No. 415 NOVEMBER 2023 The magazine of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association2 SKYWINGS NOVEMBER 2023 attitude This is great, I’m racing! Keep up with the two liners? Oh, no, they’ve overtaken. Climb as little as you need, and bam! Go, climb … and go, climb … and go. My usual bimbly style, taking each climb to the skirts of the clouds and drifting like a leaf, is out of the window. I’m a machine, focused, militant. God, I’m smashing this! Competition flying is fun. Sink pit: my flight’s over. What the hell? Why did I tag the turnpoint? You total idiot! Feet flat on hard ground. Could have flown hours … you knew this would happen! I barely even remember my flight. What beautiful landscape did I miss? No photos, no gratitude for a gallivant through the heavens. But I’ve found something that lets me feel every emotion. This is my thing! Hell, the retrieve van has already found me. The frustration … I’m livid! Why am I thanking you for stealing my peace? Gliders twinkling high above – unbelievable! Tomorrow, I’ll fly for me. The briefing. People take these comp things seriously, don’t they? Golly, maybe I’m the freak here? Let’s hope that’s a good thing … Risk, but not too much. For me today, where is the line? What am I willing to risk for more kilometres, more points, more ecstatic cloud-surfing? Or should I forget that and just race? Building white fingers creep over our backs, tickling their way forwards, funnelled through gaps, block out sun, and the north-east breeze persists. Delicious sky, a perfect day, if only I could get to it. Such lust. A task. Creeping convergence pushing out front, holding us to the hill, we sigh together. A tricky launch, north-east backwind switch. Mushrooms traipse clumsily, lines trail behind, delicately kiss the dirt. A Swing Libra, dedicated, makes the perfect forward launch. A low save and he’s off, an hour later than most. Racing perfectly, he wins the task. I will take the next moment. It comes. Backwind only gentle, a committed initiation, my wing rises with perfection. The faintest moment of self-doubt, lines slacken. ‘Come on Emma! You’re better than this!’ My chest presses forwards, legs whirring, my feet tumble without brain, my wing re-engages, flying faultlessly above me and I’m off. I am the pilot! Maintain control. Rotor? Blumin’ heck! Heart rate raised, I must take my next opportunity as I plummet through the ravine. ‘You piloted that like a boss!’ No time to reflect – we’re sinking. Warmth of town ever closer, rising. Factories – come on, give me something! Nothing. Shouting at myself for being such a twerp, as glistening wings piddle skywards. Gliders swirl. Sky draws. Valley breathes again. Feet on the ground amongst piles of straw. My wing crumpled and motionless. Eyes skyward, I see perfect cumulus, absolute paragliding perfection. The frustration is overwhelming: I didn’t even make it out of the start cylinder! Hot rage begins to surge, but a gentle hand presses comfortingly against it. ‘Stop, take a moment to yourself.’ No need to be hard on yourself. These are mistakes I will not be making next time. There’s always tomorrow. Why do we race? An obsession. A drive for these points, these gold coins, these treasures. To better ourselves. We are humans. How did we get here? Another task. No mistakes today – this will be the flight of your life. Thermalling perfectly, I lose them, climbing alone, unencumbered, to the sanctuary of wispy tendrils high. My peaceful place of wonder, the magical dream. I embrace the air, cool and crisp, a deep breath – cherish this! I treasure my moment where the mind, truly, can let go. Relax. This is why I fly. Way out in the flats a gaggle circles. Can I make it? No. I focus, concentrate, stay with my mate. Using each other delicately we eke out what we can. Weak and broken, it’s time to go, trundling taskwards. My suitors plummet towards the town beyond. Will I make it? Doubt it. Into the flats, voyaging alone, all in shade. The town, the factory, the tree line … nothing, kaput! My suitors circle above the town beyond. I smile for them. Feet on the floor again, I grin to myself: that was beautiful, a true delight! The final task. The blanketed hills autumnal. A windy take-off, gust strengths high. The Libra launches fluidly, a Photon in heavy pursuit. And off they pour, some speedy, some still, some ragged about, some tussle. There is some wind about. What will I gain from this? Will I enjoy myself? A constant struggle and relief to get down … or an exciting flight racing the wind? I don’t fly. Many don’t fly. There will be another day. In the van back down: I was a wuss, I should have gone. No, it wasn’t really worth it, battering against God’s fist. Our chests are pulled apart as