No. 396 APRIL 2022 The magazine of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association2 SKYWINGS APRIL 2022 attitude I do still love flying with an engine. But once the skill of flying a powered aeroplane is mastered there’s no challenge in it. Take off, set throttle and heading, twiddle thumbs. So you take up aerobatics or something. Working to gain a new skill is another challenge, but when you attain that goal flying becomes going through the motions again. So I fly hang gliders, because the challenge and thrill is unrivalled in all other forms of aviation. Take my last flight as an example. Having carried my glider up the hill and rigged it, I stood for a while pondering the conditions. The thermals hadn’t started yet and the forecast wind and its guaranteed ‘stay up’ ridge lift wasn’t quite there. A couple of paragliders launched, couldn’t stay up and landed. I waited for what seemed like an age, trying to get a feel for the thermal cycles whilst watching a line of cumulus clouds building in the distance. I decided that if I waited any longer I wasn’t going to fly, so I clipped in and launched. What I had thought was a good thermal cycle wasn’t! The gust that I had felt on launch turned out to be more like a washing machine, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the ridge was producing soarable lift. I wasn’t going down just yet and I set to working the ridge, trying to find something to get me up and away. I worked the ridge for maybe 20 minutes and was just starting to think that this was all I was going to get, when I saw a cumulus cloud with a dark, flat bottom, just in front of the ridge, about 3km away. I knew its thermal had overcome the inversion and was the one I wanted to be in! I had just gained a few hundred feet above launch and it was now or never. I pulled on some VG and we were off. It’s one of the reasons a hang glider wins over a paraglider for me: being able to see something miles away, changing your glider’s configuration and bolting for it. However my mad dash came at a price. I was low, and unsure if this bit of ridge was going to work if my oh-so-promising cloud did not deliver. It was all or nothing now! The cloud was positioned perfectly just in front of the ridge, and I flew under it with my eyes glued to my vario screen. It gave out a little chirp and I felt a quiver through the glider as it absorbed the energy that we had just flown into. Then nothing! Patience … keep going, stick to the plan. And, sure enough, seconds later up we went. It was rough, messy and haphazard, like trying to wrangle some wild animal. One minute I was going up, and the next feeling like I’d gone over a hump-backed bridge. I whipped the glider around, forced my way back in, got the glider centred … only to be spat back out again. As I passed 3000ft the thermal decided to let me win; it became uniform and easy to core. It was like flying on a totally different day, with thermals so wide I almost didn’t have to turn. There was lift everywhere. I was able to push forward into wind, out in front of the ridge and looking ahead to where the next cloud was. Connecting with the next thermal, in one gentle, wide turn I would be back at cloudbase at 5500ft, pushing forward to the next cloud almost without encountering any sink in between. I was master of my playground. There was wind at height, and each time I got to base I was getting blown back to more or less the same point above the ridge. I run a company servicing aeroplanes, based about 14km directly upwind of the site I was flying. I have always wanted to fly from there and land at my hangar, and it dawned on me that this was a real possibility. It would mean changing mental gears and working hard to push into the wind. The headwind was only slightly less than my glider’s trim speed. I was going to have to fly fast and climb fast; the longer I spent in the thermals the more I was going to get pushed back, away from my target. So I pulled on VG again, aiming for a promising-looking cloud. I reached it still surprisingly high, but the next cloud was a fair distance further and I slackened the VG again to work the strong thermal. Within three or four turns I was back at cloudbase. I pointed the nose confidently at the next cloud. A quick mental calculation showed that with two to three more ‘stepping stone’ thermals I might make it. The next cloud was a bit further and I was a lot lower when I reached it. But the vario started to chirp and I started feeling out the air to work out where the core was. I climbed a couple of hundred feet, waiting for things to get going, but it became less and less impressive. As the thermal slowly died around me, the lovely looking cloud above dissolved before my eyes! I now had a decision to make. Upwind, towards my goal, was