FOOTLAUNCH

 

July Meeting – Wednesday 9th July

 

The next meeting will be Wed 9th July at the Brewers Arms, West Malvern.

 

The following Wednesday 16th July there will be a scrub clearing session at Kettlesings; volunteers required to meet in the car park at 6pm. Bring any implements you have that might be useful plus protective kit etc. Free pint afterwards allegedly.

 

Welcome to New Member Richard Sheppard, and congratulations to him and Bernadette on the arrival of baby Matilda on the 13th. Richard flies a Mossie FLPHG and is wondering if there are any suitable sites around the Malvern area that he could share occasionally with others.

 

Flying Reports

 

9th June SW and forecast fresh but it’s flyable on Haresfield and the clouds look great. Tom Mayne scrapes away, hooks a good one over the back and disappears. Everyone else struggles. Tom gets to Droitwich, ~60km, nice one!

 

11th June SW again but not so nice. I try an Aspen at Milk Hill where it’s overdeveloped 8/8ths all day. A few fly Haresfield and it looks much nicer in the evening, although it picked up at times.

 

13th June Light W and a few on the Beacon. Tom M got the only decent thermal and made 30km out, turned and flew 15km back! I went to the Mynd; what bit of wind there was rapidly went to zero but it was cycling through with small but consistent 3-4 ups all day. I demo’d the Aspen again and in those conditions it was perfect - must have had over 3 hrs thermalling. I managed 10km which took 2hrs! One bloke got to Clee Hill (20km) then turned and flew back to T/O – we thought it was a paramotor coming over!

 

14th June Light E and around a dozen fly Kettlesings (not including the Red Devils dropping into the 3 Counties show). It looks pretty hit or miss most of the day, with more consistent periods late afternoon. I watched from the show and about 6 go XC at various times, Bryan did 15km.

 

15th June Light W, ~10mph on the Beacon. Bryan and Tom wait until I hike up, then circle off laughing as I frantically unpack. Tom does 65km, Bryan 31km. An hour later I get up and have some great flying, landing near Long Marston at 43km. I get unbelievable lifts back – a farmer stops to watch me land and takes me to the main road and within 5mins a bloke going to Malvern stops and takes me back to my car!!

 

20th June NW10mph, quite a few at Frocester. It cycles through before lunch, but it’s a bit off to the N. A few PGs get away, I follow a sailplane up to cloud and have a nice flight to Swindon with Mike R. I miss the last climb to land at 28km but Mike winds up over me and overflies Swindon to the motorway for a P.B. of 44km. Tom M. tries to get off into the same thermal but the lift isn’t there, so he kindly retrieves us both, cheers mate. Gary on his new Vulcan overflies us both on his way to Newbury for 73km! Franky gets his PG out but it gets gusty after we leave so reverts back to his HG and flies to Combe Gibbet at 70km, top landing after winding off a couple of grand! A couple of other hangies also fly, one gets turned badly and crashes into the trees on the front – no pain, lots of expense. It’s just as exciting on Selsley later in the evening – off the clock thermals, collapses and a parachute deployment. A visiting French pilot has his reserve deploy itself at 60’ and luckily makes a perfect touch-down on the T/O. Anywhere else on the front would have been a disaster. (Check reserve handles and deployment covers, especially if you’ve just been dragged.) Wayne does 13km to Tetbury at 7pm. Also Miles Davidson flew for the Mynd to Bicester 135km, and said most thermals were rough. Does he want, sympathy? All in all a thoroughly good afternoon

 

21st June Not much wind, a few out at Pinnacle and Swinyard.

 

24th June Desperate to get in the air again Chris S leaves work early and has a couple of excellent hours it Nanytmoel in the evening. Dave Q Flew the Beacon in a very light W which was E down in the football field!
 
25th June Quite a few out early on Kettlesings T/O where it’s ESE 10-14mph and cycling through.  I get away at midday and land at Newtown 3 hrs later for 88km, and can hear others on radio also going for it. On the hill the cloud fills in but it’s still working and Dave Q has a great flight, hoovered up to 2K or so over the landing field! In the evening the convection is working and several pilots enjoy it on both HGs and PGs.
 
26th June Light scratching for a few PGs in the afternoon/evening before it clagged in and rained.
 
28th June WSW Nant-y-Moel has 70 PGs out for a comp. Nuff said – 2 midairs with one pilot involved in both. Message from God – “Give it up!” Locally the Beacon, Frocester and Haresfield all not working. Sailplanes at Nymphsfield couldn’t get up either.
 
