​November 9, 2020.  This was the first day of flying for most of the pilots.  It was mainly used as a day for the instructors to get reacquainted with the veteran pilots they had trained and to evaluate their progress since they had left training.  It was also an opportunity to provide some additional refresher instruction to some of the guys that had not had the chance to fly nearly as much as they would have liked.  Although it may have seemed mundane, this day was instrumental in building rapport among the group.  Both the morning and afternoon flying sessions provided the chance for some of the other pilots to fly around some of the amazing mountains, buttes and spires of the Sedona area.  

​The Resurgence PPG Adventure Wingman expedition was the culmination of work that brought together program alumni, the instructors from various program associated schools, and special invited guests that have been especially influential in the growth and success of the Resurgence PPG program.

In November of 2020, in the midst of a world wide pandemic, Resurgence PPG was able to gather 31 pilots in the high desert of central Arizona to begin a 10 day adventure that would take them around the beautiful state of Arizona and into southern California.
November 8, 2020 was the planned arrival day for the participants.  We rendezvoused on an open desert plain just south of Sedona, AZ.  The location, although beautiful provided its own set of challenges.  The first challenge was the altitude.  The location, being in the mountains of central Arizona, sat at an elevation of roughly 5,000’ above sea level.  Experiencing a density altitude of this height could be challenging for pilots that are most accustomed to flying from beaches and coastal locations.
The next challenge that we faced was the various experience levels that we were dealing with regarding the veteran pilots.  Although these pilots had all been through a powered paragliding school with a full curriculum, there were certain cases that some pilots only had literally a handful of flights upon their arrival to the adventure.  A third challenge that we faced was the fact that we unintentionally timed our arrival to coincide with an early winter storm.  Our first evening together would see temperatures dropping into the teens with a light dusting of snow.  Although beautiful, this added to the difficulties of getting pilots into the air.
Finally, the greatest challenge that we faced, that would be present for the entire trip was the actual disabilities or adaptive abilities of the gathered veterans.  In the group of veteran pilots was the first double amputee to ever foot launch a paramotor.  We had a single leg amputee that was a foot launch pilot.  There was a pilot that was a paraplegic that was flying a quad wheel launch unit.  Several other veterans, although they may have appeared able bodied, were dealing with injuries and ailments from IED blasts, years of wear on the body, and PTSD.
This group of pilots was exceptional to say the least.  Not only had they served their country in combat, making enormous sacrifices, but now they had all joined together for this amazing adventure of paramotor flight around Arizona.

​Here is an awesome challenge that has been set up by one of our supporters 1legflyernantucket.

"There is 250 days till Veterans Day! I am going to donate $1 a day, every day till Veterans Day to Resurgence PPG to help support their cause. If you can do the same, it will make a huge impact this year! Every one that makes the $250 pledge and puts “ACK250challenge” in the memo will be entered into a drawing for Paramotor training at Aviator PPG or an Aviator PPG Alliance school. (Paid by 1legflyernantucket) Already a PPG pilot? Give the life changing opportunity of training to someone who could benefit from it and fly with you. Everybody wins! #ACK250challenge #resurgenceppg #aviatorparamotorwww.resurgenceppg.com/donate.html"
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Rules of the contest: This campaign will run until Veterans Day, Monday Nov. 11, 2019. All qualifying entries must be received by Resurgence PPG no later than midnight Nov. 10, 2019 to qualify. One entry per qualifying donation of $250. Multiple entries are authorized. The winner will be randomly selected from qualified entrants and notified via email on Nov. 11, 2019. The winner will receive a training seat at either Aviator PPG in Lake Wales, FL or one of the Alliance Partner schools. Travel, lodging, and additional expenses will be the responsibility of the winner. Cash value of the prize is $3500. This contest is void where prohibited.

