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Entertainment: Past Articles

A PPG Christmas 12/25/2005 The southern boys do have it rough. The sunshine that arced over a gorgeous set of mountains actually did something - it warmed the air. Phoenix flyers joined many others south of the 35th parallel to enjoy flying both morning and evening. No, there was no snow and the Christmas Cactus weren't decorated much, but it sure was beautiful. Tim Kaiser has taken to shooting pictures now after gaining experience and captured some nice ones. The one above got turned into a Christmas greeting. These two flyers were enjoying a Christmas eve flight around the Superstition Mountains at the eastern edge of Phoenix.
Christmas Card 12/19/2005 Robert Kittilä was out with his camera as his friend flew by on a special mission. He couldn't resist making a Christmas card out of it. See the full sized version here.
Home For The Holidays 12/04/2005 Pilot Trevor Cole has a LOT to be thankful this past Thanksgiving morning. After returning from college, he and his family, along with fellow "Paragators" (South Florida PPG Club) went out flying in the Everglades. Not a bad way to spend a holiday!
Paragliders In Your Teeth 11/10/2005 They'll tell you anything to sell stuff.  One of our members, Lee Butcher of Park Hills, Missouri, thought something was amiss when he noticed strange looking "bacteria" pictured in an ad. The sales pitch for a dental product (PureBrush) exclaimed how shocked you would be at seeing what floats around on your teeth. They'd be right; it looks suspiciously like a gaggle of soaring paragliders. At first, Lee just figured he was seeing paragliders because of needed airtime. But closer inspection found otherwise. The caption claims they are "Thirsty bacteria looking for a drink and a place to spend the night." Of course, that does describe some paraglider pilots.
Corny Maze 10/31/2005 It's the time when corn fields get converted to images and we get our unique perspective on them. Brian Stoltzfus of Reading, PA sent us these shots of a Maze near their launch. Jeff Shriner was the pilot doing a close inspection while Brian served as camera ship.
A Police Perspective 08/24/2005 Ike Ensey, an 8-year Deputy Sheriff with Santa Fe County, realized his dream of flight in January, 2003 after training with American Flyer PPG (Michelle Daniele). Most of his 80 flights have been in the Estancia, NM valley, and with the Route 66 flyers. He offers his perspective, as a cop, on why the Police sometimes arrive at your flying area and how best to handle it. He writes: 1) Cops don't show up to too give you a hard time about flying. Fact: most cops are adrenalin junkies, that's why they became cops in the first place. More than likely they are there to watch you fly, and get more information on the sport. 2) If a Police officer does show up on official business, he was dispatched there because of someone who complained, probably the person you've been flying over. That is likely the same person who calls 911 when dogs bark to loud.  In order for the Police to do anything there must be a County or Municipal noise ordinance, and those usually take effect at 10:00 PM or later. Shouldn't be a problem. If you talk to the Officer with courtesy, more than likely he will tell you who the person complaining is, that she is a crazy old lady, and try not to irritate her to much by flying near her residence. 3) I have experienced this first had. I pulled up to a field to watch a PPG launch. The pilot became extremely irritated. He walked up to me and without giving me a chance to say anything started saying. "So who called the Police, this is not against the Law, I have permission to fly on this land." He felt kind of stupid when I told him I am a fellow pilot and was only there to watch his launch technique. 4) The only reason a Police Officer would contact the FAA would be if you crashed and injured yourself, as in fatal, or hurt someone else or their property. Or if you made such an impression that the officer thinks that you are mentally unstable (there are a few out there) and are a danger to themselves or others (that's usually the person out of control and shouting anti-government slogans, and "F... the Police"). I hope this gives you some insight and appreciation of the cops' perspective. Thanks, Ike  "have a Good Air Day!"	Ike with a few of his favorites: daughter Kristine, SD 48 and Muse 30 (in Sheriff's car). Major favorite (and wife) Debbie is behind the shutter button.
Floating 07/28/2005 Submitted by Dave Purdin The local townspeople wanted a parade. Parade's have floats. So Dave Purdin, a local auto dealer, found a way to mix several of his passions at once. He entered this float into the town's parade. Ronnie Harmon welcome's onlookers while the two little ones ride along for the view. The Walkerjet seat is comfy but the perspective isn't what the usual airborne perch provides. They were a hit, though, by throwing candy out to the kids. Dave Purdin has an annual Fly-In during August every year. Details are available here.
Cattle Prod 05/10/2005 Ed Poccia Albuquerque, NM The western boys continue endearing themselves to local ranchers who increasingly request their services. In return, the boys (and girls) get something fun to do with their craft and earn new flying sites. Greg Bouten's picture shows one of the Route 66 flyers of New Mexico using the PPG for herding cattle. Local ranchers have asked them to do this on several occasions. It is proving to be an efficient way to move the herd. About a dozen high time pilots participate in the activity. Click the picture for a full-size version.
Keep Out 04/29/2005 The recently completed convention featured a pattern marker called "gator ponds." Pilots were admonished to stay well above them and this was for good reason. As this picture shows, one hapless deer missed the briefing and things didn't turn out so well. Thanks to Scott Adair for the picture. Admittedly the Gator lurking in the Fantasy of Flight ponds would have had trouble with a pilot-sized feast - it's about two feet long.
Another Land 04/17/2005 A group of pilots set out for the planet of Southern California. When the PPG probes were released to explore, this is what they saw. Photo by "Bubba" Peters. It's sort of like being in the movie "Dune," all that's missing is the sand worms (you have to have seen the movie - suffice it to say there is a lot of sand). The most interesting and surprising experience is the smell. A purple flower grows in the hollows between the dunes and exudes a wonderful perfume. It's a very tranquil and soothing smell. As you fly along, you pass through tendrils of heady, scented bliss. It's hard to imagine without having experiencing it. It added an entirely new dimension to an already awesome experience.
The History Channel Goes PPGing 04/15/2005 Josh Bernstein goes "Digging for the Truth" on the History Channel using a Powered Paraglider. Colorado pilot "Bubba" Peters was tapped to help out with the initial production but after seeing it in action, Josh wanted to do it himself. Initially, it was a desire to do his own "stunts" but, once training started (with Eric Dufour) he took to the sport and enjoys it for its own sake. Look for the powered paraglider to be featured in upcoming shows, possibly with "Bubba" and Eric Dufour showing up as flying extras. As an aside, the USPPA's ad in the National Convention Program is an aerial picture of Josh Bernstein flying over the Phoenix area during his training with Eric. Both Josh and his producer, Jason Williams, took the training and absolutely loved it. Their story will appear in an upcoming issue of UltraFlight Magazine. 1. Josh watching Eric demonstrate kiting. Jason is in the background. 2. "Bubba" and Jason mugging for the camera. 3. The crew filming while Bubba preflights his machines.
Needing More Thrust 04/01/2005 This intrepid crew knew the benefit of having enough thrust for a no-wind forward launch. In a well-documented test of having more weight under the same sized wing, this pilot was able to launch at 84 mph. These motors were leaned out to reflect the near sea-level operation that offered plenty powerful for this launch. Strengthened lines prevent jet-blast damage although full power is not normally used to avoid singing the fabric. Happy April 1st!

