Hang Gliding & Paragliding Vol46-Iss3 May-Jun 2016

MAY/JUNE 2016 Volume 46 Issue 3 $6.95

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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

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MENTOR 4 – gets you further “ The MENTOR 4 climbs very efficiently, which is reassuring at the beginning of the day when thermals are weak. It is also a great advantage in the evening when you want to use the last bits of lift to get back to your start. The MENTOR 4 really shows its class when accelerated – the flat polar really excites. But the thing I value most is how calm it feels in the air. To conclude, I am completely happy with the MENTOR 4!” Bernhard Peßl | Record holder flying an EN/LTF B wing (FAI triangle of 300.4 km)

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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.

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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.

POSTMASTER Send change of address to: Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine, P.O. BOX 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330. Canadian Post Publications Mail Agreement #40065056.

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COPYRIGHT Copyright (c) 2015 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.

PLAN

FLIGHT T

he flying season is here! The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association has faced significant challenges during the off-season, from managing a massive fund-raising campaign to communicating the nuances of an evolving insurance program and new instructor certification process. But the real challenge to the membership is to identify exactly what drove us to create a new insurance program while simultaneously focusing on the exhilaration, accomplishment, community, satisfaction and fun that characterize our amazing sports.

We need to take a heartfelt look at how we can integrate a deeper culture of safety into our routine. Unlike most other forms of aviation, free flight starts with a social component. We meet up with fellow pilots and head to launch to set up our aircraft, often while talking with friends or explaining to bystanders what free flight is and how our equipment functions. These activities, although enjoyable, can easily detract from our attention to safety. Consequently, the magazine plans to start a column that focuses on what pilots, clubs, and chapters do to promote safety at their sites, in order to showcase, inspire, and pass on best practices to other USHPA members.

Does someone at your club hold talks about conditions every day before flying?

Can you get local gurus to give training talks? Can your club put on a safety day during which gear is inspected, lectures on continuing education are given, and pilots take time to focus on how to create the best environment possible to enable long-lasting success in our sports? We all need to make this a turning point in an evolution of our communities to reflect that flying is fun only if the flight is safe.

This May/June issue is filled with good information. It starts with an update from Paul Murdoch on the Risk Retention Group, as well as a look into what makes our new president tick, by C.J. Sturtevant. Now that the policy is in place, additional information that becomes available will be presented in a monthly column to keep everyone as well informed as possible.

Steve Roti is back with our yearly look at new state distance records for paragliding. Bill Nikolai reports from the great Northwest with a retrospective on a classic flying site—Grouse Mountain. James Bradley sent in a great piece about an event in Brazil that lends insight into why pilots chase the fastest in the world. And Pete Lehmann returns with a fascinating article on atmospheric conditions, illustrated by Harry Martin.

The unique, biwingual, and oft raved-about Colorado Fly Week is highlighted in depth. Bill Heaner, who has been working on the new USHPA tandem program, contributes a piece that anyone interested in flying tandems must read. Dennis Pagen gives us another installment of his continuing education series, “Thinking Outside the Blocks.” And Ryan Voight contributes the first installment of his new series that focuses on how to safely capture images of hang gliding to share with the world.

USHPA hopes you have a groundbreaking flying season, whether that means learning new kiting moves or flying your first cross-country. May every launch and landing be safe, first and foremost, and fun, a close second!

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 Paul Murdoch, President president@ushpa.aero Jamie Shelden, 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: Ken Andrews, 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: Paul Murdoch, Steve Rodrigues, Greg Kelley, Jamie Shelden, Mitch Shipley. 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 Andrew Muse (left), Jason White (right) and Kicker (center) | photo by Taylor Maag.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

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Anatomy of a Crisis A Docudrama in Four Acts

by USHPA President, Paul Murdoch

Prelude What exactly happened during the last 12 months? How did the condition of our organization go from bucolic to dire so suddenly? The answer, of course, is that it didn’t.

It took much longer. Just as in the development of any serious incident, numerous and varied inputs led to the conclusion.

In simple terms, our claims history was not meeting the expectations of our insurers. Over time, that became a problem. Our insurers held the expectation that all schools should purchase additional and separate coverage for commercial activity, which hadn’t always occurred.

Claims continued to exceed expectations. Many were seemingly trivial car-strike claims, but even they added up. During the final years of our coverage, only one syndicate was willing to sell us a policy. That was not a good situation.

Rising insurance premiums and weak USHPA finances had caused a crisis of sorts near the turn of the century. USHPA was in the red. Costs were going up. It wasn’t sustainable. USHPA's admin and BOD instituted a number of changes to right the ship. They increased dues. They adjusted budgets. They bought a building as an investment. They began operating within their means and saving.

Early warning came in July of 2015. Windsports Hang Gliding School’s policy was the first up for renewal. The school policy and USHPA’s PL and GL (professional and general liability) were all sourced through the same entity, a Lloyd’s of London syndicate. In spite of no loss history, Windsports was informed that coverage would not be renewed. Upon hearing the news, USHPA, Windsports and other flight schools began a dialog with the syndicate that led to an extension for Windsports.

That provided some breathing room. But dark clouds were forming on the horizon.

In August, Lloyd's admitted that it was its intention to non-renew all flight-school policies and it became increasingly obvious that all USHPA pilots—not just

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schools—were in jeopardy of losing insurance. We are a very small business entity for insurance companies. The combined premiums from schools, Rogallo members, and solo pilots were barely enough to justify the business proposition. And without schools premiums, USHPA coverage would be an even less attractive proposition to insurers.

Much of the initial confusion arose from the uncertainty we felt when our insurance was cancelled. Our carrier had not provided advance notice of intent to cancel. We didn’t know if an announcement of plans to explore self-insurance would offend them and hasten the cancellation decision. In addition, we needed to remain reliant upon Lloyd’s for reinsurance above what we could cover if we were to self-insure.

Ultimately, we decided to press forward with selfinsurance. Without it, our position was too tenuous. We became immersed in educating ourselves on the subject of self-insurance. September, October, and November were filled with meetings, conferences, and consultations with experts. USHPA counsel compressed what is normally an 18-24 month process to set up an RRG (risk retention group) into five.

This process is extraordinarily complex and interdependent. For example, we could not apply for a decision on a likely approval for an RRG until we had raised enough capital to fund it. Multiple inquiries and applications were in play simultaneously at a time when they really needed to be sequential. We did not have the luxury of time, so on December 2, we started the drive to fund the RRG.

Cliffhanger Just two weeks after the start of the fundraiser, we discovered that the Lloyd's underwriters did indeed plan to discontinue USHPA coverages. We had anticipated that we might not have a safety net. But we were alarmed to realize that if we were not able to raise the funds, if

our RRG application was rejected, and if we were not able to secure reinsurance, we would be without coverage for all of our activities. At most sites in the US, flying would be curtailed or cancelled.

An RRG application is terrifically complex. It is a long process and one we didn’t have time to get wrong. One aspect of the application that caused consternation was the requirement for reinsurance. It was clear that third-party certification of schools would be required to qualify for reinsurance. The issuing entity insisted upon “outside eyeballs” being on schools, before they could be included in any policy. And they were very familiar with one in particular.

Kitty Hawk Kites is a hang gliding school run by John Harris and Bruce Weaver. They also have been operating third-party school certification for years. Professional Air Sports Association (PASA) was originally born at a USHPA BOD meeting. The idea did not gain much interest from the hang gliding community at the time, but it resonated with kiteboarding. And Lloyd’s was very familiar with Kitty Hawk and PASA, Kitty Hawk’s certification arm. Kitty Hawk had the original flight-school policy from Lloyd’s. They introduced USHPA to their Lloyd’s contacts when USHPA first needed coverage. Since Lloyd’s trusts Kitty Hawk and PASA, Lloyd's made PASA involvement a requirement. We had to convince PASA to take on the task, with just three months to go. And how would small schools be able to afford coverage?

Those dark clouds were now towering overhead.

The Sun’ll Come out, Tomorrow…

During this time period, members were understandably confused. Information was incomplete or nonexistent. And yet they were being asked to dig deep for a mysterious and vague RRG. None of these entities—RRG, PASA, or Vermont Insurance Commission—registered on their radar. Still, without member commitment of over $1 million, our plan would be dead in the water. So we asked.

In spite of such an unclear outcome, members recognized the dire situation and rallied support. We cut production of the magazine issues by half. We put our building up for sale. Donations poured in, surpassing the target a month in advance of our goal.

In short order, we received tremendous news on many fronts. Vermont approved the RRG. Our reinsurance request was approved. PASA not only agreed to take on the task of certification, but also created a plan in which smaller schools could access RRG coverage through PASA membership. As a result, small schools will not be obligated to pay the high entry

fees required for coverage direct from the RRG. In addition, the building we had listed for sale during the crisis found a buyer.

As quickly as that, light had broken through…

Brave New World It is tempting to think we have come through the storm. That isn’t the case. The RRG directors have been laboring to put the organization together, and the RRG has begun providing premium estimates to schools. PASA is accepting applications for school certification.

Now the real work starts. We arrived at this point through our own actions and our dependence upon others for insurance. Both are now in our control. If we are not able to control our claims losses, our own insurance company will be obligated to cease coverage. Strict mathematical formulas determine how much capital and premiums are needed to support a risk pool. It doesn’t matter that we are “self-insured.” If our losses continue to climb, we will be faced with unsustainable capitalization requirements.

How do we change the path we are on? We need to do several things. We need to embrace safety as a value with the same enthusiasm with which we embrace great XC flights, vol-biv adventures, and state records. Each one of us needs to own activity at his/her local site. And we need to work as a community to manage our risky behavior.

Look for tools on this front. The RRG is required to include an education component. We will use that to promote continued education and create tools for dealing with recognizable problems. Having a difficult conversation with a fellow pilot is challenging. There are ways to make that easier for everyone. Many organizations have done it in the more rigorous environments of medicine and commercial aviation. We can do it as well.

The Payoff A question that’s been asked is: What do we get for this increased cost? The answer is that we get to continue flying.

And that is worth fighting for. But we benefit in three other ways, as well, from all this work. First, we have much greater control of our destiny. We have more say in the discussions and decisions about our operations and our coverage. If we successfully reduce claims, we stand to benefit in the long term from reduced premiums and dues. Some RRGs have resulted in drastically reduced insurance expenses, albeit only with improved loss records. And, finally, we stand to benefit from an improved safety culture. That is the ultimate goal.

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LEADING IN TRANSITION Introducing USHPA's President

Paul Murdoch A

fter six years of capable and dedicated leadership of the Association, Rich Hass has retired and USHPA has a new president.

With great pleasure, I introduce Paul Murdoch, president for the current period (until October 2016), and likely farther into the future.

At this time of radical change and significant uncertainty in the free-flight community, Paul brings some real strengths and attitudes to the table. I first met Paul at the Rat Race paragliding event, which has been held annually at his home site, Woodrat Mountain in Oregon, since 2003, and I’ve seen him

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work his subtle magic again and again.

Some examples: Whenever you gather dozens of competition-minded pilots at a flying site, there are bound to be some conflicts and misunderstandings, or just plain thoughtlessness, in the interactions between the comp pilots and the landowners or local pilots. Although I’ve never heard him muttering spells or seen him waving a wand, at times Paul seems disconcertingly wizard-like in putting out small fires; more likely, it’s his listening and communication skills, along with his friendly grin, quirky sense of humor and his strong sense of fairness that enable him to defuse most

by C.J. Sturtevant

conflicts before they escalate into a “situation.” He displays an uncanny ability to chastise an errant pilot without making that pilot feel demeaned or embarrassed, but without diminishing the seriousness of the issue and all the while getting the point across to the rest of us that a potentially serious error was made and it would be in the best interests of all of us that it not be repeated.

I’ve also watched him in action on USHPA’s BOD, first as the chair of the Site Development committee and member of the Finance and Risk Management committee and, most recently, as USHPA’s president.

Intelligence, empathy, common sense and an ability to find the humor in a precarious situation are valuable skills in a president of an association that’s facing seriously tough times and major changes in “the way we’ve always done it.” The board is composed of pilots who are passionate about their flying, and who realize that their lifestyle and, for some, their profession, is threatened by the current insurance situation. You’ve read Paul’s communications to the membership updating us on the RRG fund raising (Free Flight Forever), so you’ve experienced his upbeat reaction to “the sky is falling!” Paul works his magic with confidence, competence and a genuine smile. No wand needed.

Paul entered the world of free flight in the late ‘90s; his early attempts to learn to paraglide in Alaska didn’t take, but once he connected up with the legendary Dixon White in Washington, his flying career took off. Currently his wing of choice is an Ice Peak 6, although recently he’s been getting airborne “too rarely,” he laments, due to some misunderstandings with roofs and ladders in the last couple of years that have slowed his pace significantly. “In 2015 my ratio of USHPA time to flight time was 100:1,” he reckons, due to the accident and subsequent surgeries.

Spending less time in the air means he’s had more time to devote to groundbased tasks. Aside from his USHPA commitments, Paul is president of Gary West Meats, located in Jacksonville, Oregon, and famous for the awardwinning artisan smoked meat/jerky that’s sold nationwide in retail stores and online. This year Gary West is celebrating their 50-year anniversary, with an appropriate amount of fanfare.

“Running a small business is very hard,” Paul points out, but adds, “it’s also very rewarding. Your successes and failures are your own.”

In USHPA, owning one’s successes and failures is not so straightforward.

The recent insurance crisis has underlined how much our community’s viability relies on the wide participation of the members. At the March meeting of the USHPA BOD, Paul found it “memorable and gratifying” to be looking out over the board members seated around the tables in General Session, and “realizing that we raised $2million and created an insurance company, in just five months! We are a tight community! We aren’t without squabbles. But we get things done.”

Indeed! I asked Paul some specific questions about what sort of things are “getting done” right now or in the near future. Here’s what he’d like you to know about the workings of our association.

Regarding the nuts-and-bolts jobs of USHPA’s president, Paul lists “conference calls, writing e-mails—communicating. Sadly, there is never enough time to communicate adequately.”

That lack of time was a huge stressor during the recent insurance crisis. In spite of USHPA’s best efforts to keep the membership apprised of the developing situation, there’s been a huge amount of confusion, misinformation, and anxiety about the changes that are coming down, and members are understandably desperate for up-to-date information.

“Mark Forbes does an other-worldly

LEFT Photo by Chris Amonson. ABOVE Paul

participating in the consensus-building process at the spring ‘16 BOD meeting. job at answering questions—USHPA’s insurance FAQs are his baby,” Paul says, clearly grateful for Mark’s expertise. “He has the patience of Job and the wisdom of... Some smart guy.” Without a doubt insurance is “complex stuff,” Paul continues, and directs members to the Free Flight Forever page in the Members Only section of ushpa.aero. “Distilling a complex answer down to a simple summary is an art, and Mark has done that well,” Paul points out, while expressing some regret that he himself wasn’t able to do more in providing answers, and gathering input from members. “The timing was such that we simply had to act immediately to get things in place before our current insurance coverage terminated. ‘Tyranny of the urgent’ left good communication as a casualty. I sincerely apologize for that. It was not optimal,” he says, a clear understatement. “The primary goal was to raise funds and get the RRG approved.

Everything else took a back seat. With those missions accomplished, we now have some breathing room and more time to explain what is happening.” And he offers an apology for the apparent lack of communication: “So much was

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happening. The process was fluid. It was hard to write anything, knowing that the details were all in flux. Stating one thing only to have it change was a constant challenge. We had to wait until we were certain. Those delays were hard on the membership.” Background information is available to members at https:// freeflightforever.org/; periodic updates of the still rapidly evolving circumstances will be sent out via email newsletters or published in this magazine.

Once the urgency of the insurance situation settles down, Paul sees two major foci for his presidential time and energy. First priority: “We simply have to reduce our claims liabilities. It is mission critical. Everyone needs to play a role. I mean everyone. At every site.”

In other words, the personal wizarding skills of a handful of dedicated members simply isn’t going to suffice.

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Second would be “to embrace the joy of what we do. Insurance tends to suck the joy out of our common passion.

Our communal bond gets lost in that struggle. Flying is fun. Let’s focus on that.”

The amazing response to the fundraising for the RRG confirms that USHPA’s members take their participation in the association’s business seriously. Such emergencies aside, much of the nitty-gritty, day-to-day work of keeping our flying options available is handled by our elected regional directors and club officers. I asked Paul what kinds of input and/or actions we the members can provide that would make the tasks of the board members less stressful. Paul offered several suggestions, starting with “some understanding and latitude in the short term. I’ve never seen so many volunteers pour so much blood and

sweat into a project such as the RRG. These volunteers are truly trying only to save the sport the best they know how.

I understand the tendency towards suspicion when information is limited, but these are good people solving complex problems with good intentions. We may make some mistakes,” he admits, but concludes that “so far, these volunteers have done an outstanding job.”

In the longer term, he invites members to provide “constructive feedback— let your regional director know what’s troubling you. Your concern has perhaps simply been overlooked.”

Finally, he urges pilots to “let us know what isn’t working. If you perceive that we as an association have a vulnerABOVE Director-training facilitator Lindsay

Matush discusses strategy with Paul. RIGHT Photo by Chris Amonson.

