Oz Report

April 2, 2018, 8:38:09 EDT

Oz Report supporters for 2018

Tell me if I missed you.

Alan Deikman|Allan Phillips|April Mackin|Ben Dunn|Bruce Kavanagh|Bubba Goodman|Chris Boyce|Cragin Shelton|Daniel Gravage|Dara Hogan|Dave Embertson|David Glover|David Williamson|Doug Keller|Dudley Mead|Eric Beckman|Gakuta Toba|Gary Solomon|Geoffrey Rutledge|Glen Volk|Gregg "Kim" Ludwig|Harald Steen|James Bradley|James Lamb|Jason Williams|John Armstrong|John Hesch|John Kennedy|John Simon|Jonathan Dietch|Justinas Pleikys|Ken Howells|Ken Kinzie|Krzysztof "Krys/Kris" Grzyb|Mark Stump|Martin Henry|Martin Jaeger|Maurice Wilson|Mike Barber|Miles Fagerlie|Mitchell "Mitch" Shipley|Niki Longshore|Oz Report|Patrick Schwitter|Paul Voight|Peter Bolton|Quest Air|Raef Mackay|Richard Williams|Riker Davis|Roger Irby|Scott Barrett|Scott Seebass|Scott Smith|Scott Weiner|Stewart Midwinter|supporters|Tom McGowan|Vince Furrer|Vincene Muller|Vrezh Tumanyan|Wayne Ripley|William "Billo" Olive|Wilotree Park|Winfried Oswald

Thanks to all who have helped us out. We could not afford to pay http://pair.com to host the Oz Report without your support. 

Adriel Kind	Gregg Ludwig	Miles Fagerlie
Alan Crouse	Gregory Angsten	Mitchell Shipley
Alan Deikman	Gregory Pierson	Nicholas Palmer
Alexandra Childs	Hadewych van Kempen	Nicole Longshore
Alf Oppoyen	Harald Steen	Patrick Halfhill
Allan Phillips	Heinz Tagmann	Patrick Kruise
Allen Ahl	Hubert Jason Williams	Patrick Pannese
Angelos Mantas	J. Russell Locke	Patrick Schwitter
Angry Penguin Inc.	James (Dennis) Yeomans	Paul Kelley
anonymous	James Aden	Paul Voight
Anthony Armstrong	James Bradley	Perry Jones
April Mackin	James Gibson	Peter Adams
Belcourt Industries	James Lamb	Peter Bolton
Ben Dunn	Jan Snydr-Michal	Peter Cairns
Bernard Garvey	Jason Smith	Peter Kelley
Bill Finn	Jeffrey Curtis	Peter Swanson
Bill Snyder	Jim Kolynich	Philip Morgan
Billo	Jim Prahl	Quest Air
Bruce Kavanagh	Jim Ramsden	Rachel Allen
Bubba Goodman	John "Kip" Stone	Raef Mackay
Carlos Alonso de Florida	John Armstrong	Richard Caylor
Carlos Schmitz	John Blank	Richard Eunice
Carol Sturtevant	John Devorak	Richard Larson
Catherine Hunter	John Dullahan	Richard Milla
Chris Boyce	John Haig Thompson	Richard Williams
Christian Schelb	John Hesch	Riker Davis
Christian Williams	John Kennedy	Robert Bay
Chuck and Gayle Warren	John Middleton	Robert Bradley
Claude Carlier	John Simon	Robert Caldwell
Cliff Rice	Jon Lindburg	Robert Dallas
Clive Beddall	Jon Thompson	Robert Goodman
Cragin Shelton	Jonathan Dietch	Roger Irby
Craig Carlson	Jorge Cano	Ronald P. Gleason
Craig DeMott	Jostein Vorkinn	Scott Barrett
Daniel Gravage	Justin Elliott	Scott Seebass
Daniel Lukaszewicz	Justinas Pleikys	Scott Smith
Danny Utinske	Keith Barghahn	Scott Weiner
Dara Hogan	Ken Cobb	Scott Westfall
Darrell Hambley	Ken Durstine	Scott Whittet
Dave Embertson	Ken Howells	secret admirer at Seminole
David Davenport	Ken Kinzie	Sky Sports Flying School Pty. Ltd.
David Fynn	Kenneth Durrance	Stefan Kern
David Glover	Keven Morlang	Stephan Mentler
David Goto	Kinsley Sykes	Stephen Parson
David Lopez	Knut Ryerson	Steven Blackler
David Stookey	Koos de Keijzer	Steven Boost
David Williamson	Krzysztof Grzyb	Stewart Midwinter
Dean Engler	LakeShore Hang Gliding	SvS Design
Doug Keller	Larry Huffman	Sydney Hang Gliding Centre
Douglas Brown	Larry Omara	The Passing Zone, Inc.
Dudley Mead	Larry Robinson	Thomas C. Ide
Edward Andrews	Lee Silver	Thomas Curbishley
Edward Saunier	Luff Line Ltd.	Thomas Eckstein
Elizabeth Rothman	Luther Thompson	Timothy Delaney
Emiel Jansen	M. C. Campanella	Toba Gakuta
Eric Beckman	Marc Deschenes	Tom McGowan
Fernando Milani	Marcelo Silva	Vince Furrer
Flytec USA	Marco Gerber	Vincene Muller
Frank Havermeyer	Mario Manzo	Vincent Collins
Fred Kramer	Mark Stump	Vrezh Tumanyan
Frode Halse	Martin Henry	Vuelo Libre
Gary McIntrie	Martin Jaeger	Walter Nielsen
Gary Solomon	Matt Taber	Wayne DeVilbiss
Geoffrey Robertson	Matt Thoreson	Wayne Ripley
Geoffrey Rutledge	Maurice Wilson	William A. Baker
Giorgos Karachalios	Max Tunbridge	Wills Wing
Glen Salmon	Michael Bomstad	Wilotree Park
Glen Volk	Michael Duffy	Winfried Oswald
Glenn Curran	Michael Fitzgerald	Wings to Fly ltd.
Glenn Nutt	Mick Howard
Greg Fergus	Mike Barber

