Into the Wind - The Sport of Powered Paragliding

Powered Sport Flight Interview

2011-04-19T10:48:00.002-05:00

Join us today on PSFR for an interview with Director Chris Page as he talks about the new award winning documentary "Into the Wind II". 12:30 pm CST, or listen to the archive from the same page after the show...

http://www.psfradio.com/

ITW II EARNS GOLD REMI @ WORLDFEST

2011-04-19T10:36:00.003-05:00

"Into the Wind II, The Adventure Continues" accepted the "GOLD REMI" award for Feature Film - Documentary during the 44th annual Houston International Festival Saturday April 16th. The "REMI" is named after Frederick Remington, the artist and sculptor who created many western and Texas works. The awards dinner and banquet was held at the Marriott Westchase in Houston, followed on Sunday by a V.I.P. NASA tour and then a BBQ reception and boat cruse from the Houston Yacht Club. A busy fun filled weekend. Director Chris Page (right) and Narrator Dave Gorham (left) pictured.

44th Houston International Film Festival

2011-03-19T10:34:00.003-05:00

"Into the Wind II" The adventure continues, has won a coveted "REMI" award at this years' "Worldfest". We will world premiere this 60 minute documentary along with the short "Lanesplitters" on Sunday April 10th, 7:00 pm at the AMC Studio 30 2949 Dunvale in Houston. Come check us out.

www.worldfest.org

Fox News Houston Interview

2010-12-10T14:22:00.004-06:00

Reporter Ned Hibberd of Fox News Houston emailed me with an interesting idea about an interview and using some of the footage from "Into the Wind II". The idea was to run a story about Pearl Harbor remembrance day using footage from one of the segments of the upcoming documentary Into the Wind II. The segment features narrator Dave Gorham and myself as we ride in the back seats of replica japanese zeros during a practice session where they re-enact the battle at Pearl Harbor. Check out the interview...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7e1Qo4ALyw&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Krasnogorski ITW Screening & Closing Ceremonies

2008-04-28T22:25:00.005-05:00

Photos...
1. ITW screening crowd
2. Closing ceremony performance
3. Festival Participants & Film groupies
4. Chris & Dave with honorable mention plaque
5. Chris & Julia (Festival Curator)

Our screening was moved from Wednesday afternoon to Friday afternoon. We had a good showing with a nice crowd to see "Into the Wind", (photo of crowd in the cinema lobby). We were approached by several people after the screening to shake hands and comment about the movie. A couple of very well known Russian directors pulled me aside and told me how much they liked the movie, and how beautiful the footage was.
Later Friday evening was the closing ceremonies for the festival. About 30 of us boarded a large bus outside our hotel at 4:00 pm. The evening festivities were to begin at 7:00 pm in a convention center located about one hour away traveling by bus. About two hours later, we were still in the bus and were no where near the destination. (Moscow traffic is a bitch!) We were told by someone that the weekends are time to get away to a country house and most of the population of Moscow was headed out of town. We got to the convention center at about 9:00 pm! The bus ride from hell for sure. (no bar, and no bathroom on the bus = no good).
The festival people herd us into the auditorium and it is set up really nice. There were two emcees, guy and gal, who spoke in Russian (of course, hey we're in Russia after all!)The evening was full of awards, speeches, musical performers, singers, and the most memorable rendition of "Strangers in the night" by the female emcee, (in English) including the "dooby dooby doo" part. This was not a joke performance, totally serious. Dave & I will be breaking into the "dooby dooby doo" lyric for the rest of our lives with a wink and a smile remembering this evening. Not like a typical American festival for sure.
ITW got an honorable mention, and I was called on stage to accept the plaque with all the other award winners. Two Russian male singers rushed out and sang the official festival song, very popular with the Russian festival goers, all singing along.
Afterwards, back to the bus, (only an hour to get back!) and over to the "Golden Fish" restaurant / bar for a late meal and some cold Piva's (beer's for you that haven't been paying attention). A long day for sure, I think the clock read 3:00 am when I hit the pillow.

Monino Russian Air Force Museum

2008-04-28T19:58:00.003-05:00

Dave & I were lucky enough to meet one of the PPG pilots (Andrew) on Thursday whose father is a retired Russian Air Force pilot who was stationed at Monino Air Base during his career. Andrew heard Dave & I talking to Dmitry about making a phone call to Monino as translator to get permission to visit the museum there. Andrew's father just happened to be there watching his son's first solo, and they had a discussion that resulted in a couple of phone calls to officials at the base. Andrew pulled me aside and said "I will be your guide." I looked at him and said "What?" He said, "I'll pick you up from your hotel, and take you to Monino, get you in and serve as guide / interpreter." WOW! How cool was that! I told him we could take the Metro (subway) from downtown out to meet him, but he insisted on picking us up, easier that way.

Andrew met us in front of the hotel at 7:30 am on Friday morning and we headed to Monino. It seems Andrew was on a week vacation and it was somewhat of a treat to practice his English and visit his childhood home.
As we got to the base entrance, Andrew told us to lose the sunglasses, and ball caps, etc. Don't smile so much, and try to look more Russian. I guess it was just easier to get us into the base without explaining so much. We stayed in the car and Andrew got our permit to enter. We then drove through the base to the museum area.

Andrew went in to get us tickets to tour the museum but returned just a few minutes later. He asked if we had our passports, (we did) and rushed us into a hanger. A middle aged Russian woman took our passports and visas, talked to Andrew in Russian, asked for about 1500 rubles, (about $64 U.S.) and sent us on our way. Right about then an older gentleman approached with some booklets. He talked with Andrew and then Andrew told us he was a retired Air Force colonel pilot that had personally flown in a lot of the planes to the museum. He walked us out to the museum area and talked to us a bit using Andrew as a go between. (See photo, he's in the middle between Dave & I with the giant helicopter behind us.) We were like kids in a candy store taking picture after picture and getting the translation from Andrew about each plane, helicopter, and aircraft.

If you saw the movie "Firefox" with Clint Eastwood about stealing a Russian super fighter plane you'll see in the other photo above, there really was a plane that looked like the one in the movie. We saw so many planes, including the Russian Concorde, a space shuttle test vehicle, the first all metal Russian airplane, and many more. It was an incredible day! I'll be posting more photos and video later, and I'm sure some of this experience will make it into ITW II.

More info about the museum...

The Central Museum of the Air Forces at Monino, Russia is located approximately 38 kilometers (24 miles) from Moscow along the Gorky Highway in a lovely wooded area. It is the largest and best aviation museum in Russia. The museum was formerly known as The Russian Federation Air Force Museum and, prior to that, The USSR Air Force Museum. The facility was an operational air base from 1932 through April, 1956. The museum was founded in 1958 and opened in 1960 at the original airfield location and in the original airfield structures. The area was off-limits to civilians during the Soviet era so it has been neither easy to find nor easy to access. Advance permission to visit the museum was recently required for non-Russian citizens. The facilities are largely unimproved and the majority of aircraft are exposed to the harsh Russian weather. Many of the Russian aviation Design Bureaus (Tupolev, Ilyushin, Antonov, Mikoyan, etc.) have contributed exhibits and resources to the museum and its maintenance. Despite these conditions, the aircraft are in surprisingly good shape and most are sitting on the original tires they landed at the Monino airfield with. This is a testament to the museum employees who have a great historical legacy to preserve.

Here's a link to a photo album logging most of the aircraft at the museum...

http://www.moninoaviation.com/ix.html

More to come...

CP & DG

Moscow Days 4 & 5

2008-04-25T06:14:00.004-05:00

We have been busy the last 2 days. Yesterday morning I arranged to Meet with Russian PPG pilot / instructor / dealer for a day of flying. Dave & We went by taxi to the destination, about 25 kilometers from our hotel. Moscow traffic is unbelievable. 20 million people with somewhere to go. There are a lot of cars and not too many rules. Everyone is jockeying for position and then go as fast as they can to the next back up of cars. Our taxi driver was good, but he drove like a madman. Sometimes to to 80 mph on surface streets, then slamming on the brakes, honking and going around cars and buses where there is no lane. Just about all traffic seems to work this way. The pedestrians just walk out, and sometimes are in the middle of a lane as traffic fly's past, acting like no big deal, just life in the big city.

We arrived at a McDonalds in the outskirts of the ciy, our meeting place, and it was packed with people. Their fries are just like in USA though, Micky D's has the best fries world wide it seems. Dmitry drove up shortly after and we headed to the LZ.

Moscow has a police traffic station at every entrance / exit to Moscow and they have several video cameras above the traffic before you reach the station. If they see you have an expired tag or the wrong information, or your plate shows up with any violation, they have policemen / molitia waiting with a pointer stick to pull you over. Usually they fine you on the spot, and Dmitry says it usually goes right in their pocket, not the government. Dmitry had an expired tag or something and told me after the fact, why he was behind a tall truck in the traffic and keeping his front bumper on the trucks back bumper. The camera couldn't see him that way. :-)

We made it through and then to a petrol station. Gas is sold by the litre, about 23 rubles per litre, somewhere around $4.00 US per gallon.

