After Rooftop Jumps, ‘Superdell’ Prompts Ultralight Vehicle Restriction

Considered by some the best paragliding pilot on earth, world champion Dell ”Superdell” Schanze recently took flight from a rooftop patio adjacent to the hotel replacing the Seacoast Inn.

Though Imperial Beach has no control over a person taking off from residential properties, the City Council tightened restrictions Wednesday night in an attempt to discourage incidents on city property.

Fire Capt. Tom Clark, director of the Public Safety Department, said passing the two ordinances prohibits anyone with ultralight vehicles from landing or taking off from public property—specifically beaches, parks and city streets.

It does not cover private property, but flights from residential buildings still break Federal Aviation Association rules and regulations.

The FAA handled the incident as an administrative citation. Clark said the incident happened on a weekend three weeks ago after Schanze conducted his first paragliding ground training class.

With Councilman Brian Bilbray absent, the council unanimously approved the ordinances, the first being an interim urgency ordinance that took effect immediately.

Clark said an ultralight vehicle is a person suspended or in a fuselage of an aircraft that is able to take off horizontally.

“Paragliders are a newer vehicle, and our current definition did not address that,” he said. “We have created a broad definition that lines up with the FAA’s definition.”

He said Schanze, the World Powered Paragliding Association Paramotor world champion, was aware of this loophole and the city was unable to deal with him directly on this violation.

“This ordinance gives us the ability to deal with him immediately, send back his application for a business license and having a school here and then refund his business license fee,” said Clark.

Attempts to contact Schanze for comment were unsuccessful.

Anything off the ground is under the control of the Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach tower.

Schanze was here conducting a four- to five-day ground school, Clark said.

Clark said that along with the lifeguard captain they discussed the requirements of the ground school with Schanze, and his class was limited to ground only training, but over the weekend, Schanze jumped off the rooftop patio of a rental property.

He also conducted powered air operations north of Camp Surf near U.S. Navy land, an issue Clark said the Navy took up with Schanze.

“If he lands on our beach, then we can have this ordinance in place,” Clark said.

“He plans another flight training class here in May and looks to establish a business in Imperial Beach. We have narrow beaches, we have construction and congestion with buildings and people and FAA regulations restrict him from flying near buildings, water and people. Then we have to determine whether it was an emergency landing: did he do it safely and then make the decision whether we do the administrative process or not.”

Clark said Schanze’s ground school is designed primarily to teach people to handle the winds without leaving the ground.

But in his application, Schanze wanted short glides towards the ocean, to fly to the Coronado Islands and the ability to fly out from any residential home in the city, according to Clark.

“Mr. Schanze is a unique individual,” Clark said. “He is a Libertarian, as he doesn’t like to follow the rules and regulations. He has a history of jumping off large buildings as a BASE jumper and parachutist. This is his latest venture.”

Schanze Base-jumped from the 125-foot historical Astoria Column in Oregon June 2011, resulting in his arrest. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, he has also had run-ins with the law in Utah.

Councilman Ed Spriggs said he frequently sees ultralight vehicles in the morning flying near his home at the south end of Seacoast Drive.

Clark said a loophole exists. When Ream Field is not in operation and in FAA controlled airspace, one could probably fly down at the end of Seacoast Drive in the unoccupied building area.

All flights must be approved by the FAA.

He said the only thing to do is to gather the person’s name, take pictures of the vehicle and forward it to the FAA.