SAFA Skysailor Magazine

48 SKY SAILOR September-October-November | SPRING 2026 the site briefing? How was their set up process? Secondly, the site: Is the landing zone in view of launch? Will a particular flight path be obscured and unobservable from launch? Next, consider the conditions on the day: Is it busy with lots of other pilots? Are the conditions prime or marginal for a super- vised pilot? Is it mixed ops or one discipline only? The answers to these questions will determine how closely the pilot needs to be supervised. If you need to leave the site, you must hand over the supervision role to another supervisor: Do they have the bandwidth to handle an extra pilot if they are already supervising? If yes, brief them on what’s going on and let the supervised pilot know who you are handing over to. If not, you must direct your supervised pilot to land. What supervision is not You are not there to provide instruction. If you feel that the pilot is asking for instruction on any matter, refer them back to their instructor. In particular, super- vising pilots are not to provide direction to pilots while they are flying with a view to improving their flight skills to control the aircraft. They were judged competent to manage their gear and fly. You are there to make sure that the conditions are safe for them to fly and that they do not stray into danger. If a pilot is straying into a dangerous situation, or conditions become unsuitable, you are empowered to give them a direction to get them out of that situation or to land. Take the opportunity to debrief the pilot; they will want feedback on how they went and whether there were any issues they need to work on. On Supervised and Supervising Pilots