We made it to the LZ soon after and met up with a few other pilots. This was about noon or so. The winds were variable from about 7 mph to maybe 12 - 15 mph gusting. I got up with a bit of a struggle, high hang points (not use to them) and the wind shifting. Also a borrowed helmet that kept falling over my eyes. I lost the helmet and the got in the air. VERY Bumpy! I wouldn't normally fly in those type of conditions but this was the only chance in Russia.

While I was in the air, A two seat trike PPG was getting ready to take off. I had lost track of Dave on the ground. They get in the air and I find Dave in the front seat! With the other HD camera! I could see them getting bumped hard, rocking back and forth. His pilot was very experienced and we circled each other, sometimes close to get some good footage. There is much more to the story but I have to close for now.

Today we went to the Monino Military Air Force Museum. Another great story to come

Photo of me at Monino...

(Sorry for any mistakes, no time to proof and the interface is in Russian for spell check.)

CP & DG.

Moscow Day 3

2008-04-23T23:26:00.005-05:00

Didn't have a chance to post yesteday and we're on our way to the outskirts of Moscow this morning to meet up with Dmitry Kulikov for some PPG flying. The weather has taken a turn for the better. Blue skies and slightly warmer temps. Today looks perfect so far.

Dave & I worked on the movie short project yesterday morning. Lots of curious citizens wondering what the hell we were doing. Also, military and police stopping us several times to see what we were doing. The tripod is a dead giveaway that we aren't just doing snapshot stuff. I'd just smile and say "American Tourist" and they would say some stuff in Russian and tell us to move along.

About noon we rode the metro, (subway) to the festival cinema. They had arranged for us to meet with a Russian female champion boxer. We had a photo op, and then saw a slide show of her upcoming movie. She is a tall slim beautiful blonde that could probably knock you out with one punch.

Dave & I then went to the Kremlin and took the armory tour. Very cool indeed just being inside the Kremlin, but to see all the historical artifacts was amazing.

Have to run for now, more later.

Photos - Chris in front of the festival cinema, Dave & Chris enjoying a couple of cold ones in a Pub somewhere in central Moscow (we were lost at the time, but didn't really care).

CP & DG.

2008-04-21T23:58:00.005-05:00

Wow, 24 hours in Moscow and we took advantage of the time. I couldn't sleep very well and just went ahead and got out of bed at about 5 am. Got ready and then took a walk. Talked to some Russian (Police? Military?) and asked to get a picture with them. No sense of humor, no pictures. I finally knocked on Dave's door about 7:30 and told him to quit wasting daylight.
We went to breakfast, some kind of hash, toast, strong coffee, cheese, & yogurt. At least if filled us up.

We were free until about 6:15 pm so we walked to Red Square. It sure is smaller than you imagine it to be from the old news video of the tanks and military parading through there. Don't get me wrong, it's incredible to be standing there, but just smaller than you imagine. St. Basils cathedral is at one end of the square and it is just incredible.

We paid to take the tour, one price (about 100 rubles) to tour, 130 rubles to tour and take photos, 150 rubles to tour and take video. Capitalism, got to love it. Inside the cathedral is amazing, the paintings and history of the place, you can just smell it. There was an acapella choir singing in one of the main rooms with a huge dome way above, the acoustics were unbelievable, when we first got close we thought it was being piped in from a sound system. I didn't pay to video inside but had to sneak a little bit of the choir, just wonderful.

We spent a lot of time inside the cathedral and when we were done the weather turned even colder and started raining harder. We decided to check out the largest mall inRussia, (GUM) it borders one side of Red Square and was once offices for the government. The mall has over 1000 shops and is quite grand. An archway glass ceiling that is similar to the galleria in Houston. A slice of pizza and a beer later and we were on our way to more walking around.

Opening cerimonies and a movie, then a late dinner and then home at 1:30 am it was a long day. Gotta cut this off for now. Stay tuned.

Comrades Chris & Dave.

Watch out Moscow - ITW arrived

2008-04-20T23:24:00.003-05:00

After a long flight we get to DME airport just outside Moscow. I tell Dave, "Hey man, just shoot some video of me while I get my immigration papers done. As I hand my passport and papers to the official, he looks over my shoulder and starts yelling at Dave in Russian. I couldn't understand a word but by his tone I knew it meant something like, "Hey you stupid American, you can't video tape in here!" So I'm giving him the international sign for "cut" (hand waiving across the neck) and we get through with no more yelling.

Went out last night for a couple of beers, (Piva's). and found a place called "The Golden Fish". Some of the locals spoke a little bit of english and we smoked cigars, toasted beers, and BS'd with them the best we could. Until two of the younger local "tough" guys told some other guys they planned to roll us and take our money. We got a way clean after they had even more drinks. Don't think they could have taken us in their condition, but you never know. Alexei and Boris, two other locals we met, walked out with us and made sure we made it safe to our hotel's street. They were pretty toasted too, but all was well and we made it back safe.

Our hotel is very near Red Sqaure and we are going walk over there after breakfast.

Dobre Utre (good morning)

Comrade Chris & Dave

Leaving for Moscow

2008-04-19T18:08:00.003-05:00

We leave for Russia tonight at 11:35 pm. (I'm holding the Russian phrase book in one hand and the Sony HD Z1 Camera in the other, lots of other camera goodies in the backpack.)

We'll arrive tomorrow night around 10:00 pm their time, around 11.5 hours in the air, (ouch). I've been in contact with a pilot over there, and he says he has me covered for PPG equipment. Now all we need is for the weather to cooperate.

Dave & I will be working on a segment for ITW II, and another movie short (not about PPG) to enter in film festivals, etc.

Stay Tuned...

Comrades Chris, & Dave.

Do Svidania

ITW goes to Russia!

2008-03-31T20:32:00.009-05:00

"Into the Wind" has been invited to compete in the SixthInternational Festival of sport films "Krasnogorski" that will takeplace in Moscow (Russia) from April 21st till April 25th 2008.

http://www.sportsfilm.ru/

Director - Chris Page, & Narrator - Dave Gorham, are going to Moscow to represent the film and attend the festival.

I am in the process of contacting PPG pilots in Russia to try and arrange equipment and do some flying while there. If we can arrange it, we'll record everything in HD to use as a segment in the upcoming movie...

"Into the Wind II".

Do Svidania Comrades...

Quote of the day

2007-06-25T16:14:00.000-05:00

"It's better to break ground and head into the wind than to break wind and head into the ground." Unknown

Quote of the day

2007-04-24T14:36:00.000-05:00

"Speed is life, altitude is life insurance."

Unknown

ITW on PBS Houston

2007-04-17T09:59:00.000-05:00

This coming Monday - April 23rd, PBS Houston will broadcast "Into the Wind" in its entirety. We have arranged it so that the Fox & Hound Pub on the Gulf Freeway, (Fuqua exit, west side of I-45) will show the movie in the upstairs room. I want to invite everyone, and any of their friends / family to the Fox & Hound to watch the broadcast.

The movie starts at 10:00 pm, (runs 90 minutes). I'm going to be there at about 8:30 for dinner and drinks.

We will be showing ITW productions newest project at 9:30 pm, called "Lane Splitters". "Lane Splitters" is a pilot "for TV" program that features two motorcycle - sport touring enthusiasts. Each week they travel to a new destination to meet a fellow motorcyclist, and ride their favorite road, visit a local restaurant, or watering hole.

The first episode features guest, (photo-journalist), Bruce Armstrong. Bruce lives in Santa Barbara, California. Follow the "Lane Splitters" as they travel to California (with some adventures along the way), meet up with Bruce, and ride in the southern California Mountains.

I am scheduled to be on the Dean & Rog show (93.7 FM the Arrow) the morning of the 23rd at about 8:40 am or so to talk about "Into the Wind" and the PBS broadcast. I'll try to mention the Fox & Hound viewing.

I know it's a school night, and a Monday, but in the immortal words of Warren Zevon, "I'll sleep when I'm dead". (That’s from some other movie too, "I'll get enough sleep when I'm dead". Bonus points to name that movie.)

Come on out and tip one back with me, if you have to leave early, I'll understand...

Chris Page - aka "Gadget Man"

http://www.into-the-wind.com

Business & Commercial Aviation Article

2007-03-28T09:16:00.000-05:00

"Into the Wind" narrator Dave Gorham is featured in an article for this month's BCA magazine. Check out the article here...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/BCA.pdf

Quote of the day

2007-03-21T10:11:00.000-05:00

What is that mountain goat doing way up here in the clouds?
— Gary Larson, in a well-known 'Farside' cartoon.

Quote of the Day

2007-02-16T18:50:00.000-06:00

I cannot describe the delight, the wonder and intoxication, of this free diagonal movement onward and upward, or onward and downward....The birds have this sensation when they spread their wings and go tobogganing in curves and spirals through the sky.

— Alberto Santos-Dumont, first dirigible flight.

