Record setting procedure in Canada

 We've tried to simplify the record setting procedure in Canada, so that it doesn't mean jumping through as many hoops as you would have to with a world record claim. 

The first step was moving the requirement to hold a valid international boarding license prior to making your claim. Or even after making your claim! Just remember that you need one if you are going to participate in a world championship or want to set a world record, and you will need that ahead of time).

All the other steps are in a document on the HPAC website. If you can't find it there, here is a link to it.

Première traversée du fleuve St-Laurent en vol libre - 1986

Récit du vol par Serge Lamarche

...

Données du vol

Date	Vol	Durée	Trajet	Vent	Distance	Altitude	Atterrissage	Commentaires
15 juin 1986	66	1:30	Vertmont/ sur le Lac → St-Vallier	mod.	43 km	2100 m	OK	Vol en Gémini 184. Entré dans un nuage, 1ère traversée du fleuve St-Laurent!, cassé une latte au sol, écrit article pour bulletin nouvelles de AVLQ.

Ultralight Products Gemini

Ultralight aircraft logbook

 

I started flying ultralight aircraft in 1986, with an Australian-made Airborne trike under the instruction of Willi Muller. Later, I went on to fly three-axis ultralights and obtain an instructor's license. I purchased my own trike made by Cosmos in France, and used it to aerotow hang glider pilots on the prairies. Later, while living in Argentina, I also towed up several hang glider pilots with a Polaris trike made in Italy. One day I remember well: I towed up Ralph Striewsky from Germany [747 Co Pilot] and when he started circling with his hang glider, I joined him with the trike – I throttled back to idle and we both climbed up a way.

 As it turned out, my last ultra-light flight was one in Argentina with a Wills Wing Falcon 170 by a German Minimum motor system Belonging to Ricardo Rouco of Uruguay.

Below is a record of all the ultralight aircraft that I have flown, along with a copy of my logbook.

                                    

                                Ultralights logbook

Flying at Ha Ling Peak - 1987

Back in 1987, a Calgary pilot named  Rod Porteous came up with an idea for an air sports Festival in Canmore, Alberta. It included ballooning, parachuting, and hang gliding, and we were lucky to have good weather on the scheduled date on the last weekend of August.

The ballooning took place adjacent to the public school in a large Field, with tethered balloons that people could climb into and rise up a few meters. That proved to be very popular.

A helicopter took parachutists up above the nearest peak, and they jumped out from there. I recall that there were only a few of them, and one of them had a malfunction that required pulling the reserve chute - he landed safely, but I was not impressed at the apparent frequency of malfunctions.

As for the hang gliding, a number of pilots were lifted up by helicopter to the summit of Ha Ling Peak. One day we flew off the north side of the peak into a canyon. That was an intense experience! And the next day, we flew off the southwest sloping side and then turned back through White Man's Gap to land at our usual landing field adjacent to the TransCanada highway. Here are a few pictures of the day, which sadly don't do justice do the vividness of the memory.

We were lucky to be able to fly this site with hang gliders, as it certainly would not be allowed today.

Heading up the NE face in the helicopter

The helicopter descends down our launch slope

This might be Ron Docherty launching

Turn left soon after launch!

Spot the hang glider in the center of this photo!

An Era (Time Warp) by Peter Rasmussen

Hello all you old timers out there still getting after it in a big or small way or just living vicariously through our memories of the past into the future !
Welcome all you young timers dreaming of adventure high in the skies chasing thermals , circling with Ravens , Hawks and Eagles and planning out your unforgettable XC adventure !

Murray Harris and I at Cawston BC

This is the place to checkout what and whom has come before you and where its all headed into the future .
Huge thanks to one of the original pioneers ( Stewart Midwinter ) for putting this site together.
I remember my first glimpse of hang gliding ( hand gliding ) as it was also know back then.
I was reading through a magazine ( name unknown ) and there it was.
Some guy launching off a mountainside and sailing into the vast open sky of California.
I knew from that moment onwards that my life was somehow going to follow this glimpse into the future and that hanging from a kite high above the ground was in my cards.

