ST. PAUL, MINN., — I don’t believe I’ve noted so much buzz about a harness since Wills Wing first introduced the Z1-2-3… series. Maybe the Woody Valley from Europe, but even that popular brand name never created what you’d call a "stir." ••• Regardless of the past, Jay Gianforte’s CG Carbon Harness has people talking (and writing in the case of Internet messages). Jay’s enterprise, called Center of Gravity, first became known nationally in 1984 with the C-G 1000 and 2000 models. He says "We have created the Carbon C-G with carbon graphite molded into a durable aerodynamic shape and glass smooth finish." Gianforte says 30% of the drag on a hang glider can be caused by the pilot, so his sleeker solution may boost your glide angle. Certainly Jim Lee’s futuristic hard-shell harness of year’s back had some of this advantage, but the harness was not widely available. Center of Gravity is clearly hoping to capitalize on that interest only they’ll do like the Dorito chip people… they’ll make more.
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Product Lines – January 1996
ST. PAUL, MINN. — Welcome to a new year! With the holidays behind us (whew!), you may have some gift cash burning a hole in your harness pocket. I have a few suggestions to help you unburden that pocket. But first… ••• The big news in the safety business is the unanticipated departure of Second Chantz, ballistic parachute maker and marketer of owner John Dunham’s A.I.R. rocket. Second Chantz succumbed to a legal system (with which we’re all-too familiar) that can create huge bills even when a company is unlikely to lose a case. The Reno outfit ceased taking orders on November 1st and will halt all service work January 31st. Too bad, Second Chantz was an innovator that we’ve now lost forever. I wish John well in his new endeavors, namely selling Air Création trikes. As it turns out, Dunham entered an agreement with BRS after closing Second Chantz, so fortunately he’ll still have input to ballistic systems for hang gliding.
Product Lines – September 1991
ST. PAUL, MINN — A few things of interest again this month, as (trumpets blare!) our old faithful Hang Gliding magazine turns twentysomething. Yipes, can ya believe it? ••• Its summertime and the action is plentiful. Been doing some traveling; visited several hang gliding and ultralight dealerships (my job you know). Excitement surrounds the UP Int’l TRX. In the ’70s each new glider was heads above the rest. Those days passed into technical advances and fine craftsmanship in the ’80s. Raw leaps of performance gradually metamorphosed into professionally engineered refinements. I thought I’d heard the last of comments like, "No, really, this glider is a huge step over previous state-of-the-art. Flies better, lands easier, is lighter… blah, blah." You should judge for yourself, of course, but the TRX has earned wide praise from old timers. ••• In August, UP was out testing the TRX 140 or 145 (final sail measurements are still pending).
Product Lines – April 1991
ST. PAUL, MINN — The competition season is upon us once again forming our top story in this edition of "Product Lines." The East Coast Hang Gliding Championships is being sponsored by Henson Gap’s Sequatchie Valley Soaring Supplies, the resident shop. The only significant (remaining) east coast contest has filled the void left by the disappearance of the Grandfather Master’s meet. The ECHGC will be the 3rd contest under this name and the 4th year for a world class meet at the popular Tennessee site. Now, it is the "only sanctioned cash purse meet," says contest director and organizer, Rick Jacob. "We’re expecting a minimum of $1,000 in cash, but more importantly, we’ll have numerous prizes with a cash value exceeding $3,000. It continues to grow from last year, when for example, Jim Zeiset won $250 worth of goods by hitting the spot at the end of one of the X-C tasks," added Jacob.
Product Lines – December1990
WASHINGTON D.C. — This month’s “Product Lines” comes from our nation’s capital at the occasion of the USHGA’s fall board of directors meeting. Other reports will relate the actions of the board. But at the gathering, two interesting and nascent product-related stories emerged. ||| No. 1 is confirmation by mainline hang gliding writer, Dennis Pagen, regarding his plans to pursue a longtime desire to design and build his own glider. A rumor that he would abandon his writing efforts (supposedly to focus on a new manufacture undertaking) proved to be baseless. He does plan to take preliminary steps toward a “limited production” of a new design. But “I’m not doing this as a income-earning venture,” says Pagen, “That’s not my present goal.” ||| No. 2 comes after lengthy prototype activities by World Team member, Terry Reynolds of Colorado. Employing exotic new airframe materials, you’ll want to read more on this exciting project next month, after additional tests.
