PARAGLIDING BASICS
An intense week of video training in
the key flight skills and best methods
START THE COURSE
A rock solid foundation for all your flying. This unique syllabus complements your training at any flight school and puts you on the right path.
Greg Hamerton, Chief Instructor
Why take the BASICS course?
Paragliders are simple, but your altitude makes the sport unforgiving. If you get the fundamentals wrong, you could get hurt. This intensive video course is not just for beginners: it's great revision and helps you to develop as a pilot.
Fly with confidence
Learn how to mentally prepare
Understand airflow
Feel the wind and predict turbulence
Balance and control
Harness settings and brake inputs
Lessons Plan
What is FLIGHT LEVEL 1?
An overview of the Paragliding Fundamentals course and how the daily lessons work.
(2:37)
Learn to PARAGLIDE
An introduction to the world of freeflight, the rules of the game and how your training pathway can determine your success.
(09:30)
How to FLY
The complete flight briefing for paragliding, revealing all the fundamentals you will continue to build upon during your whole flying career.
(05:30)
Can you FEEL THE WIND?
Develop the ability to analyse the character of the air before you trust your life to it. Learn about gusts, cycles, variations, mixing, and how to identify safe flying conditions.
(10:51)
Over the HILLS
Understand the effect of terrain on the wind and how to avoid the areas of potential turbulence caused by the landscape.
(13:02)
Understanding AERODYNAMICS
See the wing in a new way, learn about lift and get a clear view of how the paraglider aerofoil works.
(13:02)
How AIRSPEED works
Learn how the wind affects your flight, master the relationship between airspeed and groundspeed so you can calculate the exact wind speed and direction, from the air.
(12:17)
Perfect HARNESS BALANCE
Learn how to set up any harness well, and understand how to use it so it is comfortable and provides a great connection with your wing.
(20:52)
Complete BRAKE CONTROL
Master your brake inputs so you develop expert control and get a responsive wing that does exactly what you want it to.
(25:34)
PACK IT like a PRO
The extended version, with tips and tricks to protect your wing in the best way.
(10:33)
Flying with CONFIDENCE
Your attitude determines your altitude. Learn how to mentally prepare yourself for paragliding, so you can fly with calm confidence.
(14:39)
Beginners BEWARE!
An audio podcast: Things you might try to do with your paraglider, and why they won’t end well. Don’t do it!
(29:55)
ZERO HOUR Self
A podcast with Gavin McClurg, discussing how to choose your school environment and finding the best learning path.
(1:31:51)
RED RIBBON Session
A livestream replay: Discover strategies to cope with fear, transition to mountain flying, get good launches, fly in thermals, and more.
(1:14:31)
LOW AIRTIME Coaching
Common beginner problems ... and the solutions! Groundhandling practice, overcoming the fear of heights, when to buy equipment, and more.
(1:04:54)
All about AIRFLOW
A deep dive into aerodynamics: Why does air move? How can you feel a stall approaching? The effect of altitude and humidity on your wing. And more.
(1:11:11)
Course summary ... and TEST!
Here are all the concepts that you learned this week. Now apply your mind and try these visual paragliding puzzles!
Know Your Stuff?
Watch all the videos, work on the practical tasks and get over 80% in the FUNDAMENTALS test, to earn your FLIGHT LEVEL 1 certificate!
Who is it for?
This course is for everyone who is interested in perfecting the art of freeflight. You could do this before your first day at paragliding school, it will help you grasp the concepts faster and give you solid practical techniques. You could take this course during your training, to help boost your progression. Or you could take it after a break from flying, to refresh your skills and help to fill in the blanks in your flight knowledge.
How does the course work?
This is a week course. Every day you’ll be assigned about 1 hour of video or audio lessons. This gives you time to absorb each key skill and helps you to schedule the training into your busy life. You can return to any lesson at any time thereafter.
What is included in the course?
Over 7 hours of specialised video and audio training with Greg Hamerton. There’s also a task sheet for you to develop your skills, and a visual quiz at the end of the course to see if you can apply the concepts in real flight situations.
Single payment or subscription?
PARAGLIDING BASICS is available to buy as standalone course (pay once and get lifetime access to these lessons and any updates I make to them, no subscription required) OR included FREE as part of your Flight Academy membership, where you get other courses, livestreams, chatroom, a great community of pilots and access to a large catalogue of more advanced topics.
Get your lessons anywhere
Accessible on all devices including iOS, Android, MACs and PCs. You can even Cast to your TV!
Most lessons are subtitled in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian.
Progress through the system
Structured learning, at many flight levels. Studying the BASICS gives you a stable base to stack the higher levels on and will help you with your paragliding progression.
What are pilots saying
It covers a lot that can easily be forgotten. The visualisation of the hill and how the wind sock is affected by the lay of the land is an eye opener and really gets you to think on how it moves around objects.
Andy Cook
UK
Super informative and presented in a way that is accessible.
Michael Jensen
USA
I loved the instructors enthusiasm. Also, it is playful and light and has been produced with high quality footage and original perspectives.
Robert Mout
Netherlands
Get the course!
Over seven hours of step-by-step demonstrations and flight theory training. Understand how everything works to make you fly: the wind, the wing, the harness, your body and your mind.
Learn the Fundamentals
and begin your journey to master paragliding