29th June ESE Kettlesings; PGs out midday, HGs en masse later as it picked up a touch. Plenty of soaring but XC conditions very iffy – Nick does 14km on his rigid.
 
 

Safe T-Lines (Rob Davis)

Paraglider harness set up

 

Last summer, after flying for 9 years with a Sky Systems SAS 2 harness, I decided that it was time to upgrade. This decision was made in Piedrahita, where I was the only pilot flying without any form of back protection. I had watched the evolution and debate about back protection evolve over the last 9 years. I felt that at last there was some sensible protection on offer (unlike the rigid protectors that were first produced). I decided that I should go for as much protection as possible if I was going to splash out £’s, so I went for an air bag, with foam and side protectors too.

 

I had always flown with my chest strap at between 38cm and 42 cm because that is what I had read somewhere. This is the distance that is used between the risers by pilots for DHV testing. I was reassured that I was flying my glider within certification. I had got used to this distance and felt secure. I measured my new harness and the minimum distance that I could get was 40cm. Odd! So I decided to read around this a little.

 

The original advice that I got was to set the strap at between 38cm and 42 cm. measured from the centre of the maillon to the centre of the maillon. Use any distance outside this set up and the certification does not stand.

 

The BHPA Pilot handbook states that the hang points should be 40 cm apart: No reference to which bit of the hang points to measure.

 

Pat Downer wrote in Skywings in 1999 that the measurement should be from the centre of base of risers and that they should be 39cm apart for certification.

 

All talking the same language, but with subtle differences.

 

So what to do with my new harness? I chatted to a number of other pilots, most of who seemed to use a wider measurement. I had been reluctant to go wider because of the certification problem. I had read about locked in spiral dives and only recently appreciated that these were more likely with a narrow distance between the risers. My apprehension about “loosening up” was lessened.

 

Recently I read an article by Bob Drury (X Country magazine) about harness set up. He flies with an inter riser distance of 52 cm. I understood that the wider the setting, the greater the feedback from the wing. So I decided to start “loosening up”. The ride is more laterally twitchy, but there is much greater feedback from the wing. It is easier to work out which side of the wing is rising in the thermal and hence which way to turn. It encourages “active flying”. I think that I have had a few more wing tips popping in and out, but nothing major. I wait to see how it responds to a large asymmetric collapse! I commend the above article to you, for a more in depth discussion. Although I do realise that I am flying my wing “outside certification” I do now feel comfortable with that decision.

 

What is your inter-riser distance and are you happy with it?

 

Parachute Deployment Bags by Angelo Crapanzano (angelo@metamorfosi.com):

Recently, while speaking about rescue parachutes, Alex Ploner told me in US there is quite a bad reputation for "diaper" deployment bags (flat pods with, normally, four flaps), while there is a good one for "envelope" ones (a bag normally opened on one side only). I already knew in US there was a preference for envelopes (while in Europe there is for diapers) but I didn't know it was so strong.

The deployment reliability of a rescue parachute depends mainly on the pod design; that's why I feel important to point out the differences between different concepts and, even more important, what makes a good or bad pod. I'm a manufacturer and of course my own design is my preferred one (otherwise I would make it different), but I'll try to be as general and objective as possible.

In a good deployment bag we need to have: easy extraction from the harness very low risk of accidental deployments, lines stowed inside the pod before deployment, ease of throw, very low risk of untimely opening, easy opening of the pod, staged deployment sequence.

1) An easy extraction may concern more the harness parachute container design than the pod itself. We need to have a big enough handle (remember it's always easier and safer to catch the handle using the thumb) and reachable with both hands (one could be injured or one hand could be better than the other in case of a spin).

The use of Velcro to keep the container closed is not reliable: often holds too little or too much. The Velcro should also avoided to keep the handle in place because if the pilot, at first try, peels out the Velcro but misses to catch the handle, then the handle could become unreachable (this is especially true in paragliding for dorsal mounted parachutes).

Be extremely careful there is not male Velcro on the handle itself: it may stick on the loop of lines holding the pod closed, thus impeding the opening. It's not only a theory: I've seen this happening during parachute clinics and, unfortunately, a German pilot died in Castelluccio di Norcia a few years ago, because of it.

There is one way only to know if your parachute is easy enough to extract: hang in your harness and try! Don't be too surprised if you cannot get it out: during parachute clinics I've seen several pilots not able to extract their parachute.

