no leads. Feeling a bit ashamed about causing a wild goose chase I decided it would be best to write a post card to the police department. I explained I was the parachutist and described my emergency situation and eventual landing nearby. I did what any red-blooded law-abiding paraglider pilot would do. I signed it D. B. Cooper.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

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D JE UP AA NR TC M R EU N Z T

Hang Glider Pilot Goes to Mars: An interview with MER team member Juan Cruz

By Thayer Hughes

W

hen things go terribly wrong, many pilots are comforted in knowing that a yank on the red handle will offer them a second chance.

For the Mars landers, recently safely deposited on the surface of the red planet, having a parachute that worked the fi rst time was their only chance.

This January, Spirit, the first of two identical robotic explorers, entered the Martian atmosphere and successfully landed after 32

a seven-month journey from Earth. The second lander, Opportunity, followed three weeks later. The odds for success, based on previous Mars attempts, were stacked against the several hundred people who made up the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) team. But team work, dedication and talent led to the success of MER. For Juan Cruz, hang glider pilot and a member of the MER team that developed the supersonic parachute system used on Spirit and Opportunity, it was yet another step in one man’s lifelong dream for flight. Juan pilots a 10-meter Pulse with

Wind tunnel testing of Juan’s ponytail and the sub-scale parachute

a Hang 3 rating, and he offered us some insights into what is involved in planning a trip to Mars.

One of the many specialties at Virginia’s Langley Research Center is entry, descent, and landing (EDL) for exploration missions. Juan has been working for NASA since 1988, currently with the Exploration Engineering Branch. He became interested in flight very early when, in 1974 at the April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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age of 14, he read Charles Lindbergh’s The Spirit of St. Louis which describes Lindbergh’s design of the Spirit with Donald Hall, the chief engineer of Ryan Airlines. Since that time Juan has been involved in some very notable projects, ranging from human-powered flight here on Earth, to the missions to Mars.

Juan holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from MIT, a master’s in aerospace engineering from George Washington University, and a doctorate in aerospace engineering from Virginia Tech, where his dissertation topic related to flying robotic airplanes on Mars. When asked about personal success Juan noted that “the Daedalus human-powered airplane and the Mars Exploration Rovers have been the most exciting and satisfying projects of my career.”

Daedalus was an MIT project involving human-powered flight that Juan worked on as the structural designer/builder back in the late eighties. Readers of Greek mythology may remember Daedalus as the archetypal engineer who escaped the labyrinth of King Minos by flying out with wings he built himself of feathers and wax. He and his son Icarus were the only mortals in Greek mythology to fly without divine assistance. In comparison, Juan’s airplane had a wingspan of 112 feet and an empty weight of 68.5 pounds, with the primary structure comprised mainly of carbon composite material. And whether divine assistance was involved this time or not, it was by using human pedal power alone that the Daedalus team managed to pump and flap their way 72 miles over ocean from the island of Crete to the island of Santorini. Two world records for human-powered aircraft were attained with Daedalus, including absolute distance (71.5 miles) and duration (3 hours 55 minutes). These world records still stand.

Prior to Daedalus Juan had designed and built several generations of human-powered aircraft including the Monarch (1983-84), winner of the first prize in the Kremer World Speed Competition, and Light Eagle (1986-87), which garnered four world records including longest human-powered flights (distance and duration) by a woman pilot (Lois McCallin). All four of these world records also still stand.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

Brief Description of the Parachute System for the Mars Exploration Rovers The Mars Exploration Rover (MER) carries a single parachute of the Disk-Gap-Band (DGB) type. This parachute was designed specifically for applications where it must be deployed at supersonic speeds in very lowdensity atmospheres. DGB parachutes have been used by all American Lander missions to Mars (i.e., Viking, Pathfinder, Mars Polar Lander, and the Mars Exploration Rovers). The MER parachute is 46.3 feet in diameter and is fabricated from nylon polyester and Kevlar. Its total weight is 36 pounds. The parachute is pressure-packed in a Kevlar deployment bag to a density of 44 lb/ft3 (the density of wood!). This pressure packing is necessary to keep the volume occupied by the parachute to a minimum (volume is at a premium in a spacecraft), and so that it can be deployed by a mortar (see below for more information on deployment and the mortar). Because of its size and the speeds at which it deploys, the parachute opening load can be quite high. The final qualification test of the parachute reached a peak load of 29,975 pounds—the parachute showed no evidence of damage after this test.

A mortar powered by a gas generator deploys the parachute. Essentially, this mortar is a cannon that ejects the parachute at a speed of 120 feet per second. A mortar is a simple and highly reliable way of deploying the parachute exactly when you want to. On Mars the time from mortar firing to parachute stretch-out is about 0.8 seconds (the stretched-out length of the parachute before inflation is about 100 feet). From stretch-out to full inflation takes another 0.5 seconds. Thus, the whole sequence from mortar firing to full inflation is about 1.3 seconds. The parachute deploys in a staged fashion similar to our hang gliding/paragliding emergency parachutes— lines first followed by the canopy.

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It seems apparent that Juan is just as fascinated with the engineering aspects of flight as with the actual flying, an inclination that has followed him throughout his career. In fact, although he thoroughly enjoys flying, given the choice between building and engineering (model airplanes, human powered aircraft, airplanes, spacecraft...) or flying, Juan usually chooses the building and engineering. He remembers his first exposure to hang gliding through the movie Sky Raiders. The idea of personal flight through hang gliding (“including getting to build your own aircraft!”) was immediately appealing. Unfortunately, he had to wait for almost 20 years to get his hang gliding wings.

Juan’s flying career started with model airplanes as a teenager, followed years later by sailplanes at the MIT Soaring Club.

Having experienced the purity of motorless flight, his interest in powered flying as a personal endeavor became almost non-existent. But he wasn’t able to pursue his earlier interest in hang gliding until he moved to Virginia— just two hours away from the dunes of Jockey’s Ridge and the great crew at Kitty Hawk Kites. It wasn’t long afterwards (1993) that he started flying hang gliders. Currently a Hang 3 with about 750 flights, Juan’s high altitude flying has been mainly through towing, both platform and aero. Manquin Airpark in Virginia and Currituck County Airport in North Carolina are the sites he flies most often on his Pulse. The only drawback to having a passionate career in engineering, he points out, is that it cuts into his airtime! The MER mission and his doctoral dissertation have seriously impacted his flying time over the last few years. “I will be pleased when I have enough time to do more local hang glider flying, and I would like to try paragliding,” he says.

When asked if anything in his work with the Mars mission had led him to new insights regarding his hang gliding Juan’s reply was, “No, but hang gliding has given me ideas for Mars missions.” For a while he worked on concepts for robotic air34

planes to fly on Mars. “Anything going to Mars needs to be packaged very tightly. I played around with ideas related to hang glider-type unfolding schemes—a great way of packing a lot of wing area in a small volume!”

Currently Juan is a member of the MER parachute team (Spirit and Opportunity), and that in turn makes him a member of the entry, descent, and landing team.

He was responsible for various aspects of the parachute development including both sets of wind tunnel tests (sub-scale and full-scale). He was also involved with most of the other major tests (e.g., drop testing) and he performed various analyses including calculation of the opening loads for both Earth tests and Mars flight.

“I spent most of my time over three years working on the MER parachute design, development, and qualification,” said Juan.

“It should be emphasized that this is a team effort with others throughout NASA and industry.”

Juan’s training is in aerospace engineering. “This training gave me the background upon which I could develop parachute expertise. I developed skills in parachute design and analysis mainly by studying reports and papers over the last five years and working on the MER parachute. I really like to stay away from the term ‘parachute expert.’ Parachutes can behave in unpredictable ways, which can baffle even the most experienced parachute designer.”

When MER started, Juan had been studying parachute design on his own for several years so the MER team was a good fit for his skills and interest. He also has a strong background in testing which was useful to the project. As a member of the parachute team he was one of about six people who spent most of their time working on the parachute system during its development.

Having someone with a background in hang gliding turned into an asset for the MER team. Juan’s years of watching and April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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studying the weather to support his flying interests (human powered airplanes, sailplanes, hang gliders) proved useful in advising the project with regards to the timing of full-scale drop tests to avoid the possibility of atmospheric motions polluting the data.

Testing a parachute on Earth that is designed to work on Mars is not an easy task.

Mars’s atmosphere is about 100 times thinner than Earth’s at sea level. A previous generation of engineers conducted highaltitude supersonic tests of parachutes during the 1960s and 1970s. Using these data the MER team extrapolated their lowaltitude test results to Mars flight. There were some residual uncertainties, but they designed the entry, descent, landing (EDL) system to be forgiving of these uncertainties. This need for a forgiving design applies to other systems as well—it is not possible to do an end-to-end test of the EDL system on Earth. Juan summed it up exactly: “The first time we see the system work end-to-end is on Mars!”

Additional factors besides atmospheric density were also considered in the design. The parachutes must be packed to a very high density and also need to be heat-sterilized to avoid populating Mars with bacterial life from Earth. Also known as “Planetary Protection,” this precaution is taken very seriously. The parachutes used in the final qualification test must be packed and sterilized as if they were going to Mars so that the designers account for any effects these processes may have on their ultimate performance.

When asked how the prototypes were field-tested for their reaction to these other factors, Juan explained that “MER was conceived from the beginning as a mission that would use the proven landing system of Mars Pathfinder. No other descent methods (which do exist) were considered. Improvements were made to the Mars Pathfinder system but its basic architecture (parachute, airbags, and retro-rockets) is the same.”

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He added, “Although our parachute is already quite large (46.3 feet in diameter), our final descent rate is still about 150 mph. A parachute large enough to allow us to avoid using retro-rockets would have been very large (remember the very low atmospheric density). The parachute does a good job of taking us from supersonic speeds down to the relatively slow speed of 150 mph. The retro-rockets are a better solution to take us from 150 mph to zero.”

The EDL phase is considered to be the most dangerous part of the mission. What is on a designer’s mind when the moment of truth arrives? A lot of things have to work in a short period of time and there is no stopping to correct problems. The whole sequence is on autopilot. Juan confided, “After all the testing we put the parachute through we felt confident that the parachute would work. However it was still extremely satisfying, and a relief, to get confirmation that the parachute worked (we know this right away because we can detect a Doppler shift in the spacecraft’s transmitter frequency as the parachute decelerates the entry vehicle).

Probably the trickiest part is the final few seconds when the computer has to decide when to fire the retro-rockets and cut the bridle from which the airbags and lander are hanging. At 450 feet above the surface you are still coming down at 150 mph.

The retro-rockets fire and a few seconds later the airbags and lander are at zero vertical velocity 30 feet above the surface.

Fortunately computers have nerves of silicon. The rover has traveled 300 million miles to come to a dead stop 30 feet above the ground!”

Juan’s team started working on the parachute for this 2004 mission in August of 2000. Everything seemed to be going well until the summer of 2002 when problems began to surface with the structural integrity and inflation of the parachute.

The requirements were to deliver the parachute to the Kennedy Space Center

by February of 2003 for launch in June.

This necessitated solving the problems

Parachute designer Juan gets some welldeserved airtime.

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they already had, re-designing the parachute, developing a new test method (the full-scale wind tunnel structural test), qualifying the re-designed parachute, and building two units for fl ight between June 2002 and February 2003.

Juan commented, “Now it seems as if it was not a big deal, but in September 2002 we still did not have an acceptable design, and we did not know that the solutions we were trying were going to work. It was a pretty stressful time.

Also take into account that this was a coast-to-coast effort. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (responsible for the mission) is in Pasadena, California; the full-scale wind tunnel is near San Jose, California; I am in Hampton, Virginia; the company designing and manufacturing the parachute is in South Windsor, Connecticut; and the spacecraft leaves for Mars from Cape Canaveral, Florida!”

Viewers who watched a recent NOVA television special (Mars: Dead or Alive) on the MER witnessed one of the parachute tests when it failed to pop open and instead began “squidding.” “That came as a complete surprise,” Juan says. “I must have read most of the literature that has been published on Disk-Gap-Band (DGB) parachutes and have not encountered another example of squidding on this kind of canopy. It was just five months before the required parachute delivery and here we have this new problem. The concept of ‘parachute expert’ seemed quite out of place that day. After the initial shock (15 minutes) we set to work right away on generating theories and finding a solution.”

This moment is captured in the NOVA program when Juan is making a phone call asking somebody for a favor. “I called my colleague Eric Queen at Langley, asked him to drop whatever he was doing, find

a certain document for me, and fax the relevant pages.” Juan adds with obvious relief, “He did as requested.”

Squidding happens when the amount of air going into the parachute is the same as the amount of air going out of the parachute in a configuration less than full inflation. “The first thing we did,” said Juan, “is try to set up an alternate test (which did not require pressure packing and mortar firing) by which we could reproduce the squidding behavior.” In parallel the team began looking at where the air could be escaping to a larger degree than was desired.

The parachute vent (the hole at the top of the canopy) was an early suspect. Having developed an alternate testing method to reproduce the unwanted behavior they could test the vent theory to see if it was the source of the problem. A quick patch was installed on the vent of one of the

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already-tested parachutes and the alternate test method showed that squidding did not occur after this modification.

After that the team had to stand down while new parachutes with smaller vents were made and packed for mortar firing.

These new parachutes confirmed that the smaller vent fixed the problem. The “engineering” version of the final parachute was tested successfully on October 30, 2003. The “qualification” test (with a parachute made at the same time as the flight parachutes from the same material lots) was conducted on January 15, 2003.

“It was close,” Juan added with a smile, “but we were able to make our delivery date.”

When asked “What’s next?” now that Spirit and Opportunity are down safely and his role in this mission is over, Juan responded, “Some hang glider flying once it warms up would be nice. I am already working on the parachute for the next Mars lander, a mission known as Phoenix, due to launch in 2007. I am also working on a much larger Mars mission planned for 2009 known as the Mars Science Laboratory. Then there is hope that we will get to fly a robotic airplane on Mars someday...”

Reflecting on his career thus far, Juan points out that it was reading Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis that first drew him into aeronautical engineering, and notes that he finds it satisfying to have had the chance to work on his own “Spirit” in the Mars Exploration Rover. Quite a giant step from a beginning of building and flying (and crashing) radio-controlled model aircraft as a boy! In spite of all the experience Juan brings to the deployment of parachutes, as a hang pilot he has never had to toss his own, and adds, “I hope I’ll never have to!” …

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

“Some hang glider flying once it warms up would be nice.”

What is involved in designing a parachute for Mars—or for anywhere? Juan points out some similarities and differences between the MER team’s parachute design and the emergency reserves we foot-launch pilots carry in our harnesses.

Q: What material is the MER parachute made of? How does that compare to the material that your hang gliding reserve is made of?

A: The materials are not that different: nylon and polyester fabric with Kevlar for the reinforcements, suspension lines, risers, and bridles.

guessed it...) the gap. This parachute type was developed specifically for planetary missions where it will open at supersonic speeds and in extremely low atmospheric densities (the equivalent of 100,000 feet msl or higher on Earth). All American missions to Mars have used DGB parachutes. One of the neat things about DGB parachutes is that you can increase their stability by increasing the height of the band. This allows us to tailor the stability of the parachute to the needs of particular missions. This increase in stability does come at a cost: increasing stability reduces drag efficiency.

Q: Why was a conical design chosen rather than a PDA design?

Q: How many parachutes did you blow out in tests? How long did it take to modify the design and have another one made?

A: The parachute used by MER is of a design known as Disk-Gap-Band (DGB).

It is essentially a flat circular canopy (the disk) with a cylindrical element (the band).

The disk and band are separated by (you

A: The development effort damaged or completely destroyed seven parachutes.

There were also others that failed to inflate fully (i.e., they “squidded”). The parachute re-design cycle is usually several months, 37

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but as a launch date approached (there is no compromising with the alignment of the planets...) it was necessary to reduce the re-design cycle down to a few weeks. For some tests we did on-the-spot modifications by sewing pieces of fabric to parachutes we already had and re-testing them.

Q: What factors in a parachute design assure that the canopy will open at an appropriate speed (so that it doesn’t rip your lips off when it opens)?

A: The mission specifies the requirements and we have to meet them. Among our requirements were that the parachute had to be capable of opening at speeds up to twice the speed of sound on Mars and withstand a test with a peak opening force of at least 24,200 pounds (we actually tested up to 29,975 pounds). Under certain conditions the parachute may decelerate the entry vehicle to levels in excess of 9 g’s.

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Q: How much information is gained from wind tunnel tests, and how much remains uncertain until you can actually field test the design?

