About Paramotor Training
Learn to Fly, Not Just Get into the Air
While safety is our primary concern, our objective is to teach you how to fly, not just get you in the air and give you an experience. This takes time. In fact, some of our best pilots stay with us all season long. And that’s okay! We want you to leave a confident self-directed PPG pilot, one who knows how, where, and when to fly.
USPPA Certified School
We are proud to be part of the United States Powered Paragliding Association (USPPA). As a certified school, we embrace the standards of the organization and the information it provides in the syllabi. We offer certified foot-launch instruction, and can offer the following USPPA ratings—PPG1, PPG2 and PPG3. Presently, however, we do not provide wheel-launch instruction, yet we'd be happy to recommend a wheel-launch school.
Training Season Starts in May and Ends in October
While you may contact us any time you wish, we only train 6 months out of the year—May 1st through October 31st. These 6 months are completely full-on for us, as we train on a full-time basis, living and breathing this sport every day. As a student, you are always welcome to come out during this time of year.
Classes Start at the Beginning of Each Month
Classes start at the beginning of each month. Students are scheduled and have an official start date, often being established weeks to months in advance. This start date always takes place on a Saturday. Rain or shine, students are required to be present on this date. This gets everyone on the same page, particularly as it relates to technology and outlining ideal weather and training conditions.
Small Classes and Limited Seasonal Enrollment
We believe in small classes, starting two to three new students per month. And as this is a wind and weather dependent sport (with limited flyable sessions each month), we also limit our total enrollment for the season. This gives everyone lots of attention, plenty of time to work at their own pace, and ample space in the sky.
Ground School and Flight Training
Training consists of coursework and fieldwork. The coursework (or ground school) addresses various USPPA concepts, information on safety, airspace, regulations, weather, wind, etc. The fieldwork (or flight training) addresses all the physical skills to fly a powered paraglider, from kiting to launching to landing and everything in-between.
Train at Your Own Pace, Full or Part-time
Except for your official start date, we are flexible and don’t require or pressure our students to train on any specific day or set of days. You are free to make your own schedule and train at your own pace, coming out on a full or part-time basis.
Recommendation for Part-time Training
While concentrated training is best, if you don’t have the time or live hours away, here is our recommendation: When you start training, come out for multiple days in a row. Once getting this foundation, you may want to talk with us and get yourself a glider. This will allow you to practice your kiting skills at home. This is not mandatory or anything, so please don’t feel any pressure. Indeed, this sport is a large investment. Ground handling, however, is by far the most time consuming activity as it relates to PPG training.
Meeting up / A Typical Day of Training
When you are able to meet up, we cater training to your individual needs and fulfill various requirements. For example, if the weather is good that day, we will likely work on ground handling a paraglider (kiting). And between kiting sessions or if we have poor weather conditions, we go over information and or do other activities, such as setting up gear. Of course, if the wind and weather are good that day, we will take to the sky.
Grounded vs. Groundless
Students are divided into two groups: First, we have the grounded students, those learning to control their glider on the ground and are working on requirements for flight. And next we have the groundless students (or student pilots), those who are flying with or without comms (communications). Because we don’t fly midday, days are dedicated to the grounded activities and evenings are dedicated to the groundless – if and only when the weather is good and the wind is smooth and flyable. Generally speaking, once a student starts going up, they only come out on flyable evenings (yet are always welcome to come out during the day as well).
The Path to a Self-Directed PPG Pilot
Although part-time training will create delays, the average student should expect several days of kiting / learning how to control the glider on the ground in various wind conditions. Once the glider is out of one’s head and other requirements are met, the motor is added. On your first flight, anticipate an experience, an awakening to flight. While you will be on comms at this time, subsequent flights will have less direction and more responsibility. During this phase, we focus on launches and landings. However, with additional flights, students generally start flying on their own (without comms) and begin to work on airtime.
Unlimited Training for 6 Months
We are often asked, “How long will training take?” Well, that’s really up to you, your commitment, your time, your development, and the weather. You, however, can train as much as you like, every day if you want. On average, training takes about 14 days. These are good weather days, not days in a row. If training takes more time or less time, that’s okay as well. We understand that people develop at different rates. We also understand that students have jobs, have family commitments, and are working at their own pace and with their own schedule. Whatever the case, you have a total of 6 months to complete training. For instance, if your start date is August 1st, 2022, your end date is August 1st, 2023. After 6 months, if you still seek additional training, you will need to reenroll.
