Airborn #219 August 2021

Issue 219; August,September.October 2021

X-Alps the Kiwi Way Ahuriri to Erewon Paragliding Distance Record Hang Gliding History Southern Photos Towing on Dunstan 7.50 Including GST

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9 771170 992006

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING

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any pilots visit flying sites outside their own region. To ensure that you don’t jeopardise arrangements between land owners and local flyers you must ALWAYS check with local pilots BEFORE flying.

That way you won’t upset land owners or pilots, you will be shown all the best sites and will be welcome back. We don’t publish site names and locations

NORTHLAND H.G.P.C. C/- Guntram Gross 1 Brook Road Whangarei Email: Skywalk@hotmail.co.nz www.facebook.com/ NorthlandHangGlidingandParaglidingClub/ Pres; Mike Ferguson.......................021 995 682 Sec/Treas; Guntram Gross...........021 072 0357 HGSO; Herman Ahrens..................09 432 9333 PGSO; Wolfgang Harder..............021 112 3597 Sites; Bernie Massey....................021 244 4405 AUCKLAND H.G.P.C. PO Box 47813 Ponsonby, Auckland 1144 Email: info@cloudbase.org.nz www.cloudbase.org.nz Pres: Stefan Sebregts .................021 266 1287 Sec: Adrian Merrall...................... 021 249 3999 Treas: Malcolm Dawson...............021 052 1568 HGSO: Fraser Bull .......................027 801 4044 PGSO: Reuben Muir.......................09 446 0020 Airsp: Leslie Graham .....................09 579 6485 Steve Price ....................................021 781 828 Eva Keim .......................................09 446 0051 Sean Oliver Hang Gliding............... 027 670 8301 Wings And Waves Paragliding ......09 446 0020 WAIKATO H.G.P.C. Inc. C/- Ian Manton

TARANAKI FREE FLYERS C/- John Morgan New Plymouth Pres, Airsp, Sec/Treas, PGSO; John Morgan ...................................................... 021 726 183 HGSO; Dave Austin....................021 0283 6797 BAY OF PLENTY H.G.P.C. C/- Neville Goodwin, 304b Papamoa Beach Road, Papamoa Beach, Papamoa, 3118 Email: bophangparaclub@gmail.com www.facebook.com/BOPHangGlidingParagliding Pres: Kevin Wylie..........................027 321 1107 Sec: Neville Goodwin.......................... 027 465 3637 PGSO: Mark McIntyre........................021 337 595 HGSO: James Low.......................021 102 5004 Airsp: Rhys Akers.........................021 177 7563 Sites: Dave Shaw...........................07 575 9560 Kiwi Air.........................................021 1046 208 Mount Paragliding........................027 249 2702 WELLINGTON H.G.P.C. PO Box 9824 Marion Square Wellington 6141 www.whgpc.nz Email: info@whgpc.org.nz Pres: Matthew Williams................027 552 5205 Sec/Treas: Grant Firth................... 021 422 698 HGSO: Grant Tatham...................027 636 3491 PGSO: Irwin Imhoff........................ 22 087 2173 Airsp: Ian Miller ............................022 176 8205 Comms; Warren Fitzgerald..........027 511 1599

PO Box 131, Matamata 3440 Email: ian@imatec.co.nz Pres: Mark McDonald...................020 444 9995 Sec/Treas: ................ Ian Manton 027 546 2832 PGSO: Bruce Vickerman .............027 498 9941 HGSO: Rick Hawkeswood.............07 868 6250 Airsp: Neil Howe.............................07 304 9631 HAWKES BAY H.G.P.C. Inc. 22 Mangarau Crescent, Havelock North 4130

MARLBOROUGH H.G.P.C. C/- Cody Pickles 1188 Waihopai Valley Road, RD 6, Blenheim Email: codypicklesj@gmail.com Pres: Daniel Francis .....................027 823 7292 Sec: Cody Pickles ........................027491 2730 Treas: Lindsay Smith....................027 850 6368 PGSO: Julie Bousquet.................027 340 0718 HGSO: John Urlich..03 5771024, 027 302 5629 Overall Site Manager; Mark Davies.021 0273 3977 Airsp: Daniel Francis.....................027 823 7292

Email: hbhgpc@gmail.com Pres, Ken Beach ..........................021 191 6388 Treas: Nick Webster .....................027 494 9032 Sec; Jonathan McIlvenny.............021 133 7019 PGSO: Shane Davies ..................027 870 6000 HGSO: Ross MacKay...................027 285 4195 Sites; Bex Rae ..............................021 605 204 Airsp: Shaun Gilbert.....................022 477 8804

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KEY Pres; .............................................. President

Sec; ............................ Secretary/Treasurer PGSO; ............. Paragliding Safety Officer HGSO; .......... Hang Gliding Safety Officer CFI;...........................Chief Flying Instructor Airsp;.................................Airspace Officer

CANTERBURY H.G.P.C. Inc. C/- Paul Conaghan 34 Mounter Ave Christchurch 8051 Email: exec@chgpc.org.nz www.chgpc.org.nz Pres: Colin Hogg..........................021 249 9599 Sec/Treas; Paul Conaghan ..........022 414 7377 PGSO; Stuart Mackintosh..........020 4021 3344 HGSO; Warren Simonsen.............021 183 2126 Sites PG; Ondrej Wieden............020 4158 8152 Sites HG; Don Payne....................027 432 7884 Website; Stephen O’Shaughnessy.03 326 7373 Airsp; Ryan Scarlett......................022 045 7254 Canty HG School; Bill Degen.......021 247 2676 Chch Para.....................................022 045 7254 Cloudbase Paragliding.................027 532 4874 Nimbus Paragliding......................027 432 4874 ParaPro.........................................0800 548 323 AORANGI H.G.C. C/- Tom Knewstubb PO Box 5976 Dunedin Pres, Airsp; Kevin McManus........021 134 0463 Sec, HGSO; Tom Knewstubb (wk) 027 289 6103 PGSO: Lisa Bradley......................021 156 3256 SOUTHERN H.G.P.C. C/_ Tim Brown, 142 Dalefield Rd, RD1, Queenstown 9371 Email: admin@southernclub.co.nz www.southernclub.co.nz Pres; Tim Brown...........................021 182 4243 Sec: Paula Race...........................027 855 8448 Treas: Kat Cerna.........................021 0291 0851 PGSO: Blake Round.....................027 367 7679 HGSO: Pete Helliwell .................021 0284 5170 Sites: Cathal McLoughlin...........021 024 00350 Events: Chris Shaw......................021 051 2905 IT/Web: Daniel Diaz Rizo....................................

Airsp: Chris Streat........................027 485 6236 Craig Smith...................................027 343 3537 Louis Tapper.......................................................

Benjamin Kellet.............................021 232 7217 Dean Orton.....................................021 612 998 Coronet Peak Tandem PG & HG..0800 467 325 Extreme Air Paragliding School....021 156 3256 G Force Tandem Paragliding..........03 441 8581 Infinity Paragliding School..............021 981 855 Skytrek Hang Gliding & Paragliding.0800 759 873 Paraventures Paragliding...............021 809 275

Photo; Lars David Lauridsen

www.soarhawkesbay.co.nz

TASMAN H.G.P.C. C/- Frog Twissell 186A Nile Street, Nelson 7010 Email: thgpgclub@gmail.com Pres; Peter Allison..........................021 350 066 Sec; Frog Twissell.........................021 228 2121 Treas; Brian Erasmus .....................03 545 1003 PGSO; Greg Benjamin....................03 545 1543 PGSO; Pete Polansky ...................03 528 7374 HGSO; John King..........................03 548 8263 Site Owners; Tim Percival .............03 548 7397 Sites; Kevin Rooke.........................021 762 769 Airsp; Claus Petry.........................021 250 4836 Nelson Paragliding.........................03 544 1182 Hang Gliding NZ.............................021 762 769

Hang gliders and paragliders flying at Western Lake

Skywings Paragliding ....................09 570 5757

because flying sites have been lost by visiting flyers who have upset land owners. To assist travelling pilots, people wishing to learn to fly or to contact hang gliding and paragliding clubs, here is a list of people who can help you.

Those on the list or wishing to be listed, should contact their Club Secretaries who should keep Airborn and the NZHGPA website updated of changes of contact details.

ISSN 1170-9928

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Magazine of the NEW Zealand Hang Gliding & Paragliding Assn. Inc. Published every three months for hang gliding and paragliding enthusiasts in

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Email:

Duncan Macnab, 027 624 6434, president@nzhgpa.org.nz Ian Manton, 027 546 2832, vice-president@nzhgpa.org.nz

Executive Members

Kyla MacDonald 021 056 2320 kylamacdonald@gmail.com Carlos Palmer, 027 487 7654, hg.operations@nzhgpa.org.nz Grant Tatham, 06 379 7322, 027 636 3491, hg.training@nzhgpa.org.nz Blake Round, 027 367 7679, pg.operations@nzhgpa.org.nz Glen Ogilvie, 021 684 146, nelg@linuxsolutions.co.nz Kevin McManus 021 134 0463 kamdfc@gmail.com Ian Manton, 027 546 2832, pg.training@nzhgpa.org.nz Duncan Macnab, 027 624 6434, president@nzhgpa.org.nz

Operations TEAM Chief Executive Officer

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Operations Manager

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Blake Round, 027 367 7679, training@nzhgpa.org.nz

Internal Auditor

Kris Ericksen, 021 116 4558, safety@nzhgpa.org.nz

National Safety Officer

Nina Harrap, 027 844 3904, safety@nzhgpa.org.nz

National Airspace Officer

Rhys Akers, 021 177 7563, airspace@nzhgpa.org.nz

Chief Medical Advisor

Dr Sam Bartholomew, C/o NZHGPA administrator, admin@nzhgpa.org.nz

Paragliding Competition Committee

Timothy Brown (Chair), 03 442 5319, 021 182 4243, NZHGPAPCC@googlegroups.com Dave Washer, Nina Harrap

Hang Gliding Competition Committee

Dennis Thorpe (Chair) 021 112 1622 Hgcc@nzhgpa.org.nz Matt Barlow, Tom Mulder

NZHGPA Book Store

Ian Manton 027 202 1806, admin@nzhgpa.org.nz

In This Issue...

Red Bull X-Alps the Kiwi Way......................................................4 Ahuriri to Erewhon Cross Country Flight...................................6 Towing and Acro.........................................................................10 NZ Hang Gliding History, part 2................................................12 Paragliding World Distance Record.........................................14

Editing, Graphics; AeroDesign, Bill Degen Printing; The Caxton Press

Please send advertisements, photos and articles to the editor:

President

Airborn Magazine

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aero@xtra.co.nz

Understanding RASP; Upper Air Soundings/SkewT...............16 Southern Photo Competition....................................................18 Executive Reports, Safety Checks...........................................22 Cross Country Championship Tables, Events................... 24-25 Classified Advertisements.........................................................26 FRONT COVER: Clemence Cadario flying at Skyline Gondola in Queenstown just after the lockdown. Photo; Thomas Rold

Next issue deadline: 30 September 2021 A

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X-Alps 2021

Nick Neynens does the epic Red Bull xc event the Kiwi way

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obody was sure what to make of this years’ X-Alps, or whether it would happen at all given the pandemic.

