Thanks to Jeff Wishnie for putting out a great-looking Ridge Dancer last month. Everyone who sees the new Ridge Dancer says it looks terrific and is very reader-friendly. If you have any comments or suggestions, please contact Julie Spiegler at Julie@helium.com Julie is responsible for the major redesign of the electronic Ridge Dancer.

I want to mention a few upcoming BAPA events. The Fall fly-in at Elk Mountain will be from Friday, October 22 to Sunday, October 24. Al Baldini and friends will organize the festivities. Flying conditions are likely to be mellow that late in the year. In the evening when the temperature drops, the traditional bonfire may be in order. Put this fun event on your social calendar.

Please remember to submit your favorite photographs to Jug Aggarwal for the 2004 Photo Contest. A committee will select 13 photos for inclusion in a 2005 calendar. Jug hopes to have the calendars available at the BAPA Holiday party.

Speaking of the party, Tom Moock will host this year's bash at his house in San Leandro on December 11. Details on the location, parking, what to bring and so forth, will be in future editions of the Ridge Dancer. At the party, Jug will present awards for the NorCal Social XC League and also for the calendar photographs.

Another upcoming item is BAPA officer elections. Nominations for BAPA officer positions will be held at the November 3 meeting as usual. This year we will also have a system in place for those who would like to run for a position to submit their names via email in advance of the meeting. Please note that when elected, officers should be available to attend most meetings in person. Our club does not run by email. The club meetings are important because they allow in-person discussion of issues. In next month's Ridge Dancer, I will submit an article that describes each officer position in detail. If you would like to see the "job descriptions" of the officers, please read the BAPA bylaws on the www.sfbapa.org website.

Finally, I'd like to encourage everyone to take note of the many accidents and incidents this year. The list is long and some of the injuries are serious, including some fatalities. I started flying in 1991. In the early days we had a lot of incidents and accidents when the pilot population was relatively inexperienced. Our wings were slow and sometimes not very stable. Accidents, incidents and fatalities seemed all too frequent.

Things improved greatly around the later 90's. For several years it seemed that the accident and incident rate declined markedly. Wings were faster and more stable, pilots were more experienced, and folks still remembered the old days and the lessons we had learned. However, in the last year or two, particularly this year in 2004, it seems that there have been many more incidents, close calls, accidents and fatalities.

We need to respect the dangers of our sport. The penalty for making a mistake can be great. Please keep a sense of caution when you decide whether or not to fly and how you're going to fly. For the newer pilot, there is no rush to progress. We are not all going to be the next U.S. champion, XC master or acro king. What we can all try to be is safe, competent pilots who fly within their experience and skill levels and who try to manage the risks of our sport.

Recently it seems that pilots may be trying to fly in stronger, more extreme conditions than our craft can handle. We are subject to collapse and no matter how skilled you are as a paraglider pilot, there are limits to keeping the canopy open in severe conditions. And we have to land at some point so we'll have to get close to the ground eventually.

In addition, those with less experience may want to make different choices than those with much experience. This makes sense. If you have never done something before, it is not surprising that you won't be as good at it as someone who has honed their skills for years. Striving to get higher and go further is a worthwhile goal but it takes practice and patience.

For those who are more experienced, it is great to encourage newer pilots but please keep in mind that you have been flying and developing skills and experience for many years now. You don't necessarily want to recommend that a new pilot do the same things you do. It is probably a good idea to ask the new pilot how much experience they have so you'll be able to keep this in mind. Please think back to how long it took you to develop skills and be realistic about what you say.

One of the most rewarding things about flying is making sound decisions and feeling like your great flight was based mainly on these rather than pure luck and boldness. Let's keep the enthusiasm but temper it with consideration of safety. We all love to fly and we love to share this great adventure with our friends.

Blue Skies, everyone.

I am having a great summer! Everywhere I go, I've been meeting new and old pilots alike and there has never been a more positive attitude, enthusiasm, and feeling of community! As we head into Autumn and Winter, I encourage all to keep up that energy and get more involved with the local clubs, come to the meetings and parties, and to help out when there is work to be done maintaining our sites.

Late Breaking News

Dave Ellers sets new XC Record

Dave took off on Sunday Sept 20 on his brand new Gin Gangster from the canyon just north of the dumps in the wind shear and followed it south down the coast to Montara, setting a new dumps site record. No story yet, but he did land out near the old Chart House restaurant which is about 8 miles out.

I want to make it clear that flying in the shear like this is not for the inexperienced! This was an extremely risky flight with much of the flight over the ocean, where available landing areas are covered with houses and power lines, and as evidenced by a similar flight down south where the pilot dropped out of the shear into the ocean and hasn't been seen since, the shears can be quite powerful.

