Biography

Hello! My name is Eric Muss-Barnes (USHGA #70575).
Welcome to my hang gliding flight log website.
I became a hang glider pilot 27 years ago, at the age of 26, in August of 1997, when I flew under the tutelage of Norman W. Lesnow (USHGA #18009), by footlaunching off a 20' training hill at Green Acres Park, in Hazel Park, Michigan. (Coordinates: 42.469826, -83.111879)
After 5 flights on the training hill, Mr. Lesnow began teaching me on a Pacific Airwave tandem hang glider, by aerotowing behind a Bailey-Moyes Dragonfly Ultralight, piloted by Tracy Tillman (USHGA #29852), at a grass field airport in Saline, Michigan. (Coordinates: 42.146617, -83.791544)
After 26 tandem flights with Norman W. Lesnow, I started to solo aerotow in a Wills Wing Falcon 170.
After 4 solo aerotow flights in Saline, Michigan, I moved on to train with Tracy Tillman (often towed by pilot Lisa Colletti (USHGA #65433)) at Cloud 9 Sports in Webberville, Michigan, a location which was also home to the Drachenfliegen Soaring Club. (Coordinates: 42.549303, -84.128471)
For the next 3 years, I had nearly 40 solo launches, reached over 6000' AGL (from a 2500' release), enjoyed a thermaling flight 90 minutes in duration, earned a USHGA Hang II rating, and accumulated over 18 hours of flighttime. My last flight at Cloud 9 Sports was in the summer of 2001.