More information at: www.ushga.org

Hi All!

First, a little disclaimer; the following information may, or may not, be accurate. Only the minutes from the actual meeting as they are implemented throughout the organization will prove to be completely accurate.

I just returned from the USHGA Board of Directors meeting in FL. As some of you know, I am a Director at Large, so I travel to these meeting and am able to vote on your behalf. In any case, I have some notes for you. I will be purposely vague, as the exact details of the meetings are, in some cases, confidential. For those of you that don’t know. The meetings are usually three days long. They start with reports from the Executive Director and the President etc. and then, they break off into Committees like; safety and training, tandem, towing, insurance, awards, bylaws, publications, membership and development etc. These groups meet and then report back to the whole board. The board have to vote to approve anything that the respective committees propose. All USHGA members are invited to all meetings and any USHGA member can (normally) vote in a committee meeting. So, here’s what went on…

Jayne, the Executive Director of the USGHA gave her REPORT and the highlights were as follows:

In recent months, she has met with representatives from

USUA (Ultralight Assoc.)

USPA (Parachute Assoc.)

NAA

SSA (sailplanes/ gliders)

She did so in order to get a feel for how other, similar organizations are progressing. She observed that; most organizations experienced an increase in their insurance premiums (and a corresponding increase in dues) along with a decrease in membership across the board. They generally contribute this to the less than favorable economy.

Other TIDBITS:

The USHGA sold 500 of 3000 2002 paragliding calendars that were produced. This was largely due to a late debut in the PG magazine. Still, there will be a new one this year ( I had a look at it, it’s nice).

A name change transition is generally seen as being inevitable, but it is currently too costly.(the name of the magazines and the organization have to be legally changed).

In general, the organization has a stable cash position. The year was characterized by increased cash flow, a slight increase in dues, a rise in membership from 10,200 to 11,300, and increase in the organizations insurance premiums of 20 k, an increase in postage costs and a decrease in the sale of books, videos. The USGHA donated 25 k to the USHGF and spent 7k on new membership cards. New developments include the availability of an MBNA Credit Card application on the USHGA web site(USHGA benefits at no expense to you) and the addition of USHGA classified ads on line(two per member).

HG magazine ad revenue was down 8k. Also, as you know, the HG and PG magazines will be combined in the near future.

In case you don't know, Jayne does an exceptional job. She works exceedingly hard and is really, truly, an excellent leader for our organization an advocate for our sport nationwide. One of the most tangible fruits of her labors is the organizations dramatic decrease in overhead and its favorable financial status.

Regarding the NPRM and the USGHA:

After reviewing the Sport Pilot report from the FAA, which was 60-80 pages, Bill Bryden(a USHGA hero)., Identified that the only problems were that the NPRM sought to eliminate our exemptions(NPRM specifically eliminated towing). So, he and his team set out to re-apply for the exemptions.

In April, the FAA said that they would permit the towing based on endless letters that were sent. They said that the USHGA has to make “comment” to them in order to attain the exemptions. The UHSGA sent 23 pages. Meanwhile, hundreds of members sent a plea for towing and tandem. Subsequently, Bill and his team received assurance that the tandem exemption would not be lost. Commercial towing will probably not be allowed, but club operation would be allowed. A petition for “fat tugs” will be officially submitted (15 pages petition for an exemption) the parameters were that the tugs be able to be 596 lbs., go 75 knots, carry 10 gals of fuel, have a second seat for training tug pilots, have 250 lbs. of thrust and have a “certified” hitch etc. The FAA wants to make sure that we won’t abuse this exemption.

FYI a 1995 application for a fat ultra light exemption was denied.

Regarding POWERED PARAGLIDERS:

A day long planning session (last Thur.)yielded a consensus that the benefits of embracing the PPG pilots as a part of USHGA(somehow) would be favorable to other possibilities. The issues were "Insurance" and "exposure." Regarding theses subjects, it was generally felt that regarding;

Insurance: the increased risk is not considerable

Exposure: is same regardless of whether or not PPG are USHGA or not

If we embrace motors: we get to educate and control

If we don’t: we get all the minuses and none of the plusses

The exact details of how PPG pilots might be a part of the USHGA remain to be seen. Stay tuned.

REGARDING COMPETITION

Due to some exceptional vision by certain members of the competition committee and some great flexibility on the part of the Wallaby Ranch and Quest Air, the two Florida flight parks will work together to submit a bid for the 2005 World Championships.

HG Meets 2003

Flytec Open April 12-18

Wallaby Open April 20-26

Chelan Classic June 30- July 6

Chelan Speed Gliding May 6-10

PG Meets 2003

Class A Paragliding Tow Meet at Quest Air in the Spring.

Class A Paragliding Tow Meet at Big Springs, TX may 25-31

There will be a Class B sanctioned "regionals" at Woodrat, OR. at the end of May/ beginning of June.

The United States HANG GLIDING FOUNDATION is generally a place for monies to accumulate for site preservation and for competition. The USHGA matches donations made to the USHGF(non profit<tax deductible>), up to $500. As an example, Mingus Mountain in AZ will receive 10k for camp ground improvements integral to preserving the launch area. Additional monies are available for such causes.

Other interesting items of note are:

-Sue Gardner, the FAA rep responsible for FAR 103 activities, went tandem hang gliding at Quest Air and loved it! -Jim Zeist is now Vice President of the Organization and Bill Bolosky(Regional Director for WA) is president. -I was re-appointed as a "Director at Large" -It's time to vote for Regional Director. Mark Ferguson(Boulder, CO) has long been our RD along with Jim Zeist. They have worked together over the years and have done a fine job. Mark is the FreeX importer for the US and has traditionally been in the top ten in US PG competition over the last decade. He has been a volunteer pres or vice pres at one time or another and has volunteered to score the competitions throughout his career. He has attended every board meeting with the exception of the FL meeting which he missed for medical reasons. Mark is running against our own Steve Mayer.

-Jeff Goin, the representative from the USPPA(Powered Paraglider Assoc.) was allowed to fly a powered paraglider at Quest Air(traditionally HG flight park). -The tandem committee may(or may not) recommend that T1 pilots fly with p2/ or H2 pilots and that they not mix disciplines(i.e. pg T1 flies with P2, hg T1 flies with H2)

-Dixon White and Scott Harris(Jackson Hole PG Inst.) learned to HG and soloed on Aero Tow at Quest Air. I did three solos too!

- Ron Gleason is a Class 2(Extacy) pilot who is the Comp Committee chair and he does an EXCELLENT job. -the USHGA Instructor of the year PG is Rob Sporrer from Eagle Paragliding in Santa Barbara, CA -Scott Harriss from Jackson, WY is now a Tow, Instructor and Tandem Administrator.

I will try to keep you posted.