Kernow XC League Challenges
Your flight logs should be uploaded to XC League to participate in this competition.
The XC League runs annually from 1st November to 31st October. A Winter League ends on the last day of March. Pilots should submit their flight within four weeks with the latest possible entry by 7th November.
You should be Pilot rated to participate in this league.
If you are a Club Pilot and interested in XC flying, you can enter your flights provided you are flying within the coaching environment of your club. The following conditions must be met:
- You must have a full understanding of the airspace you will be flying in and must have been briefed beforehand by a qualified pilot.
- You must pass your Pilot exam as soon as possible, if not in the current season then before the start of the next. Not doing so may result in your flights being removed.
Scoring in the club and national leagues is based on a pilot’s six highest scoring flights.
Club vs National Leagues
Club leagues are hosted at the request of the club and have lower Minimum Distance requirements. If a flight qualifies for the main league it can be automatically entered into this if the pilot wishes.
Because of the lower Minimum Distances, the situation may arise where a flight type might be valid in a club league but not for the main leagues. Pilots must chose the type of flight to be entered and a flight can only be entered as a single flight type (e.g. Turnpoint, Out and Return).
Your scores will end up being entered in the league website looking like this:
XC Planner
It’s recommended to use the XC Planner web app for planning your flights. The turnpoints of the flight routes below can all be opened in XC Planner via the link given, and then downloaded to your flight instruments.
Wind Directions
All these wind directions are possible. Some do not have official take-offs, so care is needed.
Out And Return Coastal Flights
Out and Return flights commence at a start point, go around two turnpoints then return to the original start point. The diagram belows shows the extreme case of starting the flight in the middle of a leg. In most cases the first turnpoint is likely to be much closer to the Start. (ref)
For the club, the minimum distance is 5 km. For the National League, the minimum distance is 15 km. There is no multiplier for coastal Out and Returns.
Carbis – St Ives – Hayle Estuary (NE)
Sennen – Lands End – Gwenvor (NW – WNW)
Notes: Recommended to fly with sea thermals
Towans: Black Cliffs – Godrevy (WNW)
Perranporth – Hell’s Mouth (NW)
Bill Scott, 1990 (Ref)
Gwennap Head – Land’s End (SW)
Notes: Requires sea thermic day
Penberth – Lamorna (SSE)
Notes: Requires sea thermic day
Lamorna – Mousehole (ESE)
Notes: This is only a 3.5km out and return – not for the XC League.
Morvah – Pendeen – St Ives (NNW)
Notes: Requires sea thermic day
Open Distance Coastal Flights
Standard Flights are where you fly cross-country in whatever direction you wish, which is usually downwind. You can enter your flight as either an Open Distance or a Turnpoint Flight.
Open Distance flights do not have any turnpoints and will score the straight-line distance from the start point to the finish point. Note that the start and finish points do not have to be your takeoff and landing.
St Agnes > Hayle Black Cliffs (NW – NNW)
This is not enough distance to make a declared flight.
Notes: Requires sea thermic day
Mousehole > Sennen (E)
Gwennap Head > Lamorna (S-SSE)
Notes: Requires sea thermic day
Open Distance Inland XC
Morvah > Penzance (NW)
Notes: Requires sea thermic day
Morvah > Mousehole (NNW)
Notes: Requires sea thermals and inland thermals
Carn Brea > Falmouth (A30 roundabout) (NW)
Carn Brea > Falmouth (Pendennis Castle) (NW)
St Agnes > Falmouth (NNW)
Notes: Requires sea thermals and inland thermals
Graham Phipps – Jan 1986 – ref
Patrick Buxton – Jan 2004 – ref
Open Distance Turnpoint Flight
Morvah to Porthcurno via Sancreed (N)
Notes: Requires sea thermals and inland thermals
Flight To Goal – Declared Flight
A Flight to Goal commences at a start point and goes to a finish point (the goal).
Declared flights are flights where you fly a task that you have previously declared, following a sequence of waypoints based on 400m radius cylinders. You must fly to each cylinder and record a tracklog point inside it before moving on to the next one.
