USHGA Hang Gliding September 2002 by US Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association

WILLS WING 2002 TALON This is your glider. Why? Because you helped us build it. You told us what you wanted in a high performance glider and we listened . And now, after one of the most intensive design efforts in Wills Wing history, we've built it. The 2002 TALON is the sweetest handling, best performing , easiest to land high performance g lider we've ever b uilt . Don 't take our wo rd for it, see your dealer today and take one for a demo flight. NEW FOR 2002 : New sail planform • flush fitt ing nosecone • fairedin hang loop (140 and 150 models) • more shear ribs • improved climb and handl ing • new s a il material options • easier to install s pring batten s

LLS~

Nti

500 West Blueridge Ave, Orange, CA 92865 ph : 714.998 .6359 fax: 714.998-0647

vvvvvv.vvillsvving.com

_ _ _ _ 32 ~-+,,~~~""'!"' 39 ~~~~~T"""'"

· Departments

letters ,·

"'g

!1/ili

Wing lips -- Rodger Hoyt_..._......,,._....._._.._......,............ . Upditis._,............,.............,._____...,.........,.....~'!"'""'"'"----"--' Calendar of Events ---:-.--++,,~,.......______...,.._,.,. Marketplace ........- - ~ ~ ~ ~ - - - - Rroduct Lines

(I/SI'S OIJ-970-20 -ISSN 089S-4JJX)

Published by USHGA

MIRROR HELMETS? Dear Editor, A "disco ball," a multifaceted mirror sphere suspended from a hang glider's kingpost, is supposed to be as good as a strobe light for anti·collision visibility, even in cloudy conditions. Unfonun:1tely, practical ones are hard to obtain. Herc's an idea for free.flight helmet manufacturers. The advent of mirror or

chrome,f1nish helmets surely lends itself to a similar thing. Instead of making the mirror-finish helmet rounded, make it faceted. Because of their upright position and greater distance from the wing, this would make paraglider pilots even more visible. Everard Cunion f fang Gliding Officer Wessex Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club

f!d1)or in (,7Jief Gil Dodgen, Gi1Dodgen@aol.com Art Director: Aaron Swepston, tontar@mindspring.com (,'onMhuting l'hotographers: Steve Rathbun, Mark Vaughn, Bob Lowe, David Glover lllus/ratm:s·: Harry Martin, Tex Forrest Slaff" Wrilm:,: Dennis Pagen, Alan Chuculate, Rodger Hoyt, Dan Johnson

UlllGA Main Offices I!xeculive l!irec/or: Jayne DePanfilis, jayne@ushga.org Adverti,ing Manager: Jeff Elgart, jeff@ushga.org Member Sel'/iices: Nalalie Hinsley, nalalie@ushga.org Member Services: Sandra Hewitt, sandra@ushga.org f'f'Adminis'tralor: Paul Defranco, paul@ushga.org USHGA Officeri and Executive Committee: l'm1idenl: Jim Zeiset, jimzgreen@aol.com Vice l'm,idenl: Mark Ferguson, mark@rmparagliding.com Secretary: Russ Locke, russ@lockelectric.com J)msurer: Bill Bolosky, bolosky@microsoft.com REGION I: Bill Bolosky, Mark forties. REGION l: Ray Leonard, John Wilde, Tim West. REGION J: David Jebb, John Greynald, Alan Chuculate. REGION 4: Mark Ferguson, Jim Zeise!. REGION 5: Frank Gillette. REGION 6: James Gaar. REGION 7: Bill Bryden. REGION 8: Doug Sharpe. REGION 9: Randy Leggett Felipe Amunategui. REGION 10: Tiki Mashy, Matt Taber. REGION 11: R.R. Rodriguez. REGION 12: Paul Voight. DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Jan Johnson, Dennis Pagen, Russ Lome, Steve Kroop, Chris Santacroce. HONORARY DIRECTORS: Aaron Swepston, J.C. Brown, Ed Pitman, G.W. Meadows, Bob Hannah, John Harris, Larry Sanderson (SIA), Dave Broyles, Gene Matthews, Ken Brown, Rob Kells, Liz Sharp, Dan Johnson, Dixon White. EX-OFFICIO DIRECTORS: Art Greenfield (NM). The U11ited Ste/es Hang 6lidi11g /Jssnciadn11 Inc. is an air sporn organization affiliated with the National Aeronautic Association (NM) which is the official representative of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), of the wond governing body for sport aviation. The NAA, which represents the U.S. at l'AI meetings, has delegated to the USHGA supervision of FAl-related hang gliding activities such as record attempts and competition sanctions.

Hang t1filifng magazine is published for hang gliding sport enthusiasts to create further interest in the sport, and to provide an educational fomm to advance hang gliding methods and safety. Contributions are welcome. Anyone is invited to contribute articles, photos, and illustrations concerning hang glid· ing activities. If the material is to be returned, a stamped, self,addressed return envelope must be enclosed. Notification must be made of submission lo other hang gliding publications. Hang 6/iding magazine reserves the right to edit any and all photographic or editorial contributions where necessary. The Association and publication do not a1sume responsibility for the material or opinions of contribntors. lend submissions to Hang Gliding editorial offices, attention Gil Dodgen or Jeff Elgart do: UIHGA, P.O. Box llJO, Colorado Springs, CO 80901,1330.

ll'IGI.IRE 1

25 MPH

25MPH 0 MPH

ln 1983 a hilarious article appeared in Hcmg Gliding titled, "How to Crash with Class." The prernise was, "Poll ow this simple outline and you will soon be ;1blc to hit the ground with quality and style." However, while it's 1101 always possible to avoid the embarrassment that accornpanies a crash, yon can minimize the risk of injury. For example, iC as a result of what just seconds ago seemed like the right decision, you find yourself on course to hit a bush or tree, it's usually best to hit it square on. This stops your forward motion immediately and somewhat predictably. Some of the worst accidents have occurred when striking a 4

I lANG GLIDING

bush or tree with a tip, causing the momentum of that wing to he transferred to the opposite (a.k.a. "ground loop"). The pilot's body, having accelerated around the inside wing, now is actually moving faster than before the original impact, and in a lateral direction, generating much more likelihood of injmy.

The USHOA 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 full membership are $59 per year (of which $IS goes to the publication of Hang Gliding), ($70 non,USA); subscription rates only are $35 ($46 non-USA). Changes of address should be sent six weeks in advance, including name, USllGA number, previous and new address, and a mailing label from a recent issue.

Hang t1liding magazine (ISSN 0895-4Jlx) is published 11 times per year, every month except for May, by The Unhed Slates Hang Gliding Associadon Inc, l 19 W. Colorado Ave., Suite I04, Colorado Springs, CO 80903 Phone: (719) 632,8300. FAX: (719) 632,6417 E-Mail: ushga@ushga.org. PERIODICAL POSTAGE is paid at Colorado Springs, CO and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: SEND CHANGE OF ADDRESS TO: Ha11g Gliding, P.O. BOX 1330, Colorado Springs, CO B090H 3.10.

!lave 11 hot tip? E·rn11il rbhoyt@go.com or mail Rodger Hoyt; 956 Glengrove Ave., Central !'oint; OR .97502. All contributors submitting a usable photo (print or slide) will receive a free set of GateSavers. ",PpTPMlll'H 2()()2

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES IN PUBLICATIONS: The material presented here is published as part of an information dissemination service for USMGA members. The USHGA makes no warranties or representations and assumes no liability concerning the validity of any advice, opinion or recommendation expressed in the material. All individuals relying upon the material do so at their own risk. Copyright © 1002 United States Hang Gliding Assn., Inc. All rights reserved to Hang Gliding and individual contributors.

by Jan Johnson, USHG/\ /\wards Committee ach year at this time, the Awards Committee of rhe United States I fang Gliding Association's Board of Directors begins the process of identifying and selecting the year's award recipients. We again ask for your nominations, input and involvement in the process. The following is a hrief overview of the categories and criteria frH each award. Presidential Citation: The highest honor to a member of the Associarion for 011tstanding contributions to the sport at the local, regional and national level. Service: This award is given to a member in recognition of outstanding comribntions to the /\ssociation over the last year. Bettina Award for photography: Three examples of sport-related photography should be submitted. This award is given ro one member per year. Newsletter of th,: Year: Three sample issues arc reviewed and judged in the areas of infrmnation content, support to members and dubs, layout, safety promotion and instruction. of the Year: This award is given to an official USHG/\ Chapter for contributions to members and local communities, focus on safety, instruction and activities. lnstructor of the Year: There is one award for paragliding and one for hang gliding. Nominations require three letters of support from studcms and a rccommenda-· tion from the Regional Director. Criteria include skills as an instructor, serving as a role model for the sport within rhc pilot and general communities, and involvement in and support ofUSHGA and local dub programs.

Commendations and Commen-dations: These awards arc given to USHGA members and individuals or groups in the community who have made significant volunteer contributions at the local, regional or national level, which serve to enhance participation in the sport and/or the irnagc of the spon and the /\ssociation. CIVL The USHGI\ recommends an individual to the C!VL who has made a significant impact on the sport at the international lc:vcl. NAA Award: The USHG/\ makes a recommendation to the NAA regarding an individual whose activities have served to enhance saft:ty. Names, addresses and other contact information must be submitted for each person or group nominated, as well as for the nominating party. /\11 concerned will be informed of the nomination and contacted when the recipient is selected. For categories in which several pieces of docurnenration, support, etc., arc requested, only the required number will be reviewed. Please submit these as one complete packet. All submissions should he sent to the US!!G!l ojfi'ce at least one wee!, prior to thefctll !301) meeting which on October 1R, 2002. In addition to reviewing the year's recipients, a prcsent:ation is planned for Saturday evening, October 19, 2002. We will be dedicating a plaqL1e honoring past presidents of the Association. These Association officers are frequently criticized but rarely acknowledged (<.)r their time, cnerb'Y and leadership, so this recognition is long overdue. Please join us at Wallaby Ranch as we toast and congratulate these individuals for their service and contributions. We believe that the Awards process offers a perfect opportunity for parricipation, community involvement and public relations. We look forward to your input.

',F[)TPMDPH 20()2

Saturday's fun flying and Octoberfest Party kicks off an exciting rncet, in the stunning Sequatchie Valley. Always the premiere east coast event for advancing pilots of all levels of ability, the Challenge is a rare opportunity to take on tasks, and learn with your team, in a friendly, fun competition. Safety and skills seminars, glider reps and demos, fly in breakfasts, a generous purse for the top placing teams, and daily draws round out the excitement Early entry before Aug. 30 is just $95 and includes T-shirt, Oct:oberfest beer and party, and some big, southern,-style breakfasts. $12f> after. Check the website for pix, info and to print up an online application. http://members.aoLcom/wcathersci/challenge.htm

HANG G1 IDING

CARABlNER SAFETY ADVISORY Silver chrorm:--platcd Parafly automatic (pushbutton) lrnrncss carabincrs by Austrialpin, Smbai, must not be used. l just came across a repeat advisory with a reference to a Dl!V airworthiness advisory. A particular Parafly automatic carabiner 1hat had been used for several years for DHV testing broke. This carabiner is av:1ilablc with various polished and colored finishes, but apparently only the chrome-plated (shiny silver) version is affected. Details arc available at: http:// www.dlw.de/english/sicl1erhcitlindcx.htn1l. Submitted by Christian Mnlack, Alpine Marine, lnc., alpmar@dellepro.corn

COMBINED MAGAZINE RAFFLE WINNERS We would like 10 congratulate rhe winners of our May "combined magazine" raffle:

Annette Whitaker, Deltona, FL Vario, courtesy of Jilytec USA

Flytec /,005

Kim Raines, Jonesboro, CA oxygen systcrn, courtesy of Mou main High Equipment & Supply Hohson, San Diego, CA Ball M-19 Vario, courtesy of Blue Sky Avionics

USHGA would like to thank the sponsors who donated and made this raffle a success: Flytec USA Mountain Equipment Ix Supply Blue Avionics Wills Wing Flight Connections Hawk Airsports Adventure Productions Hall Brothers USHGA

HANG GLIDING WORLDS RESUl'.rS CLASS 1, CLASS 2 AND CLASS The /lying was great with all eight days providing valid and casks. The weather was hot and there was more wind rh:m normal. A /cw fires flared up around Chelan, Washington, but did not disrnpt the flying other than /-c)rcing the meet directors t:o stop using the primary goal, Chelan Airport, due to fire-figh1ing aircraft traffic. The U.S. pilots :md teams flew well and medaled in each class. Class I

Brauniger Sonic Vario, courtesy of Wills Wing

Ken Baier, Encinitas, CA

20)

I())

FfT II Push-1o'T'alk System, courtesy of Flight Connections

Women's Individual

P!ricc Pilot I) 2) 3) 14)

Erich Rich~y, Lake Villa, fL

USA, 8462 Austria, 7267 points

courtesy of USlIGA

Kari Castle Cbirc Vassort Natalia Khamlova Racan Permenter Jamie Sheldon Judy Hilderbrand

USA USA RUS USA USA USA

Points 6723

son

1[941 2476 1057

Class

Place Pilot I) 2) 3) I 0) 14) 15)

Points

Christian Ciech Alessandro Ploner David Chaumet Davis Straub Bruce Barmakian I-Iiener Biescl Jim Yocom Vince Endtcr 'fom Vayda Mike Daily Campbell Bowen Ferris

Class 5

ITA GHR FRA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA

6712 M87 6476 5259 4789 4708 4178 3952

31'7! :3159 2857 2048

'Team

Italy, 16731 points Switzerland, 16623 points USA, 15677 points Everyone greatly appreciates 1he generosity of the USHGA, USHGH and the general membership for tbc monies donated w the world competirion fonds. The shins donated by the US HCA were fan1astic. Arr and Dennis, we appreciate the effrms put forth to provide the exemptions for Mike Daily and Jamie Sheldon. Their presence was helpful to the teams. l look forward to participating in the next World Championships as ream leader or hopefully as a pilot representing the USA.

submitted hy Ron Gleason Class 1 -- Women's 'foam

]osej'De Beer, San Diego, CA--- Windsok, courtesy of Hawk Airspons

Joseph Bouffc1rd, l ,ompac, CA; Gregory Lucas, Fayetteville, AR; Rohert Hurley, Oakland, NJ; Thomris Moorhouse, Ogden, UT Video (four total), courtesy of Adventure Productions

Rohy Sa1;gent; Tigard, OR

Airspeed !ndica10r, courtesy of Hall Brothers

Robert Moreno, Susanville, CA; Scott Scheider, Wildwood, GA; Amy 'fom Badger, Bellevue, WA; Thornas Laux, Santa Ynez, CA USHGA merchandise ccrrificate (four total), (l

JIANG Gumm;

WAIVER PRESS RELEASE

Germany, H458 points USA, 14291 points France, ] 190 l points Class 2

Place Pilot

Country Points

I) 2) 3) 8)

AUT GBR USA USA

Manfred Ruhmer Robin Hamilton Brian Porter Jim Zeiser

Class 2

7267 6770 5870 2592

Team

United Kingdom, 12795 points ',PflTPMllFll 2002

Dear Members: Current USHGA policy requires an original copy of a freshly signed waiver each lime a member renews on an annual basis. This policy makes our onlinc renewal process cumbersome (and not entirely online!) In order to make it possible to renew online without having ro send in a signed waiver by US mail, we have implemented a revision to the waiver that will allow us to have only one signed waiver form on file. We will not have to collect a freshly signed waiver every year at the time of your renewal. The old policy of requiring an original signed waiver will remain

in effect for the next year, until everyone has signed the new waiver with your renewal. There will be much less paperwork for everyone after we have completed this process. Many of you may already be aware that the ability to reliably enter into and enforce electronic contracts has not yet come into fruition. The biggest problem is in proving that the person claiming to have signed electronically is in fact the person that yo u are attempting to hold to the agreement. USHGA's online registration process was not designed to account for the fact that USHGA's business model required an annually signed waiver. Implementation of this new waiver will facilitate the on.line processes such that the member will be much better served and the office processes will actually become more streamlined. Online registration is a very convenient service for the membership and provides a significantly streamlined renewal process for the office. USHGA cannot provide the on.line renewal process without requiring a member

signed waiver on an annual basis until we have updated our membership files with an original signed copy of the revised waiver. This revised waiver will be primed on the backside of a revised membership application. USHGA is revising the waiver and the membership application to complement each other. The new application will also provide members with email options or preferences for the first time. Your email preferences will let USHGA know if yo u want to receive special notices or offers at your email address. You can view USHGA's privacy policy on.line by clicking on the Terms of Use link on the bottom of the home page at http: // www.ushga.org. USHGA will begin to distribute the revised membership application/waiver wi th the mailed renewal notices soon. To view the revised waiver please visit the following URL on USHGA's website ac: http://www.ushga.org/forms/ membershi pwaiver. pd£

You will need to download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.x or above to view the form. If you are unable to view the waiver on.line, please call the USGHA office at 7 19.623.8300 and one will be mailed or faxed to you. Once discribution of the new membership application and waiver begins, USHGA will no longer accept the current application/waiver form. The USHGA office is no longer accepting faxed waivers for membership renewals or pilot and instructor rating forms. If you are in the habit of faxing your membership renewal or rating forms to the office, please discontinue this practice and mail the fo rms with the signed waiver to the office. There are no exceptions to this policy. T his policy will be in effect until we update every member file with an original copy of the revise membership application/waiver. Jayne DePanfilis Executive Director jayne@ushga.org

Ask Dan

Coming Features

Dan...

the Man

2002 Buyer's Guiae

The Internet Era Virtually every reader of Hang Gliding magazine is wired to the Internet. I t's the way we find information... 211 x 7, up-to-date, and hassle-free (well OK, pretty much hassle-free) The ByOart]ohnson.com Website will offer you over 20 years of "Product Lines" columns-for researching, or merely wandering through the history of hang gliding in the USA. You can also find flight reviews by Dennis Pagen for several modern gliders among hundreds of pilot reports and thousands of photos. Unique features like Planefinder, PlaneView, SpecCheck, or Pros Er Cons will help you zero in on the right purchase for you. Or-just read it for fun. Coming, uh... soon! Sign up now to be notified when the site goes live. 5EpTEMBER 2002

Ever wanted to compare specifications on the hang gliders that interest you? How about paragliaers, or ultralight sailplanes, lightweight soaring trikes, or paramotors (powered paragliaers)? Those interested in powered aircraft might want details on trikes, ultralights, microlights, homebuilt designs, helicopters, powered parachutes, gyros ...the list goes on for 256 pages-all in full color. Photos of each wing (or aircraft), addresses of manufacturers, and lots more information on wings and aircraft from the USA ana Europe. Now, obtain your own copy of the World Directory ofLeisure Aviation. Only $9.95 + $3.95 Priority Mail. In stock nowsend a check for $13.90 to: oan Johnson • 265 Echo Lane• South St. Paul MN 55118 • USA • (no credit cards or phone orders) HANG GLIDING

FOREIGN SoARIN' A

FLYING GUIDE TO THE ALpES MARITIMES

BY ARNA GOLDSMITH

HANG GLIDING

5EpTl, MBER 2002

better than the weather forecast, and even when there is bad weather elsewhere, more often than not yo u can still fly here.

