The benefits of learning in a classroom environment have been known for generations as the best way to learn new subjects. To have things explained to you with models, drawings, diagrams, photos and film is the best way to fully understand a subject.

The trend over the last ten years has been for more students to study at home, at work or on the train by reading books or watching DVDs. This has the advantage that you can take it anywhere, but it takes a LOT more effort to learn this way. We can teach you in two hours in a classroom environment what would take you two days of home study to understand properly.

In a classroom there is always someone who will ask a question that you're embarrassed to ask and you'll learn from it (then berate yourself for not asking the same question yourself a little sooner). There is NO stupid question - it is only stupid not to ask if you don't understand.

EP & CP Theory

Studying with books like Touching Cloudbase or watching DVDs like Paragliding: Learn To Fly will help you with your theory.

Trevor's Revision Notes (these are for CP+ level); there is a lot of information in them that you don't need to learn in order to pass your CP exam, but why not start once you've got your Club Pilot.

We have always given lectures as part of your EP and CP course, but if you come along to our evening classes it will mean you don't use part of your course time for theory; you can spend that time flying instead. It will work out cheaper for you too as ground school lectures are only £10.00 per hour. The topics are as follows:

Elementary Pilot Lectures

1. Complete EP Theory - This single lecture will cover theory of Meteorology, Principles of Flight, Air Law to the level required to pass the EP exam.

Duration 60 minutes. Cost £10.00.

Club Pilot Lectures

1. Emergencies - This lecture will cover water and tree landing procedures, low turn recovery, out of wind landings, PLFs, emergency parachute systems, alternative control techniques, collapse recovery, stalls, spins and spiral dives, paraglider certification and recommendations on pilot skill level requirements for different performance gliders.

2. Principles Of Flight - This lecture will teach you how a wing generates lift, how it flies, how it turns, the effects of drag (parasitic and induced), how weight and wing loading effect the way it flies, how important it is not to fly wet etc.

3. Meteorology - This lecture will cover the basics of how our weather works; where it comes from, what causes it, how wind works, what thermals are. It will also cover air movement, turbulence, frontal systems, anticyclones and depressions.

4. Air Law - This lecture will cover air law and how it applies to us. It will include anti-collision rules, where we can and can't fly, the times we can fly, military low-flying, CANP & NOTAMS, aeronautical charts, altimeter settings, types of airspace, low flying rules.

5. General Airmanship - This lecture will cover human performance limitations, (drugs, tiredness, stress, lack of currency etc.), repairs and inspection of your canopy and equipment, the Pilot Rating Scheme, your limitations as a Club Pilot and how to progress on to the next level - Pilot.

These are normally given in three two hour sessions and will follow this pattern; parts 1 & 2, parts 3 & 4 and then part 5 followed by the exam.

The duration of each lecture is 60 minutes. Cost £10.00 each.

Pilot & Advanced Pilot Lectures (HG & PG)

These are also run by most local clubs, but only around once a year (if you're lucky). Some clubs are better than others at organising them, but only rarely will you get an instructor doing them. They are normally done by coaches or selfless individuals who give their time to you freely - if you find one of these make sure you buy them lunch or a few beers - maybe you could even stick a £20.00 note in their pocket. :-)

Here at ParAvion we are able to offer you lectures by professional instructors that teach flying for a living. Each of the Pilot lectures will last two hours and the charge will be only be £10.00 per hour (in all other types of aviation it's at least £25.00 per hour so it's very good value). All three lectures should be attended for the best chance of passing your exam first time (if you fail there is a three month penalty incurred before you can re-take it).

The Advanced Pilot exam paper is actually easier than the Pilot exam in that it repeats a lot of the questions from the Pilot paper, but obviously the Advanced Pilot practical tasks must be completed first.

1. Air Law & Navigation

This lecture will cover official documents, sources and promulgation methods of UK aviation law, how to interpret aeronautical charts (including scales, differences in the level of information depicted,
validity periods, and symbols), how to understand the basic structure of Zones, Areas and Airways, get to know the dimensions of ATZs and MATZs, how to understand the usage of various altimeter settings (QFE, QNH, 1013.2 mb), get to know the Rules of the Air (especially the low-flying rules, the right-hand traffic rule, and the aerial collision avoidance rules), learn how to be able to define VMC and VFR (minima, rules), the legal definitions of night, sunset and sunrise and the relevant flying restrictions relating to them, how to define IMC and IFR (basic differences from VMC rules), how to appreciate the factors affecting compasses (deviation and variation), learn to be able to interpret warning signs, understand commonly used abbreviations and initials, how to distinguish between types of airspace that permit glider entry and those that don't (e.g. AIAAs, MATZs, Danger Areas).

2. Meteorology

This lecture will teach you how to understand the relationship between wind direction and areas of high and low pressure, be able to describe in detail a cold front and a warm front (typical clouds, conditions, pressure changes, wind changes), be able to identify some common high, medium and low cloud types, and give their approximate heights, fully understand convection (the birth and development of a thermal, through to plotting the progress of a thermal given the ELR and initial temperature), understand, and be able to define and use, meteorological terms such as stability, instability, veer, back, ELR, DALR, SALR, tephigram, anabatic, katabatic, be able to describe the usual conditions associated with high and low-pressure weather systems, understand the causes of: valley winds throughout the day, sea breezes and sea-breeze fronts, wave lift, fog (of various types), fully understand and be able to interpret a synoptic chart - to the extent of being able to describe the current weather at selected locations, to forecast likely changes and be able to link cloud types to precipitation.

3. Flight theory and instruments

This lecture will teach you in detail how a wing creates lift, including the relevance of venturi tubes and Bernoulli's, theorem, be able to define and use terms such as chord line, angle of attack, aspect ratio, centre of pressure, washout, be able to describe the aerodynamics of the stall, be able to simply describe factors affecting stability in pitch, roll and yaw, understand the relationship between glide ratio and l/d ratio, understand the effect of ballast, be able to name the forces on a glider in steady flight and explain their relationship, be able to name the various types of drag and explain their causes, be able to describe the relationship between the induced, parasitic and total drag and airspeed using, drag curves, understand and be able to use a polar curve, understand the basic working principles of altimeters and variometers, understand terms such as total energy and airmass in connection with variometers.

The duration of each lecture is 120 minutes. Cost £20.00 each.

If all three lectures are paid for in advance you will get a FREE copy of Trevor's Revision Notes.

Advanced Navigation

This lecture is aimed primarily at paramotor pilots and will include the following: Flight planning, measuring tracks and headings (drift angle, cross track error, distance travelled, distance remaining, flight time remaining), fuel calculations, time and endurance, triangles of velocity and learning to understand the relationship between knots and nautical miles.

Duration is 120 minutes. Cost £20.00.

There is no exam for Navigation

Times, Dates & Payment

Dates for all lectures and exams are arranged as and when they are required (a minimum of four people) normally a month or two apart. We can do it for a minimum of two people, but then the price would be doubled.

If you want to attend any of our lectures; let the office know by email and you'll be informed of the next available session/s. These do fill quite quickly, so give plenty of notice to be sure you don't miss a place.

To guarantee your place all lectures must be paid for in advance. Go to our prices page to pay once your lectures' dates have been arranged.

Please Note: If you fail to attend a lecture without giving us at least 72 hours notice, your fee for that session will be forfeit and a similar lecture may not be available for several months.