iP3 Intermediate - Paragliding Value Package - $2,247
The purpose of the iParaglide iP3 Intermediate Pilot paragliding rating and associated seminars is to empower the pilot with the skills required to embark on extended thermal cross-country flights. The seminars are comprised of:
- Intermediate Kiting, Theory including HPAC Exam and HAGAR topics Seminar
- Paragliding Reserve Parachute Seminar
- Simulation of Paragliding Flight Incidents SFI/SIV Seminar
- Thermalling Seminar
- Paragliding Cross Country Seminar
Once you have spent some time solo flying your paraglider, you will come to a point when you are very comfortable with your launch, flying and landing skills and have a desire to move to the next level of paragliding.
You will have acquired a minimum of 90 properly documented flights and 60 hours air time in order to achieve Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association of Canada (HPAC) Intermediate Rating Standards.
Note that if you are a US pilot, or prefer the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (USHPA) standards, iParaglide can also train you to the USHPA intermediate standards, requiring 90 flights and only 20 hours.
You may have had some limited ridge soaring and thermalling experience. Your passion for the sport of paragliding has only grown with time. Now you look for ways to improve your performance: to extend your flying envelope; to stay up longer and higher; to reach out for your first cross-country paragliding experiences.
You may also be looking to upgrade your beginner ENA or ENB class paraglider to a more responsive intermediate paraglider ENB or ENC.
Now is a good time to return for some mentoring and coaching to accelerate you to the next level. It is also an important time to receive additional paragliding safety training that will become important as you venture out into unknown areas during your first cross-country flights.
The joy of thermal and soaring flight cannot be adequately captured in words. That joy can only be felt by the few mortals who leave the earth hanging under a magical contraption of only fabric and lines: and manage to harness the power of the wind and the sun to take them higher into the deep blue sky. Whether it is wind that is deflected upward by a ridge, rising warm thermal air, or suction created by clouds, the paraglider pilot who endeavors to and is successful in capturing these forces to propel them higher, will always feel hawk-like: a demigod that has overcome all earthly bounds. Then the magic moment comes, when one intuitively knows that they are high enough, and they fly over to the next mountain. And so the quest to fly onward, as far as the eye can see, begins.
1-Day Intermediate Kiting, Theory including HPAC Exam
and HAGAR Topics ($247)
To achieve Intermediate levels of performance, pilots must first be able to safely launch in mid-day intermediate level conditions including moderate winds and lapse rates. This seminar includes:
- Intermediate Kiting session to polish paragliding launching skills during thermal and moderate wind conditions.
To safely and legally fly cross country, one must first understand airspace structure to ensure to not violate restricted airspace. We do a comprehensive intermediate level theory session to prepare for cross country flying, the HPAC Intermediate Exam and the HAGAR Exam. The theory class includes:
- Thermal and Cross Country Flying Skills
- Aeronautical Chart Reading
- Transport Canada and FAA Air Regulations
- HAGAR Study Guide
- Guidance for Completing your Category 4 Medical Exam to forward to schedule your HAGAR Exam
- Guidance for scheduling your HAGAR Exam (administered separately by Transport Canada with separate fees)
Provided students achieve both the flying practical requirements and the Exams, the instructor will issue a recommendation to the HPAC to instate the pilot as an HPAC P3 pilot.
Participation does not guarantee pilots will pass: the HPAC Intermediate Exam; the Category 4 Medical Requirement; the HPAC flying skills number of flights and number of flying hours requirement; or the HAGAR Exam.
1-Day Paragliding Reserve Seminar ($247)
Having a paragliding reserve parachute is only half the battle. Understanding the "throw vs no-throw" scenario is a complex set of decisions and requires a well-understood decision tree that we teach in our Reserve Seminar. The throw sequence itself requires a precise methodology that can be executed in extreme situations as an autonomous, systematic response. Having the skills to inspect, maintain and repack your paragliding reserve is essential to being a pilot, especially when traveling in a third world countries. Course components include:
- Classroom theory including multi-media displays of paragliding reserve deployments gone well and deployment scenarios gone bad.
- 3 reserve deployments from a paragliding simulator.
- 3 reserve repacks in a small group size.
- Tree Rescue and other specialty topics.
2-Day Paragliding Simulation of Flight Incidents (SFI/SIV) Seminar ($1,247)
It is our conviction that it is essential for paraglider pilots at this stage to undergo a Simulation of Flight Incidents (SFI/SIV) course (also sometimes termed advanced maneuvers training).
When paraglider pilots first begin extended soaring and thermalling during mid-day conditions, or leave the comfort of known terrain of their home flying site to venture to unknown bowls and ridges: they immediately expose themselves to the possibility of encountering sudden unexpected turbulence. Thus, it is essential for paraglider pilots to know how to prevent and/or correct for paraglider collapses and other non-standard flying attitudes, prior to exposure to this risk.
We teach you recovery and prevention techniques for all possible unintentional, non-standard paragliding flight occurrences. We will emulate the EN test maneuvers that are used to certify your paraglider. These will include the following categories, dependent on the pilots aptitude and performance over a progression of increasingly difficult maneuvers:
- Big-Ears
- Frontal
- Accelerated Frontal
- Spiral Dive
- Asymmetric Tuck
- Accelerated Asymmetric Tuck
- B-line Stall
- Full Stall
- Spin
- Wing-Over
- Asymmetric Spiral
In this manner, you will gain valuable insight in the EN test process and see first-hand how your paraglider reacts at the limits of the flight envelope. You and your paragliding instructor will fill out a sample EN test form during the clinic after each flight to establish your independent results to see how they measure up to the actual EN report for your paraglider.
