Pre-Flight

Ralph Sickinger

Fall is almost over, but ya know, it's been a really nice month. I've gotten some really good flying in, and the fall colors were absolutely fantastic! I saw my first bald eagle, and attended some great parties too! Now we're deep in to November, and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Before the holiday season starts, I want to take a moment to give thanks...

I am thankful for the friends that I have within the hang gliding community; you have all added so much to my life in the past year, through difficult times and fun times.

I am thankful for my health, which allows me to continue to enjoy life, doing all of the things that I love to do.

I am thankful for the opportunities that I have had this year to contribute to the hang gliding community. Between the newsletter, the logo contest, hang gliding photographs and my website, t-shirts, and the CHGPA calendar, I've been pretty busy. But, it's kept me involved with flying even when the weather wasn't conducive to getting actual air-time, and it's been incredibly rewarding as well.

I am thankful for the many pilots who graciously volunteer their time to improve life for the rest of us: Joe Gregor, trying to re-open High Rock; Matthew Graham, doing his best to garner publicity for our sport anywhere that he can; Ric Niehaus, Pete Lehmann, and Larry Huffman, helping a bunch of newbies learn how to go X-C; Brian Vant-Hull, arranging and organizing the annual parachute re-pack; Chris McKee, organizing the Pulpit Fly-In; the entire Highland Aerosports team, arranging any number of special flying opportunities (demo days and the X-C clinic, among others); Lauren Tjaden, providing entertainment and comic relief; and so many pilots that have offered rides, wire-crewed on launch, provided safety checks and advice, and otherwise helped me get off the ground and into the air.

Most of all, I'm thankful for the gift of flight, and the fact that I am able to take part in one of the most amazing pursuits available to man, while enjoying some of the most incredible scenery this side of heaven.

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The 2002 Mountain Landing contest is almost at an end, and I'm ashamed to have to admit that my record is only 6-5, which works out to about 55%. (Although, too be fair, my record is 9-5 if you include February.)And that's in a Falcon. <sigh> Yeah, that's pretty pathetic. On the positive side, by participating in the contest I've maintained an awareness of my skill level (or lack thereof), and so I've kept reviewing my landings pretty critically. As a result, my more recent landings have gotten better, but there is still room to improve. Personally, I think the landing contest is a great idea; I hope that it will run again next year, and that we'll see more participation from our pilots in the club.


It's God's sport; for who else
could build such a stadium?

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Congratulations to Joe Gregor and Matthew Graham, who were recognized by the United States Hang Gliding Association for their incredible contributions to our sport!

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On that note, I'm off to Michigan, to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with my family. I hope you all enjoy your holiday as well - see you when I get back!