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topic: James Bradley (48 articles)

Flying results »

Thu, Jul 7 2022, 9:09:53 pm GMT

Paragliding

US Open PG Championships 2022

2022 US Open Paragliding Championships in Chelan, Washington: https://airtribune.com/us-open-paragliding/results

# Name Glider Total
1 Nicholas Greece Ozone Enzo 3 4139
2 Josh Cohn Niviuk X-One 4063
3 Evan Bouchier Niviuk X One 4041
4 Francisco Mantaras Niviuk X-One 4037
5 Gavin McClurg Niviuk Icepeak X-One 4017
6 Violeta Jimenez Ozone Enzo 3 3995
7 Michal Hammel Ozone Enzo 3 3994
8 Richard Castro Gin Boomerang 12 3992
9 Alex Leone Gin Leopard 3991
10 Andy MacRae Gin Boomerang 12 3969

X-Pyr: https://x-pyr.com/the-x-pyr-race-is-over-how-it-was/

https://gearjunkie.com/endurance/adventure-racing/x-pyr-2022-paragliding-adventure-race-results

Chrigel Maurer/Ramon Krebs (SUI) – 130:15:35
Maxime Pinot/Jéremie Lager (FRA) – 143:18:33
Pierre Rémy/Nicolas Frio (FRA) – 147:42:58
Simon Oberrauner/Simon Volker (AUT) – 149:49:34

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James Bradley Comes Back

October 23, 2020, 8:09:45 MDT

James Bradley Comes Back

The USHPA Election

James Bradley|Steven "Steve" Pearson|USHPA

James writes:

Steve Pearson says growth is one of the metrics we should pay attention to, like profit in a business. I agree with that and I said as much. What doesn’t work is to have it be the mission statement, or the primary basis for compensating the executive director.

Growth isn’t a purpose. Profit isn’t a purpose. Wills Wing doesn’t do what it does to make a profit. It has to make a profit to stay in business but profit isn't why Steve gets out of bed in the morning. In a crisis profit might be your driver, but that’s so you can get through and go back to delivering on why you’re doing this.

It’s funny that he mentions Apple as an example, because Apple illustrates my point. More than almost any company Apple has been driven by changing the world, not by profit. When they lost their way it was because their leadership had lost sight of this. Profit, and growth, have come for them — early and more recently — as a side effect of delivering well on an inspired idea of why are we doing this. If they had set their mission to be growth they’d be a footnote somewhere.

Steve rhetorically answers: Can anyone tell me why age is an essential diversity requirement and while race is not?

Remember we're talking specifically and only about USHPA. We picked age over race because USHPA is more age diverse. If the membership had a deep mix of races with most members in a narrow age range, we’d have made a different choice.

I don’t believe the right goal is to have a democratic process. I believe the right goal is to get USHPA the most effective board possible from the candidates available, to the maximum extent that this can be achieved with an algorithm. Nothing is going to please any one person every time, including elections with no matrix.

Somehow Steve ignores Tiki’s misrepresentation of issues and her baseless accusation against hardworking volunteers, as if these things don’t matter. I think they do matter.

This would be a rebuttal to Tiki's post

October 13, 2020, 1:21:03 pm MDT

This would be a rebuttal to Tiki's post

Regarding her campaign for the USHPA BOD

James Bradley|Tiki Mashy|USHPA

Tiki's post: https://ozreport.com/24.197#1

Additional discussion about it: https://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=63677

James Bradley writes:

It’s telling that Tiki’s campaign note posted here (Oz Report, October 6, 2020) starts off with an accusation that she presents without evidence.

There was no misbehavior in last year’s director elections, not in the one voted by the membership nor in the one voted by the board (for the last two directors).

A problem we do have with the current election procedure is we don’t have any fact checking of candidate questionnaires. I’m grateful to Tiki for writing to the Oz Report where I can reply, because her candidate questionnaire, whether intentionally or through lack of understanding, misrepresents many issues.

Tiki is only the “most diverse person in the organization” if you prioritize gender and race and don’t count age and region. USHPA's current diversity matrix looks first at region, next at wing type, and, in a combined last priority, at gender and age. These were what we prioritized from a long list as the most currently relevant to USHPA.

Region is first because many members were concerned about the loss of regional representation in the transition to a nationally elected board. So the first thing the diversity matrix does is ensure that, if it’s possible from the viable candidates available, all regions will be directly represented on the board. This was not done as a way to exclude Tiki.

Next is wing type, to ensure that the board has at least 3 each of hang and para pilots, something else that the membership thought was important.

It’s worth noting before going on that throwing out the diversity matrix would mean that all the directors could be from one region and fly the same wing type. This doesn’t seem like the best board for USHPA.

We included age and gender, not because USHPA needs to meet a corporate quota but because more diverse teams do better work. A key reason is that a diverse team is much less likely to think they already know the answer to something. The idea isn’t to exclude males and experienced older people, the idea is to not have only those.

In practice, in many USHPA election scenarios age and gender won’t even get looked at. Together they are the third and last priority, and we only elect 4 directors each year.

USHPA’s diversity algorithm is available to read on the website. Any of it can be changed or discarded if the membership wishes. There are many other criteria that might be considered for inclusion, including instructors/non-instructors, school owners/non-school owners, long-time pilots vs newer pilots.

(An example of why a new pilot might be interesting to include is that they will have gone through starting to fly recently. The quality of that experience is key to our ability to attract and retain new members, and having someone on the board with direct experience of it could be a positive.)

Tiki suggests that we don’t have school owners and instructors on the current board, when in fact we have at least five of them currently.

Whatever other criteria are considered, playing through election scenarios there doesn’t seem to be much point in having more criteria than we do now, as we just won’t often get to them when we’re electing only 4 directors. Consider that with 5 regions we will always be choosing our first director by region, as the 4 directors elected by the membership last year can only represent 4 regions at most (the 2 directors elected by the board don’t count in the matrix). That leaves just three more slots to cover (1) any remaining unrepresented regions, (2) any dramatic wing type imbalance, and (3) if any slots are left, a bit of age and gender diversity. My own opinion is we don’t have enough experience with the matrix, after only one election, to consider revisions yet.

Next, the idea of tying the salary of the executive director to membership growth is poorly considered. For illustration, the previous strategic planning committee came up with a mission statement that was “grow the membership”. From roughly 2005 - 2012 that was USHPA’s mission statement. It didn’t work, membership growth didn’t increase and no one involved in USHPA felt like they knew what they were supposed to do to make it happen.

It wouldn’t work any better now. Growth has to be a side effect of doing other things well. Member numbers are one metric to look at in the question of how we’re doing, but they shouldn’t be the first or only one.

Another example: There is a large bulge in the age distribution of US hang glider pilots. As this group ages out of flying over the next 15 years, we’re going to see a large decline in our hang gliding member numbers and possibly our overall total. That’s sad but it’s a fact. Even if we have successful initiatives bringing in new, young hang pilots, given hang gliding’s global decline we are unlikely to match the attrition of older pilots. The valid efforts happening currently don’t look like they’ll get close. Under Tiki’s compensation plan, then, an ED who is doing a superb job could get a salary cut because of something they inherited that is completely out of their control. Would you sign up for that job?

A board of directors is a collaborative effort at leadership. Tiki describes herself as “battling”, “being like a dog with a bone”, “rarely backing down”, and “the most vocal person in the room”. Having watched her on the old USHPA board for six years I agree with those characterizations. None of them is a collaboration skill that leads to working effectively with other human beings.

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Old Time Lockout

September 29, 2020, 9:17:10 pm MDT

Old Time Lockout

Not a new thing

James Bradley

1910.

Thanks to James Bradley.

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New York State Record

June 16, 2020, 10:05:15 pm MDT

New York State Record

Just across the border

James Bradley|PG|record

https://ozreport.com/24.120#2

"James Bradley" <<arcanadana>> writes:

Thanks for covering Donizete’s recent flight. 

Petersburg Pass is in New York state, by about 1km. (It’s a cramped slot in the trees with poor LZ options in front, only good for cross country.) So while almost all the flight was above Massachusetts, it’s the new New York State record and the new New England record. 

It’s the first time anyone has flown a paraglider more than 100 miles anywhere in New England.

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Reply to Tiki

May 14, 2019, 8:12:57 MDT

Reply to Tiki

She makes a good case

James Bradley|Tiki Mashy|USHPA

James Bradley <<jb183>> writes:

Tiki inadvertently makes a good case for voting YES on the governance proposal.

The twice-a-year board meetings we have now cost USHPA a lot of money. Some of these costs are direct, in actual expenses, and some are indirect, in staff time to manage and Martin’s time to prepare presentations. With a smaller board meeting monthly online, and Martin attending, the board will be steadily in the loop on what’s happening. Martin has said privately that it will be really helpful to have more than two weeks of his time freed up each year for other work, which will happen when there is only one annual meeting that requires formal presentations.

The governance proposal envisions that the one in-person meeting might be a large gathering, with committee members, chapter reps and so on. But none of these extras are required. All the bylaws say is that the board must meet in person once a year. When funds are tight it can be just the ten board members. A small-group meeting like that can be webcast inexpensively.

The savings against what we are spending now will be significant against the current deficit.

Next, operating in the red knowingly for a couple of years doesn’t imply bad management. USHPA does have a cash reserve. At the present rate we would run out of money in 6 or 7 years. So while the spending vs revenue picture has to change, of course, it shouldn’t change in a knee jerk panic. It should change as part of a long term plan. This plan isn’t simple to create, especially since our hang gliding membership is going to drop a lot more as older pilots age out, even if we have some success at getting more young people to start.

The full board indeed needs to be involved in and responsible for this plan. Meeting twice a year isn’t nearly enough to do it well.

A smaller board that will meet monthly is the point of the governance proposal. It would be a mistake to decide your vote based on any of the sidebar issues, which can, should and will continue to evolve. The changed structure will set the organization up better to work on all of its issues going forward.

