ST. PAUL, MINN. — Wallaby’s Open started the season with a bang. While wet spring weather brought challenges, four valid rounds left Ukrainian Oleg Bondarchuk as the winner of the flex-wing class, beating Italian Manfred Ruhmer and Yankee Paris Williams in a field of 72 pilots. Mike Barber (6th), Chris Arai (10th), Jim Lee (17th), and Curt Warren (18th) were among Americans in the top 20 finishers. u For rigid wings now grouped in Class 5, Alex Ploner held his title taking first over fellow Italian Christian Ciech. Top Yankees were Bruce Barmakian, Davis Straub, Campbell Bowen, and Heiner Biesel in 4th through 7th respectively. This class saw ATOS dominating with 63% of the field, Ghostbusters at 13% and five other models in the field of 24 Class 5 rigids. u Brian Porter again won in Class 2 rigid wings flying his Swift, though he competed only against Brit’ Robin Hamilton in another Swift.
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Product Lines – June 01
ST. PAUL, MINN., — A significant period for hang gliding competition, two events in Florida and a smaller version of Bassano (Italy) just finished. Over 100 pilots signed up to compete in each of the twin Florida tow contests with the total field divided 75% flex wing, 25% rigid wings. Flex and rigid flew in different classes, barring direct comparison. No competing glider had a kingpost. So many tugs were available that better than 100 launches were made in less than an hour. ••• Both events were won by reigning X-C contest guru, Manfred Ruhmer on his signature version of the Icaro Laminar. He’d have won Bassano, too, probably (instead Bob Baier won on his Litespeed), but the Bassano meet was so off-and-on-again that many top ranked pilots skipped it. Online pilots can read long, detailed reports on the Oz Report (davisstraub.com) and others can read stories sure to follow in this magazine, but I’ll take my usual view of what got flown, by whom, plus a few other tidbits.
Product Lines – June 00
ST. PAUL, MINN., — Wallaby and Quest are done with their big contests and each event will surely generate stories in our favorite magazine. But, given this column’s focus on products, I surveyed the glider brands used by competitors. • In the Wallaby Open, Wills Wing had a slim lead with 26% of the field, closely trailed by Aeros with 25%, Moyes with 22% and Icaro with 15%. Largely unknown to Yankee pilots, UK’s Avian brand made a small mark at 6%. Airwave had a minor 3% and La Mouette even smaller at 1% of the field of 68 flex wing pilots. • In the Atlantic Coast Championships the next week (but without exactly the same participants), Aeros lead at 31%, followed by Wills at 26% of the field of 54 flex wing entrants. Well below these two leaders were Icaro at 15%, Moyes at 13%, trailed even further by Altair at 6%, Avian and Airwave at 4% each and La Mouette with 2% of the total.
Product Lines – May 04
St. Paul, Minn. — Time is growing short! Perhaps by the time you read this, FAA may have issuedtheir new rule called Sport Pilot/Light-Sport Aircraft (SP/LSA). • Why should you care? Well, perhaps you don’t. If you fly solo in your hang glider or paraglider and are not towed aloft by a tug of some kind, you may continue to operate under F.A.R. Part 103 as blissfully as ever. However, if you’re one of the many who enjoy aerotow launches, you may be impacted by this rule. • The good news is… the trio of Jayne Depanfilis, Mike Meier, and Bill Bryden have been pursuing actions on the new rule and have the matter quite well in hand. The issues of two-place flying have been addressed and face few obstacles. Aerotowing, however, is less certain. Operations such as Lookout Mountain Flight Park have been fighting local battles with adversaries who brought FAA into the picture.
Product Lines – May 03
St. Paul, Minn. — By the time you read this, the Wallaby/Quest tow meets have recently concluded. Last month I hinted at some non-Florida tow meets. Each has its own spin on the competition theme. ••• Raven Sky Sports announced a tow competition set for the week of June 7 to June 14 or 15 and in mid-March USHGA’s board awarded sanction for a Class “B” meet. Business owner, Brad Kushner, has hired David Glover to perform as meet director. • Raven has four Dragonfly tugs to use for the Midwest Regional Hang Gliding Competition and they’re inviting more. Situated near Chicago and Milwaukee, pilots from all over the midwest may be interested. Free camping is available with low-cost motels nearby. “Our local pilots usually score a handful of 100+ mile flights every summer,” reports Kushner. Landing fields are plentiful and the operation generates good reports from visitors. FMI: 262-473-8800 or comp@hanggliding.com ••• Traveling east you arrive at the home of the recently announced Dragonfly Cup, a season-long event to work around midwest weather fluctuations.
