The Hobbs Crew: I'll try to post info on the various people who are passing through Hobbs in search of distance. The "lifers," those who are down here for the duration, are listed below for now.

Scott Johnson,41, has been flying for more than 25 years, starting with hang gliders in the Owens Valley and progressing to paragliders ten years ago. He holds the(unoffical) world record for a DHV II glider of 141 miles, set last year in Texas. Scott is  the owner of US Airborne, a paragliding/ hang gliding school and distributor for trikes and other equipment. Check out his web site at: do a search, I'm on a flight writing this and can't get to a line to update. Anyhow, Scott's a hell of a pilot too. Scott's sponsored by Edel and Brauniger.

Eric Endicott, 38, has been flying for hang gliders, sailplanes  and paragliders for 22 years. He runs a home building business in Clarkston, Washington. His farthest flight to date is 56 miles, I suspect he'll go farther in Hobbs. He's sponsored by his checkbook and wife.

Will Gadd holds the current world record for paragliding, 179.something miles, but would like to be the first PG pilot to fly over 400K. Will flys with Firebird, Red Bull, Fila, Bolle and a Ball Graphics Comp vario. Will's flying a DHV 2-3 Rocket instead of a comp glider this year.

Michael "Hollywood" Champlin is here in search of a new hang gliding world record. He's flown more 200+ mile flights than about anyone, although you'd have to pry that fact out him. He a one-man weather station, we all rely on him for winds aloft, forecasts, cloud base predictions and general knowledge, which he's been happy to share. He's spent the last four summers towing all over the US trying to fly more than 500K. I interviwed him yesterday for the documentary we're shooting down here, his knowledge on XC flying is truly incredible, although he says he just stole it all from sail plane and other hang pilots. His stories of flying the dry line on epic days make my hands sweat with fear and psyche. He and Tiki are a team. Hollywood is sponsored by Moyes Hang Gliders

Tiki Mashy, finding something worthwhile to smile about as usual. She holds the women's world record for hang gliding, which she set last year in Hobbs. She's beyond psyched everyday--I suspect she pulls thermals out of the ground just 'cause they'd be psyched to fly with her. Now that she's got the women's world record she's after the general record. Yeah! She flys for US Aeros.

Dave, last name unavailable, is our driver and master of the Texas backroads. If you need a driver for down here, he's a good one.. emailto:gadd@gravsports.com to get in touch with him. Dave's not sponsored by anyone, but he's open to offers.

Josh Cohn from Boulder, Colorado is also in Hobbs for a week or two. Josh flew 173 miles last year, the  longest PG flight in the US for four days until Will's 179 miler. Josh is the only US PG pilot to ever have won a PG World Championships Task, is a member of the '99 US World Team and an all-around top pilot. He flies for Pro Design, Ball Varios and the University of Colorado Geology department.  emailto:josh.cohn@colorado.edu .

Others para and hang pilots who have come through or are here:

Phil  and Dawn Hirst from the Bay area

Bruce Wilson, also from the Bay area. emailto:bruce_wilson@trimble.com

Kim Csizmazia, Utah and Canada.

Pete Foster, Flagstaff, Arizona.

The North Carolina Team of Ed, Brent, Dave and Bill.

The Millenium Team, Romey (sp) and Jim, parts unknown.

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