hang gliding & paragliding vol42/iss11 nov 2012

2 HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

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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.

SUBMISSIONS HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine welcomes editorial submissions from our members and readers. All submissions of articles, artwork, photographs and or ideas for articles, artwork and photographs are made pursuant to and are subject to the USHPA Contributor's Agreement, a copy of which can be obtained from the USHPA by emailing the editor at [email protected] or online at www.ushpa.aero. HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine reserves the right to edit all contributions. We are always looking for well written articles and quality artwork. Feature stories generally run anywhere from 1500 to 3000 words. News releases are welcomed, but please do not send brochures, dealer newsletters or other extremely lengthy items. Please edit news releases with our readership in mind, and keep them reasonably short without excessive sales hype. Calendar of events items may be sent via email to [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.

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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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Staff Writers

Steve Messman, Dennis PagenChristina Ammon, Ryan Voight,

C.J. Sturtevant

Staff PhotographersJohn Heiney, Jeff Shapiro

Hang gliding and paragliding are INHERENTLY DANGEROUS

activities. USHPA recommends pilots complete a pilot training

program under the direct supervision of a USHPA-certified

instructor, using safe equipment suitable for your level of

experience. Many of the articles and photographs in the

magazine depict advanced maneuvers being performed by

experienced, or expert, pilots. These maneuvers should not be

attempted without the prerequisite instruction and experience.WARN

ING

ON THE COVER, Flying birds at the Point of the Mountain, Utah with Dave Dixon and Cade Palmer |

photo by Rebecca Bredehoft. MEANWHILE, Charles Fiebig takes his dad for a flight over Crestline, California.

EDITOR

BRIEFINGS

CENTERFOLD

CALENDAR

CLASSIFIED

RATINGS

USHPA STORE

ON GLIDE

USHPA in Action

Buffalo Mountain Flyers � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � by C�J� Sturtevant

Tales from the Training Hill

First Soaring Experience � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � by Jade Chun

FEATURE | Common Ground

Of Wings and Wine � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � by Christina Ammon

FEATURE | WheelsUp

The Flight Continues � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � by Ernie Butler

FEATURE | Zapata Chronicles

After the Big Bang � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � by Pete Lehmann

FEATURE | In The Beginning

First Flights in Haiti � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � by Gavin McClurg

FEATURE | Spring Floridian Tales

Racing Down South � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � by Claudia Mejia

Three Heads are Better

A Landing Far, Far Away � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �by Andy Pag

Fly Talas

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“To have the capacity to put as many gliders in the air as possible in a short period of time should be a good start to attracting many yet-to-be-planned competition events.”

Roy Mahoney sees a more immedi-ate advantage: “Ken has formed two new launches on either side of the tree cut, one a slope launch on the east side of the cut good for S to SW winds, and the other a bluff/berm launch on the west side of the cut good for S to SE winds. The advantage of these new launches is that they are at the very top of the mountain, where the airflow is more consistent and smoother. Also, behind Ken’s launches enough area is cleared for easy paraglider landing,

with the potential for hang gliders to topland in the right conditions. Other pilots,” Roy adds, “both hang and paraglider, have purchased adjoining land in and around the LZ and on the mountain, a few living on site either full time or part time.”

It’s not only the launch area at Buffalo that’s getting a makeover. In addition to his acreage on top, Ken purchased 17.5 acres adjoining the LZ when that came on the market; Mel has recently purchased 10 acres adjacent to Ken’s property. Then the original LZ property came up for sale, and Ron Kohn acquired most of that land, with Dave Ryhal picking up the rest. Mel envisions a stationary tow system on his piece of the LZ, and plans to clear a 250-foot-wide swath, an east-west flyway/LZ, although this will require burying 400 feet

of power lines that currently cut across the property. His ultimate goal is to establish a full-service hang gliding/paragliding shop that will provide shelter, glider repair, glider storage, and pilot living quarters including a toilet/bath house. These guys dream big! Mel has already started clearing the flyway, and is hoping to have a 40’ Conex storage container on site by next year, visible proof that he, along with the rest of the BMF pilots, is totally confident that big dreams can become reality.

The Buffalo Mountain Flyers club is truly fortunate to have among its members these pilots who are able to invest some of their personal resources toward retaining their free-flight op-tions. The group also applied for, and received, a site-preservation grant from the Foundation for Free Flight, which comes with the stipulation that the recipients match the dollar amount of the grant. The club’s original plan was to use the grant money and matching funds to finish clearing trees below Ken’s new launches, and clear regrowth below Mel’s launch. That sounds straightforward enough, but like most projects, complications arose. Roy says, “It became apparent a dozer wasn’t very efficient working over the rocky areas on the shallower areas of the mountainside, as it was difficult for it to maintain traction. In 2011 we hired a hungry logging crew to cut trees with chainsaws.” The loggers did indeed cut quite a few trees, in four days total, a couple days at a time, and then appar-ently lost interest in the project. Ever resourceful, the group went to Plan C, and hired Bruce Mahoney, retired from flying but living on the mountain, to continue the tree-cutting. “That’s still a work in progress, currently waiting for cooler weather,” Roy reported last September, and adds, “There’s a lot more work that still needs to be done: Adding a break-down fence along the road that borders Ken’s launch, to keep 4-wheeling traffic off the launches. Currently there is a row of tree debris

AbOVE PG Point launch, looking east off freshly spread shale to the 12-acre LZ | photo by Dave Ryhal.

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to be nearly ridge-soarable, and pilots needed strong ground-handling skills or launch assistance to get off safely.

The last flight from that launch was in 2006; it had grown up and was no longer safe, Roy says, and rather than re-clearing that challenging takeoff, “we decided we could do better by creating a new launch just to the west of the old SSE launch, where we could form

a much easier and safer slope launch facing essentially the same direction.” Britton Shaw took the initiative in 2009 and reopened that side of the mountain.

Britton Shaw and Roy spearheaded the drive to re-claim the SSE launch option on Heavener. In 2009 Britton obtained permission from the private landowner to clear trees for a new, safer takeoff site; he then collected donations to cover the cost of the project, and contracted the dozer work. According to Britton, adding this SSE-facing launch provided several significant advantages, in addition to the obvious wind-direction-related ones. He points out that the pilot population is increasing again, and “in order to keep interest alive, we need large launches.” The SSE launch opens up “10 miles of ridge-soaring opportunity. As an additional bonus, this particular new launch has a great benefit to beginner XC pilots since very large LZs can always be within easy glide for many miles.”

Initially, Britton and his gang of volunteers cut trees with chainsaws, then brought in a dozer and trackhoe to move available dirt to cover all the rock for a nice slope launch, finally adding Bermuda sod to finish it off. The dozer and trackhoe also cleared the center portion of the cut, pushing debris down to the headwall. A year later, in 2010, the BMF obtained that grant from the Foundation for Free Flight, and used some of the funds to buy a couple more days of dozer effort to clear the remain-der of the slope on the SSE launch, and fix some washouts on the road to launch. A portion of the grant money was used to create kiosks for all the BMF sites (more about those later), with one going to Heavener’s main LZ.

During his negotiations for the SSE launch project, Britton also obtained of-ficial permission to land in a large field directly below that launch. Previously, those taking off from the SSE side had to either turn the corner at the point

and fly downwind to the main LZ below the SW slope launch, or land out near the highway, a longer glide.

While launch was under construc-tion, Britton took lots of pictures, both while on the ground and from the air in his paraglider. One day, he says, “while taking the low-level pictures I spotted a dead body hidden in the underbrush. I landed immediately and called authori-ties. The body was identified as a local 21-year-old girl, who had been mur-dered three days earlier. The authorities claim that the brush was so dense that her body would likely never have been discovered had I not spotted her from aloft. To this day, the murder remains unsolved. The TV show Unsolved Mysteries plans to film a segment regard-ing this case. We are currently arrang-ing a reenactment of my flight.” Maybe that’s a bit more backstory than you really wanted to read…

Roy, who ought to be the club histo-rian if he doesn’t already hold that title, provides this historical tidbit: “The 1977 US Nationals were held at Heavener. The wealthy landowner (Herbert Ward) at that time spent a huge amount of money to bury a set of power lines that ran through the LZ and up to the top of the mountain; he also contracted dozer work to clear about 40 acres of trees around and below our SW slope launch, and to build a small training hill next to the pond in the LZ. Additionally, he had the dozer clear brush and smooth a huge, expansive landing area and parking areas, in preparation for the meet. Our honeymoon with Mr. Ward ended a couple years after the Nationals were held when, as the locals had warned us he had done on countless other occasions, he grew tired of the hang gliding project and didn’t want us on his property anymore. Since the launch was not on his property and we could reach other LZs, we didn’t stop flying the site. Later, after he and his wife passed away, some of the heirs were

15HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

very free-flight friendly and we got our primary LZ back.”

LITTLE YANCY is truly little: a short ridge, a mere 550’ high. But its easy slope launch and wide-open land-ing field make it perfect for first-time

mountain launches. The launch has been owned “almost forever,” says Roy, by long-time pilot Butch Royston, who was the first to fly the site in the 1980s.

Butch financed a launch re-clearing project several years ago, but by 2011 it had once again become too overgrown to safely fly. Using some of that FFF grant money, the club hired a dozer to do the clearing and add several loads of shale and dirt. BMF officers came out

to top it off with a finishing layer of sod on this primo H2/P2 flying site.

PANORAMA VIsTA ANd PG POINTGeorge and I had stopped at the Panorama Vista Overlook as we drove over Winding Stair Mountain on the Talimena Scenic Drive back in 2008, knowing that hang gliders had flown from somewhere around here as far back as 1976, but uncertain of the precise launch location. The LZ was obvious: the only clear-cut in the extensive forest 1400’ below us, from our perspective a long reach over the seemingly endless trees of the Ouachita National Forest.

Lack of safe landing options had kept Panorama Vista on the sidelines of the Oklahoma hang gliding scene until the mid-‘80s, when a large clear-cut was made in the National Forest. Within a few years, hang glider pilots had negoti-ated a special-use permit with the Forest Service, allowing the club to make

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AbOVE Little Yancy mini-work crew, L to R: Roy Mahoney, Patrick Nelle, Dave Ryhal, Butch Royston (standing), Mike Kelsey | photo by Patrick Nelle.

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launch improvements and increase in the size of the landing field to six acres or so. Ten years later, with the forest 10 years taller, Soarin’ Dave Morton obtained permission to remove more of the trees surrounding the clear-cut LZ, nearly doubling its size and greatly improving its safety.

Still, that clear-cut is nearly a 5:1 glide NE of the launch, only occasional-ly an issue with hang gliders, but almost always a challenge for paragliders.

Reaching the LZ was the second challenge for paragliders at Panorama Vista; the first was getting off launch, which is just below a guardrail. David Morton once again stepped up and, with a clear vision of what was needed, began negotiating with the Forest

Service for permission to create a new paraglider-friendly launch, about a mile north of the hang glider launch and di-rectly over the LZ, reducing the glide to about 3.5:1. This new launch site would be off the road a little ways into the forest, and with a steep and open slope it would be ideal for both paragliders and hang gliders. David dubbed his proposed launch site “PG Point” and began negotiating for approval to add the new takeoff plus an access road to the club’s existing Special Use Permit. His negotiations were successful, the new SUP took effect in 2010, and work began immediately.

Britton Shaw and a bevy of other volunteers chain-sawed an opening in the forest to create the launch, and by December of 2010 enough progress had been made to entice Ron Kohn to hike his paraglider in and get airborne from the still-rough launch slope, the first flight from PG Point.

Roy Mahoney supplies some details: “Last year we received approval from the Oklahoma DOT to put in a culvert, and the club approved $5000 (includ-ing some of the funds from the FFF site-improvement grant) to complete the project. In spring 2012 I contracted Bryant Dirtworks out of Talihina to put

in the culvert and spread about 30 loads of shale and a load of gravel, which got us our access road and a nice wide launch with plenty of area for spreading out paragliders.”

The Panorama Vista/PG Point site work was truly a communal project. Roy lists the work crew, which includes the usual suspects plus several others:

“David Morton had the initial vision of the site and the perseverance to cut through all the red tape with the NFS. Britton Shaw, Don Davies, Mel Hair and his dog Noodle, Ken Cobb, Patrick Nelle, Reggie Koch, Harlan Block, Claud Dill, Matt Nagle, and myself all came out on the first day to begin the chainsaw work. Add Mark Stump, David and Susie Templeton, Larry Tanner, Allen Rahi, Dave Ryhal, and probably others I’m forgetting on other workdays. Allen (BMF’s treasurer) was able to borrow a backhoe and do a lot of preparation work. I directed the expert dozer work by Aaron Bryant. Allen welded up a pipe gate to install at the access road entrance, as requested by the NFS, and helped me set the posts and install the gate.”

