Skill levels

The IBA’s skill system isn’t a single ladder. There are several parallel programmes, one per role, each with its own levels, prerequisites, and currency. A flyer climbs the flyer ladder; if they later want to teach, they cross over into the instructor ladder, and so on.

Every skill a member earns is recorded against the right programme — and the platform enforces who can approve what at every step.

The programmes

A single person can hold positions in several programmes at once. A member’s record might say “Flyer Level 4, Instructor Level 3, Coach current” — that’s normal.

Flyer levels (1 → 5)

The main progression every member starts on. Each level is a set of required skills; you’re “at” a level once every required skill at that level is approved in your logbook.

• Level 1 — basic body position, controlled belly flight, comfort in the tunnel.
• Level 2 — Backflying or Formation skills (the member chooses one track to demonstrate competency).
• Level 3 — Static, Dynamic, or Formation skills (any one).
• Level 4 — Static, Dynamic, or Formation skills (any one).
• Level 5 — Static or Dynamic skills only. The top of the flyer ladder.

A few specifics worth knowing:

• A “Flyer Safety Brief” is excluded from the levels — it’s a safety pre-requirement, not a skill.
• After Level 1 the choices branch: a flyer can specialise in dynamic, static, formation, or some combination. They don’t need the same speciality at every level.
• Currency at one level doesn’t carry over. To stay current at Level 3, a flyer needs the Level 3 skill kept current, not just Level 1.

Instructor levels (1 → 4)

To start teaching a member needs AFC and Flyer Level 1. AFC is the gateway skill that says “this flyer is ready to teach others”; it’s recorded as a single milestone, not a level.

An instructor’s authority is bounded by their level: an Instructor Level 2 cannot approve a flyer’s Level 3 skill, even if they think it’s fair. Each level adds its own required skills (entry prerequisites like FITP at Level 1, then per-level Teach/Spot and flight skills) — see /business-logic/skill-levels for the full per-level list.

Two additional skills sit outside the level ladder and can be held by any instructor: Flying with Flyers and Equipment Instructor. They’re recorded against an instructor’s skill list but don’t gate or grant level progression.

Each level requires its own safety training each currency cycle — an instructor doesn’t get to skip Level 2 training just because they’re working at Level 4.

Trainer levels (1 → 4)

A trainer is qualified to certify new instructors and conduct instructor-level assessments. The track follows several years of instructor experience — each level adds a length-of-service threshold (roughly 12 / 18 / 24 / 36 months) on top of the skill requirements. Trainer Level 4 also carries authority over the Coach programme as Coach Assessor, Coach Rating Assessor, and FWE Coach Assessor.

For the per-level skill list and exact length-of-service gates, see /business-logic/skill-levels.

Trainers run instructor safety training and sign off on instructor level progression. An instructor can’t promote themselves; a trainer (or examiner) has to.

Examiner

Examiners run formal assessments — the moment when a flyer formally demonstrates competency at a given level, or an instructor candidate is evaluated. Examiner authority sits above trainer authority on the formal-assessment side.

Examiner is a single-tier rating, gated by prerequisite skills on the candidate’s record (the qualifying skills plus recurrent-training status). See /business-logic/skill-levels for the prerequisites.

An examiner is the highest-trust signature on the platform: an examiner sign-off is what unlocks a level, and the IBA’s reputation rests on the integrity of those signatures.

Airflow Controller

Airflow controllers are tunnel operations staff who run the airflow controls during flight sessions. Single-tier rating; the certification covers three core skills (operating the controls, delivering the intro session to first-time flyers, and running the daily safety inspection). See /business-logic/skill-levels for the per-skill detail.

Many airflow controllers come from the instructor pool and retain instructor currency from that prior role, but the rating itself doesn’t require instructor currency — see Members → Staff credentials vs active employment.

Coach

Coaches sit alongside the formal ladder rather than inside it. A coach works on technique with a flyer between sessions. They have their own currency and their own skill catalogue, but they don’t approve flyer levels. A flyer working with a coach still needs an instructor present to log progress toward a level.

Coach currency is independent: a member can be a current coach without holding a current instructor or trainer rating.

Military

Some IBA tunnels run dedicated programmes for military flyers. These operate as a parallel skill set:

• Military skills are tracked separately from civilian flyer skills.
• A military trainer certification is required to run the programme — not interchangeable with a civilian trainer rating.
• Military members carry a flag on their record so the platform knows to apply military-specific currency rules and skill validations.
• Currency for military members is tracked in its own table (channel_currency_military), with its own checkboxes and cycle.

How a skill gets approved (any programme)

The mechanics are the same across all programmes:

1. The member requests the skill in their logbook.
2. A qualified approver (instructor, trainer, examiner, coach, or military trainer — depending on the programme) watches the attempt.
3. If it meets the standard, the approver signs off in their own account. The platform records who approved, their level/role, the date, and the linked flight time.
4. The skill enters the member’s permanent record at the right programme + level.

Why this is enforced so strictly

A Level 3 flyer trained in Spain can show up in Australia and the home tunnel knows exactly what they can do. A military trainer certified at one tunnel is recognised at every IBA-affiliated military tunnel. An instructor’s signature in a flyer’s logbook is trustworthy because the platform makes it impossible for an under-qualified person to leave that signature.

That portability — across tunnels, across programmes, across years — is what the IBA credential is. The platform exists to maintain it.