Emphasis during the course will be on: deliberately inducing the particular non-standard paragliding flight configuration to understand how it may occur inadvertently; maintaining the configuration to be able to see and recognize when it has occurred; and then learning the most efficient techniques for rapid recovery to normal paragliding flight.
For your safety, the seminar will be conducted over a lake with a rescue boat on standby. We use a specialized boat equipped with a hydraulic pay out winch to tow you as high as 3,500 feet above the lake (depending on conditions) where you will release and begin your routines while guided from the shore by your instructor.
Use of this specialized towing equipment allows us to not be dependant on wind direction and good cycles like other mountain launch based paragliding clinics. This means we can operate in most wind directions and strength up to 20 kmhr. The result is that you will get more flights per day and also will learn significantly more and enjoy while you wait for tow and watch each participant directly above you doing their maneuvers while hearing the paragliding instructors directions. Simply, a far more efficient and effective way of doing SFI/SIV.
1-Day Thermalling Seminar ($297)
The next essential step in becoming a true intermediate pilot is to learn to hunt for thermals and be able to swiftly identify thermal sources including a comprehensive understanding of:
- lapse rate and the affect on thermal formation and evolution
- solar delivery and its affects on the landscape including season, time of day and surface feature orientation
- terrain shape and how different shapes produce different thermals
- materials and how different colours, textures, porosity, density, and specific heat capacity affect thermal production
- thermal wicks and triggers
An intermediate level theory module covers these important topics.
Once able to find thermals effectively, pilots learn to optimize their coring techniques and engage thermals. For a safe progression, pilots first learn to do this in larger thermals that are situated further out from the mountain, away from terrain. Once in a thermal, pilots must learn how to optimize their turn radius, turn rate and bank angle to find the thermal core and ride to the thermal apex, without falling out. Being able to do this in a repeatable manner is essential before progressively engaging thermals closer in to the slope.
We thermal coach pilots with ground-to-air radio on a progression to help them hone these thermalling skills.
1-Day Paragliding Cross Country Seminar ($297)
The next progression towards safe cross country (XC) flying is to learn to link thermals to bench up high enough above the launch summit to make a safe glide, "track" or "jump!" to the next summit. A safe glide is defined as maintaining a Plan B (and a Plan C!) retreat to the launch summit, or a safe glide to an alternate landing zone (LZ), if a thermal is not found along the intended XC track. Repeatedly benching up above a summit, maintaining a Plan B & C retreat corridor and LZ, before gliding to the next summit is the foundation for commencing extensive cross country flights.
Our 1-day Cross Country Seminar will be comprised of the following components:
- Air-to-Air Radio Supervision and guidance during first paragliding Cross-Country Flights.
- Study of intermediate level paragliding instrumentation designed to assist you with your cross-country flying.
- Depending on pilots weight and experience, it may be possible to arrange flights on iParaglide intermediate to advanced level paragliders & harnesses at a surcharge.
iP3 Intermediate Paragliding Rating Value Package: 1-Day Intermediate Kiting and Theory/Exam; 1-Day Reserve Seminar; 2-Day SFI/SIV Seminar; 1-Day Thermalling Seminar; 1-Day Cross Country Seminar: $2,247*
* Price includes boat tows for SIV seminar. Students must have their own complete set of paragliding equipment. Reserve parachutes, back protection, helmet, hook knife, radio with spare battery, and boots with ankle support are mandatory. Course module must be completed successfully with a minimum pass mark of 80%, otherwise, modules will have to be repeated at a surcharge. Participation does not guarantee a pass or a recommendation to the HPAC to be instated as a P3 pilot. Pilots must: pass the HPAC Intermediate Exam; the Category 4 Medical Requirement; the HPAC flying skills number of flights and number of flying hours requirement; and the HAGAR Exam. On course completion, requires student payment of intermediate (P3) rating fees and yearly insurance fees to USHPA/HPAC as well as to the local paragliding club the WCSC. Some landing sites require a $10/day fee payable to the landowner. Full payment of the course and time commitment to specific dates must be received prior to commencement of 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.
1-Day Paragliding Intermediate Kiting and Theory/Exam: $247**
**Price includes: intermediate kiting training; study guide including air navigational chart interpretation and use, airspace classification, airspace regulations; and exams. Terms in * above apply.
1-Day Paragliding Reserve Seminar: $247***
***Price includes: throw-no-throw theory, throw sequencing, multiple deployments from simulator, multiple paragliding reserve repacks. Small group size to ensure pilots learn to pack on their own. Terms in * above apply.
2-Day Paragliding SFI/SIV Seminar: Price: $1,247****
****Price includes boat tows for SFI clinic. Terms in * above apply.
1-Day Thermalling Seminar: $297*****
*****Price includes theory and ground-to-air coaching of thermal flight. Rides up mountain paid extra and separately to driver. Terms in * above apply.
1-Day Paragliding Cross Country Seminar: $297******
******Price includes theory on how to cross country and air-to-air supervised cross country flight. Rides up mountain and for retrieved paid extra and separately to driver. Terms in * above apply.