Breaking USHPA's Monopoly Control of Flying Sites

[Tad Eareckson]

Could you provide the details of what happened?

The time to have been interested was eight years ago when it happened. But:

http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=3840
[TIL] About Tad Eareckson

Bob Kuczewski - 2013/03/10 18:20:34 UTC

I first learned about Tad Eareckson when I was Regional Director and the USHPA Board circulated a letter he had written (with intention to send?) to the FAA about some dangerous practices in hang gliding.

The Board's knee-jerk response was to try to take some kind of legal action to silence Tad. I indicated that I thought we shouldn't be sending our lawyers in as our first response, and that maybe we should have someone talk with him first. So Dennis Pagen volunteered, and I believe the matter was settled without any serious damage to the sport.

All that mattered to you THEN was getting me properly silenced to prevent me from doing any SERIOUS damage to the sport - at great risk to your neck I might add.

It might be helpful to start gathering more examples of USHPA's cartel-like behavoir.

Or hell, we could just try to find the two or three examples of u$hPa's NON cartel-like behavior and have the relevant agencies look at the five hundred thousand examples of the business-as-usual crap.

P.S. I'm again ignoring your previous post because it s non-productive to the purpose of this topic...

...and it exposes the obvious lie you told about your neck being in jeopardy for having spoken out to have me silenced in a less aggressive manner. From THIS:

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=463
Davis Straub's "Oz Report" Conflict of Interest

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/02/11 16:13:44 UTC

I remember when I was Regional Director there was a big dust up about Tad back in May of 2009, and some of the Directors were calling for legal action to censor him. On May 11, 2009, I sent the following message to the Board. I believe in open dialog, so I started by pointing out that Tad had included his email address in his letter (so we could contact him). I then offered my support for Dennis who suggested that we try to talk with Tad before taking legal action. Here's my message to the Board:

Sent: Monday, May 11, 2009 12:40 AM
To: Pagen, Dennis; Tate, Lisa
Cc: USHPA Regional Directors
Subject: Re: aerotow SOP complaint

Hello Dennis (cc Gregg and other Regional Directors),

First, I think Mr. Eareckson's email address was in Gregg's original letter included below if anyone needs it (TadErcksn@...).

Second, I cast my vote for having Dennis write a letter to Mr. Eareckson as he suggested. Mr. Eareckson is obviously intelligent and passionate, and we can certainly use those qualities if we can harness them in a positive direction. If Dennis can do this, then that's the win-win solution. Another invitation to attend (or even present) at the next Towing Committee meeting might also be a good idea. I vote for inclusivity over litigation.

"SOME" of the Directors? Doesn't sound like much of a lynch mob to me.

DENNIS suggested that we try to talk with Tad before taking legal action? And here I was thinking that it was Bob and Bob alone keeping the lid on the frenzied bloodthirsty mob at great risk to himself by proposing a possible alternate solution no one else had thought of.

And you cast your vote for having Dennis write a letter to Mr. Eareckson as DENNIS suggested. So it just looks like you were a member of a majority faction of sleazy criminally negligent motherfuckers trying to use threats and coercion to keep your criminal activities out of the public eye.

But if USHPA's monopoly...

...in which you were a player in fair standing at the time...

...played any role in ending your hang gliding career, then that's highly relevent.

How could it NOT have played any role in ending my hang gliding career? Can you cite an alternate example?

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?

Jim Rooney - 2011/08/25 04:55:25 UTC

I mean seriously... ridgerodent's going to inform me as to what Kroop has to say on this? Seriously? Steve's a good friend of mine. I've worked at Quest with him. We've had this discussion ... IN PERSON. And many other ones that get misunderstood by the general public. It's laughable.

Don't even get me started on Tad. That obnoxious blow hard has gotten himself banned from every flying site that he used to visit... he doesn't fly anymore... because he has no where to fly. His theories were annoying at best and downright dangerous most of the time. Good riddance.

Ridgerodent - 2011/08/25 05:34:01 UTC

Please continue. I am all ears.
I have been trying to fault Tad's logic and so far been unsuccessful.

Jim Rooney - 2011/08/25 05:37:34 UTC

I suspect you ARE Tad.

Ridgerodent - 2011/08/25 05:40:20 UTC

No , but what he writes makes sense to me. But thanks for the compliment.

Jim Rooney - 2011/08/25 05:42:28 UTC

I'm Member #78142
To whom am I speaking?
I'm an instructor, so I can verify your name/number against the USHPA database.

Ridgerodent - 2011/08/25 05:48:31 UTC

88875 - Steve Davy

Jim Rooney - 2011/08/25 05:56:41 UTC

If you're Steve, sorry to be a prick about this.. but since you seem to have read Tad's blatherings, then you will likely also be familiar with why I'm being a prick.

