No. 346 FEBRUARY 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 Gaggle climb at the 2017 Worlds, Feltre, ItalyPhoto: Martin ScheelTHIS PAGE Oliver Moffatt launches his Moyes Litespeed RX 3.5 at WetherFell in November 2017 Photo: Trevor BirkbeckDESIGN & PRODUCTION Fargher Design Ltd. Killane House, Ballaugh, Isle ofMan, IM7 5BD.PRINT & DISTRIBUTION Newman Thomson Ltd, One Jubilee Rd, Victoria Ind.Est, Burgess Hill, RH15 9TL.ADVERTISING Tel: 020 7193 9133 Online:SKYWINGS ONLINE Go to For theFebruary issue enter the username February_2018 and the case-sensitivepassword xI#JX_8 For the March issue enter the username March_2018 andthe case-sensitive password #SqV2J*DEADLINES News items and event/competition reports for the April 2018issue must be submitted to the Skywings office by Wednesday February28th. Letters for the March Airmail page should arrive no later than FridayFebruary 16th. Advertisement bookings for the March edition of Skywingsmust arrive by Wednesday Saturday 10th. Copy and classified bookings nolater than Saturday February 17th.contentsregulars 2 FEBRUARY regulars reviews features 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 andParagliding Association Ltd to inform, educate and entertain those in thesports of Paragliding and Hang Gliding. The views expressed in thismagazine are not necessarily those of the British Hang Gliding andParagliding Association, their Council, Officers or Editor. The Editor andpublisher accept no responsibility for any supposed defects in the goods,services and practices represented or advertised in this magazine. TheEditor reserves the right to edit contributions. ISSN 0951-5712SUBSCRIPTIONS AND DELIVERY ENQUIRIES Tel: 0116 289 4316, e-mail: Online: I know we have great female pilots flying inthe UK, and I know that many would becapable of hitting that 2cm yellow spot atthe centre of the target. A female pilot wasleading the pre-European Championshipsthis year and narrowly missed out winning.This could be you!Most people think of Paragliding Accuracyas flying those strange paragliders withbig cells where you land on a bouncycastle - that is Classic Accuracy. What weare talking about here is ParaglidingAccuracy where pilots generally flyDHV1/EN A paragliders and perform stand-up landings onto a target mat - no bouncycastle here. I appreciate that ParaglidingAccuracy is a sport where you fly to landa paraglider rather than soar, but there isnothing to stop you doing both accuracyand XC flying. A lot of accuracycompetition venues offer great flyingopportunities outside of a competition, inbeautiful locations. Accuracy is also anessential skill for a pilot to have, as younever know when you might have to landin a tight area following a flight. If you areof a competitive nature and feel XCcompetitions are a bit too intense, thenaccuracy may be for you. Accuracy flyingis a relatively simple task of taking offfrom a hill and landing in a field below.However, hitting the dead centre of atarget is extremely challenging. We have created the British AccuracyAcademy, based at Green Dragons, thatdoes both Classic and ParaglidingAccuracy. In the Academy we can offergreat training with personal coaching toget you on the target. Competitions can behill or tow launch but don’t worry, we canget you tow rated. The British ParaglidingAccuracy Squad also meets every monththrough most of the year to provide squadtraining. You can join at any age with anyamount of experience; you just need to bea Club Pilot and have the desire to win.You can also bring your partner andchildren, and there are many tasks suchas judging and competition organisationthat non flyers can get involved with. Infact most of our current pilots grew upplaying in the safe airfield environmentwhile their parents flew. There are competitions all over the world –in 2017 there were 59 competitions. Of coursewe cannot enter them all and pilots typicallyenter two or three a year, plus the Category 1competitions such as the World or EuropeanChampionships. The BHPA provides fundingfor the national team, and many of ourpilots are sponsored by UP Paragliders andGreen Dragons. The accuracy family is funand friendly, and you will soon make manyfriends across the world as you compete inmore competitions.My vision as the UK Paragliding AccuracySquad Manager is to lift the WorldChampionship trophy and to watch ourpilots standing on the top step of thepodium, waving the Union Jack. For that tohappen I