Pennine Soaring Club Articles

Pendle Hill–East Face

Wed, 14 Aug 2024 08:45:00 +0100

Hi all,

We have been informed about an accident that occurred on Pendle Hill on Sunday 11th August 24. There are limited details regarding the circumstances of the incident or the condition of the injured pilot, but wish him a speedy recovery.

We are unsure whether the injured pilot was a PSC member or a visiting pilot. If anyone does have further information please let our Safety Officer Barry know by email safety@penninesoaringclub.org.uk. There maybe safety learning point that other members or visitors could benefit from.

As Sites Officer can I remind members that we have been asked not to fly the east side of Pendle Hill, this is at the request of the landowner. Use of the east face could jeopardise our continued use of the NW face of the hill.

Can all members and visiting pilots please familiarise themselves with the sites guide for Pendle and any other of the PSC sites?

http://www.penninesoaringclub.org.uk/sites/pendle/

Thanks

Andy Archer

PSC Site Officer

sites@penninesoaringclub.org.uk

FLARM issues

Wed, 20 Mar 2024 10:38:34 Z

https://xcmag.com/news/xc-tracer-flarm-collide-over-software-update/?fbclid=IwAR2z4Ei6UPEwglIT37pRsV0rmh-oInNF2nTu_Cvl2W7raaWD_KHb9UXzK74

GASCo Safety Evening

Mon, 12 Feb 2024 12:22:47 Z

GASCO Safety evening - Monday 19^th Feb, 7:30 to 9:30 pm at the Sea View Inn.

This is a joint event with Bowland Forest Gliding Club and is a safety talk delivered by GASCOo (General Aviation Safety Council).

These are very informative, interactive and thought provoking events. This will be a tailored event covering topics across both our disciplines including Threat & Error Management, Loss of Control accidents, Electronic Conspicuity, Human Factors, we are also looking to have the opportunity to discuss the local issues, particularly the shared airspace around Parlick.

It is likely to be a packed room so turn up early!

Safety Notes January 2024

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 16:16:26 Z

Happy new year everyone, and let’s look forward to a record-breaking year of banging thermals and wide open skies. Here’s a page from BHPA to get you ready for the coming season:

And here is some wise advice shamelessly cut and pasted from Guy Richardson in the DSC page:

1: Currency – this is the biggest cause of accidents, how long is it since you flew last? Are you desperate to fly? Is the weather going to give us a quick ‘Gap’? Being rusty is very common, Even the instructors go out and do a little practice. Make the time on a dry day (HAHAHA) to get your wing out and just do an hour ground handling – one hour is far more than you’d ever do sitting on a hill. Team up with a CP Buddy from the group and have a little fun. If you’re not sure where to go then give your coach a shout….. they’re not flying either!
2: Weather: Cold systems and slightly off directions tempt us to fly on a beautiful clear day, couple this with I’m rusty and it wont be pleasant. Watch the wind speeds at height, look out for the wave effect too. As it gets warmer we also have the land starting to release energy, when it starts its violent ‘Spring Thermals’ sometimes they feel like a small bomb has gone off! Be very aware, traditionally it’s the time of year in the club where we have the most incidents.
3: Kit: bring it out of the bag and fly after 3 months not flying and it’s a recipe for disaster. Do a full wing inspection – your lines shrink slightly in storage so it affects the handling of your wing, all the more reason to stretch those lines ground handling! Check your Harness, defluff your Velcro, extract your reserve to check it and while you’re at it, repack it! You’d be amazed how many reserves repackers find incorrectly installed! Check your carabiners (5 years life span). Charge and discharge your radio, make sure you have your Time out set (TOT) – normally 30 seconds to 1 minute. Check your Helmet for cracks.
Good - all ready….Me too! Don’t forget the repack event on 11th February and register if needed, there’s only a few places left.
IMSAFE
I – Ilness
M- Medication
S – Stress
A – Alcohol (& Drugs)
F – Fatigue
E – Emotion / Eyesight & Observation

Will Geordie Have His Cat Aboard Today?
W – Wind and Weather
G – Glider
H – Helmet
H – Harness
C – Controls
A – All Clear
T – Turn Direction

And finally, to reprise something I wrote about a couple of years ago, take care when people are ground handling/ launching wings. Last Sunday on Winter Hill, conditions were very light, almost not soarable. People were inflating and practising near the edge, and I stood behind someone, not really thinking about the danger. The wing suddenly came down on me, and wrapped some lines around my face. The calm had suddenly become gusty and the wing thrashed around but luckily I had my hand between my face and the lines, so nothing more than a surface scratch. But, the lessons here:

Don’t stand behind people launching or ground handling – if it goes wrong, it’s only going to go one way, into you
When you’re ground handling or launching, be aware of spectators who may stand in the wrong place and put themselves in danger – gently point out the problem to them

I know better, and still got caught out.

Tight lines

Safety Notes October 2023

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 17:20:29 +0100

Incident

As many of you will know, on Sunday 8^th one of our members was seriously injured on the South face of Parlick and airlifted to hospital. We wish him a full and speedy recovery from his injuries.

As we move towards winter, it’s worth analysing in some detail how the weather may have been a significant factor. As the power of the sun to heat the ground reduces, thermal production slows and so the mixing of the layers of air stops happening and a low-level inversion can often last all day. You will often see clouds above whizzing past with little or no wind on the ground early in the day. In summer, vertical mixing of the upper and lower layers usually clears this inversion, but in winter it can lurk undetected. If this layer is below the take off, you may feel this as a sudden increase in wind speed from very light to very strong, possibly with an abrupt change in direction – a clear warning sign. However if the layer is just above take off, you may launch from what feels like a perfect breeze into a nightmare as the friction between the layers of air moving at different speeds and directions creates violent vortices. This can happen at any altitude, but if it’s close to the ground, any collapses induced may be unrecoverable before impact.

Warm southerly airflows are particularly prone to causing this effect as they produce more pronounced inversions, which is significant for our south-facing sites like Parlick and Nonts. An approaching warm front can mean warm air riding over the cooler air near the ground, which exaggerates the inversion Add in the wave influence of upwind hills (Longridge, Standedge) and you get a recipe for extreme turbulence, just where you don’t want it.

Back in the day, we used to just have the TV forecasts and shipping forecasts, so just went out when the weather man (and it was always a man back then) said the magic words ‘light to moderate’ and sometimes had a horrible experience, muttering over our beers about what might have caused it. Now we have incredibly detailed atmospheric models to predict what the wind is going to be doing at every level. The question is how to access and make use of this amazing resource. The ground level wind speeds on the Met Office site, XCWeather etc are only a starting point – if they say too strong, then it’s too strong, but if the numbers are low, it’s vital to look at the upper layers to get an idea of what is going on above our heads. This isn’t the place for an in-depth lesson on weather forecasting, and I’m not the person to do it, but here’s a few take-aways from the conditions on Sunday.

This is the RASP tephigram custom sounding for 1100 BST on Sunday 8^th October for Chipping (CHP) Note the low level inversion where the air temperature increases with height and how the wind changes direction .

Here’s another view of the 1100 data, provided by NOAA and analysed by Neil Charles:

Here we can see that the wind was forecast light SE at ground level, fresh S at take off and veering to strong SW just above.

Other sources of data include Windy.com and the Windy.app, Ventusky, which have free versions that provide this data. There are many others. My advice is to find one that you can learn how to use, and visit it regularly before flying. Look at them on the days before too, see how the forecasts change. Where possible examine the different data sources (ECMWF, Met Office, NOAA, GFS etc.) – the more they agree, the more confidence you can place in the prediction.

So how do we use these data in order to make out flying safer?

We are the pilots, and we are responsible for our own decisions; there is no launch marshal or air traffic controller to make us see sense. Here are some tips:

ALWAYS check winds at higher altitudes – all year round. Don't just look at ground level winds before flying. We don't fly at ground level, so it is silly to only look at ground level winds. Even on days when there is no inversion there can often be surprisingly stronger winds at take off height or higher.

