No. 382 FEBRUARY 2021 The magazine of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association2 SKYWINGS FEBRUARY 2021 We will therefore base the AGM at BHPA Office, where a small number of us hope to gather, socially distanced of course. The meeting will be streamed over the BHPA Facebook page and on one of the platforms like Teams or Zoom. The log-in details will be available on the BHPA website and Facebook pages in early March. Nominations for election to Exec. closed in December. We had two vacancies, Adrian Thomas having stood down after seven years and John Welch resigning last year after 14 years. We thank them both for their long service on Exec. We received two nominations for election, Jenny Buck and Gareth Bird. Jenny is a hangie and a rather senior officer and nurse in the Royal Navy. Gareth is a commercial pilot and a recently qualified CP, flying both paragliders and mini/speedwings. With two vacancies and two candidates, both will be appointed to Exec. and we welcome them. As you read this, Angus Pinkerton and I were to have recently returned from the annual Conference of the European Hang Gliding and Paragliding Union (EHPU) in Switzerland. At this meeting the UK would have taken over the Presidency for a one- year term of office. However as a result of the pandemic the meeting was delayed until June 2021, with agreement that it would be held virtually if it was impossible to hold it physically. What this will do to the UK’s Presidency remains to be seen. We may just get a six- month term until February 2022, and I don’t suppose it really matters. Since I persuaded the 19 member states to adopt an amended constitution which provided for a Management Committee, of which I became one of the founder members and (most importantly) the EHPU’s Europe Air Sports (EAS) delegate, we have been pretty influential even without holding the Presidency. I also managed to manoeuvre our own Mark Shaw into the role of General Secretary. As you may have seen elsewhere, two of my good friends who sit alongside me at Royal Aero Club Council meetings, Helicopter Club of Great Britain Chairman David Monks and former British Gliding Association Chairman Patrick Naegeli, have been elected as President of the FAI and Board member respectively. You might wonder why I mention EHPU/EAS and FAI, and even what do they do for us and why is it important? I have always joked that most of our members could probably name their club chairman and perhaps the BHPA chairman, but never the Royal Aero Club Chairman. These other bodies rapidly become very distant from the pilot on the hill. For years now, since almost all of our aircraft fell into Annex 1 of the EASA General Regulation, we could simply ignore EASA and its rules. However, with the anticipated introduction of Amazon-type commercial drone traffic there is now a drive towards Electronic Conspicuity (EC) and special airspace for these called U- Space. The plans are to make it mandatory for all manned aircraft carry an EC device. Despite Brexit the CAA is taking a lead in these matters and having to fight on two fronts. We have good contacts with the CAA, and having heard our representations they are moving away from making EC devices mandatory, although it is still a possibility. National governing bodies and European federations for individual airsports have no input into EASA, and so in 1988 Europe Airsports was founded as a body representing all aviation sports into EASA. Since ours are Annex 1 aircraft, the hang gliding and paragliding input to EAS was minimal. However now, for the first time, we need them. Last month I attended their virtual conference as the EHPU delegate, and made it clear that this was their chance to prove to the hang gliding and paragliding world that all the money we pour into them was worthwhile. Last year EHPU paid an EAS Subscription of €9,500, of which the BHPA Contribution was in the region of €2,440. We fear that if EASA make EC devices mandatory the CAA will simply follow. The plans for U-Space are even more worrying. It appears that these are going to be something akin to airways, only at very low level, along which drones will pass back and forth. We have not seen plans yet, but a concern is that these will be set up along valley bottoms, etc, where a pilot landing out on an XC may find that the safe and sensible fields are blocked off by U-Space. Again EAS is our route to make sure that the designers understand what we do and what we need. FAI is a little easier, if sadly more distant. Headquartered in Lausanne, this is the worldwide body that sanctions world and continental