German Open here.

No, not really. That was a little joke.

Bad weather (Freitag, 18. Mai 2012, Task gecancelt wegen Wetter!)

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27688&start=10

The DHV certification does not belong to the manufacturer, it belongs to the German DHV approved dealer. The Dealer needs to have all equipment to overhaul the glider as well (A fully equipend glider manufacturing facility). Few can afford to be the dealer.

When a glider has a DHV certrification, similar gliders sold outside Germany cannot carry the certification placard. The non german dealer must buy the certification placard from the german dealer. I think you would find that technically many of the gliders accepted at tegelberg are actually technically not allowed - for example any Moyes gliders not sold or specifically approved by the german dealer technically don't have a DHV certification (that is how I understand it).

The DHV is not just protectionist in terms of foreign gliders, its also protectionist in terms of the dealers that hold the DHV certification. The German pilots have to buy their gliders from the German dealers, and that is quite definitely against european free market laws.

http://corinnaflies.blogspot.de/

Carsten Friedrichs <<carsten.friedrichs>> writes:

I am a German pilot who has been denied the opportunity to compete in the German Open with my Wills Wing T2C 144 (HGMA certified). As it is written in the local rules you need an "Airworthy glider with valid type test (airworthiness certificate) and single conformity inspection, ...". Since my glider is HGMA certified I went to the competition and signed in. In the evening I had a discussion with Dieter Münchmeyer (Competition Director) who claimed that the T2C 144 does not have any certification. I told him to check at the HGMA website. He talked to Christof Kratzner and Charlie Jöst and decided not to accept my participation in the competition. They found out that they had not been very clear with the wording of the local rules. In the German version of the they wrote: "Flugsportgerät mit in Deutschland gültiger Musterprüfung (z.B. Gütesiegel) und Stückprüfung, ...". This means: "Hang glider with a certification valid in Germany (for example Gütesiegel) and single conformity inspection, ...". The only certification valid in Germany is the DHV Gütesiegel. The actual reason denying my participation was, that Dieter was afraid about a protest from a participant. So the next day I had to sign out and at least got my money back. Even foreign pilots need a glider with the DHV certification.

This is crazy. The DHV organizes an international competition and applies local rules. If every country would do so, than in the USA you could only participate in a competition with an HGMA certification. And the DHV has a conflict of interest. They do the DHV certification (Gütesiegel) - earning money - and than they organize a competition where you can only fly gliders certified by the DHV.

With the background of a decline of hang gliding this is the wrong sign from the DHV. It is an association of pilots that should support the pilots and the sport. Instead they do the opposite. The DHV puts its own interest over the interest of the pilots. Times and conditions change but the DHV is not able to change. In their monarchic style they just continue as they did the last 30 years. Austria and Switzerland recognized the HGMA certification. So why don't we do the same in Germany?

I like my glider, trust the HGMA certification and will continue to fly it, but may not participate again in a competition organized by the DHV.

Gary Solomon<<gary>> sends:

What we were hoping to bring to the Midwest HG Comp. Midwest Spring distance flying. Kris (Grzyb) had these four flights in six days. (May 10th – May 15th). It shows how well we are located, and the possibilities in various winds.

Details here.

The fifteenth was another possible 200 mile day. He launched at 12:30 PM flew for an hour and 20 minutes making 45 miles. He broke down, went back to launch, relit at 4 PM, then flew ‘till approximately 7 PM for an 87 mile flight.

We have a SSE wind coming for Saturday. If it doesn’t get blown out, it could be a day to fly from Hang Glide Chicago past the Whitewater Hang Gliding club (150 miles to the north). Making long flights to all compass points.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtuYBagnfMo#!

Vincene at Muller Windsports <<fly>> writes:

Thanks to all who supported the fundraiser for Stewart at Cochrane on May 12.

We had beautiful weather, the paragliders had a good afternoon. Hang gliders had fun in the evening and spectators had a great time catching up with old and new friends. Stewart unfortunately was not able to join us as he was only a few days out of ICU but we held the event anyway. It’s difficult for Stew to get out especially when having to organize transportation.

So far we have collected $22,121.13 from the day. A ck is coming for $3000 plus over $3500 has been sent into the paypal account .

Many thanks to the following: Will Gadd (especially for setting up the paypal account) and offering an afternoon of rock or ice climbing for 2 – wow! That is a priceless gift! Our auctioneer, Larry ( a new career opportunity?) Keith - who help with everything Jade Skye and her two friends who looked after the 50/50 draw – great job girls! Michelle Darrel & Mario from Hinton The Rocky Mountain Hang Gliding League And we must not forget Rick and Chad, our burger kings and Marcey Skye for the salad Hope that I didn’t miss anyone, if so, a big thank you.