Some teams had to cancel or worse still were removed from the competition in the pre-week, there were talks of delays, but in the end it finally happened. I made the personal decision to go to Europe anyway, whether X-Alps happened or not, but for my supporters from Australia it was simply impractical to come, having to first obtain permission from the government to leave, then to endure two weeks of expensive quarantine on return, if you can get back at all.

I ended up getting in touch with a French mate (Pierre) I worked with a decade ago, and at the last minute an ex-housemate (Nikki) from five years ago was able to become my official supporter, bringing her own vehicle and as an ex-pat plenty of kiwi enthusiasm, retraining my French mate to say chilly bin instead of esky.

The day before my medical check

Above; My wingtip marks the place I crashed, on the saddle east side of the Tenningebirge I flew the route from the Gaisberg above Salzburg to the first turn point where we were camped for the preweek, in Wagrain. Unfortunately on the way I decided to try a rather unnecessary top landing in the high mountains.

A strong north wind was pushing through the col but on final approach thermic gusts created a strong wind shear and I hit the deck, hard, very hard. I’d twisted my ankle, kneed myself in the throat, and given myself a large lump near my wrist with one of the limestone rocks scattered around the grassy slope.

After a few moments to gather myself, some food eaten with difficulty given I’d just used my tongue as a mouth guard, I moved about 50 metres to a launch, where the wind was quite different to where I’d landed. It was close to 20 knots and mindful of my ankle it

was a challenge to carefully “build a wall”, given at least once I had to hold the wing several metres from the tip to keep it from pulling me off the mountain. I made sure to get off cleanly on the first attempt, and carefully connected the ridges back to camp.

Finally Nikki my official supporter, also an osteopath, heard my calls for ice and stopped attending to our neighbour Ferdy (NED), whose massage table we borrowed for treatment once I’d packed my wing and hobbled over. We decided there weren’t broken bones and we’d do our best to manage the swelling.

The next day I had my medical check - I wasn’t sure how I would go riding a (stationary) bike for the stress ECG test but in the end it was a non event. Apparently Ferdy (with a slight niggle on his knee) had made the same comment I had, that it’s a pity we can’t bring a bike to the X-Alps!

The next day I managed to hobble up 1000m vertical for the prologue, with an ankle brace, and thankfully flew the whole course - or so I thought. I’d been given an xctrack file with coordinates I’d checked but the radius was set to 200m instead of 50m - so I suffered a three hour penalty, to be served on the second morning of the race.

Left; Self medi-evac flight back to camp at Wagrain

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Above; an mpromptu mouth guard I’ve always had an inclination to minimise my road walking during the race, and the ankle was the perfect excuse. But these days the pace is so fast that you really have to keep moving for the full 17+ hours of the day to be competitive. I had a big disadvantage from the start, with the show stopper turn points, which cost you dearly if you have to stop, sign, and hike in the middle of good flying conditions; and the three hour penalty. I added to it by not quite reaching the steep sunny rocks (by just a few kilometres) on the first day before the sun sank into the murk, and on the second day by getting gun-shy by the “hunting” airspace, messing up a crossing, and getting stuck in the same valley for most of the rest of the day.

On my third day I flew well, a couple of early hike and glides, then an early thermal flight, getting really high deep in the mountains before crossing to the famous to

Right; Good flying on the day after elimination, west of Zugspitze (26 June) cross country pilots Pinzgau ridge, and flying directly to the Kitzbühel turn point.

Despite being on a hill this turn point nearly undid me, as while I ignored a good thermal just a few kilometres before bagging it, after relaunching everything was shaded out and I was very patient and lucky to find some dribbles over the valley and stay airborne before working my way up and across to the massive cliffs of the Wilder Kaiser.

Here I was blasted up and enjoyed a long tail wind glide over the top of the much lower clouds of the Bavarian flats. Once under them I had to battle headwinds pushing over rocky spurs from the lee, before winding down with a lot of walking on the flats bagging the strangest turn point of them all, Chiemsee.

Our hopes were buoyed by this as we’d escaped the first elimination but had only bought 48 hours, but now there were many other athletes scattered around. Looking back I don’t see any major problems in my flying or route selection, but the competition was tough;

Nicola Donini is a very accomplished competition (and acro!) pilot and I later noticed that he had a few low saves and drifting climbs on a similar route to me - it looked like edge of the seat stuff.

Gavin McClurg had fewer wins in the air, and landed near me at the end of the day, but at that stage I’d already hiked a hill hoping for an evening glide. The road route was flat and direct and made sense but didn’t have options for flying on the way so I opted for a detour into the mountains.

In the end this was my downfall, as I my evening flights were made impossible by thunderstorms that night and the next, and during the day I went from one “booby trap” to the next (Bavarian winds sneaking through cols, valley winds inexplicably increasing from nil to 50km/h in minutes, and the Bavarian winds finally failing me when I needed them, replaced by storm outflows).

Above; The cliffs from launch where I unexpectedly climbed out in the lee of a strong SW on the day of Chrigel’s big flight (27 June) Below; The course for the Red Bull X-Alps 2021: The race to Mont Blanc - and back!

The ankle was fine for walking with good footing but on steep or uneven ground, or walking downhill, I was limping. For sure it discouraged me from pushing hard on the ground, but also it meant I was quite timid with launches and landings. But every day it felt better, and the team was working together well, and it seemed an unnecessary loss that we had to cut our adventure short by a week when we were eliminated on the sixth morning.

This rule is probably designed to gracefully cull sore and tired competitors that didn’t really know what they were in for, but I think it is less relevant in an event where all teams are well prepared. For sure that was my (and our) feelings at the time, but once the event ends you realise that perhaps you were a little sore and tired after all. It goes to show that the support and excitement of fans really is a big motivating factor.

As it happened my elimination was timed pretty close to the onset of poor weather and many of the teams struggled through the race.

You cannot just say that the leaders were able to avoid the worst weather, it’s just that they pushed through it faster. These guys are exceptionally well prepared and supported and doing it the New Zealand way certainly makes us stand out, these days, but so many people are supportive of our lightweight style approach in an event that has become less of an adventure and more of a performance for highly tuned athletes, as a spear head to

their project management team.

Many competitors as well have said they really like our approach, although I’m not sure it can compete these days, it does make for a good story.

Hike and fly has surged in popularity in recent years, and as a result there is no shortage of talent for these races in Europe. Each edition brings tougher competition, and although Chrigel is still the favourite, his opportunities to break away are much rarer than they were before.

He often does not win the battles anymore, but he was still able to pick his moment and win the war.

He is exceptionally well prepared, but that is not enough to win these days - you need a special something to get an edge.

But it does seem preparation is a necessity - so it was good to see Kinga organise a hike and fly event in New Zealand this year. Like the X-Alps, having an event like this really helps motivate you to push a little harder and discover new things.

Hike and fly racing really is so much more interesting and spectacular than any other sport I can think of.

A final word for the sponsors, it was a low key effort especially given we didn’t even know it would happen, but individuals donating through Givealittle covered a good portion of our financial expenses, I got some great new flying gear, and as always there are so many people in my life that are supporting me one way or another - thank you.

More at; www.sharemyjoys.com

Right; Looking south to where Chrigel flew

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Surviving Ahuriri to Erewh

By Ben Kellett

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love making the most of the weekend, I have 2 days of work during the week and working as a chef this is often midweek, luckily for me I had a lot of cracking XC days land on WednesdaysThursdays (my days off)!

So, I have a 48 hour window to get some adventuring done and make the most of the good weather.

This starts with long deliberation at work on Tuesday evening poring over the forecast and staring at maps. Eventually I concluded that no matter how many times I read the forecast, it’s not gonna change.

Now it’s time to decide, where to

Above; Mt Bath, northern Ahuriri on the right start from? I’ve decided on the Ahuriri at the pass that leads over into the Dingle Burn. I decided here because it’s in a dry area away from the stability of any lake, it is close to the big mountains, but most of all I really wanted to fly the line from there to Mt Cook and with the higher base forecast here with a light SW it all seemed possible. A few weeks before me and Nico had flown this route on a 2 day vol biv that took us from Coronet Peak to Mt Cook via Makarora and by far my favourite part of the flight was from the Huxleys up to Mount Cook, I really wanted to re-fly this section.

There’s some draw back to starting here, it’s far from ideal... logistically.

If I want to fly from there that’d mean I’d have to leave town immediately after work, drive as far up the Ahuriri in the middle of the night as my FWD Hyundai Lantra would take me and

sleep in my car. Then if by some miracle I managed to fly out of the Ahuriri into the Hopkins and beyond I’d then have the nightmare of trying to get back to my car which is now at the end of a 40km dirt road off the state highway. I said to myself, “The car retrieve conundrum can be a problem for future Ben, I’m sure he’ll figure something out. Sometimes, you just gotta try these things.” and with that I left work at 9pm on Tuesday, packed my bag and set off for the Ahuriri.

I arrived at the bottom of the track at 1: 30am and had 5 or 6 hours sleep in the back of the car before starting the march up the hill to take off. It’s not a long hike and I was on takeoff by 10: 30, as soon as I put my bag down I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that I usually get when I have the sudden realisation that I have forgotten something. This

time it was the cable to charge my phone, not the end of the world but frustrating. I use my phone as an instrument that displays my ground speed, clime rate, glide ratio etc not to mention a pretty useful communications device. After giving myself a telling off I quickly turned it off to conserve battery.

The wind was coming up lightly from the Dingle Burn to the SW but I really wanted to take off on to the sunny east face, every now and again there would be a light breeze from the east and by 11am I was seeing the odd dust devil, excellent!

I quickly got ready, I had to forwards launch but was off the ground by 11: 20 and immediately took a 3m/s climb to 7800ft! What a start!

Usually, the first part of the flight consists of me slowly scratching my way up to base whilst farting around with my instruments/gloves/ radio getting comfy, no time for this today as it was 11:45 and I was at 8 grand cruising past Mt Bath with a big grin on my face before crossing onto the Barrier range. I flew along the ridge between the South Huxley branch and Temple Stream soaking in the views before having a bit of a scratch on Rabbiters Peak to get as much height as possible before crossing the Hopkins.

I arrived on the ridge that runs up to Glenmary on the Naumann Range and quickly found the climb that led me up to the top ridge, whilst climbing I noticed that my right brake line had become completely unsheathed! It had worn out just

Left; Looking North on the Naumann Range

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Above; Crossing the Godley River above the handle as it passes through the ceramic ring that keeps the brakes, this glider doesn’t have pulleys. I still had the inner core of the line but was uncomfortable watching it rubbing on the ceramic ring that had just cut through the sheathing.