March 30, 2018, 7:57:28 EDT

The Oz Report March Fund Raiser

Hopefully you didn't miss your chance to support the Oz Report in March.

Bob "Skydog" Grant|Cragin Shelton|Davis Straub|Doug Keller|Eric Beckman|Glen Volk|Oz Report

This is the month where I ask Oz Report readers for their support.  Your contribution pays for hosting our web site and for Gerry's technical support to keep it running.

Thanks for all the support that you have sent in. I wanted to especially thank those who have been extra generous, including: Eric Beckman, Peter Swanson, Doug Keller, Cragin Shelton, GLen Volk, and Sky Sports Flying School Pty Ltd.

You know, all we are asking for is a subscription payment of $20/year, that is equal to 8 cents a copy of the Oz Report. Now surely while not every copy of the Oz Report is worth 8 cents, many are worth more than that to you. At least we hope so.

Seems simple enough. Like most content on the internet, you get to read the Oz Report for free. The trouble for us, not you, is that there are not enough hang glider pilots in this world to make advertising pay for our web hosting costs.

Please, help us out. Support something that you find useful so that it can continue to be there for you.

The purple people eater:

Photo by Bob Grant

Options:

1) If you have money in your PayPal account and you are in the US click here: paypal.me/davisstraub and send money as a friend

2) With a credit card click this button:

3) Click here: https://www.paypal.com

With this option please click the "Send&Request" tab to send the money and eliminate credit card fees by clicking  "Send to friends and family in the US," if your PayPal account is connected to your bank account, you are in the US, you have money in your PayPal account, and not just to a credit card:

The email address would be davis and I'm at davisstraub.com

If you’d rather just send a check for $20 or more (US Dollars only, please), please feel free to do so.

Payable to:

Davis Straub (Not to the Oz Report)
6548 Groveland Airport Road
Groveland, FL 34736

If you send a physical check, be sure to send me your email address so that I can register you as a subscriber.

These are our supporters (if you are not on the list and have donated to the Oz Report, email me and I'll make sure that you are recognized): http://ozreport.com/supporters.php. Some of you who I've missed in the past did write to me and made sure I knew just how important the Oz Report was to them. If I've missed you, please do tell me.

