ST. PAUL — The ole "PL" news basket is overflowing again, so let’s get right into the fun stuff… Some accessory items were left over from last month. More will appear next month. ••• Chris Smith’s Cloudbase company has a new harness. A modern design called the Flex, it differentiates itself with a multiple-part rigid support system. Instead of the usual pair of tubes that run front to rear, Smith has engineered a three-piece system. The forward two supports are welded chrome moly steel… small, light, strong. The leg frame is more conventional aluminum. These parts permit the pilot to "bunch up" (for high speed flying). It also means the Flex will fold more neatly into your carrybag. Another variation from competing brands is that CG is adjusted at the middle-back support location. Most contemporary bag harnesses "adjust their CG at the shoulder lines," which, according to Chris, "can be quite uncomfortable." Yet another distinguishing feature is the "use of continuous webbing construction, rather than depending on the strength of ballistic cloth," explains Smith.

ST. PAUL, MINN. — Having just returned from the scene of the East Coast Championships (ECC), I feel safe in declaring the cross country season "Open." The ECC, hosted each year by Sequatchie Valley Soaring Supply in Dunlap, Tennessee, was a success with four solid rounds. The 450-point meet was won by Butch Peachy in his UP-TRX. Behind Peachy were #2 Brad Koji (Wills Wing); #3 Ken Brown (Pac Air); #4 Zoar Dog (AKA Jerry Braswell on a Wills); and #5 Eric Kaye (Wills Wing). ••• In addition to the main contest another grueling match earned keen competitor interest. Yep, the Fat Boys Glide Off brought new meaning to the phrase, Leisure Class. Tim Donovan won the FBGO in his Sensor. The event was popular enough to bring plans for the ’94 event, though you’ll have to fit a Lifestyle Formula to see if you can qualify. Good humor from organizers Rick Jacob and Cliff Whitney, co-proprietors of SVS.

ST. PAUL, MINN. — May is always a special time of year for me. You see, each May I start another year in the "Product Lines" logbook. I appreciate your loyal readership as I conclude 14 years and begin No. 15 of writing this lil’ ole column. My "THANKS!" at the end of each column couldn’t be more sincere. I’ll work hard to keep your readership as another year passes. Well, on with the show… ••• Lots of well-deserved hoopla for Wills Wing’s 20th Anniversary. I visited the factory just before all the action (for a story that will appear on Wills Wing in the July ’93 issue of Kitplanes… look on newsstands everywhere in late May). WW Prez Kells gave me a thorough tour — well, that is, after they hid any new goodies they might have so you don’t read about ’em prematurely in this column. The tour ended in the design offices of Steve Pearson.

ST. PAUL, MINN. — April means spring flying just about anywhere in the USA! In this year of the American-hosted World Meet, let’s pray the weather gods see fit to send us abundant thermals. ••• As we enter THE SEASON our attention turns from the new gliders and other major equipment to accessories and other goodies. This month we’ve a interesting selection …but first, a couple international stories that should catch your attention. ••• The big Israeli company, APCO, announced a new world record flight. No, not in one of their hang gliders. Instead two pilots flew 281.50 and 278 kilometers in Apco Astra 30 paragliders. Even when you convert these flights to 176 and 174 miles, this accomplishment deserves attention. The paragliding 200 mile barrier may be broken before long. Alex Louw and Andrew Smith performed these flights at the end of ’92 in South Africa. The flights were documented and FAI filing has been done.

ST. PAUL, MINN — For those concerned about the outcome of the 1993 World Meet, the first one ever in the USA… oh, you didn’t know it was in trouble? After Tom Kreyche’s surprising last-minute withdrawal as the meet organizer, this important biannual international event was in jeopardy. (Not exactly a fitting way for America to enter sponsorship of the Mother of all Hang Gliding Meets, eh?) Kreyche wrote that "for health and sanity reasons," he would "permanently retire" from running meets. The meet requires approval of the local organizer (by FAI in Paris), so the late pullout threatened the Owens event. ••• "Mr. Green Team" to the rescue… Jim Zeiset has accepted responsibility for the ’93 Worlds. Within a couple weeks of Kreyche’s stunning announcement, Zeiset had proposed taking over. I’ll leave details to those interested in competition trivia, but it appears TEAM USA will keep the chance to host the meet (possibly removing some of the egg from our collective faces).