need the girls to join the UKParagliding Accuracy Squad. Email me, MarkBignell for a squadregistration form. Don’t put it off – do it now!You can find the training camp dates andlocations on the Accuracy website at By the way, ourcurrent boys have it too easy and need somepressure. so guys – you can sign up too!4 FEBRUARY Ladies! Your country needs you!Paragliding Accuracy is growing fast worldwide and there are big moves for it to become an Olympic sport. Therewere 28 countries at the last world championships and most teams had the same problem: very few womencompeting. The UK had their best result ever with each scoring pilot averaging 7cm per flight, but we were not afull team because, like many countries, we only had one female pilot.MARK BIGNELL, UK PARAGLIDING ACCURACY SQUAD MANAGERPhoto: Andrew Webster call: 01404 Turfhouse, Luppitt, Honiton, Devon, EX14 4SA. Email: Homeless Cats?!Although we are rather remote down here at TurfhouseI’m planted in reality. I’ve carved a living by selling Free-flight equipment for over forty years, and my customerskeep coming back for more. I stock and sell lots of newstuff, but also buy and sell second hand kit. I take part-exchanges, then take part-exchanges on the part-exchanges!So new stock is coming in allthe time. Recently Ivorbrought in his Sigma 6medium, and asked me tosell it for him. It’s very good,so make me an offer Ivorcan’t refuse!Would you like a really niceRio 15? I’ve got one, and ifyou throw some money at meyou may be able to take it Sometimes a reallyunusual item turns up. I’dnever heard of a Paratoys42, but apparently it wasdesigned to be flowntandem on either a trikeor paramotor. It is veryrare, and veryinexpensive. Is it whatyou need?Whether you fly hanggliders or paragliders,the Renschler CoMo isan excellent choice ofinstrument. I have newand used examplesfrom £130-£395depending on the spec.you want. I fly withthem because they’regorgeous!I also have all sorts of harnesses, new and used, for bothhang gliding and paragliding. Right now I have new (£810)and used examples of Skyman’s lovely lightweightCoconea! I also have older harnesses for groundhandlingpractice from about £70 Now and again I am offered a double tow release, andalways snap them up if the price is sensible. This onecame in recently, priced at under £100, and should bewinging its way to Eastern Europe fairly soon. Let me knowif you want to sell yours! I have quite a selection of BRAND NEW uprights to clear –prices from £25! Including Avian airfoils, Airwave K seriesreplacements by Finsterwalder/Charly, Airwave K2 small A-frame rounds (rare!!), Clubman/Elan/Discovery rounds,Xtralite airfoils, SX/CSX/Litespeed standard airfoils, Disco195 power uprights, XT165Pro airfoils, Ventura/Sonic 195rounds, and La Mouette Topless airfoils.Talking of vintage hanggliding kit, I have beenbuying it for about 30 years,and it is finally beginning tobe appreciated. In January Ifound a BRAND NEW Hallventimeter / ASI – just likethe ones we used back inthe day. It will be soldcomplete with the originalinstruction sheet andcarry-bag!Please buy as much as you can afford. It may not haveanything to do with homeless cats, but all this stuff has togo so that we can make room to put the tractor under cover!It’s harder to write adverts in January, when there is so little flying going on. But these days TV ads are totally removedfrom reality: so a street-wise American cat goes into a UK Building Society and asks for help because the police haveconfiscated his house, so he is homeless, and the answer is “No problem!” What do they say to real homeless peoplewho turn up at their door? I bet it starts with “No!”For 2018 I am stocking Charly, Apco and Independencereserves, so as to give my retail and trade customers themaximum choice.These brands have sold tens of thousands of reserves,and have many hundreds of successful deployments totheir credit. When all is said and done, that is what counts! My own deployment was beneath a Charly Revolution, andI regard that reserve as having saved my life - it wasprobably my best ever investment. Read the full accounton my website, or just ask me about Charly Second Chance from £399 Charly Revolution, from £480.Apco Mayday HG from £415Charly Clou2 from £490 Independence Annular Evo,from £545The NEW CharlyDiamond Cross,from £670ReservesBHPA subs to riseAs mentioned in last month’s FinancialReport, although BHPA membership hascontinued to grow, inflation is beginning