FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions:

This is our FAQ section. For answers to all your questions, simply click on a question and it will scroll you down the page to the answer.

If you have a question that isn't answered here, please send it to us by email - we will reply as soon as possible. Once answered, we will then add your question to this FAQ section so that it will in turn benefit anyone else asking the same question.

What Is Paragliding?
Winch or Hill - Which Is Best?
Winch vs. Hill Comparison
What Is A Hang Glider?
Is Paragliding Dangerous?
Do I need Insurance?
Are There Any Age Restrictions?
Are There Any Weight Or Size Restrictions?
Is It Weather Dependent?
What Qualifications Do I Need To Fly On My Own?
Will You Teach Us On Old Equipment?
Why Must I Have A Reserve Parachute?
Do I Have What It Takes To Be A Paraglider Pilot?
How Do I Get Started?
Do I Have To Do A Taster Day First?
How Long Will Each Course Take?
Do You Teach With Radios?
Why Learn With ParAvion?
How Do I Know If The Flying Is Going Ahead Or Not?
Where And When Do We Meet?
What Do We Wear?
What Should We Bring?
What Time Will We Finish?
How Much Does A Paraglider Cost?
Can I Buy Second-Hand Equipment?

What Is Paragliding?

Paragliding is the closest you can get to flying like a bird. It is a foot launched inflatable wing made popular because it is so easy to carry, set up, and fly (compared with any other aircraft).

The pilot is suspended under the canopy by very thin lines made of Kevlar and sits in a harness (much like an 'easy' chair) for maximum comfort. When flying, you can actually soar like a bird; taking advantage of rising air in the form of thermals or ridge lift.

Total weight of the paraglider, harness, reserve parachute and helmet is usually around 15-20kg. They are rolled up and stowed in a rucksack that can easily be carried by the pilot.

Winch or Hill Training - Which Is Best?

Without a doubt; winch training. You'll learn in a quarter of the time (so it will save you money), you'll have no hills to climb repeatedly (so you don't have to be super-fit) and you'll get around thirty times more airtime (each flight will be to around 1000ft or more and will last between five and ten minutes. With hill training you only get 50ft to 100ft hops that only last a few seconds.

Once you have completed the basics on the winch (four to six days), you'll do an easy day or two on the hill (with no repetitive hill climbing) to qualify as a hill pilot (if you want to). At this stage you will be a fully qualified Club Pilot (tow & hill) - two qualifications for the price most schools will charge you for one.

Training to fly from the hill is optional of course. We are finding that more and more people prefer NOT to hill fly because of the 'crowding' and risk of mid-air collision. Instead they prefer to join our Tow Club and only fly from hills when they are with us on our foreign flying holidays. It is a lot easier to fly cross country from a winch as well because we can get you much higher and into a thermal far more easily and you get to keep that thermal all for yourself - no crowds.

We are finding more people are taking up flying paramotors after winch training for the same reason. Once you can fly from the winch it will only take around a day to convert you to flying with a motor.

'Winch-Tow' or 'Hill Launch' Taster Day? - A Brief Comparison:

This comparison is a prime example of one of the many reasons we changed to using a winch for basic pilot training.

