1

CLOUDBUSTER The Newsletter of the Wind Riders Hang Gliding Club, Inc. USHGA Chapter 5 June 2002

From the Editor First of all, I would like to thank the folks who wrote articles for this edition – Bill Buffam, Gerry Donohoe, Shawn MacDuff, and Jim Rooney. Thanks also to Jerry Destremps for graciously allowing us to peer into his inner-self for the Cloudbuster Interview, our first for a paraglider pilot. Maybe this issue should have been subtitled “The Travel Issue”, as we have neat stories from Mexico, Florida, and southern California. I was fortunate enough to be able to join the latter two expeditions, or maybe I should say that I was fortunate that anybody would want to travel with me. Seems I’ve gotten quite a reputation over the last three years as being the person most likely to bring the lousy flying weather in my suitcase. I have no idea how it gets in there, or who puts it there, but there is no doubt that it happens. And for some strange reason, I decided to again make the trip to Florida, this time meeting Bill Buffam and Lenko Kovach at Quest Air. Shawn MacDuff was smart. He saw the weather patterns and decided not to travel to Florida with me anywhere near the state. But in the three days I was there, I did get some flying in. I got to share a ratty thermal with “Tish the Flying Fish”, who proceeded to sum up the flight with the most colorful use of four-letter words that I had ever heard, all with a wonderful Australian accent. I guess she was entitled; after all, she had traveled further than I had for those less-then-stellar conditions. But a couple of sunset tows to 5K provided for some nice sightseeing. And of course, like Doug Rogers said, “Last week was great.” Naturally. I wasn’t there yet. But Shawn had faith in me. We ended up at Marshall Peak in California a few weeks later (see Jim’s and Shawn’s articles), where of course we spent the entire first day kicking rocks and cursing the various windsocks as they all pretty much pointed DOWN the launches. But luckily things turned around and the best day made all that traveling well worth it. I guess this sport is like gambling in a way – those occasional rewards just keep us coming back for more and more, even when we should know better. But speaking of knowing better, I did have a funny experience in the LZ at Marshall during our first flying day there. Shawn and I were waiting to go up the mountain when a “name” pilot from the area called out to me. “You guys fly safe?”, he asked. “All the time”, I naively answered. I guess that wasn’t

quite the response he expected, or he noticed the deer-in-the-headlights look I must have had on my face, so he asked another question. “You guys want to get high?” “Sure, that’s why we’re here!”, I blurted out. Now I realize that I’m getting old, and it’s been quite a few years since my college days, but all-of-a-sudden I started hearing that old Three Dog Night song “Momma Told Me Not To Come” in my head, and Shawn and I realized that we were now experiencing a little bit of culture shock. With a good laugh from us, we respectfully declined the pre-flight party invitation, and still managed to “fly safe” and “get high”, just more in line with the traditional East Coast definition. John Wiseman Editor

Your editor finds a potential new toy while visiting Wallaby Ranch. Look carefully and you can see the drool. Photo by Bill Buffam.

Table of Contents

From the Editor John Wiseman 1 Flying Trip: Kalifornia Style Shawn MacDuff 2 Paragliding Thermal Paradise Gerry Donohoe 4 How to Succeed at XC Without Really Trying

Bill Buffam 5

Strawberry Lemonade Jim Rooney 6 Gadget Guy Talks Flight Toys Bill Buffam 9 Cloudbuster Interview Jerry Destremps,

John Wiseman 10

For Sale 14 Internet Sites of Interest John Wiseman 14 Important Safety Reminders Matthew Graham 15

2

Feature Articles

Flying Trip: Kalifornia Style

By Shawn MacDuff

John Wiseman and I have been planning a HG trip for about a year now. First we talked about Brazil but conflicting reports from various pilots who went there disillusioned us. We then set our sights on Wallaby in early spring but Mother Nature stepped in and ruined that trip. So when John called me and asked me about flying Marshall/Crestline in CA during his business trip, I jumped all over the opportunity. It had been 7 years since I last flew the sites and was looking forward to flying southern California again. I decided to cash in some frequent-flyer mileage and made reservation for 4/18-4/23 along with a glider rental with pilot extraordinaire, Rob McKenzie of High Adventure. Rob has been flying Marshall for over twenty years and has 17,000 + recorded flights. Marshall, 4k MSL, is known for great conditions and is usually flyable 350 days out of the year. I was the first to arrive to CA and decide to head to the LZ (Andy Jackson Airpark) in the rental car. When I got there, I saw a person who looked very familiar. At first, I thought it was someone who I flew with before at Marshall many years ago but it turned out to be our own Jim Rooney from the WRHGC. Jim, sporting a rented Harley all week, also in CA for business, had set up arrangements with Rob to fly during his stay. Since Jim had to work the next few days, he flew the day he arrived and had a nice evening magic flight. I had to pick up John later that evening at the airport and we were scheduled to fly the next 4 days. John and I stopped back at the LZ later on to talk with Rob, Jim and the locals. For the past 21 days, Marshall had been flyable and that day several pilots got to about 8k MSL. The weather looked great for the next few days and John and I looked forward to some serious airtime. Friday turned out to be strong winds and cross. John and I broke the flying streak. We sat in the LZ and even took the rental car to launch (I was afraid to look under the car at the oil pan) only to watch cloud base, at 12k MSL, wiz by fast along the ridge. With the unpredictability of CA weather there was a chance of this pattern sticking around for the rest of the weekend or turning around again like it did days before. We hoped for the latter. On Saturday, John made the customary call to Rob at 8:00AM to check weather and reserve a space on the shuttle. Rob said the winds were expect to be STFI and soarable again. John and I were giddy like a bunch of schoolgirls. We reserved the

12:30PM shuttle but John and I were waiting in the LZ by 9:30AM. We got our gliders and headed to launch. John rented a HUGE (for him) Eagle 164 and I picked a Fusion from Rob’s diverse selection of new and used gliders. At launch, nice crowds of HG and PG pilots were in various stages of set-up with some pilots doing everything possible to “fly safe”. When I got to launch, there were some pilots who were sinking out and others who were getting above launch. I launched and was able to climb above. Lift and sink were both prevalent with the sink cycles more abundant. I was able to gain 2k (6k MSL) and fly awhile before hitting an unrecoverable sink cycle. John, unfortunately, picked this time to launch and was surprised to hear me on the radio telling him I was on approach. He quickly joined a bunch of locals and myself in the LZ. We were a little disappointed in our flights but we quickly caught a ride on the shuttle and flew 1 1/2hrs in really nice evening magic. Life was good again. Sunday turned out to be the day. Judging from the crowd, many others were expecting a great day. Jim, who finished his scheduled work, joined us as well. We all took the midday shuttle to launch and quickly set-up. John wisely decided to change gliders to a smaller SuperSport 143 since having difficulties handling the big Eagle. Jim and I rented the same gliders we flew before. I launched first and was going to relay the conditions to John. Dust devils were present in the LZ area and gusty conditions on top but for the most part it was straight in and smooth. I launched around 2PM to great conditions. After working some lift in front of launch I hit a boomer to the right of launch in a canyon, which took me to 8k MSL. I reported down to John that I thought the air was nice and they should get ready. I spoke too soon. On the way back from Crestline, (located behind Marshall at 5,250’ MSL) I hit some nasty air that took me from 8k to a little over launch (4k MSL) in a matter of minutes. It took a lot to keep the glider flying straight. But, that seemed to be the only hiccup of the day and in no time I was back up around 7-8k. Both John and Jim launched later and John quickly joined the big boys at 7-8k. He easily adapted to the SS and could be seen zipping around the sky and even back to Crestline. Jim, flying without a vario, did a great job as well flying all over the valley and enjoying the INCREDIBLE view that the locals get to enjoy everyday! I decided to land after 3+ hours and both John and I had to fight to get down. The social scene in the LZ was fun while we all broke down. The party scene after flying is almost as crazy as the party scene before flying. We met many people who we either recognized from the USHGA mag or the Internet but didn’t stay too long since John needed to catch a flight to San Jose for his business meeting. We did, however, witness a PG instructor purposely land on the edge of the roof of the small building located in the LZ...very impressive. He then re-launched off the back and fell straight down 20’ to the parking lot, landing on a car…very stupid. Monday morning I called Rob at 8:00AM and he was expecting similar conditions as yesterday with maybe less

