President’s Report for October and November, 2006 

Ann Sasaki 

Rolf Bienert reported a successful pilot summit in conjunction with the USHPA Board of Directors meeting in early October.  The event was well attended and pilots and guests enjoyed the buffet dinner and the convivial company. 

We had some good coastal flying days in October, surprisingly good for this time of the year.  Folks who went to Dunlap and Potato Hill in mid-October reported flyable but not overly soarable conditions.  It seems like some of the best flying was at Slide recently.  Mission also provided some decent soaring here and there.

James Smyth launches - photo by Tom Bair

 

There have been favorable developments at the Stables and Mori Point.  In a short while when our Stables permit is renewed, non-commercial tandems will be allowed at the Stables if the tandem pilot gets on the list of approved pilots.  This will be a simple procedure analogous to getting a sticker for a site.  Only non-commercial tandems flights will be allowed.  At Mori Point, an official permit for P3s and above to fly will most likely be approved by the GGNRA in the not-too-distant future.  Pilots will need to get a sticker to fly there.  Mori can provide some nice wintertime soaring, or at least scenic sledders when the wind is northerly.  Mori is a hike-up site and we will need to be careful to land only in the designated LZ because there are two endangered species that make their home at Mori Point. 

At the November BAPA meeting we had a good turnout of 26 members, including many newer pilots and members.  Seven experienced pilots and instructors participated in a discussion of Safety Tips for coastal, mountain and XC flying, especially geared toward newer and intermediate pilots.  There was so much to talk about that we didn’t get through the whole list.  The discussion will continue in January at the SSF meeting.  (The December meeting is in Milpitas.)  If you couldn’t make it to the November meeting, come in January to hear the second half of the discussion. 

Officer nominations took place at the November meeting.  An online ballot will soon be available at www.sfbapa.org and members will vote by December 6 to elect the 2007 officers.  One position actually has two candidates in the running!  Please be sure to vote by noon on December 6 so that the new officers can be announced at the BAPA meeting that evening in Milpitas. 

BAPA 2007 calendars are also available for order – the deadline is November 22 (probably before this edition of the Ridge Dancer comes out). Go to www.sfbapa.org to order.  All calendars will be mailed directly to you.  They will not be ready by the holiday party as originally planned. But you WILL receive them before the end of this year. 

The BAPA holiday party will be on Saturday, December 9 at Tom Moock’s house in San Leandro  starting at 6:30 p.m.  Please RSVP to Ann Sasaki at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it by December 1 to say what you will bring and how many people will be coming.  BAPA will provide some of the main dishes.  Members can contribute appetizers, side dishes, salads, desserts and drinks.  The holiday party is always lots of fun – this will be the third year at Tom’s house.  Last year there were over 80 guests and everyone had a great time eating, drinking, socializing and applauding the XC League participants as Jug awarded the annual prizes for the league.   

Please be sure to RSVP by December 1 and let me know what you will bring and how many people are coming.  Tom’s address is 1586 Daniels Drive in San Leandro 94577. 

Directions to 1586 Daniels St, San Leandro are as follows:  

From the Peninsula:  

Take the San Mateo Bridge, then take 880 N.  See below - 

From the South Bay:  

·        Take 880 N

·        Go East on 238

·        Go Northwest on 580, toward Oakland

·        Take the Estudillo Exit, Turn right on Grand

·        Turn right on Estudillo, go under Freeway

·        Go two blocks, then turn left  to stay on Estudillo Ave

·        Turn left on Brookvale

·        Turn left on Daniels

·        The fourth house on right is 1586 Daniels  

From San Francisco:  

·        Take the (80) Bay Bridge

·        Take highway 580 Southeast, toward Hayward

·        Take the Estudillo Exit

·        At the second traffic light, Turn left on Estudillo Ave

·        Go two blocks, then turn left to stay on Estudillo Ave

·        Turn left on Brookvale

·        Turn left on Daniels

·        The fourth house on right is 1586 Daniels  

Come to celebrate the holiday season and toast to another great year of flying! 

As the winter season is upon us, we can look for flying around the storm fronts, easterly soaring at Benicia, northerly flying at Mori once it opens, and traveling further south to warmer climates for thermals, margaritas and sunshine. 

Fly often and fly safely.

Lorie Teichert-Smyth launches at Kealakekua

Well we're flying right in to the Holiday season. The weather has been relatively nice with some good flights for those of us lucky enough to find some of that late season lift.

 We have a PARTY coming up!!! Come and enjoy your BAPA friends. Eat, Drink and be Merry at Tom's house in December...THANKS TOM!

This month we are featuring an interview with Jerome Doust. Jerome is a long time pilot from Southern California who holds a Master Rating. The interview focuses on speed bar design and howJerome came up with his own design...the J-Rod.  Enjoy!

