BHPA RAeC awards

In Argentina last November, Idris Birch, Martin Long, Russ Ogden, Seb Ospina and Theo Warden became the first British team to take Gold at a paragliding World Championships. This was achieved through hard work and dedication from every member, allied to brilliant leadership and planning by manager Jocky Sanderson. UK conditions are very different to the Alpine environments of top-level competitions, making it difficult for British pilots to practice without living abroad for at least part of the year. Nevertheless the team took 1st, 6th, 15th and 54th places in a 150- strong field, every member contributing to the overall score

Mike was Best Newcomer at the 2006 Paramotor Nationals, and the same year helped the British team win Bronze at the European Paramotor Championships. In 2007 he was on the team winning Silver at the World Championships in China. In 2010 he switched his attention to organisation; his level-headed approach was noted and in 2016 he was appointed Competition Director for World Championships at Popham, UK. A natural communicator, he has been training pilots for several years and is now CFI of the Ufly4fun school near Spalding. He is also Chief Coach of the British Bulldogs club at Wingland.

In difficult conditions more typical of the UK than the alpine environment more common at this level, Russ’s performance in winning the FAI World Paragliding Championship in November was outstanding. The esteem that other competitors, and his colleagues at Ozone, hold him in was evident at the goal field and on the podium. Away from competition Russ has patiently mentored BPRA pilots to become competitive at the highest level. A modest and unassuming star, he has time for everyone, happily sharing skills and knowledge that have kept him at the top of the FAI rankings for years.

Glenn started flying with the Scouts as a teenager in 1973. He later joined the Bollington club, taking over as CFI in 1991. Under his inspiring leadership the club embraced Scout paragliding and became strong supporters of Flyability. He has introduced generations of young people to parascending and trained hundreds in the art of accuracy flying. A regularly accuracy competitor, he also contributed massively to the annual Sky High event. In 2018 he was awarded the Scouts’ prestigious Silver Acorn Award. He is still seen regularly on the hills of North Wales and the North West of England

On July 27th last year Carl set out to break the UK defined hang glider triangle record after a long wait for the right weather, launching by aerotow from Defford after declaring a 142km route. The day was slow to develop, and at his second turnpoint it appeared to be spent. Remarkable flying and brave decisions over difficult terrain saw him complete the triangle with no height to spare. Carl is an active tug pilot at Defford and supports and coaches pilots at all levels. He now holds every single British Class 1 straight distance and triangle record.

Phil quit flying in 2008 after a long and distinguished career. He has since put in concerted effort supporting hang gliding competitions: Panel member, team manager at European and World level and BHPA representative at CIVL. He is perhaps best known as the ever-present scorer for BOS and the British Nationals, managing GPS downloads and ever ready with words of encouragement. For the last 25 years he has also done sterling work administering the National Hang Gliding XC League. Those at the competitive end of the sport are indebted to Phil’s cheerful devotion to making everything behind the scenes work so well.

Andrew’s career in parascending and paragliding accuracy began with the Scouts in the 1980s. Eight times British champion, and often on winning teams, he has competed in FAI events worldwide. He has won both Classic and Paragliding Accuracy Leagues and achieved Diamond awards in both disciplines. He is active on the BHPA Accuracy Panel, working to organise, administer and improve the sport, maintains the bhpa-accuracy.org website, and ensures a consistent flow of competition reports and technical articles to Skywings’ Dead Centre pages. Always present the night before and early on the morning of a competition, Andrew remains an utterly reliable stalwart of the accuracy scene.

Pete qualified as an instructor in 1991 and set up his own school on Southern sites in 1992. His calm and friendly attitude and his training trips and holidays abroad made Airsports Paragliding a great success. Over 30 years he has brought thousands of new people into the sport and he continues to run up and down Steyning Bowl to this day. Some of the many instructors he trained went on to start their own schools, pioneer new flying areas and compete internationally. His contribution to training new pilots to a high level of competence and safety has been huge.

Skywings is widely regarded as a fair, open-minded, inclusive and relevant publication, a view corroborated by the legion of members contributing high-quality articles and reviews. 2020 saw the magazine rise to the challenge of being one of the few tangible benefits of BHPA membership during the pandemic. Despite falling membership, little flying and diminishing advertising revenue, Joe worked hard to keep the magazine fresh and interesting. Skywings remains a crucial part of the glue holding our diverse association together; in continuing to inform, educate and entertain us he has played a major role in ensuring the BHPA is well placed to face an uncertain future.

In July 2018 Richard became the first person to fly a paraglider over 300km in the UK, taking the UK straight-line record to 306km and the goal record to 300.9km. He was in the air for over eight hours on a day that few others had even recognised as a potential record day. Having first claimed it over 30 years ago, Richard has set the UK record no less than nine times; he made the first UK 100km paraglider flight in 1994 and the first 200km flight in 2011. His planning and execution is an inspiration to all XC pilots.

At a time when hang gliding competitions struggle to find accessible reporting and positive publicity, Darren’s exuberant enthusiasm for the sport, evident from his YouTube videos produced at competitions, has drawn a growing fan base. Appreciated by everyone within the sport, Darren Brown Extreme Sports also conveys the context and excitement of hang gliding comps, enhanced by the widespread use of live tracking, to an entirely new audience. He has also expended considerable effort towards the organisation of UK and overseas competitions.

At 3.30am on July 8th 2019, James Du Pavey launched his paramotor at John O’Groats, intent on reaching Land’s End in record time. In the afternoon of the next day, despite encountering rain and massive headwinds, he reached his destination having covered 1,200km and spent 24 hours airborne out of a total of 36 en route. As well as 11 planned refuelling stops, he had to make three forced landings resulting from engine failures, the last one just 10km from Land’s End. His flight was made to raise money for the Stoke-on-Trent based Donna Louise Children’s Hospice

Originally a parachutist, Bill has been invaluable to BAPC and later BHPA safety teams. In 1987 his school developed new techniques of launching and soaring. He investigated serious accidents for the FSC and acted as Records Officer for both BAPC and BHPA, achieving recognition for British pilots. He helped construct and eventually led the EPS course to train parachute packers, and helped to establish the Big Fat Repack. These efforts brought improvement in the design and integration of parachute systems and greater awareness amongst pilots of packing, fitting and using them. He has also contributed innumerable paraglider reviews to Skywings.

Brian has been a key figure in the Sky Surfing club since 1980, holding treasurer, magazine editor, chairman and, for the last 20 years, sites and PR posts. He has built excellent relationships with landowners and local authorities, generating tremendous goodwill. A hang glider pilot himself, Brian fought for the club’s paraglider pilots from the outset. He promotes the sport to the local community and has facilitated on-air radio and TV interviews with club pilots. All this has been achieved with his trademark quiet professionalism. He has also been a senior coach for many years and is the club’s archivist.

