2017 Kite Fest and Spring Meetups!
The flying season is just getting started and already we’ve had several events and meetups!
April – 2017 National Cherry Blossom Kite Festival – 4/1/2017
It was a classic Kite Festival day. Windy with some sun keeping the temperature comfortable. About 10 pilots showed up and tons of people stopped by to get more info about hang gliding and paragliding in the region. Matt did some kiting of his paraglider early on, but the gusts kept most wings in their bags. Tommy brought two hang gliders so we were really visible. We’ll definitely do it again next year!
March – Spring Equinox Meeting – 3/20/2017
About 30 pilots came to Jeff’s house to hear USHPA Executive Director Martin Palmaz give a talk on the state of Paragliding and Hang Gliding in the US. We saw a breakdown of members by wing type and age as well as membership trends highlighting the need to keep existing pilots in the sport and continue to get new pilots into the sport. Jeff setup a simulator from a tree and then spun Matt in his harness while Matt practiced throwing his reserve. Matt is happy to report the front mounted reserve came out as smooth as butter.
February – Movie Night! – 2/17/2017
10 pilots showed up at Matt’s house for pizza and beers to watch “Ozone Test Pilot Russell Ogden Discusses all things Paragliding, at the Open distance Nationals in Sun Valley Idaho.” We paused the movie and discussed aspects of deflations and recovery techniques.