Airborne may 2014 by Tim Whittaker

Issue 190; May, June, July 2014

Hang Gliding and Paragliding Nationals Wingovers Done Properly Flying in India

7.50 Including GST

9 771170 992006

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING

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 because flying sites have been lost by careless visiting flyers. 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.

MANAWATU H.G.P.C. C/- Andrew Brownlie 11 Hollows Crescent Takaro Palmerston North 4412 Email: rosscoe@inspire.net.nz Pres, Airsp: Ricky Winduss (Wanganui).............. 06 345 7659, or 027 447 4117 Sec/Treas, HGSO: Ross Gray......021 126 0892 PGSO: Andrew Brownlie ...........027 444 8911

AUCKLAND H.G.P.C. PO Box 90 154 Auckland Email: grahamsurrey@gmail.com www.cloudbase.org.nz Pres: Graham Surrey .................021 0262 5023 Sec: Alex Daley............................021 121 0795 Treas, Airsp: Leslie Graham............09 579 6485 HGSO: Michell Jagersma...............06 622 3210 PGSO: Reuben Muir.......................09 446 0020 Cameron Kennedy..........................09 813 3610 Eva Walton-Keim............................09 446 0051 Tony Cowley ..................................09 426 1264 Website; Wayne Rohrs...................09 630 2939 Active Sky HG, Sebastian Katz....021 170 3646 Skywings Paragliding ....................09 570 5757 Aqua Air Adventure Hang Gliding.027 288 0193 Wings & Waves Paragliding ...........09 446 0020

BAY OF PLENTY H.G.P.C. C/- Caroline Shaw 19B Gordon St Mt Maunganui Tauranga Email: info@shawbuilders.co.nz Pres: Dave Shaw HG......................07 575 9560 Sec: Carolyn Shaw.........................07 575 9560 HGSO: James Low.........................07 576 1319 PGSO: Wayne Roberts 07 574 4223, 027 643 6529 Airsp; Rhys Akers...........................07 578 0564 Mike Gordon HG............................07 578 9342 David Mustard PG..........................07 576 3942 Bryce Matuschka PG.....................07 574 2164 Levitate Paragliding........................07 542 0098 Mount Paragliding..07 574 4223, 027 643 6529

WAIKATO H.G.P.C. Inc. C/- Ewen Tonar 23A Brookview Court Hamilton Email: etonar@infogen.net.nz Pres, Airsp: Neil Howe....................07 304 9631 Sec/Treas: Ewen Tonar...................07 855 3969 HGSO: Paul Brydon.......................07 825 9161 PGSO: Bruce Vickerman ...............07 868 4991 HAWKES BAY H.G.P.C. Inc. C/o Rebecca Rae 30 Kaweka Place Havelock North 4130 Email: samelkink@hotmail.com www.soarhawkesbay.co.nz Pres, Airsp: Euan Talbot ..............022 048 7673 Sec/Treas: Rebecca Rae................021 605 204 PGSO: Sam Elkink 027 474 7221 HGSO: Ross MacKay 027 285 4195

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MARLBOROUGH H.G.P.C. C/- Julie Bousquet 122 Wellington Street, Picton. Email: j_bousquet@yahoo.com Pres, Airsp: Vern Sanders...............03 570 5322 Sec: Julie Bousquet.....................027 340 0718 Treas: Derek Wong Nam.................03 577 8857 HGSO: John Urlich: .......................03 577 8886 PGSO: Russell Read....................027 448 0888

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

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

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 Paul Henderson..............................021 523 752 SOUTHERN H.G.P.C. C/- Ian Clark, 16 Lake Ave, Frankton, Queenstown 9300 Email: info@southernclub.co.nz www.southernclub.co.nz Pres, Airsp: Ian Hornby..............021 0238 8894 Sec: Jim Rooney....................... 020 4010 1926 PGSO: Blake Round.....................027 367 7679 HGSO: Ian Clark.............................03 442 3992 PG Sites; Mark Dewsbery............022 601 5576 Treasurer: Daniel Stephens .........027 237 9250 Airsp: Mark Hardman.....................021 809 275 Coronet Weather Station................03 442 9974 Coronet Peak Tandem PG & HG..0800 467 325 Elevation Paragliding....................0800 359 444 Extreme Air............................ 0800 PARAGLIDE Flight Park......................................03 442 1586 Infinity Paragliding School..........021 0228 2939 Lucky Montanas PG (Wanaka).......03 443 1680 Paraventures.............................0800 FLYSOLO Skytrek Hang Gliding & Paragliding.0800 759 873

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TARANAKI FREE FLYERS C/- Dennis Green 38 Kaitake Rd RD4 New Plymouth Pres/Sec/HGSO, Airsp; Dennis Green .......................................................06 752 7618

WELLINGTON H.G.P.C. PO Box 9824 Marion Square Wellington 6141 www.whgpc.homestead.com Email: firth@xtra.co.nz Pres: Kris Ericksen.......................021 116 4558 Sec: Grant Firth............................. 021 422 698 PGSO: Chris Connolly..................022 676 5599 HGSO: Grant Tatham...................027 636 3491 Airsp: Ian Miller ............................022 176 8205 Newsletter Editor: Kris Ericksen.....04 938 6539 Oceania Paragliding School.........022 676 5599

Published every three months for hang gliding and paragliding enthusiasts in

TASMAN H.G.P.C. C/- Jude Tarr 2 Eckington Terrace Nelson 7010 Email: flytheice@gmail.com www.thgpc.org.nz Pres; Peter Allison .........................03 546 5242 Sec; Jude Tarr .............................. 03 548-7944 Treas; Nicky Hamill ........................03 547 4845 PGSO;Tim Brown ..........................03 526 6238 HGSO & HG Sites; Rob Bryant......03 545 0630 PG Sites; Lyn Watkins................... 03 541 0432 PG Sites; Jason Hamill...................03 547 4845 Airsp; Ian Woods..........................027 245 1851 Nelson Paragliding.........................03 544 1182 Adventure Paragliding....................021 762 769 Hang Gliding NZ.............................03 540 2183 Tasman Sky Adventures...............027 229 9693 CANTERBURY H.G.P.C. Inc. C/- Jennifer Corbett 17 Admirals Way, New Brighton Christchurch 8061 www.chgpc.org.nz Email: jenster66@hotmail.com Pres; Luke Goleman.......................03 980 2395 Sec/Treas; Jennifer Corbett............03 382 4404 PGSO; Robert Kennedy.................03 329 3339 HGSO; Danial Campbell.................03 980 6335 Sites PG; Bradley Norton...............03 322 9819 Sites HG; Derek McKee...............021 251 2300 Airsp; Peter Taylor..........................03 338 6287 Website; Stephen O’Shaughnessy.03 326 7373 Canty HG School; Bill Degen.......021 247 2676 Nimbus Paragliding......................0800 111 611 ParaPro.........................................0800 548 323

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Flying at the Paeroa Range during the North Island Nationals,

NORTHLAND H.G.P.C. C/- Guntram Gross 1 Brook Road Whangarei Email: skywalk@igrin.co.nz Pres, Airsp; Shane Gross...............09 436 0268 Sec/Treas; Guntram Gross.............09 436 0268 PGSO; Wolfgang Harder................09 403 7594 HGSO; Stephen Chambers............09 430 3689 Herman Ahrens...............................09 432 9333

ISSN 1170-9928

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N.Z.H.G.P.A. INC., 23 Covent Drive, Stoke, Nelson 7011, New Zealand www.nzhgpa.org.nz PRESIDENT

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Nicky Hamill, 23 Covent Drive, Stoke, Nelson 7011, 03 547 4845, fax 03 547 4653, nzhgpa.admins@clear.net.nz Hang Gliding Operations Manager

Glenn Meadows, 8 Brook Tce, Nelson. 03 548 9151, 027 275 1022, gmeadows@clear.net.nz Hang Gliding Training Manager

Ross Gray, 7 Nathan Place, Palmerston North 4412. 06 357 8996, 021 126 0892, rosscoe@inspire.net.nz PARAGLIDING OPERATIONS MANAGER

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Nick Taber, 27 Strathaven Place, Dodson Valley, Atawhai, Nelson 7010. 03 545 0766, 021 420 742, nicktaber@hotmail.com CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISOR

Paul Brydon, 1431 Main Te Pahu Rd, RD5, Hamilton. 07 825 9161, 021 253 5264, paulbrydon@gmail.com DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE CONVENOR

Dean Straker, 35 Seymour Avenue, The Brook, Nelson 7010, 03 545 7511, 021 545 7511, dean@verticallimits.co.nz INTERNAL AUDITOR

Kris Ericksen, 11 Koromiko Road, Aro Valley, Wellington 6012, 04 938 6539, 021 116 4558, skf@paradise.net.nz NZHGPA BOOKSHOP

Ewen Tonar, 23A Brookview Court, Hamilton. 07 855 3969, 021 041 1418, etonar@infogen.net.nz HANG GLIDING COMPETITION COMMITTEE

Mark Alton, 09 480 8871, 022 195 5746, markalton@yahoo.com Dennis Green, 38 Kaitake Road, RD 4, New Plymouth 4374, 06 752 7618, 021 430 436, dennis-green@clear.net.nz PARAGLIDING COMPETITION COMMITTEE

Johnny Hopper, Unit 25/22A Wilcott Street, Mt Albert, Auckland 1025, 021 056 2275, johnnyhopper@gmail.com Tim Brown, 175 Kina Beach Rd, RD1 Upper Moutere, Tasman 7173, 021 182 4243, 03 526 6238, tjbro137@gmail.com Peter Taylor, 5 Hurunui Street, Christchurch 8025, 021 066 9886, 03 338 6287, p.j.taylor@clear.net.nz

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Hang Gliding the Himalaya .........................................................4

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Wingovers Done Properly..........................................................14

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A Close Encounter in India..........................................................8

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Paragliding Opens 2014.............................................................18

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Executive Reports......................................................................23 Paragliding National Ladder......................................................29 Events..........................................................................................27 Cross Country Champs Scoreboards.................................26, 28 Classified Advertisements.........................................................30 FRONT COVER: Ant Green practising wingovers at the Stubai festival in Austria. Immersive Media provided the camera which is a ball of 6 GoPros.

Next issue deadline: 1 JUly 2014 A

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Hang Gliding The Hima laya

Left; Bir from across the valley. Launch mid top, landing mid left

before. I was being sponsored by the comp as guest celebrity hang glider pilot - I’d better make it look good! I was ferried up launch by an uber enthusiastic local driver in his Force truck, a ladder tied to the roof rack spreading the load of my longpacked glider. The first couple of comp days were cancelled due to unusual lowering of cloud base to

cleared area. Overshooting would see me continuing on downhill to a less than flash arrival. With my tandem experience landing a Fun, and the similar low performance of the Falcon 3 - I figured it should be doable. The launch was half way up the foothills at 7,600ft asl (3,400ft above the landing) and faced south. Behind to the north were the Himalaya - proper tiger country with few landings and huge snow covered peaks, culminating in Mt Everest should one be daft enough try the ultimate cross country. Common routes were along the range with Dharamsala 50km to the west and Mandi 50km east. Experienced pilots could do out and returns in a day. However paragliders had landing options the whole way, while I only had the main landing in Bir. Comp tasks for the week always had goal back at the main landing. The rounded hill on launch faced into the prevailing wind and had a nice steep slope to run from, allowing easy take-offs. Initially it was suggested I launch with the free flyers prior to the comp launch window opening, however I found chasing the early thermals with 20 paragliders very stressful, especially since I knew many of them

below launch, however this didn’t stop some mad Russians from free flying into the whiteout! Actually the Russians were most interesting to talk with and many knew the hangie scene back in their country. I repeatedly got the comment, “People at home say hang gliders can’t fly here because there’s nowhere to land”. It was true - the main landing zone on a gentle slope of rice terraces had a very short cleared area. The wind blowing up hill allowed paragliders to waft in downhill over the rice paddies, but because of the hang glider’s better glide in ground effect meant I had to precisely line up a cross wind approach to come to a stop on the

would be inexperienced flying with a hangie’s faster speed and limited manoeuvrability. A wingtip in their lines would be game over! I’d peel out over the valley for a relaxing glide down to the tight landing below. When life depends on it, skills become abnormally sharp. Picking a gap in the rest of the traffic, and diving in low over the heads of those already packing up allowed me to nail it. After learning this approach, subsequent landings were relatively straight forward. Things between the comp pilots and myself came to a head on the next flyable day when the early free flyer launch closed just as I got to it, then comp pilots took priority. After

ne of the many places I visited while travelling India in 2005 was Manali at the foothills of the Himalaya. While hiking I marvelled at the vultures e ff o r t l e s s l y s o a r i n g thermals against the epic mountains, and dreamed of one day returning with a hang glider and flying with them.

