Hang Gliding & Paragliding Vol45/Iss06 Jun2015

JUNE 2015 Volume 45 Issue 6 $6.95

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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

ABOVE Flying the Wasatch near Provo, Utah | photo by Clark Tayler.

WARNING

Hang gliding and paragliding are INHERENTLY DANGEROUS activities. USHPA recommends pilots complete a pilot training program under the direct supervision of a USHPA-certified instructor, using safe equipment suitable for your level of experience. Many of the articles and photographs in the magazine depict advanced maneuvers being performed by experienced, or expert, pilots. These maneuvers should not be attempted without the prerequisite instruction and experience.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine is published for footlaunched 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.

SUBMISSIONS HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine welcomes editorial submissions from our members and readers. All submissions of articles, artwork, photographs and or ideas for articles, artwork and photographs are made pursuant to and are subject to the USHPA Contributor's Agreement, a copy of which can be obtained from the USHPA by emailing the editor at editor@ushpa.aero or online at www. ushpa.aero. HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine reserves the right to edit all contributions. We are always looking for well written articles and quality artwork. Feature stories generally run anywhere from 1500 to 3000 words. 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. Calendar of events items may be sent via email to editor@ushpa.aero, 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@ushpa. aero, (516) 816-1333.

ADVERTISING ALL ADVERTISING AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES MUST BE SENT TO USHPA HEADQUARTERS IN COLORADO SPRINGS. All advertising is subject to the USHPA Advertising Policy, a copy of which may be obtained from the USHPA by emailing advertising@ushpa.aero.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING (ISSN 1543-5989) (USPS 17970) is published monthly by the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding

Association, Inc., 1685 W. Uintah St., Colorado Springs, CO 80904, (719) 632-8300, FAX (719) 632-6417. PERIODICAL postage is paid at Colorado Springs, CO and at additional mailing offices.

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COPYRIGHT Copyright (c) 2014 United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc., All Rights Reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission of the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc.

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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

PLAN

FLIGHT Y

ear after year I am inspired, amazed, and proud of the community surrounding free flight. From mentoring sessions in Utah to amazing fund raising gatherings like the Green Swamp Classic (which raised over $1200 dollars for the Cloudbase Foundation that works with communities where we fly), to clubsponsored barbeques where local land owners are thanked and celebrated, pilots are pooling their resources and talents and making a difference. Our band of fearless recreational enthusiasts consistently joins together for the support of not only our sports, but also for others learning them, and for the communities we interact with.

As I write this, there is a group of paraglider pilots in Nepal who rapidly mobilized their resources after the earthquake rocked the country, and headed to the epicenter of the event. This team of free-flight pilots, who live and work in Pokhara, Nepal, set up a camp in the Gorkha region to channel supplies and medical efforts to a region that seven days after the event was still waiting for larger organizations to arrive. The challenges were significant, and many aid organizations could not navigate through terrain that we, as pilots, recreate in. This ability and affinity to travel through mountainous areas, coupled with a community-based group of pilots, a higher-than-normal level of medical training and a proficiency in search-andrescue has created a truly effective relief effort—an effort that every pilot should be proud of, inspired by, and able to relate to.

If you have been a part of this amazing effort through donations, the community thanks you. Everything, from continued donations to pilots visiting Nepal to go flying, helps. Dustin Martin and Jeff Shapiro are talking of a hang gliding tour to Nepal next year, and the paragliding community is always represented well by Karmaflights.org in Pokhara. Go on a trip, and help a country rebuild!

If you can’t make it to Nepal there is still a pressing need for funds to provide essential food, water, shelter and clothing for Nepalis who lost everything in the quake. You can make a donation through the Cloudbase Foundation, and be assured that we have an amazing local team that will make every penny count! Check out www.cloudbasefoundation.org for more information.

Due to the nature of our sport, and the people it attracts, we have communities similar to the Pokhara pilots all across our own country. I challenge you to try to imagine something in your local area that you can join together to accomplish, and then go out and do it. You don’t need a catastrophic event to see a need in your community and rush to work together to make your local area better; all you need is a flying club and a weekend of non-flyable weather.

The Cloudbase Foundation is available to all pilots if you need a 501(c)3 to actualize your plans, but more than likely if you meet with your club you will have a handful of quality ideas to choose from on a very local level that will not only create an event for you to rally around but will improve your community as a whole.

Martin Palmaz, Executive Director executivedirector@ushpa.aero Beth Van Eaton, Operations Manager office@ushpa.aero Ashley Miller, Membership Coordinator membership@ushpa.aero Julie Spiegler, Program Manager programs@ushpa.aero

USHPA OFFICERS & EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Rich Hass, President president@ushpa.aero Paul Murdoch, Vice President vicepresident@ushpa.aero Steve Rodrigues, Secretary secretary@ushpa.aero Mark Forbes, Treasurer treasurer@ushpa.aero

REGION 1: Rich Hass, Mark Forbes. REGION 2: Jugdeep Aggarwal, Josh Cohn, Jon James. REGION 3: Corey Caffrey, Pete Michelmore, Alan Crouse.

REGION 4: Bill Belcourt, Ken Grubbs. REGION 5: Josh Pierce. REGION 6: Tiki Mashy. REGION 7: Paul Olson. REGION 8: Michael Holmes. REGION 9: Felipe Amunategui, Larry Dennis. REGION 10: Bruce Weaver, Steve Kroop, Matt Taber. REGION 11: Tiki Mashy. REGION 12: Paul Voight. DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Ryan Voight, Paul Murdoch, Steve Rodrigues, Dennis Pagen, Jamie Shelden. EX-OFFICIO DIRECTOR: Art Greenfield (NAA).

The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association Inc. (USHPA) 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 USHPA supervision of FAI-related hang gliding and paragliding activities such as record attempts and competition sanctions.

For change of address or other USHPA business call (719) 632-8300, or email info@ushpa.aero.

The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, a division of the National Aeronautic Association, is a representative of the Fédération Aeronautique Internationale in the United States.

left Sunset wing-over | photo by Clark Tayler.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

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gear reviews by Josh Cohn

ANKER Battery Bank

micro-USB, which prevents the scourge

The second generation Astro E3 ultra-

of having to travel with another single-

compact 10000mAh portable charger

purpose charger. It feels solidly built, but

/ external battery power bank is about

not fully ruggedized. If you tend to throw

the size of a thick smartphone, with a

your gear around it might benefit from

bit more heft at 8 oz. It has more than

being stuck in a bag or sock.

enough juice to power your phone for

DIGITAL MEMBERSHIP CARDS Take your ratings and expiration date everywhere you fly. Download from the Members Only section of the USHPA website. Print, trim, and store in your wallet. Save to your mobile device for easy reference. Always available at www.USHPA.aero

an all-day flight or to charge it, or your

PROFORM PULL UP DOOR GYM

InReach SE, etc. multiple times. The

If you don’t have the space for a simu-

charging logic seems to work well for

lator to hang your new harness and

flying. In the past I’ve had a problem with

get the adjustments dialed in, this bar

an external battery pack that needed to

and some webbing will do in a pinch.

be turned on manually and turned itself

Installation is ridiculously easy, as long

off automatically after topping up the

as your doorframe has a standard size/

phone. The phone would then run out

molding. The bar rests on top of the

of juice mid-flight and I’d be fumbling

molding and hanging on it levers it into

to turn the battery on again. This pack

place pretty securely. And of course you

seems not to have that problem, at least

can do pull ups too. The only down-

when tested with my Note 3. It turns on

side is that the width is a bit narrower

automatically when the phone is plugged

than your actual risers. And it’s rated to

in and stays on, holding the phone

250lbs max, so it could be marginal for

at “100%” charge. It also charges via

XL pilots.

Dear Editor, In the Dave Turner article (March 2015 issue), the author says that Dave flew the first

complete crossing of the Sierra Nevada. The line that he took was bold, but it was not the first.

Hang glider pilots Ken Muscio and Shannon Rabe crossed in May of 1992, launching at the Wolf Creek launch above Leavitt (on the east side of the Sierra), following Sonora Pass and landing at the Twain Harte golf course at the 3500 foot level.

In September of 2011, paraglider pilot Stephan Haase launched at Walts, flew north to Kearsarge Pass, turned left and flew west over the high Sierra crest and the north end of the Great Western Divide to land near Cedar Grove in lower Kings Canyon. Steve was high (15,000’) and close to the Hume Lake area when he hit the prevailing afternoon west wind and barely made it back to land in Kings Canyon.

Steve was relatively modest about his accomplishment and didn’t push for the recognition he deserved, so it went somewhat unnoticed. (Kind of refreshing in this current era of Facebook self-promotion).

I can vouch for Steve, as I was the guy who picked him up on the west side. We had an agreement that each would drive to pick up the other if one of us made it across. I thought it was a pretty safe deal...Who knew?

Stu Polack, USHPA #58744

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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

THE "RHYTHM OF FLIGHT"

from Jeff Shapiro

Flight.” This project entails their producing a series of short

Relative to the world’s population, only a small percentage

movies, along with live broadcasts and a blog, from their

of lucky people get to experience the dream of foot-launch

travels across America. Their journey can be followed by

free flight. Throughout history, man has dreamed of run-

anyone interested in reading about their experiences and

ning off the tallest mountains, leaving the confines of grav-

viewing images taken by two of the best photographers in

ity for the airborne freedom of birds and their wings that

the sport of hang gliding. This adventure will culminate in a

we envy.

feature film that will hopefully immerse the audience in the

What a lucky time to be alive! Only during the last 45 years or so has this dream become a reality. Through the advent of equipment allowing some of the purest forms of

thrill and exhilaration of our sport, as well as expose them to the lives of our incredible community of pilots.

From locations that range from rarely flown sites to

foot-launched free flight, we can now experience that true

popular flight parks, competitions to fly-ins, and demo days

“birdlike” flight which has consumed our imagination for

to simple weekend opportunities to get off the ground,

eons. Those once farfetched dreams of soaring high above

Wolfi and Jonas will film their travels. By showcasing ev-

the ground have become the sports of hang gliding and

erything from cross-country to aerobatics, coastal soaring

paragliding.

to aerotowing into massive thermals, these pilots plan to

Many developments have altered these two sports over

meet up with some of the most passionate flyers and film-

the years. Developments have improved the efficiency, the

makers in this country in order to bring our unique sport to

materials used, and the weight and flight characteristics of

people who would otherwise be unable to visualize what

our wings and, consequently, the overall safety and ease of

we experience.

use. They have also made it easier for anyone interested in hang gliding and/or paragliding to learn to fly.

Pilots, beginners and experienced alike, love to tell

This era of sport might be defined, at least partially, by the advent of the compact cameras we use to bring our friends “with us” and by the vast network of social media

stories about an epic day in the air, one that involved being

that shares the vivid experience of a cool flight with the

a “small boat in a big ocean,” perhaps flying with red tail

masses. If anything good can be claimed by taking GoPros

hawks at cloudbase while “watching a rainbow form in the

and Contours into the skies, it’s that curious “would-be”

storm cloud downrange.” It’s natural for those of us who

pilots can stop imagining and actually witness, in some

are passionate about flying to want to share this passion

ways, the experience of the rhythm of flight. Wolfi and

with other like-minded people, but sometimes stories are

Jonas want to publicize our sports by introducing them to

not enough.

a new generation. YouTube and Social Media, according

Luckily, a few pilots occasionally decide to do their best to focus efforts toward using their passion for free flight to pass along its song, its rhythm, its beauty. These special

to Wolfi, “give us the perfect tools to show the world that flying has found a new rhythm!”

Stay tuned to what these guys are up to! If you’re lucky,

individuals choose to share their passion in the hope that

you will see them drive their eco-friendly, vegetable-oil-

it will touch and enrich lives that might otherwise not be

fueled rig, complete with gliders on the roof, up to your

exposed to the experience we call free flight.

local site. Having experienced flying with both of them,

What is “Rhythm of Flight”?

some of which was epic, I think they will produce ear-to-ear

Austrian hang glider pilot Wolfgang Siess and Jonas

smiles in their audience as well as exhibit a depth of knowl-

Lobitz, from New Zealand, are two of the most passion-

edge and passion for flying. Their Rhythm of Flight will be

ate aviators I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet. Both are

inspirational not only for “pilots-to-be” but also for those of

experienced, skilled and, best of all, easily approachable.

us lucky enough to share some sky with them.

These two exude a love for life and flight that is contagious.

Last year they met to discuss an idea. Their idea of turning

Facebook: www.facebook.com/rhythmofflight

what began as a “flying vacation” into something much

Website: www.rhythmofflight.com

grander soon became a project called “The Rhythm of

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

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Up for Re-election in 2015 (already nominated unless noted) REG 1 (AK, OR, WA) 1 seat: Mark Forbes REG 2 (North CA, NV) 2 seats: Josh Cohn, Jon James REG 3 (South CA, HI) 2 seats: Corey Caffrey*, Alan Crouse * not running for re-election

USHPA CALL FOR REGIONAL DIRECTOR NOMINATIONS Deadline August 16, 2015 | Voting Begins November 1, 2015 Do you know someone who... ... is passionate about hang gliding and paragliding? ... has a desire to help with the protection and growth of free-flight aviation? ... can both create goals to achieve their ideas and then follow through on them?

Then please nominate him or her for the Board of Directors of USHPA! You may also nominate yourself. However, please only nominate people in your region. (You do not need to re-nominate current directors.)

Regional Directors are the cornerstone of the US Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association. They are the mouthpiece of the members that they represent and

REG 4 (AZ, CO, UT, NM) 1 seat: Ken Grubbs

for the sports of hang gliding and paragliding. The USHPA wants and needs participation in this process.

Requirements include:

REG 5 (ID, MT, WY, Canada) 1 seat: Josh Pierce REG 6 (AR, KS, MO, NE, OK, INT'L) 1 seat: Tiki Mashy REG 9 (DC, DE, KY, MD, OH, VA) 1 seat: Larry Dennis

* Travel to Board meetings twice yearly (some expenses reimbursed) * Interaction with committees * Participation in open-discussion forums * Representation of the members in the region Process for becoming a Regional Director: 1. By Aug. 16, nominate yourself or another pilot IN YOUR REGION by completing the online Regional Director Nomination Form. Go to http://www.ushpa.aero/

REG 10 (AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VI, PR) 2 seats: Matt Taber, Bruce Weaver

elections.asp and click on the “complete the online nomination form” link. Or you may submit a written nomination statement to USHPA Headquarters 2. By Sept. 1, nominees must submit a bio and a “VOTE FOR ME!” statement for

REGION 11 (LA, TX) 1 seat: Tiki Mashy No election this year REGION 7 (IL, IN, IA, MI, MN, ND, SD, WI) REGION 8 (NH, CT, ME, MA, RI, VT) REGION 12 (NJ, NY)

inclusion in the November issue of HG&PG magazine and the election-related emails sent to members.

3. Starting Nov. 1: VOTE! Elections begin November 1. On December 15th, votes received via online ballots from active USHPA members of each region will be tallied. Election results will be announced on the USHPA website.

Nominations: www.ushpa.aero/elections.asp Results: www.ushpa.aero

USHPA CALL FOR AWARDS NOMINATIONS FAI awards nomination deadline September 1, 2015 USHPA awards nomination deadline October 1, 2015 Every year, USHPA issues awards and commendations to those making "aboveand-beyond" contributions to our sport. Committee members rely on you to let them know what's worthy of national recognition. At the Spring USHPA Board of Directors meeting, award recipients receive their award at a festive banquet.

We need you to nominate your fellow pilot, club officer, hard-working volunteer, or friendly landowner for national recognition. Last year not one nomination was received for the chapter website/newsletter of the year; your webmaster or editor could have received some good publicity for your chapter.

Nominations: www.ushpa.aero/emailaward.asp List of USHPA Awards: www.ushpa.aero/award_info.asp

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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

W o r ld’ s l o ng e s t flight on a n E N C glide r 457,73km 25.10.2014 North Brasil, Aspen5, Karel Vejchodsky

next generation of th e legen d

www.gradient.cx www.atlantaparagliding.com USHPA_mag_charlie.indd 1

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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

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“We’re all about 20 years older, and commensurately wiser and more conservative...

How come we’re not safer?”

Mike Meier of Wills Wing presented “Lessons Learned and Murphy’s Corollary” at the 45th Annual West Coast Symposium of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (SETP).

The paper was a follow-up to the following article, first published in the September 1998 issue of Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine, and earned Mike the Jack Northrop Award for the Most Outstanding Technical Paper presented at the symposium.

Congratulations to Mike and thanks for continuing to keep our focus on how we can be safer pilots.

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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

Why Can’t We Get a Handle On this Safety Thing?

by Mike Meier

I

f I were to ask you to characterize the view that the “uninformed public” has of hang gliding, what might you say? You might say that they think of hang gliding as a “death sport,” or, at the very least, an “unreasonably unsafe activity.” You might say that they think hang glider pilots are “thrill seekers” who recklessly disregard the inherent risks in what they do.

