ONE DAY TRAINING

Eagle’s award winning instruction is known for continually bringing together top paragliding instructors in the sport to work as a team at home in Santa Barbara, and our clinics and tours all over the world. Our staff list is current and diverse, and we don’t list any phantom instructors on our website in an attempt to misrepresent our staff size. All the instructors listed on our website are current active paragliding instructors who work with our team in Santa Barbara, and our clinics and Tours around the world. With Eagle, you won’t be standing around wondering when you will be getting some attention. We are the only choice for bigger groups who want to fly together.

We thoroughly enjoy sharing this sport with our students. We aren’t in a rush to get you certified, and we hope that you aren’t either. Our bet is this will be the adventure of your life, so lets enjoy the journey together. You pick the pace of your training, and we support your pace. Run away from the idea of “express training”, and getting certified as fast as possible. This is not something you should rush through for a variety of reasons. We can accomplish a great deal at our flight park, and you will be pleasantly surprised with your progression. You wont need more than ten days, or two weeks in ordered achieve certification. Our training environment allows us to maximize the time you have set aside for learning to fly. We don’t ever want you to feel rushed, or need to get through the course because of any time limitations, or a cap on your training window. There is no continuing extra costs if you take longer to learn. Programs offering such restrictions point to sites which have weather challenges, and having students with unfinished skills and opportunities due to weather challenges is likely a common occurrence. Some schools may warn you about a location that offers complete certification in 8-9 days, or the ability to fly solo on your first day of training. However, the only reason these schools are unable to offer what Eagle offers is they don’t have the the ability to engineer the environment due to their site challenges. In other words, They would be certifying pilot in 8-9 days instead of 16-20 days if they were lucky enough to have a flight park similar to ours.

The pursuits and efforts made by Eagle Paragliding have earned the school a favorable reputation by pilots and peers everywhere. We are humbled when pilots reach to out to us from all over the globe after reading a post in a foreign land recommending Eagle as the school to connect with when traveling to the United States. We strive to be the best paragliding ambassadors we can when pilots need information, or wish to connect and fly with us. Eagle has coached the US national team at three different world championships. The unprecedented coverage of the 2009 world championships by Eagle in Mexico had people all over the world thanking Eagle for bringing this event to the pilots fans and families at home in countries all over the world. Eagle’s coverage was the catalyst for Philippe Broers to begin the same type of coverage and created Paragliding Cup TV. Eagle has also been involved working to create opportunities for disabled people. Eagle partnered with Nick Greece to create the Non-profit WheelzUp, and work to continue to develop these programs. Eagle was contacted and hired by a major Hollywood studio to work on the film “The Upside” starring Bryan Cranston, Kevin Hart, and Nicole Kidman, which shot in Pennsylvania and Oregon. Eagle has been featured in numerous magazines and television programs, all of which appear on our Paragliding Press Page. Eagle has also been recognized by our national organization USHPA, and volunteered to serve on the USHPA board. Locally we have also completed the Santa Barbara Search and Rescue Academy, and served as volunteer team member. We continue to work with Santa Barbara Search and Rescue in a training capacity. Pilots who do their homework will discover Eagle Paragliding programs and our instructors are highly recommended. We get new and veteran pilots visiting pilots from all over who come to us for continued education, or simply to fly as part of our community. Their eyes are wide open after witnessing our hands on approach, support, and getting a glimpse of our world class flight park. Pilots comment they would have come to Eagle for their initial training had they been aware of everything Eagle and Santa Barbara have to offer.

We start you at the top of our bunny hill on your first flights. There is no hiking. We won’t burn you out by wasting energy hiking up and down from the bottom of the hill for shorter flights. Launching from the top gives pilots more terrain clearance, which is more forgiving. We have been safely flying our one day students from the top of the hill on their first flights since 1998.