I also visited Jodhpur, and from the massive fort dominating the city, again watched birds of prey soaring... very inspiring. Little did I know at the time - one of India’s keenest hang glider pilots lived in the city, and one of the best places in India to fly was 50km west of Manali. Back in NZ while surfing the Oz Report, I saw posts by an Indian pilot Samarth who was building his own hang glider. He completed it too, but thankfully was talked out of the large risk of flying it by other pilots in the forum. He then imported a Solar Wings Breeze glider and over the years I saw many YouTube videos of him flying it from local sites in Rajasthan. When I told him I had visited Jodhpur and of my dreams of flying in India, he immediately began asking when. ‘As soon as possible’ wouldn’t come to fruition for many years as I had commitments elsewhere and needed a suitable glider - something low performance and two metre short packable. In 2010 a Facebook post from a Californian pilot advertised a near new Wills Wing Falcon 3, around the same time another American pilot Ted was visiting. The Gods were smiling because the perfect glider in a two metre travel box

By Tom Collet was delivered to me for fraction the cost of a new one. I test flew it from Takaka Hill a couple of times, then took it to Australia the following year. It was convenient having a glider I could transport long distance inside buses, trains and my station wagon, and it was beautifully easy to fly at coastal sites like the Byron lighthouse, Dolphin Heads Mackay, and Rex’s in Cairns. However XC inland sites like Eungella and Mt Tamborine were more suitable for higher performance wings like my Airborne C4 back home, and other local pilots looked at me as if I was some kind of novice. In 2013 a Facebook post from Vicki (ex Motueka) announced she was now living in Delhi and available for guests. Things quickly fell into place - I was able to take time off work, and Samarth began to get excited that I might finally come through with the goods. He told me about the Bir flying site in Himachael Pradesh, and of a paragliding competition there where he was friends with the organisers. Together they arranged transport from Delhi and flying logistics. From mid October I had 6 weeks. When checking in at Brisbane with Singapore Airlines, I was pleased to

Left’ Samarth with glider on train to Jodhpur

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Top; Skying out at 10,000ft asl Above inset; Tom above Bir Above; Launch from the high take-off Right; Glider transport by autorickshaw Below; Opening media circus

hear my 26kg glider box would travel to Delhi for free (but only because I had kept the weight of my other gear right down - just my light cocoon harness, reserve, and a change of clothes). At the other end two airport porters helped me carry it through customs to the arrivals area where a random guy was holding a sign “Tom Collet”. Vicki’s driver gave me her note and went to get the car - a standard saloon without roof racks. In the chaos of the IGA pickup area we somehow managed to wedge the glider in diagonally through the rear door, then somehow myself in too! I was great to catch up at Vicki’s apartment, and do a few essentials - like get an Indian mobile sim card, sandals, contact Samarth etc. The taxi hatchback the comp organisers had arranged turned up 2 days later and took me to Bir, 12 long hours away - during which not a single car overtook us, but amazingly my driver managed to maintain his alertness. I only became really concerned when overtaking a car which was already overtaking another one - 3 abreast with the oncoming Tata truck blinking its lights. My driver never hesitated through the whole manoeuvre, he just lent on the horn more. Requests

to slow down were ignored and each hour that went by was one less to die in, but we arrived intact around midnight... whew! The village of Bir at the Himalayan foothills, is a Tibetan colony of about 2000 people and has welcomed foreign pilots for tourism. It was great to finally meet Samarth and switch to flying adventure mode. The comp I was piggie backing on turned out to be the Paragliding Pre World Cup with over 100 comp pilots, plus free flyers. Short on sleep we rose early to check out the landing zone, with meet organiser Mr Suresh who had helped accommodate me, and set up for the opening ceremony on launch. VIP’s included the chief minister of HP and the president of the Bir Paragliding Association (who was also govt minister for construction). The Indian government was a major event sponsor and it was kinda bizarre watching them interviewed by a media circus about the paragliding comp with my hang glider in the background. Bir was formerly a hang gliding site before paragliders became popular, however the last time anyone flew a hangie here was over 15 years

Right; Blocked out by paragliders on upper launch Below; Local farmer at lower launch

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Left; My only landing area in centre of photo

Left; That’s how it’s done

a frustrating hour watching many of them repeatedly blow reverse launches ahead of me in a nil to 5 knot breeze, I’d had enough and pushed to the front. Ignoring angry shouting behind me, I briefly gauged the nil wind they couldn’t launch in anyway, then charged down the slope. The Falcon lifted easily to the cheer of those watching below;

Yeah, that is how it’s done! The moment was captured by a freelance photographer and appeared, amongst other comp pictures next day on the Yahoo India news site with a huge vulture I was previously unaware of directly overhead (check it by Googling, ‘When in the clouds, sing to the birds’). After that I was asked to launch

after the comp window closed, which was much better. Flying conditions improved and I could take my time enjoying the scenery and the comp itself. Two gaggles of a hundred skying out paragliders looked impressive, as was watching the world’s best pilots in action. Then I could casually launch into a clearer sky but which was still really on. Thermal up to the back ridge at 12,500 ft with brief forays along the range but never out of range of the only landing I knew, even though I also knew some days I could have effortlessly flown much further into the unknown. Occasionally I was joined in thermals by vultures; their huge two metre wingspans, absolute mastery of the air, and non-aggressive nature making them a joy to fly with. The pinnacle of this was when I was joined by five of them in one thermal - like touching God!

Then big glides far out over the valley, checking out various landmarks: like a large transmission tower on the other side or the Buddhist temple complex flanked by large stupas... picking my moment to dive into landing. Samarth was flying in the comp, as were some of his friends whom I was introduced to. Enthusiastic Indian guys (and one woman) who lived and breathed flying. Seeing a hang glider was a first for many Indians and often I was asked to pose with them for photos in front of it, which felt kinda strange at first. After de-rigging, comp helpers were happy to help me carry it the 700 meters back to the guesthouse - as if it gave them extra kudos with their friends. Samarth told me everyone in Bir knew of the hang glider and that I was a bit of a sensation... um... ok... whatever. All too soon it was the comp closing day. I was asked to land late for the ceremony so the VIPs could watch. After a few beat-ups of launch and tooling around the sky on another booming thermic day, I peeled out over the valley, picking my timing around the stragglers floating in. I could see a lot of people below, the whole village and then some. A few wingovers and swooping in hot, praying I wouldn’t get turned by the crosswind like the day before and whack in the corner of the A-frame. A nice flare and then this huge cheer and clapping! Turns out the PA system was announcing events such as; “Some excellent paragider acro,” and “Here comes the hang glider with Tom Collet from New Zealand”... a bit of a rock star moment. The Pre Worlds Paragliding Comp winners were Jamie Messenger from Germany with 2nd place Matt Senior also from NZ - very impressive. I was also presented with an “award of honour” - likely the first time in history for a hang glider at a paragliding competition. The powers that be were going out of their way to lure us back to Bir.

iwali festival was a few days away and Samarth & I were booked on a train back to his hometown of Jodhpur. However we had one last free flying opportunity on departure day. Samarth wanted to fly the Falcon, however I was nervous about him

Left; look out, look out! On final approach. i made it through for a good landing Right; On the lower launch

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on an unfamiliar glider attempting to precisely line up that small LZ- a mistake and my plans of flying other Indian sites would be dashed. We flew early with Samarth videoing me from his paraglider, then short packed it back into its box. I was sad leaving Bir after the amazing flying and great people. A huge thanks to Mr Suresh and the PG comp organisers for inviting me to fly with them. The trip to Jodhpur took almost 2 days during which we and all our gear travelled in and on: a tourist taxi, local bus, sleeper train, military jeep, and auto rickshaws. From then on it was full immersion India, welcomed by Indian families who had some connection with aviation. I hung in Jodhpur for a week taking part with Samarth’s families Diwali festivities and checking out the local area on the back of his motorbike. The area of the Rajasthan desert around the Bavarli hill temple where Samarth flew his paraglider looked like African savannah and it wasn’t a stretch to also picture giraffes and lions prowling. I made another crazy bus journey to the rural village of Ahwa, inland Gujarat, where I met paraglider & trike legend Samson and students doing training around one of the most picturesque valleys I have ever seen. Fun hanging with the crew & local kids - all taking an active interest, however the conditions there turned out unsuitable for hang gliding. I returned with them to their home near coastal Mumbai where I was invited to a Huge wedding of Samson’s brother which went on for days. Indian weddings are full on! I met Samson’s cousin Bonette who works for United Airlines as an in-flight cabin manager, a very smart world-wise guy. Samson told me of a couple of flying sites in the Western Ghats. Another overnight bus trip later I checked onto the Eco Village in Panchgani, run by André - a French Canadian pilot now resident in India. Panchgani straddles a ridge and offers launches in many directions, and what’s more André’s truck had glider racks. However as fate would have it, the nice soarable conditions which had been present all week faded, and this coupled with a corrupt newbie police officer, meant I only had one scratchy flight from an epic looking site further away from town. I heard stories of

Right; Paragider gaggles below right; Mr Suresh, Myself and Samarth fighting on local takeoffs between tandem paraglider pilots competing for the Mumbai tourist rupee which had drawn the police attention. I heard about Conrad, Paris, & Toni hangies I knew from home who had flown here years earlier. If Panchgani could get as proactive as Bir, it could be a world class comp site too. André is certainly giving it a nudge. I bussed the 30 hours back to Jodhpur where Samarth bought my Falcon, myself feeling kinda sad letting my lovely glider go, but happy knowing it couldn’t go to a better guy. Then I trained back to Delhi for my departure from India. One last thrill - I got to fly the Taj Mahal, in clear view from my seat on the 777, while on the horizon the Himalayas shone white above the haze.

y adventure in India was an amazing experience of which only a small part has been covered here. Non-flying angles have been left out such as: Interactive bus drivers, bargaining, photoshopped id photos (to remove wrinkles), markets. The lovely families I stayed with - Vicki’s, Samarth’s, Samson’s, Andre’s. Diwali festivities firecrackers & bombs, navigating via Google Maps on my old school Nokia phone, Indian food, beggars, poverty & slums, stomach upsets, money change hassles, help from random strangers while changing buses. How I’m comfortable negotiating Indian ‘chaos’ which overloads many westerners... trusting in the process. How incredibly fortunate I am to be able to do this adventure, etc. Samarth and others asked me when will I return and fly again?.. hopefully before not too long. He recently returned to Bir with his new glider and another pilot from Europe who brought in a Perfex. He reports the main landing has been extended - making it more hangie friendly. He now has two gliders, so we can fly together. I can bring a larger more comfortable XC pod harness. Apparently spring thermals are strong. A few more landing options mapped out along the range would be reassuring, but it’s still an amazing place to fly and I’m sure the next adventure will be epic. Bring it on!

Above; One of the five vultures I thermalled with, take-off is in the background Right; The Taj Mahal seen from the plane Background; Flying over terraced crops

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A Close Encounter of the Freaky Kind Aucklander Jeff Brill reports from Sarangkot, Nepal, February 2014

he female porters were loitering around the truck hoping to be chosen to carry our 20 kg packs up to take off. The word around the local pilots was to give the job to the women as the money would go to feeding their family as the guys will most likely utilise the well-earned funds for booze. Even though it went a bit against the grain, we handed our heavy packs to the slight women that couldn’t have weighed more than 45kg in body weight to begin their journey up the hill. We relieved our consciences as we watched them bend over with the weight knowing that we were paying them twice as much as the menfolk. I remember how they smiled broadly when they reached the top and we paid them a princely sum of NZ$1.20 for a job well done. Pilots from all over the world had gathered, Abu Dhabi, UK, Canada, France, Russia, and Germany. 22 pilots in all descended at the Pokhara hotel where we sat around a fire, drinking Tuborg beer and discussing flying locations, politics, economics and religion. Lots of smiles, laughter and camaraderie was the theme of the first night of arrival. Egos from the Arabs saying you will always find me at the top of the thermal, the quiet humble Russian woman who couldn’t be found at the landing site until someone shouted and pointed upwards where we saw her emerging from a cloud and the German who had the guts to go for the Green Wall on the first day where everyone else

Above; A new record; over 5000ft

Above; An aerial traffic jam steered towards the landing site. The pilots were from all walks of life, from the druggies, the businessmen, IT consultants, CEOs and a doctor. So there we all were on the hill preparing for take-off, the tandem companies have priority, so they unfurled their wings in front of us as we were about to take off. The uniformed guides in front of us were watching us carefully to make sure the rules were followed, ready to run over and pull our wings down if we became overzealous and took off before our tandem superiors.

After an hour of waiting with our wings spread, the weather was perfect; our wing tips were itching to go, licking up every wisp of breeze while we waited expectantly on the starting line. For over an hour we waited in a stance of; On your marks, get set... And then it happened. Without warning, the Arab lifted his wing in a reverse launch, spun around and sprinted down towards the laid out wings in front us. In a mighty leap, he applied his brakes, hurled himself over two tandem wings, landed on his feet just clearing the second wing, two more strides on terra firma and he was airborne over the cliff. A deafening roar of cheers from our troops could have been heard from the township of Pokhara as the Arab quickly turned into the house thermal and rose into the heavens. Immediately the guard was waving his arms and screaming something in Hindi that none of us understood. As quickly as the guard went red in the face, he went across in front of us to what looked like a quelling of the tempers of the tandem pilots who were previously quite happy in (slowly) teaching their passengers on what to do on take-off and landing while we waited patiently behind them. The commotion was not given a chance to settle down when several of our group looked at each other and the unspoken word and a smile provided clear instructions on what was to happen next. Within seconds of this exchange, each of us noting that the guard was still calming the tandem pilots, three of us raised our wings simultaneously, spun around and stampeded with canopies raised towards the group in front to us. Several jumps to clear these obstacles may have been seen as a miracle

as three of us cleared the obstacles then jumped from the edge and soared into the sky. Pandemonium must have erupted after we soared towards the first thermal; I guess we will never know. When we landed we thought we had better call it a day rather than return to meet the guard who was no doubt planning his revenge. There were about three areas where thermals were present, the house thermal being the strongest and of course the most popular. On striking the thermal my left wing tip collapsed, however easily righted itself as I applied the right toggle to climb the spiral staircase. The joyous singing of the vario with its high pitched, “beep beep beep beep,” took me from 3000ft to 4600ft in seconds where before I knew it, I was amongst about a dozen pilots flying in an organised pattern that resembled flies around a cow dung. The plan at this stage was to stay in the thermal to rise above the commotion however if the reader has ever experienced a round-about in India where they drive by feel (not too much different than dodgems in a carnival), I was a little nervous in getting past and above the aerial traffic jam. As I approached the group, I let go my right toggle to reach back so I was quite familiar where my reserve handle was located. It was then that I got the shock of my life. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion when I saw that I was on a collision course with another pilot. I quickly turned 180 degrees out of the thermal and applied the speed bar

however either I as too slow or the other pilot was too quick as within 3 or 4 seconds he was on top of me. My mind was in a spin thinking that if I pulled my reserve it would encapsulate the following pilot and his wing where we would both fall down in a tangle of polyester and nylon. As he hit me 5000 odd feet above Pokhara, I let out a shrilling expletive (which I wont repeat here) and looked up at my canopy expecting the wing to collapse at any moment. The pilot above lifted his legs as you might expect to observe when watching an Olympic gymnast on TV and I watched in horror as his harness weighed down the top of my canopy as he scraped over the top of my wing. Had his foot caught my wing, you most likely not be reading this article. Today would not be the day where I would reach my dream by reaching cloud base and I spiralled down to a safe level to do S turns through a thermal to maintain a safe height of 3500ft. I finally landed alongside Pokhara’s Lake Phew which I thought was appropriately named at the time. The next few days, four of us did a road trip and stayed over in Bandipur (2 hour drive from Pokhara), flew a few hours, landed in a farmers paddock, paid the fee of NZ$1.20 then lay in the sun and chatted for a few hours until the bus picked us up. There’s something about meeting people from around the globe with the same passion, there’s nothing quite like it and I look forward to doing it again next year.

