Steven Pearson <<Steve>>
writes:

We didn’t have a local admin to run an instructor clinic here at
Andy Jackson Flight Park in San Bernardino, California so a group of local
pilots paid Paul Voight to fly out. Despite Paul’s experience and credentials
(let's us just say that they are vast), he wasn’t allowed to conduct the clinic
at Crestline. Same story for Zac, who until recently was the only west coast
tandem administrator, but wasn’t allowed to give clinics at any USHPA sites. The
USHPA should have paid all these expenses, and clinic administrators should have
blanket coverage at all sites.

The USHPA is being managed by Martin, Tim and the leadership from a narrow
perspective of minimizing liability at all cost, and the practical and effective
result of that policy is reducing the number of instructors, schools and pilots.
No pilots, no exposure. I would also note that this policy is distinct and not
entirely consistent with advancing safe practice. So many opportunities for
improving safety are ignored while bureaucratic initiatives are advanced. I
don’t even understand why Martin and Tim have any authority to advance their
agenda when they are neither elected nor have any significant experience with
the programs and policies they are administering. A smaller and less experienced
board is only going to compound the problems as they will increasingly defer
these decisions to administration.

Here are two of the most advanced and experienced instructors and
pilots within the USHPA. They are prevented from providing their expertise to
the hang gliding community by rules that do not make any sense what-so-ever.
These rules tie instructors to specific sites and do not allow for instructors
who do not have a specific site or who visit other sites. This certainly is a
disincentive for obtaining USHPA site insurance.