XC Dinner

By Gary Trudeau

What a great time was had by all.

It seems that Rob Jacobs is starting another tradition. First it was Camp Rob. Then there was Camp Rob South. Now it seems to be a pre-party for the XC dinner. This party was open to all who wanted to come. Many of the pilots and family that were going to the dinner showed up at Rob and Sandy ’s house. It was great to have the time to sit around for a couple of hours and see a bunch of friends that I have not seen all winter. Thanks Rob and Sandy for having everybody up the house.

Then it was time to go to the dinner. My wife Liz and I took the 5 minute drive to Angelos Restaurant. Upon walking in we found a few early arrives along with Keith Murray. Keith Worked hard to make all the arrangements at the restaurant end so that so many of us could have a good time. Getting there near the beginning of the cocktail hour gave me a chance to talk to a lot of the pilots that did not get a chance to meet at Rob and Sandy house earlier.

After a while everyone seemed to arrive and we all found a seat. The food was served. It seemed like everybody was having such a good time talking to their friends that nobody wanted to eat. We all finally settled down and lined up at the buffet table to get something to eat. There was a nice variety of food to choose from. I think the only time that the whole place quieted down is when we all sat down to eat. I looked around I counted 56 of us where there having a great time.

About the time everybody was finishing their dinner. John Arrison stood up in the front of the room and started the awards part of the banquet John talked about many pilots having a good year for going XC. This was the first awards banquet that had the new classes for awards giving pilots with less experience a chance to win an award in their class. Many of the pilots that won awards this year did their best ever. Some did so good now they have bumped themselves up into the next class. Even one pilot Tim Hoopes skipped passed the 25-50 miles class right and jumped right into the open class with a 68 mile flight. The biggest thing to mention is the pilot that won the open class for the second year in a row. This was Dennis Cavagnaro. He set a new USHGA Region 8 XC distance record this last year with a flight of 122.1 mile. Dennis edged out the long standing record that Randy Adams set about 12 years ago.

After all the serious awards were give out there was one award left to present. This is an award that nobody wants to get but they are happy that they are there to get it. This award is passed on from year to year. It is the “Most Innovated Landing Award”. The winner this year was our Regional Director Doug Sharpe. For you that don’t know Doug gave a lot of us a scare when his glider broke apart while being aero towed last summer at the region contest. Luckily he threw his reserve parachute and came down safely without getting hurt. There were a lot of great XC flights last year but we only award the top three in each class and those are listed below.

I would like to say a special thanks to everyone that helped put this event together. These include Rob and Sandy Jacobs that open their home up to everybody before the dinner. To Keith Murray who arranger and organized the dinner at the restaurant end of things. Also a special thanks to John Arrison that made all the trophies. The last group I would like to thank all the pilots that came to the dinner and the ones that went XC last year. Without them this event that I enjoy would not have taken place.

Maybe next year we will see some of the new up and coming XC pilots on the awards list. Till next years dinner. Hope you all have good XC flights but remember most of all, be safe.

Hang Glider Open Class

• Dennis Cavagnaro 122.1 miles
• Ted Hasenfus 101 miles
• Deane Williams 93 miles

25-50 mile Class

• Mark Vaughn 80.4 miles
• Tom Lanning 70.1 miles
• Jim MacNutt 18.7 miles

0-25 Mile Class

• Tim Hoopes 68.5 Miles
• Rodger Furey 32.8 miles
• Greg Hanlon 27.8 miles

Tandem Class

• Gary Trudeau 10 miles

Paraglider Class

• Dave Morris 22 miles

New Rules for Africa LZ

By Gary Trudeau

The officers of the VHGA would ask all of it members to take note of the new rules for landing in the field we call Africa. The officers were forced to make a new rule regarding the exiting of this field. We are now to exit the field by the southwest corner not by the northwest corner near the pond. Exiting by the southwest corner will bring you onto the road just a little further up than the old way. This rule is in response to some of our members still driving down the driveway of the home owner. This LZ is very important to the club and we do not want to put the right to land there in jeopardy. Remember this is the bailout LZ not the main LZ. Thanks

XC Contest

By Gary Trudeau

Well another flying season if here. We all start off at 0 again, trying to have the longest flight of the year. Please remember to submit your flights even if they might not win. This will give the rest of us something to shoot for. Below is a copy of the contest information. Have some good and long flights.

