< PreviousA recent incident involving members of the public reminds us of the need to take extra care when there are spectators watching. Fortunately the incident was resolved without serious injury. However please take care around onlookers, bystanders, picnicking families, dog-walkers and – in particular – children. The lack of spinning propellers and noisy exhausts can make free flying seem as safe as putting out the washing; however as pilots we are aware of the hazards – please ensure that members of the public are not put in danger. If necessary, suggest where they could get a better view and would be safer. Particularly on holiday weekends when there may be many pilots and members of the public around, there could be a real risk of injury. The consequences of a serious injury to a bystander don’t bear thinking about. 10 SKYWINGS JUNE 2019 safety matters Formal Investigation synopsis On 26th July 2018, BHPA Club Pilot Sami Lamrani, an Algerian national living in London, was fatally injured whilst flying at St. Geniez in France. A BHPA Formal Investigation found that he impacted the ground following an asymmetric collapse of his paraglider, from which he was unable to recover. The report can be found on the BHPA website. The BHPA extends its sincere condolences to Sami’s family and friends. Two fatalities It is with regret that we report the death of Andy Walkden, 54, in a paragliding accident at Southport in Merseyside on Thursday April 11th that was widely reported in the media. His paramotor was seen to crash and catch fire on public land adjacent to the Royal Birkdale Golf Club at around 7pm; he was later pronounced dead at the scene. On Saturday April 20th BHPA member Richard Harrison, 35, died in a paragliding incident at Broughton Heights near Peebles in Scotland. Although Andy Walkden was not a member, BHPA Formal Investigations have been convened to investigate the circumstances of both incidents and reports will appear in due course. We offer our sympathies to the family and friends of both pilots. 11 Dec 2018. Male pilot aged 67, P rated Site & conditions: Nigel’s, Morocco, 10 - 15km/h, light turbulence Glider: Ozone Buzz Z5 Incident: Pilot attempted to top land but was too low, resulting in a low hook turn. Pilot injured wrist in cushioning fall. Injury: Minor: Hands, arms, shoulder 11 Dec 2018. Male pilot aged 58, CP rated Site & conditions: Northampton tow field, 0 - 5km/h, not turbulent Glider: Gin Bolero 5 Incident: Line break at 20m resulted in glider diving forwards, not controlled by the pilot. He swung under the glider, which appeared in a stalled state. Pilot landed heavily in a seated position. Injury: Serious 15 Dec 2018. Male pilot aged 26, CP rated Site & conditions: Glacier 3000, Switzerland, 0 - 5km/h, not turbulent Glider: Ozone Rapi-Dos Incident: Mini-wing pilot took off but hit a ledge that was not visible from take-off. Wing collapsed and pilot fell 140m before coming to rest a further 100m down the snow slope. Injury: Serious 18 Dec 2018. Male pilot aged 52, P rated Site & conditions: Legzira, Morocco, 5 - 10km/h, not turbulent Glider: BGD Cure Incident: During forward launch pilot did not notice A line had become caught on rear riser steering loop. Glider suffered asymmetric collapse but pilot was able to recover and land safely. Injury: None 2 Jan 2019. Male pilot aged 43, P rated Site & conditions: Portland East, 15 - 20km/h, moderate turbulence Glider: BGD Epic Incident: Pilot attempted to top land at a cliff top and was caught out by rotor turbulence. Injury: Serious: Lumbar spine 3 Jan 2019. Female pilot aged 56, CP rated Site & conditions: Herne Bay, 15 - 20km/h, not turbulent Glider: Advance Pi 2 Incident: Pilot stayed too close to the slope while ridge soaring and drifted sideways, impacting the slope. Injury: Serious: hands, arms, shoulder 9 Jan 2019. Male pilot aged 38, P rated Site & conditions: Lords Seat, 25 - 30km/h, moderate turbulence Glider: MacPara Eden 6 Incident: Pilot took off in windy conditions and found it was stronger than expected, and more off to the west than was