Dockweiler RHG Diary

[wingspan33]

Sorry to hear that Joe is retiring. Greg DeWolf, who teaches for Joe, is also a long time friend. Greg taught a group of us how do tandems back in the late '80s via truck tow at the airport in Ellenville. That event is a story unto itself. I hope all turns out good for everyone.

[Frank Colver]

I have learned that the transfer of ownership happens at the 1st of the year.

One of the two new owners is Andy who has been an instructor there for a long time also. Whether Greg is staying on or not I don't know. I hope he does.

Josh, the other owner (I haven't met him yet) told BobK that we will be able to hold the Otto 47th anniversary meet there next May.

Frank

[Rick Masters]

PILOT HANG GLIDING ACROSS NATION TO SHOW SPORT ISN'T JUST FOR WACKOS
By Robert Rice, Staff Writer
Deseret News
Published: June 20, 1988 12:00 a.m.
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/7865/PILOT-HANG-GLIDING-ACROSS-NATION-TO-SHOW-SPORT-ISNT-JUST-FOR-WACKOS.html

There's a common misconception that hang gliders are pathological wackos bent on cheating death while hanging from paper-thin kites thousands of feet in the air, says Fly America President Greg DeWolf.

But DeWolf is out to change that thinking by doing things such as flying a state-of-the-art glider across the country and taking a certifiable "fraidy-cat" Deseret News reporter for an air-borne tour. "Most people think that we're all a bunch of crazies out to kill ourselves, but we're not," he said while rigging his craft at Cedar Valley Airport 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.

DeWolf, from Los Angeles, joined by hang glider pilots Cindy Drozda and Ian Huss from Boulder, Colo., left from Los Angeles June 1 and landed at Point of the Mountain June 16, ending the first leg of their flight.

Their goal is to reach, appropriately, Kitty Hawk, N.C., the birthplace of flight, by flying roughly 25 miles per day, although the day DeWolf landed here, he logged 138 miles.

The flight, never attempted before, is designed to promote the sport of hang gliding, once considered an extremely dangerous undertaking and consequently enjoyed by only a few, strange people, DeWolf said.

But with advancements in technology, the development of sophisticated training programs and new and acute attention paid to safety, the sport has become far less dangerous, DeWolf said.

Now, instead of weirdos and risk-takers, "the people who are into hang gliding are people who love life," he said.

Like other sports, hang gliding's safety is measured in part by a pilot's limitations, and his or her acknowledging them, said support crew member Jerry Forburger of Lubbock, Texas.

"As long as you fly within a pilot's skills, limitations and judgments, it's a very safe sport. But if you don't do that, it can be just as dangerous as driving a car," he said, pointing out that, really, even driving a car isn't all that dangerous.

Forburger is the designer of a crucial piece of equipment that has made the cross-country attempt possible. The Texan designed and built the Airtime of Lubbock towing system, a device that permits pilots to take off from the back of a moving vehicle rather than having to leap from a steep hill or cliff.

A glider simply secures his kite to the system, located, say, in the back of a pickup truck. The truck hauls the pilot down a straight road until an adequate air speed, around 40 mph, is reached.

When the pilot trips a mechanism, the kite is released and the towing system pulls the glider up, possibly as high as 4,000 feet in the air and allowing the pilot to fly as high as a rising thermal may take him.

To demonstrate that hang gliding is a sport for anyone, DeWolf invited a reporter to hang beside him in a harness system designed to turn the kite into a tandem.

DeWolf assured this reporter, whose most recent thrill was staying up past 10 p.m., that the flight would be a piece of cake. After a few brief instructions, the two were speeding down a road hanging side-by-side from the glider.

The kite popped free from the truck and rocketed to 1,500 feet in less than a minute. DeWolf unhooked the towing line, circled on thermals for a few minutes and swooped down to the dirt runway to land gently on his feet with the reporter, heart-in-mouth, clinging to his back.

But for the initiated, the thrill of flying is meeting the challenges of flying in new areas, where weather patterns and landing sites are virtually unknown, Drozda said.

"The most exciting thing is seeing all the new areas and flying where I've never been before," she said.

Drozda, Huss and DeWolf hoped to take off Sunday afternoon to make the leap over the towering Wasatch Mountains, a surmountable challenge given that DeWolf has already climbed to 18,000 feet.

Fly America will then follow U.S. 40 to Steamboat Springs, Colo., the next stop on their tour across the country, spreading the hang gliding gospel that their sport isn't just for wackos anymore.

[JoeF]

Appreciating your research talents and choice to further today's HG spirits, Rick.
Thanks!
=================================================================

[Rick Masters]

Just pointing out that if you are looking for the heart of hang gliding, you can find it at Dockweiler.    

I remember when Greg and Ian and Cindy started out.
They towed up at Lancaster and made it to within sight of the south end of Owens Valley.
I was flabbergasted.

[Bill Cummings]

Doc fliers,
I fly with a dog auger for when I land I can then tie the nose of the glider into the wind while taking
the glider apart. Is the sand too lose at Doc' to use an auger?

[Bob Kuczewski]

I like the dog auger idea for landing at unimproved sites!!

There are good solid tie-downs buried along the top of the hill. From time to time the ropes get stolen or buried in a sandstorm, and club members often volunteer to dig them out and replace them (you can probably find pictures around here somewhere). We've enjoyed pretty good cooperation with Joe Greblo operating at Windsports. It's not clear if that will continue with the new owners.

[Frank Colver]

I think a dog auger might work at Dockweiler since the sand below a few inches is pretty compact. However, as has been stated we do have tie downs there but it wouldn't hurt to have a dog auger or two on hand if it gets crowded. For the last two Otto meets I've brought 5 gal buckets with rope through the bottom, which can be filled with sand, for emergency tie downs but they haven't been used. One problem with buckets of sand is that the pilot has to step around it to approach launch. The dog auger would be less in the way.

Frank

[JoeF]

In kiting we aim to avoid flying metal
and thus go for buried soft anchors.

E.g., see Lynn's"
http://www.peterlynnkites.com/kites1/crush-bags

"Kite anchors for use on beaches. 0.85m x 1.4m reinforced trampoline material rectangles that are the best thing we’ve ever seen for big kite beach anchors. They’re easy to bury, easy to retrieve, light to carry and each one, when suitably buried, will hold one of our large kites even in wind we shouldn’t be flying in. Being porous they
don’t hold water so won’t float up when the tide comes up underneath."

[Rick Masters]

All this talk about dog augers has brought back fond memories of Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy.