Learning to Paraglide on the Isle of Man
The club itself has no facilities to train pilots. There was a school operating on the island until the end of 2017. Sadly the school had to close so now there is no paragliding training organisation operating on the Isle of Man.
From time to time and with sufficient demand courses can be run on the island but you may be waiting some time for this. If you are keen to learn and prefer not to wait then training in the UK or Europe will be your best option.
Learning to Paraglide off Island
If you train at a school in the UK then unless you are fortunate with the weather you may take considerably longer to train than if you were to chose a BHPA approved school located in Europe. On the other hand, by training in the UK, you are more likely to experience the flying conditions that you are likely to encounter in the British Isles.
Training to Club Pilot standard usually takes two weeks of good weather so if you have a limited amount of time to spare then training with a BHPA school in continental Europe may be the better plan.
Elementary Pilot
When you first learn to fly, you will start on the Elementary Pilot program. This is a short course to teach the fundamentals of paragliding or hang gliding and you will complete the course by passing your Elementary Pilot examination.
Club Pilot
Once you have qualified as an Elementary Pilot, you will be to train to Club Pilot standard. This is your last formal course of instruction. You will learn to soar a ridge and fly safely with other pilots without the supervision of an instructor.
With your Club Pilot qualification, your aim is to consolidate your skills and expand your experience by flying your local club sites. We have coaches on hand to help you progress in an informal setting and work toward sitting your Pilot Examination.
If you would like to learn to fly paragliders or hang gliders then we recommend that you choose a paragling school that is approved by the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (BHPA).
Here is a list of BHPA Registered Flying Schools to help you weigh up the options.