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Why American Paragliding?
Because We LOVE To Fly!
We also love to teach and are passionate about learning ourselves. We are constantly exchanging knowledge with the best pilots, test pilots, manufacturers, designers and instructors in the world. We fly every day, and bring this enthusiasm for free flight to our training sessions.
With over two decades of experience, our instructors will lead you through a natural progression of skills training you to be a safe, accomplished pilot. Below, we have have some thoughts about how to choose a paragliding school.
Think of your relationship with a paragliding school as a long-term relationship. While it may only take a few lessons to earn your novice certification, you want to choose a school that will be involved in your development as a pilot through your advanced rating and beyond. Make sure the staff respects you and your time and are dedicated to giving you professional instruction and long-term support.
How will you know? Ask...
How long has the school been established?
Does this school have several instructors? What are their qualifications?
Is the training schedule flexible? Are lesson reservations available 7 days a week?
Is the training site consistently trainable?
What kind of equipment will students be trained on?
What is the school's training philosophy?
How long has the school been established?
While a newer school is not necessarily a bad choice, a school with a proven track record can give you peace of mind, knowing that the school will be there to support you long into the future.
GW Meadows wrote for USHGA "One of the most common mistakes prospective students make is to select a school solely on the basis of price. Just as when choosing a brain surgeon, look for skill first and price second. There are a number of "cut rate" schools out there (although their numbers are shrinking) that are definitely the last place you want to learn to fly. For a professional school to stay in business, it must charge a reasonable amount of money for lessons. The gliders you abuse during your lessons will have to be replaced in time, and the money for that has to come from somewhere. No one--absolutely no one--is getting rich in the sport. The instructors who do it right are making somewhere between a paltry and a reasonable living. When considering the cost of lessons, remember: you get what you pay for." http://www.ushga.org/article01.asp
Our school has been operating at the Elings Park Training hill since it was first opened as a hang gliding school in 1974 and began teaching paragliding in 1989. In 1998, Chad Bastian purchased the school from his instructor Ken DeRussy. Chad was determined to continue the legacy of quality paragliding education for one of the longest running foot launched flight schools in the US. Through Chad's vision, Fly Above All and American Paragliding have grown, and are annually training some of the highest numbers of Certified pilots in the country. More importantly, American Paragliding and their instructors are nationally recognized for their quality of instruction and the community of pilots that surrounds them.
Does this school have several instructors?
What are their qualifications?
A school with several instructors will offer you flexibility in scheduling, learning and teaching styles. The opportunity to work with different instructors will expose you to a number of different approaches to learning the same skills, increasing your retention.
The instruction at American Paragliding is unsurpassed by any other school in the United States. We have full time instructors and staff that are available to teach our students on a daily basis. One of those instructors was a member of the 2001 US Team AND has held cross-country distance records. American Paragliding's instructors have the knowledge of educational theory, years of paragliding instruction, experience of flying sites around the country and the world, and abound in enthusiasm.
- Chad Bastian
- Irene Revenko
- Doug Gotthard
- Bruce Kirk
- Bob Peloquin
- Lee Anne Norris
What is the maximum and average number of students per instructor?
Are lessons designed to make the best use of my time?
We strongly recommend choosing a school that offers a student to instructor ratio of no more than 3:1. Sometimes schools will try to skirt the challenges of having a single instructor, very few teaching days, or low tuition prices by training far too many students at once. The end result of a high student/low instructor ratio, is a waste of your time and a compromise of your safety. Even schools that offer 8 hour class periods a day, for weeks on end, cannot give you adequate attention if the instructor is spread too thin, among too many students.
American Paragliding makes the most of your training time, averaging well below the 3:1 ratio. A five to six hour lesson, with lots of individual attention will yield plentiful opportunity for repetition of skills and personal coaching. We have found that more than 6 hours of hands on training can result in a mental and physical fatigue that compromises the student's safety without a significant skill gain.
Our philosophy of 5-6 hour days is based on several principles:
- Those are the times that are most consistently flyable, weather wise, at our training hill.
- We value your time and keep our ratios low (3:1 or less) to ensure you do not have a lot of down time during your lesson.
- From an educational standpoint - research has shown that only a few new physical skills can be learned effectively at one time. Retention of these skills then requires a night's sleep to process them. Trying to learn too many new things overwhelms the process and results in a slower skill acquisition.
- Most importantly, we have found that our students become far too tired when we try to continue beyond 6 hours resulting in mistakes that they wouldn't make when they are fresh. When it comes to a sport where safety is reliant on good decision making skills, thinking clearly is paramount.
As a student's proficiency increases, they are often invited to continue working on their ground handling skills after the formal lesson is over.
Additionally, ground school is conducted separate from hands-on paragliding time. This allows you to concentrate on practical skills at the hill, and the conceptual understanding in a focused learning environment.
Is the training schedule flexible?
Are lesson reservations available 7 days a week?
A professional school will respect the value of your time. They will have instruction available on the days you're available, not only when it fits their schedule.
