hang gliding & paragliding vol38/iss08 aug 2008

AUGUST 2008Volume 38 Issue 8

$4.95

www.USHPA.aero

MAGAZINE STAFFUSHPA, Publisher: [email protected]

Nick Greece, Editor: [email protected] Greg Gillam, Art Director: [email protected] Palmaz, Advertising: [email protected]

Staff writers: Alex Colby, Steve Messman, Dennis Pagen,Mark “Forger” Stucky, Ryan Voight, Tom Webster

Staff artist: Jim Tibbs Staff photographers: John Heiney, Jeff O'Brien, Jeff Shapiro

OFFICE STAFFPaul Montville, Executive Director: [email protected]

Rick Butler, Information Services Director: [email protected] Palmaz, Business Manager: [email protected]

Erin Russell, Office Manager: [email protected] Burtis, Member/Instructor Services Administrator:

[email protected]

USHPA OFFICERS & EXECUTIVE COMMITTEELisa Tate, President: [email protected]

Riss Estes, Vice President: [email protected] Rich Hass, Secretary: [email protected]

Mark Forbes, Treasurer: [email protected]

REGION 1: Rich Hass, Mark Forbes. REGION 2: Dave Wills, Urs Kellenberger, Paul Gazis. REGION 3: David Jebb, Rob Sporrer, Brad Hall. REGION 4: Mark Gaskill, Jim Zeiset. REGION 5: Lisa Tate. REGION 6: Gregg Ludwig. REGION 7: Tracy Tillman. REGION 8: Gary Trudeau. REGION 9: Felipe Amunategui, L.E. Herrick. REGION 10: Dick Heckman, Steve Kroop, Matt Taber. REGION 11: Gregg Ludwig. REGION 12: Paul Voight. REGION 13: Dick Heckman. DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Leo Bynum, Riss Estes, Mike Haley, Jon James, Dennis Pagen. EX-OFFICIO DIRECTOR: Art Greenfield (NAA).

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

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine is published for foot-launched air-sports enthusiasts to create further interest in the sports of hang gliding and paragliding and to provide an educational forum to advance hang gliding and paragliding methods and safety. Contributions are welcome. HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine reserves the right to edit contributions where necessary. The Association and publication do not assume responsibility for the material or opinions of contributors. HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING editorial offices email: [email protected]. ALL ADVERTISING AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES MUST BE SENT TO USHPA HEADQUARTERS IN COLORADO SPRINGS.

The USHPA is a member-controlled sport organization dedicated to the exploration and promotion of all facets of unpowered ultralight flight, and to the education, training and safety of its membership. Membership is open to anyone interested in this realm of flight. Dues for Rogallo membership are $270. Pilot memberships are $75 ($90 non-U.S.). Dues for Contributing membership and for subscription-only are $52 ($63 non-U.S.). $15 of annual membership dues goes to the publication of Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine. Changes of address should be sent six weeks in advance, including name, USHPA number, previous and new address, and a mailing label from a recent issue. You may also email your request with your member number to: [email protected].

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING (ISSN 1543-5989) (USPS 17970) is published monthly by the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc., 1685 W. Uintah St., Colorado Springs, CO 80904, (719) 632-8300, FAX (719) 632-6417. PERIODICAL postage is paid at Colorado Springs, CO and at additional mailing offices.

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HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine welcomes editorial submissions from our members and readers. We are always looking for well written articles and quality artwork. Feature stories generally run anywhere from 1500 to 3000 words. News releases are welcomed, but please do not send brochures, dealer newsletters or other extremely

lengthy items. Please edit news releases with our readership in mind, and keep them reasonably short without excessive sales hype. Calendar of events items may be sent via email to [email protected], 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, [email protected], (516) 816-1333.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES IN PUBLICATIONSThe material presented here is published as part of an information dissemination service for USHPA members. The USHPA makes no warranties or representations and assumes no liability concerning the validity of any advice, opinion or recommendation expressed in the material. All individuals relying upon the material do so at their own risk. Copyright © 2008 Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine.

For change of address or other USHPA businesscall (719) 632-8300, or email [email protected].

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.

H A N G G L I D I N G & P A R A G L I D I N G M A G A Z I N EP

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HANG IN THERE | POWERED FLIGHTStaff writer Mark "Forger" Stucky's sketchy ode to the Soarmaster.

CONCERTINA FOLDING BAGs Zip it up and run. Are the new crop of fancy bags worth your while?

TRANsITIONING TO HIGH PERFORmANCEIn the final installment of a three part series, high performance harnesses are examined.

XCsKIEs.COmA bevy of cool tools flesh out this online weather analysis site.

YEAR OF THE 100 mILERsIt was one of those epic years in Region 9.

by Dean Stratton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

by Mark "Forger" Stucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

by Katrina Mohr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

by Dennis Pagen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

by Pete Lehmann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

0808EDITOR

PILOT BRIEFINGs

AIRmAIL

sAFETY BULLETIN

UsHPA

CENTERFOLD

DIsPATCH

RATINGs

UsHPA sTORE

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Photo by Markus Zimmerman, Fiesch Switzerland .

August 2008: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – www.USHPA.aero5

BALIFlying over seaweed farms and perfect beaches. Post flight massages. Why aren't you in Bali?

sPREADING OUR WINGsHit the road for a tale of two who would dare to fly.

Q&AFELIX RODRIGUEzHe's a one-eyed wonder. The one and only.

JEWEL OF THE FLYING sITEEvery XC pilot wants this arrow in their quiver–the perfect retreive driver. Read, learn and treat them well.

GALLERYJeff O'Brien

by Heather St . Claire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

by Margo Starbuck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

by Theresa Epperson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

Page 54

by Nick Greece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

June 21st—the longest day of the year. As I sat listening to the morning lecture on cross-country

flying at the fourth annual Jackson Hole Aerofest, I smiled to myself re-calling numerous tales of getting home.

“Getting home after you’ve landed is half the adventure.” For instance, once I got picked up hitchhiking close to the Pinedale oil fields in Wyoming. A very excitable Judas-Priest-blasting, vodka-drinking, speed fanatic scared me sig-nificantly more than I was at any point during my 60-mile flight over the Gros Ventre mountains. With tales of eve-ning glass-offs I eventually persuaded my inebriated chauffeur to release me on the side of the road near another flying site.

The day of the Aerofest felt differ-ent. With 50 or so pilots flying, the po-tential for a ‘bomb -out’, which would provide a proficient retrieve driver, was high. We called Dubois as goal and pilots started hucking off into the building-day. It was tough going. I was a bit tired, but with the feeling of cama-raderie high, I headed across the valley with Jon Patterson, Pete Thompson, and Jon Hunt. I knew from 14000 feet that we could make the town of Kelly, Wyoming, and thus would not land in Teton National Park.

Over Kelly we caught a nice climb and took it to well above 16000 feet. I called a friend on my cell phone to see what the retrieve status was before committing to crossing the wilderness and the Continental Divide. A good buddy was en route, hauling a cooler topped-off with tasty beverages. With a 100-mile cloud-street just one glide away, Jon Patterson (aka the Birdman) and I went on glide as I yelled, “We have to keep going to maximize the day!” Leaving a good climb, we plunged deep into the Gros Ventre wil-derness, heading for sun-ladened peaks shadowed by growing cumulus clouds. We pushed deeper and deeper, looking for the source of the magnificent cloud-street. No one sinks out in the moun-tains, right?

Five minutes later we were both

7


pinned in thermal-shredding 20 mph winds, low, in a tightly knit valley system, leading to the 9200-foot pass located just one decent thermal away. After diving over several spines, fighting the good fight, we made our stand on a spine that had one decent landing option. I watched as Birdman returned to terra firma. It felt like a donkey had punched me in the stomach to see my wingman on the deck. I caught a little thermal that forced me to drift back into a canyon, but toward the road. When I spotted a cruising car, it was a siren sing-ing the sweet tune of roadside service. So I made a desperate play. I went back for an-other sub-ridge, thus putting myself in a position that necessitated many promises in exchange for a safe landing.

It all worked out and I happily folded up chuckling at some of the promises I would have to keep. After an hour Birdman and I had connected and decided to head uphill towards the road, which as the crow flies was only eight miles away. My run-ning sneakers were already wet, but with a relatively short distance to go, I wasn’t con-cerned. However, the hiking halted after about a half-mile, and the post-holing in a weak snowpack commenced. Hour after hour passed as we trudged along with our huge cross-country packs. The amount of equipment that I carry around in my re-frigerator-sized hiking pack is remarkable.

At the first river crossing, we took pic-tures, laughed at our misfortune, and chuckled at my poor choice in foot wear for this experience. By our second, and after four hours of post-holing, I couldn’t feel my legs below my knees. However we were never in any real danger, except for the fact that we were in a notorious grizzly environment. We had tons of dry clothes, food, a glider to sleep in, and fire. Just as darkness enveloped the Divide, we spotted the road with cars on it! I never realized how melodic a Jake brake could sound.

A new sound arose as we finished our five hour post-hole session. A final river crossing beckoned about a half-mile from the road. As we approached the water in darkness, it became crushingly evident that this was the biggest and baddest of them all. The second one had almost swept the Birdman, and we were exhausted. We made the call to stay the night and cross under first light with visibility when the

river was down. The fire we lit was awe-some, and Bob Marley helped us settle into our nests for the evening. A wing makes a great sleeping pad and bag. It was a bit crushing to see the road and cars driving by without the ability, or fortitude, to cross the river that divided us. We awoke early and made the crossing using big sticks for support.

As we waited for Cameron, my better half, to come get us from the Hatchett resort, we soaked our frozen feet in a luke-warm hot tub. We couldn’t help but chuckle at that statement the Birdman had

made during the lecture. IFR from now on, we agreed. “I Follow Roads.” I used to tell students…one must have the willingness to be inconvenienced to succeed at cross-country flying. In the future, I might look into hut-to-hut bivy flying, topping out every climb, and flying in nice waterproof boots!

[previous] Nick after the first mile. Good thing I had plenty of ballast to drink. | Photo by Jon Patterson [left] The start of the glorious flight at the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. | Photo By Jon Hunt [bottom] What made that? | Photo By Jon Patterson [below] The retrieve car we should’ve been in. | Photo by Jon Hunt


SIGMA 7 CERTIFIEDWe are pleased to inform

you that our new SIGMA 7

passed certification, and is

now in production in the four

sizes.

The SIGMA 7 has direct

and pleasant handling

with low brake loads. This

provides precise turn entry,

makes progressive radius

adjustment possible at all

bank angles, and gives you

effortless flying. The balance

of profile and twist give the

required thermal bite. A well-

defined max-lift point on

the wing profile and optimal

internal pressure character-

ise the SIGMA 7. These make

the glider distinctly more

stable, and this also means

that it can be flown faster

in turbulent air. This puts it

wholeheartedly within the

trend for faster transiting,

that is becoming ever more

popular with recreational

cross-country pilots.

More information, and the

ability to book a test flight, at

www.advance.ch

NEW OWNERSHIP IN ASPENFor Aspen Paragliding

the Sky Is the Limit. The

Spring/Summer 2008

season launches the new

brand identity for locally

owned and operated Aspen

Paragliding. Alex Palmaz,

owner, partnered with

New York graphic designer

Garland Lyn to craft the new

look.

Aspen Paragliding was

founded by Dick Jackson in

1991. Palmaz has been flying

for 15 years and is a Master

Rated Tandem Instructor. He

became partner in 2000 and

recently purchased Jackson’s

interest to become the sole

owner of Aspen Paragliding.

Aspen Paragliding’s team

of tandem pilots are certi-

fied by the United States

Hangliding and Paragliding

Association. Their base camp

is located at 414 East Cooper

Street, inside Durrance

Sports on the Cooper Street

Mall and provides all equip-

ment, flight gear, and guid-

ance. Ski equipment and all

weather clothing are avail-

able through AP’s partner-

ship with Durrance Sports.

Palmaz explains, “I’ve

been so fortunate to share

the experience of free

flight with people in an

environment as unique as

Aspen. There’s that moment

when you feel yourself lift

away from the ground and

instantly you are soaring

above the valley. With pan-

oramic views of the Rocky

Mountains, we are able to

view our surroundings from

an entirely new perspective.

Most often people are hard

pressed to find words to de-

scribe the sense of freedom

they experience during the

flight. When we land, the

excitement and cheers of

our passengers and observ-

ers are exhilarating and

extremely fulfilling.”In addi-

tion to paragliding in both

Aspen and Snowmass, Aspen

Paragliding hosts one of a

kind excursions in the world’s

most dynamic paragliding

destinations throughout

North, Central and South

America as well as Europe.

Aspen Paragliding has

been featured in a PBS

production of “ PBS Kids”, an

HD production called “Out

of Bounds” and a Telemundo

production in Spanish called

“Nitido”.

BIBETA 4 BAGS RECORDOn May 9th, Lois Grugger

from the Salzburg Flying

School staff flew a 112

km FAI triangle with the

new Advance BIBETA 4.

Professional tandem pilots

don’t usually do much cross

country—when the weather’s

perfect they’re doing tandem

lessons. After years of cross

country abstinence the

Salzburg Flying School pilot

set out with Petra Lindbichler,

a close friend, on a renewed

hunt for distance—and

straightaway set a new world

record with the Bibeta 4!

The result of this five

and a half hour flight was

a 112 km triangle—a new

world tandem record! “The

glider’s perfect. Perfect to

take off, nice to thermal, a

perfect tandem glider”, said

Lois, who had only made

one flight with it before the

record flight!

LUCA DONINI JOINS GINLuca Donini joins the GIN

Team. Italian pilot Luca

Donini (paragliding World

and European champion) is

joining the GIN team and is

now flying the Boomerang

5. He already won his first

World Cup task with in Italy

last week!

MOYES MALIBU TO MARKETThe new Moyes Malibu offers

unsurpassed levels of han-

dling and safety to ensure

that your flying experience

is as good as it can be.

Whether you're a newbie to

the sport and want a safe

and rewarding glider to

further develop your skills, or

an experienced pilot seeking

fun on the sand dunes, you’ll

really appreciate the features

PilotBRIEFINGSNew | Improved | Buzzworthy


and flying characteristics of

the Moyes Malibu.

The new Moyes Malibu

offers a frame built from

7075 aluminium tubing with

6061 aluminium crossbars

that are covered with a 4oz

dacron sail. The sail is shaped

and supported by 15 battens

made from 7075 aluminium,

as well as a unique lead-

ing edge insert manufac-

tured from Mylar and foam.

Considerable effort has

been made to ensure the sail

design is efficient, and as a

result the Moyes Malibu is a

sweet handling glider that is

capable of flying in very light

conditions.

The Malibu offers an ex-

tremely slow stall speed with

a very forgiving and pro-

gressive stall. Tip stalls are

almost impossible, and the

glider is very easy to recover

from most difficult situa-

tions. Due to the advanced

aerodynamic design of the

Moyes Malibu, you’ll find

yourself enjoying the flying

in conditions that are lighter

than you would ever imagine.

This is the glider that will stay

up the longest, and keep you

flying while the others are

walking.

DISCOVERY WATCHES WILLSThe Discovery Channel did

a show on how hang gliders

are made at Wills Wing, in

Orange, CA. You can watch

the seven minute video on

your in HD at: http://www.

vimeo.com/1161514.

OZONE "BECAUSE..." WINNERSOzone have chosen winners

for the Because… film pre-

sentation and contest. Go to

www.flyozone.com/because

to see / download the free

film and read the answers

from the contest.

OZONE RUSH 2 XS, XL CERTIFIED Ozone’s latest ‘performance

intermediate’ 1-2 / B wing is

now certified in all sizes. The

Rush 2 is the successor to

the original Rush, and Ozone

claims it has the highest

overall XC performance of

any 1-2 / B wing that they

have produced, or flown.

OZONE ADDICT 2 XL CERTIFIED The Addict 2 XL is now certi-

fied EN C along with the S,

M, and L sizes. Ozone says

that S, M, and L sizes are now

shipped out to all major mar-

kets and demos are currently

available.

GIN SAFETY NOTICEAs is indicated in the

owner’s manual: Gin

Competition Paraglider

models (Boomerang Sport

and Boomerang) should be

checked regularly: at least

every 100 hours of flight, or

every year.

Gin Yeti Paragliders

should be checked every 50

hours.

There are additional,

specific instructions re-

garding Competition Level

Boomerang models; please

refer to the owners manual:

http://www.gingliders.com/

downloads/manual.php.

It is imperative that pilots

respect these inspection

intervals as these gliders are

very sensitive to any changes

in the line’s breaking strength

and/or total line length. The

aerodynamics, performance

and safety of these models

can be negatively affected

by these changes.

During inspection of some

Boomerang Sports’ with

100+ hours of use, it was

confirmed that some gliders

have lines that have changed

length and are no longer

within the 1-2 cm tolerances.

It was observed that

some gliders with 100 hours+,

experienced shrinkage in the

middle lines constructed of

“LIROS DC 120.” The changes

were seen mainly on the D

cascade, and brake lines.

This line shrinkage can

be easily detected during

the normal line length check

as part of the required 100

hours, or one year inspection.

As a precaution, Gin

decided to offer replacement

middle, and upper line sets

free of charge, to all owners

of Boomerang Sport, and

Yeti 08s that are fitted with

LIROS DC 120, and DC 60.

Owners manuals for most

Gin models are available at:

http://www.gingliders.com/

downloads/manual.php

Contact:

Super Fly Inc.

801 255 9595

Sandy, UT 84070

GIN GINGO AIRLIGHT ARRIVESThe Gingo AirLight is the Air

Bag version of the Gingo

2, our intermediate har-

ness suitable for all pilots.

Certified EN and LTF, the Air

Bag back protection makes

the Gingo weigh only 3.7kg.

Not only is the Gingo

AirLight a light harness (3.7

kg), it is also supremely com-

fortable. Our objective was

to create a light and compact

harness with which we can

fly for several hours with a

high standard of comfort.

More information: chris@

superflyinc.com


KING MOUNTAIN, IDAHO Is the world ready

for triwingual? Construction is under-

way for a world-class glider airpark at

the base of King Mountain, Idaho. John

and Rae Kangas are building a three dis-

cipline soaring facility that will accom-

modate hang gliders, paragliders, and

sailplanes.

The King Mountain Glider Park is

being constructed as an open and flex-

ible facility that will accommodate three

major soaring disciplines at one location.

The grading and planting of a 3900-foot

long turf runway, designed to FAA part

77 standards, has already been com-

pleted. In addition to the foot-launching

opportunities available above the site at

King Mountain, the 120-foot wide runway

will make it possible for both aero-tow-

ing and winch-launching operations to

be conducted safely at the base of the

mountain. An RV park with 80-foot pull-

through spaces, an open tent camping

area, and a fishing pond are currently

under construction.

King Mountain and the Lost River

Range are some of Idaho’s tallest moun-

tains. The area has abundant ridge,

thermal, and mountain wave soaring

conditions. John says, “We believe that

King Mountain and the three major

mountain ranges that comprise the

Idaho- Montana border region have

world-class soaring conditions that will

continue to attract soaring enthusiasts

from all over the world.” For a glimpse

of the airstrip location and surrounding

mountains, Google Earth at N 43-45-50

and W 113-20-40.

The Paragliding Nationals were held

last year just 40 miles west of the site

in Sun Valley, Idaho. Paraglider Pilots

from all over the world fly King on a reg-

ular basis. King Mountain is famous for

evening glass off conditions that allow

gliders to soar to well over 12,000’ feet.

Idaho’s Hang Gliding Distance Record

of 182 miles was set from King Mountain

on a flight northeast towards Bozeman,

Montana. The King Mountain Hang

Gliding Championships are held at the

mountain each summer. Sailplane Pilots

also hold a regatta in the Big Lost River

area each summer. The Soaring Society

of America region 8 triangle speed

record for 300 kilometers has been set

in this area in four out of the last five

years.