ideal. Pilot had to apply increasing amounts of speed bar to penetrate, and eventually full bar to avoid being blown back over ridge. Then suffered asymmetric collapse and was unable to recover before hitting the ground. Injury: None 31 Jan 2019. Male pilot aged 32, CP rated Site & conditions: Bradwell, 5 - 10km/h Glider: Team 5 Blue Incident: Pilot was flying with new foot stirrup, and on launching caught his speed system around his flight deck. He rectified this, then attempted to use his stirrup. On reaching for the stirrup he accidentally grabbed his parachute deployment handle and pulled it, releasing the pins. The parachute deployed and the pilot landed safely. Injury: None 22 Feb 2019. Male pilot aged 54, CP rated Site & conditions: Windy Knoll, Derbyshire, 20 - 25km/h, moderate turbulence Glider: Nova Mentor 4 Incident: Pilot suffered asymmetric collapse on final approach. Glider rotated and was blown back over parked cars. Pilot landed on cars but was uninjured. Injury: None 22 Feb 2019. Male pilot aged 22, CP rated Site & conditions: Macher, Lanzarote, 10 - 15km/h, moderate turbulence Glider: Aeros Target Incident: Pilot stalled the glider while ridge soaring, lost control and impacted the side of the hill. Injury: Minor: hands, arms, shoulder 23 Feb 2019. Male pilot aged 51, CP rated Site & conditions: Mere Rifle Range, 15 - 20km/h, light turbulence Glider: Advance Alpha 6 Incident: Pilot turned into the hill while attempting to top land. Had assumed he would encounter lift as he had on the previous beat. Injury: Minor 1 Mar 2019. Male pilot aged 30, CP rated Site & conditions: Fochriw, 15 - 20km/h, not turbulent Glider: Ozone Rush 4 Incident: Pilot was ground handling and went to forward launch as wind was dropping off. Speed bar line caught in reserve handle upon launch run, which pulled out and inflated his emergency parachute. Injury: None Look after members of the public BHPA accident and incident digest The following is an edited digest of Incident Reports submitted to the FSC between December 11th 2018 and March 25th 2019. The complete list of reports can be found at JUNE 2019 SKYWINGS 11 2 Mar 2019. Male pilot aged 26, CP rated Site & conditions: Tap o’Noth, 20 - 25km/h, moderate turbulence Glider: Gin Sprint 3 Incident: Pilot inflated wing in breezy conditions but had a knot in the lines. Was dragged over into a rock. Injury: Serious: Feet, legs 14 Mar 2019. Male pilot aged 46, CP rated Site & conditions: Montellano, Spain, 10 - 15km/h, moderate turbulence Glider: Advance Xi Incident: Pilot, flying a friend’s wing, suffered an asymmetric collapse while thermalling. Due to lack of ground clearance he successfully deployed his emergency parachute and landed safely. Injury: None 18 Mar 2019. Male pilot aged 46, P rated Site & conditions: Devils Dyke, 10 - 15km/h, light turbulence (front influence) Glider: Niviuk Artik 4 Incident: Pilot took off in deteriorating conditions with rain beginning to fall. In his haste to get down the pilot initiated big ears but stalled one side of the glider on releasing the ears. Glider entered a spin and pilot landed heavily. Injury: Serious 20 Mar 2019. Male pilot aged 59, P rated Site & conditions: Merthyr Common, 25 - 30km/h, not turbulent Glider: Nova Bion Incident: Pilot launched tandem in windy conditions and was immediately lifted off with passenger. Pilot could not see as passenger harness had become stuck over the Quick-Out carabiners, obscuring his vision. Was able to land after a short beat but fell on passenger on landing. Injuries: Pilo: None; Passenger: Minor 24 Mar 2019. Male pilot aged 48, P rated Site & conditions: Combe Gibbet, 15 - 20km/h, moderate turbulence Glider: 777 Queen 2 Incident: Pilot took off, but due to thermic activity masking the true wind direction he did not realise the wind was off the slope. Shortly after take-off an asymmetric collapse turned him into the hill. Injury: Serious 24 Mar 2019. Male pilot aged 48, P rated Site & conditions: N/A Glider: Advance Iota Incident: During a kit inspection as part of guided XC week, pilot discovered his parachute had