“Life in the trenches gets us laughing at inappropriate moments, simply from fatigue.”

ability or liability, point it out to us.”

While USHPA is far from being out of the woods with regard to insurance and the RRG, Paul is already looking ahead to getting back into the issues facing his local club (Rogue Valley HG&PG Association), and to spending more time in the air now that he’s sufficiently recovered from his accident and the subsequent surgeries. Tops on his list of RVHPA-related issues is securing an LZ to protect Woodrat for the long term. The Hunter family has generously allowed pilots to land in their pastures for decades, but times change, and the loss of that privilege would mean the loss of Woodrat as a flying site when skill level or flying conditions make going XC not an option.

And this year, Paul is committed to spending more time in the air, and intends to get out and mingle with as many of his “constituents” as he can.

“I hope to get to many fly-ins this year.

Oceanside (on the Oregon coast) in April is first on my list. This insurance thing has had us buried in details. We’ve lost contact with many flying communities and need to re-establish that connection.” Perhaps you can help him with this commitment: If your club or community has a fly-in or event planned for this summer or fall, consider inviting USHPA’s president to drop in and join the fun.

Over the years, I’ve attended dozens

of USHPA Board of Directors’ meetings, and I’d have to place the spring 2016 meeting as one of the most intense, focused and productive sessions ever.

This was Paul’s first time as our association’s gavel-wielder, and he managed to keep the group moving forward, eyes on the prize, but with his signature grin, lighthearted banter and, perhaps, a touch of his personal magic reminding

us all that, in the end, our ultimate goal is to hang on to our options for enjoying the freedom and the joy inherent in our beloved sports of hang gliding and paragliding.

C.J.: So, what’s it been like, these first few months as USHPA’s president?

Paul: This has been like building a new home inside the old one, while the original is still in flames. Thankfully, we had intense participation from some great volunteers and our attorney, who burned the candle at three ends. Special thanks to him, and to James B., Nick G., Lindsay M. and Martin.

Paragliding

State Distance Records 2015

by Steve Roti

W

ith apologies to the Chinese philosopher Laozi, a flight of a thousand miles starts with a single launch.

And while nobody flew 1000 miles on a paraglider last year, new distance records were set in seven states, ranging from 44.1 to 192.2 miles. Regarding the weather, NOAA’s National Overview Annual 2015 report says, “In 2015, the contiguous United States (CONUS) average temperature was 54.4°F, 2.4°F above the 20th century average. This was the second-warmest year in the 121-year period of record for the CONUS…. precipitation averaged across the CONUS in 2015 was 34.47 inches, 4.53 inches above the 20th century average. This was the third-wettest year on record.”

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Montana It was the warmest year on record in Montana, and Andy Macrae took advantage of the conditions on August 1 to smash his old state record with a 192.2-mile (309.4km) flight tow-launched at Morgan Lane on his Ozone M6. As Andy says, “Perfect XC days are few and far between, making it all that more important to drop everything and grab them when they present themselves. Are you ready?” Here’s his full flight report: The old Montana state record of 200 km had stood for 10 years, set in 2005 from Shelby, Montana. We had been chasing this record ever since, but especially hard in the last few years.

After towing several people up with Bozeman Paragliding’s “XCMAKER,” it was finally my turn. I released at 1:30 p.m. around 500m AGL into a thermal and drifted over the northern Bridger range. The day was forecast to be a good one, with top of lift around 16,000 feet and wind steadily increasing with altitude. The crossing at the Shields Valley was typical—low to the ground, with some west wind, and, finally, a climb near the Crazy Mountains. Not high enough to go straight over, I turned toward the south end of the range to “slip around” the mountains. I found a climb during this southward push that allowed me to go straight over the mountains and connect with a beautiful cloudstreet on the east side of the Crazies that went at least to Billings. Just NE of Big Timber, I got to 16,000 feet, the highest of the flight, and my personal best in Montana. The Bozeman-to-Billings flight has been attempted many times, and would tie the old state record of 140 miles. As I got low near Billings, I figured at least I had finally achieved this flight.

But with Bill Bredehoft now on the radio and in the chase vehicle (he lives in Billings and saw me coming via WhatsApp and SPOT tracking), I found a climb that put me back in the game and assured me of a new state record. This was at about 5:30 p.m. The next two hours were spent in awe of the day that just kept working, wind that was the perfect strength for distance, clouds that kept forming right in front of me, and a vario that was steadily ticking away towards 300 km. I was relaxed and happy, for it was all icing on the cake now. It was fun watching the excitement in the Montana WhatsApp conversation on my cell phone on my flight deck. I got my last good climb around 7 p.m. and went on final glide. It looked like I could make the freeway (I-90) on glide, and possibly go even a little further. I passed over the freeway at about 185 miles (298 km), flew another couple of miles to make sure it was at least 187 miles (300 km), and then, instead of turning around and landing near the freeway for a quick and easy retrieve, flew straight into roadless, undulating ter-

rain, milking every last kilometer out of the day, no matter what the retrieve/hike-out might become. Those final glides, as the sun is getting low on a good day, are almost always beautiful, peaceful experiences. This was no exception. I veered towards a freshly cut wheat field for a soft landing at around 7:30 p.m. There were no roads, but plenty of cows to greet me, along with a red sunset, and a short hike to the nearest dirt road where I would soon meet Bill Bredehoft. I had landed just east of Garryowen on the Crow Indian Reservation.

North Carolina In the be-careful-what-you-teach-your-kids category, Marcos Rosenkjer broke his father Luis’s North Carolina distance record from the renowned Tater Hill launch, the same flying site and almost the same day of the year as Luis’s previous record (August 2 for Marcos and August 3 for Luis). Marcos flew his Gradient Aspen 5 east for 53.1 miles (85.4 km) in 4 hours and 23 minutes, landing near the town of Dobson.

Marcos says, “It was about time someone flew farther than Luis…. Hope many more long flights come our way.”

Ohio Prior to 2015, Ohio did not have a paragliding distance record. Adam Lee set out to change that, and, on May 27, he sent in a modest 10.6-mile record flight from Richmond Dale on his Gin Sprint. When summer rolled around, Adam and his friend Augusto Espinosa started doing tow-launched XC flights out of Wes-Mar Airfield near Darbyville. Augusto pushed the record twice on his Ozone M6—26.5 miles on August 22 and 33.1 miles on September 6—but at the end of OPPOSITE In route to Montana record. ABOVE LEFT Andy

Macrae on-glide to the record. RIGHT Landing on the reservation.

Photos by Andy Macrae.

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the day, it was Adam who, on September 13, flew 75.3 miles (121.2 km) on his UP Trango XC2 for the final state record of the year. Adam writes, “Amazing flight—75 miles in three hours. Landed by choice. Could have gone farther. Got cold and hungry. My buddy Augusto was supposed to fly with us but decided not to at the last minute!” Adam landed near the village of Coolville, Ohio. Is that a cool way to end the summer, or what?

Oklahoma Oklahoma had its wettest year on record, ending a multiyear drought. The previous state record was 75.4 miles set by Britton Shaw in 2011. This year Britton pushed the record up to 109.5 miles (176.3 km), launching from Panorama Vista on August 12 and flying south on his Ozone M6 to land near the town of Mt. Vernon, Texas, after 6:18 in the air. Here’s Britton’s flight report.

A few days before this Oklahoma flight I was watching the weather pattern set up for this nice post-frontal day. I began alerting local pilots via social media. The epic day arrived and, alas, I was the only taker. This particular launch site is in a national forest and situated in the only east/west-aligned mountain range in the central USA, named Panorama. Launch was an easy reverse with an immediate climb to a low cloudbase, 700m AGL. Timing for departure was critical for a long flight, as the approaching air mass was poor. However, sky conditions along a southerly course line were nothing less than epic. Once established over the back, the sky looked great, but the conditions were too weak to fly a straight downwind course over miles of dense ABOVE LEFT Adam Lee. RIGHT

Augusto Espinosa. Opposite Britton Shaw breaking his own record in Oklahoma.

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forest. A two-hour direct crosswind course deviation was required before turning south for safe passage. The next four hours and 100+ miles offered fairly easy flying with spectacular post-frontal visibility. Upon approaching my original family homestead along the Red River, I used my Bluetooth communication kit, paired with my phone, to contact my retired parents for a retrieve. They obliged my request and gave chase underneath me all the way to my final landing destination that was located on the outskirts of Mt. Pleasant, Texas.

Oregon Like Montana, Oregon experienced the warmest year on record. July has historically been the month for the longest flights from Pine Mountain, near Bend, and this year was no exception. In fact, Jared Anderson’s record flight on July 15 occurred on the exact same day of the year as the previous record of 136.0 miles set by Brian Webb in 2008. Jared launched from Pine Mountain around noon and flew 145.8 miles (234.3 km) east on his Ozone Enzo 2 to land just east of Steens Mountain in the vicinity of the Alvord Desert.

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He flew most of the way with Josh Cohn, but Josh landed west of Steens Mountain, while Jared found a final climb that boosted him up and over to the eastern side. Here’s an excerpt from Jared’s flight report: Our route took us somewhat parallel and south of Hwy 20 for about 75 km, until which time the highway veered more north, and we continued straight towards Steens Mountain. I had flown a similar line earlier this spring with Daria Krasnova. I must say that this is some incredibly beautiful country to fly over...though I do have a bias for the stark beauty of the desert. At about 120 km, we spotted a table-rock formation in the near-perfect shape of a heart. Pretty cool. Even cooler was the approaching Steens Mountain. After so many trips to the Steens since childhood, it is hard to describe how stoked I was to be approaching it from high above on a paraglider. Right at the foothills of the Steens, just crossing the road north of French Glen I had my final and best climb. From there, I was sure I could make it on glide just over and into the east side of the north extent of the Steens. However, I was barely correct. I scraped over the ridge and over the FieldsDenio road about 10 km north of Mann Lake. I made a couple of attempts to find lift on the terrain to the east, but nothing materialized, so I turned back for a west landing in a spot with the least amount of sagebrush I could find. Total flying time: 6:42 for a 234.3km straight-line distance flight. By the time I packed up, the local Bend crew had retrieved Josh and they were on their way to get me. Thank you so much, Mike, Josh, and John, for grabbing my truck and chasing me on that very long haul.

Jared’s full flight report is available here: http://www. desertairriders.org/staterecord2015.php.

Wisconsin Last, but not least, is Wisconsin, a state I’ve visited many times with my family but never with my glider. Mountains are few and far between in Wisconsin, so much of the flying is tow-launched. The state record was broken twice in 2015, both times by Jaro Krupa. The first time was on August 15, when he launched from Schullsburg and flew 39.9 miles (64.3 km) on a Triple Seven Rook 2. The second time was on September 12, when he launched from Gratiot and flew 76.9 miles (123.8 km) on a Sky Country Space. Jaro’s GPS wasn’t recording during the latter flight, but he sent along some photos documenting the launch, landing, and beautiful cloud streets.

Vermont The previous Vermont record of 41.5 miles was set way back in 2002 by David Morris at Burke Mountain. This year John Gallagher broke the record by flying 44.1 miles (70.9 km) on his Niviuk Ice Peak 6, launching from West Rutland and landing near Charlestown, New Hampshire. John’s fellow pilot, Calef Letourney, says: We don’t get much opportunity or have ideal terrain for XC here in Vermont, so while this isn’t exactly a huge flight by national or global standards, I think it is certainly worth recognizing. Aside from the astounding 9858’ altitude gain, the coolest parts of this record flight is that he declared goal before launching (which reportedly got laughs from all who heard it, because it seemed so outrageous) AND he clearly could have gone much farther, as he arrived at his goal with something like 5,500’ AGL and spiraled down. Obviously, John wasn’t chasing records, he was just doing a cool flight to a declared goal.

That’s the stuff legends are made of!

LEFT Jared over Oregon | photo by Josh Cohn. RIGHT

Jaro Krupa

towing in Wisconsin.

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Paragliding World Cup | BRAZIL

A Matter of Moments

by JAMES BRADLEY

“Life isn’t a matter of milestones but of moments.”

—Rose Kennedy

I

t’s April in Brazil, two days before a Paragliding World Cup competition. I’m on launch for my first flight in five months.

This will also be my first flight on the Boomerang 10, my new CIVL Competition Class (CCC) glider. The northeastern US has been so windy and muddy that the wing is still in factory fold. I

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haven’t even kited it.

I don’t believe that I’m rusty. I suspect that just having that thought makes people act rusty. I have not forgotten how to do this.

When I strap in, I will choose to be on my game, just as I would if I had flown yesterday. But, still, it has been a while.

Tomorrow the sky will be filled, but today I climb out alone. Over launch, it starts to rain. I kick some bar for the spine to the left. Nothing. Dry, but slipping lower, I move farther in front. I recall from my last time here that at the end

“When I find the climb, the air feels so ugly that I stare at my paraglider, hoping to stay ahead of whatever happens.” watched it happen, so I know what I’m dealing with.

Hands up, I take a breath, attentive to not stalling. I wait for the surge, and then brake the open part moderately, so it doesn’t frontal as it flies toward the ground. The glider, meanwhile, behaves like a demonstration video, making a smooth, progressive reinflation—thwop thwop thwop thwop—to fully open, with nothing stuck. Not wanting to be low on the shaded flats, I swallow my gum, go back into the thermal, try to avoid the ugly side and climb out without further incident.

That was my first 10 minutes on the Boom 10.

Task 1.

Two days later, except for getting stuck once, I fly well. I finish 67th, 24 minutes back, 716 points.

Some people don’t seem to get stuck. They get low and look as if they will be stuck, but then climb out with little or no loss, meaning they find a strong one. When I get low, I often land, if I refuse the weak climbs. Wait! Come to think of it, I might be recalling the times I land or get stuck and forgetting the times I do ping back out. Another thought pattern I need to change.

To get better at this game, you have to be willing to land. I got my cross-country flying going when I decided it was fine to land after three km. All that matters is committing and going. Don’t wait for great conditions. Don’t wait for your friends if they aren’t ready. Commit and go, see what happens, enjoy the day, let your brain make notes.

Task 2

of the spine, next to the flats, is a big rock that often works.

When I find the climb, the air feels so ugly that I stare at my paraglider, hoping to stay ahead of whatever happens.

After one circle, the wing literally blows away, as I helplessly watch. No warning, not a clue.

An 80% asymmetric, all the way over to the point on Gin’s checkmark graphic. OK, I knew this air was nasty. At least I ABOVE Gaining ground on glide after a strong climb.

At the last turnpoint, I’m in a maddeningly slow climb, with 10 pilots higher. I want to beat them, but this might or might not be the time to make a move. I don’t recognize that I’m getting antsy, which augurs badly for my next decision. When the instrument says required glide to goal is 9.6:1, I leave. I need a bit of buoyancy along the way, and they won’t catch me. Flying the wing on the B risers, my foot holding three-quarters bar, I sing to myself. “Bring me a little beep, now Silvy. Bring me a little beep, beep now….*” *Apologies to the Wailin’ Jennies.

I’ve often stayed in the last climb too long, while dozens of people went on, and then arrived at goal 1000 feet too high.

My glide looks good, until it doesn’t. Three m/s down, then four, then five. Full bar. I scan for clues: birds, sunshine, paragliders, clouds. Nothing. My glide over ground reads 3:1. I make a 20-degree course change. Soon I’m looking for places to land. At least I’m coming in to the sunny side of a

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little valley between low hills covered in tall, dry, yellow grass.

With this much sink, the air has to be going up somewhere. It might be there.

It isn’t there. Like the thumb of God, the sink pushes me all the way down to the tops of the sparse trees on the crest of the golden hillside.

What does it mean to learn, when there are more factors and details than you could ever write in a notebook? Is it enough to pay attention and let your mind be open to the situation, and to remember what you’ve tried and what the result was? What disciplined practice will help me get the most out of each day?

In Brazil, I don’t want to land down in the many little valleys located between the low hills. I’m not going to be able to climb out, and they are filled with possible hazards: fences, livestock, invisible electrical wires and swamps. I do two still-hopeful passes over the grass, before making an awkward side-hill crash onto the lower hillside and winding up snarled in standing hay that rises over my head.

Assuming ownership of my actions has improved my flying satisfaction. The more fully I own every choice I make, the easier it is to accept whatever happens. Somehow it takes away all possible complaints, any notion that something different should have happened. Now the answers come easily: “I’m better than that.”

“Apparently not.” “There should have been lift there.” “There wasn’t lift there.” “It’s not fair that I got so much sink.” “Since when is

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anything fair?” “I should have made goal.” “You didn’t make goal.

Isn’t it a beautiful day?”

I was the one who chose when to leave that climb. I tried to pick a good line into goal and fly it fast. Today it didn’t work out.

Full ownership.

Now my challenge is to fold the glider in the long grass.

My helmet keeps rolling down the hill. A man on horseback arrives to see if I’m OK. He is kind, observant, helpful. When I’m packed, he escorts me off his land, introducing me en route to his wife and child. Many, many people fly overhead

into goal.

I’m four km short, 80th place. Brazilian ace Frank Brown wins the day, crossing the goal line 10 feet above the ground, laughing out loud.

