No. 391 NOVEMBER 2021 The magazine of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association2 SKYWINGS NOVEMBER 2021 attitude The UKAB sits every month. Normally about ten specialists (pilots, heads of departments, association representatives, instructors, examiners, etc) from the CAA, ATC, GA, BGA, commercial, military, helicopters, etc, together with five permanent Airprox Board members, meet at RAF Northolt. Over the course of a day they discuss about 20-25 Airprox incidents. These will be discussed in fine detail to examine a range of reasons or causes such as planning and execution, regulations, procedures, processes, compliance, electronic warning systems, situational awareness, ground elements, human factors and many more, and allocated a Risk Category (A-E). The incident reporters remain anonymous to all but the permanent Airprox Board members – the whole object of the exercise is not to apportion blame or witch-hunt errant pilots. It is more to identify any worrying trends with perhaps flight training, airfield procedures or airspace restraints, and to see if lessons can be learnt from the incident and procedures put in place to prevent recurrences. The Board may choose to make specific recommendations to bodies such as the CAA, flight training organisations, ATC, chart makers, airfields and the military, etc. Our recommendations take the form of meeting Actions and can either be Accepted, Partially Accepted, Rejected or Withdrawn by whoever they are addressed to. Once all the reports have been discussed and ratified, they are released to the public on the UKAB’s website very interesting reading! Worryingly, a recurring cause of Airproxes amongst the free-flying community is that of reporting apparent contraventions of the Rules of the Air and Right of Way. We’ve all been there, in a thermal circling one way when another pilot joins and decides to go the opposite way. Or one pilot in the thermal begins to open out his turns to search for a stronger core, and the next thing you know he is flying directly at the other pilot even though both have continued circling in the same direction. This is mainly because of the commonly misused parlance: ‘On the right, in the right’. There is no such thing as Right of Way in its purest form in such instances. Many Rules of the Air within the UK’s Air Navigation Order are aligned with SERA (Standardised European Rules of the Air). SERA rules apply to every aircraft operating in UK airspace. Although the Rules of the Air (SERA.3210) are titled: ‘Right of Way’, the text of the appropriate paragraph about converging aircraft (SERA.3210(c)(2)) only talks about who should give way to whom, not who has right of way. It is a subtle distinction, but the wording is intentional so that pilots don’t operate under the impression that they have a legal authority to press on just because they are ‘on the right and have right of way’. In such circumstances, SERA.3210(a) does require the aircraft with ‘right of way’ to maintain heading and speed, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t alter height for example. Nevertheless, at the point where a collision becomes imminent, then the Prime Directive requiring all pilots to avoid a collision takes precedence over everything (SERA.3201 General and SERA.3205 Proximity) – both pilots must manoeuvre to avoid a collision. If you are the pilot ‘on the right’ in a converging situation who should be given way to, you should be aware of the converging aircraft and be monitoring it to see what it does. Don’t assume that its pilot has seen you or detected a risk of conflict. If the other aircraft manoeuvres to avoid you then all is good. If it doesn’t, it is likely that the other pilot hasn’t seen you and you will need to do something at an appropriate point, dependent on geometry and risk, etc. It’s impossible to be definitive, but when you think things are getting too close and not improving, then act. There have been reports about free-flying pilots deliberately playing ‘chicken’, with the pilot ‘on the right’ stubbornly sticking to his self-righteous mantra and position – even though he has been observing the other aircraft for a considerable time and it didn’t just spring up on his blind side. Similarly, the other aircraft may have pushed it to see what he could get away with. Perhaps one or the other were feeling disgruntled about being pushed out of a thermal, or maybe there were other personal differences. Whatever the reasons, there is no place for this stupidity hundreds of feet up in the air. Our clubs, and the BHPA, would not want these sort of pilots flying near our members either. Please remember, a BHPA- on-BHPA-member accident which could result in life-changing injuries (or worse) will not only affect your lives and the lives of