2006-10 - Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada

HPAC
ACVL
AIRmagazine
RACING THE WILLI
THE WILLI XC’S YOUNGER COUSIN IS BORN
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE HANG GLIDING AND PARAGLIDING ASSOCIATION OF CANADA • OCTOBER 2006

Contents
AIR Magazine • October 2006 • Volume 20, Issue 03
Greg Leslie at the Lakeside Event in Invermere. See the story and more photos on page 24.
FEATURES
06 Flying under tragedy Pilots react to Jim Freer’s fatal crash
09 SOGA Fun competition by Terry Ryan and Mary Kinzie
10 Home-launch advantage Ralph Herten takes off not far
from his new home — and lands 250 km away
12 30 years at Mount Swansea by Stewart Midwinter
13 The Jaime Christensen Prize by Domagoj Juretic
16 Rocky Mountain way The Hang Gliding Nationals move
to Golden by Karen Keller and Terry Ryan
22 Fly for a Cure The Western Canadian Championships by
Karen Keller
Cover
A scene from the 2006
Willi in Golden, B.C. This
year marked the beginning of
the Race Willi, a competition
that ran simultaneously with
the Willi XC Challenge.
STORY ON PAGE 14.
photo by Karen Keller
photo by Vincene Muller
REGULARS
04 Business manager
05 In brief
13 Classifieds
25 Incident report form
27 HPAC/ACVL Membership Form
30 NEW! Caption contest
AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006 3

FROM THE BUSINESS MANAGER
More on marketing
Canadian West Coast importer
CAYOOSH EXPEDITIONS INC.
We have a demo centre for all
the wings and sizes.
www.cayooshexpeditions.com
I
was contemplating what to write about
this issue. Sure, it crossed my mind to
suggest that everyone check out the
website www.hpac.ca, read the requirements
for the various ratings, fill out all forms in full
and again read carefully— expletives and all
— and then I got whacked on the head.
One of our own, another flyer, had gone
down in a most tragic way. It didn’t take long
for the news to travel fast around the world,
ours being the small community that it is.
I’ll say no more on the subject other than
you’ll be privileged to read the words of
Michael Robertson owner of High Perspective
(where the accident occurred) and one of
our very few master-rated members.
Michael was scheduled to present a Risk
Management and Safety Clinic at our aerotow
club’s annual August Long Weekend
Cross Country Competition on Aug. 6, only
two days after Jim Freer was killed.
I wasn’t sure we’d see Michael but, lo and
behold, he arrived on Saturday.
It was a very special visit. I highly recommend
all you flyers at the very least get
yourselves a copy of Michael’s “The Art of
Skysailing,” his Risk Management Manual.
You’ll find that what it can teach is not
only applicable to hang gliding and
paragliding but can also be applied to many
of life’s pursuits.
Clubs and schools, if you can have him
attend in person, you’ll remember it and appreciate
it.
Bumper stickers
I announced in the last issue that we’d be
distributing a “Come Fly With Me” themed
bumper sticker to the membership (“Envoletoi
avec moi” in Quebec ) with this issue of
AIR.
We’re holding off now until the next issue
and instead of just distributing a bumper
sticker we’re planning much more of a
PR campaign — with your participation of
course.
Ideas include combination static/dynamic
displays in city parks and public areas. Hey
If we stake those paraglider flyers down is kiting
a cool thing to do in the city core Setup
a hang glider nearby and I bet we sell more
lemonade!
Positive publicity
and media marketing
Getting good media attention takes effort.
Clubs and schools need to find opportunities
and excuses to send out news releases and
every once in awhile something will stick.
At SOGA last year, we were visited by the
History Channel, MuchMusic and an area
daily newspaper, and as well at last month’s
competition CTV News did a piece that was
available on the national wire. Truth be told,
we should be sending out more releases.
Clubs and schools: I challenge you to find
an excuse at least every two months to send
out a news release.
News FLASH
The HPAC/ACVL business office has just
subscribed to Sources: Media Names and
Numbers, an online directory of all media
— newspapers, magazines, radio stations and
television stations — across this country.
At this writing, we’re still working out the
logistics of list creation and distribution, but
I expect that we’ll be empowering each of
our regional representatives with the ability
to login to this database and generate
distribution lists for the various clubs and
schools.
Share the air
Help your local club and school notice the
events and newsworthy items you should report
on, and then contact your regional representative
for advice on creating and distributing
a positive, effective news release.
Members wishing to initiate PR/Publicity
campaigns should be familiar with HPAC/
ACVL PRD 310-0 External Official Communications
found online at http://www.hpac.
=88
Back to the top
What is Our Business
It’s about more than processing memberships,
ratings and insurance documentation.
It’s about all of us reaching out to teach,
share, laugh and learn.
It’s about Jim Freer and the ties that bind all
the dreamers who move to give flight.

“The air is the only place free
from prejudices.”
– Bessie Coleman, 1921
HTTP://HPAC.CA
Editor: JAMES KELLER
air@hpac.ca
HPAC/ACVL OFFICERS
President: GERRY GROSSNEGGER [mhga@hpac.ca]
Vice-president: MICHAEL MILLER
[bchpa@hpac.ca]
Secretary: DOMAGOJ JURETIC
Treasurer: CHARLES MATHIESON
[Charles.Mathieson@telus.net]
Safety & Accident Review Officer: MARLENE
JACOB [safety@thelastlink.ca]
HPAC/ACVL BOARD OF DIRECTORS
British Columbia & Yukon: MICHAEL MILLER
Alberta & North West Territories: BRUCE BUSBY
[buzword@telus.net]
Saskatchewan: CAS WOLAN [shga@hpac.ca]
Manitoba & Nunavut: GERRY GROSSNEGGER
Ontario: KEVIN THOMSON [ohpa@hpac.ca]
Quebec: JACQUES BLANCHET
[voiles4saisons@yahoo.fr]
Atlantic Canada: MICHAEL FULLER
Business Manager: TROY WHITMORE
[admin@hpac.ca]
Éditeur du Survol: SUZANNE FRANCOEUR
[survol@hpac.ca]
Competition Commitee Chairman: DOUG
KELLER [skyward@shaw.ca]
Observer: VINCENE MULLER
[fly@mullerwindsports.com]
FAI/CIVL Delegate: STEWART MIDWINTER
[stewartd@midwinter.ca] & VINCENE MULLER
Instructors Advisory Council Chair: PETER
DARIAN [peter@flyhigh.com]
Insurance Committee: GREGG HUMPHREYS
[insurance@hpac.ca]
Legal Advisor: MARK KOWALSKY
[lawyer@hpac.ca]
XC Records: VINCENE MULLER
Transport Canada Liaison: ANDRÉ NADEAU
[andre.nadeau@rogers.com]
Web Team: PHIL DEON [pdeon@rogers.com],
JUDITH NEWMAN [jnewman@eastlink.ca], GERRY
GROSSNEGGER & CHARLES MATHIESON
AIR is published four times yearly by the Hang
Gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada/
L’Association Canadienne de Vol Libre, and is mailed
under Publication Agreement Number: 40735588.
Undeliverable copies should be returned to:
120 Ottawa Street North
PO Box 43082
Kitchener, ON
N2H 6S9
Notices and news, in brief
New regional directors
acclaimed
By the deadline of Aug. 10, 2006, only
one candidate in each of Quebec,
Manitoba and Alberta had put forward
nominations to fill the director positions.
Therefore we will not have to hold
elections as previously announced
By acclamation, Gerry “Scare” Grossnegger
will be continue representing
Manitoba.
Bruce Busby will be continuing as Alberta
representative.
And Domagoj Juretic will become the
new director for Quebec.
.. Troy Whitmore
Last chance to vote in
the AGM
There were some delays in finishing
our financial review, so we held off
the AGM voting until it was done.
Depending on how fast your mail delivery
is, you may still be able to vote — all it
takes is a few clicks, just go to the HPAC
website (hpac.ca) and use the big red link
at the top of the news headlines section.
.. Gerry Grossnegger
Hang glider pilots set
safety record in Golden
Hang glider pilots set a new safety
record at this year’s Willi Muller
XC Challenge, the week-long competition
at Golden, B.C.
Not a single downtube was broken, as
noted by a number of observers. Indeed,
I witnessed very few poor landings, and
many good landings.
What brought this on
Perhaps gliders are getting easier to
land (The Wills Wing Sport 2 and U2
are two examples of this, but also the
Moyes Lightspeed is said to be easy to
land).
IN BRIEF
But also, pilots seemed to be prudent
in the conditions they launched in.
I noted a number of pilots declining
to launch in windy conditions because
they knew it would also be windy and
turbulent in the landing zone.
Whatever the reason, let’s keep it up!
.. Stewart Midwinter
Check out HPAC’s
new online forum
The online forum is a good place for
you to bring up any concerns or ideas
that you might have.
For example, we’re still in the process
of revising the ratings system. Just go to
http://hpac.ca/forum/ and give us your
thoughts, and if something’s broke we’ll
try to fix it.
If you’re an HPAC member, you already
have a user account there. We’ve taken
precautions to make sure your e-mail address
can’t be harvested by spammers.
.. Gerry Grossnegger
New online tow safety
survey
ATTENTION tow system operators:
Do you or your club own or operate a
tow system in Canada
We want to hear from you. Go to www.
hpac.ca, then click on “Forum” and then
“Members Only” to take the towing survey.
Please help us make towing safer in
Canada.
New AIR address
In what seems like a familiar theme,
AIR has a new mailing address:
6257 Edinburgh St
Halifax, N.S.
B3L 1W1
.. Marlene Jacob
HPAC Safety Officer
AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006 5

