hang gliding & paragliding vol40/iss10 oct 2010

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Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero www.USHPA.aero OCTOBER 2010 Volume 40 Issue 10 $6.95

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Official USHPA Magazine

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Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero

www.USHPA.aero

OCTOBER 2010Volume 40 Issue 10

$6.95

MAGAZINE STAFFUSHPA, Publisher: [email protected] Nick Greece, Editor: [email protected]

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

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

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

OFFICE STAFFMartin Palmaz, Director of Business Operations : [email protected]

Robin Jones, Information Services Manager : [email protected] Hollendorfer, Membeship Services Coordinator:

[email protected] Rank, Office Coordinator : [email protected]

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

Mark Gaskill, Vice President: [email protected] Rich Hass, Secretary: [email protected]

Mark Forbes, Treasurer: [email protected]

REGION 1: Rich Hass, Mark Forbes. REGION 2: Dave Wills, Urs Kellenberger, Bill Cuddy. REGION 3: Bill Helliwell, Rob Sporrer, Brad Hall. REGION 4: Mark Gaskill, Ken Grubbs. REGION 5: Lisa Tate. REGION 6: David Glover. REGION 7: Tracy Tillman. REGION 8: Jeff Nicolay. REGION 9: Felipe Amunategui, Hugh McElrath. REGION 10: Bruce Weaver, Steve Kroop, Matt Taber. REGION 11: David Glover. REGION 12: Paul Voight. REGION 13: Tracy Tillman. DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Dave Broyles, Leo Bynum, Riss Estes, Mike Haley, Dennis Pagen. EX-OFFICIO DIRECTOR: Art Greenfield (NAA).

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

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.

ADVERTISING ALL ADVERTISING AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES MUST BE SENT TO USHPA HEADQUARTERS IN COLORADO SPRINGS. All advertising is subject to the USHPA Advertising Policy a copy of which may be obtained from the USHPA by emailing the Publisher at [email protected].

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

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

POSTMASTER Send change of address to: Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine, P.O. BOX 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330. Canadian Post Publications Mail Agreement #40065056. Canadian Return Address: DP Global Mail, 4960-2 Walker Road, Windsor, ON N9A 6J3

DISCLAIMER The publication of any submissions, articles or advertising in HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine does not constitute an endorsement of the authors, advertisers, products, services, apparatus, processes, theories, ideologies, opinions, advice and/or recommendations presented, nor does it constitute an endorsement of the authors or companies involved. The statements of fact and opinions as well as any product claims in the submissions, articles, advertisments, artwork and photographs appearing in HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine are those of their respective authors, contributors and advertisers and not of the USHPA. The USHPA makes no representation, express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, nor assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, advice, opinion, recommendation, apparatus, product, product claims or process disclosed, in such submissions, articles, advertising, artwork or photographs. All individuals relying upon any materials published herein do so at their own risk. The USHPA is not responsible for any claims made in any submission, article, or advertisement. Advertisers may not, without USHPA's prior written consent, incorporate in subsequent advertising that a product or service has been advertised in a USHPA publication.

COPYRIGHT Copyright (c) 2010 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.

On the cover, Loren Cox captures his shadow in California. Meanwhile, scratching in Groveland, Florida | photo by Larry Herndon.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE

For change of address or

other USHPA business

call (719) 632-8300, or

email [email protected].

The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, a division of the National Aeronautic Association, is a representative of the Fédération Aeronautique Internationale in the United States.

EDITOR

PILOT BRIEFINGS

ASSOCIATION

SAFETY

A CLOSER LOOK

CENTERFOLD

TANGENT

DISPATCH

RATINGS

USHPA STORE

PAGE 78

7

8

10

14

16

40

66

68

73

76

2010OCTOBER

by Katrina Mohr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

HIMALAYAN ODYSSEYSeven pilots set a course for the unknown.

GALLERY

60

by Joe McCarthy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

by Tiki Mashy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

by Denny Pystol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

by Tim O'Neill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

by John W . Robinson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

MAD MAGICAL MADEIRA

AIRE EVAN

THE THIRD EYE

TRYING OUT THE FLYMASTER B1 NAV

THE TATER EXPERIENCE

Good times by the sea

What were you doing when you were 14?

Getting advice from other pilots

Hands on with the instrument

A report from the 2010 competition

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero6

Paragliding World Cup in Greece | photo by Nick Greece.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 7

Fall is here and another flying season is coming to a close in most of the continental United States. New

personal bests have been shattered nation wide and as we get ready to hang up our flying accoutrements for the winter it’s hard to not go to the hill a few more times to get air under our wings. This is the best time, in my opinion, to reflect on the season and all of its ups and downs while you still can go out and stick one more launch and one more landing.

This issue starts off with USHPA board member election statements. This group of amazing volunteers meet twice a year to steer the organization. Please take the time to check out what both new and re-turning board members have to say about why they should be elected to represent you.

Several of the pieces in this issue deal with differing aspects of our cul-ture. Denny Pystol explores how pilots learn from their peer group, while Chris Ammon delves into her feelings when she is wing-less, and Ryan Voight pontificates on what it means to be a “pilot”.

The Himalayan Odyssey has landed and Katrina Mohr caught up with Eric Reed, and Brad Sander—USHPA mem-bers—after their 48-day team bivouac flight across 680 miles of the Himalaya last fall. This epic achievement was the brain-child of American pilot, Brad Sander.

Tiki Mashy reports, from Jackson Hole, on the extraordinary teaching of their first 14-year old ace in only two weeks, and the coming of age of a new H2 pilot, and John Robinson reports back on his first competition experience in Boone, North Carolina.

Whether hang or para, this year has witnessed outstanding achievements on many levels throughout the country. We hope you will keep your stories coming and share tales of this year for us to cher-ish as we brave the cold months ahead.

7

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero8

OZONE DELTA & BUZZOzone is pleased to an-

nounce that the Delta XS

and Buzz Z3 XS have both

been certified and are in

production. Please contact

your local Ozone dealer to

get a test flight if you’ve

been waiting for a demo in

the XS size. More info on

both wings can be found

at www.flyozone.com The

Buzz Z3 was certified EN B

(same as all other Z3 sizes)

and the Delta EN C (as

other sizes).

GRADIENT AVAX XC3Gradient’s high perfor-

mance wing, the Avax XC3,

passed certification in all

sizes. The whole Avax XC3

range has been classified

EN-D. The XC3 22 covers

a take-off weight range

of 75-85

kilos. The XC3 30 has a

take off weight range of

110-130. With these wings

Gradient offers an interest-

ing option for very light

to very heavy pilots who

are looking for a certified

high performance Cross

Country/Competition wing.

The XC3 range is ready for

test flights from official

Gradient dealers. More

info: www.gradient.cx, or in

the US www.atlantapara-

gliding.com.

TANDEM TUMBLEThe acro stars Pal Takats

and Gabor Kezi for the first

time performed the infinity

tumble flying a tandem

glider. They flew a spe-

cial version of the U-Turn

acro wing, Thriller, with a

surface of 31 sqm with a

strongly reinforced inner

structure and a line plan

that could withstand 8.2

tons of load.

The need of a ‘galactic’

structure has become a

must after a first at-

tempt performed by

Pal & Gabor in Oludeniz,

when their already

super-strong wing after

the third infinity turn

suddenly blasted

breaking all the

A-B-C lines.

Even if the

tandem pilot was Pal,

because of the strength

needed to steer the glider

in the extreme configura-

tions entering and exiting

the infinity, all the man-

uevers were performed by

both pilots using a double

brake system, where Gabor

was helping Pal to pull the

brake at the right time.

EAGLE RADIO HARNESSEagle Paragliding has

designed its own Radio

Harness. This radio harness

is made in the USA. It has

plenty of lanyards for your

radio, camera, cell phone.

It also has a sleeve for

your radio antenna so the

antenna doesn’t jab you in

the face while you’re flying.

For more info, visit www.

eagleparagliding.com.

SKYWALK RANGE2The wind tunnel optimized

competition/cross coun-

try harness, RANGE2, has

been released by Skywalk.

It features, among other

things, a carbon seatboard,

ergonomic cockpit, 17 cm

foam protector and 5 dif-

ferent sizes from XS to XL.

Oliver Teubert, cross

country ace and a sig-

nificant contributor to the

design of the RANGE2

states, “A cross country

harness has to be exceed-

ingly comfortable. When I

am approaching 10 hours

in the air, I need to feel

relaxed. In addition, the

RANGE2 offers sensational

air drag values with a real

glide advantage!”

Info: www.skywalk.info.

PilotBRIEFINGSNew | Improved | Buzzworthy

For job candidate background

requirements and a complete

job description, go to

www.ushpa.aero.

Submit resume, cover letter,

and salary expectation before

October 15th to:

[email protected]

- or -

Dr. Tracy Tillman

USHPA ED Search Committee Chair

11088 W. Coon Lake Rd.

Webberville, MI 48892

NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE.

USHPA HeadquartersColorado Springs, CO

is looking for an

Executive Director

Introducing the new USHPA custom Visa Platinum Rewards Card.

The card with Flare.No annual fe• e.

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Apply today at: http://www.cardpartner.com/app/ushpa

Submit your own image or choose one of these custom

USHPA Platinum Rewards Cards.

TheUSHPAVisacarprogramisoperatedbyUMBBank,N.A.AllapplicationsforUSHPAVisacardaccountswillbesubjecttoUMBBankN.A.'sapproval,atitsabsolutediscretion.Pleasevisitwww.cardpartner.comforfutherdetailsoftermsandconditionswhichapplytotheUSHPAVisacardprogram.Donationmadewhencardisusedoncewithin90daysofissuance.AfterthisperiodalowvariableAPRwillapply.

Powered by CardPartner.

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Use your own photo.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero10

The following statements have

been provided by candidates

for election to the position of

regional director for the 2011-

2012 term . These statements

are unedited and should not be

construed as an official position

of USHPA . They have not been

reviewed for accuracy .

REGION 1 | RICH HASS Serving on the USHPA board has been my way of giving something back to the sport that has become a big part of my life since I took up flying in ’93. I’m just completing my second term as Regional Director in Region 1 and my third year as Secretary and a member of the Executive Committee. By way of background, I’ve spent 30 years in commercial real estate with an invest-ment advisory firm—none of which pre-pared me for this job!

Regional Directors usually serve on several committees. I’m currently chair of the Finance Committee and a member of the Organization and Bylaws Committee and the Competition Committee.

Simply put, my goal as a Regional Director is to help make USHPA an or-ganization that you are proud to be a member of and an organization providing value to its members. Membership sur-veys suggest we are succeeding but there’s always room for improvement. Please feel free to contact me with questions, ideas and suggestions.

REGION 2 | DAVE WILLS Dear Region 2 Pilots: I have represented Region 2 as one of your Directors for 3 and 1/2 years now, and there is still much more I need to do. I have been the Chair of the Organization & Bylaws (O&B) committee for 2 and 1/2 years, and early this year I was asked by USHPA President Lisa Tate to be the Co-Chair of the Safety & Training (S&T)

Committee.As Chair of O&B, I am in constant con-

tact with the USHPA Executive Director, the USHPA office staff, and frequently with Lisa Tate and the USHPA attorney, Tim Herr. Whenever a question or issue arises regarding the SOPs, I am called on to interpret the SOPs so they are imple-mented as the Board of Directors wishes. Often, changes are required to the SOPs as we continually improve them. To implement the changes, I am in frequent contact with the other Co-Chair of S&T, the Chairs of the Tandem and Towing Committees, other committee Chairs, and many of the other Directors. I also take the responsibility to notify members when important changes are made. You have seen this in the “Notice to Members” column in the recent USHPA newslet-ter and in Hang Gliding & Paragliding Magazine.

As Co-Chair of S&T, I deal with S&T business on a nearly daily basis. S&T is responsible for the Pilot Proficiency Program (SOP 12-02), the Instructor, Examiner and Observer program (SOP 12-05) and the Rating Revocation proce-dures (SOP 12-07). The implementation of these programs requires constant atten-tion and the S&T Committee works hard to keep our Pilot Proficiency Program running smoothly.

As part of my S&T duties, I have started a national review of our Instructor Administrator and Instructor programs. My goal is to make sure that Instructor training and certification is available to all qualified pilots, and only qualified pilots become Instructors. It is important that our Instructors be held to high stan-dards so that the pilots they appoint con-tinue to maintain the safety records we want. During my review of the Instructor Administrator program, I found geo-graphical gaps in coverage. If we are going to grow our sport, we need to make sure the gaps are filled so qualified pilots can be trained. I believe paragliding has rea-sonable Instructor representation around the country and this part of the program is doing well. Unfortunately, hang glid-ing is suffering not only from a lack of Instructor training clinics, but a lack of qualified pilots who wish to become Instructors. I have started to address this particular issue and hope to make more

Membership | Policy | Involvement

ElectionSTATEMENTS

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 11

progress in the coming months.In addition to all of this, I have been

very active on other special projects. I was heavily involved in the implementa-tion of the latest changes to the competi-tion system which recently resulted in the new open distance, aerobatics and ACE events. I was asked to participate at the Competition Symposium in Salt Lake City last January and acted as the neutral facilitator for the meeting. I helped the sub-committees organize and submit their proposals to the Board last March, where all the changes to the program, including race to goal, were approved.

I hope this long biography is informa-tive. I take my roles as Director and com-mittee Chairs very seriously and do my best to protect our organization and our sport. It is not an easy job, and I take it so seriously that it consumes an enor-mous amount of time. Sometimes you have to take steps which are not popular. This job is not about popularity, but rather, making sure we do our best to preserve our ability to fly and expand our flying opportunities.

As before, it has been an honor and a privilege to represent Region 2 on the Board of Directors of USHPA. I ask for your support to continue this work.

REGION 2 | JOHN BLOME I am passionate about flying, and I want to help hang gliding and paragliding remain avail-able to current and future generations of pilots. I have been averaging approxi-mately 100 hours per year and have been an H4-rated pilot for the past year. I also recently earned my P1 rating. I became an HG Basic Instructor in 2009 and ac-cepted a USHPA Mentor nomination in 2010. I am an active member of the Wings of Rogallo, Fellow Feathers, and attend Western Region events and competitions.

Both HG’ers and PG’ers are concerned about the downward trend in the number of pilots and what this means for keeping

current and new flying sites open. One element in reversing this trend is ensur-ing accessibility of training and quality instructors. Attracting and retaining new pilots is a key element, and I fully sup-port and promote the Mentor program. Several pilots I trained with dropped out of the sport after receiving their H2. These pilots might still be flying today if the mentoring program had been more ac-cessible at the time.

Communication with the Region 2 membership will be one of my priorities. I will work with the current Region 2 di-rectors, Urs Kellenberger and Bill Cuddy, to ensure all pilots are aware of ongoing USHPA activities, proposed changes, and current issues. I am an active pilot and fly a number of sites in N. California and Nevada. I will be flying with you and will always be open to your input.

One of my first priorities will be to par-ticipate in the continued development of a comprehensive documentation package and templates to assist local clubs in the acquisition of new sites.

My focus as Regional Director will be to represent the interests of Region 2 free-flight pilots, both hang gliding and paragliding, and promote both sports. I look forward to having the opportunity to represent you.

REGION 3 | BILL HELLIWELL We all just want to fly. If you have a place where you can fly and the landowner, be it public or private, doesn’t care that you are there, you are among the lucky few. Most places we fly have restrictions and landowner concerns about liability.

Our national organization addresses these issues. In order to be effective, we need to increase our membership and encourage active volunteers. Many proce-dural steps need to be taken to satisfy our liability insurance policy requirements. Our regional directors are the workers who get these things done.

I am now one of your three Regional Directors, having been elected in a special election just a few months ago.

As your regional director, I make the time commitment required to keep our organization functioning so our flying opportunities are not compromised. I also will work on a committee to promote flying in the USA and to represent view-points of Region 3 pilots.

I look forward to attending the fall Board of Directors meeting as your rep-resentative and will be very active in pro-moting our wonderful sport. I ask for your vote in the upcoming election.

If you come to San Diego to fly, please contact me at (760) 500-1265 or [email protected]. I have been flying a hang glider in San Diego County for 20 years and know all the sites. If you fly a para-glider, I can also help you out and put you in contact with local paraglider pilots.

REGION 4 | MARK GASKILL I think I’m one of the luckiest guys in the world. I get to fly at the world famous Point of the Mountain when I can break away from work. I am also fortunate enough to have the opportunity to introduce the sport of paragliding to others through individual-ized instruction and the tandem experi-ence. I also get to help persons with spinal cord injuries learn to fly through ABLE Plot (a chapter of the USHPA).

Finally, I get to hang out with other of-ficers of the Untied States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association a couple of times a year at the USHPA BOD meet-ings. These meetings are busy, sometimes intense, and often times fatiguing. Yet, they are always rewarding and satisfying, because at the end of the day all who par-ticipate know we helped keep our avoca-tion and the organization alive, well, and supported.I don’t fly as often as I did a few years ago, but I still get between 50 and 100 hours in the air a year. I find that giving back

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero12

where I can, through site preservation, service, organizational development and promoting the sport, is almost as reward-ing. If I am selected to continue to serve, I will do so enthusiastically and without regret.