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When we were young

March 14, 2019, 8:24:15 EDT

When we were young

Before paragliding

James Bradley|PG|William "Billo" Olive

http://www.paraglidingforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=p578331#p578331

1978, billowing spring day at Dunstable. Clouds racing. That's me in the air, teenager, high, and so excited. The guy on the ground is just hurrying off with the money I had given him for the hang glider. It was a Spirit, and yes with the sunset the sky WAS that colour. 'it matches the glider -it's a good omen', the guy had told me.

Then over his shoulder he shouted, 'airspeed! Pull in, AIRSPEED!'

Behind me the old man with the military moustache stood there and watched. I landed at the bottom of the hill. Then as I struggled back up the hill with the hang glider on my back and I knew that as soon as I'd reached the top he would say, 'shouldn't be allowed!' Or 'that's not safe!' Or 'you should be more responsible!'

As I approached I could see that his eyes were watering from the wind and then suddenly it seemed he could no longer hold himself back, and shaking with emotion he shouted, 'marvelous, just marvelous!'

Then just as quickly he turned, winced, and slowly limped back down the footpath.

I packed the glider onto an old rusty roof rack that I'd bolted on top of my yellow Ford Escort, and for the first time that day I thought about food. The wind was stronger, and it was getting cold and dark.

Thanks to James Bradley.

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USHPA Governance Initiative - What’s next

March 1, 2019, 8:32:07 EST

USHPA Governance Initiative - What’s next

After the vote

James Bradley|USHPA|USHPA Governance

James Bradley <<jb183>> writes:

Results

32% of USHPA's members voted. I was hoping for 25% so I think we did well. We’re a volunteer-led non-profit organization and this was a complex issue. As you’ve no doubt seen, the measure passed, 58% to 42%.

One way to look at the results is that just 13.4% of the members were against the proposal strongly enough to vote against it.

What’s next

At the spring board meeting next week the old board will meet as it has. Near the end there will be an election for the directors on the new board. The four officers will carry forward, with the remaining 6 seats up for election. Any current director can self-nominate or be nominated by another director.

In addition, under California non-profit law the director(s) from any region that did not within itself pass the measure must be allowed to serve out their terms. Regions 9, 10, 11 and 12 did not pass the measure, so we will have some carryover directors. This was anticipated and addressed in our transition plan. USHPA will have a board of 17 this year and 13 in 2020.

The diversity algorithm will be applied in this election for the first time. Below is a draft what the chart will look like. With the officers and carryovers comprising the standing board, the only region not represented is 2, so the first person selected will be the top vote getter from region 2. Next we’ll need one more PG pilot (or none, if the region 2 person flies a PG). Next, while we’d like to have 3 “younger" people there is only one on the candidates list (Owen Shoemaker). If he runs, he’ll be elected. With no more women in the room this will leave 3 seats completely up for grabs (or 4 if either Owen doesn’t run or the region 2 person flies a PG, or 5 if both of those things happen).

We don’t know yet who will choose to run for the new board, so for now I’ve listed all the possible candidates.

Results of USHPA Governance Proposal Vote

February 22, 2019, 8:37:04 EST

Results of USHPA Governance Proposal Vote

It passed

James Bradley|USHPA

USHPA writes:

Thank you for participating in the governance proposal vote. In total, 32% of members voted, and we appreciate your taking the time to share your opinion.

The final vote was FOR the proposal at 1623 votes (58%) in favor to 1176 votes (42%) against. Detailed results on the membership vote from the independent election service are available here: https://secure.electionbuddy.com/results/3LFCK2C75ZGT

We received two requests for paper ballots, but none were returned before the close of the election. Since there are no paper ballots to tabulate, these are the final results. We will provide a regional breakdown once certified by the election service provider.

While change can be difficult, we're confident in our members' decision that a smaller governing body will be more efficient and effective, better represent all of our members, and have a greater ability to try new initiatives to grow our sports and support all of our instructors, chapters, and pilots.

Because the membership voted to pass the proposal, USHPA's board size will be reduced at the end of the Spring board meeting in 2 weeks. This process will follow the transitional board plan laid out in USHPA's Bylaws as accepted by the membership vote. The existing officers will carry forward to the new board. Board members interested in remaining on the board will be nominated (or self-nominated), then voted on by the rest of the board. The diversity algorithm will then be applied to determine the result of this vote in order to ensure that all regions, wing types, genders, and ages possible are represented on the transitional board. Please note that all Regional Directors from regions that did not approve the bylaw amendment (i.e., voted against the proposal) will remain on the transitional board for the duration of their elected terms, with the result that the transitional board may be larger than 10 members. Since they will be carry over directors, they will not be eligible for the election taking place at the Spring meeting. In Fall 2019, an election will be held to begin replacing the transitional board to proceed to the new governance process.

We would like to thank James Bradley and the rest of the volunteers who identified an issue they wanted to change, then spent countless hours writing, revising, discussing, and promoting the proposal. USHPA relies on dedicated volunteers for much of the work that we do, and we sincerely appreciate their efforts to further the organization.

We know that this was a much-debated issue. If you are dissatisfied with the result of the vote, or with other areas within USHPA--volunteer! The governance proposal is a perfect example that volunteers can, and do, have a huge impact on our organization and our sport. We're always open to working with members to improve the organization for everyone. If you're interested in collaborating with us, please let us know through email or by filling out our volunteer form. You're also welcome to attend our Spring board meeting in Golden, CO in 2 weeks and to give us feedback there.

Thank you again to everyone who worked on the proposal, gave feedback, and participated in the vote. We're looking forward to continuing to improve our organization and to better serving our flying community.

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The USHPA governance proposal

February 12, 2019, 8:24:46 EST

The USHPA governance proposal

25% of the USHPA members have voted

James Bradley|USHPA

James Bradley <<jb183>> writes

As of last week, 25% of USHPA’s members had voted.

If you're still undecided, I've written a FAQ that responds to some common questions from members, perhaps it can help. One of those questions is, how will this proposal help hang gliding? Find it here: https://www.ushpa.org/member/gov-prop-faq

The main information page is here: https://www.ushpa.org/govprop

Either page appears after you sign in.

Voting will be open until February 21. Please vote!

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Explaining the USHPA governance proposal, part 7

Fri, Jan 11 2019, 8:10:30 am EST

On a nominating committee

James Bradley|USHPA|USHPA Governance

James Bradley «James Bradley» writes:

We don’t have a nominating committee in the new structure, because it would be easy for it to appear biased or actually be biased. Instead, anyone who is nominated by a member can run.

We also haven’t defined any qualifying criteria for running for the new board, because many mixes of skills, talent and experience could make an excellent board.

What we have done that’s a change from past elections is to draft a structured candidate questionnaire, designed to give our members some real perspective on who a candidate is, why they’re qualified and why they want to do all this free work. So members across the country can choose who to vote for in a meaningful way. In order to make sure that all the members have good information on all the candidates, no write in votes will be counted. We will all get to make an informed choice from a national slate of candidates.

Someone could still get elected to the board primarily or entirely on regional votes.

https://www.ushpa.org/member/governance-proposal-2018

Explaining the USHPA governance proposal, part 6

Fri, Jan 4 2019, 8:29:43 am EST

On why the proposed structure addresses the future of hang gliding better than the current structure

James Bradley|USHPA|USHPA Governance

James Bradley «James Bradley» writes:

The most interesting effort I know of to invent a new future for hang gliding has been the group led by Bruce Weaver and Matt Tabor at the 2018 spring meeting. I was part of this meeting at Bruce’s invitation and I came away with a lot more optimism for the future of hang gliding. Yet this wasn’t a board effort, it wasn’t even a committee effort. It was a small group of interested people, and it happened the day before other meetings even started.

If Bruce had brought this up to the current board, there would have been a long and interesting discussion of every possible option that could be tried or has been tried or wouldn’t work, leading to a suggestion that somebody should do something, and oh look, it’s time to go to the awards dinner. The big board would have protected USHPA against something rash happening, which is often touted as its great advantage. It would likely have protected against anything happening at all. This isn’t how difficult problems get solved. Bruce understood this without saying it and tried something different, something innovative, that has actually led to some small successes that don’t look just like the past. More to come, I hope.

Guaranteeing no mistakes is actually a big mistake. We need a board that is willing to try things that might fail.

Https://www.ushpa.org/member/governance-proposal-2018

Explaining the USHPA governance proposal, part 5

Wed, Jan 2 2019, 8:01:55 am EST

On the diversity framework for director elections

James Bradley|USHPA|USHPA Governance|video

James Bradley «James Bradley» writes:

I’m excited to say I think the final proposal is a lot better than both the version the board considered in the spring and the next one that the members commented on over the summer. The biggest change is the addition of an election process that supports diversity on the new board, starting with regional diversity. In fact, as long as every region fields a candidate, every region will have at least one seat on the board. (Please see another post coming soon on why the new region map won’t mean more work for each director.)

I’ve put up a video explaining why the diversity piece is there and how it works.

https://youtu.be/X5cc0tNDNT0

Explaining the USHPA governance proposal, part 4

Mon, Dec 31 2018, 9:13:04 pm EST

On the executive committee

James Bradley|USHPA|USHPA Governance

James Bradley «James Bradley» writes:

USHPA’s executive committee, which is a four person subset of the 26 member board, gets brought up as an example of what works well now. Ignoring the problem of overworking four volunteers, the EC has appeared to function well because it has been evaluated only on reactive work. Its members know they're on the hook when something happens quickly, which includes many operational items that can’t wait for the next board meeting. They’ve always stepped up to get us through all manner of challenges, large and small, and notably the insurance crisis. Hats off and huge thanks to all who have served on it.

What hasn’t been said or even noticed is that the EC does little proactive, long-view work. They are acutely aware—as confirmed in conversations with present and past EC members—that they aren’t the board, and they believe, philosophically, that leading this work is the board’s job. The board has periodically reinforced this view.

But the current board doesn’t do much long-view proactive work either, for different reasons. Decision making in a large group gravitates to the average of the ideas, which means innovation is scarce. Discussions of the most challenging topics, the ones where it is hard to see what to do, the ones where the relevant committee has not been able to make a concrete proposal, the ones that need a plan before they can become part of what the staff works on, discussions of these things, if they are started at all, tend to go on until they have to end, without resolution. Then they are taken up again at the next meeting half a year later, often with some hand-wringing about the fact that nothing has been done. In this way our big, difficult issues don't get enough action, year after year, unless they become a crisis the way insurance did.