your families, but every other BHPA member through higher insurance costs and membership fees. I ask all members to consider the above (especially if the cap fits) and to fly sensibly and courteously, and to strive to maintain the highest standards of airmanship. Thank you. Photo: Robin Mills THE UK Airprox Board and the Rules of the Air PAUL MAHONY, BHPA INSTRUCTOR AND FSC MEMBER As the BHPA’s representative on the UK Airprox Board (UKAB), the General Aviation Advisory Board (CHIRP) and the Airspace Infringement Working Group (AIWG), I am privy to many confidential reports, facts, statistics, analytics, recommendations and discussions regarding all walks of aviation; military aircraft, helicopters, commercial, GA, sailplanes and free-flyers. Please allow me to tell you a little of what the UKAB does, followed by some worrying trends amongst a tiny minority of pilots in our community. 4 SKYWINGS NOVEMBER 2021 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 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, e-mail: THE EDITOR Joe Schofield, 39 London Road, Harleston, Norfolk IP20 9BH. Tel: 01379 855021. COVER PHOTO: Horacio Llorens flies Ozone’s new Rush 6. Full flight test coming soon. photo: Oscar Lagarrotxa THIS PAGE: Ollie Chitty works out on Flow’s Yoti II 17m H&F mini-wing at Mount Tamborine, Queensland Photo: Ollie Chitty 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 The BHPA Exec have determined to remove password protections for a trial period of six months. All issues of Skywings magazine are now freely available DEADLINES News items and event/competition reports for the January issue must be submitted to the Skywings office by Friday November 29th. Letters for the December Airmail pages should arrive no later than Friday November 19th. Advertisement bookings for the December edition must arrive by Friday November 12th. Copy and classified bookings no later than Friday November 19th.NOVEMBER 2021 SKYWINGS 56 SKYWINGS NOVEMBER 2021 news New UK aerotow competition Advance news of the first UK aerotow competition in more than half a decade! With today’s vastly superior towing aircraft and the use of a huge airfield away from airspace, this new event could shape up to be a trailblazing event. Although still in the early stages of organisation, the four key elements are already in place. The dates: May 7th-13th 2022 (warm up and prep: May 4th-6th). The location: Deenethorpe, a former WWII bomber base near Corby (thanks to airfield operators Mick Hyde and Kevin Bradley). The meet director: an international hang gliding superstar, soon to be revealed. The tugs: three aerotow clubs have agreed to help and others have expressed interest – there will be five tugs operating plus a spare. The final ingredient is the competitors. Save the date and stay tuned – a web/social media page is on its way. If you can help with sponsorship or filming, or have experience with local grant applications, please contact Steve Blackler at this space! (Photo: Katy Cole) St Hilaire gamble pays off The 48th Coupe Icare festival went off in September without a hitch. Having had to cancel last year’s event, the organisers went all out this year despite the pandemic. In Daniel Raibon-Pernoud’s final year as head of the event, he and his team showed belief in the festival and a determination to run it come what may. Despite less-than-brilliant weather more than 20,000 people attended the world’s largest free flight and air sports event. The Saturday offered a great day of flying for all including the hot air balloons. The film festival attracted 3,000 spectators over four evenings, with Benjamin Jordan’s The Endless Chain (Canada), Brandon Russell’s Rise of the Bird Men (USA), Estelle Gasc‘s Biplaceurs Du Monde, Antoine Boissellier’s J’irai Atterrir Chez Vous #3 (both France) and Dian Lior and Adam Rubin’s Pathfinder (Israel) all singled out for awards. The Icare Test days and the Icare Expo also attracted many pilots, happy to be able to converse with the professionals again. Daniel, Martine and their huge team are to be commended for a slick festival run against adverse conditions. Covid separation, cashless payments and overall organisation were first class despite the odds. Bravo! The 49th edition of the Coupe Icare runs on the week ending September 25th 2022. If you’ve never been, just go! BHPA AGM As noted last month, the Association’s 2022 AGM will take place at the Nottingham Belfry on Saturday Feb 12th. All being well, the meeting will be an actual face-to-face event; it will also be available to watch online via the BHPA Facebook page. The AGM is the moment to find out what the Association’s myriad volunteers and its small but effective staff are doing on your behalf, and to make suggestions as to its future direction. If you think