No. 430 FEBRUARY 2025 The magazine of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association2 SKYWINGS FEBRUARY 2025 attitude I have a new paraglider (fondly named ‘the flying potato’) because, as I get older and fitter (that’s another story) I’m happy to simply get my feet off the ground, and with the support of my local club will be doing exactly that. The past 18 months have seen some amazing achievements by the membership. The work on diversity and equity in the sport is testament to significant personal effort by Rhian Ebrey, John Westall and others. The sporting prowess of all our disciplines on the international stage is noteworthy; they achieved amazing results in 2024. Paramotoring Comps Chair Barney Townsend and the Panel running the first World Endurance Championship in the UK is a particular highlight, supported at prizegiving by FAI President David Monks. I offer my thanks to the technical and office staff who have provided the day-to-day administration, coaching courses, instructor updates and accident investigations. And to the clubs network, in particular those club chairs I’ve had opportunity/need to engage with, I extend my thanks for your helpfulness and willingness to support positive outcomes irrespective of the issue. The past 18 months have been educational and challenging, learning the ropes as Chair of your Association as well as taking on Vice-Chair of the Royal Aero Club. Both organisations hide a labyrinth of challenges, difficult decisions, and often-unseen dedication. The BHPA juggles various roles: certifying pilots, ensuring safety, providing insurance, negotiating with regulators, and building pathways for young enthusiasts to progress to competitive levels. What I’ve learned since taking over as Chair in June 2023, getting there (‘there’ being any sort of progress) is a test of resilience, strategy, patience and vision. The BHPA isn’t just about managing competitions or running club coach courses though. At its core it’s about ensuring a legacy. Whether it’s paragliding, hang gliding, accuracy or paramotoring, the clubs and competition panels carry the responsibility of growing their disciplines, ensuring their sustainability, and fostering inclusivity. The heart of any sporting organisation is its committee or Executive Board. The members of the BHPA Exec face unique challenges that require diplomacy, strategy, and an unyielding commitment to the sport’s greater good. From managing relationships with government agencies to mediating conflicts between stakeholders, Exec constantly navigate competing interests. Balancing these perspectives can be challenging, especially when priorities clash. For example, our insurers wish to minimise their exposure, our coaches and instructor network seek minimal paperwork, elite-level athletes may push for greater funding for international competitions, while grassroots clubs or individuals demand resources to support their own priorities. Exec act as a neutral arbiter, making decisions that may not please everyone but are in the best interest of the membership as a whole. Exec are also responsible for long-term planning – setting goals for sub-committees, and financial sustainability while remaining adaptable to unforeseen challenges. The results might be a revised safety protocol – projects that take years to bear fruit but are critical to the sport’s success. Whether it’s a financial shortfall, an athlete controversy, or an incident that raises safety concerns, Exec are often in firefighting mode. These moments test their ability to make effective decisions while protecting the organisation’s reputation; a single high-profile accident can lead to public scrutiny, regulatory crackdowns and, potentially, loss of insurance for the membership. All of Exec are volunteers. Disappointingly, of our 7500 membership not a single person stood for election to Exec this year, despite two individuals observing at Exec meetings. One of my biggest concerns is continuity planning – both Exec and FSC rely on the immense knowledge and key members of Exec. On my to-do list for the next year is to ensure we have a narrative to support business continuity for the organisation should any of the key board members (of any role) have to step down. The BGA changed their Exec rules in recent years to ensure that maximum time on Exec was limited to six years. This was done to ensure the organisation remained dynamic and innovative; the BGA also hold their AGMs online, something we are also trialling for the first time this year. But note: you will be able to observe and respond in real time, but all voting is either in person or via the usual postal form. The challenges of the politics and committee work are unlikely to disappear. However, with strong leadership, clear