2001 News Summary

12/07/01
 FINAL WEEK – Wills Wing 2001 Fall Hang Glider Special !

Free – Slipstream Control Bar Upgrade with All NEW Aluminum Streamlined Speedbar AND Your Choice of Custom Colors (a $475 Value!) on ANY NEW TALON 140, 150 or 160 ordered between November 15th and December 15th 2001.

Or

Free – Slipstream Control Bar Upgrade with All NEW Aluminum Streamlined Speedbar AND Your Choice of Custom Colors (a $475 Value!) on ANY NEW TALON 140, 150 or 160 ordered between November 15th and December 15th 2001.

That’s all for now,
Fly Safely,
The Wills Wing Crew

11/06/01
Talon Tip Wand Replacement
All Talons are now being shipped with a new type of tip wand. The new wands are made of S-glass, and are light yellow in color. The original wands are carbon fiber, and are black in color. The original wands have shown an unacceptable failure rate. Wills Wing is offering a free replacement set of S-glass wands to each Talon owner who received their glider with carbon wands. If you own a Talon with carbon tip wands, to obtain your free replacement S-glass wands, please send an email to mike@www.willswing.com In the email, give us your name, shipping address (not a post office box, please), phone number, and Talon serial number and approximate date of purchase. (The serial number is a five digit number beginning with 37 and can be found on a sticker at the nose of the airframe, written on the operating limitations placard on the rear keel, and written inside the nose of the sail.) Also, you are reminded that the Talon Owner’s Manual is now available for immediate download as a .pdf file from the support|manuals section at www.www.willswing.com You can obtain a free reader to read pdf files from www.Adobe.com If you are unable to download the owner’s manual, you can include a request for a printed copy of the manual in your email request for the replacement tip wands.
Thank you for flying a Wills Wing glider!

10/30/01
Talon 160 Released!
The prototype 160 Talon has been flown by pilots hooking in at weights up to 280 pounds. The big guys love the way it flies! Like the smaller Talons, the 160 has an excellent sink rate, high speed glide, forgiving landing characteristics, and aerotows well. All of the vehicle tests for certification have been completed. The Talon is now available in three sizes: 140, 150, and 160, spanning pilot hook in weights from 140 to 280 lbs.

10/05/01
The Talon Owner’s Manual Is Ready
The Talon Owner’s Manual is now posted on the Wills Wing website in the support|manuals section.
The manual is in .pdf format, and can be downloaded and read using Adobe Acrobat™ Reader. If you don’t have Adobe Acrobat™ Reader, it is available as a free download from www.adobe.com

09/24/01
Bruce Goldsmith – the designer who wins on his own designs
Congratulations to Airwave paraglider designer Bruce Goldsmith for winning the 2001 “British Nationals” and the “St. Andres Open” in both Open Class and Serial Class on a completely standard AirwaveMagic M (DHV 2-3).

09/20/01
S.F. Bay Area Demo Days Cancelled Due to Enhanced Class B Airspace Restrictions
Check our Calendar page for any updates or changes.

08/31/01
Talon 160 Under Development
Wills Wing is flying a prototype of a third size of the Talon. The Talon 160 is designed for pilots hooking in at 220 lbs and up, and is optimized for pilots in the 230 to 270 lbs hook in range. Initial flight testing has been very favorable and it is expected that the glider will proceed to vehicle testing within the next couple of weeks. Release of the glider and the start of production could come as early as the end of September if all continues to go as well as it has so far.

08/20/01
Wills Wing Slipstream Control Bars Now Available For ATOS and Flight Designs Rigid Wings
Wills Wing designer Steve Pearson has engineered new end fittings for the Wills Wing Slipstream Control Bar that make the bar compatible with the ATOS and Flight Designs rigid wings. The new fittings adjust the toe-in of the downtubes and angle of attack of the basetube to optimize performance for the higher rigged rake angle used on the rigid wing control bars. Due to the proven performance advantages offered by the Wills Wing Slipstream bar, it has become the performance accessory of choice among competition pilots and serious cross country pilots world-wide. Most of the recent world records flown at the Zapata World Record Encampments were flown with the Wills Wing Slipstream control bar, regardless of what glider was being flown.
The Atos Slipstream Bar is available through Atos dealers or direct from Wills Wing, Inc. The Flight Designs Slipstream Bar is available through US distributor for Flight Designs, North American Paragliding (206 320 9010).