you might want to join the Exec team steering the Association but are unsure of what is involved, contact any Exec member for details (or Chairman Marc Asquith: 07802 be received at the BHPA Office by Friday November 26th; contact the BHPA office for a form. Nominations are also sought for BHPA Merit Awards. Don’t hesitate to nominate someone you fly or work with who has put commendable effort into the sport over a number of years. Citations for these must arrive at the BHPA Office by Friday December 31st. Certificates will be presented at the AGM or other suitable occasion. Dolomitenmann: that man again! Team Kolland Topsport Professional, with Christian Maurer as its paraglider pilot, won the 34th Dolomitenmann relay race at Lienz on September 11th. Now sponsored by Red Bull, the Dolomitenmann is a punishing run/fly/mountain-bike/kayak relay. Team Kolland Topsport Elite, with Simon Oberrauner doing the flying, finished second ahead of Kolland Topsport Future with Helmut Eicholzer flying. These three led the Professional entry; an Amateur category was equally well supported. Brutal? 2,000m of climbing in 12km, two fast paraglider flights separated by a 120m climb on foot, 19km of uphill and 13km of downhill mountain biking and 6km of whitewater kayaking, all in four hours for the leading teams, is no milk run. Maurer and seven more of the top ten pilots, and nearly a third of the whole field, flew Nova’s Bantam lightweight mountaineering wing. Kolland Topsport is an Austrian sports-goods outlet. Acro World Cup: Théo de Blic In September Théo de Blic retained his Acro World Cup title at the final World Tour round in Albania. He led all the solo runs flying a Nova Glitch; he and Horacio Llorens also took the synchro ranking. In a curtailed tour Théo had finished second at Acromax at Trasaghis, but clinched the title at Albania’s Llogora Air Games. Nova have come from behind, aided by Théo who came aboard in 2019 to lead their acro charge, and by massive effort from the factory team. Dutchman Luke de Weert was World Acro Tour runner up ahead of Colombia’s Andres Villamizar. Marc Asquith is EHPU President In September BHPA Chairman Marc Asquith was elected President of the European Hang Gliding and Paragliding Union. Since 2001 the EHPU, which now represents 19 European free flight associations and more than 110,000 pilots, has lobbied for the needs and concerns of European free fliers with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the EU’s CAA. Marc’s term of office will run until the The plan is that you give me your hard-earned cash, and I give you some of my hard-won stock. Like my personal BGD Cure, low hours and wonderful, OIRO £1500: New Hangies (large) should be queueing up for this Airborne Sting 2 XC 175, price reduced from £1500 to Howsabout a brand new EN B Skyman Cross Country – ideal for a low airtime pilot with a dream of XCs? Reduced to £1500. I still have rather a lot of Vintage hang gliders that deserve a better home before it is too late! Anyone want a nice Hiway Large I have several harnesses at reduced prices. New, almost new and secondhand, from about £75 to £750. This stirrup harness is sold and gone, but I still have the Apco Mayday 16 HG reserve for sale. 15 minutes airtime - make an offer! At the other extreme, I have full race harnesses like this Moyes Matrix and a superb Aeros Viper. Stupidly cheap at £300-ish! I have new Compressor concertina bags from Gin, and Skyman reduced from £50 to £37.50! Used stuffsacks from the Loft etc from £10 upwards. This rare HG storage tube is 6m long, supplied with end caps and should take almost any flex-wing glider. It is £75 – collect only Here is a rare photograph of Soperman looking “civilised” for some function or other. His 812kms has just won the British sector of the Word XContest for the second year running with my Litespeed RS3.5 (for sale, only £1250!) Jezzer doesn’t do things conventionally - look at his Youtube channel “MorehitsthanJack” for rather a lot of insanity. Class! The Charly Vitesse is just arriving in five colours and a multitude of sizes. Weighing only 380 grams, it is a sure-fire winner. Visors are optional. Prices start at £138. The aerodynamic Charly NO Limits is available as an open - or a full-face helmet. The pressure- formed aerodynamic Kevlar-reinforced fibreglass shells are renowned for their quietness, and come in four colours and four sizes, starting at £230. A clear visor comes as standard with optional Tinted visors available. The Charly Insider is probably the top-selling free flight helmet of all time. The Kevlar-reinforced fibreglass shell is fully-lined, and I stock eleven colours and six sizes from XS to XXL! Prices start at £165, and weight is only 660gm! The stylish Charly Loop costs £125, weighs around 505gm and comes