Russ Locke 1995.


Search USHPA's digital library. It captures a pivotal moment: when a sport's soul hung in the balance.

"Locke was right: dues fund the thieves". Oz Report (2007) called it "aviation's Federalist Papers—flawed, but foundational."

"Brothers and sisters of the blue, we who have danced with the thermals since the dawn of our fragile freedom in '71—hear me. Hang gliding is no mere hobby; it is the alchemy of man and machine, where sweat-soaked harnesses meet the unyielding kiss of wind. Our wings, forged in fire and aluminum, demand respect: hours of rigging, eyes sharp as hawks, hearts tuned to the invisible rivers aloft. This is our poetry, our defiance against gravity's tyranny. To surrender it now, to the whisper of silk and strings, is to betray the very breath that lifts us."

"They come not as pilgrims, but as plunderers—slipping into our sacred sites with wings folded like laundry in duffel bags, portable as sin. Torrey Pines, our Alamo of the air; Lookout Mountain, where legends launched—these are no longer ours alone. Their parachutes unfurl like opportunistic weeds, choking the lift bands with tandem tourists, fat with fees and fear, while we, the true H4 guardians, wait in line for scraps of sky. And the gall! They steal our name—'hang gliding,' that hard-won badge of our brotherhood—and wear it like a stolen coat, diluting our dues to fund their fleeting frolics. It's not progress; it's parasitism, turning aviators into spectators in our own domain."

"Worse than the outsiders are the turncoats in our midst—the Board suits, seduced by numbers and novelties, who vote to merge our fate with these bi-winged interlopers. Vote-stacking, whispers in the wings: they've planted their enforcers, these hybrid 'purists' who nod at our traditions while pocketing para payoffs. Quid pro quo in the shadows of convention halls, where rural resolve meets urban expediency. This is no democratic dawn; it's a dagger from within, cloaked as 'inclusion.' We, the conservative core—the farmers, the framers of flight—watch our voice drowned in a sea of suburban slackers, too lazy for the rig but eager for the ride."

"The time for lament is past; arm yourselves with resolve. Step one: Starve the syndicate—withhold your renewal, that $95 lifeline turned noose. Aim for 20% defection; let the coffers echo empty. Step two: Proxy power—flood the '96 vote with 'no' tallies, unmask the stacked deck. Step three: Reclaim the ridges—fly purist-only at our launches, post sentries against tandem trash. If they force the fracture, so be it: birth the Hang Gliding Alliance, dues-optional, sites sovereign. We need no insurance empire; our bond is the breeze, not the bureaucracy. Join the caucus, spread this word—fly free, or fold the flag."
"Envision it: a reborn USHGA, untainted, where H-ratings reign and the wind whispers only to the worthy. No more floods of fee-payers; just the pure pulse of pilots in harmony. The thermals will remember us, as we remember them. Stand now, or scatter like chaff. The sky forgives no cowards—but it cradles the courageous eternal."

"We are not mere thrill-seekers; we are sculptors of sky, bound by sweat and steel. Paragliding? A fleeting whisper, not our thunder."

"They arrive in laundry bags like smugglers, demanding our launches while we rig for hours. It's not evolution—it's usurpation, turning sanctuaries into tourist traps."

"Our own kin, seduced by numbers, hand us to the horde. This is no merger; it's a coup, cloaked in 'unity.'"
Dan O Flying Telluride 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqvdaxSd674


"Starve the beast: Renew only if merger dies. Fly purist-only—reclaim Torrey Pines, our Alamo."

"We stand not to divide, but to preserve. Join, or watch our legacy scatter like ash."



Bob and Ernie, please take note.
Speeches to city council should include, in part, excerpts from my notes.
Both of you are the speakers of record, I am just a semi-historical researcher and aspiring writer and my "voice", will stay in my fingers, you can "use" me, or not.

