hang gliding & paragliding vol42/iss12 dec 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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COPYRIGHT Copyright (c) 2012 United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc., All Rights Reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission of the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, Inc.

Martin Palmaz, [email protected]

Nick Greece, [email protected]

Greg Gillam, Art Director [email protected]

C.J. Sturtevant, Copy Editor [email protected]

Terry Rank, Advertising [email protected]

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, Spiral over launch in Turkey at the Hang Gliding European Championships.

MEANWHILE, Turkey. Photos by Antoine Boisselier.

EDITOR

BRIEFINGS

CENTERFOLD

CALENDAR

CLASSIFIED

RATINGS

USHPA STORE

ON GLIDE

USHPA in Action

First Altitude � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � by C�J� Sturtevant

FEATURE | Terminal Gravity

Ölüdeniz, Turkey � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � by Christina Ammon

FEATURE | The Return to Hang Gliding

Some Things Take Time � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �by Rich Jesuruga

FEATURE | Blazing Saddles

The Race for 200 � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � by James Johnston

FEATURE | Fly High Rock

Historic Site � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � by John Bishop

FEATURE | The Sleeping Bear

America the Beautiful � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �by Edward Lyon

Wings & Things

Summer of Love � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � �by Andy Pag

HANG GLIDING FINISHING SCHOOL XI

Learning to Soar � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � by Dennis Pagen

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2012

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int

http://www.ushgf.org


a 90° turn before! What if my glider doesn’t know how to turn? It took me almost three months to train it to land decently. How can you expect us to do a turn—no, THREE turns—properly, on our very first attempt?? But with Chuck acting like it’s no big deal, and with George having already logged several successful Barr flights, I kept my mouth shut and nodded, thinking,

OK, I can do this, it’s no big deal…Up on launch George and I set up

the Dove. Pointing out the landmarks in the LZ far below us, Chuck nodded encouragingly as I spelled out my flight plan and the landing setup. I donned my knee-hanger harness, checked everything carefully, clipped in and carried my Dove up to the cliff launch.

“Keep the nose down, run like hell, and

as you take that last step at the edge of the cliff, pull yourself through the control bar,” Chuck reminded me. I repeated this launch litany to myself several times as I waited for the wind to

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ABOVE C.J. (the shortest one) and the rest of the US Women’s Hang Gliding Team in Greece, 2000, where Kari Castle (the tallest one) took the gold and the US team placed third.

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15HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

come in straight, and felt the butterfly population of my stomach increasing at an alarming rate.

Finally everything looked just right. I leveled my wings, held the nose down, ran like hell and as I stepped off the cliff, I pulled myself through the bar. I was airborne!! It was totally awesome! The snow-covered Cascades rose to the east, the river glinted out ahead on the north border of the pasture, the trees were far below me, the LZ appeared big enough to land an airplane in.

For the first time, I moved my hands from the downtubes to the base-tube—that felt different! I glided over the flag, checked wind direction, made that turn—not too difficult! Another turn, then one more and I was on final. Flare NOW! Oh, no, my hands were still on the basetube! I had a perfect three-point landing: two wheels and my belly. “Any landing you can walk away from is a good one,” my fighter-pilot father used to say, and the folks in the LZ were quick to offer hugs and congratulations, letting me know right from that very first high flight that we all celebrate each other’s personal triumphs and milestones.

“...and done a hundred thingsYou have not dreamed of.”*

G eorge and I have logged several thousand flights in the three decades since that first one at

Barr, at almost 250 sites around the world, but some things haven’t changed. Everywhere we’ve flown, pilots are like family, celebrating with us our shared love of flying. And every time I step up onto an unfamiliar launch, the butter-fly population of my stomach starts to increase at an alarming rate…

*From the poem “High Flight” by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

http://hangglideuniversity.us

http://thermaltracker.com


TERMINAL GRAVITYFlying Gets Heavy in Ölüdeniz, Turkey

by Christina Ammon

http://www.flymaster-usa.com


stared down at the 3000-foot drops, but was only afraid of flying.

We unloaded from the van and post-holed through snow another 10 minutes to launch, finally arriving at an exposed ridge overlooking the ragged shorelines and the town of Fathiye, slightly inland.

I crouched on a rock and watched the windsock flop with indecision. A woman with a bouncy ponytail, let’s call her Ms. Carefree, was setting up her wing with gusto. Everyone was in high spirits.

I longed for that sort of confidence, which had eroded over the year with a couple of close calls and too much time spent earth-bound. I missed the days when I felt intrepid and certain when it came to flying new sites, when there was no mystery to pulling up my wing. I was firmly in control. Now I loitered in the back of the line-up, rubbing my sweaty palms and pulling

those jittery tiptoe-y launches that characterize nervous pilots.

The wind came in strong off the Mediterranean. I sat on my wing and braced against it, staying separate from the group, most of whom were now unpacking and taking off one-by-one. Soon, I was there alone.

Maybe this was the wrong sport for me. When I took up paragliding, my family was shocked: The spacey girl who puts milk in the cupboard and cereal in the fridge is going to start PARAGLIDING?!

The sun traced across the sky over Babadag while I allowed old stories to circulate in my head. How in fifth grade Kenny Hanshew told me I ran like a chicken. Or the time I scored in the wrong hoop during a high-school basketball game. Nevertheless, I stuck with the game because my college counselor said it would look good on my college applications.

But up there on launch there was no one: no teacher with a red pen, no admissions officer, no worried parents, no taunting school mates—just me, waiting on launch the same way I waited out high-school basketball games on the bench…

… which was maybe how it was supposed to be, because if I were a natural at anything, it was sitting and thinking. I was Dostoyevsky’s Man of Thought–not a Man of Action—and had scored many more points in English class than I ever did in an ath-letic pursuit. The over-thinking that was great for my writing was clearly bad for paragliding.

My instructor, Kevin Lee, once told me a way to stop these emotional spins was to get objective. He recom-mended that we write a contract that defined our flying parameters. Mine looked something like this:

I will not launch in over 15 mph


wind�I will not fly after drinking�I will not fly rowdy mountain sites

after 2:00 pm�I will not fly when emotional�I took the next shuttle down

Babadag Mountain. It seemed like the smart thing to do. To have a long flying career, one is wise not to get greedy. My conservative nature meant that I’d miss out on some of the good stuff, but hopefully I’d also miss out on a trip to the hospital.

I thought of the Iliad and the Odyssey� Aeolus, Keeper of the Winds, bags up all the dangerous winds and leaves Ulysses the gift of a gentle west wind to blow him safely home. All would have gone well if the crew hadn’t been greedy and ripped open the bag. They let out the gusts, and the ship was blown back out to sea.

So many times I’ve been wise with my decision not to launch. I’d often find out later that pilots were landing backwards, nearly hitting trees and power lines. It made me smug. Of course, if you rarely launch, it’s bound to be the right decision some of the time.

“A stopped watch is right twice a day,” my boyfriend reminded me.

I rode down from launch feeling defeated. Maybe the contract I really needed to write was about when I will fly:

I will fly when the conditions are near perfect�

I will fly when everyone else has launched and is clearly having safe and fantastic flights�

I will fly when I’m at one of the most stunning paragliding sites in the world!

JusT WHEN ÖLüdENIz was ready for the season’s tourists to arrive, a fierce sandstorm blew in. Shacks tumbled down, signs were blown away and palm fronds floated in our hotel pool. The workers had to rebuild again. They swept sand off the green lawns

and reassembled the bamboo beach bars.

After the storm cleared, we went back up to launch. The winds were calm, but now clouds drifted past, covering the landing zone. Everyone took off—except me.

I caught glimpses of the ocean between the clouds. I needed to go soon, or it would be socked in. It was now, or never. The pressure mounted and my thoughts turned macabre. I felt right then as if I’d been diagnosed with a terminal illness. As if a doctor had just told me that my odds of survival were slim, perhaps only a one-in-two chance of living.

How did I ever think paragliding was fun?!?!

Another round of pilots arrived on launch, just as I was setting up. I kept my wing in a rosette to keep from get-ting plucked, but my hands trembled. Soon, a guy came over to try to rescue me.

Which reminded me of something I’d once read about people with ter-minal illnesses. Women who were too over-coddled during treatment didn’t fare as well as men. The teddy bears and pink ribbons had an infantilizing effect, rendering women less pro-active in their own treatment. Women asked fewer questions and became more reliant on others.

I’ve felt this happen occasionally on launch. When a well-meaning pilot—often, but not always, a guy—walks up and, without asking, starts tightening my leg straps, adjusting my harness, and sorting my lines, I feel suddenly childlike. It is the exact op-posite of what I need, which is to draw on the more independent, steely, and traditionally masculine side of myself.

Mr. Helper grabbed my risers, accidentally flipped the wing, and

LEFT A pilot comes in to land on the beach in Ölüdeniz. This beach is often ranked among the top five beaches in the world | photo by Christina Ammon.

http://www.kittyhawkkites.com


smashed the leading edge of my glider on the pavers three times.

The gap in the clouds was quickly closing. The time was now. I grabbed my risers from him, lifted the wing, and was plucked neatly into the sky.

“This is going to be one of the best flights of your life!” I heard someone

yell behind me as I steered towards a space in the clouds.

And it was: not because it was the highest, or the farthest, or because of the unreal color of the Mediterranean. It was because I was back in the game.

I landed in the white sands and just sat there elated for a moment. I felt

like Ulysses back from the Odyssey, conqueror of a clumsy childhood, a victorious bookworm—survivor of terminal illness!

Just then Ms. Carefree walked up to me with her bouncy ponytail.

“Wanna go up again?” The van idled nearby.

I balled up my glider, and we were off.