Taster Day (Hill)	Taster Day (Tow)
First hour spent on safety briefing and paperwork.	First hour spent on safety briefing and paperwork.
Remainder of the morning spent discussing the weather conditions and learning to understand why it is you're on the wrong hill and now have to move to another flying site because the wind is different to the forecast - then an hour or two of your day wasted while you move.	Second hour spent on how the glider works and how to launch it, then being towed aloft by hand so your feet are already coming off the ground. The wind is different to what was forecast, but it doesn't matter - you're on an airfield.
After lunch, now starting to get to grips with the glider and how it works; running around with it being careful not to stick your foot down a rabbit or badger hole, put your glider on the fence or get yourself and your glider covered in sheep or cow dung.	Third hour; you now start flying properly. Your first flight will last between two and three minutes as we fly you the full length of our airfield (between 600 and 900 metres long) at a height of around 50 feet (15m). You'll repeat this until you're happy to go a little higher and move on to the next exercise.
Mid-afternoon, just starting a few little 'hops' off the ground (duration probably just a few seconds).	After lunch you will fly higher and higher up to the maximum permitted on the first day of 150 feet (50m). You'll do this three or four times - each flight lasting around five minutes.
Late afternoon finishing off with a flight or two at about 20 or 30 feet above the ground (duration still just a few seconds - thirty if you're really lucky).	If the day has gone well, we'll just keep flying until the sun goes down or you've had enough - whichever comes first.
End of the day; you had great fun, but left feeling completely shattered and only really had one 'proper flight lasting less than thirty seconds. You'll leave wanting more flying time, but will dread the thought of having to climb that hill again.	End of the day; you'll leave the school absolutely 'buzzing' and be desperate for more flying. You'll probably want to join us on an EP course on the next available day.
We found that less than 10% of people completing a Taster Day on the hill ever returned for more training. The main reason - the thought of climbing that damned hill again.	Since we changed to winch towing, more than 80% of people attending a Taster Day return for more training. Around 50% of those will sign up for their EP before they go home on the same day.

That's just the first day - it gets even easier on the second and subsequent days:

Many more flights each day
Much higher flights - all over 1,000 feet or so.
No hills to climb, so you don't have to be an athlete

On the third/fourth day onwards, there's not even any walking to be done; you land back at the launch point - fantastic!

It can be argued that learning to fly on a hill is the best way to learn if you solely want to fly hills in the crowded environment that is hill-flying. This is a very valid point and certainly holds true, but - and that's a very big 'but'; learning like this can and does take people many, many months and sometimes over a year or more to get qualified (ask on any forum).

The bottom line is how quickly do you want to learn? It's your time and your money after all, so it's your choice. If you want to only fly hills and are happy to take your time (lots of it) then this is the best way.

However, in both cases you will only be taught to the same basic level - Club Pilot. This is the minimum standard that you can fly unsupervised. Neither will make you a better pilot; a beginner is still a beginner.

Our hill conversion sounds simple, but we can't just 'convert' you to hill flying in a single day; before we let you anywhere near a hill to do your conversion, you will have spent many hours practising the 'reverse launch' and 'ground handling' skills with us. The two most important things for any paraglider pilot to learn.

A BIG difference is with us you can practice it FREE as a member of our Tow Club after qualifying - a hill instructor/school will charge you for that time. You will spend just as much time practising this with a hill school, but at extra cost or less flying.

Remember, the main points in favour of towing with us are:

It's much faster
It's much safer
Lots more airtime and many more flights
No hard work climbing hills
No crowds; the sky is yours
Free tuition after qualifying

What Is A Hang Glider?

Hang gliders have a more solid wing structure containing an aluminium frame that creates a V-shaped wing. In comparison, paragliders are inflated by the airflow and have no internal frame.

A hang glider only semi-collapses into a bag that is about 15ft long and weighs 30 – 60kg. You will need a car with a roof-rack to transport it around. We do not teach hang gliding here at ParAvion.

Is Paragliding Dangerous?

The simple answer is yes (see our safety page). However, it is no worse than skiing, motorcycling or horse riding. In the school environment; you're as safe as you can be because the conditions you fly in are much more controlled - i.e. if we say don't fly, you don't fly. This greatly lessens your chance of injury.

There is a saying in the flying community; "There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots." Most accidents occur due to pilot error. Very rarely are they due to equipment failure. The majority of accidents occur because the pilot was flying in weather conditions that were too extreme or because they were doing dangerous manoeuvres too close to the ground.

You can compare flying with driving. If you drive like an idiot or in very poor weather conditions, you are more likely to crash than a careful driver (or rider) in fair weather - the same goes for flying.

However, you can rest assured that while you're learning to fly with ParAvion, you will be at your safest. Our CFI has one of the best safety records in the UK with a very well known reputation for being over-cautious (often to his own detriment - no flying = no profit).

Do I Need Insurance?

Although statistically you're at your safest whilst under training, accidents can and do happen so we insist our students take out personal accident cover. Take a look at our insurance page for full details.