Another big thank you for the people who donated to the auction: Aqua Sport Scuba Centre (and Helen Chang); Natalie & Bob Gardner of the Hitch Centre;

C. J. Wilkins; Pat Patfield; Margit Nance; Columbia River Kyak & Canoe (Penny & Max); Janet Morris;Doug Skye and our friendly neighbours, Bev & Gord Graham Note: Doug donated a $80 radio controlled helicopter and due to a race between Doug and Will, it cost $320 for Doug to buy it back! Very entertaining.

A list of donations will be passed on to Stewart.

He phoned yesterday and wanted to pass on his thanks for your generosity.

Steve Kroop at Flytec<<info>> writes:

When team flying a task, pilots will communicate their position to each other (over the radio) relative to the route course line. This is easily done on the 6030 with the user-field XT Error. The displayed value is the pilot's distance off of a line connecting the two waypoints of the active leg of the route. Right of course line is shown as a positive distance and left of course line is show as negative. For example, a pilot may radio "I am 10k out XT -500m" This would indicate that the pilot is 10 km from the next WP center and 500m left of the active leg of the route.

This technique was inadvertently foiled when the optimized route feature was added. In the early firmware versions that added the optimized route, when the Competition Route was optimized, the position of the far end of the course-line was not fixed. The far end point was on the WP cylinder (rather than the WP center) and would move as your approach angle changed and the instrument calculated your new best cylinder intercept. This meant that each pilot had their own individual XT Error, rendering the info meaningless to another pilot. Starting with firmware 3.33c, XT Error is once again calculated relative to a line between the WP centers of the active leg of the route.

So make sure that all your team pilots have the updated version of the firmware.

Last Wednesday, Splint and I attended a community workshop hosted by council for them to get community feedback on their plans for upgrades to the Bathers Way.

The Bathers way is the walking/running/cycling path that stretches from Merewether through to Newcastle along the coast, and so any changes to the route could have an impact on our flying activities.

read more

Corinna Schwiegershausen writes:

72 km, Manfred 1st, Jörg 2nd, I was 1st woman in goal and about 8th overall. Difficult day, Primoz landed short. Manfred and Jörg scored 0 points for the day, as their pitch measurements in goal failed the minimum settings!

Gotcha from the DHV.

See the local rules above.
 
I await word from Joerg and Manfred.

Corinna Schwiegershausen<<corinna>> writes:

Bob Baier, the reigning German Champion, can not compete in the German Open, because he is on a Moyes RX, and I was not allowed to fly the RX in this competition, even though I already flew it in Bassano, Forbes and Hessenmeisterschaft. Two WW pilots were not allowed to fly with their gliders. While Manfred was allowed to fly with a radical new sailcut (looks nice). Very strange policies over here.

http://www.dhv.de/web/fileadmin/user_upload/files/2012/05/Task_1_Flex.html

http://corinnaflies.blogspot.de/

Nichele Roberto <<roberto.nichele>> sends:

(DHV) website for the German Open here.

The local rules (PDF) here.

"Airworthy glider with valid type test (airworthiness certificate)..."

A German pilot who bought a T2C 144 from me this year called upset that they won't allow him to attend the meet. Not totally sure if this applies to foreign pilots too. Could be explained with insurance issues.

Steven Pearson<<Steve>> writes:

The 154 is DHV certified, the 144 isn’t. The DHV is protecting the revenue stream from their certification program to the detriment of the German pilots—so much for the ‘EU’. Mike can give you the historical details ad nauseum.

Mike Meier<<Mike>> writes:

This is a complex issue with a long history. In brief, here’s what I can tell you about it.

The U2 160, T2C 154 and Sport 2 155 have been issued the Gütesiegel by the DHV Technical Department, which is an approved testing center for hang gliders and paragliders for the LBA (German Civil Aviation Authorities), signifying that these gliders meet the German LTF Airworthiness Standards for hang gliders.

Wills Wing has not applied for LTF certification for any of our remaining current production models. In the case of the three models for which we have obtained LTF certification, we did so in each case because our dealers selling into the German market believed that having the LTF certification would increase sales. We have not found any clear indication that this has been the case. The process of obtaining LTF certification in addition to HGMA certification, which all of our current production models (except the Condors) have, is significantly burdensome and expensive, and completely redundant from an airworthiness perspective.

