Steve Etherington
Steve has always been fascinated by flight, flying sailplanes in the Air Training Corps as a boy, and as a teenager flying model planes at a National Level, becoming the 1975 Scottish Aero modelling champion.
He started paragliding in 1986 and soon became involved in the testing and trimming of the Wild T Paraglider, one of the first true Paragliders, soaring on Wether fell (Yorkshire Dales) for over an hour in 1987. After a short break he returned to the sport in 1996 and within in a year started competing, finishing 2nd in the 1997 BP Cup and going on to win it again in 2002. In the same year Steve and his ever supporting wife Claire, became the only pilots to ever win an Open comp on a tandem (the Lakes Charity Classic).
Steve has now flown more defined tasks in the UK than any other pilot. He has represented the UK in the Bleriot cup in 2002, 2003 and in 2005, finishing in 2nd place overall in the 2005 event, with the UK team winning with the largest margin ever in this international team competition.
In 1997 Steve completed the first ever FAI triangle in the UK and held the UK open distance and speed record around a 25km triangle. After finishing 13th in the 2003 UK Championships and 8th in 2005 he moved into to the world paragliding scene.
In 2006 Steve entered the Paragliding World Cup and despite missing six tasks, in the final event still managed an impressive 76th place, with 4 top 30 finishes. After his 2006 PWC season he returned to UK flying. In 2007 he won the winter XC league on the Niviuk ARTIK and finished in 2nd place after 13 Hard tasks in the UK Championships in Piedrahita, the UK and St Andre.
In 2008 the Steve’s Main focus is to gain a place in the UK team for the European Championships (2007) and entry to the 2008 PWC, the worlds premier flying competition. His sights are set on achieving a place in the world championships in Mexico 2009.
All this has been achieved while in full time employment working within the NHS. Steve lives in the beautiful Lake District (Cumbria) and finances his passion himself; along with the full support of his wife Claire, his ultimate sponsor.
Glider choice is paramount for Steve and after a lot of research and having flown the superb ARTIK to victory in the 2007 Winter XC league, Niviuk and the ICEPEAK XP are his choice for 2008 and hopefully for many successful years to come.