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Oz Report

topic: JC Brown (21 articles)

Let’s go for Florida paragliding

Sun, Jan 5 2003, 9:00:06 am EST

Florida|GrayBird AirSports|JC Brown|PG|Quest Air|Ray Leonard

Ray Leonard «skybirdwings» writes:

Graybird Airsports owned by Gregg McNamee located at Dunnellon Airport, Florida is operating a paragliding school with Ray Leonard as instructor. Naturally, in addition to flight instruction to a P2 level towing is included for all levels of pilots.

JC Brown has already stated his X-C flights in a previous article and has described the place as a well kept secret in Florida.

With the world wide acclaim of Florida flying it is only a matter of time for paraglider pilots to take advantage of the fine year round flying. Especially with the first X-C paragliding comp scheduled here for May at Quest Air.

Come for a visit http://www.graybirdairsports.com.

Paragliding Comps in Florida?

Mon, Oct 14 2002, 7:00:01 pm EDT

Florida|JC Brown|PG

When I spoke with JC Brown at the Paragliding Nationals in the Owens he mentioned the possibility that he would be heading up a national level paragliding competition in Florida in 2003. He didn’t happen to mention just where it would be held. I think we talked about some of the options.

New USHGA Competition Committee Chairman

Thu, Sep 26 2002, 1:00:01 pm EDT

CIVL|JC Brown|Ron Gleason|USHGA

CIVL|JC Brown|John "Ole" Olson|Ron Gleason|USHGA

(?-i)John "Ole" Olson|CIVL|JC Brown|Ron Gleason|USHGA

CIVL|JC Brown|Ron Gleason|USHGA

Ron Gleason «xcflying» writes:

I have just recently accepted the role Chairperson Competition Committee. Over the years I have met most of you at one time or another but for those who I have not yet met; I look forward to the opportunity at the upcoming BOD meeting. I have been flying HG for 25 years and have been flying competitions the last 2 years, currently ranked 5th in Class 5.

(editor’s note: I spoke with former competition committee chairman, JC Brown, yesterday. He stated that while he was happy to continue as chairman he recommended Ron for the job because he felt that Ron was exhibiting the focus, enthusiasm and time commitment that would make him a natural for the job.

JC also said that he felt that I would make a strong CIVL delegate, but that he was willing to do it if so called upon. After I gave JZ such a hard time last year about withdrawing my appointment, I can’t imagine him wanting me back in this position.

Ron looks like a great choice to me to run the competition committee. This committee handles a lot of the flack that gets directed at the USHGA BOD. Also many of the proposals for changes go to this committee. I’m sure that Ron can handle it and float above the fray.

I’m looking for a lot of changes in the USHGA Competition Rulebook that will promote competition and help promote hang gliding in general. We’ll see how it goes down in a couple of weeks.)

US PG Nats – shot down in flames »

Thu, Sep 26 2002, 1:00:00 pm EDT

Belinda Boulter|JC Brown|Kari Castle|PG|US PG Nats

http://www.elltel.net/peterandlinda/2002_PG_Nats/PG_Nats_Main.htm

The US PG Nationals ended with a whimper yesterday as Belinda and I stopped by the White MountainResearchCenter, headquarters for the meet, only to find a strenuous game of volley in progress and little prospects for flying. We’d spent the night at JuneLakeup in the Sierras just south of YosemiteNational Park, and when we got up in the morning we found a bunch of wind and lots of stormy looking clouds to the north. The wind bode no good for the would-be competitors.

The first three days were the good days wind wise. Then things got ugly.

Kari Castle «karicastle» wrote before the last day:

We've had three 1000 point rounds so far in the US PG Nationals. These were great races in L&V conditions always able to come back to theWhite MountainResearchCenterfor goal.

On the third day we had a handicapped pilot fromS. Africahave to throw his reserve after he wadded his chute and it came out with an asymmetric and cravat in his right wing. This happened right at the edge of the start cylinder exactly at the start of the race (we were using the race start that day) we all got to watch the ride and give helpful information for search and rescue.

Turns out he landed softly on the side of the mountain close to the bottom of the canyon, but it was almost impossible to get to him, let alone hike out with him because of his limited ability to walk. The volunteer rescuers made up of pilots formed a group and went in to help. Two pilots risked a lot to land just above him and hike down to him. When they all finally got to him it was obvious they were not carrying him out, it was late by then so they all spent the night out and in the morning called for helicopter to evacuate him.

The Navy based at fromFallon,NVsent a helicopter in. They were flying around the site checking everything out and then threw a smoke bomb to check wind direction. Luckily the smoke bomb was dropped down wind of the rescuers because as soon as it hit the ground it caught the brush on fire and started an amazing fire which started to move up the canyon quickly. Now everyone was in danger and things became intense. That helicopter flew away came back 20 min later dropped a blanket and a shovel and they were never to be seen again!!!

The Forest Service was notified immediately and arranged for emergency evacuation. Everyone was hauled out of there safely and the Forest Service has been fighting the fire since. We have been banned from flying within a 5 mile radius of the canyon which has essentially shut us down from using the Gunter launch.

We tried running a round off Flynn's launch yesterday but conditions and timing shut us down once again. Today is the last day of the comp and we are all hoping for one last good day of racing. The general consensus is that everyone loves the conditions here and wants more so keep your fingers crossed!!!

(editor’s note: JC Brown told me that the much later rescue of the paraglider pilots by another helicopter from the fire started by the Navy helicopter was a very touch and go affair with the pilots being pulled out at the very last minute before the fire reached them. It could easily have been much worse.

The question arises, why did the first helicopter leave the scene after starting the fire? Why did they use a smoke bomb that would start a fire? Why are the paraglider pilots being blamed for the fire?

There was a search group of pilots going up to the site to retrieve the canister that started the fire to prove that they were not responsible.)

Full class status for rigid wing hang gliders!

Tue, Apr 30 2002, 2:00:02 pm EDT

Brian Porter|CIVL|Dennis Pagen|Florida|JC Brown|record|USHGA

After CIVL failed to give rigid wing hang gliders full class status at their last plenary, I asked the USHGA to ask the CIVL Bureau to redress this dreadful mistake. I had hoped that the CIVL Bureau would ask the next Plenary to make sure that Swift and rigid wing hang glider records were separate. In addition, the Bureau should allow separate records to be recorded this year and then officially separated next year if the Plenary went along with the Bureau on this issue.

JC Brown, the USHGA competition committee chairman, polled the committee and with the exception of Dennis Pagen all agreed that this should be done. Dennis asked for a meeting in Floridato discuss this matter (essentially to explain why CIVL could do something so dumb as to deny rigid wing hang gliders their own full class).

Well Dennis called his meeting in Florida, and all interested parties showed up – me. 100% of the pilots who came to the meeting (the chairman can’t vote, of course, because they are supposed to be impartial), voted to have the Bureau allow records in both classes this year, and to have the Bureau bring this recommendation to the Plenary next year. I guess that just about settles this matter.

Later Brian Porter, the USHGA alternate delegate to CIVL at the last meeting, showed up. Dennis had mentioned that CIVL’s concern was whether rigid wing hang glider records would go into the Swift class as well as the rigid wing hang glider class. I didn’t care either way, but Brian thought that was cool. This concern was Dennis’ excuse for CIVL not backing full class status for rigid wing hang gliders. Ooh, boy.

Anyway, the meeting was amiable. Everyone agreed. We all want rigid wing hang gliders to have their own full class with their own world records. Now, whether this happens or not is another question.

I would hope that South Africa, Switzerland, and Australiajoin the USHGA in asking that the Bureau allow for separate world records this year. I will ask the USHGA to join with these other national hang gliding organizations to support this position.

