iP1 Solo - Paragliding - $997
The iP1 Solo Paragliding Course will impart you with sufficient skills to fly as the pilot in command during one training hill flying session with multiple flights, and provided you perform, one paragliding mountain flight. Includes one Slope Soaring session and goes beyond. Includes rent/use of iParaglide's state-of-the-art equipment. The course is a full weekend including: a Theory session; a written exam; one Slope Soaring session of training hill flights; and one Mountain Flight. The iP1 Solo course content is optimally designed to exceed both the HPAC P1 and USHPA P1 Student standards.
At iParaglide we have trained over 1900 students in first flight paragliding courses over our 26 years of operation and take pride in keeping our pilots safe through carefully engineered safety systems. This, among other core values, is what distinguishes us from other schools.
Safety is at the heart of everything we do and it is something that is engineered, not chanced upon. We achieve safety through solid founding principles including: selecting a high Factor of Safety headroom; ensuring the pilot is mentally prepared for flight; using only the finest equipment; selecting optimum flying sites; and choosing atmospheric conditions appropriate to pilot skill levels.
We also deliver efficient and effective paragliding programs, done in an optimal progression, thus simultaneously achieving enhanced performance and reduced learning time frames.
Some people were just born to fly. They have known for as long as they can remember, always yearning to be up in the sky with the birds. Even their dreams are inhabited by the most pleasant and incredible flying experiences. They want to fly, and feel comfortable with leaving the ground for the first time on their own.
If you are one of these people, we offer a first Mountain Flight paragliding solo course that will safely take you there in 2 days of intensive paraglider pilot training, provided students aptitudes allow them to perform satisfactorily. Pilots should set a side an entire weekend, from dawn to dusk, to allow for changing weather conditions. In addition, they should set aside a second weather back-up weekend.
We supply all the required equipment: paraglider, paragliding harness, paragliding reserve parachute, helmet and radio. The only thing that we ask that you bring is some sturdy and agile footwear with good ankle support: work boots, hiking boots or light hikers.
iP1 Paragliding Theory
We begin with giving you a paragliding sport overview and basic principles of paragliding aerodynamics and how to launch, fly and land a paraglider. Moving on to some more detailed topics including basic airspace and paragliding regulatory bodies, the session completes with writing the HPAC P1 Exam.
Paragliding Slope Soaring
From classroom theory we move on to Slope Soaring on grass training hills with gentle slopes where you begin to apply real skills to learn how to control the paraglider and safely launch and land.
You will learn how to lay out the paraglider and sort the lines in preparation for take off; work with the wind to inflate and bring the paraglider overhead; control the paraglider; and accelerate and run with the paraglider to gain take-off speed.
When the moment is right, we have you make your first paragliding flight off the training hill. Note that we never "jump" off the hill. Similar to an airplane on the runway taxiing and building speed for take-off, we are gently lifted off our feet for take-off when we achieve sufficient airspeed over our paraglider through a combination of the wind coming uphill and us running downhill into it. Though only soaring a few feet above the ground, you will be changed forever by these first moments of paragliding flight in all their glory.
At the base of the hill you will learn to flare the paraglider to slow it down, and come in for a soft, controlled paragliding landing.
We will conduct multiple launches and landings in the first Slope Soaring session to give you have a good grasp of the fundamentals.
Paragliding Mountain Flight
If you have successfully completed the Slope Soaring and Theory course modules with a minimum 75% required pass mark, we take you for your first solo paragliding Mountain Flight. Note that some pilots may have to repeat lesson modules at a surcharge.
Your pre-flight briefing will go over a detailed flight plan including "mission" objectives. You will be carefully monitored and supervised for the duration of the flight by two flight-command paragliding instructors via radio.
A launch instructor will help you set up on the mountain top and launch.
While free from the ground up in the air, you will experience true free-flight, with no windscreen to separate you from total immersion into the sky. You will feel the air rushing softly around you. You will fly seated in a comfortable padded paragliding harness that will immediately allow you to feel secure and supported above the incredible vista below. You will soar high above the valley with meandering rivers below, while glaciers glisten in the bowls of the majestic mountains that surround you. At times you will experience the "aha" moment, the feeling of omnipotence, like some sky god from Greek mythology, soaring above the tiny, mere mortals below.
You will be guided via radio to the landing field where a paragliding landing instructor will guide you down for a gentle landing. Afterwards, you will be debriefed on the accomplishment of your objectives for the flight.
This program is a quick way to discover the joy of paragliding. Most people are immediately hooked for life!
iP1 Solo - Paragliding - $997 (+$97 theory repeats, +$347 slope soaring repeats, +$447 extra days)*
* 2 day course. Includes use of iParaglide's state-of-the-art equipment. Pilots must reserve a full weekend from dawn to dusk to allow for changing weather conditions and individual progress rates. In addition, they should set aside a second weather back-up weekend. Includes: iP1 Base Theory, HPAC P1 written exam; one Slope Soaring training hill flight session and one dual-instructor supervised paragliding Mountain Flight. Requires successful completion with a 75% score on Base Theory and Slope Soaring, otherwise these paragliding modules must be repeated at an additional cost of $97 and/or $347, respectively. Pilots must block successive weekends back to back to ensure minimal time lapse between sessions to retain theory and motor memory of launch and landings. Pilots with time lag such that modules need to be repeated to assure safety and currency will need to pay for additional sessions accordingly. Pilots not attending scheduled days or leaving mid-day will be charged $447/day for additional days, as required, or forgo course components on missed days. There is a i4X4 fee for rides up the mountains at $15-$25 per trip depending on the mountain. For pilots carpooling from iParaglide or Ikea, there is a $100/day iRide fee which includes mountain transportation. We ask that you bring your own sturdy, agile footwear with ankle support (ex. hikers) and warm athletic clothing providing full body coverage. Some landing sites require a $10/day fee payable by the student to the land owner. Full payment of the course and time commitment to specific dates must be received prior to commencement of paragliding training, with no refunds for partial course completion. We reserve the right to discontinue training any student not following directions or conducting themselves in a manner that may endanger themselves or others.
Slope Soaring Upgrade
Paragliding: +$650**
** If you have completed Slope Soaring with us and would like to try your first paragliding solo, we will credit $347 from the Slope Soaring against the iP1 Solo course. We will only do this if you sign up and pay for the iP1 Solo paragliding course later in the same day as the Slope Soaring, which you must have scored at least 75% to have passed, and continue with the paragliding flights immediately, while the knowledge is still fresh. In this case, you only have to pay an additional $650 to upgrade. Terms in * above apply.