A: Wind tunnels are a great way of getting accurate information under controlled conditions. We performed wind tunnel tests on 10% scale models and full-scale parachutes (the test section in the wind tunnel where we performed the full-scale tests is 80 x 120 feet!). We also performed drop tests of full-scale parachutes. The sub-scale wind tunnel tests were performed to obtain information regarding the drag and stability characteristics of the parachute. The full-scale wind tunnel tests and drop tests were performed to assess the structural strength of the parachute. The uncertainties arise mainly from the differences in speeds and atmospheric density between Earth tests and Mars flight. On Mars we are operating in an atmosphere 100 times

thinner than that on Earth’s surface. We are also operating at supersonic speeds on Mars whereas all the tests on Earth were conducted at subsonic speeds. We have ways of adjusting the test conditions and results to obtain equivalent Mars-flight data, but there are remaining uncertainties in this process.

Q: Is there anything that you’ve learned in your Mars mission work that might be of interest to those who design reserve canopies for us light-weight free-flight folks?

A: There probably is not much they don’t already know. Details count. Never underestimate the ability of parachutes to baffle you. In experimental data we trust.

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to enhance cultural values and even link age-old curiosity to experience their infatuation to step into the sky and enter the realm of the mountain gods. It’s both intangibly intense and intensely real, and for these reasons alone we could offer the miracle of flight, with no strings attached.

By Dick Jackson

“Dore, dore, dore!…

Run! Keep running!” There’s no question that these guys can run, and what stamina! When it comes to high altitude endurance ground handling, you cannot beat the natural talent bred into a Sherpa.

I first met Pema Dorje Sherpa during the first American ascent of Himalchuli, at 25,801 feet, back in 1984. He was just 24 at the time, had summited Everest three times and represented Mountain Travel’s most senior sirdar (lead guide) for technical expeditions. Nearly 20 years later, we again made plans to rendezvous at his home in the village of Khumjung, located in the upper Khumbu region of Nepal.

I had taken Pema flying in At 12,500’ the now- defunct Aspen a year ago, and so the airstrip at Syangboche is the plan was to combine our perfect training ground for mutual passion for climbing the newly-formed Khumbu with the opportunity for his Flight School. Visiting infamily and friends to also structors Chuck Smith and experience this freedom of Dale Covington are workpure flight. We also decided ing one-on-one with locals to secure a permit to climb a Nangyal Sherpa and Ang remote, technical peak called Kali Sherpa. What is lost Kyajo Ri, at 20,295 feet, with through the language barrier the intention to fly from its is more than compensated summit. Kyajo has just refor in stoic enthusiasm and cently been added to Nepal an intuitive mastering of the Mountaineering Association’s tactile sense. Patience and list of permitted trekking persistence would ultimately peaks, so very little informapay off, but for Chuck and tion exists about how to acDale time was not on their cess it or what its technical Ang Kali Sherpa learning the ropes (lines) side to issue KFS’s first P1 difficulties are. Pema seemed ratings. Still, Nangyal and somewhat intimidated as “Kaliman” did get off the ground and we’ve got the footage to Kyajo Ri was once considered a “sacred summit,” and perhaps prove it. Their smiles confirm that universal euphoria in what all no one should ever step upon its peak. He agreed to go most of of humankind call flying, which is what brought us here to Nepal the way! in the first place.

With such a great plan we only needed a group of friends and The past three weeks in this incredible setting have exceeded a winning lottery ticket to make it happen. Just six weeks out my highest expectations when I proposed this trip to Marmot from a planned departure, Marmot upped the ante on our modMountain Ltd. just three months ago. What began as a personal est proposal and offered to fully sponsor the trip, complete with promise to give back to the Sherpa people of the Khumbu region a documentary film aimed at both global marketing and the cirbecame, in its purest form, the opportunity to fly. To actually fly, cuit of Mountain Film Festivals, including Telluride and Banff. to step off the earth and soar with the lammergeiers and goraks, Suddenly the trip blossomed into a much higher level of expectatakes on a vastly wild interpretation for the Sherpa people. With tions, challenging our desire to bridge the cultural gap through consistent curiosity that seems communally contagious as a con- the gift of flight. Marmot arranged the film production with genital condition, it’s not a question of desire. There is a spiritual Texture Media’s Frank Pickell, who would ultimately work with acceptance that to fly is to attain a higher life form…an eagle can multitasking U.S. Paragliding Team member Cherie Silvera to take flight and in that moment freedom is taken to the next level, trek, climb, fly and document 40 hours of footage to be cut down quite literally. The tandem paraglider has an amazing potential to 40 minutes. Envying that 60:1 F/E ratio (Footage shot / Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

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Dale Covington high over Khumbu, the very rooftop of the world Photo: Dick Jackson

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Edited version), my attention split two-fold: we needed a team of advanced pilots who had equivalent high altitude mountaineering experience, plus specialized ultra-lightweight gear to climb and fly with.

Ozone Paragliders graciously agreed to supply both McDaddy tandem and Peak mountaineering gliders. Thanks to DHL and FedEx, the gliders made it from their production in Vietnam to California where, thanks to SkyBee, logos were screened just in time to test-fly the gliders (rigged with POV camera mounts) in Aspen prior to departure for the Roof of the World. Sup’Air also came to our aid with Radicale and Altiplume harnesses along with their super-light mountaineering packs. And finally Petzl/ North America contributed Elios helmets and climbing gear to complete our needs. Marmot, of course, styled the team with everything from prototype baselayers to insulated outerwear and from sleeping bags to tents—a flowing caravan of “M-Dot” logos winding up the trail toward Everest like a sponsored caterpillar.

from the Nepalese Department of Civil Aviation, but warned that Sagamartha National Park might require additional permits once we arrived in Namche Bazar, two days’ trekking from Lukla.

Certainly there had been previous paragliding flights within the park, including several by yours truly, but those were singular solo events without much notice and consequence. However our intentions this time were to film numerous tandem paragliding flights with local passengers above the high-profile village of Khumjung, within the Sagamartha National Park.

With the recent threat of Maoist insurgence and security concerns, all of us were well aware that we Cherie Silvera getting a little help could essentially be Shit from a friend, Nima Outta Luck. Little did we realize that our string of good luck would carry through the next few weeks, and to shorten an entertainingly long story, in two days’ time we held the first-ever issued permit to fly paragliders in a Nepalese National Park!

Assembling the “Dream Team” turned out to be more fun than effort. Dale Covington from Salt Lake and Chuck Smith of Sun Valley represent USHGA’s highest ratings and their vast tandem experience places them in an elite cast of talent, not unlike the select Dodging that figurative bullet placed the team precisely where few world-class “aero” pilots! we’d hoped to be and right on schedule…justifiably warned not Dale, to fly directly over the military instalChuck lation adjacent to Namche or we’d be and I dodging bullets for real! Our Sherpa share staff had already been jockeying for poa myrsition to be our first tandem “victims,” Dick Jackson on the summit of Luza Peak iad of so it wasn’t difficult to coerce them into mini-adventures and many years of the helping hump the gliders up the endless closest friendships. Lori Fitzgerald, forhillside toward Khumbi Yul Lha high mer women’s hang gliding open distance above Pema’s Gompa Guest Lodge to world record holder, also joined the team about 15,000 feet, where we found an from Salt Lake, as did (of course!) my ideal launch site. We had already scoped wife Paulina, whose persistence led to out the LZ, conveniently located in the this whole thing actually taking place. schoolyard where 250 rioting juveniles Just two months after the initial proawaited our re-entry just moments beposal to Marmot all seven of us arrived fore their teachers expected their full in Kathmandu, jet-lagged to the hilt yet attention. Shooting “point-of-view” Chuck Smith ground handling/showing responsive to Pema’s trademark giggling footage on nearly every flight, we were off in Khumjung laugh and his warm welcome to Nepal. also discovering the preferred times and places to fly, and switching sites based on either thermal strength Confident that all permits and logistics were solidly in place, we or ridge-soarable valley winds. tagged Kathmandu and shuttled to the airstrip in Lukla at 9,000 feet, via one of Yeti Airlines’ well-seasoned twin Otters. Airport November weather in the Himalaya is notoriously stable, yet officials confirmed the paragliding permits we had received the highest mountains on the planet yield monster thermals 42

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and daily ripping valley winds. After five days the word was out around town that at a cost of $175 U.S. per flight, anyone fortunate enough to fly with us was truly getting a deal. We affectionately renamed the trip “Huck a Sherp,” as even Pema’s wife Mingma took to the air with Chuck, albeit with eyes closed and not running even one step! Right about then Dale, Chuck and I created a third-world tandem rating of T4, which basically takes into account factors like high altitude, never-before-flown sites, a significant language barrier and passengers who don’t cooperate during that important initial phase of the flight.

After five days in Khumjung, it was finally time to abandon the comforts of the Gompa Lodge and head up the valley to Gokyo, the highest village nestled between an alpine lake called Dudh Pokhari and the Ngozumpa Glacier at nearly 16,000 feet. Still acclimatizing by hiking to over 18,000 feet, we agreed that the flights from Gokyo Ri truly epitomized the essence of why we pursue this form of adventure paragliding. We were soaring within reach of three of the world’s highest summits (Everest, Lhotse and Makalu) and within 10 miles from the Tibetan Plateau beyond the south face of Cho Oyu, also Another willing — and psyched over 26,000 feet.

— Sherpa in Khumjung

As winter approaches the Himalaya, the jet stream drops in elevation and extremely high winds aloft are the norm, churning the air into wild displays of stacked lenticulars down to about 21,000 feet. Safely beneath this sheer layer, we played like otters in the laminar lift band, not wanting to acknowledge the ominous clouds above telling any P1-2 pilot worth their 25+ flights and DHV1 glider to “Forget about it!” Landing often seemed a mixed bag, as the cold glacial air often interrupted the up-valley anabatic flow, usually only when it was too late to adjust one’s “final” into the desired LZ. Hearing Chuck’s confident voice over the radio relaying conditions has always sounded good to me, but it was never more appreciated than on this trip.

All those hard-earned uphill forays with gliders aboard our backs resulted in that wonderful physiological condition called acclimatization. It takes weeks to get there and only half as long to lose it, but we were there and it was time to use it. Our approach to Kyajo Ri employed all our resources in establishing a high camp near 17,000 feet on a moraine just below the Luza Glacier. Traversing the glacier into the huge basin below the south face of Kyajo, we suddenly found ourselves cliffed out with no safe way to connect with our intended route. Assessing the options, our luck held fast as the nearby summit of Luza Peak loomed overhead, offering a snow-covered east-facing launchable ramp that dropped off Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

Cherie, Dale, Chuck and Pema summiting Luza Peak 43

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a couple thousand feet toward our high camp and the valley 6,000 feet below.

The next morning found Cherie, Frank, Dale, Chuck and me on the summit of Luza Peak by 8 a.m., with moderate thermal cycles blowing nearly straight in on our chilled faces. These conditions wouldn’t last long, as the predominant westerly winds would kick in soon, shutting down our window of opportunity to fly into the valley where both Lori and Paulina were filming and relaying conditions at the landing area. One by one we all got off, Dale first followed by Chuck, Cherie and myself. Chuck cored a thermal right in front of launch and took it up well over 20,000 feet with the sole company of a lone eagle. Heading out over the Gokyo valley with huge vertical, the race was on to land before the rising clouds blocked our approach to the village of Luza.

Clockwise from left: Dream Team member Chuck Smith soaring above Khumbu, The Khumbu Flight School at Syangboche International, Another T4 tandem launch...

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Dale Covington launching from Gokyo Ri.

Chuck Smith, with Everest and Lhotse behind, off Luza Peak

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We were all having the flights of our lives, with the world’s highest summits laid out between our legs and the sheer magnitude of the terrain numbing our sense of vertical movement. Parked in euphoric suspension, the rock spires cascading down to Luza were reminiscent of the Aiguilles above Chamonix, where I’ve spent so many days climbing and flying. Even the lower clouds, upon close inspection, created a thin veil that marked my shadow framed within a halo projected by the unfiltered sun above.

It just doesn’t get any better than this!

I flashed on a conversation I’d had with Pema’s cousin, Urken, who described a vision he’d had eight days prior to flying with Chuck. Urken had been born in the Year of the Bird and he described with absolute confidence his destiny to fly, just as the first legendary incarnation to bring Buddhism to the Khumbu region flew from the ancient capitol of Tibet, the city of Lhasa, home to the Dalai Lama until 1959. I flashed back to the reality of this flight, basking in the momentary acceptance of perfection and impermanence.

That evening, again taking in the brilliance of the slightly waning full moon rising over the pastel-laden skyline, we toasted the 19 beers to be found in this tiny village to our good fortune, new friendship, the harmony of flight and the opportunity to share the passion and gift of flying with the Sherpa people of the Khumbu.

Namaste and Swagatam! (“Welcome!” in Nepalese and Sherpa)

Chuck Smith soaring beneath the north face of Kantega

GOING

Going Biwingual for All the Wright Reasons: A personal celebration of the 100th year of flight (OK, OK, I know... it’s 100 years of powered flight but it was still a perfect excuse!)

By Hal Smith Free flight pilots the world over owe a great debt to the two men who made both controlled free-flight and powered flight a reality. At the turn of the century, Wilbur and Orville Wright, through diligent, careful engineering and experimentation, created and flew the first controllable gliders and powered aircraft. On December 17th, 2003 the world celebrated the 100year anniversary of that first flight of a powered aircraft.

Michelle Devoe and I are P3 pilots and over the past year or so, we’ve been talking about crossing over and trying out hang gliding. Since we had a trip scheduled to spend time with Michelle’s family on the outer banks of North Carolina over the Christmas break, we decided to turn that family reunion into a personal minicelebration of the Wright brothers’ anniversary. Michelle called ahead and was able to arranged introductory hang lessons from Kitty Hawk Kites, just down the street from where the Wright brothers flew 100 years ago last December.

The weather was unusually warm for December, almost 70 degrees with high, broken clouds, when we stopped by the Kitty Hawk Kites office in Kill Devil Hills, N.C. Kitty Hawk Kites probably exposes more pilots to hang gliding than any other school in the country, well over 10,000 students a year! We met Andy Torrington and Steve Bernier, our stalwart instructors, in the early afternoon and after a short training video, they took us out to the dunes.

Kitty Hawk Kites uses Eaglet gliders that they build themselves, as well as a couple of Wills Wing Condors, for flight instruction.

After the obligatory hang check, Michelle and I were soon gliding down the dunes with Steve and Andy running alongside.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

Michelle gets a careful hang check before launching from the dune at Kitty Hawk Kites.

Photo: Hal Smith

Hal begins his launch run, hoping for airtime.

Photo: Michelle Devoe

Andy and Steve give Hal a real run for his money!

Photo: Michelle Devoe

BIWINGUAL

We worked on our flare timing, and holding a semi-straight course down the dunes, and then Steve or Andy carried the glider back up the dune for our next flight. Now that’s service! Michelle and I both had huge smiles that whole day, and we agreed that we’ll have to find an instructor back home and take more hang lessons. We’re hoping to find a Seattle-area instructor who’ll provide the same glider sherpa service that we got from Steve and Andy!

We were tired from our time on the dunes, but our personal celebration journey was not over yet. If you are out on the east coast and love flying, you absolutely must see the National Air and Space Museum in that other Washington—Washington, DC. On New Year’s Day 2004, Michelle and I stepped off the Metro and strolled across the National Mall on our latest visit to the museum. In the past, we have happily spent hours wandering through the exhibits marveling at all the hardware and marvelous flying achievements that have all come about in the past 100 years since Orville and Wilbur took to the skies. This trip was to be no exception. The museum has brought the airplane that the Wright brothers flew in 1903 down from the ceiling where it has been for the last 50 or so years and installed it in a new exhibit that tells the Wright brothers’ amazing story.

The craft now sits at floor level and is surrounded by artifacts and stories of their lasting achievements. This exhibit is an amazing sight that you must go see if you are in the neighborhood.

Hal Smith started paragliding in the spring of 2001. Before becoming a bagwing pilot, he was a USNR P3 Orion aircrew member with a degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering (BSAE) from UW. He currently works in engineering management for a global aircraft manufacturer in the Pacific Northwest, and often finds time after work to grab an afternoon flight at nearby Tiger Mountain.

