No. 379 NOVEMBER 2020 The magazine of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association2 SKYWINGS NOVEMBER 2020 attitude We called the meeting to review the BHPA finances in the light of a very worrying paper that had been circulated by our Treasurer. The financial projections for this year look like the Association will make a small profit of around £6,000. However, what would initially appear to be good news masks some very worrying figures. For instance, we have received in the region of £39,000 in payments from the Government’s furlough scheme. With two of our Technical Staff on furlough and all schools closed for a three-month period, FSC staff and volunteer expenses have reduced by £20,000. Our grant to competitions has also reduced by £20,000 and there have been a number of other savings. For instance, by having the office closed for three months our admin costs have reduced substantially. Membership income is significantly down despite the substantial rise in fees we saw in April. Most worryingly, the biggest area of fall in membership fees is in people joining for the first time, as would be expected with all the schools closed. We always operate on a rule of thumb that the vast majority of people join and remain a member for an average of three years. In order to keep numbers stable, new joiners have to exceed the number of people leaving. A fall in new joiners will have ongoing effects for several years to come. Given the levels of uncertainty, any future projections are difficult to make. In particular, the insurance premium is expected to rise very substantially at renewal. Currently, full members contribute approximately £55 each year to the premium. We are projecting that this will rise to close to £70 for next year. That rise has to be added to the other financial pressures that I have mentioned above. The Exec. Zoom meeting was called to begin to develop ways of saving money, some of which may be quite radical. However, even with radical savings, we think it is inevitable that membership fees will rise substantially again. The current headline number is £129 for a full annual member. I would not be surprised to see this rise to close to £150. Whilst that is of itself a substantial rise, the headline number is still exceptional value for £5 million insurance, a glossy monthly magazine and all the other benefits that membership of the BHPA brings. It works out at £2.88 per week or £12.50 per month. In my professional capacity I handle claims for a number of other airsports bodies. Many of them have a pretty continuous flow of medium-sized claims. The BHPA is different; we too have a steady flow of small claims, a few thousands of pounds here and there, but every four or five years we seem to get hit with a very large claim. At least one positive arises from the lockdown: less flying should mean fewer accidents and fewer claims. Let’s hope for a few good claims years once flying returns to normal. The future … MARC ASQUITH, BHPA CHAIRMAN I am writing this in early October, having just emerged from an hour-long Zoom meeting with other Exec. members.4 SKYWINGS NOVEMBER 2020 regulars regulars reviews reviews features NOVEMBER 2020 SKYWINGS 5 THE BHPA LTD 8 Merus Court, Meridian Business Park, Leicester LE19 1RJ. Tel: 0116 289 4316. Skywings magazine is published monthly by the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association Ltd to inform, educate and entertain those in the sports of Paragliding and Hang Gliding. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, their Council, Officers or Editor. The Editor and publisher accept no responsibility for any supposed defects in the goods, services and practices represented or advertised in this magazine. The Editor reserves the right to edit contributions. ISSN 0951-5712 SUBSCRIPTIONS AND DELIVERY ENQUIRIES Tel: 0116 289 4316, THE EDITOR Joe Schofield, 39 London Road, Harleston, Norfolk IP20 9BH. Tel: 01379 855021. COVER PHOTO Chrigel Maurer en route to joint second place in the DolomitiSuperFly event in August Photo Chrigel Maurer THIS PAGE Steve Young and Laminar Zero 9 in the Dolomites with the Langkofel and Col Rodella take-off in the background Photo: Steve Young DESIGN & PRODUCTION Fargher Design Ltd. Killane House, Ballaugh, Isle of Man, IM7 5BD. PRINT & DISTRIBUTION Newman Thomson Ltd, One Jubilee Rd, Victoria Ind. Est, Burgess Hill, RH15 9TL. ADVERTISING Tel: 07624 413737 Email: SKYWINGS ONLINE Go For the November issue enter the username Nov_2020 and the case-sensitive password pv#961Y$n For the December issue enter the username Dec_2020 and the case-sensitive password 73Ft8#1u DEADLINES News items and event/competition reports for the January issue must be submitted to the Skywings office by Monday November 30th. Letters for the December Airmail pages should arrive no later than Monday November 16th. Advertisement bookings for the December edition must arrive by Monday November 9th. Copy and classified bookings no later than Monday November 16th.6 SKYWINGS NOVEMBER 2020 news Did Ader fly in October 1890? It is thought by some researchers that French