Left; Porters making their way up with our gear Right; Tandems take priority on launch

8 A

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Right; Pokhara Lake from the air

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A Fantastic Week at the North Island Hang Gliding Champs A Left; Rick Hawkeswood launching at the Kaimais

Right; Neil Howe is off

rriving on the Monday after believing the weather forecast and missing out on great flying on the Saturday, it didn’t look like it was going to be a big distance day as high cloud was sitting above the Kaimais from the front that had gone through on Sunday and brought a bit of rain with it.

The wind was from the South and had eased a bit by the time we got to the top of the Kaimais. Bill Fisher was first off and was not getting up even though there looked like there was enough wind for ridge lift. But it did not stop other pilots for taking off and finally they started to go up. Getting above ridge height the lift got better and it wasn’t long before the first gaggle headed north to Te Aroha. Progress was slow heading up the Kaimais but good lift was found and on arriving at Mt Te Aroha it was rough on the North side due to lee side thermals which is rare as the wind almost always swings around to the North West at this point. The best height for the day was to be had there at 4600ft, before heading east to Paeroa township and then on to Thames. Here the sea breeze had kicked in and it was a straight glide up to Waikopu where 6 pilots landed by the beach making 105km look easy. A few pilots had flown further up the coast adding 15km to their flights. A good day was had by all as gliders

Words by Mark Alton Photos by Rachel Hunt

were scattered along the Kaimai Ranges all the way towards Thames. Again another long distance day at the North Island Champs. Day one I missed out on, about 30 pilots on launch at the Paeroa’s with a fresh northerly blowing along the range but cycling up the face with mainly blue skies with light wispy cloud. Two paragliders took off but did not put on a good display, bombing out after 30 minutes in the air. After a short period Sebastian took off on a slow climb with the rest of the pilots following. Those who did not get high and away found a sink cycle and bombed out. Over half the fleet made it away from the hill with most going over the back and heading towards the Rangatiki pub and landing 41.5km from take-off. A few headed west along the range in westerly direction to stay north of the Taupo MBZ to get to the west side of the lake. Thermals with strong cores tried

Below; Waiting for the wind on the Paeroas

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to throw you out and took you in a southerly direction requiring a cross wind leg to stay north. Grant lead the way flying down the western shore of lake Taupo finding a stronger northerly which helped him to land within sight of the Chateau on the National Park road, just missing out on setting a new site record by 1km. Two other pilots landed near Kinloch. Day Three arrived cold and clear. Those who had driven back to Waikite were reluctant to drive back to the Kaimais as it had been a long day arriving back at camp around 11:30pm. But before midday they were underway. Meanwhile those who had camped at Opal Springs were up on take-off by 12:30 looking at a totally blue sky with the cycles coming up from the SW making it a crossed wind take-off. We looked for signs of lift and eventually they came and the wind straightened up on take-off. The crowd from Waikite turned up

and I took off followed by Les Graham while the rest set up their gliders. It was working and it was not long before we were at 4300ft and heading north along the Kaimais towards Te Aroha. There were long glides between thermals most of the way down the ridge. Nearing Te Aroha, thermal height dropped to 3600ft and just before Te Aroha I was down to 1200ft looking for my last chance before I landed. It came and I had a glide to just below the summit. This did not help me as it look me half an hour to find solid lift as it was broken and short lived. Finally I got to just above the aerial and headed towards Paeroa township getting topped up along the way. Those behind me found easy lift there which allowed them to catch up with me. It was late afternoon by this time and time could not be wasted heading to Thames township. It was about 15km south of the town that a slow steady climb was

Below; Happy pilots after landing well north of Thames

found, a convergence that took me to within reach of Thames when the wind swung to NNW and I sunk out landing on the north side of Thames. Not the best of landings but 3km further on than Les and Bill who had landed at the airfield just south of the town. After landing the wind changed again to SW and then W with clouds building on the hill. I kept looking for pilots heading further north but saw no one pass. I found out later that the next gaggle back had landed 9 km short of Thames as it had shut down. 83.4km won the day Day four was blue as with light southerly winds. A sacrificial lamb (Mike the paraglider pilot) willingly took to the air and found lift but had to work hard for it. Not convinced, it took a while for a hang glider to launch. Paddy Monro was first, scratching for over 20 min on the western end of the range before re- emerging above the hill. The next pilot bombed but after that pilots

stayed in the air with cycle strength increasing. It wasn’t long before a gaggle headed over the back heading west along the southern side of the range. A few left in random order over the back heading towards Reparoa and then SW into wind along Broadlands finding good thermals and height on the way. This soon petered out making the two leading pilots land 26.7km from take-off, Richard Simson landing 100m further on than Les. A few pilots chose to fly at the Kaimais for the third day in a row. There were conflicting forecasts from various weather websites, conditions ranged from SE to NW but the overall picture indicated a light southerly of some description. The day was almost ditto to the 2 previous days, with thermals being broken and difficult. Rick Hawkeswood’s two previous days of flying consisted of 3 hours, 45min & 4 hours 35min flights in difficult conditions, so taking to the air, the body was not looking forward to another long day. The first half of the flight was conservative and it was over an hour just to get past the waterfall! Soon after the waterfall Howie got low and did not recover. The pilots were surprised with this being the third day of hot dry weather in a row that it hadn’t gone totally stable. Thermals were still broken and difficult with slow climbs & each successive day had a lower ceiling on the lift. Getting up on Te Aroha took some time and while Rick was hooking up with the resident thermal over the high tension wires behind Tirohia,

Final Results; Best 3 flights

Total Distance flown in competition

Above; Richard Simson fending off curious cows Below;Thermalling at the Paeroas

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Geoff Christophers was setting up his approach to land in the Te Aroha cricket ground. You’ve really got to see this for yourself to fully comprehend the small size of this field rimmed with trees… He didn’t quite pull off a clean landing but did create some light entertainment for the spectators. After packing up he was welcomed at the “Palace Hotel” where he waited for a lift to arrive as he entertained the locals with flying stories. Rick continued on and climbed up behind Tirohia onto Mt Karangahake to about 4 grand and then pushed his way North over Mackaytown. His last climb of the day came behind Paeroa Township and was a slow one. The final took him to a nil wind landing at Komata straight, landing at about 7pm after 3 hours, 40min in the air, tired but happy. Day Five. Another blue day with a light southerly breeze at the Paeroas. We had to sit on top of the Paeroa’s to wait for it to come on as the wind was

Above; Comp Champion, Geoff Christophers crossed on take-off. Around 3:30pm it straightened up and Bill was first off again. He got high straight away and headed out front to the Horohoro range. More pilots followed off the hill but it was a tough call on which way to go as no one looked to be getting thermals away from take-off. Pilots started gliding out over the back after climbing to 5300ft but no good lift was found. Below 2300ft the air became buoyant with lift to 2600ft but there was nothing to get away on. The longest glide was 14.1km! It looked like all the big distances had gone for good. At the Kaimais things were a bit different. The day dawned with a blanket of low cloud over the Waikato/Bay of Plenty but if you are prepared to put your flying trust in RASP it was promising to be another hot and sunny day with light to moderate lift, improving later in the day, and a base of between 4500 and 6000ft. More important than that was the very obvious wind direction – SSW. Anyone in their right mind wanting to attempt any X/C would surely choose the Kaimais over the Paeroas for this direction, however with the consumption of a fair bit of

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alcohol through to the early hours of morning, thanks to Les being another year older, there were very few pilots left in their right mind!!! The thought of driving to the Kaimais and then having to be picked up at Thames, or beyond was just too daunting for most still suffering the effects of the previous night. Rick, Neil and Geoff, made their way up the Kaimais not knowing how things would pan out. Arriving at the top of the Kaimais to a strong SWer they decided to opt for the airstrip launch. That nearly turned out to be their undoing as it was only just soarable. They got into the air at 3.30pm and after a struggle to gain any height, it then became a fast run down to the tunnel before working on max height prior to making the number of crossings required from then on. The rest of the flight was similar to every other flight heading to Thames; however it can be said that you can never get tired of it as it offers such a variety. Neil Howe led the way and ended up landing at Paeroa. Rick continued on and landed past Hikutaia with Geoff hard on his heels. A lot of low saves were made to get Geoff past Hikutaia before finding a thermal to 4,500ft before making the final glide to the Thames airstrip to land at just before 7:00pm and winning the day with 80km. Friday morning brought high winds with tents getting flattened as gusts came through the Waikite campground and with the same forecast for Saturday it was decided after five days of great flying to head home and use the time to get the jobs done that the wives had wanted done since spring to score a few brownie points so more days of flying could be had over the summer. It is always a great place to stay at the Waikite campground as mornings and evenings can be spent in the pools going over the days flights and catching up with pilots that you have not seen in a while. I must say that this year the cockroaches were out in force with over 30 found in my tent one morning! And more found when we got home. It was one of the best comp weeks that we have had for quite some time and even though most of the long distances were done at the Kaimai’s, It is Always on at the Paeroa’s. Four days in a row flying at the Kaimais and the Paeroa ranges with average flight times of 3 hours 50mins at the Kaimais. Geoff Christophers won the week with his best three flights totalling 254kms. Rick flew the most km’s with a total of 341.8km from 5 flights. Thanks to Baz, Richard & Rachel for putting the week together. I have no idea how Baz bribed the weather gods, as the conditions were a 180 to the long range forecast for the week. What will next year bring?

Omarama XC Classic 2013

Left; First pilot launched and the rest keen to get flying Right; The Hawkduns at 9000ft; 30kms to go before a decent road Photos; Bill Degen

Fri 7 Feb;

his year’s Omarama Cross country Classic attracted about 35 pilots. Most stayed in Omarama for the entire week with many free camping at the river. Here’s how this years event played out; Sat, Feb 1: 10 pilots arrived at the Magic Mountain top launch, while others chose Buscot. We had Southerly 10 knots on Magic with good thermals. Snowy Top was not working but light thermals and convergence over the Ahuriri Valley flats had us grovelling up to 8000ft. I flew 30kms to the end of the Ahuriri Road with Steve Bankier who turned back toward Magic. Mark Nichols landed 5km behind a locked gate that resulted in 60km driving around to Ribbonwood to pick up a key and return for access. Meanwhile Kay had driven to Hawea after entering Spot co-ordinates for Bill & Mark into the new car GPS which turned out to use degrees min sec instead of the usual deg min metric. Sorry Kay. MIA; Police were notified after no contact and no witnesses had seen Gavin Tweedie launch or in the air. We were on our way to search Magic when we heard from Boot who saw Gav launch and he was eventually found walking out of the Ohau Valley in the dark so Search and Rescue

was called off. He’d walked for an hour with another to go before getting to Vodafone cell reception. Only one car had passed him and hadn’t stopped. Thankfully he’d landed before the Hopkins Valley and could have gone further but had figured he was alone and out of contact. Lessons; a driver should stay till last pilot has launched so we know all have launched safely. Pilots to radio or Spot position and route. SIM cards for both Vodafone and Telecom are cheap and tiny. Meanwhile at Buscot; a failure to hook in resulted in a trashed glider, showing that even NZ XC Champions need to hang check or keep their harness clipped in. Best distances for the day; Gavin 41km, Bill 27km, Rod Stuart 16km.

Sun 2 Feb: Sunny and 30 degrees. Up to 7 knot cycles on all NW, SW & S sides kept us guessing, eventually mainly South was chosen with a few of us at the steeper SE launch. We got broken thermals to 7000ft. Cris Lawry launched on the mostly lee side NW launch, then flew to the South side before a local tour around Omarama. I went to Snowy Top then to the top of Ohau. Steve to Tara Hills, Rod and Gav to Omarama. Others at Buscot flew to Otematata. A paraglider pilot was injured at Buscot and taken to hospital.

Mon 3 Feb: Wind on Magic’s NW launch was

5-10 knots, ideal for the 31 pilots there. Good scrappy thermals with east drift flushed pilots to where they usually connected with thermals to around 8000ft while drifting back with a light NW. Many went for Killermont and the Lindis Pass and landed gliders were scattered down SH1 all the way to Omarama. I tried the Lindis, then Killermont and got back to 7500ft, then got nothing on the St Bathans. After no more than 7500ft at the Omarama Saddle for an hour I went near Hugo’s and finally reached clouds on the Hawkdun Range to 9000ft. After 3 changes of flight plan, I was glad I wasn’t doing a set task to somewhere else. It was a long battle to stay above the ridge in tight bubbles on the Hawkdun spurs, but eventually I lost it and dropped in for a nice grassy up-face landing area on the lower slopes of Mt Ida at about 8:30pm. All around me was spaniard infested tussock so I was glad I didn’t push on for a little more distance. Though close, it took 2 hours to walk the track to Little Mt Ida to check vehicle access for glider pickup. It was soon completely pitch black but my instrument and backup phone battery gave enough light to walk with. Gav finally arrived at 1:30am and we gratefully spent the night at Guy Williams lovely cottage nearby. GPS coordinates in Google Maps gave Gav the wrong position, it assumed a nearby paved road I

think, so we need to confirm actual locations. My 59.2kms was the best distance for the day. Next morning it was scrub cutting and shovelling our way in to retrieve the glider. Laying matagouri in the muddy wheel tracks got us out when the car bogged down. Tuesday had a blown out westerly, which was just as well for us as we didn’t get back to Omarama till late in the afternoon.

Wed 5 Feb; It stayed cloudy, wind was moderate NE then Southerly later. Keen pilots had good soaring at Mt Eric though.

Thurs 6 Feb; On Magic, wind was changeable and so stable that gliders were towing to Snowy Top and Magic. Mostly NW cycles were up to 10 knots. Gav was off first and got a rough climb to 7000ft. Then it turned easterly and we were mostly half rigged on the NW launch. Mark ran his Atos the kilometer to the east launch, faster than anyone could derig and drive there! We flew and got thermals along the ridge and on the Killermont convergence to around 5500ft. Cris and Paris arrived at Magic from Buscot. Best flights that day were about 25kms.