REGION 7 | TRACY TILLMAN I have served three terms as Region 7 Director and would be happy to serve for another term if elected to do so by the USHPA member-ship in Region 7. I am also the director for Region 13 (International), which is an ap-pointed position. Over the last six years, I have participated on, and completed, proj-ects for the Safety and Training, Tandem, Towing, and National Coordinating Committees. Since towing is the predom-inant method for launching hang gliders and paragliders in Region 7, I have been primarily involved with towing-related USHPA committee work, including the renewal of our aerotowing and tandem ex-emptions with the FAA, standardization of towing training curriculum, adoption of the new FAA Sport Pilot regulations for aerotowing and instruction, and revision of several written exams.

My first hang gliding flight was in a Sun Standard in 1976. I started Cloud 9 Sport Aviation in Minnesota in the late ‘70s, teaching flying in an Icarus II, Easy Risers, and other ultralights from that era. I am still very involved in hang gliding and am a very active hang glider pilot, aerotow pilot, aerotow tandem in-structor, and scooter tow instructor. For the past 14 years I have operated Cloud 9 Sport Aviation and the Dragon Fly Soaring Club (DFSC) with the help of my wife, Lisa Colletti, at Cloud 9 Field West (46MI) in Michigan.

At our other airfield, Cloud 9 Field East (MI26), we operate North American Soaring, which is a company that special-izes in unpowered and electric-powered ultralight sailplanes. Related to that—I am also a very active commercial and

multi-engine instrument-rated airplane pilot, commercial-rated sailplane pilot, sailplane tug pilot, and a safety counselor for the Detroit FAA FSDO area.As an active pilot, instructor, and FAA safety counselor, I believe that I can pro-vide good representation for all of the hang glider pilots in our region to the USHPA, help our organization deal with many of the challenges that face our sport, and help provide a good interface for us with the FAA and other aviation organizations. .

REGION 8 | MIKE HOLMES Greetings, Region 8 pilots! My name is Mike Holmes and I’m running for Regional Director. Jeff Nicolay has decided to retire from the position, and he nominated me. I ask that you take a minute to fill in the ballot and vote for me. Even though I’m the only candidate on the ballot, it’s still important to send in your vote. If you think of some-one else who you believe would do a better job, write in his/her name.

Here’s a little info about me. I’ve been flying hang gliders for ten years and am rated H4. I’ve served as the president of the Vermont Hang Gliding Association for the past three years, and I’ve been very involved in flying site preservation proj-ects.

In my day job I work as an electrician and crew foreman, so I’ve learned how to work with a team to get hard work done on time.

I’m a hang glider pilot, but I feel very strongly that it’s important for all sides of our flying community to work together in harmony. We’re stronger when we all focus our efforts on our common goals of pre-serving our flying sites and strengthening our sport and membership. I’ll continue that work as your regional representative on the USHPA board.

Thanks in advance for your vote of confidence as I take on this new job. I’ll do my best to represent the pilots of our region at the national level. If you have

any questions or problems that I can help with, feel free to contact me by email at [email protected], or by phone at 978-380-0440. Thank you!

REGION 9 | FELIPE AMUNATEGUI Fellow region 9 members: It is time once again to ask for your vote on my behalf as your Regional Director. I have served on the board for longer than I can remember, but I have never missed a meeting. I have served as Treasurer and Vice President of the organization, and I currently serve as Chair of the Towing Committee.

While I am a Hang Glider pilot of over three decades, I am committed to looking after the interest of all my flying constituents, regardless of discipline or launch method.

Even though my roots are firmly plant-ed in foot launching, I have the good for-tune of participating in the operation of a towing co-op located in Northeast Ohio. My primary concern is keeping it safe and fun, so more people will want to do what we do. If you vote for me, I will keep doing what I have been doing. Safe landings.

REGION 10 | STEVE KROOP I have been on the USHPA Board of Directors since 2003 and have served on various USHPA committees since 1995. I have chaired the Towing committee, and I am a member of the Safety & Training, Tandem and Competition committees, all of which ad-dress issues that are important to Region 10 and the overall health of hang gliding and paragliding in the U.S.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 13

Because of my association with Flytec USA, I regularly speak to and email many Region 10 members, as well as members from all over the US. Those members who have come in contact with me know that I am readily accessible by phone and email. I have a long history of working closely with and assisting the USHPA office staff and Executive Director in administering USHPA programs. I have not missed a single BOD meeting since I attended my first BOD meeting in 1995. In short, I am dedicated to the USHPA and the survival and long-term health of hang gliding and paragliding in the U.S. and would like to continue to represent Region 10.

REGION 12 | PAUL VOIGHT Hello region

12, my name is Paul Voight. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m your current Regional Director.

In case someone runs against me.... I’ll campaign for why you should vote for me.

First, I’d go to the board meetings re-gardless of being a director.... just to make sure nothing wacky gets voted in. On oc-casion, transient “personal agenda” types show up at meetings, and I live to make sure we don’t make rash decisions based on their rantings.

There are a number of directors from all over the country who, like myself, have been at it awhile... and we, therefore, have some continuity from meeting to meeting. We also have some exciting new blood on the board. I enjoy working with these folks and would like to continue.

My “stats” are: Master H.G. pilot and advanced P.G. pilot, Certified instructor in both. Instructor program administrator for both. Chairman of the USHGA Tandem committee for about 12 years. I also chair the financial re-distribution committee, which can be a very taxing endeavor.

I have owned and operated “Fly High,

Inc.”—a hang-gliding school and retail shop—since 1984 and look forward to retiring filthy rich from this pursuit....eventually.

My main objective in going to board meetings is to minimize the making of new rules and regulations. I was never a big fan of said evils. Along with Steve Kroop (Region 10) and Filipe Amanotageek (Reg. 9), we do our best to make sure the board doesn’t fix things that aren’t broken.

And that’s about all I can think of for now. In conclusion, my standing election offer is, (as always)….. If you vote for me, I’ll buy you a beer.

USHPA Annual Membership Meeting

will be held

Saturday, October 23rd at 8:30 am

in Bend, Oregon

Phoenix Inn & Suites

300 NW Franklin Ave.

Bend, OR 97701

Group Code:USHPA

888-291-4764 / 541-317-9292

LANDING CHOICES Almost every launch that’s worth the name comes equipped with its own, easy to reach, straightfor-ward LZ. So, just land there—what’s the problem?

The first problem starts as soon as you fly XC. Arguably, the principle skill in XC flying is to “select and keep a safe LZ com-fortably within glide at all times.”

The second problem is related to the first; not all XC flights are planned. The wind picks up, and the LZ that was within easy reach is no longer available to you. Or another pilot has had an accident and a he-licopter is coming in. Or the power lines you need to cross are looming up in front of you. In any case, you have to find your own LZ.

The third problem is that not all LZs are created equal. My local site (in France) has a great, huge, friendly looking LZ—but three valleys meet there. Converging valley winds mean the LZ is best avoided on a summer afternoon. Some of the best flying sites around have LZs like this; they look easy but demand the greatest respect. Often, it’s better to land elsewhere.

Lastly, the very properties that make a paraglider easy to land can play against you. The slow speed of a paraglider helps when estimating glide angle, but it makes you more exposed to sudden sink or a headwind.

So this article is about a set of land-ing choices that pilots made this year. Thankfully, all the pilots survived and are well on the road to recovery. But let’s pay tribute to them as best we can, by learning what we can from their accidents.

LANDING 1 – APRIL 17 2010At his local mountain site, the accident pilot launched into active spring condi-tions. The site has a huge LZ, but it is situ-ated at the confluence of several valleys; the wind frequently changes direction and is interrupted by thermals. Treat the LZ with respect and avoid landing there mid-afternoon in spring and summer is the standard advice given.

As the pilot came in to land, witnesses reported a right-side deflation at around 50 ft AGL. The wing spun to the left (in-dicating over-correction), and the pilot hit

the ground hard.The pilot has no recollection of the

accident, so the report was submitted by witnesses and local pilots. It appears that the winds at the LZ were changing direc-tion. Instead of trying to land towards the center of the LZ (isolated from turbulence and thermal triggers), the pilot seemed intent on using the very edge of the LZ. It’s hard to know the pilot’s mindset. Did he want to minimize the hike out? Was he assuming the wind direction wouldn’t change? In any event, he was flying right beside some trees and terrain, which left him exposed to wind direction changes or thermal induced turbulence.

A contributing factor may have been that the pilot was flying an unfamiliar, higher rated wing. This could have con-tributed to an over-correction of the initial collapse.

The pilot was very badly injured and had an extended hospital stay; he’s making a slow (but hopefully full) recovery.

LANDING 2 – APRIL 25 2010The accident occurred at a ski resort in Washington State. The pilot had been snowboarding all day and went for a flight towards the end of the day. Before riding the chairlift up, the pilot inspected a car park and decided there were a couple of

“sufficiently car-free spots.”While the wind was light, it seems to

have been variable; this is often the case at the end of the day. On his approach, the pilot encountered lift and found himself a little too high. He tried to change his ap-proach, but he impacted a parked truck.

The truck was dented, and the pilot had a sore back for a week but recovered with-

out treatment. The accident pilot identi-fied over-confidence as a likely factor in his accident.

LANDING 3 – MAY 8 2010An experienced pilot went for a second flight of the day at a well-known moun-tain site. The pilot intended to land in an alternative, but very popular, LZ that involves an approximately one-mile glide into (typically) a valley wind. Valley winds tend to get stronger nearer the ground, so generally progress and glide deteriorate alarmingly as you near the LZ.

The pilot felt he could clear some power lines just before the LZ, but instead hit a gust or some sink. He jumped free as his wing got entangled in the lines. His wing burnt, and two-out-of-three power lines broke in the arcing process.

The pilot feels he was “locked into” making his LZ; he flew over plenty of perfectly landable fields before hitting the power lines. Fortunately, he was complete-ly uninjured.

LANDING 4 – JUNE 17 2010An experienced pilot was flying with the lead gaggle at a competition. As he raced towards goal, he had to stop to build alti-tude at the last ridge. Rather than move to the front of the ridge (with better LZs and probably a better chance of finding lift), the pilot stayed near the direct route to goal. After failing to find lift, the pilot tried to head to the front of the ridge, but didn’t feel he had enough altitude.

The pilot headed back, intending to land in a small clearing. About 10 feet from the ground, the pilot stalled his wing, while trying to maneuver it into a tight space. Turbulence from the trees around the clearing may have contributed to the stall.

The pilot was badly injured but had prompt and expert assistance (and has the highest of praise for his rescuers). He feels that his accident can be largely attributed to being too much in “race mode” and not enough in “safe XC” mode; he is cer-tain that in a normal XC, he would have moved to the front of the ridge.

LANDING 5 – JULY 13 2010A very experienced pilot was flying in a competition at a site renowned for strong conditions. He had reached goal and was

Analysis | Preparedness | Incidents

SafetyBULLETIN by staff writer Douglas Mullin

“Did he want to minimize the

hike out? Was he assuming the wind direction

wouldn't change?”

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 15

still in the air with a group of other pilots. A little late, he realized the wind had strengthened and he had a tricky glide to reach his intended airport LZ.

He passed over a small but tempting LZ and just made the downwind edge of the airport. He got off his speed bar and was descending vertically to land; the wind was approximately 25 mph. About 60 ft AGL, he hit some very rough air. Neighboring pilots experienced the turbulence as well and were glad to escape it; it may well have been a nascent dust devil. Half his wing deflated, but he was still going up before his wing dove below him. He entered an extreme spiral and impacted just down-wind of the airport in a shallow canyon.

Fortunately for the pilot, expert help was immediately available. He was very badly injured but, after a prolonged hos-pital stay, is happily well on the road to recovery.

As the accident pilot pointed out: If a large deflation causes your glider to turn, strong winds can leave you heading downwind at high speed. When you are on the edge of the LZ before the collapse, you can end up in some nasty territory—which, unfortunately, is what happened to the accident pilot. Like many accidents, it is hard to sort out all of the contributing factors. How much did the wind affect the (probably thermally induced) turbulence? would a lower rated wing have handled the turbulence better?

LANDING 6 – JULY 26 2010The pilot appeared to spin or stall his wing around 10 feet from the ground, while trying to spot-land at a coastal site in easy conditions. The pilot spent the night in the hospital but made a full recovery.

There have been many accidents in spot-landings like this; the pilot is deter-mined to make the spot and uses too much brake in the process. Another variation is over-controlling the glider when trying to top-land. And yet another is a late, sudden change to an approach (“honey, fly over me so I can get a photo”).

It’s easy to relax when you are only 10 feet from the ground. You’re safe now, what can go wrong? But the mechanics of a stall or a spin mean you’re likely to land on your back, and plenty of pilots have been badly injured in these cases.

CONCLUSIONSThree of these six accidents involved hor-rible injuries which could have been much worse. We owe it to those pilots to learn from their experience.

Conditions can change; give yourself as much room as possible (landings 1, 2 and 3).

Choose an obstacle-free LZ (landing 2).

If all you are doing is hoping you will make the LZ on glide, look for alternatives (landing 3).

Don’t try to scrape over obstacles to get to your LZ (landing 3).

Be conservative in choosing your LZs, even in the heat of a competition (land-ings 2, 4).

If you have to use a small LZ or are top-landing or spot-landing, beware of using too much brake (landings 4 and 6).

When the wind is strong, turbulence is much worse. A deflation is more likely and, if it turns you, can send you hurtling downwind (landing 5).

When the wind is strong, getting to the center of a small LZ is much better than getting to the downwind edge of a huge

LZ (landing 5).There is a last conclusion that applies

especially to pilots who fly in strong, ther-mic conditions and are landing in a spring or summer afternoon. Terrain clearance is very important in such conditions, but, by definition, when you are landing, you are near the ground. Once you are below 100 ft, you are very exposed, should you hit strong turbulence. There are things you can do to minimize the risk (e.g. pick a good location and actively look for some friendly air to land in), but some risk is always there. In both landings 1 and 5, the pilot was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Almost all of this year’s accident reports have come from the West Coast . Maybe that’s the only place people fly . Or maybe it’s the only place people have accidents .

In any event, sharing information re-duces the risks for us all . If you have had an accident (you hurt yourself) or an incident (you could have hurt yourself but were lucky), please complete an accident / incident report at http://www .ushpa .aero/emailacc .asp . It could save your fellow pilots’ life!

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero16

WILLS WING TAPPED FOR TEST Wills Wing recently contracted with Scaled Composites to design and manufacture a tow-release-system and to conduct the tow-taxi testing of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo—the first commercial pas-senger-carrying spacecraft. High speed taxi testing is a normal part of any aircraft development and testing program prior to a first flight. Since the spaceship will be carried aloft by the WhiteKnightTwo mothership and will land as an unpow-ered glider, the taxi tests needed to be done by towing the spacecraft to the test speeds and then releasing it.

Well-known hang glider and para-glider pilot and author, Mark “Forger” Stucky, was the Scaled Composites test pilot charged with the planning and ex-ecution of the tow tests. Forger proposed involving Wills Wing in the process, be-cause he felt they had the expertise to take his conceptual design to a successful engi-neering solution. “At top surface it looks like all that was required was to ‘super-size’ a 4-ring hang gliding tow release, but it was much more involved than that,” said Forger. “I knew Wills Wing had ex-perience, not just with towing unconven-tional aircraft but also with high-speed

vehicle testing. I also felt they understood the Scaled design and testing philoso-phy and would be able to work with my unique design constraints and meet our aggressive deadline.”

Steve Pearson and Mike Meier col-laborated on the design and fabrication of the system, which included redundant releases that would be operated by a tow observer in the tow vehicle. Forger felt it was important to have the tow observer operate the release, because it would sim-plify the design, mitigate the risk of snap-back damage to the spaceship, and leave the SS2 pilots free to concentrate on their test points during each run. This meant the primary release at the spaceship had a 100-foot actuation cable, so minimiz-ing system stretch and friction would be incumbent to a successful design.

Forger provided the tow rope, a 100-ft length of ¾” diameter Vectran, a rem-nant of the 1000-ft rope used years ago to aerotow him in an F-106 fighter for a NASA project. The rope attached to the SS2 release, which was then attached to the spaceship nose via the weak link—a loop of 6mm-diameter perlon cord. A soft orange “traffic cone” housed the metal-

A Closer Look

SpaceshipTWO

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 17

lic portions of the release to protect the spaceship structure and nose-strut from any snapback after release.

For the first five runs, Forger served as the release operator, strapped into the back of the tow truck in his paragliding harness, with Mike Meier coordinating the entire process. Forger then climbed into the SS2 pilot seat for the last run, which went to the maximum speed the F-350 truck was capable of.

The spaceship is configured with wheels on the main landing gear and a skid on the nose. The skid is designed to provide most of the deceleration, and the smoke in the photo is from the wood skid pad doing its job.

