US Hawks Hang Gliding Association

It was a HOT day but I had found out on the 23rd of July that "Little Hill" had been mowed. So when I realized around 4pm on the 24th of July that the wind would be good for Little Hill I quickly packed up my 185 Lite Dream and headed out. The wind was supposed to be WSW just below 10 mph and when I got there, like seems typical, it was SSW - W. It was often SW - WSW, which is a good direction for this 40 or so, foot high hill.

I ended getting 5 flights. They were nice short flights, as expected, but the first couple flights were the best and the last 3 got "not as good". Nothing got bent and no scraps or bruises on me so not too bad over all. Also I had those big doughnut wheels on the base tube so was able to wheel the glider back up the hill. This still took some effort particularly since it was 93 degrees F. But the breeze up the hill helped make things feel okay. Yea, and how many people get five flights in one day from a HIGH hill? Not many.

I will also note here that 50 years ago on July 4th, 1975 I bought my very first hang glider, an Eipper Formance 17 foot Standard! I'd finished my training on that day by flying from the highest take off spot at Mt Peter Ski area - just north of Greenwood Lake - that straddles the NJ/NY border in eastern "upstate" NY.

I wanted to get a flight in on the Fourth of July this year, but the wind did not cooperate. But 20 days later things were good! : - ) So, I have been flying for over 50 years at this point in time! I'm not sure if I'll get in another 50 years since I will then be 119 years old 8 - O but who knows? LOL

Okay, I also took a short video at Little Hill and just did a screen capture of my 185 Lite Dream mostly broken down in the LZ. See attached

Yaaayyyy Scott!!

Thanks for posting the photo and flight log. I remember flying that hill with you many years ago. I'm glad to see that it's still being flown to this day.   

I especially liked your altitude graph. That would make it very very easy to count multiple flights. I wish I'd had one of those when I was breaking the flight records at Dockweiler.

Also, your post reminded me that we probably have quite a few pilots now with 50+ years of hang gliding. So I started a topic to keep track of those pilots with 50+ years behind them. My own first hang gliding flights were in 1978, so I still have a few years to wait before I'm on the list. But I am sure that Joe Faust, Frank Colver, Matt Colver, and YOU make the list.