This is a reminder that the CIVL Category 2 Pan American Championships will be held in Dinosaur Colorado this August 26th- September 2nd. We will declare a champion of all the Americas at this competition. Already the top pilots have begun signing up and we expect quite a crowd. With Venezuelans, Brazilians, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans (as well as pilots from the U.S.) already signed up, we are sure to have one very competitive contest.

You can find out more information on our

website at: http://www.justfly.com/pages/gwmindex.htm

Please let all your county's pilots know of this competition. It will be a team meet as well as an individual meet. Also, Class 2 gliders are welcome and will fly with, but score separate from the Class 1 gliders. Feel free to ask us anything regarding this contest. We hope to see you there.

G W Meadows
252 480 3552 / 252 480 0117 fax

http://www.justfly.com ......there's no such thing as impossible. We didn't know that when we left the ground, but we landed different and we've been that way since... sharon wood

It is a very difficult decision that I make to cancel the 2000 Pan American Cup. I have put over 3 years into working on this very competition and I suppose that last year's "pre" comp should have been a clue about the face of competition.

In the early 1990's, Dinosaur was an extremely popular competition and xc place, but then again, so was Sandia, the Owens, Hobbs and other big air sites. The idea back then was that if you wanted good, long, valid tasks that you had to hold meets where the air was big. Well, the last 4 years or so has shown us that we can have very valid meets in less "scary" places.

Even though moving the comp to the end of August last year proved that Dino can be a much friendlier place to fly, I believe that pilots are getting used to the better amenities of other "more popular" sites. I've had some cancellations on the meet in the last few days. Some pilots have decided to get their points at Hearne and some pilots have decided to go speedgliding or "aero"flying in the RedBull meet that runs at the same time in Aspen.

I currently have 12 pilots signed up to fly Dino and even if I double that number, the meet isn't financially viable. So, on the eve of my leaving to go to Greece to compete in the world speedgliding competition, I feel I must give the interested parties plenty of notice. As of this writing it is slightly over month to the scheduled first day of competition and I feel if I wait until I return from Greece (in 2 weeks) to see how many folks are signed up then, it simply won't be fair to the folks who are planning on coming.

I'm very sorry to those who have been looking forward to this meet and I urge you to give the LSC in Hearne your support. Since I am leavingin less than 12 hours, I'll have to wait to return deposits to those signed up when I get back. Sorry for any inconvenience. -G.W. Meadows PS Please pass this on to interested parties. If you have any doubt if this is true, you can check out my website http://www.justfly.com.

INVITATION

5th International Paragliding Cup "MENADA 2000"

organized by Paragliding Club Ljuboten-Tetovo, Macedonia

Paragliding Club Ljuboten is traditionally organizing the XC-competition, Menada. This year it will be held from 7-10th of September 2000. Like in the past, we also expect this year, that over 100 top pilots from over than 8 countries, among them also champions. The competition will be held on the mountain Sar planina, which offers possibilities for tasks up to 100 km.

The organization of the competition was always top rated by participants that have taken part. This year the organizer offers to all competitors:

• free of charge hotel accommodation on 7th, 8th and 9th of September 2000
• free of charge breakfast and dinner
• free of charge transport from Skopje Airport to Hotel at Popova Sapka
• free of charge transport from official landing place to Hotel
• free of charge film for competition

The hotel is located on the mountain at about 1700m asl. From there you can get to the take off place by car or by foot (only 30 minutes). The infrastructure of the Polog Valley is ideal for that kind of XC-competitions, because you always fly near to civilisation and regional roads.

Of course, also the prize money will be attractive:

• for the first place 1500 DEM
• for the second place 1000 DEM
• for the third place 500 DEM

and a lot of other material prizes

The entry fee for the competitors is only 100 DEM and covers all free of charge things mentioned above. A competing pilot should hold a valid paraglider licence.

Please, send us your applications as soon as possible. The registration deadline is the 1st of September.