Product Lines – May 02
ST. PAUL, MINN. — My opening segment should start, “Once upon a time, there was Escape Pod, Pod Racer, and Porky Pod…” You’d probably be baffled (though perhaps intrigued). I’m referring to the Pod series from former Seagull hang glider boss, Mike Riggs. I’ve unabashedly promoted this project since it came from my challenge for a true “soaring trike.” u Pods are sleek fuselages to house pilots attached to hang glider wings. Their goal is to offer more comfort, low drag and light weight, and a rigid attachment to the glider. You fly seated/supine — and have a full enclosure. Think of a powered ultralight trike except one with all the draggy bits pulled inside. Escape Pod and Pod Racer (and surely Porky Pod, too, when it’s ready) will feature fully retractable tri-gear, in-flight C/G adjustment, and a molded clear plastic canopy that fits smoothly to a composite body. A positive aspect is the rigid connection to glider, such that you can never fall into the wing, possibly preventing broken gliders after a tumble or tuck.
Product Lines – May 01
ST. PAUL, MINN., — Aeros U.S. importer GW Meadows reported that the Aeros rigid wing Stalker has now passed all tests by the German DHV airworthiness certifying organization. He adds, "Only paperwork is left before the DHV certificate will be granted," though he adds that the documentation will take "at least till May." This proves that even though it isn’t a government agency (DHV is sanctioned but private) the german counterpart to our HGMA can certainly act like a bureaucracy. Congratulations to Aeros and good luck to GW. ••• I’d been communicating with GeeDub to ask his advice on visiting the Aeros factory. After the German Aero 2001 airshow, I plan to fly to Kiev for a look at this east European success story. Amazing, really. As I toured the former Berlin wall last year, I reflected that only a dozen years ago places like the Ukraine remained veiled behind the old Iron Curtain.
Product Lines – May 00
ST. PAUL, MINN., — The season is on and the flow of pilots is southward as I write this in very early April. In just days, right as the Sun ‘n Fun airshow concludes, competition activity will explode at Wallaby Ranch one week and Quest Air the next. And maybe it’s just a fresh season, but some old timers are showing up. ••• Joe Bostik is back! Former national champion and longtime successful competition pilot, Joe has been busy in his life as an airline jet jockey and family man. However, he’ll attend the Florida meets and will again be flying for Wills Wing as he did in his "former life." Joe, his wife, and two children live only a hundred miles south of Wallaby making the dual contest event an easy reentry point. Good luck, Joe! ••• Among other HG contest personalities, Icaro’s unbeatable, Manfred Ruhmer responded to talk he was becoming interested in highly faired rigid wings.
Product Lines – April 03
St. Paul, Minn. — It’s almost spring, even up here in the southern Tundra. But in Florida, they’re already hot to trot. THIS is the big month of tow park competitions, made all the hotter by the vigorous business competition between Wallaby and Quest. With their different styles they make an interesting contrast. Both have become vital to hang gliding in the US of A. s As the dueling meets approach, I want to mention that Wallaby was still inviting volunteer help for their April 20-26 contest as this issue went to press. Contact them at 1-800-WALLABY (925-5229) or fly@wallaby.com. The same may apply to Quest a week earlier (April 12-18). FMI: 352-429-0213 or questair@sundial.net. lll Wills Wing has reached a milestone achieved by few in aviation going all the way back to the Wright Brothers and beyond. Out of hundreds of aircraft companies of all types, few can say they’ve produced over 20,000 flying machines.
Product Lines – April 02
ST. PAUL, MINN. — A new soaring season approaches and we are now in the month when two major contests will again dominate the news in hang gliding. After several years, the Wallaby and Quest meets have grown beyond their American base. These two season openers now influence the entire world of hang gliding. lll And another de facto annual event has been slated again. The 2003 World Record Encampment that produced two years of record flights in the flatlands will occur again in Zapata, Texas in two sessions. A first session June 15-28 and June 29 to July 12. We’ll hope for more big things from the far southern tip of the USA. If you’re interested in participating, communicate to david@davidglover.com. lll By press time, the move of Betty Pfeiffer’s High Energy Sports should be complete. This longtime vendor to hang gliding (and to ultralight powered parachute producers, by the way) has been stable in its old location for a long time.
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