with a helmet bag included. There are three sizes and six colours: Gloss White, Matt Blue, Matt Black, Matt Red, Matt Orange and Nova Silver – see them all on my website: The Charly Ace has a polycarbonate shell and comes in four sizes, with a choice of Gloss White, Matt Red, Matt Black or Carbon-look. Weight is around 560gm, and prices start at £85. I stock all Charly Helmets optional accessories, too - visors and tinted visors. Find them all on the Simon Murphy’s Flying Circus tel: 01404 891685 Luppitt, Honiton, Devon, EX14 4SA Charly Helmets Let the Flying Circus run off with your money! It’s a Fair Exchange!news 8 SKYWINGS NOVEMBER 2021 EHPU AGM – to be hosted in the UK – in February 2023, next year’s meeting having been postponed due to the pandemic. The EHPU is an independent non-profit organisation, funded by its member associations, that exists to protect the sport of free flying. As well as hosting the international accidents database (of which the BHPA online incident reporting system is a part), funding the EN standardisation of equipment work, circulating safety notices, etc, the EHPU is a critical pan- European contact, beyond the reaches of the UK’s withdrawal from Europe, that keeps our foot in the door of impending EU legislation – which is likely to be subsequently reflected in UK legislation. Over the last 18 months Marc has been active in ensuring that Europe Air Sports (EAS) understands and lobbies for our concerns about Electronic Conspicuity and drone-specific airspace, known in the EU as ‘U-Space’, and has acted as an EAS Expert Representative on an EASA working group on these issues, a first for free flight. EAS is the ‘voice’ of European recreational flying in EASA, but without input from the EHPU it would have scant understanding of the particular concerns of free fliers. Given the number of BHPA pilots who fly in Europe every year, it is vital that we continue to have representation at the highest levels there. The EHPU is the vehicle for that access. Marc has confirmed that the end of his tenure as EHPU President in 2023 will be followed by the close of his lengthy tenure as BHPA Chairman. Bird and other wildlife sanctuaries – avoid! Bird sanctuaries are marked on quarter- and half-mil Aeronautical charts and online airspace tools such as NOTAMinfo. They are usually circles of 1 or 1.5nm radius, although some are larger. Upper limits may be as low as 500ft but can go to 2, 3 and even 4000ft asl. The UK Air Pilot lists 16 of these; all but three have permanent year-round protection. As well as bird life, they are often breeding grounds for other aquatic creatures. Flying is not prohibited in these areas, but pilots are specifically requested to avoid them, especially during any stated breeding season. The warden at North Norfolk’s Blakeney Point nature reserve has reported numerous paramotor pilots flying low over the beach within the charted area and carrying out touch-and go-landings. Such activity puts wildlife at risk. With local seals about to pup, disturbance from paramotors may cause havoc in the colony. Paramotor pilots are strongly advised to avoid these areas; they are marked on the chart for a reason. The one at Blakeney Point is home to thousands of coastal birds and hundreds of seals. The birds nest in summer and the seals pup in autumn. There are four bird sanctuaries on the North Norfolk coast, including Blakeney. BHPA members or not, paramotor pilots low flying in the area give our sport a bad name. If anyone local can identify the pilot in the photograph, please have a word in his ear! CAA eVTOL safety consortium The CAA has established a consortium of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) experts to consider the safety challenges that need solving to allow such aircraft, including drone taxis, to come to market. Move along, nothing to see here, you might think. Yet within the small print is the CAA’s view that, ‘these vehicles have the potential to launch commercially in the UK within the next five years.’ While the safe operation of these machines is indeed paramount, their commercial use within five years is a sobering thought. We have been warned. Hang gliding calendar BOS photogapher Katy Cole has put together an exciting 2022 calendar featuring her own images, selected by BOS pilots. The large-format (420 x 594mm) month-to-view layout includes close-up flying images of the likes of Tony Fillingham (see cover, below), Nick Collins, Andy Hollidge, Kathleen Rigg, Justin Needham, Steve Blackler and, of course, Johnny Carr. The calendar costs £15 including postage and a donation to the Air Ambulances UK charity. Order direct from Katy at (Paypal/bank transfer). But move fast – orders must be received by November 15th! In brief Paragliding fatalities. It is with regret that we