[wingspan33]

Rich Hass said: Gabriel Jebb wasn’t teaching at a USHPA-insured site and he wasn’t flying.

Well I'm wondering if the concessionaire at Torrey Pines Glider Port is a USHPA Certified Training Facility? Do they issue USHPA ratings? Anyone out there got a current copy of the USHPA Safety and Training manual? I wonder what it says about when helmets should be worn during pilot training?

I take Hass' comment above as presenting a disresptful straw man fallacy. Bob wasn't recording his video because the concessionaire has some USHPA related insurance problem! He was recording it because a USHPA rated Instructor was demonstrating unsafe training practices! Hass actually goes on to say that Jebb was effectively reprimanded for not wearing a helmet under the specific situation. That's EXACTLY why Bob made the video! Hass should give Bob credit where true credit is due!!

Rich Hass said: No need to get yourself arrested unless you are doing it for the sake of publicity.

Hey Rich, News Flash! Bob didn't get "himself arrested" Gabe Jebb got him arrested! But, again, with this statement you paint a false picture of Bob doing what he does for false and demeaning reasons. I think I detect a hint of defamation here. As far as I can figure, such a malicious distortion of Bob's motives paints YOU as an insulting and dishonest character who probably should NOT be in a position of leadership within the USHPA.

Rich Hass said: Regarding this latest stunt,. . .

Once again with a false and demeaning characterization of Bob's efforts. Knowing Bob well, I can tell you that his goal was positive in nature. To document a training fault leading (hopefully) to the improvement of teaching methods used by the concessionaire at Torrey Pines. Rich, you can not claim to have the USHPA's best interests in mind with this kind of comment. I wonder if it would it be a similar kind of demeaning characterization to identify Rich Hass as "some kind of Clown belonging in a circus rather than in a top spot at the USHPA"? Now, how many people have made this or a very similar comment within ear shot? Hmmmmmm . . .

I'll post this now since it's dinner time and I don't want to ruin my appetite over this odoriferous refuse(noun).

More later!

[SamKellner]

Very well said, Wingspan.

Right on point, too.

[flyingbrian]

Rich says, "you are doing everything possible to disrupt Gliderport operations"

If that were true, then what about the idiot group that was doing everything possible to disrupt our management of Hat Creek Rim? Didn't see Rich speaking up then. Nor did he give us a shred of support either.

Seems the "blind eye" is only maintained for certain people. Pathetic!

Brian

[Bill Cummings]

Here is what I posted on the OZ report for those of you that are banned there.

Inspired by a law suite a settlement was reached between the
Coastal Law Enforcement Action Network (C.L.E.A.N.) vs City of San Diego CA
The third thing agreed to by the City Of San Diego was:
"C." Establish a Torrey Pines City Park Advisory Board.

City charter 43A was already in place spelling out the rules about
how this had to be done.

The City of San Diego, CA failed to follow the "Settlement" and instead
inserted 43B which has to do with committees that are subject to a Sun Set clause.

There are only two reasons that this could have happened. Ineptitude and/or corruption.

City of San Diego also failed to post for bids when the concession’s lease ran out.
The concessionaire is now paying nothing and there is no way anyone could compete.
The appearance of impropriety is screaming for justice.

Who would be benefiting from kick back?
Who would be benefiting by passing money under the table?

Council Women Sherri Lightner is unapproachable and she is one that is in control with issues that arise at Torrey Pines. She will not listen.

It's a City Park. Why are the Citizens excluded from any form of oversight?

The two strongest clues for the clueless pilots posting out there is
corruption and money.

The reason U$hPA will not help is because every PG joy ride being sold at Torrey Pines, UShPA gets a cut of the money.
Hang gliders are getting in the way of the concessionaire and the
not for profit U$hPA money trail.
That is the motive for the under the table dealings.
What other reason could there be?

[Bob Kuczewski]

WOW!!! 9 posts in a row ... and none of them are by "bobk".

That might be a new US Hawks record!!!     

Thanks for all the great thoughts and comments. It's late, and I've met with 3 lawyers already this week, so I'm too tired to do justice to any of your comments right now. But thanks to everyone who's posted here or anywhere else in the name of fairness. Thanks very very much.

Bob

[Bob Kuczewski]

OK, It's Monday morning and time to catch up a bit ...