Per Scaled Composites news release (http://scaled.com/projects/spaceshiptwo ground tests): “...was a great milestone for the team. We performed five tests from 25 to 60 mph with two different pilots. All objectives were achieved. They were: condition the brakes and evaluate the landing gear/brake steering/skid shoe per-formance and general ground handling. The vehicle performed as expected, and we’re excited to move into the manned phase of the test program.”

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero18

by Tim O'Neill

I’ve been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to try out the Flymaster B1 Nav integrated variometer. The

unit was delivered to me while I was flying in the Chelan PWC event, and I flew it without much prior knowledge of the ca-pabilities and user interface (UI) of the unit.

I usually carry an aging Flytec 5020 and a Garmin 76S on my cockpit and am very comfortable and familiar with the combination. Adding the B1 Nav to the mix would be interesting . . . especially adding it to my scan while competing in a XC comp. I really didn’t know what to expect from this new instrument and had limited expectations since its price is quite a bit less than other, comparable instru-ments on the market.

One thing I had noticed was the enthu-siasm displayed by those pilots using the B1 Nav, especially regarding customer ser-vice and the firmware improvements made in response to user feedback. Cristiano Pereira, founder and software developer for Flymaster, is very active on the Flymaster

Google Group, and I have seen requests from pilots go from idea to implemented firmware update in 48 hours. The value of integrated flight instruments is their abil-ity to reduce the pilot’s workload—to “get things out of the way”—and allow him to think about the task and the course. All of the available units do this. My goal was to find out if THIS instrument does what is expected and also to learn what it does well.

GENERAL IMPRESSIONSThe B1 NAV comes boxed with a very nice storage case to protect the unit when knocking around in your kit-bag. The case is a hard case with zipper that protects the screen from damage. A USB cable is supplied for unit charging and data trans-fer, as well as a wall charger for fast charg-ing the unit. The B1 has a nice”’feel”with a plastic case that is sturdier and more streamlined than the Flytec 5020. The screen size is twice the size of the 5020, with a resolution of 320X240, and is similar in size to a 6030—a nice big dis-play. The four UI buttons are easy to use with gloves and their use is intuitive. In

general, the package is well-designed and robust. Noticeably missing from the packaging is a User Manual. For that, one needs to go online. This is a reasonable solution since documenting firmware up-grades can be done more efficiently with an online revision to the manual. More about that later.

GETTING STARTEDOut of the box the unit had firmware ver. 1.16 so I went online and found that the latest version was 1.20. Downloading the Flash program and installing the revised firmware was simple and easy. I used GPSDump to load the Chelan waypoint file and, 15 minutes after plugging in the USB cable, it was ready to aviate. Setting up the User Defined Fields (UDFs) was simple also. The list of options available for UDFs is extensive and expanding regu-larly to meet the requests of pilots. There are two groups of six UDFs programmable by the pilot, so having 12 UDFs available provides a large amount of visible informa-tion.

The Guts The B1 Nav uses a 50-chan-nel GPS engine system. The battery is a

1

Trying out theFlymaster B1 Nav

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 19

built-in Lithium-ion battery, charged by a USB cable. A wall charger is included and will fast-charge the battery. A connec-tion to any USB port will slow-charge the unit. Battery life is reported to last over 20 hours. I prefer to have the ability to swap out batteries (like my 5020) but the versa-tility of the charging options and battery life make my bias moot.

USE OF THE INSTRUMENTThis unit has the standard variometer features, which include a definable ca-dence and frequency. I chose UDFs that suited the type of flying I was doing: XC competition Race-to-Goal. Every popu-lar UDF option is available and more are being added with each firmware update. The screen shown at right is the small vario version of the display, with six UDFs visible. The display shown in the top graphic is the large vario version with four UDFs. To switch from one group of UDFs to the other involves the push of one button.

It’s obvious that a lot of thought has gone into the programming of this unit. It has very useful features that other

integrated GPS units have failed to pro-vide, while gleaning the best features of the existing units. As an example, when programming the 5th task of the PWC in Chelan, the Flytec and Garmin units were unable to program the task as as-signed. We all “worked around” the task parameters to make the task definable on our various units. The Flymaster, on the other hand, was able to allow definition of the entry/exit cylinders as assigned, while the top pilots in the world with the fanciest GPS units were having fits to define the task. Chris has been flying in competi-tions for many years and has developed a suite of very interesting features.

For example: The Buzzer is an audible indication that you are not climbing yet,

but that you have entered an area of buoy-ant air that needs exploration. One thing that I experienced (and it seems universal) was an initial feeling that the unit is way too noisy. Soon though, after adjusting some of the audio parameters, and a desensitiza-tion period, I grew to appreciate the infor-mation provided by the various growls and noises emitted from the unit. The Buzzer is a nice addition when scratching in weak conditions and I found it very helpful.

The Thermal Core Indicator Initially I doubted the value of this feature. The B1 Nav looks at the rate-of-climb in 50-meter altitude slices and plots the location of the best lift. This feature is very helpful in re-centering and staying with lift when climb-ing in winds and/or inversions. I actually

“I grew to appreciate

the information

provided by the various

growls and noises

emitted from the unit.”

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero20

grew very fond of this feature. A word of caution, though. Less experienced pilots may become a bit too fixed on this “dot” and not realize that it only plots the best lift that you have flown through. It is still necessary to explore the area so as not to miss the real core of the thermal.

Route Optimization The B1 Nav will plot a “least distance” course between turn-point cylinders. This is of extreme value

when tasks are built with large cylinders. A recent post by Adrian Thomas noted:

“Long floaty glides in the smoke til about 10k from the turnpoint (set to keep us from going over the back of the hills), then long sinky glides to the turnpoint. The flymaster pilots are good to know when trying to find the tangent point on a 5k cylinder, I imagine all the other instru-ment makers will be upgrading software to optimize routes round big cylinders now.”

I do not think the optimization in-cludes wind factors in its calculation, so there is still some room for the pilot to in-crease the optimization, but this feature is a big help.

Versatile Start and Finish Line Programming The B1 Nav allows for the programming of tasks in all types of com-petitions. In the aforementioned example at a recent PWC event, we had to do a normal “exit” start around a fix, then fly to a 50Km radius exit cylinder and back. The B1 Nav allowed the programming of both cylinders without problem. The program-ming of a Finish Line, often used at PWC events, is also possible. A finish line is per-pendicular to the last courseline and a set width (see graphic above).

Overall Impressions The Flymaster B1 Nav is a versatile, powerful, and robust in-strument. The firmware is being revised often to meet the expectations and re-quests of the users. The presentation pro-vides plenty of information and has a user interface that is intuitive and easily navi-gated. Most importantly, the guy who has driven this project and builds the B1 Nav’s back-end brains, is involved. Cristiano participates in dialogs with the pilots who are using his product and revising it to meet our needs. This is one of the most exciting aspects of being a B1 Nav user. When a problem is encountered or an idea for a new feature is voiced, we have the ability to participate in the process. This is how a software driven instrument should evolve.

I asked a local US dealer about service for hardware problems, and he indicated that most hardware service will be handled locally, allowing a quick turnaround.

The pricing of this instrument has al-lowed many more pilots to consider an instrument of this caliber. With a retail price below $700US, the B1 Nav is half the price of comparable units.

I got my unit through Santa Cruz Paragliding.

MexicoFly

Fly Mexico for a week in January landing neara beach hotel from 800 meter drive up site:

parasoftparagliding.com

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 21

Phot

os: J

érôm

e Ma

upoi

nt ©

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Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero22

by Denny Pystol

It was, as I recall, my 13th flight off the mountain. After a fairly respect-able landing, I was walking off the

LZ, not only gleaming with my accom-plishment but with a slight air of smug satisfaction, hoping perhaps others may have been witness to my nascent display of airmanship in this newly acquired sport.

When I was not quite to the breakdown area, Erik Graper, Lookout Mountain’s af-fable chief tandem instructor, came wheel-ing up in a golf cart. Ready to accept what could only be his congratulations and praise, I beamed appropriately as he neared—only to hear words I hadn’t ex-pected.

“Denny, I know we’ve told you the im-

portance of keeping your speed up on ap-proach, and I saw that you were getting way too slow as you turned final.” My gleam quietly dimmed. He went on to reiterate the importance of maintaining speed in the pattern, a procedure I knew only too well and thought I had done, but, quite obviously, had not. As he dis-cussed my approach, Erik was always pos-itive, never condescending, and stressed the efficacy of maintaining positive con-trol with adequate airspeed throughout the landing profile. “It’s all we have, don’t forget that,” he concluded, as he drove off into the LZ. I had just been debriefed, or more correctly, critiqued.

The very word critique connotes criti-cism. Let me tell you what you didn’t do right... more specifically, what you did

wrong. Whoa, hold on! This is a discre-tionary activity. We’re doing this be-cause we choose to. We’re doing it for fun. Is there a possible upside to all this heavy talk, all this critique? Well actually there is. It’s called safety.

Critique or perhaps the more politi-cally correct term, performance feedback, is a vital part of learning just about every-thing. Unless your name is Mozart and you can create masterpiece compositions without a single error, you can probably join the rest of us and benefit from the process borne of someone else’s observa-tion, from a “third eye,” watching what you do, how you do it, and seeing things you don’t necessarily realize you’re doing.

One morning while I was making practice runs on our training hill, Bjorn

The

Third Eye

Nelson, a close friend and flying bud happened to be standing in the LZ. My landing was good—or so I thought—but Bjorn observed that my hands needed to be about 6” higher on the down tubes, thereby giving me better leverage in the flare. The next flight, and every one there-after, was better for that unsolicited but well-timed and excellent advice.

The lessons garnered in this pro-cess can be very subtle but ever so im-portant. I’ve spent my entire adult life in commercial aviation and can say, un-equivocally, that I’ve never flown a per-fect flight. There were always corrections to make, infinitesimally small sometimes, but ways that any given trip or mission were improved by thoughtful input from fellow crew members. I view those ex-changes as absolutely vital to maintain-ing the broadest possible margin of safety, and exchanges of processed information apply identically to our world of un-pow-ered flight as well.

But, if this is such a good thing, why don’t we do it more often? Well, giving critique—criticism, unasked for advice—to a fellow pilot is not easy. It’s actually dif-ficult. First, there are a host of barriers to overcome: age, experience, physical size—yes, size does matter—as does attitude and personality. It’s hard for a younger person to advise someone older, someone

with less experience to address the highly experienced. Some exude an attitude of high indifference, and some people are just plain hard to approach. From the other side, being able to choose the right words to express what you’re trying to convey can be an overwhelming chal-lenge. The observer can be intimidated by any number of factors, thereby diminish-ing the gravity of the message. On the flip side of all this, the observer can also be over zealous.

A case in point: Launching under windy conditions, a pilot did not have ad-equate control of his glider and scraped a wing on the ramp, followed by a severe pitch-up. It was, in full measure, the very definition of a blown launch. Fortunately, he recovered well enough to clear the ridge without further incident. One member of the wire crew was so upset that he jumped in his car and, with grim de-termination, motored down to the LZ to meet and berate the pilot for his botched launch and near accident. The observer was extremely upset and gave vent to his emotions.

Although the observer’s feelings were understandable in human terms, how ef-fective is this method of feedback? What would have been your reaction to such an excoriation? Is there a better way? Most of us are not polished speakers, teachers, or instructors, nor are we necessarily dialed into the emotional needs or mind-set of others we encounter. So, should we even bother to become involved and, if so, what tools do we have?

[left] Denny on downwind for a landing at Lookout Mountain Flight Park. [below] Denny getting a wire assist

on launch from Erik, Trevor and Clair.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero24

I’ve been very fortunate in that among the wonderful community of pilots with whom I am privileged to fly, there also thrives a small core of us who more-or-less began hang gliding at the same time and often fly together. We constantly watch each other closely and have no in-hibitions about busting, joking, and be-stowing the “Mr. Green Jeans” award on less-than-stellar landings. However, when it comes to safety, we are as humorless as a hatchet blade and equally as seri-ous. None among us has pretensions of being an expert; we’re just trying to help each other and the feedback and discus-sions generated are mutually beneficial to our growth.

So what do you do if you’re not di-rectly linked to a cadre of flying buddies or you’re off at a new site and don’t know anyone at all? To begin with, you can ask. After an assisted windy cliff launch which I felt went well, I sought out one of the wire crew after my flight for his input.

“You weren’t aggressive enough,” Jono Fisher said.

Taken somewhat aback, I protested, “Hey, I was on the ramp edge and only took one step.”

“Well, then that step should be as ag-gressive as you can make it.”

This wasn’t said to make me feel bad or to emphasize his own importance. Quite the contrary, Jono was providing unvar-nished guidance and sage words to live by… and I have remembered them ever since. Because everything went fine on that particular launch, it is doubtful that Jono would have sought me out to give that slim sliver of feedback. Sometimes we have to make the extra effort ourselves and seek it out.

The other, and really the most impor-tant, piece of this puzzle, is our own level of openness and receptivity. We all have pride, and we all have egos which, when combined with the experience of years in the sport and hours aloft can delude us into believing we are above the critical observations of others. Only when we are

[left, top to bottom] Colin Hodsdon double checking and assisting before launching on aero tow. Denny foot launching at Valle de Bravo. After landing in Lookout, walking back to the breakdown area. [opposite] Dinner together with our cadre of flying buds. Clockwise; Colin Hodsdon, Roger Tubbs, Zack Castille, Denny Pistoll, Nydia Pistoll, Dan Davis, Melissa Ekman

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 25

broad-shouldered enough to subordinate those egos and recognize that pride can be a double-edged sword, are we poised to benefit from the value of critique sincerely tendered.

Unlike the observing pilot who was upset and manifested his feedback in an emotional tirade, we have to realize that in all levels of feedback—instructors to students or pilot to pilot—the individual must leave with his or her dignity intact. If you destroy a person’s dignity, you can take it to the bank that your message failed as well. Good instructors know this intuitively.

Another very important element in this process is that, as an observer, you must not be governed by your own com-fort level; that is to say, do not be driven away because you find the process uncom-fortable. Spouses notwithstanding, telling a fellow human being what he or she did wrong or could possibly do better is never easy nor is it comfortable. Expect that.

Feedback and critique are not, and should not be, the exclusive preserve of the negative. Equally edifying is making the effort and taking the time to comment

when you see a flight well flown—wheth-er that be an excellent launch, approach or landing. Commenting to a fellow pilot what he did well is positive reinforcement for safe flying practices. A sincere compli-ment is the highest motivational tool in our interpersonal arsenal; don’t let such a precious asset go unused.

Providing feedback with construc-tive intent, in a timely fashion and keep-ing one’s emotions at bay, you will find

the proper words to convey your mes-sage. Ultimately, the sincerity of your effort will trump all aforementioned barriers. In doing so, you will have con-tributed a layer of safety that will make a material difference to our sport generally and to your fellow pilots specifically. In turn, by being openly receptive to what can only be seen through a “third eye,” you, too, will enhance your own flying for years to come.

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Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 27

by KatrinaMOHR

By all counts, the first team bivouac paragliding expedition in the remote Himalayan region is an inspiring achievement, but behind the numbers is the realization that in this age of accessibility and information, when it seems that so much has been explored and adventurers have seen and done everything, there are still many wild places and desolate mountaintops and wide-open patches of sky.

HimalayanOdyssey

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero28

The Himalayan Odyssey 2010 paragliding ex-pedition took off on March 9 from Bir-Billing, India, with seven pilots composing the first team

attempting to fly 1350 kilometers, unsupported, over the Himalayan range from northwest India through western Nepal, crossing back into India.

The team consisted of American Brad Sander, who holds the paragliding altitude (7752 meters in Pakistan) and distance (249 kilometers in Asia) re-cords, French Antoine Laurens, who founded Airzone Parapente and has been flying in the Himalayas since 2000, Austrian Mike Laengle, who has been flying in the Himalayas since 2001, American Eric Reed, who has competed in cross country racing for the US Paragliding Team since 2001 and was US cham-pion in 2003, Spaniard Oriol Fernandez, who has been a paragliding pilot since he was 18 years old, Indian Dilip Kotecha, a record holder who has rep-resented India in International PWC competitions since 2004, and Indian Sanjay Pendurkar, an inter-national paragliding competitor who is the head of

the Indus Paragliding School in India. Briton Lynn Jones co-ordinated logistics on the ground and, along with Indian Manoj Roy, updated the team’s website, making it easier for people to follow the expedition’s progress.

Paragliding in the Himalayas is not uncommon. Pilots have gone from north India to the Nepal border, and this group’s three core members, Sander, Laurens, and Laengle, share 25 seasons between them flying in the region, but no team has attempted to fly across Nepal. Possibly due to Nepal’s remoteness, only two pilots have ever traversed large sections of it. In 2006, Luc Armant flew from Dharamsala, India, to Kathmandu, Nepal, and the late Philippe Nodet flew from the Nepal border to Jumla, Nepal. The route the team planned to follow from North India to Nepal’s border was first pioneered by Bob Drury and John Silvester in 1999, and that trip has only been repeated in a similar bivouac style three times since.

