No. 426 OCTOBER 2024 The magazine of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association‘Hi! Welcome to the site. Have you read the guide?’ ‘Yes, of course!’ ‘So you’re clear about the correct landing fields, etc?’ ‘Oh yes, it’s that one to the west of the road, and we mustn’t land beyond that tree line.’ ‘Great! And you also know about the location of the sailplane exercise areas, circuit landing pattern, and their high-key areas?’ ‘Er …?’ It’s no surprise that sailplane fields and paragliding/hang gliding sites are often close together. We all need the same things: reasonably clear airspace, thermal sources, road access, XC potential, etc. As soaring flight evolved from heavy and clumsy wooden gliders into the comparatively weightless high- performance modern paragliders, our ability to co-exist has also had to evolve. If you were around in the early days of hang gliding and paragliding, you may well recall the amusement, derision even, that met the first appearance on soaring hills of the square mattress canopies in the ‘80s. Back then the only collision danger we presented was to the sheep on the fellside as we narrowly skimmed the slope on the way down. Now the performance characteristics of sailplanes, hang gliders and paragliders sufficiently overlap that we regularly share the same bit of sky, meaning that a great deal of work has gone into ensuring safe conduct for all, at national and local level. Up high and away from the airfield or the hill this is not an issue, beyond the normal need to keep a constant lookout for all other air users. However, where a glider airfield is operating close to paragliding launching and soaring sites, there have to be clear local rules and guidelines to ensure the safety of all. If you fly at Parlick, Bradwell, Long Mynd, etc, you need to be aware of these, and they are very specific to each site. In the Pennines, the proximity of Bowland Forest Gliding Club (BFGC) to the bowls and faces of Parlick, Fairsnape and even Longridge brings two separate issues: sharing the bowls with each other during flight, and the space around the airfield itself. Bowland Forest Gliding Club evolved from the Blackpool and Fylde Gliding Club, which was formed in 1950 at Blackpool Airport (Squires Gate). Trial flights were made at the current site below Parlick from 1967, using a portable winch and scaffolding poles to guide the winch cable over hedges. Planning Permission was eventually obtained, and in 1971 the site was purchased with the help of interest-free loans from members. So they were there first and have had to accommodate the newcomers, firstly the hangies as the Pennine Hang Gliding Club in the late ‘70s, and more recently the floppies. The PHGC was re-named the Pennine Soaring Club in the late ‘90s. Relations between the two clubs are very good. There are pilots who are members of both, and we have regular communication to share experiences and advice. Following a couple of Airprox incidents between sailplanes and paragliders, we had joint meetings to explore ways to minimise the risks. One outcome of this was a pair of YouTube videos which explain the characteristics of each aircraft (paraglider, hang glider and sailplane) to pilots of the other disciplines. These have gone a long way towards enhancing each club’s members’ understanding of each other’s needs in terms of flight safety. However, the real need is to ensure that every visiting free flyer who comes to Parlick is aware of the specific needs of the sailplane operation, and to pay particular attention to the essential discipline of their landing circuit approach, which can be adjacent to the paraglider landing field. They don’t have our option of landing in tight spaces, needing a clearly defined downwind-crosswind-upwind sequence for a safe approach. Having to avoid a paraglider anywhere in the circuit has massive consequences for them. It should also go without saying that straying across their cable-launching line at low altitude when they are operating is a big no-no, but we have seen this happening earlier this year, when the winch operator had to suspend launching to wait for clear air. So, a plea: Please, if you are coming to Parlick, where you will be made welcome, read the site guide, watch the video and implant in your memory the places not to loiter. This applies even if you have been coming to Parlick on and off for years: please refresh your memory. Parlick Site Guide: 2 SKYWINGS OCTOBER 2024 attitude Togetherness BRIAN STEWART, CHAIRMAN, PENNINE SOARING CLUB Destination: Porterville Escape to South Africa this winter 5 launch sites + Local guide + Retrieves 7 nights · £490 · Nov-April Luxury en-suite accommodation · Swimming Pool · Wifi Full English breakfast · Braai facilities · Free retrieves Booking enquiries: (UK number 07751 195220) Photo: Neil Charles4 SKYWINGS OCTOBER 2024 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 France’s Romain Mauban, first-ever FAI World PF1 Endurance Champion, at Manston in August [Report: page 12] Photo: Vittorazi Motors THIS PAGE Donald MacKenzie launches his Discus 14C at Black Hill, Malvern Photo: Katy Tracey 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 