2) Low risk of accidental deployments means the parachute must not come out by itself. The biggest improvement on this subject were the safety pins (introduced in the hang gliding world long time ago by Rich Pfeiffer) used at first as a safety for the Velcro but, if properly designed, are perfectly safe by itself. In some cases one could add an elastic or a sewing tread to hold them in position (check you are strong enough to break it pulling the handle!).

Be sure there is no way for the handle to get tangled in the side cables or in the base mounted instruments (there have been several accidental openings this way). Be also sure the pins are not too long (longer than the slack in the handle) otherwise there is no way to pull the parachute out of the container. Pins should be properly curved or flexible (straight pins could stick if pulled in the wrong direction, as shown in several accidents) and be careful the head of the pin cannot pass through the loop (there have been several accidents this way too).

3) The lines stowed inside the pod before deployment are mandatory to reduce the chances of lines getting tangled into the wreckage (one line tangled is enough to make the parachute useless). Unfortunately there are several old pod designs where the lines are exposed.

4) The ease of throw depends on parachute weight but also in handle shape and length. A long handle makes it difficult to control the throw and could tangle on cables (some handles designed as an anchor certainly don't help). A handle attached to the pod in two points gives a more solid hold compared to the, unfortunately now common, single point attachment.

Never attach the pod to the canopy to save some money in case of deployment, you definitely increase the risk of a tangled parachute!

5) Low risk of untimely opening means the deployment bag shall not open before you throw it and let it go. This can easily happen in an old style envelope pod where the handle is in the opposite side of the opening because only the elastics are holding the canopy inside the bag: if they are too old or weak the canopy will fall out before one throws it while, if they are too strong, the pod would be hard to open.

A good envelope pod design is to have both the handle and the opening on the same side, so the elastics don't have to hold the weight of the canopy. On some diaper pod designs the canopy or the lines can fall out if one shakes the pod (still holding the handle). In any case it's important to leave the right amount of slack in the bridle: the pod must not open until you let it go!

6) Easy opening of the pod is mandatory because, in case we cannot throw it hard (much easier to say than to do in reality), there is only the difference in sink-rate between a broken hang glider and closed pod to open it. Please note that, in most common accidents, the closed pod falls faster than a broken hang glider or paraglider.

In case both glider and pod are falling at the same speed there is still the aerodynamic drag on the bridle which could open the pod. It's clear we are never speaking of big forces, so we need to have the pod open with a very light pull.

7) The correct staged deployment sequence is: bridle - lines - canopy. We first want to have the bridle coming out because we want the pod (still containing lines and canopy) to go away as far as possible to reduce the risks of entanglements. Then we want to have the lines, and finally the canopy must come out only when bridle and lines are stretched. This is the best way to reduce the chances of canopy malfunctions and to reduce the opening shock on the parachute. In a well designed pod, regardless of the strength of the elastics, the lines shall not come out until the bridle is stretched and the canopy shall not come out until the lines are stretched. Speaking of lines and bridle, I would like to point out that we need:

- long bridle to reduce the chances of a tangled parachute,

- long lines to get better sink-rate and stability from the same canopy

- short sum of lines plus bridle to get a faster opening time (it looks impossible at first, but there is a clever solution to this problem).

IMPORTANT: To check out the extraction, hang into your harness, put your thumb into the handle, grab it and pull it out slowly: the pod must come out effortlessly.

To check out a pod for untimely opening, while still hanging, stretch your arm sideway to check the slack in the bridle, then shake the pod without leaving the handle: the pod must not open.

To check out if a pod opens easy enough, put the pod on the floor then pull up slowly the bridle and then the lines: the pod must open easily without lifting the parachute and the canopy must get out easily. The deployment sequence, during the previous test must be: bridle - lines - canopy and must be correctly "staged" (should be the same regardless of the relative strength of the elastics used).

These simple test doesn't take more than 10 minutes (plus repack, which is always useful to get a fast opening) but could save your life: much cheaper and much more useful than a life insurance, but your partner could think different :-) :-)

While you are there, check out how old is your parachute: if it's more than 10 years old consider replacing it. An old parachute behaves exactly as a new one, of the same model, if you are going to deploy it at low airspeed. However parachute fabric is quite sensitive to aging and ultraviolet rays: an old parachute cannot withstand the same high speed as a new one.

If your deployment bag doesn't work as it should, fix the problem if possible (and check it again!) or, much better, have an expert professional check and fix it (but check what the professional is doing too. It's your life which is involved!).

I practically haven’t mentioned the differences between envelope and diaper pods because it's not too important. What is important is that a pod works in the correct way and you can get it both with an envelope or a diaper one. Remember:

- Pods which don't stow the lines inside increase the chance of a line getting tangled.

- Old style envelope pods with the handle on the opposite side of the opening are dangerous because, in case of warn-out elastics, the canopy can easily fall out untimely (it happened to Gerard Thevenot: the pod came out of the harness but the parachute stayed inside!)

- Pods without a correctly staged opening sequence, bridle - lines - canopy, increase the risk of entanglement and malfunctioning.

Well... of course I do prefer my 5 flaps diaper pods because they meet all the previous requirements (as a good envelope one) but are "softer" to better adapt to the harness container, require less force to open and, when open, immediately let the canopy fully free.

If you ask a good American manufacturer I bet he would agree on everything... except the last sentence :-)

 

Landing Techniques for PGs in strong winds?

Touching down softly becomes secondary to getting down in one piece; you're probably going to take a healthy yank onto your backside anyway so just accept it.

 

But which of the following is the best procedure for killing the wing?

 

A) As your feet hit the ground, grab those B risers and bury them.

 

B) Unclip your harness straps before landing then step out on touch-down while holding one brake. It’ll make a mess of your lines but you won’t get dragged. (Bob Drury used this to good effect in the Himalayas). If you hold onto both brakes you could end up being road kill. Remember all your straps and plan it well before you’re 30cm above the ground. Sounds silly but have you ever watched a racing driver try to get away from a burning wreck and forget that his helmet is strapped to the car....

 

C) Pull down one A riser and the opposite brake (or D riser). Half the wing stalls and lands on top of the collapsed half stopping it from inflating and going out of control.

 

D) Down the wing with both C risers. With the B’s it could continue to thrash around above the ground, but the C’s kill it dead on 4 riser gliders.

 

E) Try to turn before actually touching down, and run. You might be less likely to fall over after landing, but if it goes wrong before you touch down you could have a more serious problem.

 

F) Stand on the speed bar then grab the C’s, when your feet touch, turn pull and run.

 

G) Touch down on one foot, with the other on about 3/4 bar, and on big ears. Kill the wing on the A’s. Being on bar, the wing frontals and drops nicely with almost no effort. Reel in one side of the A’s until holding the wingtip.

 

I suggest you go out somewhere soft and flat like a football pitch where getting dragged about would only damage your dignity, wait for a good gust of wind, and see what works best for your wing.

 

Danger Kites!

A couple of paramotors were enjoying a splendid formation flight along a beach. The winds were perfect, the temperature was warm and the sky was crystal clear....all in all, a perfect day to be in the air. They were at about 200 feet following the surf line, the beach was pretty busy and there were a number of kites in sight as they cruised along. What they didn't take into account was that at the end of the beach there was a tidal flat, and since it was low tide someone decided to fly a kite from out there which put him about 100 yds out from the surf line. They were cruising along when suddenly one PPG experienced a sharp yaw to the right and felt a tug. His right brake became very spongy and he had to apply a ton of left brake and full power just to keep the wing going straight ahead in a descent. He was over the flat and was able to get it on the ground without incident in the 12mph winds. What they found after he landed was he had run into the kite string. That string from that £3.99 plastic Barry Trotter McBurger Sloopy kite had sliced all the way through his wing from the leading edge back to the band along the trailing edge. The outside 1/3 of his wing was gone! 9 cells worth of paraglider hung limply from the rest of the glider as he wrestled it to the ground. He obviously had no brake on that side but was able to use power and differential braking from the left side to keep it flying.

 

So there you have it: a silly cheap little kite can cut through your glider like a hot knife through butter. Luck was involved for sure... had he taken the line right in the centre then the glider might have horse-shoed on him and spun in. Lessons learned.... be extremely vigilant for kites at all times, especially coastal flying.