FATALITY IN ONTARIO
F LYING U NDER T RAGEDY
Pilots react to Jim Freer’s fatal crash in August
JIM FREER, A 44-YEAR-OLD hang glider pilot from
Ontario , died in August after a crash near the High Perspectives
school in Locust Hill.
Freer flew into power lines on Aug. 4, just south of the
school along Highway 7. Police said he likely died instantly.
“I was in town when I got the call to return to the field,”
High Perspectives owner Michael Robertson said in a
statement posted to the HPAC/ACVL group on Yahoo.
Robertson said Freer, an advanced student who just
had a couple of perfect flights, was on final approach at
the time, flying in 25-km/h winds.
“Scotty was on the radio screaming to pull in and turn,”
said Robertson. “At the last moment he seemed undecided
whether to try to go under them but then flared hard
and exploded into the high tension lines.”
It’s still not clear why Freer turned downwind from his
landing approach or why he continued in that direction
for so long. HPAC/ACVL’s safety officer is currently investigating
the crash to determine the cause.
“He loved flying,” said Robertson. “He was a natural
flyer and had an incredible lust for life. … I can’t believe
he’s gone.”
Jim Freer flying a Condor in the spring.
photo courtesy the News Advertiser
6 AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006

FATALITY IN ONTARIO
Rethinking ‘keeping it up’
Reflections on safety, and staying the course
from the owner of High Perspectives
By MICHAEL ROBERTSON
High Perspectives Hang Gliding School
It’s a really good idea to examine
our goals and ponder our prerogatives
periodically. This is especially
true after a major event, like we had recently.
For a few hours after the tragedy that
claimed the life of Jim Freer, we contemplated
shutting down completely
for a while, out of respect. We were in
shock.
Then, after speaking to the family and
receiving support from far and near, we
realized that wouldn’t be respecting
Jim’s memory.
He loved flying. His dream had finally
come true; just as it has for me and
you. Scotty, who was there, chose not
to fly tandems for a few days. I came
shortly after and also chose not to fly
commercially. Our reliability was too
low. I did fly a few solos, carefully, but
more on that later.
Naturally, the first thing to consider
is: What can we learn from the accident
and can we prevent it from ever happening
again
Well, we already know it’s not good
to fly downwind near power lines. Sort
of like it’s a bad thing to drive into oncoming
traffic. I wonder what he was
thinking Maybe a lapse in concentration
We’ll probably never know.
Perhaps he was wanting to land closer
to the barn. Many a landing has been
compromised trying to land closer
launch, or the parking area, or spectators,
or cameras.
Next, we’re wondering about the bigger
picture. Is this something I want to
continue to do Maybe I should hang
up my winch and start teaching bridge.
Are the cosmos trying to tell me something
I was overwhelmed by the rapid response
of friends, students and the flying
community at large. I was especially
touched by the response of the family,
who, in spite of their wounded hearts,
took time to relate how much Jim enjoyed
coming here and how much he
loved flying.
Indeed, he was a wonderfully helpful
energy to have around. Everyone
offered much appreciated condolences
and said, “Please continue.”
So I headed to SOGA for what became
the first-annual Jim Freer Memorial
Risk Management Seminar and to
let the wind gods have their say. They
smiled and got me high. I had a wonderful
day finishing with my family at
a cottage on Lake Erie whose cliffs I’ve
shared with the gulls more than a few
times.
At dawn I sat overlooking the lake
in meditation, thinking about life and
death. They are inseparably linked, as
I was often reminded by my Buddhist
sister, Suzanne, who was taken by cancer
this year.
We are all here for a short time. Some
said it was Jim’s time; that he would prefer
to go like that. I remembered A.E.
Housman’s poem, “To an Athlete Dying
Michael Robertson takes a cue from a tragic crash.
Young.” His point was that it’s better to
leave the stage before the applause and
body dry up.
Personally, I prefer to pass over in
my nineties with my precious daughters
singing me an Indigo Girls song.
Regardless of the circumstances, life is
fatal.
The message was clear though. We
don’t stop driving when someone has
a car accident. We need to continue to
fly for Jim and the others who have left
prematurely. They realized the joy and
beauty that free flight affords and we
serve their memory best by living their
dream. We also have to fly for all those
who have never and will never get to fly
at all.
As if my decision needed to be underlined,
a week later, on the same day
I had planned to spread the last of sister
Suzanne’s ashes while trim flying a WW
Eagle, I had this magical flight…
In very light air, using one of our hydrostatic
winches, I dolly launched in a
slight tail but was able to step to catch a
small thermal at 1,050 ft. I then played
gaining 100 and losing 50 for 20 minutes
to get to 2,000 ft. before spotting a
small wispy cloud forming a little south
over Highway 407.
AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006 7

FATALITY IN ONTARIO
We need to continue to fly
for Jim and the others who
have left prematurely.
Pilot error and knowing
your own limits
They realized the joy and
beauty that free flight affords
and we serve their
memory best by living
their dream
I made the short hop and was rewarded.
It turned on a bit as I was able
to centre on 200 to 400 feet-per-minute
climb to 3,500 ft. and then 600 to 800
ft. to cloud base — which was at 5,000
ft.
It was so gorgeous with the 100-mile
visibility. A big cloud layer hung south
of Lake Ontario and it gave the Great
Lake three-tone blue hues from light
aqua through teal to dark royal. There
was a sail boat race going on off Frenchman’s
Bay.
Lake Scugog, about 50 miles away,
was seemingly at my feet and I could
clearly see both Lake Simcoe, and even
Kuchaching further north.
I was up and down the 407, back over
Brougham, down to Whitevale with its
high-end golf course and looking at the
big cliff and valley back in behind the
old grist mill dam and then back to the
field.
The highest I got after the initial
climb was 4,000 ft., and I hung out a lot
working between 2,500 and 3,000. The
clouds were tiny wispy things that blossomed
for a bit and then disappeared.
As I came back over the field at about
1,500 I got a boomer that took me up at
800 to 1000 ft. per minute, but only to
2,600 ft. By the time I landed, the wind
had picked up from the southwest and
made the landing too easy but shut off
the lift for the rest of the day.
It had to be my sweetest flight at our
field — not the longest or farthest but
the most sensual. Very therapeutic.
Let’s live every day for the gift that it
is. And keep it up.
The following was originally posted to
the Southwestern Ontario Gliding Association
discussion forum on Yahoo the
day after the crash. It is reprinted here
with permission from the author.
Readers should keep in mind while
reading Greg Braggs’ discussion about
fatigue and pilot error that it is still not
known what led Jim Freer to fly into the
power lines in August.
By GREG BRAGGS
I’m truly sad to read this news. I
have kept reading posts from the
group, although I haven’t been flying
for three years now.
Although I’d really like to get back
into flying some day at this time, I’ve
decided that I should not. Reading
about this accident makes me decide to
share my reasons for not flying.
Essentially, I had to face the fact that
due to some chronic health issues I
have, sleeping difficulties mainly, that
even when I feel well for me I’m still
not quite sharp enough to be flying a
hang glider.
You don’t have to be fatigued very
much to have it affect your judgement
and decision making. I had a bad crash
in 2000 and still flew afterwards, even
a little here in Ottawa once I moved
here.
(Champlain is a great site by the
way, but for towing, not so much for
cliff launching. Although there is one
launch point a long hike up.)
I also made a real bonehead move
one day flying at Champlain. The tow
line had broken near the winch with
me about 700 ft. or so above ground.
I mistakenly thought it had released at
my end and didn’t realize I was trailing
the line.
Although I ended up landing without
incident, had the line snagged on
a fence it could have been very different.
After that and looking back, I had
to face that my earlier crash had been
primarily caused by bad judgement as
well. OK, I may as well face it: it was
pilot error.
It was shortly after that I sold all my
stuff and decided I shouldn’t fly unless
I had my sleeping problems totally
licked, was getting consistent rest and
felt highly alert most of the time.
I’m writing this at 5 a.m., so I haven’t
got the sleep thing licked yet if I ever
will. But even for anyone who doesn’t
have any sleeping or fatigue problems,
occasionally maybe due to stress at
work or in life or a cold bug you’re going
to be fatigued.
My advice to all pilots is to give this
some thought and ask yourself: Are
there times you weren’t really as sharp
as you should be to fly a hang glider
No one else is going to ground you. You
have to evaluate your own fitness to fly
every time you go. If you find you are
making “small mistakes,” realize that
one day they may catch up with you.
Anyway, so endeth the sermon.
Please be safe up there in the blue
room. I am envious, by the way. Although
I’ve found a new pastime that I
enjoy very much, amateur astronomy, I
miss the joy and thrill of hang gliding.
And I know when done right it can be
just as safe or safer than any other type
of aviation.
But each individual pilot has to take
a hard look at their own performance
from time to time and see if they are
getting rusty and maybe could use
some refresher training or hill practice.
No one else can do that for you.
OK — I’m preaching again. I’ll stop
now. But there is a saying in aviation
circles that I’ll share with you all (I have
a private pilot license as well — which
I’m not doing either):
“The superior pilot utilizes their superior
judgement to avoid situations
which may necessitate the usage of
their superior skills.”
Be safe guys and gals. I’m thinking of
you all.
8 AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006

