[Bob Kuczewski]

ParaHawks Paragliding Association

As Eagle has mentioned on page 74 of his US Hawks Blog, I've created a national paragliding association named the "ParaHawks". Their formal web site will be parahawks.org.

As the name suggests, I would like the ParaHawks to provide an alternative national association for paragliding pilots similar to what the US Hawks is working to provide for hang gliding pilots.

There is no connection between the ParaHawks and the US Hawks other than that I currently support both organizations.

I created the ParaHawks based on a simple question asked by our biwingual US Hawks members: "What happens to my paragliding rating if I leave USHPA and join only the US Hawks?"

I can now answer that question by saying that you can transfer your paragliding ratings to the ParaHawks Paragliding Association.

That's my full intention behind creating the ParaHawks.

This blog is open to courteous and thoughtful discussions of this project. I'll try to answer all questions as best as I can.

[Rick Masters]

I support BobK on this.
I have said all along that paragliding should be separate from hang gliding.
Each organization would be better suited to focusing on the safety of its members.
This is a huge problem with the U$hPa at present.
And each organization would be forced to stand on its own merits or problems without unfairly dragging another sport along.
This is also a huge problem as the RRG will reveal in the future.
There is and has never been a reason the two sports could not work together in their common interest without one dominating the other.
The fly in the ointment has been combining the sports unnecessarily. It didn't work.
BobK is the only guy not going to be kicked out of U$hPa for doing this - so he's the perfect choice.    

[JoeF]

Will hawks mind the collapsible canopy naming connection? No airframe?

Will the many Joe pilots of hanggliding, say Joe G. and Joe F. .... etc. wince or not about the use of "Joe Q. Pilot" in connection with paragliding? Consider "Name Q. Pilot" for some compromise.

The WHGA has linked http://parahawks.org/ for a US org for paragliding.
http://www.worldparaglidingassociation.org/

[Bob Kuczewski]

If anyone ever needed proof that the two sports would get along better in separate organizations ... here it is:

I support BobK on this.
I have said all along that paragliding should be separate from hang gliding.
Each organization would be better suited to focusing on the safety of its members.
This is a huge problem with the U$hPa at present.
And each organization would be forced to stand on its own merits or problems without unfairly dragging another sport along.
This is also a huge problem as the RRG will reveal in the future.
There is and has never been a reason the two sports could not work together in their common interest without one dominating the other.
The fly in the ointment has been combining the sports unnecessarily. It didn't work.
BobK is the only guy not going to be kicked out of U$hPa for doing this - so he's the perfect choice.    

When Rick Masters supports a paragliding organization, there can be no greater proof that this is the right thing to do!!



All kidding aside, Rick's reaction to this demonstrates a clear path for the two sports to get along much better than they have. The U.S. revolution was bitterly fought, and yet who has been the closest allies for the last 100 years?

[Bob Kuczewski]

Will hawks mind the collapsible canopy naming connection? No airframe?

I could have gone with the "Para Jellyfish" ...  

But seriously, what could give more honor to a new organization than to give it a name that I very much value?

There are a few biwingual US Hawks chapters (like the RGSA and AFFA). We don't want their PG members to feel like "second class citizens" because their club is a US Hawks Chapter. Their clubs are welcome to become ParaHawks chapters as well.

The US Hawks will always follow OUR mission statement, and the Para Hawks can follow theirs. If the ParaHawks really grows, then I hope it will eventually be led by someone whose first love is paragliding. Each sport deserves a leader who values their sport above all others. That's what we've had here at the US Hawks and that's what they deserve at the ParaHawks. That's also the one thing we've been missing at USHPA.

Will the many Joe pilots of hanggliding, say Joe G. and Joe F. .... etc. wince or not about the use of "Joe Q. Pilot" in connection with paragliding? Consider "Name Q. Pilot" for some compromise.

How about "John Q. Pilot"?   

The WHGA has linked http://parahawks.org/ for a US org for paragliding.
http://www.worldparaglidingassociation.org/

Thanks for the link!!!!   

I hope you can make it to Sunday Funday tomorrow. We have a brand new Condor sail that hasn't been flown since Shelley and I put it on the frame last month. Please call me if you need a ride. Same for Frank!!!

