beginner paragliding course –
PG1 certificate

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go soaring!

Let's be honest: Most people who do a one day intro course or a tandem with us and have had their first experience of paragliding, get the bug of flying and want to do more. 

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The PG1 beginner course includes 3 training days; they can be 3 consecutive days if you have the time or they can be say over 2 weekends, as it suits you. It's best not to leave too long a gaps in between the training sessions. Within these days, you will get a good impression of what paragliding is all about: Scenery, the sensation of flying and soaring, the skills of launching, ground-handling and controlling the wing, adjusting to weather conditions, spending time with a great bunch of people, relax into soaring along the coast solo.

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You will get the opportunity to fulfils the requirements of the PG1 certificate of the New Zealand hang gliding and paragliding association (NZHGPA), which is the first step towards becoming a qualified solo pilot. Unsupervised solo flying requires a PG2 intermediate certificate..

Note: The PG1 certification does not allow you to fly solo un-supervised - there is simply more to learn about paragliding safely than can be taught in 3 days.

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During this course, you will learn

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• pre-flight checks

• appreciate weather conditons to fly in – or not

• launching forwards by yourself

• flying in different conditions and learn how to adjust to this

• flying solo for at least 6 flights under radio instructions

• turning efficiently to use lift

• landing in your designated area

• at Wings & Waves, in addition to the NZHGPA requirements, you most likely get to soar for extended periods of time

• as an option, we include a instructional tandem flight with one of our NZ Champion instructors. This teaches you more than 20 solo training flights!
   

also included
 

• all paragliding equipment hire is included for this course

• Wings & Waves exclusive on-line log book and progression tool, to help you and us to optimise your training towards PG1 and PG2

• Wings & Waves PG1 theory notes

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not included
 

• the course price does not included is the NZHGPA student membership, which is a legal requirement imposed by CAA. You need to do directly through this link.

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locations

We use different flying and teaching sites around Auckland, all beautiful, wonderfully scenic, especially when you get to experience them from our privileged point of view, from the sky. The most frequently used site is Karioitahi Beach, South of Auckland on the West Coast. It is the first site on the list of teaching sites. All sites are located within an hour of the city.

 

Every day, we pick the ideal site according to the wind and weather conditions on the day to give you the best and safest experience. We ultimately decide in the morning, which site to use and times to meet.  Call us at 9am in the morning! It best if you are flexible to travel to increase your chance for a great day out. 

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Many sites are rather remote, so please make sure to be organised for a day with food and lots of drink. Wear comfy clothing according to the temperatures; most essential is good footwear of hiking boots or well treaded sports shoes and a wind-breaking jacket, plus sun protection.

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Once you book, we will send you a more details info sheet about your day.

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days to fly

We teach and fly both on weekdays and on weekends, every day the conditions suit, nearly all year long. Only in July, which is typically the worst month of the year with muddy paddocks and changeable weather which makes it too hard to get a full and valuable day teaching in. Simply call us or email us to book a time or to discuss the options.

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Ring at 9am to find out what we can do on the day and where and when to meet. Typically, we leave town at about 10am.

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certification

Participants usually easily manage to fulfil the requirements for the PG1 certificate during this course; most do far more flights and even get soaring and start on PG2 requirements if they are up to it and the weather cooperates. We are not there to hold you back! We also have a duty to put safety first and uphold the NZHGPA as well as our professional standards, so certification depends on more than ticking off minimum requirements. 

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​suitability

You need to be keen to learn, happy to do some exercise, be fit and flexible enough to walk up and down hills to practice launches etc. If you are under 18 or over 65 years old, under 50 or over 115kg, please talk to us to us first to ensure this course will suit you. 

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costs

PG1 course WITH instructional tandem with one of our NZ Champion pilots is what we really recommend, it is $879. The tandem flights with our instructors is amazingly valuable; you will learn as much as many solo flights because we can first hand teach you some finer skills of soaring and handling which take a lot longer to acquire in any other way. ​

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