SOGA FUN COMPETITION
A ‘Fun Competition’ in southern Ontario
Michael Robertson “accelerates” at the SOGA annual Fun Competition.
The spirit of SOGA Fun Competition is captured in Mary Kinzie’s e-mail.
An edited version follows:
The 2006 SOGA annual Fun Competition
weekend — what a weekend!
Great memories shared and enjoyed,
a great turnout … the field full of beautiful,
coloured gliders … the sun shining
… the meeting of pilots from near and far
… friendships made and friendships renewed
… wives and children sharing the
joy, passion and dedication of their loved
ones … camping out, camp fires and fireworks
… skinny dipping under the moonlight
— ooops Terry, I hope you told your
wife already …
Speaking of Terry —and I’ve said it before
— what a gentleman!
The meet co-ordinator title was made
for him! A natural!
Being an experienced pilot, his love of
the sport, personality and business successes
gave Terry the perfect combination
to making this successful competition a
Fun Competition. Thank you Terry! We
knew you could it!
Troy, the president — what a gentleman!
He works relentlessly to promote
this sport, travelling many miles to be a
part of the action whether it be to fly or to
welcome someone out for a tandem or a
news release to TV stations. Always has a
kind word to man, woman or child and is
involved in all aspects of the competition.
He’s always participating and volunteering
to help out in any way he can: launching,
retrievals, coffee runs. This man with the
“big heart” loves his hang gliding! Thank
you Troy!
Steve and Miroslaw, the tug pilots: thank
you for all your hard work, sharing not
only time from your families on the weekend
but your knowledge and safety experiences
to make the weekend a “fun weekend,”
always watching the winds, clouds,
pilots and gliders
Thanks to Miroslaw for towing Martin
to the cottage — great fireworks display! A
“team effort” there! Thanks to Martin for
sharing your artistic side.
Another thank you to Michael Robertson
for sharing your time, experiences,
knowledge and love of a sport
that only “warriors” would and could
understand. There are so few of you but
those few are the best. To you and SOGA
pilot: cheers!
Mark and Kathy Kowalsky (soon to be
newlyweds), congratulations! Not even
wedding plans could stop Mark from joining
the competition — dedicated or what
To all the pilots, especially my husband
Ken for sharing not only his love of the
sport but his friends and fellow pilots.
In summary, it is all of you that made
2006 SOGA Fun Competition weekend
such a success!
– Mary
And kudos to Mary, who hosted a fabulous
barbecue steak feast on Saturday night
and was our retrieve co-ordinator.
Nothing but the best, indeed.
. . Terry Ryan
Advanced:
First: Ken Kinzie (2452 points)
Second: Mark Kowalsky (1410 points)
Third: Gary Ticknor (974 points)
Intermediate:
First: Milko Angulo (985 points)
(a personal best)
Most improved: Milko Angulo
AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006 9

SAVONA TO LUMBY
250 kilometres from home
by ralph herten
image: Google Earth; tracklog: Ralph Herten
About a year ago, I moved from
Calgary to Kamloops and have
enjoyed exploring this beautiful
part of the country and getting to know
the local hang gliding scene.
In years gone by, Kamloops was the
place to hang glide, with a large local pilot
population, long hot summers, numerous
flying sites and XC potential in practically
every direction.
Previous Canadian Nationals and speed
gliding championships have been held
here, drawing top pilots from across North
America.
Sadly, most of the local pilots and much
of that vibrancy are now gone, but there
is still a small core of regular pilots (hang
gliding and paragliding), and the flying is
every bit as good as it ever was.
Since moving to the ’Loops, I had been
eyeing an XC flight from Savona to Lumby.
Not a record-setting flight by any means,
but just a cool thing to do and a personal
challenge.
Flying at Lumby has been an annual
tradition for me almost from the time I
started in the sport.
I have been attending regional meets
and competing in the Nationals at Lumby
since 1999, and I feel a comfortable familiarity
with the sites and geography there.
I have always felt welcome at Randy
Rauck’s LZ and have enjoyed many cold
pints with good friends at the Blue Ox pub
in town.
The idea of launching from my new local
site, flying a long distance over unexplored
terrain and landing at the end of
the day in friendly and familiar surroundings
seemed like a worthy pilgrimage.
On July 1 of this year, conditions and
circumstances seemed right to make an
attempt.
A small group of pilots were in town
as part of the annual “Longest Day of the
Year” event organized by John McClintock.
We were in the middle of a Kamloops
heat wave with daily highs approaching 40
C the week before.
The forecasted lapse rate on that day
was three degrees, so we knew it would be
a good day.
We gathered at Oscar’s launch outside
of Savona, 40 km west of Kamloops, and
were a bit slow getting set up and organized.
The cumulus clouds had been popping
since noon, and I was eager to get off the
hill.
Following a brief pilots meeting, I suited
up and was in the air by about 2:00 p.m.
It took me too long to get to cloud base,
but eventually I topped out a few miles
back from launch. The drift was in the
right general direction and I decided to
follow through with my plan to head for
Lumby.
To date, I had never attempted crossing
over the dreaded “tiger country” between
Savona and Kamloops, so this was to be
the first challenge of my flight.
About 35 km of rough terrain with limited
landing options and potentially complicated
retrieves.
Most crossings are made relatively close
to Kamloops Lake but I chose to go a fair
way back along the plateau, drawn in by
the abundant cloudstreets but realizing
along the way that I really didn’t want to
land there.
At one point about half way across the
expanse, I felt uncomfortably low and was
starting to contemplate my landing options.
I breathed easier after hooking back into
a thermal, which was all I needed to leave
the “tigers” behind.
I headed for a local launch site known
as the Dome on the opposite side of the
North Thompson River. I had never flown
there before, but remembered local pilot
Dave Wagner telling me the Dome was
usually pumping this time of day.
He was right, and sure enough I caught
the express elevator back up to cloud
nine.
By this time, I was working against a
bit of a head wind but decided the day
was good enough to press on and stay the
course.
The rest of the day would turn out to be
fairly light and variable, with winds sometimes
helping and sometimes hindering
my progress.
As I passed by Kamloops, I took time
to enjoy the sites and spot familiar landmarks.
I flew past my place of work and my
house, saw airplanes buzzing around the
regional airport and watched as a Cessna
172 tracked along the North Thompson,
passing directly below me.
As we passed our separate ways I wondered
what might be going through that
pilot’s mind, seeing a hang glider seemingly
come out of nowhere and pass over
his head.
10 AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006

SAVONA TO LUMBY
Eventually, I ended up flying past the
familiar Speargrass flying site overlooking
the South Thompson River and pressed on
eastwards along the Trans-Canada Highway.
My plan was to branch off at Highway
97 towards Vernon, and I kept my eyes
peeled for landmarks to guide me along
this path.
As I crossed over the South Thompson
toward Highway 97, I was again getting
low and considered my landing options.
Fortunately, I was saved again by a solid
thermal that was conveniently waiting for
me on the far side of the valley.
One of the ironies of this day was that
cloudstreets seemed to be everywhere except
along my chosen route.
Nonetheless, there were enough blue
thermals and developing cumulus clouds
along my route to keep me going.
I continued along Highway 97, enjoying
the novelty of recognizing lakes, towns
and mountains that I had as yet only seen
from my car window.
I was able to shortcut past dozens of
kilometres of twisted mountain highway
by crossing over numerous tall peaks and
ranges.
One of these peaks was the Boline flying
site, which I have often heard about but
never had the opportunity to fly.
It seemed appropriate that I caught my
strongest thermal of the day over Boline
which I rode up to over 14,000 ft. I look
forward to flying the Boline site some day
soon if that was any indication of what to
expect on a good day.
As I looked back along my route from
this altitude, I was amazed that I could
still see Kamloops Lake, the tip of which
marked my starting point many hours earlier
and more than 80 km away.
This made me resolve to pick up the pace
and put on some more miles. I cranked on
full VG and was able to glide through the
rest of the Highway 97 corridor, picking a
route over various peaks along the way but
not finding much lift to turn in.
Eventually, I emerged into the Highway
97A valley, which runs from Sicamous to
Vernon. I was now back over familiar terrain,
recognizing familiar features of the
range and seeing Vernon in the distance.
By this point, I had hoped to have
enough altitude to attempt a straight line
to Lumby, but I was destined to work a bit
harder for the privilege of setting foot in
Ralph Herten launching at the start of a great day at Oscar’s Launch in Savona. B.C.,
near his home of Kamloops.
Randy’s field today.
I headed for a sawmill along 97A, which
I thought might be a potential thermal
trigger, but I cruised right overhead with
not even a beep on the vario.
I arrived low on the east range and
started tracking south toward Vernon,
realizing my landing options were once
again getting limited as fields gave way to
smaller acreages and subdivisions.
The sun was getting lower in the sky and
I was hugging the side of the hill in smooth
evening air, anxious for any sign of lift.
I pressed on and suddenly noticed the
sweet, welcome smell of pine trees indicating
that salvation was at hand. Sure
enough, that pine smell translated into a
very light thermal that gradually strengthened
as I worked my way up over Mount
Vernon launch.
Looking down, I watched a paraglider
that had launched slightly earlier from
Mount Vernon and was gliding out into
the Highway 6 valley below.
Not much later, I realized that my goal
was within reach and I decided to go on
glide without topping up any further.
I enjoyed passing over familiar sights on
this last portion of my flight, crossing between
Lumby Ridge and Coopers launch
in buoyant air before arriving over Randy’s
field with plenty of height.
I briefly debated pressing on toward
Cherryville, but the appeal of landing at
my stated goal was too much to pass up.
I burned off my altitude by visiting Saddle
Mountain and sight seeing over the
town of Lumby before heading back to
Randy’s field to land.
My feet touched the ground around
7:30 p.m., about 5½ hours after launch
and with 169 km under my wings.
Unfortunately, Randy was nowhere to
be seen that night, so I left a thank you
note in his door and wasted no time getting
to the Blue Ox for that long-awaited
cold beer.
I’m sure this flight will remain as one of
my most memorable and enjoyable hang
gliding experiences.
I was surprised, however, by the amount
of interest the flight generated within the
gliding community. Although there are
usually longer flights every year, this particular
flight seems to have captured others’
imagination as it had my own.
I have received many positive comments
from fellow pilots and felt inspired
to share this story as a result.
AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006 11

