2000 News Summary

11/07/00
The Eagle 164 and Fusion 141 SP are now HGMA certified
The Eagle 164 and Fusion 141 SP have been certified by the Hang Glider Manufacturer’s Association.

11/01/00
“Slipstream” Downtubes Released
Wills Wing is now introducing all aluminum, 22mm width, “Slipstream” performance downtubes. These downtubes have been engineered to be able to serve as a lower cost substitution for the carbon downtubes originally used on the Carbon World Team control bar without any sacrifice in aerodynamic performance.
Be sure to read the Slipstream FAQ page and the Results of Wind Tunnel Testing, recently completed at the University of Stuttgart, Germany.

10/25/00
HELP WANTED!
Wills Wing is looking for a few good people. IF you are knowledgable about hang gliding, have a particular talent, skill or ability, are quality oriented, energetic, willing to work hard, and get along well with others, and you would really like to work in the hang gliding business, we might have a place for you. We can offer you hard work, long hours and relatively low pay. (This is the aviation business, remember?) Beyond that, there’s year round flying and the satisfaction of working for the largest and most successful hang glider manufacturer in the business. You have to be really good to earn a spot with us, and if you’re that good you can undoubtedly earn more money somewhere else. However, if given all that you still think you might want to join us, we’d like to hear from you. Send us an email outlining your skills, knowledge, talents, abilities, experience, etc, include some references, and tell us why you’d like to work here and what you’d like to do.
Send email to mike@www.willswing.com

10/21/00
Mitch Loops Over Rio Again
Saturday October 21st, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil :
During the High Level hang gliding invitational, aerobatic master Mitch McAleer did 45 consecutive loops in his Fusion SP from 7400 feet above the beach. The hang gliding competition was delayed due to weather, so Mitch’s loops, along with a bikini fashion show, were the main crowd pleasers of the event!

10/10/00
“Red Bull Wings Over Aspen” to be Aired Saturday, October 14, 2000
This year’s contest will be aired on the USA Network. See their Core Culture page for details.
Wills Wing Team Pilot Chris Muller is among the featured guests in the “Green Room” segment.

10/10/00
Wills Wing XC To Be Retired In December, 2000
Wills Wing will cease production of the XC model line (XC 132, XC 142, XC 155) after December of this year. There are at present no XC’s in inventory. We will continue to accept orders until December 31st at the custom color choice retail price of $4695 plus upgrade options. The XC had been a very successful model for five years, but in the time since we introduced the Ultra Sport and lowered the price on the Fusion, the sales of the XC have not been high enough to support continued production.

09/17/00
Mitch McAleer Wins the 2000 Masters of Freestyle Hang Gliding Aerobatics Contest
San Diego’s Mission Bay hosted the 2000 Masters of Freestyle Hang Gliding Contest during the annual Bayfair event September 15-17th. The Bayfair event is a huge event in the San Diego area, featuring powerboat racing and many other forms of aquatic sports and recreation near Sea World of California. Having such a large crowd witness Freestyle Hang Gliding competition is a definite plus. Mitch McAleer, flying a Wills Wing Fusion 150 SP with carbon leading edge inserts, won the contest handily and put on a great show for the spectators. Look for next years’ Bayfair to host Freestyle Hang Gliding again!

Congratulations Mitch!
09/09/00
Dockweiler Beach: 34th Anniversary Reunion Fly-in

Rob Kells Writes:
Can’t help to think how lucky we are to have a sport like hang gliding, and to have survived the early days.

Went to the Dockweiler fly in Saturday. What a riot!

Saw lots of folks I haven’t seen in 20 years. Some of ’em got fat and lost a bunch of hair, many looked the same, but a bit greyer. It was like going to your first high school reunion at 20 years x 10! In other words I saw many more close friends (that I had not seen in a long time), than I ever had in high school – total. This feeling due mainly to the close bond we all share in this flying thing we do, and I suppose the length of time we’ve been doing it.

