UHPC

DIVIS AND THE BELFAST HILLS

Arrangements are at a very advanced stage for access to Divis Mountain and the Belfast Hills - see airspace information above. We are asking everyone to stay away until all arrangements are in place and tested. Full details of ATC arrangements are on the Latest News page above and further information will be passed to members when access is finalised with the National Trust and the sites have been evaluated.

AIRSPACE BRIEFING AND NORMAN SURPLUS UPDATE

Thursday 20th October

Kings Head, Lisburn Road, Balmoral.  Belfast

We had a good turnout on the night and everyone enjoyed the following programme:

7 pm The new UHPC LOA's for Belfast TMA Class 'D' airspace,  an explanation followed by a Q&A session. Mark Piggott's excellent presentation was a very comprehensive story of how the airspace changes that affect some of our sites came about and what they mean for UHPC members. Mark had put in around a year of work dealing with the various officials to secure the best outcome for us.

The bottom line is that the Letters of Agreement in relation to the sites are legal documents and their conditions apply to all members of the UHPC, so anyone entering Class D airspace without getting clearance from Aldergrove ATC is breaking the law. Please scroll down this page for details of the procedures.

 B R E A K

 8pm  Norman Surplus around the world Autogyro adventure - part 2.  Norman gave an illustrated re-cap of Part 1 from NI to Japan and then onwards across the Pacific, America, the North Atlantic and back to Sandy Bay, Larne. He was happy to answer questions as he went along and had many stories of his adventures along the way. See also

 http://www.gyroxgoesglobal.com/

Since Norman is a survivor of advanced stage bowel cancer, he decided that all funds raised and donations received in connection with this epic marathon adventure would be directed to Bowel Cancer UK. Donations by individual members were made on the night. Further donations to this important cause can be made here - https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gforgyro.

UHPC Flypaper magazine

The club magazines with some great reports and photos, are available via the members' area of the website - login on the left to access the members' area and follow the link to the magazines.

Kelvin Adams Benone Fly-in and Barbecue 27 August 2016

An old event was revamped and pulled from the ashes. An end of the summer bash/fly-in - well drink on.This event was held many years ago and has changed names over the years to this, the Kelvin Adams fly-in.

Kelvin was a good all round hell of a nice guy who lost his life in the sea at Whiterocks while paragliding with his friends. So we try to remember him and have fun in the way he would have loved.

Phil Barron and his good lady wife Louise excelled themselves in laying on a barbeque, helped by a few friends, that would be hard to beat. A large gazebo with an extension had been constructed on the beach in case of bad weather and for sleeping accommodation if needed. Those who arrived early were treated to Phil's famous stews, brewed up on a gas burner while the barbeque was being fired up. The recipe for the stews is his trade secret so no point in asking, but taste delicious. Boxes of burgers, bags of baps, lettuce, tomato, onions, sauces, disposable bowls, plates, glasses etc were all there waiting.

Gradually more people started to arrive bearing bags of logs and wood offcuts, booze of various sorts and a firepit consisting of an old washing machine drum was lit. This worked extremely well and kept us warm well into the small hours of Sunday.

Once Gavin's big barbeque was ready, a steady stream of burgers, topped up with sauces etc started disappearing into baps and down hungry throats.

While all the preparations were going on, Al, Walter and Rory were zooming round the area on their paramotors. Gradually as the evening wore on, some people drifted away - particularly those who had children along or who had children at home to go back to. That left a hard core group huddled round the firepit, lashing back the drink and talking rubbish. One or two seemed to have a wee bit of a balance problem at times.

Dee down!

Strangely, the talk did not come round to paragliding until well after midnight. After 1:30am we were joined by four ladies from the nearby campsite who had decided to go for a run on their bicycles along the beach in the middle of the night. Like moths to a flame, they were attracted by the glow of the firepit and the waffling bodies gathered round it. After a bit of banter they left and the rest of us drifted off to sleep in cars, tents, vans or wherever around 3:30am.

Some five hours later, those of us who had stayed close to the action, helped to dismantle the gazebo, clear away the rubbish and generally leave the beach undisturbed.