US Hawks Hang Gliding Association

"The first post in each Blog topic must state the purpose and rules of that Blog. Please abide by these rules."

The purpose of this blog is to create a place to share some of my hang gliding cartoons and related artwork. I have been drawing hang gliding cartoons since about 1981. It has been a passion of mine ever since I started flying back in 1975. I was inspired to do so by seeing some of the cartoon work by another cartoonist who contributed to Ground Skimmer Magazine and Hang Gliding Magazine. Cartooning is not as easy as it seems. Over the years, my cartoons have awarded me all sorts of feedback, mostly good and some quite bad. Imagine getting a phone call in the middle of the night from the wife of a character I made fun of. I was asked to gather up every last Hang Gliding Magazine across the US because my humor pissed off one, maybe two people.

My rules are simple, read and enjoy. Comments are not required or necessary. You are welcome to PM me if you have positive and constructive feedback.

I will start off by posting a water color painting I donated to a fund raiser I participated in for Dockweiler Beach in September 2000, fifteen years ago. My how time flies...
The glider at the very top is an image of my Fledge 2A, which I still fly to this day. Please note some of the signatures. They are from some of the earliest pioneers of hang gliding and helped garnish a rather sizable donation to the cause of preserving hang gliding at Dockweiler Beach. The artwork went to the highest bidder.

To celebrate the Sylmar Hang Gliding Association 20th Anniversary, I created this water color. I have the original hanging on my wall next to my computer. Sorry, this one is not for sale.

Very good, Harry!

It brings back memories of the Annie Green Springs competition. My son Matt competed in that event and we had a framed photo of him, wearing his number bib, hanging on our wall for years.

He was also flying with the first prototype of my variometer and other cometition pilots were trying to buy it off of him. I think he was telling them that his dad would kill him if he sold it. Taras borrowed it and ended up using it to find sink so he could get down. That was a funny twist in the vario's history.

Frank C.

Croak and Cluck was a full page color cartoon that was published for a short period of time in USHPA Magazine. It was an attempt to poke friendly fun at our PG friends, but after a few months, the editor was becoming concerned that the PG pilots might not have as good a sense of humor I was hoping for. I have nothing against PG pilots and have no difficulty in sharing airspace with them. The problem I have is drawing PGs to scale in such confined drawing space. Let's face it, they need a lot of vertical drawing space. Using a frog to depict PG pilots seemed a logical choice. Not drawing so many strings and harness apparatus made it a lot easier to draw. These are all details that the reader's imagination can fill in. It was fun while it lasted. Still considering resuming the cartoon strip again.

Harry wrote:Still considering resuming the cartoon strip again.

Pllease feel welcomed (very welcomed) to start that Croak and Cluck strip here if you like. We're not USHPA.

Thanks to Rick Masters for the tip. See http://ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2117&sid=e5cbe72a1a3033ad5fdb3b0a16a4e38a

They probably think you're kidding.
But no, this is your government at work.
It explains the dwindling numbers of hang glider pilots.
http://www.icd10data.com/ICD10CM/Codes/V00-Y99/V95-V97/V96-/V96.15XA

But just wait 'til they find the exploding paragliders... It's much worse!

V96.15
Really good one Harry

P.S. In case anyone hasn't followed the other topic, it shows a list of codes for various causes of injury:

• V96.11 Hang-glider crash injuring occupant
• V96.12 Forced landing of hang-glider injuring occupant
• V96.13 Hang-glider collision injuring occupant
• V96.14 Hang-glider fire injuring occupant
• V96.15 Hang-glider explosion injuring occupant
• V96.19 Other hang-glider accident injuring occupant

Good observation Rick: "... this is your government at work."