tomake an impact. Having reviewedsubscription rates, the Exec has had toagree to increase while endeavouring tokeep all increases to a minimum. Witheffect from April 1st 2018 the newmembership fees are as follows:Flying Member £106Flying Member (Family Group) £ 94Flying Member (Under 21) £ 86Flying Member (Over 67) £ 86Non-Flying Member £ 45Trial Membership £ 62Joining Fee £ 22Direct Debit Discount £ 7Day ticket (Adult) £ 16Day ticket (Under 18) £ 5Eagle-eyed members will notice that theage at which they become entitled to the‘old-age’ discount has increasedsubstantially from 60 to 67. Chairman MarcAsquith writes, ‘The percentage of themembership entitled to this discount hassteadily increased to a point where the fullunder-60’s subscription would have to beincreased to maintain it. Given the varietyof “official” pension dates now operating,Exec have selected an age which looks likebeing the official pension age for themajority of the population in the future.Although over the last few years we havebeen rationalising the number of discountswe offer, it has been our practice not toremove a discount from a member who hasalready qualified for it – we merely don’tallow new entrants into that particulardiscount. The same process will apply tothe age discount: if you already benefitfrom it you will continue to do so. If, likeme, you are nearly there but have not yetachieved it you will have to wait until age67 to qualify.’Icarus TrophyRun three times in the US and billed as the‘world’s only long-distance paramotor race’,this year the Icarus Trophy will be flownover South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana andZambia. The race, over roughly 1,000 miles,begins just north of Johannesburg on July25th. Pilots select their own routes to finishnear Victoria Falls in Zambia, having flownover some of southern Africa’s most iconiclandscapes. There are two classes,separating experienced racing pilots (Racerdivision) from those who prefer a moreleisurely pace (Adventure division). Therace is largely unsupported although asupport truck follows the competitors incase of a major incident. In the past thedistance has been covered in four daysalthough the Adventure pilots may takearound ten days to complete the course.Pilots carry their own food, clothes,sleeping gear (hotels are just fine, however),tools and spare parts, while the organisers6 FEBRUARY Parafest 2018Parafest, set for July 27th - 29th, now has aspectacular new home at the huge ex-military airfield at Llanbedr. This beautifulcoastal location between Barmouth andPorthmadog is on the edge of SnowdoniaNational Park. Parafest’s combination of aflying event and trade exhibition with amusic festival is unique in the UK.Paraglider and hang glider pilots will bewithin easy driving distance of many greatsites, and power pilots, including SSDRs,can fly out of the airfield and explore thecoastline and the local mountains andvalleys. Manufacturers, dealers and schoolsfor all aircraft types will be exhibiting,alongside many non-flying stalls andsideshows including a kids’ zone, a varietyof food caterers and a licensed bar withreal ales and cocktails. The British VintageHang Hang Gliding Rally and the BritishHang Gliding Museum will be on site.Professional acts will perform on the mainstage on Friday and Saturday untilmidnight – the line-up was almostfinalised as we went to press; details canbe found on the festival’s Facebook page.When the main stage closes, those thatlike to party can head to the Asbo Disco inthe late-night area away from the campingfields, for DJ sets till the early hours. Full details and ticket sales are at Keep updated ondevelopments at and like and share the page tospread the word. Parafest isn’t just a fly-in,it’s a festival that you can fly at!World Paramotor League CupAfter four qualifying events, a Thai teamnarrowly beat France and Poland to takethe 2017 FAI World Paramotor League Cup.The four contributing events were the3rd FAI Asia-Oceania ParamotorChampionships in Thailand in May, theCzech Open in June, the paramotor eventat the World Games in Poland in July, andthe European Paramotor Championshipsin the Czech Republic in August.Thai teamster Kittiphop Phrommat(pictured) triumphed in the individualcompetition with a four-point lead overFrance’s Alex Mateos and Slovakia’sIvan Pestun in joint second place.Highest placed female pilot was MarieMateos, joint ninth. Brits Paul Martin(North), Mark Morgan and Paul