Download Hang-Glider Competition Submission Form
Submit your completed Hang-Glider competition form to Tim King
Each year the club awards a number of prizes for hang gliding achievements (see Task Masters). These are: 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the HG league, most improved pilot, best novice XC flight, and the bend speedbar award (for those dodgy tree landings etc!)
Competitions
There are four levels of competition where pilots can compete.
Sky Surfers enter as a team in the BCC (British Club Challenge) and are represented nationally in the BOS (British Open Series) and the UKNXCL (UK National X-Country League). The level of competition depends on the individual and their experience varying from Club Pilot +10 hours to Advanced Pilot and 200+ hours.
British Club Challenge
The Sky Surfers has regularly fielded a team in this friendly inter club completion. The competition generally has preliminary rounds during the early summer followed by the finals being held over a weekend in July in South East Wales.
For full details , up to date results and the calendar of fixtures see www.flybcc.co.uk.
We finished 2nd in 2004 and 2005 in the Hang Gliding competition and improved to win it in 2006!
The ethos of the competition is to encourage pilots to improve their flying performances in a friendly but competitive environment and to gain experience and confidence from experienced pilots. Many people do their cross country flights while at this competition and find this a good way to fly at new sites and a good introduction to bigger and different hills which aren’t available in Hampshire.
UK National Cross-Country League
Individuals enter their XC performances in the National league and their best 6 results count towards the annual league and team results.
Sky Surfers Hang Gliding XC League
The Club’s annual prize giving recognises the flying achievements of the previous year. The Club XC League is the main vehicle for deciding who gets which award.
The club league positions will be determined from entries by club members in the UK National XC Leagues (paragliding and hang gliding).
The “rules” are straightforward. To be up for a Sky Surfing Club award:
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You must be a Sky Surfing Club member when achieving each flight entered
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Your entry in the national league must credit the Sky Surfing Club as your primary club.
Most pilots already enter their flights into the national league and so are well aware of the rules and entry procedure. For those not familiar with the national leagues, see http://www.uknxcl.co.uk/ (hang gliding) and https://xcleague.com/xc/ (paragliding).
If you prefer, entries can still be accepted by giving the appropriate competitions committee member (PG Comps or HG Comps) details of your flight: launch grid ref, landing grid ref, turnpoints (if any), glider and distance. Send the details to pgcomps@skysurfingclub.co.uk or hgcomps@skysurfingclub.co.uk as appropriate.
British Nationals
This competition is for advanced rated pilots and took place in St Andre les Alpes France in summer 2006, and more recently in at the Chabre, Laragne, also in France. There is also an ‘Open’ division in which those Pilot rated can take part.
See www.rogallo.co.uk for details.
British Open Series
This completion is for pilot rated pilots and is held over three weekends through the spring and summer. The three rounds are held in South east Wales, Yorkshire Dales and at the Long Mynd.
In 2009, there will be for the first time, in additional to the regular BOS competion, a ‘sport’ class with more straighforward XC tasks in order to introduce more pilots to the event and make it more accessible – no need to worry about complexities like start windows and turn points.
World
The World Rigid Wing (Class 5) Hang Gliding championships took place in Florida, USA in May 2006.
Nev Almond who often gives club lectures and can also be seen on good days at Harting Down again took part competing against the world’s best and completing tasks of over 150 km each day.
The World Hang Gliding Championships (Class 1) for flex wings was held in Zapata in Texas USA in 2007
Again we recently have had club members competing at this level in Brazil 2003.
Barnett-Dignand Trophy
The Barnett Dignand Trophy is an annual friendly competition between the Wessex and Sky Surfers Clubs for hang gliders. It is a one day meeting held on a local site when the weather conditions are looking good and the task is usually a short cross country or a local ridge run. The date may be set only a few days before it is held with details being posted on the smart group and by email (please join smart groups and let us have your email address if you are interested). Over the last 4 years this has been held at Harting , Mercury and Bell (twice) and won by Sky Surfers each time. Each time a lot of flying has taken place but details are soon forgotten although a lot of fun has been had on each occasion.
Waypoint Competition
The Sky surfing club has a waypoints competition which is open to both Hangglider & Paraglider pilots
The idea is very simple: take off from any of our 8 sites (except meon shore), fly to as many of 28 waypoints as you can, returning to a take-off site before landing. All you need to participate is a wing, harness, helmet and a GPS capable of recording an ICG track log & visualizing waypoints (XC Track or Sky Fly High on a smart phone suffices).
The full rules & waypoints files can be found here https://sky.wpcomp.uk/rules.php
Annual Club Awards and Trophies
There are several trophies awarded annually, including:
- Novice XC trophy: awarded to the pilot who has achieved their first cross country flight
- Most improved pilot :for the pilot who has made the best improvement in their flying capabilities/performance
- Bent upright award: for the most stylish destruction of aluminium
- XC League 1st, 2nd and 3rd: won by the top three places in the club cross country league
Scoring (not PG)
- Flights will be scored as 1 point per kilometre x multiplier defined below.
- Defined flights will be scored as the National League, i.e.:
a) Open distance = 1 x distance
b) Flight to declared goal = 1.25 x distance
c) Out and return = 2 x total distance
d) Pre declared out and return = 2.5 x total distance
e) Triangle flight (shortest leg is at least 28% of total distance) = 3 x total distance
f) Pre declared triangle flight = 3.75 x total distance - The score for a “local flight” will be multiplied by 2
- The total score for a flight made on a Class 5 glider will be multiplied by 75%
- Flights to be entered by a phone call, e-mail or letter to the appropriate Competitions Secretary
for hang gliding stating:Pilot Name:
Contact telephone number:
Date of flight:
Take-off site:
Take-off grid reference:
Landing location:
Landing grid reference:
Any airspace avoidance action taken:
Witness name and contact:
(Witness not essential but helpful if available, especially if another club member and especially
for turn points e.g. if gaggle flying where 2 or 3 pilots may attempt the same route).
The league is basically run on trust and so we will not be requiring photographic or GPS evidence of flights and turn points or mandating witnesses.
As you can see, a declared triangle flight from a local site on a non-class 5 glider will score no less than 7.5 times the actual distance flown.
Task Masters
Hang Gliding Challenges to get you Up and Flying Cross Country
Hang-Gliding Tasks
Although the Sky Surfing club is not only about competition it is a means by which we can judge or be judged on our improvements in flying. Over the season you can be sure that someone will see you bend that odd upright as well as hear about your visits to cloud base and the vast mileage you have covered.
To help gauge your progress on your XC flying from Skysurfers Club sites (which are not the easiest in the country to fly XC from!) we have drawn up a series of Hang Gliding XC goals For SSC members:
LEVEL ONE
MERCURY TO AROUND ISOLATED TREE ON OTHER SIDE OF FIELD AND BACK
HARTING TO BEACON AND BACK
BUTSER TO OXENBOURNE AND BACK
LEVEL TWO
MERCURY TO BISHOPS WALTHAM
HARTING TO M27
BUTSER TO HARTING
LEVEL THREE
MERCURY TO STUBBINGTON
HARTING TO SELSEY
BUTSER TO COCKING
LEVEL FOUR
MERCURY TO BUTSER AND BACK
HARTING TO ARUNDEL GAP AND BACK
BUTSER TO MERCURY AND BACK
LEVEL FIVE
MERCURY TO LISS, WEST MARDEN AND RETURN TO MERCURY
HARTING TO DEVILS DYKE AND BACK
BUTSER TO WEST MEON HUT, HAWKLEY AND RETURN TO BUTSER