The combined elementary and club pilot paragliding course gives you ten days tuition with Fly Sussex. During your ten paragliding lessons we will teach you the practical and theoretical skills to fly a paraglider. Throughout your paragliding course we follow the BHPA syllabus as outlined below.
The first section of your course (EP) we work towards mastering the basic skills; launching, simple flight plans low down and landing. The next section we focus on more advanced flying skills in the club pilot (CP) course. The club pilot course is the minimum BHPA rating you will need in order to paraglide anywhere in the world, without an instructor present. During your paragliding lessons we will work towards developing your skills in order to make you a safe and competent pilot.
BHPA INSURANCE:
We are a British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (BHPA) approved and regulated school, therefore all students must be a member of the BHPA whilst training. BHPA membership gives you third party insurance an allows toy to gain the BHPA Club Pilot rating. The cost of this is not included in the course and will need to be paid for by you.
A full breakdown of the BHPA fees can be found on their website here. We can organise BHPA paperwork when you sign in at the shop on your first lesson.
Getting to and from the flying sites:
All our flying sites are out in the countryside with no public transport within 3 miles so if you have a car feel free to bring it but be prepared for a walk up to the take off area.
Once you have flown and wish to leave the site you have the option to head off in your own time. If you require a lift please give us advance notice.
Paragliding Spectators:
We welcome your friends and family along to watch you fly. Please be aware there may be a walk up onto the hills involved, if you think this may be difficult for any of your group will can try to give them a lift but please give us advance notice. Well behaved dogs on leads are permitted onto the South Downs but please be aware there is live stock on all our flying sites.
WHEN YOU CAN FLY:
Here at Fly Sussex Paragliding we pride ourselves on being the only full time paragliding school in the UK who flies all year round 7 days a week (weather depending). We have even been know to fly on Christmas day! The ideal weather conditions are light winds with no persistent rain.
WHERE YOU FLY:
A massive advantage of learning to paraglide with Fly Sussex is we have all our own private training sites dotted around the beautiful South Downs national park. This enables you to fly in much safer uncrowded airspace on beginnerfriendly sites. We always begin the lesson at our shop on near Lewes on the A27, check out a map of where we are.
What you receive:
Once a member of our team have checked your order we will email you a PDF voucher, this will include login details that can be used on our booking system. Please bring a copy of your voucher with you on the day you fly (on you phone is fine).
Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any queries. Check out our FAQs
What can I do with the BHPA club pilot rating?
The BHPA club pilot (novice) rating allows you to fly unsupervised without an instructor. If you plan on flying within the UK then you can join a club near you which usually costs between £10-£100 per year.
Once you have completed all the tasks in the BHPA student training log book, passed your exams and demonstrated the correct attitude to fly you can then be signed off by the chief flying instructor.
Here are some of our happy students getting signed off!
Been there and got the T-shirt!
Sara Bird –
I would definitely recommend Fly Sussex Paragliding. I did a one day course and was thrilled to be flying within a couple of hours, suspended in the air probably a couple of hundred feet off the ground with nothing holding you up but a giant kite!! The instructors are supportive and knowledgeable. It is done so gradually yet quickly that you don’t even notice and suddenly you are flying, as near as to being a bird as you possibly can! I now have my CP rating and equipment and am loving it!
Martin Long –
Do it – you won’t regret it! I had such a wonderful time learning with the Sussex team – they are all very approachable, encouraging & incredibly knowledgeable! I passed my CP back at the start of 2011, but was welcomed back with open arms for a quick refresher lesson when I hadn’t flown for a little bit. Since I qualified, I have been on two paragliding holidays with Adam & Jess, which I would also highly recommend. So your Sussex experience doesn’t just stop on the day you pass your CP – they are always very accommodating with any advice & help afterwards…they make a good cuppa too 😉 Thanks guys!
Elaine Kelman –
I have just completed my Elementary Pilot with Fly Sussex at the weekend. The last five days training have changed my life and I am hooked. I have signed up for a further 5 days in the hope of getting my Club pilot rating and own glider to fly by myself. The private sites are great as it is not too busy like when we went to the public site mount Caburn. First class tuition from Adam, Tim and Jess. Can’t wait to come back for more.
Steve Hope –
Wow. What can I say.
I learned to fly with Fly Sussex after my gorgeous wife bought me a one day experience for my birthday.
I signed up the very same day to do my elementary and club pilot course.
Over a year and a half has passed now and I am out flying fairly frequently at local club sites.
With the guidance of Tim Cox and his awesome daughter Jess and their team. My dreams have actually become a reality.