Given the lack of knowledge of the route, the members really didn’t know what to expect going into

[previous left] Searching for anywhere less windy

to launch. Day 43 near Udayapur, Nepal.

[previous right] Near Trisuli (at 21,000 feet) in

the Nanda Devi Sanctuary. [above] Last landing before

waiting out a several day storm just 8 miles west of Dhorpatan, Nepal. Day 21.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 29

their expedition:“I set out to have an amazing adventure with some

good friends,” Sander said. “I had no idea what was possible. Basically, we set a goal that I thought was impossible. That we got as far as we did exceeded my expectations.”

The Himalayan Odyssey team’s success in the rela-tively uncharted flying territory may have been pos-sible because of one huge advantage it had over the few previous flights: technology. The team set out with gizmos never dreamed of in 1999 or even in 2006—iPhones with solar chargers that allowed the team to blog about their progress, SPOT GPS trackers that uploaded the pilots’s positions via satellite every ten minutes and fed the data into an online Google Maps page, which, besides the safety element, allowed anyone with Internet access to follow the team’s prog-ress and post comments and encouragement, satellite phones, and two-way radios, along with the standard paragliding variometers and personal GPS devices for route finding.

“It was really useful to have tracks of our take-offs and landings accessible by phone,” Reed said. “If we couldn’t locate someone, we would call Manoj [Roy] and say, ‘Look online and tell me where Oriol landed. We can’t find him.’ I also took advantage of the tech-nology by calling random friends in the United States and asking them to give us weather forecasts.”

The team was flying state-of-the art gliders by UP and reversible Sup Air harnesses. Sander, Laengle and Laurens were flying Trango X-Lights wings and Altirando XP harnesses, and Reed was flying the new Trango XC wing and Altirando Hybrid harness.

“It was my first time flying such a high performance wing,” Sander said, “and although that may have led to the situation when I had to throw my reserve,

overall it handled incredibly turbulent air smoothly and inspired confidence. The wing just absorbed the bumps, giving plenty of feedback and no surprises. It’s super solid on speed bar and the great speed range increased safety when flying in strong valley winds, which were common.”

The first leg of the expedition, from Bir-Billing, India, to each pilot’s scattered landing place about 30 kilometers from the Nepal border, lasted 13 days. According to Sander, the team encountered its coldest temperatures, best visibility, and more remote high al-titude campsites during this time than during the rest of the trip. He said that flying conditions and route finding in northern India were fairly straightforward. When pilots got separated from the team, everyone eventually could be accounted for; they generally re-joined the majority in the air the next day and com-pared notes about what they experienced when they landed.

As the group rejoined and split up over the first two weeks, they went through some rough weather, but, for the most part, they were able to cover some distance and top land. They spent most of their nights camping in remote areas—sometimes staying with

“The Himalayan Odyssey team’s

success in the relatively uncharted

flying territory may have been

possible because of one huge

advantage it had over the few

previous flights: technology.”

48 days. 26 days of flying.

46 miles farthest flight. 4 miles shortest flight.

6 hours longest flight. 15600 ft highest.

680 miles traversed. (Dharamsala, India, to Bhojpur, Nepal, by flying and

walking, only 48 miles short of their goal of Sikkim, India.)

7 pilots in the beginning. 2 pilots in the end.

46 lbs of body weight lost. 1 reserve toss.

45 machupucharee kisses. (A gluttonous dessert consumed at The Olive Café, in

Pokhara, Nepal, while waiting for the weather to improve.)

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero30

shepherds or in small villages. On Day 6, Kotecha suffered a back injury severe enough to prevent him from continuing with the expedition. The team was down to six pilots and soon would be down to five.

After a rough top landing on Day 8, Pendurkar slipped and injured his wrist while packing his glider. It wasn’t a serious injury, but Pendurkar had achieved his personal goal of flying more than 300 kilometers with the team, so he decided to end his journey there. Days 7 through 9, the team encountered rough flying conditions, slowing their formerly good progress. They managed less than 8 kilometers on Day 9, after they had been averaging 50 kilometers a day.

On Day 12, all the pilots managed to cover a good distance but landed about 10 kilometers away from each other near their goal in the Uttaranchal Mountains. They were only 30 kilometers away from the Nepal border and easily could have taken off and flown over the border into Nepal. However, recent stories in the news about a traveler’s being arrested in India because he had a satellite phone, as well as Al Qaeda’s allegedly buying paramotors to use for terror-ist purposes, convinced the team to land well before the border and cross into Nepal by land. Sander said the news stories were blown out of proportion, but because they were doing their expedition so publicly, they wanted to be conservative about crossing the border and not risk trigger-happy border patrolmen shooting at them if they crossed in the air.

By the night of Day 13, the remaining five pilots had reconvened at Champawat, Uttarakhand, India, and started towards the Nepal border on land. For the next five days the team shared their experiences from their previous journey, crossed the Nepal border, and prepared for the 500-kilometer crossing of west Nepal they were about to embark on.

“What beautiful terrain we have crossed… so

many vultures and eagles joining and leading us up to the clouds…where you feel like [you are] in heaven when you pop out over the inversion and you are on this other dimension where it’s crystal clear over this black inversion line. Half of the time we spent far up from civilization making fire, melting snow for water and food, cooking, sharing, waking up with a layer of ice crystals on the sleeping bag and a stun-ning view of the mountains, ready for the next adven-ture and not knowing where we would end up next.

“Always when we landed near some shepherd’s house, the people welcomed us heartily. I remember one old lady: she told us she thought the gods were coming down when they saw us landing. One of the shep-herd’s sons was living in England… and his father was living all year up in the mountains, sleeping outside in the cold near a little fire, with a gun by his side, pro-tecting his sheep and goats from the tigers and leop-ard that turn up regularly. Today we stocked up on

[right] Brad Sander launch crew. Day 18. [below] Brad

Sander. Day 7.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 31

supplies for the next section until we reach Pokhara. We are all curious about the mountains and terrain and conditions.” Excerpts from Laengle’s March 22 (Day 14) blog entry.

Day 16 presented a rough start to the west Nepal leg of the trip. Starting 30 kilometers from the Indian border and searching for two days for a suitable launch, the team eventually took off from a launch site in the Mahakali Mountains. Sander said that after he took off, a cycle came through that allowed him to climb 1000 meters without turning. Right after he took off, however, launch conditions became bad enough that the others were not able to get in the air, so Sander decided to look for a place to land and wait. He got into some strong turbulence, had a collapse and riser twists, and had to throw his reserve. Somehow Sander missed a cliff face and landed in a soft bush surrounded by tall trees in a forest. He reported that some locals saw him land and came up to help him get

his wing and reserve untangled from the trees. Sander spent the night apart from the team and quickly got stuck in a strong valley wind when he took off in the morning, causing him to make a scary landing and camp out by himself for the second night in a row.

On Day 18, the third day in west Nepal, Sander was able to escape stronger valley winds and join the team in the air. Everyone except Fernandez landed to-gether, and everyone made good progress, flying more than 90 kilometers and averaging about four hours in the air. Fernandez had a five-hour hike to get to where the others were camped, and Laengle walked down to help him find the trail up and carry some of his gear.

“If you break down the trip into any three days, there’s much of that type of stuff happening,” Sander said. “The confusion caused by people splitting up and unpredictable weather made the decisions that had to be made difficult. It was both rewarding and frustrating to be completing the expedition as a group

[previous] The AR XP 1 Harness. [below] The Nova Orxy. [opposite] Ozone Swift launching from the Eiger.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero32

and not racing as individuals.”Sander said it was also a wake-up call. No mem-

bers of the team had ever flown in west Nepal; hardly anyone had even flown in the country. They expect-ed more difficult flying than in northern India, but nothing they’d known compared to what they en-countered. Sander also said it was less remote than he had thought it would be. Very few areas the team was flying over were uninhabited.

“I threw my reserve in a supposedly remote area of west Nepal,” Sander said. “But the locals saw it and ran up to me to help me get down. If you fly over a wilderness area in the United States or Canada, it is probably more remote because no one lives there. In Nepal, there seemed to be trails and Jeep roads every-where.”

Throughout Days 19 and 20 Fernandez had radio trouble and was straying behind the group. He was worried about making his return flight to Spain in a

few days to get back to his job as a fireman stationed in Barcelona. On Day 20 he got stuck in the Karnali River, and the rest of the group made the decision to carry on, going 60 kilometers further. They waited a day for him to catch up but then learned that his mal-functioning radio had been stolen, and he was having difficulties finding a takeoff. It was an unfortunate, but easy, decision for Fernandez to end his trip and travel by bus to meet the team at their next check-point in Pokhara, Nepal.

On Day 21, Laengle got trapped in a valley wind off of launch, sunk out within the first ten kilometers, and told the rest of the team to keep going, instead of landing and waiting for him. He spent the next few days hiking and traveling on buses to get to Pokhara to meet up with the team.

“Some segments of the trip we passengers had to push the bus or walk for a kilometer. We crossed rivers and sometimes had to walk…finally, I caught a

[above] Antoine Laurens and Mike Laengle on a

practice day near Bir, India.[opposite] Dozens of happy villagers competed to cover

the pilots in red powder seconds after landing near

Boni, Day 25.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 33

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero34

night bus. I couldn’t get any sleep; being on the last seat I was constantly being bumped up half-a-meter all the way. Then in the middle of the night there was made a big noise and I was covered with broken glass. A part of a truck was just near my face… I was lucky.” Excerpts from Laengle’s April 2 blog entry.

After Laengle sunk out, the remaining three pilots, Sander, Reed, and Laurens, flew in the most turbulent conditions they’d encountered so far in their flying careers. Sander said they were flying in really strong turbulence close to the ground, with all three of them being blown backwards at times and others keeping their wings open by sheer force of will.

“Night 22: Scary flying yesterday. Howling today. Gusts to 80 or 90 km/hour. Low on food. Low on water. Low on energy. Low on information. High on camaraderie—a quiet kind. Unhurried day, smil-ing shepherd woman taught us tricks. Now, at 3600 meters, thunder, hail piling up outside and a little drifting through the roof of the perfect lean-to we are borrowing for the night. Bellies not full for days, cooking inside we are incredibly careful not to spill a drop.” Excerpts from Reed’s March 31 blog entry.

On Day 23, the three pilots walked down to Dhorpatan, a small village south of Dhaulagiri. They had a solid meal and decided to head back up into the mountains to find a launch site the next morning. On Day 26, the three-member team arrived in Pokhara to get some much needed rest and share stories with Laengle and Fernandez who had already made it into town by bus and met up with team coordinator Jones. Overall the team had six flyable days in west Nepal and averaged 49 kilometers per day.

“From the very beginning in Nepal, it was just one thing after another,” Reed said. “We were all chal-lenged by what we encountered. It wasn’t every day, but there were many scary, dangerous days.”

Sander said that resting in Pokhara was essential for them to continue their journey. All the pilots had lost weight. The team subsisted on ramen noodles, baby food, dried tofu, choco powder of cooked lentils and grains from an ancient family recipe of Kotecha’s mother called simply Dilip’s Mother’s Powder (DMP for short), and generosity from locals. Though the team greatly appreciated the meals of lentil soup, veg-etables, rice, chapatis, and even rice wine that the locals cooked for them, this foreign food had given all of the pilots some sort of stomach bug.

“The stressful flying conditions in west Nepal had taken a toll on us,” Sander said. “We really needed to have non-group time and to fatten up again. It was a personal time for me because Pokhara is the place I learned to thermal and fly cross-country. That was special—to be in the place where this type of trip had

[left, top to bottom] Second night in Slate Roof Camp, day 20. Morning, day 10 (from left to right) Oriol Fernandex, Mike Laengle, Antoine Laurens. Oriol Fernandez bivy east of Dharamsala, day 1.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 35

been a far-off dream and to have had it become a real-ity seven years later, was like coming full circle.”

The team stayed a week in Pokhara, at first just to rest, but the strange pre-monsoon weather grounded them for more days than they wanted. On Day 29, the team launched with two guest pilots joining the team, but since neither could catch lift, they landed directly below the takeoff and returned to Pokhara to wait for better conditions. The team flew on for 45 kilometers but thick haze and few thermals convinced them to also go back to Pokhara to wait for conditions to improve.

On Day 35 the team was in the air again. They headed east across central Nepal towards Kathmandu, their next destination, flying 56 kilometers in strong winds and thick haze that made route finding very difficult. Over the next few days, the team struggled to do more than 30 kilometers a day and continued to land lower than they wanted. Sander said he was flying in a T-shirt most days, the weather was so warm, but he could hardly see the next ridge, the sky was so hazy. Route finding became an issue, he said, because they were flying in convoluted valleys with very little ground clearance, but almost every night, the team spent the night in a village and ate with the locals.

On Day 42, all three pilots flew about 50 kilome-ters, and conditions seemed to be improving. Day 44 was Laurens last day of the trip. Due to visa reasons, he had to fly out to a road and get to the border of Sikkim, India, to catch a flight back to France. Sander and Reed continued, but Day 46 changed every-thing.

Sander said that after being pinned down on the ground for a few days because of the weather, they both took off on a lee side site and knew that the im-mediate area would be turbulent, but they hoped to climb out and away into calmer conditions. He said that Reed was right with him when a sudden west wind blew them 10 kilometers apart.

“I think Brad [Sander] and I were both asking our-selves: What The F**K?” Reed said. “We were 10 kilo-meters apart, dealing with completely different wind conditions. I lost a battle to get myself to the wind-ward side of terrain in a 20-30 mph SW wind, then turned tail and ran over the forested valley behind which only provided more strong sink. I tried to climb near the valley's southern ridge, expecting turbulence, but what I found was quite a bit worse, really violent. I remember looking up at the wing, stalled asymmetri-cally, not in a position I wanted to restart from, and down at steep rocky terrain, that was way too close for anything like this, fast approaching too close for a re-serve. I had to go for the restart. It handled beautifully

[right, top to bottom] Eric Reed and Antoine Laurens meet a Sherpa family near Udayapur, Nepal on day 43. Looking for a launch near

Dhorpatan, after four days of stormy conditions. Brad Sander after landing on day 4, near Ani, India.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero36

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 37

and I was out of the turbulence. I was so happy to be in one piece, and not under reserve, but I still had to deal with landing 10 mph backwards in a narrow forested valley with a few rice patties."

Attempting to set up for a landing several hundred meters down valley, Reed quickly changed plans when he encountered a momentary lull and turned into the slope to touch down gently in a small rice patty he'd just passed. In between restarting his wing and land-ing, Reed got on the radio and said to Sander simply:

"Really scary down here."“That was what called it,” Sander said. “When Eric

[Reed] called me, that was the first time I heard emo-tion over the radio from him. I knew something had scared him, and, more than that, if he was injured, I knew I couldn’t land where he was. I felt really help-less. We had been flying in conditions beyond the scope of what was safe for paragliders to fly in. It was time to stop rolling the dice.”

Reed agreed, “I was enjoying every aspect of the trip. If there were mountains to follow and visas to make it legal, I would’ve kept going. But we kept find-ing ourselves facing scary conditions and weather that didn’t make sense to us. We were getting in over our heads.”

Sander and Reed walked from their landing places after Reed’s close call and met up in Bhojpur, Nepal, and decided not to continue flying. After 48 days, the Himalayan Odyssey was complete. Bhojpur is only 90 kilometers away from the border of Sikkim, India, which was the team’s goal.

Along the way and especially once they were done, the team members posted blog entries to explain in their own words what they saw and did. They didn’t really write about the dramatic scenery or thermaling or their longest flight or their ability to paraglide in such extreme conditions. Instead they mainly wrote about their time together as a group and the expe-riences they shared with the villagers and shepherds they met along the way.

“I remember crowds who came to watch us after landing, bringing us some milk, or rice, helping us pick up wood for the night. Mainly children but also elderly adults, one time, more than 200, came up to our top landing area at 3400m from three different villages. We clearly, as they said to us, made every-body happy; it was such an event for them. One told me, at the takeoff as we were waiting for good condi-tions, “When you will go [sic], because we all have to go back to work and we cannot wait all day.” Excerpts from Laurens April 7 blog entry.

Sander said that one of the main goals of the trip was to share with the people they encountered and to learn about their culture and their lives. It wasn’t sup-posed to be a self-absorbed adventure trip, he said, but when conditions started to get bad, it became about their just surviving the trip and worrying about things

such as the kilometers flown and days spent on the ground. Sander said that at those times there would always be an interaction that would wake him up.

“In northern India, we landed right before a storm, and we were all sitting around thinking ‘look at what we did, we’re really hardcore,’” Sander said. “About an hour later, I was watching two 15-year-old girls carry about 80 pounds of wood on their backs. I went over to talk to them and picked up one of their loads, and carried it 100 feet or so. It was a huge effort. It hit me that this is how these people live their lives, and they do it with such grace and humor. It made it really hard to be self-absorbed.”

The pilots all wrote about these kinds of genuine, generous, personal interactions with the villagers every time they landed. Reed compared it to a typical month of travel in Asia, and how lucky they were to interact so much more with the locals.