The 10-member board will not have an executive committee, because the board will be small enough to meet monthly on the phone, as the EC has been doing, but with full authority to attend to both urgent and long-view, proactive work. Being on this board will feel completely different than being on the EC has.

Enlarging the current executive committee wouldn’t make any difference because it doesn’t address the core issue.

https://www.ushpa.org/member/governance-proposal-2018

Explaining the USHPA governance proposal, part 3

Thu, Dec 20 2018, 8:08:19 am EST

On the resources that have gone into this initiative

James Bradley|USHPA|USHPA Governance

James Bradley «James Bradley» writes:

This change was never going to be easy, so a half-assed effort wouldn’t have been worth starting. The board’s time, however, has been limited to a few hours of discussion, a few reviewing proposal drafts, and some individual conversations. The bulk of the effort has been mine and my committee’s. The suggestion that if we hadn’t worked on this we could have saved hang gliding is pretty flattering; and of course the idea wasn’t to spend a year working on just one of our challenges. We wanted to see if we could give the organization a better foundation to work on all of them, for decades into the future. I'm excited to say I think this initiative will actually do that.

The effort, in any event, is mostly done. If the initiative passes, the transition needn’t take a lot of anyone’s time. The new board, which will be constituted from members of the old board at the spring meeting, will be able to get right to work, with monthly meetings. That will already be a huge step forward from waiting eight months to meet again while the executive committee handles any emergencies. The first new-style fall meeting ten months from now (please see the proposal for details) might be a good moment for the new board and the committee chairs to start a conversation about our committee architecture, and how it might best evolve to support the new board and the members most effectively.

Https://www.ushpa.org/member/governance-proposal-2018

Explaining the governance proposal, part 2

Mon, Dec 17 2018, 8:14:24 am EST

On regional versus national elections

James Bradley|USHPA|USHPA Governance

James Bradley «James Bradley» writes:

What’s behind the change:

  • If two great candidates run for one seat in a regional election, only one of them can win, and the organization loses out. In a national election, both of them can be elected, while still guaranteeing every other region at least one seat on the board. (Please read the proposal for details on how this works.)
  • When a long-time regional director is running for re-election, they often run unopposed. Other people with valuable skills and energy, who might be interested in participating, can feel they’d be taking something away from the organization by defeating an established player, as well as being unlikely to win in the first place. So they stay away. In a national election, a new person running need not displace a valuable long-time director. There will be four seats up for election every year, with staggered two year terms. There will be a meaningful candidate questionnaire that gives the voters real perspective on who each candidate is, what they bring, and why they want to do all this free work. The membership will be able to choose from a real slate.
  • A number of people have been on USHPA’s board for decades, a few since the 70s. With committees composed almost entirely of board members, USHPA’s governance has felt like a closed club. In fact the group has been welcoming of new participation, but you never knew that if you didn’t physically attend a board meeting. By better separating the board from the committees, we hope to attract new energy to both, while continuing to include the the wise old guard. With national elections, we hope to have some of our most experienced people and also interesting new people with valuable abilities, running as candidates. (Will you, dear reader, step up? Please think about it.
  • It’s been written that our voter turnout in regional elections has been low because our members are too busy with their lives to vote. An odd conclusion. USHPA’s members show a lot of engagement when they think it matters. In a regional election, with one unopposed candidate, why would you vote? The low regional turnout doesn’t say anything about what might happen in a national election.
  • For me, the biggest thing is that regional elections make us feel like a fragmented organization, like we’re sending our tribe’s warrior off to the council of tribes, to stake our region’s claims against the others. USHPA isn’t a bunch of fractious regional tribes, it’s one national organization, one community. It needs to feel more like that. We think national elections will help us all feel more positively connected to our other members around the country.

Explaining the governance proposal, part 1

Thu, Dec 13 2018, 8:18:54 am EST

On misinformation

James Bradley|USHPA|USHPA Governance

James Bradley «James Bradley» writes:

For more than a year USHPA's strategic planning committee has been evolving the proposal you’ve been reading about, to restructure the organization for the next 20 years. While these efforts have developed a steadily stronger proposal, one that now reflects the input of the members as well as all but one of the current directors (one declined to speak with us), there is now some misinformation going around.

For instance, there has never been a draft where four director votes would be able to pass a motion. In the final version, the one that the members will be voting on, there are ten directors, and it takes six votes to pass a motion, regardless of how many are in attendance. The law says we have to define a quorum anyway, so we’ve set the quorum also to six, meaning that if only the quorum is present a motion must be unanimous to pass.

Please read the proposal for yourself, rather than believing what you read or hear. Check back also on the section “full arguments from current directors and committee chairs”, as more continue to get posted.

www.ushpa.org/member/governance-proposal-2018

Matt Tabor's response to James Bradley

December 4, 2018, 7:47:21 CST

Matt Tabor's response to James Bradley

The USHPA BOD motion

Facebook|James Bradley|record|Risk Retention Group|USHPA

James' and Matt's back and forth

James writes:

The Strategic Planning Committee has been examining how the USHPA structure is working. The 26-member board of directors served a valuable purpose when most of the committee work happened in the two days before each board meeting: It gave each new committee proposal a wide audience of experienced pilots and instructors, before it was voted on. Many poorly considered submissions were stopped or amended during this review.

Matt responds:

In my experience much of the committee work that had to do with towing, membership and development and safety and training - the committees that I spend most of my time and effort, took place between meetings by most or at least many.

James:

While it was convenient to have the committees, which have been composed mostly of board members, meet immediately before the board meetings, this format contributed to the perception that USHPA's management acted without regard for what USHPA's members think.

Matt:

I am in agreement that the membership has been left out of crucial issues in the past or has not been presented the issue in a timely manner - this has to do with poor communication. The Executive Director - the paid individual that runs the USHPA day to day operations and carries out the will of the BOD was tasked with this job. For whatever reason this didn't always work reliably and the individual failed or was late to communicate or the BoD failed to direct the ED to communicate with the membership on an issue. More than 20 years ago we as a board voted to create a communications manager full time job to fix this problem. This was just acted on and I am excited to say we have a new communications manager position and it is filled by Erica Klien. Up until now this was not acted on by the Executive Director. In the past for whatever reason the executive committee did not force this hire. The EC failed to see to it that this happened or did not want to spend or could not spend the $$ to get this done. This is a re-occurring problem. Fiscal responsibility trumps all wants - the absolute needs seem to get done - depending on your position on what are absolute needs. A recent example would be with insurance - the creation of the RRRG was a herculean effort that got done because without it we would lose too many sites. Time will tell how much damage this will do to the instruction side of USHPA.

James:

Now things are different. As USHPA moves to communicate better and to be transparent in its operations, committee proposals must be posted to the membership for comment at least 30 days before they are voted on. Anyone can point out a flaw in reasoning or suggest a better idea. The board, too, can weigh in. After the comment period, the committee has a chance to incorporate the feedback into its proposal before presenting it to the board.

Matt:

I applaud the comment period and want membership involvement but where will it be posted? How many USHPA members are on facebook and how many of these look at USHPA? 30 days isn't enough time IMO. Communication is an ongoing problem that is in the process of being fixed with a communications manager - this has been addressed without reducing the size of the board.

James:

At the spring board meeting earlier this year in Golden, Colorado, the room was newly quiet much of the day, because the committee work had been more fully considered in advance. As the membership becomes more aware of the opportunity to comment and be heard, even less review will be needed before the board signs off on most committee proposals. The wide audience is still happening, just in a different and better way. It has become a waste of money and especially of volunteer time to fly so many people to a room twice a year, simply to rubber stamp well-prepared committee work.

Matt:

I feel that the room was quiet because nothing overly controversial was up for discussion or a vote. The cost issue is still a question in my mind - there has been discussion that the committee chairs and some committee members will still get a stipend for going to a Bod meeting. Currently it is $600 for airfare and hotel for a voting director and committee chairs. It always costs more than this sometimes a lot more. There was a time for many years that this was suspended. That's another possibility although that would negatively affect who could go and if you want a diversified BoD there are a limited number of individuals who will pay their own $$ to go. In the past we have lost young people or certain talented individuals serving on the BoD because they could not afford to attend. On average it costs over $1000. For 4 days if you add a day because of an extra committee - like the spring BoD meeting we added an extra day to have a special committee meeting on how to reverse the membership trend in Hang Gliding. Still you get $600.

James:

Another problem with the current structure became apparent during the insurance crisis. There was no way for the 26-member board to manage the fast-moving situation. It fell to the four-member Executive Committee to do it, along with the Executive Director and a small band of volunteers. It was understandably frustrating for the board members to be told after the fact about what was happening and then be expected to sign off on it. It was necessary, and it made sense; the EC could get together often on conference calls, and the 26-member board couldn't possibly, not to mention the challenges of the large group making decisions. Some board members found this irritating enough that they began communicating negatively about USHPA's management, in person and on social media, at a time when a unified presentation of the challenges, decisions and reasons might really have helped. (What was actually going on was a group of volunteers were working hard to solve our insurance problem. Nothing uglier than that.) In this way our current structure contributed directly to the rift we are now needing to heal, between USHPA's management and some of its members. Perhaps you are one of them.

Matt:

This was and is unfortunate - the majority of the BoD is and was supportive of the efforts and results by the EC and the small band of volunteers. The problem is that the unavoidable huge cost is a bitter pill to swallow and the worry that the cost of the cure will be too high is still an issue. Our instructors have dropped out in record numbers, schools have shut down. Many of our instructors are not effective administrators, they may be great instructors, however, the task of acquiring insurance to be able to operate at the insured sites is daunting. This is being worked on. I feel that USHPA needs available personnel to facilitate compliance with administrative issues with industry professionals or the task needs to be simplified.