I tried to reassure myself by thinking if the line did eventually break, I should still be able to comfortably use the rear riser to steer the glider to landing. I’d just have to hope that it didn’t snap during a violent 6m/s monster climb that were becoming more and more frequent the further into the flight I got. Trying not to look at the threads of Aramid that remained, I decided to continue.

It was a completely blue day, no cumulus whatsoever but that didn’t seem to make a difference as it was working so well. It certainly was simple flying; get over the pointy stuff and turn when it beeps. I crossed the Dobson and started working my way up the Ben Ohaus, fully stoked with Mt Cook Village easily within glide, the objective was in the bag!

I had gotten there much faster than expected, it was only 2pm so easily 4 to 5 hours of flying left.

I decided to push further up the Ben Ohaus so I could attempt crossing the Tasman when all of a sudden, WHAM! I felt this heavy tug on one of my shoulders, my heart immediately sank, something bad just happened.

My initial reaction was, “Oh no, it’s an accidental reserve deployment,” but after a couple more seconds of feeling and a turn of the head I

realised it was actually my Camelbak with 2 litres of water hanging behind me from the tube that connects to my shoulder strap. Grabbing the brakes in one hand I reached back and swung it up onto my chest, then felt around to the back pocket and realised the zip had come undone and the pocket (that contains all of my vol biv gear) was now fully open and flapping in the wind.

Now don’t get me wrong I was pretty relieved that it wasn’t an accidental reserve deployment at 9500ft on the Ben Ohaus, who knows where I would’ve landed, but now I had an open pocket, and I was potentially dropping all of the kit that I may desperately need to make it out of the pretty remote terrain I was planning on flying over. I was over the road that leads to the Mt Cook Village so I could just glide down to the road and call it a day but how often am I

at 9500ft on the Ben Ohaus at 2pm?

The next road after this would be after 75km of barren mountains at Erewhon Station, I knew that under my seat in replacement of my back protection I had my sleeping bag, an inflatable mattress and the outer to my tent (the poles were in the back pocket) so I knew I could easily survive the night.

However, my food was in the back pocket and without that would certainly restrict how many days walking I would be able to endure. I decided to press on and made the long glide across the Tasman, whilst trying desperately to close the zip on the pocket behind me, which was impossible.

After five minutes of struggling, I gave in and had a desperate midflight toilet break, balancing the Camelbak on my chest just in time to start climbing up on Mt Burnett on

the western flanks of the Jollie River.

Between 3 and 5pm for me is the most enjoyable part of the day for flying, the thermals feel bigger with softer edges, they seem to be more reliable and take you higher, usually I’m more into the flow and more relaxed as well. I was having a blast hopping over the Jollie and the Cass looking back at the views of Mt Cook, feeling elated as I crossed the Godley. I have wanted to fly the Godley for a long time after years of looking at it on the maps, I dared not fly to far up as I know how long the walk could be and I still was uncertain as to how much food and equipment I had lost out the back of my harness.

Still balancing my camel back on my lap, I crossed over to Mt Sibbald and spotted some chamois grouped up on one of the summits and asked them, “What are you guys even doing

Right; Looking north up the Hall Range, Godley river on the right

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Above; Mt Cook from Burnett.

Below; Cloudy PEak

up here?!” They were as confused to see me as I was of them. I kept flying in the direction of the Two Thumbs Range, it was unbelievable flying, every climb was right where it should be and was strong, no mucking around.

I left the Thumbs and was starting to get a bit disorientated but managed to spot what I assumed must’ve ben Erewhon Station.

After soaring the sunny faces of the Cloudy Peak Range for 10 minutes I pressed on in the direction of the mouth of the Lawrence River. My theory was if I got a high on the other side I’d keep going in the direction of Mt Arrowsmith but if not I’d land near the station as I still didn’t know if I had any food, I didn’t want to push my luck and land at the head of the Lawrence River and walk for 2 days.

If I had all my kit and my brake line wasn’t attached by a couple threads I would’ve crossed to the northern side of the Lawrence and pressed on but I’d already had an epic day it was 5:30pm and I decided to glide south for the station. As I got below 3000ft I was greeted with a 30kmh southerly valley wind that meant I couldn’t make it to the road, I landed backwards in the riverbed and my naivety cost me an extra 3 hours walking and 5 river crossings.

After landing I quickly checked my back pocket to see what had fallen out; loads of stuff! My hiking poles, concertina bag, electronics (power banks, cables etc), bank cards, ID and some cash. Thankfully, I still

Left; Looking back across the Cass River, Mt Cook on the right

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Right; Crossing the Godley looking north had my food and tent poles! Feeling elated, I packed up, folded my glider as best I could into my backpack and turned my phone on to confirm my route out. I checked the distance I’d flown and it was 136km! My longest ever flight! Now the mission of getting back to the car begins.

I walked for 4 hours and set up camp just before sunset on the banks of the Rangitata, I woke at 6am, packed up and started the walk down the road to the east. I thought at least if I made Mt Sunday (the Lord of The Rings film site) I should be able to hitch a ride with some sight-seers. It took me 2 hours and when I got there; not a car in sight.

Ah the pandemic, that’s right.

I kept walking down the road and as I was 100m from the driveway to the Mt Potts Station I saw a 4x4 turning onto the road, I ran to the turn-off waving my arms in the air and they pulled over, turned around and picked me up. It was the station manager’s wife doing the school run!

She told me I was lucky to catch her as there was not many cars that drive out here anymore. She drove me down the 40km road and dropped me in Mt Somers on the main road where I started hitching back towards Queenstown.

After a couple of hitches and a few messages from my phone with dwindling battery I managed to find out that the hang glider pilots were flying in Omarama. The plan was to link up with them and at least get a ride back to Cromwell. I arrived in Omarama at 4pm and quickly found John Smith on the air strip at the gliding club, I hadn’t been there 5 minutes and he threw me the keys to Matts Barlow’s truck and sent me on a retrieve out towards the east coast to collect Matt who had landed past Duntroon! I picked up Matt who was fizzing after having a spectacular flight from Magic Mountain over to the Buscot and down the St Marys Range.

We drove back to Omarama, stopped for a beer at Rod’s then Tom and John drove me all the way up the Ahuriri and back to my car!

I jumped back in the Lantra and after nearly flooding it crossing a river, I drove all the way back to Queenstown. Climbing into bed at 2am on Friday morning.

I thought about the amount of country I had seen over the last 48 hours, and laughed at the thought of someone finding my bank cards, ID and hiking poles strewn across the side of the Ben Ohaus, what an adventure!

Now for 5 hours sleep before I have to get to work at 10am!

Right; Bens flight track

Right; Havelock River

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9

TOWING; How I n winter 2019 I finally decided to take the plunge and ordered a paragliding winch out of Europe for the main purpose of enabling SIV/ progression training to be viable options again in NZ.

There had been less and less SIV courses being run in NZ mainly due to site access and the availability of sites. After having several meetings with DOC to gain access to Mt Dick in Kingston which were going nowhere, the helicopters putting roadblocks up when it came to accessing Mt Coromandel (Wanaka), and reports that Ohau could be a difficult place to try and fly from with any consistency.

At the same time, there was an increase in major accidents locally and nationally. Accidents happen due to many factors but improving our pilotage through courses and practicing manoeuvres high over water must prevent some. Towing seemed to be the next option.

Getting the winch was just the start. We had to get it mounted to a vehicle, find some places to tow on land and water, get everyone trained to use it, find a boat to use then a boat to buy. Oh, and work out the compliance. It was clear that this game was not going to be cheap! But

Left; Anthony Saupin high over Lake Dunstan

Below; Pete Helliwell on tandem

10 A i r b o r n

By Blake Round

without taking the eyes off the goal to enable training with the safety of having height over water, I was left with not an ‘if’ but a ‘how’.

To date we have completed over 1300 tows with nearly all our boat tows leaving the pilot at 3000ft over the lake!! This summer we got through our first SIV/progression courses and provided all the towing for Acrofest 2021 in conjunction with the Southern Club.

Acrofest was a competition which had been mothballed for several years due to site access and airspace changes in Queenstown.

In previous years it had been built up to be quite the event drawing huge crowds in Queenstown and Kingston with epic displays by top level paraglider pilots.

Acrofest 2021 was an amazing event held over Lake Dunstan in Cromwell. We had the perfect weekend with light winds and clear skies. 18 pilots in total, 15 male and 3 female, competed over 3 days with Ben French claiming 1st place, Leo Chelle 2nd, Georges Millet 3rd and Andres Contreras 4th.

All 18 pilots flew 3 scoring flights with the pilots scoring highest going through to the finals and competing for the Acrofest Trophy.

Scoring was based on the execution of manoeuvres, choreography and landing accuracy. Points were deducted for poor manoeuvre placement and low manoeuvres.

The highlight for me was three of the finalists spiral landing with pinpoint accuracy onto the raft we had anchored in the lake one after the other!!!

The competition was open to all interested with novice and fun categories including prizes for pilots across all categories. A big thanks to all of those who made the event happen: organisers, pilots, judges,

w else do we do it? boat and winch operators, and Pisa Moorings Lake Resort and Bar for hosting us.

S IV / P r o g r e s s i o n c o u r s e s .

ParaTowNZ will be endeavouring to grow the availability of advanced training for all PG pilots in NZ, whilst encouraging a selection of instructors to offer a range of courses on the tow allowing pilots to choose a course which suits their flying style. We are in contact with SIV instructors from overseas with some big names interested. Hopefully one day (once an option again) we will be able to host internationals here to provide training.

ParaTowNZ strives to provide safe, easy, smooth towing so pilots can focus on the training once off the tow. One way we do this is require all pilots to hold a tow rating before getting on the boat, allowing pilots to get comfortable before having the added challenges and pressures that come with boat towing.

When it comes to SIV it can be a lot to take in for people’s first course, we are looking to break up the training so people can do a progression course over 2 days which is packed with a range of manoeuvres and handling skills short of stalls and spins.

Then we will then be running 1-day advanced manoeuvre courses focusing on stalls, spins and entry level acro which will work well for a lot of people who want refreshers and for pilots who have done a progression and want to go to the next level. The goal is to encourage progression through the advanced training without overloading or scaring pilots.

We also offer boat towing days for pilots who wish to just get high and practice outside of a course structure over water and in the future, we would like to look at how the winch could be used for cross

Below; Towing from airstrip

Above; Ben French in action at Acrofest

Above; Ulises Cabrera Miranda high over Cromwell country. If you’re keen be involved come join us! www.paratownz.com

Photo; Anthony Saupin

Below; Ben Kellett coming into land behind the boat, Blake Round driving, Pete Helliwell in the boat

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11

Of Lancers and Sharks

GRAEME BIRD CONTINUES WITH PART 2 OF THE STORY OF HANG GLIDER DESIGN IN NEW ZEALAND IN THE 1970s AND 1980s Double Surface

E

arly in 1980 the French hang gliding company La Mouette introduced the Atlas, a 30% double surface design with innovative pre-formed aluminium tube ribs that clearly defined the airfoil shape of the sail.