Wind was cycling on all sides of Magic at 5-10 knots but best on the NW side where many started rigging. It was steady at the east launch then the same on NW launch but everyone packed up after dust devils started throwing gliders around and moved to the east launch. High cloud was shading parts but Andrew and Adriel were off first on their Stings and stayed up in ridge lift before heading out. Thermals were tight but to 7000ft, eventually allowing some back on Magic and up the Ahuriri Valley. There was broken lift to 5000ft over the flats and smooth climbs on the windward sides of mountain faces. With scenery and good landings all the way, it was 24kms for me with Mark just behind. Two who launched from Ohau that day made Omarama.

Sat 8 Feb; It was working late on the NW launch but mainly East so it was back to the east launch. Gary Turner was off first, working thermals on the ridge but lost it at Killermont. Gav was next and he shot straight back over the saddle and up on the resident thermal. Mark and I followed to get the same. Mark scoped out Snowy Top for us on the Atos and found nothing so we worked clouds west of the Lindis Pass to base. We later crossed to the east side on a convergence line. We got decent climbs from as low as 5000ft all the

way to cloudbase at 9-10,000’ as we pushed south into a light headwind. There were still climbs up to 9000ft south of the pass but eventually the headwind became strong. Mark flew along the Dunstans then crossed to the Pisas and hit headwind of 30 or more knots, landing at 68kms, with me at 54kms past Tarras. It had been a decent thermalling day at last.

Sun 9 Feb; The cloud stayed so everybody drifted off home. Though frustrated by stable conditions, we had worked harder and made the best of what we had. Winds were mostly light so there was no bad turbulence or strong winds, so most had a good if not spectacular time. The road improvement served us well, being a lot less scary for drivers and many donated generously to help pay for the bulldozing work that Warren Connelly arranged. The Aorangi and Canty Clubs are contributing and word is the Discretionary Committee will help re-establish the Magic Road maintenance fund. At present the fund does not have enough to pay for the work done this year so anyone who has pledged but not donated or has used the site and wants to help keep it open please contact me. Thanks to the Pattersons for having us and to all who came, we’ll see you next year on 31 January to 8 February.

Results Bill Degen 1st overall, best 3 flights 119kms Mark Nichols 2nd overall best 3 flights 93.2kms Steve Bankier 2nd class 1 best 3 flights 46.9kms Rod Stuart 3rd overall class 1 best 3 flights 34.6kms The Driver Award for hardest retreive went to Gavin Tweedie and the Too Serious award might have to be me for the 24 hour pickup for my 59km flight.

Right; Steve Bankier rerigging on Easterly launch Photo; Bill Degen

Below; no shortage of rigging or launch areas on Magic Mountain Photo; Owen Booth

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Wingovers: Deceptively Si mple By Bruce Goldsmith Photos by Ant Green

was shocked to hear recently of the death of one of my p a r a g l i d i n g f r i e n d s f ro m practicing wingovers.

The pilot had been flying for some years and was actually under instruction at the time trying to build up more confidence and skills. The problem is that when training wingovers it is easy to get into a situation that requires more skill to get out of than to get into. Lets look closer at why this is.

What makes wingovers so dangerous? A badly coordinated wingover leads almost automatically to a large cravat that can be hard to get out even on a low EN rated glider. It’s a question of the experience trap, you have the confidence to start to do wingovers but not the skill to do the SIV manoeuvre required to recover from cravat. The result is you have the confidence and skill to get yourself into the tricky position but not the skill to get out. Wingovers are essentially simple because they are just a series of linked turns left and right. You start with gentle wingovers slowly increasing the height of the oscillations. The critical part of wingovers is to get the correct wing movement at the peak of each turn. You need to coordinate it correctly so that the wing turns smoothly at the peak of the climb and turns smoothly to set off on its downward path while maintaining good tension in the lines at all times and avoiding any collapses. The most common error is to have the wing still climbing up and pointing upwards when the pilot has started descending. This results in a collapse and if the wingover is already high the collapse easily gets caught in the lines and stuck there leading to auto rotation with potentially disastrous results.

The Key - Yaw Control The secret to the perfect wingover is to be able to manage correctly the movement of the

glider in all 3 axes, pitch, roll and yaw. Unlike a glider (sailplane), a paraglider has no controls to directly control yaw, yet the correct control of yaw is the key to the perfect wingover. On a

paraglider yaw can only be indirectly controlled through the brakes. The sweep and arc on a paraglider makes the glider naturally point in the direction it is flying. Normally yaw is simply not an issue on a paraglider because of this natural tendency for the wing to always point the way it is going. However in a wingover this does not happen naturally and the pilot needs to manage yaw himself. This can be the first time a pilot has come up against this issue, and is what makes wingovers an important lesson to properly control your paraglider.

The Perfect Wingover Start with a smooth brake application on the right applying the brake on then off in about 3 seconds. Notice that at the start of the brake input the glider will rock back slightly and then as you release the brake the glider will surge forwards slightly. You then need to use this slight surge forwards to start a swinging movement with the pilot as the weight of the pendulum. The next brake application on the other side will increase the pendulum if the timing is correct. Getting this part of the coordination of a wingover correct is not so difficult, and it is easy to think at this stage that you have it cracked. However it is correct control of yaw is the magic ingredient that makes a wingover well

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coordinated. Because not only does a glider pitch when you apply the brake but it also yaws. The amount yaw depends on how fast and deep you pull the brake. Get this wrong and the glider will be facing up when the pilot starts to descend from the peak of the wingover resulting in what I describe as a kind of scissor effect, and it is this that causes the collapse than can result in a cravat. The amount of amplitude and speed of brake

application is different for each glider. It depends mainly on the pilot weight, the line length and glider aspect ratio as well the aerodynamic characteristics such as profile and wing curve. You need to get the feeling for your particular wing to be able to correctly perform wingovers.

The Outside Brake If you don’t get the timing exactly correct on a wingover it is always possible to use outside

brake as well as inside brake to keep the wing pressurised and to stop the lines going slack. This little trick enables you to recover from a bad wingover and keep the rhythm going. The energy of a wingover can build up very fast resulting in the pilot doing wingovers over 90 degrees very quickly even if he only intended to do small ones. So don’t build up the amplitude too fast, but concentrate instead on getting the perfect coordination of each turn. Only when the turns are all perfect should you allow yourself to go up to 90 degrees or beyond. Of course don’t practice wingovers of high amplitude unless you are over water.

Supine Harnesses Flying wingovers with a supine harness is much more difficult than with a seated harness. This is because the pilot/harness can also yaw independently from the glider and so the pilot not only needs to manage the yaw of the wing but also the yaw of the harness. Make sure you train wingovers in a seated harness first and only go onto a supine harness when you have fully mastered wingovers seated.

Best over the water Wingovers are perfect to practice on an SIV course, with all the safety precautions in place so that you can master this essential skill in 100% safety. Doing a few wingovers after the radical manoeuvres on each flight before landing is a good idea, but make sure you have sufficient height and are still over the water to make sure you don’t get caught in the skill trap when you are too low to recover from that nasty cravat.

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Skyfloaters

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Paragliding Opens 2014:

Nelson and Rotorua

Above; Barnicoat launch gate on day One Photo; Nick Neynens

Left; Janice Lamberton assisting Nick Moody with launch at Havelock

By Kris Ericksen

Right; Heading south from the Havelock launch, with the Wairau Valley in the distance, just before the southerly change hit! of Level Threes were called and the task was stopped. As no one had flown the minimum distance the day scored zero… Friday 31 January: Task 6 At the briefing at the Sprig and Fern several possible options were posited given the vagaries of the weather. Should we return to one of the sites previously flown, or should we risk Mt Murchison? A quick vote was taken and it was unanimous for Mt Murchison! A 56km task was set for Maruia via one turnpoint. A number of pilots declared a goal at Springs Junction. Twenty pilots

NELSON

n initial briefing and BBQ was held at Founders Park on the Friday evening for all the pilots, and then all subsequent briefings were held at the Sprig and Fern in Tahunanui.

Tim Brown had expertly stepped into Peter Alison’s shoes at very short notice after Peter had “abandoned ship” (so to speak) to go on a ship! Saturday 25 January 2014: Task 1 The forecast wasn’t particularly good for anywhere except Barnicoat, and even then it wasn’t all that promising. A cats cradle task was set and an early start was set at 11:15. Lots of pilots raced off the hill and went straight on glide to one of the bomb-outs... At 12:30, with increasing winds the task was stopped. Only one pilot - Grey Hamilton - had managed to get to goal… Following behind was a gaggle of six pilots heading towards the final turn-point of Jenkins Hill when the task was stopped.

Earlier on in the task Kevin Rooke had given everyone an interesting display of collapses and reserve throwing! His reserve popped out just in time and he and his wing landed unscathed amongst lots of pine slash. Sunday 26 January Forecast was: “For the remaining ranges of Nelson, including the Richmond Range, rain is likely to be heavy for a time Sunday afternoon.” The day was canned before it even started! Monday 27 January: Task 2 We headed off to Takaka early, and parawaiting ensued…. The wind was generally over the back, with very little coming up the front. Some free-flying occurred, but the conditions were not inspiring. The day was eventually canned, and some people flew off the Riwaka

side. Others headed directly for Tim’s place in Ruby Bay, and a lot of coastal ridge soaring ensued. Tuesday 28 January: Task 3 A new site near Havelock in the Marlborough Sounds, that had been opened up by local hang glider pilot Shane McKay, was the destination for convoy heading out from the Sprig and Fern. A narrow winding farm track lead up to the panoramic launch site, with views to the Sounds in one direction and the Wairau Valley in the other. A cats cradle task was set with the start being at 1:15. Only one pilot, Australian Matts Eliasson, getting into goal 30.5km around the course. An incoming sea breeze from Havelock resulted in all the other pilots decking it in various locations up the main valley. Wednesday 29 January: Task 4 Back to Takaka – a task was set with two legs up towards the head of the valley. Conditions were light and it took a while before any pilots were willing to dip their toes in the water, and then only a few were, initially, game enough to launch. As it was, twelve people were

Left; Outside the Sprig and Fern, in Tahunanui

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still on launch when the sea breeze came over the back of launch. One of the Australian pilots (Phil Hystek) commented that it was the first time that he had flown lee side convergence! It did, however, create some “funky” conditions, and Kussy Gomez threw her reserve and landed high up the side of the valley in trees. She was unhurt and managed to get out of the trees. However, a member of the public who witnessed this called the rescue helicopter, which was dispatched despite the comp director telling Police that it wasn’t necessary. A rescuer was winched down into the trees to rescue Kussy, who told him in no uncertain terms that she was not leaving without her paraglider! The helicopter then parked up in a paddock for an hour while the rescuer assisted Kussy in removing the wing from the trees. The task was stopped with Reuben Muir in the lead at the time. Thursday 30 January: Task 5 A return trip to Havelock – conditions looked good, but it was not to be - the predicted southerly change came in far faster than anticipated and created very funky conditions for those in the air. Lots

ended making the speed section, with about six over-flying to Springs Junction. The NZ womans distance record was broken by Antje Daehler from Australia, and the day was won by Itai Almog. Duncan McNab missed the turnpoint by about 20 metres, but despite this was very happy at having doubled his previous personal best! Numerous other personal bests were also achieved. Saturday 1 February: Task 7 We returned to Mt Murchison,

Above; Andy Spierer launches at Takaka

Above; Top of the Maruia Valley - flight from Mt Murchison Below; Takaka on the parawaiting day: Monday 27th

but the weather gods weren’t as cooperative as on Friday. Conditions were challenging, with most pilots struggling at about the eight kilometre mark. Only two pilots, Middy and Russ, made it to goal, but not before the required time….

Overall winner of the Nelson Comp was Grant Middendorf, with Antje Daehler taking out the womens title. Full results at: http://highcloud.net/ xc/comp_result.php?comPk=126 Nelson comp Facebook page: http://tinyurl.com/nelsonpg14

Below; Havelock task 5 (cancelled early when sea breeze came in) Photo; Nick Neynens

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ROTORUA

omp HQ was at the Rotorua Thermal Holiday Park, and the majority (if not almost all) of participants were e n s c o n c e d t h e re i n cabins or tents.

Saturday 22 February 2014: Task 1 The weather forecast was not at all promising for the first day of round two of the PG Open. However, a decision was made to head up the Paeroas, despite the tops being in cloud! Late in the afternoon a 27km cats cradle task, starting from the lower launch (below cloud level) was set, with a start gate of 2:45pm! Conditions, however proved challenging, with the top 11 pilots all decking it between the 14 and 17km marks. Jeff Ripley was the winner of the day with 16.75 km under his belt. Sunday 23 February Weather gods don’t seem to like paragliding happening on Sundays, so they delivered rain and wind… Monday 24 February: Task 2 Back to the Paeroas – a task circling around Reporoa with goal at the corner of Whites Rd and Broadlands Rd. Great flying conditions, but only four pilots in goal, with Peter Taylor on a Fun Class leading the pack. Seven of the top ten pilots today were flying Fun Class wings! Tuesday 25 February: Task 3 Kaimais was the destination today. Task was a 31km run down the Kaimais to Te Aroha. 19 pilots made it into goal, with Grant Middendorf leading the pack. Evan Lamberton and Jeff Ripley overflew goal, with Evan getting almost to Thames. Wednesday 26 February Another non-flyable day… Thursday 27 February: Task 4 Another Paeroas day, with a 47km out and back task with goal at Reporoa. Seven pilots made it into goal with Grant Middendorf coming in first. Friday 28 February Another day where the weather gods were displeased… Saturday 1 March Returning to the Paeroas a task over vast areas of pine forest was set, with goal a goal on Ngamotu Rd set. Ten pilots made it into goal with Mark Hardman leading the way. Kris Ericksen

Above; Lisa Tobler launches at the Paeroas Above right; Flying north at the Kaimais Right; The womens team at Nelson: l to r: Jude Tarr, Nicky Hamill, Kyla MacDonald, Gladys Gomez, Antje Daehler and Melanie Heather ended up flying the task on visual, after losing his waypoints due to an instrument malfunction. For his sins he infringed airspace by less than 100 metres horizontally at the beginning of his flight, and then missed the

final turnpoint by a kilometre before getting into goal… Oh well, it was still a great flight! Reuben Muir was the overall winner of the Rotorua PG Open, and also the overall winner of the combined