Dam Good Flying

02/13/2005

For the most Northern flyers, frozen lakes open up many new sites. They go out on those strong enough to support trucks; there won't be any problem falling through on those ice sheets! 

Mark Dean, George Budaker and Tracy Dempsy shakin the spiders off on February 6th, over the headpond at Nackawic, New Brunswick, Canada. The ice above the dam is thick, and a great playground she makes.

Costa Rica!

01/24/2005

A group of pilots recently returned from an expedition in Costa Rica put on by Bob Armond. Initial pictures are gorgeous! Expect some Feature Photos from this batch. Thanks to Michael O'Daniel for sharing. He will be expounding on the adventure in an upcoming UltraFlight article.

Making Memories at 17º

01/13/2005

Randy Bridge is a teacher who loves what he does. He is also a PPG pilot who was featured in his local "Baca Weekly" ne

A student at the school where he teaches, Tress Gadash, had seen the newspaper article and came up with an idea for his class picture. It would make for a unique memory of his classmates: He asked Randy to fly over the school's field and shoot a picture of the gathered class standing in the form of their graduation year, "05." Unfortunately, Tress was not able to participate. His father had taken ill and Tress needed to be with him.

So, in spite of the extreme cold pilot Randy Bridge connected himself via the PPG and a photo that will live for a long, long time in many memories. The flight was brief; he stayed up just long enough to get the picture then landed in the nearby field.

Here's to the Lamar Class of 2005 for braving the 17 degree air, Randy for braving it at 20 mph and Tress for his wonderful idea!

Route 66 Flyers Welcome

01/10/2005

By Bob "Bubba" Peters

It's nice to be welcome.

Greg Bouten from Alamogodo, NM got this shot of a couple of the Route 66 Flyers (an active PPG/PPC group in NM) participating in the Socorro Balloon Ralley. 

