Monday, September 25, 2006

Paragliding Exhibition on Friday, October 6, 2006

The Leeward YMCA has planned an Extreme Sports Week program for their 150 or so K-6 kids during the upcoming intersession from school, and they have asked us to participate. They are going to come out and watch us fly on Friday the 6th, starting at 9:15 am, at whichever flying site we tell them we'll be flying that day. All local pilots are invited to join us and help us put on a good show for the kids.

Update: I will plan to be at Makapuu at 7:30 tomorrow morning to make the call by 8:00, so the kids can be there by 9:00. If anyone else can make it that early I would appreciate the help. We are going to try and set up a couple of harness simulators. If anyone has an extra harness please bring it along, we might need one or two. Even if the wind is super light we're going to plan on showing them some of our world class forward launch techniques and no wind landings. Please come out and help us get these kids excited about the greatest sport on the planet. Thanks! Call me in the morning for a last minute report at (808)223-0144.

It would be great to have some pilots in the air by 9:15, and also to demonstrate some launches and landings shortly thereafter. Most likely we will not be able to give them a close-up demonstration of our launches. It's possible that if we end up flying at Makapuu, and if the conditions are good to launch at Manics, we could assemble the kids at the new lookout area for a view of the launch scene. Or even if we launch elsewhere we could plan to fly near them as they stand at the lookout.

But I think we can definitely plan to show off our landings no matter where we end up, since most of our landing areas should be able to accommodate a group this big: the Makapuu LZ, the beach at Kahana, or the school field at Nanakuli. After we land we can show the kids our gear and answer any questions they may have. We can also demonstrate our launch and ground handling techniques.

Please let me know if you'll be available to fly that day so I have some idea of what we'll be able to show othem.

As a backup plan, if the weather is not flyable on Friday, we are planning to send a few of us to their location in Waipahu to give a talk, show them our gear and answer their questions. I think Brazilian Ray and I, and possibly Bob, will be available for this, but if anyone else is interested please let me know.

Also, part of the plan is for us to send them a video or two that they can watch the afternoon before they come out.

Let me know if you have any suitable short videos we could share with the kids. It would be nice to find copies of some of the good local TV broadcasts we've seen over the years - I seem to remember one where people are flying at Makapuu and doing some cool maneuvers, and another one that Jimmy filmed for a TV show that featured a Makapuu downrange trip to Hygienic. Let me know if you have copies of those or any other suggestions.

7 comments:

sandy said...

It would be pretty cool if you could set up a simulator somehow.

If at Kahana, might possible from trees.

I believe Chris Langan had one setup off the back of his pickup truck a few years ago. Do we have any clever pilots with big pickups and welding ability (and interest in teaching and helping kids, etc.)?

Otherwise, might be possible somehow from one of the bathroom structures or from a swingset in Nanakuli.

Brazilian Ray said...

Great idea, Sandy!
please keep coming!

Bob said...

O Kayyyyyy I'll make a metal harness hangie thingie. Should I make it so it can handle more than one harness at a time since we may be inundated by munchkins?

firedave said...

I have some video of Jimmy's downranger for Extreme TV or was it Hawaiian Moving Company. I think I might also pasess the Hawaiian Ocean Sports footage with Reaper and I.
I will look for the video's as well as check my schedule and see if I am available that day.

paliglydr said...

Somewhere I have a video of Dexter Clearwater flying with General Chuck Yeager (his duck). Might be good for some amusing variety in the video dept.

Waianae Jim said...

Hey Alex, I can help with ground support ad may fly f conditions are right for me
Waianae Jim

Gravity said...

I'll bring the big truck with my ladder rack that swings out. With a few bungee cords and rope maybe we could extend my big ladder off the back and hang a couple of simulator's off the back?

reaper