Hi
I'm the president of the Fellow Feathers Hang Gliding club. This is my second year as president, but I've been flying for 31 years at the fort, so needless to say ive seen a lot. Some consider me somewhat of an authority on the Funston sheer phenomena, having flown 4 times to half moon bay and once returned to launch.
But I'd like to get your opinions on an area thats caused a great deal of friction in our club.
our rules have 25' clearance from pilot to anyone on the ground. I see yours is 50'.
How well has that worked? How is it enforced?

Hello Tom,

Congratulations on running an excellent club/site at Funston!! I've always enjoyed my flying there, and I'm glad you've kept the site feeling like it belongs to the pilots rather than to any commercial interests.

You wrote:



Unfortunately, our club is not allowed to make any rules at Torrey Pines. Torrey is currently run by a concessionaire who makes all the rules. At the current time (since 1998?) that concession has been a primarily paragliding business, and they make up their own rules and enforce them as they see fit. I don't know where you found the 50' clearance (please let me know), but if it is a rule at Torrey, it's being violated all the time by the concesssion's own tandem pilots!!

As for enforcement, their model is simple. If they like you, there are no rules. If they don't like you, they'll make up rules to get you banned.