Hang Gliding & Paragliding Vol39/Iss06 Jun 2009

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero

JUNE 2009Volume 39 Issue 6

$6.95

www.USHPA.aero

MAGAZINE STAFFPaul Montville, Publisher: [email protected]

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

Staff writers: Alex Colby, Chris Galli, Steve Messman, Dennis Pagen, Dean Stratton, Mark Forger Stucky, Ryan Voight, Tom Webster

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

OFFICE STAFFPaul Montville, Executive Director: [email protected]

Rick Butler, Information Services Director: [email protected] Palmaz, Business Manager: [email protected]

Erin Russell, Office Manager: [email protected] Hollendorfer, Member/Instructor Services Administrator:

[email protected]

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

Riss Estes, Vice President: [email protected] Rich Hass, Secretary: [email protected]

Mark Forbes, Treasurer: [email protected]

REGION 1: Rich Hass, Mark Forbes. REGION 2: Dave Wills, Urs Kellenberger, Paul Gazis. REGION 3: Bob Kuczewski, Rob Sporrer, Brad Hall. REGION 4: Mark Gaskill, Ken Grubbs. REGION 5: Lisa Tate. REGION 6: Gregg Ludwig. REGION 7: Tracy Tillman. REGION 8: Jeff Nicolay. REGION 9: Felipe Amunategui, L.E. Herrick. REGION 10: Dick Heckman, Steve Kroop, Matt Taber. REGION 11: Gregg Ludwig. REGION 12: Paul Voight. REGION 13: Dick Heckman. DIRECTORS AT LARGE: Dave Broyles, Leo Bynum, Riss Estes, Mike Haley, Dennis Pagen. EX-OFFICIO DIRECTOR: Art Greenfield (NAA).

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

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine is published for foot-launched air-sports enthusiasts to create further interest in the sports of hang gliding and paragliding and to provide an educational forum to advance hang gliding and paragliding methods and safety. Contributions are welcome. HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine reserves the right to edit contributions where necessary. The Association and publication do not assume responsibility for the material or opinions of contributors. HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING editorial offices email: [email protected]. ALL ADVERTISING AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES MUST BE SENT TO USHPA HEADQUARTERS IN COLORADO SPRINGS.

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

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

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

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING magazine welcomes editorial submissions from our members and readers. We are always looking for well written articles and quality artwork. Feature stories generally run anywhere from 1500 to 3000 words. News releases are welcomed, but please do not send brochures, dealer newsletters or other extremely lengthy items. Please edit

news releases with our readership in mind, and keep them reasonably short without excessive sales hype. Calendar of events items may be sent via email to [email protected], as may letters to the editor. Please be concise and try to address a single topic in your letter. Your contributions are greatly appreciated. If you have an idea for an article you may discuss your topic with the editor either by email or telephone. Contact: Editor, Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine, [email protected], (516) 816-1333.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES IN PUBLICATIONSThe material presented here is published as part of an information dissemination service for USHPA members. The USHPA 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 2009 Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine.

For change of address or other USHPA businesscall (719) 632-8300, or email [email protected].

The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, a division of the National Aeronautic Association,

is a representative of the Fdration Aeronautique Internationale in the United States.

On the cover, rape fields near the border of the Jura Hills in Switzerland | photo by Andreas Busslinger. Meanwhile, Gal Goren launches at Mt. Tavor, Israel | photo by Ohad Sharon.

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING MAGAZINE09JUNE

by Mark "Forger" Stucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

by Paul Pearce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

by Joe Evens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

by Unknown Soldier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

by Matt Gerdes and Russell Ogden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

by Dennis Pagen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

by Steve Roti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

EDITOR

PILOT BRIEFINGS

AIRMAIL

THE ASSOCIATION

SAFETY BULLETIN

CENTERFOLD

TANGENT

DISPATCH

RATINGS

USHPA STORE

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HANG IN THERE

TATER HILL OPEN 2008

SINGLE SURFING AT THE 2008 XC CLASSIC

MAkING 60 WOMEN HAPPy

2009 PARAGLIDER CERTIFICATIONS

SAFE HANG GLIDER LAUNCHES (REDUX)

2008 PARAGLIDING STATE DISTANCE RECORDS

Flying Solosobering anecdotes.

A first-hand account of the casual comp.

Day-by-day replay from Chelan.

Sixty female pilots, that is.

Sort through the alphabet soup with a simple FAQ.

Get a grip.

Good year for paragliding? Five pilots vote yes.

09JUNE

by Dennis Pagen . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

SAFE HANG GLIDING LAUNCHESDennis Pagen revisits the topic of safe launches, taking you through a variety of grips and slips.

54GALLERY

Matt Beechinor swinging on his swing set in Canary Islands | photo by Nick Greece

The season is well under way! Hopefully these pages find all of you enjoying the summer. We are con-ditioned from an early age to revel in the joy of the

age-old schools-out-for-summer feeling, and our love of free flight only adds to that elation. One might argue that this appreciation of summer liberation is especially strong in our population, since we nourish our ability to stay young at heart by regularly realizing the dream of flight. There is little in life that rewards a feeling of free-dom, passion, and youthfulness like free-flight. Maybe this is another reason why the summer season is synony-mous with great times.

As part of my summer vacation, I attended the 2009 US Paragliding Nationals in Dunlap, California. We flew for eight straight days, during which time we completed four valid tasks of technical flying. What an amazing flying site! Steeped in great hang gliding tradition, it is clearly one of the most consistent sites in California. I hope everyone gets a chance to enjoy its potential at some point.

The best part of the meet was all participants being together at the same ranch. A true summer-camp expe-rience was created, including camaraderie, fun, and, of course, practical joking. A great time was had by all!

June is filled with exceptional events all over the coun-try. From the East Coast Hang Gliding Championships in Maryland to the Midnight Solstice Fly-in in Alaska, a rewarding experience is out there for everyone. So meet up and gather with a group of passionate fellow free flyers.

Go to: http://www.ushpa.aero/calendar.asp to catch up on USHPA events for this season.

Last month we published a hang gliding-focused gallery, so this month we are featuring paraglider Matt Beechinors collection of flying and culture shots from around the world. Matt, US team pilot, has been travel-ling extensively around the world for the past six years. His collection of photos is a reminder that it is the time on the ground as well as in the air that touches us deeply as we travel the world, interacting with each locale on a plethora of levels.

We at the USHPA magazine have been working on the editorial calendar again and hope everyone will look online not only to see what is up-coming but also to contribute to our publication. It can be found at:http://www.ushpa.aero/editorial_calendar.asp.

The USHPA magazine is still looking for Faces in the Crowd articles! If someone you fly with is interest-ing, please send in his or her tale.

See you up there!

7

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero8

GRADIENT'S ASPEN3Gradients new sport-class wing, the Aspen3, has landed after a long period of development. The team has finished fine-tuning its new sport-class climbing machine, and after its prede-cessor Aspen2s worldwide success, the Aspen3 meets the needs of ambitious XC-pilots more intensely. Gradient has perfected the gliders special lightweight construction and managed to further reduce its weight. In optimizing the wings XC-characteristics Gradient focused on climbing perfor-mance, and stability in full acceleration. The Aspen3 is available in five sizes and passed EN-C certification. Info: www.gradient.cx

RED BULL X-ALPS 2009Honza Rejmnek and

supporter Dave Hanning

will be representing the US as they return to Europe for their 2nd time to race in the worlds toughest and most spectacular adventure race. A raffle is being held as a part of the fundraising effort. For each $20 you get your name in the hat. Prizes will be drawn each day of the race with a grand prize valued at $600! For more information on the raffle please visit www.honzair.com .

JZ WINS FAI AIR SPORT MEDALJim Zeisets (JZ) con-tributions to the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (USHPA), and to hang gliding in general, have been many and varied. He served as Regional Director from 1984 to 2008, taking over as interim executive director during a period of

financial crisis in 1989. In 1994, and again in 2002, he was elected USHPA vice president, and was presi-dent of the association in 2004-2005. He was also USHPAs delegate to CIVL in 2003-2004. In addition to his accepting desk jobs in support of hang gliding, JZ has been continually active out in the field with the hang gliding community. He served as the U.S. national teams leader for world championships and pre-worlds in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990. From 1990 to the early 2000s, JZ spon-sored and flew on the Green Team, a select group of hang glider pilots who participat-ed as a team in national and international events a total of 36 competitions, including 9 CIVL-sanctioned events. JZs decades-long participa-tion in hang gliding at the national, international and grass-roots levels has had considerable positive impact on hang gliding in the United States and abroad.