Phil Neri Achieves 2nd Diamond

Please join me in congratulating Phil on his 2000th consecutive safe flight on September 10, 2004! The USHGA Safe Pilot Award Program is designed to recognize, promote, and reward safe flying. You can read more about the award program on the USHGA site.

Just cuz it ain't regulated...

Yet another pilot this past weekend got caught in the stengthening wind, couldn't penetrate, and ended up landing at the middle school field behind the transfer station without further incident. And a tandem pilot was reportedly seen without a helmet! Come on!

Keep the Articles and Ideas Coming!

I included an article writing by Paolo on his first day experiences as it exemplifies why we fly. Please, even if you can't write (I can help you out on the writing), please submit your stories, ideas, and pictures from your flying experiences this summer! Drop me a line at editor (at) sfbapa.org.

Last year, over 50 pilots died in paragliding accidents in the European Alps. Clearly, we have to ask some questions as to why the attrition rate was so high. Rob Whittall investigates what has gone wrong - and what we can do to make our sport safe

As I understand things, we should be doing better than ever. Our sport has had many years to mature and the gliders we fly now are safer than ever. As a sport, the boom times are over and the people flying today are more likely to have a real passion to fly.

I can understand why things were bad many years ago. We had very little knowledge, the gliders were crap, and lots of people doing the sport were simply doing it because it was fashionable, not because they had any real desire to fly.

Apart from the calibre of people coming into the improving, gliders and the way they fly has really progressed in the past few years.

There's no question that the continuous and rapid pace of development has resulted in a massive increase in the passive safety of modem wings.

I really feel safe under the gliders we fly today. Their resistance to deflation is much better; pitch stability has got so good that even flying with the speed bar on is no longer an issue. The overall package of today's gliders is fantastic, and it's been wonderful to see a general adoption of the attitude that flying a safer glider is cool.

So what went wrong? The first excuse I hear is that it was an incredible summer, with records broken and even pilots landing on the top of Mont Blanc. Of course, along with record thermal strengths came the associated turbulence.

Ok, there's no question this could be the cause. But what was the reason?

It's simply not fair to blame everything on the conditions being simply too strong. The question is, what were the pilots doing flying in those conditions?

I, personally, feel it was a lack of responsibility and respect. Each and every time we fly we have to remember that we are about to take an enormous risk. Everybody has to understand the risk, and yes, it is a calculated risk - but only if you stop to make those calculations.

Imagine if each day was graded as to its expected conditions on a scale of one to five. One would be a super smooth day ideal for beginner and expert alike. Five would be for strong thermal or wind conditions and for experts only. So, on a day forecasted to be a grade five, you should know that it's out of your league if you are an intermediate pilot who normally flies in grade two or three conditions. Unless you particularly want an unpleasant surprise, you should stay on the ground.

Unfortunately, we don't have a daily grading system so we have to take responsibility for deciding upon ourselves. This means that you as an individual have to make the calculations as to whether it's OK or not. To do this well you have to follow and understand weather down to the finest detail. Be brutally honest with yourself about your ability. Put your ego aside listen carefully to your fears, as they will guide you safely. Above all, understand that it's you, and only you, that can control your actions.

I'm not trying to sound like the 'preacher', particularly as I have been, perhaps, one of the most disrespectful and irresponsible pilots of all times. And now, although I don't regret a bit of it, I truly realise just how stupid I was and how lucky I am still to be here today. I've thrown my reserve far too many times, I've hit the ground so hard I was convinced it was the end and I've come close to dying too many times to even begin to count.

The reason we need respect for flying is simple: we are taking a non-rigid flying machine into a medium we cannot see.

So please believe me when I say, I am looking at this from a good perspective. Each of these incidents was directly connected to my own arrogance, ignorance and lack of respect.

The reason we need .respect for flying is simple: we are taking a non-rigid flying machine into a medium we cannot see. Due to the invisible nature of the air we never really know what is happening, and that means must always be on our guard. We can imagine, predict, feel and measure the air, but these are the roughest of rough guides as to what is going on. The power of nature is unpredictable, unbelievably strong and remorseless.

Therefore it's imperative that you take the time to learn about the weather, read books, watch the reports survey the web for as much info as you can get ho.ld of Flying and understanding the weather go hand in hand. There should never be one without the other.

Always get a weather report on the morning of any day you plan to fly. This will give you an idea of what to expect during the day, and also give you a reference as to what's a good day and what's bad.

Never, ever, go flying expecting to fly. That is without doubt the wrong approach. Go there hoping to fly if the conditions are within your personal limits. On arrival at the site, even if pilots are flying, take the time to make all your assessments and make sure it's suitable for your ability. Never take it for granted that it's good for you simply because others are flying. If there's any doubt in your mind at all, you shouldn't fly. Yes, you might miss a good day, but it's far better to miss than be missed!