You might say that they are under the mistaken impression that hang gliders are fragile, unstable flying contraptions blown about by the winds and only partially, and inadequately, under the control of the occupant.

If confronted by this attitude in a spectator, how might you respond? You might say that once upon a time, in the very early days of the sport, it was true that gliders were dangerous, and pilots behaved in an unsafe manner. You might point out that in recent years, however, the quality of the equipment, the quality of training, and the level of maturity of the pilots have all improved immeasurably. You might point to the fine aerodynamic qualities of today’s hang gliders, the rigorous certification programs in place for gliders, instructors, and pilots, and you might give examples of the respectable occupations of many hang glider pilots: doctors, lawyers, computer programmers.

You might make the claim that hang gliding today is one of the safer forms of aviation, and is no more risky than many other action-oriented sports.

Later on, you might laugh about the

ignorant attitude of the “woofo.” Or, you might wonder, “Why is it, after all these years, that the public still doesn’t understand? Why can’t we educate them about what hang gliding is really like, and how safe and reasonable it really is?”

So now let me ask you another question. What if they’re right? What if they’re right and we’re wrong? And what if I can prove it to you?

Let’s take a look. First of all, you have to admit that year after year we continue to kill ourselves at a pretty depressing rate. Anybody that’s been around this sport for very long has probably lost at least one friend or acquaintance to a fatal hang gliding accident. Most of us who have been around for more than 20 years have lost more than we care to think about. It’s true that we have seemingly made some improvement in the overall numbers in the last 25 years; between 1974 and 1979 we averaged 31 fatalities a year.

Since 1982 we’ve averaged about 10 per year. In the last six or eight years, we may have dropped that to seven per year. On the other hand, what has happened to the denominator in that equation? In 1978, there were 16 U.S. manufacturers viable enough to send teams to the manufacturer’s competition in Telluride. Today we don’t even have a manufacturer’s competition.

My guess is that the fatality rate hasn’t changed much, and almost certainly hasn’t improved in the last 10 years. I’d guess it’s about one per thousand per year, which is what I guessed it was 10 years ago.

So the question is, why? The equipment gets better and more high-tech every year, we know more about teaching than ever, we’ve got parachutes, rockets to deploy them, full-face Kevlar helmets, wheels, FM radios for emergency rescue. We’re all about 20 years older, and commensurately wiser and more conservative. How come we’re not safer?

I’ve been asking myself variations on this question for as long as I can remember. Three years ago I had an accident, and in thinking about that accident I thought that maybe I had stumbled onto some little insight into the answer. I’ll share it with you.

Here’s the story. (If you don’t like reading “there I was” stories, or other people’s confessional accident reports, skip this part. I won’t be offended.)

We were out doing some production test-flying at Marshall Peak in San Bernardino. For those of you who haven’t flown there, Marshall is a rounded knob in the middle of a 2200'

tall ridge in the foothills along the northern border of the east end of the Los Angeles basin. It’s a very reliable flying site, probably flyable 300 days a year and soarable on most of them. It was July, in the middle of the day, but the conditions were not particularly strong. We were landing on top, which we do whenever conditions are not too rowdy, because it vastly enhances efficiency. I was flying a Spectrum 165, and setting up my approach. I’ve logged about 100 top landings a year at Marshall for each of the last 15 years.

Even so, I know for a fact that at the time, I was not complacent. I know because I have a clear memory of what I was thinking as I set up my approach.

In two weeks, I was due to leave on a three-week family vacation abroad, and I was thinking, “You damn well better not get yourself hurt before your trip or your wife is going to kill you.” At the same time, I wasn’t anxious. I was flying a Spectrum, the conditions were only moderate. I’d made lots of success-

ful landings on more difficult gliders in more challenging conditions. I hadn’t had an unsuccessful landing attempt in longer than I could remember. I was relaxed, yet focused. My intent was simply to fly a perfect approach. Such intent is always a good idea when top landing at Marshall; the landing is challenging, and a sloppy approach can quickly get you into trouble. I knew exactly where I wanted to be at every point in the approach, position, heading, altitude and airspeed. I executed the approach exactly as I wanted to.

You top land at Marshall half crosswind, gliding up the back side of the hill. You come in hot, because the gradient can be extreme, and there’s often some degree of turbulence. The time interval from 40mph dive, through round out, to flare is very short. I was halfway through this interval, past the point where one is normally rocked by whatever turbulence is present, when both my left wing and the nose dropped suddenly and severely. I

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

13

“We might conclude that the 'uninformed public' has been right about hang gliding all along.” went immediately to full opposite roll control, and managed to get the wings and nose just level when the basetube hit. Having turned 90 degrees, I was traveling mostly downwind, at a groundspeed of probably 30mph. The right downtube collapsed immediately, and the right side of my face and body hit the ground hard.

Very briefly, I thought I might die.

For a slightly longer time, I thought about paralysis. Within a minute, I knew I was mostly OK. In the end, I got away with a slightly sprained ankle, and a moderate case of whiplash. I had three weeks to think about the accident while I bounced around the rutted dirt roads of East Africa trying in vain to keep my head balanced directly over my spine to moderate the pain.

Liberty

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The thing was, I never considered at the time of the landing that I was anywhere near “pushing the envelope.” I’ve done dozens of landings at Marshall where I did feel that way. All during the previous two summers I had been top landing RamAirs at Marshall in the middle of the day in much stronger conditions. I had never had a crash.

Thinking about it, I couldn’t even remember the last time I had broken a downtube. I tried in vain to think of a clue that I had missed that this was going to be a dangerous landing. Finally, I was left with only one conclusion. What happened to me was nothing more or less than exactly what the potential result was, during any of the times I had landed under similar, or more challenging circumstances.



That was a dangerous landing because of what could have (and did) happen.

The corollary, of course, is that all the other landings I had done, on more challenging gliders, in more challenging conditions, were also dangerous.

(In fact, they were more dangerous.)

And they were so in spite of the fact that no bad results ensued in any of those landings.

And suddenly I felt like I was beginning to understand something that I hadn’t previously understood.

You see, here’s how I think it works.

The overriding determinant of pilot safety in hang gliding is the quality of pilot decision-making. Skill level, experience, quality of equipment—all those things are not determinants.

What those things do is determine one’s upper limits. More skill gives you a higher limit, as does more experience or better equipment. But safety is not a function of how high your limits are,

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but rather of how well you stay within those limits. And that is determined by one thing: the quality of the decisions you make. And how good do those decisions have to be? Simply put, they have to be just about perfect. Consider the type of decisions you have to make when you fly. Do I fly today? Do I start my launch run at this time, in this cycle? Do I have room to turn back at the hill in this thermal? Can I continue to follow this thermal back as the wind increases and still make it back over the ridge? Each time you face such a decision, there is a level of uncertainty about how the conditions will unfold.

If you make the “go” decision when you’re 99% sure you can make it, you’ll be wrong on average once every 100 decisions. At 99.9%, you’ll still be wrong once every thousand decisions.

You probably make 50 important decisions for every hour of airtime, so a thousand decisions comes every 20 hours, or about once or twice a year for the average pilot.

So, to be safe, you have to operate at a more than 99.9% certainty. But in reality, 99.9% is virtually impossible to distinguish from 100%, so really, for all intents and purposes, you have to be 100% sure to be safe.

And now I think we can begin to understand the problem. Let’s first consider this: We all have a strong incentive to make the “go” decision.

The “go” decision means I launch now, relieve my impatience to get into the air and avoid the annoyance of the pilots waiting behind me, instead of waiting for the next cycle because the wind is a little cross and the glider doesn’t feel quite balanced. It means I turn back in this thermal, and climb out above launch and stay up, instead of taking the conservative choice and risking sinking below the top and maybe losing it all the way to the LZ. It means I choose to fly today, even though conditions are beyond my previous experi-

ence, rather than face listening to the “there I was” stories of my friends in the LZ at the end of the day, knowing that I could have flown but didn’t, and knowing that they did and were rewarded with enjoyable soaring flights.

So the incentive is there to choose “go.” The only thing we have to counter this incentive is a healthy respect for the possible dangers of failure, and our ability to evaluate our prospects for success. And here’s where we get caught by a mathematical trap. Let’s say I’m making my decisions at the 99% level, and so are all my friends. Out of every 100 decisions, 99 do not result in any negative consequence. Even if they’re bad decisions, nothing bad happens.

Since nothing bad happens, I think they’re good decisions. And this applies not just to my decisions, but to my friends’ decisions as well, which I observe. They must be good decisions—they worked out, didn’t they?

The next natural consequence of this is that I lower my decision threshold a little. Now I’m making decisions at the 98% level, and still, they’re working out. The longer this goes on, the more I’m being reinforced for making bad decisions, and the more likely I am to make them.

Eventually, the statistics catch up with me, and my descending threshold collides with the increasing number of opportunities I’ve created through bad decisions. Something goes wrong; I blow a launch, or a landing, or get blown over the back, or hit the hill on the downwind side of a thermal. If I’m lucky it’s a $50 downtube or a $200 leading edge. If I’m unlucky, I’m dead.

If we can agree at this point that making 100% decisions is the only safe way to fly, it then becomes interesting to consider, as an aside, what the sport of hang gliding would look like if we all operated this way. Pilots would choose to fly in milder, safer weather conditions. They would operate much

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“if you’ve broken more than one downtube in the last five years of flying, you’re doing something seriously and fundamentally wrong.” more comfortably within their skill and experience limitations. They would choose to fly more docile, more stable, easier-to-fly gliders. Landings would be gentle, and under control. Hang glider manufacturers would sell two downtubes and one keel for every glider they build (the ones that come on the glider) instead of three or four replacement sets like they do now. There would be far, far fewer accidents. (As it is now, there are about 200 per year reported to USHPA.) There wouldn’t be any fatalities, except maybe for one every couple of years if a pilot happened to die of a heart attack while flying (it’s happened once so far that I can remember).

Since this isn’t anything like what the sport of hang gliding does look like, we might conclude that hang gliding, as it is presently practiced, is an unreasonably unsafe activity practiced by people who lack a proper and reasonable regard for their personal safety. In other words, we might conclude that the “uninformed public” has been right about hang gliding all along.

If you don’t like that conclusion, I’m pretty sure you’re not going to like any of the coming ones either. But let’s first ask this question: If we wanted to address this problem of bad decisions being reinforced because they look like good decisions, how would we do it?

The answer is, we need to become more critically analytical of all of our flying decisions, both before and after the fact. We need to find a way to identify those bad decisions that didn’t result in any bad result. Let’s take an example.

You’re thermaling at your local site on a somewhat windy day. The thermals weaken with altitude, and the wind grows stronger. You need to make sure

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you can always glide back to the front of the ridge after drifting back with a thermal. You make a decision ahead of time, that you will always get back to the ridge above some minimum altitude above the ridge top, say 800 feet.

You monitor your drift, and the glide angle back to the ridge, and leave the thermal when you think you need to in order to make your goal. If you come back in at 1000' AGL, you made a good decision. If you come back in at 400’, you made a bad decision. The bad decision didn’t cost you, because you built in a good margin, but it’s important that you recognize it as a bad decision.

Without having gone through both the before and after analyses of the decision (setting the 800-foot limit, observing the 400-foot result), you would never be aware of the existence of a bad decision, or the need to improve your decision-making process.

This was one of the main ideas behind the Safe Pilot award. The idea wasn’t to say that if you never crashed hard enough to need a doctor, you were a safe pilot. The idea was to get pilots thinking about the quality of their decisions. Not just, “Did I get hurt on that flight?” but “Could I have gotten hurt?” During the first couple of years of the Safe Pilot award program, I got a few calls and letters from pilots who would tell me about an incident they’d had, and ask for my opinion as to whether it should be cause for them to re-start their count of consecutive safe flights. I would give them my opinion, but always point out that in the end it didn’t matter. What was important was that they were actively thinking about how dangerous the incident had really been, i.e. what was the actual quality of their decision-making.

Looking back on it now, I would say that the criteria for a “safe flight”—any flight which didn’t involve an injury indicating the need for treatment by a licensed medical professional—was too lenient. Today I would say it shouldn’t count as a safe flight if, for example, you broke a downtube. A few years ago (or maybe it was 10 or 12—when you get to be my age, it’s hard to tell), we had a short-lived controversy over “dangerous bars.” The idea was that manufacturers were making dangerous control bars, because when smaller pilots with smaller bones crashed, their bones broke before the downtubes did.

(Today, most of the complaints I hear are from the other side, pilots who would rather have stronger downtubes even if their bones break before the downtubes, because they’re tired of buying $65 downtubes, which they’re doing with some regularity.) I have a different suggestion for both of these

problems. Why don’t we just stop crashing?

Of course I know why. The first reason is, we don’t even recognize it as “crashing.” I continually hear from pilots who say they broke a downtube “on landing.” (I even hear from pilots who tell me—with a straight face, I swear—that they broke a keel, or a leading edge “on landing.”) The second reason is, we don’t think it’s possible to fly without breaking downtubes from time to time. I mean after all, sometimes you’re coming in to land and the wind switches, or that thermal breaks off, or you’re trying to squeak it into that small field, and you just can’t help flaring with a wing down, sticking the leading edge, ground looping, slamming the nose (WHAAAAACK!) and breaking a downtube.

We regularly observe our fellow pilots breaking downtubes, which also reinforces our perception that this is “normal.” I’m going to go out on a limb here. I’m going to say that if you’ve broken more than one downtube in the last five years of flying, you’re doing something seriously and fundamentally wrong. Either you’re flying too hot a glider for your skills, or you’re flying in too challenging conditions, or at too difficult a flying site.

Now let’s ask one more thing. If hang glider pilots stopped dying, and if hang glider landing areas stopped resounding with the sound of WHAAAAAACK every second or third landing, (in other words, if hang gliding started looking like fun, instead of looking both terrifying and deadly), do you think maybe the public’s perception of the sport might change?

(Not do you think more of them would want to do it; in truth, no, they probably still wouldn’t.) But do you think maybe they’d stop thinking we were crazy for doing it?

Maybe they would.

And maybe they’d be right.

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HAWAII | JOSH COHN | 35 MILES

2013-2014 RECORDS

Paragliding State Distance

by Steve Roti

T

ime flies when you’re having fun—so much so that I missed chronicling the 2013 paragliding state record flights. Consequently, I’m bundling 2013 and 2014 records together into one big glider-palooza article.

The full state record list is available on the USHPA website, along with links to flight logs on Leonardo and XContest. http://www.ushpa.aero/comppgstate records.asp

Alaska 97.9 Alaska may be the 49th state to join the United States, but it’s the first state on our US distance record list (although that will change if someone ever sets a record in Alabama). In 2013, Wil Brown took off from Indian House Mountain on June 12 and flew 74.5 miles on his Ozone Mantra M4. In 2014, Wil did it again, this time launching from Pepper Peak on May 17 and flying 97.9 miles on a Niviuk Icepeak 6. It looks like late spring is a good window for big crosscountry flights in Alaska. How long will it be before Wil breaks 100 miles in Alaska?

Arizona 110.5 Like Alaska, Arizona also saw recordsetting flights in both 2013 and 2014; the two flights were tow-launched and flown by two different pilots. First, J. Wyatt Lines broke the state distance record on 5/11/2013 by launching from

Rainbow Valley and flying 103.1 miles to Wellton, in the southwest corner of the state, on his Nova Mentor 3 (EN B).

The following year, Dustin Pachura flew his Ozone Mantra 4 110.5 miles, from Houser Road toward New Mexico on 4/5/2014. Just as in Alaska, springtime delivered the big flights.

California 172.1 Dave Turner’s write-up about his epic 172.1-miler starts like this: “When the 2012 paragliding season was coming to an end in the Owens Valley, I set myself a lofty goal for the following year. I wanted to take the California distance record the following summer and was prepared to work very hard to make that happen.” The rest is history. On July 14, 2013, Dave launched from Walt’s Point on his Niviuk Icepeak 6 and flew all the way to Yerington, Nevada.

It was a 7-hour-26-minute flight that combined mountain flying and flatland flying, high climbs and low saves, and a screaming vario. To read Dave’s excellent write-up and see more photos from the record flight, visit his website Sierra Paragliding. http://sierraparagliding.com/californiadistance-record-172-miles/ Wish Dave luck in the 2015 XAlps!

Colorado 153 Back in 2011, A.J. Frye and Peter Thompson flew 122.2 miles together

to tie for the Colorado state record. On 8/15/2013, Peter Thompson did it solo, cracking off a 153-miler on his Ozone Mantra M4. I don’t have any more details on this flight to share with you. If anyone knows more, let me know.

Hawaii 35 Josh Cohn apparently likes to set records while on vacation—in this case on Oahu. On 8/29/2013, he launched his Gin Boomerang 9 at Makapuu, reached a maximum altitude of around 3300 feet while traversing the east side of the island, and then flew around to the north shore before landing on the coast just west of the Banzai Pipeline. Josh’s distance was 35 miles. It’s hard to imagine pushing the Hawaii distance record much further, unless someone crosses the Big Island or pulls off an inter-island flight.

