JULY 29, 2010 ISSUE
Flying Tater
5th Annual Tater Hill Paragliding and Hang Gliding Competition August 1 to 7
Tater Hill owner and Meet Director Bubba Goodman will host his 5th annual Tater Hill Paragliding and Hang Gliding Competition from Sunday to Saturday, August 1 to 7, above the skies of Boone. Photo submitted
Last year, between 40 and 50 paragliders took off from Tater Hill in the first week in August. Photo submittedHigh Country residents know that anything and everything you would ever need can be found in our own backyard. Yet even the most jaded of residents will be surprised to walk outside in two weeks and find the skies filled with brightly-colored hang gliding and paragliding rigs floating effortlessly through the clouds.
Yes, thanks to Tater Hill owner and Meet Director Bubba Goodman, our backyard will become a front-row seat to the largest paragliding competition on the East Coast during the 5th annual Tater Hill Paragliding and Hang Gliding Competition from Sunday to Saturday, August 1 to 7. Legions of the world’s best gliders will use Tater Hill’s launch area, which is situated eight miles north of Boone at roughly 2,000 feet above ground level, between those dates to fly above the High Country, competing in time trials and other contests.
“This is the largest paragliding competition on the East Coast,” said Goodman. “And it’s the only one like it in the Southeast.”
This year, the competition is open to all pilots with an H2/P2 certification or higher. Competitors must have turbulence and thermal experience, a harness, reserve chute, helmet, GPS and radio—all equipment is subject to meet director approval. Insurance regulations require that all competitors and free flyers be members of the U.S. Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (USHPA). Goodman serves as meet director, Beth Burgin is organizer and Jay and Kim Browder are head volunteers.
The entry fee is $175 and includes rides to the top of the mountain, retrieval after flights, a t-shirt and an awards party. Registration is available by clicking to www.flytaterhill.com; registration fees can be sent to: Bubba Goodman, 3482 Peak Road, Creston, NC 28615.
More than 40 flyers are already signed up and Goodman expects the final total to exceed 50. Only a handful of participants are locals; participants are coming to compete from California, Colorado, Utah and Massachusetts and from as far away as Argentina. “We have a bunch of really good pilots coming this year, though,” added Goodman.
For those not competing, the competition is always popular for spectators, who can catch the action from the landing site, located behind Brown Brothers Construction north of Boone. Watching the competition is free and interested persons can access the landing site by traveling on Highway 421 North, taking a left on Brown Road, taking a right at the stop sign and then traveling one mile where the landing site will be on the right. “The landing site will be obvious,” assured Goodman.
Arrival of paragliders and hang gliders at the landing site will depend on the day and the wind, but Goodman expects most flights to take place after 11:00 a.m. “It’s fun to watch,” said Goodman. “The landing is about exciting as anything.”
Tater Hill is heralded for its takeoff capabilities with little to no wind, but Goodman said flyers will perform best in a light wind up to 10 to 15 mph that is coming from the west. “I think [the weather] will be great. The weather during the last month has been perfect,” added Goodman.
Tater Hill is private property and is only open to flying from March through November with permission from Goodman.
Goodman thanks his many sponsors for donating door prizes for the competition. A complete list of sponsors is available on the competition’s website.
To access the competition’s official discussion board, click to http://groups.google.com/group/taterhill. For more information, click to www.flytaterhill.com or call 828-773-9433.
A Little Information on Tater Hill
Tater Hill, or “Potato Hill” according to maps, gets its name from its shape—it looks somewhat like a big potato with a hump or two of rock jutting out to break its clean lines. The hill is privately owned and it harbors protected species of plant and animal life.
For more than 20 years, a small and devoted group of hang gliding and paragliding pilots have used Tater Hill as their home flying site.
The location is eight miles north of Boone on Highway 421.
Tater Hill is a perfect location for top-landing and relaunching without breaking down, according to local pilot Bubba Goodman. The pilot takeoff is a shallow slope and, although a breeze up the face of the mountain of a few miles per hour makes for an easier launch, pilots can even get airborne in no wind conditions.
Goodman said that the longest flight from Tater Hill was 98 miles, done in a hang glider flown by local Nelson Howe.
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