P ostscript: I later discovered 10 one-inch rips along the cells of my glider, caused by Mr.

Helper’s kind-hearted attempt to help. Go easy on those nylon inserts on the leading edge of some of the newer wings! The other lesson I learned: If the conditions are such that you can’t handle your glider by yourself, it’s probably best to leave it in the bag until things calm down.

Contact Christina Ammon at [email protected]

http://www.letsgogliding.com


Hang GlidingThe Return toby Rich Jesuroga


T he wind was cycling in just barely enough to allow a safe takeoff. I was clipped in to a bor-rowed Wills Wing Falcon II, an easy enough

glider to launch in light wind. But on this launch at 11,200 feet above sea level, I wanted a little more velocity than what I was seeing. I was visibly nervous, pulling my gloves and my chinstrap tight for the umpteenth time as I waited for the right cycle.

My first flight off Crested Butte was back in 1977. I had lived there for part of the summer in 1980, flying nearly every day that conditions allowed. But this was different. This was one of my first mountain flights after coming back to hang gliding after a very long lay-off.

With my Hang 4 reinstated, I had enlisted the as-sistance of a local site guide to help me fly off the rock that I’d first flown off three decades earlier. The con-cept of a “site guide” was novel to me. In the 1970s, with 52 peaks above 14,000 feet, we were pioneering new flying sites in Colorado like kids in a candy store. Everyone was a site guide back then.

But this was different. Hang gliding has become more technical since then, almost professional in an unusual kind of way, than the sport I left so long ago.

Suddenly the telltales down below started to point up the hill. The windsock to my left that had been showing a cross wind was starting to point straight in. Within 10 seconds the wind had picked up to some-thing that I felt comfortable with, at least as comfort-able as I could be at that moment. My heart pounded as I lifted the glider to feel the wind. I held it there for a moment. After several more seconds I yelled,

“CLEAR!” (we never used to do that, either) and ran off launch. Within an instant the wing lifted cleanly, the familiar sound of the wind and the adrenaline rush you get when launching that I’d come to know so long ago was back. It was magnificent, really, mag-nificent to be back.

Learning to FlyLearning to fly hang gliders in 1976 was very different from learning today. Back then it took five days on the training hill tearing holes in your jeans, breaking half a dozen downtubes and using up a box of gauze bandage to get a Hang 2. But the incredible thrill of that first real flight high above the hillside on an old Electra Flyer Sunflower with a flapping sail is a memory I still have 36 years later.

As Kent Trimble put it so eloquently, “The beauty and simplicity of hang glid-ing is the direct relationship with the elements around you, to see the awesome spectacle of nature, feeling wind in your face with the subtle sounds of the sail and whisper of wind in the wires as sensations of flight� Your senses dictate the control necessary to sustain flight� After time and experience you and the wing function in harmony to explore the separate reality of accomplishing the desire to fly�” While he penned those words in 1974, the same applies today to both hang gliding and paragliding.

I bought my first wing, an Electra Flyer Cirrus III, in 1976. With its 10 plastic battens and leading-edge deflexors, it weighed 39 pounds in the bag. While

OPPOsITE Rich Jesuroga flying one of his last flights before leaving the sport on a Wills Wing Sport over Telluride ABOVE Rich Jesuroga on his first mountain flight at Crested Butte after returning to hang gliding on a borrowed Wills Wing Falcon II. Photos by Susan Jesuroga


sional instructors are much smarter and far safer than we were decades ago. This is also a tribute to those who produce educational and safety material, like Dennis Pagen and others.

There are many turns and detours along the path of our flying career, and there are just as many reasons why free-flight pilots drop out of flying. Some return, some don’t, others can’t. After all these years it’s easy to see that the reason I returned to flight goes back to those keenly expressed words by Kent Trimble that I’ve quoted above, and repeat here: “The beauty and simplicity of hang gliding is the direct relationship with the elements around you, to see the awesome spectacle of nature, feeling wind in your face with the subtle sounds of the sail and whisper of wind in the wires as sensa-tions of flight� Your senses dictate the control necessary to sustain flight� After time and experience you and the wing function in harmony to explore the separate reality of accomplishing the desire to fly�”

The author would like to thank Mark Windsheimer for his helpful input for this article. You can contact Rich Jesuroga at: [email protected].

The Road BackHealing can take a while. Sometimes too long. Once hang gliding is in you, though, it never really leaves. In 2007 I contacted Mark Windsheimer at Airtime Above Hang Gliding and made arrangements to get back into flying. I met up with Greg Berger in Prescott, Arizona, for scooter-tow lessons (it was still winter in Colorado) and after four days there I came back home and ordered a Wills Wing U2 and harness from Mark. A couple of radios, a helmet and a vario rounded out my gear. More importantly, my enthusi-asm was reaching a crest just as it had decades ago. I was as giddy as a schoolgirl.

Much has changed in hang gliding since I left in the early 1990s. Hang gliders perform better and land easier than before. Better airfoils with appro-priate control-bar rake and an effective VG system have made flying fun again. Wheels on basetubes are common, and I can’t help but wonder what difference wheels would have made for Harry in 1989.

More to my surprise was how much more knowl-edgeable pilots are today. Hang gliding instruction and student proficiency testing has vastly improved over time. Pilots coming out of schools with profes-


W hile the Rocky Mountains of the United States have been long recognized as the birthplace of hang gliding, these same

mountains have occupied an isolated and often unno-ticed role in the history of paragliding. Generally lacking the grassy slopes and cable-car access of Europe or the consistent tropical-zone conditions of Mexico or Brazil, the central Rockies—where launch sites often start above 8000 feet and high-alpine deserts often create dramatic thermals in excess of 1500fpm, sufficient to tumble hang gliders and break sail planes—have long had a reputation of being “too strong for paragliding.” With the exception

BLAZING SADDLESby James “Kiwi” Johnston

THE WILD WEST SHOOT-OUTFOR THE USA’S FIRST

200-MILE FOOT-LAUNCH PARAGLIDING FLIGHT


by James “Kiwi” Johnston

OPPOsITE Jon Hunt flies into the deep | photo by Nick Greece. ABOVE Nick Greece, Matt Beechinor, Nate Scales, and Bill Belcourt in Sun Valley at the end of the season. Photo by Josh Cohn.

of pilots who partici-pated in the Red Bull events in Aspen in the late ‘90s or who take part in the daily circus at the Point of the Mountain in Salt Lake City, many pilots in the rest of the flying world have avoided the Rockies. The flatland flying of Texas and Lake Chelan, Washington, seems to grab most of the international interest and attention.

For many years, American pilots have suffered from an inferiority complex, believing they have to travel to Europe or South America for the chance to fly good cross-country conditions. In the first decade of the sport, an exodus to Europe each spring of top American competition pilots—Todd Bibler, Dave Bridges, Josh Cohn, Othar Lawrence, Bill Belcourt and Scotty Marion,

to name a few—helped accelerate the learning process of American paragliding. However, throughout the ‘90s, the number of top European pilots who bothered to compete in US events could be counted on one hand—Urs Hari, Rob Whittal, Richard Gallon, and Andy Heddiger being the most notable. And even though they returned to Europe with tales of dramatic altitude gains and unlimited potential for XC flights, relatively few European pilots have explored this dramatic mountain chain that runs (roughly) between Telluride, Colorado, and Golden, British Columbia, a distance greater than the breadth of Europe itself. The central Rockies of Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and Colorado have never been considered by “outsiders” to be a world-class paragliding destination.

That all changed in dramatic fashion during the first three weeks of August, 2012, when in the weeks leading up to the third Paragliding World Cup ever held in the Rockies—in Sun Valley, Idaho—a dedicated handful of the USA’s top XC pilots in Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming unleashed an unprecedented salvo of foot-launched flights in a race to break the 200-mile foot-launch barrier in the USA. These flights represent the culmination of more than 20 years of discovery and exploration in these

remote “paraglid-ing back-waters,” which, combined with considerable increases in paraglid-ing technology over the last five years and record-breaking temperatures of an August during which most of the West was choked by forest fires, resulted in some of

the longest flights ever flown in the mountains of the world.

Thanks to the international reach of the Internet, these flights have undoubtedly put this Rocky Mountain Triangle firmly on the world’s flying map. On the right days in July and August, for a pilot with the right combi-nation of skill, preparation, and pure cojones, the Rocky Mountains must now be considered amongst the premier cross-country paragliding venues on the planet.

The opening salvo of this Wild West shoot-out was fired from Sun Valley, Idaho, in late June, when local tandem pilot Matt “Farmer” Beechinor launched from Baldy Mountain’s Christmas Ridge at 11:00 a.m. on a NIVIUK Icepeak 6 and proceeded to fly for eight-and-a-half hours to Anaconda, Montana, some 187 miles (302 km) away, breaking the previous unofficial US foot-launch record of 173.6 miles set in Utah in 2011 by Bill Belcourt and Chris Galli.