You can make your declaration in several ways:
- By SMS message – text to 01635 800380
- By email message – send to declare at xcleague dot com
- Using your IGC file – see IGC file Declarations
- Participating in a competition – see Competition Declarations
Each of the message methods provides a timestamp for your declaration that will be valid for 24 hours, unless superseded by a later declaration. Note that a declaration in the IGC file is definitive and overrides any others.
For message methods it is the responsibility of the pilot to provide a declaration in the text format described below. Each element is described in the order it is required:
- Your BHPA No
- Start grid reference
- optional turnpoint grid reference(s)
- Finish grid reference
- optional other BHPA No(s)
Each element must be separated by either a new line or a comma. The system is automated so it will not understand pictures of your declaration, turnpoint or place names or any other comments.
You can use either OS Landranger or Lat/Lon coordinates.
A Declared Flight to Goal has a 1.3 multiplier.
Perranporth > Vault Bay (NW – WNW)
(First flown by Graham Phipps in April 1990 – Ref)
St Agnes > Gweek (N)
Notes: Requires sea thermals and inland thermals
Carn Brea > Lizard Point (N – NNW)
St Agnes > Lizard Point (N)
Notes: Requires sea thermals and inland thermals
(First flown by Graham Phipps in April 1989 – ref)
Morvah to Porthleven (WNW)
Notes: Requires sea thermals and inland thermals
Morvah – Falmouth (W) ?
Notes: Requires sea thermals and inland thermals
Unofficial Westerly XC to declared goal here!
Site Records
Perranporth – Altitude
2,200 ft ? – Graham Phipps – Oct 1988 (Ref)
Perranporth – Open Distance – Coastal Soaring
28.8 km (17.9 miles) – Graham May, Mark Seymour – 12.12.88 (Ref)
Perranporth – Out and Return – Coastal Soaring
43.68 km (27.14 miles) – Bill Scott, Monty Pugh – 12.12.88 (Ref)
Perranporth – Open Distance – Inland XC
28.8 km (17.9 miles) – Perranporth > Truro – Graham Phipps – Oct 1988 (Ref)
St Agnes – Altitude (in one thermal)
5000 ft ASL – Peat Coad – Jan 2004 (Ref)
St Agnes – Open Distance – Inland XC
39.90 km (24.8 miles) – St Agnes > Lizard Point – Graham Phipps – April 1989 (Ref)
High Cliff – Open Distance – Inland XC
84.3 km (52.36 miles) – High Cliff > Torbay – Graham Phipps – April 1990 (Ref)
About the Author
Mark Ashton Smith What’s national standard for paragliding in Cornwall - among the best you can find in the country? (1) the coastline 🧗🏼♀️ - the most beautiful in the country. We can enjoy it, explore it, and get good at coastal soaring 🏆 (2) the views 👀from up high - all coastlines of the peninsula that everyone comes to visit all in one panorama - absolutely stunning 🏆 (3) technical tor & small hill, inverted, broken-up, and low base flying 💥- really sharpens XC skills - none of this lobbing into house thermals and climbing to 6-7 grand off the bat. If you lose concentration you’re on the ground. If you can learn to fly XC well in gnarly Cornwall you can fly well anywhere in the UK. 🏆(4) the convergence 🌥🌥🌥 - it’s the best in the UK and if we can fly it, it opens up 150km plus flights and even learning to soar sea breezes gets us in league with that lot around Brighton. 🏆 (5) We got instant access to lots of ace coastal sites/beaches to train at within a short drive which gives us more air time, ground handling skills, and wagga skills (call out to Dunc)🏆,and (6) our sites aren’t busy!! You’ll be lucky to find more than 2 people flying at Carn Brea on a perfect day. In Bodmin moor you’ll be with your mate and that’s it. No crowds. 🏆👌Happy to be in one of the best flying areas in the country - just important not to get pulled into the league numbers games which suits other areas but not ours. Gavin McClurg made the same point. Distance is great but there’s loads of other ways to have top flights. Focus on what’s the very best in your home turf! 🏴☠️
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