The VHGA Cross Country Contest is a season-long informal competition open to all pilots flying any New England (USHGA Region 8) site. There is no entry fee or contest registration required. Many trophies and flying stories are recounted at our annual Cross Country Contest dinner party.

Eligibility

The VHGA XC Contest is open to all pilots flying any New England (USHGA Region 8) site including Petersburg Pass NY. Pilots must meet all the local site requirements including proper ratings, signed waivers, club membership, etc. There is no entry fee or contest registration required.

Classes

The contest is divided into 5 classes,

• Hang glider
  • under 25 miles
  • between 25 and 50 miles
  • over 50 miles
• Paraglider
• Tandem (either hang glider or paraglider)

The hang glider pilots are divided into 3 groups based on their longest flight prior to this year. For example, if Greg flew 60 miles on a flight several years ago he will be in "over 50 miles" group. However, if Mary's longest flight before this year was 30 miles, she will be in the "between 25 and 50 miles" group for this entire year, even if she flies 75 miles on a booming day this year. Put another way, you do not change classes in the middle of the year.

Prizes

Trophies will be given for each class. Trophies will be handed out at the annual XC Dinner the following spring.

Reporting Flights

The pilot must report their report their flight to the contest organizer within 2 weeks of the flight. The contest organizer for this year is Gary Trudeau. His telephone number is (413) 743-0147, email is gtet595@aol.com or physical address "595 Outlook Ave, Cheshire MA 01225". (An online form will soon be available at http://www.vhga.org.)

• All distances must be rounded to the nearest tenth of a mile.
• The distance should be the straight-line measurement between the launch and landing points.
• GPS coordinates or sectional maps are the only means used to determine distances. The contest organizer has a sectional map that can be used to determine distance.

Greeting from the President

By John Arrison

The bare ground and warmish temperatures there are too good to be true. It seems our winters are getting shifted about 4-6 weeks into spring. I don't mind snow and cold December through February but by mid March I'm really ready for spring.

Club news: The rumor the lock at West Rutland has been changed is not true. It seems the key has been copied to many times and some of the keys do not work well. Peter Kelly reported there was still ice on sections of the road. This was two weeks ago before the latest snow. Let’s give the road a good chance to dry out to keep the damage to a minimum.

Mt. Ascutney has new rangers hired all I know is they are from another park so at least they know how to run a State park. We will offer a work detail early in the season to either clean out culverts or help get the park ready to open.

The special use permit at Ascutney will be in effect until Memorial Day. You will need to make arrangements with an apostle for access.

Watch the forum for road conditions at Ascutney I will post a notice as soon as the road is clear. After the last three snow and ice storms it is going to take some warm and sunny days to clear the road.

There has been discussion about improving the trail and launch at Ascutney. This will be a topic for the April meeting I would suggest that if you have strong feelings one way or the other you try to attend. Tom Lanning would also like possible suggestion on what to do for trail improvements.

Please get your dues paid up. I would hate to see a long flight not counted in the XC contest because someone did not have their dues paid.

That’s it for now see every one soon.

Apostle List 2002

Steve Ardnt 603-228-8612

John Arrison 802-674-2549

Dave Baxter 603-542-4416

Dennis Cavagnaro 603-529-2010

Tim Donovan 603-542-2277

Ted Hasenfus 781-461-9807 802-263-9305

Tom Lanning 978-486-3568

Niece Miller 978-927-5363

Jon Szarek 603-635-2777

Mark Vaughn 508-877-8545

From the Flight Director

By Tom Lanning

I would like anyone having any suggestions about any changes to any of our flying sites or the access to our flying sites to please send them to me or come to a meeting and talk to any of our club officers. Your suggestion may make things better for all our members.

