Many thanks to Bill Brodbeck for allowing a group of local paraglider pilots to purchase the Kealakekua launch property. Bill had gracefully allowed local and visitor pilots to run off his front lawn for at least 11 years. So now it was retirement time for Bill and he gave first choice to the local paraglider pilots. A hui of dedicated pilots rearranged their finances and have acquired the property. This is truly historic. This only happened because it was meant to be. Kealakekua “just may be the most consistently flyable site in the Pacific”. Certainly in Hawaii. Launch clean up photos tell part of the story. Neillybird 

Aloha everybody, as you may or may-not have heard a good friend and P1 pilot was kiting halfway up the hill and got taken up in a thermal in early afternoon (approx. 1:30 p.m.). Roy had a 35 min flight and almost landed but got taken up again and blown over the back of Pu’u Loa into the rotor. He suffered a L2 fracture and was life flighted out to Hilo then onto Queens.That’s all I know for now and will let you know more later. He is expected a full recovery. This happened on Sunday, June 29th. Aloha Yeti

—story from west hawaii today

A paraglider injured in a crash Sunday was taken to The Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu for treatment, police said Monday.

The victim, a 43-year-old Kailua-Kona man, suffered back and leg injuries after the paraglider he was operating fell about 100 feet to the ground near Mana Road, in the Puuloa area. He is listed in serious but stable condition, police said.

Police classified the incident as a public accident, and are investigating the crash. A witness reported that the paraglider fell out of a “thermal draft” while descending and was unable to maintain altitude.