The result was a huge improvement in sink rate and glide ratio over the then single surface gliders with flexible ribs such as the Lancer IV. The Atlas dominated the circuit that summer until Ultralight Products (UP) a California based company, released the Comet.

UP moved what the Atlas had started forward a quantum level. Now the wing was 65% double surface with the completely enclosed cross bars eliminating a major source of drag. The Comet’s sink rate was another jump ahead as was its glide ratio and performance at speed. If that was not enough, UP also created a novel crossbar attachment that allowed the keel and pilot’s hang point to move ether side of the wing’s centre line thereby giving the pilot much more leverage for improved roll control, something that made the relatively taut wing flyable.

Within months the Lancer IV was no longer relevant. Pacific Kites had changed hands and US sailmaker

12 A i r b o r n

Bob Schutte and friends released the Vampire, a second generation Comet, to the New Zealand market for which Flight Sails had no answer.

My brother Warren had countered with a glider called the Sabre. It however did not work as hoped, it was all new territory at this point. I realised that we had to think further ahead of the Comet concept to get back into the game. After conferring with Murray Ross, one of New Zealand’s leading sailmakers, a plan was born.

We decided to go to a near 100% double surface wing with ribs in the lower and upper surfaces to better sail control sail shape. We also chose to enclose the keel as well as the cross bar for further drag reduction.

The nose angle was increased significantly from the Lancer, and we moved as others had to pre shaped aluminium tube ribs for the upper surface.

I wanted the upper surface of the sail to fly in its own right, with the lower surface to do its job separately.

The upper surface was attached to the leading edge with small pockets at each batten, so it did not rely on the lower surface to determine its fit during flight.

I had noticed two things about double surface flexible wings from a

Above; A good shot of the Shark under surface Below left; Prototype Shark being test flown by Warren Below; A Pacific Kites Vampyre

Above; Pete James at the Kaimai Range Right: View of surfaces in flight prototype some years earlier. Firstly the upper and lower surfaces moved separately to each other when in flight and secondly due to wing twist, the outer lower wing section inverted at speed causing the lower surface to suck away from the upper surface creating a high drag tip section. To get around these issues the lower surface was stand alone and fully ribbed. The trailing edge of the lower surface was not attached to the upper surface at all, instead a web running parallel to and inboard from the trailing edge, attached both surfaces and ran from the keel to about 3/4 span. This allowed each surface to float in relation to each other.

In the tip region the lower surface was not attached to the upper surface except for a strap that picked up the tip batten of the lower surface allowing it to move separately to but not away from the upper surface.

We put a lot of attention into pitch stability and added an aluminium tube to the upper surface parallel to and near the trailing edge that allowed for a single blow-down tube to support two battens in the outer wing section.

As there was no extended keel pocket anymore, we moved the inverted dive recovery lines that ran from the top of the kingpost further outboard for greater effect. The lack of any vertical surface on the Shark bothered me at the time, therefore we raked the kingpost slightly and added a triangle shaped fin, from whence came the name.

Sharks and Vampires March ‘81 At this time North Island pilots had polarised into two camps, the Pacific Kites Vampire pilots and those who flew Flight Sails gliders.

The Vampires had been taking names for some months, so the Shark could

not come soon enough. First test flights went well, then first blood. We turned up at the upper NW take-off at Maori Bay in a 15-20 knot breeze, to find Bob Schutte flying a Vampire.

Initially feeling out sink rate we both went for height with similar results.

Then came performance at speed with a race out to sea. With control bars to our knees the Shark headed to the horizon, and surprisingly the Vampire dropped at high speed to the tree tops below? It took awhile for what had happened to sink in and after a few more flights it became clear as to why the gliders were so different in this way.

The sails of the Comet/Vampire type gliders had very little shape cut into them, relying on the preformed aluminium ribs to create the airfoil, and a curve cut into the leading edge of the sail to match a given leading edge bend. As a result even though the sail was taut on the frame, it was sensitive to changes in leading edge flex caused by increased load.

The higher the flight speed, the higher the leading edge flex, the looser the trailing edge of the sail (most noticeable in the tip region) leaving a smaller portion of the wing producing lift, allowing steep, fast and spectacular dives, but at the expense of high speed glide performance. The plus side of this glider configuration was it helped the Vampires handling.

The Shark on the other hand, had a lot of shape cut into the sail at each batten. When the leading edge flexed at speed, the heavily shaped sail lost little trailing edge tension, resulting in a wing that retained much of its efficiency at speed. Not as good for beating up take-offs, but amazing for going places. This sail stability however did make the Shark a little stiffer to fly.

August ‘81 Every flight over the next few months was a battle for hearts and minds of the New Zealand pilot.

My job was to out fly the Vampires every time we met in order to generate sales. This pressure had the unforeseen benefit of honing my flying skills so as part of the New Zealand team I went on to win the Class 5 of the World Champions in Beppu Japan with the Shark. On the light days the events were very competitive, however whenever conditions allowed time and distance events the Shark was phenomenal, just point and shoot.

A week later back in New Zealand I fractured my neck test flying when I shouldn’t have been, which slowed down further development on the Shark. Fortunately during this time Warren was making hay selling Sharks locally and overseas. Our main focus became to improve the Sharks handling, so to make it more appealing to a wider range of pilots.

This was not easy as the design features that made the Shark great were also its achilles heel in handing, and we could not afford to go back to beginning.

I tried a smaller fully 100% double surface version by cutting the upper surface back to the lower surface profile. The glider was all black and looked quite the weapon, it was very fast and more nimble, however it turned out to be too small to produce a good sink rate, and therefore was not suited to most pilots. I then tried a small as possible lower surface that still encased the crossbar on the standard Shark to see what effect it would have on handling. On my first

test flight at a training site, the glider rolled so quickly in the first turn, I found myself in a steep dive rather close to the ground. A max flare just avoided another fractured neck and all right in front of my wife Juanita. It seamed clear to me that point it was time to move on to something else and that was my last flight.

The Shark was an amazing and unique glider with a lot of innovation and we did manage to go a step further than the Comet type gliders.

Warren also had good success with a trike option. However around this time the hang glider market was shrinking in New Zealand and we basically ran out of funds, and with my decision to stop flying we decided it was a good time to move onto other things.

That’s my story of hang glider design in New Zealand during the mid to late 70’s and early 80’s.

Footnote In the early days I learned a lot from my friend Rob Beresford not only on how to fly but how to think about a hang glider. Rob built all his gliders in his garage and he made everything except the sail. When I first modified the Flexi Flyer sail and then made the Skua sail I was on my own, there was no point of reference at all, until the Cohen gliders turned up, and that was the big “AH HA!” moment. As a sailmaker I knew what Cohen had done and I knew I could do better, hence the Lancer range.

I was also influenced a lot by Bill Moyes a hang gliding pioneer and legend who over the years was very supportive and a friend.

This has been a blast to write and I hope its been fun to read.

Right; Fark it’s a Shark at worlds in Japan Below; The Trike option

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13

S

ebastien Kayrouz set a paragliding world distance record in Texas on 20 June 2021, with the first 600 km flight by paraglider.

The actual distance and records are still to be ratified by the FAI but the claims submitted are; Sub-class: O-3/Paragliders Type of record: Free Distance Course/location: Del Rio, TX (USA) Performance: 610,00 km Pilot: Sebastien Kayrouz (USA) Aircraft: Enzo 3/Ozone Date: 20.06.2021 and Sub-class: O-3/Paragliders Type of record: Straight distance to a declared goal Course/location: Del Rio, TX (USA) Performance: 555,00 km Pilot: Sebastien Kayrouz (USA) Aircraft: Enzo 3/Ozone Date: 20.06.2021 and Sub-class: O-3/Paragliders Type of record: Free distance using up to 3 turn points Course/location: Del Rio, TX (USA) Performance: 610,00 km Pilot: Sebastien Kayrouz (USA) Aircraft: Enzo 3/Ozone Date: 20.06.2021 Sebastien winch tow launched his Ozone Enzo wing, and flew north for nearly 11 hours, his track log showed an average speed of 61.39km/h.

He flew a similar line to that Dustin Martin set the hang gliding world record of 761kms in July 2012 but started further west and north of Zapata, just east of Del Rio. It was the “classic” west Texas line as he passed just west of San Angelo and just east of Big Spring, east of Lubbock and landed just southeast of Amarillo. He also claimed these flights as North American records.

On the day, there were early thermals with beautiful clouds, base altitudes were between 1500 and 2000m and a constant, but by no means “Brazilian” tail wind.

Last year, Sebastien caused a sensation in the US aviation scene when he broke the 500 km mark

World Paragliding Distance Record

for the first time, also in Texas. On that flight, he foot-launched from a small hill.

- Cross Country magazine, FAI, Oz Report, Lu Glidz

Sebastien interviewed by Elena Filonova from FAI CIVL on 26 June 2020 after just flying 500 km.

We asked Sebastian how he prepared for this record attempt.

How long have you been doing free flight sport?

I have been flying paragliders since 1996. I started at the age of 16.

What made you begin?

I have always been passionate about all forms of flying. I started

paragliding because it is the most accessible form of flight and it became a big passion of mine. I am now a commercial airplane pilot and rotorcraft pilot but I enjoy flying paragliders far more than I enjoy flying anything else.

Who were the people that inspired you in your life and sport?

When I started flying, John Silvester created great videos from his flights in the Himalayas. That was a decade before YouTube so these videos were so rare and highly inspiring. They had a great impact on me. Today we have so many great pilots but Chrigel Maurer is the best of the best and watching him fly always leaves me in awe.

What are your achievements before breaking the record?

Last year I set 2 state records, the Oklahoma State record (232 km), and that record is for both hang gliding and paragliding, and the NY State record after it stood for 18 years.

Why did you decide to break that very record in that very place?

I live in Texas and wanted to attempt to break my home state’s record.

Living in the state allowed me to prepare extensively.

What is the previous record and where?

The previous record was set in Texas from the City of Hebronville on July

Left; Sebastien after landing

14 A i r b o r n

4th 2014 by Luc Armant. That record was 463 km.

What flying conditions make your record different from the previous one?

On the day I flew there was a convergence that formed from tropical Storm Cristobal from the East and a dryline from the West.

The convergence combined with good wind direction and speed, the adequate height of the boundary layer, good thermals, and clouds allowed me to achieve this flight. Everything came together during the longest days of the year.

How long did preparation take?

I started actively preparing for this attempt 13 months ago.

Who helped you most to get prepared?

