2010 WRAP-UP

The 2010 Event
was a great success! 

 Check out Bryon's video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFuiDoonU7Q




Joe and Olivia Onofrio

The Third Annual Gathering at Monument Valley was held over the Columbus Day weekend at Gouldings Lodge and Trading Post on the Utah/Arizona border, altitude 5500ASL. Approximately 35 PPG pilots and couple of, PPC and Deltas came together from across the continent, braving the remote location and questionable weather to have a shot at the Holy Grail of Powered Ultra Lite Aviation. AND…They were not disappointed. The weather forecasts were wrong and all three days were warm and beautiful with light winds that were very flyable.



by Franck Simonnet

The Gathering has always been a different kind of Fly-In. Its non commercial, the professionals can take off their marketing hats and become just one of a group of passionate pilots sharing one of the most spectacular sites in the world. This year, do to poor planning by the “non-organizer”, the campfire was woefully inadequate, never the less we stood around it and discussed wings, motors and technique as peers rather than competitors. And… were treated to some amazing displays of flying skill during the down times.




Afternoon tour of Monument Valley Park

In the hours between morning and evening flights there was plenty to do. Saturday afternoon several toured the Navajo Tribal Park by truck and SUV. There was also new visitor center that was hosting a large display of Indian and geological exhibits that was very impressive. Others explored the area around Gouldings on foot and trail bike or relaxed around the campground and pool. An unexpected attraction came from the Navajo High School who treated us to a full blown homecoming parade complete with floats and candy tossing royalty.

At the beginning of the event there was a small problem when one pilot flew too close to the resort at the Navajo Tribal Park. We had not yet had the formal briefing and unfortunately he wasn't aware of the Navajo’s sensitivity about flying near their facilities and habitations. When the pilot ascended from the valley floor up to the scenic overlook, a good time was had by all, the resort guests took photographs and waved happily as he flew by. However what appeared to be a good opportunity to showcase our sport turned out to be exactly the opposite. The Navajo Police promptly visited our landing strip and forbid us from entering the Navajo Tribal Park for the duration of the event. There were still thousands of acres of beautiful country and more monuments than we could fly in a month, so we chose not to argue the legalities of who controls the airspace and politely agreed to stay out of the park. The Gathering continued and everyone was able to get as much airtime as they wanted. The moral here was ... If you find yourself at a Fly-In a day or two early, be sure to READ THE RULES and know the particulars of the area before launching.
Future pilots should be able to fly the whole area unfettered provided that they fly 1500 above the desert floor while within the borders of the park. In any case, it is prudent to fly at least that high in order to have enough glide to find an emergency landing and pick-up if needed.



Foot launch Trike

Sky King

Saturday night was the party in Gouldings Banquet Hall. Everyone shared hanger stories and enjoyed authentic Navajo cuisine or not depending on their preferences. Paradrenalin’s Ryan Shaw drew the lucky number for a new Rodeo Paramotor and Paul Anthem entertained us with his harrowing tale of  driving across the country in their “Quest for the Holy Grail”.




Olivia Onofrio first flight

As usual the most satisfying aspect of this event was the reactions of the veterans. Pilots with hundreds of flights were walking around grinning ear to ear talking about the “greatest flight of their career”.

The 2011 “Gathering” is planned to be held on the weekend of  Oct. 14th. 15th and 16th.

And I promise…the campfire will be tremendous!