Christopher LeFay - 2011/08/25 06:19:42 UTC

A privilege afforded anyone, instructor or no.

Speak to the message- not the messenger (that's what email is for). In this case, the message takes the form of a troll- which you feed and feed and feed and feed...

Jim Rooney - 2011/08/25 06:23:15 UTC

Too right Christopher.
I didn't realize that till after I sent it... which is what the email bit is about of course.
He can claim to be Steve, and maybe he is... but he can't read Steve's email unless he is.

Thus far, I am still awaiting a reply.
I was serious too... he sounds like Tad.

You're right too... at the end of the day, he's a Troll... just as Tad is a huge troll.

Jim Rooney - 2011/08/25 06:25:28 UTC

Nope... drat... just a plain ole troll.
But, an outted troll.

Jim Rooney - 2011/08/25 06:29:21 UTC

I'm happy to know that I am in fact speaking with Steve, not Tad.
Tad makes my skin crawl.

Jim Rooney - 2011/08/25 21:40:25 UTC

Tommy.
First, I sent Steve a bunch of info offline. Hopefully it clears things up a bit for him.
Unfortunately, he's stumbled onto some of Tad's old rantings and got suckered in. So most of this was just the same old story of debunking Tad's lunacy... again .

Anyway...
Weaklink material... exactly what Davis said.

It's no mystery.
It's only a mystery why people choose to reinvent the wheel when we've got a proven system that works.

Davis Straub - 2011/08/26 20:10:56 UTC

Oh, and BTW, Tad is clueless as well as being a child molester (no kidding).

Jim Rooney - 2011/08/26 23:12:32 UTC

Just to back Davis up on this, cuz the person that let's the cat out of the bag always gets flack for it...

So we're clear as a bell on this.
Tad is a convicted paedophile.

This is not rumour, this is not speculation. This is straight from the horses mouth... I asked him about it.
Believe it or not, a paedophile can have no issue with telling you this stuff as they see what they do as "normal".

He was 30 years old when he had his 13 year old "boyfriend", as he puts it.
I don't know if that's the one he got locked up for, but I know the one he got locked up for was not his last.
I believe the other one(s) was younger.
I didn't have the stomach to delve into further detail.

He has been banned from every flying site he's ever set foot at and some he hasn't.

And yes, he is a deranged megalomaniac.
I had the displeasure of having to put up with him before he was kicked out of one of the flight parks that I was working for.

Good riddance.

That sound to you like a good strategy a bunch of sleazy fraudulent motherfuckers getting shown up as the sleazy fraudulent motherfuckers they are to try to neutralize, silence, ostracize, eliminate a voice of competence, truth, integrity?

http://www.ushawks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=884
The Bob Show

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/12/13 05:55:39 UTC

If I boot you permanently it will be due to my concerns over the topic we discussed on the phone. This forum should be a safe place for people of varying ages to visit. You have not given me any assurances that's true with you on this forum.

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/12/14 04:53:36 UTC

This concerns me greatly ... and I still don't know what to do about it.

I heard about this incident when I was on the road, but I waited a few days until I got to San Diego to address it with Tad. Whenever I hear a rumor, I try to either dismiss it or confirm it directly with the person being accused. That's what I did with Tad in this case, and I called him personally to ask about the incident. To his credit, Tad admitted the incident as he has in his post above.

But what concerned me greatly was Tad's response when I asked him if he felt he'd done anything wrong by having homosexual relations with a 12 year old boy. I don't recall Tad's exact words, but they did not reflect any significant remorse for his actions toward the boy.

This is a serious matter, and it's one that I never anticipated when I created this forum or when I invited Tad to join us. I really don't know how to handle this, and I would appreciate thoughtful comments from anyone on this subject. Thanks in advance.

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/12/14 17:51:49 UTC

This is an important subject, and it's not something that we should be handling lightly or without considerable thought.

Tad, I called you privately because I felt this was a private matter. That's also why my posted reference was non-specific. You've made it public by your own choice. Please don't blame me. I am just trying to deal with a concern that has been brought to my attention by one of our members.

I ask everyone to step back and think about what kind of an organization we would like to build here. That's where we need to keep our focus.

Bob Kuczewski - 2011/12/16 20:50:32 UTC

I think this topic is mostly done. It was a sad ending, and I wish it had turned out differently.

Peas in fuckin' pods - 'cept Bob's a lot smarter, smoother, applies a far superior looking veneer.

And ya know where one of your counterparts is now, Bob?

09-20
http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5315/29962431842_1b260f7a81_o.png


Essentially extinct since 2016/09/29. (Like the flight park that created him was a bit under a year prior.) And nobody gives the least flying fuck.

[Tad Eareckson]

Bob Kuczewski - 2017/08/07 00:34:50 UTC

USHPA's insurance monopoly is the more important topic right now anyway. I hope you can post about how your hang gliding career has been damaged by USHPA and their affiliates.