I had support from my local flying club, family and friends. In the end, such an undertaking requires a significant amount of personal initiative and commitment.

Who worked with you during preparation (any team)?

My friends and primarily my fiancé (in photo). She handled all the logistics throughout my preparation. She has been instrumental and without her, I would not have been able to prepare so diligently and attempt this flight.

What was the most tricky thing in breaking this record?

Continues on page 16

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Understanding RASP Upper Air Soundings/SkewT

The NZHGPA funds 50% of the costs of the NZ RASP website: http://rasp.nz. This is a regular series explaining how to interpret and use the different forecasts that are available.

A

bility to read Upper Air Soundings or SkewT-LogP’s should be a skill every pilot should understand and is used by the majority of top pilots.

It’s a one stop shop for understanding many different factors such as temperature, dew point and winds with altitude. This information can be used to evaluate stability, cloudbase, top of cloud, wind profile, and many other atmospheric features.

There are five principal quantities indicated by constant value lines: pressure, temperature, potential temperature (θ), saturation mixing ratio, and equivalent potential temperature (θe) for saturated air.

There are lots of resources on the internet to help fully understand these charts, but even if this is all Greek to you these charts can still be very useful for you - if the chart has hour glass shape like the one in the image below, then this will tell you that there will be good thermals!

Part 4

By Sven Ericksen

https://ayvri.com/scene/31jnx23r5d/ ckjzk5w8o00013h6gw49e16nd Plan for the day

In practice on this particular day there was over 20-25 km of headwind near turnpoint one and two.

Note the black dots on the thermal updraft picture. This indicates wind that is likely to shear the thermals and make it potentially difficult for flying paragliders.

Other flights on 15 January 2021: https://bit.ly/32w60Yd w w w. x c o n t e s t . o r g / 2 0 2 0 / n e w z e a l a n d / flights/daily-score-pg/#filter[date] 21-01-15@ filter[country]=NZ@filter[date] 21-01-15@ filter[country]=NZ To see the relevant pages online visit: https:// tinyurl.com/RASParticles.

Interview with Sebastien Kayrouz

The Upper Air Sounding forecast displayed above is for 2pm on 15 January 2021. On this day Louis Tapper did a 172 km FAI triangle in Central Otago. It was not an especially good forecast according to Louis, due to wind at 2 of the corners of the triangle. Note the inversion of 10,000ft and light wind for the sounding. On a perfect day the blue line (dew point) would almost be touching the red line (temperature) often indicating cumulus cloud. On this particular day the sky was relatively blue with minimal cumulus.

Louis Tapper’s triangle on 15 January 2021

To see the relevant pages online visit: https:// tinyurl.com/RASParticles.

FS Scoring Update Just released is FS 2021 R1.0, which introduces GAP 2021: · Fix error in time points reduction formula in stopped tasks with multiple start gates · Start the Leading Coefficient graph used for leading points calculation at task start time · Improve leading points calculation for pilots landing out and fixes a number of bugs in points calculation as well as result reporting.

Link http://fs.fai.org/trac/wiki/FS2021R1.0 -Elena Filonova, CIVL Administrator & Competition Coordinator,

16 A i r b o r n

Links for reference Image 1: rasp forecast for the day https://bit.ly/3x7Dj1R http://rasp.nz/rasp/view.php?region=NZSOUT H_S&mod=+0&date 210115&all=sounding8&sec tion=NZSOUTH_S.sounding.params Flights on 15 January 2021: Image 2: https://bit.ly/2Q6F7Y3 www.xcontest.org/2020/newzealand/flights/ detail: yakernz/14.01.2021/23: 15 3d track https://bit.ly/3slwshz

Continued from page 14 The trickiest part was forecasting the weather conditions and identifying the best day to make the attempt.

Above; Sebastien’s Tell us about those fiancé provided who supported you logistics support on the way (friends, NAC, trainer, local pilots etc) It is a long preparation process so I leaned on many people. My flying friends and our local club (the Buffalo Mountain Flyers) gave me excellent support.

Tell us how it was to break the record. What was the most difficult? Decisive? Unexpected?

The most difficult part of the day was the first 1.5 hours of the flight over the Texas Hill Country.

That section is a dense forest without any landing options so there was no margin for error. I had to cross it in the morning when the lift was still weak. A decisive moment came halfway through the flight when I got low and was not hitting any lift. A group of turkey vultures started thermalling at a distance and pointed out the lift. They helped me get back to altitude and had it not been for their helping hand my flight would have ended there. The unexpected was the number of birds I encountered. There were far more than what I have encountered on previous flights. I believe they hunt for good convergence lines too.

Any advice to pilots, interesting notes, shared experience that you gained while breaking this record?

Record flying is all about preparation and intimately learning the terrain and its micrometeorology. Texas is at the intersection of many weather systems so conditions here are not consistent and almost no 2 days are alike. Good mental disposition and physical endurance are also very important.

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www.glidepro.co.nz +64 2041598827 6 Ngatira Road, Muriwai, Auckland 0881

Southern Club photo co T he Southern Club ran its’ annual photo comp again in late May, with nearly 70 entries. The standard was very high, showcasing some of the best moments of our sport. The following are the winners, as voted by club members.

These winners will go on to be entered by the Southern Club in the Federated Mountain Clubs of NZ photo competition, a national competition open to 22,000 members with thousands of $ of prizes.

Thanks to Dan Clearwater for organising the Southern Club comp.

Since the NZHGPA is affiliated with FMC, any of our clubs are eligible to submit one selection of top shots to the FMC competition. Entries close 15 September; visit www.fmc.org.nz/photo-competition for all the information.

The categories are Above and Below Bushline, with a human element or no human element (ABN etc), Native Flora and Fauna (NFF) and Long Exposure (LE)

LE Tim Shoultz My mate’s onesie is telling of the night we had for the Pigeon Island Party 2021. A Rainbow Unicorn kinda night of dancing and star gazing yew!

ABW winner, Pete Helliwell Aero towing over lake Dunstan with Ian Clark in the Dragonfly giving me a quick fly-by

ABN Runner up Louis Tapper Hike and Fly, Mueller Hut

ABN winner Anthony Saupin Sunset hike and fly attempt that turned out to be an hike and hike because of the katabatic wind... still well enough rewarded with the beautiful colours on Breast Hill

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mp 2021

A

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19

HIS Winner Rene Schwaller Climb and fly, Mt Almer 1988

BBW Runner up Bruce Agnew

ABW runner up Tim Shoultz Janik Vagabund being a legend and flying my partner down after a hike and fly off Roy’s Peak this season

BBW Winner Clemence Cadario Playing in the Te Paki sand dunes

BBN Winner Anthony Saupin Hike and Fly at Kidds Bush on a very calm and beautiful day at lake Hawea

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Executive Repor ts CEO Update - Accident & Incident Summaries Reflection on the flying year 2020/21 Over the Flying Year from the 1st April 2020 until 31st March 2021 there were 67 Incident or Accidents.

The chart below for 2020 shows the incidents and accidents over the past 5 years to be fairly consistent of around 50 occurrences per year. A slight spike for 2020 is due to more encouragement of reporting under the protection of CAA’s Just Culture and an increasing membership to over 1500 members. Already since the start of 1st April 2021, there has been 12 occurrences.

67 Incident or accidents over the 2020 flying year is way too many. I have heard some say it’s the cost of doing business and the nature of the sport, this concerns me as it is normalising and accepting of. I have personally phoned over 50 of those incidents or accidents, and there are some horrific stories of injuries resulting in ACC claims for operations with a long road to recovery, some having to learn to walk again, or carry those injuries for years or throughout life, and there was one fatality. Some will return to the sport, some will not, and that investment in time, money and equipment, including knowledge of the sport walks to. This leaves an impact on the person and our flying community way beyond the accident itself.

By the time this article goes to print, the NZHGPA in collaboration with CAA should have the first ever NZHGPA AIRS Analytical Report published, (the yearly graph above is a snapshot from that report). In the future safety will not be tackled on revolving key personalities assumptions, plugging holes here and there, but on factual based evidence. Therefore, resources in time, money and energy can be meaningfully targeted to improve the safety of all our members from novice, intermediate, to advance pilots.

When it comes to your personal safety, Think Risk v Reward! That means choosing the right equipment to match your flying skills (not buying because it was cheap or stepping up too soon),

I’m safe to fly

i llness Free of illness and symptoms

M e d i c at i o n Safe medication only

S tress Managing stress well at home and work

A lcohol Free of alcohol and drugs and their effects

F at i g u e Rested and sleeping well

E at i n g

Revised October 2012

Fed, watered, and ready to go

22 A i r b o r n

the decision to launch given the conditions of the day, and reassessing in flight if conditions are not as expected or change during mid-flight. Look after each other using the buddy, buddy system to avoid becoming a statistic on a yearly graph. Together we can all help to stay safe and have more fun doing what we love to do, fly.

Selected Accident & Incident Summaries April/June

Focus on Novice Pilots During this reporting period from the 1 April 2021 until 30 June 2021, (3 month Period) , there were 18 reported incidents or accidents, of which three have been selected for publishing, with a focus on new pilots in their first year of flying. In my CEO welcome letter to new pilots, I offer up the following nugget of advice; As you embark on your flying career, a reminder that this is not a sport that can be forced or accelerated it takes time in the saddle to master the sport of free flight. Embrace the learning, fly within the conditions and your skill set, and in your first year I highly recommend you do not go out flying on your own.

Thank you to all those pilots who submitted to the NZHGPA Accident Incident Reporting System (AIRS), so we may look for trends and learn from others. Loving the Pilot Reflection/Comments section on the new AIRS system, some great feedback.

1/4/2021 Queenstown Near Miss No Injury Paraglider Experience 5-20 hours.

I took off at 3:23pm from Rocky gully and I realized I was very ‘lifty’ from the start of the flight, I ended up circling the flight park for 2+ hours trying to get down, trying to find sink but I kept getting caught in lift. I thought I was pulling big ears but I was in fact pulling in my stabilizer lines. My glider was new (it was my second flight on it). It only has two A risers, so I got confused whilst in the air in a stressful situation.

I had no radio on me. I failed to check the weather down in Kingston and Queenstown airport before taking off. I assumed that because people were flying it was safe. However, the wind was creeping up in Kingston and gusting to 56, whilst I was flying. I came down to try to land once at the Flight Park and the wind was so strong I was being pushed back into the trees almost and I was on full speed bar.

I climbed back up and tried to find sinky areas and was doing wingovers to try to loose height... at this stage I wish I had more tricks up my sleeve. The air was horrible, and my glider was getting thrown around in the air. I climbed again and at this point realized the Fight Park was tiny and I was just going up and up but not moving forward. I was looking around for signs of weather and a big dark cloud was coming over the Remarkables and this made me realize I had to get down somehow.