The Wallaby Open blows up

Wed, Apr 17 2002, 5:00:00 pm EDT

Belinda Boulter|Gary Osoba|JC Brown|Manfred Ruhmer|Mike Barber|Steve Pearson|weather

Belinda Boulter|cart|Gary Osoba|JC Brown|Manfred Ruhmer|Mike Barber|Steve Pearson|weather

Belinda Boulter|cart|Chris Zimmerman|Gary Osoba|JC Brown|Manfred Ruhmer|Mike Barber|Steve Pearson|weather

Belinda Boulter|cart|Chris Zimmerman|Gary Osoba|JC Brown|Manfred Ruhmer|Mike Barber|Oleg Bondarchuk|Steve Pearson|weather

Belinda Boulter|cart|Chris Zimmerman|Gary Osoba|JC Brown|Manfred Ruhmer|Mike Barber|Oleg Bondarchuk|Steve Pearson|weather

There was a complete breakdown of the Wallaby Open competition today when a decision was made without a deep breath being taken before hand. Everyone involved deeply regrets this significant error in judgment. Human beings are just so driven by their emotions, and likely their lack of sleep.

The weather forecast continues to be the same (here’s Gary Osoba’s take on it):

Looks very similar to the last few days, maybe not quite as big a chance for precip.

11amcb maybe around 1800' light lift. Surface wind e 5 and ese 10 aloft

2pmcb maybe around 3300' moderate lift. Surface wind e 5-8 and ese 10-12 aloft

5pmcb maybe around 3000' light to moderate lift. Surface wind ene 5-8 and e 10-12 aloft.

The task committee calls a 65 miler with a 10 mile start circle radius for the flexies and 5 miles for the rigid wings. It’s great that we are doing tasks together and also great that we have to go the extra mile (in this case 5) to catch up with the flexies.

We’re thinking that the day could over develop and we want to get everyone out on the course line early, so we call a one and only 12:15start time with an 11 AMlaunch time. The operation here is so efficient that there is no problem getting almost everyone in the air within ½ hour. That will give everyone time to make it out ten miles.

With the early start time folks are already in the launch line at 11 AM, and there are tugs waiting. They start popping pilots out of here in a big hurray.

Francoise Mocellin in a WW Talon has her nose way way too high on the cart (she’ll start stalled). We’ve given up telling pilots that they have to have a cart that puts their nose at the proper attitude, because they are told by others to ignore us. This happens again and again.

Of course, she comes off the cart veering to the right with little control of the glider and gets too high right away before she gets it under control. The tug pilot gives her the rope and she lands safely. She finds a better cart for her second flight.

There is one other way to solve the problem (Talon’s have this problem because their down tubes are so long) which is to not allow the tug to pull the cart, but rather to have the tug pull you until you are way over the control bar and then your tail swings up off the cart and the nose comes down to make for a non stalled angle of attack. This is a bit trickier, but it does allow the confident and skilled aerotow pilot to take charge of their own tow.

Other than this continual problem the launch sequence is rapid fire and most of the flex wings get up and out of there right away. We rigid wing pilots hold back a bit to give our brethren the opportunity to get to their start circle a bit further away. We’ve only got to make five miles in forty five minutes, so it isn’t a big sacrifice.

Given that it is so early in the day the lift is light, but cloud base is already pretty high, 3,500’. I’m just staying in whatever lift there is because there is no big hurray to go anywhere as we wait for the start time.

As 12:15approaches all the rigid wing pilots are up together at cloud base at 5 miles to the south of the Ranch near highway 27 creeping up wind a bit to the east. We can’t see the flex wing pilots as they are five miles further south in their own gaggle. Some have gone 11.1 miles south of the Ranch to get up a cloud and will dive back to the start circle to start the race.

The clock ticks and we are pulled in keeping out of the clouds and heading for the BokTower. It is a big race with only the 12:15start time, so whose ever is in front at the moment is winning the race. The view is great as there are scattered cu’s every where with lots of sun shine to heat up the ground below.

Off to our right we notice the flex wing pilots. Felix comes on the radio and says that it looks like they are making the signal that the day is called. I can not believe this as the day looks absolutely perfect.

I radio to Belinda to check right away and see what’s up. Then JC Brown’s voice comes on the radio announcing that the day has been called. We see twenty or so flex wings low to our right coming back toward the Ranch and trying to scratch up. Unbelievable.

Manfred and Oleg don’t fly with radios (you should do this too if you want to be like them) and continue racing out in front of all the flex wings. Steve Pearson is in the same boat. Mike Barber and Chris Zimmerman continue along the course even though they know that the day has been called.

I fly right back to the Ranch and go to find out what happened. The day looked perfect and it is very unclear what was going on. We did see a bit of rain and virga near the location of the flex wings, but it is the only rain in the sky and it looked so light that it is hard to believe that this was the issue.

It turns out that Gerolf called on his radio and had his driver get JC Brown to come over to the van and speak with Gerolf on the radio. Gerolf told him that it was raining hard and raining on the course line and that if he was going to call the day he needed to call it now so that all the pilots could be informed visually if they didn’t have radios. JC immediately cancels the task.

No other pilot in the air is contacted about the conditions to confirm Gerolf’s observations. JC doesn’t contact the safety director nor the safety committee about calling the task for safety reasons. Because of one pilot’s feelings and observations and one meet director’s immediate and not properly considered response to the expressions of those feelings and observation, a perfectly beautiful day of competition flying is lost.

Many flex wing pilots are completely shocked by the task cancellation. They felt that the rain was minimal. They didn’t see the problem as Gerolf experienced it.

Manfred and Oleg race into goal only to find that there is no goal line and every one is at lunch. They are very unhappy about the turn of events.

The latest scores should be available at: http://www.elltel.net/peterandlinda/Wallaby_Open_2002/Wallaby.htm

Let’s see the tug pilots at Quest and Wallaby do this

Mon, Apr 1 2002, 3:00:02 pm EST

JC Brown

JC Brown «jcbfly» sends this:

http://www.dg-flugzeugbau.de/foto-02-04.html

CIVL Safety rules

Fri, Mar 29 2002, 2:00:04 pm EST

CIVL|JC Brown|USHGA

JC Brown, meet director for the Wallaby Open, states that:

All of section 7, 22.2 is in effect for the Wallaby Open.

This means that the full CIVL safety rules will be enforced at the Wallaby Open. You can find the rules at OzReport.com/Ozv6n54.htm and perhaps at http://www.ushga.org/compcivl.asp.

Back surgery required

Fri, Mar 29 2002, 2:00:03 pm EST

CIVL|Dennis Pagen|Florida|JC Brown|record|USHGA

During the middle of the month I wrote to JC Brown, chairman of the USHGA competition committee, asking that the USHGA petition the CIVL bureau to allow Class 5 to be a full class. I wrote:

I have been encouraged by the South African CIVL delegate, Dolf Pretorius, to encourage the USHGA BOD to petition CIVL (the CIVL Bureau) to allow rigid wing hang gliders to set World Records in Class 5 in 2002.

Dolf writes of the CIVL Plenary: "It was never our intent to deny the Atos class gliders a full class of their own. I assume that USHGA is doing this right now."

Further he writes: "We (SA) can propose to CIVL that a record set this year in class 5 will be accepted by the CIVL plenary to be voted on by at the next meeting, since it was our intent in the first place when we voted on the creation of the new class."

I would ask the members of the USHGA BOD executive committee to petition the CIVL Bureau (through their CIVL representative) to allow Class 5 WR set in 2002 to be recognized as such.

JC wrote back:

I agree withDavis. CIVL screwed up when they separated the classes in comp, but not for record-setting. To me that makes absolutely no sense.

JC polled the USHGA competition committee and asked Dennis Pagen what he thought about this. JC writes back about the results of the poll:

I received 9 responses to the Class 5 poll. 8 of the respondents were in favor of separating Class 2 and 5 for record-setting. The ninth response was Dennis's recent e-mail in which he proposed leading a forum inFlorida on this subject. Since many of the CC (at least: Brown, Kells, Pagen, Zeiset, Gleason, Glover) will be in Florida, and because Dennis is the CIVL delegate as well as the NCC chair, it makes sense to hear what he's got to say before the CC proceeds.