We often get more than 4 flights for students participating in the one day lesson. You get credit to come back and fly with us another time and make up the difference if you get less than 4 flights. You can also receive a half day credit if Mother Nature doesn’t happen to cooperate on your training day, and you didn’t get any flying.Your credit never expires, and you can schedule to come back and get those flights.

Eagle’s reputation and history aren’t the only reasons students choose Santa Barbara for their training location. Our flight park is open year-round. Your time is valuable, and you will get as much as 3 times more kiting and flying at our flight park than you will at any other training location. Students enjoy an environment which allows them to make the most of the time set aside for pilot certification. Our proximity to the ocean means the cool breeze will keep you from the overheating like you will at inland sites. You also save energy and stay cool since we offer a ride back to launch in our van instead of having students hike back to the top after each flight. When needed, we have a the van waiting in the Landing Zone to get you back up the hill as soon as possible. This means more time flying, and less time waiting for a lift back up the hill. Flight skills are an important part of your training, and you will get more flights in a day at our flight park than you will anywhere else. Pilots need to develop kiting/ground handling skills as well. It’s a very important part of your portfolio as a pilot. Relying on forward inflations or towing to get airborne during your training keeps you from practicing the launch technique you will be using at the vast majority of launches worldwide. Our flight park offers hours and hours of prime conditions for building these important skills.

We are lucky to have amazing 360 views of Santa Barbara from our flight park. Our proximity to the ocean means we enjoy the cool ocean breeze. Weddings are booked at the flight park since the parks views of the Pacific Ocean, Channel Islands, and the Santa Barbara Mountains are truly unique.

We are the first group to arrive at the Flight Park. The early bird gets the worm, we give you the best chance to maximize your day of flying. Our sizeable staff means you spend less time waiting for a ride back to launch. When needed, we have a van waiting in the Landing Zone to get you back up the hill as soon as possible. This means more time flying, and less time waiting for a lift back up the hill.

Honesty, and integrity are core values at Eagle Paragliding. All information presented on our web site regarding our staff, experience, and school is accurate. Inaccurate information is misleading and dishonest. Listing Phantom Instructors, and giving a false impression about the instructing staffs size, currency, experience, qualifications, services offered, and a school’s presence in the mountains is misleading and dishonest. Especially when claiming the importance of such details are an important consideration for potential students when choosing a school for pilot certification. Do your homework before choosing a paragliding school. Ask the school if instructors listed on their web page still actually teach. They may just be trying to make their school look bigger than it really is since having a sizeable staff is a huge factor when choosing a school. Be weary of any and all claims made by a school if they can’t be honest about who they actually have teaching for them. Having a small class size doesn’t mean you get more attention if there is only one instructor. A bigger class of seven people with four instructors would be better for the students than a class of three students with one instructor. You need a school that will allow you to get up into the mountains or fly at the coast as soon as your ready. With only one or two instructors you may be stuck at the hill with other new students even though you are ready for a mountain flight. It’s a shame to miss a good mountain day simply because the school doesn’t have the staff to support students in both locations on the same day. The Santa Barbara flying community has a discussion chatbox, which gives you a clear perspective. This chatbox can be accessed through the Telegram application on your smartphone. Read our Telegram Instructions Page for more information and instructions on how to stay connected with our local flying activity. Scroll through the Chat Box entries made by pilots in the Santa Barbara community. You will see many entries thanking the Eagle team for their service and support, which goes far beyond the training hill. Having a sizeable all-star staff means we can be in multiple locations at once, which gives each of our students the opportunity to be in the mountains as soon as they are ready, instead of stuck at the hill with no instructors to offer mountain support and guidance. The Eagle van is also used by numerous alumni and mentors, who do a fantastic job of supporting both Eagle students, and anyone flying Santa Barbara.