I think Murphy’s Law could be paraphrased to state that just when it seems like everything is (mostly) under control, something goes hay-wire. Three years ago, just after adding the Paraglider Point site to the BMF’s Special Use Permit, the Forest Service revised their formula for figuring the SUP fee amount, increasing the club’s

LEFT Buffalo water tower with new windsock overlooking Ken’s huge LZ | photo by Ron Kohn. bELOW The usual work-crew suspects at Heavener, from L to R: Britton Shaw, David Ryhal, Tim Hawkins, Roy Mahoney, Mark Stump, Allen Rahi, Joe Ramsey, Mike Kelsey, Harlan and Teresa Block, Randy and Jodi Colter, Dave Morton | photo by Britton Shaw.


per-year cost from $150 to around $1250 (not due so much to the added launch, but mainly to the formula change). Since then, first BMF club secretary Dave Ryhal and then director-at-large Mike Kelsey have made several attempts to negotiate a reduction in the annual fee, but so far all attempts have failed. After much debate as to whether the club could afford to pay this annual fee long-term, the BMF decided to hold a fly-in fundraiser, and in the last three years their 4th of July fly-in has brought in enough to cover a good portion of the fee.

And now we get to the part of the article where everybody gets to pat everybody else on the back and say thanks. Roy has already acknowledged those involved in the actual grunt work of creating and maintaining the vari-ous club sites, and adds a shout-out to some additional major players. BMF VP Patrick Nelle designed, built, and erected the five kiosks now located at each of the club’s sites (Cavanal, not part of this massive make-over project, is site #5). The kiosks provide maps and information about the sites, with skill rating requirements and other guidelines and rules, as well a little history and notable site records. They also dispense forms for membership application and/or donations to the club. Patrick also designed the awesome Buffalo Mountain T-shirt, available for order on the club’s website. Mike Kelsey created and maintains the club website, www.buffalomountainflyers.org. The Foundation for Free Flight provided financial assistance in the form of a site-improvement grant, without which many of these projects could not have been undertaken or completed. “Most of all,” Roy concludes, “we should thank all the landowners at each and every one of our flying sites. Without them we simply would not have the opportunity to fly. They give us a place to access the sky, and a place to safely return to Earth.”

http://www.hangglideuniversity.us

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runner. And there I was, grey-haired and emaciated. It was a no-wind day and picking up the glider was a monumental feat; running with it was nearly impossible. I felt defeated, but unwilling to give up. Not long after, I pulled a hamstring; my body was just too wimpy to handle the load. I took up resistance training for two months, realizing I simply needed to be stronger. As hard as it was on my body, my desire to fly gave me the incentive to persevere and to take impeccable care of myself.

After the break, I came back to a lesson at the bottom of the hill and, lo and behold, I could run! The glider felt light, and I started to get a little air. However, frustration set in when I stopped progressing and couldn’t figure out why a certain technique worked one day and not the next. So I decided to start from scratch and take lesson number one from another instruc-tor, beginning with running on flat ground. It was brutal, but I learned a lot of basics that I’d been missing. The following week my instructor got a job flying Lear jets, so I was stranded without a teacher. Tandems with Dan McManus gave me my “air fix” and became an integral part of my learning.

My lucky break: Two weeks later, I talked Bill Heaner into giving me a lesson. We started with kiting in 25+ mph winds, desensitizing me to turbu-lence and giving me hours of squeals of delight. I must have impressed him, be-cause he took me “under his wing” and we began our journey together. During my very first skimming flight, he saw exactly what I needed and explained how the wing builds energy and that I should meter out that energy for control. It was an epiphany. By the end of the day, I went from being unable to maintain a heading to launching high on the hill and making turns into the LZ! Bill pushed me, having confidence

in my abilities that I had no clue existed. After some kiting and four solo flying les-

sons, Bill deemed me ready to launch off the top. I’d prepare the night before: I ate well and went to sleep early, mentally gearing up—only to wake to uncooperative condi-tions, morning after morning, week after week. It being spring in Utah, I learned patience instead of flying. I was going crazy. Finally the day came. I hardly slept, got up at 3 a.m. and arrived at the Point well before sunrise, setting up my glider in an-ticipation, scrutinizing the cloudy skies and wondering what the day had in store.

Instead of howling as predicted, the wind disappears into serene stillness at sun-rise. I walk my glider out to launch, nervous and excited. The hill is completely barren, as if we rented it just for me. But who wants to fly with no wind? After much coaching, my moment comes: Run, run, run!

My first flight off the top isn’t my most graceful, but I’m thrilled! After a couple more sled rides, we wait as the wind builds. Paragliders and hang gliders start to dot the sky, conditions are good, but there is too much traffic. We wait and wait. Finally the wind picks up and the traffic thins out.

I launch and float out for my first soaring flight! I am nervous about getting too close to the hill. After 15 minutes, I start to sink out and decide it’s time to formulate an ap-proach into the LZ. I land, elated. Bill picks me up and asks, “Want to do that again?” Of course! The wind increases even more; I marvel that I can ground handle my wing comfortably in such conditions. Bill has taught me well. This time I soar for 30 min-utes, and by the time I land, I am exhausted and happy to be on the ground.

A smile comes over me, knowing that all the hard work and waiting has led to this day of ecstasy. I fondle a small rock that Bill picked up at my feet and put in my pocket just before my second soar—as a reminder that this tiny woman in the second half of her life, whom the medical world had writ-ten off, reached a dream she once thought impossible. I don’t feel 80, nor even 54. I feel reborn!

LEFT Training flight at the South Side. Photo by Ryan Voight.

http://www.flymaster-usa.com


Common Groundin Southern Oregon’s Applegate Valley

by Christina Ammon


“I dId IT, I’M ALIVE, ANd NOW I’M dRINkING WINE,” says Carole Beauclerk sitting under a broad umbrella on the patio of LongSword Vineyard. The 68-year-old Portland retiree sips the house Tempranillo and peers reflectively up at 3,780’ Woodrat Mountain. She has just landed from a paragliding flight over the Applegate Valley vine-yards with tandem pilot, Nick Crane.

These days, the vineyards around Woodrat Mountain are doubling as landing zones for both paragliding and hang gliding pilots. Vineyards like LongSword, with its wide pastures and consistent wind, make for ideal land-ing zones. The wineries benefit as well; their clientele is thrilled by the photogenic landings.

LongSword owner Matt Sorensen even goes as far as luring pilots with a free glass of wine. The scheme works. On the weekends, a dozen or more “fruit flies” (as Sorensen calls them) land near his tasting patio. They’re greeted with both applause and the winery’s popular frissant known as “Accolade.” This semi-sparkling Chardonnay is perfect after a hot summer flight.

The symbiosis between Applegate winegrowers and pilots evolved naturally, but sets a great example of how pilots can partner with the businesses and residents that surround their flying site. At Woodrat, these very relationships help to preserve landing zones and ensure that pilots get a warm welcome at annual competitions like the Rat Race.

in Southern Oregon’s Applegate Valley

W inegrowing is concerned with the earth and flying the sky, but the two pursuits hold much in common. The same geographic fea-

tures that make the region great for grape growing also make it great for flying. Hot days and cool nights create good thermal lift. This same tempera-ture gradient also allows for full ripening in the vineyards, and perfect acidity in the grapes. The twists and turns of a valley that hosts a staggering diversity of wines also create versatile cross-country conditions for flying.

Flying in the Applegate Valley is just beginning to enjoy the sort of recognition that wine has long enjoyed. Banners welcoming pilots during the Starthistle Fly-in and the Rat Race are now hung along the highways and over Jacksonville’s main street during the competitions. Maryl Cipperly, who works at the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, calls the spectacle of gliders over Jacksonville during this year’s Rat Race

“incredible.” Cipperly appreciates the economic boost that the

pilots bring to an area that relies almost solely on tour-ism. “It’s always good for the town,” she says. “Many of them choose to camp, but some stay in town and buy a

OPPOsITE Dave Palmer sets up for a landing near his vineyard in the Applegate Valley. AbOVE LongSword Winery’s tasting patio is a perfect place to land after a flight. Owner Matt Sorensen encourages the pilots to apply their adventurous spirit toward trying new wines. “If you don’t push yourself a little bit, you don’t really discover what is out there,” he says. Photo by Christina Ammon.


good meal.” They also sometimes seize the opportunity to shop since Oregon has no sales tax.

“You would never catch me flying,” she continues, “but we all love the paragliders. They are fun and crazy—not our typical ride-the-trolley visitors.”

HOW IT ALL BEGANThe first vineyard landing at LongSword took place in 2006. Sorensen was work-ing in the vineyard when he heard a voice overhead. Is it God? he wondered. Am I crazy? He recalls looking up and seeing a paragliding wing. “I never knew people did that,” he explains. “It was nuts.” His daughter ran over and handed the pilot a glass of wine.

A tradition was born.The new landing option eased pres-

sure on the traditional landing zone—a working cattle ranch at the base of

Woodrat Mountain. The owners, Tim and Janet Hunter, have graciously allowed pilots to land among their cattle

for years, but an increasing number of pilots creates problems: Gates are left open and traffic on the road interrupts their work. These days, pilots are allowed to land there when thermal lift is weak, but are encouraged to push out toward the vineyards.

Since the first LongSword landing, other winer-ies have hung windsocks and hopped on board. Next door, Fiasco Winery is owned by hang glider pilot Dave Palmer, who has combined his life-long love of flying with his love of wine. Clients can watch landings from the deck, while inside the tasting room a slideshow of launches, flights, and landings plays nonstop.

“My passions have come together and we are realizing them in a ‘Field of Dreams’ kind of way,” Dave explains. This year he secured a grant from the Foundation for Free Flight to bury the power lines on his property, making it a safer place to land. He and his wife, Pamela, have granted a perpetual easement for all USHPA pilots.

The nearby Red Lily and Valley View vineyards also serve occasionally as landing zones. “We hope that all wineries in the Applegate and even beyond our Valley will recognize as we do, the value of partnering with

AbOVE Hang glider pilot Jim Tibbs sets up to land in

the inviting pasture bordering LongSword Vineyard. Pilots

look forward to landing near the tasting patio for a round of applause and a free glass of wine | photo by Christina

Ammon. OPPOsITE Dave Palmer and his wife Pamela

designed and built Jacksonville Vineyards in 1997 and followed

that up with Fiasco Winery. Dave first flew Woodrat

Mountain in 1979. Photo by Dave Palmer.


USHPA and the great pilots in our sport.” Dave says. “This is the only place on the planet that I know of,”

his wife Pamela adds, “that we can celebrate flight with our wines, and tourists can mingle with our aviators. One day we hope to see more wineries and vineyards join us in welcoming pilots to their tasting rooms—from the air, of course!”

WELL-PAIREDIt’s an unusual relationship, but the pilots and wine-growers learn a lot from each other. Pilots often discover the wonder of good claret, and the winegrowers sometimes discover flying. Sorensen has taken a couple of tandem flights, but he’s too busy in the vineyard to pursue the sport full-time “I can see how it would be addictive,” he says. “Paragliding is definitely one of the most interesting human endeavors.”

Sorenson says that with all the flying action, the atmosphere at the wineries can get lively. Fortunately, his staff are used to a certain amount of controlled chaos: the three resident sheep—Einstein, Hawking, and Newton—are constantly raiding the potted pansies outside the tasting room door, and a gaggle of geese often follows Sorensen around the parking lot.

Did he ever imagine this scenario when he purchased his vineyard back in 1999? “Sometimes,” he admits,

“you’ve just got to wonder about your life.”The pilots are grateful for the winegrower’s support

and try not to take their welcome for granted. As the old flying adage goes, “Launching is optional—but land-ing is mandatory.” Pilots must land, and not all the LZ options are appealing—like the one warily referred to as the “rottweiler field.”

“As agriculture shifts to grapes and wineries, a great deal of acreage is tied up in vineyards,” says Paul Murdoch, president of the Rogue Valley Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club. To maintain the goodwill of landowners like the Hunters and Sorensen, club mem-bers raise funds for the local hospital and scholarship programs, and participate in highway clean-ups.

So far the partnership is thriving. Pilots land and gather Friday nights at the Fiasco Winery to share flight stories, wine, and live music. Saturday afternoons they try to manage their post-flight high on the deck of LongSword, but the energy is palpable. Their two-way radios crackle with weather reports and excitement.

“I’m half way to a Chardonnay,” one pilot reports as he soars above the valley.

How does your local paragliding/hang gliding club partner with residents and local businesses? Send us an email with your ideas and stories! Contact: flyinghobogirl@gmail�com

Applegate Valley’s Flying and Wine

LongSword Winery

This ideal landing zone lures pilots with free

glasses of wine. Enjoy a complimentary glass

and consider buying a case to take home.

8555 Hwy 238 | 541-899-1746

www.fhlv.net

Fiasco Winery

A welcoming landing zone—especially on Friday

evenings when the pilots land to socialize and

enjoy live music.

8035 Hwy 238 | 541-846-3022

www.fiascowinery.com

Red Lily Winery

A beautiful riverfront property where the pilots

occasionally land.

11777 Hwy 238 | 541-846-0601

www.redlilyvineyards.com

Valley View Winery

Gets an occasionally landing and is the region’s

oldest bonded winery since prohibition.