So Dennis’ position is defeated 8 to 1 (his own vote) and he gets a reprieve.

After I saw how a similar forum was run last year at the Flytec Championship, I would humbly suggest that it would be appropriate that it be run by a neutral chairman.

Fix me a stiff one

Tue, Mar 19 2002, 7:00:01 pm GMT

Damien Zahn|safety

Zahn, Mark A <Mark.Zahn@unisys.com> writes:

I've considered a flexible/solid hang strap. My design could have a fairly draggy profile. It would be similar to flexible/solid arms that machinists use to hold measuring tools.

Picture a solid ball with a hole drilled through it then a short cylinder that the ball can't pass through, then another ball, and cylinder. In flight, a cable (or kevlar/spectra line) capable of being tensioned with a cam jams the balls and cylinders together tightly to make it fairly solid.

For launch and landing, loosen the cable/line tension and it's fairly flexible. The cylinders might be able to have an airfoil profile to reduce drag. The balls and cylinders could be substituted with some other more profile and self alignment friendly shapes.

(editor’s note: I feel that this design has a great deal of promise when it comes to keeping the pilot coupled to the glider. Now we need a simple design to keep the pilot forward to help prevent tucks and tumbles.)

Zahn, Mark A <Mark.Zahn@unisys.com> writes back:

OK. This just sprouted in my mind, so I haven't worked out all the safety or other considerations! How about something like the current design auto shoulder belt retractors? They let you move about (with a little retractive tension, one tradeoff) at low velocities, but at sudden high velocity (i.e. your tuck or other sudden movement) they just lock up.

The I'm not sure exactly what it would take to release again after being locked up, hopefully just a slight release of tension followed by smooth motion (difficult while tucking, tumbling or spinning). Let's assume the retractor is optimally calibrated for typical hang gliding movements, and the mount points are correctly/strategically (and structurally) located on your harness and base tube (i.e. somewhere between fast flight and trim position), and there is enough line extension available for all modes of launch, flight and landing, and there is a quick release. Might this satisfy both the rigid hang strap (prevents falling into sail/keel) and help prevent rearward CG movement of your body (your body was forward of CG immediately prior to the tuck) needs.

Discuss "Fix me a stiff one" at the Oz Report forum   link»

USHGA CIVL delegation

Mon, Feb 11 2002, 8:00:01 pm EST

Brian Porter|CIVL|Dennis Pagen|JC Brown|Russ Locke|USHGA

While I was still in Australia Jim Zeiset, USHGA President, sent me an e-mail asking if I would be willing to serve as the USHGA alternate delegate to CIVL. This was a position that I neither sought nor considered, but I told him that I would be happy to be the alternate delegate.

It was the feeling of the BOD at the last USHGA BOD meeting in the spring that an alternate delegate was necessary to present the USHGA position on the class definition issue and that as Dennis Pagen, the USHGA CIVL delegate, was chairman of the committee that would deal with this issue, it would be better to have a person there who could advocate for the USHGA proposal.

A few days later Jim informed me that he had appointed me the new CIVL alternate delegate for the USHGA (Russ Locke was to later tell me that it was his idea, and maybe it was.J). He also notified all the USHGA BOD members through e-mail of my appointment. He also told me that Dennis would contact me to make travel arrangements.

After not receiving any e-mail from Dennis I wrote to Jim wondering about the travel arrangements as thy needed to be made soon. Jim said that he would make sure that Dennis got with me.

A few days later I wrote Jim again saying that I hadn’t heard from Dennis. Jim said that there were problems and that he would get with me at the BOD meeting.

Jim informed me that due to strenuous objections from Dennis Pagen that he would have to un-appoint me as the CIVL alternate delegate. I wasn’t exactly happy about this turn of events as in the meantime I had grown use to the idea of going to Lausanne, Switzerland for the CIVL meeting and reporting on the inner workings of CIVL for my Oz Report readers.

After my disappointment, Brian Porter was assigned to go to this CIVL Plenary meeting. JC Brown was appointed to be the CIVL alternate delegate to be mentored by Dennis as he will be resigning from CIVL (he’s a vice President) in the not too distant future.

It is unfortunate that Dennis has such a misguided appraisal of my capabilities and denied me the opportunity to show that I could handle the situation at CIVL without difficulty. I appreciate very much Jim Zeiset’s confidence in me and my abilities to fairly represent the USHGA at CIVL.

Changes to the USHGA Competition Rulebook?

Sat, Aug 25 2001, 1:00:05 pm EDT

Bubba Goodman|Davis Straub|Florida|Giles David|JC Brown|Mike Barber|USHGA|US Nationals|Worlds

Bubba Goodman|Chris Zimmerman|Davis Straub|Florida|Giles David|JC Brown|Mike Barber|USHGA|US Nationals|Worlds

Bo Hagewood|Bubba Goodman|Chris Zimmerman|Davis Straub|Florida|Giles David|JC Brown|Mike Barber|USHGA|US Nationals|Worlds

Bo Hagewood|Bubba Goodman|Chris Arai|Chris Zimmerman|Davis Straub|Florida|Giles David|JC Brown|Mike Barber|USHGA|US Nationals|Worlds

Bo Hagewood|Bubba Goodman|Chris Arai|Chris Zimmerman|Davis Straub|Florida|Giles David|JC Brown|Mark Bolt|Mike Barber|USHGA|US Nationals|Worlds

Bo Hagewood|Bubba Goodman|Chris Arai|Chris Zimmerman|Davis Straub|Florida|Giles David|JC Brown|Mark Bolt|Mike Barber|Richard Burton|USHGA|US Nationals|Worlds

Bo Hagewood|Bubba Goodman|Chris Arai|Chris Zimmerman|Davis Straub|Florida|Giles David|JC Brown|Kari Castle|Mark Bolt|Mike Barber|Richard Burton|USHGA|US Nationals|Worlds

Bo Hagewood|Bubba Goodman|Chris Arai|Chris Zimmerman|Davis Straub|Florida|Gary Davis|Giles David|JC Brown|Kari Castle|Mark Bolt|Mike Barber|Richard Burton|USHGA|US Nationals|Worlds

Bo Hagewood|Bubba Goodman|Chris Arai|Chris Zimmerman|Davis Straub|Florida|Gary Davis|Giles David|JC Brown|Jim Lee|Kari Castle|Mark Bolt|Mike Barber|Richard Burton|USHGA|US Nationals|Worlds

Bo Hagewood|Bubba Goodman|Chris Arai|Chris Zimmerman|Davis Straub|Florida|Gary Davis|Giles David|JC Brown|Jim Lee|Kari Castle|Mark Bolt|Mike Barber|Richard Burton|Steve Rewolinski|USHGA|US Nationals|Worlds

Bo Hagewood|Bubba Goodman|Chris Arai|Chris Zimmerman|Davis Straub|Florida|Gary Davis|Giles David|JC Brown|Jersey Rossignol|Jim Lee|Kari Castle|Mark Bolt|Mike Barber|Richard Burton|Steve Rewolinski|USHGA|US Nationals|Worlds

Bo Hagewood|Bubba Goodman|Chris Arai|Chris Zimmerman|Davis Straub|Florida|Gary Davis|Giles David|JC Brown|Jersey Rossignol|Jim Lee|Kari Castle|Mark Bolt|Mike Barber|Richard Burton|Steve Rewolinski|USHGA|US Nationals|Wayne Sayer|Worlds

Bo Hagewood|Bubba Goodman|Chris Arai|Chris Zimmerman|Davis Straub|Florida|Gary Davis|Giles David|Glen Volk|JC Brown|Jersey Rossignol|Jim Lee|Kari Castle|Mark Bolt|Mike Barber|Richard Burton|Steve Rewolinski|USHGA|US Nationals|Wayne Sayer|Worlds

