It is so un-American for USHPA to kick out a member for creating an association they think threatens their MONOPOLY on the sport that I think they should change their name to HPA.
Leave the "US" off.
My country was built on competition.
Competition drives excellence.
Without competition you could end up with, say, a hang gliding association run by parachuting businesses...
vs. David vs. Goliath?The venerable USHGA has degenerated so far away from its original purpose that I am getting the feeling that the US Hawks is more like the old USHGA than whatever USHPA claims to be now - like a parachuting fiefdom that won't discuss safety with its subjects. If that's the case, the USHPA is threatening the ideal of hang gliding represented by the US Hawks, not the other way around.
It is not sufficient to blame everything on BobK.
The USHGA was pretty tolerant throughout its history.
We're all a bunch of prima donnas, you know, jumping off cliffs and thinking we're above everyone else.
We learned to live with that but then something changed.
It was USHPA that created this mess and raised the divide to its current level.
One need only ask how many points of the conflict stem from paragliding.
Hang glider pilots who are happy with the situation need do nothing.
You can rest assured that nothing will change, since anyone who wishes to effect change from outside the corporation will be immediately expelled.
Others should take dual membership with the US Hawks, if only to lodge a protest.
Unbelievable!