PG Open, taking out first places in the Fun, Sports and Open classes! Melanie Heather was the top woman for the competition, and also won the Leo Geary Memorial Trophy for the most promising up

and coming new pilot. This award also includes a voucher from Wings and Waves for a $1500 discount off equipment. Full results: http://highcloud.net/ xc/comp_result.php?comPk=128

Above left; Gaggle above the Paeroas Left; Group photo on the Paeroas Right; heading towards goal on the final day - Mt Edgecomb in the distance

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“One-liners” as to the highlight of the Rotorua PG Open

The best “let’s go fly in the rain and howling wind” day I’ve ever flown, Cheers task committee - Don Smith

I think some of the highlights for me were having a number of the South Island pilots experiencing XC in the North Island for the first time, launching first on one of the tasks and managing to not bomb out, and also having Brian Doub visit from the UK and do really well against some of the more-fancied locals. - Graeme Surrey

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What just happened?.... Me? How? Why? Irish luck, perhaps...! Rotorua, you exceeded all my expectations. - Melanie Heather Good company and lessons learned. - Brenden Duffy Kiwi hospitality rules! I was taken care of by a number of different pilots, a lift from the airport with Robbo, a tent and air mattress from Evan, lifts to take off from Kim, and a radio from another pilot. Great comp and great new friends. - Brian Doub The highlight for me was seeing the task committee call the day so well - we sat on launch in cloud or blustering winds a couple of times, with the task committee telling us to be patient. They were right; with the days switching on for beautiful flying and many happy pilots. - Kyla McDonald My highlight was the massive 7500ft ceiling we had. Visualise this! Flying above the Paeroas on a Blue Day at 7000ft, in front of me was Mt Ruapehu and Lake Taupo, to my right was Mt Maunganui and over my right shoulder was White Island, a truly memorable and spectacular view only a paraglider pilot could experience and appreciate in its raw state. - Robbo Robinson An awesome day at The Kaimais. Sunny and light winds. - Tim Brown For me getting up to over 7000 feet at the Paeroas granted air-space, it gave us all more chance to make the most of the days, this was a great buzz. - Nick Stead Safety hazard - tripped over whilst observing Jeffs new hair cut. Don’t answer phone just before window opens. - Derek Divers I think Nelson had the biggest highs and the lowest lows all one day when so many of us had that beautiful flight from Mt Murchison to Maruia and then a few dummies stuffed it up by missing the goal field in some way. Plenty more flew on to Springs Junction for the record declared goal but I was cursing myself in a paddock 50m from goal. Oh well.

The whole Rotorua week had highlights for me starting the day before the comp when I was able to take Diane for a tandem flight from the Paeroas 47km up on to the Napier Taupo highway. Not only was it a really fun flight with a good friend ( who doesn’t get sick and doesn’t mind turning left) but it was a significant one for the site and for a tandem in the North Is. It was good to partly repay Diane for all the retrieve driving she has done for us. The other big one for me was of course making it past Mt Tarawera from the Kaimais launch for 74km and what I hope will be ratified as the new site record. My only real regret on that flight is not being able to persuade Jeff to stop worrying about the goal close time and fly on with me. I think it would have been motivation to keep going for an even bigger distance. - Evan Lamberton For me the highlights were reaching a personal all-time high of 6500 ft above the Paeroas, making it out over the Reporoa flats and finishing the day with a cold beer at the Reporoa pub. The rapid response to my ugly take off on the last day of the comp with so many willing and helpful rescuers, typified the community spirit of the 7 day event. - Kim Woodgate Epic, 7500ft cloudbase. The best flying the north island has to offer. - Peter Taylor After a week of quality racing, I have to take back just about everything I’ve said about North Island flying! Special airspace and good weather make it a completely different place! - Mark Hardman Nick Taber who normally flys the Mountains of Nelson, heads north into the Flatlands for the first time: I am always excited to be visiting new sites; but even more exhilarating was being forced to cut the cord and leave the hill on a descending glide for the flatlands, hoping and praying for the the next lift and that Wha-Hoo moment when you find it. Highlight; Flying the Kamais and thermalling over the source of a massive waterfall whilst looking back at Mt Maunganui in the distance and thinking I would like like to fly that one day and I did, the next day. A big thank you to Kyla McDonald, Johnny Hopper and all those that hosted and shared the wisdom of Flatland Flying in Rotorua, cheers for a great comp.

Lisa Tobler climbing over the Paeroas.

Being the only female pilot in the Hawke’s Bay club my highlight was definitely the task at the Kaimais when the girls (and Rhys) flew together!!!! - Rebecca Rae

Thankfully he can’t win the women’s trophy, at least. - Johnny Hopper (referring to Reuben Muir...)

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BOOKROOM

NZHGPA

Saturday - Day one: Started the day with a best breakfast in days. Hollandaise on salmon on spinach on nice toasted bread on a big plate on an outdoor table. M..mmmh! Unfortunately this did NOT help me to improve my overall condition for the day dramatically. I felt tired, aching, with a lack of grounding and subsequently no confidence. I had 2 nights of spine twinging tent sleep/ no sleep, walking around the kitchen at half past 1, dragging my sleeping bag behind me looking for a more comfortable 2 square metres, which I found in the computer lounge, alas the couches needed rearranging every once and a while to accommodate my need for a 3 piece, ending up liking ice skating... So I quietly but officially cancelled my launch for the day, packed my 5 things and moved to the other Holiday Park on the lake front, slept until afternoon in a perfectly comfortable bed, followed by extensive warm to hot spa traversings, more sleep, a nice warm meal in town followed by ice cream, more ice skating and yes, more sleep, ready for a day of... launch cancelled... just as well.. that extra day of cruising, swimming, hiking etc. was exactly what I needed to be prepared for this demanding sports competition.(I have to remind myself sometimes, this is what it is, besides fantastic rarara ‘n glugglugglugg, AND I had been thrashing it/my body for quiet some time now, you know... ignoring limits when it comes to work. So I am pleased to announce that my highlight at Rotorua was rediscovering my ground instincts and looking after No1 followed by some rewarding flying over the back. Never mind I missed that turnpoint. My flying instincts promised me a greater reward going this way! Perhaps I will be a more serious competitor in time to come. - Andy Spierer

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Executive Repor ts Air Navigation - Ground Based to Performance Based Navigation (PBN) NZHGPA Submission

raditionally air navigation has relied on ground based navigation aids to assist aircraft to fly safely during instrument (IFR) flights. The major change in air navigation over the next 10 years will be the progressive transition worldwide to performance based navigation (PBN) routes and departure and arrival procedures. PBN involves area navigation procedures based on global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) which are more accurate and allow for shorter, more direct routes. For more in depth information including see the CAA web link at; http://www. caa.govt.nz/naanp/naanp_home.htm The NZHGPA & Club Airspace Officers attended five consultation meetings throughout NZ presented by the CAA and this is the NZHGPA submission in response to the proposed Air navigation changes; Consultation on the National Airspace and Air Navigation Plan. New Zealand Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association 1. Do you support the plan (and why)? Answer: 1. In principal yes, the ground based system being due for renewal should be replaced with a system that embraces the latest technology and meets universal ICAO worldwide standards with the capability to expand and be updated in the future as technology evolves. However, it raises a few questions especially as the Air Navigation Plan is being driven through commercial demand at the expense of all other air users, especially recreational, sport and adventure aviation. 2. Are there any proposals in the Plan you do not support (and why)? Answer: 1. Whilst the plan makes reference to General Aviation the NZHGPA would like to see the wording of General Aviation better defined to include sport and adventure aviation especially with the recent acknowledgement of this unique sector in New Zealand aviation through the introduction of Part 115. The description of General Aviation on the abbreviation page would be a good start point in the policy document. The NZHGPA would like the definition to be expanded to read; General aviation to include sport and adventure aviation. 2. With Satellite based systems being driven by the commercial need to fly a more direct route to save time, fuel and money this should not be at the expense of other air users and there should be a duty to make airspace available to all air users and in some cases to do this it should be considered acceptable that in New Zealand commercial aircraft may have to fly around an area of importance for the continued and ongoing success of local tourism activity/flights and grass roots aviation. The NZHGPA would like to see the wording in the Policy better defined and clarified to include;

Maintain airspace to meet the needs of General Aviation, to include Sport and Adventure Aviation. 3. Is there anything that is missed that you think should be addressed in the plan. 1. The NZHGPA sees the airspace navigation plan as an opportunity to free up more uncontrolled airspace through better design. The aim should be to make NZ airspace more accessible so that it is easier to navigate with minimal procedure and cost for the recreational, sport and adventure aviation pilot and therefor encourage growth in this area, rather than deter entry level flying in New Zealand. The NZHGPA would like to see the wording in the Policy better defined and clarified to focus airspace design and planning to include; The principle when designing or reviewing airspace should be to minimise and simplify controlled airspace. The aim being to free up more uncontrolled airspace to ensure that all air users are able to enjoy recreational, sport and adventure aviation as widely as possible in New Zealand with minimal procedure and cost to the pilot. 2. Whilst it is acknowledged that the CAA is implementing a rolling 5 yearly Airspace Review programme, any airspace changes outside of this review due to other influences like the Airspace Navigation Plan, should require consultation of all airspace users DURING the development of airspace changes, rather than waiting for Airways to come up with a plan and then wait for submissions. This should make it easier and cheaper for CAA/Airways to make changes, accommodate all aviation sectors and remove some conflict at late stages. The NZHGPA would like to see the wording in the Policy better defined and clarified to include; Consultation of all airspace users DURING the development of airspace changes to include any airspace change outside of the 5 yearly Airspace Review Plan. 3 . T h e N Z H G PA w o u l d l i k e a n acknowledgement to the policy that it is physically impossible for a foot launched hang glider or paraglider to carry the necessary equipment to become compliant with any current ground based or satellite based position reporting navigational system and therefor; The NZHGPA formally requests an exemption to the Air Navigation Plan Policy to carry position reporting navigational equipment (transponder) for foot launched hang gliders and paragliders. Acknowledgement The NZHGPA wishes to thank the CAA for putting together a very informative and educational Airspace and Air Navigational roadshow. - Nick Taber, NZHGPA Airspace Office, New Zealand Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association Dated: 2nd February 2014

NZ Competition Organiser’s Responsibilities It is the Comp Organiser’s responsibility to; 1. Obtain a list of current members from the NZHGPA Administrator. 2. Ensure every competition entrant is a current NZHGPA member. 3. Sign up any non-members. Any competitors found to be non-members will be listed and scored as ‘Disqualified’.

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Paragliding Competition Committee Update

’m sitting writing this outside my hut in Manilla, waiting for the day to start up before the Kiwi State of Origin team heads up the hill for a practise before the big comp, which has also been declared a New Zealand overseas league comp. This means that the ladder published in this Airborne is not quite final for the season however my calculations show that it’s highly unlikely that State of Origin will change the placings much, particularly at the top end. So, provisionally - Congratulations to Grant Middendorf who has regained the top spot. Eva Keim was top female pilot. Well done to our editor, Bill, for managing to squeeze the whole ladder in, its huge! That’s thanks partly to the fact that we had an unprecedented SIX Nationals tasks count towards the final scores due to a couple of fantastic PG Open rounds organised by Peter Allison and Tim Brown (Nelson) and Nick Stead and Kyla MacDonald (Rotorua). Grant won the Nelson round and Reuben Muir the Rotorua round, congratulations to them both. Reuben was also named NZ National Paragliding Champion, with Melanie Heather taking the Womens Trophy and the Leo Geary Trophy for most promising pilot new to competition flying. The XC Competition is also wrapped up for the year, and you will find a full write up from Tim Percival in this edition. Bryan Moore came out on top, with Eva being the highest placed female. Bryan also was awarded the Jill Borst Trophy thanks to his exceptional contribution to the NZ paragliding scene with some stunning vol-biv accomplishments in the South Island. We have had a shake-up in the PCC. Louis Tapper and

24 A i r b o r n

Nick Stead have resigned their positions, to be replaced by Tim Brown and Peter Taylor. Johnny is staying on. Thanks to Louis and Nick for their help last year and welcome to Tim and Peter. This winter we will work on clarifying some rules. We might also look at changing the rules around the Fun and Sports class trophies and how they are awarded. With more and more gun pilots moving down to Fun class wings it seems that we need to rethink how we award these prizes. Your submissions and suggestions are welcome in this regard. Have a great winter folks, hopefully it wont be all bad weather and a couple of flights can be squeezed in. Any questions about paragliding comps feel free to mail me on johnnyhopper@ gmail.com Thanks! See you in the air/ bombout. - Johnny Hopper @ the PCC

Safety Checks Thin Wires on hang gliders In their last newsletter Moyes reminded pilots to check hang glider cables and noted that 2mm (thin 1x19) wires are to be replaced every 50 hours or at the first sign of wear or kinking. Wills Wing also recommend replacing these 2mm wires at 50 hours and Airborne say to inspect and replace all wires if necessary every 50 hours. It’s common to see these thinner wires fraying on all brands of glider and I recommend to replace them with 2.4mm 7x7 coated wires for better strength, safety, durability and overall practicality. The drag difference is insignificant so I suggest that if you have them, to save the thin wires for competitions only. - Bill Degen

i r b o r n

N Ne eww ZZeealan a l a n dd C rC ross o s s - -CCoouunntry try

a r a g l idding ing PP aragli CC hampionships hampionships

North Island Table (top 25 positions) Pos 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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

Paragliding XC Competition Standings 2013 - 2014 Season

or detailed flight information and standings, see the 2014 PG XC Champs Table at Leonardo (Updates at; (www.paraglidingforum.com/ leonardo/league/world/season2013/ brand:all,cat:1,class:all,xctype:all,cl ub:0.9&comp=). The 2014 NZ XC Champion is: Bryan Moore. Bryan’s fifth title! The 2014 NZ Women’s XC Champion is: Eva Keim. Eva’s fourth title! National records, regional records and lots of site records! For this wrap up of the season I will mainly let the numbers do the talking: - A NZ FAI Triangle record by Grant

Middendorf flying from Treble Cone on November 18. - A NZ Female Open Distance record by Antje Daehler of Australia flying 73.6 km from Mt Murchison on January 31. - A NZ Declared Goal record from Mt Murchison on January 31 - sorry, at time of writing the “who” and distance have not been nailed down, but it’s over 70km and it’s either Rueben Muir or Russell Read who has claimed it, depending on the documentation! - NZ’s second best open distance ever, Bryan flying 136.8 km from Ball Spur, Mt Cook, on February

