Paragliding Tuition + Hang Gliding Club Pilot Training
The Club Pilots Certificate, (CPC) for hang gliding or paragliding tuition follows on from the Elementary Pilots Certificate and involves the kind of flying that all trainees really aspire too.
You will have spent four or five days during your Elementary Pilot Certificate (EPC) walking up the hills and flying down (all great fun)! With this course you will earn to ridge soar (like a bird) and if possible, gain height to fly above take-off height and land back at the top of the hill again! Whilst the Club Pilot Certificate course involves a lot of flying, we be revisiting some of the earlier EPC ground handling techniques as good glider control on the ground makes you a safer pilot in the air. It is possible to complete the tasks for the BHAP Club Pilots Certificate Syllabus in five or six days in good conditions and during which you will get to know the local club coaches and flyers and steadily integrate into the local club environment.
After qualifying as a Club Pilot, you may wish to join the ‘Derbyshire Soaring Club‘ who have their own Peak District sites and BHPA registered ‘Club Coaches’ who provide guidance and useful advice to newly qualified pilots ‘for free’, well almost, what’s the price of a beer these days?
Club Pilot Learning Material & Assessment
Just as during the Elementary training we continue to use digital video and photo analysis of your launches and record elements of your flying to look at later to help improve your technique and create a ‘video file’ as a memento of your training. You will continue to train in a small class size to ensure optimum instructor input, will receive our ‘Peak Airsports Training Pack’ take part in lectures to help you complete your training and final BHPA exam.
Club Pilot Course Fees
- Paragliding Club Pilot = £600 (£300 deposit is required)
- Hang Gliding Club Pilot = £750 (£375 deposit is required)
Note – if you may have to renew your BHPA Annual Membership (£89) if the membership you took out during your Elementary Pilots Certificate training has expired.
Beyond Club Pilots Certificate
When you get your Club Pilot qualification you have effectively passed your ‘driving test’ for paragliders and you can now go and fly by yourself without the supervision of the school, whenever you want (weather permitting:-). However, learning doesn’t stop here, if you drive a car or ride a motorbike, you will have no doubt heard the old adage ‘you pass your test, now learning really starts’, and this is equally true for paragliding. Our aim at Peak Airsports is to equip you with the knowledge to make the correct decisions that in turn make you into a safe pilot. It will ultimately be you that makes the decision “shall I take off or not take off…”
When you pass your Club Pilot qualification, you may want to continue flying in ‘The Peak District’. You need to join the local club called; The Derbyshire Soaring Club. They control all the large sites in the Peak District and negotiate with farmers and the National Trust on your behalf for the takeoff and landing areas. You should not fly on any land or hill, unless you have the permission from the land owner and the farmer. There are many clubs around the country, in all the best flying spots and a complete list can be found at the BHPA’s website. The club membership is between £10 and £30 a year. There is nothing to stop you from negotiating your own flying sites with a landowner, but as paragliding has such a tremendous social scene attached to it, most pilots are members of one or more clubs. New pilots should get to know the local club coaches and use their experience and skill to help the new novice Club Pilot to stay safe and improve on the skills they have learned while in the school.
Many pilots decide to take a paragliding trip abroad after getting their CPC to experience flying in other conditions. Take a look at our Flying Holidays
For more information visit our Training Courses FAQ Page