X-ALPS DIARIES ONLINEThe 30 international Red Bull X-Alps athletes have begun making entries into their of-ficial diaries, which can now be viewed on www.red-bullxalps.com in the athletes section.

Over the coming months leading up to the launch of the worlds toughest and most spectacular adventure race on July 19, the athletes will make weekly logs, detail-ing their training stories, thoughts and preparations.

Thomas de Dorlodot (BEL) explains what he has been up to in the two years since he crashed out of the 2007 Red Bull X-Alps, while first time participant Tom Payne (GBR2) has been flying with the pilots of the Swiss league in Vionnaz.

Michael Gebert (GER) says his training has only consisted of ski touring so far due to the huge amount of snow in the Alps and Ronny Geijsen (NED) writes about a blubber run com-petition.

Fans can pass on their messages of support and encouragement by writing in the athletes' guestbooks, which are also now online.

For the fourth edition of the Red Bull X-Alps, web-site visitors will be able to follow the athletes every move in more detail than ever before via the updated Live Tracking facility. Faster updates and extra features such as icons showing the points at which diary entries were made, bring the action direct to the viewer.

PilotBRIEFINGSNew | Improved | Buzzworthy

Hang Gliding & Paragliding | www.USHPA.aero 9

NEW UP ALPINE HARNESSThe new UP Alpine Reversible Harness weighs in at just 2.8kgs (M size, with-out karabiners). The Alpine is both a harness and a backpack in one. The back-pack makes up one of the chambers of the dual-cham-bered inflatable airbag. The UP Alpine reversible harness is on stock all sizes S, M and L, with new light UP twist lock karabiners in aluminum, weighing less than half (67g) of the standard UP steel karabiners. It is equipped with the Safe-T lock buckle system, still the most secure way of avoiding the dreaded drop from an unclosed harness. Available at www.eagleparagliding.com.

EAGLE OFFERS WOODy VALLEyEagle Paragliding has had the privilege of being named the exclusive US Importer of Woody Valley paragliding products. Woody Valley has been making hang gliding and paragliding products since 1985, and is based out of Trento, Italy. As a company that specializes in harnesses and acces-sories, Woody Valley has established a reputation of manufacturing harnesses with innovative designs of the highest quality. Eagle Paragliding is looking for-ward to providing excellent

service and support as the importer of these products.

Woody Valley paragliding products can be viewed at www.eagleparagliding.com/store.

MOyES SAFETy NOTEMoyes Delta Gliders Safety note: replica Zoom upright warning.It has come to our attention that someone in Slovenia intends to produce and dis-tribute uprights that closely resemble our Zoom uprights which can be mounted into our gliders. The overall out-side specs are quite similar, so customers could easily be mis-led into thinking they may be just as good to use.

Moyes strongly urges all pilots to avoid using non-Moyes spare parts!

Upon inspection we found that the false Zoom upright has a thinner wall thickness and weighs only 850 grams. This means 12% less material, as compared to our original 970 gram Zoom and 17% less than the new, more refined 1030 gram Zoom. Consequently this will yield to about 30% less compression strength (buckling resistance) as compared to the 970 gram Zoom, and about 50% less strength than the new Zoom uprights you will find fitted to our latest generation

Moyes gliders.Along the same lines goes

our concern with retrofit home-made or backyard-produced speedbars. None of these, mostly, wet lay-up, low cure temperature resin fabricated speedbars have ever seen any kind of certi-fication load test. They do considerably differ in shape, length, and strength from the specs required to go with our glider frames.

Please bear in mind that uprights and speed bars are a crucial factor for any hang glider to sustain the +6G load test required to certify a hang glider airworthy.

Using retrofit, non-origi-nal, non-tested components in your hang glider will, in general, inevitably put you outside this requirement for airworthiness. In case of an unfortunate accident this might not only harm your health, but likely deprive you of otherwise legitimate insurance claims, if your ac-cident can be related to the presence of such non-tested components.

Best Regards, Vicki CainMoyes Delta Gliders Pty Ltdwww.moyes.com.au

kING MOUNTAIN NEEDS yOUVolunteers are needed for the 2009 National Hang Gliding Championships at King Mountain. Volunteers are needed for the follow-ing: media and VIP escorts, sponsor liaisons, BBQ preparation, assistants for launch directors, general help. Pay is awesome (no $$ but a great time). Contact Lisa Tate for more informa-tion: [email protected] or 208-376-7914

NOTIFICATION TO USHPA MEMBERSImportant changes have been made to SOP 12-07, the policy on revocation and restoration of ratings and appointments. The causes for action have not changed. The processes used to revoke, appeal and restore a rating have been stream-lined. This includes checks and balances to insure this SOP is used only when there is a cause for action, as defined in the SOP. Please review the latest version of SOP 12-07.


North Wing Design 3904 Airport Way East Wenatchee, Washington 98802

Celebrating 12 years of making Flight and Dreams come together!

[email protected]

www.northwing.com

ULTRALIGHT TRIKES & WINGSHANG GLIDERS

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The United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association is moving forward with a comprehensive public

relations (PR) and marketing plan. The PR initiative is multi-faceted and well underway. It started with the creation of a web page for media relations on the USHPA.aero site. This page (http://www.ushpa.aero/press.asp) includes cur-rent stories, press releases, photos for download, media attention received by USHPA, and media contact information.

To capitalize on social media outlets, USHPA has sprung onto Facebook with a US Hang Gliding and Paragliding page where members can follow trends, con-tact each other, watch recent movie cre-ations from members, and interact with the organization. Currently there are over 400 members available for connec-tion on-board.

USHPA also has recently produced a public relations notebook for its members to use for regional events. The purpose of

the PR Notebook is to provide a guide for USHPA members to help promote events in their regions through personal contact, press releases, and ongoing dialogue with media outlets. The main goal is to gain media visibility for local events that gives credibility to the sport participants and encourages interest in the activity and USHPA, from not only potential partici-pants but also current members. Media coverage will help USHPA raise aware-ness of, and appreciation for, our sportan important element in sustaining and growing our organization.

USHPA-supported events are color-ful and appealing to regional magazines, local television stations, newspapers, and event-calendar sections. By using the ele-ments within this notebook, event staff can more easily gain local interest and visibility as well as help manage potential negative events through the crisis guide-lines provided.

With such a highly attractive and won-

derful sport, we are sure to see great story placements in the very near future! Many thanks to Paul Montville, Nick Greece, and Leo Bynum for their help with this important and exciting new USHPA pro-gram.

Lisa TateUSHPA President

Membership | Policy | Involvement

TheASSOCIATION


THRILL OF THE CHILL I have always loved getting a new pair of sunglasses. There is something sweet about looking at life through a brand new pair of optics with no scratches on the lenses and a new frame that makes you look cool. When I pull on a new pair of shades, I know Im off to do something fun, and I go outside with a whole new outlook.

On a recent trip to Jackson Hole, I picked up a new pair of BluEye Chill sunglasses and have had a chance to wear them skiing, paragliding, speed flying, and while enjoying views of the Tetons. These glasses are great! The frames are a wraparound style, so when Im wearing them, I dont notice the frame anywhere in my peripheral vision. They do a great job of protecting my eyes from the wind and allow a full field-of-vision when skiing fast or flying.

The frames, made of Grilamide, are

light-weight but durable. The temples flex nicely to fit different head shapes and sizes and have a nice built in no-slip rubber patch on the back to keep them firmly in place. The lenses I have are a cross

between rose and copper, giving a subtle, pleasant hue to my view. When I wear them, I am truly looking at life through rose-colored lenses. The tint is not too dark, yet more than adequate for bright sun reflecting off fresh winter snow. The exterior of the lens has a scratch-resistant

coating, and the inside has a no-fog treat-ment.

The company started producing glass-es in 1996 for race-horse jockeys. They quickly realized their glasses were good for all sorts of other activities, including those where people were going fast with their faces in the wind. They have since

expanded their market to include glasses for motorcycling, bike riding, skiing, snow boarding, sailing, jet skiing, water skiing, wake boarding, surfing, kayaking, skydiving, hang gliding, and paragliding.

It is clear to me that the people at BluEye have done a great job designing glasses that both work well and look cool for the active sports market. This

company has decided to market directly to us as pilots, even going so far as spon-soring a few pilots.

So next time you need a new look and outlook, check out a pair of BluEye glass-es! Go to www.flytec-usa.com for more information.