inventor Clément Ader was the first to fly a powered aircraft, on October 9th 1890. Ader’s bat-like Avion, or Éole, was powered by a lightweight steam engine; the machine weighed around 300kg – more than the 274-odd kg of the Wrights’ Flyer that would fly in 13 years time – and was rather steampunk in appearance. Ader didn’t claim that his machine had flown until 1906, when he wrote in a book that it had maintained a height of around 20cm for 50 metres at the Château d’Armainvilliers outside Paris. Although Ader claimed that the 1890 flight took place in front of witnesses, it was not officially recorded. The feat is generally accepted by historians, despite having been neither sustained or controlled – indeed the Avion had no aerodynamic controls. Ader took out a patent on the machine and went on to develop, with French Army backing, a twin-engined version, the Avion III (pictured), which did not fly. 130 years on, did Ader fly in 1890? Not in any way that nudged the scales of history. The Avion remains a fascinating example of the many attempts, throughout the 19th century, to develop a heavier-than-air flying machine. However he influenced nobody and nothing in aviation, except in one way … he gave the France and the world the name for an aeroplane – Avion. Nova pilots of the year Nova has made its annual Pilots of the Year awards. As well flying achievements, the criteria are commitment and Prior to the EC rebate scheme launch [News, October], the CAA advised the BHPA that devices transmitting FLARM would be eligible for rebate. FLARM is incorporated into several free flight devices from Naviter, Skytraxx, XC Tracer and Flymaster. When the scheme launched on October 5th we were surprised to see no mention of FLARM in the CAA’s landing page. Only Power FLARM, more suited to aircraft with cockpits and power supplies, was mentioned. The CAA has since confirmed that the FLARM-transmitting Skytraxx Beacon is eligible for rebate under the scheme. Further, the general rule of thumb is that if a device transmits FLARM, Pilot Aware or ADS-B it is valid – any other functionality is a welcome addition. As we go to press we await the CAA publishing a Q&A document to clear up many of our queries. Having processed a rebate application, we now know what is involved. After purchasing an EC device from a retailer you must register an account on the CAA portal, linked from the rebate scheme page. Submit your identity details (e.g. passport and driver’s licence scans). An ‘account approval’ email should follow – current indications are that this takes about a week. You then log into your account. Under the ‘Your Services’ section fill out the online form to apply for a rebate for your device, providing your bank details, a scan of the EC device receipt and your BHPA membership number and rating (Pilot or above). Assuming you meet the eligibility criteria and your application is successful, you can expect a payment to your bank account after 28 working days. Note the 50% rebate is on the ex-VAT amount. The rebate on a £500 device is thus about £208 – a substantial discount on the cost of an EC device. Further details are at DfT/CAA EC rebate scheme – update continued on page 9“I Like The Cut Of Your Jib” Luppitt, Honiton, Devon, EX14 4SA tel: 01404 891685 Simon Murphy’s Flying Circus I had to look it up, too, but that is what a customer said when he asked me to buy some flying kit. I suspect that very soon we will have done a deal, and I will be selling a very low airtime Buzz Z5, Gin harness and Gin reserve. I buy used stuff all the time, and the top photo shows a glider bought in the same manner, revelling in the fine winds of Beer Head. Deals like this are the stuff of life at the Flying Circus. My customers tend to be lovely people, and thus I acquire vast amounts of stock to sell on, like this immaculate X-Alps harness. Most is listed on my broken website which works on Firefox, but not Chrome! (Moves are again afoot to create a new site. Just use it as a catalogue for now, then call or email me if there is anything you I’m still mega-busy buying and selling hang gliders. This superb tandem WW Falcon is a very rare beast, so won’t be here long at only £2500 - it may already be sold. It comes with a passenger harness and a selection of crash helmets, I’m quite happy selling old equipment as long as it is in really good condition. This Apco Mayday 18 PG reserve is great, but quite old. Not everyone can afford new, but £125 can also save a life…. You get to choose how much you spend. This medium-large sized full-race Aeros Viper harness with very low drag and a mylar shell is almost as new, but because the target market is small the price is only £395. Serious, experienced pilots only. I also have cheaper, more expensive, and brand new harnesses. Just sayin’. A similarly serious and experienced paraglider pilot might like this as-new Firebird Platoon comp wing. FB never bothered to certify them, but Craig Morgan said it flew beautifully and was too tame for him! Make me a silly offer. Back to hang gliding, and that top photo! This is the Calypso I was flying that