light-hearted chatter forms a shield. We will never know the right choice. Let go … and smile. The many minds of a pilot; I think they all turned up here. The pilot merely twitches a digit and the sky concedes. He’s got this dialled, calm and gentle, his wisdom stands above all. His days are simple joy and his journey exquisitely executed, the majesty of a perfect flight. The lean team steam by, keen. Aggressively searching, beating, winning – where is the canon fodder? Tossers! I am here to win, driven like a murderous demon. I see you terrified, desperate. Persistently five steps ahead of where you truly stand, in a calamitous rush to get there. Hurtling from now. The present holds a demon you fear, never faced. It could set you free, terrified to admit you feel. Lost and lonely, wide-eyed and desperate. I can do this, but truly what is left for me? Shall I give up now? But, thank God, he proves himself again and, hopefully, dispels the creeping demons that close in on his mind. As I smile secretively, my own precious experience lifts me. If you look closely you’ll notice a sparkle in my kind, modest eyes tonight. I learnt a lot from this week: flew a new mindset, learnt from new pilots, shared some love. Would I recommend the BP Cup? Absolutely! Tremendous, marvellous, magnificent! EMMA WITHERS, NEW COMPETITION PILOT, ON THE SOPOT BP CUP The practice task. FlySkyHy, download the file. Oh God! What’s that ping? Perhaps I’ve hit the turnpoint? Who knows, who cares? Maybe I should? Learn your instrument, idiot! Photo: Emma Withers4 SKYWINGS NOVEMBER 2023 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, THE EDITOR Joe Schofield, 39 London Road, Harleston, Norfolk IP20 9BH. Tel: 01379 855021. COVER PHOTO A triumphant Rosie Ireland finishes as top woman pilot at the X-Dales in September Photo: Ed Cleasby THIS PAGE Ricardo da Costa and Atos VR, accompanied by the massed raptors of Spain's Sistema Central, during the FAI Piedrahita Open in August Photo: Ricardo da Costa 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 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 December 1st. Letters for the December Airmail pages should arrive no later than Friday November 17th. Advertisement bookings for the December edition must arrive by Saturday November 11th. Copy and classified bookings no later than the following Saturday November 18th. regulars reviews features NOVEMBER 2023 SKYWINGS 56 SKYWINGS NOVEMBER 2023 news The return of Parafest! After a four-year break, the stupendous Parafest festival – the one you can fly at – returns to Caerwys in North Wales next June. Paramotor, paraglider, hang glider and trike pilots and their partners are invited to a superb flying and social event in the Welsh countryside. The huge site at Caerwys has easy road links yet is close to some great soaring sites. The festival will include a fully-stocked bar from Thursday evening onwards, a trade exhibition, and great entertainment and other attractions on the Friday and Saturday, plus full camping facilities and a wide variety of food outlets. Dates are June 13th-16th. Manufacturers, suppliers, schools, etc, should contact the organisers soonest. Four nights of camping, three days of flying, two days of entertainment – one great event for everyone! Details are at Nova chuffed at Dolomitenman outcome The paragliding sub-discipline at September’s Dolomitenmann event at Lienz turned out to be a big Nova party, with Bantam pilots Aaron Durogati, Tobias Grossrubatscher and Thomas Friedrich all on the podium. Eight Bantam 2s and two Bantam 1s made the top ten, with more than half the pilots on one or other Bantam model. The Bantam dominated the women’s ranking too, led by Elisabeth Kofler. Nova R&D head Philipp Medicus designed the Bantam for climb-and-fly purists. Realising the small/superlight /short lines format was ideal for extreme races like the Dolomitenmann, Nova produced a limited edition of pre- production Bantam 2s in time for this year’s event. With a strong team of selected pilots including Chrigel Maurer and Patrick von Känel, the result was an overwhelming Bantam whitewash. The Dolomitenmann team relay race, now sponsored by Red Bull, is a punishing run/fly/mountain-bike/kayak relay. It involves 2,000m of climbing in 12km, two fast paraglider flights separated by a 120m climb on foot, plus 19km of uphill and 13km of downhill mountain biking, and 6km of extreme whitewater kayaking – all inside of four hours for the top teams. There’s no doubt that the Dolomitenmann schedule is brutal; its watchword? ‘Where suffering is fun’! Sports-Class Racing Series The Sports-Class Racing series reported a highly successful first season, with 280 pilots participating in four manufacturer- sponsored events. Mark