A Closer Look

BlueEYES

USHPA is issuing its annual call for nominations to the national Board of Directors. Eleven positions are open for election in October 2009 for a two-year term beginning January 2010. Nominations not required for incumbents. You may nominate yourself if you wish. Nominations must be received at the USHPA office by July 14, 2009. Nominations are needed in the following regions. Current Directors, whose terms are up for reelection in 2009 are:

Ballots will be distributed with the October issue of HANG GLIDING and PARAGLIDING magazines. USHPA needs the very best volunteers to help guide the safe development and growth of the sports. Send candidate nominations for receipt no later than July 14th to: USHPA, PO Box 1330, Colorado Springs CO 80901-1330. Biographical informa-tion about nominees should be received no later than August 4th, for inclusion in the October election issue of the magazine. This should include the following information: name and USHPA number, photo and resume (one page containing the candidates hang/paragliding activities and viewpoints, written consent to be nominated and willing-ness to serve if elected). Nominate by mail or at the USHPA website. http://www.ushpa.aero/emailrdnomination.asp

**Incumbent directors are automatically re-nominated. Gregg plans to retire from the board and asks not to be nominated for another term.

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS 2010

REGION

1 . . . . Alaska, Oregon, Washington2 . . . Northern California, Nevada3 . . . Southern California, Hawaii4 . . . Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah5 . . . Idaho, Montana, Wyoming6 . . . Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma7 . . . Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, N.Dakota, S.Dakota, Wisconsin 8 . . . Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont9 . . . Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington DC, W.Virginia10 . . Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, N.Carolina, S.Carolina, Tennessee, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico11 . . . Louisiana, Texas12 . . . New Jersey, New York

CURRENT DIRECTOR

Mark ForbesUrs Kellenberger & Paul Gazis

Rob Sporrer and Brad HallKen Grubbs

Lisa TateGregg Ludwig

No nomination needed this yearNo nomination needed this year

L.E. HerrickMatt Tabor and Dick Heckman

Represented by Region 6No nomination needed this year

by Nate Scales


2008 PARAGLIDING ACCIDENT SUMMARy Paragliding fatalities were down from 2007 to 2008, and the number of reported accidents was down slightly. There were nine reports with no injury. The remain-der of this article considers only those 42 accidents with injuries.

In the US in 2008, there were re-ports of 2 paragliding fatalities, 8 injured tandem students, and 35 injured pilots. We are confident about the fatality count, even though one of them was not reported on the USHPA system. Both of the fatali-ties this year were relatively inexperienced pilots. We dont count fatalities where the

probable cause is a mid-air heart attack or suicide, both of which happened this past year. We do count those who had ground-handling incidents and those who landed safely in a tree but were injured getting down.

Many injuries go unreported and, therefore, are not included in this sum-mary, though we found enough informa-tion about a few unreported accidents to include them as well. Over half (23) of the reported injuries were serious enough to merit at least one night in a hospital. But minor injuries almost certainly outnum-ber serious injuriesso again, our reports are incomplete.

The age of pilots in reported accidents spans most of the membership spectrum, but was a bit younger than the member-ship as a whole (see figure 2).

The ratings of accident pilots were more like 2006heavier for the top-rated pilots and beginners (see figure 3).

There are relatively few female pilots, so their share of accidents fluctuates widely. In 2006, female accidents were below the norm; this year female pilot injuries were disproportionately high, plus 5 of 7 in-jured tandem passengers were female (see figure 4).

Tandem accident reports were way up this year, though most of the injuries were minor. Apparently some of the tandem operators have decided it is OK to report incidents, maybe even a good idea. One point to stress here is that tandem students are 4 times more likely than the pilot to be injured. Tandem pilots: You may want to scale back your risk threshold by at least a factor of 4.

The wings flown by injured pilots in-clude most ratings, though we dont have good numbers about how many of which wings are in service (see figure 5).

Only one accident was attributed to landing, since most pilots made mistakes before the landing proper. None of the ac-cidents occurred at SIV clinics, and none were attributed to acro-maneuvers. There was one towing incident that was various-ly described as an out-of-trim glider with a non-assist bridle, or as possible excessive tow force (see figure 6).

Back injuries continue to be reported most often, and pelvic injuries jumped ahead of ankle. Face and neck were tied

Analysis | Preparedness | Incidents

SafetyBULLETIN by Mike Steed

figure 1

figure 2 figure 3


for fourth, so helmets do matter (see figure 7).That is the quick report. Hey, I was in a hurry! We on

the accident review committee thank you for reporting ac-cidents so all the readers can learn from your report!

figure 4figure 5

figure 6

figure 7


FLyING SOLO Ive been paragliding since 1992. One of the things that attracted me to the sport was its ease and convenience. When I was an airline pilot, I moved to Camarillo, California, and ended up living within a few minutes of three different hike-up sites. On a typical day I could get to the site, hike to the top, soar for an hour, and return home in less than two hours. As a husband and father whose work took me away from home, minimizing my personal time away was very important to me. If I had chosen to go hang gliding, it would have taken me the better part of two hours

just to get to a drive-up site. By the time I set up, flew, broke down, and got home, the majority of the day would have been shot. For someone continuously frustrated by the inability to go soaring frequently, the flexibility and accessibility that para-gliding afforded was almost intoxicating.

In fact, I found myself partaking in a risky pattern of behavior that I had never done in my 35 years of hang gliding going flying by myself. It was just too easy to look out the window, see that the con-ditions were good and run to the hills. It would have been next to impossible to find a flying buddy for such spur-of-the-mo-ment weekday flying. I knew this was risky behavior before I started doing it, because I had seen firsthand one of the possible out-comes.

When I first moved to Camarillo, I did not realize the rugged hills that formed the nearby Conejo Grade had a backside that faced the prevailing winds. I was picking my children up from school when I hap-pened to glance at the Grade and saw a couple of patches of green and yellow fabric laid out about 1000ft up the ridge. After completing my fatherly duties, I quickly drove to the site, anxious to meet some local pilots. The gliders appeared to be laid out in loose horseshoes, leading me to be-lieve pilots were probably waiting for con-ditions to improve. The lower slopes were steeper than the upper slopes, so it was impossible to see the gliders when located within a few hundred yards of the base of the hill. I waited for 30 minutes-or-so and eventually decided to leave a note under the windshield wiper of the solitary truck with a USHGA sticker in the rear window.

I drove away, but then paused to look back one last time. Although the condi-tions now seemed ideal, the gliders still had not moved. Since it had been nearly two hours since I had first seen them, I began to get an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. I turned my car around and as I approached the base of the hill, two immigrant farm workers quickly walked out of a field with concerned looks on their faces. They spoke little English, and I spoke little Spanish, but one of them pointed up at the mountain and with one hand scribed a corkscrew down into the other. When I pointed to my watch and asked how long ago it had occurred, he re-plied dos horas. I thanked them, drove to the base, and started hiking up, regretting that I was wearing shorts and sandals. As I climbed, I dialed 911 on my cell phone and told the operator there was a good chance that somebody was seriously injured atop the mountain. I was pleasantly surprised by the intelligent questions they asked, as well as how quickly they said they were dis-patching a response team.

Realizing that time was of the essence, I pushed myself as fast as I could. After fifteen minutes of fast scrambling, I finally crested the front face and discovered that what I had thought was two gliders was ac-tually a single canopy twisted in the middle, the two different colored halves appearing as separate gliders from a distance. As I approached, I had no idea what to expect, but I began calling out, Hold on. Help is on the way! Within a few seconds I heard the steadily increasing whump, whump, whump of an approaching helicopter. We arrived at essentially the same time, and the helo began flying low and slow circles around the fallen pilot, looking for a place to set down.

My military survival training, coupled with common sense, told me that it was very dangerous for the helo to be hovering so close to the canopy, for it would be pos-sible for the rotor-wash to lift up the glider and start moving the obviously seriously injured pilot. In the worst-case scenario, it might even suck the paraglider into the rotor blades, killing everyone involved. I quickly rolled up the quivering glider, un-hooked the pilots karabiners, and put some rocks on top of the canopy to help hold it down. The rescue pilot eventually decided there was no suitable landing place and

HangInTHEREWisdom | Lore | Flights

by Mark Forger Stucky

I began to get an uneasy feeling

in the pit of my stomach. I turned

my car around and as I approached

the base of the hill, two immigrant farm

workers quickly walked out of a field

with concerned looks on their faces.

flew upward, depositing the rescue team about 200 vertical feet up the mountain.

