Larry Tudor was known as the “Dark Prince” back in the day. We
roll the clock way back to 1973 when Larry learned how to fly his first hang
glider in the seated position (yep, pre-prone days) on a wing that got a worse
glide ratio than today’s smallest speed wings. The stories in this episode are
going to make your head spin.
Remember when hangies flew the Owens every day in the summer? Guys tumbling out
of the sky and not using reserves? Flying without instruments? Larry was the
first person to fly over 200 miles (in 1983!) And was the first person to fly
over 300 miles in 1990. His 308 mile record from Hobbs, New Mexico in 1994
wasn’t beaten for a decade.
In the mid 80’s Larry was widely regarded as one of the best hang gliders in the
world and this conversation covers a lot of awesome ground. Scary close calls,
whorehouses, guns, cowboys, flying in tornados, trouble with the police, flying
with air force bombers and early towing nightmares- this podcast is a glimpse
into a crazy world of the pioneers who laid the ground in free flight.
Larry left hang gliding in 1999 but has recently discovered paragliding with his
daughter, making his career span over 40 years. Strap yourself in and prepare to
smile and laugh, we had a lot of fun with this one.