2013/14 NZ PG XC Champs Final Standings (Top 40 placings) Pos Pilot Club 1st 2nd 3rd Total 1 Bryan Moore Southern 223.7 220.6 187.1 631.4 2 Grant Middendorf Southern 234.5 160.6 156.1 551.2 3 Rory Devine Southern 172.9 171.0 136.8 480.7 4 Louis Tapper Southern 181.2 138.6 135.1 454.9 5 Peter Groves Southern 171.8 134.7 119.2 425.7 6 Evan Lamberton Auckland 118.4 96.0 81.9 296.3 7 Mark Hardman Southern 125.4 86.3 80.3 292.0 8 Derek Divers Southern 98.2 88.7 87.6 274.5 9 Wayne Rohrs Auckland 93.3 88.6 80.7 262.6 1 0 Tim Brown Tasman 112.7 63.1 60.2 236.0 11 Eva Keim Auckland 85.0 80.6 60.8 226.4 12 Reuben Muir Auckland 115.1 56.5 47.9 219.5 13 Nick Taber Tasman 94.7 61.6 60.5 216.8 14 Melanie Heather Southern 98.4 59.2 57.9 215.5 15 Jeff Ripley Auckland 110.4 53.6 44.3 208.3 16 Bruce Vickerman Waikato 106.5 50.6 44.5 201.6 17 Roy Tingay Southern 94.2 62.9 42.5 199.6 18 Rodger Kerr Auckland 71.8 54.9 50.1 176.8 19 Cam Kennedy Auckland 88.8 41.3 38.0 168.1 20 Peter Taylor Canterbury 62.2 52.4 43.9 158.5 21 Matt Stanford Canterbury 79.3 78.5 0.0 157.8 21 Rhys Akers Bay of Plenty 55.7 52.7 49.4 157.8 23 Duncan Macnab Tasman 92.4 43.2 20.0 155.6 24 Glen Stevens Canterbury 92.1 61.6 0.0 153.7 25 Mal Haskins Southern 72.2 39.6 35.0 146.8 26 Rob Boyle Tasman 88.8 30.0 26.5 145.3 27 Dylan Vickerman Auckland 63.8 47.1 32.6 143.5 28 Don Smith Auckland 58.4 57.4 22.5 138.3 29 Edward Guy Southern 107.8 28.4 0.0 136.2 30 Luke Goleman Canterbury 71.3 42.7 21.7 135.7 31 Anand Srinivasan Auckland 56.8 48.3 29.1 134.2 32 Kat West Southern 51.9 42.2 39.2 133.3 33 Joel Hanlon Other/Unknown 49.1 42.6 38.4 130.1 34 Graham Surrey Auckland 53.2 32.5 32.1 117.8 35 Craig Miller Hawkes Bay 46.7 34.8 32.5 114.0 36 Dave Watson Southern 108.8 0.0 0.0 108.8 37 Kyla MacDonald Auckland 60.0 26.2 20.0 106.2 38 Paul Underwood Auckland 73.9 20.9 0.0 94.8 39 Aaron Ford Southern 45.1 25.0 23.1 93.2 40 Joel Zwartz Tasman 81.2 8.1 0.0 89.3

9, which is also a new Canterbury regional open distance record, doubling the previous one. - A North Island Tandem Open Distance record was set by Evan Lamberton flying 47.1 km from the Paeroas on February 21. - The Waikato Regional Open Distance record was broken by Evan flying 74.4 km from Kaimai. - For the other site records flown during the season, look for asterisks in the right hand column of the Season Site Best Flights tables, especially in the upper North Island where activity was led by Evan and Bruce Vickerman.

But when done and dusted, a big congratulations to the overall champion, Bryan Moore. I am gobsmacked by the flights he has put in during the months January to March. His total score of 631 points is easily a new high for the Leonardo NZ competition. The title is his third back-to-back, and now he is the first person to have won five NZ XC Champion titles. (Bryan, the PCC is wondering if you can negotiate a multiple discount from your local trophy engravers). Fly high, - Tim Percival (on behalf of Johnny Hopper, AWOL in Manilla, Australia, lucky bugger).

Club Auckland Southern Auckland Auckland Auckland Waikato Southern Tasman Auckland Tasman Bay of Plenty Auckland Canterbury Auckland Auckland Auckland Hawkes Bay Southern Auckland Auckland Auckland Northland Auckland Auckland Auckland

F1 118.4 86.3 93.3 85.0 110.4 106.5 102.6 61.6 71.8 63.1 55.7 56.5 62.2 58.4 56.8 53.2 46.7 52.7 73.9 41.3 54.6 39.2 26.2 24.0 26.2

F2 96.0 80.3 80.7 80.6 53.6 50.6 43.6 60.5 54.9 60.2 52.7 47.9 52.4 57.4 48.3 32.5 34.8 47.2 20.9 38.0 24.4 23.1 22.4 21.8 15.3

F3 81.9 73.8 59.6 60.8 44.3 44.5 38.6 54.8 50.1 40.2 49.4 45.1 33.0 22.5 29.1 32.1 32.5 0.0 0.0 11.9 0.0 11.7 17.8 19.6 6.8

Total 296.3 240.4 233.6 226.4 208.3 201.6 184.8 176.9 176.8 163.5 157.8 149.5 147.6 138.3 134.2 117.8 114.0 99.9 94.8 91.2 79.0 74.0 66.4 65.4 48.3

S ite Notices

2013/14 Season Site Best Flights (from entries)

Queenstown

Those pilots wishing to fly from the Skyline Gondola in Queenstown must first be accredited to do so. The Southern Club has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Airways Corp to fly from this site when the ZQN tower is ‘on watch’. All pilots must fly with a club or their own pre programmed pager or with reliable pilot to pilot radio contact and must log in and out of a dedicated website before and after flying. This is to meet additional safety requirements of Queenstown Airspace in this GAA area (G756). In the event of a pager alert activation, all pilots must land as soon as possible but within 15 minutes of the alert and show themselves on the system as on the ground. All NZHGPA pilots visiting Queenstown and any pilots from overseas must contact a local instructor in Queenstown and arrange a convenient time for a site briefing and formal accreditation before flying. Once the Queenstown Control Tower has gone off watch in the late evenings (times may vary) there is no requirement for a pager or logging in and out of the flight website. This can be confirmed by phoning Queenstown Control Tower each day. Any pilot wishing to fly from Coronet Peak ski field this winter will only be permitted to gain access to Coronet Peak chair lifts if they are in company with a commercial operator. The pilots and staff of these operators have been trained and authorised by NZ Ski to use the ski lifts. This ruling was brought in prior to last winter after a foot passenger using a chair lift on the mountain sustained a serious injury. Unfortunately, NZ Ski have confirmed this the same rule will apply again this winter season. Any non commercial pilots wishing to fly from Coronet can contact one of the following commercial operators who may assist with access; Skytrek Hang Gliding & Paragliding, Coronet Peak Tandems, Infinity Paragliding School, Paraventures Paragliding or Fly Paragliding. Do not attempt to gain access on a ski lift without the presence of a commercial operator.

Open Distance Region Site/Site Group Auckland Bridges Auckland Dills Hill Auckland Moirs Hill Waikato Alans Hill Waikato Harrys Hill Waikato Kaimai Waikato Te Hoe - Maungakawa Bay of Plenty Paeroas Hawkes Bay Te Mata Peak Wairarapa Bennetts Hill Nelson Inwoods Lookout Nelson Mt Murchison Nelson Sherry River Nelson Takaka - Riwaka Marlborough Footes Hill Canterbury Ball Spur Canterbury Craigieburn Range Canterbury Little River Canterbury Ohau Ski Field Canterbury Port Hills Canterbury Tekapo Otago Coronet Peak Otago Haast Pass Otago Hawea Eastern Ranges Otago Matukituki Otago Mt Iron Otago Mt Maude Otago Pisa Range Otago Roys Peak Otago Treble Cone * Site Record, ** Site and Regional Record,

Pilot Evan Lamberton Mark Hardman Wayne Rohrs Eva Keim Jeff Ripley Bruce Vickerman Grant Middendorf Nick Taber Rodger Kerr Tim Brown Rhys Akers Reuben Muir Peter Taylor Don Smith Anand Srinivasan Graham Surrey Craig Miller Melanie Heather Paul Underwood Cam Kennedy Robbo Robinson Adam Morrow Johnny Hopper Andrew Cavaney Kyla MacDonald

Distance Pilot Date Take Off Note 14.0 Evan Lamberton 03/10/2013 33.2 Laurence Robinson 14/12/2013 50.7 Evan Lamberton 18/11/2013 * 67.4 Bruce Vickerman 18/03/2014 * 26.2 Bruce Vickerman 13/12/2013 * 74.4 Evan Lamberton 25/02/2014 (Kaimai) ** 32.4 Bruce Vickerman 15/02/2014 (Maungakawa) * 47.1 Evan Lamberton 21/02/2014 † 14.7 Craig Miller 15/02/2014 14.8 Mick Kennish 06/02/2014 * 27.7 Tim Brown 23/11/2013 73.6 Antje Daehler 31/01/2014 ƒ 7.1 Nick Taber 16/02/2014 12.8 Reuben Muir 29/01/2014 (Takaka Hill) 12.7 Nick Taber 28/01/2014 136.8 Bryan Moore 09/02/2014 ** 41.9 Matt Stanford 08/11/2013 (Cheeseman) 9.2 Peter Taylor 02/11/2013 55.8 Derek Divers 19/11/2013 34.4 Glen Stevens 15/10/2013 (Mt Pleasant) 55.3 Bryan Moore 08/02/2014 * 83.3 Louis Tapper 22/12/2013 44.5 Rory Devine 14/03/2014 (Mt Cross) * 50.0 Louis Tapper 14/11/2013 (Pakituhi Spur) 49.9 Bryan Moore 09/03/2014 (Rob Roy) 10.9 Peter Groves 17/08/2013 48.7 Rory Devine 01/02/2014 26.2 Louis Tapper 27/12/2013 (Pukekowhai) 34.7 Peter Groves 18/11/2013 122.3 Bryan Moore 10/01/2014 ƒ NZ Female Open Distance Record, † North Island Tandem Record.

EVENTS Kalahari Big Sky Challenge Groblershoop, Northern Cape Province, South Africa , Venue Thuru Lodge 13th December 2014 – 16th January 2015 Everything you need! Recovery Ground Crew, Oxygen, Com Base, Lodge. Purpose built hangar (20m x 15m), Bi-directional runway 1km x 20m 2 micro-lights and 2 complete towing systems. 2 experienced tug pilots at any time. Satellite tracking system for each pilot. Aviation grade refill cylinders with US and EU connectors. Communication point for briefings with all equipment. Please confirm by end of April 2014. Please send me a quick mail to confirm your interest; Oscar Plange oscar@safinfp.co.za Contact numbers are +27 11 791 3044 / +27 82 374 7253 www.kalaharibigskychallenge. co.za/2014KBSCInvite.pdf

Saturday 31 Jan to Sunday 8 Feb 2015 n as always during the week of Waitangi Day. It’s 2 weekends plus Waitangi Day so there’s 5 days flying even if you have to go to work. At this time of year at Omarama gives the most flying days, the least turbulent and blown out winds and the most XC opportunities. Come for the Nationals in Wanaka the week before, the whole week, just the weekends or only fly the best days. Make plans and organise your team now... It can be hot, maybe windy and maybe rough (thermals up to 3000 fpm+) but the competition format will be stress free. Flying will be spectacular, expect to get 9000ft plus and 20 to 100km depending on your skill and luck. You’ll probably beat your Personal Best; height, distance etc, and move up the XC Champs table. THE MISSION; fly open distance, in any direction from the Omarama area. Enter any number of flights. Take any days off if you like, only your best 3 flights get scored. Flights are to be lodged each evening at the Omarama Hotel or with me at the cottage next door. Required; Advanced rating with mountain/ Club and comprehensive flying site information can be found at http:// XC skills. Pilots with lower skill ratings may fly www.southernclub.co.nz only under supervision and if conditions are suitable. Printed site briefings are available. Mt Cheeseman, Canterbury B If you don’t feel like driving up hills, bring There has been a issue with a car driving past the top hut to launch. your aerotow or car tow setup instead. The Cheeseman staff are not happy with us driving/launching above All types of accommodation are available; the top hut. Please all pilots keep below top hut when launching. from free camping, cabins to luxury hotel. Cheeseman management have also asked that the gate remains locked For more information, contact Bill Degen at all times so when driving through, please lock the gate after you. aero@xtra.co.nz or for further information, site (Steve Bankier looks after key. Phone 7411 899). Always lock the gate briefing, maps etc; www.hgpg.co.nz after driving through. - CHPC Sites Officers

Hawkes Bay Comp: Nov. Dates to be advised Contact: Grant: tathams@xtra.co.nz Kaimai Comp: 29 & 30 Nov 2014. Reserve date 6 & 7 Dec Contact: geoff@trades-academy.co.nz HG Nationals Wanaka: 24 Jan - 1 Feb 2015. 1 Feb being a reserve date. Contacts; Mark: markalton@yahoo.com Grant: tathams@xtra.co.nz Max: areosm@gmail.com Cook Strait Ferry Discounts When travelling with 15 people or more, or with five or more vehicles, you qualify for a great group discount. The group rate for passengers is $38 per adult each way & $110 per car each way so a significant discount off our cheapest fare. Please note it’s not available during peak holiday times throughout the year including 15th December-15th January. If you want to take advantage

Flight Date 31/01/2014 08/02/2014 21/02/2014 17/11/2013 31/01/2014 31/01/2014 31/01/2014 08/03/2014 31/01/2014

26 A i r b o r n

Distance 54.3 64.0 35.1 27.7 55.3 55.7 56.7 29.4 55.8

Flight Type OD OD OD OD OD OD OD OD OD

Open Dist. (km) 54.3 64.0 35.1 27.7 55.3 55.7 56.7 29.4 55.8

of this group rate your members would need to appoint a Bookings Co-ordinator who would simply email details of your group (names of passengers and sailing dates/ times) to groups@bluebridge.co.nz and act as the groups contact person with our Group booking team. - The full balance of payment, along with a final passenger list would be due 7 days before travel. - Any booking cancellations up until 24 hours before travel would be 90% refundable. Any cancellations within 24 hours of travel are non-refundable. - Other Bluebridge terms & conditions can be viewed at: www.bluebridge.co.nz/bookings-and-fares/termsand-conditions/ For pilots wanting to take advantage of these great rates I will act as Booking co-ordinator for the pilots wanting to go to the HG Nationals in Wanaka. Email me at markalton@yahoo.com

FAI Out-and-Back Region Bay of Plenty Canterbury Otago Otago * Site Record

Site/Site Group Paeroas Craigieburn Range Roys Peak Treble Cone

Distance 29.4 20.7 62.3 91.5

Pilot Wayne Rohrs Joel Zwartz Peter Groves Grant Middendorf

Date 27/02/2014 23/11/2013 18/11/2013 18/11/2013

Take Off

Note

(Tims Knob) * *

Share the adventure

FAI Triangle Region Site/Site Group Distance Otago Roys Peak 52.0 Otago Treble Cone 96.2 * Site Record, † NZ FAI Triangle Record.

