Pilots who fly in the 2009 Worlds in Laragne are required by the FAI/CIVL Sporting Code to sign the following declaration:

CERTIFIED GLIDER STATEMENT

I, the undersigned, declare that the following glider: ______ (Class, make, model) that I will fly in the 2009 Chabre Hang gliding World Championship from 20 June 2009 to 4 July 2009, is certified by one or more of the internationally recognized certifying bodies (namely the DHV, HGMA or the BHPA).

Furthermore, I declare that it is in certified configuration and I undertake not to alter this configuration. I understand that I am the sole individual responsible for the integrity of my glider. To the best of my knowledge my glider and equipment are damage-free and airworthy.

As I read this statement I would say that a pilot is not qualified to make this declaration, as, unless they are the designer, builder, and certifier of the glider, they do not have the requisite first hand knowledge. In fact, the statement is most likely not true, even for hang gliders that are "certified," as production versions are very likely to differ from the versions tested and certified.

It is only if we assume that the statement above means that the "model of glider" that I will fly is certified, that it makes any sense to sign it. But, the FAI/CIVL Sporting Code states:

12. 3.2 Configuration

A glider showing a certification certificate produced by a CIVL recognised testing body cannot be changed in any way in its configuration. A glider that has been changed in its configuration even slightly in comparison with the tested model or a glider that has not been tested is considered as a prototype and must comply with the following requirements:

"…cannot be changed in any way…" "…even slightly…"

It's kind of hard to not read those statements as an absolute prohibition against even the slightest difference between the specific glider that the pilot will be flying at the Worlds, and the glider model (or specific glider, after all what exactly does "model" mean when there are in fact changes to the glider in production) that was certified. Maybe not to the level of color changes, but not far from that.

Of course, pilots just sign these statements anyway, even though that can't possibly be true. Then they go off and fly in the Worlds.

But, given the tenor of things these days, with the FAI insisting on sprog measurements (and how that relates to certification), perhaps this needs to be considered a bit more closely. I suggest that I would be willing to sign the following statement:

CERTIFIED GLIDER STATEMENT

I, the undersigned, declare that the following model of glider ______ (Class, make, model) that I will fly in the 2009 Chabre Hang Gliding World Championship from 20 June 2009 to 4 July 2009, is certified by one or more of the internationally recognized certifying bodies (namely the DHV, HGMA or the BHPA).

Furthermore, I declare that I have not altered and I will not alter the configuration of my glider outside of the manufacturer's recommendations or specifications. I understand that I am the sole individual responsible for the integrity of my glider.

To the best of my knowledge my glider and equipment are damage-free and airworthy.

Disclaimer: There was a similar statement that pilots had to sign at the 2007 Worlds, again an FAI/CIVL requirement. I was the meet director at the 2007 Worlds. I recall that there was an issue regarding this and an issue re prototypes (as the DHV had not certified the Moyes Litespeed RS). I did not raise these objections at that time.