No. 355 NOVEMBER 2018The magazine of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association 2 SKYWINGS NOV 2018 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, THE EDITOR Joe Schofield, 39 London Road, Harleston, Norfolk IP209BH. Tel: 01379 855021. COVER PHOTO Will Barstow flying the new Advance Xi.Photo: Will BarstowTHIS PAGE Soaring the south breakwater at Aberystwyth, midWales. Photo: Nick BubbDESIGN & 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 For theNovember issue enter the username Nov_2018 and the case-sensitive password #gR38@UFor the December issue enter the username Dec_2018 and thecase-sensitive password $F20_Bw9DEADLINES News items and event/competition reports for theJanuary 2018 issue must be submitted to the Skywings office byMonday December 3rd. Letters for the December Airmail pageshould arrive no later than Friday November 16th. Advertisementbookings for the December edition of Skywings must arrive bySaturday November 10th. Copy and classified bookings no later thanSaturday November 17th. regulars regulars reviews features 4 SKYWINGS NOV 2018What an amazing summer it was! TheLejair team ran training for beginners andCP, powered flight, aerotow and towconversions. We started at Parafest,showing our new training trailer thatallows people to experience early flights incomplete safety.A big thankyou to Pete Marcou of theNorfolk Club for lending us his beautifulwinch, which allowed us to bring over thetrailer. Pete's Rolls-Royce version of theKoch winch was great to work with and itsDyneema line is such an improvement onsteel wire – except when there’s a linebreak. I think I need a bit more practice inspeedy splicing! And it was wonderful tosee 70s legend Brian Wood, who came withhis family and friends for a refresher dayand has now bought a PeaBee nanotrikefrom Ben Ashman.Congratulations to the following poweredhang gliding students: Neil Tyran, IanAnderson, Chris Todd, Nigel Penfold andDavid Moss; to Pat Morrissey, Matt Lewis,Ben Mullen and Ed Binch on achieving TowEndorsements; to Julian Poole and TomGarner on achieving CP; to David Woodruff,Michael Hadley, Justin Colledge and KatyCole for working through their EP/CPcourses; to Matt Lewis on gaining his WinchOperator licence; to Steve Wylie onreturning to the sport after a two-yearlayoff; and to Clive Rolfe, whose everylanding on his new Malibu was a good one.And good luck to Bernie Hull for hiscontinued enthusiasm to learn to fly.Our training trailer, by the way, allows usto give a new pilot airtime in a controlledenvironment. It's like being on a hill in theperfect soaring breeze. The glider istethered and the pilot is under relaxedinstruction the whole time. In thiscontrolled environment the pilot can get togrips with pitch and roll control anddiscover the glider's trim position withoutthe stress of taking off and landing, whichof course comes later when they are moreable to master these phases of flight. AtParafest Katy Cole, along with many others,enjoyed several runs up Llanbedr's 7,500ftmain runway. Finally a big thankyou to all our teamfor their support and endeavour: Gary Dear,Mickey Preece and the intrepid Peter Brown,not forgetting Christo Tracey who wasalways there to lend a hand if needed, andthe extraordinary Michael Joy who haspromised to get back into flying next year!He writes: 'There were many highlights ofthe summer: Rona reaching 3000ft on herfirst flight on her new Avian Puma; SteveBlackler, after five launches finally hookinga thermal from low on a very hot nil-windday; and the amazing Bob Cogman, back inthe air on his Target and dual glider afterhealth problems. Thanks to CFI Tony Webbfor making it all happen! They will be backagain next year – same time, same place!'Photo: Justin ParsonsLejair's summer of flight/loveRONA WEBB, HANG GLIDING INSTRUCTORWhat is £1000 between friends? When a returninghangie wanted a light glider at a reasonable price, Isuggested this lovely Calypso that I was selling forabout half that much. It was flyable the next day at BeerHead so he watched me flying the entire length of theridge and when I came back to land said “I’ll take it!”.Another hard day at the office, and if you want to getback into flying you could do worse than contacting me:Mark Turner, another long-term friend, was that verymoment flying the Eagle 2 that I sold him a few yearsago. I was clearing out the last stock of lovely Firebirdgliders, and prices were low. And HOT! Demand wassuch that we went back into production for a while,because you don’t have to have the absolute latestmachine in order to have a very good time. I recently took in somerare small-sized kit fromtwo retiring pilots. If youneed an XS beginner’sparaglider, I have a coupleof good ones! This Mojo 2(55-70kg) in DHV 1 rated,has a patch or two, butexcellent porosity, andwon’t break the bank.There is also an EN ANiviuk Koyot 2 (45-61Kg), two small