MOUNT SWANSEA
THEN & NOW
Thirty years of flying Mount Swansea
By STEWART MIDWINTER
On Mon., Aug. 9, 1976, I arrived in
Invermere to light westerly winds
and overcast skies with low clouds.
Here’s what I recorded about the day, and
that momentous flight, No. 254 in my logbook
and my first off what I knew then to be
Canada’s mecca for “kite fliers.”
After the second-annual Mount Swansea
competition, I drove to top with Karl Fahrni,
Roger Duthie, Al Blatter, Sam Inch and
Dean Kupchanko.
Arriving at the top, we found cloud but
occasional holes. We knew already that
clouds were only close to the mountain.
Karl flew first as wind dummy, then
Dean flew, over lower takeoff for a CBC
camera, soaring for 15 minutes before
landing.
I went second-last: a fair run but, as I was
told later, I pushed out hard and jumped
into it, climbing “right into a stall,” according
to Sam Inch.
Feeling a slow-down, (and hearing “pull
in!”), I then zoomed before trimming the
Mirage B 1814.
Did about a dozen 360-degree turns,
each way, but did not feel as confident as
I did with my own glider, the Delta Wing
Phoenix. However, they weren’t bad.
Pitch control was easy, kite was manoeuvrable.
I finally made approach and landed in
park — a lot past target for a change, but
inside the foul line. When I pulled into approach,
the kite really picked up speed but
moved ahead not down.
Strangely enough, I didn’t record time in
the air, but at that time it wasn’t considered
important, at least not by me.
My flight was probably only around 15
minutes, not much different from my flight
30 years later!
I used to go on at great length in my logbook
in those early days (four pages for my
first cross-country flight, also off Mount
Swansea, the next year … but that’s a different
story).
In those days, I kept my flight log in a 150-
page Geotec hard-cover surveyor’s field book,
one flight per page (sometimes several pages
per flight).
These days, while I still have a paper logbook,
I only transfer to it what I record in a
pilot’s log database application I run on my
Palm TX PDA. Here’s what I wrote about
flight no. 2416, lasting 18 minutes:
Long wait to launch … forgot my ribs in
the sailplane hangar, brought up by Tom
Korte. Second to launch, after Will Lanier
from Montana who had an extended sleigh
ride, and before Scott Huber from California
(who gained 1,000 metres ATO). Sky
mostly thin overcast with little sun holes,
light breeze from south, high 24 C.
Good takeoff on the west side at 15:36.
Caught a thermal immediately, did S-turns
until over the top as I didn’t feel safe circling
close in. Got 200 metres over, then the
thermal died as shade moved in. Buzzed
launch for benefit of the spectators, then
sank out with no more lift. Landing beside
the Super 8 Motel beside the airport:
score 7/10 (good flare, landed on feet, but
dropped base tube on ground). This makes
nine safe flights since last glider damage
(broken downtube last year in Golden).
Scott and Darrel Bossert from Jasper
both climbed substantially over launch but
then sank out.
Other 30-year flying veterans in the vicinity
of Mount Swansea over the weekend (also
the occasion of the 30th Annual Lakeside
Splashdown) included Dean Kupchanko,
Hans “Haver” Verstraten, Doug Hartley and
Greg Leslie. Great to see them all!
* * *
So what’s changed in 30 years of hang gliding
The first time I flew off the mountain, I
thought I knew what I was doing, but I may
have been mistaken. I probably had only a
couple of hours airtime at that time. This
last time I flew off the mountain, I thought
I knew what was doing, but I may still have
been mistaken.
I do have in excess of 1,200 hours airtime
now, but I’m still learning with each
flight. The gliders are way better now, and
we know much more about safe practices
than we did 30 years ago.
But flying always retains an element of
risk, so that hasn’t changed. And the wonderful
feeling of carving through the air
hasn’t changed one iota.
With each flight, it just keeps getting
better!
12 AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006

‘Passion and generosity’
The Jamie Christensen
Memorial Prize
By DOMAGOJ JURETIC
HPAC Secretary, AQVL Vice-president
JAIME CHRISTENSEN MEMORIAL PRIZE
Looking for words that best define
our sport, I stumbled on “passion”
and “generosity” first.
The first is easily understood by all of
us that went through the turnpoints that
wait for you when during the big mental
cross-country that you go through
when you learn our sport.
It definitely takes passion to undertake
this journey and to complete.
The second word speaks of the foundations
of our sport. A poor sport.
Poor money-wise. Poor numberwise.
With so few material resources, our
sport relies on generosity. The generosity
is found in the will of those of us who
want to give back or repay for some of
the passion this sport has ignited in us.
And that is precisely what the Jaime
Christensen Memorial Prize is all
about.
Jaime wrote the original HAGAR
study manual, which was photocopied
and passed around all around Western
Canada.
He was an HPAC paragliding instructor
recently living in Kelowna.
One day after a nice day flying at Blue
Grouse early this spring, he went home
and died of an asthma attack.
* * *
This year, this prize goes to Rene Marion.
Rene is a Quebec senior paraglidng instructor.
He has been an instructor in Quebec
for 15 years and is been flying for 20.
He has been responsible either personally
or through his school for 7,000 tandem
flights.
After working at Yamaska for many
years, he moved to Monte Ste-Anne near
Quebec City, where he has developed a
very viable school and a very active club
in one of Canada’s most visible flying
sites.
Submit your ad:
air@hpac.ca
MOSQUITO HARNESS, about five years
old, in excellent condition, I will sell it to
experienced pilots only. $3,300 Cdn. Contact
Joe Cappello at 519-925-6619 or email
joe@flyhigh.com
AIR CLASSIFIEDS
Working with the corporation that
runs the mountain, he forged a very
strong partnership — not just an understated
tolerance that unfortunately characterizes
lots of relationships between us
and the landlords. The school that Rene
built and the club he helped to build are
real partners and players in the local
community.
Not satisfied with flying under the
radar, Rene multiplies television, radio
and paper interviews, not missing a
chance to share his passion.
All those who know him can confirm
that his passion is highly contagious —
he can’t keep it to himself.
As this wasn’t enough, Rene joined the
AQVL as co-vice-president, along with
myself.
While at the AQVL, Rene worked with
his friend and Quebec HPAC representative,
Jacques Blanchet, on the Instructional
Review, a massive undertaking
that is still going on in Canada.
He produced and participated in the
production of more than a 100 pages of
instructional content and ideas for new
rules and standards.
All this work is in the process of enriching
the review.
It would be difficult not to share Rene’s
hopes for minimal national instruction
standards.
These our some of the reasons why
the 2006 Jamie Christensen Memorial
award goes to:
Rene Marion
Senior Instructor (paragliding)
Tandem II
Owner and technical director, Aerostyle
Airsports.
$10 or free for members
Next deadline: Nov. 15
WILLS WING ULTRASPORT 147 in
very good condition. Good handling,
good performance. Held previous SOGA
site record of 92 miles for a number of
years. $2,300. For more information contact
Ken Kinzie toll free 866-743-9800 or
ken@5starwatersolutions.ca
AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006 13

RACE WILLI
The inaugural Race Willi
Nicole McLearn reports
back from the first-ever
Race Willi, coinciding
with the Willi XC
Challenge in Golden
Vincene Muller after her first flight in two years.
Nice clouds, but strong winds on launch at the Race Willi and Willi XC Challenge.
This competition was conceived
while at the Rat Race in May 2006,
sitting in the rain, bemoaning the fact that
competition wasn’t going to count for many
points, FAI or NTSS. With that in mind, a
group of us decided it was time to add another
“points competition” to the North American
mix, and the Race Willi was born.
The idea was to run this competition
alongside the already-popular Willi XC
Challenge, which has been running in Golden,
B.C., for many successful years.
Since the Canadian Paragliding Nationals
were held there in the past, we felt it was time
to try Golden again for a more serious meet,
while piggy-backing on the popularity of the
Willi.
The Willi XC organizer, Randy Parkin,
agreed and the organizing began.
We announced the Race Willi would happen
and that it would be FAI- and HPACsanctioned,
and the e-mail registrations
came rolling in.
It seems there is quite the interest nowadays
from both American and Canadian pilots
for a high-points competition, most likely
due to the 2007 Worlds being held in Texas
(hang gliding) and Australia (paragliding),
both of which are very popular flying destinations.
Will Gadd was the de facto meet organizer,
along with his partner Kim Csizmazia
as launch director. Keith McCullough, Greg
Babush and myself were the task committee,
and Bill Hughes volunteered to score for
free!
It was really a pilots’ competition, with all
pilots pitching in to help with the little things
that seemed to pop up, and no major stresses
— except for the weather of course!
Headquarters for both meets were at the
Golden Eco Adventure Ranch, owned by
John and Cathy-Anne, who
generously donated their
garage for the morning
briefings and their upstairs
office for scoring purposes.
It was such a treat to land
at the Nicholson LZ, have
some nice green grass to
pack up on, get a cold drink
at the office, sit in the shade
and enjoy the free wireless
Internet throughout the entire
campground, all while
only a short walk away
from your tent/RV and the
hot showers!
And when it was dark or
raining, we had the run of
photo by Stewart Midwinter
the upstairs wash house for Sink Out Cinema,
surfing the Net, or just hanging out.
Truly a flight park!
Day 1 of the competition was stellar —
light northwest winds and a nice cloud base,
so we decided on a fairly long task by other
site standards, but rather average for Golden:
60 km to Spillimacheen.
We decided on this task to make sure lots
of pilots would make goal and that we’d have
lots of happy smiles after.
The weather that day was surprisingly
choppy, and many pilots reported rough
thermals and a real job to keep their gliders
open. But the lift smoothed out downrange,
and we had lots of happy pilots in goal.
Many non-race pilots overflew us in the
goal field to fly even farther. Alan Dickey
flew to Invermere and landed near the airport,
and many Golden virgins flew their
personal best distances.
Alas, it was to be the only really great
open-distance flying day. The next two days
saw high winds on launch, and by the time
the winds died off enough for a task, it was
after 6 p.m. Not really conducive to longdistance
flying, but we were able to get “fishbowl”
tasks in, between 36 and 40 km each,
on those two days.
The really magical thing about those two
days was that it pretty much glassed-off both
evenings, and pilots were getting to 12,000
and 13,000 ft. at 9 p.m., doing much of the
course on glide!
photo by Nicole McLearn
14 AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006

