FAQ

Free for disabled Veterans (except for the USHPA $10/month temporary membership form), and $1800 if you would like to participate in the same program with them, including P1-P4 training, along with tows, and all of the special skills relevant to flying in Florida.

Expect to spend around $2200 for a brand new, school-subsidized paragliding kit (wing, harness, reserve, tow bridle, vario, radio, helmet). Once you outgrow the kit, your used, subsidized equipment must be sold through us to a new student, or to someone outside the school through our online store. If you’re one of our students, you can inquire about equipment from any brand and we’ll do our best to find it for you.

The video below illustrates what flying from the LaBelle Tow Area is like:

Although not everyone can fly a paraglider safely, you don’t have to be triathlon athlete do so. While there are no specific age restrictions, some common-sense health and fitness considerations must be made, some of which we have outlined below.

For paragliding you need to be over 14 years old. Young people between 14 and 18 years-old require written consent to paraglide (either flying solo or tandem) from their parents. A parent or guardian must also come along on the day to look after them and be sure they are satisfied we are doing everything we can to look after their safety.

You should be fit and active, have good coordination and an alert, reasoning mind. Besides doing a fair amount of running around during training, and short running bursts during take off, you have to be able to walk carrying a 30-45 lb (15-20 kg) backpack full of paragliding equipment.

Although no medical examinations are officially required, you should be in generally good health. If you suffer from any medical condition such as epilepsy, fainting, dizziness, high blood pressure, heart condition, osteoporosis or diabetes you should consult a physician before taking part in the sport.

It’s not so much about how old you are, it’s more about how good your general level of fitness, health and mental state is. Other considerations to think about are things like your eyesight, any medical conditions you may have which may affect your ability to fly, your mental health, and ability to make rational decisions.

You need to be reasonably fit and able to run and jump around for sustained periods. You will need to be able to carry a 30-45 lbs (15-20 kg) backpack. For take-off and landing you may need to run (sometimes quite quickly) for 30-60 ft (10-20 m) or more while wearing a paragliding harness.

Your eyesight needs to good enough so that you can see obstacles 100’s of feet away, and be able judge your height and approach adequately so as to be able to land safely within the landing zone.

Yes, there are different upper and lower weight limits for tandem flights and paragliding courses with us. This is due to the certified weight ranges of the paragliders we use, which must be strictly adhered to. A paraglider flown outside of its certified weight range may not be safe to fly.

Tandems: minimum 66 lbs (30 kg); maximum 243 lbs (110 kg).

Training: minimum 99 lbs (45 kg); maximum 243 lbs (110 kg).

If you weigh more than 243 lbs (110 kg) you may still be able to do a paragliding course with us, but you would have to buy your own paraglider with the appropriate certified all-up weight range and the appropriate level for learning to fly on, before taking your first tow.

We don’t have any ‘official’ height restrictions; the paragliding harness will simply have to fit you. So far we haven’t had anyone who satisfied the weight limits (see weight limits FAQ above) who didn’t fit into one of our harnesses.

Weather allowing, we teach paragliding daily at Markham Park, just North of Weston. See all training locations). We usually fly from the LaBelle Tow Pad Area, located 40 miles east of Fort Meyers, FL, and about 100 miles northwest from Miami (1.5h from Weston), weekdays and weekends throughout the year.

From the air you will be able to see lots of orange groves, swamp areas, canals, and sugar cane fields, sometimes as far as you can see from cloudbase. Condo soaring in Deerfield is also an interesting activity, which will suit the taste of many pilots.

There are roads in north-south and east-west directions at the LaBelle Tow Area, so the site is flyable with winds from 0 to 15 mph. Deerfield, on the other hand, is only flyable with northeast to southeast winds of 10-15 mph intensity.

We run our paragliding courses during the week from 7am, until the Park’s night lights are turned off. We fly tandem paraglider flights mostly during the weekend, throughout the year, weather permitting, from about 9am until sunset. We are closed only during the occasional paragliding trip and holidays. As you might expect, we are usually busier on weekends. We can sometimes be booked up several weekends in advance, especially during the Winter.

