US Hawks Hang Gliding Association

Retired as of March 20, 2017, from FDGS and all other social hang gliding.
No longer member or board member.
Will not be there again.
Treasured memories will be kept.
Wish all the best,
Thank you,
Joe Faust

JoeF wrote:Will not be there again.

You'll always be there in the hearts of those who fly.

Heartfelt best wishes to you Joe.

I did send Joe a personal reply by e-mail.

I'm very saddened by Joe's departure from any group hang gliding activity and by the loss to the FDGS. For me it was a great pleasure to be reunited with Joe and hang gliding after my many years of not flying. I expressed to him several times while we were at Dockweiler, over the past several years, or at the site of the 1st Otto meet history marker, how great it was to be back with active hang gliding and to have him there also, like the "old days".

On this forum he ran a thread of "when will one show at Dockweiler". I realize now that the present operating rules at this site would make it difficult if not impossible for an unknown or new HG pilot, without USHPA membership and rating, to show up and test an experimental design. Sadly, that is a complete departure from the long history of this site where experimentation began the birth process of the modern sport of hang gliding.

Joe has always been an inspiration to me and always will be.

Goodbye Joe, you will be missed at Dockweiler and anywhere hang gliders gather.

Your friend always, Frank

I realize now that the present operating rules at this site would make it difficult if not impossible for an unknown or new HG pilot, without USHPA membership and rating, to show up and test an experimental design.

Maybe the end of hang gliding shouldn't be promoted, or even recognized, by the US Hawks.
Who the hell is going to hurt themselves at Dockweiler, anyway?
It's sand. It's like ten feet high for pity's sake.
And what if they do? It's on them.
There's no liability. California recreational law says so.
If you can't accept the risk, you can't accept the sport.
And if you can't accept the risk, the sport will be frozen.
USHPA - our once progressive USHGA - can't accept the risk.
There will be no further progress.
Now the USHPA is forcing creative pilots to go to more dangerous sites, with rocks and hard ground.
THAT'S WHAT WE USED TO COMPLAIN ABOUT WHEN THE STATE WOULD CLOSE OUR BEST TRAINING SITES!
There is no hope.
USHPA is now the enemy.
All is lost.
(Except for some really cool outlaw sites I know about...)

NOTE: Outlaws are actually following the law to a higher bar than USHPA.
Flying a hang glider is the privilege of every citizen.
No USHPA is required.
No license is required.
No wing certification is required.
This is otherwise known as FREEDOM.
Use it or lose it.
Anyone who tries to stop you is the enemy.
Once again, JoeF shows the way.
And once again, clueless USHPA hang glider pilots have no idea what's going on.

Where would hang gliding be without uncertified designs?


Form a national hang gliding association that promotes hang gliding - DUH!

Now Rick, curl up with Sophie and calm down.

There is no shame in retiring or taking a break from social media.I have and I know friends who have and some come back after a sabbatical. As an engineer you have made great contributions to the sport of hang gliding. Many you have thought out side of the box and that has inspired us all. Word on the street has it Willswing is secretly bringing to market a new super lightweight hang glider, possibly a clone of the 42lb Finsterwalder fex.

Please keep up the engineering contributions.

Oh No I just got my self banned at shga forum again, maybe this time I deserved it. I think it was the video of William Shatner fighting the Gorn(alligator suit) in 2013, he's 80 something. Maybe I was past due on my storage.

Now Rick...

Frank, are you saying that we shouldn't be outraged when the USHPA prevents people from hang gliding?
If we don't speak out, who will speak out for us?

Rick Masters wrote:

Now Rick...

Frank, are you saying that we shouldn't be outraged when the USHPA prevents people from hang gliding?
If we don't speak out, who will speak out for us?

For the record, I think Frank was joking with his remarks about curling up and calming down.  

I do know that Frank has been doing a lot behind the scenes, and we are all very lucky that Frank has returned to hang gliding in his golden years. I feel particularly blessed to have Frank and Rick and Joe and Bill and Sam and Scott and Doug and so many others as friends. Thanks to you all!!   

Rick, I put the winking emoji at the end for a purpose.

Thanks Bob - and as you put it: I am working behind the scenes(a multi pronged effort) to do what I can to change this very bad situation we have found ourselves in.

However, if I had Sophie as my furry and lovable companion I just might curl up with her when things got to be emotional.

Frank

I have explained the situation to Sophie and she has a solution.