Search Results for : Ultralight April

ST. PAUL, MINN. — Can you believe another year is about to slip away? Sure seemed to fly by to me. I’ll bet the same is true for Ken Brown. He’s had quite a year since about this time last fall when we discussed activities at Pacific Airwave. ••• As you are all aware now, the Salinas company became history shortly after that conversation in late 1996. By the Sun ‘n Fun airshow in Florida last April, Ken was working with Jim Lee, a producer of float-equipped trikes. It looked like a great business opportunity, putting Lee’s expanding business together with Ken’s experience in wing making. (Smaller trike builders often buy wings from other suppliers for trike carriages they manufacture themselves.) • However, Lee was tragically killed while flying a modified ultralight-type aircraft at Sun ‘n Fun. Ken’s future with Jim’s company faded quickly for reasons beyond his control. • After more adjustments, Brown has landed what appears (to me) to be another excellent chance to stay in the fly biz.

ST. PAUL, MINN — As we circle into the soaring season, I have an eclectic group of topics. But first… ••• Like it or not, it appears some kind of FAA rule change is coming. Our reps to the ARAC group meeting with FAA are Dennis Pagen and Mike Meier, two solid individuals who will present our position well. It’s simply too early in the process to report what’s happening as the game could change following the response FAA requested of the ARAC industry group. Nonetheless, it appears certain that some changes are imminent. If more information is available by next month’s column I’ll provide more on this subject. Meanwhile, back at the grassroots… ••• I’m personally pleased (being financially involved with the project) to report that the Cumulus ultralight motorglider flew. Under development since 1993, the pace quickened in the last half of 1995 and the motorglider flew in March 1996.

ST. PAUL, MINN. — The season is hot and the flying is sizzling… even here in Minnesota, where at the beginning of May Gerry Uchytil got nearly 100 miles in his quest for 200 in the state. About the feat fellow pilot Bruce Bolles says, "Oh, he’ll do it; he’s obsessed… and good." Way south, Wallaby Ranch reports many 50-mile flights and a 100-miler. I’ve got more news of active shops, but first some glider updates. ••• The Ram Air is gone and the XC is… back. Back!? Well, only in that the sail underside reads, "XC." Many of you can remember Bob Wills and his XC, a glider many of us flew quite successfully. Wills endured the last year as a "tough one for us all," and has now released their new bird, the Cross Country, complete with numerous enhancements. Their dealer bulletin also says, "This is the first time we have ever had a glider without a scoop that beat the Ram Air at gliding speeds." Certified with and without winglets — still being evaluated by master designer, Steve Pearson — Wills says the Cross Country had a measurable gliding advantage at 25 [mph], and a slight advantage the rest of the way through the speed range, all the way to 65 mph!" The new top-of-the-line Wills sells for $4,700.

ST. PAUL, MINN. — In April, USHGA continued what is now something of a tradition by having a strong presence at the massive Sun ‘n Fun airshow, one of the ways we can reach out to other potential new members. The Florida extravaganza has been closing on the world’s largest airshow — Oshkosh — and in 1995 nearly tied the big Wisconsin event for attendance. These conventions are the largest gatherings of pilots in the world, and I think it’s terrific hang gliding is represented. Even if you’re one of those who don’t desire growth, we need to be recognized among the greater community of pilots, if for no other reason than having some clout and contacts when one of our flying sites is threatened. ••• As if to show the effort is paying off, UNpowered ultralights were recognized in several significant ways this year. • A window was created daily to allow one hour of solely unpowered flying.

ST. PAUL, MINN. — Does hang gliding need to reach out for new enthusiasts? The question raises bothersome issues about declining and aging memberships, but is nonetheless a valid concern. ••• Industry leader, Wills Wing, is doing something about it by starting a new "division." They call it ProLine and its their vehicle to sell certain accessory items. Nothing new about this, you say? True, but Wills expects to do more than sell varios to their WW-brand customers. "It is our intention to use ProLine to develop products that can be marketed OUTSIDE the hang gliding industry", says a recent statement in their dealer newsletter. Naturally, they expect to raise their revenues but they further hope to increase hang gliding exposure to the public. They plan to advertise "in high circulation action sports pubications" once they have a "well developed product line." Each ProLine shipment will eventually have the USHGA color flier as well as the name of the closest WW dealer school.

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).

St. Paul, MINN — With this June issue of Hang Gliding, "Product Lines" enters its 13th year of continuous run, thanks to loyal readers and the many of you who have alerted me to news in our sport. Other columns have begun and eventually their authors retired, but this chatty column keeps flying. Yes, diver fans, there really is enough interesting hang gliding news to keep going for some 125 monthly columns (in the early days of "PL" in Whole Air, the column came out bimonthly). Thanks to all of you. Now, on with the show… ••• Aerotowing! It’s real and real fun, and before long, real obtainable. While ATOL and other suppliers like TLS have provided us with superlative platform towing hardware and the technology to tow to great heights and long distances, many like myself have felt that aerotowing was the superior way to launch. Except that it’s only superior if the tug is up to the special demand of towing hang gliders.

ST PAUL, MINN — Several recent calls and letters referred to rigid wings presented here. Are we experiencing an upsurge of real interest? Or just another bubble of enthusiasm that will burst with the announcement of some new hotter-than-ever rag wing? No one knows. ||| Meanwhile in response to several inquiries, you can contact the Owens Composites Swift people at 10000 Trumbull SE, Albuquerque NM 87123. Their February Swift News announced work on an article for Hang Gliding. Watch for it. ||| Two other projects bear mention here: Advanced’s Sierra and the Cloud Dancer ||| The ultralight company Advanced Aviation, is flying their second prototype Sierra ultralight sailplane (42 foot span and greatly cleaned up). I saw #2 flown by towplane designer Bobby Bailey — who is also the principal designer of this bird — and I flew the #1 machine some months ago. The original prototype had promise which the successor significantly reveals.

St. Paul, Minn. — High times in Minnesota… a story about great thermals up here in the southern Tundra. In late May this year, a group of Minnesota pilots had flights that may have set a record for the midwest. Bruce Bolles, who formerly worked with me at BRS parachutes, related events of this surprising day. • Bruce’s Flytec logged a gain of 10,460 feet from the landing area. He could’ve gone a bit higher (one pilot did) but at that height the temperature was 21° with a 30 mph wind chill equating to something like zero. Bruce had gloves on but none of the pilots expected such huge altitude gains so they weren’t dressed for the occasion. Minnesotans are keenly aware of factors like wind chill, so Bruce wisely elected to go down to warmer altitudes before he sustained frost bite damage. “I couldn’t feel my nose or thumbs,” he recalls.

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.