In summer you will mostly get away with only looking at ground level winds, as in summer the difference between ground and upper winds is generally not great for the reasons given above. But why not spend five minutes looking, it may save you a wasted trip to a blown out hill.

In winter you won't get away with only checking ground level winds for long. Even on days when there is little or no inversion, the difference in winter between ground level and higher level winds can be dangerously high. Add an inversion around hill hight and danger is multiplied.

The wind speed and directions on soundings can be a little awkward and imprecise to read; however using websites like www.ventusky.com you can check the wind speed and direction of all northern England at 10m, 100m, 250m, 500m, 750m, 1000m, 1500m etc. You don't have to check every altitude, but you should check 100m, 500m (take off altitude) and 750m at say 10am, 1pm and 16pm. When you get familiar with a website or app like Ventusky you will be able to check the winds in five minutes. It is a lot quicker than recovering in a hospital bed for four months.

Using the free version of an app like Windy.app you can get a spot forecast for Parlick landing field showing the wind at all altitudes in about 60 seconds, as below:

Neil Charles is currently developing a tool to show graphically the wind speed and direction at our sites and elsewhere. Watch this space for news

Don't use RASP for wind speed in winter. In summer time the RASP parameters “BL Avg. Wind” and “Wind at BL Top” are excellent forecasts. But in winter these parameters are often useless as the Boundary Layer is so low. If there is an inversion at 900ft then BL top will be 900ft, so “BL Avg. wind” will be an average of the wind from the ground level to 900ft – not much use when you are taking off at 1300ft.The decision to take off is every pilots personal responsibility, every pilot should be checking the weather before they fly. Don't rely on others, don't fly like sheep!

Brian Stewart and Phil Wallbank, with contributions from Gordon Rigg (DSC).

Safety Notes September 2023

Tue, 19 Sep 2023 11:30:00 +0100

It’s been a fairly quiet year as far as incidents go so far . . . Probably tempting fate by writing that, but I don’t believe in that nonsense, so there.

Equipment Checks

We all do these, don’t we? Daily inspection, pre-flight checks etc. One of our members received a harness with his reserve re-packed back from a well-known PG service centre. During a pre-flight check the bridle zipper was seen to be starting to open and was re-closed. This happened again at the next flight. Further checking showed a mistake in re-packing the reserve and closing the container. AFAIK this is still unresolved between the pilot and the service centre. This shows the importance of doing your own inspections and checks every time you launch. You know it makes sense.

Another recent incident involved a near-miss for a member when one set of risers became trapped inside the carabiner of the opposite riser. Fortunately, he was sufficiently aware to abort the launch before getting lifted too far, but still got dragged. The carabiners in this case were the screwgate type, not the more common twist-lock gate, which require two separate actions to unlock the gate (slide and twist). The screwgates on both carabiners had not been tightened up to lock, so were both free to open. Again, this shows how important it is to include such a check in your list if you have these carabiners. Also remember the advice about replacing carabiners every 5 years or 500 flight hours. As they are subject to repeated load cycles the alloys used in them will work-harden over time and become brittle.

Calder Valley Search and Rescue Team

Earlier this year the CVSRT got in touch to find out more about our sport and the equipment we use. It’s the eastern sites like Blackstone Edge, Nont Sarah’s and Pule that are more likely to be within their region, and it’s the recent increase in use of these sites that has brought us to their attention. They had a couple of calls from concerned members of the public reporting PGs in distress. Despite searching, including with helicopter, they found nothing but wanted to know more.

Mark Shaw, BHPA Technical Officer came up to their Mytholmroyd HQ las week and gave them a presentation about our sport which I attended, covering all aspects from speed flying to powered hang gliding. It was interesting to find how little they knew of what we do – the outsider’s view that we’re a bunch of reckless thrill-seekers wasn’t so prevalent (much more respect for us as fellow users of the outdoors) – but the realisation that we actually fly distances was quite an eye-opener for some. A useful lesson learned that our activities are not confined to specific locations. Their HQ is very impressive, and the team all turned out in their mountain rescue kit – they are a very professional organisation with 45-50 registered responders with a wealth of medical knowledge and expertise between them. One subject that we discussed at length was the issue of alerting soaring pilots to the arrival of a helimed. The MRT members all carry smoke flares – these are deployed to guide the heli to the spot and indicate wind conditions. The suggestion that one could be set off as soon as the heli was requested will be carried forward by Mark to the BHPA with a view to establishing a code of practice.

This was a very useful evening, and was great for making contact with the people who do such great work on the ground saving lives.

Tight lines, everyone

Safety Notes March 2023

Mon, 06 Mar 2023 16:43:47 Z

It’s a new season, so here’s some wise words gratefully borrowed from Wayne Smith, DSC Safety Officer.

As the weather is giving opportunities to fly again, you're probably thinking it's time to end that Winter lay-off (if you haven't already). Some safety musings before you head out to try and find somewhere remotely near Parlick to park…

Equipment

· You’ve repacked your reserve, yes? Your reserve should be checked \ re-packed at regular intervals as outlined in manufacturer’s manual. In absence of this, BHPA recommends every 6 months.

· Servicing – your glider should be checked \ serviced at regular intervals as outlined in manufacturer’s manual. In absence of this, BHPA recommends every 12 months. Your harness, too – make sure the mice haven’t taken up residence in it.

· Remember your pre-flight checks

Weather

· Spring time can produce strong thermals due to cool nights and warm days.

· Be aware that turbulent air can also be caused by wind shear and marked boundary layers.

· When you arrive at the site, you’re not simply checking if the conditions are flyable – are they flyable for you? Better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air, than in the air wishing you were on the ground...

Take-off

· Try to get some ground handling in after the Winter layoff. This will help re-awaken your muscle memory and get your “feel” for your glider back.

· Be prepared to help out fellow pilots – e.g. if they’ve fluffed launch and are being dragged, grab a wing-tip to get the glider under control

· We’re all fallible - give yourself and others extra space for errors on take-off.

In the air

· Pilots in contention both turn right, unless hampered by geography, in which case…

· Give way to the pilot with the ridge on their right

· Join a thermal in the direction of rotation of pilots already established in it

· Don’t turn aggressively in thermals close to the ridge

· Monitor your position over the ridge – if drifting back, be ready to use speed-bar while you still have plenty of height to get back into ridge lift

Landing

· You checked whether your landing site is affected by lambing closures before you launched, right?

· Give yourself more height than usual over the landing site – height = time & options

· When planning a top-landing, fly the ridge first to evaluate the air you will be landing in

· You’re down! It’s been an epic first flight of the season. You’re stoked. Amazing. Now clear the landing field as quickly as possible – pack up at the side to give others room to land

Usually, there will be Club Coaches on the hill – speak to them, for they’re a lonely \ lovely bunch and will be happy to offer advice and assistance

Have a great start to the season and fly safe

Tight lines, everyone

Safety Notes August 2022

Wed, 31 Aug 2022 09:11:39 +0100

Base of Support.

If you’re a subscriber to Cross Country Mag, you may already have viewed their two recent Masterclass presentations by SIV and Glider Control guru Malin Lobb. They may appear on YouTube sometime, but don’t seem to be up yet, except for this excellent snippet: https://youtu.be/YofbzTJzy04

In the full masterclasses presentations, he goes into a great deal of detail about glider control in adverse situations – these alone are worth the magazine subscription I think. In this excerpt he describes the importance of your ‘base of support’ and how to use your harness to keep your body under control when your glider is trying to throw you around. Basically, maintaining your back support by carefully adjusting your harness, tucking your legs, and spreading your thighs to give you a firm base while reducing your moment of inertia (less risk of a twist).

