2004-04 - Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada

AIRHUCKSPEDITION2003CHRIS MULLERTAKES ON ARIZONA’SMONUMENT VALLEY INHUCKSPEDITION 2003PG 14THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE HANG GLIDING AND PARAGLIDING ASSOCIATION OF CANADA • APRIL 2004

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Contents AIR Magazine • April 2004 • Volume 18, Issue 01Michael Fuller launches from Hidden Falls during the 2002 Paragliding and Hang Gliding FestivalFEATURES1011202225Fly For A Cure Canadian pilots take to the Alberta prairiesto raise money for Multiple Sclerosis by Ralph HertenInspired Design Michel le Blanc talks about his life creatingparagliders by Amir IzadiLiving with an ATOS-S A detailed review of the ATOS-Srigid wing hang glider by Andre NadeauMexico Meanderings A Canadian pilot’s flying experiencein Latin America by Asif Illyas2003 XC Summary Muller Windsports collects XC dataevery year. See this year’s results by Vincene MullerCoverChris Muller flies amidArizona’s awe-inspiring terrainas part of Huckspedition2003. See story, pg 14.by Christian Pondellaphoto courtesy Michael FullerREGULAR04 From the President06 In Brief/Classifieds07 Compete08 Regional News09 Board Notice18 Equipment26 Travelogue29 HPAC Membership FormAIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004 5

from the presidentA call for involvementDOUG KELLERWith HPAC/ACVL elections quickly approaching,representation across the country is priority number oneThings have improved for thehpac/acvl since my last writing,and the outlook for the future is lookinggood. With a new insurance policy in placeat a premium that was less than expected,and with lower production costs for AIRMagazine, our financial situation is bettering we can add another 50 members byyear’s end. This would bring us up to 760-770 members. At this level our financeswould be in great shape.In the last issue I mentioned the upcomingelection of regional directors. Checkout the notice on pg. 9 for details. If youlive in one of the affected regions and areinterested in getting involved and havingan impact on the operation and directionof the association consider sending inyour nomination. If you know a pilot thatyou think has the right attitude, ask if theywould consider being nominated.Keep in mind, though, that it does takeSingle candidate elections just aren’t in the Association’sbest interest, so help us have real elections this year.than expected and should continue to improve.A couple of years of stability shouldbring us back to the cash reserves we hadbefore the insurance crisis of last Spring.The directors will be approving this year’sbudget at our planned directors meeting,which should have taken place by the timeyou get this magazine. Once approved, thebudget will be available on the hpac/acvlWeb site.Membership is starting to rebound withan increase of 15 members since January,and with a concerted effort to support ourinstructors to generate new members andencourage ex members to rejoin, I’m hopareasonable level of time and commitment— although not excessive. Most ofthe time, for the average director, an houror two per week would be lots of time tokeep up with what is happening, a littlemore when it is busy and a little less whenit isn’t. An email account is a necessity, asmost of the business is handled throughVancouver Island Paragliding is offering 1 and 2 day Refresher Courses.Make the most of the 2004 season by brushing up on your flying skillsnow!Join HPAC Instructor Jayson Biggins in his 5th Season of flying onbeautiful Vancouver Island.Come enjoy any or all of our 7 coastal and alpine sites on the southisland, with breath-taking views of snow-capped peaks and island chains.Ridge and Thermal. Temperate coastal weather gives us 8 months ofgreat flying.Instruction • Tandem Flights • Island Tours • Glider InspectionsAirwave - Swing - Woody Valley - Brauniger - Charly - Lazerwww.VIParagliding.com 250-886-4165Come soar with eagles on Vancouver Island!6 AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004

from the presidentThe air up there in the clouds is very pure and fine,bracing and delicious. And why shouldn’tit be? — it is the same the angels breathe.– Mark TwainEditor: JAMES KELLERair@hpac.caHPAC/ACVL OFFICERSPresident: DOUG KELLER [alberta@hpac.ca]Vice-President: MICHAEL FULLER[hpaac@hpac.ca]Secretary: MICHAEL MILLER [bchpa@hpac.ca]Treasurer: CHARLES MATHIESON[charles_mathieson@yahoo.ca]Safety & Accident Review: FRED WILSON[safety@hpac.ca]email discussions and voting.Don’t expect that the incumbent directorwill continue or that someone elsewill do it. If there are no candidates for aregion, that region will go without a regionaldirector until the next election intwo years. I will have been at this for threeyears by the end of this term, and I’m notsure if I will be continuing, so I’d reallylike to see at least one nomination for theAlberta & NWT region. I really only didit in the beginning because at the timeI heard there was no nomination forAlberta and I didn’t want Alberta to bewithout a director.As I said before, single candidate electionsjust aren’t in the Association’s best interest,so help us have real elections this year.That’s about it for this issue. The flyingseason will be well under way by the time thisissue in print, and I’m really looking forwardto a good year. I’m hoping to see as many ofyou as possible at the Western Canadian HGChampionship and Canadian Record Campin Alberta in May. It should be a great flyingexperience. We’re trying something new thisyear by incorporating a charity fund-raisingevent into the meets to not only help a worthycause, Multiple Sclerosis research, butalso raise the profile of the sport and generatesome positive pr. If you can’t make it tothe meet to fly, at least consider sponsoringa participating pilot. Every dollar counts.Check out the story on pg. 10 for more detailson the event and how to become a sponsor.–Doug Kellerhpac/acvl PresidentHPAC/ACVL BOARD OF DIRECTORSB.C. & Yukon: MICHAEL MILLERAlberta & NWT: DOUG KELLERSaskatchewan: CAS WOLAN [shga@hpac.ca]Manitoba & Nanavut: GERRY GROSSNEGGER[mhga@hpac.ca]Ontario: PETER DARIAN-VARZELIOTIS[ohpa@hpac.ca]Quebec: STEVEN BOOST [aqvl@hpac.ca]Atlantic Canada: MICHAEL FULLERBusiness Manager: JOHN BURK [admin@hpac.ca]Éditeur du Survol: LINE TURCOTTE[line@tractionsports.com]Competition Commitee Chairman: BERNARDWINKELMANN [bernard_winkelmann@hotmail.com]Observer: VINCENE MULLER[fly@mullerwindsports.com]FAI/CIVL Delegate: STEWARD MIDWINTER[stewartd@midwinter.ca] & VINCENE MULLERInstructors Advisory Council Chair: JIM REICH[flybc@hotmail.com]Insurance Committee: GREGG HUMPHREYS[insurance@hpac.ca]Legal Advisor: MARK KOWALSKY[lawyer@hpac.ca]XC Records: VINCENE MULLERTransport Canada Liaison: ANDRÉ NADEAU[andre.nadeau@rogers.com]Web Team: PHIL DEON [pdeon@rogers.com],JUDITH NEWMAN [hpaac@hpac.ca] & CHARLESMATHIESONAIR is published four times yearly by the HangGliding and Paragliding Association of Canada/L’Association Canadienne de Vol Libre, and is mailedunder Publication Agreement Number: 40735588.Undeliverable copies should be returned to:120 Ottawa Street NorthPO Box 43082Kitchener, ONN2H 6S9Hang glider pilot Dennie Shipley launches at the Splashdown in Kimberley, BC.photo courtesy Dennie ShipleyAIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004 7

in briefQuick news and miscellanyNew FAI anti-dopingregulations in effectOn April 1, the new edition of thefai Sporting Code came into force.The updated code contains new rules ondoping, and includes a document titled,“fai Anti-Doping Rules and Procedures.”The regulations contain a new list ofprohibited substances that all competitorsin fai meets should abstain from taking.For more info, visit: http://www.fai.org/medical/nodoping.aspSubmit your ad:air@hpac.caHang gliders a securitythreat?“The Canadian Forces top intelligenceofficer, Major General Michel Gauthier,warned that terrorist groups havepurchased ultra-light aircraft and hanggliders for use in attacks as they searchfor new ways to get around increasedsecurity,” writes Norma Greenaway inthe March 26 issue of the National Post.“‘In all likelihood we will see a growinguse of such equipment by terrorists toAIR CLASSIFIEDScircumvent ground-based countermeasures,’said Gauthier.”CorrectionThe photo in the table of contents inthe Feb. issue of AIR was incorrectlyattributed.It was originally credited to GerryGrossenegger, but this great photowas actually taken by Winnipeg hangglider pilot Doug Beckingham. Thephoto shows Doug and his wife, Janet,flying tandem.Free for membersNext deadline: May 15FALCON 145, FALCON 170, and FALCON195 HANG GLIDERS All less than fivehours air time, like new condition. ContactMicheal for info: (403)714-43594706 or gampa@telus.net.SOL SMALL FULL-FACE HELMET Used onlyone year, NO SCRATCHES, Silver, size: small.paid $200, will take $100. Contact Annelies at250-589-3251 or anneliesbrowne@yahoo.caAIRWAVE “RAVE 30” PARAGLIDERLess than 10 hours air time. Like new condition.Call Michael at (403)714-43598 AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004