report two recent paragliding fatalities. On August 10th Chris Sparham, a Pilot-rated BHPA member, died following an incident at Barton- on-Sea, Hampshire. And on September 12th Harvey Foster, a Pilot-rated BHPA member, died following an incident at Aspres-sur- Buëch, France. BHPA Formal Investigations have been convened to investigate the circumstances of both incidents; their reports will be published in due course. BHPA insurance document. Those who may need to confirm, for their own satisfaction or perhaps to reassure a landowner or potential customer, just what the BHPA’s 3rd-party insurance covers are reminded that the Association’s ‘Evidence of Insurance’ document is available on the website at the Members Documents page. Hangie triangle record. On August 13th Belgian pilot Jochen Zeischka surpassed Tomás Suchánek’s world 50km triangle speed record by more than 20%, clocking 59.61km/h from St André in France aboard an Icaro Laminar 14. Suchánek’s record has stood since 2000. If confirmed, Zeischka’s flight will also stand as the previously-unset European record. Class 2 speed record claim withdrawn. For reasons unknown, Canadian pilot Armand Acchione has withdrawn his claim for the world Class 2 50km triangle speed record. Brit Robin Hamilton gets to hang on to his 2002 record – 45.46km/h – a little longer! BHPA 500 Club WIN CASH PRIZES AND HELP THE ASSOCIATION! August winners James Tudor Davies £137.80 Gerald Nolan £68.90 Colin Lown £34.45 Alison Darling £20.67 Richard Davis £17.23 David Hines £17.23 Graham Shand £13.78 David Hayes £13.78 Dave Ward £10.34 Chris Glasspool £10.34 BHPA £344.48 September winners Brian Parkins £136.80 John Malone £68.40 Lee Jackson £34.20 Jason Harper £20.52 James Brown £17.10 Michael Paice £17.10 Nigel Waller £13.68 Wayne Gregory £13.68 Ben Burroughs £10.26 Stuart Field £10.26 BHPA £342.00 If by the time you read this you have not received your cheque, please contact me on 07802 525099. Marc AsquithDelayed BHPA Merit Awards In addition to the 2020 BHPA Merit Awards presented to Pete Logan, Chris Williams and Jim Whitney (see April 2021 Skywings), further Merit awards are to be presented to Guy Anderson, Kirsty Cameron, Bernard Clewer, James Dell, Richard Greaves and Jocky Sanderson. The curious timing reflects some pandemic- induced poor comms on the part of the BHPA, for which apologies have been profuse! Some of these awards have been presented when a suitable occasion offered; others have yet to find their mark. All recipients have been selected on account of their sterling work behind the scenes. Often the beneficiaries of such efforts – BHPA members all – are but dimly aware of the midnight oil that is burned to keep the sport’s clubs, coaching activities and competitions going. The BHPA is heavily dependent on volunteer power and its members are lucky to have people of such calibre stepping forward. It’s not just a case of ‘Oh, OK, I guess it’s my turn.’ These people bring serious firepower and detailed knowledge and skill to bear in their respective fields; we are lucky indeed to have them among us. The window for 2021 nominations closes on Friday December 31st. If someone you fly with or work with has put commendable effort into the sport over a number of years, please consider writing a citation to arrive at the BHPA Office by that date. Certificates will be presented at the AGM or other suitable occasion. Guy Anderson. Guy introduced many innovations in his three years heading the Paragliding Comps Panel. The British Winter Open in Colombia provided much needed low-season pilot training, and condensing the Championships to a single round allowed more of our international- level pilots to challenge for the title; British comps are now amongst the highest ranked in the sport. Guy also supported the BPRA in bringing on a new crop of high-level pilots, and pushed for a simpler, fairer scoring system. His flying achievements are legion, not least his world record 510km goal flight with Harry Bloxham. He still competes at international level and continues to support British Team management. Kirsty Cameron. Kirsty is stepping down from the Paragliding Competitions Panel after 11 years of helping to steer the course of British competition flying. Her influence has ensured that competitions and their administration have run smoothly: payments, refunds, qualifications and enquiries, etc, despite the hassle involved. As an active British Team participant for much of this time, she kept the team admin and accounts on track. Kirsty also created and managed the Paragliding Comps website. Alongside these achievements have been her successful competition performances over the years. She departs the Panel now to devote more time to her young family. 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