championships. It also certifies and holds the definitive list of world and continental records. It has a Commission for each of the sporting disciplines, and for us that is CIVL. We pay an annual subscription to FAI through the Royal Aero Club. The UK subscription is just under £50,000 per annum, of which the BHPA contribution is around £12,500. But not one penny of that money goes to CIVL – it all goes into the FAI central funds. Over the last few years the FAI Board have wasted many thousands of Swiss Francs. In 2018 they made a loss of CHF260k and in 2019 a loss of CHF340k – just under £500,000 in two years! All this money has been spent on failed grandiose projects and overweight administration. Along with others, the UK has been campaigning for many years to wind in this excessive expenditure before the FAI went bust. Well, now it’s on the verge of bankruptcy we have been given a chance to turn it round. We may even see a reduction in subscription in the next few years ! No matter how terrible 2020 has been in many respects, there are some successes and reasons to be positive. Cross your fingers for a 2021 summer – where the only tiers are found on wedding cakes and the only bubbles are in champagne! attitude Reasons to be cheerful? MARC ASQUITH, BHPA CHAIRMAN Photo: Adriana Asquith After a very grim year I am hoping for better things in 2021. Indeed, there are already some positives to report for the sport and the wider flying community. As I suggested in December Skywings, the AGM scheduled for March 13th at 11.00am will be held online. I had hoped that we might use the usual meeting room at the Belfry Hotel in Nottingham but their conditions – leaving us liable for the costs of cancellation – were wholly unrealistic in the light of the continual and rapid changes in regulations.4 SKYWINGS FEBRUARY 2021 regulars regulars reviews features FEBRUARY 2021 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 Sian Leavesley takes off at the Long Mynd on December 30th 2020 Photo: Mark Leavesley THIS PAGE Horacio Llorens and Ozone Alpina 4 flying in Spain. Photo: Óscar Lagarrotxa 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 February issue enter the username Feb_2021 and the case-sensitive password gR_%92P6 For the March issue enter the username Mar_2021 and the case- sensitive password 79#Rk4V? DEADLINES News items and event/competition reports for the April issue must be submitted to the Skywings office by Monday March 1st. Letters for the March Airmail pages should arrive no later than Friday February 19th. Advertisement bookings for the March edition must arrive by Friday February 12th. Copy and classified bookings no later than Friday February 19th.6 SKYWINGS FEBRUARY 2021 news BGD Weightless – back to Europe Pilots on EN-D wings and below are invited to the BGD Weightless competition, now back in Europe after its successful winter foray to Colombia last year. The friendly XC comp, which uses a unique scoring system that is fairer to lighter pilots, runs from July 26th - 31st at Gemona in Italy. Bruce Goldsmith will lead the event, assisted by Brett Janaway and the Airtribune team. Prizes, awarded by raffle, will include Naviter instruments and a brand-new BGD glider. Gemona offers easy access, grassy launches, varied flatland and mountain flying, plenty of landing options and a friendly Italian vibe. Details are at Northern Challenge Series The 2020 NCS, sponsored by Ozone, closed on October 31st having provided a useful antidote to the year’s difficulties. Although temporarily closed during the Spring lockdown, its flexibility still provided two clear winners. Main Series winner Geoff Crossley (Omega X-Alps 3) attempted nine tasks, making goal on four with some very fast times to recapture the trophy he won in 2018. Hike and Fly Series winner John Westall (Zeolite/Sigma 10) is a serious H&F pilot who used the tasks in preparation for the X-Lakes and Dragon events in which he placed highly. The four separate NCS challenges are also tough, not least Bob Graham’s 67k circumnavigation of the Lakes, and John Westall completing the Dales Three Peaks twice – once on foot! The 2021 Series will open on March 1st. There are likely to be only small changes: two of the 14 main tasks being replaced by new ones, and extra recognition for pilots flying gliders of EN C and below. The Hike and Fly tasks remain unchanged. Rules, guidance and information can be found via the ‘NCT information’ link at BHPA AGM As reported in December, the 2021 BHPA AGM will take place on Saturday March 13th 2021, starting at 11am. As contractual conditions required by Nottingham’s