harnesses and ahang gliding harness, too! They also brought in thislovely Renschler CoMoEasy GPS, which is all theinstrumentation most ofus will ever need. It isprecisely the same as myhang gliding vario, and onsale at a considerablesaving – just £195 witheither a hang glider or aparaglider mount – orboth. Strangely, I don’t have very many usedinstruments at the time of writing, but do have a fineselection of new ones. My current range ofinstruments includesFlytec, Flymaster,Oudie, LeBipBip and(of course) Renschler.All have their merits,and I’m currentlyflying Renschler onmy hangie and Oudieon the paraglider.Soperman STILL won’tlet on as to where hewas flying inSeptember, but tostop me askingquestions he sentme this lovely photofrom France, whichhe says looks like amap of the UK. Ifyou squint. Or eatmagic mushrooms,perhaps.“December” saidJeremy - all will berevealed.By contrast, Tony Davie took his new lightweightSkyman Coconea harness to Austria, and couldn’t stoptelling me about it. Lots of flying, landing in the valleyand then taking the train back to his tent. Sounds goodto me! Oh, and he loves the harness. The Coconea X-Alps is in stock now!I’ve just been to Algofor ten days with theCure, so apologies toanyone who couldn’tget hold of me mid-October. I’ll make upfor it in November,when I’m planning tohold a mammothsale of hang gliders.I’ve had a brilliantyear sellingintermediates, but the top end gliders have been ratherslower-selling, and I really need some room in thehangar. (So that’s what the heading was all about!)Early in November a newsection of the website willappear (I hope) detailingmassive reductions oncertain choice gliders,including this gorgeousAeros Phantom. As thingsstand at the moment, I’mplanning that three or fourgliders will be reduced by£1000 – possibly evenmore in some cases. Iwant to get them moving.Check out the website:November Sale -£1000 off!Charly Helmetstel:01404 891685 email: Turfhouse, Luppitt, Honiton, Devon, EX14 4SA The aerodynamicCharly NO Limits isavailable as anopen - or a full-facehelmet. Thepressure-formedaerodynamic Kevlar-reinforced fibreglassshells are renowned for their quietness, and come in fourcolours and four sizes,starting at £225. A clearvisor comes asstandard with optionalTinted visors available. The Charly Insider isprobably the top-sellingfree flight helmet of all time. The Kevlar-reinforced fibreglassshell is fully-lined, and I stock eleven colours and six sizesfrom XS to XXL! Pricesstart at £158, andweight is only660gm!The stylish CharlyLoop costs £120,weighs around 505gmand comes with a helmet bag included. There are threesizes and six colours:Gloss White, Matt Blue,Matt Black, Matt Red,Matt Orange and NovaSilver – see them all onmy website:The Charly Ace has a polycarbonate shell and comes in foursizes, with a choice of Gloss White, Matt Red, Matt Black orCarbon-look. Weight isaround 560gm, andprices start at £84.The Charly Breeze hasa swoopypolycarbonate shell,comes in four sizes ineither White or MattBlack - with contrastingremovable ear coversto suit differentseasons. There is alsoa version in twoadjustable sizes forcommercial operators schools andtandem. It weighs about 480gm,and costs £87.I stock all the Charly helmetsoptional accessories, too! The Ace,Breeze and Loop will all accept theoptional visor, available in Grey,Yellow, Orange and Mirror finishes.Prices start at £28 per visor, withthe fixing screw set costinganother BHPA Merit AwardsDon’t forget that nominations are beingsought for BHPA Awards of Merit. Theseacknowledge a member’s conspicuousservice to a club or clubs, competitions orfree flying in general. If someone you flyor work with has put their very bestefforts into the sport over a number ofyears, please consider writing a citation toarrive at the BHPA Office by December31st. Recent recipients include notedinstructors Paul Allmark, Alan Robertsonand Lee Bligh, plus Richard Hunt(developer of the Tracker app), DonaldMacKenzie (sponsor of the Foxtug aerotowaircraft) and Kathleen Rigg (hang glidingbrilliance including a clutch of World andEuropean record in 2015). Certificates willbe presented at the 2019 AGM or othersuitable occasion.The 2019 AGM will take place on SaturdayMarch 2nd at the Nottingham Belfry Hotel(NG8 6PY), alongside the BGA AGM andtrade show. Any BHPA memberconsidering seeking nomination forelection at the AGM should contact theOffice for the appropriate form –completed nominations should arrive atthe BHPA Office no later than FridayNovember 30th. Topics for discussion atthe members’ forum, held directly afterthe AGM itself, should be notified to theBHPA Chairman by February 1st. Votingpapers and details of candidates, and theBHPA Treasurer’s Report, will appear inthe January issue of Skywings.The Solent submits!After about five years with no reportedSolent crossings, there have been three thisyear. In June Jim Mallinson crossed