3 thermal activity. Jim, myself, and a few locals were the only ones present. On the ride to the top, we learned that a visiting PG pilot went XC the day before and landed short in the canyons. Rescue helicopters searched the night but couldn’t locate him. The pilot was found the next day hanging in the tress but was OK. He was sent to the hospital for observations and believe it or not…he was back on the hill in the afternoon and he even launched right before me!! This guy spends the night hanging in the tree and still manages to fly later that day. If I spend the night in a cheap bar, I can’t be accounted until several days later! Go figure. Rumor was that the rescue was free but the ‘copter ride was about $4,000. Sure puts a dent into the vacation budget. With only a few pilots in the air, there weren’t as many thermal markers as the day before. I launch around 1:30PM and found nothing. After working my way down the mountain and flying over every canyon, searching for any lift, I headed for the LZ and unzipped. Rob told us that if we ever got low to fly over the LZ and you should find a thermal. He was right. At 700’ over the LZ, I found a big but gentle thermal that took me to 6k MSL. Jim saw me climbing out and launched but wasn’t able to stay up. At that time, everybody else was on the ground and I was left alone to find lift. I was able to hangout for 1 1/2hr but each sink cycle became longer and I wasn’t able to stay up. Later, Jim and I went back up again and flew in light evening magic. Monday was my last day to fly but Jim stuck around the next day and had a great flight. In 3 days I was able to nab 7 1/2hrs is really nice air. Sometimes the air at Marshall/Crestline can be difficult to work and very little fun. Our timing was great. Both John and Jim did a nice job of flying “big air” in Southern California. Both guys said they would return for another flying trip. I definitely will. This was my first commercial flight since 9/11 and there have been many safety changes in the airport. Now, only ticketed passengers are allowed to the terminals. Additional security has been added to check photo ID with your ticket. National Guards, armed with automatic rifles, as well as State Police could be seen patrolling the airports. Restaurants no longer serve steel utensils with your food, only plastic. I can remember getting steel utensils in the 1st class section! The Ontario CA Airport had the tightest security. In additional to the security personnel, you had to remove your shoes and place them in the X-Ray machine. (In addition to clean underwear, clean socks would be apt on your list when flying commercial these days). Random searches are conducted on passengers. I saw children and even the elderly, who generally don’t fit the stereotype of a terrorist being pulled from the line and thoroughly searched. Hats, belts, jackets and your carry on luggage were all removed, inspected, turned upside down and swiped with a metal detector. There were both male and female security guards that also did a body pat down while you stood there with your arms spread. Short-term parking located in front of the airport is now barricaded. Only long-term parking is available. While waiting a very long time in the ticket line for my 7:00AM flight home, a man

decided to avoid the long line and head straight to the counter to obtain his confirmed seating while we all impatiently waited. Many people verbally offered his or her opinions on this man’s lack of etiquettes. A man standing in front of me got in a argument with the line jumper and said, “I hope you’re on my flight”. Without hesitation or removing her eyes from the computer screen, the ticket agent pick up a phone and whispered something inaudible. Within seconds, two men walked up to the person in front of me and escorted him away. Not another sound was heard from anybody else in line but it did allow me to be next to the counter! The agony of waking up at 4:00AM to make my flight was somewhat rewarded when I scored a free ticket by taking a “bump”. I learned the technique of bumping from the master himself, Bob Beck. Bob is the king of free tickets via voluntarily offering his seat on full flights. Bob words of advice for free tickets:

1) Get to the airport early and alert airport personnel that you are willing to take a bump. (I think Bob begins by telling the parking attendant when he pulls into the parking lot. Heck, he probably informs the shoe-shine boy)

2) After offering your services to the appropriate

personnel, make sure to stay in constant visual contact with that person to make sure they select you. (I can just picture Bob sitting, impatiently, tapping his feet holding a sign, “I’m Bob, Please Bump Me!”

The free ticket has a shelf life of 1 year in the 48 states and now I must choose where to go next. King Mountain, Idaho? Point of the Mountain, Utah? Ringtown, Pa? (Never mind, I can drive there.) Wherever I choose to go on my next flying trip, I’ll be sure to bring more flying buddies…and wear clean socks.

Shawn walks his Fusion from the set-up area on Marshall Peak to launch. Crestline Ridge (5200 MSL) is directly behind him. Photo by John Wiseman.

4

Paragliding Thermal Paradise

By Gerry Donohoe The trip had two genesis points. Antoine Messiah’s wife Erica was having twin baby boys in March 2002 and I was having a severe flattening of my progress line in becoming a better thermal pilot. The idea was that the week-long guided tour to Valle de Bravo, Mexico would be Antoine’s last big flying hurrah before life as father of twin boys would ground him indefinitely and I would get a max effort jolt of six straight days of super thermal flying while being coached by a couple of America’s great free-flight instructors. Erica thought at first that it was a great idea but then the reality of getting ready for twins settled in and Antoine decided to bail a few weeks before the trip. On the other hand I was committed and with great abandon released my credit card number to the tour coordinator at Super Fly Paragliding Company, operating out of Point of the Mountain, Utah and secured airline tickets with Continental Airlines. Super Fly is in its sixth year of winter trips to Valle (pronounced vayay), which has been the site of numerous hang gliding and paragliding championships because of its consistently excellent flying weather, great food and cheap beer. The Jan-Feb period is the best for sane flying, whereas other months produce out-of-limits thermals and unbearable ground temperatures. I chose Super Fly because I was looking for individual coaching by well-known instructors, and they exceeded my expectations. Our instructors for the 3-10 Feb. trip were Chris Santacroce, Jeff Farrell and Dave Prentice; all immensely talented internationally recognized competition pilots who also possessed very personable communications and teaching skills. We had 14 pilots attending this tour, although Super Fly usually limits the number to 10-12. Pilots came from the full spectrum of experience; some brand-new P2’s with little mountain experience, several powered PG pilots with no foot-launched experience, all the way to European comp pilots. There were several returning pilots, some on their third annual trip. We also had 3 flying couples; 2 married, and one boyfriend/girlfriend. We were all picked up at the airport in Mexico City in 3 new 12-passenger air-conditioned rental vans with the rear seat removed for glider/luggage/ice chest storage. Each van hauled a local driver, instructor, 4 to 5 pilots, and all our gear and beer. It was a very comfortable 2-hour drive to Valle. Our accommodations in Valle were exceptional, the Marina de Santa Maria, which were condo-style hotel rooms on the lakefront. A full service upscale restaurant served the hotel, which also had large swimming pool and spa, where we relaxed after long days of spiraling up to cloudbase. The city is a fascinating vacation destination for wealthy Mexicans; especially those interested in sailing or other water sports on the large manmade lake. A large selection of shops,