 

Fly Hard! (and away from kites)

 

Gradient Aspen vs Vulcan Impressions I tried a demo Gradient Aspen courtesy of Airtopia. Conditions were pretty scrappy at Milk for my first flight so not the best test and it felt nervous and not at all comfortable. Then I had a day at Long Mynd in nil wind thermals and in those conditions it was perfect. Ground handling/launching was a doddle, much like the Vulcan. It inflates very easily with little pressure on the A-risers. You really can get it overhead just by leaning back in your harness, so cross-braked launches were easy, even after 6 years of exclusive straight-brakes launching my current glider. In the air it felt very similar in handling to the Vulcan, but with a slightly more active ride and possibly a slightly more ‘wingy’ feel. The brakes were nicer though, tighter and more progressive. I was launching when the first breath of wind on T/O indicated a thermal, then wanging it round up and over the top with the first 360, carrying on to 4,500’ at times vertically. Aggressive gaggle flying in the tight cores was no problem at all, the agility and brake response was first class. Sink rate was as good as I expected and I was able to climb with or above a Bliss and a Magic 3 so no worries. Later on I tried a few big asymmetrics by downing an A-riser. Counter-steering with brake and weight-shift was surprisingly easy with very little needed. Big-ears stayed in until pumped out. All in all the Aspen and Vulcan are both great gliders, so long as you’re happy with a DHV2 rating and the consequences in terms of safety etc. Personally I probably prefer the easier ride on the Vulcan, plus minor details like split A-risers and Velcro butt-hole, but the Aspen definitely had nicer brakes. I didn’t try full bar on either glider as I was having enough excitement, thanks. The only trouble with both of them is you can’t get down and end up miles away from your car – what a bummer!

 

Coming soon, exclusive test of the Gangster, Gin’s new DHV2 originally conceived as an accro wing but proving so good that they can’t keep up with the demand from XC flyers!

 

TC

 

Ultimate radio? Yaesu have just released the VXA700, an airband AM radio that also has a 2m-band FM transceiver in it.  You can use the aircraft band to monitor air traffic when flying near airways and airports (with the proper licence, of course), and also chat your brains out on one of the 2m frequencies (also with a proper license, of course). 

Here are the main specs:

* 5 Watts TX Output Power

* FM Radio Broadcast Band Receiver (88-108 MHz)

* 190 Memory Channels Including Pre-Programmed "Book" Memories

* Submersible (JIS 7)

* Rugged Magnesium Die-Cast Construction

* Includes Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery

* Multi-Colour Strobe LED

* PC Programmable VOR Navigation Display

* Dot Matrix Display

* Back-Lit Keypad and Display with Dimmer

* One Touch Emergency Frequency (121.5 MHz) Access

* RX Battery Saver

* CTCSS DCS Operation (FM 144 MHz Band)

* NOAA Weather Channel Receive (USA Version Only)

* NOAA Weather Alert (USA Version Only)

Includes: Li-Ion Battery, Charger, Headset Adapter, Antenna and Belt Clip.

Perfect radio?

Unfortunately it has a few problems that make it less than perfect.  You can not use a headset like ones we are used to. The unit basically has two separate radios in it and AM and FM modulation key up differently.  They do this operation internally and the only headset option is for an aircraft type.  The mike system is entirely unique to aircraft (different PTT logic circuit) - so no other Ham mike equipment will work with it. The connector is also completely unique; a normal two meter headset will lock up. Apparently they are working on this. Changing frequency between bands isn't easy. Also, the voice quality on transmit is reported to be rather poor. It is somewhat larger than most handhelds - workable, but a bit bulky.  However it is the first ever 2m & aircraft band radio and as such, it is a meaningful breakthrough.  Assuming there is a significant market there should be better models to follow.

 

Mad Cow Disease in Derbyshire

An incident in Derbyshire, in the Peak District, South of Manchester and West of Sheffield England; Andy Wallis writes:

 

Earlier this year my hang glider was destroyed by a farmer whose field, near Tideswell, I landed in after an XC.  He ran into the glider with his tractor without so much as stopping to speak to me first.

 

The farmer was prosecuted for criminal damage, but pleaded not guilty.  The hearing was at Chesterfield Magistrates Court. He was found guilty, and sentenced to keep the peace for 3 months.  I was awarded £2000 compensation, and he also has to pay around £300 court costs.

 

During my cross-examination, I was asked what gave me the right to land on someone's property without seeking prior permission.  I answered 'The Air Navigation Order gives any civil aircraft the right in law to affect an emergency landing'.  This seemed to come as a surprise to the defence lawyer and the magistrates, who obviously were not familiar with the ANO, as they asked me to repeat it!

 

Amongst the nonsense which was produced by the defence was the allegation that my landing had caused around 11 lambs to be aborted and several prize ewes to be injured at a total cost of somewhere in the region of £8000, and the loss of a whole years work!!  (I had in fact landed at least 200 yards away from the nearest livestock, which were totally unconcerned by my arrival).

