September, 2003

A Message from your President
  by Mike Miller

I think this could be summed up as "The season of curtailed flying."

We started in the spring without insurance. So we waited for a reasonable offer, until one came in we were watching the sky with a restrained yearning. Then, the miracle workers at HPAC came through with a policy for yet another year, and we took to the skies like just released Eaglets.

The summer was great for flying, long, hot and dry. If you couldn't climb out you could soar, or you could wait for the magic air at the end of the day. I think a lot of "firsts" were achieved by all levels of skills.

The good that came out of the spring was that indeed, it was possible to get insurance... for many (if not all) flying sites, if pilots don't have insurance, there's no flying. The bad was that it cost a lot more than HPAC fees cover, so HPAC at this rate will be nearly bankrupt next year after paying for the insurance once again... assuming the price doesn't go up astronomically. We have a lot of work on the national level in regards to that one issue alone.

On the provincial level, (conflict of interest aside) in order for this sport of flying to keep going, we need our schools to be successful. Perhaps it might be time to try opening up dialogue between schools on a provincial (or national?) basis. That way, we could try to address different concerns or problems that have come up over time. There is a lot of knowledge and experience in the well-established schools. It would be a shame to lose any one of them, and I believe a lot is to be gained from listening to and learning from these individuals, whoever they might be. Running a paragliding and/or hang gliding business full-time isn't easy, and perhaps it could be made easier just by communicating respectfully amongst each other as well as with the newer schools that have come along. Perhaps BCHPA could play a role in helping schools in some way like a provincial brochure or poster or both. There are lots of ideas out there, it would be nice to start discussing them and see where it goes from there.

For events we seemed to do alright throughout the province. The only ones affected by weather or outside influences were the Solstice Fly-In (but we still had a good party), and the Grouse Fly-In. The Nationals in Lumby were well attended and the tasks were fair and challenging.

In general, there seemed to be a lot of people in the air. There were not a lot of accidents, although the usual number of incidents caused by pilot error, which means that as a race we aren't getting any smarter! With the summer's incidents, and the disappearance of Scotty Marion from the U.S. over the Alps, there are some important things that we as pilots need to think about when going out for any flight.

This last week of closures due to the fire hazard in southern B.C. has again kept us on the ground, with good reason. Locally in Whistler/Pemberton, the rain has started to fall and we hope to get back for some cool fall flying before the snow shuts us down for the season.

That's about it for now... see you in the sky... hopefully soon!

Take care all and fly smart
Mike Miller
confusedone@uniserve.com
604 938 9420