The following table lists BHPA fees that may be incurred by individual members from 1st April 2023. As a general rule, the smaller the wing and the higher the wing loading, the faster and more dynamic the responses are to pilot input. A highly loaded speed wing is significantly faster than a full size paraglider. Speed flying in close proximity to the ground (as often seen in online movie clips) requires expert piloting skills, experience and training, and is not for the indecisive or heavy-handed pilot. A network of some 4,800 park people, pooling resources and sharing experiences. BH&HPA champions the issues which matter.

BHPA schools teach people to fly in a progressive way - before undertaking high flights, many short, low flights are made in gentle conditions. These training flights on gentle slopes allow student pilots to practise launches and landing approaches and the fundamental skill of wing control on the ground and in the air. If you wish, you can also "strap on" an engine and turn a hang glider into a powered hang glider, and a paraglider into a paramotor. You can then take off from a flat field, rather than a hill. Angus is an elected member of the BHPA Executive Council and is the Chairman of the Flying and Safety Committee. He has held these posts for what sometimes seems like forever, and before amalgamation with the BAPC he was Chairman of the BHPA Training Committee. A further 4 - 6 days of instruction should see you well on your way to completing your Club Pilot tasks, and as things fall into place you'll learn to soar, and stay up in favourable winds so you can make longer flights.Flyability doesn't simply take people with disabilities flying, it strives to motivate people with disabilities to become involved in the sport of hang gliding and paragliding and to train as pilots. The BHPA has a network of schools that employ licensed instructors, some of whom specialise in speed flying and are taking part in a trial to deliver the BHPA's new speed flying Club Pilot syllabus. The following schools are currently taking part in that trial: For people wanting to learn to fly speed gliders, whether existing paraglider pilots, those with previous experience of air sports or those with no previous flying experience at all, proper training at a BHPA school is essential to understand the particular risks in speed flying. Alternative Entry to the Pilot Rating Scheme - Information for pilots who have trained outside of the BHPA, and wish to join the BHPA and the BHPA Pilot Rating Scheme.

Hang gliders can also be launched by being towed into the air behind a microlight aircraft. This particular technique allows the line to be released at much higher altitudes. Martin regards himself as a "newbie" to the sport having only seriously taken it up in 1999. He has served on Exec for the past sixteen years, but has now retired from active flying due to a knee problem. The BHPA also has a disability initiative called Flyability. This reports directly to the BHPA's Executive Council on disability related matters within the sport. You can also learn to fly in an airfield environment, using a winch to tow you aloft. Training takes less time and you can convert to hill flying later if you choose to. He competed in the Hang Gliding League throughout the 1980s and managed on one occasion to be selected as a member of the British Hang Gliding Team.Theoretical knowledge, gained through reading and lectures, is demonstrated via the BHPA Pilot exam. This exam is a multiple choice paper containing questions on airlaw and navigation, meteorology, principles of flight and general airmanship. Pilots flying with a motor (paramotors and self-propelled hang gliders) usually sit the Pilot (Power) paper, and those free flying (without a motor) sit the Generic Pilot paper. These are usually invigilated by Club Coaches.

From its head office in Leicester the BHPA supports a country-wide network of recreational clubs and registered schools, and provides the infrastructure within which hang gliding and paragliding in the United Kingdom (UK) thrive. This training and badge award takes the EP pilot to the final level of basic training. The CP training will take the EP pilot and give them experience in flying along the ridge among other more advanced practical areas of hang gliding or paragliding. The trainee pilot will also have to pass basic examinations in aviation law and some air navigation (i.e. rights of way in the air) knowledge. Once the CP badge is gained, the pilot can join a recreational club and fly outside of the school system. The majority of young people in the UK are probably not even aware that it is possible to take off from level ground and fly with human power at all.Paragliding is a great community. You'll often find championship-winning pilots comparing notes with novices. Both know that their sport is perhaps the simplest and most intuitive way of flying yet devised. If you want to enjoy the challenges that only being truly at one with the elements can provide, book a training course today! One Day Introductory Membership is only valid on the day of issue and you must therefore only apply on the actual day of your taster course. Steve spent his career designing engines and powertrains for Land Rover, New Mini and Aston Martin. He has now retired and has the time and enthusiasm to try to put his experience and organisational skills to good use on Exec. The BHPA oversees pilot and instructor training standards, and provides technical support such as airworthiness standards, and coaching courses for qualified hang gliding and paragliding pilots. But it is, thanks to the work of the RAeS Human Powered Flight group, who are now part of the BHPA free flight community.

Training is usually conducted far away from creature comforts like warm cafes with loos. On your first day at the school, even if your instructor knows a good tea-shop in the village, don't neglect something to eat and drink to sustain you through your day. In his spare time he also served as a County Councillor in Cheshire and as a Councillor on Cheshire East Council. He has been treasurer of the BHPA for the past 11 years, during which time he's worked to keep costs and subscriptions as low as they can be consistent with maintaining the operational integrity and financial stability of the association. Once airborne, the paramotor can be used to motor along and watch the world go by beneath you or, if conditions permit, soared in thermal lift to make long cross-country flights.

Angus is a recently retired chartered accountant and has held a number of finance director roles in the past. He's been interested in flying all his life and took up paragliding 18 years ago. He took early retirement to spend more time flying both in the UK and abroad. Ed was co-opted onto BHPA Executive council as 'Paramotor liaison' representative in 2011 and elected onto Exec in 2012. He has been flying for 13 years off and on, starting on flexwing microlights in 1996 then switching to paramotors in 1999 and more recently paragliders too. Angus was founder Chairman of the International Hang Glider Standards Organisation, and for the last ten years has been the Co-ordinator of the CEN Paraglider Standards Working Group, steering the creation of the CEN paraglider Flight Test and Load Test standards. Apart from all the walking that your feet are going to get, they do need to be kept dry. Good flexible hill walking or jump boots without lacing hooks (they can snag and damage suspension lines and get caught in rigging wires and harnesses) are best, though in summer trainers, preferably with ankle support, are often worn. practical flying instruction, and you'll complete a simple exam paper on the topics covered. Acheiving Elementary Pilot award is the first step on the ladder of the BHPA Pilot Rating Scheme.