been incorrectly mounted by a service centre. The parachute was impossible to deploy as the bridle had been routed down the right side of the harness and the deployment handle on the left. Injury: None 24 Mar 2019. Male pilot aged 34, CP rated Site & conditions: Westbury, 20 - 25km/h, moderate turbulence Glider: Advance Epsilon 6 Incident: While thermalling at low level, pilot had a mid-air collision with another paraglider who was ridge soaring. Pilots took avoiding action at the last moment, resulting in wing tips brushing against each other. Both pilots continued flying. Injuries: None 24 Mar 2019. Male pilot aged 32, CP rated Site & conditions: Firle, 10 - 15km/h, light turbulence Glider: Ozone Buzz Z6 Incident: Pilot with ridge on his right had mid-air collision with low-airtime pilot. The other pilot appeared to take no avoiding action despite having eye contact, resulting in wing tips colliding. Pilot with ridge on right landed heavily but was unhurt. Injuries: None 25 Mar 2019. Male pilot aged 51, rating not recorded Site & conditions: Mam Tor NW, 25 - 30km/h, light turbulence Glider: Skywalk Tequila 2 Incident: Pilot was blown back over spine-back ridge in increasingly windy conditions. Crashed on lee side. Injury: Serious: Internal 12 SKYWINGS JUNE 2019 dead centre Andrew PGAWC Turkey The first event of the four-competition 2019 World Cup series took place at Alanya on Turkey’s southern coast. 93 pilots from 20 countries took part in the mid-April event, producing a very high standard of scoring in the smooth coastal winds. After three rounds Jafro Megawanto of Indonesia and Seongmin Lee of South Korea shared the lead on 3cm, followed by Goran Djurkovic of Serbia, Pascal Piazzalunga of France and Roni Pratama of Indonesia all sharing third place on 4cm. Rika Wijayanti of Indonesia (6cm) was top female in eighth place, followed by Romania’s Georgianna Birgoz (8cm) and South Korea’s Cho So Young (10cm). Slovenian team I Feel Slovenia and the Indonesian Trunojoyo team shared the lead on 14cm, followed by Serbia’s No Name on 22cm. In the end five rounds were completed, with an amazing 40 pilots having a total score of less than 20cm. After five rounds there were still no clear individual winners, Slovenia’s Matjaz Feraric and Matjaz Sluga sharing first place on 3cm, and Jafro Megawanto, Goran Djurkovic and Pascal Piazzalunga sharing third on 4cm. Additional flights were therefore required to try and determine the winners. Matjaz Feraric and Matjaz Sluga posted the same scores in the re-flights and had to share the win. In the battle for third place Jafro Megawanto and Pascal Piazzalunga also posted the same best score and ended up sharing third place. Rika Wijayanti (7cm) held on to the top female place in ninth position overall, with Cho So Young (8cm) moving up to second and Marketa Tomaskova (11cm) of the Czech Republic in third. I Feel Slovenia were able to take the top team place off Trunojoyo. 1= Matjaz Sluga Slovenia Gradient Bright 5 0.03m 1= Matjaz Feraric Slovenia BGD Adam 0.03m 3= Jafro Megawanto Indonesia Gradient Bright 0.04m 3= Pascal Piazzalunga France Skywalk Mescal 0.04m 5 Goran Djurkovic Serbia Skywalk Mescal 5 0.04m 6= Boran Jovanoski Macedonia BGD Adam 0.05m 6= Johny Effendy Indonesia Gradient Bright 5 0.05m 6= Vlastimil Kricnar Czech Republic Axis Para Compact 3 0.05m 9 Rika Wijayanti Indonesia Gradient Bright 5 0.07m 1 I Feel Slovenia Slovenia/France 0.16m 2 Trunojoyo Indonesia 0.30m 3 No Name Serbia/Romania 0.39m 4 North Cyprus CASA Cyprus 0.63m 5 Let Us Fly Korea/Mongolia 0.70m 6 NMK Macedonia 0.70m 7 Turkish Turkey 1.25m 8 Czech Czech Republic 1.35m 9 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan 1.55m 10 Sky Korea Korea 2.03m Full results can be found on World Cup joint winners (L - R) Matjaz Sluga and Matjaz Feraric (equal 1st), and Pascal Piazzalunga and Jafro Megawanto (eq Katie Sykes goes for the pad during South Cerney squad training Photo: Andre w W ebsterPhoto:s Loren Co x / Ozone Media JUNE 2019 SKYWINGS 13 UK Paragliding Accuracy Squad The first squad training weekend of 2019 took place