SIV PARAGLIDING · OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND

The wing is always speaking.

Confidence comes when you understand the whole conversation.

Learn to read what your wing is telling you, understand how you respond under pressure, and make the input the moment actually requires.

We have only 28 slots available for the season

7

PILOTS MAXIMUM

3

FLYING DAYS

2–3

FLIGHTS PER DAY

1000m

TOW HEIGHT

WHERE YOU ARE · THE DISCONNECTION

Every unexpected movement creates another question.

01

Was that the air, the wing or me?

02

How far will it go?

03

Will I recognise the moment to act?

04

Will my response help—or make it worse?

CONFIDENCE DEPENDS ON EVERYTHING STAYING NORMAL

SIV TRAINING

WHERE YOU WANT TO BE · THE CONNECTION

Every movement becomes useful information.

01

I feel the wing loading and unloading.

02

I recognise the energy building.

03

I understand the response my input creates.

04

I know how I behave under pressure.

CONFIDENCE BELONGS TO THE PILOT

01

Know yourself

Notice tension, hesitation and instinct—then learn how to stay available for the correct action.

02

Know your wing

Feel how it unloads, accelerates, turns and recovers, so its movement becomes information.

03

Know the response

Practise precise inputs until recognition and action begin to belong together.

THE FEEDBACK LOOP

You are not controlling
an object. You are
learning a relationship.

The wing gives a signal. Your body receives it. Your mind interprets it. Your hands and harness respond. The wing answers that input. SIV slows this conversation down enough for you to recognise and understand every part of it.

01 · SIGNAL

The wing moves

Pressure changes, pitch builds, a turn develops or the canopy unloads.

02 · AWARENESS

You recognise it

You connect sight, harness pressure, brake pressure and energy into one picture.

03 · ACTION

You choose the input

Your response becomes measured, independent and appropriate to the moment.

04 · LEARNING

You understand the result

Video debrief connects what you felt, what you did and how the wing answered.

HOW THE GAP CLOSES

Experience replaces imagination.

01

See how you react

Discover what your mind and body do when the wing moves beyond normal flight.

02

Understand how the wing reacts

Connect what you feel through the harness and brakes with what the wing is doing.

03

Train a deliberate response

Build the timing, range and independence needed to make the input the situation asks for.

04

Repeat until it becomes familiar

Use video debrief and another flight to turn one experience into lasting understanding.

PILOT

⇄

WING

TWO RESPONSES · ONE SYSTEM

Understand what happens above your head—and inside your own response.

The wing is only half of the lesson. Confidence also depends on knowing what you do when pressure rises: where your attention goes, how your body changes and whether your hands remain available for the input you intended.

01 · YOUR RESPONSE

Observe yourself

Notice grip, breath, focus, hesitation and instinct. Then learn to stay calm enough to recognise and act.

02 · THE WING’S RESPONSE

Read the canopy

Feel pressure, pitch, roll, turn and energy. Understand what caused the movement and what your input changes.

When both responses make sense, uncertainty loses its hold.

01

React

02

Recognise

03

Respond

04

Recover

05

Trust

THE FOUR FUNDAMENTALS

The progression is held together by a repeatable method.

01

Trust your harness

02

Independent hands

03

Full brake range

04

Situational awareness

METHODOLOGY AND PHILOSOPHY CREDITED TO FABIEN & MALIN OF FLYEO.

ONE PURPOSEFUL FLIGHT AT A TIME

The conversation becomes clearer with every cycle.

01

Brief

Know what you are doing, why you are doing it and how to recover before leaving the ground.

02

Tow

Climb to around 1000 metres over water with the tow and rescue teams in position.

03

Fly

Work through the sequence with direct, calm radio coaching and height to reset.

04

Debrief

Connect what you felt with what happened, then shape the next flight.

YOUR COURSE · YOUR CURRENT EDGE

Your progression begins with the pilot you are—not a fixed list of manoeuvres.

Whether you are newly licensed, flying cross-country or preparing for acro, the exercises are selected around your current ability, your wing and the response you need to develop next. You are challenged, but never pressured beyond readiness.

YOUR INDIVIDUAL PATH MAY INCLUDE

01

Pitch and roll control

02

Full brake-range exploration

03

Asymmetric and frontal collapses

04

Spiral regulation

05

Energy awareness

06

Spin recognition

Every exercise is selected and progressed by the instructor for the individual pilot.

YOUR INSTRUCTOR · CHRIS CONNOLLY

Coaching the pilot—not simply calling the manoeuvre.

Good instruction gives you more than a command over the radio. It helps you understand what you saw, what you felt, what you did and why the wing responded.

Chris has spent more than 13 years helping pilots build skill and confidence. His calm, methodical approach draws on extensive SIV and acro training, competition flying, the FLYEO methodology and a deep study of how people learn and respond under pressure.

“The goal is not for you to depend on my voice. It is for you to build understanding you can take into every flight.”

CHRIS CONNOLLY

HEAD INSTRUCTOR

SMALL GROUP · SERIOUS LEARNING

Built to give you personal attention and meaningful time in the air.

4 days

COURSE WINDOW

Three planned flying days with one day held in reserve for weather.

2–3

FLIGHTS EACH DAY

We plan a minimum of two and aim for three when conditions and progression allow.

7 pilots

MAXIMUM GROUP

Direct coaching, detailed debriefing and a genuinely individual training path.

Otago

NEW ZEALAND

High tows over water in an extraordinary alpine training environment.

What is included

Equipment and reserve-deployment check
Individual pre-flight briefing
Direct in-flight radio instruction
Detailed video debrief after every flight
Your flight videos to keep
Life jacket and rescue-boat support
Continual assessment of flying conditions

What you will need

Approved wing and harness with back protection
Reserve packed within the previous six months
EN 966 free-flight helmet and gloves
Charged UHF radio
Current NZHGPA licence or visitor licence
New Zealand payout tow pilot rating

Need a tow rating? We can connect you with training partners in the North or South Island before the clinic.

CONTROLLED DOES NOT MEAN CASUAL

Safety is designed into every layer of the conversation.

All flying carries risk. SIV creates a deliberately managed environment for this work: height, water, equipment checks, a life jacket, rescue support, radio guidance, progressive exercises and conservative decisions about the conditions.

01

Equipment check

02

Over-water training

03

Rescue boat ready

04

Direct radio coaching

05

Progressive manoeuvres

06

Weather decisions first

WHAT PILOTS TAKE HOME

“I learned more in three days than in my previous two years flying.”

BRADLEY PARKINSON

“Calm, supportive and clear about what I needed to do—and why.”

WILLIAM STEWART

“The highest calibre of teaching in a fun, safe and calm environment.”

DEVINA SHEDDE

BEFORE YOU COMMIT

What pilots ask us.

Do I need to be an advanced pilot?

No. The clinic is for licensed pilots, and every exercise is tailored to your current experience—from a newly licensed pilot to someone with years of airtime.

What if I feel nervous?

That is completely normal and one of the best reasons to do SIV. We begin with simple steps, explain the purpose and recovery clearly, and progress at your pace.

Is SIV dangerous?

Paragliding cannot be made risk-free. The course manages that risk with height, water, equipment checks, a life jacket, rescue support, radio guidance and exercises selected for your level.

How many flights will I get?

We plan a minimum of two flights per flying day and aim for three when the conditions and your progression allow. Each flight can include several exercises.

What if I cannot complete a manoeuvre?

That is part of learning. We review what happened, refine the input and decide whether to repeat, simplify or move on. Progress—not pressure—is the goal.

When is the next clinic?

Send us an enquiry and we will share the next available dates, prerequisites and booking information.