All issues of Skywings magazine are now freely available DEADLINES News items and event/competition reports for the December issue must be submitted to the Skywings office by Wednesday October 30th. Letters for the November Airmail pages should arrive no later than Friday October 18th. Advertisement bookings for the November edition must arrive by Friday October 11th. Copy and classified bookings no later than the following Friday October 18th. regulars reviews features OCTOBER 2024 SKYWINGS 56 SKYWINGS OCTOBER 2024 news Brits take Bronze at Junior Worlds! On August 30th a brilliant young British team took Bronze at the first-ever FAI Junior World Paragliding Championships at Tolmin in Slovenia. In third place from the start, the team never budged from that position over seven tasks (two more were cancelled) against strong French and Spanish teams. Spain won the first day; after that the French pilots led, didn’t let up and eventually took Gold. Yet despite the apparent ‘foregone conclusion’ the results were incredibly close, right up to the final task. The individual rankings changed daily and only two pilots, eventual winner Marcelo Vilchez of Spain and France’s Adrien Raisson, won more than a single task. Constance Mettetal took Gold for France, but despite leading the women from the halfway point only secured the win by a handful of points from team-mate Daphnée Ieropoli. Joshua Sanderson twice finished 4th in a task and Dylan Mansley once; Dylan was to finish 10th overall, Joshua 17th, Jacob Butterworth 23rd and Jacob Aubrey 29th. Their efforts were aided by good teamwork from the entire British team, which also included Aaron Hall and Thomas Frances, and Kanan Thakur who was 6th overall among the women. Their achievement represents a great result for British paragliding; the emergence of a Junior World Championship is a great result for the sport as a whole. These people are the Niviuk team scale K2 In July French Niviuk pilots Zeb Roche, Benjamin Vedrines and Blutch Fredriksen (pictured), and former world climbing champion Liv Sansoz, descended Pakistan’s K2 (at 8,611m the world’s second- highest mountain) by paraglider after climbing it without oxygen. Resident at base camp since June, they had spent weeks acclimatising to the altitude and terrain. After days of high winds and snowfall a weather window opened and they were able to reach the summit on July 28th. Niviuk had developed a super-lightweight version of the Bi-Skin tandem with a number of modifications, including the removal of all metal buckles and the trimmer system. Blutch and Ben flew solo on prototype single-surface wings weighing 1.1kg, related to the glider flown by Tanguy Renaud-Goud to secure his recent hike-and-fly ascent/descent record (see June Skywings). Confirming the safe arrival of the team, Niviuk said ‘To be able to put our resources at the service of this kind of adventure is a passion for us. It’s our essence as a brand and our driving force.’ Congratulations to all concerned … and welcome back to Earth! New four-stroke paramotor engine The Austrian-made EOS Quattro, first seen at St Hilaire in 2023 and revealed to British pilots at Popham in May, is poised to exploit a gap in the UK market for a lightweight four-stroke engine for paramotor, SSDR and possible Sub-70 use. The 276cc oil-cooled single produces 30hp at 7,500rpm via a belt reduction drive. It’s said to weigh from 17.5kg and consume fuel at around 2.5 litres an hour. There’s an electric-start option and a fuel- injected version is promised; prices start from £4,600. Fun Flying, BHPA 500 Club WIN CASH PRIZES AND HELP THE ASSOCIATION! August winners: John Casson £131.00 Ed Cleasby £65.50 Mayola Bandawe £32.75 Donald Carson £19.65 Gary Rankin £16.38 Robert Bradley £16.38 Robert Bradley £13.10 Paul Perry £13.10 Andrew Maddox £9.83 Gwyn Daniels £9.83 BHPA £327.48 Winners will note that payments of the above sums have been made to the account from which they contribute to the 500 Club by standing order. In case of error, please contact Marc Asquith on 07802 525099. AAdv lli venture l y n live your SIN SS‘‘MANMANSKY EDSIR SKY ybrid single sh THE SKINNGLE WERFWERFPO POTTOSOSM SHARK M acwith 20% double surfkin DMUND FUL IS FUL ec K EDSIR t pomos SHARKDMUND lyFe&ikH orerful single skin fw crShort T sttry flighounoss-cr hermalling T ly Fe &ikH agents for the Snake trike, now offer a Quattro option, as do Microlite Aviation, manufacturers of the Fly. See The UK’s youngest pilot Hedley Maher turned 14 on August 16th. He woke up on the day to find a brand-new custom-built Power2Fly paramotor. As it was a little too windy for paramotoring, Hedley and his proud dad Peter headed to the coast at Ainsdale near Southport, where he managed just over five hours airtime soaring the dunes. With more favourable weather on the following day, Hedley was able to make his first solo paramotor flight, just before sunset at Clitheroe in the Ribble Valley. His eight years of ground handling under his dad’s supervision has paid off. At 14 he is already sponsored by Portugal’s Power2Fly; when the family returns from their summer holiday he’ll return to Gordie Oliver at Air Ventures to