The British Gliding Association (BGA) have launched an awareness campaign to dissuade pilots from getting to close to glider sites where winch launching may be taking place and is currently working with other organisations to try to highlight the significant hazards associated with overflying winch launch gliding sites.
As gliding clubs have reported a gradual increase in occurrences, since March 2019 the BGA have been collecting winch site overflight data as reported by clubs.
Of the 80 occurrences reported to the BGA by clubs since March 2019:
• In 60% of cases, the overflying aircraft was positively ID’d (usually by FR24). Many of those operators have been contacted.
• 30% are helicopters.
• In 23% of the cases, launching was either delayed or stopped, or there was early release by the glider being launched, or an Airprox was filed.
