The Bill Moyes Flight of the Year Award
In memory of Bill Moyes, founder of Moyes Gliders, we're proud to honour the most inspiring hang gliding stories from around the world. Whether it’s a flight that left you in awe, brought a deep sense of accomplishment, or created an unforgettable moment — we want to hear your story.
Congratulations to our July winner, Darren Brown from the UK!
Darren Brown of Extreme Sports http://www.youtube.com/@MooSurfer fame
relives the final day of the World Championships, in Ager, Spain a 160km task that had it all!
Here is his story:
Siera Ferrera Ridge
After 10 days of less-than-optimal flying conditions in the 2025 World Hang Gliding Championships, the last day arrived and finally provided weather suitable to fly the famous Siera Ferrera ridge. This imposing 8000ft mountain provides almost 20km of high-speed ridge run against the jaw dropping backdrop of the high Pyrenees and a lower panoramic vista of hills and valleys in front. Just getting to the Sierra Ferrera needs a high cloud base and light winds as it involves 30km of difficult terrain and mountains.
Take-off conditions were less than optimal. Light and changeable winds led to hesitating pilots and some launch lane closures whilst waiting for safer conditions.
By the time I took off from my low ranked position, my vario told me I had only 12 minutes before I needed to glide for the start. I was lucky, finding a good climb pretty quickly and reaching cloudbase not long before the start.
And then the race was on! I was lower than people who launched earlier and had climbed up the side of the clouds, but was high enough to follow them into the start and the daunting terrain to the west and north of the Montsec ridge. Some kilometres under my belt and a few climbs later, I had made it to what I think was the lead gaggle, although I was one of the lower pilots.
By this time, we were approaching the hills to the south-east of the Sierra Ferrera and pilots were opting for a direct course, rather than diverting to the more obvious but longer route along ridge lines. Naturally I followed them and naturally when we reached the next cliffs, which yielded no lift, I struggled in the weak conditions and dropped out of the gaggle. In fact, I dropped out of the sky. Very quickly finding myself in a ‘how the hell do I stay up’ scenario. I hadn’t even made it to the Sierra Ferrera - what a disappointment!
Abandoning any chance of racing, I turned north downwind, over un-landable terrain and hoping for any hint of lift as I approached a potential landing area. Finding nothing I dropped over a low cliff into a small valley near to the village of La Puebla de Roda. I was now only a few hundred feet off the ground, harness unzipped and deciding where to land in this undulating valley which had the wind blowing up slopes dotted with trees. I decided the safest option would be to land upslope and downwind, rather than risk gliding down a steep slope into a tree.
As I approached my landing area with some nerves, I hit turbulence from the cliff which was downwind and now above me. Was it turbulence? Or was there a thermal in there? A desperate tight turn saw me rising a little, so I tried again. And again. The kind of turns where you keep getting gust stalled and dropping out, only to hit another strong surge. Fighting it like a wild stallion until it finally began to tame and I was now consistently rising and drifting over the next ridge. Twenty minutes of intense concentration and I was unbelievably back in the game!
High again, I flew along the ridge lines and onto the Sierra Ferrera against the wind. Rather than being smooth lift, I found strong turbulence and blundered along the ridge around halfway up it, until I eventually hit a monster climb on a rocky corner. BOOM! I was at cloudbase looking down the full length of this jaw-dropping ridge with a huge grin on my face.
Racing now with other gliders I took the turn-point at the end of the ridge then turned southeast to point directly at goal. I glanced at my vario - all that effort and I still had 90km to go!
The next 20km felt amazing. Mostly at cloudbase as the ground dropped steadily away and I followed a winding river towards Graus, at the north end of a lake. I picked up a thermal after some searching in this area then headed over a rising plateau towards a small town called Benabarre. I knew this was the end of my flight. Clouds had mostly disappeared. It was almost 6pm. I was low.
The town looked so picturesque, perched on a hill with inviting landing fields in front. Lower and lower and oh, was that a weak thermal I felt? Turning in zeroes over this beautiful town I allowed myself to drift, just extending my flight a little before I would finally land in the big, flat fields. But my weak thermal had other ideas. Little did I know there was a hidden beast growing within it that would soon accelerate me to a 900ft per minute elevator ride. I couldn’t believe my luck!