Since 2010 Lorenzo has been at the forefront of organising British hang gliding competitions at home and abroad, and has represented the UK at CIVL conferences. He has also provided the accurate weather forecasts that are crucial for task-setting. As local organiser for the British Nationals abroad, his cool, calm manner in resolving issues has generated great respect. Recently his translation skills, and detailed knowledge of the area and the local authorities, proved invaluable in resolving a difficult issue following a serious incident at Laragne. Since stepping down as an organiser he still attends competitions as a competitor.

Chief Coach for the Lanarkshire and Lothian club for many years, David was instrumental in creating a new coaching ethos for the club and a mentoring scheme for new pilots. His professional career in nuclear reactor safety led him to envisage a more formal approach to guiding a pilot’s progress after training. Invited onto the FSC, David developed the Pilot Development Structure, a web application to steer pilots’ progress within the club environment and track their advance. He also helped instigate the Scottish Federation’s Ratho Repack, featuring a 150m zip-slide for pilots to test-deploy their parachutes in safety.

In 2011 Rebekah, a hang glider pilot and Met Office forecaster, was invited to the British Open to provide weather reports for the competition. Her forecasting skills, specifically targeted at the needs of hang gliding competitions, turned out to be unsurpassed. Her advice, to both organisers and pilots, is articulate, comprehensive and highly respected. No longer active as a pilot, Rebekah’s continued commitment attests to her character. Her ability to engage the complex mind of the competitive pilot is remarkable, and her assistance over the last eight years has contributed greatly to the BOS series and UK Nationals’ success.

John started hang gliding in the early 1980, opening his own Southdown School of Hang Gliding at Firle in 2003. Southdown is now one of the few schools in the country where hang gliding can be taken up. In so doing he has brought on several keen trainee instructors who have become invaluable to the sport.

John’s calm, unflappable manner has helped many hang-gliding students to engage with this difficult art. His invention of sliding tethers enabled even the most inept of students to have a taste of hang gliding in relative safety. Behind the laidback manner is a steely resolve; he often takes a stand in contradiction to established protocols and frequently turns out to be right. There are many pilots now achieving great things in the flying world who owe their success in part to John’s firm but enlightened teaching and his ‘safety first’ mantra.

Grant is a key member of the British Hang Gliding team representing Great Britain at the highest level in both World and European category 1 competitions.

Grant achieved his most significant result this year winning an individual Silver Medal in the 20th European Hang Gliding Championships in Macedonia and helping Great Britain to win a team Bronze. Grant’s Silver is the first individual GB medal since John Pendry’s Bronze in 1994. Grant flew consistently well throughout the competition achieving a top ten task result in four of the eight tasks and only missing individual gold by 155 points from a total of 6,871. His positive attitude and effective radio use helped the rest of the team to achieve good results with a total of three GB pilots finishing in the top ten for the first time since 1986. A few weeks later Grant was crowned 2018 British National Champion in Laragne, France. This was his fifth success in the National Championships

Grant has achieved outstanding results in British and World hang gliding competitions over the last 20 years, balancing his commitment to competitions with work and family life. This has often meant flying at weekends only where he can be seen out on the hill with his young family, often in less than ideal conditions, taking every opportunity to hone his flying skills.

In July 2018 Theo became FAI European Paragliding Champion at the age of 19. The competition at Montalegre, Portugal, had been contested by a very strong field. Three weeks later he became British Champion at the British Open at Krushevo, Macedonia.

In 2013 the minimum age for qualifying to fly a paraglider was reduced from 16 to 14. In April that year, four days after his 14th birthday, Theo began his training at Airways Airsports. By July he’d qualified on the winch, and the following month completed a hill conversion with Judy Leden MBE, former world women’s paragliding and hang gliding champion.

Completing his training in such a short space of time meant dedicating every flyable weekend. His determination to train on his own terms meant finding part-time employment — delivering papers and subsequently as a waiter — to repay his training. He also displayed a very high level of innate skill. Despite Judy’s advice to keep a low profile, by the end of his first full year of flying he was invited to become a Nova Team pilot. He was also awarded Best Newcomer by his local club.

Writing about his win in Portugal for Ozone, the manufacturer of paraglider that he flies, Theo commented: “Over the last five years so much has changed — from starting off in the Airways Airsports tow field as a 14-year-old with average school grades and questionable prospects, to taking part in a Category 1 comp and winning. I feel like paragliding has given me the opportunity to mature and grow in ways I previously thought weren’t possible."

Jack was 15 when he began formal paragliding training and bought a second-hand glider, having saved up by working in his spare time, getting a bus and lifts so that he could fly every day possible. He got his pilot rating at 15 and was taken onto the Nova Pilot’s team in the week of his 16th birthday.

He emailed hundreds of companies in pursuit of sponsorship. He was living on his own and managing his own risk. Later that year he developed a passion for acro flying. During a twomonth training trip to Organya in Spain filmmaker Ian Burton documented his progress over six days. Their film outlined Jack’s journey, recording on film his passion and dedication. Later he visited clubs up and down the country to talk about it.

In September Jack did his first acro display at the Coupe Icare in France. Two weeks later he had secured a place on the Ozone team and a Supported Athlete contract from Red Bull. He was not yet 18. The pace quickened in 2017 with extensive training, performances and international competitions. In 2018, he managed to combine acro training with his HNC course deadlines and final exam, then six competitions and two shows. He also drove thousands of miles, visited ten countries and gave several TV interviews, still training for ten hours a day when possible, achieving excellent results in the competitions and 98% in his HNC in Electronic Engineering!

Jack Pimblett shares his passion by giving talks, including at a local youth correctional facility and at the Kendal Mountain Festival, and he spreads positive awareness of aviation wherever he goes. He was 20 in October.

Ollie’s interest in aviation was sparked by his father’s hang gliding and microlighting. From there he built and flew model aircraft, winning a class in a national championship. He got his Dad to build gliders for his friends and then teach them how to fly them.

As soon as he could he learnt to fly hang gliders, gaining his BHPA rating in 2009 at the age of 19. Since then he has competed nationally and internationally and his list of competition results is too long to list here.

Starting work at Airways Airsports enabled him to broaden his horizons into paragliding, paramotoring and microlighting. While studying to become an aircraft technician he taught hang gliding and paragliding and took members of the public on Air Experience flights. In 2015 he began recording his daily vlogs which would prove immensely popular with flyers and non-flyers alike, offering an insight into the world of competitive hang gliding. He also set up the British Hangies Facebook group which now has 1400 members, again displaying his desire to encourage and educate others about the world of flying.