1000 Upper Applegate Road | 541-899-8468

www.valleyviewwinery.com


F ollowing our Sun Valley adventure with the Phoenix II in August of 2011, I left with an overwhelming desire, like a kid in a candy

store, for more. In Sun Valley we’d had an epic 50-plus-minute flight with a tandem pilot. While it was a wonderful experience, it left me with an insatiable desire to learn more, and to solo.

The possibility of an opportunity to fulfill that desire came in October, when Nick Greece called me early one morning and asked if I wanted to meet him at Rob Sporrer’s Eagle Paragliding in Santa Barbara in November, right after Thanksgiving. It was one of those “Let me check my calendar, get back to you. Okay, I’m there! ”… kind of moments, not requiring a lot of thought. I was there in my mind the day after leaving Sun Valley.

Thanksgiving came and went, and I found myself driving the I-5 corridor from Seattle to sunny Southern California (and how I needed some sunshine!). What could be better than a road trip to continue the great paragliding training adventure? Certainly nothing I could think of. We planned to start the Monday follow-ing Thanksgiving weekend, and I, being eager, arrived the Saturday preceding that weekend.

When I woke up Sunday morning, I called Rob Sporrer to let him know I had arrived. He invited me to follow him out to some high launch points where he was planning to take students, or to go and check out the training hill we would be using. A group was flying at the training hill that day under the tutelage of one of his instructors, Marge Variano, who would also be working with us.

Choosing the latter, I followed Rob’s directions out to the training hill, parked and watched. You can some-times learn a lot by watching, and that Sunday, at the bottom of the hill under sunny skies and a light breeze,

I did just that. I learned by watching what the predomi-nant winds and flight pattern were for that hill. I got a chance to see many launches and landings and make note of how much of the landing field was used up on the “final” approach to landing. It was a very enjoyable and peaceful way to spend my first sunny day in Santa Barbara.

Monday dawned with perfect weather. Winds were light but steady and blowing in perfectly for our launches. (Can’t blame a guy for hoping there would be launches now, can you?) I loaded up and headed out to the hill, where I met Rob and Marge and several other members of Eagle Paragliding who had volunteered to do anything and everything to assist in our great experi-ment.

Just as we did in Sun Valley, we began with famil-iarizing ourselves with the equipment, reviewing the Phoenix II and the canopy, its attachment points and checks a pilot would need to perform each and every time he or she got into the seat and strapped in. Then we started kiting the wing.

Surprisingly, I had retained a lot of what we had learned in Sun Valley, and since we’d already read the manuals that Rob had sent each of us, we were able to move along at a good pace that morning. Some changes had been made in our previous techniques. One alteration re-quired us to look up at the canopy while being pushed during the takeoff roll, instead of look-ing at Rob in front of us giving hand controls to signal the inputs he wanted us to make. This new procedure proved to be a far superior method of gaining control of the canopy and maintaining it in a good overhead launch position. Watching the canopy allowed me to quickly understand what was happening, figure out

OPPOsITE Darol Kubascz taking his 15th solo flight at Eilings Park, Santa Barbara. AbOVE Getting ready for launch. Photos by Kabir Cardenas.


8 (a standard paragliding harness system, extra pad-ding, with a built-in Titanium or aluminum frame and wheels) gets everything ready and laid out, hops out of his or her wheelchair to the ground, transfers into the harness/wheeled system and forward launches into competitive flight.

Oh, yeah! I see that day, and I do not think it is that far away. I believe it’s near enough that I plan to have one. Maybe even the first one.

total of 14 flights in two days. Unfortunately, the winds came up the next day and kept us on the ground for two days, with nothing to do but tour Southern California (not a bad alternative).

Finally, on the third day we were able to get back to ground-handling practice, during which we expanded our knowledge. We practiced scanning (looking up at the canopy and out to the horizon) on takeoff rolls to get a better feel for what the canopy is doing and to learn to make corrections as needed. We also began to realize that, unlike our able-bodied counterparts, we were not going to be able to “feel” what the canopy is doing while under the wing, simply because the wing is attached to the chair, not to the pilot, as it is in a stan-dard harness. So this technique of scanning is going to be a necessary part of our standard training and future flying.

We were able to spend time evaluating what we had accomplished and to communicate our observa-tions about the Phoenix II. We were asked for sugges-tions, based on what we have learned, to help make the Phoenix III, IV and V better, stronger, smaller, lighter. I believe we will see the day when a disabled person drives out, lays out his or her canopy and Phoenix Ultra-lite


O n the day after the record flights, the Fourth of July, there were no hang gliding fireworks. Only Glen Volk and I launched on what was

forecast to be an excellent day; however, the forecast was once again wrong. We were both hoping to redeem ourselves for the previous day’s missed opportunity. But Glen, who launched early and aggressively under a sketchy sky, only made it past Laredo before landing. It

was a good effort under the circumstances, but he was kicking himself for landing just as the clouds, finally, turned on up there.

I, on the other hand, simply had no heart for scratch-ing low across the damned mesquite and landed upon reaching the paved San Ignacio road in order to enjoy an easy retrieve.

After the Big BangThe Zapata Chronicles:

by Pete Lehmann

325 MILES


the other two. They had survived the largely blue early period of their flights, getting around Laredo at which point the lift had improved substan-tially. They were now getting over 6500’ msl on their way to a most useful 8000’+ msl by the time they

approached the Hill Country. But if the climb rates (400-500 fpm with a rare 600 fpm) and altitudes were now similar to those seen on the record day, the real problem was that the winds were some 10 mph less. The later start and weak winds meant that breaking Dustin’s new absolute distance record was out of the question, but there was a real chance Jonny might achieve the goal record.

As he approached the Hill Country with Glauco trailing behind him, Jonny had only once been as low as 2000’ agl as he moved rapidly along. The sometimes tricky transition up onto the higher plateau went fairly smoothly, and the record began to seem attainable. But at almost six o’clock, after topping out the best climb of the day at 8500’ msl (6000’ agl), things began to go wrong. Not finding another climb until getting down to a particularly worrisome 1200’ agl over bad country, Jonny had to take a weak climb that died at only 3000’ agl. It was only after a long struggle that he finally got high again, but that was almost an hour after he had last topped out high.

This slow period came at an inopportune time. The day was ending, and while Jonny’s two subsequent climbs still got him to over 10,000’ msl, the clouds were about to die. After the last good climb, Jonny began an essentially uninterrupted 2-mile glide to the ground, 325 miles from Zapata, but still some 25 miles short of goal. He had been in the air for 9 hours and 15 minutes, landing at 8:02 p.m.

Unfortunately for Jonny, the weaker wind, later start, and earlier end to the clouds had rendered the goal un-attainable. Nonetheless, it was yet another remarkable flight, marking his second 300-mile flight in two weeks, something no other hang glider pilot has ever achieved.

OPPOsITE Glenn launching | photo by Christine Anderson. AbOVE After his record-setting 475-mile flight, Dustin needs a record-setting drink | photo by Tim Ettridge.

Glen Goes Far Against the OddsOn the very next, and still less promising day, Glen was again aggressive about leaving, and this time he survived the early tough going that quickly put Jonny, Glauco and me on the ground. Like the previous day, the clouds started later and in the vicinity of Laredo, after which Glen moved well in an effort to break the 321 mile distance-to-goal record by flying to Sterling City for 350 miles. However, in the end the lack of a strong tailwind meant that he came up short, going “only” 296 miles. It was a fine flight, considering the tough early conditions and the weak tailwind. And with that, he was gone from Zapata. After landing, Mike picked him up and took him to an airport from which he departed home to San Diego. Dustin also had left, a sign that this year’s WRE was already past its peak.

All three of the other pilots who launched after Glen decked it soon after releasing from tow, although Jonny, at least, had the skill and wisdom to get as far as the first paved road before landing. Glauco and I both landed in the mesquite, where Glauco was rescued by a local rancher who was kind enough to drive him out through the land of locked gates to the highway. On the other hand, David Glover got to me behind a locked gate by using a ring of keys given us years ago by the former Sheriff of Zapata County. That worthy and helpful gentleman’s law enforcement career had concluded with a long stretch in a federal penitentiary for, let us say, ir-regularities in the performance of his duties. Ah, Zapata, where even the felons are friendly.

Jonny Doesn’t Go Far Enough, And The WRE Is Over. Or, Perhaps Not

With Russell, our tug pilot, being scheduled to leave soon, and with the following day’s forecast being even less promising, Jonny, Glauco and I all took one last shot at having a good flight. Jonny in particular was intent on setting the distance-to-goal record by flying to Sterling City, and we all declared it as our goal.

Jonny and Glauco began launching at 10:45, while I simply needed a good flight and chose not to launch until 1:05, by which time I was some 85 miles behind


Indeed, only a small handful of pilots have more than one such flight.

In the meantime, Glauco had landed at the base of the escarpment (201 miles) in the Nueces River valley after having not quite been able to get up onto the pla-teau. I later landed a few miles behind Glauco at eight o’clock, after a relaxed sightseeing flight highlighted by one astonishing thermal. Nearing Uvalde, I had missed a climb, ultimately going down to 800’ below a cloud and above a recently harvested cornfield.

When first arriving over the field, I saw a thermal swirling in it, lost sight of it, and continued climb-ing, when suddenly a veritable blizzard of corn leaves climbed in the thermal, enveloping me. It was as if I were in the midst of a snowstorm, but a violently turbu-lent one that became so spooky that I left the powerful core for weaker, but safer, lift on the periphery. The density of the corn-storm was such that upon landing two hours later there were still two corn leaves attached to my flying wires.

While the elitist Jonny and driver Tim Ettridge were to spend the night in San Angelo, we mere 200-mile pilots would be driving back to Zapata. We stopped off in Camp Wood at the Boots and Buckles Bar for a quick beer and some redneck Texas culture to contrast with the Tex-Mex culture of Zapata. We had intended to have a bite to eat; however, the combination of cigarette smoke and loud country karaoke soon drove us out. But not before the Brazilians got a taste of cowboy America. Zapata seemed a long way off.

The End, But The Monster StirsWith those epic flights, the 2012 iteration of the WRE was at an end. Russell had to go home to Florida, leav-ing his Dragonfly in Zapata without a pilot. Glauco and Miro had tickets booked for Brazil, Davis and Belinda were going to Austin for music and culture, while I was taking David home to Oklahoma City and Jayne’s tender mercies. Before going home to Pennsylvania, I would first go to Colorado for the sight of mountains, cool air untainted by the odor of refried beans, and slen-der people. In other words, I sought post-Zapata R’n’R.

But even with those departures, there were hints that the WRE still had a heartbeat. Gary and Christine were not going home, as he still had two sailplanes at the airport. But most significantly, Jonny’s manufacturer-boss, Bill Moyes, still wanted him to get one last shot at beating Dustin’s new record, which had been set on a rival Wills Wing glider, not a Moyes. So Bill arranged for Bobby Bailey (designer of the Dragonfly tug behind which we are towed) to fly out from his Florida lair at the first hint of returning good conditions. And then

Navigating Around Laredo: 168 DegreesFlying from Zapata has several difficult features, one natural:

the damn vegetation (mesquite and prickly pear cactus), and

two man-made: locked gates and the Laredo airspace. All of

them can be mitigated by skillful flying, but it is the navigat-

ing around Laredo early in the day with weaker lift and lower

cloud bases that requires a particular technique that is, I

believe, unique to flying from Zapata.

While the arrival of the Flytec 6030 flight deck that can

be loaded with airspace data has provided a sophisticated

technological answer to airspace proximity, most of us still

found ourselves using a much simpler technique that has

served us well. By drawing a line on a map from our Zapata

waypoint that then just touches the eastern edge of the

Laredo airspace, we describe a line of bearing running SSE

to NNW. When the line is just tangent to the Laredo airspace

the bearing back to Zapata airport is 167°. In other words,

if one flies with the GPS set on Zapata airport, and as long

as the bearing back to the airport is never less than 168°,

you will remain clear of the airspace. It is very simple. After

releasing from tow east of the airport, one simply has to

manage that number so that it remains greater than 168°. To

do so typically requires jumping at least two cloud streets

towards the east, but days with a stronger southeast wind

component may require even more effort to skip past the

airspace. Because of the lower morning cloud bases and

often challenging landing conditions it can require extremely

nerve-wracking crosswind flying to remain on the upwind

side of the 168° line. On the record day both Dustin and I had

concerns about getting around the airspace, both coming

within a mile of it before gliding past.


from Colorado my phone call to Gary Osoba assured me that the traditional Zapata weather system was, dear me, re-setting.

Too Stupid To Stop It was a more modest little group that reassembled at the Lakefront Lodge. Everyone else had fled town for some rest and recreation. Gary, Christine and Tim had gone to visit friends in San Antonio, Jonny to his girlfriend in Alabama, while Davis and Belinda went to their beloved Austin. Only the latter two chose not to return—Davis feeling the forecasts were too iffy to warrant leaving that most civilized of Texas towns.

And I had been lured back 1200 miles from Colorado on the promise of record conditions to come. Of course, I was 950 miles into the return trip when Gary’s message reached me that the weather had once again taken a turn for the worse. As Mike Barber says of the hard-core regulars at the WRE, we’re “ …too stupid to stop”.