Bob

[Bill Cummings]

The subject of a separate PG organization from the USHPA has come up between myself (H4) and other HG/PG and PG only pilots that I fly with here in USHPS's Region # 4.
Discussions with other pilots have revealed to me that they are unhappy with the support the USHPA is giving businesses to the detriment of recreational paragliding. They don't like the fact that there has been no clampdown on schools abusing the tandem exemption and are afraid that the FAA might do away with the exemption which would hurt actual training efforts. Also of concern is the risk exposure to children that are not mentally mature enough to fully understand and weigh the inherent risks of any type of flight. The feeling here is that the USHPA is lacking the will to enforce SOP violations which has the insurance problem spiraling down the toilet while the insurance premiums have just lately blasted off of the launching pad.
The problem even in Japan is businesses interfering with recreational paragliding pilots.

Probably, in part due to the wide open spaces of the desert southwest in Region # 4, recreational PG as well as HG/PG recreational pilots are not butting heads with flight schools and/or businesses. PG, HG/PG, and HG pilots get together and assist each other in getting airtime in Region # 4.
My recommendation is to set up your ParaHawks Paragliding Association by laws so that directors or board members can not hold a position if they have ties to schools or businesses.
Stay pure to recreational PG and support only PG interests. Supporting speed gliding, wing suite flying, golf, hockey, hang gliding or soccer can only get in the way of paragliding. Let the businesses and other sports handle their own interests and insurance concerns.
I once had a PPG pilot fly into my vehicle and bend my HG rack. I did most of the straitening myself. What I couldn't fix I had the weld shop fix it. I painted it myself and I gave the bill to the pilot and he paid my expenses of 50 to 70 dollars. (I forget now.) That was 10 years ago, A small accident between two responsible pilots. We dispensed with the insurance and lawyers. Since 1978 that has been my only damage caused by another pilot. The dues for insurance came to a lot more over the years.

Peruse the US Hawks Hang Gliding website for information about the, Hold Harmless Acts, in all the states now that immunize landowners or managers from lawsuits where the recreational pilot, on the land without invitation or fee, incurs an injury.

[Bob Kuczewski]

Great post and great ideas Bill!!!!

It would be great to have the ParaHawks turn out just as you've described ... a responsible paragliding organization!!!  

As I've mentioned, I really don't want to be taking the lead on the ParaHawks. I'm just helping it get started and off on the right foot. I would love to see a good honorable PG pilot start taking the lead there, so please spread the word. The ParaHawks already has 2 members, but unlike the US Hawks, we're currently keeping the list private for club members only. I've also decided to try a different sign up approach ... which we might adopt on the US Hawks. Right now anyone can sign up as a "US Hawks Member" and then I have to check them out by sending an email (you know the drill). Many never respond to the email and so they're just hanging out there as unapproved users who are still in our forum's database. It's not a big deal, but it's not as clean as I'd prefer.

On the ParaHawks forum, there's a "Contact us" form that prospective members can use which doesn't actually register them, but sends me an email message. Then I can respond to be sure they're real people and ONLY THEN create a user account for them.

The subject of a separate PG organization from the USHPA has come up between myself (H4) and other HG/PG and PG only pilots that I fly with here in USHPS's Region # 4.
Discussions with other pilots have revealed to me that they are unhappy with the support the USHPA is giving businesses to the detriment of recreational paragliding. They don't like the fact that there has been no clampdown on schools abusing the tandem exemption and are afraid that the FAA might do away with the exemption which would hurt actual training efforts. Also of concern is the risk exposure to children that are not mentally mature enough to fully understand and weigh the inherent risks of any type of flight. The feeling here is that the USHPA is lacking the will to enforce SOP violations which has the insurance problem spiraling down the toilet while the insurance premiums have just lately blasted off of the launching pad.

There are lots of good responsible PG pilots out there (I like to think I'm one of them). It's unfortunate that they're also saddled with the corrupt "insider's club" at USHPA. I'd like to see one of those good responsible pilots step forward in a leadership role of the ParaHawks and then apply for their own tandem rating (as we should be doing in the US Hawks).

Stay pure to recreational PG and support only PG interests. Supporting speed gliding, wing suite flying, golf, hockey, hang gliding or soccer can only get in the way of paragliding.

  Gee, I sort of liked the "ParaHawks Paragliding and Roller Derby Association".


The world is changing ... for the better!!

P.S.   I just updated the example to use "John Q. Pilot" to honor Joe's request.   

[Bob Kuczewski]

On April 16th, a paragliding pilot (and a US Hawks member who is not me) applied for a ParaHawks PH3 rating. We've finally worked out our procedures for verifying ratings, and that rating has been granted. I was the second pilot to apply for a ParaHawks rating (PH4), and it has also been granted according to the ParaHawks procedures. Any biwingual US Hawks members are welcome to apply for ParaHawks ratings at http://parahawks.org.