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By Maineiac
#398942
Sky Truckin', a takeoff from the Dead circa 1974-75 was Paul Laliberte and Larry Flewelling, included Jack Harvey, Jack Carey, Mike Cannon and others on the periphery of their flight school at Sugarloaf, Maine.

Sugarloaf was closed to flying in 1975 the day the TODAY show filmed there. The mountain was changing ownership, Laliberte and Connolly Keating flew, Paul landed is Quicksilver nicely in front of the baselodge and Connolly proceeded to beak the baselodge about 21.7' up the wall and crumpled his . . . Sun Standard? Maybe?
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By NMERider
#398946
Maineiac wrote:Sky Truckin', a takeoff from the Dead circa 1974-75 was Paul Laliberte and Larry Flewelling, included Jack Harvey, Jack Carey, Mike Cannon and others on the periphery of their flight school at Sugarloaf, Maine.

Sugarloaf was closed to flying in 1975 the day the TODAY show filmed there. The mountain was changing ownership, Laliberte and Connolly Keating flew, Paul landed is Quicksilver nicely in front of the baselodge and Connolly proceeded to beak the baselodge about 21.7' up the wall and crumpled his . . . Sun Standard? Maybe?
What ever happened to Paul Laliberte? I had a fun time for a day or two with him, his wife or GF plus his fun-loving kitten, Wingnut back in 76.
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By Maineiac
#398950
Paul rode a guy wire down on his ultralight in the '90's, didn't make it to the hospital. Circling looking at a flock of turkeys on the ground, dinged an antenna guy. No idea what happened there. His girlfriend at the time was . . . crap. Maggie. She was gorgeous, now living in St. Croix, USVI and is a masseuse.

Cap'n Jack Carey passed away awhile back as well. I "helped him learn" how to fly prone, going from a WW Swallowtail to a Phoenix 6B. Off Ballard Peak, Telluride CO. We got HIGH that day, before Uncle Bill was selling backup chutes. Dude had cahones and burlap bags for lungs. He was on his mountain bike and stopped to talk to someone in a vehicle, turned and stepped into an oncoming Jeep.
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By NMERider
#398952
Maineiac wrote:Paul rode a guy wire down on his ultralight in the '90's, didn't make it to the hospital. Circling looking at a flock of turkeys on the ground, dinged an antenna guy. No idea what happened there. His girlfriend at the time was . . . crap. Maggie. She was gorgeous, now living in St. Croix, USVI and is a masseuse.

Cap'n Jack Carey passed away awhile back as well. I "helped him learn" how to fly prone, going from a WW Swallowtail to a Phoenix 6B. Off Ballard Peak, Telluride CO. We got HIGH that day, before Uncle Bill was selling backup chutes. Dude had cahones and burlap bags for lungs. He was on his mountain bike and stopped to talk to someone in a vehicle, turned and stepped into an oncoming Jeep.
:cry: :cry:
By Fletcher
#398955
Landed in the leisure field outside Tohelluride one day in 1990, no driver.
Along comes Captain Jack in a rickety old Jeep with a large box of fresh picked and perfectly ripe peaches in the back and of course a huge smile on his face.
Fresh peaches and a ride to my van after a great day of flyin :thumbsup: :drool:
I've got so many stories like that it should be illegal :mosh:
By ksykes
#398959
There's a blast from the past. I went to high school in Maine and we had a ski hill. In 74 or 75 Sky Truckin came down and did a group lesson for us. Eric Raymond and I built Sky Sports Larks or at least built the frames, we bought the sails.

We were able to fly on the ski hill when the winds were good. Unfortunately it faced northeast, so that was a fairly rare occurrence. We also flew with skis in the winter. Sugarloaf got shutdown as a site before I had the rating or the balls to fly it.

Got a rating from the other rating group, can't remember the name, but it was a blue logbook with your picture attached. Think you sent it in when you had the flights for the next rating and they stamped it and sent it back.
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By Maineiac
#398966
What ski hill? Mt. Abram? The guy that ran that scared the crap out of me. I have this vague memory of another rating organization, but that's about it. I got my IV from Laliberte in around 1976 or 7. We were flying Mt. Waldo in 1975. Jack Carey was the first one off on a giant baby blue Swallowtail, no helmet, headband, swing seat, went straight up about 500'. Then Laliberte, Connaly, Jack Harvey. I think Harvey had a Seagull 3. Laliberte had this big black and rainbow Phoenix expanded standard with Mylar on the sail that would peel off in strips while he was flying. I think he flew it at Grandfather in the Masters in 1975. I don't recall ever seeing another one like it (design wise). Where's the film of Sweeny landing on the green down at the pond (if you couldn't make McRae Meadow, you were destined for the green), skimming his butt across the water on a swing seat, creating a wake, then popping up onto the green to land? I had that movie in 16mm, but am clueless as to what happened to it. We flew Grandfather in '77 on the way to/from the Heavener "thing." We split Heavener and went to Magazine with Scotty . . . dammit Soule? My biggest memory of Heavener, other than hitting the spot after being forced off the launch too soon was Steve Moyes following up and specking out over launch in some big fat glider. And chiggers. I hate chiggers. And buying beer from bootleggers in the town. 3.2 beer. Anyone remember the cabled glider down at Lookout where you could "practice" throwing your 'chute? The cable was connected top/bottom with enough room on the controlled ride down to toss a chute, etc. I kinda chuckled and went flying somewhere else.
By ksykes
#398999
Maineiac wrote:What ski hill? Mt. Abram? The guy that ran that scared the crap out of me. I have this vague memory of another rating organization, but that's about it.
Kents Hill, the school has it's own ski hill. I'm traveling this week but I think I have my old rating somewhere.
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By Maineiac
#399010
HA! Kent's Hill. I had to go to NYA. Let's see, there were some Wisemans and Viners that went to Kent's Hill. My brother in law managed the fields and ski hill until a couple of years ago. I wasn't allowed to go there because several of my hippie friends attended. Class of '74. The Loaf was closed AFTER they had an "International Hang Gliding Competition" there circa '74, then the TODAY show filmed and Connally hit the lodge. He was fine, but on national TV it didn't go over real well with the new owners. End of Sugarloaf. But we flew the Bigelow Range across the Valley. That's how I ended up in traction for a week in Farmington. Ditched three miles back in from the Appalachian Trail. The flight was great. The last 3 seconds not so much. Those 2 big white birches I tried to pop over to land in the alders kinda grabbed me, pitched me nose down into a dead spruce tree about 50' up. Luckily, it was just a shattered humerus. Long walk out, picking that stirrup from my Price Prone over stumps with my toe. Found the glider 2 months later. Got 2 rabbits and a partridge that day, one arm in a cast, good hand with a 20 Ga. Topper Jr.
By ksykes
#399019
Veering off topic, but I knew 4 Wisemans, and one Viner and likely all of the hippies your parents wanted to keep you away from. I graduated in 75

Small world. I'll dig up a picture I have of Sky Truckin at the KH ski hill
By ksykes
#399274
Can't tell who's teaching but here's a picture from 1974/75. Pretty sure that's me flying the glider.

Also the cover of my GSI flying permit - including the admonition not to do 360's until reaching the advanced level.
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Whitewater Releases.jpeg
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By dave hopkins
#399283
Wow , great to hear of the early history of maine flying. I didn't start until 78 on a mk1 dragonfly. I had add battens , stronger Xbar and roached the tips so it was undated.I I didn't get to meet or fly with any of those early guy except Kevin Weatherbee. I flew Waldo with Harland Dunbar and his son Kendal (We were the same age) for many yrs. Amassed 500 hrs at Waldo. Started landing on top after second yr. That improve the turn around.
Also Meguntikock( SP) In Camden. Flew Cadillac down at BAAA HABAA A few time. Nice veiw of the coast from 2k over.
Eventually set a State XC record on a Airwave Extreme topless, from Whitecap Mtn, west of Rumpford, 64 miles down to the coast. It took me two days to get back over there to get my van and ATV off the hill. Setting my ATV up to carry HGs really opened up flying in Maine. I still have that wing and flew it a couple yrs ago. Flew Atos B and VR for 10 ys, doing, massive amount of XC cumulating with a 201 mi flight from Ellenville NY to the beach on the Mass, NH bordor, getting to 10K a couple of times with a forty MPH crossing tail wind. Great view at 10k east of Boston with airliners banking away. I think flying in Maine got real spotty after I left IN THE LATE 90's.
Still a few guys getting some flying up there. Pete Newmyer, Bob Chapman, Norm Stevens . We had a good aerotow group for awhile with Bob towing on his trike.
Too bad so many of the early pilot have passed. Harland die in a PG crash, Kendal is paralized from the waist down from a constuction accident. I'm 65 and feel my age a bit. I setup my Atos VR today and damm it felt heavy, but it always did until you take that first step. What a beautiful wing. I was selling it but I decided NO WAY after looking it over. No one wants to pay what it is worth. Anyway I'm rambling. Thanks for the history. Dave
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By Maineiac
#399290
Maybe Larry Flewelling in the photo. Certainly not Laliberte. Larry moved to St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, then moved up to Peter Island BVI on a boat, with gliders, to live next to sugar sand beach and 350' ridge facing DUE into the prevailing winds. Then Laliberte sent him a Mariah and, shortly thereafter, he quit flying. Didn't matter, though, since AMWAY bought most of Peter Island and turned it into an exclusive (meaning keep you and me out) resort.