Club News
Whilst the news items on this page are mainly aimed at members of the SE Wales Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club, some items may also be of wider interest. Club members can also keep in touch with what‘s happening locally, or discuss local issues by viewing or posting to the SE Wales Club Forums.Before flying our sites, please check our Sites Update page for any additional late breaking air space or sites news.
CAA Mode S Transponder Consultation
Tom Hardie, the BHPA‘s Airspace Officer, has asked us to pass on the following message from Pete Stratten, the BGA‘s Chief Executive.
The recent mode S meeting with CAA at Turweston was attended by 35 air sport pilots. Although the questions from the floor made some impact, the low attendance will not have gone unnoticed by CAA. It is very clear that feedback to CAA on the current mode S proposals is extremely important – even the DAP team agree with that point.
With this in mind, please can I ask you to circulate the following text to your members? The meetings described below are open to all, and those from air sport who attended a meeting at Lasham in 2006 will recall the significant and effective impact that can be made with the regulator when people are willing to stand up and be counted.
Mode S Meetings - 2008
BGA clubs are hosting a number of open meetings with the CAA to hear about the current Mode S consultation process. ALL ARE WELCOME. The meetings (all 7pm) will be at:
These meetings are a great opportunity for members to engage with the rulemakers and further clarify our airspace needs. We will shortly be providing guidance on how to respond to the consultation, but these meetings will help you to develop your own personal view on how to respond. We are calling on all glider pilots to make a response as was done to such great effect during the first round of consultation and, as such, the BGA urges ALL pilots to try to attend one of the meetings.
More information on the consultation process is on the BGA web site at www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/airspace/modes2008.htm
Thanks
Pete
Pete Stratten
Chief Executive
British Gliding Association
With this in mind, please can I ask you to circulate the following text to your members? The meetings described below are open to all, and those from air sport who attended a meeting at Lasham in 2006 will recall the significant and effective impact that can be made with the regulator when people are willing to stand up and be counted.
Mode S Meetings - 2008
BGA clubs are hosting a number of open meetings with the CAA to hear about the current Mode S consultation process. ALL ARE WELCOME. The meetings (all 7pm) will be at:
- Lasham Friday 4th April
- Pocklington (Wolds GC) Friday 11th April
These meetings are a great opportunity for members to engage with the rulemakers and further clarify our airspace needs. We will shortly be providing guidance on how to respond to the consultation, but these meetings will help you to develop your own personal view on how to respond. We are calling on all glider pilots to make a response as was done to such great effect during the first round of consultation and, as such, the BGA urges ALL pilots to try to attend one of the meetings.
More information on the consultation process is on the BGA web site at www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/airspace/modes2008.htm
Thanks
Pete
Pete Stratten
Chief Executive
British Gliding Association
Whilst the current proposals are less draconian than those made last year, the BHPA believes they still represent a significant threat to our sport. It is therefore vital that individual hang glider and paraglider pilots make their views known. If they don‘t, officialdom will simply assume that there is little resistance and push these changes through. We would therefore like to encourage any Club members living in the Hampshire area to make every effort to attend the Lasham meeting on Friday 4th April to make sure the CAA hears our voice and takes account of our concerns.
Further background to the Mode S Transponder Consultation is available on the BHPA web site. The most recent information is listed first:
- CAA Mode S Transponder Phase 2 Consultation - January 2008
- CAA Mode S Transponder Consultation - 2006
- Transponders - 2006
Updated SE Wales Coach List
As a result of the introduction of a new BHPA coach revalidation scheme (see below), all coach rated Club members will in future need a statement of support from the Club‘s Safety and Coaching Officer when they renew their BHPA membership.To ensure that we have the necessary information to comply with this requirement we recently wrote to all coach rated Club members and asked them to indicate whether they are willing and able to provide coaching on SE Wales sites.
The availability of good quality coaching on SE Wales sites is essential for the long term health of our sport and our Club, and we are extemely grateful to those who have replied to say that they are happy to help in this way.
Our coaching scheme will of course only be effective if we can put those seeking coaching in touch with those willing to provide it.
An updated Club coach list has therefore been published in the members area of this web site. To assist members to choose the most appropriate coach for their particular needs, the list includes the ratings, email address, and partial postcode (eg CF64) of each participating coach.
We hope that you make use of the coaching opportunities available within the Club, but ask you to remember that our coaches are all unpaid volunteers who simply want to put something back into the sport they love.