complete his journey to CP. In brief Ceri Brown is British Paragliding Champion. Only two valid tasks were flown at the British Championships (aka British and Dutch Open) at St Andre in early September. Ceri Brown became British Champion for the second year in succession; Dylan Mansley was 2nd ahead of Alex Coltman. Kanan Thakur was top woman ahead of Ali Matthews and Magda Janaway. Dave Smart led the Sports class from Mark Hayman and Sam Tolton. Full report next month. Paragliding comps needs you! The Paragliding Competitions Panel will hold its annual meeting in December, when positions including Chairperson will come up for election. All roles are open to any BHPA member who would like to contribute to the planning and operation of comps. Positions are unpaid but offer the prospect of shaping the future of British competitions. The full scope of Panel activities can be found at Isle of Wight record? If there is an informal record for the longest XC flight ending on the Isle of Wight, Hugh Miller and Mark Watts smashed it on August 30th from PoPeep in East Sussex. They arrived at the Needles, westernmost extremity of the island, after 129.28km. It’s been done several times from Combe Gibbet (c.80km), and once in 1989 from Mere on a hang glider (72km), by Bruce Goldsmith. Dan Horeman made it from Harting Down (60km) in 2021. There may be others. But 129km is going to take some beating! Bill Moyes. As we went to press we learned that hang gliding pioneer Bill Moyes had died peacefully in Sydney, on September 24th, aged 92. In the late 1960s Bill was one of the sparks who lit the flame of worldwide enthusiasm for hang gliding. The company that still bears his name is a fitting tribute to his life’s work. BHPA Safety Advisory Paraglider Maillon/Quick Link connectors Recent Incident Reports have reported a small number of cases where the threaded sleeve-nut on a steel connector (maillon, quick link) could be easily wound by hand beyond the top of the upper screw thread, to a point where it fully exposes the lower screw thread, opening it in a way it is not intended to be opened. For a maillon to function as a load- carrying connector, the long, threaded sleeve nut must bridge the ‘gate’ (the short open portion – see Fig. 1). Maillons have been known to unscrew over time and should be regularly checked and tightened appropriately (being careful not to over-tighten). If no manufacturer’s guidance is available on the correct torque, the BHPA Pilot Handbook recommends nipping up the nut to be finger-tight, and then giving a further one-eighth turn with a small spanner. These maillons were all used to connect paraglider suspension lines to a riser. In each incident the end stop at the top of the thread did not perform as it should and allowed the continued turning of the nut past the end stop, exposing the bottom thread (see Fig. 2). Maillons may be used in many parts of a paraglider setup that are infrequently opened and closed, including the attachment of the emergency parachute to the harness, and the suspension lines to the risers. They must be appropriately sized for the load they are expected to carry and installed so that the load is correctly applied. They are often engraved with a safe working load or working load limit (SWL or WLL). The reported incidents featured maillons of a type commonly used on paraglider manufacturers’ riser-to-suspension-line connections. Whilst this is being investigated further the FSC makes the following recommendations to pilots: 1. Check your maillons are in good condition and correctly fastened as part of your daily inspection. A correctly-closed maillon is illustrated in Fig. 3. 2. If the threaded nut can be finger-turned with ease, fully exposing the lower screw thread and opening the maillon, replace it. Inform your manufacturer or dealer, and report the issue via the BHPA’s online incident reporting system. 3. If you have reason to open a maillon (for example to change a damaged suspension line), take heed of the manufacturer’s instructions when re-closing it. Be careful not to apply such torque that the threaded nut is wound above the lower screw thread. If in doubt, consult a paraglider service centre or your paraglider supplier. Issued by FSC Chairman Angus Pinkerton, September 16th 2024 The full Safety Advisory can be found on the BHPA website at Manufacturer’s Safety Notice Skywalk Breeze 2 harness When installing the reserve system in the Breeze2, two white loops are threaded through the eyelet using a packing loop, then secured with the split-pin system of the reserve handle. It has been reported that, during an initial installation, one of the two loops tore. The issue has been reproduced in at least one other Breeze2 harness. To eliminate any safety risks, the Breeze2 harness must not be used until both loops have been inspected. Please contact your dealer or importer to have them inspected. If you know how to install the reserve container into the harness you can check it yourself using a spring balance. Full details are at Skywalk, Windeckstraße 4, 83250 Marquartstein. August 23rd 2024 8 SKYWINGS OCTOBER 2024 BHPA Club Coaching courses October 19-20 Dunstable James