Greetings from the President

By John Arrison

Sometimes you have to wonder why any of us live in New England. Longs winters and now a wet dreary summer. Perhaps we should all move to some place sunny like Seattle . Oh well, enough whining about the weather. There have been some good days, and a few pilots have set personal bests this year. Let's hope the rest of summer and fall are dryer and filled with big, fat thermals.

Election of officers will be held at the October meeting. Anyone willing to help out with the Club should be thinking about it. I know that last fall our treasurer, Jim McNutt, indicated that this would be his last year as treasurer. I am hoping that next year at least some of the officers will be paragliding pilots or biwingual.

At our last meeting we had a brief critique of near misses and accidents in our region. The purpose of this discussion is to examine what happened openly so that others can avoid making the same mistakes. For this forum to work we need people to be willing to come and talk about how they got into trouble. This is in no way a criticism, but it is a chance for masters and novices alike to learn. I hope this can be a regular part of our meetings.

A recent landing incident in Ascutney reminded me of an old article I read in the magazine. The point of the article was not to land thinking about convenience. It is far better to walk out of a large field and down a back road than it is to land in a small field just because it happens to be next to the main road. The article also made a good point about when you do get stuck landing in a small field. If the field is small, it is far better to flair 15' into the trees at the far end then it is to clip a tree at 60' trying to bleed off altitude.

Hope to see everyone at the August meeting!

Morningside from the South side

By Mark Vaughn

One of the Biggest Joys I get out of flying Hang gliders isn't in beating the other guys in XC (although I admit it's great to hear you've gone further than Johnny Z., Steve A. or Teddy H. HAHAHAHA) But for me I get the most gratification in challenging myself to a Goal and succeeding.

This summer, I made it my goal to fly off the South side of Ascutney and make Morningside.

Well, the Time had finally come where I was going to get my chance. The wind forecast was calling 10 South, so off to the Mt Pete Judge and I headed. When we reached Launch we were greeted by Cliff Lull, John Arrison and Marc Droy who were all but set up and ready to Jump. I helped them and Pete get into the air, and went back to finish my Set up. Once Preflighted, I too was ready to Launch. Watching the conditions I could see the winds were actually SW and not S as forecasted. Everyone was working the Bowl to the right of launch instead of the one out in front, It seemed A Rotor Launch was in Order. (Beware all pilots, I find this to be the Norm for the South Launch.) With my trusty wire crew at my side (2 wuffos ) I instructed them in what was needed and they both understood and Agreed.......We stepped out to launch and I waited for a dead cycle so not to worry about confused inputs from the newly trained Wire crew. I picked up and the wire crew started chanting Neutral, Neutral. I yelled Clear and was off. I swooped to the treetops clearing them by just a couple feet. I then headed for the west bowl where I met Cliff in a light Thermal. We Danced around and around for a while until it turned on and I we were able to beam out and clear the Radio Tower Cables and soon the Tower. From that point on it was a fight for Altitude and to stay out in front of the Mountain. Cliff and I worked our way up over the ridge top and drifted back over the parking lot. Then we moved down the ridge towards the River, where we found another light thermal to climb out in. We climbed to around 5,000 feet and headed for Morningside. With Cliff below and out in front a couple hundred feet I was able to use him as a marker. I quickly found the Course line not to follow as Cliff was going down fast. So I turned to the west and paralleled him. As we both approached the Red barn field. Cliff being low decided to land there. I still had 5 or 6 hundred feet on him and headed for the factories. With the Head wind, I was fighting My progress was not what I hoped for and I soon realized I wasn't going to make the Factories, let alone Morningside. Looking over my shoulder I found that a U turn back to cliff was out of the Question as I was now over the top of Jarvis and going down on the back side. (IT WAS NOW DECISION TIME) I made a quick turn to the Right over the OX bow in the river and headed for a field, which I had previously picked out while in rout. I had just enough altitude to make the one turn to the field which put me over the Tree line at the end of the field. I Deployed my Droug chute, waited for its Tug, then dove into the field and landed. Not the best field of choice as it was soft and muddy and set way back off the Road but it was big enough to land in. I broke down and hiked out through the woods and popped out on the road where Eric who got me back to Morningside later met me. Not quite the way I had intended to get there but it beats walking (:->) . THANKS AGAIN ERIC.