another cloud I thought I could make. Downwind, in exactly the opposite direction, was the bottom landing. I knew I could reach it with ease, but if I pushed on to the next cloud and it didn’t work I’d be too far out to get back. No-one ever achieved greatness by giving up. I pushed on, leaving the security of the bottom landing behind me. As I approached the cloud I was below 3000ft, back in the inversion where the thermals were really tough, and then this cloud too began to dissipate. I spotted an airstrip that belongs to a customer of mine, with nicely mown grass and no power cables or fences. I tried to work the air but could only prolong my descent – there was nothing useful. I widened my search and connected with something promising, only for the same thing to happen. Having the landing location already planned meant zero stress, and I was able to focus on trying everything I could to get up again. I held on without giving up, right until I had to unzip my harness and fly a tight downwind, base and final. In truth it had been all over from the moment I decided to push on instead of heading back to the bottom landing. The flight was about 1hr 40mins, and I ended up 6km short of my home base. You could argue that I failed. But this is exactly why I love hang gliding – the challenge of it! You can miss all the lift and simply bomb to the bottom landing field in under a minute. Or experience flights that are unbelievably magical. And there is always the next flight, the next challenge, the next goal. Not reaching my goal didn’t disappointed me; it made me all the more keen to get out again and have another crack at it. There are infinite goals one could set, and infinite different weather conditions! A great philosopher once said, ‘Man is far happier in pursuit of his goals than in achieving them.’ There is a lot of truth in this. Hang gliding for me is just that. A never-ending pursuit that doesn’t get boring or old or ‘achieved’. I just need to charge up my vario ready for the next adventure! Why I hang glide PETE MONTGOMERY, ACCOMPLISHED POWER PILOT AND PASSIONATE HANGIE I fly a vast range of different types of aircraft. It’s easier to state what I don’t fly: helicopters, autogyros, military jets or buses with wings. Everything else I do fly, or have flown. I have a commercial pilot’s licence and instructor, instrument and aerobatics ratings. Yet of all of the things that I fly, the one I am most passionate about is my hang glider. Photo: Icaro 2000 4 SKYWINGS APRIL 2022 regulars reviews features 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: Dave Aldrich flies the Wills Wing Sport 3 at Andy Jackson Air Park, California. Photo: Dave Aldrich THIS PAGE: Horacio Llorens (L) and Veso Ovcharov testing Ozone’s Delta 4 at El Hierro in the Canaries Photo: Ivaylo Donchev 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 All issues of Skywings magazine are now freely available DEADLINES News items and event/competition reports for the June issue must be submitted to the Skywings office by Monday May 2nd. Letters for the May Airmail pages should arrive no later than Monday April 18th. Advertisement bookings for the May edition must arrive by Monday April 11th. Copy and classified bookings no later than Monday April 18th.APRIL 2022 SKYWINGS 56 SKYWINGS APRIL 2022 news Flare is a new offshoot of Skywalk led by kite wizard Armin Harich, freestyler Jean- Baptiste Chandelier and designer Benni Bölli. In development for several years, their new Moustache wing, released amid much fanfare in March, looks pretty much like a conventional paraglider but has a reflex profile and is controlled more like a kite. The Flare system uses pulleys to mix the B and C risers in proportion to the brake travel, allowing the pilot to change the angle of attack at will. Hands up you go fast with a steep glide angle; hands down you slow down and glide increases. Aimed at sand, snow, coastal soaring and speed flying and riding, the Flare is ideal for swooping, and converting energy from dives into turns or height in a much more dynamic and efficient way than a paraglider. Not designed for thermalling, it requires a different skill set compared to a standard paraglider. Although only load tested, Flare say the Moustache is like a mid-B wing, with the bigger sizes optimised for soaring and the smaller sizes for speedriding. The size you choose also depends on pilot weight and skill level – there are four sizes from 13 - 22m flat. Among its antecedents are Armin’s long history in Flysurfer foil kites, culminating in a one-liner kite that has both world and European foil racing titles. ‘I dreamed of a wing with the same wide speed range and stability as my kites,’ he says, ‘with the full speed range controlled with my hands, without the need to switch between