your paragliding questions answered
Is paragliding expensive?
Whilst it is not expensive, it is best to think of paragliding as an ongoing investment. The up front costs are for your training, kit, and club membership fees. Whilst there are cheap courses out there, we recommend you look for small courses, tailored to your ability, where your instructor will be able to give you individual time and attention. Remember this is where you will learn the key skills to keep you safe in the air! Equipment prices can vary depending on what type of flying you would like to do, and as your flying career progresses, you may look to invest in different types of kit. However, the most important investment you will make is your time – flying regularly will help keep you safe, and so making the most of your new sport is likely to be the most significant investment.
can i teach myself to paraglide?
We don’t recommend trying to learn to fly independently (and not just because we’re a paragliding school!). Equally, we don’t recommend trying to fly before you have your full licence. A paraglider is a fully fledged aircraft, designed to carry you through the sky – and unfortunately unexpected impacts with the ground, trees and buildings are all too common. As part of our training, we cover not only how to fly your wing, but safe landing procedures, what to do in an emergency, how to read the weather and basic air law. Operating without training (or without a licence) can expose you to serious risk in the event of an accident, including both public and private prosecution. Indeed, even experienced pilots benefit from regular refresher training – that’s why we offer our Lifetime Learning Guarantee, to help you enjoy your new hobby as safely as possible.
IS paragliding difficult?
Paragliding is the simplest form of aviation, but as with any pilot training, there are multiple subjects to learn. This ranges from the practical side of becoming familiar with your kit, through to understanding how to read wind and weather conditions, or having an understanding of air law. From a physical side, once you have completed your first short flights, you simply need to be able to carry your kit to take off (regular kit weighs about 15kg). Whilst all this may sound challenging, our job as instructors is to make the training process as simple as possible for you. That’s why we keep our courses small – so we can spend time on the bits that you find more difficult, and make sure our pilots leave safe and confident.
is paragliding dangerous?
Paragliding is an adventure sport. Paragliders are fully fledged aircraft, and as with any aircraft, carefully structured pilot training is essential if serious accidents are to be avoided. We believe the best way to mitigate this risk is to regularly fly with an experienced instructor. That's why we offer our LifeLong Learning Guarantee - if you train with us and later need any support, you can always access the experience you need via phone, email or on a free coaching day.
how long does it take to learn to paraglide?
With our small course size and generally good weather, we make the most of all the time you spend here. This means you can learn to paraglide in around 2 weeks (by completing two 6-day courses). We follow a specific syllabus and require everyone to complete each key activity a number of times. This is to ensure your safety and make sure you are ready to fly unsupervised. There are circumstances where you may not complete all the tasks within the course time, or we feel that further tuition is required to meet the standard necessary for us to issue you a rating. If this does happen, this will be clearly communicated and you will have the chance to discuss your options with your instructor.
do I need to be young & fit to learn to paraglide?
No, you don’t need to be young and fit to learn to paraglide. Unlike other flying or piloting courses, there is no medical or health assessment required. We accept students from 18 to 80 years old. You simply need to be able to walk up and down a small hill on uneven ground, carrying your kit (a backpack weighing around 15kg). There is only one restriction - for safety reasons, we only train pilots who weigh between 45 - 105kg. If you weigh outside of these ranges, please contact us before booking.