Bo Hagewood|Bubba Goodman|Chris Arai|Chris Zimmerman|Davis Straub|Florida|Gary Davis|Giles David|Glen Volk|JC Brown|Jersey Rossignol|Jim Lee|Kari Castle|Mark Bolt|Mike Barber|Paris Williams|Richard Burton|Steve Rewolinski|USHGA|US Nationals|Wayne Sayer|Worlds

Bo Hagewood|Bubba Goodman|Chris Arai|Chris Zimmerman|Davis Straub|Florida|Gary Davis|Giles David|Glen Volk|JC Brown|Jersey Rossignol|Jim Lee|Kari Castle|Mark Bolt|Mike Barber|Paris Williams|Richard Burton|Steve Rewolinski|USHGA|US Nationals|Wayne Sayer|Worlds

With the major competition season in the US at a close and the USHGA BOD meeting coming up on October 19th, the Oz Report will be looking at a number of issues that will be up for discussion at the BOD meeting. We'll especially look at issues that effect the competition scene, both here in the US and worldwide.

A major reason for the existence of a publication like the Oz Report is to inform the members of the hang gliding community and encourage their participation in the democratic and republican processes that effect that community. By bringing forth issues of concern, you get an opportunity to participate in the decisions that are going to take place this fall. We encourage you to discuss these issues and contact your BOD representative (and other interested BOD members, for example, the new chairman of the competition committee – JC Brown, «jcbfly») and make sure that they participate in the meetings at the USHGA and express your concerns.

The USHGA web site has all the BOD members' e-mail addresses (http://www.ushga.org/member_ushga_directors.asp). You can send your message directly to them if you like. I will ask my BOD representatives (I'll pick BOD members from Florida, Texas, and Washington state as the three areas in the US where I have spent the most time over the last year) to represent my views and while sent them copies of my Oz Report articles.

At the recent US Nationals, a number of ideas and concerns were floating around in various discussions. One proposal was to eliminate the Worlds from counting in the NTSS ranking. Another proposal was to count US hang gliding events more than foreign events (or perhaps eliminate foreign events from consideration in US NTSS ranking).

Personally I don't care either way, and don't have much of a stake in the discussion (as it is very hard to get Class II points in Australia). I thought I would look at how these proposals would affect the current NTSS ranking, to see if they made any difference.

In the chart below you see the results. I took the current ranking (column one) and compared it to what the ranking would be if we didn't include the results of the 2001 Worlds (column two). The only change – Kari and Rich Sauer swapped positions. They both attended the Worlds as I recall. The composition of the National team (the top six ranked pilots) doesn't change.

AS Is

WITHOUT

WITHOUT Foreign

WITHOUT Foreign

WORLDS

BUT Including

AND Without

WORLDS

WORLDS

1

WILLIAMS Paris

WILLIAMS Paris

WILLIAMS Paris

WILLIAMS Paris

2

BARBER Mike

BARBER Mike

LEE Jim

LEE Jim

3

LEE Jim

LEE Jim

VOLK Glen

VOLK Glen

4

HAGEWOOD Bo

HAGEWOOD Bo

ROSSIGNOL Jersey

ROSSIGNOL Jersey

5

VOLK Glen

VOLK Glen

HAGEWOOD Bo

HAGEWOOD Bo

6

ROSSIGNOL Jersey

ROSSIGNOL Jersey

BARBER Mike

BARBER Mike

7

SAUER Richard

CASTLE Kari

SAUER Richard

SAUER Richard

8

CASTLE Kari

SAUER Richard

PRESLEY Terry

PRESLEY Terry

9

PRESLEY Terry

PRESLEY Terry

ZIMMERMAN Chris

ZIMMERMAN Chris

10

ZIMMERMAN Chris

ZIMMERMAN Chris

BOLT Mark

BOLT Mark

11

BOLT Mark

BOLT Mark

CASTLE Kari

CASTLE Kari

12

REWOLINSKI Steve

REWOLINSKI Steve

STINNETT James

STINNETT James

13

STINNETT James

STINNETT James

ARAI Chris

ARAI Chris

14

ARAI Chris

ARAI Chris

REWOLINSKI Steve

REWOLINSKI Steve

15

GOODMAN Bubba

GOODMAN Bubba

GOODMAN Bubba

GOODMAN Bubba

16

SAYER Wayne

SAYER Wayne

SAYER Wayne

SAYER Wayne

17

DAVIS Gary

DAVIS Gary

DAVIS Gary

DAVIS Gary

18

WILLIAMS Michael

WILLIAMS Michael

BURTON Richard

BURTON Richard

19

BURTON Richard

BURTON Richard

WILLIAMS Michael

WILLIAMS Michael

20

GILES David

GILES David

GILES David

GILES David

I then compared the current ranking Vs. not counting any foreign competitions (column three). The composition of the US National team doesn't change although pilot ranking changes. Mike Barber got a lot of points in the Australian competitions as he did very well there. Without these competitions he drops from 2nd to 6th place. Mike couldn't attend the US Nationals, so this limited his chance of getting US-based NTSS points.

Kari drops from 8th to 11th if we don't count the Australian competitions. She did well there and that is why the points were important to her ranking. The foreign points were important to Mike and Kari because they did very well in Australia. It has often been the case that US pilots have not placed that well in foreign competitions, so this has not been a big issue previously.

Not counting the foreign meets and the Worlds (column four) didn't have any more affect than just not counting the foreign meets (column three).

The current ranking is significantly affected by the fact that Kari chose not to attend. This would indicate that US meets are very important in determining the US pilot ranking.

While this comparison is not necessarily definitive, it does indicate that the proposed changes would have minimal affect. If this is the case, why would we make the proposed changes?

No doubt there is a principal involved here, isn't there always? The principal is fair play, as defined as follows. It is difficult for most US pilots to attend foreign competitions. Those pilots that attend foreign competitions have an unfair advantage over other US pilots. The Worlds is an invitation-only meet and not all pilots have an equal chance of earning points there. The best pilots get to go to the Worlds and they just perpetuate their rule by getting this chance to get more points.

While I don't disagree with these arguments, I would also suggest the following. The unfairness pointed out here is the same unfairness that we refer to when we point out that "Life is unfair." Some pilots do have the time, motivation, financial circumstances, whatever it is that it takes, to go to foreign competitions. In order to get worthwhile points at a foreign competition, you have to fly well against significant competition. The same kind of competition you would have to fly against at the Worlds. Do poorly, and you don't come home with enough points to do anything useful.

The point of the NTSS ranking system is choose the best US National team from among the current crop of pilots. If your ranking reflects how well you have done against some of the best pilots from other countries, then I would suggest that it is a pretty good measure when it comes to determining who should be on the team.

Pilots who collect US NTSS points at the Worlds are getting points from a meet that is invitation only, so other US pilots don't have a chance to gather those points at the Worlds. We, as a country, do support equality of opportunity so this does seem a bit unfair, even if it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. Of course, you have to do really well at the Worlds to get good points, and that is quite hard to do (Paris was 11th as I recall).

Sometimes the Worlds conflicts with other US meets and the pilots who have been sent off to the Worlds to represent the US can't defend their ranking by flying in the conflicting US meet. Of course, the US would most likely be devalued because six of the top pilots weren't there.

It seems to me that the Worlds and other foreign meets are valid meets and that US pilots should have an opportunity to earn US NTSS points at these meets. While there are a lot of points available at these meets, they are consequently that much more difficult to earn. If our pilots do well in them, that should be reflected in their ranking, if we want their ranking to most closely reflect their abilities.