I will!!!! Try again......

 ------TO BE CONTINUED NEXT ISSUE-----

VHGA Party

By John Arrison

Place: Ted and Lee Ann Hasenfus 5 miles west of the stoplight in Ascutney on Route 131 on the north side of the road.

Date: Saturday September 2 (Rain date September 3)

Time: 3:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. The Club will furnish Beer, soft drinks, salads, plates, and stuff. There are no guarantees of food if you get there late! Grills will be available. Please bring your own meat and rolls.

There are a couple of rules. Ted and Lee Ann are nice enough to make their property available--please respect it. The inside of the house is off limits. Use the port-a-potty. Put trash in the containers. The party needs to wind down about 10:00 to respect the neighbors.

The Club is fronting the money for this party. Please find a donation can and contribute.

Hope to see everyone there!

Rush Hour Traffic

By Dennis Cavagnaro

Some of you get up every morning to the delight of cruising 5 MPH on route 3 or 128. You may have had the experience of dashing into a convenience store only to be stuck behind a senior citizen buying 10 lottery tickets. How about paying $50 for the experience of rude elbows and pushing at Ski lodges?

Yes it is a challenge at times to have consideration and patience in our daily lives. But when hang gliding on a crowded ridge, it is your life (along with your fellow pilots) that is on the line! Yes there are simple rules of the ridgeway to follow like passing on the right of oncoming gliders and yielding to gliders who are below you (they can't see you).

But many of the close ones happen because some pilots don't make themselves aware of what's happening around them. Who is turning into a thermal? Can this pilot see me? Is this pilot scratching low and attempting to get into the ridge to maintain his/her flight?

Last week I went to Mt Ascutney. I got up to the set up to find one of the worse situations you can experience in recreational flying. After a long period of poor weather (pent up demand), a good weekend forecast turns into a marginal summer day. 27 gliders would eventually fly but no one wanted to take off first till the brave Tom Lanning made his way to take off, but he unfortunately landed early. That immediately got many to delay launching and a few to sashayed over to the southwest launch to do more research (this is a traditional delay tactic).

What eventually happens is another pilot eventually gets coached into taking off, goes up, and a mob of Dacron scrabbles to launch. This can lead to poor launches because of short cutting preparation, and angry flaring tempers when pilots get close to launch and are not dressed or ready. We all have been guilty of contributing to this dilemma. It's something to be aware of and monitored; I doubt we can change the beast at this stage.

Now comes the really dangerous part. Flying with 27 pilots of different skills, gliders, and styles in harmony. We all had a few close ones on Saturday. I personally had a pilot who was flying a few feet over my glider drop right in front of me as he encountered some strong sink. My heart was in my throat as I had very little options to avoid him if he didn't continue to drop away. Many pilots complained of people not clearing their turns or turning into another glider's path just hoping that the pilot would notice and avoid him. It seems that many pilots are not aware when they are in another glider's blind spot (flying either above or behind) and pity the poor soul who finds some lift to work only to be forced out by his gobbling buddies.

Some of us are only looking to catch a thermal and fly away, and a few of us have a sink rate that places us above the masses. There is no prescription to this condition. No precise rules to follow. When it's crowded, you have to be careful and yield position at times. You definitely need to view all the gliders in your level and think about what they are doing. Don't hold your cards close to the vest. If you are likely to turn a certain direction as your come up to an oncoming glider LEAN THE GLIDER THAT WAY! Telegraph your intentions.

I have been flying a long time and have never witnessed a mid air first hand and I would like to keep it that way.

Take care,

Pilot Notice

By Gary Trudeau

I received this email from another pilot.  Every Ascutney pilot must take notice and please relay to others.

Gary - I landed at Africa on Sunday. The man who owns the house and driveway that we use to pick up the gliders was upset because some pilots were parking on the grass and running over his drainage trench. Is there some way you can put the message out on the VHGA website that pilots are NOT to park or drive on the grass; they must stay on the driveway. If they are blocking other traffic they can pull up to his garage area to get out of the way. To re-emphisize - Do not drive on the grass!!!!