restaurants and nighttime entertainment awaits the visitor with time on their hands. We, on the other hand, came to fly and that’s what we did everyday of the trip. Flying for the first 5 days centered on the launch known as El Penon (the pinnacle), which was about a 20 km drive from Valle. We would depart the hotel at 7:30 AM, make a breakfast stop at a roadside cantina, which would serve as the base for our landing, eating, mid-day instruction and equipment adjusting for the next five days. The cantina had an abandoned horseracing track out back, which was kept mowed for our landing pleasure. Enroute to launch our instructors would point out possible landing areas, obstructions, thermalling spots and areas to avoid during our cross-country hops. We would then make the 1600 foot vertical climb to launch, an awesome site which was wide enough for 3 gliders to set up simultaneously. Our P2s would normally fly first, around 9AM, and get some basic turning instruction during their sled to the large, flat, grassy LZ about a 3:1 glide from launch. On our first day a meeting of the more experienced pilots covered flight rules, no-fly zones, altitude requirements for specific routes and goals for the day. Around 10AM an instructor would launch and inevitably find the first stirrings of thermal activity and by 11AM most pilots were in the air searching for the elevators which would normally get you 2-3,000 feet over launch. Cross-country options at El Penon are to go over the back and through a series of valleys or go out in front and cross the valley to the pinnacle, thermal up about 1,000 feet over, cross another tree covered lowland to a cliff outcrop, thermal up again to about 1,500 over and then go over the back and through a series of valleys heading towards our cantina LZ and lunch. Each of the segments of the route were a challenge which some of us made, some didn’t, but the LZ’s were plentiful and drivers were dispatched to retrieve wayward pilots who usually flew in pairs or accompanied by an instructor. I made it over the back on my second flight of the first day, flying with 3 other pilots, following their lead, until we ran out of altitude and it was time to land. They elected to set down in a freshly harvested corn field near the highway, however I saw a soccer field on the edge of a small village, no power lines, no players and I headed towards the flat grassy LZ. At about 100 feet above ground on final approach little kids started swarming onto the field from all sides. They all gathered at exactly the spot I had planned to land. It was a frantic last few seconds as I dodged the kids and safely set down. I was than swamped by the kids who wanted to fold my glider for a few coins. Seems they can figure your glide path and know your intended point of landing and race to be the first picked for the packing job. This event continued throughout the week except for one landing I made in the middle of nowhere. A young cowboy greeted me on horseback who silently stood and watched me while I packed up. I achieved one of my most dreamed about goals on the second day of flying at El Penon by climbing from the 7,600’ MSL launch to cloudbase at 12,800’ MSL. Climb rates were in the range of 1,000 fpm average and I made it all the way to the

5 cantina LZ for a 6.0-mile trip. Strong thermal activity during mid-day kept most pilots on deck and we spent this time at the cantina under umbrella-shaded patio tables, enjoying a wide variety of well prepared, high quality local foods. We also reviewed our morning XC flights with the instructors and discussed options for improving our flights tomorrow. By 3:30 PM we were back on launch enjoying smooth afternoon ridge lift and an occasional sky out and over the back trip. Most pilots were on deck by 7:00PM enjoying the cold beverages and comparing altitude gains and lift rates. We would head back to our hotel for a quick swim & spa and then out to enjoy the sumptuous restaurant offerings. Life was good; we slept like babies. One problem I encountered was really sore neck muscles from so much circling during our constant thermal conditions. I ended up cutting one morning flight short because I couldn’t keep my head up to clear my turns. That afternoon I was able to get a tandem flight with instructor pilot Chris Santacroce, which is something I will never forget. We had cored one thermal over the cliffs past the pinnacle and were climbing at 2,000 fpm, faster than I ever climbed in my helicopter flying days. We almost set down in the Mexican President’s country estate but managed to squeak out a low save only to be greeted by a large dust devil heading towards us and the only make-able LZ in sight. We got down fast and packed up the glider before the column of swirling dirt & dust hit the field. A few minutes later we heard another pilot on the radio throw her reserve when she got whacked low on final. She made an uneventful landing and had a new awareness for mid-day landing conditions in the dry Mexican highlands. The Super Fly team brought several demo gliders and harnesses to test fly and we all were able to try out brand new models by Gin, Firebird, and Ozone. I was lucky to get to fly Santacroces’ Never Say Die comp harness, which forever changed my appreciation for wing-to-pilot feedback and response. Jeff Farrell and Dave Prentice provided in-flight coaching to pilots and helped many add several miles to their cross-country excursions by pointing out thermal hot spots and sink zones and helping pilots maximize their thermal climbs and minimize their altitude loss crossing sink areas. Our last day of flying was at a site called Malinaco, which was about a 3-hour drive from Valle on the opposite side of Mexico City. This was an area of large grassy hillsides, huge farmland valleys and extinct volcanoes. We also could see ancient Aztec ruins on the distant ridge sides. All at this site had great flying, several of us going to cloudbase at 11,000’ MSL. At last it was time to end our nonstop flying and return to cold and wet Pennsylvania and other dismal destinations. Many pilots promised to return next year. We shared our photos of the fun and flying at the following website: http://www.curve.net/pics/Valle2002/ A few months later I was heading to launch at Kirkridge, PA when a fellow pilot got on the radio and with much vigor advised me to get my butt up in the air fast. I launched into a

strong but smooth cycle and within a few turns was temporarily transported back to El Penon. Several minutes later the vario started to quiet down and I found myself 4,000 feet above launch with a view of the Appalachians I had never seen before. I know I never would have made that climb and subsequent flight over the back if I had not made the trip to Valle. The thermalling experience is priceless and was an incredible jumpstart to my fledgling cross-country career.

The launch at Malinaco. Photo by Gerry Donohoe

How to Succeed at XC Without Really Trying

By Bill Buffam The forecast was for 15-25 mph, so it seemed like a Good Plan to get in a quick flight early, before things started getting ugly. The wind was 10-12 on the ground, so I got in line behind Lenko, who was doing an instructional tandem with Bo Hagewood. Bo then realized he had a flat tire on the tandem glider, so he wheeled it aside to make way for me. I towed up in some gnarly air, but once above 1500’ it was silky smooth. Releasing at the Quest-standard 2500’, I decided I’d practice some maneuvers I’d worked on with Paris Williams on the advanced flying course. I held a constant bank and airspeed for a couple of 360s, then took a look around to see where I was. Yikes! The field is a long way away. Better get back there. Hmmmm. I’m not making it. The field is moving up towards the horizon. I’m flying pretty fast too. I pull the VG full tight, get my head down and pull way in. It’s not making any difference. Why is my GPS pointing backwards? (I had it aimed at Quest—just in case.) Could I be flying backwards? What does the GPS say? 9mph. Surely I’m not flying backwards at 9mph? Okay, pull in some more. It’s not working. Okay, we’re going XC. I pick a big field a fair way off, but I reach it in no time. Hmmm. It’s not as big as it looked—there are power lines

6 cutting across diagonally. And there’s a fence north of the power lines. Okay, move north. There’s another fence. And a bunch of obstructions in the middle. Okay, I’ve got it figured out now. There’s plenty of space between the fences, and a plenty big corridor that misses the obstructions. I do a couple of S-turns over the downwind fence and put it on the floor uneventfully in a gusty 15mph flow. I’ve made an unintentional XC of a whopping 2.2 miles. Extracting the data from the flight toys and mashing it with a spreadsheet, I see I spent about 2 minutes flying backwards at an average speed of 6mph. As soon as I decided to go XC, I was covering the ground at 55-60mph. Wind speed must have been 35+. No one else flew. I wonder why. Quest Air, Groveland, FL. 2002-4-8

Lenko (in simulator harness) and Bill (right) get expert instruction from national champion Paris Williams. Photo by John Wiseman