The Eaglet has landed–almost. Michelle at the end of her first flight Photo: Hal Smith 47

QDUE AP DA RR UT PM L E AN NT E

Stairway to Heaven: Larry Hall’s Quadruplane Hang Glider

T

Story and photos by Vaughn Entwhistle

he late 1970s saw an explosion of creativity in hang glider design that will likely never be equaled. Photographs taken at the big hang gliding meets of the time show an amazing diversity of designs—tailed and tailless biplanes such as the Hang Loose and the Icarus II, three-axis and weight-shift monoplanes such as the VJ 23 and the Quicksilver, tailless rigid wings such as the Sunseed, Fledgling, and Sundance, as well as rogallos of varying aspect ratio all the way to hybrid tailed designs such as the Aeolus. The freedom and accessibility of foot-launch flight had fired the imagination of latter-day DaVincis around the world and the sport of hang gliding seemed to reinvent itself with each passing month. But of all those early hang glider designs, perhaps nothing equaled the audacity and inventiveness of Larry Hall’s Quadruplane.

Fully-fledged: Larry Hall is one of the big names in the history of hang gliding. The partnership of Klaus Hill and Larry Hall spawned some of the most successful hang glider designs of the next three decades. The first was the Fledgling, a foldable rigid wing that set new standards for performance and safety. As 48

From left to right: Art Anderson, Terry Lobochefsky, Ted and Larry Hall, Don Beuch and Klaus Hill

manufactured by Manta Products, the Fledgling went through a number of iterations—Fledge 1, Fledge 2, Fledge 2B, Fledge 3 and Fledge 3 ET—before the company ceased trading. Another Klaus Hill/Larry Hall design, an ultralight three-axis sailplane dubbed the Superfloater, is still being built and sold today.

Birth of a concept: While the usual impetus for a new design is higher performance—better glide angle, lower sink rate, and faster top speed—Larry Hall designed his Quadruplane to test design concepts and explore new flight regimes: “I wanted a machine that could turn sharper, fly slower, and soar in lighter lift than any of the current hang gliders—something a little closer to the realm of bird flight or radio-control glider flight. Watching RC gliders fly, I often thought how neat it would be to stay up in winds as light as they could soar in and turn as sharply as they turned. It wasn’t possible to do that with any existing hang glider, but I thought, what if I could put a little bit of myself on several small gliders and fly them in formation . . . ?

That’s what got me started on the multiplane idea.”

April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Q U D A E P D AR RU TP M L A E N T E

Four wings are better than one? Larry Hall wasn’t the first to build and fly a multiplane hang glider. That distinction goes to Matthew Bacon Sellers, whose stepped, straight-wing quadruplane hang glider made short hops from the hills of Kentucky back in the early 1900s. But then Sellers, like his contemporaries the Wright brothers, chose to ruin a perfectly good idea by bolting a noisy, clattering engine to his creation.

Larry Hall studied aeronautical engineering at Utah State, so he was familiar with the theoretical advantages of biplane and multiplane configurations.

With a Quadruplane, even when alone, you’re always flying in formation

an ASW 28, manhandling such a beast onto the launch ramp at your local flying site would be, to say the least, character-building.

Other Quadruplane advantages: To prove the concept, Larry began by building balsa gliders. These simple models revealed another important advantage of the multiplane configuration.

“It seemed I could almost reach out and touch the wingtips.”

“Tip losses,” Hall explains, “go up by the square of the chord, or in this case, down by the square root. Take any monoplane and ‘quadruplane’ it, and the tip drag of all four wings combined will be exactly one-fourth that of the original monoplane.”

The big advantage to biplane/multiplane configurations is achieving the same wing area as a monoplane in a much smaller span. Because of foot-launching considerations, hang gliders are limited in both weight and wingspan. Even if it were possible to build a superlight footlaunched sailplane with the span of Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

“I was intrigued with the stability of the quadruplane model gliders,” Hall says. “What I liked was the fact that each wing could use an unstable lifting airfoil, but because of the stagger and decalage (in the case of a tailless quadruplane, the difference in angle of attack between each of the four wings) the whole glider was stable. Flying wing airfoils have always bugged me. I designed my own airfoil for the Quadruplane.

It’s similar to the Icarus airfoil, but without reflex.”

Like a biplane, a quadruplane can be built incredibly strong yet light, thanks to the use of bracing struts and wires. In the full-size Quadruplane, Larry reduced interplane interference by positively staggering each wing 45 degrees. Starting from the bottom of the stack, he increased the incidence of each successive wing by ¾ of a degree. This not only gave the Quadruplane positive pitch stability, but also produced a glider with a gentle, progressive stall.

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Q U A D R U P L A N E

capped with thin aluminum sheet. The frame was covered with polyester dress lining purchased from JC Penny shrunk tight and then doped.

Unlike a conventional hang glider, the control frame was just something to hang on and steer the craft with, and was not a structural element. Larry flew the Quadruplane seated using the requisite plastic swing seat from Sears. Had he flown prone or with a good supine harness, the Quadruplane would probably have picked up a point or two in glide.

The “Quad” takes shape in Larry Hall’s workshop.

Construction: The Quadruplane was built using the same construction techniques employed in the Icarus II. Leading edges were 1-1/2” diameter aluminum tube. The rear spar consisted of one-inch tubing with a quarter-inch tube forming the trailing edge. Ribs were sawn from half-inch foam insulation board and

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The Hall Quadruplane took about an hour to assemble or disassemble on the hilltop and everything packed away into a plywood box strapped to the top of Larry’s Jeep. Although he tried to keep construction light, the weight of four wings and all the necessary struts and wires added up to 65 pounds. While this figure wouldn’t raise eyebrows today, back in the era of 35-pound rogallos it made the Quadruplane a heavyweight.

Stairway to heaven? The longest wing on Hall’s Quadruplane had a span of just over 20 feet! To put that into perspective,

April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Q U D A E P D AR RU TP M L A E N T E

In terms of static balance the Quadruplane was quite tailheavy and required a tail runner, but the short wing span made it easy to keep the wings level on launch. The low inertia of the short wings made the Quadruplane highly responsive to rudder corrections.

Landing flairs were light and easy and almost at a standstill.

Low and slow: These were the days before pilots carried reserve chutes. Consequently, Larry never tried any radical maneuvers,

Recruiting ground handlers is no problem when you fly a quadruplane.

consider the fact that a typical flex wing these days spans over 30 feet, while the Atos spans 42 feet. Heck, there are a lot of 1/3-scale radio controlled gliders with a wingspan greater than 20 feet.

The Quadruplane’s top wing had the greatest span, with the three lower wings progressively stepped down in span so that the lower two wings were close to 19 feet and 18 feet respectively. The control bar and swing seat hung slightly below the lowest wing.

In flight, when Larry looked over his shoulder, the wingtips were only nine feet away.

“On my first flights I was a little startled as I glanced out at the wings,” Larry recalls. “It looked as if I could almost reach out and touch the wing tips.”

Performance: At the time, Larry owned and flew a Quicksilver rigid wing monoplane, one of the better-performing hang gliders for that period. Compared with the Quicksilver, Larry says the Quadruplane’s glide was a little worse and the sink rate was a little higher, which meant the Quadruplane was still equal to or slightly better than most of the hot rag wings of the time.

What is sure, however, is that, thanks to the tiny wingspan, there has probably never been a hang glider with as tight a turning radius.

The Quadruplane steered via two small drag rudders mounted close to the wingtips between the two lowest wings. Deploying a rudder was simply a matter of twisting a twist grip on the control bar upright. The combination of sweepback and dihedral produced a coordinated yaw-roll couple that snapped the glider into a turn. Because of the height of the stacked wings, Larry says that the sensations in flight were quite unlike any other hang glider he’s ever flown: “In a turn, I felt almost as if I were swinging out like a pendulum until I reached the desired bank angle. I could feel the tip rudders causing the glider to roll as well as yaw since the rudders are placed behind and below the center of gravity. Spectators on the ground commented that the rolling motion seemed to pivot around a point centered at the root of the top wing, which was 10 feet above me.”

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

The unique form of the Quadruplane in flight

such as spins or whipstalls. Still, he reports that the Quadruplane displayed good pitch stability with the control bar returning to trim speed once released. Thanks to the staggered wings with their varying incidence, the stall was gentle and progressive— pushing out produced a mush rather than a sharp break stall.

“It seemed perfectly safe and stable,” Larry remembers, “but it had a pretty narrow speed range. It wouldn’t penetrate high winds very well. One day, while soaring at the Point of the Mountain the wind really picked up and I ended up being blown backward.”

Larry flew with the bar sucked all the way in and ended the flight with a vertical descent to a top landing close to where he’d taken off from. In hindsight, the Quadruplane suffered from a lack of pitch authority. Larry flew the Quadruplane seated, and the control bar didn’t have a “speed bar” hump in it. What’s more, the four stacked wings produced an effective chord of eight feet. Probably the Quadruplane would have benefited from a “pitchy” or similar device to increase the range of weight shift for pitch.

Four wings for the future? Larry doesn’t fly hang gliders much these days as he is kept busy by his business, The Hall Brothers Manufacturing Company, which makes ABS wheels for control frames plus the ubiquitous Hall wind meter, thousands of which 51

have been sold around the world (www.hallwindmeters.com).

Larry is still a believer in the quadruplane concept. Offering benign stall characteristics coupled with a fast and tight turn response, a quadruplane hang glider would be uniquely suited to soaring low sand dunes and ridge sites too small for conventional hang gliders.

When Larry Hall built his Quadruplane in the 1970s, carbon fiber and aramid materials were still being developed in the lab.

Using composites to create a cantilever quadruplane would greatly reduce drag by eliminating the maze of wires and struts. In addition, performance could be greatly boosted by replacing the homespun wing profile with a modern, computer-designed airfoil. (Those developed for human-powered aircraft would be well suited.) Careful design could result in a unique foot-launched flying machine capable of soaring where no paraglider or hang glider soars today.

OK, isn’t it about time we reinvented the hang glider?

QUADRUPLANE SPECIFICATIONS

Wingspans from top: 20’ 10”; 19’ 10”; 18’ 10”; 17’ 10”

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Chord:

2 ft. 6in.

Wing area:

185 sq.ft.

Dihedral:

6 degrees

Weight:

65 lbs.

Stagger:

45 degrees

Sweep:

10 degrees

Airfoil:

similar to Icarus II with no reflex

Rudder Area:

Each, 2.36 sq.ft.

Overall height:

10 ft.

April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

P I L O T

Kay’s World: Kids, Kites and Chaos

By Cherie Silvera 6:30 a.m. – Kay Tauscher brews up a strong pot of coffee for herself and toasts a bagel for her 10year-old daughter Jesse, whose nose is buried in the latest Harry Potter book.

6:45 a.m. – Kay re-emerges into the kitchen with 4-year-old Beau clinging to her in his pj’s and obviously reluctant to wake up.

Curled up in fetal position, he opens one eye and begs to stay home from school. His pleas go unheeded and he bursts into tears. Kay cuddles and comforts him with promises of how much fun he’ll have in school.

7:00 a.m. –Seven-year-old Max shuffles into the kitchen with his clothes inside out and asks for cereal. He and Beau bicker over who gets to play Gameboy.

7:15 a.m. – Casey, Kay’s husband, grabs the lunch Kay has packed for him and heads off to his construction job.

7:45 a.m. – Kay bundles everyone up and herds the kids into the Eurovan to be driven off to the public Montessori school.

8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. – Finally, Kay has seven short hours to herself to answer emails, prepare ads, plan future clinics, and head out to the flying site to launch her fledgling paragliding school.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

P R O F I L E

Welcome to the daily life of Kay Tauscher: mother, wife, entrepreneur, environmental engineer, realtor, paragliding instructor and proprietor of Peak to Peak Paragliding.

Some would consider it unnatural for a mother of young children to take such risks as are inherent to free flying, unfeminine to become so consumed by a sport, and financially irresponsible to expect to support a family with the earnings of a budding paragliding school. Kay, and those who know her well, would disagree.

Perhaps Kay embodies what makes our community of pilots so eclectic yet so appealing. We are a motley crew from different walks of life, all of whom share this passion for flight. It is the friendships with like-minded people that complete our flying experience, and it’s people like Kay who make our community richer.

It was only a few years ago, back in 2000, that Kay first experienced paragliding, when a friend treated her to a tandem flight in Aspen, Colorado. Kay was a reluctant participant filled with anxiety right up until she was hooked into the glider, but the minute her feet left the ground everything fell into place. Another instant addiction… Later that day she signed up herself and her husband Casey for a P1 course, and her fate was sealed.

Then the juggling act began. On flying days the two older kids stay with their father, who shares custody and lives down the road from their North Boulder home.

Kay and Casey find a babysitter for their son Beau, or they take turns flying and keeping an eye on their toddler.

As Kay progressed in her flying she realized that although she was receiving good instruction, her gut feeling was that women learn in a different way, and having a female instructor or mentor was a component she was lacking in her growth as a pilot. One example: Early in her flying a botched series of launches resulted in a frustrated crying fit, an emotional 53

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P R O F I L E

satisfying. Self-described as suffering from attention deficit disorder, and a loyal consumer of energy drinks such as Red Bull, she requires a lot of activity to find selffulfillment.

Although being a mother is her foremost priority, she is expanding other aspects of her life. At the age of 43, she has taken up the piano, started writing creatively about her flying experiences, and recently bought an RV to accommodate Kay and Casey backpacking Beau in the Maroon Bells near Aspen, her family while she’s fall of 2001 Photo: Suzie Egger out chasing thermals outburst with which her male instructor around the country. When people point wasn’t able to cope. Perhaps a female in- out that it’s irresponsible for a mother to structor would have been more success- take on the risks associated with flying, ful in coaxing a strong launch, or at least Kay responds: “I’ve decided to be true to been more compassionate with the way myself, and show my kids how to live life we girls occasionally need to express our- fully. To not fly—or to not attempt anyselves (through tears!). Kay also felt from thing—because of fear is not what I want the first that women have a natural sensi- to teach them. It’s all about risk managebility for flying, and she regretted the lack ment, and as a mother I tend to be more of women pilots in the conservative so I can paragliding commucome home in one nity. These observapiece to enjoy the othtions and realizations er aspects of my life. I In the right hands and with planted a seed in her will probably never be skillful guidance, this boundless mind: Perhaps somea great pilot, because I day she could help have other needs that energy that so many newcomers other women enter demand my time, but I pour into our sport benefits us all, the sport, and fill the still want to be as good and helps paragliding grow and role of female mentor as possible within the or instructor that she limitations of what my gain recognition and respect. had longed for during family demands.” her training.

Kay has fully commitThrough her flying ted herself to paraKay has experienced a metamorphosis gliding and has been on a fast learning with her entire life. Having discovered curve since day one. Traveling all over our such a passion in herself for the first time, hemisphere from 24-hour-a-day flying her eyes have been opened to the world, in Alaska’s Girdwood, to guaranteed XC and suddenly anything seems possible. conditions in Mexico’s Valle de Bravo, and Simply being well-educated and living a recently competing in the U.S. National conventional life as a suburban mother Championships in Telluride, Kay has and environmental engineer is no longer sought out any kind of flying within her 54

Kay in a nutshell (actually a box):

Mentor: Chris Santacroce (awesome instructor and incredible pilot) Role models: Cherie Silvera and Kari Castle (kickass women pilots!) and the entire crew of Aspen tandem pilots/ instructors (all great pilots) Goals: To create the highest quality school for paragliding instruction with a strong emphasis on the needs of women pilots, and to be a great mom Best Flight: The 6000’ vertical sled ride at almost midnight from Eagle Glacier in Girdwood, Alaska in June of 2003 with Midnight Sun Paragliding—and the helicopter ride to get to launch! This is closely followed by my first thermaling/XC flight in Valle de Bravo, Mexico, in January of 2002. Some flights you just never forget.

Gliders: Gin Oasis (small) and Ozone MacDaddy tandem (44) Favorite ice cream: Cherry Garcia & Java Chip

D PE I P LO A TR P T RMO EF INL T E

reach. She has quickly moved up the ranks of qualifications and currently possesses P4, T3 and instructors ratings. In spite of skepticism from critics who don’t believe that it is prudent for a pilot to progress so rapidly, Kay credits her qualities as a woman and a mother with keeping her flying decisions safe and thoughtful. Witnessing several serious accidents early in her flying career reaffirmed how unforgiving the sport can be and helped mold Kay into a pilot where safety, good decision making and striving for excellence are her mandates.

thousands of photos, books and articles about personal flying experiences. A few are gems, but most are dreadfully dull. Nonetheless, in the right hands and with skillful guidance, this boundless energy that so many newcomers pour into our

Photos this page: Kay flying tandem in Valle de Bravo, Mexico Photos: Becca Bredehoft and Sean Becker

While struggling with her near-addiction to paragliding, learning to accept the inherent dangers, raising kids, and juggling her marital relationship, she found a mentor and friend in Chris Santacroce. Kay is grateful to him for lending an ear, and offering sound advice that helped turn her dream of launching a flying school into reality. Kay says, “Meeting Chris was a turning point in my flying. He assured me that I could get an instructor rating with my P3, encouraged me to pursue that goal, and showed confidence in me.”

