Some of the best hang gliding in the country, the National Park Service says, is at Fort Funston at Golden Gate National Recreation Area. What the agency doesn't come right out and tell you is that you need a $150 membership in the U.S. Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association, as well as a USHPA rating that could cost upwards of $2,000 or more in classes, to launch there. And it'd be nice if you made a donation to the association's local chapter, too.
Logan J. Remillard of Utah discovered that when he decided to enjoy Golden Gate with a flight from Fort Funston. A hang glider for three years who carries $2 million in insurance for his sport, Remillard contacted Golden Gate staff when he learned that the Fellow Feathers of Fort Funston hang gliding club holds a Special Use Permit from the Park Service to control the sport at Fort Funston and wasn't about to let any non-USHPA members launch from the cliffs overlooking the Pacific.
"I'll keep it real simple for you guys...The answer is NO! That's our policy," Rob Johnson, the club president told Remillard in an email after he reached out about the requirement that he join USHPA for $150 to fly from Fort Funston. "We are a USHPA chapter site and 100% OK with that. If you want to fly 'over' Fort Funston, you can launch 2.8 miles south at the 'Dumps'."
Remillard struggled with that rejection, as he viewed national parks as being open to the American public for recreation and enjoyment.
From the Park Service's point of view, having Fellow Feathers oversee hang gliding at Fort Funston provides a measure of safety in that only those hang gliders who hold an H-3 rating from USHPA can fly there.
"One condition of the (Fellow Feathers) permit requires, as a means of determining pilot skill level, that all hand-gliding participants have a minimum of a level 3 certification from the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association," Lee Dickinson, who oversees the Park Service's Special Use Permit programs, told the Traveler. "At this time we are unaware of any other reliable rating for hang-gliding proficiency. It is important to have an independent assessment of a pilot’s skill level."
When Remillard first got into hang gliding, he, too, thought it'd be good to join USHPA, as he thought it was "an actual regulatory agency." But his experience left him wondering if the association was truly objective in teaching the sport.
"After going through two instructors that just never quite felt like signing off on my paperwork, and watching one of them kill a student, I decided to go solo, as have most of my flying buddies," he told the Traveler. "I had already spent over $2,000 on instruction with no end in sight or any explanation on why I hadn't been allowed to advance since the second day other than, 'Something doesn't look right,' and that the instructors didn't feel comfortable letting people fly due to the club's internal politics. The USHPA members were also very proud to tell me that they were under no obligation to explain what those politics are."
Across the park system there are ten units that have issued SUPs for hang gliding, and all require USHPA certification, according to Ms. Dickinson.
From Remillard's point of view, whether USHPA is the only group that regulates hang gliding is debatable, as the Federal Aviation Administration "is the only legal authority on any devices designed to carry persons through the air."
On its website USHPA acknowledges that hang gliders do not need a license to enjoy their sport, but adds that "a program analogous to FAA licensing exists and is administered by the USHPA."
"While these ratings don’t carry the force of law in quite the same way as FAA pilot’s licenses do, the majority of flying sites in the U.S. require that pilots hold some specific USHPA rating to be allowed to fly," the site adds.
The issue of USHPA's authority, or lack thereof, has been raised in hang-gliding forums. Back in March a question of whether USHPA is the same as the Federal Aviation Administration came up, and one member replied that, "(T)he FAA does not recognize USHPA as having any regulatory authority."
Another said the FAA does regulate hang gliders through its Part 103 guidelines that were adopted back in 1982 and which "established limits on size, performance, and configuration and also established that people flying them needed no certificate or medical qualification."
While Fellow Feathers' SUP stipulates that the group "shall not require fees for hang gliding, hang gliding instruction, or any related activities," Park Service personnel did not respond to whether the $150 USHPA membership requirement violates that provision.
Comments
It is a sad state we live in when you have to pay for free flight. Who does the park belong to? Can I ride a mountain bike through the park without paying National membership proving I can ride a bike and paying local membership to the clubs?
Tim D; As this is National Park Land this land belongs equally to all American Citizens. It is your land, and your tax money pays to maintain it. The private clubs have been granted exclusive rights to this land for the bargain price of $2,947 per year. That includes a 1,064 square foot clubhouse and a police force that will arrest you for enjoying your land without being part of this private club and paying the fees.
Tim D: Beyond Hang Gliding there is no other activity that I am aware of which requires club membership in any National Park. When I spoke with Ms. Dickinson she was unable to provide any such example or precedent.
It is a disappointment That our public lands aren't really available to everyone. Hikers don't need to pay extra fees, horse riding doesn't need to pay extra fees, kayaking and canoeing don't need to pay extra fees. But somehow hang gliding pilots need to pay extra fees to a flying club in order to use the land.
Rebecca Clegg: Worse than the fees is the fact that the clubs are entirely unregulated in how they grant access. They can shut down a site just because the president wants to fly by himself that day, revoke a rating because the member said something that a board member didn't like. The fact that USHPA is just a private club means that they have *NO* oversight. There is no due process or expectation of reasonableness to their decisions.
So who exactly says when and who? What overseer says when I get to be on land my taxes pay for?
Stephen: The NPS Special Use division says so. They have given USHPA an exclusive special use permit to use the parks clearly stating that "Commercial activity is not authorized by this Special Use Permit. Permittee shall not require fees for hang gliding, hang gliding instruction or any related activities. Permittee shall not sublet any part of the permitted premises or grant any interest or privilege whatsoever in connection with this permit without permission in writing from the NPS." I have taken complaints about this violation to the special use office, their reply is that "It is GGNRA's understanding that Fellow Feathers is managing hang gliding at Fort Funston consistent with the Permit terms and conditions as well as USHPA best practices and that there are not unreasonable barriers to pilot participation. Fellow Feathers is the Permittee for use of the assigned lands and hang gliding participants are required to follow its rules. GGNRA considers those issues that the park has not addressed in this or previous correspondence as internal club matters." In a follow up phone call I was told, in essence, that they can make up whatever rules they want and charge whatever they want so long as the charges aren't processed on National Park Property.
Tim yes mountain biking would be welcome. It's your land, and mine. Rented without authority from the people and controlled against the people (hanglider and paraglider pilots in this case) by an agency made up of officials operating in a capacity which they were never elected. People outside flying would never even know there was an election taking place of people that will assume control if their property.