Tad Eareckson - 2017/08/07 01:09:17 UTC

Ended. Destroyed.

Bob Kuczewski - 2017/08/07 03:43:50 UTC

Give as many details as you can. Feel free to PM any that might be tactical. It's just dawning on me that USHPA might have a history of this.

Just dawning on you? Ya think?

OK. I can't recall the year right now but let's make it 2007 for the time being to give Highland Aerosports the maximum possible benefit of the doubt. My guess is years earlier though.

It was a June weekend fly-in bash. I'd been doing stuff on Saturday so showed up Sunday with no intention to fly, probably no glider. Had two birds (same as Quinn) with me. Phoebe had a trashed wing (my fault) and couldn't fly. Gina was young and trained.

Gina was flying out and back with her beautiful falcon flight and a big hit with the crowd.

There was a despicable Uber Cunt from the Baltimore club named Raean of Fred and Raean Permenter with a Brittany (I'm pretty sure) (bird dog) going berserk after my bird. Uber Cunt informed me that she would not control her pet to prevent it from killing my pet. So I put Gina back in the cage with Phoebe in my old VW Rabbit.

Shortly thereafter I heard Gina and saw her climbing out with the fuckin' dog in hot pursuit. What the fuck?! The fuckin' dog had scratched up all the doors trying to get into the car, discovered the hatchback unsecured, gone in, torn up the cage, released and tried to grab Gina.

It appeared that Gina had come down in one of the trees around a hangar and the picnic tables but I couldn't find her, get an answer, verify. There was a possibility that she'd could've gone into the swamp to the east and this side of the runway.

Seabird McKeon was a staffer who was an ultra bird nature geek and knew of an active Coopers' nest in aforementioned swamp. (He published an article on raptor ID in the magazine back around that time.) I figured it would be a good idea to check things out just in case and borrowed his bike.

See a couple little girls - tennish maybe - a couple hundred yards ahead down the gravel road. They're on bikes so I figure they're locals. Ride past them and they get all excited and call me.

Yeah?
Our father told us if we saw you to tell you that you had to talk to him!
(Sigh) Yeah, well, sorry, but I don't take orders from your father.
But! But!
Sorry, I'm busy right now. Have a nice day. (And tell you father to go fuck himself for me, little bitchlets.)

Come up empty, of course, return to base. See a figure standing ahead in my path, looks like one of my glider road buddies from a distance - but not so much as I close.

What's your name?
(I'm slow, not clicking on cylinders.) Tad.
What's your last name?
(Cylinders click. Oh.) Go fuck yourself.

Get Gina back late in the afternoon with the same slightly injured wing that put Quinn into silent mode after the Blue Jay, go home.

Fast forward two or more years until after Bob has worked things out to prevent me from doing serious damage to the sport.

Phone call from Adam Elchin. Apologetic but... Sorry Tad, don't bother showing up at Ridgely again.
Why?
Well, there was that incident when you attempted to lure the little Smith girls into the woods.

I debunked that in two seconds and he probably knew that the charge was absolutely outrageous and absurd and abandoned the tack immediately.

Well, the letter to the FAA.

He knew it was a sleazy scam they were pulling, stayed on the phone a long time, you could hear the embarrassment and shame in his voice. Bye.

I was of course devastated, knew it was the end of my career, no way in hell I was gonna go back to the ridges. I'd burned out on that bullshit before Highland happened at the beginning of the 1999 season.

But fuck those guys anyway. They'd been having fun harrassing me and treating the airport like they owned it, giving Jim Keen-Intellect Rooney his little swastika armband, letting Davis take over for ECCs. And it was lotsa fun watching them implode before the start of their 2016 season and the devastation it caused my old Capitol Club buddies.

Footnote to the above...

If there had been the SLIGHTEST belief in that stereotypical attempt to lure the little girls into the swamp bullshit that most people with functional brains know never happens in real life the only acceptable response from those present would have been to call the police, keep me under surveillance, block any attempt to exit.

And I HAVE a background and everybody and his dog knows it. Two victim/witnesses who can be independently interviewed. What were they waiting for? What more did they think they needed? The online videos I was gonna post just to back up the testimony of the little bitchlets?

On the freakishly rare occasions when one of those stereotypical scenarios actually comes into play it makes regional news at a minimum and somebody's life is over.

But, believing that, I'm left free to leave, come back, fly, camp out for another two, three, four seasons?

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30971
Zach Marzec

Jim Rooney - 2013/03/07 18:24:58 UTC

I'm fine.

These are only questions if you're advocating change. Which I'm not. You are.

Nope.