Isn’t that all we can do, in flying or in life? We try things. On a good day, we do that while staying thoughtful about how it might really play out. On a bad day, we flail more. Either way, we need to own our choices, see what happens, decide what to do next.

Task 3 After a fast start, I find strong climbs and full-bar transitions.

I start on time but low. At the first turnpoint I come in under the second group, find a smoker, and climb up into them.

Leading out from there, I get crazy low.

I remind myself that it’s OK if I land here. When I remember that, I am stress-free. I am present. It’s more fun and it’s also a way to trick myself, because being more present, I am much more likely to climb back out.

I climb back out. Since this thermal is not strong, some people fly over me on glide. The day is changing, shading over. When my climb slows even more, the gliders are already low ahead of me. No one is climbing. So I linger in my weak

thermal, watching. It seems too early to say the day is done, too early for a death glide. I look for options.

I want to think the speed to fly at the present time is the same as half an hour ago, but it almost never is. Shifting gears is not a one-time adjustment; it’s a constant alertness to the evolution of the day. I have to choose to anticipate.

I spot some big rock thumbs, features of the Brazilian terrain, hundreds of feet high, just inside the turnpoint. I head for what had been the sunny side of these, to my left, away from the turnpoint where people are now landing. As the day exhales, my only priority is staying in the air. Later, when it cycles on again, I can think about the turnpoint.

I’m hoping for a stored heat release on the sunny side, but there is nothing there. Below me it’s desperate. Several people are landing at the cylinder. I slide down the rocks on the other side, alive with attention. On this side, too, people below me are making last minute approaches into miniature fields. I focus.

My challenge is to calmly focus. Since telling myself “don’t be anxious” makes me anxious, I remind myself that it’s OK if I land here. I use my breath in ways I have practiced: I inhale rapidly through my nose into a relaxed belly. Hold it at the top for a

OPPOSITE TOP A Paragliding World Cup launch can be hectic. BOTTOM

Amazingly 150 pilots can launch in about 30 minutes ABOVE Flying in Brazil is often in GV where this iconic river divides the course. Raul Penso glides ahead.

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moment. Exhale more slowly through my mouth. Once or twice is enough.

In 30 seconds, I gain five meters. Somehow, I keep going up. After many minutes of concentration, I am high enough to go back over the top of the rocks, get the turnpoint, and come back this way again, on course to goal.

Since all the pilots near me are folding up, I’m flying by myself now. It’s gorgeous. I have no expectations. Never high, I keep finding workable climbs and making progress.

Eventually, I make it all the way in to goal, 36th for the day.

Everyone before me got through the crux, while the day was still working.

Part of what makes a great venue for a competition is having a lot of places to land. You can’t work a weak climb from low when it’s drifting you onto 10 kilometers of trees. Here the trees have frequent openings. Baixo Guandu (pronounced BUY-shoe GWAN-doo) is a terrific place to fly and race.

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Task 4 The start cylinder is farther away. Along with a couple of others, I head out onto the flats to look for a climb near it.

More will surely follow us.

They don’t follow us. They stay over the high ground around launch. When the best pilots are doing something different from me, it doesn’t usually mean that I’m the only smart one.

I notice what they are doing. I figure if we don’t find anything and I need to return to the ridge and climb, I can do that.

I can’t do that. I come back, with seven minutes remaining, and I’m unable to climb to the gaggle overhead. The day is not yet on. When the start comes, I’m still just in weak bubbles, low over the ridge.

Since I know what it’s like out on the flats, it might seem obviABOVE Task 5, looking back at the leaders while leading out with one

other guy. Yikes. RIGHT The gentle-hearted man who came on his horse to check on me after I landed on his hillside.

ous that it would be good to stay here and wait until I can climb higher, before leaving the high terrain. The race is long. There will be time and chances to make up ground, and, even if there aren’t, it requires magical thinking to leave now.

I leave now. I go at the start time, low, in blind, thoughtless frustration that I don’t recognize. Another unconscious choice.

Isn’t being “unconscious” what a flow state is all about? That’s a different kind of unconscious. One differentiator is anxiety. Of course, it is a terrible decision. I don’t find anything, until I am so low I can read license plates. I work it forever, as it snakes around over a couple of little hills. By the time I get up, I’m close to DFL (dead last).

Paragliding is a steady series of metaphors for life. One that repeats often is you can’t change what already happened, what you already did, the mistake you already made. The only question is, what are you going to do now? Full ownership.

It’s still a beautiful day to be flying in Brazil. I set about flying fast and passing people. Even at a World Cup, the people at the back fly quite unnecessarily slowly. The top guys would often say the same about me. Leaving each climb, I pick a spot on the terrain that looks like a trigger and point the glider there on three-quarters bar. I’ve never had a flight before where this worked so many times in a row. Which means that the day is on now and there are thermals all over the place. It doesn’t mean that I’ve suddenly become a genius. I’m steadily blowing by people. If I were flying this fast in New England, I would have landed 10 times by now.

A great climb after the upwind final turnpoint leaves me high and gliding fast, as the sun gets low. Fifteen minutes until goal close. Ten km left to fly. Three-quarters bar through light sink in a quartering tailwind. I just need one more good climb.

It is not to be. The day is done. I land glamorously in the evening light, with only cows and horses to witness it.

I made one real mistake this day, in an emotional spasm—what my friend who flies airplane aerobatics calls a “helmet fire.” One of my goals in every flight is to be aware of these, before I make bad decisions. But I failed to do that today. I wake the next morning in a state of irritation about my poor result. I recognize this impatience, this self-dissatisfaction, as familiar and futile, but it doesn’t dissipate. Yesterday can’t be changed, but because I fell into an old habit, I don’t want to let myself off the hook.

this game is.

Today’s air is the friendliest we’ve had. The thermals are well organized, with much less turbulence. I finish 04:50 behind the winner in 23rd place, 924 points.

Competition gliders are easier to manage and fly fast in nice air.

It is easier to keep up, just because the advantage of the best pilots is smaller.

Task 6 My day starts with a trifling failure of discipline. Walking to HQ, my friend stops for a bottle of water to drink on the ride up. I buy one, too, and drink it, thoughtlessly modifying my hydration ritual, which has been working perfectly. I don’t notice. It’s a small thing.

Two busloads of kids have come out on a field trip to watch us launch. Totally adorable.

Brazilian and Mexican kids seem so freely joyful. Seeing them always makes me wonder how we got to be so uptight in the US. Our children seem to be born with performance anxiety. Then we spend a lot of effort later in life learning to be playful. Sort of.

On the wide launch, multiple queues are only vaguely managed. Someone from the next line over complains angrily that I have cut in front of him. Instead of apologizing and forgetting him, I am affected, distracted. I blow my launch, get myself plucked and dumped on my ass. Ouch. I do it again, bruising my hip, before I realize that I’m trying to launch the Boomerang 10 like a Boomerang 9. I refocus and launch well, follow another glider into a left turn, come back 100 feet over.

Settling into the climb, I’m happy to be away from the unforgiving ground.

Somewhere in getting dumped twice and rolling on the ground, my pee tube has gotten yanked off the connector to my condom catheter and out of my harness altogether. Gone. Since I’m rapt

Task 5 Today I identify the main pre-start gaggle and stay with them, shutting down all “ideas” that come to mind. This isn’t always possible, but it works today. So much easier. I am climbing well, sometimes on top of the stack. I get a strong start in the middle of the leaders. I fly with them, sometimes leading the race for moments, for half the task, before fading to the back of the lead group. Then I stay in the last climb too long, let some people pass me, arrive in goal 1000 feet too high. What a dance

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now in the exhilaration of a strong climb on a competition wing, I don’t notice.

I go with a few others, including local ace Frank, around to the upwind side of the start cylinder. Other groups get better climbs and start higher, putting us behind. On the way to the first turnpoint I have an unfair, lucky moment when a climb I am in gets stronger for me than it was for the people who recently left it. When I leave it, I even get a lifty line to thread, while they continue to sink in front of me.

Farther along, I am circling in weak lift at the bottom of the lead gaggle, when I spot four or five of the small urubu vultures, swarming and climbing a little ahead of me. These birds can fool you, but this pattern looks like what I have seen them do in lift. I leave the gaggle, along with two others. We climb steadily toward the birds, without turning. They continue conveniently along our course line, and we chase them, still flying straight, still climbing. Finally, we stop to circle in a thermal that is much stronger than the one the gaggle had. With this move, we pass everyone except the highest leaders, who glide in to join us. I’m right in the race now, ahead of the big gaggle, with just a few others.

Paragliding is like life. You get high; you get low. You giggle and you wail. Anytime you start to feel smug, you know a humility lesson is coming.

ABOVE Leaving the launch ridge for the start cylinder. RIGHT

After crossing the river on a long, smooth half-bar transition, with Torsten Siegel 50 meters to my left, we are starting to get low. Somewhere beneath my awareness, my reptilian brain is beginning to overheat again. I need an anxiety dial on my instruments. A big flashing red light would be better. The massive gaggle a kilometer behind us is circling in weak lift, but I notice that someone to one side is momentarily climbing fast. Two pilots near me abruptly leave our little group to return to the gaggle, as if their elastic leash has gotten too tight and pulled them back. The gaggle is in the shade, and we are headed for sunshine. It’s not mysterious. Yet I, too, go back. Helmet fire! The gaggle’s thermal doesn’t get better, and the gaggle is strangely slow to move. I leave again with three others. We find a good climb, but the leaders I was with before have climbed out in the sunshine and are gone.

Now I start really, really, having to pee. There’s no way I will be able to finish the task first. I feel outside the harness for the pee tube. I feel inside the harness for the pee tube. Confluence of event streams: an extra half-liter of water in the morning, two blown launches, no preflight check on the pee tube. The next thing I learn is that when you open your racing harness to full upright takeoff position, it’s impressive how much the glide of your CCC wing degrades. When you then hold that position for a few minutes, while you alternately re-grab the brakes in

A swarm of urubu vultures. When you’re low this is a welcome sight. Forget circling, just stay in the swarm and you’ll climb out. You do need to start a little higher than I was when I took this picture. OPPOSITE James Bradley, the author, on launch.

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turbulence and let go of everything again, to reach around your giant flight deck to your zipper….

When I eventually finish the task, I’m in 48th place for 814 points, 15 minutes behind Torsten’s winning time of 1:56.

Torsten walks over to me in goal, laughing, to offer a lesson on sunshine and shade.

I like to think that I am slowly becoming more present and aware of myself in my life, though I’m never sure how well this is happening. The biggest challenges I have, in flying as in life, stem from my emotions. These are often buried, preventing me from seeing how they shape my actions. Competition paragliding gives me a crucible where, sometimes, I can see the origins of my behavior more clearly.

One steady challenge for me is to find compassion for earlier versions of myself and all the imperfect things I did, whether years ago or last week. Paragliding offers an opportunity to practice this compassion every day, because, with only the briefest of exceptions, you can always do better than you did, whether that be five minutes ago, an hour ago, or yesterday.

At a competition I’m on a mission: It’s my personal pursuit of mastery. For me, this is the best kind of fun. When people tell me, “I fly for fun,” I think they mean they prefer not to be on this kind of mission. I can relate. We each get to choose what we like.

It all distills into memories of moments.

If you’re interested in how I framed my goals for this competition, I wrote about them here: wp.me/pHSZv-1z.

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Grouse Mountain's

Flying Circus

by BILL NIKOLAI

S

tanding with my heels slanted down the slope, facing the gallery of onlookers above and behind the cordon, I become acutely aware of a trickle of sweat. It’s threatening to roll down my forehead to my eyebrows and the bridge of my nose onto my sunglasses. The amber shades polarize the scene, which features not only the small crowd above, but also additional camera-clad spectators riding the chairlift a few short meters to my left, and the gaggle peering down from the Eye of the Wind, the viewing bubble situated in the white turbine looming behind the Peak launch.

A deerfly zooms around my helmet, homing in on the tantalizing scent of the droplet now sliding down my left lens. In the meantime, the tandem boys from Northshore Paragliding have arrived, increasing the urgency of my taking off quickly and cleanly.

Below, I hear another crowd clapping boisterously in unison, as if to spur me into the air; but they are, in fact, cheering on the two Lumberjack Show dudes racing each other up a pair of towering spar trees in the logger-sports spectacle.

Not far away, yet another smaller group huddles near a fortified and electrified fence, peering into the bear enclosure. Oblivious, Grinder and Coola, Grouse Mountain’s

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resident grizzlies, wrestle with each other while splashing in their cool, man-made pool.

Other folks position themselves on bleachers at shouting distance from the bears, awaiting the start of the Birds in Motion show, where a hawk, eagle, owl and turkey vulture will soon swoop, wowing everyone present with their grace.

A “zing!” and gleeful shouts arise from helmeted zip-line enthusiasts who are hurtling across the alpine pond.

In the distance, two couples who are making their way to the Heli-jet pad are about to enjoy the ride of their lifetimes, while viewing the grand sights high above Vancouver’s North Shore Mountains.

Still perched on launch, I patiently wait for at least a waft of a thermal cycle, so I can fly into the blue, join the sideshow, and maybe make a pass or two in front of the crew enjoying burgers and beer on the deck of the lodge, while waving at the tourists sardined into the Super

Bill Nikolai, with the LZ, Capilano Lake, and the downtown Vancouver skyline in the distance | photo by Bill Nikolai. TOP RIGHT Grouse, featured in five Hang Gliding mag covers, in the 1980s and ‘90s; 1984, September–Rob Kells or more likely Leroy Grannis. 1986, June–Leroy Grannis. 1987, March–John Heiney. 1987, September–Mitch McAleer. 1987, November–John Heiney. ll Nikolai.

BOTTOM Soccer-field landing zone.

ABOVE

Skyride tram going up the mountain.

At last, with several running steps I get off, to whoops and hollers from the chairlift passengers below me.

Eventually, after spending a few minutes with a bald eagle working the cliffs to the west of the tram and watching an Alaska-bound cruise ship gliding beneath the Lion’s Gate Bridge, I tuck myself into the soccer field awaiting me across the road from Capilano Lake, the three-mile-long restricted-access drinking-water reservoir that services Metro Vancouver.

No shortage of distractions, no dearth of fun. Grouse.

My home site.

purse jumped to $10,000, and top competitors, such as Steve Moyes, came to take a crack at the prizes. Grannis returned four more times to Grouse events, snapping what is now a treasure-trove of amazing shots. Others, such as John Heiney and Mitch McAleer, also came and captured the mountain and its comps in all their glory. In total, Grouse was center stage in 10 articles throughout the years, garnering dozens of photos, including six centerfolds and five covers—no doubt, more than any Playboy bunny could ever hope for!

In addition to all the pictures, thousands of words provided thrilling accounts of hard-fought comps in front of sizable and enthusiastic audiences. The 1980 meet, which by that time had become known as the Grouse Mountain Hang Gliding Invitational, featured a women’s division with 11 pilots competing for $250 (compared to $1500 for the larger male contingent). In an Oct. ’80 story by an author identified only as “Pork,” male pilots were described as “aggressive” by competitor Debbie Renshaw. Pork writes, “After several days of flying among the men, consensus opinion from the women was that they preferred to compete among themselves. Lynn Miller reported, “There was…a slight problem with certain judges who were caught moon-

I

n 1894, a group of hikers, including a surveyor, clambered up an unnamed mountain north of what had yet to become Vancouver and dubbed the peak Grouse, after the plentiful game bird that populated the alpine wilderness.

It wasn’t until the 1970s that non-powered flight, other than the feathered sort, was undertaken on the mountain.

On Labor Day weekend, 1977, the North American Hang Gliding Championship was held at Grouse, with the top competitors ultimately taking home $1500 in prize money.

Mark Schwinge, in the November ’77 issue of Hang Gliding Magazine, wrote about pilots being “awestruck” by the location, and made the first of many published mentions of the landing area, which was “… equally breathtaking, yet in a very different way. It is larger than a postage stamp but smaller than a breadbox. Always lurking in the dark corners of the pilot’s mind is the thought of landing in that field.”

Accompanying the article were seven photos, all by the legendary surf and hang gliding sharpshooter, Leroy Grannis. He was back the following year, when the total

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Additional information Grouse is a 20-minute drive from downtown Vancouver.

Takeoff is 4000’ ASL; LZ is 600’. XC and height limited by airspace restrictions.

Access is usually via gondola, a short (5-10 min.) downhill walk, then the Peak Chairlift.

See http://vimeo.com/billnikolai/ paragrinding for a multi-sport (bike-hikefly) adventure video (8 min.) involving a day at Grouse.

You can experience a taste (50 sec.) of the LZ approach at: http://tinyurl.com/ grouselanding Site guides for Grouse, Mt. Woodside, Bridal Falls, and Pemberton: http://westcoastsoaringclub.com Grouse Mountain Flying Team (GMFT): http://gmft.org/flying-grouse Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada (HPAC): http://hpac.ca More history from Grouse Mountain Resorts: https://grousemountain.com/about North Shore Paragliding (commercial tandem flights): http://northshoreparagliding.com

ing the lady pilots as they flew. The number of female pilots at Grouse fell to eight; only four competed the following year.”