The soaring season begins as early as

April, with outstanding conditions con-

tinuing through September and October.

Given all the recreational activities that

the Sun Valley region of Idaho has to

offer, the King Mountain Glider Park is in

a perfect location for folks to fish, hike,

soar, and explore Idaho and Montana. A

place where paraglider, hang glider, and

sailplane pilots, and their families can all

sit around the campfire in the evening

and share their extraordinary experienc-

es. The King Mountain Glider Park will be

a world class facility where “All Birds are

Welcome!”

For more information contact John

Kangas at (208) 407-7174 or j_kangas@

msn.com

TriwingualAIRPARKA Closer Look

by John Kangas


When I went to a fly-in several years ago, the

unusual happened: the XC conditions were

perfect. On the first day, one of my friends

flew through three states and landed 90

kilometers out in the desert. Since he flew

over a major highway, it was easy for him to

keep in radio contact with his chase driver.

Once he was on the ground, they contin-

ued to have good radio communication

with each other. However, even with all

their gadgets and communication devices

fired up and working, they didn't find each

other until after midnight; then, they began

the long drive back to camp. What a frus-

trating way to end such a sweet flight!

But there is a way to make retrieves

easy–use a GPS. This invaluable device will

help you get back to the campfire in time

to tell your “and there I was” story, instead

of being lost in the desert after dark.

Luckily, you only need to know a few

things about a GPS to make the retrieve

go smoothly. Let’s start with a really simple

scenario: you fly into some uncharted ter-

ritory and wisely land next to a

paved road. Luckily for you, your

flying buddy sank out and is

packed up and sitting in your car

when you call him on his mobile.

You read your GPS coordinates

to him; he punches them into his

GPS, does a “GO TO,” and fol-

lows the arrow until he finds you.

Simple enough, right? Simple,

yes, but kind of fairy-tale like,

too–it’s a little more complicated

than that.

Your driver needs to know

how to enter coordinates (lati-

tude, longitude) into a GPS as

well as how to navigate roads using a paper

map. One complication you may face is

that the two GPS units might be set up to

use different coordinate formats; it doesn’t

matter which format is used, as long as it’s

the same on both units. So if your driver is

not GPS savvy, save yourself a headache

by asking for his coordinates first. If they

aren't the format your GPS is using, change

your coordinate format to match his and

give your driver your coordinates in the

common format. You should be able to talk

your retriever through the process of enter-

ing coordinates into his GPS when you land,

but it might be wise to practice before you

launch.

One tip: If your mobile is getting some

signal but not enough to make a call, you

can SMS your coordinates to your driver’s

mobile. This allows you to avoid transpos-

ing digits and other errors. In an emergen-

cy, you can always SMS your coordinates to

someone who you know will be in an area

with good mobile coverage, and they can

contact the appropriate people or authori-

ties for a rescue effort if needed.

Now, let’s take our retrieve scenario up

a notch in complexity. Suppose you are

specked out with a solid tail wind, enabling

you to bounce effortlessly from cloud

bottom to cloud bottom and fly over vast

stretches of tiger country. You are more

likely to enjoy that exhilarating experience

if you have confidence that your retrieve

driver is skilled enough to find you when

you land. On XC’s like this, no one knows

where you are going to land or if you’ll have

mobile coverage once you do. Taking the

time to get a good driver equipped with a

map, mobile phone, GPS and a radio will

surely pay off.

The best way to keep your driver

nearby while you blaze toward the sunset

is to radio your distance and bearing from

launch. Do this every time you go on glide;

those two pieces of information are all he

needs to find you. To report your location

say “This is Billy Bob, I’m at 55 miles, 76

degrees, over.” It works like this: you and

your driver press “Mark/Enter” on launch

so both your GPS’s have a common point.

Then you both perform a "GOTO” launch.

With both GPS’s heading to the same point,

your driver just tries to match your report-

ed distance, bearing to the distance, and

bearing shown on his/her GPS. Bearing is

a user-selectable display field and is simply

your current position in degrees. Of course,

your driver has to stick to the roads, so his

bearing won’t exactly match yours, but

he can tell if you are to the left or right of

where he is and how far ahead you are.

One important point to remember:

Before you get low, be sure to radio your

distance and bearing, because your radio

signal travels a lot farther when airborne

than it does on the ground. If there are

any hills, you may lose radio contact with

your driver once you land. If you do lose

contact, your driver should try to radio you

from each hilltop or other elevated terrain

feature as he drives in your direction. As a

pilot, you should try to land on a higher fea-

ture, not in the bottom of a canyon where

your radio and mobile will be useless.

One catch: For the Distance and Bearing

method to work, both GPS’s must

have the same North Reference

setting. The simplest is to choose

True or True North; this tells both

GPS’s to use the actual North Pole

(versus magnetic north) as the

compass reference. To be fair, I

should mention one other GPS

setting named Map Datum. For

cross-country retrieval, it is not

critical that both GPS’s have the

same Map Datum selected, but it

is slightly more accurate if they do.

Most GPS’s use WGS 84 as the de-

fault Map Datum.

One last tip to drivers: The best

drivers use a GPS with built-in maps, such

as the Garmin GPSMAP series. Once you

download the maps into the GPS, you can

see which road you are on and which roads

lie ahead. This takes most of the guesswork

out of finding the most direct route to get

to your pilot. Mapping GPS’s are great for

a pilot, too. You can make route decisions

in the air, as it shows cities, roads, lakes,

mountains, rivers and even airports (which

you might want to avoid) that lie ahead.

GPS|XCRETRIEVETechnique | Safety | Training | Flights

by Brett Hardin


FINAL FLIGHT I beg to use your publica-

tion as a venue to update your member-

ship on the failing health of one of your

members and of the outstanding efforts

of three more of your members to make

a dream come true.

My brother, Vern Ostdiek, formely of

Muscotah, Kansas, and now a resident

of the Good Samaritan Home, Nelson,

Nebraska, has been an avid hang glider

pilot for over 25 years. He has flown in

several states as well as several countries.

In July of 2007, Vern was diagnosed with

stage four-brain cancer. He has under-

gone two surgeries as well as chemo and

radiation therapy. His prognosis, however,

is glum. As of now, he is able to interact

socially, both verbally and via email.

Vern had a dream of hang gliding at

least one more time, so he contacted

Len Smith of Overland Park, Kansas, who

owns a tandem hang glider. Vern asked

if Len and some of his flying friends

would be willing to give him a chance to

fly again, and they agreed. On May 16th,

Len Smith, Jim Gaar, and Mike Russell, all

from the greater Kansas City area, made

the four-hour trip to Nelson, Nebraska,

to give Vern his opportunity. After find-

ing the right spot, they completed some

test flights and prepared to take Vern the

next day.

On Saturday, May 17th, just before

noon, with an audience of family, friends,

Good Samaritan employees, several

hospice workers, reporters from a local

newspaper, and a local television crew,

Vern was once again airborne. The flight

went will with much cheering and ap-

plause. Vern was extremely happy!

Vern has known Len, Jim, and Mike for

years. I cannot overstate how thankful all

of Vern’s family is for what these three

men did without asking for anything in

return. We would also like to commend

them for the good manners, grace, and

patience exhibited while they accom-

plished all of this. They are gentlemen of

the finest sort who will be fondly remem-

bered by all of us.

Vern is still “up in the clouds.” If any of

your readers care to congratulate him on

this occasion, his address is Vern Ostediek,

150 West 8th St., Nelson, NE 68961. His

email is [email protected], and his

cell phone number is (402)621-0440.

In closing, we ask that if the USHPA

has an awards program to honor mem-

bers for special acts of kindness, we

wholeheartedly nominate Len Smith, Jim

Gaar, and Mike Russell to be considered

as recipients of said award. They will be

remembered with affection forever by

the family and friends of Vern Ostdiek,

and will be welcomed back anytime.

Submitted by John F . Ostdiekjostdiek@gtme .net

TO LIVE IS TO FLY I attended the awards

ceremony at the spring BOD meeting, in

Colorado Springs. I was very happy to

learn that Nick Franczyk had received an

award for his film “To Live is to Fly”, an

excellent documentary on hang gliding in

Missoula, Montana and events surround-

ing the closure of the site. My article about

the situation appeared in the February

edition.

Many of us working to resolve the

problems with the airport tower chief

wanted to minimize publicity while we

were negotiating with the players in-

volved. We were worried that the release

of Nick’s film would bring publicity and

an unpredictable reaction (safety vs..

tradition). As it turned out it was public

sentiment that made all of the difference

in reopening Mt. Sentinel, and Nick’s film

was instrumental in the initial awareness

and portrayed a positive perspective on

our flying there.

Nick’s essential role in reopening Mt.

Sentinel should have been made more

clear in my article. I would like to recog-

nize him for that here, extend my congrat-

ulations on his award, and urge everyone

to view this excellent film at www.mtnick.

com.

Submitted by Leo Bynum

Rants | Raves | Ramblings

AirMAILThe opinions expressed in the letters published in this column are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the magazine staff or USHPA officials. While every effort is made to verify facts stated in letters, readers are urged to check the accuracy of any

statement before taking action or forming an opinion based on the contents of a letter.


Thanks to Dale for his instructive com-

ments on the accident reports this time

around. Dale is one of the most re-

nowned paragliding instructors in the

West, having been teaching since 1990.

He was not only one of the first instruc-

tors in the U.S., but also one of the first

pilots to receive a USHPA Master rating.

We are lucky to receive occasional input

from instructors of Dale’s caliber, and

we hope we can continue to bring you

insights from guest instructors in future

columns.

We received many thoughtful and

detailed reports from our pilots, re-

garding more than a dozen accidents

over the last four months since the last

column, and I hope to cover as many

of them as possible in future columns.

For now, I would like to focus on four of

the recent accidents that speak to one

of the most fundamental themes in our

discussions of safety: situational aware-

ness. Aviators commonly use "this term"

to describe the extent and focus of a

pilot’s attention during critical phases

of flight. It can describe a pilot’s aware-

ness of environmental variables such as

terrain clearance, localized airflow and

turbulence, changing weather condi-

tions, variations in the stall point of the

canopy, or any of the myriad of factors

that vie for a share of our limited powers

of concentration during a flight.

Let’s consider our first unfortu-

nate pilot, a very new and enthusiastic

novice pilot who had just launched into

very light thermal conditions at a north-

western foothill site. While thermalling

very close to the hill, he crashed into

the terrain downwind before he could

complete the turn, injuring both ankles.

In the pilot's own words:

“I decided I was not going to hike back up a second time due to the effort involved, and, therefore, before the flight even began, I became fixated on one thing and one single

thing only—not sinking out. I was even more intent on having a nice long flight to altitude, after having waited over four hours at launch for conditions to improve. (The air was extremely calm and a haze layer seemed to be suppressing thermals even though we had strong sun). When I finally did launch, the wind and thermals were still so mild that anything other than an extended sled-der was probably impossible, as the two (more experienced) pilots who went before me had just demonstrated. But this real-ity did not sink in; I was still obsessed with catching something and specking out. This attitude guaranteed disaster before takeoff.”

“Actual impact occurred when I encountered the merest of lift and decided instantly to engage a tight turn, in keeping with my prior-ity. (I will not say “priorities” plural because in my mind there was only one at the time.) I didn’t even spend a fraction of a second thinking about my position relative to the hill before initiating the turn, as my position relative to the hill had nothing to do with my desire to catch lift. As soon as I began moving downwind and the hill swung into view, I re-alized I was in for it. At this point I probably did freeze for a second as my brain struggled

SafetyBULLETINMission | Policy | Membership | Involvement

by Alex Colby, Staff WriterCommentary by Dale Covington


to incorporate reality.”“My error was single-mindedness. If I had

given my desire for a good flight an appropri-ate ranking amongst the other thoughts that also should have been present in my mind, the day would have been uneventful. Safety should always be the primary focus—in prac-tice I believe this is accomplished by keeping a keen situational awareness and comparing it constantly against the desired goals (amongst which the first one is to avoid injury).” Two expert witnesses contributed separate accounts of this accident—both of them con-firmed the basic details of the incident, and both lauded the quick and efficient rescue op-eration. In slight contradiction to the other two accounts, one reporter indicated a moder-ate amount of wind was blowing, which he believed contributed to a higher downwind speed. He also noted, “I think this was a case of trying to combine too many new lessons in the same flight.” The other witness summed up his report by noting that “this is a new pilot with more to learn about how cautious to be in thermalling close to the hill.”

I think these are excellent points.

Newer pilots should strive to keep the

number of new lessons in their early

flights to a manageable low number

during each flight. Let’s take our time

learning those lessons! As for being

cautious when thermalling close to the

hill: while I think we are all constantly re-

fining our judgment in this area, newer

pilots should certainly take their time

and exercise loads of caution as they

figure out what kind of terrain clearance

is required in a given turning situation.

Dale’s input:

“This sounds like a fairly typical mistake. The pilot hit the nail on the head with his assess-ment. His single-minded focus on staying up diverted his awareness from the big picture. Situational awareness is the priority when flying, and it is easy to focus on staying up when a safe landing is the obvious priority. Beyond that, the first few turns in lift near the hill are often fraught with danger. The terrain is close and rising at you once you turn downwind towards it due to your ground-speed increasing as you turn downwind, and sink rate increases as the turn radius increases. You often find small bubbles of lift close to the ground, and it’s easy to fall out the back by

turning too soon into the sink. Combine these factors, and you see how quickly trouble com-pounds in this scenario. Make sure you have adequate terrain clearance before you commit to a 360 close to the hill and anticipate things not going as you would like.”

In a subsequent conversation, Dale

also mentioned the difficulty that many

newer pilots have in keeping a turn

evenly banked all the way around a

circle, because of the tendency of the

glider to flatten out after the initial input.

Learning to coordinate your weight shift

and braking inputs to enact smooth

turn can take some practice.

The second accident took a very ex-

perienced pilot by surprise: a slow and

unfocused reaction to unexpected tur-

bulence at the landing zone of a coastal

site caused him to crash into the road

and break two vertebrae. The pilot sub-

mitted a detailed report that attributes

the mistimed approach to rapidly rising

and sinking air, recalling a final moment

of unexpected free-fall above the road

just before he reached the landing

zone.

We also have reports from two wit-

nesses on the local club forum: one

describes very light winds at the land-

ing zone and remembers uncharacter-

istically aggressive turns on the pilot’s

final approach that appeared to end

in a spin. Another airborne witness

who landed just after the accident de-

scribes turbulent air that caused him to

almost overshoot into a stone wall with

a tandem passenger (and his canopy

draped across the road). Both pilots

were extremely lucky that no cars were

passing in either direction at the time of

their landings. In the pilot's own words:

“The real culprit here was the fact that I was not giving flying my undivided attention—I was flying on autopilot. I was not thinking about my landing; in fact, it seemed like a forgone conclusion while I was still in the air. As a result, my mind was fixated on the spot where I wanted to land at the LZ. Landing down at the bottom of the LZ or in the dunes didn’t even enter my mind.”

This accident bears some similarity

to a previous mishap at this site a few

years ago, involving a pilot who got in-

jured while landing in the same wind

direction. Landings at this coastal site

are known to be potentially challeng-

ing when the wind direction puts the

landing zone in the shadow of a large

upwind island located a mile or so off-

shore. Pilots need to keep an eye out for

signs of this type of mechanical turbu-

lence and vary their landing patterns

accordingly. At coastal sites like this

one, cats’ paws or other unusual texture

on the water often indicates that you

should use an alternative landing zone.

It’s also worth noting that the pilot

was flying with an older harness that

had no padding. Not only that, but the

dorsal reserve parachute mount on

the harness fits right between the two

points of the back injury. One witness

guesses the pilot fell from a height of 15

feet. But even from that height, it’s pos-

sible that a modern harness with a foam

or airbag cushion could have mitigated

or prevented his injuries. Dale’s note:

“The underlying theme of paying attention seems to be the best conclusion that can be drawn from this. Once again, situational awareness—giving the flying our undivided attention—is our top concern.”

The third accident involved a student

who was finishing a prolonged course

of instruction, culminating in the com-

pletion of the last of five required spot-

landings as witnessed by his instructor.

The instructor reports that his student’s

approach brought him in too high. And

in his zeal to make the spot, he tried to

slow the glider down too much, result-

ing in a spin from which he was unable

to recover before impacting the ground

at a high rate of descent. In this case,

the pilot’s harness had extremely thick

padding, and he got away with a stable

compressed vertebra. As the instructor

notes:

“Landing on the target became the ultimate priority to him. Throughout his training, he had been told about the speed range and brak-ing height limits, but his answer after return-ing from the hospital was, ‘I forgot’.”

This is a classic example of a very


new pilot becoming fixated on a goal to

the exclusion of basic flying techniques.

Understanding the importance of not

slowing down the glider too much

should certainly take priority over spot

landing proficiency. But brake input on

a paraglider can be a confounding mys-

tery to the uninitiated; we are all taught

that we can use them a little, but not

too much, except just before we land,

when we suddenly use the entire range.

It takes some experience to know when

to override our natural instincts to in-

crease our brake input when we want

to go just a bit slower. Dale’s comment:

“Would this qualify for one of his spot-land-ings? Once again, the pilot was too focused on the wrong things. A safe landing is top priority while in the air, even when you are focusing on other things, like getting and staying up, or a spot-landing. It always will be there, un-derlying all of your other decisions. It sounds as if the spot- landing in question might have been the final piece in his P2 rating, making it an inordinately loaded task. Emotions and expectations can distract us from an objective

perspective and keep us from thinking clearly about the other factors of safe flight (in this instance, not stalling).”

“In these three reports, we’ve seen pilots with either too much attention focused on only one aspect of aviating, or not focused enough. Either way, it’s a matter of attention, and WHAT we choose to focus our attention on. It’s important to maintain situational aware-ness regarding the BIG PICTURE, while we manage the glider in whatever kind of air we’ve bumbled into. We also need to look down the barrel of our decision chain, imag-ining the various outcomes of our decisions and realizing that our options become fewer the lower we get. As has been pointed out many times before, accidents in aviation are rarely the result of one bad decision. They are the result of a snowball effect of many smaller ones, as the next report points out.”

In our fourth accident, an intermedi-

ate pilot used too much brake to turn

back from the downwind leg of a final

approach to the landing zone, spinning

the canopy and dropping to the terrain,

breaking a rib and partially deflating

both lungs. The pilot tells a dramatic

and terse story in his own words:

“What the hell happened?! I wondered, as I lay there gasping to breathe. One moment I was on the downwind leg ready to turn into the wind for landing, and then, WHAM! I’m on the ground listening to the shouts of ‘call 911!’. Five minutes ago, I’m sinking out and setting up for my approach to the field. I dawdle too long away from the field; that bit of bad judgment leaves me coming in too low on the downwind, so I’m holding a bit of brakes to fly at minimum sink and preserve altitude. There is a good 5-7 mph tailwind. I throw in some left-weight shift to start the turn, but the wing isn’t responding normally. This is my first time flying a bikini-mountain harness with this wing, and it’s very difficult to get good weight-shift input to the wing. So I pull a bit more brake to get the turn to carve and the whole left wing just goes away. I’ve stalled the damned thing. I’m about 20-30 feet off the ground, and the right wing flashes by in front of me, the leading edge parallel to the ground, as I race it back to earth. I land flat on my right side, right elbow smashed

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into the ribcage. It appears that four things had combined to cause the crash—being too low on approach, holding the brake instead of maintaining good speed, having bad harness/wing combination and being too heavy on the brake. A fast downwind landing would have been much less painful.”