Farmer’s flight bettered Nate Scales’s nearly 150-mile flight from Baldy Mountain in 2010 on his beloved Ozone R 10.2—a flight that signaled a new era in US mountain flying and created the realization that a flight of 200 miles was feasible from foot-launch in the Rockies. Local boy Nate is the sole remaining member of the Edel Paragliding team that was based out of Sun Valley in the 1990s and the soul of the now-minute Sun Valley flying scene. Chasing his stated goal of 200 miles on July 31, 2012, Nate launched from Baldy in Sun Valley on his NIVIUK Icepeak 6 and crossed virtually all of the northern Rockies in an eight-and-a-half hour flight that ended near Bozeman, Montana, a tantalizing flight of

MATT BEECHINOR’s TRACk: HTTP://WWW.xCONTEsT.ORg/WORLd/EN/FLIgHTs/dETAIL:FARMER/30.6.2012/17:20

NATE sCALEs’s TRACk LOg: HTTP://WWW.xCONTEsT.ORg/WORLd/EN/FLIgHTs/dETAIL:NATEsCALEs/31.7.2012/17:18


198.2 miles (319 km) flown entirely in the mountains.News of Nate’s flight travelled around the American

flying world faster than lightning, its details being dissected online even while Nate was on his way home, after having caught a lucky return flight in a small plane. The consensus of opinion amongst American pilots was that while the distance itself was impressive, what was even more remarkable was the terrain that Nate (and Beechinor on his earlier flight, which took a similar track) flew over. Unless you have visited the US Rockies, it is hard to comprehend how remote and inhospitable

the mountain wilderness that Nate and “Farmer” flew over really is.

An examination of the Google Earth tracks clearly shows how far from any roads they both were for the ma-jority of their flights. It’s also easy to see the numerous snowy ranges they crossed at altitudes up to 17,900 feet. But Google Earth does not truly reveal the dense forests, the raging, often un-crossable, rivers or the sheer lack of any kind of civilization in these magnificent mountains. Nate launched alone and flew alone, spying only a single sailplane during his entire flight.


In Europe, there is no place nearly as remote as these sparsely populated mountains. And even the Himalayas and Andes often have small villages or groups of houses in every valley, as well as an abundance of foot-trails. Not so in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming, since these wildernesses have been protected by federal or state governments for more than a century and often do not even have dirt logging roads. In the heavily forested areas these pilots crossed alone, the only life below would be grizzly bears, mountain lions, wolves, elk, and—perhaps the most dangerous of all—gigantic

moose that thrive in these natural surroundings. Had either pilot not been able to fly to safety, he would have been in a potentially life-threatening situation just trying to find a road, with no help for miles in any direction. (At two points in his flight, Scales got low and estimates it would have been a good 10 miles to the nearest dirt road.) To say that these flights were “committing” does not do justice to the bravery and belief in their own skills that Farmer and Scales demonstrated. Nate’s remarkable flight is now considered the longest straight-line flight in the mountains in the world on record.

Nate Scales on Matt “Farmer” Beechinor’s flight: “Farmer’s flight totally inspired me. He flew more than 60 miles farther than his previous flight on that day, which made me think we were in for a special summer. If you look at it, Farmer, Nick Greece, Jon Hunt, and I all bettered our previous longest flights by 50 miles or more, and on gliders that are supposedly worse-performers than what we had been flying. I’m waiting for the experts to tell me how that was possible, but all I can assume is we were blessed by an incredible weather pat-tern that created exceptional conditions for us all.”

After Nate’s flight, he declared that “220 miles was possible” and suddenly the possibility of a 200-mile flight in the Rockies this summer had become excruciat-ingly real. Incredibly, Nate would hold the unofficial Rocky Mountain foot-launch record for exactly six days, with news coming out of Utah from Jupiter, Utah, that Chris Galli had flown 199.4 miles on a Gin Boomerang 8.

Galli is a research associate of atmospheric sciences at the University of Utah and the creator of XC Skies. He and Bill Belcourt completed a 174-mile flight from Jupiter in 2011 that had been the unofficial foot-launch record before Matt Beechinor broke it from Sun Valley in the spring. Belcourt has been a mainstay in Rocky Mountain and USA paragliding since the early ‘90s, when he moved to Salt Lake City after having learned to fly in Connecticut from one of the USA’s earliest

LEFT Jon Hunt leaving Fantasy Ridge and heading for the Wind River mountains | photo by Nick Greece.

Had either pilot not been able to fly to safety, he would have been in a po-tentially life-threatening situation just trying to find a road, with no help for miles in any direction.


paragliding personalities, the world-class alpinist John Bouchard, and has long been recognized as one of the most dedicated XC pilots in the country.

Belcourt and Galli combined forces in recent years and had been pushing the Utah and US foot-launch record farther and farther out every year, with Belcourt enthusiastically advocating the possibility of a 200-mile flight in the Rockies. So the news that Galli had reclaimed the Rocky Mountain foot-launch record for Utah came as little surprise to anyone. What was surpris-ing was that Galli hadn’t squeaked out the final half-mile and that the first 200-mile flight in the Rockies was still up for grabs!

Galli’s and Belcourt’s flights were almost over in the first hour, because they were forced to work their way through more than 60 miles of seriously over-developing skies in search of a band of good weather their meteo-rological models predicted lay to the north. Bands of OD’ing clouds caused the pair to become separated soon after launch, and Belcourt was 10 or 15 miles ahead and to the north, when Chris Galli radioed around Evanston, Wyoming, that he was considering spiraling down due to the over-development. Belcourt radioed back that he was sure he could see clearer skies to the north; that encouraging news kept Galli flying, as he picked his way

around the massive darkening clouds. At the 175-mile mark, still 10 or 15 miles ahead and to the north, Belcourt was shaded out by a large cloud street and ended up landing some 10 miles from

the nearest highway. Still on a line farther south, Galli was blessed with

clearer skies where he was flying and kept pushing north and east towards the promise of the Wind River Range. But when he reached South Pass, where the only road crosses the very southern tip of the “Winds,” the winds had switched (typically) to the northwest, and Galli soon found himself fighting a strong headwind. Not having

any of his instruments set for “Distance to Takeoff,” Galli didn’t realize he was within half-a-mile of the 200 mark, so he pushed back out into the wind towards the road in order to avoid a long walk out. (If he had turned downwind away from the road and committed to a walk of a mile or two, he would have easily passed 200 miles.) As he came in to land, Galli flew over a small ranch house from which he heard a series of gunshots. The residents of the ranch were sitting on the porch shoot-ing cans and had no idea Chris was coming in overhead. Shouting, “Hold your fire!” Galli landed in their yard.

While the news of Galli’s and Belcourt’s flight(s) was received with awe and admiration in other Rocky Mountain flying towns, it also poured more fuel on the fire of the rivalry between western regions. This was especially true in the small mountain town of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where the local XC pilots were already eager to reclaim the Wyoming Open Distance record (165 miles) that Chris Galli had snagged, after towing up during the spring in the most southwestern corner of the state—a clear case of “poaching” as far as the Jackson pilots were concerned.

While 100-mile-plus flights had been achieved from Jackson Hole, the location was considered the least likely of the three areas for a 200-mile flight, due to the fact that its main launches at Teton Village and Phillips Ridge face east. And since virtually all XC flights have to begin by crossing the wide mountain valley, it was thought that the relatively late start time required would doom its chances. However, on August 8, only two days after Galli’s and Belcourt’s flights, three truckloads of Jackson Hole pilots drove up the bumpy four-wheel drive track to a local site known as Phillips Ridge.

Phillips Ridge, which sits up behind the small town of Wilson at the base of Teton Pass, is one of those innocuous-looking flying sites that one could easily pass without realizing it has a launch, since it sits a mere 1500 vertical feet off the valley floor and is dominated by the much larger mountains behind it. Its main attribute is its accessibility by road and its protection from the strong westerly winds that often shut down the cable-car-accessed launch on top of the much higher Rendezvous Mountain, thus offering the best chance for a major XC flight on days where strong winds are predicted.

One of the few known hang-glider sites in the valley, Phillips Ridge is renowned for its small, bullet-like thermals which defy gaggles or flat-turns and for the in-credibly small window of opportunity that occurs when a powerful convergence thermal forms just as the wind blows over the back and closes the launch. Also, a rocky and protected canyon behind the launch separates the unassuming ridge from the much larger peaks behind it,

OPPOsITE Jon Hunt climbing up for a big glider

across the Red Desert to I-80 | photo by Nick Greece.


allowing the thermals to briefly come up both sides. All the local paraglider pilots know there is only one,

maybe two, thermals out of Phillips each day, and all have witnessed visiting hang glider pilots spending hours putting their craft together for a five-minute flight to the valley floor, as well as the look of disbelief and confu-sion on their faces when told that this is one of Jackson Hole’s best XC sites. In other words, this is a place of pain and suffering, a site synonymous with lee-side scratching in trashy air and broken thermals while wait-ing for that magic elevator ride out, a ridge that screams

“Locals Only!” and a site that must be coaxed, but is never conquered. It is also worth noting that four out of the five past and present Wyoming record holders—Jon Patterson, Chip Hildebrand, Jon Hunt, and Nick Greece—all live at its base and can walk home from the bomb-out zone.

On the morning of August 8th, Jon Hunt rose at 6:00 a.m., as he does most mornings, and flew three tandems off Rendezvous Mountain at the local Teton Village Ski Resort before noon. (Hunt was one of the first pilots in the JH area in the late 1980s and is one of the original

owners of Jackson Hole Paragliding, the local tandem concession). When the northwesterly wind closed the tandem operation for the day, I met Hunt for a leisurely lunch, before we decided that Phillips would be the call, even though it was already late, and I was fearful that the thick smoke-filled inversion in the valley would make the much lower Phillips Ridge even more difficult than usual.

Hunt called Nick Greece—one of the USA’s top competition pilots as well as the editor of this magazine and Hunt’s neighbor—and the three of us drove halfway up the Teton Pass and then along the bumpy four-wheel drive track to launch, just ahead of two more truckloads of anxious local pilots. The talk that morning was all about Chris Galli’s and Belcourt’s flight, and the fact that the 200-mile cherry was still up for grabs. If there was a sense that this was to be a record- breaking day, it was not obvious, although Nick did say he had taken the time to change his Flytec vario to include the “Distance to Takeoff” field at Belcourt’s insistence.

