Would you teach PPG?

[Guest]

I am interested to know,

How many of you have considered teaching someone how to fly a Paramotor (or already have) You dont have to leave a comment if you dont want to but please do vote.

SW

[Guest]

i am very new to the sport and people have seen me with the wig and motor in the field and have asked me if i would show them how to go on, i have said not really as i dont want the responsibility but thinking about it i guess i could help them with the ground handling ?

please put me right if i miss something but i guess ya could learn them

ground handling

air law

basics of an engine and prop

i guess you could send them up in air on a machine have a radio to comunicate and i guess that is as far as an instructor would take you to get you in the air

i dont think it matters how many hours an instructor has because he aint a lot of good on the ground if your up there

so thinking about it i guess i would show some people i would wanna be covered incase the worst did happen , afterall its the students responsibility to look after them selves and assumin they are made aware of the risks i cant see there being a problem , whats other thoughts on this

[Phil_P]

If you take any responsibility for 'sending someone up' then I would expect that you are equally taking on liability. Even saying to someone 'you look ok to me, you'll be fine' might be construed as giving someone the green light to fly, with all the attendant risks involved.

Unless you are 110% confident in your own ability, and your ability to communicate your knowledge in a clear and unambiguous way, I wouldn't get close to giving instruction, not even ground handling. In this litigious society, you are sticking your head above the parapet.

I would expect an instructor to be carrying some pretty heavy duty insurance if they are doing the job.

[Guest]

I would expect an instructor to be carrying some pretty heavy duty insurance if they are doing the job.

Alas the best deal I can get is 25K so if a student sues me its my assests they come after.

To protect myself from this I have a system of paperwork in place where the student signs to say they have undertsood the next step and are willing to assume the risk involved. It relates to each excercise in the sylabus and the sylabus is designed to be incremental in the skill and theory tasking. This is tedious but effective as it ensures we dont progress to far too fast and at every excercise the student assumes personal responsibility (voluntary assumptuion of risk) before proceeding.

I remain liable if my instruction is "negligent" that is if I do not follow the procedures I have laid down in black and white and which are similar (identical) to the "best practise" in the industry. In that way it is possible to demonstrate I have done "everything a reasonable man could be expected to do" (another legal phrase) to provide thoughtful, coherent and good advice and tuition.

Many independent instructors follow this pattern and all BHPA schools are inspected biennially to check they are adhering to this system.

The paperwork is kept for seven years (statute of limitations for "personal injury due to negligence claims" is three years I think).

I also offer (as agent) personal accident insurance to students to cover their personal risk if they wish it and point out the 25K limit of our own tp liability insurance.

You are quite correct about even friendly coaching. To proffer advice is a natural and friendly thing to do but places upon you a "duty of care" which you may not realise you are assuming. It is very important for every pilot and trainee to understand the hazards they face and understand how the risk can be minimised then assume the risk upon themselves; to understand that from the fisrt flight they are Pilot In Command. They cannot be radio controlled from the ground so must elect not to fly if they are not sure if they can fly the stated flight plan. Good effective coaching involves the asking of questions rather than the giving of instruction. "If you do that what do you think is the hazard and the likely risk of it occuring?" then asking further questions to elicit the correct answer, e.g "Yes but if you do that do you know that this could happen?" "No, well does that change your view on your course of action?" etc etc.....

For instruction there needs to be some sort of quality control. If I teach you and you teach John and he teaches Fred, pretty soon the whole sylabus will change and get diluted. There must be some bench mark (a written sylabus) and some means of testing its success (exam and assessment). Schools and instructors that have this in place get my vote.

Ask your instructor for the sylabus they are using, if they give you a written document that takes a progressive approach to every aspect of the theory and practise of piloting a PPG you are probably in the right school.

Limited liability insurance is irellevant if the instructor never negligent; so expect a slow, measured approach to training and don't expect to be flying after a couple of hours! PPGs are easy to fly badly, doing it well takes longer.

[norman]

I cannot give you a perspective on PPG instruction specifically, but I can try to illustrate for you what the process of becoming a fixed wing Flying Instructor is like having come via that route myself at the beginning and later in my career. In truth there will be little difference in what is being achieved at the end of the process. Place fixed and rotary wing, gliding and paragliding instructors in the same crew-room and they could talk for hours across common ground.

When you join a well constituted Flying Instructors Course (FIC) the process takes you on quite a journey. Your own flying is scrutinized, dissected then reconstructed to ensure that your skills meet and conform to this 'best practice'. That in itself is an exhilarating experience laced with challenges.

Your theoretical knowledge is tested, coached and raised such that you become a powerful resource for your students to tap on their journey toward qualification.

In addition to this, a small lashing of Teaching and Learning theory is visited to ease the passage of information from your brain to your student's so that as little as possible gets in the way of that flow of information. Perhaps the Flying Instructors most important calling is to develop and nurture within his students a disciplined, responsible approach to flight - to grow instincts that will enable his guys to both survive and thrive in the air.

Students model their performance and behavior on that of their instructor. This goes far beyond 'monkey see, monkey do' and extends into attitudes, discipline, mental approach and values. Your performance as an instructor is continually being observed, measured and evaluated by those around you. You are a guide, a mentor, a friend - a teacher and someone who may have the power to save a life with your skill maybe long after you have gone the way of all mortals. If this sounds like an onerous responsibility, it should.... because it is.

Couple the above with a thorough understanding of the teaching and learning process, instruction in the various methods of imparting knowledge and developing the skills, confidence and again this all important approach to flying, you can see that an instructors course really opens your eyes and takes you to places that you have just not been before.

'We don't know, what we don't know' - becoming an instructor is about a lot more than simply flying. It is a noble profession imho.

Our problem with Paramotoring is that as far as I am aware, a structured Instructors course has not yet been developed in this country... so far.

[gordon_dunn]

Currently i'd only 'assist' with wingwork- on the understanding that the pupil has to get training from a professional.

Being familiar with the wing before going on a training course is a great benefit.

GD