rodbailey

SIV Course Information Sheet
( http://www.bhpa.co.uk )

A possible way of learning to deal with unstable situations would be to attend an SIV course ran by
experienced SIV instructors. SIV stands for ‘Simulation d’Incident en Vol’ and roughly translated
means simulating unstable situations in flight. Here you can learn about the way your particular
canopy handles and how to make the correct control inputs in unstable situations, progressively
building up to more complicated manoeuvres. This must all be done over water with the use of
buoyancy aids, radios, video equipment and support boats etc. NB. Landing in water is never 100 per
cent safe, even in controlled situations.

It is arguable whether attending an SIV course is fundamental to a pilots’ development. Establishing
good ‘active flying’ skills is more important as this will prevent the majority of collapses in the first
place. Having said that, a good SIV course that is both progressive and well ran, with plenty of
feedback, can teach you a lot about your wing and how it feels at the onset of a spin or stall etc. The
course should be geared to your individual needs and experience, and the manoeuvres should be
progressive. A badly run course will teach you nothing and may have a detrimental effect on your
development as a pilot.

YOU MUST BE CLUB PILOT RATED BEFORE ATTENDING AN SIV COURSE.

Be clear as to why you want to attend an SIV course and what you hope to achieve by the end of it.
The aim of SIV is to teach you about the handling characteristics of your wing at the edges of its flight
envelope. What it feels like just prior to an unstable situation and how to make the correct inputs if it
does become unstable. SIV should also teach you to recognise when a situation is hopeless and the
only option is to deploy your reserve. SIV IS NOT designed to teach you how to fly beyond the
normal flight envelope of the glider. Paragliders are not designed for aerobatics. Discuss with the
course provider what you hope to achieve and ensure that they can provide what you require.
Depending on your level of experience it may take a number of SIV courses to cover all the unstable
manoeuvres.

Before booking on an SIV course make sure your equipment is in good order and well maintained.
SIV manoeuvres can place severe strains on all elements of your equipment. Make sure your reserve
parachute is of a suitable size and is correctly fitted to your harness (if you are unsure about this then
have it checked by a BHPA registered packer). Practice dummy deployments to familiarise yourself
with the technique (and to ensure the parachute will deploy!). Become as familiar as possible with your
canopy and equipment. An SIV course is not the place to familiarise yourself with a new wing. You
will get more from the course if you are already familiar with the normal flight characteristics of your
wing.

The following are not considered reasonable as elements of an SIV course: established spins,
parachute deployments, cascaded or combination manoeuvres (e.g. spiral dives with ears in).

NEVER DO ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT ENTIRELY HAPPY WITH.

Read through the following ‘RECOMMENDED SIV SYLLABUS’. NB The BHPA does not license
SIV courses or SIV course providers.

Confirm that your chosen SIV course can fulfil the recommendations.