Training Costs $2750 or $2250
Training costs $2750. This amount is for instruction and access to all our gear, such as paramotors, gliders, helmets, etc. (there is no additional rental cost). However, if you decide to buy a paramotor and glider from us, training is $2250. And if you decide to buy gear at a later time (during or after training), we give you $500 back (tuition reimbursement). New gear (paramotor and glider) has a starting price of $8500. We sell various gear—Parajet, Miniplane, Ozone, BGD, Flow, etc.
Train on Our Gear or Gear Purchased From Us
There’s lots of gear out there and we are always excited to try something new. This takes time. Some of this gear we come to believe in, some of it we do not. Lack of belief often stems from issues with support, design or quality. One thing, however, is for certain: We don’t want our students to be test pilots. We want our students to be safe and successful, not dealing with gear problems after leaving our school. As a result, we only train on our gear—the gear we use at our school, the gear we sell, the gear we believe in. Having said all that, you may train on our gear or may train on gear you purchased from us. However, if you purchase new or used gear from another company or individual, we are unable to support it.
After 6 Months of Training
At the end of 6 months of training you move from an active student to a passive student. As a passive student, you are always free to schedule occasional instruction, whether you seek classroom information or need assistance on the airfield (e.g., working on spot landings). And if you are having issues with your gear, you can always get support from us. No matter if you are a passive student or active student, if you ever have an issue, we want to hear from you.
Questionnaire / $500 Deposit to Sign up
If you want to sign up for training, you’ll first need to fill out the training questionnaire. Once we receive it, we’ll contact you. If everything sounds good and you want to move forward, we ask for a $500 deposit. This deposit officially secures your spot and gets you a start date. A couple of things to note: First, while the deposit is nonrefundable, it is flexible—you can move your start date if something comes up in your schedule. Second, after the deposit is paid, the remaining balance is due on or before the first day of class.
Questions and Availability
If you have any questions about the above or want to know our availability, feel free to contact us. We’d be happy to assist you.
While safety is our primary concern, our objective is to teach you how to fly, not just get you in the air and give you an experience. This takes time. In fact, some of our best pilots stay with us all season long. And that’s okay! We want you to leave a confident self-directed PPG pilot, one who knows how, where, and when to fly.
USPPA Certified School
We are proud to be part of the United States Powered Paragliding Association (USPPA). As a certified school, we embrace the standards of the organization and the information it provides in the syllabi. We offer certified foot-launch instruction, and can offer the following USPPA ratings—PPG1, PPG2 and PPG3. Presently, however, we do not provide wheel-launch instruction, yet we'd be happy to recommend a wheel-launch school.
Training Season Starts in May and Ends in October
While you may contact us any time you wish, we only train 6 months out of the year—May 1st through October 31st. These 6 months are completely full-on for us, as we train on a full-time basis, living and breathing this sport every day. As a student, you are always welcome to come out during this time of year.
Classes Start at the Beginning of Each Month
Classes start at the beginning of each month. Students are scheduled and have an official start date, often being established weeks to months in advance. This start date always takes place on a Saturday. Rain or shine, students are required to be present on this date. This gets everyone on the same page, particularly as it relates to technology and outlining ideal weather and training conditions.
Small Classes and Limited Seasonal Enrollment
We believe in small classes, starting two to three new students per month. And as this is a wind and weather dependent sport (with limited flyable sessions each month), we also limit our total enrollment for the season. This gives everyone lots of attention, plenty of time to work at their own pace, and ample space in the sky.
Ground School and Flight Training
Training consists of coursework and fieldwork. The coursework (or ground school) addresses various USPPA concepts, information on safety, airspace, regulations, weather, wind, etc. The fieldwork (or flight training) addresses all the physical skills to fly a powered paraglider, from kiting to launching to landing and everything in-between.
Train at Your Own Pace, Full or Part-time
Except for your official start date, we are flexible and don’t require or pressure our students to train on any specific day or set of days. You are free to make your own schedule and train at your own pace, coming out on a full or part-time basis.