THE SITES This is not a complete list of the flyi ng sites. There are several more smaller or less popular sires in the area. GREOUERES -

Spaceman Pi erre Sibilia after another Swift re-entry at Bar-sur-Loup.

ituated in the southeast corner of France and bordering Italy and the Mediterranean Sea, the Alpes Maritimes is claimed by many to be one of the most spectacular, varied and picturesque flying regions in Europe. The area offers a complete variety of flying conditions, from easy soaring co mega crosscountries. The area has the most consistently flyable sites in the whole of Europe (they are flyable on average more than 300 days per year), and they offer thermal Lift in the winter as well as the summer. There is also a lot more to do there than just flying. The area is famous for its warm climate, beautiful beaches, mountains, food and cultural heritage. In January, February and March yo u can often chose between skiing, flying or going to the beach.

P ARAGLIDING

Orientation: South, 300 meters to 1,000 meters vertical. Greolieres is situated 25 km from the coast, tucked behind the first range of mountains in a deep valley with Chieron Mountain towering 1,770 meters above the village. It is one of the few sites in France were yo u do not need a car to go flying. The takeoff and landing areas are walking distance from the village. The local paragliding school, Cumulus, is run by Pierre, who speaks English and provides courses for both beginners and experienced pilots. He also runs the 4WD up to launch. Access: Get a lift in the paragliding school's 4WD, or walk to the lowest takeoff area in about 30 minutes. There is good ridge life mixed with thermals, and out-andreturn flights are possible. Very easy takeoff and landing. HANG Guo ING AND p ARAGL!DlNG Location: 15 minutes north of Greolieres, 40 km southeast of Sr. Andre. Orientation: South, 400 meters vertical. COL D E B LEYNE -

WHY IS THE WEATHER SO GOOD? This is due to the special microclimate of the Cote D'Azur (the Riviera). The Mediterranean Sea to the south prevents the area from getting too cold in the winter, and the Alps co the north protect it from north winds and the colder weather of central Europe. Ir is also far enough from the Atlantic to be shielded from the lowpressure systems that can cause so much bad weather.

WHAT IS THE FLYING LIKE? Flying in the south of France is fundamentally different from flying in northern Europe. In northern Europe the wind is more influential than the sun, so when you chose a flying site the wind direction is the most important factor. In the sunny south of France the sun is the primary consideration, and as a result, practically all sites face south toward the sun. Conditions are quite different throughout the year. In the summer, the conditions do not get incredibly strong due to the sea infl uence. For strong X-C conditions yo u need to travel co Col de Bleyne. The summer is normally flyable day after day, with blue skies and gentle breezes. In the winter, cloud base is often higher and the thermals normally weaker, bur yo u can find good thermals in December and January in the middle part of the day. In spring and autumn the weather is more changeable, with the best crossco untry conditio ns mixed in with some worse days. The amazing thing abo ut the Alps Maritimes is that the conditions are always SEPTEMBER 2002

HA NG GuDING

LACHENS -

HANG GLIDING AND PARAGLIDING

Orientation: Sou th, west and north, 800 meters vertical. Access: A 30-minute drive from Greolieres or Gourdon, with a good road to launch. This is a ve ry nice site that can rake most wind directions, although it can get too windy. Lachens features big landing fields, top-landings and great X-C potential.

Antonio - Col de Bleyne LZ. T.O. on ridge, top right.

Access: There is a road directly to launch, and a very big, flat, easy LZ. This is a good thermal and cross-country sire, in fact, the longest flight (258 km) made within the borders of France originated from this launch. Lac hens south T.O . and top landing area.

ST. ANDRE -

HANG GLIDING AND PARAGLIDING

Orientation: Southwest, 700 meters vertical. Access: A two-ho ur drive from Nice. T here is a good road to launch, bur since it is on the north side of the mountain it is often covered with snow in the winter (from December to March). This is an excellent X-C sire that freq uently offers smooth ridge soaring in the late afternoon. Ir can be windy on launch in the summer from 1:00 to 5:00 PM. The official landing field should be treated with great caution, as the wind there changes direction frequently due to

Gourdon T.0. looking south to Anti bes GouRDON -

HANG GLIDING AND PARAGLIDING

Orientation: Southeast, 300 meters to 800 meters vertical. Access: A 15-minute drive to launch from the village of Gourdon, with a dirt road fo r the last kilometer. There is some ridge lift, but mainly thermals and convergence. The site offers easy top-landings bur the LZ is not large. The lowest and biggest landing field is a six-kilometer glide from launch. There are lots of possibilities for nice out-and-return flights, and a convergence often sets up right over the sire. It can get busy on weekends.

HANG GLIDING

5EpTEMBER 2002

three valleys that funnel winds into it ar differenr speeds and from different directions. 'There is an alternate LZ farther up the main valley, which is generally more fi>rgiving. J recommend that you speak to Aerogliss, which administers the sire, before: going up to launcb. They are located next to the lake at the official landing licld. KFNNF!W

HAN(; CI.IDlNC ONLY

Oriente1tion: Southwest and sourheasr, 400 meters vertical. Access: Kennedy is situated right above the picturesque village of' Bar sur Loup. The last kilometer is a din road rhat goes all rhe way to launch. There arc three launch ramps that cover most wind conditions. This site is often soarablc with mild t hcrmals.

Bar-sur-Lonp LZ, Kannady lop left, Gourrlon far right

USEFUL WEBSITES FOR THE AREA

1<01111ody, all ramps and purkinn

www.nice.acroport.fr (information on all airlines that fly to Nice, as well as rental car companies) www.provenceweb.fr www.angloinfo.com www.ccolc-cumulus.com .www.ascendancc06.com www.aerogliss.com www.wunderground.com

RoQUEBRUNE (M ONAC:o)

PARACLIDJNC: (IIANC GurnNc Possmu:) Orientation: Fast, south aud southwest, 686 meters vertical.

Access: A 20-minute drive li·om Monaco via J ,a Ti!l'bie. l;ollow signs for the Monte-Carlo golf club. Roquebnmc bas a carpeted launch area right above the principality of Monaco. The[], is on a beach called the Golf Blei,, and it is closed for flying from June l to October 1 due to the number of' people on tbe beach. Roqucbrune is great for winter thermaling, aerobatics, SJV, and gening a ran in the winter. ln addition w flying here it is nice to visit the three major towns on the coast Cannes, Anti bes and Nice each of which has its own unique character. Cannes is famous for the film lestival, am! now has ft~stivals going on year round. Antibes is more traditional with an old port full of yachts, and good pubs with live music. Nice is the largest of the three towns with art galleries, an old market and a booming nightlife. Other imeresting excursions arc Sr. 'Jhipez with its elite atmosphere, Monaco with its race circuit though the streets, Vence with its an galleries and shops, rhc spectacular Georges du Verdon, and rhe old market town of Castcllanc which is a /iO-·minut:e drive to the north.

Bob Pitchers runs anotlrnr textbook TO. al Kennedy, with Nice in tho ham to tho oast

For more information about flying or accommodations in the area, comacr Arna and Bruce Goldsmith at www.chareau-dcmax.com. J [A NG ( j-un!NG

of events items WILL NOT if only in· elude exact information (event, contact name and phone number). Items should be received no later than six weeks prior to the event We retwo months lead time for regional and national meets.

HANG

US. 12·15, out Mtn., TN. 800-688-5637.

UNTIL Gliding eludes any other as divided wing. Includes all of the into four Prizes awarded for all areas in all "classes"· West (west of Route 5, USHGA Regions ·1, 2, 3); West Regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 east of Route Central 6, 7, 11), East (USHGA 8, 9, 10, 12); World (for the rest of the world). Any Hang II and up. Pick the appropriate class to enter: Pro (Hang IV); Amateur (Hang Ill); Recreational (Hang II). Towing is permitted with a maximum release altitude of 2,000 feet. No entry but a envelope is required for any correspondence requiring a return (entry form, etc.). correspondence and entry forms are acceptable and Visit http://tekflight.tripod.com/ falconxc.html or send an to: Tek Flight Products, Colebrook Winsted, CT 06098. UNTIL DEC. 31 · The Michael Champlin World X-C Challenge. No entry fees or pre-registration require12

J IANn ( l!mrnn

ments. to ers, rigid wings and more details visit the contest's Web site at http://www.hanggliding.org or contact: John Scott (31 0) fax (310) brettonwoods@email.msn.com.

will also host to of Power Rae· Four contest rounds will be flown with a maximum of 15 contestants. Interested pilots rnust have freestyle contest and aerotowing CWl"\OYIC\rl Past Masters participants will be given preferred consideration in the pilot selection process. The entry fee is $300 tows, T-shirt, smokes, dinner and unlimited fun! For general event information check the Bayfair website at www.bayfair.com. For contest information contact: Aero Events, (818) 993· 1 www.aeroevents.org.

OCT. 6-12: Team Challenge featuring the famous Radial Ramp, Dunlap, TN. The Tennessee pers warmly welcome pilots from around the world to this fun, friendly, team event. Bring a team or come join one, bring a glider for sale or find one, learn a skill or share one. This unique team flying event saw nearly a dozen personal bests and 1,000 miles flown last year. $95 for the week includes a mess of fly-in breakfasts and a pot topping $2,000! up soon; the field will again be reigned in at 45 lots. Contact: members.aol.com/ weathersci/challenge.htm for info applications, e-mail sbellerby@aol.com, or call Steve at (416) or Mark at 949-4999.

',Pf)TFMB\lH 2()()7,

14-1 Fly-In, Pine Mtn., I) Bill Taylor, www.desertairriders.org. SEPT. 22: Women's Fly-In. Time for women to fly together! Men can fly after they drive the women up to launch. Friendly competition: duration, altitude, Hosted by Wings of Rogallo Mountain flying club in Milpitas, site at Ed Levin Park. P-1 'sand H-1 's are with instructor. H-2's and sponsored by intermediate or above pilots. Kathy Wilde at wildeblu2@attbi.com, or Carmela Moreno at skyhighwoman@yahoo.com. SEPT. 28-29: Fly-N-Bike Festival, Chelan, Washington. Annual Northwest hang glider and paraglider event Fun-flying with various time and strategic tasks. Ten-mile biking event is suited for mountain or hybrid bicycles. 8:30 AM Saturday meeting and registration at Chelan Falls Park, Falls For information about accommodations call the Lake Chelan Chamber at 1-800-4Chelan. Marilyn (509) 682· 2251, or Michelle Devoe (206) 7148824. SEPT. 28-29: First Annual "Rudy's f?.idge" Team Challenge. Warm-up fly· in. Located close to Huntsville, AL Prizes for best duration of the day, best X-C of the day, and best three spots of the day. Fly during the day, and then enjoy Huntsville's Spring Jam in the evening. Food/party Saturday night regisand T-shirt included for the 1 , $30 after· tration fee before wards. Aerotowing also available for a fee. a day early and practice. For more information and directions contact: Ray,

at Sauratown Mountain near Winston· The site offers southwest and northwest launches. Come fall flying, ;,v,c,,.,ric food and fun. duration and ,~,nrlin,n contests. The fee includes T.. shirt Check our website for more information. ter/Club link from tact Jeff ,..,o,.mr,lflQ

Center. Course fee: Tandem 1, and Tandem Instructor clinic. Note: Tandem Instructor pol1t1cal satirist Mark Contact: Click on "rs>,,v""·· re<J1s·ten1na select check the items of in .. :::,e1ecteo ltems 11 a customized schedule of events.

Fourth Annual

Butte. Both this every wind direction. has seen a lot of over the last few years, and records are and broken. The site is located

If Your USHCi/\ Membership 011 09/30/0 l We NcGd Receive Your llY Sl Pl I Mlll R 20th Or you will miss the ,Oct11ber Mailazi,rie

for any out .. of .. state pilot or local pilot it out for the first time.) Guides will be on hand for pilot briefi:::Ir,rt,nn at 9:00 AM on at dusk in the LZ

r,h,nr-ljir,"

Ir Your I JSl I( iA lvkmbcrship We N,:cd fo Your

On Ion 1102 (l('T(ll\l,R

Or you will mis., the November .Magazi,u,,

",F[l'I FM l!FH 2()()2

l lAN<1 (;] Jl)JN(i

USHGA 2003 • A must have! Outstanding photography. Check one O HG [l PG .................... 1/b

PRICE $ 10.95

1l'FlY THE WING by Len Holms. The perfect hg book to give to the curious. 84 pages ................ 1/b

$12.95

.. ... 1/b

$24.95

id31RDFLIGHT: As the Basis of Aviation. Otto Lilienthal's flight documentation a century ago ...... 1lb

$19.95

trHANG GLIDING SPECTACULAR 70 great flying stories, over 250 pages, w/comp CD.

HANG GLIDING FOR BEGINNER PILOTS by Peter Cheney. Official Training Manual.250pgs .... 2/b

$29.95

TOWING ALOFT by Dennis Pagen/Bill Bryden. Covers ALL aspects of towing. 372 pgs ............. 3/b

$29.95

HANG GLIDING TRAINING MANUAL by Dennis Pagon For the beuinner/novice pilot. 350 pgs ... 2/b

$29.95

PERFORMANCE Fl YING by Dennis Pagon. For the Intermediate-Advanced pilots. 340 pgs ...... 3/lJ

$29.95

UNDERSTANDING THE SKY by Dennis Pagon. THE most complete book on micrometerology .. 2/b

$24.95

INSTRUCTOR'S MANUAL by Dennis Pagon, used in IP's. Illustrated. Check one O HG O PG ... 21b

$15.00

'>'<THE A.RT OF PARAGLIDING by Dennis Pagon 'NEW• Covers ALL aspects. 274 pgs. ...3lb PARAGLIDING-A PILOT'S TRAINING MANUAL by Mike Meier/Wills Wing. Covers all aspects .. 2/b

$34.95 $19.95

... 1lb

$ 8.95

DOWNWIND by Larry Fleming. Share the experience of over 20 years of hg flight. ....................... '1/b

$10.95

A RISK MGMT MANUAL by M. Robertson. Includes Charts/Reliability. Become a bettc~r pilot!. .... 1/b

$ 9.95

DELUXE FLIGHT LOG BOOK 4.25" x 7" 68+ pages. Log over :2'70 flights ................................. 3oz

$ 6.50

FLIGHT LOG BOOK The Official USHGA flight log book. 40 pages. LorJ those flights! ............ 2oz

$ 2.95

,'<TO FLY: SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL VIDEO. Check one [l HG (10 min)

$ 9.95

RIGHT STUFF FOR NEW HG PILOTS by Erik Fair. Reprints of Erik's HG column. Classic

l,J PG (7 min) ...... ·//b

WEATHER TO FLY Dixon While educates us on this. (50 min) D Check here for DVD instead .. 1/b

$39.95

SPEED GLIDING: TEAR UP THE SKIES Check out this new sport! (24 min) 0 Chec:k for DVD .. 1lb

$24.95

STARTING MANG GLIDING Basic preparation & what to expect. (30min) 0 Check for DVD ...... 1/b PARTY AT CLOUDBASE A hang gliding music video, rock music. (20 min) O Check for DVD .... 11b TELLURIDE AEROBATICS Follow the dynamic history of this evEmt, from "1981-95". (50 min) ... 1/b BORN TO FLY HG action. Fly Owens & other. Meet Team Green. (GO min) D Chec:k for DVD .... . 1/b HANG GLIDING EXTREME Fly many US sites, meet the top pilots. (50 min) 0 Check for DVD .. 1lb ,'<SPEED TO FLY World tour instructional video on XC PG flying techniques & tips. (70 min) ..... 1/b f.fSUPER Fl Y HARD Rob, Chris, Othar & Pablo assault the world's premier PG sites. (40 min) .. 1lb GROUND HANDLING & The Art of Kiting (PG). (44 min) 0 Check here for DVD instead ........... 1/b A HIGHER CALLING Superb paragliding XC adventure in Nepal. Excellent editing. (45min) ....... 1/b THE PERFECT MOUNTAIN Spans the globe for the quintessential paragliding site. (44 min) ..... ·fib

$29.95 $19.95 $24.95 $34.95 $34.95

QIL Total Weight TOTAL

$39.95 $35.95 $36.95 $32.95 $36.95

DVD1l'THE PERFECT MOUNTAIN, w/Masters at C/oudbase, two videos on 1 DVD.BARGAIN! 112/b

$34.95

BALI HIGH Exotic paragliding adventures in Indonesia. (38 min) .................................................... 1/b

$29.95

STARTING PARAGLIDING Basic preparation & what to expec:t. (30min) 0 Check for DVD ....... 1/b MASTERS AT CLOUDBASE A paragliding music video, set to hard hitting music:. (20 min) ......... 1/b Fl Y HARD Rob Whittal & C. Santacroce paraglide the westc:oast. Roc:k soundtrack. (36 min) .... 1lb CLOUDBASE PARAGLIDING Great intro. video. Meet the hot pilots, fly the hot sites. (36 min) .... 1lb All our videos are in USANI-IS NTSC format only.

$29.95 $19.95 $35.95 $34.95

$_____ _ $_____ _ DVD=1/2 LB EACH.

WINDSOKrM 1.5 oz. ripstop nylon, 5'4" long w/11" throat. f,J Pink/yellow or 1:1 pink/white ........... 21b $39.95 ZING WING Flying toy. Launch it skyward and watch is soar. 8oz ............................................ $ 2.50 $_ _ _ _ RED/WHITE/BLUE DECAL Two color on white vinyl, UV coated. Check one O HG O PG ........ 1oz $ 1.00 LAPEL PIN Two color enamel. Check one D HG D PG ...................................................... 2oz $ 2.95 USHGA EMBLEM DECAL Our original logo, in its original colors, on a 3" Gircular slicker. ........ . 1oz $ .50 LICENSE PLATE FRAME: 0 I'd Rather Be Hang Gliding or O I'd Rather Be Paragliding. ... 1/b $ 6.50 PAYMENT must be included with your order. NON-USA orders must be in U.S. FUNDS drawn on a U.S. BANK! SUBTOTAL WEIGHT (for shipping)

SHIPPING (USA)

CHARGE MY VISA /MC/AM EX

Up to 2 LBS ADD $5.00 2.1-4 LBS .. ADD $6.00 4.1 ·6 LBS .. ADD $6.50 6.1-8 LBS .. ADD $7.00 8.1-10 LBS .ADD $8.00 Over 10 LB .. Call/fax/email NON-USA SHIPPING-Call/fax/email

SUBTOTAL Colorado residents add 3% tax .._. . ______. _____ _ Shipping

chart)

Have you ever not flown because of the time it takes to set up

Your glider?

IVO~THWING Design Inc. Manufacturer of Ultralights and Hang Gliders

3904 Airport Way IE. Wenatchee, Wa.98802 :~~~~:~~~~...'1111!~~5:09:·:88:6·4605 fax 509·886·3435 I I www.northwing.com

Then consider this : * Great sink rate * Effortless handing * And .... 5 min set up!! Isn't It time to re-evaluate your personal flying requirments. You might find it's

EASY

"£,1Ji \10

170 190

=49 lbs. =53 lbs.

