The ACT Hang gliding and Paragliding Association (ACTHPA) is the club for all hang gliders, paragliders and their motorised forms in the region. The region is excellent for carbon-free flying and there are some great areas for motorised flight as well. We have many excellent sites, local paragliding instructors and an active pilot community. We maintain a number of launch sites, and wind talkers in the local area to help in deciding when and where to fly.
If it is ‘on’ then you can pretty much guarantee that someone will be out flying. If you are planning to go for a fly at one of our sites, please post a message on our Telegram group so you can meet up with others. The wind talkers provide current wind speed and direction and records this information for the previous 12 hours. The weather resources page links to useful weather information.
If you are a visiting pilot, remember to contact one of the locals (best done through our Telegram group) prior to flying any site.
If you’re interested in learning to fly, take a look at the SAFA Schools page, and you could also join our Facebook group or come along to a club meeting to ask for recommendations.
Club meetings are on the first Tuesday of each month at 7:30pm at the Weston Creek Labor Club, COVID-willing.
These are just a few of the recent flights by club members in the ACT region.
Name | Site | Aircraft | Model | Distance | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Phil Robinson | Spring Hill | Paraglider | Ozone Zeno 2 | 5.81km | 2024-11-05 |
Adam Bryden | Spring Hill | Paraglider | Bgd Base 2 | 2.29km | 2024-11-03 |
Adam Bryden | Lake George | Paraglider | Bgd Base 2 | 10.33km | 2024-11-02 |
Anthony Benjamin | Honeysuckle | Paraglider | Ozone Rush 5 | 11.98km | 2024-10-30 |
Phil Robinson | Spring Hill | Paraglider | Ozone Zeno 2 | 6.72km | 2024-10-29 |
Nick Lemon | Spring Hill | Paraglider | Niviuk Hook 6 P | 3.88km | 2024-10-29 |
Phil Robinson | Spring Hill | Paraglider | Ozone Zeno 2 | 3.71km | 2024-10-29 |
Paul Shipley | Spring Hill | Paraglider | Gin Gliders Avid | 2.95km | 2024-10-29 |
Paul Shipley | Spring Hill | Paraglider | Gin Gliders Avid | 2.89km | 2024-10-28 |
Ralph Weatherburn | Spring Hill | Paraglider | Niviuk Hook 5 | 0.80km | 2024-10-27 |
Ralph Weatherburn | Spring Hill | Paraglider | Niviuk Hook 5 | 1.96km | 2024-10-27 |
Alistair Dickie | Collector | Paraglider | Flow Paragliders Fusion | 18.80km | 2024-10-26 |
Paul Shipley | Spring Hill | Paraglider | Gin Gliders Avid | 3.04km | 2024-10-25 |
Paul Shipley | Spring Hill | Paraglider | Gin Gliders Avid | 1.74km | 2024-10-25 |
Phil Robinson | Spring Hill | Paraglider | Ozone Zeno 2 | 4.35km | 2024-10-22 |
Paul Shipley | Spring Hill | Paraglider | Gin Gliders Avid | 3.25km | 2024-10-22 |
Nick Lemon | Spring Hill | Paraglider | Niviuk Hook 6 P | 2.01km | 2024-10-22 |
Phil Robinson | Spring Hill | Paraglider | Ozone Zeno 2 | 3.36km | 2024-10-20 |
Paul Shipley | Spring Hill | Paraglider | Gin Gliders Avid | 2.77km | 2024-10-20 |
John Chapman | Canberra, Spring Ran... - AU | Paraglider | Bgd Punk | 25.70km | 2021-11-17 |
These are some of the longest cross-country flights recorded in the Canberra region. Also see the site records page for records broken down by site and wing category.