Idaho 240.7 On 7/15/2013, Gavin McClurg set not only the Idaho state record, but also the US foot-launch record and the national record (longest distance by a US national). After taking off from Baldy in Sun Valley, Gavin flew 240.7 miles on his Niviuk Peak 3 across all of central and eastern Idaho and deep into Montana, finally landing east of Helena.

Here’s an excerpt from his XContest notes about the flight: “Unbelievable day. … The strongest conditions I’ve

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CALIFORNIA | DAVE TURNER | 172.1 MILES

ever flown in, super strong climbs, super strong sink, long OD happening over the Continental Divide, but was able to stay to the north of it all day. One extremely scary low save on the back side of the Lemhi’s, then nearly dirted when I was 312 km from launch and thought I’d missed the record again by a fraction.

But the sun came back and I went right back to base. When I got to Canyon Ferry Reservoir, just past 6:00 p.m., I ran out of places to go. Left three hours on the table for sure, which is insane to think about. It was an 840-mile retrieve, compliments of the ‘raddest’ dude there is, Matt Beechinor.”

For more about the flight read Gavin’s blog post here: http://www.cloudbasemayhem.com/aworld-record-falls-240-miles-deep/

Massachusetts 67.5 On 5/18/2014, three pilots broke the previous Massachusetts state record of 33 miles set by David Morris back in 2004. Launching from Mt. Tom, the site of Morris’s previous record, Eduardo Garza flew 67.5 miles on his Skywalk Chili 3 (EN B), John Gallagher flew 67.4 miles on his Niviuk Icepeak 6, and Roberto Cardoso went 59.8 miles on his Ozone R12. James Bradley referred to the weather that day as the “best sky in the history of New England that I recall,” and Eduardo Garza told how after he landed in the best LZ in the area, a family invited him to their birthday BBQ. What a nice way to end a flight!

Tennessee 62 I’ve been hearing good things about the paragliding opportunities in Tennessee.

The previous state distance record of 38.2 miles was set by Luis Rosenkjer, from Walden’s Ridge, back in 2010. On 10/1/2014, unusually late in the year for distance flights, Elena Dmitrievskaya flew 62 miles on her Ozone Delta 2, after launching at Whitwell near Chattanooga. Elena says, “Didn’t check

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TEXAS | Luc Armant | 287.7 MILES

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a forecast the night before, so I wasn’t prepared for a big flight. Just saw how the day was developing and launched my paraglider at some time past noon. My GPS stopped working after 3:30 hours of flying; the battery got discharged.

So instead of continuing my way to the north, where I could see only forests ahead but lovely cloudstreets, too, I decided to land at the edge of Crossville.

Awesome time in the sky! As usually it is, in fact. :-)”

IDAHO | GAVIN MCCLURG | 240.7 MILES

Texas 287.7 Ever since 2002, the US distance record has been Will Gadd’s 263-miler from Zapata, Texas. That changed last year when Luc Armant of Ozone fame flew 287.7 miles on his Enzo 2 from Hebbronville on 7/2/2014. Luc’s flight took 9 hours 58 minutes and was only 37km short of the 500km mark. As they say, everything’s bigger in Texas. Luc was joined last year by distance pilots Charles Cazaux, Dav Dagault, Russell Ogden, Seiko Fukuoka, Fred Pieri, Nick Greece, Chris Galli and Bill Belcourt. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them return to Texas this year for a shot at 500km.

TENNESSEE | Elena DImitrievskaya | 62 MILES

Washington 180 Washington State was the location of the longest-standing distance record, set

by Mark Telep in 1997, when he flew his Swing Ventus 120 miles from Chelan Butte. That record stood until 8/5/2013, when Canadian Alex Raymont flew 155.6 miles from Chelan Butte on his Ozone Delta 2. Less than a year later, on 5/31/2014, Kiwi Matt Senior flew 180 miles on his Ozone Enzo 2, also launching from Chelan and flying well into Idaho, to land east of Moscow.

Matt says, “Huge thanks to Heather for spending 12 hours in the car chasing Morgan and me. You’re the best. Thanks to Alex and Meredyth for showing me how it’s done. This flight was just an extension of their flights in July 2013. I studied their track in detail the morning before the flight.”

WASHINGTON | Matt Senior | 180 MILES

MASSACHUSETTS | Eduardo GARZA | 67.5 MILES

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2015 NATIONALS BIG SPRING

by Davis Straub & Belinda Boulter

T

he big story of the 13th annual Big Spring Nationals was the accomplishment of the Sport Class pilots who, day after day, set new personal bests. On the sixth day, six sport class pilots made the 105-mile task, landing at goal at Levelland Airfield (http:// soaringspot.com/2014bsn/results/pg-sport/ daily/day6.html) for five new personal bests. That day is just one example of the fun we all had flying seven days in a row in West Texas.

We have returned to Big Spring over the past 13 years because of the consistently superior conditions and exceptional support we receive every year from the city and city-owned airport.

Texas has the best hang gliding conditions in the world, and West Texas has the most consistently good competition conditions that any hang glider pilot has the opportunity to fly in. This has been proven since the 1990s, when pilots like Geoff Loyns first showed up in Big

Spring to attempt world records.

This year, the sky filled every day with cumulus clouds, the common pattern at Big Spring. However, a few years ago, on a day when we flew the longest task ever called and completed in a competition—215 miles (346 km)— the sky was clear and blue.

There were cu’s earlier than normal on the first and second days of the 2014 competition. With an unusual eastnortheast wind (the prevailing winds are

ABOVE Guatemalan Sport Class pilot Alejandro Gonzalez soars over the West Texas countryside | photo by Alejandro Gonzalez. TOP LEFT Zac Majors and Matt Barker going over the details for Task 3 before the pilot briefing. RIGHT Matt Christensen ready to launch with help from Kim Story and Kim Frutiger. BOTTOM Lining up for launch on a classic West Texas day. Photos by Belinda Boulter.

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from the south, the Gulf of Mexico), we headed to the southwest. The task committee gave both Open and Sport Class pilots tasks that were relatively short for Big Spring, 122 km and 47 km, respectively. Three Sport Class pilots thought their task was a bit too short, so after making goal, they carried on and also completed the Open Class task.

Since there were light winds on the second day, the task committee went for a triangle task. We all prefer to come back to Big Spring, both to put our gliders back in the hangar and to avoid having to drive for a few hours to get back. This longer task with an upwind leg at the end proved a bit more difficult, and only one Sport Class pilot could push back against the wind. Twelve of the Open Class pilots made it back on their longer 141km task.

On the third day, the task committee sent the Sport Class pilots to one of our

often-used goals, the airport at the town of Lamesa, 70 km north of Big Spring.

Seven of the 11 Sport Class pilots made it to goal, the first pilot getting there in less than an hour and a half. Again, the task committee—Zac Majors, Larry Bunner, and Matt Barker—learned that this was too short a task for these pilots.

The committee finally upped the Sport Class task to something more substantial on day four, with a 130-km task to Brownfield. The Open Class pilots had the same goal, with two additional legs that made for a headwind on their final leg to Brownfield. Sport Class pilots set personal bests that day—even those not making goal.

The Sport Class pilots were exhilarated from all the flying they were doing.

Pilots who barely had flown crosscountry were now flying almost 100 miles, and they were beside themselves.

On the fifth day, pilots in both

classes were again sent to the same goal at Tahoka, with Open Class pilots being required to zig-zag to get there. Michael Williams, a long-time Texas competitor who hasn’t been in competition recently, was the first Sport pilot into the 118-km goal on his Wills Wing Sport 2. Five Sport Class pilots made goal, joined by 22 Open Class pilots, making for a festive occasion.

With a forecast of strong south winds on the sixth day, the task committee sent pilots north-northwest to avoid the Lubbock airspace. Both classes were to go to Levelland airfield, with the Sport Class goal there. Open Class pilots used Levelland as a turnpoint and continued another 40 km directly north to the airfield at Littlefield.

Six pilots made the Levelland goal that day, all in under three-and-a-half hours. That 168.5-km Sport Class task is likely the longest ever called and com-

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pleted, emphasizing how great flying out of Big Spring is.

On the last day, we needed a tough task for Open Class pilots. With only 200 points separating the top three, we couldn’t just have a ride into Paris, but we wanted to get everyone back in time for a late-night awards ceremony at K-C Steakhouse. The Sport Class guys were also fighting it out for second, third, and fourth places, although by then David Williams had a 547-point lead.

The results were tough crosswind tasks for both classes, with goal for both at Lamesa.

Five Sport Class pilots were able to make their 91-km task despite the crosswind on their 44-km second leg. They showed again that, despite their lower performing gliders, they were able to fly well and achieve substantial tasks.

When the dust had cleared in Open Class after seven tasks totaling 1219 kilometers, with the winning flights averaging over 38 miles per hour, Zac Majors ended up a mere 11 points ahead of Derreck Turner to finish in first place. It’s hard to overstate the level of competition and achievement possible in these conditions.

This year for the first time we of-

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fered live tracking in real time, courtesy of Airtribune. Pilots with Android phones were encouraged to download the Airtribune app and register on their website for the competition. As soon as the task was set every morning, we sent a photo of the Open Class task board to Elena at Airtribune. She used our list of waypoints to post the task with a Google Earth map on the event website, where during the day we could add photos and comments. Because the locations are updated every ten seconds and include altitude and groundspeed, it’s possible to watch the race in real time and replay it afterward. In fact, readers

can still replay the entire competition at: http://airtribune.com/bigspring2014/ results.

We couldn’t be flying at Big Spring without the very substantial support of the community. Where else is there a standing local organizing committee of non-pilots (with one exception) who put the resources together so we can have a great time? McMahon-Wrinkle Airport is a working general-aviation airport with small planes and jets coming in and out, oilfield support, and an emergency evacuation helicopter operation next door to our launch. Yet manager Jim Little always seems to find hangar space

for both gliders and tugs and makes us welcome in the spacious air-conditioned terminal, with Wi-Fi, office space for the organizers, white boards, and plenty of chairs from the nearby Hangar 25 Museum.

The committee not only borrows golf carts from the city’s golf course to help on launch, but committee members, who by now have years of experience as launch helpers, drive the carts. The local Culligan distributor makes sure there is plenty of water on launch, and the Blue Bell ice cream distributor keeps a freezer stocked with free popsicles in the pilot lounge. The committee even makes sure we have our own chaplain every day on launch, surely a unique Big Spring amenity.

Over the years—especially since the 1997 World Championships—citizens of Big Spring have come to think of hang gliding as an important part of their summer. This USHPA-sanctioned competition is the only time hang gliding is allowed at the Big Spring airport, and locals tell us they look forward to our arrival. Both local Rotary Clubs make sure to schedule speakers during the week. This year we had spectators coming from as far away as Lubbock

to meet the competitors, sit in the shaded bleachers, and enjoy watching the aero-towing. Local radio station KBST features daily morning updates on the competition. This year one of their personalities reported live from her morning tandem discovery flight.

In fact, the demand for tandems during our limited time always outstripped the number of time slots.

The 2015 Big Spring Nationals is scheduled for August 1 through 8.

Registration is now open at https:// airtribune.com/2015-big-spring-nationals/ registration. For more information, check out the competition web page at: http:// ozreport.com/2015BigSpringNationals. php.

We hope to see you in Texas this summer!

OPPOSITE TOP Tug pilot Mark Frutiger confers with launch crew Mike Atkinson | photo by Belinda Boulter BOTTOM Local spectators and drivers enjoy the shade provided by the city of Big Spring.

ABOVE Taking off into a sky full of clouds. Photos by Ryann Quinn BELOW The top ten in Open Class (L-R) Larry Bunner, Chris Zimmerman, Erick Salgado, Olav Opsanger, Bruce Barmakian, Davis Straub, Robin Hamilton, Mike Bilyk, Derreck Turner and Zac Majors | photo by Belinda Boulter.

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NEW ZE Sometimes our best

vacation travels spring from total serendipity. A year ago, my husband George and I were flying our paragliders in Colombia, a magnet destination for international pilots. One day on launch we were chatting with some pilots from New Zealand, and mentioned that we’d never been to their country but “it’s on our list.”

One of the pilots, Kyla, proceeded to outline when and where and why we ought to venture half way around the world to fly in New Zealand. We exchanged email addresses before launching, and our paths didn’t cross again until a year later...

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EALAND For

PILOTS and Other ADVENTUROUS SPIRITS

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NEW ZEALAND For

PILOTS and Other ADVENTUROUS SPIRITS

by C.J. STURTEVANT

W

hy New Zealand (for pilots and non-pilots)? If you’re a Lord of the Rings fan, that question doesn’t need to be asked. As well, anyone who enjoys mountaineering or hiking or kayaking or bicycling or equestrian activities—or just being outdoors in the sunshine when it’s winter

HIGH POINT #1 of 10

(North ISLAND)

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is touted as the best one-day hike in a country famed for scenic hiking. Sadly, George and I only got a few kilometers along the trail before we, along with everyone else ahead of us, were shepherded back down the trail to avoid a small eruption (near Middle Earth’s Mt. Doom).

back home—will find abundant activities to fill however many days and however much energy they can spend in country. History buffs have numerous gold- and greenstonemining areas to explore, birders can check off only-in-New Zealand species on their life lists, golfers will enjoy some of the most scenic links in the world. The islands are peppered with active volcanoes and burbling mudpots and hotsprings, steeped in Maori culture, and sparkled with glowing worms—irresistible attractions all. And for those who just want to get away from their personal rat race and relax on a beach with a fabulous view, New Zealand has you covered.

Oh, yeah, and then there’s the flying! George and I brought our paragliders, of course, and although we connected with several North Island pilots and visited quite a few of their favorite sites, the weather never cooperated to allow us to get in the air. But with all the other funtastic opportunities on that island, we didn’t feel we’d been “skunked.” The

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South Island was kinder to us for airtime; we flew four of its many stunningly scenic sites on six sunny, soarable days, and those six flights made schlepping our wings around the country for the whole month of February so totally worth it.

Getting airborne in New Zealand: All resident and visit-

HIGH POINT #2 of 10

(North ISLAND)

The museum and Government Gardens in Rotorua are worldclass exhibitions on the geologic and cultural roots of the island that gave us a foundation for understanding much of what we were seeing as we traveled the countryside. It's a great startingpoint, if your vacation begins on the North Island.

ing pilots are required to be members of the New Zealand Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association; although you can print out the test (and the answers) to review before your trip, you’ll have to connect up with a local pilot to do the paperwork, take the test and get your license. The NZHGPA website (http://www.nzhgpa.org.nz/) has a wealth of information to make planning the flying portion of your trip almost a no-brainer, including a map showing the sites on both islands, a list of clubs and contact information for their officers, and links to weather-related websites. Many, if not most, of the local clubs are biwingual; paraglidingnewzealand.com, in spite of its name, includes site and contact information relevant to hang gliders as well as paragliders.

Kyla (the pilot we met in Colombia) lives on the North Island, and she graciously took us, or pointed us, to several of the sites near Auckland in spite of obviously not-flyable conditions. Luckily the “beautiful views + fun folk to hang

HIGH POINT #3 of 10

(North ISLAND)

George and I are typically not enticed by pricey “tourist-trap” activities, but who can visit New Zealand without wanting a peek at where the hobbits lived? To our delight, the Hobbiton Movie Set tour was well orchestrated, informative and fun; even to us cheapskates, it was totally worth the price of admission.

out with = a good time” equation held, and we all counted our afternoon of visiting launches a winner. George and I did some site-scouting on our own while visiting non-flying friends in Auckland, but to our disappointment we never saw a wing in the air during our first 10 days in New Zealand.

That changed abruptly, almost as soon as we got off the ferry on the South Island. A New Zealand ex-pat pilot who’s now living in Seattle introduced us via email to his mum, who lives within sight of a flying site in Nelson. Pam took us under her wing for three days, offering us bed-and-breakfast accommodations in her tiny home, orchestrating our visit to include an evening flight at Barnicoat as well as day trips to the best beaches and hikes, and then pulling out maps and guidebooks to help us plot our road trip down the coast to Wanaka.

That first flight in New Zealand was magical! Barnicoat itself is, by US standards, magic: you’re looking right out at the airport runway from launch, just a couple miles to the north—it’s rare indeed to find a launch in such close proximity to a major airport back in the US. Needless to say, Barnicoat is strictly regulated and the access road is gated.

The local pilots take their site stewardship very seriously— after driving us up to the beautifully groomed grassy launch, they pointed out boundaries beyond which we could not fly, and the altitude restrictions that no one expected we’d bump up against on this overcast evening. But our anticipated sledder to the bail-out LZ turned into much more when the sun peeked through holes in the clouds, and George and I and one other pilot gained enough altitude to cruise over the bailout and land in the huge grassy Octopus Garden Park LZ in town. Thank you, Barnicoat pilots, for gifting us with this intro to New Zealand flying!

