Member's  Life Stories

Member's Life Stories

So, what did you do today?

Bill Hartwick

Bill Hartwick
By XC Triker Comments (3)

Categories: Trike Talk, Hang Gliders

Bill was near 65 when I met him. He was a Morro Bay local and was my mentor after I got off the HG training hill. Hang Gliding was good when I got in it, they often set new pilots up with a mentor. Without who's wisdom, many of would have died learning what they already knew.
Bill just called me a couple days ago-- he's near 80 now and just stopped flying. He's an awesome man! And he was my best man at our wedding (we had to get married quickly when the army called me to active duty).
I tried to edit out the telephone pole that was "growing" out of Bill's head-- so you'll see the blur.

Bill always picked crazy glider colors-- this was pink and orange. He was an artist and cited some principle that this was maximally clashing-- he wanted to be seen in the sky.

The blue and yellow glider is mine-- I LOVED that glider. It was king posted, a very fast advanced intermediate glider, very strong & light (king post), fast yet still easy enough to wrangle into a tight LZ. I sold it for a slightly faster, heavier topless, carbon fiber racing glider-- you had to be on to fly that thing. so, if you missed a week or so, and conditions were challenging, you'd say to yourself- maybe next week, and soon the weeks turned into months and .... That's why we have the term "Moving Up & out of the Sport"
I learned my lesson and hope to pass on the wisdom to you. If you have an aircraft you love and are comfortable flying, consider resisting the hype to move to the latest, heaviest, fastest, priciest thing ...

Comments

  • XC Triker

    My friend, mentor, artist, humanitarian and pilot passed away Wednesday April 4th.  The world will deeply miss him.

    Bill was a major major influence on us, and in fact, he and his wife Nancy were our best couple at our wedding.

  • Ken

    Sounds like a great guy, I would have really liked to meet him. So sad to hear you have lost such a close friend.

  • white eagle

    xc sorry to hear you lost a friend  he looks like a great guy.ive lost quite a few people close to me. the way i see it people whom take the time to make an impression and love one another and put behind our silly differences and practice a little humble humanity will be are mentors again as we will also see are own mortality pass. life is a mystery better to spend it with the things that really count and who knows we might all meet again on some distant shore.where even the cool breeze sings a love filled song.