ITW on NetFlix

2007-01-19T09:26:00.000-06:00

NetFlix has signed with "Into the Wind". Now, with a NetFlix account you can rent "Into the Wind" on DVD by going to their website and searching "Into the Wind". If you have a NetFlix account, check us out.

http://www.netflix.com/MovieDisplay?trkid=73&movieid=70060301

Remember, you can own "Into the Wind" on DVD by ordering directly from our website at...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/comingsoon.htm

CP.

Quote of the day

2007-01-03T16:19:00.000-06:00

"Keep thy airspeed up, less the earth come from below and smite thee."

William Kershner

Indie Flix to carry "Into the Wind" DVD

2006-12-12T15:07:00.000-06:00

Today Indieflix.com launched the sale of the award winning "Into the Wind" DVD. Indie Flix is your source for independent film. Check out their website and the amazing independent films for sale there...

http://www.indieflix.com

Quote of the day

2006-11-30T10:41:00.000-06:00

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain

New outlet for ITW

2006-11-14T16:14:00.000-06:00

FilmBaby.com is now carrying "Into the Wind" on DVD.

Film Baby is a dream-come-true for fans of Independent Film and those who create it. At Film Baby, we have a love for all things artful and Independent: music, media, coffee, retail, and film. We recognize and appreciate the honesty, intensity, and emotion that are born as a result of crafting a small budget film.

Film Baby is much more than a store. It is a destination for film fans to learn about different genres of movies, discover new directors, and spend countless hours viewing trailers.

With a worldwide audience of film fans, Film Baby provides film makers with a targeted outlet for their works. Our agreements with artists are non-exclusive, artist friendly, and in the true spirit of Independent Art Culture. We exist to propel indie film forward, not to gouge those who entertain, educate, and move us. Film Baby is constantly making moves that will benefit the whole of the indie film making community.

http://www.filmbaby.com

Of course, you can still buy directly from our website...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/comingsoon.htm

Quote of the day

2006-10-31T10:42:00.000-06:00

"Nothing will ever equal that moment of exhilaration which filled my whole being when I felt myself flying away from the earth. It was not mere pleasure; it was perfect bliss..."

— Prof. Jacques Alexandre Cesare Charles

Free DVD!

2006-10-17T11:08:00.000-05:00

Jason Campbell, one of the featured musical artists on the "Into the Wind" soundtrack is holding a contest on his website - the winners to receive a free "ITW" DVD. To enter the contest go to...

http://jasoncampbellmusic.com/contests.htm

If you don't win, you can order your copy of "Into the Wind" on DVD today at the new low price of $19.99.

http://www.into-the-wind.com/comingsoon.htm

CP.

Paramotor City Fly-in

2006-10-11T16:25:00.000-05:00

Just returned from Albuquerque, N.M. and the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. About 100 pilots attended the annual PPG fly-in at paramotor city. Check out the account and new photos at...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/abq.htm

Stay tuned...

CP.

Albuquerque Balloon Festival & Fly in

2006-10-05T10:56:00.000-05:00

We are heading to Albuquerque, NM on Friday Oct. 6th for the annual hot air balloon festival held there. Paramotor city, located 18 miles west of Albuquerque holds an annual PPG fly-in that coincides with the balloon festival. We are going out to promote and sell copies of "Into the Wind", and do some flying, and filming in HD. Check out the balloon festival at...

http://www.balloonfiesta.com/

and check out the fly-in website...

http://usppamembers.org/ppg_event/index.cfm

Into the Wind signs with Victory Multimedia

2006-09-20T09:41:00.000-05:00

"Into the Wind" has signed a deal with Victory Mulitimedia distributors that could land the DVD onto store shelves such as Best Buy, Fry's, Blockbuster Video, and others. Victory Multimedia represents about 65 titles ranging from documentaries to instructional videos and more. "Into the Wind" is currently being marketed to more than 50 retailers including those mentioned above. Stay tuned for more exciting news...

http://www.littleman.com/movies/studios/movies-by-studio-Victory-Multimedia-1.html

http://www.littleman.com/movies/movies/7/001168257-Into-the-Wind.html

Don't forget, you can still order your copy today from the ITW website...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/comingsoon.htm

CP.

Quote of the day

2006-09-13T14:36:00.000-05:00

"No one has ever collided with the sky."

Unknown

Cross Country Flight 09.01.06

2006-09-06T23:05:00.000-05:00

Friday night and Andy, Beery, Digger, Barry, Dale & myself decided to fly from a new housing development near San Leon to just west of Texas City, and back to San Leon to land at the Top Water Grill for dinner. We all took off around 6:15 p.m. and headed out towards a spot where Beery had seen a large alligator the week before.

We were in the air for about 30 minutes before Dale, Beery, & I got to the bayou in question. Sure enough, there he was, at least 10 foot, maybe 12. We made several passes and he kept going under the water and then resurfacing. I tried to get a good picture of him with a paraglider in it but the best one is #4 of Dale flying over. You can just see his head sticking up in the water below.

Everyone made it to the Top Water but me. I had a motor out a couple of miles away. I knew the engine was acting a little funny so I climbed up high and stayed near Hwy. 146 just in case of a problem. I was at about 900 feet when the engine quit. Left me plenty of room to find a friendly LZ close to the road for a pick up.

I got a ride from someone that took pity on me and made it to the Top Water just in time for dinner and beer. Overall, a good time had by all.

Stay tuned...

CP

ITW for sale on Amazon

2006-08-24T13:57:00.000-05:00

"Into the Wind" on DVD has been picked up by Amazon.com. They are stocking the DVD in their warehouse so any orders will be shipped by Amazon. We've already earned a 5 star rating, and here's the first customer quote...

I smiled beginning to end while viewing this marvelous production. And I think you will, too, if you enjoy anything at all about flying, the spirit of adventure, or the just beauty of the natural world. The musical score is surprisingly strong in its own right and adds even greater lift to the spectacular photography. This is the real stuff -- no acting but genuine action -- and a flowing narration that makes it all complete. It is a great gift for your favorite pilot or outdoors enthusiast who will find new inspiration every time they play this movie.

J.L. Gooding, Seabrook, Tx.

The Amazon page has reviews, photos and more...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H8RYJA/ref=sr_11_1/103-0697924-3483813?ie=UTF8

Of course you should still order the DVD directly from us at...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/comingsoon.htm

;-)

CP.

Quote of the day

2006-08-21T14:13:00.000-05:00

Experience is a hard teacher. First comes the test, then the lesson.

"unknown"

Flight over Galveston Bay

2006-08-13T10:23:00.000-05:00

A beautiful Saturday morning - launching from our familar LZ in Texas City. I was able to capture some great photos of the bay and the north side of Galveston Island. Check out the shots of Mike Larronde above a huge building cloud...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/bay.htm

CP.

ITW Feedback

2006-08-09T10:18:00.000-05:00

What people are saying about "Into the Wind"

"Just received the DVD, you captured the spirit of "Endless Summer" only in the air!"
John Fetz, Lake Havasu, AZ.

"Watched ITW this weekend, great job! really enjoyed it."
Taylor Cole, Pembrooke Pines, FL.

"Makes me want to go out and try powered paragliding!"
Jimmy Crites, Houston, TX.

"Beautiful footage of the great outdoors from a unique perspective."
Lisa Bates, Norwalk, IA.

"An adventurous journey into powered paragliding with a backdrop of some truly picturesque places of the southwest U.S. and Mexico."
Alex Hentelhoff, Santa Barbara, CA.

"I can't wait to come and fly in America."
Jeff Stuban, United Kingdom

Order your copy today!

http://www.into-the-wind.com/comingsoon.htm

ITW on IMDB

2006-08-02T15:22:00.000-05:00

"Into the Wind" is now listed on the Internet Movie Database. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is a HUGE collection of movie information and THE place to find what you need to know about movies. Check it out at...

http://imdb.com/

then do a search for "into the wind".

Stay Tuned.

CP.

Quote of the day

2006-07-25T13:39:00.000-05:00

Always keep an 'out' in your hip pocket.
- Bevo Howard

ITW at Osh Kosh

2006-07-19T10:13:00.000-05:00

The 2006 Experimental Aircraft Association's Fly in at Osh Kosh Wisconsin will be held next week - July 24 - 30. The Fly in is host to thousands of enthusiasts and billed as “The World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration”.

Look for the "Into the Wind" DVD for sale at the Paracruiser booth, and other fine retailers.

http://www.airventure.org/

CP.

World Talk Radio PPG Show Interview

2006-07-14T16:21:00.000-05:00

Each week World Talk Radio PPG show features the latest news, events, and information on the world of powered paragliding. This week hosts, Micael Purdy, Jeff Goin, & Bob Armond interviewed Chris Page, producer / director of the recent documentary "Into the Wind". Click the link below to listen to the interview.

http://www.into-the-wind.com/wtr3.htm

CP.

Into the Wind DVD Now Available!