fromPortsmouth to near Ryde, having launchedat Coombe Gibbett; Richard Perkes crossedfrom Ryde to Gosport on August 1st andmade another crossing from Yarmouth toLymington on September 25th; and onSeptember 29th John Rudge crossed fromFreshwater to Hurst. John finally landed onthe Lymington seafront, from where he wasgiven a retrieve back to Yarmouth by a localpowerboat owner! The photo, taken byRichard Perkes, shows him leaving RydeHarbour in August. New Zealandcharity rideInstructor Dave Cox from Wiltshire’sCloudbase Paragliding heads to NewZealand this month to begin a 1500-mileunsupported solo bicycle ride to raise fundsfor Wiltshire Air Ambulance and ProspectHospice. The ride is self-funded and alldonations will go directly to these causes.His route from Auckland to Invercargillinvolves mountains, valleys, open plainsand windswept coastal roads. ‘Anyone whohas seen Lord of the Rings will get the idea!’he says. ‘Having only ever been a casualmountain biker and never having riddenmore than 30 miles at once, I’m traininghard!’ You can help his cause by going toor go to BT My Donate and search‘Auckland to Invercargill’ on the sponsor-a-fundraiser page. He wilI be posting regularupdates on the ride. 6 SKYWINGS NOV 2018newsFarewell Jennie …and thanks!On Friday September 28th Jennie Burdett, BAPC administratorsince 1980 and BHPA administrator from 1992 - 2015, finally putaside her pencils, shorthand pad, keyboard, phone, database, andextensive knowledge of how the Association works to fully enjoyher retirement – since 2015 she had been working part-time atthe Association’s Leicester office. Jennie began work as the BAPC’ssole secretary, then based in a tiny office below a massageparlour, in 1980. As the BAPC acquired more staff it moved tolarger premises in Talbot Lane, Leicester, and moved again to theOld Schoolhouse in 1991; both moves were overseen by Jennie. TheBHGA moved into Old Schoolhouse in 1992, shortly before theformal amalgamation of the two Associations into the BHPA.Jennie also supervised the most recent – and final! – move to theAssociation’s new, jointly-owned premises at Merus Court in 2010.Throughout this time she managed to keep abreast of everydevelopment and to keep the administration of a rapidly-growingorganisation running smoothly. Always on top of things, alwaysquietly efficient, often working in the evening and at weekends,Jennie was able to keep the show on the road through thick andthin. Her exhaustive knowledge of BHPA systems remained usefulwhen our accounts person Michelle Lanman accepted the burdenof running the office in 2015, allowing a seamless transition ofauthority. Jennie’s years at the helm never seemed to weary herand gained her many lifelong friends. Her quiet competence willbe sorely missed. Her leaving was marked by an informal lunchattended by BHPA staffers and Chairman Marc Asquith, and byAndrew Wakelin – who first spotted her talents 38 years ago!email call (spain) 0034 651736718 or (UK) 0208 144 2087Nepal & Colombia 2019Book two weeks with our team of experts in Nepal orColombia next winter. Early bird offer £50 off!Guided XC HolidaysOver 14 years experience. Southern Spains most popularthermal and XC winter destination.CP Plus HolidaysGeared ultimately for the new and rusty pilots out there.SIV & PilotageFly Spain believe your paragliding skills shouldn’t stop at CP level.APPG next moveThe All-Party Parliamentary Group onGeneral Aviation (APPG-GA) has launched amajor inquiry into UK airspace and how itis managed. The APPG, with 174 MPs andLords by far the largest of many suchgroups, works to educate parliamentariansand ministers about aviation’s role insociety and generating economicprosperity. The Group believes that theUK’s airspace belongs to everyone andthat removing it from certain users mustcome with specific responsibilities. Therecently-announced inquiry will study allcomponents of governance that result inUK airspace decisions. Its report, expectedin 2019, will make recommendations onhow to improve the current system,widely believed to produce inequitableoutcomes for most airspace users –including free fliers.BHPA club nightpresentation The BHPA has long been able to visit clubswith a presentation designed to explain tomembers how the Association works, whatit can do, what it can’t, and where yourmoney goes. The presentation – in theform of an informal talk with Powerpointsupport – explains who is on Exec and theFSC, what those bodies are about, who thevarious staff members are and what theydo. It also covers the problems currentlyfacing the sport and the Association’snotable successes, which are legion. It’sdelivered by a locally-based member of theBHPA Executive and would be an idealdistraction for a winter club night. Severalclubs have already availed themselves ofthis opportunity; if you think your clubcould benefit from learning a little moreabout how the