Nice video, I thermal with Mike Degtoff back in Texas years ago This guy could sniff out a thermal like nobody ever I landed short and he landed 30 mi down range
@@WeFlyUniv I mean, our gliders are better than ever. But 90s and 2000s were so focused in performance that we missed some of the essence which is have fun. One of the reasons for less pilots I guess.
@@ericoschmitt I get accused of being a "performance whore" myself the way I nerd out about it, but NOO, I beg to differ! More performance equals more fun and for longer! The latest generation paragliders are just amazing. The rest of the world may well be going to hell, but that just produces more thermals!
@@ericoschmitt I don't disagree. But we have always been oblivious to the reasons our sport happened. The simplicity and user-friendliness of the Dickenson Glider was an indispensable element enabling the viral growth. The peak of production, 99% of which were Dickenson Glider clones, occured in spring of 1974. Production then declined precipitously and never recovered. The improved models crashed sales. No later improved models ever came remotely close to the sales figures of that first design. Like athletes on steroids, we greatly increased performance but destroyed our health.
Thanks Ken, I remember buying my first WW Sport from you and picking it up. Loved the wing and the harness, served me well 😄
Hang gliding is a great adventure. I'm glad you joined in Floyd.
AWESOME!
Nice video, I thermal with Mike Degtoff back in Texas years ago This guy could sniff out a thermal like nobody ever I landed short and he landed 30 mi down range
Gliders were simpler, competition was simpler, everybody had a lot of fun. Are we missing something today with our hot ships?
We cannot stand still. We either keep moving or die. Evolution is not synonymous with improvement. Sometimes things get worse.
@@WeFlyUniv I mean, our gliders are better than ever. But 90s and 2000s were so focused in performance that we missed some of the essence which is have fun. One of the reasons for less pilots I guess.
@@ericoschmitt I get accused of being a "performance whore" myself the way I nerd out about it, but NOO, I beg to differ! More performance equals more fun and for longer! The latest generation paragliders are just amazing. The rest of the world may well be going to hell, but that just produces more thermals!
@@ericoschmitt I don't disagree. But we have always been oblivious to the reasons our sport happened. The simplicity and user-friendliness of the Dickenson Glider was an indispensable element enabling the viral growth. The peak of production, 99% of which were Dickenson Glider clones, occured in spring of 1974. Production then declined precipitously and never recovered. The improved models crashed sales. No later improved models ever came remotely close to the sales figures of that first design. Like athletes on steroids, we greatly increased performance but destroyed our health.
You're not missing anything, you don't have to compete just go out and fly
Super intelligent sport.