U.S. Flag over Ultralight Barn

[Dan Grunloh]

U.S. Flag over Ultralight Barn

One afternoon at AirVenture 2012 I looked up from the Ultralight barn volunteer parking lot and saw this parachutist with a U.S. flag gliding over the barn. He (or she) landed in a clear area near our parked aircraft. At first I thought how could they have missed airshow center by half a mile? Then I learned it was part of a 9 flag descent along the length of the runway. Our aircraft parking chairman Jim Hayden captured a series of photos from the event. They show another parachutist landing near the south end of our runway.

Mother Nature had played a trick with the winds to give us an unplanned salute to the 30^th anniversary of FAR103. Another witness who saw it all said part way down gliding under canopy the suspended flags suddenly switched and began streaming the opposite direction! It became very breezy on the surface giving them a strong headwind. I estimate the flag cleared the barn roof by a generous 150 feet or more. SALUTE!

[taylorcraftbc65]

Looks like God knows full well, how much us Ultralighters love the freedom of flight, and what better year to celebrate it with a Salute, than THIS ONE.

[FlyingRon]

That was one of the days I was out on flag catching detail (mostly we haul bags out to store the flags and the parachutes in). There was odd winds that day, quite a difference between the surface and altitude winds (you could see it on the flags on the ground and the movement of the clouds above in opposite direction).

In addition there was at least one cut away, the main came down on top of a cub.

I've seen them miss the mark before (leaving us bag carriers to go hustling down the field to where they actually landed) but that day was way off.

[Antique Tower]

He landed in the overrun of the ultralight runway, right up the hill from Point Fondy. I helped him gather up the chute and the flag.

[Dan Grunloh]

The first photo was taken by me. This photo was first of several by Jim Hayden. Near UL barn. You can see in lower corner there were two parachutists.

[Dan Grunloh]

Next photo by Jim Hayden shows first chute landing, second chute still in the air.