In Response to the Unsolicited Letter from the Lees (and Channing): "Why We Should Invite Paragliders to Join the TTT"

While thumbing through the pile of mail on my desk last week, I came across a letter from Steve and Kathy Lee.  I thought this odd because I’d never recieved anything directly from the Lees before, I’d never shared with them my home address, and being that they were both no longer on the TTT Board of Directors I just couldn’t think of any reason that they’d be writing me.  With my curiosity piqued, I tore open the envelope and was immediately smashed in the face with a massive, ALL-CAPS, screaming wall-of-text.  Oh boy, here we go again…

In case you haven’t read it, the letter opens with a reprint of the ten-point rant against inviting paraglider pilots to join the Tennessee Tree Toppers that Channing Kilgore posted earlier this year.  After two pages of high-octane caps-lock abuse, the letter concludes with Kathy Lee’s slightly more eloquent, slightly more succinct, ten-point list of similar concerns. She's really not saying anything that Channing's tirade didn’t.

When Channing’s message first hit FlyMail back in January, 2015, I responded with a point-by-point rebuttal.  Now, because the same rant has resurfaced in the form of an eyeball-hemorrhage-inducing letter, I’m afraid that I must re-reply.  Since I don’t want to torture your retinas by reprinting Channing’s message in its original state, I’m going to have to take some liberties with it by reducing it to lowercase and shrinking the font until it’s just barely legible.  Think of it as font-karma!  I’m not altering any of the actual text, though.  Ok… here we go… text shrinking in progress... annnnnnd….. we’re…. done!  Oh, wow!  Mmm, that felt good.  Really good!  So good, in fact, that if I were Catholic, I’d have to feel guilty about it!  

1. giving membership to paragliders amounts to giving them as much ownership of the properties, money, and assets as a hg pilot. it’s understandable if a friend asks to spend the night at your house, but to say that it would be really good if you would give him partial ownership of your house is another issue.
   
   By this logic, since I've been a TTT member longer than you have and because I’ve contributed more than you have in terms of donated time, money, and resources, my opinion matters more than yours does.  I hereby override your opinion with my own:  “Paraglider pilots are wonderful members of the free flight community and we should gladly welcome them as TTT members.” 

2. everything the paragliders need help in can all be done volunatarily. there is nothing they need from us that can’t be fulfilled voluntarily.  the only real advantage (for them, not hg pilots) of them joining the ttt is they would have a right in the ownership of ttt assets.  how is it right to obligate those who seek the sole benefit of hang gliding to use their money on projects (paraglider projects) that they didn’t want their money to go to? again, voluntary giving will accomplish this without forecfully obligating those who do not wish to give their assets, fees, etc to the paragliding cause.
   
   This is the same argument!  Since it’s important enough to you that you had to repeat it, I’ll reply more seriously:  A new member in the TTT is no more or less a member than someone who first joined five years earlier.  You and I, we’re both members, nothing more, nothing less, and no member, regardless of longevity or position within the club, has the right to abscond with club property. 
   
3. there are enough disagreements among hg pilots as how to best spend our money, project developments, etc. how is adding paragliders visions for the club site, assets, money, etc gonna help keep the club unifed? it won’t. it will cause eventual more division and harm to the ttt.
   
   These aren’t disagreements among “hang glider pilots,” but disagreements among people.  Adding another type of wing into the mix isn’t going to change a thing, and denying paraglider pilots membership rights isn’t going to magically make everyone on the Board of Directors agree on what needs to be done, when, or by whom.
   
4. given the best case scenario and good will of the current paragliders towards being equally desirious for the benefit of the sports of hang gliding and paragliding, how is this any guarantee that future paraglider pilots will have the best desires for future hang gliding/ttt needs? there’s not. there is no way to guarantee the interests of hang gliding at ttt in the future if we allow paragliders to join now.  so ttt should stay a hg club only.
   
   What does a hang glider pilot really want from life?  A safe place to launch, a huge field to land in, a cold drink in the LZ, a ride back up, and as many friends as possible to regale with every little detail of that amazing sled run.  Guess what?  Paraglider pilots want the exact same things!  Why does it matter how floppy or un-floppy a pilot’s wing is?  Not to say that your point is completely without merit, but it’s certainly possible to protect the club’s heritage without limiting ourselves to a single type of wing.  As far as I know, all paraglider launches are suitable for hang gliders and all hang glider landing zones are suitable for paragliders, so it’s not much of a stretch to find the middle ground here.
   
