Affordable Aviation

ST. PAUL, MINN., — The 1999 World Championships are over, and ho-hum, Manfred Ruhmer won… again. I don’t mean to sound jaded by Manfred’s winning performance but it sure seems predictable. He is indeed the undisputed champion, although he did have to prove his ability; it was not a runaway victory. In hot pursuit were […]

ST. PAUL, MINN., — I don’t believe I’ve noted so much buzz about a harness since Wills Wing first introduced the Z1-2-3… series. Maybe the Woody Valley from Europe, but even that popular brand name never created what you’d call a "stir." ••• Regardless of the past, Jay Gianforte’s CG Carbon Harness has people talking […]

ST. PAUL, MINN., — The tragic death of Michael "Hollywood" Champlin sent a wave through the hang gliding community recently. While others will surely document the incident, it causes me to think about my longtime support of rigid wings as a form of glider to supplement the flex wing. One thing we’ve added to the […]

ST. PAUL, MINN., — The glare of spotlights this month turns to GW Meadow’s U.S. Nationals which took place at Quest Air the week after Malcolm Jones’ Wallaby Open concluded. ••• Weather wasn’t quite as cooperative and the organization was different, but the U.S. Nationals are now history and Jim Lee is our national champion, […]

WALLABY RANCH, FLA. — In a rare state of upset, the focus of American hang gliding — even the focus of the world, perhaps — is on the eastern half of the U.S. In two remarkable back-to-back weeks, Florida took center stage of world of hang gliding competitions. It all started with the Wallaby Open […]

ST. PAUL, MINN. — Well, whaddya know… this particular "Product Lines" column marks the end of 20 full years and the start of year #21. Sometimes that just sounds kinda unreal to me; 20 years of putting out this column every single month (except one where I was one day late on deadline and the […]

KNOXVILLE, TENN. — This edition of "Product Lines" comes to you from the combined convention of the Soaring Society of America, USHGA, US Ultralight Association, and the International Aerobatic Club. Signs showed the general public how to enter, referring to the event simply as "Air Expo 99." ••• Thanks to outstanding preparatory work by Yoo-shga […]

ST. PAUL, MINN. — Before we get started this month, I want to make note of HG editor Gil Dodgen’s passage into his third decade of preparing our monthly magazine. If memory serves (and it occasionally doesn’t these days), Gil has logged 21 years as this is written. Starting in January 1978, he preceded my […]

ST. PAUL, MINN. — Based on the flow of information, the last year in the current millennium could be interesting. I have news about Altair, Wills, Brightstar, US Aeros, and the Exxtacy. As the first snow finally flies in a weirdly warm winter in Minnesota, all this flurry of news seems positive for an exciting […]

ST. PAUL, MINN. — At the recent Board of Directors meeting in Colorado Springs (USHGA’s home), our capable Executive Director Phil Bachman presented a typically thorough report. In his presentation, Phil referenced several recent statistics which might interest you. • Membership sits at a bit over 9,500 members of which 71% are HG pilots and […]