Unfortunately this is just not possible. As paragliding is a totally weather dependent activity, we only know if and when your flight will be completed after it has been done. Such is the nature of flying and the weather!

For tandem paraglider flights, we usually meet up at the appropriate flying site for the wind and weather conditions (or at a meeting point somewhere nearby) sometime between 09:00 and 9:30am – but this can vary considerably depending on various factors, especially the weather.

We will confirm what time to meet us, where to meet and how to get there, when you call us the evening before you are booked in for the weather check.

You should allow the whole day, and expect to have to wait around for the right wind and weather conditions and other tandem flights to be completed before yours.

There is no such thing as a ‘typical’ paragliding day; they can vary considerably from one day to the next! One of the main factors for this is completely out of our control: the weather!

Other major factors are things like the individual’s fitness and their personal rate of progress, which varies considerably from one person to another, and how many other people are taking part in the course. There are also many, many other factors which may affect how long it takes to complete the day’s paragliding course, and exactly what get’s done, but there are far too many to mention all of them here. Suffice to say that we will always try to get as much done as is reasonably possible, whilst keeping safety as our number one priority.

The more patient and flexible you can be, the better chance you will have of getting the most out of your course!

For our paragliding courses, we would normally meet up at the park (or in LaBelle) sometime between 08:00 and 09:00am — but this can vary considerably depending on various factors, especially the weather! We will confirm what time we are meeting, where we are meeting, and how to get there, when you call the evening before you are booked in for the weather check.

For our paragliding courses, a ‘normal’ day’s teaching (bearing in mind that there is no such thing as ‘normal’ with paragliding and/or the weather) could finish anytime from around 12:00 to 16:00, but this can vary considerably depending on various factors, such as the weather or an individual’s fitness and rate of progress.

One day of training is anything up to a maximum of 6 hours. For example, if we start at 9:30, we will end at 15:30. However times and duration may vary greatly from this due to many factors outside of our control.

No, all training days don’t have to be consecutive. You can take them consecutively or individually, though — it is up to you. If possible, we recommend that you try to keep the least amount of spacing between training days, in order to optimally preserve and build upon your skills. In any case, there is never any guarantee that the weather may be suitable for safe flying on all of the days.

As we strictly limit numbers, in order to avoid overbooking and be able to provide adequate training, we can only book your session according to the credit you have with us.

For tandem paraglider flights we can only book you in for one date at a time.

For paragliding courses we can only book you in according to the number of hours of training credit you have with us.

If the weather forecasts are not looking good for safe flying on the day you are booked in, then we will have to cancel the day and you will then need to rebook for another day. South Florida has great weather all year round, and such instances will rarely happen.

So, fingers crossed for the weather bringing us suitable, safe flying conditions!

We will provide you with the paragliding equipment necessary for your training — the paraglider, paragliding harness and a suitable paragliding helmet. You will need to bring everything else (hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, gloves, water, food, insect repellent, etc).

For both paragliding courses and tandem paraglider flights, wearing the right clothing and footwear is very important. We recommend the use of a light-colored long sleeve shirt in order to protect your arms from the sun’s rays and from ground abrasion in case you fall, and comfortable gym shorts with pockets.

Your footwear is extremely important as you will be doing a lot of running, jumping and landing on uneven terrain. Therefore, your footwear MUST give excellent ankle support and grip. It should also keep your feet cool and dry.

Footwear with little or no ankle support or slippery soles are NOT recommended. Ideally your footwear should be without lacing hooks, as these can snag and damage suspension lines.

It is up to you to make sure you wear sensible and adequate footwear.

Good flexible hill walking type boots are the right kind of thing.

The best are purpose-made paragliding boots, though. Ask your instructor where you can get yourself pair.

Yes, definitely! Food and drinks are not included in the price, and will not be provided by us during your training or tandem flight.

We recommend that you bring enough to eat and drink to sustain you through your day. Also make sure to bring more water than you think you might need (one gallon or slightly more per day), especially during the summer training months.