Having got a job at the Moyes factory in Australia 2018 has proved an outstanding year for hang gliding competition successes, with outstanding results in in Australia, New Zealand, Australia again, Macedonia, Italy, France, America and back to Australia again, where he upset the current Australian and World Champion Johnny Durand by winning the Canungra Classic. He also won the won the world’s longest-ever hang gliding competition task at 388km, appearing on UK breakfast television to speak about his achievement and further raise the profile of the sport.

Ollie is now probably the world’s most recognised British pilot, his name synonymous with that of hang gliding. His self-deprecating nature has made him a firm favourite on the competition circuit with competitors and spectators alike. He continues to be a brilliant ambassador for both the UK and the sport of hang gliding

Rod, an enthusiastic club hang glider pilot, brought his experience in aerial work and knowledge of electronics to the establishment of Wendy Windblows, a remote call-in weather centre which he designed and constructed in 1987. Starting with a single station at Bradwell Edge, it soon grew to embrace 15 weather stations around the UK, serving both the flying and sailing communities. It was a novel live data service that was way ahead of its time.

It continued for 30 years until 2018 by which time access to internet-based services and Rod’s ill health and age led to the decision to close it down (though the Bradwell Edge service remains open access to the free-flying community). For over 20 years Rod also performed the role of Radio Advisor to the BHPA, ensuring that the membership’s need for in-flight communications were met and remained on the right side of complex legislation.

In 1980 the British Association of Parascending Clubs (BAPC) established its first formal office. Jennie Burdett took on a part-time admin job to become its first real employee, working solo in a in a single, cold, room below a massage parlour. As the Association grew Jennie became full-time, managing volunteers who helped out with photocopying and filing.

She oversaw the growth of the association and the moves, first to a terraced house and then to an old schoolroom.

In 1990 came closer working arrangements with the British Hang Gliding Association (BHGA), who soon moved into the office with two of their own staff, and eventually merging to become the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (BHPA). Jennie skillfully navigated the transition. A final move, to new office premises wholly owned by the BHPA and the BGA, was accomplished in 2010, again overseen by Jennie.

In September 2018 she finally retired. Her talents had first been recognised 38 years before

The very first few home-built hang gliders were flown in around 1971. The first manufacturers set up in around 1972. The BHGA was formed in 1974. Simon was active as a pilot during that era.

He started trading in hang gliding kit, first using his connections with the rag trade and selling the Zoot flying suit and it is from his commercial activities that almost every hang glider and paraglider pilot in the country has come to know Simon. If you want something, Simon is one of your first ports of call. Not only was he a long time Hang Glider dealer, he saw where the popularity of Paragliding was taking the sport and became the UK dealer for Firebird, then a leading manufacturer of paragliders.

Simon has also been a central figure in his club, the Devon & Somerset Condors, for the best part of 40 years. He is also the club contact for the local aerotow club. Simon remains an active hang glider and paraglider pilot - one of the few old boy hangies still around and flying

In 2013 the Cambridge Aerotow Club’s chief coach and tug pilot retired due to ill health. Already prominent in the running of the club, Charlie stepped forward and set about obtaining his Senior Tow Coach licence. From that time onward he has been ever more deeply involved in holding the club together and building it back up from what had been very lean times.

In addition to sorting day-to-day flying arrangements, Charlie took the lead in setting up an East of England Aerotow Federation.

In 2015 Charlie started learning to fly microlights himself with a view to becoming a tug pilot, encouraging other club members to train. Now signed off as a fully-qualified tug pilot, he regularly gives up a day’s hang gliding to fly the tug.

Away from the flying field Charlie has managed the microlight airworthiness and airfield liaison also has also benefited from his steady hand. When the club thought running a large aerotow competition would be a good idea, Charlie organised them. The Cambridge Aerotow Competition has become accepted as the UK’s foremost aerotow gathering

 At the Icarus Cup competition at Sywell aerodrome in July 2018, Niall Paterson flew a figure-of-eight course in the Aerocycle 3 human-powered aircraft designed by John Edgley. In doing so he became the first person to complete this feat over British soil, and only the second pilot in history to ever achieve it. The first occasion had been 41 years earlier in California when Brian Allen flew Dr Paul MacCready’s Gossamer Condor to win the first Kremer Prize.

Niall was required to fly the machine with one hand while engaged in an Olympian workout, legs thrashing at full power and lungs bursting. He even had to deal with wake turbulence as he crossed his own path in the still air required for the attempt. Added height is needed to turn the aircraft due to its 22-metre wingspan, and this takes extra power from the pilot’s legs.

As Niall landed after completing the full figure-of-eight plus another half-lap, the crowd erupted into cheers. One emotional onlooker remarked that he had waited 60 years to see such a flight.

Donald MacKenzie is the chief tug pilot and driving lorce behind the Malvem Aerotow Club (MAC).

The group operated a Pagasus XL from Detford airfield which, whilst arguably the best available and allowable
machine, suffers from being an elderly design and a speed envelope that puts its slowest safe speed above the
optimum speed for a glider on the tow. Furthermore its modest climb rate limits its turn-round time and increases the time on tow.

Donald long felt that we could do better a but was faced with the lack of a viable commercially available alternative. The introduction of the SSDFl category held out the possibility of introducing a new design with significant safety improvements but the regulatory regime precluded the use of SSDFls for towing and so there was no incentive for a manufacturer to develop such a machine.

Starting in 2014 Donald set out to tackle both the design and regulatory obstacles. He inspired, drove the progress and personally funded the development of a wholly new design of tug with the help Ben Ashman, Paul Dewhurst and Aeros gliders At the same time Donald set on the daunting task of persuading the CAA to allow the use of the machine for towing.

Now in action for over a year with the blessing of the authorities the resultant tug ~the Foxcub- has been a triumph and transformed the operation of the MAC making towing safer for both tug pilot and HG pilot, more enjoyable and faster with its impressive performance combining a climb rate of over 1000FPM with a tow speed more suited to both flex and rigid wing HG operation.

Donald’s single handed determination opens up a new and better era of HG towing and it now looks as though other tow groups will follow suit with the Foxcub design which itself, through making the whole process less daunting, already appears to be reviving interest in towing generally and the the whole HG tow community owes a debt of thanks to Donald.
 

Mark Woodhams has been a respected pilot and leading figure in the UK hang gliding community for many years. By volunteering in 2010 to take charge of the Club Class competitions, which run alongside the main British HG Open Series, it was virtually guaranteed that this new Class would flourish.

The Club Class serves as a less intimidating introduction to competition than the main series and therefore requires more pilot support, which Mark has provided in his own unruffled, enthusiastic and amiable style. His personality and supportive approach is ideal for pilots new to competition and the
technicalities of accurately flying pre-set cross-country routes round virtual GPS turn-points.

Mark has become the face of the Club Class competition and he has almost single-handedly taken on the task of shepherding the Club class pilots from preparation well before the competition to providing them with support, advice, encouragement and some gentle chivvying on take-off. Of note is that Mark’s commitment to the cause does not stop on launch, he also arranges a full retrieve service and also drives the retrieve vehicle, thus providing a seamless and highly professional service throughout the day.

His presence on the hill, where he provides sage advice and encouragement, reassuring both for the Club Class pilots, Meet Director and competition organisers alike. With Mark‘s uncanny ability to be the right place at the right time, the Meet Director and Committee can concentrate on their own jobs in the knowledge that the Club Class and the less experienced pilots are in safe reliable hands.

On behalf of the competition panel and the Club Class pilots we would like to show our appreciation of Mark’s selfless commitment, over many years, by unreservedly nominating him for this award.

Giles is a serving HAF Logistics Officer He took up paragliding in 2009 and soon convened to paramotoring, In September 2014, using oxygen and sophisticated planning involving military and CAA cooperation to clear high-level controlled airspace. he set the UK paramotor altitude record at 13,305tt

In 2015, building on what had worked and what hadn't on the 2014 flight, Giles and his team aimed to go still higher. A new custom built oxygen system and a complex radio fit were employed, but the same Bailey Hornet engine from the earlier record was used, this time fitted with a custom climb propeller. An elaborate heated suit and numerous layers of high-performance clothing were required to ward off hypothermia

The target was 26,000ft, which would take around two hours of climbing in temperatures down to -40 degrees C. Medical coordination on the day included the facility to contact the staff of a hyperbaric chamber for advice in case of decompression sickness, Again extensive liaison with the CAA and Swanwlck Military controllers was sought and timed high-altitude slots arranged. A weather window finally presented itself and a decision was taken to make an attempt on October 3rd.

The checklist of FAI requirements to secure a record involved weigh-ins and data-logger verification and activation. After more than an hour of final preparation and careful checking, Giles launched with full fuel at a take-off weight of 129kg. He was escorted to just over 12.000ft by Paul Mahony (Sqn Ldr Retired) in a CTSW microlight, at which point it could no longer climb, Checking in with Swanwick Military ATC confirmed the clearance to continue the attempt.
 

On December 16th 2015, Sacha Dench touched down on her paramotor trike at Gloucestershire's Slimbridge Reserve, HQ of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT). Her landing brought to a close the Flight of the Swans odyssey, an epic of around 5,000km from Russia‘s arctic Pechora Delta region. Her flight was made to raise awareness of the predicament of the Bewick‘s Swan.

Sacha took up paragliding in Australia and converted to paramotoring about five years ago, having taken a dislike to hill soaring after a mid-air collision in the UK. Now working for the WWT, she became concerned at the plight of the Bewick's swan. Although officially protected in every country along its annual migration route from Siberia to the UK, the Bewick’s swan is in decline. In the last 20 years numbers have fallen by over 60%; not all the causes are understood but habitat loss, hunting, wind turbines and power lines are implicated.

Sacha's idea was to follow the route of the migrating birds, who leave northern Siberia in October and November to winter in coastal lowlands of northern Europe, including their long established second home at Slimbridge. En route the swans use wetland staging areas around Russia's Lake Onega and White Sea, and in Estonia.

Her three-month paramotor journey from northern Siberia covered 11 countries. Sacha was broadcasting her progress the whole way using a team of professional media production volunteers in her ground crew, and working with partners of different nationalities. By landing and staying in the communities over which the swans fly she succeeded in making them aware of the swans“ plight.

Two years of planning culminated in a reconnaissance trip in August to tag several swans with GPS trackers to keep tabs on the migrating birds. When the swans began to move Sacha got going too, assisted by a ZOO-strong team of volunteers. She left the Russian arctic on September 19th; by the time she arrived at Slimbridge she had flown over Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium,France and southern Britain.

There were few roads in the first 1,000km of her route over Arctic Russia and she had to fly without the large ground crew who attended later stages of her flight. A small team of pilots from different countries flew with her on successive stages of the flight. Having media professionals as part of her ground entourage enable Sacha to gain almost saturation newspaper and TV coverage in every country she flew over, which was of course her primary goal.

Early in the flight, while still in Russia, Sacha dislocated her knee while taking off. Russian paramotorist Alexander Bogdanov, a flying partner on the expedition, stepped in and sourced a paramotor trike which enabled Sacha to continue and complete the flight. On December 5th she left Saint lnglevert in France's Pas—de-Calais, crossed the English Channel and landed just north of Dover. In doing so she had become the first first female paramotor pilot to fly across Channel.

As well as leading the expedition, taking time out from her day job as WWT's head of media, Sacha‘s team included an Expedition Manager, a Flight Manager, a Team Mechanic and Engineer and a medic, plus cooks, weather forecasters, video and stills photographers and even a drone operator. As well as her paramotor flying partners Sacha was backed up in the air by British microlight pilot Rob Keene in the role of airborne search and rescue.

On the ground, Project Partners rose to the challenge and put on a range of events timed to coincide with Sacha's arrival at the location. The expedition got off to a strong start when Moscow State University's Zoological Museum hosted a launch event attended by eminent Russian ornithologists, British embassy staff and the BBC. This was followed by workshops, conservation meetings and conferences, demonstrations and even the development of a charter for paramotor pilots in the West Flemish wetlands. Schools engaged in letter—writing, lessons devoted to the swans and their habitats, art competitions, singing and community events. As result of this activity, assisted by Sacha's professional media crew, over 700 related articles were published in local and national newspapers and periodicals and around 1,000 mentions were made on TV and radio. The initiative provided connections with diverse groups that are important for swan conservation: politicians, schools, hunters, farmers, windfarm companies, conservationists, government officials, scientists and local communities, and all these will continue their efforts into the future.

As a symbol of humanity‘s triumph over adversity in the service of conservation Sacha‘s flight breaks new ground. In terms of the amount of enthusiastic volunteer support and sheer professionalism it dwarfs earlier efforts. As an effective tool for publicity to raise the profile of the Bewick's swan, and to reveal mankind's unwitting damage to the basis of their existence, it is unparalleled. And as a demonstration of sheer determination, flying solo on a tiny machine from above the arctic circle to the relative warmth of southern Britain, it has few equals.