$2,950.00

ARE You AN Asp1RING Tua p1LoT? BY CURT WARREN

PREREQUISITES Awareness and proactive thinking.

TURN-ONS Becoming a row pilot is quite an amactive proposition. You'll fly every day it's flyable. You'll become one of them, those who are tuned into the local weather, the types who smell lightning coming and bring an umbrella on a sunny day. There will be days of outrageous clarity. I remember views above Wallaby Ranch that sometimes included both coasts of Florida - morning dew and low-level fog that often resembles a spider web, spw1 across the countryside. Imagine rowing above the low16

HANG GLIDING

level cumulus clouds on a humid day. Worldclass sunsets, just like momma used to make, will forever be burned into your memory. What an office! And my favorite: hooking my buddies up with the best thermal they've ever encountered. The candy man: "Ya partner, the first one's free. Go tell 'em where ya got it." Finding lift on dreary, overcast days can give you witchdoctor status.

TURN-OFFS Bugs in your teeth. Bad-hair days. Oh yeah, like I mentioned, you'll fly every day it's flyable and you'll fly on some days it's not, as the wind dummy: "Whoa, it looks awful, but we'll send 5EpTEMBER 2002

the rug pilot up just to make sure."

As you can see, the pros outweigh the cons. Just make sure you take the time to talk shop with some of the veterans befo re you start risking your butt. New tug pilot literature is not readily available. So, work with me as I attempt to pass along some essentials that I learned from my mentors, and that were later reinforced by heaps of rows with me at the stick. It's difficult to target everyone appropriately with this article since some of you may already fly trikes, sailplanes or 747's. As I carry on, I may sometimes assume that most of your flying

t·imc is in a hang

able

[fit's not, get comfort-

:1 hang

you a feel

This is hasic, !mt often conCuscd: Thronlc is import:mt thing is importance

so much about your Once you arc well clear of the deck the :1irspecd issue becomes less and you will he flying mostly hy tl1c of'1hc

before you start

OUT

just as it is in

lf'you don't currrntly

down. Ce1 some rowing ,,v,~,,,.,,,,,,.,,

1hc

as a hang

a stall or even mushy flight. controls won'r be as

the and, of course,

the tug will be more

10 turbulence.

how do you recover'

Baml I I h:1ppens quickly. No problem, your wasn't it? C:ou11t on

power t1Jcry timc.

(Engines seem to go whc11 you're low.) Always an our.

Your mind must be

alrirndc: 'Tm gonna l:md there.

slow you down (and stall you)

rnming,

do a 180. Maybe mild S·turns or landing 0111

keep extra

in :11101 her field will be s:1f(:r than swinging a

ro the hack on rhc stick ins1c:1d of'

power.

rlierc. now there." It takes a lot of:1ltimdc to

Some common

pilot

recovery problems:

disoriented and nor

which

way to kick rhc rnddcr.

))

Not

downwind or in rotor. Sec why you must get

response. It's tempting bur possibly r:11:11 if'you attempt ro ''save" or "baby" :111

now

maneuver. Be open to landing crosswind,

confirm with stick prcssme and comrol

entered: 180, :md get

aware at low

Nm much new so for, right' Bur here's something ro consider: 'I 'he towed aircraft Glll

down low, rcfcrCllce the gauge, :md

low.

Dump it. Know how much it takes to do :1 180. l'r:1cricc up I recommend both and pract ic:d. How docs a init iatc and

field was picked 0111 a second :1go,

stan. 'lciw aircra/i: arc hc:1vy, some more than others. Ir takes a lot of altin1dc lo recover from

our, or locking out.

i<Hward and pull rclc:rsc. Practice this. Visualize your reaction. And don't I )on't worry about

for rhc

response and

the comrols to the other side.

some rime in before things srart adding up? Muscle memory is important: stick

Bodi of these prohlcrns can be avoided

Continuod on page 40

C.,FfHFMlWH 2002

IlANCJ C,1 fl)JNU

PREFACE The spring soaring season has come and gone IHH not without incidents, which are nor uncommon following the dowmime of winter and the anticipation of renewed highs, both literal and figurative. Only those incidems which have been filed on-line at the US HCA website have heen included so far in my articles because these are rhe only reports l have received. f know there have been other incidents, so please s11hmir your reports using this method if possible, or by e-mail or snail mail to the USHGA office, or directly to me at AlanC@San.RR.com, G709 Salizar Sr., San Diego, CA 921 I l. Please excuse any discrepancies you may find or have already noticed in my published reports, because I have nor yet had the opportunity to contact rhe reporter and/or pilor for clarification of details. I apologize for this and promise to do so for all future incident reports. Also, the length or my report and analysis is generally proportional to the length of tbe report 1 receive. Thanks to those who bave submitted incident reports. This article includes eight incidents, and I'm saddened rn say that it begins with a fatality.

FIRST INCIDENT An fntermediatc··ratcd pilot foot-launching from a mountain launch ramp in extreme conditions was killed upon ground impact shortly after takeoff On April 26, Intermediate pilot Ed Reno of Greenbelt, Maryland died on impact at the scene due to massive hlunt trauma shortly after takeoff from the left ramp at The Pulpit near McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania. This launch site seems to be recessed in a slot, cut out through the nees as is common in tbe eastern U.S. Tt was a strong day with compelling cross-country potential. The pilot was not current with mountain foot·launching according to his logbook. His last flight was four months prior and his last ramp launch was nearly five months prior. During the previous season his logbook reflected a trend of launching without other pilots at this specific site in strong and sometimes crosswind conditions. The pilot's Special Skill endorsements included AWCL

HAN(] nurnNG

(Assisted Windy Cliff Launch) and TUR ('forbulence). Although conditions hardly seemed marginal at the time of launch, he probably launched in ;1 lull to get off cleanly, and may have felt that he needed to fly close to the terrain in order to get up and/or to clear the slor. The pilot bad heen coHuselcd regarding extreme examples of this behavior in the not-·SO·-recent p:-ist. The wind at launch was estimated w be 18 to 28 mph, and was probably cross from the right. In lighter conditions rhis ramp launch has been described as easy, bur this site is known for turbulent launch conditions in a crosswind, even at wind speeds below those reported on this day. Other local pilots flying that day judged that conditions for this site would likely he too strong, so there were no other pilots present. T'he use of an inexperienced wire crew, usually available and commonly used at this site, may have been a contribnting factor, although it appears that these volunteers did what they were asked to do. Although the pilot waited in launch position for approximately five minutes, it's possible rhe pilot rnshcd his launch due to apprehension rhat one or both wire crew persons might release prematurely because of the strong conditions. One of the volunteers was reportedly uncomfortable with the situation due to his elderly age, a self-reported fear of heights and the poor traction of his golf shoes on the wooden ramp. Afrer leaving the ramp with level wings, the glider was blown up and back w the left before doing a left 180° turn. The right wing of the glider scraped through the upper branches of a tree to the left of launch. Afrer yawing about 270° around the tree, the glider broke free of the tree and moved to the right back toward lanncb. 'The glider then banked lefr, nose high, and sideslipped into the ground and rocks below and to the lcfr or the ramp. The pilot's helmet and shoes were found separated from the pilot's body as a result of the impact. His inrermediate-,levd, king-posted glider showed no evidence of strnctural failure prior to the collision. 'The pilot appeared to he properly hooked and the harness showed only minor abrasion. I have no flrst .. hand familiarit;7 with ')FJ)TPMJJFrt 2002

this site, bur the practice of using an inexperienced wire crew is beyond consideration frlr me. When I was a fledgling pilot I almost caused an experienced pilot to crash on launch because T stumbled and let go of the nose wires while moving up to the edge. I am reluctant to even 11se a paraglider pilot to wire me off a coastal ridge soaring site, because without a thorough and clear explanation, they don't fully grasp the technique and timing required to assist in a windy cliff launch despite having casually observed them many times. While rhe inexperienced wire crew may not have been a significant factor in this fatality, l feel compelled to highly recommend against this practice. Por my wire crew, I will only use one or more experienced hang glider pilors and/or drivers, whom l've observed ro demonstrate competence in this role, and only after clarifying the signals I intend to use. I view this fotality as a classic case of Intermediate Syndrome: An aggressive lntermediate,rated pilot who is nor current (at least frir mountain launching) and is overly longing for airtime following a long winter layoff (at least from x.. q, is seduced by a probable big x .. c day. Buoyed by bis anticipation and coupled with his aggressive attitude, he goes alone withont confirmation of meeting others, to a site that is being purposely avoided by more experienced pilots because of the extreme conditions. He then launches into those conditions, which arc probably beyond conrrollability for even a current, expert pilot to safely fly a hang glider. lntenncdiate Syndrome is not just a clichc, but a real phenomenon, and while it's most likely to occur at an intermediate stage, it is by no means limited to Intermediate-rated pilots on intermediate-level gliders. Hang gliding is very Darwinian (survival of the fittest) and T don't mean physically. I don't believe hang gliding is inherently dangerous, bur it is very unforgiving of mistakes. ff you cautiously persevere and survive the ever-present pitfalls, you can become an Advanced-rated pilot, although even at this level you remain vulnerable to potentially fatal errors. My point is that pilots coming up through the ranks must both seek and heed

the advice of not only rhcir instructors, hur that of senior pilots in the arc.1 where they arc flying. The simple foct that these pilots have survived fiir an extended period to attain an advanced level speaks volumes about rheir acquired understanding of sites and conditions, as well as their judgment. The bottom line is that had this pilot coordinated with the other more experienced pilocs in rhc ,11-ea, he would probably still be alive!

SECOND INCIDENT /\n lmermcdiatc-ratcd pilot oscillated to impact at high speed while test-flying a topless glider, resulting in multiple injuries. On a spring evening several pilors were truck towing (platf(irm launch using a pay· om reel) including an Imennediate··rnted female pilot who owned an advanced kingpost glider bur who w;1s rest-flying a used topless glider she was considering for purchase. She had previously towed this same glider and experienced a lot of' on tow, but exhibited no control problems off row. On another clay before the incident and after her first test-flight, she had difficulty setting the glider up, became frustrated, and chose not to fly because rhe conditions were not good for 1·,,c1·.l'hnn" new glider. Later, she decided that this glider was not the right one for her. Tbis decision was reinforced again when she later had an opportunity to test·fly the glider but chose to fly her own glider instead. On the of the incident, thermal conditions were mellow enough to first send up a newly row .. rated Novice pilot and a paraglidcr pilot. Meanwhile the fomalc pilot chose to make another tcst .. flight of' the used topless glider since the conditions appeared to he suitable. So, with lier instrucror, and in conjunction with

rc,,ie1Nitl!! the glider's owner's manual, they scr up the glider and adjusted the wing tips ro increase the washout to help reduce on tow. By the time she was ready began to rnrn overcast, soaring pilots were sinking out, and the thernd conditions yielded to steady winds. 'fhc tow road was aligned north-south and the surface wind direction had been northwest all day. All tows that day had been to the north, There was a soarablc ridge cast of rhe tow road, one and a half miles from the road at the south end of the row road and half a mile from the tow road at the north end of the tow road. They had conducted a successhd radio check earlier, and while they completed the pre.. launch checklist items, the surface wind switched ro north al IO ro 15 mph with hints of the wind veering to tbe northeast. /\ftcr staging to begin the tow, the pilor wanted to wait because of her concern about possible rotor during the flight. When rhc surfoce wind became nonh .. northwest, the pilot queried the row crew as ro the suitability of the conditions fi:ir her test-flight. Both the driver, who was a pilot, and her instructor, whom she had requested to act as observer in the back of rhe truck, rhat the conditions were satisfactory for her to the glider. She then made the decision w launch, and the tow wem well with no y;iwing, but she was encouraged hy the instructor to slow down because she looked like she was /lying fast while on tow. /\t 700' to 900' /\GL the glider 45°to 90° to the of the rnwline, and the pilot released from tow and cornplered a right 180° rurn (now heading south). After flying straight she turned right to head wcsr. !\s the instructor again advised hy radio for her to slow down, she encomnercd some rnrbu-

lcncc and to oscillate, then was observed ro srabilizc. At this time rhe driver told the instructor that he wasn't receiving the radio transmission, so rhc instrucror then began to use the driver's radio, The pilot turned right to head norrh, now between three quarters and one rnilc west of the ridge. She began to oscillate again, initially fi-om 15° to 20° of· roll, and then accelerated in au attempt to regain control, which aggravated the oscillations to near 90° of roll. Before the last roll to the right the pilot was observed to be prone wirh the basctuhe at her waist. During the ltnal oscillation to the right, the right wing tip contacted the ground first and the pilot was slammed into the ground. The glider then flipped over with rhc pilot falling omo the sail from above. The call to 911 was made immediately. 'The pilot was conscious and coherent when rhc other pilots reached her shortly afrcr impact. She was already stabilized and prepared for evacuation whcn the EMS squad arrived, a11d they immcdimcly summoned for a helicopter evacuarion to a metropolitan hospital. She was treated, kept overnight, and is anticipated to make a foll recovery at home from multiple injuries: slight head injury, lacermcd hrnised heart and lungs, collapse of one lung, broken scapula (shoulder), clavicle (collar bone) and ribs, and assorted bruises.

The post· incident analysis report indicates the frill owing. Based on multiple prcviom experiences with the pilot, the instructor fdt tha1 the pilot h:1d demonstrated Aclva11ced pilot skills and was qualified to be /lying I he glider she was test-flying. She didn't feel she was ready to be rated

(Ii)

A precision instrument for i-hc serious Rngged, clepcnd,1blc and easy to

NEW! SMALL J!ALL Great for liand,hcld wind mc:ts.tircnH:nt or

lndic1ror

• Internal Zip Lines

Small [foll .... . $2:3.50 Paraglidcr llrackct .. . . $6. 50 >low avaiLib!t:: Small 1·1all for h:rng glider;., 0 10 70 mph

• AMPLE Internal Storage

',FjlTl'MBFH 20()2

Hall Brothers, PO llox l(JJl) .. J I• UT 81050, lJSJ\ ' Mastcrcar,t/VlSJ\/( :.1: U l. Pl10nc (8011 82.9 <1232,

f LANO GLJDJNn

!')

Advanced, so the insrructor now believes the pilot should have stuck with her earlier decision that it wasn't the right glider for her (respected her inner voice). The instructor feels he should have cm phasized more strongly to the pilot the importance of avoiding excess airspeed, especially 011 landing approach (her GPS indicated 64 mph on impao). When the pilot questioned the wind direction prior to tow, the instructor now feels they should have canceled the flight. The instructor feels that the added washout was not a factor in the incident, but contrihutcd to stabilizing the glider on row where she has previously had problems with oscilla Lion. The instructor thought he should have replaced his radio banery a(ier allowing another pilot to use it earlier in the day, although prior lo evacuation, the injured pilot confirmed hearing the instructor on rhe radio advising lier ro slow down to trim speed and relax. During the tow, the pilots in the staging area observed 1h1t the smfocc wind direction had switched to eastnortheast, but the speed was not reported. At the end of rhc tow, the driver observed rhc surface wind direction to be light northeast from the windsock located rhere. At the impact scene, rhe surface wind direction was noted as 1wo to frrnr mph from the non heast. Glider inspection revealed the VG to be in the foll-loose position. 'rhe pilot indicated that she had ir one-third on during the tow and released ir when she turned west. The instrncmr feels th:n the pilot could have deployed her reserve paraclwtc when she frh she was out of control. The instructor feels that her full-face, ligluwcighr, motocross helmet and her chest--mounted reserve contribured to saving her life. My impression is that adding washom to the wings was a beneficial adjustment and did not contribute to the incident. While the probable rotor from the ridge may have induced rhe early yawing and oscillation, the excess airspeed and resulting PIO (pilot-incluced oscillation) were the 20

J lANG ( fl.JD\ NG

prim:uy cause this incident. Sbc didn't underst:111d PIO or the solution, but it's nor clear why she had this misunderstanding. She was fixated on increased airspeed as the solution to her PIO, as evidenced by the foct thar she continued the dive despite hearing radio instructions 10 slow down. In addition, her previous negative e,i,,er·"·rH·e with control of' the glider undermined her conl!dcnce in flying this glider. Wl1ile she may have demonstrated Advanced pilot skills, her misunderstanding of P[O and lack of confidence indicate that she was not an Advanced pilot in practice. I agree that rhe instructor should have provided greater ground school emphasis on how to both avoid and correct the oscilhrions prior to For launch. 111 addition, the final opponuniLy to have accomplished this was while d1cy were staged for bunch, waiting for the wind direction to stabilize. Not only would this have distracted her in a positive way from her anxiety rhc suitability of the conditions to tesr-fly the glider, it would have educated her on problem prevention and problem correction, both of which would have boosted her confidence in the topless glider. The instructor feels that the chestmounted reserve parachute comribmcd to her crash survival, but it would have heucr served hcr if she had deployed the reserve and landed under canopy, as the instructor also noted. This lack of exercising reserve dcploymenc as an option is indicative of a rrend f've noticed :me! have labeled Advanced Syndrome. Jr's more prevalent in paragliding than hang gliding, bm in hang gliding, experienced pilots fall into the mindset that the reserve is only to be used in the case of strnctural failure, yet in this case (loss of control), it dearly would have resulted in a softer impact. i:inally, the of'listcning to

tmd j-rJ/lowingyour inner voice ref!_aretm£ flying safety cannot be enough. Whci-her the factor of concern is with respect to rhe glider, conditions, the sire, your skills, or your rnrrenr mental, physical and emotional srate, 1 bcl ieve such intuition should be a pilot's primary guide when making a decision whether to fly, and if so, the demands you impose on yourself for the flight.

THIRD INCIDENT An lnterrncdiatc-rntcd pilot landing out on his flrst cross-country flight landed downwind and sprained his wrist.

