US Hawks Hang Gliding Association

dshman wrote:Hello my name is Darin Hecker from Southern Oregon Hang gliding. I have been with USHPA for 26 years. I’m a authorized flight instructor for Areo Sports Connection and a rated tandem pilot with a current exemption. I have been helping ACS design a pilot profishancy program to rate Hang glider pilots in the same manner as USHPA. We are being over run by bad leaders, bad social skills, bad judgement, that’s damaged our beloved hg sport. This has been practiced by the current USHPA leaders with no concern for the future of Hang Gliding. Not to mention the insurance scam running wild by ushpa’s leaders. If you haven’t herd about no insurance, at docweilers beach site in monta ray (now a waiver) then you should. We now have a program in place to compete with ushpa. If your interested and tired of funding all the bad ideas that ushpa pushes, then come on board. If you have ever been a instructor and have old credential’s, then we will honer them. If you need a tandem exemption we can provide it for $100. We will honer old ratings, and all special skills. Our program is less restrictive as well. Memberships with ratings is around $40. The ACS exemption is FAA authorized just like ushpa, we don’t charge excessive fees like ushpa. Anyone interested is recommended to contact areosprts.org, or you can contact me on my website directly for more info, so-hanggliding.com. My name is Darin. The hanggliding manufactures are aware of this also, there on board with excitement hoping to rekindle RD for hang gliders again. It’s time for us hang gliders to have our own home and voice again. We have a Hang glider pilot as the director of ACS to represent our soaring wings, we won’t loose site of our goal to promote Hang gliding once again. Are you interested? Do you believe USHPA is the authority of part 103? Or is it the FAA, that authorized our tandem exemption? The same exact exemption as USHPA has, we have also obtained for our members use with ASC membership.

TJW wrote:I'm glad you spent the extra day to carefully craft your announcement. If you'd posted it yesterday, people might not have taken it seriously.

BubbleBoy wrote:// "docweilers beach site in monta ray" //That's comedy gold right there (on several levels). I assume you'll be here all week?JB

dshman wrote:Docweilers site is now a waiver site, no more USHPA insurance. Contact Gary jones dept of beaches and harbors. You can get your own waiver here. Beaches.lacounty.gov

dshman wrote:Tomato tamoto the point is USHPA has problems with insurance. It’s no longer required at docweilers. You may want to check before you doubt the program that’s now in place. Tory pines is now operating without USHPA influence, big air hang gliding in San Fransisco is operations now without USHPA insurance. larry Jorgensen from dog mountain closed his doors, Tracy Tillman cloud 9 closed his doors, all this because of ushpas heavy handed bureaucracy. You must be stuck in that bubble boy.

Hang Gliding has been in a steady decline in the United States for decades. If the decline is to be reversed, the core problem must be addressed. 

More pilots are leaving the sport than are entering it.

With the average age of pilots in the US, that trend is only going to accelerate, unless there is concerted effort to attract, train, and retain new pilots. The landscape has changed drastically since the hang gliding boom times in the 70s & 80s. Either we adapt or die. Lawsuits are here to stay. Insurance is a reality for most sites. A new rating organization is rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. The answer is not going to be a national campaign. To paraphrase Tip O'Neill.

"All hang gliding is local."

If your local pilots are not actively bringing up the next generation of pilots, then your local site's days are numbered.