I have contacted my local Regional Director as well as the the main office of the USHPA with the following message -
To whom it may Concern,
. . . I am an independent hang glider pilot, meaning that I am not a USHPA member. I was a member until 2013 and held a Master rating (issued in 1991).
I live in south central New York State and have permission from a local land owner to enter and fly from his property. He also allows the USHPA Chapter known as Rochester Area Flyers (RAF) to fly from his property.
Upon arriving there yesterday (Sunday 7/14/19) within a few minutes I was told by Rick Brown, an RAF club officer that he couldn't let me fly there. I decided to document his statement and produced my Sony Cyber Shot camera in order create a video record. Before I could even turn the camera on Rick Brown swung his hand at mine knocking the camera several feet away into some tall weeds. This angered me greatly and I shoved him at least twice. He returned his own shoves. I've never been in a fist fight but was almost triggered into beginning one because of Rick Brown's completely uncalled for act of knocking my camera from my hand. This is a $400 camera that he sent flying.
I forced myself to calm down and began looking for my camera. I still intended to video record my interactions with Rick Brown. Oddly, Rick Brown decided he would help me find my camera and actually found it before I did. He then gave it back to me. I very quickly turned it on and began video recording. The video goes for a few minutes and he does repeat that he won't let me fly at the site. He insists that I get a signed note from the land owner stating that I can fly from the property. At one point I ask him to show me his signed note from the landowner which said that I can't fly from the site. He had no good answer to that.
I stopped the video briefly (I don't know why) and started it back up. Near the end of the second section, Rick Brown repeats a couple times that (parphrasing here) he would put me on the ground if he had to, or words to that specific effect.
I left the flying site and drove the short distance to the landowner's home. He's a very busy farmer and when I found him he was working on a piece of heavy equipment. He was nice enough to speak with me while he worked. When I described what Rick Brown had said to me (That he wouldn't let me fly there) the land owner said "He has no authority to tell you that!" Then he told me to go back, fly and have a good time. I did not insist that the land owner write out a permission note and sign it. I just drove back up to the launch site.
Since I had no "note" both Rick Brown and now Katrin (don't recall her last name but she's another club officer) were both telling me I would be stopped from flying. And again violence was implied and/or specifically threatened. For that reason I decided to call law enforcement. They were not going to show up immediately so I once again drove down to tell the land owner that I had called the police and that they may want to talk to him at some point. He explained that he would be out bailing hay in a certain field if they needed to talk to him.
It ends up that two NYS Troopers showed up, one about 15 minutes after the other. The first one somehow got the land owner's cell phone number and talked with him. He eventually came over to me and explained that the land owner wanted things to cool down and the best thing would be for me to leave. Which I did do. As I left I found the landowner about to begin running the hay bailer and he repeated what the Trooper had told me, that it was just best to let things cool down today and that he would talk with me later in the week about things. It was obvious that the land owner was very busy and had no time to spend driving up to the launch site to straighten out the situation, or even spend 5 minutes writing up a "permission note" (for me to use his own land???).
I would mention here that at least twice Rick Brown and Katrin told me lies that the landowner had told them that he (the land owner or his significant other) had told me that I was not allowed to fly there. This was utterly contradicted by every contact I had with the landowner yesterday, and on at least two occasions in the recent and more distant past. It should be noted that I first flew the site in 1980.
This event has upset me greatly and I have suffered damage as a result. I was personally attacked, had expensive personal equipment violently knocked from my hand, and threatened with further possible violence. I was prevented from having a great day of flying - which I will never get back. Since there were many people out to fly yesterday (who at least partially witnessed the conflict) my reputation has been damaged for absolutely no good reason. The actions taken, especially by Rick Brown, were intentionally malicious and criminal in nature. My responses, physical and verbal were nothing but defensive in nature.
Since the USHPA tells Chapters to not allow non USHPA pilots to fly from their (insured) sites, it is, for all intents and purposes, endorsing the extreme action taken against me yesterday. Unless and/or until I get a written and signed public apology from the Rochester Area Flyer's complete "board of directors" as well as a statement from the USHPA that it DOES NOT endorse the extreme actions taken against me yesterday then the USPHA should consider that a Federal civil law suit is pending. And if the land owner decides it's best that I not fly from his land anymore then my civil damages will greatly increase.
Sincerely, [ . . . Me . . . ]
PS - The right thing for Rick Brown and/or Katrin to have done is to have driven down with me to talk with the land owner. That would have settled everything without conflict, in a civil and peaceful manner. Oh, and I proposed that to Rick Brown and he told me he wouldn't do it because it would cut into his flying time!
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I think that it is important for members of the US Hawks to read the above and realize the seriously negative behavior that the U$hPa's "site insurance" situation effectively promotes. What happened to to me yesterday fits with violent gang behavior. It doesn't belong in the sport of hang gliding.
