Arne Kristian Boiesen and Daniel Bjørkås push the limits to a new dimension in Norway, and Thomas Koster makes two flights of over 250 km. On July 3rd the Norwegian (and Scandinavian) XC record was well and truly shattered. Arne Kristian Boiesen (OMEGA 7) and Daniel Bjørkås (Boomerang 5) flew from Trysil near the Swedish border respectively 210 km as far as Skjåk (Arne), and 235.6 km to Bjorli (Daniel) in about 7 hours. This new paraglider record exceeds the current delta figure by 30 km, and is 80 km farther than the Frode Halse’s previous record (OMEGA 7).

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So a few days ago, one of the guys who came into the shop was chatting to me about various aspects of kiting, what the kites are for, and where they’re used etc… When I started chatting about how my friend and I use our little Imp Trainers to ride secluded urban spots on long boards when this guy mentioned a new major bypass road that was being built locally. The ball rolls from here… Later that day I picked up my friend, Jimbo, stuffed the kites and boards into the back of the bus and checked out this new spot. After being informed that this new road didn’t have any lamp-posts on it yet we were keen, but on arrival we spotted a large metal fence and lamp posts all over. Just another challenge eh!

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The Bulgarian pilot Orlin DIMOV won the competition, followed by the Greek pilot Slawomir Matras, both flying their OMEGA protos, the 3rd one is Yassen Savov flying a Macpara. 150 contestant pilots and equally more ‘Fun’ pilots from all Balkan and other countries, were present at the Aioleia 2008 competition, organized by the Aiolos air-sports club. The weather conditions were almost perfect, that allowed for a total of 3 competition days. One day was cancelled due to stormy weather, while the pilots were flying for 85 minutes. The racing days gave strong thermals and high cloud bases as a result a fast race, with more than 45% of the pilots to reach the Goal.

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The twelfth Spanish Paramotor Championship took place from 22 to 25 May in Lebrija in Sevilla area and welcomed pilots from the whole country. In the PF category (foot launch) it is the actual world champion Ramon Morillas who won with his EPSILON 5 and PAP Top 80 engine. Thus Ramon received his eighth title of Spanish Paramotor Champion. He is followed in the general ranking by Juan José Garcia and César Maldonado. Despite a rough weather, several tasks have been flewn during 3 days, with 2 types of flights : on the ground and in the air. In the first type of tasks the pilots had to show precision and dexterity in courses with turn points. In the second type of tasks, called “in the air”, there was navigation, distance and duration.

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Initial feedback from customers on the Sport4 has exceeded all our expectations and demand has been so high that we were getting backordered over 200 gliders at the worst point. o fulfill the demand on our new Intermediate glider we had to boost production capacities in a big scale. This is now running great and large numbers of gliders are arriving twice a week. Delivery times are coming down! Get your new SPORT 4 now – it is truly a great glider!

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Airwave is proud to announce the release of the all new Magic 5. It has just passed the certification and has received EN D as well as LTF2/3. The test pilots reported that it was hard to find any D’s for the glider and on the full speed asymmetric collapse the glider received a C, which is quite exceptional for such a fast wing. The Magic 5 is fast. During the certification they measured a top speed of 57km/h at the top weight on the Magic 5 Large. The actual speed measurements at top weight on the Large were stall speed = 27km/h, trim speed = 39km/h and top speed of 57km/h.

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At 35 Andrew Holly was the youngest in the group of 21 balloonists and adventurers to receive the Freedom in a private ceremony held at the Guildhall in London on Thursday 29th May 2008. The award has been granted in recognition of the contributions made to the sport. The road to Freedom for Andrew began in 1999 when faced with the prospect of unemployment he started his first company - Exclusive Ballooning. Exclusive Ballooning quickly emerged as a major player in the field of aerial marketing and today is the UK’s leading aerial marketing company operating balloons over five continents. Exclusive Ballooning boosts an ever growing client base including international brands Sloggi and Triumph, and more recently Barclays Bank. TV Celebrity Chef Gordon Ramsay has contracted Exclusive Ballooning to advertise his new book, and one of Cameron Mackintosh’s West End shows will soon be flying high over the UK and Europe.

