Industry Experts Visit the US

During the past six months, a whole host of industry experts have made special appearances in the Western US. Gin Seok Song, world renown designer (Gin Gliders), visited both Salt Lake City and Seattle in June. He visited with local pilots, gave lectures and held question and answer sessions at each location.

In July, Rob Whittall, of Ozone, came to the Red Bull Wings Over Aspen and then continued by touring the western US with stops in Salt Lake City and Seattle. Rob wowed audiences at every step of the with his slide show of flying in the Himalaya and with the new aerobatic maneuver called the SAT. 

Most recently, DHV/SHV/AFNOR test pilot Alain Zoller volunteered his time to judge the Second Annual Seattle Aero-Battle. He also took time to give an evening of theory at Chirico's  American Paragliding Academy. Alan's visit represents the first time that a DHV/SHV/AFNOR test pilot took time to give such an informative session in the United States. The information that he presented was very revealing. Most interesting were some of the answers that he delivered during the Q and A session.

When asked about posture, for example. He explained that from a maneuvers and in-flight safety standpoint, neither an upright or a reclined posture is more beneficial. He continued by saying that he flies in a more reclined posture because it is more enjoyable and because he achieves a greater variety of turns from this position. When asked about harness adjustment, he agreed that while most pilots "feel" more secure with a tightly adjusted harness, that he prefers to see ALL pilots fly with their harnesses looser because of the greater awareness that they develop about what the glider is doing. Alan was largely referring to shoulder and lumbar adjustments. He was quick to point out that each pilot should check the manufacturers recommendation about waist strap adjustment and adhere to the parameters set forth during the certification.

Rarely, if ever, did American Paraglider Pilots have such an experienced, knowledgeable and objective professional paraglider pilot at their disposal. Each of these sessions were sponsored by Super Fly Inc. and as a service to the paragliding community.