Mark became BHGA Assistant Training Officer in 1986. In the 1990s he grappled bureaucracy to gain a legal framework for aerotowing, followed by CAA acceptance of paramotors. Later he helped achieve partial deregulation of powered flying with SSDRs, meanwhile developing the BHGA hang glider test rig into a state-of-the-art instrument. Mark contributed greatly to BHPA Pilot and Instructor training while pursuing paraglider equipment standards on the WG6 Committee, and his Pilot Handbook has sold over 12,000 copies worldwide. By the time of his retirement in 2016 Mark was almost entirely responsible for the technical and airworthiness side of UK free flying

On 10th August 2015 pilot Dave Shields was flying the second task of the British National Hanggliding Championships. The final leg of the course involved flying along the edge of a lake, with the goal landing close to the shoreline.

Dave found himself low and looking tor a place to land, however the shore at that point was crowded with people. Water landings are generally considered to be unsurvivable without immediate help. However to avoid hitting anybody Dave elected to land in a small inlet in what he thought to be shallow water that would allow him to stand‘ He flared hard and landed on the water in the centre of the inlet but the steep banks meant the water was too deep for him to stand up.

Dave tried to tread water and shouted for help, fortunately Tony Stephens and his wife loana were immediately on hand because Tony had landed a little earlier and they decided to go tor a swim together in the lake They immediately realised the seriousness of the situation because it was not possible to unclip Dave from the glider. which was on top of him, and his enclosed harness would make it impossible to swim anyway Tony and loana and were able to keep Dave afloat long enough for a number of local bystanders to join them in propelling the glider and pilot to the shore where he was able to stand up, lift the glider onto his shoulders, and walk out of the water unharmed.

As a result of their fortunate presence at the right time and right moment, their understanding of the seriousness of the situation and immediate reaction. Tony and loana Stephens undoubtedly saved the life of a fellow pilot and deserve proper recognition, this recognition was unfortunately delayed as the following day Dave Shields sadly suffered an unrelated accident with more serious life-changing consequences that overshadowed the events of the previous day, Combined with Tony and loana's modesty this led to their actions not being given the publicity they deserved and we wish to make up for this in recognising them properly now

Jocky Sanderson started flying paragliders in 1968, his first wing being a 9 cell Falhawk Athlete. which had been a 21st birthday present from his family, He had already been flying hang gliders for a couple of years, and, as a teenager was involved in leaching paddle sport at home and abroad, Jocky was. and still is, a keen climber.

Being self taught (there weren‘t many paragliding schools back in 1988), Jocky soon realised that there was a rising need Ior new pilots to be taught to paraglide safely, and before he was 22, he started his own school near Rossthwaile in the Lake District, the school was Eagle Quest (Jocky’s first fledgling flight had been from Eagle Crag, he says it was "interesting!“).

Due to his love of teaching paragliding, and in a quest for more knowledge and experience. Jocky started to compete internationally in 1990. becoming a regular member of the British team, alongside a host of other "legendary" pioneering paraglider pilots, Jocky was ranked third in the world in 1995.

In the early 90‘s Jocky had also become a test pilot in his quest for more knowledge and understanding, as well as to help sponsor his competition flying and, amongst others, Jocky tested for Gin, Nova, Firebird and AFNOR, the French equivalent of the British Standards Institute.

Jocky's experience as a kayak instructor. paragliding instructor, competition pilot and test pilot placed him perfectly to become one of the world’s first Simulation d'lncidents en Vol (SlV) instructors (SlV in English stands for ‘simulated incidents in flight',

As the 80's became the 90's, Jacky started teaching SlV skills to international groups at pilots in France, then in 91, he was the first to teach SIV in what is now the paragliding Mecca of OIu Deniz in Turkey, Over the years, Jocky has trained approximately 4,000 pilots in SIV skills, and is still running SlV courses for between 150/200 pilots a year in France. Turkey and Australia. There is no doubt that Jocky is one of the most experienced SlV instructor in the world and as long as he keeps teaching SIV, no one else can even get close to catching up,

In 1995 Jacky started his current BHPA paragliding school, Escape, where he teaches at all levels, from ab initio
students to tandem flying, through cross country courses around the world, competition ilying, Acro and, of course, SIV courses.

Alan Horsfield began supporting paragliding competitions in 1997. In that year he first volunteered his time to travel abroad to ensure the enjoyment and safety of pilots in British paragliding competitions. He began by becoming a marshal, finding suitable goal fields, laying out goal lines, taking camera films for development to check turnpoint cylinders had been correctly entered, looking after injured pilots, driving retrieve and assisting the meet director. During the last 19 years, Alan has given up his holidays to travel and support British competitions at home and abroad. On average, he has been a marshal at three competitions per year. For some years, he was the chief-marshal of the British Paragliding Nationals and the British Paragliding Cup. He has also been a marshal at the pre-world championships. In his capacity as chief-marshal, he mentored and supported other volunteer marshals, teaching his knowledge and skills to others. He has been the deputy meet director and team manager of the British Paragliding Team at the world championships. Alan's contribution to the smooth running of British paragliding competitions and to pilot safety in those competitions is immeasurable.

Alan also supports pilots at a more local level. He has been the chief coach at his local club for longer than anyone can remember. He is responsible for the coaching team and has organised and run lectures for pilots wishing to take their pilot rating for many years. He also organises many other lectures and events to encourage increased knowledge and pilot safety.

Jenny has been an outstanding Hang gliding competition Meet Director for a number of years, she was asked to undertake this role because of her good humour, commitment, ability and natural authority which has proven invaluable in the difficult task of keeping order and discipline in a rebellious crowd of competition pilots.

She is however being proposed for this award because she has, while being Meet Director of a British competition held overseas, now twice been put in the unfortunate position of having to use her specialist medical knowledge and organisational skills to deal with and direct the response to a serious accident and the aftermath of dealing with hospitals whilst abroad and coordinating the return of the injured pilot to the UK.  Furthermore in 2015 she flew out to Spain to for a week to organise the care and return of a pilot seriously injured in something of a freak accident during our British Nationals which were being run by a different Director.  Jenny made the most conspicuous contribution by being on site and having the experience in dealing with the care and management of such situations. Her efforts ensured the best achievable outcome of what was a very serious accident.

We wish to thank and congratulate Jenny for her actions in mitigating the consequences of what has been an unprecedented run of accidents and hope that in future her military training and personal qualities are only called on again to ensure the smooth running of gliding competitions.

John Lovell’s interest in aviation began early, flying model aircraft at age 8.  His first leap into the air, under a skydiving parachute was in 1971, and John then became one of the early pioneers of hang gliding in the UK, joining the National Hang Gliding Association in 1973.  He gained his fixed wing PPL in 1984, and began paragliding in 1986.  Immediately he became involved in giving safety lectures to trainee instructors, drawing on both his flying and professional Merchant Navy experience.  John soon became a paragliding Instructor and ran his own school for many years.

