Grants Awarded 2012

Woodrat Mountain – Fiasco Landing Zone (LZ) Preservation Project

This grant was given to Dave and Pamela Parker, the owners of the Fiasco LZ at Woodrat Mountain in Oregon, in an effort to help protect the site and prepare it for the US National Paragliding Championships held on June 17th – 24th 2012. The total award of $12,727, from the Site Preservation Fund, enabled them to use it for the burying of power lines. The exciting part about this particular project is that it is leading to the creation of a permanent legal easement for use of the LZ by USHPA members. This is a major accomplishment as it will be the first permanent deeded easement to support recreational free flight in the Rogue Valley area. This project will also be valuable for USHPA as a way to demonstrate efforts to mitigate risk at important flying sites. It will support their work toward pursuing better risk management efforts.

Villa Grove, Co Launch & Road Maintenance, (4-28-12)

This $2,500 grant from the Site Preservation Fund was made to Hayden Pass HG Club + Rocky Mountain HG & PG Association for the improvement of their Landing Zone at this flying site in Villa Grove, Colorado. Their site was in need of critical road maintenance without which threatened to shut the site down. The launch is located on public lands and a four-wheel drive road provides access to the site and surrounding areas for many recreational users. The government had not invested in road maintenance and, with the heavy use by pilots and others, the road condition had continually degraded. Water and vehicle erosion made much of the road, especially the last stretch just below launch, almost unusable. In particular, the launch was unsuitable for paraglider pilots. On July 4th 2011 a meeting was held for a large number of persons. The local clubs were eager to make the launch and access to it safer. Fred Kaemerer and Larry & Tiffany Smith were the points of contact for this project.

Live the Dream Film Proposal (4/28/2012)

The grant, awarded for $4,000 from the Safety and Education Fund, helped Seth Warren and Sara Close fund for the development of the their hang gliding training and promotional film Live the Dream. The grant aided them in the development and distribution process of the film, supporting FFF’s mission to fund safety and educational efforts having do with free flight. This project is unique and valuable in that it demonstrates important truths and joys about the sport of hang gliding. It provides a view of learning to become a pilot over time and shows various stages of a pilot’s development. In addition, this story, told from the point of view of a newly trained female pilot, helps to de-mystify many aspects of the sports risks and/or perceived dangers for a whole new audience.