The next morning, armed with Pam’s annotated maps, we set off for our next destination: Wanaka, a couple hundred miles to the south and then inland, following the scenic West Coast highway. We’d allocated a couple of days for exploring the West Coast’s numerous historical and geological and cultural points-of-interest along the way, finding lodging wherever we ran out of energy or discovered a compelling

HIGH POINT #4 of 10

(SOUTH ISLAND)

Punakaiki’s Pancake Rocks are about as photogenic as a rock formation can get, with boardwalks out to overlooks, and interpretive signs both factual and whimsical detailing the area’s fascinating geologic history. Catch the high-tide coastal spectacle of powerful spray shooting up out of the blowholes.

reason (like maybe spotting wings in the air?!) to stop. What we hadn’t planned on was competing with thousands of bicyclists and runners and their crews and families who were participating in several weekend events all along the West Coast route. By noon on Saturday lodging options were almost non-existent, and since we’re long past our pull-overand-sleep-in-the-car days, we found ourselves focusing more on finding a room for the night than on the en-route attractions. Next time, we’ll travel during the week…

Once we got to Wanaka, though, the rest of our New Zealand trip was glitch-free. Our condo was an easy halfhour drive from the Treble Cone flying site, and although it’s a gated/regulated site, we had no problem connecting up with

Some dude and Lake Wakatipu, near Glenorchy | photo by Rebecca Bredehoft. RIGHT George enjoying a snack and the view at the end of the Rob Roy Glacier Track | photo by C.J.

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the local PG school to get a ride to launch and a site briefing.

Treble Cone was definitely the most scenic site we flew in New Zealand. Although launch was not the same groomedgrassy-slope quality as Barnicoat, and the wind tended to be rather fickle in both velocity and direction, once we were airborne, the views were stunning! On a good day, pilots fly back to land in Wanaka, or venture up the Matukituki River valley towards Mt. Aspiring’s glaciers and waterfalls. Nobody did any of that on any of the days we were there, but thermaling up to cloudbase for views back into those mountains and glaciers, passing over waterfalls as we cruised up and down the valley, and landing back where we’d parked the car was

HIGH POINT #5 of 10

(SOUTH ISLAND)

The Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers come incredibly close to the ocean at a 43.5° S latitude that's comparable to the Northern latitude of Portland. There are guided helicopter trips to be had, but there are also walks and trails for those of us with tight purse strings, with a close-enough view to be amazed.

fine with us.

Queenstown is about an hour’s drive from our home base in Wanaka, with several flying sites along the way to the city. Luckily for us, a former Seattle-area pilot/instructor friend now lives in Queenstown, and when he texted “meet @ Coronet LZ @ 5:00” we were on it. There are several launches among the ski areas on Coronet Peak; Abe knew

which one would work best on this afternoon, and after a thorough site briefing we joined the many hang and para pilots and tandems and students already in the air. The light ridge lift and late-day thermals let us explore freely for over an hour before joining the approach pattern to the HUGE grassy LZ, clearly marked with a giant smiley face mowed into the higher grass near the forest edge.

After we’d packed up, Abe took us on a tour of nearby Arrowtown, a former gold-mining town that has been repurposed as a tourist attraction, with restored miners’ huts and in-depth descriptions of the living and working conditions of the Chinese miners. Much to our disappointment, we arrived

HIGH POINT #6 of 10

(SOUth ISLAND)

Following a suggestion in the Lonely Planet guidebook, I’d read Eleanor Catton’s prize-winning historical novel, The Luminaries, set in the west-coast town of Hokitika during the gold-mining days. Lodging anxieties kept us from lingering, but we hope to return one day this charming beach-side town.

just minutes too late to snag one of the Arrowtown bakery’s famous New Zealand pies and had to settle for chocolate gelato to sustain us during our walking tour. The historical restoration with its many interpretive signs was interesting enough that George and I went back to explore further on our own after another Coronet flight.

We’d driven the slow but scenic route over the Crown

ABOVE LEFT C.J. in Hobbiton | photo by George. RIGHT As seen everywhere in New Zealand: a sheep-dotted hillside | photo by C.J. OPPOSITE Cade Palmer speedflying Purple Hill, Arthur’s Pass | photo by Rebecca Bredehoft.

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Range on our way to Coronet, and had passed the turnoff to Crown Terrace launch, on the opposite side of the valley from and within sight of Coronet’s ridge. No one had been flying on the Terrace side of the valley as we drove down the switchbacks below launch, but on our way home we spotted some pilots enjoying an evening flight, and we sidetracked to the takeoff point to check things out.

Crown Terrace is mainly a ridge-soaring site, suitable for both hangs and paras with novice or better skills. Being close to the Queenstown airport and situated right above a busy highway and a populated valley, there are numerous

HIGH POINT #7 of 10

(SOUTh ISLAND)

The Haast Pass Highway follows the Haast River through narrow, steep-sided gorges and its many well-marked side trips are worthy of a day’s exploration on their own. Towards the end of our trip we devoted a full, leisurely “rest” day to stopping at the many waterfalls and hiking the short trails to the overlooks.

airspace and land-owners issues, so even though the access to launch is not gated, and there’s a detailed map on the kiosk at launch, we appreciated the local pilots taking time to show us where (and where not) to fly, and where to land in the valley and in the wheat field behind launch. On this day we were too late to get airborne before sunset, but we knew we’d be

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back, preferably on a soarable day.

It wasn’t until our next-to-last day in New Zealand that the weather guessers’ call on wind direction and velocity finally held out hope for soaring the Terrace. George and I could spot pilots above launch as we drove over the Crown Peak summit, but by the time we arrived at launch the fickle wind had dropped to a light breeze, and everyone soon sank out to the valley LZ. A hang pilot launched his Falcon in the light wind, made two passes, and joined the paras below. It was early still; George and I set up, then hung out with the group of pilots patiently waiting, ready to run off launch as

HIGH POINT #8 of 10

(SOUth ISLAND)

From Wanaka, we had easy access to many trailheads. We hiked the Rob Roy Glacier Track to just below the toe of the glacier for views of blue-and-white ice melting into waterfalls hundreds of meters high. Even the most adventurous pilots launching from Treble Cone are unlikely to get such an intimate view.

soon as conditions changed. A bit more breeze lured three pilots into the air; they soared for 10 minutes or so in the narrow lift band, and toplanded in the wheat field behind launch as the lift threatened to die out again.

Clearly this was a grab-it-when-it’s-good day; George suggested I take off next time anyone was staying up, and he’d

HIGH POINT #9 of 10

(SOUth ISLAND)

Te Anau is the jumping-off point for many of the activities in Fiordlands National Park. Just renting a kayak and taking off on your own to explore the iconic Milford Sound (which is technically a fjord) is not an option, so George and I signed up for a full-day guided kayak tour–our favorite South Island activity.

retrieve me from the bail-out LZ if necessary. So when two students launched and were able to maintain, barely above the ridgetop, I joined them. To my delight, I discovered a tiny thermal lurking above a small rocky outcrop, and was able to climb well above the ridge-lift band, giving me room to venture a bit farther afield, always finding that little burble of a thermal to get me back above the ridge. After a brief but satisfying flight I landed in the wheat field so George could get a flight at this site before the wind quit or turned catabatic and shut us down for the day.

Surprisingly, shortly after I landed the wind picked up, and George found plenty of ridge lift to keep him aloft as the sun dipped towards the Coronet ridge across the valley.

He and the other pilots who launched with him were finding lift everywhere in this brief end-of-the-day magic air. George touched down in the wheat field well before sunset, and we

HIGH POINT #10 of 10

(BOTH ISLANDS)

Throughout New Zealand, grab every opportunity to treat your tastebuds to one of the ubiquitous personal-size savory pies!

We never bought the same flavor twice, and every one, from lamb and mushroom to spinach and feta, was delicious. And don't forget about New Zealand lamb–ubiquitous and fabulous.

drove back to Wanaka via dinner in Arrowtown, well satisfied with all of our flying experiences in New Zealand.

Even though George and I are retired and in theory have lots of time to travel, we’ve made a practice of never going back, always going ahead to new destinations—how many more years can we possible have before we become “too old” for this world-wide adventure traveling?! We were in New Zealand for the entire month of February; we spent six of those days flying, which left 22 days for doing other stuff.

With so many flying sites left unflown and adventure destinations left unexplored, we could easily put another month or two to good use, and thus New Zealand has become the first country on our “gotta go back to” list. Thanks to Kyla for luring us there, and to Abe and the rest of the local pilots, and to Pam, for helping us make the best use of the time we had.

LEFT Spectacular Milford Sound, from a paddler’s perspective | photo by C.J. NEXT PAGE Cade Palmer winging over the Remarkables, Queenstown |

photo by Rebecca Bredehoft

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ADVENTURES of the

FALL

From East to West and Back to East!

by Claudia Mejia

O

n the last article, you read about the Tennessee Tree Toppers Team Challenge (TTT-TC) with a couple of hints leading to more adventures. On this one, I would like to go back before the TTT-TC, talk a little bit about the Santa Cruz Flats Race (SCFR), how we happened to make it to Tennessee and about our visit to California after the TC where we had a lot of fun!

Let’s begin with the SCFR, which was another great event organized by Jamie Shelden, helped by her team and supported by many, including the pilots who attended. Like I mentioned on my last article, Steve Morris wrote a piece about this comp in the January issue; therefore, I will only add a couple of things.

For instance, it was a fantastic surprise to have Chris Arai fly again after many years; I personally must have last seen him at the Worlds in Monte Cucco in 1999 (last century!).

He got a Wills Wing T2C 154 to fly the comp and really enjoyed it, loving how it flew and how it allowed him to fly and perform after the little practice he has had these past years: In three tasks (1, 3 and 4), he placed 18th, 15th and 20th, however, on task 2 he placed 3rd (yes, third for the day!) and on task 5, 8th; this allowed him to be 9th (in the

“Top 10”) overall! It was great to see him with his Tangent instrument and his classic helmet; I would smile when coming across him in a thermal!

Another great thing, at least for me, was being able to fly the comp myself! I realized it was a surprise for many, especially for those who never knew that their “little scorekeeper” was a “little competition pilot” too!

I really appreciated everyone’s help –especially Jamie’s and Pedro’s– and the “welcoming” atmosphere; it was the first time that I had been able to participate in an American comp and made it a much greater experience than any other times, when I had attended only to work at Jamie’s comps!

The Sport Class in this “Mark Knight Memorial” was the influence it had for the US in the WPRS: First of all, this was possible because it was the third largest competition of their class after the first World Championships in France last summer (29 pilots) and the Flytec Competition Camp (23 pilots) in May 2014. Nevertheless, I still hope more Sport Class pilots join the future comps because—only in the US—there is a total of 45 pilots registered in the CIVL. Second of all, the winner, Cory Barnwell, got 60.7 WPRS points, making him jump from 3rd place in the overall international ranking to the FIRST spot, becoming the leader

LEFT Flying around Kagel | photo by Pedro Garcia. ABOVE Setting up our gliders at the Crestline launch area, nice and shady | photo by “NoFly” Steve.

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of his class! Third of all, on the Nations ranking—thanks also to Michael Williams and Jim Weitman, 2nd and 3rd overall with 55.1 and 49.6 WPRS points—which, combined with the almost 20 points lost by the Colombians due to time depreciation (every month your past WPRS scores get lower), made the US go from 2nd to 1st place in the Nations ranking by 8.4 points! HOWEVER, as I am finishing up this article (beginning of April), the updated rankings, show Juan Camilo Marín (COL) back on top after the Colombian comp in January, which also placed Colombia in front of the US for about 8.5 points. But this did not last long because Jeff Bohl’s win at the Mexican comp in February (matter for my next article) allowed the US to take the lead by about 40 points! I am sure that with the Florida comps coming up, this gap will only increase. I hope this will motivate Sport Class pilots even more, make them want to keep that top spot and try to go for the top places in the individual rankings too!

Summarizing the Santa Cruz Flats Race 2014, there were five tasks and two cancelled days; 60 pilots from 11 countries flying in four different classes; NO accidents or complaints plus ONE terrific and fun prize-giving dinner and party! It was the 8th edition of the comp and there had been some thoughts to make it the last one; however, during the awards presentation Jamie announced that they had decided to go on, especially after finding a solution to a couple of issues and realizing, once again, how much fun and special this comp

is! Yeah!

Getting to our next stop, right after the competition, on Monday September 22nd, I had to fly down to Colombia on a quick trip (family emergency), which altered any plans we could have had at the time. We agreed to meet back in LA a week after and continue our trip in California; nevertheless, in the meantime Pedro was “adopted” by Mr. Bombastik (Joe Bostik) who took him on a great tour… Some of their stops were: Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde National Park, Monument Valley and, his all-time favorite, Telluride! He was really impressed by the flying there and the high altitude.

He also enjoyed the chance to meet local hang gliding characters such as Nick Kennedy and Luigi Chiarani!

At the same time back in Colombia, I had almost given up on the Tennessee trip since we were meeting in California about the same time the TC would begin; but suddenly, I received a message from Pedro asking whether I could change my ticket to fly into Atlanta instead of LA because, during their trip, Joe had been talking him into checking out the Team Challenge (see why I call him “Mr. Bombastik”—he is simply fantastic!) and Pedro had finally agreed! Moreover, Bostik spoke with Ollie Gregory (organizer of the TC) who let Pedro know how thrilled they would be to have us among the participants and that he felt we could bring a lot to the table. This conversation motivated Pedro even more and he decided to let Mr. Bombastik lead the way back east!

This is how, on September 29th Pedro picked me up in

ABOVE Flight at Sylmar | from the author's Leonardo site. OPPOSITE Flying the Owens | photo by Pedro Garcia.

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Atlanta and we drove a couple of hours to Dunlap to meet the rest of the gang there. Despite it definitely being a long drive for Pedro, troublesome and complicated for me to reschedule my flights, I think that, after reading my previous article, you know we have absolutely no doubt it was the best thing we could have done and are very happy we decided to go meet the Tree Toppers.

At this point we skip the details of the TC since, hopefully you read all about it in the April issue, and go straight to the end of the TC, still approximately 2100 miles from our destination in California, after having been short of 400 miles right after the SCFR… The gas prices were still very attractive and we still had the nice mini-van to cruise with, so we thought “why not?” This is how we started driving back west, only this time we decided to do some “highway hopping” in order see a different landscape and visit new places on the way. The highlights were the visit to the famous Sandia Peak (not flyable that day), the Petrified Forest National Park and the Painted Desert (what an amazing place to visit!), and a short trip to the Grand Canyon. I hope to be able to visit some of these places again in the future with a little more time. So, after some days of driving on our beautiful highways, we finally made it to the Wills Wing area, our original destination.

We spent about three weeks in California and found so many cool things there, plus were so well received that it basically became our “home” for that period of time. It was a great opportunity for us to visit the Wills Wing factory several times, to get to know some of the local sites and the local pilots, to visit an old-time friend who used to be a hang glider pilot and now lives in Ramona, to go sight-seeing, take

a remote job interview and even to renew my US passport in the heart of LA. Pilots living in this area are very lucky to have all the different flying possibilities they do, so many flyable days a year and such organized clubs as Crestline and Sylmar; we were really impressed!

After our first stop at the Wills Wing factory, we had the opportunity to tag along on a quick trip to the Owens to fly Walt’s Point, a place we had tried flying two years ago with Kip Stone. On that trip we’d had tail wind (and went on a hike instead), so we decided to give it another try. We drove to Lone Pine with Matt and Francis Barker, Owen Morse and a couple more pilots from Crestline: Scott Isbell (AKA “Shaggy”), Gary Anderson, their great retrieve driver “NoFly Steve”, plus Wayne Maxwell on his paraglider. I found it really interesting that day because we had completely different flights: While Pedro made it all the way to the top of the chain where he was able to play around in this new territory, Matt and Owen flew a little bit lower, near the slope, and I—after forgetting my winter flying clothes—was limited to a top height of 9000 feet because that was the maximum shivering I could cope with. I was sure I would have go land, but we were in the Owen’s Valley—how could I just give up?

So, I flew around for two hours until I really could not take it any longer and decided to land after not a bad flight after all.

The next day was too windy to fly so the rest of the gang went back home, but we decided to go on a hike on the Mt. Whitney Trail in search of the amazing sights Pedro told me about the night before; we enjoyed it very much and, indeed, were able to find some of the spots he had flown.

Speaking about the two clubs there, Crestline (www.

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ABOVE Gliders parked after flight at Sylmar | photo by Jonathan Dietch. Opposite 2014 Class 1

winners, L to R: Robin Hamilton, Kraig Coomber, Mike Bilyk. crestlinesoaring.org) and Sylmar (www. shga.com), it was such a pleasure and so much fun spending some time there; we would simply drive back and forth on Interstate 210 and because we were able to jump on the “HOV” lanes, avoiding the traffic jams, it was super easy to do! Even if we were not able to go flying every day (weather, work, equipment preparation, sightseeing, etc.), we definitely enjoyed every moment at both places. We were very impressed with how well organized everything is and how easy it is for pilots to simply show up and be able to go flying: A place to store your glider; a nice green LZ where NOBODY will tell you not to land; nice launch site(s); organized transport up the hill; retrieve possibilities; a clubhouse; portable toilets; a nice and active crowd; social events and even wifi! Of course getting to this point of evolution must have not been easy; we actually had the opportunity to listen to parts of the stories of both places and it has taken a lot of time, work and perseverance to achieve what they have now.

