"Beginning of 100 year storm over Toquerville"
"Beginning of 100 year storm over Toquerville"
The history of cross country (XC) soaring and the Utah Cup is quite an interesting story. This article does not seek to tell the whole story, but rather to provide a summary of the XC flying that has taken place in Utah over the past decade and a half. Most of the known historical data collected over the years (by myself and others), has been carefully rendered and is now presented here in tabular form for your viewing pleasure, with all the names, dates, sites, and distances included. But the primary purpose of this article is to stimulate those pilots who are interested in XC flying, to enter the Utah Cup and go ahead and give it a try. For those of you who have not yet been bitten by the XC bug, a little background information is in order. First off, a stern warning is in order: XC FLYING IS HIGHLY ADDICTIVE!!! Once you get started, you may get hooked. Your new purpose in life: A continuing mission to fly longer and yet longer flights. You might quit your job and sell off all non-flying related possessions just to support your habit. I speak from experience. Get high and go far. And then go farther. Why do it? Because its fun!
In order to summarize this story, I cannot avoid discussing my own personal involvement with the Cup. In case you didn't already know, I served as the Utah Cup administrator for seven years from 1984 through 1990. Running the Cup for that long, I couldn't help but get totally immersed in all the gory XC details. But keeping track of this history is fascinating to me and has become a hobby in itself. As a result, I have become the prime "keeper of the data" by default. I am always looking to improve the accuracy of my records, so if you see any errors or omissions to the data presented here in this article, please let me know. I will make the necessary corrections to the database as the new information trickles in. Walter Bresnahan recently asked me if I might be interested in running the Cup again. I am, and that is the motivation behind this article. In my view, the Utah Cup can not only be a fun club activity, but can also serve as a binding force between the hang glider and paraglider communities. The passion for flying XC can be shared by all. To put this story into perspective, let me first describe how I became involved with the Cup. While listening to my story, you may hear some familiar echoes...
It all started with my first flight back in 1962. The memory is vague, but I distinctly remember jumping out of my bedroom window thinking that I could fly. I was five years old and my "flight" resulted in a broken left arm. In fact, most of the hard core XC pilots I hang out with, all share similar stories from their youth. Flights from ladders, garages, barns, etc., using wings fabricated from cardboard, bedsheets or umbrellas seems to be a very common early experience. In my teens, I remember fantasizing about flying gliders while reading the classic sailplane training manual: "The Joy of Soaring" by Carl Conway (highly recommended). Flying without an engine was truly the challenging, ultimate high that I was yearning for. But alas, it was too expensive. Then this new sport, "Hang Gliding", showed up in Utah in the early 70's and gained notoriety when Jeff Jobie was flying a "Standard" in seated position from the local ski resorts using skis to launch and land. Although this appeared to be the pure form of flight I was looking for, it also seemed to be ridiculously dangerous. It would obviously take some time for the sport to mature to the point where it could be considered reasonably safe. It was in the spring of 1981 when I came across the book: "Manbirds" by Maralys Wills. On page 145 was a photo with the caption: "From outer space? High altitude hang glider pilot." It showed a flight-ready pilot kneeling beneath his wing wearing a parka and crash helmet armed with the following equipment strapped to the downtubes: variometer, altimeter, CB radio, water bottle, camera, gel-cell battery packs and a large oxygen tank complete with facemask. Elsewhere in the book were descriptions of flights with distances over 100 miles and altitudes up to 18000 feet. Also, on page 82 was a photo of a test flight where a Wills Wing SST glider is lifting a total of five people from a sand dune. The time had come. I would soon become hopelessly addicted.
In the summer of '83, Larry Tudor, a local Utah pilot at the time, flew 221 miles from Walt's Point (in the Owens Valley of California) to Austin, Nevada, thereby setting a new official world's open distance record. He also won the Owens Valley Classic that year, which was one of the most prestigious and competitive XC contests being held at that time. Cross Country flying was rapidly catching on everywhere as the ultimate Hang Gliding experience. It was in '80 or '81 (the records are quite fuzzy prior to 1983) when the first long flights were being made here in Utah. Mike Tingey, Chuck Simms, and Tony Sanders had all made flights exceeding 100 miles from Graff Peak near Cedar City. In 1982, Larry Tudor and Gordon Boyce privately formulated and sponsored a year long local Utah XC contest which was called the "Utah Cross Country Odyssey" which would bring cash and/or prizes to the pilots entered who recorded the longest flights of the year. Additionally, all those entered received a custom Tee-shirt. As it turned out, 1982 was not a very good year in Utah (there were no flights over 100 miles), but the idea of a local XC competition did appeal to many members of the club (Utah Hang Gliding Association). Then in 1983, two avid local XC pilots (Ray Attig and Tony Sanders), came up with an extension to the idea and presented it to the club. The idea was for the club to sponsor an ongoing contest which would stimulate more local pilots to experience the joys of flying XC. This idea was adopted in 1983 by the club and was christened: "The Utah Cup". It is still going today, fourteen years later.
The purpose of the Cup was to act as a simple catalyst to get the typical "point rats" (you know who you are!) to go fly somewhere else for a change, cut the umbilical cord connected to the primary LZ, and then fly away! The Cup rules were designed to make it as safe and simple as possible. The format was to be "low-key" where you could launch from any site on any day. The only requirement was that you must launch from within the state of Utah. There would be no cash or prizes awarded to the winners. (Cash reward could push some pilots to take unnecessary risks, or might lure in outside professional killer XC pilots. Remember, this was an event by and for local pilots.) However, all pilots entered would receive a nice Tee-shirt with a custom "Cup" logo. Run on the honor system, there was to be minimal bureaucracy and paperwork with no requirements for launch or landing verification forms. If at the end of the year your flight was in one of the top three places, you would receive (in addition to the respect of your peers), a nice plaque to proudly display on your wall. Then, if you were lucky enough to have made the longest flight overall, you would be given the prestigious honor of possessing the Utah Cup Trophy for the entire following year. The trophy was to be passed on from year to year (forever in theory). There were two classes established, "A" and "B". To give less experienced pilots a fighting chance to win a plaque, "B" class could only be entered if you never had a flight over 50 miles. Anyone could enter "A" class. (A common misconception has been that you had to have a 50 mile flight to enter "A" class. Not so.) And finally, there was an entry fee of $10 to pay the overhead material costs for the plaques and tee-shirts. The administrators, like all UHGA servants, are not paid a dime. Any excess revenue generated would be put into the UHGA general funds account at the end of the year. And so it all began...
The wind gods must have approved of the Utah Cup because in its first year, 1983, the winner was none other than Ray Attig, one of the Cup's founding fathers (and all around nice guy). I remember the day he made his 88 mile winning flight because this was also the day, through a twist of fate, that I formally met Ray. Here is a description of that memorable day... By the spring of '83, I had accumulated just over 100 hours, and had recently acquired a brand new Sensor 510A double surface glider. It was June 23 and I was driving south for the first time towards Cedar City, out to try my hand at flying XC. Armed with a new CB radio installed in my car, I knew that XC pilots typically used channel 7, so the whole way down I was monitoring that channel. It was around Cove Fort when I heard the first transmissions... "K.C. I'm getting drilled to Beaver, how are you doing?". "I'm at fourteen, going up and getting hailed on. Over.". "Roger. Looks like I'm going down, so if you get past Beaver, you're on your own. This is Captain Eagle, Over and Out". Wow! there were pilots in the air! It took a while before I got up the nerve to actually talk to these sky pilots, but finally I hit the mike and said... "Hey you pilots up there, my name is Jeff and I am driving south on I-15. I am a pilot and have a rack on my car, do you want me to drive chase for you? Over." "Well, Hello Jeff! This is Kid Comet. Yes, if you don't mind following me, I would greatly appreciate a ride. I am past Beaver, and heading north. Over." "Roger. I need to turn around, but I'd love to drive chase. Just tell me what to do since I'm kind of an XC wuffo. Over." As it turned out, Ray made it another thirty miles, and it was near sunset when he gently touched down near the Kanosh exit with the longest flight of the year. Boy, was he glad to see me in the LZ! From that point on, Ray and I became close friends. This was the beginning of my XC career, and I was very lucky to have Ray as a "Yoda Guidemaster", leading me down that slippery slope towards XC addiction. (If you are new to XC you should also try to find a mentor. You will improve faster, and can avoid the mistakes made in the past.)
One of the problems associated with the Utah Cup over the years has been that not all XC pilots enter the contest. For example: In 1984, I won the Cup Trophy with a flight of only 57 miles. This was a very hollow win because in that same year, Lance Merrill set a new state record with a flight of 155 miles (The previous record was held by Mike Tingey ~1980 ~151 miles). This flight was especially sweet for Lance since Tingey, who was also flying that same day, landed just short of Lance by a couple miles. Even though they both had longer flights that year, it is still my name engraved on the Cup Trophy for 1984, and I am darn proud of it. The moral of this story is that if you plan on flying XC, you might as well go ahead and enter the Cup! On the flip side of this "problem" is that if you do win the trophy, "fair and square", it gives you a very good feeling. For example: The current keeper of the trophy, Dave Taylor (1995, 178 miles), won it with the longest flight of the year made by any pilot, period. The same goes for our new winner, Bill Scott (1996, 169 miles). In the history of the Cup, 9 out of 14 years saw a Cup pilot fly the "truly" longest flight of the year.
