Get ready to fly

01 Bring these

You register in person at headquarters, and registration is checked against the documents you carry. Miss one and you do not fly. Bring the originals.

Present at registration

• Valid FAI Sporting Licence
• IPPI card, level 5
• Proof of third-party liability insurance, in English
• Proof of medical and travel insurance covering hospital, rescue and repatriation, in English

Fly with

• A certified glider (CCC, EN or LTF)
• Harness with certified back protection
• Helmet certified for paragliding
• Reserve parachute, recently repacked
• VHF radio, set up as below
• Mobile phone, plus a power bank of at least 10,000 mAh

02 Set up your radio

The safety frequency is shared by everyone in the air. One stuck transmit button, or one beeping vario keying an open mic, and nobody can call a safety message. Five minutes of setup at home keeps the frequency clear for the whole field, you included. A radio check runs at take-off before every task, and a radio that is not working or not reachable means you sit out that task.

Time-Out Timer (TOT)

Set your Time-Out Timer to 30 seconds maximum. 15 is better. The timer cuts your transmission if the button is held down or pressed by accident, so a jammed PTT can no longer hold the frequency open. We check the setting at registration.

External PTT: switch the internal button off

Plugging an external or headset PTT into your radio does not switch the radio's own button off. Both stay live. A radio's own PTT pressed against your body, or trapped in a pocket, is the classic cause of a blocked frequency. When you fly with a headset or external PTT, disable the radio's internal PTT so only your external button transmits.

Turn off the roger beep and squelch tail

The roger beep and the squelch-tail tone send a short tone over the air every time you finish a transmission. Across a full field they clutter the frequency for no reason. Turn them off so your transmissions end clean.

No VOX

Voice-activated transmit is forbidden on every frequency. A beeping vario or cockpit audio will key a VOX mic and hold the frequency open, including the safety frequency. Turn VOX off. Press to talk, always.

Where the radio goes

Carry your radio on the shoulder strap or on the cockpit, with the PTT facing away from your body. Not on the waist strap, not in a harness side pocket, not in a jacket pocket. A dedicated harness radio pocket, for example the Advance Impress 4, counts as approved.

On the air

Monitor the safety frequency the whole task and be ready to transmit on it. Keep chat off it: it is for safety only. The words Cancelled and Stopped belong to the Safety Director and Meet Director alone. If you want to know whether a task is still running, ask for Task status. You may run a legal team frequency as well, but only on dual watch or a second radio, so the safety frequency is never left unmonitored.

03 Live tracking

Two trackers, both mandatory, and it is your job to keep them running.

Our tracker: Flymaster LIVE ONE

We hand you a Flymaster LIVE ONE with FLARM at take-off before every task. Collect it, switch it on, and mount it on your shoulder strap or cockpit with the safety line clipped to your harness. On the cockpit keep it to the side, away from other electronics, and never sandwiched between another tracker and your phone. Return it to headquarters as soon as you land, before anything else. You are responsible for it, up to 300 euro, until it is back in our hands. No tracker collected means no task flown.

Your backup: PureTrack

Backup tracking through PureTrack is mandatory under FFVL rules, on top of our tracker. Before the first task:

1. Create a PureTrack account in your full name, first name and surname.
2. Add your tracking device or app.
3. Join the event group, named for your event, for example "Flymaster XC Challenge 2026".

No other tracking device? Install Sports Track Live (free) and add it to PureTrack. Keep the backup live and running for the whole of every task.

04 Your phone, and reporting in

Your phone is part of your safety kit. On, out of airplane mode, GPS on, charged, for the whole flight, and reachable the moment you land. Carry a power bank of at least 10,000 mAh.

Report in within 5 minutes of landing: through the tracker, the Telegram bot, the Link app, or a direct SMS to the organisation. The exact procedure is given at the safety briefing.

Your group and channel links are emailed to you when you register, and they live in your CIVL wallet. Open the communication page for your event:

05 Airspace

Airspace is monitored for your entire flight, launch to landing, every task, whether or not a task is running. Getting your instrument set up right is the difference between an early warning and a zero for the day.

1. Load the current Chabre Club airspace file into your instrument before every task. Get it from our airspace page.
2. Set your instrument to GPS (GNSS) altitude, in metres. Every limit in the file is defined that way.
3. Turn the airspace alarms on and confirm they are active.

Every airspace carries a protective buffer, 400 metres where the geometry allows. The buffer is an early warning and a safety margin, not usable airspace. Stop climbing and turn away before you reach it. Enter it and the penalty is simple: 1 metre in costs 1 percent of the day, so 100 metres in is a zero. Fly the course line, thermal, or work the air while inside it and you are disqualified.

06 On the hill

A few rules that keep the day safe for everyone:

• A task is not flown in winds above 30 km/h at take-off. The Meet Director may set a lower limit at briefing.
• Launching is only during the open window. The decision to take off is yours, and yours alone.
• Fly your own task, without outside help. Maneuvers that endanger others are forbidden.
• See an accident or hear a help call? Tell the organisation and the other pilots straight away, with the nature and location. A pilot who lands or shortens a flight to help someone in distress is compensated in points.

07 Common questions

What do I need to bring to a Chabre Club competition?

Your originals for registration: a valid FAI Sporting Licence, an IPPI 5 card, and proof of third-party liability and medical or travel insurance in English. You fly with a certified glider (CCC, EN or LTF), a harness with certified back protection, a helmet, a recently repacked reserve, a VHF radio and a phone. Bring a power bank of at least 10,000 mAh.

What radio setup does a Chabre Club competition require?

A VHF radio that can hold the safety frequency, with its Time-Out Timer set to 30 seconds or less (15 is better). If you use a headset or external PTT, disable the radio's own PTT so only the external button transmits. Turn off the roger beep and VOX, and carry the radio on your shoulder strap or cockpit with the PTT facing away from your body.

What live tracking do I need?

Two trackers, both mandatory. The club hands you a Flymaster LIVE ONE at take-off before every task, which you return to headquarters after you land. On top of that you run your own PureTrack backup: create an account in your full name, add your device or app, and join the event group before the first task.

What altitude reference do I set for the competition airspace?

GPS (GNSS) altitude in metres. Every limit in the airspace file is defined that way, and compliance is judged on GPS altitude alone. An instrument set to barometric altitude or to feet is not a defence against a penalty. Load the current airspace file and turn its alarms on before every task.

How soon must I report after landing?

Within five minutes, through the tracker, the Telegram bot, the Link app, or a direct SMS to the organisation. Silence on the ground triggers a rescue, and no contact for 30 minutes can mean disqualification and the cost of a call-out you did not need.