The Origin, The Purpose and  The People
by Jeff Goin
July 29, 2001
Some have asked about the origins of USPPA and the motivations
behind it. My desire here is to lay out what prompted it's formation and give
some background on those who came forward to help it begin.
When I got into the sport I was surprised to find out there
was no organization dedicated solely to POWERED paragliding and no standardized
training program. So when discussion came up on the subject I thought it was a good idea.
In about December of 2000, after talking personally with the
founder of NAPPG it became apparent they had switched focus and did not
want to be democratically run with all the associated hassles. Shortly
thereafter the seeds of USPPA were sown.
In the next couple months I began building the web site and
organizational form using a modified framework from the USHGA. I still wasn't
sure I wanted to take on what seemed like a monumental time commitment but in
early March I took the plunge and offered it to the PPG community at large. At
the same time I solicited PPG people who I respected, had expressed a similar
vision and were very committed to the sport.
The Purpose
It was one of those things that I felt convinced should be
done...uniting the pilots to whatever extent was possible and providing
benefits that could essentially only be had through this type of organization. I
felt the training program should be completely voluntary, be set up by those
folks most experienced at training and be minimally expensive to be
included.
If good people wanted to share in the load and the vision than
it would likely succeed. If not then it would become extinct. But at least we
would know whether the pilots, overall, were ready and desiring this type of
effort.
It was also important that not one individual or even group of
individuals control it without recourse...thus the form and by-laws. They were
created so that the folks who ran it could not enact unpopular changes without
fear of losing their office. It was also made so that changes to the by-laws
must enjoy wide support in the membership and so the direction could not be
changed easily by the leadership.
The People
There are some very interesting histories involved in those
who have dedicated large chunks of their lives to this sport. There is also a
common thread...they gave up much in earnings to do this sport they love so
much. The vast majority of folks I know who make a living in a ppg business do
because they enjoy it and are willing to risk their careers to pursue it.
Some of these folks I have come to know better as a result
this organization. It's interesting to recount their histories. While I mention
here the ones who have contributed to this effort, I also acknowledge
many others who have made big contributions to the sport.
Francesco DeSantis (Check): Having accepted an offer for a
juicy job in Canadian ATC he got an offer from a ppg dealer to do instruction
full-time. It was for noticably less money than the ATC job and certainly didn't
have nearly the trappings. But it would allow him to do the sport he loved
full-time. He's been training and flying ever since.
Alan Chuculate: Having worked in the Aerospace field for a few
years he decided it wasn't the life for him and chose to teach ppg instead. The
hope: to be able to fly more often. Like Check he has traveled all over the
world training pilots to ppg with a wide variety of equipment.
Chris Bowles: He is a gifted craftsman and machinist who has
dedicated his talents to this sport for many years. In addition to designing and
working on various innovative products he his wife Tammy do a lot of
instruction. They're choice of a house was based almost entirely on it's
proximity to a good soaring location in western NC.
There are others, of course, and hopefully we'll be able to
get them to come down long enough to participate in whatever way they can. My
reason for adding this is to provide one perspective on these folks and their
impact on our sport. |