“The whole time you’re traveling around, follow-ing your Lonely Planet guidebook and searching for one organic experience with the locals that will make your trip worthwhile,” he said. “We were having un-forgettable experiences like that every time we landed in a village. It got to be a different thing, having these amazing exchanges be the rhythm of your travels in-stead of continually seeking out that one peak experi-ence of the trip.”

Sander said that the villagers told them how lucky they felt that the pilots had landed in their village. The people of the Himalaya are a deeply religious people, and Sander said that when someone lands from the sky in a paraglider, they take that as a good omen and good luck for the village. Because of this, paragliding goes from being very selfish to something that gives people happiness.

“All these synchronistic events created a spiritual feel to the trip,” Sander said. “We were on a jour-ney and being shown and allowed to see things that would change all of us. The Himalayan Odyssey was an extension of how I live my life and why paragliding and travel in the Himalayas is so incredible. It makes us pilots feel that it’s worthwhile when we share a memory with the people we meet. They’ll always talk about the time people landed in their village, and not the neighbor’s village.”

[opposite] Grass + 360 degrees + H2O + wood = correct choice for landing on the evening of day 7. [next page] Lounging in front of Nanda Ghunti and Trisul, before last flight in India, day 12. (L to R) Mike Laengle, Eeric Reed, Antoine Laurens and Oriol Fernandez.

“The people of the Himalaya

are a deeply religious people...

when someone lands from

the sky in a paraglider, they

take that as a good omen and

good luck for the village.”

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero38

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 39

THE HIMALAYAN VULTUREOne aim of Himalayan Odyssey was to increase awareness about the di-

minishing population of Himalayan vultures and other raptors. Vultures

in the region are facing extinction and are an important part of the eco-

system. A single vulture can eat up to a kilo of rotting flesh per day; this

keeps carcasses out of urban areas and stops the spread of disease through

rats and dogs that would otherwise feed on the dead animals. Populations

have recently been decimated by Diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory used

on livestock that causes kidney failure in vultures that ingest it by eating

the carcasses of livestock treated with the drug. Sander said that during

the expedition he met a local who said that when he was a kid there

were so many vultures in the sky they would interfere with airline flights.

Currently vulture populations only number in the thousands. Efforts

have been made to inform ranchers about alternatives to Diclofenac and

create safe areas where uncontaminated carcasses can be placed. For more

information and ways you can help, please go to vulturerescue.org.

More than 80 raptor species call Nepal home, which is one of the high-

est concentrations in the world. However, the populations of these birds

of prey are struggling because of habitat destruction, poisoning, and the

pet trade. Himalayan Raptor Rescue in Pokhara is the only bird of prey

rescue center in Nepal. It takes in sick, wounded, and orphaned birds to

rehabilitate them and release them back into the wild or train them for

parahawking if they cannot fend for themselves. Recently a viewing area

was built from money from parahawking flights and a contribution from

Christina Ammon, who sold her grandmother’s diamond ring to fund

charitable projects around the world.

For more information and ways you can help, please go to withthi-

sringproject.org and himalayanraptorrescue.org.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero40

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 41

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Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero42

by TikiMASHY

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Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 43

Unbeknownst to “the Kid,” the lockout was inevitable. Yeah, it was going to happen, as sure as hang glider pilots love to tell the “oh

shit, there I was, thought I was going to die” stories. And, for sure, this lockout would be of the brown-your-rompers variety.

Bart Weghorst (tandem instructor, Cowboy Up Hang Gliding) quickly assessed “the Kid” (AKA Evan) as being, without a doubt, fearless, particu-larly since he beamed with recounts of numerous motorcycle mishaps—some of which culminated in broken bones.

That said, Bart’s biggest hurdle was to get 14-year-old Evan, an adolescent male, to take to heart that “hang gliding ain’t bowling.” Hang gliding can be dangerous, and its bite is worse than its bark. The question: How could he get Evan’s attention? The answer: Open the door to welcome

“Señor Lockout.”By tandem lesson 14, Evan was a rock star, pro-

gressing fast; he’d mastered each skill and task Bart set before him on their tandem flights. The Kid was good, and he knew it. Yet, occasionally the Kid would get “sloppy.” So what’s the big deal? (I went bowling once, got sloppy, dropped the ball on my big toe—hang gliding ain’t bowling). Remedy for this student’s sloppiness: Señor Lockout, meet The Kid.

As the tandem flight reached 2,500 feet agl, Bart coaxed the glider into several gentle lockout situa-tions, but the Kid was having none of it. He ag-gressively steered the glider back in line behind the Dragonfly, as he’d been taught. Though Bart and Evan had discussed lockouts in ground school, the Kid was clueless as to his instructor’s ultimate plan. Finally, Bart realized the Kid was just too good, too “on it” as it were. So after the second failed at-tempt to get the Kid to lockout, Bart took the sure-fire approach; he “cranked and banked”— a steep bank, diving hard, speed building, nose angling toward the ground. No way was Evan righting this situation. Release! Release! Release!

Just kidding!Later, the tug pilot recalled hearing a loud

shriek from the tandem glider, but perhaps it was a

[opposite and above] Evan and Bart at Palisades Resevoir, Wyoming. Photos courtesy of Cowboy Up Hang Gliding.

“Bart's biggest hurdle was

to get 14-year-old Evan, an

adolescent male, to take to

heart that hang gliding aint

bowling.”

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero44

just a coincidental engine noise anomaly. It’s still unclear.

So scared, while the marrow was sucked clean out of his bones, Evan kept his head and hit the release. After that, Evan never again got sloppy with his flying.

But this all started when Evan’s father, Chip Davis (composer/producer of Mannheim Steamroller), called to tell us he and Evan were on the road from Nebraska to Jackson Hole, so we could teach his 14-year-old son, Evan, to fly hang gliders. Since they only had two weeks, it sounded a bit unrealistic to us, given Evan’s age.

As we queried Chip while he was driving, we learned that, apart from RC airplanes, Evan had absolutely no flying experience. He had, however, taken a tandem paragliding flight at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and was positive that he wanted to learn to hang glide instead.

When Evan, a blondie with bright blue eyes, surfer-boy good looks and a baritone voice that would cause Louis B. Armstrong to sit up and take notice, and his charismatic dad showed, it was all about the flying. “We have ten days,” Chip said,

“and Evan wants to get as many tandem lessons as possible.” We informed Chip that because of Evan’s age, we couldn’t possibly solo him before 20 lessons. Chip reiterated, “We have ten days, and we want to get Evan as much training as possible.” We shook hands, and said, “Let the games begin.”

“Scary good” is how Bart described the Kid’s flying skills after the first tandem. The Kid is a natural, no doubt. Bart’s task now? How to train a kid whose only natural fear is a pop-quiz. Start with: “rein in” and “refine” and map the maturity.

Each day Evan’s commitment and talent steadi-ly grew. Chip, his strongest supporter, moved the pair out of their lavish hilltop home at Spring Creek in Jackson Hole to set up residence at a local hotel near our flying site, just so Evan would be on time each morning for his lessons. Rain, shine, wind…. no matter, Chip and Evan were there.

Each morning Evan would thoroughly preflight the glider while Chip went off to get a round of pastries and coffee, returning to the site before the morning flying session began.

As Evan’s feel for flying blossomed, there was an increasing awareness that the Kid might just solo before his 20th lesson. Since the average person takes between 20-25 tandem flights before solo-ing, Evan was seemingly on his way to becoming above-average.

Once Bart reconciled the issue of a14-year-old male adolescent vs. maturity, Evan was good-to-go with regard to soloing.

Four lessons following Señor Lockout, it looked as if the Kid was ready to solo. It was a big day, and

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 45

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Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero46

Chip and Evan’s last day in Jackson. Anticipation was hovering in the air that morning. On hand was Chip (of course), close family friends who had flown into Jackson from Nebraska in Chip’s plane (in order to drive Chip’s car back to Nebraska) as well as the pilots who had flown his jet into Jackson to take Chip and Evan home, so Evan wouldn’t miss the first day of school. This was Evan’s last day of flying.

Bart and Evan readied themselves and towed up, as they had done for the past eight days. Evan did well with only minor insignificant mistakes.

When they landed, the aire on the ground crew was crackling at a fevered pitch with anticipation. Bart, being the consummate instructor, looked at the weather and decided that even though it was Evan’s last day and Evan could “probably” do his

solo, weather conditions were not perfect for a first solo.

As expected, there was disappointment, but everyone respected Bart’s decision not to try to

“squeeze one in” on the Kid’s last day, even know-ing how well-prepared Evan’s skills were for solo-ing.

As it turned out, Chip put everything on hold for one more day. They stayed, fingers crossed, for an additional day, in hopes the weather would be better for Evan’s solo.

On August 8, 2010, after nine flying days and eighteen tandems flights, 14-year-old Evan Davis landed solo from a 3000’ tow in a 195 Wills Wing Falcon hang glider to the whoops and cheers of friends, family and the hang gliding crew.

The Kid’s a natural – AIR EVAN!

[above and right] Evan soloing.

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 47

AIREVAN

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero48

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 49

by Joe McCarthy

Our big ole jet airliner banks in to-wards Funchal, then banks hard again, flying low along the coast.

(This pilot must be a paraglider!) We hit the ground running, racing our cars south through Funchal, past the 580m cliff face of Cabo Girao, ya baby! Winding our way through tunnels and along cliffs to surfer’s paradise, Jardim do Mar. A beautiful, modernised old village

with a long, clean, right surf break out front. Grabbing our bags, asking a young girl which way to our hotel; she responds with a smile and a follow me.

We wind our way through narrow walkways past Joe’s Bar, left and left again. I open a big wooden door leading into a walled garden surrounded by our colour-ful rooms and alfresco dining tables and kitchen. Plenty of time to enjoy later.

We’re off again! Winding our way up to Arco da Calheta… at the top, just past

Mad MagicalMadeira

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero50

takeoff, is Costa Verde bar. Fatama serv-ing up cold beers and hot breaded chicken balls with piri piri sauce! Cooling out, we check out takeoff and get our site briefing by John, while Hartmut, the eccentric German owner, gives a loud short burst of launch etiquette and site conditions.

Meanwhile, the London arm of the Polish Air Force take off. Soar the ridge, hook into some thermals and easily make good height over takeoff. Soon I feel the wind at my back. Hartmut shouts to Tomas, “Tell them to land!” Tomas gets on the radio: “LAND NOW!” Six of them make a bumpy ride down to the beach. Two wait too long and end up swimming, being picked out by local fishermen. What John Boy,Tomas and Hartmut had told us in the site briefings is that we would be flying the lee side of the island where a strong prevailing north wind would be cancelled out by a southerly sea breeze and thermals. Lesson learned: Always listen to the site briefing. And the site assessment does not stop once your feet leave the ground.

After a few beers and photos of cut lines wrapped around wet boots, we head back to Surfers Hotel. Meet our landlord Henrique, son Ruben & girlfriend. Also Antonio Antunes from north Portugal, owner/shaper of some of the best surf-boards in Europe (Manila Surfboards)! Enrique shows us his office—a small room with three large wooden kegs. One with cider, one with the best homemade red wine and one I don’t know. Around all four walls a high shelf with all sorts of

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53

Love Canopy Flight?Come Play with Us!

How big was it?

home made rum. It turned out to be one of those nights!

The next morning came far too early… breakfast alfresco, then up to Arco da Calheta. The sea breeze filled and we all got off, from newbie to pro. With acro out front, thermaling above. and ridge soar-ing all around. For me it was flying enor-mous ridges. Close to raw, rugged beauty! I gained height and crossed the valley to the east. Past a spur onto a shear rock face, up to an evergreen forest out front, spiral down and do it again like a bird of prey. Finally landing on a very rocky beach and joining some of the others for lunch. Then an afternoon of play, leading into a perfect Madeiran sunset.

The following day we drove the wind-ing roads to Cabo Girao, the 580m cliff face and real reason for going to Madeira. Takeoff is lined with pine trees, so impos-sible to see what you’re going into…like opening a door and stepping out into the sky. A big blue sea stretches out to my right. To my left and far below, a shear rock face. In front, a spur with large pin-nacles and the capital, Funchal, stretch-

ing out beyond. As I reach the corner above the pin-

nacles. I see a rainbow forming in the valley. The magical places a bit of cloth and a few strings take you! The rest of the week is filled with more sunsets and more rainbows. With a BarBQ at Hartmut’s and a party at Surfers Hotel. There are 18 sites on Madeira; it has the best surf in Europe. With great scuba diving, sport-fishing, whale watching and canyoning. It is the Hawaii of the Atlantic!

Contacts:John Welch www.flightculture.co.uk

Manila Surfboards:[email protected]

Suffers Hotel: Maktub Guest House

Henrique email: [email protected] Tel: + 351 911 986 083

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero56

by John W. Robinson

It’s eight minutes until the start, and I’m stacked in a gaggle of seven glid-ers in light lift. My group is a kilo-

meter away from the start cylinder, but the pilots closer to it are really scratching to stay up. Except, that is, for a couple of gliders serenely positioned up high. So I’ll hang here for a few more minutes, before I go tag the start cylinder and be on my way to stylishly completing the task. That’s the optimistic plan, anyway. But even if I sink out after the first couple of waypoints, it’s all good. I’m having fun and learning a lot.

This is the fifth annual Tater Hill Open comp. It’s held in early August and is based at Rich Mountain, or Tater Hill, North Carolina, just north of the town of Boone. Primarily a paragliding event, hang gliders are welcome too, and this year there are a few to share the sky with the paragliders.

What’s special about this year’s Tater Open are the record number of pilots, about fifty, and the excellent flying condi-tions, which allow for five interesting and challenging tasks.

At an elevation of 5000 ft. ASL, the Tater launch is one of the highest in the eastern US, and the 2000 ft. of vertical over the landing zones offers lots of op-portunity to soar and otherwise work the terrain. The site has been flown for over thirty years, and the “old timer” hang glider pilots in attendance offer much wisdom on flying the area. During this year’s comp we got to experience particu-larly interesting convergence flying. This condition results when warm moist air from the east meets the drier west side air, and a wall of cloud forms. We soar beside this cloud wall, in and out of the corridors of mist. Later, this cloud flows over the launch and the west face, and the view of it from the LZ elicits lots of oohhs and aahhs.

I’m coring up, trying to get high enough to make the next turnpoint, Martindale. There are several other glid-ers in this gaggle over the spine between Snake and Tater, and I’m elated to be with them. Two more gliders scoot over to join us, as I fly away toward Martindale. I tag the cylinder, but I’m too low, and my scrambling and scratching for lift does not

pay off. Down to LZ1 I sink. Others get flushed the same way, and we share sto-ries in the shade of the trees in the LZ pe-rimeter. We learn from our own errors in strategy and wing handling, and we learn from each other. We learn from the expert pilots who get high and stay high and con-sistently make goal.

Evening activities during the comp include cooking up some hearty feasts at the campsite or eating at one of the comp-sponsoring restaurants in Boone, carousing around town, and telling stories around the campfire. Nights are delight-fully cool; in the wee hours the sound of snoring fills the campground.

The third day of the comp holds prom-ise of good conditions, but such never ma-terialize and the task is ultimately called. However, time on launch is well spent in playing with small kites, watching the antics of a few pilots on speed wings, shar-ing stories and inspecting each other’s equipment. Some of us hike the lovely trail to the north end of the ridge. We practice tree rescue rigging, and this turns into a full-on knot fest.

The international flavor of paragliding

The Tater Experience

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is always a delight, and the Tater Open is no exception in this regard. Present are pilots from Russia, Ecuador, Brazil, Poland, Czech Republic, the UK, Germany, and Slovakia. And from the US, pilots repre-sent big cities like New York and Chicago, as well as the rural hills of West Virginia and Georgia. On the hill we socialize and get to know each other better as we await good conditions.

Every day the task committee is chal-lenged in coming up with a task which fits the expected conditions, and is chal-lenging enough for the expert pilots while still being at least partially accessible to novice competitors. From a distance, I observe the task committee at work, and I find it quite educational to hear each pilot member of the committee contribute his or her particular expertise. The com-mittee must achieve a delicate balance in designing the task to be neither too hard nor too easy, and I think the group is commendably successful. We fly to points with names like NPST, SPST, Bucky’s, Martindale, Old 421, Bang, and Mables. Besides having the route in our GPS’s, we write them out on paper attached to our flight decks and mentally check them off as we tag them.

Chris Grantham, our dauntless score-master, knows GPS’s—I mean really knows them—and he graciously helps pilots with questions—not to mention the

occasional glitch—which arise. Also, the more experienced competitors help the beginners unravel the mysteries of creat-ing routes and setting proximities, until everyone is up to speed with the process. Thankfully, in the Tater Open kind-ness and graciousness do not fly out the window in the heat of competition!

The scoring system used in this year’s comp assesses handicaps for gliders based on published glide specifications. Lower performing wings are assessed less than higher performance ones, and this, of course, tends to help the less-experienced pilots in the scoring process and the stand-ings.