You should bear in mind that tandem flying is conducted at the LaBelle Tow Area, which is somewhat a remote location, devoid of restrooms. When nature calls, we have to venture one of the adjacent forested areas. A roll of toilet paper or a pack of baby wipes is sometimes worth gold out there!

All types of aviation and outdoor activity are weather dependent, including paragliding. If the weather conditions are not suitable to fly, then unfortunately we simply cannot do so and we will have to cancel that day’s flying. Fortunately, there are many days in the year that are suitable to fly, so if you are unlucky with the weather you should re-book and try again (subject to availability in our diary, and your flight/course being within the 12 month validity period).

We will only fly you if we think the weather conditions are suitable to do so, and as safe as possible within reason. However, you should always bear in mind that paragliding is an adventurous activity and, like all forms of aviation, carries with it an inherent risk of possible injury which may potentially be very serious. Our highly experienced tandem pilots will do their utmost to keep you as safe as possible and ensure that we make the most out of the wind and weather conditions which occur on the day.

The day before you are due to come and fly, you must call us on (954) 651-4917 at 7:00 pm for the ‘weather check’. If the weather forecast is looking bad for the next day we will have to cancel the day. In case we are not able to answer the phone when you ring please leave a voicemail message, send us a text message, or try again later.

If we are unable to fly on the day you have booked, we will have to cancel the day and reschedule for another day (within the validity period of your booking).

There really is no ‘best time of year’ – we can have good and bad weather for paragliding at all times of the year. It’s purely a matter of personal preference!

Of course, in winter it is generally colder, but we often get smoother flying conditions (less thermic activity caused by solar heating) and people find they warm up quickly from walking up hills, running around and all the general excitement! 8-)))

You should always bear in mind that all of our paragliding lessons, paragliding courses, paragliding tuition credit, tandem paraglider flights, and Flybubble Paragliding gift vouchers are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase, and must be completed before they reach the end of their 12 month validity period. Once the paragliding lesson, paragliding course, paragliding tuition credit, tandem paraglider flight, or gift voucher you have purchased from us has reached the end of it’s validity period, and so passed its expire date, it will have therefore expired and no longer be valid. This applies to all instances, regardless of any reasons given or circumstances, including outside influences such as the weather.

The best time to paraglide is always SOONER, rather than LATER! 🙂

NB. Don’t forget that paragliding is 100% weather dependent.

The United States Hang gliding and Paragliding Association (USHPA) is the Governing Body for hang gliding and paragliding in the US.

We are a USHPA Registered School, and as such, in order to participate in a paragliding course or on a tandem paraglider flight with us, you are required to obtain a USHPA Membership for the duration of your course (or on the day of your tandem paraglider flight). This is the same for any USHPA Registered School.

What is a USHPA Registered Paragliding School?

USHPA Registered Paragliding Schools are equipped and staffed with instructors who will train you at a rate of progress that is suitable for you. USHPA schools are monitored for safety, the quality of the training they offer, the equipment they use, and their trained instructors are licensed by the Association.

USHPA Membership

USHPA membership provides 3rd party legal liability insurance coverage which is there to protect you. When you start training you will enroll on a USHPA 30-day or Annual Membership through the School.

Which USHPA Membership do I need?

Whether you book a paragliding tandem, lesson or course, you will have to acquire the necessary USHPA Membership. The minimum for each is as follows:

Tandem Paraglider Flight : USHPA 30-day membership.

60 Hours of Paragliding Tuition : 12 Months ‘Full Annual’ Membership.

We encourage you to visit the USHPA website to learn more about the organization and its fee structure.

Personal accident insurance, to cover you during your training & beyond, is NOT included in the any of our paragliding courses or tandem paraglider flights or USHPA Membership (see above), but may be available from various insurance companies or brokers.

Although we can’t recommend any particular local accommodation (we haven’t stayed in them as we live here) we recommend AirBnb as a good place to search for well reviewed and reasonably priced accommodations.

Most people will acquire the necessary skills and knowledge within 60 hours of training (4 months, on average).