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Goodbye BHPA
After being a staunch supporter of the BHPA since 1985 and having served as the head of their Flying & Safety Committee's Instructor & Coach Training Panel for seven years, our CFI Trevor McLoughlin has resigned.
Disgusted by their attitude and a threat of licence suspension for failing to divulge 'private business information' he has completely severed all ties with them. In his opinion, membership numbers and their officers' job security are far more important to them than student or pilot safety. Their latest move to try and force the exclusion of non-members from all BHPA registered flying sites is in Trevor’s opinion Draconian and dictatorial. Demanding insurance cover is acceptable, but demanding membership isn't. This happens nowhere else in the world, so why should we have it in the UK?
The BHPA are (contrary to popular belief), just a limited company seeking to increase profits (mainly from their members). The ratings they issue mean nothing to the CAA which is the main body for issuing aviation licences in the UK.
This now means that ParAvion is no longer a BHPA registered school and will not issue BHPA ratings. However, this political nonsense will change very little as far as our operation is concerned. In fact it will benefit both us and our students because instead of us being forced to pay a membership fee that only gives third party liability cover we can now offer that same cover plus the inclusion of personal accident cover for a little over half the price of BHPA membership.
The only inconvenience to new pilots is that they will have to be signed up as a BHPA Ltd member (and sit their exam) before they’ll be able to fly on BHPA Ltd registered club sites (this will cost ten pounds plus the membership fee). You will of course be free to fly anywhere else you want to without having to join BHPA Ltd.
Lastly, we will now lose our liability insurance that came with the school being registered with the BHPA - this was a staggering twenty five thousand pounds worth which as I'm sure you'll appreciate is in liability cover an absolute joke and just not worth having anyway.
We Have Moved
After twenty two years (1989 to 2011), we have finally closed our 'walk-in' shop. From now on all our equipment sales will either be online or by telephone as people now seem to prefer. Goods will be delivered directly from our warehouse, the UK importer or the product manufacturer.
We must move with the times and as 95% of our customers (old and new) prefer to buy online instead of actually calling into the shop. Who are we to argue when it is going to save us the cost of running an expensive retail outlet and industrial unit? After nearly five years of indecision as to whether we should do this or not we've finally bitten the bullet and have moved closer to our main airfield. The new address is shown to the left in the sidebar.
Directions can be found here.
We will store most of our stock in our new warehouse and workshop and will only have small items on display at the new office (varios, radios, helmets, gloves, boots and hardware etc.).
The main idea of this move is to allow us more freedom of movement so we don't have to be tied to a desk/shop. As a result, the office will not always be manned all day, but we'll never be far away so a quick phone call can still have us meet you there in a few minutes (most of the time).
As was intended; our online booking system is making life so much easier for us (and for all of you too judging by the feedback). We no longer have to deal with fifteen to thirty booking and re-booking phone calls everyday - it's great.
Online Booking System
We have at last enabled our new bespoke online booking system and so far it is proving to be very good. This will make life easier for our staff and more importantly for you our customers as you can now book from anywhere and at a time that suits you.
If you haven't registered yet, you'll find it a lot easier than having to call in by phone as you used to. Just click on the 'Book' tab above and register now.
One of the best points is that the system will automatically email you if your booked day is cancelled, thus saving you the cost and inconvenience of calling to find out if you're flying or not the next day.
Club Pilot Package Deals*
Buy your paragliding equipment from us and your TRAINING WILL BE FREE!**
It's easy; you simply purchase any combination of paraglider, harness, reserve parachute and helmet from ParAvion (with a minimum spend of £2,995.00).
This means you SAVE up to £1,190.00 in tuition fees because we will teach you for FREE!
No other school in the UK is offering such a generous training package; join us while you can - we can't offer FREE TRAINING for ever. The uptake on this deal has been so good this year, we will probably have to stop it VERY soon.
Here are a few suggested combinations for you. Remember you can make up your own package (check our online shop), but the total must come to a minimum purchase price of £2,995.00 (this can include boots or flying suit etc. to take it up to the minimum if necessary):
Nova Paraglider
For only £2,995.00
Gin Paraglider
For only £3,303.00
Independence Paraglider
For only £3,338.00
Firebird Paraglider
For only £3,451.00
Ozone Paraglider
For only £3,490.00
There are just three conditions:
1. You must book in regularly enough to complete your FREE 'six days' training within six months from the date of purchasing your equipment. Any days required beyond six months (or in addition to the FREE six days) will be charged for at the reduced rate of £100.00 per day (normally £170.00).
2. You must fly on your own equipment for ALL of your training.
3. No refunds will be made if you decide to stop training (or never start). This is because we are selling you the equipment and teaching you for FREE (providing it's during that six month period).
An added bonus is that by having your own trustworthy and known equipment, you will also be free to fly with another school if you choose; either at home or abroad. There is nothing to stop you from taking extra training elsewhere if you want to; we won't be offended. Not all schools have ParAvion's safety standards though, so you would be wise to choose carefully and only go to a school that comes well recommended (talk to us first would be best).
One of the main reasons for us offering this brilliant deal is that after our many years of experience; we have found that the people who buy their equipment early in their training are the ones that will put in the necessary effort that is required to learn to fly paragliders.
* These offers may be withdrawn or amended at any time without notice (prices fluctuate due to constantly changing exchange rates and taxes).
** This is to Club Pilot (Tow). To gain a Club Pilot (Hill) rating, an additional day or so of training will be necessary. This will be charged for at the reduced rate of £100.00 per day (normally £170.00). However, every year we find that less people want to fly on crowded hill sites - tow flying and paramotoring are far safer environments for the inexperienced pilot.
Tow Training
All our training is now tow based initially, with hill or paramotor training commencing once you've completed all your basic EP & CP training on the winch.
