Mark Dale's view
Mark tells me: ' I think the reason I was so keen on getting aerotowing going in hang gliding was that I had got to beyond solo standard in sailplane flying before taking up hang gliding – so it seemed to me to be an entirely normal, obvious way of getting airborne. It was perverse that we were not doing it. Once there was a workable system available (thanks to the French and the Hungarians) then it was an infringement of our civil liberties us not being allowed to do it in the UK. I think that I had also got bored with going downwind and spending half the night trying to get back: light winds and triangles were clearly far more sensible – and for that we needed to start the flight by being parked in lift.'