The “Little Record”: Jonny Goes to Sterling CityBut after one day of not flying, a semi-promising day was forecast, albeit with winds about 10 mph less than on the big day. However, that morning I was skeptical, due to the high cirrus clouds, and was therefore a bit slow to get to the airport. That was a mistake. I arrived

WeatherPerhaps the most constant element of the WRE has been

the weather and our obsessive attention to it. Better said, the

weather has been the most inconstant presence. Obviously,

the historic weather patterns are the reason we continue

to fly from Zapata, and also the basis for the extraordinary

number of records set there. But at the same time its mad-

deningly erratic behavior has provided the absolutely worst

aspects of the Zapata experience. Over a decade we have

literally seen the desert cactus bloom. We have seen the

prevailing winds reverse themselves, or simply stop blowing

(good for triangle records, I concede). But we have all too

seldom seen the weather provide all of the necessary con-

stituent parts required to set distance records.

The enormous scale of what we are attempting requires a

large number of individual weather features to be simultane-

ously present over a vast area. Hang glider pilots are looking

for 500 miles of consistent conditions, while Gary Osoba’s

sailplane requires 1000 miles.

The essential parts of this vast weather puzzle include

morning Gulf moisture to produce the remarkably solid and

reliable cloud streets at 9:30 in the morning. Also required is

a southeasterly wind direction that on the one hand brings

in the moist air, but which is not too easterly, thereby driving

us into Mexico. And that wind must continue for as much

as 1000 miles with both a consistent direction and speed.

We also need cumulus clouds that continue over the entire

distance. It is not enough that we have the morning over-

running clouds for a good start. We need them to become

conventional cumulus clouds towards noon, and then they

must improve as we continue northward. The climb rates

must increase, and, critically, cloudbase must continually rise

for two reasons. Until cloudbase rises significantly above the

mesquite country it is impossible to fly very fast. Otherwise,

we must fly too cautiously. And once one leaves the essen-

tially sea-level mesquite plains behind, 150 miles from the

start, it becomes essential that the clouds continue to rise

as one gets up onto the 2500’-high Edwards Plateau. For it

is there, late in the day, that one can fly fastest. High clouds

coupled with high winds and the presence of evening conver-

gence clouds allow gliders to move extraordinarily quickly in

the final hours before landing. Finally, this all must continue

until half an hour past sunset, the legal limit of our latest

landing time. It is a demanding list of requirements, and it is

all too seldom fully met.

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at 10:00, and Jonny was already in the air, with Bobby Bailey towing him to the east. The objective of that long tow was to get Jonny closer to the morning clouds set-ting up beneath an otherwise mediocre sky.

After getting off tow shortly before 10:00, Jonny was promptly in trouble low over the mesquite. It was not until he had been in the air for over an hour and a half that he began to regularly get much higher than his ini-tial tow release altitude of 3500’ msl, and before doing so, he had once been down to 873’ chasing snakes. That was a most unpromising way to begin a world record at-tempt, as he struggled in lift weakened by the enduring presence of the cirrus clouds that threatened to thicken

further. But Jonny is nothing if not stub-

bornly persistent, and capable of taking the long view while flying. As long as he remained in the air, conditions could improve. And so they did. Nonetheless,

even at their best, the conditions were decidedly margin-al, and Jonny was already about 150 miles from Zapata before he finally got to cloudbase much over 5000’ msl. As he began to approach the escarpment, cloudbase was still only a modest 6500’ msl. And even that momen-tary triumph was fleeting as he promptly found himself down to 1400’ with the dry Nueces riverbed as his only

landing option. He soon found a climb and subsequent climbs that allowed him to make his way through the Nueces valley and up onto the plateau. However, the climbs were still mediocre both in strength and maxi-mum altitude. Worse yet, going through the hills he encountered turbulence sufficiently tumble-spooky to make him consider landing. Fortunately, the one thing that worked in his favor was that the altitudes eventually did steadily rise along with the terrain, and he never had to go very low to find the next climb.

Finally established on the Edwards Plateau, just past Rock Springs, the altitudes jumped up to almost 8000’, and then over time went up to his maximum altitude of 10,500’ msl. His earlier patience in difficult conditions was now rewarded by fabulous cloud streets that allowed him to make very rapid progress. As he approached the goal of Sterling City it was only 7:00 and he still had sufficient daylight in which to attempt to break Dustin’s new absolute distance record. There was as much as two and a half hours of flight time available to him; the cloud streets were solid, and he was moving remarkably fast. The record might have fallen had he continued.

However, it was not to be. Jonny had a pressing need to land as soon as possible. No, it was not a urinary issue. Jonny’s two vitally important data recording devices, a Garmin gps and his Flytec 6030, almost

AbOVE Looks like rain. OPPOsITE TOP Gary,

Jonny and Davis. bOTTOM Hangar briefing. Photos by

Jonny Durand.


simultaneously began giving him low battery alerts! After his previous long flights, Jonny had not thought it necessary to replace their batteries, and now he was in real danger of not being able to validate his record flight. It was imperative for him to land before they both failed. Fortunately, after a nervous 20+ miles of final glide, he did land in time, but it was close enough that the Garmin actually shut down immediately after he landed. To make the day complete, Jonny’s driver Tim once again arrived only minutes later. He had been in the air for nine hours 15 minutes, flying a (provisionally measured) 346-mile record.

Jonny had landed at Sterling City’s golf course where, after looking at his Red Bull themed glider, the golfers’ principle reaction was to ask if he had any Red Bull for them. Friggin’ golfers. Nonetheless, despite their indif-ference, it was yet another remarkable flight, a world record that represented his third 300-mile flight in as many weeks, and his seventh overall. To my knowledge, no other pilot has more than two, although, amazingly, Dustin has two 400-mile flights.

The EndJonny’s record flight was followed by more rain, and one last attempt by him and me, which despite an excellent first 50 miles went nowhere. WRE 2012 was finally

done, although Gary remained several days longer in the vain hope of encountering a good day for a sailplane record. After years of mediocre results, it had been a phenomenally successful record encampment, with the two big flex-wing hang gliding records being set, two 400-mile flights, two (almost three) more 300-milers, and four 200-milers.

Next year in Zapata, anyone? Something tells me Jonny will be back.

Documentation and TrackingA distinguishing feature of his year’s WRE and its record flights

has been the intrusion of web-enabled technology into the

experience. From a safety point of view, the most significant

innovation is the carriage of SPOT satellite tracking devices by

all pilots. Last year had seen the first appearance of SPOTs, and

a particularly spooky landing of mine in the Hill country had fi-

nally convinced me of their value. In a region where neither cell

phones nor radios can be entirely relied upon, the SPOTs assure

that one’s landing location will be known to one’s driver.

Less obviously, the SPOTs might be the answer to an ages-

old question about how one might broaden the appeal of hang

gliding for a wider audience. Face it, watching hang gliding

from the ground makes paint drying seem exciting. However,

this year both Dustin and Jonny’s SPOT locations were being

closely and, indeed, passionately watched by thousands around

the world. In near real-time one could follow their extraordinary

flying duel across the remotest reaches of Texas. Apparently

that drama was avidly followed not the least intently by those

in Australia and California at the Moyes and Wills Wing fac-

tories. Incidentally, the two SPOTs Jonny flew with were each

programmed with different post-landing check-in messages:

“Yippee! I’ve landed and maybe set a World Record,” and “I just

landed and would like a margarita.”

Also figuring in this narrative is the little GoPro camera.

Jonny Durand is well known for his remarkably casual in-flight

narrations. Climbing or gliding, he finds time to turn the camera

on himself and provide a commentary on the day’s flight. These

videos usually take place during competitions, but on the

record-breaking flight he began videoing before taking-off and

continued off and on throughout the flight until landing. This

remarkable footage can be seen on-line (http://www.youtube.

com/watch?v=ZaGcGBSbFtI), but the most astonishing single

moment in it is his re-encounter with Dustin at the exact spot at

which they broke the existing world record. The footage is that

much more riveting because Jonny himself had been unaware

of Dustin’s location when he magically appeared in front of

Jonny’s camera.


PHOT

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In the Beginningby Gavin McClurg


I received a cryptic message on Facebook from Nick Greece, with whom I’d worked on magazine pieces over the years, but had never met. The message said

only, “Haiti, this February. You in?” My initial thought was: If it’s an invite from Nick, I’m

going! The chance to fly with one of the top pilots in the world was not something to pass up. But my second thought was…Haiti? The closest I’d ever been was five years ago on a paragliding and kite-surfing trip in the Dominican Republic, which shares a border with Haiti. This was before the earthquake in January of 2010, which left up to 300,000 dead (the actual number will never be known). It was also before the 24-hour news cycle and the seemingly endless stream of celebrity visits that has brought the country so much recent attention, numbing us to once-shocking images of poverty and human suffering. I asked a lot of people and everyone in the Dominican Republic told me, “…over that border, it is hell.” Hell is usually a place I try to avoid, not go to voluntarily.

Those images of Haiti flashed through my mind, slowing my response to Nick’s offer. I quickly Googled

“Haiti, earthquake” and read on Wikipedia: “In January 2012, two years since the quake, figures released by the United Nations show that of the nearly US $4.5 billion pledged for reconstruction only 43 percent has been delivered... half a million Haitians remain homeless, still living under tarps and in tents... conditions in the displaced persons camps are abysmal, particularly for women and girls who too often are victims of gender-based violence.”

And that was just the beginning. Cholera, which was never endemic to Haiti, had arrived with Nepalese UN soldiers and was responsible for killing thousands. Everything I pulled up made Haiti sound worse and worse: dysfunctional and corrupt government, dys-functional and inexperienced aid agencies, kidnappings, malaria, dengue fever. By the yardstick of income, Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. The list went on and on. It seemed to me that we could very easily go paragliding in a nicer place!

As I read more and more, though, I started to feel something other than just sadness at the plight of the 8.5 million people who call Haiti home. It was a desire to somehow help, and an undeniable calling for adventure. Who in his right mind would choose Haiti as a place to go on vacation? I erased a number of excuses I’d been drafting in email, too expensive to get there (I was living in Morocco at the time, so flights were a doozy); not good timing for me (I was specifically in Morocco to work on

Beginning

a book and going to Haiti was decidedly NOT going to assist in the effort); Haiti sounds scary. So without think-ing too much more I just wrote: I’m in.

Our team consisted of four pilots: Jim Chu, Chris Hilliard, and, of course, Nick and me. Jim was the catalyst to the trip. He heads up LifeGivingForce, a water company charged with creating sustainable means to supply clean drinking water to Haiti’s people. An NGO skeptic and a very smart individual with a degree in International Policy Studies from Stanford, Jim argues that the model for international aid is broken, as aid measures are all too often unsustainable and ultimately strip recipient nations of their capacity to develop free markets and build wealth. I have neither the background nor expertise to make an educated statement about Jim’s opinion. But Haiti has more aid agencies and workers per capita than anywhere else (it’s commonly referred to as “The Republic of NGOs”), and conditions have not changed proportionally, so it does seem that he’s onto something.

Since Jim spends nearly two weeks of every month in Haiti, he is very familiar with the challenges presented by life in the country. But even on his first trips after the earthquake, he couldn’t help but see Haiti’s mountains and think that it could be a great place to paraglide. Perhaps this is something other pilots (and DaVinci) would understand, but the idea sounds completely insane to most non-pilots.

At Jim’s invitation, Chris Hilliard went to Haiti in 2011 to volunteer on water projects and check out the flying. After scouting a couple of launches, some sporty flights with very memorable out-landings and only one brief detention, they decided this was too good not to share. There was real adventure to be had here, close to home, and with so much opportunity for pilots to help in Haiti, the hardest part might be picking where to start. Chris invited Nick, Nick invited me and, after one Skype conference call and a few emails mostly regarding travel insurance options and other precautionary necessities, we were on our way.

ARRIVALStepping out of the airport terminal in Port-Au-Prince with Jim, whom I’d met on the last leg of my journey from Miami, two things struck me: heat and people. Lots and lots of both. A thick wall of dark black men in red shirts all clamoring to carry our bags accosted us. When in doubt, put your head down. I shuffled behind Jim, who navigated us through the barrage, handed off

OPPOsITE Jim Chu flying a hike-and-fly site on the southern coast of Haiti near Les Anglais | photo by Nick Greece.


some Gourdes (the local currency) about equivalent to five US dollars, which seemed like quite a bit for just carrying a bag a short distance, but the guy who got the money seemed rather annoyed.

By the time I got a chance to survey the scene, we were already in a nice Toyota truck, and I had rivers of sweat running into my eyes and down my spine. The traffic was at a near standstill, which I’d learn was almost always the case. Day or night, unless there is a government lockdown, which isn’t uncommon, traffic is often a snarled nightmare. The roads themselves are a disaster, and there’s absolutely no traffic control schemes

like traffic lights or policemen directing the thousands of cars, trucks, tap taps (communal taxis), UN vehicles, and, of course, the never-ending streams of NGO trucks.