Resurgence PPG is happy to announce that we are officially expanding. Please help us welcome Brian Gleason to the team. As you can tell by this bad ass photo Brian does some amazing things for our country that Hollywood movies are made about. If you are a Brad Thor fan, Scot Harvath looks up to this guy. (google the reference)
Brian contacted me with a common desire to help impact the adaptive veteran community through some awesome sports. Realizing that he is on the west coast, we agreed that he would be a great addition to help us build our influence and grow our impact out west.
Given his contacts within the veteran and active duty communities we look forward to his immediate influence on what we have in store. Through our conversations it is apparent that we truly want to make a difference and we hope to do it in a big way. Now more than ever we are going to need your help with donations because this guy comes from a special world that runs on big budgets. Continue to help us out as we look to make a few changes as we grow and expand.
So please help me welcome Brian to the team and help us continue to spread our mission.
Always the best and God Bless!

Resurgence PPG is excited to announce our new partnership with A Warm Cup For Joe LLC.

A Warm Cup For Joe is a veteran owned coffee business that focuses on providing funding to various veteran focused charities.  If you are interested in supporting our mission while also drinking a fantastic cup of coffee, I encourage you to head on over to A Warm Cup For Joe and select the RISE Costa Rican Sunrise Blend.  All of the profits from this product line will be contributed to the specific programs of Resurgence PPG.  If Costa Rican Sunrise Blend isn't your thing, select one of the other blends and those proceeds will support a different, but equally worthy, veteran charity.

They say the Army runs off of coffee, so what better way to support Resurgence PPG than through a great cup of joe?

Stand by for us to integrate this product into our own store, or stop by the Resurgence PPG tent at any event and we should have some on hand for you to purchase.

Thanks so much to A Warm Cup For Joe LLC for reaching out to us and helping us support our adaptive veterans.

​Blue Skies

www.awarmcupforjoe.com/product-page/rise-costa-rican-sunrise-blend​

Folks have been wanting and asking, so we finally delivered.  If you are interested in supporting our mission through the purchase of a t-shirt just click on over to our web store.  We are offering our generation 1, Resurgence PPG t-shirt in all it's glory.  Worn by the likes of Tucker Gott, Matt Woodworth, Mark Huneycutt, Tom Kubat, Eric Farewell, and Anthony Vella.  You know you want to get yourself one.  This is a limited production run so get them while you can.

As always, thanks for your support and Blue Skies.

First I have to thank everyone that has supported the mission and cause of Resurgence PPG.  This past year was absolutely amazing.  From sponsoring our first candidates to building new relationships with other charities that support the adaptive veteran community, it has been awesome.  We could not have done it without the help of all the generous donors who made this possible.  From some incredible donations, down to the $2.37 donation, it all made such a difference in what we were able to accomplish.

So where does that take us in 2019?  For starters we are starting off the year strong.  We have an amazing candidate that we are sponsoring at the end of Jan.  To date we have been able to impact veterans whose disabilities ranged from PTSD, TBI, severely broken bones, a heart attack and a paraplegic.  One area we had not yet been able to support was that of amputees.  Until now!  Our next candidate is a single leg amputee that we are fortunate to sponsor through a foot launch student progression.  This is going to be such a great learning experience for so many people involved.  Stay tuned for more information.

Also, we are happy to announce that we now have our store front online.  If you are interested in purchasing a t-shirt from us, to help support our cause, they are now available.  Just click the link to the store and place your order.

Again, thank you so much to everyone that has supported us so far.  Please continue to spread our message and let folks know what an amazing mission we have.  Stay tuned for even more excitement and more lives impacted this coming year.  It's going to be great.

Always the best and Blue Skies!!!

 

Wow, what an amazing week.  This past week we were honored to be able to provide sponsorship to yet another candidate.  Ben Pechacek is a combat veteran that suffered the results of a failed medical procedure.  During the procedure he was rendered a paraplegic and lost the use of his legs.  It was his sheer determination that during his rehabilitation he regained limited use of his legs and lower extremities.   
After the initial medical procedure, Ben found himself in a very dark place.  His life had been dramatically altered and so many opportunities had been taken from him.  To his credit he has fought hard through some incredibly difficult times and he has started his own business.  We were so fortunate to be able to come across his story and help him reach his goal of getting into the air once again.