It would be a shame to lose the convenience of the driveway because of pilot ignorance (especially since our gliders have recently increased in weight).

Road Trip to Mont. St.Pierre

By Rob Jacobs

Just got back from Mont St Pierre - one of the most beautiful sites I've ever flown!

Located about 6 hours east of Quebec City, Mont St Pierre is located on the southern edge of the St Lawrence seaway, so it's all coastal air - few/no thermals, but with the air coming out of the valley behind the mountain, and air moving in from the ocean, a convergence usually sets up allowing you to get as high as 5000 or more....unfortunately, that didn't happen when I was there: (

The main site has 5 launches, 2 are cliff, 2 are steep/almost cliff, and one is flat slope. The main launch is a wood ramp to the sky!...about 8 ft long, then very shear cliff below with nasty jagged rocks. If you blow a launch here, it won't happen twice! On the other hand, you are airborn very quickly and out over the St Lawrence in very smooth air.

Many of us ended up with sledders for the few days we were there, but I would say the best sledders that could be had - from the air, the valley and ocean are very scenic, and the non-pilots enjoy the smooth air aerobatics that usually take place over the beach. I guess sledders aren't usually the "norm"

The festival consists of a parade, some freebie food, slide shows, parties, and many other activities, even the mayor of the town comes out to greet and "bless" the festival - it's fairly hokey but this is a town that has been saved from "ghost town" by Hang gliding.

The fest is usually the first week of August, has virtually no transportation to and from it - so you would need to fly to Quebec City - then make the 6 hour drive - but the countryside isn't boring by any means - if you get the chance next year - take it!

Team Challenge

By Gary Trudeau

I was asked by Scott Leonard to put something in the newsletter about the Tennessee Tree Toppers Team Challenge. The competition is scheduled for October 1-7 2000. Once again New England pilots are organizing a team to compete this year. There are still a few spots left on the team. You don't have to be the best and most experienced in cross-country pilot to be part of the team. The competition rates pilots based on their experience. The less experience pilots get more points for doing the same thing as more experience pilots do. Once again Scott Leonard has made arrangements for a condo right next to launch (only a couple of hundred yards away from launch). Scott will be down there from September 23- October 15. Anyone on the team can stay in the condo for a very minimal fee. The year that I went I had a lot of fun and got to fly a couple of great sites. Anyone interested in being on the team please contact Scott Leonard at Gliderdude@aol.com or you can call him at (603) 433-3031. For more information about the team challenge, you can check it out on the web at http://web.infoave.net/~danshell/treetoppers/TeamChallenge.htm.

Letter from the Editor

By Gary Trudeau

I am encouraging any member of the VHGA to submit articles to the VHGA Newsletter. Any article submitted will be considered for possible publication. The editor reserves the right to publish and edit any articles submitted. The editor will accept classified ads pertaining to hang gliding and paragliding. Classified ads must be resubmitted if you wish them to be published in the next VHGA newsletter. Articles, classified and upcoming events may be submitted to the VHGA Newsletter at

Gary B Trudeau
595 Outlook Ave
Cheshire MA. 01225
(413) 743-0147
GTET595@AOL.COM

There I was thinking I was going to die

By Gary Trudeau

These are going to be 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 pilots life by letting them know how to handle similar situations.

This story happened to me your editor. I went flying the Mohawk Trail on a weekend day in May. The weather report called for West winds15-25. Three other hang glider pilots and myself met on launch about noontime. When we got there we found the wind to be a lot stronger than predicted it was about 30 with gust up to 45. So we all decided to wait till the winds subsided. We hung around till about 5PM before the winds dropped to about 25 with some gust. After sitting around all day we convinced ourselves that the conditions were doable. We all launched without incident. I was the last to get off launch and instantly went to about 2000 ft. above launch. Most of my flight was between 1000 to 3000 ft above launch. Conditions were strong still and at times I found myself flying backwards during the stronger gust. After flying around the ridge for about an hour I found myself sinking to near mountain top level. I told myself that I had a good flight and should try to penetrate out to the landing zone while I still had altitude to get there. So I pulled in the bar trying to reach the LZ. I was very slow going but I did not seem to loose much altitude all the way out there. I looked at my vario and found I was still about 1500 ft. above the ground when I got to the LZ. Then instantly I found the nose of my glider flipping underneath me and I was upside down and starting to fall into the sail. I grabbed the base bar hard and jerked it to my body. The glider fluttered like a falling leaf. Then the glider turned nose straight down and I started to spiral towards the ground. Next thing I know, I was right side up and about 100 ft. above the ground, across the river over the middle of a very small field behind a cemetery. I quickly thought of where to land, between the tombstones or in the field. I did a hard slipping turn to the ground leveled out. I stopped in the edge of the field. The whole experience lasted between 4-6 seconds from 1500 ft to the ground.

