Skywings news stories are available for the following publication years:
If you're looking for news stories published before January 2016, please visit the Skywings News Archive.
Skywings news stories published in 2021 are displayed below.
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To search by post date, please enter the month and year numerically as mm-yyyy (eg. 03-2016).
There are 58 news stories for 2021 in our database.
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Reports reach us that Danish film producer Niels Juul is planning a feature film based on former BHGA member Brian Milton's 1998 round-the-world microlight flight. Juul, executive producer of Martin Scorsese's The Irishman, aims to subvert the Hollywood finance model by funding the film - provisionally titled A Wing and a Prayer - entirely by non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Under the frustrating Hollywood system, he says, smaller productions can take years to reach cinemas. To bypass this bottleneck he has set up NFT Studios to fund a series of films, hoping to raise up to £7m through the sale of tokens to institutional investors and the public.
A Wing and a Prayer is said to be ready to go, with a big-name star and director lined up, with shooting planned for April and a transatlantic premiere in September. Those undeterred by the bubble aspects of NFTs may wish to have a punt, while wondering which current actor has been lined up to play the grizzled, hard-driving, never-say-die Milton.
Posted: 20 December 2021
By: J. Schofield
Pete Logan has produced data showing CANP app usage over the past two years. Total CANP reports have doubled to 1210 for the past year, from 624 in 2020. The Cumbria club leads the way in reports posted with 282; the next highest reporting club is North Devon with 190. But note - it's not a competition: these numbers mostly reflect site usage and local perceptions of military traffic. They also reveal how much 2021 began to approach normality compared with the year before.
The graph shows 2020 and 2021 stats and mirrors, to a degree, the amount of flying done through the year. Currently the CANP app covers 57 clubs and 505 sites. To see how this system works to help de-conflict our activities and military traffic, and to learn how easy it is to use, get up to speed on the CANP for free fliers website.
Posted: 20 December 2021
By: J. Schofield
In a tense final task at Loma Bola in Argentina, Russ Ogden held off Frenchman Honorin Hamard, 2015 World Champion, to secure the individual Gold medal. Strong backup from the British team saw Seb Ospina in 6th overall, Theo Warden 15th and Martin Long 54th, securing team Gold over the Swiss and Czechs. Switzerland's Yael Margelisch was top woman in 18th place, ahead of France's Seiko Fukuoka.
Loma Bola, known for stable conditions and sometimes very short tasks, proved to be a very challenging playground. Seven tasks were flown of around 50-80km, with pilots reaching goal on only four tasks.
Huge respect to Russ, to the British team and to master tactician Jocky Sanderson. This was no pushover; there were some very strong teams and individual pilots present. The French in particular, and the Germans, finished 10th and 9th; both started well but suffered heavy setbacks on the 5th task and could not recover. Russ and the British team were ahead from that point on and did not let up.
Hats off to all involved in the Argentina success, including the British Paragliding Racing Academy who have been leading up to this moment for the last five years.
Posted: 12 November 2021
By: J. Schofield
Hope you have been following the exciting developments of the World Championships this week?
Jocky Sanderson has been sending out some excellent reports and photos/videos on his page, and we have been sharing things to Instagram and other outlets as the week has progressed.
Well, here we are. The last day!!! How are we doing?
Well, Russ Ogden is currently winning the Individual. Mathematically, his worst case scenario is Silver medal, but as we stand right now, he is sitting on Gold!
And the team? Well, again the are sitting on Gold, but we still have to get through today. It is anywhere from Gold through to 20th place. Lets show our support and watch, and share, the day as it develops.
You can expect the pilots to be Airborne for around 4pm maybe, and the results could be in as soon as 8pm (UK times). Here are a few links to help you follow the developments:
Official page for tracking and news
Instagram: @british_pg_comp
Airtribune 17th FAI World Paragliding Championship Tucumán - Argentina - 2021 31 Oct, 2021 - 13 Nov, 2021 | Yerba Buena, Argentina
Bill Bell
Posted: 12 November 2021
By: Paul Dancey
The first UK aerotow competition for more than half a decade will be held at the former WWII bomber base at Deenethorpe, near Corby - away from busy airspace ... and where the UK airmass starts to become continental!
Dates are May 7th-13th 2022. Practice days - for those needing to get current with aerotowing - will be May 4th-6th. The meet director will be 'hang gliding royalty' Jamie Sheldon.
The organisers aim to have five tugs available, limiting numbers to 50 competitors. Sign up early to avoid disappointment. Further details can be found on the British Aerotow Revival 2022 website; registration will open in December.
Posted: 10 November 2021
By: J. Schofield
Airspace restriction have been put in place for the Conference of the Parties 26th Summit (COP 26), which is taking place at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC), Glasgow between the 30 October and 13 November 2021.
These have now been extended to 11.59pm on Sunday 14th November 2021 due to the conference over running.
A copy of the relevant Aeronautical Information Circular can be downloaded using the following link:
Posted: 2 November 2021
By: Paul Dancey
Those who may need to confirm, for their own satisfaction or perhaps to reassure a landowner or potential customer, just what the BHPA's 3rd-party insurance covers are reminded that the Association's 'Evidence of Insurance' document is available in the documents section of this website.
Posted: 5 October 2021
By: J. Schofield
North Norfolk's Blakeney Point nature reserve has reported numerous paramotor pilots flying low over the beach. Such activity puts wildlife at risk. With local seals about to pup, disturbance from paramotors may cause havoc in a birthing seal colony.
Bird sanctuaries are marked on quarter- and half-mil Aeronautical charts and online airspace tools. They are usually circles of 1 or 1.5nm radius, although some are larger. Upper limits may be as low as 500ft but can go to 2, 3 and even 4000ft asl. The UK Air Pilot lists 16 of these; all but three have permanent year-round protection. As well as bird life, they are often breeding grounds for other aquatic creatures.
Flying is not prohibited in these areas, but pilots are specifically requested to avoid them, especially during any stated breeding season. BHPA members or not, paramotor pilots low flying in the area give our sport a bad name!
Posted: 5 October 2021
By: J. Schofield
last updated: 31 January 2025
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