Martin(South) finished 19th and joint 55threspectively having contested tworounds only, leaving the Brits in acreditable 10th place. Thailand hosts theFAI World Paramotor Championships inMay this year.provide weather reports and tracking. TheIcarus Trophy is 50% X-Alps and 50%motorcycling’s Iron Butt rally. No-one whoenters will ever be the same again! Smallerrelated events are planned in othercountries including a UK round on June29th - July 1st. Details are at and there’sbreathtaking footage at Not to beconfused with the Icarus Cup human-powered event!Tandem coursesFlight Culture have been running tandemcourses for the last 12 years (pictured aboveright are Theo Warden and Tom McMeakin).If you’re pilot rated with more than 100hours post CP and are really solid on yourground handling and basic skills, you couldconsider getting your Tandemendorsement. CFI John Welch writes, ‘Werun the courses in May and September,teaching four pilots at a time. For the lastseven years we have run our courses atDune de Pyla. It allows us to get you flyingthe tandem with other people in the air,and you get to experience a full range ofwind strengths – we can inflate in strongwinds in a low-risk environment. We supplyall equipment, and always have one of thevery latest tandem gliders as well as anolder one. We’ll get you flying with bothrigid and soft spreaders on a range oftandem harnesses. You need to do at least20 flights as pilot but we try to dosignificantly more, typically 30 or 40 flight,so that you are really prepared for yourexamination. At the end of the course wewill be joined by a BHPA Examiner toconduct your examination. We still havespaces on the 2018 courses but they alwaysfill – get in touch as soon as possible ifyou’re interested. Contact me atChanges toWestbury DangerArea concessions Over many years the Avon Club has built upa good relationship with Salisbury Plain AirOperations. For 2018 they have agreed togrant the club concessions to enter theSalisbury Plain Danger Area airspace in fourseparate areas (Cow Down, The Quarry,Bratton West and Bratton East). Access tothese concessions has to be requested bythe club on a day-by-day basis. It is hopedthat access to these new areas will enhancelocal flying and assist those looking to flyXC to the south of Westbury town.The Telegram group SW AirspaceNotifications will be used to announcewhen each of the concession areas isavailable. If you have not personally seenan announcement in this Telegram groupfor the day you should assume that noconcession areas are available. Do notblindly follow others without first checkingthe Telegram group. A guide to theconcession areas can be found on the AvonClub’s website at It describes in detailthe extent of the areas, when they can beaccessed and how to request or check if anarea is available for a given day. It isessential that any pilot wishing to flyWestbury reads and fully understands thisguide. If anything is not clear contact theClub for clarification before flying atWestbury. If in doubt, assume noconcession areas are available. In briefNew airspace change portal. Under reviewfor nearly three years, the CAA’s newairspace change process is now live. A newportal launched in January offers guidanceon the regulatory process for changingairspace design (CAP 1616). Sponsors ofairspace change will be required to use itto make available all material relating to anew airspace change proposal, egconsultation documents, responses andCAA decisions. Stakeholders, includingcommunities potentially affected, canaccess this information and provide theirown feedback during the process.Documents submitted to the CAA will bepublished immediately, and as newproposals are initiated all relevantinformation will be made available. TheCAA says the new process has beendesigned to be fair, transparent,comprehensible and proportionate. Opendays are planned to help explain the newsystem. The portal can be found at Changes already accessibleonline include Doncaster-Sheffield, Lydd inKent, Leeds East and Kemble.High Sierras offer. Chris Williams’ HighSierras school at Algodonales is now a BHPAPilot Development School and thus able toprovide post-CP training. Along with theirusual guiding service they now offerdevelopment instructional weeks such as aCP Plus, XC and Tandem training. Havingnoted several young pilots coming throughwith the advantage of parental support,High Sierras are offering a deal for parentswho are flyers in which any