Rob Kells one of my hang gliding heroes, has just died while fighting prostate cancer.

Rob had so much time, energy, enthusiasm, for hang gliding and the people involved. Any pilot that met Rob had tons of respect for him. He SET the standard of professionalism and customer service in the hang gliding industry. One thing that was special about Rob, is that you could ask him anything and he'd spend time to help you out, and make sure you were sweet, before moving on.

At the USA Speed Gliding Nationals at Lookout Mountain Flight Park in.....2000, he helped me take a rather piggy Wills Wing Fusion and get it ripping fast. We had a blast. He knew that I was going to TRY and make it go fast (unstock), so he figured he might as well help me, and reduce the chance of me tumbling the wing or something....He didn't want anyone to get hurt, but he wanted to help a comp pilot push the limits. -a tricky balance for a manufacturer's rep.

I wish I could have spent more time with Rob, especially "back in the day". He had some great stories that I loved hearing from his positive outlook. I'm sure his ol' flying buddies must feel a bigger loss, but a bigger gain, by having shared up to 35 years of flying adventures...

Here's what Rob has set up to educate others about prostate cancer (image):

Here's the link for the above image: http://www.willswing.com/flystrongInfo.asp

It's great. Check it out. You can even buy a shirt. I am...

I remember meeting Rob in 1995 (?) and getting really motivated, as here was a guy that had been flying for years, still LOVED it, was extremely professional, and gave so much back to the sport. This encounter meant a lot to a young guy that was about to ditch a career of Geotechnical Engineering and start chasing a hang gliding dream....

Last week, I went up to the hill. I hadn't flown for a while (wind conditions) and didn't get to again (I can't remember why....) but it didn't matter when I saw this.....

....it was one of those moments where I just stopped.... and appreciated where hang gliding has taken me, and who I have been able to meet. Keep your airspeed UP, Rob.