No. 347 March 2018The magazine of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Associationcontentsregulars reviews features 2 MARCH 2018 THE EDITOR Joe Schofield, 39 London Road, Harleston, Norfolk IP209BH. Tel: 01379 855021. COVER PHOTO Tom McBride matches his Parajet Maverick to anew 17m Ozone Freeride near Banbury in January 2018 Photo:Tom McBrideTHIS PAGE Robin Wallace and AirCross U-Fly 2 at Chesil Beach,Dorset Photo: Nameless passer-by!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: 020 7193 9133 SKYWINGS ONLINE Go to For the March issue enter the username March_2018 and the case-sensitive password #SqV2J* For the April issue enter theusername April_2018 and the case-sensitive password dF#78rPDEADLINES News items and event/competition reports for the May2018 issue must be submitted to the Skywings office by WednesdayMarch 28th. Letters for the April Airmail page should arrive no laterthan Friday March 16th. Advertisement bookings for the April editionof Skywings must arrive by Saturday March 10th. Copy and classifiedbookings no later than Saturday March 17th.THE BHPA LTD 8 Merus Court, Meridian Business Park,Leicester LE19 1RJ. Tel: 0116 289 4316.Skywings magazine is published monthly by the British HangGliding and Paragliding Association Ltd to inform, educate andentertain those in the sports of Paragliding and Hang Gliding.The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily thoseof the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, theirCouncil, Officers or Editor. The Editor and publisher accept noresponsibility for any supposed defects in the goods, servicesand practices represented or advertised in this magazine. TheEditor reserves the right to edit contributions. ISSN 0951-5712SUBSCRIPTIONS AND DELIVERY ENQUIRIES Tel: 0116 289 4316, Freedom in the skies – yes! That’s the reasonwhy, but there was more running andsweating to do before feeling that freedom,unleashed from a towline 700ft over thebeautiful patchwork quilt of the Norfolkcountryside some four months later. April saw my first meeting with SteveHudson, our Derbyshire Flying Centreinstructor. Over several cups of coffee in anold country pub, amid spring sunshine andchill mountain winds, five hopeful pilotslistened intently to flying stories taken fromdecades of dedication to the sport. Armedwith a sense of adventure, we headed to thebrow of a nearby hill to ‘feel’ the dynamics ofa hang glider in a stiff breeze. Ropes wereheld all around as the wind v. gravity battlewas well and truly won by the wind. Wefloated, wobbled, lifted and sank, time aftertime, in a wonderful day of new sensations.Then the hard work started. A few Sundays later, with lighter winds, ourwilling group of students met at that samepub to hear more stories from the world ofhang gliding. The fear factor was raised whentold of a big German pilot who insisted ondoing loops; when he did one last one hiswing folded up and sank like a stone. OK, Iwon’t do loops. But what happens if I flybackwards? To be fair, Steve never gave up.He wanted every one of his students tosucceed and did everything to facilitate a safepath towards an Elementary Pilot Certificate. More time on the grassy slopes, giving thewing a decent run before lift-off, was theorder of the day. Running, lift-off, followedvery closely by landings of widely diversequality. Bumps and crashes were quicklyfollowed by more crashes and bumps! But weall managed to get off the ground and feelthe wing as it slipped through theair. More Sunday afternoonswent by, to the pointwhere we could ground handle, take off andland without any real problems. But thesucceeding weekends were fickle with rain,storms and a lack of wind. What to do? Ian Anderson, a fellow student, found the wayforward: towing. Lejair do a Club Pilot coursein Norfolk and the summer training seasonwas fast approaching. Tony and Rona Webband Mickey Preece could not have been morehelpful and professional. They had eternalpatience for their three students in a week ofmixed weather in early August. Light windscalled for faster take-offs and highergroundspeeds on landing.Thank goodness for the training wheels,which bounced well and made walking theglider back to take-off a doddle. In just a fewdays of tow-flying across the flat and widecropped fields we could safely get to 100ft,release the towline, effect a slight turn andprepare to land into wind. Another day andwe’d be flying higher, doing circuits andlanding back near the take-off area, but theweather didn’t cooperate. When the wind cleared the rain away we hadto accept that the 15 - 30 knot wind was notat all suitable for students. A lesson learned.Some days just aren’t suitable. Get used to it,because it will happen again. Somewhat disappointed