An essay I wrote for school.

Just yesterday I caught myself starring off into the heavens above, thinking, why are things the way they are. I dabbled in self doubt, pity, dreams, accomplishments and outside influences on my moral being. After pondering on these subjects and how they correlate with my life, I came to the stunning conclusion that I need more self fulfillment. I realized all my worries faded, and gratification came to my cheeks in the form of a smile as I assist in teaching students how to fly hang gliders. That’s it, think positively, teach positively, mold minds, and reap the rewards of there accomplishments. This one solitary event, the ability of teaching, has changed my life. It has opened the world of gratification to me, as students realize their dreams of flight and see those dreams become reality. Now who has given me this gift of flight and the ability to teach it? This passion of flight and teaching has been passed on to me by a generous, respectable, and experienced individual who has a true love for hang gliding, Dave Broyels.

As I was starting out in the world of hang gliding I didn’t have much money for training or equipment. Dave being an instructor normally gets paid for his teaching but through his generosity allowed me to work for my training, an old world style business agreement was set up with hand shake. I would travel to the field and work for him, helping with equipment and students and whatever else might be needed. In trade he taught me how to fly hang gliders and later would teach me how to become an instructor of flight. After I was trained I continued to work for him and this allowed me to use his equipment for free and his instruction was always available to me. He would take the time to describe in detail scenarios, aerodynamics, situations that had and would arise in the sport, and to make sure you were confident in yourself.

I have come to have a great deal of respect for Dave, he works hard to make sure his students stay safe, and has revolutionized teaching and techniques to advance the sport of hang gliding. In the nineties Dave was president of the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association and is currently the safety director for the board of directors. He has been flying hang gliders for over 30 years. In the beginning of the sport they just glided down hills for 10 to 15 seconds at a time. Now they can sore for hours, travel hundreds of miles, and reach airspeeds close to hundred miles per hour. Dave also invented a new form of winch towing that has made teaching allot safer and has brought flying to the flat lands of the country where there are no mountains to launch off of. All these years of knowledge and experiences are passed onto each and every student with confidence.

Dave has been teaching for over 20 years and being an instructor for hang gliding is not a wealthy profession. A true love of the sport and the accomplishments of his students is why he teaches. When you here him speak about the sport, you can see his passion. The passion is driven by the feeling and belief that everyone should have the ability to experience true bird like flight, the same way da Vinci wrote about it so long ago.

It’s interesting to look back over time to see how those around you have influenced your thoughts and beliefs. Those influences that have changed you for better or worse, how they skew your outlook on life from large events to small, or even the way you feel toward other people. Dave has given me so much that has changed my life and for that I will be forever in debited to his generosity, respect and love of a sport that has changed my life forever.

School

Yesterday and today were spent studying, 7 hours total while completing 2 chapters, 4 homework assignments and 2 tests. It's all paying off though because I'm running with a 95% + score. Yea

Although whoever thought about putting the alphabet into mathematics should be shot.

(I) before (E) except after (9) Humbug.....

Abdus Sattar

I learned on July 18 that a friend of mine was fighting cancer. I like everyone to keep Abdus and his family in your hearts and prayers for a fast recovery. Abdus lives in the DFW metroplex but commutes to Houston's Cancer Center.

Hang Gliding ww225

Mike hooked me up with Dwayne lives in Ft Worth, a friend I hadn't seen in four plus months from the airpark for a ride to the field. The day was supposed to be South Southwest light with high cloud base, but as we drove the 74 miles we watched some scattered showers and out ran run as well. The field was set up by Mike and Dave by the time we got there for southward launch, but as we talked we noticed the winds switched to the North. Now the wind wasn't even established 1 mph but had a few 3-4 mph gusts in it. We decided to launch a few experienced personnel to find out the winds, they were steady and buoyant. The wind stayed at less than 1 mph for about 1 hour so we worked with students 3 PG 1 HG ground handling and those who were ready for tows we got a few in with know trouble. Mike and I noticed a little stronger persistent wind so after addressing it with Dave we switched around for northbound launches (takes about 30mins).
The rest of the day was pretty much the same as earlier, although I did pickup the ww225 and fly it twice( (normally fly the ww195). I'm at the lower range for the 225 wing and I seem to float around like a leaf. First launch sucked no wind into a sink cycle, the 2nd was more pleasant with a 600' release (not bad for little wind) and bobbed around for about 5 min and landed.

Pretty much it for the day.

Life 101

Another day just got to school ready for another Algebra Class, Ye Ha. It's a Friday and dreaming about the weekend and weather I can find a way out to the airpark. (Cross Your Fingers)

The Fly In is 2 weeks out so we are preparing for that, I've heard from a few friends from the Austin area that might make it up.

Waiting to here from a company I interviewed with, hopefully I got the job. I don't get to travel but with school I'm very limited.

More to come later.

Buffalo Mountain LZ is in danger.
Buffalo Mountain, near Talihina, Oklahoma, has
been one of the best hang gliding sites in Region 6,
for over 32 years. The present landing area has been
our primary LZ for nearly that long, relying on the
good will of the land owner(s). However, our future
use of this LZ is in question as the majority of the
usable land will soon be sold at a court ordered
Sheriff's auction, a total of 17.5 acres appraised
at $40,000. Buffalo Mountain Flyers, Inc., a
USHPA Chapter, is trying to raise money to
contribute toward the purchase of this land, and/or
suitable alternate(s). We will be needing donations
as soon as possible, please make your checks
payable to "Buffalo Mountain Flyers - LZ Fund",
c/o Allen Rahi (Treasurer) 21686 Fairview Rd,
Spiro, OK 74959. If everything falls through
and we are unable to acquire a suitable LZ with
the money, all donations will be refunded.

Thank you for whatever you can give!

Roy Mahoney
Secretary - Buffalo Mountain Flyers, Inc.

Dolly Launch Indian Creek Air Park