This doesn't answer the questions that have been raised about how we improve our national teams so that they are more competitive. In fact, the proposals hypothecated here would tend to work in the opposite direction. It would seem that if you want to have an "elite" team, you have a little less "fairness." You want every one to have a good chance at doing well, so that you have a large pool from which to pick the best pilots, none ruled out arbitrarily, but still you want the best pilots.

There are a large number of other competition issues that will undoubtedly be discussed at the upcoming BOD meeting. I will go into more of them in upcoming Oz Reports. If you would like to make any comments please write in to me, or to the various mailing list, or to your BOD representative or competition committee member.

Discuss "Changes to the USHGA Competition Rulebook?" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

Wallaby Open – rigid wing pilots cry foul

Wed, Apr 25 2001, 4:00:01 pm EDT

Brian Porter|Dave Sharp|Davis Straub|Dennis Pagen|Hansjoerg Truttmann|JC Brown|Johann Posch|Michael Huppert|Mike Degtoff|Steve Elkin|Steve Elkins|Wallaby Open 2001

Brian Porter|Bruce Barmakian|Dave Sharp|Davis Straub|Dennis Pagen|Hansjoerg Truttmann|JC Brown|Johann Posch|Michael Huppert|Mike Degtoff|Steve Elkin|Steve Elkins|Wallaby Open 2001

Brian Porter|Bruce Barmakian|Campbell Bowen|Dave Sharp|Davis Straub|Dennis Pagen|Hansjoerg Truttmann|JC Brown|Johann Posch|Michael Huppert|Mike Degtoff|Steve Elkin|Steve Elkins|Wallaby Open 2001

Brian Porter|Bruce Barmakian|Campbell Bowen|Dave Sharp|Davis Straub|Dennis Pagen|Hansjoerg Truttmann|JC Brown|Johann Posch|Michael Huppert|Mike Degtoff|Steve Elkin|Steve Elkins|Tip Rogers|Wallaby Open 2001

Brian Porter|Bruce Barmakian|Campbell Bowen|Dave Sharp|Davis Straub|Dennis Pagen|Hansjoerg Truttmann|JC Brown|Jim Yocum|Johann Posch|Michael Huppert|Mike Degtoff|Steve Elkin|Steve Elkins|Tip Rogers|Wallaby Open 2001

Dennis Pagen had his little get together of rigid wing pilots at the Flytec Championships. Now, after a week and a half of competing, perhaps we are getting a different story from the rigid wing pilots. Like Mike Degtoff said, "I was a rigid wing newbie. Now I've felt the pain."

The Swiss team is perhaps not quite so naïve as they were the first few days. Hansjoerg found it quite hilarious that is fellow teammates were so sympathetic to the plight of the poor Swift and canopied Millennium pilots.

I gave JC Brown a letter of complaint yesterday. He has me to get a letter signed by as many rigid wing pilots as possible, if I thought I had a legitimate issue. Here is the letter I asked others to sign.

Hi JC,

This is our written complaint at the Wallaby Open.

Scoring Brian with the rigid wing hang gliders greatly devalues our scores.

For example, yesterday because Brian was here so much earlier than the other rigid wing pilots that got to goal, the value of getting to goal quickly was greatly devalued.

It is completely unfair to score us together.

Respectfully,

The following rigid wing pilots:

Davis Straub, Johann Posch, Hansjoerg Truttmann, Richard Meier, Dave Sharp, Michael Huppert, Jim Zeiset, Juerg Ris, Mike Degtoff, Diego Bussinger, Juerg Herrmann, Tip Rogers, Greg Dinnaur (Millennium pilot), Bruce Barmakian, Jim Yocum, Steve Elkins, and Jerry Brazwell (Zoardog).

These are all but two of the rigid wing pilots I was able to reach (and all but two of the rigid wing hang glider pilots at this meet). Heiner Beisel agreed with the sentiments and the point, but would choose different wording. Campbell Bowen said that we had to do something. I didn't ask Brian or Mark.

Results after three days without Brian Porter:

1

Truttmann, Hansjorg

A-I-R Atos

Che

2449

2

Sharp, Dave

A-I-R Atos

Usa

2313

3

Straub, Davis

A-I-R Atos

Usa

2195

4

Huppert, Michael

A-I-R Atos

Che

1947

5

Yocom, Jim

A-I-R Atos

Usa

1927

6

Elkins, Steve

A-I-R Atos

Gbr

1907

Discuss "Wallaby Open – rigid wing pilots cry foul" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

Response to this article

Mon, Mar 12 2001, 1:00:02 pm EST

JC Brown|Josh Cohn|Malcolm Jones|Steve Burns|Steve Kroop|USHGA|Wallaby Ranch

I don't send out Oz Report articles before I publish them. In this case I decided to send the previous one out last night to various interested parties, and see if they had suggestions or responses before I published it. I did make some minor clarifications to the article, and I have published their responses below, edited to make them clearer.

Not everyone wrote back, and not all those who wrote back wanted their responses published. I have published all that I received and was allowed to publish.

Jim Zesiet «JimZgreen» writes:

Print It!

JC Brown «JChesterBrown» writes:

The Rulebook is still a mess and needs a lot of work to make it a coherent, cohesive document. I hope that this article sparks some changes.

The CC should support meet organizers. Meets don't happen because there is a CC, and they don't happen just because pilots want to fly in them, they happen because people like Malcolm Jones, Steve Burns, Josh Cohn and Steve Kroop put them on. Sanction should be granted or revoked based on the objective qualifications as set forth in the Rulebook.

The best idea that you mention is holding qualifiers for the big, popular meets. This is a win/win idea for everyone. Qualifiers would create more meets and would be a great place to get a start in comps. Qualifiers would also help kill the ridiculous notion that anyone with a USHGA card and the appropriate rating deserves a spot in all USHGA sanctioned meets. A spot at the top needs to be earned.

Malcolm Jones «fly» writes:

Thanks for forwarding us your proposed article on the applications.

There's certainly a lot of room for clarification in these matters for the future and I'd love to be involved in the evolution of the rule book in the interest of encouraging people and making it more attractive, easier and maybe FUN to organize a competition. In the meantime, rest assured that we will adhere to the letter of the rule book and for the time being I'll just be thankful for the wide latitude and discretion given to the meet organizer.

A couple of small points:

1. I hope and pray and we will do our best to include EVERYONE that wishes to participate in the Wallaby Open. I can't emphasize enough that we will bend over backwards to make our customers happy.

2. As you recall I assured everyone as aggressively as I could many moons ago through publication in the Oz Report our commitment to sanction.

3. We did everything reasonable to secure sanction for the Wallaby Open on dates that would not conflict with any other competition at the Fall BOD meeting.

4. Please help us make notification permanent: We are committed, as we have stated before, to holding the WALLABY OPEN every year immediately following Sun 'n Fun (the third week in April). As you know, at the request of many highly respected European pilots we yielded this year to their previously well established meet at Bessano, but ironically it seems this will no longer be an issue and we will adhere to our long stated and original idea of following the Sun 'n Fun convention.

A. Title of Competition: Wallaby Open

B. Dates for:

a. Competition: April 22nd to 28th, 2001

b. Registration Deadline: April 22nd, 2001

c. Practice Days: April 23rd, 2000 - April 21st, 2001

d. Mandatory Pilots Briefing: 9am April 22nd, 2001 (Following days briefing announced daily)

e. Rain: If it does this a lot (from April 22nd to 28th, 2001) we won't fly (Contingencies include hot tub, volleyball, swimming, paintball, rest, etc.)