Jim quickly headed off for business meetings with a plan to meet up with us in a couple of days. I was brought to a compound near the airport and introduced to David, a young NGO volunteer who would be on-call to support us for the next 10 days. Equipped with a cell phone and a laptop with reliable internet service, David would help coordinate retrieves by monitoring our SPOT satellite tracking during our flights, help us find hotels, and basically handle aspects of safety and logis-tics that would be difficult once we left Port-au-Prince. David liked to spend his weekends hiking in the moun-tains and knew some of the terrain we wanted to explore in hopes of finding launch sites. Wiry and fit looking, I asked how he stayed in shape. “Got malaria recently and there isn’t much food here.”

bELOW Gavin McClurg and Nick Greece getting ready to

pioneer another site. Photo by Ben Depp.

As Nick and Chris would not be arriving for a few hours, I’d been charged with getting the team two things: local money and SIM cards. I failed at both.

Over the past 13 years, I’ve been fortunate as a captain of an ocean-going expedition to visit nearly a hundred countries. Many of them have been third-world places like Madagascar, Burma, Indonesia, Mozambique, and the Cape Verdes. I point this out to put into context what I’m about to say. In those few hours of trying to ac-complish the most basic of tasks while driving at a snail’s pace around the capital of Haiti, I kept thinking: This place is, in fact, hell� I’m used to places that are poor, but I’ve never seen any place that was actually totally broken.

David only knows of 2 ATM’s in the city (there are more) and informs me as we arrive at the first one that an American man was fatally shot (and presumably robbed) there a few weeks earlier. Perhaps luckily, it’s out of order. The second one is also not working. The lines at the banks spill into the streets. I’m warned by several people to keep a close eye on my things. I learn immediately that everything in Haiti takes a LOT of time. And while you can buy minutes for your cell phone at every corner under the ubiquitous Digicel red umbrellas, my attempt


to buy a SIM card proves fruitless. In three hours I accomplish nothing; however, I do

get my firsthand glimpse of Port-au-Prince, including a drive-by of one of the most notoriously famous sites. Directly across from the Presidential Palace, which resembles the White House (except for being lopsided and crumbling, since the earthquake), there is a camp consisting of hundreds upon hundreds of tattered tarp

tents, complete with naked children and open sewers—literally, right across the street. Welcome to Haiti.

I drop David off and navigate back to the airport just in time for Nick’s and Chris’s arrival. A friendly bag car-rier offers me an ice-cold beer, which I gulp down thank-fully. I realize suddenly that even with all this chaos, I’m having fun.

We find a back alley convenience store where we are able to exchange enough cash for the next few days. The transaction takes over half-an-hour and multiple recounts, but we leave with cold beers and tall stacks of well-worn Haitian currency. As we head very slowly north, out of the city, our route skirts Cité Soleil, the largest slum in Port-au-Prince, with approximately 400,000 inhabitants— generally regarded as one of the poorest and most dangerous areas of the western hemisphere. I’ve been charged with shooting video of the trip and consider taking a time lapse at an intersection where there are, of course, no lights, but a free-for-all of honking and jockeying for position. Then I realize things are happening so slowly that the time lapse would take hours, and a white guy with expensive camera gear prob-

AbOVE Chris Hilliard hiking to launch | photo by Nick Greece. LEFT Ready to launch | photo by Benn Depp.


ably wouldn’t make it very long. We move on. The plan is to stay two nights at a former Club Med

property in Montrouis, about two and a half hours from Port-au-Prince, near where Jim and Chris had identified good launches. It is the team’s hope to find a suitable place to hold a yearly flying festival that, if successful, would bring much-needed tourism dollars to the country. Everyone

we meet assumes we are either with a mission or an aid agency. When we tell them, “We’re tourists, we came to Haiti to paraglide,” no one believes us. Over the next 10 days, we will not meet another tourist. We could very well be the only tourists here.

As the sun settles over the Gulf of Gonâve, and we enjoy the first of many rum cocktails, it dawns on me that we are, in fact, in a place that once was a paradise. In a bygone era, Haiti was “the pearl of the Caribbean,” generating billions in export revenues for the French and Spanish. Port-au-Prince shared the same French colonial architectural style that gives New Orleans its beauty and charm. You still catch glimpses, but the ravages of time, utter neglect, and a few short minutes of violent plate tectonics have rendered the once great city into some-thing that resembles a war zone.

Still, only a couple of hours away, the familiar sound of the ocean laps on a beautiful white sand beach, while towering palms hang over us near the pool. We are, of course, sheltered here from the reality of Haiti, and we

are paying for it. Our solid 4X4 truck costs $125 USD a day. I’m told the fuel here is the most expensive on Earth, barring remote villages in northern Alaska and Russia! The hotel is $160 per night for a shared room. It is maybe three stars and long ago lost its Club Med luster. While dirtbag readers may be glad to hear that at least those prices included food, much of the buffet is canned vegetables, as Haiti no longer grows much food so has to import almost everything. I let that information sink in. Haiti can be more expensive than Switzerland. True.

ADVENTUREThe next morning we wake to a perfect day and our hopes are in the sky. After some doing, Chris has ar-ranged for a driver, so all of us can fly. A local Christian mission worker named Wes meets us early, but we learn, unfortunately, that he hasn’t had much practice driving a stick shift.

We take some time teaching him how to use a clutch and head into the mountains. The road is, of course, treacherous and slow. Ours is likely the only truck head-ing up this road for days, so we pick up a couple of guys and a coffin they are carrying to a village high in the mountains. This lends a certain dark humor to the trip, and everyone is jovial. A couple of hours later, after drop-ping off our cargo with an awkward round of high fives, we find a suitable launch site and set up under popping cumulus and the curious gaze of a small village of people who laugh and giggle uncontrollably at our strange gear.

AbOVE Gavin McClurg flying over Montrois, Haiti.

OPPOsITE Gavin McClurg throwing down in Haiti |

photos by Nick Greece.


was far short of what would be needed for a festival and decide to move on to our next area of interest on the southern peninsula. To get there we drive back through Port-au-Prince, where we spend an evening enjoying the rhythms and sounds of Pétionville, a neighborhood where the ambassadors, diplomats, celebrities, and upper class in Haiti avoid the reality that most cannot. NGO Rovers are lined up for blocks around swanky bars as young aid workers unwind with cold beers and cocktails and talk about the many frustrations of their jobs. We meet a documentary photographer, Ben Depp, who has lived in Haiti for four years and has harrowing stories of pulling bodies out of the rubble and aftershocks that kept him and his wife living on the streets. I ask Ben about the abundance of aid and aid workers. He understands the difficulties as well as anyone. “Gavin, you ever heard the saying, the road to hell is paved with good inten-tions”?

Jim Chu joins us the next day and we drive. And we drive. And we drive. Getting anywhere in Haiti takes an absurd amount of time. But we decide to push on, to a place at the far end of the southern peninsula where we’ve identified a long ridge on Google Earth that may just work. From there we could work our way back toward the capitol, hopefully avoiding all-day marathon drives and checking out a few launches in the mountain ranges that run the entire way back.

Once we hit the southern coast, we travel for a couple of hours on a remarkably smooth road between azure

Nick punches off and climbs quickly as our audience goes crazy. I follow and take in the view as I dial up over launch. As we climb to cloudbase, the perspective of the scene beneath slowly expands. There’s barely a tree in sight. The mountains below are impressive and stretch for miles and should be covered in lush tropical rainforest, but everything is brown. Ninety-seven percent of Haiti’s forests have been cut to produce charcoal for cooking. Still, it is beautiful, and Nick and I set off hooting and hollering, gliding off downwind along the range, follow-ing the contour of the coastline and a perfect cloud street to our south.

Chris and Wes find us a couple of hours later, forty kilometers down the range. We landed in an open dirt field near a village and, within minutes of landing, curious and happy people surround us. I’m asked again and again to give up any piece of gear or clothing. Our GoPro cameras are of particular interest. One young man who speaks some English insists that I should give him something. “Give me your T-shirt, give me that thing, I have nothing!” This would obviously not be a good idea. I don’t have enough to give to everyone and there’s a feeling that mishandling these crowds could turn ugly. So we smile and laugh, and it’s genuine. Nick and I have just had a great initial flight and we’re thrilled to be here. Our energy and excitement is no doubt shared by our inquisitive gathering, and we’re ushered with friendly enthusiasm to the road and finally to our truck.

We decide that while the flying was good, the access


water and green mountains just inland. Passing through small villages that looked not unlike those of elsewhere in the Caribbean, this seemed a stark contrast to the arid landscape of Montrouis. The asphalt ended abruptly at a stony riverbed, signaling our arrival at our destination of Les Anglais, a small neatly organized and surprisingly clean one-horse village that lay on the other side. Perhaps not surprisingly, there is a notable absence of street food in much of Haiti. Our diet on the road mainly consisted of periodic stops for cold Prestige, the local beer, and hitting our stash of various bars. We set about finding lodging and real food and quickly succeeded on both counts at an inn where we were greeted with enthusiasm. Ragu was on the menu, which generally means a hearty stew of whatever is around. In this case, it was tripe. And they didn’t skimp. From this point on, Nick was quick to order spaghetti nearly everywhere we went. We did have some good Haitian food, but this was not a highpoint of the trip.

The owner of the inn introduced us to a guide for the area, an affable fellow who ran a program teach-ing sustainable agricultural practices to residents in the mountains nearby and, consequently, knew the area well. Assured that we were in good shape for a successful day of flying the next day, we crashed out, still vibrating from the road. We headed out near dawn and had an incredible hike to a big open launch. We punched off into iffy conditions, but had a great flight, the only time during our 10 days that we were able to all fly together.

The last area we planned to explore was the Pic de Macaya Preserve. The peak itself is the second highest in Haiti and the large national park meant that the forests in the area were much more intact than those we had seen in the north.

After a number of missed starts, dead-end valleys, bad intel, and general failure, we spot a nearby mountain that might work for a launch. After much deliberation about the approach, we opt for the direct route, heading nearly straight up in the middle of the heat of the day. We find a suitable spot on the steep face and wait for a series of squalls to pass. Jim offers to wind dummy and immedi-ately goes straight up. Nick and I follow. We ridge soar for a while, playing at a couple of synchro spirals and generally enjoying the laminar ridge lift, while Jim heads out and lands. As we eventually set out toward the hotel, looking for an LZ near the pool, conditions improve and we see our chance to go XC. We’ve been joking the entire trip that “cutting the cord” in Haiti would be a pretty bold move. Unlike a lot of places we fly, remote doesn’t necessarily mean uninhabited here, but since the dominant means of travel is by foot and donkey, the chances of passable roads are slim. In other words: A quick retrieve is pretty much impossible. Nick and I discuss this briefly on the radio and decide to go for it.

We’ve got a cloud street to follow that Nick reckons will get us all the way back to Port-au-Prince. All we’ve got to do is make the first glide. He takes a line that is clearly better than mine but, instead of joining him, I

focus on what’s below and our lack of landing options, so I push out over safe ground. And, of course, that doesn’t work. I radio to carry on without me, that I’ve blown it. Instead, he ends his own flight prematurely and lands nearby.

Incredibly, as soon as we touch down, it becomes one of the best paragliding experiences I’ve ever had. Hundreds of people coalesce beneath our wings as we approach and precariously land between huge palm trees. I feel like Columbus, dropping into a new realm for the first time. People are screaming and laughing and pointing and little kids are stealthily touching me and running away in hysterics. As I pack up my wing, their energy fills my heart, and I realize I’m having an insanely good time. We came to Haiti for an adventure. It didn’t disappoint.

EPILOGUE Haiti is hard. It is intense, exhilarating, exhausting, and sometimes difficult to process. It’s not for everyone. Haiti hides nothing. The things that we often avoid or that are tucked away out of sight in the US are front and center there. Death, disease, the elderly and the disabled, inequality and injustice. It’s in your face, and it’s very often uncomfortable. And the sights are just part of it. They can show what it looks like on TV, but nothing can prepare you for the smells and the sounds of Port-au-Prince. It is as far from home as you can imagine, and it’s right in our back yard. Its history is fascinating, often

tragic, and interconnected with the rest of the world in many ways that are less than complimentary not just of our forefathers, but of more recent governments as well. It will teach you something, either about yourself or your worldview. It can also be really fun and beautiful, and that’s something you won’t see on TV.

Like so many things about Haiti, even our well-intentioned and simply stated plan of traveling to the country as tourists was not so simple. Paragliding and hang gliding are extremely egocentric, indulgent pursuits. Engaging in something so conspicuous in the midst of so much poverty is a stark contrast and something not easy for everyone to justify. As Will Gadd recently noted,

“Mixing adventure and charity is bunk.” We agree, and that’s not what this

was about. We went there to have fun, doing something we love in what may seem an unlikely place. Like most other Caribbean nations, Haiti needs tourism dollars to build its economy. This is the most direct aid model. Go there, spend money. And what do you get for it? Luxury? No. When you are hiking out to launch, you look into homes and lives that are tough to compre-hend. When you talk to locals, you’ll hear stories that are inspiring as often as heartbreaking. And when you pull out a magic carpet and fly off the mountain next to their village, the people light up. Their happiness erupts. Yes, it may only be a temporary distraction, but isn’t that the case for all of us?