All extra information you can get at www.menada.bizland.com

E-mail: kan@mt.net.mk

pgljuboten@excite.com

Phone: +389 94 24272, Mobile: +389 70 240 300
June 2000, Tetovo
PC Ljuboten-Tetovo
President
Jove Filkoski

The Big Jump

At the end of the year 2000 an incredible challenge is to be attempted: Man?s freefalling through the wall of sound from the stratospheric height of more than 40,000 metres. A man is going to actually experience supersonic speed. Michel FOURNIER is going to try the Big Jump.

Michel FOURNIER, 56 years old, is a top multi-disciplinary athlete and an ex-parachute officer (with more than 8,000 jumps to his name of which more than a hundred from high altitude). He also holds the French record for free-fall flight from 12,000 metres. His performances have earned him the Gold medal for Youth and Sport and the Aeronautics Medal as well as the title of Officer of the National Order of Merit.

They have been preparing this extraordinary project for more than 10 years.

During the month of November 1987, the Ministry of Defence decided to back a project for a free-fall flight from 38,000 metres. Two years of study, work, ground and flight tests, including the launch of a model, were carried out, confirming the jump's feasibility. The S38 project came under the European space project ?HERMES? which was abandoned.

Michel FOURNIER, a fanatic of aerospace adventures, decided to "personally defend the project". The total budget was 20,5 million French Francs but Michel was not deterred. In order to buy his equipment he sold everything he had, his house, his arms and insignia collections, his furniture? He has spent all his time and money to this exceptional project. Part of the finance came from private companies. This constant investment also requires very intense physical training managed by a team of specialists led by Professor Paul VANUSEN (scientific director of the project).

Jean-François CLERVOY, an astronaut for the European Space Agency, is sponsoring the challenge and enthusiastically says ?You will, in a way, carry out one of my fantasies as an astronaut - that of coming back to earth ?on foot? . There is no doubt that this jump will go down in the history of aeronautical and space adventures and will contribute to the development of the technics and security of future stratospheric flights."

With only a few months to go before the big day, a faultless organisation has been put in place. The feat will take place in France, on the Crau plain. The day of the jump a weather probe will bring in the last details needed to plan the exact trajectory for the stratospheric balloon which will be taking Michel FOURNIER up.

Less than 50 minutes before the launch, the balloon will be filled with helium. The pod will be held down on the ground until the last second before taking-off. The balloon will take off for a climb lasting about 2 hours 30 minutes.

For security reasons, in case there should be a problem during the climb, a remote-controlled canopy liberator, linking the balloon to the flight chain, will be operated by the ground computer in order to parachute the pod back down to earth. A machine in the pod will regulate the pressure.

Once at the ceiling height, Michel FOURNIER will unpressurize the pod and pressurize his suit, open the glass door and finally accomplish his life's dream - admire the roundness of the Planet Earth before plunging out to break the wall of sound. It will only take him 30 seconds to hear the double "bang" and 51 seconds to reach the speed of 1,782 km/h (1.67 mach), a speed never achieved by man so far.

Then, after a free-fall of 6 minutes and 25 seconds, he will open his parachute at 1,000 metres and will be able to take advantage of the remaining 4 minutes needed to reach the ground.

It will be the accomplishment of 10 years of preparation for a few historical minutes and the setting of 4 world records.

For any additional information, images, etc... please contact

Patricia Lamy or Frederic Goupy
Universal McCann Event
00 33 1 41 49 14 23 - 00 33 1 41 49 14 00

JAR - FCL Matters

European subscribers will no doubt be interested to know that the JAA's Flight Crew Licensing Sub-Committtee has decided that no further consideration will be given to the idea of "harmonising" glider pilot licensing in Europe. So the present system of "mutual recognition" will continue indefinitely.

In some European states, glider pilots are required to hold a JAA Class 2 medical certificate. They, particularly the senior ones amongst them, will be pleased to learn that at yesterday's meeting of the JAR-FCL Committee the requirement for the over-65s to have medical checks every 6 months was scrapped, with immediate effect. The tests will now be required "only" annually (from age 50).

The pattern now looks like this :

• Every 60 months to age 30.
• Every 24 months from age 30 to age 50.
• Annually after age 50.

The question of intervals between medical examinations will be put out to consultation in Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) No.15,due out in mid 2001.