C. Location: the FIRST, the ONE, the ONLY Wallaby Ranch

D. Entry Requirements: Hang 4, AT rating (or equiv)

E. Glider & Equip. Requirements: Open (subject to Safety Director approval)

F. Entry Fee / Deadlines: $300 / April 22nd, 2001

G. # Of Rounds - min / max: No min, 7 max (not achieving min. is an impossibility)

H. Objectives: FUN, Expect Cross Country Racing

I. Awards, prizes, social events: Daily

A hot time in Texas

Fri, Sep 15 2000, 3:00:00 pm EDT

David Prentice|JC Brown|PG|record|Robin Hamilton|Steve Burns|weather

David Prentice|JC Brown|John "Ole" Olson|PG|record|Robin Hamilton|Steve Burns|weather

(?-i)John "Ole" Olson|David Prentice|JC Brown|PG|record|Robin Hamilton|Steve Burns|weather

Chris Zimmerman|David Prentice|JC Brown|John "Ole" Olson|PG|record|Robin Hamilton|Steve Burns|weather

Gaynelle Roach«sburns» writes about all the great flying near Hearne, Texas, since we left the state. Robin Hamilton's flight on his Swift is amazing:

Just thought I would send you a summary of the flying that has been going on in Texas since the LSC. The conditions have remained pretty awesome, with the heat overwhelming at times. However, we finally got some rain, as you will see towards the end of this email with Robin Hamilton's "nuclear" flight on Tuesday (9/12).

The weekend after the LSC, Steve, Neal Harris and myself went to participate in the NASA Ballunar Liftoff Festival, in conjunction with the Houston Hang Gliding Association. We took one trike, which Neal flew the entire time. Steve got to fly a hang glider (by himself!) and flew over NASA, where his dad Fred worked for over 35 years, and Clear Lake. The following is a write-up from HHGA member and coordinator for this event, Dennis Dornfest:

- --The Ballunar Festival at the Johnson Space Center was hot, hot, and hot. I've never been so worn out from the heat and the work of moving my glider from one end of the area to the next due to wind shifts. Still the flying was the most spectacular I have ever done. After launching and being towed to 2000' I turned to the left and could see all of Houston, I looked to the right and saw Galveston in the distance, I looked forward and saw the boats leaving Clear Lake and heading out to the bay through the Kemah Channel. When I looked down, I could see the entire NASA complex including the Saturn 5 rocket.

These flights were truly a one of a kind opportunity. We were truly hoping that Austin Air Sports could make it this year. Otherwise we were destined to platform tow from a 2600' road. This scenery would not be as dramatic from 600 ft. Well, they did show up, with a trike, a dolly, and Neal.

Each day of flying was split into two slots. This was an air show so we were bound to a time limit. The first slot was scheduled for 25 minutes. Due to some cancellations, we were given over 80 minutes to fly. This was too good to be true! We had 4 gliders available. Ben aero towed first, then I was second and Mark DeMarino was third. The cu's were plenty and the ceiling was around 2000'. That didn't matter because the FAA ceiling was 2000' for this event anyway.

After I landed, I handed my glider and harness to Steve. It didn't take much persuasion to get him to fly. He and Ben enjoyed a 40 min. flight under those cu's. Steve almost went XC after seeing his old house in the distance and knowing it was obtainable. Still, he decided to come down and land in front of the clapping spectators right on top of the X used for the sky divers spot landing mark. I've never seen Steve grin so much. The other flights we did were just like these. On Sunday, Carl Boddie joined us and was rewarded with the same spectacular view. I wished everyone could have seen what we witnessed at 2000'. This made the heat bearable. Well almost.---

(editor's note: the Texas heat really isn't that bad. Wear a hat, drink lots of ice cold drinks, we always had our cooler full of ice and drinks, and get your tee shirt wet in the ice cold water from your cooler.)

On Labor Day weekend the temperature got up to 120 degrees at the Hearne airport. The heat density was causing very slow climb rates (along with difficulty just trying to come off the dollies during launch). However, once the pilots got to altitude the flying was awesome. The weekend brought many "personal bests" for several new pilots.

Rich Plungris, who recently relocated to the Houston area from the east coast, came to Hearne to hopefully get the feel of gaining altitude in a thermal (at least once before sinking out, which is what he was expecting). He launched his glider behind an AAS tug at 12:30 pm to 2000' and wasn't seen again until almost 4 pm. He only came down because he was getting tired.

He reached altitudes of 9000'+ working big, fat thermals all around the airport and the town of Hearne. It was a "flying dream come true" for Rich, and he's eager for more. Chris Ferraro also logged a new "personal best" launching on the following day at 1 pm and flying until 4 pm, reaching altitudes of 9200'+. I am including a write-up from Michael Williams (LSC competitor and scorekeeper) regarding his flight on Sun. (9/3):

- --Sunday Hearne was EPIC!!!! The tows were tough but once you climbed past 2K the lift got big, fat, and smooth. I climbed above 10K at will and maxed out to base at 11K with 1000 fpm. I found some sink down to 6K to warm up then hung around to watch the other guys climb out from the airport.

My heart wasn't in it anymore so while watching the others, I flew straight back and forth from the airport to the river. Some of the time with my head resting on the base tube and my eyes closed! Doing this for the next hour I climbed back up to 8500', FLYING STRAIGHT!!!! I know this sounds like a joke but it's for real, from 4:00 to 5:00 today I flew straight to climb and circled to descend. Too easy. Go figure? I wonder how long these killer skies will last? BTW, Chris Z. and I cranked out a couple of ~25 mph average triangle times Saturday. MW---

The following weekend (9/9-10) was a short one since Sat. had low cloudbase, with rain threatening (but never really happened) and strange winds aloft. Sun. however brought much better conditions with a high cloudbase, moderate to strong thermals and light winds.

Chris Zimmerman launched at about 2 pm. He was at start gate north by 2:30 and did an easy 48 mile triangle, flying to Bremond, Franklin and back to Hearne. He boated around the airport for awhile after returning then landed at about 5:15 pm (just a casual Sun. afternoon flight). Robin Hamilton has pulled his Swift out of its box, cleared out the "rats nests" (literally), and has been "beefing up" his craft. He launched at 5 pm on Sun. and did a quick 25 km triangle.

I finally end this update with a write-up from Robin Hamilton, who came out on Tues. (9/12) to try and set a new record. His story tells it all:

- --The Central Texas drought ended yesterday with a somewhat unexpected regional over development that still has the cu-nimbs rolling over us this morning. Here's the eyewitness account:

Took a day off work yesterday and went out to Hearne to attempt a Class II record in the Swift. The forecast was pretty good, calling for partly cloudy with low probability for over development. The sky already looked good at 10.00 am.

I set up a 100km O&R speed course (NW to Marlin and back) and got under way at around 2.30. Took a high tow and then glided for 7 miles in dead air under a darkening 6/8 cu sky. I was down at 2,500' when I hit my first "thermal" - 1200fpm going to 1600fpm. Circled 3-4 times but then realized what was going when I saw the curtain "beard" cloud starting to form off the wingtip to the East.

I've seen this movie before. Outta there!! VNE'd it out from under the cloud doing 800-1000fpm up all the way and only just managed to clear the edge of the cloud at 6300' agl. I should have then turned back to Hearne and landed. Instead, I continued on course thinking it might be an isolated cell.

It was all looking a bit dark and there wasn't much sun on the ground any more. Lots of lift though. I was gliding at 55mph and losing no height. Closing in on the turn point it got nasty with bands of heavy rain now coming in from both sides of my track line. It hadn't rained in Central Texas for 2 months and certainly wasn't meant to rain yesterday. I tried to run the gap but got into a hail storm and humungous turbulence (mostly going up unfortunately).

The glider was just being flopped around like a leaf and the fairings were almost blown off by the gusts. Stick full forward and full flaps (works like airbrakes) for ten minutes finally got me out of it so I could start running west for safety.

 Got into some pretty good sink (1500+ down) and soon found myself at 1400'agl getting squeezed with the gust front from the last cell chasing me from behind and another smaller rain cell out to the west. There were great plumes of dust, leaves and twigs running up over the front and the trees were getting severely trashed in behind it.