5. there is already a volunatry agreement between ttt and the paragliders to use our facilities, road access, club site, etc. even some of the hg pilots are willing to help the paras develop their sites. why do they need membership and access to voting rights for the direction of our club?!
   
   Money!  The more members we have, the more dues and donations we collect.  Why should we let those PG pilots keep using "our" stuff for free, anyway?  Footprints on our good HG dirt, breathing up our good HG air, landing in the field that “we” mow, parking their little, rackless, foreign cars in places that were only ever meant for massive, HG retrieval vehicles... I think it's high-time that they started chipping in.  Seriously, these guys need to pony up some dues AND get on the mailing list so that we can badger them about coming out to help with TC 2015.  There's never enough toilet paper, man... every year, no matter how much I bring, it's never enough!  If nothing else, this argument wins the day:  We need more people to bring more toilet paper.
   
6. matt taber of lookout mtn hang gliding stated he would not add paraglider pilots to the mix bec of the increased risk of liability. matt is a savvy business owner. if there was profit to be made one would expect to see as many paraglider pilots flying lookout as the hang gliders. but there isn’t bec matt recognizes and does not wish to assume the safety risks of paras.
   
   Comparing LMFP to the TTT is like comparing apples to wombats!  They are two completely different organizations, and what works for one probably won’t work for another.  Both organizations have their merits (and demerits), and both organizations do a tremendous amount of good for both hang gliding and free flight in general.  Besides, Matt doesn't have access to suitable paragliding launches.  Also, paragliders 
   would get in the way of the money making tandems.  
   
   What safety risks are you referring to, specifically?  Almost every HG pilot I know (including both of us!) has been in a tree, a hospital, or both at some point in their flying career.  As far as I can tell, gravity really doesn't give a shit what kind of wing you were flying when you made whatever bad decision it was that turned your flight into a fall, but we’re all members of USHPA (notice the "P") and we all share the same basic risks, coverage, rights, and responsibilities.
   
7. potential risks of adding paragliders to the club: they could vote all hg pilots off the board if they have more members, they could sell/liquidate any/all assets of ttt by simple majority vote, they could modify in any way they want anything at any site w/ a simple majority vote, they could take the lz fund and use it for a paraglider launch(es) by a pg vote, etc etc. now they will say this is wrongful fear, but no one can see the future what future members will do. but there is any easy answer. let’s not even put ourselves at any potential risk. any and all of these potential issues could be avoided by simple keeping ttt what it is: a hang gliding club.
   
   What kind of crazy, paranoia-infused, fantasy land do you live in where you can envision paraglider pilots liquidating the TTT’s resources?  Why in the world would they do that?  We’ve already discussed this:  They want the same things that we want!  If they buy a new PG launch, guess what?  HG pilots can launch there too!  Yay!! 
   
   And you’re wrong about about being able to see the future - just open your eyes and read the magazine!  I just pulled March, 2015 down from my shelf  and here’s what I found:  The P3 and P4 ratings alone match the total number of all HG ratings issued.  Now think about that for a minute… do you see what that means?  There are more PG pilots staying in the sport long enough to earn intermediate and advanced ratings than there are HG pilots, total!  That includes new students, people taking an intro package, AND the 10 members of the Tecumseh Youth Ensemble that took advantage of a Groupon, but only had two days and will never even dream of upgrading that H1.  It won’t be long before hang gliding exists only because the paragliding community exist to keep flight regulations, launches, and landing zones alive.  The sad truth of the matter is that we need them more than they need us.
   
8. the paras have already had issues maintaining what they had. ttt members have enough areas of concern to manage as is. just see an annual committee assignment meeting and how difficult it is to get things done in and for the club. adding more site responsibilities that involves man power, finances, routine maintenance, time, etc and the already limited ttt resources are stretched. if it’s argued we could all work together, then do it voluntarily. don’t obligate the club and its assets by your personal desire(s) for paras to have partial ownership of the club.
   
