Thanks for bringing it closer to home Bob. I came back online to do the same. And thanks rick for the cartoon. yep, we are the stick....notice how it was turned into a formidable weapon by the Dog (ushpa) chewing on its a**....
Adding Bobs observations with those of others I have gleaned from these UShawk forums,
Bob Kuczewski wrote:When I was a USHPA Regional Director in 2009, I witnessed a student (directed on radio) at Torrey Pines crash into parked hang gliders (fortunately not hurt). I reported it to USHPA with the hopes that they would correct it. In 2011 (when I was in Florida) that scenario repeated itself and a young woman student was badly injured in a similar incident. Who did USHPA expel?
- Did they expel the USHPA leaders who ignored my call for correction? No.
- Did they expel the Torrey Concessionaire for running an unsafe operation? No.
- Did they expel the instructor whose negligence contributed to the accident? No.
So who did they expel?
Me ... for daring to testify about what I knew.
USHPA sent a broadcast email of their trumped up charges to the entire USHPA membership. Yet they refused to distribute my response to those charges. The pen is mightier than the sword, and that's why those in power do their best to censor what they cannot defend.
First off, I am wondering if these were paragliding accidents you reported or hang gliding? I am forming a personal hypothesis that suggests these were paragliding accidents, Yes? no?
If yes, and these were paragliding incidents. I would love to see a record of all incidences reported to ushpa, both paragliding and hang gliding and their response to each category of flight to strengthen or weaken my hypothesis.
My hypothesis is similar to the follow the money principle of investigation.
I have also read how Rick and others have observed that foot launched single pilot hang gliding incidents have been lumped in with paragliding incidents, tandem incidents, and towing related incidents.
So..single pilot foot launched flying of HG are taking a statistical hit along with all these other aviation activities that are not single pilot foot launched HG flying. Is that correct?
sounds like a tom and Jerry cartoon...
If the record shows a marked difference in USHPA response to paragliding incidents as opposed to hang gliding incidents I would love to see the graph.
And is it true that because foot launched single pilot hang gliders have been lumped together with all these other forms of aviation that foot launched single pilot hang gliders were recently deemed not insurable?
Well, that not very nice is it? To be lumped in with and judged by insurance companies according to the safety records of activities I have no interest in participating in.....now how do I say that nasty word with a smilie?..I will try this one...
.....there, I said that nasty word by using a waving smilie and I am now asking those insurance companies to read between the lines....
I have already seen the stats posted as to how many representatives of each sport are on the Torrey Board...that was interesting.
Does the current USHPA board reflect a similar, unequal representation?
But this thread is about media being manipulated by outfits like OZ and hg.org to keep most pilots in the dark as to what UShawks is all about....so....
What is the motivation behind that?
The motivation for hanggliding.org and Oz report actions are probably not sinister. they are probably doing that just to distance their self from someone who has been defamed by the powers that be....I guess thats you Bob....
I am guessing the motivations behind the hg.org and Oz actions is they have decided to let someone else do their thinking for them.
I am much more curious about the ushpa actions.
Motivation for those types of actions is usually money or a strong prejudice of some sort.
So lets call my hypothesis a thing, and if there is such a thing, and if money or power is at the heart of this thing, I am wondering who is getting their pockets lined and by whom.
I am also wondering who is deciding how to invest the 2 plus million just raised and where is it being invested? Or is all that money just sitting around being depleted by inflation and waiting for the next two or three claims to drain the pot dry? I am wondering what was done with that money.
If USHPA board reactions to reported incidents DO reflect a clear bias ....that would be interesting. If not, I will have to construct a different hypothesis.
And even if there are records that indicate a bias, the question would remain as to WHY there would be such a bias? I would love to conclude that they just dont like Bob K., Nothing sinister there, maybe they just dont like you Bob?
So now I am going to give USHPA the
and tell them to read between the lines
because I like you Bob....so
them
But money is usually the motivating factor for such weirdness so I am going to stay with that hypothesis until it dead ends..
... if there is indeed money involved in this whole thing sherlock holmes would take his time machine back to the merger of HG with PG to find it and look for answers to questions like:
Who needed who the most in that merger?
Who has benefitted the most from that merger?
Who initiated the idea of that merger? Was it a PG or a HG? Was the idea initiated by regular pilots, companies, organizatiions, and was it suggested to organizations or individuals to initiate that idea by companies?
who planted that seed?
If it was initiated by a company, was it a pg company or a hg company and has their profit margin improved since the merger?
etc. etc. etc.
I can really only think of three possible motivation for the ushpa actions...
money, power, or prejudice, (unless BobK slept with a ushpa directors wife).
But all we hawks really need is to not allow ourselves to be lumped together with activities we are not even interested in.
I am not interested in doing tandems
I am not interested in paragliding
I am not interested in towing.
I am a foot launched HG pilot who does not give joy rides and I want my sport back.....RS