We have changed to using a winch for the following twelve reasons:
1. It allows us many more days out training (our average so far is three times as many).
2. Wiltshire doesn't have hills for any wind direction between ENE and SSW. The local club fliers struggle for the same reason and have to go to Wales to be able to fly on the hill (that's why so many fly with us in our tow club).
3. Because we now have this bigger 'weather window' to use, it has allowed our students to qualify far more quickly (now several weeks rather than many months). This is of course completely dependent on how regularly you attend and your luck with the weather.
4. You are no longer 'completely shattered' and finding yourself falling asleep driving home after having to climb hills repeatedly to get your flights completed.
5. Tow training will allow you to get many more flights in on any given day and to much greater heights (typically 1000 ft plus). This obviously gives you much more airtime than the short 50 to 100ft hops you'll get with hill training.
6. If you can do your training during the week (when it’s less busy), you will qualify in a lot less time because you will get more flights each day.
7. We can now complete your EP training in just two or three days and your CP in three or four (depending on group size).
8. Previously, you were limited by your fitness (i.e. how many times you could climb back up the hill), but on a flat airfield you don't have that problem.
9. The winch course is very much 'task based', so you may complete many more tasks each day than is physically possible with hill training.
10. It has proved to be a lot safer and produces better pilots. The reason is because you can learn to fly the glider without being too close to the ground (which is far too easy to bump into when hill flying). It also teaches you about circuit planning and precise landing control so that you will have the ability to land almost anywhere (especially important for XC or mountain flying like you'll have on our holidays). Hill pilots are simply not taught this to a high enough standard.
11. By qualifying on tow first, you can continue to fly with us (or any tow club) and practice your ground handling (windy launch technique). Once you've mastered it, you are ready for an easy conversion to hill flying that should only take a day or so. Trying to fly on a windy hill without good glider control puts you at a much higher risk of getting dragged, damaging your equipment or hurting yourself.
12. The best bit of all – it has allowed us to bring our training prices DOWN!
'Winch-Tow' or 'Hill Launch' Taster Day? - A Brief Comparison:
This comparison is a prime example of one of the many reasons we changed to using a winch for basic pilot training.
Taster Day (Hill) |
Taster Day (Tow) |
First hour spent on safety briefing and paperwork. |
First hour spent on safety briefing and paperwork. |
Remainder of the morning spent discussing the weather conditions and learning to understand why it is you're on the wrong hill and now have to move to another flying site because the wind is different to the forecast - then an hour or two of your day wasted while you move. |
Second hour spent on how the glider works and how to launch it, then being towed aloft by hand so your feet are already coming off the ground. The wind is different to what was forecast, but it doesn't matter - you're on an airfield. |
After lunch, now starting to get to grips with the glider and how it works; running around with it being careful not to stick your foot down a rabbit or badger hole, put your glider on the fence or get yourself and your glider covered in sheep or cow dung. |
Third hour; you now start flying properly. Your first flight will last between two and three minutes as we fly you the full length of our airfield (between 600 and 900 metres long) at a height of around 50 feet (15m). You'll repeat this until you're happy to go a little higher and move on to the next exercise. |
Mid-afternoon, just starting a few little 'hops' off the ground (duration probably just a few seconds).
|
After lunch you will fly higher and higher up to the maximum permitted on the first day of 150 feet (50m). You'll do this three or four times - each flight lasting around five minutes. |
Late afternoon finishing off with a flight or two at about 20 or 30 feet above the ground (duration still just a few seconds - thirty if you're really lucky). |
If the day has gone well, we'll just keep flying until the sun goes down or you've had enough - whichever comes first. |
End of the day; you had great fun, but left feeling completely shattered and only really had one 'proper flight lasting less than thirty seconds. You'll leave wanting more flying time, but will dread the thought of having to climb that hill again. |
End of the day; you'll leave the school absolutely 'buzzing' and be desperate for more flying.
You'll probably want to join us on an EP course on the next available day. |
We found that less than 10% of people completing a Taster Day on the hill ever returned for more training. The main reason - the thought of climbing that damned hill again. |
Since we changed to winch towing, more than 80% of people attending a Taster Day return for more training. Around 50% of those will sign up for their EP before they go home on the same day. |
That's just the first day - it gets even easier on the second and subsequent days:
- Many more flights each day
- Much higher flights - all over 1,000 feet or so.
- No hills to climb, so you don't have to be an athlete
By the third day onwards, there's not even any walking to be done; you land back at the launch point where you started - fantastic!
It can be argued that learning to fly on a hill is the best way to learn; this is a valid point if you want to fly in the crowded environment that is hill-flying, but be warned; learning like this can and does take people many, many months and it has been known to take several years for some people to get qualified in this way (ask on any forum).
The bottom line is how quickly do you want to learn? It's your time and your money after all, so it's your choice. If you want to only fly hills and are happy to take your time (lots of it) then this is the best way.
However, in both cases you will be taught to the same basic level - Club Pilot. This is the minimum standard that you can fly unsupervised. Neither will make you a better pilot; a beginner is still a beginner.
Our hill conversion sounds simple, but we can't just 'convert' you to hill flying in a single day; before we let you anywhere near a hill to do your conversion, you will have spent many hours practising the 'reverse launch' and 'ground handling' skills. The two most important things for any paraglider pilot to learn.
A BIG difference is with us you can practice this ground-handling FREE as a member of our Tow Club after qualifying - a hill instructor or school will charge you for that time. You will spend just as much time practising this with a hill school, but at either extra cost or less flying.
Remember, the main points in favour of towing with us are:
- It's much faster
- It's much safer
- Lots more airtime and many more flights
- No hard work climbing hills
- No crowds; the sky is yours
- Free tuition after qualifying
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