Week 3

As we’re about to start the 3^rd week of what is still a soft lockdown, here’s a brief update from the point of view of the PSC. Again, a massive vote of thanks to all of you for keeping temptation at bay and keeping your gliders and harnesses lovingly stored away in warm dry places. Whether you’re new to this and are in the first flush of enthusiasm, itching to try out your newly-earned wings, a seasoned XC hound staring wistfully up at the cloud streets, or part of the majority who just enjoy the sheer pleasure of floating about in the sky, it’s a real struggle to stay positive and fight the urge to say “sod it, I’m going flying, what’s the harm?”

The potential harm is incalculable. Every trip out means some sort of contact, whether it’s fuelling at the petrol pump, your hand on the latch of the farm gate or stile, or just walking too close to someone who has just coughed up a few billion virus particles (without being aware they’re carrying). Never mind the possible consequences of a crash.

Whatever your view of the decisions made by the authorities, and some invite serious questions, now is not the time to challenge or defy them. No one knows which of the varying approaches tried by different countries will turn out to be the best; we are in this now for the foreseeable future.

Please continue to heed the instructions: stay home, no unnecessary journeys. People are like sheep, so for everyone parking somewhere nice, or ground-handling in a field, two more will see this and think it’s OK for them to do it too. There are plenty of countries where the lockdown is being much more strongly enforced than here. Let’s keep it civilised and voluntary while we can, as the consequences could be the loss of the freedoms we enjoy. Matt Hancock was very clear today that outdoor exercise could be banned if people continue to flout the regulations. Pilots should be among the most responsible groups of people, so don’t let it be one of us who hits the headlines.

Thank you, PSC committee.

In case you were wondering: Virally Inconvenienced Pilots Enduring Restrictions

Hello fellow sky friends,
It's been a very difficult time the last few week's, and I'm sure everyone's thoughts are with the families who have lost loved ones.

Everything seems to have stopped at the moment, work, social events, sports, and our Pennine playground.
It does give masses of time to think about things paragliding related, possibly xc flights, training, kit, holidays, brushing up on theory, or just day dreaming of aimlessly floating around your local hill in good company, without a care in the world.

Personal plans for when normality has resumed is.....fly!
Just before the sh*t storm hit mother earth I bought a new little wing. A mini wing/speed wingythingy . Sol Attak 20, in red!
I'd wanted to make the transition for a while, to have a second wing that’s more practical on stronger wind days, when the standard PG is grounded. I didn't want an all-out speed machine for the close terrain proximity rush, just something in between.
I'd had a quick test fly a few years ago on a Niviuk roller 16 (thanks to Barney) , I really enjoyed it, just a bit to hot for me though.
The Attak seems to be aimed more at beginners, described as built with safety in mind over performance.
I ordered through Ginger nomad paragliding shop, owned by Guy Richardson who's an all round nice bloke, and a pleasure to deal with.
 
It took a few week's to arrive from Brazil, definitely worth the wait and very satisfying opening up a super crispy new wing.
One thing also strikingly impressive is how neat they are folded and packed from the factory. After a good inspection layed out in the garden at home, it didn't quite pack away as neat, so maybe I'm not as good as the Brazilian factory wing folder, but who cares.
The wings construction looks to be of excellent quality, tough durable material that should last, not the lightest though. Sheathed lines coloured for easy identification, nice size brake handles on swivels, magnetic clips, standard trimmers plus brumels for optional speed bar set up.

First flight was on Parlick East, 15+mph wind speed.
The take off was effortless and predictable, it seems to be nice and responsive with a feeling of it being very solid overhead. Weight shift and break inputs positioned the wing smooth and precise in flight, with a little bit of constant brake pressure to feel what's going on above. I didn't test full use of the speed range, it had a good constant forward speed even in the strongest gusts, so I left the trimmers and speed bar alone.

After about half hour of soaring that was plenty enough for me on this test flight, so i cautiously headed for a bottom landing, trying to judge the glide and sink rate to take on board for future flights. It was very strong in the landing field, and with a final flare only a few steps forward was needed, and that was that!
Very impressed and happy.
 
Stay home, stay safe, see you on a hill soon.

Regards
Barry Sayer

Some wise words from North of the border, equally applicable here. A considered approach to ensuring our sport has a future beyond the present crisis:

Are you fit and safe to fly?