The pilor was following a more experienced Intermediate-rated pilot on the same type and size of glider. 'They both had radios but neither of them used them on this particular flight. The surface winds were somh-southeast at IO to 15 mph when they left: the acrorow site and headed north (downwind). At 2,500' AC L the pilot left his leader and turned upwind roward several attractive potential LZ's and sunlit ground areas, even though rhcy had just transited the area and found no lift. After a mile he arrived at his intended LZ at 2,000' AGL, and climbed up ro 2,500'. He noticed the other pilot circling approximately two miles away. Since he had just transired the area between rhem, encountering liule sink and would be traveling downwind, he felt he could easily reach rhe other pilot and the area of lifr, so he began to head toward him. He encountered strong sink and began scanning for possible L/.'s. He was having difficulty distinguishing the suitability of the surface features from the air, and didn't fix! he had time to closely examine the terrain. He chose a graded construction site Lo the northeast to land in and planned his approach. As he approached the LZ from the west he observed some very t:111 power lines along the highway he had to cross. For some unknown reason he became confused about 1he surface wind direction and assumed it was cast crly. After crossing the road and power lines, a11d in a clockwise approach away from those hazards, he thought he would be on his downwind leg when he realized he wasn't. He then noticed that a large pit consumed the upwind end of the field and he was now too low to avoid the pit. He chose to bnd downwind in the sand where he whacked hard, breaking a downtube and badly spraining his wrist. '!"he pilot's post--flight assessment included: For a first cross--country flight he should have carefully chn:kcd out his potential L/.'s from the ground prior to tlic flight. He was not accustomed to making coordinated flights with another pilot, and should have coordinated a clear flight plan with his leader. He realized he was not accustomed to radio communicarion, and he was reluctanr t:o use his radio. Plying with another pilot actually provided little benefa to him, and it created unnecessary distraction and

DEALERS CAUFORNIA Dreamweaver Doug Prather (209) 556-0469 drmwvrhg@ softcom.net

S. CAUFORNIA Wind sports Joe Greblo (818) 266-0874 cell

TEXAS Gus Rasch (281) 353- 5970 (281) 705- 9701 cell grant4ever@ peoplepc.com

VIRGINIA Blue Sky St eve Wendt (540) 432-6 557 blueskyhg@ yahoo.com

NEW YORK Mou ntain Wings Greg Black (84 5) 647-3377 mtnwings@ catskill. net

CANADA B.C. ,ALBERTA, SASKATCHEWAN Kim Jenner (2 50) 453-9983

ONTARIO MANITOBA ll EAST OF QUEBEC Gino Ciano (905) 476-1260 glnoc@on.albn.com

The Industry leader for over 20 Years Training Packages and Camps Integrated Inst ruction of foot launch and aerotow tandem skills Lookout Mountain, Georgia - Since 1978

Put Yourself in Expert Hands at Lookout Mountain Flight Park

www.hangllde.com 44 Acre Mountain Resort Hang Gliding, Tandem Discovery Flights, Lodging, Bunkhouse, Clubhouse, Bath House, Pool

Lookout Mountain Hang Gliding - 800.688.5637 - www.hanglide.com

additional pressure. He should not have left his original LZ choice because he was confident in it, and he had plenty of time and altimdc to plan a good landing. His inexperience wirh out-landings contributed heavily to his confusion and inability to phm and execute a good approach and landing under pressure. He could have landed crosswind, and he was lucky that he didn't run out of Field landing downwind. Had he remembered LO let go of the downt:ubcs and tuck upon imp,1ct, he could have probably avoided the wrist injury.

IF his preflight planning had been as good as his post-flight .tssessmcm he probably would have avoided the entire incident, or at least would have likely avoided the injury. FOURTH INCIDENT A second-lesson student fo01.fmmcl1ing on a 40--foot training hill failed ro flare, and a broken wheel resulrcd in a spiral fracture of his humcrns. A swdcnt was training in upslope winds of five to eight mph and was performing well, hut he had been failing to flare for landing and would roll in on his landings. The school was experimenting with new plastic-spoked wheels with pneumatic tires, which made it easier to roll the gliders upslope. During the flight the student veered off 30° toward the uphill slope of an adjacent hill. The student leveled off from rhc turn but failed 1o flare. The uphill slope increased the impact force while rolling in for a landing, which broke the spokes of one wheel and rhe glider whacked, nose down. The student was holding the downtube and sustained a spiral fracture ofd1c humerus when bis body swung through the control frame. The instructor's post-flight assessment indicated that: This injury could have hecn avoided through the use of the commonly used big, brown, hollow, plastic safety wheels, because even when they fail they still tend to roll. The injury could also have been avoided had the student let go of the downtube, bur this is a lot of awareness to expecr from a second--day student, and safot:y equipment should be trusted 1 l/\m, nuniNn

LO cover for these errors.

This appears LO inc w be a classic case of instructor oversight hy allowing a student to advance prematurely. 'This instructor was depending on the equipment· to cornpensatc for the student's improper rcd111iq11c. l think that after one or two srudent roll-in landings, the instrucror should have discontinued the studcm's flights, demonstrated a proper flare landing with the use of legs as landing gear, and then gone back down to the bottom of the slope or to rhc flats so the srndcnt could repeatedly foll-··flarc stops his A smdcm who is rclucran t to use his legs for landing must first gain the trust that· flaring rbc glider will slow it down. Only rhcn will he recognize that it is safe to use his legs, and only then will he feel confident to use them to absorb the landing force or nm om the landing. I am not familiar with this particular training area, but [ can't help but question the wisdom of using a training hill that would allow a studcnr to fly into another hill's upslope. T speculate thar the presence of this orber hill may have been irrelevant in earlier when the training gliders didn't glide as far, but with the extended glide of' today's trainers, this other hill bs become a hazard. Also, the contradictory report indicated that the instrucror had no radio but that it was a radio-·supcrvised flight. Had both the student and the instrm:tor used radios, the instructor could have advised the smdent LO release rhc downtnhes, thereby possibly avoiding the injury.

FIFTH INCIDENT An Advanced-rated pilot on his first mountain flight of the year was rocked by turbulence on landing approach and cartwheeled into the ground, resulting in a broken arm. Following some springtime acrotow-" launch flights, the pilor had an enjoyable 90-minure thermal flight, his first at this site and his first mountain flight of the year. After noticing some cumulonimbus clouds with minor virga about 15 to 20 miles to the west, he prudently chose to land. Following an uneventful descent and approach, and afrer having gone upright for landing, he encountered turbulence at 50' AGL which popped him up, right, left, and back to the right. His right wing tip contacted the ground and he probably ground--looped (spun in). The pilot ")Fj)TFMBPH 2( )02

fractured his humerus in three places at the junction of the bone sliafr and the ball of the shoulder. In his post-incident analysis the pilot stated: "I did not think of relc;ising the dowmubcs or may not have had time to let go and get into a protective position, hut knew frorn previous accident discussions d1at ir would probably have prevented tbe injury." I know from first-hand Pv,,v•1·1p11r,, that a pilot can be reluctant: to rdease the downtubes immediately prior to impact, especially if the pilot is holding a flare as l once did. Also, in the confusion of the momcnr ir can be difficult to judge the riming about when to do so, even if you're intending to do so. Therefore, it's better to release the down tubes, retract your arms and tuck your head early rather than late. In addition, rhis is a good example of how basetube wheels, even small ones, may help prevent a sudden srop and a resulting injury from that stop.

SIXTH lNCIDENT An Advanced-rated pilot test-flying ;i glider over-controlled the glider after encoumering turbulence while landing, resulting in a spra i ncd foot. The pilot was test-flying a kingpostcd, advanced glider in coastal ridge lift, which he had previously flown. He had been flying with the VG set foll tight and was nsing a lot of body movement to play with the glider's 1mneuverability during flight. Tbc pilot had loosened the VG to approximately one-third on for landing. During his top-landing approach the pilot turned right from downwind or base leg to upwind for the final leg. The pilot encountered rotor at low altitude (less than 50' AGL) on bis lefr wing, making it drop. He was overly aggressive in rolling the glider to the right to correct for rhc turbulence, and rhc glider began to roll very quickly to the right. After approximately 90° of turn (now crosswind) the right wing tip contacted the ground and the glider ground-looped approximately 270° and whacked hard. The glider obstructed rbe witness's view of the pilot's body during impact. 'The witness reached the pilot approximately 30 seconds fc)llowing impact. He was conscious with minor facial/head abrasion and lcfi(?) foot pain. The pilot was driven to the emergency room of a local hospital where he was x-raycd, treated for a sprained ankle and released later that day. His youthful age was probably a contributing factor in precluding

more serious

During 1hc pilot's posr-incidcm imcrview he clearly recognized that he overcontrolled the to compensate for the rotor 1mh11lcncc. /\!though lie had die awareness to loosen the vc; for landing, he didn't mcmally his dcliher:ire action of doing so, and when he needed to correct for the t11rb11lcnee he reverted ro his inHight extent of control input. lt appears he overdosed 011 adrenaline and was literally "carried on landing.

condition assessment was winds which arc usually stronger, csrJcc1allly ar higher clcvarions and in open country. Also, suprone and supine pilots must tbat even if' rhcy can pull in as much as a prone pilot can, they present greater frontal ;1rca and therefore added so their ability to penetrate (m:11rtta1n a high LID at increased a1rsp,ccc1J is rcd11ccd on any glider, surface or double surface. whether

In his post-incident assessmc111 the pilot indicated: The supronc harness literally saved his butt with its rhick foam padding in the

which would make the

and top··landing both easier. There's no indicarion in the report about how

much he had on bur if we assume he had suflicicnt fomili:1ri1y to know where I he stall w:1s whrn pcrf<Jrming shallow··bankcd, slow turns, rhcn he was in his desire 10 get up. Even a Masrcr,1-;11cd pilo1 must rccogm,:c rhc need ro reduce opcrauni:, limitations in light nor and wid1 other bodily and/or or self.imposed pressures. that human m;1stcry ofanytl1111f; 1r:rnsicm state at best, and the illusion of"its reliable rcpca1ability le.ids 10 co1rnrlla<:cn,cy, so l have disdain for borh the term and its or as an academic use as a pilot credential.

EIGHTH INCIDENT SEVENTH INCrDENT An lmcrmcdiate-rated pilot supreme (supine inside the control frame, Skyfloaring) on a singlc·snrfocc glider henched up, was nearly blown hack, hovered down for ;1 top-landing, ricocheted off the ground and was blown downwind and flipped over without injury. The pilot fciot ·launchcd late in the into a l Oro 12 mph headwind and soared up to the top of the hill, prcsurnahly afier ftir the afternoon wind and thermals to modcr;:ite. He found that he couldn't penetrate forward and didn't think he co11ld climb high to clear the rotor. I le gradually and smoothly hovered down for a top·landing, but at live feet AGL he encoimrcrcd sudden sink and hir tl1c ground. He bounced off the ground and was blown backward for 15 feet while pulling in. The wind then blew him off the back of the hill where he flipped over, landing uninjured, still pointing inro the wind and I 00 feet down the slope. The cs1irnatcd wind on top at the time of the top·landing was 30 mph.

and the

!\ Masccr·ratcd pilot flying a carbon harness and a spun in below lam1ch after stalling in a slow soaring rnrn and sustained multiple injuries. While 1mki11g his first flight of the season following rccrnt surgery, :md having a dcsi re IO top-land, the pilot la11nched into other soaring hang glider 1r:1ff1c and soon gained 200' a hove l:urnch performing three wide passes with S·tnrns om in front. On the and it spun third turn he stalled the for three rotations before impacting the l 00' below the top. He sustained multiple injuries ro his head, wrist, pelvis and ankle. According rn the incident reporter, the dcstrnction of the glider and carbon fiber harness probably saved his lifo. There were sevcrnl indicators of' potential in this brief report. His sensory were probably less rhan sh;1rp since he wasn't c111Tc11r, and he possibly wasn'r as active as he otherwise would have been i1hc hadn't rcccnily undergone surgery. He had expressed a desire ro top·land and was /lying wirh other traffic, so his flight plan was prob;1bly to use the superior sink rate of his rigid to get above borl1 rhc traffic

SUMMARY errors, whether it was un,1cresunna1,m1, conditions, confosion in cn11hnntm,<> ch,all<:nf:cs, sc11··11'11f:>os,cc1, undue pressures, or knowing when to abandon control in One 111<1gnr1c11t lieu of minimizing error rhc ch:1i11 of cvcnls that leads ro incidcnts. Siwarion;il awareness is rcc·ogl1li'.-

rhci r conscquc11ccs to option. Impulsiveness is rhc opposJtc. Reflect 011 your pilot <1c,:.:is1011 ·1111al<1111g each step, even if' only sirnational awareness you'll reduce I he number errors. If" you the use: of" situational ;1warcncss with i ncrcascd for error, you can minimize the consequences of any mc::tlt error you may make. Fly safrly.

seat.

His major error was assuming that since the wind had died down a1 the bench, the evening glass··off had starred and the wind would farther abate as the evening wore on. Never underestimate a singlc-snrface inability to penetrate! I le should have turned crosswind to get to the side of rhc hill and landed om in the flats, our of the rotor, :md in the lighter surfocc winds on the valley floor. While it wasn't reported whether the smfoce winds diminished, his error in ",FpTFM11l'B 2()()2

I IANO Gt lTJTN(;

7:00 AM, JUNE 20, ZAPATA, TEXAS David Glover, manager and chief entertainer of rhe 2002 World Record Encampment, came knocking on my door. He excitedly cold me that rhe pilots' meeting was being moved up co 8:00 AM from its customary nine o'clock rime sloe. The meteorological diviners, Gary Osoba and his sorcerer's apprentice Davis Straub, had determined that the auguries were good. The meteorological chicken entrails indicated that we were finally co experience one of rhe promised Zapata "Days. " Thar implied early morning lines of reliable convergencegenerated clouds starting aro und 9:00 AM, followed by more conventional cumulus development at 11 :00, and all that accompanied by an unwavering south-southeast wind up into rhe high plains of northern Texas. To be perfectly frank, I was nor entirely convinced chat the conditions could ever really live up co Gary's promises. The WRE had been in session for several days already, and while we had had what were reasonable training flights by conventional standards, the early going had been cough, rhe wi nds fairly light and rhe cumuli sparse. Indeed, we sometimes experienced largely blue and decidedly trashy high-pressure conditions that had some of the Atos pilots a bit unnerved by the turbulence. These had not been the 200-mile milk-run conditions I had anticipated. Nonetheless, Gary is a weather wizard and who was I co doubt him ? Ac the pilots' meeting both he and Davis were fairly optimistic in their assessment of rhe day's potential, although Gary still only raced chat potential as a five on a scale of one co ten. Mose pilots were a bit casual about getting ready as Gary wasn't going co fly, and Davis seemed rather non-committal about the day. However, Gary wasn't going to fly because his Sparrowhawk sailplane had some avion ics problems, while Davis was unmotivated co go because he needed co believe he could beat last year's 407-mile flight before he would be inspired co launch. Bur five of us began husrling to gee ready even as Gary was conci nuing his briefing. The tepid forecast left us unconvinced rhar we could break Manfred Ruhmer's absolute 435-mile record. So we all sec our sights on bearing rhe 311-mile disrance-cogoal reco rd set last year from Zapata by Betinho Schmitz. It is a measure of Zapata's

From left: Rhett Radford, Bo Ha gewood,

? , Mike Barber, Pete Lehmann, Russell Brown, Gary Osoba .

already legendary cross-country porenrial that we would choose a 321 -rnile goal co rhe airport ar Big Lake, Texas, as an objective for a day of middling porencial. I had previously spenc five frustrating years in Rock Springs, Wyoming artempring co fly 300 miles, and here we were casually serring a goal 60 miles farther than I had ever flown . THEFLYI G After hastily writing up the declaration board, photographing it and ensuring that all my equipmenc was in order, I loaded my Talon omo a launch dolly and rolled it co the runway. Andre Wolf, the renowned Brazilian pilot flying a Laminar, had already launched, when at 10: 15 Rherr Radford landed and taxied into position. My driver Andrew Holupka hooked me and my Talon onto the cowline and Rhett chen cowed me off co che customary release point southeast of rhe airport. Thar racric places rhe pilot in a favorable position co begin rhe struggle around Laredo's airspace while allowing him the option of making it back to the Zapata airport in rhe event he doesn't find any life. I released from rhe rug ar 3,000' AGL, just below cloudbase, bur the bloody cloud wasn't working. I searched for life in vain and was approaching the point of having co fly back to the airport for another try. However, Mike Barber had been cowed up on his Litespeed minutes behind me by Russell Brown and his astonishing turboprop Moyes rug. In my moment of need Mike pinned off almost above me and '3Epn, MBER 2002

quickly found a nearby light thermal char saved me. Together we headed off to the north, but after a couple of thermals Mike climbed in something I couldn't find and we were soon separated. Mike contin ued on co mfortably without getting low, and was rhus able co efficiently work crosswind and gee aro und Laredo's airspace. Meanwhile, I got low, nor frighteningly so, but when one's best alrirude is 3,000' AGL it is easy co wind up in trouble over that miserable land of locked gates. And while rhe clouds are reliable, they still don't have particularly good climb rares ar 11 :00 in the morning. So, while I groveled to stay alive, Mike both got ahead of me and, more significantly, managed to keep his course line closer to the desired track to our declared Big Lake goal. I never saw Andre, bur before coo long Mike caught up co him, after which they flew with in occasional sighr of one anorher until about the 200-mile point. Since Andre was flying on another, Portuguese-speaking frequency, Mike had no idea of what subsequently became of him. Only chat evening did he learn chat Andre had made it 399 miles, landing north of Midland and barely missing the magical 400-mile mark. However, unlike Mike and myself, Andre had at some point given up the attempt to fly to Big Lake. Following us into the air were Atos pilots Jim Lamb and George Ferris. As had become customary in che preceding days' flying, George caught up to me aro und H ANG GLIDING

very light lift.

Mike Barher on tow.

