No. 345 JANUARY 2018The magazine of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding AssociationTHE EDITOR Joe Schofield, 39 London Road, Harleston,Norfolk IP20 9BH. Tel: 01379 855021. E-mail:COVER PHOTO Dan Burton flies 10km from the Russianborder at Kirkenes in Norway in February 2017. Photo:Dan BurtonTHIS PAGE Colin Fargher flies the Swing Arcus RS Lite atMathay, eastern France. Full flight test report on page 36Photo: Colin FargherDESIGN & PRODUCTION Fargher Design Ltd. Killane House,Ballaugh, Isle of Man, IM7 5BD.PRINT & DISTRIBUTION Newman Thomson Ltd, One JubileeRd, Victoria Ind. Est, Burgess Hill, RH15 9TL.ADVERTISING Tel: 020 7193 9133 Email: SKYWINGS ONLINE Go For the January issue enter the usernameJanuary_2018 and the case-sensitive password M&V#Lh8 Forthe February issue enter the username February_2018 andthe case-sensitive password xI#JX_8DEADLINES News items and event/competition reports forthe March 2018 issue must be submitted to the Skywingsoffice by Wednesday January 31st. Letters for the FebruaryAirmail page should arrive no later than Friday January 19th.Advertisement bookings for the February edition ofSkywings must arrive by Wednesday January 10th. Copy andclassified bookings no later than Wednesday January 17th.SUBSCRIPTIONS AND DELIVERY ENQUIRIESTel: 0116 289 4316, Online: THE BHPA LTD 8 Merus Court, Meridian Business Park,Leicester LE19 1RJ. Tel: 0116 289 4316.Skywings magazine is published monthly by the BritishHang Gliding and Paragliding Association Ltd to inform,educate and entertain those in the sports of Paraglidingand Hang Gliding. The views expressed in this magazineare not necessarily those of the British Hang Gliding andParagliding Association, their Council, Officers or Editor.The Editor and publisher accept no responsibility for anysupposed defects in the goods, services and practicesrepresented or advertised in this magazine. The Editorreserves the right to edit contributions. ISSN 0951-5712contentsregulars reviews features 2 JANUARY As a coach, I often observe nervous ordespondent pilots, wings stuck on theground as they wait for the perfectmoment to launch. If the air is toocrowded or the wind too light these pilotssit tight. When they finally go for it,they’re aiming for a perfectly symmetricallaunch straight into wind, and then aseries of regular beats back and forth toeach end of the ridge. When they fail toachieve this they feel disappointed withthemselves or the conditions.How might a playful child pilot do itdifferently? Suppose they agree that theair is too crowded to play in. Theywouldn’t just sit still waiting for it tochange, they’d be playing ground-handling games! Children at play are nottoo worried about doing it ‘right’ – theaim is to experiment, to muck about andhave fun. So instead of only pulling theglider up symmetrically into wind for a‘perfect’ launch, they’d be deliberatelytrying to pull it up too fast, too slow, ortoo off to one side, or with big ears, justto see what happens. And then they’d tryto recover from these ‘faulty’ launches.They’d be running around the hill tryingto balance on things (eg. a traffic cone)with the wing above their head. They’dsee if they can touch a wingtip to theground and then the other wingtipwithout losing control of the wing. Andmaybe they’d set up an obstacle course torace their friends, all without wingstouching the ground.When conditions and confidence wereripe for a launch, the playful childwouldn’t force a rigid flight plan, they’d beinventing fun with what they have. Windtoo light to maintain height? They’d bedoing little two-beat flights: off on thedownwind leg, turn back and slope landas high as you can, then run up the hillwith the wing above your head ready foranother go! If the wind was reliablysoarable they’d be practicing spotlandings on that traffic cone, or seeinghow much height they could lose and stillscratch back up the slope. As they grew inconfidence they’d be practicing stalls justoff the ground, mucking about with pitchoscillations and trying gentle wingovers(these last three can be risky, so approachwith caution and