Learn on the Equipment You Actually Fly

In most cases it is important to bring the equipment you normally fly, because SIV is not only about discovering the wing. It is about discovering how the complete setup behaves: wing, harness, reserve configuration and pilot together.

Some lightweight hammock harnesses, for example, can be particularly twist-prone. Finding that out in a controlled environment over water is very different from discovering it beside terrain, close to a cliff or low to the ground. A course gives you the chance to understand what your equipment may do during an incident, and whether those characteristics are something you genuinely want to live with in your everyday flying.

SIV shows you the instability and true reaction of a piece of equipment. That understanding is much more useful when it relates to the setup you actually use.

Understanding a New Wing

After stepping up to a new wing, SIV is one of the fastest ways to understand its characteristics and realise that it is still another wing that can be understood. It may simply communicate differently from what you are used to.

A new wing may have different brake pressure, a different usable brake range, different movement, different flex, more energy or less tolerance for poorly timed actions. Those differences matter. The course helps you become properly dialled into the equipment before you start using it in real thermic conditions.

Two-Liners and More Forgiving Training Wings

Flying a two-liner does not change the recommendation to bring your normal equipment. Traditional collapses cannot be performed in the same way on a two-liner, but there are still many two-liner-specific exercises and a great deal of useful training that can be completed on it.

For a first SIV, especially if you have never performed stalls, Pure also has mid-B wings available. That does not mean everyone must use a school wing. It means there are times when a calmer, more forgiving wing makes a particular exercise more useful.

Higher-aspect-ratio and more powerful wings can be very unforgiving of less-than-ideal pilot action during stalls and collapses. A mid-B wing can allow you to explore those movements with less stress, more damping, more tolerance for imperfect timing and more capacity to understand what is actually happening. The remainder of the course can then be completed on your normal equipment.

Use Your Normal Configuration

You should bring your equipment configured as you normally fly it. The point is to understand your actual setup, not an artificial version that bears little relationship to your normal flying.

That is why the equipment conversation is part of the coaching. We are not just trying to get through a list of manoeuvres. We are trying to understand the pilot, the wing and the full system you fly. Related reading: explore our paragliding SIV course, or read about EN certification and wing behaviour.