With regard to the insurance issue, and restrictions on flying gliders in Germany that do not have the Gütesiegel, I am far from expert on these issues. As I understand the law in Germany, based on my visit there in 2008 and a discussion with someone who is familiar with all of the legal issues, if you are living in Germany at least 180 days out of the year, it is (technically) illegal to fly a hang glider without the Gütesiegel. It is my understanding that to do so is not considered any sort of serious crime or offense, but technically, it is illegal. Also, if one is flying a hang glider without the Gütesiegel, then one is not covered by the 3rd party liability insurance (which would pay if, for example, you crashed your glider into someone's car and damaged it). One's personal insurance, such as medical insurance, is NOT affected by whether you fly a glider with, or without the Gütesiegel, as I understand it.

However, there is also a European law that says that if an aircraft has a type certificate in one European country, then another European country cannot demand a different certificate. A number of Wills Wing models that do not have the German Gütesiegel do hold Austrian Type Certificates, based on the Austrian acceptance of the HGMA certification. It is therefore at least somewhat uncertain as to the legal standing or validity of any German law that requires specifically a German certification.

Over the last 30 years there have been many significant attempts to negotiate recognition within Germany for the other major hang gliding certification programs – HGMA and BHPA (British). None of these attempts has yet been successful – within Germany, only the LTF certification is recognized as valid. Over that same time period there has been ample opportunity to observe the safety record of gliders that have been certified under one airworthiness program and not under the others. There has been no indication during this time of any difference in safety between gliders certified under one program versus those certified under another program. A detailed comparative analysis of the HGMA and LTF certification programs has shown that both programs are very similar in the manner in which they define and test for hang glider airworthiness, and that where the programs do differ in technical matters, the HGMA airworthiness standards are in fact more valid from a technical standpoint than are the LTF standards.

The FAI Sporting Code Section 7A defines a certified hang glider as follows:

12. 2.2.1 Certified Gliders

Hang gliders of a make and model for which there is airworthiness approval issued by either the BHPA, DHV or HGMA and which have not been altered in any way since manufacture that would affect this certification. Sprogs must be set within the certified range.

The FAI and CIVL therefore recognize HGMA and BHPA certification for the purposes of competition as equivalent to German certification. It is unfortunate, and seems without any rational justification that a German pilot has been denied the opportunity to compete in a competition in his home country on an HGMA certified glider.

Carson Capaul <<justfly25>> writes:

I wonder when the first harness to have dimples is going to show up?

http://www.gizmag.com/nike-pro-turbospeed-golf-ball-track-uniform/22520/

http://university.tri-sports.com/2012/03/29/garneau-vorttice-helmet/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8ejmP6kWoo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO099D_Do2M

Thanks to Andrew

http://hangglidenewengland.com

Serving Boston, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Located in central Massachusetts 10 miles east of Quabbin reservoir.

http://skyout.blogspot.com/

Randy and then Kip left for ~50 mile (80km) and ~40 mile (65km) flights over my home territory.

http://www.facebook.com/HangglideNewEngland

Sander van Schaik <<sander>> writes:

Upcoming on Thursday we will have the towing part of the Dutch Nationals at Deelen airport. Twenty six hang gliders will compete for the towing title of 2012. For online updates, these web sites can be visited:

- www.zeilvliegen.nl

- www.sanderdelta.nl

- http://flyingjochen.blogspot.com

- http://hadewych.blogspot.com

Françoise Dieuzeide flying the T2C 136 at the 2012 Flytec Race and Rally. Notice the twelve tuffs on the left wing.

http://www.facebook.com/WillsWing

Fabiano Nahoum <<marusco>> writes:

The paraglider had the worst of it, tumbling into the trees below. Fortunately the pilot was fine. I found the video remarkable in that the paraglider was literally knocked out of the sky by what appeared to be just a slight touch by the hang glider.

I have no information at all on the abilities and experience of the pilots involved. Crowded lift bands can be complicated specially when mixing hang gliders and paragliders.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZJ9ZHO5pa0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDYlnR5Nc8M

You can also find it here: http://www.facebook.com/WillsWing

http://www.tmgenerator.com/home

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=109448#109448

TMG is new program produced in Poland, used to generate a map of thermals for Garmin GPSes, eg. Oregon, 62, etc. The Garmin GPS supports multiple maps at the same time. The program analyzes IGC files and creates a map as an overlay on a standard map and shows where we can expect lift

Here you can see screenshot of the map:

https://picasaweb.google.com/goskkawa/MapyTermiki?authkey=Gv1sRgCO_SufTtqYPvpAE

http://watershedmovie.com/trailer/

Sweeping through seven U.S. and two Mexican states, the Colorado River is a lifeline to expanding populations and booming urban centers that demand water for drinking, sanitation and energy generation. And with 70% of the rivers’ water supporting agriculture, the river already runs dry before it reaches its natural end at the Gulf of California. Unless action is taken, the river will continue its retreat – a potentially catastrophic scenario for the millions who depend on it.