Fotoglider Law
Rule One : Question Everything Except Rule Two
Rule Two : Never Question the Wisdom of Rule One
|
Fotoglider Law Rule One : Question Everything Except Rule Two Rule Two : Never Question the Wisdom of Rule One
|
|
|
Due to the intensive aviation based approach we have to paragliding training we strongly recommend that those interested in learning fully talk through all aspects of learning to fly with Murray prior to choosing where (and how) to train. At PPC we DO NOT simply tell "this is how a PG works" to new pilots but instead provide information in logical steps, explaining the how's & why's of paragliding aerodynamics along with the HP&L's (human performance and limitations) which lead to the common accidents which at PPC we seek to avoid, this information along with what the books and standard training teach (highlighting the common mistakes in them) lets our trainees make up their own mind as to the standard they wish to aim for, one which results in the normal accident rates or one which does not! In summery: Our training is by asking questions and so teaching pilots to think, resulting instead of just 'operating' a paraglider by rote, producing a continually improving pilots who will in themselves also help to push up standards with all those they fly with in the future. What is required of those training with us? (no particular order) Read insurance page; waver also must be signed 1) A questioning approach to everything. 2) A reasonable level of fitness as not all or sites are top drivable so some walking is involved up hills. Paragliders have a weight range that they must be flown in, we have gliders for pilots from 60Kg to 120kg in weight, also the harness/helmets we have must fit so it is important to check these things in advance, we have had pilots with a variety of medical conditions so basic starting point is for the individual to be fit enough to hold a driving licence. 3) Always displaying the correct attitude, this MUST include a willingness to question as to the Why of normal safety standards, i.e. the standard we seek to avoid! 4) Boots and suitable clothing, food and soft drink/water to keep up mental processes during the day. 5) No alcohol within 8 hours prior to flying. (also no drugs etc.) 6) Log book (we recommend CAA glider log books £7.00) which should be filled in each day flying and must be countersigned to count towards the BHPC CP rating. Log books and insurance cards should always be carried when flying, BHPA re-training pilots can of course keep using their own log book. 7) After the initial taster training day pilots are recommended to join the BHPC (murray has the forms in stock) and for flying at many of our sites MUST individually take out insurance for 3rd party liability (link to insurance we recommend on this site this can be as cheap as £39 P/A) some sites are restricted to flying only on club days even once rating is obtained, unauthorized access to restricted sites will result in expulsion from the club (may also result in revocation of rating if previous warnings are ignored) all flying MUST be legal. NB. Pilots are of course free to hold membership of the BHPA if they prefer, it is simply the BHPA standard (accident rates) we seek to avoid, in any case taking out personal insurance cover is recomended 8) Costs; training days are maximum of £120 including site fees etc, calculated at a rate of £50 per hour tandem and £20 per hour solo when using club equipment, most members buy their own glider shortly after starting training as this is a cheaper option. On flying good days if pilots wish to fly all day extra airtime on solo club equipment is payable at 50% of those rates after the first two hours as flying is not as hard on gliders as lots of take offs and landing & ground handling. The club record for one day is held by Murray at over eight hours airtime and the longest flight at four and a half hours, one of our original members at the start of training he flew well over two hours on the dual control tandem working thermals up to 2,500ft followed by four flights of up to 40 minutes and that was his third days training! 9) How many hours must be flown before I may sit the written BHPC CP exam? We require pilots to fly at least 10 hours before sitting the CP rating and ideally about 20 hours, pilots should be starting to fly their own wing ASAP (we can sometimes arrange discount on ex-demo/2nd hand wings), good secondhand kit can be bought for about £1,000 (or less) for a wing which has flown often under 5 hours. As a result of the 'normal' UK standard there is a ready supply of very low airtime equipment. 10) Holding a CP rating should be viewed as just the start of the learning process, on line msn and phone help is freely available following passing, always remember the standard we look for in new pilots is well above that required for the BHPA CP as we aim not just to have pilots in the club who have 'knowledge' but actually understand and apply that knowledge as well. 11) How long will it take to be rated? As we do not run at a profit training is limited to days when Murray is not taking photographs and so is free to fly, that said as Murray runs about 50 sites within an hour of Dundee and manages to fly more hours than just about any other pilot in the UK, unlike the UK PG pilot with an average of say about 10 hours a year in 2003 Murray flew over 330 hours, certainly most years pilots should get 50 to 150 hours flying! It is perfectly possible for individuals to reach the required standard and airtime within a month or so of taking up the sport subject (of course) to the UK weather! 12) If PPC training is not done for profit how much might it cost to training elsewhere? Training cost with the BHPA to CP (Novice) level, even not including wasted journeys (see 13) etc. based on what RE-training pilots state having spent is often well over a thousand pounds, flying typically under 3 hours and often taking more than a year to get their rating. At PPC appart from not making a profit but simply trying to cover costs the amount spent on training is further greatly reduced when pilots have their own equipment and so only need to cover the expenses involved with club radios/sites etc. etc. The considerable difference in standards/hors flown etc. needs to be factored in as you will fly at least ten times more hours and probably many more sites than with other PG schools, we fly in a range of conditions to ensure a safety level that gives you experiance of real UK flying conditions that will serve you well as the base for many happy years and hundreds of hours of flying. 13) How often do we actually fly? In the UK most rated pilots recon they are doing well if they fly one day out of three on site, by comparison at PPC Murray recons most years he does not fly one day out of twenty (due to weather not as pre-judged) which is quite a lot better to say the least! What this means is that in an average year we have only a few days not flown, when we have gone out to fly, and on some of those we can still do safety training say in the bottom (flat) landing field, the reason for the high number of flown days is the standard of both training and weather judgment & knowledge. 14) I have done some paragliding training before will this help? In the past due to the problems associated with 'unsafe regression' (if you weren't told about this by your instructor it was probably because he did not know about it!) most of those who have had some previous training will take longer to reach a safe standard. However experience in both GA & sailplane flying and sailing will help normally as in this case their are no ingrained (PG) 'Bad Habits' needing corrected. [Unsafe Regression; this is the tendency to revert to a first trained procedure which while they may have been safe in very easy conditions and location can easily come back to 'bite' in real conditions later on. This will be fully covered in training.] 15) Apart from the training with the club what else do I need to do? Studying aviation text books on the subjects required to pass the written exam is something which you need to do at home, feel free to use the msn link and phone for help and to revise the subjects, the club has books which can be borrowed (donations appreciated!), please note that we DO NOT recommend the books written specially for paragliding due to the numerous errors they contain, instead we recommend the PPL books published by AFE. 16) Once pilots are CP rated they can join ESP club which is open to all 'qualified' (rated) pilots who also maintain a good currency in airtime etc. This club was set up late 2003 to meet the needs of primarily Scottish based PG pilots but has members as far south as London! 17) Membership forms and liability waver should be filled in. Picture caption Lady P2 enjoying her first flight (over 40 minutes on a 35ft ridge next her house) photograph shows her on the controls with just an extra touch of help from Murray to fly beats after just a few minutes in the air! This picture was taken by her husband who had just flown almost an hour. Training/coaching or 'fun days' are £120 per day including site fees/transport and equipment use up to £100 cost, normally limited to a max of two pilots. Tandem flying on the club glider costs us about £50 per hour usage solo gliders at about £20 per hour. Most of the club gliders are Nova's. |
|
Send mail to
murray@pbmphotographic.co.uk with
questions or comments about this web site.
|