08/15/01
Mitch McAleer Joins Wills Wing
Noted professional paragliding pilot and aerobatic hang gliding champion Mitch McAleer has joined Wills Wing. Mitch will be taking over paragliding service and support for both Airwave and Swing paragliders, as well as working in product development, and in production and developmental flight testing in both hang gliding and paragliding. Mitch began his professional career with Wills Wing in the early 1980’s, and during recent years has flown for Wills Wing as a sponsored pilot in aerobatic hang gliding events. Mitch has extensive experience as a hang gliding sail maker and paragliding service and repair technician, in addition to his world-renowned skills as a pilot. Wills Wing’s decision to bring Mitch on board reflects a heightened committment to an improved level of service and support to all of our paragliding customers.

08/13/01
Wills Wing To Distribute Airwave Paragliders In The US
Wills Wing has taken on the distribution in the United States of Airwave Paragliders.
Airwave head Markus Villinger and Airwave designer Bruce Goldsmith recently visited Wills Wing and conducted a demo day weekend at Marshall Peak for pilots interested in trying the new Airwave Paragliders. The Airwave line includes the DHV 1 Logic – an extremely stable, medium performance canopy, the Airwave Magic – a very high performance DHV 2-3 canopy, and the Airwave Scenic – a new tandem canopy. Soon to be added to the line is the Airwave Sport – a high performance intermediate canopy. Airwave canopies feature advanced technology features such as partially closed leading edges, diagonal rib systems, and high quality materials designed for extended service life. Specifications and additional information will be posted soon at www.www.willswing.com. In the meantime pilots can visit the Airwave web site at www.airwave-gliders.com for more information. Wills Wing will also continue to distribute the highly successful Swing line of paragliders.

08/06/01
Kari Castle / Wills Wing Talon – New World Records
July 20th, Kari Castle on a Wills Wing Talon 150 sets the new women’s flex wing distance to goal world record at 217 miles (350 kilometers) breaking the previous record of 190.6 miles (306.72 kilometers) set on June 19, 1998 and held by Tiki Mashy flying at Hobbs, New Mexico.
July 27th, Kari Castle flying a Wills Wing Talon 150 sets the new women’s flex wing open distance world record at 250 miles (402 kilometers) breaking the previous record of 230 miles (370.87 kilometers) set on February 12, 1998 held by Tove Heaney and flown at Garnpung Lake, NSW (Australia).
Congratulations Kari!
These items courtesy Davis Straub’s ‘OZ Report’

07/17/01
Pete Lehmann Flies Talon 150 262 Miles in Wyoming
Pete Lehmann continues his cross country record quest with a flight from Rock Springs to Gillette, Wy. That’s 262 miles, for what may be the longest flex-wing flight this year. Pete’s flight took 6hr 13min. He reports that he hit a headwind which stopped his forward progress. During the flight Pete had 400-600 FPM climb rates (30sec averager) with a max climb rate of 1100 FPM on the averager, with light to moderate wind (20 at 15k).
Pete was flying his Talon 150 and Rotor Kick-Ass Harness.
Great Flying, Pete!

7/11/01
Talon Pilots Win Speed Gliding & Aerobatics at Red Bull Wings Over Aspen

Speed Gliding:
1st – Scott Angel, Talon 140
2nd – Aaron Swepston, Talon 140
4th – Mitch McAleer, Talon 150

Hang Glider Aerobatics:
1st – Mitch McAleer, Talon 150

Aaron wrote a couple of emails to us during the meet –
From: Aaron Swepston
Sent: Monday, July 09, 2001 5:04 PM
To: Steven Pearson
Subject: Talon 140 update…

Hi Steve,

Just wanted to take a few seconds to say what a great glider this thing seems to be. I had two practice flights on it before the comps started,which consisted of racing the top half of the Aspen course and then bailing
off to the regular LZ. The race LZ was not open until the first comp round. So, what is that, about four minutes each? So with 8 minutes of practice time on it I decided that I would go ahead and give it a go for the race.
…
Well, I felt pretty good about it so I have been racing it like crazy.
…
I gotta tell you, that even though I have only maybe twenty minutes on it, this Talon seems to be a really sweet glider. I think that I am really going to fall in love with it once I get a chance to fly it for more than three minutes at a time!
…
So in a nutshell, this glider seems to rock. I love it so far, and can’t wait to see how the contest ends up…
Aaron

From: Aaron Swepston
Sent: Monday, July 09, 2001 2:31 PM
To: Rob Kells
Subject: Update

Hey Rob,

Just a quick update. Today Scott won the day in the race, and I came in second.
…
Mitch has been smoking in the aero rounds. I wish I had this glider a couple of weeks before this comp. Mitch is doing better with the Talon 150 than he has done in any glider I have seen him on yet. Wish I could say I was doing better in the aerobatics, but for the past couple of years I have felt limited glider-wise, having moved away from what worked well for me, and not finding anything better. I think the Talon will do me a lot better … Can’t wait to get home to start doing aero with it. Just no spare time here to practice at all!
More later…

Congratulations Guys!