By now I was figuring out which Ranch would be best to crash at when I spotted some buzzards circling up ahead of the gust front. In that moment of madness, I turned back upwind towards them and got into some rough gnarly lift low over the front. Overall it wasn't going up very fast and you couldn't really circle in it but gradually I managed to surf my way up to a safer altitude. All the while I was being carried west so that when I did get back up to 5,000' I was some 15 miles downwind of where I started surfing.

I was by now west of the main area of over development, which had now formed an almost continuous front running N-S for as far as I could see. I thought it might still be possible to get back to Hearne if I could fly round the OD so I flew S out in the clear air just ahead of the front. It was an interesting experience.

The whole airmass was slowly rising at 100-200fpm with 800-1200fpm blasts where the OD was extending faster. I had to pull the full stick/full flaps trick several more times to escape the stronger lift. I flew in a straight line without turning for about 40 miles - passing Cameron and Rockdale on the way and had gained 1500' by the end of it. Unfortunately the storm was by now really cranking and had spread South to Bryan so I was never going to get back to Hearne. I headed west again for 10 miles so I could find a clear area to land ahead of the approaching gust front.

I landed in a big field outside a friendly rancher's house and the gust front did arrive 6 minutes later with 40-50 mph winds. We then had a deluge with winds, lightening etc. for the rest of the evening. It was Biblical. Being in the Swift had certainly helped with stability and speed. I don't think a flex wing would have been able to escape some of the cloud suck or remain the right way up in the turbulence. Either way don't try this at home. Just land. Regards, Robin---

JC Brown and David Prentice are coming this next week with their paragliders. We'll be sure to keep you posted regarding their flights. I have also included a picture of the "Texas Skies" (no gliders in it, but nice cu's).

J.C. Brown, «memphisptails» writes to Phil Bachman:

I'm going to Hearne, Texas next week to fly my PG and check the Hearne Municipal Airport out as a possible venue for the 2001 PG Nats . If the site and weather seem reasonable, and Steve Burns and I can figure out how to handle the logistics of a big PG tow meet, we'll submit a bid in Oct.

New Texas paragliding record

Fri, Sep 1 2000, 7:00:01 pm EDT

David Prentice|dust devil|JC Brown|PG|record|Steve Burns

David Prentice|dust devil|JC Brown|John "Ole" Olson|PG|record|Steve Burns

(?-i)John "Ole" Olson|David Prentice|dust devil|JC Brown|PG|record|Steve Burns

David Prentice|dust devil|JC Brown|John "Ole" Olson|PG|record|Steve Burns

Steve Burns «sburns» writes:

David Prentice set a new Texas paragliding record on Aug. 21, 2000, logging 65.7 miles.

David Prentice, both hang glider pilot (who competed in the LSC) and paraglider pilot, decided to hang out in Hearne for a few extra days after the competition and air out his canopy. On Monday (8/21) he talked Neal Harris into being his truck tow driver and at about 2:40 pm he was towed to 1,800' but sank out quickly.

On his 2nd tow he reached 1,500', after being towed through major sink. However he was successful in staying up this time and worked the east side of the airport with 300 fpm from 1,400'. He climbed out to the SGN (intersection of Hwy. 6 and 79, just north of Hearne) and hooked a boomer near the depression in the trees (looks like a black pit from the air) working 4-500 fpm, climbing to 6,400'.

There was a big blue hole over the airport, but David kept pushing downwind NE towards the power plant and mine pit, which produced good lift. He eventually got down to 3,000' and then hit another boomer, 6-700 fpm to cloudbase. He kept working the cloud streets, back up to 6-6,500', flying with lots of hawks that were in groups of 3 to 5. They made great thermal markers since he was flying by himself.

Before Waco he was flying over a small town and saw 2 dust devils that split off up to 1,500' with visible dirt. There was a HUGE thermal that spun off of a farmer's tractor (really big), and after flying into it, climbed to 7,200' angling up towards Waco.

After noticing 2 airports to the NE and SE, he found an area over Waco that produced 200 fpm, climbed to 5,200', then glided over to Gholson (just N of Waco), landing out at 65.7 miles in four hours (winds aloft were 10 mph).

David was greeted by 2 "local" boys, one of whom offered his cell phone and the other offering a ride to the nearest convenient store for easy retrieval. The 2nd fellow stayed with David until we arrived, and the first thing out of his mouth, once the truck door was closed was..."that guy is a piece of work". He had to be reminded that he was in Texas, not Arkansas.

He commented that the conditions at Hearne were perfect for novice paraglider pilots to experience XC flights. the availability of good lift and wide-open spaces provided a more user friendly environment than the "big air" turbulence of New Mexico. In his three days of flying in Texas, he never experienced a collapse.

David will be returning soon, and hopefully JC Brown will be visiting for a few days in late September to see how many miles he can log. Texas isn't partial...we love anything that flies! Austin Air Sports hopes to bring paragliding competitions to Texas in the near future.

Wallaby Open - the crew

Fri, Apr 21 2000, 5:00:02 pm EDT

JC Brown|Wallaby Open 2000

Mark Marcho and JC Brown, meet scorer and meet director:

Ken and Prior, the goal crew:

Discuss "Wallaby Open - the crew" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

Fairing allowed

Sun, Apr 16 2000, 5:40:04 am EDT

CIVL|David Glover|JC Brown

According to Mark Mullholland, he has been allowed to fly his Millennium with the "fairing" as shown in https://OzReport.com/Ozv4n84.htm. I'm not quite clear on the ruling as JC Brown, the meet director, was quite adamant when speaking to me that Mark's "fairing" was clearly not allowed under the CIVL rules.

Staff photographer: David Glover

Rigid vs. Topless

Tue, Jan 11 2000, 11:00:01 pm GMT

Gerolf Heinrichs|Hans Bausenwein|Rohan Holtkamp|Steve Moyes

After writing about racing side by side with Gerolf Heinrichs, I received a comment from a pilot questioning the pitch stability of the gliders that are flown by the very top flex-wing competition pilots. He believed that these pilots lowered their sprogs to reduce twist and bar pressure and improve glide, thereby reducing their pitch stability. He felt that the gliders in this condition were no longer certifiable.

Obviously, Dennis' proposal and the original proposal from Hans Bausenwein are attempting to address this issue. It is widely felt that the very top competition pilots are indeed flying uncertifiable gliders because of measures that they take to increase glide that reduce pitch stability.

A couple of questions are raised by this practice. First, if gliders are being promoted by pointing to the manufacturer's results in international competitions, but those gliders are not certifiable, and can't be purchased by regular customers, then something of a fraud is being perpetrated. Perhaps if everyone knows with a wink and a nod what the game is, then it is OK, but still the issue should be addressed in a straightforward manner.

Second, the pilot who wrote to me claims that very significant changes in the glide ratio can be achieved by lowering the dive sticks, so perhaps the importance of doing this is so great as to overcome a top competition pilot's wariness about safety.

Third, the very top competition pilots go to extreme lengths to reduce any portion of drag and performance degradation. This requires attention to dozens or hundreds of details. You can immediately spot the difference between a world class competition pilot, and the rest of us. I know that Gerolf spent many, many hours fine tuning his new glider.

After receiving the comment from my pilot correspondent, I asked Gerolf if the glider that he was flying was certifiable. He said frankly that he didn't know because Moyes has not tested it yet. It is brand new as of last week and only in the hands of three pilots - Steve Moyes, Gerolf Heinrich, and soon an Austrian pilot, a friend of Gerolf's, who will test fly it.

I've seen the pitch stability curves for the regular Litespeed and they are very impressive (as previously reported in the Oz Report). No one has seen the small Litespeed pitch curves because they don't exist yet.

I asked Gerolf if his sprogs were "low." He said he thought that they were, but he didn't know for sure as he hadn't tested the glider. He was guessing that they were lower than what would be in normal production. He had stated earlier that he lowered the tips.