28th Annual LakesideEventOn August 7, 2004, relax on the beach,check-out the latest equipment and participatein beachside gatherings, partiesand general fun.Hang gliders and paragliders take offfrom Mt. Swansea and descend to targetson the beach and in the water on beautifulLake Windermere. There is also an aerobaticscontest for paragliders.Entry fee: $35/pilot ($45 after July 24), andincludes ground transportation for pilots,helicopter transportation for hang gliders(if available), T-shirt, pancake breakfast,banquet and party at Lakeside Pub.Contact:Max Flanderl1-250-342-0461fly@LakeSideEvent.comcompeteFrom towing in the prairies to splashingdown in British Columbia2004 CanadianNationalsThe 2004 Canadian Nationals take placein Lumby, British Columbia. Paraglidingtakes place June 6 – 12, and hang glidingruns June 13 – 19.The meet is later than usual, to coincidewith the summer solstice and Lumby Days.Mark Dowsett is organizing this year’smeet, and it will be hosted by the LumbyAir Force.For registration information, visit theWeb site at dowsett.ca/cdnnats/ContactMark Dowsettmark@dowsett.ca(604)461-0874Miles in may on theprairiesBook your holidays now for the xc event ofthe 2004 season.Miles in May is a week-long double headercombining the resurrected Western CanadianHang Gliding Championship and the newCanadian Record Camp. The focus of theseevents will be xc distance using the OnlineContest points system for scoring. The olcsystem uses multiple turn points and trianglesto optimize flights distance.Each pilot will fly their own course eachday based on their own assessment of theoptimum distance task for the conditions.The wcc will be a two-weekend event withthe first in southern Alberta and the secondon the May long weekend in central Alberta.Because of the late retrieves common withopen-distance xc flying, Monday of the longweekend will be a free flying day with onlypresentation of awards in the morning andallowing a travel day for those heading home.The Canadian Record Camp will be heldduring the week between the wcc weekendsand will be focused on breaking existing Canadianrecords, although it will also be scoredusing the olc points system. Both events willbe submitted for hpac sanctioning.Both events require gps track log for scoring,and scoring for both will be based on theOnline Contest (olc) points system.The event website is at http://members.shaw.ca/skyward/milesinmay.htmlWestern Canadian Hang GlidingChampionship 2004:May 15 – 16: Tow launch at the Standard/Gleichen, Alberta Tow siteMay 22 – 23: Based at Double Dam GolfCourse at Rosalind, AlbertaTow launch at various area sites or footlaunch at the Camrose/Dried Meat Lakeridge.Format will be xc distance.Entry Fee: $40Canadian HG Record Camp 2004:May 22 – 23: Based at Double Dam GolfCourse at Rosalind, AlbertaTow launch at various area tow sites orfoot launch at the Camrose/Dried MeatLake ridge.Format will be xc distance with anemphasis on breaking existing Canadianrecords.Entry Fee: $40Cash prizes for Open and Under 100 kmClasses.A Paraglider Class will be added if thereis enough interest.This is the site of the only 100+ mileflights in Canada in 2003.Enter both events for only $70.Contact:Doug Kellerskyward@shaw.ca(403)293-4008Eighth annual WilliMuller XC ChallenceJuly 24 - Aug. 2, 2004, Golden, B.C.Paragliders and hang gliders welcome.We’ll set it up, so you don’t need to be therethe whole time to compete. The format issimilar to last year’s: points for xc km’s flownwith bonus for O & R. Enjoy a competitiveatmosphere while having a lot of fun andlearning something about mountain flying.If you have any suggestions, send them tome. If you want to become a better pilot andachieve personal bests, be there.ContactRandy Parkinrandy@keyinc.com(403)256-3039AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004 9

egional newsNotices and news from the localsSite news from theOkanagan Soaring ClubBY FRED WILSONnew site has been pioneered west ofA Keremeos north of Hedly.Stoney Creek (South of Salmon Arm)has was reopened after the bcfs slashed thebrush on the road in. lz’s are sensitive so thisgreat intermediate site is declared “xc only,”which is what it is best for.A new flying site at Lavington features twocompetition-quality launches for paraglidersat an unofficial British Columbia Forest Servicepark (“The Pond and Aberdeen Trails”).Pics, info and a “Virtual Tour” are availableat the Okanagan Soaring Association Website. We are hoping and asking pilots to comefly with us early this year, so we can provewhat a great xc comp site this is. It’s one ofvery, very few sites in Canada that typicallyhas great altitude gains in intermediate air,and that secondly has huge set-up and stagingareas for large competitions. This is a sitewith a couple of launch directions wheremany gliders can launch side by side, andthere are three large staging areas: the eastbowl, the centre ridge and the west bowl(facing se – sw) where competitors can gaggleaway and climb out totally clear of pilotsstruggling off launch. We need lots, lots moresites of this calibre and then maybe one daywe can hold a civl Worlds meet.Cambie Corner in Salmon Arm was wipedout by logging activity. However, new clearcuts on the nw face are very promising for anew site, with downwind xc routes headingright into a famous convergence zone. Whilethe old launch was rated advanced, this newone could, if lucky, be novice rated. Springwill tell.The Salmon Arm gang has opened a neweast-facing flying site up the Spyder CreekRoad in the burned-out area on Fly Hills.Sicamous ramp repairs should be completedthis spring. In addition, we hope toopen a new paragliding launch (quick roadup) suitable for siv clinics directly over thatfabulous “Old Town Beach” lz (boat accessonly).bcfs still has a recreation department, responsiblefor recreational use of crown lands.We will use this avenue in preference to lwbcLavington Bowl: a new site in the Okanaganto secure new sites. (I firmly believe our commercialuses are “incidental” at most, andthis is the route we need to explore.) Severalmeetings with bcfs (and logging companieswhere they are designated responsible) haveour hopes high for new sites in new loggingareas. bcfs promises to keep our interests inconsideration when deciding on clear-cuts,so the future looks good.Rocky Mountain HangGliding League NewsBY KAREN KELLERThe Rocky Mountain Hang GlidingLeague held its annual awards ceremonyin March. It is a great chance to acknowledgepilot accomplishments and gettogether for great food (pilots can cook),videos and partying.This year, many personal bests wereachieved, and I would like to congratulatethe following pilots.Level 4 and 5:Ralph Herten: Most Hours (45.24hrs)Doug Keller: Longest Turnpoint(57.4 km), Longest xc (167.4 km)and Most Distance (639.7 km)James Lintott: Duration (4.25 hrs)Jeff Runciman: Altitude Gain (9,010ft) and the League AwardLevel 1:Mike Slater: Most hours (.07 hrs) andduration (65 sec)A special congratulation to Jeff forhis altitude gain at Golden, and to Dougfor his “I finally got a hundred Miler.”This flight was off tow at the site of theRecord Camp and fundraiser hosted bythe rmhgl this May.In other rmhgl news, welcome to ournew Board of Directors. President RalphHerten, Secretary Mitch Nixon andTreasurer Jeff Runciman.We also had 2 new beginner pilotslast year, Mike and Fiona. Doug Kellerand I took them out for their first highflights, and they did great. The club isa good place to advance in hang glidingby learning from upper level pilots.Anyone interested in joining the clubis welcome to come out to our monthlymeetings. They are held the secondTuesday of every month except Augustat Koko’s Bikini Bar in north eastCalgary. For more information, feel freeto contact me anytime (403)293-4008 orkarenkeller@shaw.ca.The Rocky Mountain Hang GlidingLeagure crowned a host of winners inits annual awards.photo by Fred Wilson10 AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004

Call for nominations for the 2004election of directorsIntroductionThe hpac/acvl is now accepting nominationsfor the 2004 election of directorsfor the regions of Quebec, Manitoba/Nunavut,and Alberta/NWT. The newDirectors will take office at a time to bedetermined, but expected to be sometimebetween September 2004 and February2005. Directors will normally hold theirpositions for two years. Elections for otherregions were held in 2003, and appointmentsare normally for two years.The Business Manager, John Burk, willact as Election supervisor.The regulations for elections aredetailed in prd 205 which can be foundon the hpac/acvl web site, http://www.hpac.ca/pub/?pid=204 . This call for nom-inations summarizes the most importantpoints for this stage of the elections. Thevoting procedures will be specified in theSummer editions of AIR and Survol.NominationsThe Election supervisor will acceptnominations until June 30th, 2004.Members can submit their nominationsby mail or e-mail {admin@hpac.ca) andmust include member name, address, e-mail address if available and membershipnumber.Members may nominate themselvesor be nominated by another member.A member nominated by anothermember must confirm that he/she acceptsthe nomination. Nominations donominationsnot need to be seconded.If there is only one nominee per regionby May 10th, 2004, that person shall benamed to the bod by acclamation, and nofurther voting need be conducted.If there are no nominees for a region,then no Director will represent that region.Any regions without a elected Director willhave its interests represented jointly by theother Directors on the Board of directors.Nominees will submit a brief statementto the Election supervisor explaining theirreasons for interest in standing for theBoard of directors. These will be publishedin the Summer editions of AIR and Survolas appropriate.Good luck to all nominees.– Your Board of Directorsphoto by Dinnie ShipleyHang Gliding Tow Meet• Miles in May• Western Canadian Hang Gliding Championship• Canadian Record CampMay 15 – 23, 2004 AlbertaNose Creek Recreation & Library FacilityCalgary, AlbertaPCL is a proud sponsor of “ Fly for a Cure “ to support the United Way and those affected by Multiple SclerosisAIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004 11

feature // fly for a cureTHIS MAY, CANADIAN PILOTSFLY FOR A CUREBY RALPH HERTENThe 2004 Western Canadian HangGliding Championship and CanadianRecord Camp are two eventsbeing held this year in the Calgary andCamrose, Alberta areas. The events arebeing organized by the Rocky MountainHang Gliding League under the bannerMiles In May On The Prairies and havebeen scheduled concurrently into the weekof May 15 to May 23 as follows:■ Western Canadians Part I: Weekendof May 15/16 at the Gleichen/Standard towsite (Calgary area)■ Canadian Record Camp: Monday,May 17 – Friday, May 21 at the DoubleDam tow sites (Camrose area)■ Western Canadians Part II: Weekendof May 22/23 at the Double Dam tow sites■ Awards & Travel Day: May 24 at theDouble Dam CampgroundBoth events are tow meets based in theAlberta “flatlands” where May soaring conditionshave been known to produce 100+mile flights. From early reports the eventsshould be well attended and we’ve alreadyplaced our order for strong thermals, highmiles and good times.To add some excitement to the eventsand help a good cause, we are organizinga United Way fundraising drive dubbed as“Fly for a Cure.” Both events will be combinedunder this banner, and competitorswill be encouraged to secure sponsorshipsfrom individuals and companies.The format will be as a sponsorship perkilometre flown. A simple web site is beingplanned which will list all competitorsand provide running totals for kilometresand dollars raised. Half of the totalproceeds will be assigned towards MultipleSclerosis research and the balancewill be distributed to other United Waybeneficiaries.To get things rolling, I have secured thesupport of my employer, pcl ConstructionManagement www.pcl.com where I work asa construction project manager in Calgary.pcl will be taking a lead sponsorship roleDoug Keller tows up on his system, which will be one of many involved in theFly for a Cure fundraising meet this May. The meet will raise funds for MultipleSclerosis research and the United Way.and will be encouraging the participationof some of our business partners. pcl willalso be assisting with the administration ofthe event and support behind the scenes.Hopefully other companies and individualscan be inspired to get involved in asimilar way, but even a small sponsorshipamount will help towards a good causeand will provide some added incentive forthose long xc distances.We are still working out the finer detailsat the time of writing this article but thingsshould be taking shape by the time thishits the presses. Cool T-shirts with sponsorlogos are in the works and competitionlogistics are being finalized. Currentinformation is being posted on the Milesin May webpage (http://members.shaw.ca/skyward/milesinmay.html) as well as theFly for a Cure webpage (http://members.shaw.ca/flyforacure/) and will be forwardedto competitors as they sign upTo sign up or get more information,please contact myself at rherten@pcl.com or meet director Doug Keller atskyward@shaw.ca .photo by Karen Keller12 AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004

