Paraglider Pilot Training Overview

Intro & Safety Session (2–3 hours)
This session is your chance to see if paragliding feels like a good fit for you. It’s not a sport you pick up overnight—it takes time, practice, and a willingness to learn—but it’s also one of the most rewarding ways to experience flight. We’re here to guide you through the early steps and help you figure out if this is something you want to pursue.

We’ll cover:

• Basic gear: paraglider, harness, radio, and how it all works

• How to connect to your gear and do a solid pre-flight check.

• Concepts of flight and how paragliding fits in the world of flight

• Packing and caring for your wing

• Then you’ll suit up and get hands-on—learning to inflate and control the wing while running on flat ground, staying safely on your feet the whole time.
  
  

Training Hill (1–2 mornings, ~3 hours each)
Perfect if you only have a day or two and want a better feel for the sport before committing to full certification.

• Includes the Intro & Safety session

• We’ll focus on ground handling—learning to control the wing with your feet on the ground

• If conditions are right and you're ready, you’ll move to the training hill and get your first low flights: short, straight glides from a small hill and smooth landings
  
  

USHPA P1 Beginner Rating (5–6 days)
This course gets you off the ground, literally. You’ll learn the basics of launching, flying straight, and landing from a low hill in ideal conditions.
It’s not enough to fly solo yet, but it sets the foundation for the full P2 rating. Think of it as the first chapter in your journey to becoming a pilot.

USHPA P2 Novice Certification (3–4+ weeks depending on conditions)
This is where you really start flying. By the end of your P2 training, you’ll be able to fly solo under supervision, understand the weather, and make smart, safe decisions in the air.

We’ll cover:

• Advanced ground handling

• Takeoffs, turns, approaches, and landings

• Ground school topics like meteorology, site assessment, and managing risk
  
  

USHPA requires a minimum of:

• 35 flights

• 7 flying days

• 8 hours of ground school
  
  

We’ll give you a training task book that outlines the skills you need to learn and get signed off on. Everyone progresses at a different pace—our job is to make sure you’re solid and confident when it’s time to fly solo.

Schedule & Weather
Most lessons are early mornings to take advantage of calm conditions. Weather matters in this sport, and safety always comes first—some days we’ll have to reschedule based on wind or conditions. It’s all part of learning to fly.