SAFA Skysailor Magazine

5 WINTER 2026 | June-July-August SKY SAILOR a site, a condition, or a manoeuvre might be beyond where we currently sit. Our capability isn’t fixed, it varies with currency, with recency, with how well we slept, with how much ground-handling we’ve done this season. The pilot who flew that XC last spring is not necessarily the same pilot standing on the launch today. Honest self-assessment is a skill, and it has to be practised just as deliberately as any other flying skill. Even though we fly alone most of the time, flying safely is a team sport. When an experienced pilot watches a newer member set up and quietly offers a word about the conditions, that’s safety. When a club’s Duty Pilot holds a launch until the cycle improves, that’s safety. When someone in the group speaks up and says, “I’m not comfortable with this,” and the rest of the group listens without judgement, that’s safety. The flying com- munity is at its best when we look out for each other as naturally as we look out for ourselves. Some pilots have told us they’re worried about personal liability if they offer safety advice at a site and something goes wrong. I understand the instinct, but I’d encourage you to reframe the question. The greater moral and legal risk lies in staying silent while a fellow pilot makes a decision that puts them in danger. Offering a calm, considered observation as a fellow pilot is what our community has always done. It’s not the same as assuming formal responsibility for someone else’s flight. SAFA is working to provide clearer guid- ance on this, and if it’s a concern in your club, I’d encourage your committee to raise it directly with us. Our Strategic Plan commits SAFA to build a reporting culture where members feel confident raising concerns without fear of punitive responses. However, that culture doesn’t start with SAFA. It starts at every site, in every club, every weekend. It starts with the pilot who asks a question, instead of assuming. It starts with the experienced flyer who makes time for the conversation, not just the flight. Iain asks: “Are you prepared?” I want to add another question: “Are you prepared to be part of someone else’s safety?” Fly safe, and look after each other out there.