For instance, it was pretty neat to be at Crestline and suddenly have the Wills Wing “glider-testing squadron” show up then watch them do their work; they start filling up the de-rigging area with glider after glider after glider,

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driving up and flying down, until you see 12 or 15 gliders all closed standing on the A-frame, with the glider bag over. Despite not being able to go on long XC flights from Crestline, we had the opportunity to tune and test our gliders, work on our harnesses and get some decent airtime in very interesting conditions, not to mention the landing practice and as a bonus the great views and the fantastic sunsets! We also had the chance to be there during their club meeting when Steve Pearson from WW announced they were planning on holding the “California WW Demo Days,” and it was great to see how much they enjoyed and appreciated the news; you could see how excited they all got about it. Plus towards the end of our trip, we also helped planting some new grass and clearing the access road. It felt very nice to be able to give a little bit back…

Pedro also had a chance to test fly the all-carbon-leading-edges T2C, which was still a prototype, and he was very excited about it: “Despite it being a single flight, I was quite impressed to feel a better handling, which I felt could be due to the lighter weight; I was also able to feel the glider being stiffer, yet, as mentioned, the handling was not compromised. I see a great potential in this new development because I believe

the stiffness combined with the less weight will then be transformed into performance, but this is the next step.

I am very excited thinking about my future T2C!” For me, finally making it to Sylmar was very special; I first heard about this place in the mid-’90s from the Corral family (especially Juan and Erika) and had always wanted to go there. During this trip we were lucky enough to have the support of insider Ron Kienan who, in his very own style, was able to organize two fantastic flying Wednesdays (the first one with 18 pilots!), and a very fun dinner at their local Thai restaurant. Then we were also invited to a fantastic BBQ celebrating Rome Dodson’s 80-somethingth birthday.

Rome used to fly hang gliders at Sylmar until some years ago when he physically could not do it any longer; however, he still enjoys stopping by for a visit or to spend his afternoon there and, even more impressive, he drives a car down from time to time!

Our couple of flights at Kagel were really neat: seeing the city’s skyline, Catalina Island, the ocean; flying around an airliner corridor, watching the big planes fly in and near the heliport up near take off, where the choppers literally “ jump off the mountain,” was quite striking. Our “Sylmar Day” was on Wednesdays when a group of pilots gets together and all attempt to go XC, even if it is just a short one or what they call “fishbowl flying,” which may add up to about 30 miles.

I will put it this way: There is Life going on in these places. It sounds weird, but you could think about it as Life at a coral reef! There is lots of flying going on, flying lessons, tandem flights, people who do a lot of maintenance work, people who live very close by, those who hang out there very often, great “after-flight chill-out sessions” often with some food and drinks, and much more. Both places are fantastic,

Open Class tasks Task 1 82.7km | 24 in Goal 1. Mike Bilyk, USA 2. Robin Hamilton, USA 3. Kraig Coomber, USA Task 2 121.9km | 28 in Goal 1. Kraig Coomber, USA 2. Robin Hamilton, USA 3. Chris Arai, USA Task 3 102.0km | 19 in Goal 1. Kraig Coomber, USA 2. Bruce Barmakian, USA 3. Robin Hamilton, USA Task 4 100.9km | 7 in Goal 1. Jonny Durand, AUS 2. Olav Opsanger, NOR 3. Kraig Coomber, USA Task 5 102.4km | 0 in Goal 1. Mike Bilyk, USA 2. Oyvind Ellefsen, NOR 3. Larry Bunner, USA

each is different in its own way, but they both harbor a great community of friends and pilots that enable us (locals and visitors) to continue living our dreams…

Thank you very much, and congratulations! Keep up the terrific work!

Finally, we reach November 12th, the day we needed to start our drive back east, towards St. Augustine, Florida, and the Orlando Airport in order to make our flight back to Spain in time. It was hard to leave California—we were, in fact, supposed to get going on the 10th, but were not able to do so: we kept saying “Ah, come on, let’s stay another day!” It was pretty much a non-stop drive on I-10 all the way. Despite the continuous driving, we spent a lot of time talking about those incredible three weeks, about all the new friends we had made and all the great adventures we had.

W

hat a great opportunity to fly in all these places (Arizona, Tennessee, Colorado and California), to drive across the country, to learn so much, to meet so many great characters. I am incredibly glad and thankful we

Class Winners CLASS I Open 1. Kraig Coomber, USA (4,371.4) 2. Robin Hamilton, USA (4,320.7) 3. Mike Bilyk, USA (4,235.4) CLASS I Sport 1. Cory Barnwell, USA (3,551.9) 2. Michael Williams, USA (3,134.7) 3. Jim Weitman, USA (3,092.4) CLASS II 1. Brian Porter, USA (4,204.2) 2. Chris Zimmerman, USA (4,019.4) 3. Steve Morris, USA (2,484.4) CLASS V 1. Jim Yocom, the one and only (3,281.1)

decided to roll the dice and make the necessary investment to make all this happen. I hope we will have the opportunity to continue exploring the US in the years to come because it has so much to offer and so many flying sites to visit.

I hope the people from the three clubs mentioned in these two articles (Crestline, Sylmar and Tennessee Tree Toppers) recognize how lucky they are and are very proud of what they have and have achieved; that Jamie Shelden and her team, with their “Flytec” comps, are also aware what a great job they do and that they intend on continue doing it. Last, but not least, I wish to thank Wills Wing for all their support and attention during our visit and for all the work done for the improvement and enjoyment of our sport.

Thinking back about our “Adventures of the Fall” also makes me feel very proud of our sport and of the people involved in it. I want to thank everyone who played a role in this adventure (special thanks also to those providing their pictures), because without all the help and acceptance we get, this trip (and any other) would not have even been half the fun.

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Jack Pimblett is 16 years old and lives in the UK. His father Tony introduced him into paragliding and he has been accepted in the Nova Juniors Team, being the youngest member together with his countryman Theo Warden and German Florian Heuber.

Here is what he thinks about life as a youngster in the air.

This

Young

PILOT

words & images by Jack Pimblett

B

eing a young paraglider pilot is pretty unusual. In fact, there are only a few other pilots my age that I know of, including Theo Warden, my teammate in the Nova Juniors Team.

I got into paragliding at age three, tandem paragliding with my father from our local hill, Parlick. From that time I knew I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps, venture into the world of paragliding, and my hunger to enjoy the feeling of free flight has never ceased. Together with him I

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continued flying tandem for around the next seven years, flying at sites like Oludeniz, Turkey, and Potes, Spain, before I first picked up an old Advance Sigma 4 to ground handle. At 14 I got a 16-square-meter speed wing, which I had to use because I was so small; I then completed my first small flights at the famous Dune du Pyla.

The following year (2014) I completed my BHPA Club Pilot course and flew throughout the summer Having a flying father is a big privilege, as is coming into the sport at a

young age. When I started flying solo many pilots in my club encouraged me and helped me as much as they could, giving me their old GPSs so I could log flights and declare goals. It made the transition from a passenger to a pilot much easier. My friends within my local club seemed to have no problem with my age, although I used to attract the odd stare because I’m so young in comparison to the average age of pilots in the UK. Flying solo alongside my Dad was a gentle progression; he often sat

LEFT Preparing for launch. BELOW Coring the house thermal.

watching so he was only a radio away.

But quickly the competitiveness set in and we set each other goals for the day, and we’d brag about who would fly the furthest.

Moving away from the protection of my dad was a bit strange, as I had to start leaving the soft, grassy slopes, go skywards and start cross-country.

But from the first time I knew that this is the feeling that I have longed for most of my life. My first XC experience was actually on my own at my local hill. I flew a mere 10 km but it was nevertheless an extraordinary experience.

People often ask what my mother thinks of my involvement in the sport.

Many assume that she wouldn’t be as supportive as she actually is. Today I am very much aware that she is different from other mothers, as it was she who actually introduced my father to paragliding. She convinced him to take a course some 25 years ago. Compared to young people my age, I feel I have to be rather sensible.

Paragliding is just so unusual to 16year old youngsters.

When I heard about the “Nova Pilots Team” I was excited to find that they, unlike other brands and teams, have a Juniors Team. Meeting other young pilots sounded great.

Additionally, outstanding pilots like Aaron Durogati, Paul Guschlbauer,

Peter Gebhard and some others emerged from the NOVA Pilots Team.

After intense consideration I decided to give it a try and sent an email to Till Gottbrath, team captain, asking how I could apply. He sent me an application form and the so-called “team vision.” This document intends to explain what Nova wants to achieve with the team and what they expect from their pilots. I liked it, completed the application over the coming days and sent it off to Till. Waiting for an answer felt like an eternity—but I was accepted! I received my invitation to join the team while I was standing in the local supermarket—when I saw

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the words “You’re in” on my emails on my phone,I started to jump up and down, looking like I had just become the next Red Bull X-Alps or PWC Champion!

I was congratulated by my close friends and family, but it was harder to explain to school friends because of their preconceptions of flying. They’d ask about “the triangle things with the bar,” or “What is it like jumping out of a plane?” So the theory of thermal flying is beyond them.

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The Nova Pilot Team holds an annual team meeting in October, right after the end of the XC season, and there are other informal events where we are welcome to join in. In February Nova organized a “testival” in Norma, a great flying site south of Rome (Italy), and some team pilots were keen to get some early-season airtime. I could not wait to make the most of the chance to meet some of them and beat most of my fellow Brits to the first spring thermals!

My dad and I arrived late in the afternoon to the village of Norma, located on the edge of a steep slope overlooking some plains and then the Mediterranean Sea. We could see gliders making the most of the last of the day’s ridge lift as dusk turned into night. In the morning I went to the reception and found the team in front of me. I introduced myself and we chatted about the weather for the coming days of the “testival.” The others came from all over: In addition to Rinaldo

and Claudia from Italy, they had travelled here from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France and Slovenia.

When meeting the team and flying with them during the “testival,” I was made to feel very welcomed and as if I had been in the team much longer than I have been. They’d ask me how I got into flying, and onto the team, and we’d discuss the best local routes to take from Norma. It was very easy to get to know everyone and learn from pilots from different countries.

Next morning we walked to takeoff together. For me it was a day of firsts: I was flying all new gear including the Nova Mentor 3, and at a new site. So much for changing one piece of your equipment at a time…

It was a nice introduction to the site with spring thermals taking the edge off the nerves for the first flight of the trip.

Next day we travelled to San Giacomo, as the weather forecast for this site further inland was much better. Getting to the takeoff involved driving part way to the summit and then the 4x4 cars and trucks carrying our gear on up the road to the takeoff whilst we walked the remaining distance. It was an overcast, dull day but Rinaldo Vuerich and his local

ABOVE The team design Nova Mentor 4 over the town of Norma.

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friends promised thermals, and that’s what we got! It is really great to be part of such a group where you benefit from local advice and extremely experienced pilots.

Some pilots stayed local so that they would not have to hitchhike a return,

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while others (including myself) decided to go XC. After flying 15km and losing the gaggle I made a rookie mistake: I flew the wrong side of a small hill, where I found inescapable sink that put me back on the floor in no time.

Unfortunately the mistake was easier

to make than getting back to the Nova bus was. Luckily, I eventually managed to get the local farmer’s son to drop me with the rest of the team.

The weather at Norma only looked promising for the Saturday, and many pilots turned up to try the wings on offer at Nova. Waiting for the sun to draw the wind into the valley and develop some thermals was a nice opportunity to set up and then take a siesta.

At 11 a.m. many pilots took a chance on forward launching into the valley in the hope of finding some thermals. The site soon began to work and the takeoff filled with pilots waiting for a breath of wind to launch into.

I took the next gust of wind as a chance to launch, and stayed close to the ridge waiting for a ticket to cloudbase. A drifting thermal carried me into another set of small hills, leaving the takeoff and on my way on an XC.

This

Young

PILOT

Before long I found myself searching for lift, with not enough height to make it back to takeoff. Unable to avoid the inevitable, I landed in a small field where I was lucky enough to meet a kind lady who drove me back to the takeoff.

Unfortunately, over the next couple of days the weather was not good enough to fly in Norma, leaving only the final day to fly. The Nova team decided to leave as they had a long drive back to near Innsbruck, Austria.

I took the next couple of days to work on planning an XC for Wednesday, and the last day thankfully provided the best weather and conditions.

Pre-empting the best conditions

LEFT Cruising between clouds. BOTTOM

Norma.

and potentially my best XC, we arrived before anyone else to get set up and feel the conditions for the day. The sun had been warming up the ridge from early morning and clouds began to develop, highlighting my planned route. Taking off I quickly entered the house thermal, tracking it back into the valley where I had to battle the strong valley winds leaving me low over a forest-lined ridge where I was able to pick up a thermal and push out along the next set of mountains. Once again I found myself low, but I caught a low save over a field, slowly climbing to cloudbase and gliding over to a quarry, hoping for my next thermal trigger, but still no thermal.

Struggling for height, I searched above

farmers’ fields with no luck; I landed with my best XC of the trip, a modest 30 km. I hitchhiked to the nearest train station and took the train back close to Norma.

Meeting my new teammates, and flying at Norma, were everything I had hoped for. This trip not only gave me valuable experience for the upcoming season, it also made clearer than ever that paragliding is “my thing.” The flying is great, but I think in addition to this, paragliding also opens windows of opportunity that few young people have a chance to experience. I feel very privileged to have access to this world and I am really looking forward to what it will bring.

USA

Brand new

for more info visit www.777glidersusa.com or ask your dealer for more info

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THE

VIEW FROM THE by

C h R IS T I N A A M M O N

TOP

The Hang Gliding World Meet

Valle de Bravo, Mexico

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THE

VIEW

FROM THE

TOP

by Dennis Pagen

T

wo top pilots were heading southwest into a headwind on a tough flying day. They were bobbing and weaving, trying to absorb every iota of green air in the area. Lift was scarce, altitude was diminishing, and landing areas were meager. One juked left, the other eased right. Left was the right answer, and that pilot, the USA’s Zac Majors, barely eked along to a ridge, gained another thermal bonus, forged on, and made goal. He was late but happy, considering only 14 pilots made goal that day.

The less lucky pilot, Suan Selenati, found himself surrounded by too much civilization. He ended up over the town of Valle de Bravo with the only available landing field being the little paragliding pad next to the lake. In earlier times, hang gliders landed there with impunity, but the encroaching yacht club and, more importantly, the increased performance of top gliders make it an iffy proposition. Normally, the approach to this little landing area is from water to land, so a good pilot can get down and skim along the water in order to pop onto the shoreline. Unfortunately for Suan, the wind

was southerly, so his only approach was from land to lake. He wove through the masts of the sailboats and got down as low as he could. At the last moment, he tossed his drogue chute and by a combination of skill, luck, force of will, and divine intervention, he stopped just before the certain dunking. In his words, “All I was doing was adding up the cost of my instruments. I was sure they would be soaked. I was also kicking myself for being in such a situation.”

But similar situations were not uncommon during the World Meet in the valley of the brave. There were hundreds of stories of despair and triumph. We’re here to tell a few to get a sense of the challenge and effort high-level competition requires and how Valle selected the best out of an elite flock.

THE SMART MONEY If I were a betting man, I would have gambled the baby’s diaper money on Manfred Ruhmer winning his fifth openclass meet. After all, besides his previous four wins, he had been second in ’95, third in ’97, and was winning by a larger

ABOVE On glide over the Mesa where the convergence sets up | photo by Antoine Bousselier.

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margin on the last day in ’09 when he decided to go for it on his own and bombed out (proving that he is not immortal, merely unbelievably good). He has also won the Class 2 World Meet six times in a Swift, and the only speed-gliding Worlds.

But it’s the end of an era. On the second task, Manfred’s VG rope broke early in the task. He was seen in the air, standing in his control bar with his sail unzipped, fiddling inside in a desperate attempt to tie off the crossbar back in any position but full loose. It didn’t work, and he eventually struggled and made an outlanding on the final upwind leg.

His score was low, which put him out of the running in this upper-echelon meet.

But he did go on to win another day—20 minutes ahead

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of the second pilot. That’s the old Manfred. He told me he saw the final leg was blue, so went back two km and crosswind to find a good lift area. The rest of the leaders pushed on and struggled, while he eventually passed high over their heads. It is Manfred’s particular forte to be willing to leave the pack and invent his own route. In most cases he has the knowledge and feeling to make it work.

Manfred’s reward for doing so well on this day was being selected, along with the second and third finisher, to go to the little room for drug testing. Some fun. The reality of the worldwide push for drug testing is here and now. The irony is that big-time sports like football, baseball, bicycling, etc., have a history of frequent performance-enhancing drug use, and the players have the wherewithal to stay one step ahead

The El Penon launch has hosted numerous world level competitions over the last 30 years | photo by Antoine Bousselier.