The San Diego City Council, under mayoral direction, controls city concessions and public-use contracts. The city currently faces an unacknowledged budget shortfall estimated at $250 million—an issue reportedly hidden from the public to preserve revenue flows to favored vendors.
Torrey Pines Gliderport, formerly a site reserved for expert hang gliding (H4) and sailplane activities, has evolved into a privatized training ground for tandem paragliding operations under ACA (Air California Adventure).
The site is controlled by an “air boss,” whose qualifications to manage an airfield are contested. The current operating model emphasizes revenue and control, not safety or public access.
Operational Concerns
ACA offers paid tandem flights, functioning economically like an airline, yet demands waiver signing, club membership, and non-disclosure from participants—circumventing standard FAA oversight.
The Glider port lacks certified Air Traffic Control systems, despite being treated as a semi-operational airport.
The shift since 1995—from expert-only use, to beginner "training" in a paraglider, marks a fundamental change in site and public safety, legal status, and public access.
The word "Training" used as a prerequisite for the unknowing public for waiver signing and fee paying, is just a "money grab", pure and simple.
Tandem riders have no control of the paraglider in case of emergency, and a moratorium issued by the FAA might be coming unless ACA and Joe LaCava don't address it first. It's an accident waiting to happen.
"Attack" the lease at Real Estate Assets specifically, and go beyond the waiver and advisory board which is a start, but...


Legal and Strategic Path Forward
Two Legal Paths Identified:
Waiver and Petition Implementation
Requires a legal firm to craft a formal letterhead communication outlining the petition, detailing recreational liability waivers under California’s Recreational Use Statutes.
Submission to both the San Diego City Council and relevant municipal courts for review.
Goal: Enable free public recreational access to Torrey Pines, avoiding privatization and unnecessary regulation through waivers.
Audit and Oversight
A broader initiative focused on '****auditing city concessions****, ****financial records****, and ****lease contracts**** related to Torrey Pines and associated operations, the Cliffhanger Café, and it's ridiculous, substandard "porta-potty" debacle, so many negative comments about that one thing, it's shameful for a historic state park.
Requires legal discovery, forensic accounting, and potentially public interest litigation.[/b]

Craig, please just go away. The damage you've done is likely irreparable. I hope the history of the web records what you've done.

You seem to think that the paraglider pilots are our enemies. They have harmed the sport of hang gliding to some degree, but they are not the true enemies. The true enemies are people like you who work behind the scenes to destroy the friendships and relationships needed so desperately right now. You should be too ashamed to post here after what you've done. The fact that you continue to post as if nothing has happened makes me wonder what else you are planning to destroy.

So please, just go away.

I say, "Me away? What about Mr. Locke? He has, "free speech too", and if you would have read in the upper left, I posted exactly what he said in 1995. Please post a meeting with your other board members and put it here for all to see. I will abide by THEIR decision".

You said,"The damage you've done is likely irreparable", and, "I hope you just go away."

You said, ( with me in red ) "You seem to think that the paraglider pilots are our enemies". (No, it is the USHPA in my opinion) "They have harmed the sport of hang gliding to some degree", ( how? by joining an association? ) "but they are not the true enemies". (of course they're not, it is so oblivious)
"The true enemies are people like you".

I say, "Take a survey, and read of my hundreds of "positive" posts on the US HAWKS, and see how they feel, it's only fair".

I say,"Totally different topic, And OBW, how come you don't make Chopper Girl post a disclaimer that her stuff is AI? You've done it to me, twice" about Elon Musk.

I asked you to "go away" as my own personal request. I haven't brought the issue before the Board. If I had, and if they approved, then you'd already be banned.

As for you characterizing paraglider pilots as our enemies, search for "paraglider" with author of "*Muhonen*". You'll find over 50 posts. They speak for themselves.



ChopperGirl's videos are in a topic titled "Choppergirl's Crazy Corner of Coolness" in the Technology Forum. It only takes watching a few of her videos to recognize that they contain synthetic content. The videos you posted were not at all obvious. In fact, I think you yourself originally thought that at least one of your posted videos was Elon Musk himself. If you can't see the difference between what you posted and what ChopperGirl posts, then that reveals another reason why this forum may not be appropriate for you.