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I personally do not think the former requirement
is necessary, however this is my personal view. I believe and
have shown that students may be taught directly on a motorised
paraglider, using an intermediate canopy. (All our new students
are placed directly on canopies that will last them a while including
a glider called an XTC. This ranges from 28-31,5 square meters
and contrary to all those ignorant armchair instructors or instructors
that have ulterior financial selling reasons, yes it is perfect,
and what's more, half the price of imported wings!!) Never be in a rush to become airborne. Once in the air on a calm day (especially on the coast) the actual flying part is easy. It is the take off where you have inflate the wing, possibly turn around (depending on the take off method used), check the wing and apply power all at the same time. This is usually where potential problems exist, and lines become wound up in the prop. (And yes if the correct procedure is used you can safely tie them back together and continue flying). As far as landing is concerned the commonly experienced
problems involve |
As far as students teaching themelves are concerned, well people teach themselves to drive cars, have help from else where and seem to manage. I have witnessed many students after having learned the basics on the ground, become airborne successfully simply because the technique had been mastered well and the basics understood. Equally as important is a good briefing. It is simply no good launching a student without incident into the air only a minute later to find him in a cloud of dust, because you had forgotten to inform him that power must be added when turning downwind as lift has a tendency to drop off.
These are the basics of ppg instruction. Not the ability of how well you may launch a student into the air. Any fool can do that. This is where the powered paragliding conversion course comes into play. The emphasis behind any instructor undertaking a conversion rating should not be of launching your student as quickly as possible into the air (he can do that himself), but on what can go wrong and how to rectify it. Also emphasis on the changes that will be experienced now that a highly gyrating piece of wood is rotating at high speed behind one. I don`t believe that with both paragliding and powered paragliding that enough “if`s, what`s and why`s” are discussed sufficiently.
With many paragliding schools the objective
is to log up the required flights as soon as possible, sell him the
required equipment and move on to the next student. Sounds cynical but
that unfortunately is the reality. With powered paragliding however
the student usually arrives with their own gear (mistakes in this sport
are fairly expensive), and the emphasis now should be on the student
launching himself. Unlike paragliding where the instructor may physically
help the student off the ridge, it is a bit harder here with a rotating
prop, unless it is started once the glider is inflated, wherey the student
then may be anchored from the prop side if the wind is strong and immediately
held by the front straps once he has turned around into the forward
start position, to prevent being blown backwards.
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