Rich Hass sent that long message I posted earlier basically wiggling out of taking any action at Torrey. And for clarification, I had replied with what *I* would have written if *I* were a Director or President of USHPA (in case anyone was confused).

I had planned to write a detailed rebuttal to Rich Hass (and I still will), but while I was doing that, Rich discovered that he was about to get caught in another lie regarding me accepting compensation for testifying in a legal case. Here's his "apology":

Everyone,

I would like to clarify a comment I made regarding Bob’s relationship as an expert witness in the lawsuit against the Gliderport. It was my understanding, Bob initially agreed to accept compensation. I now understand, Bob was offered compensation but is not accepting it. I apologize for the error.

Aside from the question of compensation, the reason for my raising the expert witness subject is unchanged. That is, Bob’s role as an expert witness in a lawsuit against the Gliderport may well have been a factor in why Gabriel responded to Bob filming his students the way he did. I’m not condoning Gabriel’s behavior; just trying to shed some light on the context—which has been missing.

Please do not forward my earlier email. I have no interest in mischaracterizing Bob’s arrangement as an expert witness against the Gliderport. Once again, I apologize for the error.

Thanks,

Rich

So where did Rich get the misinformation that he used in his original message? And why did he speak without first getting all the facts? This is the kind of "shoot first, get the facts later" leadership that we have at USHPA. It's both disgusting and disappointing.

Thankfully, my emailbox has been filled with more than the doublespeak from Rich Hass. Here are a few comments that I've gotten (with identifying information removed):

That is amazing! Good for you and hang in there Bob.

This is really something!
Not knowing the politics of the site or the past rivalries there, it appears to me you should be OK in court with a video that shows the aggressor in action.
By the way...
(1) what laws on the books did you violate?
(2) How can a member be arrested without breaking a law?
(3) legal to fly there is not trespassing!

Read about your travails at Torrey. Looks like the usual tactics used by any facist regime. Gotta love those SD cops. Sorry you had to go to jail to prove a point. Hang in there Bob.
  :
I don't post much anymore. I find that it just leads to resentment or envy or something negative. I used to post a lot but now I just answer off line.

I did post "give 'em hell Bob" when I read of your dilemma on hg.org. The thread was removed the next day.

The people that know and understand what is happening don't need an explanation, and the people who don't, aren't worth the effort.

Unfortunately there are too many people who take "heresay" as fact and form "prejudice" opinions without researching the truth. The truth is not important to them. The "agenda" drives their thoughts and actions. I wish you the best. Let me know if you need any money for a defense fund.

Bob,
I think you have Gabe by the "...", but you should formally request a revocation of Gabe's USHPA certificates based on the following:

USHPA Basic Safety Requirements
http://www.ushpa.aero/documents/sop/sop-12-01.pdf

12-01.02 Operations
A. Site Operational Rules and Standards - At flying sites where hang gliding, paragliding, and mini-wing operations are regulated under the USHPA Pilot Proficiency Program, (USHPA SOP 12-02), pilot proficiency requirements and operating rules and procedures will be specified by the USHPA Instructor, Observer or Examiner or other officials responsible for regulating use of the site. At sites where the use is by agreement with a city, county, state or federal agency, certain such rules and procedures may carry the force of law.

12-01.05 Equipment
B. Other Equipment

1. It is required that pilots wear protective headgear while in flight.

Torrey Pines Gilderport Rules
http://sandiegofreeflight.com/jm170/index.php/gliderport/178-site-rules
Site Rules:
All Flight Operations:
Rule 5. Helmet, whistle, and reserve parachute are required for all flights.

Policy on Revocation and Reinstatement of Ratings, Certifications, and Appointments

http://www.ushpa.aero/documents/sop/sop-12-07.pdf
12-07.01 Introduction (Review)
12-07.03 Causes for Revocation

B. Conduct under the auspices of the rating, certification or appointment that unreasonably endangers the persons or property of others. This includes unsafe instruction, flight operations that endanger others (such as “buzzing” spectators or waking other pilots in the air), and awarding of ratings, certifications or appointments to people who would be dangerous to themselves or others operating within the limits of the rating, certification or appointment.

