No. 409 MAY 2023 The magazine of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association2 SKYWINGS MAY 2023 attitude After qualifying at the end of 2021, I was ecstatic and ready to start my independent flying career as a Club Pilot. Leaving the school can be nerve-wracking at first, but with a little determination, and the help of the wonderful community we have in the UK, the last year has been a brilliant first year of flying for me. Whilst I managed to avoid any serious incidents, there have definitely been some mistakes. Despite our best efforts, mistakes are inevitable and even experienced pilots make them. As new pilots, we should try not to beat ourselves up when they happen. Mistakes are an important part of the learning process. If we take time to think carefully about what happened, we can avoid making the same mistakes in the future and become better, safer pilots. I wanted to share a few of the lessons learned from mistakes I’ve made, that newly graduated pilots might find helpful. I also wanted to share some of the fantastic advice I’ve received from coaches and senior pilots across the UK – things they don’t always teach you in school. The single piece of advice that stands out to me the most, I received from paragliding national treasure Ash Ghinn on Mam Tor. After a botched launch, Ash came over to remind me that paragliding is not like driving your car. Where you might be able to get away with one hand on the steering wheel, or maybe just a knee, half-paying attention, drinking a coffee or texting your friends, with paragliding, you cannot afford to half-arse it. Focus, line up properly for your pull-up with your back squarely to the wind. Don’t rush, and don’t skip any steps. Since then, I’ve found that a slow and steady daily inspection can help to calm my nerves and build confidence on an unfamiliar launch. Another lesson from Derbyshire: don’t fly in wave unless you’re ready for a fright! The first time I flew after qualifying, I got dragged across launch. It was a strong day at Whitewool, which is thankfully a soft, grassy site. Huge thanks to Scott Heffield and Martin Ayers who came to the rescue, scooped me up and got me flying. The lesson here was to learn the Cs-pinning technique. The BHPA does not allow this to be taught in schools; if you don’t know how to do it, Greg Hamerton has a great video that explains it perfectly (search YouTube for ‘Control The Wind’). It’s a technique that allows you to confidently keep the wing under control on strong wind launches. I have not been dragged since! Another tip for strong wind launches: if you get picked up while still facing the wing, don’t try to abort the launch with lots of brake. Be prepared to let the wing fly, untwist in the air and stay calm. One mistake that I’ve made more than once is slope landing. Slope landing is an essential skill that all pilots need, however it should be used sparingly. Richard Barber’s recent analysis of incidents points out that a high proportion of incidents occur due to slope landing. When I started out, I was slope landing frequently. Scratching low down, hoping to make it back up, I made the mistake of thinking that some magical lift would save me. When the magic lift inevitably did not arrive, I would end up slope landing, often hard. Either the landing field was now too far away, or I simply didn’t want to walk all the way back up from the bottom. This is a bad approach (and there is no magic lift at the bottom of the slope). It took Roelof Brits’ clear advice to simply avoid slope landing for me to change my strategy. It’s not worth risking injury for a shorter walk back up the hill. If you are below launch, make an early decision to bottom land and you will be much safer. Slope landing should only be performed when your groundspeed is low, and the slope is not steep or uneven. On a lighter note, thermalling is not taught in schools, and getting started with learning this tricky art form is mostly a solo endeavour. Here are just a few useful tips I’ve picked up along the way that have carried me up to cloudbase. • Don’t 360 too low – it’s not just about being above the hill. On stronger days you also need to be high enough, and far enough forward, that you won’t end up getting pinned in the venturi after the downwind leg. • Stay in the lift! It sounds obvious, but too often I have left a weak thermal in search of a better one and ended up back at the hill. Don’t give up; sometimes stronger lift will fol- low through in the same area, and leaving a working area can mean flying through sink. • Paraphrasing Nik Valiris’s less politically- correct wording – when it’s light, be gentle and steer almost only using weightshift. When it’s stronger, and you feel the brakes pull, you can pull back more firmly. Using brakes degrades your glide, but in stronger lift you can afford to sacrifice efficiency to stay in the best area. Paragliding can be frustrating. Being in the right place at the right time is a skill that is often learned the hard way. I have found that it is better to go to the hill and not fly, than not go and find that others have had a great day. Even if you don’t fly, you’ll practise getting into the flying mindset. Read the site guide, con- duct