Strawberry Lemonade

By Jim Rooney Every year, work sends me to our annual awards show in Santa Monica CA. While this sounds like a good time, it's actually a pain in the butt. They schedule us on the tightest flying schedule so we're running out to California, working all weekend and then just running back home. Burn me once, shame on you... burn me twice, shame on me. This was my second year and I was determined to turn this lemon of a trip into lemonade. Mistake number one... that flight. If I'm flying 5+ hours to California, I'm getting some sun and fun out of it. So, what would I do with that time off? HELLO JIM, Let's see, I think they might just have some hang gliding in California??? Of course they do. They have so many instructors and sites on the USHGA.org site that I had no clue where to start so I turned to our group for help. I threw a post

up on the Yahoo discussion board. Before I knew it I had a bunch of responses and one guy even re-posted my post on a California board. There was a resounding call to get a hold of Rob McKenzie and fly Marshall in San Bernardino. There was also a lot of "you lucky dog" notes tacked on to each post... little did I know just how lucky. Thank you all for your help! Mistake number two... "I'll figure it out when I get there". Rushing on your vacation is never fun. If you don't explore your options before you leave, you waste valuable vacation time cramming for the test instead of having fun. My co-worker took this path and would pay for it. I wanted to fly, so the first thing I did was call up Rob. He was just as mellow and straightforward as can be. Instead of the usual "here's our flying plans, you should do this or that", he told me about the site and said I should show up and see how things felt. They would have whatever I needed to fly, be it tandem, radio observer or solo. I don't know how to describe it, but you know when you're talking to a guru. I was now very confident that this was going to be a great trip. My next phone call was to book my flight. Mistake number three... rental car. I ride motorcycles so driving around the Santa Monica beach in 70-90 degree weather in a rental car is touchier. This time I would have a bike. I found a company that would not only rent me a Harley, but would pick me up at the airport. I was staying a week, so I got a great rate on the bike to boot (less than a rental car). I also wouldn't be able to do this again since the next time I travel I will have my own flight gear so a motorcycle is out of the question. For now though, it wouldn't matter what gear I flew with. Lastly I booked my hotel in San Bernardino. I picked Motel 6 from the ones listed on Rob's site as it was closest to the LZ. Then I waited out the long weeks until I would leave. By the last week work was a pressure cooker. I needed to have all my ducks in a row before leaving since I would be unavailable for the first day out (hee hee). They were throwing curveballs at me left and right, but I remembered an other lesson from last year... don't ever compromise when it comes to your time off. I had to fight to not change my flight plans. This would wind up being very important. The Thursday of joy finally came. My sole bag, a backpack, was packed and I left for Los Angeles. I don't think I've ever been excited to go to LA. This time would be different. Fortunately I would be arriving early enough to avoid the mind-boggling snarl of traffic that engulfs the LA Freeway system daily. Let me tell you, riding a Harley out in the California valley is something else. Eventually you escape LA and hit open desert highway. Off in all directions are beautiful rugged mountains. I stared of into the distance wondering which peaks I would get to fly... they were all monstrous. Sled rides off these suckers would be worth the trip! If hang gliders experience "Cloud Suck" I think motorcycles experience "Mountain Suck" because I was burning down that highway. With the aid of a good map and directions from Rob's site I

7 wound my way through the foothills to Andy Jackson Airpark. The dusty dirt road up to the LZ belied the custom-built landing field at the end. The LZ was hard to miss. There were a bunch of cars parked outside a large shack/building with a windsock flopping on top. Paragliders were floating on down from the mountaintop. I was met by an uncommonly friendly group of PGs. They joked that they couldn't talk to a hang pilot and welcomed me to California. Reports from the landing pilots were zero wind on launch and "rowdy air" coming down to the LZ. The PGs would wait out the heat of the day. I had a while to wait before Rob was due to show up so I just hung around bs'ing with the PGs. I was just hanging around in the shade of the LZ shack's roof when who should come walking up the steps but Shawn MacDuff. I didn't recognize him at first, but we both had that "hey you look familiar" look on our faces. We had a good laugh when we realized that both our trips were at the same time! Shawn would be picking up John Wiseman from the airport later on too... it was an east coast invasion. Fate had smiled on me once again. Shawn hung around for a bit and gave me some flying tips and a good warning about west coast "Big Air." He had flown the California boomers early in his career and wound up getting in a little over his head. I was glad he was around to temper my enthusiasm; it would pay off later on. Today though I had an appointment with a late-day glass off. Shawn headed out to pick up John and Rob showed up soon afterwards. In fact, right at 4:30. Rob is the epitome of professionalism. He's calm, cool and deliberate... and extremely punctual. Later on, I'd hear him remark that he was running a minute and 1/2 behind schedule. Not your usual twitchy "gotta catch up," but just sort of matter of fact "looks like we're running behind a little." I mean, a minute and 1/2! You can set your clock by this guy. He asked how I felt about the LZ and pointed me to his wife Dianne who would be driving the shuttle up. I had told him that I felt really good about making the approach so Dianne was just going to help me launch. The ride up to launch was a nice windy mountain road. The kind that has lots of scenic overlook stops on it. I think I started drooling as we hit the 3,000 ft (MSL) road marker and just kept on trucking. Conversation in the truck was mainly airtime and experience stuff, an informal interrogation to make sure you were honestly comfortable flying this kind of site. Fortunately Bill Umstattd had exposed me to flying cocoon harnesses at Embreeville and Lizzyville had taught me a lot about tight landing zones. The height of the launch didn't bother me at all... in fact I loved it. No one ever got hurt by hitting air, it's that ground stuff that'll get you. The LZ doesn't have tree lines or power lines to dodge and with this late-day launch dust devils wouldn't be around to muck things up. I was glad that I had fought back at work to keep this schedule. We turned off the road and the big Suburban started earning its keep, lumbering up the dirt path to launch. Launch as you can guess is just plain stunning - a big bump on the mountain with plenty of setup room and NO TREES (WOO HOO!). The view alone brings people up to watch. As I unpacked my

glider, I found out that I'd be flying a brand new Falcon. Ye-haw, I liked that idea. I knew I was flying a Falcon, but that new-car feeling sure felt good. The sail was all stiff and crinkly. The A-frame was shiny and unscratched... I couldn't wait to get in the air. Dianne helped me carefully work my way down the rocky path to launch, gave me a hang check and some last minute pointers then let me call my launch. The big sock was showing a steady 10 mph cycle straight in. The grass below me agreed and traffic was clear, so I gave a "ready, set, clear" and let her rip. Launch was a one-step ticket to elevator-land. YE HAW! The air was smooth and buoyant. I stepped into the harness and settled in for a nice glide down to the LZ. Dianne had warned me not to try soaring the ridge since the finger shaped ridges tend to generate rotors. Even in the Falcon, the LZ was an easy shot. I had tons of time to just float around soaking up the scenery. When it came time to land, I realized that I had forgotten something about single surface gliders... I was stuffing the bar on final for a nice fast landing and realized that I was dropping like a stone. All day I had heard story upon story of people overshooting the LZ and here I was coming up short. I let the bar out and wound up reaching a bit just to make the LZ. All I have to say is thank God for wheels ;) I dusted off my ego and took comfort in having enough sense to schedule a sled-ride intro to a new site. I watched the rest of the PGs and hangs eventually slide down the mountain and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. The next two days would be filled with work. Gotta go pay the bills, so I headed on down the road. Day of the Boomers... Fortunately working on a live TV broadcast goes really fast. It's the old bandage thing, rip it off fast and you won't even feel it. Before I knew it I was thundering back down ole Highway 10 to San Bernardino. My co-worker, the one interested in flying, was really psyched by this time and was dying to go. Unfortunately she failed to plan ahead and missed the boat. By the time she decided to rebook her flight, Rob's dancing card was already full. She had three weeks of me pestering her, so I didn't tear up. I was getting used to the bright California sunshine. The LZ was buzzing with activity. PGs were packing it in talking about rowdy air and asymmetric collapses. Dust devils shot up around the LZ, whipped around for a bit and faded off up the hill. One seemed to sit there and pose for my camera. Oh yeah, we were baking up some boomers today! The shuttle was packed. 4 in front, 4 in back and Dusty hanging out stuffed in back with the gear. When we got to launch, John was already set-up among the myriad of other wings. All were either waiting for a good cycle or waiting for things to calm down a bit. Traffic was everywhere. One guy top landed screaming something about how he had to pee. Oh this was a rip roaring day. Shawn-Specman-MacDuff radioed down from somewhere way the heck up there that it was rowdy as hell. I followed John's lead and decided this was an optimal time for watching the grass grow. I caught Rob before he got set-up to