to be heading back towork having not completed the Club Pilotcourse, I knew that a few more days oftraining was needed, butwhen? As an EngineerI like order andpredictability; accepting that training daysdon’t always happen as planned took someadjustment. Four months after hanging in the wind,tethered in a chill wind on that Peak Districthillside, the time came to do a circuit fromhundreds of feet over Norfolk. Downwindstalls are deadly and my thoughts were: Keepthe speed up, you’re entering new territoryhere ol’ boy. Don’t panic. Think, listen to Tony,you can do it. As the tow cable fell away my first downwindturn was slow and gentle. I could replay mytraining so far: hear the wind, listen to yourspeed, keep a gentle hold on the base bar.The wing turned and I was headingdownwind. The wing stayed stable and theground moved slowly and predictably belowme. Heading back to the take-off area, overthe hedges, over the trees, I was surprised tofeel the buffeting updraft so far above up.This made the wing turn away from thelanding zone. Training kicked in: Ease it left,more left, feel it turn. A bit of bar in, that’s it,and … I’m heading back on track. After an afternoon of circuits, several teabreaks and wishing the wind would increase,we headed back for more. The weatherforecast wasn’t good for the following day sowe made the most of it. More flights, moreexperience, and knowing it was bringing mecloser to gaining my wings.There’s a very warm feeling of satisfactionhaving completed the flying required for aClub Pilot certificate. I hope the futureholds more freedom in theskies. It’s the reasonwhy.4 MARCH Freedom in the skies - it’s the reason whyNEIL TYNAN, NOVICE HANG GLIDER PILOTPhoto: Ian AndersonThe reputation for danger of unpowered free flying leads to serious consideration of the ‘reasons why’ and theconsequences of mishap. But, still, the call was made and I’m so pleased that it unfolded the way it did, startingback in April 2017. Friends were made, Sunday afternoons were spent flying, running, sweating and laughing inthe rolling green hills of the Peak District. Those strange tubular contraptions held together by sailcloth and wirewere found to be cleverly designed and the perfect vehicle for searching for freedom in the skies. call: 01404 Turfhouse, Luppitt, Honiton, Devon, EX14 4SA. Email: Eenie Meenie Miney Moe...I finally got a flight in February, suggesting that winter isreleasing its’ drab grasp on the UK. It was rather windy ontake-off and, for a while, better paraglider pilots than mewere holding back, so I just rigged my Moyes Malibuinstead, and had a very pleasant bimble along thespectacular cliffs to Sidmouth.Cheeky Tomasz Hardej quickly sussed that my BGD Curedemo was going spare, and asked for another flight on it.We flew the ridge together, and found our very differentwings had similar overall performance. You can just makehim out in this picture – can you see the smile? He wasvery Although a lot of people will tell you that hang gliding isdying, my business is still about 50/50 split between thetwo disciplines. Just recently much of the action has beenhang gliders, and I’ve been buying nice used Litespeedsready for the coming season. This recently-arrived 2002Litespeed 4 is so lovely that I’m going to fly it myself –unless somebody buys it. I always carry a selection ofparagliders, too! New onesfrom Skyman (as well asany other manufacturer youwant to order from) and arange of secondhand ones.The secondhand marketsare vibrant, simply becauseyou can get brilliant flyingfor very little money. Onesuch example is this verylovely Firebird Spider in thelarge size. £500 will setsomebody up with years offlying they will rememberuntil the day they peg-out.Check out the whole list:I now have four Litespeeds on the books – two LS4s, onerare LS S4.5, and my remarkable RS3.5. I stopped flying itin favour of the easier-to-fly RX, but I’m convinced that astronger pilot would get more pure performance from anRS – they are still winning competitions! Surely there is achunky pilot out there who could set the world alight withthis gorgeous carbon machine? No worries if not – I’ll finda use for it: I must get around to writing anadvert about all the accessories Isell. Latest arrivals are RedBaofengs, and I have all thevarious headsets and antennaethat go with them. The ZootRadio Outfit gives you anexcellent radio and headset withthe antenna of your choice - fromonly £77! I also sell a lot ofsecondhand flying kit –that is probably whatpays for these ramblingadverts! (Are you stillreading this? Have youconsidered therapy?)Here is a Suppair EvoXC paragliding harnesswhich is ideal for a largelow airtime pilot wanting a cheap harness (£170). Checkthe website for loads more used This Double Tow release willprobably have sold by the timethis ad goes out, they usuallywhistle away. But I have beenpromised another one, so it isworth checking. Reckon onspending around £70 and youwon’t go far wrong.Not quite so secondhand is myyoung mate Jeremy Soper. Heis crazily determined, and fliesat every opportunity – even onwinter days when I stay near the fireplace. I have a historyof helping new pilots make their mark, and I’m looking atsupporting this future-astronaut in his glider developmentsand comps flying this season. Keep an eye out for moredetails - soon!