I took quick stock of the situation. The glider had obviously suffered a major asymmetric collapse or cravat. The pilot was in shock and muttering incoherent-ly. Both lower legs of his flight suit were saturated in blood. I hesitantly pulled up the suit to discover horrible and multiple compound fractures of both legs just above his high-top paragliding boots. His re-serve parachute lay nearby, trailing up the hill. It was out of the deployment bag and had just started to get line-stretch but was still folded tightly in fifths, lengthwiseobviously thrown at too low of an altitude to do any good. The fact that it remained folded lengthwise indicated it had probably not been repacked at the recommended in-terval. I used the tight bundle of nylon to wrap around his lower legs to apply pres-sure and slow the blood loss. Knowing that EMT personnel appear to be evaluated on how many straps they can cut in as short a time as possible, I carefully unfastened every harness buckle and opened the straps as much as possible so they might be con-vinced not to be so razor-happy.

The rescue team quickly arrived and loaded him in the litter, having only to cut a single paraglider line that I had failed to notice wound beneath him. They carefully rolled him onto the backboard, but I was chagrined to see them grab his legs by both ankles and pull them straight, without any regard to whether they would worsen the injury. The pilot, who by this time ap-peared to be unconscious, screamed out in agony.

I quickly bundled the reserve into the harness, stuffed the glider into the back-pack, and followed the team to the helo. Surprisingly, they accepted the bundles when I passed them to them. Not surpris-ingly, they yelled that they could not take me. I told them in no-uncertain- terms that I had hiked 1000 ft up the side of the mountain without proper footwear, had no water, and the sun was low on the horizon. I also had plenty of experience of being picked up by military helos and had once even rapelled from a helo at 2000 ft AGL. The pilot motioned for me to get on, and they dropped off the gear and me at the base of the hill. Although the injured pilot lived, the damage caused by the fractures ended up requiring a dual lower leg ampu-

tation. And, so ended another paragliding career.

I should point out that the pilot had a cell phone in an easily accessible side har-ness pocket that was turned-on and had good reception at the crash location. Yet, despite having only leg injuries, he went into shock before being able to use it. Prior to the rescue, I used it to search his con-tact list to inform a friend of his that the accident had occurred and to find out the identity of the pilot and information about next-of-kin.

Despite seeing this drama firsthand, after six months of frustration with my inability to get all-day kitchen passes, cou-pled with the allure of easy local airtime, I began to follow a similar fly-solo behav-ioral pattern. I tried to be smarter about it. Figuring the main threat was a botched launch from a rugged site, Id use my cell phone to call a friend just prior to launching and would tell them to return the call in 15 minutes. I wouldnt allow myself to scratch that long, so by the time the phone rang, I would either be soaring high enough that I could answer the phone call or Id have landed. They were instructed that if there was no answer, they should call again in five minutes (to give me time to land or call back), and if there was still no answer, they should start rescue procedures. That bit of forethought and pre-briefing did not ad-dress the issue of needing immediate first aid or CPR; it just meant that if something bad happened, I probably would not have to spend several lonely and painful hours alone on a hillside.

Although flying-solo is more prevalent among paraglider than hang glider pilots, there has been at least one U.S. hang glid-ing fatality that occurred when a pilot went out by himself and had a survivable crash landing, but died from exposure. If you choose to engage in such activity, you must accept that you are making a dangerous activity riskier. You might long to climb Everest, but do you really need to attempt it without ropes and oxygen? Even if you are an outstanding athlete and one of the best hang/para pilots in the world, in flying solo you run a very real risk of never being seen or heard from again. If you think that sounds too dramatic, lets look at a few ex-ample:

In 1997 Peter Reijlek, an experienced local pilot, disappeared with his para-


glider while flying a coastal convergence at Montana de Oro State Beach in San Luis Obispo, California. In 2002, British pilot and adventurer, Joel Kitchen, cycled to India with his girl friend and went para-gliding in a remote area of the Himalayas. He was last seen at 11,000 ft, just before being enveloped in a cloud as the weather

deteriorated unexpectedly. In 2003 Scotty Marion, a top-ranked world cup competi-tion pilot, took off on a cross-country flight in the Swiss Alps. Friends knew he wanted to set a triangle XC record but did not have any idea of his planned flight route. Despite exhausting and expensive ground and aerial searches, no trace was ever found of any of these pilots or their gear.

Over the years, Ive learned a few things firsthand regarding the disappearance of outdoorsmen. First, there tends to be overconfidence in the capabilities of pro-fessional search and rescue teams and peo-ple-finding technologies. Secondly, because of this overconfidence, search areas are often widened prematurely which dilutes the search density and takes the searchers away from the location of the victim. Lastly, when missing persons are not found, the conspiracy theorists (well intentioned or not) inevitably start spreading unsubstan-tiated and hurtful rumors. These rumors usually follow one of two general themes. Sometimes a rumor circulates stating that the missing person stumbled upon an il-

legal activity and was killed and disposed of, or the rumor implies the person wanted to disappear and start a new lifea debt-free life, perhaps with a new girlfriend, on a Caribbean island, or (fill in the blank)

In a couple of months, Ill look at this in detail with the story of the disappearance of Ron Rosepinka good friend, military test pilot, and paraglider pilot. Until then, fly safe and remember to use the buddy system.

Even if you are an outstanding athlete and one of the best hang/para pilots in the world, in flying solo you run a very

real risk of never being seen or heard

from again.

[below] Scotty Marion.

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2008

BOONE, NORTH CAROLINA I remember the day as if it were yesterday. Summer, 2005. A telephone call in the afternoon from Bubba Goodman up at Tater Hill. Guess what? he excitedly asked. I just bought launch on Tater.

Truly, this was incredible. Bubba has flown HG and PG at Tater for a very long time. A HG test pilot and member of the Order of the Raven at Grandfather Mountain (THE site for HG in the east-ern USA back then), when hang gliding was attracting national television coverage and hang gliding displays were a regular weekend fixture, Bubba has had a long and exciting history with foot-launched soaring flight in the mountains of western North Carolina. Tater Hill is his beloved home site.

Truly bi-wingual and an awesome PG pilot, Bubba has the valleys and peaks around Tater spooling like a Google Earth topo in his head. The terrain around Boone, Mountain City, and West Jefferson pro-vides a full range of flying conditions for us thermal-sniffing lift-heads. Long ridge runs, valley crossings, (long, wide, tree-filled valleys) out and returns, or long xcs

towards the east and the flats are typical flights youll experience here. Tater Hill has good, big thermals! This site that can provide it all has been the start point for some great flights. 2008 saw two record PG flights from here.

So, even more incredible was Bubbas next comment during that telephone call:

How about our putting on a comp/meet at Tater? A resounding: ABSOLUTLEY!! was my answer.

Its like a free-flight fairytale. Flying sites in our region are as scarce as hens teeth. The amount of work involved in finding and initiating a site, as well as co-coordinating and maintaining agreements and preserving the word of our free-flight community, can be exhausting. Quite a few sites have been lost or held back in one way or another, never reaching full poten-tial. So knowing that the launch at Tater was now a firm reality for the future was very welcome news.

Its been a privilege to fly at Tater Hillone of the best mountain sites in our areawith Bubba for the last eight years. Launch is at 5000 msl, with 2000 to the deck and great LZs all over the valley out

front. The views towards Grandfather and the Roan Mountains in Tennessee are sub-lime; the flying here is as good as it gets in our region. The climate during the summer months is generally less humid and cooler than the Piedmont plains, yet gusty fronts can still pass through and quick-forming, towering cumulus can signal some strong days. Bubbas longtime residence in the area has resulted in very good relations with local landowners and business owners. The Tater Hill Open is well-recognized lo-cally and totally supported by the local and regional population.

The first Tater Hill Open Meeta USHPA/FAI Cat2was held in May of 2006. It was a sanctioned competition with national level pilots, prize money (yes, thats right, PRIZE MONEY) and some big and visually stunning air. The meet has been continued since then, and it seems clear to all that the Tater Hill Open now occupies a firm yearly date on our flying calendar.

by PaulPEARCE

OPENTater Hill

[above] Race start at the 2009 Tater Hill Open. [opposite] Bubba Goodman off launch at Tater Hill for an afternoon flight

in late May. Photos by Beth Burgin.


Determining the type of competition to hold was easy. It was decided it should be an open-style XC format for both HG and PG. A key objective was to encour-age and support all levels of participat-ing pilots. This week-long meet seeks to embrace and contribute to the values and ethos that pilots want within our sportassembling a bunch of pilots at a great site to fly some tasks, hang out and experi-ence it, learn and enjoy the air with each otherall within a competitive friendly environment. Yes, thats BOTH HG and PG. Bubba is very committed to a truly OPEN competition where both disciplines can fly a course and participate. Guess what? It works! And its fun!

