[SamKellner]

Welcome JimmyD

to US Hawks forum

[Bill Cummings]

Hello to the US Hawks from Jim Delear, from Sylmar ,CA. I have been a USHGA member since the 80's. I have flown at many places over the years, but now mostly Sylmar the local spot. I just discovered the US Hawks website a few days ago, looking for answers to the insurance fiasco at Dockwiler and now USHPA.

Jim D.
Welcome aboard.
Our club the, Rio Grande Soaring Association, (RGSA Region #4) was just facing the realization that we may not be able to afford our site insurance. Then the USHPA announced that our ninety nine dollar dues may be going to one hundred and fifty dollars to keep insurance going possibly with an RRG.

I sure hope you're here to fix things. (I hope that isn't expecting too much.)
Lately in anticipation of loosing some of our insured sites I've been dusting off my towing equipment since here in the wide open spaces of New Mexico with on the average sixty miles between towns it's difficult to even find a third party to sue me let alone be insured against.

I do understand your problem being near a populated area and also close to courts, lawyers, insurance companies and other greedy non-pilots.

I've been growing fond of the idea of not actually needing site insurance as long as we don't hold invitational meets and collect fees. Just someone with a hang glider flying for fun. Just like the other sports that don't require insurance for recreation using horses, ATV's, motocross, mountain bikes, repelling, rock climbing, rock hounding, Frisbee tossing, jump rope, Pogo Stick jumping, rollerblading, target shooting, hunting, fishing --- I'll let you go now. Bye!

[Rick Masters]

USHPA insurance fiasco
http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2203&start=10&sid=f2fce16b24f2d13dbb6d5219d1d49272#p15041

[Bob Kuczewski]

Welcome Jimmy D!!

Hello to the US Hawks from Jim Delear, from Sylmar ,CA. I have been a USHGA member since the 80's. I have flown at many places over the years, but now mostly Sylmar the local spot. I just discovered the US Hawks website a few days ago, looking for answers to the insurance fiasco at Dockwiler and now USHPA.

It's been almost 12 years since I made my first flight at Sylmar. My how time has ... flown!!   

The US Hawks isn't the biggest hang gliding organization (or hang gliding forum), but we're building slowly and steadily. Thanks for joining us!!

The US Hawks is about pilots helping pilots, so please feel free to contact any of the Board members (myself, Joe Faust, Sam Kellner, or Bill Cummings) any time if we can help you.

I've been growing fond of the idea of not actually needing site insurance as long as we don't hold invitational meets and collect fees. Just someone with a hang glider flying for fun. Just like the other sports that don't require insurance for recreation using horses, ATV's, motocross, mountain bikes, repelling, rock climbing, rock hounding, Frisbee tossing, jump rope, Pogo Stick jumping, rollerblading, target shooting, hunting, fishing --- I'll let you go now. Bye!

I agree Bill. The requirement for insurance is much more than just a financial annoyance to our members. It's more like a loaded gun pointed at the sport ... waiting to go off at any time. It won't be easy to remove that burden, but I believe it's one of the things that the US Hawks should try to do in the long run (even if we have to participate in an insurance program in the short run). USHPA sees insurance as their main "product", and as a result, they've shown no effort to remove that burden from pilots or clubs.

Thanks again for signing up Jim!!!

Bob

[howie]

Hello

[Bill Cummings]

Hello

Hello Howie,
Scroll to the top. Look for 1 new messages at the top of the page and click on it.

Message.PNG (128.53 KiB) Viewed 6611 times

Howie,
Doug M., came up with a good idea about pilots putting up on a GoPro (and maybe then post to Youtube) possibly with a GPS track information about your (and others) flying abilities. That way the Hawks could get a ratings board to watch you or other pilots demonstrate your/their flying abilities. Once a board of review sees that you have successfully done the required maneuvers set forth in the ratings SOP's the board would give the okay for the at site H4 to sign a pilot off on a rating. This is just an idea that I have expanded from Doug's first mentioning a rating idea. What are your suggestions?
What I like about the idea is that others besides the Rating Review Board could watch the video and tell the RRB that, "You guys are blind. Didn't you see the pilot forget to hook into his secondary hang strap?" (OVERSIGHT OF THE RRB BY THE MEMBERS. --- HOW MUCH MORE TRANSPARENT CAN A RATINGS SYSTEM GET?)

[howie]

Sounds great I'll do it
But it's gonna have to
Be a power flight form flat ground
Eather my electric power harness
Or my far 103 trike is that acceptable?
I think it should be

[Bill Cummings]

Sounds great I'll do it
But it's gonna have to
Be a power flight form flat ground
Eather my electric power harness
Or my far 103 trike is that acceptable?
I think it should be

Howie,
I added (did an Edit) to my post farther up so make sure you've seen it all.
We should have Bob move this discussion off of the ratings thread to somewhere else appropriate. That would be okay with me and if it is okay with you, Bob will do that. If it's not okay with you our prattle here about stuff not quite topic related will be cluttering up the ratings thread.
So what say thee?
EDIT
I got all messed up I thought we were still on the ratings thread but I thinks we are okay here on the Hello US Hawks thread. Sorry
I'm going to continue my HG towing but that, trikes, power harness, tandem, schools, and businesses so far is a side track from where the US Hawks are headed.
But even though, so far, the US Hawks are not supportive of towing and being all inclusive of hockey, soccer and what not the mission is not to be against everything but HG,-- but only concern themselves with the mission statement which is:
To promote, protect, and serve recreational hang gliding in the United States. (Thanks JoeF)

[Bob Kuczewski]

Hello

Hello Howie!!!

Welcome to the US Hawks!!!!



And thanks to Bill for remembering to quote our mission statement:

      To promote, protect, and serve recreational hang gliding in the United States.

The phrase "recreational hang gliding" covers a lot of ground and includes towing and tandems and power and other forms of flight that are recreational in nature. And if we find other things that are helpful to recreational hang gliding (like people who do instructing and people who manufacture and sell gliders) then we can be supportive of those as well. But in all cases, our primary focus will be on recreational hang gliding, and that gives us a slightly different focus than U$HPA has had. It forces us to ask the hard questions like "Is this business really supportive of recreational hang gliding or not?". That's a yard stick that U$HPA doesn't use in its decisions.

Anyway, welcome again, and please write to me or any of the Board members if we can help you in any way.

Sincerely,
Bob Kuczewski

[howie]

I see contradiction all over the last few post
I do instruct I do sell gliders of used nature
I can go back to doing me with out this
You want contributing members
I can contribute I can teach more in an hour
About the how n why of hanggliding
In a trike at a comfortable altitude
That can be tought on a traning hill
In a day

To me all weight shift is hanggliding
Prone n foot lunc,Supine, suprone,
Wheels ,tow , quicksilver , fledge ,atos
Power.ect