speedbar and brake handles. Unlike other miniwings and speedwings, we see the Moustache as being a great tool for snowkiting, but one that allows the rider to fly and kite safely. ’ The Flare system presented many challenges, not least making the brake pressure manageable as the pilot is supporting the B and C and risers in their hands. After years of development the team were able to reduce the steering forces to less than those of a tandem. Nevertheless these increase sharply before you stall the wing. The new wing is very resistant to collapse, but it still needs careful handling and will misbehave if the pilot reacts to deflation by going hands-up. The way flight loads act on the harness is different too and an element of ‘hang glider’ steering is required for best results; a stable harness type is recommended. There’s a series of videos explaining all this on their website at Armin believes that one day all paragliders be controlled in this way, and that the Flare itself has the potential to revolutionise the sport. We have been in an era of incremental improvement for some time; it’s just possible that the Flare system is a radical change the sport needs. [Photo by Miriam Johanna Strobl] Club members and appropriate ratings During the course of an annual club check of BHPA membership and ratings, it became apparent that the club had more than one BHPA member who was flying in a discipline for which they held no rating, despite being rated and experienced in another discipline. If a BHPA member conducts an activity for which they do not have the appropriate rating or licence, they are not covered by BHPA insurance (BHPA Rule 9: Members must restrict their activities to those that they are qualified to undertake). The general rule in law is that all club members are equally personally liable for the debts of a club. If an injured party redirected his claim to the club, every member of the club could find that they were both liable and uninsured for that claim. This is one of the reasons for the annual check to confirm that club members are BHPA members. It should be relatively easy for such pilots to obtain the ratings they need to comply with BHPA rules; a word to one of the Tech Officers would be the place to start, probably followed by a check flight under the supervision of a Club Coach, or at worst a day or two at a local school. In the case outlined above, the pilots concerned were happy to agree to follow that course. Club officials should be aware that inappropriately-rated member pilots flying their sites, despite being BHPA members, pose a serious risk to the club and its members: such pilots are uninsured. If the annual check on BHPA membership reveals any such lapses the club concerned should take immediate action. Gerald Williams With great regret we report the passing of paragliding pioneer Gerald Williams, who died on March 1st aged 85. A former hang glider pilot, Gerald was perhaps the very first in the UK to realise that parachutes could be soared from a hill. By 1985 he had perfected reverse launching using a heavily modified 7-cell Pegasus jump canopy rerigged with thinner lines and other ingenious modifications. Having taught legions of Derbyshire pilots to fly at Peak Paragliding, he retired from instructing in 2001. A former schoolteacher, Gerald was always remarkably fit, leaping up Derbyshire hills in his trademark green wellies. DSC pilots in particular will remember him for his unquenchable enthusiasm. Online lectures from Nova Last winter Nova launched their ‘Insights’ series of livestreamed interactive lectures and workshops, and these are now available on YouTube. Recent episodes have covered hike & fly for beginners, beginner-suitable XC areas of the Alps, harness know-how and A new way of paragliding!Well, Spring is here and so am I! With summer well on the way why not treat yourself to a new Charly helmet, we stock every model, size and colour (subject to availability!) and these can be safely ordered through the website, email or WhatsApp Business. Whilst the phone isn’t always answered at the moment Charles is looking after emails and orders whilst I slowly take a back seat. We still have plenty of clearance stock available so please contact us in the usual way regarding these items. Fly high! Fresh stock arrived for 2022! Our British Made and British built Zoot Bar Mitts have won a few friends around the world, being ideal for stowing inside your hang glider, and also for keeping your hands warm when nearing cloudbase. Doctors just can’t believe the facts... Yes, we have the new Charly UNILOCK Karabiners right here in stock, together with the full range of spares to keep them right on top for go and stop. I have a wide rage of used harnesses that are up for sale this month. All sorts of ages