A partial list of the “old guys and gals” present is:
Chris Wills, Bill Bennett, Richard Miller, Steve Pearson, Mike and Linda Meier, Mark Stucky, Ernest Feher, Dave Kilbourne, Burke Ewing, Pork, Tom Peghiny, Ray Morgan, Barry Gordon, Keith Nichols, Taurus Kiceniuk Jr. and Sr., Klaus Savier, Pat Denevan, John Lake, Phil Ray, Rex Miller, Tom Vayda, Ric Lee, Walt Neilson, Joe and Kris Greblo, Rich Grigsby, Eric Raymond, Murray Travis, Kevin Kernohan, Mike Arambide, Brad White, Gil Dodgen, Harry Martin, Tom Price, Mark West, Mike Helms, Roy Haggard, Leroy Grannis and his wife, Dave Vincent, Les King, Dudley Mead, Brian Porter, Steve Morris, Frank Colver, John Lasko, Dave Butz, Paul McCready, Bob Trampenau, RC Dave, Dugan Yeakel, Mike Riggs, Bob Worth, Guy Lindburg, Jerry Katz, Lee Gardner, Bob Keeler, Rich and Betty Pfeiffer, Dick Snyder,Brad Hall, Larry McGee, Greg Holcomb, Joe Aldendifer, Andy Beem, Robert Millington, Sir Gilbert and Ennis Roberts, Suzette Wills, Matt Colver, Dan Fleming, Art Bean, John McVey, Oscar Higgins, and on and on.

Hundreds of significant names are missing from this list to be sure, maybe next year they will come too!

Ahh, lets see, at 25 years average experience, that’s over 1500 YEARS of hang gliding experience in one place at the same time! As Mike Meier told me on the phone a few minutes ago, after reflecting on yesterdays event he thought that the Dockweiler fly-in was the most significant gathering of hang gliding contributor’s in years, but after thinking about it some more, he realized, that really, this was the most significant gathering EVER!

Some “new guys” like our own Ken Howells (only 15 years and 1300 hours), Tammy Burcar, Jon Greynald, (and 100 other HG pilots), showed up and marveled at the bamboo and plastic contraptions that were being flown, held together with only packing and duct tape.

Hats off to Windsports and Joe Greblo for getting the city of Los Angeles to re-open Dockweiler beach to hang gliding, and for organizing this event, and to Steve Pearson for designing the 330 square foot WW Condor that the old guys (and first timers) had a ball flying.

Look for an upcoming article in Hang Gliding Magazine!

08/30/00
Bräuniger IQ Sonic Variometers In Stock
We have just received a new shipment of Bräuniger’s helmet mounted audio-only IQ Sonic varios. For details on the IQ Sonic see the Bräuniger website.
Bräuniger says:
Despite its small dimensions (89 mm x 37 mm x 19 mm, 40 grams) the IQ SONIC is a full quality Bräuniger instrument. It uses the same high-quality pressure senders and electronic parts as the “bigger” IQ Series instruments. The new Bräuniger mini-vario is mounted by Velcro, e.g. on the helmet, on the harness or overall … the possibilities are endless.
The volume of the sound and start point of the sink tone can be individually adjusted. The mini-vario is powered by a standard Lithium battery (can easily be purchased in many photo- and electronics shops) which lasts for about 200 flight hours.

08/25/00
Ellenville NY Landing Zone Honors Lady Liberty for July 4, 2000

08/25/00
Wills Wing Pilots 1st & 2nd in US Rankings
Fusion pilots Jim Lee and Paris Williams are the top two U.S. flex wing hang glider pilots after the most recent major meet of the 2000 season. Wills Wing Team pilots Chris Arai, Bo Hagewood, and Kari Castle have all had good results this year, giving Wills Wing 5 of the top 8 spots on the 2001 USHGA NTSS flex wing ranking (provisional). The NTSS is used to determine the U.S. team for the World Championships. See Davis Straub’s Oz Report Website for more results.

08/21/00
16 Year Old Pilot Flies Falcon 50 Miles
Robert Bolt, a 16 year-old , 130lb. pilot from Michigan, flew 50 miles from Hearne, Texas on a Falcon 140.
His first XC was a 20 mile out and return from Hearne – he came up 5 miles short of making it back to airport.