There are over thirty gliders in the air now, just after the start on task four, and conditions are excellent. It’s a joy to be a part of this bunch, to be living this day in this way. Lift is not too elusive and most of the pilots are going up and out. By now we recognize our friends, new and old, on their respective gliders. We’ve learned who’s flying which wing, and it adds to the camaraderie we feel. We’re all com-petitive, but we find ourselves invariably cheering each other on and being inspired by pilots way ahead and way above the rest of us. There’s so much to know and every-one here seems keen on learning.

It’s midday on the hill and task five has been set. The launch window opens in 50 minutes. A light plane approaches the ridgetop at low altitude, and the hot shot pilot sideslips the plane low and slow over the launch. The pilot happens to be wearing the hat of the Chick Filet deliv-

The Tater Experience [left] Low, misty cloud covered the mountain most mornings. [above] The task board. Photos by John W. Robinson.

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Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero58

ery man today, and he airdrops two bags of fifty well-wrapped chicken sandwiches. Cheers go up all around as the pilot honks his horn, banks left and disappears to the south. As we munch our sandwiches, someone deadpans, “just another day at Tater.”

The gracious and hard-working hosts and organizers of the Tater Open are Bubba Goodman and Beth Burgin, with able assistance from Jay and Kim Browder and others. Bubba owns the launch and has been flying the mountain for over thirty years. He created the Tater comp to share the experience of the beautiful flying to be had here, and to encourage pilots to delve deeper into free flight through com-petition. My fellow Tater competitors and I are constantly reminded of the dedica-tion and generous spirit that Bubba and his helpers convey in creating and main-taining the integrity of the fun event that is the Tater Open.

The overall winners of this year’s Tater are Luis Rosenkjer, Kari Castle, and James Bradley, and in the last task, these three renowned pilots arrive at goal within four seconds of each other. That’s racing. The worn cliché that all participants in the Tater Open are winners is not far from the truth, however.

This year’s comp continues the Tater

tradition of being highly successful in doing what it does best, that is, being a fun and relaxed regional comp in which pilots learn and get ready for more comps, and for flying at the national level. The style and format of the Tater Open is per-fect for this goal, and there is strong sen-timent that such local grass-roots “meets” are vital to the sport.

[above] Tater launch is at 5000 ft. ASL. Launch west. LZ’s are in the valley out of the picture. [opposite] Tater Class

of 2010 in the LZ. [below] Hosts Bubba Goodman and Beth Burgin on launch. Photos by John W. Robinson.

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Read by hang glider and paraglider pilots in over 75 countries worldwide

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GALLERY

by Ryan Voight

Life is full of defining moments: moments

that define us, and moments where we

define ourselves. A long time ago, I defined

myself as a pilot and never thought twice

about it. Recently I have come to realize

that wasn’t my decision to make.

What is it that makes us pilots, anyway?

Is it simply that we choose to fly? Or is it

something more? I’ve started to think that

it’s more… that it’s a lifestyle… a mentality…

a place that we visit deep within our own

subconscious. Hooking ourselves to a wing

in one way or another does not make us

pilots. It’s something we do because we are

pilots.

As pilots, most of us live very different lives

from “normal” people. We work flexible

hours. We work outdoors. Some of us are

lucky enough to work remotely, from wher-

ever we please. Even if we work indoors, we

know where the nearest window is… and

we know what’s beyond that glass. Wind

direction, velocity, clouds… we know. Were

these choices that we made to be pilots?

Perhaps. But, more likely, these were easy

decisions because we are pilots; we never

really had a choice in the matter at all.

[left] Larry Herndon 3500' over Lookout Mountain, GA | photo by Larry Herndon.

62

[clockwise from above] Blue day over Quest, Quest Air, Groveland, FL. Over Lookout Mountain, looking north toward Chattanooga, TN. Scratching in Groveland, FL, low save over the orange grove outside of Quest Air. Photos by Larry Herndon. [next page, left] Jeff Shapiro

launching and flying Missoula, Montana. [next page, right] Flying SoCal | photos by Jonathan Dietch.

It’s difficult to assign words, but as pilots I’m confident you understand. You never feel more alive than when you’re

flying. It’s not about the adrenaline rush that spectators seem to think we’re after—it’s about doing what feels right. It’s

about what feels “natural.” Flying, to a pilot, feels like home. The house or apartment where our ground-bound Clark

Kent alter egos reside—that’s not home. Home is when your feet leave the Earth. Home is the great blue yonder. Home

is where we can relax and be who we really are: Pilots.

I have come to realize this more and more as I continue to open my “home” to new people. You see, I am a hang gliding

instructor and tandem pilot. If the sky is “home,” then I’m just one of many little bed-and-breakfast stops where people

can come and visit. I do what I can to welcome people to my home, and when I see pure joy and exhilaration on their

faces, I know we have arrived. They are welcome to stay as long as they please.

On a recent tandem flight, one of my passengers opened my eyes. After about half- an-hour of soaring smooth ridge

lift, she quietly said to me, “This is nothing like I thought it would be… it feels like we’re flying.” To which I said the only

thing that came to mind: “We are!” I realized, right then, that my passenger already knew, in her mind, body and soul,

what flying felt like; she was just surprised to feel it hang gliding. I think if she read this, she just might understand

about feeling like “home.”

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero66

by Christina Ammon

When I left my old Ozone glider behind in Mexico, it felt like a good choice. I’d landed in a tree

and the lines were snapped, the fabric torn. A couple of local pilots nearly risked their lives extracting it from the jungle canopy and then spent an entire afternoon care-fully patching the fabric and stitching the lines back together. After all of their death-defying effort to salvage my wing, it didn’t feel right to take it back. The wing was getting old and was beaten by sand and salt-air. I figured I’d go home

and order a new wing—which I had been planning to do anyway.

But now a long two months have passed, and I’m still awaiting the arrival of my new Ozone wing.

Meanwhile, it’s hot here at Woodrat at the height of the flying season, and I am sans-wing. It’s been so long since I’ve flown that the fact that I ever flew at all seems like an abstraction. Some previous life.

Without the organizing force of flying, of meeting atop Woodrat at 11:00 a.m. and again at 6:00 p.m., my summer days feel shapeless and everything suffers: work,

relationships, my entire mindset. My concerns are getting pretty lightweight. Like: I’m wondering what to wear later to a Girls-Night-Out to see the new Sex and the City movie. At the same time, I am lamenting that our society insists women be shoe-and-clothing obsessed. Worse, I am lamenting that I sort-of am. All of this makes me want to put my helmet on and block everything out. To run off the mountain, fly away, and see things in their proper perspective. An old pilot maxim declares that there is safety in al-titude. This pilot was referring to terrain clearance, but what a metaphor ...

THE GREAT PURPOSE

Paul Voight's shade structure | hoto by Nick Greece

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 67

So waiting out these scorching hot days, I’m feeling like there is no point. And the contrast makes me realize the tremendous role flying now has in my life, making my days feel utterly compelling—each flight a contemplation of the earth, of freedom, and each landing a little survival that ig-nites the rest of the day.

It is fitting that I should pass the time watching Werner Herzog’s film, The White Diamond, about a Brit who con-structs a ridiculous looking blimp—the

“Jungle Airship”—and transports it to Peru to test it under the incidental aus-pice of searching for medicinal herbs in

the cloud forest canopy. But really, it’s all about obsession with flying, with gran-diosity.

The movie starts with a brief summary of aviation history, narrated by Herzog himself. As he depicts the successes and failures of flight, from the first hot-air balloon ride to the Hindenburg, he pro-claims flying “the great purpose.” As I pilot, I felt my spine straighten with pride when he said that: The Great Purpose!

But the story quickly shrinks back to the Brit with his totally non-historical puffer-fish aircraft which, right before its first flight, gets rained on and turns into a wet rice wrapper. Days of waiting ensue, and Herzog’s camera first gets dis-tracted by all manner of rainforest insects and then spaces-out for a spell on a local guy breakdancing on a rock outcrop-ping. Any pilot can relate to this— the fine art of waiting on weather, the restless antic-inspiring boredom. Finally, after completing the preparations and exhibit-ing patience, the Brit launches the Jungle Airship and has a sinky flight, only to find he had put the motor in backwards.

And so Herzog subtly lets the air out of this over-inflated endeavor. What is the purpose of flying, after all?

There is none .

But the irony, which Herzog captures, is that when you are up in the air, nothing could feel so compelling, so important, so crucial. It’s simultaneously profound and pointless. Above all, it is joyful. And in the end, as a wise friend of mine re-cently pointed out: “Joy is a purpose unto itself. Maybe the only purpose, along with love.”

Reach Christina Ammon at flyinghobogirl@gmail .com

DON’T MISS OUT.BE SURE TO RENEW.

If your USHPA membership expires

in October we must receive your

renewal by October 15 or you will

miss the November magazine. If your

membership expires in November,

we must receive your renewal by

November 15 or you will miss the

December magazine.

Interested in joining USHPA?

Download an application at

www.ushpa.aero/forms

or call 1-800-616-6888

NO LONGER FLYING?Become a

Contributing Member

Participate in elections!Receive the monthly magazine!

Application at

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or call

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THE GREAT PURPOSE

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MEETINGS

OCTOBER 21-23 Bend, Oregon. 2010 Fall USHPA BOD meeting. More info: [email protected].

OCTOBER 23 Bend, Oregon. 2010 Annual membership meeting. 8:30am at the Phoenix Inn & Suites, 300 NW Franklin Ave., 888-291-4764 or 541-317-9292. Mention group code USHPA.

NON-SANCTIONED COMPETITION

PG sEpTEmBER 25-27 OR OCTOBER 2-4 Owens Valley. Northern California Cross Country League. 2010. The Cross Country league is an informal series of cross country competitions running from March through to October held at flying sites within driving distance of the Bay Area. The league is set to help pilots of all abilities in improving their flying skills by flying set courses with other pilots. These are essentially a ‘fly-in’ with a mission. For more information check out www.SantaCruzParagliding.com or email Jug at [email protected]

CLINICS & TOURS

sEpTEmBER 30-OCTOBER 9 Oludeniz, Turkey. Join Luis Rosenkjer and Todd Weigand for a flying adventure in Turkish paradise! Thermal above clouds, glide 5,000 feet over the blue lagoons of the Medi-terranean, and land on beautiful sandy beaches next to your hotel! Enjoy great food, endless activities, a perfect family destination, and some of the most im-pressive flights of your life! More Information: www.paraglidingtrips.com.

OCTOBER 1-4 Owens Valley, CA. Learn about the sites, thermals and XC potential with the local who has 25 years of experience flying the Owens Val-ley!!! More Information: Kari Castle, 760-920-0748, or [email protected].

OCTOBER 8-10 Owens Valley, CA. Learn about the sites, thermals and XC potential with the local who has 25 years of experience flying the Owens Valley!!! More Information: Kari Castle, 760-920-0748, or [email protected].

OCTOBER 15-17 Owens Valley Thermal and Cross Country Clinic with Eagle Paragliding. Many pilots are sure to get personal bests. View photos and videos from our last clinic at www.paragliding.com, or call 805-968-0980 for more information.

OCTOBER 15-18 Owens Valley, CA. Learn about the sites, thermals and XC potential with the local who has 25 years of experience flying the Owens Valley!!! More Information: Kari Castle, 760-920-0748, or [email protected].

OCTOBER 23-25 Owens Valley, CA. Learn about the sites, thermals and XC potential with the local who has 25 years of experience flying the Owens Valley!!! More Information: Kari Castle, 760-920-0748, or [email protected].

OCTOBER 24 - NOVEmBER 13 Tapalpa, Mexico. Fly south this winter! Improve your thermal and x-c skills with U.S. record holder David Prentice. Seven to fourteen day trips where we will fly several differ-ent sites including San Marcos, Colima and a coast-al site near Manzanillo. Includes airport pick-up/drop off, lodging, transportation, guiding, x-c retrivals. To sign up or for more info [email protected], or call 505-720-5436.

OCTOBER 30 - NOVEmBER 1 Owens Valley, CA. Learn about the sites, thermals and XC potential with the local who has 25 years of experience flying the Owens Valley!!! More Information: Kari Castle, 760-920-0748, or [email protected].

NOVEmBER 2-15 Owens Valley, CA. Learn about the sites, thermals and XC potential with the local who has 25 years of experience flying the Owens Valley!!! More Information: Kari Castle, 760-920-0748, or [email protected].

NOVEmBER 5-7 Instructor Certification Clinic with Rob Sporrer of Eagle Paragliding in Santa Barbara, California. This three-day clinic is open to basic and advanced Paragliding Instructor candidates, and those needing recertification. Visit www.paragliding.com, or call 805-968-0980 for more information.

NOVEmBER 8-9 Tandem Paragliding Clinic with Rob Sporrer of Eagle Paragliding in Santa Barbara, California. Classroom and practical training at our world class training hill. Visit www.paragliding.com, or call 805-968-0980 for more information.

NOVEmBER 9-16 &/OR NOV 18-25 Iquique, Chile. Join Ken Hudonjorgensen, and local guides. A great trip to what many pilots consider to be the best place to fly in the world, certainly more consistent than any place I have ever flown. Phone 801-572-3414, or email [email protected]. More info: www.twocanfly.com.

NOVEmBER 10-29 Iquique ,Chile. Join Luis Rosenkjer and Todd Weigand to fly the never ending thermals of the Atacama Desert! Soar endless sand ridges high above the Pacific Ocean, then land on the beach next to our 4 star hotel. As Chilean open distance record holders and Iquique Competition Champions, Luis and Todd also have 15 years of combined guiding experience in Iquique! A variety of trips for all levels, plus XC guiding, Acro displays, and master kiting tips! The conditions are so good at this time of the year that we guarantee you will fly everyday or get money back! More Information: www.paraglidingtrips.com.

NOVEmBER 13- ApRIL 9 Valle de Bravo, Mexico. Yet again we offer week-long packages for all levels of HG and PG pilot. Winter flying fun and excitement with the longest running tour operator in Valle de Bravo. We’ve helped pave the way for the others but our knowledge can’t be beat. More Information: Jef-frey Hunt 512-656-5052, [email protected], or www.flymexico.com

C A L E N D A R & C L A S S I F I E DDISPATCH

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DECEmBER - ApRIL Yelapa, Mexico. Come TOW in paradise. We are offereing siv/acro clinics during the winter months in beautiful Yelapa. We have a great line-up of world class instructors, and state of the art equipment. Also a great place for non-flyers. More Information: Les Snyder, +52 322 209 5174, [email protected], or www. ascensolibre.mx.

DECEmBER 12-13 Thermal and XC Clinic with Rob Sporrer of Eagle Paragliding in Santa Barbara, California. This two-day clinic is open to pilots of all levels. The clinic includes ground school, and ground-to-air radio coaching in our local mountains. Visit www.paragliding.com , or call 805-968-0980 for more information.

DECEmBER 12 - JANUARY 30 Valle de Bravo, Mexico. Fly south this winter! Improve your thermal and x-c skills with U.S. record holder David Prentice. Seven to fourteen day trips flying one of the most consistent flying sites in the world. Airport pick-up/drop off, lodging, transportation, guiding, x-c retriev-als included. To sign up or for more info [email protected], or call (505)720-5436

DECEmBER 19 - 31 AND JANUARY 1 - 15 Cape-town, South Africa. Join Charles Kirsten and Craig Papworth on safari in South Africa, flying the legend-ary sites of Cape Town, The Wilderness, and Graaff Reinet. 14 days and 13 nights. All accommodation with breakfast, ground transport, retrieves, airport pick up and guiding. Pilots $1990 and $1550 non pilots. Contact Charles at [email protected] or Craig at [email protected] or www.para-worth.com.

JANUARY 5 - 15 Governador Valadares, Brazil. One of the best known world class flying sites. Fly GoVal for 999$ for ten days. All your flying needs pro-vided by Bi Wingual and Bi Lingual Adventure Sports Tours. Master rated advanced instructors make your trip worthwhile. Whatever your goals from novice to competition, it’s available. Best times to fly are Jan-May. The 5th through the 15th of each month we will have tours. GV is a fun, flying friendly town with all the conveniences. Accommodations to suit your in-dividual lifestyles are also available. For specific info, dates, times and group rates contact: Ray Leonard at [email protected].

JANUARY 2-9 Manzanillo, Mexico. P3 pilots join us for thermal flying, ridge soaring and beach landings. Great place to bring the family as they can enjoy the beach while you fly in shorts and t-shirts. Airport pickup, private hotel room, breakfast, and guiding & coaching during 6 days of flying for $1,500. Details at http://www.parasoftparagliding.com/travel/iguala%20 _ mexico.php

JANUARY 9-16 & 16-23 Valle de Bravo, Mexico. Come join adventure paragliding for an unforgettable week long trip in Valle de Bravo, Mexico. We will focus on xc and thermal skills for beginner to advanced pilots. 1600 dollars includes airport transport, breakfast and dinner, accommodation in a very luxurious lake house with pool, transport between sites, and instruction. We have 12 years of flying expierience in Valle. Please contact Pine at 970-274-1619, or visit www.adventureparagliding.com.

fEBRUARY 2-7 Southern Cal. flying trip. Join ken Hudonjorgensen on a trip to thaw out your bones and get your flying brain cells activated and ready for the new flying season. Phone (801) 572-3414, or email [email protected]. More info: www.twocanfly.com.