Pilot Peter Groves Grant Middendorf

Date 18/11/2013 18/11/2013

Take Off

Note * †

300kgs

Site Name Mt Murchison Treble Cone Paeroas Breast Hill Mt Murchison Mt Murchison Mt Murchison Moirs Hill Mt Murchison

Pilot Kyla MacDonald Louis Tapper Louis Tapper Melanie Heather Melanie Heather Peter Taylor Laurence Robinson Roy Tingay Roy Tingay

Milestone 25 25 & 50 75 25 50 25 25 25 50

Flight Date 31/01/2014 14/11/2013 22/12/2013 22/12/2013 31/01/2014 25/02/2014 14/12/2013 17/11/2013 31/01/2014

Power

load test steering weight weight range Distance 34.3 86.4 83.3 34.5 56.3 29.8 33.2 37.3 57.8

Flight Type OD D1 OD OD OD OD OD OD OD

Open Dist. (km) 34.3 50.0 83.3 34.5 56.3 29.8 33.2 37.3 57.8

Site Name Mt Murchison Pakituhi Spur Coronet Peak Coronet Peak Mt Murchison Kaimai Dills Hill Breast Hill Mt Murchison

6.4kgs

Photo: Ross Gray

Milestone 25 & 50 50 25 25 50 25 & 50 50 25 50

Hang Gliding Comps 2014/15 season

2014 Season Milestone Flights Pilot Cam Kennedy Dave Watson Don Smith Duncan Macnab Duncan Macnab Frog Twissell Glen Stevens Graham Surrey Kris Ericksen

Omarama HG Classic Cross Country Camp 2015

120-220kgs

#speed-to-ﬂy_theory says you should leave #thermalling as your climb-rate at the top is the same as it was when you entered. When #thermalling on stable/high pressure days search wide and slow, then core tight and fast to make the most of them. #volbiv EN-B NZ Agent: Grey Hamilton 027 667 7123, bgdnewzealand@gmail.com

A working cumulus cloud lasts about 15 minutes. #thermalling @BGD_Goldsmith

N Ne eww ZZeealan a l a n dd C rC ross o s s - -CCoouunntry try

HH AA NN GG gli g l idding i ng CC hampionships hampionships

January 1st to December 31st

he 2014 XC Champs is on and North islanders are getting into it with a a vengance. The Kaimais and Paeroas have turned it on with weekly score and position updates while far less has been entered from the usually more active South Islanders who have had a very stable summer. Entries starting from the Paeroas and the Kaimais have been pouring in with many doing over 100kms up the Coromandel while South island flights have been far fewer and much shorter. South Island pilots have a chance to catch up in the coming summer but there will be a lot kms to do in a short time... The way to get those cross country flights is to keep trying so you are flying fit when that good day comes up. Then you need to be flying at the right place when conditions turn on. Often it’s the ordinary looking days that unexpectedly turn out the best, and it’s those who are out flying on the day that get to take advantage of it. There’s always time to improve your cross country skills and while doing that you could get that big flight that will top your personal best distance. You’ll be surprised at how well you can do if you are out flying on a day that turns it on. VOTE FOR RULES UPDATES There’s been little response to the latest rule change suggestions so things will just stay as they are; - Ridge flights are permitted. - Flight entry deadlines remain the same at up to 30 days. If you want to change the rules for next season, email me with your suggestions and we’ll vote on them. ONLINE RESULTS Results are posted as they come in at www.hgpg. co.nz and at www.nzhgpa.org.nz/xcleagues/hg/ index.php when I am able to update. Online scoring? Not yet, but if you have 3D GPS you can enter any of the online contests as well. Just let me know, send me a link to your online entry and that’s all we need to enter your flight. A GPS instrument has many advantages for XC flying, but for pilots who don’t have GPS, you can still enter the HG XC Champs without a GPS, you’ll just need take-off and landing witnesses.

28 A i r b o r n

2 Geoff Christophers 118.3 111.8 78.5 69.7

378.3

3 Rick Hawkeswood 110.9 109.9 72.6 65.8

359.2

4 Neil Howe 116.1 114.6 53.5 45.7

329.8

Grant Tatham

106.5

66.7

62.3

31.1

266.6

Sebastian Katz

108.3

71.7

44.0

12.7

236.8

7 Bill Degen 59.3 55.0 34.9 27.1 176.3 8 Mark Nichols ** 68.3 21.8 16.0 12.8 118.9 9 John Burton 45.6 37.1 22.7 13.6 118.9 81.4 81.4 Sponsors 11 Steve Bankier 18.6 18.4 9.9 46.9 12

Max Gebhardt

HANG GLIDING & PARAGLIDING SUPPLIES

44.0

13 Eddie Pearson 14.0 10.5 10.0 9.0 43.5 14 Rod Stuart 18.4 16.2 34.6 15

Gary Turner

23.4

Reece Fisher

15.0 ** Class 2 (rigid wing), * Skyfloater

15.0

and can even export it for viewing in Google Earth. You can download GPSDump for free at; www. gethome.no/stein.sorensen Rules You must be a paid up NZHGPA member during all flights or you do not score. Entries must be postmarked or emailed within 30 days of the flight or do not score. This helps ensure accuracy, prevents pilots holding back flights until the end, and we all want to know how everyone’s doing. Please DON’T phone, txt, or tell me in the pub, all entries must be in writing (email preferred) with all flight details (and GPS tracklog if using remote launch and/or landings) or do not score. Don’t assume that because someone else was there or you were in a competition that your flight has been entered. It is the pilots’ responsibility to declare and enter full details of all their own flight entries. Measure your flights in kilometres and 10ths of km, straight line from take-off to landing. You may enter flights with a Remote Start and/or Remote Finish too, provided you send in a valid, GPS track log to prove it. For remote starts/finishes you also need to state the co-ordinates of the start and finish points that you are claiming. Out and return, triangle or multiple distances are not eligible at this stage. Aerotow launched flights are permitted, but your release altitude must be less than 5% of the flight distance (current FAI ruling) or does not score. Tow release position (not take-off) verification should be witnessed by the tug pilot, or confirmed with known landmark photo or GPS tracklog. Please Note: If you don’t follow these rules and provide all relevant flight details, (including valid tracklog for remote start or finish flights) you DO NOT SCORE. GLIDER CLASSES Same as FAI rules. Flex wings including kingpostless gliders are Class 1. Rigid wings such as the Atos are Class 5 and Swifts are Class 2 or Class 5 without the pilot fairing. There’s a special prize for pilots flying skyfloater gliders such as such as the Fun, Falcon, Malibu etc.

30% double surface training gliders such as Buzz, Gyro, Mars, Target, Ventura etc can be flown in this class too. As long as it has exposed crossbars. Don’t forget to point it out on your entry if you have an exposed crossbar glider or rigid wing. You can enter in as many classes as you like. Skyfloater flights can be entered in a separate class and/or included in your Class 1 score, whichever you prefer. SCORING The pilot with the best total of four flights is the NZ Hang Gliding Cross Country Champion for that year. He or she gets first choice of prizes followed by pilots with second and third best totals. The pilot with the longest single flight gets fourth choice, then prizes go from fourth best total onwards. Flights for the current years XC Champs must be flown before 31st December and entered within 30 days. This ends the contest at a good part of the season while it’s still hot for flying. Flights from January onwards will be entered in the XC Champs for the new year. EMAIL YOUR ENTRY TO; aero@xtra.co.nz (Please write “XC Entry” in the header and please keep your entry separate from other emails) or post entries to; NZ Hang Gliding XC Champs, Bill Degen, 99A Panorama Road, Christchurch 8081

World Hang Gliding Championships in France Classes are; 13th FAI Women’s World Hang Gliding Class 1 Championship 1st FAI World Hang Gliding Class Sport Championship (using glider with kingposts) 19th FAI World Hang Gliding Class 2 Championship 6th FAI World Hang Gliding Class 5 Championship class 1 and 5, Annecy France from 21 June to 05 July 2014. Here is the link to the organisation and necessary information to enter: let’s make it a success... http://dca.ffvl.fr/hg2014/index.php/en/

Skywalk Guntram Gross, Herman Ahrens Phone: 09 436 0268 or 09 432 9333, 021 072 0357 Email: skywalk@igrin.co.nz

AUCKLAND HANG GLIDING Aqua Air Adventure Paddy Monro Phone: 09 528 7594, 027 288 0193 Email: aquaair@ihug.co.nz Web: www.gethigh.co.nz PARAGLIDING SkyWings Paragliding Alan Hills Phone: 09 570 5757, 027 498 2345 Email: alan@skywings.co.nz Web: www.skywings.co.nz Wings & Waves Paragliding and Kitesurfing Reuben Muir and Eva Keim Phone: 09 446 0020, 027 472 7013 Email: wingsandwaves@xtra.co.nz Web: www.wingsandwaves.co.nz WAIKATO PARAGLIDING Wings & Waves Paragliding and Kitesurfing Reuben Muir and Eva Keim Phone: 09 446 0020, 027 472 7013 Email: wingsandwaves@xtra.co.nz Web: www.wingsandwaves.co.nz OMAHU, THAMES/PAEROA PARAGLIDING Bruce Vickerman Phone: 07 862 4919, 027 498 9941 Email: bruce.v@clear.net.nz HAWKES BAY PARAGLIDING Airplay Paragliding School Barry Sayer, Phone: 027 451 2886 Email: barry@airplay.co.nz Web: www.airplay.co.nz BAY OF PLENTY PARAGLIDING Levitate Paragliding Ltd Shane and Summer Tims Phone: 07 542 0098, 027 649 2222 Email: levitateparagliding@hotmail.com Web: www.levitate.co.nz Mount Paragliding Wayne Roberts 07 574 4223, 027 643 6529 thermalmonkee@hotmail.com MANAWATU HANG GLIDING SkyVenture (Manawatu HG & PG Inc. Club School) CFI: Ross Gray Phone: 06 357 8996, 021 126 0892 Email: rosscoe@e3.net.nz WELLINGTON/WAIRARAPA HANG GLIDING Wellington Hang Gliding & Paragliding Club Grant Tatham Phone: 06 379 7322, 027 636 3491 Email: tathams@xtra.co.nz Oceania Paragliding School 022 676 5599 NELSON/TASMAN HANG GLIDING Hang Gliding NZ Ltd Kevin Rooke Phone: 03 540 2183, 0800 212 359, 021 762 769 Email: rooke@slingshot.co.nz Web: www.hanggliding.co.nz Nelson Hang Gliding Adventures Glenn Meadows Phone: 03 548 9151, 027 275 1022 Email: gmeadows@clear.net.nz Web: www.flynelson.co.nz

Tasman Sky Adventures Trevor Leighton Phone: 027 229 9693 Email: info@skyadventures.co.nz Web: www.skyadventures.co.nz

PARAGLIDING Adventure Paragliding & Kiteboarding Kevin Rooke Ph: 03 540 2183, 021 762 769 Email: info@skyout.co.nz Web: www.skyout.co.nz Nelson Paragliding Stew and Zanna Karstens Phone: 03 544 1182, 027 446 3930 Email: paragliding@xtra.co.nz Web: www.nelsonparagliding.co.nz MARLBOROUGH PARAGLIDING High Adventure New Zealand Russell Read Phone: 027 448 0888 Email: russread@ihug.co.nz CHRISTCHURCH HANG GLIDING Canterbury Hang Gliding School Bill Degen Phone: 03 326 6411, 021 247 2676 Email: aero@xtra.co.nz Web: www.hgpg.co.nz

PARAGLIDING ParaPro (Paragliding & Powered Paragliding) Dave Dennis Phone: 03 328 8255, 0508 548 323 Email: info@parapro.co.nz Web: www.parapro.co.nz WANAKA PARAGLIDING Lucky Montana’s Flying Circus Advanced over water manoeuvres (SIV) instruction Rob Darby Phone: 03 443 1680, 027 220 1185 Email: lucky_montana@hotmail.com

Want a better mag?

QUEENSTOWN PARAGLIDING Elevation Paragliding School Shai Lanuel Phone: 0800 359 444, 027 224 2121 Email: elevationpg@xtra.co.nz Web: www.elevation.co.nz

Airborn needs your articles and photos. We’d like to read about your flights, frights, sites, experiences and techniques. Anything that’s of interest to pilots and educating or enthusing to pilots is especially welcome.

Infinity Paragliding School Alan Swann & Blake Round Phone 021 0228 2939 or 027 367 7679 Email: info@infinityparagliding.co.nz Web: www.infinityparagliding.co.nz Neverland Paragliding Dominic Eller Phone: 021 314 730 Email: neverlandpg@hotmail.com

Airborn can’t afford to pay you but does post contributors a complimentary copy which you should receive a day or so before everyone else. Just email your text to; aero@xtra.co.nz or put it on CD, DVD, Zip, Flash drive or even floppy disk. Most text programs such as Microsoft Word (Windows or Mac) are fine. Please do not put photos in MS Word files as this reduces the resolution, supply photo files separately.