Great Flying Robert!

08/19/00
Jim Lee Wins Lone Star Championships
Jim Lee placed 1st, Paris Williams placed 3rd, both flying Wills Wing Fusions, and Fusion pilots placed first in 6 of the 7 tasks in the competition. Davis Straub’s OZ Report has detailed daily reports from the competition; See issues 158-164.Congratulations Jim and Paris!

07/23/00
Bo Hagewood Wins U.S. National Hang Gliding Championships Flying Wills Wing Fusion 150 SP!
New Wills Wing Team Pilot Bo Hagewood, flying a Fusion 150 SP with carbon control bar, has won the U.S. National Championships at Lakeview, Oregon.  Bo is the first American to win the competition outright in a number of years.  Bo made the first flex-wing flight from Central Florida to Georgia earlier this year.
Great Flying, Bo!

07/23/00
Kari Castle Wins Women’s U.S. National Hang Gliding Championships Flying Wills Wing Fusion 150 SP!
Wills Wing Pilot Kari Castle, flying a Fusion 150 SP with carbon control bar, won the U.S. Women’s National Championships at Lakeview, Oregon. This is Kari’s 12th title of Women’s National Champion, an accomplishment unmathced by any other female hang gliding competitor to date.
On June 24th, Kari won her 2nd World Championship on her Fusion. See details below.
Kari unveiled her new website earlier this week:  http://www.karicastle.com/
Nice job, Kari!

07/21/00
Pete Lehmann’s First Flight on an Eagle: 127 Miles
Intrepid low-performance-glider XC pilot Pete Lehmann took his first flight on a new Wills Wing Eagle recently, launching in Wyoming via tow. Pete liked the glider so much he flew it 127 miles! This flight was a few miles further than Pete’s impressive 114 mile Falcon XC flight of last year. Pete set the East Coast distance record in 1997, flying a Wills Wing Fusion 182 miles from Templeton, Pennsylvania to Bel Air, Maryland.

07/20/00
Pete Lehmann Takes Falcon to 18000 MSL

07/19/00
Important Platform Towing Safety Advisory
Important Platform Towing Safety Advisory available in both PDF and HTML format.

07/13/00
Condor Training Glider Released
We are happy to announce the general release of the Condor 330 training glider. We have completed a series of vehicle tests and flight tests on the glider, and a number of Condors have been in use in flight schools over the last five months. The Condor 330 is a special-purpose training glider designed for first solo flights by hang gliding students under direct instructor supervision, at very low altitudes. As a result of the Condor’s exceptionally low flying speed and docile handling qualities, the student’s initial training experience is very easy and non-threatening. This in turn opens up the hang gliding experience to a much broader range of people. For more information on the Condor, see Condor Release.

07/04/00
Richard Walbec Takes 3rd Place in Hang Gliding Pre-World Championships
France’s Richard Walbec, flying a Wills Wing  Fusion 150 SP,  had a very strong performance in the Hang Gliding competition at Algondales, Spain, where the World Championships will be held next year. The complete contest results are here. Congratulations Richard!

06/27/00
Falcon Wins XC Contest
Pete Lehmann won the Region Nine cross country contest on his 195 Falcon. Pete flew his Falcon a total of 177 miles in three flights to capture first place. Congratulations Pete!

06/24/00
Kari Castle Wins Women’s World Hang Gliding Championship!
Kari Castle, flying a Fusion 150 SP with carbon control bar, placed first 2 of the 5 days in the competition with a 31 pilot field.  Kari was 2nd two of the days to France’s Francoise Mocellin, who flies a Fusion 141 SP with carbon control bar.  Francoise placed 2nd overall in the competition.

Congratulations Kari!

Congratulations Francoise!

06/19/00
Sandy Ditmar of Venezuela Wins 17th Valida Internacional de Vuelo Libre
Fusion pilot Sandy Ditmar  has won the Venezuelan National Championship.  As the results table below shows, Sandy and his Fusion 150 SP dominated the competition.  Wills Wing is very pleased with Sandy’s consistently excellent competition results.

