SHPF Blog

Hang gliding and paragliding is once again under serious threat. Eurocontrol, the "European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation" has produced for consultation its draft version of its proposed Standardised European Rules of the Air (SERA).

Whilst the aim of having one single set of Rules of the Air that applies right across Europe may seem attractive, unfortunately whoever has written the draft has clearly not given a single thought to hang gliders and paragliders. Some of the proposed rules will have a massive detrimental impact on our ability to go and fly. (E.g. 4.6 bans flight below 500 feet ? so ridge soaring will be effectively outlawed!)

4 consultation documents.
http://www.eurocontrol.int/enprm/public/standard_page/enprm10002.html

Here are the BHPAs suggested response guidelines ....
BHPA-Comments.pdf

Choose some of the points outlined and, in your own words, complete the "Consultation Response Sheet ? Enclosure 3" that you downloaded. Ideally you should express dissatisfaction with the SERA proposals along the lines of "the current safe, entirely legal activity would be made illegal by this change". (The BHPA response will suggest alternate wordings ? and it may be counter-productive if you try to create "in your own words" alternatives to our proposals.)

1. Send your completed comments to Eurocontrol before the closing date of 12th April 2010:
   Mr Olivier MROWICKI
   SES Mandate Manager SERA
   EUROCONTROL
   Rue de la Fusée, 96
   B-1130 Brussels, Belgium
   sesframework@eurocontrol.int or Fax to +322 729 5190

Labels: 2010, action, bhpa, flight, free, SERA, threat

Please find below a link to the SHPF committee meeting for the meeting held on the 8th Feb 2010.

SHPF-Meeting-Minutes-February-2010.docx

Labels: 2010, committee, February, meeting, minutes, SHPF

Please find below a link to the 2010 SHPF AGM minutes.


SHPF-AGM-Minutes-Jan-2010.docx

Labels: 2010, agm, minutes, SHPF

Just a reminder regarding the forthcoming paragliding events - Scottish Open 2010.pdf at the end of May - register here. And email Naomi if volunteering to help here : secretary@shpf.co.uk
May - Scottish Nationals series commences.
April - X Scotia - new format more details to come soon.
As usual events should all be on here as well :- http://www.shpf.co.uk/shpf-events.php

Labels: 2010, nationals, open, Scottisn, Tibbieshiels, x-scotia

xscotia3.pdf

Labels: 2010, April, venue, x-scotia

Labels: 2010, nevis, paragliding, range, speed, videos

Please find below a link to the proposed timetable for the Scottish Nationals Paragliding Series, X-Scotia (in a different format - mored details to be advised) and the BPC as prepared by George. These dates will all be added to the SHPF Calendar in due course.


Diary-2010-Scottish-Nationals.doc

Labels: 2010, date, nationals, paragliding, series, SHPF, x-scotia

Please find below a link to the slides prepared by Mike for use during the recent SHPF Gathering.

SHPF-AGM-10-slides.pdf

Labels: 2010, agm, Jardine, Mike, SHPF, slides

Please find below links to the various videos Robert Veitch took at the recent SHPF Gathering 2010. These show paragliding reserve deployments in the afternoon of the 16th January 2010.
All videos were taken from the top of the facility - nearly 100 feet up. This is probably as close as it is possible to get to being the perfect setup for testing out paragliding and Hang-gliding (though none this year) reserve deployments. Missed it this year then why not pencil this into your diary now for a similar weekend in January 2011 when it should next be run.

The SHPF Gathering consists of a mixture of acitivities - obviosly starting with the deployments shown here, followed by repacking in a large heated space below launch!. This is then followed by the SHPF AGM and a talk by a sky god - last year John Sillvester and this year Eddie Colfox. The Sunday - following some more social activities - usually consists of more technical talks and activities. This year talks were by Dave Thomson, Tony Spirling - really excellent re pyschology, and Cliff Smith re avalanches - especially pertinent as one of the pilots present had been caught in one very recently in the nearby Pentlands .....

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21.2 Mb Steve Durkin

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17.3 Mb Cliff Smith

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16.6 Mb Richard Vereker

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17.8 Mb Bob Veitch

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13.9 Mb Julian Robinson

Labels: 2010, deployment, parachute, paraglider, Ratho, reserve, Robert Veitch, route, SHPF, videos

Please click the link above to see the status for all the paragliding reserve deployments made at the EICA at Ratho - within a spreadsheet - throughout Saturday 16th January 2010.

To see a scan of the original document click the document below. Thankyou Gordon.
SCN_0001.pdf

Labels: 2010, deployment, Gathering reserve, pdf, SHPF, spreadsheet

Please find below links to the latest details about the 2010 SHPF
Gathering and the Booking Form

Labels: 2010, EICC, Gathering, Ratho, SHPF

The 2010 SHPF Gathering is scheduled for 16-17 January.

The format will be similar to 2009 ie:
Saturday - Reserve deployment and repacking, AGM followed by evening talk by a suitable sky god (Probably at EICC, Ratho)
Sunday - Skills and technical training sessions.

Labels: 2010, agm, deployment, Gathering, repack, reserve, SHPF