2006-07-12T10:52:00.000-05:00

You heard it right, the highly anticipated full feature DVD is now available. The DVD features the award winning documentary movie (90 min.), along with a 3-D photo collage that includes four songs from the ITW soundtrack in their entirety. There is also an animated chapter menu, (20 chapters) that will allow you to navigate straight to your favorite scene. Get your copy today...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/comingsoon.htm

While you're there, take a look at the T-shirt, embroidered cap, 2007 calendar, and more.

CP.

Lake LBJ Texas

2006-07-05T14:19:00.000-05:00

Spent the 4th of July weekend with friends that have a lake house on LBJ. Good fun and some flying too. Check out the account and photos...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/LBJ.htm

CP.

Horizon Magazine Article

2006-06-29T10:41:00.000-05:00

"Into the Wind" is featured in an article this month in Horizon Magazine - The Global Publication for BP People. Check it out at...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/horizon.htm

CP.

Cross Country Flight 06.24.06

2006-06-26T10:12:00.000-05:00

A group of four pilots rolled into the grass farm in Damon, Tx. at 6:30 am with plans to fly to the Wharton airport, about 25 miles to the west. The fog was really different than anything I've flown in so far,really dense all the way to the ground. It was really cool from above. I just posted some pictures from yesterdays flight at...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/wharton1.htm

It took me a long time to get into Wharton because...

At about 10 miles into the flight I heard some banging from my engine, I turned to see what was loose and determined it was my muffler hitting the backside of the prop. I waved over to Andy, trying to motion him I had a problem but he just waved back, "Hi, yeah, ain't this great?" ;-) (really need to get a radio system that works all the time.)

I started looking for an LZ, being on the trike, I needed a little more room than foot landing. I found several sites but none close to any main roads, a long walk out pushing the trike. I decided to keep going. A little ways further and nothing had fallen off yet, I was able to maintain altitude so I decided to try and make it to the Wharton airport.

This is when I started flying zig - zag, staying over or within glide range of acceptable landing areas. So, that's why it took me a while to get into Wharton. I kept checking the GPS and had the town of Wharton in sight; I was at about 600 feet AGL. I spotted a beautiful asphalt runway near a main road, not the Wharton airport but it looked pretty good. I flew past this LZ a bit further and climbed up higher to try and spot the airport, but I found out later I was still about 7 miles or so from it. (Need to figure out this GPS a little better and be able to mark airports) A quick check of my fuel tank with the handy retractable mirror fuel gauge, I had about a 1/2" of fuel left. (I added a one gallon reserve tank for today's flight which allowed me about two hours in the air.) I pull a 180 and that airstrip was looking pretty darn good.

I came in and set it down in the freshly mown grass along the edge of the runway with a perfect power on landing and the wing even came to rest on my left, on the dry asphalt. I made a call to Beery and gave GPS coordinates. They were pretty close. I folded up the wing and put it in my lap on the trike for aq uick ride to the road but no power to the starter. Hmmm, checked wires, etc. but everything looked good. (looks like my battery is fried.) Oh well, a little pushing never hurt anyone. As I approached the hanger, three big dogs came running out barking, just as Beery, Mike & Mike showed up. Luckily they were friendly dogs and I didn't have to climb a tree or something.

We loaded up and started to leave to get Andy when the owner came running out. We stopped and he was all smiles, wanting to talk with us about flying etc. He took us on a mini-tour of his hanger where there were acouple of planes, one of them was being built by his son for a customer, I don't remember all the details but it was pretty cool. He said it took about a year and a half to complete each project.

We headed over to pick up Andy and then headed back to Damon. Over to "West of the Brazos" tavern for some good BBQ and cold beer, what a great way to cap off a XC flight.

Cya next time.

CP.

Quote of the day

2006-06-20T15:43:00.000-05:00

"If you can't afford to do something right, then be darn sure you can afford to do it wrong."

Charlie Nelson

DVD Coming Soon

2006-06-12T21:26:00.000-05:00

The full blown retail version of "Into the Wind" on DVD is at the replicator and will be available soon at the ITW website "merchandise" page, and other fine retail establishments.

The retail DVD features a looping video background main menu with animated buttons that will lead you to a Play Movie button, 3-D slide show of production photos featuring four full songs from the ITW soundtrack, and a Scene Selection menu with 20 chapters.

Stay tuned for the official release date...

CP.

Quote of the day

2006-06-05T11:12:00.000-05:00

"Life is simple. Eat, sleep, fly."

Unknown

Powered Paragliding Bible

2006-05-26T07:38:00.000-05:00

Now available - by USPPA President - Jeff Goin...

"The Powered Paragliding Bible is the most comprehensive treatment of this sport ever produced. Full of full-color pictures and illustrations, it covers everything from pulling the wing out to mastering the finer points. Besides the flying, there is thorough but appropriate coverage of airspace, rules as they apply to PPG pilots, aerodynamics, choosing gear and much, much more."

Jeff Goin has done it again!

This is a must have for Newbies and veterans alike

Full Color - 320 Pages

Price: $39.95

http://www.footflyer.com/

Quote of the day

2006-05-17T10:53:00.000-05:00

"To most people, the sky is the limit. To those who love aviation, the sky is home."

Unknown

Quote of the day

2006-05-08T14:54:00.000-05:00

"My first wife didn't like to fly, either."

— Gordon Baxter

ITW Featured on Hollywood Elsewhere

2006-05-02T10:17:00.000-05:00

Internet movie reviewer Jeffery Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere screened "Into the Wind" and conducted an interview with me about the movie. You can find the mention of "Into the Wind" in his current column...

http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/archives/2006/04/from_this_end_i.php

Here is a link to the interview mp3...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/wells2.htm

Stay Tuned...

CP.

ITW Wins Top Award at Worldfest Houston!

2006-05-01T10:22:00.000-05:00

The awards banquet for Worldfest Houston was Saturday night April 29th. It was held at the Renaissance Hotel in Houston, headquarters for Worldfest. The banquet was very crowded, every table filled with filmmakers, crews, and movie enthusiasts. There were bagpipers, dancers, mariachi band, and lots of awards. Dinner was great, filet mignon, and complimentary wine, & champagne from the Pillar Bluff Vineyards.

http://www.pillarbluff.com/index.html

All evening long awards were announced by Worldfest founder, Hunter Todd, and guest presenter, Bob Boudreux. They went through the bronze, silver, gold, and platinum awards with no mention of "Into the Wind". The special jury awards for the top film in each category was up next...

"Special Jury Award for Documentary film, theatrical feature...."

"Into the Wind".

Woo Hoo! It was a great night, and we were excited to win the top REMI.

Sunday was a close out celebration of Worldfest. It started with a VIP tour of NASA for the filmmakers and platinum pass holders. Then a regatta boat race at the Houston yacht club where you were able to ride on one of the racing boats, or board one of the spectator boats to watch the race. Then we were treated to a down home Texas BBQ, beer, wine, champagne reception at the HYC. A good time was had by all.

Stay Tuned...

CP.

Quote of the day

2006-04-25T10:47:00.000-05:00

"Just remember, if you crash because of weather, your funeral will be held on a sunny day."

Layton A. Bennett

Into the Wind at Worldfest

2006-04-23T11:33:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all that came out to the screening of "Into the Wind" at Worldfest yesterday. It was a packed house and everyone seemed to really enjoy the film. Including "Paradise Texas" star Timothy Bottoms and his brother Bodie.

A couple of glitches in the early minutes but after the AMC techs got it fixed, the movie looked and sounded great.

Worldfest continues through next Sunday the 30th. The awards banquet is next Saturday night and we'll find out if ITW has garnered any other awards.

Stay tuned...

CP.

WORLDFEST Starts Today

2006-04-21T11:27:00.000-05:00

The Houston international film & video festival opens today with a screening of "Paradise Texas" starring Timothy Bottoms. The festivities will commence at 6:15 pm. tonight at the AMC 30 on Dunvale in Houston.

A mariachi band will perform, bagpipers will play, there will be an artcar exhibition, and they have asked me to do some sort of fly by, either in the PPG unit, or with the RC PPC. With the conditions, and population in that area, I think it will be the RC unit making a few passes in the parking lot.

Don't miss the only screening of "Into the Wind" at Worldfest - Saturday April 22nd @ 5:00 pm.
2949 Dunvale, Houston, TX.

CP.

Ronald McDonald House

2006-04-19T12:35:00.000-05:00

We have been asked to attend a press event for Worldfest at Ronald McDonald House here in Houston today. The event will start at 4:30 pm with a demonstration of powered paragliding featuring the RC PPC that is featured in a video @...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/RCPPGVideo.htm

The teens at RMH will be able to check out the RC as I put it through its paces.

Following the PPC demonstration, Worldfest will treat the kids to a private screening of "Paradise Texas" (the opening night movie for Worldfest) along with free pizza. Ben Estus, one of the young stars of Paradise Texas, will be there to watch the movie and answer questions.

Ronald McDonald House will have a private screening of "Into the Wind" on Thursday April 20th for the kids.

Find out more about Ronald McDonald House Houston @...

http://www.ronaldmcdonaldhousehouston.org/home.htm

The Houston Chronicle is featuring Worldfest this week and ITW was mentioned in today's paper. You can check out the article at...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/chron1.htm

Stay Tuned!!