As we approach the first potentially flyable days in Scotland since COVID-19 has started to have significant effects on our daily lives, we must carefully consider our individual responsibilities, both as recreational users of the sky and potential health service users, before venturing out to fly.

Many of us will have flown rarely over the last 3-6 months, some of us fly rarely throughout the year, some of us are in our first years of being pilots, and all of us are facing the start of spring conditions in Scotland. No matter who you are, if you choose to fly in the following weeks and months, you will be at higher risk of injuring yourself, potentially diverting health care from those who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19.

No matter if we are gently soaring a grassy hill, sand dunes, or simply ground handling, we put ourselves at risk EVERY time we put our harnesses on. Our greatest skill is to judge when the potential risk does not justify the reward of flight. At the moment, the consequences of misjudging our risk are far greater than normal. Free-flight is a completely non-essential activity, therefore every first responder, search and rescue member, ambulance, helicopter, hospital bed, nurse, doctor, and surgeon utilised because of a flying incident is a completely avoidable waste of resources, and this is exactly how it will be seen by the general public, who often only know about paragliding through accidents that reach the news.

Any incident during the COVID-19 response period will carry far greater negative consequences for the entire free-flying community. One or two poor judgements could carry enough negative press, induce enough public disappointment, and attract enough interest from the authorities to result in a hard ban on free-flight for the foreseeable future. If the general public opinion of free-flight drifts towards the 'unnecessarily risky' end of the scale, this could have dire consequences for the survival of the sport in a future where use of the sky becomes increasingly regulated.

If you do head out to fly over the coming weeks and months, please, for the sake of everyone else, ask yourself some hard questions:

Have I had little or no flying in the past months?
Am I unfamiliar with the site?
Is the launch difficult, daunting, or unforgiving of mistakes?
Have others ever been concerned about my attitude, competency, or safety? (Be particularly honest with yourself on this one)
Are the forecast or actual conditions even slightly concerning to me?

Now is not the time to be doing anything fancy with your free-flying, to be pushing your limits, nor to be drawn off the hill just because others are flying and you don't want to miss out. If you answered yes to any of the above questions, don't fly.

On the other hand, if you can objectively prove to yourself that it's safe for you to fly, go for it, enjoy, and please don't sneak under the radar. Continue to let someone know your intentions, discuss conditions with other pilots (while adhering to all government advice on safe physical separation), use your SPOT or InReach, and fly with others.

Safe flights, and happy landings.
Kieran Campbell
AHPC Sites Officer

While the original article could come under the ‘Fake News’ heading, there are still some good learning points to take in. The following is from UK Airsports, and refers to the original posting about Aluminium Carabiners:

This is part of an OPINION piece from a French club loosely based on an official FFVL investigation, cherry picking info to back their opinion without reference to the conclusions of the FFVL.
There has been a lot of misinformation, speculation and debate on forums about it.
Carlo wrote a answer to Andy Wallis on the Derbyshire Club Facebook Page which I agree with and will quote.
As Carlo posted:
this "Avis de navigabilite" (which translates into "Opinion of navigability) document published by 'Les Toiles du Sud' (which seems to be a freeflight club in southern France) appears to be just that i.e. just someone's opinion, not an official safety notice based on thorough investigation, imho.
This doc appears to be a rehash of the real safety notice published by the FFVL (Federation Francaise de Vol Libre, the French equivalent of the UK's BHPA) in Dec 2018, following FFVL investigation, but with the FFVL's conclusions removed. For example, they do not conclude that pilots should not use alu karabiners, or that these failures are down to design or production flaws in the karabiners.
The main conclusions of this FFVL investigation were:

Never use karabiners designed for solo use for tandem use;

Check/verify your equipment (and inspect it regularly);

Do not use alu karabiners for more than 5 years or 500 hours maximum, whichever comes first, from first use;

Alu karabiners which are older than 5 years, have more than 500 hours use, or are not in good condition should be removed from circulation;

Pilots should ensure that their karabiners are neither too old nor over-used nor in poor condition;

Do not connect reserves with alu karabiners;

Pilots to circulate this info.
There is also some mention of alternatives (soft links, pin lock, steel karabiners, maillions) and their pros and cons.
Link to the original FFVL safety notice (PDF, 391 KB) http://bit.ly/39C4R34