P2 Certification
Learn to Paraglide in Boulder, Colorado
The Wonderland Lake flying site in Boulder offers the best training hill along the Front Range. Here you can earn your wings through our USHPA-certified pilot training program. Together we’ll take you from a total beginner to a confident and competent P2-rated pilot capable of flying on your own in a safe and sustainable manner. We offer the most modern instruction available, with your safety as our top priority. Our goal is to develop pilots, not churn them out.
Training Season
We offer paragliding lessons in Boulder from April to September. As soon as conditions become flyable we’re out there. Students have one year from their initial training date to complete the P2 Certification Course. We highly recommend that you make an effort to complete the training quickly to build a solid foundation for the rest of your flying career. When you take long breaks between lessons you don’t give yourself the chance to progress appropriately. If you’re able to dedicate two days per week to training it typically takes a couple of months to get certified. If you have plenty of time and motivation you will complete the training much sooner.
Training Experience
We’re lucky to have a gently-sloping and grassy training hill as well as a huge grassy landing zone to train students. Each flight will require a 15 minute hike to the training hill launch or a 30 minute hike to the top launch. Students are responsible for carrying their equipment to launch, which will weigh 20-25 lbs.
A minimum of 35 flights are required to complete the P2 Certification, along with several demonstrated skills that we describe in detail at the beginning of training. We hold our students to a higher standard than the minimum USHPA requirements for the P2 rating. Students should expect to complete more than 35 flights and demonstrate a higher level of proficiency than the minimum USHPA requirements as a result.
The more frequently that students attend lessons, the more successful they are at building the skills needed to complete the P2 Certification Course. We require students to attend a minimum of two lessons per week, weather permitting. We love it if students can attend more lessons than that.
Check out what your first flight off the training hill in Boulder will look like.
Training Schedule
All paragliding lessons take place at Foothills Park in North Boulder (503 Locust Ave.). 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.
Gear
Training gear belonging to the school is provided for the initial stages of training. We’re proud to offer well-maintained, modern training equipment with the best performance and safety in the industry. All of our training gear is certified for beginner pilots with an emphasis on passive safety.
Students are required to purchase and start using their own gear after their 10th training flight. Buying gear is an important investment and choosing the right equipment cannot be overlooked. We’ll help you find a paragliding kit suitable to your needs that will keep you soaring for years to come. Choosing the right gear is a critical part of flying safely in this sport and we are unable to train students on gear that is not sized or certified appropriately for their needs.
We offer new paragliding gear from the most trusted brands and manufacturers in the industry. Seriously, we’re selling the equipment that the best pilots in the world are flying with. We also offer quality used gear options to fit your budget. Students may bring their own gear purchased elsewhere as long as it’s in good condition and appropriately sized and certified for the given pilot. We require an inspection report for any used equipment that’s more than four years old or with more than 100 hours of use on it. The inspection report must be completed within the last six months. We are able to perform the glider inspection if needed, please see our gear service section for pricing.
Guided Trips
A big part of a student’s progression is having the opportunity to train at more than one paragliding site. We include free guided trips to multiple sites around Colorado as a part of our P2 course. We introduce students to a mountain flying site and a desert ridge-soaring site when their knowledge and skills have developed enough that they’re ready for the challenge . These trips give our students the confidence and know-how to discover more sites around Colorado as they continue to progress beyond the P2 course. Get ready for some of the best camping trips of your life.
Tuition
Students that are able to support our continuous effort to provide the highest-quality instruction in Colorado with the purchase of our complete gear package are offered a discount on their tuition fees. A complete gear package includes: Paraglider, harness, reserve parachute, radio, concertina bag and vario. All of these items are critical components of a complete paragliding kit. The gear package must be purchased anytime before the student’s 10th flight.
$2,000
With Discount
$3,300
Without Discount
Payments are non-refundable and students have one year from their initial training date to complete the program.
Included in the P2 Certification Course:
- Unlimited lessons for one year until P2 course completion
- Guided trips to two sites outside of Boulder
- Structured learning environment
- Radio instruction for each flight
- Modern training equipment (Available for the initial part of the course)
- Ground school lessons
- Course book and Red Tail hat
- P3 & P4 rating sign-offs when eligible
- Access to our alumni network for continued mentorship after training
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.
Why Learn With Us?
We offer the most comprehensive paraglider pilot training program in Colorado. We’ve spent the last several years developing a curriculum that goes beyond the minimum P2 certification requirements. Our aim is to develop our students into competent and confident pilots that have the best possible chance of enjoying a long and safe paragliding career. We take our responsibilities seriously and make every effort to support our students throughout the course and beyond it as Red Tail alumni.
Financial Flexibility
For those interested in learning to paraglide without the immediate financial means to cover the cost of training and gear, we’d love to help you out. We offer interest-free payment plans for lessons and equipment. We’ll break up the total cost of lessons and gear into monthly payments that can last up to 10 months or less depending on your needs.
Alumni Benefits
Anyone that completes the full P2 program with us is considered a part of the team for life. They can go on to fulfill the requirements for P3 and P4 ratings and receive the sign-offs free of charge.
Alumni also receive lifelong mentorship. We’ll be there to support your continued progression in the sport because the learning never ends with paragliding. Whatever your goals may be as a pilot, we’ll help you get there.
Throughout the year we run clinics and guided tours to keep the adventure going. Alumni wishing to join the fun are always given first priority when signing up.
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.
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