The Pilotage / SIV course
The flight training course or SIV course allows you to work on flight incident manoeuvres or advanced piloting in a setting designed for safety. This is an area above the lake with a boat and a safety waistcoat. This framework makes it possible to secure the landing if the pilot arrives on the ground under his reserve parachute.
Progression is adapted to each person's level and expectations. For safety reasons, the validation of certain piloting skills will be required before accessing certain manoeuvres. The instructor reserves the right not to tackle certain manoeuvres with the pilot if he does not feel that he has acquired sufficient skills.
The SIV course can be approached at very different levels. However, for organisational reasons, you must be autonomous in paragliding for back and front take-off and landing. An initial pilot's licence is required.
This course takes place over 2 or 3 days.
Examples of manoeuvres we can tackle during this course (depending on the level of each participant):
- Pitch and roll
- Dynamic bends
- The 360° descent
- Frontal and asymmetric collapses and their consequences (autorotation)
- Wings and wings over
- Avoidance manoeuvres
- Dropouts at B
- Stalls and backflips
- Tendrils
- SAT
- …..
Organisation:
The decision to maintain or cancel the course due to the weather forecast will be taken the evening before. There is no need to call the shop for information, you will receive an e-mail at the address you gave when you registered at around 7pm. So for a course starting on Saturday, the e-mail will be sent on Thursday. For a course starting on Wednesday, the e-mail will be sent on Monday.
The meeting point is usually at 8am at the Les Alérions holiday centre at 496 route de Bluffy in Talloires (park in the south car park, on the lake side). If the weather deteriorates in the afternoon, the meeting can be brought forward to 7am.
We start with a briefing that includes safety instructions, exercises, and your experience and expectations, as well as checking that your reserve parachute has been extracted. The flying session follows as soon as the briefing is over.
At the end of the course, you can take your videos with you if you wish. (Bring a memory card or USB key).
Hardware
You must bring your own flying equipment in good condition:
- Paraglider approved to EN 926 and serviced in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. No CCC category and no aspect ratio greater than 7.
- An EN 1651-approved harness with back protection (foam or airbag)
- An EN 12491 approved rescue parachute that has been repacked less than a year before the course and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations.
- An EN 966 approved helmet
- A radio that can be used on frequency 157.5875
Take a buff-style choker to hold the headset in place if necessary. Bring a pair of thin gloves and sunglasses. If you're missing anything, let us know when you register so that we can plan for it.
We provide lifejackets and earpieces for the radios.
What to expect in addition :
- Pack a picnic lunch for the day and a bottle of water (we don't have lunch breaks, but you can bring your own picnic lunch and have a bite to eat at the deco or on the shuttle).
- Make sure you have a change of clothes when you land in the lake.
- A FFVL licence with aviation liability insurance is required for the course. You can apply for a licence here: https://intranet.ffvl.fr/ffvl_licenceonline#fin . If you have your RCA insurance with another company or abroad, you must take out at least a "9-day" FFVL licence, at a cost of 39 euros. If your licence is not registered on the FFVL website 48 hours before the course, you may lose your place on the course to someone on the waiting list.
- accommodation
Rate
The fee includes :
- supervision by 2 state-qualified instructors
- the loan of a waistcoat and an earpiece.
- images and videos of your flights
- a boat for recovery
- shuttle bus journeys.
Enrolments are only confirmed once a deposit of €100 has been paid, otherwise you will be put on the waiting list and your place is not guaranteed. This deposit will be refunded in the event of cancellation by Les Grands Espaces, particularly in the event of bad weather. This deposit will not be refunded if you cancel less than 30 days before the course.
If you cancel less than 7 days before the course, you will be billed in full.
A day normally includes a briefing, 3 flights and a debriefing. The day will be invoiced in full if 2 or 3 flights are completed. If only 1 flight is completed due to bad weather, and on the instructor's decision, the day will be invoiced with a reduction of 50%. If no flight is made due to bad weather, but if the briefing has been given and the course equipment has been used (shuttle to take-off, boat set-up, etc.), a minimum charge of €50 will be billed. No charge will be made for a day cancelled by the instructors for weather reasons before the start of the day.
Hire of a school radio costs €10 per day.
Rental of a rescue (belly) from the school is charged at €20 per day.