As HG pilot Jason Williams noted: I have seldom entered comps, but this year the Tater Hill event was open to hang gliders and paragliders. I felt that the prior generation of foot-launched aircraft needed to be represented. It was also a good deal with t-shirts, rides, retrievals, awards dinner and prizes!

Eighteen pilots attended the 2008 meet. As with previous meets, it was a week that went full circle. The range of flying con-ditions and general meteorological condi-tions that youll experience at Tater is truly an education. We had it all! It was a week of many firsts as well as some great records and personal bests. In contrast to previ-ous years, we had mainly westerly winds all week. Frontal activity and merging air masses affected us vividly; low cloud bases were common, and lift was everywhere if you wanted it.

TASk 1 : The forecast was for light west winds all day. It looked good, so we called our first task. The committee, a loose group who gave both PG and HG input, had a can-do attitude. Their objective was to get all of us in the air and out into the valley. The lift should be thereright? A lot of people waited for it to get better; then again, a lot of people sat around, and it turned southeast (over the back) ?!

Marcos Rosenjker made a smart move and valiant effort by launching early. He had the valley to himself, but the lift wasnt quite there. Luis Rosenjker and Chris Grantham launched to try to find lift, but alas, no cigar.

This task was a lesson in competition strategy. By simply giving-it-a-go, being positive about future conditions and get-ting into the air early, these three pilots showed that there were points to be had in this meet!

TASk 2 : The day began with a beauti-ful early morning soaring session. Bryan Miller and Tom Mistretta from Florida helped me shred the sky, and we played around the rockthe Tater on Tater Hill. Good start to the day. The day built nicely, and we had well-developed cus and lift all day. Neil Treadgold flew well on a PG: I decided while waiting for the gate to open that I wasnt going to fall into the trap of missing out, in case the winds turned again. Everyone else must have had the same thought because most were in the air within 15 minutes of the start time. I watched the ground disappear and looked for other wings. I was so excited that adrenaline was pumping so hard that my forearms went numb. I had never had that happen before, so I had to shake it out and concentrate on the task at hand.

I managed to get four turn-points that day before landing at LZ3. I remember thinking that trying to fly through the cylinders was actually hard. Later, at scor-ing, I found out I had set the decimal point wrong, so the 100m cylinder was actually 10m for me. I went back to my tent think-ing Id messed up the day and took it as a lesson learned. Much to my surprise, I was told the next morning that I was in first place. How did that happen? Well, the competition is intentionally set up to even out pilots, depending on rating and class of wing, similar to a sailing handicap


system. So a P2 pilot like me, on a DHV1 wing, had twice the time to complete the tasks as someone on a comp wing and a P4 rating.

Task 2 was also flown very well by HG Jason Williams, who comments: On the long task day, I was doing well early, get-ting two of the higher value, non-valley turn-point cylinders. My plan was to hang out until the day got higher. Then, I would get the nearest of the remaining dis-tant turn-points, return to the ridge, get high, go for the most distant, highest value turn- point at about 7.6 miles and mileage points beyond. However, I got antsy, tried for the nearest remaining turn-point early, missed my lift in a down cycle and landed in LZ1. At least the LZs offered bonus points! It was still a great day. On a free flying day, I probably would not have tried to get a turn-point four miles upwind, sur-rounded by hills and small steep fields with base 900 feet above launch.

Restitutional lift was reliable as a beau-tiful afternoon merged into a lazy evening; it was a Tater-fest. Chris Grantham flew

all the way to Snake Mountain and back, about 15km, that evening, and everyone had solid flights.

The week of weather we had was beau-tiful. We had an awesome pre-frontal day with flying all day long on day three; then a 40mph storm-fed gust front came through which provided both a lesson and entertainment in meteo-law on day four. We tried so hard to call a task early that day. The safety committee made a good call in the end! Such is life during a meet.

TASk 3 : This day turned out to be a fast cats-cradle in the valley, with clouds ev-erywhere and abundant lift. As usual, Luis Rosenkejer flew majestically around the valley all day and completed the course twice. Unfortunately, another quick moving upper-level low provided a tighter wind gradient, and we were blown-out all day on the last day. We had some in-goal firstsnotably Mark Lemon from Blacksburg, Virginia, who put it all to-gether and had a great day of flying. Good job, Mark! Congrats to Nathan Beane from North Carolina, as well.

After the competition ended, the next day dawned warm and cloudy with lighter winds, as barometric pressure built and seemed to want to turn the winds from a light NNW to a gentle WW/SWperfect for XC at Tater. Luis and Bubba broke the North Carolina PG open-distance state record that day with very skillful flying. Congratulations on two great flights. HG Jason Williams made a very good flight, landing at Kerr-Scott Dam in Wilkesboro,

North Carolina. Congrats, Jason!Thanks to USHPA Instructor, Chris

Grantham, we had a scorekeeper who was always up to the task and provided valuable input over the week. Bubba, the

Tater Dictator meet director, presided over a task committee that really opened up what was and is possible in a mixed HG/PG meet.

To encourage and solidify new pilot participation, the meet offered truly unique task and scoring to benefit every-one. The scoring system utilized FS and GPS Dump, using the GAP 2007 scoring formula.

The system is best summarized by Chris: Task 1 used only distance points but wasnt scored based on the distance pilots actually flew. Each waypoint was assigned a number of points based on difficulty. Pilots could choose their own adventure and hit any waypoints they wanted, in any order they wanted. Their total at the end of the flight became their mileage which was manually entered into the scoring program after visual con-firmation of the waypoints they reached. Task2 was an open distance task with a number of waypoints but was not timed. The score of each pilot was based solely on how far he/she flew around the course. The waypoints had to be flown in order. Task3 was a race to goal with one start-gate. Every pilots time started at 2:30p.m., and it was a race start. Pilots were scored on distance and time around the course. Chris futher explains: Each pilot received either a bonus percentage, or penalty per-

[right] Terry Presley and Bubba Goodman setting up gliders at Tater, view of Grandfather Mtn in background | photo by Beth Burgin.


centage, based on his/her glider class, pilot rating level, and where he landed. I used the Gradient Bright III as a baseline DHV 1 and looked at their published glide ratio and airspeed figures. I then took a variety of 1-2 and averaged their published per-formance figures. The resulting percent-age performance difference (speed AND glide) became the % penalty for anyone flying a 1-2. I did the same for 2s and 2-3s. The result was that 1-2 gliders had a 13.6% penalty, 2s had a 19.8% penalty, and 2-3s had a 27.9% penalty. Jason, who was on a Litespeed in a supine harness, took a 59.1% penalty! Initially, the glider performance penalties were going to be the only penalties imposed, but due to a pilots request at the first pilots meeting, a 20% BONUS was given to P2s and a 10% bonus was given to P3s. In addition, there was a 50% penalty for cloud flying and a 10% bonus for landing in 2 of the 3 designated landing zones, which kept people from pushing too hard and landing in backyards when it wasnt necessary. Neil Treadgold, a P2 pilot on a DHV1 won the meet. Cant be any fairer than that!

Neil comments: For a pilot looking for his or her first taste of competition, Tater is the place to be. The use of handi-caps keeps the competition open to all skill levels. The pilots continuously discuss flying tactics and what to look for while flying and, of course, the locals are awe-some, and the fellowship is like no other. So, come out to Tater and try your first competition.

The meet was a success, delivering a broad range of conditions and flying op-portunities for all participating pilots. Thanks to Bubba The Boss, we had the chance to visit Grandfather Mountain and explore the surrounding area as well.

HG pilot Jason Williams sums it all up nicely: My primary objective at the Tater Hill Open was to fly and have fun. A large component of having fun was being able to avoid finding an oversized shower curtain draped over my gliders nose, with a 200-pound weight dangling below. I am happy to say that I succeeded! I found the paraglider pilots to be interesting and funkind of like hang glider pilots! Flying with many paragliders required me to think a bit differently about my moves. We all did well together. I plan to come back next year and kick butt! Good

work, Jason! See you in August!The Tater Hill Open provides a focal

point for the local and HG/PG commu-nity as well as an opportunity for all pilots to participate and enjoy the flying here in North Carolinas Appalachian Mountains. It is a very positive event that continues to give the entrants the opportunity for ca-maraderie, development of pilot skills and some great local PR for our sport. It is made possible by a committed landowner and organizer, together with awesome sponsors. A big thank you to Lookout Mountain Flight Park, Kitty Hawk Kites and Red Bull drinks. In Boone the meet is supported by Mellow Mushroom Pizza and Mast General Store.