I made several mistakes that day and I would like to point them out and explain why things happened the way they did. The first mistake I made was deciding to fly in those conditions. The next was my LZ choice. I wanted to land there because that was where I parked my truck even though I flew over many better choices and would not have to land in possible rotor from another mountain. Yes the rotor from that mountain caused me to tumble my glider even though I was flying fast with the base bar near my waist. When I was upside down the glider fluttered like a leaf and pulled out nose first. The glider fluttered because the glider wants to right itself. The reason it came out nose first is because most of my weight was towards the nose. Towards the end the glider righted itself. I believe it was from the strong rotor hitting the ground and dispersing itself. I did a hard slipping turn before landing because I knew I needed speed to land and also I did not have enough room in the field to get it. During this event I thought about throwing my parachute but I knew I was in rotor and knew it would not do me any good. It might even open below me and pulled me down faster.

Over all I was very lucky. Things could have turned out bad for me. I hope my scary experience helps other to avoid a something similar or if it does happen you might know how what to do.

Mohawk Trail Warning

By Gary Trudeau

The Massachusetts Hang Gliding Association is asking all pilots flying the Mohawk Trail to try to avoid flying over Mr. Rohanes House. The house is white, straight in front of launch about half way down the ridge and the only house in the middle of the hairpin turn. Mr. Rohane has tried to stop flying from the Trail. The Mass club has met with the North Adams City Counsel and agreed to try to stop flying over his house. So please help out. Thanks

Note from the Secretary

By Gary Trudeau

The general membership had a meeting on 6/27/00. This is a summary of the minutes of the meeting.

Officer Attendance- John Arrison, Dennis Cavagnaro, Gary Trudeau, Jim MacNutt, Colin Fay

Membership Attendance- 24 members

Meeting called to order- 7.35 PM

Former minutes- No former minutes due to secretary being late

Site Report:

Rutland- Roadwork party was discussed with a tentative date of July 15. Colin Fay to take charge. The club was asked not to drive over the bridge into the main LZ. The club discussed putting insurance on the two homes across from Jakes house and this will be followed up on and discussed at the next meeting. The box with the waivers will be moved to the top near launch. This will give pilots (who have not filled one out this year) a better chance to fill one out before flying. John Atwood to take care of this.

Ascutney- Nothing new to report

Burke- A question was brought up that the road to the top was now gated. John Arrison to check up on this with the State of Vermont.

Hawk- The rating for the mountain was determined to be Hang 4 only. Para 3 or, Para 2 with an observer. A list of club observers will be put together. John Atwood to talk to LZ owners about usage.

Sugarbush- Dennis Cavagnaro and Niece Miller meet with the ski area owner. They determined that the site is good for only paragliding. The rating will be Para 3 and Para 4 only. The launch has obstacles just, below which makes it unusable for hang gliding. Access to launch will be by using the chair lift only (no permission to use the road). Launch is on federal land so the club will need to get a special use permit.

Cushman- Both John Arrison and Colin Fay tried to make contact about this site but were unsuccessful.

Washington- A question was brought up about the launch needing work. Colin Fay to follow up on this.

Okemo- This site maybe opened in the future but not now. The State of Vermont and the Ski Area are for the idea of opening it to the club but not now. The ski area and state are having a dispute and don't want to complicate things with introducing this into it.

Web Site- A question about tandem flying at VHGA sites was brought up. The question was limiting tandem Passengers to being hang 1only. Gary Trudeau to check on this. The Web site should read the same as USHGA requirements. August Meeting- The club voted to change the meeting start time to 8 PM. The early meeting time interfered with good flying time this time of the year.