My brand new Eagle Cloud built by Barry Howie from Invermere BC

1977 Anarchist Mtn Osoyoos BC

My good buddy Albert  and I had each made our way out to the Rocky Mountains to find adventure.
Me on my bicycle from Kitchener Ontario and Albert with his 1962-3 dodge valiant station wagon.
We met in Banff and there our adventures began.
I spent the first few months hiking around from mountain peak to mountain peak in utter amazement of the Rocky mountains.
Once while fishing on a creek flowing into Canmore about a 1/2 km off the highway, I had the rare opportunity of standing almost next to a huge grizzly that was standing there eating berries. I was at first unaware of him as I tried to catch a very uninterested trout.
Then I heard a rustle and looked across the 30' creek to see him standing there eating berries.
He was unconcerned of my presence, so I thought, "may as well just keep fishing ". So I did for about another 5minutes , him looking at me every once in a while and me looking away and then I looking at him and him looking away.
I guess we were just making sure that the other wasn't up to anything.
Then I decided I should slowly move away which was uneventful,
Gotta admit to a little sweat after the fact.
Anyways, a winter of working the Spray Lakes Reservoir .
That next summer saw Albert and I hiking and running to the top of Mt Norquay where they were holding a Hang gliding event. I believe Willi Muller was hosting it at that time.
We desperately asked around hoping we could convince someone to lend us a wing so we could fly off the mountain too.

Anarchist Mtn 1975

No one would and they practically chased us off the mountain as it seemed we were a little insane thinking we could just grab a wing and fly. Yup , seems a bit funny now.
At any rate, back to the bottom we ran to watch these amazing fellows fly their wings.
What we witnessed was just about every kind of whack imaginable, but there were the experts there as well who came and in and landed ever so gracefully.
We were undaunted and even more stoked. Albert eventually met Willi who then hooked him up to an 18' standard and gave him some quick lessons. After two successful runs , flights and good landings, Albert bought the wing right there complete with swing seat and helmet.
I was too poor at the time to buy one.

Backyard training hill

That summer we went to Lake Louise ski hill and carried the glider up to the top of a 100 meter hill covered in stumps.
There, we set/up the glider and Albert hooked me up and gave me my first lesson.
" See that ribbon" he says to me
" When its blowing up at you you, balance the glider on your shoulders and run until it picks you up and then fly".
Yes, that was my only instruction and it really looked easy so, off I ran.
Perfect run, perfect launch, sit back and watch as I flew over stumps and trees utterly amazed at what I was doing, even the steering was easy.
Now, I am seeing the ground slowly come up towards me and shit ! Now its moving really fast
Yes, you guessed it. Whack!
No one told me how to stop that bloody thing and I lawn darted into a stump
Injured ? Yea , but just a broken nose.
Daunted? Hell no !
How soon could we fix this thing and I bought it right there and then from Albert
He had spent sometime in Hinton working for a fellow named Russ Oberg building hang gliders
So, we got a sleeve and fixed the bent keel and bent wing spar
Easy !
I went back to the Okanagan where Albert came later that fall  to properly teach me he said.
So we found a perfect hill where he said I could launch from.
Again, it was maybe 100 meters high with a beautiful field below.
What could be easier than that?
There was only one thing I really didn't like. It was a huge high tension power line right smack in the middle of the field with not enough room to go over .
Albert says , Pete, when you get close to the power line, just push the bar out and hold it .
Mushing it he called it. Then he says you can simply parachute straight down and when you are low enough, just fly underneath it.
Well, I started to remember my first lesson, and said Albert, I don't think I can do this . I decided I would pass on that chance to fly.
Albert then hooked himself up and did exactly what he said I could do. Perfectly .
I decided after that , I would be able to teach myself just as well.
So I find this perfect little hill close to home that was about 15 meters high with a 3:1 glide .
I spent the next few months running up and down that hill having the time of my life.
Probably a hundred launches and landings.
No injuries
No glider damage ( besides these things were tough )