Many thanks also go to the Riplogle family, who are immediate landowner neighbors of Bubbas residing on Tater Hill. They have graced us every year by providing a superb mountainside setting for the end-of-meet BBQ and prize-giving awards. The Riplogles, who are great sup-porters of both HG and PG, continue to help preserve and maintain the mountain. The Isenhour family members are also fer-vent supporters of Tater Hill to whom we are grateful. Mike Isenhour was always available for weather and safety, and a huge shout of respect to Erick Isenhourthe driver. Beth Burgin also did all of us a great service by driving and coordinating, in general. Big hugs and thanks, Beth! As HG pilot Jason Williams noted: Many thanks go to Beth Burgin for her out-standing driving. Her phone had hidden itself, so she had to track us visually and by radio. We could not have done the open-distance task without her.

Massive appreciation goes to the local LZ landowners who gave us access to pre-mier LZs in the valley.

The 2009 Tater Hill Open will run from July 26 to August 1. Word on the street is that some local friends of Tater Hill are putting up some serious prize money! Come and join us. Heywhatever your preferred mode of flightyou will be as-sured a good time, friendly pilots, and the possibility of paying for your trip! Git er done!!

Go to: www.flytaterhill.com

for current informationon the 2009 meet.


How Do You Make Sixty Women Happy? Get them all together at a flight park, to fly and play togeth-

er. And were doing it again this year!In September of 2008, sixty female

pilots and student pilots came together at Lookout Mountain Flight Park for the first annual Womens Hang Gliding Festival. They traveled from as far away as California, New England, Montana, and Colorado. What was their motiva-tion? To not be the only women flying on a given day? To meet other pilots who theyve talked with online or other pilots who theyd otherwise never get a chance to meet? To fly a beautiful site in conditions suitable for novice to advanced pilot? For most, it was all of

these reasons and more.What was our motivation in planning

the festival? To create the environment and platform for all of these criteria to come together on one beautiful weekend in September.

The agenda for the weekend: fun flying tasks, clinics and seminars, train-ing hill classes, and nights of food, fun and music.

The goals for the festival were to get as many women in the air as possible, to create a comfortable environment for in-active pilots to get back into the sport, and to introduce the sport to our non-fly-ing friends and family. I daresay that we achieved all of those goals. With veter-ans like Claire Vassort, Linda Salamone,

by JenRICHARDS60Making Women Happy

Judy Hildebrand, and (the men) Mike Barber, Terry Presley, Dennis Pagen, and Steve Pearson coming together with pilots of varying skill levels, there was an environment of fun flying, learning and camaraderie.

Pilot Judy Phillips agrees, I enjoyed seeing such a huge turnout of female pilots from diverse locales, many of whom traveled great distances to be here. Im really hoping we can make this an annual event. Actuallly, I wish we could do it more often than that because the vibe was so positive. It was probably one of the best, if not the best, weekend Ive had in this sport so far.

Flying is not only about competing and having the longest, highest flight. For some pilots flying is about a vacation from the rest of their world: their work and family commitments. You can ac-complish this decompression with a sled run, a morning on the training hills, or a soaring flight. The amazing weather during the Festival brought early morn-ing and late afternoon glassy conditions for low time pilots, afternoon soaring, and training hill classes for new pilots and pilots returning to the sport.

The biggest benefit and success of the event was the number of student pilots and inactive pilots who came to get back into the sport. We had two sessions of training hill classes on all three days. This got rusty and new pilots skills re-freshed, helped build their confidence, and relit the fire of desire to fly. There was an overwhelming feeling of solidar-ity in the classes. Pilots felt great work-ing together, flying Falcons on the grassy, bunny hills. By the end of the weekend, there were several first mountain flights and even more strong first flights for pilots who hadnt flown in over a year.

We kicked off the weekend with a meet-and-greet/open-mike night emceed by professional comedian and tug pilot, Kid Dave Miller. After months of ex-changing emails with pilots from across the country, it was great to attach names to faces. And for some, to attach a sing-

ing voice to a name. Our open-mike night was incredible. We were treated to a diverse lineup of performersfrom festival organizers Stacy Murdoch and Liz Fortaniers rendition of Girl from Ipanema to Dennis Pagen with his

backup singers to local pilot Rachel Henderson singing opera to some men, who shall remain nameless (Rex you looked great), dressed as women doing

Raining Men. Special thanks to the open-mike house band: Don Murdoch,

[opposite top] Group of female pilots on Lookouts mountain launch | photo by Matt Taber. [opposite below] Cathi Hayes getting ready to launch | photo by Jen Richards. [this page, top to bottom]

Carmela Moreno launchCarmela won Saturdays flight of the day. Roberta Gillespie Merchant leaving the mountain. Catherine Gagnon, Catherine tied for longest flight. Photos by Jen Richards.


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Wow, hang gliding is not dead! There

actually are women who fly! And Lookout

Mountain is a great place to gather,

fly, and have great parties.

Joel Harrison, and Gordon Cayce.Friday flying conditions started out

overcast with a cross on launch. However, the excitement of the weekend brought optimism to the crowd, and pilots were setting up and waiting for conditions to improve. During the morning, the winds started straightening out and some pilots were able to launch into smooth, stable conditions. One such pilot was Katrin. While Katrin, a Hang 3, is not a new pilot, she had traveled down from

Rochester with Linda Salamone with the intent of rebuilding her confidence in foot-launching.

Later that day, another pilot who had traveled to Lookout for the weekend took advantage of Wills Wing Demo Days and test flew the Sport 2. Anticipating a sled run, she got ready to fly, but the winds started to pick up and the ridge turned-on. Forty-five minutes later, she

had a perfect landing close to the spot.Saturdays flying conditions are best

described in the words of Carmela Moreno. Carmela Moreno, from California, traveled the farthest to be with us and received an award for the best flight of Saturday.

Carmellas flight report in her own words:

I arrived at launch at 11am to play the game. I needed to show that, yes, I can fly and then go back up when the con-ditions improve to fly a double surface. The best-laid plans never work. I had to wait for a glider, and the cloud cover was not breaking up, but my patience was re-warded beyond my hopes.

Once I got my glider set up (Falcon 2 195) the sun was trying to poke through. I launched and immediately found a thermal. My plan to fly out went up in the air (pun intended).

As I hit a pocket of lift, I started to turn and turn and I turned some more. I was thinking, Im not supposed to be doing this. I looked down on launch and there were tons of pilots on launch looking up. I was thinking there is nobody else here; they are cheering for me WOW! So, I let out a big howler back. That just made my day. I topped out at about 800 feet over launch. Then, I was in slow sink so I headed back to-wards the LZ.

I started to play around doing little wangs. As I worked my way down, I saw some birds climbing. Back to search mode. I climbed up from 400 feet over the LZ, almost back to launch level. I


could not have had a better time! After all the flying on Saturday, ev-

eryone headed to the LZ clubhouse for a party of catered dinner and drink. A local band had everyone on the dance floor. The bonfire was blazing, and pilots from all over the country were having a great time.

Sunday brought more beautiful con-ditions for novice and advanced pilots. In the morning, there were first moun-tain flights for Beth Carson and John Hess. Roberta Merchant, who had been brushing up in training hill classes all weekend, had her first flight in over a year. As did Sandy Hurst. Sandy went on to win the award for the most solo flights in a weekend. Gina Martyn, who traveled from Colorado to knock the dust off, was flying off the mountain, too.

Linda Salamones best flight came on Sunday afternoon. Linda towed up and pinned off early to get to some birds cir-cling up beneath a fat cloud. She was afraid shed made a mistake by getting off early because the climb was so slow, but eventually her climb rate increased, and she topped out at around 4000 feet and played around, flying all over the valley with Tip Rogers.

Wow, hang gliding is not DEAD! There actually ARE women who fly! And Lookout Mountain is a GREAT place to gather, fly, and have great par-ties, said Linda.