4) Come over to the Oz Report support web page and sign up to support us: http://ozreport.com/support.php. Or click here:

Discuss "The Oz Report March Fund Raiser" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Thu, Mar 19 2015, 7:23:20 am EDT

360 degrees

Cragin Shelton

https://theta360.com/m/cVx

Thanks to Cragin.

Discuss "Looking every where at once" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

Sat, Apr 23 2005, 5:30:03 pm EDT

Who owns the data?

Cragin Shelton|Jules Gilpatrick|weather

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/

This really is quite something. This page right here is the one I go to to check the weather. It's put out by the National Weather Service. It's a lot like  some commercial ones, only it has more information, costs nothing and contains no ads.

But as the Carpetbagger Report notes here, Sen. Santorum (R) of Pennsylvania has introduced a bill that would ban the federal government's meteorologists from making this information available for free since that creates a problem for outfits like The Weather Channel and AccuWeather, which want to sell it.

Plenty of federal legislation these days boils down to this sort of rip-off of the public. But seldom is the equation so clear.

You paid for the data. Your tax dollars fund a massive apparatus of meteorological data collection for reasons ranging from agriculture to disaster safety to keeping airplanes in the air -- everything under the sun. You pay for it and this is just the feds making it available to you on a website. The cost of letting you access it must be minuscule compared to that of collecting it. Indeed, most of the data these other guys sell is stuff they get from the feds or fed-subsidized data collection.

So they're in the business of selling to you the information that your tax dollars already went into collecting. And apparently they add so little added value that they can't handle the competition when the National Weather Service just gives it away. Santorum wants to make these guys into some sort of information age tax farmers.

This article in the Palm Beach Post goes into greater detail on the bill. And you can see from its proponents feeble justifications just what a con this is. They note, for instance, that the bill would not prevent the National Weather Service from alerting the public to imminent disasters, which is awfully generous of them.

Indeed, the executive vice president of AccuWeather, Barry Myers, probably had to have his face specially treated with some sort of fixing agent to prevent him from laughing out loud when he told the Post that the "bill would improve public safety by making the weather service devote its efforts to hurricanes, tsunamis and other dangers, rather than duplicating products already available from the private sector." You just can't make this stuff up.

Jules Gilpatrick «freeflyte» writes:

Thanks for bringing the NWS privatization fiasco into the spotlight. Ever since the first private weather providers made their appearance (many years ago) they have been trying to get Congress to take the NWS out of the weather business except to provide them with the information they need to then sell it to us.

They want to simply mooch off the billions of dollars of world-wide weather equipment we paid for using the flimsy argument that the Government is "interfering" with their ability to do business.

If these services want to compete, then let them finance and install their own weather information gathering equipment. I doubt that they can do it any better than NOAA/NWS but if they want to try they should not be able to do so by restricting the free access to information we already paid for handsomely.

Cragin Shelton «Cragin_Sh» writes:

I have posted a short web page repeating information on S. 786, the bill that would prevent NWS from providing routine weather forecast information to the public for free. The page includes letters I sent to three Senators on the subject, for you to use as models, as well as links on how to contact your own Senators.

Please, write your Senators. To quote Barney Fife, "We need to nip it in the bud! Nip it! Nip it! Nip it!"

Here is the page link: http://members.cox.net/cragins/WriteYourSenator_S786.html.

Discuss the weather at the Oz Report forum

Mon, Jan 17 2005, 11:00:02 am EST

I've given this URL out before.

Cragin Shelton|Google News

Cragin Shelton «Cragin_Sh» sends:

Keep this as a link and use it regularly. I have it as one of my side bar links on my flight log.

Wed, Nov 5 2003, 3:00:07 pm EST

Cragin Shelton|weather

Cragin Shelton «cragins» sends along this article:

AVWEB http://www.avweb.com/eletter/
archives/avflash/144-full.html

Eliminating the Meteorologist

Automated weather systems have greatly enhanced our weather data collection, but a new system is proving to outdo humans and other forecast models as well. Last week, Harris Corporation unveiled a fuzzy logic-based system for automated, short-term ceiling and visibility forecasts. The announcement was part of the product demonstrations during the Air Traffic Control Association's (ATCA's) 48^th Annual International Technical Program and Exhibits, held Oct. 26-30, in Washington, D.C.