James:

With these challenges in mind, last fall the board asked my committee, the Strategic Planning Committee, to develop a proposal for a 7-member board of directors (which has since been revised to 10), with a transition plan for how to make the change. Included had to be good answers for how we would do what the regional directors have been doing in their home regions, how we would maintain regional representation on the committees that need it (for instance, Towing and Safety and Training), and how might we keep some of what has always been good about the big board meetings, which is the in-person time that happens, the conversations over breakfast, the chance to corner the president in the hall with a question, and so on. This is the kind of project that can never please everyone. You may not like it. The idea is to try to step back from whether you like it or I like it, and instead try to think about what would most help USHPA serve its mission, which is to ensure the future of free flight. This includes being able to function well in our next crisis, and to make the best possible use of our volunteers' time and energy, all of the time.

Matt:

This is the question - what will most help the USHPA deal with its many issues - help USHPA serve its mission? Will a smaller BoD be the answer or will it be the same with less volunteers that have pledged to manage and participate in the operation of the organization. There are good directors and not so good directors, having a smaller pool will not help get the work done or may not get it done correctly. Currently there are industry professionals on the BoD, these folks have a vested interest in keeping USHPA running smooth. There is a symbiotic relationship with the industry professionals and USHPA, arguably what's good for USHPA is good for the schools or at least to a certain extent. The more members USHPA has the more it can do. In my opinion USHPA should facilitate to the best of its ability schools successfully making new well trained pilots who then become members.

IMO everything USHPA focuses on should be guided by the question - does this support and help us keep current membership or does this help us get new members.

I feel the new matrix for picking who is qualified to be a director totally misses this connection. The committee whose proposal you will be voting on did not think that this was as important as other elements and there is no provision for industry professional as a BoD member. When I think back to my time on the BoD these folks have been invaluable.

Will there be any industry professionals on the future BoD of 10? Will the 10 voting directors think that the industry professionals have a conflict of interest; (they do have a conflict of interest but I believe for the most part the interests are aligned) will any be asked for their opinion because of their COI or will they not be asked as just as an oversight?

James:

Volunteer energy is precious; we need to be making the most of it. Our board members, committee chairs and committee members are all volunteers. For USHPA to be the best that it can be, we need to provide them with a more effective framework to work in.

Matt:

Volunteer excellence has always been a challenge and I feel the future will not change this dynamic. If this can be done with a small BoD it can be done with the larger BoD. Why not try and get nationwide volunteers that stay on and help fix an issue first prior to changing up the structure that has served us well over the many years?

James:

The proposed new structure has a much smaller board that is elected nationally rather than regionally. It strengthens the committees, with committee members selected from the entire pilot community rather than from the board. It has a revised meetings plan, including an annual in-person board meeting that is webcast to all of USHPA's members. It has a separate annual committee meeting that all committees are invited to attend, with travel reimbursement, to get a large group together again. It includes first drafts of two new ideas, one a program to help our chapters and the other an ambassador program to appeal to young people. We think both of these are things to get started on and then adjust as we see how they go, rather than over think at the beginning. It has a sketch of a new communications plan, built around a new staff person with the title of Communications Manager (who was recently hired).

Matt:

This also can be implemented with the larger BoD - I have felt for a long time that one meeting in person a year was enough and another virtual meeting would be effective. Perhaps the size of the BoD is too large for virtual meetings I don't know we have not tried it… Everything else can be done with the larger BoD. The national election of directors means that many people will not know who you are voting for - is that really a problem -time will tell.

James:

At the spring meeting in March, the board discussed our draft. A motion was made to proceed to a membership vote on the bylaws changes required to implement that version. The vote was a tie, with a couple of abstentions, so the motion did not pass. Next, a majority of the board voted to incorporate into the proposal a couple more ideas that had come up in the discussion, and to put the new draft out to the membership for comments and feedback. This was completed over the summer and received 176 member responses (120 members in favor of the proposal, and 56 opposed).

Matt:

Out of close to 10,000 members we have 176 members who responded to the survey, I would feel very bad if the same number of members voted this proposed change in.

I feel that the vote should be set up so we have a minimum percentage of the membership vote this question like at least 25% or even 50%.

With the 26 member board you have a certain representation throughout the country that you will not have with a 10 member board; you also have a checks and balance of our system to keep from making bad decisions. This has worked, yes with issues but it has worked and we are still here. What issues will you have with a 10 person BoD?

James:

Based on member feedback, the proposal was revised once again. It now calls for a 10-member, nationally elected board representing 5 newly defined regions. Besides aiming for geographic diversity, the new board also emphasizes diversity in wing type, age, and gender. The board of directors discussed the latest version of the proposal at the fall board meeting, made a few edits, and voted 14-7 to send the proposal on for a full membership vote. The vote will occur this winter, and we hope that you'll participate and help determine the future of USHPA's governance structure.

Discuss "Matt Tabor's response to James Bradley" at the Oz Report forum   link»

USHPA BOD proposal

December 3, 2018, 8:12:01 CST

USHPA BOD proposal

Upcoming membership vote

James Bradley|USHPA

https://www.ushpa.org/member/governance-proposal-2018

At the fall 2018 board meeting, the USHPA board of directors voted 14-7 to send the governance proposal on for a full membership vote. The proposal aims to reduce the size of USHPA's board of directors from 26 regionally elected members to 10 nationally elected members from 5 regions, with an emphasis on diversity in wing type, age, and gender.

The membership vote will occur this winter. We will post updates here and on USHPA's social media accounts, as well as via e-mail and the magazine. We encourage you to vote and influence the future of USHPA's governance structure!

Proposing a new structure for USHPA's governance

By James Bradley, chair of the Strategic Planning Committee

The Strategic Planning Committee has been examining how the USHPA structure is working. The 26-member board of directors served a valuable purpose when most of the committee work happened in the two days before each board meeting: It gave each new committee proposal a wide audience of experienced pilots and instructors, before it was voted on. Many poorly considered submissions were stopped or amended during this review.

While it was convenient to have the committees, which have been composed mostly of board members, meet immediately before the board meetings, this format contributed to the perception that USHPA’s management acted without regard for what USHPA’s members think.

Now things are different. As USHPA moves to communicate better and to be transparent in its operations, committee proposals must be posted to the membership for comment at least 30 days before they are voted on. Anyone can point out a flaw in reasoning or suggest a better idea. The board, too, can weigh in. After the comment period, the committee has a chance to incorporate the feedback into its proposal before presenting it to the board.

At the spring board meeting earlier this year in Golden, Colorado, the room was newly quiet much of the day, because the committee work had been more fully considered in advance. As the membership becomes more aware of the opportunity to comment and be heard, even less review will be needed before the board signs off on most committee proposals. The wide audience is still happening, just in a different and better way. It has become a waste of money and especially of volunteer time to fly so many people to a room twice a year, simply to rubber stamp well-prepared committee work.

Another problem with the current structure became apparent during the insurance crisis. There was no way for the 26-member board to manage the fast-moving situation. It fell to the four-member Executive Committee to do it, along with the Executive Director and a small band of volunteers. It was understandably frustrating for the board members to be told after the fact about what was happening and then be expected to sign off on it. It was necessary, and it made sense; the EC could get together often on conference calls, and the 26-member board couldn’t possibly, not to mention the challenges of the large group making decisions. Some board members found this irritating enough that they began communicating negatively about USHPA’s management, in person and on social media, at a time when a unified presentation of the challenges, decisions and reasons might really have helped. (What was actually going on was a group of volunteers were working hard to solve our insurance problem. Nothing uglier than that.) In this way our current structure contributed directly to the rift we are now needing to heal, between USHPA’s management and some of its members. Perhaps you are one of them.

With these challenges in mind, last fall the board asked my committee, the Strategic Planning Committee, to develop a proposal for a 7-member board of directors (which has since been revised to 10), with a transition plan for how to make the change. Included had to be good answers for how we would do what the regional directors have been doing in their home regions, how we would maintain regional representation on the committees that need it (for instance, Towing and Safety & Training), and how might we keep some of what has always been good about the big board meetings, which is the in-person time that happens, the conversations over breakfast, the chance to corner the president in the hall with a question, and so on.

This is the kind of project that can never please everyone. You may not like it. The idea is to try to step back from whether you like it or I like it, and instead try to think about what would most help USHPA serve its mission, which is to ensure the future of free flight. This includes being able to function well in our next crisis, and to make the best possible use of our volunteers’ time and energy, all of the time.

Volunteer energy is precious; we need to be making the most of it. Our board members, committee chairs and committee members are all volunteers. For USHPA to be the best that it can be, we need to provide them with a more effective framework to work in.

The proposed new structure has a much smaller board that is elected nationally rather than regionally. It strengthens the committees, with committee members selected from the entire pilot community rather than from the board. It has a revised meetings plan, including an annual in-person board meeting that is webcast to all of USHPA’s members. It has a separate annual committee meeting that all committees are invited to attend, with travel reimbursement, to get a large group together again. It includes first drafts of two new ideas, one a program to help our chapters and the other an ambassador program to appeal to young people. We think both of these are things to get started on and then adjust as we see how they go, rather than over think at the beginning. It has a sketch of a new communications plan, built around a new staff person with the title of Communications Manager (who was recently hired).

At the spring meeting in March, the board discussed our draft. A motion was made to proceed to a membership vote on the bylaws changes required to implement that version. The vote was a tie, with a couple of abstentions, so the motion did not pass. Next, a majority of the board voted to incorporate into the proposal a couple more ideas that had come up in the discussion, and to put the new draft out to the membership for comments and feedback. This was completed over the summer and received 176 member responses (120 members in favor of the proposal, and 56 opposed).

Based on member feedback, the proposal was revised once again. It now calls for a 10-member, nationally elected board representing 5 newly defined regions. Besides aiming for geographic diversity, the new board also emphasizes diversity in wing type, age, and gender. The board of directors discussed the latest version of the proposal at the fall board meeting, made a few edits, and voted 14-7 to send the proposal on for a full membership vote. The vote will occur this winter, and we hope that you'll participate and help determine the future of USHPA's governance structure.

Discuss "USHPA BOD proposal" at the Oz Report forum   link»

USHPA proposal comment period

April 19, 2018, 8:41:23 EDT

USHPA proposal comment period

Restructuring the USHPA BOD

James Bradley|USHPA

James Bradley <<jb183>> writes:

The strategic planning committee at USHPA, which I chair, has been looking at ways to restructure the organization that might help it serve its mission and its members better.