Laredo at rhc SO-mile mark. that time r had finally goncn my act together and w;1s high and cast enough to safely get around the and I soon and while we flew in proximity to one another I never saw him again. Jim I and never saw. I k was a hit behind me as we flew a similar rotllc, one fonhcr vvesr than Mike and Andre's. After of Laredo the conven .. the t ion al romc parallels lJ .S. 83 northward as it ems through a SO-mile mass of mesquite. rn11ni11g along the road a pilor is assured of at least some landing ,ireas so there is a considcrnblc incemive to follow Mike: headed north the the cast side of the while Andre and I went well west of it following cloud strcc1s out inrn an area o/'lcss mesquite bm more locked gmcs. Jim closer to the road. By this time we were all doing well on our courses beyond Laredo and had survived imo the convemionally thermally part of the day. I.ifr had become a reasonable 400 10 '500 fim1 under strcctcd clouds at about (i, 500' MS L/6,000' A(;J,, Mike and Audre were out ahead while distances firn and I were at behind them. I started to make very time until rlic 100--mik near C:arrizo bm l was becoming concerned that my track beneath the cloud strccrs was 2()

IANG GumNC

al least I 0 from rhe comsc to Big I ,akc. In 01:hcr words, follow,· under rhc: clouds w;1s going ro take me farther off comsc. Ten degrees over 300 miles w;1s an enormous amount of diver-· gen cc. I was already well sourh of my desired course ;H rhc I 00-mile mark, and ifT had any hope of making goal it was that I working crosswind h;1ck onto course. When my cloud s1rccr finally bent our to rhe norrh and closed the gap to the next one, [ glided from cloudbase to intercept ir. However, as is commonly true in the west, that street was fonhcr from me than it had to and while l still arrived under it with reasonable alrit udc, the street's charnctcr had changed as I glided toward it. lt had been well developed as I began my glide, hut h:1d become seriously overdeveloped during the glide:. By the time l arrived under it and over a mesquite wasteland the clo11d had bccon1e a huge, flat:, shade· producing monster. There was linle verricil dcveloprncnl, and it was shutting down the lifr below. I was in trouble over a flar area of' few roads and fewer ranches. Going down out there was to be a big problem, and then to add ro my concern I frlt a f<.'.w The situation was now grim as [ heyoncl my lasr ranch. The one thing in my favor was that there was little sink under the cloud and I was occasionally climbing a few hundred fret in ',F[)TFMBFH 2002

Meanwhile ( who was not for behind me, was cncoumcring the same his unhappiness problem, and about the terrain we were crossing, "l can't believe l am doing this! I am never crossing rhis again." It was a good thing he did not rhe11 know what still lay ahead of as. Jim Lamb too was in the ncighhorhood and into deep Lroublc in the shade. However, and I slowly worked our way up and out of the mesquite as the: overdeveloped clouds broke up and allowed the merciful sunlight to warm the earth below us. Sadly, Jim decked it at 175 miles before the sun could rescue birn, and he landed on a ranch some five miles behind a locked gated. Fortunately for hin1 a phone company truck was there to allow his driver to go in and retrieve him. and l continued on, once at comfortable altirudc. problem was that my extended scratching save had once again drifrcd me downwind of' the course line to goal. I was back where I had started, and again needed to fly crosswind to improve my posirion. For the second rime I waited for 1bc opportunity to crnss streets, and when ir presented itself'] took it. Focusing on the clouds ahead of me, I glided, paying no heed to the ground below. Hut just as had happened on the first attempt to return to course, this time too to deteriorate as l glided. the clouds However, unlike on the first occasion, this time the clouds didn't simply dissipated. I became annoyed to sec that yet again l had made a tactical miswkc, but that quickly became alarm. 'fo this point I had paid no ancmion to the ground below me, as I had been focusing on the infuriatingly deteriorating clouds above and ahead of me. Only 1hen did l begin 10 look at the terrain, in part for the reassurance of landing areas and in part as a source oflift What J saw w;is that I was heading into mcsquilc-covercd canyon comHry with nor a single place lo land. None, norhing, nada. For the flrsr time in al cross .. country career I had flown into a spiky box with absolutely nowhere to land. I ff didn't get up I was to have to painfolly plant mysclf'in a mesquite tree. With only a linlc I had to climb or die. proachi ng rhe high point of the Lerra in I found a small, broken, 100-fpm rhcrmal

Emoliano Znpnta, famous leador of tho Mnxican Rovolution.

as man grasps :1 The thermal came and went, but never entirely died, Slowly l climbed high enough 1rntil I could at least make it the line and into a shallow valley hcyond. I wasn't really climbing yc1, but at least [ wasn't to Lrnd in the damned mesquite. While I was enduring my trial m(:squne, Mike was making his way to I he north location. He too occasionally gm low, but was never quire as s1uck as I was. l am that his earlier snccc:ss in easily getting around Laredo had pm him on a slightly better comse one not quite so far off the wind as mine. As he was not compelled to make as radical a comse adjustment as I au,cmpnni;, and was in my neighborhood, and, as I slowly myself out of 1he was siuking into his. llc was confron1ed wid1 a truly evil dioicc of landing zones: mesquite or prickly pear cactus. the cactus 233 miles from and seven miles up a ranch road. He didn't hook up with his driver Chris Kim 1m1il the follow-

local who had caurioncd him that every living we llew over stung, stuck or bir. He that would be well advised to fly with tweezers and needle-nose in 1hc cvcm he landed in that forsaken wilderness. had followed that as his landing in the rccpu.rccl a period of t:hc pliers. the flies

his blood. Mike was now fast and high, and ever farther in from of me. He was going to get to goal while I was still maddeningly far south of the bloody course line after my second drifting low save. l was incensed. Mike kept gerting and he was closer to farther ahead course line while [ was continually letting myselfdrifi below it. !11 addition, l was not as high as Mike was now getting. He was calling altitudes well above 8,000' MSL and I had only once been over 7,000'. In due course l did become gloriously high and but tlie course line problem remained. I was now only about 70 miles from bur feared [ would never be able to fix my track. 'fo accomplish that, of course, required a third attempt ro jump northward. By now it was about 5:30 in the afternoon and the clouds were becoming more scparntcd, but they were also higher and more rcli:1ble. l rook my final to the north, this rime toward a street that actually lined up to rhc north. And again the cloud deteriorated as [ glided toward it. But tl1is rime I was quite relaxed about it, almost resigned. lfnothing else, this time I had ;1 blacktop road below me. Afrer 1·r,rrit·v111r, myself with my stupidity on the ,1r,r'r'r ... 111m,,,11,<rat1cmpt, this time ;11 co land next to blacktop l arrived 1mder the somh end of the street, and as Tapproached ir l began to find some mediocre lift. It wasn't climbing fasr to get me back onto course line, but at rhc same time [ realized that the street was beginning rn regenerate. Wit b that realization I began lo work farther toward the north under the street and was rewarded by better climb rates, finally solid GOO«t tjJm. Suddenly, after the frights and frustrations of the previous seven or hours, ir all became easy. I finally got 10 base at 9,000' MSL and had a continuous street ahead of me running almost due north and back onto course liuc at the town of Owna. [ arrived there on a bar,. stuffod glide after which my c;ps showed ;1 ')T·mph ground speed. At Ozona I was still 4 '5 miles from goal, bm from nine ;md with clouds in from oF rne l had no doubt [ wou Id make goal. And just to make sure, l arrived there stinking high and taking lots of pictures to verify my arrival, as David Clover had advised me to do. ',FfJTPMllFH 2()( )2

In the

Mike had goucn to

goal wdl over ha!F an hour ahead of me and had decided ro continue on i11 hopes of beating M,mfrcd's 4J5 . ·mile record. I le took his arrivaJ photograph and headed north. He managed to stay high despite rhe late hour and an encroaching cirrus l:iycr

moving in from the west. Ile had, however, two problems confronting him. The first was the 12·stanllc·mile radius Class C around Midland's airporr, and the second was the fact that while he was st ill finding rcaso1wblc lift as sundown ap proachcd, his strobe still only allowed him to land at most half an hour ali:cr sunset. Ile got around Midland's ,1irspacc easily c11011gh, but he was still confronted with a rare act. ! low did he dare climb, knowing that he wonkl then have to begin ro ensure that he was on the ground bdc.irc the witching hour? In the end he landed jusL past nine 438 miles from on highway 180 roughly halfway bet ween Lamesa and Seminole, T<::xas. That is the flight in his1ory, even if it is not quite for enough to satisfy tbc FAf's rcquircmem for an official new record. Still, it is a glorious flight. One musr remember roo thm it was acco111 · plished on a day that Gary Osoha did not more impor·rare panicnlarly highly tandy, on a in which Mike devoted considerable energy and valuable t imc to first obtaining the o/Ecial distancc·IO·goal record before afrcr the absolute distance record. The reader mighr wonder how we got home that The answer is d1at we didn't. My extraordinary Andrew Holupka, arrived at l:ake airport 10 rninlltes afrer I had, and would have lieen there when l landed had there not been road construction south ofrown. Afi:cr quickly breaking down we headed north at 85 mph ro chase Mike who landed two hours afrer I h;1d arrived at L:ikc. We f<.1m1<l him in the dark on the of CPS coordinates ;rnd his flashing strobe, demonstrating its worth ftJr the second time that day. We then drove lo Big and got a motel roorn before driving home the next morning. lf we had been unaware of the magnitude of our previous day's flights, it was driven home to us the fact rhat we still had to drive the enri re next day w get bacl< to Pl .. [ IANG (,r lD!Nn

Rhett Radford Mike Barber

BREAKING THE RECORD IS THE For pilors unfamiliar with record flying, an to the may be hdpful. Understandably, the vceiAca.don rec1n11:enienrs for the certilkation of an offkial PA!. world record are ,te1na11c1lng. our introductory briefing David Glover bad said a world record would be easier tban the FAI. As events were to show, he was pwphetieally. This WRE produced a nmnber of world-record .flights could not be submitted for approval due to some flaw in the pilot's documentation. And even those who have submitted their documentation have been astounded by the paperwork involved. Pilots this year either lost or would bave lost records for J'easons such as having forgotten to turn on thdr for chosen a that didn't conform to FAJ or switched batteries on their in flight. To with, the pilot must be a member of the USHGA (for domestic insmance as well as b,: a. mcmb,:r national aero dub (the NAA for U.S. pilots). The pilot must also be in prn,sei,s1c1.11 of a sporting license from the relevant national ac:ro dub. record flight must be made in conformity with the various rcg;uJ:~tums outlined in the FAl's and adhere to the apJ)ropnare Pederal reguJadons to which arc hound, ]'he into controlled around ""v''""''' most notably Class D airspace, nor may we fly afrer official local sunset unless we are flying wh:h an strobe light, in which case we may fly until half a11 hour past sunset. These: last two FAA considemtions are of considerable s1g111t:1ca.111ce when flying from and are not the bmeaucratic technicalities they may seem at first The issue is of immediate concern, as on m.ost days Laredo airport lies 42 mlles directly downwind airport. As a consequence, a first conc,:rn fron1 tow is w begin to beat to ensure tbat he after ean avoid Laredo's We were warned by the WRE or~:an1zers

THE BAROGRAPH TRACES One of the interesting things about: flying with barographs is that they provide a detailed chronological record of a flight, recording not only a pilor's altitude, but also his real, averaged climb rares. 'The latter is particularly significant as those figures always show that pilots grossly overcall climb rates during flight. The 1wo b:uograph traces for 1he record flights come from our Plyrec varios and they were recorded using a 15·second sampling rate. Looking at Mike's flight one sees that the climb rates were in rhc region of 400 to 500 fpm with occasional spikes between 600 and 800 fjJm, which he saw as late as six o'clock. The best climb rate experienced dming the flight was slightly over 800 fprn. Tbe last dirnh registered shortly before nine o'clock was still above 200 fpm. Mike's altinidcs show a steady progression with him first getting lO 6,000' MSL around 1:30 PM, 7,000' at :3:30 and then m hourly thousand-foot increments to 6:30, until a maximum altitude of 10,300' at 7:30. What should be kept in mind when viewing these alrimdc increases is that by the end of the flight Mike landed at 3,000' MSL, or 2,600' above his start point of Zapata. Until very late in the flight he was never as much ;1s 7,000' above rhc ground. Comparing my flight to Mike's, one secs :1 very similar p:lltcm of climb rates and maximum altitudes, with the cxcqxion of late in the flights when Mike got to 9,000' an hour before l did. That anomaly coincided with one of' my snakc."lrnming expeditions. I also J 1ANO GUDINO

that no fli.ght that infringed the would be submitted for otl1c1:.1J r·,:c(Jgtllt.1011. And Laredo's was not the only we had to worry about. upon the track and distance of the pilots would have t{) contend with Del Rio, Midland and air,sp<1lcc. One of the drawbacks of the fact that: hang are now flying distances is that must conform witb mrpl~,nc legal I.imitations. 'fbe: strobe must seem particularly arcane to most· but, as we shall see, it absolutely of <equipment for pik>ts. Flying until aftet· necessary snnsct was a.n entirely prospect fr>r us. Tb the list equipment, a rccot(l•ll,un, t1r1.1r pilot must carry an barograph that verifies two important facts. it proves that the pilot did indeed remain in the air for die period of the flight bt:ing claimed, and, second, that the initial tow was to an altitude of l,:ss than 1,000 meters (3,300 above the lf a pilot is artcmpting a record be is additionally re<11m11:e,1 to carry cameras to completion of the <lc,:;1ai:cc1 tasks that is, unless one carries. ,1 FAI-certified GPS darn something that very few pilots possess. Finally, to a or similar record the pilot must, prior to launch, fill out a claim form for that and be photo" 11,1,,vu,;uholding it. All of this is a vitally impo.l"t part and something that introduces an element of stress into a pre.,Ja1mc11 preparnt1011s and into the flight itself: i:ema.ins one vitally detail in establishing a new record, T'he FAI determines the margin which a be broken for the new record to be officially aclcIH)Wllccl2:cct consideration would ultimately prove heartbreaking l:'ot Mike Barh(:r. J[e unequivocally flew farther than Manfred but since his Hight was nor one than it does not the FAI criteria for official recoirrutton.

did find one thermal that spiked to 1,000 fpm, bm otbcrwise my best spikes were, like Mike's, in the 800 fj)m range. Pinally, the one significant difference one secs is that Mike did a generally better job of staying higb. Some of that difference is anrilrnrablc to my getting low during street-jumping escapades, bur it is only part of the story and [ am unsure of why that was the case.

'jFpTFMBFll 2002

Amos

WWW.JUSFTL.Y.COM

GW@JUSTFU.COM

THE 2002

HITTY HAWH HITES HANG GLIDING SPECTACULAR . ARTICLE AND DIGITAL PHOTOS BY Douo HABER

f you've never been to the Hang Gliding Spectacular, I highly recommend you make plans for next year! The Hang Gliding Spectacular is not only the oldest hang gliding competition in the world, it is a true example of what hang gliding is all about - fun! Originally named the First Annual Tactile Meet, the Spectacular has endured 30 concinuous years of fun flying, good times and the creation of lifelong friends. Scheduled during the third week of May, each year more than 30 competitors from all over travel to the Outer Banks of coastal North Carolina to fly, parry and meet old and new friends alike. There are rwo days of dune competition during which pilots will often compete several inches off the ground, and rwo days of aerotowing competition. Also included is the Just Fly Film Festival hosted by G.W Meadows, and the Woody Jones Memorial Street Dance. Kiccy Hawk Kites also hoses the Annual Instructor Reunion where instructors from years past spend several hours talking about the old days while enjoying a buffer in a private party setting. Lee's not forget

the traditional Pre-Spectacular parry which is not official but occurs regularly to prepare everyone for the following week of sun, fun and hang gliding. This year the competition kicked off Thursday evening at Bruce Weaver's house. Bruce is Kitty Hawk Kites' hang gliding manager and Spectacular organizer exuaordinaire. Bruce was gracious enough to hose chis year's Pre-Spectacular parry, which I believe was originally created to help level the playing field for the next day's dune competition. There was plenty of beer, but unfortunately chis year's party lacked rwo regulars whom most pilots know, Bo Hagewood (National Hang Gliding Champion) and Ken Brown of Moyes America. Ken's absence was excused due to his plane arriving lace, but it was rumored chat during the parry, Bo was catching up on his sleep. Some have speculated chat chis was all part of Bo's secret strategy to take home the gold! Registration started at 8:00 AM Friday morning and everyone made their way out to Jockey's Ridge to sec up. Located in Nags

5 E p T EMEER 2002

Head, North Carolina, Jockey's Ridge is the Ease Coast's tallest sand dune and a perfect place for the Spectacular. This year the winds were our of the southwest at 20 to 25 mph, with higher gusts at times. T hese strong winds are pretty common for this time of the year and can make the competition very challenging. As everyone waited for Bruce to start the event, several hardcore competitors launched and attempted to soar che southwest hill, determined to show chat the dunes were indeed flyable. As noon approached, Meet Director Bruce Weaver held a pilots meeting and explained the rules. Basically, the idea is to launch yo ur glider and fly aro und several cones that create rwo very wide S-turns. More points are collected for making a wider path around the "sucker cones." Finally, straighten out and aim for the spotlanding at the bottom of the course where even more points can be gained for an accurate landing. As a side contest, there are lighrweighc plastic cubes sticking up near the spot-landing known as bowling pins. The goal is to knock down as many pins as

HANG GLIDING

Ray Pugh (ahovo), and Doug Haber "hotol soaring" tho Ramada Inn and Holiday Inn, Kill Devil Hills, N.C.

you can for points with your body or the glider. 'fhis year's big challenge was penetrating the strong southwesterly winds and flying a course that forced you to fly slightly uphill for more poi ms, with a landing in a rotor-filled landing zone at the bottom. Bruce also announced the first-ever tearn competition. The idea is to have teams hosted by advanced pilots and evenly matched with newer pilots. 'fhc scores of each team member arc simply added up to produce the team score. 'fhe team competition added a new clement to this year's 34

HANO (h.JDING

competition and is sure to evolve as time goes on. As always there were some amazing flights in the windy, thermally conditions. l believe Ray Pugh, who is notorious frlr getting high, might have had his best thermal flight of all. As Ray made the first tllm he hit an unusual amount of lift. Everyone yelled, "Push out!" as he got really high. The added altitude looked as if it helped with his fligbr, although I'm snre he wasn't expecting it. Ray most likely received the altitude record lor the day. Bo Hagewood ",FJ)TFMDFH 2002

also had a spectacular flight allowing him to demonstrate to everyone the superior tubing. As strength and flexibility Bo rounded a cone on his wing tip he flexed the leading edge about as far as it could go. Everyone was waiting to hear that famous 7075 leading edge explosion, hut this rime, as he usually does, Bo managed to avoid paying out "cash on crash" for the borrowed glider. As always, Kenny Brown of Moyes America was able to fly like a pro, bm to dismay did not feel like performing any glider demolition this year. dragging de·· Ken did do some serious spite the warning that this wasn't a speed gliding competition! As usual, there was the normal number of high flares and plenty of whacks to keep even the unknowing spectators very amnscd. As the day came to an end everyone was happy to shower aud wash off the sand and sun block, wondering how rhc scores added up. Bo was in the leading Advanced Division fcJllowcd by Kenny and me. 'This year, pilots in the Novice Division def'in itcly had a hard time because of the strong wind, hut showed their determination flying the tasks the best they could. After their first and only round, Everett Bacon and Mason Smaw Icy were tied fcir f'irsr place. Although the conditions were strong, l guarantee that the novices had a great time and will be even more prepared for next year. At 7:00 Friday G.W. Meadows hosted the Just Fly Film Festival at a local surf shop and restaurant called "The Pit" in Kill Devil Hills. Pioneered by C. W. Meadows, the event .is known for previewing awesome and sometimes rare hang gliding footage, This year was no letdown as G.W. was able to secure a copy of the epic cult classic, Sweeney's Glider. Apparenrly one of the first and fonniest video's about hang gliding ever to be rnade, this 11-minute film dearly captures the 1970's clement, in·· eluding long hair, hippie-style pants and the traditional glazed look. In this film, Terry Sweeney attempts ro fly a $40 homebuilt glider from a shallow bill in New Hampshire. Terry narrates the film with a very re-laxed voice as his friends run and help him eventually launch into the air. The background music was performed by Terry's band, "Sweeney's Glider," and it had a very traditional 70's folk music sound. The film was hysterical and everyone got their share oflaughter !or the night. As another treat, 'Terry and his wife Lisa showed up at The Pit just after the video ended. This was perfect, as everyone had

<1111r,,n1,down the Guinness due 10 the ap-gliding pioneer. We were also treated ro some other great hang m· the Championship video produced by C.W. himself This music video was an awesome video scrapbook of' this Flyrcc Championships at Quest /\ir Hight Park in Groveland, florida. 1 musr say that I w,1s impressed by the production of the video, as it captured 1hc essence of the competition. /\frer watching the video I'm sure rherc were people who will try extra hard 1101 to miss next Flytec Ch;unpionship, myself included. The video show came 10 an end with C.\X!. some more grcH hang gliding videos for the crowd. Unfornmatcly, weather was not great for Aying as a cold front was threatening to pass through and not leave '[ 'he pilot's was held at Lie." is clearly the fovoritc hang gliding hangout, with plenty of cold Guinness on tap and rhc world's best French fries. As Bruce awaited the weather report, everyone saL outside watching the imminent cold fi·ont approaching, knowing the dune competi · tion was likely over. Bruce reviewed our op-tions and then declared the dune competition finished. Despite the lack of 1har everyone knew 1hat we would all still have some kind of fon. So, with tradition, I promptly go-can races before the rain. In rhc past, this side event has occurred only after the t:rip to hut this year we would all race witho11t

pn1ac:111np; storm. I was hoping it would be

as fon with everyone undc.r a 0.1 cxi

hlood alcohol content, and I was right! We ran two races and broke all of the rules. People were hashing into each other, and everyone was having a blast. There were hang glider pilots sliding all over the track. Ir was q11ite a Luckily, this year no one was injured. Then we had a second race and continued the fon. We were all very amazed that the attendants let us go f<ir it a second rime, although I think the rhird time would have definitely been out of the qucsrion. Later on that evening, past Kitty Hawk Kircs instructors mer at the lnsrructor Reunion hosted at Bad Barracuda's restaurnnt Ill I lead. lt was great to sec new and old I Iawk Kites instructors receive thanks from Bruce and share stories about "the old was treated to some classic soaring footage from Jockey's in 1995, and rhe traditional viewing of' an Insrructor Reunion video rhat highlights hundreds of photos from Kitty Hawk Kites' ,1ccompanied by an unfor,_,., .. ,,,,.., sound track.'] 'he event ended with everyone a complimentary copy of the reunion video as Kitty Hawk Kites' way of thanks. The night ended with the Woody Jones Memorial Street Dance held in the Kitty I lawk Kites parking lot. [,'.vcn though the weather was cold and wet 1he crowd enjoyed the live rn usic of BC Powder. As an added bonus, Neal Harris was able to show

/\dvnnef!d Division winnors. Bo Hagowood 1st, Doug Habor 2nd, Ken Brown 3rd.

