No. 437 SEPTEMBER 2025 The magazine of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association 2 SKYWINGS SEPTEMBER 2025 attitude This is an invitation for people interested, or who know someone suitable, in becoming hang gliding aerotow tug pilots on a visit to the Isle of Wight! Aerotowing hang gliders is the future and best launch method for free flight. OK, not everyone agrees with that; we’re a minority. There are very few hang gliders compared to paragliders, and few aerotow hang gliders compared to hillbillies. However some of us that do prefer aerotowing would like to grow it. Rather like winch flying, it is a sociable effort to crew the operations. Tea and cake for everyone before take-off. Land back by your car after a few hours flying. Get picked up by your mate if you bomb out. Barbecues at the end of the day. Overnight camping, and do it again the next day. UK aerotowing began when Ben Ashman acquired a Cosmos trike and Northampton pioneers demonstrated the method to the BHPA. The Northampton Aerotow Club operated from Blisworth before selling its tug in the late 2000s. For a number of years the BHPA’s annual ‘All Out!’ flying events included aerotowing, with the Northampton, Upottery and other clubs in attendance. From 1995 to 2017 the Notts Aerotow Club, based near Newark, won the BHPA Club XC trophy six times, and Gary Wirdnam set the UK Class 1 defined triangle record from there at 115km. The current UK aerotow groups are: • Cambridge Aerotow Club (CAC). Started in Norfolk with Tony and Rona Webb in 1992, moved to Sutton Meadows near Ely in 2000 and changed from an XL to a FoxTug in 2018. It has 27 members, 2 training members, 4 tug pilots, 1 senior coach and 2 aerotow coaches, and operates about 30 days a year. It helps Tony Smith (Redkite) train students to hang glide on tandem aerotow. Members also fly with MATG at Sibson. • Malvern Aerotow Club (MAC) at Turf Farm near Worcester. Donald MacKenzie started the club in May 2010 and developed the FoxTug with Flylight. It has 25 members, 5 tug pilots, 3 senior coaches and 9 aerotow coaches, and operates about 29 days a year. • Upottery Aerotow at Smeatharpe near Honiton. Started aerotowing in Mayenne, France with Ben Ashman in May 1993 after 8 years of winching. Acquired an XL Tug in 1993, its members aerotow trained by Tony and Rona Webb. Today Upottery has 20 members and 7 tug pilots, 2 senior coaches and 4 aerotow coaches, and operates maybe 10 days a year. • Midland Aero Towing Group (MATG) at Sibson near Nuneaton. Has two tugs including the UK’s only 3-axis tug, 11 members and 2 tug pilots, 2 senior coaches and 2 aerotow coaches. Members also fly with CAC at Sutton Meadows. • Avon Aerotow Group, operated by Chris Jones and Nigel Martin since 2004. The club has relocated its Pegasus XL tug and equipment to the Isle of Wight (IOW). With Nigel and Angie Martin and Vince Masi based on the Island, and me visiting often, we have a core team. The aim is to help existing pilots train or build experience as flex-wing microlight pilots and become tug pilots. The Island is a great place for a flying visit; with a little preparation we can offer travel over and accommodation. We’ve seen some different modes of aerotow operation other than the small, local club model. For the past 15 years, aerotowing in Spain has been done during the first week in June as a tour from airfield to airfield across the country, following the best weather. The start location is undecided until the day before, then announced in time for everyone to be able to travel. The operation is set up there for a day, moving to the next airfield for the following day, giving pilots the chance to fly there. In the UK, in the decades since ‘All Out!’, we have had three aerotow events at Sutton Meadows, the recent (2022-2024) Great British Aerotow Revivals (GBAR) at Deenethorpe, and this year the MiniBAR at Sutton Meadows. Fundamental to aerotowing is having people doing their fair share of crewing the operation. Too often we find the majority of tasks are done by a minority. To operate at all we need tug pilots and senior aerotow coaches. To operate on the day we need a minimum of one aerotow coach and one tug pilot. Sadly, many aerotow pilots don’t have either qualification, even though it may only take a few days to get signed off as an aerotow coach. Thus aerotow operations become unsustainable if the people that do the heavy lifting move away or get fed up. To become a tug pilot the BHPA requires 50 