site and meteo assessments, and maybe take the opportunity to inspect your kit or ground-handle. You might even meet some new pilot friends too. Mark Bosher’s rule of thumb is 50/50. If you think it is more than 50% likely to be flyable, go. If less, then don’t. Finally, I received a key piece of advice from Russell Winters at the BCC. Don’t forget to pack your bomb-out bog roll! Good luck to all the new pilots. Fly safe, and happy landings! Learning from our mistakes GEORGE COX, RECENT PARAGLIDING CP Photo: Georg e Co x 4 SKYWINGS MAY 2023THE 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 Aerotowing with the Midland Aerotow Group over Defford Photo: Richard Sheppard THIS PAGE PWC goal field action at Castelo in March 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 All issues of Skywings magazine are now freely available DEADLINES News items and event/competition reports for the July issue must be submitted to the Skywings office by Friday May 5th. Letters for the July Airmail pages should arrive no later than Friday May 19th. Advertisement bookings for the June edition must arrive by Thursday May 11th. Copy and classified bookings no later than the following Thursday May 18th. MAY 2023 SKYWINGS 5 regulars features 6 SKYWINGS MAY 2023 news High flying women On International Women’s Day (March 8th) Nova gave every female pilot at the Stubai-Cup a ‘High-flying Women’ scarf. Marketing chief Ines Hasenauer said, ‘We wanted to draw attention to the inequality that still exists: that in many parts of the world it is not a matter of course that a woman can simply call her best friend and go flying together. It was fun to give so many female pilots a present – each smile tells its own flying story. Our community can be proud that so many female pilots are dedicated to paragliding.’ Nova will continue to distribute the scarves while supplies last. Support the campaign on social media Heads up – here comes HUD! Long the dream of free fliers, Head Up Display (HUD) technology is now available for Sys’Nav XL owners running the SysNav app on iOS or Android phones. The new ingredient is a pair of Engo sunglasses bearing Active Look Technology, communicating with the Sys’Nav through your phone via Bluetooth. This gives real- time data directly on the lenses, right in your field of view, acting as a second screen. The Engo’s integral battery is said to last 10-12 hours. At present the HUD system will display vario, altitude and speed values; future updates will allow pilots to select the info they want and display secondary data on their instrument. ‘The glasses bring significant advantages in safety and comfort,’ says record-breaking adventure pilot Antoine Girard. ‘Not having to close your field of vision to look at information on your instrument brings security near an obstacle, or in a cluster of pilots.’ Syride is the exclusive distributor for Active Look glasses for the European free flight market. Compatible Engo sunglasses start at 329 euros from Syride dealers. There’s more info (and much music!) at an open protocol; the glasses can also be used with other third- party apps for running, cycling, etc. Syride’s lightweight Sys’Nav XL vario-GPS itself retails at around £430. GBAR 2 imminent! It’s all systems go for the second iteration of the Great British Aerotow Revival on May 13th - 20th. Currently 36 flexwing pilots and no less than 17 rigid exponents are registered for this event. Readers may recall that Johnny Carr won the inaugural GBAR last year. He’s on the grid again this year, along with the cream of British hang gliding. The event will take place at Deenethorpe Airfield near Corby, where the emphasis will be on great flying, slick retrieves, great camaraderie and a packed social timetable. Facilities include camping, a cafe and showers – it’s worth a visit just to watch (or to help!). [Photo: Katy Tracey] X-Alps route revealed The route of the 20th anniversary X-Alps race was revealed in March with great fanfare. For the first time since 2007 the race begins at a new location – Kitzbühel in Austria – where the 34 athletes will start before running to the top of the 900m Kirchberg to make their first launch. The 1,223km route via 15 mandatory turnpoints includes a via ferrata climb and a crossing of the Aletsch glacier, passing through five countries en route to the finish at Zell am See. As ever, even completing the course will require strategic thinking, superb flying skills and incredible endurance.HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING LIFE INSURANCE CRITICAL ILLNESS COVER APPLY ONLINE OR CALL TODAY TO COMPARE RATES WITH YOUR CURRENT COVER Sports Financial Services Ltd is an appointed representative of Suttons Independent Financial Advisers Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales. Registered No. 493197. 