 

I now have the option of suing the farmer for the full replacement cost of the glider.  The burden of proof for such a civil action is lower than that for a criminal action, so this should have a good chance of success.  I have yet to decide whether to pursue this option.

 

I intend to write up the incident and lessons learnt, to help others who may find themselves in a similar situation.

 

Finally, the co-ordinates of what is now an excellent goal field are: SK 145 742!

 

It turns out that the Farmer had previously written off a hot air balloon a few years ago.

 

How to Scare your Tandem! On Wednesday 4.6.2003 two Slovenian acro pilots (and founders of LOOP team) performed a tandem balloon drop in Slovenia.  Everything went well and the glider (wings of change, Chinhook) opened perfectly after 50m of fall.  The event was well photographed and filmed, and shown on main TV in Slovenia. 

 

Folding your PG

Allegedly accordion folding is actually easier than the other methods if you land XC on a windy day and are on your own - because you never have to lay out the glider. This is also its one drawback - you don't get forced to do a glider-check when you put the wing away.

 

One technique is this: land, grab the lines above the risers, running one hand along the lines gather the whole thing in to bunch the glider. Put the lines on top. Grab one wingtip and lay it flat on the ground. Find the first mylar and lay it flat. Work along the leading edge gathering together all the mylars and laying them flat on top of each other - the leading edge tapes should all bulge outwards neatly between the mylars. Put something heavy on top of the pile of mylars to hold them in place. Flake the trailing edge. Roll from the trailing edge to the leading edge, fold the entire set of mylars in before the last roll. You now have the mylars flat and positioned in the middle of a protective roll of sailcloth.

 

In a howling wind you just sit on one wingtip and flake along the leading edge - in control all the time. The hard part is getting to the leading edge.

 

Sounds simple, but the couple of times I tried it the wing just ended up in an unholy mess too big for the bag. Anyone else tried it?

 

Go 4 It 2003 Current Standings

 

Paragliders                                                                                          Totals

Tim Crow                88.2   48.4   46.7   42.7   35.6   28.1   24.1   14.5   10.0                338.3km

Bryan Hindle                51.3   15.2                                                                                           66.5km

Chris Smith                16.6     8.2                                                                                             24.8km

 

Flexwings

Derek Evans                59.3   28.7                                                                                           88.0km

John Bevan             8.0                                                                                                                   8.0km

 

Rigids

Nick Collins                133.6   60.0  14.0                                                                                                207.6km

 

 ADVERTS

 

Woody Valley X-Act airbag PG harness. Medium, blue/black 
(£460 brand new) less than 20 hours, looking for £225 ono.
dean.naylor@axa-tech.com
 

Freex Spear Large, Blue 20 hours, DHV 2

Freex Spear Medium, Blue 70 hours, DHV 2

Offers invited on both.

Ian Clague 0771 472 0583

 

UP paragliding harness, medium, excellent condition. C/w cross bracing and back protection,

£100 ono

Alan 01452 504000 (Glos)

 

Harley Sirocco (Large, 85kg-105kg) Acpul 12A rated, c/w harness; £250 ono

Dennis 07876 492406
AIRTOPIA

The shop

 

Full of all the latest equipment; Harnesses from Sup-Air, Gin, Airwave, gradient and Edel.

Helmets from Lazer, Charley and Icaro. Flying Suits, Instruments, radios, compasses, T-Shirts, reserves, boots, books, instrument mounts, flight decks and groovy sunglasses….even coffee and biscuits!

 

The Holidays.

 

Off to Spain again, 20th September to 3rd October.

One or two weeks of Alicante action, good flying from easy coastal to mountain thermal.

 

Second hand canopies

Edel Atlas small fab condition 65-80kg                          £600.00

Edel Atlas Med          Good condition 75-95kg                             £550.00

Edel Atlas Med          Good condition 75-95kg                             £550.00

Edel Atlas Large          As new! No airtime 90-110kg            £900.00

Firebird Flame med    Very good, very low airtime, 70-85kg        £600.00

Nova Xyon Large       Good 105-125 kg                                            offers

Edel Sabre Large        Fair  100-120kg                                             offers

Paramotor                       210cc twin prop, electric thingy              £1,600.00

 

The New Stuff

 

Canopies from Ozone, Gin, Gradient and Airwave, demo’s available, part exchange a possibility!

Call Robin tel 01453 827202

Mobile           07973 844449

www.airtopia.com   robin@airtopia.com

 

We are very easy to find, just off junction 13 of the M5, check out the map on the web site…..