US Hawks Hang Gliding Association

I started flying Wilcox in a Cirrus 5B in 1979. I made many good friends while in SB, and camped on top with my collie in "Melba", my 51 Chevy panel truck on many nights, up until 1981 when I returned to the PNW. I logged 49 flights there.
I was so nice to top land, have a break and relaunch. Landing at "the pit" was great, easy retrieve, restrooms and a burger joint. The clothing optional beach was right below launch, too.
Ines Roberts got a great photo of me flying there that I'll scan in and post at some point. She was nice enough to just send it up to me in Olympia as a surprise. It sure was!!
Wilcox was the first time I flew in formation with an osprey, this one was less than 15 feet off my left wing for more than 20 minutes at the west end of the ridge, and did not mind being spoken to (I later learned that they are very unlike bald eagles in that respect!) Wilcox used to be a plant nursery, lots of eucalyptus and unusual species were interesting to wander among...

Great description Dave. I look forward to the photos.

You mentioned Olympia. I took my first hang gliding lessons in that area in 1978 from an instructor whose name I have long forgotten. Can you think of anyone who was teaching in that area at that time?

Thanks in advance.

I learned to fly at the Olympia Brewery training hill (Tumwater, Wa) in summer, 1976 in a Chandelle standard and a 16' Jobe. By 1978 I was living south of Little Rock, Wa, near Gate, Wa.
Mike Pringle and Blaise Le Wark were The Flying Burrito Brothers school that operated in Tumwater and at Kiwanda.
They had secured a second site near Shoreline College, north of Seattle.

I'm a Burrito Brother. I bought my first glider, a Manta Windlord, from Pringle (RIP) for $795 and took delivery at the factory in the Bay area..
Gene Matthews (RIP) signed up for lessons a week after my first flight school.
Co-student Bob Podhola sewed a custom "a** basket" seated harness out of 3 junkyard GM seat belts for me on my request since he had an industrial sewing machine and I liked the GM buckles better than a plastic swing seat.

Mike Pringle always told us to stretch, meditate and be calmed down a tad, before we would set up, it has proven to be great advice...
I digress..

The Burrito Brothers were succeeded by Jim "Balloon Drop" Brown at Capitol City Gliders (Lacey, Wa), which then became Far Up Hanggliding (Little Rock, Wa) under the ownership of Jim Reynolds.
Any of them sound familiar?

DaveSchy wrote:Any of them sound familiar?

Sadly, no. But that was a pretty good accounting of possibilities. Thanks!

When I got back into hang gliding in 2004, I made a pilgrimage to the Antique Meet at Cape Kiwanda hoping to run into him. Back in '78, Mother Kiwanda was where this instructor took his students for their first day of "high" flying from the cliff ridge above the beach.

I spent the whole day there with one other student taking turns flying from that ridge. We each only got 3 flights and we spent almost all of our time wrestling that glider back to the top of the ridge for the other guy to make his next flight. I can't remember his name either, but we were brothers in flight that day. Our instructor had enough confidence in us that he took off after our first flights. I think he had a girlfriend in Tillamook. When he came back to collect us up we were like two kids who didn't want to leave Disneyland. "Just one more flight ... pleeease."

No, none of those names sound familiar, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. I did meet Jim Reynolds during the 2004 trip. He was kind enough to let me take a few flights with his glider on the dunes (Thanks Jim! ).

One of the few distinguishing features that I remember about my instructor was the way he'd say "UUUUSHGA" with an exaggerated emphasis that reflected his disdain. As students in 1978, we didn't know anything about them, and there was no encouragement to join ... so we didn't.

Just to round out the story, I inherited no ill will toward USHGA from my instructor. But I am not generally a "joiner", so that alone led me to drag my feet on joining when I returned to the sport in 2004. But I was learning through Joe Greblo's school, and there was no way around it in 2004. So that's the era of my USHPA number. It turns out that I also took some paragliding lessons from Fred Lawley at "Little Black" in San Diego around '89 or '90. I didn't join anything then either. Later when I resumed my hang gliding in 2004, I did think it was cool that the HG and PG clubs had merged and I only had to join one club to fly both. Little did I know ...
 
 
P.S. Thanks for making a good effort. I do appreciate it. If anyone else comes to mind, please send me a PM. Also, about a year from now (May 23, 2021) will be the 50th anniversary of the historic. 1971 Otto Meet. Several of us are planning a really memorable event this year. It would be good to see you there. Please invite any of your flying friends as well. Thanks!!

Years back I think I met Gene Matthews at Buck McMinn’s place which
is at the east City boundary line of Chelan, WA, (USA) As I recall Gene
would plug in his CPAP and sleep on Buck’s back porch.
I didn’t know that he died.