It’s not uncommon for pilots to expe-

rience unintentional spins when making

a highly banked turn back upwind from

a downwind heading, if they are not

careful to minimize the inside brake to

allow the low half of the wing to main-

tain airspeed. This also can be exacer-

bated when landing in the presence of a

wind gradient—another reason to keep

some airspeed in reserve during our

landing approaches. Dale’s thoughts:

“Sounds as if the pilot was not anticipating the landing quite enough. Like the first report, the pilot may have been so focused on being in the air/staying up that all of a sudden, the planet sneaked up on him. This accident is once again a result of a number of contrib-uting factors, but the situational awareness

is a large part of the picture. Where is the LZ, what’s the wind direction and speed, what are my wing’s limitations (glide, sink rate, speed, turning capabilities? The harness is not necessarily at fault, but the pilot’s lack of awareness of the reduced weight-shift ca-pability and resulting over-control play a big part in this accident as well.”

“I think the awareness priorities should be: (1) Aviation. Control the wing, keep it flying and going where you want it to go. (2) Situational awareness. What is going on in the big picture? Not what you’d like to have going on, but a clear honest assessment of the situation and an honest assessment of your abilities. (3) Anticipation of the inevitable landing. Make sure you have an easy glide to a reasonable LZ, while avoiding terrain until you are intentionally and thoughtfully setting up your approach. As I get lower, the land-ing increasingly gets more of my attention, and, on final, I’m pretty much totally focused on the aviating. The more instinctive active flying becomes—i.e., the aviating bit—the more your brain is freed up to focus on the big picture stuff.”

Dale is right-on here. Our skills in

maintaining situational awareness will

increase over time as we gain experi-

ence under our wings. In a subsequent

phone conversation, Dale also talked

about the notion of bandwidth and

how newer pilots start out with a lim-

ited amount of data they can process at

once. An experienced pilot will be pro-

cessing a lot more data to make more

sophisticated decisions, but when he’s

starting out, he needs to try to focus

on just a few primary directives—like

avoiding the terrain.

Please keep those accident reports

coming! Submitting a report can be a

great opportunity to think through an

accident you’ve experienced or wit-

nessed, and by sharing it with your

flying community, you are giving us all a

chance to benefit from the lessons you

are learning. You don’t need to wait until

someone gets hurt; reports of close

calls can hold valuable lessons as well.

Thanks for all your contributions to

our collective understanding of safety.


Every year, the USHPA issues awards and commen-dations to those people making contributions to our sport that their peers consider worthy of recognition. In order for this process to work, nominations must be submitted to the Awards Committee by any indi-vidual prior to the Fall BOD meeting.

PRESIDENTIAL CITATION This is the USHPA's high-

est award, and is awarded to a member or

non-member who has made significant con-

tributions to the sport. The contributions need

not have been made during the previous year.

This special award may only be awarded to a

single person once.

USHPA EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE AWARD This award

recognizes outstanding service to the

Association during the year by any member or

non-member.

NAA SAFETY AWARD The NAA Safety Award is

given to an individual who has contributed to

safety promotion in some significant way that

should be recognized.

CHAPTER OF THE YEAR This award recognizes the

USHPA Chapter/club that has conducted suc-

cessful programs that reflect positively upon

the Chapter and the sport. Activities include,

but are not limited to: site procurement, devel-

opment and retention, safety, membership de-

velopment, and beginner & novice programs.

NEWSLETTER OF THE YEAR This award recognizes

an outstanding club publication (printed or

web-based) that has been supportive of the

sport and the sponsoring Chapter's activities.

The award is based on service to members,

layout, article variety, safety promotion, and

promoting the sport.

THE INSTRUCTOR OF THE YEAR AWARD The Instructor

of the Year Award recognizes the importance

of our certified hang gliding and paragliding

instructors in promoting safe flying practices

and contributing to the positive image and

growth of our sport. Nominations should in-

clude letters of support from three students

and the local Regional Director. Considerations

will include effectiveness as a teacher, being a

safety role model, and other factors that the

nominating parties deem worthy of recog-

nition. One award per sport per year will be

given.

SPECIAL COMMENDATIONS USHPA Special

Commendations are awarded to any number

of non-members and organizations who have

done exceptional volunteer work that has sig-

nificantly enhanced and promoted our sports

in the U.S. The Special Commendation is a way

for our organization to recognize landowners,

drivers, restaurant owners, government offi-

cials and any others who have contributed in a

non-member capacity during the year.

COMMENDATIONS Commendations are awards

to any number of USHPA members who have

contributed to hang gliding and/or paragliding

on a volunteer basis in any areas including site

development and retention, competition orga-

nization, public relations, heroic rescue efforts,

and/or basically getting off their duffs and

doing something for someone else's enjoy-

ment of flying and the promotion of the sport.

BETTINA GRAY AWARD The Bettina Gray Award

was created to honor the woman who con-

tributed so much to our sport through her

photography. This award is issued to the pho-

tographer (male or female) whose work (three

examples needed for review) is judged best

by the committee in consideration of aesthet-

ics, originality, and a positive portrayal of hang

gliding or paragliding. One award will be given

each year.

BEST PROMOTIONAL FILM This award recognizes

the videographer, whose work is judged best

by the committee in consideration of aesthet-

ics, originality, and a positive portrayal of hang

gliding or paragliding. One award will be given

each year.

For more information contact Brad Hall, chair-

person for the Awards committee, brad.reg3@

gmail.com. Solicited Nomination is important -

It WORKS! For submissions , please send your

nomination(s) and materials to:

info@ushpa .aerohttp://www .ushpa .aero/emailaward .asp

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AwardNOMINATIONSMission | Policy | Membership | Involvement

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POWERED FLIGHT I doubt the Wright broth-

ers decided to add a noisy engine and twin

ear-splitting propellers to their glider be-

cause they found soaring flight too tran-

quil. No, I figure they invented the airplane

because they wanted to be able to takeoff

from flat ground. As hang glider designs

became more efficient, it was only natural

for those who were geographically chal-

lenged to look for engines that would them

help slate their thirst for flight.

The Soarmaster was the first commer-

cially successful strap-on power pack that

allowed a pilot to takeoff from level ground,

climb a couple of thousand feet and fly for

a few miles on a small tank of gas. In 1978,

you could purchase a top-of-the-line hang

glider for $1000, and for a similar amount,

you could add a Soarmaster that would

transform your high-performance hang

glider into a low-performance motor glider.

The motors of motor gliders are not pow-

erful because they are designed to avoid

extra weight. This was especially true of

the Soarmaster, since the pilot’s legs car-

ried the full weight of the aircraft during

launch and landing.

Unlike the current crop of powered har-

nesses, the Soarmaster was rigidly attached

to the airframe via bolts at the control-bar

apex and the rear keel. A 10-hp engine

drove the pusher-prop via a reduction-

gear drive and an internal-drive shaft. The

added 35 lbs of weight not only decreased

the glider’s response to weight shift, it also

added a couple of unique issues.

The thrust line of the Soarmaster was

well above the aircraft’s center of gravity.

If you stall a powered aircraft, the instinc-

tive (and normally proper) reaction is to

add power, in order to help recover needed

airspeed and minimize altitude loss. A hang

glider—like a normal aircraft—wants to pitch

down when stalled. However, because

of the excessively high thrust-line of the

Soarmaster, adding power in a stall caused

an abrupt and severe pitch down, with the

resulting dive recovery taking several times

the altitude of an idle-power recovery. Too

many pilots learned this the hard way, and

more than one suffered a broken neck be-

cause of it. In order to climb out of ground

effect, the Soarmaster had to be flown at

the speed for maximum-excess power

that equated to minimum-sink speed. This

meant the Soarmaster pilot was always

within a few knots of stall speed; it didn’t

take more than a bit of turbulence or a turn

before the pilot would be nibbling at stall

and have to momentarily reduce power to

avoid nosing over!

The Soarmaster also had another exclu-

sive characteristic—if you pushed-out fully,

it was possible to amputate your own toes

(imagine having to land after doing that!).

Both of these issues were well known by

the time my Soarmaster was delivered to

my college apartment.

The Soarmaster was designed to strap

onto an Electra Flyer Olympus that had a

straight keel tube and a high vertical keel

pocket. My Pliable Moose Elite had an

S-shaped keel and a horizontal keel pocket.

It took me a few hours of experimenting

before I had an installation that I felt prop-

erly mimicked the photos. Even though it

was late in the day, I just had to go for a

test flight.

For my maiden flight, I decided it would

be best to launch from a slope, so I chose

a small bowl-shaped dike on the east side

of town. There were large power lines di-

rectly in front of me, but they were far

enough away that I figured I would have

the distance either to climb above them or

to turn away. With winds that were light, it

took almost the full slope to get airborne.

The glider climbed smoothly but slowly.

Because I was uncomfortable with the al-

titude that I would have for crossing the

power lines, I made a quick turn downwind.

Not only did I stop climbing, I also lost alti-

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tude in the turn and wound up flying down-

wind in ground-effect with the dike rapidly

approaching, now above me.

Although launching from the dike had

seemed like a good idea, I now realized I

might be trapped between it and the power

lines. I made a more gentle turn to parallel

the dike and, thankfully, started climbing. I

climbed out steadily at 200 fpm and liter-

ally flew around the perimeter of the town.

I was thrilled to reach over 2000 feet AGL

before the engine began sputtering as the

fuel ran out. The view was tremendous; I

couldn’t help but notice the Kansas State

University football stadium ablaze as tech-

nicians checked out the lights and score-

board in preparation for the next day’s

game.

In those days, the KSU Wildcats were

notoriously kitten-like and although I had a

season ticket, I decided it would be more

exciting to fly my motorized hang glider

around the stadium during the game.

Besides the crowd would be filled with awe

and amazement to see such an amazing

aircraft!

Since the 15-foot tall dike hadn’t worked

out too well, I searched for a larger drop-

off to launch from. A couple of miles north

of town was a broad plateau crowned by a

small hill. The eastern slope had been blast-

ed away to facilitate a north/south highway

and the resulting 40-foot cliff made for an

easy launch.

I expected to lose some altitude imme-

diately after launch, but for some reason I

continued to descend until I was buoyed

by ground effect. So now I was buzzing

along at full power just over the heads of

a large herd of cattle. They didn’t appear

overly concerned, but I sure was. Flying at

minimum sink, I was continually nibbling

at stall and repeatedly having to come off

the power momentarily to ensure I didn’t

nose into the ground. If I didn’t start climb-

ing, eventually I was bound to hit a bovine;

there were too many of them to simply cut

the power and land. After some tense mo-

ments, I saw a gully that fell away to the

north, eventually dropping into the sur-

rounding prairie a couple of hundred feet

below. I turned to follow the gully.

The ground did drop away, but once

again I was faced with a large array of

21

[right] Black & yellow Comet on landing approach after engine failure. [below] Stucky honors the "don't fly over an open

assemply of people" rule. | Photo courtesy Manhattan Mercury.


power lines stretching across the ravine and blocking my flight

path. All bush pilots know not to fly down the middle of a canyon.

It’s smarter to stick to one side in order to leave yourself turning

room to reverse course if necessary. Unfortunately, I didn’t know

“squat” about being a bush pilot. Concerned with making it across

the wires, I swiveled my head in a search for other flight paths. As I

frantically scanned for options, the terrain magically started drop-

ping away. I gazed forward and the power lines were no longer an

issue. I was perplexed as to the cause of this radical change in per-

formance when it hit me—a thermal! I banked the glider and began

climbing quickly under full power. Glancing at my vario for the first

time, I was thrilled to see it pegged at 1200 fpm. In no time at all I

had gained 1000 feet, so I turned to point toward the stadium. As

soon as I did so, I began descending again. I then realized that a

large area of sink was the reason for my poor climb performance.

I reversed course and was grateful the thermal was right where I

had left it. This time I took the magic elevator to 3,000 feet, leav-

ing the lift only because the stadium was now an easy 5 to 1 glide.

I was tempted to stay in the thermal until I topped out, but figured

I’d have plenty of opportunities to do that in the future.

I may have been stupid, but I wasn’t completely ignorant and

knew that flying over a stadium full of people probably wouldn’t be

a smart idea. So I circled around the stadium until I ran out of fuel,

spiraling down for a smooth landing in an adjacent lot. The local

press reported that I disappointed the spectators by not landing

in the stadium. I’m sure that the majority of fans would have loved

such an ending but it only takes a single complaint to give the

sport a black eye or have the feds make things miserable for you.

Those first two powered flights filled me with great hope

that thermalling flight would now be commonplace for me. But

it was not to be. A few days later when I let another pilot give

the Soarmaster a try, he blew his launch, bending the prop. It was

never the same again. To this day, I regret not topping out in that

first thermal.

Years later I was stationed in the flatlands of Texas and decided

to see how the Soarmaster would work with my then top-of-the-

line double surface UP Comet. The Comet was significantly heavier

than my Elite and tougher to land. I rigged up a cable-braced stinger

with a lawn mower wheel to help guard the prop. I launched from

a large field but once again found myself stuck in ground effect

and couldn’t turn without dragging a wing tip. In short order I was

whizzing around the countryside just above the branches of the

mesquite trees. It took me fifteen minutes of death-defying brush

skimming before I found a bubble of lift. I was just starting to relax

as I climbed above 200 ft AGL when the engine quit. I squeaked

out a nice landing, counted my blessings, and permanently retired

the Soarmaster.

Power packs have improved since then, but there are some tru-

isms that continue to apply, regardless of whether it is a powered

harness for a hang glider or a paramotor for a paraglider. You

should always take manufacturer’s performance claims with a

grain of salt and remember: an aircraft that climbs at 200 fpm on

a cool day at sea level probably will not climb at all on a hot day in

the higher elevations. The difference between upwind and down-

wind climb gradients is dramatic on a slow speed aircraft. In a ten

mph headwind, an aircraft that has a climb rate of only 200 fpm

at 25 mph of airspeed will climb at a respectable 9° angle. If the

same aircraft turns downwind, the climb angle with respect to the

ground drops to less than 4°. Do not launch from a spot where you

cannot do a rectangular pattern while maintaining a safe altitude

and a positive climb-gradient.

Just like other forms of powered flight, too many accidents

occur due to flying too low or doing aggressive maneuvering too

close to the ground or water. The highest single risk for a fatal acci-

dent while paramotoring comes from attempting extreme maneu-

vers close to the ground. You should never fly at an altitude from

which you cannot glide to a safe landing in the event of a sudden

loss of power, or fly over water without proper flotation equipment

that is sufficient to maintain your head above water without effort.

Those with experience in single engine two-stroke aircraft know it

is not a matter of if they will have a power failure; it is a matter of

when, so always leave yourself in a position to handle it. If you must

fly low, remember that by flying into the wind you will slow your

groundspeed, thereby giving yourself more time to see hazards

and making an immediate landing much less hazardous than if you

were flying downwind.

Flying low also exposes you to the invisible but deadly hazard

of power lines. If you maintain an altitude greater than 200 feet

above the highest terrain, you will greatly reduce your chances of

encountering an unseen wire. If you must cross power lines, fly di-

rectly over the towers themselves (this helps avoid optical illusions

or unseen upper wires). If possible, plan to cross at a minimum of

twice the height of the tower, perpendicular to the wires, to mini-

mize your exposure time.

Like towing, motors can add a new dimension to your flying but

they do so with added complexity and new risks. Never underesti-

mate the value of proper instruction.

[email protected]

European Paragliders for free flight and motorized

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24

C’mon - do we really need one more item to fumble with and take up precious space in our glider bag? That was the perception I had

before our new magazine editor, Nick Greece, sent me an Xcertina folding bag to try. I’m about as

skeptical as they come, but after I used the bag the first time, I was a believer.

Paragliders are evolving and so is our awareness about how best to care

for them to ensure maximum life and performance.

by DEANSTRATTON

CONCERTINAFolding Bags


A major factor in maintaining the integrity and quality of your glider is how you fold and pack it. There are two schools of thought about the best way to fold a glider.

The majority of pilots fold their gliders in half, repeatedly, from the tip to the center on both sides, and then, again, down the middle. This is the easiest and, generally, the fastest way to fold a glider, but not necessarily the best way. If you’re not concerned about the structural integrity of the Mylar leading edge of the glider, and folding in high winds provides entertainment for you, then this method is fine.

The other method, which is not so widely used, but is catching on quickly, is folding your glider accordion (concertina) style. I believe this is the superior method because it helps preserve the integrity of the Mylar strips in the leading edge of the glider, which is crucial for getting the top performance from your wing. This method usually takes a little more time and sometimes requires as-sistance, especially in high winds, but it’s certainly worth it.

Improper folding will crease and damage the Mylar panels, decreasing the performance of the wing, lessening the life of the material and negatively affecting its launch characteristics. Many high performance wings now have small plastic battens sewn into the leading edge for increased rigidity at high speeds. The accordi-on-fold method protects these battens and helps keep the leading edge of the glider in optimum condition, preventing deformities that ultimately lead to collapses. I’ve been using this method for the last few years, and I definitely see the benefits.

Concertina bags are designed to accommodate the accordion folding method; they serve to keep the glider in the best shape possible. One of the advantages a pilot has when using a concer-tina bag is the ability to accordion-fold his glider in high winds without assistance—an ability that is necessary at times. At first, folding your wing using the accordion method takes a little longer and might seem a bit tedious, but with practice, it’s easy. Not only will the bag keep your leading edge in great shape, it will also limit fabric abrasion and reduce panel stretching. Panel stretching can be caused by the compression of your glider when it’s packed within your glider bag. The folding bags contain your glider to minimize the expansion when it’s being compressed.

The well-conceived design and construction of all the concertina folding bag models are similar. Some have subtle differences that may appeal to a particular customer, but all are made from rugged materials and rip-stop fabric, with drawstrings at both ends of the bag and integrated straps that secure the leading edge within the bag. Mesh is used in all of the models in order to allow the glider to breathe, an important feature if a glider is packed while damp. The main body of the bag is composed of water-resistant fabric. All the bags pack easily into your harness, taking up very little room. General dimensions of a compacted bag are roughly 7 in. x 5 in. x 1 ½ in.

I’ve profiled four popular concertina bag models on the follow-ing pages, noting what sets each of them apart from the rest, along with general information. For this review, I had access to all four of these models and thoroughly examined them. I think you’d be happy with any one of them—your choice may simply come down to a unique feature or color that you like best.

Step 1 [opposite] - Lay the folding bag flat on the ground, unzip the zipper, and fold open the bag. Rosette the glider and center it on top of the bag with the leading-edge close to the straps at the top end of the bag.

Step 2 - Gather all the leading-edge Mylar panels together making sure they’re all flat and tight.

Step 3 - Use the strap that’s attached to the bag and wrap it around the glider just below the gathered panels. Tighten just enough to keep leading-edge in place, but not too tight. Some of the models have an additional strap that needs to be wrapped around the panels, and others have a mesh and Velcro sleeve that needs to be secured as well.

Step 4 - Once the leading-edge is secured, place yourself at the trailing edge of the glider and pull down the panels, taking out the slack, and gather the wing in from both sides in small folds.

Step 5 - Return to the top end of the bag and place the leading-edge bundle under the top end of the bag where the zipper begins. Gather the glider into the bag, pulling the zipper down as you go, all the way to the end. Pull drawstrings located at both ends of the bag closed.

Step 6 – To make sure the leading-edge panels lay flat within the folds of the bag, turn them 90 degrees before clipping them in or flip the entire bag 90 degrees after zipping it up so that the zipper is facing sideways; either way will work. Last step: start from the top end of the bag and fold the bag into quarters, making sure the leading-edge panels are parallel to the fold to keep them flat.


