The Festival of Flying Fabric is the successor to XCamp. Same grumpy organisers, same winning formula.
XCamp was initially conceived as an all-discipline weekend-long, camp & fly, family-friendly, slightly competitive event.
Flying – hopefully XC, friends, a campfire, prizes, beers, and laughs.
We obtained the support of the Tasmanian Hang-gliding & Paragliding Association (THPA) to use THPA managed sites. The land-owners of the sites were, and are, also highly supportive.
In 2019, we were based out of the shearing shed at Gaffs Hill, near Tunbridge in the Midlands of Tasmania. We flew Gaffs, Winton (near Brighton) and Kempton. Several pilots left the hill for the first time from Winton, and Kempton turned it on for big valley tours.
For the second edition in 2020, we moved our base to the farm at the Kempton site, in the southern Midlands. This allowed us to be centred amongst our most likely flying sites. We flew Woodspring (near Bothwell), Winton and Kempton.
In 2021, we had to move the event to our backup weekend, which turned out to be a good call – it was a Long Weekend. And did we use it! We flew Winton, Lemon Hill (near Oatlands) and Kempton. On Saturday arvo at Winton we had 12 PGs and 5 HGs in the air. On Sunday a few of us left Winton and had a crack at flying back to Kempton (we didn’t make it, but hey…).
The ethos behind the event has evolved. We’re not so concerned about the competitive edge. It’s all about getting together, being mutually supportive, flying safely, and FUN.
For 2024, we’re heading back to Gaffs Hill, at the end of Glen Morey Road, south-east of Tunbridge.
All SAFA disciplines are welcome: hang gliders, paragliders, their powered variants and weight-shift microlights.
We welcome family and friends.
Know someone that might be interested coming along as a Retrieve Driver? We provide their beers and bangers in bread at the BBQ evenings and a bit of dosh to go towards fuel.
The format is BYO everything. We provide fire pots, a big BBQ, flushing toilet and a hot shower (true!). Bring your tent, an eski, your tucker and favourite tipple.
Everything else will fall into place…
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