1975 Hang Gliding World Open - Escape Country, SoCal

[@vintagemxr]

I was there, part of the Free-Flight Systems, Inc. crew. Polkadot kite, patchwork kite, and Icarus V framed up.

[@nickcaci7238]

Treasured scenes. Thanks for sharing.

[@penrynbigbird]

My pleasure. When I run into old footage from the early daze I stop and watch it all too. It's funny because we filmed back then to share at our club meeting and club parties with no forethought that we'd someday be old(er) and the footage considered vintage. I'm just glad the footage survived several decades in boxes.

[@99bx99]

That's the year I took up hang gliding. Stuck with it up through the UP Comet then discovered airplanes and learned how to REALLY spend money. 2,000 hours + in Long EZ's and am still flying at 78.

[@penrynbigbird]

Yeah, at 67 I'm liking the wheels idea. That's a speedy wing you have - fun to watch them fly. If you flew the Comet you got thru the rough evolutionarily years. Best thermalling glider I've ever flown was the Comet. It would lock into a thermal and just climb.

[@99bx99]

@@penrynbigbird Yeah, me and my Comet climbed to over 12,000' flying from Peavine Peak near Reno. Could have gone much higher but was wearing shorts and a tank top and freezing. I live in PNW where the thermals just aren't that big, but plenty usable. In the Reno area they're HUGE. Three of us were circling in the same thermal, all of us at least 1/8 mile apart.

[@chrisdrake7849]

At 0:19 thats our 1962 Shasta trailer, white with a front over hang, it had rained and the California red dirt turned to scary mud.Saw our trailer again 1:35! again at 3:11 with the parachute right over it.

[@chrisdrake7849]

We were flying a home built Free flight systems standard and a home built Quicksilver B. The next year we had our Dragonflys.

[@mitchellmcaleer2969]

trained there on a Seagull 4, Jeff Smith signed off my hang one.

[@ramonquirozvazques2730]

i like much

[@dventure..]

Yeah that was pretty cool 😎 test pilots all 🫡🇬🇧

[@penrynbigbird]

They say what you don't know won't hurt you!! "they" were wrong. was shocked to find out my standard Rogallo could get into a stabilized vertical dive. Then they came out with a contraption called the 'sail-feather' that was supposed to help stop that from happening. Thank goodness for the visionary designers amongst us who were looking way past the standard Rogallo...

[@dventure..]

@H5-Phil really interesting footage I love watching this stuff, the videoing and recording side of this is a real wonder (no gopro) pure gold Thanks for your reply 👍🏻 🙂