This was held over the long 2004 Thanksgiving weekend. Fortunately, the people of Socorro, NM actually like the idea of PPGs and PPCs becoming part of their Holiday spectacle and ask us to attend! 

The Route 66 Flyers have been asked to add color to several events like this in New Mexico. They are occasionally asked to round-up cattle with the PPGs or fly search and Rescue missions for State authorities.

Happy 2005 From Abroad!

12/31/2004
From USPPA (left), From France (center), and from Japan (right)

Welcome to another great opportunity to explore mankind's most personal form of flight. This pilot expresses his freedom only a quarter mile from the Mexican border and a half-mile from a military airfied that is (fortunately) closed for the day. Phil Russman (pictured above), Tim Kaiser and Jeff Goin parted air here a few days before 2005 got underway.

Freedom Flighter

Dec 22, 2004

A view of Afghaniston that you will not likely see on any nightly news. It is an expression of freedom that many around the world take for granted and we hope many more can. Jeremy Partridge, between bullets and firefights, is enjoying a flight near Shiriff.

Jeremy Partridge is putting his life on the line carrying out his duty as a soldier in Afghanistan. Jeremy is also a member of the Powergators, a Florida PPG club headed by Mike Brown.

He is pictured here in an unusually flat part of the country, near Shiriff, enjoying a free flight as some onlookers watch intently. We can only hope that he returns safely to continue enjoying his freedom and that eventually the local Afghani's who dream of flight will some day have the same opportunity.

Thanks, Jeremy for sharing! 

We're Heeeeere!

Nov 24, 2004

A local newspaper contacted member Mark Tolle to take photos of an apparent "crop circle" from his PPG. It was near Ohio's most famous landmark, the Great Serpent Mound.

This wasn't the first in the area either, this newspaper has gotten pictures of several from various areas. Maybe the aliens are just giving the gift of good courses to fly with our paramotors!

Reward For Homework

Oct 14, 2004

I would certainly be motivated. Getting his homework done in a timely fashion meant that 13 year old Taylor Cole could go out to play 500' above Ft. Lauderdale Beach. What an incentive! Proud father and PPG pilot Dave Cole is crafting his own personal PPG air force - another son, Trevor, has been flying for over a year.

Way to go guys!

Discount Membership?

Oct 7, 2004

Every now and then, one of the emails that crosses our screen, hits the funny bone just right. This was one.

Sunny day shadows stretch out earlier and earlier. Any remaining warmth up North is but a reprieve from the law of averages; it will soon be cold. A northern member, bemoaning the impending chill, recently sent an email asking if he could get a discount on his membership: after all, he gets a shortened season!

We looked into it. Unfortunately, it turns out more people read the web site and magazine in the winter then in the summer- Sorry.

Ghosting

Sept 21, 2004

A group of flyers (David McWhinnie & Nick Scholtes pictured) set out for various cross country destinations, winding up eventually at this McDonalds. In an effort to keep his wing out out of the sun and make it less conspicuous, one pilot stuffed the wing into his flight suit. It came to life with it's nylon "guts" and so they put it in a proper position. He even has the throttle in his hand!

This gives new meaning to the term "Red Neck" (see picture). 

Politics from A PPG

Sept 9, 2004

David Gauthier was flying along the Connecticut River in Sunderland, Massachusetts when he came across these two fellows. "You never know where those darn politicians will show up!". He tells is it’s a maze that some folks set up with a different theme every year.

Many locations throughout the midwest have these Mazes and the PPG turns out to be the best way to get a cheating view of them.

Big City, Light Flights

July 9, 2004

Flying near a big city is almost always impossible due to airshicago's skyline from our amazing perch. David invited me to join him pace restrictions and launch availability. David McWhinnie of Skokie, IL found a crevice of grass amongst the mountains of buildings that offered a glimpse of Cand I jumped at the opportunity: such a thing couldn't last forever. It didn't - more on that in the upcoming article.

Pictured right is David taking in the B'hai Temple, a prominent landmark in Chicago's North Suburbs.

The grassy launch area was plenty big and an on-shore wind made it pretty easy. It was actually quite easy to avoid the congested areas by taking off toward the lake and remaining high over the water in glide range of shore.

Chicago O'hare's "B" airspace remained nicely above us as we cruised up and down the lakeshore, enjoying the northern landmarks and mammoth houses. There will be more and better pictures of this gorgeous trip down Chicago's North side in an upcoming UltraFlight issue.