RIGHT

be cautioned that this practice can be dangerous; it is only an emergency procedure when flying parallel to the ground at the end of the final leg. If the parachute is deployed higher, it will tip the glider severely nose-down. If you were more than ten feet off the deck, the result could be a serious headfirst implant. Better leave the experiment to a world champion.

One other thing Manfred told me: “This is my last Worlds! You can write it down.” He has been in World meets since 1989—26 years—so it’s not unreasonable that he would be tired of the scramble, but we will surely miss his smiling face. It’s the end of an era.

THE VALLE CHALLENGE

of the tester (Lance Armstrong notwithstanding). Our boutique sport has little possibility for pharmacological enhancement, yet we are painted by the universal taint. Why am I up on a soapbox about this? Because drug testing is imposed by an outside force, and there is no recourse if you want to play the game. And get this: They charged the meet organizer $3000 to conduct these tests. Guess who will ultimately bear the cost if each organizer has to budget for drug testing.

When I asked Manfred about the flying in Valle he said: “There are good conditions here—the flying is great! Some people are worried about the landings, but I always use a drogue ‘chute, so I have no problems.” I have seen Manfred use his drogue on many occasions, but I have also seen him use his main rescue chute as a drogue on a light day. It should

When we weren’t looking, the world got a little smaller. What used to be an easy cross-country region in a beautiful countryside is still an easy cross-country, but landings are fewer.

It’s not so much that fields have disappeared, but our gliders have attained more performance and are not as easy to put down in ad hoc, unimproved, unknown, high-altitude landing fields (takeoff is over 7000 feet MSL and some landings were up to 9000 feet). Pilots were advised to use a drogue chute, but in my opinion, if a pilot hasn’t practiced with a drogue, it is perhaps not wise to rely on it in dire situations.

Case in point: Swiss pilot Christian Voiblet was coming into the “Piano” landing goal field. He tossed his drogue on his base leg and turned steeply to a low final. The drogue delayed the glider from yawing into his new heading; the left wing contacted the ground and he cartwheeled. Unlucky for him, he broke his left shoulder. Lucky for him, the next two days were unflyable, so he maintained third place overall.

Many pilots were saying that the place required commitment and good landing skills. US pilot Zac Majors said, “The biggest thing in competing here is landing skills. You cannot think about getting up or flying effectively if you are worried about landing. Fifteen years ago, Paris Williams talked me into trying a fly-on-the-wall landing, and now I can do them confidently. Plus I fly with a drogue and know how to use it.”

Matt Barker, another US team member, said he found previous experience helps immensely. He loves flying in Valle.

He had been to the Peñon Classic two years previous, the pre-worlds last year, and this one. He said each year was different, with the first year having the highest cloud bases, the second year being more turbulent, and this year being less turbulent but more technical, with weaker lift and more wind.

He went on to catalog more local flying lore: “Get high and stay high, because on some routes the terrain rises

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LEFT Behind El Penon where climbs rip in the early part of the day | photo

by Antoine Bousselier.

above 10,000 feet, and all the altitude you thought you had dwindles away to nothing. You have to be able to work small cores to get on top. Also, it’s crucial to be able to figure out the lift lines and convergence zones. Almost every day there is a convergence to use. I tend to feel lift lines naturally, but you have to be aware that they vary and shift a lot here. It’s quite complex in Valle. Even though there is huge lift, there can be huge sink lines as well. If you are not aware, you can be on the deck in seconds.”

Matt went on to comment on pilot preparedness: “You have to take care of yourself with enough sleep and hydration. It is high altitude, and dry. Consider flying with oxygen (Author’s note: it was offered for free, but few pilots used it).

Eat well, but be wary of street food and water. Montezuma’s revenge and the Aztec two-step are incompatible with worryfree flying.”

Matt also mentioned landing skills along with wind gradient, high altitude and possible turbulence on landing.

Keep your speed up, he advises. He felt he had an advantage in knowing where the best landings were from previous years of going XC in the region. His last bit of advice: “Bring spare parts.”

SECOND THOUGHTS French team pilot, Antoine “Tony” Boisselier, took second in the comp. Many US pilots know him from his frequent attendance at US meets. I have always found him to be insightful and safety-minded (and I owe him for flying to

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goal with me on a tough day). I asked him about the flying at Valle and how he did so well. He reiterated what others have said about the landings and the need to commit to going into an area with confidence, based on previous experience and personal skills. He also agreed that competition in Valle is challenging, with strong conditions but varying lift and winds. He said, “You have to be prepared to shift gears. Most times you can race to a low point and climb fast, especially in the convergence, but sometimes you have to slow down and scratch. In the convergence, it is very enjoyable and consistent, especially if you know the special places.”

“What about your performance this year?” I asked.

“I’ve done well in world meets before,” Antoine intoned, “For example, I was third in 2003, but I never felt I had a top glider. These past two years, I considered my equipment carefully and got everything top-notch.” Antoine is flying an Icaro Laminar, the same glider he had last year. “I feel I have the same performance as Christian (Chiech, Icaro factory representative) and Manfred (Icaro pilot). It is as good as or better than any other glider in the meet. That’s a huge advantage, and it frees me up to relax and go with the flow.

Confidence is a big part of this game.” As an indication of Antoine’s relaxed comp mode, check out the accompanying photos he snapped while competing in this world meet.

FIRST THOUGHTS Christian Chiech has been the perennial bridesmaid, finishing second in world meets to his teammate Alex Ploner (who wasn’t at the meet) or, several times, to Manfred. But at this comp, Christian was the bride or groom or maybe king of the hill. He won handily, despite setbacks. One dramatic event he encountered was having his VG line break for the same reason Manfred did. Both fly the same glider for Icaro, and Manfred found an cool ultra-thin line to use in order to reduce drag. Such a miniscule difference shouldn’t make a difference, but the Icaro boys have spent countless hours fine-tuning and reducing drag in every way possible. The idea is not to necessarily get a noticeable performance advantage, but to get supreme confidence that your glider is the best it can be. Confidence is everything.

Christian’s VG broke on the same flight as Manfred’s, but Christian slowly made goal. He said, “The VG setting was even less than you would use for thermaling, but I had learned previously that the glider doesn’t have such a bad glide with the VG off; it is just much slower. I simply went into paraglider mode and shifted down a gear. The last leg

INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS 1. Christian Chiech, Italy, Icaro Laminar 2000 2. Antoine Boisselier, France, Icaro Laminar 2000 3. Christian Voiblet, Switzerland, Moyes RX 4. Petr Bene, Czech Republic, Aeros Combat

TEAM STANDINGS 1. Italy 2. France 3. Australia 4. USA

5. Atilla Bertok, Hungary, Moyes RX 6. Dan Vyhnalik, Czech Republic, Aerros Combat GT 7. Johnny Durand, Australia, Moyes RX 8. Manfred Ruhmer, Austria, Icaro Laminar 2000 9. Balazs Ujhelyi, Hungary, Moyes RS 10. Rudy Gotes, Mexico, WW T2C

was a headwind, so I searched for a good glide line and made it in, slow but happy.”

That being said, Christian thinks the Icaro Laminar has an advantage in climb, especially in glide. Other pilots I talked with who were not flying a Laminar concurred.

Christian said they worked a lot on weight reduction and handling to get climb. The glide is a trade secret. In his words, “No pilot is good enough to lead without a good glider. And for me, I do best when I fly in learning mode. I am always thinking of the why’s and where’s to apply later. If I try to push and lead all the time, I don’t do as well.” But I have seen Christian dancing way out in front, like the time in the 2013 Worlds in Australia, where he came out of the haze from the downwind distance, gradually buoying along to cross the goal line a few inches up, 15 minutes before the second-place pilot, Alex Ploner.

At this meet, Christian reiterated what others have said: “Here you have to be aware that you are always close to the ground. It is a very complex place, and I always have an alternate plan if my first decision doesn’t work.” Christian seems to have worked out the complexities and with his dominant flying, he won three out of eight tasks. He’s a genuine gentle individual and a true champion—bridesmaid no more.

THE US TEAM The US team did not win the championships, but they all had personal successes and enjoyable flying. Some random thoughts: Robin Hamilton said, “This is a tough flying environment with high-altitude landings and a lack of landing fields on some routes, but there are some pilots doing well who are obviously comfortable. There is a good organization

here and it’s a good flying experience.”

Bill Soderquist mentioned, “I like the camaraderie with all the international pilots. Everyone helps each other with retrieve. It was a learning experience to watch the way top pilots read lift lines and clouds. The landing-field situation is not much different from our mountain sites at home. You just have to be aware of gradient and possible obstructions.”

Zac Majors pointed out other important flying qualities besides landing skills, good thermal skills, and confidence— good timing and patience on the tough days. During the flight in our introduction, Zac said the clouds were forming and dying, and he didn’t realize how late they were in the cycles, until the pilots were low and scrambling to stay up.

He told me he was below the paragliding takeoff above Valle near the lake, expecting to follow Suan into the last-ditch landing when he found a tiny bug-breath thermal that let him ease over to a ridge, where he waited and waited for the sky to open up. Then it was limping to the launch area for another slow getup and around the last turnpoint to goal. His success was due to patience and making the most out of a snitch of luck.

T

here were hundreds of stories and impressions, as usual, in such a high-powered meet, but I’ll leave the last comment to Dale Regehr, a fairly new Canadian comp pilot:

“The amount of knowledge I absorbed is incredible. Thanks to all my new friends for taking time to help coach me here in Mexico at my first world championships. I will remember this for a lifetime. A big thanks to my sponsor, AKA my father.”

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“Our wing does not dwell in the past or future like we do. That is one of the pleasurable aspects of paragliding. Flying well demands that we be in the moment.”

WINGLISTICS PART 1 Understanding the basics of a Paraglider's Language 54

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

WINGLISTICS

by Kenneth Hudonjorgensen

I

n paragliding we step forward into from our wing. This 360-degree difthe unknown every time we launch. ferential feedback is primarily commuWe can only make sense of that nicated to our butt by the way our body unknown by being in the moment and is moved in the harness and through the responding to the wing’s communication air in relationship to the wing’s changes. about the parcel of air it is in as close So pardon me while I focus on your ass. to “now” as possible, and in a way that Step 1 is awareness. This can also be uses the wing’s language. Our first step thought of as listening. Without this, all is learning to understand by listening, is lost. The pilot is dead to the comgiving us a basis from which to begin munication from the wing. This article speaking. We have a team relationship can help you transition from being an with our wings, and just as in any relainsensitive ass to becoming a sensitive tionship, it will serve us well to learn our ass. Your family can thank me later. partner’s language rather than expecting Step 2 is Carpe Diem. Or in our case, our wing to learn our language. carpe temporis (seize the moment). In A language begins by differentiatour sports we mitigate risk by seizing ing. We begin by noticing movement or the moment. If we fly along noticing change. When sitting in the harness of a but not knowing how to respond to paraglider, we notice that there are two the communication from our wing, or hook-in points. This essentially divides perhaps know, but hesitate, we are out of our wings into two halves that allow us sync with the space/time moment about to perceive their communication differwhich our wing has just communicated. ences separately. This communication In this case, your ass is noticing, but the comes through an increase or decrease rest of you is slow to respond. This is not in pressure or speed on one or both sides, an efficient way to fly, as the following but is usually an asymmetric combinaexamples illustrate. tion of the two sides; thus, its nature is Example 1 mostly asymmetric.

If you are thermal hunting for the first Another characteristic to notice time and happen to blunder straight is that our paraglider has a two-word through the center of a useful thermal, language: yes/no or faster/slower.

A third thing to notice is that it com- the typical experience of the insensitive ass is: WHAT WAS THAT?! How do municates to us primarily through our I know? Because I used to be one. (Some connection to it. Changes to the wing of my friends think I should drop the are communicated to our butt, to our “used to be.”) For a sensitive ass this feels hands and arms, and somewhat to our significant. You feel a pull in a specific skin and ears, by the feel and sound of direction, or a small drop. In one or the increasing or decreasing speed as it two seconds, you notice an increase in moves past our skin, helmet, lines, etc. bumpiness, along with an almost imIt is fortunate that we have two hook-in points and that our wings have an asym- mediate sensation of lift and a tip back in your harness, as your wing enters the metric nature, because this allows for more defined and varied communication thermal. Through the next second there

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will be a solidifying of that increase in lift, as you and your wing complete the transition into the rising air. One to four seconds later, another and most likely stronger and sharper increase in lift will move through all or parts of your wing, as you enter the core. If you are lucky, this lift will last three seconds or longer and then will turn into decreased lift as you move through the core and back into the periphery of the thermal. (This may feel like sink to your newly sensitive parts, but your vario will confirm that it is decreased lift). One or more seconds later with bumpiness and the change from lift to sink, your wing has told you, “Elvis, you have left the thermal.” Your sensitive ass now says, “That was a thermal, slowpoke. I told you it was there eight seconds ago. What are you waiting for?” And you promptly turn back into it. Of course, this is still very inefficient.

Your increased sensitivity has allowed you to recognize the communication from your wing, but you are still too

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slow to respond to that communication.

Your space/time relationship with the thermal is still “out of whack.”

The following is the experience of the perfect thermaling pilot (fictitious) that we all aspire to be in every thermal.

This next example is where you really become the perfect ass.

Example 2 Let’s pretend that you are THE most sensitive ass in paragliding. You, as the newly crowned super-sensitive pilot are called Sensi, and you are currently searching for the next thermal, after having left the last thermal at two miles above the terrain. On glide you feel absolutely NO variability in the airflow for 14 minutes. Then, there is a VERY subtle movement of some kind, somewhere in the wing. Let’s say you feel a slight decrease in pressure within the third cell from the center of the wing. At this time, since you are thermal hunting, it is not important what the movement is; what is important is

where it is.

If the location is not perceivable, you will maintain the heading; if it is perceivable, you make a heading change towards the perceived location. This is an educated guess that becomes more educated by the use of it, since whatever we practice we get better at. The wing communicates to the pilot constantly about the nuances of the parcel it is in NOW; that is just its nature.

Our wing does not dwell in the past or future like we do. That is also one of the pleasurable aspects of paragliding.

Flying well demands that we be in the moment. This feedback is the language of our wing. This language communicates to us through an increase or decrease in the wing’s pressure or speed that initiates in the part of the wing that first intersects with the change.

This might be the right wingtip or the middle cell of the left side of the wing or anywhere else along the leading edge.

(It could also be anywhere along the trailing edge, telling you what you have

just left.)

You will notice which cell in the wing is affected first by the change and the direction in which that change rolls through the wing from the leading to trailing edge—not by looking, but by feeling and noticing at what angle your body is tipped back or to the side. Sensi then instantly extends that line of the body movement out in front of the wing for 20 to 100 feet. This line will bisect the core or center of the thermal. If the map is anywhere near accurate, you will intersect with the lift in some fashion.

This sensitivity has now purchased a thermal that otherwise would have been missed.

Now Sensi’s wing is intersecting with the initial sinking just on the outside of the bumpy edge, which almost instantly becomes the initial lifting of a particular one-to-three cells along the contacting edge of the wing. Unlike our newly sensitive ass from example 1 above, Sensi not only perceives the information from the wing, but also knows how to immediately communicate back to the wing in order to place it in the most advantageous position. This new information by the part of the wing that is “talking” allows Sensi to mentally draw a line through the wing as it is sensed by the body’s movement, which is a result of the wing’s communication to Sensi. Our perfectly sensitive pilot can now extend that line to intersect the core’s center and steer to follow that line with the intention of meeting the core with the wingtip that is more efficient.

This usually means 10° to 30° off either direction from that line (whichever takes the least degrees of rotation), intersecting the edge of the core with the right or left wingtip. Ideally the turn direction remains constant and coordinated, smooth and ballet-like. This is efficient. Taking 987 degrees of rotation to center in the core (which is the norm for an insensitive ass) wastes a lot of time and altitude.

Sensi makes a perfect guesstimate, cannot imagine the trouble we could get feels the right wingtip rise, immediately into if we could stop the dynamic nature turns right, and is centered in the core of life. Nonetheless, we can get better at in less than 10 degrees of rotation, since “Winglistics” through paying attention, the initial feel of “something” while ther- knowing what to pay attention to, and mal hunting. Sensi, of course, is only disciplined practice. perfect because we imagine it is so. This Once we are centered in the core or kind of perfection in mapping a thermal thermal, the work is not over: We usu(or any other part of life) is difficult to ally need to recenter often, which is acachieve. There are too many variables complished by elongating our circle for that are not known by us, not the least one or two seconds. This does not mean of which is that we can only sample one flattening the glider out, but doing a minute part of a very large, varied and small side-slip that moves the glider into ever-changing part of nature. We are the greater lift two to four feet. (More mapping the thermal by taking a dyabout this in Part 3.) namic four-dimensional part of nature Sensi knows that thermals are, and making decisions about its nature generally speaking, roundish. Using (size, shape, position, speed, movement this assumption, it can be deduced that pattern, etc.) one to six seconds from if the right wingtip is the only part of now, taking a mental snapshot of it, the glider that is initially lifted up or freezing it, making it into a static object, bumped by the edge of the thermal, analyzing it as such, and extrapolating the core or center is 90 degrees off to about its future. While we are doing the right at that instant. If the pilot is this, it is not stopping and waiting for heading on a compass direction of 360 us—which I think is a good thing. I degrees, the center of the core should

be on a compass heading of 90 degrees.