RACE WILLI
Once again we had many happy faces in
the Nicholson LZ, with people landing after
dark, and once again many personal bests
(this time for altitude).
Day 4 was a strange mix of stability down
low, and instability up high. The clouds
looked magnificent, but we couldn’t get to
them! Everyone landed at Nicholson LZ
after scratching around for about 30 minutes,
and we were actually quite happy to
have an early evening, compared to the
previous late-day-flying of the past two
days. Time for doing laundry and watching
Sink Out Cinema!
The last day of the Race Willi was the
most interesting weather-wise. Skies were
generally overdeveloped, with the threat of
thunderstorms and rain. After many discussions
about whether to hold a task or
not, we decided on a race to Harrogate (44
km) to get a task in, but be finished relatively
early before the threat of storms got
too great.
Only three people in goal that day, but we
were glad to end the meet on a positive note
(a valid task), rather than a cancelled day.
So, after four tasks out of five flying days,
the Race Willi was over.
Overall, it was the most successful points
competition in Canada for a long time, with
four valid tasks and a total of almost 3,000
points to the winner.
An informal awards session to round
things out, and then it was time for the Willi
XC (the Willi XC had been running the entire
time, and in fact all the Race Willi pilots
were also entering their RW flights into
the Willi XC database, and were eligible for
prizes in that meet, as well).
The final two days of the Willi XC were
rained out, although Jon Orders flew on the
last day in an attempt to win the Hang Gliding
Advanced division (it didn’t work, and
he was still in third place afterwards!).
With the Race Willi and the Willi XC
running concurrently, there was the unusual
situation of having five people tied for 2nd
place in the Paragliding Advanced Class.
Greg Babush won first place, due to his flying
past goal on the first day, and claiming an
extra 2 km on everyone else, but there were
six of us who flew identical distances otherwise,
and had identical Willi XC points.
What to do
Randy, in his capacity of meet director for
the Willi XC, decided it was fair to put all six
names in hat and draw out the second and
third place winners, for their share of the
Pilots gather for a morning meeting.
cash prizes. Jeff Wishney and Abe Laguna
were duly announced the second and third
place winners of the Advanced Division.
Mind you, neither pilot was in attendance
RACE WILLI
Open Class:
1st: Will Gadd
2nd: Keith McCullough
3rd: Gavin Zhaner
Standard Class (DHV 1-2 and below)
1st: Randy Parkin
2nd: Nate Hoffman
3rd: Dan Wells
Women’s Class
1st: Nicole McLearn
2nd: June Sage
3rd: Natalia Polchenko
at the time (they had retreated to sunnier
locales), so they weren’t around to accept the
cash. I assume Randy will mail them their
cheques…
WILLI RESULTS
WILLI XC CHALLENGE
Paraglider Advanced Class
1st: Greg Babush
2nd: Jeff Wishney
3rd: Abe Laguna
Paraglider Intermediate Class
1st: Robin Sather
2nd: John Clifford
3rd: Jerome Daoust
Paraglider Novice Class
1st: Dan Wells
2nd: Oskar Skold
3rd Place: Derek Yuill
Hang Glider Advanced Class
1st: Rick Chubey
2nd: Scott Huber
3rd: Jon Orders
Hang Glider Intermediate Class
1st: John Chisholm
2nd: Charles Mathieson
photo by Nicole McLearn
AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006 15

HANG GLIDING NATIONALS
Rocky Mountain detour
Issues with Transport Canada
cancelled the Hang Gliding
Nationals in Vulcan, Alta. But
the cancellation didn’t last
long, and the competition was
reborn in Golden, B.C.
By KAREN KELLER
Running the Canadian Nationals in
Golden in June
You bet.
Not a lot of pilots entered, but some of the
best 15 Canadian pilots showed up vying for
a place on the Canadian World Team.
The weather wasn’t looking great for the
beginning of the week, but the competition
was on and Brett Hazlett showed us what you
can do on a marginal day.
On Monday, Brett was the only pilot to
make the 55.2-km goal. On Tuesday. Jeff and
Brett made goal of 67.4 km.
Wednesday was again unsettled and not
looking great. Everyone launched but no one
made the task.
Thursday, was one of those days to do other
things, but the weather looks better for the
next few days.
Friday looks like it could be a great downrange
day. The goal was the Invermere airport.
While driving down to Invermere to pick
up Doug, I stopped and chatted to pilots all
down the valley.
Lots of personal bests today. Brett, Jeff,
Scott, Jon, Doug, Ralph, Mark and Jim made
goal.
With only a week to put the meet together
and not time for many bells and whistles,
Doug arranged (OK, it was me — but his
idea), to have the wrap-up dinner at the Cedar
House Restaurant.
Very classy and great food with Caroline
helping us make this happen at short notice
— thanks Caroline.
We then relocated to GEAR, presenting
trophies at the campfire by the warming hut.
Thanks to Vincene of Muller Windsports,
there were prizes for everyone.
I’ve got to mention the following pilots who
made personal bests and received big copper
hang gliders or big hang gliders in thermals:
Greg Leslie won first in the king-post class,
Terry Ryan had his first XC flight ever and
Leif Hanson got his first XC flight at Golden.
Christine Nidd had her longest XC — pretty
photos by Karen Keller
Some of the faces of the Nationals, from left to right: First-place winner Brett Hazlett; second-place winner Jon Orders;
Third-place winner Jeff Rempel; launch volunteer Jason Dyer; and launch volunteer Graem Schmidt.
16 AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006

HANG GLIDING NATIONALS
impressive guys and gals.
Much thanks to John and Cathy-Anne of GEAR,
Vincene, and to all those dedicated girlfriends and wives
who drove the vehicles down and went on retrievals. A
special thanks to Jason Dyer and Graem Schmitt, two
upcoming pilots who helped out and did a great job on
launch.
Let’s not forget Ron Docherty, who comes out to lots
of meets just to help out and just because he’s great guy.
Couldn’t of been more appreciative of the help on launch,
guys.
A huge thanks to Doug Keller who put the Nationals
back on the calendar and did a fantastic job arranging the
competition and learning the scoring system in just one
week.
Golden Eco-Advenure Ranch
dream come true in my opinion. We came “that close” to not landing at the
A new golf course in Nicholson. I think most pilots “get it” and appreciate all
the effort and time John and Cathy-Anne have put in to preserve this world-class
hang gliding and paragliding site and LZ.
For those who have not been out for a few years, there is a five-star campground
and RV park right beside the LZ , with some sites facing the LZ. There’s a springfed
pond with a suspension bridge, rope swing and sand beach.
Kayaking and bike rentals are also available and, of course, paragliding tandem
flights leaving from the ranch.
Not to mention the horseshoe pits, beach volleyball court, playground and ultra-luxurious
wash house and laundry facilities.
This year the Canadian National Hang Gliding Championships and the Willi
XC were held at Golden, and John and Cathy-Anne were planning a fun target
landing and costume judging contest on the last weekend in September.
The staff, Amy and Ceri, are not
only very pleasant and helpful but
also blond and cute. Good choice,
John.
One day John and I were sitting
in the LZ on a log. There were lots
of hang gliders and bags in the field
and John said to me, “You know
Karen, this was what I dreamed of,
pilots flying Mount Seven, landing
here and having a beer.”
Thanks Cathy-Anne and John.
Meet directors Karen and Doug Keller.
John and Cathy-Anne
.. Karen Keller
CANADIAN HANG GLIDING NATIONALS RESULTS
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 Total
1 Brett Hazlett 92 293 394 986 1000 2765
2 Jon Orders 46 129 363 834 856 2228
3 Jeff Rempel 46 269 323 729 789 2156
4 Doug Keller 46 108 336 805 804 2099
5 Mark Dowsett ABS ABS 323 861 836 2020
6 Ross Hunter 46 139 223 756 620 1784
7 Scott Gravelle 46 108 167 119 846 1286
8 Ralph Herten 46 108 129 418 491 1192
9 Jim Scoles 46 148 221 242 483 1140
10 Greg Leslie 46 127 197 325 336 1031
From left to right: Ron Docherty helps on launch; Greg Leslie, Leif Hanson; and Christine Nidd.
AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006 17

