Welcome to the Skywings news archive.
Skywings news stories posted online in Oct 2014 are displayed below.
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If you're looking for stories posted after December 2015, please visit our Skywings News page.
Letters of Agreement - Urgent Action Required
Flawed CAA implementation of the Standard European Rules of the Air (SERA)legislation means that widespread Air Law changes will emerge in a last-minute rush before the December deadline, and with Rules more draconian than the BHPA had been led to believe. As we go to press it is still not known exactly what the new Rules will be.
It is anticipated that there will be adverse effects upon some airspace Letters of Agreement (LoAs) that Clubs, Schools and Tow Groups currently have. In order to try and limit the damage when the new Rules are known it is important that the BHPA reviews all existing LoAs. BHPA Clubs, Schools and Tow Groups should e-mail copies of all existing LoAs to Airspace Legislation Officer Tom Hardie (tom@primarysolution.co.uk) as soon as possible.
Updated: 7 October 2014
Wendy Windblows - business as usual
Rod Buck is keen to emphasise that the Wendy Windblows network will be operating as usual despite his recent accident.
Rod fell off (another) roof in August and was hospitalized with fractures and other inevitable complications. However he was soon back at home and tormenting anyone nearby.
The entire Wendy network has been serviced over the last six months and is unlikely to require major work any time soon; new faster running software and live web cams remain in the pipeline and Rod intends to start rolling them out in the Spring.
In the meantime, subscriptions and other aspects of the operation are being handled by Lynn. Further updates can be found at www.wendywindblows.com or on the WendyWindblows Facebook page.
Posted: 7 October 2014
BHPA members can now renew their membership by using Paypal. The relevant amount can be sent to Paypal using the identifier 'payments@bhpa.co.uk', including the sender's BHPA membership number in the comments box provided.
Licence holders such as instructors or coaches who need their membership form counter-signed will need to send this in separately; without such a signature from your club or school your licence will not be renewed.
We hope that the Paypal system will make life easier for the ordinary member who just wishes to continue their membership.
Posted: 7 October 2014
As previously announced, the 2015 BHPA AGM will take place at the Belfry Hotel, Nottingham (adjacent to Junction 26 of the M1) on Saturday 7th March 2015 in tandem with the BGA's AGM and trade exhibition.
Any BHPA member seeking nomination for election should contact Chairman Marc Asquith to find out what's involved. Application forms, available from the BHPA Office, should be submitted by 31st December 2014.
Topics for discussion at the member's forum, held directly after the AGM, should be notified to the BHPA Chairman by 31st January 2015.
Nominations for BHPA Awards of Merit, to acknowledge conspicuous service to a club or clubs, comps or free flying in general, should be sent to the BHPA office, accompanied by a suitable citation, by 31st January 2015.
Posted: 7 October 2014
The BHPA's underwriters have confirmed that they are happy with the new definition of single-seat de-regulated microlights that came into effect on 29th May.
Thus single-seat fixed-wing microlights of up to 300kg loaded weight (315kg if fitted with a ballistic recovery system) can now be flown by any BHPA member, and will be covered by BHPA 3rd-party insurance, as long as the required legal requirements for such microlight operations have been complied with.
For further information please download our Fact sheet.
Updated: 7 October 2014
Greg Knudson's 200km out-and-return speed mark of 36.22km/h (Ozone R11) set from Nyeru, Kenya, in January, has been homologated by the FAI as an official world record.
Kenya-resident British pilot Hunter Marrian's tandem 100km out-and-return speed of 33.17km/h, set from the same site the following day, with Felix Wolk on board, has also been ratified as a world record.
The records exceed Marko Novak's 2006 record and Brett Janaway's 2011 tandem record.
Posted: 7 October 2014
The FAI has also homologated Jonny Durand's remarkable 100 and 300km out-and-return hangie speed records of 90.41 and 71.28km/h, set in Australia's Nullabor National Park on 28 January on a Moyes Litespeed RX 3.5.
These flights exceed the existing 1998 records, held by Rohan Holtkamp and Tomas Suchanek, by around 20% and 25% respectively!
Posted: 7 October 2014
The FAI has also ratified the class 5 hang gliding triangle speed and distance record set in Namibia on the last day of 2013 by Germany's Jochen Zeyer. Jochen, flying an Atos VR from Burgsdorf, set a 405.3km triangle distance and a 400km triangle speed of 49.3km/h; both records were previously unset.
Posted: 7 October 2014
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.
