G

THURSDAY THROUGH Sunday,

the silent

glory of man in pure flight will fill the thermals

and down-drafts of Grouse Mountain

in the

eighth annual World Invitational Hang Gliding

Championships.

Offering a total of $7,500
in prize money, the Grouse
Mountain event is consid-
ered one of the finest on the
Canadian hang gliding cir-
cuit and one of the most

ALL SET

By TIMOTHY RENSHAW

Prestigious in North
American. Organizers are
expecting 70 competitors,
including such former title

TO FLY

GETTING THE final go-ahead, a competing hang glider has
his machine checked over by a race official prior to taking
off from the top of the Peak Chair at Grouse Mountain. The
cumpetitor is about to take pert in the pylon competition.
The hang gliders will be competing at Grouse on the

weekend.

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holders as Australian Steve
“Birdman’’ Moyes and Rob
Kells from California, to
soar wing-tip to wing-tip in
the four-day test of nerve
and free flight skill.

The Grouse Mountain
course, according to race
announcer Doug Banner, is
unparallelled for its pan-

oramic setting and challeng-
ing winds. Both combine to
stir the blood and challenge

111 West Ist, N. Van.
986- 2498

Everything in-our
store is on sale now!

Designer Save

Now open Friday till 8:30 p.m.
Open 7 days a week.

the skills of the best North
American hang gliding tal-
ent. Takeoff zone is an in-
spiring 4,100 feet above sea
level. Vertical drop to the
landing field 1.6 miles below
is 3,400 feet. Renegade air
thermals, building and
dissipating with the volumes
of hot air produced by Van-
couver, regularly send pilots
to altitudes of 10,000 feet.

In addition to the regular

3189 W. Broadway, Van.
733-4142

Pylon Slalom and Open
Window events, the 1985
Championships will in-
troduce hang gliding
aerobatics as a separate
competition. Advances in
glider design have made this
hotdog event possible,
transforming the plastic and
bamboo do-it-youself
models flown by Californian
wild men in the early 70s in-
to the stable refined flying
machines of today. Con-
structed of aircraft
aluminum, stainless steel
cable, and dacron wing
fabric, hang gliders can now
withstand gravitational
forces well enough to permit
pilot execution of such
aerobatic manoeuvres as
loops, wingovers, and
spins. Judging in this event
is based on difficulty and
versatility of manoeuver and
overall style.

Race competitions will
begin at 10 a.m. and go to $5
p.m. Thursday to Sunday,
weather permitting. Pylon
slalom and aerobatics will
take place Friday ana Satur-
day with Open Window go-
ing on Sunday. The top 20
pilots from the previous
three days will compete in

ui ad dare Corner

31 - Friday, duly 26, 1985 -

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& Shore News

ng into sory

the finals of all events on
Sunday.

Bolstering the aerial enter-
tainment from noon onward
at Grouse Mountain’s Rusty
Rail bistro will be the earth
and blues-bound Chequered
Demons fronted by ex-
Powder Blues bassist Jack
Lavin.

Banner says the sport is no
longer the exclusive pursuit
of the young and foolish,
‘‘middle-aged professional
people with extra money are
taking it up as a dona fide
recreational hobby.”*

This influx of money into
the sport, says Banner, has
both upgraded hang gliders
and focused attention on
safety equipment.

“Very few accidents can
be attributed to structural
failure of gliders
themselves.”'

Hang gliding, he says,
cannot be duplicated by any
other pursuit. Its attraction
and the sensation it produces
cannot be adequately related
to the earthbound majority:
“It combines challenge with
the ability to fly like a bird. I
can’t really describe it better
than that. It’s like being
superman."

tr

myOuH hing te + ngetkgn’ at

500, FRIDAY 8630-900