SAFA Skysailor Magazine

35 AUTUMN 2026 | March-April-May SKY SAILOR Be honest with yourself. This sport is an incredible way to get to know your fears and your ego. It exposes both very quickly. Schedule time to dig into that, because the weather isn’t waiting for you. If you mess up, own it. Don’t let your ego rewrite the story afterwards. I also think experienced pilots carry responsibility for the culture around them. For me, the foundation of safety culture is assuming nobody wants to make mistakes (yet we all do). Instead of pointing fingers, remind one another (respectfully and with a bit of humour) about flying, landowner rules, and all the small acts that prevent big consequences. We also need to remember that we’re part of something bigger. Instead of asking, “What can the sport do for me?” ask, “What can I do for the sport?” Wicked Wings has grown a lot in the last few years, and has a really strong safety culture. How did that happen? Almost by accident. We had a small group flying Mama regularly and took good care of each other and the site. We were also lucky. The right people stepped into SO roles and helped create a culture of safety. We’re very intentional about tone. New pilots don’t need five people lecturing them at launch. If something goes wrong, we debrief lightly so it doesn’t turn into shame or defensiveness. If we have PG2s or low airtime pilots on site, I’ll often say to the PG4s: if you see something, say something – nicely! Supervision isn’t one person’s job, it’s shared. We make a point of acknowledging the PG4s who step up and mentor well. But we also let people learn. Janky launches and awkward landings are part of progression, and something we can debrief afterwards. We step in to prevent the catastrophic stuff, not to control every decision. People have to learn by doing, and sometimes that means imperfect moments and bruised egos. At the end of the day, safety culture isn’t about control. It’s about bringing the right people together, modelling behaviour, and sometimes giving feedback on how to give feedback. It’s also about recognising the difference between external and internal conditions. Sometimes the air is fine, but you’re not. Fatigue, stress, distraction… those matter just as much as wind speed. A part of the culture is normalising to say, “Not today.”