hours on a weight-shift microlight, or 25 hours plus 125 hours on a weight-shift hang glider or 3-axis microlight. This brings us back to the reason for our offer on the IOW. Rather than retire the Avon tug we have kept it, and on the IOW we have a local tug pilot and senior aerotow coach that can facilitate those that wish to gain currency, ratings and licences to aerotow again in future. Contact us An invitation to aerotow and tug pilots NIGEL BRAY, LONGTIME HANG GLIDER PILOT Photo: Richard Sheppard4 SKYWINGS SEPTEMBER 2025 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. E- COVER PHOTO Colin Fargher and Ozone’s Rush 6 above Lake Annecy. Photo: Colin Fargher THIS PAGE Alpine vol-bivouac with Markus Grundhammer and friends above the Stubai valley, Austria. Photo: Skyman 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 Email: SKYWINGS ONLINE All issues of Skywings magazine are now freely available at DEADLINES News items and event/competition reports for the November issue must be submitted to the Skywings office by Monday September 29th. Letters for the October Airmail pages should arrive no later than Friday September 19th. Advertisement bookings for the October edition must arrive by Friday September 12th. Copy and classified bookings no later than the following Friday September 19th.SEPTEMBER 2025 SKYWINGS 56 SKYWINGS SEPTEMBER 2025 news SE Wales Bash: small but perfectly formed! In July the South East Wales Club delivered the 2025 Magic Bash over a glorious weekend of flying, music, beer and food. 150 pilots and their families descended upon the Glanusk Estate near Crickhowell to enjoy two BCC rounds (see page 14) and free flying, predominately from Pandy. Early risers were fortified by Pippa Canning’s amazing coffee wagon. Many personal bests were blown out of the park, with a number of 100km+ flights being achieved. The BCC pilots returned to the festival in time to take part in a fantastic evening of music from two bands, a delicious hog roast barbecue and the return of the Cocktail Horse Box. Bigger and better than last year, say all concerned. The club promise even more for next year! ‘The Magic Bash was a first for our team, and what a blast we had!’ said Paul Bingham. ‘Superbly organised, great company, wonderful food and amazing entertainment, to name a few highlights. It’s a place where the whole community comes together – seasoned XC pilots, novice pilots and hike&fly enthusiasts – to talk or partake in the pleasures of free flight. Children could explore the beautiful Glanusk estate and dance on stage; dogs were free to roam and grown-ups could sunbathe, or hike and fly from Pen Cerrig! Roll on 2026!’ ‘Even though I’m not a paraglider, I thoroughly enjoyed the Bash,’ said Kaan Ucele’s partner Vicky. The atmosphere was relaxed, with everyone friendly and welcoming. I was super- happy to see so many people at my yoga session on the Saturday. The live music was great, and I have to say, as a vegetarian, that the food was excellent. I’ll be going again for sure!’ Antoine’s 3,000km vol-biv In June Antoine Girard completed a stupendous vol-bivouac flight along the length of the US and Canadian Rockies aboard an Ozone Zeolite. His odyssey began at the US/Mexico border and ended at Prince George in British Columbia after 2,940km. He walked or flew the entire route except for 150km from Los Angeles to the southern end of the Owens Valley, and again across the Snake River valley from Nevada into Idaho. ‘The landscapes of the US and Canada have long been a dream of mine,’ he reported. ‘But in the USA there’s a big constraint: the strong westerly wind. Any route that runs slightly east to west should be avoided, and the choice quickly narrows.’ On some days he was able to fly up to 300km; on others progress was more halting. He also had to contend with snakes and bears. Antoine made the trip in company with a film director Rodolphe Fablet, and several local pilots who flew some of the way with them. ‘In the end,’ he says, ‘the crossing lasted 28 days including two rest days. I flew 2,400km and missed out a potential 500km by car. The sun was generous, as was the northwest wind. If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t hesitate to travel from north to south.’ Antoine is no stranger to huge vol-biv adventures; he has flown in the X- Alps four times, made innumerable big flights in the Himalayas, flown the length of New Zealand’s South Island (2015), crossed the Andes from west to east (2019) and flown across Norway (2020). New BHPA techie Following an exacting recruitment process, the BHPA has taken on paraglider pilot Jack Sewell, 28, as an Assistant Technical Officer. Jack will take on some of the role that will be relinquished by Ian Currer on his eventual retirement. Jack is a Mechanical Engineering graduate from North Wales with an outdoors background. Following a post-grad education qualification he spent three years teaching maths and engineering. Initially trained to fly by Dennis Trott and later Brad Nicholas, he has been a TI at Snowdon Gliders since 2024. An accomplished climber, Jack has secured good results in the X-Lakes, X-Eryri and Dragon H&F races Caitlin Bingham and dad Paul at the SE Wales bash – no further words necessary! Photo: P aul Bingham Photo: Kaan Ucele Vicky Ucele leads yoga at the Bash Lock in peace of mind with cover made for the skies Get tailored life insurance, income protection and critical illness cover for hang gliding and paragliding Apply today or compare our rates with your current cover Sports Financial Services Ltd is an appointed representative of Suttons Independent Financial Advisers Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales. Registered No. 493197. Call today 0345 565 0935in the last couple of years. He joined the BHPA Tech Team on September 1st and will spend time at the Leicester office getting to know BHPA staff and systems. He will also shadow Mark Shaw and Ian Currer on school inspections and examinations, and later deliver sessions at BHPA instructor and club coach courses. X-Pyr film wins top prize Jaroslav Jindra’s X-Pyr 2024 – The Pyrenean Challenge took the Best Aerial Sports Film prize at the 25th El Yelmo Film Festival in July. The film follows last year’s 600km race across the Pyrenees, from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean in seven days. The El Yelmo festival is Spain’s premier celebration of mountain, sports and environmental cinema. The film features absolutely breathtaking vistas amid scenes of serious hardcore hike&fly. Watch it at Hedley’s progress Last seen making his first solo paramotor flight the day after his 14th birthday, Northern youngster Hedley Maher has already passed his CP and Power environment exams. Last we heard he was waiting for the weather to play ball so that Pennine Club Chief Coach Simon Baillie can assess his flying for the Paragliding Hill environment. Hedley and dad Peter are planning an east-west coast-to-coast paramotor flight in the near future. By mid-August Hedley had amassed 50 hours and 33 minutes airtime; he turned 15 on the 16th! In brief Urgent club action required! The CAA has launched a very time-limited review of some of the Letters of Agreement (LoAs) between BHPA clubs and air traffic control units. Parts of the review make sense, others represent a serious risk to some sites. The CAA has listed some affected clubs, but there are suspicions that this list is incomplete. For efficiency, FSC recommends that all work on this is focused through former GAA airspace lead Tom Hardie, who is heading the BHPA response. If your club has one or more LoAs and isn’t in contact with Tom over this New advice on overseas flying. BHPA advice on flying abroad has been updated to embrace overseas legal systems that may operate differently from those of the UK. If you are involved in an incident in which another pilot or a member of the public is injured you may not enjoy the same legal protections as in the UK, including the presumption of innocence. The updated document outlines sensible precautions to take before departure, not least sharing itinerary details with friends at home, carrying emergency contact details elsewhere than on your phone, and checking Government travel advice at the FCDO website. And, of course, buying comprehensive travel insurance that covers flying. Find the new document at Hangie triangle record! On August 10th Steve Blackler reset the UK Class 1 hang gliding triangle record to 151km from Sutton Meadows. Nigel Bray had set a task with a long into-wind leg from Spalding to Kettering to take advantage of the day's strongest thermals. In the absence of a CAC tug pilot, Charlie Richardson sacrificed his own flying day to provide a series of perfect tows. However Nigel had to wait hours for a relight, missing the opportunity to fly the task despite an amazing low save from 300ft. Steve completed the triangle in 6.5 hours, topping out at over 6,500ft, to lift Carl Wallbank's 2022 record of 142km; he