We have all seen or heard of a rookie pilot who believes he or she has just discovered Nirvana, and that everyone (including non-pilots) should share in this excitement for free-flight. This early-in-your-flying blind enthusiasm, thinking you have discovered an untapped goldmine, has resulted in hours of soaring videos, and Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

sport benefits us all, and helps paragliding grow and gain recognition and respect.

Kay is not naïve, but she has found a passion for flying that she wants to share in an intelligent and safe manner with those who are willing to learn.

Three and one-half years after taking her first flight, Kay has jumped into the fray with both feet, combining her business management skills with her passion, and has opened up Peak to Peak Paragliding, her female-owned and operated paragliding school in Boulder, Colorado. She feels the Boulder/Denver area is an untapped market of outdoor enthusiasts, and plans to market her school to the mainstream.

She acknowledges that it has been daunting not to have any income for the last six months while launching the school,

but she feels she is a savvy business person with a background in project management and can make it work. Through collaboration with some of America’s top pilots and instructors, Peak to Peak Paragliding is offering maneuvers clinics, all-women’s clinics, and XC clinics, while Kay herself is instructing her beginner and intermediate students. Her school is dedicated to safety and quality instruction, and excellence is demanded from anyone who steps into the air under Kay’s tutelage. In addition to improving her own flying, Kay’s foremost personal and professional goal is to provide guidance and instruction to other female pilots entering or progressing in the sport, something she wishes had been available to her when she first began to learn.

Cherie Silvera is a member of the U.S. paragliding team, an adventure filmmaker by profession, and an occasional writer of paragliding tidbits. She is sponsored by Advance-USA, and loves a good day out flying with the girls.

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How to cross more country.

Gin and his factory test pilots invested over one year of developing, prototyping and testing the Zoom in practically every spot known for great cross country potential: Texas, Mongolia, Switzerland, France, Austria……and others well known for their difficult conditions: Japan, Korea and Portugal. Hundreds of hours in flight and many many kilometers flown.

The result? A new DHV 2 XC machine that is a masterpiece in performance, stability and simplicity…

With more than 15 years of designing experience, comfort has been one of his main focuses - “To perform well in-flight the pilot must feel confident and comfortable under his wing, without this he cannot use the performance” – Gin Song Gin’s goal was to design a new high performance wing without designing the safety out.

You’ll know it the minute you fly it, because you’ll always feel confident and comfortable under this wing.

With its racy looks, easy head wind transitions as well as smooth and efficient acceleration – you’ll be eating up the kilometers on The Zoom.

DHV 2 ::: 4 sizes

zoom x country Photos: Jerome Maupoint

GIN GLIDERS USA - SUPERFLY ::: tel. +1 (801) 255 9595 ::: info@4superfly.com ::: www.gingliders.com

P A R A N G L I D E R

FLYING THE NEW PARANGLIDER

By W.E. Duptya old on to your hats, er, helmets. Whether you fly on your tum or your bum, you’re about to experience a revolution in your sport. Two ways, in fact: The first is because your current glider—no matter what you fly—is now obsolete. The second way is because the art of thermal soaring just got easier, so no doubt you will be spending more time literally revolving upward.

Also expect no more shaky launches, no more missed lift, no more handling problems, no more getting spit out, no more turbulence fears and no more boinked landings. Need we say more?

Of course we do, because you want to know the source of all this magic. The answer is the Paranglider.

The Paranglider is an entirely new concept created by a genius with vision or a visionary with genius, as you will. His name is Tommy Lee, and to appreciate the full impact of his creation, let me tell you how it all came about.

MEETING THE MAN I live in the flatlands of the great American Midwest where my passion, avocation and addiction is free flying. Why would I choose to live in an area that God clearly designed for Republicans? The glib answer is that flying in the flat lands has always presented a greater challenge and I have become a more finely-honed pilot because of it. But the truth is closer to the old ball-and-chain combination of family and job. Not that I would give either of them up, but my wife’s aversion to heights—she gets nauseous trimming the Christmas tree—and my career as a laser leveler means I get to live in places no more topographically varied than a thirteen-year-old anorexic supermodel.

Last year I was assigned the territory centered in Fargo, North Dakota. You see, our company specializes in accurately leveling farmers’ fields to prevent excessive rain runoff. That’s good for the ecology, but it means we only operate in relatively flat areas to begin with. Now I considered this assignment akin to being banished to Siberia. I think the boss gave it to me because he was tired of me watching the sky from the midst of a dusty field and sneaking off to play hooky at the first sign of cumies popping. There can’t be much flying in Fargo, can there?

Well, the first day I blew into town to hunt for a family dwelling, I pulled into a diner. My hang glider was on the roof—I rarely go anywhere without it, just in case. One of the ol’ boys at the counter asked, “What the heck’s that thing on your roof? A python coffin?”

That got a few chuckles, but when I informed them it was a wing, he said, “Well, I reckon you must know them fellers up the road who are building flying contraptions.” I told him I didn’t and he Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

proceeded to tell me about a factory out on the edge of town. After getting the directions, I forgot about lunch, house hunting and my job. I was on my way.

I pulled into the parking lot of a lone building surrounded by fields. The wind was whipping across the prairie and I remember thinking how nicely situated they were for a towing operation.

I noticed a small sign that said, Welcome to Wang’s Wings as I walked inside. I was immediately greeted by an attractive Chinese woman who introducaed herself as Li Lee (she pronounced it as Ri Ree). I told her I was a pilot and wished to find out more about what they were doing. “Oh,” she said, “you must talk to my husban’ Tommy.” She led me into the main room—a large work area with tables, machine tools, jigs and saws. I saw about five workers, some tubing racks, Dacron rolls, sewing machines and cutoff saws. On the walls were some posters. One was a profile of the famous Chinaman, Liu Ping-Pong, inventor of table tennis.

Another was a shot of Otto Lilienthal flashing an obscene gesture at the Wright brothers with the caption in bold letters: NO MOTORHEADS IN MY BLUE HEAVEN! I knew I had come to the right place. Li walked me over to a Chinese fellow about 40 years of age and said, “This is my husban’.”

He offered a hand and said, “Hi, my name is Wang Lee, but everyone calls me Tommy.” I introduced myself as William, but you can call me Bill. Both Li and Tommy struggled with the pronunciation and repeated Wirrum and Birr with beaming smiles. Ever after, I was known to the group as Worm or Beer, which eventually became Warm Beer.

He introduced me to the rest of the crew. I met assembly persons and the assistant designer known only as D.B. He was in his sixties I figured, and looked somewhat familiar, but all old people look the same to me. I also met the shop pets, a chow dog they 57

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called Runch and a Siamese cat they called Dinnel. Then he proceeded to show me the production and projects.

Somewhere along the line I asked him how they ended up in Fargo, Godforsaken North Dakota. “Long story, long story,” he said, “but I make it short. We are from Hong Kong and we lived on Blue Pool Road in Happy Valley, Hong Kong. There are so many people that when you inhale someone else has to exhale. I was a paraglider pilot—there was no room to store a hang glider, of course. But I wanted freedom and more flying. So I looked for places in America that were wide open and we choose Fargo. You see, in Hong Kong everybody owns every very famous American movie. They are only costing a dollar on the streets. Good DVDs. I see all the movies and Fargo was my favorite.”

I asked if he had spent a winter yet, and he replied no. They had only been there six months at that point. Anyway, with the balance of trade between the U.S. and China at a critical point, the Chinese government was subsidizing small businesses to be set up in America with the blessing of the U.S. government. So he was funded, registered as an alien and in business. His background was engineering, and he gravitated toward flying machines, beginning with models, then full-size kites, parachutes and wings.

And here he was making his mark in the free-flying field.

THE GLIDER I asked Tommy what he called his radical wing. He said the Paranglider, because it is a combination of a para and hang glider.

I coughed and tried to explain that the slang term prang means to crash and damage something dear to you. But Li said that’s Tommy’s choice for sure, because in Cantonese, parang means “passing wind.”

I didn’t dare comment further to my new-found friends.

Then he talked me through his development process. He said, “Let me ask you, what are the main problems with paragliders and hang gliders?”

“Well,” I responded, “with a paraglider, it seems to be the possibility of collapses and sometimes penetration problems. And sure, they could use a better glide. With hang gliders it’s fast landings, inconvenient storage and transportation and sometimes handling.”

“Precisely,” he said. “What would you say if I told you I have solved all of those problems for both sports by combining the design?”

“Huh?” was my reply. I started thinking, “What’s this guy thinking?” Then I was thinking, “Boy, this guy is really thinking.”

Then I thought, “Man, he’s thinking outside the box but his marbles might be rolling away.”

Soon, however, I saw the evidence. Tommy has melded a hang glider with a paraglider and has come up with a winner. Better put, he 58

April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

P DA ER PA AN RG TL MI D E N E R T

has taken the best of both worlds and combined them. As you can see in the sketches, the inner 5/8 of the wing’s span is similar to a paraglider, while the outboard six feet on each side is basically a hang glider. The “paraglider” portion has fewer open cells and a thinner airfoil section than a conventional paraglider because it doesn’t need much pressurization since it doesn’t have to keep the tips inflated. Also much fewer lines are required—about half the amount comparable to a paraglider. The result is a much better glide due to less drag.

The outboard “hang glider” portion is lighter than the typical section on a hang glider, since it is not supported by the rigidity of the tube, but in this case by a line that runs from the control bar to the leading edge tube. This tube is made from tapered graphite and is very light. It also telescopes inside itself for the fold-up. The whole package is only three feet long when it’s in the bag.

Other points to note are that the pilot hangs much closer to the wing than with a paraglider, but lower than with a hang glider. The flying position is prone, and the pilot simply holds on to a bar which is pushed down on the left to execute a left turn, and down on the right to go right. The seated position can also be rigged, but in the words of Tommy when I inquired about why prone: “Did you ever see a bird fly seated on his ask me that question some other time.”

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

The glider is a marvel of performance and ease of use. Look at the aspect ratio, which is nearly that of a rigid wing hang glider. The impossibility of tip collapses means the wing can be longer and thinner. The arc of the wing can be varied in flight. A line (they call it the arc line) with a jam cleat on the control bar pulls the tips down to create a diffuser shape and greatly reduce induced drag for maximum glide. You can leap tall buildings at a single bound, and go on to glide to the next several thermals.

With the arc line released, the glider becomes a docile thermal sensor. The center section warps, in fact, so that the glider tends to stay wrapped up in the thermal and appears to always drift into the best core position. When a core swells to one side the shape of the glider changes with the flow and automatically alters the turn to follow the prize. Your work load is greatly reduced in a thermal, and you can turn your attention to sightseeing or locating the next area of lift. When it’s time to go, expect to leave those obsolete hang gliders and paragliders behind and below.

FONDLING THE PARANGLIDER The first time I saw the Paranglider flown was two days after my first meeting with the crew. They took me to their winch site just down the road. I watched them prepare and asked D.B. what his contribution was. He hesitated, then told me he had an extensive Continued on page 66…

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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.

USHGA Sanctioned Competition April 16–24: Flytec Hang Gliding Championship at Quest Air, Florida. Register online at: www.flytec.com or call (352) 429-0213.

April 27–May 1: Chelan Speed Gliding Championships/USHGA Speed Gliding Nationals, Chelan, Washington. Entry fee $150. Sport Class also available, entry fee $50. Contact: Steve Alford (425) 788-0308, airczr@hotmail.com, or Aaron Swepston, (253) 826-1112, tontar@mindspring.com.

June 2–5: Rat Race. USHGA sanctioned Region 1 Paragliding Regional at Woodrat Mountain in southern Oregon. Registration: $125. $150 after May 1. Limit 75 Pilots, P3 or better rating required. More information: www.mphsports.com/ratrace (503) 657-8911 or mphsports@comcast.net.

June 21–26: Sandia Solstice Soar’n—formerly known as the Sandia Open/Classic. Six hang gliding XC comp days within a 10-day fun fly. For more information, call (505) 304-5306 or email: vanis13@yahoo.com.

July 5–10: Chelan Cross Country Classic. Register starting April 15 by phone (425) 788-0308, online at www.cloudbase. org, or at meet headquarters in Chelan on July 4.

August 1–7: U.S. Hang Gliding Nationals – Big Spring, Texas. USHGA sanctioned meet at a location with excellent soaring conditions and airport facilities. 75-pilot field limit. Flex, rigid and Swift classes. Cross country race to goal. Eligibility: USHGA membership, USHGA intermediate H3 rating with aerotow signoff, previous aerotow meet experience (or written approval from the meet director) and GPS required. Awards & prizes, fairly distributed.

Meet organizer: David Glover. Registration: $290 before July 1, $350 after.

Pilots responsible for tow fees. Mandatory pilot meeting July 31, 7 p.m. in the airport lobby. Registration opens April 30, 9 a.m. EST. Register online only at: www.flytec.com. Questions? Email: david@davidglover.com.

August 21–28: U.S. Paragliding Nationals, Snowbird, Utah. Contact Ken Hudonjorgensen, www.twocanfly.com.

Competition May 23–29: Team Challenge at Henson’s Gap, Dunlap, Tennessee.

Fun hang gliding meet with a competitive edge. Nationally ranked pilots teamed up with less-experienced competitors. Field limited to 70 pilots.

Cash prizes for top 5 teams. Individual and team scoring. All entrants must be USHGA members with aerotow signoff and GPS equipment (some loaners available). Registration: $145, $195 after May 1. More info 60

and online registration at www.treetoppers.org, or send application and check to: Tennessee Tree Toppers, P.O. Box 1286, Dunlap, TN 37327.

Meet organizer Chris Field, (865) 882-3690, crf@mindspring.com.

May 29–May 31: Spring Fling at King Mountain, Idaho. Cash prizes for hang gliding and paragliding categories. Pilot meeting and registration at 8 a.m. at King Mountain Gliders. For more information, visit www.kingmountaingliders.com or call (208) 390-0205.

June 18–20: Wild West Region 2 Regionals. 15th annual competition, new formats but same friendly fun flying. $100 before April 15, $125 after. Contact: Adventure Sports, Box 20066, Carson City, Nevada 89721, (775) 883-7070, www.pyramid.net/advspts.

June 19: Red Bull Divide & Conquer is an open, co-ed competition for expert-only athletes in four disciplines including paragliding, trail running, white water kayaking and mountain biking. Teams compete for their share of a $17,500 purse and an all-expense paid trip to Europe to compete in the September 2004 Red Bull Dolomitenmann race. Visit www. redbulldivideandconquer.com or email Patrick Harper at pharper111@aol. com. A maximum of 50 four-person teams will be selected to compete.

Fly‐Ins April 10–11: Oceanside Meet. Fun fly-in and friendly competition on the north Oregon coast. Registration includes catered dinner/ beer on Saturday night, prizes and raffle. H2/P2 and above are welcome. Check www.ohga.org for details, schedule and map.

April–10-11: 26th annual Tenmile Easter fly-in. Located by the town of Asotin in SE Washington state. Contact Tom at (509) 256-3304.

May 1–2: Boise Cinco de Mayo Fly-In. Boise, Idaho area flying sites (most likely Pickles Butte or Melba Ridge). Great fun, paragliding, and hang gliding to be had! Entry fee is $0.00 (free!) and includes a BBQ. Free camping is also available at Lisa Tate’s Big Dog Farm. For more info contact Kevin Frost (208) 342-1350 kevinfrost@cableone. net or Lisa Tate (208) 376-7914 lisa@soaringdreamsart.com.

May 13–17: 32nd Annual Hang Gliding Spectacular & Air Games, Jockey’s Ridge State Park, Nags Head, North Carolina. The hang gliding competition begins the 14th on the sand dunes of Jockey’s Ridge.

Demonstrations, aerotow competition, Woody Jones Memorial street dance and awards ceremonies are all features of this spectacular event. For more information visit www.hangglidingspectacular.com/index.html.

May 14–16: South Carolina Springtime Fly-In, at Glassy Mountain near Greer, South Carolina. Come and enjoy flying and competing. $20 entry fee for competition flying and $10 for fun flying. Due to site restrictions, this fly-in is limited to hang gliders. Contact Paul Peeples, PO Box 2121, Brevard, NC 28712 (828) 885-2536 or email: pbrannenp@msn.com.