Elsewhere in the talks he constantly refers to this, keeping your body firmly place in the harness, reducing the temptation to use your arms as levers or balancing aids. There are two main problems here:

·Waving your arms around to try to maintain balance. It’s a natural thing to do when you’re trying to walk a tight rope, but your brakes are in your hands, so you are putting random brake inputs into the glider, which is a very bad idea when you are trying to rescue any departure from normal flight
·Using the risers to hold on to. Again, very natural if you are on a swing, but it delays your ability to react quickly and make the accurate control inputs needed. I found this out in an earlier SIV course when I was getting collapses doing wingovers. It was Johann that spotted I was grabbing the risers, which affected my timing. It took some practice to stop doing this, as I wasn’t aware I did it at all.

Sailplanes

We sometimes share some very crowded bits of space with our neighbours from the Bowland Forest Gliding Club. Their sleek fibreglass aircraft can appear very quickly and be almost invisible head on. It shouldn’t need saying that keeping a very sharp lookout is essential whenever they are operating (and when they’re not). A recent incident was reported that one of their single-seaters came very close to a paraglider, and took avoiding action. Clearly close enough to cause a lot of concern to those who saw it.

What is really good about this incident is that rather than start up a social media debate about rights and wrongs, the pilot affected contacted me as Safety Officer. After a discussion with my BFGC counterpart (who is also a PSC member and very experienced HG and PG pilot) a meeting was arranged between the two pilots. Both were able to put their concerns to each other in a very measured and constructive way. From the sailplane pilot’s point of view, he was able to see how being so close would cause concern, while the PG pilot got an insight into just how manoeuvrable sailplanes are and how quickly they can change height and direction. As a bonus he got a flight in a sailplane and was able to see the view from the cockpit, sharing thermals with some PGs and doing the Totridge run. Sailplanes, hang gliders and paragliders have been mixing it in the Parlick bowls for decades now – it’s worth remembering that only the more experienced BFGC pilots are allowed to enter these places when there are foot-launched aircraft flying, unless they are under instruction.

They can change height and direction much more rapidly than we can, but it is always the responsibility of both pilots to avoid getting into a situation where a collision is possible, so both need to keep a sharp lookout and think further ahead when flying together due to their much higher speeds.

Safety concerns every one of us, and it’s good to know that we can have these discussions without pointing fingers, laying blame or shouting at each other. Next time you get cut up in a thermal, or think another pilot has endangered you in some way, please take time to think about it before launching into aggression or uploading your video. Every day should be a school day for all of us, we can all learn something from every event.

We’re planning a joint ‘Sharing the Sky’ event with BFGC in which we can all get together (PG, HG and sailplanes) to learn about the similarities with and differences between each other’s sports. Coming soon . . .

Safety Notes July 2022 - Part deux

Mon, 18 Jul 2022 15:43:30 +0100

A couple more things to write about this month, as a sort of follow up to the earlier notes. Your safety officer has once again been out there, up there, trying out all the various ways in which a paraglider pilot can get into trouble. This is an entirely free service on behalf of the members of the PSC.

Last issue dealt with what can go wrong when your pre-flight check fails to reveal a knot in your lines, so to go one better I tried not one, but TWO knots. This came about after a sweaty hot morning sweltering on Bradwell waiting for the day to get going. The bemused faces of the shorts-and-T-shirt wearing walkers seeing 50 odd potential heatstroke victims, dressed in polar exploration layers, balaclavas, thick gloves etc were a sight to see. After my third clip-in, sweat-out, strip-off I was ready to go, but my wing wasn’t – during all the moving around it was in a bit of a state, but I built my wall and all looked good. First gaggle had already launched and were climbing, so time to get off the pot . . .

Gentle lift of the A’s, wing comes up and immediately rolls and yaws to the right, so I had to hop a few steps to correct it. Another look at the lines, all seemed OK, so maybe just me being clumsy (not unusual), or a bit of a change in wind direction, Error number 2 (Error 1 was not noticing anything wrong before launching). Off we go, turning right along the hill, all OK until I wanted to turn back, left brake a bit heavy, glider unwilling to go that way without me hanging out of the harness. Error number 3 was not landing immediately as there was something wrong, even if I couldn’t see it.

I found a bit of lift along with Simon, who was shouting at me, but I couldn’t see why as I wasn’t in his way. We climbed a bit and while I knew the glider wasn’t right, it all seemed controllable, and I started looking around the harness and riser to see what was wrong. Once away from the left-turning thermal, I was able to get into a right-turn mode, and the glider was fine, if a little bit too enthusiastically diving into the turns, so I carried on, bumbling over the back until I climbed out at Hathersage/Curbar joined by Jacob.

Now we’re cooking, an expert XC pilot to follow. Top of the climb off he goes, so I follow. Now I know he’s a much better pilot, on a better wing, but that didn’t explain why he left me standing. Have another good look at the lines, oh yes, there we are: wing tip brake lines tangled in 2 places, still not easy to see but I should have spotted them right back at the start. So, crippled glider that doesn’t really want to fly, and thoughts in my head about the consequences: recipe for landing, which all went fine, no issues. And of course the knots resolved themselves as soon as the tension came off the lines.

In my defence, I don’t recall ever launching with a knot in the lines, so didn’t really know what it would feel like. Anyway, here’s my suggestions for avoiding this issue in the future:

· When building the wall, have a really good look at all the lines, not just a casual glance

· As you launch, look for any unusual behaviour. Yaw or roll, or reluctance to rise could all be due to pilot input error or a change in wind speed or direction, but they could be signs of knotted lines.

· To avoid being hoofed up by an unflyable wing, kill it at the first sign of trouble and start again.

· If it does get to the point of being above your head, have another really good look before committing

· And if you get into my situation flying a wing that is compromised, head for a nice safe landing spot sooner rather than later.

I was given a tale recently about a pilot losing height away from the hill, and slowly descending to land in a field some way out in front, not a normal place. The pilot didn’t move, left the wing laid out in the field for long enough for those flying to become extremely concerned. Radio calls went unanswered, so someone went to investigate only to find our outlander having a power nap.

Please everyone, when you land, whether in the landing field or away, first job is to gather you glider up. You never know who is watching, concerned for your safety, so gathering up your wing and walking away, just a short distance, is a clear signal that all is well. Radios are not perfect, but much better to have one, tuned to a frequency that at least one other person on the hill can receive. Referring to my own incident, several people tried to warn me by radio (and shouting, but that never seems to work) that I had a problem, but it seems I have a connector problem that intermittently silences my earpiece. Not the first time it has caused a problem . . . .

Tight lines, everyone

Safety Notes July 2022

Wed, 06 Jul 2022 10:18:58 +0100

A couple of things to write about this month, a bit of a long read so strap in . . .

First up – Pre-flight checks.

We all know we need to check very carefully that every bit of our flying machine is in perfect condition for every flight (including ourselves . . .). We all do this every launch, don’t we? Here’s a report from an incident that went well but could have ended badly. Not me, but a very experienced and skilful pilot, and I don’t need to add anything as he has carefully analysed what happened and offered very useful tips on how to avoid this.

This was a typically busy day at Col de la Forclaz take off. I had launched from here earlier in the day where other pilots had told me to hurry up, so there was a certain amount of pressure.

On this launch, I unpacked and checked my glider and lines in the pen behind the launch area, clipped in and bunched the glider up to walk to launch. I did not observe any knots or issues with the lines. When a space was available in the launch area, I laid out the wing and prepared for launch as quickly as I could, due to the time pressure. I did do a test inflation ("building a wall") but this wasn't sufficient to fully check the status of the lines.

I then carried out a reverse launch. After turning and braking the wing, I did notice the right brake felt stiffer than normal. However, I was committed to the launch and did so. Once airborne I noticed a knot on the right hand side involving an A, C and brake lines. The inner portion of the right hand side of the wing was braked (trailing edge deflected), but fortunately this did not generate a large turning moment and the wing was stable and controllable.