consider getting advicefrom a coach … but don’t be put off).This sort of playfulness is not only muchmore fun than regimented flying, it leadsfar more quickly to oneness and masterywith your wing. Sometimes the weatherconditions are challenging and thethermals exhilarating, and we don’t needplayfulness to keep us amused. But theplayful child pilot will be much betterequipped to enjoy those conditions whenthey come. So connect with your innerchild … play, and have fun!4 JANUARY How to be a playful pilotDavid Harvey, CFI at Albatross ParaglidingI am perpetually amazed by my young children’s creativity when they play. And they’re learning so fast.Recently I’ve begun to think there’s a link between these two, and that we paraglider pilots might do well tofollow their example.call: 01404 Turfhouse, Luppitt, Honiton, Devon, EX14 4SA. Email: Flying Circus January Sale!First up, a nice second hand Swing Mistral 6 EN B at 60-90kg. Was£650, my price for January only is £450. One brand new Avian Fly 17, test flown only. RRP was £3650, my pricefor January only is £2250. Really!! First glider? This rather tastypre-owned Advance Alpha4.31, EN A at 90-130kg, was£650. My price for Januaryonly is £450.This very tasty second handAirwave K2 is likely to becomean appreciating classic wing.…..but is also great to fly. Wasonly £399, my price forJanuary only is £325.This used Gin Genie 2in the large size wascheap enough at£199, but let’s beateBay and knock it outat £125!Here is a very clean Solar Edgeharness, rare because it was builtfor a pilot of 5’4”. The price wasonly £110, but let’s knock it downto £90 for January.No, really?! Brand New Charly Duo 200hang glider reserve for tandem and veryheavy pilots. RRP was about £700, butyou can buy this one in January for just£225! Zoot Snake camera mounts, were £14.50,but my price for January only is £9.Used Garmin GPS 60, was £45, myprice for January only is £35! As-new HD waterproof glider bags,RRP is £139 but I have a couple ofvery lightly used ones. My price forJanuary only is £60.Vintage Reploggle barograph – veryrare! Was £80, my price for Januaryonly is £60. The last few Zoot Stuffit Stuffsacks – were only £30, but myprice for January only is £18.The last GIANT Windsock fromFirebird! They were only £20, butmy price for January only is £14.Every order in the January Salereceives a FREE RAC Alloy-casedLED torch – while stocks last! Geton the website now!Spend a small fortune with the Lying Shirkers!The Charly helmets range was created to suit all tastes and pockets. Full- andopen-face, they all have the EN966 rating for airborne sports, but not allhelmets offer the same level of protection. Every pilot makes a choice as to thesort of head protection they want, and it is a reasonable rule of thumb to saythat you tend to get what you pay for. www.turfhouse.comThe Charly Ace has a polycarbonateshell and comes in a choice of fourcolours (Gloss White, Matt Red, MattBlack and Carbon-look) and four sizes. Ikeep them all in stock. It weighs around560gm, and prices start at £84.The Charly Breeze has a swoopypolycarbonate shell, and comes in foursizes, as well as in two adjustable sizesfor commercial operators – schools andtandem. Colours are Gloss White andMatt Black - with contrasting removableear covers to suit different seasons. Itweighs about 480gm, and costs £87.All Charly helmets have fully linedinteriors, but the Breeze Tandem has anadjustable internal harness to fit awider range of heads – ideal for tandemand school operations. Just two sizes,all in white. £87.The stylish Charly Loop costs £120,weighs around 505gm and comes witha helmet bag included. There are threesizes and six colours: Gloss White, MattBlue, Matt Black, Matt Red, Matt Orangeand Nova Silver – see them all on my I keepthem all in stock, of course!The Ace, Breeze and Loop will all acceptthe optional visor, available in Grey,Yellow, Orange and Mirror finishes. Pricesstart at £28 per visor, with the fixingscrew set costing another £6.The Charly Insider is probably the top-selling free flight helmet of all time. TheKevlar-reinforced fibreglass shell