May 28–31: 24th Annual Dry Canyon Memorial Day Fly-In. Alamogordo, N.M. Contests include race-to-goal, spot landing, XC, flight duration, and bomb drop. Contact Tom or Cindy West, (505) 437-5213 or email tommy716@charter.net.

April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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May 29–31: Spring Fling at King. Great paragliding and hang gliding fun at King Mountain, Idaho. Cash prizes for both hang gliding and paragliding categories: XC, racing, flight duration, no handicap scoring this year. Pig roast dinner Saturday night.

Visit www.kingmountaingliders.com or call (208) 390-0205.

June 12-13: Antique Glider Fly-In. Cape Kiwanda, Oregon. Weekend of fun with antique gliders and pilots. http:// www.vvhga.org June 19–27: Sandia Solstice Soar’n, Sandia Mountain near Albuquerque, New Mexico. Hang Gliding competition and flyin. For more information contact Sandia Soaring Association’s Andrew Vanis (505) 304-5306, or email vanis13@yahoo.com.

April 23–25: Towing-Thermaling-XC Gala with Chris Santacroce. 1.5 hours northeast of Denver, Colorado. Hosted

by Peak to Peak Paragliding. Contact Kay Tauscher at (303) 817-0803, or email kay@peaktopeakparagliding.com.

April 24–25: Thermal and XC clinic with Rick Higgins, USHGA advanced instructor and Oregon state PG XC record holder (83 miles) in Hood River, Ore. Contact: Rick Higgins, SunSports Paragliding (541) 387-2112, SunSportsPG@aol. com, http://members.aol.com/rsunsports/myhomepage.

April 24–26: Paragliding Safety Clinic at Jackson Reservoir, Colorado, hosted by Parasoft Paragliding. For more information, visit www.parasoftparagliding.com/safetyclinic.html, or call (303) 494-2820.

June 23–27: (Wed.-Sun.) King Mountain Hang Gliding Championships. Rules online at www.soaringdreamsart.com/kingmeet.

More information: (208) 376-7914, lisa@soaringdreamsart.com

April 27–28: Paragliding Safety Clinic at Jackson Reservoir, Colorado, hosted by Parasoft Paragliding. For more information, visit www. parasoftparagliding.com/safetyclinic.html, or call (303) 494-2820.

July 1–5: The Umpteenth Annual Festival of Free-Flight, Lakeview, Lake County, Oregon. Fly, schmooze and party with your buddies for 5 days. Fun contests with cash prizes and trophies. For details go to info@lakecountychamber.org.

April 29–May 2: Glider demos, Boulder, Colorado. Hosted

by Peak to Peak Paragliding. All pilots. Contact Kay Tauscher at (303) 817-0803, or email kay@peaktopeakparagliding.com.

July 2–5: Annual Fourth of July pilots’ gathering in Creede, Colorado.

Great flying for both hang gliding and paragliding. No entry fees for the gathering and the site is open to all, though high mountain experience is recommended. Contact Larry Smith at (970) 209-5212 or Bill Lemon at (505) 280-3552 or email: blemonbryconaz@aol.com.

September 11–12: 14th annual Pine Mountain Fly-In, Pine Mountain, near Bend, Ore. Contact Phil Pohl at (541) 388-3869, philpohl@coinet.com.

clinics, meetings, tours April 9–12: Spring training in Florida – paraglider maneuvers and XC clinic in Groveland, Florida. Maneuvers training over water in the mornings and evenings. XC flights in the mid-day. 50 mile flights are possible.

Disney World and Universal Studios located nearby for the family. Space is limited, so register early. Contact David Prentice at earthco@yahoo.com.

April 10–11: Tandem Clinic with Rick Higgins, USHGA tandem administrator in Hood River, Ore. T-1, T-2, and T-3 ratings to qualified pilots. Contact: Rick Higgins, SunSports Paragliding (541) 387-2112 SunSportsPG@aol.com http://members.aol.com/rsunsports/myhomepage.

April 24–25: Thermal and XC Clinic with Rick Higgins, USHGA advanced instructor and Oregon state PG XC record holder (83 miles) in Hood River, Ore. Contact: Rick Higgins, SunSports Paragliding (541) 387-2112 SunSportsPG@aol. com http://members.aol.com/rsunsports/myhomepage .

April 17–19: Safety Maneuvers Training with Chris Santacroce at Jackson Reservoir, Colorado. Contact Kay Tauscher at (303) 817-0803, or email kay@peaktopeakparagliding.com.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

April 30–May 2: Spring training in Florida—paraglider maneuvers and XC clinic in Groveland, Florida. Maneuvers training over water in the mornings and evenings. XC flights in the midday. 50 mile flights are possible. Disney World and Universal Studios located nearby for the family. Space is limited, so register early. Contact David Prentice at earthco@yahoo.com.

May 1–3: Instructor training clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen, Point of the Mountain and other Utah sites. For clinic description and prerequisites refer to Two-can Fly’s Web site at www.twocanfly.com.

May 2: Instructor recertification clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen, Point of the Mountain and other Utah sites. For clinic description and prerequisites refer to Two-can Fly’s Web site at www.twocanfly.com.

May 7–9: Tow XC clinic over the flatlands of Colorado. For more information, visit www.parasoftparagliding.com/safetyclinic.html, or call (303) 494-2820.

May 8–9: Tandem (T2 and T3) clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen, Point of the Mountain and other Utah sites. For clinic description and prerequisites refer to Two-can Fly’s Web site at www.twocanfly.com.

May 15–16: Tandem clinic with Rick Higgins, USHGA tandem administrator in Hood River, Ore. T-1, T-2, and T-3 ratings to qualified pilots. Contact: Rick Higgins, SunSports Paragliding (541) 3872112, SunSportsPG@aol.com http://members.aol.com/rsunsports/ myhomepage May 21–23: Thermal clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen, Point of the Mountain and other Utah sites. For clinic description and prerequisites refer to Two-can Fly’s Web site at www.twocanfly.com.

May 27–30: Pre-Nationals cross-country competition clinic. A friendly introduction to XC flying with instruction from U.S. and North American XC record-setter Bill Belcourt, and Ken Hudonjorgensen. All aspects of XC competitions will be covered. Utah XC sites. For clinic description and prerequisites refer to Two-can Fly’s Web site at www.twocanfly.com 61

C A L E N D A R

July 10-11: Gorge Games Paragliding Fly-In, Hood River, Ore. A Fun Paragliding Fly-In to be held at Bingen, Wa., Bald Butte, or Cliffside. This is a free event! Rain Dates: July 17-18. Contact: Rick Higgins, SunSports Paragliding (541) 387-2112, cell (541) 490-2643, SunSportsPG@aol. com http://members.aol.com/rsunsports/myhomepage.

July 16-18: Thermal clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen, Point of the Mountain and other Utah sites. For clinic description and prerequisites refer to Tow-can Fly’s Web site at www.twocanfly.com.

July 16_18: Ridge soaring and kiting clinic and demo at Point of the Mountain, Utah, with Chris Santacroce. Hosted by Peak to Peak Paragliding. All pilots. Contact Kay Tauscher at (303) 817-0803, or email kay@peaktopeakparagliding.com.

July 24-25: Tandem Clinic with Rick Higgins, USHGA tandem administrator in Hood River, Ore. T-1, T-2, and T-3 ratings to qualified pilots. Contact: Rick Higgins, SunSports Paragliding (541) 387-2112, SunSportsPG@aol.com http://members.aol.com/rsunsports/myhomepage.

July 30-August 1: Women with Wings Fly-In. All-women flying course hosted by Kay Tauscher with guest instructor Chris Santacroce. P1/P2 pilot levels. Contact Kay Tauscher at (303) 817-0803, or email kay@peaktopeakparagliding.com.

Aug 28-29: Tandem Clinic with Rick Higgins, USHGA tandem administrator in Hood River, Ore. T-1, T2, and T-3 ratings to qualified pilots. Contact: Rick Higgins, SunSports Paragliding (541) 387-2112, SunSportsPG@aol. com http://members.aol.com/rsunsports/myhomepage.

May 29–30: Kiting and Safety Clinic with Rick Higgins, USHGA advanced instructor in Hood River, Ore. Everything you need to know after your P-2. Contact: Rick Higgins, SunSports Paragliding (541) 387-2112, SunSportsPG@aol.com http://members.aol.com/rsunsports/myhomepage.

June 5–6: Mountain flying clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen, Point of the Mountain and other Utah sites. For clinic description and prerequisites refer to Two-can Fly’s Web site at www.twocanfly.com.

June 5–7: Women with Wings Fly-In. All-women flying course hosted by Kay Tauscher with guest instructor Chris Santacroce. P1/P2 pilot levels. Contact Kay Tauscher at (303) 817 0803, or email kay@peaktopeakparagliding.com.

June 12-13: Thermal and XC clinic with Rick Higgins, USHGA advanced instructor and Oregon state PG XC record holder (83 miles) in Hood River, Ore. Contact: Rick Higgins, SunSports Paragliding (541) 387-2112, SunSportsPG@aol.com http://members.aol.com/rsunsports/myhomepage.

September 10-13: Ridge soaring and kiting clinic and demo at Point of the Mountain, Utah, with Chris Santacroce. Hosted

by Peak to Peak Paragliding. All pilots. Contact Kay Tauscher at (303) 817-0803, or email kay@peaktopeakparagliding.com.

Sept 25-26: Tandem Clinic with Rick Higgins, USHGA tandem administrator in Hood River, Ore. T-1, T2, and T-3 ratings to qualified pilots. Contact: Rick Higgins, SunSports Paragliding (541) 387-2112, SunSportsPG@aol. com http://members.aol.com/rsunsports/myhomepage.

September 25-26: Mountain flying clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen, Point of the Mountain and other Utah sites. For clinic description and prerequisites refer to Two-can Fly’s Web site at www.twocanfly.com.

June 26-27: Tandem Clinic with Rick Higgins, USHGA tandem administrator in Hood River, Ore. T-1, T-2, and T-3 ratings to qualified pilots. Contact: Rick Higgins, SunSports Paragliding (541) 387-2112, SunSportsPG@aol.com http://members.aol.com/rsunsports/myhomepage .

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D E P A R T M E N T

Surprising photographs returned by NASA’s Martian Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity reveal USHGA’s secret 14th region, located in Mars’s Meridiani Planum equatorial region. In these remarkable images, the region 14 training sites are shown to be broad, featureless plains without obstruction, perfect for new students.

In this dramatic photo, the region’s only paragliding instructor appears to have met with an untimely end beneath the recently landed rover.

Photos courtesy NASA. Retouching and photo composition

by Earth creatures John Matylonek and Tim Meehan

Even experienced pilots can have difficulty with target fixation in this open, featureless landing field. Lower gravity typically results in minor damage from awkward landings.

In this photographic series, captured

by Red Bull photographer Christian Pondella, a jet pack-assisted basejumper Shane McConkey flies up to join hang glider pilot Chris Muller in the first-ever aerial docking demonstration at the recent Red Bull-sponsored “Huckspedition” held in Monument Valley, Arizona.

Hang checks, though highly recommended by USHGA instructors, are not strictly required for flight…

Backdrop and inset: Red Bull Huckspedition in Monument Valley, Arizona Photo: Christian Pondella

P A R A N G L I D E R

…continued from page 59 parachuting background, and helped Tommy design the center section. He didn’t know squat about hang gliders, but since that was only about 3/8 of the total design, he figured he contributed to the lion’s share. He was as eager as I was to try his hand at flight. Every time I talked to him I admired his sense of adventure at his age, and I couldn’t help thinking I had seen his face before.

Tommy was dressed in a silver lamé flight suit and sneakers that looked like race cars. He was sporty and hopping to taste the stiff breeze. We found out that the glider sneers at stronger winds with disdain because you can pull the tips down with the arc line to act like big ears without increasing the drag. In this configuration the glider really penetrates as well as a small hang glider. Tommy hooked in, got set and tightened the tow line. When he was ready he yelled, “banzai!” and waited for D.B. to gun the engine. I said, “Hey, I thought ‘banzai’ was Japanese.”

He hollered back, “I saw that movie, too,” and was jerked into the air. The glider came up behind him with a woofing sound like you get when you use hairspray while smoking a cigarette.

Tommy only got to about 500 feet on that tow and I figured he would soon be on the deck. But he carefully started turning after losing half his altitude and drifted like a spring leaf in the Mississippi. Gradually he climbed higher while the stiff breeze carried him away. Soon we realized he wasn’t coming back, so we rather disappointedly hauled the gear back to the shop. Later that night we got a call to go get him. He had only flown about 50 miles due to the late start. We followed his directions and met him at a farm house. He had been fed and treated special with good prairie home cooking and a dose of woofo questions.

On the way back he told us of his original reception. It seems he wandered out of the farmer’s field at dusk carrying his Paranglider in the bag, wearing his flight goggles and looking a bit worn from the walk. He saw a light in the barn and went through a door. The farmer was milking, so Tommy coughed to get his attention and immediately asked, “Can you tell me where I am?”

The farmer looked at his strange appearance, noticed his heavy accent and stammered, “Uh, we call this Earth!”

Tommy had some explaining to do and I’m not sure they ever believed all the details of XC flying, but they sure were kind to him.

North Dakotans are not used to many visitors from the “other side,” so I guess they put out the red carpet. This story serves to show how readily the Paranglider cores thermals, but also how convenient it is to take on a journey or jaunt. It is almost like having your own pocket thermal, or a special invitation to climb Jacob’s ladder.

My first flight took place the following day. The launch was a three66

step affair because the wind was light, but I climbed out like Tommy.

I released and went trolling back and forth along the field perimeter.

I was very impressed with the glider’s speed and stability. I felt a bump in my belly and cranked a turn. Too much crank and too little finesse, I guess, because I got spit out. But I barged back in and found I could quickly locate the core, almost as if I was on autopilot.

I began to wonder if I would even need a vario anymore. Hell, I can feel the initial bump and the glider practically takes care of the rest.

I remember thinking, “This is truly a revolution.” Well, my revolutions got me good’n’high and I stretched out around the area to see what I could see. There was nothing but Kellogg’s crops as far as the eye could peer, so my attention turned to really wringing out the glider. I swooped and whooped, dove and wanged, and never felt I was compromising the promise of safe and sane flying I had made to my wife what seems like decades ago. Then I tried a spin. Now I wouldn’t want to do this on a conventional paraglider or a modern hang glider, but the Paranglider seemed to be unspinnable. The reason, Tommy explained later, is that there is no sweep and plenty of chord at the tip to keep the boundary layer attached due to the Katzmeier effect in the recovery area. “OK, I’ll buy that,” I said and immediately plunked down some hard-earned plastic to be the first to own a production Paranglider.

Now, after a score of flights, my assessment is that it has about a 16 to 1 max. glide and a min. sink of less than 140 FPM. In addition, the handling is superb and the whole experience is like dancing a beautiful lady around a ballroom, only she knows the tune better than you and waltzes you out the door and into a night of adventure. If you find this a little too romantic, you haven’t been blessed with a flight on such a wing (or with such a lady).

THE MESSY DETAILS If there’s anything I hate, it’s those glider reports that feel compelled to describe how the thing sets up and other mundane details like specs, prices and delivery. However, because the Paranglider is so new and unique, I had better give you some idea what to expect.

April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

A P R I L

Setting up the Paranglider is easier than laying out a parabag, let alone those plumbing kits they call hang gliders. You simply haul it out of its bag, find a tip and whip it like a cast with a fly rod so the nestled tubes extend and get held by detent clips. Then you shove in a few battens and repeat with the other side. Finally, you grab the control bar, hold it out in front of you and step into the harness. Then you are ready to carry the whole kit to launch. Did I say it only weighs 29 pounds, including parachute?

F O O L S

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS Adventure Productions ................................ 71 Aerolight ...................................................... 62 Angle of Attack ............................................ 12 Apco Aviation............................................... 26 Critter Mountain Wear ................................. 30 Dan Johnson ................................................ 36 Dixon’s Airplay ....................................... 16, 71

At launch you lay it down behind you with the rigid tips right side up, but the flexible center section tipped back like a paraglider. All that has to happen is for the center section to catch a little air and it will lift above your head as you move down the slope.

However, in zero wind it is best to have as much of the center section laid back as possible so less running is required. Because of the solid tips, it is almost impossible to have a poor inflation. So forward launching is the normal procedure.