I did attempt to undo the knot with brake input, a decision I regret as it could have made things worse, but fortunately did not. After I got over this urge, I took better actions by flying away from terrain, heading straight for the landing field and only carrying out left hand turns to reduce the risk of spinning the wing.

The landing at Doussard was uneventful, and the knot released as soon as the wing was unloaded, so I could not inspect it! I checked the lines and glider for any damage, but there the lines were fine and ground handling the glider was normal. I flew again later that day and all was well. I felt very lucky, it would have only taken one more realised hazard to have created a more severe incident or an accident.

Lessons I've considered:

- I had never had a knot in my lines in flight, so it shows complacency and that past success does not equal continued success

- Never rush pre-flight checks no matter what external pressures there are

- Check lines much more thoroughly before inflating the wing, particularly when launch conditions do not enable ground handling of the wing before committing

- Abort launch if something isn't right

- If knotted, don't try to recover it by pulling lines as it is unlikely and potentially risky

- I've changed how I bunch up the wing, by putting each loop of lines between the next two fingers and releasing in the reverse manner, making it much less likely to become knotted. From the rest of the trip, this has worked well.

Thermalling and Ridge Soaring

I’ve been asked to write something following some conflicts between pilots circling and ridge soaring. Both are essential skills and both are equally important and neither the ridge soaring pilot nor the circling one have any special rights. If everyone joins the thermal, and turns the same way, no problem. If it’s a ridge soaring day, provided some sort of order is set up about which beat is closer to the hill, equally problem-free. The issues arise when someone starts to turn in a thermal, close to the hill while others are using ridge lift. It’s easy to get focused on using the thermal to climb, that’s what we all want but the turning pilot needs to be fully aware of those who may not want to join in at that moment; a glider turning a circle close to the hill suddenly presents a massive obstacle to a ridge soaring wing. Equally the ridge soaring pilot needs to be aware that if a thermal comes along then pilots are going to turn in it, and mustn’t just blithely continue beating back and forth. No-one has priority, except to avoid a collision. It’s all part of being a pilot, and being aware of what everyone else is doing. I’ve been pointed towards the excellent 50k or Bust by Nigel Page – I have a copy and refer to it a lot, and several of his sources are in the public domain, and there is a wealth of good advice in there about this topic. http://www.50k-or-bust.com/PG%20Safety%20And%20Training%20Articles.htm

Tight lines, everyone

Safety Notes May 2022

Wed, 11 May 2022 12:38:56 +0100

Sadly we have had a serious incident involving serious injury to a paraglider pilot on Parlick, who unfortunately died a few days later, and our thoughts are very much with Philip’s family and friends and indeed all who were involved on the hill.

There will be a formal investigation into all the circumstances, and this is not the place to get into speculation about what happened, but I want to make some initial thoughts about what we can learn about managing incidents on the hills once they have happened. All of those dealing with it can hold their heads high for the exemplary way in which it was handled from start to finish, so now is the time to put together what might be useful guidance for such incidents in the future.

This will be a long and detailed message, I hope you will take the time to read it and consider what you could do immediately and what you could plan to do in the future to improve your chances of dealing successfully with a serious incident. We will shortly distil this into some succinct cards that people can carry in their wallets as a prompt list for emergencies.

Initial actions

If you are first on the scene, or witness a crash, remember the DRSABC mnemonic:

D – DANGER: is there danger to the casualty, to you, or to any third party? Think steep slope, power lines, flapping glider about to re-launch spontaneously (I have seen this happen to an unconscious pilot who then flew for several minutes more before the inevitable 2^nd crash, producing much more serious injuries) water – waves or currents – and any other possible sources of peril. This is not a definitive list – each scenario will have its own dangers. Don’t grab flapping gliders by the lines with bare hands, grab the fabric; anchor hang gliders by the nose; don’t go jumping in and adding to the casualty list.

R – RESPONSE: this is the first step in establishing the level of consciousness of the casualty, but this is not the place to go into first aid training. Please consider going on a course every couple of years to keep up your skills.

S – SEND FOR HELP: Radio, Phone, Shout, Satellite.

ABC: this is covered by First Aid training – have you booked yourself on a course yet? The ability to recognise serious life-threatening conditions and possibly alleviate them could make all the difference in the first few minutes.

D and S imply that it is best not to rush straight to the scene of the incident, but to take a moment to consider DANGERS involved and how to SEND for help, but R requires you to get there quickly in case you are dealing with a blocked airway or other catastrophic condition such as massive haemorrhage or a need to stabilise a spinal injury. So, it’s a compromise between supplying aid quickly and taking enough time to prepare yourself for the task.

So, you’ve made it safe to approach, the casualty is breathing and not bleeding profusely. How will you call for help? Did you stop for a moment to collect your radio and phone before rushing to the victim? Her radio may be smashed. It’s a natural human response to want to get there asap, but it can save precious time if you can quickly gather them together to take with you. The radio and shouting can summon other pilots (and bystanders) to your aid.

Calling emergency services – we should all know the drill: 999, police, mountain rescue, fall from height, remote location etc. But where are you? You may have a note of the postcode where the cars are parked, or the location of the usual takeoff, but this is of little help if the casualty is miles away from there. Your flight deck may give you a precise location, but it may be ½ km away on your harness. If you do have it, do you know how to obtain your location in a form that emergency services can use? PRACTISE THIS NOW: on your phone. Make sure you can quickly get your location as:

What3Words (W3W) Install What 3 Words on your phone, so you can quickly supply this information to the emergency controller if requested. This was asked for on this occasion and seems likely to be required more frequently in the future. Even without a data connection, you can obtain the W3W address. You will need a signal to be able to share it, but you may be able to use your radio to share it with someone who has one.
OS 2-letter and 6-digit grid reference. OS Locate is an excellent app which can give you this, plus altitude, and allow you to share it via text or email. It also incorporates a compass if you have the right chip in your phone. Other apps are available.
Lat Long in both decimal and degree/minute format. This seems less likely to be used by emergency services these days, but still worth having the ability to determine it. Pressing and holding your location pointer in Google Maps will display this. Presumably iPhones have a similar feature.
Register for the 999 text messaging system. This enables you to send a call for help where the signal may be too weak or intermittent for a voice call. Simply send the word REGISTER to 999, wait for the reply and you will be able to use this service, or it will tell you that you are already registered. DO THIS NOW, don’t wait until you need it, it costs nothing and doesn’t use up your phone memory. Send a brief text stating: WHO you are; WHAT has happened (problem, state of casualty, number of injured); WHAT is needed; WHERE the location – use W3W, OS Grid, Lat Long if known; WHEN – how long ago. You should get a response text in a couple of minutes. If not, assume it hasn’t gone through and find another way to get help, maybe just a different phone.
Consider a satellite communication device, especially if you and your companions are going anywhere where poor reception is likely. Garmin, InReach, Spot etc devices can enable you to call for help from virtually anywhere with a view of the sky. A few years ago, one of our own found himself in a serious situation on the deck, out of sight of human habitation with no signal or radio contact. Fortunately he survived the impact uninjured and could walk out, but in the circumstances any immobilising injury such as a broken ankle could have had life-threatening consequences. This wasn’t far away from our sites.

Ideally dealing with the emergency services should be undertaken by someone not directly involved with dealing with the casualty. Listen carefully to their questions – they have a script to follow. If possible, have someone else’s number available, ideally on a different network, to pass to the authorities. Try to write down information as it is given or record it on your phone.

This should be a team effort: the best organiser should do just that, the best first-aider should deal with the casualty and direct those supporting; send a fit pair to meet rescue with radio and phone. Support each other all the time with reassurance – keep an eye out for signs of stress.

Keep an eye on the casualty too, monitor their condition constantly, are they deteriorating or getting more confused? Are the helpers/bystanders OK? These situations are dynamic, and what was OK a few minutes ago can quickly go bad.