Belfry Hotel have proved to be unworkable the meeting will be held online. Although some of the BHPA Exec will gather, socially distanced, at the BHPA’s Leicester Office, the meeting will be live-streamed over the BHPA Facebook page and on a meeting platform (Teams, Zoom, etc). The log-in details will be available on the BHPA website and Facebook pages in due course. Nominations for election to Exec. closed on December 31st. With two outgoing members and only two nominations the election will be uncontested. As a result Exec will welcome hang glider pilot and Championships meet-head Jenny Buck, and commercial pilot and paragliding CP Gareth Bird aboard as new members. If you have questions for the Exec or suggestions for how the Association should go forward, keep an eye on the BHPA website and its Facebook page for details of how to participate. New British sports-paragliding event The BHPA Paragliding Comps Panel has launched a brand-new initiative – an event for Sports wings only (EN A-C) at Gemona in northern Italy. To get the best from the weather the event is scheduled for August 1st – 7th in the area’s dry period. It will be a serious competition and not a low-level or training comp, however racing will be slower than in the main Championships as there will be no two-liners leading the gaggles. Top British pilots won’t be excluded as long as they fly a Sports class wing. To enter the British Paragliding Sports Class Championships you must be BHPA Pilot rated and have competed in at least one other competition. It is also recommended that pilots have Alpine experience and have completed an SIV course. Registration (£240) is already open; there is a 25% BHPA subsidy for members who sign up and pay early. Up to a maximum of 75 pilots entry will be restricted to BHPA members; thereafter it will be open to all nationalities. Registration is at John Oliver] Paragliding cop fails in court A police inspector, injured when paragliding while on restricted duties, has had his claim against the BHPA thrown out. Inspector Julian Moulton, a BHPA member from 2012 until April 2019, had told his employers that he was in significant pain and unstable on his feet following a paragliding accident. As a result he had been placed on light duties. Whilst still on restricted duties he was injured again in a second paragliding accident. In attempting to cover up how he had sustained further injury, Moulton explained that he had simply been ground handling. In November 2020 a misconduct hearing found that he had breached police standards of professional behaviour and dismissed him from the force without notice. In pursuing the case the police had commissioned an Expert Report from a BHPA senior instructor to ascertain the level of fitness and activity required to undertake ground handling. In an attempt to discredit the Expert Report prior to his misconduct hearing, Moulton commenced a legal claim against the BHPA and the instructor under the Equality Act. When the claim came before Deputy District Judge David Joy, sitting in West Cumbria County Court on January 4th, it was struck it out as being totally without merit. Moulton was also ordered to pay combined legal costs of over £5,000 within three weeks.We all dream of memorable flights, and much of my time is spent encouraging new (and not so new) pilots to believe that they can achieve them. Having flown just once in 2020 (I had good reasons, and that single flight was wonderful) you might think that I am not the right person to be advising you. Think again! After 45 years in free flight I have a pretty good idea what I am talking about. My business has been one of the major players in the industry for most of that time, but nowadays I am happy to take things slower. Talking to people, and helping them to reach their personal goals is actually more fun than just making money. I stock all the flying gear you see in these photos, so can supply you with the hardware you need. As the UK distributor for Charly’s superb crash helmets, with hundreds held in stock at all times, people will always beat a path to my door. But I also have harnesses, wings, instruments, clothing and lots more here at Turfhouse. For you! Choose those items that will enhance your flying - without necessarily breaking the bank. Ideal equipment isn’t necessarily the most expensive, nor does it have to be the newest. For instance, this brand new Gin Convertible hike and fly harness has a RRP of about £559 today, but this one will set you back £375, or £650 with a new Gin G-Lite 32 reserve installed. That’s about 30% off new This Woody Valley Tenax aerodynamic