I decided to go back to take off and try to top land for the first time. I landed successfully up on the green run near the Meadows express chairlift at 5:45pm!! Thankfully, the air was a lot smoother higher up compared to the horrible air down at the Flight Park. This story is a near miss but if I had been sucked over the back of Coronet into bad rotor it would have been a different story.

Pilot Comments: I strongly suggest for new pilots: 1. Know what weather is further afield or could be approaching before you take off.

2. CHECK THE WEATHER STATIONS BEFORE YOU FLY. 3. WEAR A RADIO. 4. PRACTISE MANOEUVRES. 5. Don’t trust that because there are people on take off its okay to fly.

6. Wear gloves.

7. Have your phone somewhere on your person not in the bottom of your harness... where mine was. It would have been hard to reach in an emergency.

24/4/2021 Marlborough Near Miss No Injury Paraglider Experience 5-20 hours.

Pilot approached an unfamiliar landing, started figure 8s above the landing field rather than the downwind edge, which would have given more space. Intended to land in the last third of the field, but got an extra puff of lift on final approach. Avoided a turn so as not to land downwind or pendulum close to the ground. So maintained course into wind, landed normally on a house roof (which was the same height, level with the landing field).

Pilot Comments: Further practice spot landing.

26/5/2021 Christchurch Near Miss No Injury Paraglider Experience 5-20 hours.

I was about to perform top-landing but flared too early and stalled the wing. I fell, at the same time got some drag from the stalled wing, from 4 meters height and hit the ground on my lower back. I went to a medical centre for a check-up, nothing was broken and I was clear to drive home myself.

Pilot Comments: When landing (including top landing), be more aware of your height and only flare when you are about to touch down. Make sure you know the stall point of your paraglider.

Also, if you are not 100% confident you can top land comfortably, keep flying and try again.

Safety Checks Tandem Manual The NZHGPA has put out a new Tandem Technical Manual, this replaces a couple of outdated documents and will hopefully prove to be a good resource for tandem pilots and those who are looking at becoming tandem pilots.

Check it out it can be found on the NZHGPA website www.nzhgpa. org.nz under: Members/OPM and Forms/Technical manuals.

As well as this resource there has also been an advisory circular produced on Tandem Trial Flights, this document provides clarity on the use of tandems for training and defines the difference between this and a commercial tandem company operating under CAA Part 115. Find the document on the NZHGPA website under OPM and Forms/ Advisory Circulars.

Both above documents have been submitted to CAA and approved for distribution.

- Blake Round, NZHGPA Training Manager

S ite Notices SITE CLOSURES In Springtime throughout New Zealand, farms are expecting newborn sheep, cattle, horses, deer and other animals.

Your presence on or flying over farmland could frighten or injure pregnant or newborn stock.

Even at places that you usually fly without problems, please check with the farmer if it is OK to fly. This is a difficult time for farmers and they do appreciate your consideration. Not asking has resulted in the loss of many flying sites while asking has earned their friendship.

If in doubt or if any stock are present DO NOT FLY without asking.

Parawinch G8 Tow Winch

11.06.2021 DHV 05-0038-19 In several cases, the cutting device had not functioned properly during test cuts of the tow rope. The tow rope was not cut or not completely cut.

The DHV urgently recommends that G8 owners check the towing cable cutting device of their winch. For this purpose, a piece of tow rope with a repair point should be mounted.

The cross-cut should be made at the thick repair point without pulling.

The cross-cut system must function properly in this configuration and cut the tow rope completely. If problems occur during this test, especially only partial cutting of the towing rope, the winch must not be used for towing.

In this case, the manufacturer requests that the removed towing device be sent in for repair.

Parawinch www.parawinch.eu info@parawinch.eu Phone +370 6 679 78050

X-Dream Fly Reserve Parachute

30.06.2021 During an internal quality check, the following problem was found with a rescue device. The black loop on the rescue equipment container

for looping the rescue handle was not correctly cut to length and could not be sewn with sufficient strength.

As a result, this black fabric loop can tear when subjected to tensile stress. This problem only applies to the loop shown in the photo (below), which is located on the small triangular cloth, the other two [loops] are OK. [In the lower right photo] the container on the left is OK, the one on the right shows the defective (one-sided torn loop) with low tensile force.

To check, pull on the loop by looping a pen, screwdriver or your finger as shown in the picture below. Pull as hard as you can, the loop should hold 70 daN, damaged loops tear with far less pull.

We ask you to immediately check all rescue equipment delivered by X-dream Fly from 01/01/2021 to 06/15/2021 or to inform the customer accordingly before the next flight.

The serial number of the possibly affected devices always ends with ***T (example G12K12934T).

If this problem occurs, please contact us immediately so that we can initiate an exchange of the container immediately. We apologise for this inconvenience.

- Team X-dream Fly

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ing PP aa rr aagglli idding CC hh aa mmpip ioons n sh hips ips

April 1st - March 31st. Sponsored by Wings & Waves

April 1st 2021 to March 31st 2022 Top scores as shown on XContest in 7/2021 Pilot, flight date/time Site Distance Points Total Cliff Swailes [Rapscallion] 30.36 p.

1 02.05.21 13:49 Mt Cheeseman 13.78 km 13.77 p.

2 20.07.21 14:46 Taylors Mistake 5.55 km 8.34 p.

3 12.06.21 10:35 Taylors Mistake 5.50 km 8.25 p.

Jean Brossard [jeanbrossard] 29.81 p.

1 02.05.21 13:29 Mt Cheeseman 15.79 km 15.78 p.

2 14.04.21 14:03 ?

7.49 km 7.49 p.

3 29.04.21 13:06 Towers 4.36 km 6.54 p.

Brent Edwards [pcbrent] 29.04 p.

1 03.07.21 13:01 Barnicoat 6.37 km 12.74 p.

2 03.07.21 14:24 Barnicoat 5.56 km 8.34 p.

3 11.07.21 12:36 Barnicoat 7.96 km 7.96 p.

Lorraine Johns [kiwigal]♀ 27.44 p.

1 22.05.21 13:23 Mt Somers 8.32 km 10.40 p.

2 23.05.21 14:14 Mount Oxford 6.86 km 8.58 p.

3 03.07.21 13:51 Mount Oxford 6.77 km 8.46 p.

Nick Webster [nickwhl] 25.65 p.

1 03.04.21 13:41 Kaimai 20.52 km 25.65 p.

Dan Clearwater [chucky3] 22.97 p.

1 07.04.21 08:43 ?

9.08 km 9.08 p.

2 21.04.21 14:15 ?

6.84 km 8.55 p.

3 13.05.21 11:03 Coronet Peak 5.34 km 5.34 p.

James Gibson [Jaims] 21.15 p.

1 03.07.21 13:52 Mount Oxford 5.99 km 7.49 p.

2 26.05.21 10:24 Taylors Mistake 4.65 km 6.98 p.

3 20.05.21 11:15 Taylors Mistake 4.45 km 6.68 p.

Chris Cain [ccfroths] 18.34 p.

1 02.05.21 14:20 Mt Cheeseman 10.39 km 10.39 p.

2 08.04.21 17:43 Taylors Mistake 5.30 km 7.95 p.

Barry Sayer [Bazza] 17.76 p.

1 20.05.21 14:43 Te Mata 6.38 km 12.76 p.

2 04.07.21 14:45 Te Mata Peak 2.50 km 5.00 p.

Fraser Monteith [Icemaneli186] 16.92 p.

1 23.05.21 13:45 Long Spur 9.00 km 9.00 p.

2 02.05.21 14:45 Leith Hill 7.92 km 0.00 p.

Ken Beach [ken.beach] 14.90 p.

1 02.05.21 13:39 Mutiny 11.92 km 14.90 p.

Sanae Noguchi [Sanae]♀ 14.54 p.

1 02.05.21 13:35 Mt Cheeseman 9.69 km 14.54 p.

Rob Hughes-Games [robhughes-games] 13.25 p.

1 02.05.21 14:45 Horrible 7.92 km 7.92 p.

2 02.05.21 15:40 Horrible 3.06 km 3.06 p.

3 02.05.21 13:50 Horrible 2.27 km 2.27 p.

Warrick Boustred [Waz24] 12.91 p.

1 04.07.21 12:18 Treble Cone 8.32 km 8.32 p.

2 12.07.21 12:43 Treble Cone 4.59 km 4.59 p.

Bruce Vickerman [Bruce.V] 11.44 p.

1 16.05.21 14:16 ?

11.44 km 11.44 p.

Philip Jansen van Rensburg [plrensburg] 9.81 p.

1 22.05.21 12:19 Little River 4.79 km 4.79 p.

2 12.06.21 13:34 Taylors Mistake 1.36 km 2.72 p.

3 12.06.21 12:43 Taylors Mistake 1.53 km 2.30 p.

Alex Cornford [Alex7] 9.18 p.

1 03.04.21 10:10 Mt Hutt 7.34 km 9.18 p.

Richard Sidey [rsidey] 6.00 p.

1 14.04.21 11:50 Rocky Mountain 3.01 km 3.01 p.

2 17.04.21 11:30 Rocky Mountain 2.99 km 2.99 p.

Yuan Fu [Yuan] 5.15 p.

1 02.07.21 14:54 Taylors Mistake 3.46 km 3.46 p.

2 06.05.21 15:47 Towers 1.69 km 1.69 p.

David Drummond [Daved] 1 12.06.21 13:45 ?

5.13 km 5.13 p.

5.13 p.

Mark Sedon [marksedon] 3.65 p.

1 14.04.21 13:58 wifi tower 2.92 km 3.65 p.

The web site for scoring and uploading your track logs is XContest at: www.xcontest.org/newzealand/ranking-xc-championship/

THE COUNTRY CODE

We are all dependent on good relations with the farmers who own the land we fly from. Here are some guidelines to ensure that you and other pilots will be able to continue to enjoy flying there.

ALWAYS CHECK with local pilots before flying at new sites.

ALWAYS ask permission to fly unless you are absolutely certain that the owner allows use of the site without asking.

CHECK AGAIN at Springtime as most farms have pregnant and newborn stock that can easily be frightened and injured.

DO NOT show displeasure or abuse an owner if permission is refused. This could hamper getting permission in the future.

ALWAYS GET PERMISSION to take a vehicle onto a property. Ensure that vehicles without gliders are not taken onto the property. Put all gliders on one car rather than have a convoy crossing the property.

24 A i r b o r n

If stock is near, drive slowly.

LEAVE GATES as you find them, gates may be closed to keep stock in or open to allow stock to feed.

Ensure that all pilots and drivers understand.

USE STILES and gates where ever possible, if you must cross a fence, cross at a post or strainer post.

AVOID hay standing or cut unless permission has been given to cross it.

AVOID landing in paddocks containing crops or stock. Carefully move off crops to avoid damage.

DO NOT LIGHT FIRES at any time.

DO NOT SMOKE during fire risk times.

DO NOT TAKE DOGS onto any farm or property.