communication, and a shared commitment to the sport’s future, the BHPA will continue on its way. For the AGM, I echo the Board’s note in January Skywings regarding the unnecessary proposals put forward by David Harvey. I will be voting against them because they hold Exec to a timeline and introduce largely-unseen complexity, both of which are unachievable by a volunteer board. I look forward to welcoming you to our online AGM on March 1st, and wish you all good thermals and favourable winds for our 2025 flying season. Reflections after a year JENNY BUCK, BHPA CHAIR When I became Chair of the BHPA in June 2022, I promised you all some words in due course. Time flies, right? As I write this over Christmas, I’ve just got back in from ground handling my new wing on the seafront in Gosport as part of personal prep to finally getting back in the sky after, let’s face it, a year of talking about, but not doing a lot of, actual flying.4 SKYWINGS FEBRUARY 2025 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 Jerome Maupoint and Gin Camino 2 at 3400m on a winter’s day at La Plagne, near Les Arcs, Savoie. Photo: Jerome Maupoint THIS PAGE A beautiful January afternoon on Butser Hill with the Skysurfing club. Photo: Russell Winters 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 March issue must be submitted to the Skywings office by Friday February 28th. Letters for the March Airmail pages should arrive no later than Monday February 17th. Advertisement bookings for the March edition must arrive by Tuesday February 11th. Copy and classified bookings no later than the following Tuesday February 18th.FEBRUARY 2025 SKYWINGS 5 regulars regulars features 6 SKYWINGS FEBRUARY 2025 news NATS publishes airspace files! NATS’ Aeronautical Information Service has started publishing XML and KML files for current and future UK airspace data. Currently, dedicated individuals in the gliding and free flying worlds (Dave Massie, Simon Headford, Indy, et al) painstakingly convert data from AIRAC releases, NOTAMS, etc, into usable datasets, or use tools like ASSelect to construct the instrument- friendly files we all use. Compiling reliable airspace files from these sources has never been official, and neither have the maps themselves; access to official data in digital form would be a huge leap forward. Although the new releases are ‘evaluation datasets’ only, it is thought likely that the format will soon become formalised and updated every 28 days. The picture isn’t entirely clear, but this development looks as if it will make a really big difference in terms of speed, accuracy and reliability of airspace charting for free-flight use. You can examine the UK ICAO AIP dataset files shows AIS file displayed in Google Earth with elements – eg London TMA – removed to show only Southend CTR/CTA and Shoeburyness Danger Area.] Mark Shaw wows Korean instructors Just before Christmas, BHPA Senior Tech Officer Mark Shaw was invited to be the guest presenter at a KPGA instructor seminar at Mungyeong in South Korea. Mark’s trip, fully funded by the Korean association, was designed to assist around 50 KPGA instructors in revalidating their licences during the three-day training seminar. Gin Seok Song was also on hand, and later voiced his thanks to the BHPA for allowing Mark time out from his busy schedule to attend the meeting. CANP stats Pete Logan, one of the clever people behind the CANP activity notifiication utility, writes, ‘I have it on good authority that 2025’s flying weather is going to be excellent, so I thought it’d be a good opportunity to get a nag in early to use the CANP web app to warn the RAF and other pilots of our activities. On your phone go ‘Now the website has been running for five-ish years, we’ve got a bunch of data that’s worth taking a look at. We’re at just under 6000 total CANPs submitted, a huge increase on the few that were phoned in before the web app was available. It covers more than 500 sites, and on average a site is CANPed every 1.6 days. 62 clubs, fields and schools are represented and over 800 pilots have used the service so far. ‘On the graph below you can see usage by month and year. I’m not too worried about 2023’s drop – the chart tallies very well with the XC League points and flights. It probably reflects the weather more than anything else. ‘If you’re new to CANPs, they’re more fully known as the Civil Aircraft Notification Procedure. The RAF and BHPA are keen for pilots to notify that a site will be active to help deconflict. It will get put through as a NOTAM whether it’s weekday or weekend. General aviation will be able to see the alerts too. You can submit a notification up to 48 hours beforehand, and also for Mondays if you get it in by Friday 3pm (the RAF’s Low Flying Cell are away at weekends). Normally they’ll action notifications up to 8pm the night before we fly.’ African records On November 30th South Africa pilot WJ de Vries claimed the African distance-via-three-turnpoints record at 276.5km, from Brandvlei in the Karoo. The next day fellow countryman Heinrich Marloth claimed the African gain-of-height record (and the Junior mark) from nearby Upington at 4,600m. And the day after that WJ put in a rival claim at 4,300m from Hotazel, further north. All these are previously unset records. Before European BHPA 500 Club WIN CASH PRIZES AND HELP THE ASSOCIATION! December winners John Taylor £134.20 Brian Gittings £67.10 Tommy Abdy Collins £33.55 Chris Dunford £20.13 Shaun Sunderland £16.78 John Ling £16.78 David Hayes £13.42 Mark Winstanley £13.42 Lewis Price £10.07 Paul Perry £10.07 BHPA £335.48 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 pilots discovered Brazil, South Africa’s Karoo was the destination for big distances and height gains – Rob Whittall secured world records at 253km and 4,526m back in 1993 – and held on to the height gain record for the next 23 years! British paragliding team selection New team selection rules, for competition paraglider pilots hoping to represent the UK at international level, have been agreed by the Paragliding Competitions Panel. Key changes include an increase in pilot contribution, effective in a year’s time; possible financial assistance if that contribution would be a barrier to participation; and the clarification of funding limits. Comps Panel’s intention is to always to select UK paragliding teams in a fair and transparent way. The new rules bring together, update and simplify the previous fragmented documentation; they can be found at In brief Type 1 paraglider pilot sought. Film maker Emily Cooney is looking for a UK paraglider pilot with Type 1 diabetes to feature in an awareness-raising film. ‘Our documentary aims to break limitations and raise awareness,’ she says. ‘By sharing fun experiences and stories of success in remote outdoor sports, we hope to encourage those with diabetes to access natural landscapes and strengthen the self-belief and independence they teach. If you are interested in taking part, contact her at O/R record equalled. An unusual situation arose when French pilot Clément Latour exactly equalled the existing World and European paragliding free out-and-return distance record, set at 311.0km by Slovenia’s Tomaž Eržen in August 2022. Clément’s August 2023 flight has now been ratified alongside Tomaž’s as a shared World and European record. Dragon H&F dates. Alistair Andrews’ celebrated Dragon Hike and Fly race is now fixed for May 10th-11th, with a bad-weather fallback date of June 7th-8th. Alistair is hoping to secure FAI Category 2 status for this event. Details are at Skywings index. These days we lack the space to run the annual index of articles within the magazine. Nevertheless indexes covering 2023 and 2024 issues have now joined those going back to 2016 online. These can be found at BHPA website. Who can fly cross-country? Following issues arising from members flying cross-country who did not hold, at least, a Pilot rating, the BHPA has issued guidance on what does, and does not, constitute a cross-country flight. As this issue carries insurance implications, all members are advised to study the BHPA guidelines outlined FEBRUARY 2025 SKYWINGS 78 SKYWINGS FEBRUARY 2025 With the high standard of writing that covers 12 monthly copies of this action- packed magazine, it’s not easy to name the winner. But at least it’s more fun than standing on the top of a cold, windswept hill in the UK, waiting for the weatherman’s promised reduction in wind strength! Starting from the last (December ‘24) issue, I was impressed with the writing skills of Hugh Burnaby-Atkins, relaying his Supreme Hike-and-Fly midsummer Mont Blanc Alpine trip with his flying buddy Simon and son Eddie. They had a truly memorable adventure. In last February’s Skywings I really enjoyed Totally Amazing!, a report of a hang gliding competition in Lanzarote. The story by Gordon Rigg and Darren Brown was accompanied by stunning photographs from high above the island of Graciosa and the famous Famara cliffs. I’m really envious, as I once spent a week in Lanzarote that was completely blown out. My one and only flying holiday in the Canary Islands. In May’s edition, Exploring the Rift Valley and Northern Kenya by Nicolay Yotov was brilliant. I must also give credit where it’s due to Besting the Bise by my old flying buddy Robert Smith (October), and A first 100km flight by Aaron Hall (July). Both really good paragliding stories. But when all is said and done it was Ben Ashman’s Balado or Bust! that stood out for me. A ripping yarn that recaptures the adventurous spirit of powered hang gliding’s early