Sport Pilot Designation Update

By Dennis Cavagnaro

I ask all of you to read the link (http://www.faa.gov/avr/afs/sportpilot/index.cfm) concerning the pending new ruling concerning the new “Sport Pilot” designation by the FAA. Please read this very long report. It will affect your flying future in both its current subject and future direction of control.

We have been living in Disneyland for 30 years. I have benefited from the amazingly loose regulations the FAA has placed for 28 of them. If you want to have the same freedoms that we have had you must become knowledgeable, interested and active. If you sit on your arse (as the Aussies say) and don’t keep an active ear to what’s going on we will be the loser. After you read the link that Tom is setting up for you, read the bottom twp emails that I have received from Mark Forbes and Dennis Pagen.

For those of you who do not recognize these names Mark is a current Regional Director who is very in touch and informed about current threats to our sport. He is on a committee representing our interests. Dennis Pagen is folklore, history and probably the greatest spokesperson our sport has ever had. He has forgotten more about our sport then any of us can remember and over the years has represented us in both national and international theaters.

I don’t want you to read the following and say OK we’re safe. No, to assume that would be a mistake that you may pay for in lost dreams. I would like you to keep an edge, stay aware and demand from me or anyone who represents any “HG club” you belong to, for information on what’s going on.

This is the latest update from Mark Forbes…

“While the NPRM *on paper* looks like it's a problem, the behind-the-scenes picture is a lot better. The FAA folks have stated that they have no intention of damaging our existing tandem and towing operations, and they intend to address those specific things with rules that are outside of the scope of the general Sport Pilot NPRM.

USHGA's Sport Pilot group will be meeting with the FAA folks at Sun-N-Fun in April, at which time it's hoped that a general "plan of attack" will be outlined. Once we know how they'd like to implement rules for our sport, then we can either thank them politely, or go screaming in a panic.

Should the latter become necessary, we'll still have time to file public comments on Sport Pilot before the close of the comment period. But we don't expect there to be a need for it, based on what we've heard so far.

We've got a bunch of good folks on this right now, and they're knowledgeable and competent. Let them work the details, and they'll let the rest of us know what we need to do in the way of comments or lobbying.”

These words are from Dennis Pagen

“I have been going to the ARAC committee meetings in Washington since 1993. Mike Meier joined a couple years later, then Bill Bryden got on board. During that time we made numerous reports to the BOD and the magazine, but not much was happening. Suddenly the NPRM came out. We were ready with a committee to address it. Extensive articles are coming out in the magazine. The committee has had several meetings with the FAA personnel in charge of the NPRM and they assure us that they don't want to change our operations. We don't totally trust this position, however, so we are also pursuing the commentary route. The magazine will clarify much of the issues and provide guidelines as to how to respond.”

There I was thinking I was going to die

By John Gallagher

These are regular stories from hang glider and paraglider pilots about some experiences that they have had. The officers of the VHGA hope that by sharing these experiences, other pilots will learn how to handle these without having to experience it themselves. All pilots are welcome to submit their stories with a brief explanation. You don’t have to include your name if you don’t want but please submit the stories. You may help save another pilot’s life by letting them know how to handle similar situations.

This is about a Sunday in March where a few friends and I went flying at Mt Tom. I will start the story with the events leading up to my misfortunate tree landing. Thankfully not a scratch on me...except for my ego and pride is bruised from not being a better pilot.