On Oct 4, 2018, we met with Eric Dufour of Paratour in Valkaria FL.  Eric is a legend in the sport of paramotoring and has an expertise of training individuals on trikes and quads.  Eric has also invented a Skykart that is a semi-remote controlled paramotor quad that enables new pilots to take the controls of a paramotor and fly, as easily as driving a car.  Once the introductions were made, class began.  Over the course of a few days there was ground school class discussions and plenty of taxi and kiting practice.  When the conditions were right Ben slipped the grasps of earth and climbed into the sky for his first solo quad flight.  It was such a great experience to see the happiness and joy on his face as his dream was realized.  We can not thank Eric Dufour enough for all of the work and support he put in, helping us achieve this dream.

As of this writing Ben is still completing his training with numerous flights under his belt.  We can not wait to see where this new found freedom takes him.  Always the best and Blue Skies Ben!!!

This past weekend we were fortunate enough to attend a paramotor fly in.  It was the "Fly It If You Got It" fly in hosted by Jeff Pearson out of Rebel Field near Vale, NC.  I am not sure the total number of attendees, both pilot and observer, but I am sure that everyone in attendance had a great time.

We were so fortunate to be able to share our mission with the various attendees and help spread the word of our support to the adaptive veteran community.  As a new approach to branding, Resurgence PPG organized our first supported cross country flying event.  We had a total of 10 pilots that endeavored to complete a 55 mile circuit that consisted of two stops at airports in the local area.  The morning found us in fog and very low clouds with a light variable wind that proved stubborn in moving the clouds out of the area.  After almost a two hour wait the gaggle of pilots was able to launch and be on their way.

The interesting dynamic of a simple cross country is that it is not in fact simple at all.  Given the variables, to include weather, pilots are always having to make go/ no go decisions.  Some of the pilots found themselves caught in the weather and low clouds, which made for some off field landings.  Other pilots were able to navigate to the first way point, while others diverted to the second way point for safety.  Once the various pilots were collected up, there were only 3 pilots that were able to complete the adventure.  This feat speaks to the true challenge of a cross country flight.

We could not have completed such an adventure without the help and support of our chase vehicle staff.  Without them we would have been struggling to get everyone home safely.  For that I am forever grateful.

With the cross country experience behind us, we enjoyed the rest of the weekend with friends, good food, music and fireworks.  It was a fitting end to a great weekend of flying.  We are so humbled by the support we have received and look forward to making new friends and new adventures in the future.

Always the best and Blue Skies.

​***HUGE NEWS***
We are so excited to announce that our next candidate has been identified.
Ty David Hayden is a Marine that served twelve and a half years before receiving his medical review and separation. While serving Ty unfortunately suffered a heart attack. After completing his recovery and rehabilitation, while on his way into work, a car pulled out in front of him while he was on his motorcycle. He hit the car with an impact speed over 60 mph. He spent the next five months recovering from his injuries. Subsequent to his convalescence he was placed into a medical review process, after which he separated from the Marines, receiving a 100% disability rating from the VA.
The mission of Resurgence PPG is to help our veterans that have experienced life changing events realize a new and therapeutic adventure sport while building strong relationships that will benefit the candidates for years to come.
We are so happy to be able to name Ty as our next recipient and are super excited to announce that he will be receiving his training from Josh Boden at Nebraska Paramotor. It is a beautiful area to fly and there are a great group of pilots that will be able to welcome Ty into the sport while flying over the "Field of Dreams".
Finally, all this would not be possible without the charitable support of Jeff and Linda Fair. Their generosity has enabled Resurgence PPG to move forward with a number of program initiatives that I hope will really build our brand and support our mission. Without the Fair family's support, this would not happen. Thank you so much Jeff and Linda.