Are There Any Age Restrictions?

UK law says 16 years with no upper age limit, but for practical, safety and liability reasons we limit ours to between 18 and 65 years.

Although paragliding does not require physical strength or fitness, it does need you to be mentally alert with good coordination skills and good spatial awareness. You will also need to be fit enough to take a few knocks and tumbles in case you fall over during the more basic stages.

Are There Any Weight Or Size Restrictions?

You will need to weigh somewhere between 7st 12lb (50kg) and 17st 5lb (110kg) and be between 5' 0" (1.52m) and 6' 4" (1.93m) tall to fly paragliders. Ideally your BMI (Body Mass Index) should be under 28; you can use this chart to check, but if you're not sure please call us. If you are very fit, muscular or heavy boned the BMI chart can be misleading so please check with us before writing off your dream of flying a paraglider.

Sadly, they don't make gliders bigger or smaller than this - well, actually they do, but they are not certified so we can't use them. Tandem wings despite being built to carry two people cannot be used for one extra large person without a separate certification process and this is rarely done.

Is It Weather Dependent?

Very much so. Take a look at the Weather page for full details.

What Qualifications Do I Need To Fly On My Own?

There is no law that says you have to be qualified to fly paragliders within the UK, but you would have to be very foolish indeed to try and fly one without guidance from an experienced instructor. Many people gave their lives in the development of aviation learning from their mistakes. Are you willing to make all those mistakes all over again for yourself?

It is a common misconception that you have to be a member of BHPA Ltd to to gain a licence to fly; this is absolute nonsense. The Civil Aviation Authority are the only people that issue flying licences and there are none for paragliding or paramotoring - it is deregulated. The closest to it is a powered parachute licence which is covered by the National Private Pilot Licence syllabus.

The BHPA only issue 'ratings' (we will issue you with a rating too). If you want to join the BHPA at a later date, you will simply have to pay their membership fee and get one of their club coaches to sign you off as competent and pass their CP exam (which is easier than ours and only takes ten minutes). There should be no fee payable for this, but some schools will try and charge you for it - your choice. The BHPA will charge you of course; they charge ten pounds for every form submitted in addition to your membership fee.

• Elementary Pilot - After completing this course you can only fly under direct Instructor supervision within a school environment. This course is just a basic introductory stage to allow you the time to experience it before you (or your instructor) decide whether you have what it takes to become a pilot.

This stage can be completed in just a few days.

• Club Pilot - After completing this course you will be considered to have the minimum knowledge and skill necessary to fly solo without direct Instructor supervision. You will however only have a very basic understanding of meteorology, air law, flight theory and navigation.

It is at this stage you are at your most vulnerable. It can be compared to having just passed your driving test - the learning has only just begun.

This stage can take between a few weeks and a few months depending on your commitment level, attendance and luck with the weather.

• Pilot - At the end of this stage you will have completed a number of further flight requirements and have logged a minimum of 25 hours (double this is more realistic) airtime. At this point you will be considered a more competent pilot. You should also be able to navigate controlled airspace and fly cross-country. At this stage you will have studied long and hard to achieve a good understanding of meteorology, air law, flight theory and navigation.

To achieve this level you will need to have been flying between one and three years (the lesser if you do our advanced courses abroad).

• Advanced Pilot - This requirement is met only by logging many hours of airtime and flying many cross-country flights. Only truly dedicated pilots; mainly Instructors and competition pilots achieve this level.

To achieve this level you will need to have been flying around three to five years.

All of the above will require many hours of study followed by a written exam. Each stage obviously becomes more difficult than the last and will involve a lot more study time.

The school will take you through all four stages if you wish, as we run advanced training courses abroad every year - obviously, this is the safest way to progress. You can however achieve Pilot and Advanced Pilot ratings in the club environment without any help from the school, but this will take you a lot longer.

Will You Teach Us On Old Equipment?

Absolutely not! Sadly, this is the way a lot of schools operate - it is not unusual for you to be taught on ten year old worn out gliders, but at ParAvion we will only teach on the very latest equipment. Our school gliders are replaced regularly. You may benefit from this further too, because once they have had around 25 days use, we sell them on to our students at a much reduced rate.