Half-a-mile from our destination, we came across an injured mountain biker, and, despite the building fear


that it might already be too late to launch, Nick stopped and offered assistance, eventually taking the cyclist with us, so he could drive the truck back down. Spreading out on two small launches between the trees on the ridge, we anxiously pulled out our pod harnesses, down coats, oxygen systems, and wings, as we scrutinized the wind-sock on top of a nearby tower for any signs that the wind had begun blowing over the back, the signal that we would be at risk of launch-ing into the rotor. Time was clearly of the essence; yet there was little indication that the day was particularly worthy, since Chip Hildebrand—who probably has more hours on the “Wilson Faces” than anyone—could be seen turning in light thermals low and out in front on his beloved UP Edge.

Nick Greece launched his Ozone EnZo sometime after 1:30 p.m. and headed out to join Chip thermaling fear-lessly below launch. Just as the windsock on top flipped around and pointed down, Jon Hunt launched, and with the timing that has made him a local legend, flew straight into the house-convergence thermal to the ridge to the left of launch, and Nick quickly turned back to join him. As the two pilots were boosted to 15,500 feet (from the 8000-foot-high launch), Josh Riggs and I launched simultaneously into the building rotor, with Riggs taking a pair of defla-tions, as I slalomed through the trees with leaves reportedly scraping across the bottom of my pod. Riggs managed to scrape up above the ridge and became the only other pilot to successfully climb out, while Chip Hildebrand, the dozen or so other pilots, and I were trapped beneath the artificial inversion for another hour, before a massive whack close to the treetops finally caused me to realize our day was over. I ended up down at the LZ only a mile or so from launch.

Hunt and Greece, meanwhile, had crossed the wide valley with ease and climbed back up to 17,500 feet on the other side, before heading south along the Gros Ventre range with a gathering tailwind. At around the 80-mile mark, just past a chain of 11,000-foot peaks the locals call Fantasy Ridge, the pair were lucky, when a large thundercloud cloud dropped out behind them (Hunt said it was lightly snowing) and pushed them farther along their route. Josh Riggs was caught behind the same cloud and forced to fly away.

A crucial decision of the flight came when they decided to jump back onto a cloud street deep in the remote Wind River Range, rather than follow the local highway. (At one point over some of Wyoming’s tallest and most remote mountains, Hunt radioed to Greece that if they went down, they would be dead. Greece’s reply was, “Don’t look down.”) The pair encountered 12m/s lift in the Winds with cloudbase in excess of 21,000 feet (7000m) and needed to make few turns as they flew south. At around the 140-mile mark, past South Pass at the far end of the mountains—the endpoint of Chris Galli’s flight from Utah—they made the boldest move of

the flight, when Greece convinced Hunt to fly south with him into the psychedelic-looking Red Desert of southern Wyoming. Some 60 miles later, after six-and-a-half hours of flying together, they sighted the massive I-80 interstate through the murk below. While they were edging their way east towards the town of Rawlins, Greece lost Hunt in the smoke and decided to push on in the hopes of at least being able to guide a car back into the desert to find Hunt if he did, in fact, go down. Greece landed 204.6 miles from launch, while a hypoxic Hunt, who somehow thought they had been flying east towards Casper, landed at 200.4 miles.

Their adventure was far from over, however, since Hunt’s telephone had died, and he had failed to activate his new SPOT, causing their chase vehicle (in itself a rarity in Jackson Hole flying) to search for him for hours, before finally giving up somewhere around midnight. Stuck out in the desert on the edge of the Interstate with vehicles blasting by at over 80 miles an hour, the 49-year-old Hunt finally rolled himself up in his glider and spent the night fitfully sleeping amongst the sage brush, before Nick (who describes Hunt as “my mentor and one of the finest pilots in the US”) drove back the next morning and finally found him.

Not wanting to cause any concern before Hunt had been located, Nick told only his main sponsor of his flight that night, but once word was posted on the Internet that an American pilot had flown over 200 miles from foot-launch in the United States, the news spread like wildfire, with one German pilot complaining online that Nick hadn’t posted his track log even before Hunt had been found! Pilots everywhere should be thankful that Nick is a talented photographer who risked flying with several thousand dollars worth of professional equipment, since the images he managed to take rank amongst some of the finest ever taken in our sport and tell much more about their flight than this article could ever hope to.

As remarkable as Nick Greece’s and Jon Hunt’s flights were, they were neither the world foot-launch record of Frank Brown, set in 2007 in Brazil, or the US open-distance record, which Will Gadd holds from a 2002 tow in Texas, so no FAI records will be claimed. Considering the fact that the pair flew nearly a third of their flight over the Red Desert, they themselves will tell you that Nate Scales’s 195-mile flight deserves the title of “the longest mountain flight in the world,” making Nick’s and Jon’s flights something of an asterisk in US paragliding history, only good for bragging rights amongst a small and elite group of Rocky Mountain pilots who are close friends, mostly unknown in the rest of the flying world.

Which, in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is just the way they like it.

TOP Nick Greece on glide over the 200- mile mark.

BOTTOM Gliding into the committing Wind River range.


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Fly High Rockby John Bishop


LocaL piLots, cLubs, and the Free

FLight Foundation renovate a

historic hang gLiding site.

B altimore pilot Glenn Hardy first saw hang gliders take to the air at High Rock, an idyllic site atop a 150-foot cliff capping a ridge of the

Catoctin Mountain range near the border of Maryland and Pennsylvania. After two decades of watching gliders soar above the forests and rich farmland on the valley floor, he finally took up the sport himself at the age of 52. Once he’d earned his rating, he returned to High Rock for his first mountain flight.

But over the intervening eight years, he watched the site go downhill. Mother Nature had washed away the crude stone steps leading to the launch. The road to the LZ had grown impassable even to four-wheel drive vehicles. Pilots migrated to other sites in the region and High Rock—once a thriving hub of hang gliding and a premier cliff-launching site on the East Coast—became

an afterthought for local pilots. The Maryland Hang Gliding Association (MHGA)

and its sister club, the Capital Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (CHGPA), discussed renovating the site, but pilot numbers continued to dwindle.

“I saw that nobody was using the site, and nobody was doing anything about it,” Hardy said. “Finally, after waiting about two years, I figured I’d just do it myself.”

High Rock’s most recent rejuvenation may have started with a single pilot, but it eventually became an all-hands-on-deck effort involving two clubs and critical financial assistance from the Free Flight Foundation. With renovations completed, this venerable site’s caretak-ers have a message for all hang glider pilots: High Rock is back in action.

Every hang gliding or paragliding club has a collec-tion of sites that are doted upon by the local sky tribe. Pilots tend to their rocky launches with shovels and chainsaws, negotiate with local authorities, and foster warm relations with landowners to secure the LZ. Every active flying site is a testament to the effort and persis-

OPPOSITE Spectators on launch at High Rock, Maryland | photo by Dan Tuckwiller. ABOVE Windy launch.


tence of generations of anonymous pilots. But even by these standards, High Rock is in a class

of its own. It is the oldest continuously flown hang glid-ing site in the country and the only true cliff launch in the region.

It was pioneered in the mid-1970s by thrill seek-ers flying homebuilt seated kites without reserves. For decades it has served as a rite of passage for pilots who have demonstrated time and again their devotion to this humble piece of rock. Case in point: When High Rock was shut down after the 9-11 terrorist attacks—the site lies about five miles from Camp David—local pilots

successfully petitioned the government’s security and intelligence apparatus to have it reopened.

“It’s a critical site for the local com-munity,” said CHGPA president David Churchill, H3. Situated a mere 65 miles from Washington, DC, High Rock is

the closest mountain site for pilots in the DC-metro or Baltimore area. It also faces directly NW, a common prevailing-wind direction. “If you get off work early on a Thursday in the summer and get here by six or seven o’clock, you can still have a two-hour flight.”

When the conditions are right, as they often are, an H2 can fly High Rock with an observer, but the site’s technical characteristics require a full wire crew in most

BELOW Stepping into air | photo by Dan Tuckwiller.

OPPOSITE Launch was built on the old foundation of the Observatory, constructed

in 1878 and dismantled in 1943.

conditions. In strong conditions, pilots must launch from the very edge of the cliff, which raises the stakes for even the hardest adrenaline junkie.

“The thing with a cliff launch is that you stand on the edge and you get all the forces balanced, the pitch, the roll, all the things that come into play,” said MHGA president Richard Hays, H4. “My first time, I had tunnel vision. All I remember was that my feet were moving as I ran off the launch. Half a mile off the mountain, I finally came to.”

Yet for all the psychological fear of the cliff launch, pilots who have flown the Rock describe it as remark-ably benign and forgiving. The glider immediately carves through smooth air, rather than being at the mercy of the rotor gods that bedevil any slot launch. Pilots de-scribe a successful launch from High Rock as the closest experience to the childhood dream of flight—one step into the air and you’re off, soaring hundreds of feet above the ground.

Though there’s always a bigger ridge to soar and fatter thermals to conquer in far-flung climes that require a passport, this unassuming and easily accessible site has a lot going for it. You can park your glider a few hundred feet above the launch, fly hands off, balance by shift-ing your weight and watch the sunlight drape down the valley. Pilots carve steep, diving turns, and burn off altitude before riding the lift back above launch.

“When High Rock goes magic, it really goes magic,” said Mark Cavanaugh, H3. “When that valley lifts off, it’s just baby-butt smooth, and you can have a huge amount of fun.”

