Opening Day at the Fair

The wonders of foot-launched aviation wowed the crowd at opening day of the Cumberland County Fair on Sunday, July 18. Three paragliders and seven hang gliders flew over the parking lot between 6:25 and 6:50. There was a heavy haze, hot weather, and no wind, so we all performed calm air launches and efficient sleds to the LZ.

One unnamed PG pilot started us off at 6:25. Then Brian Vant-Hull ran off the launch at 6:29+, with the loudspeaker at the fairgrounds announcing the hang glider launch for the crowd's entertainment as Brian flew out in front at 6:30. John Myers followed Brian into the air, giving us the second Falco–ero into the sky. L.E. Herrick took the next PG into the sky, showing off her brand new wing. Christy Huddle, Doug Wakefield and Mike Chevalier flew next, then Ben Herrick made the final PG flight of the afternoon. Mark Gardner and I finished the aerial show, with Mark performing steep turns over the LZ for a special show.

Organizer for our day at the fair, Marvin Presley, had taken a mid-afternoon sled before we all arrived. Sadly, on his second trip to launch his truck spring a coolant leak and overheated, so he worked on dealing with the broken vehicle instead of flying with the crowd.

Back in the LZ, the primary topic among the pilots was the higher level of class displayed by the bagwing crowd over the tube and mylar team. This was evident as L.E. and Ben brought out the wine and cheese and lawn chairs, and L.E. made cucumber sandwiches for all of us. With a bit more analysis, however, we concluded that Ben was as scuzzy as any of us HG pilots, and it was simply that L.E. has more class than the rest of us!

OK, so the fair crowd was sparse. When we left around 8:00 , none of the rides were operating. We think we heard all three or four fairgoers applauding Brian's launch!

Thanks to H-1 Chris Williams for coming along and driving for us, even bringing Ben's tarps and Mike C's lost laundry down from launch.

Flying at the Fair continues every night this week. Meet in the LZ parking lot at 5:30 any night you can make it. I had fun, and will try to figure out how to get back next weekend.