Keep in mind that this is an idealized round thermal with smooth edges that is in no wind, AND that no thermal is like that. However, this is usually a good enough estimation to put the pilot “in the ballpark.” Fortunately, while we are working on finding the core of the thermal, the wing continues talking to us, which allows us to adjust our mental map as is necessary to create increased levels of efficiency (maximum lift or reduction in sink).

Our perfect pilot understands the language of the wing and where, when, and how to place the wing for maximum efficiency. A paraglider’s language is a space/time language that demands that the pilot (the only one in this relationship with any brains at all) respond immediately. A wing truly has the most severe form of ADD ever diagnosed. It literally never stops talking; even while we are talking to it, it just keeps jabber-

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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

ing away. If we have to think about what and you realize that this communicahappened and how to respond for the tion coming from the parcel of air that greatest efficiency, it’s too late. Our wing is hugging you and your glider is saying, has already moved on to nine other mes- “Hey! The lift you are looking for is 90 sages to us. This requires three things of degrees to your right.” As Sensi’s hip us: being in the now, an intimate knowl- begins to rise, the hand and hip increase edge of the wing’s language and how to the pressure further by digging in on speak Winglistics without hesitation. that side to immediately begin the (More about these in Parts 2 and 3.) rotation toward the indicated lift. This The wing communicates the details communication from your wing is clear, of the parcel of air it is moving through precise, and perfectly honest. If your primarily by the way it moves our body perception and response are also, then in the harness. Visualize the way your you have achieved the experience of body is being moved when your right perfection in the moment (which is the wingtip is lifted up. As Sensi (I know only place it can be found). These are that is a stretch, just go with it) knows, fleeting, magical moments that occur in when your right wingtip rises, you feel fits and starts at first. They come and go an increase in the pressure or weight in a flash and yet, within that moment, on your right butt cheek. A fraction of a pilot can experience eternity, IF you a second later, your right hip rises and are HERE NOW. It helps if we prepare your torso flexes at the hip. Then your ourselves by first learning our wing’s right shoulder rises, and your head tips language cognitively and viscerally. to the right, flexing at the neck. Since This gives us the opportunity to just you are Sensi, you are in the moment do, without much or any thinking. It

becomes like walking. We just do it.

However, if you (heaven forbid) are still an insensitive ass, you will not be in the moment and will be late in your perception of, and response to, the information. This delay usually ends up with misinformation being the perceived information and, therefore, confusion.

It turns into deceitful information, misleading us. Consequently, we turn left, going away from the lift, or we go straight and repeat our old mantra, “What was that?” Why do we do that?

Because most of us do not like confusion and go away from whatever we think is confusing us, usually subconsciously. It takes a disciplined mind to move into confusion in order to reach clarity. This requires a love of learning. The endorphins associated with deep learning are primal and pleasurable if approached with an open mind and heart. Those endorphins are stopped by fear, and so is the learning and joy.

To become efficient in thermaling we must perceive and respond as close to NOW as we can. What is the best way to get started in your sensing and responding process? Do ground and simulator exercises that you can repeat dozens or hundreds of times, without the added and confusing information that nature gives us when we are flying.

It is best to add the flying later, after you become ass sensitive. Get the thinking and hesitation out of the way while on the ground, focusing on only one isolated aspect of your wing’s language at a time. Your learning curve will be three to five times steeper and safer.

Confusion seldom creates more safety in the short run, but (if you survive the learning process without too much physical, mental or emotional damage) greatly increases clarity and safety in the long run. Monitoring and managing change and energy within the wing’s active space/time opportunity is the way

we use the wing’s language.

This was the synopsis of Winglistics.

It is a model that works for me, and I hope it will be helpful for you.

In later issues we'll cover: Winglistics Reloaded, Part 2 “Seeing the unseeable/hearing in silence.”

Winglistics Speak, Part 3 “OK, you hear me; now what do you want me to do?”

Winglistics, Part 4 “The theory of everything–putting it all together” Winglistics, Part 5 “The lab–becoming more fluent: making the nearly impossible, probable”

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JUL 20-23 > Lake Tahoe, CA. Cross-country

CALENDAR clinics & tours JUN 3-13, SEP 21 - Oct 1, Oct 2-12> Paracrane European Tour. Austria, Slovenia, and Italy.

"The Sound of Music" meets the X-Alps! Early summer and early fall are perfect times for flying in Austria, Slovenia and Italy. We’ll base in Zell am See, Austria, with tram access to excellent flying. Other great sites are close by. On to the Alps of Slovenia, plus a stop in Venice. After classic Meduno, we shift north to some of the most spectacular flying in the world, the Dolomites. More info: nick@paracrane. com, 541-840-8587, or http://www.costaricaparagliding.com/europe.html.

Jun 6-7 > Site Pioneering in Utah with Ken Hudonjorgensen. More info: Phone 801-971-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly.com.

JUN 14-20 > Rat Race Super Clinic : Kari Castle, Kay Taucher and Ken Hudonjorgensen will be helping Mike Haley at the Rat Race, training newer pilots with thermaling, launch-sequence proficiency, and restricted landing approaches, etc. All necessary skills for XC and competition. Contact: mphsports@ charter.net.

JUN 26-28 > Torrey Pines Gliderport

Basic / Advanced Instructor Clinic. This clinic is the USHPA accredited Instructor Training Program.

The clinic will include all your pre-requisites to attain your Basic Instructor rating or your Advanced Instructor rating. Torrey requirements for clinic attendance: Basic Instructors—P-3, 50 hours, 200 flights, special skills (FSL, TUR & RLF). Advanced Instructors—P-4, one year as a basic instructor, 100 hours, and 300 flights.

JUL 3-5 > Thermal Clinic. Utah sites with Ken Hudonjorgensen. Learn your wing’s language and what it is telling you about the parcel of air it is in.

More info: Phone 801-971-3414, email twocanfly@ gmail.com, or www.twocanfly.com.

JUL 10-12 > Torrey Pines Gliderport

Tandem Instructor Clinic. This clinic is the USHPA accredited Tandem Instructor Training Program. The clinic will include all your pre-requisites to attain your Tandem Pilot (T1) rating as well as your Tandem Instructor rating. Clinic is three days and begins promptly at 9 a.m. on Friday morning. All equipment and clinic materials will be supplied by the gliderport.

Requirements for clinic attendance: P-4, 250 hours, 500 flights, special skills (TUR & RLF). Please read and study the FOI book.

Clinic Torrey Pines Gliderport is offering advanced cross-country flying in the Lake Tahoe area, Nevada. The clinic will include all rides to launch, retrieves and radio instruction. Please have a vario, GPS, personal locator and cell phone. The clinic will provide the following special skills sign-offs: High Altitude (HA) and Cross Country (XC). Clinic cost is $450—special discount for those who attend the SIV clinic beforehand. More info: www. flytorrey.com or contact us at (858) 542 9858 and info@flytorrey.com.

JUL 23-27 > Lake Berryessa, CA. SIV/Super Acro Combination Clinic. The clinic is open to first-time SIV students, second-time SIV/beginning acro students, and acro pilots. The clinic will provide several hours of classroom theory and analytical discussion, personalized instruction by the SIV coach on each tow, and several tows per day to practice the maneuvers, recoveries and aerobatics. This will be a super clinic and cover everything from deflations to helicopters, tumbles, misty flips, etc. More Info: www.flytorrey.com or contact us at (858) 542 9858 and info@flytorrey.com.

Aug 9-23 >Colombia. Come to fly with us in SEVEN sites along The Cauca Valley and Antioquia region includes: Piedechinche, Roldanillo, Anserma Nuevo, Jericó, Damasco, Santa Fé de Antioquia and San Felix. Coaching and guidance by Ruben Montoya (Rubenfly). $2100 includes 14 nights accommodation in traditional «fincas» or hotels, breakfast, ground transportation, yoga sessions, Spanish lessons, briefings, guidance and flying fees. Call Sofia at 818-5726350, www.shiwido.com www.paraglidingmedellin.com.

AUG 10-25 > 2015 Colombia. Paragliding and

Yoga tour Colombia. Paragliding and Yoga Tour Colombia. Explore SEVEN sites along the Cauca Valley and Antioquia region with the guidance and coaching of Colombian top pilot and instructor Ruben Montoya, "Rubenfly" and Sofia Puerta Webber, paraglider pilot and yoga therapist. $2100 including accommodation in hotels or traditional "fincas," breakfast, ground transportation, briefings and flying fees. Contact us at (818)-572-6350 or via email: sepuerta@yahoo.com www.sofiapuerta.com.

AUGUST 29, 30, 31 > Thermal Clinic. Utah sites with Ken Hudonjorgensen. Learn your wing’s language and what it is telling you about the parcel of air it is in. More info: Phone 801- 971-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly.com.

SEP 5-9 > Cross-country and open-distance competition clinic with mentoring. Paragliding Intensive with Ken Hudonjorgensen and other mentors. Inspiration Point, Jupiter, West Mt. and Monroe, Utah, wherever the weather tells us to go. More info: Phone 801971-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www. twocanfly.com.

SEP 19-20 > Site Pioneering. Utah sites with Ken

Hudonjorgensen. More info: Phone 801- 971-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly. com.

SEP 28 - OCT 3 > Red Rocks Fall Fly-in, Richfield Utah with Ken Hudonjorgensen and Stacy Whitmore.

More info: Phone 801- 971-3414, email twocanfly@ gmail.com, or www.twocanfly.com.

NOV > Iquique Chili paragliding tour: This year we

have divided the tour into four different segments: Instructional Days, Iquique Days # 1, 2 and 3. Our Tour leaders are Todd Weigand, Luis Rosenkjer and Ken Hudonjorgensen. The entire tour will be packed with instruction for all levels of paragliding (including P-2 thru P-4). Check the web site for more details.

For anyone wanting to fly, fly, fly... this is the tour to join. The last tour will focus more on XC. More info: Phone 801- 971-3414, email twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly.com.

Nov 12-14, 16-18 > Yelapa, Mexico. SIV/maneuvers clinic. Join us for another great learning and fun experience in beautiful tropical Yelapa.

Tow up and land on the beach in a warm, friendly location with lots of great places to stay and eat.

Brad Gunnuscio, world-class XC and acro pilot, will be teaching the courses. As Brad says, «Yelapa is by far the best place to do an SIV clinic.»

More info: contact Les at www.paraglideyelapa. com or Brad at siv.com or 801 707-0508. More info: www,paraglideyelapa.com or siv.com.

DEC 7-16> Brazil. Paraglide Brazil with Paracrane Tour. We’ll start in magical Rio de Janeiro, flying over the tropical forest surrounded by granite domes and landing on the beach, or try a flight to the world-famous Christ statue! After 3 days we head to Governador Valadares, for incredible XC opportunities.

Depending on conditions other sites we may visit include Pancas, Castelo and Alfredo Chavez in Espirito Santo. Brazil is a unique paragliding and cultural experience! Open to strong P-2’s and up. Please note, you will need a Brazilian Visa. More info: 541-8408587, or nick@paracrane.com.

Jan 17-24 & Jan 31 - Feb 7 > Tapalpa, Mexico. Tapalpa, Mexico Fly Week. Parasoft has been guiding pilots to Mexico in January since 1990. In 2002 we discovered Tapalpa, site of a 2003 World Cup event. With big launch and landing areas and no crowds, this is the best in Mexico! With three other sites nearby, you soar in any wind direction.

To guide our clients well, we limit our group size to four and offer tandem flights to improve flying skills. More info: parasoftparaglding.com/mexico-flying, granger@parasoftparagliding.com or 303-494-2820.

JUN 28 - Jul 3 > Chelan Butte, Chelan, WA. 2015 Chelan Cross-Country Classic and National OpenDistance Championships, Pilots will choose their own tasks to get the most our of each day and points will be awarded based on the distance they fly. This will be a sanctioned event this year so pilots can earn points for national rankings. Go straight out on days with tail winds or complete a triangle on light winds.

Then go for a swim in the lake and hit the town for dinner to finish the day. This competition is also for new cross-country pilots as a great way to learn the art of cross-country flying. Evening seminars and onlaunch/LZ coaching programs are in planning. Individual scoring as well as team scoring and a para vs. hang rematch. Bring the family too! Chelan is great vacation destination and the meet dates are before the 4th of July to avoid the crowds. More Info: Lennard Baron, lennybaron@comcast.net, 425 2752162.

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AUG 2-8 > Big Spring Nationals. The Big Spring

Nationals is the premier hang gliding competition in the US with the best and most consistent racing conditions.Tasks average 100 miles. Many days we are able to come back to the airport and your glider can rest the night in the hangar. We usually fly every day.

No other city supports a hang gliding competition like Big Spring, with use of their air-conditioned terminal, hangar, free water and ice cream, golf carts, runway, welcome dinner, prize money, and much more.

As a national competition, it will again be a high NTSS points meet and count toward the National Championship. More info: Belinda Boulter and Davis Straub, http://ozreport.com/2015BigSpringNationals.php, belinda@davisstraub.com, and 863-206-7707.

AUG 30 - SEP 5 > DINOSAUR 2015 More info: Terry, and Chris Reynolds, rockymountainglider.com, terryreynolds2@gmail.com, 970-245-7315.

SEP 13-19 > Santa Cruz Flats Race - Mark Knight Memorial Competition . The Francisco Grande Resort is once again welcoming us back for another week of great flying. If you're up for 7 out of 7 days of awesome technical flying conditions, come join us for the 9th Annual Santa Cruz Flats Race.

Registration opens at noon eastern time on April 11th. More info: Jamie Shelden, www.santacruzflatsrace.blogspot. com, naughtylawyer@gmail.com, or 831-261-5444.

SEP 20-26 > OVXCC - Owen's Valley Cross Country Classic 2015. More info: Kari Castle, KARICASTLE.COM, flytheowens@gmail.com, or 760-9200748 .

COMPETITION - NON-SANCTIONED

COMPETITION - SANCTIONED JUN 14-20 > Rat Race/Sprint Paragliding Compe-

titions Woodrat Mt. Ruch, OR. Thirteenth annual Rat Race/Sprint Paragliding Competition 2015. Practice day June 13th. Two parties, daily lunches, retrieve and mentoring provided. Join the experience, travel southern Oregon, bring your family and see why the Rat Race is more than the largest paragliding festival in the USA. Go here to see what southern Oregon has to offer: http://southernoregon.org Registration opens February 15, 2015 $495.00 until April 15th, 2015. More info: mphsports.com, and 541-702-2111.

Sign up at MPHSports.com.

Jun 27 - Jul 4> Lumby, BC, CANADA. 2015 Canadian Hang Gliding National Championships. Canadian hang gliding nationals will be held in Lumby, BC, about one hour drive from Kelowna and the international airport. Practice day June 27, task days June 28-July 4. Meet HQ is Raven Aviation Freedom Flight Park in Lumby. Organizer is Randy Rauck, meet head is Bruce Busby, safety director is Garth Hemming. Scoring TBD. Launch sites include Coopers, Vernon Mountain and Mara Lake. FAI Cat 2 sanctioning in progress. Check www.lumbyairforce. com soon for information regarding registration, fees, accommodations, etc.

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JUL 6-11 > Moore, ID. King Mountain Cross

Country Competition. Individual and team competition. $100 entry fee prior to June 1. 2015 Tshirts by Dan Gravage. USHPA membership required. Download entry form at http://www. flykingmountain.com/download/contest-documents/King-Registration-Forms.pdf and send to: King Meet—Connie Work, PO Box 519, Dunlap, CA 93621 More info: www.flykingmountain. com.

JUL 15-19 > Cosmos, Minnesota. 2nd Midwest

Corn Alps XC continues this year at Cosmos, MN, organized by SDI paragliding. Dry camping at the field. ppg is allowed with limitations. For more info go to sdiparagliding.com or chicagoparagliding.com

AUG 16-22 > Dunlap, TN. Tennessee Tree Toppers Team Challenge is an instructional competition pioneered by the TTT for the cultivation of cross-country and competition skills. The unique scoring format awards more points to less experienced team members for the same distance, encouraging their more experienced team members to assist them along course. Teams are led by some of the finest XC and comp pilots in the country! Nightly seminars explore the finer points in greater detail, covering topics from forecasts to landings. More info: www.tennesseetreetoppers.org

FLY-INS JUN 12-14> Eagle Rock VA, Eagle Rock Fly-In,

Come join the "Skywackers" (SW Virginia Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association) for our Fly In at Eagle Rock, VA. The mountain has SE and NW facing launches A well maintained road to the launches can be driven with a 4WD vehicle. Free camping is available in fields at the base of the mountain, motels are close. A convenience store with a Subway and gas station is located 1/4 mile from campsites www.skywackers.org. Contact: Phil Givens--philgivens@gmail.com

JUN 20-28> King Mountain Glider Park Safa-

ri. Free Annual Idaho event. Fly the longest days of the year just east of famous Sun Valley. Paragliders, hang gliders, sailplanes, and self-launching sailplanes are all welcome. Awesome glass off and cloud bases up to 18,000’. Fly to Montana or Yellowstone.