Nevertheless, the launch at High Rock has suffered its share of abuse. The first ramp was as narrow as a diving board and rotted out after years of use. The subsequent ramp was torched by vandals in the mid-1980s. A gravel-and-stone pad was built and then topped with cement, leaving a sturdy pedestal that serves to this day, albeit covered with graffiti. Several years ago, a series of heavy rainstorms washed out the stone steps to the launch. Ladders and step stools served as stopgap solutions, but the site grew increasingly unsafe, particularly on any windy day worth flying.

In May 2011, Hardy began designing a new staircase to the launch. Shortly into the project, he realized that the job would require substantial time, effort and money. Though he was willing to pay for the renovation out of his own pocket, Hays assured him that the two clubs would pass the hat and help pay for the effort.

Volunteers from both clubs put their effort into full gear. A cement truck was summoned, and volunteers hauled concrete in five-gallon buckets to wooden frames.


The first few steps were poured, finished off, left to dry, and the whole process began again.

A CHGPA member, who is too humble to be named, spearheaded the repairs to the LZ road, coordinat-ing with landowners and supervising contractors, and

pitched in to replace the drainage cul-vert—even crawling through the narrow pipe to inspect the work.

Over the course of two weeks, after three visits from the cement truck, countless man-hours, and 12 yards of concrete, the launch was finally ready for

prime time. The steps were designed for glider pilots—five feet wide, with a 24-inch tread, and a seven-inch riser—ample enough to rest even the largest kite. By

September, the culvert and road at the LZ had been re-paired, making vehicle access possible once again. High Rock had regained a measure of its past glory.

But costs had ballooned. Relief came in the form of a generous grant from the Free Flight Foundation, which donated half of the total cost of High Rock’s renovation.

“The Free Flight Foundation was the biggest contribu-tor to our efforts,” said CHGPA president Churchill.

“The grant from the Free Flight Foundation makes it possible to keep doing this kind of work, to keep these sites maintained, and to make sure that High Rock and other sites in the area remain available for hang and paragliding.”

But Churchill notes that High Rock still faces an un-certain future. Emma Jane Carbaugh, the LZ landowner, has not escaped the economic downturn unscathed.

ABOVE Gavin McClurg flying over Montrois, Haiti.

OPPOSITE Gavin McClurg throwing down in Haiti |

photos by Nick Greece.

ABOVE Pilots get ready to launch at the annual High

Rock Fly-In. OPPOSITE Jesse Yoder launches from the “cube”. Photos by Dan

Tuckwiller.


mph. But ample lift populated the valley and by 5:00 p.m., High Rock had geared up for yet another epic glass-off.

Hardy was enjoying a superlative day at the rock, but the site where he’d first seen foot-launched flight had an-other surprise in store for him. While setting up his ap-proach about 150 feet above the LZ, he hooked a thermal and worked his way back to the launch, and then beyond, until he was soaring 2,000 feet above the mountain.

“It was the first time I ever went to the LZ, caught a thermal and flew back to the mountain,” he said.

“Everybody had a nice long flight.”

Site information for High Rock can be found at: http://www.chgpa.org/

Without droves of pilots and their modest donations, her ability to keep the land available remains in doubt.

The short-term and long-term solutions converge on a simple fact: High Rock needs more pilots. The recent renovations make High Rock a destination for any pilot’s East Coast flying itinerary, and the site’s proximity to Washington, DC is ideal for those with families in tow. Ten-day club memberships to fly High Rock can be purchased via PayPal for $15. CHGPA and MHGA pilots are eager to share this jewel with visitors.

The renaissance has begun. On a Friday afternoon in May 2012, one year after he had first begun designing the new steps, Hardy and a dozen-odd pilots assembled at High Rock.

The conditions were somewhat challenging, with a northwest wind blowing at 15 mph and gusting to 20


The SLEEPING BEARFlying the Most Beautiful Place in America

by Edward Lyon


I n August of 2012, ABC’s Good Morning America ran a contest to determine the most beauti-ful place in America. This highly publicized

national contest was open to all viewers, who selected Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore as the winner. Although many beautiful places in America are beautiful, there is no denying that this section of Lake Michigan is one of the most scenic in the United States. Located on the west side of Michigan, these sand dunes that rise along the edge of Lake Michigan with heights of 300 to 500 feet stretch for more than 50 miles.

What also makes these dunes remarkable is the fact that they are flyable by both paragliders and hang gliders. Sleeping Bear is one of the few national parks allowing both types of gliders. And the process for a permit to fly is simple. It only requires a pilot to show his or her license; at that time a permit valid for one year of flying will be issued.

Local Indian folklore includes the story of a mother bear and her two cubs that were forced into Lake Michigan by a forest fire in the land which is now Wisconsin. The three bears swam and swam, but the two cubs tired and fell behind. The mother bear reached the bluffs along the Michigan shoreline first and lay down to rest. She soon fell asleep and was never awakened, since her cubs drowned and became South and North Manitou Islands. These islands,

located only a few miles offshore, are clearly visible, especially while flying in the Sleeping Bear area.

When the Indians first revealed this legend, a small vegetated dune area on top of the bluff designated the spot where the mother bear had lain down to rest. But the “mother bear” has now been eroded by the same forces that cre-ated the dunes thousands of years ago, wind and sand. And it is this wind that makes the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore paradise for anyone who flies. Pilots today use these winds to soar the dunes for hours. Resort towns of Elberta, Frankfort, Empire, and Glen Arbor are favorite flying sites.

Within the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore are three flying sites: Pyramid Point, Sleeping Bear, and Empire Bluffs.

Pyramid Point, the most northerly dune, is the highest and most challenging. This site is recom-mended for experienced pilots, with assistance being given at both launch and landing by a local flyer who knows the pitfalls. The site is considered to be P3 by local flyers, even though the park will issue a permit to P2s. The issue arises not because of the launch or flying, as this site is no different from the others. The problem is with the landing. For hang gliders, the LZ is behind the dune, where rotors may be encountered.

OPPOsITE Paragliders over Green Point. ABOVE Successful launch at Green Point.


For paragliders, the LZ is the beach, where gnarly winds can occur.

Sleeping Bear, where the Lake Michigan Overlook observation deck is located, is a drive-up launch site and one of the most scenic areas in the national park. During the height of the season, this area attracts hundreds of visitors who are eager to watch the wind-driven wings soaring overhead with such grace and

ease. Flying this area elicits greetings, applause, waves, and similar accolades from enthusiastic crowds.

Empire Bluffs is the most southerly site in the park. Reaching it requires a three-quarter mile, fairly flat hike from the parking lot, but the views are well worth the effort. This site favors a northwesterly wind, so this dune is

flyable when other launch sites are closed due to wind direction.

In addition to the three dune sites in Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore, two other flying sites are located nearby, both south of the park. Arcadia is owned and managed by the Arcadia Dunes: The C.S. Mott Nature Preserve. Arcadia Dunes allows both launch-ing and landing in the preserve. This site requires a

ABOVE Ready to launch RIgHT Hang glider pilot

Dave Whedon with his wife, Karen. OPPOsITE

MIddLE Bob Hassing inflating his wing. BOTTOM

Craig Carlson getting a little help from his wife, Nancy.


rather long hike, especially for hang gliders, so it is not used frequently. Since it is less utilized by flyers, this is the place to fly for those wishing solitude and privacy.

But perhaps the soaring jewel of the entire area is Green Point, owned and managed by the Green Point Flyers Association. This club, started in 1978, cur-rently boasts several hundred members. The charter members in the club had the foresight to purchase a parcel of land on a bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. The site has a launch deck for hang gliders and a sand launch site for paragliders. There is even a small campground for flyers wishing to spend the night or weekend.

Members are friendly, helpful, and willing to assist both pilots who are new to the sport as well as visiting pilots. Need lessons? No problem. Local instructor Bill Fifer is available for both beginning instruction as well as lessons to help pilots brush up on their flying skills. There is a covered pavilion for enjoying sunny Michigan afternoons and a campfire area for cool evenings. Sitting around the campfire at night, one can hear about the adventures and, sometimes, the misadventures of the day’s flying.

No matter which dune you fly, there are several common factors. When the winds are favorable, one can soar for hours at any of the sites. Flights of four, five, and even six hours are frequently recorded, al-though flights in the one-to-two-hour range are more common, most likely due to biological necessities.

Concerned about the landing zone? No worries! The LZ is the beach that runs continuously along the lakeshore. One can land anywhere on the beach, but close to the parking lot is probably most advanta-geous. Even if you bail out and have to walk, an array of friendly beach walkers or sunbathers are always interested in your flying adventures, asking the typical questions: “How long can you stay up? Where did you launch? How can I get trained? How much does a glider cost?” These friendly exchanges are almost worth the extra hike back.

The soaring here is easy and gentle with few bumps, as the wind blowing across Lake Michigan is steady. The sand dunes have a smooth, westerly surface, providing a smooth upward flow of air. The biggest concern is getting blown back over the dune area and ending up in a rotor. This can be avoided by consis-tently checking your ability to penetrate the wind. If you need to use your speed bar to get any penetration, it is best to land and fly another day.

By far the greatest advantage of flying in The Sleeping Bear area is the scenery. What a view!


Some of the highest flights are recorded during this time of year.

W hether you are a beginning pilot or one with years of flying experience, the beauty of

Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore and the surrounding area is sure to leave a lasting impression. Flying along the shoreline of Lake Michigan and surveying the deep blue water which stretches to the horizon is an awesome sight. The majestic sand dunes alone are a marvel. The gently rolling hills behind the dunes dotted with inland lakes and small resort towns only add to the experience. There is little wonder that this area was selected as the most beautiful in America. And, as pilots, we get a perspective unknown to our earthbound friends.

OPPOSITE James Jenks demonstrating big ears. ABOVE Para-waiting.