In the male comps, 20 or more gliders occupied the same thermal at times. Several pilots told me about making radical turnouts to avoid collision. Willi Muller said thermaling was so competitive that he planned…“ to wear an eye patch and fly with one hand on his parachute” the following year. The testosterone factor at these meets was indeed ultra-high, with other stories documenting a “spectacular” mid-air collision (1984, between John Duffy and Ian Huss—“Both gliders were broken by the impact and tangled with one another as each pilot deployed his parachute.”); the advent of aerobatic competition (1985, won by

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Mitch McAleer); and dubious excitement of various other sorts (1986, for example, where an un-rightable stall resulted in a reserve deployment, three fliers lost cameras owing to snapped retention devices, and 28 pilots were compelled to launch within 22 minutes, resulting in “congestion in the landing field (that) was awesome”).

Grouse truly represented the halcyon days of hang gliding, with the competitions being featured in national and local TV newscasts, as well as in extensive newspaper coverage. Stephanie Krzyanowski, in her October ’85 magazine article, mentions the “sun-worshipping audience” and OPPOSITE Eye of the Wind lookout and wind turbine. ABOVE Capilano

Lake. Photos by Bill Nikolai.

that “spectators galore from every walk of life lined both the landing field and the mountaintop plateau, bellowing cheers of sincere enthusiasm and awe … Both areas were so well controlled that the 14,000-odd fans only added color, not havoc. Truly, a showman’s paradise.”

For 10 years, hang gliders came to Grouse from around the world to throw it down at the annual comps, and there were constants that were prominent in most accounts.

Partying, for one. The tension and the excitement apparently led to some memorable gatherings (1980: “… the Bavarian Beer Garden swayed with the weight of a hundred pilots and twice that many of their friends, doing the bunny-hop to rock and roll music”; 1981: “The meet was topped off by an extremely intense, boogie-down, rompin’-stompin’ party … and let-it-all-hang-out dancing …”). The venue itself often invoked glittering description: (“best view in the Northwest, but also the best flying”; “beautiful mountain”; “civilized, yet majestic”; “spectacular panorama”).

And—then—there was that landing. Moved slightly uphill in 1980, the marginally enlarged LZ proved to be no less challenging. According to Lynn Miller, 1981: “… the spectators’ favorite … were ‘whhhoooooaaa’ landings in which someone would come into Grouse’s tiny landing field half out-of-control and ‘about to eat it,’ only to pull off a beautiful save at the last minute. Landings such as these drove the crowd wild, especially if some of the spectators had been forced to run for their lives to avoid being hit.

Nose-droppers, bush-hitters, out-landers, glider-bammers, fence-munchers and bar-breakers were extremely popular fliers.” Rob Kells and Mike Meier (1984) referred to the “tight landing area” and went on to elaborate: “The postage stamp field, bordered by tall trees, small trees, houses, and a fence and backstop, and graced by typically shifting winds, struck its usual chord of terror into the hearts of approaching pilots. One pilot, who mistakenly approached below the level of the fence, had her flight suddenly and spectacularly arrested, before being rudely dropped into the landing area.”

The evergreens have only become more imposing since the hang gliding heyday of yore. These days, it’s rare that a delta wing swoops over the lake, skirting the “glider magnets” and into the soccer fields. Even for paragliders, however, spicy mid-day thermals popping off roofs, culde-sacs and the irrigated park can produce palpitations on landing. Carlos Cordido (one of the Grouse tandem fliers) poetically—and, with a wink—describes the LZ as a “monster” that breathes by proxy through the alternately gasping, breath-holding approaching pilots. Ever-increasing glide ratios and looming trees, coupled with PR and liability considerations, have made flying at Grouse the exclusive domain of North Shore Paragliding and the vetted mem-

bers and guests of the Grouse Mountain Flying Team.

The GMFT “Guest List” is open to visitors, but prerequisites include a P-3 rating with 50 hours of airtime and 150 flights, at least temporary HPAC membership (which includes insurance; $40 for 60 days), and nomination by two “full” GMFT members (all of whom have P-4 ratings and at least one year as a guest). Cost for guests is $20 per year. The flying season is typically from about the end of June to mid-September, as dictated by the civic rental agreement for the soccer fields.

Partially as a result of the restrictions (introduced because of the increasingly challenging flying conditions and the resort’s high public profile), the mountain that was acclaimed in the ‘70s and ‘80s for its fabulous gliding events, and in the ‘90s and most of the next decade for its fun-filled bi-wingual August fly-ins (stopped since 2008), is now flying somewhat under the radar. Of course, you can find hundreds of online pics and videos posted by awestruck tandem passengers, but solo pilots at Grouse are becoming a rarer type of bird.

Nevertheless, Grouse Mountain really is an experience like no other. If you’re qualified and have some time, contact a friendly GMFT member, come north for a visit, get acquainted by soaring and thermaling together at Woodside, Bridal Falls, or Pemberton (all super flying sites within two hours of Vancouver), get yourself on the Guest List, and prepare to enjoy, in Eric Fair’s words (Sept. ’82), “… a beautiful city … mountain … ski resort … with beautiful people.”

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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LIVING PHOTO BY JONATHAN DIETCH

Here, There, and

EVERYWHERE

by PETE LEHMANN cartoons by HARRY MARTIN

M

any years ago in Australia, while I was visiting Mike Barber, the exemplary Florida hang glider pilot and teacher, I was puzzled by his constant references to having encountered convergences while flying. As a highly experienced pilot at the time, I had only flown in a convergence twice, both times in the mountains. Mike, however, referred to flying in convergences he found while flying over flat, open country. I thought he might be mis-applying his extensive knowledge of the famous Florida Ridge convergence. But with the passage of time, I learned I was wrong.

Convergences are remarkably common; they can be encountered in a variety of flying situations and locations.

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My path to understanding this phenomena began by listening to Mike’s stories, and, with them in mind, reexamining a number of odd events I had experienced during my flying career.

These included encounters with bizarre cloud formations that were unlike the day’s prevailing cloud patterns; clouds suddenly forming below and around me; abrupt headwinds aloft; seemingly random spooky turbulence, or unsettlingly variable or contrary winds upon landing. All of these occurrences had struck me as strange, but at the time I had formed no logical explanations for their existence.

I hope to open readers’ eyes to a phenomenon commonly, if often randomly,

encountered while flying, particularly on longer cross-country flights. It is not my intention to provide a detailed meteorological explanation of convergences, for that can be found in Dennis Pagen’s excellent, comprehensive Understanding the Sky. Rather, I will relate experiences that illustrate the widespread and varied nature of convergences, in an attempt to convince readers of the existence of something that is only vaguely understood by most pilots. Indeed, just as I skeptically received Mike’s assertions of having frequently encountered convergences, my tales have also been received with varying degrees of polite skepticism and incomprehension.

The white room I was happily playing in easy light lift above the Rigi, a mountain ridge located between two lakes in central Switzerland. A few scattered cumies lined up roughly above the mountain’s spine, allowing me to effortlessly fly around near a benign cloudbase.

Suddenly, I noticed that slightly to the western, Lake-of-Lucerne side of the mountain there were a number of small cumulus clouds forming some 500 feet below my altitude. After watching them with curiosity for a few minutes, I saw them quickly become larger and engulf me. In an instant, I was utterly “whitedout” in a cloud.

During that pre-GPS age, I flew with a cheap plastic compass Velcroed to my instruments and quickly turned east in the hope of flying out of the white monster that had swallowed me. As is always true when being trapped in clouds, time was elastic, and seconds became minutes. The air in the cloud was blessedly smooth. I had no trouble maintaining my equilibrium and holding the easterly course, but I was becoming worried, as my transit to clear air was taking a seemingly very long time. Just as I was beginning to despair, I blew out into the open in the most astonishing fashion. The glider exited a sheer white wall, perhaps 500 feet above the cloud’s base and a similar distance from the top.

I found myself alongside a breathtakingly beautiful thousand-foot-high, brilliantly white wall, my appreciation, perhaps, having been enhanced by my relief at having escaped the cloud.

That was my first encounter with a convergence and was easily understood.

As Pagen says of shears, “They are the meeting of different bodies of air,” and when two bodies of air converge, they go up if they can’t go sideways. This convergence occurred because in the prevailing zero-wind conditions, the midday sun had warmed the mountain, forming thermals on both sides. These thermals

had then risen up along the east and west sides of the mountain, before coming together (converging) above the crest.

This is a common phenomenon above mountains, and, generally, simply results in a larger, better climbing thermal. In this instance, however, the air masses entrained in the two thermals contained different amounts of moisture, resulting in their having different condensation points. In other words, each eastern or western thermal produced a cloud at a different altitude. My original climbs in the drier eastern thermals had taken me higher than the cloudbase of the moister western ones. For unknown reasons, that moister air mass became dominant as it mixed with my thermal, spontaneously trapping me in the resultant cloud.

Being trapped is quite rare, in my experience, but the coexistence of two, often widely different, cloudbases is the single most distinguishing feature of a convergence encountered aloft. When

found along mountain ranges, they provide one of the relatively few examples of convergences being useful in crosscountry flying.

As we shall see, all too often convergences represent barriers to continued flight, but along mountains that is not true. An example of a beneficial convergence is the one found along the top of the Owens Valley’s eastern wall, the enormous White Mountains.

One contest day, we had been tasked with flying north along the range to its Boundary Peak terminus, before flying off towards our goal in Nevada. Before we launched, there had been scattered cumies along the range, but by the time we climbed to base at 16,000 feet, the clouds had become a continuous chain, with only rare short breaks between them. It soon became apparent, however, that the clouds represented two separate air masses from the valleys to the east and west of the Whites. Their humidity

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levels must have been quite similar, as there was only a difference of two or three hundred feet between the cloudbases, and they coexisted side-by-side in an irregular fashion. What from the ground might have appeared as a single continuous line of cloud along the mountains was, in fact, an irregular zig-zag of clouds at different altitudes. From my perspective, it was as though I were navigating along a bizarrely twisting, shady, and cool hall of clouds, with bases located sometimes above me, sometimes below. It was generally possible to stay clear of the clouds, while gliding along a snaky zero-sink corridor for many miles without turning, a remarkable experience.

GOING THE WRONG WAY If it’s easy to grasp the notion of thermals converging above a mountain ridge, other convergences are confounding in their appearance. Flying cross-country from Zirks, a site near Cumberland, Maryland, I had left the hill on a light northwest day under excellent cumies that lasted 60 miles before disappearing, as I flew out of the Blue Ridge Mountains into the Virginia Piedmont and coastal plain beyond. Late in the now-blue afternoon, four hours into the flight, I realized that ahead of me a line of cumies was forming, but not along my course. Rather, they angled across it sharply.

As I struggled to reach them in the weak late-day lift, I realized they were rapidly overdeveloping. By the time I managed to arrive low beneath the edge of the first cloud, I saw that it was now simply part of what had become a well-defined overcast deck extending for miles to the southeast and the Atlantic. The leading edge of this deck had developed out of the cumulus line I had first seen and now delineated an almost ruler-straight cloud line dividing the sky into blue and a grey halves. Tired after a long day, and disgusted by the deterioration of the cloud I had so struggled to reach, I half-heartedly glided beneath it in search of lift. To my astonishment, I soon found a solid, if weak, thermal slowly climbing into the shadowy area beneath the cloud deck. Since the thermal was weak, drifting into a swampy wilderness, and late in the day, I finally abandoned the climb, once I was assured of gliding back to a decent road.

This was a measure of my innocence of convergences. That line of clouds was created by the collision of moist Atlantic air with the drier high-pressure air I had been flying with on that post-frontal day. The marine air had been drawn inland (20 miles) by the heating of the continental land mass that routinely creates coastal on-shore breezes. As the two air masses collided, the humid marine air rose at the boundary, until the moisture condensed to form the cloud line. What I didn’t understand was that had I persisted in climbing to base, I would almost certainly have been easily able to fly along beneath that leading edge of cloud for considerable distance, conceivably

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until reaching the coast many miles away. Following the convergence line would have required accepting that my course would have deviated more than 45 degrees from the one flown to that point. Had I done so, I might have achieved my still unrealized dream of landing on an Atlantic beach. Such is the price of ignorance.

In the intervening years of flying southeast from Cumberland, I have finally learned to recognize the invasion of marine air from Chesapeake Bay. Unfortunately, that arrival usually manifests itself as a barrier to flying further in that direction. But the indications are nonetheless instructive. Generally, the convergence can be recognized from quite a distance, if one is paying attention to cloud shadows ahead on course. Generally, the boundary is marked first by some larger, more developed clouds casting big shadows beyond which there is an almost complete absence of them. Only once did I manage to fly somewhat beyond that boundary, but soon landed into a light southeast breeze on an otherwise northwest day. On other days, the boundary can be found further inland, upon reaching the Shenandoah Valley, where I have flown under a perfect line of high cumies aligned 90 degrees to my initial course.

Sweetwater Sea Breezes These inland encounters with a sea breeze are by no means rare, nor are they limited to salt-water bodies. Flying in northern Ohio, about 40 miles south of Lake Erie, one so frequently sees the convergence that it can be anticipated. A day with light northerly winds and a good lapse rate over land almost guarantees that a sea breeze will set up off the lake, arriving at the flying site later in the afternoon. On days with light southwesterly winds, the convergence line stabilizes somewhere north of the site, enabling pilots to successfully use the clouds while flying to the ENE roughly parallel to the Erie shoreline far to the north.

A curious feature of the Erie convergence is its sometimes ragged nature. One would expect a sea breeze behind a generally smooth coastline to conform to the regular line of the shore. But bizarrely jagged zigzag convergence lines occasionally occur, with some parts actually oriented almost perpendicular to the shoreline. This is perhaps caused by the varied heating of different landscapes south of the lake (dry/wet for example). But I am guessing.

Desert Convergences Thus far, we have dealt with convergences where the distant presence of marine air is a factor in the collision of air masses.

However, air does not only move due to having been drawn ashore by the heating of coastal landmasses. I have several times encountered notable convergences in deserts far inland

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from any lake or ocean. Before detailing a couple of them, I would point out that when flying long distances (say, 200+ miles), it is almost inevitable that one will encounter changing wind conditions as one crosses large parts of air masses. Wind direction and strength will vary, or even die out, and the air mass’s instability will change as well. But what we are dealing with below are abrupt, dramatic changes, as two bodies of air collide.

Red Desert Headwinds Until Gary Osoba’s discovery of Zapata, Texas’s fantastic cross-country potential, the open-distance hang gliding record was held by Larry Tudor, with a 308-mile flight he’d made across southern Wyoming’s Red Desert and on into Colorado.

With Larry having shown the way, a number of pilots began flying there in hopes of bettering his record. However, we all soon discovered what Larry had found: At some point in eastern Wyoming, our westerly tailwind would collide with a southerly wind between 100 and 300 miles east of our Rock Springs starting points. Indeed, even Larry’s record flight had ended when he ran into the south wind.

After a number of years of fruitlessly beating my head against that wind by heading east along I-80, I finally began to be more flexible in my choice of routes. One day with a southwesterly wind, I chose to try to fly as far as possible to the northeast, despite the fact that it involved crossing some particularly bad retrieval country. The incentive to go that way lay in the fact that the disruptive southerly wind does not

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reach into far northeastern Wyoming where I was headed. In other words, one could hope to avoid having a promising flight curtailed by a headwind.

The flight began well, with an early ATOL tow followed by an easy, fast climb to base around 17,000’ msl, where there was a fine tailwind. The good altitude and the tailwind were heartening, as they greatly eased my way across some particularly harsh country south and east of the Big Horn Mountains.

I was smoking along, having no trouble finding good lift beneath reliable clouds. Staying high as I was, I had little chance to judge the clouds ahead of me. But as I reached the 220-mile point, I was quite sure I would handily get past the 308-mile mark. I had plenty of daylight left and was moving fast. But then, with a sinking feeling, I noticed that ahead of me there were no longer any cloud shadows on the ground. It soon became apparent I would run out of clouds and have to continue the flight in blue conditions. When that time came, I unhappily glided out from beneath my last cloud into a pure blue sky.

Flying in blue conditions above bad country always makes me somewhat nervous, due to the greater difficulty in finding lift without the aid of cloud markers. I had already lost a lot of altitude in distressingly smooth air, when I began to encounter the little bumps that indicate the presence of thermals. Not finding a workable core, but a bit more hopeful, I continued on. However, there was to be no thermal. After a few hundred yards, my glider began to be moved around in a most disturbing manner in turbulence that was not as short and sharp as is

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found near thermals. This was turbulence of a larger order, and it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I had once been tumbled, and my “tumble spooks” were alive again.

After a couple of half-hearted attempts to climb in the turbulence, I tucked my tail and ran downwind. The glide became glassy smooth as I steadily neared the ground northwest of Gillette.

While passing over a road, dust from a passing truck indicated to me that I was flying directly into a 10mph headwind that greeted me upon landing 45 miles short of the record. In retrospect, it was obvious that the end of the cumies marked the beginning of the converging new blue airmass and that the frightening turbulence occurred at the actual meeting point of the two.