ST. PAUL, MINN. — Mail-order Mania… as two U.S. shops branch out into hang gliding mail order sales. The first one out is a slickly-produced booklet with color accents mailed recently by Tennessee’s Sequatchie Valley Soaring Supply (or more simply: SVS). Their 16-page catalog is professionally laid out and uses professionally-shot photos for a top-notch appearance. The catalog is full of accessory items from Thermitts and gloves to a broad helmet line to instruments plus many smaller accessories. The service does not duplicate your local shop in that some items are SVS-designed while others are exclusively imported by SVS. If you didn’t get a copy (their premier mailing was widely distributed), call their toll-free line and request one: 1-800/34-GLIDE (or 344-5433). It looks as good as a lot of those catalogs that fill your mailbox and has much more interesting stuff in it. ••• The second entry ironically came out just on the heels of the SVS catalog.

ST. PAUL, MINN. — Well, now that you’ve reached the "back of the book," what do you think of the new changes editor Gil Dodgen has made (with help from Tim Rinker)? The board of directors approved a graphic makeover in the interest of maintaining contemporary looks for HGM, one of the most popular benefits of USHGA membership. Several years have passed since the last redesign. ••• An irony in timing, Britain’s Skywings magazine just implemented cosmetic changes as well. At the same time — though the reasons are unrelated — Editor Tim Williams resigned after eight years in the post. As were the Brits with Tim, we’re fortunate to have a talented and longtime editor in Gil Dodgen. He’s won awards for your magazine. He does all the layouts and edits all the articles and letters. Like Tim, Gil is basically a one-man band though he’s logged twice as much time as editor.

ST. PAUL, MINN. — Another British invasion? The approach is different (than Airwave) but the idea is the same. The UK’s "other" glider company, Solar Wings, is testing the waters by working with Tennessee’s Hawk Air Sports to import their Rumour glider line. They’ll start with the Fever model, a 12 square meter (≈ 130 ft2) machine. The first one has arrived and will soon be in Dennis Pagen’s hands for a review in HG mag. No other details yet. However, Bruce Hawk — one of those guys who literally built his own training hill near the tourism mecca of Gatlinburg, TN — has just established a new training site. He flew the Fever briefly at this facility and says "It is fast, rolls nice, and lands sweet." He adds, "The sail is different from anything here in the States." Gotta have one? Drop a note to PO Box 9056, Knoxville TN 37940.

ST. PAUL, MINN. — Thinking small may be the reason designer Bob Trampenau’s Sensors often find themselves at the top of the stack. Long renown for beautifully shaped gliders which are meticulously built, Trampenau is also well regarded for innovative ideas. Some of these are modest when looked at individually, yet add up to overall polish. He’s been working on an improved kingpost hang system. The goal was to maintain light forces for roll or pitch up, while keeping feedback in the system when you pull in deeply. He also predicted he could do this without complicated mechanisms, seeking to produce 15-20 pounds of bar pressure when at the 55 mph Vne of his 610 model. By assembling the primary loop spreader bar behind the backup strap, Bob found his solution. This way, the backup strap has some tension while the bar is pulled in. Otherwise the very high hang point of the 610 ("one of the highest in hang gliding," says Bob), keeps the pressures light.

ST. PAUL, MINN. — Pacific Airwave is using an old but proven promotion (as the Electra Flyer company once did). They plan a "class contest," a concept used in several sports. Such meets require a large number of the same model and PacAir’s Vision qualifies. Boss Ken Brown notes, "Recognizing the success of fleet racing that sailing has made so popular, we are beginning a fun event… the Vision Classic." He adds that many of their dealers have suggested and support this plan. Details are still being finalized, but dates have been set: Oct 17-18 in Ellenville, NY (host: Mountain Wings); Oct 24-25 in Chattanooga (Lookout Mountain); Oct 31-Nov 1 at Nags Head (Kitty Hawk); a date in February in San Diego (Hang Gliding Center); and Mar 6-7 at Milpitas (Mission Soaring & Airtime). The contest is aimed at those who generally don’t compete, with tasks being duration, spot landings, and possibly a pylon course.