Name | Site | Aircraft | Model | Distance | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dave May | Lake George Nth Laun... - AU | Hang Glider | 318.60km | 2010-02-01 | |
Trent Brown | Lake George Nth Laun... - AU | Hang Glider | Moyes Litespeed Rs3.5 | 195.40km | 2011-01-28 |
Igor Likhosherstov | Bowning | Paraglider | Niviuk Peak 3 | 188.80km | 2013-11-30 |
Alex Chapman | Collector | Paraglider | Nova Mentor 4 | 188.18km | 2020-01-19 |
Rafael Esquillaro | Lake George | Paraglider | Niviuk Icepeak 7 Pro | 183.23km | 2017-01-04 |
Daniel Thuillier | Honeysuckle | Paraglider | Airdesign Rise 4 | 165.71km | 2020-12-10 |
Trent Brown | Binalong - AU | Hang Glider | Moyes Litespeed Rs3.5 | 164.70km | 2009-12-12 |
Rene Sedlm | Lake George Nth Laun... - AU | Paraglider | Advance Sigma 10 | 162.00km | 2018-02-04 |
Lukas Vymetal | Bowning | Paraglider | Axis Venus 3 | 158.07km | 2013-11-30 |
Trent Brown | Canberra, Pig Hill... - AU | Hang Glider | Moyes Litespeed Rs3.5 | 153.10km | 2012-01-28 |
Trent Brown | Canberra, Spring Ran... - AU | Hang Glider | Moyes Litespeed Rx3.5 | 152.80km | 2012-11-04 |
Trent Brown | Lake George Nth Laun... - AU | Hang Glider | Moyes Litespeed Rs3.5 | 137.30km | 2011-12-15 |
Trent Brown | Lake George Nth Laun... - AU | Hang Glider | Moyes Litespeed Rs3.5 | 135.30km | 2012-03-18 |
Igor Likhosherstov | Bowning | Paraglider | Niviuk Peak 3 | 131.27km | 2015-03-15 |
Lukas Vymetal | Bowning | Paraglider | Axis Venus 3 | 127.53km | 2013-12-01 |
Dave May | Lake George Nth Laun... - AU | Hang Glider | 126.40km | 2010-03-11 | |
Andrew Luton | Lake George Nth Laun... - AU | Hang Glider | Airborne C4 13.5 | 125.60km | 2013-11-17 |
Dave May | Canberra, Lake Georg... - AU | Hang Glider | Moyes Rs4 | 125.60km | 2010-12-05 |
Trent Brown | Canberra, Pig Hill... - AU | Hang Glider | Airborne Airborne C4 13.5 | 125.10km | 2009-03-01 |
Alex Chapman | Collector | Paraglider | Bgd Cure 2 | 122.98km | 2023-01-21 |
Not The New Zealand Paragliding Open took place in February, with six Canberra pilots competing.
The Corryong Paragliding Open took place in February, with six Canberra pilots competing.
For five days in early February the sky around the mountain town of Bright in country Victoria was filled with 80 paraglider pilots competing in the annual Bright Open.
The 2021/22 turnpoint challenge ran from 1 November 2021 until 31 August 2022.
The Corryong Paragliding Open took place in February, with nine Canberra pilots competing.
The Bright Open was held early February. Eight Canberra pilots competed in three tasks.
We have switched our standard frequency to SAFA1
Our previous club meeting / fly-in was on Sunday November 15 at Spring Hill.
On Saturday 7 November Jono and Sam launched their paragliders from Collector and flew together for over 100km, past Boorowa, finally landing near Murringo.
Alex Chapman gives us some tips for flying XC from the site just north of Canberra, at the northern end of Lake George.
We held our AGM on Saturday October 3rd at Spring Hill.
Our first annual turnpoint challenge will run from 1 October 2020 until 31 August 2021.
Spring Hill turned on some great flying weather for our first combined club meeting and fly-in on Saturday September 5.
We held a trial turnpoint challenge during September.
The parachute repack night was held on Friday September 4.
The club trip to Corryong over the Easter long weekend has been cancelled.
The Paragliding State of Origin has unfortunately been cancelled this year due to unforeseen pandemic.
Our previous club meeting was held on Tuesday 3 March at 7:30pm at the Weston Creek Labor Club. After our regular meeting we discussed ‘The Life Cycle of a Paraglider Pilot’.
The Corryong Paragliding Open took place in late February, with six Canberra pilots competing: Kari Ellis (3rd overall, 1st woman), Johno Quinn (1st in reynolds class), Cameron Lawrence, Alistair Dickie (2nd in fun class), Phil Robinson, and Alex Chapman.
The Bright Open was held in early February. Three Canberra pilots competed.
Alex Boiko reflects on his trip to the Manilla XC Camp as a novice pilot this year.
Our last club meeting was on Tuesday 4 February at 7:30pm at the Weston Creek Labor Club.
Grum, Alex B and others took part in the 2020 Manilla XC Camp
Phil Lyng gave us a presentation on reserve parachutes (MS PowerPoint) at a recent club meeting.
Canberra pilot Kari Ellis secured third place in the women’s category of the Paragliding World Championships held in Krushevo, Macedonia. She came 65th overall, racing the world’s best pilots over ten cross-country tasks of between 63km and 130km. Read all about her experience here.
Kari Ellis gives us a detailed breakdown of what it was like to fly in the world paragliding championships in Krushevo, Macedonia in 2019.
Phil Lyng gave us a presentation on Airspace (MS PowerPoint) at the February 2020 club meeting.
Barry Oliver gives us a guide to deciding where and when to fly, and how to fly Lake George in particular.
Wes Kilham gives us some sage advice on avoiding this common peril.