HG harness won a British Championship a few years ago with the legend that is Mike Stephens. It is still in good nick, so £325 is a bargain. Keep this quiet, but I have temporarily sold out of secondhand reserves for hang gliders! No doubt more will arrive soon, but in the meantime I have new Cornettos, and a few used paragliding reserves, too. This Gin G-Lite 32 is new, at You are good at keeping secrets, right? I have just three second hand heavy duty waterproof hang glider transport bags at about half new price. This blue one is 15 feet long, but there are other lengths in green and cream. £75 maximum, plus postage Lockdown should provide a chance to catch up with everything, but it doesn’t seem to work like that. I have a choice of secondhand paraglider rucksacks, and genuinely don’t know how many I have, nor what makes they are. Just ask, and I’ll have a look. Prices start at about £35. I should also be cracking along with the new website, but progress is slow. I’m a slow learner… I just counted around 60 uprights in stock for a lot of different gliders. Lots for Moyes, and lots for other makes, too. Avian, Airwave, Airborne, Aeros, and that is just the A’s. A is for I also have about 50 leading edges and 10 keels for old- model Moyes gliders right up to early Litespeeds. They are NOS, discounted like you wouldn’t believe. Keep those old Moyes masterpieces in flyable condition! Disorganised? Me?! Well, I could have sold this Gin flight deck three or four times over for £38, if I could have found it… It re-surfaced yesterday, so grab it while you can – at much less than new price. I also have a flight deck made by The Loft – they enjoy something of a cult following, so keep it to yourself and you might own it for £35. Charly have discontinued the lovely Breeze helmet, so I am clearing out my current stocks. Reduced from £87 to £55, they are discounted over 33%! All sizes available in black or white. The Tandem version of the Breeze (white only) is continuing at £90 each – in stock, of Almost fifty years in the business means that I have accumulated huge amounts of items which will sell eventually, but I’d rather sell them now, to make room for my next fun project. For instance, these Thule load stops cost over £140, but you can have them for £20 each, or £50 for three. As you may know, I have a select collection of early hang gliders, and I want to reduce the numbers to make space. They aren’t all for sale, but have a look through the gliders on my website and if there is anything you fancy owning, get in touch. Don’t tell anyone that there is a Fledge 2b up for grabs! This Could Be You! Lockdown Run away with the Flying Circus! Simon Murphy’s Flying Circus Luppitt, Honiton, Devon, EX14 4SA tel: 01404 891685 news 8 SKYWINGS FEBRUARY 2021 XC Guide embraces the GXAirCom FANET device XC Guide, the Android flight computer app for guiding, tracking and EC, has been updated to add the GXAirCom device to the list of things it can communicate with. The latest software will allow you to receive (and transmit) FANET signals from/to devices around you via the GXAirCom. The GXAirCom unit itself is an open-source device which sends requested data to a mobile phone over a Bluetooth connection. Build and software, with various configuration levels including a screen, are hosted on GitHub. Currently in beta mode, the app update is expected to be a mainstream release by the time you read this. Find it on the Google Play Store; to try the beta version go software, and useful forum discussions, search for ‘GXAirCom FANET Github’. Zeischka’s triangle records ratified Belgian hangie Jochen Zeischka’s remarkable speed triangle flight from Laragne last July has been ratified as a world and European record. Tomás Suchánek had held the 25km triangle speed record – at 50.81km/h – since 2000. Flying a Moyes Litespeed RX5 Pro Jochen raised that figure to 65.00km/h – a 28% increase! In brief Lockdown update. On January 5th the UK government imposed a further lockdown in England; other home nations had already enacted similar action. In English Tier 4 locations the law is that you must stay at home. Exceptions no longer include ‘visiting a public outdoor place for the purposes of open-air recreation’. The police can take action if you leave home without a reasonable excuse; Fixed Penalty Notices start at £200. CAA rules have been revised too: no leisure flying is permitted. In conjunction with the pressures on A&E and ITU Departments, BHPA advice to pilots in England, powered and unpowered, must be that for the duration of this lockdown, members must refrain from flying. Pilots in