CP.

BP Intranet Article

2006-04-18T14:08:00.000-05:00

Not only am I an aspiring filmmaker, I am also an IT consultant contractor for BP (British Petroleum). (gotta pay the bills ;-)

BP has featured "Into the Wind" on their intranet Planet BP website. Check out the article...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/news.htm

click on "BP Article on Into the Wind"

Stay Tuned...

CP.

Congratulations ticket winners

2006-04-17T11:11:00.000-05:00

Congrats go out to our April 15th drawing winners - Mike & Sarah Jones of Houston. They are the lucky winners of two free tickets to this weeks screening of "Into the Wind" this Saturday April, 22nd @ the AMC 30 on Dunvale.

Be sure to enter the drawing for two more free tickets we'll draw, this Thursday April 20th by emailing to...

chris@into-the-wind.com

with "contest" in the subject and your contact information.

Winners will be notified by email and the tickets will be available at will call at the AMC 30 theater the day of the show.

Good Luck!!

CP.

More Free Tickets to ITW screening at Worldfest!

2006-04-11T13:40:00.000-05:00

Up for grabs are two pair of free tickets to the Texas premiere of "Into the Wind". Join us on Saturday April 22nd @ 5:00 pm for the Houston screening of "Into the Wind". The movie will be shown at the AMC 30, located at 2949 Dunvale, Houston, TX.

To enter for the drawing, send an email with contact information to...

chris@into-the-wind.com

and put "contest" in the subject line.

We'll draw for one pair of tickets on Saturday April 15th and then another pair of tickets will be drawn for on Thursday April, 20th. Winners will be able to pick up your tickets at will call at the theater.

Good Luck!

CP.

PPC Pilot Ken Harger Interview

2006-04-08T10:04:00.000-05:00

Ken Harger is a Powered Parachute Pilot from Houston, Texas. PPC's are larger than Powered Paraglider's, use a different parachute canopy, and require licensing. On Good Friday 2005 while executing a spiral dive out over the water in Galveston, his parachute collapsed, sending him crashing down into the Gulf of Mexico. When he hit the water, his unit flipped upside down, trapping him under the salty waves. With his seatbelt stuck, and unable free himself, Ken succumbed to the water filling his lungs. But, thanks to the heroic efforts of local "Texas Wingnuts" PPG pilots, Ken is still with us today, and back flying his PPC rig. There is a video interview, with Ken and his rescuers recalling the incident at...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/news.htm

Click on the "PPC Pilot Ken Harger - Post Crash Interview" link

Saturday April 1, 2006 Flight

2006-04-04T10:35:00.000-05:00

Just posted some new pictures and a short write up from Saturday's flights above the Texas City Dike.

http://www.into-the-wind.com/news.htm

About the Texas City Dike...

World's longest manmade (5 miles) fishing pier, part of Texas City's flood control system and haven for local fishermen, boaters, and water enthusiasts.Texas City Dike extends five miles into Galveston Bay with 600 foot fishing pier beyond tip of dike. Pier offers the deepest water for pier fishing in the state where anglers often take speckled trout, redfish, flounder, and tarpon. Visitors also find beach, boat launching, and service facilities, bait, camping, and motel accommodations.

The city has survived one of the worst man-made disasters that ever happened in America, the explosions of the S.S. Grandcamp and S.S. High Flyer in 1947; five major hurricanes; two depressions; and two world wars in which it played a significant part.

It's history includes Indians, the pirate Jean LaFitte, the First Aero Squadron of the U.S. Army, the exciting early oil boom days, and the growth of one of our nation's great industrial complexes.

Quote of the day

2006-04-03T10:15:00.000-05:00

"You haven't seen a tree until you've seen its shadow from the sky."

Amelia Earhart

The official Amelia Earhart website with lots of great information on this female flyer...

http://www.ameliaearhart.com/home.php

Rocky Athas Update

2006-03-29T15:54:00.000-06:00

Into the Wind featured soundtrack artist - Rocky Athas, has a new album out called Voodoo Moon. Here is a review by vintage guitar magazine...

Rocky just continues to do it. Twelve cuts of pure Texas guitar heat here. Whether it's the fine electric shuffle "Back On The Road" or the acoustic beauty of "Sleep" he knows how to bring it. Texas has a long history of brilliant guitarist, and it's not out of the question to put Rocky among the tops on that list.- Vintage Guitar

Check out Rocky's website, where you can order the new CD and previous releases...

http://www.rockyathas.com/

CP.

Ticket Give Away

2006-03-27T16:25:00.000-06:00

Jason Campbell Music, (ITW Featured Artist!), is giving away free tickets to the April 22nd showing of "Into the Wind" at Worldfest Houston. Log on to Jason Campbell Music and sign up for a chance to win a pair of tickets to the Texas Premiere of ITW...

http://jasoncampbellmusic.com/

once you're there click on "contests"

Stay Tuned for a chance at more free tickets on the ITW website soon.

CP.

Missing Photo from Santa Barbara

2006-03-24T12:47:00.000-06:00

We looked and looked and couldn't find this photo from the recent Santa Barbara International Film Festival. A big "Thanks" to Jenny for emailing a copy over to us. Stay tuned for more celebrity photos and news coverage as the Houston International Film Festival "WORLDFEST 2006" approaches. Individual tickets are available for the April 22nd showing of "Into the Wind" for $6.00 plus a $1.50 service charge at...

http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaID=60561

The worldfest website...

http://www.worldfest.org/

CP.

Quote of the day

2006-03-21T15:56:00.000-06:00

There are old pilots and there are bold pilots. There are, however, few old, bold pilots.

National PPG Convention

2006-03-18T08:44:00.000-06:00

Next week is the U.S. National Powered Paragliding Convention in Polk City, Florida.
Due to the film festival season, ITW will not be able to attend this year's convention. However, the local club TX Wingnuts have a strong showing with 10 or so pilots registered. It will be a fun week of flying, checking out the latest equipment, competitions, seminars, and more. Check out the website at...

http://usppamembers.org/2006_nationals/index.cfm

CP.

Quote of the day

2006-03-13T15:28:00.000-06:00

"It's always better to be down here wishing you were up there than up there wishing you were down here."

ITW Trailer on 24/7 show video site

2006-03-10T08:33:00.000-06:00

The Into the Wind movie trailer is now featured on a website that hosts cool videos. A lot of the WORLDFEST Houston movie trailer's are now on the 24/7 show site along with other videos.

When you visit the site you can watch videos and give them a rating. The number of times a video has been watched and the rating is viewable on the video's page.

We are listed on the home page under the "Worldfest 06 Feature Film Previews" category.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to log on to 24/7 show and watch the ITW trailer, then rate it, (a 5 of course!) ;-) Then email the link to all your friends and have them do the same.

http://www.247show.com/video-clips.cfm/cid/29

Thanks for your help and support!

CP.

Quote of the Day

2006-03-09T13:21:00.000-06:00

The ONLY time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

Bird Man

2006-03-08T09:58:00.000-06:00

Check this out. Skydiver with turbines attached to his boots! Very cool indeed...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5417019303200331106&pr=goog-sl

Quote of the Day

2006-03-05T12:13:00.000-06:00

Gliders, sailplanes, they are wonderful flying machines. It's the closest you can come to being a bird.

— Neil Armstrong

Quote of the Day

2006-03-03T07:46:00.000-06:00

In response to how he checked the weather, "I just whip out my blue card with a hole in it and read what it says: 'When color of card matches color of sky, FLY!'"

— Gordon Baxter

Maneuvers Pics

2006-03-02T07:58:00.000-06:00

Here are a couple of photos from the maneuver's clinic of me doing an asymmetrical collapse.

Here is the write up I did for the TX Wingnuts yahoo groups site...

WOW. That's one word to describe the clinic. I personally went to the clinic with a little apprehension. I didn't know if I had it in me to collapse the wing "On Purpose" and do the asymmetrical collapses, stalls, etc. Turns out I did have what it took and more.

I went up on Thursday evening and met up with Bud Wruck and TroyHarris. We hung out and talked flying, and even watched the maneuver DVD one last time.

Friday morning we were up early (6:45 am alarm) and were over to the LZ by 7:30 am. Chris Santacroce was ready to tow. A couple of the guys got in a few tows on Thursday afternoon and were up first. My turn came quick and off I went. The cloud base on Friday varied from about 1500 ft. to 2100 ft. later in the day. Officially, we released 500 ft. below cloud base. The first tow was mellow, just a few EZ maneuvers and back to the LZ. Whew, that wasn't' so bad. Each tow following Chris S. added different things to work on, all the while talking you through them on the radio. Chris's training style isvery laid back. He says things like… "Let's try a full frontal, reach up with the alternative grip and grab those A's pull downuntil I say release and then quickly release" Ok, you can do it now, good, release, tweak the A's to restart the wing, good." Top notch training and confidence inducing conversation. I got 5 tows in Friday and some of the guys I think got up to 8!

