Skywings news stories are available for the following publication years:
If you're looking for news stories published before January 2016, please visit the Skywings News Archive.
Skywings news stories published in all non archived years are displayed below.
News stories published in the years listed above can also be searched by post date or headline (title).
To search by post date, please enter the month and year numerically as mm-yyyy (eg. 03-2016).
There are 451 news stories for all non archived years in our database.
Displaying page 7 out of 57
[ Top ] - [ Prev ] - [ Next ] - [ Bottom ]
Paul Harvey, Mike Armstrong and Steward Red took 8th, 9th and 10th places, with Tim King 12th, Ricardo Marques Da Costa 19th, Nigel Bray 20th and Neil Atkinson 27th. Apart from Ricardo and Neil's VRs, the Atos VQ was the weapon of choice. Austria's Chris Friedl took the overall win and Germany took Bronze.
In Class 1 the Brits finished 5th overall, led by Gordon Rigg in 21st and Dave Matthews in 24th places. Steve Penfold was 33rd, Soperman 39th, Darren Brown 42nd and Malcolm Brown 49th. Team winners were the Czech Republic ahead of Australia and Italy. Frenchman Mario Alonzi was the overall winner. Full results are here.
Posted: 5 August 2024
By: J. Schofield
Due to the large number of serious accidents that have occurred at Dune of Pilat (Pyla), pilots wishing to fly this site must now complete a online registration form before flying this site.
When completing the form, you will be asked to supply details of your third party insurance cover, and to confirm that you agree to abide by site rules and recommendations. The FFVL have agreed that BHPA members should simply enter 'BHPA' and their BHPA membership number under third party insurance details.
Posted: 24 July 2024
By: Paul Dancey
The 1st FAI World Paramotor Endurance Championship takes place between the 3rd and 10th of August, at Manston airport in Kent, hosted by the Paramotor Competitions Panel of the BHPA.
83 pilots from 17 countries are now expected to attend this historic event, including 10 British pilots.
It is a rare and exciting opportunity to host an FAI Cat. 1 championship on home turf. In order to help manage and keep all these pilots flying safely, the Marshal team would welcome extra support, particularly from BHPA members who are insured and familiar with paramotor deck safety issues.
Marshalling is the best way to see all the action from the front row, and a great way for pilots in training to learn from seeing the top pilots in the world fly. No prior experience necessary, our experienced existing team will provide all the training you need.
Camping on site is free for marshals, 3 meals a day are provided, and a free competition T shirt. No need to commit for the full period either, even 2 or 3 days would be very welcome.
And hopefully you'll get to see the British Paramotor Team with medals in their hands!
If you are interested in helping, please complete the expression of interest form linked below and the chief marshals Simon Pitchford and Lynne Orgovanyi will be in touch.
Marshal Volunteers Expression of Interest
Posted on behalf of Barney Townsend
BHPA Paramotor Competitions Panel Chair
Championship Director
Posted: 18 July 2024
By: Paul Dancey
Woody Valley have issued a critical safety notice for their X-R7 harness.
Misconfiguration of the deployment system can result in an accidental parachute deployment. This can be rectified by fitting nylon washers available from your dealer. The Safety Notice, marked 'Critical: inspection mandatory before flying', covers serial numbers from #0001-1838.
A copy of the safety notice is available in the Importer & Manufacturer Safety Notices section of this website, and on the DHV website
Posted: 13 July 2024
By: Paul Dancey
Finsterwalder have issued a safety notice for Paralock 3 carabiners.
Risers have been released unintentionally when used in conjunction with a speed system. Carabiners must must be double-locked before take-off unless precautions have been taken to prevent the release button from becoming wrapped around in flight.
A copy of the safety notice is available in the Importer & Manufacturer Safety Notices section of this website.
Posted: 13 July 2024
By: Paul Dancey
Advance have issued a safety Notice for their Progress 3 and Easiness 2 Harnesses (certain serial numbers)
In a reported incident the yellow plastic release splint came away from the reserve handle so that the parachute could not be released. Owners of these harnesses (Progress 3 harnesses with serial numbers lower than 1147390, and Easiness 2 harnesses with serial numbers lower than 1147140) must immediately inspect the reserve handle - the handle and reserve container may need to be changed before the next flight. Replacements will be provided by Advance free of charge.
Full details are available on the Advance website, A copy of the safety notice can also be found on the manufacturer and importer safety notices page in the Safety Section of our website.
Posted: 5 June 2024
By: Paul Dancey
A pilot flying a paraglider at a coastal site recently reported a failure of the aluminium Brummel hook (sometimes called sister hooks) that connected his paraglider's speed bar. This pilot flew regularly at the coast, and when checking found that the hooks on both sides had been badly corroded, almost certainly as a result of repeated exposure to sea air.
The connection point was enclosed in a neoprene sheath and the damage was not apparent until the covering had been peeled away.
Following this report, FSC has issued a Safety Advisory to draw attention to the possible corrosion of aluminium parts resulting from repeated exposure to sea air.
A full copy of the advisory issued is available on the Safety Advisories page in the Safety Section of this website.
Posted: 5 June 2024
By: Paul Dancey
June 1st: Despite the presence of a very strong French team, the British team took the lead after the 7th task and didn't look back. Maxime Pinot led from Day 2 and took individual Gold.
Seb Ospina won the 4th task and remained in strong contention throughout, climbing the rankings to take individual Silver. Dylan Mansley flew extremely well, holding 6th place at one point to eventually finish 18th. The French pilots faltered on Task 7 and were never able to catch up, eventually setting for team Silver ahead of Slovenia. Top woman Constance Mettetal led from Day 1 to take Gold.
Hats off to Seb, Dylan, Martin Long, Richard Meek, Jacob Butterworth Grant Oseland and Magdalena Janaway on a brilliant win ... and to Maxime Pinot, Constance Mettetal and the French team!
Posted: 1 June 2024
By: Joe Schofield
last updated: 30 July 2026
Displaying page 7 out of 57
[ Top ] - [ Prev ] - [ Next ] - [ Bottom ]
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.