Why Must I Have A Reserve Parachute?

You may think a reserve parachute is unnecessary, but none of the instructors at ParAvion will grant you a Club Pilot rating unless you fly with one. We think it would be irresponsible of any instructor to let you fly outside of the school environment without one.

If you have enough height most paragliders will self-recover*, but at low-level you will need a parachute. Pilots have been saved from as low as 80ft by their parachute when it all went wrong.

*Recovery time depends on the glider's performance rating.

Do I Have What It Takes To Be A Paraglider Pilot?

You must remember that paragliding (like all aviation) is an entirely weather dependent pastime. However, the more you put in, the more you will get out. You must be prepared to be patient with the weather and book in regularly (at least four days a month). You can't control the weather any more than we can, so you have to be VERY patient.

It is ideally suited to people with more flexible time; shift workers, the self-employed, part-time, semi-retired, retired or unemployed/between jobs. If you can only commit to every seventh Sunday or don't get much free time, it's not even worth considering taking up paragliding; it just can't be treated like a sport you do every now and again.

If you leave long gaps between training days you will be forever taking three steps forward and two backwards - you’ll always be playing catch up. If you do this, it will cost you more money because you will have to keep paying for refresher training.

We can get you through your training to Club Pilot (Tow) in a very short space of time - around six days spread over a few weeks (when the weather's good), but to achieve Club Pilot (Hill) requires a higher level of commitment and can take many months while we wait for those 'ideal condtions'. It will also help greatly if you can be available at short notice so we can call you in when the weather conditions are 'just right' to complete your final tasks.

If you are impatient or are not prepared to book in as regularly as once a week, then you may be better off taking up golf.

How Do I Get Started?

We recommend you complete a Taster Day first if you're not sure. This is the first day of the Elementary Pilot course that will allow you to achieve limited solo flight. At this stage you can decide if this is really what you want to do before you pay for the remainder of the EP course and the CP course.

The best way of course is to bite the bullet and purchase the Club Pilot Package, details of which can be found on our 'News' page.

Once you have paid for your course and completed our booking process you will be able to register for our online booking system - just click 'Book' on the main menu.

Do I Have To Do A Taster Day First?

The Taster Day is the first day of the EP course, so yes you do. Many schools will offer a Taster Day and then charge you for an EP Course in addition to this. We think this is unfair, so we made them all part of the same course.

How Long Will Each Course Take?

Two or three days to achieve EP (because we teach you on tow - to learn EP on the hill can take five or six days), three to four days to achieve CP (tow), again on the hill gaining a CP can take six to ten days.

Although we mention days, it's not the amount of days you attend, but the number of flights you complete; for EP you need to do 15 and for CP a further 25 - we consider a day's flying eight high flights. On a good day with fewer students you can double this, so you get two day's training in one effectively. On the other hand if we have a day when the weather messes us around or we're very busy (or have hold-ups) you may only get four flights (half a day). An exceptional day can see students doing 15 high flights or more - each lasting around 10 minutes.

If you decide you want to fly from hills in addition to tow, then a further day or so to complete hill training will be required to gain a Club Pilot (hill) rating.

The time taken depends on your natural ability, luck with the weather and your attendance. You can normally achieve more flights during the week because of fewer participant numbers - as a result, you should progress more quickly.

Do You Teach With Radios?

Yes, but as a back up only. You are thoroughly briefed before and after every flight so you can do it without a radio. However, for safety, we have you on radio too so that you can receive guidance in flight if necessary. On the first day (sometimes the second too) you will also be given hand signals from the ground just in case of radio failure.

Back

Why Learn With ParAvion?

Our Chief Flying Instructor has taught with seven different schools since 1995 and has been the CFI of three of them. In that time, he has worked with, learned from and taught lots of instructors. Until he resigned early in 2012 he was the head of the BHPA Flying & Safety Committee's Instructor & Coach Training Panel.

We also have one of the best school safety records in the UK – why would you want go anywhere else?

How Do I Know If The Flying Is Going Ahead Or Not?

