Matt Taber writes:

Tandem instruction is awesome. Tandem discovery flights as a way to introduce the sport to the masses is excellent and leaves the participants with a very positive impression of hang gliding. This however, for most is not the "PIVOTAL MOMENT" that motivates the individual to take the next step to learn to fly. The thing that screams at you -- I have do this!

We have found that even with the use of a simulator, a ground instructor to show the student how to fly the glider and explain the elements of the flight and what to expect as well as a film preparing each individual to get the most from the tandem flight, we still get very poor retention. This is with the use of a special upgrade coupon that applies what they have already paid toward a lesson package with a do it now savings. Still less than 2% upgrade!

The participants speak volumes about what a blast that they had and that they will DEFINITELY be back -- but they do not come back.

Tandem discovery flights as a way of recruiting new participants -- new students is not effective.

I feel many of the flight parks and possibly the individual commercial tandem instructors know their discovery flight students are having big fun and hear the same thing that we hear: "I will definitely learn to fly -- this is awesome!" Yet they do not see the return either. These instructors really do not know why or know of a proven method that will bring the people back for lessons. They may be thinking of scooter towing or adding hill lesson, but for the moment they do not want or simply can not make a larger investment.

There are a lot of elements involved in changing the way we do things that require a commitment and investment in many areas. Depending on the size of the operation and the number of discovery flights we are talking about there ends up being a lot of doubt as to the pay off.

I know that offering an introductory flight lesson as our most popular one day hang gliding experience in place of a "just" a discovery tandem flight, where the intro lesson includes about five solo flights and then one tandem flight has increased our retention at LMFP to at least 15% and probably more like 20%.

Lesson upgrades from just the introductory lesson contributed one half in dollar amount to the best lesson sales month this March compared to any month in our history. March is not usually a very strong lesson sales month but this March was the best lesson sales month in our history.

Many of the issues that readily come to mind preventing many flight parks from utilizing scooter towing combined with tandem flights are:

1) Skilled man power -- many operations utilize very few people to fulfill the discovery tandem flights -- integrating training hills or scooter tow to the same customer is going to require more man power. Talented skilled people are hard to come by and cost money.

2) Knowing that it will pay off -- many operators can not risk losing money where they are currently making money -- therefore it is less risky to do what they know works.

3) Investment -- Condors, harnesses, scooter tow cost minimum about $6,000 -- Will the investment provide an immediate return?

4) Conditions -- how is this going to work when there is wind and thermal activity? How do I integrate my discovery flights with the solo scooter tow flights?

5) Unanswered questions, little knowledge of success and exactly how to take the next step -- uncertainty and doubt.

6) The successful business model has not been sufficiently established -- how many new pilots will I convert? What will this add to the bottom line? What can I count on?

While I strongly believe in the concept and I personally am investing in the method and idea -- the fact is that trading what they do now for what they could be doing has risk and uncertainty.

There needs to be an experiment -- a documented recipe that shows exactly how you can take the very same customer that would take a discovery tandem flight and change the flight to include a few solo scooter tow flights that would hopefully provide the all important "PIVOTAL MOMENT". The next step would be -- how to debrief the student, offering an immediate incentive that they have to act on to be eligible for the incentive -- a call to action -- that upgrades the tandem discovery flight to a learn to fly package.

I feel that you can run scooter towing at the same time you are flying tandems -- at least in the early and late parts of the days. Will the solo flight from the scooter tow be the "PIVOTAL MOMENT"? -- I think so -- I also feel strongly that for whatever reason the tandem flight by itself, for 98% of the people who try it, is not a "PIVOTAL MOMENT".

Many of us have gone to the clinics, purchased or made scooter tow winches -- purchased WW Condors -- the next step is the implementation of how to integrate the scooter tow into your Tandem Discovery flight. Implement the strategy and sales approach to upgrade the tandem flight experience/scooter tow experience into a learn to fly lesson package.

The elements are out there -- the focus needs to be applied. I feel the reason why many aero tow parks are not bringing numbers into the sport is easy to identify and understand -- it is not so easy to turn this around. I feel the reward is out there -- the joy of sharing your students success and the referrals that come from your students as well as the residual sales of equipment all make the flight park business that much more viable.

In 2006 in the whole of the USHPA there were about 240 new novice pilots in the US -- 102 came from Lookout Mountain Flight Park -- this is a huge problem.

At Lookout Mountain Flight Park we are moving forward -- we have purchased another 12X40 conex container and our scooter tow rig now lives at the hills where we are integrating scooter towing into our curriculum. We will procure another scooter tow rig and keep it in the LZ and experiment with operating the scooter tow at the same time as the tandems are flying -- we will also offer the same tandem discovery flight at the same price but throw in a few scooter tow flights to see if we can provide the "PIVOTAL MOMENT" for our student. While we try to encourage folks to take our intro lesson there are still many who do not have the time and will only spend the time to fly tandem. I want to see what upgrade percentage we can have if we include solo scooter tow flights first with these folks.

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