Pilot's technical skills
Discipline
Paragliding XC
What went wrong ?
There is a huge problem with pilots' technical skills. Official bodies can be blamed for many things. But that won't improve pilots' technical skills.
Just watch the takeoffs during “high-level” competitions. It's disastrous for far too many pilots. The excuse that ballast makes mobility difficult exists. But that doesn't justify pilots not being able to fly their wings properly.
Unfortunately, a pilot who cannot control their wing on the ground will have the same poor reactions in flight. This is dangerous, both for them and for other pilots in a group.
A surprising comparison:
Running is a popular sport, with more and more people running (on roads or trails). The average jogger will train to complete their city's half marathon. They will pay for a coach and invest time and energy in their running.
In contrast, paragliders compete without training. They do so without thinking about their current level, their progress, or how to train to reach the level required for competition. Unlike running, paragliding puts our lives at risk. This happens at all levels, even in a final round of an FAI 1 championship... And yet, are they “the best in the world”?
Just watch the takeoffs during “high-level” competitions. It's disastrous for far too many pilots. The excuse that ballast makes mobility difficult exists. But that doesn't justify pilots not being able to fly their wings properly.
Unfortunately, a pilot who cannot control their wing on the ground will have the same poor reactions in flight. This is dangerous, both for them and for other pilots in a group.
A surprising comparison:
Running is a popular sport, with more and more people running (on roads or trails). The average jogger will train to complete their city's half marathon. They will pay for a coach and invest time and energy in their running.
In contrast, paragliders compete without training. They do so without thinking about their current level, their progress, or how to train to reach the level required for competition. Unlike running, paragliding puts our lives at risk. This happens at all levels, even in a final round of an FAI 1 championship... And yet, are they “the best in the world”?
What would you propose ?
The solution? Training! And changing pilots' mindsets. A competitive pilot must train and become an athlete, not just a flying enthusiast.
An athlete is someone who thinks about their practice, who takes the time to train, to repeat the basics, to progress... And this applies at all levels.
In parallel with this reflection, why are there far fewer accidents, or even no fatal accidents, in H&F races or acro competitions? Because they train to reach their level.
There has never been a death in the Xalps, even though the commitment is at its peak. Why? Luck? Maybe. But that's not all. These guys work hard to be “ready” for their race. In XC, the guys don't work hard.
An athlete is someone who thinks about their practice, who takes the time to train, to repeat the basics, to progress... And this applies at all levels.
In parallel with this reflection, why are there far fewer accidents, or even no fatal accidents, in H&F races or acro competitions? Because they train to reach their level.
There has never been a death in the Xalps, even though the commitment is at its peak. Why? Luck? Maybe. But that's not all. These guys work hard to be “ready” for their race. In XC, the guys don't work hard.
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I tend to agree, but apart from the observation, is there any data to support the point?
I’m by no means a role model in this matter and I'd like to train more often.. anyway.
I’d suggest preparing a survey (even though I hate surveys) to collect data such as:
- When was the last time you did a ground handling session with your competition wing?
- How often do you do such sessions?
- When did you last stall your comp glider?
- How often do you train stalls on your comp glider?
- How many practice stalls do you do per year?
- What is the reason you don’t do this more often? (lack of time, laziness, other priorities, finances, logistics, concern about equipment, fear, IMO that's enough, other etc.)
- And as a reference - in which glider class do you compete?
The idea would be to understand the current situation - the issue we’re trying to address - and to get a sense of the trend.
Ideally, such data could be collected annually to see how things evolve over time.
Maxime Bellemin has also an idea to reinforce basic skills to access the competition scene (IPPI6 - additional technical layers). I agree pilots could improve their skills a lot (coach cap), however take a look at the fatality list, some of our friends were superstars and accomplished athletes. Thanks for the input
Not every country has the same level of experience in paragliding as European countries, which have a long history and expertise in paragliding pedagogy. Is it possible for the FAI can lead and to define and develop a more solid and concrete structure for paragliding pedagogy that other countries can follow? When I look at the IPPI guidelines, IPPI 5 requires "at least 100 flights or 50 flying hours, on 5 different sites;SIV course strongly recommended" With this, an IPPI 5 holder can enroll in any competitions. What are we expecting?
In reply to Not every country has the… by Herman Chiu
Exactly
Well.
If it was so simple it would not have been paragliding...
You are wrong. Sorry to say that, but it is not a matter of hours, and this is part of the problem.
You will have people with thousands of hours that they never learned, they keep repeating the same mistakes and they just go on.
You will have prodigies with few hundred hours that can annihilate the previous guys, both on the air and in the takeoff...
You cannot "rank proficiency" in this sport with number of hours, or number of comps flown, or number of different takeoffs flown.
It is a start, if you do not have something else to base your ranking on, but is not a panacea...