The hang gliding community near Wanneroo city in Australia has been delivered good news recently as the Wanneroo city council to approve a formal launch site near Quinns Rocks and Jindalee. The people at HGAWA (the Hang Gliding Association of WA) celebrated the decision glee fully on July 25th 20017some time after delivering their development application to have an artificial turf patch and launch pad to land north of Waterland Point. Unofficially non-motorized aircraft pilots had been using the site as a launch pad for around three decades. In fact, around 260 members of the HGAWA had used that informal launch pad at one time or another.
The organization’s motivation for requesting an official launch pad had to do with safety concerns. The conditions at the Quinns Rock are not always favorable for hang gliding with only a few places where experienced pilots can fly safely. The official oversite will keep amateurs from risking dangerous take offs and accidents. This oversite is especially important as the spot is becoming more popular around Australia every year.
The Quinns has been popular since the 80’s with HGAWA members ranging from the 20’s to their 70’s bragging about their own expertise at navigating the area. Still, there was some push back to petition for making the Quinns Rock location an official launch Pad. The Quinns Rocks Environmental Group spokeswoman Renata Zelinova did not flatly reject the idea but insisted that the surrounding eco system was protected from the inevitable increase in foot traffic and during the construction of the100sq m launch site.
After Zelinova’s concerns were officially addressed and an addendum was placed into the decision that promised that the artificial turf would be made of eco-friendly recyclable materials, the decision to grant the HGAWA the launch pad was finalized. The decision also had to address some insurance issues and the role of the “spotter and their relationship with the pilot in terms of hang gliding launches. Now Australian has a new picturesque hang gliding launch site.