Rescue

If a road ambulance is despatched and mountain rescue are able to transport the casualty over land, then spare bodies to carry equipment and assist in the rescue may be needed – try to gather some able-bodied helpers for this.

If a helicopter is incoming, it’s essential to try to clear the sky of pilots and secure all loose items on the ground. The heli may approach from any direction, and if it’s one of the big coastguard jobs it will have a massive disruption effect in the air, and Foreign Object Damage is a very real threat to aircraft. Radio and shouting may be the only way to communicate with pilots in the air – delegate this task to someone with a loud voice.

If you’re near a glider field or other aerial activity site, try to alert them of incoming helicopters.

Equipment

A serious accident inquiry will require all the equipment – wing, harness, helmet, instruments to be secured for inspection. Someone should take responsibility for the kit, if only to ensure its safe return to the owner. Vehicles are another issue, if someone is taken to hospital, having their car taken home or to a safe place, is one less thing for them to worry about.

Reports

It is vital for learning from these experiences that incident reports are completed. A seriously injured pilot may not be able to submit theirs until later, but anyone can complete one. This doesn’t cause confusion – subsequent reports are appended to the original one, and it makes the task easier for those doing the investigation. So, if you saw it, or were involved afterwards, fill one in, even if you can only complete some of the data. The more people that do this, the more complete the picture becomes. Don’t assume that someone else will have done it, and do it as soon as possible while the memories are fresh and before they get corrupted by time and other opinions – trust your own recollections, try to be factual and avoid speculating on what might have happened.

Afterwards

Don’t neglect yourself. Traumatic incidents have a habit of coming back to you later, and can be very distressing. Don’t just push it aside, telling yourself to Man/Woman up. Maybe just talking it through with others will be enough, but be aware that you may need to look further for help. PTSD is real.

Still awake? Do these now:

Install What3Words
Install OS Locate or similar app to get Grid Reference
Practise finding your location using your navigation software
Register for 999 SMS
Consider satellite comms
Consider 1^st aid course

Repack 27th March 2022

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 12:14:23 +0100

A big thanks to Barry Sayer for organising this at the Chipping Village hall on Sunday.

We had a morning and an afternoon session with Guy Richardson from Ginger Nomad who gave us all the benefit of his expertise to have a repack session. His guidance in interpreting the sometimes unclear packing instructions and a combination of instruction and demonstration ensured that everyone was able to get their reserves ready for the new season.

Safety Notes January 2022

Tue, 18 Jan 2022 18:35:37 Z

Happy New Year everyone

Cognitive Bias

WTF’s that? In simple terms a cognitive bias is a systematic error in thinking that occurs when people are processing and interpreting information in the world around them and affects the decisions and judgments that they make. Whenever we launch, this is the culmination of a sequence of decisions that may have begun with a weather forecast several days ago. While we are flying we are constantly taking in information, processing it and making decisions and judgements based on this data, so some understanding of how cognitive bias can leas us into bad choices may be useful.

Attentional and Anchoring biases will lead us into fixing on the first bit of information we get – e.g. the forecast for 3 days ahead shows light winds, and not looking again; or only paying attention to some things and ignoring others – such as a nice 10 mph breeze on the hill but not looking at the 20+ mph wind at 45 degrees 500’ higher. A Confirmation Bias can lead us into only looking at sources of data that confirm our original judgement.

Optimism Bias is fairly self-explanatory, and links with the Dunning-Kruger effect which describes how people believe they are smarter and more competent than they really are (we all know that person, don’t we?), leading to over-confidence.

Halo effect – when you see your favourite skygod having fun in the sky doesn’t mean it’s OK for you.

Do you attribute your mate’s great flight to just luck, while your success is pure skill; or your bomb-out was someone else’s fault for distracting you? If you shout at another pilot for being too close, are you always sure you’re in the right? Or if you are the one getting the abuse, do you analyse the situation calmly afterwards to see if you could have done something differently?

This is just a sample of the complex web of biases that psychologists study to try to guide people into better decision-making.

Challenging your biases. Even the psychologists accept that despite knowing all about them, they are just as likely as anyone to be led into their traps, but the ability to recognise them goes a long way towards being able to remove the from your decision making. What are some factors you have missed? Are you giving too much weight to certain factors? Are you ignoring relevant information because it doesn't support your view? Thinking about these things and challenging your biases can make you a more critical thinker. Be aware of your over-confidence – can you dispassionately analyse your own strengths and weaknesses? Identify the risks you take – have they become just bad habits that you’ve got away with, so far? Set aside time to consider your decisions – good and bad.

Here’s a link to a video of a flying encounter. The pilot doing the filming later spoke to the chap on the blue and yellow wing who said he thought there was plenty of room based on his “20-years’ experience relative to an obvious novice”. I leave it to you to think about the cognitive biases that may be in play here.

Tight lines, everyone.

Brian

Getting Back in the Air

Fri, 19 Mar 2021 11:44:42 Z

Jocky Sanderson has done a useful YouTube video about getting back into the air.

A cautionary tale

Sun, 03 Jan 2021 17:54:03 Z

It's been a strange and frustrating year for everything; work, home, injury and particularly sport (in
case you are wondering I'm looking for excuses).
I used to climb 2 or 3 times a week, since lock down 3 times total.
Weather during lock down great, since then not so.
I have also managed to find a talent that I thought I had lost - missing the best conditions, usually
limited to weekends anyway but recently it's been “you should have been here 2 hours ago” or “it
got good just after you left”.
So I'm suffering from frustration, much luckier than many people at the moment so really no
excuses, but it's there.
So flying is what we love and we all know it can be dangerous but for me the rewards far out-way
the risks .
It is still worth looking at things we do that put us at risk and frustration is one.
With hindsight, for me the first indication that frustration was starting to over-rule good sense was a
really good forecast on Longridge. I was there for 8am, not wanting to miss anything. For people
that don't know it, Longridge is long, over 3k. Take off faces north but the main face at the east end
faces NNE. The topography also seems to allow the main face to work better, quicker, especially in
lighter conditions.
The wind was a bit light and off to the east but I got ready and started ground handling. The first
stronger bit that came through was too tempting and I went for it, trying to get along to the main
face. More patience would have been sensible, I went down near the bottom of the main face! By
the time I packed up, struggled up the steep face through waist deep heather (I've got short legs),
got ready and launched, the first of the sensible people were just soaring round the corner onto the
main face.
Two really pleasant flights and over 3 hours in the air later I packed up just as conditions went
ballistic and a number of pilots were hoovered up to cloudbase, some soared up the side of the huge
convergence cloud that had formed. As I pulled into my driveway at home my wife was pointing up
at a green and black Artik 5 cruising over my house at cloudbase – how could you do that to me
Scott!
5 days later, a reasonable forecast led me to book a day's holiday. The night before there was some
chat on Whats App and I did say “it might be a bit breezy”. Come the morning and I was up and at
the hill reasonably early. It felt breezy and after a false start with my big wing, I walked up with my
mini wing.
One of our most experienced pilots, Simon B was already on the top, harness and wing out but the
wing still in its bag. We had a chat about the conditions and Simon's comment was that with my
mini wing I probably had the correct wing for the conditions at that time.
Parlick east face has had a number of accidents over the years, some very serious. Where we launch
is a flat section next to the south face that has a sharp edge onto the main east face. To the left is a
shallower slope that runs all the way to Wolf Crags at the north end of the ridge. Out front is Saddle
Fell which is ideally placed to generate wave type effects on Parlick. All of these have the potential
to create unpredictable winds, especially around the launch area.
I wasn't sure about the conditions but I didn't want to walk back down and miss another chance to
fly so decided to ground handle on the top to 'check' the conditions.
I set up about 20 metres back from the edge, pulled up with no problem and it didn't feel too bad,
then it went a bit squirrelly so I collapsed it. I was pulled back as I dropped the wing so was now
about 40 metres back from the edge. I said to Simon I didn't think it was going to be flyable as it
was too strong and gusty but that I would have another go to check.
I pulled up easily, turned to face forward and was immediately snatched up and off to the side by a
huge gust. In a split second I was 15-20 feet up and being pushed back and out over the south face. I
managed to turn into wind, hands up to maximise air speed. I was then slammed down, still going
backwards. I thought 'this is going to hurt', got my legs ready for the impact and prepared to kill the
wing as soon as I hit. It did hurt and I was dragged back a short distance before the wing settled.
Lying there on my side in the quiet my first thought was 'I'm alive that's good, but what damage
have I done?' Simon arrived and made the wing safe, I checked myself over and luckily the only
significant damage was a badly sprained ankle. With Simons help I was able to get me and my gear
off the hill and back home.

