ISSA - International Slalom Skateboarding Association

All of the roads are too wet to skateboard here in Portland OR. So I spent the day at the beach paragliding over the cliffs at Ecola State Park.

Nice!

I learned to hang glide at the beach on the North Shore of O'ahu, barefoot and completely fun. It was a departure from the hustle bustle of jockeying for position at the breaks. I got to surf a lot of waves by myself this way. As a matter of fact, I surfed the BIGGEST waves on all the islands on many days SOLO once I figured out how to climb up the sides of clouds. (Pat, you know the deal)

Your post makes me feel a little better about what you guys are into besides slalom skateboarding. One of the reasons why I made the off topic forum was to read posts like these and the alpine carving adventures when you couldn't or when your mind drifts off topic...

Thanks for letting me know, maybe one day you can surf a wave for me.

Wow! Ecola is my favorite park on the west coast.

Are you able to make it to Cannon Beach if the conditions are right?

It has been done. Need more unstable air to get high without too much wind, then off to Cannon Beach.

We also have a beach N of Seaside that we can drive on and tow up behind a pickup truck to 4000' .

Yes, thank you Pat!

Towing frees the mind.

I am the first if not one of the first to pioneer paraglider towing in Arizona with my friend Brad Lindsey. We even tried launching from the bed of the truck! (didn't work)

I can get out the date, lemme go check the log...

Ok, here is the entry: 20 Jan, 1991 UP Jazz. Brad's "SMARTOW" Weak link break @ 50' Glider dives, brakes to keep it above my head but ok. Next two tows '500 and a slightly downwind tow. S-turn approach, spot landings.

There were days before this but for "officialdom" these are my first logged tow flights. I was learning to paraglide while pioneering towing techniques for the paraglider here in Arizona. My friends and I as far as I know where pretty much figuring it out for our area, dust devils and all.

We were not doing anything spectacular, it's just there was not a paraglider community back then, it was just hang gliding with a few guys into it and towing was still WAY new.

I really enjoyed your pictures, keep them coming, pleeze!


...looking down the line.

Those green patches are cholla cactus. If we stunk out, we landed in the dirt next to the road. I once was forced down from 2,500' agl in about a minute (checked log) here, not a pretty thing but I have also been up many times above 10,000' agl here too, check the link with me above the sailplane.

How cool, gees, your photo's got me going Pat. Thank you again.

Slappy, your CD got mailed today, much kite ripped from the net. There is a bunch of vid's that you can cross reference with the above posts and then some.

Please feel free to post ANYTHING paraglide in an appropriately named thread Pat. Your pictures define a flight no doubt.

Yess, cool, thanks.

I just sent some pics to Adam of the local pub manager power-paragliding. He, along with my brother and best friend are quite the flyboys with trips to Costa Rica every few months to glide.

Most of the time they take off from the beach and land in the same spot after a few hours of flying up and down the beach.

The pics were taken out west inland and they were trying a new spot out. They didn`t like it too much because of the unpredictable shifting winds and rotors.



When they fly at the beach, you can see peoples flashes going off all the time. Pretty cool! Just another expensive hobby I don`t need right now.

OK, Adam you asked for it. More PG pictures to get you jazzed up:

Here is a picture near Corvallis OR. If you look down, you will see a bald eagle circling in the same thermal that I am in:



If we have a slalom race in Hood River this year you can go up to Bingen and soar for awhile before landing at the marina. The bridge in this picture goes from Hood River OR, across the Columbia River to Washington.



As for towing, here I am on tow on the beach behind a truck. I'm about halfway (2000ft altitude) to the pin-off at 4000 ft. The first of 4 little dots on the beach is the tow truck.




Finally, at 4000ft high I am off tow and turned around heading south. Seaside is on the beach off in the distant forground. In the background is Tillamook Head. The other side of Tillamook Head is Ecola St Park and Cannon Beach. On this flight, whales could be seen off the coast.

Aerotowing behind an ultra-light.

Thanks for the images Brady, I will post them tonight when I get home.

Pat, nice. You are quite an accomplished soaring pilot, my hat's off to you. I like the Flytec as well, I've had mine making some really screwed up noises climbing in really reall really strong cores here, airframe creaking and everything going up.


An aerotow upto 12,700'

One of my last flights was a big aerotow upto 10,000' agl then a long pointy glide back into the city. It was a lot of fun.

There were times I would rent a ultra-light and go boring holes through clouds. I remember lots of times like these spent picking out a cloud and then punching a hole in it. Sometimes I would just point that thing up and just climb on the engine as high as I could go in my t-shirt before I would start getting cold.

Anyway, Pat, your images got me going for sure. It's cool all the different aspects the slalom skateboarder has in his or her arsenal. I enjoy reading about yours, looking at the pictures and having a moment of intrspection.

Life is good.

Hey Pat, found a cool link you may like, go HERE Check the vids, Marcos Luger's and CB mans, whoa.

CB got classic footage of climbing up the sides of clouds, frost on everything way high, way high...

Michel makes the site, his forum type is really cool, sorta like this one built on php.

Pat, if I was looking to buy a paraglider, with myself having a few hours already and lots of towing, what would you suggest? I like the UP Makalu or the Swing Mistral 3?

Any suggestions?

I think a DHV 1-2 is within my ability considering my knowledge of met and experience...

Adam,

Well, I did it! I finally went up. Started last monday, teusday and wedbesday (2/9.10,11) going up tandem with my barkeep (he was sober, I wasn`t). We flew his power-paraglider right off of Dania Beach. By wedbesday I was kiting the wing by mysekf.

Well, come sunday, I flew solo. WHOLLY F#$&ing G@& !!!

I only flew about 10 minutes but it felt like forever. Meanwhile my phone is going off over and over. When I land, er, crash (just a fast hard runout and tumble) I finally see who called me like 10 times while I was up in the air.

It was my wife. She had no idea of what I was doing the past week, cause she would`ve forbade it. Call goes like this...

"Honey, where are you? You know the family is meeting at the sushi restaurant @ 5:00 for your birthday and it`s 4:00 and you`ve been gone since 1:00."

I say.." I was 500 feet above Dania pier"...silence

I come home to the cold stare.

I tell here I`m only 45 once and I ain`t getting any younger,,heh heh!!

Only downside...dropping my digital camera from about 50` onto the sand. Still works but only black and white.... hahahahaha!!!

...shiza Brady, I didn't catch this post, unreal!

You LIVED by not dying.

Flying is cool.

Thanks for sharing your first flight and now we are brothers in the air.

Best to you,

adam

I have been paragliding (UP Makalu2) and I totally dig it... I can't wait to go again and again. Soon as I build up time, it's off to Torrey and then to Makapuu with my paraglider and my foils for kiteboarding.

Hopefully I will get in some time skateboarding.