147 hone skills at month-long SIV paragliding training in Pong wetland

Rajiv Mahajan

Nurpur, April 22

The month-long special SIV course for paragliding pilots concluded at the Pong wetland area in the lower Kangra hills last evening.

As many as 147 pilots from Kullu, Mandi, Kangra, Hamirpur, Shimla and Chamba districts honed their flying skills to overcome unstable and unfavourable situations during tandem flights.

The Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali, organised this course for tandem paragliding pilots of the state for the first time.

According to information, five courses were conducted for every batch, comprising 30 pilot trainees each. The pilots underwent the SIV course (Simulating unstable situation in flight) under the supervision of the institute’s paragliding incharge, Gimmer Singh.

Talking to The Tribune, Singh said the SIV special training was imparted to the trainees at the banks of Pong Wetland at Dhameta and Fatehpur villages in Fatehpur subdivision of Kangra district without any mishap.

The course had been conducted over the Pong Wetland, where weather conditions were ideal for the aero-sports courses, he added.

“Such courses are usually conducted at Ranjit Sagar Dam reservoir in Punjab. However, now the institute has identified Pong wetland in Kangra and the Gobind Sagar Lake in Bilaspur district for holding such courses. Around 600 commercial paragliding pilots registered with the mountaineering institute are supposed to get this special training, which is mandatory for the renewal of their licenses,” he said, adding that an SIV course trained tandem paragliding pilot could prevent accidents while flying in the air. The SIV flying course was conducted using buoyancy aids, radios, video equipment and support boats.

The trainer gave instructions to the trainees through walkie-talkies and assisted them in crashing their paragliders and facilitating safe landings using their parachutes.