OK, so this is the important bit, lessons learned:

Beware frustration and the 'need' to fly.
Hindsight is 20/20.
Know the site and act on the knowledge.
Remember that the stronger the wind, the worse the turbulence - this is especially important
if you are on a mini wing.
Being back from the edge of the hill doesn't mean you are out of danger, rotor effects can
extend a long way back.
A PLF can save major damage.
If there is doubt in your mind, wait and monitor the conditions.
Listen to the voice in your head, if it feels wrong it probably is.

As a footnote, it was flyable a couple of hours later that day and a couple of weeks after my
accident, another of our pilots was airlifted off the hill from a similar incident in almost the same
place. So, please be careful, especially on Parlick east in strong or gusty conditions and if you are
feeling frustrated and desperate to fly.

Also, a big thanks to Simon for the calm and caring help he gave me, it made a big difference.

Safety Notes–Sept 2020

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 17:56:20 +0100

Safety Notes September 2020

Does the Peter Principle apply to Paragliding? The idea of the Peter Principle comes from a satirical book written by Raymond Hull, based on Laurence Peter’s research. Simply put, it states that in hierarchies, people will be promoted to their level of incompetence, where they languish until they leave or retire. So, you do well at making widgets and get promoted to chief widget maker. If you continue to do this well, you might rise to a position supervising all the widget makers. But your widget-making skills don’t help you in your new HR role, so you are judged to be a rubbish manager, and go no further.

When it comes to buying paragliders, there’s a tendency to promote yourself to the next level of wing. You leave the school with your beginner wing, get on with the local coaches and soon feel ready to step up to a B. Wow! What an improvement in performance – suddenly you’re leaving the hill, but then start fretting about not keeping up with the others. Solution: a C or even a D wing. Maybe that will be fine, and you’ll be ok with this, but what if your skills aren’t ready for this step? Potentially, this could mean a bad accident; or maybe you scare yourself enough to stop flying.

At some point we will all reach a level of incompetence – whether that relates to the wing we fly or the conditions we are willing to tackle – even the sky gods aren’t invulnerable. The hard part is recognising our own limitations and choosing our equipment and risk margin accordingly.

We’ve had some very strong winds lately, and it’s good to see that there are many pilots prepared to walk back down the hill even when there are paragliders in the air. Paragliding is truly a sport where you are responsible for your own decisions, and acquiring the mental attitude that you won’t be sucked into launching by peer pressure is a vital part of your skill-set.

On that note, one of our members was flying in the strong winds on Parlick on Monday 21^st. Finding he had very little forward speed he opted to go to the landing field after half an hour. Finding he was still going backwards as he set up over the road at the junction, he had to abandon his plan to land in the corner of the correct field and put down on the other side of the road, in the Wolf Hall field. All was fine, but he knew he shouldn’t be there and quickly bundled everything up and threw it over the gate into the landing field and started packing, just as a quad bike roared up the lane, and its rider spent a few minutes looking around, before giving up and riding off. Maybe coincidence, but it seemed that he was looking for whoever had just landed. So, please take note: set up early, assess the wind speed while well upwind, and don’t push yourself into a tight corner by the road. And if you do overcook it, get out of the wrong field ASAP or prepare for an awkward conversation.

Tight lines

Brian

Safety Notes August 2020

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 20:36:28 +0100

Radios – who needs ‘em? Distracting chatter, something else to go wrong etc. Well, there I was focused on tagging cylinder 9 and getting low. Since it was a busy day, I thought all I had to do was look around to find someone going up, and go to them…. Where is everyone? Then I saw the red helicopter approaching the hill from beyond the glider club. My first thought was ‘why did no-one radio’? The realised the wire dangling from my headset wasn’t actually connected to anything. So, 2 black marks for the safety officer: 1. Not completing my pre-flight check (Radio connected and checked is No 6 on my list) and 2. Not having a functioning radio when it could have been critical to clear the air. Fortunately, no harm done as I was as far away from the helimed’s approach path as possible on the day, but it could have been very different if the medics had been unable to land.

The incident itself raised a couple of issues. The walking party called 999 but there seems to have been some confusion about their location and some delay before one of our pilots was able to talk on the phone to the operator and give a precise location. This emphasises the need for someone to take charge at an incident and direct the flow of information to a delegated person capable of communicating with the relevant services. We will be putting on a First Aid course over the winter (social distancing rules permitting) and one of the key elements of this will be organising an incident scene.

The current restrictions seem to have coincided with a rash of new faces on our sites. Many of these are seasoned pilots who can no longer travel as far as they used to to fly, but some are relative beginners and unfamiliar with busy sites. Be aware that some of these may hold no pilot qualifications or third-party insurance. Such individuals are a perennial issue, and we hope that all our members can do their bit by persuading them that the benefits of joining BHPA and PSC are worth the modest cost. On the day of the incident there were maybe 50 gliders in the air at times, and there were plenty of examples of downwind slope landings, blow-backs over the bowl and careless turning. It’s in all of our interests to do our best to ensure that everyone with whom we share the air has at least CP-level of competence.

On strong days on Parlick, it’s common for PG pilots to launch below the top, sometimes well below the wall. Please remember that HG pilots will still be launching from the top or possibly over-shooting a failed top landing. A conflict between a HG and a PG popping up vertically in their path doesn’t bear thinking about. Part of everyone’s launch routine should be a good look around to ensure that the air is clear. This applies to both PG and HG pilots – we don’t have launch marshals, so it becomes a personal responsibility to make sure you are taking off into clear air without threat of conflict with another aircraft.

A member reported getting bitten above the ankle on Tailbridge, which resulted in very painful swelling and immobility for some days. Be aware that ticks lurk in the grass waiting for some tasty flesh to pass by, and ticks can carry some pretty horrific diseases including Lyme disease, babeiosis and tick-borne encephalitis. Keep your legs covered, check yourself over for ticks at the end of the day, and report to a doctor if you feel unwell after getting bitten.

Tight lines

Brian

Flying Alone

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 16:37:33 +0100

Shouldn’t be done? But many do, and not only when we’re alone on the hill . . .

Maybe you’re the early riser, catching the rising sun on the east-facing slopes; or you’re snatching a quick sunset flight after the rain clears, and there’s no-one else daft enough to be out there. Or you may be out on a vol-biv adventure or visiting an out-of-the way spot that’s not popular with the crowds as it’s a long hike to get there.

You can also be ‘alone’ on a crowded site: if you’re new to the area and nobody knows you, or you turn up late after everyone is in the air, or you were first there and take off before others arrive. So, by ‘alone’ I mean a situation where maybe no-one will notice should you crash in an obscure hidden spot. We all look out for each other on a normal day, but it’s easy not to notice a stranger, or assume someone is with another group of pilots.

· Ideally, go with others, have an outline of each other’s flight plans and how you will keep in touch in the air and on the ground. Check radios are working.