in early April at a cold North Luffenham airfield, where flying took place on both the Saturday and Sunday in blustery winds. Due to the nature of the wind Saturday became a training day, with pilots taking off in the lulls. Attendees were able to watch Rutland Airsports Club chairman Hugh Burnaby-Atkins thermal into the distance on a 50km flight to Hinckley – not bad for his first flight of the year. The wind was slightly stronger on the Sunday. Hopes were pinned on a forecast decrease by mid-afternoon. Right on cue the wind dropped, allowing a selection competition to take place. Only three rounds could be validated, Andy Shaw taking the win with a total score of 10cm. Ed Cunliffe, flying an UP Ascent 4 for the first time, was able to post four pad scores and in doing so claimed his Diamond Accuracy award. Big thanks go to the Rutland club for hosting the event, and to Andy Shaw for operating the winches and providing operator training. The following weekend, in the glorious Easter bank holiday weather, accuracy flying took place at both Green Dragons and Birdwings sites. At South Cerney Birdwings hosted a great weekend, with GLSW&S Scouts providing a winch and lots of paragliding accuracy and thermalling opportunities. Martin Robe was also on hand, towing squares on to the tuffet target, and Jane Houston took to the air for the first time in 19 years! Reports by Andy Webster qual 3rd)Ed Cunliffe on his way to a Diamond Accuracy award at North Luffenham Photo: Andre w W ebsterpilot profile No. 306: Warwick Lister-Kaye Age? 43 Marital status? Married to a remarkably tolerant redhead. We have a lovely daughter, two Jack Russells and four hens. Where were you born? Born and brought up in the Highlands of Scotland – a wild playground of adventure and self-reliance in the 70s and 80s. Where do you live now? In Strathglass, right on the edge of the largest remaining wild area in Europe. Glens Affric, Cannich and Strathfarrar are on my doorstep and make for wonderful flying on the right day. We live on a south-facing slope overlooking the River Beauly, and with views to the hills to the west. I consider us incredibly lucky to live where we do, and hope to manage an XC from the hill above my house one day! Occupation? We run a small wildlife tourism business and a couple of holiday cottages, which I developed from ruins. This allows me pretty good flexibility when the right day comes along! Previous occupations? I was an infantry officer in The Highlanders for six years. I’ve also worked as a jackaroo in Australia; a tour guide in Scotland, Egypt, Jordan, Ecuador, Argentina, Brazil and Antarctica; a recruitment consultant in London; a professional photographer and a property developer. I’ve been in the wildlife tourism and environmental education field for over a decade now, and love showing others the beauty and wildlife of this remarkable country. How and when did you start flying? I trained with Flying Fever on Arran in 2014, quickly followed up with an SIV with Jocky Sanderson, and trips abroad to try to increase my hours and experience. Which pilots most influenced you? Neil Rollings and Mark Robson looked after me during my somewhat over-enthusiastic first couple of years. Neil remains a great friend and regular flying buddy. Matt Church, Jules Robinson and Tony Shepherd tolerated my endless newbie questions and taught me a hell of a lot, directly and through example. I continue to learn daily from the fantastic friends I have made in this sport – Przemek Marek, Matt Wilkes, Tim Bridle, the Rider brothers and many, many others. Bren Reid mentored me, as he did so many budding Scottish pilots; his life-changing accident left the Scottish flying scene deeply impoverished. There is a very exciting new breed of Scottish pilots who are exploring the vol-biv possibilities in the area. I am inspired by the multi-day adventures of Kieran Campbell, Seb Rider and Adrian How. I would also like to mention, and express gratitude to, my fellow committee members, who give of themselves for no tangible personal gain. In particular Irene Carson and Adrian Smith for their behind-the-scenes effort and advice. Where and what was your most memorable flying experience? So many flights are so memorable for different reasons! Last year Przemek Marek and I launched in Glen Strathfarrar on my doorstep. The day looked good for a possible XC to the west coast but Przemek didn’t have a radio and Aleks, his wife, was in a campervan at launch, so there were what you might call limiting factors! By the time we reached the end of the road, base was at 6500ft and Przemek set off downwind. 