XCERTINA MK II The Xcertina MKII bag has an extra Velcro

and mesh sleeve built in to hold your lead-ing edge a little snugger. It also has clip

near the bottom of the bag for riser attach-ment. Available at http://www.xcshop.com/

Sizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Small, LargeColor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yellow w/ Black MeshWeight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 oz.Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $69.95

AIRWAVE MAGIC BAG The Airwave bag is the lightest and smallest of the group when compacted. Available at

http://www.eagleparagliding.com/

Sizes . . . . . . . Short (2.3m), Long (3m) X Long (3.9m)Color . . . . . . . . . . Grey with blue logo & black meshWeight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 oz.Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $69.00

FLYGEAR ACCORDION BAG The Flygear has a well-designed pouch

within the bag for placement of risers and lines, a great feature if you unclip your

harness each time. Available at http://www.flygear.us/

Sizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Small (110"), Large (116")Color . . . . . . . . . . . Red and black with grey meshWeight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 oz.Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $79.00

GIN CONCERTINA BAG The Gin has extra protection built in to clip in leading edge. This bag keeps the

glider a little more compact than the others. Available at http://www.superflyinc.

com/catalog/

Sizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One SizeColor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . YellowWeight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 oz.Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $65.00


The last couple months we looked at how to safely and painlessly move up to high performance topless gliders. But to real-ize the maximum performance potential of these gliders, most pilots opt for a high performance harness as well—when the af-tershocks in their bank account have settled out. The thinking is: what’s the use of drag-ging around in a saggy old sack with enough lines to rig a paraglider when you have a glider set to stun in your hands? Why settle for a partial redo when you have the means to go whole hog? If you’re gonna go, go all the way.

But the new harnesses have their own unique demands that every pilot should understand before jumping into them. To avoid surprises or worse, an eager pilot with a new harness should know the details of the differences. We review them here.

WHAT IT IS A high performance (hi-per) harness is a sleek body glove intending to smooth out the airflow around the pilot while providing good long-term com-fort for those record or extended flights. To do all of the above, most hi-per har-nesses incorporate a backplate that helps support the body while allowing fewer external lines. Some hi-per harnesses merely use main risers, although more commonly they will also have a shoulder line. Contrast this with the harnesses on the next tier down that usually have at

least six lines or ropes in addition to the mains.

The back plate feature normally has some sort of slider mechanism so that the position of the pilot’s center of gravity can be altered relative to the harness’ main straps. This slider lets the pilot hang more head down or up, and also allows some amount of rocking up to a more vertical position for landing (more on this below).

Hi-per harnesses often have a faired tailpiece, a faired parachute container placed on the side and sometimes other fairings such as for head and shoulders or underarms. All of these features add cost and complexity, of course, but they are worth it to the performance minded (obsessed!) pilot.

THE SETUP First we’ll look at the inci-dentals such as how the harness fits and its setup. The whole idea of a high perfor-mance harness is a tight fit, a minimum number of protruding pockets, fairing in of all bulges and maintaining a flying position aimed directly into the airflow. Low drag is the quest and the secret to better glide performance.

So you want your harness to fit tightly. If you fly in colder weather, it will have to accommodate your coat and woolies, but don’t get it too big. Usually a hi-per har-ness manufacturer will ask for quite a few measurements before making the harness,

because tight is right. Our advice: get a friend to help you with the measuring because unless you’re a contortionist it’s hard to get a true reading (and if your friend is of the opposite sex, who knows what may develop). Many harnesses have wide front zipper Velcro that allows for some girth adjustment—a nice feature for those on yo-yo diets.

An important point to note is that all the top harnesses house the parachute on the side rather than in front. The reason is simply for drag reduction—a lot of drag reduction. In fact, it is this author’s belief that if you don’t want your para-chute on the side, it isn’t worth getting a top-of-the-line harness. Here’s the pros and cons: harness in front gives you better belly flop crash protection. Also, the para-chute handle may be easier to locate in an emergency. Parachute on the side reduces drag, as implied, and also allows a lower hang. You can lower yourself as much as four inches when you move the parachute from your chest. This lowering results in lighter roll forces, which is very desirable on high performance gliders since they tend to be stiffer than intermediate glid-ers. Maybe lighter roll forces can be con-sidered a safety enhancement that offsets the loss of crash protection, who knows?

This whole matter of hang position needs a little looking at. It would be nice if we could all agree on a hang position and

TRAN

SITIO

NING

HIGHPERFORMANCE

by DENNISPAGEN

PART 3 : High Performance Harnesses Flo

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be done with it, but different folks like different slopes. Be that as it may, there is one ideal hang position: tilted slightly head downward so the body is perfectly aligned with the airflow. A pilot can achieve this ideal position from slightly different hang strap lengths simply be having his or her chest closer or further from the base tube. There’s the difference in flying styles. It is important for every pilot flying a hi-per harness to set the hang strap length for the glider and flying style so the ideal position is achieved or it’s a waste of money to buy the harness, drag being what it is. Sometimes it is helpful to buy a harness from the glider manu-facturer for they have already worked out the desirable angle of the dangle for their equipment.

One other matter to set up is the leg strap length (most of them are adjustable). You may be tempted to snug them up, but that action restricts your run. More importantly, tight leg straps hinder your dropping down into a semi-squatting up-tilted position for landing. On the other hand, too loose leg straps let you drop too

low and the flare action isn't as effective. About 2 inches between your leg and the leg strap seems about right, but you may have to experiment a little for the best setup for your physiology.

Here are a few more incidentals to ap-prise you of the joys of owning a hi-per harness. First off, they weigh more due to the back plate design. They normally have a slider mechanism that requires more hardware and thus poundage. Secondly, they don’t fold up into as small a package. The back plate is the reason for their larger folded length. Finally, when you are wear-ing them and walking around the longer tailpiece (necessary for fairing in the feet) invariably drags on the ground. You look and feel like an alligator storing winter fat in it’s tail. Most of these harnesses have some form of protection on the tailpiece, but every one I have ever used or seen eventually wears through. I have solved this problem on my own harnesses by coating the area with silicon glue. So far I haven’t had to replace or redo it.

Here’s a pro-tip: the conical boots on most hi-per harnesses are ideal for stor-

ing a roll of “mountain money,” known as toilet paper to the layman.

FLYING THE HI-PER HARNESS We already mentioned the tail-dragging aspect of high performance harnesses. Some of them (including mine) actually inhibit you from standing perfectly vertical. On launch this feature may appear to be dis-concerting, but in fact, it soon becomes unnoticeable since you should normally be leaning forward a bit as you start your run. The hi-per harness forward lean goes naturally with the grapevine grip. These harnesses do not block your running any more than does other style pod harnesses on either takeoff or landing. Within just a few flights the feel will become the new normal.

Right after launch we have to get our legs into the harness boot to zip up. You will be pleasantly surprised to find that with a full backplate harness this action tends to be easier than older harnesses without back plates. That’s because the boot is held up in near flying position and it remains fairly open. No flopping


around of the boot. If you are a bit busy right after launch scratching up, it is easier to relax with your feet in the boot even though you haven’t zipped up. These are all plus features.

On the other hand, you may find that a hi-per harness takes a bit more effort to zip closed. The main reason for this result is that the boots tend to be tighter. In fact, many of them come with knee pads. My advice is to toss them out (they are usually held in with Velcro or a cloth pocket). It will give you more room and prevent your back from arching so much. I don’t know who or why they were invented, but they seem to be one of those things that someone thought was cool and everyone else copied without really thinking as to why they are there. I have never found that removing the knee pads add to kneecap fatigue and anyway, I can’t zip up my harness with them in. You do plan on flying with your cover stuffed in the harness, don’t you?

So it’s time to close the harness boot with your legs inside. You will find it easiest to do by pushing your legs straight to get your knees up. I give a good long pull on the zipper chord and let it go. Usually this gets the zipper half to two thirds of the way up unless I have silicon sprayed it recently. In any case, I usually need to reach down with a hand, grasp the zipper tag and finish the job. I don’t want to do this when I have just launched into the midst of a gaggle or I am scratching close, so sometimes it takes a while before I am clear enough to handle this job. In this case, I try to keep my knees up so I don’t put too much weight on the harness zipper, or repeated flights like this would wear and eventually break the zipper. If your hi-per harness doesn’t close readily, it’s better to leave it open until you have lots of clearance than it is to zip it part way. Whatever you do, don’t let harness-closing distractions make you lose the lift right after takeoff. All the performance in the world does you little good when you are on the ground, unless you are really good at spin-ning a story.

In flight the hi-per harness should feel fairly normal, at least once you get used to the tighter enclosure. Remember, it’s a body glove, so enjoy the mental image of your new aerodynamic bird body.

LANDING Here we arrive at the real difference in a hi-per har-ness compared to those without back plates. Almost without exception, the hi-per harness will keep your body tilted more downward than will other harnesses. This means that you will be leaning forward and cannot assume the upright position you may have been used to during final approach. What to do? The solution is to adopt a new perspective. Rather than thinking you have to be upright with your feet dangling down and perform a flare forward and up, rethink: now you will be leaning for-ward, with your hands as high as you can get them comfortably and your legs trailing. Then when it’s flare time, push mainly forward. In your forward leaning position, the flare becomes upward once your body rotates with the glider and your legs drop under you. In other words, you don’t do anything special and the flare is almost always in the correct direction because it is aligned through your body for maximum weight shift back-wards.

There are two caveats (warnings) here. First, avoid the temp-

tation to try to get too upright. To do so you have to climb the uprights and hold yourself there, which reduces your sensitivity to feel turbulent inputs and to feel the flare timing. Secondly, be aware that there is a tendency for the glider to slow quite a bit when you rotate to your partial upright position due to the fact that when you are tilted forward it is hard to pull the uprights back far enough. I find I have to consciously pull extra on the uprights when I rotate up or the glider will zoom. The zoom isn’t too much of a problem unless the air is turbulent and a stall can occur. Guard against it by holding the glider’s airspeed as you rotate. It is actually easier to do this if you let your final approach speed bleed off quite a bit in ground effect, but this practice is totally unsafe if turbulence can threaten to spill you. Remember, the upright position is a safety position if unexpected ground contact occurs.

I like to get upright early in a hi-per harness so I am not met by surprises and I can maintain a steady control down to flare time. Personally, I feel a hi-per harness is easier to land in than any other type of harness, just because it holds me in a good flare position. Try ‘em, give ‘em time and I think you’ll like ‘em.

So while I’m not trying to be a hi-per harness salesman, I am their advocate. They have a few quirks and convenience penal-ties, but also a good bit of performance and comfort rewards. With a grand or so of folderol you can be the proud owner of the best there is in sleek body styling. Change yourself from a frumpy, drag king or queen into an aero facsimile of Cedric the Entertainer. Your self-image will be enhanced even if your flying isn’t.

A S P E N P A R A G L I D I N G

KEEP YOUR EYE ON ASPEN.

NEW OWNERSHIP

ADVANCED CLINICS

TANDEM FLIGHTS

SALES & SERVICE

www.ASPENPARAGLIDING.com 970.925.7625 tel970.379.6975 cel


It was one of the first flyable days of the season. A group of pilots were taking their time getting ready to launch from East Gros Ventre Butte in Jackson,

Wyoming. For an hour the site’s homemade windsock fluttered steadily as the breeze came in perfect cycles up the hill. However, once everyone had laid out their wings, the wind suddenly shifted and started coming from the back. Helmets on, lines in hand, the group couldn’t avoid participating in an oftentimes frustrating offshoot of their sport: parawaiting. Most of the pilots sunk out that day. They watched from the ground as other pilots launched from a different butte and disappeared into the horizon, wishing they could’ve known that the wind was likely to change direction that afternoon.

It is impossible to predict the weather, but one website, XCSkies.com, is trying to help pilots make in-formed decisions on when and where to fly. XC Skies provides them with XC Maps, an interactive forecast tool that gives soaring conditions for most flyable loca-

tions in the world. Unlike the plethora of free weather forecasts available on the Internet, Chris Galli, Jay Mace and Sally Benson created XC Maps specifically to provide consistent and reliable information for the soaring community in one cohesive website. Several years ago, Galli, a research associate at the University of Utah, and Mace, a Ph.D. meteorologist and associ-ate professor at the University of Utah, both paraglider pilots since 1997, were planning a trip to Mexico and had little information about what to expect for flying conditions. Both realized an obvious need for global flying predictions for the soaring community, but in 2005 affordable computer servers were incapable of handling the data and generating the necessary pro-cessing power to create useful and timely forecasts at a resolution high enough for soaring pilots to use.

“When we started this project three years ago, Jay and I agreed that it was silly and impossible to try to parameterize soaring forecasts for every square kilome-ter on the planet,” Galli says. “Computers just weren’t

XCSKIES.com by KATRINAMOHR


fast enough. But suddenly technology caught up to the idea and it was possible. XC Skies didn’t go online until spring of 2007 because it wasn’t until then that our application was able to provide predictions in a timely enough manner to be useful to pilots.”

This is how it works: XC Maps is an interactive internet application that contains visual layers of useful soaring parameters computed at one kilometer resolution in three-hour intervals for the next three days, taken from three global forecast models. These models are the Global Forecast System (GFS), a popular global model run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that can predict up to 16 days in advance, the North American Mesoscale Model (NAM), a continental model run by National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) that can predict up to 84 hours in advance, and the Rapid Update Cycle (RUC), a one-hour forecast model also run by National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) that was designed

for weather-sensitive users, such as the soaring com-munity, because of its short-term (0-12 hour) weather forecasts.

XC Maps acquire data from, and analyzes, the GFS once a day and the NAM and the RUC twice a day; a model run schedule is available on the website. The three models differ in their usefulness to pilots, de-pending on whether they are trying to plan a trip for the upcoming months, figure out where to fly over the weekend or what the flying conditions might be that evening. The GFS is best for getting global predic-tions and longer-range planning while the RUC is best for very short-term forecasts. The NAM falls in the middle, but it is not a global model and is only useful for getting predictions for North America.

The flying parameters included in the XC Maps ap-plication include four categories: thermal maps, cloud cover and weather maps, winds and turbulence maps, and surface temperature and surface flux maps. Some parameters are well-known to pilots and are forecasts

by KATRINAMOHR

Three-day soaring forecast for a single location. This interactive map shows the time series of the winds aloft, and the predicted thermal tops and top of usable lift. Other overview parameters include low, mid and high cloud cover percentages as well as the estimated average thermal strength. Several different overlays can be reviewed, with this layer showing the Thermal Index analysis and winds aloft over the flatlands to the east of Chelan, WA. Review of these maps provide a detailed glimpse of the atmospheric stability across a single point over time.

Thermal updraft velocity predictions over central Colorado. XC Maps displays color contours of soaring parameters across any region. Multiple layers can be viewed at once and interactively investigated via Google Maps.


they probably already check when planning flights, but others are more experimental and are useful as supplements to create a better understanding of the overall weather pattern. All of the parameters are explained in greater detail on the XC Skies website.

Bill Belcourt, a paraglider pilot since 1989, says he used the National Weather Service websites in the past, but now he looks to soaring specific sites, such as XCSkies.com, because they are more detailed and tailored to the needs of pilots. He says the top three things he looks for in flying forecasts are: wind, lift and cloud formation.

“XC Skies does a pretty good job with those three things,” says Belcourt, who holds the paragliding open distance record of 151 miles in Utah. “The best days wait for nobody, so the maps have helped me prepare for the best long flights because I could identify early which days would give me the best chance. It also increases the chances of having a driver if you can get people organized in advance.”

“We’ve received feedback from pilots in places like China who are very happy to have any forecasts,” Galli says. “Before, they had nothing to go on, and some information is better than none. It may not be perfect, but it’s giving them a frame of reference and they’re forming a community and finding better flying sites because of this.”

Galli says the website will continue to evolve as the demand grows and more funds are raised to imple-ment changes. Currently, Galli and Mace are working on creating more personal features such as, sending notifications of certain parameters in a flying site to a user by text or email and giving users more options for saving location and parameter preferences. XC Skies

has a group forum where users can discuss weather forecasts or post feedback about XC Maps, such as how accurate predictions were and features they’d like to see on the site. Overall, predictions have been accu-rate or at least useful, but Galli and Mace want users to know what the limitations of the models and XC Maps are so they don’t get the idea that what is shown on the maps is what is guaranteed to happen.

“XC Maps is another tool for pilots to use,” Mace says. “Use good flying sense. Most of the time the maps don’t capture the things that make flying dan-gerous. If XC Maps says it’s a fantastic flying day, you still can’t fly behind a ridge. Forecasts can’t supercede common sense or local knowledge. Look out the window. See what’s going on.”

Galli adds, “The forecast is going to be wrong somehow, but just how wrong is the question. You can never assume, because they’re predictions, not absolutes. Looking at one layer is not enough to make an informed flying decision.”

“The three major limitations of XC Maps,” Mace says, “are predicting valley flows, overdevelopment and shear layers. These extreme weather changes won’t show up on the maps because of how small in scale they are, compared to the scale of the models. The models are very good at showing large scale events and what is happening up high, but the important details pilots need to know can get lost because of topogra-phy and other highly variable data that goes into the models.”

“The model’s inability to detect these small-scale changes is a problem for pilots that won’t be resolved in the near future,” says Stan Trier, a Ph.D. scientist specializing in mesoscale convective systems research

The top of usable lift along the Wasatch mountains near Salt Lake

City, UT. Map layers can be made semi-transparent and smoothed to investigate Google terrain and

satellite imagery geo-referenced to any given soaring parameter. Here

the winds at the top of usable lift are also displayed with discreet numbers for easy review of the winds aloft for

planning cross-country flights.


at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The model is unable to detect these small-scale changes for several reasons, including 1) its limited spatial resolution, which cannot represent im-portant small-scale details in the terrain, and 2) errors and incompleteness in atmospheric observations that provide the initial condition for the model.

Trier says, “You could have the perfect model, but slight errors in the initial condition can amplify with time, leading to significant errors in the forecast. The models are doing a good job, considering there are very complicated small scales of motion going on that don’t have representation yet.” He adds that, “while overall, the models are very useful for weather predic-tions, their inability to resolve small-scale motions ne-cessitates that human knowledge of the local weather be used to refine these forecasts.” Dennis Pagen, hang glider pilot since 1974 and paraglider pilot since 1989, agrees completely.

“I do use XC Maps and other weather forecast in-formation for competitions, but I think a lot of people spend too much time looking at the weather instead of going out flying,” says Pagen, author of Understanding the Sky: A Sport Pilot’s Guide to Flying Conditions.

“Too much information inhibits the everyday pilot. They’ll look at the lapse rate and it won’t be to their liking so they go mow the lawn, and they miss out while we’re skying out.”

He thinks that it’s important for pilots to develop a sense and understanding of the air and fly according to what they see and what they encounter instead of what they expect. Pagen says that looking in retrospect at trek and GPS logs in comparison to weather reports is a great teaching opportunity. “The sharing of flights

is good to help form a sense of community and jeal-ousy,” he says.

As far as the future of XC Skies and the technol-ogy it utilizes, Galli and Mace agree that it’s difficult to tell what technology will give them. However, they think that the website in general could be a fantastic tool for local and global flying communities. Whether it’s helping pilots in Jackson, Wyoming, pick the best flying site for the day or pilots in China find new flying sites in their area, XC Skies is providing a ser-vice that any pilot can use to enhance his flights.

“With XC Skies we really want to help create a strong flying community,” Galli says. “That can be defined in so many ways, but every pilot has weather in common. A place to meet in that commonality is very useful to the soaring community.”

Comparison of predicted cumulus cloud field over the Tibetan Plateau for a random day (June 6, 2008 6UTC) and the actual imagery captured by NASA’s MODIS AQUA satellite. In areas with little or no local forecasting, global forecast models can provide invaluable resources for winds aloft and other soaring parameters.

ACCESS To get access to XC Maps, simply sign

up by creating a user name and choosing pre-

ferred settings such as wind units, default to

English or Metric, and time zone, and then choos-

ing a subscription option ($5 for a month, $20 for

6 months or $30 for a year). Galli said that sub-

scriptions are necessary to maintain the XC Skies

website and help improve the XC Maps applica-

tion by enabling them to get faster computers

with better data processing capabilities. He says

the site would need to include lots of advertis-

ing if it were going to be free and that wasn’t an

option they wanted to pursue. XC Skies also do-

nates a portion of the subscription to a National

Hang Gliding or Paragliding team of your choice.

