No. 432 APRIL 2025 The magazine of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Associationattitude Imagine this headline: ‘Sunny day entices pilots away from the BHPA’s Annual General Meeting.’ It’s a common scenario – the AGM is set, and then ... the sun shines. Consequently the pilots head for the hills, leaving the dedicated few to oversee proceedings. However I’ll take this as a positive, interpreting it as a sign that, for the most part, you, the members, trust that the elected representatives are diligently representing your interests. This year, for the first time (and as a cost-saving measure), we ran the AGM at the BHPA offices and utilised meeting software as opposed to live streaming on social media. Voting still took place in person or by post/email as per usual. The office team and technical officers had the place prepped and ready, and even provided an amazing lunch (thanks Steph). It was great to be able to use our existing facilities at the home of the BHPA. I stand by the decision made at last June’s Exec to use the BHPA facilities and meeting modality. As I’ve said before, all progress is incremental, yet both the running and management of the AGM and subsequent Exec board meeting went extremely smoothly. Despite the small turnout, business was conducted as usual. The Exec presented updates on admin, safety initiatives, competition highlights and membership trends. Financial reports were shared, and voting for Exec positions took place as scheduled. Special recognition goes to Ben Ashman, Mark Bignell and Chris Haynes, and the members of the Paragliding Junior Team, who graced the occasion to receive their well-deserved awards in person. Change, just not like that … The AGM took an unexpected turn this year, with David Harvey proposing changes that did not resonate with the membership, leading to their rejection. But here’s the thing. While David’s proposals weren’t quite right, they weren’t entirely wrong either. They may have been unnecessary in their original form, but they touched on areas where we do need to make changes. So I’m pleased to say that we’ll be making some improvements to better serve the membership – and if those changes happen to look very similar to some of David’s ideas, well … let’s just call that a happy coincidence. Shaping an organisation that works for you Joking aside, this is a reminder that the BHPA exists to serve its members – as your Company Directors we have a fiduciary responsibility to do exactly that. That means we need to keep evolving, adapting, and ensuring that what we do reflects the needs of pilots today – not just what worked decades ago. And that takes more than just turning up to an AGM once a year to vote something down. It takes people willing to get involved, put in the work, and help steer the association in the right direction. Over the next ten months, I’d love to see some fresh faces stepping up – pilots who are willing to shape the organisation, work with Exec and not just comment from the sidelines. If you think things could be done better, if you want to see real change, or if you just care about the future of free flight, now is the time to step forward. The Exec needs people who are willing to work hard, contribute ideas, and help push the BHPA forward. A call to action So, if you’ve ever thought, why doesn’t the BHPA do X or why can’t we change Y? – this is your chance to ask those questions of your Chair. Every year presents opportunity for volunteers to step up for Exec. The Flying and Safety Committee (FSC), run by Angus Pinkerton, is managed separately and is the key BHPA committee focusing on the technical aspects of the organisation; I remain enduringly grateful to this skilled group of Subject Matter Experts. The BHPA is only as strong as the people who step up to run it. We can shape something that truly reflects today’s pilots, but that will not happen by itself. The next AGM will be here before we know it. By then, I hope we will not only have made some sensible changes but also found a few more people willing to roll up their sleeves and help make a difference. If that sounds like you – let’s talk. AGM reflections JENNY BUCK, BHPA CHAIR4 SKYWINGS APRIL 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 Michel and Blandine Macquet breaking tandem records in Kenya’s Kerio Valley in February, aboard Ozone’s prototype SwiftMax 2 (see news item on page 6) Photo: Michel Macquet THIS PAGE BHPA Technical Officer Mark Shaw flying on Mam Tor in the Peak District in March 2025. Photo: Karol Rubin 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 at DEADLINES News items and event/competition reports for the June issue must be submitted to the Skywings office by Monday April 28th. Letters for the May Airmail pages should arrive no later than Friday April 18th. Advertisement bookings for the May edition must arrive by Friday April 11th. Copy and classified bookings no later than the following