Harris claims its forecast-system prototype is designed to produce automated ceiling, visibility, wind and weather forecasts for 465 terminal locations in the continental United States. Harris claims these forecasts, which are generated upon arrival of each new METAR, are more accurate than the numerical models and other assets of the official National Weather Service forecasts. Harris is also demonstrating a prototype tool for automated forecasts of thunderstorm potential. In addition to the forecasting units, Harris -- the prime contractor for the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure program -- will provide improved telecommunications services to more than 5,000 FAA facilities nationwide.

http://www.harris.com/view_pressrelease.asp?
act=lookup&pr_id=1245

Discuss the weather at OzReport.com/forum/phpBB2

Mon, Aug 18 2003, 3:00:02 pm EDT

Cragin Shelton|PG

Cragin Shelton CHGPA Vice President «cragins» writes:

Come one! Come All! CHGPA and MHGA announce the 11^th Annual McConnellsburg Pulpit Fly-In, September 20-21. McConnellsburg PA, in south central PA.

Details, directions, and registration information are at the fly-in web site http://chgpa.org/HGFest/hgfest.html

Flying! Contests! Food! Campfire! Prizes! Our festival features a Just-For-Fun XC Contest with individual and team trophies, a Pilot's Raffle with great prizes, and a Cook-Out and Party on Saturday night. Directions of NE, E, SE, S, and NW can all be accommodated (via nearby alternate sites), so HGFest'2003 is definitely where you want to be this Fall! Proceeds will benefit the McConnellsburg, PA Rescue Squad.

Join us for the fun. Flying should be great. The Pulpit is a ramp launch, rated for H3, or H2 with Observers. We will have plenty of Observers on hand. Alternate sites are open slope launch, either H2 or H2 with Observer rated. Pulpit ramp launch is only available for hang gliders, but the NE to S facing launches at nearby Breezewood PA are paraglider friendly. We encourage all pilots to join our party. Competition at the fly-in is kept at the fun level, with both team and individual points aimed at including all pilots from H2 to H5.

Discuss fly-ins at OzReport.com/forum/phpBB2

Mon, Feb 17 2003, 4:00:00 pm GMT

Cragin Shelton|G.W. Meadows|James Harrison|Jules Makk|Mark Forbes|Mark Kowalsky|Martin Michelsen|Ron Gleason|Shane Nestle|Thomas Lanning|Tom Pierce

Wow! So great to get such positive response from Oz Report readers. It looks like a few of you are already signed up at PayPal (www.paypal.com) and can send in $10 to <davis@davisstraub.com>. Within a few minutes of the last issue of the Oz Report going out at 2 PM on a Sunday (Pacific US west coast time) readers were sending in $10/each to help support the Oz Report.

Thanks to the first ten who wanted to help out: Cragin Shelton, Shane Nestle, Ron Gleason, Tom Pierce, GW Meadows, Thomas Lanning, James Harrison, Mark Kowalsky ($15 Canadian), Martin Michelsen, and Mark Forbes. Jules Makk sent me a copy of his cartoon collection.

See below on how to send in $10 to help support the Oz Report. I’m looking forward to thanking every one in the Oz Report.

Discuss "Thanks" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Thu, Jun 6 2002, 9:00:06 am GMT

Cragin Shelton|Edward Anthony Reno|fatality

Cragin Shelton <cragins@starpower.net> writes:

At 4:05pm Friday, April 26, 2002, Edward Anthony Reno, 46, Greenbelt, Md., crashed immediately after launching from the left ramp at the Pulpit, an 1100 AGL mountain site overlooking McConnellsburg, PA. The pilot sustained fatal injuries and died at the scene. Here is the link to the full report on our club web site: http://www.chgpa.org/Education/e_reno.accident_report.May_2002.html

Discuss "Death at the Pulpit" at the Oz Report forum   link»