Dear Members,
I want to thank you all for the warm welcome to the Fly In this weekend. I was delighted to meet such a friendly and supportive group! [Note to self: bring sunscreen next time!]
Anyway, I want to find some PG instruction (I am starting at zero). Several folks at the Fly In indicated that there isn't any in the DC region (I am located in Ashburn - near Leesburg). If anyone knows of any aroud DC, please chime in!
Otherwise, I am asking for advice on which schools you know of or have attended and whether or not and why you would recommend them (or not). It looks like I will need to take a week off and go somewhere, so it might as well be a really good place. Of course, as I have no gear, a good range of choice at the school/vendor would be ideal.
A school at Santa Barbara and one in Salt Lake were mentioned. Any advice/opinions on them or others that I should investigate? If I want to try and get this done before yearend, winter weather may be a factor, as well.
Again - than you for your warm welcome. You have a great club!
John Hopkinson
PG Instruction ideas and opinions
Moderator: CHGPA BOD
PG Instruction ideas and opinions
John Hopkinson
John at Hopkinson .org
John at Hopkinson .org
Re: PG Instruction ideas and opinions
John,
Glad you could make it out. Sorry I didn't get a chance to talk with you.
The schools in Salt Lake and in California at Torrey Pines are the most famous ones and are both very highly regarded. If you have the time and discretionary income to visit one of them, they will have you flying high in a week or two.
The weather in California probably won't be an issue unless the Santa Ana winds are blowing. If they are blowing the flow will be offshore and there will be no flying at Torrey pines. Santa Ana winds can last for several days and are predictable so you can check for them in advance. Otherwise it's liable to be sparkling there this time of year.
I don't know nearly as much about Point of the Mountain near Salt Lake City, but I have a hunch it will be very nice there for the next month or two at least.
Dan
Glad you could make it out. Sorry I didn't get a chance to talk with you.
The schools in Salt Lake and in California at Torrey Pines are the most famous ones and are both very highly regarded. If you have the time and discretionary income to visit one of them, they will have you flying high in a week or two.
The weather in California probably won't be an issue unless the Santa Ana winds are blowing. If they are blowing the flow will be offshore and there will be no flying at Torrey pines. Santa Ana winds can last for several days and are predictable so you can check for them in advance. Otherwise it's liable to be sparkling there this time of year.
I don't know nearly as much about Point of the Mountain near Salt Lake City, but I have a hunch it will be very nice there for the next month or two at least.
Dan
Re: PG Instruction ideas and opinions
There was a thread about this a few months ago:
Recommendations for Paraglider Training
Here's my post from when I was learning in Santa Barbara:
Learning Paragliding
Recommendations for Paraglider Training
Here's my post from when I was learning in Santa Barbara:
Learning Paragliding
Re: PG Instruction ideas and opinions
Oh, and it was great talking with you this weekend John! I'm glad you came out! Too bad the conditions weren't better on Saturday so you could see some real soaring, but that's the way mother nature rolls sometimes.
Re: PG Instruction ideas and opinions
Thank you both very much for this information!
Matt, your post on your experience at the Eagle school in Santa Barbara was very informative. [I shall have to get better at searching the forum!]
I see at least 3 different schools in the Salt Lake area. Can anyone offer any guidance on any or all of them?
Thanks again,
John
Matt, your post on your experience at the Eagle school in Santa Barbara was very informative. [I shall have to get better at searching the forum!]
I see at least 3 different schools in the Salt Lake area. Can anyone offer any guidance on any or all of them?
Thanks again,
John
John Hopkinson
John at Hopkinson .org
John at Hopkinson .org
Re: PG Instruction ideas and opinions
I've only heard of SuperFly, which was referenced in the other thread. It sounds like an awesome place with top notch instructors.
Snow on the mountains in Utah shuts down the school after October which is why I picked Southern California in December. I was trying to escape the cold weather. Randy Weber also mentioned a few blown-out days at Point of the Mountain when he went. If you're leaning towards Superfly Randy would probably be happy to give you some pointers. PM me if you want his info.