AbOVE There is one tandem pilot in Haiti—Simon Vacher | photo over Jacmel, by Nick Greece.


I n early spring of 2012, flying in Florida was dedi-cated to pure racing, when two big competitions were held that also appeal to the international

crowd.Guests started arriving at the Florida Ridge around

April 12 for the Rob Kells Memorial from April 14-22, the fourth consecutive year that James Tindle and staff have hosted a great competition. American pilots were joined by pilots from Europe (Austria and Spain), South America (Brazil, Colombia and Guatemala), Russia and Australia. Some of them were world-class pilots, such as Larry Bunner, Zac Majors, Paris Williams, Derreck Turner, Jonny Durand Jr. (who flew directly from Brazil, where he had just finished another FAI sanc-tioned competition), and Austrian Wolfgang Siess, AKA “Wolfi,” who came from Australia, after spending the northern winter Down Under.

Among the 34 participants, there was no Class V (rigid wings), but we did have a Sport Class with seven pilots. The weather was pretty good, allowing task flying on every scheduled day. And there was no northeasterly wind, which often decreases the XC potential, bringing in humid and stable air mass from Lake Okeechobee. Nonetheless, the first couple of days were a bit windy, making the takeoff challenging; some pilots were aware of their limits and decided not to fly. The last two days storm cells developed near parts of the course, causing some pilots to land. Having pilots ready to make this type of sensible, yet difficult, decision, is part of what enhances safety in the sport and makes the organizer’s and meet director’s jobs easier.

Davis Straub, meet director, scorer and weather-man, seemed to have fun and did a good job. Daily briefings were held inside one of the log cabins at the Ridge, where pilots scattered on two floors. James and Davis orchestrated the projection of detailed weather and task information on a large flatscreen TV. Really nice! Because of different wind directions developing throughout the meet, takeoff was scheduled in various corners of the paddock, creating a lot of movement; pilots and gliders moved daily from the set-up area to different launch lanes.

Tasks for Class I ranged from 71.1 to 141.8 km, with an average of 102.1 km and a total of 612.6 km for all six tasks.

Right from the start, Jonny moved to the lead by winning Task 1, flying the 122.4 km in 1:59:17, followed

by Paris, 3min 40sec behind Jonny, and Wolfi, just 16 seconds after Paris.

After that, it was a tight race, with Paris winning the second task, Jonny, the third, and Zac winning the three last tasks in a row. He was on fire!

Jonny, however, flew consistently throughout the whole comp, being the only pilot to finish in the top three of every single task; therefore, he took first place overall. Paris’s flying was awesome as well, as it has been since he came back to the competition scene last year. He was out of the top three only on task 4, where he came in seventh, while Jonny gained some points on him every day. For Zac, unfortunately, it was almost impossible to recover the 610-650 points he lost to Jonny and Paris on Task 1, when he came in 16th. Jonny and Paris would have had to make major mistakes for him to beat them. However, because of his skills, he was able to beat the other 22 competitors. Derreck Turner, a local pilot, came in fourth, behind the three “monsters” who took the podium!

The Sport Class had tasks ranging from 28.8 to 70 km, with an average of 50.1 km and a total of 300.6 km, including all tasks. Five of the seven competitors were Russian; they were from the group that came to The Ridge to learn aero-towing and practice competi-tion flying, taking part in the Team Challenge the week before. Iurii Zuhikov came in first, Dimitry Shestun, second, and Stephen Mentler (USA) came in third.

AbOVE Rob Kells pilot-briefing cabin. Photos by Maria.


During the prize-giving ceremony, the Russians told me they’d had a great time, learned a lot, and were happy to have taken the trip overseas for this experience.

The Annual Rob Kells Competition ended with Jonny taking 1st place, Paris 2nd and Zac 3rd. The participants and observers celebrated with a fantastic party produced by James Tindle and his team, includ-ing a live band that played under a tent provided by the USHPA. Lots of laughter and dancing filled the evening; everybody had fun. We said farewell to the Russians and Guatemalans who were going back home after their epic trip and to the locals and our enterpris-ing hosts, as well, who were preparing for more flights in South Florida. To the remaining 19 pilots, we said, “See you later!” since they were planning to drive up to Quest for the next adventure.For details on the tasks and results of this comp go to: http://soaringspot�com/2012rk/results/

The third wave of guests coming to Florida this year arrived for the Flytec Race & Rally that ran from the 22nd till the 28th of April. The registration, initial brief-ing, and pizza party were held at Quest Air in Groveland on Saturday evening. This time both the nationalities and number of guests increased: Newcomers included more pilots from the previously mentioned countries, as well as British, Ecuadorean, French, Italian, Mexican and Swiss pilots who joined the crowd. The total number of pilots was 60!

Running a rally-type competition makes the logistic operation tricky for the organizers; luckily,

Jamie Shelden’s ability to coordinate is remarkable, and she’s found an excellent team to help her. The first problem arose the week before when five programmed Dragonflies broke down. But with the extremely effi-cient cooperation among tug pilots, launch staff and the competitors, it was possible to get everyone up in the air pretty fast, until the Dragonflies were repaired.

There was no Sport Class in this comp. The aero-towing skills required are strictly advanced; takeoff occurs on different and unknown airfields every day, making it technical.

There were five rigid wings (Class V): their shortest task was 90.6 and the longest, 137.1 km; an average of 80.2 km and a total of 320.7 km for the four valid tasks they had. Task 1 had to be cancelled, because by the time they started launching, the sea breeze that kicked in made it rough and blew away the thermals. So the pilots themselves decided to land back at the airfield and cancel the task—once again, a good example of sensible decisions that enhance safety. The group of “rigids” was great and displayed excellent sportsmanship. For instance, on Task 3 Mark Stump flew back to escort Oliver Gregory, who had problems with his GPS. And the podium was: Oliver Gregory, François Véronneau and Mark Stump!

The comp was scheduled to leave from Quest Air, as usual, on Sunday; however, the previous night, a front came through with strong, gusty winds, thunder and lots of rain. It was cozy for those sleeping in hotel rooms and, let’s say, very “interesting,” for those camping out at Quest. The next morning did not look promising, but soon the sun was shining, so everyone set up. The task committee chose a route, the window was opened and a couple of pilots took off; however, the conditions for towing and landing were a bit too rough for pilots to be able to compete safely and enjoy their flight. Therefore, the safety committee decided to cancel the task. Few pilots decided to free fly; most of them actually were test flying. They were those who had just gotten a brand-new glider and/or those who had unpacked theirs after plane rides.

The weather forecast seemed similar for the next day. So the organizers and meet director Davis Straub de-cided to have everyone drive up to Dunnellon and spend the night close to the airfield, where there was a good chance that winds would be less strong, and pilots could be ready early, without having to drive in the morning. Unfortunately, the winds were not as light as expected and, once again, we observed “safety first.” So there was no flying. Nevertheless, as one would expect with


a group of competitive, lively hang glider pilots, plenty of activities came up, including “tightrope walking” with glider straps. A group of women, wind technicians, competitors, drivers, staff, etc., decided to enjoy the sun and get a little tan—a pretty picture for all. Another nice moment was watching the Dragonflies arrive at the airfield in formation.

On the third day of the Rally, April 24th, it was pos-sible to send the pilots on the first task. From Dunnellon they flew south, passing by Quest as a turnpoint, then farther south until Wales: 150.8 km! Robin Hamilton came in first, Davide Giudicci (Italy) second, Eduardo Oliveira (Brazil) third, Jonny Durand Jr. fourth, and Dustin Martin fifth.

The initial idea was for the pilots to take off from the airfield in Wales the next day and fly north; however, some obstacles on the runway made the towing opera-tion less “friendly,” so the organizers decided to have people drive back to Quest in the morning to ensure good towing conditions.

The second task was not true rally style, but more of a traditional route over three turnpoints: back to Quest, 90.6 km. Zac won the day, Dustin came in second and Davide Guiducci was third. As Jamie mentioned, “Although it was a bummer, not moving, it sure was nice to hang out at Quest; the crew got a chance to fly a bit after working their butts off the past few days,

and we all enjoyed watching the (sometimes extremely close) final glides back into the flight park. It was a nice reminder of the great times we used to have at the Flytec Championships at Quest for so many years.”

Task three finally allowed us to go out on the road and “rally-oh”! The pilots were sent to Williston, passing through what has become a traditional turnpoint, John Travolta’s property. Luckily, this year nobody landed IN his property! Strong winds did not allow any pilots to reach goal, and those who flew the farthest ended up landing about 20 km short. Eduardo Olivera won the day with 100.38 km, followed by Daniel Vélez (Colombia), who landed 610 meters behind; Kraig Coomber came in third.

The entire group drove to Live Oak for takeoff the next day. Carl Wallbank, Zac Majors and Kraig Coomber were the top three on task four (97.9 km) that took us north to Thrifts, about a mile south of the Georgia border. The competition at this point was really exciting, because after this task, Dustin led the overall results with Paris 108 points behind and, be-tween Paris and James Stinnett (sixth overall), there was just a 76-point gap with pilots such as Kraig Coomber and Jonny in the middle. This meant that the comp was definitely open, and anything could happen on the last day.

There was a 2.5-hour drive from the goal in Thrifts to

AbOVE Live band under the USHPA tent. Photos by Maria.


goal) was going to be very tricky� I had the feeling that we were downwind from the river that was creating the stable air mass we were in, so the thermals had to be on the other side… Just before the river, we were circling in very weak stuff in different spots; it was great to have a good group of pilots all looking around� I was with Paris and this gave me extra confidence: I had been flying with him during this comp and the Rob Kells, discovering his great skills� The gain was not enough to compensate for the drift, though, and I realized that the only option was to use that bit of extra height to get to the other side and, once there, look for the thermals I was expecting to be there� Of course, the risk was to end up landing in one of the large fields right past the river and the adjacent woods� I thought I was risking losing the third spot, but I was also convinced this was a fantastic chance to attempt an escape and try to win the day… Those woods, I felt, had to be the trigger� and I had the feeling that Paris was on the same track, which gave me the “push” I needed to try it� I started pulling my VG, looking at him and trying to convey my thoughts to him and, sure enough, he was also pulling his VG� I remember “stuffing” my bar in, not really trying to get there before Paris but just wanting to get to the other side� As soon as we made it across, we started feeling a bit more activity and caught a good thermal that took us up, but also back to the middle of the river� It was a nice surprise to realize

Moultrie (GA), the launch site for task five. It is one of the best stops of the Rally, because the facilities are ex-cellent and the airfield staff is incredibly enthusiastic and supportive about our stopping there. Being the last day, the task committee set a route, via Cordele, to Americus with a total of 137.1 km. Just before going to bed that night, I remember a conversation with Pedro García, who said, “It is all about who wins the day tomorrow. Good night!”

Pedro is one of the top Spanish pilots, unknown outside Europe. He had just met many of the Americans during a stay at Quest and the Rob Kells Memorial. In that comp, he was doing well, sixth overall, after coming in second on task four; however, on the last two tasks he decided to land to avoid encountering rain. He lost

three spots, but stayed within the first 10 places. After task four of the Rally, he was among the pilots in the “76-point gap.” But nobody expected him to make an impressive move on the last day.

Pedro recounts what happened:

Before getting to the turnpoint, we noticed that the conditions were getting weaker; we kept gliding and passed the TP, feeling no improvement whatsoever� The whole group started slowing down and looking at each other, realizing that crossing the river (approximately 16 km from

AbOVE Race & Rally winners | photo by Jamie

Sheldon.


that James Stinnett had also decided to join us and, from this spot, we could see everyone crossing the river and going for our thermal� What a spectacular image with just water below… I wish I (or anyone) could’ve taken a picture of it� We left that thermal and glided on, staying a bit south of course line; I was aiming for the small woods that were facing the wind where I expected to find the next thermal� This detour did cost some meters, but we had a good advan-tage and it paid off because the lift was there� At this point I started planning how to “ lose” the other two�

We left the thermal and glided towards goal; the num-bers were not great, but were good enough as long as we found something else along the way� About three or four km before, I felt a nice bubble, so I slowed down to make the most of it and to check on the other two� At this point it was clearer to me that I had a real chance of winning the day, but it meant leaving Paris behind, and I felt a little bad about it… I did an “S” turn, thinking there should be some more bubbles on the way and realized how they went for a full 360° to turn in lift and thought: It’s now or never� So I pulled my VG full on and fled towards goal!

The whole Florida experience this year was fantastic: getting to fly with many great American pilots, teaming up with the Italians on the radio, enjoying a full month of flying and competing on a WillsWing T2C for the first time� However, the last part of the flight was epic and unforget-table! I had to make difficult decisions and knew it was not easy to beat the pilots who were running for the top places�

Happily, those decisions paid off, and I was able to come in first to goal, winning the day and getting enough points, not only to get in front of Paris, but also—because Dustin came in about 22 minutes later—to jump to first place overall!

