Charlie Baughman has been flying hang gliders since 1973. That’s 47 years…and he’s still going strong. In 2011 at the age of 64 Charlie broke the Oregon state record (which still holds) when he flew 218 miles into Idaho, and then did a very styly self retrieve. We have it on good authority that Charlie was the first person in North American to figure out how to thermal, and possibly the world. Charlie started sky diving in the 60’s at the age of 22, then began hang gliding on Lookout Mountain in Colorado when the very first hang gliders were built. In this episode we talk about the early gliders and the early hang gliding scene in places like Aspen and Telluride, Colorado; the insane number of accidents on gliders like the Chandelle comp; some of his epic retrieves; flying without instruments or a rescue; the “mass migration” to Salt Lake City to fly the Point of the Mountain; and flying in thermal wave. Read that last bit again- thermal wave. Yes, it’s a thing. I got most of my questions for this one from the Dark Prince himself, Larry Tudor. What a riot- enjoy!
Show Notes:
* The first person to thermal?
* The Colorado scene and Lookout mountain- the characters and the craziness
* The Chandelle Comp
* The Mass migration to Utah
* Breaking records, crazy retrieves and the art of chasing it
* Flying without instruments or a reserve
* Charlie the “Hawkman”
* Flying across the Uintahs
* Breaking the Oregon State record
Mentioned in this episode:
Larry Tudor, Mark Windsheimer, Ken Brown, Bill Moyes, Erik Kaye, Eagles in the Flesh, Dennis Pagen
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