King Salmon. Charter boats leave the Lake Michigan harbors daily to fish for salmon, which can run up to 30 pounds. In the fall these fish migrate up the small rivers to spawn, creating a fishing bonanza.

Visiting South and North Manitou Islands is a worth-while day’s activity. These uninhabited islands are part of the national park, but day visitors as well as overnight camping are allowed. For the snorkel-ing and scuba enthusiast, the Lakeshore’s Manitou Passage was rated in the top 10 by The 10 Best of Everything National Parks. This National Geographic publication also named the Sleeping Bear Point Trail as the best hike-to view in all of the national parks.

Local pilots fly these dunes year around, but the best soaring conditions are found in late summer and early fall. Winters in Michigan can be brutal, espe-cially when aggravated by a cold wind blowing in off the lake. Storms are often experienced in the spring, making flying ill advised. In early fall, westerly winds blowing across the warmer water create thermals.


they had some mythical flying potency. I was careful not to make eye contact with these sky gods in case they turned me into a sinking stone. And now I was on launch hooked into a Delta myself.

The intimidation vanished as soon as I left the ground. The feel of the wing, after years on the Delta’s little brother, the Rush2, was instantly intuitive. Half an hour into the flight I took a 30% asymmetric deflation, leaned away from it, and—pop!—it came straight out. Easy. This was just like being at home. Except better, faster. And the glide, oh my god, the glide. This thing floats everywhere. On that first flight I made it farther up the valley than I’d ever been. Thankfully, I found a large field to land in because, unused to the endless glide, I overshot my intended touchdown point by a handsome margin.

I couldn’t stop smiling. This was the wing for me. I waited by the side of the road for an hour, trying to hitch home, my unnaturally creepy ear-to-ear smile scaring off any potential rides. I didn’t care. I was in love.

After that first flight, I felt as if I didn’t need to wait for the conditions to turn on. With this wing I could take the risk of launching early and hover-ing around until the thermals started pumping. I was truly free in the sky.

But after a week, the love affair came to a halt. I still regret it. It was all my fault, really, for leaning so hard on bar through turbulent air that I took a frontal collapse. Actually, the problem wasn’t just the collapse. The problem was that it was so unexpected due to my lack of experience flying an EN-C glider that I couldn’t bring myself to fully trust my love again. I tried to patch things up with more flights,

but I became acutely sensitive to any pitching from the wing. Ironically, the Delta is very pitch stable, but with our volatile recent history in the back of my mind, I could never quite relax.

After flying all the wings below I returned to my first love for a few last flights. The Delta felt rock-solid after a month of flying other EN-C wings, and the hesitation I had after our big blow-up had passed. It felt as stable as the Volt or the Factor 2, and the glide still felt distinctively good.

ADVANCE SIGMA 8Next out of the box was the Advance Sigma 8. Advance owners tend to be evangelistic about their wings. The precision of the Swiss craft inspires a cult-like following, and I’ve always been attracted by their signature wing-tips and tasteful colour schemes.

The risers have a scale that helps you calculate your best glide to the next thermal. It’s a sliderule for geeks who want to take McCready theory literally. After the second read of the manual, I gave up trying to understand how to use it. Thankfully, I didn’t need to worry too much about speed, because even at trim, the Sigma is fast. Proper wind-in-the-helmet fast. Push bar and

it goes even faster. It helped, of course, that I was flying right at the top of (but still within) the weight range and that the flip side of that speed meant the glide didn’t feel as boaty as the Delta.

The Sigma does everything perfectly. It turns nicely, thermals faultlessly, gives considered feedback, and did I mention it’s fast? But somehow we never clicked. I felt like John Travolta courting Olivia Newton-John in Greece, before she puts on the leather-effect spandex pants. I couldn’t find any flaws with this completely capable wing, but I couldn’t find the chemistry either. Maybe the size 27 was too small for my 110kg all-up weight; perhaps I would have had more fun with her bigger sister.

NOVA FACTOR 2Next came the Nova Factor 2. The Nova Mentor is a phenomenal wing. Last year, it did for the EN-B class what the Delta did for the EN-C, and in the air the Factor 2 rewarded my expectations. The first thing I noticed was that the colour scheme appeared to have been derived from a ski jacket I had in the mid-1980s. More important, I also noticed the absence of lines, with

LEFT Let’s get it on. Seven brides for one brother. ABOVE Andy Pag flies the Nova Factor 2 over the Applegate valley.

50 HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINEHANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

only seven coming out of each riser. Just as nylon inserts were big last year, next year’s trend may turn out to be a diminishing number of A-lines.

“How do I pull big ears?” I wondered as I hung in the sky, far away from the unread manual, staring longingly at the ground. I grabbed the outside A’s, visu-alizing the disappearance of the whole wing, and pulled. Those are pretty big big-ears, I mused, over the sound of the droning vario. I released and the

tips recovered, eventually. Directional control requires a concerted effort with ears in, but the descent rate is reassur-ingly steady and fast.

Despite the frugality of the lines, the Factor 2 is a really well built wing that is very well behaved in the air. Karl Blust, who was also trying the wings with me, said he preferred how it turned, compared with his own Delta, and I liked how, instead of pitching or rolling, the Factor 2 seemed to vibrate

harmlessly when announcing the onset of ratty air.

Gliding on par with the Summit XC2, supremely solid on bar for cross-country, and comfortable in spiralling or wingovers, it’s a great all-rounder. I clocked up some great distances on this wing and found myself choos-ing it from my burgeoning shoe-rack of gliders more often than any of the other wings, because its comfy feel really helped me make the most of strong conditions. If you’re new to EN-C wings and can live with the Nova colour schemes, then you won’t be disappointed.

Air Design VoltNext came the Volt made by Air Design. “Who?” I asked, unsure why I was even trying this unknown wing. Air Design is a new company headed by a former designer from UP. The Volt is their first EN-C wing, and it’s a treat to fly. It has a reported glide ratio of 10.5:1. The wing is certainly no slouch, but I didn’t really notice it pull-ing away from or above other EN-C wings. What I did notice, however, was how well this wing sniffs out lift. The wing has a tendency to yaw downwind, which means it happily gets sucked into thermals if you let it. It also means that you have to keep a tight rein when you are gliding crosswind, but that’s a small price to pay for a wing that is truly clever.

The risers look as if they’ve been pulled straight off a comp wing, and the convoluted interconnected tension-ing system results in a looser feel when you first touch the bar. But pushing more doesn’t soften it further. There’s also a feature called Brake Shift that

TOP LEFT As soon as you unfurl it on launch you can tell the Trango XC2 is a comp wing. RIGHT Trango XC2 - ENC wing with balls on the risers. MIDDLE LEFT Sigma 8 inflation. RIGHT The Sigma sliderule risers. BOTTOM LEFT The Air Design Volt–not to play with my balls on glide near Woodrat Mountain. RIGHT The Volt–very well behaved on launch


helps turn the glider without diving. It’s not as pronounced as the marketing spiel might suggest, but it does help smooth out the mess when you fall out of a thermal.

Like the Factor 2, the Volt had a stable and reassuring feel, and it didn’t pitch dramatically in turbulence. Reading the air with this wing becomes intuitive very quickly, and even in strong thermals, it’s well behaved and consistent. A pilot used to an EN-B wing will certainly notice the perfor-mance step but won’t have their bump-tolerance sorely tested.

NIVIUk ARTIk 3My next date was with the Artik 3. While the wing was inflating, it reminded me of an R11. The Artik’s wingtips are all over the place, ac-celerating the rest of the wing into the sky, but, as it rises overhead, the wing straightens out like an electrified orangutan. In turbulent air, the tips have a habit of flopping lazily, but this doesn’t seem to impact its speed or glide ratio, making the Niviuk among the best of the wings I flew.

The Artik 3 has the classic “soft

middle” feel, as Rick Ray, our third test pilot, described it. There is a lot of harness rolling as the left and right sides react to the different air. If you aren’t happy flopping from side to side as you try to influence the direction with weight-shift, then this isn’t the wing for you. It quickly highlighted the shortcomings of my ill-fitting and aging harness. But the Artik 3 is a wing that tells you about every movement of the air, helping you make the most of lift, whether you are optimizing your

TESTING. TESTING.I flew these wings with Karl Blust

(engaged to an Ozone Delta for

a year) and Rick Ray (married to

his Niviuk Icepeak since it was

released) at Woodrat Mountain,

Oregon, and Whaleback Mountain,

in northern California. I’ve incorpo-

rated their feedback into my own

observations.

Manufacturers’ stats are avail-

able at www.para2000.org, but

we purposely tested the wings

with a subjective approach rather

than trying to validate or measure

any specifications scientifically.

The weather conditions on the

day we flew the wings also had a

big influence on how we felt about

them, and with so many wings

and so little time to fly them, our

observations were to some degree

influenced by this random factor.

One thing Karl, Rick and I all

agreed on is how good all the

wings were, and how we’d be

happy to commit to any one of

them for a season of flying.

Thanks to Jeff Farrell, Kevin Lee,

Luis Rosenkjer and Rob Sporrer

for their generous support in sup-

plying the wings for us to fly.


place in the core or fighting to stay up in zeros.

What’s best about flying the Artik is the feel of the brakes. They are super light, with long travel right up to the spin point, where they become rock-hard. After a few minutes to get used to this characteristic, a smile started spreading across my face. I playfully threw the wing around from side to side and turned it with effortless and precise control of pitch, roll and yaw. After three hours in the air, my arms still felt fresh and rested. The great han-dling, coupled with a fast glide, made this one of my favorite wings of the summer. I considered proposing.