· If you’re alone, make contact with others on the ground, get to know each other, try to share radio frequency and flight plans

· Use a flight tracker, and make sure someone at home knows how to follow you and what to do if you’re in trouble. Satellite location services work just about anywhere but cost money; even a simple app like AirWhere can broadcast your position to sites like XCRT.aero or LiveTrack24

· At the very least tell someone responsible where you are going, and what your plans are. But be sure to let them know when you’re back on the ground to avoid worry or false alarms.

Also, be mindful of others on the hill who may be flying ‘alone’, they may not have anyone else looking out for them.

Pendle Crash Analysis

Sat, 06 Jun 2020 11:52:19 +0100

Listen to yourself. . .

I thought I’d write a few words about my crash on Pendle, early June. The video and commentary can be seen here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/923268554361373/permalink/3202164996471706/

Many pilots contributed their thoughts on this incident, and I’m grateful to everyone for their input to help make sense of events and try to learn and prevent future accidents.

The pilot, as always, is the major factor in PG incidents. As has been pointed out, I wasn’t in the best frame of mind to go flying at that moment.

Currency? The UK was just coming out of lockdown. I’ve been particularly concerned about this, shielding someone at home, so hadn’t flown for over 3 months, and only have a few hours since October. So, currency very low, and a bit anxious about mixing with too many people.

Too eager to fly? Last chance before the weather turned bad for a long spell. I was hoping for a short flight just to get back in the air, early doors. We ended up waiting around for the wind to start and come on to the right direction. Not being current isn’t just about flying – it’s also how acutely our senses are tuned to assessing the conditions. I knew all about the probability of rough turbulence on such a hot sunny day with dry air, visible stability, wave clouds, wind across the hill . . . Definitely too eager. It’s not like me to be first off the hill but I thought I have to go now, expecting not to find much lift and to go down to the landing.

Misjudging conditions? Take off was fine, wind swung onto the face. Light lift all the way across to the gully, then gentle sink on the way back. Nothing to raise alarm bells. That went well . . .

Dealing with the collapse? The thermal that hit me was like a rocket, and the vario peaked at 7.8 m/s, looking at it frame by frame on Ayvri (great tool for analysing flight). Possibly it was so small that only the left half of the wing, closer to the hill, was in it, so the right side was either in still air or even the sink outside the thermal. Whatever the cause, I just had time to anticipate that something bad was about to happen before the right side completely went – looks like 70% or more on the video. But instead of turning towards the collapse and taking me away from the hill, the wing turned violently left 90° to face the hill, and surged violently, the lines almost horizontal. I don’t clearly remember doing it, but I must have braked sufficiently to catch this – thank you SIV instructors – as without inputs, this would have gone much worse.

As I swung back under the wing, you can see from the video that it stalls, and the tips almost meet.. Probably excessive brake, but possibly the horrible air I was in. Whichever, this turned out to be the best possible outcome, as I descended at about the speed of a reserve ride to land on my back without even bursting the camelback. I hardly felt that impact, just the horrible whiplash effect on my neck as my head bounced around like a loose button. There was enough wind about to start dragging me, and this felt like I was being pulled along, and slightly down, the slope. More evidence of some horrible turbulence as it had been almost calm all morning.

So, I walked away from it intact, but I wouldn’t dare to refer to it as a landing. Big thanks to Tim Gridley and Andy Elliott for landing nearby to assist, to everyone on the hill for their support and encouragement, Mark Wilson for helping carry my glider bag back to the car and to everyone who contributed words of wisdom.

See you in the air.

Brian Stewart

Midweek Flying–no excuses

Mon, 01 Jun 2020 17:06:54 +0100

Midweek flying risks a close encounter of the high speed kind with fast and slow aircraft of the RAF kind. It’s always been a requirement to post flying plans on CANP the night before, so that pilots can get a heads-up in the briefings the next day.

Now it’s easier than ever: Head over to https://canp.logans.me.uk/?fbclid=IwAR3kuBUdrgoRzYy_GR_F8fNVYWk9A_xTcmqDvX_weuQ4rFzLK77lvXqVsMI

Fill in the required fields, tick the site you’re registering and you are good to go. Remember to look out for the response, to ensure your post got through.

Save this site as a favourite so you can always find it, and get your notification in before 8PM. Apparently duplicate notifications aren’t a problem, so don’t just assume someone else has done it.

Accidents and Incidents

Mon, 18 May 2020 16:40:28 +0100

Accidents

Accidents on Hang Gliding and Paragliding sites are an unfortunate part of the sport. Summarised below is some guidance in case you should encounter one.

Your first priority at the scene of an accident is to carefully assess the situation. Exactly what has happened? Where is the casualty? What injuries have occurred? Is outside assistance required? If you cannot be sure (if, for example, you are flying when you see a glider crash on a remote moor) it is safer to be pessimistic. A false alarm is better than leaving a casualty lying for hours in the open. Accidents are often highly stressful environments, and in such situations it is very easy to miscommunicate information, forget vital details and devote your emotional energy in unhelpful directions. So make every effort to assess the situation carefully, act calmly and communicate slowly and clearly.

If someone is injured you have two priorities, to protect the casualty so that their condition does not worsen, and to alert the emergency services to ensure prompt transfer to proper medical care.

Calling the emergency services

The best way to do this is to dial 999, when asked what service you reqiure say “Police”, and tell the Police you need Mountain Rescue. In the majority of our flying accidents Mountain rescue are by far the most effective service. They are familiar with the terrain, have a knowledge of our sport and the type of injuries we’re likely to sustain and have the skills and capability to safely extract casualties from remote areas. They are also very well equipped for our kind of accidents.

When you call make sure that you know the location of the casualty , and give enough information for the rescue services to find them. Most accidents happen in remote areas far from roads or towns, so having an OS Grid Reference to hand is ideal and the primary navigational system used by Mountain Rescue teams. Apart from dedicated GPS devices, number of smartphone apps (like OS Locate and Viewranger) now provide instant OS grid references. The club also provides safety cards which list grid references for popular DSC take-offs and landing fields.

When speaking to the Police report the nature of injuries and the casualty’s condition. It is usually helpful to describe the cause, such as “a fall from height” – which often adequately describes the type of accident. Emergency services will approach by road, so it is extremely useful to nominate people to go to the nearest road so they can direct rescuers to the scene.

If you see an accident from the air, land and use a mobile phone. Otherwise fly to the nearest farm or telephone box, or if you have radio, pass a message to someone on the ground, get them to read it back as a check. On the hills Peak Park or National Trust Wardens can make an emergency call by radio, or if you are alone use your whistle (you SHOULD ALWAYS fly with one) to send the mountain distress signal – this is six blasts in one minute, then wait one minute and repeat.

Helping the emergency services

You can help the Mountain Rescue or Ambulance Service by sending someone to meet them at the roadhead or car park and guide them to the scene. Stay where you said you would be until the Ambulance or Mountain Rescue arrive and DO NOT start to try to evacuate the casualty yourself. It may be necessary to stay in a location away from the casualty to maintain mobile phone contact as the rescue controller may wish to call you back to discuss the situation.

If a helicopter has been summoned it is vital that everyone LANDS IMMEDIATELY. Failure to do so puts the casualty and aircrew’s life at risk (as well as your own). Be alert for radio messages, vehicle lights or horns, crossed glider bags or flares/smoke as ground signals indicating that you are required to LAND – not fly away to the other end of the ridge.

Care of the casualty

In this guide we cannot teach First Aid, but PLEASE consider taking one of the excellent courses, such as those provided by the British Red Cross Society or St. John’s Ambulance. From time to time PSC run first aid courses, ask a committee member if you are interested.

The knowledge and confidence this will give you may be very valuable, and you are far more likely to encounter an accident at home, at work, or on the roads than on a flying site. Your employer may support your training as they have an obligation to provide trained First Aiders. However, even without this training there is much you can do.

