泡芙短视频

 

 

 

DURANGO, Colo.—When Fort Lewis College student Grady James hikes Smelter Mountain before dawn, he’s not chasing sunrise views but rather the quiet thrill of being lifted in the air, flying eye to eye with birds of prey as he glides over the Animas Valley. 

But each climb comes with uncertainty. After hiking hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of feet to launch site he has no guarantee the wind will be blowing the right way when he gets there.

That familiar frustration became the spark for a business idea that earned him the Grand Prize at Fort Lewis College’s annual Hawk Tank competition.

James, a Durango native and third-year Entrepreneurship & Small Business student, won the prize with Velocity Vane, a micro, solar-powered weather station designed to provide highly localized wind and weather data for pilots, paragliders, and outdoor recreationists navigating Southwest Colorado’s complex mountain terrain.

“I’m a paraglider pilot and I’ll be standing at my launch site without knowing the exact data for the wind and weather for where I’m standing because the weather stations will be miles and miles away,” he said.

“This solution aims to change that. It gives you localized weather data in a durable package at a fraction of the cost of traditional systems, a distributed network that becomes more valuable with each new device added.”

I’m targeting high value, early adopters in the aviation and outdoor recreation to start with and expansion into agriculture, search and rescue, wildlife monitoring and remote infrastructure.  Velocity Vane turns local weather data into global advantage with each new device.

“This area is full of microclimates,” James said. “Our weather data mostly comes from Grand Junction or a single station at the Durango airport, and that doesn’t tell you what’s happening on a specific ridge or face of a mountain.”

A nontraditional path back to Fort Lewis College

James began his college career in California as an aerospace engineering major before stepping away during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I did two years of an aerospace degree at California Polytechnic, then took two years off during COVID,” James said. “When things started opening back up, I spent a lot of time traveling and flying.”

It was during that time that James learned to paraglide, an unpowered form of aviation that relies entirely on wind and atmospheric conditions. He trained in Boulder, Colorado, living out of his truck for more than a month while attending flight school.

“I’ve always wanted to fly like a bird, silently,” he said. “Paragliding is one of the most accessible ways to do that.”

Eventually, James returned home to Durango and enrolled at Fort Lewis College, drawn by both affordability and the opportunity to work closely with faculty.

“The value for education here is pretty great,” he said. “You get amazing professors because it’s Durango, and who wouldn’t want to live here?”

From passion to problem-solving

James initially hoped to manufacture paragliding wings in the United States, but after researching international production and safety regulations, he pivoted.

“That idea ended up not being feasible here because of testing infrastructure and legal risk,” he said. “But I kept asking myself how I could stay connected to paragliding through business.”

That question led him to Velocity Vane.

Designed as a compact, solar-powered unit with few moving parts, the device collects wind speed and direction data and transmits it through a long-range radio transmission network to a companion app. The goal is to help users determine whether conditions are safe, before committing to a steep, early-morning climb.

“If I’m hiking 1,000 feet up Smelter at 5 am, I want to know if the wind is going to be right when I get there,” James said. “Right now, you can’t know that for sure.”

Hawk Tank brings ideas to fruition

James’ win marks the culmination of a multi-year relationship with Hawk Tank, a Shark Tank–style competition that supports entrepreneurs from high school through alumni.

“I’d heard about Hawk Tank years ago, but it took time to get my idea to a point where I could really commit to it,” he said. “Prototyping alone took nearly a year.”

Through Hawk Tank, participants develop financial models, refine pitches, and present their ideas to a panel of judges. James said the experience mirrors real-world entrepreneurship.

“You get out of it what you put into it,” he said. “The financial modeling alone—cash flow, cost of goods, projections—that’s invaluable, whether or not you start a business.”

Michael Valdez, a professor of management at Fort Lewis College’s Katz School of Business and organizer of the annual Hawk Tank competition, said it’s the learning that accompanies the competition that benefits students most.

“While the financial incentive is attractive, competitors really benefit from advisors who have the expertise to help them navigate an idea from concept to completion,” Valdez said. “That hands-on experience is invaluable and benefits everyone who participates in the competition, not just the winners.”

“I am always pleasantly surprised by the creativity and enthusiasm competitors bring,” Valdez said. “It’s wonderful to get to know young entrepreneurs and help facilitate that learning experience for them.”

Looking ahead

James said while Velocity Vane began as a solution for paragliding, he sees broader applications, from backcountry skiing to aviation safety in mountainous regions. He plans to use his prize money to continue prototyping and pursue intellectual property protection, with hopes of testing Velocity Vane locally with pilots, ski patrollers, and search-and-rescue professionals.

“At its core, this is about helping people make better decisions and be safer,” he said. “And for me, it’s about turning something I love into work that feels meaningful.”

James said for him participating, and winning Hawk Tank, represents a milestone.

“I’ve always had business ideas,” he said. “But this is the first time I’ve seen one really come to fruition. Having Fort Lewis College behind that makes a huge difference.”

Grand Prize (Top 泡芙短视频 team vs. Top SJC Team)

$5,000 Velocity Vane, Grady James: A solar-powered, LoRa-connected micro-weather station using pitot-tube wind measurement,  no moving parts, no costly cellular plan, deployable anywhere in minutes. 

泡芙短视频 College Track

1^st place ($5,000) Velocity Vane, Grady James: A solar-powered, LoRa-connected micro-weather station using pitot-tube wind measurement,  no moving parts, no costly cellular plan, deployable anywhere in minutes. 

2^nd place ($2,500) Pow Paddle, Ashton Black. A snowboard-specific propulsion device that enables riders to maintain momentum and generate forward motion across flat terrain, traversing sections, and deep powder without unstrapping from their board.

3^rd place ($1,000) Permit Wise, Markus Dewire and Emaliah Sawyer. An AI-backed software that streamlines the building permit process for applicants and planning departments alike. 

San Juan College Track

1^st place ($5,000) Film Kalitso, Makayla Yazzie. A New Mexico-based filmmaking and media production business

2^nd place ($2,500) Off-Road Transport, Omar Martine. A nonprofit non-emergency medical transportation.

Alumni Track
1^st place Klickpack, Dayna Weber. A premium, adventure focused, camera pack brand designed to meet the needs of photographers who seek adventure and require reliable camera protection, rethinking how “traditional” features are integrated into a more outdoor optimized design.

High School Track
1^st place ($500 for each member) - GIFD, Sohum Sanghvi. A platform where students and parents scan a restaurant receipt, select their teacher, and send the loyalty points as a free meal, in under 10 seconds. Teachers receive real, meaningful appreciation with no friction. Senders spend nothing extra.

2^nd place - Road Runner Mobile Motorcycle Detailing Co., Ryan Christopher Harper. A fully mobile, welcoming, educational, and professional experience for motorcycle detailing enthusiasts and riders alike.

3^rd place - Durango's Roots & Wings, Alahna Cundiff, Nicholas Lorenzini, Jack Poeling. A nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting single-parent families by helping them meet essential needs such as housing, childcare, therapy, transportation, groceries, and personal safety.