The more eagle-eyed Icarists amongst you have been keen to point out that the second edition of the Icarus X UK was set to clash with Parafest. That other thing you absolutely have to do with a paramotor, in the UK, this summer. July 1st and 2nd, to be exact. After a brief (but stimulating) stare-out contest with the Caerwys contingent we have resolved to move the ITX back a week so that all you keenos can get to both. And so can we.
The Icarus X will be a 200 mile miniature Icarus Trophy. A splendid airborne adventure in its own right, and the perfect dress rehearsal or appetite whetter for the main Icarus Trophy in the USA in September. In fact if you successfully complete the ITX we will consider you fully qualified for the IT; you can forward your track log to the race committee as proof of your long XC qualifying run. With the added icing of a Trophy, and audience and our proprietary live tracking thrown in.
The winner of the Race division will get not only a trophy, but a free entry into September's Icarus Trophy, an astonishing $2,200 worth of Adventure-dom. So that ought to be worth getting up at sunrise for...
If you're not landing out in a Devonian graveyard, you're just not doing it right
New dates: July 7th-9th 2017
Launch Friday 2pm
Racing sunrise +1 hour to sunset Saturday
Prizegiving Saturday night
Casual fly-in Sunday
Site closes 2pm Sunday
What this? Friday as well?
Yes. If we learned anything on the first edition of the ITX, it's that we want pilots to stay out overnight, and make a proper trip of it. We want them to have to land and refuel, carry a bit more than a phone and actually have a useful simulation of the Icarus Trophy proper.
Long distance XC races involve landing and refuelling at petrol stations. And instant celebrity. Embrace this by entering the ITX
Oh, we also learned how great Saturday nights are for prizegivings and parties, too! Much better than Sunday afternoons, with that niggling shadow of Monday back at your desk and the A303 to navigate beforehand.
So: behold a newer, smarter format for ITX II. It's definitely going to be too far to get anyone home on Friday night. Unless conditions are dire, it's likely that all would get home in time for a Saturday night prizegiving and party, but there is the contingency of Sunday in case of poor conditions or pilot dumb-fuckery (the stuff of Adventure Division Trophy nomination).
We have Sunday earmarked as a casual fly in, where you can fly socially or watch as the next generation of Icarus Pilots get their hands on the risers for the first time, or get strapped to a Sky School instructor and tandem'ed into oblivion. Attractions will include:
- BBQ
- tandem flights and ground handling masterclasses with our European training partners Sky School
- 1980s tribute band (Parafest are doing it)
Event Schedule: detail
Friday 7th
12 - 2pm Pilot registration, course, rules and communications briefings, and tracker allocation
2pm Launch
Live tracking and commentary from the race crew all afternoon for spectators and friends and family
Free camping Friday night
Pilots can fly until sundown - 9.18pm
Saturday 8th
A.m. Pilots free to launch from sunrise +1 hour - 5.53am
Live tracking and commentary throughout the event for friends and family to follow the action
P.m. Pilots return to the launch field. Race division winner expected lunch time. All pilots expected by 8pm
7pm onwards - BBQ, live music
Once last pilot has landed safely we will hold a prizegiving
Race Division winner is the first home with no penalties. All race division pilots must go round the checkpoints; our race office will verify that no short-cuts have been taken.
Adventure Division Trophy will be awarded to the pilot with the best tales of adventure from the skies. Being the first Adventure Division pilot home is unlikely to yield the trophy...
Sunday 9th
Casual fly-in, tandems, talks by Icarus Trophy veterans
Site closes Sunday afternoon
British summer - fingers crossed for a parting in the clouds
What if the sun don't shine?
Quite. We will have an adjustable course, and a contingency weekend.
If you sign up to the ITX, we'll update you regularly on the expected conditions over July 7-9th. We'll go ahead as long as conditions are fair. The course is designed to be flyable in 10 hours. If conditions are perfect, we'll add a 'fair weather checkpoint' to keep folks out until Saturday afternoon. Especially among the race class. If conditions take an unexpected turn for the worse, we may adjust the course if its too late to postpone the event.
If conditions look appalling, we will reschedule the event to August 25-27th 2017. That's August Bank Holiday weekend. Your entry will automatically roll over.