BY AMIR IZADIprofile // michel le blancAerodyne International: Inspired DesignThe head of AerodyneInternational, Michelle Blanc, talks shopBecause of his tenacity and prowess onthe competition circuit, when he wason the French National sailing team,Michel Le Blanc’s nickname was “White Wolf.”By merging his passion for wind sports with histraining as an engineer, Michel founded itv in1981 to design windsurf sails. One of these designsled him to capture the windsurfing speedrecord of 43.87 knots — a record he still holdstoday.In 1984, at the very outset of the sport,Michel began designing paragliders with itv.As one of the first paraglider designers, Michel’sinfluence has been far reaching. Today, after 20years in the business, he is just as enthusiasticabout design and invigorated about his newcompany , Aerodyne, which emerged last yearfrom the ashes of Flying Planet.Led by Michel, and employing many of thecore management and test team that madeup Flying Planet, is headquartered near Annecy,one of the birthplaces of paragliding anda world-renowned mecca of the sport. Already,in their first year of operations, Aerodyne haveexceeded their own expectations in both podiumwins and sales. Michel le Blanc and companyclearly demand a closer examination.AI: Where do you get your inspirationfor designing paragliders?ML: Through lots of hard work and perspiration.From the very beginning, we’veworked very hard to develop a vision of whateach glider should be, and then used our customdesign software and test pilot feedback tocreate gliders that match our original dreamas perfectly as possible. It’s really been a long,long road that we have travelled because thesoftware program we use has developed veryslowly. But in the end the design software isonly a tool.AI: Where is this tool the most helpful, andhow much do you rely on it?ML: I am always working with the softwareMichel le Blanc relaxing at the Aerodyne office in Annecy, Franceprogrammer to perfect and fine tune thedesign software. It’s a very big job — as bigprobably as what the test pilots do. Withoutthe pilots of course, it’s not possible to understandthe behaviour of the glider in dynamicconditions, and without the design programit is not possible to calculate what the pilotswant.AI: Does the software program help in predictingthe result of the dhv test, or does ithelp only in predicting performance?ML: Not only performance, but all thevarious aspects of the glider’s behaviour.We cannot say that a particular glider willeventually be calculated for a dhv 1 or dhv2 rating. We have an idea of the glider wewant to build — the number of cells, theshape, the aspect ratio, etc. These variousfactors will effect how it performs in thedhv test. Afterwards, we have to trim forthe best combination of handling and testresults.AI: What is your philosophy behind designinggliders?ML: Safety first.AI: itv was a company that you foundedyourself and had a lot of success with. Whathappened that made you leave the company?ML: When Mr. Soo of Korea bought itv, itquickly became apparent that he and I hadvery different visions of where the companyshould go. He was insistent on using certainfabrics and lines that I was not comfortablewith. I could no longer, in good conscience,continue to work there; so I left. It wasn’t justme, at that time Mr. Gin Seok Song and RobbieWhittal were also working with itv/Edeland they left for the same reasons.AI: Flying Planet had a very strong presenceacross Europe, and was becoming quiteall photos courtesy Aerodyne InternationalAIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004 13

profile // michel le blancThe ITV Saphir, circa 1989, a very popular glider back in its day.popular worldwide. But they chose not to sellin North America. Why?ML: Initially, it was a group insuranceproblem to sell in the usa, but not Canada.Our parent company, Zodiac, being a largemulti-billion dollar business, was not willingto take the risk of selling paragliders to acountry that has a reputation for high rates oflitigation. Zodiac potentially had too much tolose. One of the reasons for creating our newcompany, Aerodyne, is to be able to sell to alarger market. Aerodyne International, theparachute manufacturer, already has a strongpresence in the usa.AI: Why did Flying Planet ultimately ceaseproduction?ML: After September 11, 2001 there wasa great deal of demand by governmentsworldwide for military hardware. Zodiac,of course, wanting to play a part in meetingthis demand, began to borrow resourcesfrom the paragliding department in orderto build military parachutes. In the process,they reduced our capacity to produceparagliders.It’s unfortunate, because it was a reallygood time for us at Flying Planet. We wereproducing very good gliders and growingeach year in terms of sales and we werebecoming very well known. But with Zodiac’spriorities changing, we couldn’t delivergliders any more at the rate or quality weexpected.So we began looking at other opportunitiesthat would allow us to continuedesigning better paragliders in a stable environment.And that’s what we found withthe people at the Aerodyne group. Today,we have more opportunities and resourcesto produce the quality of gliders we wantwith Aerodyne than we did with FlyingPlanet.AI: How has Aerodyne International’s experiencein parachute manufacturing helped youin the paragliding department?ML: In fact, it’s been the other way around.We in the paragliding department have madea lot of progress, and now we’re seeing theparachute group picking up and incorporatingsome of our concepts and designs. For example,our reserve parachute, the Pillow, hassuch a good sink rate that one of the divisionsin Aerodyne International wants to use it forthe deceleration of planes. This is also thecase for the design of their high performancesky diving parachutes which are now borrowingsome concepts, such a V-ribs, fromour paragliders.AI: Do you think that closed cells are goingaway, or are they here to stay? Is there a significantadvantage to them, or are they simply afashion?ML: Closed cells are better for the aerodynamicperformance of the glider, becausethey allow for higher internal pressure, whichallows the glider to move with the airflow.When the opening is very big, the glider issofter in the air and absorbs a lot of the airmovement, so we use that for school gliders.But if the internal pressure is too high, theglider becomes too rigid, which has its ownproblems.At the beginning of my career, I made totallyclosed gliders with valves, but we foundthis to be very dangerous. When you close thecells, the pressure stays in the glider and influencesthe dynamic behaviour of the glider.Because the pressure is trapped, the dragcharacteristics cause the glider to turn veryfast. We found that totally closed cells are verydangerous for paragliders. But for kites that’snot a problem.So we now we make partially closed cellsto let the glider breath, but it has to be not toomuch — and then of course the theoreticaladvantage of closed cells is not as significant.I think the concept of semi-closed cells is agood one, but it is also a fashion.AI: Do you think that a plateau is beingreached in terms of performance?ML: Slowly, because the performance gainsnow are coming in much smaller incrementsfrom the cumulative effect of many littlethings, such as the smoothness of the surface,the tension of the lines, etc.AI: Where do you think the next big jump inperformance will come from — the materials,the design, or in the shape of harnesses?ML: If I knew that, I would make such aglider and immediately win the market! Ifthere are any big performance gains to bemade, I think it will be in terms of new materialsfor the canopy or lines.AI: Is the same plateau being reached interms of safety? For example, in 5-6 years willthey have a dhv 1 glider with a 9:1 glide ratio,or do you think performance will always exceedsafety?ML: I think that competition pilots essen-14 AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004

tially want speed, speed, speed. This can bedangerous. We have to consider all the characteristicsof the glider to increase a little bitthe speed, but also to minimize the sink rate.This is a less dangerous way. We are limited bythe concept of the glider and aerodynamics.Yes, it will be possible to have a dhv 1 gliderwith a 9:1 glide ratio, but the problem is thespeed — it would probably only go 30 km/h.AI: What do you think of the serial class categoryof competitions?ML: When the idea first arrived, I thoughtit was a very good one and we worked on itwith the Flying Planet glider, the Whisper.Before that, with itv, we sought to make amonotype style of glider which we were tryingto take to the 1992 Olympic games in Barcelona.Although the idea of a serial class is verygood, the problem was that neither the pilotsblame the gliders.AI: As a designer are you looking forwardto and are you optimistic about the new censtandard being adopted? And will it make yourjob easier or harder?ML: Because of the fight between afnorand dhv, the result is that the Europeannorm established by cen will make all partsof the test more difficult to obtain, and moreexpensive. We can only hope that it will notbe illogical.Designing safe gliders is a noble pursuit,and I myself advocate it by all means. However,I also don’t think it’s a good idea to makeidiot-proof gliders. It’s the pilot who is themost important factor in safety. They mustbe better trained. The air is always moving,the glider is made of fabric and lines, and theywill always be collapsing. It’s not good for thepilot to be lulled into a false sense of securityprofile // michel le blancfederation gives instructors, who in turn passit along to students, to improve. In Europethis is a new and, I believe, a necessary andwelcome development.AI: It’s now been over a year since youlaunched the Aerodyne brand of paragliders.Are you happy with how things have developed?ML: We are very happy because we believewe’ve found our place in the market again,both in France and in Europe. In terms ofsales, we are practically at the same level asduring our final year at Flying Planet. Butwe’ve worked very hard to achieve this. We’veinvested a lot of money and energy to get acomplete range of gliders in every marketcategory. Also, with our new company, we’vehad an opportunity to step back and re-organizeall the production and manufacturingfacilities. The ability to incorporate the mostLe Blanc’s creations, from left to right: Gemma circa 1986, Michel’s experiment with one way valves on the leading edge;Asterion, circa 1986, the first conception of V-Ribs now used in nearly all modern paragliders; Aerodyne Dune, the longawaited DHV2 glider due for release this year.nor the manufacturers played the game correctlyin my opinion. The category of serialclass gliders was too broad and varied greatlybetween different manufacturers. This led toa great deal of ambiguity because some of theserial class gliders were really competitiongliders in my opinion.AI: What do you think of the argument thatHannes Papesh of Nova and the Ozone teammake about competition gliders being dangerousand hurting the sport?ML: I’m not so sure I agree with this becausewe always have to strive to make glidersas best we can. I don’t think competitiongliders are dangerous by themselves, butby the way the pilots use them. If they fly indangerous conditions, in remote places, or inrotor, of course it can be dangerous. Some pilotsare dangerous, and it’s not always fair toduring flight and think there is nothing to dobut enjoy the view. You can usually feel somethingbefore a collapse, and pilots can almostalways do something — fly actively — to preventa glider from collapsing.I consider the schools and the method ofinstruction to be the most important factorin safety. There is a big difference between theGerman method and the French method. Ofcourse, I think the French method is better(laughs). The Germans always prefer dhv 1gliders.Of course it’s important to have safe gliders,but just as important, if not more, is totrain good, safe pilots. The French federationis considering revamping the entire methodof instruction in light of the new developmentsin the sport like acro and freestyle.They believe that the standards of instructionhave not kept pace with the practice offlying. They want the information that theinnovative technology in both the design andmanufacturing process gives us reason to bevery confident about the future.AI: And what are your plans for the future?ML: We will always be working on newand better wings and want to offer the bestparagliders in the world. We are also makinga line of kites, but our ambitions there aremuch more modest and we’d be happy with asmall part of the kite market. We have no intentionof entering the harness market. That’sa specialized area, which requires a great dealof time and investment that we’d prefer toconcentrate on paragliding. Paragliders are,and will always remain, Aerodyne’s numberone priority.Amir Izadi is a paraglider pilotfrom Victroria, British ColumbiaAIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004 15

