Rob Kells one of my hang gliding heroes, has just died while fighting prostate cancer.

Rob had so much time, energy, enthusiasm, for hang gliding and the people involved. Any pilot that met Rob had tons of respect for him. He SET the standard of professionalism and customer service in the hang gliding industry. One thing that was special about Rob, is that you could ask him anything and he'd spend time to help you out, and make sure you were sweet, before moving on.

As the winter flying slows down a bit, I'll sneak away... Tomorrow I'm flying UP and AWAY from Stanwell Park to...... Moscow, Russia to hang glide at a water/aerial stunt show.

We've got a great group of ol' mates going... Team members from USA, Australia, France, and Russia will converge together to perform a 30-minute show for a private party of high profile guests. Each member of the 14-man squad holds either a World or National championship to their credit. The show will include jet-skiing, wakeboarding, barefoot-skiing, free-style jumping, and hang gliding…all choreographed to music and pyrotechnics. The private-event will be held at the Olympic Stadium once used for the rowing events during the 1980 Olympics in Moscow.

Our usual hang gliding at Stanwell Tops (between Sydney and Wollongong) was called off due to weather, so I took advantage of the time to test some equipment for my upcoming one-day gig in Moscow, Russia (keep an eye the blog).

We headed to Lake George, Canberra to do some car towing.

CHECK OUT this place! (view from the Moyes Sonic 165)

The flying community is strong and it didn't take much to spark up some local interest. Carl, Dave, Trent, Deb, Dan, and Bucky all turned up for the party on the lake-bed.

Here's Carl foot-launching via a static-line car towing:

Warren Windsports was out of the office last week...in New Caledonia :). We took a break from the hang gliding at Stanwell Tops and spent seven days on a boat with friends. Man, we surfed some brilliant south swell... I loved my new Wayne Lynch surfboard: