No. 393 JANUARY 2022 The magazine of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association2 SKYWINGS JANUARY 2022 attitude The rules in Scotland are different. By law, everyone there has the right to non- motorised access to most land and inland water, providing they act responsibly. These access rights are exercisable above the surface of the land, and so extend to air sports such as hang gliding and paragliding. In 2015 the BHPA supported the Welsh Free Flight Federation position when the Welsh Government launched a consultation on ‘Improving opportunities to access the outdoors for responsible recreation.’ We recommended an approach similar to the one in Scotland, with a request that the specific exclusion in Schedule 2 be removed – at least then we’d have a level playing field when it came to negotiating with landowners. The wheels of the Welsh Government turn pretty slowly, but in 2019 their intention was pretty clear: ‘We will lift the restrictions on cycling and horse riding, hang gliding and paragliding, bathing or using a vessel or sailboard on natural bodies of water.’ Sadly, action hasn’t yet caught up with intention. Restrictions in Northern Ireland are even more limiting than in England, with progress limited to increasing the number of permissive paths. I recently spoke to our friendly contact at Natural England (the government’s adviser for the natural environment in England). She advised me that in September 2019 Julian Glover MP had published a paper, ‘Landscapes Review’. Of the 168 pages* I’d like to highlight a couple of relevant points: P81. ‘Restrictive laws which include favouring walking over other users: Concerns were also raised about what are perceived to be restrictive laws, or restrictive interpretations of them. We heard, for instance, how cavers face restrictions on what is otherwise designated as open access land once they move beyond an unspecified distance from cave entrances …’ P98. ‘Proposal 16: Consider expanding open access rights in national landscapes. ... it feels wrong that many parts of our most beautiful places are off-limits to horse riders, water users, cavers, wild campers and so on. We hope that as part of the government’s commitment to connect more people with nature, it will look seriously at whether the levels of open access we have in our most special places are adequate.’ Apparently, horse riders, cyclists, canoeists and cavers saw this as very positive and a green light to lobby DEFRA for change. Horse riders and cyclists can also add a strong safety case as it helps to get them off the public roads. The Covid-19 pandemic has further highlighted the importance of access to the countryside to improve our physical and mental health. The areas covered by the CRoW Act 2000 were due to be reviewed after ten years, but that only applies to the areas, not who has access. When I asked how we might lobby for change, my Natural England contact came up with two options. The first was to approach the relevant All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) to ask if they would be prepared to add it to their agenda. Initially I was enthusiastic that the General Aviation APPG might be sympathetic. But, on reflection, we are a very small minority in General Aviation, and very few people share our desire for better access. I’m not aware of any other relevant APPGs, so that’s a dead end. The other suggestion was that members (that means you!) lobby their local MP. It’s just possible that an MP, wanting to make a name for themself, will decide to take this project forward. It’s very much a ‘slow burn’ project – if we start to lobby now we might just see results in ten years’ time. My exchange with Natural England was useful in itself: they are now at least aware of our position, and I am hopeful that they will let us know if anything changes and introduce us to any likely allies. If we did gain access to designated open-access land, could it undermine clubs when it comes to site management? I don’t think so. Arguably, if landowners knew that anyone could fly from their land it would give them added incentive to agree a set of rules (and warnings) for the benefit of all concerned. Note that none of this applies to powered flying, where permission for take-off and landing should be obtained in advance. The biggest winners, if we did get access to designated land, would be hike-and-fly competitors, who can’t reliably predict where they will take off or land. Without open access, competitions can only really be conducted if participants are accepted as ‘tolerated trespassers’. I put this article ‘out there’ as a statement of where our sport lies in the hierarchy of land access, and where English freedoms stand in relation to those of other UK nations. We are not alone in wishing for better, freer access, or in wondering if we might be able to improve on our lot. The next move is up to you ... * Find the Landscapes Review at Open access land MARTIN BAXTER, BHPA SITES OFFICER In the year 2000, when the Countryside Rights of Way (CRoW) Act came into force in England and Wales, hang gliding and paragliding were specifically excluded (Schedule 2). The BHPA lobbied on our behalf, but was defeated by the principle that access was only granted to those on foot (horse riders, cyclists, canoeists, etc, were also excluded).4 SKYWINGS JANUARY 2022 regulars reviews features JANUARY 2022 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: Russell Ogden – World Paragliding Photo: Jocky Sanderson THIS PAGE: World Championship action at Loma Bola, Argentina Photo: Ulric Jessop 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 SKYWINGS ONLINE The BHPA Exec have determined to remove password protections for a trial period of six months. All issues of Skywings magazine are now freely available DEADLINES News items and event/competition reports for the March issue must be submitted to the Skywings office by Friday January 28th. Letters for the February Airmail pages should arrive no later than Monday January 17th. Advertisement bookings for the February edition must arrive by Tuesday January 11th. Copy and classified bookings no later than Tuesday January 18th.6 SKYWINGS JANUARY 2022 news CANP stats Pete Logan has produced data showing CANP app usage over the past two years. Total CANP reports have doubled to 1210 for the past year, from 624 in 2020. The Cumbria club leads the way in reports posted with 282; the next highest reporting club is North Devon with 190. But note – it’s not a competition: these numbers mostly reflect site usage and local perceptions of military traffic. The top site for reporting activitiy is Woolacombe; Lake District sites, Tailbridge in the Dales, Milk Hill (Thames Valley), North Luffenham (Rutland) and Rhossili (SW Wales) also feature in the top ten sites. The most CANP reports logged in a single day is 29. The graph below shows 2020 and 2021 stats and mirrors, to a degree, the amount of flying done through the year. Currently the CANP app covers 57 clubs and 505 sites. To see how this system works to help deconflict our activities and military traffic, and to learn how easy it is to use, get up to speed at that nobody bothers with stuff like this; the stats below tell a different story. They also reveal how much 2021 began to approach normality compared with the year before. Milton on screen? Reports reach us that Danish film producer Niels Juul is planning a feature film based on former BHGA member Brian Milton’s 1998 round-the-world microlight flight. Juul, executive producer of Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, aims to subvert the Hollywood finance model by funding the film – provisionally titled A Wing and a Prayer – entirely by non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Under the frustrating Hollywood system, he says, smaller productions can take years to reach cinemas. To bypass this bottleneck he has set up NFT Studios to fund a series of films, hoping to raise up to £7m through the sale of tokens to institutional investors and the public. A Wing and a Prayer is said to be ready to go, with a big-name star and director lined up, with shooting planned for April and a transatlantic premiere in September. Those undeterred by the ‘bubble’ aspects of NFTs may wish to have a punt, while wondering which current actor has been lined up to play the grizzled, hard- driving, never-say-die Milton (pictured below). John Wayne would have walked it; Daniel Craig is, er, busy. All change at Nova Sissi Eisl, MD at Nova since 2017, is leaving the company to start a family. Her place will be taken by Niki Kurcz, 33, who initially worked at Nova on a project basis before joining the team permanently. With a Master’s in Aeronautical Engineering, Niki worked alongside R&D manager Philipp Medicus and was responsible for the design of the Bion 2, Ibex 4 and Prion 4. Latterly he was mostly involved with production management, and he will continue to oversee that currently difficult area. Nova has also created a new position of Project Manager to interface between R&D, production, marketing and sales. That post will be filled by Florina Eller, whose family founded Stubai’s Parafly school. Matterhorn north face summit flight In October German pilot Sebastian Brutscher succeeded in climbing the north face of Matterhorn and flying from the summit. With him on the ascent was fellow mountain guide Erdmann Kappeler. ‘After a short night at the Hornlihutte, Edi and I started to climb the Schmid route on the north face at around 6am,’ reported Sebastian. ‘We reached the summit at noon. An east wind made take-off conditions difficult and Edi decided to descend to the hut. I waited for a suitable wind, launched my Bantam and glided out over the overhanging east face to land at Tasch, 20km away, where I had left my car. Edi managed to launch his Nova Doubleskin later from the Hornlihutte and landed in the early evening.’ The summit of the Matterhorn was remeasured in 2010 at 14,692ft! 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2020 2021 CANP bookings by monthMy oncologist came up with this not-very-cheery news just before Christmas. I’m just carrying on as usual, with my first priority being to clear the decks of all the heavy and specialised kit that I have amassed in 45 years of trading, so as to give Charles the chance of continuing the Flying Circus as the UK distribution centre for Charly helmets and Charly and Zoot accessories. Last month we sold almost all our hang gliders, so now the focus moves towards clearing paragliders, harnesses and vintage gliders. The website now features lots of fresh clearance lines – all at reduced prices to encourage quick sales. Check them out at Firebird Platoon Large, almost new £100. Firebird Spider Large, lovely £299 Team 5 Blue Large £199 Below: FLEX – 17kg single-surface floater – 15 minutes airtime! Offers. Vintage gliders galore! Gryphon? Rogallo wings? I have Paragliding harnesses from £75 Firebird Mowenpik reversible harness M/L £395 £299 Moyes Matrix Large £675 £375 Von Blon Silent, large / slim £750 HG Trolley £65 collect only. Last one! New Charly Nova Loop in Silver, pick any size. £125 £90 Accessories Forty-five years in the business - my extensive range allows you to choose what best suits your needs. Find lots more on the The new Charly QR tandem karabiners are here! Paralocks are strong and light, and cost just £75 each. I also have a small stock of Quick-outs at £60 each Charly Pinlock alloy Karabiners: Weighs 80gm, certified to 25 Kn. £27.50 each. The Charly Snaplock Titanal Karabiner, weighs 75gm and certified to 30Kn. £23 each. Zoot headsets: Four models for open- and full-face helmets and various radios. Prices from £34.45. Zoot Radio outfits: A great radio and a choice of Zoot headsets for just £77! I stock various speaker/mics and antenna, too! Instruments from lots of manufacturers, new and used, priced from around £70. Hang glider wheels from £51.10 a pair, or £35 second hand. Zoot Camera Mounts £29.50. Zoot Pip-pins, three lengths from £10.75, and Zoot Caps at £2.75. Months, not Years Let the Flying Circus run off with your money!! Simon Murphy’s Flying Circus tel: 01404 891685 Luppitt, Honiton, Devon, EX14 4SA 8 SKYWINGS JANUARY 2022 BHPA AGM Final reminder: the 2022 AGM will take place at the Nottingham Belfry Hotel on Saturday February 12th. Exec members Marc Asquith, Martin Baxter, Bill Bell, Martin Heywood and Angus Langford are standing for re-election by rotation; sadly no volunteers have stepped forward to join the Exec and the election will thus be uncontested. Nevertheless the AGM offers an opportunity to quiz Exec members on their achievements and on the future direction of the Association; all are welcome. It is still hoped to run this as a face-to-face meeting, but it will also be available to watch and contribute online via the BHPA Facebook page. If conditions or government advice changes it will revert to a Zoom-type meeting. See the BHPA website or Facebook page for any last-minute changes. Soperman robbed! Jeremy Soper has contacted Skywings to protest, quite rightly, at the final line having been deleted from his superb Pi in the sky article in November. We imagine that, even if they missed ‘Soperman no-one could have been in any doubt as to the authorship of this piece. All I can say is that it was there when I proofed it! Anyway, editorial apologies to Jeremy for this grave error. I wish I could say with absolute certainty that ‘it won’t happen again’. Treasurer’s report I am reporting on the financial year which ended on March 31st 2021. It was a very eventful year, starting