The annual conference of the Paraplanners Assembly community will go virtual for the second year in a row in September and adopt a space theme.

The Paraplanners Assembly - a training and support group for Paraplanners founded by Paraplanner Richard Allum - has called its event on 9 September ‘The Big Day Out of this World.’

The Assembly says the even, which attracted 150 people last year, will provide an informal gathering “designed by Paraplanners for Paraplanners to exchange views, learn things, fix things and share things.”

For this year’s event Paraplanners are invited to travel to the fictional planet ‘Paraplanet’ for the day.

After boarding Paraplanet Spaceways and making their way to Paraplanet, participants will then take part in a number of group discussions on topics they’ve voted for. Already on the agenda is the quick fire tax round, an opportunity for Paraplanners to quiz a panel of experts.

In addition to discussing Paraplanning topics with specialists, participants will receive ‘mission updates’ from space specialists, Dr. Pete Hodkinson, head of aerospace medicine at KCL and a member of ESA's medical board and Dr Jeni Millard, host of the Awesome Astronomy podcast.

The event, using the virtual platform Hopin, has now sold out but Paraplanners can add their name to the waiting list for spare tickets here. Tickets costs £25.

The group changed its name from Paraplanners Powwow last year to avoid concerns about cultural appropriation. It traditionally ran its annual Powwow event in a large Teepee in Northants each September. The group has now dropped the native American imagery and name.

Last year’s event was moved online due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The one day event will include small interactive huddles and the Big Huddle – a gathering of all visitors, discussing the future of the profession.

More details are available on the Paraplanners Assembly website: https://paraplannersassembly.co.uk/