8 buy one of those mini-varios off him. He searched around a little, but didn't have one on him. Fortunately, Dianne overheard us and produced one from somewhere in the depths of the Suburban. I now had weather reports from Shawn at altitude, John helping me judge launch conditions and the magic vario from Nowheresville. Fate it seems had a big toothy smile for me today. Once John decided it had mellowed enough, I helped him down to launch and played traffic cop while he waited for the right cycle. Once all was clear and the wind was right, he leapt into the air with a "thank you". No sooner than he was in his harness then I was headed back up the hill. I got a hang check and some house thermal tips from one of the locals and he threw me off. I popped up on the ridge lift, stepped into my harness and headed out to the spot the guy had pointed out. The air was bumpy and I was already above launch. Just as soon as I hit my mark on the ridge the Falcon lurched up and my vario screamed SA-WEEEEEEEEEEEEEET. Holy Freakin *@(^$)(!@&*^$)!!!!!!! Wooooo HOOOO!!!!!!! Now I knew why they called them "Boomers". The ground rushed away from me... launch was a distant memory. As fast as it came, it went and I shot out "over the falls". Not satisfied, I yanked a hard 180 and went back for more. That ole bronco was more than happy to dish it out. Boo-yah! Up like a rocket with the bar pulled IN. I zig-zagged my way on up as high as it would take me. I may have just fallen off, who knows, but when things mellowed out I was up above Crestline (1500 over launch). Yee haw, welcome to California! I tangled with a few other broncos that ride, but nothing as massive as that first puppy. After a while I wandered out of the hot zone and wound up sinking out. Fine by me, I was drenched in sweat. I put in a fairly decent landing, downed all the Gatorade I could get my hands on and joined in the post-flight basking in the LZ. Lift was everywhere that day, all that showed up had a good flight. After John and Shawn landed, we headed out to drop John off at the airport and grab some food. They had wound up flying together in the 7-8K range soaring over Crestline. Everyone was pleased as punch. The restaurant we finally found unfortunately did not serve my favorite thirst quencher, pink lemonade, but instead they served strawberry... welcome to California. I was thirsty as hell and those things went down smooth. I must have sucked down 5 or 6 of them. What a day. One more please. Monday was looking like another Sunday. Shawn was already at the LZ by the time I showed up and expectations ran high. Things were popping and Rob's tandem flight was dragging over schedule. He had taken a PG from Alaska up who wanted to learn to thermal better. Apparently she got her wish and learned how to thermal without getting kicked around. When they landed, she commented on how that was the first time she ever searched for sink! All right! Let's get up there! Well, the old man of the sea put a 5k cap on us. Shawn scratched around and made a good flight out of it, but with my meager thermaling skills, I sunk out pretty fast. Oh well, maybe

tomorrow. Packing it in so soon didn't sit well with either of us. Rob had made his last run up the mountain since he had a training hill student for the late day. Just as all hope was drifting away, luck showed up in the form of a PG snooping around for a ride up the mountain. He had a big (enough) roof rack for some carefully placed gliders and no way to retrieve his vehicle. We had a nice retrieval car and no roof rack. Funny how things work out some times. Three happy campers made it (slowly) back up the mountain to enjoy the evening glass off. Payola. Shawn had warned me not to stay in Motel 6 (where he was) with a rented Harley. How lucky I was to have those guys pointing me in the right direction this trip. Instead I was staying at the top of the mountain in Crestline. Clear skies greeted me as I putted down the mountain for my last day of flying. A smoggy haze wafted through the valley below. Each day I tried not to drive off the road while staring at that view. I'm glad there were 2 lanes because I coasted down in neutral every day. It looked like it would be an OK day. I just hoped that I wouldn't end on a sled ride. I had booked a slot on the 1pm shuttle. If there were thermals to be had today, I hoped to find them. Dianne dropped us off and wished us luck. As I learned the day before, I might just need it. With only a few people flying, thermals would be harder to find. When there's a ton of wings in the air, you just headed towards whomever was going up. Today would be different; I was one of the first of only a small group to launch. OK, remembering what I had learned, I watched the cycles and launched when it looked good... nothing. Crap. Even the house thermals were quiet and I was sinking out. As I headed down towards the LZ, praying for lift, I remembered that dust devil back on Sunday that seemed to pose for me. I was heading out over the area it had been. Why not? It's a long shot, but it's that or land. A little turn put me right on track. Come on Sevens! Well wouldn't you know it. Fate dealt me one more hand. I was going to have to work for this one though. I circled and pushed out this time. Grab the lift, but don't get greedy and stall. I was learning. Hugging that core I rode her up. Round and round she goes, where she stops... well, that would be right about at launch. A nice second chance, but I wasn't out of the woods just yet. Time to check the house thermals again. I could see everyone else scratching around too. Then it turned on. The boomers were back and the house was lit. Up I went and others gather below for the ride. It felt so good to mark a thermal. Come on up guys, the air's great! There were more thermals that day and a nice glass-off at the end. I hear it wasn't a spectacular day like Sunday, but man was it a nice capper for my trip. I just couldn't have asked for better. The flying on this trip was the best I've ever seen and the people were so damn friendly. I even learned a ton about Paragliding from some PGs out of Juno Alaska. And what can I say about Rob and Dianne? If you ever have the chance, you have to go fly with them; it just doesn't get any better.

9 Thank you to all that replied to my post and helped me turn some lemons into (strawberry) lemonade. An ugly work trip turned out to be a dream vacation. And a special thanks to Shawn and John for showing me the ropes and keeping me out of trouble.

Shawn MacDuff launches from Marshall Peak, 4000 MSL. Photo by John Wiseman

Gadget Guy Talks Flight Toys

By Bill Buffam

Many of you know me as one of those guys on a glider festooned with expensive gadgets—with even more of them in the flight bag and back at the ranch. There are several implications here. First of course is the inescapable inference that I have considerably more money than sense. Yep, guilty as charged (and I am not, alas, a wealthy man). But on the positive side, I’ve figured out some cool things to do with these flight toys. It occurred to me that some of you may be interested in this kind of cool flight-toy stuff, so I thought I’d start putting together a regular column for the Cloudbuster. So long as I keep getting a steady supply of Round Tuits (6 a year should do it—that amounts to getting a Round Tuit every two months. Ha ha. Get it?) I should be able to keep up. So here’s what I plan to do. For each Cloudbuster I’ll come up with a relatively self-contained column on cool stuff you can do with flight toys. It won’t be too lengthy (well, our esteemed editor will see to that!), and I won’t punish you (too much, anyway) with heavy detail and underlying principles. I’ll just point you at Dennis Pagen and various other references for that. Let me know if you find the columns informative and interesting (or my supply of Round Tuits might run dry), and let me know if there’s anything specific in the world of flight toys that you think would make a good column. Hey, maybe I can get loaner flight toys from the manufacturers to evaluate and write about………. Sorry, got a

little carried away there. Okay (he says, wiping drool from mouth), on with the first column, which is titled Capturing, formatting, displaying and printing a cool barograph. Capturing, formatting, displaying and printing a cool barograph Today’s variometers—flight computers are what they really are—come with an impressive array of features and functions. The more-capable ones record a barograph trace, so that when you’re back home in your armchair, beer in hand, you can relive your flight and see how high you were when. Here’s a typical barograph trace:

Isn’t it cool seeing how you worked those thermals? Damn, you’re good! Okay, so what did it take to produce this trace? Well, there’s a couple of ways to go about it. First of all, you’ll need software provided by the vario manufacturer to download the barograph into your computer. That software will allow you to display the barograph graphically, somewhat like my trace above. The problem is that the software tends to be a bit limiting. Depending on your vario brand, the graphics may be kinda crummy, and there’s not much you can do to smarten up their appearance. From what I can tell, Flytec software does a better job with the PC display than Brauniger. The Brauniger display is pretty lame, which makes it worth the effort to diddle with the spreadsheet. The Ball (now Blue Sky) software does a decent job, but they charge big bucks for it (and its counterpart is free with Brauniger and Flytec). [And as an aside, the software doesn’t seem to be available right now as Blue Sky transitions operations from Ball.] I have no idea what software the Arai Tangent has, but I suspect it’s still in development, because the Web site says it’s “coming soon.” Instead of putting up with a crummy display, Plan B is to export the barograph trace to a file that your spreadsheet program can understand, and then you can use the spreadsheet program to produce a non-ugly trace—like the one above. The particular trace illustrated here is from my Brauniger IQ/Competition GPS. The Brauniger PC software (called PC Graph, which you download from Brauniger’s Web site)

10 downloads the barograph data to your computer. PC Graph, in addition to its basic viewing capabilities, also has an export capability. So what you do is export the flight to produce an ASCII file that you can then open in a spreadsheet program, like Microsoft Excel. From there you can graph the numbers to produce a trace that looks like the one above. Since I’ve already done this, it will save you the labor and aggravation of building the spreadsheet if you use my worked example at http://www.buffam.com/Hanglide/barograph.xls. Just pull down the file, open up your exported barograph file (in Excel), and copy-and-paste the barograph numbers into the indicated area of the barograph.xls spreadsheet. As I said, it takes a higher-than-basic vario to handle this barograph recording. Here’s a list of the varios with the capability: Brauniger: IQ Series—Competition and Competition GPS Flytec: 4020XL, 4030XL Ball: GC2000 (which has become the Blue Sky Pegasus HG) Blue Sky: Pegasus HG Arai design: Tangent Check out the Club Web site (Resources page, Vendors section) for links to these vendors’ sites, where you can look over all the specifications. Now go fly and record some cool barographs! Aeronautics confers beauty and grandeur, combining art and science for those who devote themselves to it… The aeronaut, free in space, sailing in the infinite, loses himself in the immense undulations of nature. He climbs, he rises, he soars, he reigns, he hurtles the proud vault of the azure sky… George Besancon - 1902

Cloudbuster Interview Interviewee – Jerry Destremps Interviewer – John Wiseman Jerry Destremps (P3) is a relatively new WRHGC member, but he’s now a regular fixture at the monthly meetings, and he posts quite frequently on the club’s Yahoo group. Time to find out a little about the guy…

Here’s a photo of Jerry without his helmet on. Some day when Oliver Stone makes the definitive WRHGC movie, maybe he can get Bruce Willis to play Jerry. Photo by Jerry Destremps. CB – So Jerry, tell us a little about yourself – Where are you from originally? JD - Born in Plainfield, NJ in 1961. Moved to Middletown, NJ in 1968. Moved to Hong Kong in 1971. Moved to Belgium in 1974. Moved back to New Jersey in 1979. Joined the Air Force out of High School. Flew 15 missions on an RC-135 as a Chinese Cryptologic Linguist out of Okinawa, Japan. Our aircraft was escorted by many different types of MIGs from Vietnam, China, North Korea and the Soviet Union. I once watched a FoxBat (MIG25) escorting us about 100 ft. off our right wing for 20 minutes. CB - How long have you been in this area? JD - I just moved to Southern Jersey on September 1, 2001, 10 days before 9/11. CB - Did you go to college in the area? JD - I went to college all over the place and I have 120 units but still no bachelor’s degree. CB - What do you do for a living? JD - I’ve been a professional computer programmer since 1986. I work as a contract programmer at NBC10 in Philly. I specialize in Web Application Development. CB - Married? Children? JD - I’m not married, and I have a 3-year-old son who lives with me part-time. CB - What are some of your interests outside of paragliding?

11 JD - Are there other things to do besides paragliding? Oh. I’ll get back to you on that. CB - What got you interested in paragliding? JD - I lived in San Francisco for the last 9 years, and I’ve always wanted to fly. I saw people training at the old Fort Funston training site and took a couple of lessons. I’ll never forget the first 50 ft. flights down to the beach. It was magic. I forgot about it for a few years, and then took two hang gliding lessons in San Jose. I hurt my foot on a hard landing, so got discouraged and stopped again. In 1998, my son was born, and we moved to a house along the Westlake bluffs in Daly City. On a regular basis, we’d see paragliders flying right by our house, about 500 ft out from us, over the beach (about 600 ft. MSL). That’s when I really got the bug, and in the winter of 1998 I signed up for lessons. It took me about a year to get my P2 after that for various reasons. CB - What do your family and friends think about you paragliding? JD - It’s amazing how disinterested some people can be about such a magical thing as flying. I find my friends have more of an interest than my family members. And of course, now many of my friends are people I’ve met through flying. CB - When and where did you make your first high flight? JD - I used to get up to about 1,400 ft AGL at the dumps, but I always wanted to go higher. I flew at Ellenville, NY in October of 2001, but that too was not really a high flight. I would really like to go up beyond 4,000 ft. and I’ve been trying (was at Kirk’s the past two weekends) but no luck so far. We’ll be towing this weekend hopefully in Brownsville. CB - What was your most memorable flight? JD - I’ll mention two. One where I was flying at the dumps and two red-tailed hawks (mates I believe) were flying out in front of me. They grasped talons and began a spinning tumble towards the ground. Suddenly they broke apart and peeled off in climbing arcs up to either side of me. It was thrilling and majestic. CB - What was your scariest or most concerning flying moment? JD - The one where I almost died because of multiple collapses and a spin while close to the ground. Entirely my fault. I never should have launched. It had become too cross and I was trying to get back to the dumps from the stables (north of the dumps a mile or two). I started to sink out close to the hill and turned out to get over the old Hwy 1 ledge. I didn’t make it past the huge rotor, which grabbed my wing and spun me towards the cliff. I really thought I was dead as I spun towards the hard sand face. Somehow I got out of it and was facing out towards the beach again when the same rotor gave me a full-frontal collapse, which recovered nicely and evenly. I then flew over a dead seal (an omen) and landed on the beach.

CB - What are your favorite and least favorite flying sites? Why? JD - Favorite is the dumps because you can float around and pick flowers while you fly, take off and land as much as you want (in the same spot!), travel along the beach, fly at sunset over the ocean, and hang out with a lot of good friends breathing the perfectly clean Pacific Ocean air. Least favorite is Ed Levin. Just never got into the scene there. Lots of regulation, gates, fences, etc. CB - What about other types of flying? Are you interested in rigid wings, hang gliders, sailplanes, or even powered flight vehicles? JD - I’ve taken a couple of sailplane lessons. I still like PG the best. CB - If you could do anything related to your flying career over again, what would it be and why? JD - I wouldn’t have launched that time from the stables. I wouldn’t have learned the brake-switching technique that one of my first instructors taught me. I’ve seen others using it here on the East Coast (where you have to switch brake hands while turning around from a reverse-kiting position) and it can be very dangerous. It’s analogous to having to drive your car with your knees for the first quarter mile of every drive you take. Scotty Marion taught me the same-hand technique, which means you never let go of your brakes. The old technique almost caused me to slam into a culvert on a forward launch once at the Gap near the dumps. I got to the brakes just in time. CB - Do you have any short-term and long-term goals related to flying that you would like to attain? JD - I want to maybe set a cross-country distance record in some class or location. CB - If you could fly any sites throughout the world, where would they be? JD - Turkey, Brazil, Swiss/French Alps, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand. CB - How does paragliding affect your outlook toward daily life? JD - I never feel more alive than when I’m flying. It makes me appreciate life more and it also allows me to experience magic. If there is a God, then I feel closer to God while flying. Conquering fear while flying allows me to see fear and superstitions for what they really are and allows me to deal with other fears in life more effectively. Flying provides me with a passion and excitement in my life that does not seem to wane. If anything it seems to grow. I think I appreciate the risks of flying more and I’m more tuned into them every day. Much of this was triggered by my near miss at the dumps. As I said to a friend after the incident, “I had the dumb-ass knocked out of me!” I hope people can learn from the mistakes of others rather than having to get so close (or worse) themselves.