'3FfH['MBFll 2()()2

J IANn GrmrN<;

$100 off regular price to the first 50 harnesses sold.

Designed for maximum comfort, security and streamlined performance. Flown by the worlds top competition pilots. Dealer inquiries welcome, contact Lookout Mountain Hang Gliding. Lookout Mountain Hang Gliding • 800.688.5637 • www.hanglide.com

Lookout Mountain Hang Gliding - 800.688.5637 - www.hanglide.com

up with Woody Jones' famous blue van and "Loop le" license plate. Amazingly, someo ne also thought to make Woody's famous "Woody dip" and chips. Fo r chose of yo u who do n't know who Woody Jones was, he was a hang glidin g pioneer, aviation enthusiast, a U.S. veteran and a great guy. Woody was tradition ally one of the first pilo ts to show up each year for the Hang G liding Spectacu lar and was known for parkin g in the Kitty Hawk Kites parking lot with plenty of ice cold beer and his famous "Woody dip" and chips for everyo ne. Woody loved to party and would have wanted everyo ne to keep the parry going, and rhar's what we now do each year in his honor. With the van parked and the doors open , everyone had a chance to relive memories of Woody Jones and the fun he brought to every Spectacular. Everyone thanked Nei l for bringing a grea t memory back to chis yea r's Spectacular. As Woody wo uld say, "Cool! " It was then tim e to move the parry to Bruce's rental house known as the " H acienda." At the house there was a large gro up of pi lots and locals gathered in the kitchen to watch Andy Torrington, Terry Swee ney and wife Lisa spontaneously jam for more than an ho ur .With Andy playing mandolin, Terry si nging and playing guitar, and Terry's wife Lisa also singing, together they gave everyo ne a great show. It was truly one of the highlights of the night. Sunday turned out to be one of the best fl yi ng days yet. Although th e aerocowing co mpetition was blown out, most people were ab le co soar the beach and the local hotels. T here were many cool fli gh ts and many firsts. G uss Dupuis had his first beach -soaring fli ghts along with Kate D iamo nd from England. Ri ch C iza uskis of Sale Lake C ity also had hi s first hotel-soaring fights on an 11 -meter Pulse. Davis Straub, of the fa med davisstraub.com OZ Report, was seen fl ying a fl ex wing in the stro ng winds, and Russe ll Brown and Jim Prahl of Florid a both got hi gh on a northeast-facing dune we call the "North Nub," which is on ly abo ut two or three gliders wide and 15 feet ca ll. Steve Bernier, soo n to be a major com petitor in the Spectacular, was also seen soaring the hotels for his seco nd time ever and did quite well. Despite the bl own-o ut aerotowing competition everyo ne managed to cake advantage of the northeast winds and had some great soarin g fli ghts on the beach . As th e winds died o ut we all drove o ut to the C urrituck Flight Park which is the

site for th e Ki cry Hawk Air Games. Unfortunately, the co nditio ns were blown out all day so we just had time for dinner, the awa rds ceremony and the induction of Terry Sweeney into the Rogallo Hall of Fam e. John H arris of Kitty H aw k Kites started the ce remony by reading a little about Terry and his co ntributions to the sport of hang gliding. Among his many acco mplishments was the makin g of the classic Sweeney's Glider film which helped popularize hang gliding and was distributed wo rldwide. In additi on, he was instrumental in man y gl ider designs and innovations . Terry spent several yea rs designing gliders alone, and eventuall y tea med up with Tom Peghiny to des ign such gliders as the Kestrel and the Peregrine. Later, Terry went on to design the Sirocco 1 and 2 which were among the first gliders to enclose the crossbar inside a double-surface sail. T hese gliders also featured an early ve rsion of a luffIi ne d ive-recove ry sys tem , which has beco me ve ry important in fl ex wings. Terry also we nt on to design the "BFG" glider which was a very big glider with a 45-foot wingspan, 338 sq uare feet of sail and a stall speed of just 14 mph . In 1975 Terry Sweeney became the champion of the first Grandfather Mountain Hang G liding Co ntest and went on to compete in hang gliding co mpetitions worldwide. Presentl y living in Nashua, New Hampsh ire, Terry and wife Lisa made the trip all the way to the Outer Banks for chis amazing award . Mr. Rogallo was there to present Terry with a beautiful signed and framed poster of Mr. and Mrs. Rogallo, and awarded him a spot in history as the most recent inductee into the Rogallo Hall of Fame. The modest and grateful Terry was clearly humbled by the awa rd and the efforts of the Rogallo Foundation to remem ber him for all of his accomplishments. Terry happ ily accepted th e awards and thanked everyo ne, including John Harris and Mr. Rogallo who recently turned 90 yea rs old. H e also expressed great joy in the acce ptance he received while at chis year's Spectacular, and showed hopes of returning again next year, hopefully with his wife Lisa and his guitar. As usual there was quite an impressive list of awards and prizes for the winners of chis year's dune co mpetition . Bruce Weaver presented al l the trophies and awards as fol lows. In the fin al standings of the Advanced Division, wi nnin g his first-ever Spectacular, Bo Hagewood cook hom e the first-place, stained-glass Rogall o wing trophy, along 5EpTEMBER 2002

H ANG GLIDING

with an impressive collection of and gifr certificates. Doug ]"faber was second with an engraved mug, a gold medal and an equally impressive prize package. Winning third place, Kenny Brown tied it all 11p with an engraved mug, a gold medal and a nice shopping spree at Kitty Hawk Kites. The winners of the first-ever team competition were Tim Barr, Jesse Boyd, Kevin Coltrane, Jesse Boyd, Curt Warren, Doug Haber and Chuck Sinon. In the Novice Division, Everett Bacon and Mason Smawley tied frlr first place. 'f'hese guys received beautifol St"ained-glass tropbies and various other prizes which they smcly earned for flying in those strong conditions. Finally, in the bowling pin competition there was a three-way tic between Ken Brown, Steve Bernier and the author. Bruce Weaver decided to break the tic by letting all three of us duke it out at the local bowling alley afrer rlic awards ceremony. The rules were just like :1 normal howling match, except everyone had 10 bowl with

r {ANO Or ffl!NC/

their opposite hand on the sevcmh round. Kenny and Steve were doing well in the beginning, but l was fortunate to get a spare and a couple of strikes at the right time with a come.from-behind win. After the match, Bruce prcscnnxl me with a bcaut:if1dly engraved howling pin trophy spon· sored by Just Fly, which I will cherish forever! Despite the weather, this Hang Gliding Spectacular was quite a success. The Spectacular has proven to be lots of fim and this year was no exception. lt is no wonder that we sec people traveling rrom far away and back each and every year. Hopefully, those of you who have never been to the Outer Hanks to sec where the Wright Brothers Hrst flew will rnakc plans early and join the Spectacular family in 2003 for another session or good rimes, hang gliding, and rhc celebration of I 00 years of flight. Kirty Hawk Kites would like ro thank everyone fr>r making this event such a success! As the Hang Gliding Spectacular gains

',F/)TFM1Wll 2( )()2.

popularity, 1-lawk Kites is pleased to announce the creation of hangglidingspcctacular.c:om. 'f'his website will be a permancm onlinc source for information and a public forum for those interested in this fon competition. Tlic website will eventually allow access to a wealth of information, stories and photo galleries, and will also provide a forum for pilots to help stay in touch throughout the years. This will be very helpfti!, especially in the weeks before the event. For information nbout ncxr event and ro learn more about the Kitty Hawk Kite's rlang Gliding Spectacular, check us om on-line at hnp:/ I www.hangglidingspcctacular.com/. Check back reg1ilarly since the site is in its infancy and is sure to grow. Kitty Hawk Kites is one of the world's oldest hang gliding schools, and has safely tanght more than 200,000 introductory bang gliding lessons since 1974. For more information call 1 8'7TFLY"T[ HS or visit http:// www.kinyhawk.com.

ello gliding pilots and enthusiasts. My name is Boyd and l will he coordinaring a new monthly colurnn entitled "Air.Time FanaLic." goal is 10 capm re the human side of hang gliding wirh entertaining stories and imervicws with the people who make our activity such a great spon. Bdcire I jump into the rnany stories and inrervicws, I thought it would he appropriate to introduce myself and rny connection to hang gliding. fascination with rhc sport began ahoul seven years ago when I sat on a srecp cliff at Fort Funston, t,a!J1"<1rrua, W8Ltcl1m11; pilots buzz by. I was totally amazed at how gracefolly and peacefully the gliders and pilots moved through the air above me. There was no motor noise, just the wind, and sometimes you could hear the pilots laugh or shout a loud whooooo! 'fhis was the closest thing to natural flying I had ever seen. It was almost like the flying [ had done in my dreams. f have never been the same since. It stanccl out as a fi1scination until T couldn't take ir any rnore. J now have a Hang f and a Mark IV 17. Lack 01 good training hills, financial

prohlcms, and not having other people of my skill level to learn with really stunted my growth as a pilot. So, when my lease was up and my job was slowly torturing me wi1h boredom, I meditated on what I should do. l was through my possessions as 1 packed to move and came across some old magazines. There it was, the answer ro my dream of flying! Ir was an in1crview with Bruce Weaver about the life: of an instructor al Kitty Hawk Ki res 200l). Wow! As an employee of Hawk Kites you can get free hang gliding USC the dune, and have flyable winds almost every day. J called the hang gliding school abom being an instructor, but Bruce was away on his honeymoon. My mind was already made np, l packed what I could into my I C)85 two--door BMW and started my five-day journey from Bend, Oregon to the Omer Banks, North Carolina. No guarantee of a job or even a to stay.

Jessa takes to the air, encouraged by his dog Sandy. Photo by Mark Gormus/Hichmond Times-Dispatch.

'3FpTl-"Mlll-H 20()2

Bruce is now my boss and I am

finishing my training for a Hang II r,1ting. l am teaching beginning hang gliding lessons at Kiny Hawk Kites afrer having gone

through a month-long intensive training program with instructor Andy'lcHrington. l live in a town called Kitty Hawk, where the Wright Brothers made their first flights, and I sec their monumcm every day on the way to work. I've met Francis Rogallo, the

Father of Hang Gliding. Following your dreams can be scary, and life sometimes seems to go in rhc opposite dircaion from what: you expect, bur now I am flying every day and gcr to share the joy of hang gliding with students and friends. I get: to interact wirh pilots of ;1]! skill levels. By chance I met USHCA Executive Director J;iyne DcPanlilis while she was visiting the Outer Banks. She saw my cnthmiasrn for the sport and listened rn my ideas about improving die magazine including a column that deals with the human, no1Hcchnical side of the sport. So here I am writing a column for flttnf!. magazine. I've waited a long time ro fly kmg gliders and be published, and now J get ro do both! Dreams do come lruc. I wclcornc stories, drawings, ideas and pictures that depict the real lives of pilots like you and me. Please c--mail me at: hgf;inaric@lyahoo.com. f would like to thank: Jim Woodward of Nanmtl Flying for his teaching and encouragement that released rhc chains of gravity for me; the Kitty llawk Kites Hang Gliding Staff you arc a family to me; rhc Oregon Desert Flyers for my barrage of questions and imroducing me to the joys ofx.c flying in big-mountain thermals; and Karen Boyd for her encouragement in fr11lowing my dreams and videotaping my flying adventures. I lANU Gumm,

'3()

Continued from page 17 a new pilor in a properly balanced tug if ailerons and rndder controls ;ire brought to neutral with rhc nose down. Remember, spins can drop you 0111 of the They have always been the biggest killer and continue to 1rnimain that reputation.

WEAK UN K BREAK/EARi "y RELF.ASE Ifa weak link breaks or there is an early keep foll power and look ahead, not in the mirror. Finish the takeoff and climb 011110 do a conservative approach. The bigprob/em is that ::ill tug pilots, for some rc;1son, wanr to back off rhe power, get the popcorn out and sec the excitement, and cud up tuning out ofrl1e situation. WHEN TO GIVE THEM THE ROPE I) If they sky om down low, it's 1()..Lj good buddy. Ir must be this way every time because there is only a small window of oppornmity to avoid a "dirt nap" if you lose power at rhis critical poim. Keep an eye on trnck/winch tow pilots new ro aerotowing, who involuntarily want to look down on their tow vehicle. 2) Locking ow. I h;1d the question, When is it time? "Rhett·skce" Radf<.1rd has just the right answer: Err on the side of giving them the rnpc. Waiting roo long to release an out·of-whack pilot reduces your precious airspeed, which is important down low. .3) Loss of power. WHFN NOTTO GIVE THEM THE ROPE 1) An oscilLlling, but not locked out pilot fresh oul oF the cart will usually have a bencr outcome if he's left alone and has a chance to gain sorne altitude to set up a landing, instead of dealing with a rope during an emergency landing.' !'his involves some tricky judgment for a new tug pilot. 2) The glider pilot takes off in good shape, but has a can attached. I've seen Jim l .ce's fiberglass harness hook the cart a couple of times. It was no prnblem for him as he dropped the can in the !Tees. 3) An "om.. nf-shape" pilot is making cf/ectivf corrections (again, this will take some practice t:o notice). TUG'S WEAK LINK This mzght be your get-out-of~jail-frec card snag an obstacle on landing or have problems with a towed glider. The tugs weak link is set slightly stronger ti ian the pilot's, and shm 1ld be about l 20% to 150% of the payload weight. For instance, three strands of typical 130-pound braided Dacron line will equate to a 3<)().pound breaking strength (in theory) good fc)r solos but maybe a little light for tanderns.

HOW DO YOU KNOW THEY ARE LOCKING OUT? You'll spot t-his easily when you see a pilot's increasing momentum away from rhe direction of tow with an obviously inadequate amount of correctional input in other words, nm .fixing the prnblem! Thanks to Jeff I Judson, Rhett, Lloyd and Mike Z for those pep talks and fireside chats that have kept me, and the folks behind me, in "good shape." Of course, there's additional mg pilot information out there, somewhere, yet to he printed. Maybe next time? If you have any comments or questions send me an e-mail at sccreragentcrack@hotmail.com.

Curt Wmen htts tugged thousands offlz~hts over the He ha, towed tttflz~ht parks such a, Wt:tlftthy, J,oof<out Mountttin tmd Morningside. Dt{izy,ns Sunglasses, Croaldes, Moyes and Fl;yter support him. -·- Rd. 40

HANO Uun1Nn

''.>Pf>Tl'MBFH 2002

HANG GLIDING ADVISORY Used hang gliders should always be disassembled before flying for the first time and inspected carefully for fatigued, bent or dented down tubes, ruined bushings, bent bolts (especially the heart bolt), re· used Nyloc nuts, loose thimbles, frayed or rusted cables, tangs with non··Circular holes, and on flex wings, sails badly torn or torn loose from their anchor points front and back on the keel and leading edges. If in doubt, many hang gliding businesses will be happy to give an objective opinion on the condition of equipment you bring them to inspect. BUYERS SHOULD SELECT EQUIPMENT THAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR THEIR SKILi. LEVEL OR RATING. NEW PILOTS SflOULD SEEK PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION FROM A USHGA CERTIFIED INSTRUCTOR. FLEX WINGS AIRBORNE CLIMAX 13 One nearly new $4,995; One demo, looks new $4,595. 1-800-688-5637, fly@hanglide.com AIRBORNE SHARK 144 Excellent condition, 30 hrs, folding basetube $1,900. Located in Virginia, (540) 947-0238, shanemoreland@mindspring.com ALTAIR SATURNS 147, 167 Rental gliders at flight park, low hours, clean, priced to sell. (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com

GLIDER FALCON 140, red/white/blue, bought in January 2002, test flown and used in only five training hill launches. Ideal for beginner pilot.. HARNESS - High Energy Sports knee hanger harness. HELMET - Charly Insider helmet, small white.ALSO· two spare down tubes. Glider and equipment is in excellent/new condition. Complete set for only $2700 OBO. Will consider selling items separately. Please contact Holly (412) 421 1508, holly I709@yahoo.com

PARAGLIDERS AIR SPORTS USA

EMERGENCY PARACHUTES 20 GORE PDA w/swivel $375. 20 go1·e $199. Used Quantum 330s, 550s. Many more available. Raven Sky Sports (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com HARNESSES

K2 155 Excellent condition $1,000. New York area (718) 430-3456, hsosa@aecom.yu.edu

KLASSIC 144 By Airwave, excellent condition, great climber, green/blue $850. (541) 504-5416 LAMINAR 14 MRX 700 ---WW or stock control ba1; like new. (541) 504-5416, oregonvulture@aol.com MARK IV 17 White wired undersurface $900. High Energy Tracer harness, red w/white trim & parachute $350. E-mail for pictures, ajtran@mchsi.com, (828) 693-5028 MOYES C:SX4, SX4, SXS, MAX Great condition, very low hours, clean, each priced at under $2,000. Moyes Xtralite 147 - All white $1, I00 or trade for/ (262) 4738800, info@hanggliding.com

WWW.FLYFORFUN.NET

CG I000 Used once, excellent condition $200 or best offer. (207) 729-9867 DOODLE BUG - Motor harness, sales, service, instruction. Dealers welcome. www.fly IO I.com(702) 260-7950. EQUALIZER By Eric Raymond, pod style w/22 gore PDA chute, paraswivel, aluminum frame, adjustable CG, kick plate, shoulder straps, 5' I0"-6'2".Aerotow ready, all black w/pewter & ivory diamond pattern, oxygen sack, 2 external pockets, hook knife. Excellent overall condition $700. Mike (630) 876-9344, msmith@reedbusiness.c0m HIGH ENERGY SPORTS COCOON

AV8 • ICARO The MRX700 World Record Editions are in stock.We also import the new STRATOS RIGID. (760) 721 -070 I, indasky@yahoo.com and www.icaro2000.com COMPLETE & READY TO FLY 30hp Flight Design trike in excellent condition, includes parachute and glider, 40 hours $4,995. (608) 757-1201 after 4pm Central. EAGLES 145, 164, 180 - Rental gliders at flight park, low hours, clean, priced to sell. (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com EVEN-UP TRADES Looking to move up from your Beginner or Novice glider, but can't put up cash/ (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com FALCONS I 40, 170, 195, 225 new and used. WALLABY RANCH (863) 424-0070. 1:ALCONS CLEARANCE SALE School use, one season. All sizes $1,250-$2,500. (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com FALCONS Many for sale. F140, F170, F195, from $780 to $1800. All in good flying condition, please contact Distance Vol Libre, (450) 379-5102, www.dvl.c;). FALCON 195 Near new, Z4 harness, helmet, chute, plus extras. Trade or best offer. Sam (530) 343-7512, sail@shocl<ing.com FREE PVC GLIDER STORAGE/TRANSPORT TUBE With the purchase of any new glider. (517) 223-8683, C1oud9SA@aol.com. Largest selection of new and used gliders in Michigan. FUSION ISO Low hours, meticulously maintained, excellent condition, one of the last ones built $2, I00 or trade or? (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com

Like new, 5' IQ".