Hayman and Magdalena Janaway (pictured) were crowned overall male and female series winners at the final BGD event in September. A complete 2024 calendar will be announced shortly, starting in Colombia in January; preparations for 2025 dates are also well advanced. The SRS series promotes competition flying with EN C wings or below, allowing pilots compete on a glider they might normally buy rather than having to step up to EN D or CCC. Anyone for RAeC Trust secretary? Royal Aero Club Trust secretary Peter Crispin is to retire next year after 20 years exemplary service. The Trust is inviting applications to join its Management Committee as Secretary and Treasurer. No formal qualifications are necessary, but experience of committees and the management of small budgets is sought. The Committee meets three times a year, in central London or on Zoom. Normal expenses are paid. The RAeC Trust is involved with the preservation of RAeC memorabilia, mostly held at the RAF Museum, and the promotion of air sports through its annual Flying for Youth bursary scheme. So far this has helped over 500 young people, including several BHPA members, to advance their qualifications. Some have gone on to become very successful in various air sports. For a job description, and to apply (by letter and brief CV), contact Peter Crispin at closing date is Monday January 15th 2024. Further information: Farewell Dave Thompson … and thanks! It has been agreed that Dave Thompson, longtime BHPA Senior Technical Officer, will take voluntary redundancy and leave the Association’s employment in December. He will be known to many members as one of the faces of the BHPA’s Club Coaching and Instructor courses; also to many school proprietors as a source of encouragement, inspection, and occasionally enforcement, of BHPA training standards. Dave has been a member of the FSC’s tech team since coming aboard in 1995, having spent several years as a BHPA paragliding instructor. Initially playing a supportive role to Mark Dale, he soon acquired skills and expertise that led to an ever-wider brief, and became Senior Tech Officer on Mark’s departure in 2015. Dave’s contribution to the BHPA’s many operations, and particularly his work in inspecting schools, and in maintaining and integrating our input into the international incident reporting database, BHPA 500 Club WIN CASH PRIZES AND HELP THE ASSOCIATION! September winners Larry Lawes £129.40 Steve Haswell £64.70 Guy Fitzgibbon £32.35 Tom Hardie £19.41 Stephen Flint £16.18 Jim Alexander £16.18 Guy Fitzgibbon £12.94 Kaine Joel £12.94 Charles Blount £9.71 David Wicks £9.71 BHPA £323.48 Winners will note payments of the above sums have been made to the account from which they contribute to the 500 Club by standing order. In case of error, please contact Marc Asquith on 07802 525099.NOVEMBER 2023 SKYWINGS 7 cannot be overestimated. His work, with the other members of the tech team, in delivering many Club Coach, Instructor and Senior Instructor courses each year has been instrumental in presenting the Association to its many disparate clubs and disciplines. A more sombre but essential role has been to work on Formal Investigations, often at short notice and in harrowing circumstances, when there has been a fatality. Always appearing in shorts, even in the depths of winter, Dave has been a constant in the development and presentation of the BHPA and its technical operations for more than 20 years. We wish him well for the future; I for one will miss his wry sense of humour and readiness to help. [JS] In brief Tony Hughes. Champion hang glider pilot Tony Hughes died at a Wiltshire hospice on October 5th, having been diagnosed last year with prostate cancer. In the 1980s he won the European Hang Gliding Championships twice in succession. Earlier he had flown on the British team that won the 1981 World Championships; later he flew on the teams that secured Silver and Bronze medals at World Championships in Germany and Australia. In 1987 he started the Wiltshire Microlight Centre and remained key player in the British microlight world to the end of his life. [An appreciation of Tony’s achievements appears on page 9] Wind puts paid to Glide Gals meet. Sadly, it was too windy for sensible flying in South East Wales on the last weekend in September. The rescheduled Glide Gals meet was cancelled again to avoid pilots making long journeys to reach a blown-out site. Organiser Rhian Ebrey says they will try again next year; organised women’s flying trips abroad are also on the agenda for 2024. Any female pilots wanting to connect can reach out through the Glide Gals social media pages on Facebook or Instagram. They will be added to the women pilots’ Telegram group to keep in touch with others and