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Chilliwack, BC: The Murphy Renegade, the agile and predictable biplane designed by Darryl Murphy and built by over 800 customers of Murphy Aircraft, is up for sale. “It’s the first [commercial] airplane I did”, said Darryl Murphy, “and I still consider it one of the best-flying, and it is still the most fun to fly.” The Renegade can be built as a single-place or two-place, tandem machine with engines from the two-stroke Rotax 447, 503, and 582 through four-strokes like the 80hp Rotax 912, the 100hp 912S, and the 110hp Rotech 2800 radial. Structure is aluminum tubing and fabric, for a light, strong design. “I like it because it’s easy to make a light, strong truss, and that’s basically what a biplane is,” said Murphy.

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June 4, 2008 — After a disappointing “wind-out” that grounded pilots on Saturday, Kirby Chambliss, EAA 261512, of Flying Crown Ranch, Arizona, scored a thrilling first-place finish during the Red Bull Air Races’ first visit to Detroit, Michigan/Windsor, Ontario, Canada last weekend. A crowd estimated at 750,000 turned out to watch the high-performance flying and aerobatic competition from both sides of the Detroit River. Saturday’s scheduled qualifying races for the 12 competitors had to be canceled due to sustained high winds. The race’s ground crews, dubbed the “Air Gators,” struggled to inflate the fifteen inflatable, high-tech fabric race pylons mounted on barges moored in the river. At one point, a gust that peaked at 59 mph was clocked just prior to the toppling of one of the 65-foot-tall pylons.

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The SIGMA 7 is the top-performing intermediate which makes XC pilots’ hearts beat faster. The distance easily flies by with this cross-country glider, because never before could so much performance be so impressively mastered. The SIGMA 7 has direct and pleasant handling with low brake loads. This provides precise turn entry, makes progressive radius adjustment possible at all bank angles, and gives you effortless flying. The balance of profile and twist give the required thermal bite. A well-defined max-lift point on the wing profile and optimal internal pressure characterise the SIGMA 7.

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The SIGMA 7 is the top-performing intermediate which makes XC pilots’ hearts beat faster. The distance easily flies by with this cross-country glider, because never before could so much performance be so impressively mastered. The SIGMA 7 has direct and pleasant handling with low brake loads. This provides precise turn entry, makes progressive radius adjustment possible at all bank angles, and gives you effortless flying. The balance of profile and twist give the required thermal bite. A well-defined max-lift point on the wing profile and optimal internal pressure characterise the SIGMA 7.

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One of the major appointments for paragliding lovers in Spain, the International Air Festival (FIA), will be back on July 3 to 6 at the foot of the emblematic mountain of El Yelmo in the Sierra of Segura, province of Jaen. Like in its previous editions, this great celebration of the aerial sports and activities developed in the air will have plenty of spectacles, by outstanding acrobats and flying teams of first level. Some of the highlights of the program are the paramotor night show of lights and fantasy by Paraddax (also known as “European Paramotor Team”); the return of the paragliding acro team SAT, formed by world champions of this discipline who perform the most radical manoeuvres; the Red Bull BASE jump team and the squad of parachutists of the Army, or the acrobatic airplanes of the RACE (Royal Air Club of Spain) carving the sky at full speed.

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South Woodstock, CONNECTICUT / May 30, 2008 — The Aero Club of New England honored decades of worthy accomplishment by Tom Peghiny, a lifetime resident of Massachusetts and Connecticut. The award recognizes those individuals from New England who made substantial contributions to aviation. The Aero Club of New England is the oldest aeronautical club in the United States and the Americas, and is the second oldest such organization in the world. To participants in the Light-Sport Aircraft community, Tom Peghiny is already a recognized name. As president of Flight Design USA, the importer of the Flight Design CT line of aircraft has achieved and maintained market leading status since the first Special Light-Sport Aircraft were approved in April of 2005. Peghiny also chaired the ASTM Airplane Committee during its benchmark creation of industry consensus standards covering the majority of LSA being sold.

