The Ground Launch Center® in California offers pilots Bladerunning competitions, boogies and the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of ground launching, as well as, negotiate level I, II, III and IV launch sites. The GLC has dozens of launch points for GL pilots of all levels. The Ground Launch Center® issues a GLC certificate for successful completion of training. The certification can be used for entry into future GLX Expeditions® and Bladerunning® competitions.

 

The center is headed up by Jim Slaton and assistant instructor Duane Hall with many additional staff. The Ground Launch Center® is located in Lake Isabella, California right in the middle of the Sequoia National Forest. The GLC is the gateway to the Giant Redwood trees, Red Rock Canyon, Kings Canyon and Yosemite National Park. The weather is almost perfect 365 days a year at the GLC. The average high temperature in November is 70° F and the low at night can reach 38° F. The annual rainfall in Lake Isabella is less than eight inches! Nestled in the mountains at only 2,600 feet above sea level, Lake Isabella has very mild winters for a mountainous area. There is rarely snow in the valley. Dry, clear and invigorating, Lake Isabella combines the cool breezes of the mountains with the no-humidity environment of the high desert.

The history of ground launching:

The history of Ground Launching goes way back to the 1960s. In 1965 American skydiver and aeronautical engineer David Barish started ground launching while testing a single surface parachute for NASA. The new single surface sailwing was designed to bring space capsules back to earth. This basic design evolved into the advanced paragliders and the sport of paragliding.

The sport of Paragliding:

Paragliding is the simplest form of human flight. A paraglider is a non-motorized, foot-launched inflatable wing. It is easy to transport, easy to launch, and easy to land. The paraglider itself is constructed of rip-stop nylon from which the pilot is suspended by sturdy kevlar lines. The pilot is clipped into a harness and oriented in a sitting position for maximum comfort. With a paraglider, you actually fly like a bird, soaring upwards on currents of air. Paraglider pilots routinely stay aloft for 3 hours or more, climb to elevations of 15,000 feet, and go cross-country for vast distances.

Bladerunning is born:

Again, skydivers have created another form of parachuting different from skydiving or traditional paragliding. This new form of extreme ground launching is called "Bladerunning". Bladerunning was invented in 1996 by Montana resident, B.J. Worth. BJ first got the idea about Bladerunning while performing a skydiving stunt over a ski field during production of a movie. Bladerunning has evolved into one of the most cutting edge forms of parachuting today. Skydiving from an aircraft and then flying down a mountain within several feet of the ground was a hit with skydivers. At the first official Bladeruning competition two American skydivers Clint Clawson and J.C. Colclasure decided to foot launch a tandem skydiving parachute into flight while waiting for the weather to improve. After a couple successful launches the pair began ground launching their new Icarus Extreme FX canopies and flying through the course down the ski slope. The sport of extreme ground launching was born. Bladerunning continued for several years in skydiving without much ground launching. The sport of ground launching high performance parachutes was proved possible but created many challenges for pilots. Skydiving parachutes were often difficult to launch and limited the pilot in the way they could fly.

The Ground Launch Center:

Six years after Bladrunning started Icarus canopies combined their test jumpers and formed "Team Extreme". Along with ground launching pioneers Clint Clawson & J.C. Colclasure members Jim Slaton & Luigi Cani joined the team. Team Extreme quickly gained recognition as extreme parachute pioneers. The team pushed the limits of the modern ram air parachute during the Icarus Project . The team conducted several expeditions around the globe and set records by becoming the first (only) parachutist to land on top of Mont Blanc (Europe's highest Alp), descending the north face of "Eiger" mountain in Switzerland with parachutes and landing world's smallest ram air parachutes the VX49/39.

It was during these early expeditions that team member Jim Slaton got fascinated with the idea of using high performance parachutes as tools for exploration. Foot launching large parachutes and paragliders is relatively easy but too docile for a fast, low level flight like Bladerunning. Jim came up with the idea of developing training center and canopies specifically for ground launching and Bladerunning. Shortly thereafter Jim moved to the Sequoia National Forest in California and developed the Ground Launch Center and Sequoia Air Adventures. The GLC is now the global headquarters for ground launch training, canopy flight testing, Bladerunning and other flying events.