Friday brings the Icarus X to the south of England. With 26 pilots from as far afield as Spain, Lithuania and Poland joining in the action, it promises to be a race every bit as exciting as the South African edition.

After a washout in 2018 and couple of weeks of strong wind and heavy rain we’ve finally got some decent flying conditions, with some gusty winds on Friday giving way to better conditions on Saturday.

You can find the race preview here.

The launch venue at 1600hrs on Friday

Friday

The launch (1600 hours) sees excellent conditions with a light breeze from the North West – there maybe a few thermals gusts to keep pilots on their toes at launch, but it will soon settle down into a fine flying evening. North Westerly is obviously a head wind up to check point 1, so we’re not expecting speedy progress for the first few hours.

Saturday

Saturday morning sees more benign conditions with many forecasts predicting overcast conditions which should keep the thermals down and offering a smooth ride for the pilots. As the day progresses the winds will get stronger, particularly over CP2 and CP3 with more thermals and gusts through the afternoon.

How to follow?

The best way to follow the action is down at Orchard Park Farm, there is camping in the field next to the start line and you’ll be in the perfect place to cheer the pilots across the finish line. If you’re unable to come down you can get all the race updates on the Live Tracking Map, Icarus Trophy Twitter Page and the Icarus Trophy Facebook Page.

If you’d rather participate, than spectate, there’s just about still time to sign up. Head over to the Icarus X website to get your chance for glory.