Two other Red Desert convergences were signaled by actual convergence clouds, albeit quite different ones.

Enjoying a long flight to the east, I flew to my next cloud, where I imme-

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diately found decent, but somewhat broken, lift that soon approached the clouds. I noticed that the clouds were strangely shredded-looking, unlike the well-formed ones I had seen up to that point. Hanging around cloudbase for a few minutes as I talked to my drivers, clouds suddenly began forming below and—damn, not again!—around me.

Fortunately, this time I was over a desert with very dry air, and the cloud did not become large, so I quickly escaped its grasp. But I found myself in trashy air, signifying that, once again, in the middle of absolutely nowhere, I had found a convergence.

Finally, late in a flight into eastern Wyoming, and with the still faint prospect of making it into Nebraska, I once again saw the telltale end of cumulus clouds in the sky ahead. But this time the cloud street did not come to an abrupt end. Rather, as my west wind encountered the evil southerly, the clouds became briefly thicker, forming

a long, dark J-shape in the sky, turning from an east-west orientation to a northsouth one, before thinning to nothing.

Acknowledging defeat, I flew along to the north below the cloud, milking the residues of its convergence lift, before finally landing into a stiff southerly breeze.

Recognizing a convergence If one has been flying under a sky with regularly spaced cumulus clouds and suddenly flies out into a completely blue sky (not just a large blue hole), there is a good chance one has flown into an entirely new, converging air mass. Often this blue line will occur at a near-right angle to the wind you’ve been flying with.

Varied cloudbases In drier, cooler climates, I think the predominant indicator of a convergence is the presence of cumulus clouds with substantially different cloudbases. At a convergence in southern France, I once left a cloud at base and was still above

the next cloud’s base when I arrived there 1500 feet lower. In these cases, it is also often true that there will be considerable erratic turbulence at the boundary clouds, which can have a peculiarly shredded look to them.

of the convergences I have encountered on cross-country Wide, dark cloud lines flights.

Warmer, more generally humid marine That said, there does exist at least convergences seem to produce larger, one publicly available predictive tool. more continuous, and quite dark lines of Dr. Jack Glendening’s Blipmap soaring cloud, the Florida Ridge being a perfect forecasting site’s “Boundary Layer Max. example. These are wide and easily work- Up/Down” parameter shows areas of able by hang gliders, whereas the drier generalized Up (convergence) or Down ones are less defined and harder to follow. (divergence) motion in the atmosphere.

These dark clouds are clearly visible from Dr. Jack himself warns that the model’s a distance and are well worth detouring resolution is not good enough to forecast to, if they’re going in the desired direcsmaller-scale convergences; however, it tion. One must, however, be wary of has occasionally been used successflying beyond the convergence and into fully to predict larger ones, such as cool, stable marine air. the Florida Ridge. The most notable example I am aware of took place during Can Convergences Be Forecast? the 2011 Flytec Race Rally, when Davis Before leaving the topic, one must ask Straub altered an earlier competition the question of whether convergences task call on the basis of a convergence can be forecast with any reliability. The indicated by Dr.Jack’s parameter. answer is, yes and no. In localities with The competitors were towing up at established, repeatable weather patterns, Vidalia, Georgia, with a westerly wind the occurrence of convergences can be compelling an easterly task. The task fairly reliably anticipated. Site-specific committee initially preferred a more history will allow pilots to expect one to southeasterly course towards a goal occur. Places known for convergences, on the coast near Savannah, Georgia. such as California’s Elsinore Shear Line, However Davis noticed that Dr. Jack’s the Florida Ridge, or the convergences at parameter seemed to indicate the launch on North Carolina’s Tater Hill likelihood of a convergence behind the would fall into that category. In those coast. On the basis of that information, locales, history has taught pilots that an alternative goal was chosen, some known combinations of wind direction 65 miles inland at Allendale, South and speed, as well as instability and Carolina. The decision proved wise, as moisture, will produce convergences. But the final 20 miles of the revised task still predicting them away from frequently proved to lie slightly too far towards the flown sites is difficult, as can be seen ocean side of the convergence line that from the almost random nature of many did develop. Those competitors who

found themselves on the ocean side of the line struggled, with several landing as a consequence. The ones who recognized the characteristic dark-bottomed convergence clouds angled several miles further inland, in order to get under the clouds, after which they easily made goal. It is unclear how generally useful this tool will prove to be, but I have begun to examine it routinely when flying in areas where past history has shown there to be potential for convergences. However, the jury is still out. (http://www.drjack.info/BLIP/univiewer.html It is necessary to register on the site to view that parameter).

Conclusion Convergences are, if not everywhere, far more commonly encountered than most of us realize. Understanding how to recognize them opens up the possibility of exploiting their potential for extending flights. Granted, they are at least as likely to block our progress as to help us, but the times when one recognizes and exploits them produces some truly magical flying.

This past summer in the Red Desert, seldom turning, I managed to fly some 50 miles under a convergence, until it fell apart. Because of my past experiences with convergences, I might have recognized it for what it was. However, the previous day, two local paraglider pilots had described to me this exact convergence line, which they had exploited on several occasions. With their insights in my head, it was obvious what I had encountered, and I altered my flight accordingly. Convergence flying is something that can be learned, and, once understood, will provide a new and subtly rewarding tool in our bag of aeronautical tricks.

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TOP LEFT Busy LZ. MIDDLE Rockabilly night welcomes Six Volt Rodeo

from Florida. BOTTOM Bellysattva delights the crowd. BELOW Rockabilly bar staff. RIGHT Mountain Flyer competition champions.

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Colorado Fly Week Two Perspectives by CHRIS GROTBECK & TIMO FRIEDRICH

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by Chris Grotbeck

C

olorado Fly Week, for me, is a magnificent free-flight festival, for sure, but even more than that it is a spectacular convergence of creative, diverse and wonderful people with the common interest of flying hang gliders and paragliders.

With a sweet combination of location, weather, activities, amenities, CFW remains small and intimate, and is set in an expansive and breathtaking landscape.

Villa is in the striking San Luis Valley, smack between two of Colorado’s most gorgeous and soarable mountain ranges: the San Juan mountains to the west and the Sangre de Cristo range to the east. These ranges run north to south and develop weather patterns and convergences that frequently support soaring flights of three hours or more, to elevations of 18,000 feet, and over distances of more than a hundred miles.

On a good day, a pilot can launch and fly south over and around the Great Sand Dunes and continue along the mountain ranges and cloudstreets all the way to New Mexico.

The event offers camping, fantastic

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food, stage entertainment, and music each night, apres-flight happy hour, nearby hiking, hot springs, bat caves and transportation to launch sites.

My most memorable flights have occurred during CFW. I have memories of getting cloudsucked by a tremendous mammatus after launching from the Whale ( 12,000’ MSL) and getting picked up by a dust devil while landing. I have happy memories of great spot landings and flying in a tight formation with other hang gliders 3000 feet over the valley. Most of my memories, though, are of the people I’ve met—fellow pilots, volunteer event staff, and entertainers.

People from all walks of life—carpenters, artists, chefs, musicians, engineers, programmers—are all united through the common thread of free flight. Attendees also have in common that they are free spirits, attracted to adventure, generally not the kind of people who shrink away from something just because someone told them it was risky.

They have skills. They have stories. They have a depth of character that comes from being aware of the world and its treasures, from getting up off the couch and “getting out there” into the thick of it. They are the kind of people to whom

I am naturally attracted and who easily and quickly become genuine friends.

There are event regulars who travel great distances not only to fly, but to volunteer their time and skills.

Among these amazing people are Craig “Yellowdog” Austin, Tip Rogers, Fred Kaemerer, Steve “Dakota” White, JZ, Dave Robson, Rich Jesuroga, Greig “Veeger” Ballantine and many others.

Notable among this group is the late “Jedi” Joe Julik, a true friend, selfless and always happy to lend a hand and a beaming smile, who sadly and tragically died hang gliding a month after Colorado Fly Week took place. I was so fortunate to have known him, to have shared the time and flights with him, and to count him among the great people I have met in my life.

Larry, Tiffany, and Ross Smith donate their land, their time, their money and their industry to coordinate the myriad and intricate things that must all come together to make such an event possible. From experience, I can say that this undertaking is a monumental commitment. Colorado Fly Week is an amazing, special event—definitely one for the bucket list, whether you are a pilot or not.

LEFT Cat Rios on her way to cloudbase and beyond.

HERE Blue Leader cloud bumping.

by Timo Friedrich

I

live some 9000 miles across the ocean in Australia. It’s been years between Fly Weeks. So when a bunch of air thugs smile, call me by name, and give me a hug when the Ellenville crew hits the LZ, I am humbled. That’s why I call them friends and the biggest family I have. Which pretty much describes the atmosphere of the Fly Week: It’s one big bunch of awesome friends come together to worship thermal gods.

Flying in Villa is a sensory overload.

Medical oxygen tank strapped onto my back, I take off, blasting into a blue sky with the most delicious cumulus pattern there is. These mountains are intimidating. I enjoyed the thermals behind launch for close to an hour, until I heard a voice on the radio: “Why don’t you do that first gap? We’ll take a day off and follow you. Just go!” That was Tom Galvin, sacrificing his flying day to take care of his friends. Lindsey Chew was just a speck in the distance, so I followed him; the family you enjoy on the ground you also have in the air.

It’s quite an experience, hearing everybody help each other find thermals. It’s like a new set of senses, seeing

portions of air descending and taking a field of gliders down, while in other places, the sky opens up wide, sucking up circling specks of gliders into the sky. Radios are almost incomprehensible, due to screaming varios. When you reach 17,999’ and see snow-covered mountains beneath you, harsh rock formations for miles and smooth sand dunes in the distance, it’s an inexhaustible source of amazement. It is mountain flying on a scale most East Coast pilots can only dream of. There is no pressure towards reaching a set goal; the only opponent I flew against was myself.

Reports via radio mentioned a gust front in my rear, which was probably my best incentive to put some miles between me and Villa. The black band of clouds was coming closer, its brown gust front racing along the valley, when I saw Lindsey on the ground. After transmitting my coordinates, I landed in a smooth 15mph wind and raced to pack.

Just as I put the bag on, the front hit, and I hung onto my control frame with gritty eyes until it moved through.

Seeing your friends come to pick you up with big grins on their faces evokes an amazing feeling, with everybody telling his or her own story, how they

did what they thought they could or would never do. How far each flew, who showed them where to go, who they clasped hands with upon landing, who got them that LZ beer or how golden the mountain looked when they turned around after landing. Everyone’s flight memories are the currency for the evening; they will get pilots great moments at the campfire, friends to throw bean bags with, or just good listening before sitting down to relax, preferably in one of the hot springs, since the warm water and night sky above really take the edge off a flying day—a day during which we’re lugging gear, sweating, running, freezing, pumping the bar, soaring, swooping, laughing, sucking O2 , drying out in thin air, dreading the landing, laughing, fist bumping, hugging, and dozing in the car on the way back to camp. At camp we are greeting by good live music and dinner with friends and, finally, time to breathe. Remember to watch the sparks of the fire vanish into the black sky, while your thoughts follow the tunes of two guys with guitars who let their melody waft into the night.

And you wake up to another serving of the same. That’s life. That’s family.

That’s Villa.

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So You Want to be a

TANDEM PILOT

by USHPA Instructor of the Year BILL HEANER

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Y

ou have been thinking about it for a while. You’re advancing in your ratings, and perhaps you’re already a P-4 or H-4. You want to share flight with others and perhaps enter the professional side of your sport. You want to work toward a USHPA tandem appointment. There are steps, very clear steps, to approach this big advance in your flying career. But before we get to that, it is essential to know how the whole tandem privilege came to be. I say “essential” because without this important piece of history we are doomed to lose our tandem privilege by not fully understanding how fragile it really is.

A brief & important historY As early as 1974, the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, was already in the process of forming regulatory

guidelines for what they termed “ultralight pilots.” What followed was rather historic in that by 1981, a group of very smart people on our side and on the FAA side worked together to keep our sport more self-governing than directly regulated. What came out of that negotiation was a Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) that is remarkably brief. We had dodged direct regulation with a new FAR that gave us a few rules and boundaries to self-regulate, essentially the how, what, when and where we could fly our aircraft, or vehicles as they are referred to in that FAR. We know this FAR today as FAR Part 103. It is important to know that this FAR, created for our then USHGA, prohibited tandem and aerotowing operations. But what followed was remarkable. The same

dedicated people in those early days convinced the FAA that our sport would essentially die without the tandem and towing instructional pieces for our training. Through a lot of hard work, these early pioneers were successful in convincing the FAA of the necessity of these crucial instructional tools. It was in the era of the Reagan deregulation, and we benefited from that political climate in that our FAR was the simplest and shortest in the history of FARs.

Enter the exemptions Our ability to fly tandem is through an exemption to our FAR, specifically OPPOSITE Bill Heaner (pilot) and Jo (passenger)

at South Side Point of the Mountain, Utah. BELOW Bill Heaner (pilot), Skyler Salazar (passenger) at North Side Point of the Mountain, Utah.

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LEFT Bill Heaner (pilot), Taunica Crump (passenger)

at North Side Point of the Mountain, Utah. RIGHT Bill Heaner (pilot), Bill Weir (passenger) at North Side Point of the Mountain, Utah. #4721. We have only two exemptions to our FAR that allow us to perform tandem and aerotowing under specific rules, but for the purposes of this article we will only focus on the tandem exemption.

This exemption requires that the pilot be a current USHPA tandemrated pilot in good standing and that the passenger be a USHPA student pilot.

In other words, tandem flying was not intended for joy rides. The FAA was clear about this when they gave us this exemption and made sure we understood that tandem operations would be for instructional purposes only. It is important, no matter how recreational our sport seems, that we always keep the instructional context when flying tandem.

Also noteworthy is that our USHPA tandem exemption expires every two years on October 31. There is a review process during the expiration period, and the FAA can choose to extend the exemption for two more years or to not extend it. Since we were granted the tandem exemption, we have successfully renewed every two years to date.

GETTING STARTED There are currently only two levels of tandem appointments: T-1 (beginner tandem rating) and T-3 (tandem instructor). In 2015, we decided to abolish the T-2, a controversial, intermediate tandem rating which, it was decided, did not serve the true intent of the tandem program.

Recently the tandem instructor appointment has undergone some changes that deserve some clarification.

In the distant past, there was a separate USHPA instructor requirement in order to get and keep a tandem instruc-

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tor appointment. That requirement had been dropped for a number of years, but recently it was reinstated. However, after a number of months the tandem committee decided to roll out a more robust version of the instructor requirement into the tandem certification program.

Due to this new requirement, those tandem pilots without instructor ratings are now required to have proof of additional instructor training in place for 2016, or lose their tandem appointment.

That proof comes in the form of an affidavit provided by a tandem administrator. There is an important distinction, though, between the tandem instructor and the basic/advanced instructor appointments, that being the tandem instructor cannot sign off flying ratings.

The tandem instructor is limited to instruction in the tandem environment.

The tandem appointment is the highest pilot rating in the USHPA. For one to be considered, the pilot must not only have an advanced rating with a turbu-

lence signoff and at least 200 hours of airtime, but he or she must also possess what would be considered a demonstrated “wing mastery.” Ground-handling skills must also be at an advanced level, combined with maturity, professional attitude, an uncommon attention to detail, and a commitment to always fly “legal” tandems. When a pilot decides to go down the tandem path, the bulk of her flying must be dedicated to refining skills, new equipment configurations, and passenger-management skills. To a large extent, the T-1 is the time to master the mechanics of tandem flying.

With this first step, the tandem-1 pilot may only take USHPA-rated pilots on the 25 flights that are the minimum required to obtain a T-3 rating.

But before you seek out a tandem administrator for your tandem rating, make sure that you have the skills and experience, especially ground handling.

It is always awkward when I get a tandem candidate who is not adequately prepared. One way to know for sure

you’re ready to take this step is to get some independent verification of your skills through other instructors and tandem pilots in your area. Start a conversation with your flying community about your intent to become tandem certified, and ask them if they think you’re ready. If they don’t think you are quite there, ask them for some guidance in the areas that they perceive you need work. This will go a long way in proving your due diligence and will make sure that others around you feel warm and fuzzy about your tandem intentions.

The T-1 class can be completed in one day and consists of a handful of tandem flights with the tandem administrator, some theory, organizational information, equipment configurations, evaluation, adjustments, and a short test. After you receive your T-1, you will refine your tandem craft with the insight of other pilots and instructors during your 25 flights. This is the time to glean as many details and philosophical approaches as you can. This is the

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time when you offer assistance to other tandem pilots in whatever role you can serve. This is the time to get into your flow. Our tandem community thrives when we all work together toward the common goal of consistency in our tandem program, and always looking out for one another is an insurance policy that you want in your program.

Once you have completed your T-1 requirements and finished your 25 tandem flights, the next step is to obtain the T-3, or tandem instructor appointment. You’ll participate in a three-day clinic designed to test your skill set and provide a setting for you to learn not only from the tandem administrator, but also from your fellow T-3 candidate classmates. This is the beginning of a fellowship, and this fellowship will play a crucial role in your tandem success for the rest of your tandem career.

