[Lisa Tate]

2008 King Mountain Hang Gliding Championships Report


This year's King Mountain Hang Gliding Championships was held July 14-19th. Monday through Saturday proved to be a popular change from the previous Wednesday through Sunday schedule. Scoring was handicapped based on glider performance and the best 4 out of 6 days were scored using the Flytrack scoring program.

Weather was unusually good although we called one day due to high winds. There were 78 registrants and about 10 free fliers at the event.

PBS came with a camera crew and filmed a documentary piece which is scheduled to air this winter. They filmed launches and landings as well as conducting several interviews. They also purchased a camera which was mounted on John Kangas's glider for in flight footage. They were pleased with the event, interviews, and the footage they shot. All in all, I think they had a good time and were impressed by our event and the sport of hang gliding.

This year the task committee (Mike Branger, Alan Paylor, and Paul Allen) called routes 1, 2, and 3 during the event.

Saturday Night we held a free BBQ in the Moore Park and we went over each route via projected slide show using the King Mountain Route Guide and Google Earth. Thanks to Ernie Camacho!

For more information, go to www(dot)flykingmountain(dot)com

Day 1:

Route 3 (Henry's Lake Route)

Wayne Michelson and Ben Dunn had the longest flights of 89.6 miles in the Open Class
Nat Wells had the longest flight of 52.3 miles in the Recreation Class

Day 2:

Route 1 (Anaconda, MT Route)

Bill Soderquist had the longest flight of 105.4 miles in the Open Class
KC Benn had the longest flight of 18.3 miles in the Recreation Class

Day 3:

Route 3 (Henry's Lake Route)

Bill Soderquist, Ben Dunn and Steve Rudy had the longest flights of 113 miles in the Open Class
KC Benn had the longest flight of 52.7 miles in the Recreation Class

Day 4:

Route 2 (Three Forks, MT Route)

Bill Soderquist and David Koehn had the longest flights of 40 miles in the Open Class
John DeAguiar and Dugan Gravage had the longest flight of 42 miles in the Recreation Class

Day 5:

Called due to high winds. Pilots went to the hot springs, Craters of the Mood National Monument, alpine hiking, fishing, and hiking into the Indian petroglyph site just North of launch. The Idaho Hang Gliding Assn. held a free BBQ that night and Connie Locke gave a talk about the Foundation for Free Flight and Lisa Tate gave a presentation on the USHPA strategic plan and the new marketing plan.

Day 6:

Route 3 (Henry's Lake Route)

Bruce Engen had the longest flight of 60 miles in the Open Class
Brian Foster had the longest flight of 52 miles in the Recreation Class

Overall standings:

Sportsmanship Award: Tie- Holly Wells and Bill Soderquist

Driver Award: EC Camacho

Eiji Yokoda Award: Tie- Bill Soderquist, Ben Dunn and Steve rudy

Recreation Class
1st- KC Benn
2nd- Michael Soderstrom
3rd-John DeAguiar

Open Class
1st- Bill Soderquist
2nd- Ben Dunn
3rd- Scot Huber

Winning Team: Bubble Head Bums (Joe Jackson, Wayne Michelson, Ben Dunn, Bruce Bousfield, Ben Rogers)

Overall Standings:

Open Class

Bill Soderquist
Ben Dunn
Scot Huber
Bruce Bousfield
David Kohen
Steve Rudy
Wayne Michelson
Bruce Engen
Barney Hallin
John Kangas
Ken Miscio
Lou Bartell
Gerry Pesavento
Mike Branger
Paul Allen
Ben Rogers
Dan Gravage
Hank Butzel
Kurt Wimberg
Bob Stanley
Wayne O'Sick
Don Lapensky
Bill Snyder
Alan Paylor
Bill Helliwell
Marcus Venturini
Gregg Sugg
John Sylvia
Brian Foster
Leo Jones
Doug Koch
Tim Delaney
Claire Packer
Ernie Camacho
Charley Warren
Chris Valley
Jon James
Matt Jagelka
Erik Kaye
Walt Kirby
Len Clements
Jason Barthomo
Kayle Cravicks

Recreation Class

KC Benn
Michael Soderstrom
John DeAguiar
Dugan Gravage
Rob Wolf
Heather stoddard
Nat Wells
Ralph Karsten
Joe Jackson
LJ Omara
Fred Clement
Brian Foster
Scott Silver
Blaine Perkins
Michael O'Leary
John Blacet
Jack Barth
Robert newman
Chris Valley
Craig Perkins
Duane House
John Lord
Taylor Blaine
Dave Chapman
Adrian Dybwad
Justin Miller
Allen Sparks
Bill Foreman
Gary Smith
Bavid Beardsley
Wayne Mayo
Ron Matous
James Anderson
Joel Froehlich
Marty Wiser
Mark Loweds

[sg]

Anyone got pics? Post em!

[knumbknuts]

thanks for the report Lisa.

Congrats to Bill, a nicer guy/better pilot combo may not exist.

[Lisa Tate]

There are some great photo albums people have posted on www(dot)sonomawings(cot)com. Go to their bb for links. Also check out www(dot)flykingmountain(dot)com.

I'd like to really thank everyone for coming this year. What a great bunch of people. Special thanks to our volunteer staff who donate their time and vacations to help pilots launch safely. This year Donna Matthias, Joel Froehlich, and Connie Locke came to help. Thanks you guys!!

Lisa

[noman]

hey lisa i missed you this year,ill be back.I promise!.

[Eteamjack]

Lisa,

Thanks to you and your staff for a great time. Craig and I both had very memorable flights. We both came for the experience not the competition,
and I'd say we got our monies worth. Highly recommend this event to any pilot looking to spice up there flying experience. Sometimes we get locked into
flying primarily one site. Making the effort to expand our experiences really pays off. On this trip we flew both Point of the Mountain and King, thus putting two more notches under our belts. This event is an X/C event with varying conditions ( Mild to Wild) and pilots should be comfortable with their skills.
A good support base (Driver) is also highly recommended.

Thanks again,

Jack