[JoeF]

Thanks, Steve.
That "Steve Smith" in the photo flying a Pliable Moose, is confirmed by you as not you! The photo was a filler unrelate to the Mark Stucky article. Thanks for helping hang gliding history!

[Bob Kuczewski]

Greetings pilots and all. My name is Steven Smith advanced instructor & pilot since 1970s

Welcome Steve!!!

I was at the top of my career in hang gliding as instructor and schools of my own.
Until I was hog tied and backstabbed by ushga , lies abounded causing divorce and horrific life changing struggles.
I have stayed clear of the USHGA insanity and corruption since early 2002 .

Your story makes me wonder how many times this has been done to other people as well. I can name quite a few already, but I wonder how many we've never heard of. I'll bet many just disappear from the sport ... and are never heard from again.

I have logged over 20k hours.
Flown Arizona, Las Vegas rodeo air.
Started flying on the Oregon coast and northwest.
All corners of the Americas Mexico, Canada all over USA.
Built first Commercial hang gliding tow boat but copied.
Trike pilot , no paraglider anymore, if no airframe no thanks.

WOW!!       Great flight history Steve!!   

Have a horrible reputation by way of untrue gossip and outright lies on sites like hanggliding.org
I know the truthfulness of my untarnished history as well as some others.

That's one of the reasons why we have the U.S. Hawks. The sport of hang gliding has been strangled by USHPA's monopoly, and hang gliding communication has been strangled by hanggliding.org's monopoly. Both have been used to destroy good people and their reputations. We're here to bring fairness to this festering mess. Everyone who joins us helps that effort. Thanks!!

That's my quick introduction. Sincerely. Steven Smith formerly advanced pilot and instructor.
No place like cloud base. USHGA IS NOT THE WAY.

Super Steve!!! Thanks for joining us.  

[SamKellner]

Welcome Steve,

You are correct about all the hoop$ and paperwork required by u$hPa on instructors.

I had just completed Basic Instructor, bought a Condor, built a scooter tow, purchased instruction harness, $pectra, etc, etc,.

I could not afford to contribute to the RRG and pay the additional costs just to comply.

The good news is:

Thanks to #5 Joe Faust United States Hang Gliding Rating System records your ratings and they never go away !

Be Sure to sign up. And never stop spreading the word about hang gliding!.

Again, WELCOME !

[ridgerunner]

(With a Dr. Nick accent...) "Hi everybody!"

I've been flying since '81 but my flying has dwindled off since around 2003 with only a small handful of flights each year since then (most of my flying buddies have hung up their wings and I seem to need someone to rattle my cage to get out to the hill). I didn't fly in '17 or '18, but I re-upped my membership (#34482) this year and plan on getting active again - (last year I moved from SLC to Monroe, and they have several excellent flying sites here - check out the local club's website: Central Utah Air Sports Association - mostly panties however). My new house is within a glide of the main site here: "Cove Mtn" (but I haven't flown it yet.)

Most of my flying has been in Utah but I've also flown in CA, NV, OR and ID. I lived three years in Lancaster Ca (from '91-'93) and flew Sylmar and Avenue S a few times. My buddy Ray ("Kid Comet") and I took a winter trip to SoCal in the winter of '83 and flew in Las Vegas (GoodSprings, and the ridge by the Airport - can't recall the name), Elsinore, Santa Barbara (the "Eliminator" - I flew Sensors for many years), San Diego (Torry and Blossom). I was mostly into XC and have probably still got a couple UT site distance records (Junction 169 mi, South Side 21 mi). I ran the "Utah Cup" for many years during its hayday and even won it a couple times (back then, the $10 entry fee got you a T-shirt and a nice hardwood plaque if you placed in class A or B).

My gliders have been: Electraflyer Spirit 180, Stratus V-B 165, Sensor A 165, Sensor B 155, Glidezilla 155, Sensor A 165 (#2 - loved that model), K2 145 and lastly a Klassic 145 (which is still my main glider - Its still Krinkly!). I kept a logbook most of the time and have around 1500 hours.

Anyhoo, I am an Engineer and over the years have come up with (and written about) a couple invention ideas (the Phyn and the LeverLink - built a Phyn but the LeverLink is still just an idea). The reason I'm here now is because I saw that Rick Masters started a thread here about the LeverLink and I figured I would register and possibly stimulate some more interest in the idea.


Inspiration - 26 April, 2001

Get high, stay high, go far!
Jeff Roberson - AKA "ridgerunner"
Monroe, UT

p.s. I am NOT into HG-PG politics!

[Bob Kuczewski]

Hi Jim, [correction] Jeff [/correction]

That is one of the best introductions I've seen in the 9 years I've been running this site!!

My experience pales in comparison, but we do share a lot of site history: Sylmar, Torrey, Ave S, Elsinore, Blossom, Santa Barbara and sites in Utah. And speaking of Utah, I was there just this past summer when Frank Colver returned to hang gliding after nearly 40 years (see topic Frank Colver Flies High In Utah").

Utah is also the first state to not require USHPA at all state parks thanks to a fellow named Logan (see topic Point of the Mountain, August 2018). Thanks Logan.

But mostly Jim ... [correction] Jeff [/correction]

Welcome to the U.S. Hawks!!!

[ridgerunner]

Jim?

[Bob Kuczewski]

Jim?

Jeff.     

Please don't judge any other members of the U.S. Hawks by the (many) flaws of any one board member ... especially me.

[wingspan33]

Welcome to the US Hawks Jeff! My oldest brother has the same name so it's not too hard to remember. BTW - Bob would usually not mix up a name. He's currently in a very distracting situation. So that may help to explain the above mistakes.

.

[SamKellner]

Welcome Jeff

[JoeF]

Welcome Jeff Roberson