The T-3 clinic is challenging. It has many practical requirements and testing.

When you are ready to take the T-3 clinic, it is highly recommended that you clear your schedule for the three days of the clinic, as there is a lot of homework and preparation for two tests: the tandem instructor exam and the FAA Fundamentals of Instruction exam.

There are very challenging flight-skills demonstrations, so make sure that the previous 25 flights you have completed in preparation for the T-3 clinic were varied and challenging, meaning nowind to windy conditions for launch and landing, a variety of weight ranges for passengers, flat-slope launches, steepslope launches, etc.

Attend the T-3 clinic with a positive, professional, open attitude, and be ready to be of service to those around you. Be well rested, stay hydrated, and bring snacks to keep energy levels up.

The classroom portion alone is long and thorough. Be ready to present instructional topics.

ABOVE Bill Heaner (pilot), Miles Chisolm (passenger)

at North Side Point of the Mountain, Utah.

Gear Purchasing an appropriate tandem setup is crucial. This gear should be a separate kit from your solo gear. You will need a certified tandem glider in a size appropriate for you, a tandem pilot harness with spreader bars, a passenger harness, and a tandem reserve. It is important to acquire tandem gear that is in good shape, if not new. Make sure that the glider and reserve are certified by a recognized certifications agency. I would highly suggest purchasing a tandem pilot harness that has been designed for tandem flying. Cobbling together uncomfortable, inappropriate tandem gear is not where you want to begin as a tandem pilot. This is a professional appointment that deserves safe, predictable gear. Cutting corners here will likely be called out by other tandem pilots

and, for sure, your tandem administrator. Also, recommended manufacture inspection frequency and maintenance of all your gear is a must.

In addition, take a flight or two in your passenger harness as the tandem passenger in order to know what your passengers are experiencing. I recently rated a pilot with his T-1, and the passenger harness he offered me to fly in was excruciatingly uncomfortable to launch and land. I could not run or lean forward without the harness digging into my stomach and chest. I would recommend to all tandem pilots who have not flown in their current passenger harness to take a flight from the other seat in order to experience first-hand your passenger’s experience.

Extras for Paragliding There are other backup systems that are worth mentioning here. One is the “B” killer. This is a set of bridles that attaches to your “B” risers and is also attached to your reserve. The thought here is that since the force is so great on the tandem “B” risers, the main canopy can be difficult to disable after deploying the reserve. Upon deployment, the reserve pulls the “B” risers down, in turn disabling the glider. This is a good idea to consider. The only drawback I see is that it is complicated to disconnect your pilot harness from the glider, which doesn’t give the pilot an option for connecting to the passenger prior to hooking in to the glider.

The other backup system is a safety leash for the catastrophic event of a pilot or passenger not being hooked in after launch. This is a simple leash with a big carabineer that can be unclipped and clipped on the most available part of a harness to prevent falling out of the harness. This is optional, but not a bad idea.

Post Training Tips and tricks There is a philosophy that I hold dear: Know all the possible outcomes of any

tandem flight before launching. That is to say, know everything that can possibly change the tandem flight from what is desired, and have a contingency plan. This mindset and discipline will keep you sharp. Plan for every situation that a passenger could induce on launch and landing, e.g. not running, running in the wrong direction, falling, grabbing downtubes, etc. Plan for any possible condition changes. Always hedge. Also, if you’re recruiting assistance (which you should be doing), make sure you have a rapport with your assistant and that you trust their launch/landing assist. For hang glider tandem pilots, always have one last hook-in check before starting the launch run.

Pick a system that works best for you and stick with it. For paragliding, if you turn in a specific direction, then always turn in that direction. For newer paraglider tandem pilots, I highly suggest hooking into your passenger first before hooking into the glider, especially in wind. On windier takeoffs, the risk of prematurely inflating the glider before you’re ready to launch is high due to the passenger hook-in process.

Hooking into the passenger prior to the glider also gives you an opportunity to simulate the glider pull and passenger postures during launch, without being clipped into the glider. Once pilot and passenger are ready, then the glider is carefully connected and you’re set to go. For hang glider, foot-launch tandem pilots, double check the passenger’s arm routing through the pilot’s harness.

There are almost always other pilots around on launch. Always use qualified assistance, especially in wind, but get into the habit of asking another pilot or instructor to give your equipment a last check right before you launch.

This “buddy system” is valuable beyond measure and has caught many oversights over the years, both subtle and obvious.

Spread the word: “Buddy checks” before lift-off should be a part of every tandem

pilot’s pre-flight routine.

Currency It is one thing to let your currency lapse as a solo pilot, but not as a tandem pilot. Staying current and continuing to improve your tandem skills is a contract with yourself, your flying community and every passenger, and you should start taking that responsibility from the beginning. If you do let your currency lapse, take some time to refresh it with a local pilot, or choose conditions that are mellow and predictable for the first few flights in order to get back into the flow.

Attend local tandem clinics, and offer to help out. I, and all the tandem administrators that I have worked with, love this. Not only does it give you fresh ideas and possibly new techniques, it provides a precious continuity to our overall program and is a valued service to administrators.

Last, but not least, triple-check everything right before you launch. Have another tandem pilot, instructor or pilot that you trust check your equipment: leg loops, chest strap (passenger and pilot), reserve handle, glider connections, etc.

Get used to this as a procedure before every tandem flight.

T

andem flying is incredibly rewarding. It does require a very dedicated pilot to go down this path and stay current. There are seasons and phases in your flying career, and if you find yourself interested in flying tandem, you will discover a whole new aspect of free flight not previously imaginable. It’s not for everyone, but for those who have ventured down the path of two-place flight, most agree that it is the most rewarding part of their flying career.

Bill currently administers the USHPA hang gliding and paragliding instructor and tandem instructor programs. For more information on becoming a tandem instructor go to http://www.revflight.com/

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Thinking Outside the Blocks

Part XXII: Skimming the Cat by Dennis Pagen

M

ost of us have heard of CAT— clear-air turbulence—that air-transport pilots encounter from time to time up in the wild blue yonder. It was mysterious in the early years of aviation, but eventually the jet stream was discovered and CAT was attributed to the shearing effect of this strong wind stream.

The jet-stream CAT should not bother us unless we are in an airliner (on a flight to Argentina last year we had to change altitude six times to try to avoid the most severe constant turbulence I have ever experienced in an airplane). But there are other types of jet streams on a smaller scale that we can encounter, and there are other forms of clear-air turbulence. We are going to explore them here so when we encounter unexpected turbulence we at least know what is terrorizing us.

FOR THE TWOS Before we talk specifically about lowlevel jets and shears, we need to fill in a little background for newly minted pilots (H-2s and P-2s). All others may skip to the next section.

You probably learned to fly high and develop your control skill in fairly smooth air. So when you first encounter turbulence you may be surprised if not shocked. But rest assured, turbulence up to a certain strength is part of the challenge, if not the fun, of flying. It’s like this: If you are a sailboat enthusiast, eventually you get tired of plowing around in the smooth pond and want to get out into the real sea with winds measured in Beaufort force.

I grew up sailing the Great Lakes on fairly flat water, but when I first sailed in the North Sea out of Holland, I gained my sea legs and newfound joy of

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sailing (at least until a storm hit us and everyone got sick). The point is, a bit of vigorous air is actually fun, while too strong conditions can be scary, if not dangerous.

There are four main sources of turbulence. They are: 1. Turbulence due to the air rolling over the ground and sieving through solid objects like trees, houses and hills. This type of turbulence is called “mechanical turbulence.”

2. Turbulence due to thermals pushing up through the air, and mixing with the general flow. We call this “thermal turbulence.”

3. Turbulence from air layers or streams of air rubbing against one another. This type of turbulence is known as shear.

4. There is also turbulence associated with waves in the air formed most frequently when a mountain or ridge bounces the air up like a log across a fast-moving stream of water. This turbulence can be shear if the wind in the wave is strong, but also there can be rotors—a standing line of rotating air—beneath the wave where it bounces upward.

In all of these cases the turbulence can (and often does) occur without clouds or other indication of its presence other than wind gusts on the ground. So we could call all of this clear-air turbulence. In general aviation, CAT refers to jet-stream related and other upper-level shears, but in this article we’ll call all the invisible stuff CAT. The main point is, since we can’t see any of this turbulence, how do we prepare for and deal with it?

In the great majority of cases, any turbulence you feel away from the terrain will be caused by thermals. You

can avoid almost all thermal turbulence by flying early in the day, or late in the evening when the sun stops heating the ground and generating the upward currents. When you do encounter thermal turbulence you can get through it easily by keeping your speed high enough for good maneuvering and keeping your wings level (your instructor or mentor pilot can show you the best maneuvering control position for your glider).

Eventually you will pass through the turbulence, since thermals typically have a limited width.

Of course, to complete your metamorphosis into a bird you will want to learn to thermal. Once you get used to thermal turbulence you will use it to indicate the presence of a thermal. You probably know that pilots of our personal aircraft eagerly seek out thermals to stay aloft, get high and go far. So we reiterate, that turbulence is part of the fun and the sooner you get used to it, the sooner you will be cavorting with your fellow feathered friends at altitude.

On rare occasions thermal turbulence can be too strong for our gliders. You can avoid such conditions by noting how strong the gusts are on the ground (the stronger they are on the ground, normally the stronger they are in the air). Also, additional overall wind will roil the thermals and increase turbulence. So your thermal flying early in your experience should be in more gentle thermal days. Again an instructor or mentor pilot can help you choose conditions right for you.

The other type of turbulence you may battle with is mechanical turbulence. You may meet this villain at takeoff or during landing. There is a simple way to avoid such unfriendly turbulence at takeoff: Do not launch when

the wind is strong, changing greatly in strength or direction, and avoid launching a wind crossing more than 20 to 30 degrees. By avoiding windy days in general (say above 15 mph at launch) you will largely avoid strong turbulence at landing. Also, stay as far downwind as you can from any solid object.

We will do a more thorough article on flying in turbulence in the future, but now it is time to turn to our main subject: low-level jets and shear turbulence.

On the smaller scale, CAT can exist when valley flows meet stationary air masses or the normal wind caused by the large-scale pressure systems (highs and lows). In 1976 the first perplexing weather question I faced came from a friend who had moved to southern California. He and some pilots were flying in the Owens Valley and landing late in the evening. Despite the general wind blowing into the mountains, when they approached landing they encountered a layer of strong unorganized turbulence a few hundred feet off the ground, and saw the wind sock switch 180 degrees to point away from the mountains.

At the time I speculated, and now I know: This event is caused by cooling of the surface air in areas shadowed

LOW-LEVEL JETS What is a jet? Any concentrated flows opposing the general wind created by the large-scale pressure systems can be termed a jet. In fact, the extensive flow that comes up from the Gulf of Mexico into the plains states is called a jet because it is caused by heating of the semi-arid land east of the Rockies.

This northward flow carries millions of tons of moisture, and when it meets the cooler, drier westerly general flow it is lifted to form thunderstorms.

There can be shear turbulence along its boundaries, but in the places where thunderstorms develop, this turbulence is overshadowed by thunderstorm disturbances.

from the lowering sun. The resulting cooler air flows downhill and out the canyons. Significant in this case is that the landing was in front of a canyon.

Such a local outflow acts like a mini cold front and pushes under the warm air of the valley flow. This canyon flow is a low-level jet. It spreads out like a fan, once it is free from the canyon walls. The area on top of the cool outflow rubs against the warmer air mass it is pushing under, which results in shear turbulence. An example of this jet is shown in figure 1.

Generally, a pilot can get out of the shear turbulence of this type by descending below the shearing layer, although if the outflow is strong (as in the dry, high Western mountains), there may be some mechanical turbu-

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lence near the surface. Usually such they are to occur, and the stronger they turbulence is not beyond our powers may be. Also, dry areas are more likely to control, but its sudden appearance to exhibit stronger jets. can be disconcerting, and the surprise A related source of CAT occurs switching of the wind direction can when a somewhat enclosed valley fills have unfriendly consequences for the entirely with cool air. This low-lying unaware pilot. Such surprises can make layer can develop in the evening if you very late for dinner. enough cool air drains out of the gaps Closer to (my) home, there is a site or gorges, but it is most often formed that exhibits the same behavior as the by the overnight radiation of surface one described above. Late in the day heat. We call this a ground inversion. there will be a trickle of wind coming Many times I have seen lesser experiout of a gap or gorge near the landenced pilots flying early in the morning ing field. Often the winds will still be to rack up flights in smooth conditions, straight-in soarable at launch, but the only to encounter some surprisingly wind will be reverse in the landing field strong shear turbulence at the top of close to the ridge. After a couple pilots this cool pool inversion. got caught landing downwind (and runCOMPLEX FLOWS ning out of field) and gliders improved Those pilots who have flown in the in performance, we changed fields to Owens Valley will also recognize the one further out. This site is only 1000 feet high and green, so the adverse wind common condition when there is light is typically very light, but still I have felt wind aloft (thermals track straight up some shear turbulence when transition- or drift into the mountain), but close to the ground the wind can be 20 mph ing between flows.

Generally, these down-slope outflow heading northerly along the valley. The proper term for this ground flow is low-level jets occur only late in the day “valley winds.” Valley winds are caused and come from gorges and gaps. The by the heated air near the surface flowhigher the mountains the more likely

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ing upslope. Even if a valley floor isn’t sloped, the wind will flow at the surface if mountains surround the valley, because the upslope flow on the mountainsides evacuates the air in the valley, which gets replaced by inflow from one end. This process happens frequently in valleys such as the Owens in California and the Sequatchie in Tennessee.

Usually these low-level valley flows do not cause turbulence unless the general wind is across the valley (90 degrees to the valley flow).

However, in complex mountain systems such as the Alps, there can be complex, competing valley flows. Flows can come out of two different valleys and meet to form a convergence zone with shear areas. Near Laragne, a major flying site in France, I have encountered a shear effect where two flows rounding a large mountain mass met in a convergence (good for climbing), but also sheared as one flow opposed the other. On another occasion in the hang gliding European Championships at Greifenburg, Austria, pilots encountered an adverse flow coming out of a mountain pass that caused severe

turbulence.

Still another notable event was in the 1989 World Hang Gliding Championships at Fiesch in the upper Rhone Valley of Switzerland. Here competing valley flows often meet. One flow is the upslope valley breeze from SW to NE. But the Aletsch Glacier, Europe’s longest, oozes down a gorge into the valley. The cold air lying above the glacier slides down to disrupt the valley flow. Also, at the far end of the valley is the Grimsel Pass. Often competing pressure from the east side of the pass pushes a flow over the pass and into the valley to meet the upslope flow directly head on. This latter flow has long been known as the “Grimsel Snake.”

I have flown through the shear turbulence at the conflict zone between the valley flow and the snake, and it was an unpleasant mix of random turbulence. But my discomfort was nothing compared to that of British

pilot, Robbie Whittal. He was leading the day in the World Meet when he encountered the shear action above the valley. His glider tumbled. He was able by luck or skill to right himself, and continued on the course to take second for the day behind future multiple world champion, Tomas Suchanek. Many noted at the time that Robbie either had a small brain or large cojones to continue flying, but in the end it paid off, for he eventually won the meet to become World Champion.

Notably, a few years later he also won the paragliding Worlds.

In the US, on the east side of the Rockies the general westerly flow aloft is typically held off by heating of the dry plains and the sun-facing slopes up until later in the afternoon. But at

some point during the day the westerlies can poke through the lower passes and gorges to change the wind direction and cause shear turbulence.

In mountainous areas there are famously named winds such as the Foehn, Tramontane or the Chinook. These winds are widespread and barrel down the slopes, sometimes quite vigorously.

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I once was on the road between Golden and Boulder, Colorado and watched the Chinook winds blow over a freight train, one car at a time. I had to hold on to a fence post to keep from tumbling across the road. Later the report said the wind was gusting to 70 mph.

Typically in Europe and the US, pilots avoid these notorious winds, but there are places where their milder form may be encountered with the consequence of shear turbulence.

THE CAT IN THE HEAT There are other ways to encounter shear turbulence and CAT in the wild blue wonder. Inversion layers (distinct from the ground inversion), which can occur East and West will frequently occur in clear air and often present some shear turbulence as the different layers move with different velocities and rub against one another.

As mentioned above, convergence zones formed by flows around ground objects and complex valley systems can exhibit turbulence if the flows do not meld together in a friendly way. But larger convergence zones exist as well: Where the sea breeze meets the warmer land air mass is a convergence zone.

Often this zone is clear of clouds and exhibits CAT. In a similar manner, the largest convergence zone—that of a moving cold front—exhibits shearing turbulence, although usually clouds accompany this zone. However, on at least two occasions I have been flying when

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a clear mild cold front passed through.

There was a period of about 1/2 hour of tumbled shear turbulence as the front leading edge trundled by.

Gust fronts blasting out from thunderstorm downdrafts also act like a mini cold front with an area of convergence and shear turbulence at the cool air’s leading edge. Again I have flown through a mild gust front and experienced this shear turbulence. It felt remarkably like the cold-front shear.