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May 30, 2008 (Redmond, OR) - X-Air announced today that they received the ASTM consensus standard acceptance from the Seattle MIDO for Special Light Sport Aircraft (SLSA). “We are excited about completing the requirements for the ASTM consensus standard and receiving FAA acceptance,” stated X-Air’s David McRae. “Not to be overlooked in what we have accomplished, is the direct involvement that the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association had with us on the finalization of our program. We are grateful for the representation and professionalism that LAMA brings to the industry.”

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May 29, 2008 — EAA’s video series Hints for Homebuilders has been an enormous success among EAA members. Since being introduced back in March, they’ve totaled more than 100,000 views! The series, which features tips for composite, tube and fabric, sheet metal, and wood construction methods, now includes 20 episodes with more “Hints” added each week. EAA members are also getting involved by submitting their own helpful homebuilding tips. Feedback from the membership has been tremendous. “This is a very strong indicator that EAA cares about its base constituency-homebuilders,” said Oscar Zuniga (EAA 237232) of EAA Chapter 35 in San Antonio, Texas. “Not only are all the tips simple and useful, they are presented well by individuals with the heart and experience to demonstrate them.”

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May 22, 2008 — This week marks the official launch of the complete EAA Sport Aviation online archive (1953-2006), a new benefit available exclusively for EAA members. Now you have access to more than 50 years of history, knowledge and information contained in 59,000-plus pages of EAA’s flagship publication! Not only will the online archive provide endless hours of entertaining and educational reading, it also provides a helpful content resource for EAA chapter newsletter editors. You can search for particular magazine content by keyword, year, month, author, and article title. Or simply get an entire issue by clicking “Browse.” If you know which issue contains a particular article you’re looking for, navigate to the issue year, click on the cover image, and presto! - generate a list of that issue’s contents.

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Hans Bausenwein has been working in the hang gliding and paragliding world since a long time and is well known by many pilots because of his business activities as well as his sportive achievements. These are his personal goals and hobbies: Even after many years flying Hans is still enthusiastic about every single minute he spends in the air. After a long time in the German Hang Gliding National Team he came back to competition flying on paragliders a few years ago.

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Echterdingen, GERMANY / 8 April 2008 — Flight Design is serious about quality. The company conducts internal audits as required by ASTM standards that govern certification of Light-Sport Aircraft. Flight Design has obtained the German LTF-BfU seal of approval. The company has been through independent audits from the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association (LAMA). And most recently, Flight design successfully completed ISO 9001-2000 certification. “The principal company philosophy of Flight Design is to achieve complete customer satisfaction,” said CEO Matthias Betsch. “To improve quality and processes Flight Design has first participated successfully an LAMA audit in 2007. To further improve systems in 2008, Flight Design went through the ISO 9001-2000 certification process.”

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EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH, Wis. - (April 8, 2008) - The EAA Aircraft Insurance Plan, which already serves thousands of aircraft owners throughout the United States, is now available to even more owners. For the first time, powered parachute and weight-shift trike owners and pilots can obtain extensive liability and aircraft hull coverage through a U.S.-based aviation insurance company. The expanded insurance offering, announced today at the Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In at Lakeland, Fla., encompasses a large number of powered parachutes and trikes within the Experimental/Amateur-Built, Special Light-Sport and Experimental Light-Sport aircraft categories. It is available for EAA members from student pilots to airline transport pilots, as well as dual flight instruction.