F. Violations of federal, state or local laws that jeopardize a flying site or site access.

G. Any actions that jeopardize a flying site, including but not limited to using a site for instruction or tandem flights without securing landowner permission where such permission may be required.
.
M. Violations of any of the USHPA Instructor requirements, including:

5. Instructing without following USHPA instructional guidelines.

Just a hunch, with an operation like they run at Torrey Pines they probably don’t turn in all the temporary membership forms. Request an audit.

6. Failure to return (or otherwise account for) all temporary membership forms. See “P”.

C. Full Revocation for Cause

1. Reasons for Revocation

a. The revoking official decides both the facts of the case and the actions warranted. The revoking official may use submitted evidence and may also independently obtain information used to make this decision.

b. Revocation may be based on any cause for revocation described in SOP 12-07.03. Evidence of conduct justifying revocation may include one or more of the following types of evidence:

i. First-hand observations by the revoking official.
ii. Oral statements recounting first-hand observations of the conduct by the witness.
iii. Written statements recounting first hand observations of the conduct by the writer. Such writings may not be anonymous.
iv. Photographs of the conduct.
v. Videos of the conduct.
vi. Oral statements, writings, photographs, videos, marketing materials, and other items apparently authored by the pilot.

Good Luck

What you're dealing with at Torrey with your PG s***s is EXACTLY what I was dealing with at .... The harassment wasn't as severe but the "suspension" was lifetime (same as for my local club) - also without a hint of a legitimate pretense of cause.

That was a gutsy move and the right thing to do and I'll back you to the hilt on it ...

Best o' luck on it.

In recent high profile court rulings, judges have ruled that video taping is a part of our right in Free Speech under Constitutional law, thus the [use] of videos in public is allowed. I think the judge will see that your video shows who is irate and the aggressor. Also I hope you can sue the person who has charged you with a false arrest of trespassing. I'd say the USHPA attorneys are busy with this on their desk right now!

TARGETING OF PILOTS
The truth is l'm being threatened in the same way..

All while the gliderport management & staff break laws & flight rules..

This is how it goes...

they claim ...
1. disrupting business
2. Give pilot a notice to leave. Banning for period of time . No Judge, Jury or trail.
3. They Call police.
4. Police make an arrest of trespassing.

therefore we ...
1. Can't speak out. OR EVEN TALK ABOUT IT
2. Can't film to prove anything.
3. Cant call Police , they do nothing. Gets worse.
4. I Have no voice Anything.

SO FAR Our Leaders have failed ...
A. City Fails to take action
B. POLICE fail to correct problems
C. USHPA's failure in taking action.. irresponsible control of our sport.
D. Failure in pulling ratings: Instructors & flight directors.

Welcome to America

Ah, my fault. Wishful thinking. The eternal optimist.

Bob,

This is incredible! As I have said in the recent past, it's time to stop playing by the concessionaire's (and City of San Diego's?) rules.

The concessionaire does not own the property. In fact, as I understand it, they are operating at a City owned location under a lapsed City contract. Due to the OBVIOUS corruption taking place in regard to the Torrey Pines Glider Port business operations - including the repeated violations of Black Letter law regarding the Public Trust (which involves obligations - and liabilities - directly attributable to the City of San Diego!) - you, and who ever else might join you, need to STOP playing by their (corrupt) rules! It's time to ...

    [suggested strategy omitted]

Good luck with all this BS you've gotten thrown at you.

Bill Bennett had me arrested back in 1992-ish for similar s***. Nothing changes up there… Good luck. If I were you I’d sue the crap out of that place.

Funny, my experience was almost the same. After Bill Bennett told me I was banned indefinitely for no reason I showed up the next day and flew anyway. Cops were there when I landed. [identifying information omitted] I also had the concessionaires agreement ready to go but the cops didn’t care. Arrested me anyway. [name omitted] came down and bailed me out with my own money later that evening. I didn’t fly Torrey for years after that until Bill Bennett was gone. UP was in charge for a while but once Jebb showed up things went back to the same old s***.

Here's an idea: get a restraining order against that guy. AND file a lawsuit.

Bob,

I'm always hopeful that things work out well for you in the long run.

I would very much like to make a $200.00 donation to your legal defense. Seriously, and I hope others do as well.
Would you please send me your mailing address?

Wishing you the best,
[name omitted]

By the way, I've turned down several offers for monetary assistance, but I do appreciate the thoughts and support they represent.

