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About Red Tail
Soaring high, circling up above, the Red-tailed Hawk is a source of inspiration that has fueled our collective infatuation with flight for millenia. Our pursuit of their perfection has brought us to this incredible moment where we can finally join them in the sky. The goal now, is to make the experience of soaring with the birds accessible to all of those that seek it.
Teaching Philosophy
Paragliding is a gift that keeps on giving. From your very first training hill flight, to your first mountain flight, all the way to your first soaring flight, your excitement and sense of liveliness will only grow. The experiences that this sport and the community surrounding it will reward you with throughout your life as a paraglider pilot, are unique. You’ve struck gold, the key is to make it last.
Sustainability is the mantra of our approach to instruction. The goal is to help our students become confident and competent pilots that can go on to enjoy a lifetime of safe flight. Part of becoming a successful pilot is developing both the physical skills and the mental capacity for effective decision making and situational awareness. With this in mind, we structure our lessons to confront both the physical and mental challenges that await any new pilot. Sound judgement, decisiveness and self-awareness are the traits we value most and try to instill in every one of our students.
Instructors
Misha Banks is a USHPA-certified Advanced Paragliding Instructor and a native of Boulder. He founded Red Tail Paragliding in 2019 with the goal of raising the standard for paragliding instruction in the region after falling in love with free flight a few years prior.
He offers an notable safety record with over 4,000 student flights instructed. He’s coached over 200 students through their first flight and prides himself on ensuring safe flights and soft landings for his students every time they launch off the hill.
If he’s not at the hill in Boulder instructing students, he’s likely somewhere in the air paragliding along the Front Range. Paragliding is his passion and he’s always motivated to learn and improve his own abilities and knowledge.
Brian Doub was born and raised in Indiana but learned to fly in the Lake District in Northern England. He’s been flying for over 20 years and began teaching in 2014 as a BHPA Instructor (British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association).
Brian has been paragliding in Nepal, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Slovenia, Bosnia Herzegovinian, Italy, France, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Norway, New Zealand and Malaysia. He has also competed in 8 FAI category 2 paragliding competitions.
He moved back to the USA in 2021 after living overseas for the past 32 years to be near his grandchildren and to teach paragliding with Red Tail.
Rio Mackey is a Colorado native. He found his passion for human flight when he began skydiving in 2010. As his experience grew he began BASE jumping and flying wingsuits. Over the next 7 years Rio traveled and worked in California, Hawaii, most of Scandinavia, and Switzerland in order to pursue his passions. He found Paragliding in 2016 and has become an expert paragliding and speedflying pilot. With a long history of different disciplines within the nylon powered aviation world Rio now works as an Instructor for Red Tail Paragliding. His favorite way to fly is tandem with a fellow stoked human being or a good old fashioned speed soaring session. He currently finds himself living in Boulder, Colorado with his wife and child.
Austin Fisher is an alumni of Red Tail Paragliding and an USHPA certified instructor. He’s been a climber for half his life and dabbled in caving and other adventures. Like so many that stumble into this wild sport, paragliding has completely taken over his life.
After leaving the nest, Austin was struck by the unique community that Red Tail has built and wanted to become more involved. Austin is all about cross country flying and his greatest joy in life is guiding people along with him, both at our local training hill and abroad
Passionate about sharing the wonders of flight, Alyse Little is committed to helping new pilots on their soaring journey. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of being up high, surrounded by breathtaking views and getting to share this experience with a new pilot is something special. You’ll catch her at the paragliding hill on most flyable days helping with lessons or taking her own glider out for a flight. She’s always eager to connect with others and be part of a fun, safe, and supportive sky family.
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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