Intro Paragliding Lessons
Learn to Paraglide in Boulder, Colorado
Come experience the magic of free flight. Our introductory paragliding course offers the chance to see what paragliding in Colorado is all about without making a commitment to a full certification course upfront. This is a great opportunity for people who are interested in learning how to paraglide but aren’t exactly sure what they’re getting themselves into (spoiler: a ridiculous amount of fun and a wonderful community of friendly pilots).
Three Flight Intro Course
Why Start with Three Flights?
It takes more than one training flight to begin to understand what paragliding is all about. It’s common for a student to let out a shout of exhilaration upon landing in our grassy park after their first-ever paragliding flight. When they try to recall the series of events that just took place between launch and landing, they often say that it’s all just a blur. This is understandable. They just flew through the air like a bird, probably for the first time in their life! It’s normal for adrenaline and excitement to make a student’s first paragliding flight one that’s difficult to remember, but impossible to forget. For this reason, we consider the first training flight more of a life experience than a learning experience. For each subsequent flight, a student is able to retain increasingly more situational awareness and be the pilot in command. By the third flight, a student will be less dependent on radio instruction and can make piloting decisions for themselves. This is how to find out if paragliding is right for you.
Unlimited Lessons for Up to Two Months
Students can participate in as many lessons as they need to over a two month period to complete three training flights. This means that there’s no incentive to rush students through the intro course. Our instructors are instead able to accommodate the unique abilities of every student by allowing them to learn at their own pace.
Time Commitment: Depending on the weather we get, students will likely complete this course after 4-6 lessons. We only require that every student sign up for atleast two lessons per week from the time they begin the course. There’s no limit to the number of lessons a student can show up for every week, the more the better.
Training Schedule
All paragliding lessons take place at Foothills Park in North Boulder. Lessons are structured as follows:
Guided Instruction (7:00 am – 11:00 am): Students and instructors meet first thing in the morning for ground handling and training flights. The early morning air offers calm and smooth conditions for flying, which makes it the most appropriate time of day for students to get airtime. These smooth conditions last until early afternoon (10:00 am – 11:00 am).
Open Practice (11:00 am onwards): Students have the opportunity to continue working on ground handling in the park after the flying window closes. They are welcome to take a break and then continue to practice ground handling in their own time as long as their schedule and the weather conditions allow. Repetition is the key to mastery, and ground handling is the most important component of a competent pilot’s skillset. After years of teaching it’s become clear that the more time students invest into developing their ground handling skills throughout the P2 course, the safer and more successful they are as pilots after the course.
At a minimum, students should be able to schedule two guided instruction lessons and two open practice sessions per week. It’s okay for students to leave a lesson early some days if needed.
$950
- Unlimited Lessons for Up to Two Months Until Three Flights are Completed
- Course Fee Applied to P2 Program Tuition
- Calm & Experienced Instructors
- Paraglider Simulator Training
- Radio Instruction for Training Flights
- Training Equipment Included
Schedule Lessons
Our training season runs from the start of April until mid October. Lessons take place at our training hill in North Boulder every morning, Monday – Sunday. Please
Credit Towards P2 Certification Course
Intro course students that continue directly into the P2 Certification Course will receive a full credit for their intro course tuition which can be applied towards the P2 Certification Course Tuition. To receive this credit, the student must sign up for the P2 Certification Course within two weeks of completing the intro course. If the student completes their intro course in September or October, the credit can be applied towards the P2 Certification Course starting the following spring.