Recommendation for Part-time Training
While concentrated training is best, if you don’t have the time or live hours away, here is our recommendation: When you start training, come out for multiple days in a row. Once getting this foundation, you may want to talk with us and get yourself a glider. This will allow you to practice your kiting skills at home. This is not mandatory or anything, so please don’t feel any pressure. Indeed, this sport is a large investment. Ground handling, however, is by far the most time consuming activity as it relates to PPG training.
Meeting up / A Typical Day of Training
When you are able to meet up, we cater training to your individual needs and fulfill various requirements. For example, if the weather is good that day, we will likely work on ground handling a paraglider (kiting). And between kiting sessions or if we have poor weather conditions, we go over information and or do other activities, such as setting up gear. Of course, if the wind and weather are good that day, we will take to the sky.
Grounded vs. Groundless
Students are divided into two groups: First, we have the grounded students, those learning to control their glider on the ground and are working on requirements for flight. And next we have the groundless students (or student pilots), those who are flying with or without comms (communications). Because we don’t fly midday, days are dedicated to the grounded activities and evenings are dedicated to the groundless – if and only when the weather is good and the wind is smooth and flyable. Generally speaking, once a student starts going up, they only come out on flyable evenings (yet are always welcome to come out during the day as well).
The Path to a Self-Directed PPG Pilot
Although part-time training will create delays, the average student should expect several days of kiting / learning how to control the glider on the ground in various wind conditions. Once the glider is out of one’s head and other requirements are met, the motor is added. On your first flight, anticipate an experience, an awakening to flight. While you will be on comms at this time, subsequent flights will have less direction and more responsibility. During this phase, we focus on launches and landings. However, with additional flights, students generally start flying on their own (without comms) and begin to work on airtime.
Unlimited Training for 6 Months
We are often asked, “How long will training take?” Well, that’s really up to you, your commitment, your time, your development, and the weather. You, however, can train as much as you like, every day if you want. On average, training takes about 14 days. These are good weather days, not days in a row. If training takes more time or less time, that’s okay as well. We understand that people develop at different rates. We also understand that students have jobs, have family commitments, and are working at their own pace and with their own schedule. Whatever the case, you have a total of 6 months to complete training. For instance, if your start date is August 1st, 2022, your end date is August 1st, 2023. After 6 months, if you still seek additional training, you will need to reenroll.
Training Costs $2750 or $2250
Training costs $2750. This amount is for instruction and access to all our gear, such as paramotors, gliders, helmets, etc. (there is no additional rental cost). However, if you decide to buy a paramotor and glider from us, training is $2250. And if you decide to buy gear at a later time (during or after training), we give you $500 back (tuition reimbursement). New gear (paramotor and glider) has a starting price of $8500. We sell various gear—Parajet, Miniplane, Ozone, BGD, Flow, etc.
Train on Our Gear or Gear Purchased From Us
There’s lots of gear out there and we are always excited to try something new. This takes time. Some of this gear we come to believe in, some of it we do not. Lack of belief often stems from issues with support, design or quality. One thing, however, is for certain: We don’t want our students to be test pilots. We want our students to be safe and successful, not dealing with gear problems after leaving our school. As a result, we only train on our gear—the gear we use at our school, the gear we sell, the gear we believe in. Having said all that, you may train on our gear or may train on gear you purchased from us. However, if you purchase new or used gear from another company or individual, we are unable to support it.
After 6 Months of Training
At the end of 6 months of training you move from an active student to a passive student. As a passive student, you are always free to schedule occasional instruction, whether you seek classroom information or need assistance on the airfield (e.g., working on spot landings). And if you are having issues with your gear, you can always get support from us. No matter if you are a passive student or active student, if you ever have an issue, we want to hear from you.
Questionnaire / $500 Deposit to Sign up
If you want to sign up for training, you’ll first need to fill out the training questionnaire. Once we receive it, we’ll contact you. If everything sounds good and you want to move forward, we ask for a $500 deposit. This deposit officially secures your spot and gets you a start date. A couple of things to note: First, while the deposit is nonrefundable, it is flexible—you can move your start date if something comes up in your schedule. Second, after the deposit is paid, the remaining balance is due on or before the first day of class.
Questions and Availability
If you have any questions about the above or want to know our availability, feel free to contact us. We’d be happy to assist you.