A note should be made of avalanches, because the airborne type presents a visual indication of how downdrafts react. A recent program on the devastating earthquake that hit Nepal in 2015 presented a film of the huge avalanche on Mt. Everest that killed 20 climbers. That footage showed clearly the roiling at the edges of the visible snow- and ice-particle mass. This roiling is shear turbulence. A nearby avalanche blew down thousands of large trees, all lying aligned. The avalanche wind was estimated to be well above 100 mph. How can airborne particles fall this fast? The answer is that the rolling of the air at the avalanche’s borders accelerates the air in the avalanche center, as shown in figure 2.

I expect that the same process takes place around a large dollop of sinking air in thermal conditions. A falling air blob probably rolls at the edges, which helps accelerate the center. It is a thermal in negative. I have seen photos of this effect from experiments done to simulate thermals upside down in

water. By dropping a heavy colored fluid into water you can see the upsidedown thermal progress. Those with extensive thermal experience will note the occasional encounter of very ragged vigorous turbulence and serious sink, much stronger than the thermals of the day. I expect that such an encounter is due to this rolling effect. Once, in a competition, I was headed to a promising thermal with 20 pilots banked steeply in a column. Well before I reached the thermal border, I had a slug of sink hit me so hard that I lost my grip on one hand and my aluminum base bar was bent upward. (I am lucky that the force of the air was straight down, or I would have been tumbled.)

This sharp downward spike was associated with the thermal, but not at the edge turbulence or sink, which I hit a bit further on. Incidentally, this occurred not in the big air of the West, but in the normally benign sky above central Florida.

When an avalanche of sinking air reaches the ground, I expect it often hits the ground and spreads out like a small downdraft gust front—maybe extending only a few dozen feet off the ground and less than a mile from the center (see figure 3). Such a spreading mass of denser air will cause gusts at the ground, of course, and also a small wall of shear turbulence. We should always be ready for such turbulence when landing in stronger thermal conditions.

When we encounter these types of CAT, we have little time to contemplate their source and morphology because we are too busy countering their effects.

However, it is useful to contemplate the causes once we are clear of the turbulence. We know that downdrafts can trigger other thermals, as shown, so any understanding gained adds to our bag of tricks. But in general, clear air turbulence isn’t a bundle of joy, so most of us would prefer to let the CAT out of the bag.

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CALENDAR & CLASSIFIED CALENDAR, CLINIC & TOUR LISTINGS can be submitted online at http://www.ushpa.aero/email _ events.asp. A minimum 3-month lead time is required on all submissions and tentative events will not be published. For more details on submissions, as well as complete information on the events listed, see our Calendar of Events at www.ushpa.aero CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES - The rate for classified

advertising is $10.00 for 25 words and $1.00 per word after 25. MINIMUM AD CHARGE $10.00. AD DEADLINES: All ad copy, instructions, changes, additions & cancellations must be received in writing 2 months preceding the cover date, i.e.

September 15th is the deadline for the November issue. All classifieds are prepaid. If paying by check, please include the following with your payment: name, address, phone, category, how many months you want the ad to run and the classified ad. Please make checks payable to USHPA, P.O. Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330. If paying with credit card, you may email the previous information and classified to info@ushpa.aero. For security reasons, please call your Visa/MC or Amex info to the office. No refunds will be given on ads cancelled that are scheduled to run multiple months. (719) 632-8300. Fax (719) 632-6417 HANG GLIDING ADVISORY: Used hang gliders should always

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

PARAGLIDING ADVISORY: Used paragliders should always be thoroughly inspected before flying for the first time. Annual inspections on paragliders should include sailcloth strength tests. Simply performing a porosity check isn’t sufficient.

Some gliders pass porosity yet have very weak sailcloth.

If in doubt, many hang gliding and paragliding businesses will be happy to give an objective opinion on the condition of equipment you bring them to inspect. BUYERS SHOULD SELECT EQUIPMENT THAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR THEIR SKILL LEVEL OR RATING. NEW PILOTS SHOULD SEEK PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION FROM A USHPA CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR.

CALENDAR FLY INS MAY 22 > Dockweiler Beach, El Segundo, CA (L.A. vicinity). 45th Anniversary of the Sport Hang Gliding. Celebrating Otto Lilienthal’s birthday since 5/23/1971! Sunday, May 22nd a gathering of hang glider pilots and other enthusiasts, old and new, in celebration of the 168th birthday of Otto Lilienthal and the 45th anniversary of the beginning of the worldwide sport of hang gliding. Bring your vintage hang glider for display or flight. Modern hang gliders welcome based on space available, vintage HG take priority. There will also be sharing of some gliders, a common practice at Dockweiler. 10 a.m. to sunset. More info: fcolver@znet.com, or 949646-9088.

JUN 18-26 > King Mountain, ID. King Moun-

tain Glider Park Safari. 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.

JUL 1-10 > Talihina, Ok. Buffalo Mountain Flyers 4th of July Fly-In 2016. Yes, we have mountains!

The Torrey Pines of the central states! 10 acre roll-off pasture launch. Thanks to FFF we have 5 launches covering all wind directions and all within 30 minutes drive. Launch from 1,000ft 5-mile long ridges, soar for hours, mass gaggle multi-wingal 50mi+ XC’s, altitudes >6K AGL,easy retrieves, come back for epic evening glass-off flights. Hotels, motels, camp at launch, share the stars with all your flying friends. This is THE place to enjoy air sports to the fullest. More info: www.buffalomountainflyers.org.

JUL 21-23 > Monroe, UT. 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. 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. More info: Stacy Whitmore, 435-9790225, stacy@cuasa.com, or Jef Anderson 435896-7999, jef@cuasa.com.

AUG 27 - SEP 3 > Villa Grove, CO. Colorado Fly Week. Colorado Fly Week presents: Rocky Mtn Airman’s Rendezvous & Mtn Flyer Championships The Finale! The fun competition is back with self designated tasks, easy scoring & killer trophies. H2 and P2 welcome. Evening performances on Sunset Stage - bellydancers, burlesque, GoGo dancers, live music & more. Tiff’s Tavern, food, camping, and vendors. Don’t miss this last, best, one of a kind event! Also, buy the 2014 movie, Eight Days at Base, named USHPA’s Best Promo Film - coloradoflyweek.com/buy-the-dvd/. More info: tiffany@ coloradoflyweek.com, www.coloradoflyweek.com, or Larry Smith 970-209-5212.

SEP 26 - OCT 1 > Richfield, UT. Red Rocks Fall Fly-In for Hang Gliders and Paragliders. Enjoy the vibrant fall colors, beautiful mountains, and flying activities for all levels and interests. Thermaling Clinics with Ken Hudonjorgensen, morning sled rides, and 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. More info: Stacy Whitmore, 435-979-0225, stacy@cuasa.com, or Jef Anderson 435-896-7999, jef@cuasa.com.

COMPETITION (non-SANCTIONED) MAY 1-7 > La Belle, Florida. (ECPC) East Coast Paragliding Championships. One of the best race to goal tow comps in the US. We average 6 out of 7 tasks flown and each year we fly 100km plus tasks, the current 115 mile state record was flown during an ECPC task. Florida offers world class flying with strong smooth lift, amazing cloud streets, and a world renowned convergence which allows pilots to make epic flights consistently. The ECPC is designed for intermediate and advanced pilots. Daily briefings, scoring, xc retrievals, awards, dinner, prize money, and t-shirt included. Contact: David Prentice, 505-720-5436, earthcog@yahoo.com, www.flyneverland.com or flycuervo.com.

MAY 21-30 > Salt Lake City, UT. Association of

Paragliding Pilots and Instructors, APPI, is the only international standard to validate instructors and tandem pilots, as well as pilots of all abilities. It is a global training and rating organization that allows pilots to learn from a network of instructors worldwide, and an online forum for its instructors to share information on teaching and progress for traveling students. It is a system recognized by more and more countries worldwide. APPI is not designed to replace national organizations but to provide a global standard for traveling pilots, and especially traveling instructors and tandem pilots.

It can provide a bridge between national organizations. It has some unique resources for instructors, and a very high level of training. For more information visit:http://appifly.org/?What-is-APPI. For more information and syllabus contact: Dale Covington, Big Sky Paragliding, 801-699-1462, or bigskypara@gmail.com.

OCT 15 - NOV 13 > 10/15 -11-13 Iquique, Chile.

Paragliding Trip. Most consistent thermals on earth! Luis Rosenkjer & Todd Weigand have been winning competitions, leading trips, and working as local guide/tandem pilots in Iquique since 1992.

With 24 years of combined guiding experience in Chile, nobody can lead new pilots to this region with the expertise that these gentlemen provide.

USHPA certified, bilingual, novice-adv, 4 star hotel that overlooks the beach landing. 115 km flights possible. Improve flying skills, break personal records, enjoy the best of Iquique! More info: www. paraglidingtrips.com.

SEP 11-16 > Santa Cruz Flats Race—Mark Knight

Memorial Competition. The Francisco Grande Resort is welcoming us back for the 10th year anniversary of the Santa Cruz Flats Race. Last year we flew seven straight tasks and we expect the same this coming year. If you’re up for 7 out of 7 days of awesome technical flying conditions, come join us for the 10th Annual Santa Cruz Flats Race. Registration opens at noon eastern time on April 11th.

Contact: Jamie Shelden naughtylawyer@gmail. com, or 831-261-5444.

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COMPETITION (SANCTIONED) MAY 7-13 > Quest Air Open. Flatland XC flying is

at its best in Florida and at Quest Air. We’ll be flying in the best time of the year for big cross country triangle and out and return tasks up, down, and across the state. Quest provides full flight park services with plenty of Dragonflies on site, camping, clubhouse, kitchen, rental rooms, flyboarding, swimming, sun bathing, huge field for launching in any direction. Contact: Belinda Boulter and Davis Straub at Belinda@davidstraub.com, or 836206-7707.

JUN 5-11 > East Coast Hang Gliding Championship. Contact: Adam Elchin, hanglide@aerosports.net, or 410-634-2700.

Jun 19-25 > Rat Race / Sprint Competition – Woodrat Mtn, Ruch, OR. Fourteenth annual Rat Race/Sprint Paragliding Competition. Part of National series. Practice day June 18th. Two parties, daily lunches, retrieve. 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. Contact Mike Haley at mphsports@charter.net.

JUL 10-16 > Chelan, Washington.Race to Goal in the world class Chelan Flatlands. Contact: Matt Senior, mattysenior@yahoo.com, or 206-420-9101 AUG 7-13 > Big Spring, Texas. The 15th Annual Big Spring site of the 2007 World Hang Gliding Championship, the finest cross country hang gliding competition site in the US. Big Tasks (world records), smooth thermals, unrestricted landing areas, easy retrieval on multiple roads, consistent cumulus development at 1 PM, air conditioned head quarters, hanger for setup, free water and ice cream, welcome and awards dinner, live tracking, many drivers available, strong safety record, highest pilot satisfaction rating, easy airport access to Midland-Odessa airport, inexpensive accommodations, plentiful infrastructure (restaurants), great community support, superb meet director. Contact: Belinda Boulter and Davis Straub at Belinda@ davisstraub.com , or 836-206-7707.

AUG 21-27 > Utah Dual Paragliding Competition.

First Paragliding Dual Competition: Race to Goal and Open Distance. Practice day 20th; Rain day 28th. $475 if before June 1st. Pilots must choose which Competition they are entering (one only).

Retrieve provided. Contact: Ken Hudonjorgensen, twocanfly@gmail.com, or 801-971-3414.

clinics & tours APRIL 1-3 > Northern California. Over-the-water

SIV Maneuvers Clinics with Eagle Paragliding. Eagle is known for high quality tours and clinics with exceptional staff, and this clinic is no exception.

We encourage you to make the time for this important safety training with a qualified SIV instructor.

Visit www.paragliding.com, or call 805-968-0980 for more information.

MAY 2 > San Diego Circus Center, CA. Join Ga-

briel Jebb and the Torrey Pines Gliderport Team for a reserve repacking clinic. This event will be taking place at the San Diego Circus Center. Gabriel will begin with a lecture and PowerPoint presentation on reserve history, reserve types, testing methodologies, deployment techniques and more. Next we will hoist the pilots up 40’ ans simulate a reserve deployment, then finally conduct the actual repacks. Spots are limited so please register! More info: www.flytorrey.com, info@flytorrey.com, or 858-452-9858.

MAY 7-8 > Sandy, UT. Tandem Instructor clinic in Utah with Ken Hudonjorgensen. More info: 801-971-3414, twocanfly@gmail.com, or www. twocanfly.com.

MAY 13-15 > Northern California. Over-the-water SIV Maneuvers Clinics with Eagle Paragliding. Eagle is known for high quality tours and clinics with exceptional staff, and this clinic is no exception.

We encourage you to make the time for this important safety training with a qualified SIV instructor.

Visit www.paragliding.com, or call 805-968-0980 for more information.

MAY 20-22 > Sandy, UT. Thermal clinic with Ken Hudonjorgensen. More info: 801-971-3414, twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly.com.

MAY 26-29 > Lake Berryessa, CA. The clinic is

the SIV and Acro combination clinic hosted by Torrey Pines Gliderport Master Pilot and SIV/Acro coach Gabriel Jebb. The clinic is open to firsttime 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 coaches on each tow, several tows per day to practice maneuvers, recoveries and aerobatics.

Pre-requisites: be able to bring it and go big! More info: www.flytorrey.com, info@flytorrey.com, or 858-452-9858.

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MAY 28-30 > Jackson, WY. Tandem Certification Clinic presented by Scott Harris at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. More info: 307-690-8726, scottcharris@mac.com, or www.jhparagliding. com.

Jun 3-5 > Jackson, WY. Instructor Certification Clinic presented by Scott Harris. More info: 307690-8726, scottcharris@mac.com, or www.jhparagliding.com.

AUG 13-15 >Sandy, UT. Thermal clinic with

jun 4-5 > Sandy, UT. Site Pioneering Clinic. Site

CA. Join the Torrey Pines Gliderport Tandem Team and Tandem Administrator Gabriel Jebb, to earn your Tandem Instructor (T-3) rating. This clinic is the USHPA-accredited Tandem Instructor Training Program. The clinic will include all your prerequisite requirements to attain your Tandem Pilot (T-1) rating as well as your Tandem Instructor rating. Both ratings can be attained after completing this clinic. Clinic materials will be mailed/emailed, with receipt of deposit or full payment. More info: www.flytorrey.com, info@flytorrey.com, or 858452-9858.

pioneering and mountain flying with Ken Hudonjorgensen . More info: 801-971-3414, twocanfly@ gmail.com, or www.twocanfly.com.

jun 10-12 >June 10-12: Northern California.

Over-the-water SIV Maneuvers Clinics with Eagle Paragliding. Eagle is known for high quality tours and clinics with exceptional staff, and this clinic is no exception. We encourage you to make the time for this important safety training with a qualified SIV instructor. Visit www.paragliding.com, or call 805-968-0980 for more information. jun 4-5 >6/18-6/25, Woodrat Mountain, Ruch,

Oregon. Rat Race SUPER CLINIC 2016. Kari Castle and Ken Hudonjorgensen will be assisting Mike Haley with training newer pilots in thermaling, launch-sequence proficiency, and restricted-landing approaches. Learn necessary skills for XC and competition. Super Clinic is held simultaneously along with Rat Race and Rat Race Sprint. Contact mphsports@charter.net, or www.mphsports.com.

juL 8-10 > Sandy, UT. Thermal clinic with Ken

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

JUL 22-24 > Northern California. Over-the-water

SIV Maneuvers Clinics with Eagle Paragliding. Eagle is known for high quality tours and clinics with exceptional staff, and this clinic is no exception.

We encourage you to make the time for this important safety training with a qualified SIV instructor.

Visit www.paragliding.com, or call 805-968-0980 for more information.

AUG 4-7 > Lake Berryessa, CA. The clinic is the

SIV and Acro combination clinic hosted by Torrey Pines Gliderport Master Pilot and SIV/Acro coach Gabriel Jebb. 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 coaches on each tow, several tows per day to practice maneuvers, recoveries and aerobatics. Pre-requisites: be able to bring it and go big! More info: www. flytorrey.com, info@flytorrey.com, or 858-4529858.

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AUG 8-12 > Lake Tahoe, CA. Lake Tahoe Cross Country Clinic. Join the Torrey Pines Gliderport team for the basic and advanced XC-flying clinic.

The flying will be conducted from the Lake Tahoe region and flying the northern parts of the Sierras. Pilots are shuttled to launch and get into the air with the instructors as guides carefully planning the routes and making it easy for the pilots to follow. Radio communication throughout the flight will help the participants along and help them achieve their maximum distances flown. More info: www.flytorrey.com, info@flytorrey.com, or 858452-9858.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

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

AUG 19-21 > Torrey Pines Gliderport, La Jolla,

AUG 25-28 > Torrey Pines Gliderport, La Jolla, CA. Join the Torrey Pines Gliderport Instructor Team and Instructor Administrator Gabriel Jebb, to earn your Basic or Advanced Instructor rating. This clinic is the USHPA-accredited Instructor Training Program. The clinic will include all your pre-requisite requirements to attain your Basic Instructor rating or your Advanced Instructor rating. All equipment and clinic materials will be supplied by the Gliderport. Just bring yourself, logbook and be ready to learn. More info: www.flytorrey.com, info@flytorrey.com, or 858-452-9858.