Eagle Paragliding ........................................... 2

The glider is versatile and forgiving because its size can be changed in flight, while the tips help prevent any fouling. D.B. told me a while back that he thinks it can be readily jumped out of a fast-moving airplane. That thought was intriguing, but my attention was suddenly diverted, because at that moment I realized where I had seen his face before. It was on a wanted poster in a Seattle post office. Because I respect the man for his contribution to the advancement of free enterprise and free flight, I won’t go on to reveal anything more about him. Suffice it to say that if you do buy a Paranglider (as I think every reader should), you are helping to foster the spirit of rugged American adventure, entrepreneurship and creativity.

Just Fly ......................................................... 38

I suggest you don’t sleep until you catch a flight on this new amazement wing. Better yet, send your down payment to the factory today, because the waiting line is soon bound to be longer than the number of zeros in our national debt. If you suffer pangs of doubt over the performance, safety or convenience of your current glider, you need to leap up to the wonders of a Paranglider. The transformation is inevitable and there is already a movement underway to rename our venerable organization the Official Omnifarious Paranglider Society (OOPS). Log on to www.allthisbiwingualnonsensebegone.com to express your opinion.

Para-Ski LLC ................................................. 71

To find a dealer near you, contact Wang’s Wings at:

Thermal Tracker ........................................... 19

763 Prairie Dog Blvd.

Fargo, ND 58103 Tel: 701-GET-WNGD (701-438-9643) Email: Paranglider!@looflirpa.com

Flytec ........................................................... 80 High Energy Sports ...................................... 34 Independence/Fly Market ............................ 31

Kitty Hawk Kites ..................................... 26, 71 Microgliders ................................................. 71 Mojo’s Gear ................................................. 10 Moyes America ...................................... 14, 71

Peak to Peak Paragliding .............................. 71 Pro Design ................................................... 18 Sport Aviation Publications .......................... 34 SuperFly ................................................. 56, 71

Torrey Pines ................................................. 58 Traverse City ................................................ 50 U.S. Aeros .................................................... 52 USHG Foundation .......................................... 9 USHGA ........................................................ 34 Wills Wing .................................................... 79

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

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N E W

R ATING/R EGION

R A T I N G S

STATE

OFFICIAL

H-2 1 SCOTT MCQUARRIE SPOKANE WA H-3 1 PATRICK KRUSE BEND OR H-2 1 CHRIS CULLER MARYSVILLE WA H-4 1 DAVID B CAMERON AMITY OR H-2 2 JOEL GREENWOOD SAN FRANCISCO CA H-2 2 KOLLIN TIERLING MILPITAS CA H-4 2 MATT DETTMAN HENDERSON NV H-1 2 KEVIN KREEGER SUNNYVALE CA H-2 2 BRUCE BORCHERS SANTA CRUZ CA H-2 2 ENOCH WALL ROSEVILLE CA H-3 2 HAROLD JOHNSON SAN LEANDRO CA H-4 2 JIM ONEILL OAKLAND CA H-2 3 FERNANDO ESCOBAR GARDEN GROVE CA H-4 3 ANNE-ODILE THOMAS SANTA BARBARA CA H-4 3 MARCUS VENTURINI JR CRESTLINE CA H-4 3 GARY JOHNSON SAN DIEGO CA H-1 4 VELMA BALDWIN ALAMOGORDO NM H-3 4 SCOTT BUXTON PHOENIX AZ H-2 4 D J WHITE GRAND JUNCTION CO H-2 4 JOHN WALKER GRAND JUNCTION CO H-3 7 KEVIN SHERIDAN CHICAGO IL H-1 7 ANTHONY ZOCHOWSKI FLINT MI H-1 8 GAYLE SMITH JR NEW LONDON CT H-1 8 DAVID CANNON MONROE CT H-1 8 STEVEN LEILER DURHAM CT H-1 8 PUI WU CHELMSFORD MA H-2 8 STEVEN LEILER DURHAM CT H-2 9 WILLIAM DENNY II VIRGINIA BEACH VA H-1 9 MICHAEL JONES CATLETTSBURG KY H-2 9 MICHAEL JONES CATLETTSBURG KY H-4 9 PAUL TJADEN PURCELLVILLE VA H-2 9 KENNETH SWINGLE MANASSAS VA H-2 9 WESLEY COMERER ARLINGTON VA H-1 10 BRIAN LIPHAM CUMMING GA H-1 10 DAVID MANN RISING FAWN GA H-1 10 MIKE VICKERS VANDIVER AL H-2 10 DAVID MANN RISING FAWN GA H-3 10 VASSIL BOIADJIEV KNOXVILLE TN H-1 10 JUAN SANTOS ORTIZ SAN JUAN PR H-2 10 BOB POTTER N. FT MYERS FL H-2 10 TATYANA MEADOWS ST CLOUD FL H-2 10 MICHAEL GRECO DAVIE FL T-1 10 ANDREW HARRIS GROVELAND FL H-1 12 JUAN DE LA CRUZ MAMARONEK NY H-2 12 CHRISTOPHER WEEKS WARREN NJ H-2 12 HANS ZAUNER BROOKLYN NY

D. SANDERSON M. JONES R. GELFAN T. BURCAR B. LEVINE D. YOUNT K. de RUSSY P. DENEVAN P. DENEVAN P. DENEVAN P. DENEVAN P. DENEVAN A. BEEM J. GARDNER J. HEINEY R. MITCHELL E. BENNETT G. JARRELL R. LANE R. LANE B. KUSHNER N. LESNOW J. NICOLAY J. NICOLAY M. JONES M. JONES M. JONES A. TORRINGTON C. THORESON C. THORESON D. BROTTO J. MIDDLETON J. MIDDLETON C. THORESON C. THORESON C. THORESON C. THORESON C. THORESON K. SALKO M. JONES M. JONES R. LANE S. KROOP G. BLACK M. JONES R. CIZAUSKAS

68

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CITY

P-1 1 STEPHEN KAMIN SHELTON P-2 1 STEPHEN KAMIN SHELTON P-3 1 STEPHEN KAMIN SHELTON P-4 1 STEPHEN KAMIN SHELTON P-3 1 DIANE ILLI MILL CREEK P-4 2 RICK CONGER BAY POINT P-1 2 RICK VAN MIDDENDORP BAKERSFIELD P-2 2 RICK VAN MIDDENDORP BAKERSFIELD P-2 2 DANIEL HARRISON JAMESTOWN P-4 2 GREGG HACKETT SANTA ROSA P-1 2 GERALD KUBICK CARDIFF T-1 2 ED YOUMANS INCLINE VILLAGE P-3 2 STEPHEN MAHER PLEASANTON P-3 2 RICH LEGGETT PLEASANTON P-4 2 DAVID GOODMAN NOVATO P-1 2 TAL FLETCHER JR. TRUCKEE P-2 2 TAL FLETCHER JR. TRUCKEE P-4 2 MICHAEL COX OAKLAND P-2 2 CARL BLINCOE SPARKS P-1 2 MARY BURTIS ROHNERT PARK P-2 2 VINCENT BRATTON LAS VEGAS P-2 2 DOMINIE VANNUCCI CORONA P-1 3 ANDREW COULOMBE SANTA PAULA P-2 3 TROY ATKINSON SAN DIEGO P-2 3 ANDREW COULOMBE SANTA PAULA P-4 3 RON MEYER SIMI VALLEY P-3 3 JAI PAL KHALSA LOS ANGELES P-1 3 CHRIS SCHUETZ DANA POINT P-2 3 CHRIS SCHUETZ DANA POINT P-1 3 JASON KINCH SAN DIEGO P-1 3 RAYMOND BUHR LAKE ELSINORE P-3 3 WILLIAM CARPENTER HEMET P-4 3 CHARLES ALLEN SAN DIEGO P-2 3 JAMES BRADLEY LOS ANGELES P-3 3 ANTHONY LOH DEL MAR P-2 3 DAVE OTTO WAIANAE T-2 4 BOB STRONG VAIL P-2 4 ZRINKO VUK SCOTTSDALE T-1 4 GARY WALKER FAIRPLAY T-2 4 DAVID DIXON BLUFFDALE T-2 4 JONATHAN JEFFERIES DRAPER P-2 4 CLINTON YOST HIGLEY P-2 4 WESLEY WOMACK LOS ALAMOS P-1 5 DALLAS JENKS TWIN FALLS P-2 5 DALLAS JENKS TWIN FALLS P-4 5 BLAINE WOOD DRIGGS P-2 7 LEVI VANGORDEN HAM LAKE P-2 8 SCOTT MCHATTIE STAMFORD P-2 8 JOHN HOBART-CULLETON PROVIDENCE P-2 8 WILLIAM DEMAGALL SOUTHFIELD P-3 8 GEORGE SILVA DANBURY P-3 8 ARTURO BENCOSME ASHLAND P-2 9 SCOTT LABAR EAST BANGOR P-2 9 ROBERT RONCACE ASHBURN P-2 10 DAVID GLOVER GROVELAND P-1 10 ANDY TORRINGTON NAGS HEAD P-1 12 LUIZ COELHO GREEN ISLAND P-2 12 MICHAEL KING CARMEL P-3 12 EVAN FARMER NEW YORK P-3 12 ED WILLIAMS WHITE LAKE P-2 13 STEPHEN DART HAMILTON P-1 13 MATTHIAS HODEL EGERLINGER P-2 13 MATTHIAS HODEL EGERLINGER

STATE

OFFICIAL

WA D. B. HILL WA D. B. HILL WA D. B. HILL WA D. B. HILL WA M. CHIRICO CA A. CHATTAWAY CA C. BASTIAN CA C. BASTIAN CA E. O CONNOR CA E. O CONNOR CA G. JEBB NV J. VAN METER CA K. GALVIN CA K. GALVIN CA K. GALVIN CA M. GERDES CA M. GERDES CA M. GALVIN NV R. LEONARD CA W. ANDERSON CA J. MEYRS CA J. MEYERS CA C. BASTIAN CA J. MYERS CA C. BASTIAN CA C. BASTIAN CA C. FISET CA D. JEBB CA D. JEBB CA G. JEBB CA G. JEBB CA G. JEBB CA G. JEBB CA M. LEAHY CA P. TIRADO HI R. HASTINGS CO C. SANTACROCE AZ DION VUK CO G. KELLEY UT HUDONJORGENSEN UT HUDONJORGENSEN AZ M. DEVIETTI NM W. SMITH ID F. GILLETTE ID F. GILLETTE ID S. HARRIS MN D.BINDER CT A. RITCHIE RI D. BINDER MA D. BINDER CT F. RODRIGUES MA M. GUTIERREZ PA A. RITCHIE VA R. SPORRER FL R. SPORRER NC T. WEBSTER NY A. RITCHIE NY A. RITCHIE NY C. BASTIAN NY F. RODRIGUES ON D. VUK CH L. SHARP CH L. SHARP

April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

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Morningside Flight Park

F

By Davis Straub our and a half hours up the road from Ellenville, which is in southwestern New York, you’ll find one of the Northeast’s premier and oldest flight parks, Morningside. Located in western New Hampshire just across the Connecticut River from Vermont, it serves pilots from Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Maine.

Decades ago this valley was humming with machining and machine tool activity. Now there is little work or economic activity here. Jeff Nicolay, the owner of Morningside Flight Park, writes, “The machine tool industry here has quite a history, enough that this section of the Connecticut River Valley was named the Precision Valley due to the large number of specialty machine tool businesses that made military special projects during World War II. There has been a slow decline in that industry since then, especially in the last 30 years.”

The hills and much of the valleys are tree-covered with a mixed deciduous and conifer forest. Of course, people come here in October just to see the colors of the leaves.

Ten miles to the northwest on the Vermont side of the river is Mt. Ascutney, a well known northwest launch site that requires a 0.7 mile walk in from the upper parking lot. It is not an easy walk and ATOS pilots are known to dislike the effort required to make it.

There is a less-used south launch that doesn’t require quite the walk, but has fewer favorable landing areas below.

A few hours in any direction you’ll find additional publicly-owned launch sites. Going to Morningside can give you a jumping-off point to go later to Mt. Tom (paragliding only), Greylock, West Rutland, and perhaps under the right easterly conditions, Mt. Washington.

To find out about these sites see the site guide links at the end of the article.

Jeff Nicolay has been running Morningside for the last 25 years and it is perfectly set up as a training site for beginning hang glider and paraglider pilots. The gentle stepped west-facing grass-covered slope Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

Morningside as seen from Vermont to the west of the Connecticut River.

Morningside is in the big field in the upper right side of this photo.

leads down to a large landing area at its base. The hill is wide enough to handle a dozen students taking off at once (as long as they all know how to fly straight).

In 2002 local hang glider pilot Jonnie Benson brought Dragonfly aerotowing to Morningside with his two Dragonflies (one is now in Costa Rica). Morningside includes on its west side a huge—really huge!—pasture field with a built-up, rolled, and crowned northsouth grass landing strip down its middle. This is the site of the towing operation.

Jeff writes, “Phil Haynes built the runway in the early ‘80s. He envisioned it as a landing strip, and we used it for vehicle and winch towing through the years. We first got into aerotowing behind a Cosmos trike when Jean-Michel Bernasconi introduced aerotowing in the mid ‘80s.”

Aerotowing really opens up Morningside to the average hang glider pilot as the hill site, at only about 450’ AGL, is a bit low for sustaining a high probability of getting up and away. Of course, Jeff has ATV’s and carts that will take you right back up the hill, so the opportunity for multiple foot launches does give you one of the advantages of an aerotow flight park (and it’s only $2.50 a ride back up to the top).

With the aerotowing operation you can get more than a few thousand feet over the valley floor and over the hillsides where you will 69

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find most of the thermal activity. When we were there I was able to climb up to over 5,000’ AGL on a good day during the week, and often over 3,000’ AGL. There were plenty of opportunities for cross country flying, both straight out, triangles and out-and-returns.

woods ($5/person/day).

There are RV parks nearby.

Check with Rhett in the morning and give him an idea when you want to get towed up. Be sure to talk with folks there about your rating and your background so they can figure out how to help you enjoy the site.

The second day I was there I flew the 10 miles to Mt. Ascutney and then back without the You’ll find Morningside slightest concern for landing not far from Interstate 91.

The hill across from the large landing zone. areas. The Northeast is well A map showing how to get known for vast tree-covered arto the flight park is here: eas, but really there are plenty of large open fields for out-landings. http://www.flymorningside.com/gettoms.htm You just have to carefully consider where you are and where you can get to on a glide, nothing that an experienced western Washington You’ll also find panoramic views from the various launch sites cross country pilot hasn’t seen a hundred times. I don’t even know near Morningside, and a lot of other photos and useful informawhat the problem is. tion, on their Web site. http://www.flymorningside.com.

I flew every day that I was there and soared every day but one.

Later in the week a north-south cloud street set up late in the afternoon and Steve Arndt in his Magic Dragon and I climbed up over 4,000’ AGL to cloudbase. It was perfectly smooth air and a joy to fly in as we raced up and down the valley without losing enough to worry about. It would have been quite possible to go almost 100 miles that day even starting late as the clouds stretched from horizon to horizon.

There are plenty of activities nearby for the whole family. One of our favorites is canoeing on the Connecticut River. Check with the Vermont and New Hampshire tourist boards for recreation suggestions at these sites: http://www.1-800-vermont.com and http://www.visitnh.gov/tournh.html.

You can fly in New Hampshire or in Vermont, which has the higher ground on the west side of the Connecticut River. The clouds set up over the hills so it’s possible to get under the clouds and stay under them as you run north or south.

Vermont sites: http://www.vhga.org/flying_sites.htm

Vermont and New Hampshire are centers of culture. Dartmouth is 40 minutes up the road so you can go see a movie that was actually made for a target audience over 12 years old. Vermont Public Radio broadcasts on multiple frequencies. There is the Vermont Crafts Center in Windsor, just across the longest wooden covered bridge in the U.S. (We went over the covered bridge on our way to dinner at the Windsor train station – the Amtrak comes through there.)

You’ll find site guides and protocols for the local clubs at these Web sites:

Connecticut sites: http://www.geocities.com/chga_1999/ New England sites: http://www.neparagliding.org/sites/ index.htm More New England site guide (sparse): http://www.flymorningside.com/ new_england_site_guide.txt

Students are active every light-wind day at Morningside, which has two instructors, two tandem pilots, and a couple of Dragonfly pilots. This is the premier place in the U.S. to learn to hang glide with emphasis on foot launch and landing. There is also some trike activity.

Contact Jeff Nicolay, or ask anyone to point you toward someone who works there. There is camping up the hill back in the 70

April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

M CA LR AK SE ST I PF LI A E D C S E Join Peak to Peak Paragliding in welcoming world distance record holder Will Gadd in a two-day XC Flying Workshop in Boulder, Colorado on July 10 - 11.