   You’re saying that there aren’t enough members to handle the work that the club needs done, and your response to the situation is to righteously and vehemently oppose the addition of new members.  Do I have that right?  Smack yourself in the forehead for me, will ya?  
   
   I suppose that you’re right about more members meaning more work, though.  This is exactly what Notorious B.I.G. was talking about when he wrote “Mo Money, Mo Problems,” right?  A bigger, more active club really would mean more work to do… more garbage to clean up, more events to plan, more dues to collect… a truly tragic situation.  On the other hand, there would also be more volunteer labor, more parties to attend, and more rides back up, so I think it balances out!
   
   Can you imagine the Henson Gap parking lot being full every Saturday morning and the campground being full every Saturday night?  What if the TTT were as busy as Team Challenge EVERY flyable weekend of the summer?  I imagine that it actually was that busy once upon a time, and I wish I'd been there to be a part of it.  Maybe it can happen again with the help of our floppy-winged brethren, and if it did, then I’d consider myself fortunate have had a hand in making it possible.  
   
   Honestly, If you think that having more pilots around is a bad thing, then you're in the wrong sport, my man.  I love flying, but even more than that I love the people I've met and the friends that I've made BECAUSE of flying.
   
9. what if the property issues fall through w/ rick jacob? where will the pilots go? what will they use? they will have nothing at that point. guess who will have to foot the bill to help find them a new place? the hang glider pilots.
   
   There are really only three possibilities in the event that something should happen to prevent the use of Rick’s launches:
   
   1) We we find a new TTT site that works for PG (which would also work for HG - Yay!!).  
   
   2) The paraglider pilots take up hang gliding because once you've flown the Sequatchie Valley you just can't settle for scooter towing in Ohio.  
   
   3) The PG pilots stop renewing their memberships , stop being TTT members, and we get back to dwindling. 
   
10. nothing needs coordinated or can’t be coordinated thru simply talking to the different respective clubs. no one of either side is wishing to restrict the flying opps of anyone. no one is going to launch into each other. all will respect each other in the air. to argue we need to make paras members of ttt to coordinate and share our flying is hardly credible thought.
    
    For once, we are in complete agreement.  The Southern ParaPilots have proven that they don’t need to be members of the TTT to be good pilots, good people, and good friends.  The funny thing about this is that if you were to ask me what makes a good TTT member, that would be my answer: “Good pilots, good people, and good friends.”

I read Kathy Lee’s letter, too, and it’s pretty much the same stuff:  Insecure people railing against change because they’re afraid that the new folks are going to be as short-sighted, judgmental, and one-sided as they themselves have been thus far.  I'm not into making personal attacks against anybody - we all have our fears and insecurities.  It’s human nature to fear the unknown, and what is change if not the embodiment of uncertainty?  

Including or excluding paragliders will not change the fact that the future of hang gliding is uncertain, but it may change the fact that the future of the TTT is uncertain.  Deciding against allowing PG membership because of we’re afraid of unknowable consequences is like driving over a cliff because we’re not sure what might happen if we turn the wheel!  

Channing and Kathy have strong feelings but no facts.  Their arguments are invalid, lack logic, and are based on vague, irrational fears.  It is a xenophobic fear by the in group of the out group (paragliders), and something that would be more at home in an Indiana pizza parlour than on the top of a Tennessee mountain under a sky filled with endless, cottonball-shaped possibility.

The paraglider pilots are good people, on that much we all agree.  From there, I only ask that those of you who are against the idea of inviting them join the club take a moment to look into your hearts with honest eyes and consider your motivations.  If you’re decision is based on fear, skepticism, jealousy, or greed, please reconsider your position and try not to allow those negative emotions to cloud your judgement.  Think instead about the needs of the club, the flying community, and all of the good things that a larger, more diverse membership would bring.

I firmly believe that adding paragliders to the TTT is GOOD!  For a net cost of nothing, we get so much MORE:  More members, more energy, more resources, more money, more flying, more friends, more rides, more exposure, more events, more beer... more, more, more!  It’s the right thing to do for the hang glider pilots, the paraglider pilots, the entire free flight community, and, most of all, for the Tennessee Tree Toppers.

-James Dean.