HANG GLIDING NATIONALS
WESTWARD BOUND:
Terry Ryan blogs his trip across four
provinces to the Hang Gliding Nationals
photo by Terry Ryan
Wednesday, June 7
After months of planning to drive out to
Vulcan, Alta., for the Canadian National
Hang Gliding Championships, I get this
e-mail today:
Vulcan Nats Cancelled.
Yesterday at 1:00 p.m., I got word from
Transport Canada that all of the U.S. tugs
and their pilots will not be allowed to fly in
Canada.
I am extremely disappointed and frustrated
with this decision as I have been
working with Transport Canada and Nav
Can on this event since December of last
year.
A proposal was made to move the competition
just over the border to Montana but
the U.S. tug pilots have now decided to back
out and will not be coming.
I would like to apologize too all involved
as the organizer of this event for this late
cancellation.
I was very much looking forward to
hosting this event and am deeply saddened
that it has to end like this after working so
long and hard on it …
Bummer! Major Bummer!!!
I wonder if it’s got anything to do with
increased paranoia over national security
due to the recent terrorist arrests.
Saturday, June 10
The Nationals are back ON. Location
changed to Mount Seven at Golden, B.C.
I haven’t been there since 2001.
Sunday, June 11
Packing up today. Leave first thing in
the morning. Here’s the agenda:
Monday: Sault St. Marie in 9 hours
Tuesday: Thunder Bay in 9 hours
Wednesday: Winnipeg in 9 hours
Thursday: Swift Current in 9 hours
Friday: Golden in 8½ hours
…with one day to spare.
Monday, June 12
A pleasant drive to Sault St. Marie, Ont.
Made it in seven hours, which is much
better than MapQuest predicted.
I am now further west than I have ever
driven in Canada.
When I was 18, Mike Risso and I were
en route to Vancouver on our sad little motorcycles
when we stopped in Elliott Lake.
The bikes broke down, the mine wouldn’t
hire us, so that’s as far west as we got.
I had a nice pickerel dinner at Sandro’s.
The sun didn’t set until 9:29 p.m.
When I returned to the motel, a truck
pulled in beside me and the guy asked
with a big grin, “What kind of glider is
that” (About one in 50,000 actually know
what that thing on my roof is.)
So I chatted with local hang glider pilot
Martin Gruen for a while and learned
about the local sites and flights. It’s cool
how you make these connections. We are
a very small sub-culture. He warned me
not to drive Highway 17 northwest of here
between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., for fear of running
into moose, deer, and bear.
Tuesday, June 13
The Northwest Passage. What’s with
Franklin and those guys They shoulda
gone through Wawa.
I feel like the very “tardy explorer” that
Stan Rogers sings about. For me this is all
new — and I’m loving it.
“Be sure to fill up in Wawa,” they all
said. Ridiculous! The real hard stretch is
from the Soo to Wawa, more than 200 km
with not a hint of a gas station. I limped in
on the fumes.
Picked up a hitchhiker just north of the
Soo. A young kid, Danny, from Sherbrook,
Que. It was nice to swap travel stories for
a few hours, then, at a scenic lookout near
Marathon, he connected with a guy going
right through to Winnipeg.
It’s always interesting to catch a glimpse
of a stranger’s life. I hope he gained some-
18 AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006

HANG GLIDING NATIONALS
thing of value from our brief encounter.
The scenery is beautiful and powerful
but the most poignant thing I saw was the
Terry Fox memorial, located near where
he was forced to stop his cross-country
trek. Experiencing the breadth and isolation
of this country at 120 km/h really
drives home the enormity of what he did.
Wow!
I’m staying in Thunder Bay at the Ritz
Motel. Yeah, no kidding. Along with some
pipeline workers and a bunch of bikers.
Classy joint.
Went down to Marina Park to see the
Sleeping Giant (his toes seem to be missing).
Sunset, way up here, is at 9:58 p.m.
Amazing.
Wednesday, June 14
Thunder Bay sucks! Got a speeding
ticket first thing in the morning driving to
get a picture of Mount MacKay.
Picked up Jeff from Elmira, Ont., a tree
planter, and dropped him off in Kakabeka.
(I’m glad to see that hitch-hiking lives.)
The falls there are spectacular. They call
them the Niagara of the North.
About an hour out of Kakabeka, I
crossed the Arctic Watershed, beyond
which all the rivers and lakes flow to the
Arctic Ocean.
Wildflowers by the side of the road
number in the billions — mostly Devil’s
Paintbrush and Buttercups. Hundreds of
inukshuks adorn the rocky outcroppings.
Crossed into Manitoba around 5:30 p.m.
Already got a taste of the flatlands.
Eminently characteristic of Winnipeg, a
wind was blowing at the Forks (of the Red
and the Assiniboine) as I sipped my beer
that evening, but it was wonderfully warm
(the wind, not the beer).
They’ve jazzed this place up with markets,
amphitheatres, river walks, restaurants,
outdoor cafes and so on. It’s pretty
darn nice.
Winnipeg’s been getting a bad rap in the
rest of Canada. It’s actually a “happening”
place.
I’m still on Toronto time and it’s still
light out here at 11:00 p.m.
Thursday, June 15
Up and away at 10 a.m. (early for me).
But before I leave it behind, let me give another
word about Winnipeg.
It’s got a river-park setting, a shopping
district, a Chinatown, a French Quarter
(Saint Boniface), lots of nightlife, a popular
baseball team called the Gold Eyes and
an aboriginal radio station (semi-rock)
that broadcasts in Cree. It cries out for
more exploring.
It’s windy again today — gusts to 50 km/
h. I lashed the glider on a little tighter.
In no time at all I’m in Saskatchewan.
Mythbuster number three: it’s not really as
flat as everyone in Ontario says.
The Qu’Appelle River is small but it
carved out a big beautiful valley. Had the
best apple crisp ever in Chilly’s at Round
Lake.
The trains out here are plentiful and
they are long. I breezed through the heart
of Regina and on to Moose Jaw, but there’s
big convention in town so I moved on
and settled for the night in Herbert (Lone
Eagle Motel) where the proprietors (Max
and Hedi) also keep 80 Alpacas.
Friday, June 16
“Have you seen Herbert” it says beside
a funny caricature of a farmer on
the front licence plates. This typifies the
friendly humour evident throughout the
town of Herbert. Marnie’s Cafe is the
meeting place for all the local farmers
on a rainy Friday morning. I counted
about 25 coming and going. Enjoyed
breakfast while listening to snippets of
local “wisdom.”
Saw my first oil wells just west of Swift
Current. Often you see open ranges —
no fences as far as the eye can see and
very few cattle.
I haven’t yet figured out what “prairie
berries” are. Some of the old wooden
grain elevators are preserved and still in
use but mostly they are replaced by truly
massive storage cylinders that dwarf the
trucks and rail cars that service them.
Again, today it is very windy on the
prairies and at one point they have a
large array of high-tech windmills for
power generation somewhere east of
Medicine Hat.
A bit west of the ’Hat, I went north
on a rough clay road (thank God for the
Subaru) to the dinosaur badlands (really
fascinating) then down through Brooks
and on to Vulcan.
I approached Vulcan from the east
and could see it, and the road leading to
it, from 20 km away in the shallow rolling
hills. Vistas are magnificent. Prairie
skies, in the late afternoon, are awesome.
Staying tonight in the Bow Valley Inn
in Cochrane. Best dinner yet in the Blue
photo by Terry Ryan
AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006 19

HANG GLIDING NATIONALS
Nuptials on launch.
Dog Cafe while listening to Heather
Blush sing and strum her guitar. Life is
good.
Saturday, June 17
Wow! About 10 minutes west of
Cochrane you come over a hill and around
a corner and spread out before you is this
beautiful green valley, 25 km across (a
wild guess), and there, on the other side,
are the mountains.
Magnificent, but not yet imposing. The
steel-grey granite subtly says, “Don’t mess
with me.”
It’s windy. I picture the howling rotors
ripping around those jagged edges.
For the first time I feel angst about flying
among those unforgiving monsters. But
the power and the beauty of nature overrides
that and I happily drive on and mingle
with them.
The Kicking Horse Canyon Project
is amazing. They are raising the highway
more than 90 metres.
I arrived in Golden early afternoon. The
time zone doesn’t change until around
Revelstoke, so we are still on Alberta
time.
It’s like old-home week, meeting up with
all the other pilots. We split a beer or two
and resume our hang lying.
Sunday, June 18
I’m camping at the
Nicholson ECO-Adventure
Ranch in the Columbia River
Valley just south of Golden,
where the Columbia joins the
Kicking Horse.
By a quantum leap, these
campground facilities are the
finest I’ve ever seen. The wash
house is beautifully appointed
with private showers, ceramic
tile floors and top-of-the-line
plumbing. The site even has
free wireless Internet access.
And, best of all, a hang glider
landing zone.
No, best of all is the view.
Pilots meeting at 9 a.m..
Again at 11. Again at 1 p.m.
The task committee called a
60-km out-and-return. Brett
was the only one to make it,
but we all beat him to goal.
He showed us some awesome (and
scary) spins on the way in. I’m tied for
second place — along with everybody
else.
photo by Karen Keller
Monday, June 19
A no-fly day due to nasty storm cells
but about six of us went up Mount Seven
around 5 p.m.
Arrived on top to a howling south wind
and virga. I waited an hour and launched
into a gentle west wind for a very satisfying
sled run. Learning to love my new
wing.
There was a camp fire Monday night.
Lief played the guitar and Natasha sang
riske songs in French and we all had a lot
of fun until Mother Nature sent us all to
bed with her drizzly wet blanket.
Tuesday, June 20
Up over Mount Seven. I have fulfilled
my dream of many years ago. It never
seemed possible that I would be flying
among the sky gods high above the Rocky
Mountains. I can describe the view (150
km of snow capped peaks in every direction)
but I can’t describe the feeling
— the aura.
To climb out above launch with a happy
combination of skill and luck (mostly
the latter). To be there, high above everything,
to be head-to-head with a mountain
like Mount Seven, on nothing more
than my frail assembly of aluminium and
dacron. It is completely mind blowing.
The realization brings tears of joy —
which quickly disappear in the cool dry
gentle 30-km wind.
The lift is so good I begin to worry
about cloud suck, so I fly a bit to the west.
All is OK. So I try to go back and find my
sweet thermal. But it is gone; rather I lost
it. It is a big sky 6,000 ft. above the valley
floor. I found more lift on the way to
the “bomb-out” but nothing I could stay
with. Came in for an almost perfect landing
(a few steps) at the campsite. A very
satisfying flight (which is a gross understatement).
The other notable thing this day was
that a bride and groom got married on
the launch ramp. Too cool! They were
thrilled to have us all there to provide
an adventurous and colourful backdrop
for their photos. My red, white and blue
wing is featured prominently.
Wednesday, June 21
Can’t remember much. (I’m doing this
on Saturday morning.) But I do remember
coming in to land and watching about
six groundhogs scramble for their holes.
They must have thought I was a big eagle
swooping in for the kill.
Thursday, June 22
Weather socked in. Pilots meeting extended
out to 3:30 p.m. Then, a no-fly
decision.
So a bunch of us drove way down the
valley, way past Radium, to a little-known
hot spring nestled in a cold river canyon.
Absolutely picturesque — the drive, the
setting, the whole thing.
Friday, June 23
Up, up, and away. Yessiree, I finally
did it. Got high over Mount Seven again
—this time 7,600 ft. over the valley floor
— which put me almost 2,000 ft. over the
peak. With so much altitude, I figured it
was time to cut the apron strings.
Another pilot was climbing up beneath
me. I thought it was Christine, so I hung
out at 7,000 ft. and waited for her. She
20 AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006