The sequence of events and my thoughts:

The winds started to drop off and Bianca, Stephan, Dinilson and I all headed out to the LZ. Bianca was low and she chose the horse farm and executed a safe landing. Conditions were smooth and winds were light from the NW. Dinilson was lower and he set up over the trees to the south of the LZ. Stephan was on the left and doing the right thing by heading way

All of a sudden I realized that I was over 100 ft. in the air in a tree and I should get down ASAP. I thought about the pilot that landed in the trees at Hawk's and fell and broke his ankles. I released the harness from the risers and dropped it down. I climbed down to about 50 ft above the ground, but I couldn't get any further without jumping to another branch. I made the decision to stay where I was and wait and see what the fire department could do to assist me. Stephan made a great effort to throw me a rope from the top of a 24 ft. ladder, but I was still too high up. The firemen put up a 36 ft. ladder and a fireman threw me a rope with a carabineer on the end of it. I had never rappelled before, but proceeded to create a harness around both legs and my waist. I lowered myself to the top of the ladder with assistance from Don and a firefighter on the end of the rope. I untied the ladder and climbed down and I was very happy to be on the ground. Name and address to the police and a call to Ellen that I was running late.

After thoughts:

Lesson #1 - just because it worked before does not mean it will work this time. I should never have approached from that direction. Even though I had done it many times that was the wrong thing to do. I had the entire field I could land in, why did I have to demonstrate my flying skills by landing in Ed's back yard?

Lesson #2 - If you are going to land in a treed area pick a solid tree and land it, don't try and miss it. When I first touched the tree with my legs I instinctively flared in the thickest part of the tree. If I had lifted my legs, I might have flown to the edge of the tree and fallen to the ground. I had no choice and was lucky - you might have a choice in the future. Of course the right lesson is to not to get in that position in the first place.

Lesson #3 - Be prepared. If you are going to fly in NE pack a tree kit. It might be the difference in being able to share your adventure with your fellow pilots. Hopefully we will debate the benefits of the tree kit contents. Here is my list. 1) A 100+ foot rope with the tensile strength to carry your weight, the harness and any branches that might break off and drag you down. 2) A 200 ft. length of dental floss to extend down to pull up a real rope. 3) A radio and cell phone to contact someone to help. 4) A hook knife to cut any lines you are tangled in. Last year in Mexico a pilot choked to death hanging from a line while waiting for help.

Lesson 4 - Know what to do. If I had the rope, I should have secured myself immediately. Branches break and you will come tumbling down. Don't get out of your harness unless you are sure you are safe. I got out of my harness and started cutting branches down while 100+ feet in the air - stupid.

Lesson #5 - Evaluate if you are physically capable of climbing down from a tree. I am a 48 year old corporate executive that turns into a weekend warrior and climbs mountains with you young guys and gals. I'm still debating if I should have left the harness and climbed down.

Lessons #6 - don’t worry about the wing. It can be repaired or replaced; you might not have that chance.

Lesson #7 - we have to learn how to secure ourselves and work alone to get out of a tree. Maybe we should set up a rig so we can get up in a tree and practice. Good subject for future meetings.

Please think of me and this tale when you are debating an approach to landing, especially if you decide to rush one. Please don't rush like I did.

I am very happy to be telling you what I have learned from this incident and hopefully you will learn from my mistake and never get to write one of these notes. I hope to sleep through the night tonight and not wake up in cold sweats with the vision from the top of that tree. I am once again humbled by a mistake I made and happy to be alive. Sorry for shedding a bad light on our great sport.

PS A tree climber/arborist will remove my wing from the tree late Tuesday afternoon

Classifieds

FOR SALE: Wills Wing FUSION 150 Glider has Approximately 70 hours of airtime. 2000 FUSION SP Modification for improved handling, Comes with a Wing Camera Mount and a 2001 Calendar. Asking $2000 - Contact me, Mark Vaughn at (508) 877-8545, knowvne@aol.com

Accessories: Lambskin/wool barmitts barely used, $20, extra high quality, very warm (not good with folding speed bars) Rodger Furey, 508.880.7709, Furrod1@mediaone.com

Folding WW speed bar: Brand new with corner brackets fits most Ultrasports and other Wills gliders. $100.00 Gary Trudeau, (413) 743-0147 or GTET595@AOL.COM