Barry Howie 1977 flying his Mirage

I believe this is Stewart Midwinter 1977

One really close call tho .
I had launched from a 200 meter hill just behind this one and was seemingly going to overshoot and maybe end up in the lake, sooo I slowed the glider down at about a 100' over the ground.
Oops ! big stall and now what I believe they called a luff dive  and the  wing just flapping and I couldn't push out far enough to get it to catch air again.
I was in a seated harness 2x4 with seat belt so I put my feet on the base tube and pushed as hard as I could and through my body flat back out and it was enough that the wing caught the air violently  just as I was about to impact the ground.
Light as a feather, I was laying there on the ground , no injury and no damage.
Ok, I know what yer all thinking.. trust me, I thought it too.
I must be crazy to be doing this sport.
Well, I did understand what I had done wrong and made sure not to do it again.
That stalling too high is just too tricky to handle.
Should I quit while I am still alive and in one piece?
No way, I am just getting this.
Anyways that was back in 1974-75
We were a little naïve back then.

1994 Mt Kobau flying my Dream Tandem

Anyways, fast forwarding to 2009
I am still flying Hang gliders and am quite sure I will never fly a paraglider
They just aren't safe (:
No tubes, just cloth  yeeesh, What are they thinking?
Going to the "other side "
Busted up my shoulder badly falling off a ladder  setting up a log home
Long story short , they couldn't fix a snapped subscap tendon so hang gliding didn't seem too practical as I don't have good push out ability, to flare.

My good friend Jim Ongena had been after me for a while saying how much I would love paragliding, so, there you have it.
I made the transition and am still happily flying and chasing my XC flying adventures and circling with the eagles every chance I get 45 years later
Yippee!!!

Inversion cloud over Osoyoos Lake 2014

Winter flying in - 15C

Needed to get out the serious cold weather clothing

 

Thanks to all who made it to the end of this story.

So much more happened but hey , its getting late !

Peter Rasmussen

Winter flying in 1977

Back in the day, We were young and very keen. Winter was a good time to practice Take-offs and landings on small training Hills in the Ottawa area. These were often in the range of 10-20 m high. To keep warm, we kept moving, and I remember that one day I made a record 32 flights off a hill in Gatineau. Well, the last few I cheated and put my glider on the back of a Skidoo to climb up.

Anyway, one time there was a reporter out from the Ottawa Citizen and we got some coverage in the newspaper. Here it is.

Stewart on Sky Sports Kestrel

Bernie Arsenault (seated), Stewart (prone)

Photos from Randy Haney

Well, we have a new contributor, randy Haney. Randy sent me some photos, with a promise to send more. For those of you that don't know, Randy was a serious record chaser and competitor in the 1980s and the early 1990s. He placed on the podium at three world championships and had many other competition successes both in Canada and abroad.

Randy Haney with medals at World championship at Tegelberg

In 1987, he made the then-longest Hang gliding flight in the world, with a 200 mile/321 km effort from Mount Seven in BC to Trego, Montana on an Airways Magic IV (A British competitor to the UP Comet). Launching at 12 noon from the lower launch (in the trees along the ridge at the 9-mile mark of the road), he was in the air 9.5 hours and landed well after sunset. He had to sleep in a ditch, as he was not picked up the next day. His achievement earned him An FAI World record in the open distance category, And also a Guinness record.

FAI Record details

Randy's Record in the British gliding magazine

He later moved to Europe for a decade and was a Wills Wing representative in Germany and later Italy; He also manufactured Paramotors. During that time, he astounded the European hang gliding community with a 400+ km flight in Spain, launching off a small hill in the dry western interior of the country. That sparked a rush of pilots to the area to try for similar or better flights.

RandyIn an Italian ad for wills wing 

With two young daughters at home, Randy Eventually stopped competing and moved back to Dawson Creek BC, where he still resides there today.

History of Mt. Seven

Submitted by Scott Watwood,
adapted from ramblings of Peter Bowle-Evans and documentation from Garth Henderson.

The Mt. 7 lookout was built in the '50s for forest fire observation by the BC Forest Service. The old road (jeep road) to the Lookout was steep and narrow. Over the years the road was modestly improved for logging trucks and equipment a few kilometres at a time. This made parts of the road less steep and somewhat easier to negotiate. Despite these adjustments, the main road access to The Lookout, taken as a whole, remained a challenging 4X4 or heavy vehicle-only forestry track. The first significant improvement to the road occurred in mid-1990 with plans to reroute and re-engineer the road to serve as a forestry trunk road to connect to various higher-level branch roads. The plan and intent at the time were to access and harvest desirable stands of timber at various locations on the north shoulder of Mount 7.