35

After several abominable cross-country seasons, Region Nine (Washington, DC, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia) finally

experienced an abundance of long flights in 2007, including seven hundred-mile flights. If one could complain, it would be that the best regional cross-country flying of 2007 was remarkably concen-trated during a few weekends in the spring—only one truly long flight occurred later in the year. In fact, the concentration can be narrowed further to one extraordinary day, April 29, at which time four hundred-mile flights were made from two Virginia sites. Still, there were three other days with hundred-mile flights to round-out an unusually fruitful cross-country year.

OPEN CLASS The longest flight of the year is Nelson Lewis’ 135-miler from Tobacco Row, VA, to near Lasker, NC. It is Nelson’s longest flight in the East and continues his long tradition of excellent cross-country flying. As the flight has been described previously, I will simply recap its highlights. The day began prom-isingly with early cumulus development; however, the cumies soon overdeveloped and began to shade the vicinity of launch. When the clouds finally broke-up, the resulting sunshine brought howling winds. Fearing that the day would be blown-out, Nelson and his companions had to wait until 1:30 p.m. for the winds to back off enough to permit safe launches.

Two other pilots who launched with Nelson—Steve Kepler and John Harper—also flew over a hundred miles. One after the other, the three of them climbed off the ridge in 700fpm lift, get-ting above 7,000msl before heading over the back. Steve left first, followed by John and Nelson, flying together. In varying degrees and combinations, the three of them flew together for about eighty miles, although Nelson eventually got out in front and never saw the others after the fifty-mile point. In the end, Steve landed near

9 by PETELEHMANN

YEAR OF THE

100 MILERS

REGION


9Emporia, VA, good for 109 miles and fourth place in the contest, while John landed on the North Carolina border for 103.3 miles and sixth place. Noteworthy is the fact that Steve’s hundred-miler was the only one flown with a king-posted glider, a Moyes Litesport 4.

It should also be pointed out that not only did Nelson make the year’s longest flight, he was also the Region’s only pilot to make two hundred-mile flights. The other flight of 103 miles was made in frigid condi-tions from Tobacco Row on the remarkably early date of March 18. It was 30 degrees at launch, and Nelson got to 8,900msl where the temperature would have been in the neighborhood of zero F. He had quite a year!

The year’s second longest flight, and the only big flight achieved outside the narrow March-May window, was Larry Bunner’s July 21st, 123.1-mile flight from the Sac to the Highland Aerosports Flightpark in Ridgely, MD. Following in the footsteps of a past pio-neering flight made by Ric Niehaus, Larry launched in the mountains, crossed the Pennsylvania coastal plain, and then departed the North American mainland and flew down the DelMarVa Peninsula. The flight took a bit over five hours, but could have been substantially longer as he had topped out at 5,800msl shortly before deciding to detour back to land at the flight park. The flight was an interesting lesson in thermal generation. After launching in the mountains of Pennsylvania, Larry experienced an unusually strong summer ther-mal, averaging 548fpm, which got him to 7,000msl. But by the time he made it out into the coastal flat-lands, the climbs seldom averaged better than 300fpm and topped out at an average of 5,500msl. Mountains do have their virtues.

Placing third in the contest was John Simon, who may have made the year’s toughest hundred-miler, flying what is, in some respects, the reverse of Larry Bunner’s above-mentioned flight. On May 23, John towed up at the Highland Aerosports Flightpark in the company of Paul Tjaden. Together they worked their way 45 miles due north to escape the confines of the DelMarVa Peninsula. Upon reaching the mainland, they began a gentle bend to the northeast in the direc-tion of Allentown, PA. Their flight saw only moderate climbs (averaging 250-300fpm), and they were seldom much above 5,000msl. However, the lift was reliable

[previous page] Paul Tjaden. [below] John

Simon on tow. [opposite] John Rowan launching

his Sport 2 at Spruce Knob, WV.


until late in the day when they got into some wooded terrain in Pennsylvania. Up to this point, they had been swapping the lead as first, one, and then, the other, would get ahead. But John was leading when the two of them finally got low, and Paul landed at 93 miles. John was last heard from radioing from 1,000agl that he, too, would soon land. However, he didn’t land; instead, he found a 100fpm climb that soon turned-on and got him to 5,300msl. After four and a half hours in the air, John eventually landed at a golf course with the new Ridgely site record of 109.8 miles. Finally, adding insult to his having scraped-off Paul in the boondocks, John and his glider were driven to the clubhouse where he was toasted as a conquering hero, while Paul sat alone in a bug-infested field to contem-plate life’s injustices.

In fifth place with a straight-line flight of 107 miles was Tom McGowan, who flew his Litespeed from Woodstock to the Blue Sky Flight Park in Manquin, VA, on the fabled April 29. Readers of my earlier article on Region Nine’s spring contest may remember that Tom’s flight was described there as being 143.6 miles long. The reason for the different measurements is that the longer distance represents the sum-total of all the legs flown by Tom, whereas 107 miles is the single longest straight line distance between two points.

Tom’s flight was not a random event. It had been planned by two of his friends, Hank Hengst and Bruce Engen, and the three of them all began the flight together. Unfortunately, Bruce was scraped-off when he couldn’t find a climb to cross the Blue Ridge to get into the coastal plain. Hank did get across the

Blue Ridge with Tom, and was doing the better job of finding lift. However, since he didn’t have a goal waypoint in his GPS, he was floundering in his naviga-tion. After Hank found Tom some needed lift, Tom ungratefully scraped him off and continued on to his declared goal. Still, Hank had an excellent flight of 65.6 miles.

The seventh and last of the hundred-milers was my 101.9-miler from Templeton, PA, to McConnellsburg, PA, on May 19. The day began with some of the best xc conditions I have seen in 24 years of Region Nine cross-country flying. Two of the first three thermals averaged about 750fpm over four-thousand-foot climbs, which is extremely rare in the East. Just as beneficial was the fact that cloud base was above 9,000 msl. I was certain I could achieve my dream of making it to the Atlantic Coast since I had a ripping tailwind as well. Unfortunately, 70-miles on-course, and at 9,000msl, the dream dissolved when I encountered a completely overcast deck that eventually put me on the ground. Still, the flight was a quick hundred-miler, taking only 2:37 from the beginning of my climb off the ridge.

FIFTY-MILE CLASS Pat Halfhill, who launched behind me on his manly, pig-sticker Sport2-175FB, also exploited the excellent conditions on the day of my long flight. Getting to 8,500msl in lift that touched 1,000fpm,

“I was certain I could acheive my dream of making it to the Atlantic

coast since I had a ripping tailwind...”


Pat attained a personal best 79.9 miles that put him in ninth place overall, and in first place in the Fifty-Mile Class.

The second place flight was Hank Hengst’s 65.6-mile flight made on April 29 in the company of Tom McGowan on the flight to Manquin. Hank made his crossing of the Blue Ridge in good shape and got very high over the flatlands beyond it. However, he then experienced the agony of an uninterrupted 8,000ft descent to land at Lake Anna, VA. Still, it was a fine flight, and his longest ever.

Taking third place was Craig Hassan, a new face from south-western Ohio. In late September, he flew 43 miles off-tow from Careys, a site near Cincinnati, on his Wills Wing Sport2. Craig experienced exceptional late-season conditions that got him to nearly 7,000msl. He is one of four pilots from that area who entered flights in the contest, reminding those of us in the Region’s eastern parts that there is hang glid-ing west of the mountains. It’s especially noteworthy that three of those pilots are either new or returning pilots who are just embarking on xc adventures with their eminently suitable Sport2s. It’s refreshing to have Hang 3 cross- country pilots entering

flights in this contest.

THE RIGID FLIGHT The one rigid-wing flight registered is good enough to warrant inclusion in this overview of the Region’s xc flying. Christian Titone flew his Millenium 63.4 miles southeast from Ridgely across the DelMarVa Peninsula to Snow Hill, MD. It was an almost effortless flight, attaining over 6,000msl at one point. Christian was only once below 4,000msl before deciding to land to ease the retrieve for his girlfriend Debra.

9

[above] Chris Thale launching a Falcon from

Henson's Gap, TN | photo by Harry Lewis. [below]

Pat Halhill on tow.


GIN07_Corporate_USHGA8.375x10.871 1 24/03/08 18:47:56

August 2008: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – www.USHPA.aero41P

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Matty Senior, my flying buddy who grew up in Australia, has been surfing the Indonesian Island of

Bali for fourteen years and flying Bali for five. Last summer, when he told me about the good soaring conditions in Bali, and that he’d be guiding pilots there the follow-

ing September, I jumped at the chance to join him. A dozen Seattle area paraglider pilots and I spent ten days flying Bali. For some, it was their first time overseas. For others, it was the most exotic place they’d ever been. For all of us, it was the trip of a lifetime.

Bali is a beautiful, chaotic, and an exotic place to visit. From its lush, green hillsides covered with terraced rice-paddies to its ancient, intricately carved Hindu temples, Bali has everything the sightseeing traveler could want. But it’s the great ridge-soaring that makes it one of the best destinations

aliB

BALI


for the traveling glider pilot. If you ever get the chance to fly Bali, you won’t be disap-pointed. It’s a paragliding paradise where you can fly for hours daily.

Like Hawaii and other South Pacific islands, Bali is blessed with predictable trade-winds that are steady, warm, and per-

fect for ridge-soaring. At the beginning of the trip, we flew at Timbis, a coastal ridge-soaring site along the southern tip of Bali. After a leisurely start to the day— enjoying breakfast by the pool, getting a massage, or

“playing” on the amusement-park-sized wa-terslide in our resort hotel—we made the ten-minute drive to launch. By late morn-ing, the smooth trade winds began to flow in from the Indian Ocean and continued until after sunset on most days—making it possible to soar for hours. Even after sunset, there was abundant lift.

Timbis is located near the center of the southern tip of Bali, on the Bukit Peninsula. The cliff-launch creates a challenge, as the light wind creates a pressure band that makes it tough to control the rotation of the wing of the glider. However, help is at hand. Local instructors have trained Balinese men, who have more kiting expe-rience than most of us, to assist pilots on launch (even though they are too scared to fly). For a small price, they are right where you need them to grab the correct line/riser or provide ballast to launch, and, at the end of the day, to fold up your wing and pack your gear. If you land on the beach or hang your wing in one of the trees near launch, they are on their way to haul your gear back up or get it out of the tree for you. Several Balinese women come to launch each day bringing coolers full of drinks and ice, which is a good thing to have in the hot Balinese sun. I truly felt pampered.

Flights were awesome, with eleven miles of coastline to soar—from Uluwatu on the western tip of the Bukit Peninsular to the

spectacular Nikko Resort on the eastern tip. The ridge is lined with luxury houses and hotels, as well as Hindu temples, many of which are frequented by wild monkeys. On one flight alone, I counted over 20 monkeys scampering over a temple.

Local seaweed farmers harvest seaweed from the shallow waters below launch, cre-ating a spectacular patchwork of seaweed that resides below the tide. Because of the clarity of the water below, we could spot dolphins, sea cows, manta rays, and giant turtles as we soared.

The next site we flew was located in Candi Dasa, a two-hour drive to the north-east. Candi Dasa is a southeast-facing mountain on the coast. It’s about 1000-feet high and different from Timbis in that you can’t drive to launch. It's a nice hike up the hill that passes through a Hindu temple that belongs on the set of Raiders of the Lost Arc. Here, we hired local people to carry our gear up the hill; it was quite nice to hike without my pack in the 80-plus-degree heat. This area of Bali is very lush, replete with rice farms terraced up the hillsides and coconut palms as far as the eye can see. Launch at Candi Dasa would have seemed spacious if it hadn’t been for the 10-15 locals hanging-out to watch all of us take-off. After landing on the mile-long, black sand beach, we were greeted with a warm welcome by the local kids.

We took a day off and journeyed up the

ali by HEATHERST.CLAIRE

[main) Soaring over seaweed farms. [bottom from left] Soaring the tradewinds | Temple monkey | Above the Nikko hotel | Post-flight massage.

444444

coast to check out Bali’s number one diving and snorkeling spot at Tulumben—where there’s a 400-foot US WWII shipwreck sunk close to shore.

After flying Candi Dasa and Timbis, we decided to hike and try to fly a volcano so we moved on to Lake Batur to stay one night. Well, nearly one night. Local guides knocked on our room doors to wake us at the unwelcome hour of 3:30 a.m. By 4 a.m. we had begun our hike up Mt. Batur to watch the sunrise. Pilots hike up not only to watch the sunrise, but also to arrive on launch before it gets blown-out. Again, we were fortunate in being able to hire local men and women to carry our gear. At this hour, walking in the path of our headlamps, we didn’t talk much. It was a pleasant, quiet hike in the cool pre-dawn morning. We reached the top in time to see a gorgeous red sunrise. Looking east from Mt. Batur (5600 ft), we could see the even larger Mt. Agung (10300 ft). What an amazing and breathtaking view at sunrise!

Mt. Batur is still an active volcano with steam rising out of the earth—steam hot enough to cook eggs. Because the winds were strong, only a handful of pilots flew, while the rest of us hiked back down. The beauty of the sunrise made the hike worth-while, and with Timbis only a few hours away, we were still able to fly later that day for hours.

The flying on this trip was the most re-laxing paragliding airtime I have experi-enced. One of the reasons I fly is to reach the state of peacefulness and calm that only comes from getting my feet off the ground. Flying in Bali provided such tranquil/serene conditions (the air, the sights, the sound of the ocean), it was easy to reach that peace-ful state. Many other experiences on the trip were nearly as incredible as the fly-ing—sunrises, sunsets, snorkeling/diving, wandering through beach caves, watching native ceremonial dances, moonlight fires on the beach with good friends. Words and photos cannot recreate the marvel of it all. I definitely plan to return to Bali. There are many things I still want to see and do. For such a small place, it has so much to offer. Bali is definitely paragliding paradise!

[top left] Pre-dawn hike-and-fly, Mt. Batur. [left and opposite] Above the cliffs of Bali.


In fifth grade, my best friend Melody dreamed that one day she would fly. Seven years later, in celebration of our

high school graduation, we actually did. To the distress of our parents and the envy of our friends, we spent the last semester of our senior year planning a road trip adventure from our suburban Chicago home to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to go hang gliding. Okay, to call it “planning” might be a bit of a stretch. We pretty much planned our outfits.

CAUTION: PARENTS ON BOARDOur original plan was to travel across the country on bikes because of the totally cool biking shorts we’d designed. When our parents balked at that dangerous idea, we compromised by offering to drive one of their cars. Truth be told, I secretly had some concerns about whether or not I would be able to hang glide after biking one thousand miles. And we always could wear the cool shorts on the dunes. As soon as biking was off the table, the parent team

switched tactics. “Do you know how many people get killed in car accidents?” Mel’s mom demanded.

We silently suspected car accident fatali-ties were probably neck and neck with hang gliding ones, but we wisely kept our big mouths shut. The trip should have taken about sixteen hours. Thirty-six hours after we left, we had arrived at the Outer Banks.

FUN IN THE SUNOur first priority when we arrived was getting to the beach. Moments after we’d dipped into the icy-cold Atlantic, a couple of guys strolled up and offered to show us how to body surf. I only could assume that was how guys in North Carolina picked up girls. After two or three waves, I had so much sand in my swimsuit that Superman couldn’t have picked me up.

In the morning, we showed up at Kitty Hawk Kites for our first hang gliding lesson. In addition to sporting stylish air-plane-shaped earrings, in honor of Orville and Wilbur, we wore some crazy Converse

high-tops that reached halfway up our legs. They totally rocked. Mel’s were grey and pink and mine were neon-orange.

Okay, yes, I looked like a couple of traf-fic pylons. But I was very safe. The release form asking you to sign your life away gave me pause. It asked for my weight. Though

Spreading Our Wings by MARGOTSTARBUCK

NORTH CAROLINA


I normally had no particular scruples about fudging a little bit on the digits, this didn’t seem like the moment for creative math. I wanted to make sure they knew exactly how much weight that kite was going to have to carry.

The beginner’s hang gliding manual pro-vided in our brief training course promised:

“Over 50,000 students have been taught safely.” Well of course! Watching the video in the classroom was a piece of cake. It’s not the training that’s the problem. It’s the actual falling out of the sky and crashing to the ground that’s unsafe. Trust me on this.

FLYING HIGHWhile sporting attractive day-glow crash helmets, Mel and I were harnessed into a shoulder-to-buttocks safety diaper and forced to trudge up what felt like a par-ticularly steep sand dune. “Don’t they have a chair lift?” one student wondered. Now there’s a good idea, I thought. Right about then I was feeling pretty happy that I hadn’t cycled one-thousand miles to get to that lesson.

Our instructor, named Tyson, was really cute. While Tyson was coaching Mel, the wind picked up and started to blow her away like Dorothy on her way to Oz. (Poor thing, with her petite figure she’d always been gravitationally challenged.) It was hysterical. Thankfully, Tyson grabbed her wires and proceeded to fly her. Like a kite.

“Did you notice he was holding onto the wires on our hang gliders the whole time?” she asked later, unable to mask her excite-ment. “Yeah. I’m not sure that means what

you think it does. It might just mean we’re bad.”

If we were bad, I was baddest. After launching from the top of a dune, I flew about forty feet in the air, parallel to earth, before plummeting head first toward the ground. With the nose of the glider wedged firmly in the sand, I hung there helplessly by my safety-diaper until I was rescued. It was completely humiliating.

Filled with compassion, Mel ran over to console me. Explaining how the glider blocked most of her view she explained,

“All I could see were two little flesh sticks, with shoes and socks on the end. “I feel like something in a microwavable dinner.”

My only comfort from that particu-lar crash is that I was allowed to keep the down tube that I broke with my forearm. Free souvenir!

GONE TO CAROLINAFour lessons, 2097 miles, 17 bruise clusters and 112 photos later, we’d arrived back at home in Illinois. When we pulled into town at 10:30 on Saturday night, we stopped by several of our friends’ homes to show off a little. All right, a lot. No one was really quite as impressed as we were.

Our hang gliding adventure before leav-ing for college turned out to be a great way for these two birds to leave the nest.

Margot Starbuck is a writer and speaker who has now made her home in the state where flight was born. Although she is forced to drive a minivan, which is admit-tedly less than adventurous, at least North Carolina license plates have a picture of Kitty Hawk on them. Learn more at

www.MargotStarbuck.com.


ELIX ODRIGUEZRF RF

When did you start flying acrobatics?“After Raul returned from the 1997 Paragliding World Cup in Venezuela where he saw Andi Hediger loop for the first time, we started to try acro on our own. I was in shock when I saw the pictures, and I knew I would definitely loop soon.”

What is your favorite part of the sport?“The family of pilots that we all have. We have instant friends all over the world. We are all together and passionate about the same thing everywhere we go. It’s awesome! I love flying with others. When I fly alone, I have less fun.”

What one thing would you change in the world? “I would like to have 18 months in a year so I could have some

49

Q&A

Felix Rodriguez spins, stalls, and tumbles from the sky with effortless precision. Along with his older brother, Raul, who was fourteen at the time, Felix

started flying when he was twelve at his father’s school in Granada, Spain. Together, they have won the Aerobatic World Cup in Villeneuve six consecutive times. Rarely in any sport does an athlete so convincingly dominate their sport—let alone, two at the same time! A founding member of the infamous SAT team, Felix is no stranger to films and acro events worldwide. He recently jumped on board with Ozone paragliders and helped design a new wing that has been named after him. Even though Felix is blind in one eye, he hasn’t been slowed down a bit. I caught up with Felix on the beach in Tenerife where he was resting in between impressive acro laps at Flypa 2007.

by NICKGREECE

photos by OLIVIERLAGUERO


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extra time to go on holiday.”

What’s the best and worst thing that has happened to you in the last 12 months?

“The best was winning Villeneuve again this year. It was like suc-ceeding in my final test at university. The pinnacle of my climb has been revealed and the pressure is off. It feels wonderful!”