In 1989 John joined the Safety and Training Committee of the BAPC and served there until amalgamation with the BHGA in 1992, when he became a founder member of the BHPA’s Flying and Safety Committee, as head of the Accident Investigation and Analysis Panel.

In 2003 he became Chairman of the European Safety and Training Committee of the EHPU.  A notable achievement under John's Chairmanship was the successful introduction of a harmonised Europe-wide database to record accident and incident data and allow multinational analysis.

As well as overseeing accident investigations and reports, and managing the collation and analysis of both the BHPA and European data, John has been involved in all of the varied safety and educational activities of the FSC.  During 29 years of continuous service John has proved a steady and ultra-reliable pair of hands, and has contributed significantly to the safe development of the sports of hang gliding and paragliding.

Martin is qualified both as a medical doctor and a solicitor. Martin learned to fly hang gliders in 1996 and was formally elected to the BHPA Executive Council in 2000 to look after the insurance brief, a responsibility he continues to hold. He was elected Chairman of the Association from 2004 to 2012 and is the BHPA’s longest serving Chairman. His period of tenure has seen many challenges and changes in the Association and with Martin at the helm, a generally smooth passage has been completed. In 2012 he became Vice-Chairman, a position he still holds today.

In the early 1970s Noel read an article about the new activity of hang gliding, which began his love affair with unpowered flight that continues to this day. A former Chairman and Vice-President of the British Hang Gliding Association and Secretary of CIVL, the FAI Hang Gliding and Paragliding Commission, for many years he has been deeply involved in the organisation and governance of the sports of hang gliding and paragliding both nationally and internationally. Also a successful author, he has had books published on hang gliding, paragliding and paramotoring. He has also written many magazine articles on those subjects and his other enthusiasms which include ballooning. He was a founder member, staunch supporter and, for many years, chairman of the Dales Hang Gliding & Paragliding Club. Noel’s helpful attitude and enthusiasm on the hill are legendary: he has inspired a whole generation of new pilots

Tony and Rona had their first hang gliding lessons in 1979 in the Peak District. Three years later they discovered tow launching in Texas and both realised that towing was a great way to learn to hang glide. But in the UK a series of accidents had lead to a total ban on the towing of hang gliders, so they campaigned ruthlessly for towing, undertaking road shows throughout the UK. Having successfully demonstrated that towing could be safe, in 1985 they founded their hang gliding school, Lejair.It is estimated that they have completed something in excess of 50,000 tow launches. With tow launching established, they turned their attention to aerotowing of hang gliders by microlights, which was also illegal under UK law. Yet again Tony and Rona set about obtaining the skills, establishing the procedures and then legalising aerotowing in the UK

D Matthews, T Stephens, G & K Rigg, G Crossingham, G Wirdnam, C Wallbank, B Philpott, S Gale

Johnny Carr was one of the early participants sport of Hang Gliding in the 1970’s and has been one of the UK’s leading pilots competing and setting records for 4 decades. In 1975 he broke the British endurance record for prone flight on a Hiway 260 at Rhossili. 

He has been a pioneer involved in many new developments in Hang Gliding and class 2 gliders in particular. He was one of the original members of the British league in 1977 when he came second in the very first British National League competition. 

He has since represented the UK in many international competitions and in 2012 led the British class 1 cross country league and was ranked in the top 10 in the British open series. In May 2012, he set a new UK Class 1 out and return record of 108 Km from his home site at Devils Dyke. 

Johnny continues to be an active and widely respected competitor at all levels of UK Hang Gliding competition.

 

John Aldridge, a retired army officer, started flying hang gliders in 1984 and went on to fly paragliders at the start of the new millennium. He came to prominence in the free flying world when he became meet director of the British Hang Gliding League in 1995 and continued to give freely of his time and talents to organise and run both the British Nationals and British Open Series competitions for the next 13 years.

John served on the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Executive Board as Competition Director from 1996 to 2011. He was the UK delegate to CIVL for 12 years, head of its Sporting Code Sub-committee for 8 years and the CIVL representative on CASI. John was elected as Vice President of CIVL in 2002 and rose to President at the plenary meeting in 2010. He has served as steward to the jury at many FAI World and European Championships in both disciplines of Hang Gliding and Paragliding since 2000 and was also a council member of the Royal Aero Club from 2005 to 2011. John was awarded the BHPA Presidents Trophy in 2011 for conspicuous service to the sport.

In recognition of John’s years of self-less service to the administration of national and international hang gliding and paragliding, he was appointed as an FAI Companion of Honour at the 2012 FAI General Conference.                     

Richard Bungay, John Stevenson, Matthew Church, Richard Westgate for Devising and running the paragliding XC League

Dave Bluett has been involved in Hang Gliding for well over 25 years, initially as a pilot and competitor in the UK National Hang Gliding Championships. When he retired from competition, he became a volunteer on the BHGA and BHPA Hang Gliding Competitions Panel for 20 years. Throughout he has acted as the scorer both at home and abroad. In the early years this was a complex task checking film negatives while struggling to meet deadlines, but modern technology has made it easier and facilitated feedback for coaching. His efforts have helped hone the skills of many pilots and been the foundation for British success at international level.

Bob Dunthorn's hang gliding career began mid 1970s and he served the Aberdeen Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club since its earliest days. He has been Sites Officer for working tirelessly to obtain and retain sites. As Chief Coach, he assists new pilots to develop their skills. He competed internationally for many years and is also a glider pilot at the Aboyne Gliding Club. What makes Bob, 61, really stand out is that he keep up his enthusiasm, dedication and spontaneity, in spite of the Aberdonian weather which makes flying only possible occasionally.

On 19 September, 2009, David Hempleman-Adams broke two world balloon records for duration in a tiny AA-01 class gas balloon. He flew from Butler, Missouri, to Cherokee, Oklahoma in fourteen hours and fifteen minutes. David spent two years preparing for this audacious solo flight, choosing a lightweight envelope, tiny basket, top of the range instruments, the best launch site and losing 20 lbs in weight. He travelled over prairies at 22 knots, just 500 feet above the trees, avoiding tall radio masts, wind turbines, turbulence and finding it a cold night in just a T-shirt!