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Three times PWC winner Chrigel has already proved, many times, that he doesn’t only fly straight. He’s just accomplished a very special flight in the shadow of the Berner Oberland 4,000 m peaks. We sincerely congratulate Chrigel - here’s his own report : Infinity Tumbling, an interesting challenge ! After Antoine Montant outdid Raul Rodriguez’s 80 in September 07 with 122 I was itching to see how much skipping I could do. Basically the number of tumbles you can make is limited by the height available, the glider and your physical condition. I got some really good height by taking off in perfect weather from the Jungfraujoch, and then flew past the Mönch and the Eiger. I hoped I could arrive over Grindelwald at around 2000m, high enough to get a few rotations in.

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Since the 03rd March of 2008 LH Aviation has occupied its new premises. Engaged in an industrial process and quality, LH Aviation left the region North and Merville Airfield to reach the centre of Aerospace Activity of Melun-Villaroche in Seine et Marne near Paris. The entire production and sales of LH-10 Ellipse will be fulfilled on the Melun-Villaroche airfield near SNECMA, a subsidiary of SAFRAN GROUP. It is a great step forward for the company. LH Aviation left its 500sqm for a factory with over 3000sqm including a clean room, which is ideal for the company to achieve the highest quality composite production for the LH-10 Ellipse. They are now ready for series production. LH Aviation has doubled its workforce in the last year and now employs 18 people.

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March 26, 2008, Oshkosh, WI - Sonex Aircraft, LLC announced the latest evolution in the AeroConversions product line this week with the introduction of the AeroVee 2.1 Engine Kit. AeroVee 2.1 is now the standard AeroVee engine kit, replacing the AeroVee 2.0. The AeroVee 2.1 continues the Sonex Aircraft and AeroConversions tradition of simple, elegant design. Due to the increasing volume of AeroVee engine sales, Sonex and AeroConversions has been able to incorporate new features that enhance the already robust AeroVee design. The new AeroVee 2.1 features a purpose-built custom crankshaft that has a larger diameter and longer prop hub interface. This new design also eliminates the distributor drive gear and the racer spacer, making for an easier assembly. AeroVee 2.1 continues to use standard bearings, eliminating the need for custom bearings and allowing for easy replacement at overhaul time. All external steel conversion components are also now zinc plated for improved aesthetics and additional corrosion resistance.

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LISA Airplanes arose from an observation. The aviation of the 21st century will not look like that of the previous century. In front of the emergence of new needs of movements, the requirement of comfort and security, and the world environmental stakes, LISA Airplanes began to position as a major actor of aircraft manufacturing. On the basis of innovative technologies, Erick Herzberger and Luc Bernole, both co-founders of the company, create a new market segment. Through its two programs of aircrafts, the AKOYA and the Hy-Bird, LISA Airplanes brings an original solution: offering a range of products and services adapted to clean and up-market leisure aviation.

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The Red Bull Air Race World Series features the world’s best pilots in a motor sports competition based on speed, precision and skill. Using the fastest, most agile and lightweight racing planes, pilots navigate a low-level aerial race track made up of air-filled pylons, flying at speeds reaching 400 km/h while withstanding forces of up to 10 Gs - take off, be part and help making spinal cord injury curable. At a starting bid of €1 you can bid on a package for two at the Red Bull Air Race in the US and many more outstanding experiences at the Wings for Life Charity Auction @ eBay. Either San Diego or Detroit – it’s the buyers’ choice. To be part of the Red Bull Air Race in the US behind the scenes and up in the air will be a once in a life time experience anywhere. Would world champion Mike Mangold be the one to choose the buyer it would be: “A thrill seeker, an extremist, one who thinks in three dimensions,” and continues,” someone willing to give, so that others may live a full life.” As all proceeds of this extraordinary charity auction on the world’s largest online marketplace will be used for research in the field of spinal cord injury.

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Since November 2007, Seagull Aviation in The Netherlands has been responsible for the distribution of Wills Wing hang-gliders, which are made in the USA. All of the latest models will be available. Due to the DHV certifications for Germany, most models will be available in Germany in spring 2008. This new distributorship will meet the requirements of many hang-gliding pilots in Central Europe.

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