And the worst? “The worst was when I broke my back training for Villeneuve. A pilot must always respect flying at all times. I took for granted the strong wind in the landing field and slammed into a goal post doing a death-spiral. As it was only three months before the Acro World Cup, I thought I would miss the event. The doctors originally said a four-month recovery at minimum, so I got a second opinion and ended up leaving the hospital against doc-tors’ orders. I stayed in bed without moving for four weeks, then after seven weeks, I started walking a bit. Three weeks before the competition, I went flying for the first time and started with helicopters, as they have little g-force. Only two months after the injury, I went to a competition in Italy and won the solo and synchro events. I guess I was feeling better.”

What’s your favorite move?“Rythmic SAT. It is crucial for linking tricks together. It helps when I go from rhythmic to infinite tumble to helicopter. It is the glue.”

What advice would you give to someone who is trying to learn paragliding acrobatics?

“The way to learn is already a given. Go to other acro pilots and ask them for advice; hire them if you have to. Don’t go out there and try to learn on your own. I don’t keep any secrets from anyone. When the SAT team learns a new manoeuvre, we teach anyone who is interested to keep the spirit alive. We must teach and help each other—after all we are playing with our lives.”

If you were a car, what type would you be?

“Something that does everything. A Volvo 4x4. Something that can go fast but still have a lot of security for a family.”

Where do you see acro in the future?“All over television. Acro is extremely conducive to the television format. It will make the sport bigger, maybe even help it get into the Olympic Games.”

Q&A


It’s indisputable what a successful hang gliding pilot “can’t do without.” The answer, of course, is their driver. Being a Driver 4 (D-4) for six

years has given me a unique perspective on the intricate habit-forming sport of hang gliding, and its pilots.

The character makeup of this extraordinary animal, the hang glider pilot, is apparent to a wide-eyed onlooker. The pilot crouches down, shelter-ing himself from rain under a sopping wet glider. Clawing the side-wires, he fights the 20- mph back winds to preserve. Peering over the fog-banked launch, he declares, “I’m thinking it’ll be flyable soon.” This optimistic outlook is typical.

I have witnessed many artful articulations of sayings, such as, “They call this hang waiting,” and the popular, “It’s better to be down here wishing you were up there, than up there wishing you were down here.” Being well versed in this creature’s language helps one interpret their behavior. For example,

“He was banking and cranking as he slipped a turn, stuffed the bar, ground effected in,’ til he threw up his arms and parachuted down.” Translation— the pilot landed. It seems that birds-of-a-feather not only flock together— they also speak differently.

Even with knowledge about this winged beast, certain behaviors are still questionable. Such as, why does it celebrate the pre and post-storm conditions by leaping off mountains, eagerly anticipating the potholed airways? Its pulse races as it soars up a 1500 feet-per-minute thermal—only to realize, like a great ride on any rapid, that the falls are soon to come. For a lo-o-o-ng split-second it free falls, until the chilling, twang of the glider’s side-wires ring true. One won-ders what goes through its mind when heading into a landing zone, starting the turn as the earth hurtles past at 50 mph. It oddly draws in the bar to increase speed. Just inches from the hard unforgiving surface, it lowers down the landing gear (its legs.) The pilot decelerates from 20 to 0 mph in two seconds flat. But don’t worry; if the animal misses a beat, they cling to their down tubes. I’m not sure about their variometer,

but the alarm on the driver’s “What-the-?#$!” meter goes off.

A serious D-4 realizes the magnitude of the job, and subsequently departs the beloved mountain last. The extended sentences I’ve spent on the hill make this D-4 an expert in hang-checks, as well as the greatest wire-person in the West. Bag pilots, do not fear. I’m also an accomplished line-clearer, and cracker jack wing-spreader. Why, if it weren’t for this transport service, there’d still be 20 pilots struggling past Hang 3, and 50 mountaineering pilots ascend-ing for their cars. A free-flight pilot without a driver is like a pilot without V.G.—neither is getting where they badly crave to go.

From this vantage point, I am able to bestow upon you the information needed to safeguard your rare majestic D-4 dragon:

1. A Clean Car No one enjoys digging through crumpled hamburger wrappers to unearth the gearshift.

2. Deep Appreciation This can be demonstrated by opening a few of those beloved gates. A couple of

“thanks” over the radio tops it off. (Yes, a D-4 has a ham license.)

3. Carry Snacks An expert D-4 must be kept well nourished, so bring treats.

4. R&R Due to reoccurrences of “hang waiting,” always provide a comfy camp chair for your driver.

5. Perfect Patience Never, ever complain when everything but the “kitchen sink” is brought on a hang gliding trip.

Use this information wisely, and you too will have a happy driver. A content driver means more flights. As for the extraordinary animal clawing the side-wires, more flights mean a smarter and stronger pilot.

Fly safe and have fun.

The Jewelof

the Flying Site

by THERESAEPPERSON


GALLERY | JEFF O'BRIEN

August 2008: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – www.USHPA.aero

Jeff O'Brien on the salt flats | photo by Adam West

August 2008: Hang Gliding & Paragliding – www.USHPA.aero


Jeff O'Brien | As the magazine

goes to print Jeff took 10th over-

all at the 2008 pre-worlds. Check

out his amazing blog at http://

hang6.blogspot.com/ for more

great shots, and stories of his

travels. You can also support his

competition pursuits by purchas-

ing a full size poster of some of

his photographic work.


DON’T mIss OUT.BE sURE TO RENEW.

NO LONGER FLYING?Become a

Contributing member.Participate in elections!

Receive the monthly magazine!

Application at

www.ushpa.aero/formsor call 1-800-616-6888

If your UsHPA membership expires

on 8/31 we must receive your re-

newal by 8/15 or you will miss the

september magazine. If your mem-

bership expires on 9/30 we must

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Interested in joining UsHPA?

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or call 1-800-616-6888

The Infinite

Ed

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I still get quite scared and even completely terrified. However, in the throes of flying back and forth with the birds, I forget the terror and realize some-

thing that little else can give me. I can’t articulate it, of course. The awesome intensity of a cloud’s perspective certainly overwhelms the pursuits of my trivial day to day existence.

We have short lives. You may realize love once in a while. Nature may show you God occasionally. But in flight you are often unwillingly stripped of your fears, and desires, and forced to gaze on the naked awesome-ness of real life.

It seems true that when we are forced to confront our frail existence, and limited time here, the infinite pres-ents itself for inspection. It’s a real challenge sometimes to even take a look.

The Infinite by BENROGERS


CALENDAR ITEMS will not be listed if only tentative. Please include exact information (event, date, contact name and phone number). Items should be received no later than six weeks prior to the event. We request two months lead time for regional and national meets. For more complete information on the events listed, 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, ad-ditions & cancellations must be received in writing 2 months preceding the cover date, i.e. September 15th is the deadline for the November issue. ALL CLASSI-FIEDS ARE PREPAID. If paying by check, please in-clude 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 previ-ous information and classified to [email protected]. 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 business-es will be happy to give an objective opinion on the con-dition of equipment you bring them to inspect. BUYERS SHOULD SELECT EQUIPMENT THAT IS APPROPRI-ATE FOR THEIR SKILL LEVEL OR RATING. NEW PI-LOTS SHOULD SEEK PROFESSIONAL INSTRUC-TION FROM A USHPA CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR.

SANCTIONED COMPETITION

PG JUly 28-AUgUSt 2 Chelan, Washington. Chelan Paragliding XC Open. Registration opens March 15, $285 by June 26, $325 after. More information: chelanXCopen.com.

HG AUgUSt 2-9 Big Spring, Texas. Big Spring International. Registration opens April 15th. Entry fee is $325, late fees TBD. More information: www.flytec.com.

HG AUgUSt 17-23 Lakeview, Oregon. Hang-on Hang Gliding Nationals. Registration opens March 15, $295. More information: mphsports.com.

PG SePtember 14-20 Bishop, California. Ow-ens Valley US Paragliding Nationals. Registration opens April 1. Contact: Kevin and Kristen Biernaki. More infor-mation: www.2008USParaglidingNationals.com.

COMPETITION

PG AUgUSt 9-10, SePtember 6-7, october 4-6 Dunlap, Potato Hill and Owens Valley, Cali-fornia. 2008 Northern California XC League. $10/task for pre-registered pilots. Prizes awarded on Saturday nights. For more information email Jug at [email protected], or go to www.santacruzparagliding.com.

HG PG JUly 27- AUgUSt 2 Boone, North Caro-lina. 3rd Annual Tater Hill Open. XC and Race for para-gliders and low performance hang gliders w/ con-centration on new XC pilots. Registration opens April 1, $175 until August 1. Per day rate for weekend only. More info: www.flytaterhill.com or contact Bubba Goodman at 828-773-9433.

HG SePtember 28 - october 4 Dunlap, Ten-nessee. The 2008 Tennessee Tree Toppers Team Chal-lenge. Pilot check-in and registration starts Saturday September 27. Competition strategies with a focus on mentoring, and fun. More information: treetoppers.net.

HG PG october 31- November 2 Puebla, Mexico. Vuela Puebla 2008, Paragliding and Hang Glid-ing Open Championship. FAI/CIVL Category 2 Events. Competitions will occur at same time at two different launches. Great flying, and cool colonial city. 75$ entry fee. More information: www.vuelapuebla.com.

FLy-INS

HG PG AUgUSt 29 - SePtember 1 Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Please join the Storm Peak Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association for the fourth an-nual Airmen's Rendevous - Wild West Airfest. Fabu-lous flying, parties and awards. Bring the family to en-joy the many activities available in Steamboat Springs (hot springs, gondola rides, river activities, mountain biking, etc.). Tasks, T shirts and lots of airtime. Please contact any of us for info:; Mark Cahur, [email protected]; Roberto Frias, [email protected]; Deb-bie Funston, [email protected]; Ken Grubbs, [email protected]; or look to links at rmhpa.org.

PG AUgUSt 30 - SePtember 1 Bend, Ore-gon. 18th annual Pine Mt. Fly-In. Pine Mt. is located 25 miles East of Bend Oregon. Come enjoy free flying, good food, a huge raffle, live music and your fellow pi-lots. Demo gliders, free camping, reliable conditions and fun daily tasks. For more information go to www.desertairriders.org or Contact Wade Holmes at [email protected].

HG SePtember 25-28 Chattanooga, Tennes-see. Lookout Mountain. 2008 Women’s Hang Gliding Festival. Join us for a celebration of women in hang gliding. Beautiful mountain and aerotow flying, clin-ics, discounted training, fun flying tasks, raffle prizes, food, parties and camaraderie. Lots of non-flying ac-tivities for family members. Registration is Thursday af-ternoon. All female and male hang glider pilots wel-come. More information: www.hanglide.com. Contact: Jen Richards, 706-398-3541 or [email protected].

HG PG october 9-october 14 LA SALI-NA, BAJA Mexico. Third Annual Full-Moon “Fiesto Del Cielo” Fly-in at La Salina Flying Ridge. Inter-mediate equivalency ( and above) paragliding and hang gliding pilots welcome (others check first). La Salina is Baja’s most diversified airsport venue with various glider launches and LZ’s. Launch from 700’ ridge, located 1⁄2 mile east of Pacific Ocean. Soar for hours, climbing 2000 ft+ in strong ther-mals, and land on big/beautiful sandy beach, or cross country 30+ miles into wine country. Event sponsored by TEAM FLYLASALINA.com, and Ba-jabrent who will handle accommodations at his sandy beachfront B & B (complete with carpeted target LZ), or elsewhere. XC comp and flying task competitions Fri-Mon. More information: www.FLYLASALINA.com or www.BAJABRENT.com , or call Bajabrent at 760-203-2658 or 01152-646-155-4218 or email [email protected].

CLINICS, MEETINGS, TOURS

AUgUSt 9-21 French and Swiss Alps. Join Rob Sporrer, Jamie Messenger, Bob Drury, Nick Greece, and our local guide and weather guru for amazing flying during what is typically the most consistent part of the Alpine summer. This annual tour to the Haute Alps, will be based in Grand Bornand, at our own flying lodge, we will work on cross-country flying strategies and tactics in the finest terrain imaginable. Every night eat five star meals after our debriefs. Plan on flying at least six dif-ferent sites ranging from Grand Bornand to Interlaken depending on the weather. More information: http://ea-gleparagliding.com/?q=node/27#30.

AUgUSt 28-30 Utah. Central Utah Thermal Clinic with Stacy Whitmore, Ken Hudonjorgensen & Bill Bel-court. Phone (801) 572-3414, or email [email protected]. More information: www.twocanfly.com.

SePtember 6-8 Utah. Thermal Clinic at Utah fly-ing sites with Ken Hudonjorgensen. Phone (801) 572-3414, or email [email protected]. More informa-tion: www.twocanfly.com.

DISPATCH


SePtember 13-16 Ridge Soaring Clinic, near Grand Junction, Colorado. Otto's Ridge is an undiscov-ered ridge-soaring paradise. We soar above our tents in the morning, midday we tow up in building thermals, and in the evenings we enjoy glass-off flights. P-2 pi-lots will learn to ridge soar and tow up into thermals. Details at http://www.parasoftparagliding.com/les-sons/ridge _ soaring _ clinic.php.

SePtember 23-28 Santa Barbara, California. In-structor Certification Clinic with Rob Sporrer of Eagle Paragliding. This three day clinic is open to basic and advanced Paragliding instructor candidates, and those needing recertification. More information: www.para-gliding.com.

SePtember 26-30 Bishop, California. XC GO FAR. Have you been dreaming of achieving your personal best flight...this might be the time to do it!!! Let me me help you. FLY THE OWEN’S VALLEY WITH KARI CASTLE. Three time world champion, umpteen time National Champion pilot in both hang gliding and paragliding. The fall is my favorite time of year for flying the Owen’s, let me show you around my backyard!! More information: [email protected], or (760) 920-0748.

SePtember 27-28 Utah. Mountain Flying and learning how to pioneer new sites with Ken Hudonjor-gensen. Phone (801) 572-3414, or email [email protected]. More information: www.twocanfly.com.

october 3-5 Santa Barbara, California. Instruc-tor Certification Clinic with Rob Sporrer of Eagle Para-gliding. This three day clinic is open to basic and ad-vanced Paragliding instructor candidates, and those needing recertification. More information: www.para-gliding.com.

october 8-12 Bishiop, California. Wel-come to the Owens 1. Site intros, thermal and XC coaching. Great time of year for mellow conditions open to strong P2 - P4. FLY THE OWEN’S VALLEY WITH KARI CASTLE. Three time world champi-on, umpteen time National Champion pilot in both hang gliding and paragliding. The fall is my favor-ite time of year for flying the Owen’s, let me show you around my backyard!! More information: [email protected], or (760) 920-0748.

october 10-31 Tapalpa, Mexico. Fly south this winter, Tapalpa offers world class, mel-low to moderate thermal conditions. Improve your thermal and x-c skills with David Pren-tice. Lodging,transportation, and guiding includ-ed. More information: [email protected], or (505)720-5436.

october 16-20 Bishop, California. Welcome to the Owens 2. Site intros, thermal and XC coach-ing. Open to strong P2 to P4. FLY THE OWEN’S VALLEY WITH KARI CASTLE. Three time world champion, umpteen time National Champion pilot in both hang gliding and paragliding. The fall is my favorite time of year for flying the Owen’s, let me show you around my backyard!! More information: [email protected], or (760) 920-0748.

october 25-29 Bishop, California. Wel-come to the Owens 3. New to thermals and fly-ing XC this is for you. Enjoy some mellower and light XC conditions. FLY THE OWEN’S VALLEY WITH KARI CASTLE. Three time world champi-on, umpteen time National Champion pilot in both hang gliding and paragliding. The fall is my favor-ite time of year for flying the Owen’s, let me show you around my backyard!! More information: [email protected], or (760) 920-0748.

November 5-30 Iquique, Chile. Join Luis Rosen-kjer and Todd Weigand to fly the never ending thermals where the Atacama Desert meets the Pacific Ocean! As Co-Chilean Open Distance record holder (193 km) and Iquique Open Competition Champions, Luis and Todd have over 11 years of combined guiding experience in Iquique. Multiple tours for all levels and USHPA certi-fied instructional courses available. Fly every day or get money back! Don’t believe us…. check out our pro-gram for more details! www.paraglidechile.blogspot.com www.atlantaparagliding.com.

November 7-9 Florida. East Coast SIV clin-ic. More information: [email protected], or (505)720-5436.

November 8-16 Phoenix, Arizona. Come to warm Phoenix for some last flights before winter. Para-soft offers pilots rated P-2 and higher a chance to im-prove your skills in warm thermals. Fly into Sky Harbor on these dates and we will take you flying nearby. We have hotel, transport and guiding all arranged. Details at http://www.parasoftparagliding.com/travel/phoenix.php.

November 10-15 Florida Ridge. First annual East coast X-C team challenge. This event will be based around a X-C clinic to help pilots improve thermal, and X-C skills. Format: Five pilot teams will be formed to compete in classic task and open distance tasks. Each team will have an experienced mentor pilot. This is a tow launch event. Limit if 50 pilots. More information: [email protected], or (505)720-5436.

November 8-15 &/or November 15-22 Iquique, Chile. Flying sites w/Ken Hudonjorgensen , Bill Belcourt and local guides. A great trip to what many pilots consider to be the best place to fly in the world. Phone (801) 572-3414, or email [email protected]. More information: www.twocanfly.com.


November 21-23 Florida. East Coast SIV clin-ic. More information: [email protected], or (505)720-5436.

December 5 - JANUAry 16 Valle De Bravo, Mexico. Fly south this winter! Improve your thermal and X-C skills with David Prentice World Class El Pe-non site, which is the launch for the 2009 world cham-pionships. Lodging, transportation, and guiding In-cluded. More information: [email protected], or (505)720-5436.

FLEX WINGS

BRAND NEW MOYES SUPER SONIC 190 VG - Flies like a dream, hands off, perfect glider for a new pilot or just fun flying. Barely out of the bag with only 1 hour 40 mins air time and stored indoors. Absolutely no whacks!! Beautiful dark blue under surface with bird log on top, spare set of down tubes and Moyes up-graded 1/8" side wires. Reason for sale - unrelated accident. $4,200 new, a peach at $3000 firm. Must see pictures available. (702) 595-7190 or [email protected]

EVEN-UP TRADES - Looking to move up from your be-ginner or novice glider, but can’t put up cash? (262)-473-8800, [email protected], www.hanggliding.com, http://stores.ebay.com/raven-sports.

FALCONS CLEARANCE SALE - School use, one sea-son. Falcon 1s and 2s. All sizes $1,250-$2,500. (262)-473-8800, [email protected], www.hanggliding.com, http://stores.ebay.com/raven-sports.

MR700 2002 LAMINAR 14M - Purple and Red. Excel-lent condition. Never whacked. Asking $2500. Michael 803-617-8206

UV PROTECTIVE TOPLESS GLIDER COVERS - Pro-tect your sail while glider is assembled. Custom Cocoon Harnesses also. Chris Smith - Cloudbase Harnesses. Since 1972. Email: [email protected], (423)-653-0922.

WILLS WING XC 132 - Awesome glider for small pi-lot. Thermals beautifully. Excellent condition. Like new. White Upper. Blue/White Under. Fin included. (423) 653-0922, [email protected]

PARACHUTES

INSPECTED RESERVES - For HG or PG $199+up. Used Quantum, all sizes $475+up. Some trades ac-cepted. (262)-473-8800, [email protected], www.hanggliding.com, http://stores.ebay.com/raven-sports.

BUSINESS & EMPLOyMENT

NORTH WING DESIGN - is accepting applications for metal shop/wing and trike airframe mechanic. Also ac-cepting applications for sail maker and sewing machine operator. Send App. To: 3904 airport way, E. Wenatchee, Wa. 98802 or Fax 509-886-3435 (www.northwing.com)

HARNESSES

COCOON HARNESSES CUSTOM FIT - UV Protective Topless Glider Covers. Protect your sail while glider is assembled. Chris Smith - Cloudbase Harnesses. Since 1972. Email: [email protected], (423)-653-0922

HARNESSES - 5’0”-6’5”. Cocoons $125+up. High Energy Cocoons $200+up, Pods $200+up. Inventory, selection changes constantly. Some trades accepted. (262) 473-8800, [email protected], www.hangg-liding.com, http://stores.ebay.com/raven-sports.