You're the one speculating on Zack's death... not me.
Hell, you've even already come to your conclusions... you've made up your mind and you "know" what happened and what to do about.
It's disgusting and you need to stop.
You weren't there. You don't know.
All you have is the tug pilot report, who himself says he doesn't know... and HE WAS THERE... and he doesn't know.

Ever heard of "Confirmation Bias"?
Because you're a textbook example.
You were out looking for data to support your preconceived conclusion, rather than looking at the data and seeing what it tells you... which is why this is the first time we've heard from you and your gang.

Go back to Tad's hole in the ground.
While you're there, ask him why he was banned from every east coast flying site.

I'd tell ya myself but I have way too much respect for his privacy - and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. All the other east coast flying site operators too. So just ask Tad to tell ya what he did that got him banned from every east coast flying site - but not the midwest, southwest, Pacific flying sites.

That help ya any, Bob?

[Tad Eareckson]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skysailingtowing/message/7230
Towing question

Martin Henry - 2009/06/26 06:06:59 UTC

PS... you got to be careful mentioning weak link strengths around the forum, it can spark a civil war

Manned Kiting
The Basic Handbook of Tow Launched Hang Gliding
Daniel F. Poynter
1974

"A bad flyer won't hurt a pin man but a bad pin man can kill a flyer." - Bill Bennett
"Never take your hands off the bar." - Tom Peghiny
"The greatest dangers are a rope break or a premature release." - Richard Johnson

Solid, matches with reality, common sense. But then:

Donnell Hewett - 1980/12

WEAK LINK

Every tension limiting device discussed up to now consists of mechanical components, has a limited range, or relies upon human operation. Every one of these tension limiting devices is subject to failure. Please correct me if I am wrong, but it is also my understanding that there are a large number of tow pilots today who are depending upon smooth air, rope stretch, boat speed, mechanical devices, and ground crews to provide the tension limitation control for their flights. Well, in the author's opinion that is just not good enough. Skyting requires the use of an infallible weak link to place an absolute upper limit to the towline tension in the unlikely event that everything else fails.

Now I've heard the argument that "Weak links always break at the worst possible time, when the glider is climbing hard in a near stall situation," and that "More people have been injured because of a weak link than saved by one." Well, I for one have been saved by a weak link and would not even consider towing without one. I want to know without a doubt (1) when I am pushing too hard, and (2) what will break when I push too hard, and (3) that no other damage need result because I push too hard.

Furthermore, I will not use a mechanical weak link no matter how elaborate or expensive because there is always the possibility that it may fail to operate properly. In skyting we use a simple and inexpensive strand of nylon fishing line which breaks at the desired tension limit. There is no possible way for it to jam and fail to release when the maximum tension is exceeded. Sure, it may get weaker through aging or wear and break too soon, but it cannot get stronger and fail to break. If it does break too soon, so what? We simply replace it with a fresh one.

A properly designed weak link must be strong enough to permit a good rate of climb without breaking, and it must be weak enough to break before the glider gets out of control, stalls, or collapses.

And within the next year and a half that delusional rot was swallowed hook, line, sinker in every corner of the globe. And every single individual who bought into it was FUNDAMENTALLY INCOMPETENT. And the resulting crash toll was and is HORRENDOUS.

And Dennis Pagen published his tow park infomercial fiction textbook 1998/01.

Then Highland Aerosports sets up camp at Ridgely for 1999 Memorial Day weekend. I was there on Friday afternoon - one of the first four or so regular solo guys and made it all the way up to about 125 feet before my safety device kicked in. For much of the rest of that weekend they were losing about every other glider.

"How 'bout we use something stronger?"

"Well, with the knot hidden from the main tension in the line and the weak link on a bridle end the equipment is being stressed to 520 pounds. And ya really don't wanna go above a limit like that."

"Oh. Well that makes perfect sense."

Then I gradually figured out over the years that these guys had no fuckin' clues as to what they were talking about. The weak links were half the strengths they said they were, were stalling gliders and crashing gliders all the fuckin' time and totally useless for limiting lockouts - if yours was low and were relying on one you were dead or close (ask John Claytor).

And I kept refining my release system:

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=939
Weak link breaks?

Dan Tomlinson - 2005/08/31 00:33:01 UTC

Tad's post is difficult to read but I've seen his work. His release mechanism is elegant in its simplicity and effectiveness.

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=233
AT releases

Hugh McElrath - 2005/03/05 17:02:56 UTC

Thanks, Tad. I was too green to fully appreciate your system when you showed it to me a couple of years ago. Now I'm more interested. Do I have to fabricate this myself from parts or are you in business?

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3347
Tad's barrel release tested

Janni Papakrivos - 2008/06/30 15:35:44 UTC

Tad showed me the release system he installed in Hugh's glider. I was amazed at the quality and complexity of the system. Being able to tow and release without ever having to take your hands off the base tube is wonderful and much safer.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=12587
weak links (here we go)

Patrick Halfhill - 2009/06/21 23:22:23 UTC

You and I met at the ECC a few years ago. We spent 45 minutes or more together going over your system. I saw it first hand. I was quite impressed with the quality of engineering and the time you spent on it.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=11497
Aerotow release options?