feature // huckspedition 2003“For one week, we jumped, launched, climbed, looped and swooped off and around the features of this magnificent area.”Chris Muller flies by as Othar Lawrence base jumps during the Redbull Huckspedition 2003 in Northern Arizona.all photos by Christian PondellaRedbull Huckspedition 2003by Chris MullerIn October, 2003, I accompanied theRedbull Airforce to Monument Valleyin Northern Arizona for “Huckspedition.”Huckspedition is the brainchild ofOthar Lawrence, Airforce team leader,and was designed to showcase the collectivetalents of the Airforce, as well asfeature the freeclimbing of Will Gadd(champion iceclimber, freeclimber, andparaglider pilot) with the spectacularfeatures of Monument Valley serving asa backdrop.The Airforce is basically a showteam of skydivers, base jumpers, andparaglider, hang glider, and ultralightpilots who travel to demonstration eventsaround North America, as well as workon film projects. The members in MonumentValley included myself, Othar Lawrence,Chris Santacroce, Myles Dasher,Shane McKonky, Charles Bryan, as wellas European “Acro” team members UeliGegenshutz, and Dominic Steffan.For one week, we jumped, launched,climbed, looped and swooped off andaround the features of this magnificentarea. Unfortunately, due to issues withthe local Navajo tribe, we weren’t able togain access into the park itself until thelast day of filming, but, fortunately, wewere able to finish on the most remarkable,and prominent feature in the park,the Totem Pole. The Totem Pole is everybase jumper’s (and climber’s) dream, a480 ft pillar, 20 ft by 20 ft on the top, andjumpable on all sides. I was hoping to beable to set my hang glider up and launchoff the top, as Ed Cesar did in the early’70s film UP, but wind and current gliderset-up needs prevented me from takingmy glider onto the pillar. Still, I wasable to do fly-bys as OJ, Myles, Shane,and Charles jumped off of it, and Willalong with his girlfriend Kim Chizmaziaclimbed up its eastern face.16 AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004

feature // huckspedition 2003Capturing the event were photographers Christian Pondella,and Ulrich Grille, whose images are nothing short ofspectacular. We will no doubt be seeing them in magazinesfor years to come. Redbull also plans to do an hour longdocumentary of the event, which should air sometime inthe spring of 2004.As a new Airforce team member, I can only hope thatI am lucky enough to be involved with more of theseprojects and “Huckspedition” will certainly go down asone of my most memorable flying experiences!Three shots of Chris Muller flying on the backdrop ofNorthern Arizona scenary.AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004 17

teach // weak linksONLY AS STRONG ASTHE WEAKESTLINKCanadian pilot Brett Hazlett on tow, competing in the Pre-Worlds Championship in Hay, Australia.According to John Janssen, whether you’re competing in a world-class setting or with your localflying club, the weak link is essential for a safe tow.photo by Suja HazlettBY JOHN JANSSENYou’re only as strong as your weakestlink. In the case of towing aircraft,that “strength” needs to be limited,so the towing force remains manageablewithout over-stress the aircraft. That is thepurpose of the “weak link.”The weak link is a small piece of cordof a predetermined breakingstrength, connecting the towingbridle to the towline. So, infact, the weakest link (the weaklink) plays a big roll in maintainingreliability and, consequently,the safety of any towing system.Whether areotowing or ground basedtowing, whether towing hang gliders,paragliders or sailplanes, the safety of usinga weak link has been well established.There are also generally accepted allowabletowline forces (weak link strength)for each of these various combinationsof towing (see Towing Aloft by Pagen andBrydon).For an item that plays such an importantpart of towing safety, it is peculiar that isalso the most variable in its constructionand application. Therefore, the questionthat I wanted an answer for was: “What isthe breaking strength of the weak link thatI am currently using to tow hang glidersfrom a payout winch system?”Whether towing hang gliders, paraglidersor sailplanes, the safety of using aweak link has been well established.To find the answer, I went to see MurrayToft, Senior Instructor of Outdoor Pursuitsin the Faculty of Kinesiology at TheUniversity of Calgary. Mr. Toft has experiencetesting climbing rope systems usingthe laboratory facilities located within theOutdoor Centre at the U of C.Mr. Toft emphasized that in order to obtainaccurate information, we would needto duplicate in the lab, as precisely as possible,how the weak link was being used inthe field. The shape and size of what you areattaching the weak link to, on either end, arecritical in determining the breaking strengthof the weak link, as is the configuration andsize of the weak link itself. Even temperatureand humidity can affect the strength of theweak link. It is important to note that thedata we collected is specific tothe materials and configurationsbeing tested only.One end of the weak linkwas tied around 3 mm of Spectrawrapped around a stainlesssteel thimble and then spliced back into itself.The other end was attached to a threestringrelease bridle. In the lab, we just usedthe same size and type of rope used on thelast loop of the bridle.The weak link itself is a piece of 205 leechline. The single strand of line was tied witha single fisherman’s knot, so it had a loopon both ends. Using different knots will18 AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004

teach // weak links(Left) Murray Toft demonstrating test system. Starting at top: winch hook, load sensor, bridle simulation, weak link, towline, floor anchor. (Middle) Close-up of bridle and weak link (single strand) connection. (Right) From carabiner down: bridlesimulation, four strand weak link, 3 mm Spectra tow line with stainless steel thimble.photos by John JenssenSTRAND AVERAGEone 93.2two 173.6three 263.4four 397.8yield different breaking strengths. We onlytested the one knot.The weak link was then attached to thetowrope using various arrangements, resultingin a single, double, triple or quadruplestrand weak link. See the chart forthe summarized resultsThe length, size, type of material, aswell as knots, configuration, and attachmentpoints, are all big factors in determiningweak link breaking strengths. Theimportant aspects are that you know thebreaking strength of your weak links, andare consistent in their construction andapplication.John Janssen is a hang glider pilotfrom Calgary, Alberta, and teachesat Muller Windsports.The perfect place to spend your Vacation !Camping, Motels, Shopping & Restaurants all within 2 blocks!Festivals : Jazz, Folk, Fringe, Latin, Folklorama, Art, Film, etc.Modern lakefront 5 bed Cabin - 1 hr, Boat, Ski, Windsurf, Fish.Hang GlidersUltralightsBallooningSkydivingClimbingGolfingMILE-HighAerotows!www.altitude.ca(204)956-5867Tandem - Group Picnics - Lessons - Towing - Pro Shop - Mail OrderSteinbach Municipal Airport North, 25 min SE of WinnipegBox 20250 (289 Hwy 12, Unit 4), Steinbach, Mb. R5G 1R7AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004 19

equipment // seeyouSeeYou: your flight in 3DSoftware that brings your GPS to lifeBY DOUG KELLEROver the last several years, gps receivershave become an importanttool for most hang gliderand paraglider pilots. They’ve eliminatedthe need to fly with maps so we knowwhere we are in the air, and we don’tneed to use maps or Great Circle Distancecalculations to figure out our flightdistance after a cross country flight. Thescreens are bigger, and the maps provideplenty of detail, including towns, roads,railways and bodies of water.For most competitions, a gps receiveris now a requirement for entry. Theyhelp us navigate to turn points and togoal, and as long as we set them up correctly,the meet officials use our tracklogs to verify and score our flights.They have become such an importantpart of our equipment that some of thehigher end flight decks have receiversbuilt in to allow maximum integrationof the gps information into pilot decision-making.The software available for gps use haskept up with the advancements in hardware.In the beginning, we used simple soft-ware to upload and download waypointsand tracklogs. Graphical capabilitieswere added and we could use softwarelike OziExplorer to display our flightson calibrated images of maps. The newestsoftware now has 3d capabilities anduses terrain elevation data to display 3dmaps. If we have a tracklog with altitudedata included we can view our flights in3d.The software I will focus on in this articleis called SeeYou. This is one of thebest programs I have ever paid for. Theamount of information you can get fromOne of Doug Keller’s flights in Golden, BC, rendered in 3D by SeeYou GPS software.a flight, the 3d playback capabilities andease of use make it a bargain for the cost.I’ve tried a couple of others and in myview they aren’t as good or user friendlyas SeeYou.SeeYou is produced in Slovenia andis written specifically for glider pilots,including hang gliders and paragliders.You can check out all the details andeven download a fully functional evaluationversion on their website at www.seeyou.ws. They have just released amobile version for Pocket pc as well.SeeYou can display raster maps thatyou can scan and calibrate yourself,and can also display zoomable vectormaps for most of world, downloadedfrom the SeeYou site. They also have elevationdata for most of world availablefrom their site that is easily integrated toproduce 3d vector maps. There is alsodownloadable airspace information soyou can see the airspace in 2d and 3d,as well as a wide selection of waypointsand turnpoints for most of the world.The newest info available now is satelliteimages to use with the 3d maps to makethem look even more realistic. Unfortunately,satellite images for Canada aren’tavailable yet, but hopefully they will besoon.To use the software you can start bydownloading your tracklog from yourgps receiver or logger. The Garmin interfaceis supported, as well as the Braunigerand Flytec flight decks with builtinreceivers. You can save your flight inseveral formats including the igc standard.When opening a flight, the correctmap for the flight area is loaded automatically.You can set up the maps todisplay raster or vector maps and evencombine them so you can see both at thesame time.There are four screens that show yourflight in various ways. The route screendisplays your tracklog on a 2d map. Thetracklog can be setup to be colour-codedrelative to altitude if altitude is availablein the tracklog. You can configurethe map to show waypoints and airspaceand you can zoom in and out and paneasily with the mouse. The graph screenis a typical graph against time that canbe set up to show various flight parametersincluding altitude, vertical speedand ground speed. On the altitude graphthe ground level is shown and the bottomof the graph.The Statistics screen gives a lot ofdetail about the flight. The General Informationsection includes takeoff andlanding times and altitudes, when soaringbegins and ends and the flight duration.It even lists sunrise and sunsettimes. The Flight Statistics section givesdetail on how many thermals you were20 AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004