Paraventures Paragliding School Mark Hardman Phone: 0800 FLYSOLO (0800 359 765) \ 021 809 275 Email: info@paraventures.co.nz Queenstown Paragliding School Phone 0800 Paraglide (0800 727 245) Email: lisa@extremeair.co.nz Web: www.extremeair.co.nz Queenstown Hang Gliding School Phone 0800 Hang glide (0800 426 4454) Email: john@extremeair.co.nz Web: www.extremeair.co.nz Extreme Air Tandem Paragliding & Hang Gliding Phone 0800 727245 (0800 Paraglide) Email: info@extremeair.co.nz Web: www.extremeair.co.nz DUNEDIN PARAGLIDING Dunedin Paragliding & Hang Gliding School Phone 0800 Hang glide (0800 426 4454) Email: info@extremeair.co.nz Web: www.extremeair.co.nz

If it’s not digital, clean laser or typed copy helps or if you hand write, please write neatly on one side of the paper only. SEND photos, of the people, place or gliders involved and one of yourself to make the article more interesting. We now have plenty of COLOUR and with digital photo editing, it’s amazing what we can do to enhance ordinary snapshots. Black and white or colour prints are fine. Digital images should be high resolution. I can help with emailing large files. Contact me if you want help. Photos: Neil Brown, Ross Gray

TO ENTER... It’s free and simple; fly anywhere in NZ before midnight on 31st December, email or post in your flight details (and tracklog if you have one) before 30 days has passed and you’re entered. Enter as many flights as you like. Your shorter flights are automatically replaced by your longer ones. Only your longest four flights are scored. For each flight entry, please write; • Your name, email address and contact phone number. • Flight date, take-off/release place, landing place, and exact flight distance in kilometres and 10ths. • Start and landing witness/s name & contact details. • For Remote Start and/or Remote Finish flights you must send the tracklog file from a GPS that can be read by GPSDump such as an IGC file. GPSDump works on Windows or Mac and reads GPS tracklogs from just about any instrument, then works out the best start and finish points for you

HANG GLIDING

Name Flight 1 Flight 2 Flight 3 Flight 4 Total kms 1 Les Graham 109.4 107.3 81.4 80.9 378.9

Bill Fisher

Hang gliding, paragliding schools and instructors that you can contact for qualified flight instruction in New Zealand NORTHLAND

2014 Cross-Country Championships Table so far...

Learn to Fly

Photos for the cover should be eye-catching, colourful, sharp, and high resolution. You can also send transparencies or prints for scanning. Anything marked with a return address will be returned with your complimentary copy. Help promote or make our sport safer, and Airborn will present your contribution in the best way possible.

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■ Paid up NZHGPA members may run one advertisement per classification for free in each issue ■ Please send your written 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 ■ All advertisements are deleted for next issue unless repeat request received ■ Buyers are advised that all used hang gliders and paragliders are required to have a NEW fitness check (WOF) when sold ■ It is dangerous to fly a glider or with equipment that is above your rated ability ■ OZONE Atom; Large, red/white 90 hours, with Apco Silhouette harness, reserve parachute, flight suit, helmet and gloves. $2500 all in, may split. Ideal wing for a new or occasional pilot. Phone Frog 021 228 2121 NOVA Ion 3 - Performance for all. Highest performing school safe wing ever - Mentor 2 performance. See nova-wings.com - call Alan 09 570 5757 OZONE - New models - Zero - high wind soarer/miniwing - also Fazer 2 & Firely 2 - exciting times! Check them all out at www.flyozone.com and contact Alan at www.skywings.co.nz AWAK 2 - ITV’s new high performance mini wing is out, sizes 18 and 20 - 55 cells of pure mini performance and fun! See www.itv-parapentes.com or www.skywings.co.nz OZONE Delta 2 EN C, first size ML here now. Gliding .1 better than Mantra 4, so around 10.3. Shark nosed, all new - awesome. www.skywings.co.nz NOVA Mentor 3 EN B, glides .6 better than the worlds revolutionary Mentor 2. A perfect wing for almost all. http://www.nova-wings.com www.skywings.co.nz OZONE Buzz Z4 Low EN B. The amazing Buzz series gets even better. Ozone knowledge comes to the beginner intermediate class. www.flyozone.com www.skywings.co.nz SUP’AIR Delight pod harness, 2.7kgs including cockpit, 5 out of top 10 X-Alps pilots flying with it. In stock now - better than we ever imagined www.skywings.co.nz SPEEDSTER - Ozone’s new Motor wing - fastest wing they’ve ever made - full reflex for huge stability at highest speeds - www.skywings.co.nz www.flyozone.com Www.skywings.co.nz great trade-in prices Speedflying specialists and the finest range of cross country machines ever. Also all harnesses, accessories and Paramotoring. Phone Alan 09 570 5757 WINGS WANTED Contact SkyWings for great trade-in prices Phone Alan 09 570 5757

MOTOR Paragliding

PARAMOTORING Miniplane and PAP motors - contact SkyWings for courses and equipment - Phone Alan 09 570 5757

HANG GLIDERS

FALCON 4 195 brand new, in stock, with 6ft shortpack option and deluxe transport pack, black leading edge and trailing edge with mid blue lower front panel, all set to go, call Bill on 03 326-6411 or aero@xtra.co.nz WILLS Wing U2 145. 6 years old. Approx. 75 hours. Sail still in good shape and tight. Performs and handles well. Blue and bright yellow undersurface. Custom base bar wheels included. $3700. Owner going topless. Phone Les 021 165 3320, 09 579 6485, email: graham-mackie@vodafone.co.nz SPORT 2, 175, Blue and red lower, near new, just 10 hours, very tidy condition, No prangs, 1 geriatric owner, contact 03 326-6411 or aero@xtra.co.nz for info. MOYES LiteSport 4. Full mylar sail. Topsail; white. Underside; lavender, light green. Current W.O.F. Brand new glider bag & zip, grass green, $170 worth. Spare set of S glass tip wands. $3300.00. Dennis, 021 430 436, 06 752 7618 ATOS VR 2006 model. Flown lots of 80-100km+ flights. Outstanding sink rate and glide angle. Suit larger pilot. Price $8,000. Contact 03 359 7358, 021 339 336 mark. nichols.home@gmail.com SKYFLOATERS; New & used; Fun, Falcon, fully strip checked, test flown and trimmed, contact 03 326-6411 or aero@xtra.co.nz for info. WILLS Wing U2 160, 2004, 150 hours of great flying. Selling as have upgraded to T2C. Very few hours on coast so it’s in good condition. Phone Mark 022 195 5746 email markalton@yahoo.com

MOTOR HANG Gliding

AIRTIME motor harness, late model, 8 hours airtime, Folding prop, Tiny tac, Tuning lights, 2 owners, contact 03 326-6411 or aero@xtra.co.nz for info. EXPLORER motor harness with carbon fibre folding prop and reserve. Tony 021 265 8224, email tony@sthlaw.co.nz MOSQUITO NRG motorharness, very tidy with very low airtime, all the usual features plus folding carbon prop, Stainless auto carabiner, parachute if required. Phone 021 247 2676, email aero@xtra.co.nz

Business

NELSON Paragliding, established 1993, After 20 years of operation I am looking for a business partner to share in the running of the school and 115 commercial Tandem flights. Nelson Paragliding has excellent equipment and sites where high standards are achieved. Although seasonally busy would suit someone with secondary income. So if you’re a motivated pilot with good people / business skills and like hanging out on hills please enquire as full training will be given. Contact Stew Karstens 03 544 1182 paragliding@xtra.co.nz

Employment

CORONET Peak Tandems Ltd, Queenstown, are looking for tandem hang gliding and paragliding pilots for 2014/2015. Call 021 220 5932 atapper@xtra.co.nz

INSTRUMENTS

BRÄUNIGER, Digifly and Aircotec flight instruments, basic varios to full GPS flight computers. Large range in stock. Phone or txt 021 247 2676, email aero@xtra.co.nz

30 A i r b o r n

INSTRUCTION

HANG Gliding/Skyfloating. Experienced instruction in Christchurch using latest skyfloater hang gliders, www.hgpg.co.nz Contact Bill aero@xtra.co.nz 021 247 2676, 03 326 6411 a.h.

ACCESSORIES

CHARLY and PlusMax helmets, chin guards etc. Also aerofoil basebar handfairings, Drogue chutes, carabiners for HG or PG, Hall wheels and wind meters, contact Bill 021 247 2676, 03 326 6411 a.h., aero@xtra.co.nz

RESERVE PARACHUTES

RANGE of Charly reserve parachutes, Front containers, Hook knives, Connectors etc, in stock at HG & PG Supplies, Phone 021 247 2676 or email aero@xtra.co.nz

Lost & found

APCO Vista 1, serial# 180881, red front (leading edge) half and white rear (trailing edge) half with black lines in-between. It has the word APCO in black on right underside of the glider. Gin Verso harness (reversible harness/backpack), black with the words GIN on the back underneath their red logo. inside the harness a reserve: Gin - One G, yellow size 42, serial# 13033. Gear was stolen from car on 15th February - James Hayes would be grateful for any assistance in getting it back. Please contact Wellington Club if you have any information. NUVUIK Icepeak 6; green leading edge with Blue and white tips. Has distinctive competition numbers 222 on the lower surface along with ABAC (factory race team name)... this is a top comp wing and very obviously a comp 2 liner wing. Very few people should be flying this wing unless they are very experienced. Stolen in a GIN black with flouro green stripes 90 l bag... Reward for return and notifying police!! My cell 027 667 7123... Many thanks and hopefully I’ll get it back somehow.... it wasn’t insured :( - Grey Hamilton HARNESS, helmet & hang gliding gear, taken from Omarama March 2010. Custom High Energy Tracer harness (black with blue stripe), Lara parachute with swivel, Spot Satellite Messenger, Olympus Mju Tough camera, Charly No Limit helmet (metallic dark silver) with visor, radio headset, Silkbody top, softshell jacket and other gear in black backpack. Contact Bill 03 326-6411, 021 247-2676 or email aero@xtra.co.nz

Keep in touch with the NZ hang gliding and paragliding scene, the latest developments, events, new and used equipment...

Manuel Fasser on a Sigma 8 with Lake Hayes and the Remarkables

Sebastian Katz at Kariotahi on a Litespeed S4

Photo; Alan Swann

Photo; Dennis Thorpe

M a g a z i n e

All NZ hang glider and paraglider pilots are required by law to be members, and receive Airborn magazine as part of their membership but non flyers and overseas pilots are welcome to subscribe. For Airborn SUBSCRIPTIONS please contact; NZHGPA Administrator, PO Box 244, Picton, New Zealand

A4 size issues $4.- each Feb/Mar/Apr May/Jun/Jul Aug/Sep/Oct Nov/Dec/Jan 2014 issue numbers 189 190 2013 issue numbers 185 186 187 188 2012 issue numbers - - 183 184 2011 issue numbers 179 180 181 182 2010 issue numbers 175 176 177 178 2009 issue numbers 171 172 173 174 Feb/Mar Apr/May Jun/Jul Aug/Sep Oct/Nov Dec/Jan 2008 issue numbers 165 166 167 168 169 170 2007 issue numbers 159 - 161 162 163 164 2006 issue numbers 153 - 155 156 - 158 2005 issue numbers 147 148 149 150 151 152 2004 issue numbers 141 142 143 144 145 2003 issue numbers 135 - 137 138 139 140 2002 issue numbers 129 130 131 132 133 134 2001 issue numbers 123 124 125 126 127 128 2000 issue numbers 117 118 119 120 121 122 1999 issue numbers - - 113 - - 1998 issue numbers 105 106 107 108 109 110 1997 issue numbers 99 100 101 - 103 104 1996 issue numbers 93 94 95 96 97 98 1995 issue numbers - - - - - 1994 issue numbers 81 82 83 84 85 86 1993 issue numbers - 76 - 78 79 80 1992 issue numbers 69 70 71 72 73 74 A5 Issues below $1.- each (Prior to issue 69 all are the smaller A5 format) 1991 issue numbers 63 64 65 66 67 68 1990 issue numbers - 58 59 60 61 62 1989 issue numbers 51 52 53 - 55 56 1988 issue numbers 45 46 - - 49 50

- Sorry issues marked with this symbol are no longer available

PARAGLIDERS

FLIGHT PIX

For AIRBORN Back Issues; send your order with payment to; 99A Panorama Road, Christchurch 8081, NZ. email; aero@xtra.co.nz

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www.flyozone.com www.nova-wings.com

www.skywings.co.nz

EN B

EN C

lite

New .6 glide better than the worlds revolutionary Mentor 2, so glide ratio around 10 to 1 Better handling and improved safety - almost no one needs more - this glides like a Mantra 4 but has EN B safet safety. This is the new world reference high B

INDEPENDENT REVIEW GERMAN THERMIC MAGAZINE JULY 2013 “In Summary: The Delta 2 is a force to be reckoned with! It launches superbly, and turns when you move your finger in the direction you want the wing to go. This glider is sensationally solid, glides very well, is easy to accelerate,and it delivers pure pleasure and happiness to the pilot.

- Shark Nose Technology - Glides .1 better than Mantra 4 - (10.3) - Replacable Rods - C Riser control system - Improved agility and compactness - New advanced arc and profile - Clear EN C leader

Although the Shark Nose profile and dynamic nature might make it look and feel at first glance a bit agressive, in the end this is not true. In any case, anyone who flies regularly will not experience any bad surprises. Except that the permanent smile induced by the D2 can only be removed by surgery.This is truly a wing designed how wings should be. Amen”

Shark-nosed rods to 80% of chord gives extraordinary stability. All Ozone’s breakthrough inventions showcased in this EN D class leading M6

Mini Wings

Twice the fun, twice the flying, half the price! Perfect your ground handling skills. Huge fun for soaring and strong day thermalling. We are the specialists with 20 years on the smallest wings.

New

Fazer 2

low EN B As much performance and handling as you can get in a first glider. The perfect beginner intermediate glider.

PARAMOTORING SPECIALISTS

20 years motoring & teaching Our level of experience means everything when you learn to motor www.papteam.com www.miniplane.net

BRAND NEW

Harnesses Exclusive importers of Sup’Air and Ozone harnesses like the Ozone Ozium - 2.5kgs

www.flyozone.com Miniplane - under 20kgs NZ’s most popular motor

Ph: 09 570 5757 Cell: 0274 98 2345 email: alan@skywings.co.nz

www.skywings.co.nz

High wind soarer/ mini wing