'He’s going for it!', I thought. 65km of wild, trackless Highland scenery later we landed together on the beach at Kyle of Lochalsh. Aleks had gone to my house and was happily hanging out with my wife when we got home. That was an awesome day of firsts for me. What is your favourite flying site in Britain? Neil Rollings and I soared the length of Glen Torridon in the winter a couple of years ago, including along the knife-edge cornice of Liathach. It doesn’t get much better than that in the UK as far as I’m concerned. What is your favourite site in Europe? I haven’t flown much of Europe, just short visits to Bulgaria, Spain, Turkey and France. I loved Laragne during the Chabre Open last year. What is your favourite site in the world? Other than Scotland? Bir. Who do you most admire in the sport? Antoine Girard. I have a framed photo of him over Broad Peak in my bedroom! His adventures seem to represent the pinnacle of what can be achieved with this incredible sport. What trait do you most deplore in yourself? There are many! Intolerance is something I actively work on countering. What trait do you most deplore in other people? I can’t abide liars. When not flying, what do you do for recreation? I tend to be working on some project or another, and currently I am developing a ruined croft building. I also enjoy canoeing down the river in front of my house, spending time with my family, camping and red wine. What is your favourite piece of music? Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd. What is your favourite book? Anything by Richard Dawkins. What is your favourite film? As a very amateur producer of paragliding films [YouTube: Warwick Lister-Kaye]. I tend to spend quite a lot of time seeking inspiration from others. Check out the superbly-produced videos of Brett Hazlett on Vimeo – very inspiring stuff. What is your greatest fear? Harm to my daughter. What is your idea of perfect happiness? A curry and glass of wine with my wife after a good XC day with friends in the Highlands. What would your motto be? I love the Douglas Bader quote: Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools. How would you like to be remembered? As a man of integrity. Working on it! 14 SKYWINGS JUNE 2019 Warwick has had recurring dreams of flight since early childhood and flew power kites for many years, but didn’t get around to learning to paraglide until spurred into action by the prospect of his impending forties. He learned on Arran and in Spain, then cut his teeth under the watchful eye of a couple of patient Highland Club pilots. That experience impressed on him the importance of the club environment, coaching and mentorship. He is now trying to give something back to the sport through the Highland Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club and the Scottish Hang Gliding and Paragliding Federation (SHPF); he is currently Chairman of both. 'The SHPF is a force for a great deal of good in Scotland,' he says. 