Tater Hill Open by KAVU
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Tater Hill Open

By: Jeff Shapiro

KAVU
Por KAVU

Competition to have the most fun!

My good friend, Bubba Goodman (who's a legendary hang glider pilot) invested in a piece of land on top of one of the coolest and best sites for hang gliding and paragliding in North Carolina, Tater Hill.

Being that he wanted to share it with other like-minded pilots, he has graciously organized a paragliding competition each year where learning, flying as much as possible, safety and of course, having a super good time with friends is the emphasis.

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"Winning" in this competition is simply to become a better pilot while laughing your guts out..... so when he called me up to ask if I would be willing to come over to check it out.... the answer was an obvious, YES, Thank You!!

Meeting me there to teach some clinics and generally help pilots improve their skills and knowledge, were two friends Dustin Martin and Chris Grantham.

Chris is the owner/operator of Fly Above All Paragliding and has taught countless PG pilots to fly over the years. His calm demeanor and high wind skills definitely lend to making more confident pilots. Plus, he's just a cool dude!

Dustin is one of my very best friends, for sure part bird, a world record holder for flying further than any other human in a hang glider and also, a skilled instructor. I've learned so much from him over the years..... and have been lucky enough to travel and fly in many countries all over the world with Dustino. It was a huge bonus to have him at Tater Hill, both for the pilots who came to fly and learn, and for me because selfishly, there's few I'd rather fly with!

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I'd heard in past years, Tater Hill's weather can, at times, be challenging. Well..... this year, that was definitely NOT the case!

We flew our asses off every day, and every day..... the landing zone was full of smiling pilots telling stories about personal bests, making turn points and many, making their first goal in a competition.

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After the day's task, Dustin, Chris and I would do our best to answer questions and discuss the day's flights. Like so many of these events, for me it's the people and the connections you make with other like-minded souls that makes for the best memories. Meeting and getting to share the air with so many good people was the absolute highlight of the week.

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Smiles for Miles

And, to see the KAVU stoke on the faces of pilots as they landed at goal was pretty rad and definitely, inspirational!

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On one day that was too windy for a task (people still flew), one of the locals showed us a swim hole that pretty much blew my mind. Complete with a waterfall diving board.... the Blue Ridge Mountains definitely don't disappoint!

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As per custom.... before a day's task, one of Bubba's good friends flew over head in a beautiful J3 Cub . On a low pass, he dropped a box full of Chick-fil-A sandwiches out the window, right on launch! It's a hilarious tradition that's been going on for several years now and the pilots were all pretty stoked to hear the plane inbound for direct delivery;-)

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By the end of the event, everyone (including me) had an amazing week of flying. To be honest, it was one of the best and most fun week's of flying I've had in a long time! If Tater Hill happens again next year, and I have the opportunity..... I wouldn't miss it for the world! And if you're looking for a fun competition to improve your racing, get a lot of airtime and to have an insane amount of fun..... better think about putting Tater Hill on the calendar next season.

You won't be sorry!!

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KAVU days!

Huge thanks to Andi and so many others who helped make the Tater Hill Open possible!

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Jeff Shapiro

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KAVU is an aviation acronym for “clear above visibility unlimited,” when there isn’t a cloud in the sky and you can see to the horizon. That limitless feeling is our guiding philosophy. It means treating every day like it’s special, and then getting out and doing whatever brings on the perma-grin. That’s KAVU.
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