MHGA- The Massachusetts Hang Gliding Association has a new web site. http:/people.ne.mediaone.net/mdroy/MGHA The MHGA also ask pilots flying the Mohawk Trail to try to avoid flying directly over the white house right below launch. This house is very easy to detect. It is the only house in the middle of the "V" of the hairpin part of the road below (Rt. 2).

Pilot Training- The club members decided to add a section to our newsletter and possible to our web site dealing with experiences of other pilots. The section to be named "There I was thinking I was going to die". Our hopes are that the experiences of some pilots will help teach other pilots how to handle them selves if caught up in similar situations. Gary Trudeau talked about a tumble he had this summer while flying the Mohawk Trail. Gary is accepting stories from both hang gliding and paragliding pilots dealing with their experiences. You don't have to use your name if you don't want. But your experiences might save another pilots life if they are in a similar situation.

Steve Ardnt gave a great presentation about understanding the weather on the web. He discussed some of the best places to find good weather sites like the Morningside web site, Oz report by David Straub. He also explained how to understand the reports and web links. He talked about understanding balloon soundings and trends. He also talked about how to contact flight service by telephone and understanding their report.

Club Vote- The club voted to give Marilyn a $40.00 gift certificate as a sign of our appreciation for many years of service to the VHGA.

Meeting called to a close- 9.25 PM

Work Party

By Gary Trudeau

Colin Fay has called a work party to work on the road at West Rutland. Work party will start at 9.00AM on Saturday August 26 (rain date Sunday August 27). Please bring 5-gallon pails, shovels, picks, weed whackers, and if anyone could get a 1 ton dump truck? The club would appreciate it

Classifieds

Hang Glider: Wills Wing HPAT 158, $1200 or best offer Magic 4 155, $500 or best offer, Cliff Lull, (978) 544-3223, thermal_up_cliff@hotmail.com

Harness: Center of Gravity 1000, blue, large-size pod harness, $250 Tom Lanning, (978) 486-3568, tom.lanning@mail.com

Hang Glider: Moyes SuperXtraLite 153 (SX5) all white, heavy 'PX20' leading and 'Powerrib' trailing edge material with centered bottom blue panel. Only one year old, in immaculate physical and excellent flying condition. Glider has the latest spring-tensioned battens, a spare down tube and control bar. It is perhaps the nicest handling and best performing glider I have had the pleasure of flying. $3000, Scott Leonard, (603) 433-3031, GliderDude@AOL.com

Harness: Moyes Contour harness, with all the 'bells and whistles', brand new. Originally fabricated for 6', 180# pilot. $700 or consider a package deal with above SX5. Scott Leonard, (603) 433-3031, GliderDude@AOL.com

Hang Glider: Wills Wing Fusion 150, low hours, new hang straps, extra nose cone, camera mount and Y2K calendar all included. Asking $3500 Mark Vaughn, (508) 877-8545, cmvjv@aol.com

Hang Glider: Wills Wing American Sport 16, $600; 3 downtubes, $45 each; Wills Wing HPAT 158 $400; Wills Wing glider bag (new) $95 Mike Garside, (518) 271-9077 (evenings), Hg4pilot@aol.com

Helmet: Perche' full face Helmet, $45, (new, pink, small) Mike Garside, 9518)271-9077 (evenings), Hg4pilot@aol.com

Accessories: Hall wheels, 6", $20; Snap on wheels, 8", $45 Mike Garside, (518) 271-9077 (evenings), Hg4pilot@aol.com

Accessories: Drogue chute, $25 Mike Garside, (518) 271-9077 (evenings), Hg4pilot@aol.com

Hang Glider: Airborne Fun 160, $1,900 or B.O., NEW, sail still crisp! Only test flown last season. Original cost $2,900. Great for a smaller pilot. Free set of 12" wheels come with it. Ken Rosenberger, (508) 866-9669, kenflyer@adelphia.net

Accessories: Sentex Vario/Altimeter, $100, digital readouts, downtube clamp included (fared and round) Rodger Furey, 508.880.7709, Furrod@aol.com

Accessories: Lambskin/wool barmitts barely used, $30, extra high quality, very warm (not good with folding speed bars) Rodger Furey, 508.880.7709, Furrod@aol.com