American Paragliding is flexible. We have USHGA certified instructors available to work with you any day of the week with reservations. We will structure the training program to fit your schedule. You can plan on coming out as little as once or twice a month, or plan on a 7-10 day course on consecutive days. This flexibility has allowed us to train pilots from Santa Barbara to LA, around the country and around the world (Massachusetts, Oregon, Florida, Texas, Alaska, Colorado, Sri Lanka, Ireland, England, France and Luxembourg).
No matter what your time frame, American Paragliding, will take a very conservative and safe approach to your lessons. There are other schools where you will be pushed to advance quickly. American Paragliding's philosophy is different. We know that good training is the basis for everything you learn about flying in the future. We want you to be a safe pilot throughout your flying career. Therefore we give you the time and individual attention you need to perfect the skills that make a great novice pilot. When you are ready to fly, you will do so with your instructor and a ground crew. Personal and radio contact as you launch, fly and land will accompany you throughout all of your training flights.
Is the training site consistently trainable?
You'd rather spend your training time paragliding than parawaiting, right?
American Paragliding has the best training hill in the universe! 
It is amazing that this gorgeous piece of land is still undeveloped. Because it's purchase was made possible by a former student's donation to a non profit park, it will be here for training well into the future. We hold the lease to this miraculous place, so access is assured.
Why is it so great? Central California offers weather similar to the Mediterranean. It is trainable year round, with over 350 trainable days last year. The training hill has a gentle grade so we can start you at low altitudes and work our way up. There are smooth breezes off the ocean to fly in and open fields where you can practice your kiting. There is also a road so we can pick you up at the bottom of the hill and drive you back to the top for your next flight. No time wasted hiking! Spend your time paragliding instead!
Does the school offer continuing education, including thermalling, cross country, maneuvers, and tours?
You will want to look to quality instructors as you progress into your intermediate paragliding rating and beyond. To get the basics of paragliding is relatively easy. To master paragliding will take a lifetime.
Our instructors fly at least once a week with former students to offer informal learning opportunities and to make certain our pilots are comfortable with the local sites. We also offer advanced clinics for the advancing pilot.
Some of the clinics we offer:
- Pilot Tune-Up & Rating Sign-Off
- Mountain Site Introduction Clinic
- Weather Clinic
- Thermal Soaring Clinic
- Cross Country Clinic
- Ridge Soaring Clinic
- Tow Pilot Clinic
- Maneuvers Clinic
- Powered Paragliding
- Special Guest Clinics
Just as important, American Paragliding has created a community atmosphere among our alumni. You will find that there is always someone willing to lend an extra hand or go flying with you once you have completed your training. We fly as a group almost every weekend, and regularly take former students on trips to new flying sites around CA, the US and even Mexico and France.
We also meet as a club at the SBSA (local USHGA Chapter) meetings and offer a paraglider's potluck at rotating members house once a month. The opportunity to get together and exchange information is invaluable.
What kind of equipment will students be trained on?
American Paragliding uses state-of-the-art Ozone Element DHV-1 paragliders from your very first day until you are ready to try wings with more performance. These are not old outdated designs, they are new, current and reliable wings with the best safety characteristics available. Every inflation, launch run and flight will have the best results possible with the Element, since they are designed for first flights and school training with excellent passive safety.
What glider companies are they authorized to represent? Does the school carry a good selection of harnesses, helmets and flying accessories?
A diverse line of products indicates that the school has enough financial stability to earn the support of vendors. They've committed financially to being in business for the long-term. This is a good indication that the school will be around to serve you long into the future.
GW Meadows wrote for USHGA "Manufacturer support and representation is a must. If the school you are considering does not represent a manufacturer's line of gliders that should be a clue that the school wasn't professional enough for a manufacturer to allow them to sell its gliders. However, just because a school does represent a manufacturer doesn't mean that it is professional. You'll still need to check them out." http://www.ushga.org/article01.asp
You can visit American Paragliding's Online Store, where we feature our diverse product lines. We are proud to carry Nova, Advance, Gin, Ozone, Pro Design, Firebird, Independence, Swing, Apco and Airwave paragliders, Fresh Breeze, Fly Products, Black Hawk and other Paramotors as well as many other flying accessories.
At American Paragliding, equipment is provided for all of your training on our training hill. We want to make certain that you get the best wing for you. To do that, you have to try out several wings. We will have you demo different gliders on your fifth and/or sixth day of lessons, and your instructor will talk to you about how and where you're going to fly. Then we will help you make the best choice.
What is the school's training philosophy?
A simple indicator of whether a school is professional or not, is whether they've put the time into thinking about why they do what they do. Ask questions and look at their philosophy.
American Paragliding Instructors believe:
Paragliding is the purest form of personal flight, as easy and safe as aviation ever gets. Flying a paraglider is an incredibly exhilarating experience. The feeling of fluid motion, being disconnected from the earth and having an unobstructed view; it's not something that is easily definable. It's sensational, to be able to fly!
Enjoying the benefits and managing the risks of this sport is what American Paragliding is all about.
What's the next step?
Call and make a reservation! You'll never forget your first day of flight in a paraglider.
You can email American Paragliding at info@americanparagliding.com or call us at 805-403-1859.
Look here to see what you would do on your First Day Lesson, or if you have a high speed internet connection, you can watch our video about Learning To Fly. Find out more about the costs of Powered Paragliding Instruction.