America The Beautiful

July 4, 2004

Happy Birthday America!

Here is a reflection back on some of the sights enjoyed of our gorgeous land from the eyes of PPG pilots. These pictures have never been shown in print or on our web site. Click on each picture to open a full size version.

1. Along the beach at the Salton Sea, CA
2. & 3 Near Lakeland, FL
3. Near Ocala, FL 

1. Sacramento, CA
2. Northern IL

1. Death Valley, CA
2. Treasure Island, FL
3. Near Chicago, IL

1. Just East of the Salton Sea, CA
2. Over San Diego Bay, CA
3. The "Dukes of Windsoar, MD

PG & Ski

June 20, 2004

Note: This was done by an experienced paramotor pilot and water skier in 6 INCHES of water - don't try this at home!

For a limited Time Click here for the video (it's 7.3 Mb though!). It's in RealMedia format.

The boat is a hassle for water skiing and Nick Scholtes decided it could be done away with. After heavy rains made ponds out of depressions in the surrounding fields, Nick came up with the idea of putting some of this water to use.

And then came the perfect conditions. There wasn't much wind and he set up in his pasture (ParadromePPG) with one foot out of the ski and one foot in it. Calmness made it that much more challenging but he poured the coals to it for a power forward launch, shuffling ski and foot increasingly fast until wing's lift allowed sliding. Soon after liftoff he kicked into the seat and put the other foot into the rear binding.

His lovely wife Stacey recorded the escapades as he headed for a flooded field. Repeated passes made him braver and braver as he increased the weight on the ski each time. Later passes wound up putting out quite a "rooster tail" of water and particularly bit "tail" earned some leading edge prop repair. Only one effort almost ended in wetness but the water was only inches deep and so it was more of a convenience concern than a safety one.

There will be more (and better) pictures along with Nick's side of the story in an upcoming issue of UltraFlight. Stay tuned!

Cattle Drive, PPG Style

by Edward Poccia
June 18, 2004

They don’t call it Paratopia for nothing! The new PPG flight park run by Jerry and Michelle Danielle in New Mexico is a wonderful place to fly. Great people go along with a wonderful facility. 

The property borders a cattle ranch whose owner recognized the unique flying characteristics of those colorful elliptical wings sailing over the adjoining property. He asked Jerry if some of the pilots would help drive some of his cattle to the northern end of his property and better grazing areas. 

Last Saturday’s early morning flying session became a whole lot more interesting as six high time PPG pilots became sky cowboys. A briefing before the “round-up” was easy, since no one knew what to do or how this could work. We just launched, flew out to the cattle and tried to recall as many techniques from Billy Crystal’s “City Slickers” as possible. We swooped down, yelling “yehaa” circled around and were able to gather up and drive 50 head about 5 miles through the north gate of the property in less than an hour. 

The rancher was thrilled and said the task would have taken him and his crew more than 3 hours to perform. Some pilots gathered up strays spread over the southern edge of the property (click the pictures at right for a full size version) while others drove the main herd or acted as outriders keeping them going north. It was as much fun as you could imagine. To say the least, six pilots were able to check off one item from their lifelong TO Do list. 

The wranglers were (from L to R) Carl "Cantinflas Apodaca, Steve "Handsome" Hansen, Lee "Whiskers" Lybrand, Ray "Wrangler Ray" Loomis Dave"Davy" Crockett, Jerry "Sky Boss" Daniele, Craig "Baker" Baker and Ed "Butch" Poccia.

An up coming article describing the event in detail along with some amazing photos will appear in a future Ultra-Flight magazine.

Humor: Don't Slow it down son!

"Boy, I clocked you doing 18 knots in a 250 knot zone. Next time I catch you slowing that thing down so far I'm going to break your prop." Sky Marshall Michael O'Daniel writes Kenny Carlock a speeding ticket at the Salton Sea.

PPG Perfect Wedding

June 14, 2004

The ink wasn't dry on their marriage certificate when the newlyweds took to the sky over Elburn, IL. Christie Pallardy and Marc Damon had done the ring thing only hours before on Saturday morning, June 12, 2004. When it was time to throw the bouquet, Christie wouldn't settle for the usual toss - she threw it from her PPG.

It took two perfect launches because the flowers fell out out just before she got airborne on the first try. A quick trip around the pattern, new stowage arrangements and she was off again. This time it worked. After a couple "head fakes," she tossed the bundle to an anxious gathering of gals below.