A report on the 2008 and upcoming 2009 Womens Hang Gliding Festival would not be complete without thank-ing all of the wonderful people who helped make the weekend a great success. Thank you to Lookouts amazing tow program and tow boys who were busy towing pilots up, taking students on in-structional flights, and showing the gen-eral public what its like to fly like a bird. Thank you to some of the legends in hang gliding who taught launching and landing clinics, aerotow clinics, as well as parachute clinics, and led round table

Q&A sessions and seminars: Terry Presley, Mike Barber, Steve Pearson, Claire Vassort, Linda Salamone, Matt Taber, Gordon Cayce, and Lauren Wall. Thank you to event organiz-ers Stacy Murdoch and Liz Fortanier. Your planning skills and attention to detail ROCKS! And a big thank you to Matt and Robin Taber for creating such a wonderful playground.

In flying communities across the country, the women are outnumbered by men. You know it, we know it, and weve all spoken about it time and again. Events like the Womens Hang Gliding Festival not only bring women pilots to-gether, they bring all pilots together. A festival celebrating women in hang glid-ing brought men and women together in flight. Ian, a regular pilot at Lookout said, It was perfectly flyable the entire time and we had some nice soaring. I saw lots of first mountain flights, some big smiles after glider demos, and more spectators than ever. WOOT

We had so much fun, and you had so much fun. Were doing it again. Same time, this year: September 24-27. The Festival is a great lead in to Tennessee Tree Toppers Team Challenge. Come fly with some of the best pilots in the country in Lookout Valley and beautiful Sequatchie Valley.

Visit www.hanglide.com to reg-ister for the 2009 Womens Hang Gliding Festival. There will be fun flying competitions, clinics, reduced-price training for our non-flying friends and family, prizes, and festivities. Space in training classes, tandems, and clinics will be limited, so please reserve your spot soon. Call 706-398-3541 or email [email protected] with ques-tions.

While the Festival is geared towards women who fly and women who are interested in flying, we welcome and en-courage all pilots (regardless of gender) to join us for flying, fun and camaraderie. The 2009 Womens Hang Gliding Festival is for everyone. We look forward to flying with you.

[opposite] Gliders in the LZ | photo by Jen Richards. [this page, top to bottom] Mike Barber, Ricker Goldborough, Colin Hodsdon,

Zach Castille on launch | photo by Jen Richards. Steve Pearson and Matt Taber celebrating a great day | photo by Ray Helman. Angela

Galbreath on launch. Claire Vassort and Christina Holmes on launch. The flying Gorries, Linda Presley, Lori Pignatelli, Carmela Moreno

monitoring launch. Photos by Jen Richards.


Paragliding2008

State Distance Records


by SteveROTI

How good was the 2008 flying season in the USA? Well, if the number of new paragliding state distance records is any indication, it was pretty darn good.


IDahO

Honza Rejmanek had the longest new record, flying 139.6 miles from Bald Mountain in Sun Valley to Spencer in eastern Idaho, breaking Nate Scaless old record of 126 miles. According to the Idaho Mountain Express article about the flight, Rejmnek lifted off from Baldys 9,150-foot summit at 12:02 pm on August 4. Crosswinds from the southwest made it difficult to climb out of Baldy, he said, so he flew to the hills behind Warm Springs, got a good lift and followed a ridge above Corral Creek east of Sun Valley. He said,

I got a good thermal and a good tailwind just south of the Pioneers. The tailwind was about 20 miles per hour, bringing ground speeds to over 60 miles per hour. At those levels I reached my high-est point, 17,000 feet, between the Copper Basin

[above] Honza 15k over Idaho. [opposite top] Honza gets low

near I-15 outside of Dubois, Wyoming [opposite below]

Honza knows a good thing when he breaks it.

2008 saw five new, unofficial, state records

set in Idaho, Kansas, North Carolina, Nevada

and Oregon.


and Mackay. By 2:30 p.m., he had arrived at the Lost River Range east of Mackay in the Borah Peak area. He said, I knew I was making good time. I crossed the range south of Mackay and then crossed the Lemhi and Beaverhead mountain ranges. I got fairly low just south of the Continental Divide, before I-15 and not quite to Dubois. There I worked a light thermal and climbed to 13,000 feet. I crossed I-15 and got low again, at about the 126-mile mark. 30 minutes in a weak thermal got me from 7,000 to 10,000 feet. I ended up on a dirt road about 15 miles east of Spencer.

KaNsas

Darius Lukosevicius flight on September 1 start-ed with a tow near Ottawa and took him north past Topeka into the southeast corner of Nebraska.


This is one of only a handful of records that involve interstate flight. Darius was in the air for 4 hours and 51 minutes and had a maximum altitude gain of 4918 feet, which took him to a maximum height of 5932 feet (ground elevation is around 1000 feet in that part of the country).

NORTh CaROlINa

On August 3 the state record was broken twice from Tater Hillfirst by Bubba Goodman, re-ported as 40something km, and a little later by Luis Rosenkjer at 47.7 miles. Luis was in the air for 4 hours and 15 minutes on his Gradient Avax XC2, following highway 421 east to land just short of Interstate 77. His maximum altitude was 8845 feet, and his maximum altitude gain was 3956 feet.

NEvaDa

Ron Peck set the first new state record last year on June 19, launching from Goodsprings and landing 72 miles away at Laughlin. He was in the air for 6 hours and 15 minutes on his Gin Rebel, climbing above 15,000 feet during the flight. Word has it that Donovan Lewis flew with Ron for the first 45 miles of the route.

OREGON

Brian Webbs 136-miler on July 15 was the second longest new record in 2008, set at Pine Mountain, which was also the site of Jeff Hueys previous 111-mile state record. According to Brians blog, the forecast was for cloud base at 15,000 feet, good lapse rate, and wind from the NW, while the actual conditions turned out to be 15,000 feet,

[opposite and above] Darius' magic carpet ride over the flatlands of Kansas. [below] Darius captures the moment.[next page] More snaps from Honza's record flight.


blue sky followed by high cumulus, and a 35kmh W/NW tailwind on the route east from Pine Mountain. He launched at 12:30, took a climb to 3000m, then connected with a line of cumulus convergence running NW/SE that had formed a little past Brothers. Brian writes, Cherie Silvera took a better line in the convergence and moved ahead with good height. I had to regroup, but eventually topped out at 4,500m under some solid cumulus that had built downwind of the conver-gence. Ground speed was now moving up to 40 knots, climbs were running between two and six m/s. He eventually flew past Burns and Crane into the desert where the land was uninhabited and without roads as far as the eye could see. He landed at 136 miles with two hours of usable day to go.

Also, two older record flights are worth men-tioning that havent been published here before. In

Massachusetts, David Morris set the state distance record of 33 miles on June 30, 2004, flying from Mt.Tom to Spencer, MA. He was flying a Gin Nomad and was in the air for one-hour-and-forty-five minutes. And in Pennsylvania, Jim Maze flew 89.7 miles from Little Gap on August 8, 2002. He spent four-hours-and-ten minutes in the air on his Ozone Octane.

If your flight should be listed here and its not, its only because I wasnt aware of it. Send me information about flights that should be on the

list, and Ill periodically update it. You can e-mail cross-country flight reports to me at [email protected] or send them by U.S. mail to 1081 NW Stannium Rd, Bend, OR 97701, or phone them in to 541-385-7184. Be sure to include your name, miles flown, duration, takeoff site, flight date, and make/model of glider.


2008 PARAGLIDING | NEW STATE RECORDS

Idaho HonzaRejmanek 139.6/224.9 7hr43 BaldMtn,ID 8/04/08 AxisMercury

Kansas DariusLukosevicius* 124.2/199.8 4hr52 Ottawa,KS 9/01/08 AxisVega2

N.Carolina LuisRosenkjer 47.7/76.8 4hr15 TaterHill,NC 8/03/08 GradientAvaxXC2

Nevada RonPeck 72.0/115.9 6hr15 Goodsprings,NV 6/19/08 GinRebel

Oregon BrianWebb 136.0/218.8 6hr03 PineMtn,OR 7/15/08 GradientAvaxSR7


by Dennis Pagen

Note: I wish to thank Cliff Rice for taking the sequential photos that accompany this article and Keith Atkins for taking the videos and supplying them to me on disc. May your launches always be impeccable.

Several months ago we ran an article on safe hang gliding launch tech-nique. Did it affect anything? Who

knows? But at the recent Tennessee Tree Toppers Team Challenge at Hensens Gap, near Chattanooga, we conducted a launch seminar that had everyone expressing interest and finding some surprises. We filmed each pilots launch and did some in-depth viewing and reviewing. It was clear that a wide variety of techniques exist and that most pilots had no idea of their exact procedures through the entire launch pro-cess. A number of pilots reported that after changing their technique during the com-petition week, they felt an improvement in both security and control. After the meet I looked at the photo sequences and the videos in much more detail and noticed several important factors I would like to pass along.