other jurisdictions will need to be conversant with their local rules. The BHPA website and Facebook pages will be updated to reflect the ongoing situation(s). Comps cancelled. The 2nd world Sport Class hang gliding championship, scheduled to run at Quest Air in Florida in April has been cancelled. The Class 1 Pan- American hang gliding championship at Big Spring in Texas is also cancelled. Lakes news. Registration for the Lakes Charity Classic (June 18 - 20) opened on Feb. 1st at Entry to the Dragon H&F race (May 22 - 23) is already sold out. Almuñécar airspace As reported last March, enforcement of the restricted airspace above the Almuñécar area of southern Spain has been tightened up as military helicopters exercise in the area. Local operators such as Hotel California have to seek daily permission to fly within the restricted airspace. The military will grant access for paragliding as appropriate. It is important to abide by the restrictions – covering sites such as Otivar, Itrabo, Loma del Gato, Alfamar and Carchuna – if the military are to continue to allow paragliding in the area. All pilots who wish to fly in and around Almuñécar should acquaint themselves with these rules. Information and registration is available via the WhatsApp group Almuñécar Vuelo Libre. Alternatively, contact Dirk Bormans at Buttermere Bash Plans are underway for the Buttermere Bash on June 4th and 5th, with camping available from the June 1st. Organiser Gordie Oliver reports, ‘Fingers crossed, we will be emerging from the pandemic and restrictions in time to gather and celebrate on the shores of beautiful Buttermere again. Further details will be listed nearer the time; for now get the essential summer kick-start in your diary.’ Now in its 14th year, the Bash gathers free flyers and and like-minded souls for a festival to raise funds for local charities. It showcases some of the world’s top acro stars alongside a paragliding comp and sensational bands each evening.At the beginning of lockdown last March the financial situation for the BHPA looked extremely bleak, and indeed we were forecasting substantial losses as we expected lockdown to prevent flying and training for perhaps six months. The messages coming through from BHPA schools were dire and Exec decided to waive school fees for three months and the instructors’ fee for 12 months. When the furlough scheme was announced we immediately furloughed the majority of the staff and looked at all options to save money. Fortunately the flying ban was lifted in time to save some of the summer season, and consequently membership numbers did not fall away as we had feared. With membership remaining stable, and with the savings we have made from operations and the cash we have had from the furlough scheme, it now seems likely that we will make a substantial surplus this year. However, as I write Tier 4 restrictions are being extended across greater areas of the country and flying activities are again in jeopardy. Exec has decided to return £30k of the surplus to members through a reduction in next year’s subscription, though in reality, because of increasing insurance costs, this will only have the effect of making the subscription price increase lower than it would otherwise have had to be. I now need to go back to March 2020’s accounts. In summary we had the benefit of the significant subscription increase put through in 2019, but this was more than offset by the increases in our insurance premium. The members’ third- party liability insurance premium is the biggest cost item in our accounts, and we are continuing to see large increases in the cost as the underwriters reprice the risk in the light of our accident history. The cost in the accounts rose by £106k BHPA 500 Club WIN CASH PRIZES AND HELP THE ASSOCIATION! December winners David Webb £131.60 Sandy Cooper £65.80 Paul Adams £32.90 John Edwards £19.74 Derek Pavey £16.45 Andrew Burton £16.45 Ann Matterson £13.16 Barry Woodhead £13.16 Paul Martyn Perry £9.87 Dave Sheppard £9.87 BHPA £329.00 If by the time you read this you have not received your cheque, please contact me on 07802 525099. Marc Asquith BHPA Financial Report for the year ended 31st March 2020 Normally this annual report covers the financial year that ended in March the preceding year, but these are not normal times. The BHPA, like all of us and every other sporting organisation, has been through a period of extreme upheaval. So it is appropriate to bring everyone up to date with the Association’s finances in the current year rather than focusing solely on last year’s results which come from the pre-Covid era.Next >