ST. PAUL, MN — As fall arrives, equipment news tends to decrease. Sales may slow in the fall yet we see increased use of the equipment bought earlier in the flying season. ••• One site showing unusual amounts of hang gliding activity was Oshkosh ’92, the 40th Annual EAA Convention. Surprised? We can identify three different facets to the story: the Association’s booth space, participation in demonstration flying, and the appearance of the Moyes/Bailey aerotug. ••• For the past couple years, USHGA has exhibited at several airshows in a combined sport aviation association booth under the masthead of NAA. By sharing the space, the costs can be justified for associations which typically struggle to fund such promotions. Within the NAA tent, each organization sold merchandise. After four of these events, USHGA appeared to be doing well moving tee-shirts, caps, calendars, and the like. Regularly throughout the week at this year’s Oshkosh, I saw these items being worn by some of the hundreds of thousands of visitors.

ST. PAUL, MINN — Whaddyano? Many not only read this column; they act. Wills Wing received "a lot of inquiries" asking about a new glider mentioned here (5/92 issue). Surely they enjoy the way you like their gliders, but WW diver fans, you gotta let ’em finish it first. If you’re callin’ all the time, they won’t get much work done. By July they hadn’t selected a basic format, so no preproduction prototypes are flying. The company advises that average development time for a new glider can be 6-18 months after they’ve settled on a prototype. Wills indicates, "It is unlikely we will be able to begin delivery of any new high performance glider until the fall of 1993, after the 1993 World Championships." ••• Vigorous summer sales have kept their attention on glider production. Prez Rob Kells estimates they’ll surpass the 1,000 gliders per year barrier. Reaching "four figures" of glider production assures a slot among the Int’l Big Four.

ST. PAUL, MINN — After a period of relative quiet, Seedwings is communicating more vigorously. This is a good sign for (as Wills Wing put it) …America’s only other wholly U.S.-owned glider manufacturer. For the last two years, boss Bob Trampenau has been focusing his attention on Sensor-Europe. This company has a license agreement with Seedwings and is operated by Austrian Andreas Bangheri. Bob observes that output of the two companies is slightly different; Seedwings-USA does not build any component parts for the EuroSensors. ••• While consulting Bangheri, the U.S.-based business (still 100% Bob’s) slipped in market presence from its peak a few years back. However, when combining both operations, production has increased so Seedwings can legitimately claim business is better than ever. The growth comes even though they offer only high performance gliders, no intermediates. ••• Now Trampenau reports U.S. sales are accelerating, fueled by favorable response to their 610-144.

ST. PAUL, MINN — The season is hot… or at least heating up, what with the 4th ECC92 (East Coast Champs) now over. Other news and There-I-Was stories will tell the tales. Here we’ll do our review of glider brands flown in competition. ••• As expected Wills had the majority at 34% of the field, up a point from ECC91. In a solid 2nd was UP at 28%, up seven points from last year, influenced by five Green Team pilots all flying TRXs (tho even without these, UP still held 2nd with 17%). A rather distant 3rd, Moyes had 13%, all-in-all a respectable finish for an import brand. Another Aussie brand, Enterprise, came in 4th with 12%, while Pacific Airwave — usually a strong contender — managed only 5th with a mere 9% of the field. Only six brands competed; Seedwings (4%) trailed the pack. ••• Some of the reason for Moyes to be showing well may relate to a blur of activity.

ST. PAUL, MINN — With a bit of pride showing through, please note that with this column, "Product Lines" enters its 14th year giving continuous coverage of product-related news in hang gliding. Beginning way back in 1978, your readership made it last; thanks to all of you! ••• On with the show… in a rather unusual announcement, Wills Wing has told dealers they are working on a new competition glider, intended to give an edge to those U.S. pilots flying the WW brand for Team America in the ’93 Owens World Meet. Naturally, they’re still hush-hush; partly because the glider is far from determined yet and also to keep the competition from adapting their newest ideas. They have "several prototypes flying, but do not envision a new release in this category until at least the fall of the year." They did confirm the airframe will be 7075-based, continuing their satisfaction with this material (even though it must be imported, a difficult procurement task given long lead times, quality control checks, and long-distance shipping).