Matt
Snow on the mountains in Utah shuts down the school after October which is why I picked Southern California in December. I was trying to escape the cold weather. Randy Weber also mentioned a few blown-out days at Point of the Mountain when he went. If you're leaning towards Superfly Randy would probably be happy to give you some pointers. PM me if you want his info.
Matt
Re: PG Instruction ideas and opinions
Around here, the closest PG instructors are :
Terry and Maria Bono ( http://www.pennsylvaniaparagliding.com) who do training at the Little Gap flight park (http://www.littlegap.com/index.htm) close to Palmerton, PA, about 4 hours from here. In addition to training hills and the first "real mountain" Little Gap, they also do towing launches.
Dwayne McCourt in Websters Spring, WV (http://www.flywv.com/), about 5 hours from here. However, this year he was not taking any new students, as far as I know, and I am not quite sure what his plans are for the next season.
In northern CA, an excellent PG and HG training site is Ed Levin flight park at Milpitas, about an hour south of San Francisco. Many Bay area pilots started there and it is a good place to meet local flying community
The instructor I know from there is Juan Laos at http://advancedparagliding.com/
By the way, one of the best HG training schools in the US (http://www.hang-gliding.com/index.html) lead by Pat Denevan operates at Milipitas and also at their very nice flight park at Hollister, CA (with a tow).
If you could spend a week or two in Europe during the summer, there is an excellent training site at the hill Rana about 30 miles NWW of Prague, Czech Republic. About $500 you would get you a pretty intense week of training with accommodation in a PG hotel which is right at the hill (modest but adequate hotel + bar with Czech beer...), from very experienced patient and knowledgeable instructors. They speak English and it is not unusual for them to train foreigners. Nearby, they also have a winch tow that most students get to launch on at the end of the training (~1500 ft up, significant XC potential). http://www.mpg.cz/paragliding_english.htm
Terry and Maria Bono ( http://www.pennsylvaniaparagliding.com) who do training at the Little Gap flight park (http://www.littlegap.com/index.htm) close to Palmerton, PA, about 4 hours from here. In addition to training hills and the first "real mountain" Little Gap, they also do towing launches.
Dwayne McCourt in Websters Spring, WV (http://www.flywv.com/), about 5 hours from here. However, this year he was not taking any new students, as far as I know, and I am not quite sure what his plans are for the next season.
In northern CA, an excellent PG and HG training site is Ed Levin flight park at Milpitas, about an hour south of San Francisco. Many Bay area pilots started there and it is a good place to meet local flying community
The instructor I know from there is Juan Laos at http://advancedparagliding.com/
By the way, one of the best HG training schools in the US (http://www.hang-gliding.com/index.html) lead by Pat Denevan operates at Milipitas and also at their very nice flight park at Hollister, CA (with a tow).
If you could spend a week or two in Europe during the summer, there is an excellent training site at the hill Rana about 30 miles NWW of Prague, Czech Republic. About $500 you would get you a pretty intense week of training with accommodation in a PG hotel which is right at the hill (modest but adequate hotel + bar with Czech beer...), from very experienced patient and knowledgeable instructors. They speak English and it is not unusual for them to train foreigners. Nearby, they also have a winch tow that most students get to launch on at the end of the training (~1500 ft up, significant XC potential). http://www.mpg.cz/paragliding_english.htm
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Flying Lobster
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Re: PG Instruction ideas and opinions
I opened a new training site just down the road, a 5 minute drive, from where I live in Chattanooga last year. I scooter train and have small hills as well. And, some of the best mountain sites in the east are just a short drive away. New NW paraglide launch in the Seqautchie opened recently. Development continues--new 100+ mile ridge system is coming on-line soon!
marc
marc
Great Googly-moo!
Re: PG Instruction ideas and opinions
Marc, what's up with the Tree Toppers website?
John, another option is Atlanta. They only do towing, but that could be more consistently flyable since wind direction is less of an issue.
http://www.atlantaparagliding.com/
John, another option is Atlanta. They only do towing, but that could be more consistently flyable since wind direction is less of an issue.
http://www.atlantaparagliding.com/