Another thing we do differently at Pure Paragliding is the online learning platform. When you book a course, you get access to different sections covering the site briefing, safety briefing, how to throw your reserve, and a basic knowledge section with tests before and after the videos.
Those videos cover the basic movements of the glider: being in a rotation, how to stop rotations, the difference between natural exits and rapid exits, catch and release, and what happens if you catch too early or too late.
The benefit of this is that you understand my language. You know what I’m going to brief you and what I’m going to say in the air. You can also start to visualise what is going to happen, and the power of visualisation is really important.
When you arrive on day one, we are all talking the same language. You already have an understanding of the glider’s movements before you’ve done them.
On the platform, we also have the doctor’s recommendations. I’ve been working closely with Dr Matt Wilks, and we have the science experiments he has been doing with us and by himself. He has also made a bespoke PDF about preparing for the course, with exercises you can do during the course and information covering fatigue, nutrition and other things that can affect how you learn.
We also have a goal-setting section. This looks at how to set goals, how to set SMART goals, and how to use a SWOT analysis to look at your strengths and weaknesses. The idea is to uncover the type of person and pilot you are, and the type of person and pilot you want to be.
I had another instructor, Caris, come here recently to do some filming. He sat in on the first briefing with the students and thought I had hit the jackpot with the group because everybody understood exactly what they wanted to achieve from the course. They knew what I was talking about, and he thought the knowledge in the room was amazing.
That came from the pre-course learning.
Students have time before the course to absorb the information: the site briefing, the safety briefing, the basic knowledge and the tests. They can take in the information, go away and play with a few small experiments themselves, and then arrive with more precise goals.
When you arrive, you understand the level you are at and where you want to go. We are all talking the same language, and that really helps your progression.
The other advantage of gaining this knowledge before the course is that we become more efficient on the day. We don’t have to bombard you with the site briefing and safety briefing all at once. It is much easier to recall something you already know than to learn it on the day and then try to recall it straight afterwards.