Get high and fly safely!

Rich 

It's cold outside, east winds are here - the year is coming to a close and we will need new BAPA Officers for 2007.

This year our only contested position is Treasurer - be sure to log in and cast your ballot!

The list of nominees is available in the electronic ballot, or in the "More" complete version of this article.

After you log in to sfbapa.org and you'll find a link to "BAPA Election Ballot" at the top of the page in the global navigation.  Or, log in and follow this link:
http://www.sfbapa.org/links/renew_form.html

All ballots must be received by noon Wednesday, 6 December (prior to the December BAPA Meeting) in order to be counted. The Bylaws also provide for in-person voting at the December meeting.  However, in order to verify each member has only voted once, you can not vote in-person at the meeting if you submitted an electronic or paper ballot prior to the meeting.

While you're logged in, it's an excellent time to also renew your BAPA membership!

2007 BAPA Officer Election

Make your selections and bring this ballot to the December BAPA meeting.  Or, log in to the sfbapa.org website and vote online.  Note: the bylaws allow in-person voting at the December BAPA meeting, but only if you have not already submitted a ballot prior to the meeting.

All electronic and signed absentee ballots must be received by noon on December 6, 2006 in order to be tallied prior to the December BAPA meeting.

President:

• Tom Moock
• Write-In:

Vice President:

• Rolf Bienert
• Write-In:

Treasurer:

• Atta Pilram
• Saptarshi (Roy) Roy
• Write-In:

Secretary:

• Tim Sirianni
• Write-In:

Site Director:

• Haynes (Chip) Sheppard
• Write-In:

Safety Director:

• Wally Anderson
• Write-In:

Activities co-Directors:

• Ann Sasaki & Brent Erdmann
• Write-In:

I met Jerome over the summer while visitng friends in Southern California. Jerome offered to give me a tour of Torrey Pines. We flew from one end of the site to the other...Del Mar to Scripps Pier...it was a great treat!

Jerome's speed bar intrigued me. Since I was thinking of changing the system that came with my harness I began asking Jerome some questions. Some of them appear in this article.

First, a little bit about Jerome. 

Education: Mechanical Engineer. Ph.D. 
Job: Finite Element Analysis software development 
Years Paragliding: Since 1989, so 17 years. 
Rating: Master (P5) 

Website: http://www.ExpandingKnowledge.com  

Jerome is also a frequent contributor to www.ParaglidingForum.com and enjoys sharing his experiences for the benefit of other pilots. Jerome review things he is considering purchasing for himself. Reviews are posted on www.ExpandingKnowledge.com 

RD: Your paragliding experience is extensive and needless to say you have seen quite an evolution of paragliding gear over the years. With regard to "speedbars" are there any conventional designs you like?

Jerome: No...which was my inspiration for designing one with the required features. You can see my review of several of the well known speed bar designs just go to:

JeromeDaoust_Speedbar_JRod/Main.htm#Market_Comparison 

Note: You may need to copy/paste each part ot the URL in your browser's address bar.

RD: Speedbars seem pretty basic...how do you think they can be improved?

Jerome: By having a true bar (not a cable loop) as the first of 2 steps. By finding it easily without using hands. By being robust and compact during storage. By having an adjustable distance between the 2 steps. 

J-Rod Collapsed

Jerome: This took a long time (about 250 hours) of testing many ideas. You can see many prototypes and concepts on the dedicated web page: http://www.expandingknowledge.com/JRod.htm  See the "Other ideas" section. The goals were to have a lightweight, robust design that has bars for the 2 steps, with the 1st step being propped forward for an easy grab with a foot. Leg protection from catching the first bar between the legs while running was also a criterion. 
 
RD: If you could list top 3 reasons to have a speed bar like the J-Rod what would they be?

Jerome: For the pride of owning the best speedbar design. To have a true bar (not a cable loop) as the first of 2 steps, which can be easily found without using hands. For its robustness and near-1D shape when folded/stored. 

Global view of the J-Rod

RD: Is the J-Rod available?

Jerome: Yes, there are instructions for pilots to build one themselves, as one person has already done and shared his testimonial. Or you can simply purchase it. My goal is to promote a better design, and give pilots options for owning one. 
 
RD: Is the J-Rod compatible with most harnesses?

Jerome: Yes, there are loop attachments provided at the main bar. But you do want a retraction system built into your harness, as it would be a shame to run over it during launch or landing. 
 
RD: Do you have any suggestions for attaching the J-Rod to your harness?

Jerome: As I mentioned earlier, you should own a harness with a speedbar retraction system, so the speedbar remains snug to your harness while launching/landing. Otherwise, you can add this feature to your harness, by adding bungee cords. Then adjust the length of your speedbar lines so your legs are fully extended when maximum wing acceleration is achieved.

J-Rod in the air!

