On December 7th, Ryan and one of his students, Deanna set the World Record for the Tandem Time to Climb to 3,000m
and also broke the existing Tandem altitude World Record by almost 5,000ft! They flew the Nirvana Instinct NS 230 and an Apco Play 42MKII for both World Records
For all flights, oxygen was used as well as a Flight Recorder. Ryan is very excited about these new World Records, and hopes to break some more in 2013 
As always, thank-you to the official observer, Dennis Chapman, all of Ryan’s sponsors and everyone else who helped and supported him!
On October 31st Ryan set a new record for the Time to Climb to 3,000m. He flew a Nirvana Instinct NS 230 and a Nirvana Hadron.
Congratulations Ryan!!!
Over the past few months I have been training for some high altitude flights which will hopefully lead to some new world records. While it sounds like an easy thing to train for, I am learning there are many aspects to this that need to be addressed. The first and most important one being my fear of heights. Yes, you read that correctly, believe it or not, I am afraid of heights. Not something you would expect to hear from a paraglider and base jumper. The key is just don’t look down!
I just received notice from the FAI that my Speed Over Straight Course 15km/25km has been ratified as a World Record. The final speed was 80.55km/hr! ( 50.05mph ) The old record was 72.96km/h
Thanks to all my sponsors and fellow pilots for their support.
I received notice yesterday from the FAI that my Speed Over a 50 km Closed Course has been ratified as a World Record! The final speed was 75.35km/h! ( 46.82mph ) I am very excited about this. I guess now it’s time to start planning which record I will break next. 
Thanks to all my sponsors!
Dear Ryan:
Congratulations! Your record claimed on April 8, 2012, has been approved as a United States record
as follows:
Speed Over a Straight Course : 50.05 mph
Class R, Microlights
Subclass: RPF1Tm
The record dossier has been forwarded to the Federation Aeronautique Internationale in Switzerland
for approval as a World record. You can track the progress of FAI’s review of your record online
by searching on record ID 16521 at:
Per your previous request, we will mail the certificates to you after FAI has approved both
records.
Art
———————————-
A.W. Greenfield
Director, Contest and Records
http://www.naa.aero
National Aeronautic Association
Suite 202
1 Reagan National Airport, Hngr 7
Washington, DC 20001-6015
As many of you have already heard, I had a silly accident a few weeks ago and broke my back after falling out the side of my truck. I ended up in the hospital for a few days and while Joe & my dad graciously drove my truck and trailer to Florida, I had to fly out there and meet them. We decided to come right home after Beach Blast so that I could get some much-needed rest. After being home for a little over a week, I decided to head back to Arkansas for the Endless Foot Drag Competition. I was not planning to fly in the competition so instead of my proper competition gear, I only brought my Nirvana Top 80 motor with me.
I just received this email from the NAA letting me know that my Speed Over a 50 km Closed Course has been approved in the United States. It has been forward to the FAI for approval as a World Record!
Dear Ryan:
Congratulations! Your record claimed on March 31, 2012, has been approved as a United States
record as follows:
Speed Over a 50 km Closed Course : 46.82 mph
Class R, Microlights
Subclass: RPF1Tm
The record dossier has been forwarded to the Federation Aeronautique Internationale in Switzerland
for approval as a World record. You can track the progress of FAI’s review of your record online
by searching on record ID 16518 at:
We would be delighted to present your certificate at our Fall Awards Banquet on Tuesday, November
13, 2012, in Arlington, VA. If you prefer, we will mail the certificate to you. Please let us
know your preference.
Once again, congratulations on this record,
Art
———————————-
A.W. Greenfield
Director, Contest and Records
http://www.naa.aero
Hello everyone,
We have just gotten back from a fun trip to Panama City, Florida for the annual Beach Blast PPG Fly In. This year was going to be the first US Pylon Competition and this attracted quite a few of the international pilots to Beach Blast this year. Unfortunately, as many of you already know, due to a severe crash during the preliminary race, the competition was cancelled. Other than this one incident, it was a great show. The beaches are beautiful and the weather cooperated for most of the days we were there. There is always a good turnout at Beach Blast and this year was no exception, Nirvana/Paradrenalin sales were the highest they have been. I sold every motor that I brought with me and took some additional orders. It was great to see the guys from Nirvana and all the other pilots from around the US. Now we are off to Arkansas for the Endless Foot Drag Flyin.
This past Sunday I set another new world record for the Speed Over a Straight Course 15/25km. I flew the Nirvana Instinct NS 230 and 22m Dudek Plasma. The preliminary results are a new world record of 80 km/hr. I beat the current world record of 72.96 km/hr and the current pending record of 75 km/hr. My take-off weight was 137.4 kgs and I carried approximately 30 lbs of extra weight to increase my speed.
I knew the conditions were not ideal, but I was running out of time to get this done. We sent up a helium balloon to test the winds and we could see that the upper winds starting at 500 feet were really strong. The balloon was bouncing around a lot showing us how turbulent it was. The flight turned out to be the scariest flight I have ever had. In all my years of flying, I have never flown in conditions so rough. At times my ground speed was up to 110 km/hr, that is crazy fast! The wing was all over the place. It was very difficult to keep the glider under control due to the turbulence. This flight is a true testament to how rock solid and stable reflex wings really are. I would never want to fly these conditions on any other wing. I flew the entire way on full speed bar with the trims all the way out and never a hint of a collapse.
I guess now it’s back to filling out more paperwork. Thank again to Dennis Chapman, my official observer. And thank-you to all of my sponsors.
Nirvana Paramotors
Paradrenalin
Dudek Paragliders
Jim Doyle, Pulse Star Spark Plugs
FlyStyle
Flymaster
Ryan Shaw is the owner of Paradrenalin and started paragliding in 1993, by 1996 he was flying competitions as a professionally sponsored competition pilot, and followed the competition circuit all over the world. Winning and placing in multiple competitions worldwide has given Ryan extensive experience with advanced maneuvers in all weather conditions. 