Walt Conklin - 2009/05/03 16:19:44 UTC

Very nice engineering, Tad. I can see a lot of thought went into the systems and there is always room to "build a better mousetrap".
Every system we use in this sport can be improved on. Look where we progressed from since I first flew in '71.

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2467
weak links

Brian Vant-Hull - 2007/07/21 13:00:33 UTC

I'll be lazy and ask if any of your references give a physical reason for the 0.8 to 2 g range they quote as safe. If not, constructing a reasonable physical argument could be a major contribution. You clearly have the physics down well enough (as good as anyone else in the world) to do so.

And that showed up Highland Aerosports for the incompetent pin bending twats that they were - 'cause it wasn't like they were actually gonna learn anything and adopt innovative technology.

So they started making a sport of ridiculing me and the equipment I was developing and promoting. Seemed maybe like good natured ribbing at first but got REALLY OLD REALLY FAST.

And it also didn't take them long to start treating the public airport like they owned it and could make up whatever rules they felt like, not post them anywhere, treat you like a total jerk for not following them.

And if the forecast was good for both days I and others would throw up a little tent city and spend the night. And a lot of those nights would be really rough for at least Yours Truly - beat up and stressed from Day One, dehydration cramps, HORRIBLE insomnia. Then maybe with an hour of darkness left you'd FINALLY drift into sleep.

And the next thing you know you're six inches off your pad with your eyes open like saucers and your heart in overdrive 'cause the asshole working up the 914 Dragonfly for the dawn tandem lesson has put it in a steep Stuka bomber dive at tent city then climbed out vertically full turbo, blades "cavitating".

And your sleep's over and you feel like death warmed over and are too fried to fly and enjoy anything Day 2.

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2809
hook-in failures

Jim Rooney - 2007/10/31 13:31:04 UTC

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

And what are you gonna do about it? They make all their money on tandem thrill rides. And it just dawned on me that it might not be a bad idea to clear out a fair chunk of the established solo flyer crowd.

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=51106
The airport neighbors

Davis Straub - 2017/01/05 13:02:37 UTC

Noise

Robert Joynes writes:

Following is a link to last Friday's edition of our local newspaper, the Eastern Shore Post. There is an article starting on page two which details how a local hang gliding operation is affecting my family and our neighborhood, with the reckless behavior of the owner and one of the tandem glider pilots. This operation is giving your sport a bad name. I would appreciate your publishing this on your website.

http://www.easternshorepost.com/content/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/12.29.2016.pdf
William S. McCarter responds:

I'm sorry that my unhappy neighbors dragged you into this. But I guess it was just a matter of time: they have contacted everyone else. I'm not sure what to tell you; of course, none of what they say is true.

http://www.facebook.com/VirginiaHangliding
http://www.virginiahanggliding.com/

And even if you DO survive the night and turbo blast in good enough shape to fly...

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?

Jim Rooney - 2011/08/28 19:39:17 UTC

Weak links break for all kinds of reasons.
Some obvious, some not.

The general consensus is the age old adage... "err on the side of caution".

The frustration of a weaklink break is just that, frustration.
And it can be very frustrating for sure. Especially on a good day, which they tend to be. It seems to be a Murphy favourite. You'll be in a long tug line on a stellar day just itching to fly. The stars are all lining up when *bam*, out of nowhere your trip to happy XC land goes up in a flash. Now you've got to hike it all the way back to the back of the line and wait as the "perfect" window drifts on by.

I get it.
It can be a pisser.

But the "other side"... the not cautions one... is not one of frustration, it's one of very real danger.
Better to be frustrated than in a hospital, or worse.
No exaggeration... this is the fire that the "other side" is made of. Best not to play with it.

Still gotta get by your tug driver mandated safety device.

So Bob, can ya see any analogies between your situation at Torrey and mine at Ridgely? Public facility, commercial concessionaire with no checks, oversight, tandem thrill ride industry, non hang glider pilots controlling the airspace?

[Tad Eareckson]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skysailingtowing/message/7230
Towing question

Martin Henry - 2009/06/26 06:06:59 UTC

PS... you got to be careful mentioning weak link strengths around the forum, it can spark a civil war

Yeah Martin, you gotta be careful mentioning weak link strengths around ANY forum - 'specially now in the wake of the 2013/02/02 Zack Marzec inconvenience splattering. 'Specially when T** at K*** S****** or any of The Team is around. And, of course, what we've found is that The Industry will no longer mention ANY weak link strength or material for any application with a gun to its fuckin' head.

