PHI UK Tour 2019 - Wing Wizardry Talks & Testivals

Flybubble have arranged for legendary wing design wizard Hannes Papesh of PHI to embark on a whirly tour of the UK from Friday 26th April to Sunday 5th May 2019, offering free talks and testivals along the way.

Wing Wizardry & PHI (the Golden Ratio)

An eye-opening talk by Hannes Papesh, presented by Flybubble

The Jedi Master of glider design, Hannes Papesh shares his knowledge and insights gleaned from over 30 years of designing the truly amazing wings we enjoy flying so much. Amongst other things, Hannes will talk about the present state and future of of paragliding, development strategies (and tools) and, of course, sex and freeflight.

He will also be able to answer any wing design or other freeflight-related questions like does "shark nose" / "air scoop" make sense (pros and cons), launch behaviour, handling, feedback, sink/climb rate, stability, certification, folding lines... and of course he is in a unique position to be able to any questions pilots might have about his personal history and the PHI team and their wizardly wings.

Hannes loves interaction with the audience and likes to go with the flow. He has a huge amount of experience and background material going back 30 years to answer any kind of question and support it with pictures etc. Each talk is bound to be highly informative and interesting, and totally unique!

The talk will be presented by Carlo Borsattino or Greg Hamerton of Flybubble, and followed by open discussion forum.

Presenters

Hannes Papesh has a great reputation as a wing designer, and is held in high regard in the paragliding fraternity having been designing paragliders for nearly 30 years, during which time he has brought through some revolutionary ideas and innovations. Hannes was chief designer for Nova from 1989 until 2013. He then worked for Advance for a while, helping them to establish a new, young development team. In 2017 Hannes launched his new freeflight brand PHI (pronounced 'Fee') producing as well as designing his own range of wings exactly how he wants them to be. More

Carlo Borsattino is the founder of Flybubble which he now co-directs with his partner Nancy Elliott. Carlo has been flying since the early 90s, flown very many wings for some thousands of hours worldwide, got sucked into the competitive side of things (competitions and XC leagues) for a while, now prefers the simple joys free flight can bring. More

Greg Hamerton has also been flying since the early 90s. He ran a busy school in South Africa before moving to the UK in 1997, where he instructed with Carlo before leaving to compete on the Paragliding World Cup circuit. He has thousands of hours airtime and has flown hundreds of wings. Greg wrote a paragliding novel, a guidebook for South Africa and published another Best Flying Sites of the Alps.

Flybubble and PHI are offering these talks to the free flight community for free. 

What's a testival?

Test + festival = testival! Assuming it's flyable, pilots will have the opportunity to test fly PHI wings 'on the day' during this UK tour. All demo wings are owned by Flybubble (the sole UK importer and distributor for PHI products). You will be responsible for any damage to the wing, so please take care. Return the wing to Flybubble the same day, either on the hill or at the talk. 

If you would like to demo a wing for a longer period, contact your local dealer, or Flybubble, to arrange this separately. If you decide to order a PHI wing after using a demo, we expect you to order through your local PHI dealer or Flybubble - it's only fair as we have born the cost of the wing, the wear and tear, and delivered the demo to you. We hope you enjoy the opportunity to trial these unique wings from PHI.

Itinerary

Fri 26. Sussex / South East England

  • Hosts: Flybubble / Southern Hang Gliding Club (SHGC).
  • Venue: Singing Hills Golf Course, Muddleswood Road, Albourne, Hassocks BN6 9EB. map
  • Talk evening (Hannes Papesh). info
  • Facebook event

Sat 27. SHGC / South East England

Sun 28. TVHGC / South East England

Sun 28. London

Mon 29. Avon / South West England

  • Hosts: Avon Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club (AHGPGC)
  • Venue: Best Western Compass Inn, Tormarton, Badminton, Gloucestershire GL9 1JB. map
  • Testival day (PHI wings)
  • Talk evening (Hannes Papesh). info
  • Facebook event

Tue 30. Airways / West Midlands

Wed 01. Cumbria / North West England

  • Hosts: Cumbria Soaring Club (CSC)
  • Venue: Skiddaw Hotel, 31 Main St, Keswick CA12 5BN. map
  • Testival day (PHI wings)
  • Talk (evening, Hannes Papesh)
  • Facebook event

Thu 02. Yorkshire Dales / North East England

  • Hosts: Dales Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club (DHGPGC)
  • Venue: The Horse & Farrier, 7 Bridge Street, Otley LS21 1BQ. map
  • Testival day (PHI wings)
  • Talk evening (Hannes Papesh) info
  • Facebook event

Fri 03. Derbyshire / East Midlands

  • Hosts: Derbyshire Soaring Club (DSC).
  • Venue: Derbyshire and Lancashire Gliding Club, Camphill Farm, Great Hucklow SK17 8RQ.  map
  • Testival day (PHI wings)
  • Talk evening (Hannes Papesh). info
  • Facebook event

Sun 05. Kent / SE England

  • Hosts: Dover and Folkestone Hang Gliding Club (DFHGC)
  • Venue: The Old House At Home, Pudding Lane, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1LN. map
  • Testival day (PHI wings)
  • Talk evening (Hannes Papesh)
  • Facebook event

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