hear about future activities. Display Authorisation update. Formal evaluation of the Jet Parahawks display team (see Skywings, October) was conducted by BHPA STO Ian Currer. CAA Evaluation Oversight Officer Paul Szluha was also present at Rufforth to revalidate Ian’s Display Authorisation Evaluator’s licence; STO Mark Shaw was able to complete his Evaluator’s licence the following day. Any member who is interested in becoming an authorised display pilot should contact either of these two staff members. Nova pilots of the year. This year's Pilots of the Year awards from Nova went to Austria's Werner Luidolt and Norway's Ole Dalen. Newcomer trophies went to Switzerland's Philipp Hänggi and Ali Heydari of Iran. Werner, a former sailplane pilot, became 2023 Austrian Fun & Safety Class champion and also completed one of the longest triangles (286.5km) ever made on an EN B wing; he also does graphics for Nova. Ole is a well- known video maker in his own right and for Nova. Newcomer Philipp made a 300km Xenon flight this year and ranked well in H&F events; Ali is a well-known Instagram star and Nova brand ambassador. A new award for Lifetime Achievement was made to veteran Roli Mäder, who has remained one of Switzerland's best XC pilots for decades. All winners received an individualised beer mug and a voucher for 400 euros from NOVA as a thank you and memento. AGM reminder. The BHPA 2024 AGM runs at Loughborough University on Saturday February 24th. Any member wishing to raise a discussion topic should email details to the BHPA Office by December 31st. Any member seeking to join the BHPA Exec should contact Chair Jenny nominations must be received at the BHPA Office by Monday November 27th; contact the Office for a form. Nominations are also sought for BHPA Merit Awards. Citations for these must arrive at the BHPA Office by Friday December 22nd. The AGM venue is the Holywell Park Conference Centre, LE11 3GR.8 SKYWINGS NOVEMBER 2023 news Despite inclement conditions the attendance was the best I have seen, with big crowds everywhere. Weather limited the flying displays and the fancy-dress costumes (from over 150 contestants) were worn around the venues rather than flown. Over 110,000 people visited the two sites over six days. There were a lot of new things this year; am examination of the trends will provide a more concise view than a detailed rundown. A notable event on the hang glider front was the display of the Swift 3, a foot launch (or electric powered) Class 2 hang glider. It was announced in 2021 but did not appear last year. Ellipse presented a new kingposted glider with laminate cloth and Technora reinforcements (in three sizes, but with no certification yet), and a new Klipo 2 single- seat trike. This last is definitely SSDR and may be sub-70kg – some design details are not yet frozen. On the paraglider front, most manufacturers now offer a two-line EN C glider, aimed either at top performance or accessibility. Recent additions include Nova’s Codex and Mac Para’s Verve. Sol has announced the Speedup, a two-liner paramotor wing in six sizes with DGAC certification. Small engines for single or dual paramotors are becoming very competitive. It’s not uncommon now for sub-300cc engines to produce nearly 40hp, and some of the more popular manufacturers, including Battellini, Cors- Air and Vittorazi, are offering fuel injection. Fully-enclosed streamlined rivals to Ozone’s Submarine are now available from Gin and Nearbirds. Many of the new models have much longer rear fairings and, at the top of the range, a faired area behind the pilot’s head. La Mouette has entered the fast- deployment parachute market. Their system is based on an airbag, inflated in a split second by a CO2 cartridge, ejecting the parachute from its container (with manual backup); it uses tested technology from sister company Helite, used on airbag protection for motorcyclists and horse riders for the last two decades. Instrument manufacturers have overcome the supply chain problems that led to Electronic Conspicuity, promised last year, not being delivered. Naviter’s Oudie N and the Air3 7.3 are now fully EC capable, and all the Flymaster units (excepting the two basic varios) have a FLARM option to order. Regarding EN C two-liners, and the massive diversification in the types of paragliders available, the consensus amongst designers, test pilots and instructors is that, whilst wings and certification continue to improve, pilot training has not kept up. One designer I spoke to even suggested that easier-to inflate-wings have diminished pilots’ skills. St Hilaire 2023 STEVE UZOCHUKWU SAMPLES A VERY FRENCH FESTIVAL … The 50th Coupe Icare, aka ‘St Hilaire’, took place on the Plateau des Petites Roches and in the valley below at