The current 26 member board of mostly regionally-elected directors made sense at the time the organization was formed, and perhaps it makes less sense now. At the board’s request last fall, my committee created a proposal for a much smaller board and a transition plan. At last month’s meeting in Golden, Colorado, the board asked us to make our proposal available to all of USHPA’s members for comments and feedback.

It’s up. The deadline for comments is June 15. USHPA invites all its members to download the proposal at the link below. We welcome their feedback and thoughts using the link at the bottom of the download page.

Https://www.ushpa.org/member/governance-proposal-2018

While it was convenient to have the committees, which have been composed mostly of board members, meet immediately before the board meetings, this format contributed to the perception that USHPA’s management acted without regard for what USHPA’s members think.

Now things are different. As USHPA moves to communicate better and to be transparent in its operations, committee proposals must be posted to the membership for comment at least 30 days before they are voted on. Anyone can point out a flaw in reasoning or suggest a better idea. The board, too, can weigh in. After the comment period, the committee has a chance to incorporate the feedback into its proposal before presenting it to the board.

At the recent spring board meeting in Golden, Colorado, the room was newly quiet much of the day, because the committee work had been more fully considered in advance. As the membership becomes more aware of the opportunity to comment and be heard, even less review will be needed before the board signs off on most committee proposals. The wide audience is still happening, just in a different and better way. It has become a waste of money and especially of volunteer time to fly so many people to a room twice a year, simply to rubber stamp well-prepared committee work.

Another problem with the current structure became apparent during the insurance crisis. There was no way for the 26-member board to manage the fast-moving situation. It fell to the four-member Executive Committee to do it, along with the Executive Director and a small band of volunteers. It was understandably frustrating for the board members to be told after the fact about what was happening and then be expected to sign off on it. It was necessary, and it made sense; the EC could get together often on conference calls, and the 26-member board couldn’t possibly, not to mention the challenges of the large group making decisions. Some board members found this irritating enough that they began communicating negatively about USHPA’s management, in person and on social media, at a time when a unified presentation of the challenges, decisions and reasons might really have helped. (What was actually going on was a group of volunteers were working hard to solve our insurance problem. Nothing uglier than that.) In this way our current structure contributed directly to the rift we are now needing to heal, between USHPA’s management and some of its members. Perhaps you are one of them.

With these challenges in mind, last fall the board asked my committee, the Strategic Planning Committee, to develop a proposal for a 7-member board of directors, with a transition plan for how to make the change. Included had to be good answers for how we would do what the regional directors have been doing in their home regions, how we would maintain regional representation on the committees that need it (for instance, Towing and Safety & Training), and how might we keep some of what has always been good about the big board meetings, which is the in-person time that happens, the conversations over breakfast, the chance to corner the president in the hall with a question, and so on.

This is the kind of project that can never please everyone. You may not like it. The idea is to try to step back from whether you like it or I like it, and instead try to think about what would most help USHPA serve its mission, which is to ensure the future of free flight. This includes being able to function well in our next crisis, and to make the best possible use of our volunteers’ time and energy, all of the time.

Volunteer energy is precious; we need to be making the most of it. Our board members, committee chairs and committee members are all volunteers. For USHPA to be the best that it can be, we need to provide them with a more effective framework to work in.

The proposed new structure has a much smaller board that is elected nationally rather than regionally. It strengthens the committees, with committee members selected from the entire pilot community rather than from the board. It has a revised meetings plan, including an annual in-person board meeting that is webcast to all of USHPA’s members. It has a separate annual committee meeting that all committees are invited to attend, with travel reimbursement, to get a large group together again. It includes first drafts of two new ideas, one a program to help our chapters and the other an ambassador program to appeal to young people. We think both of these are things to get started on and then adjust as we see how they go, rather than overthink at the beginning. It has a sketch of a new communications plan, built around a new staff person with the title of Communications Director.

At the recent spring meeting, the board discussed our most recent draft and voted to incorporate a couple more ideas that had come up in discussion, and then put it out to the membership for comments and feedback. As with the many drafts of the proposal that we have been through, this one is not final. We want to know what you think. Please send your concerns and ideas. I will personally read every comment and we will consider all suggestions.

Discuss "USHPA proposal comment period" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Oz Report supporters for 2018

April 2, 2018, 8:38:09 EDT

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Hang Gliding Renaissance?

March 27, 2018, 8:19:04 EDT

Hang Gliding Renaissance?

The committee

David Glover|James Bradley|Jayne DePanfilis|Joe Greblo|Mike Meier|PG|Steven "Steve" Pearson|USHPA

James Bradley <<jb183>> writes:

Before the recent USHPA board meeting in Golden, Colorado, there were two several-hour sessions about creating a new future for hang gliding. Led by Bruce Weaver and facilitated by me, they were also attended by Matt Taber, Jayne DePanfilis, David Glover, Paul Murdoch, Martin Palmaz, Joe Greblo, Steve Pearson, John Harris and Nick Greece. They weren't official USHPA sessions, just some of us sitting down in a room for the first time.

These notes are mine and do not necessarily represent the thoughts of everyone in the room, though we had a pretty united look at it.

I believe the success of this effort will depend on

1. A real willingness to change, including things we/you might not feel like changing

2. A real willingness to experiment, try new things that no one has tried, learn from what happens and try again

3. Serious time and effort from volunteers who are already busy with other things in their lives

4. Some good luck that we can’t anticipate, but that #1-3 might put us in the way of.

Here’s a sketch of what we did:

(1) Identified issues: then moved on, because focusing on what’s wrong leads only to incremental changes

(2) Drafted a “success fantasy”: it’s 6 years from now and our efforts have gone very well, what does hang gliding look like in the US?

(3) Grouped the qualitative success fantasy elements into categories so we could consider approaches to each

(4) Teased out “First Steps" to do now that might have a chance of leading to the 6 year goals being realized in 6 years; all of these are experiments

(5) Made individual commitments to accomplishing all of the identified First Steps, by July 15 of this year.

Among those commitments was one by Steve Pearson of Wills Wing, to create a beginner hang glider model that is much easier to launch and land. A few days later Mike Meier of Wills Wing sent a note to a small list suggesting that as hang gliders have chased more performance they have become much more difficult to fly—ever since 1975! I’ll let him decide when to share his detailed thoughts more widely, but he appears to agree that among current gliders even the beginner models are much too hard to launch and land, meaning they are dangerous and therefore require a high skill level to teach (high skill at both teaching and hang gliding). With this in mind our conversation included a fundamental reimagining of how hang gliding is taught and learned in the beginning stages, looking toward making it much easier to start and run a hang glider flight school than it is today, including the equipment, skills, planning and business prospects. What if it were easy enough that a moderately experienced hang glider pilot could get their instructor rating, buy a complete package of gear including teaching manuals and student workbooks, and start a flight school on any flat piece of ground with excellent student fun and safety?

We also had a frank discussion of the past and current culture of hang gliding, which has often not been inclusive, even of new hang pilots. Of course it’s far from everyone who has acted this way, but negative interactions are unfortunately the most memorable. Personally I’ll never forget a hang glider pilot screaming “no frame no brain!!” during one of my first paraglider launches in New England in 2007, and I don’t remember anything else about that day.

Culture change is hard. This piece alone might need disciplined determination from every US hang glider pilot, not just to be welcoming and inclusive yourself, but to no longer tolerate another hang glider pilot acting like a dick. You have to be willing talk to those people. This difficult effort is required because we don’t have time to wait for a generation to die off.

I hope the whiteboards memorialize most of our discussion, and as they were aimed at the people who were there they might be hard to follow. I encourage you to contact your colleagues who were in the room to fill you in. Most especially, if you would like to participate in this effort to reinvigorate hang gliding, please contact Bruce Weaver, who is leading the charge, at bruce (at) kittyhawk (dot) com.

I believe two things are vital to remember:

The age profile curve of USHPA’s hang glider membership means that we will see dramatic drops in hang gliding numbers over the next few years, even if our efforts are successful. We have to remember to measure our success by other metrics than whether the blue line continues to slope down for awhile. It will, that's out of our control and it needs to be expected in the plan.

This isn’t going to be a quick fix. It’s going to take a sustained and determined effort by people who are willing to fail.

I came out of the meetings with a lot more optimism about hang gliding’s possible future than I had before we started.

For the whiteboards here: http://ozreport.com/pub/images/HGmtgWhiteboardsMarch2018.zip

Maillons

August 8, 2017, 7:23:58 MST -0600

Maillons

In response to my article on connectors

James Bradley|PG

http://ozreport.com/21.152#0

James Bradley <<arcanadana>> writes:

For paragliding one might choose links that a line can’t clip itself into during a collapse. I use small oval maillons with screw gates http://www.peguet.fr/self-certified-maillon-rapide-quick-links/standard-maillon-rapide

http://www.peguet.fr/applications/paragliding

Discuss "Maillons" at the Oz Report forum   link»

2017 Canadian Paragliding Championship

Wed, Jul 26 2017, 8:31:24 pm MDT

Under called on Monday

Canadian PG Championships 2017|James Bradley|PG

James Bradley «James Bradley» writes:

Brett's picture, https://OzReport.com/21.147#4, is from Sunday. Monday was overcast and turned on late, with a much shortened 42k out and return task. Then after people started launching the sky opened up and we flew it in a little over an hour.

Tuesday started a bit slow and became an awesome day, with strong climbs on the high terrain and gorgeous looks at the surrounding mountains. I failed the third valley crossing but many others got most or all the way.

Wednesday is canceled for high winds aloft, probably Thursday will be too, and Friday and Saturday so far look great.

http://canadiannationalspg.weebly.com/results.html

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Down to less than $20,000 to raise

January 29, 2016, 1:02:28 pm EST

Down to less than $20,000 to raise

Just a little bit to go and matching funds

James Bradley|Risk Retention Group|USHPA

http://FreeFlightForever.org/

James Bradley <<jb183>> writes:

As a volunteer who has worked on this for two months, I feel like we have successfully climbed out over a swamp.