Product Lines – March 1990
ST. PAUL, MINN — Easily the biggest news in American hang gliding is Bill Bennett leaving glider manufacturing. After Delta Wing celebrated their 20th Anniversary last year this would come as a shock! But, “It’s nonsense!” replies Bill. True, UP International will now be building Uncle Bill’s successful Dream series. Also true, he stopped his ads. But Bennett reports he and old crony Dick Boone have recently collaborated on a new high performance design. It just flew at Torrey; they’re pleased. Before the unfortunate loss of his wife Paulette, due to cancer, Bill wanted to eliminate some obligations to dedicate more time to his ailing spouse. Licensing the Dream to UP for 3 years was part of this effort. Delta Wing may next move to smaller quarters. ||| Bill was also considering a bid on the beach operation up near Monterey, a site currently served by Jim Johns’ Western Hang Gliders.
Product Lines – February 1990
ST. PAUL, MN — Used to writing “1990” on your checks and letters yet? A new decade begins to unfold… against a backdrop of the most astounding political changes of modern history. The effects of the so-called “democratization” of eastern Europe may have profound influence even on lil’ ol’ hang gliding. USHGA Boss Jerry Bruning sent along a copy of a FAX to Prez Russ Locke. The letter from General Director Kakurin of Interaero requests info on the U.S. competition schedule for 1990. It seems Soviet pilots may plan to attend some contests. Interaero’s duties for the Soviet HG Federation also include the inviting and receiving of foreign teams to its own competitions. Most notably Comrade Kakurin suggests the “Peace Cup” and the USSR Championships. The Peace Cup is in May; the Championships in July. ||| Also in the month of May, Brian Milton (remember him?) will kick off his Superleague.
Product Lines – November 03
St. Paul, Minn. — Again with the motor news…? These little contraptions are making quite a… how nicely can I put it? — “joyful noise.” The vote is now history. As I write this in late September, the count has not been made but trends pointed toward acceptance. • Time to take a breather and then move on. Let’s realize that we only have a few hundred of these motor guys. Some flying sites will have to work out compatibility issues, but for the most part powered harnesses, powered paragliders, and nanotrikes allow flight from places closer to home. When they do fly in the company of unpowered hang gliders or paragliders, they are among the quietest of ultralights as their engines have commonly been developed in noise-sensitive Europe. • This column will continue to track the field. But these tiny rigs are simply engines on hang gliders or paragliders and the wings still fly the same (they may even have similar wing loading through the use of larger wings).
Ultralight Rotorcraft? Here are Two
America is a great country, most pilots agree. We can fly our planes all over (except in TFRs) without special permission from the government. Pilots in many countries don’t have this privilege. We can fly all manner of aircraft, from factory-built, certified models to kitbuilt machines to ultralights.
We also have several regulatory programs under which we can fly our planes. You can use your pilot’s license under Part 61 and operate under Part 91. You will soon be able to get a sport pilot license that won’t require a medical and fly a light-sport aircraft with industry-devised certification (sanctioned and approved by the FAA).
Or you can operate under Part 103, the least-burdensome regulation in the flying world. All of Part 103 can easily be printed on two pages. Remarkable! After 21 years, the FAA’s simplest rule is still going strong. One proof is that designers keep introducing aircraft that fit FAR 103’s definitions.
Germany’s Award-Winning Remos G-3 Mirage
“White, composite, and from overseas”…was a theme
of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2002 in the ultralight/lightplane
area. I’ve already congratulated Experimenter
Editor Mary Jones and Art Director Pierre Kotze on the
October issue’s beautiful layout of the aircraft from
afar, which may become near and dear to Yankee pilots.
This month,
I’d like to introduce
you
to one of the
new flock of white, composite,
and overseas aircraft—Remos Aircraft’s
G-3 Mirage.
For the second EAA AirVenture
Oshkosh in a row, I was delighted to
fly with Allistair Wilson, an Irishman
now residing in the United States.
Like last year, he is working with Rob
Rollison and the Rollison Light Sport
Aircraft Inc., based in Bloomfield, Indiana.
Last year, Allistair and I flew
in the Flight Designs CT. This year it
was the Remos G-3. Both are white,
composite, and from overseas. The
trend is real!
The Factory and People
In addition to flying with Allistair
at AirVenture, I also chanced to meet
the G-3 Mirage designer, Lorenz Kreitmayr,
at a French ultralight show
called Blois (the town it’s near).
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