Coach Revalidation
The BHPA has announced that it is introducing a coach revalidation scheme. This is being introduced to help ensure that all BHPA Club Coaches and Senior Coaches are current and active. This should minimise the chance of an accident occurring during a coaching session, and also minimise the legal exposure of any coach if the worst did come to the worst.In future, all SE Wales Club Coaches and Senior Coaches will need to obtain a declaration of support signed by the Club‘s Safety and Coaching Officer when renewing their BHPA membership.
The BHPA are also recommending that coaches should re-attend a BHPA Coach Course at least once every five years to ensure that they are fully up-to-date with current thinking. In view of these changes, the BHPA membership form for coaches will in future include a box that can be ticked if a coach no longer wishes to hold a BHPA Coach Licence.
Blorenge Bottom Landing
Please note that Castle Meadows is the only agreed bottom landing area for this site.Paraglider pilots who find themselves going down should therefore use the landing field at Castle Meadows, or slope land on the side of the Blorenge if they do not feel confident of making it safely over the power lines.
Pilots are reminded that they should not attempt to land in the small field adjacent to the Bridge Inn.
This land is owned by the Local Authority and has never been a designated landing area. Any attempt to land in this restricted area carries a very real risk of damage to property, or injury to members of the public. In the past there have been a number of unfortunate incidents where pilots ignored this rule, and put their own safety at risk, as well as that of the public. This must not be repeated.
Pilots are also reminded not to park in the Bridge Inn car park or lay-by, unless they are actually visiting the pub, as parking spaces in that area are restricted.
Air Space Changes
A number of important changes to the Bristol and Cardiff Control Zones and Control Areas came into force on the 31st August 2006.Please make sure you are familiar with these changes before considering flying cross country from a SE Wales site.
A large scale map of the revised airspace can be viewed or downloaded as a scalable pdf document by clicking on the low resolution map displayed on the right. Please note this is of necessity a large file (628Kb) and may take some time to display, especially if you are viewing the map via a slow dial-up internet connection.
Malvern Weather Station
The Malvern Hang Gliding Club weather station is located on the East side of the Malvern Hills at the Wyche Cutting, so if the wind is westerly the weather station will be in rotor, so is unlikely to provide true wind speed and direction. Please note that the Kettle Sing flying site is on a higher part of the hill so you may need to add 30% to the indicated wind speed if you are considering flying there.Ultimately this may be a subscription service, but for the moment access is free using the following link:
Malvern Weather Station
Before flying the Malverns, please check that you know and observe the Malvern Club‘s site rules. These are available on their web site at:
Malvern Site Rules
Rhossili
Rhossili is a classic coastal soaring site, and a very friendly for low airtime pilots. It‘s often flown by SE Wales Club members, but is controlled by the SW Wales Soaring Club and owned by the national Trust.In the past, some visiting pilots have taken off from, and landed back on, the raised beach at the foot of the hill. This is strictly against site rules, and the agreement the local Club has with the National Trust. If this is repeated again this year it may well put the SW Wales Club in conflict with the local farmer and the National Trust, and could ultimately threaten access to this important flying site.
Please treat SW Wales sites with the same sort of respect you expect their pilots to show when flying our sites. If you‘re thinking of flying any of SW Wales sites, please check out their sites guide on the SW Wales Soaring Club Web Site.
BHPA Third Party Insurance
Members are reminded that whilst qualified recreational pilots (CP or higher rating) flying solo are covered for 3rd party risks up to a maximum of £2,000,000 for any one incident, the cover provided for training or tandem flying is now only £25,000.This applies to all tandem and dual flights, irrespective of whether any form of commercial consideration is involved.
Club coaches are however covered for 3rd party risks up to a maximum of £2,000,000 for any one incident, provided no element of commercial consideration is involved. Competitions and guiding are also covered for 3rd party risks up to a maximum of £2,000,000 for any one incident, provided there is no instructional content.
Please see the BHPA fee page for a breakdown of their current membership fees.
Bedlinog
Pilots are reminded that our Bedlinog FLPA site may only be flown by members of the SE Wales Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club and members of the Welsh Free Flight Federation.FLPA pilots are also reminded that this site is for take-off and landings. Once airborne pilots should fly away from the hill so as to minimize any disturbance to stock or other users.
Full details can be found in SE Wales Sites Guide.
Pilots of Foot Launched Powered Aircraft (FLPA) should not attempt to take off, soar, or land at Fochriw or any other SE Wales flying site. Most of our existing site agreements are for "quiet air sports only" and specifically exclude the use of powered aircraft. If you require further advice or information, please email our FLPA Officer.