To begin, lets define the parameters

of a perfect launch technique. We all can probably agree that a launch method that holds the glider securely and maintains control throughout the launch process and holds the proper attitude and transitions to prone flying, without a major change of attitude, would qualify. Perhaps the most important safety factor is reaching good flying airspeed and preventing the nose from rising or popping during the full launch event. With this ideal in mind, we will look at a number of launches.

THE LAUNCHESThe first thing that struck me when I looked at the 87 videos and nearly 500 photos was the great variety in technique. Here is a list of the main ones: 1. Modified beer bottle or pistol grip. 2. Grapevine grip changing to pistol grip early-on in the run. 3. Grapevine grip changing to pistol at the end of the run. 4. Grapevine grip held all the way (note, if the reader does not know these different grips, see page 58 of our Hang Gliding Training Manual). There are other techniques, such as the inside grip, but I didnt see any of these in the videos.

Now lets rate the four methods in view of our ideal technique.

1. The pistol grip is somewhat common because that is the way most pilots learn to launch at the training hill. The modi-fied method has the pilot sliding the hands down along the uprights so the arms are fairly straight and the hands are below the waist (the beginner pistol grip has the arms bent almost 90 degrees and the hands above the waistlike holding a pistol). This grip requires no transition during the run and only a drop to the base tube once the pilot is airborne. The problem with this grip is it doesnt afford as much roll control while standing and during the launch run. Those who use this grip may argue other-wise, but as someone in the launch seminar pointed out, how does everyone carry his/her glider off the field in a windy, gusty sit-uation? With the grapevine grip, of course.

Photo 1 shows a launch with this grip. This result is highly undesirable. Part of the problem is that the uprights are far down on the pilots upper arm, resulting in less control and an inability to push the glider with the shoulders. The push comes from lower on the uprightsthus, the greater tendency to rotate the nose upward. I see this in most launches that start with the pistol grip. Note: the colors of gliders have been changed in the photos, except for the

SafeHang Gliding

Launches(Redux)

Photo 1 Sequence 2


pilots whom I identify. If you think you recognize a pilot using a faulty technique, you are mistaken.

I have seen some intermediate pilots use the true pistol grip, but by the time they graduate to heavier gliders they prob-ably have to modify the grip so that the glider rests properly on their upper arm. No doubt some pilots using this grip learn it by themselves. This situation points out the lack of training we have available to pilots moving away from the training hill and into higher performance equipment.

2. Grapevine start, early switch to pistol. Of all the launch methods, this one is perhaps the most dangerous, yet it seems to be the most common. In this process, the pilot starts out holding the uprights in the grapevine, and then flips the hands to the pistol grip somewhere during the run. The danger is that a gust may hit during the run, but, even more important, more-often-than-not a nose-up input occurs when the pilot switches the hand posi-tion. This action is grave and worth taking time to analyze. The photo sequence 2 and photo sequence 3 illustrate this clearly. In the second sequence, the gliders attitude is increased by about 15 degrees. You can see this by comparing the keel positions. In many instances, the pilot switches his hands before the harness straps are tight, so the only points of contact with the glider are the hands and lower forearms.

The problem with such an increase in attitude is that it kisses a stall. In gusty

conditions a near-stall can be turned into a stall by a variation in the air. A stall can result in a turn back into the hill and di-saster. As Mike Barber pointed out in the seminar, its not a matter of if, but when. Meaning: if you are performing launches like those illustrated, you will eventually have an accident. If that doesnt make the gentle reader sit up and take note, perhaps he/she better change his/her prescription.

Heres another sobering fact: by view-ing all the videos in this and previous sem-inars I have conducted, I would estimate at least 80% of all pilots use this faulty launch technique. Many of those who do this early hand-flip do not pop the nose as dramatically as the videos show (thanks goddess), so they get away with it for years. But it is a bogie waiting to pounce.

3. Grapevine start, late flip to pistol. This technique I (and the perpetrators) can live with. With this method, the pilot starts in the grapevine, continues it through the run, then flips the hand to the pistol grip only when he or she is nearly picked off the ground and going prone. The pilot switches the hand position, because it may feel more natural or he wants to prone out before dropping hands to the base tube. Photo sequence 3

In any case, the later the switch, the better. In some of the photos it is clear that the pilot begins switching the hand posi-tion as soon as the harness main straps tighten. The problem here is that the straps are well behind the gliders center of grav-

ity, so the net effect of hands pushing and straps pulling is a nose-up action. Photo 5 clearly shows this effect.

The only problem with the late switch is that switching may be taking place when a gust hits. Think of driving a truck over a rutted road and opening your grip on the wheel, just as you hit a Texas pothole. To be sure, most of the folks flipping hands in this manner do so in a way that their palm pads and forearms remain in contact with the uprights during the process. But less than 100% grip is less than 100%.

4. The full grapevine. With this method the pilot keeps his hands in the grapevine grip all the way until its time to drop the hands to the base tube. This is the recom-mended method in most situations, for it is the method that most nearly meets our ideal. It affords maximum control through-out the entire launch process. Photo 6 and photo 7 show pilots in the air with their hands still in the grapevine position, ready to drop to the base bar. The position may look awkward, but it isnt. In fact, the pilots arms look rather like the wings of an eagle, or at least a hawk.

Some examples of pilots at the Team Challenge who use this technique are Mike Barber, Terry Presley, Lucas Ridley (flex wings), Ollie Gregory, Mark Stump and Kathy Lee (rigid wings). Photo sequence 8 (following page) shows Terrys launch in absolutely still winds. Notice that he uses a modified grapevine grip with the index finger along the upright, which later moves

Photo 5

Sequence 3

Photo 6 Photo 7


to the front of the upright. This is a nice trick.

OBSERVATIONSIn a video of Mike that I reviewed, I found something he did with his hands par-ticularly interesting: he slides them down the uprights once the glider is lifting and his straps are tight (giving another point of control). Interestingly enough, Mike didnt know he was doing this. But it makes sense, because this allows the hands to stay in the grapevine grip without too much turning of the wrists. The way to do this is to let one hand slip at a time so control is maximized. This technique is especially useful if you use a back plate harness, for the slider on these harnesses let the main straps move up considerably,

and the glider rises correspondingly higher before the straps tighten. In fact, pilots without back-plate harnesses will find that the main straps get tighter sooner in the run, and they can simply let the glider rise while maintaining the same grip position. By looking at Terrys photo sequence, you can see that his hand has also moved down the upright. It started about 1/3 of the way up and ended up about 1/4 of the way up. Another pilot demonstrates this method even more dramatically. In photo sequence 9 his hands move down from about 1/3 of the way up the upright to about 1/5 of the way up.

Rigid wings tend to be a special case. We had many in this meet, so I got a chance to analyze lots of stiff launches. In most cases the pilots started with their hands

higher on the uprights, compared to the flex-wing starting positions, so that the up-rights were almost on top of the shoulders. This position makes it easier to heft the gliders greater weight. The compromise would mean less control if weight shift was the means, but pitch is easy with a rigid, and the aerodynamic controls take care of roll. So, with the hands in a relatively high starting position, you would think the pilot would flip them during the run, but they often dont, because they have an excess of control. Also, having their hands almost awkwardly high is no problem once the glider lifts.

I looked at the photos and videos that captured two of my launches. I was sur-prised to see that I used a varied technique. When the wind was zero, and I was in a

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Sequence 8


dive for airspeed, I switched my left hand to push out just before dropping it to the base tube. When the wind was blowing about 5 to 8, I maintained the grapevine until it was time to drop hands.Then I dropped my right hand first. In examin-ing my launches, I realize that I vary them according to the conditions. On steep launches I keep the nose lower; on still launches I run much further and lean into the glider more. In gusty conditions I have a firm grapevine grip all the way through to the bitter end.

A final matter I could determine from the photo and video sequences is that it takes up to ten steps to fully fill the sails on a flex wing glider in still airdepending on the nose attitude, the length of stride and acceleration. Think of how important

it is to be controlling the glider throughout this entire process. The ramp at Hensens Gap is forgiving to a fault. You can hop off there with one leg and have a good launch. There is plenty of dive-out clearance for the weak runners or nose-poppers. But all our launch sites arent so kind. At the other end of the spectrum, a windy, gusty launch (read thermals) can discombobu-late our wings and greatly hin

Hang Gliding & Paragliding Vol39/Iss06 Jun 2009

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Transcript of Hang Gliding & Paragliding Vol39/Iss06 Jun 2009