The PM has spoken but, as always, the devil is in the detail. While we wait for some flesh to be wrapped around the bones of Boris’s statement, below is the BHPA’s road map for a possible return to paragliding, in case you’ve missed it on their website. BHPA themselves are waiting for the response to their submissions to government and are hoping to hear today or tomorrow (Tuesday 12^th May).

The PSC committee has been communicating with the United Utilities, National Trust and other landowners and managers relevant to our sites, as well as talking to our neighbouring clubs to coordinate our approach.

While you get ready for a return to the skies, please take a moment to read carefully the BHPA proposal below and remember this is just a POSSIBLE route. Please wait for clarification and a go-ahead from BHPA. Also please check in every time to the website and site guide for updates on any restrictions and conditions that may be placed by the relevant bodies who own or control the land we use.

COVID 19 - BHPA recovery plan for flying activities.

This recovery plan sets out guidelines which the BHPA believes will allow a resumption of the sports of Hang Gliding and Paragliding, including powered variants, in the UK.

Pilots should be aware that it only becomes effective when the prohibition on non-essential travel is lifted and consequently, the CAA directive to cease recreational general aviation is also lifted.

It must be borne in mind that with 4 governments over the home nations, it is entirely possible that flying will be possible in some parts of the United Kingdom before it is possible in others.

The BHPA will make an announcement at that time that flying can be resumed if conducted in accordance with these guidelines.

The Association anticipates a three-phase restarting of its activities, beginning with an initial phase of flying activity by qualified pilots only (Club Pilot and above). Phase two will be solo training at BHPA schools. Phase three will be dual air experience flights and dual flights for passengers who are not members of the pilot’s household. Phase 3 will only be authorised upon the issuing of guidance on proximity between members of the public, that can be applied effectively to dual flying.

OVERARCHING PRINCIPLES

• Stay at home if you are showing symptoms of C-19 or should be self-isolating having had contact with someone suspected to be infected with C-19.

• If you are in a high-risk group consider carefully if you wish to risk infection through joining others, even though it is outdoors and with special measures in place.

• Bear in mind that you may be asymptomatic - act accordingly, maintaining social distancing and be vigilant with hand hygiene when touching surfaces.

• In general, a two-metre distance must always be maintained. Only in specific situations can this distance be reduced. In these situations, effective measures must be taken to ensure the protection of those involved.

SPECIFIC GUIDELINES FOR INDIVIDUAL PILOTS

General

• Every member carries individual responsibility for adhering to the rules to minimise the risk of infection or transmission of the disease.

• Maintain a two-metre distance in all situations, unless required to provide essential first aid.

• Carry hand sanitising gel.

• Inform yourself of your club and any site-specific guidance before traveling to fly.

Access to the flying site

• Club members should travel to and from flying locations individually in separate vehicles until Government advice changes to allow sharing. When this is not possible, club members must follow the guidance from UK Government on distancing in vehicles / on public transport.

• Before and after contact with any surfaces outdoors (stiles, gates and gate latches, etc), the BHPA recommends the use of hand sanitising gel.

On the site

• Only unpack and set up your equipment if intending to fly. On landing, immediately clear the landing area and carry your equipment to an appropriate unoccupied area to pack up.

• Use your own equipment. Try not to come into contact with another pilots’ equipment. If you are required to touch a piece of equipment that comes into contact with others, the BHPA recommends the use of hand sanitising gel applied before and after use (however this may not be appropriate for application on certain types of equipment).

• Providing assistance to a pilot - hang check. Avoid “hands on” contact and check remotely from a two-metre distance, allowing extra time to perform the checks.

• Providing assistance – e.g. pull-starting another pilot’s paramotor. Do not undertake this activity as it is not possible to maintain a two-metre distance.

• Dual flights are only allowed if both pilot and passenger live in the same household. In the current situation, dual pilots are strongly advised not to operate in conditions where a launch assistant may be needed.

• Providing assistance – launch assistant for dual paragliding. It is impossible to undertake this role and maintain a two-metre distance. As well as the usual requirements for launch assistants, the launch assistant must be a member of the same household as the pilot and passenger.

• In general terms, you should not be flying cross country – any “retrieve” journey may not adhere to COVID 19 travel guidelines. For the time being, only undertake flights local to your site.

• Do not share food and drinks and dispose of waste at home.

After flying

• Upon arrival back home, decontamination should take place by washing hands and quarantining any equipment for as long as possible, either outside or in a dedicated separate space indoors.

Protect the NHS

The inherent risk to aviation participants has not changed because of COVID 19, however there are measures that individuals can take to further reduce the risk of an incident whilst allowing activities to re-commence.

• Undertake any flying activity at a level well within your ability. Normal springtime conditions and currency precautions apply.

• Low airtime pilots and those recently qualified are advised to seek advice from a Club Coach before re-commencing flying.

• All pilots are advised to re-acquaint themselves with their flying equipment by setting it up in an isolated outdoor space and checking it (e.g. in garden), before resuming flying.

• All pilots are advised to initially undertake flight activity in light wind to minimise the need for another pilot to intervene.

GUIDELINES FOR GROUP ACTIVITIES SUCH AS TOW AND AEROTOW GROUPS AND FOR COACHES AND OPERATORS.

Any club member organising a coaching session / towing activity is advised to inform club members who are planning to take part about these guidelines at least one day before the start of the coaching / activity.

Any club official or licence holder organising a coaching or training session must ask club members at the beginning of the coaching session if they feel ill or have symptoms of COVID 19. If necessary, they must be excluded from the activity.

If a club member who has taken part in the coaching session subsequently falls ill, he/she must immediately inform the club official / licence holder who conducted the coaching / activity. This official will check which other persons in the coaching session he/she has been in contact with and will inform these people immediately.

General.

• Maintain a two-metre distance in all situations, unless required to provide essential first aid.

• Carry hand sanitising gel.

• Physical intervention on launch / landing should be avoided unless required in an emergency to prevent an incident.

• Restrict access to club buildings to essential personnel only.

Briefing / debriefing.

• Use a “hands-off” manner. Allow extra time to conduct demos, and brief/debrief maintaining 2m distance.

• Be aware of positioning – avoid standing directly upwind/downwind of a pilot (even when briefing from two metres away).

Specific guidelines for Coaching.

• First refresh your coaching basic skills by using guidance material / coaching resources.

• Encourage Club Pilots you are coaching to initially undertake tasks that involve flying in the local area (avoid supervised cross country flights for Club Pilots for the foreseeable future).

• Encourage Club Pilots you are coaching to initially undertake flights in light winds to reduce the need to physically intervene.

Specific guidelines for tow / aerotow operations.

• Segregate the launch queue to allow social distancing to be maintained.

• All winch / tow vehicle controls and ancillary equipment (e.g. signal bats) to be thoroughly sanitised before and after use. Avoid user changes if possible. If the user changes, the equipment must be appropriately sanitised when changing user.

• If radios are used, they should be sanitised with suitable wipes when changing user.

• The Launch Marshal should conduct verbal checks from at least 2m and to the side of the pilot.

• The Launch Marshal is advised to hold the end of the hang glider keel instead of the nose (for example to position the glider on the aerotow trolley).

• Tow group must agree and write down a procedure to minimise person-to-person contact with the tow rope, connections and glider launch trolleys, ensuring that appropriate sanitation is carried out on all surfaces to minimise risk of transference of COVID 19. The procedure is to be circulated and followed by all pilots, operators, tug pilots, launch marshals and coaches involved in the activity.

Guidelines for solo training and dual flights will be released in the forthcoming weeks.

Top of Form

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