From Mike Meier:
Dear USHPA Director,
As you prepare for your semi-annual meeting, there are a couple of
issues that I would like to ask that you consider.
As you may be aware, the USHPA now has in place a process for the
sanctioning of hang gliding aerobatic competitions, and a rule book
for conducting such competitions. The justification for
incorporating aerobatic competition into the USHPA competition
program was stated in the following announcement on the
http://USHPA.aero web site:
Aerobatic competitions have been held in Europe for some time now.
These are exciting for both participants and spectators. There are
many talented, world class actually, aerobatic pilots here in the
USA. Unfortunately, there are few opportunities for these elite
athletes to compete in their own country. This is also a missed
opportunity to promote our sport before larger groups of spectators.
The recommendations from the Symposium will include an
organizational structure for aerobatic competitions, including ideas
for scoring, suggestions for training scorekeepers, resources and
incentives for event organizers, criteria for fairly selecting our
World Team, and a move forward plan.
Given that I have spent a substantial part of my career in hang
gliding involved in issues that relate to pilot safety, I feel
compelled to offer some comment on the USHPA's decision to promote
aerobatic competition in hang gliders. I have expressed these
concerns previously to the USHPA president, to my regional director,
and to the chairmen of the safety and training committee, and would
like to address these concerns to the entire board at this time.
No hang glider has been designed, tested, or certified for aerobatic
flight. This is true in spite of the fact that The HGMA
Airworthiness Standards (the oldest airworthiness standards in the
hang gliding industry) have contained, from the beginning, a
specific, and fairly straight forward provision for certifying
gliders for aerobatics. (HGMA standards available at
www.hgma.net). In the 32 year history of the HGMA, 345
different hang glider models have been certified by 37 different
member manufacturers. Not a single glider has ever been certified
for a single aerobatic maneuver.
A fundamental design aspect of the vast majority of hang gliders -
the fact that the pilot hangs suspended beneath the wing from a
flexible tether, and depends for his ability to control the wing on
that tether being positively loaded - makes hang gliders inherently
unsuitable for aerobatic flight. Airplanes which are used for
aerobatic flight are designed to be able to be flown inverted and
under negative load, with the pilot retaining reliable control of
the aircraft. Hang gliders cannot be reliably controlled while
unloaded or loaded negatively. Hang gliders also have unreliable
structural margins under negative loads, and are not designed or
tested to be structurally reliable even under positive loads during
maneuvering flight at speeds in excess of approximately 50 mph,
while the most common aerobatic maneuvers routinely involve
maneuvering at speeds in excess of 65 mph. Aerobatic flight in hang
gliders is a purely experimental form of flight, which takes place
far outside the flight envelope for which the aircraft was designed
and tested. Numerous incidents involving structural failure have
occurred in hang gliders in aerobatic flight, and numerous incidents
of dangerous loss of control by the pilot have occurred as well, and
these incidents have involved some of the world's best and most
experienced aerobatic pilots. It is one thing for pilots as
individuals to choose to pursue extreme forms of hang gliding
outside of the limits within which it can reasonably be expected
that such flight can be conducted with reasonable safety. I have no
objection to pilots who choose to make that choice, (providing that
it is an informed choice - based on numerous discussions I have had
with such pilots, it is my firm belief that most times it is not an
adequately informed choice).
When it comes to the national association promoting this type of
flying, (and by extension fostering the idea that this type of
flying can be considered essentially safe, normal and acceptable as
opposed to inherently unsafe, extreme, and completely experimental),
I have a decidedly different opinion. I think it is inconsistent
with the most basic concepts of safety, and therefore irresponsible
in the extreme for the USHPA to promote aerobatic flight or
aerobatic competition in hang gliders.
For a more detailed explanation of the design limitations of hang
gliders and how those limitations relate to aerobatic flight, and
why aerobatic flight is fundamentally different from other forms of
flight in hang gliders, I invite you to read the following technical
article on the subject:
http://www.willswing.com/Articles/Artic ... aerobatics
The above article, while fairly detailed in scope and content, is
also written to be as accessible as possible, and it dispels a
number of inaccurate ideas that I have repeatedly heard expressed
regarding the technical aspects of hang glider airworthiness and
aerobatics. I also invite any of you who have questions on the
technical aspects of this issue to contact me at any time, by email
or by phone.
I understand that those pilots in the United States who wish to
compete internationally in aerobatic competition may need to have a
process by which a team can be validated by the USHPA in its
capacity as the representative to the CIVL for those pilots.
However, I think that there must be ways in which that can be done
without the USHPA being directly involved in the promotion and
sanction of aerobatic competitions. My recommendation would be
something along the lines of the aerobatic pilots forming an
organization of their own, administering their own competition rules
and pilot ranking system, and having the USHPA simply agree to
recognize that ranking for the purpose of team selection to CIVL
events. Again, my concern is not with the existence of aerobatic
flight or aerobatic competition, but with its promotion by the
USHPA, and with the inevitable result from such promotion that the
message is being conveyed by the national association that this is
an appropriate and accepted form of flight in hang gliders.
The second, and related issue that I would like the board to
consider has to do with technical matters in general, and how those
might inform actions that the board or its representatives may
decide to take. The USHPA Mission Statement says that the USHPA will
(among other things):
Maintain a working relationship with manufacturers and the
manufacturers’ associations that will serve to promote the sport.
And Represent the membership at the national and international level
through the NAA, CIVL and FAI
In the course of representing the USHPA, and US pilots and their
interests to the CIVL, it will often be necessary for the USHPA
representative to bring to bear on that process a significant
understanding of technical matters. The most reliable source for
such technical understanding would be the manufacturers and the
manufacturers' associations - i.e. the HGMA. However there has been
very little outreach from the USHPA to the HGMA or the manufacturers
for technical support, and I have observed that a number of CIVL
actions, which have been supported to varying degrees by the USHPA
CIVL representative, have been inconsistent with a proper technical
understanding of the issues involved, and have as a result been
counterproductive to the desired ends, and to the interests of the
pilots. I would suggest that this process could be improved by a
closer cooperation between the USHPA and the technical community of
the sport of hang gliding, and I would urge the USHPA to be more
proactive in availing itself of the technical knowledge and
experience that exists in that community.
I thank you for your consideration, and I wish you a productive and
successful meeting.
Sincerely,
Mike Meier
Wills Wing, Inc.
www.willswing.com
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