Friday April 18th regulars features APRIL 2025 SKYWINGS 56 SKYWINGS APRIL 2025 news BOPC 2025 goes to Bicester The British Open Paramotor Champion- ships will run this year at Bicester airfield in Oxfordshire from July 8th-13th. Situated in open countryside, and largely free from airspace restrictions, the 400-acre airfield features a nine-acre flying deck adjoining a sizeable area for camping and admin. Its central location, equidistant from London, Bristol and Birmingham, offers good national and international access. The airfield is a mostly-original pre-war RAF station with a number of listed buildings. Until recently an active glider site, it is now a business park dedicated to historic motoring and aviation, and home to a number of hi-tech businesses. The competition will follow the standard Endurance format and be directed by Andy Phillips, supported by Barney Townsend. A task catalogue will be published in due course. The pilot entry fee, include all competition maps, camping and use of facilities, is £120, with a £20 surcharge for entries received after June 24th. Trading at the event is exclusively reserved for official championship sponsors. Registration is open now. Full details are at Bicester Heritage] ‘Who can fly XC?’ clarification Since the ‘Who can fly cross-country?’ item appeared in February Skywings (p10), a few issues have been raised. Most, falling within the article’s ‘Use your common sense’ admonition, have not required a public response. However one did require a public clarification: the situation where a member holds a P rating for one discipline, for instance hang gliding, and a CP rating for a different discipline, say paragliding. Could that member fly XC on his or her paraglider? The short answer is ‘no’. A Pilot rating requires a pilot to demonstrate both the knowledge of air law and the skill set required to fly XC. In the above example there could be no certainty that the pilot has the necessary skills to fly the aircraft in an XC environment. A route for a member, Pilot rated in one discipline, to ‘upgrade’ their CP in another already exists: you simply need to demonstrate that you have completed the flying tasks required to upgrade from your CP to P. You are not required to sit another Pilot exam. The office staff will then convert your rating from CP to P and it will appear on your membership card. You will then be authorised to fly XC in that discipline as well. The BHPA is trying to keep this as simple as possible, with no grey areas. Subject to the limited exceptions set out in the article, you must hold a Pilot rating to fly How to break four world records in a week! Having broken the world tandem paragliding 100km O/R speed record in February last year (34.9km/h), Michel and Blandine Macquet returned to Iten, Kenya, in January with more records in mind. In 2024 Ozone had lent them a SwiftMax; this year they had been loaned the prototype SwiftMax 2. ‘Everything is much easier because it is our second year there,’ writes Michel. ‘Our goal was to attempt 100 and 200km O/R speed records, plus declared and free distance. The stars seemed to be aligning: I had the right machine and the ideal passenger, and the forecasts for the Kerio Valley were good. ‘We had planned eight flights; in the end only three were necessary. We broke our first record six days after arriving: 100km out-and-return speed at 35.94km/h, gaining 1km/h over our 2024 flight. I had put my solutions to last year’s mistakes into practice. ‘Then health problems and poor weather grounded us, wasting many days. With the end of the trip approaching, available goals seemed to be narrowing. But I had an idea for a very fast, short flight, and on January 31st we flew a 25km triangle at 39.82km/h to secure a record we hadn’t even planned to attempt. ‘Our departure date was imminent, but on February 1st things lined up for the distance record we had narrowly missed a few days before. We completed a 250km out-and-return in 7h:30, even flying back to our lodge for another 44km – 294km! That was two more records broken: Declared distance: 234km, free distance 250km. Both existing marks were at 231.1km. The flight almost ended badly with a big low point on the return leg, but Blandine’s mental encouragement allowed me to give it my all. ‘Thanks to the Ozone team who entrusted me with their new wing. And to Blandine, who is and will remain my best passenger in the air, as in life. This was a team effort – alone, I am nothing!’ Follow Michel’s future adventures on Instagram: titi_macquet_paragliding_pilot, or Facebook: titi macquet paragliding pilot.APRIL 2025 SKYWINGS 7 XC within the BHPA rules. That Pilot rating has to be applicable to the type of aircraft that you are flying. If you are in this situation, i.e. you hold a P rating in one discipline and want to upgrade your CP to P in another discipline, contact a Technical Officer in the first instance and they will advise on the steps that you need to take. Avon’s 50th anniversary The Avon Club is coming up to 50 years of age this summer. To celebrate they are hosting a one-off camp-out-style bash at a pop- up site near Westbury White Horse on the weekend of August 30th-31st. The event will include a variety of flying competitions, a prize raffle (proceeds to Great Western Air Ambulance), a fly- jumble stall, quiz and guest speakers, and a celebratory party with music on the Saturday evening. Sunny or not, Avon hopes to see as many visitors as possible to celebrate, fly, have a drink and dance into the night. The Bash is open to all BHPA members. Full details will be at antastic 50th anniversary T-shirt by Steve Ham is on sale at Lakes Charity Classic update The main LCC and X-Lakes events (June 18th-22nd) are now almost full, but there are a few places left for the one-day mountain Hike&Fly. A serious and challenging event, the one-day X-Lakes is a good preparation for anyone aspiring to the famous two-day X-Lakes race. There are also 30 free-flying places remaining, offering LCC facilities, LZ and Grasmere campsite. This includes weather and safety briefings from flight directors CALL THE SPECIALISTS 0800 5999 101 FOR BHPA MEMBERS life insurance EST 1989 Run by Pilots for Pilots We Fly What You Fly! Protect Your Family, Mortgage or Business 205 SkywingParamotors skyscraper ad 0125-297x104.indd 18 SKYWINGS APRIL 2025 news Richard Bungay and John Westall, plus the Saturday night dinner, prizegiving and social. These places are ideal for those who want to explore mountain flying for the first time. It’s a chance to soak up the Lakes atmosphere and gain some local knowledge! Apply for all places Weather app news Guy Richardson has improved his weather app (see Skywings, February 2024) with more sites and BHPA clubs added. Ginger Nomad Weather features interactive wind roses, actual and forecast weather and wind at altitude. Derived from complex modelling algorithms, these are grouped under the club that operates the relevant site, for which a handy location map is provided. Currently the Dales, Derbysire, Peak, Pennine and Long Mynd clubs are covered, with more in the pipeline. At-a-glance weather and site selection made effortless! Find it at BHPA subs rise As mentioned last month, BHPA subscriptions increased, mostly by just under 3%, with effect from April 1st. Annual Adult Membership is up £5 to £174. Other annual memberships are Family, £159; Concessionary (under 21/over 67 and disabled), £154; Non Flying membership is unchanged at £62. Three-month membership now costs £109; Two-year membership, £299 and Adult Day membership £30. The Rejoining fee payable on annual memberships has increased to £35.The Direct Debit discount remains at £7. Some insurance supplements will also increase: the Paraglider Dual Pilot and Instructor Supplements to £110; the TI Supplement remains unchanged at £30. Icarus Cup dates The week-long Icarus Cup for human-powered aircraft will run this year at Lasham, Hants, from June 14th-22nd. The Cup, and a prize of £1,000, is awarded to the pilot scoring the most points across several different flying tasks. Other challenges include the Kremer Prize tasks, two of which remain to be claimed. Full details are In brief Aonach Mor gondola pass. The SHPF have negotiated a discounted deal for gondola tickets for BHPA members at Aonach Mor (Nevis range). An all-day gondola pass can be purchased for £13 by any BHPA member producing their membership card. Aonach Mor has been the start point for some good flights, especially in northerly winds. The lift provides access to two take-offs at around 650m and is open all year. A similar deal has also been agreed at Glencoe. X-Scotia dates. The SHPF’s X-Scotia hike&fly race runs at Kintail, NW Highlands, on May 24th-25th. For the first time two races will be held: the classic two-day ‘Hardcore’ event and a new one-day event on the Saturday only. A minimum of Pilot rating is required for either class. A backup weekend is scheduled for the following weekend (May 31st-June 1st). Details are Junior triangle records ratified. On June 21st last year Spain’s Marcelo Sánchez Vílchez flew his Niviuk X-One 200.27km to claim Junior World and European records for distance (and free distance) over a triangle. A further claim from the same flight, for speed over a 200km triangle at 26.75km/h, didn’t exceed the existing record by a sufficient margin. All four records have now been ratified. It will be remembered that Marcelo also took the top spot at the Junior World Championships in September. He is 23. More Junior records. February 16th saw France’s Capucine Deliot (Zeno 2) and Ivan Haas (Niviuk Peak 5) fly 73km triangles from Pic des Mauroux at Targasonne to claim simultaneous Junior World and European distance-using-up-to-three turnpoints records. In both cases the record has not been previously set.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 PROTECTIONNext >