equipment // seeyouA SeeYou 3D flight path from Mt. 7. The town of Golden can be seen, marked inthe bottom left.in, what direction you were turning ineach, average climb rates and total altitudegained for each type; right, left andmixed. Straight flight is listed as rising,sinking and total, and information includingaltitude gained & lost, averagespeeds and mean l/d is shown. Verticalspeed, altitude and ground speedare shown broken down into groups, so,for example, you can see how much ofthe flight was over 10,000 ft or if it wasbetween 400-600 fpm climb rate. TheFlight Statistics section also summarizesthe low and high points and the max altitudegained.The last screen, and for me the coolest,is the 3d map screen. It shows the 3d terrainwith the 2d map and/or raster mapinformation overlaid on the terrain, andthe 3d flight path over the terrain. Theshadow of the flight path is also shownon the “ground” below. You can even setupthe track to be colour coded with thealtitude data. When you click the animationbutton you can watch your flight atany speed from 1-500x normal speed. Ifind that about 10x is a good compromisebetween too slow and boring andtoo fast and hard to follow. It can evendisplay multiple flights so you can seehow you did compared to other pilotsflying at the same time.During the animation, the flight parametersare displayed at the bottom ofthe screen, so you can see the time, youraltitude, rate of climb and ground speed.You can see in the attached screen capturefrom a flight from Mt. 7 that I’m at10,800 ft and climbing at 800 fpm. I’mat Parson, and, although you can’t readthem because of the angle, you can seethe map labels for Harrogate and Spillimacheen.You can select from several differentglider styles including a sailplane, ahang glider and an eagle (yes, the bird).During the animation of the flight thebank angle of the glider changes relativeto the turn radius which gives theanimation a very realistic look. I set mytracklog to record every three secondsso you see every turn.The other most important feature forme is the flight optimization and abilityto automatically submit the flight to theOnline Contest (olc). I was originallyplanning to include some details for theonline contest, but I’m out of time andspace so that will have to wait for anotherissue. The short story is that it is a yearlongworld wide cross-country competitionthat requires a tracklog uploaded inthe igc format to verify your flight information.The flight can include up to threeturnpoints and SeeYou will select theturnpoints to give the best score. The igcfile format includes a security record toprevent file tampering. For more detailson the olc check out these websites:• http://www.onlinecontest.org/holc/• http://midwinter.ca/olc• http://www.ozreport.com/compOnlineXC. phpSeeYou has many other features, likewaypoint and task management, andflight planning. There is even an faitriangle flight tool to help in planningworld record triangle flights ,and a competitionmodule so you can use it to administerand score competitions. It isn’tfully integrated with the Race scoringprogram yet, but that will likely change.The program producers are very open tofeedback and are always making changesto make it better and more useful to thepilots using it.The only drawback to the program,which is also really a benefit, is that itprovides so much detail about yourflight that it almost makes a log bookobsolete. You can see exactly where yougot that low save or where you got thatboomer thermal. The only thing that itdoesn’t show is what the weather conditionswere, but it wouldn’t surprise me ifreal time weather overlays aren’t some-SeeYou provides somuch detail aboutyour flight that italmost makes alog book obsolete.You can see exactlywhere you got thatlow save or whereyou got that boomerthermal.thing that will be added eventually. Satelliteweather photos are already widelyavailable; it’s just a matter of downloadingthe right photos for the flight areaand auto calibrating them.To sum up, if you have a gps, youshould check out this program. It makesthe hardware much more useful. Youcan download the free trial to see if youthink it’s worth it. I have no associationwith the company and have no interestin increasing sales other than the factthat the more hang glider and paragliderpilots that use the program the more itwill be tailored to our needs.Doug Keller is a hang glider pilot inCalgary, and HPAC President.AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004 21

equipment // atos-sAndre Nadeau describes what it’s likeLiving with an ATOS-SGünther Tschurnig, winner of the Online Contest 2003, taking off in an ATOS glider.Ilove hang gliding. Unfortunately, a naggingshoulder injury has robbed me of ATOS-S. The big size doesn’t matter much in— except for the small Extassy and the smallmuch of much of my shoulder strength flight, because rigid wings have control surfacesthat do all the work. However, the bigand has proven too painful when rolling aflexwing. I reached the point where I was a gliders have two significant drawbacks asdanger to myself and to my fellow pilots, as I far as I am concerned. One, they do not fit incould barely turn left and my right turns were my garage. Two, they are heavy, and carryingnot much better.them would put much stress on my shoulder.It was time to find a hang glider I could turn Although the small Exxtacy does fit in my garage,it is heavier than many of the large rigidsafely without stressing my shoulder, or stickto paragliding. Nothing against paragliding wing and was simply not acceptable to me.— I own a paraglider and fly it occasionally Thus, my only real option was the ATOS-S.— but my real love is hang gliding. So what is Would I be able to find a small used ATOS,a desperate guy to do? Find a glider that requireslittle strength to turn, of course. And Would I be willing to buy one first and thengiven that a new one was beyond my means?that means a rigid wing. Enter the ATOS-S. find the answer? Given that the maximumDespite the uncooperative weather of recommended pilot weight for the ATOS-S is2003, I managed 16 flights and logged about 187 lb and that my flight weight is about 18016 hours on the ATOS-S since I got it. Not a lot – 185 lb, would the glider be able to carry myfor sure, but enough for me to be able to pass weight and still deliver decent performance?on my first impressions.The answers to these three questions are yes,no, and yes respectively. Let me expand onHOW I GOT INTO AN ATOS-S that.Yes, I was able to find an ATOS-S. ThereThere are a number of rigid hang glidersout, but they all come in one size — big America (probably fewer than 10) andhave been very few small ATOS sold in Northfindingone for sale was very much a matter ofluck. After a lengthy search, I finally locatedan ATOS-S at Mission Soaring Center in SanJose, California.No, I was not willing to buy the glider firstand find out how it flew after the fact. I hadbeen burned doing that before, and I had nointention of going down that road again. Icould not locate an ATOS-S to test fly in myneck of the woods, so I was in a quandary. Ittook some effort, but I eventually managedto convince my wife that San Francisco wasa great location to spend our 2002 Christmasvacation. In reality, my wife let me convinceher, as she could tell how much I wanted to go(thanks, Susan).Although the weather was particularlypoor during our stay, I did manage to makean appointment with Pat Denevan for a testflight on a decent day. I showed up at the towing/traininghill field, and Pat promptly assembledthe glider before demonstrating atake off and landing on a training hill. I toldmyself that it did not look too hard, so I tookmy turn. After seven uneventful flights off thetraining hill, I was convinced that the gliderphoto courtesy Aeronautic Innovation22 AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004

