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Skywings news stories posted online in Dec 2013 are displayed below.
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The Annual General Meeting of the BHPA will be held on Saturday March 1st 2014 at the Belfry Hotel, Nottingham (adjacent to Junction 26 of the M1), starting at 11am. The meeting will be co-located with the BGA AGM and trade exhibition as it has been for the last two years.
It is hoped that members will take the time to turn up to hear how the BHPA Exec has been working on their behalf, to quiz Exec members on their record and put forward ideas for the future direction of the Association.
The AGM will include the election of the Association's Executive Committee (Exec), from which four current members will be standing down and may seek re-election. Martin Baxter, co-opted earlier this year to take on the role of Sites Officer will also be standing.
Any BHPA member considering seeking nomination for election should contact Chairman Marc Asquith or another Exec member to find out what's involved. Application forms, available from the BHPA Office, should be completed and submitted by December 31st. Voting papers and details of candidates, and the BHPA Treasurer's Report, will appear in Skywings' February issue.
Posted: 6 December 2013
It had to happen… up-and-coming hangie Luke Nichol has been snapped up by Atos importer Avian as a sponsored pilot.
Luke is clearly a man in a hurry; this year he secured 5th place in the rigid-glider XC League and flew on the British team at the Class 5 Pre-World Championships. He is a prolific blogger (see lukenicol.blogspot.com) and YouTube contributor, and is clearly on his way in the competition world.
When Luke was looking to trade up from his elderly Axxess rigid, Steve Elkins was able to offer him sponsorship to fly an Atos VR. "Luke is a super-keen young up-and-coming pilot," he says, "and we need more like him in our sport." Look out world!
Posted: 6 December 2013
Karen Skinner sets paramotor height record
On October 8th British pilot Karen Skinner set a new world female paramotor height record of 6250m above sea level at Castejon de Sos in Spain.
She had reached 5400m the day before but was driven down by an oxygen problem. A few days earlier Karen had climbed 3000m in just over 22 minutes to beat her own 2009 World Record of 30 minutes.
She was flying a Thor 200-powered PAP 1450 under a Niviuk Artik 3 wing.
Posted: 6 December 2013
Pat Dower's 2014 pilot-development programme includes a completely new Advanced XC seminar with multiple British record holder Barney Woodhead.
Aimed at pilots who already have a decent understanding of XC flying, it will unpick the differences between OK pilots and the great XC fliers. Pat will also be repeating his highly successful XC Development Workshop for less-experienced XC pilots and those just starting.
The Competition Preparation and Masterclass will run again too, catering for pilots without competition experience and those with some success who seek to increase their knowledge of technique and strategy.
Finally, Pat's ground-based remote coaching Performance Coaching package will run for a third year in 2014. Full details and dates are at www.patdower.co.uk.
Posted: 6 December 2013
Further information about the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association and skywings magazine can be found on the about the BHPA and Skywings magazine pages on this website.
