US Hawks Hang Gliding Association

Greetings free flight pilots,
The following is a summary of developments with Hearne Municipal Airport flying and Austin Free Flight Association's (AFFA) efforts to sustain flight operations there:

AFFA has decided to acquire a new (or slightly used) state of the art Tow system made by Tow-Me-Up. Suffice it to say, the rig is a fully capable tow system. From PG to HG to static tow the rig "does it all" exceptionally well. It is trailer mounted and will be stored at Hearne.

Such a tow rig is not cheap. However, neither is a life. Therefore we have decided to get the best. Fortunately, our finances will allow us to acquire the rig now. However, we fully anticipate recouping the cost of the rig through annual dues and tow fees. This will help preserve the strength of our finances.

With the loss of Pack and the lack of full service flight operations available year round, we have chosen the path most likely to get us in the air safely and consistently. Even us ole timers are looking to dust off our surface tow ratings.

In fact, us ole timers would much rather secure a foot launch site in our local area. Years, if not decades of searching, have failed to find a replacement for Pack. Therefore, tow on brothers and sisters.

Sincerely,
Charles Schneider, President, AFFA

Charles Schneider, President, AFFA,
I saw this post about getting a new (to your club) Tow Me Up winch.
What are your club dues for an out of state pilot for one year?
Where might someone like me that doesn’t do credit on line send a personal check.
Do you require a separate AFFA club waiver other than the USHPA? (I have no printer.)

I clicked around the AFFA links but did not find the clubs mailing address.
I can no longer get on the Yahoo Groups since I have quit using Yahoo.
(And I really don’t mind that small inconvenience. ---I am sooo done with them.)

Hello Charlie,

I'd like to second Bill's comments and questions.

If the out of state price is reasonable, I'd be happy to join as a member to help support your club's efforts to sustain free flight in your area. Just let me know.

One of our goals for the US Hawks is to be able to bring national resources to help solve local problems. I know a couple of out-of-state memberships isn't going to solve all your problems ... but it is a sincere start.

Thanks,
Bob

Good evening Bill and Bob,
I have attached a membership application for AFFA for 2014. It does not provide an out of state pilot option. Ever since we lost Pack, out of state pilots have not been an issue for us. I cannot in good conscious ask that you join at the full rate for our tow group. If you want to though, a membership is ten bucks. To have tow winch privileges takes fifty more bucks for a total for 2014 of sixty bucks. However, if either of you guys come down, I believe joining AFFA for ten bucks and paying the standard per tow fee, would be just fine. For 2014, the fifty bucks covers the cost of renting a hanger at Hearne.

I would appreciate it if you could point me towards your membership applications so that I may also support your clubs. I am from Albuquerque and have flown many sites in New Mexico and California. IMHO Dry canyon is one of the best flying sites anywhere. Safari road trips to California used to be regular events...from Torrey Pines to Slide Mtn. California has it all. Speaking of Torrey, rumor has it that Stack is coming back to Texas. He is a native Austinite you know.

Something to put on the calendar: Colorado Fly Week, Villa Grove, Co, August 23-30, Bring "O".
This event was held two years ago around July 4. It was truly epic with over 130 pilots in attendance. I have not seen such a gathering of pilots since the nationals were held at Dinosaur back in the nineties. Awesome flying, camping and good times are a given. Hope to see ya'll there!

Charlie S.

Hello Charlie,

I'll send in the form in a few days when I get a chance to print it and fill it out (I don't have a printer any more, so I have to take it elsewhere for printing). I plan to send the full amount as a show of support for your club. If you ask around, you'll find that I've been doing that for years from Henson's Gap to Fort Funston ... and a few clubs in between.

Also, I've attached the Torrey Hawks membership application. As you can see, most of the information is optional. I really do like to get a phone number and an email address, but I don't generally collect physical addresses because we do everything electronically. In fact, I think I only have a handful of actual paper forms filled out by our members. Most folks just give me the information verbally or in an email message. Feel free to do the same if you like (858-204-7499).

You'll also notice that there's no fee. Our club hasn't been able to get UHSPA to "allow" us to even purchase site insurance for Torrey Pines (even though I paid them in cash many years ago). It's a long story, and it's highly political, but USHPA is denying us insurance because they don't want any alternatives to the conce$$ionaire that they support at Torrey. This is typical behavior from a monopoly, and it's part of the reason that we need a national alternative ... hopefully the US Hawks!!

So if fhe Torrey Hawks is ever able to get insurance, then we'll have to figure out how to collect money to pay for it. Until then, we're as free as a bird.

Thanks for your interest Charlie. Please remind me if you don't get my membership application in the mail in a week or two. My memory is fading along with my hair color.