And Bob... It's a REAL WAR. Real troops and planes getting blown apart and killed, real turf being lost and won, reputations being trashed and made, huge financial resources being poured away.

You're gonna get Dennis Pagen to talk some sense into me to prevent me from doing serious damage to the sport. Dennis Pagen is an Industry shill who makes his living being the world's greatest authority on everything hang and para gliding.

"Wow! You're absolutely right, Tad! Really didn't understand the issue when I wrote my excellent book, Towing Aloft, by Dennis Pagen and Bill Bryden, twenty years ago. Guess I'll hafta put out an advisory, tell everybody that I was totally full a shit back then, do a recall of fifty thousand copies, send out revised edition replacements free of charge. Very least I could do. Owe ya bigtime, buddy!"

http://www.dennispagen.com/products/Towing/TowingAloft.htm
Dennis Pagen Books

http://ushpastore.com/products/towing-aloft-learning-to-surface-tow-aerotow-hang-gliders-paragliders-ultralight-sailplanes?variant=1170911645
Towing Aloft - USHPA Store

Towing Aloft - 1998/01

A weak link is the focal point of a safe towing system.

Pro Tip: Always thank the tug pilot for intentionally releasing you, even if you feel you could have ridden it out. He should be given a vote of confidence that he made a good decision in the interest of your safety.

Manned Kiting
The Basic Handbook of Tow Launched Hang Gliding
Daniel F. Poynter
1974

"The greatest dangers are a rope break or a premature release." - Richard Johnson

This is a totally unfixable problem within the system and you're never in a million years gonna lift a finger to help 'cause if you say something right you're gonna make three new friends and fifty new enemies. And the enemies are all gonna be a lot better politically positioned. So instead you're gonna tell us about how you have very little experience towing and express your appreciation for the people on both sides of the debate.

[Tad Eareckson]

Hey Bob...

Bob Kuczewski - 2017/08/06 20:50:03 UTC

Could you provide the details of what happened? It might be helpful to start gathering more examples of USHPA's cartel-like behavoir.

You just did me a HUMONGOUS favor - I realized just a bit ago.

That crap Adam / Highland pulled with what could have been his illegal denial of services action and effective end of my quarter century plus flying career was - big surprise - one of the most devastating episodes of my life. 'Specially what little wreckage I had left in the way of a life after the legal system totally and permanently destroyed me with their actions from mid 1986 on. At least I still had flying and qualifications that permitted me to do what very few others could.

The fake bitchlets allegation was horrifying, only ever talked about it with a very small handful of very close trusted individuals, wanted it erased from my memory. So I wasn't bubbling with enthusiasm to respond in full to your request and put everything out there for the entire planet to see.

BUT now that I have...

Writing it down in necessary detail required some thought and stimulated some thinking afterwards that wouldn't have happened otherwise.

Only two possible scenarios:

- A. The obvious malicious fabrication everybody with half a brain or better knows it to be. Bitchlets Dad Smith, MD conspired with Ridgely staff to manufacture ammunition to be used against me on whatever rainy day they deemed appropriate.

- B. Tad's a dangerous deranged sexual predator who knows how to lure little girls into swamps, rape them, dispose of the bodies such that no evidence can ever be brought to bear, usually in pairs.

So what criminal conduct should we be looking at here? How can we not go with the Highland staff?

- A. They're deliberately manufacturing the most vile and dangerous malicious slander possible against a totally innocent party for they're own purposes and amusement.

- B. They know of an extremely serious and quite possibly deadly threat to children at their operation and do absolutely nothing about it - until a rainy day of their choosing years later.

Lose/Lose motherfuckers. We have tons of well documented examples of you doing both.


http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7597/16975005972_c450d2cdda_o.png

http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5788/23461251751_e98b9c7500_o.png


http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24846
Is this a joke ?

Jim Rooney - 2011/08/25 06:29:21 UTC

I'm happy to know that I am in fact speaking with Steve, not Tad.
Tad makes my skin crawl.

But did anybody notice...

http://ozreport.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22660
What can be learned from this "scooter" towing accident?

Mitch Shipley - 2011/01/31 15:22:59 UTC

Enjoy your posts, as always, and find your comments solid, based on hundreds of hours / tows of experience and backed up by a keen intellect/knowledge of the issues when it comes to most things in general and hang gliding AT/Towing in particular. Wanted to go on record in case anyone reading wanted to know one persons comments they should give weight to.

...Jim Keen-Intellect Rooney having any problem with what Kelly Harrison was doing? Before or after the fact?

Not that anybody's really interested in hearing anything the little twat has to say anymore.

09-20
http://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5315/29962431842_1b260f7a81_o.png


And good luck finding any traces of the Highland crew still involved in the sport anywhere.