equipment // atos-slaunched and landed nicely in no wind tolight wind conditions, and that ground handlingwas quite easy. Seven flights does notseem much, but believe me, it is a lot of work.The glider glided forever and dragging itback to the hill, and then up the hill is a majoreffort for a desk jockey. I got plenty of groundhandling, that’s for sure!It was then time for a tow so I could reallyexplore the handling. Pat has a stationary towthat he uses for training. While I was exertingmyself with my training hill flights, Pathad been towing a bunch of students. So Igot in line and, given my luck, the winch ranout of fuel halfway trough my only tow andI did not get much altitude. Nevertheless, itwas enough for me to make a few turns, anapproach and a landing, and to decide thatthe glider was suitable. Upon my return toCanada, I purchased the glider and it arrivedin Ottawa in May.Yes, the glider can carry my weight quitewell, although there is a price to pay which Iwill discuss later. Certainly, sixteen flights andsixteen hours over an entire summer is not alot of airtime. I have a lot more to discoverand learn about the glider, but this is as gooda time as any to present my impressions. Iknow that much has been published aboutthe ATOS, especially by Davis Straub, butpractically all of it pertains to the big ATOS.My experience is that the ATOS-S behavesdifferently than its big brethren (based onwhat I have read anyway) in some areas, sothere may be some value to my diatribe.TRANSPORTING THE ATOSI am not really sure how vulnerable theATOS is during transportation, and I do notwant to find out first hand as this is an expensivepuppy. I have heard that the D-Cells arequite fragile and need to be well supportedand padded, and I was not prepared to takeany chances. After looking at some existingsolutions and considering various new ideas,I finally settled on a solution that works wellfor my vehicle. As the accompanying pictureshows (top right), I built a rack from wireshelves and two inches of high-density foamthat support the glider along 80 per cent of itslength. Mission accomplished.HANDLINGThe ATOS-S exceeds all my expectationsas far as handling is concerned.Getting the glider to roll is laughably easy,photo by Andre NadeauAndre Nadeau’s solution for transporting his ATOS-S. He built a rack from wireshelves and two inches of high-density foam.as it takes minimal effort to move the spoilers.As a result, I have not experienced shoulderpain while flying the glider, and that makesme very happy indeed. Surprisingly, I foundthat I could yaw the glider a bit with weightshift, something I was told was not possiblefor a rigid. Maybe I can chalk that one up tomy high wing loading. The usefulness of beingable to yaw the glider may be somewhatlimited in a rigid, so I am presenting thismostly as a curiosity at this time pendingmore experiments.I have read that there is a delay between theinitiation of roll input and the roll itself forthe big ATOS. I much prefer a fast respondingglider when flying close to terrain or comingfor a landing in a turbulent lz. No worry;with my wing loading, the ATOS-S rolls immediatelyupon roll input and the roll rate isvery healthy — better than most flexwings Ihave test flown before. Very good, indeed.I have also read that the big ATOS has ahigh bar pressure when pulling in, especiallythe models before the ATOS C. I did not findthat to be a problem with the ATOS-S (mineis a B model so maybe it is an SB?). What Ifound is that the bar pressure is very lightwhen pulling in throughout the entire speedrange. The glider also has positive pitch stability(i.e. the basetube will return to trim ifI let go unlike some high-performance gliders).Still looking good!One of the gremlin about rigid wings isthat they can spin if flown too slow in a turn.Pushing out in a turn is a habit that many flexwing pilots have to unlearn when transitioningto a rigid wing, because of this risk ofspinning. In my case, that was not much of anissue because I always trimmed my flexwingsat approximately stall speed or slower so thatthe trim would be about right in a turn, andI would not have to push out much, if at all.This also means that I was always pullingin most of the time, so my transition to theATOS was quite easy since I did not have tounlearn pushing out.I did take one flight on my old flexwing thissummer. I intended to paraglide that day asthe predicted winds were light, but I broughtmy old Formula 144 just in case. The windswere too strong for paragliding, so hang glidingit was. What a difference! I found myselfpioing (Pilot Induced Oscillations) all overthe place. I could not co-ordinate a turnproperly, and my shoulder was hurting witheach roll and pull in. I could not believe that Icould unlearn how to fly a flexwing so quickly.I guess the lesson is it is easier to go from aflexwing to a rigid than the other way around— at least in my case.TOWINGThe vast majority of my take-offs are fromtow, either stationary winch, payout winch oraerotowing (usually in Florida). Apart frommy seven training hill flights in California, Ihave only towed the glider so this is what Iwill talk about.Towing the ATOS-S is easy — basically ano-brainer. This is true whether on a stationarywinch or with a payout winch. I did nothave an opportunity to aerotow the glider yet,but I have seen many people doing it at Wallabyto know that it is also a non-issue.I found that there is an interesting peculiaritywith towing the ATOS-S that I hadnot read about before. On my first few towson a stationary winch, and with the recommended15 degrees of flaps, the towline tensionto tow the ATOS-S were very light — lessthan what is required to tow a paraglider. Thelight towline tension was not premeditated asnormal hang gliding towline tensions wereAIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004 23

equipment // atos-sToni Raumauf flying an ATOS in Australia.mains on the towline longer and gets towed ata higher towline tension resulting in a betteraltitude gain overall. At least, that is my impression,and I expect I will be experimentingwith the best flap setting this year.I could not find much about payout tow ofthe ATOS, and some people I talked to toldme it was not a good idea for a variety of reasons.I now disagree with them. What I foundis that staging cross or downwind is more delicate,because of the glider’s lack of structuralside wires. That is, the wings tend to drop, butwith the proper care and attention, this canbe handled and is not a big issue in my opinion.One must also be careful and rememberthat the glider has a longer wingspan than atypical flexwing, so roadside obstacles suchas tall bushes can be a problem. However, thisis more of an issue for the large ATOS thanit is for the ATOS-S. Finally, the angle of theretaining rope to the keel is important — itshould be as horizontal as possible to avoidputting undue pressure of the keel. Luckily,the tow system I am using was already setupideally so no modifications were required.APPROACHES AND LANDINGSLandings are relatively easy. I would comparethem with those of an intermediate flexwing,although the approach speed is higher.However, the glider slows down well and theflare window is relatively wide. I have not hadany appreciable problems landing the glider,and I do not consider myself particularlyskilled at landings, a fact the nose cones ofmany of my past gliders will attest to.It is really the approaches that differentiateintended, but the glider was so fast that thetowline tension never build up. Of course, thisalso meant that the tows were short in durationand that the altitude gains were not thebest. I have since learned to put on more flapto dirty and slow down the glider. Althoughthe glider does not climb as efficiently, it retheATOS from flexwings. The performanceand handling characteristics of the gliderdemand an aircraft approach which worksgreat when the approach to the lz supportsit. When that is the case, the final approachglide angle is easily controlled with the veryeffective combination of full flaps and vary-photo courtesy Aeronautic Innovationing flying speed — pull in more, go downfaster. Very effective.The problem comes when the lz is not favourableto aircraft approaches, which is thecase at our main site at Champlain. Our lz islocated immediately at the base of our smallmountain (or large hill, if you are from BritishColumbia), and it is narrow with obstacleson both sides. The straight-in glide path toavoid terrain is about 45 degrees, and a longstraight final is basically impossible in anytype of wind. In high winds, ground speed islow, but the ridge lift counteracts my effortsto descend. In low wind, I simply cannot divefast enough to follow the terrain.Either way, this makes for very delicateapproaches, since the effective length of thelz is cut by half. I cannot touch down beforethe half way point at best. The solution fora flexwing is to perform multiple slippingturns in both directions to lose altitude atthe upwind side of the lz, but these lowlevelmanoeuvres are not recommended forrigid wings. I basically get one turn on finaland there little leeway for errors.Approaches in high winds are preferable,because they reduce the ground speedand effectively increase the usable lengthof the lz somewhat. In low wind, I haveto be prepared for a long glide that eatsthe lz very quickly. I have concluded thatit is preferable to make downwind landingsin winds of 5 km or less because thedownwind approach is clean of obstaclesand I can come in low and fast. The flarerequires better timing and I have to run thelanding, but I consider that safer than thealternative. Not so good.PERFORMANCEHow well does the ATOS perform? To behonest, I do not really know, since I do nothave an airspeed indicator or one of thosefancy instruments that calculate L/D. Thissection is therefore mostly subjective, and isbased on my impressions as a recreational pilotwith basically no competition experience.What I can say for sure is that the glideris fast — at least, compared to what I amused to. The glide speed is also much betterthan what I am experienced with, basedon my few cross-country flights this year. Ican now fly upwind and actually get to liftwhen I could not before. Going downwind,I get to the next cloud with a lot more altitudethan I used to in my xc 142. It almostmakes xc flights too easy, but I am sure Iwill get use to it.Based on the three times I managed tothermal with my buddies, my sink rate iscomparable to other flexwings. Of course, Ihave a highly-loaded ATOS-S and the largerATOS would likely have a better sink rate.Good enough for me.What I have found, though, is that lowsaves are much harder to pull off. The gliderflies faster and has a larger turn radius, makingit more difficult to stay in the small stuffdown low. Also, I have to leave these thermalshigher to give me time to set up a proper approach.Of course, the better glide and higherspeed makes it less likely that I will need lowsaves. Overall though, I consider that a loss,as I have always enjoyed pulling off low saves.Some low saves are amongst my best memoriesof the sport. Oh well — you can’t haveeverything.IN CONCLUSIONI purchased the ATOS-S to prolong myparticipation in the sport. I did expect somecompromises — and there are some — butthey are relatively minor. For example, I willno longer be able to hang glide in exotic localesbecause shipping the glider by air issimply not an option. But then, that’s why Itook up paragliding. Overall, the compromisesare fewer and less significant than I wasexpecting. The glider does most of what I reallycare about quite well, and since it allowsme to keep flying, I am not about to complainabout its few shortcomings.Andre Nadeau is a hang glider pilotfrom Ottawa, Ontario24 AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004

travelogue // mexicoManzanillo Bay (top right)sits south of the town ofManzanillo, Mexico, andserves as a good spot foradvanced surfers. MajahuaBay (bottom right), is a localfishing village. Just beyondthe ridge in the top left ofthe photo lays Troncones,where Michael Robertsonstayed while in Mexico thispast winter.photo courtesy Michael RobertsonMexican meanderings and the monarch: Michael Robertsonrecalls his winter spent flying in Latin AmericaIspent a wonderful winter on thePacific coast of Mexico. Well, wonderfulfrom a weather standpoint: 30˚ Cevery cloudless day and 24 every starfillednight. Imagine sensational sunsetsthat superlatives can’t touch (have youever seen the green flash?), waves thatattract world-class surfers, excellent seafoodand cheap beer.Our tandem hang gliding operationwas, however, a tough sell. We needed asimple truck/payout winch set-up on thebeach rather than the top-end hydrostaticnumber I took, which was assaulted bythe seasalt and sand.(Anybody got a tandem rating and apayout system that would like to winterin paradise next year?)The real fun began when I left forhome. I allowed the cosmos to lead meto Cuerrnavaca, a gorgeous garden city,then to Topatzalan a magical Aztecmountain village with more ufo sightingsthan anywhere else on the planet,then to Valle de Bravo for a long overduefeast of flying.My first contact was with Alas delHombre (Wings of Man) with their Da-Vinci’s man with-bird-wing-added logo.Miguel Guterrier has been flying sincehe was about five and running his mostlypg, some hg, user-friendly business forever.We had been corresponding for 10years, so meeting him was exciting andinspiring. Next, I went up to the othergroup in town, Fly Mexico, mostly hgbut lots of pg. Who should I bump intobut the legendary “Ollie,” formerly theleader of Safari Mexico.We had several mutual friends, so theconversation was lively and led to a dateon El Penon del Diable (Rock of the Devil)in the morning. With such a forebodingname, and since I hadn’t launched offa mountain in many a moon, I decidedto fly an Eagle 164. Good decision, err onthe side of safety.I launched last from the pine-coveredperfectly sloped take-off. Actually, theforest could have been in Canada, exceptmany of the trees had little cups collectingpitch. Apparently, this resin is highlyprised as being the best in the world forviolin bows. Good for business, bad forthe forest. Getting away from El Penonwas a little more challenging than I hadbeen led to believe. Ollie couldn’t rememberthe last time he had to land infront at “the piano” lz. His memory wasrefreshed in he near future when we bothlanded there!After about 20 minutes of work witha couple of topless locals (gliders, ofcourse), I finally caught a solid 500up thermal. It was surprising that aLitespeed that came directly under mesoon fell far below and didn’t leave withme. I guess the bubble was smaller thanit felt. Bullet might be more descriptive.One’s ego is tempted in those situationsto feel pretty good about it’s superiorskill, but I remember flying with LarryTudor in North Carolina one year whenwe repeatedly skied each other out.The higher pilot was able to mark thelower’s thermal and fly directly above,or below, the climbing glider repeatedlyand still we were never able to lock intothe same lift. My ability to out-climb onethe world’s best was definitely not due tomy superior thermalling skills.AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004 25

