Mark Gaskill <airutah> writes:

ABLE Pilot and the University of Utah Department of Mechanical
Engineering Collaborate To Teach Persons with Paralysis to Fly

One of our ultimate goals is to have an adaptive class in R2G and OD events.
That's be real cool. We will be having four pilots participating in the Sprints
in our adaptive class this year. We'll see how that works out, I'm confident it
will kick butt.

Adaptive sports are interesting. There's a diverse level of abilities. Take a
complete paraplegic, lower thoracic or lumbar spine injury. These persons will
likely have enough trunk control to fly with without any special consideration
if the adaptive gear is well designed. Now, if the injury is higher up, cervical
spine ( incomplete quad) things get a bit different each person must be
evaluated based on several criteria (hand/arm strength, truck control,
spasticity, ability to thermal-regulate, bone density, degree of quadriplegia,
etc.).

I would expect that some of these people will be evaluated in a manner similar
to quad rugby or basketball, necessitating an adaptive class, one that allows
for apples to apple comparisons re performance. We haven't worked out all the
details, but are well on our way. We will need to fly several events and get
more students through the training and in the right gear.

Once in the air, a pilot with a SCI can participate on equal footing with all
other pilots. This represents an opportunity rarely seen in other adaptive
sports or recreational activities and provides a life-changing,
confidence-inspiring experience that can’t be matched by any other activity.

The full press release here.