Lumbin, close to Grenoble. The mid-September festival has traditionally offered a large trade exhibition, flying displays, a film festival, the fabled fancy-dress flydown and, more recently, activities for children and a chance to test-fly equipment. Photo: Colin F argher Photo: Colin F argher Photo: Ste ve Uzochukwu Photo: Ste ve Uzochukwu Photo: Ste ve Uzochukwu Aeriane’s slippery Swift 3 Nova’s streamlined X-Alps Artus harness Top-end ATACMS racing harness from Nearbirds Screen, sleeves and the longest tail of the lot for Gin’s latest Genie Race Remember the 1990s Clipo trike? Here’s the updated Clipo 2 from Ellipse – likely to be a Sub-70 when finalised The 41st iteration of the Coupe Icare harvested a superb crop of films. Standards of cameras, affordable gimbals and drones have lifted film-making to new heights. Among a strong entry of paragliding, climbing and skiing films, those with the strongest stories took all the awards. The Gold Prize and a €1,200 cheque went to Du Vent dans la Gueule, (The Wind in my Face). Its story will resonate with anyone injured paragliding, or with close friends or family who’ve suffered that fate. It traces the story of a damaged pilot, badly-performed surgery abroad and better in France to fix the problem, and the painful attempts to fly again: ‘All I wanted was to feel the wind in my face.’ The Special Prize went to Game Hawker, a documentary about a black falconer from a disadvantaged area of the US West Coast, achieving worldwide recognition but still facing discrimination in his own country. The Girl that Found Happiness secured the Press Prize. A dancer, attracted to skydiving to expand her acrobatic art, combines both skills in a stunning aerial dance suspended from a balloon. The two-minute film ends with freefall and a parachute deployment. The Public Prize was won by Merci Soleil, about a base jumper who cycles to his launch sites. He undertakes a month- long Alpine journey, his bike electrified with a large solar panel for pedalling assistance and to charge his devices. The film documents the people he meets and the events he becomes involved with.Tony Hughes 1955-2023 As a teenager Tony won a flying cadetship with the London University Air Squadron. By 1981 he was on the winning British team at the World Hang Gliding Championships in Japan. The following year he won the European Championship at Millau in France, repeating the feat two years later at Vågå in Norway. He also flew on the British team that secured World Championship Silver and Bronze medals in 1983 (Germany) and 1988 (Australia). Abandoning a successful hang gliding school in 1987 to start the Wiltshire Microlight Centre, Tony soon became involved with many developments in the sport, not least the advancement of aerotowing. The new school eventually settled at Yatesbury by the A4 near Marlborough, where he built hangars, workshops and a café. He also had a productive relationship with nearby Pegasus (an offshoot of Solar Wings), filming, testing and suggesting improvements, while continuing to train his own pilots to a very high standard. Ever competitive, in 2004 Tony entered the Bognor Birdman glide event, inspired by his friend Ron Freeman. Ron, with whom he had won the World Championships Gold medal in 1981, had been contesting the £30,000 prize every year since 1994. Ron won the event three times in the early 2010s, but not the big prize for exceeding 100m. In 2014, now at Worthing, Tony flew over 116m, but Ron went further still and scooped the jackpot. Ron shared the prize – already reduced to just £10,000 – with Tony; together they had been pursuing it for years. Tony, flying the same modified Scandal XK, went on to win in 2015, soaring the beach in spiked shoes and Lycra. Meanwhile microlight projects proliferated: a Horten-inspired tailless design, an electric-assisted HPA, a Sherwood Ranger biplane and an electric-powered Swift, yet still leaving time for several motorcycle rebuilds. Not all these plans came to fruition; Tony seemed to get as much satisfaction from the process as the result. When P&M, successor to Pegasus, fell on hard times in 2019 Tony was keen to buy the company, but it was eventually sold to Albatross Systems in Bangalore. In March Tony married his long-term partner Sue, with whom he had found real happiness. His final days were spent at a hospice in Wroughton, where local pilots organised a multiple-microlight fly-by to pay their respects to a remarkable and unique character. Tony is survived by his wife Sue, sister Pam and step-daughters Debbie and Michelle, four step-grandchildren and Tarka the dog. His last and most important message was for men over 50 to get checked for prostate cancer. 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