In spring 2009 Axis UK will be running a series of “Mountain Masterclass” weeks for pilots who wish to develop their Alpine flying skills under the guidance of Axis UK team pilots.

Aimed at UK Pilot (or equivalent) rated pilots who already have some mountain XC flying experience, there will be three courses of a week’s duration each, starting with a week in the French Alps under the guidance of 2009 X-Alps competitor Tom Payne, and on his adopted home turf. Tom knows the area well and regularly flies 100km+ routes through the mountains.

The second week will be led by Zillertal guru Kelly Farina in the epic Mayrhofen valley, Austria; and the third by 2008 Spanish women’s champion Nicky Moss in Àger / Castejón De Sos, Spain.

“The focus will be on mountain cross country, including aerology, route planning and XC decision making,” Nicky said. “As the course progresses we will also practice competition flying skills.”

She added: “It’s aimed at pilots who have done at least one trip to the Alps already, and who are ready to up their skills in a supported, controlled way. We expect the standard to be fairly high - these are not learn-to-thermal weeks.”

Instead of staying in one location, the masterclass will be flexible enough to allow pilots to follow the weather, staying in hostels or budget hotels as the conditions of the day dictate. Weeks will be run on a non profit-making basis and costs will be split equally between the group.

Pilots do not need to fly an Axis glider to take part. Further details are online at www.axispara.co.uk/masterclass or phone +44 (0)5601 562 375 or email info@axispara.co.uk.

Furthering their speed range, which already includes the Bullet 09 and Bullet GT, Ozone have now added the XT16, for for foot launched speed flying.

A totally new design by Rob Whittal, the XT16 is large enough to easily and comfortably foot launch in no wind or high wind, and offers you the chance to miss a lot less airtime on windy weekends, or to experience the mountain in a whole new light as you carve and swoop its every contour. The XT16 lands slowly and easily and is for pilots of advanced-intermediate to expert ability.

www.flyozone.com

Newly certified LTF 1-2 / EN B is Nova’s Mentor in XXS size (18 m2), as an XC machine when flown in the 60 - 80 kg weight range, or LTF 2-3 / EN C for pilots up to 100 kg who want a fun machine to throw around or to jump off windy mountains with: Weighing only 5.2 kg makes it well suited to para-alpinism. (Nova mention that the only test it got EN C for was accelerated collapse).

Nova say that it displays great agility and direct handling, even with lower wing loadings, and invite you to visit www.nova-wings.com and see videos of the test flights.

New from Montana Vertical is the ultralight (350 g) Jump helmet. Designed to meet the needs of para-Alpinists, it has been EN certified for both skiing and paragliding use.

Because it has a clever adjustor, one size fits all (sizes 53 to 61). The helmet features a removable, washable anti-allergy band on the front, removable ear protectors and a removable ski mask retaining clip. It has a trendy, skatey look and comes in a choice of black, grey & white or snakeskin.

The Jump is in stock at Paratroc, who are based at Doussard, Annecy, France and can be bought online at: www.paratroc.com

Over the Easter weekend 2009, 11 - 13 April, there will be a gathering of paraglider pilots headed to Annecy for the first Free flight Exhibition there. There will be gliders available to test, a second-hand market, an art and artwork exhibition, bar-restaurant, animations and more.

The event is being organised by Doussard Parapente, the new club in Annecy.

www.annecy-parapente-expo.fr

Icaro and Fly-More got together to throw a party on 15 November in Flintsbach to celebrate a successful year, with Uli Strasser winning 2008’s DHV XC Contest (sport class) aboard his Icaro Maverick, and Xandi Meschuh taking 3rd place in the Acro World cup.

With excellent food and a suitable choice of drinks the party went on until half past five in the morning. Werner Schütz, who very nearly missed the 1st place in the sport class with his Maverick, organised a fantastic Caipirinha-bar.

A very interesting speech was presented by Uli Strasser about all his successful flights in this past year, backed by some amazing pictures which only begin to touch upon what he actually managed to achieve.

Icaro would like to congratulate their pilots who made the year, and the party, such a success!

www.icaro2000.com
www.icaro-wings.de
www.fly-more.com

Jim Mallinson and Chicco Patuzzi share two passions: paragliding and the religious culture of India. Together they combine them both in an aerial pilgrimage to the ancient temple of Himani Chamunda, the presiding goddess of the Kangra Valley.

Perched at 2,800 m on a rocky spur, all previous pilgrims have had to make an arduous trek to reach the temple. Jim and Chicco try to fly there, but the goddess isn’t easily conquered. Their skills, endurance, faith and commitment are tested to the limit.