GRADIENT ASPEN4But in the end, a colorful blonde stole my heart—the Aspen4 from Gradient. It was love at first flight. First time off the hill, I clocked up an epic personal-best distance for the valley. And I did it on a day when everyone else bombed out. What a first date!

Like the Factor 2, the Aspen4 only has two A-lines on each side, and in flight the wingtips are almost as active as the Artik 3’s. Other characteristics that are similar to the Niviuk are the

“soft middle” and the slippery speed. The manufacturer’s specs for top speed and glide ratio are similar for all the gliders I flew over the summer, but the Gradient felt as if it had more speed when it counted—at minimum sink and best glide. This is a subtle differ-ence that has a big effect on everyday flying.

The wing shows you lift by readily turning towards it like the Volt, but there’s nothing anesthetized about the ride. Flying this Gradient is an active pastime. It reveals to you everything the air is doing, talking back in a vari-

LEFT Niviuk Artik 3 with lightweight ribs. BELOW The Nova Factor 2 launches easily despite only having four A-lines | photo by Rob Combs. RIgHT Karl Blust flies the beautiful blonde–Gradient Aspen4.


ety of languages—sometimes yawing you into lift, sometimes rolling you out of it, sometimes pitching you through it. Learning to translate the move-ments takes time in the saddle, but you quickly realize the descriptions are vivid and detailed.

Fly it in soft air, and it steers you towards floating convergence lines, while gliding beautifully. Take off into a trashy sky, and the wing gives as good as it gets. In punchy thermals, I got whipped round rather than kicked out, as though the soft tips were reaching in to grab on to the core. But if you do topple out of the lee side, hold on tight for the ride. Karl and I both had big asymmetric collapses in rowdy air and were surprised they rolled out as fast as they rolled in. It’s not subdued, but, boy, is it fun! Just the mention of the wing’s name and both Karl and I would start giggling like mischievous schoolboys dreaming about a hot cheer-leader. He, too, plans to put an order in with Gradient in time for next season.

So the Gradient was the one I com-mitted to, to have and to hold. But before I parted with the cash, there

were a couple of indiscretions. First, I returned to my first love for a few last flights. The Delta seemed rock solid after a month of flying other EN-C wings, and the hesitation I had from our big blow-up had passed. It felt as solid as the Volt or the Factor 2, and the glide still felt distinctively good. Before the New Year, Ozone plans to release the Delta2, so the resale value of a Delta will probably plummet. It’s hard to imagine how they will improve on it, but it will be interesting to find out.

UP TRANGO XC2My second indiscretion? I guess you could compare it to a fling with a mail-order bride. A last splurge before I settled down. I knew this relationship was mismatched and destined to end after a couple of flights, but the fantasy of it was so appealing I gave it a try anyway. The UP Trango XC2 is a comp wing that miraculously passed EN-C certification. When I flew it, I barely lost ground to the Niviuk Icepeaks when facing a headwind. It handles like a comp wing and, compared with

the other gliders, the brakes on this are so honed they are almost decorative. Weight-shift or speed bar is about all it lets you play with.

It will turn on a wingtip with just weigh-shift if you lean hard enough, but it turns on its own terms. I never felt as if I had the fine control of gliders more traditionally found in the EN-C class. If you want safety in a comp wing, then the Trango XC2 is probably your best option, but if you are after an EN-C wing from UP, take a look at their Summit XC2. While I enjoyed the unprecedented performance, I didn’t like the level of attention the wing demanded. She was too high-maintenance for a scrub like me.

HAPPILY EVER AFTERSo the Gradient and I have been hap-pily flying together for a while now and it’s going well. As with all couples, we have the occasional little spat, and sometimes I might glance at another wing on launch. But nothing beats the feeling of slipping the riser’s ring onto the karabiner’s finger when you’ve found the wing you love.

http://hallwindmeter.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.

CLINICS & TOURS

NOVEMBER 15 - MARCH 31 Valle de Bravo, Mexico. Yep, hang gliding and paragliding daily at the winter flying paradise in central Mexico— Valle de Bravo. Base packages $895 PG, $1195 HG. Sunday to Sunday includes airport trans-portation, lodging, flying transpo and guiding. Getting close to 20 years of providing service. FlyMexico! More information: Jeffrey Hunt, 800-861-7198, [email protected], or http://www.flymexico.com.

dECEMBER 8 - JANuARy 15 Valle de Bravo, Mexico. Fly south this winter at world-renowned Valle de Bravo, with some of the most consistent flying that planet Earth has to offer. Improve your thermal and XC skills under the guidance of Da-vid Prentice, who has 20 years paragliding expe-rience and 11 years guiding in Valle. World-class lodging and logistics. More info: David Prentice, 505-720-5436, or [email protected].

JANuARy 26 - FEBRuARy 3 Roldanillo, Co-lombia. Eagle Paragliding and Paraglide Utah are teaming up to offer 4 weeks of unforgettable flying in Roldanillo, Colombia. This is the world-class site where the Paragliding World Cup will be held just before our tours. These tours are for pilots of all levels. We will be offering coaching on therma-ling, XC flying, tandem XC flying, and will be set-ting race-to-goal tasks daily for those interested. We have been offering tours for over a decade all over the world. Let Rob Sporrer, Brad Gunnuscio, and the rest of our high-caliber staff of instructors support you in achieving your goals for the week. Visit www.paragliding.com, or contact us directly at [email protected], or 805-968-0980.

JANuARy 20-27 Tapalpa, Mexico. P2 pilots will fly a world-class site with 2500’ vertical near Guadalajara. Enjoy four different sites within an hour of hotel: Tapalpa, San Marco, Jocotepec, and Colima. Avoid Valle crowds! Airport pickup, pri-vate hotel room, breakfast, and guiding & coach-ing during six days of flying for $1500. See vid-eos and description at http://parasoftparagliding.com/tapalpa-mexico-trips/, or call 303-494-2820. Or stay both weeks for $2500.

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.

JANuARy 20 - FEBRuARy 17 Columbia. Come explore some of the best flying sites Colombia has to offer. From Medellin to Roldanillo we will fly many of the best-known sites. Improve your thermal and XC skills under the guidance of Da-vid Prentice, who has 20 years paragliding expe-rience including 11 years guiding. World-class lodging and logistics. More info: David Prentice, 505-720-5436, or [email protected].

JANuARy 27 - FEBRuARy 3 Tapalpa, Mexico. P3 pilots will fly a world-class site with 2500’ ver-tical near Guadalajara. Enjoy four different sites within an hour of hotel: Tapalpa, San Marco, Jo-cotepec, and Colima. Avoid Valle crowds! Airport pickup, private hotel room, breakfast, and guiding & coaching during six days of flying for $1500. See videos and description at http://parasoftpara-gliding.com/tapalpa-mexico-trips/ or call 303-494-2820. Or stay both weeks for $2500.

FEBRuARy 3-11 Roldanillo, Colombia. Eagle Paragliding and Paraglide Utah are teaming up to offer 4 weeks of unforgettable flying in Roldanillo, Colombia. This is the world-class site where the Paragliding World Cup will be held just before our tours. These tours are for pilots of all levels. We will be offering coaching on thermaling, XC flying, tandem XC flying, and will be setting race-to-goal tasks daily for those interested. We have been of-fering tours for over a decade all over the world. Let Rob Sporrer, Brad Gunnuscio, and the rest of our high-caliber staff of instructors support you in achieving your goals for the week. Visit www.paragliding.com, or contact us directly at [email protected], or 805-968-0980.

FEBRuARy 15-23 Roldanillo, Colombia. Eagle Paragliding and Paraglide Utah are teaming up to offer 4 weeks of unforgettable flying in Roldanillo, Colombia. This is the world-class site where the Paragliding World Cup will be held just before our tours. These tours are for pilots of all levels. We will be offering coaching on thermaling, XC flying, tandem XC flying, and will be setting race-to-goal tasks daily for those interested. We have been of-fering tours for over a decade all over the world. Let Rob Sporrer, Brad Gunnuscio, and the rest of our high-caliber staff of instructors support you in achieving your goals for the week. Visit www.paragliding.com, or contact us directly at [email protected], or 805-968-0980.

FEBRuARy 23 - MARCH 3 Roldanillo, Colom-bia. Eagle Paragliding and Paraglide Utah are teaming up to offer 4 weeks of unforgettable flying in Roldanillo, Colombia. This is the world-class site where the Paragliding World Cup will be held just before our tours. These tours are for pilots of all levels. We will be offering coaching on therma-ling, XC flying, tandem XC flying, and will be set-ting race-to-goal tasks daily for those interested. We have been offering tours for over a decade all over the world. Let Rob Sporrer, Brad Gunnuscio, and the rest of our high-caliber staff of instructors support you in achieving your goals for the week. Visit www.paragliding.com, or contact us directly at [email protected], or 805-968-0980.

caLendar

http://www.flytec.com

http://hanglide.com

http://minigliders.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

MARYLAND

HIGHLAND AERoSPoRTS - Baltimore and DC’s full-time flight park: tandem instruction, solo aerotows and equipment sales and service. We carry Aeros, Airwave, Flight Design, Moyes, Wills Wing, High Energy Sports, Flytec and more. Two 115-HP Dragonfly tugs. Open fields as far as you can see. Only 1 to 1.5 hours from Rehoboth Beach, Baltimore, Washington DC, Philadelphia. Come Fly with US! 410-634-2700, Fax 410-634-2775, 24038 Race Track Rd, Ridgely, MD 21660, www.aerosports.net, [email protected].

MICHIGAN

CLoUD 9 SPoRT AVIATIoN (hang gliding equipment), North American Soaring (Alatus ultralight sailplane and e-drive systems), Dragon Fly Soaring Club (hang gliding instruction), at Cloud 9 Field, Webberville, MI.More info: (517) 223-8683, [email protected], www.DFSCinc.org.