'It organises coaching courses, reserve repacks, administers the Scottish Nationals and League and supports a plethora of regional activities and courses. It is quietly working away for the benefit of all Scottish pilots and I’m proud to be part of it.'JUNE 2019 SKYWINGS 15 Dune du Pyla 6th - 13th July Waga, waga, waga! Brush up on your ground handling, hone your skills, soar Europes biggest sand dune and just enjoy the ambience. Spain Paramotoring 27th July - 31st August Beginners and improvers paramotring courses and conversion courses for paraglider pilots Olu-Deniz, Turkey October 12th – 19th This destination is one of the most pictureseque places you will ever fly. 6000ft top to bottoms, landing on the beach. Morocco EP, CP & post CP November 2nd – 16th and March 7th - 21st 2020 Struggling to finish your CP or are you already qualified? Come and join us in sunny Morocco where we’ve been teaching for the last 10 years. Columbia January 25th - February 8th 2020 Thermalling and First XC's around Medellin area. Call us for full details tel: 07779 790 637 or 01974 241574 or MID WALES PG CENTRE COURSES 2019 Photo: Becky Lister-Ka yehang points 16 SKYWINGS JUNE 2019 The competition was started in the late 70s by Kiwi pilots inspired by some of the big-distance American comps. Unlike the old-style US comps, the Classic is still going and could be one of the longest- running annual hang gliding competitions. A couple of the initial pilots are also still flying in it, notably Rod Stuart who flew against our own legend, Johnny Carr, at the Kössen Worlds in the 70s! It is probably the relaxed atmosphere which brings everyone back every year. More an excuse for pilots to get together for some flying, then sit round an open fire and watch the sun go down while drinking a few beers. An unfortunate overlap with the Category 2 NZ Nationals meant the Classic wasn’t as well attended as in previous years. As a result I skipped the first couple of days, but didn’t miss much as the weather was relatively stable and only a couple of short XCs were achieved. Pilots gathered at the Omarama Gliding Club for the morning weather brief. This was an amazing insight – full-time sailplane pilots present a detailed daily weather brief to anyone interested. They finish with a summary of the potential strengths and location of wave, thermal and convergence lift. The hang glider pilots then get together and decide where to launch. It’s not a requirement for all pilots to use the same launch but everyone usually goes to the same place. The tasks are purely about distance – straight lines measured along your GPS track (although, in true vintage style, landing witnesses are also still accepted!). It was blown out for two days after I arrived and it wasn’t until Day 5 that I finally got to fly Omarama. We headed to Magic Mountain, which takes all directions and is the usual favourite for the local pilots. The drive up is far from magic, with switch-backs, shingle surfaces and steep drop-offs. It’s quite an extreme experience and many retrieve drivers refuse to go there. Task 3. With little local knowledge besides an awareness of a lack of sealed roads and/or phone signal down particular valleys, I wasn’t planning to push things Omarama XC Classic Antipodean adventures continue on from the last month’s article on the New Zealand nationals. With another Brit, Pete Helliwell, I travelled to the Omarama XC Classic, a vintage hang gliding competition based on distance. The stunning Omarama basin is surrounded by majestic snow-capped mountains that grow out of golden, dry plains and turquoise glacial lakes. The area is renowned for consistent exceptional wave conditions; it’s on every serious sailplane pilot’s bucket list, and every year New Zealand hang gliding pilots congregate there for the Classic. Photo: Ned Pit t Kno wles Steve Blackler launching from Buscot during the Omarama XC ClassicJUNE 2019 SKYWINGS 17 too much. I flew down a ridge called Ohau, which has a ski field and one of those beautiful lakes surrounded by mountains, and spectacular views straight out of a National Geographic centrefold. Where the main road and phone signal finished I turned around and flew back past launch and on to the gliding club to extended my straight-line distance. Connecting with convergence helped me make it back to the town and I landed in a strong sea breeze. Bill Degen won the day, flying 48km towards Mt Cook, New Zealand’s tallest mountain. He was pretty isolated and had started to prepare a fire and shelter, expecting to camp out for the night, until he made radio contact with his driver after dark! Task 4. I joined the main group of pilots on a more civilised mountain