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 The 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 mywebsite: 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: 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 Circus6 MARCH Buttermere BashDates for this year’s Buttermere Bash areFriday June 1st and Saturday June 2nd.Organiser Gordie Oliver says it’s the UK’sultimate family-friendly free flight festival,and the only place in the UK where youcan share the sky and the dance floor withsome of the world’s top acro pilots. JockySanderson and his crew will set scenictasks in the Lakeland Charity Open comp,while talented musicians fill the eveningswith song and dance. The Buttermerecampsite will be open from Tuesday May29th with a simple pay-on-arrival policy.Further details are on the event’s Facebookpage; a fantastic movie covering the lastthree years can be found by searchingYouTube for Buttermere Bash 2017.Competition entries are open now atIcarus CupThe Icarus Cup human powered flyingevent will take place at Sywell, Northantsfrom July 14th - 22nd. A generous donorhas allowed the BHPFC to introduce a newcompetition and prizes – the JacobsonFigure-of-Eight competition promises alonger, more spectator-friendly task over arelatively small area and will test pilots’flying skills and stamina; it will also giveslower aircraft a chance to competeagainst faster ones. It is hoped that theextra prize money, now at £2,000, willattract more constructors. The aim of the BHPFC, formed in 2014, is topromote human powered flying technicallyand as a sport (even, in the future, as anOlympic sport). Rules and regulations,originally formulated in 2012 by the HumanPowered Flight Group of the RAeS, havebeen developed since then throughexperience. The club’s hopes its activitieswill encourage other countries to start clubsand hold their own competitions – sincecompeting in two Icarus Cup competitionsthe University of Bordeaux has now startedits own club.The BHPFC needs volunteers to run thisevent. Anyone interested in helping out as amarshal should contact Chief Marshal TonyPrentice at tel: 01474 706405. As a marshal you’ll beclose to the action and may see aviationhistory being made. Rules, regulations,entry forms and all other details are at The Icarus Cup is not to beconfused with the Icarus Trophy (below)!ParahawkingScott Mason has relaunched hisParahawking venture in Andalucia,southern Spain, aided by a pair of BlackVultures that he has nursed from clumsy,fluffy chicks to masters of the sky. Scottwas operating in Nepal until thegovernment closed the project down after 17years. Now teamed up with top-notchaccommodation at the Olive AlchemyRetreat, he offers the ultimate mini break.Parahawking in Spain will offer the sameunique experience of flying and interactingwith trained vultures and other birds ofprey as the Nepal project. Scott’s mission isto educate and inform people about theplight of vultures the world over: ‘Our aim isthe same – to promote a connection withvultures and other birds of prey whilstproviding a life-changing experience.’There’s a wealth of information at andIcarus Trophy UK The UK taster for the Icarus Trophyparamotor endurance event (see News:February) runs from Friday June 29th toSunday July 1st in the south-west ofEngland. First run in 2016, with twice asmany pilots entering in 2017, this long-distance race was won both times by MarkMorgan. The main event takes place insouthern Africa in July, but short subsidiaryraces run in the US, South Africa and theUK. Pilots carry their own food, clothes andspares and bivvi overnight while theorganisation provides met reports andtracking. Two classes cover experiencedand less-experienced fliers. Details andsign-up are at Not tobe confused with the Icarus Cup (above)!Return of the BVHGRThe British Vintage Hang Gliding Rally, lastseen at Keswick in the summer of 2016, willbe part of Parafest 2018 at Llanbedr airfieldon July 27th - 29th. Steve Pionk and JasonBoard will be bringing the British HangGliding Museum machines and it is hopedthat other collections will be on display.Pilots and non-pilots of all ages anddisciplines are invited to see how the sportstarted and to trace the development ofglider design. Organiser Christo Traceysays, ‘We are grateful to Mark Meadows forinviting us and we’re looking forward toseeing the people from the 2016 rally again,as well as all those who couldn’t make itlast time.’ You can keep up with BVHGRdevelopments and updates through theirFacebook page and 8 MARCH 2018 newsSuper TestivalThis year’s super Paragliding Testival runsfrom May 31st to June 3rd at Kössen in theAustrian Tirol. 50 of the world’s paraglidermanufacturers are promised; last year’sevent drew 3,400 pilots and saw 7,500flights made. Early booking isrecommended. All details are at Last call for RAeCTrust bursariesA final reminder that applications for RoyalAero Club Trust bursaries close on March31st. The bursaries are of up to £1,000; lastyear the Trust awarded 50 of them to youngpilots of up to 21 years – and previouswinners up to 24 – to progress their flyingqualifications and further their dreams.Recent BHPA recipients include TheoWarden, 18, top Brit at the PWC Superfinal,and Jack Pimblett, also 19, 5th in the SouthAfrican Pre-PWC in December. Theo receivedan RAeC Bursary in 2015 and Jack was arecipient in 2017. If you are between 14 and21 and financial assistance would help youprogress, go to If you are a young BHPA pilot – apply now!Westbury AirspaceupdateRegarding last month’s new airspaceconcessions around the Salisbury PlainDanger Area near Westbury … to savehaving to edit your airspace file to displaythese useful additions, the airspace filegeneration tool ASSELECT (now browser-based at is beingmodified to include these concessions. Thescreenshot below shows the ASSELECT‘extras’ tab that lists such concessions toinclude; in this example ‘WestburyConcessions’ has been chosen. Generatingairspace definitions from a common sourcegives consistency for both pilots and XCLeague compliance. Whilst ASSELECT is easyto use, for the tech- or time-challenged anew 2018 airspace file will be posted on theUK Cross Country news and British HangiesFacegroup groups this month.In briefForbes record spree. Russian hang gliderpilot Sasha Serebrennikova was able to claimno less than six world records at the ForbesFlatlands competition. A practice flight onDecember 27th saw her break Kathleen Rigg’s2001 female triangle distance record at201.4km, also beating Kathleen’s 200kmtriangle speed mark at 37.83km/h and puttingup a previously-unset free triangle distanceof 213.5km. Six days later Sasha was one of 16pilots in goal on the Flatlands’ record 388kmfourth task, and was able to claim KariCastle’s 2001 straight distance record at408.1km, plus Yoko Isomoto’s 2015 straight-distance-to-goal record and the previously-unset free-distance-via-three-turnpointsrecord at 417.2km.RAeC Awards. A number of Royal Aero Clubawards have been made to BHPAmembers. Sacha Dench (Flight of theSwans) receives this year’s BritanniaTrophy; coast-to-coast paramotorist GilesFowler the RAeC Silver Medal; formerBHPA Technical Manager Mark Dale andTony and Ioana Stephens the RAeC BronzeMedal, and aerotow pioneer DonaldMacKenzie and BOS Club Class guide MarkWoodhams the RAeC Certificate of Merit.This year’s Ann Welch Memorial Awardfor excellence in instructing goes to JockySanderson. Awards will be presented atthe RAeC’s annual ceremony at the RAFClub on Thursday 17th May.Congratulations to all concerned!Sporting Licences breakthrough. As a resultof a discussion at the RAeC between BHPAand BMAA delegates, it has been agreedthat BHPA-issued FAI Sporting Licences willnow be valid for CIMA paramotoringcompetitions. As a result there is no longerany need for BHPA members participatingin FAI paramotoring competitions to hold aBMAA-issued FAI Sporting Licence as longas they hold a BHPA-issued one.UP sponsorship. Andy Shaw at GreenDragons is offering six pilot sponsorshippackages on UP gliders including the newEN-D Meru competition wing. There will alsobe a UP test flying weekend at Bassano onMarch 17th - 18th with the followingweekend as a fallback date. Details fromAndy tel: 01883652666/07860 875567.Spring at FlySpain. FlySpain have addedelementary paramotoring and paramotorconversion courses to their Springtimetable, plus a new SIV course aimed atparamotor pilots. Paraglider SIV courses,mentored holidays and guided XC tripscontinue as before. For details go toSkywings online. The online version ofthis (March) issue of the magazine can befound at Enterthe username March_2018 and the case-sensitive password #SqV2J*. For the Aprilissue enter the username April_2018 andthe case-sensitive password dF#78rP.These details can also be found on thecontents page of each issue. Magazineswith a cover date over six months old canbe viewed online or downloaded withoutthe