HERE WE ARE AT AMERICus, the end of the 2012 Rally! The prize giving was simple, but really nice, at a restaurant next to the hotels where we stayed. Despite the couple of no-competition days and the extra bit of driving, pilots seemed to have enjoyed the event, which made the organizers happy.

The effort made to put on these comps is remarkable. The organizers are creating an important opportunity for us to boost our sport and give a lot of Americans who do not compete outside the country the opportunity to enjoy flying with some of the best pilots in the world. This allows them to learn, improve and even climb in the world ranking, which also elevates the ranking of the US. The fact that these two meets were FAI sanc-tioned (Category 2), with an interesting number and quality of participants, means the world-ranking points awarded for participating in them is higher; therefore, international pilots find these comps attractive and worthwhile to attend. I hope this will be the case again next year. Congratulations and thanks to everyone!

For more details, visit the blog: http://flytecraceandrally�wordpress�com/


make distances. “A good XC pilot executes good planning, proper prepa-ration, and has the discipline to get to the hill with ample time to make maximum use of the day’s conditions. You can’t have obligations later in the day. You can’t worry about water and food in the air.”

WHENSo, given that I like problem solv-ing and that I’m willing to be more organized, what pilot skills should I be focusing on? When in my pilot progres-sion can I expect to start scoring triple figures?

“Once pilots become proficient at thermaling,” says Galli, “the only thing holding them back from flying 100 km is themselves. I remember thermaling for hours over my favorite sites when I first started. I could climb as well as the next pilot, yet everyone else would leave launch and have huge flights. It wasn’t until I realized that XC flying is a faith-based activity that I started flying 100 km on a regular basis.”

Galli believes that the right encour-agement helps, too. “I was fortunate in having amazingly talented pilots in the local community like Bill Belcourt and Todd Bibler to encourage me. They’d always say, ‘You just gotta believe that

the next climb is going to be there for you.’ Or, ‘The answer is always deeper down the course line.’ Once I stopped worrying about the uncontrollable aspects, things started clicking nicely for me, and with a conscious goal of staying in the air as long as I could, I started having really great XC flights.”

O’Neill remembers the support of other pilots spurring him on to his first-ever big XC flights, too. “I had been flying for two years when I flew my first season with the NorCal XC League. The opportunity to fly with more experienced pilots on tasks that exceeded my wildest aspirations was in-valuable. I was a P3 flying a DHV 1/2. The last event of the season in 2006 was a weekend in the Owens Valley. I flew two consecutive flights that added up to 191 km.”

But he cautions that as well as thermaling skills and a supportive com-munity, you need proficiency in other pilot skills. “Once a pilot is confident in his ability to land in unfamiliar terri-tory and has the experience to evaluate changing weather conditions, he is ready to leave the nest.”

Belcourt has been XC-ing for so long his first 100km was sometime back in the ‘90s, and the details of the flight are now lost to the mists of his memory, but he still relies on the

same motivation that drove him to his first 100km flight. “Back then, I was simply willing to try, and now, I just keep trying. When you do that, the rest takes care of itself and the miles start coming easier.”

WHAT At my site, the big distance flyers are all on EN-D gliders, which I always assumed was crucially important. Not the least because it gives me the perfect excuse, as I watch them fly away over the horizon from the bail-out LZ, to curse my crumpled EN-B glider at my feet.

“Long flights were done on far worse gliders than any we have now,” Belcourt says, the first to shrug off my excuses. “So, of course, doing 100km on an EN-A/B is easily doable. Look on XC-Contest at some of the flights being done and the gliders they are being done on; it’s truly inspiring.”

Galli joins the chorus: “Don’t limit yourself; ‘I’ll fly XC when I get my EN-C wing’ is pure cop-out. Being comfortable and in control of your wing is much more important than a point or two of glide ratio.”

“Having a high performance wing helps you sample more air when look-


local knowledge has helped O’Neill. “The best places for me to achieve the 100km flights have been regional and national competitions. The retrieve systems and expert weather evalu-ations provide the opportunity and confidence to achieve flights I hadn’t thought possible. The NorCal XC league is an excellent example of how aspiring XC pilots can progress and emulate more experienced pilots.”

The collaborative approach has other advantages. “Every route has a set of transitions to overcome that keeps the flight connected,” explains Galli, “so take note of how other pilots approach the same problem, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how well you can take that knowledge and apply it to your own flying style. You’ll then be able to compare notes and learn much more from the flight. Plus, you’ll be happy to have that collective knowl-edge later on when you start trying new lines for longer XC.”

He also warns, “Trying to pioneer a new 100km route on your own will take an enormous number of attempts.”

I picture these sky gods sitting on launch for weeks, smelling the air, wait-ing for that perfect day, but Belcourt is far more down-to-earth. “None of us travels the globe at a moment’s notice to chase big flying days like they do in surfing. We chase the big days at our local sites. We don’t want to miss them because we get so few big days, but we know that we get many more moderate days in which 100 km is possible.”

“You don’t have to fly far to have a great XC flight,” suggests O’Neill.

“Every flight is preparation for a future XC. At my local site, the wind and thermal activity evolve during the

day, so I need to change the location and style of flying to fit the conditions. Scratching for hours on this site has taught me lessons that have provided low saves and additional XC miles”

WHY?Already my modest attempts at dis-tance flying have left me with an itch I want to scratch. Is that why these guys strive to break records, or is it the ele-ment of competition that pushes them to fly farther?

“There are only a few flights during which I’ve felt every decision was maxi-mized. It’s those rare moments that I chase and everything else is secondary,” says Galli.

“There’s some satisfaction that comes from a retrieve ride that takes longer than the flight, fuelled only by nature, your optimism, and skill,” says O’Neill.

“I’ve been flying various aircraft for over 40 years, and paragliding is the closest I’ve come to being a soaring raptor. To see, smell, and feel the world on a 100km flight is a sensation like few other experiences.”

Belcourt also isn’t driven by compe-tition or records. “Flying long distances is an adventure, and you don’t ever know exactly how it is going to turn out. It tests your commitment, problem solving, and imagination. Camaraderie trumps competition, but the reality is you will never be satisfied with your XC flights for long. They open your mind to new possibilities, and you will always want to do more.”

“There’s nothing better,” concludes Galli, “than a rusty pickup truck pulling up next to you with a farmer asking if you’re OK or need a ride. It’s at those moments you can honestly ask the question, ‘What town am I in?’ It doesn’t get much better than that.”

http://www.flymorningside.com


NON-SANCTIONED COMPETITION

PG jANuARY 6-12 Valle de Bravo, Mexico. 10th Monarca Paragliding Open. FAI Paragliding Competition paradise. Well-known organization and prize money. Entry is $265 until December and $295 after. $12 pick up at Mexico City Int. Airport. More Info: Alas del Hombre, 726-262-6382 [email protected], or www.monarcaopen.com.

FLY-INS

PG NOVEMbER 16-19 Oaxaca, Mexico. Club de Vuelo Libre Alebrijes Voladores de Oaxa-ca, proudly invites the International paragliding community to participate in the FAI-2 FLYOAX 2012. This will be the 10th edition for this com-petition. Come and fly one of the best XC sites in Mexico. We are working to offer you a wonderful event. If you have any question or suggestions, don’t hesitate to contact us. We hope to see you around. More information: Salvador Lara, +5219 9511294116, [email protected].

CLINICS & TOURS

NOVEMbER 2-6 Owens Valley, CA. Fly one of the best sites in the US with one of the best pilots in the world. Kari Castle is a bi-wingual pilot and a 3-time world champion, world record holder with multiple national champion titles under both of her wings. Let Kari’s 30 years of flying and 23 years of living/flying the Owens Valley, be your guide! I will help customize your 3-4 day adventure to fit your needs whether you want one on one or a group set-ting. We will work on everything from take offs to landings, high altitude launches, dust devil aware-ness, reading the sky, how to map a thermal, goal setting and cross country. For more information contact: [email protected], or 760-920-0748, or sign up at www.karicastle.com

NOVEMbER 3-5 Sebring, Florida. Sebring SIV: over-the-water safety maneuvers training at a world-class SIV location. All pilots progress at their own pace. Asymmetrical collapses, frontals, b-stalls, full stalls, spins, spirals, asymmetrical spirals. David Prentice, with 20 years of experi-ence, will guide you every step of the way. More info: David Prentice, 505-720-5436, or [email protected].

CALENDAR ITEMS will not be listed if only tenta-tive. 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

CLINICS & ToURS will not be listed if only tentative. Please include exact information (event, date, con-tact name and phone number). Items should be re-ceived no later than six weeks prior. For more com-plete information on the Clinics & Tours listed, see our Calendar of Events at: www.USHPA.AERo

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES - The rate for classified advertising is $10.00 for 25 words and $1.00 per word after 25. MINIMUM AD CHARGE $10.00. AD DEADLINES: All ad copy, instructions, changes, additions & cancellations must be re-ceived in writing 2 months preceding the cover date, i.e. September 15th is the deadline for the No-vember issue. ALL CLASSIFIEDS ARE PREPAID. If paying by check, please include the following with your payment: name, address, phone, category, how many months you want the ad to run and the classified ad. Please make checks payable to USH-PA, P.O. Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330. If paying with credit card, you may email the previous 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 fly-ing for the first time. Annual inspections on para-gliders should include sailcloth strength tests. Sim-ply performing a porosity check isn’t sufficient. Some gliders pass porosity yet have very weak sail-cloth.

If in doubt, many hang gliding and paragliding busi-nesses will be happy to give an objective opinion on the condition of equipment you bring them to inspect. BUYERS SHoULD SELECT EQUIPMENT THAT IS APPRoPRIATE FoR THEIR SKILL LEV-EL oR RATING. NEw PILoTS SHoULD SEEK PRo-FESSIoNAL INSTRUCTIoN FRoM A USHPA CER-TIFIED INSTRUCToR.

NOVEMbER 6-22 Iquique, Chile. We take you to South America to fly over the driest desert in the world—the Atacama. This is our fifth consecu-tive trip to what many pilots consider to be the best place to fly on the planet, and more consistent than any other flying location. Iquique offers pilots of all levels plenty of XC miles and endless thermal-ing days. Year after year our guests beat their per-sonal distance and airtime records. With us you get to fly with Jarek Wieczorek, multilingual para-gliding guide, XC specialist and site pioneer with unsurpassed knowledge of the desert. Our top-notch logistics, stunning locations, in-depth local knowledge, deluxe off-road trucks, and gorgeous beachfront accommodation will make your flying experience in Chile unforgettable. More informa-tion: Jarek Wieczorek 303-800-6340 [email protected], or http://www.antofaya.com.

NOVEMbER 9-11 Santa Barbara, California. Instructor 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. Visit www.paragliding.com, or call 805-968-0980 for more information.

NOVEMbER 9-11 & 12-14 Yelapa, Mexico. SIV / maneuvers clinics in beautiful tropical Ye-lapa. Tow up and land from the beach in a warm friendly location with lots of great places to stay. Brad Gunnuscio world class xc, acro pilot and In-structor of the Year will be teaching these cours-es. February dates tba. Cost: $750 for the three-day course. More information: www.ascensolibre.com or [email protected] 801-707- 0508, or Les in Yelapa 011 52 322 209 5174.

NOVEMbER 9-27 Iquique, Chile. Where can you ride thermals every day of the year? Only in Iquique! Soar endless sand ridges high above the Pacific Ocean until you are tired, thirsty, and hun-gry, then land on the beach next to our 4-star ho-tel! Your guides, Luis and Todd, have been mul-tiple Iquique XC competition champions and have pioneered many new sites and XC routes over the years. Join them on a paragliding trip of a lifetime where most pilots collect more airtime and pilot skills in one week than they normally would in an entire year! With over 18 years of combined guid-ing experience in Iquique, they guarantee you will fly every day, or get money back! More details at: www.paraglidingtrips.com.

NOVEMbER 9-27 Iquique, Chile. Four tours: Nov. 9-14, Nov. 14-19, Nov. 9/19, and Nov. 19-27. The most flying hours per day of any site I have ever heard of or experienced. Please go to our web site for details. More information: Ken Hudonjor-gensen, 801-572-3414 [email protected], or twocanfly.com.

NOVEMbER 12-13 Santa Barbara, California. Tandem Paragliding Clinic with Rob Sporrer of Eagle Paragliding. Classroom and practical training at our world-class training hill. Visit www.paragliding.com, or call 805-968-0980 for more information.