He stated that he felt that his glider was certifiable up to ¾ VG, as a rough guess. He also said that he doesn't like to fly with full VG in "rough" air, and would always take the VG off and soften up the glider. This means that as far as he was concerned, the glider was now pitch stable in conditions that could cause a tumble. He felt that as a top competition pilot he knew how to adjust the glider to be safe in the difficult conditions.

Should these issues be taken into account when comparing the performance of the ATOS vs. the small Litespeed? Do the changes that Gerolf made to his glider bridge the gap between 14 to 1 and 18 to 1? If you glide side by side for two miles at best L/D speed (assumed to be the same for both gliders), the glider with a glide ratio of 18/1 will only be 168 feet higher than the 14/1 glider.

This is about the different I experienced when I flew against Rohan Holtkamp in his regular Litespeed. Gerolf would out glide me by a somewhat smaller margin, maybe fifty feet of altitude. I would and did leave Rohan behind on numerous occasions. Gerolf and I flew together for 70 kilometers or more.

Something to think about anyway. I loved flying with Gerolf and was happy that I could keep up with him. Hopefully I'll get another chance soon.

Discuss "Rigid vs. Topless" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Straight out 90 miles

Fri, Apr 23 1999, 4:00:00 am GMT

Betinho Schmitz|Brian Porter|David "Dave" Glover|David "Dave" Sharp|Felix Rühle|J.C. Brown|JC Brown|Mark "Gibbo" Gibson|Rhett Radford

Gibbo and JC Brown, the meet director, prevail and the JC over rules the task committee, that wants to call a 75 mile task, and sends us down wind 90 miles to Williston airport.

The forecast calls for winds out of the south east at about 10 mph. The cues start forming, with a low cloud base, at around 10 AM. The sounding calls for maximum lift of 580 fpm to 7,400'. It looks like the strongest day of the meet.

The weather service is calling for an on shore flow on the west coast, which in central Florida isn't very far away, We are driving northwest to the west of Gainsville, so this could be a problem. We may be in for a cross wind and the thermals shutting down.

Instead of a start gate at only one time (2:30 PM) like yesterday, they give us three start times (1:45, 2, and 2:15 PM). Because of the predicted winds, people are nervous about launching too early, afraid that they will get blown down wind past the start gate, before it opens. We don't start taking off in earnest until after 1 PM.

As I get hooked up to the tug, with Rhett at the controls, a dustless dust devil sweeps through the end of the gliders, tipping a few over. It then starts with the tug. Suddenly the tug is jumping around like a gyro copter. Rhett hits the release, throws the throttle forward, whips the tug around 90° and takes off going straight up. I'm so happy that he hit the release.

Carlos comes in right behind him, and yanks me up into the sky. A couple of days previous I had pinned off at 600' just over the launch (Carlos hit a bump and I saw two vultures circling below us), but I wait till Carlos hits a thermal at 1,500' today.

There are now lots of clouds in the air, and it is very easy of every one to climb up to cloud base at 5,100'. The air is warm, no need for gloves or bar mitts. I'm only wearing my shorts, and a light coat.

Now the waiting game begins. I'm also providing live commentary in the air as David Glover types it in and sends it off to the hang gliding mailing list.

We are able to stay just at cloud base, just as the clouds keep forming to the south of the start gate. There are about twenty pilots alternately whisping in and out. Oleg and I almost meet under hard circumstances as he pops out of the cloud.

This goes on for half an hour as we wait for the 2:15 PM start gate to open. A few pilots start on course at 1:45 or 2 PM. We are perfectly poised for the start.

As soon as we go out on course, Brian Porter gets near or into the lead. Thank goodness, he can finally show us the next thermals, and use that performance of his for the good of the rest of us.

There are plenty of clouds and we race to Quest averaging 45 mph over the course line. We are blazing fast, and not really stopping to thermal much. Brian and Dave Sharp are often leading. I can't get over Manfred, Oleg, or Betinho but leave the lift as soon as everyone else. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to stay with these fast guys.

Past Quest there is a blue hole to the north, and we need to move to the west to get under the cloud street to Coleman (the first turnpoint). We put this turnpoint in to keep people away from the swamps to the west of Coleman.

Dave Sharp heads out into the blue on a more direct route, while the rest of us fly west to get under the cloud street. By now we've caught the first gaggle for the earlier starts.

We aren't going quite as quick under the weaker lift, and Dave Sharp is getting low before Coleman. We also break up a bit, with Brian forging ahead and leaving us behind. I come in under a cloud southeast of Coleman where I see Gibbo getting up. It looks like the clouds stop, or at least thin out dramatically after Coleman. I decide to stay climbing under the cloud, when I see Gibbo go off by himself into the blue toward the turnpoint.

A cloud actually forms to the west of the Coleman turnpoint and we head out to it. We join upo again with Manfred, Oleg, Betinho, Andre, and other pilots there. Dave got low but in beaming back up.

After leaving the thermal, and moving a little east to get the turnpoint, we head out into the blue to the northwest, with the promise of a few thin cues way ahead. Brian has already blown past Coleman, and headed out into the blue all by his lonesome. We won't see him for the rest of the task.

We are keeping high, but everyone is unsure about the blue. There is a line of clouds miles to the west going north, and it looks like the convergence line for the on shore flow. It's doubtful that we will be able to make it there. The only hope is that there is lift in the blue. Into it we plunge.

Turns out the blue is happening. Ever now and then a small cu forms and we can also get up under that. We continue to stay high and get up to 6,000'. Pretty Cool.

The whole time I've been doing real time commentary on the radio and David is typing it in back at the trailer at Wallaby Ranch. It goes out on the hang gliding mailing list. By now it's getting pretty thin as all the pilots are spread out.

I'm able to make it over to the west leaving a gaggle behind, and I find Felix Ruhle there. He started out early, got low in the blue as Brian passed him, and is now playing it safe getting really high (6,000') 15 miles out from goal. I climb some of the way up to him, and then turn to go on final glide.

The goal is well placed in a large field about a mile from the airport. There is very little traffic at the airport. It's very easy to make it in to goal. The goal quickly fills up with more pilots. Ramy has flown his Millenium in an hour earlier after his early start, so finally there are three Milleniums at goal, as Mark Mullhand makes goal (and hopefully his start gate this time).

Dave Sharp is the first hang glider (albeit rigid wing) pilot to goal after Brian in his foot-launchable ultralight sailplane. Oleg is the first flex wing glider pilot to goal.

Another epic day of flying in Florida. The flex wing pilots may be sore by now, but us rigid guys are loving it. Actually, I do have a sore arm, and it isn't getting any better under all this use.

There is one problem. We have used a goal field (Coleman) as a turnpoint. The problem is that the actual physical point in a field is not unambiguously defined. The co-ordinates given for the goal field (used as a turnpoint) are quite a bit (.45 miles) north of the center of the field (marked serendipitously by an orange cross). Half the field that makes it to the turnpoint misses the GPS turnpoint.

Because of the ambiguous definition of the turnpoint, the scorekeepers decide to make an error circle around the turnpoint of 1 kilometer (.6 miles) and to validate all track logs that go through that error circle.

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Competition Dates

JC Brown|Malcolm Jones|Quest Air

The Wallaby Open (International) dates are April 18th-24th. This is the week after Sun 'n Fun (April 10-17th). JC Brown is the meet director.  Malcolm Jones is the meet organizer.  The cost is $250. See www.wallaby.com for snail mail address.  E-mail is «gloverdh».

BTW, there are money prizes at the Wallaby Open.  $3000, $1500, $500 for 1st, 2nd, 3rd in Class I.

U.S. National Hang Gliding Championships - Quest Air, www.questairforce.com, April 25-May 1. G.W. Meadows, meet organizer, www.justfly.com, «justfly». On-line registration form at www.justfly.com.

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