Free slide show presentation on July 9. Everyone welcome!

The Bug Suprone Harness Sit back and enjoy the view!

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Digifly Runner more features, lower $$ than the competition

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C L A S S I F I E D S

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.

PARAGLIDING ADVISORY

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

AEROS STEALTH II 151 – Very good condition, sail still crisp, red/blue DS, horner tips $1,200. (847) 329-8337 Chicago, photos http://members.aol.com/angelomant/ Hangglidersforsale.html DREAM 165 – Great condition, training harness, helmet, wheels $600. (970) 247-2427.

EAGLE 180 - New condition, under 2 hours airtime, only 10 flights on glider. Owner quit flying, health reasons $2,475/consider trade.

(423) 653-0922, ihangglide@hotmail.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, www.hanggliding.com FALCON 225 - Wheels, 2 downtubes, ladder hang strap, supline spreader bar $2,000. High Energy 24 gore tandem chute w/swivel, ~6 years old $450. (970) 259-9329, Kevingendron@msn.com FALCONS CLEARANCE SALE — School use, one season. Falcon 1s and 2s. All sizes $1,250-$2,500. (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com, www.hanggliding.com 72

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.

ULTRASPORTS – Two 147’s, one 166, low hours, nice colors, extras. Less than $1500.

Fly@TheFloridaRidge.com or (863) 805-0440 for photos, info.

FUSIONS – Three sweet 150’s, low hours, great colors, spare down-tubes. Make Offers.

Fly@TheFloridaRidge.com or (863) 805-0440 for photos, info.

ULTRASPORT 166 – Excellent condition, low hours, white top, red, white, and blue undersurface. Winglets, wheels, and 2 spare downtubes $1,950 OBO. Bruce (860) 3799303, flyhg@wave2wave.net

MOYES LITESPEED 5 – Excellent condition, mylar sail, low hours, yellow/purple/gray, round basebar, can be seen at Wallaby $4,000.

(321) 724-8576, bndswag@cfl.rr.com MOYES LITESPEED 5 – Excellent condition, low hours, handles great, no salt air, stored indoors $3,000. (406) 253-7078 Montana.

MOYES SX SUPER XTRALITE 149 – Like new, less than 12 hours of airtime, CS weather & XC bag included $2,400. (206) 364-4794, raymond@jetcity.com MOYES XTRALITE 147 – Good condition, new side wires, great move up glider for intermediate pilot $800. (847) 329-8337 Chicago, photos http://members.aol.com/ angelomant/Hangglidersforsale.html MOYES XTRALITE 147 – Nice condition, frame & carbon fiber sail, handles great, 100 hours, XC bag included $1,200 OBO. (949) 257-9106, pdebellis@hotmail.com Crestline, CA. MYSTIC 166 – 1984, excellent condition, ~50 hours, with pod harness, parachute, Ball 562 vario $800. (870) 492-4654.

PAC AIR KLASSIC 144 – Very good condition, good thermal glider, blue and green, cheap $500. (541) 504-5416.

SUPERSPORT 163 – Really good condition, red/black/white, winglets, folding base tube, storage tube included $1,500 OBO. (928) 282-5103.

TALON 140 – 2003, excellent condition, mylar sail, slipstream downtubes, aluminum airfoil basetube, low hours, XC ready, great glide, easy to land $4,000 OBO. (815) 234-5388.

TARGET 180 – Virtually new, perfect condition, red/black/white, flown once by instructor, site closed, perfect beginner glider $2,100 OBO. (831) 443-0982 California, jferguso@guidant.com ULTRASPORT 147 – Great condition, 30 hours, wheels, aerotow release $1,500. (410) 295-3987, severnelectron@netscape.net

WILLS WING SUPERSPORT 163 – Purple top, magenta/teal lower, fins, winglets, custom WW wheels $500. (856) 829-4571, kmyers3360@aol.com WWXC 142 – Near perfect condition.

Best offer. Fly@TheFloridaRidge.com or (863) 805-0440 for photos, info.

EMERGENCY PARACHUTES

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 INSPECTED RESERVES – For HG or PG $199+up. Used Quantum, all sizes $475+up.

Some trades accepted. (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com, www.hanggliding.com HARNESSES

CG 1000 HARNESS – w/all the extras $200.

Arai Design vario w/GPS mount $300.

(970) 259-9329, Kevingendron@msn.com CG 1000 – Chest entry, excellent condition, like new, 2 parachute containers, yellow and red, fits 5’10” and 40 inch chest $200.

(541) 504-5416.

CG HARNESS – w/Lara Gold chute & swivel $1,500 OBO. Eric Raymond tandem harness, chute, swivel $800 OBO. Reggie Jones (619) 445-3633, reggieandvicki@cox.net HARNESSES – 5’0”-6’5”. Cocoons $125+up.

High Energy Cocoons $200+up, Pods $200+up.

Inventory, selection changes constantly.

Some trades accepted. (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com, www.hanggliding.com April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

C L A S S I F I E D S

MOYES CONTOUR HARNESS – Brand new, with Wills Wing PDA chute, 6’-6’4”, purple/black $800. (856) 829-4571, kmyers3360@aol.com TWO HARNESSES – Both good condition.

M2 5’11” 175lb $100. Moyes Contour $150.

Call Glen Volk (858) 458-3370.

PARAGLIDERS

AIRSPORTS USA – www.powerparaglider.com, www.flyforfun.net. Manufacturing the BP Parawing! Americas #1 selling backpack motor.

ADVANCE EPSILON 3/28 – Large, excellent condition, 40 hours. Asking $1500. Contact Patrick at Pharper111@aol.com, (208) 870-6020.

APCO KEARA – New, small, 1 flight, 1 hour $1,900 or possible trade. Fresh from the dealer in perfect condition. (720) 746-1520, deckerkarl@hotmail.com APCO SIERRA M – DHV 1-2, excellent condition, 50 hours, crispy, no tears/stains/ defects, blue/yellow $1,000. (510) 438-9583, skyfree@comcast.net OZONE OCTANE L – Yellow w/red stripe, excellent condition, just had an annual inspection, porosity of a brand new wing $1,050 delivered. wickz1@msn.com 1-888293-7395, (541) 941-7412 cell.

OZONE PROTON GT XL – DHV 2-3, good shape, re/blue, min. flights, good sink rate $1,700 OBO. tandemrudy@hotmail.com, (510) 776-2341.

RIGID WINGS

AEROS STALKER – 2002, w/tips, white/ blue, under 10 flights, under 10 hours, $8,000.

(315) 498-5112, mclark@lodestonebanking.com AEROS STALKER – 2001, very good condition, white upper surface, red & white lower. Includes new Micro Drag carbon control frame, new “Race” aileron, nose & rear cables, winglets, travel UV protective cover bag, brand new XC/storage bag, spare aluminum uprights, faired carbon basetube, all original lower cables $5,500. Mike (512)388-6556 home, (512) 848-2236 wk/cell, Austin TX, miked@jcevans.com GHOSTBUSTER – Excellent condition, low air time, many extras included. Enjoy high performance, excellent handling of this beautiful rigid $4,000. Bill (858) 775-6543, wsbuchwald@yahoo.com Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

ULTRALIGHTS

AIRSPORTS USA – WWW.FLYFORFUN.NET W W W. P O W E R - PA R A C H U T E . C O M Manufacturing the DFS Single and DFS dual.

Trike or Powered Parachute, check out our web site for this amazing plane!

COMPLETE AEROTOW TRIKE OPERATION – w/Rotax 503, 3-blade Ivo prop, 2-place seat, tow release, emergency chute, LaMouette Gulf wing, custom trailer, launch cart $8,000 gets it all. (770) 304-8475 or for pixs cctravel@mail3.newnanutilities.org WANTED

WANTED – Used Mosquito NRG harness: large or x-large. (715) 477-2160, miles@nnex.net SCHOOLS & DEALERS ALABAMA

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK The best facilities, largest inventory, camping, swimming, volleyball, more. Wide range of accommodations. hanglide.com, 877-hanglide, (877) 426-4543, hanglide.com ARIZONA

DIXON’S AIRPLAY PARAGLIDING – Dixon White & Marty Devietti: USHGA’S Instructors of the Year. Individualized instruction at perfect beginner training areas. Drive to uncrowded launches, land in wide-open fields, enjoy many flights each day. State-of-the-art lesson plans and equipment. Reservations required. POB 2626 Flagstaff, AZ 86003. Call (928) 526-4579 for Arizona or 509-782-5543 for Washington. www.paraglide.com or dixon@paraglide.com CALIFORNIA

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

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

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 easr 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) 5560469 Modesto, CA. drmwvrhg@softcom.net FLY ABOVE ALL – Year-round instruction in beautiful Santa Barbara! USHGA Novice through Advanced Certification. Thermalling to Competition Training. Visit www.flyaboveall.com (805) 965-3733.

FLY SANTA BARBARA – With Rob Sporrer of Eagle Paragliding. Award winning instruction and the nations best year round flying. www.FlySantaBarbara.com (805)968-0980.

THE HANG GLIDING CENTER – PO Box 151542, San Diego CA 92175, (619) 265-5320.

MISSION SOARING CENTER – 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 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 TORREY PINES GLIDERPORT – Come soar in San Diego! This family owned and operated 73

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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 Sup’Air. 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).

VUELO LIBRE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA – We offer the best no-hassle flying vacations.

Just bring your wing and clothes! We provide airport and site transportation, camping gear, site intros, retrieves, Tandem flights, scenic tours and more. Contact us at www.eparaglide.com or (925) 964-0476, we’ll make it easy for you!

WINDSPORTS – 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.

(818) 367-2430, www.windsports.com COLORADO

AIRTIME ABOVE HANG GLIDING – Fulltime 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 GUNNISON GLIDERS – Serving the western slope. Instruction, sales, service, sewing, accessories. Site information, ratings.

1549 County Road 17, Gunnison CO 81230.

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

PEAK TO PEAK PARAGLIDING LLC – New paragliding school in Boulder! Offering excellent state-of-the-art instruction. Equipment & tandems. Kay@peaktopeakparagliding.com www.peaktopeakparagliding .com 74

FLORIDA

FLY THE RIDGE – At the epicenter of Florida’s converging coastal winds. XC over 75 miles in any direction. U2’s set up, harnessed and ready to fly. New management and staff, experienced aero-tow pilots, friendly instruction, camping, swimming, fishing. One hour from either Florida coast on State Road 80 between Clewiston and Labelle. www.TheFloridaRidge.com.

(863) 805-0440 GRAYBIRD AIRSPORTS – Paraglider & hang glider towing & training, Dragonfly aerotow training, XC, thermalling, instruction, equipment. Dunnellon Airport (352) 245-8263, email fly@graybirdairsports.com www.graybirdairsports.com LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK – Nearest mountain training center to Orlando. Two training hills, novice mountain launch, aerotowing, great accommodations. hanglide.com, 877-hanglide, (877) 426-4543.

MIAMI HANG GLIDING – We have the most advanced training program known to hang gliding, teaching you in half the time it takes on the training-Bunny 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.

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 & 2003 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

WALLABY 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 minutes, 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, 1800-WALLABY. Conservative, reliable, state-ofthe-Art. F.H.G. INC., flying Florida since 1974.

GEORGIA

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK – Discover why 5 times as many pilots earn their wings at LMFP. We wrote USHGA’s official training manual. hanglide.com, 877-hanglide, (877) 426-4543.

HAWAII

BIRDS IN PARADISE – Hang gliding & ultralight flying on Kauai. Certified tandem instruction. (808) 822-5309 or (808) 6391067, birds@birdsinparadise.com www. birdsinparadise.com PROFLYGHT PARAGLIDING – Call Dexter for friendly information about flying on Maui. Full service school offering beginner to advanced instruction everyday, year round.

(808) 874-5433, paraglidehawaii.com IDAHO

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

April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

C L A S S I F I E D S

MAINE

NEVADA

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. www.downeastairsports.com, Marc (207) 244-9107, in_a_cloud@hotmail.com

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

MARYLAND

HIGHLAND AEROSPORTS – 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 MICHIGAN

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 spring 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 TRAVERSE CITY HANG GLIDERS/PARAGLIDERS – Put your knees in our breeze and soar our 450’ sand dunes. Full-time shop. Certified instruction, beginner to advanced. 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.

MONTANA

BOZEMAN PARAGLIDING – Montana’s connection for all things paragliding!

Instruction, tandems, equipment, towing, XC, maneuvers, guided trips. (406) 522-3955 or www.bozemanparagliding.com for info. Come join the fun!

Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

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.

FLY HIGH, INC. – Serving New York, Jersey, and Connecticut areas. Area’s exclusive Wills Wing dealer. Also all other brands, accessories. Area’s most INEXPENSIVE prices!

Certified instruction/service since 1979.

Excellent secondary instruction! Taken some lessons? Advance to mountain flying! www.flyhighhg.com , 845-744-3317.

SUSQUEHANNA FLIGHT PARK COOPERSTOWN – 160’ training hill with rides up. 600’ ridge- large LZ. Specializing in first mountain flights. Dan Guido, 293 Shoemaker Road, Mohawk NY 13407. (315) 866-6153, dguido@dfamilk.com PUERTO RICO

FLY PUERTO RICO WITH TEAM SPIRIT HG! Flying tours, Rentals, Tandems, HG and PG classes, H2 and P2 intensive Novice courses, full sales. (787) 850-0508, tshg@coqui.net TENNESSEE

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK – Just outside Chattanooga. Become a complete pilot- foot launch, aerotow, mountain launch, ridge soar, thermal soar. hanglide.com, 877-hanglide, (877) 426-4543.

TEXAS

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) 229-2699, sburns@austinairsports. com. Fred Burns, (281) 471-1488, austinair@aol. com, 3810 Bonita Lane, La Porte TX 77571. www.austinairsports.com 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.

TX FLYSPORTS – Specializing in powered paragliding, certified instruction. Sky Crusier and other great ppg’s. US importer of MacPara Technology paragliders (Muse, Eden 2, Intox, Pasha). (713) 494-1970 Houston, www.macparaUSA.com UTAH

CLOUD 9 SOARING CENTER – Once again, we are the closest shop to the Point of the Mountain. Utah’s only full time PG/HG shop and repair facility. Contact 1-888-944-5433 or www.paragliders.com SUPER FLY PARAGLIDING ACADEMY – Join Team Super Fly! We offer comprehensive pilot training programs, powered paragliding instruction, tandem flights, maneuvers training, towing training/certification and tandem pilot training. We make great pilots! 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. Call about demo and used equipment of all kinds. Instructors Ken Hudonjorgensen, Chris Santacroce, Kevin Biernacki, Dale Covington, Jake Walker, Jeff Farrell. Lessons start at $65. (801) 255-9595 or www.paraglidingacademy.com VIRGINIA

BLUE SKY – Full time instruction at Blue Sky Flight Park near Richmond. Scooter, platform and aerotowing available.

All major brands of equipment, with Mosquitos and Doodlebugs in stock. Steve Wendt (540) 432-6557, (804)-241-4324, www.blueskyhg.com 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. To make reservations, call Doug and Denise at (509) 782-5543. www.paraglide.com WISCONSIN

RAVEN SKY SPORTS, INC – Will re-open in 2004 under new ownership. (262) 473-8800 www.hanggliding.com, info@hanggliding.com 75

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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) MEXICO

FLYING VACATIONS – Valle de Bravo and beyond. www.flymexico.com, 1-800-861-7198, December – April, in and out on Sunday, PG & HG. Discounts for returning clients, other discounts available. $895 PG, $1,095 HG w/ glider included. Lodging at a Grand Hotel or houses, go flying every stinkin’ day.

PARTS & ACCESSORIES

Get BENT today! New Pilots: Enhance your credibility with your site’s bitter, angry disenfranchised old-timers. Give your glider that used, worn, battle-damaged look with authentic rips, tears, bent and broken downtubes and assorted buggered glider parts at a fraction of the cost of NEW. Get BENT Glider Hardware and Flying Supplies provides the new pilot with the look of used and experienced equipment.

Accept no imitations, use only genuine Get BENT equipment and hardware for that “seasoned” look. To fly with the big guys- you have to Get BENT! Available at a flying school near you.

Call 1-800-GET-BENT or visit our website at www.getbent.com today.

FLIGHT CONNECTIONS, INC. PTT II – Order online and save, water/dust resistant push button, field replaceable finger switch, heavier gauge wire/improved plugs, increased strain relief at all joints. Special price $99.95.