CALENDAR

http://www.flytec.com

http://hanglide.com

http://minigliders.com


FLY AwAY HANG GLIDING - Learn Year-round on Santa Barbara’s World Class Training Hill, Lessons, Glider Shuttle, Tandems, Sales, Service, 20 Years Experience, 805-403-8487, www.flyawayhanggliding.com

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

MISSIoN SoARING CENTER LLC - Largest hang gliding center in the West! Our deluxe retail shop showcases the latest equipment: Wills Wing, Moyes, AIR, High Energy, Flytec, Aeros, Northwing, Hero wide angle video camera. A.I.R. Atos rigid wings- demo the VQ-45’ span, 85 Lbs! Parts in stock. We stock new and used equipment. Trade-ins welcome. Complete lesson program. Best training park in the west, located just south of the San Francisco Bay Area. Pitman Hydraulic Winch System for Hang 1s and above. Launch and landing clinics for Hang 3s and Hang 4s. Wills Wing Falcons of all sizes and custom training harnesses. 1116 Wrigley Way, Milpitas, CA 95035. 408-262-1055, Fax 408-262-1388, [email protected], Mission Soaring Center LLC, leading the way since 1973. www.hang-gliding.com

ToRREY PINES GLIDERPoRT - NEw NEw NEw - we have been working hard to bring you more! Let’s start with the LIVE music and off the charts BBQ festivities happening every Saturday during the summer months. For all you snow birds, call us this winter for details on our domestic and international thermaling clinic/tours we are now offering. Speed Flying your thing? Come test fly our new mini wings from Little Cloud. USHPA certified instruction for ALL ratings including Tandem and Instructor Clinics, SIV and PPG. We have expanded product lines to include Triple 7, Little Cloud, Aircross, SkyWalk, Niviuk, Ozone, UP, Plussmax Helmets, Paratech, Independence, Crispi Boots, Black Hawk Paramotors, GatorZ, FlyMaster, GoPro, Flytec, Ki2Fly, Sup Air, Dudek, MacPara, Woody Valley, Maillon Rapide, and much more! Our full service shop offers reserve repacks, annual glider inspections, repairs and more. We also carry an extensive certified used invemtory of gliders and harnesses. Check us out at flytorrey.com or give us a call 858-452-9858.

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

COLORADO

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

FLORIDA

FLoRIDA RIDGE AERoTow PARK - 18265 E State Road 80, Clewiston, Florida 863-805-0440, www.thefloridaridge.com.

GRAYBIRD AIRSPoRTS — Paraglider & hang glider 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 mountain training center to Orlando. Two training hills, novice mountain launch, aerotowing, great accommodations. hanglide.com, 877-HANGLIDE, 877-426-4543.

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

QUEST AIR HANG GLIDING - We offer the best instruction, friendliest staff, beautiful grounds with swimming pool, private lake and clubhouse, lodging, plus soaring in our super-famous, soft, Sunshine State thermals. Come fly with us! 352- 429- 0213, Groveland, FL, www.questairhanggliding.com

wALLABY RANCH – The original Aerotow flight park. Best tandem instruction worldwide,7-days a week , 6 tugs, and equipment rental. Call:1-800-WALLABY wallaby.com 1805 Deen Still Road, Disney Area FL 33897

GEORGIA

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

HAWAII

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

INDIANA

CLoUD 9 SPoRT AVIATIoN - See Cloud 9 in Michigan

CLASSIFIEDFLEX WINGS

A GREAT SELECTIoN oF HG&PG GLIDERS (ss, ds, pg) -HARNESSES (trainer, cocoon, pod) -PARACHUTES (hg&pg) -WHEELS (new & used). Phone for latest inventory 262-473-8800, www.hanggliding.com

HARNESSES

FLY CENTER oF GRAVITY—CG-1000 The most affordable single line suspension harness available. Individually designed for a precise fit. Fly in comfort. More info: www.flycenterofgravity.com, [email protected], 315-256-1522

SCHOOLS & INSTRUCTORS

ALABAMA

LooKoUT MoUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK - The best facilities, largest inventory, camping, swimming, volleyball, more. Wide range of accommodations. hanglide.com, 877-HANGLIDE, 877-426-4543, hanglide.com.

ALASkA

AK PARAMoToR - Paragliding & Paramotor School. Year-round: USHPA+USPPA certifica-tion. Novice, Refresher, Training, Equipment. Frank Sihler 907-841-7468 www.USAparaglid-ing.com

ARkANSAS

RIVER VALLEY PARAGLIDING - Year-round paragliding and paramotoring school on the Arkansas/Oklahoma state line in Fort Smith. More information: www.RvPPG.com

CALIFORNIA

AIRJUNKIES PARAGLIDING - Year-round excellent instruction, Southern California & Baja. Powered paragliding, 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 instruction, excellent mountain and ridge sites. www.flysantabarbara.com, 805-968-0980

FLY ABoVE ALL - Year-round instruction in beautiful Santa Barbara! USHPA Novice through Advanced certification. Thermaling to competition training. Visit www.flyaboveall.com 805-965-3733.


HANG GLIDING

PARAGLIDINGRTNG NAME STATE RATING oFFICIAL

P-1 Brandon Blair WA John KraskeP-1 Jennifer Kaatz WA John KraskeP-1 Maya Kilmer WA Rob SporrerP-1 Travis Potter WA Jon MalmbergP-1 David Woods OR Samuel CrockerP-1 Thomas Portwood WA Marc ChiricoP-1 Lory Lybeck WA Marc ChiricoP-1 Leah Van Kirk AK Denise Reed

P-1 William Dancil AK Douglas StroopP-1 Nikki Huntington WA Denise ReedP-1 Rebecca Seyferth WA Douglas StroopP-1 Ryan Smith AK Scott AmyP-1 Chien (ken) Dinh CA Wallace AndersonP-1 Georgiy Buyanovskiy CA Jesse MeyerP-1 Joost Wienese CA Jesse Meyer

RTNG NAME STATE RATING oFFICIAL RTNG NAME STATE RATING oFFICIAL RTNG NAME STATE RATING oFFICIAL

H-1 Jeffrey Hemrich OR John MatylonekH-1 Matthew Boynton WA John MatylonekH-1 Augusto Olivares NV Zac MajorsH-1 Toney Carden NV William DydoH-1 Janica Lee CA David YountH-1 Serhiy Kotsan CA George HamiltonH-1 Greg Smith CA William DydoH-1 Virginia Braco-gomez CA David YountH-1 Kelsey Pearson CA Matthew TaberH-1 Scott Blake CA John HeineyH-1 Mark Selner CA Dan DeweeseH-1 Carl Surom CA John HeineyH-1 Charles Bether CA Rob MckenzieH-1 Daniel Zehr CA Lynden Vazquez-tompkinsH-1 Caitlin Benti CA Lynden Vazquez-tompkinsH-1 Chris Calandro CA Greg DewolfH-1 Russell Babb UT Steven PrepostH-1 Kimberly Croy CO Mark WindsheimerH-1 Casey Schaefer MT Jeff ShapiroH-1 Jason Wrennick IN Peter BerneyH-1 Therese Bredemus MN Andy TorringtonH-1 Brian Rothblum IL Paul MazzoniH-1 Michael Lucas WI Rik BouwmeesterH-1 Max Kotchouro MA Louis Di ValentinH-1 Dana Thomson MA Edward GermainH-1 Matthew Hahn OH John AldenH-1 Robert Hylton OH Gordon CayceH-1 Steven Kochaniec PA Edward GermainH-1 Eric Dohner PA Randy GroveH-1 Felix Cantesanu MD Adam ElchinH-1 Anthony Lloyd MD Douglas JohnsonH-1 Eric Lloyd MD Douglas JohnsonH-1 Beau Buck NC Andy TorringtonH-1 Mayon Hight FL Karl AllmendingerH-1 Ron Hunt AL Daniel ZinkH-1 Kevin Obrien TX Gregg LudwigH-1 Tracy Bucek Pinney TX Gregg LudwigH-1 Tim Lewis NY Rick BrownH-1 Eliezer Posner NY Greg DewolfH-1 Tim Tate NY Greg BlackH-1 Hilde Breie John HeineyH-1 Vernon Oakley John HeineyH-2 Jeffrey Hemrich OR John MatylonekH-2 Matthew Boynton WA John MatylonekH-2 Augusto Olivares NV Zac MajorsH-2 Josh Laufer CA Eric MeibosH-2 Yunsuk (yuni) Kim CA Harold JohnsonH-2 Charles (marty) Allen CA Eric HinrichsH-2 Serhiy Kotsan CA George HamiltonH-2 Kelsey Pearson CA Matthew TaberH-2 Scott Blake CA John HeineyH-2 Charles (cruser) Putnam HI Gregory PutnamH-2 Mark Selner CA Dan DeweeseH-2 Carl Surom CA John HeineyH-2 Charles Bether CA Rob Mckenzie

H-2 Casey Schaefer MT Jeff ShapiroH-2 Daniel Rickert MI Lisa CollettiH-2 Jason Wrennick IN Peter BerneyH-2 Michael Lucas WI Rik BouwmeesterH-2 Waichak Luk CT Bryon EstesH-2 Matthew Hahn OH John AldenH-2 Melissa Glass VA Steve WendtH-2 Jeffrey Douglas VA Steve WendtH-2 Joshua Mazzoni PA Edward GermainH-2 Robert Hylton OH Gordon CayceH-2 Felix Cantesanu MD Adam ElchinH-2 Alex Brewer NC Edward GermainH-2 Theodore Hurley NC Thomas (tj) BaumannH-2 Ron Hunt AL Daniel ZinkH-2 Kevin Obrien TX Gregg LudwigH-2 Tracy Bucek Pinney TX Gregg LudwigH-2 Tim Lewis NY Rick BrownH-2 Hilde Breie John HeineyH-2 Vernon Oakley John HeineyH-3 Michael Stott CA Harold JohnsonH-3 Augusto Olivares NV Zac MajorsH-3 Peter Seliga CA Eric HinrichsH-3 Michael Bastan CA Fred BallardH-3 Darrell Stanley UT Shadd HeastonH-3 Doyle Johnson MN Steve WendtH-3 Ted Piehl IN Daniel ZinkH-3 Jaime Perry GA Daniel ZinkH-3 Theresa Perry GA Daniel ZinkH-3 Ricky Furby MS Daniel ZinkH-3 Martin Apopot TX Sam KellnerH-3 W Michael Ford TX Gregg LudwigH-4 Augusto Olivares NV Zac MajorsH-4 Pete Craig CO Mel GlantzH-4 Bob Filipchuk CO Jon ThompsonH-4 Yuriy Koziy NY Greg Black

P-1 Nicholas Grandy CA Jesse MeyerP-1 Kevin Ullmann CA Klaus SchlueterP-1 Christopher Darza CA Mitchell NearyP-1 Michael Wasserman CA Jeffrey GreenbaumP-1 Michael Rich CA Philip RussmanP-1 Christiane Paney CA Rob SporrerP-1 Jean Thierry Aupetit CA Rob SporrerP-1 Alex Layne CA Jeffrey GreenbaumP-1 Ronald Tarbell CA Max MarienP-1 David Sacher CA Rob SporrerP-1 Cindy Scheall CA Rob SporrerP-1 Dmitry Kondratenko CA Max MarienP-1 Leonel Barradas CA Jerome DaoustP-1 Sean Mehen CA Jerome DaoustP-1 Max Paustian NM Charles (chuck) WoodsP-1 Jerry Patton CO Kay TauscherP-1 Chad Knowles CO Alejandro PalmazP-1 Jesus Garza NM T Lee KortschP-1 Mike Packard UT Shane DenherderP-1 Gregory Du Bois AZ Rob SporrerP-1 John King CO Granger BanksP-1 Jennifer Schoellerman UT Shane DenherderP-1 Lee Wyckoff UT Mark GaskillP-1 Joseph Gray AZ Tanner PattyP-1 Todd Bement UT Ken HudonjorgensenP-1 Brian Brockman AZ Chandler PapasP-1 Victoria Gairing AZ Chandler PapasP-1 Clay Geittmann WY Josh RiggsP-1 Byron Leisek MT Shane DenherderP-1 Nick Johnson ID Justin BoerP-1 Adam Millhouse WY Jason BruniP-1 Samuel Mann WY Scott HarrisP-1 Joe Luger MT Andy MacraeP-1 Zack Black MT Andy MacraeP-1 Chris Dellabianca WY Jason BruniP-1 Patrick Mcdermott WY David RobinsonP-1 Bradley Guss ID Matthew BeechinorP-1 Daniel Kemp NE Jason BruniP-1 Kevin Suellentrop KS Granger BanksP-1 Matt Knight OK Tom MorrisP-1 Cesar Esparza IL Jaro KrupaP-1 Peter Krupa IL Jaro KrupaP-1 Amanda Snidarich MN Steve RotiP-1 Samuel Danielson SD Max MarienP-1 Robert Durant MN Andy MacraeP-1 Gregory Allen VT Rick SharpP-1 Adam Haggerty CT Jonathan JefferiesP-1 Ray Jennings ME Jonathan JefferiesP-1 Elaine Hom Hersh MA Heath WoodsP-1 Sammi Hersh MA Heath WoodsP-1 Peter Friedrichs PA Terry BonoP-1 Austin Kasserman VA Rob SporrerP-1 Gerald (jamie) Higgins Ii VA Jonathan JefferiesP-1 David Kasserman OH Rob SporrerP-1 Derek Mazur PR Justin Boer

RATINGS ISSUED IN JULY

Photo by Chris Gibisch

http://www.superflyinc.com

hang gliding & paragliding vol42/iss11 nov 2012

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