ST. PAUL, MINN — Lots of news as another soaring season begins to take shape. Interestingly, even as the mainstream news media microanalyzes the country’s recession, the hang gliding industry doesn’t seem to be suffering badly. Pockets of sluggishness are countered by areas with early, brisk activity. • Notable perhaps, is Wills Wing’s expression of gratitude to its dealers and customers. "We feel very fortunate to have such high sales in spite of the current economy," reports their newest bulletin to dealers. Indeed! Increasing sales is a long-term thing for the Santa Ana company, illustrated effectively by their use of market share graphics in their two-page ad. In the last year alone, their piece of the U.S. pie is up 16% or 6 points from 37% to 43%. In another important area, WW has done very well with their Z3 harness, but such products aren’t surveyed. • Where is Wills finding those extra sales?

ST. PAUL, MINN — When the wind howls and the snow blows over vast, frozen lakes here in the lovely Midwest, what better to do than load up a hang gliding video tape and dream about the speedy approach of spring. ••• Since reviewing Rob Reiter’s Hawaiian Flyin! video tour, several other interesting tapes have found their way to a pile growing beside my VCR. I’d be pleased to review them here and now except I haven’t found the hours to watch them all. We’ll spread them out. Who knows? Maybe you ought to send for the entire lot. Support hang gliding businessman… buy American, and all that. ••• This month we’ll look at Cloudbase III: "Hang Gliding Extreme," the slickest package yet from experienced videographer, Paul Hamilton. The entire genre of these tapes won’t reach the general public particularly well. They’re too long, have too much jargon and detail, and have too many talking heads, especially of people the general public doesn’t know.

ST. PAUL, MINN — Continuing to ride the crest of a wave of popularity begun by the positive reaction to their TRX high performance model, UP is now preparing to introduce yet another new variation on the TRX planform. Last month it was was reported here that UP announced their XTR intermediate glider. Now the Salt Lake City area-based company is in the final stages of R&D on their XTC, an entry level glider. When completed, UP will have introduced three new gliders in a year! ••• The XTR, UP confirmed, is for Hang III pilots. Certification was underway as this was written. Price has been set at $3,795, or $3,495 without a VG system. The company says production was begun in December and that response has been satisfying. ••• The XTC is "an aluminum glider with a truncated planform, like the TRX and XTR, which has been designed to meet the needs of the entry level pilot." UP dealers will soon have a full line from the newly re-emerged glider builder.

ST. PAUL, MINN — A new year of soaring begins and we can wonder what new records may fall (well, Larry?). What new designs will emerge? In the ’90s decade, UP and their TRX have enjoyed the limelight though sales still trail industry leaders Wills and PacAir. ••• Now UP offers an intermediate model using the successful TRX planform but with aluminum spars (it saves a few bucks). The XTR — once codenamed the TRX L — extends UP’s model line, cleverly employing the remarkable reception to the composite-framed competition model. The Utah-based builder is accepting orders while the glider completes HGMA certification. Selected dealers have flown the XTR and are reportedly excited. ••• Near the end of ’91, National Champ’ Tony Barton and aerobatic guru John Heiney returned from an eastern road tour promoting UP. A western tour is planned next. Contact the factory to be included in these plans.

ST. PAUL, MINN — The fall board of directors meeting in beautiful Salt Lake City focused on paragliding. Here’s a few figures picked from several conversations… • APA membership is up to 800 nationally, close to APA Prez Peter Zimmerli’s projections of a year ago, but still a far cry from Europe’s alleged three to five times their hang gliding population. • USHGA membership climbed modestly but steadily to over 8,000 in recent months; 364 are paragliding-division members, "most of whom are HG pilots also doing PG," says E. D. Jerry Bruning. • Paul Voight’s survey of 105 USHGA Chapters brought 63 replies (60%). Forty percent were "Pro paragliding at site but against merger." In a separate question, a plurality (64%) said the Chapter was against any merger. Ironically, a majority (54%) have paragliding members in their Chapter, and 78% of those responding did allow paragliding at feasible sites. However, a third indicated other specific bad experiences with paragliding activities at their sites.