days, spread over the September and November issues. Ben, along with Mark Hilton and Giles Fowler, flew their PeaBee/Adam microlights from Darley Moor in Derbyshire to Balado in Perthshire in just two days. Bad weather on the return journey stopped them from making it all the way home in their microlights, but they got pretty close! But Ben and his team absolutely nailed the sometimes-forgotten spirit of microlight flying as sheer, magical fun. A well-written, fantastic story. Mike Hibbit news Wings Over a Cloud Award 2024 It’s that time of year (post Christmas) when I get an ear bashing – in the nicest way – from editor Joe Schofield: a gentle reminder that he would like me to send in my thoughts and appraisal of the Skywings stories published over the past year. Of course, the main thing required is my decision about who will be awarded the much-coveted Wings Over a Cloud Award. In other words, some prose from me to tell you, the readers, the whys and wherefores that led to my top choice. Events key: u paragliding l hang gliding z powered flying m accuracy z human powered flying all disciplines FEBRUARY 9 Big Fat Repack Aldershot, Hants 4 - 15 u PWC Superfinal Roldanillo, Colombia 23 - 2 Mar u Sports Class Racing Series Ozone Edition Santa Fe, Colombia MARCH 1 BHPA AGM BHPA Leicester APRIL 24 – 27 u British Paragliding Cup UK Round Yorkshire Dales MAY 10 – 11 u Dragon Hike and Fly Crickhowell, Powys 10 - 17 u PWC Spain Algodonales, Spain 10 - 13 l British Open Series Round 1 Crickhowell, Wales 26 – 1 Jun u Sports Class Racing Series Gin Edition Mungyeong, S. Korea 30 - 31 u Buttermere Bash Buttermere, Cumbria Facebook: Buttermere Bash 31 - 7 Jun l British Open Series Round 2 Blair Drummond, Stirling JUNE 1 - 14 l World HG Sports Class Champs Laveno, Italy 7 – 8 u Dragon Hike and Fly (fallback date) Crickhowell, Powys 7 - 14 u PWC China Linzhou, China 11 – 18 u British Sports Trophy Gemona, Italy 19 - 22 u Lakes Charity Classic Grasmere, Cumbria 21 - 22 u X-Lakes Hike & Fly competition Grasmere, Cumbria 21 - 22 m British Paragliding Accuracy Nationals South Wales 28 - 05 Jul u PWC Italy Feltre, Italy JULY 6 - 13 u Sports Class Racing Series 3rd Edition Gemona, Italy 12 - 19 u British Paragliding Championships Kruševo, Macedonia 13 - 26 l World Hang Gliding Championships Ager, Spain 19 - 26 u PWC Macedonia Kruševo, Macedonia AUGUST 9 - 16 l British/Italian Hang Gliding Champs Monte Cucco, Italy 16 - 23 u PWC Turkey Aksaray, Turkey 16 - 23 u Niviuk Fly Wide Open Krusevo, North Macedonia 23 - 25 m British Classic Accuracy Nationals South Cerney, Gloucs 30 – 6 Sep u Sports Class Racing Series 4th Edition Ager, Spain SEPTEMBER 6 - 9 l British Open Series Round 3 Builth Wells, Powys 14 - 19 u British PG Cup overseas Round Sopot, Bulgaria OCTOBER 25 - 4 Nov m World Paragliding Accuracy Champs Alanya, Turkey calendar of events Please double-check with the organisers that any event is going ahead – entry in the calendar is no guarantee. When we talk about the greatest competitors in sports we tend to focus on those who have won the most titles, or the ones who burst onto the scene to win as newcomers. But often the competitors who deserve the most respect are the ones that are just out of the podium photograph, but remain close to it for an unbelievably long time. Just when Dan Vyhnalik did his first European or World Championship I’m not completely certain, but he was definitely at the Norway Europeans in 1992, and possibly also the previous one at Kranjska Gora (Yugoslavia) in 1990. He took part in every European Championship, and almost certainly every World Championship, since then. At the start of that period there was of course another Czech pilot, Tomas Suchanek, three times World and twice European Champion, taking most of the limelight. It wasn’t until Turkey in 2012 that Dan took his only individual Euros medal with a Silver. Since then he has reached a world ranking of 4th on four separate occasions and is currently ranked 12th. With the aid of Dan’s decades of experience, the Czech team has been a force to be reckoned with in recent years. Even after 35 years of top-level competition, Dan was still regularly placing well and even winning individual tasks, the team taking a Silver medal and two Bronzes at European level and a Silver at the World Championship in 2017. Dan died after suffering a heart problem while cross-country skiing on December 14th. His sudden and untimely passing has been a shock to us all. Along with the many of the Czech team, Dan has been a regular competitor in the British Nationals wherever we have gone and will be very much missed. Our sympathy goes to his family and fellow pilots in the Czech Republic. [Gordon Rigg] 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 Dan Vyhnalik 1957-2024Next >