Association supports itsmembers, contact Marc Asquith on or call 07802 525099.Cloudstreet CPCongratulations to Ricky McWilliamwho has just achieved his BHPA Club Pilotrating from Ulster’s Cloudstreet ParaglidingCentre. ‘Ricky had some epic soaringflights during his training,’ reports CFITony Conway, ‘and getting him to landoften made him feel as if he was beingpunished. Good luck for the future, bud!’In briefBGD Weightless insight. Bruce Goldsmith’sWeightless competition, held in Slovenia inSeptember, was aimed at allowing pilots tocompete on an equal footing without bringpenalised for weight. The comp dividedpilots into three weight categories and twowing classes. Analysing pilots’ data againstresults, after allowing forprevious competition experience, whichof course has a significant influence on apilot’s results, Bruce found that every 10kgof in-flight weight meant just 2.6% morepoints scored, on average, in every task.The BGD Weightless runs again next Juneat Saint Jean Montclar.Skywings online. The online version ofthis (November) issue of the magazine canbe found at Enter the username Nov_2018 and thecase-sensitive password #gR38@U. For theDecember issue enter the usernameDec_2018 and the case-sensitive password$F20_Bw9. These details can also be foundon the contents page of each issue.Magazines with a cover date over sixmonths old can be viewed online ordownloaded without the need to log in.news8 SKYWINGS NOV 2018BHPA 500 ClubWIN CASH PRIZES AND HELP THEASSOCIATION! September winnersBarry Woodhead £132.60Paul Hartley £66.30Adam Moores £33.15Gerald Nolan £19.89Malin Lobb £16.58Jonathan Greenwood £16.58David Hayes £13.26Michael Carter £13.26James Petts £9.95Dominic Baker £9.95BHPA £331.48If by the time you read this you have notreceived your cheque, please contact meon 07802 525099.Marc AsquithRAeS GA designconferenceThis year’s annual Royal Aeronautical Society DesignConference focuses on the lighter end of the GA world.A fascinating programme of talks includes Dr BillBrooks outlining the design and development of hisrecumbent/SSDR Flycycle (pictured); instructor OliverGibbs discussing wingsuit flying and technology; MikeWhittaker talking about his series of microlightdesigns; Norman Wijker of Samad Aerospace ondeveloping a VTOL hybrid electric biz-jet; Guy Grattanon the challenges of electric vs. IC engine power; andIan Currer’s presentation on foot-launched flight.Martyn Ingleton, Chief Mechanical Engineer at BAESystems, will also introduce his scaled-down WW2Hurricane SSDR project. The conference will alsoexamine the winning submissions in the RAeS’sannual design competition; there will be paneldiscussions and plenty of opportunities fornetworking too. The event aims to examine thecurrent resurgence of grassroots aviation, driven inpart by new materials and electronics, and where itmight lead. It takes place at Hamilton Place in LondonW1 on November 19th. Full information and bookingdetails are at The St Hilaire FestivalSTEVE UZOCHUKWU REPORTSThe Coupe Icare is held annually at St Hilaire du Touvet atop thePlateau des Petites Roches, and down below at Lumbin, in the IsèreValley to the north-east of Grenoble. It runs from Thursday toSunday over the third weekend in September. What started out inthe 1970s as a flying fancy-dress competition, then added films inthe 1980s, has grown into arguably the world’s biggest free-flyingfestival, including an exhibition which is now the go-to event formanufacturers wanting to announce anything important. Flyingdisplays take place on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and in thelast decade have included just about every sort of aircraft youcould think of (this year we had everything from fighter jets towingsuits). Since I last went in 2016 the site has added a new take-off,labelled ‘East’, between the two pre-existing ones. Preparationswere more in-depth, and more happened this year. There was alarge dedicated paramotor area, as in previous years, and moreorganised patterns in the landing areas below, including a circuitpattern attached to the microlight strip. We witnessed a number of free-flight milestones: a number ofbig birthdays and the first female MD of a paragliding company.Gin had a themed stand celebrating Gin Seok Song’s 40 years inthe business with a special version of the Genie Race 4 in red. XCMagazine celebrated 30 years and gave their best-stand award toGin. Apco’s Anatoly Cohn announced 44 years as a family business,with his son Jonathan now at the helm. Sissi Eisl, Nova’s new MD, spoke briefly. Accepting the milestoneof the first woman MD of a paragliding company, she said it wasmore about about finding the right person for the job and effectinga smooth changeover from the outgoing MD, Wolfi Lechner. Shefeels that her role will be to develop certain aspects of an alreadywell-respected product portfolio.Photo: Ilan Ginzburg NOV 2018 SKYWINGS 9Next >