With many pilot friends buzzing about, her new husband, Marc, joined in the air and they proceeded to enjoy their first flight as man and wife. After Christie landed, marc came in for a perfect touchdown right in front of his bride, walked up and kissed her before the wing touched ground.

Sunset came soon after and likely only the wedding night activities could top such a day.

Congratulations Marc & Christie Damon!

Click the image to bring up the full size version in a new window.

1. The PPG portion of the wedding party: 
Harry Rossett, Marc & Christie Damon and Jeff Goin.
2. Christie Launching for her Bouquet drop.
3. Just after the drop. Dr. Jeff Nielson, trike instructor is lofting below.

1. Harry Rossett, pilot, property owner, and party thrower figures out how best to prepare the flighty flowers.
2. It's blurry but that pink thing is the bouquet on it's way down.
3. Don and Dave cruising the countryside.

1. Dr. Dave McWinnie "Gets it up."
2. 68 year old Don Jordan, USPPA's eldest instructor scopes out the flooded landscape.
2. Jeff Goin, still in his tux, tries out the early afternoon air before spending the rest of the afternoon flying his PPG.
3. Alex Varv getting getting in position. 

New Altitude Record

June 12, 2004

Most recognize that 10,000 feet is the practical limit for powered paraglider flight. Oxygen is recommended above that and the climb rate is dismally slow. Above pressure altitudes of about 45,000 pressure suites are required. 

Wally Hines, tinkerer extraordinaire has apparently come up with the solution. He says "Using my new Wally Wally space suite I made from old vacuum cleaner parts, hair dryers and heavy duty garbage bags I made it up to 237.826 miles over the earth."

Now we just want to know how he keeps the wing inflated up in that vacuum. Click the picture for full size version and enjoy!

Past Pilot Profiles

Discovery

May 15, 2004

First flights are always such joy and we congratulate one of our newest entrants to the realm of foot flyers: Mark Forss. 

He submitted the picture below and explains it: "February 25, 2004; my PPG solo at the Fly By Ranch under the guidance of Eric DuFour and Richard Good after their 2 day introduction/solo course."

Thanks and congratulations! Mark can be reached using mforss@eaa.org.

Building An Oasis

May 6, 2004

Jerry and Michelle Daniele are carving a paramotor haven out of New Mexican dust. More nuturing than carving, they are planning an oasis of launchable green grass amidst the expanse of beautiful but barren desert land.

A number of pilots have joined them by purchasing the surrounding land in what is likely the largest PPG flight park in the world. Click the picture at right to enlarge the view from 37,000'.

The group of 40 acre lots, of which American Flyer owns two, makes up just under one square mile. This will be the site of this year's Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta Fly-In, details for which are in the "Upcoming Events" section.

I-40 runs through the center of the picture and a mostly dry stream crosses it under two bridges. A large Casino sprawls just West of the river and the small dark rectangle, just Northeast of the bridges, is about a mile South of American flyer's planned oasis.

Force Pigeon Forge

by Robin Rumbolt

April 23, 2004

Click the picture to open full size window

1. This photo was taken over Crossville, TN which is about halfway between Knoxville (East) and Nashville (middle). It looks like the farmer just straightened out his crop circles!

2. Mike Major patrolling the mountaintops around Pigeon Forge TN. He is flying a Fresh Breeze Flyke.

3. This picture was taken of a water tower under construction near "Dollywood", an amusement attraction in the Smoky Mountains. Note the Redstone rocket cleverly hidden in the middle of the tank. Who needs underground missile silos!

Hunting Season

April 1, 2004

These hunters are hopefully as bad at shooting as they are at picking prey. But it does remind us how being respectful of our landowner hosts sometimes carries greater importance than we generally know.

Photo submitted by John Fetz

Aircraft Carrier

Mar 21, 2004

One expectant pilot is looking to launch from his new runabout. This Boeing-built beauty has undergone an extensive renovation and its new owner hopes to figure out a way to fly off it. 

So far only powered paraglider or pole-equipped powered parachutes have been considered.

At over 120 feet long it is not short on living space but launching space would be hard to find. The front deck offers the most unobstructed view of the wind but a means to keep the pilot and wing out of the water would have to be developed.

Having a breeze is no problem as it can make it's own 28 mph wind. Of course that's not easy and takes three 1200 hp diesels to pull it off. 

The adventurous soul understands it to be no small undertaking and wants to minimize risk with extra precautions. He is seeking advice on the best way to proceed and will get an experienced pilot to try it first. The shakedown cruise is planned for late summer 2004 and a hopeful first flight not long afterwards.

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