travelogue // mexicoI thoroughly enjoyed my xc. Eachthermal got me higher as I wanderedthrough the valleys. The countryside andhorizon were beautiful. To the north-eastloomed a massive dormant volcano toppingout at about 14,000 ft. To the southeastlay the huge man-made lake, and Valleis built is built on its shores. It is filled bythe confluence of no less than five rivers.Small villages dotted the valleys.With no radio I was careful to followthe main paved road toward Toluca. Thewinds aloft seemed to be picking up. Justshy of 13,000 ft, I realized the road disappearedinto the next mountain pass.It clearly wound up the face, but both ofthe valleys beyond the ridge were plainlydirt-roaded. It was certainly tempting tocontinue, but common sense prevailedand I decided to head back toward Valle— on the Eagle that soon proved futile.Several times I could have climbed outagain, but when I did, the increasing drifttook me where I didn’t want to go.I picked an ideal looking field nearthe necessary road and set up to land. Itwas then that my decision about flyingthe eagle was rewarded. I got repeatedlyslammed by a combination of mechanicalturbulence from the strong winds and bystill kick-ass thermal sheer. As I began toturn final I remembered again why we tellbeginners that xc is advanced ,and to, ifpossible, drive a planned xc route beforeflying it. The ploughed field I had chosenwas a disaster; with wires on two sidesand sloping the wrong way. Luckily I gotpopped at just the right moment and wasOllie, formerlly head of Safari Mexico, get’s into his body armour, ready to fly.able to bail to a flat cropless scrub fieldbehind it but further from the road. I wasstill not out of the woods. My approach at9,000 ft, even on an eagle in strong winds,ate up the available space at an alarmingrate. At the last moment (read ditch andflapping clothes line looming), I gave theflare all I had and landed perfectly. Whew,that was interesting.Half the kids under 16 in Las Zaucosappeared to watch me break down. Theirsmiling faces warmed me as much as thesun. Then, just as I was bagging it, whoshould appear but Ollie.“Well I’ll be dipped in shit!” helaughed. “So that speck in the sky wasyou. What are the odds we’d end up inthe same spot?”The perfect day was secured by fantasticfood at a roadside tienda, repleteIn the distance, from under Michael Robertson’s wingtip, you can see the Lake of FiveRivers, and Valle de Bravo.photo by Michael Robertsonphoto by Michael Robertsonwith hand made tortillas, mole (a sweet,dark and delicious, special sauce), salad,beans, rice and of course, Cerveza. As theday dictated, at the ideal moment a sweetyoung couple with an extra large pick-upbed stopped and drove us and our birdsinto Valle. She was contentedly nursingher beatific baby. His shining eyes bespokehis pride in giving us a lift, in hisfamily and in his wealth of spirit.As Ollie described his landing I againmarvelled at his love of free flight. Anasty trike accident left him nearly crippled.In spite of that he flies almost everyday. He lands his Fusion on wheels (notexactly what I designed them for) wearingbody armour! Imagine how carefullyhe needs to pick a field. To him, hitchingback is part of the adventure. Neat.Hearing his Spanish with his peculiar accentand inflection is also a hoot.The most amazing synchronicity wasrevealed later. We had landed in the littletown adjacent to the winter home of millionsof monarch butterflies. I am nowinvolved with Miguel G.’s brother Vico,another fantastic being — but more onthat another time, in undertaking a migrationfrom Mexico to Canada to drawattention to the diminishing forest habitatof this incredible butterfly. They takethree or is it four generations to get uphere and somehow get back in one ortwo. Wild. Check out his web site at www.aireimagen.com.mx/english/Thanks to all for their friendliness andsupport. Hasta luego mi amigos. Vayabien.Michael Robertson is a hang glider pilot fromLocust Hill, Ontario26 AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004

2003 Canadian XC summaryA look back on a year recorded by Muller Windsportsfeature // canadian xc summaryJeff Remple, who placed thurd in hang gliding XC flights originating out of Canada,, sits at goal.photos courtesy Vincene MullerBY VINCENE MULLERThis summary of xc flights is takenfrom flights entered on the MullerWindsports website xc List. Forthe past five years, a database on our websiteallows pilots to enter their flights. Afew minutes of your time and your flightis recorded.While xc flying has become morepopular, the number of recorded flightshas dropped. Too bad! If you want to enteryour flights for 2004, go to our website,www.mullerwindsports.com, choosehang glider or paraglider, xc flights andenter the data. It’s a good idea to enterthe flights on a regular basis, otherwiseit will take you a long time at the end ofthe season to enter them all (be positive, itwill be a great xc season). After enteringyour flights, take time and browse backthrough the flights of yesteryear.The Canadian Hang Gliding xc logwas started back in 1984. The ranking isa total of the best three flights. The ’80swere really the “hey day” of xc flying inCanada. 100-mile flights were frequent,especially in the spring months. 100-mileflights were flown in Alberta, BC, Saskatchewan,Quebec, Ontario & Manitoba.The first Canadian 100-mile flight was byWilli Muller in April, 1981, 141 miles fromCochrane Hill to Coronation, Alberta. AsCochrane Hill was a prairie hill of 300 ft,it showed that a mountain was not neededto fly xc.The xc list each year reached around100 pilots, with several flights reportedover 100 miles. Before the days of email,I would receive an excited phone call tellingme of a flight — sometimes the phonecall was made while the pilot was waitingfor retrieval. Pilots didn’t worry aboutradios and retrieval. If conditions werefavourable, they just flew xc and didn‘tworry about getting home. I could writea novel about some retrievals.The excitement of xc flights for hangglider pilots remains especially in Albertaand Golden, BC.SUMMARY OF 2003 HANG GLIDINGXC FLIGHTS IN CANADARoss Hunter of Edmonton heads thelist for 2003 with a three-flight total of437 km. All of his flights were from Atoltruck tow. His total for the year was 539km.Doug Keller of Calgary was secondwith 361 km and a year’s total of 681 km.Doug’s flights were from both tow andin Golden.Rick Chubey of Winnipeg spent hisholidays in Golden for the first time. Histhree-flight total was 348 km and his totalfor his week in Golden was 706 km.He will be back to Golden I am sure.Terry Thordason of Calgary, in fourthplace, had a 327 km three-flight totalwith 543 km for the year — all fromtruck tow. Serge Larmarche of Goldenhad a 314 km three-flight total, but ahuge 1293 km flown over the year, all inGolden.Other noteworthy news includes aAIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004 27

feature // canadian xc summary150 km flight by Carlos Rizo off aerotowin Ontario.While Armand Acchione has had asimilar flight in previous years, he wasflying a rigid wing but Carlos flew hisflight on a Wills Wing Talon.It should be noted that in 2003 therewere no flights reported from Quebec.Several up-and-coming Alberta pilotsplan on challenging the leaders in 2004.Beware — they have been planningstrategy all winter!2003 XC HANG GLIDINGFLIGHTS BY CANADIANPILOTS OUTSIDE OF CANADAFirst place was a tie between BrettHazlett & Chris Muller, due to the reportingof competition flights. Their“best three-flight totals” of 539 km, wereflown during the Australian Nationalsin Hay in January 2003. Brett flew morethan 3,000 km, but did not report hisflights in the World Championships inBrazil, nor from the Canadian Natonals.Reported flights were in the Hay, BogongCup, Deniliquin (Australia), Wallaby& Quest (Florida) meets. The totalfor Chris — 2,333 km, was from Hay, BogongCup, Wallaby and Quest.Next on the list was Jeff Remple, whotravelled to Australia for the Bogongand Hay meets and had some outstandingflights. His three-flight totalwas 449 km.Eric Paquette of Quebec entered theFlorida Meets flying a rigid wing. Heplaced fourth in the three-flight totalwith 398 km.Paraglider pilot Bernard Winkelmanntook hang gliding lessons in 2002 and bythe end of the season had his first ridgesoaring and xc flights (on single surfacegliders). Bernard decided that in orderto gain experience and airtime he wouldgo to the two hang gliding competitionsin Australia in January 2003, after all, theway he became a world class paragliderpilot was to go to hang gliding competitionsin Canada, then it was an easiertransition to world class paraglidingcompetitions.Bernard moved from a Falcon 195 to aFusion 150 — how hard can it be?His first competition, the Bogong Cupwas a learning experience, thermallinga hang glider in a gaggle of world classpilots you learnt in a hurry or you landquickly. Fortunately, Bernard had excellentlaunch and landing skills (he willtell you that a Fusion is easy to land) anddaily flew further towards goal. Highlightof his trip to Australia was makinggoal and his first 100 mile flight, at theAustralian Nationals in Hay. Bernard’sRandy Parkin, seen here flying in Brazil last year, ranked sixth for paragliding XC flights originating in Canada, and secondfor flights originating outside Canada.28 AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004

