PARAGLIDING LESSONS

ELEMENTARY PILOT COURSE.

On your first day we normally meet at 9.30am on our main site at Steyning. Your paragliding lessons starts at about 10am with a weather check to determine which part of the site we will use.
After a general briefing on how the day should progress we complete the paper work. This consists of the BHPA MEMBERSHIP which carriers a third party insurance, and the BHPA STUDENT TRAINING RECORD BOOK. Required for all paragliding training carried out in the UK and kept by schools to record completed training exercises. You can then follow your progress each time you come in for a lesson.

Below is a summary of the lessons and exercises laid out in the record book.

ELEMENTARY PILOT
You will normally be flying solo on your first day

Phase 1 - Ground Training

1 Introductory talk
2 Site assessment
3 Introduction to equipment.
4 Avoiding/minimising injury.

Phase 2 - Ground Handling

5 Briefing - Checks - wind direction flare/stall.
6 Preparation - Checks - paragliding canopy harness helmet.
7 Inflation - Take-off - landing sequence practised.
8 Directional control - initiating turns.

Phase 3 - First Short Flights

9 Take-off with good control of airspeed, canopy and landing.

Phase 4 - Flight exercises

10 Eventualities - dealing with the unexpected.
11 Commands and communications.
12 Responsibilities - student becomes the pilot-in-command.
13 Straight flights maintaining course and airspeed with increased height.
14 Introducing turns with increased height.
15 Completing flight plans - longer flights with increased height.

Phase 5 Theory lessons and examination.

16 Meteorology.
17 Principles of flight.
18 Rules of the air and air law.
19 Elementary examination.

20 Student has reached a standard of airmanship and attitude to continue training in this discipline

CLUB PILOT

Phase 6 - Pre-soaring

21 Theory.
22 180 degree turns.
23 Planned approaches - Minimum 4 successful planned flights making controlled landing within 10m of a target.

Phase 7 - Soaring

24 Soaring flight - Minimum 4 successful flights using ridge lift to maintain gain height.
25 Top landings - Minimum 4 successful flights.
26 Flying with others.

Phase 8 - Improving skills.

27 Exploring the sped range.
28 Accelerator system.
29 Forward launching.
30 Reverse launching.
31 Weight shift and pitch-roll in turns.
32 Cross wind and slope landings.

Phase 9 - Instability and emergencies

33 Theory.
34 Active flying.
35 Rapid descent techniques.
36 Dealing with an asymmetric tuck.

Phase 10 Theory lessons and examination

37 Meteorology.
38 Principles of flight.
39 Rules of the air and air law.
40 General airmanship knowledge.
41 Club pilot theory examination.

Final assessment for Club Pilot

42 Declaration by Senior instructor

You are now free to take to the sky's and fly unsupervised. You may wish to stay within the school flying in a familiar and friendly environment on our unique private sites while receiving extra guidance from us. This can be arranged by joining our FREE, exclusive, Airsports Paragliding Club.