Chris, Troy, Bud, Mike Stewart, & I went to dinner at a local café that featured large "Texas Size" steaks on the menu. Everyone decided to order the "small" chicken fried steak except for Chris S. The waitress asked "And what for you honey? Chris said "I'll take the vegetables", she kind of looked at him funny, "No, what meat do you want?" He said "No, I just want vegetables." Classic moment, she says "You ain't from Texas are ya?" Too funny. She says "What veggies do you want?" He says "All of them." So she says, "We have potatoes, mashed or fried," He says, "No real vegetables." She says "Oh, we have fried Okra, black eyed peas, green beans…" He says "Yeah, I'll take all of those." Too funny. Glad I ordered the small one; I could only eat half of it.

Saturday morning the alarm goes off again at 6:45 am and we look out of the cabin window that was on the lake edge and couldn't see the lake. Not a good sign. It was cold, foggy and drizzling rain. Well, maybe it will clear up, we'll wait it out. It started raining pretty hard about 8:00 am and that cleared out the fog at least. We decided to go and find some breakfast somewhere and then meet up with Chris S. at his hotel and watch "Into the Wind" along with some training videos while we couldn't fly. Whataburger breakfast tacos, gotta love `em. Sonny showed up with his kolache's and cinnamon rolls, and they were consumed by the guys as we watched the movie and the rain outside the window. About 2:00 pm and it was still rainy, things weren't looking too good. Mary Wruck came up to the lake about 3:00 pm with the 3 boys. They were ready for some fishing. Bud rigged up poles and lines for the boys and Chris S. asked if he would rig up his fishing pole with bait too. Bud fixed him up and they all dropped lines in the lake. I don't think any of them caught anything but had fun trying. Some of the other fishermen there had a stringer full of crappie that were pretty good size. More wind, rain and cold kept us from getting any tows on Saturday. The rain finally stopped in time for Bud to fire up the grill and we cooked up hot dogs for the boys and burgers for the guys. Yorum showed up just in time for a burger and beer. As we were getting ready to pack it in for the night we kept watching the clouds and sure enough, around 10:00 pm or so we saw a star through a hole in the clouds. A few minutes later we were able to see more stars and knew that Sunday was going to be a fine day.

Up once again at 6:45 am and over to the Yegua Park LZ. The wind was up at about 12 mph and Yorum took the first tow. The first guy out is the wind dumby and Yorum didn't quite make it back to the LZ. He landed in the park but far enough away that Sonny & Troy had to go and retrieve him. He said as he was coming down there was a herd of deer looking up at him with questioning looks… "What kind of bird is that and is it going to eat me?" I think I was up next and got a pretty good tow, a few maneuvers practiced and back to the LZ to line up for another go. Sonny got in the action with some good tows and Mary Wruck had a great tow as the day went on. I got in 4 tows on Sunday and had several tries at correcting collapses, doing big ears, circles, wing over's etc. On my last tow Chris S. said, "Were going to pull a right side asymmetrical collapse and lean into it hard keep the A riser pulled and get a good turn going that way." I did it a couple of times but not hard enough for his liking. So, I pulled the right A hard, leaned hard right and started into a spiral. I think I counted at least 1 ½ turns and still no recovery. I'm thinking "two more seconds and I'm pulling the laundry (reserve)." About that time I finally get the wing shaken out and return to straight flight. Chris says, "That's the situation I was trying to get you to. Out of control and recover. You didn't quite recover textbook. You need to lean away from the deflation and use that brake sparingly to get the glider to fly straight and then the collapse will shake out." I can truly say I was scared and almost threw the reserve. I was glad when I stopped spinning out of control.

I had to leave at 3:00 pm to make it home for some family time. My wife Patty & daughter Sammi had a great home cooked meal ready and we enjoyed the food and relaxation, getting ready for another week back to reality.

If you get a chance to take one of these clinics it is well worth it for an eye opening experience of how to recover from collapses, how to throw your reserve, how trim tabs work and when and where to adjust them, speed bar discussion and usage and more.

I didn't take any video equipment because I wanted to focus totally on the clinic. Sonny had his new helmet camera setup and I volunteered to take it up one flight. I haven't seen the footage yet but Sonny said we got something. I think there is video and pics from some of the other pilots and family that were there. Sonny said he had a perfect shot full frame of a full frontal collapse of me but thought the exposure was wrong and it may not be usable. Bummer.

Cya in the sky!

CP aka Gadget Man.

Quote of the Day

2006-03-01T08:07:00.000-06:00

"Flying isn't dangerous, it's the crashing part that's dangerous!"

Worldfest screening time announced

2006-02-27T20:54:00.000-06:00

I had a conversation with Worldfest Houston's program director today. They have given us a screening date and time. "Into the Wind" will Texas premiere on Saturday April 22nd @ 5:00 pm at the AMC 30 - 2949 Dunvale Houston, Texas. We may get a second screening, stay tuned for updates. See you at the movies.

CP.

Maneuvers Clinic :-)

2006-02-26T23:40:00.000-06:00

(pictured is a photo from Chris Santacroce's website, we don't have those mountains etc. around Houston ;-) pictures & video from the weekend up soon...
http://www.superflychris.com/home.htm

WOW. The clinic was very cool. We did some stuff that I never thought I would do while flying. Chris Santacroce is a great instructor, very mellow, and reassuring in your ear on the radio while coaching you through "B line Stalls", "Full Frontal Colapses", "Big Ears", and other stuff. The boat tows over lake Somerville were great, the highest I logged was about 2,800 feet before I released. No motor flying is very cool, I'll definately be adding free flight to my "things to do" list. Stay tuned for video and pictures from the weekend.

CP.

quote of the day

2006-02-23T11:33:00.000-06:00

This is a rule of flight that has been around for awhile but still a good one...

"Remember, gravity is not just a good idea. It's the law. And it's not subject to repeal.

I am headed to Lake Somerville (near Brenham, Texas) for the weekend for a free flight maneuvers clinic. We'll be towing up behind a boat and releasing, then performing maneuvers while being instructed by world famous - Chris Santacroce, over FRS radio. Should be a hoot. Don't know if I'll have internet up there or not so it may be Sunday or Monday until the next post.

Stay Tuned...

CP.

02.21.06

2006-02-21T23:16:00.000-06:00

New video on the ITW site. Check out the TV news spots...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/news.htm

and then click on...

KEYT ABC Channel 3 Santa Barbara TV Interview

also

Fox News Channel 26 Interview - See the news clip

Or directly from here...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/abc3.htm

http://www.into-the-wind.com/foxtv.htm

UPDATE 02.19.06

2006-02-19T22:10:00.000-06:00

WOW, what a great few weeks. They went by so fast I just can't believe it. We just got back into town from Ride the Rio, the motorcycle rally I c0-host with Dave Gorham in the Big Bend area of Texas. Great weather, great friends, great riding and more.

We are trying to gather all the media coverage and link it up to the website. Hopefully that will be done this week. For now I'll add things as I get them. The latest being the piece from filmfestivalstv.com...

http://www.filmfestivalstv.com/santabarbara/

Scroll down until you get to the "To the Maxx Sidebar Keeps Cranking" article, where you can read about ITW and hear the interview.

Also check out the Edhat.com interview with Greg...

http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?id=1162&name=Greg_Hanneman

And photos from WireImage...

http://www.wireimage.com/GalleryListing.asp?navtyp=gls====165498&evntI=1785

http://www.wireimage.com/GalleryListing.asp?navtyp=gls====165072&evntI=1785

Stay Tuned...

CP.

02.13.06

2006-02-14T17:00:00.000-06:00

Pictured are Hwy. 101 heading south about 30 minutes outside of Santa Barbara. Lots of good breaks and surfers along this area. The wind mills are near Palm Springs, I think this was the area featured in a scene from the movie "Rain Man" and other films.

Greg left SB on Sunday morning so he wouldn't have to pull the RV through Monday morning traffic. Patty & Samantha headed back to Houston. Dave & I packed up and then headed to the closing award ceremonies and screening of the movie "Thank you for smoking" directed by Jason Reitman. (Ivan Reitman's son). Then movie is great, you should see it when it hits the theaters. We then went to the closing festival party where everyone had a good time, especially the festival staff. They could finally let their hair down after two weeks of hard work.

The festival was great, we got lots of press and learned a lot. We're in Phoenix today and then off to RTR tomorrow.

ITW has been accepted to Houston's worldfest film festival in April and we have been awarded a Remi award. We are now an award winning feature film!

http://www.worldfest.org/PAGES/winners.htm

The ITW trailer will be posted soon on the worldfest site with a counter on how many times it has been viewed and a place for you to rate it.

We are also talking to The Jackson Hole Film Festival & Mountainfilm in Telluride.

Stay Tuned...

CP, DG, GH.

02.11.06

2006-02-12T14:48:00.000-06:00

My wife & daughter flew into LAX Friday night for a short visit to SB and the festival. I drove down to pick them up, about a 4.5 hour round trip, not too bad.

