[SamKellner]

Neil ,

Thanks for the flashback. Actually, most of that was before my time.

The video was great. Real Hang Gliding


Sam

[Neil Larson]

- My personal recollection of Bob "still the King" Wills-
-It was some time around 1976, while I was visiting over at Carl Boenish's, his family's back yard garage was up a long incline concrete drive behind the house, Carl had altered the garage into a small private studio & film screening room, in Hawthorne Ca. He invited me to stay for a while and watch a prereleased screening there of his work in progress...Playground in the Sky, I remember because it had a "over-dubbed" sound effect of the sail "popping" as Bob thrashed about in the air. But it was the first time I understood how talented Bob Wills really was as a hang glider pilot. He was in his big Wills Wing standard rogallo!
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*following video clip contains portion of Bob Wills record 2 hour flight at Palmdale *
You Tube -Early 70s Hang Gliding Part 2 short segment from 1970's Carl Boenish film Playground in the Sky http://youtu.be/r5p544wUe2Q
*please excuse the non professional "cuts" throughout this short video offered here from the internet. It is a chop job done from a masterpiece by Carl Boenish & does not reflect the superior editing Carl gave all his projects. However You Tube seems to be the only remaining available place to view "Playground in the Sky"*
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Well it was a very windy day out in Palmdale, flying from a range of hills above a major California Highway, Bob was managing to control his super big sail in this strong radical high wind blowing through the valley. Lancaster, in the Southern California High Desert area, develops some very tough gusting winds. Bob had his hands full, as the wing buffeted & thrashed about. Bob held tight as the sail banged around first directly UP straight up, down, left & right in radical hard 20 feet slamming movements. Like an airborne Electric Rodeo Bull, Bob buffeted DOWN, Up again & again as the wing gave out loud snapping POPS with every down draft another POP, as the trailing edge of the Dacron sail snapped in the wind. Barefoot Bob ruled the air. Carl Boenish filmed the footage using a steady tripod so all the movement of the hang glider were kept in frame to get a true documentation on film of this pioneer master of the sky! Anyone else would have rapidly desired to find the ground to avoid the torment, not to be in the air during the gale, not Bob Wills! He made what could have been a catastrophe of Hang gliding into his own personal instructional film.
This was back in the days of Sears Swing seats with car seat belts & just 2 vertical harness straps going up to the center keel point, just as Frank Colver's photo of son Matt Colver launching at Little Norco , Ca. (circa early 1970's)

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Another 16mm film I once watched of Bob Wills cliff launching & soaring Hawaii. I think I saw it during a SCHGA monthly meeting downtown L.A. at the Gas Co. building during the early years. When I watched it, the presenter, made it a point to totally describe the entire scene before he rolled film in the projector...
He said, "Now realize how cool Bob Wills is in this as he does three things at once.
(1) He is he carries on a conversation with people on the cliff.
(2) as he banks in toward the camera initiating a precise comfortable turn "hands free" of the control bar, (3) at the same time he is also taking time to make minor adjustments to his seat under his rump."
Now this is true & honest, I witnessed that film, that is exactly what Bob Wills did documented on film.
To say Bob was good is does not give him full credit for his talent & abilities in a hang glider.
Bob Wills is "Still the King" , he was far beyond the rest of us & it is was humble privilege to know him.
I'll always remember his gentle kind smile and his acknowledging whenever I would give him a wave & a "Hi Bob" during the club meetings. ..........Neil Larson