HANG GLIDING NATIONALS
was flying super aggressively which really
surprised me.
Turns out it was Ralph. He climbed
right through me and when he was well
overhead I looked up and there he was
flying with a sail plane (probably out of
Invermere).
If it was Christine, I would have stayed
with her (two wings are better than one
when it comes to finding thermals en
route).
When Ralph peaked out he left and
went over the back. No way I was following
him there, so I headed for the peak of
Pagliaro. As I crossed over Mount Seven,
I was filled with awe to look down and
see the details of the rocks passing a few
hundred feet beneath me.
Continuing south, I picked up some
scrappy lift over Pagliaro and could see
the landing field I had hoped to get to (15
km from launch).
I could have gone much farther but
wasn’t sure which fields had the prize
horses (that we had to avoid) and which
field had the irate farmers with shotguns,
so I went to the 15-km field and
bled off altitude while analyzing the landing:
the wind, the tree rotor, the power
lines. etc.
I came in nicely, flared well, and was
about to take a few steps when I suddenly
realized that what looked like a flat pasture
from the air was actually metre-high
grass and hay.
You can’t run in that, so down came
the glider in a mild whack (third of my
career).
There! I had done it. For the first time
in my flying career I actually went XC.
There was no one around but I smiled
anyway.
I was almost finished packing up my
glider when Leif showed up. He carried
my wing to the truck and gave me a cold
Coors.
Later, my vario showed over 10,000 ft.
ASL.
The start circle has a 15-km radius. I
went 15.05 km (confirmed by GPS later
that night). Whew! Just made it for my
first ever en route score.
The good guys went over 100 km to the
south that day.
Saturday, June 24
The last day of competition. It worked
out so much better than it started.
The task was an out-and-back and outand-back
pattern to keep pilots close to
home for the dinner/party/awards.
I launched late in the time window.
The early guys really had to struggle just
to stay level with launch. They’re good.
I was able to watch and learn at close
range (I would have sunk out for sure).
The wind shifted north and I launched
off the grass into a great thermal. I
worked my way up over the launch site
knob and it was spilling off a boomer.
I rode it to almost 9,000 feet ASL, but
couldn’t get as high as yesterday.
The lift was a bit ratty and unreliable
so I didn’t go XC. I flew with another pilot
for a while — thought I’d follow him
on task — but I found out later it was
Winston and he wasn’t in the competition.
Duh!
I worked my way across the face of
Mount Seven and played around above
its south-most rock cliff. Gained 500,
lost 600, so I went straight to the LZ.
We all had an excellent meal at the
CedarHouse Restaurant, then retired to
the communal bon fire for the awards.
Brett came first (of course) but the big
surprise was that Jon Orders came in
second. Congratulations Jon! Jeff came
in third (way to go Jeff).
My personal best flight of Friday was
acknowledged with a very cool prize
— a copper mobile, with two hang
gliders rising in a thermal — made
by Karen Keller. I love it. Thanks all.
And thanks Karen.
* * *
In a hang gliding calendar from the nineties
there is a picture of Nelson Howe high
above the mountains of Aspen, Colo.
You look down on the mountains and far
below that you see the tiny roads and rivers
winding through the valleys.
It is my all time favourite hang gliding
picture. It has always been my dream to be
“there” with him.
On this trip to Golden, I have lived that
dream. Three times.
Was it worth the drive YES.
The mountains stand like sentinels all
night guarding the campsite.
I lay snug in my tent and doze off to the
night sounds: the rustling of the next camper
and other animals; the horses; the stupid
donkey; the trains, shunting and wailing;
the multiple echos off distant rock faces.
Early, before you can even see the sun
in the east, the snow streaked peaks to the
west light up to announce the morning.
You can almost hear the bugles. You wake
up to the rustling and cawing and chirping
of birds and rodents.
The cottonwood fluff blows through the
air, and collects on the ground, like snow.
You lay back, relaxed and content, and
grab another two-hours sleep. That’s one
(more) thing I like about hang gliding contests:
you never have to get up too early in
the morning.
photo by Terry Ryan
AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006 21

FLY FOR A CURE // WCC
Jon Orders on launch at the Western Canadian Championships.
Flying for a cure in Western Canada
story and photos by Karen Keller
This year the Rocky Mountain
Hang Gliding League hosted
the Western Canadian Hang Gliding
Championships southeast of Camrose,
Alta., raising money for the United Way,
multiple sclerosis research and the new
Alberta Children’s
Hospital in Calgary.
It was great to get
out to the Double
Dam Golf Course
again for another
great towing meet on
the prairies. Seventeen
pilots registered
on Saturday and Jeff
Rempel showed up
in time for flying on
Sunday.
Scott had the longest
flight on Saturday
of 90 Km, with
Jim Scoles and Ross
Hunter close behind.
On Sunday, Scott
again got the best
distance with 98 km
flight with Moore
Newell in second
place with a stellar 90 km flight on his
Sport 2!
The weather continued to be unstable
and there was lots of great flights, with
Jeff Rempel having the best on Monday
and Doug Keller on Tuesday, flying 104
km to land west of Hobema.
Wednesday was another awesome day
of flying, with Ross Hunter having the
longest flight of 202 km. Almost everyone
got way that day.
When we got back to the Double Dam,
Rob announced that the County of Camrose
had shut the meet down — we were
not allowed to fly anymore. It was a depressing
night to say the least.
About 9:00 am Thursday Shirley, the
owner of the golf course arrived back
from Camrose. The meet was back on!
Apparently, Shirley had a “few words”
with the county and we were allowed
to finish the competition. THANK YOU
Shirley.
On Thursday, Jeff Rempel won the day
with by far the best flight of 139 Km. The
weather was getting ugly and we woke
22 AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006

FLY FOR A CURE // WCC
up Friday to rain and cold. The weather
didn’t get anyone down — there was
golfing, kite flying, into town for dinner
and quite a few beers. Saturday the partying
continued but Sunday looked a bit
better.
Sunday was the only goal day. Unfortunately
a strong south wind made the
task difficult with no chance of returning.
Most pilots landed short or way
short of the turnpoint but Scott made
the turnpoint and Jeff made it about
halfway back.
A huge thanks to all the volunteersand
what a great job done this year.
Thanks to Rob Clarkson for running
the meet and to Scott Gravelle for the
scoring.
Thank goodness for Kathy helping
out on retrievals. And a special thanks
for the wind-up dinner to Georgina and
Gill and all the Camrose sponsors.
Again, thanks to Shirley and the staff
at the Double Dam Golf Course for their
support and hospitality.
The Rocky Mountain Hang Gliding
League will be applying for permission
to host the Camrose meet next year at
the same location — if that fails the new
location will be announced.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Ross Hunter
Jeff Rempel
Jim Scoles
Scott Gravelle
John Orders
Doug Keller
Ralph Herten
Bruce Hanson
John McClintock
Doug Litzenberger.
Above: Rob Clarkson, Jim Scoles (third place),
Ross Hunter (first place) and Jeff Rempel (second
place).
Below: Rob Clarkson, Karen Keller, Ted De Beaudrop,
Gary Hanson, Georgina, Kathy and Gill.
AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006 23

LAKESIDE EVENT
Splashing into Lakeside for the first time
By CORINNE ORAVA-STOLTZ
What a nice little weekend
we had! We took our
courage, coming from
Pemberton, B.C., to drive the nine
hours over Rogers Pass to make it
on time Friday night for the opening
party.
I’ve never before taken the time to
go to the Lakeside Event, but I will
again in the future!
Missing this year’s Vertigo in
Switzerland, I thought that a day on
the lake watching hang gliders and
paragliders splashing in the water
would be a great place to hang.
To my surprise, the take-off
seemed far enough that I realized we
wouldn’t have that much aerobatics
to watch, but no importa — the
event was super fun and all the people
were excellent to party with.
After spending the last two weeks
with Bruno, Marie-Neige and Manu,
we decided to meet each other again
in Invermere to say goodbye before
Bruno and Marie returned to Quebec.
That morning, Manu was staying
under his moist tent and I tried to
wake him up twice — this bum was
sleepy.
I started to wonder, and I kept
telling myself that such a old pilot
cannot stay in bed; what a waste!
He finally emerged and signed up
at the last minute, had one flight,
with both his feet in the bull’s-eye,
standing perfectly, just after Bruno
and I.
Good job Manu, it was worth it
to get up for a fun splash morning
flight and fun day around hangs and
chicks.
We ended up making the three
first places and paid for our gas to
return back to our green valley.
Everything was perfect. We met
lots of wonderful people, ate lots
and we are for sure coming back
next year.
Thank you to all the organization
of Lakeside Event. We had a blast!
Hitting the bull’s-eye: above is Stewart Midwinter; Tim Hall is seen below.
photos by Vincene Muller
24 AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006

Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada Association Canadianne de Vol Libre
ACCIDENT / INCIDENT REPORT — CONFIDENTIAL — RAPPORT d'ACCIDENT au d'INCIDENT
R
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INFORMATION
Name / Nom du Pilote Address / Addresse Club / Association
Passenger / Crew/ Victim
Passager / Équipier Victime
Address / Addresse
Membership #
Membre #
EXPERIENCE
Witness / Nom du des témoins Address / Addresse Level / Niveau
Reported by / Rapporté par Address / Addresse Endorsements
Aircraft Make / Marque, modèle et année de fabrication de l'aéronef
Total hours
Nombre d'heures
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Description of Damages and estimated cost to repair
Description des dommages. Coût estimé des reparations
Hours last 90 days
Hueres depuis 90 Jours
Total Flights
Nombres de Vol
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Objective Description of Accident / Incident
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On enquête sur les accidents afin d'apporter des correctifs et conseils pour ainsi prévenir la récurrence. Le
contenu de ce rapport ainsi que le dossier s'y rattachant sont CONFIDENTIELS. Il se limite aux circonstances
Over
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Page 1 Mail to the Address on Page 2 HPAC / ACVL Form S-02 Rev. 4 2003-4

Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada Association Canadianne de Vol Libre
ACCIDENT / INCIDENT REPORT — CONFIDENTIAL — RAPPORT d'ACCIDENT au d'INCIDENT
HPAC / ACVL Business Manager
7 Windal Ave. Toronto ON
M9N 2C2
Tel: 416 243-0469 Fax: 416 243-7126
HPAC Accident Review & Safety
Committee
ACVL committee de la sécurite
Marlene Jacobs
Email: safety@hpac.ca
Creation Date:
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Injuries:
Blessures:
Expérience:
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CONTRIBUTING FACTORS / FACTEURS CONTRIBUANTS
Include Diagram / Effectuez le Schéma
ACTION REPORT / RAPPORT DE L'ÉVENEMENT
Recommendations: What would you like other pilots to learn from this
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Action taken (Club, Association)
Correctifs apportés par le club ou l'association
Report Review Could this accident have been
avoided If so How
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The content and record of this report is CONFIDENTIAL, is confined to cause-related
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Page 2 HPAC / ACVL Accident / Incident Report Form S-02 Rev. 4 2003-4

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RELEASE, WAIVER AND ASSUMPTION OF RISK
I, _______, hereby acknowledge and agree that in consideration of being permitted to participate in Hang Gliding/Paragliding
programs or activities, I hereby agree to release and discharge Owners and / or Lessors 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
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which I may suffer arising out of or connected with, my preparation for, or participation in, the aforesaid Hang Gliding/Paragliding
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Releasee
And I do hereby acknowledge and agree;
a. that the sport of Hang Gliding/Paragliding and Hang Gliding/Paragliding is very dangerous, exposing participants to many risks
and hazards, some of which are inherent in the very nature of the sport itself, others which result from human error and
negligence on the part of persons involved in preparing, organizing and staging Hang Gliding/Paragliding programs 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 entirely at my own risk;
e. that I understand that the Releasee does not assume any responsibility whatsoever for my safety during the course of
my 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 fully understand 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 indemnify and hold
harmless the Releasee for any loss or damage connected with any property loss or personal injury that I may sustain while
participating in or preparing for any Hang Gliding/Paragliding programs or activities whether or not such 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 to signing
this agreement;
i. that the term Hang Gliding/Paragliding programs or activities as used in this RELEASE, WAIVER AND ASSUMPTION OF
RISK agreement includes without limiting the generality of that term, the Hang Gliding programs and 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: (You must sign here)____________________________ Date: _
_____________
Participant Name (Type here):
______________
Signature of Witness (Must sign here): _________________________________Date:
_______________
Witness Name (Type here):
__________________________________
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.
28 AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006

PARAGLIDING POINTS
POINTS
Nats Lumby HPD WCC US Nats Flytec Pre-Worlds Best 3
Competitor Points Points Points Points Points Points Points
1 HAZLETT, Brett 496.778 319.200 575.783 592.424 1664.986
2 HUNTER, Ross 291.387 164.083 506.000 961.470
3 DOWSETT, Mark 329.933 0.000 279.120 255.892 864.946
4 GRAVELLE, Scott 210.047 184.525 331.050 144.8 205.537 273.401 814.497
5 REMPEL, Jeff 352.147 379.890 732.037
6 ORDERS, Jon 363.907 61.307 294.917 720.130
7 KELLER, Doug 342.837 76.583 284.751 704.171
8 Winkleman, Bernard 334.230 350.000 684.230
9 SCOLES, Jim 186.200 337.570 85.0 149.495 673.265
10 HERTEN, Ralph 194.693 18.920 283.094 85.2 562.987
11 HANSON, Bruce 103.083 247.624 350.707
12 NIDD, Christine 122.827 175.028 297.855
13 HANSON, Leif 78.890 190.718 269.608
14 Newell, Moore 96.750 136.575 233.325
15 MCCLINTOCK, John 24.530 205.967 230.497
16 BUSBY, Bruce 129.2 80.724 209.924
17 Leslie, Greg 168.397 32.667 201.063
18 CLARKSON, Rob 40.2 151.203 191.403
19 SWIFT, Mike 136.057 51.833 136.057
20 GREEN, Rob 88.508 88.508
21 RYAN, Terry 78.237 78.237
22 Thordarson, Terry 74.667 74.667
23 Wolan, Cas 70.560 70.560
24 Regehr, Roger 62.873 62.873
25 Regehr, Dale 44.862 44.862
26 JANSSEN, John 29.167 29.167
27 Rauck, Randy 22.257 22.257
28 KATAY, Fiona 11.381 11.381
29 SCHULTE, Michael 9.940 9.940
30 Sa u l n i e r, Br ya n 5.720 5.720
compiled by Nicole McLearn
Below is the updated 2006 hang gliding points to include all competitions as of mid-August. The list doesn’t include points acquired after that, and assumes that all of the
Canadian competition will send in the World Team Levy contributions; if they don’t, those competitions will be deleted.
For space, pilots with no points were not included in this printed list.
You can find complete and updated files and other rankings here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hpac/files/Competiton/
HANG GLIDING POINTS
2006 NTSS
Rank Pilot Points as of Aug.12 points so far
1 GADD, Will 100.00 1143.01
2 MACCULLOUGH, Keith 83.36 1126.01
3 MCLEARN, Nicole 77.89 931.30
4 IZADI, Amir 69.79 894.92
5 RAYMONT, Alex 61.23 739.20
6 ORAVA, Jim 47.14 782.47
7 BERTI, Bruno 43.63 683.63
8 HERRING, Graeme 31.01 408.20
9 BRETSCHNEIDER, P 24.57 461.94
10 SAMPLONIUS, Rob 23.41 319.38
11 PARKIN, Randy 21.34 388.29
12 DOWSETT, Mark 21.06 163.00
13 Emery, Dan 20.85 274.81
14 VAILLANCOURT, Vince 19.45 230.00
15 BUSBY, Bruce 19.04 188.00
16 OLIVIER, Eric 17.02 253.46
17 LETCHFORD, Ryan 16.98 126.62
18 Briggs, Josh 15.94 303.65
19 GAUVIN, Fred 15.72 187.00
20 LAVERTU, Martin 14.99 159.00
21 LEBLANC, Guy 14.98 180.00
22 Blanchet, Jaques 12.13 231.00
23 BROWNE, Annelies 11.06 0.00
24 MOTA, Claudio 10.54 0.00
25 BRINKMAN, Petr 9.26 0.00
2006 NTSS
Rank Pilot Points as of Aug.12 points so far
26 BOUCHARD, J-Y 8.72 159.00
27 Oddy, Eric 8.63 164.42
28 Boyd, Greg 7.35 140.00
29 JURETIC, Dom 7.10 79.00
30 MONTPETIT, Claude 7.01 0.00
31 Lebel, Claude 6.77 129.00
32 FAVEREAU, Beatrice 6.73 58.00
33 Fraser, Mark 6.67 0.00
34 MACLEAN, Graha 6.64 126.44
35 LAVERTU, Daniel 6.27 0.00
36 Thiebault, Cedric 6.14 117.00
37 Warren, Charles 5.93 0.00
38 SATHER, Robin 5.90 0.00
39 DICKEY, Alan 5.68 0.00
40 McIsaac, John 5.23 38.52
41 Morris, Dave 5.19 0.00
42 UNDERWOOD, D 5.17 98.44
43 THEVIERGE, Paul 4.80 0.00
44 POLSTER, Alan 4.75 10.48
45 Morris, Janet 4.72 19.26
46 WHITE, Sean 4.47 0.00
47 Lawlor, Norm 4.45 0.00
48 PERREAULT, Stef 4.43 0.00
49 Cadotte, Eric 4.04 77.00
50 DEROUIN, Glenn 3.51 0.00
compiled by Doug Keller
AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006 29

AIR CAPTION CONTEST
Insert your caption here …
What words best describe this photo
Even the best editors (and on more
frequent occasions, the worst) are
at a loss for words from time to time.
And that’s where you come in.
In a new and regular feature in AIR,
readers can have their say and choose a
title for a new photo every issue.
It’s simple: check this page whenever
you get your copy of AIR. Take a good
long look at the photo, and e-mail your
best caption to air@hpac.ca.
Make your captions funny, ironic, inspiring
— whatever you think best sums
up what’s in the picture. And if you have a
photo you think your fellow pilots should
have a shot at, send it along, too.
The winning captions will appear each
month, along with a new photo.
This photo by Richard Visscher will start things off.
Send your captions to air@hpac.ca
30 AIR MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2006

UP 1-2
APCO KARMA
NEW from BRAUNIGER: IQ
ONE+ and IQ ONE
DHV 1
POWER KITES FROM OZONE
ACCESS
FRENZY
WATER KITES FROM OZONE
INSTINCT
Muller Windsports Ltd
Box 2018
Cochrane, AB T4C 1B8
ph: (403)932-6760
fax: Muller (403) Windsports 851-0737 Ltd
Box 2018, Cochrane, AB, T4C 1B8
website: (403) 932-6760
http://www.mullerwindsports.com
email: email: fly@mullerwindsports.com