Saturday morning Patty, Samantha, & I attended a press breakfast for filmmakers where we were photographed and interviewed by local papers and internet magazines. We then set off for the coast just north of Santa Barbara and checked out a beautiful state park. We saw prairie dogs, walked the beach and just as we were going to leave 4 humpback whales went swimming by right on cue. A neat experience for us, especially 6 yr. old Sammi. We headed down to the SB pier and did some shopping and had lunch at Moby Dicks, a place where Frank Sinatra use to love to eat. They have lots of memorabilia from Frank & other stars.

Our 2nd showing was scheduled at 4pm so I headed over to the theater to put up the BIG poster and check the projection, audio, etc. Good thing I did, they had the audio really clipping the speakers. A little tweaking to the Digital Beta Deck and we made it right, whew. The theater was 150 seats and we had standing room only. The screening went great and I did about a 20 minute Q&A after with some great questions.

We went out after to State Street for some shopping and then dinner at Ruby's. Greg's wife Betsy came in for the weekend also and you see us all pictured outside Ruby's. The other photos are - Interview with a local college TV station, and Sammi with a Boa snake around her neck! (Took her 45 minutes to work up the nerve for that one :-)

We are packing up and heading to the festival closing party tonight. Should be fun.

Check out the KTYD Radio Interview...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/news.htm

More radio & TV coming.

Stay Tuned!!

CP, PP, SP, DG, GH, BH.

02.10.06

2006-02-11T02:33:00.000-06:00

Today was a day to promote ITW at the two local colleges. We hung posters and put out flyers all over both campuses. Our 2nd showing is Saturday 4:00 pm. and we hope to have a full house.

We also filmed more segments for the motorcycle TV pilot called "Lane Splitters" in and around Santa Barbara. What a beautiful city and great weather.

My wife Patty & our daughter Samantha arrived tonight for the weekend. They will be enjoying a whirl-wind tour of this area and another possible red carpet walk for the Phillip Seymore Hoffman tribute tomorrow night.

Dave checked out the movie "On the Pipe 2" tonight, stay tuned for a review of that film.

Check out the KTYD radio interview at...

http://2005.ktyd.com/pages/timewasters.html

Stay Tuned...

CP, DG, GH, PP, SP.

SBIFF 02.09.06

2006-02-10T00:54:00.000-06:00

Pictures: Greg, Chris & Dave at the World Premier of “Into the Wind” at Victoria Hall. Kenny Loggins and Chris at the KTYD studio.

Hi All, Dave here – guest blogger for tonight’s update. It was a late night last night, an early morning this morning, then a long day today – and Chris is out like a light! Being the night owl that I am, I thought I would take over the blogging duties at east for tonight.

And what a busy day it was! It started early with a radio interview on KTYD – the choice Santa Barbara rock station. Chris had almost 9 minutes on the air plugging ITW and the sport of powered paragliding. Chris did a great job, and the results will soon be uploaded to the ITW web site. In fact, we already have the MP3 and it’s just a matter of finding the time to get it done.

Maybe the best part of the interview was that the next studio guest after Chris was the one and only Kenny Loggins. Kenny is a Santa Barbara resident, and just a regular guy here. But there was Chris snapping away with his camera! The radio guys were giving Chris a hard time about being star-struck – and they were right!

After the interview, Chris returned to our HQ here at the Sandman Inn before we all took off for the press office downtown. It’s always a good idea to stay in the face of the press agents so they know where you are and that you’re available for interviews – and the ITW crew has been handling this quite well.

Anyway... Our World Premiere was scheduled for 3:30 this afernoon, so we grabbed Jack in the Box burgers and headed over to the Vic to check the theater and make sure all was in order – and, of course, it was. Photographers were on hand to take our pictures and we hope to have some of these pictures posted soon. Also on hand were the guys from “Soul Fly” – a 30-minute short about the sport of kite surfing. SBIFF thought it wise to pair “Soul Fly” with ITW, but we were/are unsure: Our movie is 90 minutes, theirs 30; that’s a lot of movie watching. Plus, were the people in the audience there to see “Soul Fly” and would they get up and leave after the first movie? We just didn’t know. Turns out, we had a respectable showing, despite the mid/late afternoon weekday time slot. And only a few left after “Soul Fly”.

After ITW wrapped, we had only a few minutes before the next movie, so Chris took some Q&As then we headed to a party in the foothills. The party was for Santa Barbara (local) filmmakers but the ITW crew was invited to attend. The standout at the party was the band. These guys – and forgive me because I never got their name – were a 3-piece outfit from San Diego and they ROCKED! All three were incredibly talented – the drummer played a drum synthesizer and bass guitar at the same time, the guy on electric cello was incredible and the guitar player was hands-down one of the best I’ve seen in a club or party setting. And of course, what’s a party with a band without the fuzz? They told us to turn it down or turn it off, so the volume came down a nudge or two.

Hey – a couple of notes about last night: We started at the Heath Ledger award ceremony – we snuck out the back door in the early stages, in time for me to hear a teenage girl on her cell phone crying with utter joy to a friend, “He looked at me! He LOOKED at ME! Can you believe it?!” Geez – where do teenage girls get that kind of emotion?

Later last night we went to the US premiere of “Karla”. We’d been doing a lot of back-to-back radio and TV interviews with the movie’s director, Joel Bender, and so we made it a point to see his film. “Karla” is the true story of the Canadian husband/wife serial killers Karla and Paul Bernado. The film was incredibly brutal, tragic and just freaking FREAKY. Had it not been a true story, I would’ve walked out, but because it was true, I couldn’t turn away. Chris and I both looked at each other in shock over the events playing out on the screen. Perhaps you should read up a little on this infamous case before seeing the movie – which is likely months away from a national release. Check out their website at...

http://www.karlathemovie.net/

Tomorrow we have another busy day scheduled. We want to hit the UCSB campus with posters prior to our Saturday showing. Plus, we want to shoot some more of our motorcyle show near Ojai. Then, tomorrow evening, Chris's wife Patty and daughter Sammi arrive. They'll catch the Saturday screening, and enjoy a day of Santa Barbara, before heading home Sunday morning. We'll spend Sunday stowing the bikes and gear, while preparing for the final blow-out gala, and our Monday departure for my brother's house in Phoenix then our return to Texas for the Ride the Rio rally in Big Bend...

http://www.ridetherio.com

Thanks for reading this longer-than-usual blog.

For Chris, Greg, and "Into the Wind", I'm Dave Gorham.

Good night.

SBIFF 02.08.06

2006-02-09T04:16:00.000-06:00

Today started out good with a local radio station mentioning ITW and plugging that we are going to be on the air tomorrow morning. (Thursday). We then had a local cable TV show that featured ITW. After the interview we drove down to Ventura to fly with some local PPG pilots. Lots of surfers in the frigid cold water trying to catch a wave. Greg & Dave brought down the bikes down so we could get the "helicoptor" shot for the bike show. The sun was setting and it was spectacular to say the least. We were also interviewed for The local ABC news channel 3 and it ran tonight. A great spot that featured the interview along with clips from the movie. We hurried back to SB just in time to make it to the Heath Ledger tribute. We got to walk the red carpet again and were interviewed by a Japanese TV station along with other media. We actually were bombarded with paparazzi photographers as we made our way down the red carpet before Heath Ledger arrived.

Pictured above is (left) Dave, Greg, Chris near Ventura, CA.

(middle) Chris in the PPG rig over the Pacific near Ventura.

(right) Chris Page, Joel Bender - Director & writer of "Karla" a full feature ($2 million budget!) 35mm film here at the festival, Annette Bender - Joel's wife and producer, Dave Gorham.

Stay Tuned.

CP, DG, GH.

SBIFF 02.07.06

2006-02-08T01:56:00.000-06:00

Today we worked on a new project involving motorcycles and travel. We used the new HD cams for the project and everything went well. Pictured: guest, Bruce Armstrong, show hosts Dave Gorham, & Chris Page. (Greg was behind the camera).

This morning started out with a radio interview on a local alternative music radio station. The interview went well with the DJ asking about the movie times at the festival and talking about the soundtrack.

Speaking of soundtrack, thanks to Rick Johnson (Mojo Lingo), Jason Campbell (Jasoncampbellmusic) and my wife Patty for quickly emailing MP3's of some of the songs in the movie for a "mini sampler" CD for local radio play. I'll post the results as I get them.

I was interviewed by the ABC affiliate KEYT Channel 3 tonight for a story that will air tomorrow. The interview went well and they promised us a copy of the final edit tomorrow. I'll hopefully have some of the TV & Radio stuff up soon on the ITW website. We have another TV gig scheduled tomorrow and more radio on Thursday.

Stay Tuned!

CP, DG, GH.

SBIFF 02.06.06

2006-02-07T03:42:00.000-06:00

Another very productive day for ITW. We did an interview with KRUZ radio Santa Barbara today & set up two other gigs, one TV and one radio. A local radio station is interested in the ITW soundtrack. They wanted me to bring over a soundtrack sampler in the morning, the songs may get some radio time.