day - you could be enjoying flying like that for only £550! The glider is old, but is very tidy, and a delight to fly. There is one sizeable black patch on the RH leading edge, but that is purely cosmetic. Form an orderly queue, please! I’m slimming the business down to better suit a gentleman of my age. While running down my stocks of new items there are MASSIVE bargains to be had. If somebody doesn’t buy this £700 ( that is £400 off!!) Skyman Coconea X-Alps soon I will fly it Yet more for the hangies! I have a couple of waterproof bags for sale. This one is superb, measures 15’ or 4.6m in length and is £70 - way cheaper than new. Another less tasty one, but longer, is £35. And for the parapilots, is this Ozone Saucisse new or secondhand. Looks new, priced as secondhand at £55. You know it makes sense. Colder weather is here! This is the time of year when I sell a lot of bar mitts for the hangies and microlights. Zoot Bar Mitts are renowned, the 2020 colour is Red with Black, and the price is still only £29.95 I’ve been lazy. I haven’t updated the website to highlight all the new and used flying suits I have for sale. Prices from £10 to about £200, but all my new Flymikes are reduced, so you need to get in quickly. I have two medium and one large Firebird Spiders, all gloriously flyable, all gloriously cheap (from £399), and ideal for a good new pilot. One comes with a Charly Tube harness and Charly reserve, if desired, for £595. Quality kit! I have all sorts of wheels for hang gliders. Just a few Whoosh wheels are left - they are “probably” the best, but also expensive. I have new and used wheels - pneumatics - aerodynamics - all sorts. You get to choose again. “Pssst! Do you want to hear what people are saying about you? Buy a radio.” I have the fantastic Zoot headsets, plus always stock new and used radios. A great new radio and headset will set you back £77 plus P&P. Used radios and kit from about £20… Right now I have a few used HG harnesses for bigger bodies. Tall, or tall and wide. Things move fast, but they may still be here. Beep beep! I’ve just bought in a few Flymaster LS varios, and must say I am impressed! I have the LS at £169 and the GPS version at £259. They’re light, low drag and really worth a look. I still have to fly with one, though. Hair today, gone tomorrow (6) Next month will be the Christmas issue, and I will be wearing a special wig. Naked head will now be revealed in the January issue. Perhaps. Roll on 2021!news 8 SKYWINGS NOVEMBER 2020 The aim was to offer the public a chance to visit and watch training and demonstrations, and to learn more about the club. Attendance was free; people could sign up to discounted courses and fun days or simply enjoy the flying. Earlier, local residents had been invited to enter a competition to win a flight in club member Neil Hammerton’s microlight. Names, drawn from a hat, were announced online the night before. The intention was to thank the Woldingham community for their support over the years. There was slight apprehension beforehand as the weather forecast looked touch and go. Covid-19 was another important factor, and visitors were reminded to stick to the government guidelines. The first club members arrived on Thursday night to camp and help prepare, and by Saturday morning more had arrived to start training students. Saturday’s weather was too strong to fly, and scattered rain meant that picnics on the airfield weren’t hugely appealing. The microlight flights were postponed and, despite a lot of paraglider and hang glider ground-handling, it was a quiet start to the weekend. Sunday saw the wind dropping and clouds clearing, and by 11am the car park was filling up with eager microlight guests and spectators keen to watch the flying. Paragliders, square parachutes, hang gliders and paramotors were all being flown, accompanied by explanations of the activities and courses on offer. Paraglider and parachute pilots were practising accuracy using Green Dragons’ parallel towing system. Bystanders, impressed to learn that the pilots were aiming for a target the size of a 2p coin, watched and applauded as scores appeared on the screen. Paragliding students training ranged from Day 1 trainees practising their PLFs with BHPA instructor Justin Rose, through to CPs being towed alongside British accuracy team members. Visitors could watch various stages of training and learn about the different tasks pilots would complete as they progressed. With new hang gliding instructor Peter Suchanek also teaching, guests were able to see the differences between the various airsports and types of equipment on show. Neil began taking local residents up for short flights in his QuikR – with a 140ft2 wing and 912cc engine it moves pretty fast! Bolder passengers were treated to a few high-adrenaline stunts, and many managed to get a quick glimpse of their own houses and gardens. Alongside the local residents and passers- by there was support from several longstanding pilots and BHPA members. Brian Tripp captured some video footage, and Martin Robe and Brian ‘Plough’ Maynard were both in attendance. Later in the