0345 565 0935 INCOME PROTECTION8 SKYWINGS MAY 2023 The X-Alps race start on June 11th will be preceded by a one-day Prologue in and around Kitzbühel on June 8th. The 58.6km Prologue will determine the race proper starting order; the winner will also receive an additional Night Pass, allowing them to hike through a mandatory rest period en route. For a full lineup of athletes go Tri-Nations Cup 2023 sees the inauguration of a three-cornered event comprising the X-Lakes, X-Eryri and X-Scotia hike-and-fly competitions. The constituent events will take place in England, Wales and Scotland over three weekends between April and July. Contact details and dates for the X-Lakes and X-Scotia events are below; details of the X-Eryri event – April 28-30th, backup May 5th-7th – are at Competitors at these events will battle it out each weekend collecting mountain trig points, the further the distance the more points. Added together these will each give an overall weekend score, a winner and a placement. Overall Tri-Nations Cup scoring is based on the F1 Grand Prix system: the first ten finishers in any weekend race will score 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, and 1 point on a diminishing scale. The winner of the Cup – the overall British hike-and-fly Champion – will be the pilot with the highest number of points collected over all three weekends. If you think you have what it takes, enter now! Helen Smith’s photo above shows (L-R) Steve Ashley, Greg Chilton, John Westall and James Whitmore starting out on last year’s X- Lakes Challenge. Lakes Charity Classic/X-Lakes hike-&-fly The Lakes Charity Classic will take place at the Grasmere Sports Ground in the heart of the Lakes from Friday 16th to Sunday 18th June. Simultaneously, the X-Lakes Hike-and-Fly Challenge will run at the same location, finishing a day earlier on the Saturday. Both one- and two-day X-Lakes Challenges will commence on the Friday morning. Whether you are taking part or not, all are welcome to come along and camp, fly and have a great weekend’s adventure. LCC details are at details are X-Scotia 2023 The X-Scotia hike-and-fly event will take place at Kintail on the May 26-28th, with backup dates of June 2nd-4th. The race is open to all pilots with a minimum of BHPA Pilot rating, and foreign pilots with an equivalent rating (IPPI 4). The race is sponsored by Tiso, Salewa, BGD and the Top Out Brewery. Full details are at Good flying in Lanzarote Numerous pilots have reported good flying in Lanzarote in the early months of this year. Although many will be able to attest to whole weeks blown out, in years gone by, at this otherwise idyllic location, the rewards can be considerable if the weather is good. Hang glider pilots seem to congregate there, perhaps because of their greater tolerance for high winds, and the fact that there’s a bit of infrastructure there too. This last includes gliders for hire, allowing you to avoid the hassle of short packing your glider for airport baggage handlers to wreak their vengeance on. There’s also tradition; some UK clubs and operators have been visiting Lanzarote in January, February and March for decades. Here’s Dave Tonks tackling the mighty Famara cliffs – said to be one of hang gliding’s greatest spectacles – in February. newsMAY 2023 SKYWINGS 9 In brief Woolacombe closure. A reminder that North Devon Club’s Woolacombe site will be closed in late May and early June to accommodate the Wavelength Woolacombe Spring Classic festival. This celebration of surfing, skating, ride culture and van life will take place just behind the main take-off. As a result, Woolacombe will be closed for flying from June 1st-4th and for a couple of days either side of these dates. Anyone planning to fly there, please take note. Marcella’s 457km ratified. Marcella Uchoa’s 457.0km distance-to- goal flight from Caicó in Brazil on October 14th has been ratified as a World and South American record. Her Enzo 3 flight exceeds Seiko Fukuoka-Naville’s existing 2019 record by only 6.6km, but eclipses fellow Brazilian Kamira Pereira Rodrigues’ 2009 South- American record by no less than 172km! Robin Hamilton’s 100km speed record confirmed. Ex-pat British hang glider pilot Robin Hamilton’s 68.2km/h mark for the Class 0- 2 (rigid wing) 100km triangle has been confirmed as both a World and a North American record. On June 26th 2022 Robin reclaimed his original 2002 record for the distance, eclipsing Armand Acchione’s 60km/h mark set in 2020. Robin flew his Swift Light from Wharton in Texas. Triangle speed claim. On January 10th Argentinian pilot Federico Rodríguez closed a 200km triangle from Crespo in Entre Rios, near Paraná, at an average speed of 32.5km/h. If validated, this flight will exceed Stéphane Drouin’s 28,74km/h world record set in 2012. Five days later Federico lodged another claim for speed over 200km, this time at only 29.9km/h, from Zenón Pereyra in Santa Fé. This flight too will exceed Stéphane Drouin’s record; Federico is obviously hedging his bets! BHPA 500 Club WIN CASH PRIZES AND HELP THE ASSOCIATION! If by the time you read this you have not received your cheque, please contact me on 07802 525099. Marc Asquith February winners: William Nelson £131.60 Graham Shand £65.80 Graham Phipps £32.90 David Whittle £19.74 David Thomson £16.45 John Carty £16.45 Rupert Firkins £13.16 Mark Dale £13.16 Charl Erasmus £9.87 Sean Yates £9.87 BHPA £329.00 March winners Tom Hardie £130.80 Richard Preston £65.40 Paul Hunnisett £32.70 David Whittle £19.62 David Moy £16.35 Peter Tustin £16.35 Robert John Williams £13.08 John Taylor £13.08 Tommy Abdy Collins £9.81 Malcolm Morrison £9.81 BHPA £327.00Next >