Cloudbase again and I now glided towards the perfect azure lakes directly west of Ager. I was getting close to goal now and revelled in the smooth and gentle evening thermals as I took in the breathtaking views of the lakes. Then we were off, final glide towards the goal about 15km away. Radio messages from goal told me I should make it and I gradually accelerated over the now yellow undulating fields having left the mountains and lakes.
I arrived high and my landing was easy into a steady breeze. I had made it.
For me this was one of those flights you remember forever - the trials and tribulations, the fight and the rewards of amazing views over the lakes, mountains and clouds, adrenaline filled climbs and the peace and tranquility drifting high in the soft evening air.
Final day of the World Championships, 160km task - goal achieved!
A bit about Darren
Age: 54 (going on 15)
Occupation: Retired police officer
I live in South Yorkshire, England and I fly in the Peak District. Usually I fly in an area called the Hope Valley, where there are at least 7 flying sites that take different directions of wind all within 30 minutes of each other. It’s a beautiful area to fly and provides some great XC potential including several routes to the coast.
I started flying in 1998 and was taught by Stuart Bond, who now lives in Australia. My first competition was in 1999 where I won the novice section of the Ulster Open (in Northern Ireland) and came 4th overall in the competition. In this competition I also caught my first thermal, got above 1000ft for the first time and got to cloudbase for the first time. Oh… and maybe I disappeared into a cloud by accident too for the first time. My cherished prize from that competition was a peck on the cheek from Judy Leden - who of course won overall!
After this I did not compete again until 2011. I put this down to having false expectations of the competition scene and not enough confidence in my own ability. Not competing all that time is my biggest regret in hang gliding as I think it held back my development and I have now learned that competition is absolutely the lifeblood of the sport, giving the most challenge, the most fun and the best social environment.
Airtime hours each year - no idea! Maybe 150-200. I fly 4 or 5 international competitions each year and usually fly the British Open Series which is a series of 3 competitions based in the UK. I also fly just for pleasure and try to get XCs in as much as possible. Last year I won the national XC league, which is scored from your 6 highest scoring flights (based on distance plus a multiplier for goal, triangle etc).
Aside from the competitions and putting in airtime, there are two stand out things that I have done that have most improved my flying over the last few years. The first is flying regularly with someone better than me and who I treat as a mentor - Gordon Rigg. This has given me so much help with knowledge, advice and having someone to chase and aspire to beat. The second is getting a Moyes glider (genuinely). I think this is probably because of how much more the glider feels the air, but also I think the size range is more suited to me than my previous Wills Wing T2C & T3s. My Wills Wing gliders were amazing, but in hindsight I think the 154 was too big for me (fantastic climb, difficult to glide fast) and the 144 was a little too small (great at gliding fast, difficult to keep up in a climb). The Moyes RX3.5 is somewhere in between and now I find I can climb much better and still have a good glide. The trade off is that the RX is not as easy to control for me as the Wills Wing, taking a bit more effort and timing.
There are two flying sites which are my absolute favourites - Laragne and Ager. Laragne because of its accessibility, generally reliable xc conditions and a huge range of variety and possible distance to achieve in the flying terrain. I love Ager for the same reasons, though I think Ager is a little more reliable for the weather and more challenging with stronger and rougher conditions.
I would love to travel wider than Europe, potentially to fly in Australia and America in competitions and maybe complete tours of various flying sites.
My next goals are to obtain a top 20 placing in the 2026 European Championships and to perform well enough to be selected for the next World Championships in Brazil - it will be an absolute dream to fly in this competition.
Oh and to beat Gordon Rigg in a competition - although when I achieve this I think he will see it as time to throw in the towel for Hanggliding!
How to Enter:
- Write about your most inspiring flight (minimum 250 words).
- Include photos or videos to bring your story to life.
- Submit via the Dropbox link below:
- https://www.dropbox.com/request/hYqCEArKJSzSjaS2qcYK
- or email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Note: Your flight must have taken place in this calendar year.
Prizes:
- Monthly winners will receive a $200 voucher and entry into the grand final.
- The grand final winner will get a $1000 voucher and their name engraved on the Bill Moyes Flight of the Year trophy!
- The winners will be chosen by the Moyes family. The monthly winners will be announced in the first week of each month, and the grand final winner will be revealed in January.
We can’t wait to see your stories! Fly high, share your journey, and celebrate the spirit of flight with us!