Paul Dancey is an instructor and Chairman of the South East Wales Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club, which he administers almost single-handedly. Paul had the vision, drive and expertise to successfully bid for the Blorenge mountain launch point near Abergavenny, for his club in 1998, converting it to a limited company to facilitate the transaction. Paul was an enthusiastic member on the BHPA Executive Council, becoming Director of Corporate Communications. He has supervised the production of the BHPA magazine, Skywings, for over ten years, runs the BHPA website, its online shop and manages corporate email accounts. Paul revived the old Welsh Hang Gliding Federation and found himself elected as Secretary, now sitting on an impressive range of Welsh sporting, recreational and environmental committees

Mark Dann became a pioneer of the fledgling sport of paragliding in 1987. By the early 90's he was competing in worldwide competitions, becoming an Instructor in 1992 and a Dual Paragliding Pilot and Senior Instructor in 1994. Mark started his own paragliding and paramotoring school, Beyond Extreme, in 1998 with the help of the Prince's Trust. Mark has trained thousands of students and given hundreds of people from all backgrounds the unforgettable thrill of a tandem paragliding flight. Mark is a member of the British Accuracy Team and led the first British paragliding expedition to Aconcagua in 2008.

Jack Harrison is well known as Weatherjack. He flew with the RAF and then as an airline pilot for over 40 years, retiring in 1998 with over 18,000 hours. He started gliding in 1955 and has three diamonds. For seven years, he has provided specially tailored daily weather forecasts for glider and hang-glider pilots on his Weatherjack website, and also provided localised forecasts for competition organisers. As new technology is overtaking the need for such a service, he is now retiring. He has produced a series of articles to help make the most of the latest weather forecasting information.

Graham Phipps started Hang Gliding instructing over twenty years ago in Cornwall. He has made a big contribution to the development of hang gliding in the South West. He now includes training utilising towing, which has made tuition more available and controlled, and he also provides paragliding tuition. This has broadened access for the less physically able and for all ages. His school operates with low numbers to ensure good progress. He has had notable success in producing pilots who stay in the sport. and he continues coaching ex-students after their formal training. He flies at top competition level as a member of the British Hang Gliding Team.

Trevor Birkbeck has been a hang glider pilot for over 30 years. This has included competing in the nationals and at international level. He soon joined the Competitions Panel, becoming its head for 10 years, and responsible for selection, management and funding of international teams for European and World championships. He has been the popular and respected Chairman of the Dales Club for 25 years, particularly establishing good relationships with local landowners

Steve Uzochukwu has been an active hang glider pilot for 17 years and is a club coach. He developed an interest in technical issues This has led on to him becoming a frequent contributor to Skywings magazine with a variety of informative articles on hang gliding and paragliding topics, including flight tests and an explanation of the new CEN certification scheme.

Mark Shaw began paragliding in 1990 and trained as an instructor in 1996. After further experience overseas, he qualified as a Senior Instructor in 2002. He became CFI of the new Peak Airsports in early 2003, training 30 students a year, and concentrating on high-quality training in small groups. He was seriously injured flying in the Alps in 2004, but has recovered to fly again and continues to run the school full time. His former students can be readily identified by their exemplary technique and safet

Harriet Pottinger became involved in hang gliding in 1994 when she edited a newsletter for pilots in exchange for lessons. By 1996 she won most of the competitions at her club in Devon and also joined its committee. She also took up paragliding in 1998 and is a talented pilot in both disciplines. She was elected to the BHPA Executive Council in 1997, and became Chairman of its Board of Directors in 1999, where she has served until her recent retirement. She will be remembered for her close grasp of all areas of the association's activities, and her organising skills, commitment and tireless work for BHPA.

Andy Shaw first competed in the parascending National Championships in 1980, and has won the Under-18 and Army Championships. Subsequently he has rarely been outside the top three in the UK Nationals, and has won the individual title five times. He has captained the Green Dragons to six team Championship victories. He was squad coach and team member winning Gold at the World Accuracy Championships in 2000 and Silver in 2003, and World Number One ranking in 2004. He became CFI of the Green Dragons Club, which he developed into one of the leading paragliding and hang gliding clubs in Britain, introducing thousands of people to the sport. He has developed a training course for paraglider instructors and club managers. Since 2001 he has been an EC member of the BHPA, where he has been working to develop youth participation.

Steve Elkins is a hang glider pilot who has been a member of the British team for nearly 20 years, flying hang gliders made by his own Company in Britain. In 1988, he bought the rights to the Clubman basic design and set up Avian Ltd to manufacture them. This evolved into the Elan and Armour models. Later designs included the Cheetah which pioneered carbon-fibre spar technology. Avian is now the only hang glider manufacturer in the UK. In January 2005, he will again be flying an aircraft of his own design and manufacture at the World Championships.

Andy Cowley started parascending in the 1960s, rapidly becoming an instructor and a top competitor. In 1977 he collaborated with John Harbutt to produce the first ram-air canopy, which gave a big improvement in performance, and they started the Harley company to make them. This led on to a career in design and development of parachutes. He was the national Accuracy Champion three times and won Gold at the first World Championships. He gained Silver in the first European Paragliding Championships flying a glider which he designed and built himself. since retiring from active competition nearly twenty years ago, he has been involved in judging and formulating rules and competition standards. He serves on the FAI CIVL Commission and will be Jury President at the next World Championships. He has served on the BHPA Safety and Training committee for 24 years and is Chairman of the Examiners Panel.

Reggie Spooner became involved with hang gliding in its earliest days in 1972. Using his professional knowledge, he set up the specialist Airsports Insurance Bureau. When the BHGA was set up in 1974, he was one of the first Council members, later becoming Chairman and then a Vice-President. When the BHGA merged to form the BHPA in 1992, he retired from the Council. He gave the AIB to the BHPA, since when it has contributed £30,000 to BHPA funds. He also set up a £30,000 trust fund for the development of hang gliding. The Trust provided the catalyst for the South Wales club to raise funds and purchase a 1000-acre site at Blorenge, and has since been instrumental in the purchase of two other sites.

Skywings is the house-magazine of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association. Joe Schofield took over as Editor in December 1992 and was joined three months later by Colin Fargher as Designer - both are also experienced hang-glider pilots. They initially worked to an established format, but in 1998 they launched a major new image for the magazine, and have continued to evolve its style to keep it fresh, lately moving to full colour.

Yvonne Jukes ran the Airsports Insurance Bureau for Reggie Spooner when he set it up in 1976. It was initially to provide specialist cover for Hang Gliding but expanded to include coverage for several other air sports. Reggie Spooner gave the AIB to the BHGA when he retired in 1992, and it has continued to be managed very successfully and profitably by Yvonne. She has become renowned for arranging special cover at short notice and for arranging help for her customers who have had accidents abroad.

Phil Chettleburgh has, for 20 years, been the most successful UK exponent of winch-launched hang-gliding and flat-land cross-country flying. He single-handedly managed the UK National Cross-country League for six years. Though now retired from this, he is still actively flying and made the longest winch-launched UK cross-country flight of 2003.