You will have booked your day in advance by using our Online Booking System. If the flying is cancelled (nearly always due to poor weather) this system will automatically send you an email telling you this after 1900 the evening before your booked day. If you do not receive an email, then call as per the next paragraph.

In addition, our Chief Flying Instructor (or Duty Instructor in his absence) will leave a message on our telephone answering service the evening before your booked day. It will tell you whether we will be flying or not and if we are; telling you when and where to meet us. The number is 0845 528 1012 extension 3. It only costs 1p from a land line, but some mobile phone tariffs will charge around 25p (it probably won't be included in your free minutes). It's because of this cost we set up the free email messaging on cancelled days.

Important - This weather message isn't set until 1930 the evening before your booked day (after the latest forecast updates). You must call in between 1930 and midnight and listen to the joining instructions for the following day. The message will automatically change back to the daytime message after midnight so be sure to call before then.

If your day is cancelled re-book as soon as you can. This can be done as soon as you receive the cancellation email because the booking system will have automatically re-credited your account.

If you would like to know a little in advance what the likelihood of flying is we also have a weather conference on our discussion forum where our CFI (or Duty Instructor in his absence) keeps everyone updated on weather developments and current forecasts. You can set this to email you (click the 'notify' button) any posted messages to save you having to log in each time.

Where And When Do We Meet?

Please look at our Find Us page for directions to our office and airfields - you will be told to meet at one of our airfields so please familiarise yourself with where they are so you don't end up getting lost and losing your day.

Start time is normally between 0830 and 0930, but can often be a couple of hours earlier or later (depending on that day's forecast). We will often bring people on their first day in a couple of hours before everyone else in order to complete the paperwork, safety briefing and basics before the others arrive (they've heard it all before).

What Do We Wear?

Windproof clothing, and a good pair of walking boots (boots are VERY important).

We will not allow you to fly without boots that offer good ankle support and grip (most walking boots are fine - trainers are NOT). Please be sure to call us if you're not sure of the requirements, but there are guidelines here.

What Should We Bring?

In spring/summer; a packed lunch and 4 litres of water, a cap/hat and sunblock.

In autumn/winter; a packed lunch and 2 litres of water, gloves, jacket and a woolly hat.

It's better to be overdressed than underdressed. You can always remove an item of clothing, but you don't want to be cold in winter as this can affect your judgement and slow your reflexes as well as increase the chance of pulling a muscle.

What Time Will We Finish?

This will vary depending on the time of year, but generally we finish a good day around 1600 - 1730. It depends on the weather; sometimes we may go on until later if we've had to wait for midday thermic activity to settle down.

How Much Does A Paraglider Cost?

The average cost of new equipment for the beginner is:

• Paraglider - £2,000.00 to £2,300.00
• Harness - £500.00 - £700.00
• Reserve Parachute £450.00 - £750.00

However, we offer a great deal for new pilots - check out our 'Club Pilot Package' deal.

Can I Buy Second-Hand Equipment?

If you don't want to buy new, then we can sell you an ex-demonstrator or ex-school wing (we won't sell unknown second-hand wings because we can never 'truly' know their history). If you decide to buy second-hand equipment from us, you will still be entitled to the same discounted day rate charges.

We buy new school gliders every few months, so there is always a supply of 'almost new' gliders in stock. We only teach on them for around 25 days before we sell them on. This ensures that we have a good supply of used gliders all the time.

I've Already Bought My Bargain Kit From An Internet Auction Site

If this is the case, then you've probably just wasted your money on a load of junk. We would not even consider teaching you on equipment bought in this way, so please don't ask.

Important: If you buy or intend to buy second-hand equipment from someone other than ParAvion, then that is your choice. However, we will not teach you on it. As stated elsewhere, we will only teach on NEW equipment. We consider this a very serious safety issue and there will be no exceptions.

We will always do the best deal we can for our students and will encourage you to buy a well known brand. There are some manufacturers that sell a little cheaper, but these are not made as well and will have a poor resale price when you want to sell it. Buying cheap will always cost you more in the long run as you will have to buy twice.