What to Expect
On the first day we will meet you at the Camino Real Restaurant parking lot (see directions). From there you will follow the school truck to our designated parking area, where you will transfer into the school truck for transport to the flight park.
We meet at 8am and leave for the flight park shortly afterwards. It’s just a few miles away, up a Forest Service road that has restricted access, which is the reason for the transport arrangement. When we arrive, there is an introduction to the site and a brief pre-flight discussion, followed by paperwork. Then, assuming the weather has cooperated; we assign gear and head to the training hill. After an inspection/introduction to the gear, and a brief demonstration, we will have you hooking into the paraglider and practicing the first skills. These will lead up to a launch and landing sequence. Now, it’s onto low level flights, to develop theses skills, and then you progress higher and higher! After a few hours we’ll take a mid-day break, when the heating becomes too intense and the conditions are no longer appropriate for training.
It’s time for lunch, and probably a chance to see some rated pilots take advantage of the more advanced conditions. This time will also be used for ground school, watching educational or entertaining videos, or simply relaxing on the grass in the shade. When conditions are again appropriate for training, we head back out to the hills to continue where we left off. You’ll work on launching and landing skills, as well as your in-flight techniques (mostly just checking out how cool it looks from up there!). The fun continues until the sun starts to go down and the warm flow of air we’d been using all day slows down and eventually switches direction to downhill. We put the gear away, pack into the truck back down to the parking area, and then you’re off to eat, sleep and recover for another day even better than this day!
Bring
Water; enough for the day, from 8am to about an hour before sunset. Keep in
mind that it will be warm and you will be fairly active. We do have bottled
water for sale at the shop if you run out. There is also tap water, but it has
a heavy mineral taste.
Food; for the same time frame, generally a lunch and possibly snacks depending
on what you think you’ll need. There is a refrigerator available for storing
food and drinks.
Sunscreen! and sunglasses are highly recommended.
Wear
Lightweight active wear works the best, but cotton t-shirts and jeans will do the job. What you would be comfortable walking or hiking in for the day (varies depending on weather). Shorts are fine, but should be long enough that they won’t bunch up in the harness leg straps (mid-thigh). Sleeveless shirts are not recommended, because the harness rests on your shoulders and could be uncomfortable on bare skin. You may also like to have a light-weight windbreaker,a pair of leather or other protective gloves, and sunglasses. Footwear is important, as you will be moving around on uneven ground, mostly grass but also loose dirt. High sturdy boots are preferred, moving down from there to tennis shoes, which will work but don’t offer ankle support or keep dirt out. There are specialty boots for paragliding, but you don’t need to purchase those unless you are 100% committed to the sport. Most people start out with a pair of light weight hikers.