SCHOOLS & DEALERS

ALABAMA

ATLANTA PARAGLIDING - 20 years of experience, top instructors, top pilots and very consistent weather conditions all year around, make us your best choice on the east coast. www.atlantaparagliding.com (404) 931-3793

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

ARIZONA

FLY HIGH PARAGLIDING.COM - over 10 years of ex-perience, offers P-2 certification, tandem flights, towing, new and used equipment, the best weather to fly in USA. (480)-266-6969.

CALIFORNIA

AIRJUNKIES PARAGLIDING - Year-round excellent in-struction, Southern California & Baja. Powered paraglid-ing, clinics, tours, tandem, towing. Ken Baier (760)-753-2664, ` airjunkies.com.

EAGLE PARAGLIDING - SANTA BARBARA offers the best year round flying in the nation. Award-winning in-struction, excellent mountain and ridge sites. www.Fly-SantaBarbara.com, (805)-968-0980

FLY ABOVE ALL - Year-round instruction in beautiful Santa Barbara! USHPA Novice through Advanced certi-fication. Thermaling to competition training. Visit www.flyaboveall.com (805)-965-3733.

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

MISSION SOARING CENTER - Largest hang gliding center in the West! Our deluxe retail shop showcases the latest equipment: Wills Wing, Moyes, AIR, High Energy, Flytec, Icaro. West Coast distributor for A.I.R. Atos rig-id wings including the all-new VX Tandem Atos. 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 train-ing harnesses. 1116 Wrigley Way, Milpitas, CA 95035. (408)-262-1055, Fax (408)-262-1388, [email protected], www.hang-gliding.com, Mission Soaring Center, leading the way since 1973.

6020


TORREY PINES GLIDERPORT - Come soar in San Di-ego! This family-owned and operated flying site offers USHPA certified instruction, advanced training, equip-ment sales, tandem flight instruction, motorized pg/hg instruction and site tours. We also have an extensive pg/hg outfitting shop offering parachute repacks and full-service repairs. Bring your family for our amazing sun-sets and dining at the Cliffhanger Cafe. Importers for Paratech and Independence gliders. We also carry Aus-triAlpin, Center of Gravity, Crispi and Sup’Air. Check us out online for sales and questions at: www.flytorrey.com, or call toll-free at 1-877-FLY-TEAM (359-8326). Also, tune in to the Internet Paragliding Talk Show at www.worldtalkradio.com every Tuesday 9-11:00 a.m. (PST).

WINDSPORTS - Don’t risk bad weather, bad instruc-tion or dangerous training hills. 350 flyable days each year. Learn foot-launch flying skills safely and quickly. Train with professional CFI’s at world-famous Dockweil-er Beach training slopes (5 minutes from LA airport.) Fly winter or summer in gentle coastal winds, soft sand and in a thorough program with one of America’s most pres-tigious schools for over 25 years. (818)-367-2430, www.windsports.com.

COLORADO

AIRTIME ABOVE HANG GLIDING - Full time lessons sales and service Colorado’s most experienced! Offer-ing foot launch, tow and scooter tow instruction. Wills Wing, Moyes, North Wing, AIR, Altair, Aeros, High En-ergy, Finsterwalder, Flytec, MotoComm, and more sold and serviced. Call for more info (303)-674-2451, Ever-green Colorado, [email protected]

GUNNISON GLIDERS - Serving the western slope. In-struction, sales, service, sewing, accessories. Site in-formation, ratings. 1549 County Road 17, Gunnison CO 81230. (970)-641-9315, 1-(866)-238-2305.

PEAK TO PEAK PARAGLIDING LLC - THE Front Range paragliding school, located in Boulder, Colorado. Offer-ing excellent state-of-the-art instruction. Specializing in over the water & safety training. Equipment & tandems. Phone 303.817.0803 [email protected] www.peaktopeakparagliding.com.

FLORIDA


FLORIDA RIDGE AEROTOW PARK - 18265 E State Road 80, Clewiston, Florida (863)-805-0440, www.the-floridaridge.com.

GRAYBIRD AIRSPORTS — Paraglider & hang glid-er towing & training, Dragonfly aerotow training, XC, thermaling, instruction, equipment. Dunnellon Airport (352)-245-8263, email [email protected], www.graybirdairsports.com.

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK - Nearest moun-tain training center to Orlando. Two training hills, novice mountain launch, aerotowing, great accommodations. hanglide.com, 877-hanglide, (877)-426-4543.

MIAMI HANG GLIDING - For year-round training fun in the sun. (305)-285-8978, 2550 S Bayshore Drive, Co-conut Grove, Florida 33133, www.miamihanggliding.com.

WALLABY AEROTOW FLIGHT PARK - Satisfaction Guaranteed. Just 8 miles from Disney World. Year-round soaring, open 7 days a week, six tugs, no waiting, every direction. 50+ nice demos to fly, topless to trainer glid-ers: Laminar, Moyes, Wills, Airborne, Airwave, Exxtacy, La Mouette, Sensor; also harnesses, varios, etc. Ages 13 to 73 have learned to fly here. No one comes close to our level of experience and success with tandem aero-tow instruction. A great scene for family and friends. 10 motels & restaurants within 5 minutes. Camping, hot showers, shade trees, sales, storage, ratings, XC retriev-als, great weather, climbing wall, trampoline, DSS TV, ping pong, picnic tables, swimming pool, etc. Flights of over 200 miles and more than 7 hours. Articles in Hang Gliding, Kitplanes, Skywings, Cross Country and oth-ers. Featured on numerous TV shows, including Date-line NBC, The Discovery Channel & ESPN. Visit us on the Web: http://www.wallaby.com. Please call us for ref-erences and video. 1805 Dean Still Road, Disney Area, FL 33837 (863)-424-0070, phone & fax, [email protected], 1-(800)-WALLABY. Conservative, reliable, state-of-the-art. F.H.G. INC., flying Florida since 1974

GEORGIA


LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK - Discover why 5 times as many pilots earn their wings at LMFP. Enjoy our 110 acre mountain resort. www.hanglide.com, 877-hanglide, (877)-426-4543.

HAWAII

FLY HAWAII - Hawaii’s hang gliding, paragliding/para-motoring school. Mauna Kea guide service. Most expe-rience, best safety record. Big Island of Hawaii, Achim Hagemann (808)-895-9772, www.aircotec.net/flyha-waii.htm, [email protected].

ALOHA! ISLAND POWERED PARAGLIDERS/THER-MALUP PARAGLIDING - The Big Islands only choice for USHPA certified instruction. Both free flight and pow-ered tandems year round. Dvd of your flight included. One on one lessons from our private oceanside launch-es and training facilities. Contact Yeti, (808)-987-0773, www.ThermalUp.com or www.IslandPPG.com. Aloha

PROFLYGHT PARAGLIDING - Call Dexter for friendly information about flying on Maui. Full-service school of-fering beginner to advanced instruction every day, year round. (808)-874-5433, paraglidehawaii.com.

INDIANA

CLOUD 9 SPORT AVIATION - See Cloud 9 in Michigan


NEW BOOK!!$32.95

Order online at www.ushga.org/store or call 800-616-6888

for Airfoil BasetubesWHEELS

Raven Hang Gliding LLC(262) 473-8800

www.hanggliding.com

Raven Hang Gliding LLC(262) 473-8800

www.hanggliding.com

MAINE

DOWNEAST AIRSPORTS - paragliding & hang gliding instruction using tandems & scooter towing for easy safe learning. Quality equipment sales. www.downeastair-sports.com, in _ a _ [email protected], Marc (207)-244-9107.

MARyLAND

HIGHLAND AEROSPORTS - Baltimore and DC’s full-time flight park: tandem instruction, solo aerotows and equipment sales and service. We carry Aeros, Airwave, Flight Design, Moyes, Wills Wing, High Energy Sports, Flytec and more. Two 115-HP Dragonfly tugs. Open fields as far as you can see. Only 1 to 1.5 hours from Re-hoboth 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, [email protected].

MARYLAND SCHOOL OF HANG GLIDING - Sales, service, instruction since 1976. Specializing in Foot Launch. www.mshg.com (410)-527-0975 Proudly rep-resenting Wills Wing, Flytec & Moyes

MICHIGAN

CLOUD 9 SPORT AVIATION - Aerotow specialists. We carry all major brand hang gliders and accessories. Cloud 9 Field, 11088 Coon Lake Road West, Webber-ville MI 48892. [email protected], http://members.aol.com/cloud9sa. Call for summer tandem lessons and flying appointments with the DraachenFliegen Soaring Club at Cloud 9 Field. (517)-223-8683, [email protected], http://members.aol.com/dfscinc.

TRAVERSE CITY HANG GLIDERS/PARAGLIDERS Put your knees in our breeze and soar our 450’ sand dunes. Full-time shop. Certified instruction, beginner to advanced. Sales, service, accessories for ALL major brands. Visa/MasterCard. 1509 E 8th, Traverse City MI 49684. Offering powered paragliding. Call Bill at (231)-922-2844, [email protected]. Your USA & Canada Mosquito distributor. www.mosquitoamerica.com.

NEW yORK

AAA MOUNTAIN WINGS INC. - New location at 77 Hang Glider Road in Ellenville next to the LZ. We ser-vice all brands featuring AEROS and North Wing. Con-tact (845)-647-3377, [email protected], www.mt-nwings.com,

FLY HIGH, INC. - Serving New York, Jersey, and Con-necticut areas. Area’s exclusive Wills Wing dealer. Also all other brands, accessories. Area’s most INEXPENSIVE prices! Certified instruction/service since 1979. Excel-lent secondary instruction! Taken some lessons? Ad-vance to mountain flying! www.flyhighhg.com, (845)-744-3317.

LET'S GO PARAGLIDING LLC - Paragliding flight school offering USHPA-certified instruction for all levels, tandem flights, tours, and equipment sales. More infor-mation: www.letsgoparagliding.com, (917) 359-6449.

SUSQUEHANNA FLIGHT PARK COOPERSTOWN NY - 40 acre flight park. 160’ training hill with rides up. 600’ ridge-large LZ. Specializing in first mountain flights.Dan Guido mailing address 293 Shoemaker Rd Mohawk Ny 13407 Home (315)-866-6153 cell (315)-867-8011 [email protected]

NORTH CAROLINA


KITTY HAWK KITES - FREE Hang 1 training with pur-chase of equipment! The largest hang gliding school in the world. Teaching since 1974. Learn to fly over the East coast’s largest sand dune. Year round instruction, foot launch and tandem aerotow. Dealer for all major man-ufacturers. Ultralight instruction and tours. (252)-441-2426, 1-877-FLY-THIS, www.kittyhawk.com

OHIO

CLOUD 9 SPORT AVIATION - See Cloud 9 in Michigan

PUERTO RICO

FLY PUERTO RICO WITH TEAM SPIRIT HG! - Flying tours, rentals, tandems, HG and PG classes, H-2 and P-2 intensive Novice courses, full sales. (787)-850-0508, [email protected].

SOUTH CAROLINA


TENNESSEE


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

TEXAS

AUSTIN AIR SPORTS - Hang gliding and ultralight sales, service and instruction. Steve Burns (512)-236-0031, [email protected]. Fred Burns (281)-471-1488, [email protected], WWW.AUSTINAIR-SPORTS.COM.

GO...HANG GLIDING!!! — Jeff Hunt. Austin ph/fax (512)-467-2529, [email protected],www.flytexas.com.


Stock up! Order online at

www.ushpa.aero/store or call 800-616-6888

UTAH

CLOUD 9 PARAGLIDING - Come visit us and check out our huge selection of paragliding gear, traction kites, ex-treme 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 re-pair facility, Give us a ring at (801)-576-6460 if you have any questions.

VIRGINIA

BLUE SKY - Full-time instruction at Blue Sky Flight Park near Richmond. Scooter, platform and aerotowing avail-able. All major brands of equipment, with Mosquitos and Doodlebugs in stock. Steve Wendt, (804)-241-4324, www.blueskyhg.com.

WASHINGTON

AERIAL PARAGLIDING SCHOOL AND FLIGHT PARK - Award winning instructors at a world class training fa-cility. Contact Doug Stroop at (509)-782-5543 or visit www.paragliding.us

WISCONSIN

WHITEWATER HANG GLIDING CLUB-Hang gliding school and club using aerotow and scooter tow training.We are open for the season.Contact Rik 608 206 9939 608 842 0480 Whitewaterhangglidingclub.com

INTERNATIONAL

BAJA MEXICO - La Salina: PG, HG, PPG www.FLYLA-SALINA.com. by www.BAJABRENT.com, He’ll hook you up! site intros, tours, & rooms [email protected], (760)-203-2658

BALI - Ridge soar in warm breezes over aquamarine surf for hours every day. 3 sites. Hike and fly an active volca-no. Immerse yourself in exotic culture. Two 2-week tours in Sept. Experienced USHPA instructors with 16 years experience in Bali. [email protected] (206)208-2430

MEXICO - VALLE DE BRAVO and beyond for hang glid-ing and paragliding. Year round availability and special tours. Gear, guiding, instruction, transportation, lodg-ing - all varieties for your needs. www.flymexico.com 1-(800)-861-7198 USA

PARTS & ACCESSORIES

ALL HG GLIDERBAGS, harness packs, harness zippers and zipper stocks. Instrument mounts and replacement bands. Mitts, straps, fabric parts, windsocks, radios. Gunnison Gliders. 1-(866)-238-2305

CRITTERMOUNTAINWEAR.COM is your one stop website for paraglider equipment and accessories. You can find a full line of backpacks, stuff tarps, flight suits, clothing, GPS and vario holders, flight decks, ballast containers, radio holders, tow bridals, windsocks, boots, helmets, hook knives, varios, wind speed meters and much, much more. Everything you need to have the ul-timate day flying your paraglider. Critter Mountain Wear also imports and distributes lightweight wings and har-nesses from Nervures. 1(800)686-9327

FLIGHT SUITS, FLIGHT SUITS, FLIGHT SUITS, Warm Flight suits, Efficient Flight suits, Light weight Flight suits, Flight suits in twelve sizes. Stylish Flight suits www.mphsports.com (503)-657-8911

FOR ALL YOUR FLYING NEEDS - Check out the Avia-tion Depot at www.mojosgear.com featuring over 1000 items for foot-launched and powered paragliding, hang gliding, stunt and power kiting, and powered parachutes. 24/7 secure online shopping. Books, videos, KITES, gifts, engine parts, harness accessories, electronics, clothing, safety equipment, complete powered paraglid-ing units with training from Hill Country Paragliding Inc. www.hillcountryparagliding.com 1-800-664-1160 for orders only. Office (325)-379-1567.

GLIDERBAGS - XC $75! Heavy waterproof $125. Acces-sories, low prices, fast delivery! Gunnison Gliders, 1549 County Road 17, Gunnison CO 81230. (970) 641-9315, orders 1-866-238-2305.

MINI VARIO - World’s smallest, simplest vario! Clips to helmet or chinstrap. 200 hours on batteries, 0-18,000 ft., fast response and 2-year warranty. ONLY $169. Mal-lettec, PO Box 15756, Santa Ana CA 92735. (949)-795-0421, MC/Visa accepted, www.mallettec.com.

OXYGEN SYSTEMS – MH-XCR-180 operates to 18,000 ft., weighs only 4 lbs. System includes cylinder, har-ness, regulator, cannula, and remote on/off flowmeter. $450.00. 1(800)468-8185

RISING AIR GLIDER REPAIR SERVICES - A full-ser-vice shop, specializing in all types of paragliding repairs, annual inspections, reserve repacks, harness repairs. Hang gliding reserve repacks and repair. For informa-tion or repair estimate, call (208)-554-2243, pricing and service request form available at www.risingair.biz, [email protected].

TANDEM LANDING GEAR - Rascal™ brand by Raven, Simply the best. New & used. (262)-473-8800, www.hanggliding.com, [email protected], http://stores.ebay.com/raven-sports.

WHEELS FOR AIRFOIL BASETUBES - WHOOSH! Wheels™ (Patent Pending), Moyes/Airborne & Wills Wing compatible. Dealer inquiries invited. (262)-473-8800, www.hanggliding.com, [email protected], http://stores.ebay.com/raven-sports.

WINDSOKS FROM HAWK AIRSPORTS INC - 1673 Corbin Lake Rd, Rutledge, TN 37861, 1-800-826-2719. World-famous Windsoks, as seen at the Oshkosh & Sun-N-Fun EAA Fly-Ins. [email protected], www.wind-sok.com.

PUBLICATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS

SOARING - Monthly magazine of The Soaring Society of America Inc. Covers all aspects of soaring flight. Full membership $64. SSA, PO Box 2100, Hobbs NM 88241. (505)-392-1177, ssa.org.

REAL ESTATE

10 ACRES IN THE BEAUTIFUL LOST RIVER VALLEY, close to King Mt HG/PG site. Super glass-offs! Fenced. Partial payment toward well/septic. Don @ 208-554-2405.

MISCELLANEOUS

WORLDWIDE INTERNET PARAGLIDING TALK SHOW — WWW.WORLDTALKRADIO.COM. Listen live or to the archives! Live Tuesday 9-11:00 a.m. (PST). Call toll-free, 1-888-514-2100 or internationally at (001) 858-268-3068. Paraglider pilots and radio hosts David and Gabriel Jebb want to hear about your stories, promo-tions/events or insight; they also take questions!

STOLEN WINGS AND THINGS

STOLEN WINGS are listed as a service to USHPA mem-bers. Newest entries are in bold. There is no charge for this service and lost-and-found wings or equipment may be called in to (719)-632-8300, faxed to (719)-632-6417, or emailed to [email protected] for inclusion in Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine. Please call to cancel the listing when gliders are recovered. Periodi-cally, this listing will be purged.

GPS GARMIN 76 CSX. The last day of the Rat Race, af-ter the track log information was downloaded, someone picked up my GPS from the table. It had white tape in the upper left corner with my pilot number 326 written on it. If you discover that this GPS in your possession, please contact me at USHPA. Martin 800-616-6888. This GPS was borrowed from a friend, so it would be an enormous relief to have it returned.

HANG GLIDING INSTRUMENT FOUND on Tennessee Tree Topper site. Identify for return. [email protected]

STOLEN FROM THE ANDY JACKSON AIRPARK CAL-IFORNIA, MAY 14TH 2007. FALCON 195 #25038. Silver leading edge, red bottom surface white trailing edge. If found please contact Rob or Dianne through www.flytan-dem.com or (909)-883-8488.