One of the good things that the Cup has produced is an enhanced pioneering spirit. In order to get longer flights, Cup pilots have searched and scoured the state in search of new and better launch sites. In fact, the following sites were all discovered and pioneered by Cup pilots: Horseheaven, Junction, Wales, The Ranch and Monroe Peak. And new routes from existing sites were pioneered. Also, the advent of the Cup has given purpose to the lives of many Utah pilots who might otherwise not have the motivation to try something new. And a tight-knit group of hard-core XC pilots has grown from years of common pursuits. The closest friends in my life are Utah Cup pilots! I would say that overall, the Utah Cup is a good thing.
Although flying XC seems to be an activity dominated by men, I am aware of several notable flights made by women over the years. Karen Thorpe still holds the women's Utah record with a 55 mile flight from Graff peak to Beaver. Claudia Holbrook won third place in "B" class in 1987 with a flight from Wales. Carol Jensen has flown from the Ranch over the Kolob portion of Zions National Park. And just last year, I think it was Tony Barton's wife who flew from Heber up and over the Wasatch mountains, making it all the way to the Northside (Sorry, I never got her name). Although the trophy typically goes to a pilot entered in "A" class, this is not always the case. In 1989, Mike Boyle, entered in "B" class, was looking to break the fifty mile barrier but ended up going 153 miles. His flight won the Cup and was the longest flight made that year. Yes you can win the trophy from "B" class! And did you know that Frisco peak was first flown on November 1, 1980. It was Roger Peterson, who also was the first to fly off Notch peak on December 12, 1981. Most of the juicy historical data is presented in the attached tables. Take a close look because your name just might be embedded in there!
It is actually amazing how little the Cup has changed over the years. Except for some minor tweaks to the rules, it is the same now as it was back in '83. The only changes were as follows: 1.) When towing started to become popular, tow flights were made acceptable. 2.) As the overhead costs for the plaques and tee-shirts rose with inflation, the entry fee was gradually raised from $10 to $15 and then to the current level of $20. 3.) When the F.A.A designated the airspace around the Salt Lake City Airport to be a terminal control area (TCA, now called "Class B" airspace), a rule was added that flights within this airspace would not be allowed as valid Cup flights. 4.) A new "C" class was added to accommodated the paraglider pilots. 5.) The cutoff distance for class "B" was changed from 50 to 100 miles.
More of the same! As far as I can tell, the Cup is not broken, so lets not try to fix it. But it is time to stir up the coals. Hopefully this article will achieve its purpose and stimulate interest for the cross country flying season to come. As a final note, congratulations are in order for Bill Scott who had the longest flight last year. He will soon be taking the trophy away from the clutches of Dave Taylor, at the up-and-coming Utah Cup Awards Ceremony. (There should be a note somewhere else in this newsletter giving the month of the ceremony) Also, if you care to enter the Cup, please read, fill out and send in the Utah Cup Entry Form for 1997. Or bring it to a club meeting. You must be entered to win. Who knows? maybe a year from now, Bill will be handing the trophy over to YOU!
Since the time this article was originally written ('97), new record flights have been flown. In the women's category, Lisa Verzella has raised the bar to a whole new level with at least 5 flights over 100 miles; two of which were over 150 miles and two setting new site distance recorda! (HorseHeaven, Hell Hole - Kingposted Flex Wing Class) She proves that in this sport, men and women perform on equal ground! (or air?) Kari Castle has also made some long flights when passing through, notably in the '96 nationals at Dinosaur. And of course no one can forget the day that the sacred 200 mile barrier got broke, by Dave Sharp when he flew 226 miles off HorseHeaven (rigid). And Paris (topless) made it 120+ miles to Vernal that same day, shattering the flex wing site record. HorseHeaven has vividly demonstrated new XC potential. The Crawfords too, have shown new potential with several 100+ miles flights (by both rigids and flex wings alike).
And of special note, the Paragliders have been consistently kicked butt! In fact, for two years running, the Paragliders beat the Hangliders flat-out in open distance! In September 2000, Todd Bibler and Bill Belcourt both made 150+ miles from Snowbird, with Bill setting a new Utah PG distance record of 154.3 miles. For additional articles on XC Paragliding, an excellent starting point is Ken Hudonjorgensen's site: http://www.twocanfly.com)