called Buscot, while four or five others returned to Magic Mountain. The forecast height of lift wasn’t very great and the Buscot pilots were able to squeeze out a bit more distance within the Omarama basin before getting trapped by the surrounding high ground. No-one got high enough to escape, a shame because the conditions beyond the surrounding ridges looked very good. I flew one peak for about an hour before I gave up and glided back the way I had come. Derek McGee, last year’s winner, won the day by flying a little bit upwind before heading downwind for a total of 34.5km. Task 5. Everyone drove up Magic early as the north-westerly wind was forecast to pick up. I was one of only four pilots able to launch before it became too strong. The route downwind took us back across the main basin and over the gliding club, then down a valley, Waitaki, with three dams. Landings were limited, but once past the dams everything opened out and became flatter, giving endless landing fields, roads and telephone reception. Unfortunately this is where the sea breeze meets little resistance, and everyone who flew hit a wall at 80km and landed within a few kms of each other. Bill Degen won the day again with 83.8km. The wind set in and put an end to the relaxed and fun competition. It was a shame as I would have loved to explore the area a little bit more. Two prizes are awarded at the Classic; for the longest single XC and for the the best distance hang points 18 SKYWINGS JUNE 2019 Westerly route out of the Omarama basin above the Lindis Pass Bill Degen collects the Omarama trophies yet again from three flights. Bill Degen won both, getting his name on the silverware once more. It was a fun comp, and interesting to fly with a traditional distance format over such spectacular scenery. If anyone is thinking of attending I would highly recommend it. You would be warmly welcomed by the local Kiwis and certain to have a great time, but don’t forget your satellite GPS tracker! Best three distances (km) 1 Bill Degen Wills Wing T2C 179.1 2 Steven Blackler Moyes RX3.5 149.4 3 Derek McKee Moyes RS4 141.3 4 Gavin Tweedie Wills Wing T2C 85.5 5 Marty Smith 43.6 6 Rod Stuart Moyes RX5 30.3 7 Stephen Fergusson 25.7 8 Pete Helliwell Aeros Combat L 22.1 9 Andre van der Elst 11.3 10 Dan Campbell Moyes RS4 7.0 Report by Steve BlacklerDifficult weather over the May Day bank holiday saw three tasks – and only one for the Club Class – flown at Round 1 of the BOS, based at Llangattock near Abergavenny. The South East Wales round doubled as the 2019 British Open, making Grant Crossing Crossingham the British Open Champion – for the first time since 2012! Full report next month. Class 1 1 Grant Crossingham Moyes RX3.5 Pro 2,138 2 Justin Needham Moyes RX3.5 2,064 3 Graham Phipps Wills Wing T2C 144 1,783 Class 5 1 Mike Amrstrong Atos VQ11 1,886 2 Tim King Atos VR18FF 1,643 3 Craig Dolwin Atos VRS 1,195 Club Class 1 Neil Kelly Wills Wing U2 287 2 Ian Parker Avian Puma 107 3 Paul Boyd Moyes Litesport 96 Conspicuous by their absence at the BOS were a few top British pilots who were getting in some early practice in Italian air at the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia Spring Trophy. The event was won by former world champion Christian Ciech from fellow Italian Alex Ploner and Switzerland’s Peter Neuenschwander. Germany’s Tim Grabowski was top Class 5 pilot. The World Championships will be contested in the same skies in July. 11 Andrew Hollidge Wills Wing T2C 1,402 15 Darren Brown Wills Wing T2C 1,333 18 Gordon Rigg Moyes Litespeed 1,272 19 Malcolm Brown Wills Wing T2C 1,139 27 Wayne Thompson Moyes Litespeed 880 JUNE 2019 SKYWINGS 19 BOS 1 Photo: Ste ve Blackler BHPA 500 Club WIN CASH PRIZES AND HELP THE ASSOCIATION! April winners Matthew Cassidy £133.80 Nick Short £66.90 Andy J Wallington £33.45 Adam Sullivan £20.07 David Webb £16.73 William McMurray £16.73 Andrew Jackson £13.38 Jon Harvey £13.38 Neal Lewis £10.04 R Looms £10.04 BHPA £334.48 If by the time you read this you have not received your cheque, please contact me on 07802 525099. Marc Asquith Next >