Each time I go flying nowadays, I am much more selective about the conditions I fly in. The simple reason is I want to fly to enjoy it. For sure there are times when I've flown in some shit for testing purposes, but other than that I can now happily keep the wing in the bag if it's looking either too good or not good enough for me.

Understanding responsibility is paramount to survival. It's your obligation to yourself to give yourself the best chance possible of living to enjoy another day. Then, there are the responsibilities you have to others; wives, husbands, children, parents and loved ones. Finally, there's the responsibility to strangers, the medical workers and friends that have to clean up the mess.

We can keep making safer and safer wings. But if you go and fly them in conditions that are out of your limits, that safety is pointless. Safety is down to you, not your wing. I'm sure that some of the accidents of the past year could have been prevented by utilising a little more respect and responsibility.

Please remember that flying is not a game, it's a skill and an art, which requires an enormous amount of dedication and devotion in order to become proficient. But, you have to always remember, no matter how good you get, there's more to learn and it and will never be totally safe!

Think first and fly safe. Reprinted with permission of the author.

Last Saturday was my first day of training with a paraglider at Ed Levin park. The sensations and the fulfillment that this first experience gave me were so intense that I can hardly wait for the next time that I will be out there. And all this excitement comes after getting my feet of the ground for a total of 2 feet in height and 12 feet in length!

Learning how to fly with a paraglider was something that I had in the back of my mind ever since, during a ski trip in the Dolomites, I did my first tandem flight with a local mountain guide 12 years ago. Since then it has been a recurring dream, but due to various commitments I never had the chance, or was never able to overcome the laziness, to dedicate my time and efforts to learning how to fly. My only consolation, or better, my only source of bliss were the occasional tandem flights during my ski trips in the Alps and in the end these flights were the thing I was looking most forward to in these trips. Especially during the last tandem flight in which my pilot gave me the controls and guided me through a series of maneuvers that gave me that final jolt, that last push, the last bit of energy necessary to overcome the inertia that was keeping me from starting my own experience as a pilot (or aspiring pilot). So when I got back I started immediately looking into the possibilities of learning and now here I am with Pacific Skyways and BAPA hoping to become a good pilot as quickly as possible.

I must admit that since I had done a few tandem flights, and some from pretty high, I thought that the first parts of the course, especially all the training of inflating, taking off and landing form the small hills, would be nice, but not much more. It was all necessary obviously to learn how to fly safely and become a real pilot, but I thought that the real fun would only begin with the real flying.

How wrong I was!

The thrills that my first little flight (the 2 by 12) gave me were as intense, or maybe even more, than the last tandem flights I did. And if you had asked me beforehand I would have answered that this would not have been possible. The simple fact that I alone was controlling the wing and able to fly on my own, was indescribable. And this all happened about 1 hour after I started my training. I can't wait to see what I'll feel after a few days of training!

When I went home that day I left with my wife for a conference and as we were driving down highway 101 I was telling here about the incredible time I just had and how glad I was that I had finally decided to go through training. She could tell by the way that I was recounting the events of that morning that I had had a wonderful time and she asked me: "Wow, you're more excited than when we were in the Alps, I didn't think they'd have you flying on the first day. How high was the hill you took off from?" And as she was saying that she was pointing to the hills around Gilroy as if searching for an example of a sufficiently high hill. I thought for a moment, and then I pointed to the road in front of us, "The hill was no steeper than the road we're driving on", I answered, recalling the height of the LZ at Ed Levin park. And I added that I never would have guessed that my 2 by 12 flight at the training hill at Ed Levin would have given me such an exciting experience and already such great memories. I looked out the window at the hills and started to think. In my life I have been lucky enough to hike, trek, climb and ski some beautiful mountains in the Alps and the hills of the preAlps that I always crossed to get to my destinations were hardly ever of any excitement to me. Now I caught myself looking at all the hills along the road with a new tingle in my eye and thinking how I would love to hike up and fly off them. I have renewed respect for the hills, for the LZ at Ed Levin has shown me how much fun and excitement I can have by paragliding.

I look forward in anticipation to when I will be qualified to fly on my own from higher hills and mountains, but knowing that I can have this much fun while I'm learning in places such as the Ed Levin LZ with all the new friends I have made there makes me want to speed up the hands on my watch so the next time comes as soon as possible.

If you want to find me that should be easy, I'll be the guy at the LZ with the grin, trying to learn to fly. But, come to think of it, that's exactly the grin that I noticed on all of the student pilots, pilots and instructors at Ed Levin that morning. Maybe that morning I learned the most mportant lesson: how much fun even a 2 by 12 can be.

General Members Meeting

The September meeting was conducted by Ann Sasaki; President. Officers present were Rolf Bienert; Vice-President, Tom Moock; Co-Site Director, and Pete Norlander; Secretary. A total of 14 members were present.