There are good reasons you still might want to contribute, if you haven’t. First, it will feel different going forward if the majority of us have participated. Second, the more we go over the minimum of $2 million, the better our financial health will be. We pinned the goal at the absolute minimum. Third, you get to choose the amount. Everything helps.

Whatever amount you go with, I hope you will become a part of this. The size of your donation will not be displayed.

The donation page is http://bit.ly/1PlD8ph. The list page is http://bit.ly/1nRMJKh.

If you donated in December and you’d like to have your name show on the list, you can sort it in 60 seconds using this link:

https://fs30.formsite.com/officeushpaaero/form25/index.html

Click “donated previously” and “yes” to permission to publish. If you have any issues please let me know.

(There was no list then and no opt-in to publish on the donation page, and we didn't wanted to presume your permission. You should have gotten an email with a chance to opt-in but no matter, use the link.)

Brad Hall writes:

Sonoma Wings has voted to make another donation to the RRG. Because we are close to full funding, and because the sooner the goal is reached the better, this offer is good until midnight on Monday, Feb. 1st. If your Chapter, or group of pilots ,will donate $500.00 by the deadline, Sonoma wings will match that amount. Just reply to this thread or pm me and we will instantly send our part to USHPA. Another $1000.00 in the pot. What do you say?

Discuss "Down to less than $20,000 to raise" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Vermont is getting it done

Thu, Jan 7 2016, 8:00:47 am EST

The RRG

Charles Allen|James Bradley|Risk Retention Group|USHPA

James Bradley «James Bradley» writes:

State Average $/donor: VT $865.63

Vermont hasn't gone overboard; Vermont is getting it done.

If we don't get much past 20% participation, the average donation has to be $500. We are now at around 17% participation, which is already exceptionally high for something like this and demonstrates how passionate we all are about our sport. People all over are stepping up. And we still have to do better.

Some of us really can't do $500. No one should be discouraged; smaller donations add up and wider participation will get the required average down. On the flip side, a single $10,000 donation raises the average of 30 $200 donations to $500. So if you are able to do $10,000 or $5,000 without feeling it, you can make a very big difference here.

I’m pretty sure $10,000 is where “Founders Circle" recognition will start. There will also be recognition levels at $5,000, $1,000, $500, and below. Every contribution of any amount will be recognized (unless you opt out of being listed, which you can). Individual amounts will not be shown.

If you contribute more than once the amounts will automatically be totaled to determine your recognition level.

We have made excellent progress and we still have a long way to go. Today is a good day to contribute whatever you can.

Charles Allen writes:

http://chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6872

With that mentioned our sport is seriously at risk and we need to dig deep to ensure its survival for our benefit and that of future pilots. On 12/31/2015 I made a donation of $30,000 in the form of appreciated stock in my company BTCS Inc. (ticker: BTCS). My hope is the donated stock greatly appreciates and helps grow the USHPA’s balance sheet. But what’s of most interest is the tax benefits of donating appreciated stock which has been help for more than 1 year. If you own appreciate stock that’s been held for more than one year and are interested in making a stock donation please read the info here http://www.fidelitycharitable.org/giving-strategies/tax-estate-planning/appreciated-securities.shtml as there are serious tax benefits. I’ve spoken with Martin at the USHPA and they are close to having a brokerage account open. An appreciated stock donation is a great way to support free flight’s future and potentially get a nice refund from the IRS.

In addition to the $30,000 contribution I have already made I will match $5,000 in individual aggregate contributions for both January and February ($10,000 in total) from other club members. However each months $5,000 donation will be contingent on club members donating in aggregate at least $5,000 in a respective month. Send a note to me with the amount and date you made your donation. I will verify them with the USHPA and I will make a matching stock contribution once the $5,000 threshold has been met.

Discuss "Vermont is getting it done" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

USHPA Risk Retention Group

December 30, 2015, 7:21:41 EST

USHPA Risk Retention Group

Guiding our own future

James Bradley|Risk Retention Group|USHPA

http://www.ushpa.aero/freeflightforever.asp

The insurance landscape has changed rapidly, forcing USHPA to pursue self-insurance. At the beginning this requires capital to set up: We have raised $1,403,168 to date, and must raise an additional $596,832 by March 1st, 2016 to continue protecting our sites, schools, and members.

We have received a $100,000 challenge grant from a member, meaning that once our membership raises $496,832, this donor will provide the $100,000 needed to complete the capitalization.

James Bradley <<jb183>> writes:

Life memberships in USHPA are indeed on the list to reconsider. I personally favor multiple levels, with recognition and the option to upgrade your level anytime, should you feel more flush in the future. So far this is just my undiscussed opinion. As I understand it there is currently a bylaw prohibiting life memberships, and bylaws require a membership vote. So regrettably there isn’t time for them to help this campaign.

We are really grateful for everyone’s ideas. We are doing some of them. USHPA is a tiny organization, with about four actual employees and two contractors who make the magazine. The rest of us are volunteers with otherwise busy lives. The choice of which ideas to spend resources on is as important as anything else we do. Many good ideas simply can’t happen because they would take resources away from the most important efforts.

One thing that will happen soon is recognition of donations at all levels. Thanks to all of you. Anyone who wants to upgrade their donation to get to the next level can do so. Anyone who wants to opt-out of recognition can do so.

A big shout out to the influential members who have been getting the word out and rallying people hugely in their own way.

In this campaign we know some people will sit with their arms folded no matter what we do. It won’t help to whine about that, the rest of us have to step up and cover for them. If we don’t act like we are all in this together, we won’t be.

Wishing everyone good health and great flying in 2016.

Discuss "USHPA Risk Retention Group" at the Oz Report forum   link»

2013 April Paragliding World Cup

Tue, Apr 23 2013, 9:00:19 am EDT

Paragliding World Cup

Good last day

PG World Cup 2013|James Bradley|PG|video

http://pwca.org/node/13655

http://www.hipoxia.com.br/pwc2013/

James Bradley «James Bradley» writes:

The strike throughs on the scoring:

If you make end of speed section but land short of goal your time shows but in strike-through because you lose your time points. If you had some leading points you might still beat some people who made goal very slowly with few or zero speed points. Those people's times are not struck through. This happened with a few people on Saturday.

The last task was a great flying day. Like Task 1, we had a lot of time above base before the start. Flying next to and between clouds with fifty other gliders in the same bit of lift is ethereal, beautiful and scary.

Unlike Task 1, it never paid to get anywhere near base once on course, as the climbs were much stronger lower and the people who left before you got the strongest part of the next climb and got it sooner. I made this mistake repeatedly early on and didn't understand it clearly til later, much to the detriment of my overall score. Another good lesson.

I still had a gorgeous 70k flight flight for my birthday and my first World Cup goal field. (Between Sun Valley and Baixo Guandu there had been only two tasks with anyone in goal and this was the first with more than few.) It was fun to see what Baixo Guandu offers on a good day. Stunning.

The mad Belgian Philippe has videos up: https://vimeo.com/channels/paraglidingworldcup.
Of the ones I've seen my own favorite is Task 1 https://vimeo.com/64117358.

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2013 April Paragliding World Cup

Sat, Apr 20 2013, 8:43:57 am EDT

Paragliding World Cup

Poor conditions

PG World Cup 2013|James Bradley|PG

http://pwca.org/node/13655

http://www.hipoxia.com.br/pwc2013/

James Bradley «James Bradley» writes:

Yesterday started to turn on a little despite the high clouds and it was just a tease. There was a lot of grumbling in the retrieve vans. The start was 12k from launch in an effort to keep us from all being in an ultra-crowded vertically compressed gaggle, low over the cliffs on the spine to the left of launch. Not crazy, a mid-air is a real risk and could be dangerous there, but we did lose 10k of course line. Personally, I was out of sync with myself yesterday, hoping to click better today. The top 25 qualify for the SuperFinal.

It has paid to make tracks early. When the day shuts off it mostly shuts off everywhere. With luck you might find one more very weak climb going moderately high and glide over some of your friends on the ground.

One more chance today to show up and see what happens.

Discuss "2013 April Paragliding World Cup" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

2013 April Paragliding World Cup

Tue, Apr 16 2013, 6:14:10 pm EDT

Paragliding World Cup

Rain and some results as well as realistic GAP parameters

PG World Cup 2013|James Bradley|PG

http://pwca.org/node/13655

http://www.hipoxia.com.br/pwc2013/

James Bradley «James Bradley» writes:

Sunday we ran a task with rain chasing and ahead. It was stopped when the leaders caught the rain ahead. The GAP parameters are well in force in the PWC these days so the day was devalued to 330 pts. When we are still that far from goal the software seems to realize, correctly perhaps, that it has no idea how people are going to finish, so the scoring is extremely compressed: 50 pts covered the top 90 pilots who spanned just 4 kilometers in the air when the task was stopped. (A couple of high pilots gained a little more distance as everyone got credit for 4:1 glide.)

Monday was called early at HQ for rain. Today -- Tuesday -- we went up, called a task, and waited for it to blow in. It never did. At 2:00 they called it. A few of us ran off in a light tailwind and had lovely short flights. A task would not have been possible.

Tomorrow and Thursday look better, fingers crossed.

Discuss "2013 April Paragliding World Cup" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

Paragliding World Cup

April 15, 2013, 8:32:42 EDT

Paragliding World Cup

Latest version starts this weekend

Brett Hazlett|James Bradley|PG

http://pwca.org/node/13655

http://www.hipoxia.com.br/pwc2013/

Speaking (as we have lately) of Brazil, James Bradley sends:

Dancing around rock monoliths and rain showers in light conditions, getting help from vulture swarms, before the PWC in Baixo Guandu. With Brett Hazlett. First task Sunday. The forecast is looking better, i.e. dryer.