I would highly recommend Fly Sussex as a school to train under the guidance of a very patient and well qualified and experienced crew.
My thanks and love to you all.
Phil Tobin –
I really enjoyed learning to paraglide with Fly Sussex. They are a friendly bunch that make learning fun. I would recommend them to anybody wishing to learn to fly, buy equipment, book flying trips abroad or get advice. They also make a nice cuppa!
Thanks guys:)
Steve Vogels –
What a team. I Took my one day trial experience and that was it hooked from that point forward.
Tim and the team are great overflowing with enthusiasm and passion for the sport. I have since been on two flying holidays with them to the Alps.
If you have ever thought to yourself “I would love to have a go at that” then what are you waiting for give them a call and get yourself in the air.
Toby –
Did the 10 day CP course with these guys and what can I say other than it has opened new doors and given me new perspectives. Not to mention the skills to go off and fly the world! Great bunch of guys. All love what they’re doing and are dang good at it too.
Highly recommend them.
Justin Tipler –
I learnt to paraglide with Fly Sussex over 2 years ago after a trial day, seeing me airborne within a couple of hours!
Immediately got the bug and signed up for the course the very same day.
I cannot recommend these guys enough as they’re extremely professional, as well, as proficient at this incredible sport.
I fly as often as I can and am always seeing friendly faces on the hill for a chat and advice.
Don’t just think about – DO IT! Do it with Fly Sussex Paragliding.
Simone Plances –
THESE GUYS ARE LEGENDS! I did the EP-CP combined course and absolutely loved every single minute of it. They get you up and flying the very first day, little flights at the beginning, and then they make you progress towards higher and longer flights during the course. The passion they can transmit is amazing, and you can definitely see how much they care about training and teaching.
If you’re looking for a paragliding school then don’t look any further, you found it. You’ll find a great bunch of funny and very professional instructors, that will not miss a chance to have a laugh and a good time and will give you the best training ever.
Thanks guys, you rock!
FrenchyBibi –
At first I feared, feared I might get infected further with the flying virus!
I fly for a living so you’d think I’d had enougth on my days off… Well that was without counting on Flysussex’ team of passionate flybug infected people!
Beware Jess, Jenny, Tim, Graham they will make you call sick to go out flying and the worst about it is you won’t even regret it…no guilt just joy.
If you ever wondered how it feels to free fly then just take the first step to Flysussex and let them infect you…
Dominic Jones –
If you’re looking to learn to fly a paraglider, I can’t recommend Jess, Tim & the whole Fly Sussex team enough…
They’re great to be around, clearly love to fly and to teach others to fly, have a very good (and varied, which I found helped with picking up some of the more tricky concepts) teaching style and strike a great balance between being safety-oriented first and foremost, and keeping things fun. Which in fairness is probably not that hard when you’re job involves teaching people to soar into the air!!
But Fly Sussex is more than just a flying school – they look after you once you leave and are out flying the club sites, are always happy to chat and impart further advice, they run an excellent post-training network on WhatsApp (all for free), and also run great additional coaching courses abroad – which I also highly recommend!
Obviously you only learn at one school, so I’m not able to give any insight into how they stack up relative to other options, but if there’s a better, nicer, more supportive bunch of instructors out there then I’ll be amazed…
The only drawback is that once you’ve experienced gadding about in the clouds, it is highly likely to take over your life!
Jack Futter –
I got my club pilot from fly sussex in 2010 with the help of Adam, Tim, Scrappy, Zoe and Jess. I have now flown all over the world in places like Colombia, India, France, Switzerland, Italy and Turkey. I adore flying and these guys are awesome!
Mark Hepburn –
These guys are completely professional, have an exceptionally standard, know how engage and coach their customers and go on the journey with them. I can’t recommend them more highly
Toby RoboBeast-Cronshaw –
Ace! Great bunch of peeps who cover the whole spectrum brilliantly. Funtastic!
Stanley Jones –
Brilliant crew of people on top of learning to fly safely – amazing!
Daniel Rusbridge –
I think that fly Sussex paragliding is really cool and amazing. if there was a competition for the best paragliding school they would win it! They make me feel really good and confident when they was teaching me, i lernt a lot. but safety always came first! I didn’t want to go home! Thank you to all the people that work there. And thank you for everything you taught me. I had the best time of my life!
Becky Pasmore –
I did my 10 day club pilot with Fly Sussex! It has been an amazing experience, not just the flying itself but the instructors are fantastic! Everyone is full of enthusiasm, knowledge and genuinely lovely people! � THANK YOU!