We attended James Cameron's award ceremony tonight, where the staff of ITW got to walk the Red Carpet and get interviewed by local & national news. We also got to meet James Cameron himself, for a couple of minutes anyway. The after party was at Stearns Wharf, where we were out on a pier.

Pictured above - Left to right, Chris Page, Dave Gorham, unidentified, James Cameron, & Suzy Amis.

Right picture - Chris and unidentified mermaid.

(Greg was taking pictures, but got in on the Red Carpet walk)

Stay Tuned...

CP, DG, GH.

SBIFF 02-05-06

2006-02-05T22:00:00.000-06:00

Today was a slow day for the festival so we went on a motorcycle ride up into the mountains to an old stage coach station that is now a tavern / restaurant. Mo McFadden, one of the SBIFF press liason's showed us the way. Spectacular views, great roads, and the Cold Spring Tavern makes a mean grilled beef sandwich with homemade mustard / horse radish sauce.

I wanted to try and get a couple of flights in at the "Fly Above All" training hill in Santa Barbara so we made it over there early afternoon. Free flight instructor Bob walked me through a couple of flights without a motor for the first time. I did pretty good and am planning a free flight from the 3000+ foot cliff above SB. The locals say you can launch from there and fly over SB all the way to the beach, we'll see.

Stay Tuned...

CP, DG, GH.

SBIFF Update

2006-02-05T02:18:00.000-06:00

A great day today. We attended the Houston Film Commission party and it was good. Lots of promoting and new contacts. I had an appointment to talk with the program director of the Jackson Hole Film Festival and they are very interested in ITW. I visited the paragliding school today to promote the movie and check it out. I was ready to take a couple of free flights when the wind changed direction, blowing down hill. I may be able to try again tomorrow. We are going on a motorcycle ride tomorrow up HWY. 154, suppose to be spectacular. Dave & I attended a documentary by Stewart Copeland of the band "The Police" tonight. Andy Summers was in the audience but no Sting. The movie was from footage that Copeland shot during their early years and then on to stardom. It was a good movie with a great soundtrack, Stewart said no reunion though. More Later.

Stay Tuned...

CP, DG, GH

SBIFF Day ??

2006-02-05T02:00:00.000-06:00

We went to the party last night and had a couple of celebrity sightings. I'm pictured above at left with Leonard Malten, and Christopher Lloyd. The unidentified girl in the middle was very entertaining, gotta love California. The Houston Film Commission party is Saturday night where they will be promoting ITW.

Stay Tuned.

CP, DG, GH.

SBIFF Day 5

2006-02-03T23:13:00.000-06:00

We had another productive day. First, an interview with KTMS radio in Santa Barbara. It will air tomorrow at 5 pm Eastern. I'll try and have it up on the website soon. We have a couple of other radio and TV interviews scheduled next week. Greg was at the hotel Santa Barbara and scared up an interview with an internet magazine - edhat.com. We'll link that up when it goes live. We are off to the modern masters award party that pays tribute to George Clooney. Yes girls, we'll tell him you said Hi. Tomorrow we plan on visiting the paragliding school based here in SB to hang posters and hang out with some of the pilots. I don't have a USPA rating so I don't think they'll let me fly there, we'll see. If I can't free fly there, I may meet up with Chad Bastian of "Fly Above All" to fly PPG in some local "secret" spots. We'll post pictures of tonight and celebrity sightings tomorrow.

Stay Tuned!

Chris, Dave, & Greg.

SBIFF Day 4

2006-02-03T11:44:00.000-06:00

The first official day of the festival was productive for the crew of ITW. We checked in with the staff and got our platinum all access passes and then I headed for the press room. I handed out 3 inch pins (buttons) that had our poster printed on it to anyone that would listen to me. The pins are called digipins and have a mini CD that will play in a computer in them. The CD contains the video trailer, press kit, poster etc. so you can pop out the CD and it still has the image behind it to wear as a button. The digipins were a BIG hit, everyone commented on how creative they were. We have also been scheduled for 3 interviews so far. Two radio and one TV. I'm headed over the radio station in just a few minutes for the first one.

The opening night gala was last night and we met more press people, film makers, and LOTS of people interested in film. The only celebrity sightings I've had so far was bumping into Alan Thicke, who was surrounded by beautiful women. He's looking pretty good but getting older. The picture here shows that ITW was featured in Santa Barbara magazine. They talked about ITW in the article and even had a color photo of the movie poster.

Stay Tuned!

Chris, Dave, & Greg.

SBIFF Day 3

2006-02-02T01:18:00.000-06:00

We made it! We are in sunny Santa Barbara. It is really beautiful here. The pacific is blue and there were a lot of surfers out today, hopefully I'll be able to catch a few waves while here. We got checked in and unloaded, then headed to festival central to promote the movie. Local businesses were friendly to us and we got a jump on the other films by hitting the pavement today with posters and postcards. There are ITW posters in the windows of a lot of businesses up and down State Street! Thursday is the official start of the festival and we'll continue promoting but will also schmooz with the press and attend the festival opening gala.

Stay Tuned.

Dave, Greg, & Chris.

Greg (production assistant) got here today from Oregon. Look for him in upcoming BLOGS.

SBIFF Day 2

2006-02-01T02:43:00.000-06:00

Well, day 2 has been a LONG day. We left Las Cruces, N.M. at 8 a.m. and arrived in Newbury Park, California about 12:00 a.m. pacific time.

A couple of observations about California...

1. At the border when entering the state of California there is an inspection for ALL vehicles. Reminded me of the eastern block countries in Europe of old.

2. The speed limit for a vehicle towing a trailer is 55 mph! What's up with that?

3. Gas prices here are higher than anywhere else, so far. About $2.65 per gallon.

4. The road surface is pretty darn rough! Going through L.A. was brutal.

5. There are no road markers for hotels. It's hard to find a hotel here, not because there aren't any but because there aren't any signs to tell you where they are.

Anyway, we will be in Santa Barbara, CA. Wednesday.

Stay Tuned.

Chris & Dave.

SBIFF Day 1

2006-01-30T22:22:00.000-06:00

Day one. The alarm went off at 4:15 a.m., I hate getting up so early but it was time to get up and going for a 6:00 a.m. departure from Pearland to beat the Houston traffic on our way west. We made it into Las Cruces, New Mexico after 800+ miles and about 15 hours on the road. We hope to get into California tomorrow and into Santa Barbara, meeting up with Greg, on Wednesday by noon to begin promoting ITW.

Stay Tuned...

Chris & Dave.

KUHF Radio Interview in competition

2006-01-29T09:18:00.000-06:00

The interview that KUHF Houston public radio, Jack Williams, (NPR affiliate) did on "Into the Wind" is in a couple of competitions for "Use of Sound". You can hear the interview on our website's "Latest News" page. or on the KUHF website at...

http://www.kuhf.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=14892

SBIFF Website Update

2006-01-26T14:09:00.000-06:00

The Santa Barbara Film Fest website has finally been updated with movie times :-) Into the Wind will World Premiere on Thursday February 9th @ 3:30 pm in the Victoria Theater. We will also show on Saturday February 11th @ 4:00 pm in the Center Stage Theater. Follow the link to get the full festival lineup...

http://www.edhat.com/sbfilm/movies.cfm

ITW is listed under "To the Maxxx"

Channel 26 Fox News

2006-01-25T21:33:00.000-06:00

Into the Wind was interviewed today by Ned Hibbard from Fox 26 News Houston. Ned and Chuck (camera guy) came out and taped Chris flying near Hwy. 288 and C.R. 61 south of Pearland, Texas. They also came by the home studio for more footage of the edit room and how the movie came about. The story is suppose to air in the next few weeks. I'll post the time & date as we get it.

Chris. aka Gadget Man.

ITW January Newsletter

2006-01-19T21:34:00.000-06:00

Click the link below for the January ITW newsletter...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/NewsJan06.pdf

CP.

SBIFF update

2006-01-18T21:20:00.000-06:00

We have official dates and times ITW will screen in Santa Barbara! We will be world premiering the movie and showing twice during the festival. The first showing is Thursday February 9th @ 3:30 pm in Victoria Hall. The second is Saturday February 11th @ 4:00 pm in Center Stage. Join us in sunny California for the 21st annual Santa Barbara Internation Film Festival. They are expecting up to 50,000 attendees at this year's festival. Come out and enjoy this awesome event.

http://www.sbfilmfestival.org/

SBIFF

2006-01-09T21:11:00.000-06:00

It's official! We are an official selection of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. "Into the Wind" will world premiere at the SBIFF during their 2006 festival that runs from February 2nd through the 12th. Our show times will be posted soon. Very exciting stuff, we can't wait. We'd love to have you there. The SBIFF website has all the hotels and details. More to come...

http://www.sbfilmfestival.org/

CP.

New Video

2006-01-03T19:06:00.000-06:00

Check out the new video clip...

http://www.into-the-wind.com/news.htm

click on "Flock of Seagulls 12.23.05"

Enjoy!

CP.