New Members/Visitors

One visitor was in attendance at the September meeting; Fabian Lischka. Fabian took paragliding lessons 10 years ago in Germany. He still has an interest. Fabian is nearing completion of his Ph.d. Perhaps now he will find time to pursue his interest in paragliding. Welcome Fabian! We look forward to seeing you in the future.

Officers' Report

President - Meeting called to order by Ann Sasaki. Unable to be present were Treasurer, Stefan Schulz, Safety Director Wally Anderson, Site Co-Director Jeff Wishnie and Activities Director Chip Sheppard.

On behalf of Stefan Schulz Ann reported $4,239.00 in the club account. Six new members joined during August bring total membership to 144.

On behalf of Wally Anderson, Ann reported on an incident at the Dump in which a pilot landed in the water. Fortunately, the pilot was carrying a knife and was able to cut his risers and remove himself from the water. Discussion followed on the fact that the pilot was not USHGA-rated. BAPA members and regulars at the Dump were encouraged to be proactive in promoting safe practices with pilots new to the site. This should include encouraging a site intro, following the guidelines on the newly posted signs, and handing out BAPA 'safe practices' check list. Self regulation by the flying community is seen as the best way to prevent accidents and fatalities and preserve our flying sites.

Tom Moock reported on a request by the Rangers on Mount Diablo State Park to prohibit solo flying at Mount Diablo. Discussion followed on the pros and cons of the proposal, including what constitutes solo flying? Tom was to ask Mt. Diablo Site Administrator, Bob Clem to propose wording for a 'no fly alone' rule so that the membership would have something to vote on for approval or not.

On behalf of Chip Sheppard, Ann reported on upcoming events including the Elk Mountain fly-in in October and the holiday party on December 11 at Tom Moock's house.

Old Business

Minutes From Past Meeting

The July meeting minutes were not approved in August due to the lack of a quorum. (However, this was a misunderstanding - last year we amended the BAPA bylaws to say that a simple majority is all that is needed to make simple motions like approving the minutes.)

A motion was made to approve the July and August minutes as printed in the Ridge Dancer newsletter. The motion was carried and approved by the members present.

New Business

The Coyote Lake front ridge and LZ have been secured. The back ridge (high one) has been tentatively approved for 2 test flights. The back ridge is a hike up site. The possibility exists to make it a drive up site if certain environmental issues can be resolved. For example, a dry stream bed which is habitat for native fauna must be crossed. Gene Pfeiffer stated that the insurance for the test flights will be $140.00. Wings of Rogallo is willing to split the cost with BAPA. A motion was made to approve $75.00 for insurance. The motion was approved.

Rick Cavallero, the administrator for the Fort Funston webcam and website submitted a request for $300.00 to help off set costs associated with maintenance of the site and related equipment. BAPA has contributed to help with these expenses in the past. The question was raised as to what exactly are the expenses and how are BAPA funds applied. Ann said she would get more details and report at the next meeting.

A motion was made for BAPA to sponsor a 2005 calendar for next year. A contest will be held to pick the 12 best photos. BAPA members are encouraged to submit your 'best of the best' photos for publication in the calendar. First place prize will be $50.00. All individuals who have one of their photos selected for the calendar will receive a free calendar, a $20.00 value. A motion was made and approved to allocate $290.00 for prize money and 12 free calendars. Calendars will need to be 'pre-ordered' by individuals so that printing costs can be accurately determined.

The Silent Air Show is set for the weekend of September 18 & 19 at Ed Levin County Park in Milpitas. The entrance fee will be $10.00 per vehicle and $2.00 person. Among other activities a 'Hike & Huck' is planned. Contestants will hike to the 1700' launch with their gear and fly down to the LZ. Prizes will be awarded. A $25.00 gift certificate from BAPA was approved.

Jug Aggarwal proposed that the club purchase Dr. Jack's Blip Spot site forecasts. The cost is $50.00 per year. Several sites were proposed. Potato Hill was selected. The motion was approved.

The XC Social League plans to hold two more competitions for the season, one in September and one in October. Time and place are to be announced.

The annual Monster Mash fly in will be held the weekend of October 2 and 3 at Hat Creek.

Tom Moock has graciously agreed to host this years annual holiday party at his house in San Leandro. The date has been set for December 11. Thank you Tom!

Entertainment

Jug Aggarwal provided the evening's entertainment with a slide show and commentary of his three trips flying the Dolomites in the Alps of Northern Italy. The photography was superb. Jug's enthusiasm is contagious. His description of the Dolomites as a Mecca for paragliding is not an over statement. Thank you for sharing Jug.

From Zimbabwe to New Zealand, Jug seems to have a knack for finding outstanding flying in the far corners of the world. Jug is planning a trip to Northern India in the future. If it is anything like his previous trips, you may want to ask him if you can tag along!