FLEX WINGS

Wills Wing Falcon Tandem 225 Hg - White/Yellow, less than 50 hours, excellent condition, keel is reinforced for trike. Flys awesome,never crashed. $1995. 714-350-7860, [email protected].

a gReaT selecTion oF Hg&Pg glideRs (ss, ds, pg) -HARNESSES (trainer, cocoon, pod) -PARA-CHUTES (hg&pg) -WHEELS (new & used). Phone for latest inventory 262-473-8800, www.hangglid-ing.com

BUSINESS & EMPLOYMENT

liFe insuRance FoR PiloTs - Inexpensive life insurance is indeed available to U.S. Residents that will protect your loved ones with complete coverage, Term or permanent life. Includes coverage while Hanggliding or Paragliding without exclusion. Call 619-721-3684 or email [email protected] for more information. Ca. ins lic 0b18364

PARAGLIDERS

2009 icePeak 3 - 29 meter comp wing - less than 50 hours. $1895. Awesome glider. White/Gray 714-350-7860 [email protected]

SCHOOLS & DEALERS

ALABAMA

lookouT mounTain FligHT PaRk - The best facilities, largest inventory, camping, swimming, volleyball, more. Wide range of accommodations. hanglide.com, 877-HANGLIDE, 877-426-4543, hanglide.com.

CALIFORNIA

aiRJunkies PaRagliding - Year-round excellent instruction, Southern California & Baja. Powered paragliding, clinics, tours, tandem, towing. Ken Baier 760-753-2664, airjunkies.com.

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

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

FlY aWaY Hang gliding - Santa Barbara. Best hill/equipment, glider shuttles up hill, tandems, sales, service, 20 years experience, Instructor Administrator Tammy Burcar. 805-403-8487, www.flyawayhanggliding.com.

THe Hang gliding cenTeR - PO Box 151542, San Diego CA 92175, 619-265-5320.

6020

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero70

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

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 – Serving the western slope. Instruction, sales, service, sewing, accessories. Site information, ratings. 1549 County Road 17, Gunnison CO 81230.Call (970) 641-9315, or (866)238-2305.

FLORIDA

aTlanTa PaRagliding - 21 years of experience, top instructors, top pilots, very consistent weather all year around. Your best choice on the east coast. www.atlantaparagliding.com 404-931-3793.

FloRida Ridge aeRoToW PaRk - 18265 E State Road 80, Clewiston, Florida 863-805-0440, www.thefloridaridge.com.

gRaYBiRd aiRsPoRTs — Paraglider & hang glider towing & training, Dragonfly aerotow training, XC, thermaling, instruction, equipment. Dunnellon Airport 352-245-8263, email [email protected], www.graybirdairsports.com.

lookouT mounTain FligHT PaRk - Nearest mountain training center to Orlando. Two training hills, novice mountain launch, aerotowing, great accommodations. hanglide.com, 877-HANGLIDE, 877-426-4543.

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

QuesT aiR Hang gliding - We offer the best instruction, friendliest staff, beautiful grounds with swimming pool, private lake and clubhouse, lodging, plus soaring in our super-famous, soft, Sunshine State thermals. Come fly with us! 352- 429- 0213, Groveland, FL, questairforce.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

aTlanTa PaRagliding - 21 years of experience, top instructors, top pilots, very consistent weather all year around. Your best choice on the east coast. www.atlantaparagliding.com 404-931-3793.

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 JERSEY

PennsYlVania PaRagliding - Best paragliding instruction in the NE. 1.5 hours from NYC and Philadelphia. Training hill and towing. 17 Years of combined experience. www.pennsylvaniaparagliding.com( 610)392-0050.

STAINLESS STEEL! $10www.ushpa.aero/store

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 71

NEW YORK

aaa mounTain Wings inc. - New location at 77 Hang Glider Road in Ellenville next to the LZ. We service all brands featuring AEROS and North Wing. Contact 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.

leT's go PaRagliding llc - Paragliding flight school offering USHPA-certified instruction for all levels, tandem flights, tours, and equipment sales. More information: www.letsgoparagliding.com, 917-359-6449.

PennsYlVania PaRagliding - Best paragliding instruction in the NE. 1.5 hours from NYC and Philadelphia. Training hill and towing. 17 Years of combined experience. www.pennsylvaniaparagliding.com( 610)392-0050.

PlaneT PaRagliding - New York City area's finest instruction. Come fly with us. Beginner through advanced instruction. Best prices on new gear. Bill 203-881-9419, 203-206-3896, www.planetparaglidingtours.com.

susQueHanna FligHT PaRk COOPERSTOWN, NY. 160' training hill with rides up. Mountain site. Bunk house. Camping. Contact info: home (315) 866-6153 cell (315) 867-8011. [email protected], www.cooperstownhanggliding.com.

NORTH CAROLINA

aTlanTa PaRagliding - 21 years of experience, top instructors, top pilots, very consistent weather all year around. Your best choice on the east coast. www.atlantaparagliding.com 404-931-3793.

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

PENNSYLVANIA

PennsYlVania PaRagliding - Best paragliding instruction in the NE. 1.5 hours from NYC and Philadelphia. Training hill and towing. 17 Years of combined experience. www.pennsylvaniaparagliding.com( 610)392-0050.

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

aTlanTa PaRagliding - 21 years of experience, top instructors, top pilots, very consistent weather all year around. Your best choice on the east coast. www.atlantaparagliding.com 404-931-3793.

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

ausTin aiR sPoRTs - Hang gliding, and LSA weight shift control sales, service and instruction. Steve Burns (512) 736-2052, [email protected]. WWW.AUSTINAIRSPORTS.COM.

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

UTAH

cloud 9 PaRagliding - Come visit us and check out our huge selection of paragliding gear, traction kites, extreme toys, and any other fun things you can think of. If you aren’t near the Point of the Mountain, then head to http://www.paragliders.com for a full list of products and services. We are Utah’s only full time shop and repair facility, Give us a ring at 801-576-6460 if you have any questions.

suPeR FlY PaRagliding – Come to world famous Point of the Mountain and learn to fly from one of our distinguished instructors. We teach year round and offer some of the best paragliding equipment available. Get your P2 certification, advanced ratings or tandem ratings here. We have a full shop to assist you with any of your free flight needs. 801-255-9595, [email protected] , www.superflyinc.com.

VIRGINIA

Blue skY - Full-time HG instruction. Daily lessons, scooter, and platform towing. AT towing part time. Custom sewing, powered harnesses, Aeros PG , Flylight and Airborne trikes. More info: (804)241-4324, or www.blueskyhg.com

WASHINGTON

aeRial PaRagliding scHool and FligHT PaRk - Award winning instructors at a world class training facility. Contact Doug Stroop at 509-782-5543 or visit www.paragliding.us

INTERNATIONAL

BaJa mexico - La Salina: PG, HG, PPG www.FLYLASALINA.com. by www.BAJABRENT.com, He’ll hook you up! site intros, tours, & rooms [email protected], 760-203-2658

cosTa Rica - Grampa Ninja's Paragliders' B&B. Rooms, and/or guide service and transportation. Lessons available from USHPA certified instructors. USA: 908-454-3242. Costa Rica: (Country code, 011) House: 506-2664-6833, Cell: 506-8950-8676, www.paraglidecostarica.com<http://www.paraglidecostarica.com>

mexico - Valle de BRaVo and beyond for hang gliding and paragliding. Year round availability and special tours. Gear, guiding, instruction, transportation, lodging - all varieties for your needs. www.flymexico.com 1-800-861-7198 USA

PARTS & ACCESSORIES

all Hg glideRBags, harness packs, harness zippers and zipper stocks. Instrument mounts and replacement bands. Mitts, straps, fabric parts, windsocks, radios. Gunnison Gliders. Contact at (866)238-2305

FligHT suiTs, FligHT suiTs, FligHT suiTs, Warm Flight suits, Efficient Flight suits, Light weight Flight suits, Flight suits in twelve sizes. Stylish Flight suits. More info: www.mphsports.com, (54) 702-2111

FoR all YouR FlYing needs - Check out the Aviation Depot at www.mojosgear.com featuring over 1000 items for foot-launched and powered paragliding, hang gliding, stunt and power kiting, and powered parachutes. 24/7 secure online shopping. Books, videos, KITES, gifts, engine parts, harness accessories, electronics, clothing, safety equipment, complete powered paragliding units with training from Hill Country Paragliding Inc. www.hillcountryparagliding.com 1-800-664-1160 for orders only. Office 325-379-1567.

glideRBags – xc $75! Heavy waterproof $125. Accessories, low prices, fast delivery! Gunnison Gliders, 1549 County Road 17, Gunnison CO 81230. (970) 641-9315, orders 1-866-238-2305.

oxYgen sYsTems – MH-XCR-180 operates to 18,000 ft., weighs only 4 lbs. System includes cylinder, harness, regulator, cannula, and remote on/off flowmeter. $450.00. 1-800-468-8185

sPecialTY WHeels for airfoil basetubes, round basetubes, or tandem landing gear.(262)473-8800, www.hanggliding.com.

PUBLICATIONS / ORGANIZATIONS

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

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero72

REAL ESTATE

WoodRaT mounTain cusTom Home - S.Oregon 3bed/2bath 2101 sqft 2.7ac. Across street from winery LZ. Clear view of launches. John Ivey, 541-941-2415, [email protected], Windermere/Investors Marketplace.

TOWING

1984 18FT 9in coRRecTcRaFT ski nautique 2001 with trailer. set up with elec wench and take off platform for boat tow hang gliding.$12.000 269-979-4356 or 269-965-7092 [email protected] 269-963-1221

SERVICE

cloud 9 RePaiR dePaRTmenT - We staff and maintain a full service repair shop within Cloud 9 Paragliding; offering annual inspections, line replacement, sail repair of any kind (kites too!), harness repairs and reserve repacks. Our repair technicians are factory trained and certified to work on almost any paraglider or kite. Call today for an estimate 801-576-6460 or visit www.paragliders.com for more information.

geT YouR annual insPecTion, repair or reserve repack done quickly and professionally. Super Fly does more inspections, repairs and repacks than any service center in North America. Call or email for details and more information. 801-255-9595, [email protected].

Rising aiR glideR RePaiR seRVices – A full-service shop, specializing in all types of paragliding repairs, annual inspections, reserve repacks, harness repairs. Hang gliding reserve repacks and repair. For information or repair estimate, call (208) 554-2243, pricing and service request form available at www.risingair.biz, [email protected].

WANTED

WanTed - Used variometers, harnesses, parachutes, helmets, etc. Trade or cash. (262) 473-8800, www.hanggliding.com.

WanTed - New or used apparel with old USHGA logo / artwork. Size L. Please contact Theodore at (530) 222-2447

MISCELLANEOUS

kooTenaYTWisTedFlYeRs.ca - Handcrafted copper PG & HG models & mobiles that capture the energy & motion of flying. Make great trophies, or home and office accents. More info: www.kootenaytwistedflyers.ca, or (250) 358-2511.

STOLEN WINGS & THINGS

sTolen PaRagliding geaR - Van broken into at a truck stop in Buttonwillow, CA and all my paragliding gear stolen. UP Everest med harness, Niviuk Hook wing small s/n DZ1110, Ozone Rush2 wing med s/n R2M-K-33B-005, UP profile reserve 20 parachute, Flymaster B1 variometer, SOL flight deck, Garmin GPS 72, Yeasu FT60 radio, ICOM 2200h 50 watt mobile radio. Contact Forrest Brault at [email protected], or (530) 533-5018.

sTolen - Dual Tow System - Stolen from my home (Tuscon, AZ) in May, system was mounted on a trailer. Scooter tow system is powered by a 150 Honda engine, removed from the original scooter, mounted in a two inch square tubular frame. Fair lead is mounted on three feet of 2” square tubing and is removable. Handle bars are removable they mount on a plate and tubing standoff. Platform tow system has an aluminum hub, belt drive electric rewind motor, flexible hydraulic line to pressure gauge/release, mounted on a plate. Both systems have purple spectra line on them. If you need more info give me a call , I have pics. Vehicle seen leaving the area silver/gray Ford expedition. Trailer was recovered systems were not. Any help finding my Tow System would be greatly appreciated. Eric 520-405-3814

Ascenso Libre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Atlanta Paragliding | Chile . . . . . . . . . . .57

Cross Country Magazine . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Flytec - Blueeyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Flytec - 6020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Flytec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Foundation for Free Flight . . . . . . . . . . .17

Hall Wind Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Kitty Hawk Kites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Lookout Mountain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Moyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

North Wing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Ozone Paragliders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Parasoft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Parasupply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Parque Aventuras La Ceja . . . . . . . . . . 15

Sky Wings Magazine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Soaring Society of America . . . . . . . . . 73

Sport Aviation Publications . . . . . . . . . 16

Superfly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Thermal Tracker Paragliding . . . . . . . . . 13

Torrey Pines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

US Parachuting Association . . . . . . . . . 53

Wills Wing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

USHPA | 2011 Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . 45

USHPA | Visa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

ADVERTISERS

Photo by Marcus Venturini

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 73

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J U N E 2 0 1 0 RATINGS

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RTng Regn name ciTY sTaTe RaTing oFFicial

RTng Regn name ciTY sTaTe RaTing oFFicial

H-2 7 Eric Oslos Naperville IL Gordon CayceH-2 9 Mark Leahy Frederick MD Rob MckenzieH-2 9 Jim Farrell Dayton OH Gordon CayceH-2 10 Bryce Shipley Tavares FL Mitchell ShipleyH-2 10 Anthony Varga Nags Head NC Jon ThompsonH-2 10 Ryan Brown Conyers GA Gordon CayceH-2 10 Megan Mcconnell Joelton TN Gordon CayceH-2 10 Renzo Scheidema Douglasville GA Gordon CayceH-2 11 Todd James Mansfield TX David BroylesH-2 11 Ashley Schad Port Arthur TX Gordon CayceH-2 12 John Morse Delmar NY Daniel GuidoH-2 12 Nikolay Stoyanov Hoboken NJ Black, GregH-2 12 John Piper Clifton Springs NY Henry BoesslH-2 12 Brian Odell Bloomfield NY Henry BoesslH-2 12 Walter Morse Pittsford NY Henry BoesslH-3 2 Thomas Cook Santa Rosa CA Eric HinrichsH-3 2 Anthony Tagliaferro Oakland CA Scott SeebassH-3 3 Gwen Clark San Clemente CA Dallas WillisH-3 3 Brian Mcmahon San Diego CA Rod MitchellH-3 3 Steve Murillo Manhattan Beach CA Fred BallardH-3 3 Jay Janda San Diego CA John HeineyH-3 7 Joe Julik Prescott WI Alan PaylorH-3 7 Scott Souther Northville MI Gordon CayceH-3 8 Stuart Bernstein Kingston MA Steven PrepostH-3 9 Mark Leahy Frederick MD Rob MckenzieH-3 9 Alan Ayers Lancaster PA Gordon CayceH-3 9 Greg Sessa Derwood MD John MiddletonH-3 10 Josiah Stephens Trenton GA Gordon CayceH-3 10 Charles Hannon Canton GA Gordon CayceH-3 11 Todd James Mansfield TX David BroylesH-3 13 Tina Soggemoen Egersund Scott SeebassH-4 2 Steven Grattan Gardnerville NV William CuddyH-4 2 Michael Denevan Fremont CA Patrick DenevanH-4 4 Hugh Hoglan West Sedona AZ Paul HoganH-4 8 Stephen Bacon Greenland NH Steven PrepostH-4 8 Stacy Patterson Hanover NH Jeffrey NicolayH-4 9 Lucas Ridley Bowling Green KY Matthew TaberH-4 10 John Corry Gainesville GA Mel GlantzH-4 11 Todd James Mansfield TX David Broyles

P-1 1 David Auman Morton WA Charles SmithP-1 1 Leah Irwin Roy WA Kevin HintzeP-1 1 Robert Irwin Roy WA Kevin HintzeP-1 1 James Muntz Sterling AK Denise ReedP-1 1 Joshua Latta Auburn WA Denise ReedP-1 1 Matt Becker Issaquah WA John KraskeP-1 1 Micah Bartron Beaverton OR Maren LudwigP-1 1 Coty Mayo Fairbanks AK Samuel CrockerP-1 2 Arthur Santos San Leandro CA Wallace AndersonP-1 2 Scott Solomon Half Moon Bay CA Jeffrey GreenbaumP-1 2 Chris Ryan Santa Cruz CA Wallace AndersonP-1 2 Stephen Thilenius Shingle Springs CA Bradley GearyP-1 2 Reginald Powell Iii Yosemite Natl Park CA Robert PeloquinP-1 2 Cheyenne Simoncini Sparks NV Bruce KirkP-1 2 Clinton Conley Wells NV Brad GunnuscioP-1 3 Brian Dahl Lake Elsinore CA Patrick EavesP-1 3 J Ryan Barnds San Diego CA Max MarienP-1 3 Thomas Prindle Kailua HI Pete MichelmoreP-1 3 Jack Crouse Honolulu HI Pete MichelmoreP-1 3 Andrew Zoechbauer Honolulu HI Pete MichelmoreP-1 3 Bruce Campbell Long Beach CA Rob MckenzieP-1 3 Spencer Stein Del Mar CA Max MarienP-1 3 Philip Gillett Kihei HI David BinderP-1 3 Chris Buening Silverado CA Bradley GearyP-1 3 Jesse Pennepacker Oceanside CA David HanningP-1 3 Mark Short Wailuku HI David BinderP-1 4 Dave De Mill Madrid NM David Prentice

