[Bob Kuczewski]

Heroes in Hang Gliding: Frank Colver

Earlier this morning Frank Colver made a landmark posting to hanggliding.org:

When I, as a director of the SCHGA, voted to create the USHGA out of our local club it was to have a national voice guiding the FAA in formulating rules for hang gliding which became Part 103. We needed a national representation for our fledgling sport.

Farthest from our minds was creating an organization that would become a gatekeeper, through insurance, to many of the best flying sites in the US. We also didn't know how little voice the membership would have in the actual running of the org. The regional directors are a puppet joke, afraid to rattle the cage of the hierarchy.

Two major changes are needed: 

1) Make the insurance available to anyone for a policy price just like any other insurance policy, not requiring membership in a private club that can deny membership to anybody the officers don't like and therefore deny that person insurance and therefore deny that person access to some of the best flying sites in the US. Hence USHGA, the arbitrary gatekeeper.

2) actively work, as a national organization, on getting sites open that don't require insurance, especially public sites that are tax payer supported but not limited to that. Inform members on the recreational liability laws of the states. Hold on line workshops on how local flyers can approach a public agency or a private landowner on requesting to fly on the property without insurance. The fewer the sites are that require insurance the better off our free flight becomes.

I recently joined the UHGPGA in planning to fly Point of the Mountain. In reading their on line statements I read where they are worried that non-USHPA members filing law suits could close the sites because those nonmembers had not signed the liability waiver that USHPA requires. Well duh.....all the agency that owns the site needs to do is require that anyone flying there sign a liability waiver to the agency. That's what the County of Los Angeles did for Dockweiler Beach, to open it for no insurance (no USHPA) required for flying on the days the concession (Windsports) is closed. Anyone can get the waiver on line, print it, sign it, and mail it to the county. They will get it back through email with a signed approval. Print it and keep it with you when at Dockweiler and you're good to fly. Certainly, at least, every government owned site should be run this way. USHPA, as representative of HG & PG across America, should be at the forefront of this effort.

Insurance coverage attracts lawyers like rotting flesh attracts flies. USHPA should strive, as a lofty goal, for a no insurance needed flying world.

Frank Colver, USHPA #7 (current)

Truly ... a hero in hang gliding!!

[Rick Masters]

But Frank, then USHPA wouldn't need an Insurance Chairman.

And his position appears to be tenured.        


USHPA IS TOAST - WE CAN'T UNTOAST IT!

Form a NEW national association for recreational hang gliding.

[Bob Kuczewski]

I think you're on to something there Rick!  

By the way, Frank's post above is one of the most sensible suggestions I've read on the topic. But some of the "USHPA Loyalists" on hanggliding.org would have none of it.

See if you can find the flaw in DMarley's post here:

Frank, perhaps you are not as learned as your age would suggest.
Any time a person or entity OWNS land, buildings, residences, has businesses, is a business, or is a government, there is always someone who may think that there might be a free meal waiting to be snacked upon. Not everyone is honest. Families of injured parties don't care about the sport of HG/PG. Especially when an injured party is a bread-winner for the family. They will attempt to go for the jugular. They will always consult an attorney or three to find their money tree. If the property that is being flown is owned (it is all owned by some entity), then the owner has enough value to bring charges against. 

A land owner, especially one who has many hundreds of thousands, and perhaps millions of dollars invested in valuable real-estate (large parcels of land), better have a plan as to how to deal with the inevitable case brought against him/her. No waiver is completely bullet-proof.
So, in respect to you, I won't say 'duh!'

Sonds pretty good doesn't it? Did you find the flaw?

DMarley is assuming that lawyers will work for free on cases that have no chance of winning. It is true that lawyers will take cases on a contingency basis ... but only if they have some chance of winning. If the case is guaranteed to lose because it clearly falls under the recreational use statutes, then lawyers won't touch it on a contingency basis. They may still take the case if a client is willing to pay them, but that's a severe barrier ... especially if the client also knows about the recreational use statutes.

So if you think about it rationally, you'll find that DMarley is just peddling USHPA's fear propaganda. The recreational use statutes do work. They work for mountain bikers and skiers and horseback riders and hunters and fishermen and hikers and climbers and so on. Why is hang gliding somehow the only sport that's put the noose of insurance around its own neck? The answer is a five letter word: USHPA.

[Rick Masters]

Why is hang gliding somehow the only sport that's put the noose of insurance around its own neck?

Nah. Nobody could be that dumb.

[Bob Kuczewski]

Why is hang gliding somehow the only sport that's put the noose of insurance around its own neck?

Nah. Nobody could be that dumb.

[Bob Kuczewski]

Moderator's note:

It turns out that DMarley had been reading our posts here and responding in the hanggliding.org topic titled: "I CAN NOT KEEP QUIET ANY LONGER". I began responding to his posts here (since I cannot reply on hanggliding.org), and that created a distraction from Frank's original excellent post quoted above.

I've moved my subsequent posts (that had been in this topic) to a new topic named "I CAN NOT KEEP QUIET ANY LONGER" in:

   Board index ‹ U.S. Hawks Hang Gliding Association ‹ Discussions from Other Forums ‹ Hang Gliding dot Org Discussions

That's the proper place for an ongoing discussion across forums, and I apologize for any distractions from Frank's original post. Please carry on the discussions in whichever topic you feel is most appropriate.