GEAR STOLEN FROM MEXICAN PILOT IN MEXICO - NIVIUK HOOK XXS (45-65Kg) wing, in orange and white, s/n C20664, and an Ava Sport XS harnes, in blue and black. The reserve is a Firebird R5 S; I don’t have the se-rial number of these last two. If this equipment is found, contact me [email protected] or her directly: Vinda Levy, [email protected] +52(312)3097665

DISPATCH


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HANG GLIDING | APR 08

PARAGLIDING | APR 08RTNG REGN NAME CITY STATE RATING OFFICIAL

P-1 1 David Hoeft Bow WA Steven WilsonP-1 2 Kannan Sambamoorthy Concord CA Jeffrey GreenbaumP-1 2 Anindo Mukherjee Mountain View CA Greg BabushP-1 3 Douglas Dotter San Clemente CA Rob SporrerP-1 3 Jon Drindak Los Alamitos CA Rob MckenzieP-1 3 Philip Turek Huntington Beach CA Bruce KirkP-1 4 Mark Denzel Evergreen CO Granger BanksP-1 4 Paul Bessell Colorado Springs CO Mike SteenP-1 4 Mark Patel Albuquerque NM T Lee KortschP-1 4 Elena Quinones Phoenix AZ Chandler PapasP-1 4 Corey Newman Sandy UT Dale CovingtonP-1 4 James Hull Salt Lake City UT Dale CovingtonP-1 4 Mike Benzie Denver CO Granger BanksP-1 4 Kirk Thompson West Jordan UT Stephen MayerP-1 4 Charles Geres Casa Grande AZ Chandler PapasP-1 7 Seth Zeman Linvingston MI Stephen MayerP-1 8 David Bradford Brattleboro VT Jeffrey NicolayP-1 8 Heather Dick Harpswell ME Rob SporrerP-1 10 Jay Browder Pendleton SC Christopher GranthamP-1 10 Kim Browder Pendleton SC Christopher GranthamP-1 10 Ryan Ratcliffe Charlotte NC Kevin HintzeP-1 10 Sammie Akio Robertson Hoover AL Jeffrey GreenbaumP-1 13 Chris Marion Victoria Bc Stephen MayerP-2 1 Cory Engel Prineville OR Steve RotiP-2 1 Jason Collins Redmond OR Steve RotiP-2 1 Danial Doty Talkeenta AK Peter GautreauP-2 2 Richard Staudinger Sacramento CA Ray LeonardP-2 2 Adam French San Francisco CA Wallace AndersonP-2 2 Antonio Mantilla San Leandro CA Wallace AndersonP-2 2 Richard James Pleasant Hill CA Jeffrey GreenbaumP-2 2 Jon Schonhardt Reno NV Chris SantacroceP-2 2 Anindo Mukherjee Mountain View CA Greg BabushP-2 3 Douglas Dotter San Clemente CA Rob SporrerP-2 3 Jon Drindak Los Alamitos CA Rob MckenzieP-2 3 Donald Bazille San Diego CA Bill ArmstrongP-2 3 Shane Wimberly El Cajon CA Bill ArmstrongP-2 3 Jim Czarnowski Encinitas CA Bill ArmstrongP-2 3 Philip Turek Huntington Beach CA Bruce KirkP-2 3 James Keough Los Angeles CA Bill ArmstrongP-2 4 Paul Bessell Colorado Springs CO Mike SteenP-2 4 James Britt Albuquerque NM Chris SantacroceP-2 4 Mark Patel Albuquerque NM T Lee KortschP-2 4 Corey Newman Sandy UT Dale CovingtonP-2 4 James Hull Salt Lake City UT Dale CovingtonP-2 4 Kevin Kohler Boulder CO Granger BanksP-2 4 Kirk Thompson West Jordan UT Stephen MayerP-2 David Jones Etienne PienaarP-2 7 Seth Zeman Linvingston MI Stephen MayerP-2 9 Michael Etzel Richmond VA Carlos MadureiraP-2 10 Jay Browder Pendleton SC Christopher GranthamP-2 10 Kim Browder Pendleton SC Christopher GranthamP-2 10 Jeff Rossney Sarasota FL Gregg McnameeP-2 10 Terry Porter Spring Hill FL Gregg McnameeP-2 10 Robert Ledwell St Peterburg FL Gregg McnameeP-2 10 Ryan Ratcliffe Charlotte NC Kevin HintzeP-2 11 William Loren Boerme TX Bud WruckP-2 11 Terry King Fair Oaks Ranch TX Bud WruckP-2 11 Donald Grenier Jr. Cedar Park TX Paul GreenwoodP-2 13 Chris Marion Victoria Bc Stephen MayerP-2 13 Iain Melville Sai Kung Alex Chi Vi TangP-3 1 Derek Baylor Seattle WA Denise ReedP-3 2 William Deley San Francisco CA Wallace AndersonP-3 3 Richard Horvath San Diego CA Bill ArmstrongP-3 3 Kelly Scoggins Oxnard CA Rob SporrerP-3 3 Cliff Ryder Pacific Palisades CA Bill HeanerP-3 4 David Glasser Boulder CO Granger BanksP-3 4 Paul Bessell Colorado Springs CO Mike SteenP-3 4 Russ Bateman S Jordon UT Bill HeanerP-3 5 Michael Pfau Hailey ID Chris SantacroceP-3 8 Patricio Forno Salisbury CT Bohan Soifer

RTNG REGN NAME CITY STATE RATING OFFICIAL

H-1 2 Brian Doyal Carson City NV William CuddyH-1 2 David Sims Santa Cruz CA Patrick DenevanH-1 2 Robert Fleshman Fresno CA Arturo MeleanH-1 6 Alan Wilson Coweta OK Gordon CayceH-1 6 Roxy Slagle Dardanelle AR Lauren LefeverH-1 7 Devin Wagner Yankton SD Malcolm JonesH-1 8 Tabor Coates Acton MA Malcolm JonesH-1 8 Jonathan Carr Portland ME Gordon CayceH-1 8 Paul Bell Portland ME Gordon CayceH-1 9 Joe Hockman Hockessin DE Adam ElchinH-1 9 John Nelson Lusby MD John MiddletonH-1 9 Eugne Alexandriin Allentown PA Gordon CayceH-1 9 Anne Chase Kilmarnock VA Erik GraperH-1 10 Harry Peppard Middleburg FL Malcolm JonesH-1 10 Audrey Jefferis Crystal Beach FL Malcolm JonesH-1 10 Eric Lipan Eustis FL James PrahlH-1 11 Martin Apopot San Antonio TX Gordon CayceH-1 12 Joseph Mandracchia Albertson NY Lynden VazquezH-1 13 Graham Reeve London James PrahlH-1 13 Mathieu Berube Montreal Qc Gordon CayceH-1 13 Catherine Gagnon Val Morin Qc Gordon CayceH-2 2 Vann Pelham San Francisco CA Michael JeffersonH-2 2 William Mallard Berkeley CA Barry LevineH-2 2 Thomas Cook San Francisco CA Tammy BurcarH-2 5 Nathan Grimes Pinedale WY Ryan VoightH-2 6 Alan Wilson Coweta OK Gordon CayceH-2 6 Roxy Slagle Dardanelle AR Lauren LefeverH-2 7 Michal Moskaliev Muncie IN John AldenH-2 7 Devin Wagner Yankton SD Malcolm JonesH-2 8 Tabor Coates Acton MA Malcolm JonesH-2 8 Jonathan Carr Portland ME Gordon CayceH-2 8 Paul Bell Portland ME Gordon CayceH-2 9 Anthony Dilisio Stephens City VA Steve WendtH-2 9 Eugne Alexandriin Allentown PA Gordon CayceH-2 9 Anne Chase Kilmarnock VA Erik GraperH-2 10 Harry Peppard Middleburg FL Malcolm JonesH-2 10 Audrey Jefferis Crystal Beach FL Malcolm JonesH-2 10 Eric Lipan Eustis FL James PrahlH-2 11 Cakra Wicaksono Denton TX David BroylesH-2 11 Martin Apopot San Antonio TX Gordon CayceH-2 13 Graham Reeve London James PrahlH-2 13 Lee Zilberberg Ontario Michael RobertsonH-2 13 Mathieu Berube Montreal Qc Gordon CayceH-2 13 Catherine Gagnon Val Morin Qc Gordon CayceH-3 2 Uday Illindala Sunnyvale CA Patrick DenevanH-3 2 Jim Jennings Moss Beach CA Michael JeffersonH-3 2 Afshin Sarbaz Concord CA Patrick DenevanH-3 2 Charles Fiebig East Palo Alto CA Patrick DenevanH-3 2 Dirk Morris San Carlos CA Michael JeffersonH-3 2 Mike Quinn San Francisco CA Michael JeffersonH-3 3 Bradley Geary Ramona CA John HeineyH-3 8 Daniel Arndt Concord NH Steven PrepostH-3 9 Michael Harrison Tunhhannack PA Paul VoightH-3 10 Harry Peppard Middleburg FL Malcolm JonesH-3 12 Ricardo Passy Wayne NJ Paul VoightH-4 2 Paul Evander Tahoe City CA Ray LeonardH-4 10 Buddy Cutts Montgomery AL Malcolm JonesH-5 2 Eric Mies American Canyon CA Urs Kellenberger

P-3 10 Pam Hargett Charleston SC Bill ArmstrongP-3 12 William Becker Valatie NY Bohan SoiferP-4 2 Pedro Devasconcellos Berkeley CA Jeffrey GreenbaumP-4 3 David Haight Santa Barbara CA Rob SporrerP-4 3 Aaron Culliney Kimei HI David BinderP-4 11 Bud Wruck Damon TX Chris SantacroceP-4 13 Brian Webb Bright, Victoria Rob SporrerP-5 4 Stephen Mayer Sandy UT Mark GaskillP-5 4 Kevin Hintze Riverton UT Mark GaskillP-5 4 Mike Steen Sandy UT Mark Gaskill

R A T I N G S


BOOKS | FILMS | APPAREL

FLEECE JACKET | $35.00 - 45.00

DENIM BRUISER | $30.00

THERMAL FLYING | $52.95

2009 HG & PG CALENDARS | $11.00 EARLY BIRD SPECIAL ADULTS & KIDS TEES | $8.00-$18.00

2008 Calendars | $3.00!!!

FLEECE VEST | $35.00UNDERSTANDING THE SKY | $24.95

APRES-VOL CLUB POLO | $30.00WEATHER TO FLY DVD | $39.95

So you just made 10K and

sent it over the back. No

retreive? Why let that stop

you? Be prepared for a

chilly hike out. Signal for

help with the big USHPA

logo. In Zero Viz Black.

Big air taking you for a

rodeo ride? Oh, forget the

silly cowboy/pilot metaphor

- you know what this is,

because your dad wears

one. Keep it real. In High

Pressure Blue denim.

Thermal Flying is a compre-

hensive guide to the art of

thermaling and XC flying. This

260 page book is packed with

clear diagrams, photos and the

knowledge you need to make

the most of each flying day.

The presses are warming up. Which photos have been selected? Who will grace the cover of your favorite wall cal-endar? Make sure you're among the first to know by pre-ordering your new and improved, freshly designed 2009 paragliding or hang gliding calendar today at a reduced early bird price.

We know you have many choices in tee shirts, and we appreciate you choosing us. The inspirational message on the sleeve reads "Looks good, you go first." Adults in Stratus. Kids in Sky & Fog. All sizes listed online.While limited supplies last. Get yours today.

Your mama told you to in-

sulate your core. But if you

want the top of the stack

to know you're IN the core,

send them an odiferous

message by setting your

pits free. In Zero Viz Black.

If you own one weather

book, this is the one you

want. Dennis Pagen's

famous tome will arm you

with knowlege and cool

sketches of invisible stuff.

Now you can wear the

same polo shirt

we wear to

the country

club. Where we

work our second

jobs. In Dusk & Dune.

Join Dixon White for an

enlightening discussion

of how the weather affects

free flight. Don't believe

thermals are like bubbles?

You will. Don't understand

lapse rates? You will.

PLAY GRAVITY DVD | $41.95

SWEATSHIRT BLANKET | $20.00

Speedflying, paragliding, BASE

jumping. A plethora of multi-sport

action packs this slickly produced

DVD with more great moments

than a Mariah Carey holiday spe-

cial. Buy "Play Gravity" and hide

your copy of "Glitter" inside.

Sucked up into a cloud? Nuts.

After you've landed and

emptied the hail out of

your pod, snuggle up in

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USHPA logo in Zero Viz Black.

Call your order in to 1.800.616.6888

Or enjoy reduced shipping charges when you order online at

www.USHPA.AERO/STORE

PRE-ORDER

LAST CHANCE

??

Aspen ParaglidingAtlanta Paragliding

Cloud 9 soaring CenterFlytec UsA

Foundation for Free FlightGin Gliders UsAHall Wind meter

ITV UsANorth Wing

O'Connor Flight schoolOzone Paragliders

sky Wings magazinesoaring society of America

sol Paragliderssport Aviation Publications

superflyThermal Tracker Paragliding

Torrey Pines GliderportTraverse City HG & PG

UsHPA Bank of America Credit CardUsHPA 2009 Calendar

Wills WingUnited states Parachuting Assoc.

Aerolight Flygear LLCFlytec UsAFlytec UsA

Kitty Hawk KitesLookout mountain

moyesmPH sportsParasupply

Raven Hang Gliding LLC

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71716970706972697072

BROKEN TOE ACRO DVD | $44.95

HG & PG MAGAZINE ARCHIVES ON DVD | $30.00

RED BULL X-ALPS 2005 DVD | $41.95

ADULTS & KIDS TEES | $8.00-$18.00

RED BULL X-ALPS 2007 DVD | $45.95

FLYING WITH EAGLES DVD | $45.95

Join Enleau O'Connor and

friends as they examine the

ins and outs of SIV and acro.

Get out your airsick bag and

call the attendant because

you're in for a ride. A full 2

hours and 20 minutes!

33 great years of free flight

fun are packed into these

digital archives. Watch

technique and technology

evolve. Learn how sites

have opened and closed.

Get to know the old school.

The race designed to kick

your butt and take no

prisoners. The 2007 edi-

tion, last year's race, is also

available below. Grab a bag

of chips and watch people

hurt. It's fun!

Americans Nate Scales and

Honza Rejmanek tested

themselves at last year's

edition of the Alpine torture

device known as X-Alps.

Epic flights. Monster hikes.

Determination. Inspiration.

You've considered taking

your pet monkey flying so

someone can panhandle

while you steer. But mon-

keys aren't nearly as cool as

eagles, so drop the banana

and buy this DVD.

JAPANIMATION | EURO HG CHAMPS | BAY AREA

ADVERTISERS

DISPATCH

PUBLICATIONS

A RISK MGMT MANUAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $9.95AND THE WORLD COULD FLY . . . . . . . . . . . .$32.95AVIATION WEATHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$24.95BIRDFLIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $19.95CONDOR TRAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$24.95CLOUDSUCK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $17.95FLY THE WING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $12.95FUNDAMENTALS/INSTRUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . $12.95HANG GLIDING TRAIN. MANUAL . . . . . . . . . . .$29.95INSTR. MANUAL (HG or PG) . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15.00THE ART OF PARAGLIDING . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$34.95TOWING ALOFT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$29.95PG-PILOTS TRAIN. MANUAL & DVD . . . . . . . . . .$39.95PERFORMANCE FLYING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$29.95POWERED PARAGLIDING BIBLE . . . . . . . . . . .$39.95SECRETS OF CHAMPIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$29.95THERMAL FLYING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$52.95UNDERSTANDING THE SKY . . . . . . . . . . . . .$24.95

FLIGHT LOG BOOK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2.95

DVD'S

BORN TO FLY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$34.95BROKEN TOE ACRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$44.95DARE DEVIL FLYERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$24.95FLYING WITH EAGLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$45.95FLYING OVER EVEREST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $41.95FRESH AIR RIDERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$22.95GROUND HANDLING & THE ART OF KITING . . . . . .$36.95HANG GLIDING EXTREME . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$34.95INSTABILITY II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $41.95LIFTING AIR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$39.95NEVER ENDING THERMAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $41.95PARAHAWKING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$35.95PARAGLIDING:LEARN TO FLY . . . . . . . . . . . .$44.95PARAGLIDING: GROUND HANDLING TECHNIQUES . . .$35.95PARAGLIDER TOWING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$24.95PARTY/CLOUDBASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$24.95PERFORMANCE FLYING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$42.95PLAY GRAVITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $41.95RED BULL X-ALPS 2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $41.95RED BULL X-ALPS 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$45.95PURA VIDA FLYING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$24.95RISK & REWARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$29.95THE PERFECT MTN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$36.95SPEED TO FLY/SECURITY IN FLIGHT . . . . . . . . . .$48.95SPEED GLIDING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$24.95STARTING PARAGLIDING . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$29.95STARTING HANG GLIDING . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$29.95STARTING POWER PARAGLIDING . . . . . . . . . .$36.95TO FLY: HANG GLIDING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7.00TO FLY: PARAGLIDING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7.00WEATHER TO FLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$39.95

ACCESSORIES

AEROBATICS POSTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1.00IPPI CARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10.00LICENSE PLATE FRAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6.50MUGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5.95RATING CERTIFICATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10.00WINDSOCK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$42.00ZING WING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2.50

bE SuRE TO CHECk OuT OuR ENTiRE SELECTiON AT THE ONLiNE STORE!

0809

78

By Steve Messman

I have never been one to believe in fate, or chance, or predestination. I have never been one to believe that I have

been chosen for a special path in life, or that any such path has been chosen for me by another, greater power. I do not believe that when I was conceived, my life was sud-denly and neatly laid out from beginning to end in the Messman chapter of “The Great Book of Human Lives.” Maybe it would be better for me to say that I do not believe that fate has control over our lives. I choose to believe that, for the most part, each of us controls our own. We choose our paths and our destiny. We make choices along those paths that lead us to be successful or to fail miserably, that lead us to greatness or to misery, that lead us to the bliss of spiritual-ity or to a living hell on earth. Please, don’t misunderstand. I do, actually, believe that fate brings significant change to our lives. I believe that momentous events over which we have no control crop up from time to time to shake the branches of our living tree. I believe that sometimes crap just happens, and sometimes that crap causes terrible changes in the paths over which we believe we have control. Everyday, someone gets seriously hurt in some unfortunate ac-cident, and probably, most certainly, those people didn’t crawl out of bed with the in-tention of breaking a bone, or losing an eye, or even dying. At other times, the roll of the dice can be very beneficial. Someone will win a lottery, hit it big in a casino, or come into a large sum of money courtesy of “Reader’s Digest.” Certainly, these are acts of fate rather than choice. By and large, those kinds of events are not in control of our lives any more than we are in control of them. Those are merely happenings, a result of the unpredictable play of num-bers, and yes, they most certainly can, and do, impact our choices. They might even provide us a sudden opportunity to change our chosen paths. For me, the choices we make daily are the tools that ultimately lead us to our deserved place in life.

You are probably asking what the heck all this talk about choices has to do with flying. The answer is—everything. Choices have everything to do with why we fly, how

we fly, and what we fly. We sit on moun-taintops or on beaches. We thermal with hawks, soar with seagulls, stare eagles in the eye. Our choices have brought us here. Our choices drive us up those mountains every weekend. Our choices lead us to yell

“Clear!” and our choices permit us to raise our bodies into the turbulent currents of rising air one more time.

And, what of the choices that brought us to the mountaintop in the first place? What went into our choice to grab hold of our first wing in possible defiance of par-ents, friends, or significant others? What decisions were made before we contacted our first instructor? How difficult was our decision to lift our feet from the ground for the first time? For the second? To con-tinue flying after our first crash? These are flying choices that we have all made at one time or another, and we continue to make them, probably on a near-daily basis. The combination of all those choices, and the ones that we will continue to make, lead

us to where we are in our flying lives today, and they will take us to where we ultimate-ly choose to be—unless crap happens, or unless the “Reader’s Digest” people knock on our door.

So it seems that most of life is a series of choices. Hopefully, wishfully, we will always choose correctly, like right now. My wing is in a rosette. I am choosing to wait for that perfect time. I am on my favorite mountain. From my perch in the back of my truck, I can see for miles, lots of them. I can see some forty miles to the Pacific, in fact, and watch the sun reflect off its mir-rored surface. I can watch the clouds play over the valley. I can watch the ravens and the hawks play in the breezes before I do, and I can watch the wind take invisible shape as it travels its natural path up the west-facing slope. Of all the places on earth, this place causes my heart to race and my emotions to thrill. Of all the choices in my life, this one comes close to being the best. Flying is the choice that brought me to the top of this special place. My favorite place in the world. The place where I choose to wait, watch, and learn. The place where I was born to be.

ProductOfMyCHOICESThoughts | Dreams | Impressions

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hang gliding & paragliding vol38/iss08 aug 2008

Documents

sports of hang gliding

related hang gliding

paragliding association

paragliding activities

paragliding methods

executive director

art director

mark forbes