isfully-lined, and I stock eleven coloursand six sizes from XS to XXL! Checkthem all out on the website: Prices start at£158, and weight is only 660gm!The Charly NO Limits comes in open-face orintegral forms. The pressure-formedaerodynamic Kevlar-reinforced fibreglassshells are renowned for their quietness,and come in four colours and four sizes,starting at £225. A clear visor comes asstandard with optional tinted and mirrorvisors available. The styling is aerodynamic withoutbeing so extreme as to compromise practicality – itshouldn’t snag on your harness or lines when you try toturn your head!The Charly Microfibre Helmet bag offers protection against damage when thehelmet is not in use. It comes Black/grey in one size and only costs £7.55.Charly HelmetsSOLE UK DISTRIBUTOR: Simon Murphy’s Flying CircusNothing much happens in January, so let’s have a Sale! All my stock is great, but some of it doesn’t sell as quickly as I would like, so here are somebargains. Go to the Website to see everything that is on offer, but these pictures will give an inkling of what will be available. The BGD WeightlesseventBGD have announced a brand-new annualcompetition based on weight classes. Flying‘heavy’ has always offered an advantage,resulting in heavy equipment and the useof ballast in comps. BGD want to changethis approach and encourage people to flycomps with light equipment. The BGDWeightless is aimed at up-and-coming pilotslooking to improve their XC and competitionexperience, or just to enjoy hanging outwith some of the world’s best pilots. Hostedin a relaxed environment, the event takesplace at Slovenia’s Soca Valley fromSeptember 2nd - 8th 2018. Bruce Goldsmithwill lead a world-class team to present anadvanced FAI Category 2 event that retainsthe fun of flying. The Weightless isparticularly suited to leisure pilots whohave achieved some small (20km+) XCs andflown in one or two fun competitions, butwill not exclude more advanced pilots. Thefocus will be on A, B and C class gliders andtwo-liners will be excluded. There will be nomale and female classes as weightdivisions will, they say, balance the entry.There will be prizes, lectures, coaching andfun throughout. Registration opened onDecember 26th Gradient and SwingUK: SnowdonGliders to V12OutdoorFrom this month Gareth Aston’s V12Outdoor at Llanberis will take on the UKdistribution of Swing and Gradientparagliders. Brad Nicholas of SnowdonGliders, current UK distributor for bothbrands, says, ‘I’m delighted to have madethis step forward; in particular thepromotion of Swing’s new RAST system willbenefit from V12 Outdoor’s investment.’Gareth is already well known within the UKparagliding scene as a vol-biv explorer,BPCup Meet Director and winner of the 2009BPCup. He will bring fresh ideas and energyto Swing and Gradient distribution, whileSnowdon Gliders will continue to offerparagliding instruction in the mountainsand be fans of both brands. Brad, who hasbeen involved in UK paraglider distributionfor more than 20 years, says, ‘The time isright for me; the change will allow me topursue projects I’ve had on the back burnerfor some time. And it makes completesense for V12 to take over as they have ahigh street showroom, a web-shop and a large customerbase – a perfect launch pad for the newenterprise.’ Contact Gareth at V12 Outdoor,The Old Baptist Chapel, High Street,Llanberis LL55 4EN, tel 01286 871534, e-mail:shop@v12outdoor.com.The NorthernChallenge TrophyThe Northern Challenge Trophy is a newcollaborative effort from the six BHPAclubs north of the M62 and south ofHadrian’s Wall. It’s a response to thedifficulty of getting enough pilots – andthe weather – to coalesce around fixed-date paragliding events. Pilots either don’tsign up to formal comps, or don’t turn upif the forecast is doubtful. The NCT willprovide a series of 12 main tasks (eightscoring, to allow task dropping) and twosubsidiary hike-and-fly tasks to be flownbetween March 1st and September 30th;the aim is convenience and flexibility forthose involved. Its emphasis – oninstrument use, navigation, decision-making and exploring what’s possible –will also make it a useful vehicle for pilotdevelopment and coaching activities.Tasks are hosted on xcmap.net whichprovides easy downloads of task mapsand cylinders, and straightforwarduploads with integral scoring. Downloadscover the NCT’s aims and rules, a task listwith links into xcmap and task guidancenotes. A growing prize fund is beingsupported by the clubs and by personaldonations. The main tasks are limited tomembers of the six northern clubs, butthe Hike and Fly is open to all BHPAmembers. Details can be found at:6 JANUARY 2018 Apco are claiming a breakthrough with arealignment of the ribs in a paragliderwing. Due to the curvature and anhedral ina wing, the ribs become progressively lessand less aligned to the airflow towards thetips. The Flow Aligned Ribs (FAR) conceptgradually changes the angle of the ribsacross the span to align them with theflow so that the tip cells are set at anangle. According to Apco this reducesturbulence and drag and increasesperformance: ‘We believe that this conceptwill be embraced by the entire paraglidingindustry and that in a few years all wingswill be designed in this way.’ They say theywill gradually implement the idea intotheir entire paraglider range. It will beinteresting to see if this idea has enoughmerit to catch on elsewhere …Flow-aligned ribs?Recent changes see long-established Wills Wing importer Cloud 9 being joined by GreenDragons in the distribution, sales and support of hang gliders, spares and accessories inthe UK. With Airways Airsports transferring their stock and interests to Green Dragons,this will ensure continued service for customers existing and new. The new setupcombines Andy Shaw’s enthusiasm and energy with Graham Phipps’ 30+ years of hangglider experience and knowledge, including 16 years flying and selling Wills Wing glidersat Cloud 9. Supported by both dealerships, Wills Wing UK will be developed over thecoming months as a nationwide resource for pilots. For all Wills Wing enquiries contacteither Cloud 9 at e-mail: 01209 842877 or 07785 593559, or GreenDragons at tel 01883 652666 or 07860 875567.Wills Wing in the UKFlyFurther XC campThe FlyFurther team’s first-ever XC campin 2017 was a huge success. This year theywill be running the event – at Tolmin,Slovenia from June 7th - 13th – with anexpanded team to include more pilots. Thelucky 50 that are selected can expect aweek of XC flying and learning from WorldChampion Nicole Fedele, Bernie Hertz, PatDower and Brett Janaway. New to the teamthis year will be vol-biv star StanRadzikowski who consistently outperformstwo-liner pilots in competition results. Goto for the chance of aplace at this unique event.The Lakes CharityClassic The 2018 Lakes Charity Classic runs at theGrasmere Showground on July 14th - 15th.The venue includes an indoor bar, toilets,showers, plus wi-fi and good phone signal.As well as the competition itself, thepopular coaching groups will run on bothdays. Alternative bad-weather tasks areplanned, plus plenty of free activities, andlots to do for non-flying family and friends.On-site camping is available (fees are extra)and there’s local accommodation nearby.Flying activities are also planned for theFriday and Monday. Full details are at Registrationfor CSC members opens on January 21stand for non-members on February 4th. TheLCC sells out quickly – don’t delay!Condors’ awardsIn recognition of their service to the club,Life memberships of the Devon andSomerset Condors’ were awarded to formerBHPA chair Harriet Pottinger (pictured belowwith club chairman Harry Dike) and formerSites Officer John Fielder at the club’sChristmas meeting in December.Steve Nash murderverdictLawyers for Steve Nash’s family havereported that his murderer has finallybeen brought to justice. Steve, a vol-bivexponent and two-times X-Alps competitor,was attacked in August 2015 during anattempt at crossing Mongolia’s KhangaiNuruu mountains. The alarm was raised byhis wife Shirley when no ‘OK’ report wasreceived from his tracker; his body waslater found with his packed glider. It waslater reported that a 31-year-old man foundwith Steve’s