A USHPA BOD member forwarded this to me:

Dear USHPA Director,

As you prepare for your semi - annual meeting, there are a couple of issues that I would like to ask that you consider.

As you may be aware, the USHPA now has in place a process for the sanctioning of hang gliding aerobatic competitions, and a rule book for conducting such
competitions. The justification for incorporating aerobatic competition into the
USHPA competition program was stated in the following announcement on the
http://USHPA.aero web site:

Aerobatic competitions have been held in Europe for some time now. These are
exciting for both participants and spectators. There are many talented, world
class actually, aerobatic pilots here in the USA. Unfortunately, there are few
opportunities for these elite athletes to compete in their own country. This is
also a missed opportunity to promote our sport before larger groups of
spectators. The recommendations from the Symposium will include an
organizational structure for aerobatic competitions, including ideas for
scoring, suggestions for training scorekeepers, resources and incentives for
event organizers, criteria for fairly selecting our World Team, and a move
forward plan.

Given that I have spent a substantial part of my career in hang gliding involved in issues that relate to pilot safety, I feel compelled to offer some comment on
the USHPA's decision to promote aerobatic competition in hang gliders. I have
expressed these concerns previously to the USHPA president, to my regional
director, and to the chairmen of the safety and training committee, and would
like to address these concerns to the entire board at this time.

No hang glider has been designed, tested, or certified for aerobatic flight.
This is true in spite of the fact that The HGMA Airworthiness Standards (the
oldest airworthiness standards in the hang gliding industry) have contained,
from the beginning, a specific, and fairly straight forward provision for
certifying gliders for aerobatics. (HGMA standards available at
www.hgma.net). In the 32 year
history of the HGMA, 345 different hang glider models have been certified by 37
different member manufacturers. Not a single glider has ever been certified for
a single aerobatic maneuver.

A fundamental design aspect of the vast majority of hang gliders - the fact that the pilot hangs suspended beneath the wing from a flexible tether, and depends
for his ability to control the wing on that tether being positively loaded -
makes hang gliders inherently unsuitable for aerobatic flight. Airplanes which
are used for aerobatic flight are designed to be able to be flown inverted and
under negative load, with the pilot retaining reliable control of the aircraft.
Hang gliders cannot be reliably controlled while unloaded or loaded negatively.
Hang gliders also have unreliable structural margins under negative loads, and
are not designed or tested to be structurally reliable even under positive loads
during maneuvering flight at speeds in excess of approximately 50 mph, while the
most common aerobatic maneuvers routinely involve maneuvering at speeds in
excess of 65 mph. Aerobatic flight in hang gliders is a purely experimental form
of flight, which takes place far outside the flight envelope for which the
aircraft was designed and tested. Numerous incidents involving structural
failure have occurred in hang gliders in aerobatic flight, and numerous
incidents of dangerous loss of control by the pilot have occurred as well, and
these incidents have involved some of the world's best and most experienced
aerobatic pilots. It is one thing for pilots as individuals to choose to pursue
extreme forms of hang gliding outside of the limits within which it can
reasonably be expected that such flight can be conducted with reasonable safety.
I have no objection to pilots who choose to make that choice, (providing that it
is an informed choice - based on numerous discussions I have had with such
pilots, it is my firm belief that most times it is not an adequately informed
choice).

When it comes to the national association promoting this type of flying, (and by extension fostering the idea that this type of flying can be considered
essentially safe, normal and acceptable as opposed to inherently unsafe,
extreme, and completely experimental), I have a decidedly different opinion. I
think it is inconsistent with the most basic concepts of safety, and therefore
irresponsible in the extreme for the USHPA to promote aerobatic flight or
aerobatic competition in hang gliders.

For a more detailed explanation of the design limitations of hang gliders and
how those limitations relate to aerobatic flight, and why aerobatic flight is
fundamentally different from other forms of flight in hang gliders, I invite you
to read the following technical article on the subject:

http://www.willswing.com/Articles/Article.asp?reqArticleName=aerobatics

The above article, while fairly detailed in scope and content, is also written
to be as accessible as possible, and it dispels a number of inaccurate ideas
that I have repeatedly heard expressed regarding the technical aspects of hang
glider airworthiness and aerobatics. I also invite any of you who have questions
on the technical aspects of this issue to contact me at any time, by email or by
phone.

I understand that those pilots in the United States who wish to compete
internationally in aerobatic competition may need to have a process by which a
team can be validated by the USHPA in its capacity as the representative to the
CIVL for those pilots. However, I think that there must be ways in which that
can be done without the USHPA being directly involved in the promotion and
sanction of aerobatic competitions. My recommendation would be something along
the lines of the aerobatic pilots forming an organization of their own,
administering their own competition rules and pilot ranking system, and having
the USHPA simply agree to recognize that ranking for the purpose of team
selection to CIVL events. Again, my concern is not with the existence of
aerobatic flight or aerobatic competition, but with its promotion by the USHPA,
and with the inevitable result from such promotion that the message is being
conveyed by the national association that this is an appropriate and accepted
form of flight in hang gliders.

The second, and related issue that I would like the board to consider has to do with technical matters in general, and how those might inform actions that the
board or its representatives may decide to take. The USHPA Mission Statement
says that the USHPA will (among other things):

Maintain a working relationship with manufacturers and the manufacturers’
associations that will serve to promote the sport. And Represent the membership
at the national and international level through the NAA, CIVL and FAI

In the course of representing the USHPA, and US pilots and their interests to
the CIVL, it will often be necessary for the USHPA representative to bring to
bear on that process a significant understanding of technical matters. The most
reliable source for such technical understanding would be the manufacturers and
the manufacturers' associations - i.e. the HGMA. However there has been very
little outreach from the USHPA to the HGMA or the manufacturers for technical
support, and I have observed that a number of CIVL actions, which have been
supported to varying degrees by the USHPA CIVL representative, have been
inconsistent with a proper technical understanding of the issues involved, and
have as a result been counterproductive to the desired ends, and to the
interests of the pilots. I would suggest that this process could be improved by
a closer cooperation between the USHPA and the technical community of the sport
of hang gliding, and I would urge the USHPA to be more proactive in availing
itself of the technical knowledge and experience that exists in that community.

I thank you for your consideration, and I wish you a productive and successful
meeting.

Sincerely,

Mike Meier

Wills Wing, Inc.

500 West Blueridge Ave

Orange, CA 92865

USA Phone 714 998 6359

FAX 714 998 0647

email: <mike>

www.willswing.com