and dimensions, nearly all in great condition. Come try one or two while you have the best of luck! Paragliders, too. I have a lot of different ages that just need to be flown to show how truly great they could be for someone. Top marks! The Charly Vitesse is just arriving in five colours and a multitude of sizes. Weighing only 380 grams, it is a sure-fire winner. Visors are optional. Prices start at £138. The aerodynamic Charly NO Limits is available as an open - or a full-face helmet. The pressure- formed aerodynamic Kevlar-reinforced fibreglass shells are renowned for their quietness, and come in four colours and four sizes, starting at £230. A clear visor comes as standard with optional Tinted visors available. The Charly Insider is probably the top-selling free flight helmet of all time. The Kevlar-reinforced fibreglass shell is fully-lined, and I stock eleven colours and six sizes from XS to XXL! Prices start at £165, and weight is only 660gm! The stylish Charly Loop costs £125, weighs around 505gm and comes with a helmet bag included. There are three sizes and six colours: Gloss White, Matt Blue, Matt Black, Matt Red, Matt Orange and Nova Silver – see them all on my website: The Charly Ace has a polycarbonate shell and comes in four sizes, with a choice of Gloss White, Matt Red, Matt Black or Carbon-look. Weight is around 560gm, and prices start at £85. I stock all Charly Helmets optional accessories, too - visors and tinted visors. Find them all on the Charly HelmetsAccessories Forty-one 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. Simon Murphy’s Flying Circus tel: 01404 891685 Luppitt, Honiton, Devon, EX14 4SA Summer/Spring Buzzin!”The sad news, early in March, that Gerald Williams had passed away was marked by many memories from those whose lives he touched through his life and work. He has an honoured place in the history of British paragliding as the pioneer of our sport. Though there is much else about his life to celebrate, I will concentrate on this aspect so that those who knew him in those times can renew their memories, and those who may perhaps not have heard of him can see how pilots like Gerald are so relevant to where our sport is now. His desire to fly started with some sailplane experience in Canada, but he found gliding in the UK to be too expensive. His attention was then drawn to hang gliding, which he had seen in a ski advert. He got involved, and soon, with the help of Alan Hetherington, became a hang gliding instructor. During a very brief encounter with parascending he met the legendary Walter Neumark, but he 8 SKYWINGS APRIL 2022 news using reserve parachutes. Most of these are in German, but the last two mentioned, by Nova’s harness project manager Luis Depping and acro star Theo de Blic, are in English. ‘Insights are aimed at all paraglider pilots,’ say Nova, ‘no matter what wing they fly. The aim is not to sell but to share knowledge and experience, and viewers are encouraged to ask questions during the chat.’ Each episode lasts around 90 minutes; find them, and other tutorials, at are all pretty good and definitely worth a look. CIVL plenary meet The annual CIVL plenary meeting was held in Belgrade, Serbia in late January, with Zoom available for those unable to attend, and preceded by open meetings of CIVL’s individual working groups. Among topics covered were fairness issues in Category 1 competitions, task distance calculation and tracklog intervals, and airspace infringement in XC competitions and penalties for cloud flying. The maximum number of participants in Category 1 paragliding XC comps was lowered to 130, and many changes were introduced to the rules covering paragliding aerobatics. CIVL’s new event-management and ranking system was launched; it offers a better tool both for organisers and for CIVL. Finally, gender neutrality in the Sporting Code is on its way. St Hilaire dates The 49th Coupe Icare will run at St Hilaire near Grenoble from Tuesday 20th to Sunday 25th September. The ‘world’s largest free flight event’ is planning a return to its full program for pilots and the public. Despite the pandemic, last year’s event attracted 20,000 visitors. This year will see six days of festivities including the 40th anniversary of the Icare du Cinéma film festival, two days of organised equipment demo flights, the Expo trade fair, an air show and the fabled Icarnaval masquerade fly-down, plus the Icare Folies street artists and bands, and loads of attractions for children. Details are at Another Freeflight success Rob Chisholm of Freeflight Paragliding writes, ‘I would like to congratulate Alexandre Versigny for passing his Pilot paper with 90% pass. His first language is French and he worked hard to achieve his Pilot status. When he first came to my school, we were on site and he was looking about. Others were getting ready and prepping kit. I asked Alex is everything all OK? “Yes,” he replied, “I am just admiring the beautiful views of the South Downs.” I like Alex’s approach to his flying: he has time to absorb the natural scenes. ‘His job is biofactory manager here in the UK. Alex and his partner Caroline have just had a new daughter, Olympe, to join Romane and Candice. Thank you Alex for having an excellent, safe attitude to flying.’ BHPA digital membership cards Members may be unaware that the BHPA’s digital membership card went live last summer, when invitations were emailed all members for whom the Association had an address. These have now expired; any member wishing to uses the facility should go Clicking the ‘forgot password’ button will allow them to sign in. They will be asked to set-up a password enabling them to view a digital version of their current membership card, which will carry details of their ratings and any IPPI or FAI cards they may possess. Any member who needs to update their email details should notify the Office membership number and full name. The existing hard-copy cards will continue to be issued for the foreseeable future. Gerald Williams 1936 - 2022had at last seen what he was looking for – the hang glider you could carry in a rucksack. ‘Like Peter Pan,’ he said, ‘I wanted to fly as simply, naturally and as often as possible.’ Gerald was first noticed when a short article and a photograph appeared in Wings! magazine under the title ‘Strange glider seen in the Peaks.’ It was Gerald, in his trademark wellies, self-launching a ram-air jump wing off Mam Tor. The principal wing owners in those days were parascenders, deeply rooted in tow launching and with their own association, but aware of the rumblings from France of a new sport called parapente. I managed to contact Gerald, and in January 1986 I met up with him at the Roaches in Staffordshire. He had already made a thousand launches in his first three years of pioneering paragliding. He exhibited boundless interest and excitement, and a burning desire to pass on his knowledge. His remarkable Pegasus Pony jump wing could be altered from seven to five cells through the use of enormous zips taken from hang glider bags. He had also modified his harness with sewn-in risers. He proceeded, on the most filthy winter’s day, to demonstrate reverse launching, flying the wing off the upper lines and needing no crew to assist him. These were unique skills in those times. He bounced around in a manner that was to become familiar: excited, with gleaming eyes and an intense fervour to enlighten. My article, published in the Jan/Feb 1986 edition of Skywalker, acknowledged Gerald’s tireless pursuit of ‘a personal set of wings’, to become what he called a ‘Flying Vagabond’. He continued into instruction and began training other converts to paragliding. His characteristic disregard for sartorial elegance meant that a new coat would become very worn, and then more so. He often flew in gardening gloves; when given a new pair many sizes too big he wore them, considering it discourteous not to. Gerald’s work with Peak Paragliding has meant that many current pilots who trained in the Peaks remember him fondly. His ability to carry their gear back up the hill while still explaining what to do, at a speed faster than anyone else, was legendary. Meeting old friends, he would always have something new to tell them about paragliding. Apart from the joy of his character, which will be an individual loss for many, Gerald will stand in the history of our sport as a unique personality. Over 35 years after he began to experiment, our ability to travel globally, fly for hours, pick a landing spot perhaps, and enjoy the company of other pilots, are all taken for granted. But to understand the initial roots of the sport’s growth, to be able to comprehend the genesis of what you are able to do, think of Gerald, and what he said to me all those years ago: ‘All you need is a canopy.’ When he was featured in a Skywings’ Pilot Profile in January 2003, asked how he would like to be remembered, he said, ‘With affection.’ Definitely! [Bill Morris] BHPA 500 Club WIN CASH PRIZES AND HELP THE ASSOCIATION! February winners Sandra Panks £131.60 Neal Lewis £65.80 Christopher Aegerter £32.90 William Seward £19.74 Darren Barter £16.45 Andrew Burton £16.45 Walter Robertson £13.16 Donald Carson £13.16 Andrew Close £9.87 Alan Johnson £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 In brief Flyeo sponsorship The Doussard (France) based paragliding training school and SIV provider is looking to sponsor some up- and-coming UK pilots. This could be your big break into the world of competition and beyond. All you need do is email media, and Flyeo will contact you with more info.Next >