Oz Report

Lots of hang gliding videos

video

Here.

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Oz Report weather pages updated

weather

The Oz Report US weather pages (shouldn't I do something for Australia?) have been updated to point to new BLIPSPOTS in the Northwest (http://ozreport.com/nwweather.php) and California (http://ozreport.com/canvweather.php). Also as the Santa Barbra area in California (http://topaflyers.com/RASP/SANTABARB/) has a Regional Atmospheric Soaring Prediction (RASP), I've added that to the California weather page, as well as RASPs for Los Angles/Elsinore, the San Francisco Bay Area (and east and south), and the Sierras, around Reno.

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Wow!

(Mall of Georgia)

Jay Scovill|PG|scooter tow|USHGA

http://wowclub.aero/

Jay Scovill «jay-scovill» writes:

I am forming a USHGA club for the purposes of recreational flying in the metro Atlanta area.  Charter membership in the club means no cost to join and an opportunity for you as a pilot to get some air time, practice static tow launching /landing and, in general have a great time flying instead of driving two hours plus to hang wait on the mountain (Lookout, Hensons, you name it). I currently have very graciously been given the use of the Atlanta Paragliding (http://www.atlantaparagliding.com/) field in North East Georgia; however I am in negotiations with a field owner fifteen minutes from the Mall of Georgia that is just plain awesome!

I'm writing you and any pilots/potential pilots you may know who would like to support/join/get involved with this very worthwhile adventure.  I have a strong scooter tow system with a return line for quick launching multiple pilots and the capability to pull an experienced scooter towing pilot to 1000' AGL.

I am not looking to rake in big bucks on this deal.  Initially I am trying to get some pilots involved, get them their scooter tow rating if the don't have one (I am a USHGA basic instructor and can give H1 and H2 instruction including a scooter tow rating) and just have some fun without the long drive.  Think of the sled run days you've spent at Lookout.  Drive two plus hours: Set up, fly six minutes, land, break down, get a ride to the top, set up (repeat). Compare that scenario to a forty five minute drive from down town Atlanta and a tow system that allows you to set up once and fly ten to twenty flights in a day, wind direction not a factor, fly a circuit where you land where you started and go again!

I am looking for some pilots who want to get better, want to get involved with a program of instruction I have been working on since 1998 and actually like the idea of starting on the ground floor of a new hang gliding business.  I have several gliders/harnesses/equipment for use: two falcons and a condor for the newbies.  I'm interested in training new pilots from total rookies to H2's who just want to get in the air.  I'd love to have some experienced pilots to give a hand, their advice, their friendship and to fly from the scooter too.  For those of you mountain pilots who have not scooter towed before, it is much easier and no where near as squirrelly as aerotow.  So what's next?

I have created a name from the origins of my working on this system called The WOW!  Adventure Club.  A logo is done, the website: http://WOWclub.aero is up and you can sign up for the club and club news emails there or just write back to this email and let me know who you are!

More to follow.

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North Denmark

(Guldbæk, Denmark)

PG|Scott Torkelsen|weather

www.pgnord.dk

Scott Torkelsen «info» writes:

We are still coastal flying a lot here in Denmark, but if the weather is not for winch towing, due to too much wind, but we have miles and miles of coastline which is flyable and probably some of the most beautiful sunsets in Scandinavia.  We have a very active club of almost 100 members which a handful of individuals such as Mads Syndergaard, winner of the 2007 British Paragliding Open, and Louise Crandal, three times Women's Paragliding World Champion and I, plus a few others founded some eighteen years or so ago.  Anyway that was just a plug for my club at home here in Northern Denmark.

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Furnace Creek 508

(Furnace Creek, CA)

Eric Troili

http://www.the508.com/

The Furnace Creek 508 Bicycle Race on October 6-8, 2007. Founded by John Marino in 1983 and known as "The Toughest 48 hours in Sport," it is the world's premier ultra-marathon bicycle race.  This 508-mile bicycle race is revered the world over for its epic mountain climbs, stark desert scenery, desolate roads, and its reputation as one of the toughest but most gratifying endurance challenges available, bar none.  The course has a total elevation gain of over 35,000', crosses ten mountain passes, and stretches from Santa Clarita (just north of Los Angeles), across the Mojave Desert, through Death Valley, to Twenty Nine Palms.  Solo, two-person relay, and four-person relay divisions are offered with a field limit of 200 racers.

And one hang glider pilot, Eric Troili.  Eric is raising funds for charity here: http://raceforareason.kintera.org/thrasher

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What do you value in your surroundings?

(Jackson Hole, Wyoming)

Christopher Moody|insurance

http://www.jacksonholenews.com/article.php?ctg=9&csfd=1

$6.7 Billion.

“What is the value of the qualities – environmental and otherwise – that Jackson Hole comprises?” Today I’ll try to answer that question.

Three caveats.  First, I recognize that, for many people, putting a monetary value on Jackson Hole’s environment is blasphemy.  For those who believe the environment is ineffable, assigning a dollar value to it is like assigning a dollar value to religion or love or family – some things transcend mere mammon.

Second, for reasons ranging from methodology to assumptions, no valuation of Jackson Hole’s environment can be precise.  Instead, I have two hopes for this exercise.  One is to put an order of magnitude on the value of all that Teton County comprises; the other is to do so in a way that allows us to compare our situation with other communities’. I do this because if we can kinda-sorta begin to make an apples-to-apples comparison between Teton County and other places, maybe we can kinda-sorta begin to develop a new and deeper appreciation for just how fortunate we are to call Jackson Hole home.

Third, because I want my methodology to be simple to grasp, easy to use and broadly applicable, I’ve based it on the amount of investment income earned by residents of a given county.  The strength of this approach is that it can be used in every county in America.  Among its weaknesses is that, rather than valuing the environment per se, it values the entire bundle of assets that a given locale comprises.  In the case of Teton County, my sense is that much of what residents value is a function of our environment.  However, with this methodology, there’s no way to test that assumption.

This article is missing the charts that are found in the original paper version.

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