US Hawks Hang Gliding Association

I'm starting this topic to start building our own US Hawks rating system. All thoughts are welcome, but please don't post anything that violates copyright laws. For example, USHPA's "Pilot Proficiency System" (SOP 12-02) carries a copyright notice, so please don't violate that notice. I think it's fair use to discuss aspects of that work, but we should not be using it in any ways that violate their copyright.

I will say that USHPA's copyrighting of work that was done by many people throughout the history of hang gliding is a disgusting abuse of their monopoly, but that's what we're faced with. Let's do a better job creating a public domain rating system that the world can use.

Here's my own sketch of what our rating system might look like:

Hawk 1 - Ability to fly under supervision under nearly ideal conditions at sites like Dockweiler. Supervision Advised!!

Hawk 2 - Ability to fly under supervision under nearly ideal conditions at sites like Crestline. Supervision Advised!!

Hawk 3 - Ability to fly without supervision at sites like Crestline in common conditions.

Hawk 4 - Ability to fly without supervision at any site under conditions determined to be appropriate by the pilot.

Hawk 5 - Issued as a courtesy to those with "5" ratings from other organizations.

Here is an open source rough draft that is meant as a possible opening that can be reworked by members of the US Hawks.
It is being put forward to further jump start work on the Hawks hang gliding rating/ranking system.
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The United States Hawks Hang Gliding Association. (USHHGA, aka: US Hawks)

U. S. Hawks Hang Gliding Pilot Competency Rankings. (Open source draft) May 12, 2018
HGP1, HGP2, HGP3, HGP4. (Hang Gliding Pilot)

The U. S. Hawks Hang Gliding Association’s Competency Rankings are patterned after other
hang gliding organization ratings from all around the globe.

Ratings are applied to hang gliders, pilots, and sites.

Hang gliders meet the basic minimum requirements of pitching moment, stability, strength, positive and negative “G” loads as described by the Hang Glider Manufacturers Association (HGMA) http://www.hgma.net/

# 1) Glider ratings suggest the skill level needed to safely pilot a hang glider.
# 2) Pilot ratings reflect the skill level of a hang glider pilot.
# 3) Site ratings are ratings according to the pilot skill level suggested for safe flight or required, in some instances, to comply with the rules of landowners.

Non-adherence to the rating/ranking safety guidelines could result with the closure of hang gliding sites.
Self regulation will only continue if people in the sport of hang gliding follow the basic FAR rules of part 103 https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?t ... ain_02.tpl
and the long standing common sense safety guidelines that have evolved within the sport of hang gliding world wide since the 1970’s.

To be continued……..

And so it began with the words of Bill Cummings back in May of 2018 ...

Meditation:

Using fundamentals to build needed bridge ...