DO NOT disturb plants or machinery, move around it.

LEAVE NO RUBBISH.

Photo: Ross Gray

Pilot, flight date/time Site Distance Points Total Mark Hardman [mhardman] 112.62 p.

1 12.05.21 12:00 Treble Cone 45.30 km 90.60 p.

2 24.04.21 12:35 Buscot 22.02 km 22.02 p.

Stew Karstens [nelpara] 97.53 p.

1 03.07.21 12:57 Barnicoat 29.95 km 44.93 p.

2 01.07.21 12:32 Barnicoat 27.93 km 41.90 p.

3 22.06.21 13:02 Barnicoat 7.13 km 10.70 p.

Greg Allum [Gregnz] 86.01 p.

1 20.07.21 12:45 Barnicoat 34.75 km 34.75 p.

2 03.07.21 13:01 Takaka Hill 32.22 km 32.22 p.

3 17.04.21 14:33 Takaka Hill 12.69 km 19.04 p.

Scott Beavis [Beavdogg] 78.99 p.

1 16.06.21 09:03 ?

52.66 km 78.99 p.

Peter Jones [jonesie] 72.63 p.

1 03.04.21 14:13 Kaimai 48.99 km 61.24 p.

2 16.05.21 14:29 Devicich 11.39 km 11.39 p.

Anand Srinivasan [Anand] 61.73 p.

1 03.04.21 14:06 Kaimai 49.38 km 61.73 p.

Rob Gillard [rob_gillard] 55.90 p.

1 03.04.21 14:04 Kaimai 44.72 km 55.90 p.

Nicolas Sand [Nicosan] 55.71 p.

1 12.05.21 11:56 Treble Cone 55.71 km 55.71 p.

Bex Rae [bex1907]♀ 54.52 p.

1 03.04.21 13:33 Kaimai 30.72 km 38.40 p.

2 31.05.21 16:23 Te Mata 4.05 km 8.10 p.

3 11.07.21 12:21 Burma Road 8.02 km 8.02 p.

Mark MacKenzie [MrMacKenzie] 52.10 p.

1 17.04.21 14:48 Takaka Hill 14.74 km 22.11 p.

2 22.04.21 13:46 Takaka Hill 10.31 km 15.47 p.

3 03.07.21 13:07 Takaka Hill 14.52 km 14.52 p.

Anthony Saupin [willow1633] 51.93 p.

1 12.05.21 12:46 Treble Cone 17.46 km 26.19 p.

2 15.05.21 12:03 Treble Cone 17.18 km 17.18 p.

3 17.04.21 13:58 ?

6.85 km 8.56 p.

Luke Nicol [Lukenicol] 49.15 p.

1 21.04.21 11:34 Coronet Peak 39.32 km 49.15 p.

Stephen O’Shaughnessy [soshaugh] 48.22 p.

1 28.04.21 11:41 Barnicoat 11.76 km 17.64 p.

2 01.05.21 10:26 Barnicoat 15.35 km 15.35 p.

3 26.05.21 12:53 Barnicoat 15.23 km 15.23 p.

Ben Kellett [benjamin.kellett] 47.31 p.

1 21.04.21 13:45 Soho 28.58 km 35.73 p.

2 21.04.21 11:35 Coronet Peak 9.27 km 11.58 p.

Doug Patterson [dougpatterson] 43.03 p.

1 24.04.21 12:45 Mt Buscott 18.64 km 18.64 p.

2 21.04.21 12:35 Treble Cone 14.30 km 14.30 p.

3 07.04.21 13:08 Treble Cone 10.09 km 10.09 p.

Kyla MacDonald [burg]♀ 42.35 p.

1 03.04.21 14:01 Kaimai 33.88 km 42.35 p.

Mark Macdonald [Brick] 40.60 p.

1 03.04.21 14:05 Kaimai 23.82 km 29.78 p.

2 16.05.21 14:21 Kauaeranga 10.82 km 10.82 p.

Jakub Krauz [jakub-krauz] 40.48 p.

1 11.07.21 14:16 Mt Dobson 16.18 km 16.18 p.

2 24.04.21 11:42 Towers 13.00 km 13.00 p.

3 22.05.21 14:11 Towers 5.65 km 11.30 p.

Craig Miller [craigm] 36.59 p.

1 03.04.21 13:58 Kaimai 29.27 km 36.59 p.

Ondrej Wieden [OndraW] 33.92 p.

1 02.05.21 13:33 Mt Cheeseman 26.40 km 26.40 p.

2 12.07.21 16:21 ?

7.52 km 7.52 p.

Dominique Le Sellin [Frogiwi]♀ 31.34 p.

1 03.04.21 14:13 Kaimai 21.97 km 27.46 p.

2 16.05.21 14:51 Mount Maunganui 2.13 km 2.13 p.

3 03.07.21 14:06 Mount Maunganui 1.75 km 1.75 p.

EVENTS Paragliding Competition Committee Write Up July 2021 he first decent snows have arrived here down south and many of us have cut our first tracks for the year.

This weekend the Southern Club is getting checked out by NZ Ski for lift use approval so that pilots can access the summit of Coronet Peak by ski-lift so as to fly during the winter months. It’s quite special to be able to do so.

A bit chilly but spectacular!

The PCC has recently revised/updated the NZ Competition Rules (Version 23) due to some issues that arose after last season. Not many changes and the new version was posted to the NZHGPA website on the 1st July for review.

The main changes were to S2.7 (Validation) which has been greatly simplified; S3.8 (Emergencies and Compensation) which has been more streamlined to flow better and to remove some terms that were no longer in use; S4.6 (Awards) regards awarding of Class trophies if a PG Open doesn’t get 2000 points so that Class trophies will now be awarded as well and also CCC gliders go into the Open Class (they were in Serial), (which is in line with the Australian classes structure) and a single sentence in S6.5 (Records) regards a more accepting criteria for tracklogs for record flights which is also in alignment with FAI. Ross Gallagher has been working hard these last few years looking after XContest by liaising with Jakob (who ‘owns’ XContest’)

T

and ensuring that costs are met, sponsors are sought and that our XContest competition runs smoothly. There’s not a lot to do and it’s pretty simple but it takes a lot of pressure off the PCC if someone from the community can do it. Ross would like to step down from that role next season due to (new) family commitments and we are looking for a volunteer to take over XContest oversight. If you are interested, please let the PCC/Ross Gallagher know.

That’d be really helpful.

I’ve just received an email from Dave Gibbs in Australia who is looking at organising our NZ PG Open in Corryong next year in late February. Yes, we know there may be some Covid issues, but maybe there won’t be as well, it’s still a way off yet but Dave would like to get the competition up and running on Airtribune by the 1st August. At the moment the cost has been set the same as for the Australian Corryong Cup 2022 at AUD$270 (NZD$290) which I think is pretty good.

Stay warm. Best wishes - PCC

Omarama Hang Gliding Cross Country Classic Saturday 5 February to Sunday 13 February 2021

F

lying around Omarama is spectacular; expect to fly to 9 or 10,000ft and an easy 20km to over 100km depending on your skill and conditions.

It’s a great place to beat your Personal Best; height, distance etc, move up the XC Champs table, or maybe fly to Mt Cook!

This summer, Monday 7th is the Waitangi public holiday so even if you are working, that’s still 5 days that you can fly.

This time of year gets the most flyable days with the least strong winds and turbulence, but it’s still hot so gives the most XC flying opportunities. Launch and landing areas are massive and the event is stress free; there’s no queues or waiting.

Last years weather wasn’t great but we still had good flying; even though it was stable there was good thermalling and a smooth light wind wave day that enabled a tour around the Mackenzie. Don’t be put off by poor forecasts, it’s usually better and even a stable day at Omarama beats coastal flying.

Strong winds are usually forecast more reliably but are more common in Dec-Jan, so if it’s not too windy, it’s on.

Fly open distance, in any direction from any site in the Omarama area. Enter any number of flights and improve your personal best flight.

Scoring is by GPS or you can use witnessed launch & landing positions. The main thing is to enjoy the flying, share your knowledge, improve your skills and your personal best.

Fly the whole week, just the weekends or just the days you want, when you want; it’s up to you, only your best 3 flights score. You decide if, when and where to fly and a few unlucky flights won’t ruin your total.

High at Ohau, on the way to Mt Cook (centre distance) Photo: Bill Degen

Accommodation; free camping, cabins, caravans, motels, luxury hotels and now there’s fewer overseas tourists! The gliding airfield campground welcomes hang glider pilots, has weather briefings and a cafe that’s often open late.

Required; Advanced rating with mountain/ XC skills. Pilots with lower skill ratings may fly under supervision if conditions are suitable.

Printed site briefings are available.

The track up Magic Mountain is limited to 4WDs with low ratio gearing for safe descents or brakes will burn out. To maintain the track we ask pilots for a donation but the competition is free of charge.

For more information, site briefings etc; contact Bill Degen at aero@xtra.co.nz and check www.hgpg.co.nz for updates.

Covid-19 and Events Due to the changing Covid-19 virus situation, events and competitions may be cancelled or postponed. Please check with event organisers or their online notification system, to check if events are still being held before booking travel and accommodation. It will be worth checking again immediately prior to the event.

2021; What a season for Competitions & Events

W

hat a fantastic social and competition scene we had in 2021. In all my years, I have never known a flying season where we had such diversity of awesome events.

Whatever your flying discipline it was well catered for from Acro Fest, first NZ Hike & Fly, HG Regional and Nationals, 2 x PG Regionals and Nationals, plus Pigeon Island Fly in and Omarama cross over weekend.

Then there were club socials and representation to promote are sport of free flight to the wider public at numerous kite festivals, trade shows and air shows. This has been an outstanding contribution to our flying community from all those involved and I salute the army of volunteers that made these events happen to put big smiles on the faces of our pilots.

The Association also helped out by producing a generic Safety Management Plan and providing insurance for competition organisers, we got you covered. If your thinking of an event no matter what it may be social, competition or promoting the sport, the Hang gliding Competition Committee (HGC), the Paragliding Competition Committee (PCC), your local Club and the NZHGPA are all here to help facilitate. If your thinking about it, go for it and lets create even bigger and better memories for 2022.

Check out the new NZHGPA Social Calendar on the NZHGPA Website. Let’s Fly. - Nick Taber, CEO NZHGPA

Hang Gliding World Championships Cancelled The 2021 Hang Gliding World Championships have been cancelled. The international competition was due to have been held in Krushevo, North Macedonia 18-30 July this year.

However, since announcing that the competition would go ahead despite the difficulties presented by international cross-border travel, six major nations withdrew from the competition.

The competition was therefore rendered “senseless”, CIVL said.

Organisers in Krushevo had convinced CIVL to support the competition in the face of the major travel restrictions around the pandemic. Earlier CIVL said that “the majority of countries” had indicated they would send pilots if the championship took place. But instead, six countries withdrew their teams. Australia, Austria, Brazil, Italy, UK and the USA all pulled their pilots and told organisers and CIVL they would not be taking part. As a result, the competition has now been postponed to 2023.