now holds the UK records for open and defined triangle distance, plus winch-launched open distance. Turkey tandem clampdown. Turkish authorities have tightened the regulations governing tandem flying. Commercial tandem pilots are now limited to five flights per day, registered with Kapadokya University. There are now two levels of qualification: T1 allows a pilot to fly non-paying passengers; T2, to be applied for after logging the required flights/hours, is required to fly paying passengers. Tandem wings must also be registered to an individual pilot or tandem company and have a current airworthiness certificate. [Report: Fred Winstanley] AGM deadlines. The BHPA’s 2026 AGM runs at the Leicester Office on Saturday February 28th. There will be at least three vacancies on the Exec team; nominations to stand for for election must be received by Friday November 28th; members wishing to raise a discussion topic should email details by the same date. Nominations and citations for BHPA Merit Awards should also arrive by November 28th. in all cases. Flexwing gathering. Ian Currer advertised BHPA-style power flying at the annual Flexwing Adventurers fly-in at Clench Common, Wilts in July. Led by former British hang gliding champ Graham Slater, veteran of several Worlds teams and now proprietor of GS Aviation, 50+ pilots listened to Ian eulogising Sub-70 and paramotor flying. Also present: Brian Milton, Darren Arkwright and several other former hangies. Justin Puthod again! Flying a 150km triangle from Chamonix at 38.07km/h on July 12th, netted France’s Justin Puthod World and European (General and Junior) record claims. The flight brings Justin’s current tally of FAI speed and distance claims to 12. Sywell HPF rally. Early September should have seen an informal four-day HPA gathering at Sywell. Organised by the Aerocyle team, the Derek Piggott Autumn Rally was to focus on more sporting aircraft, attempt triangle and slalom flights (weather permitting) and feature a talk by Airglow designer John McIntyre. The rally was to be postponed in the event of poor weather. 8 SKYWINGS SEPTEMBER 2025 news BHPA 500 Club WIN CASH PRIZES AND HELP THE ASSOCIATION! July winners Brian Gittings £133.80 Gordon R Moore £66.90 Richard Braley £33.45 Henry Hookings £20.07 Mark Howe £16.73 Peter Tustin £16.73 Keith Eaton £13.38 Robert Clarke £13.38 Patrick Bryne £10.04 Scott Machin £10.04 BHPA £334.48 Winners will note that 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.Airprox report At about 1530 on November 27th 2024, in good visibility, an RAF Hawk instructor, in the rear seat of the lead aircraft of a two- aircraft formation recovering to RAF Valley, saw a blue canopy with black lining about 200ft below their port wing. The No. 2 aircraft became visual with it at the same time. The pilots spotted the canopy as the conflict passed and no avoiding action was taken. The collision risk was assessed as Low. The sighting was at 600ft, south-east of Valley, outside the ATZ but within the CMATZ and close to the approach path in use. The sighting was immediately broadcast to all stations. A vertical restriction – not joining below 2000ft – was implemented and all circuit traffic instructed to land. Though initially reported as a paraglider, the canopy was later identified as a paramotor by another RAF aircraft; visual contact was maintained until around 16:15. Despite extensive enquiries the UKAB was unable to establish contact with the pilot. An investigation by RAF Valley established that the Hawks came within an estimated 200ft of the paramotor: ‘Although the paramotor pilot was operating within the law, it would be fair to say that they were operating with poor awareness of the hazard of flying in the approach lane of a busy fast-jet base. The Hawks had no awareness of the paramotor until it was too late to do anything about it.’ The Airprox Board’s BHPA rep. conducted extensive enquiries on Anglesey and concluded that the paramotor pilot was unlikely to have been a BHPA member. ‘Fortunately the vast majority of UK paramotorists act responsibly and have received theoretical training via BHPA schools and clubs.’ He suggested that RAF Valley media ops might impress local media into highlighting the dangers of flying a paramotor, unannounced, inside a busy CMATZ, and the adverse effect this had had on Valley’s operations. The Board reported that paramotor pilot’s actions had been well handled by RAF Valley but had resulted in disruption to operations. These consequences could have been entirely avoided with a little thought and communication from the paramotor pilot. Safety had been much reduced, resulting in a classification of Risk Category B: Safety not assured. Airprox Report No. 2024290 can be read in full on the UKAB website at BHPA Club Coach courses The dates of four autumn and winter Club Coach courses have been announced. They are aimed at giving BHPA pilots a better understanding of the process of coaching: passing on their hard- earned wisdom to less-experienced pilots. The courses also hand on new techniques and understanding about flying, safety, flight planning, goal setting, glider inspection and airworthiness, equipment issues and much more. Pilots completing the course become better at communicating their own knowledge and getting pilots they are helping to achieve more; they also come away full of new insights and awith greater understanding of their own flying. A BHPA Club Coach course is about the only post-CP coaching that you can get that isn’t specifically aimed at SIV or XC flying, although it touches on both. And, at £35 for a weekend, it’s very good value (refresher/revalidation: £25). To book a place, contact the organisers listed above. LATE NEWS: There will also be an Emergency Parachute Systema (EPS) Course at Lilleshall on November 19th-20th. Book direct with Stef Formal Investigation summaries Frank Lally. On 4th October 2022, BHPA Pilot rated member Frank Lally launched his BGD Cure 2 paraglider from the 1900m south-facing take-off at Mount Babadag, Oludeniz, Turkey. Conditions were thermic, and Frank soared close to the summit ridge for several minutes. Approximately four minutes into the flight his wing suffered a collapse and entered a nose-down spiral dive. On-board camera footage showed no effective recovery inputs or emergency parachute deployment. Frank impacted the slope around 130m below the point of collapse and sustained fatal injuries. The BHPA investigation concluded that the incident resulted from a loss of control in strong thermic conditions. Key contributing factors were the pilot’s limited currency, his choice of an EN C wing with dynamic handling characteristics, and the decision to ridge soar, close to terrain, in active air and its associated turbulence. Members are reminded of the risks of flying close to terrain in thermic conditions, the importance of choosing a wing appropriate to their experience level, and the need to act decisively by deploying their emergency parachute if they have lost control of their aircraft close to terrain. Further guidance is available via the EN Classes document Fabian Walch. On 1st June 2024, German national Fabian Walch was flying his Flare Line 11m2 speed flying paraglider from Robinson in the Lake District. He had been attending the Buttermere Bash and had made several speed flying flights in the days preceding the incident. Fabian had hiked to a take-off area with a group of other flyers. Finding strong conditions the others decided to walk down, however Fabian continued to the summit of Robinson. When he had not returned to the camping area, fellow pilots raised the alarm and organised a search party. His body was found on the morning of June 2nd. A BHPA Investigation revealed, from his Insta 360 camera footage, that Fabian had launched from the summit of Robinson and flown towards the Hassnesshow Beck, a gully running perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction at the time. He experienced a significant asymmetric collapse in close proximity to the ground and sustained injuries consistent with a forceful impact. The Investigation recommended that BHPA members be reminded of the importance of carefully selecting suitable meteorological conditions, and being aware of turbulence in the lee of upwind obstructions, especially when considering proximity flying. When combined with the rapid departure from flight of highly-loaded wings, there is very little time to recover to normal flight before impacting the ground. Human factors may have influenced Fabian’s decision to launch in marginal conditions. The Investigation recommended that pilots are reminded of the human factors mnemonic I AM SAFE when assessing their fitness to fly. The full reports will be available shortly at SEPTEMBER 2025 SKYWINGS 9 BHPA Club Coaching courses Oct 11-12 Ulster Tom Carson Nov 15-16 Thames V. Nigel Bray 07795 047872 Dec 06-07 Wessex Neil Russell Jan 17-18 Derbyshire Guy Richardson 07966 229963 safety mattersNext >