PREDATOR 142 Near perfect condition, low time $2900. Bob (954) 803-6139, awesomebob@hotmail.com

6' $125 includes shipping. (808) 248-7559.

SPECTRUM 165 The Wills Wing novice model before the Eagle. Two available, low hours, clean, priced to sell or trade for/ (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com

HIGH ENERGYTRACER POD HARNESSES Sizes and styles change monthly, $300-500. Cocoons $125-$200 each. Many others available. (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com

SPORTSTER 148 Brand new, white and red, priced to sell or trade or? (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com TALON 140 - Like new condition, less than 2 hours, all white, $4100 or best offer. (253) 826- 1112 or tontar@mindspring.com TALONS ISO all mylar w/slipstream control frame; 140 w/dacron sail & folding basetube. Both new, not demos! Special pricing, immecliate delivery. I-800-688-·5637, fly@hanglide.com TARGET 180 Near new, rental glider at flight park, clean, priced to sell. (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com ULTRASPORT 135, 147, 166 Rental gliders at flight park, low hours, clean, p1·iced to sell. (262) 473-8800, info@hanggliding.com UL.TRASPORT 147 New condition, outstanding glider, must sell-having a baby $3,000. (559) 584- IO 19, mrecnders@juno.com WW SPECTRUM 165 -- Very good condition, white w/ blue undersurface, asking $1,200 includes shipping. (281) 376-2682, sgubser@houston.rr.com WW SPORT AT 167 -Very good condition.green/white/ blue, ripstop trailing edge, flies great $850. Joe (847) 895-5858 Illinois.

MOSQUITO POWERED HARNESS New Prop, one hour airtime, complete super-preflight $3,500 OBO. I 800-688-5637, fly@hanglide.com MOSQUITO f>OWERED HARNESS Never used, 0 hours, still in original crate, pre-NRG model, spare prop (with or separate) $2,750. Alan (909) 244-0786 Los Angeles arna. WOODYVALL.EY Brand new condition guaranteed, 5'7"·6', 110- 1601b, $475 charge card OK. (608) 221.3681, gdinaauer@aol.com RIGID WINGS ESC 143 200 I, excellent condition $7,500. (970) 7284991, (970) 728-7084, dwright@telluridecolorado.net EXXTACY I 35 801bs, 70hrs, comes with extras. MAXIMUM HOOK-IN WEIGHT 2301bs $5,500 OBO. (206) 244-5122, redris l@attbi.com ATOS Small, like brand new, 30 hours.WW control frame $8,000. (608) 221 -3681, gdinaauer@aol.co rn GHOSTBUSTER PARTS Sail, flaps, spoilers, ribs, hardware, wires, everything but the leading edges. (970) 641-9207, skyout I@webtv.net ULTRALIGHTS

WWXC: 142 Like new, winglets, $2,300. mywe bpages. corn cast. net/4gs/X C. htm 5F)lTFMTJFH 2002

AIR SPORTS USA HANO GLIDING

WWW.FLYFORFUN.NET

SCHOOLS & DEALERS

FLY AWAY HANG GLIDING-·-·· Santa Barbara. Personalized instruction.(805) 957-9145, www.flyaboveall.com/flyaway.htm THE HANG GLIDING CENTER Diego CA 92175, (619) 265-5320.

FLORIDA

PO Box 151542, San

WIIA'RE '/1/E CIMMPIONS /il,Y THE BEST AEROTOW

NATIONAL SCHOOL NETWORK For information call David david@davidglover.com

RINGS LOCALLY. (719) 630-3698,

ALABAMA LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK Georgia.

See ad under

ARIZONA EVER THINK ABOUT PARAGLIDING? www.paraglide.com CALIFORNIA DREAM WEAVER HANG GLIDING Train on state-of-the-art WILLS WING FALCONS. LESSON PACKAGES: One four hour lesson $100. Three four hour lessons, plus tandem off 2,000ft. $300. Five lessons for $400. Ten lessons plus tandem $750. Complete lesson programs. Year-round instruction. Launching and landing and thermal clinics available. Call for group rates. Tired of hiking your glider? I'll help you! Dealer for Wills Wing.Altair, High Energy Sports, Ball varios, Camelbaks and more. We love trade-ins. I'm your northern California MOSQUITO HARNESS DEALER. If you live in central through northern California, give me a call or email to schedule your Mosquito demonstration or clinic. Call or email, scheduling lessons five days a week, Friday through Tuesdays. Ideal training hill, up to I50ft., 600ft. mountain. 1,200ft. mountain. Tandem instruction. USHGA Advanced Instructor DOUG PRATHER (209) 556° 0469 Modesto, CA, drrnwvrhg@softcom.net

LARGEST HANG GLIDING SHOP In the West:! Our deluxe retail shop showcases the latest equipment and has two virtual reality hang gliding flight simulators. We stock new and used ... Wills Wing.Altair and Moyes gliders, and all the hottest new harnesses. Trade-ins are welcome. Our comprehensive training program, located at the San Francisco Bay Area's finest beginner site features: gently sloped "bunny hills," Wills Wing falcons of all sizes and comfortable trnining harnesses! "FIRST FLIGHT' 15 minute video tour of our beginner lesson program shows a student's skill progression $20 (shipping included). 1116 Wrigley Way, Milpitas CA 95035 (near San Jose). (408) 262-1055, fax (408) 262-1388. mission@hang-gliding.com www.hang-gliding.com

J IANG GLIDING

TORREY PINES GLIDER.PORT. Corne soar in San Diego! This family owned and operated flying site offers: USHGA certified instruction, equipment sales, tandem flight instniction, pararnotor· instruction, para·chute repacks, repairs, and site tours. We also have an extensive pg/hg outfitting shop and dining with a view when you eat at our own Cliffhanger Cafe. Importers for:ADVANCE, PARATECH, and INDEPENDENCE paragliders; and dealers for most other brands. Accessories include: Center of Gravity clothing, gloves, UV stuff sacks, and helmets; Crispi boots; AustriAlpin Carabiners; Fly Mike flight suits and helmets; and Gut.Stuff gloves. Check us out online for sales and information at: and email us with your questions at or call tollfree at I -877-FLY-TEAM. Also, you can tune in to the only Internet Paragliding Talk Show every Monday, from 9:00-1 I:00 arn (PST) at www.wsradio.com.

Instruction available. school with TWO INSTRUCTORS and U.S. WORLD TEAM MEMBERS Bo Hagewoocl 2000 National Champion And Paris Williams 200 I and 2002 National Champion. r'rom your first tandem to advanced X-C racing instruction. Open every day with beautiful remodeled 90+ acre facilities. Plenty of other activities like our screened in pool, hot tub, private lake, canoes, fishing, volleyball and just minutes from Orlando attractions. Learn from the best.... at Quest! www.questairforce.com, Email: questair@sundial.net (352) 429-0213 Groveland, FL

The Aerotow Flight Park Satisfaction Guaranteed JUST 8 MILES FROM DISNEYWORLD • YEAR ROUND SOARING • OPEN 1 DAYS A WEEK • SIX TUGS, NO WAITING EVERY DIRECTION 50+ NICE demos to fly: Topless to Trainer Gliders: Laminar, Moyes,Wills,Airborne, Airwave, Exxtacy, La Mouette, Sensor; also harnesses, varios, etc. Ages 13 To 73 have learned to fly here. No one comes dose to our level of experience and success with tandem aerotow instruction.

A GREAT SCENE FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS ... IO motels & restaurants within 5 mins., camping, hot showers, shade trees, sales, storage, ratings, XC retrievals, great weather, climbing wall, trampoline, DSS TV, ping pong, picnic tables, swimming pool, etc. DON'T RISK BAD WEATHER Bad instruction or dangerous training hills. 3.50 flyable days each year. Learn foot launch flying skills safely and quickly. Train with professional CFl's at world famous Dockweilcr 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. CC>LORADO AIRTIME ABOVE HANG GLIDING Full-time lessons, sales, service. Colorado's most experienced! Wills Wing, Moyes, Altair, Aeros, Airwave, High Energy, Ball, Flytec, MotoCorn and much more. Call (303) 674-2451, Evergreen, Colorado AirtirneHG@aol.com CONNECTICUT MOUNTAIN WINGS

Look under New York.

')P[lTFMllFH 2002

Flights of over 200 miles and more than 7 hours. Articles in Hang Gliding, Kit.planes, Skywings, Cross Country and others. Featured on numerous TV shows, including Dateline NBC,The Discovery Channel & ESPN.

Visit us on the Web: http://www.wallaby.com Please call us for references and video. 1805 Dean Still Road, Disney Area, FL 33837 (863) 424 .. 0070 phone & fax

Conservative Reliable , State of the Art F.H.G. INC./FLYING FLORIDA SINCE 1974 Malcolm Jones, Laurie Croft, Cal'ios Bessa, Rhet1 Radford, Tiki Ma shy, Jeremie Hill, Tom Ramseur, Roger Sherrod, Mike Barber, Neal Harris, Bart Weghorst, Carolina de Castro, Paul Moncure, Bob Mcfee, Emily Boespflug

HAWAII

MARYL.AND

18265 E. State Road 80, Clewiston FL (863) 805-0440, www.thefloridaridgc.com LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK See ad under Georgia. Nearest mountain training center to Odando (only 8 hours).

Baltimore and DC's full tirne flight park Tandem instruction, solo aerotows and equipment sales and service. BIRDS IN PARADISE Hang gliding & ultralight flying on Kauai. Certified tandem instruction. (808) 822 .. 5309 or (808) 639 .. J 067 birds@birdsi npa radise .com www.birdsinparadise.com IDAHO

WE HAVE The most advanced training progrnm known to hang gliding, teaching you in half the time it takes on the training .. BUNNY HllL, and with WE TEACH more in .. flight air time. For year.. round training fun in the sun, call or write; Miami Hang Gliding (305) 285 .. 8978. 2.550 S Bayshorc Drive, Coconut Grove, Florida 33133.

MOUNTAIN GUDERS .. -Alluring site plus shop supplying all your HG/PG needs. Instruction, equipment sales, complete accessories. Visit our websiw www.kingmountaingliders.com or (208) 390.. 0205. ILLINOIS HANG GLIDE CHICAGO Full service aero park, 2 tow planes. Full time certified instructors, ultralight instructors, East Coast record 13 miles. (815) 495-2212, www.hangglidechicago.com RAVEN SKY SPORTS (312) 360-0700, (815) 489-9700 or (262) 473-8800. 2 hours from Chicago, 90 minutes from Elgin, Palatine or Libertyville. The best instructors, the best equipment, tho best results in the Midwest. 7 days/ week, March t:hru November. Training prog1. am for combined/integrated FOOT AND AEROTOW certification. Apply I 00% of your intro lesson costs to certification program upgrade! Please sec our ad under WISCONSIN. info@hanggliding.com MEXICO

Loolmut Mtn. GA/TN FULL HOOl(..lJf'S Laundry, propane, recreation room. 1. 300 . aoJ . ?788. MOUNTAIN PARK See our display ad. Discover why FOUR TIMES as many pilots earn their wings at Lookout than at any other schoo1 1We wrote USHGA's Official Training Manual. Our spccialty .. custo1m,r satisfaction and fun with the IUTI largest inventory, camping, swimming, volleyball, more! For a flying trip, intro flight or lesson packages, Lookout Mountain, just outside Chattanooga, your training/service center. Info? (800) 681! .. lMf P.

We carry Aeros,Airwave, Flight Design, Moyes, Wills Wing, High Energy Sports, Flytec and rnore. lwo 115 HP Dragonfly tugs Open fields as far as you can see Only I to 1.5 hours frorn: Rehoboth Beach, Baltimore Washington DC, Philadelphia Corne Fly with US! Ph 410.634.2700 Fax 410.634.2775 24038 Race Track Rd Ridgely, MD 21660 www.aerosports.net ' hangglide@aerosports.net MICHIGAN CLOUD 9 SPORT AVIATION Aerotow specialists. We carry all major brand hang gliders. FREE PVC glider storage/transport tube with new glider purchase. Now in stock: Wills TALON COMP!,XC 155, Falcons; Moyes Litespced 4, Sonic 165; Magic Kiss 154. Outrigger wheels and other acmssories in stock. Call for fall tandem lessons and flying appointments with the DraachenFliegen Soaring Club at Cloud 9 Field. 11088 Coon Lake RoadWest,Webberville, Ml 48892. (517) 223 .. 8683. Cloud9sa@aol.corn http://rnernbers.ao1.corn/cloud9sa MICHIGAN SOARING Delivering VALUE with the best combination of SERVICE, QUALITY & PRICE. ALL major brands of gliders and gear. Call Doug Coste1· (231) 882 .. 4744, wingrnan@traversc.com TRAVERSE CITY HANG GUDERS/ PARAGUDERS FULL .. TIME SHOP. Certified instruction, foot launch and tow. Sales, service, accessories for ALL major brands. VISA/ MASTERCARD. Come soar our 450' dunes! 1509 E 8th, Traverse City Ml 49684. Offering powered paragliding lessons. Call Bill at (231) 922. .. 2844, tchangglider@chartermi.net. Visit ou1- paragliding school in Jackson,Wyorning. Call Tracie at (307) 739 .. 8620. NEVADA ADVENTURE SPORTS Carson City, Sierra tours, tandems, sales. (775) 883-7070, http://home. py1·arn id.net/ advs pts

MEXICO

Surnrner in Monterrey, winter in Valle de Bravo. 1.. aoo-s61 .. 719a, www.flyrnexico.corn

")F[lTl'M l!FH 2002

LAS VEGAS AIRSPORTS USHGA certified hang gliding instruction. Sales and service, boat tow, mountain soaring, XC. (702) 260 .. 7950, www.fly IO I .corn NEW JERSEY MOUNTAIN WINGS HANG G!.!DING

Look under New York. 40

PENNSYLVANIA

NEW YORK AAA FLIGHT SCHOOL MOUNTAIN WINGS INC. Your full service Pro Shop serving the North East. We sell and service all the best brands. www.mtnwings.com mtnwings@catskill.net 150 Canal Street, Ellenville, New York 12428 V-MITTS $25.00 Paragliding, Ultralights, Towing. (845) 647-3377

HIGHLAND AEROSPORTS

VIRGINIA

See Maryland.

MOUNTAIN TOP RECREATION Certified instruction, Pittsburgh. (412) 767-4882. C'MON OUT AND PLAY! MOUNTAIN WINGS

Look under New York.

PUERTO RICO AIR SPORTS USA -- NY C's first and only certified hang gliding, paragliding, microlights (trikes), powered paragliding. Distributors for Avian. Dealers for most major brands. Full service and equipment at best prices. The most friendly service in the area. Store address: 29 31 Newtown Ave.,Astoria NY. Phone (718) 777-7000, WWW.FLYFORFUN.NET FLY HIGH HANG GLIDING, INC. Serving S. New York, Connecticut, Jersey areas. Area's EXCLUSIVE Wills Wing dealer/specialist.Also all other major brands, accessories. Certified school/instruct.ion.Teaching since 1979. Area's most INEXPENSIVE prices. Excellent secondary instruction ... if you've started a program and wish to continue. Fly the mountain! Towing! Tandem flights! Contact; Paul Voight, S163 Searsville Rd, Pine Bush, NY 12566, (845) 744-3317. SUSQUEHANNA FLIGHT PARK Cooperstown, NY. Certified Instruction, Sales and Service for all major manufacturers. 40 acre park, 5 training hills, jeep rides, bunk house, camping, hot showers, 600' NW ridge. We have the best facilities in N. New York state to teach you how to fly. c/o Dan Guido, Box 293 Shoemaker Rd, Mohawk NY 13407, (315) 866-6153.

FLY PUERTO RICO Team Spirit Hang Gliding, HG classes daily, tandem instruction available. Wills Wing dealer. Glider rentals for qualified pilots. PO Box 978, Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico 00741. (787) 850-0508, tshg@coqui.net

BLUE SKY Fulltime instruction and service at Manquin Flight Park near Richmond. Wills Wing, Moyes, Flight Design, Aeros and Airwave gliders. Mid-Atlantic Mosquito dealer. Steve Wendt (540) 432-6557 or(804) 241-4324, www.blueskyhg.com,blueskyhg@yahoo.com

TENNESSEE LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN FLIGHT PARK Georgia.

See ad under

TEXAS HILL COUNTRY PARAGLIDING INC Learn complete pilot skills. Personalized USHGA certified training, ridge soaring, foot and tow launching in central Texas. MOTORIZED PARAGLIDING INSTRUCTION & EQUIPMENT AVAIL.ABLE. (915) 379-1185. 1475 CR 220,Tow,TX 78672 GO... HANG GLIDING!!! Jeff Hunt. Austin ph/fax (512) 467 -2529 jeff@flytexas.com www.flytexas.com

FLY AT VIRGINIA'S NEWEST TOTAL FLIGHT PARK MANQUIN offers aerotowing, tandem lessons, platform truck towing, training hill and scooter towing for beginner thru advanced pilots. Certified instruction, glider equipment sales, service and repair through "BLUE SKY" Virginia's leading hang gliding school. Try 3-axis flying with certified ultralight instruction through "FLY RAWLING", learn to fly and soar the SuperFloater. Just 2 hours south of Washington DC, minutes NE of Richmond. Free camping and close to fast food, restaurants and Kings Dominion theme park. Visit www.blueskyhg.com. (540) 432-6557

NORTH CAROLINA HIGHLAND AEROSPORTS KITTY HAWK KITES

FLIGHT PARK

Hearne Municipal Airport • SEASONAL OPERATIONS OUN-NOV) • EXCELLENT XC FLYING • TANDEM INSTRUCTION •AERO TOWING • DRAGONFLY/TRIKE INSTRUCTION • INTRO FOOT LAUNCH CLASSES • FLY-INS AND CLINICS • SALES AND SERVICE • 600-ACRE FACILITY • ALL Fl.YING BY RESERVATION ONLY Steve Burns .. 979.279.9382 email: sburns@austinairsports.com 8008 Pine St., Hearne TX 77859 Fred Burns - 281.471.1488 email: austinair@aol.com 3810 Bonita Lane, La Porte TX 77571 WWW.AUSTINAIRSPORTS.COM

• TANDEM INSTRUCTION • AEROTOWING • BOATTOWING-·-·----·-·-· • BEACH RESORT •TRAINING CAMPS • FOOT LAUNCH • OPEN YEAR ROUND • PARAGLIDING • EQUIPMENT SALES AND SERVICE

(800)

NAGS HEAD, NC

Internet Address: http://www.kittyhawk.com E-Mail Address: info@kittyhawk.com 46

HANG GumNG

UTAH WASATCH WINGS Utah's only full service hang gliding school, Point of the Mountain, regional mountain sites, towing. Dealer for Aeros,Airwave,Altair, Moyes.Wills Wings and much more. Call Zac (801) 244-7494, wings@wasatch.com www.wasatch.com/-wings

',EJlTPMBPH 2002

See Maryland.