Competitions at Canungra The Canungra Cup (paragliding) will be held in Queensland 9 - 16 October, and the Canungra Hang Gliding Classic 23 - 30 October. Canungra Hang Gliding Classic 2021: https://airtribune. com/canungra-hang-gliding-classic-2021/info These two competitions are a great way to start the flying season.

Check Airtribune for details at https://airtribune.com/canungra-cup-2021/info

Aoraki Classic Start 1st January with prize giving on the 8th January 2022.

Contact Rod Stuart rod.tropicool@gmail.com 027 434 4822

Sat 19 - Wed 23 Mar 2022 Paragliding Acro Festival Queenstown, Cromwell, New Zealand

HG Cross Country Championships

No new flights were entered this time so we’ll update in the next issue. Meanwhile, results are posted as they come in at www.hgpg.co.nzl and linked to the NZHGPA website at www. nzhgpa.org.nz/competitions/hg-competitions/ hang-gliding-cross-country-championships.

Email your entries to; aero@xtra.co.nz

(Please write “XC Entry” in the header and please keep separate from other emails) or post entries to; NZ Hang Gliding XC Champs, Bill Degen, 99A Panorama Road, Christchurch 8081, NZ

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C l a s s i f i e d Advertisements

Learn to Fly Hang gliding, paragliding schools and instructors that you can contact for qualified flight instruction in New Zealand NORTHLAND HANG GLIDING Skywalk Guntram Gross, Herman Ahrens Phone: 09 436 0268, 09 432 9333 or 021 072 0357 Email: skywalk@hotmail.co.nz

PARAGLIDING

Ferg’s Paragliding & Adventure Mike Ferguson Phone: 021 995 682 Email: fergsparaglidiing@gmail.com www.fergsparaglidiing.com AUCKLAND HANG GLIDING Sean Oliver Phone: 027 670 8301 Email: skyriderag@gmail.com FaceBook: @Skyrider

PARAGLIDING

MARLBOROUGH PARAGLIDING High Adventure New Zealand Russell Read Phone: 027 448 0888 Email: russread@ihug.co.nz NELSON/TASMAN HANG GLIDING

Nelson Hang Gliding Adventures Glenn Meadows Phone: 027 275 1022 Email: Gmeadows@xtra.co.nz

PARAGLIDING

Nelson Paragliding Stew Karstens Phone: 028-446 3930, 0508 FlyNow Email: paragliding@xtra.co.nz www.nelsonparagliding.co.nz CHRISTCHURCH HANG GLIDING

Wings & Waves Paragliding and Kitesurfing Reuben Muir and Eva Keim Phone: 09 446 0020, 027 472 7013 Email: info@wingsandwaves.co.nz www.wingsandwaves.co.nz

PARAGLIDING

Sean Oliver Phone: 027 670 8301 Email: skyriderag@gmail.com FaceBook: @Skyrider

PARAGLIDING

Bruce Vickerman Phone: 07 862 4919, 027 498 9941 Email: seehigh@slingshot.co.nz Thames Coast Paramotors Rick Hawkeswood Phone: 021682766 Email: rick.hawkeswood66@ outlook.com HAWKES BAY PARAGLIDING Airplay Paragliding School Barry Sayer, Phone: 027 451 2886 Email: barry@airplay.co.nz www.airplay.co.nz BAY OF PLENTY PARAGLIDING Kiwi-Air Mike & Aniko Phone: 07 929 5807, 021 104 6208 http://kiwi-air.co.nz Mount Paragliding Darrell Packe Phone: 027 249 2702 Email: darrellpacke@gmail.com

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Canterbury Hang Gliding School Bill Degen Phone: 03 326 6411, 021 247 2676 Email: aero@xtra.co.nz www.hgpg.co.nz Cloudbase Paragliding Grey Hamilton Phone: 027 532 4874 Email: cbparagliding@gmail.com www.cloudbaseparagliding.co.nz ParaPro (paragliding & powered paragliding) Dave Dennis Phone: 03 328 8255, 0508 548 323 Email: info@parapro.co.nz www.parapro.co.nz

WANAKA PARAGLIDING Paraventures Paragliding School Mark Hardman Phone: 0800 FLYSOLO (0800 359 765), 021 809 275 Email: info@paraventures.co.nz QUEENSTOWN PARAGLIDING Infinity Paragliding School Chris Connolly Phone: 022 676 5599 Email: info@infinityparagliding.co.nz www.infinityparagliding.co.nz Extreme Air Hang Gliding & Paragliding School & Tandems Lisa Bradley Phone: 021 156 3256 or +61 45 728 7200 Email: lisa@extremeair.co.nz www.extremeair.co.nz DUNEDIN HANG GLIDING Aorangi Club Tom Mulder Phone: 021 148 1831 Email: tom@mulder.co.nz

Brauniger & Flytec GPS Problem Fixed

Photos: Neil Brown, Ross Gray

WELLINGTON/WAIRARAPA HANG GLIDING Wellington Hang Gliding & Paragliding Club Grant Tatham Phone: 06 379 7322, 027 636 3491 Email: tathams@xtra.co.nz

PARAGLIDERS REBEL DHV2, Gin L, Harness Skywalk Cult L, Reserve parachute, All excellent condition, Never crashed, $1000 ono, + an extra glider for ground handling.

Phone Paul 027 412 4474 Email: pauljamesnz69@hotmail.com SKYWINGS Paragliding in Auckland - 33 years serving and training NZ pilots - exclusive PHI importers, Mini Wing specialists, Paramotor Specialists - Ph 0274 98 2345, info@skywings.co.nz HANG GLIDERS 1991 Rumour 14.5m, Intermediate/advanced double surface. Airframe and sail in good condition, has Insignia cloth repairs to its leading edge mylar due to delamination. Spare upright, test flown, WOF, $1500. email - skyriderag@gmail. com, phone 027 670 8301 U2 160. Dacron sail, Mylar/Hydranet LE/TE, speed battens and raked tips. 2012, great condition, has flown approx 300 hours. email - skyriderag@gmail.com, phone 027 670 8301 KIWI 170 mint/new condition. Manufactured mid ’90s, unused. Test flown - Good Nov/Intermediate first 70% double surface lower aspect ratio glider, No VG new WOF, $2000. email - skyriderag@gmail.com MOYES Gecko 155, technora sail, carbon sprogs, approx 30 hours, $7500.00, Phone 027 670 8301, Email: skyriderag@gmail.com KIWI Flyer 170, US 6061 tubing, low hours (has been in storage), great condition, full strip check and trim, phone 021 247 2676 email aero@xtra.co.nz MOYES Litesport 4 (149 sq ft) for sale. DOM 2004. Airframe really good but sail is worn but serviceable. Mainly white sail with kevlar leading and trailing edge. White and mid blue lower surface. Recently purchased but too small for me. Comes with manual, batten profiles and spare uprights. Will be sold with new WOF. $1200. Contact John King at 027 751 3192 RESERVE PARACHUTES RANGE of reserve parachutes for hang gliding and paragliding including the trusted Revolution, Second Chance and now the compact DiamondCross in optional steerable PG versions and HG version. Bridles, Front containers, Maillons, Swivels, Hook knives etc, in stock at HG & PG Supplies, Phone 021 247 2676 or email aero@xtra.co.nz INSTRUMENTS OUDIE instruments in stock. Full featured GPS/alti/vario/flight computer, with colour mapping and airspace which automatically updates, Fanet and Flarm options for in-flight tracking. Phone 021 247 2676 or email aero@xtra.co.nz ACCESSORIES Helmets, No Limit (visor option), Insider, Loop (visor option) & the new lightweight Vitesse, phone 021 247 2676 email aero@xtra.co.nz EMPLOYMENT WANTED assistant instructor in sunny Nelson. Spring - Summer start. Talk to Craig of Nelson Paragliding on 022 032 4901 or email craigpapworth@gmail.com CORONET Peak Tandems Ltd, Queenstown, are looking for tandem hang gliding and paragliding pilots. Call 021 220 5932

Ash Win Phone: 021 220 8302 email: ashswin556@gmail.com

SkyWings Paragliding Alan Hills Phone: 09 570 5757, 027 498 2345 Email: alan@skywings.co.nz www.skywings.co.nz

WAIKATO HANG GLIDING

■ Paid up NZHGPA members may run one advertisement per classification for free in each issue ■ Please email or post your advertisement to the editor, quoting your NZHGPA PIN number ■ Commercial operators, dealers, and non-members must enclose payment of $0.50c per word with their advertisement ■ Advertisements are deleted for next issue unless repeat request received ■ include your email address for the online issue ■ Buyers are advised that all used hang gliders and paragliders are highly recommended to have a full check as well as a new WOF check when sold ■ It is dangerous to fly a glider or with equipment that is above your rated ability ■

20 June 2021; Just released is new firmware for the Flytec 6020 and 6030 (aka Brauniger IQ Competino+ and Compeo+), as well as the Brauniger IQ Motor+.

This version fixes the bug in some of the GPS modules’ software that caused a loss of GPS reception after 1-3 hours. The firmware can be downloaded from www.volirium.com • Software support for Flytec 6020 and 6030 (aka Brauniger IQ Competino+ and Compeo+) • Support for Brauniger motor varios It will also be released soon on the official Flytec page.

If you enjoy that we are keeping your vario alive, consider donating us a cup of coffee: www. volirium.com/en/product/donation-for-flytec-6020-6030-and-brauniger-iq-competino-compeosoftware-maintenance/

FLIGHT PIX

Craig Papworth flying a tandem instructional flight at Barnicoat in sunny Nelson

quick while stocks last...

Oudie 5 Pro bulk shipment discount; Get in

Everything you need • Ready to fly – no complex technical setup • Extremely responsive & accurate Vario assisted by inertial sensors • Sunlight readable LCD with Touch panel optimised for gloves • Long lasting battery with quick charger • Vector maps for the whole world pre-installed (towns, roads, rivers, lakes etc.)

• Airspace for most of the world installed with free updates • Software fully supports Competition and XC Pilots • Easy and free software updates • In-flight FAI Triangle Assistant • Customizable screens & data fields • Barometric and GPS altimeters • Multiple wing profiles • Thermal Assistant • Wind Assistant • IGC tracklogs • Lightweight • Perfect size • Available in Full or upgradeable Basic versions • Integrated Flarm & Fanet option • Wind, wave, convergence forecasts option

BLADE hang glider version with pitot airspeed naviter.com/blade

naviter.com/oudie http://www.naviter.com/oudie-4/ aero@xtra.co.nz aero@xtra.co.nz

03 326 6411 021 247 2676

nzparagliding.com info@skywings.co.nz Ph 0274 98 2345

phi-air.com

www.papteam.com www.miniplane.net