12 CB – Couldn’t have said it better myself! Thanks for your time and hopefully we can fly together soon.

News and Announcements

Next Club Meeting – Tuesday, June 18th Redwing Airport – Jobstown, NJ

Rain Date – Saturday, June 22nd Come out early in the afternoon and aerotow with the Redwing club. The WRHGC meeting will be held at 7:30 PM outside the hangar at Redwing, not at the Valley Forge firehouse! Stay tuned to the WRHGC website and/or the Yahoo newsgroup for directions or any possible changes. Meeting minutes April 16, 2002 This was one of the new “Anchor” meetings. It was well worth the price of admission. The usual suspects attended the meeting — see Hang Lying for identities. In addition, there were at least seven prospective members in attendance. John & Paul Tiery, interested in HG, got information from Bill Umstattd and left. I didn’t get last names for the other five; Joe (P2), Dave (H2), Adam & Uri form around Trenton interested in PG, and Steve with HG interests. Harper: It may not be news to the rest of you, but Jeff Harper told me during the social hour that he has retired from teaching HG for liability/insurance reasons. Program: The speaker was Gregory K Thompson, Certified Arborist, Owner & President of Pennsylvania Tree Service. He did a great job, complete with handouts. Here are some highlights.

• If you have a choice, pick the widest greenest tree to land in. NOT a conifer because you’re likely to fall out, and NOT a dead tree because the dry branches can stab you.

• Carry a lanyard (and maybe a tree belt) that you can use to attach yourself to the tree immediately. Tie into a crotch in a 3” or wider limb

• After tying in, check carefully for injuries. Adrenaline may be masking pain.

• Call for help if you can • If you or your chase crew has the right equipment,

you can try rappelling out of the tree. • He suggested a list of equipment, available from a

climbing shop or Main Line Mower on RT 30 just

east of Paoli (ballpark cost for the whole thing is about $500 if you go for the median stuff):

o 200’ climbing line at least 8MM diameter (his looked like it was over an inch because thicker is easier to grip). Greg suggests non-static line to avoid unnecessary bouncing around. You’ll be doubling your line, so that lets you anchor the rope as high as 100’

o 200’ lowering line — similar specs — to get an injured pilot or damaged glider out of the tree

o Blocks and straps (at least two) to reduce friction and allow lowering to take place with less effort

o Extra carabiners and a figure eight for rigging and rappelling

o A slick line with a lead sack. This makes slick work of getting your line up into the tree to help get others down.

o A lanyard and a harness to hook it into. Your flying harness could make getting out of the tree more difficult.

Thanks Jeff Shriner SAC: The SAC needs a weed whack. Bill Buffam will call Joe Gorrie and set something up. Elizabethville: A bail out LZ was created for PG pilots last year. The club donated to the cause, but a big chunk of the cost was borne by individual PG pilots. At the time, it was suggested that the club might reimburse these individuals this year. Before the meeting, the exec committee decided it would be right to reimburse those pilots now. However, the amount was in excess of the board’s authority, so the idea was put to a vote. With Gerry Donohoe abstaining because of a conflict of interest, the membership approved reimbursement of the individuals from the treasury. National Fly-in: The USHGA national Fly-in will be held in nearby Ellenville, NY, August 19-25 this year. There may be a contest or two, but nothing that will keep SNYHGPA members from getting a chance to fly too. Party day is scheduled for 8/24/02. Expect some demo gliders to be there too. More detail will follow from USHGA and SNYHGPA later. Lil Georg invited Wind Riders to make her house Wind Riders headquarters for the week. She has a few extra beds, a futon, a large open lot for camping, a real toilet and shower, and a refrigerator full of beer and Woodchuck cider. To make arrangements, call Lil in Downingtown at 610-269-4920 or Ellenville 845-210-1293 or contact her on the web lilgeorg@msn.com. The house is at 8532 Rt. 209 Ellenville, NY 12428, across the street from a red caboose and the horse

13 farm, less than 1000’ south of Hang Glider Road. When she’s in town, there is a Penn State flag flying on the porch. Meeting Minutes May 21, 2002 Ten people showed up for the May meeting… good for a non-anchor meeting One of them was Dirk Alpers. He’s from Germany, living in Chalfont, and looking for instruction. He found us by searching the web. The business meeting started when the bartender asked Matthew Szczepanowski to leave the bar because Matthew hadn’t paid his VFVF Co. dues. We all adjourned to the meeting room to join him. June Anchor Meeting: The June meeting will be an anchor meeting. The speaker will discuss competition flying. Rae Permenter was originally going to be the speaker. But she and Fred have already moved south. Gerry Donohoe will attempt to get Jim Maze or Mitch Shipley to discuss this topic. During the original discussion of this topic it was decided that the meeting would be at the Fire House, But as the meeting was adjourning, Bill Umstattd mentioned that the June meeting had been scheduled for Red Wing Airport (As I recall, there was even a rain date) So, check elsewhere in Cloudbuster for time and place. 501: New site coordinator is needed for 501. Randy Beutler was handling this duty, but he is going to have a cervical disc operation. Wish Randy a speedy recovery. Late word has it that Bob Beck and Shawn MacDuff will sign-on as the coordinators. SAC: No word from the Gorries about a site clean–up date… it’s getting late in the season for weed whackin’. Embreeville: The whole sewer lagoon thing was rehashed. Since Jeff Harper is no longer teaching, Bill Umstattd will take over coordination of our fight to save the sight. 50/50: Matthew Szczepanowski won $24 and promptly gave it (plus a few more $) to Bill Buffam. Matthew is now a paid up member of WRHGC. Hang Lying 04/16/02 Jim Georg Two sleds at Ellenville on 4/7/02 to get the cobwebs out. New glider not here yet.

Gerry Doyle Two practice flights at Embreeville, Sat.4/13/02, WSW 15-20. Confetti for spring! Jeff Shriner Little Gap 3 times, Kirkridge 4-6 times. Gains to 2,000Ft., Embreeville, Chapel Hill many times. Jerry Destremps Went to Parastars Powered PG convention and flew twice with a top 80 paramotor with my Mistral 2 26…And redneck Florida sheriff almost threw me in jail for changing my pants in the parking lot. I didn’t see the four-year old girl in the car behind me. Southern hospitality! Bill Umstattd Cutting trees at Red Wing to widen SW runway with help from Nathan Bingham and Jim Rooney. Flew (pioneered??) a new site this morning with Bob Neves — a highway overpass embankment on I-95 near Bristol in NE Phila.! Not as high as Bob told me over the phone but still possibly soarable. Went to Ringtown a couple weeks ago with Norm Price, Lloyd Wilcox, Jim Rooney, and Nathan Bingham. We got there late from the Sac and only Nathan got to scratch for a few passes- sleds for the rest. Beck, Shawn, Tom G., and Christian soared earlier between snow squalls. Gerry Donohoe Flew Kirks test flying new Gin Genie II harness. Got lucky when everyone else sledded. I got 200+ over and 12 mins. Of flying with 3 red tails showing me where the lift was. Hang Lying 5/21/02 J. Georg Ellenville 5/19/02 9AM thermals starting. 1 hour @ 1300’ before getting dumped. J. Rooney April 23-28 Marshall, Ca. (BooYa) May 12 Embreeville flew new sting May 19 Bergy Hill learning to fly PG D. Alpers New Guy interested in hang gliding J.D. Guillemette Last month flew a few times at Embreeville. Went to Morningside 3 weekends ago and actually soared (briefly) for the first time. Learned a lot that day and look forward to learning more. J. Semanoff 1Min flight at cook’s Hill Ha Ha!