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

NEW YORK

AAA MoUNTAIN wINGS INC - New location at 77 Hang Glider Rd in Ellenville next to the LZ. We service all brands featuring AEROS and North Wing. 845-647-3377 [email protected], www.mtnwings.com

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

SUSQUEHANNA FLIGHT PARK - Cooperstown New York Serving the North East since 1978. We have the best training hill in New York. Dealers for Wills Wing and others. Trade-ins welcome www.cooperstownhanggliding.com 315-867-8011

NORTH CAROLINA

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

OHIO

CLoUD 9 SPoRT AVIATIoN - See Cloud 9 in Michigan

OREGON

wHAT’S YoUR FLYSTYLE? Paraglidng, Paramotoring, SIV, Towing and more! Plus, great gear is a way of life for us! Shop for gear or schedule your training here. More info: www.theflystyle.com, [email protected], or 503-482-UFLY.

PUERTO RICO

FLY PUERTo RICo wITH TEAM SPIRIT HG! - Flying tours, rentals, tandems, HG and PG classes, H-2 and P-2 intensive Novice courses, full sales. 787-850-0508, [email protected].

TENNESSEE

LooKoUT MoUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK - Just outside Chattanooga. Become a complete pilot -foot launch, aerotow, mountain launch, ridge soar, thermal soar. hanglide.com, 1-877-HANGLIDE, 877-426-4543.

TEXAS

FLYTExAS / JEFF HUNT - training pilots in Central Texas for 25 years. Hangar facilities near Packsaddle Mountain, and Lake LBJ. More info: www.flytexas.com, (512)467-2529

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.


HANG GLIDING PARAGLIDINGRTNG NAME STATE RATING oFFICIAL RTNG NAME STATE RATING oFFICIAL RTNG NAME STATE RATING oFFICIAL

H-1 Stephen Baran WA Dale SandersonH-1 Chad Schultz WA William DydoH-1 Thomas Rudolph CA Patrick DenevanH-1 Holli Kay Foster-eddy CA Eric HinrichsH-1 Adam Cath CA John SimpsonH-1 James Cobey CA Patrick DenevanH-1 Kent Bunn CA Patrick DenevanH-1 Mark Kuehn CA Patrick DenevanH-1 Robert Yawn CA David YountH-1 Steven Ernst CA David YountH-1 Spencer Wood CA Robert BoothH-1 Robert Stanley CA William DydoH-1 David Goto HI Gregg LudwigH-1 Todd Bouton CA Kevin KoonceH-1 Sergey Pavlov CA Lynden Vazquez-tompkinsH-1 Keith Kraemer CA Greg DewolfH-1 Troy Hertzog CA Greg DewolfH-1 David Gilbert UT Steven PrepostH-1 Shiraz Dalal AR Daniel ZinkH-1 Jonathan Gravenstreter MI Tracy TillmanH-1 Aaron Boughton IN Daniel ZinkH-1 Ian Boughton IN Daniel ZinkH-1 Mark Getty NH Edward GermainH-1 Charles Fager V PA John MiddletonH-1 Dana Pasternack FL Mitchell ShipleyH-1 Richard Westmoreland NC Brian LeisenringH-1 Kolbie Gass AL Daniel ZinkH-1 Michael Strickland AL Gordon CayceH-1 Will Strickland AL Gordon CayceH-1 Shawn Friesland NC John HeineyH-1 Osvaldo (bins) Ely TX James TindleH-1 Bohdan Kopystianskyj NY Greg BlackH-1 Sharon Tubbs NY Greg BlackH-1 Adam Teeling NY Justin LamarcheH-1 Roy Pfoh NY Amy RoseboomH-1 Peter Calabria NY Daniel GuidoH-1 Jason Vinci NY Greg BlackH-1 Russell Space NY Bryon EstesH-1 Anthony Kukal NJ H Bruce Weaver IiiH-1 George Nozadze NY Greg BlackH-1 Audrey Morgan NJ Brian LeisenringH-1 Gerald Zolman NJ Jeffrey HuntH-1 Philip Hood NY Gordon CayceH-1 Ralph Schimmenti NY Tony CovelliH-2 Stephen Baran WA Dale SandersonH-2 Anthony Policani WA Dale SandersonH-2 Eric Book CA Eric HinrichsH-2 Thomas La Hue CA Harold Johnson

H-2 David Goto HI Gregg LudwigH-2 Russell Babb UT Steven PrepostH-2 David Gilbert UT Steven PrepostH-2 Shiraz Dalal AR Daniel ZinkH-2 Matt Roben IL Peter BerneyH-2 Joe Bedinghaus IN Edward GermainH-2 Jonathan Gravenstreter MI Tracy TillmanH-2 Aaron Boughton IN Daniel ZinkH-2 Ian Boughton IN Daniel ZinkH-2 Nathan Jacobs NH Edward GermainH-2 Max Falkoff CT Daniel GuidoH-2 Charles Fager V PA John MiddletonH-2 Joshua Young VA Daniel ZinkH-2 Matthew Masters MD Eric MeibosH-2 Aaron Johnson TN Eric MeibosH-2 Dana Pasternack FL Mitchell ShipleyH-2 Kolbie Gass AL Daniel ZinkH-2 Michael Strickland AL Gordon CayceH-2 Will Strickland AL Gordon CayceH-2 Terry (adam) Renwald LA Eric HinrichsH-2 Osvaldo (bins) Ely TX James TindleH-2 Jeffery Bohl TX Robert BoothH-2 Sharon Tubbs NY Greg BlackH-2 Adam Teeling NY Justin LamarcheH-2 Gary Casper NY Daniel GuidoH-2 Daniel Cogan NY Rick BrownH-2 Russell Space NY Bryon EstesH-2 Philip Hood NY Gordon CayceH-2 Ralph Schimmenti NY Tony CovelliH-3 Stephen Baran WA Dale SandersonH-3 Tom Lee WA Jeff BeckH-3 Edwing Flores CA Eric HinrichsH-3 David Goto HI Gregg LudwigH-3 Marshall Robin CA Joe GrebloH-3 Danny Bickel CA Andrew BeemH-3 Jeff Davies CO Rusty WhitleyH-3 Percy Schmidt VA Steve WendtH-3 Dan Lukaszewicz VA Steve WendtH-3 Matthew Philips OH Tracy TillmanH-3 David Fynn NC Jon ThompsonH-3 Michael Hoffman TX Gregg LudwigH-3 Sharon Tubbs NY Greg BlackH-3 Jordan Gianforte NY Tony CovelliH-4 Stephen Baran WA Dale SandersonH-4 David Goto HI Gregg LudwigH-4 Nile Brewer UT Ryan VoightH-4 John Simon MD Paul (sunny) Venesky

P-1 Chad Harnish WA Marc ChiricoP-1 Joe Kaiser AK Jake SchlapferP-1 Ana Kaiser AK Jake SchlapferP-1 Andrey Shedel WA Steven WilsonP-1 Kirk Alkire AK Jeffrey GreenbaumP-1 Robert (rj) Johnson OR Steve RotiP-1 Andri-jonathan (nico) Swan WA Marc ChiricoP-1 Maggie Fleck WA Denise Reed

P-1 Susan Brockway WA Denise ReedP-1 Julie Coulter AK Kevin LeeP-1 Rahul Durve CA Wallace AndersonP-1 Hop Nguyen G CA Wallace AndersonP-1 Muneesh Goomer CA Wallace AndersonP-1 Nilesh Dixit CA Wallace AndersonP-1 Mollie Mason CA Nathan LeeP-1 Blythe Robinson CA Christopher GranthamP-1 Thomas Waclo CA Mitchell NearyP-1 Brian Rigsby CA William DydoP-1 Timothy Stewart CA Mitchell NearyP-1 P Brendan Fritzche CA Patrick EavesP-1 Ben Stewart CA James BurgessP-1 Michael Soultanian CA Marcello DebarrosP-1 David Peterson CA Chris SantacroceP-1 Roland Arsons HI Pete MichelmoreP-1 Jeffrey Johnson HI Robert EdwardsP-1 Jason Lee CA Kyoung Ki HongP-1 David Penalva Aguilar CA Michele McculloughP-1 Roland Herkstroeter CA Jonathan LeggP-1 Gerald Kummer CA Shane DenherderP-1 Debbie Hsieh CA Rob SporrerP-1 Merrill Moses CA Max MarienP-1 Colin Grain CA Max MarienP-1 Adam Duvall CA Christopher GranthamP-1 Andrea Whitfield CA Jonathan LeggP-1 Mel Glantz NM T Lee KortschP-1 W Brent Pace UT Patrick JohnsonP-1 Nile Brewer UT Gary BegleyP-1 Jacob Hildebrand CO Kay TauscherP-1 Liz Pace UT Patrick JohnsonP-1 Patrick Madsen UT Ivo SalomonP-1 Austin Cromer AZ Aaron CromerP-1 Kyle Moses AZ Max MarienP-1 Phil White UT Kevin HintzeP-1 Emilio Dones CO Gregory KelleyP-1 Jeremiah English UT Bill HeanerP-1 Chadd Drott CO Etienne PienaarP-1 Chris Houser UT Stephen Mayer

ratinGs issued in auGust

AirDesign SuSi on the Ahorn in the Zillertal | photo by Peter Habeler

http://www.superflyinc.com

hang gliding & paragliding vol42/iss12 dec 2012

Documents

gliding paragliding

sports of hang gliding

paragliding association

paragliding methods

ushpa advertising policy

copy editor

colorado springs

advertising inquiries