In 1990, Willi Muller taught Golden resident, Peter Bowle-Evans, how to hang glide and advised him on solidifying Mt.7 as a significant, foot-launched flying site. An enthusiastic Peter embraced this concept fully and proceeded to secure the Lookout site by obtaining a government-issued Special Use Permit. As partly documented below, Peter then proceeded to initiate major improvements to the site and was at the forefront of developing flyer-friendly relationships with authorities in town and with landowners at the landing zone as well as landowners downrange. Peter was among the first to envision the potential for Golden to become a broad-based "adventure tourism" destination with attendant financial spinoffs for the community.

By the mid-1990s, Peter Bowle-Evans, a very community-engaged and enthusiastic hang glider pilot had, for about 5 years, been the de-facto Mt. 7 flying site development leader and main Forestry liaison person. Through his job with an engineering firm in Golden, he was in constant contact and working with local Forestry officials on a weekly if not daily basis. Peter, was instrumental in making sure that the interests of the Mt.7 flying community were brought to the forefront of the planning & construction of the "new" Mt.7 Lookout access road. As the '90 drew to a close, the last logging cut-block was laid out and the new road ended at 11.7 km. At the time, Peter Bowle Evans negotiated to extend the new road all the way to The Lookout site. In fact, the final 3 kilometres of the road was only completed because Peter cajoled Forestry officials ceaselessly and brought to bear a significant financial contribution from the Mt. 7 Flying Site Fund. At the same time, Peter coordinated and contributed Flying site funds for the use of heavy construction equipment to grade and improve both the south and north side launches at The Lookout. (the south side was formerly a rocky cliff backed by a steep rough slope) All of this was completed by the end of 2000.

Later Peter worked with Forestry to approve and acquire the components for the top outhouse. To get this facility built, Peter recruited a construction party made up of volunteers - four pilots and 1 local mountain bike enthusiast. The materials were trucked to the top by local businessman & paraglider pilot, Flec Demmon, who owned Golden Truss Products and a crane truck. Since the road completion in 2000 and other subsequent improvements, there has been a huge increase in the number of visitors to The Lookout (visitors of all types - wedding parties to tourist sightseers in addition to pilots and mountain bikers.) Beyond the new road construction, it should be noted that Peter Bowle-Evans continued to lead the development of the Lookout for many years until his untimely death in an avalanche. In recognition of his nearly 20-year involvement and contribution to the Mt.7 Lookout as an important attraction/asset for the town, the road now carries his name - The Bowle-Evans FSR.

The first hang glider pilot, Alan Kane, launched from Mt.7 in 1974. George Wells, a fondly remembered Mt. 7 shuttle driver who lived most of his life across the road from the LZ, recalled that day when his came kids running into the house screaming that "someone was flying without an engine". As hang gliding became more popular, the pioneers of that sport noticed the potential of the Lookout site and started to clear a few trees in the mid 80's. The clearing was undertaken to make launching hang gliders safer. Two launch ramps were also constructed for the same safety reasons. The site subsequently began to develop a higher profile as a premier mountain launch site, particularly for those pilots who wanted to pursue the nascent practice of flying cross-country. The recognition of the foot-launched flight potential of Mt.7 was partly due to the interest in the site by Willi Muller. Willi operated a Hang Gliding and, later, a Paragliding School on his property at the Cochrane Hill in Alberta. As a hang gliding pioneer, Willi Muller was often referred to as "The Father of Hang Gliding in Canada". His promotion of Mt.7 through his business activities had a lot to do with the international "discovery" of Mt.7 as a world-class Hang Gliding and Paragliding destination.