Gordon Rigg started flying hang gliders in 1984, and in 1987 took part in his first UK Championships. In 1989 he set a UK distance record of 152 miles, which stood for ten years. He has won the UK Championships five times since 1996, fighting his way back to the title after a serious back injury. He has been a member of the UK Team since 1996, including serving as Captain, and has won several team medals. He has been active in Coaching both at his local Club and for upcoming competition pilots. He has served on the hang gliding competitions panel for many years, and has contributed articles on the competition scene to every issue of the BHPA magazine for eight years.

Jim Bowyer has been hang gliding since the earliest days of the sport in Britain. For many years he was a test pilot with Hiway and then became CFI of the Joint Forces Hang Gliding Centre. He was Meet Director of the National Hang Gliding Championships for many years. He was elected to the Executive Council of the BHPA, and took responsibility for all UK competitions. Since 1993 he has been a UK Delegate and Treasurer of the FAI CIVL Commission.

Kathleen Rigg started hang-gliding in 1986 and has been the UK women's champion seven times. She is the current European Women's Champion and won a Gold Medal at the 2001 World Air Games in Spain. She has been very active as a coach and competition organiser. She has served on the BHPA competitions panel for many years, and has been UK team manager at recent competitions as well as competing.

Johnny Carr started hang gliding in 1972, in the early days of the sport. He is the only person to have competed in the National Hang Gliding League every year since its inception in 1976. He has been British Champion on several occasions from 1981 to 2002 and a medal winner in international and World Championships. He has been on the BHGA & BHPA competitions committee since its inception and is Life President of the Southern HG Club.

The team of eight, led by Derek Godfrey, achieved first place in the first Paragliding Accuracy World Championships held at Middle Wallop in August 2000. This was the first time a FAI-CIVL World Championships had been hosted in the UK and most of the team, as well as competing, played a major role in organising the event

Howard Travers has played a major role in achieving recognition of Paragliding as a sport. He became PRO for the BHPA Competitions committee in 1992 and has been a regular contributor to Skywings magazine. He has organised many Paragliding competitions and attracted commercial sponsorship. He has recently retired after several years as the UK delegate to the FAI-CIVL, which he succeeded in getting renamed as the Hang Gliding and Paragliding Commission.

Marc Asquith joined the South Wales Hang-gliding club while a student in 1977. He became a Committee Member of the Swansea HGC in 1986 and soon progressed to a Council Member of the BHGA. He played a major role in the successful merger of the Hang Gliding and Paragliding Associations. He has been Chairman of the BHPA for five years until his retirement in 1999, and is continuing as their Insurance Officer. He is a Trustee of the BHPA Flyability Charity and of the RAeC Trust.

Tom Beardsley started parascending in 1974, rapidly becoming the CFI of his club. He became the Safety and Development officer of the BAPC in 1984, with a wide range of responsibilities, including liaison with equipment suppliers, attending Inquests, organising competitions and running Instructor training courses. He played a leading role in planning the merger of the BAPC with the BHGA to form the BHPA in 1992. He continued to support the expanded Flight Safety Committee and several specialist committees, and to maintain the Technical Manual. He recently retired from full-time involvement, and will be remembered for his commitment and dedication to the sport.

David Wootton learned paragliding in 1988. He has taken a lead in promoting hang gliding and paragliding in the media. He has provided high quality photographs to newspapers and magazines, and has had articles published in over 40 magazines in the last two years. He has an increasing involvement in television programmes, recently including ITV's Don't Try This At Home, C4's Scrapheap, and BBC's Essential Guide To Weather, while full half-hour features are under negotiation. He was responsible for a virtual hang-gliding simulator which has been a very popular feature at several exhibitions.

Richard started paragliding in 1989. As well as becoming a Club coach, he was soon elected as BAPC national treasurer. He managed the merger with the British Hang Gliding Association to form the BHPA, and was responsible for setting up the new operating company. He has recently retired as treasurer, having overseen a ten-fold growth and leaving a very healthy organisation with an annual turnover of nearly £1M.

Mark Woodhams built and taught himself to fly a hang glider in 1972. He was elected to the BHGA council when it was formed in 1974, He subsequently became Chairman of the Southern Hang Gliding Club, which is the largest in the UK. Since its inception, he has been Chairman of the BHPA committee overseeing the production of Skyways magazine, which has grown to be the world's leader in its field. He was responsible for designing the logos of the BHGA and the International Hang-gliding Standards Organisation.

Bruce Goldsmith heads the team responsible for the series of designs which led up to the Airwave XMX paraglider, equipped with the wing-flex system. This won the FAI World Paragliding Championships in Spain. This win was the rare combination of a British pilot flying a British-designed glider manufactured by a British company.

Hugh Miller won both the first FAI World Air Games Paragliding event in Turkey and the British Paragliding Championship, and contributed to the British team's silver medal win at the 1997 Paragliding World Championship in Spain. He is the youngest-ever winner of the National Championships

Walter Neumark served paragliding for over thirty years. He advocated soaring with foot-launched ultra-light back-pack gliders in 1953. He was the pioneer of paragliding, the founder of the sport's national governing body and a tireless worker within the RAeC and the FAI. His originality, foresight and commitment have helped to bring the joy of soaring flight to tens of thousands.

John Pendry has been at the top of air-sport since 1985. Firstly in hang gliding, in which he has won more competitions than any other individual. Then later in paragliding where he won both the World Paragliding Championships and the paragliding World Cup in Spain in 1997.

Tom Hardie was the BHGA's airspace officer and was elected Chairman in 1991. His tireless devotion played a large part in the successful amalgamation of the BHGA and the BAPC in 1992, forming the British Hang-Gliding and Paragliding Association, of which he was the first Chairman. His enthusiastic work with NATMAC and the GAWG protects members freedom to fly.

Michael Carnet has made extraordinary contributions to British paragliding as a pilot, Chief Flying Instructor, record breaker, team captain, team leader and master tactician in three World Championships, and Chairman of the BAPC/BHPA PC Competitions Committee.

Bob Harrison has worked talentedly and tirelessly for British hang gliding over 15 years. As full-time Training Officer he has played a key role in the development of the sport in Britain and later assumed responsibility for much of the general running of BHGA and of the BAPC after amalgamation.

Judy Leden won the Women's World Champion title at the 1995 FAI Open Paragliding World Championships in Kyusha, Japan and contributed to the Silver Medal gained by the British Team.

for winning six team gold and two silver medals plus five individual gold medals in international championships during the year.

who was a pioneer of hang gliding and first secretary of the BHGA.