Discuss "Paragliding World Cup" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Carrying a heavy load

November 20, 2012, 8:24:07 PST

Carrying a heavy load

Missing the kite strings

James Bradley

James Bradley <<jb183>> writes:

New Yorker magazine iPad version advertisement:

Discuss "Carrying a heavy load" at the Oz Report forum   link»

XCPlanner - addendum

November 13, 2012, 9:30:15 PST

XCPlanner

Drag and drop your track log

James Bradley|XC Planner

http://xcplanner.appspot.com/

James Bradley <<jb183>> writes:

XC Planner does another fun thing now:

- Display IGC tracklogs (just drag and drop them onto the map)

The premiums

April 16, 2012, 8:22:19 EDT

The premiums

If there are any errors please write to me

calendar|Dan Bereczki|Daniel Gravage|Duncan McBride|Eric Beckman|Gakuta Toba|Harald Steen|Harry Sudwischer|James Bradley|John Alden|John Simon|Kent Robinson|Larry Bunner|Mike Barber|Patrick Kruse|PG|Steve Kroop|Steven Cuypers|Wayne Michelsen|Winfried Oswald

1 Eric Beckman Skyline Survival M parachute
2 Stephan Forslund IQ Sonic audio vario from Steve Kroop at Flytec
3 Duncan McBride Flytec Alt Windwatch
4 Alf Oppoyen Wills Wing camera boom
5 John Pop Flytec PolyPro/Fleece Speed sleeves
6 Wayne Michelsen Remora Rack from Mike Barber at http://remoraracks.com/index.php?page=5
7 Michael Howard One set of Whoosh!Wheels (winners’ choice of hub style and wheels size) from Raven Hang Gliding, Inc.
8 Bill A Baker donation to Feeding America
9 John Bauer donation to the Cloudbase Foundation.
10 Steven Mazanek http://www.xheli.com/67h-h853-blue.html
11 Tim Ettridge http://www.atlantahobby.com/store/pc/BLADE-mQX-RTF-872p16205.htm
12 Tanno Rutten Flytec Zip-up Speed sleeves
13 Harald Steen Pass
14 Gregory Angsten Mike Barber's Remora rack pads
15 Mauricio Machado Pinto Couldn't get a hold of
16 John Cheale Oz Report pro-tow release
17 Peter Adams Flytec Hooded Speed sleeves
18 Gakuta Toba set of three Oz Report double length two inch wide quick release straps
19 Peter Dall http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004A8ZRB0/ref=pe_175190_21431760_cs_sce_dp_1
20 Jason Smith Couldn't get a hold of
21 Edward Saunier Couldn't get a hold of
22 John Alden <jstreet>
23 Peter Owens Flytec Embroidered Sweatshirt
24 Richard Pew Flytec Team Jacket
25 Rodolfo Gotes Pass
26 Raven Hang Gliding, LLC http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004A8ZRB0/ref=pe_175190_21431760_cs_sce_dp_1
27 Dietmar Tschabrun (medium) one of two tee-shirts from Larry Bunner
28 George Nelson Miniglider keychain pilot
29 Winfried Oswald SVS Hang Gliding Calendar
30 Larry Huffman Miniglider keychain pilot
31 Steven Cuypers Best Flying Sites of the Alps.
32 John Simon Antenna
33 Dan Bereczki pro-tow release
34 David Stookey Cloudbase Donation
35 Massimiliano Vezzoli Couldn't get a hold of
36 Paul Rankin Classic Routes
37 James Bradley Pass (limited list)
38 Allen Ahl (large) one of two tee-shirts from Larry Bunner
39 Helen McKerral Speed sleeves
40 Jochen Zeischka Pass (limited list)
41 Kent Robinson Oz Report mug
42 Allen R Sparks Oz Report mug
43 James Yeomans Pass
44 Ken Hickey SVS Calendar
45 Michael Bomstad Pass (limited list)
46 Harry Sudwischer http://www.TalesFromTheWildBlueYonder.com
47 Patrick Kruse Oz Report mouse pad
48 Daniel Gravage Miniglider keychain pilots
49 Just Trademarks Oz Report mouse pad

Sorted by first name:

4Alf OppoyenWills Wing camera boom
38Allen Ahl(large) one of two tee-shirts from Larry Bunner
42Allen R SparksOz Report mug
8Bill A Bakerdonation to Feeding America
33Dan Bereczkipro-tow release
48Daniel GravageMiniglider keychain pilots
34David StookeyCloudbase Donation
27Dietmar Tschabrun(medium) one of two tee-shirts from Larry Bunner
3Duncan McBrideFlytec Alt Windwatch
21Edward SaunierCouldn't get a hold of
1Eric BeckmanSkyline Survival M parachute
18Gakuta Tobaset of three Oz Report double length two inch wide quick release straps
28George NelsonMiniglider keychain pilot
14Gregory AngstenMike Barber's Remora rack pads
13Harald SteenPass
46Harry Sudwischerhttp://www.TalesFromTheWildBlueYonder.com
39Helen McKerralSpeed sleeves
37James BradleyPass (limited list)
43James YeomansPass
20Jason SmithCouldn't get a hold of
40Jochen ZeischkaPass (limited list)
22John Alden<jstreet>
9John Bauerdonation to the Cloudbase Foundation.
16John ChealeOz Report pro-tow release
5John PopFlytec PolyPro/Fleece Speed sleeves
32John SimonAntenna
49Just TrademarksOz Report mouse pad
44Ken HickeySVS Calendar
41Kent RobinsonOz Report mug
30Larry HuffmanMiniglider keychain pilot
35Massimiliano VezzoliCouldn't get a hold of
15Mauricio Machado PintoCouldn't get a hold of
45Michael BomstadPass (limited list)
7Michael HowardOne set of Whoosh!Wheels (winners’ choice of hub style and wheels size) from Raven Hang Gliding, Inc.
47Patrick KruseOz Report mouse pad
36Paul RankinClassic Routes
17Peter AdamsFlytec Hooded Speed sleeves
19Peter Dallhttp://www.amazon.com/dp/B004A8ZRB0/ref=pe_175190_21431760_cs_sce_dp_1
23Peter OwensFlytec Embroidered Sweatshirt
26Raven Hang Gliding, LLChttp://www.amazon.com/dp/B004A8ZRB0/ref=pe_175190_21431760_cs_sce_dp_1
24Richard PewFlytec Team Jacket
25Rodolfo GotesPass
2Stephan ForslundIQ Sonic audio vario from Steve Kroop at Flytec
31Steven CuypersBest Flying Sites of the Alps.
10Steven Mazanekhttp://www.xheli.com/67h-h853-blue.html
12Tanno RuttenFlytec Zip-up Speed sleeves
11Tim Ettridgehttp://www.atlantahobby.com/store/pc/BLADE-mQX-RTF-872p16205.htm
6Wayne MichelsenRemora Rack from Mike Barber at http://remoraracks.com/index.php?page=5
29Winfried OswaldSVS Hang Gliding Calendar

Those who will receive Oz Report premiums

April 4, 2012, 4:19:51 pm EDT

Those who will receive Oz Report premiums

In the order of their power to choose which premium they want

Dan Bereczki|Daniel Gravage|Eric Beckman|Gakuta Toba|Harald Steen|Harry Sudwischer|James Bradley|John Alden|John Simon|Kent Robinson|Patrick Kruse|Quest Air|Steven Cuypers|Wayne Michelsen|Winfried Oswald

1 Eric Beckman
2 Stephan Forslund
3 Charles McBride
4 Alf Oppoyen
5 John Pop
6 Wayne Michelsen
7 Michael Howard
8 Bill A Baker
9 John Bauer
10 Steven Mazanek
11 Tim Ettridge
12 Tanno Rutten
13 Harald Steen
14 Gregory Angsten
15 Mauricio Machado Pinto
16 John Cheale
17 Peter Adams
18 Gakuta Toba
19 Peter Dall
20 Jason Smith
21 Edward Saunier
22 John Alden
23 Peter Owens
24 Richard Pew
25 Rodolfo Gotes
26 Raven Hang Gliding, LLC
27 Dietmar Tschabrun
28 George Nelson
29 Winfried Oswald
30 Larry Huffman
31 Steven Cuypers
32 John Simon
33 Dan Bereczki
34 David Stookey
35 Massimiliano Vezzoli
36 Paul Rankin
37 James Bradley
38 Allen Ahl
39 Helen McKerral
40 Jochen Zeischka
41 Kent Robinson
42 Allen R Sparks
43 James Yeomans
44 Ken Hickey
45 Michael Bomstad
46 Harry Sudwischer
47 Patrick Kruse
48 Daniel Gravage
49 Just Trademarks

I will contact each of these winners by email. I will ask each one to list the premium by number that they want from this list: http://ozreport.com/premiums.php. The number one winner will be asked to choose one number, the second, two numbers, the third, three numbers, and so on. They will be asked to be sure to choose premiums that can be shipped to their location.

Thanks to all those who donated and subscribed to the Oz Report. You donated almost $9,000. This is by far the most that we have ever earned during our March fund raising drive.

If you choose not to receive a premium, please tell me and I'll make some more random picks.

Discuss "Those who will receive Oz Report premiums" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Cross Country Planner on-line

February 4, 2010, 5:46:35 PST

Cross Country Planner on-line

Reminds me of SeeYou

James Bradley|PG

Thanks to James Bradley

http://www.paraglidingforum.com/xcplanner/

pick a location
pick a flight type (triangle, open distance etc.)
click "put turnpoints here" drag the turnpoints
FAI triangles have to have the turnpoints in the colored areas

Discuss "Cross Country Planner on-line" at the Oz Report forum   link»

The Yak

December 23, 2009, 8:53:29 PST

The Yak

Speedwing

James Bradley|video

James Bradley <jb183> writes:

The Yak is the new lightweight mountaineering version of the Gin Bobcat foot-launch speedwing. I have a Bobcat. It's very squirrelly while you're still on the ground, but it is solid and forgiving in the air and surprisingly easy to land. You just have to remember how fast you come down when you turn it. At that altitude I bet he left the trimmers closed.

Winds seem a bit switchy on launch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwnH0zAo350

Discuss "The Yak" at the Oz Report forum   link»

Video of the powered paragliding cops

Mon, May 25 2009, 9:15:23 am EDT

A pretty cool video

James Bradley|PG|video

https://OzReport.com/13.091#1

http://www.litetouchfilms.com/articles/article7_palm_bay_police.htm

Thanks to James Bradley.