THE LEADER BOARDHang gliding XC FlightsOriginating in CanadaHang gliding XC FlightsOriginating Out of Canadafeature // canadian xc summary(best three-fl ight totals, in km)Paragliding XC FlightsOriginating in Canada123456789101112131415161718192021Hunter, RossKeller, DougChubey, RickThordason, TerryLamarche, SergeKlassen, HansJanssen, JohnBeckingham, DougGravelle, ScottHope, WinstonHerton, RalphNadeau, AndreRizo, CarlosDurand, BenoitPolach, MartinHanson, BruceWilson, JohnMiller, RickBreton, MarcBrauer, ClayHass, Brianbackground photo by Richard Reid437.00350.90348.00327.40313.80273.70231.70211.70206.20200.00199.00159.00150.00128.50101.0061.9060.0053.0046.5017.5015.0013456789Hazlett, BrettMuller, ChrisRemple, JeffPaquette, EricWinkelmann, BernardBorradaile, TylerRizo, CarlosBateman, BarryKeller, Doug539.80539.80449.00398.34380.80354.56316.00237.6033.10123456789101112131415123Warren, CharlesMitchell, IanMacCullough, KeithMcLearn, NicoleChodanowski, JacekParkin, RandyMuller, ChrisBrossard, JeanMacDonald, SheraleePhipps, BarryWatwood, ScottHepple, DarrenHowes, TonySolvbjerg, GregProtz, DougParagliding XC FlightsOriginating Out Of CanadaMuller, ChrisParkin, RandyPolster, Alan377.00323.00308.00302.00206.00191.20133.00128.00106.0088.5086.0066.3960.0044.4023.00316.50160.2088.60best three-flight total was 380 km. Nottoo bad for a Novice pilot!SUMMARY OF 2003 CANADIANPARAGLIDING XC FLIGHTS INCANADAParagliding xc flights in Canada havebeen documented since 1990.Not a lot of pilots reported flights in2003 (lazy?), however those that tookthe time had great flights. The longflights once again were in Golden. It wasa memorable year, and we have a newgroup on top of the list.Charles Warren, currently working inthe u.s., made his annual pilgrimage toGolden with the Ontario Pilots and topsthe list this year. His longest flight was 148km, for a three-flight total of 377 km. Histotal for the week in Golden was 592 km.Second this year was Vancouver pilotIan Mitchell, with three-flight total of 323km and a total for the Golden week of 432.Third was Nicole McLearn also ofVancouver. Her three-flight total was302 km — her longest flight was 128km, the longest flight to date by a femalepilot in Canada. Nicole spent thetime to report all of her flights. Her totalfor 2003 was 762 km. This was thelargest total reported by any Canadianparaglider pilot in 2003.2003 XC FLIGHTS BY CANADIANPILOTS OUTSIDE OF CANADANot many pilots reported flights fromtheir flying holidays. Chris Muller wentto Texas to try some towing in Zapata.He only had two good flights totalling316 km.Randy Parkin & Alan Polster had somegood flights in Brazil, so good that theyhave gone back again this year.COCHRANE XC CHALLENGEThe Cochrane xc Challenge is a year-Carlos Rizo ranked 13th for XC flights within Canada, with a three-flight total of150 km.AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004 29

feature // canadian xc summarylong competition that for hang glidersand paragliders that keeps the excitementof xc flying alive. Pilots launchoff Cochrane Hill. Pilots contribute $10each and Muller Windsports put in $150(plus $10 for each pilot registered) forfirst place, 2nd place gets $100 and thirdplace receives $50.Winners for 2003 Cochrane xc Challengewere:Hang GlidingTerry Thordason 109.20 kmBruce Hanson 56.90 kmScott Gravelle 35.90 kmParaglidingKeith MacCulloughDoug Protz42.0 km23.0 kmSome of the winners: (Clockwise, startingtop right) Chris Muller, tied for first inHG XC flights in Canada, on tow; BrettHazlett, sharing the same first-place title,on tow; Bernard Winkelmann, fifthfor PG XC flights out of Canada, after aflight at goal; Brett Hazlett in flight30 AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004

Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association of CanadaA s s o c i a t i o n C a n a d i e n n e d e V o l L i b r e1 2 0 O t t a w a S t r e e t N o r t h , P O B o x 43082 K i t c h e n e r O N N 2 H 6 S 9P h o n e / F a x : 5 1 9 8 9 4 - 6 2 7 7 E m a i l : a d m i n @ h p a c . c aA P P L I C A T I O N F O R M E M B E R S H I PHPAC/ACVL Membership FeeIncludes $3 Million third-party liability insurance, valid Canada wideand the AIR magazine.A. Full member $125Add Provincial Association Fee 1If you reside in the following provinces or territories,you MUST add one of the following:C. Ontario, NWT, Nunavut, out-of-Canada$0residentsB. Family Member$107 D. Manitoba $25Membership number of associated full member: ___________The Association Quebecoise de Vol libre (AQVL) collects the HPAC/ACVLmembership fee for Quebec residents. If you reside in Quebec, contact the E. Atlantic Provinces, Saskatchewan,$15AQVL at 514-804-8984 or download the AQVL Membership Form from the Alberta, British Columbia, YukonAQVL web site at http://www.aqvl.qc.ca/main.htmTotal of (A or B) plus (C or D or E)PLEASE PRINT CLEARLYOr AIR Magazine ONLY $30HPAC/ACVL Membership # ______________________ New Member ( Y/N ) ________ HG/PG:______________Name: ________________________________________________________________Male / Female: ___________Address: ____________________________________________________City: _______________________________Province: ______________________________ Postal Code: ____________________ Country:___________________Club or School Affiliation:__________________________________________________________________________Phone H: ( ________) ____________Work: ( _______ ) _____________ Cel: ( ________) ___________________Date of Birth: (day) _______ (month) __________ 19 _______E-mail ______________________________________Medic Alert: __________________________________________ 2 Meter Radio Call Sign:_______________________In Case of EMERGENCY contact: ______________________________________ Relationship: _________________Address: ____________________________________________________City: _______________________________Province: ______________________________ Postal Code: ____________________ Country:___________________Phone H: ( ______ ) ____________________ Work: (_________)______________________It is MANDATORY to carry third-party liability insurance to fly most sites in Canada. HPAC/ACVL Liability Insurance is only available tomembers of the HPAC/ACVL. If you are applying for membership please complete the following:I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS FORM IS AN APPLICATION FOR LIABILITY INSURANCEAND THAT ALL THE INFORMATION GIVEN ABOVE I S CORRECT.Did you have an accident in the past year that was not reported? (Circle as appropriate): Yes NoDated: ___________________________________ Signature: ___________________________________________1 The HPAC/ACVL collects Provincial Membership fees on behalf of Provincial Associations. This mandatory fee is set by Provincial Associations.AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004 31

RELEASE, WAIVER AND ASSUMPTION OF RISKHPAC/ACVL WAIVERI, ___________________________________, hereby acknowledge and agree that in consideration of being permittedto participate in Hang Gliding/Paragliding programs or activities, I hereby agree to release and discharge Owners and / orLessors of land who have granted permission for the use of property for Hang Gliding/Paragliding programs or activities,the Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada a/o Association Canadienne De Vol Libre, their officers,directors, representatives, employees, members and all other persons or entities acting in any capacity on their behalf(hereinafter collectively referred to as Releasee) from all liability and I do hereby waive as against the Releaseeall recourses, claims, causes of action of any kind whatsoever, in respect of all personal injuries or property losseswhich I may suffer arising out of or connected with, my preparation for, or participation in, the aforesaidHang Gliding/Paragliding programs or activities, not withstanding that such injuries or losses may have been causedsolely or partly by the negligence of the Releasee1. And I do hereby acknowledge and agree;a) that the sport of Hang Gliding/Paragliding and Hang Gliding/Paragliding is very dangerous, exposing participants tomany risks and hazards, some of which are inherent in the very nature of the sport itself, others which result fromhuman error and negligence on the part of persons involved in preparing, organizing and staging Hang Gliding/Paraglidingprograms or activities;b) that, as a result of the aforesaid risks and hazards, I as a participant may suffer serious personal injury, even death,as well as property loss;c) that some of the aforesaid risks and hazards are foreseeable but others are not;d) that I nevertheless freely and voluntarily assume all of the aforesaid risks and hazards, and that, accordingly,my preparation for, and participation in the aforesaid Hang Gliding/Paragliding programs and activities shall be entirelyat my own risk;e) that I understand that the Releasee does not assume any responsibility whatsoever for my safety during the course ofmy preparation for or participation in the aforesaid Hang Gliding/Paragliding programs or activities;f) that I have carefully read this RELEASE, WAIVER AND ASSUMPTION OF RISK agreement, that I fullyunderstand same, and that I am freely and voluntarily executing same;g) that I understand that by signing this release I hereby voluntarily release, forever discharge and agree to indemnifyand hold harmless the Releasee for any loss or damage connected with any property loss or personal injury that Imay sustain while participating in or preparing for any Hang Gliding/Paragliding programs or activities whether or notsuch loss or injury is caused solely or partly by the negligence of the Releasee;h) that I have been given the opportunity and have been encouraged to seek independent legal advice prior tosigning this agreement;i) that the term Hang Gliding/Paragliding programs or activities as used in this RELEASE, WAIVER ANDASSUMPTION OF RISK agreement includes without limiting the generality of that term, the Hang Gliding programsand activities as well as all other competitions, fly-ins, training sessions, clinics, towing programs and events;j) this RELEASE, WAIVER AND ASSUMPTION OF RISK agreement is binding on myself, my heirs, my executors,administrators, personal representatives and assigns and;k) that I have had sufficient opportunity to read this entire document. I have read and understood it,and I agree to be bound by its terms.Signature of Participant: ___________________________________________ Date: ______________________________Participant Name (Print clearly): ________________________________________________________________________Signature of Witness: _____________________________________________ Date: _______________________________Witness Name (Print clearly): __________________________________________________________________________Note: You are only required to sign the HPAC Waiver once but we would prefer that you complete one every year.To verify that we have a waiver on file for you, visit the HPAC/ACVL site at http://www.hpac.ca.32 AIR MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY, 2004

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