Remembering Ed Reno

I am sitting in Ellis's living and looking at a painting I did years ago of Mt St Victoire in Southern France. It depicts a sunny day in the mountains with winds dancing among the peaks and flowers. The painting is a poignant reminder to me of how I remember Ed. He too brought a unique joy to those he knew and danced with among the mountains and flowers. Whenever I think of him I always see his smiling (if somewhat mischievous) face. I grieve at the loss of our comrade, we as a hang gliding community lost a special member--but the world also lost a rare and truly good soul.

Even though I had my differences at times with Ed, he was somebody who I could always talk things out with and leave as friends. Ed also lived with tremendous personal family stresses, how he remained such a positive person in light of that remains a mystery to me -- certainly a testament to how he was a stronger and better person than I. He was a talent with wordcraft, and I looked forward to reading his posts.

As I look at the window the cums go streaking by in the sunshine, dissipating quickly into the blue of sky and heaven. So it is with Ed's passing -- a sudden vanishing of something beautiful.

Marc Fink

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It's hard to describe the sadness I've felt since hearing of Ed's death. I am fortunate to have had that special relationship with Ed born of having "grown up" with him in the sport of hang gliding.

Ed and I spent many hours and probably thousands of miles traveling to and from training hills, mountain sites and flight parks. Much of that "windshield" time was spent in re-living our experiences of recent flights. As if only yesterday, I recall Ed describing his flights in vivid excited detail using his hands as a mock glider!

Ed and I got our H-2's at the same time -- we took our first mountain flights back-to-back -- leaping apprehensively off the Hyner site late one summer afternoon in 1998 with John Middleton watching over us like a mother hen from the launch and Turkey Fred Permenter bringing us into the LZ. We were so excited we could hardly breathe!

Everyone who knows Ed must remember him for his particular brand of humor and imagination. It was Ed who took one look at my brand new turquoise, yellow and white Falcon and immediately christened it "Piña Colada". I think I'm right in attributing to Ed the naming of our little group of Falcon owners the "Falcoñeros". He even named my old red jeep the "GPS-mobile." (I stayed lost most of the time when I moved to the D.C. area so I mounted a GPS in my car!).

Undoubtedly, each one of my old CHGPA/MHGA friends are special to me, but Ed has a unique niche in my hang gliding memories. No one can doubt two things about Ed -- he loved the sport of hang gliding and he was a totally unforgettable character. But most of all ... he was my friend.

With the fondest of memories,
Chuck Pyle

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Dear Ed,

I wish I had gotten to know you better. I learned so many interesting facts about you after you left. I want you to know that I will always remember how you touched my life. You were the first person to arrive at my side when I broke my arm landing. I remember calling on the radio, "I need help." I heard someone radio back, "Ed, get over there." I looked up and saw you running toward me so fast that it looked like you had cartoon feet. When you arrived at my side, I asked, "where is my arm?" You said calmly, after catching your breath, "don't worry it's attached to the back of your head." Believe it or not, that helped! Thanks for calming me when I needed it most.

Your Fellow Pilot,
Kelly Madden