accompanyingson or daughter who is a new pilot can joina course at half price. for details.Skywings online. The online version ofthis (February) issue of the magazine canbe found at Enter the username February_2018 andthe case-sensitive password xI#JX_8. Forthe March issue enter the usernameMarch_2018 and the case-sensitivepassword #SqV2J*. These details can alsobe found on the contents page of eachissue. Magazines with a cover date oversix months old can be viewed online ordownloaded without the need to log in.8 FEBRUARY newsBHPA 500 ClubWIN CASH PRIZES AND HELP THEASSOCIATION! December winnersAndrew Jackson £131.60John Casson £65.80Nick Warren £32.90Brent Pullen £19.74William Stevenson £16.45David Wicks £16.45Dave Sheppard £13.16Stefan Smalley £13.16Sandy Cooper £9.87Robert Bradley £9.87BHPA £329.00If by the time you read this you have notreceived your cheque, please contact meon 07802 525099.Marc Asquith Dales repack. The annual Dales Club repack takes place on SaturdayFebruary 24th at the Sports Hall, St Mary’s School, Menston, WestYorkshire. Cost is £10 to members and £15 to non-members. BHPAEPS supremo Bill Morris will be there to assist. To book a placecontact David May at Flying Fever address change. Zabdi Keen and Flying Fever are nowback at No 2 Coastguard House. Kildonan, Isle of Arran KA27 8SD,tel: 01770 820395, e-mail: website:When Tom Hardie stepped down as Airspace LiaisonOfficer he left me to resolve two outstanding issues:marking our sites on military charts, and addressingthe shortcomings of the current Civil AircraftNotification Procedure (CANP).Tom and I had previously adopted the view that marking our siteson charts was unhelpful. By way of example, think about yourlocal hill site. How many times a month is it used, particularlyover the winter months? Military pilots (I used to be one) arelikely to become complacent if they fly past a site nine times andsee no activity; and then be very surprised when they fly, perhapsa little closer on the tenth occasion, and encounter a gaggle of 20paragliders. A few years ago when we put this argument to themilitary they decided to mark only the busiest of our sites, butdidn’t specify what qualified as busy: days per year, or the numberof gliders on a good day; nor how many sites they intended tomark. I need to clarify their position.Whilst we await a technical solution to the requirement for alightweight transponder (and it’s more complicated than you mightat first think) our defence, at least around flying sites, is CANP. But ithas a number of shortfalls which need addressing if we are to makeit effective and attractive to members. (Recently I found myself lyingto the Low Flying Ops Flight by guaranteeing that there would be atleast five gliders flying on three different sites the following day. Itwas the only way that they would accept my booking.) Other short-comings were documented in an article in a 2014 edition of Skywings(sadly not available online, but see last para).I am not (I repeat NOT) taking on Tom’s responsibility for allairspace matters. In a joint initiative the BHPA have teamed upwith other like-minded organisations to fund a full-time airspaceofficer to do just that. But I did catch sight of a recent email fromthe CAA in which they invite all owners of unlicensed sites with‘significant’ activity to bid to be considered for inclusion on UKCAA VFR quarter-mil and half-mil charts. Whilst the speed andheight of military aircraft make them our biggest threat, thesame principles apply to marking our sites on civil charts. Iexplained our position to the CAA, suggesting that hill sitesshould NOT be included, and seeking advice on what constitutes‘significant’ activity but, having received no reply, it appears thatthey haven’t worked it out themselves yet.If clubs or schools do feel strongly feel that they want theirsites to be included, you can find out more from the NATS AISwebsite and then click on the link to‘Unlicensed and Uncertified Sites’ (the direct link is too longfor the hard copy version of Skywings.) Personally I’d ratherthat you didn’t: it would be misleading if some sites weremarked and others weren’t. I suspect that apathy will work inmy favour for a change! If anyone would like a copy of the article about CANP from 2014,or just wants to give me a hard time about our strategy, my e-mail address is in the back of Skywings.Martin Baxter, BHPA Sites OfficerSites reportBHPA SITES OFFICER MARTIN BAXTER REPORTS …Next >