07/01/01

Falcon Flies 101 Miles for Longest Foot-Launch Falcon Flight
Dan Conners is giving Pete Lehmann ( see: Stuff One Shouldn’t Try To Do On A Falcon) a run for his money!

Just thought I’d drop you a note. I just turned a flight entry to the ‘Falcon Contest’ with a fight of 101 miles. I launched Sunday, July 1st from McGee Mountain, (just north of the Owens Valley), at 11:55AM and landed in Gabbs Nevada at 4:55. My first climb after launch was from 500 feet over the landing field at McGee, (7,500′) to 17,999! What a day, a great looking cloud street disapeared in to Nevada. Peter DeBellis in his Xtralite joined me for a terrific downwind glide over more than 30 miles of no-mans-land somewhere between Crowley Lake and Mina Nevada. I spent the last hour battling a quartering headwind to get the last 6 or 7 miles into Gabbs. The Falcon is great….. as long as I’m going downwind. I wonder, has anyone flown farther on a
foot-lauched flight in a Falcon?

Dan Conners
Director – Mammoth East Sport School
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area

Congratulations, Dan!

06/25/01
Stuff One Shouldn’t Try To Do On A Falcon: Loops and 100 XC Miles In The East

Pete Lehmann writes:
Okay, so I didn’t really try and loop my Falcon, but I did try and go a hundred miles in the east. And, yes, I failed at that too. Failed by 1.8 miles. On June 9 I flew 98.2 miles from my 480 foot home site at Templeton, PA to near Hancock, Maryland in four and a quarter hours. Winds were exceedingly light, and the lift seldom better than 400 fpm. However, two things made the flight possible: once we got to the mountains cloudbase was at an unusually high 9,300 msl, almost 8,000 over launch. Furthermore, I had a companion with whom to hunt lift. The unusual altitude gains made it possible for the glide-challenged Falcon to (nervously) cross the Allegheny Mountain tree-desert. While the comforting presence of Larry Huffman on his higher performance glider gave me a first-class thermal hound to assist in finding lift when I got into trouble. Of course, with his superior glide he could have easily left me, but we work so well together that it was a mutually beneficial arrangement until inevitably I began to drop below and behind him. He continued on beyond me to get 105 miles while I landed at the base of a last ridge that blocked my path to the magical 100-mile mark. Still, this flight ranks as one of the most pleasurable in a long career of fine flights.

Flying Falcons is damn near illegal fun.

06/11/01
Millau Classic: Kari and Francoise and their Talons Stand Out
Kari Castle, flying a Talon 150, won the women’s division of the recent Millau Classicin France, as a warm-up to the upcoming world championships. Top French pilot Francoise Mocellin, flying a Talon 140, placed third, just 4 points (out of over 2200) behind the second place finisher.
Franciose was 9th and Kari was 14th in the overall standings (places shift due to complexities of the scoring system).
Congratulations to Kari and Francoise!

05/03/01
The Competition Results Are In
Talon Performance Is Verified

The new Wills Wing Talon 150 has proven itself in competition. In our release of the Talon, we advertised “true world-class performance right out of the box.” The Talon has now verified that claim in three highly competitive meets among an international field of top ranked pilots.

In March, two early prototype Talons, flown by Paris Williams and Richard Walbec, competed in the Brazil Nationals, and finished 3rd and 9th against a world class field.

In April, five pre-production Talons competed in the Flytec Championships and Wallaby Open competitions in Florida. With such top ranked international pilots as Manfred Ruhmer, Gerolf Heinrichs, Betinho Schmitz, Thomas Suchanek, and many others, these two meets were quite possibly the most competitive ever held in the United States.

