Martin is the Vice Chairman of the Executive council. He also looks after the BHPA's aviation insurance contract, which provides indemnity cover to each and every member of the Association. This is a significant responsibility given that over half of the Association's expenditure goes on this important area. 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. Direct line to BH&HPA central office, there to provide assistance or a referral to anyone of our National Advisers to help you to qualify for trial membership you must be training and working towards your Elementary Pilot rating at a BHPA registered school) 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.

Royal Aero Club Members". Archived from the original on 20 September 2011 . Retrieved 24 October 2011. The BHPA has an associated charity Flyability that aims to make hang gliding and paragliding accessible to disabled people. [6] Proficiency levels [ edit ]Shortly after you obtain a new rating or endorsement you should be issued with an up-to-date BHPA membership card showing your new qualification. 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. As you near the end of your initial training with one of our registered schools, it's important to start looking for suitable recreational club to join. Obtaining your Club Pilot rating marks the end of your formal instruction and qualifies you to leave the school and fly within a BHPA recreational club. Much of Flyability's work in the sport, focuses around changing peoples perception of disability and their attitudes toward people with disabilities. Disability awareness, education and advice play key roles in Flyability's aims and objectives, as does the development of specialist equipment, training and flying techniques.

Many paraglider pilots strive to perfect their skills in cross-country flying. A summer sky filled with fluffy cumulus clouds provides abundant - but invisible - lifting currents which pilots use to gain altitude. Setting off on such a day, either towards a pre-selected goal or just drifting where the wind will take you, is one of the most breathtaking experiences available today. Most pilots will talk of the sense of privilege they feel when drifting from cloud to cloud, in almost total silence, watching the landscape unfold beneath them as they navigate across the sky. Ed is a founder member of the BHPA registered Yorkshire Owls Paramotor Club in which he holds the Finance Officer post, and has recently been appointed as a club coach. He is also a new member of the Sir George Cayley Sailwing Club and is busy learning the intricacies of unpowered flight. An occasional competition pilot, Ed is also on the PPG Comps advisory panel. 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. 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. The following table lists BHPA fees that may be incurred by individual members from 1st April 2023.

Paragliding and Paramotoring

You'll make friends, go places and achieve things that you may have only dreamed about in the past. When you've become adept at ground handling, controlling airspeed and making gentle turns, you'll graduate to higher and longer flights, and be introduced to a limited amount of flying theory. This will usually be fitted in around your practical flying instruction, when the weather's not so good. Once you've completed the appropriate tasks and passed a very simple theory exam, you'll receive your Elementary Pilot award. This is the first step on the ladder of the BHPA Pilot Rating Scheme. It normally takes around ten days of flyable weather to train a would-be pilot to Club Pilot level, the minimum standard required to fly unsupervised with a recreational club. 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.

Most schools offer training in a wide range of flying disciplines, so it's important to understand the differences between the disciplines before choosing a school. BHPA Technical Manual - Superseded version (includes all amendments up to and including amendment 20) 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.

BHPA Members Documents

The BHPA supports a network of UK hang gliding and paragliding recreational clubs who are able to offer the supportive flying and social environment vital to the safe development of your flying skills, as you join other recreational flyers on the hill, and continue your progression through the BHPA Pilot Rating Scheme (PRS). Errors in the office computer system are few, but pilots can sometimes not get credited with a qualification, such as a tow endorsement, because they or the training establishment they attended have not advised the BHPA office of the qualification attained. There is no real upper age limit provided you are reasonably fit, but by law you must be at least 14 years old before you can attempt solo flight. BHPA schools will often set their own higher age limit, often around 16. Learning to fly a hang glider or paraglider can be great fun, and isn't as daunting as you might think, provided you receive professional instruction at a BHPA registered school. Various powered flight guides are available from online retailers, for example the Microlight Pilot’s Handbook (Cosgrove) Brett flys paragliders, hang gliders & paramotors, holds instructor and tandem licences for paragliding, with hill & tow qualifications, and is the CIVL rep for the UK.