[Tad Eareckson]

Bob,

Regarding that aforementioned really pissed off hour long phone call. In the course of it you assured me that you really wanted me to be able to fly again and my reaction was that the only flying I was interested in doing was aerotowing (or anything else that efficiently gets me up to workable altitude from a conveniently located airport type environment) and that that option became permanently irrevocably extinct my Mid Atlantic region at the end of the 2015 season.

But more importantly, what I didn't get to... Hang gliding is pretty much mandatorily a social activity. We're social animals; flock at the best available sites; support each other in preparations, launch, retrieval; use each other to identify and exploit lift most efficiently; usually gather for dinner and to recount the day's activities. Flying alone tends not to be much fun.

With the rarest of exceptions I DESPISE hang glider people. The sport's a dickhead magnet and has produced an upside down hierarchy in which intelligence/competence is hunted down and bludgeoned to death when- and where-ever it rears its ugly head and the most vile of the stupid opportunistic scumbags are exalted as gods amongst us.

http://www.hanggliding.org/viewtopic.php?t=25536
Whoops! Snapped another tip wand :-O

NMERider - 2012/03/14 15:17:14 UTC

Jim Rooney threw a big tantrum and stopped posting here.

His one-technique-fits-all attitude espoused on the Oz Report Forum has become tiresome to read. It does not work in the fucked-up world of XC landings and weary pilots.

Christopher LeFay - 2012/03/15 05:57:43 UTC

January's canonization of Rooney as the Patron Saint of Landing was maddening. He offered just what people wanted to hear: there is an ultimate, definitive answer to your landing problems, presented with absolute authority. Judgment problems? His answer is to remove judgment from the process - doggedly stripping out critical differences in gliders, loading, pilot, and conditions. This was just what people wanted - to be told a simple answer. In thanks, they deified him, carving his every utterance in Wiki-stone.

I don't want to fly with these dregs and I don't want to fly alone. So flying's permanently off my to-do list.

If this sport had a molecule's worth of integrity its participants should've been lining up years ago by the thousands to apologize to me and beg my forgiveness. I've had ONE individual - Allen Sparks, from my old crowd - do something along those lines. And that's way shy of a critical mass.

The only thing I want to do regarding these assholes is pound them into the dust where they belong. And the only things I want to do with hang gliding:

- document its death spiral and identify the elements that put it on that course and powered it down

- develop, nurture, support the tiny handful of individuals of the ilk who should be at the top making it legitimate branch of aviation and maintaining it as such

[Tad Eareckson]

The best dangling participle setup I can ever remember anyone handing me...
We're carpooling to Annapolis for dinner and a play one evening a few years back talking birds.
Susan: "I've seen Tanagers driving on River Road."
Too easy.

[bobk]

While I'm waiting for Jonathan on the other topic, let me reply to your opening statement above:

Regarding that aforementioned really pissed off hour long phone call. In the course of it you assured me that you really wanted me to be able to fly again ...

Tad, there are many things we disagree on. But I believe we should all be able to enjoy the recreational activities available to us in the United States. I started this topic with that goal in mind.

You can split a group of humans along an infinite number of boundaries.

- HG or PG?
- Paper or Plastic?
- Trump or Obama?
- Ginger or Maryanne?

If you ask enough questions you can decompose any group of people - no matter how large - into isolated subgroups of 1.

So if you want to gather a large number of people together to fix a problem, you're going to have to ignore all opinions not related to that problem.

I think we both see a problem in hang gliding. If we're going to put together enough people to fix it, then we're going to have to be disciplined enough to put aside all those other issues and focus only on what we want to fix together.

For example, what is it that's keeping you from dusting off your favorite glider and driving to the nearest site ... and flying?

For me, the answer is very clear. It's a combination of USHPA's unjust expulsion and a flying site that's structured to require membership in USHPA's monopoly. I've overcome all the other obstacles (bullying, assault and battery, false arrests, coutroom trials, etc). So what is keeping you from flying? What would it take to fix it?

You've got some dedicated people on your forum, and we've got some dedicated people on the U.S. Hawks. I believe that we could accomplish a lot if we could identify some shared goals and work toward them.

[Tad Eareckson]

But I believe we should all be able to enjoy the recreational activities available to us in the United States.

Fuck the United States. Way too much emphasis on nationalism and borders lately. Kite Strings has members from the US, France, the UK, Norway, Russia, Germany, India, Australia, Portugal, possibly one or two others. And (again) hats off to the people who hafta struggle here through a second language. I want people to be able to safely, competently, minimally destructively enjoy recreational activities available to them wherever they happen to be.

I started this topic with that goal in mind.

A bit narrow, but what the hell.

You can split a group of humans along an infinite number of boundaries.

Or you can unite one along the lines of fundamental aeronautical principles. And when you do that a lot of other areas commonality tend to fall in line.

- HG or PG?

HG. Plus PG when relevant.

- Paper or Plastic?