Discuss "Video of the powered paragliding cops" at the Oz Report forum   link»  

Paragliding Worlds MSM coverage

May 2, 2009, 9:01:00 EDT

Paragliding Worlds MSM coverage

A couple of videos

James Bradley|PG|video

James Bradley «jb183» writes:

On ABC: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=7432260

And a throw in: some small wing fun at the beach two weeks ago in 30 mph winds, John Gallagher in orange and black, me naturally in the white hat: http://www.vimeo.com/4253289

Baby Bald Eagle

October 16, 2008, 12:06:10 pm PDT

Baby Bald Eagle

Raised in captivity, and learning to fly

James Bradley|wildlife|wildlife

James Bradley «jb183» writes:

A bald eagle raised in captivity goes for his first mountain flight in France. http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?cl=10178891

Discuss Baby Bald Eagle at the Oz Report forum   link»

Radar mashup

March 25, 2007, 10:38:42 pm EDT

Radar

The local radar on a national map

James Bradley|weather

Thanks to James Bradley: http://radar.weather.gov/ridge/Conus/full_loop.php

Discuss Radar at the Oz Report forum

Lake Elsinore Cross Country competition

Tue, Sep 6 2005, 10:00:05 am EDT

Hang gliders and paragliders

Bill Soderquist|James Bradley|PG

James Bradley «jbradley» writes:

This weekend I flew in the annual Lake Elsinore Cross Country competition. On the subject of bickering between hang and para pilots, I have to say that every time I've been to Elsinore it's always the same dang old thing: paraglider pilots are welcomed as brethren at this historic hang glider club. The jokes about the different feathers really are jokes, and everyone laughs on both sides.

Lake Elsinore is a monster site in the summer with raucous thermals that will show you collapses you haven't seen before. I once had two frontals (yeah, frontals) a minute apart, while banked up, loaded, and climbing 5 m/s, on a low end 1/2 wing. Summer flying there in a paraglider can be intense enough that I wouldn't want to do it every day, but it's great. It's not so much that it's more intense than other desert mountain sites, it's that you have to fly in the middle of the day. You have to launch and get up before the sea breeze comes in from the west and blows down on launch, which happens often between 12 and 1.

The site has two kinds of convergence that set up on good days, and a lot of other stuff that would be hard to guess or figure out--get an intro for sure.

Elsinore is one of the older US sites still active. In the local club a number of the hang pilots have been flying since the 70s and the very beginnings of the sport.

One of the great local pilots is Bill Soderquist, who flies paragliders in the winter. Bill always has time to give you a site intro, after which he will take you to school on his Arcus any light lift winter day (i.e. you will land and he will not). In summer air he prefers his Litespeed, which he routinely flies to Hemet, about 35 miles, on the famous convergence seam. Then he turns around and flies back. Sure, he's landed out all over the area in the last 30 years, and that's a part of how he's so good now, but he is incredible.

As generous today as I have always found him to be, Bill tried to help me and the other visiting paraglider pilots in the comp this morning by giving us some tips about our task and where we might expect thermals along the way. Unfortunately in one valley he said there was a thermal over "the farm". I came in there with 2000 feet in hand looking for a farm, found only a very small one, found no thermal, then found wild amounts of sink, then landed. Turned out "The Farm" is actually a housing development a mile to the right, funny stuff. All the PGs who got that far landed near me today, except another longtime local named John who didn't bother with the PG task at all and flew instead the much longer topless hang glider task. Amazing.

Elsinore is a site for great cross country flights. There are places to land everywhere and just a couple of small airspaces to avoid. It's also very much a site to respect, especially in the summer, but if you're coming to southern California and have good skills it's not to be missed. Whatever you've heard of the locals is probably true, and it's also true that they welcome visitors on any kind of wing.

Discuss Lake Elsinore at the Oz Report forum

Paragliding Vs. Hang Gliding

Mon, Jul 11 2005, 5:00:04 pm EDT

The controversy

James Bradley|PG|Rodger Hoyt|USHGA

Dan Utinske «dan.utinske» writes:

The fact of the matter is that there is nothing USHGA could have done to prevent the change in numbers, it is happening everywhere, Europe, Asia and the US. The growth in Europe has long ago eclipsed hang gliding primarily because it is easier to learn or so it is believed, certainly easier to transport and one cannot forget the color coordination.

A large portion of those joining paragliding ranks come from a more affluent background then most of us older hang glider pilots. I am at the point of my life where I am more concerned about retirement then the latest wing. I am also more concerned about the wear and tear on my knees and the newest gliders are much heavier then back in the early days. They are also more fragile and more difficult to transport, requiring at a minimum a really nice rack and a rig to carry it on. With paragliding you can transport on the back of a motorcycle if you feel so inclined.

So trying to put the blame on USHGA for the change in numbers would be in error because there is nothing the organization can do to curb the growth of paragliding. For those that are so protective of their individual hang gliding sites, beware, the buck will tell who ultimately controls the sites. I hope it is not true that hang gliders have had their day and that only a limited number will continue to fly; but with continued decline it does seem that we are rapidly becoming extinct.

James Bradley «jbradley» writes:

The zero sum game premise that forms the basis of Rodger Hoyt's arguments is pure fantasy. Like many paraglider pilots, my girlfriend would never fly hang gliders even if there were no paragliders. She flies safely late in the day and has a great time. She also pays association and club dues and buys varios and other stuff that helps everyone who flies by supporting the marketplace. A high percentage of paraglider pilots are like her. They all support our collective sport, and we need all of them.

There is no way to have no change in our world, and I understand being mad about some of it, but lets look at some other changes. Hang gliding is evolving in great ways. Witness the successful Florida flight parks that are being copied elsewhere in the US. They completely solve the problem of trucking a cumbersome hang glider up the hill and the constant setup and teardown time inherent in that model. As well as the driver problem. As well as the no-place-for-the-kids to have fun problem. What a great thing. I believe hang gliding is poised to grow again because of this.

As for the magazine, why is it so hard to skip the articles you don't want to read? Many of us think that's a normal part of reading any magazine.

(editor's note: Enough of this. Take it to the Oz Report forum.)

Discuss on the thread "Paragliding and Hang Gliding" at the Oz Report forum

The passing of a paraglider pilot

Tue, Jun 7 2005, 5:00:01 pm EDT

You can see her accomplishments at this web site

James Bradley|PG

http://www.gingliders.com/team/lena_alfredson.php

Thanks to James Bradley.

Discuss Lena at the Oz Report forum

PG Bloopers

Thu, May 12 2005, 12:00:05 pm EDT

The video

James Bradley|PG|video

James Bradley «james» sent me this URL:

http://seattleparagliding.com/ls_blooper.html

Check out the trailers.

Discuss hang gliding at the Oz Report forum

Cross Country in cyber space

Wed, Mar 30 2005, 2:00:06 am EST

Shooting themselves in their own foot.

Hugh Miller|James Bradley

James Bradley «jbradley» writes:

Hugh Miller should forget shutting down the free link. From a marketing POV, it's crazy not to give away one digital issue to anyone and everyone. This includes allowing Zinio's "send to a friend" feature to be active.

I'm not out for my own free one. I paid for mine before I saw the link to the free one, and I am a paid subscriber to the print edition as well. I don't care about the $5. I'm out to see the mags in our sport, and our sport, be more successful.

XC will up their readership if they get the word out on this, and the best way to do it is to give away an issue. Or two.

Thanks for the link to teleflip, and how do I get the number of the girl on the right?

Discuss hang gliding at the Oz Report forum

Sunscreen

Wed, Nov 24 2004, 11:00:05 am EST

Extreme sunlight

James Bradley

cart|James Bradley

James Bradley «jbradley» writes:

If sun exposure is a concern for you you might be interested in this. I have some skin cancer in my family and apparently I should have been more careful about sunscreen for years.

For a couple of months I've been using an SPF 60 sunscreen that I bought at a dermatologist's office for the crazy high price of $45 a tube.  I noticed it was by far cheaper than anything else that happened while I was there, all of which related to sun exposure. It has both zinc and titanium in it though it goes on transparent.

The reasons I like it are:

- highest SPF I've seen, which wouldn't matter if it sweated off easily
- doesn't sweat off easily
- doesn't run around my eyes; I use even on my eyelids and don't suffer for it
- doesn't make the skin around my nose break out painfully, the way many other brands do
- washes off with with soap and water
- it would be too ironic to fly safely for years and die of skin cancer.

The good news is I've found a much cheaper source. 100 ml tubes (listed as 3 oz) are 18.99 here, and service is prompt. If the link ever stops working the product name is Anthelios. I've only tried the 60 SPF L version.

Discuss sunlight at the Oz Report forum

Oxygen - a bigger hit »

Tue, Nov 23 2004, 7:04:06 pm GMT

Mountain high.

oxygen

James Bradley|oxygen|PG|sailplane

James Bradley «jbradley» writes:

In hopes of nice unstable air this fall, I looked hard to find a place that would sell me a Mountain High EDS system at a discount. As far as I can learn it's the best system. It's an "on-demand" rig that (1) turns on/off automatically as you pass through 10,000 feet (among other options) and (2) meters out the O2 in pulses at the beginning of each inhale, slowing the drain on your bottle dramatically. (It senses when you start a breath.) It also beeps at you if you don't seem to be breathing. But the thing is a bit spendy.

Mountain High also makes much cheaper constant flow systems, as do many other companies, that you have to remember to turn on and off and that empties your bottle a lot faster. You can see all their stuff at <http://www.mhoxygen.com/>. I bought an EDS-180, which is apparently a typical rig for paragliders and hang gliders. I didn't get lucky on an unstable fall in southern California, but I have tried the rig and it works well. Just sitting at launch in the Owens at 9000 feet, running for a few minutes calmed me down a lot.

Now for the tip: You can get 10% off of any of Mountain High's products at a sailplane place in Utah called Morgan Valley Soaring, <http://www.morganvalleysoaring.com/>. Call 866 649 7627 and ask for Aaron, tell him I sent you.

10% may not seem like a big discount, but it helps. Dealers don't get much to begin with and all the others I could find sell at list. Aaron's motivation is he wants to build up his volume with Mountain High. He's also a really nice guy who takes the trouble to make sure your order is right.

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