14 Ken Sutch No flying since my injury. Knee surgery went well. Be back in the air in 2 weeks. Matt Szczepanowski Last week I had some flights on tow in Brownsville. Nothing spectacular, but very pleasurable flights. Gerry Donohoe 5 May got 4000’ over Little Gap and had my first mini-XC over the back for 3 miles.1200 FPM up on my vario49 min flight. 19 May got 1500’ over Wind Gap in real bouncy air. Cut it short when my lunch almost re-launched. P.S. My shoulder surgery went well, reattached labrum cartilage & sewed up ripped rotator cuff, 6 weeks of rehab. Bill Umstattd Training @ various hills and some towing @ Red Wing.

For Sale On June 19th I am going for a month to Europe, where I am planning to buy new paragliding equipment. So brokenheartedly, I have decided to part with my old equipment, which has served me so well. The whole set up is for sale - 1. NOVA - Philou 29 only 15 hours - light blue color (1999) DHV 1-2 AFNOR - Standard 2. BLACKBIRD (exact copy of NOVA - XENON made in Poland) 40 hours, red color - 1996 -great wing AFNOR - Performance 3. Charly -Easy - one of the better design harnesses - very comfortable with an excellent back protection 4. Second Chance 118 - reserve parachute 5. Brauniger Basis IQ - Vario 6. Charly - Insider helmet - color white 7. NOVA -backpack -very attractive and comfortable, will pack it all above. Anybody interested? Call me! Matthew Szczepanowski 215-569-8638 Claire Vassort has the following glider for sale -

Klassic 133, red & white, ~70 hours. Great shape. Perfect for lightweights. $1500 OBO. Tel: 706-398-2467 email: clairevassort@hotmail.com

Internet Sites of Interest Trick Towing - Check this site out for a truly amazing glider towing photo. Don’t try this at Redwing or Ridgely… http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/foto-02-04.html New Hang Gliding Book - Can’t get enough of hang gliding? Need a good book to read? Put the two together and order a copy of Jim Palmieri’s latest book, “Hang Gliding Spectacular”. The book itself contains about 70 flying-related stories, from complete beginners to world record holders. Along with the book comes a CD with pictures of the authors and their gliders, as well as sample video from Bob Grant Productions. For more information, check out their website located here - http://www.skynet.ca/~skydog/Book-Release.htm WRHGC members will no doubt recognize at least one of the authors, as a version of a past Cloudbuster article was chosen for publication in the book. Crestline Soaring Society – For more information on flying at Marshall Peak and Crestline Ridge, see the Crestline Soaring Society’s page at - http://www.crestlinesoaring.org You can bet that there will be some WRHGC members going back next spring. And of course if you want to fly there, you will probably want to contact Rob and Dianne McKenzie of High Adventure. Look here and find out how easy they can make your southern California adventure - http://www.flytandem.com/index.htm Personal Site of the Month – Want to read flying stories and see some neat pictures? If so, then here’s a neat site filled with hang glider and trike stories - http://www.learntoflytrikes.com/ My personal favorite from this guy is the photo of the Turbulent Tandem From Hell - http://www.learntoflytrikes.com/Kathleen_looses_lunch.htm Very nice composition, and certainly great timing… Powered Sailplane – More information on the Alisport Silent-IN powered sailplane that is pictured on the first page with your editor sitting in it can be found on their site at - http://www.alisport.com/

15

Important Safety Reminders The following note was written by Matthew Graham of the CHGPA. It was forwarded to the WRHGC Yahoo group so some of you have probably seen it, but it deserves a reprint in the Cloudbuster. Thanks to Matthew for agreeing to let us use his insights again.

After spending a day playing Mr. Observer and talking to various pilots afterwards, here are some things new mountain pilots (and even some of the old ones) should remember when flying. 1. Be a crabby pilot-- when flying along the ridge, remember to set your crab angle away from the mountain, especially when your at, below or less than 300' above the ridge. If flying with the wing turned perpendicular to the ridge, a gust can turn you back into the mountain. Gusts can occur in even the smoothest air and the wake from another glider may be enough to turn you. 2. Don’t try to circle without at least 300' of ground clearance. Do linked 180's to get up in these circumstances. 3. Always arrive at the LZ with at least 500' AGL. If you arrive lower, then you've been scratching on the ridge too long. 4. Stop looking at your altimeter once you've started to set up your approach pattern. Because of barometric fluctuations during the day, the altimeter is usually off by about 100'. Use angles and other visual clues to determine altitude. 5. SPEED-SPEED-SPEED!!! Keep your speed up during your approach and don't slow down or let the glider's nose pop up when you transition to the downtubes. 6. STAY CURRENT! -- If you're a low airtime pilot and you haven't foot launched in more than 6 weeks, get your lazy ass out to the training hill to brush up your launch and landing techniques before contemplating a mountain flight. 7. Stop worrying about racking up airtime! As a new pilot, it's more important to continue your launch and landing practice and even more important to build up your experience with approach patterns at different sites under different conditions. 8. Watch, listen and learn. Helping other pilots launch, listening to their war stories, and watching landing approaches is one of the best ways to learn how to judge conditions and gain experience. You're not going to get your hang 3 around here, even if you have the best flying skills in the world, if you

don't know how to judge whether or not the flying conditions are safe and within your skill level. 9. Don't try to soar unless you know the rules of the ridge. 10. Clear your turns! 11. Stay in front of the ridge! 12. If you are soaring, continue to assess flying conditions while in the air -- look for building winds, developing storms, etc. If you see everybody else heading out to land in soarable conditions, this is often a VERY GOOD indication that they've seen something you haven't and you should be landing too. 13. Know where you are in the landing sequence when other gliders are also coming into land and keep scanning the sky for other pilots who may have decided to come out to land. There's no guarantee that they've been looking out for you... so look out for them! 14. Watch out for other pilots in the field. Don't expect them to move out of the way in time for you to land. Plan to land somewhere away from the other pilots in the field and then quickly move to the breakdown area to make room for other coming into land. 15. Get a radio {Craig adds: and your HAM license!}. You don't need a radio to fly. But it's sure nice for getting picked up, arranging car drop-offs and getting in-air condition reports from more experienced pilots. 16. Learn to wire crew. If you want people to wire crew you, you damn well better be wire crewing them. Watch other people crew for a while, than act as a back up person on a wire crew and then transition to wire crewing in light to moderate conditions. Plus, you learn a lot about launching under different conditions. 17. Don't let wuffos assist as wire crew. It's just plain stupid. If you are in the position that you need people to hold onto your wing so you can launch, you need people that understand the mechanics of hang gliding. If it ends up that you can't fly because there's not enough crew, then fine, you don't fly. It's better than crashing. If you have a radio as mentioned above, and if you've been crewing all day, then remind those air hogs in the sky that it's payback time. 18. Don't fly alone... even at the training hill. Even a minor injury, such as a twisted ankle, becomes a major ordeal when having to deal with carrying and disassembling a hang glider. 19. If you screw up, fess up. You’re not going to learn from your mistakes if you don't tell anyone about your mistakes.

16

Does Gary Larson fly at Redwing? Wind Riders Hang Gliding Club, Inc. 204 Hilloch Drive West Chester PA 19380-6607