Extra finger switch $19.95 w/purchase. Dealer inquiries welcome. Call (913) 530-8829. MC/ Visa. Visit our Web site at www.flightconn.com, mikedillon@flightconn.com 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. ONLY $169. Mallettec, PO Box 15756, Santa Ana CA, 92735. (714) 966-1240, MC/Visa accepted, www.mallettec.com 76

FOR ALL YOUR FLYING NEEDS – Check out the Aviation Depot at www.mojosgear.com featuring over 1000 items for foot-launched and powered paragliding, hang gliding, stunt and power kiting, and powered parachutes.

24/7 secure online shopping. Books, videos, KITES, gifts, engine parts, harness accessories, electronics, clothing, safety equipment, complete powered paragliding units with training from Hill Country Paragliding Inc. www.hillcountryparagliding.com 1-800-664-1160 for orders only. Office (915) 379-1567.

GLIDERBAGS – XC $60! Heavy waterproof $100. Accessories, low prices, fast delivery!

Gunnison Gliders, 1549 County Road 17, Gunnison CO 81230. (970) 641-9315, orders 1-866-238-2305.

OXYGEN SYSTEMS – 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. 1-800-468-8185.

RISING AIR GLIDER REPAIR SERVICES – A full service shop, specializing in all types of paragliding repairs, annual inspections, reserve repacks, harness repairs. Hang gliding repacks and repair. For information or repair estimate, call (208) 554-2243, pricing and service request form available at www.risingair.biz, billa@atc.net TEK FLIGHT PRODUCTS – Camera mounts $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 WINDSOKS FROM HAWK AIRSPORTS INC – P.O. Box 9056, Knoxville, TN 37940-0056, (865) 945-2625. World famous Windsoks, as seen at the Oshkosh & Sun-N-Fun EAA Fly-Ins. Hawk@windsok.com, www.windsok.com PUBLICATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS

BIRDFLIGHT – 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

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.

1-800-616-6888 www.ushga.org HARRY AND THE HANG GLIDER 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) 628-8165 or visit http://www.flash.net/~skyhipub Visa/MC accepted.

MAGIC WINGS – Author-publisher Alden Moffatt examines the dread, acceptance of fate, and elation of learning to soar. Filled with heartpumping action, adventure, gossip. Readers call it “excellent!” “a page turner!” 124 pages.

Paperback. $10.95 + $3.95 shipping. Order from: A.G. Moffatt Publishing, 6400 Hwy 66, Ashland, OR 97520.

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.

THE ART OF PARAGLIDING – By Dennis Pagen. 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) 6328300, fax your MC/Visa/Amex to (719) 6326417, www.ushga.org, ushga@ushga.org REAL ESTATE

TETON CLUB – JACKSON HOLE, WYOMING. Own a million dollar condominium for a fraction of the cost at the base of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. Step out your back door onto Jackson Hole’s Aerial Tram and rise 4,139 vertical feet to the top of Rendezvous Mountain for S to E launching conditions. Come to Paragliding Paradise and enjoy Alpine flying at its absolute best! For more information contact Fred Harness @ fharness@tetonclub.com or 307-7340745 Ext. 112 Check us out at www.tetonclub. com “This announcement is not an offer of solicitation to buy to residents of any state in which registration has not been completed.”

April, 2004: Hang Gliding & Paragliding

C L A S CSL IA S F SII FEI EDD S

VIDEOS & DVDS

VIDEOS FROM USHGA – WWW.USHGA.ORG *NEW* STARTING POWERED PARAGLIDING – Great intro to powered paragliding. From t first lessons, first solo flight, to advanced techniques. Covers ground school w/simulator training and paraglider wing ground handling, equipment fundamentals , weather to fly, & expert pilots showing advanced techniques. 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. 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. 40 minutes $39.95 ALSO AVAILABLE IN DVD, same great price. *NEW* PARAGLIDER TOWING Instructional.

Learn the fundamentals of paraglider towing with Dixon White. Basic how-to and safety tips.

24 minutes $24.95 ALSO AVAILABLE IN DVD, same great price.

MISCELLANEOUS

“AEROBATICS” POSTER – Full color 23”x 31” poster featuring John Heiney doing what he does best-LOOPING! See www.ushga. org under store/misc for example. Available through USHGA HQ for just $6.95 (+$5.00 s/h). USHGA, 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).

FIT TO FLY – with FitU exercise management system. Reduce risk of injury, improve overall fitness. Only $24.95. Makes a great gift. www.bodysci.com FRANCIS ROGALLO’S – 1963 VW Westfalia Camper Van, professionally restored, serious inquires only. david@davidglover.com (719) 930-6967.

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. Hang Gliding & Paragliding: April, 2004

WORLDWIDE INTERNET PARAGLIDING TALK SHOW — WWW.WORLDTALKRADIO.COM Listen live or to the archives! Live Tuesday 911:00 am (PST). Call toll-free, 1-888-514-2100 or internationally at (001) 858-268-3068.

Paraglider pilots and radio hosts David and Gabriel Jebb, want to hear about your stories, promotions/events or insight: they also take questions!

INDEPENDENCE DRAGON – Stolen August 29th, 2003 from a car in SAN DIEGO, CA. Red & Grey, size XS, 2” white patch on upper canopy, taped broken sheath, 3rd right D riser, upper line. Medium P4 harness, rear/top mount reserve, gloves & radio antenna in pockets. Both in light grey Independence backpack. Reward.

Diana Tung (760) 271-0425, dineorama@yahoo. com

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES

PRO-DESIGN TARGET – Paraglider, stolen August 8, 2003 from car at WINTER PARK RESORT, COLORADO. Red w/large comp numbers “42” on underside, Pro-Design Concept Air harness & reserve, blue helmet, Ball M19e vario, Yaesu FT-411E radio, Hanwag boots. Contact: Mark Ziegler 970-887-3066 mzig@rkymtnhi.com

The rate for classified advertising are 25 words for $10.00 and $1.00 per word after 25. MINIMUM AD CHARGE $10.00. 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. April 20th is the deadline for the June 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.

STOLEN WINGS & THINGS

SOL YARIS XL & EQUIPMENT – Stolen Dec. 12, 2003 from car in HEMET, CA. Yellow top w/2 thunderbolts on undersurface, Paratech M3 harness, reserve, 2 stuff sacks, red/black back pack. Contact William Carpenter (909) 6582929, blwhite84@hotmail.com HARNESS – Lost Sept 20, 2003 at SADDLE MOUNTAIN, WA. Hand-made harness in a 25lb green back pack. Also reserve, helmet, flight instrument. Russ (206) 367-8963, russlfboe@concast.net TRIM HARNESS PACK & EQUIPMENT – Stolen Sept. 21, 2003 on the road to the Rampart Ridge launch at SNOQUALMIE PASS, WASHINGTON. Black/blue trim harness pack With blue/purple striped CG-1000 pod chest entry harness, 26 gore Odyssey parachute, white Uvex carbon fiber helmet w/PTT2 mike & headphone, Ball M-19e vario, Garmin Etrex GPS. Contact Gary (206) 283-2185, braundesign@msn.com

STOLEN FROM MULLER WINDSPORTS, Cochrane, Alberta, Canada between July 1820, 2003. APCO ALLEGRA MEDIUM YELLOW #600271, in purple stuff sack; APCO FIESTA MEDIUM RED #765452 , new; APCO PRIMA 24 VIOLET #25818 , faded bag, w/first harness; APCO FRONT MOUNT RESERVE MAYDAY 20 w/Y bridle; APCO CONTOUR LARGE HARNESS, black/blue; UP TETON HARNESS, large, grey/blue. Please contact us if you have any information: fly@mullerwindsports.com, (403) 932-6760, fax (403) 851-0737 or contact Cst. H. Boilard, Cochrane RCMP (403) 932-2211, fax (403) 932-2842.

APCO XTRA COMP PARAGLIDER & SUP’AIR HARNESS — Paraglider, stolen June 4th, 2003 from SEATTLE, WASHINGTON. Purple w/white underside, minor repair work.

Purple Sup’Air backpack comp harness w/ whire rear mount reserve, log book, green Protech helmet. Terry Stuart, (425) 369-9920, upland_contracting@yahoo.

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.

77

P R O D U C T

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

L I N E S

St. Paul, Minn. -- You’ll probably be amazed to hear that Wallaby Ranch and Quest have merged. Yes, unbelievably, the two rivals flight parks signed an agreement to become as one. ▲ This stunning development comes just after Wills Wing purchased Moyes “for a song,” crooned WW president, Rob Kells. “It seemed like a good idea at the time,” he added. How much more shocking news can you withstand? Well, in keeping with a few fun items elsewhere in this magazine, the above is pure April Fools fiction. I’ll leave more inventive humor to others and return to what this column does best. ••• Amid all the excitement, I completely forgot to blow my own horn… Yup, with the February 2004 issue, “Product Lines” finished 25 years of continuous publishing. In all that time, the column never missed an issue. As I am working to post all these columns on my long-in-development Web site, someday you’ll be able to scan through a lot of hang gliding history presented in a familiar format. Thanks to many of you who have written to say you truly enjoy “Product Lines,” often making it one of the first things you read (most folks say they “go to the back of the book” after reviewing the cover and centerfold). But, enough about me… ••• The flight park billing itself as the “country’s oldest” was near a sale as this issue went to press. On February 17th, founder Brad Kushner reported that he and a buyer “reached an agreement on the sale of Raven Sky Sports, Inc. and all associated property.” Brad indicated that the intention was to reopen Raven on a target date of April 1st. (This is not an April Fools joke.) However, the contract for sale was not completed as this issue went to press and it is not certain that the sale will take place. I have spoken to Brad and the prospective buyer and both expressed a positive attitude about the sale going forward. Each of them sent announcements by email to a number of interested parties. However, even slightly after the deadline for this issue, it could not be fully determined if Raven Sky Sports will be open for the 2004 season. Regardless, Brad wished to express special thanks to Terry Kramer and John Gamble, who worked behind the scenes as liaisons between the prospective buyer and seller. Those who want an update may contact Brad at (262) 473-8800 or 903-8800 or Brad@hanggliding.com ▲ Even while Raven is currently closed for the winter, plans are underway. “We still plan to hold the Seventh Annual Betty Pfeiffer Safety & Parachute Clinic,” Brad said with only a couple weeks to go. It was scheduled for the March 13-14 weekend. ▲ On a related note, Betty, owner of High Energy Sports, made a couple of Midwestern trips. She and I spoke before the Illinois Ultralight Safety Seminar which attracted over 400 participants. It’s powered ultralight stuff but Betty’s knowledge is valuable to both groups. The ultralight folks heard her speak on the subject of weather. ▲ One final note on this arrangement. It turns out Raven will probably change names. An ultralight company, run by a lawyer, has warned Brad that they own the name SkySports and he should cease using it. Brad and his attorney think they might win the battle but legal fees make fighting it a losing proposition. Ironically, the other outfit originally bought P

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the name from SkySports hang gliders. The Connecticut company behind the Kestrel among other gliders, at one time with Tom Peghiny as its teen-aged designer, sold the brand to previous owners of the ultralight company.

SkySports is a mail-order operation that no longer does any business with hang glider pilots. Nonetheless, a name change is imminent and you could be the one who renames it. Brad said that a pilot supplying the name the flight park will use in the future could win a prize. Hopefully, I’ll have more on Raven Sky Sports next month. ••• Another new development involves a powered product leading to a hang glider product. Ken Brown of Moyes America writes, “After the introduction of the Bug 2 Suprone Motor Harness, a number of pilots expressed an interest in a non-motorized soaring harness.” You get what you ask for in this case as Ken adds, “We now offer the Supine Flyer.” The new harness is based on the powered unit design and incorporates weight displacement of the pilot for prone-rigged gliders. “The Supine Flyer has all the comfort and stability of the Bug 2 for those that want to foot launch or tow up with a Suprone harness,” reports Brown. ▲ According to developer FlyLight, the Bug 2 powered harness has evolved from the original DoodleBug to provide even better touring and soaring performance.

FlyLight reports, “Stowage volume has been significantly increased to easily accommodate the essential camping gear for real bivouac flying while the frontal area has been reduced for improved aerodynamics and soaring ability.”

Bug 2 sells for $5,895 including electric start, prop brake and other accessories. FMI: sportwings@aol.com or (530) 888-8622. ••• Still on suprone flying, I wish to report, somewhat late, that famed British hang glider pilot, Colin Lark, succumbed to cancer last fall. While the UK copes with the loss of a former “living legend,” his name came to me as he had been promoting a suprone harness before his demise. ▲ This harness style had a renaissance back in the 1980s but faded then as it had before. Now, however, as hang glider pilots age, add power, and consider rigs like Michael Riggs’s Pod Racer, the suprone concept may be getting a new burnish. The idea of sit-down flying was pooh-poohed by many pilots who prefer the lean aerodynamics of Superman-style prone posture. Indeed, the overwhelming majority of pilots fly this way — at least if you fail to count our paragliding brothers who fly seated. The Supine Flyer from Ken Brown’s shop and other projects indicate this posture has not died along with Mr. Lark. ••• Still on sit-down flying, Alan Chuculate’s SlowTow project continues. Alan, you may recall from previous “Product Lines” columns, is developing a special trike tug purposed with aerotowing of paragliders. While this has been done before, the concept needed further development and Chuculate jumped into the fray. Next month, I’ll have a further update on his efforts. ••• 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 or CumulusMan@aol.com.

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THE

ALL NEIN INILLS INING

SPORT

HOW THE SPORT 2 COMPARES: GLIDE PERFORMANCE Lowest

Highest

Falcon

Eagle

Ultra sport

Sport 2

U2

Talon

LANDING CHARACTERISTICS Easiest Falcon

Most Demanding

Eagle

Sport 2

U2

Ultrasport Talon

OVERALL HANDLING QUALITIES Easiest Falcon

Most Demanding Eagle

Sport 2

U2

Ultrasport

Talon

COST Lowest Falcon

Eagle

Highest Ultrasport Sport 2

U2

Talon

SPECIFICATIONS SPORT 2 155: Area (tt2) 155 Span (ft) 31.5 Aspect Ratio 6.4 Glider Weight (lbs) 59 USHGA Rating 3 Sugg. Retail $4275

There's a new kid on the block - the new Wills Wing Sport 2 Wills Wing's newest glider is based on our oldest idea: the high-performance glider that's easy and fun to fly. While some have always been willing to accept gliders becoming more difficult to fly as the price of higher performance, Wills Wing has focused on making better-performing gliders that are also easier to fly.

We pioneered the concept of "the high-performance glider you already know how to fly" 30 years ago. Nearly 20 years ago, with the introduction of the original Sport 167, we firmly established the parameters of the "Sport Class" glider, a true high-performance glider that an intermediate level pilot can fly effectively, and have fun on. Today, first with the U2, and now with the Sport 2, we've brought that concept to its highest levels of refinement. The Sport 2 is our latest, and arguably our best, in a long line of easy, fun to fly gliders that offer extraordinary levels of performance. Unlike other high-performance kingposted gliders intended for pilots with advanced skills, the Sport 2 is suitable for even a true intermediatelevel pilot. At the same time, the Sport 2 provides performance that will satisfy an experienced veteran.

The Sport 2 utilizes internal sprogs for stability along with a single reflex bridle per wing. Equipped standard with the ultra-low-drag Litestream performance control bar and an effective VG system, the Sport 2 offers glide performance across the speed range that is just slightly below that of the U2. The Sport 2 tracks straight and true at any speed, with no tendency towards oscillations. The Sport 2's "on rails" directional stability makes aerotowing a breeze, and allows for confident, accurate landing approaches. The Sport 2's exceptional slow-flight handling and performance give it a climb rate in thermals that is unsurpassed. Its unusually light weight and good static balance make ground handling and launching easy.

Landing characteristics are also easy and forgiving, ensuring that even the end of your flight will be something to enjoy. And finally, the Sport 2 comes with all of the built-in quality, and is backed by all of the extensive support, that you've come to associate with Wills Wing.

If you're in the market for a glider that you can enjoy right now, and continue to enjoy as you advance your skills and expand your experience for many years to come, take a look at the new Sport 2.

Quite frankly, we've never made a better glider. And neither has anyone else.

Hook-In Weight (lbs) 150- 250 Optimum Body Weight (lbs) 150- 200 Vne (mph) 53 Va (mph) 46 Vms (mph) 19

LEARN MORE AT WWW.WILLSWING.COM

Wills Wing, Inc. 500 West Blueridge Ave, Orange CA 92865 TEL 714-998-6359 FAX 714-998-0647 e-mail: info@willswing.com