passport and $400 in localcurrency had been arrested. On November17th Gantulga Batsukh was sentenced to 16years imprisonment for Steve’s murder. Hisfamily continues to struggle to make senseof this mindless deed; in a statementreleased by specialist travel lawyer KieranMitchell they said, ‘Steve was loved by usall and we cannot put into words howmuch we miss him.’In briefParamotor triangle record confirmed. PauloSeabra’s 222.4km closed-circuit trike flightin Brazil in June has been homologated asa world record. Flying an Apco Lift/H&E 210outfit, Paulo took off at Tijucas, South,Paraná at 08:17 and landed after four hours15 minutes in the air, exceeding HenrikTheron’s 2011 (PL1 trike) record of 207.8km.By opting for the S size and exceeding therecommended maximum weight Paulo wasable to squeeze more speed from the full-reflex Lift wing.Dragon hike-and-fly 2018. Following thesuccess of the first South East Wales Hike-and-Fly Race last year (see OctoberSkywings), with the kind permission ofSEWHGPGC, Alistair Andrews of Team EvolParagliding will be organising a secondevent to be held on the weekend of July14th and 15th 2018. To register your interestplease contact Naviter Open dates. This year the NaviterOpen, a competition aimed at pilotswishing to learn the art of competitionflying, will be held at St Jean Montclar, inFrance from 24 - 30 June 2018. SeeNaviterOpen.org for details.AGM reminder. Don’t forget the BHPA 2018AGM on Saturday February 17th atNottingham’s Belfry Hotel (adjacent toJunction 26 of the M1), in tandem with theBGA AGM and trade exhibition. As well asthe Election of Officers – see elsewhere inthis issue – the current Exec will report ontheir activities and members will be able tocross-examine them on their achievements.The KendalMountain Festival This annual festival held in November atKendal on the edge of the Lake District isone of the most diverse of its kind in theworld, attracting film premieres fromaround the globe. Filmmakers, TVproducers, adventurers, top brands, athletesand speakers gather for four days of thefilms, talks, books and exhibitions coveringall aspects of mountain and adventure-sports culture. The British MountaineeringCouncil describes it as ‘the main socialevent for outdoor enthusiasts in the UK’.This year the Thursday featured paraglidingworkshops, films and speakers, sponsoredby Ozone and supported by XC Magazine. Interactive workshops included ‘How to getyour article published’ by XC mag editor EdEwing, ‘A guide to SIV’ by Jocky Sanderson,‘Goal setting and pilot psychology’ by IanCurrer, ‘Dealing with emergencies’, also byJocky, and ‘Flyability’ by George Ransome.The sessions were very well attendeddespite the absence of principal organiserBaz Rhodes who had been seriously injuredin an accident at Bir in India and was stillhospital in Delhi. Ed and Jocky did a fine jobstepping into the breach.Jocky and Ed compered an evening ofprofessional and inspirational films andpresentations: ‘Flying with the disabled’ byJudy Leden, The Paraglide Kilimanjaroexpedition by Charlie King, the brilliant film‘Weightless’ by Jean-Baptiste Chandelier(well worth searching out on YouTube) andthe incredible and sometimes terrifyingaccount by Antoine Girard of his monthspent solo bivouac flying around the HighKarakorum region of the Himalayas. Thisended with a matter-of-fact account, withsuperb footage, of flying to over 8,100m overBroad Peak with frostbitten hands and non-functioning oxygen supply. Breathtakingstuff!Well over 200 people, many of them non-pilots, bought tickets for the paraglidingevent. There was a huge variety of otherattractions at Kendal: films on wildlife,climbing, caving, canoeing, snowboardingand much more. The festival has lots ofinteractive sessions, workshops and kit tobuy, and a mountain literature festivalfeaturing some of the world’s bestadventure books.This event would not have been possiblewithout the generous support of OzoneGliders. MD Mike Cavanagh says that theywill be sponsoring a paragliding day againnext year. Well worth a visit in 2018!Ian Currer, BHPA Technical Officer8 JANUARY newsNext >