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- Malcolm Jones, "the guru
of hang gliding," is, as Channel 13 News observed, a man with his eyes
on the sky--and a dog close to the ground. The dog is Jonesy, a dachsund
well-adapted to life very near sea level, and her owner is the vision
behind the Wallaby Ranch, its founder and king. It is his attitude and
personality which more than anything else define the Ranch culture.
Combining the exuberance of a man who genuinely loves to turn ordinary
people into hang glider pilots with the safety-consciousness, weather-awareness,
and sound judgment that comes from more than two decades in the business,
Jones has carved out a unique and almost revolutionary niche in the
unpowered flexwing world. His vision and determination have transformed
a couple hundred acres of cow pasture into an oasis of good friends
and good soaring. A world champion from the old days, he is a veteran
of many international competitions. The reputation he has acquired over
the years for being a conservative director of operations is well-deserved,
as is his standing fame for being a great host to visiting pilots. He
has created a flight park that is part aviation center and part family
resort. "We're here because we want to be," he says, summing up the
feelings of the entire staff. He is a tandem instructor and the chief
executive everything. When not taking tandem passengers or overseeing
some aspect of the micro-village he has wrought, he can usually be found
buzzing around in his Cosmos trike, a powered hang glider in which he
enjoys offering rides. He has a wife, Linda, and a daughter, Lauren.
E-mail: Malcolm@Wallaby.com
- Rhett Radford joined the
Ranch as an aerotug pilot and soon became its chief mechanic, and his
wizardry keeps the four-tug fleet running. Coming from a phenomenally
diverse aviation background that includes building his own hang glider
out of scrap materials when he was just fifteen, flying such aerobatic
aircraft as the Pitts, flight instructing, and designing an experimental
airplane that won high honors from the EAA, Radford brings many years
of practical expertise to the job. His skill as a tug pilot can compensate
for the inexperience of student and novice hang glider pilots or those
new to aerotowing, and can even smooth out a turbulent ride. He has
been known to seek out thermals so intuitively that he sometimes out-climbs
hang gliders with his engine off, circling in that elusive core while
hapless Xtralites and Sharks who were floundering nearby come racing
towards him. He keeps several engines at a time in good working order--having
more engines than aerotugs guarantees always having a 'plane on line
and ready to go. His proficiency and knowledge have earned him the sincere
respect and admiration of those who work with him. (His particular and
infectious vernacular, moreover, has caused us all to "go for the cheese"
if you've "got the berries," because "we've seen that movie before,
honey," and if you aren't "dialed in" you can "hug a root.") Radford
shrugs off the high praise frequently lavished upon him with characteristic
self-effacing humor, dismissing compliments to his mechanical and aerial
abilities with, "I'll take luck over skill any day." Many recognize
his name from his motocross days, and he is also well-known as one of
the leading experts in remote-control aircraft, which he builds, repairs,
flys, and teaches other people to fly. He has helped to foster an RC
craze here at the Ranch which has captured almost everybody. E-mail:
Rhett@Wallaby.com
- Ryan Glover, Placed 9th in
the world meet and was the second highest placing American. Ryan is
Dave's younger brother, and is an advanced-rated hang glider pilot and
instructor at Kitty Hawk Kites before relocating to Florida to become
the Wallaby Ranch Launch Marshall and Ground Operations Coordinator.
When not fulfilling his role as the hardest-working, fastest-moving
member of the gang (When it gets busy, he becomes a blur.), he is out
competing at the expert level, bringing honor and pride to the Ranch
with his impressive showings. (He commutes to soaring contests around
the country in his white Mercedes-Benz ("almost an antique"), complete
with a glider rack on the roof. While there is certainly no reason to
list any of the people he beat at the 1996 U.S. Nationals in Dinosaur,
Colorado (They know who they are.), suffice it to say that he came out
#34 out of 141. Back at the Ranch, he demonstrates a real love for the
sport that participants and spectators alike can appreciate. Whenever
he can, he takes to the air and shows everyone how it's done. During
slow times when the weather is mediocre and his services are not required
to keep the Ranch humming along like a well-oiled machine, he often
retires to the open field to practice his driving--his golf swing, that
is. E-mail: Ryan@Wallaby.com
- Tom Ramsuer says he would
prefer to be known as a "licensed aviation grand poobah." He is an extraordinary
pilot--where the word "extraordinary" is used to mean "other than ordinary."
When not building bottle-rocket cannons out of PVC pipe or zooming around
on "fiesta flights" wearing a paper Waffle House chef's hat (held firmly
in place by a pair of headphones) and dropping party balloons to mark
thermals, he is out in the middle of the field flying (and as often
as not, crashing) his radio-controlled glider, or hanging around one
of the Ranch's several social epicenters, entertaining the Ranch population
with his droll and singular wit. When volume gets extra heavy or when
Austin or Rhett has a day off, Ramseur generously donates his time and
acts as tow pilot. He has a reputation for flying a highly expeditious
tow. He also flies his own hang glider, the SuperFloater ultralight
sailplane . . . and anything else he can get his hands on. While his
official title may be "part-time aerotug pilot," his job description
would not be complete without the term "comedian." Ramseur exemplifies
the colorful and eccentric characters that are attracted to the Ranch.
Like many employees and aficionados, he has his own camper on Ranch
property, so he almost never has to leave--even though it is rumored
that he has an actual job out there in the real world, unlike most of
the rest of the hardcore Ranch hands, who do not believe in work in
the classic sense. "I'm an aquatic engineer," he tells everybody, and
whatever that means, it is widely suspected that it has something to
do with the swimming pools he sells. E-mail: Tom@Wallaby.com
- Roger Sherrod is one of the
Ranch's weekend volunteer tug pilots, and one of the longest-standing
members of the Ranch social scene. Both he and his girlfriend Choddi
have been flying here for years. A contractor by trade, when Roger is
not flying the tug or a hang glider he is likely to be found playing
with one of his remote-control airplanes. Besides his ultralight experience,
he is also a licensed general aviation pilot, and in general an all-around
heck of a nice guy.
- Carlos Bessa nickname "Cloudbasa"
is one of the Ranch's full-time tug pilots, and one of the longest-standing
Brazilian members of the Ranch social scene. A billboard artist by trade,
when Carlos is not flying the tug or a hang glider he is likely to be
found playing inside his ranch castle cabin (a detailed map and GPS
are required to enter). If you need answers to questions in Portuguese
you can write to Carlos. Carlos@Wallaby.com
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