Wave Window. Campfire, Potlucks, Star Gazing, Hiking, Mountain Biking and Fishing. Free camping at the Glider Park. Big Air and Big Country! For an outtake about King from Dave Aldrich’s awesome movie production see vimeo.com/104771241 Explore kingmountaingliderpark.com for directions and more info.

Spot Locator with tracking function or equivalent required. Call John at 208- 407-7174.

JULY 3-5 >Talihina, OK. Buffalo Mountain Fly-

ers July 4th Fly-in and Fundraiser. Flying at Buffalo, PG Point, Heavener and Little Yancy. Come enjoy the beauty of the Ouachita Mountains, local fireworks, and small-town hospitality. Saturday evening BBQ dinner, a limited-edition T-shirt, unlimited camping on launch or LZ at Buffalo and all the fun flying you can stand for the length of your stay. Annual Paper Airplane Contest. Extra Tshirts available for $20 (XXL XXXL add $2). $60 registration. Please register by June 14 to ensure T-shirt size. More info: www.buffalomountainflyers.org.

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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

HARNESSES JUL 4> Lakeview, Oregon. Lake County Umpteenth

Annual Festival of Free Flight. Save by Pre-Registering by June 18th 2015 for $30.00 after June 18th it’s $35.00 at our website: www.lakecountychamber.org 877-947-6040. We have been welcoming both Hang Glider and Paraglide Pilots since the early 1980’s.

Please visit our website and click the FFF tab for info and registration.

JUL 23-25 > Monroe Utah. Pioneer Days Fly In-

Spend three days with us in Central Utah, soaring Cove Mountain and flying in together at sunset, enjoying hamburgers at the park as we watch the fireworks. Enjoy the 6000-foot butter-smooth morning sledder from Monroe Peak, then the pancake breakfast at the park and the parade. The Pioneer Days Fly-in combines flying from world-class sites with a hometown celebration. Fun for the whole family.

FLY CENTER OF GRAVITY CG-1000 - The most

affordable single line suspension harness available.

Individually designed for a precise fit. Fly in comfort. www.flycenterofgravity.com; flycenterofgravity@ gmail.com; 315-256-1522

PARTS & ACCESSORIES GUNNISON GLIDERS - X-C, Factory, heavy PVC HG

gliderbags $149. Harness packs & zippers. New/ used parts, equipment, tubes. 1549 CR 17 Gunnison, CO 81230 970-641-9315

SPECIALTY WHEELS for airfoil basetubes, round

basetubes, or tandem landing gear. 262-473-8800, www.hanggliding.com.

POWERED & TOWING

SEP 3-7 > Mingus Mt., Central Arizona. 40th

Pilots: FREE Crossover Training when you purchase your Miniplane Paramotor! Instructors: Add PPG to your offerings and watch the fun begin! Visit our website for more info: www.Miniplane-USA.com/ USHPA

SEP 4-7 > Ellenville, NY. THE USHPA NATIONAL FLY-IN! Calling all hang gliders and paragliders.

Come one, come all–let's gather and fly and celebrate the sky! More info: at www.SNYHGPA.org.

SCHOOLS & INSTRUCTORS

Annual Mingus Mt. Fly-In We›re planning a big bash, Thursday through Labor Day! HG launch!

PG launch! AZHPA campgrounds at launch! Details to follow. More Info: Bill Comstock 602-6254550; flyrigid@q.com; AZHPA.ORG.

SEP 28 - OCT 3 > Richfield, Utah. Red Rocks Fall

Fly-in. Fall colors and beautiful mountains and flying activities for all levels and interests. Clinics, ridgesoaring task competition, morning sledders, distance challenges. Low pressure, fun-flying activities to give everyone a chance to mingle and enjoy flying from Central Utah’s many world-class flying sites.

CLASSIFIED CLINICS & TOURS COSTA RICA - Grampa Ninja's Paragliders' B&B. Affordable rates include breakfast, pool, free wifi.

Guide service and/or transportation to all popular paragliding sites. Lessons available from USHPA certified instructors. Call USA: Mid April thru Dec: 908-454-3242. Call Costa Rica Jan thru mid April: (Country code, 011) House: 506-2200-4824, Cell: 506-8950-8676, or email fgrotenhuis@hotmail. com Website: www.paraglidecostarica.com ITALY - Fantastico! Great flying! Great food! Great

weather! ALL inclusive service suitable for all levels of pilots. Round topped grassy mountains and large flatlands. Flying with culture! www.flytaly.com

FLEX WINGS A GREAT SELECTION OF HG&PG GLIDERS (ss, ds, pg) -HARNESSES (trainer, cocoon, pod) -PARACHUTES (hg&pg) -WHEELS (new & used).

Phone for latest inventory 262-473-8800, www. hanggliding.com

ALABAMA LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK - The best facilities, largest inventory, camping, swimming, volleyball, more. Wide range of accommodations.

877-HANGLIDE, 877-426-4543, hanglide.com.

CALIFORNIA AIRJUNKIES PARAGLIDING - Year-round excellent instruction, Southern California & Baja. Powered paragliding, clinics, tours, tandem, towing. Ken Baier 760-213-0063, airjunkies.com.

EAGLE PARAGLIDING - SANTA BARBARA offers the best year round flying in the nation. Award-winning instruction, excellent mountain and ridge sites. www. flysantabarbara.com, 805-968-0980 FLY ABOVE ALL - Year-round instruction in Santa

Barbara & Ojai from the 2012 US Instructor of the Year! More students flying safely after 10 years than any other school in the nation. flyaboveall.com

Mission Soaring Center LLC - Largest hang gliding center in the West! Our deluxe retail shop showcases the latest equipment: Wills Wing, Moyes, AIR, High Energy, Flytec, Aeros, Northwing, Hero wide angle video camera. A.I.R. Atos rigid wingsdemo the VQ-45’ span, 85 Lbs! Parts in stock. We stock new and used equipment. Trade-ins welcome.

Complete lesson program. Best training park in the west, located just south of the San Francisco Bay Area. Pitman Hydraulic Winch System for Hang 1s and above. Launch and landing clinics for Hang 3s and Hang 4s. Wills Wing Falcons of all sizes and custom training harnesses. 1116 Wrigley Way, Milpitas, CA 95035. 408-262-1055, Fax 408-2621388, mission@hang-gliding.com, Mission Soaring Center LLC, leading the way since 1973. www.hanggliding.com

WINDSPORTS - Train in sunny southern Cal. 325 flyable days each year. Learn modern flying skills safely and quickly. Train on sand with professionals at Dockweiler Beach training slopes (5 minutes from LA airport.) Fly any season in gentle coastal winds, soft sand and in a thorough program with 1 of the largest schools for over 40 years. 818-367-2430, www. windsports.com

COLORADO GUNNISON GLIDERS - X-C to heavy waterproof HG gliderbags. Accessories, parts, service, sewing. Instruction ratings, site-info. Rusty Whitley 1549 CR 17, Gunnison CO 81230. 970-641-9315.

TENNESSEE LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK - Just outside

MICHIGAN TRAVERSE CITY PARAGLIDERS - Soar our 450’

sand dunes. Full time shop. Certified instruction, all levels. Sales, service and accessories for all major brands. Call Bill at 231-922-2844 or email at tchangglider@chartermi.net Your USA & Canada Mosquito distributor, www.mosquitoamerica.com

MONTANA Paragliding - Montana’s full time connection for paragliding, speedflying, & paramotoring instruction & gear. Maneuvers courses, thermal tours abroad, online store. www. bozemanparagliding.com

Chattanooga. Become a complete pilot -foot launch, aerotow, mountain launch, ridge soar, thermal soar. hanglide.com, 1-877-HANGLIDE, 877-426-4543.

TEXAS FLYTEXAS TEAM - training pilots in Central Texas for 25 years. Hang Gliding, Paragliding, Trikes. Hangar facilities Lake LBJ, Luling, Smithville www.flytexas. com 512-467-2529

UTAH

Bozeman

FLORIDA FLORIDA RIDGE AEROTOW PARK - 18265 E State

Road 80, Clewiston, Florida 863-805-0440, www. thefloridaridge.com.

GRAYBIRD AIRSPORTS — Paraglider & hang

glider towing & training, Dragonfly aerotow training, XC, thermaling, 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 - For year-round training

fun in the sun. 305-285-8978, 2550 S Bayshore Drive, Coconut Grove, Florida 33133, www. miamihanggliding.com.

WALLABY RANCH – The original Aerotow flight park.

Best tandem instruction worldwide,7-days a week , 6 tugs, and equipment rental. Call:1-800-WALLABY wallaby.com 1805 Deen Still Road, Disney Area FL 33897

GEORGIA LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK - Discover

why 5 times as many pilots earn their wings at LMFP. Enjoy our 110 acre mountain resort. www.hanglide. com, 1-877-HANGLIDE, 1-877-426-4543.

HAWAII PROFLYGHT PARAGLIDING - Call Dexter for friendly

information about flying on Maui. Full-service school offering beginner to advanced instruction every day, year round. 808-874-5433, paraglidehawaii.com.

MARYLAND HIGHLAND AEROSPORTS - Baltimore and DC’s fulltime 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! 410-634-2700, Fax 410-634-2775, 24038 Race Track Rd, Ridgely, MD 21660, www.aerosports.net, hangglide@aerosports.net.

NEW HAMPSHIRE MORNINGSIDE - A Kitty Hawk Kites flight park. The

Northeast's premier hang gliding and paragliding training center, teaching since 1974. Hang gliding foot launch and tandem aerowtow training. Paragliding foot launch and tandem training. Powered Paragliding instruction. Dealer for all major manufacturers.

Located in Charlestown, NH. Also visit our North Carolina location, Kitty Hawk Kites Flight School.

603-542-4416, www.flymorningside.com

CLOUD 9 PARAGLIDING - Come visit us and check out our huge selection of paragliding gear, traction kites, extreme toys, and any other fun things you can think of. If you aren’t near the Point of the Mountain, then head to http://www.paragliders.com for a full list of products and services. We are Utah’s only full time shop and repair facility, Give us a ring at 801-5766460 if you have any questions.

VIRGINIA BLUE SKY - Virginia's full time, year round HG School. Scooter, Platform and Aero Tow. Custom sewing, paragliding, powered harnesses, trikes, representing most major brands. 804-241-4324, www.blueskyhg.com

NEW YORK

INTERNATIONAL

AAA Hang Gliding Teaching since 1977, Three

BAJA MEXICO - La Salina Baja's BEST BEACHFRONT Airsport Venue: PG, HG, PPG: FlyLaSalina.com. by BajaBrent.com, He’ll hook you up! Site intros, tours, & rooms. bajabrent@bajabrent.com, 760-203-2658

training hills, certified, adv instruction with mtn launch, tandems, towing, pro shop, pilots lounge, camping. We carry North Wing and Moyes, 77 Hang Glider Rd Ellenville, NY www.mtnwings.com 845647-3377

Fly High HG Serving the tri-state area with beginner

and advanced instruction- the only school with THREE USHPA Instructor-of-the-Year recipients!

Area's exclusive Wills Wing dealer. Superior customer service, lifelong support, the most competitive prices. Just 90-minutes from NYC. Come Fly High with us! www.FlyHighHG.com 845.744.3317 info@ flyhighhg.com

NORTH CAROLINA

EXOTIC THAILAND X/C CLINIC - Phu Thap Boek,Thailand's most awesome,highest flying site 5,200ASL.Open to P-2 and above.Come learn how to fly high and far! Very inexpensive! More info: pchumes@gmail.com FLYMEXICO - VALLE DE BRAVO and beyond for

HANG GLIDING and PARAGLIDING. Gear, guiding, instruction, transportation, lodging - www.flymexico. com 512-467-2529 / 1-800-861-7198 USA

SERVICE

KITTY HAWK KITES - The largest hang gliding school in the world, teaching since 1974. Learn to hang glide and paraglide on the East Coast's largest sand dune. Year-round instruction, foot launch and tandem aerotow. Powered paragliding instruction.

Dealer for all major manufacturers. Learn to fly where the Wright Brothers flew, located at the beach on NC's historic Outer Banks. Also visit our New Hampshire location, Morningside Flight Park. 252-441-2426, 1-877-FLY-THIS, www.kittyhawk.com

CLOUD 9 REPAIR DEPARTMENT - We staff and maintain a full service repair shop within Cloud 9 Paragliding; offering annual inspections, line replacement, sail repair of any kind (kites too!), harness repairs and reserve repacks. Our repair technicians are factory trained and certified to work on almost any paraglider or kite. Call today for an estimate 801-576-6460 or visit www.paragliders. com for more information.

PUERTO RICO

service shop, specializing in all types of paragliding repairs, annual inspections, reserve repacks, harness repairs. Hang gliding reserve repacks and repair. For information or repair estimate, call 208-554-2243, pricing and service request form available at www. risingair.biz, billa@atcnet.net.

FLY PUERTO RICO WITH TEAM SPIRIT HG! Flying tours, rentals, tandems, HG and PG classes, H-2 and P-2 intensive Novice courses, full sales. 787-8500508, flypuertorico@gmail.com

RISING AIR GLIDER REPAIR SERVICES – A full-

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

65

The

1

Y

by Frank Hargett

ou’ve probably heard there are three kinds of pilots: Those who are going into the trees, those who have been in the trees, and those who are going into the trees again.

I would never be any of those.

Caution, good training and a sense of self-preservation would protect me.

It was a beautiful day in mid-March when my arrogance caught up with me.

The day before, I had soared Glassy Mountain for the first time. The view was incredible. Fine homes in a community of wooded lots and a golf course spread out across the top of the rocky ridge below, each well-groomed lawn and home placed for the best view possible of the valley. At 1500’ above, soaring back and forth along that ridge for 40 minutes, I got that sense of why we fly.

The next day I arrived early and after launch I made a left turn, ignored the gliders farther from the ridge and corrected my course to get over the large granite faces of the mountain near the top. I felt lift there and continued in spite of my sense that the ridge was too close. In my head somewhere I thought the lift would be there, all I had to do was stick it out, hold my course. I got lower and could see the massive oak looming ahead as my vario told me, “Everything is fine”—sort of.

As I neared the inevitable, I swung my weight and started a turn to my right—down the ridge, but pushing out to gain altitude had eaten my airspeed

66

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

There was a day when your training clicked, conditions were perfect, stars aligned, and you soared to new heights. Send in your tale of “The 1” flight you'll never forget. We'll print it here, and you'll be entered into the annual drawing for a USHPA soft-shell jacket.

and I began a slow turn into the top of The Oak. My weak turn forced my nose down, and away from the trunk. When I hit, I grabbed on tight with both hands. I could feel the glider’s weight pulling me down, and knew I wouldn’t be able to hold on long. Instincts told me to get out of my harness and settle on a limb below. Holding on with one hand while I used the other to pull myself from the straps around my shoulders and legs, I worked myself free.

Looking around and acknowledging an offer to call 911 from golfers on a nearby green, I surveyed my predicament. I was sitting on a five-inch-thick branch where I could stay for a while if need be. I was 30’ from the trunk, 60’ up—but sitting out over the slope made me 80’ above the rocks below. My glider, perpendicular to the ground, hung 10’ away with its right wingtip hung on a four-inch branch and a luff line caught on a broken one-inch branch. I decided I wasn’t jealous of its resting place.

Glassy Mountain Fire and Rescue arrived and called the Emergency Response Team (ERT) from Greenville. I waited, trying to stay focused, listening to the conversations below about the challenges I was presenting. I sat there for three hours watching the hawks mock me, and the slow, painstaking effort to reach me.

When I was close enough to the trunk to reach out and touch it, the ERT

tech, Dave, asked me, “Are you afraid of heights?”

“No,” I replied, “ just afraid of falling from one.”

I had plenty of time to think about my future as a pilot. There were serious doubts that I would ever want to fly again, especially if there were more trees waiting for me. It was an EMT who later talked sense to me. “You have to get on that horse again. Why not keep flying—just be a more cautious pilot?”

Well, now I was on a mission: What does it mean to be a cautious pilot? I decided if I were to fly again, I would find out. I had considered myself cautious but suddenly my compass was whacked and I didn’t trust it anymore.

I talked to every pilot I know. What I learned is embarrassingly fundamental.

Stay in the harness if at all possible.

It’s warm and it contains useful items: dental floss, aerotow cord, water, a pack of crackers, a small flashlight, and a parachute.

Always maintain better than “best glide” near obstacles and the ground.

Good airspeed means control.

Talk to other pilots about anything and everything about any new site. It’s all relevant, and what you learn may make the difference.

If you have ANY doubts, plan for another day.

Often our best flights are the ones from which we learn the most.