Team Challenge

I drove some hard miles through the middle of the night 2 days ago to arrive in Tennessee for the famous Team Challenge. I had to wait for the shop to drop a new clutch in the battle wagon. The nice fellas at the shop got a bit backlogged and seemed to forget my request to have the car BEFORE Friday, not Friday evening ?!?! OH well.

This meet holds a special place in my heart because it is where I got my start in XC competition in what seems like just yesterday. The format has been restructed to get back to the roots of the Team Challenge concept. That is to foster new XC and competition pilots in a safe and friendly learning environment. I am behind that concept 110% so nothing short of a hurricane would have kept me away.

I arrived about 7 in the morning and grabbed a short nap before starting the day. The sky was totally overcast and the wind over the back so we drove about 20 miles down the valley to fly off Whitwell instead. That site faces SE (versus the NW of the main site). Clouds broke apart just past midday and conditions looked workable.

Tragically there was an accident with the very first pilot to fly. He attempted to launch from this steep cliff site without connecting himself to the hang glider. Without a solid connection between the pilot and glider, attempting to fly was synonymous to any normal person just walking up to the edge and leaping off. I tried to use my fast legs to provide swift assistance but have never felt so powerless to improve a situation in my entire life. Everyone has been devastated by this obviously preventable tragedy. I don't want to forget the lessons life is trying to teach us here but I would give anything to give the memory back. It serves as a reminder just how precious life is and how privledged we are to live every day of our lives with the opportunity to do something so extrodinary.

Kev