SEP 17-18 > Sandy, UT. Site Pioneering Clin-

ic. Site pioneering and mountain flying with Ken Hudonjorgensen . More info: 801-971-3414, twocanfly@gmail.com, or www.twocanfly.com.

SEP 23-25 > Northern California. Over-the-water

SIV Maneuvers Clinics with Eagle Paragliding. Eagle is known for high quality tours and clinics with exceptional staff, and this clinic is no exception.

We encourage you to make the time for this important safety training with a qualified SIV instructor.

Visit www.paragliding.com, or call 805-968-0980 for more information.

JAN 23-30 (2017)> Tapalpa, Mexico. Tapalpa P-2 Week. Tapalpa is the site of 2003 World Cup & 1 1/2 hour drive from Guadalajara Airport. With big launch and landing areas and no crowds, this is the best in Mexico! With two other sites nearby, there is always a place to fly. Private hotel room, breakfast, airport pickup and deliver, site fees & coaching by USHPA advanced instructor are included for $1800. More info: http://parasoftparagliding.com/ mexico-flying/

JAN 30 - FEB 6 (2017) > Tapalpa, Mexico. Tapal-

pa P3 Week. Tapalpa is the site of 2003 World Cup & 1 1/2 hour drive from Guadalajara Airport. With big launch and landing areas and no crowds, this is the best in Mexico! With two other sites nearby, there is always a place to fly. Private hotel room, breakfast, airport pickup and deliver, site fees & coaching by USHPA advanced instructor are included for $1800. More info: http://parasoftparagliding.com/mexico-flying/

CLASSIFIED CLINICS & TOURS Rat Race SUPER CLINIC June 18 - 25th, 2016. Kari Castle and Ken Hudongjorgensen will be assisting Mike Haley with training newer pilots in thermaling, launch-sequence proficiency, and restricted landing approaches. Learn necessary skills for XC and competition. Super Clinic is held simultaneously along with Rat Race and Rat Race Sprint. Contact mphsports@charter.net www.mphsports.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

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SPECIALTY WHEELS for airfoil basetubes, round ba-

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

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

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instruction, Southern California & Baja. Powered paragliding, clinics, tours, tandem, towing. Ken Baier 760-213-0063, airjunkies.com.

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best year round flying in the nation. Award-winning instruction, excellent mountain and ridge sites. www. flysantabarbara.com, 805-968-0980

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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 wings- demo 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 408-262-1388, mission@hang-gliding.com, Mission Soaring Center LLC, leading the way since 1973. www. hang-gliding.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.

FLORIDA FLORIDA RIDGE AEROTOW PARK - 18265 E State

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

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK - Nearest

mountain training center to Orlando. Two training hills, novice mountain launch, aerotowing, great accommodations. hanglide.com, 877-HANGLIDE, 877426-4543.

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.

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.

MONTANA Bozeman Paragliding - Montana’s full time

connection for paragliding, speedflying, & paramotoring instruction & gear. Maneuvers courses, thermal tours abroad, online store. www.bozemanparagliding.com

Take your ratings and expiration

NEW HAMPSHIRE

date everywhere you fly.

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. 603-5424416, www.flymorningside.com

Download from the Members

in your wallet. Great for areas without cell coverage.Always available at www.USHPA.aero Save the PDF on your mobile device for easy reference.

NORTH CAROLINA 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-FLYTHIS, www.kittyhawk.com

TENNESSEE

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

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK - Just outside

GEORGIA

TEXAS

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK - Discover why

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

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.

Only section of the USHPA website. Print, trim, and store

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

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Photo by Taylor Maag

UTAH 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 801-576-6460 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

INTERNATIONAL 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 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 512-4672529 / 1-800-861-7198 USA

SERVICE 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.

RISING AIR GLIDER REPAIR SERVICES – A full-

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.

WINGS & HARNESSES 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 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

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USHPA CALL FOR REGIONAL DIRECTOR NOMINATIONS

Up for Re-election in 2016

Deadline August 16, 2016 | Voting Begins November 1, 2016

(already nominated)

Do you know someone who...

REG 1 (AK, OR, WA) Rich Hass

... 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.)

REG 2 (North CA, NV) Jugdeep Aggarwal REG 3 (South CA, HI) Pete Michelmore

Regional Directors are the cornerstone of the US Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association. They are the mouthpiece of the members that they represent and for the sports of hang gliding and paragliding. The USHPA wants and needs

REG 4 (AZ, CO, UT, NM) Bill Belcourt

participation in this process.

Requirements include: * 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/ elections.asp and click on the “complete the online nomination form” link. Or you

REG 5 (ID, MT, WY, Canada) NO ELECTION THIS YEAR REG 6 (AR, KS, MO, NE, OK, INT'L) NO ELECTION THIS YEAR REGION 7 (IL, IN, IA, MI, MN, ND, SD, WI) Paul Olson REGION 8 (NH, CT, ME, MA, RI, VT) Michael Holmes

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 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

REG 9 (DC, DE, KY, MD, OH, VA) Felipe Amunategui REG 10 (AL, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VI, PR) Steve Kroop REGION 11 (LA, TX) NO ELECTION THIS YEAR REGION 12 (NJ, NY) Paul Voight

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JAN 2015

RTG RGN NAME

STATE RATING OFFICIAL

RTG RGN NAME

STATE RATING OFFICIAL

RTG RGN NAME

STATE RATING OFFICIAL

H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-3 H-3 H-4 H-4 H-4 H-4 H-4 H-4 H-4 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3

CA CA MI FL CA CA MI VT FL NY CO GA CA CA CA CA MN TN TX AK CA CA NV CA UT AZ AZ

P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4

CA HI HI UT WI NY OR OR CA CA CA CO CO

P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-2 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-3 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4 P-4

CA CA CA UT MI VA NC SC FL NC NC TX TX NJ NJ AK CA CA CA CA HI CA CA AZ UT UT MT

2 3 7 10 2 3 7 8 10 12 4 10 2 2 2 3 7 10 11 1 2 2 2 3 4 4 4 5 5 9 9 9 10 11 1 1 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 6 6 7 9 9 9 10 11 1 1 1 1

Robert Speidel Kelly Tesch Cory Carpenter Joseph Dewar Gianluca Barbieri Kelly Tesch Cory Carpenter Sarah Purdy Joseph Dewar Tomas Banevicius Sanders (sam) Crater John Blank Bill Taylor Ricardo Gonzalez Saeid Shekarchi Mike Miner David Dybsand Niki Longshore David Hayner Ran Ozan Henrik Bengtsson Riley Larkins Jason Jackson William Garr June Garcia Yoshitsugu Morita Kerr Gelvin Andrew Kollmar Nicholas Edgar Kyle Gibney Cameron Vanderkamp Django Kroner Sean Stanley Brian Hellenbrand Christine Heisen Ran Ozan Jason Jackson Ronney Gray Jonathan Ong Robert Crane Eugene Florentino Jr Abe Croney Jason Jasnos Brian Keith June Garcia Nathan Maus Nicholas Edgar Abolfazl Sabet Ghadam Ali Golmakan Marjorie Dejongh Kyle Gibney Cameron Vanderkamp Django Kroner Sean Stanley Brian Hellenbrand Byron Leisek Carlos Pena John Wendling Donald Henline

OH VA OH FL LA WA AK NV CA CA HI NM UT CO CO UT UT

WI OH VA OH FL LA OR OR WA WA

Kurtis Carter Rob Mckenzie Theodore Hurley Scott Schneider Patrick Denevan Rob Mckenzie Theodore Hurley John Bilsky Scott Schneider James Donovan Steven Ford Clifton Bryan James Tibbs Michael Jefferson Michael Jefferson John Heiney James Tindle Mark Moore Iii Mark Moore Iii Rob Sporrer Wallace Anderson Harry Sandoval Mitchell Neary Jerome Daoust Emily Wallace Chandler Papas Chandler Papas Danielle Kinch Christopher Grantham Mert Kacmaz Jason White Rob Sporrer Nathan (alex) Taylor Stephen Mayer Marc Chirico Rob Sporrer Mitchell Neary Jerome Daoust Danielle Kinch David (dexter) Binder Charles (chuck) Woods Russ Bateman Ted Smith Stephen Mayer Emily Wallace Brad Gunnuscio Christopher Grantham Seyed Alireza Amidi Namin Seyed Alireza Amidi Namin Danielle Kinch Mert Kacmaz Jason White Rob Sporrer Nathan (alex) Taylor Stephen Mayer Chris Santacroce Brad Hill Marc Chirico Chris Santacroce

RATINGS ISSUED

2 3 3 4 7 12 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 6 6 6 10

Arthur Korn Alan Goldberg Richard Marsh Josh Holmstead James Heckenkamp Miguel Rodas Byron Leisek Luke Waninger Loren Sperber Dylan Henryson Peter Richner Lex Shepherd Thomas Merkt C Kerry Best Michael Moore Abbasali Davoodabadi Michael Reed

FL

Jesse Meyer Pete Michelmore David (dexter) Binder Chris Santacroce Stacy Whitmore Philippe Renaudin Chris Santacroce Scott Maclowry Jason Shapiro Wallace Anderson Rob Sporrer Rick Damiani T Lee Kortsch Peter Humes Nick Jaffe Seyed Alireza Amidi Namin Scott Harris

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FEB 2015

STATE RATING OFFICIAL

H-1 H-1 H-1 H-1 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2

2 3 10 11 2 2 2 2

Isaac Shivvers Douglas Selsam Tim Sveum Efrain Garza Richard Klein Daniel Dyckman Itai Trilnick Sean Connor

CA CA NC TX CA CA CA CA

Barry Levine Dan Deweese H Bruce Weaver Iii Bart Weghorst Michael Macdonald Eric Hinrichs Barry Levine Barry Levine

H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-2 H-3 H-3 H-3 H-3 H-3 H-3 H-4 H-4 H-4 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1 P-1

2 2 2 2 4 4 6 11 2 3 3 4 8 10 2 2 7 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3

Isaac Shivvers Scott Untiedt Saul Richard Allan Miller Tony Villalpando Harold Dodson Iii Nigel Hewitt Efrain Garza Jacob Edwards Sergey Pavlov Shawn Oconnor Peter Dernbach Alfred Morris Jr Alessandro Silva Paul Whitehill Sergey Kataev Daniel Lange Ben Kruse Corey Cooke Naveen Prakash Rifeta Zejnic Arthur Neil Alexander Schlaupitz Audra Schlaupitz Cynthia Currie Julie Blacklock Nicholas Vandenraadt Shawn Oconnor Ramak Reyhanian

CA CA CA CA AZ CO

Barry Levine Robert Booth Robert Booth Paul Jefferson William Holmes Mark Windsheimer Spencer Kindt Bart Weghorst Kurtis Carter Joe Greblo John Heiney Mark Windsheimer Robert Stewart Ii James Tindle Andrew Whitehill Zac Majors Joel Froehlich Scott Amy Evan Mathers Marc Chirico Wallace Anderson Mitchell Neary Jesse Meyer Jesse Meyer Christopher Grantham Jesse Meyer Justin Boer Danielle Kinch Sam Pasha

TX CA CA CA CO CT FL CA CA WI AK AK WA CA NV CA CA CA CA HI CA CA

3 3 3 4 7 9 10 10 10 10 10 11 11 12 12 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 6 6 6 7 9 10 10 10 10 12 2 2 2 2 5 6 6 6 6 8 1 2 3 4 6 6 6 6 6 8 10

Spencer Lalk Anne-marie Ashworth Steven Sims Drew Clements Rick Erby Daniel Fiack Kerry Vess Eduard Goretoy George Rovito Matthew Lockitski Tery Lockitski Kenneth Hunkus Heather Coulon Lev Barinov Ronald Lalk David Torrance David Blacklock Bernie Nowel Cynthia Currie Daniel Fourie Nicholas Vandenraadt Steven Sims Deron Collins Natalie Fleming Drew Clements Danielle Hankins Tyler Bradt Lee Ho Cheong Benny Chan Benson Siu Rick Erby Daniel Fiack Wendy Arbuckle George Rovito Matthew Lockitski Tery Lockitski Lev Barinov Vladimir Moroz Bridget Benson John Feist Troy Bainbridge Mark Damm Francis Lavigne Dominique Simoneau Patrick Woods Enrique Cuevas Pena Stephen Phillips Kayoko Gray Schuyler Heath Ryan Nelson Elizabeth Van Eaton Patrick Doyle Geoffrey Cattrall Patrick Woods Nishesh Upadhyay Krishna Rajbhandari Donald Jacobson Sean Arbuckle

MI VA FL FL NC NC NJ CA CA CA CA

MA WA CA CA CO

CT FL

Steve Van Fleet Danielle Kinch Nathan (alex) Taylor Jonathan Jefferies Jaro Krupa Nathan (alex) Taylor Marco Stelter Marco Stelter Luis Ameglio Christopher Grantham Christopher Grantham Hadley Robinson Hadley Robinson Philippe Renaudin Steve Van Fleet Richard Kennedy Jesse Meyer Charles Beaudoin Christopher Grantham Jesse Meyer Justin Boer Nathan (alex) Taylor Jordan Neidinger Chandler Papas Jonathan Jefferies Gary Begley Nicholas Greece Ma Chiu Kit Tung Ng Yuen Wai Kit Jaro Krupa Nathan (alex) Taylor Jonathan Jefferies Luis Ameglio Christopher Grantham Christopher Grantham Philippe Renaudin David Soltz Rob Sporrer Rob Sporrer Nick Crane Chris Santacroce Nick Jaffe Nick Jaffe Peter Humes Miguel Gutierrez Pete Michelmore Rob Sporrer Jesse Meyer Rob Sporrer Rob Sporrer Nick Jaffe Nick Jaffe Peter Humes Peter Humes Peter Humes Jarrett Hobart Jonathan Jefferies

Photo by Jonathan Dietch

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TAKE A SHOT!

Best Practices for Free Flight Photography

by USHPA Photographer of the Year Ryan Voight

W

elcome to my new monthly column, “TAKE A SHOT!” Each month I will offer specific tips, techniques, insights, and, hopefully, some inspiration for you to get out there and “take a shot” that captures the essence of what we do.

Some might be wondering why I’m not writing about flight safety or advancing skills and techniques, as I have in the past. The answer is simple: I think it's equally important right now to ensure free flight has a future.

Hang gliding has outlived its initial boom in popularity, and, after a period of slow-but-steady growth, the population is now shrinking. We don't know if this trend will turn around in the future, but we do know that the growth rate of USHPA's membership has been flat for a while, even with the boom of paragliding. As paragliding popularity levels off, we may be facing a decline in the number of pilots. If you believe, like I do, that our sports are merrier with more, then you'll be happy to know that you can contribute to the cause by capturing the awesome experiences we are so lucky to have, and sharing them with the world!

There are so many different and easy channels for sharing content these days. Submitting content to this magazine, for example, is simple. Take a look at USHPA’s site next rainy day or coffee break at work. Sign a

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content contributor release once for the year, and photos can be uploaded right through the web page interface.

Drop Nick (the editor) an email to let him know you submitted some goodness, and you’re done! And, of course, there’s social-media sharing on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Vimeo.

Unfortunately, a quick spin around these sites will also confirm that it's human nature to do stupid things when cameras are rolling. If you've steered clear of cameras in the cockpit, you've got an excellent, focused attitude that contributes to our culture of safety. You shouldn't abandon that caution. But I want to emphasize that capturing spectacular imagery no longer requires complex equipment or additional risks. GoPros and similar action cameras take good enough photos for the cover and pages of the magazine you hold in your hands, and can be unobtrusively mounted where they are unlikely to interfere with your first priority–flying your glider. And there are just as many great shots to be had with your feet on the ground as there are with your wings in the air.

Show the world how cool this thing we do is. Show them its beauty.

Show them the tranquility. Show the adventure. Show them we’re not crazy thrill seekers. Show the views we see, a perspective offered to the select few

willing to fly free. Show the fun. And show the community we’re a part of. We have such a diverse group of interesting and uniquely skilled people, from doctors to professional jugglers, airline captains to CEO’s. Name a profession, and we probably have members who are part of it. Every freeflight pilot has a unique story waiting to be captured with photos and video.

I’m not delusional; free flight isn’t for everyone. Aviation doesn’t fascinate or even appeal to all. And of those interested, fewer still want to go the minimalistic (purist!) route of flying a lightweight portable glider made of Dacron and aluminum, or Nylon and Dyneema. No matter how many great shots we take, only a tiny percentage of human beings will follow them to what they're looking for. Don’t look so sad, though, because there’s a lot of people in the world! And there are still plenty of born-to-fly dreamers who will gravitate toward hang gliding and paragliding over other forms of aviation once they have a more accurate mental picture of what it is (and isn’t.)

I’m absolutely stoked to inspire you in issues to come, and see what you see when you really look at this flying thing we’re so passionate about.

RIGHT

GoPro photos can be really high quality! Photo by Ryan Voight.

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