We give students two days of lessons before needing to decide if they wish to continue with pilot certification. The one and two day fees apply toward the discounted $1500 Novice Pilot Certification course fee. Students making the initial purchase of a Basic Equipment Package through Eagle qualify for the discounted $1500 Novice Pilot Certification course fee. The Eagle Team appreciates our students support by rewarding us with their initial gear purchase. We may be the only school allocating a portion of student equipment sales to our full time instructors in addition to their hourly rate. Our instructors give all they have to build a solid foundation together with our students, allowing our alumni to safely enjoy the sport. The flight park, geography, and weather conditions in Santa Barbara make it the premiere year-round training location in North America. Students realize the extra travel cost is all worth it, and a better option than training closer to home.  99% of our students support our school and staff by purchasing their equipment through Eagle. Brand new students with other plans on where to purchase equipment pay $350 a day for training as they work toward Novice Pilot Certification. Students need a minimum of seven days training to become certified. Daily payments are maxed on day ten. The amount of days required for each individual student to achieve Novice Certification is at the sole discretion of Eagle Paragliding. Students who are already full USHPA members, and started paragliding programs elsewhere or have a paramotoring background pay $350 a day when working with Eagle Paragliding toward completing their Novice Certification Program. Eagle will confirm your previous training dates in order to meet the minimum standard of seven days training to become certified. Daily payments are maxed on day ten. The amount of days required for each individual student to achieve Novice Certification is at the sole discretion of Eagle Paragliding. Regardless of which program you choose, once Eagle certified, you enjoy all the benefits of being an Eagle Paragliding Alumni. These benefits include no cost for P3 and P4 ratings, continued coaching and support, and priority access to our worldwide paragliding tours and paragliding clinics. There is no expiration date or time period for which students must complete the training program.

If we are unable to complete training due to weather, you will have credit for the unused portion. There are no refunds or exchanges. Programs are not transferable to another individual. Students in pilot certification programs may schedule class via email. Reservations are required, and only confirmed when held with a credit card, or full payment has been made. The deposit for the one-day or two-day training is the entirety of the fee. Deposits are refundable only if a qualified replacement student can be found for your reservation, or cancellations are made at least 24 hours before scheduled training. Eagle offers a minimum of 4 flights per training day for one and two-day programs. A credit to come back and make up those missing flights with us another time is given when you had less than 4 flights. Students can pay $100 to extend their half day into a full day when using their credit.  Students have a maximum of two days of training available to evaluate paragliding before their decision about continuing with Novice Pilot Certification must be made. The Novice Certification Program is discounted to $1500 for students who support our staff and school with the purchase of a complete Basic Equipment Package. Students with other plans on where to purchase equipment pay $350 a day for training as they work toward Novice Pilot Certification. Students need a minimum of seven days training to become certified. Daily payments are maxed on day ten. The amount of days required for each individual student to achieve Novice Certification is at the sole discretion of Eagle Paragliding. Students who are already full USHPA members, and started paragliding programs elsewhere or have a paramotoring background pay $350 a day when working with Eagle Paragliding toward completing their Novice Certification Program. Eagle will confirm your previous training dates in order to meet the minimum standard of seven days training to become certified. Daily payments are maxed on day ten. The amount of days required for each individual student to achieve Novice Certification is at the sole discretion of Eagle Paragliding. Regardless of which program you choose, once Eagle certified, you enjoy all the benefits of being an Eagle Paragliding Alumni. These benefits include no cost for P3 and P4 ratings, continued coaching and support, and priority access to our worldwide paragliding tours and paragliding clinics.  There is no expiration date or time period for which students must complete the training program. There are no extra training fees for Eagle Alumni as long as you are here when we are training students who are in the pilot certification program. Alumni are required to email ahead to check the schedule in order to pick dates which meet this criteria. Eagle Paragliding reserves the right to modify, change, or delete any aspect of the training programs or fees at any time. We strongly recommend that students have their own medical insurance. The minimum age for a student is 12 years old. Most anybody can enjoy paragliding. If you have limitations which may prevent you from having the physical or mental ability to paraglide please contact us.