Fuckin' plastic bags are destroying the planet. That's one thing al-Qaeda got right.

- Trump or Obama?

Cyanide or herbal tea?

- Ginger or Maryanne?

Don't really give a rat's ass. None of my fuckin' business. Me? I was pretty happy with "Quinn". And a bit over two months ago I fucked up bigtime and lost her forever.

If you ask enough questions you can decompose any group of people - no matter how large - into isolated subgroups of 1.

Or if you don't go too nuts, an isolated subgroup of a dozen or two - depending upon how one counts things - like we have here at Kite Strings.

So if you want to gather a large number of people together to fix a problem...

I don't. And what's that they say about cooks and broth?

...you're going to have to ignore all opinions not related to that problem.

Kite Strings is an extremely opinion hostile environment. It's science based and see above about other issues tending to fall in line with that solid a foundation.

I think we both see a problem in hang gliding.

*A* problem? I see hang gliding as NOTHING BUT problems - by DESIGN. Total cesspool.

If we're going to put together enough people to fix it, then we're going to have to be disciplined enough to put aside all those other issues and focus only on what we want to fix together.

Got a precedent upon which to base/justify that statement?

- The biggest and most lethal scam in the history of aviation (let's start the clock with Otto) was the Hewett Infallible Weak Link, and more so / specifically its Bobby Fucking-Genius Bailey Standard Aerotow Weak Link spinoff. It was a coordinated attack from Team Kite Strings - and a couple of anonymous allies - that blew it and its enablers permanently the fuck outta the water - against u$hPa, the Flight Park Mafia, Davis Show, Worlds Largest Hang Gliding Community. Try to find some references to 130 pound Greenspot from any sources within the past four years.

- Nope. Kite Strings objective is quality - fuck quantity. The cooks thing, remember?

- Focus?



Another u$hPa scam. I have a topic on it:

http://www.kitestrings.org/topic71.html

Monumentally crappy idea in aviation. Keep checking your six, keep the big picture in mind at all times.

- Lemme point out that you're not working to get fair treatment and resolution at the Worlds Largest Hang Gliding Community. You're working to get it at the world's smallest. And I don't view us as a COMMUNITY. I view us as a TEAM. And the nanosecond I start respecting other people's OPINIONS in order to boost numbers over here is the nanosecond I start becoming Jack. And then...

http://www.hanggliding.org/wiki/HG_ORG_Mission_Statement
HangGliding.Org Rules and Policies

No posts or links about Bob Kuczewski, Scott C Wise, Tad Eareckson and related people, or their material. ALL SUCH POSTS WILL BE IMMEDIATELY DELETED. These people are poison to this sport and are permanently banned from this site in every possible way imaginable. They have been banned over and over again by multiple sites and organizations. Bob Kuczewski holds the title as the only regional directory to be forcibly REMOVED from office by the United States Hanggliding Paragliding Association. Avoid at all costs. Bob Kuczewski even requested that I change people votes during an election in a newly formed hang gliding organization. The man has no integrity and spends his days smearing people on the internet.

And then where are ya gonna go to get fair third party treatment?
---
2022/04/22 15:30:00 UTC

"Mary Ann" by the way.

[Tad Eareckson]

P.S...

Meant but forgot to ask you how many individuals were involved in getting your Crumbs of Dockweiler out from under u$hPa monopoly control? I'm guessing something well down in the single digits range.

And it was one individual - two if you count Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Donnell's Savior and Lord, which you probably should - who plunged the sports of hang and, then nonexistent, para gliding into over three decades worth of Infallible Weak Link hell.

http://www.chgpa.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2467
weak links

Jim Rooney - 2007/07/22 22:30:28 UTC

I've heard it a million times before from comp pilots insisting on towing with even doubled up weaklinks (some want no weaklink). I tell them the same thing I'm telling you... suck it up. You're not the only one on the line. I didn't ask to be a test pilot. I can live with your inconvenience.

How many:

- of those million comp pilots:

-- aligned with me when I went to war with these Flight Park Mafia / u$hPa pigfuckers over the standard aerotow weak link that was dumping six of them in a row in light morning conditions due to an unusually high coincidence factor?

-- thanked me and Team Kite Strings when everybody and their dogs suddenly became happy with Tad-O-Links half an hour after the 2013/02/02 Zack Marzec inconvenience splattering at Quest?

- CHGA, Ridgely, u$hPa, Jack and Davis Show fuckin' douchebags apologized to me when the accepted standards and practices suddenly changed with virtually no regard to track record length?

Name some significant positive changes from the history of hang gliding that we owe to committees?

Know how to calculate group intelligence? Lowest IQ of any individual in the group divided by number of individuals in the group. Do the math for The Worlds Largest Hang Gliding Community and see if you don't get something close to what I got and appears close fucking enough.