afternoon Mike Williams, paramotor pilot and model aircraft competitor, put on a highly-skilled demonstration of what is possible with models, including hovering vertically in the same position for what felt like minutes. In the early evening, as the final flights were flown and guests drifted home, a barbecue was warming up for staff and members who had camped over the weekend. And things kicked off all over again on Monday morning! This time the sun made a proper appearance and stayed out for most of the day. Neil took up a huge number of guests, barely stopping for a sandwich, and by the end of the weekend had completed 64 flights, a stunning effort. Paramotor pilots and a paratrike took off to practise 30km navigational tasks, as well as accuracy tasks such as knocking over skittles and landing on targets. Andy Shaw and his team were interviewed, via Zoom, by Regan Tetlow of Poland’s Airsports Promotion. Gary Dear, hang gliding instructor and microlight pilot, tested the club’s newly-refurbished tug, cruising around at a much more sedate pace than Neil’s QuikR! Accuracy pilots Will Lawrence, Ben Woodcock, Cherry McMahon, Steven ‘Snakey’ King, Jamie Robe and others continued to practice and put on a great display for visitors, some of whom had returned for a repeat visit. Feedback from the Woldingham community was positive, and Green Dragons hope to have a few new local members joining them. It was great to have so many different kinds of aircraft on show and flying – definitely one of the highlights of the summer! Report by Kristina Grant BHPA 500 Club WIN CASH PRIZES AND HELP THE ASSOCIATION! September winners Colin Lown £126.20 Mark Morrison £63.10 Chris Dunford £31.55 Hugh Hutchinson £18.93 Richard Clark £15.78 George Preston £15.78 William McMurray £12.62 Stefan Smalley £12.62 Michael Paice £9.47 Tim Coldfield £9.47 BHPA £315.48 If by the time you read this you have not received your cheque, please contact me on 07802 525099. Marc Asquith Green Dragons open weekend The August bank holiday weekend saw Green Dragons hold an open weekend for the local community, simultaneously celebrating their 46th anniversary. engagement with Nova’s Pilots Team and its brand. 2020 recipients are Bulgaria’s Todor Boyadzhiev – crowned Newcomer of the Year – and Lukasz Sieminski of Poland, Antti Haltiamieli of Finland and Switzerland’s Rolf von Arx and Frank Schaufuss. Todor Boyadzhiev (pictured) joined up last year and went on to become Bulgarian champion in the world XContest standard class, and 2nd in the sports class. Lukasz finished 3rd in the world XContest standard class and Antti became Finnish champion in the sports and standard category, and 6th overall. Frank and Rolf were selected for their outstanding photographs which have been published worldwide. The pair do hike- and-fly trips together, Frank taking the pictures while Rolf does the flying. Some of their trips have started at 3am, just to catch the sunrise. ‘As always, the selection was very difficult,’ commented team captain Till Gottbrath. ‘We only wanted to award new winners this time; old campaigners Berni Pessl, Vera Polaschegg, Tomy Hofbauer, Urs Haari and Stefan Lauth went empty-handed, but several others only just missed out on being Pilot of the Year. Thanks to them all!’ Sunsoar to Morocco Sunsoar will be at Mirleft in Morocco from December 5th - 19th, offering a great opportunity for CP+ pilots to boost their flying skills while escaping the UK winter. Coastal sites in the area are fantastic and the weather at this time of year is often warm and sunny. Sunsoar will also be using the trip to conduct dual training, with BHPA Tech Officer Mark Shaw present during the second week to conduct assessments. Places for dual training are very limited – apply without delay. Planning for Sunsoar’s usual destinations in 2021 is firming up, as well as smaller trips to Slovenia using new accommodation at Kobarid. For details go In brief Formal Inquiry synopsis. On 10th October 2019, paragliding student Darren Watson died whilst undertaking Club Pilot paraglider training in Murcia, Spain. A BHPA Formal Investigation determined that Darren lost control of his paraglider after experiencing an asymmetric collapse, from which he was unable to regain control before impacting the hillside. The full report is available on the Formal Incident Reports page of the BHPA website. Skywings online. The online version of this issue can be found at username Nov_2019 and the case-sensitive password pv#961Y$n. For the December issue enter the username Dec_2019 and the case-sensitive password 73Ft8#1u. Magazines with a cover date over six months old can be viewed online or downloaded without the need to log in. Advance website. Advance have launched an updated and revised website offering lavish photography and fresh colours, fully optimised for mobile devices and Retina displays. It features a new 3D wing colouriser, a comprehensive download area and new Team Pilot pages. Advance have simultaneously launched a new ‘dot swiss’ domain name. Find it all at urls and email addresses remain valid). continued from page 6Next >