Jerome also recommends a viewing of the video of J-Rod's auto-deployment.

Go to    http://www.expandingknowledge.com/JRod.htm

Click "First Step"

The year is almost over, which means it's time to renew your BAPA membership (technically due January 1, 2007).  Don't wait until the
last minute - our online renewal form is available now.

Log in to sfbapa.org and you'll find a link to "Membership Renewal" in the User Menu.  Or, log in and follow this link:

http://www.sfbapa.org/links/renew_form.html

While you're logged in, please be sure to check your membership information (under "My Member Info" in the User Menu).  Remember that
now all your member information is stored in the website system, so you can update it directly.

And if for some reason you haven't yet joined BAPA, now's a great time to do that, too.  You'll find the Membership Application on sfbapa.org
and your dues will support all of the sites, activities, clinics and information that BAPA provides for paraglider pilots.

Meeting Minutes for October 

Submitted by Tom Moock for Alex Koorkoff  

Site issues

The GGNRA Fort Funston hanggliding permit allows non-commercial tandems.  Dave Sondergeld asked GGNRA rangers if we can add non-commercial thandems to the GGNRA  Stables permit.  This will be allowed when we next renew the permit.  There will be a sticker or other identifier for tandem pilots who meet the qualifications to fly at the Stables. 

A few months ago, Ann Sasaki and Dan Byrne went to a GGNRA meeting that included discussion of GGNR plans for Mori Point.  At the GGNRA meeting paragliding looked less feasible because the GGNRA  intended to put some ponds in the LZ for the endangered red-legged frogs.   

However, after Dan submitted some comments during the public comment period, the GGNRA put paragliding back on the list of possible activities.  Now there is a better chance of negotiating a permit.

Daniel Bremond suggested we look into opening a flying site near the Golden Gate Bridge.   

Holiday party

This will be at Tom’s house on Saturday December 9 at 6:30.  Bapa will provide some of the food, the rest is potluck.  Jug will distribute the XC League prizes.  RSVP by December 1 to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  

The 2007 Calendar

The vote is on, and closes on Oct 15.  The pictures are beautiful!  Hopefully the calendars will be ready at the party. 

BAPA Hats

Julie and Ann will do the BAPA hats after the calendars are all ordered.  

Brad Hartzell, Daly City Fire Chief:

Ann and other pilots met him recently at the Dump when the firefighters responded to a 911 call.  Brad was quite friendly to paragliding.  He wants to work together to make rescues go more smoothly.  There was an accident at the time, and things were not as organized or efficient as they and we would like.  He invited us to go to the firehouse and have dinner sometime. 

Officer Elections

At the November meeting there will be nominations for 2007 BAPA officers. 

Coastal Cleanup

It was a beautiful, warm and un-flyable day.  There were fewer people than in previous years, but there was also less trash.    

Incorporation

As part of the process of incorporating as a nonprofit, we must identify a ‘service agent’.  That will be Lorie Teichert-Smyth.  The statement of information has been filed and paid to cover the next two years. 

Balance

      Our bank balance is now $4,568.63  

Entertainment

    Calendar voting accomplished by 41 folks.  Wayne's getting pricing, Julie's working on ordering process. 

    Holiday party to be held at 6:30 PM on December 9, 2006, at Tom    Moock's house. Thanks, Tom. 

    BAPA will provide basic food, attendees to bring more.  RSVP email will be sent shortly.  

    Expecting about 80-85 people. 

    Jug will present XC league awards at the party. 

New Business

    Nominations for 2007 BAPA officers:

        President: Tom Moock

        VP: Rolf Bienert   

        Site Dir.: Chip Sheppard

        Safety Dir.: Wally Anderson

        Activity Co-Directors: Ann Sasaki and Brent Erdmann

        Treasurer: Saptarshi Roy (Roy)   Atta Pilram

        Secretary: Tim Sirianni

Vote by Dec 6, 2006.   Julie will get the web site set up for online voting. 

Old Business

    Atta pointed out that we have these bylaw changes to make:

       - Newsletters need to change frequency to match current practice.

       - Substitute USHPA for USHGA to account for the national organization's recent name change.

Motion made by Ann that the meeting minutes be approved as published in the latest newsletter, August + September 2006.  Seconded by Rolf. 

    Motion passed. 

Meeting Adjourned at 7:45 p.m.

Door prizes -  

A water bottle and a set of stuff sacks were awarded to two members attending the meeting. 

Entertainment – After the meeting, Ann Sasaki, Wally Anderson, Julie Spiegler, Gever Tulley, Eric Reed, Tom Moock and Rolf Bienert discussed Safety Tips for flying at the coast, in the mountains, XC and for newer pilots.  The discussion went on for about 45 minutes and there was more to cover so we will continue the discussion at the January 3 BAPA meeting in SSF.