The competition at meets at this level is extraordinarily intense, and the very best pilots in the world typically dominate. In this year’s Florida meets, a total of ten tasks were flown in the flex-wing class. Manfred Ruhmer won five of the ten. Gerolf Heinrichs won two, and Thomas Suchanek won one. The only other pilot to win a task? Paris Williams on a Wills Wing Talon. Paris won the final day of the Wallaby Open by an incredible 103 points over second place finisher Manfred Ruhmer. The average separation between each of the next ten finishers was five points! Paris finished fourth in each meet, and the only pilots to finish ahead of him in either meet were, you guessed it: Manfred, Gerolf, Betinho and Thomas.

Two Talons finished in the top eight places in each of the two meets, with Jim Lee taking eighth place in the Flytec Championships and Chris Arai taking eighth at Wallaby. No US pilot other than Paris, Jim and Chris finished higher than tenth in either meet.

The performance of the new Talon has been clearly demonstrated. Production is scheduled to begin within the next few weeks.

04/23/01
Spring Bottom Side Wire Reminder
It’s time to get ready for the flying season in the Northern Hemisphere, and that means it’s time for annual inspections for all gliders and flying equipment. Remember that we recommend that the bottom side wires of all hang gliders be replaced annually. Keep your equipment in top condition.

04/16/01
Talon 150 Released!
The new kingpostless, curved-tip glider from Wills Wing is here! Click here to read the E-news announcement of the Talon and be sure to browse the Talon 150 information page as well.

03/09/01
Spring Demo Tour
The Wills Wing Anniversary party at Wallaby Ranch runs from March 14-18, with the big party Saturday the 17th (St. Patrick’s Day). We hope to see many of you there. If you won’t be at Wallaby, please be sure to check out our new Spring Demo Days Tour schedule to see when we’ll be in your area with gliders for you to fly. Rob Kells will be travelling extensively during April and May with a truckload of gliders, including the new sizes of the Eagle.

03/01/01
Spring Inventory Clearance Sale
With new models coming on line, we need to clear out some of the inventory build up from winter production.  We are offering a short list of specially priced inventory gliders.  These gliders are being offered at extremely low prices, and they’ll sell fast.  They are available for immediate or very quick delivery.  At these prices, we will require pre-payment in full.  Some of the gliders are new and some are used.  We will do our best to give you an accurate description of the condition of any used glider we sell.  All gliders come with a satisfaction guarantee.

02/16/01
Eagle 145 and Eagle 180 Released
We flew the first production Eagle 145 and Eagle 180 last week and they flew great!  We’re releasing both gliders effective immediately.  All vehicle tests for certification have been completed, and we’ll be finishing up the rest of the documentation for the certification packages over the next few weeks.  The Eagle is now available in three sizes, spanning pilot hook in weights from 125 lbs to 275 lbs.  We will have demos of all three sizes at Wallaby Ranch, March 14th -18th, and we expect to ship the first customer gliders in the 145 and 180 size shortly thereafter.

02/02/01
Two Custom Ultra Sport Sails
These two custom bottom surface designs generated a lot of interest around the Wills Wing shop while the sails were being sewn and when the gliders were built. We’re sure they’ll get a lot of attention wherever they’re flown too! With our computer-controlled sail cutter and talented sail loft crew we can produce surprisingly detailed and accurate renderings of whatever can be dreamt up.

The sail above features the Tavarua Clothing Company logo. Tavarua is a well-known surfing area in Fiji.

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

– William Blake

01/24/01
New Wills Wing Test Vehicle

Wills Wing has purchased a new, three component computerized aerodynamic test vehicle from HGMA President Mark West, which features a number of upgrades over Wills Wing’s previous electronic test vehicle. Mark has also produced two additional new vehicles built to the same specifications, one for the BHPA (British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association) and one for the DHV (German Hang Gliding Association). The decision by the three major certification bodies to aquire and use identical test vehicles is part of an ongoing negotiation towards an eventual goal of a single, mutually acceptable world wide airworthiness standard for hang glider certification. The new test vehicle is shown here during recent testing of the prototype Eagle 180.

01/17/01
Come celebrate Wills Wing’s 28th anniversary with us at the Wallaby Ranch March 14th – 18th, 2001
This will be the fourth year that world renowned Wallaby Ranch has hosted the Wills Wing party and demo days. Fly Falcons, Ultra Sports, Fusions, two new sizes of the Eagle, and the new curved tip competition glider. We will also have the Swing Arcusand the new Swing Mistral 2 for paraglider pilots to check out. Join us for the world’s best pilot gathering! Lots of airtime and fun!! Check back here for more information after February 1st.