At the request of the CDVL78, Aquilae – Performance Paragliding Academy ran a weekend of tandem refresher courses for the Crécerelles and Thermique Francilien clubs, based on the “Voler mieux” model. This session was eagerly awaited in preparation for a discovery day for people with disabilities.
Tandem flying is not very common in associations. During the COVID period, this lack of practice became even more pronounced. It was important for everyone to get back on track: half a dozen qualified tandem pilots, a good dozen volunteers ready to assist in the field, and a trio of winch operators.
A good part of the first day was spent in the classroom, in the form of workshops: reflection, experience sharing and creativity to feed a list of concrete actions. The pragmatic study of risk situations is carried out with the ambition of real safety management. Finding real, concrete causes, upstream of the accident, on which it is possible to take action. The use of TEM (Threat & Error Management) makes this possible. With the identification of major problem categories, the empowerment of pilots and the protection of passengers, the avenues to be pursued in the field are clear to all.
In the field, we carry out a complete review of the equipment, checking that it is in good working order, and then move on to passenger care. Finally, we devote a day to getting the pilot and passenger back in the harness: inflation, take-off and landing techniques, flight program, communication between the parties involved, management of possible disturbances, piloting techniques, exploration of pendulum abseiling… There’s no shortage of work to be done!