Loved the podcast Frank. Did a couple of screen shots of the Otto meet, and like you said, it was a time for the history books. You also noted that most of the gliders, except for that one of Miller's, had no way of pulling the nose down to penetrate. The picture of the bamboo glider at TB also had no way to pull in, so the flights were high angle of attack, but the pictures of Dick's and Dave's gliders which they built very quickly after they watched my friends,
Nick Heflinger and his brother Dan's (RIP), launch their bamboo drop cloth glider.
The engineer mind of Dave quickly saw how to put the geometry and rigging
of CG, Yaw and Pitch and L/ D, into balance for long gliding flights.
You also talked about the guys camping out before the meet with no problem, and being a surfer who camped all along the Calif. coast many times during the 60's, it was never a problem until real estate "popped" up at our favorite surfing sites, starting in the early 70's, it happened in Hawaii too.
Dick's engineer mind seemed to be more into powered flight as he actually strapped a make-shift chain saw engine and propeller to his back and launched himself down the sand hill, very "un-quietly", but that was the start of a totally different kind foot launched flying which "took off" on it's own path.
In June of 71', me and my dog Munch, took off, and happened to find the San Juan Mountains, and got with some crazy skiers who had some early "luff diver" hang gliders, and were actually launching from the high mountain tops, that's me on top.
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but they were true gliders and knew not to turn these things to sharply.
I did this picture of a 1972, flight of four, flying down the rainbow off 13,500 Ajax Mountain.
Like David, their engineer minds evolved their gliders so they could do 360's and soar a bit, and so much new stuff was coming out of California. Between 1972 and 1979 I saw the most incredible Hang Gliders in the skies over Telluride, from luff divers to looping Predators, in just 7 years, what an unmatched time that was. You saw the same thing on the costal rising air.
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The advent of the "topless" gliders well,.. you might as well buy a Cessna.
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a note;
The premier launch site on Gold Hill (1972 to 2021) has been completely closed down to any foot launched flying, due to the high cost of insurance, and even U$HPA couldn't save it. True Hang Gliding has not been seen in the skies over Telluride for many many years, what a shame.
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