USHPA pulls Torrey Exemption: The story behind the headlines
Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2016 12:17 pm
USHPA pulls Torrey Exemption: The story behind the headlines
Someone was kind enough to send me some of the misinformation that's being posted behind the "Oz Curtain". It appears that there's all kinds of speculation about USHPA actually stepping up to do the right thing at Torrey. Let me set the record straight.
First off, if USHPA were suddenly "seeing the light" as to what's been going on at Torrey, they would start by apologizing to me - or at least silently renewing my membership and the Torrey Hawks chapter status. They haven't done either of those things and I don't expect they will. Their actions betray their words.
So what's really going on then? Why is USHPA suddenly taking such a public shot at Air California Adventure (ACA)?
The answer is simple and ugly: retaliation. The following sequence of events will make that clear:
The sport of hang gliding deserves better ... both locally and nationally.
Someone was kind enough to send me some of the misinformation that's being posted behind the "Oz Curtain". It appears that there's all kinds of speculation about USHPA actually stepping up to do the right thing at Torrey. Let me set the record straight.
First off, if USHPA were suddenly "seeing the light" as to what's been going on at Torrey, they would start by apologizing to me - or at least silently renewing my membership and the Torrey Hawks chapter status. They haven't done either of those things and I don't expect they will. Their actions betray their words.
So what's really going on then? Why is USHPA suddenly taking such a public shot at Air California Adventure (ACA)?
The answer is simple and ugly: retaliation. The following sequence of events will make that clear:
- USHPA has known about ACA's violations at Torrey for at least 10 years. Yet they backed ACA for all those years.
- Region 3 Director Kuczewski reported violations to USHPA's Safety and Training and USHPA's EC as far back as 2010.
- USHPA didn't care and did nothing as long as Air California was paying them. For all those years USHPA backed ACA.
- But USHPA could not ignore the 2011 tandem violations by Brad Geary and Max Marien which went public (on video) in 2015.
- USHPA had no choice but remove the tandem ratings of Geary and Marien or the FAA might have revoked USHPA's exemption.
- Even then, USHPA still didn't pull the plug on Robin Marien or ACA, and it was business as usual. More money for U$HPA.
- But ACA went out and found another exemption so Max Marien (Robin's son) could continue to give tandem joy rides.
- That's when ACA stopped sending their joy ride money to USHPA. That's when U$HPA got mad.
- It wasn't until ACA stopped sending money to USHPA that USHPA fired their parting shot in the letter we all saw.
The sport of hang gliding deserves better ... both locally and nationally.