The first paraglider launch from The Lookout was made by Chris Muller in 1989. The only available moderately safe space for launching was straight off the west-facing ramp. At the time paragliding was a new sport from Europe that was just starting to reach Canada. The first cross-country paraglider flight launching from the Lookout was made July 21st, 1990 by Sean Dougherty. On July 7th, 1991, Sean flew with Willi & Chris Muller down the range. All three achieving 100k flights. Chris and Sean were awarded a world record for their flights to a declared goal. Regrettably, Willi didn't declare or take a barograph so he could not apply for the record. Word of Golden's Mt.7 as a fantastic XC site began to spread internationally in concert with an explosive growth through the '90s of paragliding as a new form of aviation. At the time the upper launch was heavily used by paragliders pending the development of the Lookout into a more paraglider friendly launch.

The growth of paragliding and influx of paraglider pilots to Mt7 though the '90s was phenomenal. Word of Mt.7 in Golden, Canada has spread far and wide as a place where personal best distances can be achieved because of the excellent thermal conditions at launch and down-valley. Every year pilots arrived in Golden from far away points in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Russia, Japan, New Zealand and the US. World Champions have visited and flown here including former World Champion, Robbie Whittal and Swiss Champion & current equipment manufacturer Urs Harri. Over the years Mt. 7 has hosted numerous National Championships and Western Canadian Championships in Hang gliding and paragliding. Many "first flight" XC routes originated from Mt.7 including first-ever paragliding flight over the Rockies to Canmore, Alberta. It is world-renowned as one of the top sites in the world. There have been 8 world records set here. The first world record was set in 1986 by Randy Haney. He flew 321 km on a hang glider. Although the nationals are not being held here every year there is an annual fly-in/competition, the Willi Muller memorial event, that will see 120 competitors and their entourages arrive in town to spend 10 days of intensive distance flying. In addition, as soon as the site opens, usually the 1st week of June, there is a steady influx of visiting pilots on weekends throughout the summer and well into the fall. July 15 to August 15 is peak XC season and even weekdays can be busy with vacationing pilots and tourists seeking tandem rides.

In the late '90s, a local mountain biking race was run. Mt. 7 psychosis started out with a few racers and $100 prize money. It grew into a huge, world-famous Redbull event with over 200 riders and $15,000 prize in the tenth and final year. There was also a world record for vertical meters biked in 24 hours set there.

The Mount 7 site has developed into a true & vital community asset that has contributed to Golden's attempts to diversify and grow its local economy.

More site info at flygolden.ca and mt7.ca.

A few oldies from the early days

Southern Okanagan early days

Anarchist Mtn 1975

 Training hill in Kaleden

My buddy Murray Harris ( Seagull ) and myself ( Eagle Cloud ) at Lower Cawston 1977

 Training my Ma 1976

 I believe this to be Barry Howie (Mirage ) 1977

Stewart Midwinter 1977 Glider?

Myself Anarchist Mtn ( Eagle Cloud ) 1977

Keith McKinnon ( 1980 Comet ) one of the first double surface gliders I believe

Grouse Mountain Meet 1976

In late summer 1976, I tagged along with a group of pilots from Calgary (one of whom, cam Wilson, decided along the way to start calling me 'midtoad') for the long drive to Vancouver BC, where the international invitational Grouse Mountain Meet was about to start. I didn't have enough experience to enter as a competitor, but I sure enjoyed watching the pilots and taking pictures. It seemed like all the loyalty of hang gliding was there at the comp. This was the first time I met Larry Tudor, among others.

On the first day, the clouds hung low around the Summit launch, but the sun began to breakthrough in late afternoon. This gave me a great opportunity to capture on film the variety of wings as the pilots launched.

waiting on the ramp

Crowded setup area

Gord Acri plays banjo for Larry Tudor, ?, Gord Savage

Edmontonian Larry Croome resting up

Larry Croome and Birdman MJ-4

Albatross Sail Gliders ASG-21

Swansea HG Corp pilot Jeff Blake and Oly 160

Invermere pilot John Duthie and Phoenix 8

Kaslo, BC pilot Randy Cairns and UP Dragonfly

UP Spyder

Invermere pilot Dean Kupchanko and Oly 140

Australian-made Lancer 4

Electra-Flyer Cirrus 3

A bearded Don Miller advising pilot on ramp

Spectators en masse

Seagull 7 in evening flight