SAFA Skysailor Magazine

41 January | February 2022 SKY SAILOR Wiping the surfaces down with a damp cloth after flight will help in removing salt crystals. Similarly for hang gliders, corrosion kills. The difficulty is that the sail obscures several components of the airframe. So, it is vitally important that you follow the manufacturers’ recommendations and remove the sail and inspect your airframe at the prescribed times as described in your owner’s manual for your aircraft. If flying predominantly at coastal sites, consider performing this more frequently. The sails themselves are more durable with more robust fabrics used compared to paragliders. Watch out for plastic covered wires as mois- ture and corrosion can build up behind the cover attacking the wire. Acting Operations Manager Mark Pike has sent through some photos of corrosion that he has seen over the years and reproduced here. On my return to work, a couple of disturbing emails relating to airprox events were awaiting my attention. The first was from the ATSB and involved a Piper PA24 and an unknown paraglider on 23 November near Ballina (NSW). The second was from Richard Keir of Barwon Heads airport (VIC). On 2 December at about 1330 hours local, two sky divers were in free-fall over the airport. At the same time a microlight was travelling east to west at around 4500ft amsl. The skydivers passed the microlight within just a few metres. The pilot of the microlight was unable to be contacted by