See North Carolina.

SILVER WINGS, INC. Certified instruction and equipment sales. (703) 533--1965 Arlington VA, silverwingshanggliding.com WASHINGTON HANGTIME Dealer of the MOSQUITO powered harnesses. Call for CLINIC dates. Right here in the Pacific Northwest. (509) 525-3574, lbbrown@bmi.net WISCONSIN RAVEN SKY SPORTS HANG GLIDING AND PARAGLIDING The Midwest's Premier· aerotow flight park, founded in 1992. Featuring INTEGRATED INSTRUCTION of foot-launch and aerotow tandem skills, at package prices to beat any in the USA. Seven beautiful, grassy training hills facing all wind directions. Four Dragonfly tow planes, no waiting! Four tandem gliders on wheeled undercarriages.WW Falcons for training from the very first lessons. USUA ultralight and tug instruction. Free camping. Sales/service/accessories for· all brands. Open 7 days a week, March thru November. Contact Brad Kushner, PO Box IOI, Whitewater WI 53190 (262) 473-8800 phone, (262) 473-880 I fax, www.hanggliding.com, info@hanggliding.com

-"' I

.,..

PARTS & ACCESSORIES

LAMINAR PARTS. We have what you need and AV8 we are committed to same day shipping. AV8, Call (760) 721 .. 070 I or email at indasky@yahoo.com

l<LASSIC OR CONCEPTWINGLETS - One pair left, brand new in box $350 OBO or trade for/ (262) 473 .. 8800, info@hanggliding.com

ABSOLUTE LOW Ball/Blue Sky VARIO prices! www.websitetrafficbuilders.com/vario.htm, email bob@websitetrnfficbuilderscom

AWARDS & GIFTS! Free catalog. Soaring Dreams (208) 376-7914, www.soaringdreamsart.com, e .. mail to lisa@soaringdreamsart.com

MINI VARIO -World's smallest, simplest vario! Clips

to helmet or chinstrap. 200 hours on batteries, 0-18,000 , ORDER ONUNEAND SAVE

• Water/Dust Resistant Push Button • Field Replaceable Finger Switch • Heavier Gauge Wire/Improved Plugs ' Increased Strain Relief at ALL Joints Price $119.95 Extra finger switch $19.95 w/purchase. Dealer inquiries welcome. Call (785) 84:J .. 1842. MC/Visa. Visit our website at www.fiightconn.com, mikedillon@flightconn.com

ft., fast response and 2 year warranty. ONLY $169.

Mallettec, PO Box 15756, Santa Ana CA, 92735. (714) 966 .. 1240 MC/Visa accepted, www.rnallettec.com

HAWI< AIRSPORTS INC P.O. Box 9056, Knoxville, TN 37940.. 0056, (865) 945 . 2625. World famous Windsoks, as seen at the Oshkosh & Sun-N .. Fun EAA Fly .. lns. Hawk@windsok.com,www.windsok.com

FOR ALL YOUR FLYING NEEDS Check out the Aviation Depot at w'Alw.mojos_gear.corn featuring over I000 items for foot . /aunched and powered paragliding, hang gliding, stuntand 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 1-1100-664-1160 for orders only. Office (915) 379 .. 1567.

The world-class XCR .. 180 operates up to 3 hours @18,000 ft. and weighs only 41b. Complete kit with cylinder, harness, regulator, cannula and remote on/ off flowmeter, only $400.00.

oz. ripstop nylon, UV treated,5'4" long w/ 11" throat.Available colors fluorescent pink/yellow or fluorescent pink/white. $39.95 (+$5.00 S/H). Send to USHGA Windsok, P.O. Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-1330, (719) 632 .. 8300, fax (719) 6J2..6417, ushga@ushga.org VISA/MC accepted. PUBLICATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS

TEK FLIGHT PRODUCTS

DOUBLE BAG' XC $60., heavy waterproof $100. Harnesses, accessories, used parts. Low prices, fast delivery! Gunnison Gliders, 1549 County Road 17, Gunnison CO 81230. (970) 641-9315, orders / .. 866 .. 238 .. 2305 http://gunnisongliders.com/ GHOSTBUSTER PARTS - Sail, flaps, spoilers, ribs, hardware, wires, everything but the leading edges. (970) 641-9207, skyout l@webtv.net

Camera mount $48.50. Camera remote (ask about rebate) $45. Vario mount $23. 6" wheels $29.75, 8" wheels $34.75,Add $4 S&H per (US) included. TEK FLIGHT Products, Colebrook Stage, Winsted CT 06098. Or call (860) J7<J .. I 661l. Email: tek@snet.net or our page: www.tekflight.com

',PJ)Tl'MflPH 2.()()2

BAG IT! . . -Jf you don't have Dennis Pagen's l'ERFORMANCE FLYING yet, available through USHGA Headquarters $29.95 (+$5.50 s&h for UPS/Priority Mail delivery). USHGA, PO Box 1330,Colorado Springs CO 8090 I. ,. aoo . 616.. 6888 www.ushga.org TIANO G1 [DING

pilots of any aircraft understand more about modeling and forecasting. You'll learn about regional and local influences and how to determine winds aloft and stability."Weather To Fly" is an over-all view packed with useful details and includes great cloud footage. It is a straight-forward presentation that is easy to follow. 50 min. $39.95 NOW IN DVD, same great price. STARTING HANG GLIDING, by Adventure Productions. Produced especially to promote the sport. Covers basic preparation, weather, proper attitude, ground handling, launching and those first flights. 30 min. $29.95 NOW IN DVD, same great price. STARTING HANG GLIDING, JH EXTREME & BORN TO FLY by Adventure Productions.great HG action, $34.95 each. NOW IN DVD, same great price.

FLYTHE WING! Hooking Into Hang Gliding, by Len Holms. This is the perfect book for those curious about the sport of hang gliding. Written at a level which will not swamp the reader with daunting amounts of technical detail, you will learn about hang glider wings and the skills needed to fly them. 84 pages with photos and illustrations. $12.95 (+ $5 S&H). USHGA, PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 8090 I. 1-800-616-6888 www.ushga.org

HARRY AND THE HANG GLIDER is a beautifully illustrated, hardcover children's book with 40 color pages written for pilots to share the dream of flight! To order: send $24.95 plus $3 shipping to; SkyHigh Publishing, 20 I N. Tyndall, Tucson, AZ 85719 or call; (520) 628-8165 or visit; http://www.flash.net/-·skyhipub Visa/MC accepted.

Call USHGA (719) 632-8300, fax (719) 632-6417, e-mail: ushga@ushga.org, or order from our webpage at www.ushga,org. Please add $4 domestic S&H ($% for two or more videos). Great to impress your friends or for those socked-in days. Perfect gift for the launch potato turned couch potato.Also ask us about our paragliding videos!

TOWING Headquarters AEROTOWING ACCESSORIES for: The finest releases, secondary releases, Spectra "V" bridles, weak links, tandem wheels, launch cart kits, etc. THE WALLABY RANCH (863) 424-0070. COMMERCIAL PAY-OUTWINCH $3,200. Excellent condition, includes parachute, 3,000' Spectra, level line, nose release, tow bridle. New commercial pay-out winch $5,900. Call James (305) 285-8978 or Heidi (305) 232- 1302.

Otto Lilienthal's genius in scientific observations and analysis, documented in this work, became the basis for the experimentation of the early pioneers in aviational flight. The "hero" of the Wright brothers, Otto is considered to be "The Father of Gliding Flight." Lilienthal's definitive book has been out of print for almost a century, but is now available to everyone for a wonderful and absorbing journey into aviational history. 176 pages, 16 photographs, 89 drawings and 14 graphs. $19.95 (+$5 s/h) USHGA, PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 8090 I. I -800-616-6888 www.ushga.org SOARING Monthly magazine ofThe Soaring Society of America, Inc. Covers all aspects of soaring flight. Full membership $55. Info. kit with sample copy $3. SSA, P.O. Box 2100, Hobbs, NM 88241. (505) 392-1177. '52

J IANO GLIDING

DRAGONFLY B-MODEL KIT Built by Bobby Bailey $13,600. Rotax 582 fitted and plumbed radiator, exhaust $6,626. Electric start, 6 blade lvo prop with clutch $1, I00. Rear seat and controls $1,250. Brake kit installed $250. BRS 900 VLS $2,595. Instrument pack: Alt, ASI, Tacho, temp gauges, Hobbs $1,017. Painted one color $1,200. Tow system $375. Total $28,013.A 50% deposit is required. Bobby Bailey can be available for basic training after completion. Kenny Brown/Moyes America, 200 Hillcrest Drive, Auburn CA 95603, (530) 888- 8622, fax (530) 888- 8708, flyamoyes@aol.com, www.moyesamerica.com

From the Telluride Festival in 1981, to the modern day freestyle competition. Follow the history of this dynamic gathering. $24.95 Call USHGA (719) 632-8300, fax (719) 632-6417, order from our web site www.ushga.org. Please add +$4 domestic s/h. MISCELLANEOUS

VIDEOS & DVDs

WEATHER TO FLY, by Adventure Productions.A much needed instructional video on meteorology. Dixon White, Master pilot and USHGA Examine1; takes you through a simple step-by-step process showing where to acquire weather data and how to interpret it. This video will help

',llJ)TFMTJPH 2002

"AEROBATICS" Full color 23"x 31" poster featuring John Heiney doing what he does best-LOOPING! Available through USHGA HQ for just $6.95 (+$5.00 s/ h). Fill that void on your wall! Send to USHGA Aerobatics Poster, PO Box 1300, Colorado Springs CO 80933. (USA & Canada only. Sorry, posters are NOT AVAILABLE on international orders.) SPECIAL-Aerobatics poster & Eric Raymond posterBOTH FOR $IO (+$5 s/h). Check the merchandise section of our web site www.ushga.org for a color picture of these beautiful posters.

HAND KNIT Glider logo hats, any two colors $20. L22r@la,.tierra.com UTAH REAL ESTATE···· The perfect launch site, 15 acres on canyon rim, 2,600 vertical drop $39,500.Agent (435) 738-3000.

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING RATES The rate for classified advertising is $.50 per word (or group of characters) and $1.00 per word for bold or all caps. MINIMUM AD CHARGE $5.00.A fee of $15.00 is charged for each line art logo and $25.00 for each photo. LINEART & PHOTO SIZE NO LARGER THAN 1.75" X 2.25". Please underline words to be in bold print. Special layouts of tabs $25.00 per column inch. Phone number=2 words. Email or web address=3words. AD DEADLINES: All ad copy, instructions, changes, additions and cancellations must be received in writing 2 months preceding the cover date, i.e. September 20th is the deadline for the December issue. Please make checks payable to USHGA, P.O. Box 1330, Colorado Springs, CO 8090 I"" 1330, (719) 6}2,.8300. Fax (719) 632-6417 or email: ushga@ushga.org your classified with your Visa/MC or Amex.

Adventure Productions .............. . ................................. 15

Bautek/FexAmerica ................. ., ... 5 .7

Blue Sky Avionics...................

............... Back Cover Hall Brothers ............................. 19

Lake Chelan Flyers.............

]3, 19

Just

Lookout Mt ......................... 21, Mojo's

.. ,....................................... G Northwing ................................. 15 Sport Aviation Pub ..................... 31 'f'l"rf '"'"''"""'''''"'''''"""'·'"'""" 5 .............................. 21

Phone: 209.543. 7850 Toll-Free: 888.530.9940 E""Mail: custsvc@a ng Ieofattack. net Website: http://angleofattack.net

.................................... 31

100% G1111r11nt1111d. II not salislied, return unused tubes for l 00% money back. Major Credit Curds accepted. OEM/Dealer inquiries encouraged.

USHGA ..................... Various Pages

n.corn

Wills Wing ....... ',FJ)TFM!ll'R 2002

HANG GJ.JDING

PRODUCT LINES ST. PAUL, MINN. - Results are in from the World Becord :&ncampment. In short, it was not the year most hoped fo.r due to the massive rainfall Texas sustained. The bad weather was north of Zapata, but it significantly affected those hang glider and paraglider pilots who had converged on the south Texas town. Many pilots had traveled a long We::f, some internationally. Many got skunked. • • • However, some record.a were Ht and the F.U has already mpproved a few. + In a "joint flight, 11 both Pete Lebmmm and Milte Barber were awarded the Straight Distance to a Declared Goal record of 516 km (322',5 miles). Lehmann flew a Wills Talon 150 and :Sarber flew a Moyes Litespeed 4. + Paraglider pilots were perhaps the most celebrated of the 2002'Zapatans since two pilots managed records on successive de::{s (before the rains started). Dave Prentice flew his Ozone Proton GT Small for 386 kilometers (241 miles) earning a Straight Di stance record. + Dave's time in the limelight was for a mere 24 hours. Though it had not received sanction at press time, Will Gadd started an hour earlier the next de::{ flying his Gin Gliders :Boomerang Medium and set a new (as yet unofficial) world paragliding record at 423 kilometers (263 miles). + Another record that gained qµick approval was Bo H.gewood.'s Speed Over a Triangular Course of 100 km at a record 42· km/h (26 mph) on his Aeros Combat 2', s Congratulations to all. • • • From aero.a s the big pond come results from European Hang Gliding Championships. No one will be surprised to hear Manfred Ruhmer won it, but perhaps you'd like to see how the ~oe choole their glid.era. The results differed a bit from the big Florida meets last spring. + One thing remains the same: Moyea ste::1ed solidly on top, with an impressive 34% o.f the field. They had nearly a 10-point lead on the next contender which was Icaro (25%) . Another good notch back was .Aeroe at 18% of the field of 99 flex wings. + Those were the big three and the closest to them was La Mouette at 7%, T.railing even further was Willa Wing at 3%, .ilrBorne at 4%, and a smattering of others including Avian , Seedwings Europe, Airwave , UP, and three of a glider called the Carl Haman Relief ~sar. • • • Special focus was given to the Chelan World.a Women'• competition where 20 pilots were registered. ICari Caatle easily maintained her position at the top of the stack, followed by Claire Vuaort in second. Manfred Ruhmer won Class 2' and Cbriatian Ciech won Class 5. + Do women choose the same or different gliders from men? Well, 20 is hardly a valid sample size and contest pilots don't necessarily fly what the rest of us do . :But surveying the gliders selected by female pilots at the Chelan meets a similar

Mail :

8 Dorset* St . -

'54

Paul,

distribution. Moyea holds the lead at 35%, trailed somewhat evenly - and distantly - by Icaro (15%), La Mouet te ( 15%) , Aeros , Air:Sorne, and Seedwings Europe (10%), No female was registered on a Wills Wing. • • • In glider news, the rigid wing crowd was again enjoying some excitement in the northwest USA. The Chelan meet had 41 Clue 5 rigid w1nga (with control bar) registered and 10 Clue 2' (faired) rigid wings • .Among these, the Swift Light was attracting lots of attention. + After San Francisco's :Brights tar licensed the design to :Belgium's Aeriane, the glider got more complex and heavier. A fully faired motorglider version was introduced some years ago. + :But now, with Manfred Rubmer flying one at the ~st meet and with him returning to Chelan on a Swift Lite , it appears the :Belgian company is finding new interest from the hang gliding community. + The Oz Report , which covers the contest scene in depth, published comments from various participants flying the Swift Lite. A recent edition asked, 11 The big question ••• how is the Swift Light different than the Swift? Robin Hamilton, who has been flying his original Swift a lot lately, said that the Swift Lite baa mu.ch better reaponae, 11 due, he se::1s, to lighter wings and the addition of rudders. The cage is shorter which makes it quite a bit easier to foot launch. Swift Lite can fly slower and pilots felt that it would be qµite a bit easier to foot land, though Davis asks, "What's the point when you've got that nice wheel?" Manfred Ruhmer said that he really enjoys flying it, feeling the Swift Lite provides pilots with "mu.ch better viewing than the Swift. 11 My experience flying the Swift confirms an obstructed visibility from the high performance rigid wing. • • • Tails are gaining a toehold on rigid wings. T.a ils aren't new ; hang gliders have used them on and off fo.r decades. Now A. I.R. 1 s ATOS is sprouting them. According to Web writer, Davis Straub, his .Ams V-tail "works with all AT.OSes and the Exxtacy .11 Regarding flight characteristics, Straub wri td, "The glider now feels rock solid. No longer does it move around in pitch. I 1 m astounded by the difference. 11 The fitting, a sleek looking compoeite construction, sells for cloee to $400 but is getting good revien. According to Straub , the non-articulating, lifting surface "dampens roll and pitch" somewhat "increasing bar pressure." He summarized with this comment: "It is hard to belief that these changes have made such a dramatic improvement in the feel of the glider • 11 • • • So, got news or opinions? Send 1 em to : 8 Dorset, St. Paul MN 55118. Messages or fax to 651450-0930; please note my new e-mail address of 1ene1DanJotm1on.com. '!BAUSl

55118 -

H ANG GLIDING

n JGhn on

Fax : 6 51 - 450 - 0 9 30

5 E p Tl: M B ER 2002

~@~o~

June.2002 Longest flight ever in a hang glider Longest flights ever in a paraglider Longest flights to a declared goal Fastest 100 km triangle-Flexwing

438 miles: Mike Barber 240 and 263 miles: Dave Prentice and Wtll Gadd 321 miles: Pete Lehmann and Mike Barber Bo "Htllbtlly" Hagewood

Five flights Five great guys Five varios . . . All Flytec Sitting left to right: Rhett Radford, Bo Hagewood Standing left to right: Andrew "the Driver" Holupka, Mike Barber, Pete Lehmann, Russell Brown, and Gary Osoba

Dave Prenticeflys 240 breakingprevoius paragliding record, gets back at 5 a.m. the next day and tows up Will Gadd. Will returns the favor by flying 263 miles. Will Gadd, high over the Texas bill country, on his way to a new record-263 miles. photos by Will Gadd and David Glover, WRE Organizer

FlyTEC

We congratulate Mike, Pete, Dave, Will, Bo and all pilots who strive to do their best.

fto Team f lfftec!

352,429·8600 • 800,662,2449 • www.flytec.com