PARAGLIDING

HANG GLIDING (continued)

P-1 4 John Glime Salt Lake City UT Kevin HintzeP-1 4 Todd Jirsa Estes Park CO Granger BanksP-1 4 Loren Dumont Edwards CO Gregory KelleyP-1 4 (virginia) Jenny Hamilton Aspen CO Alejandro PalmazP-1 4 Gordon Kyser New Castle CO Etienne PienaarP-1 4 Leslie Hooper Farmington UT Jonathan JefferiesP-1 4 William Marshall Gunnison CO Rusty WhitleyP-1 4 Michael Burke Crested Butte CO Brad GunnuscioP-1 4 David Jungst Draper UT Ivo SalomonP-1 4 Emily Yates Salt Lake City UT Christopher GranthamP-1 4 Michael Stefan Corrales NM Charles WoodsP-1 4 Derek Redd Vail CO Gregory KelleyP-1 5 David Healow Billings MT Andy MacraeP-1 5 Mike Bickley Wilson WY Scott HarrisP-1 5 David York Boise ID Kevin HintzeP-1 5 James Rooks Jackson WY James Matt CombsP-1 7 Ron Roberts Chatham IL Ron KohnP-1 8 Leslie Blatt North Branford CT Benoit BruneauP-1 8 Daniel Chisholm New Bedford MA Luiz Fernando CostaP-1 9 Randy Weber Harrisonburg VA Christopher GranthamP-1 9 Daniel Dewitt Elizabethtown PA James GriffithP-1 9 Erik Olerud Dulles VA Mike SteenP-1 9 Rowan Hildreth Charlottesville VA Chad BastianP-1 9 John Phipps Chalfont PA Terry BonoP-1 10 Shane Parreco Brevard NC Stephen MayerP-1 10 Remy Swaab Miami FL Ken HudonjorgensenP-1 10 John Hansbrough Ft Lauderdale FL Kevin HintzeP-1 11 Anja Auwermann El Paso TX Hadley RobinsonP-1 11 Denae Nemanic El Paso TX Hadley RobinsonP-1 11 Jacob Reese Austin TX David HanningP-1 12 Ramon Llenado Yonkers NY Bruce KirkP-1 12 Sawahiko Shimada Montclair NJ Terry BonoP-1 13 Graham Newman Warsash, Southampton Murat TuzerP-1 13 Ian Mcintyre Fareham, Hants Murat TuzerP-1 13 Abdolreza Boshtavaei Tehran Murat TuzerP-1 13 Lisa Rossmann Wuerzburg William SmithP-1 13 Philip Lawford Talgarth, Powys Murat TuzerP-1 13 Katherine Mitchell Kingston, Act Murat TuzerP-1 13 Chris Uganecz Abbotsford, Bc Etienne PienaarP-1 13 Olcay Ozturk Ankara M Can GulP-1 13 Zsolt Klimaj Mississauga, Ont Kyoung Ki HongP-2 1 Julie Williams Issaquah WA Lan ChiricoP-2 1 David Auman Morton WA Charles SmithP-2 1 Gregory Ignatov Bellevue WA Lawrence WallmanP-2 1 Leah Irwin Roy WA Kevin HintzeP-2 1 Robert Irwin Roy WA Kevin HintzeP-2 1 James Muntz Sterling AK Denise ReedP-2 1 Joshua Latta Auburn WA Denise ReedP-2 1 Matt Becker Issaquah WA John KraskeP-2 1 Coty Mayo Fairbanks AK Samuel CrockerP-2 1 Nicholas Becker Issaquah WA John KraskeP-2 2 Jan Passion Pleasant Hill CA Jeffrey GreenbaumP-2 2 Kyle Kearney Oakland CA Jeffrey GreenbaumP-2 2 Greg Didriksen Lotus CA Jason ShapiroP-2 2 Bruce Hachtmann San Martin CA Jeffrey GreenbaumP-2 2 Brian Hachtmann San Martin CA Jeffrey GreenbaumP-2 2 Stephen Thilenius Shingle Springs CA Bradley GearyP-2 2 Reginald Powell Iii Yosemite Natl Park CA Robert PeloquinP-2 2 Justin Boyd Lotus CA Jason ShapiroP-2 2 Cheyenne Simoncini Sparks NV Bruce KirkP-2 2 Clinton Conley Wells NV Brad GunnuscioP-2 3 Brian Dahl Lake Elsinore CA Patrick EavesP-2 3 Claudia Barreda Santa Barbara CA Rob SporrerP-2 3 J Ryan Barnds San Diego CA Max MarienP-2 3 Tom Goldstein Los Angeles CA Marcello De BarrosP-2 3 Thomas Prindle Kailua HI Pete MichelmoreP-2 3 Jack Crouse Honolulu HI Pete MichelmoreP-2 3 Andrew Zoechbauer Honolulu HI Pete MichelmoreP-2 3 Bruce Campbell Long Beach CA Rob MckenzieP-2 3 Spencer Stein Del Mar CA Max MarienP-2 3 Philip Gillett Kihei HI David Binder

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P-2 3 Ubaldo Morales-talavera Oceanside CA Max MarienP-2 3 Kyle Wilkes-anvelt Jamal CA Bradley GearyP-2 3 Tess Ulrich La Jolla CA Max MarienP-2 3 Jesse Pennepacker Oceanside CA David HanningP-2 3 Mark Short Wailuku HI David BinderP-2 4 Dave De Mill Madrid NM David PrenticeP-2 4 John Glime Salt Lake City UT Kevin HintzeP-2 4 Todd Jirsa Estes Park CO Granger BanksP-2 4 Loren Dumont Edwards CO Kris HustedP-2 4 Gordon Kyser New Castle CO Etienne PienaarP-2 4 Leslie Hooper Farmington UT Jonathan JefferiesP-2 4 William Marshall Gunnison CO Rusty WhitleyP-2 4 Michael Burke Crested Butte CO Brad GunnuscioP-2 4 David Jungst Draper UT Ivo SalomonP-2 4 Emily Yates Salt Lake City UT Christopher GranthamP-2 4 Trevor Morrell Salt Lake City UT Steve MayerP-2 5 David Healow Billings MT Andy MacraeP-2 5 Jason Bruni Jackson WY Scott HarrisP-2 5 Mike Bickley Wilson WY Scott HarrisP-2 5 Matthew Paine Bozeman MT Andy MacraeP-2 5 David York Boise ID Kevin HintzeP-2 5 James Rooks Jackson WY James Matt CombsP-2 8 Leslie Blatt North Branford CT Benoit BruneauP-2 8 Jose Dias Bew Britain CT Ciaran EganP-2 9 Randy Weber Harrisonburg VA Christopher GranthamP-2 9 Daniel Dewitt Elizabethtown PA James GriffithP-2 9 Erik Olerud Dulles VA Mike SteenP-2 9 Robert Hall Frametown WV Dwayne MccourtP-2 9 Rowan Hildreth Charlottesville VA Chad BastianP-2 9 John Phipps Chalfont PA Terry BonoP-2 10 Shane Parreco Brevard NC Stephen MayerP-2 10 Remy Swaab Miami FL Ken HudonjorgensenP-2 11 Jacob Reese Austin TX David HanningP-2 12 Ramon Llenado Yonkers NY Bruce KirkP-2 12 Sawahiko Shimada Montclair NJ Terry BonoP-2 13 Graham Newman Warsash, Southampton Murat TuzerP-2 13 Ian Mcintyre Fareham, Hants Murat TuzerP-2 13 Abdolreza Boshtavaei Tehran Murat TuzerP-2 13 Lisa Rossmann Wuerzburg William SmithP-2 13 Katherine Mitchell Kingston, Act Murat TuzerP-2 13 Chris Uganecz Abbotsford, Bc Etienne PienaarP-2 13 Olcay Ozturk Ankara M Can GulP-2 13 Zsolt Klimaj Mississauga, Ont Kyoung Ki HongP-2 13 Jose Quintana Mexico Df Miguel GutierrezP-3 1 Karl Blust Medford OR Kevin LeeP-3 1 Steve Newman Portland OR Brad HillP-3 1 Daniel Randall Portland OR Nick CraneP-3 1 Joseph Hartley Port Angeles WA Rob SporrerP-3 1 Bruce Burris Sequim WA Douglas Stroop

P-3 1 Joe Stermitz Orondo WA Douglas StroopP-3 1 Rishi Nair Issaquah WA Bob HannahP-3 1 Travis Forsman Corvallis OR Kevin LeeP-3 1 Scott Farnsworth Trail OR Nick CraneP-3 2 R Bruce Bundy Santa Cruz CA Brad GunnuscioP-3 3 Tom Goldstein Los Angeles CA Marcello De BarrosP-3 3 Bonita Hobson Kaneohe HI Pete MichelmoreP-3 3 Maria Teresa Montero Terry Santa Barbara CA Rob SporrerP-3 3 Spencer Stein Del Mar CA Max MarienP-3 4 Chad Fleischhacker Sandy UT Mike SteenP-3 4 Leroy Evertsen Glendale AZ Roy ZaleskiP-3 4 Jeffrey Keddy Los Alamos NM William SmithP-3 4 Michael Pesek Denver CO Jeffrey FarrellP-3 5 Mike Bickley Wilson WY Scott HarrisP-3 5 James Rooks Jackson WY James Matt CombsP-3 8 Edmar Santos Bridgeport CT Heath WoodsP-3 8 Clark Bailey Burlington VT Mike SteenP-3 9 Richard Gillespie Charleston WV Charles GivansP-3 9 David Addams Mechanicsburg PA Hugh McelrathP-3 9 Suellen Lustoza Mechanicsburg PA Hugh McelrathP-3 10 Michael Raza Alpharetta GA Luis RosenkjerP-3 10 Jeffrey Weiss Daytona Beach Shores FL Bill HeanerP-3 12 William Mccullough Fpo AE Bob Hammond JrP-3 12 Ozgun Babur New York NY James BradleyP-3 13 George Mackenzie Calgary,ab Ken HudonjorgensenP-3 13 Abdolreza Boshtavaei Tehran Murat TuzerP-3 13 Olcay Ozturk Ankara M Can GulP-3 13 Zsolt Klimaj Mississauga, Ont Kyoung Ki HongP-4 1 Jaromir Lahulek Maple Falls WA Mark HecklerP-4 1 Daniel Randall Portland OR Nick CraneP-4 1 Pauline Hsieh Bellevue WA Denise ReedP-4 1 J Carson Stitt Peshastin WA Douglas StroopP-4 1 Matt Cone Seattle WA Douglas StroopP-4 2 Noel Mills Carmel CA Kyoung Ki HongP-4 2 Mark Santurbane San Luis Obispo CA Chris SantacroceP-4 2 Jessica Love Roseville CA Rob SporrerP-4 2 Mark Haase Reno NV Jonathan JefferiesP-4 3 Martin Hearne Kula HI David BinderP-4 3 Alexey Gagarin Northridge CA Darius LukoseviciusP-4 3 Jared Carlson Honolulu HI Pete MichelmoreP-4 8 Craig Panarisi Bondville VT Max MarienP-4 8 Israel Obando Northfield NH Kevin LeeP-4 12 Ozgun Babur New York NY James BradleyP-4 13 Martina Lang Agassiz, Bc James ReichP-4 13 Emrah Akar Kadikoy, Istanbul Murat TuzerP-4 13 Abdolreza Boshtavaei Tehran Murat TuzerP-4 13 Olcay Ozturk Ankara M Can GulP-4 13 Zsolt Klimaj Mississauga, Ont Kyoung Ki HongP-5 3 Bret Daniel La Jolla CA Robin Marien

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1971 - 1973 Low & Slow1972 - 1976 Ground Skimmer1976 - 2003 Hang Gliding1993 - 2003 Paragliding2003 - 2008 Hang Gliding & Paragliding

CompleteMAGAZINE

COLLECTION

1971-2008

You hold the history of our sport, from the earliest days of bamboo and plastic to the present. Within these pages you’ll fi nd the evolution

of foot-launched fl ight from the fi rst days of bamboo dune-skimmers to the modern variety of hang gliders, paragliders and rigid wings. Each PDF fi le is one complete magazine, just

as originally published. Pages with color have produced as color scans,

the rest scanned as black and white images. Blemishes or imperfections are present in the original source magazines, some of which were the only known copies remaining.

MA

GA

ZIN

E C

OL

LE

CT

ION

19

71-

20

08

Future issues will be available on an update disk. Compilation copyright. 1974-2008, US Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association. All rights reserved. Other material republished by permission of copyright holders. Please don’t dupli-cate or reproduce this work without permission. For limited reprint permission (club newsletters, etc.) contact the USHPA offi ce at 1-800-616-6888 or E-mail: [email protected] Pages scanned and indexed by Scandoc, Inc. of Aracata, CA. www.scandoc.com. Cover design by Gregory Gillam, [email protected].

Each disk includes Adobe Acrobat Reader Version 7 for Windows, Macintosh and Linux systems.

1972 - 1976 Ground Skimmer

2003 - 2008 Hang Gliding & Paragliding

1971-20081971-20081971-2008

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Some Things are Just More Important than Flying78 |

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero78

by Steve Messman

It was a strange thought that crept into my mind. To be sure, it was a rather difficult transition for me to make:

a leap, in fact, that there might be some-thing more important than my passion of flying. The awakening happened during my umpteenth annual trek to Lakeview, and truthfully, it was a wondrous experi-ence. This trip was different than any of my previous trips; I took two of my grandsons along: ages 7 and 10. That not-so-simple fact changed everything about this year’s flying trip. In previous years, my wife was always my copilot. She was always avail-able to drive or chase on a moment’s notice. She always had a radio in her possession. She was in constant communication with several pilots. Similarly, in past years, I was always able to focus on flying. Not so, this year. None of it. Not the dedicated driver. Not the radio. Not the constant communication, and certainly, not the focus on flying. This year, Carol was only available to watch our two boys. Being a relatively intelligent person, I quickly re-alized that I needed to share in those re-sponsibilities. Just as quickly, I recognized how important it was going to be for me to effectively manage my time between flying and watching the boys.

To be truthful, my discovery of things more important than flying happened

during one of those times that I was watch-ing the boys. Carol and I, the boys, and a ton of pilots of all persuasions were on top of Hadley Butte. We arrived in late morn-ing, but the cycles were weak, so we waited. That was a more than opportune moment for me to assume my other “grandfatherly” responsibilities. So, while we all waited for stronger cycles, I watched the kids. I was awed by their excitement when they watched those first wings fill with air, lift their pilots off the ground, then head down. I was amazed at the joy in their faces as they watched that first paraglider launch a little too early. I saw their eyes sparkle when an early-departing hang glider flew to the LZ. I was enthralled as they attempted to calculate the distances involved, and tried to place the pilot in space between them-selves and the far-off hillsides. Then, not too much later, I was awestruck by their candid excitement as they watched two struggling gliders maintain, then gain a thousand feet. Providing explanations to two youngsters about rising air, thermals, dynamic lift and the like seemed, to me, about as pointless as giving shape to the dust blowing across Summer Lake, until, that is, one of those two boys spotted a circling and rapidly climbing blue glider, and commented about the “rippin” ther-mal that pilot must have caught. That boy takes after his grandfather.

Most of the pilots continued to wait for

more consistently “rippin” thermals, and so my two grandkids got lost in other worlds: climbing on piles of big rocks, making two new friends (the sons of other pilots), chasing and catching butterflies, observ-ing ants on anthills. And, on occasion, one more wind tech would launch. My boys learned that upon hearing the cry, “Clear!” they needed to look up to see what was happening. Toward mid afternoon, the boys noticed the long line of pilots form-ing at what they now recognized as launch. They quit running around, quit chasing butterflies, quit watching ants, and they started counting. Now four boys, all friends, took a seat on a single, small boul-der. With each launch, they would yell out the number of gliders that launched. “1. 2. 3,” they called out, “all the way up to fifty something,” my grandsons told me later. As I remember it, according to their count, I was the 38th pilot to have launched that day. And that means I got to watch their eyes light up 37 times.

My wife and the boys picked me up in Paisley that day. It was a mediocre flight, but then, as I had learned, the flight wasn’t the most important thing. Much more im-portant were the looks on my grandsons’ faces, the questions they asked, and what they learned about flying and about their grandpa. It was a truly wondrous thing—that discovery of something more impor-tant than flying.

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