DO NOT take risks with your own safety; you will help no one by becoming a casualty yourself. This is of particular importance with power lines, water and crags.
DO NOT move a casualty unless they are in a life threatening situation (e.g. lying in water or have no airway). Always remember the possibility of spinal injury, which can be made much worse by incautious movement.
DO NOT give a casualty anything to eat or drink or you may delay medical treatment.
DO protect a casualty from the elements, and help them to keep warm by improvising a shelter – gliders and glider bags are useful in this respect. Support and immobilise any injured limbs and try to control any major bleeding, but do not attempt to improvise splinting or use a tourniquet.
DO speak to the casualty in a calming and reassuring way, tell them that they are in good hands, and that help is on its way. Even if they appear to be unconscious they may still be able to hear all that is said around them.
DO try to keep bystanders and spectators away from the scene, they may distress the casualty, or be distressed themselves. You might use some responsible people to keep them away, but also ask if there is anyone with medical skill if needed (although they will normally volunteer).
DO be especially cautious if there is no obvious injury. Look for the possibility of head injury (bruising, cuts, damaged helmet etc.). If you have the slightest suspicion that someone may have suffered any head injury or spinal injury, or if they have any loss of memory or have been unconscious, even for a second, they MUST be taken to a hospital for checks (do not rely on them promising to go).
DO call for Mountain Rescue assistance (999, ask for Police, Mountain Rescue) as well as ambulance if the casualty is located anywhere except at the roadside.

Power line accidents

If a casualty, or any part of their aircraft are in contact with power lines, or if cables are touching the ground, DO NOT APPROACH CLOSER THAN 20 YARDS until you are assured by someone from the Electricity Board that the power has been cut off. Automatic circuit breakers may attempt to reconnect the power several times without warning. In wet conditions stay even further away. To be blunt it would be distressing to watch someone die, but stupid to double the death toll by attempting a misguided rescue.

Informing next of kin

It is perhaps best if next of kin of a casualty can be informed sensitively by someone well known to them, but if this is not possible it should be left to the police, who are trained to handle this sometimes difficult job. You should also try to make sure that they do not find out accidentally, which might cause great distress, see the next bit…

Dealing with the media

If you are approached by a representative of the media be cautious about what you say. It is best to refer them to a senior member of the club committee who can make a considered statement later, but if you do speak to them, confine yourself to an eye-witness account describing ONLY what you saw, DO NOT speculate about events or causes, and DEFINITELY DO NOT identify the casualty.

Serious accidents & fatalities

In a serious accident you have an extra responsibility, which is to help any future investigation. Ensure that wreckage is not moved or disturbed until it has been examined, unless you must move something to aid the victim. If possible photographs of the accident scene may be useful, and if you have photos, video, etc. which show the accident, you should offer these to the investigation – this can be done through the local police.

After the event

Complete the online BHPA incident report form as soon as possible and remember to record full details of any witnesses before they depart. Send it to the BHPA office as soon as possible.

If you witness a serious but non fatal accident or incident, you must report it immediately to the BHPA on 0116 261 1322. If you are in any doubt as to whether an accident or incident has been reported, do it anyway. Don’t assume someone else has already done it- make sure, or do it yourself.

If you witness any serious accident or incident, please fill in an incident report form and report the accident to the committee via the club safety officer as soon as possible.

Fatal accident protocol

If you witness a fatal accident, you must report it immediately to the Air Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) on 01252 512299.

Telephone numbers

Power Line Accidents: please treat any electricity cables as if live, stay away and call emergency number 0800 31 63 105 (or just 105).

With acknowledgements to Derbyshire Soaring Club

Covid–19 An update from V.I.P.E.R.

Sun, 05 Apr 2020 16:56:30 +0100

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

Carabiner Warning

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 21:37:04 Z

The original document is in French and can be viewed here

In 2018, it was reported that 3 accidents were caused by the rupture of the carabiners on solo and tandem paragliders.
It is proven that one of the accidents concerns a Camp-40mm carabiner distributed under the brand name Woody Valley.

This carabiner had about 3 years and 600 hours of cross-country and thermal flight and was used in solo paragliding.

After analysis of available public documents, products derived from the Camp 40 carabiner (Gin 40 ,Niviuk 40; APCO-AirExtreme 40; Kortel 40) would also be affected by a risk of rupture towards end-of-life or tandem use.
For safety reasons, users are advised not to use this equipment anymore.

A collection of this material is set up with the aim of carrying out tests of residuelle resistance and the results of which will be published.

You can send your reform connectors, under envelope "bubble strengthens" accompanied by this fact sheet information a:

Use Exceptional Email

Manufacturer		Model
Use Mono/BI/Acro/ Cross/Soaring		Main Axis Resistance - kN
		Anne of Purchase Nine / Occas. ?
		Flight time

Gudauri_Georgia paragliding accident - 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZKq-e0mOms&feature=voutu.be&t=441

PSC Safety Bulletin Feb 2020

Tue, 11 Feb 2020 14:06:06 Z

Pay Attention! More on changing winds

It’s been a very weird winter, wind-wise. Apart from the weather being consistently abysmal, even the breaks have had their issues with wind gradient and shear. Flyable winds at ground level have regularly evolved into howling gales at hilltop height (or, even worse, just above the hill). Last Thursday our chairman and I set off for Tailbridge, passing clagged-in Parlick and Whitestones on the way. GJ had been in the air an hour when we arrived, and while he looked a bit stationary at times, all seemed fine. The wind was strong, but consistent, so I walked down to the bottom of the hill to re-attach my wing as I’d detached it from the harness to repack the reserve. After some ground handling the wind seemed to calm a bit more, so I wing-walked up a bit, and took off. Smooth air, consistent lift, good penetration – what more could I want? Better visibility would have been nice, but no need to be greedy. I had fun for half an hour, sharing the sky with a couple of hangies exploring the lift well out over the road. I started filming Simon as he and his mate flirted with the clouds swirling around between us and Mallerstang, thinking the light was great for some moody, atmospheric shots. This was nearly my undoing: I suddenly became aware of grass only a few feet beneath me, moving in the wrong direction! I barely had time to catch hold of the rear risers and get my feet out of the podbefore contacting the ground. It could have been much more serious – there are many worse places to get blown back than Tailbridge, with its flat grassy top, so apart from falling over while I was killing the wing, no harm done.

What did I do wrong? Failed to pay attention to the conditions. I was alone in the air, apart from the 2 hang gliders which were always in my view, so with reduced need to watch the airspace for other wings, my focus on catching ‘the shot’ distracted me from my main task, which was TO FLY THE B****Y AIRCRAFT! The wind was forecast to increase, and while Tailbridge isn’t noted for wave, clearly it was moving in and out of phase and I should have expected a marked change in windspeed at any time and stayed vigilant.

What could I have done? Had I noticed the speed picking up, I could have used my speed bar to push out and land by the road. By the time I realised what was happening, I was too near the ground for that to help, my priority was to prepare to land.

When I’ve landed in strong winds before, I’ve usually been relieved to find my backwards ground speed decrease to nothing, or even slightly forward, in the last few feet. Not this time, I actually accelerated backwards as I touched down so had no chance to stay on my feet, despite landing with bent knees and jumping round to run towards the wing. Could I have twisted 180° to face the way I was moving? This wasn’t the time to practise that!

So, in conclusion, this was a good reminder to me of the need to stay focused on the task of flying the glider. Everything else is peripheral – sightseeing, photography, even eating and drinking – all things we do but it’s vital develop the skill of keeping a significant part of our brains tuned in to the job in hand.

Anyway, here’s the shot:

Using RASP for upper winds

Wed, 08 Jan 2020 16:16:07 Z

RASP also has tools for displaying the wind at altitude. You may have to choose the right browser. I find it works OK in Firefox, otherwise if you right-click the partial image that comes up you can choose to display it in a new window and see the whole thing.