One moment they’re climbing to cloudbase, the next culturally immersed in an adventure that encounters nomadic shepherds, yogis, lamas, policemen, priests and Griffin Vultures en-route to Himani Chamunda.

Jim and Chicco are uniquely qualified for their mission: Jim, a Sanskrit scholar by profession, is both a fluent Hindi speaker and a British team pilot, Chicco, a paragliding instructor, is one of the world’s foremost acrobatic pilots. Both have spent years living and travelling in India. The film has stunning aerial shots of the pair flying across the Himalayas and engaging footage of the various characters they meet in the high mountains.

Temples in the Clouds is an unusual and candid film of two friends on a personal journey through the greatest mountains in the world.

Buy your copy now at www.xcshop.com

If you’ve any interest in the growing art of paraglider acro, you should get a copy of this book, which has been described as the definitive guide.

This is a ground-breaking book. Written, photographed and produced by the German team of Gudrun Öchsl, Mike Küng, Alexander Meschuh and Michael Nesler, ‘Acrobatics’ is a 156 page visual extravaganza that tackles acro instruction head on.

Colourfully designed with inspirational images, Acrobatics gives you clear and concise instructions and takes you step-by-step through each manoeuvre using both written descriptions and motor driven photo sequences.

Starting with the basics like Wing-Overs and Full Stalls, the book progresses through every conceivable manoeuvre to the most difficult configurations like the MacTwist and Infinite Tumble. Once you’ve mastered those (!) you can move on to the sections on transitions – Helico to SAT, MacTwist to Helico etc. Theoretically, by the time you’ve finished Acrobatics you should have all the information you need to take the Rodriguez brothers on head-to-head at an acro comp - provided that is you’re an acro genius too. Acrobatics even discusses topics like training plans, sources of error, psychology, D-Bagging and your legal position as an acro pilot.

Acrobatics is a must for all budding acro pilots and anyone serious about understanding this exciting offshoot of free flight. That said, it should find a place on almost every pilot’s coffee table, if only so they can pass it round to visitors and say, “you want to see what they do with these things nowadays!”

Acrobatics covers the following manoeuvres in detail:

• Full Stall
• Full Front collapse
• Spiral Dive
• Wing Overs
• Spin
• 180 degree Backflash
• Back Flying
• Deep Stall
• SAT
• Asymmetric Spiral
• Looping
• Spin to Helico
• MacTwist
• Misty Flip
• Helicopter
• Tumbling
• SAT to Helico
• Helico to Helico
• Heilco to SAT
• MacTwist to Helico
• SAT to SAT
• Rhythmic SAT
• Infinite Tumbling
• Syncronised Acro
• Synroc Spiral
• SAT-Rodeo
• Helico-Rodeo
• The book is available now from www.xcshop.com, so order your copy now in time for Christmas!

Apco’s new beginner / intermediate wing, the Karma SP (for Sport) has been EN tested in the S and M sizes and attained a B rating (but with very few Bs in individual tests - mainly scoring As). XS and L sizes will follow, and all-up weights covered by the range will be 60 - 130 kg.

The Karma 2 has been designed as an addition to the range which starts with the still-current and popular DHV 1 Karma. The Karma SP is almost 1 kg lighter and has sharper handling and better performance than than the original. Lightweight Gelvenor fabric has been used, but double-coated in the famous Apco style to add longevity.

The wing is equally suited to paramotoring, and comes on request with purpose built risers with trimmers for motorised use.

www.apcoaviation.com

Planned for release in December 08, Skywalk’s new Arriba has achieved LTF 1-2 certification in sizes S and M. XS and L sizes are also in the pipeline, so takeoff weights of 55 - 120 kg are catered for by the wing.

Based upon the successful Tequila 2, and incorporating the aluminum-coated cloth from the Poison 2 aerofabríx[AL] 29, the Arriba has unsheathed competition lines as part of a hybrid line system and uses drag-optimised risers and Gin’s rigid foil system for an even lighter leading edge. Its performance figures reflect these technologies and Skywalk say the handling is direct and precise.

The small pack size and light weight (4kg) of the canopy mean Skywalk envisage it as being a popular choice for Alpine touring or travelling.

Wolf from the Renegades has this to say about it:

„Seldom has a glider met my tastes like the ARRIBA does. Everything is perfectly in sync, the low weight and awesome feeling to the glider, along with the performance and the way you can concentrate fully on flying, because the glider is so forgiving…I have to say, I could never really get pumped up about a 1-2 glider before, but the ARRIBA is really something else.”

The glider should be available for demo from all Skywalk outlets from January 2009.

For more info, see www.skywalk.info or mail info@skywalk.org