Good Flying Sandy!

05/28/00
Chris Muller 1st Place, Canadian HG Nationals
Chris Muller placed 1st yet again flying a Wills Wing Fusion! Congratulations Chris!

05/26/00
New Hang Glider & Paraglider E-News Available On-Line
The latest issue of the Wills Wing E-news features our Spring 2000 East Coast Hang Glider & Paraglider Demo schedule, news about the Eagle hang glider, the re-opening ceremonies at Dockweiler State Beach Hang Gliding Center, the new Condor training hill glider, and more.

04/14/00
Flying Site in Cochrane, Alberta Given Reprieve
Threatened Canadian site will be allowed to stay open. Thanks for your letters and support.

04/11/00
Kari Castle Sets Florida and East Coast Distance Record with Fusion 150 SP
While preparing for the upcoming Wallaby Open in Florida, Kari piloted her new Fusion 150 SP to a new Florida distance record for women pilots, which also is a new East Coast distance record for women pilots. She really likes her new glider. There is more about her great flight on her website,http://www.northwestoutdoors.com/fly/fl_st_record.htm. Great Flying, Kari!

04/01/00
New Arcus Pricing
We have changed our prices for the Arcus paragliders slightly to reflect the fact that the larger wings cost us more than the smaller wings. Please see the Arcus page for the new prices.

03/28/00
Hang Glider E-News & Paraglider E-News Available On-Line

03/15/00
New Eagle 164 Hang Glider Released 
We are very excited to announce the release of the new Eagle 164. The Eagle is a medium performance, double surface glider that is exceptionally easy to fly. Click the link above to read more about the Eagle. Photos and more coming soon!

03/15/00
Wills Wing’s 27th Anniversary At Wallaby Ranch
For the third year we will celebrate our anniversary at Wallaby, March 21st – 26th.
We have planned a Parachute Seminar, a Bräuniger Clinic, Tuning seminars, and of course a big party Saturday night the 25th.
With a catered meal by the Ranch’s Jeremy, a band, some beer, and a bon fire, it should be loads of fun. This event has been announced throughout the world, and could turn into the largest fly-in the sport has ever seen.
We hope to see you there!
Directions To The Ranch:
From Orlando Florida, head west on interstate 4 towards Tampa. Continue past Disney World. Turn North on highway 27. Go 1.5 miles, then turn left on Dean Still Road. The road becomes red dirt after 1.1 miles. On the left after a total of 1.7 miles from the turn onto Dean Still there is a mail box labeled “1805”. Turn into the driveway and watch for low flying aircraft.
Hotel Information:
Mention the Wallaby discount when making your reservations to get a discount!
Super 8 Motel (941) 420 8888

02/25/00
Bo Hagwood Makes First Flex Wing Flight from Central Florida to Georgia with Fusion 150 SP

Bo, who recently had a 141 mile flight with his Fusion 150 SP from Quest Air into the Florida panhandle, set a milestone today by flying from Quest all the way to Georgia.

From the OZ Report by Davis Straub:
“Bo did it the hard way, crossing into Georgia at almost the most northern point in Florida, after crossing over the notch of Georgia that comes down into Florida. This is the first flex wing to make it to Georgia from central Florida. He landed just north of Boulogne, Florida, just across the St. Mary’s River.”
Some notes about his flight into the panhandle are in an earlier OZ Report.
Way to go, Bo!

02/23/00
Wills Wing’s Magic 2000 Paragliding Harness In-stock
Price Reduced ! Now Only $495.00! Visit the Magic 2000 page for details.

02/04/00
Wills Wing Now Distributes Bräuniger Flight Instruments in the USA
We are proud to announce that we are carrying the fine products from Bräuniger.
We’ve met the folks at Bräuniger. They are pilots, and the support from them has been very professional and fast. From the IQ Basis, which has all the features most pilots want and need, on up to the very sophisticated IQ Comp GPS, the units are well designed and thought out – by pilots, for pilots.
The prices below are very competitive, and in combination with Bräuniger’s experience, reliability, and service add up to a truly great value.