[Rick Masters]

B. ...flight operations that endanger others (such as ... waking other pilots in the air

Yeah. Cowboys and aliens. That one time I actually flew Torrey, it was so boring that I almost fell asleep. I flew all the way this way, then all the way that way, then I landed and asked a Torrey regular, "How come you guys don't come up and fly the Owens?" And he said, "I can't do that. I might miss a good day here!" It was as if he was a being from another dimension. Or was I?

[Bob Kuczewski]

The correspondence with Rich Hass continues:

After I had sent Rich the letter that he should have sent me, I replied to his "gag order" request with this:

Rich,

Maybe you should check the facts BEFORE you make provably false statements about people. Your message is already posted:

     http://ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1629

I'm sorry, but you can't "erase" your mistakes and cover up your incompetence. You either made that up (lied yourself) or relied on someone else who lied to you. Now if it's the latter case, and you want to reveal who misled you, then I'll be happy to reflect that. But if your aren't willing to divulge the source of your misinformation, then you will stand as either a liar or a protector of liars. The choice is yours.

Rich, as a bit of personal advice, you'll find that you won't have to apologize nearly so often if you get your facts straight before you start spouting off about things that you don't know.

Bob Kuczewski

Of course, Rich wasn't going to tell me where he got his misinformation, so I got this from him instead:

You are right—I can’t erase my earlier mistake. All I can do is correct it and ask that my incorrect statement not be disseminated. I’ve done this. I didn’t post my message on your forum (or any forum)—you did, knowing it was inaccurate and knowing I had already apologized and corrected my misstatement. If you chose post an inaccurate statement of mine, knowing it was inaccurate and knowing that I corrected my statement, then who is it that is being less than honest? You deliberately brought this on yourself.

Yes, I should have done a better job of fact-checking when I said you agreed to serve as a (paid) expert witness. How long have you quietly been serving as an expert witness against the Gliderport? One year? Two years? I’m sorry I didn’t ask better questions at the time. My belief that you were being paid as an expert witness stems from my understanding that USHPA’s insurance policy (in part) was having to pay for your deposition against the Gliderport and its instructors. Expert witnesses are typically compensated. I was told your deposition would be an expense for USHPA’s insurance carrier and I mistakenly understood you initially accepted the plaintiff’s offer of compensation.

I stand corrected and I’ve set the record straight. Against my wishes, you’ve chosen to post my earlier email on your forum without the courtesy of noting I had already corrected my error. So much for truth and transparency.

Speaking of spouting off about things you don’t know, you are the one testifying as an expert witness on flight parks…

Rich H.

You'll notice the recurring theme of Rich trying to discredit the act of speaking up - either on the forum or in a court room. He's trying to taint me with money when I've said that I would NOT accept any money for my testimony. If Rich checks the facts, he'll find that I've been adamant about not accepting any money for my work. I specifically requested that any check should be made out to a reputable non-profit organization (I'll leave their name out of it). The Gliderport lawyers tried to put the check in my name suggesting that I should then turn it over to the non-profit, but I predicted that they would try to smear me if the money even touched my hands. Rich Hass has proven my prediction to be true.

[Bill Cummings]

Bob, the city council meetings that Margie provided (thanks so much for your time and effort Margie) is proof positive that the City of San Diego is corrupt in their dealings with the law suit settlement regarding the Torrey Pines Advisory Board.

It is my wish that you would lock the heels in at least civil court of the individual that had you falsely arrested. Then go after the police in court.
Use that money to tie up those protagonists in court so that their bottom line is affected.
That is the only language a business person understands.
You have to hit their bottom line. That is the only persuasion that will focus their attention.
The City Council and Mayor has proven to be corrupt and useless.

I can’t drive out there with my Pom Pomes (sp?) and cheer. But just like the other guy I would like to match his two hundred dollar offer to defray some of your legal expenses. You are doing work that benefits all pilots. Work that U$hPA should be doing.
If you send me a PM with your address no one will know that you did or that I responded.
I need to help in the only way that I can. After all you are not doing this just for you ---you are doing it for me too.

[Rick Masters]

Then go after the police in court.

Hands off the good guys, fellas. Eyes on the ball. The concessionaire was responsible. He dragged the cops into this mess.