“A LOATHSOME GROUP OF GUYS, dressed in hang gliding harnesses and helmets, crashed a wedding on June 18, 1983,” reminisces longtime Texas hang glider pilot, Mark DeMarino. He’s blasting away in the very active Houston hang gliding group chat. “Thanks for that great memory, HHPA,” he continues. The thread blows up several times a day around topics ranging from XC flight plans to glider classifieds to the deep heartfelt connections present in any vibrant community with history. Mark is the current president of the Houston Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (HHPA). It’s one of USHPA’s oldest club charters, formed back when many pilots, Mark included, took their flying sitting down. The club enjoys a strong contingent of experienced pilots and
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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE
a steadily growing number of enthusiastic greenhorns. Mark joined the very active flying scene back in 1978. He remembers, “I probably taught 350 students. Just a handful stuck with it in those days.” That’s not surprising, considering among many obstacles, hills in Texas are hard to come by. Not everything is bigger in Texas. Guys like Mark spent years stealing seconds of airtime running down the 35-foot-high Barker Dam. The real hill was hours away in another state and remains a modest 425 feet high. When winds didn’t cooperate for the hatchling hawks, they just camped out and tried again the next weekend. For those who stuck with the program, flying proved a necessity and, of course, birthed invention. Howdy do, winches, trikes, and aerotowing. The Houston pilots obtained a tow winch in a manifestation of easy solidarity and determination to fly. At times, the winch has been tucked away in the closet like an old pair