as it did five days into the first lockdown. We experienced three full national lockdowns and numerous local restrictions, which impacted our ability to get out and fly. The lockdowns had an immediate impact on our flying schools and instructors, who were unable to carry on their business, and with flying closed down membership numbers declined. The surprise in many ways was that membership did not fall further; this was probably a result of the work of the BHPA in lobbying the regulators and fending off ill-conceived restrictions, and thereby keeping the sport active. The drop in new members coming into the sport depressed our income from joining and introductory fees, and meant news Brian Tripp 1946 - 2021 The death was announced in November of longtime parascender and parasail manufacturer Brian Tripp, 74. After leaving the Parachute Regiment in 1973, Brian spent several years experimenting with old Army parachutes towed behind boats. He achieved some success but also suffered a few mishaps. In 1979 he set up the Landbeach Parakites Display Team to offer parasail demos around the world, and in 1981 was approached to organise an event to raise funds for the International Year of Disabled Persons. This led to him becoming the first person to fly a parasail beneath Lambeth and Westminster Bridges on the Thames. In 1983 he repeated the feat for the Great Ormond St. Children’s Hospital children’s charity, towing two police officers under every bridge between Lambeth and Tower Bridge. The stunt was repeated in 1986 for BBC TV’s Record Breakers. Earlier Brian had made some moves into hill paragliding, not least with the Excel canopy with harness pitch control, but his main focus was overwater flying. Brian’s company, Sportlite, was started in 1985 and continues to export parasailing equipment to watersport operators worldwide. that losses of members retiring from the sport were not replaced. The number of members dropped by 5% to 6,913, and income from membership and normal activities by £41k. When the first lockdown was imposed Exec took steps to reduce the Association’s costs, and despite a £46k increase in the third-party insurance premium our overall costs were reduced by £55k. With flying banned and school inspections made impossible, the Association took advantage of the furlough scheme to further reduce our costs. Despite the declining revenues, the actions we have taken on costs resulted in the Association reporting a surplus of £75k for the year, and this has been added to reserves. Exec have chosen to use part of this surplus to cushion the increase in insurance costs which will hit us on January 1st. The BHPA holds reserves for three important reasons. Firstly they allow us more flexibility in budgeting; making a loss in a single year is possible provided we make up for it in the next, so subscriptions can be lower than they would otherwise need to be. Secondly they provide us with a fighting fund should we have to face an existential threat to our sports, and thirdly they provide funds available to support site purchases. We have adopted a policy of maintaining the value of reserves in real (inflation- adjusted) terms over the medium term so that surpluses in one year make up for losses in others. As we look forward to 2022 and 2023, Exec is again faced with difficult decisions over the level of subscriptions. Inflation as measured by the consumer prices index (CPI) is widely expected to hit 5% next spring, and our annual third-party insurance premium will increase by £107k to £534k. On Exec we all share a desire to keep subscriptions to a minimum and we will use £40k of the surplus from 2021 to cushion the April 2022 fee increase, but notwithstanding this the average fee increase will need to be 7% next year. Even after the price increase, our bulk purchasing and the assurance the underwriters get from the work of the FSC means that the BHPA insurance remains by far the best value third-party liability cover available for the sport in the UK. Angus Langford, BHPA Treasurer Membership public liability insurance £59 (£50) Office and Support Costs £29 (£32) Technical & Flying & Safety Committee £19 (£25) Skywings £18 (£17) Competition Funding 69p (£5) Other Membership Costs £3 (£4) Comparative (2020) costs in brackets Costs per member BHPA Coach and Instructor course January 15 - 16 BHPA Club Coach Thames Valley 07443 87425 February 19 - 20 BHPA Club Coach Dales 07795 426748 March 12 - 13 BHPA Club Coach Rutland 07446 112886 April 25 - 27 BHPA Instructor/Senior Coach TBC 0116 289 431646 BHPA club parachute repacking sessions January 29 North Wales Chester February 27 Dales Ilkley* *The Dales Club repack will be held at Ilkley Grammar School Sports Hall, LS29 8TR, from 10:45am to 3:45pm. Organiser David May says, ‘Everyone – paragliders, paramoters, speedwings, hang gliders – is welcome at a costof £10 per head. Please just pay on the day to save the hassle of refunds if we have to cancel.’ PLEASE BOOK ALL REPACK PLACES IN ADVANCE.Repack season The parachute repacking season is upon us. Only two clubs have so far reported a repack session but others will soon follow. An annual repack is strongly recommended for all emergency parachutes. The best solution is to visit a club repack session where a BHPA licensed packer will show you how it’s done, and will help if you have difficulties. You cannot know too much about how your parachute system works, and it’s really useful to practice deploying it among supportive personnel. Failing that, get a dealer or repair workshop who has a licensed repacker on the team to do the job for you. The North Wales Club’s Hazzard Repack is scheduled for 10am on January 29th at Upton- by-Chester Village Hall, 28 Heath Road, Chester CH2 1HX. It’s open to all BHPA members at £10 per head; a BHPA-licensed repacker will be in attendance. Contact Ian Home at advance; please don’t just turn up on spec to any repack. If your club is running a repacking day or weekend, please let us know about it soonest so that we can add it to our list here. Airprox report At 11:00 on June 14th 2021 two paraglider pilots, in good visibility, were thermalling at around 1500ft about 1km south of Mount Caburn, Sussex, where 20-odd other paragliders were soaring. A light aircraft approached the pair, who were on opposite sides of a thermal, from the west at their altitude. It passed within an estimated 100m of one pilot, who feared it would collide with the other. In the end the separation from the second pilot was said to be about 20m. The pilot on the far side of the thermal submitted an Airprox report; the other pilot, who was far closer to the aircraft, did not engage with the reporting process. UKAB discussion centred on the location’s proximity to the Lewes Visual Reporting Point (VRP), noting that p37 of the Skyway Code advises GA pilots using VRPs to fly around rather than over them to reduce collision hazards, while keeping a good lookout. The light aircraft could not be traced, and without corroborating radar evidence the board accepted the reporting pilot’s estimate of the close call, grading the incident Degree of Risk A: A serious risk of collision had existed. It was unfortunate that the light aircraft could not be traced. The Board also noted its disappointment that one of the paraglider pilots did not participate in the reporting process. The sole intention of the UKAB is to enhance flight safety, and not to find fault with any individual’s actions. [See also FSC member Paul Mahony’s article about the Airprox process Airprox 2021082 can be found at BHPA rule changes Following discussion by Exec, in order to embrace current circumstances slight adjustments have been made to the Rules of the BHPA. • Rule 4: A well fitting helmet must be worn on all flights. The helmet should be CE marked EN966, EN 1077 Class A, ATSM 2040, or SNELL RS98 (Snow Sports). This has been changed to read, ‘A well-fitting helmet must be worn whenever connected to a hang glider or para- glider (including any powered variant of these) … etc.’ • Rule 6: BHPA members must fly acceptably certificated aircraft. Members who choose to fly an uncertified aircraft with no acceptable independent verification of its airworthiness may fly with only one person on board. The first sentence of this rule has been modified; it now reads, ‘BHPA members should fly acceptably certificated aircraft … etc.’ • Rule 7: When flying from club sites pilots must familiarise themselves and comply with the club site rules. This has been amended to read, ‘When flying from club sites, pilots should familiarise themselves, and comply with, the club site rules.’ The Rules of the BHPA can be found online at Trainers Conference FSC has agreed to hold another Trainers Conference in November 2022. The location and format has not yet been settled, but it is likely to again be aimed at all levels of Instructors and Coaches in all our disciplines. The last Trainers Conference, in March 2020, was widely agreed among attendees to have been very useful. Dates and details to follow here soon. safety mattersNext >