March 1, 2003

Editor's Log Book
  by Dan Keen

Welcome to the premiere issue of the Cloudstreet E-zine and new BCHPA web site!
The Cloudstreet is the official publication of the British Columbia Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association which was first published in 1975. During these past 28 years, the newsletter has documented the rich history of the various pilots and events that shaped the HG/PG community of British Columbia. Unfortunately, due to the high cost of printing and mailing, along with the apathy of the membership, the Cloudstreet newsletter and the BCHPA in general were slipping into obscurity. The new BCHPA Board of Directors are actively working to reverse this trend and bring the BCHPA back to the forefront of activity in Canada, where it belongs.

The Cloudstreet will be a web based newsletter published bimonthly during the flying season. The success of this newsletter is dependent on you, the viewer, submitting content to the editor for publishing.

While reading the editorial comments of the previous newsletter editors over the last 3 decades, there was one constant theme. All the previous editors would start out with enthusiasm and fresh ideas which would slowly transform into pleading with the members to submit content. Most editors would end up stepping down from their editorial positions out of frustration due to a lack of submissions from the membership.

In an effort to avoid falling into this same editorial pattern, along with individual submitted articles, the BCHPA Cloudstreet is looking for pilots willing to volunteer as contributing editors. Your role as a contributing editor would be to select a feature topic of your choosing and submit 4 articles per year. (See contributing editors) Also, because there are no longer any BC clubs publishing their own newsletters, the Cloudstreet can be used to fill this information void. Information submitted by the various club presidents and zone representatives, will provide the viewers with the latest in club news and area updates.

Please explore the various pages on the BCHPA web site. By using the various links and forms to update the information, you will be helping this web site become the source of information regarding hang gliding and paragliding in BC. Note: our site guide information is constantly changing, please contact your zone representative to update this information.

I hope you find the March 2003 issue of the Cloudstreet informative and entertaining. I would like to thank all the contributors of this month's issue and I hope you will support our Provincial newsletter by submitting articles for future issues.

About the editor

Dan Keen started hang gliding in 1975 flying a standard rogallo seated. Through the years he has witnessed the development of the sport from single surface to double surface to topless to rigid wing, along with the growth of paragliding in the 90's. As an active club member of the West Coast Soaring Club, he has served as Competition Director, Site Director, Treasurer, Newsletter Editor, and developed and maintained the WCSC web site. In February 2002 he was awarded a level 5 rating from the Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada in recognition of his unselfish dedication and valuable contributions to the sport.