Dell COURSE FULLY BOOKED November 23-24 Scottish HPF Mark Mortimer 07811 433040 December 7-8 SE Wales Alistair Andrews 07575 280508 January 18-19 Cumbria James Jackson March 22-23 Long Mynd Phil Bibby 07977 122563 safety matters Threaded sleeve nut Fig. 2: Incident maillon Incorrectly opened with lower thread exposed Fig. 1: Maillon opened normally End stop at the top of the upper screw thread Sleeve nut Open gate Fig. 3: Correctly closed maillon Quick facts abo out the NG series: weight(m²) Surface g)(k Max load NG g)weight (kg)t (k G NG light The world´s leading rescue systems Use of high-qu• even at low spe g, g • Available in 3 s certified accord • New, innovative • Excellent sink r to a jump from • Very reliable op • Intelligent, light ality lightweight materials eeds gp sizes as NG and in the light versio ding to EN12491 e X-Flare concept for high efficien rates, each just over 5 m/s, equiva a height of about 1.3 m pening and extremely good pend tweight construction for fast open g, NG 140 Ser NG 120 Ser -geneous load distri --flares for homoX NG 100 Ser on NG light, ncy alent dulum stability nings, 33 1401,85rie 291201,6rie 25100rie1,45 1,49 5 1,3 18 6 concept. -Flare innovative X s to the , thankface -Nearly flat top sur 5 1, for fa ow L ast opening canopy height projected surface area bution across the large geneous load distri stability pendulum outlets for air defined Precisely 25.05.2024. CP rated pilot, age not recorded Experience: 20 hours Site & conditions: Chabre, France, 0-5km/h, moderate turbulence Glider: Ozone Mojo 6 Incident: The pilot was observed struggling to maintain directional control after take-off, and the paraglider shape appeared distorted as if lines were knotted. The pilot landed in trees short of the landing field and dropped to the ground. Injury: Serious 01.06.2024. AP rated pilot aged 70 Experience: 6,000 hours (14) Site & conditions: Strathyre, 10-15km/h, light turbulence Glider: Moyes RX 3.5 Pro Incident: On landing approach following an XC flight the hang glider accelerated in the final stage of flight before touchdown, possibly due to a sudden switch in wind direction. The pilot impacted the ground hard and was trapped underneath the glider with an arm injury, unable to move. The pilot was assisted by walkers and a retrieve driver, who reported that the pilot’s satellite tracker SOS button (mounted on the control frame) was inaccessible to the pilot following the crash and could not be operated. Injury: Minor: hands, arms, shoulder 02.06.2024. P rated pilot aged 77 Experience: 200 hours (4) Site & conditions: Combe Gibbet, 25-30km/h, strong turbulence Glider: Advance Sigma 5 Incident: The pilot was observed to be on approach to the landing field with their paraglider in big ears configuration. The wing entered a spin leading to a deep stall in conditions reported to be thermic, and the pilot impacted the ground. Injury: Serious: lumbar spine 06.06.2024. P rated pilot aged 72 Experience: 800 hours (3) Site & conditions: Woolacombe, 15-20km/h, moderate turbulence Glider: Wills Wing Sport 3 Incident: The pilot impacted hard when top landing and swung through the A-frame, resulting in upper limb injuries. Injury: Serious: hands, arms, shoulder 09.06.2024. CP rated pilot, age not recorded Experience: 10 hours Site & conditions: Devil’s Dyke Glider: Unknown paraglider Incident: The reporting witness noted that the conditions had deteriorated and the pilot was attempting to land when they experienced a large asymmetric collapse which re-inflated. A large asymmetric collapse on the other side of the wing then occurred. The pilot managed to land without injury. Injury: None 11.06.2024. AP rated pilot aged 49 Experience: 690 hours (5) Site & conditions: Glen Coe, 15-20km/h, not turbulent Glider: Moyes RX Incident: The pilot became aware of power lines when about to enter final approach. They changed their approach direction to avoid the hazard and sustained minor injuries landing with a tailwind. Injury: Minor feet, legs 17.06.2024. CP rated pilot aged 73 Experience: 67 hours Site & conditions: Woolacombe, 10-15km/h, moderate turbulence Glider: Phi Beat Light Incident: After take-off the pilot became aware that the outer A-line riser was trapped in the speed system link (between A and B risers), causing the wingtip to be pulled in. The pilot opted to land immediately and touched down safely. When the load came off the riser after touchdown, the trapped riser released itself back to its normal configuration. Injury: None 21.06.2024. P rated pilot aged 48 Experience: 600 hours (2) Site & conditions: Silecroft, 10-15km/h, not turbulent Glider: Advance Iota Incident: The pilot was soaring along a dune on a beat with a downwind component when their harness contacted the dune. The paraglider asymmetrically collapsed, dragging the pilot over the dune and into a fence post. Injury: Serious BHPA Accident and Incident digest The following is an edited digest of Incident Reports submitted to the FSC between May 26th and June 21st 2024. ‘Experience: 20 hours (5)’ indicates 20 hours total airtime and 5 hours within the previous six months. The complete database of reports can be found at Next >