need to log in.Tomáš LednikCzech accuracy and acro legend and Skytest pilot Tomáš Lednik, 46, died onJanuary 23rd while flying in Kenya’s KerioValley, reportedly following a collapse.Tomáš was flying tandem with US nationalKim Pace, 39, a Nairobi-resident missionaryworker, who also died at the scene.Tomáš had been flying for over 20 yearsand was highly respected in theparagliding world. A consistent topperformer on the paragliding accuracyWorld Cup circuit, last May he finishedfourth in the World Championships andin September won the Pre-EuropeanChampionships at Kobarid. He was aninspirational leader of the Czech accuracyteam that won two gold medals and fivemore podium places in Category 1 events.An experienced parachutist andparamotorist, Tomáš also flew acro andXC at the highest level. Married to Lucie with two children,Tomáš was a larger than life character. Inthe words of a good friend, ‘He touched somany lives in the UK, Europe and theworld. Not only a brilliant pilot but a greatperson full of great energy. One of thoseinfectious people that made life better.’A regular visitor to the Kerio Valley, sincearriving early in January Tomáš hadalready posted a number of flightsincluding a 203km tandem flat triangle.Kerio is regarded as a good site toattempt long out-and-return and triangleflights, particularly on tandems, early inthe year. Conditions there are known tobe challenging; on January 9th Germanpilot Gerd Schegler, 55, died in the samearea, reportedly following a collapse. The Kobo/XCSoar combination remains popular as a low-cost yetpowerful navigation aid, flight computer and instrument that is‘sunlight readable’. After five years’ use in the flying community theKobo has gained worldwide acceptance amongst hang glider,paraglider and sailplane users. XCSoar, the open-source soaringsoftware, has now had over 12 years development and is a stable,mature product Except for various tweaks for non-Kobo hardware (eg LX, CA, Raspberry Pi) the only recent, significantKobo-related changes in the most recent 6.8.10 release are:Kobo model Support. The latest Kobo 6-inch model, the AuraEdition 2, is now fully supported, although many have been usingan unofficial pre-release version for a year or so.Connecting a Kobo to your computer. The ‘Export USB Storage’function to connect a Kobo to a computer (so it behaves like aUSB stick) has been reinstated following an October 2016Windows update that stopped it from working. From the mainmenu, press SYSTEM then EXPORT USB STORAGE, and you haveinstant access to the Kobo’s file directory from your computer tomanage maps, airspace, waypoints and IGC tracklogs. This is farquicker and problem-free compared to the clunky Kobo ‘NICKEL’function that many use.The Aura Edition 2 is now the only ‘new’ Kobo model compatiblewith XCSoar. The six main models in popular use are:Model Production ended Resolution Screen size Battery Screen typeMini 2014 170dpi 5” 1,000 mAh InfraredTouch 2014 170dpi 6” 1,000 mAh InfraredGlo 2014 212dpi 6” 1,200 mAh InfraredTouch 2 2016 170dpi 6” 1,500 mAh InfraredGlo HD 2016 300dpi 6” 1,500 mAh InfraredAura 2 – 212dpi 6” 1,200 mAh CapacitiveThe current Aura 2 is a worthy successor to the Glo HD but thecapacitive screen means you’ll need either capacitive gloves or some‘conductive thread’ sewn into a glove tip (details in the link below). Despite the Aura 2 being 212dpi, you cannot distinguish it from the300dpi Glo HD. Interestingly, we appear to get slightly longer out ofthe battery with a capacitive screen (the Aura 2 lasts around 7.5hours when connected to a BlueFly vario/GPS, sound off). The Aura2 won a Which? ‘Best Buy’ recommendation last year.The older Models (Mini, Touch, Glo) are now quite long in thetooth; much bulkier than their newer and slimmer counterparts,but nevertheless allhardware, both old and new,is very reliable, albeit withsome irritating ‘ghosting’that sometimes appears onthe older models. One good feature of thenewer Kobos (Touch 2, GloHD and Aura 2) is that thebevelled underside of theunit will only fit atailored/moulded case. Thecases available have asecure snap/clickmechanism and work verywell as a mount for a flightdeck or instrument pod – nomore velcro!For further information onany of the above, or how tobuild a Kobo/XCsoar unit, orto purchase a ready-madeunit, see Report by Nev AlmondKobo/XCSoar updateBHPA 500 ClubWIN CASH PRIZES AND HELP THEASSOCIATION! January winnersDave Ward £131.00Mark Borley £65.50Andy J Wallington £32.75Alastair Lea £19.65Beverley Reardon £16.38Derek Pavey £16.38Dave Ward £13.10Simon Bingham £13.10Walter M Robertson £9.83Andrew Burton £9.83BHPA £327.48If by the time you read this youhave not received your cheque,please contact me on 07802525099.Marc Asquith Next >