The Ultimate Beginner's Guide To Paragliding

If you've ever watched a paraglider soaring along the coast or circling high above a mountain and wondered what it would be like to do it yourself, getting started is probably more achievable than you think.

You don't need any previous flying experience or exceptional fitness to learn to paraglide. What you do need is good instruction, time to develop the fundamentals and an understanding that learning to fly is a gradual process.

In this beginner's guide, we'll take you through how paragliding works, what learning to fly involves, what it actually feels like to be in the air, the equipment you'll use, the risks involved and how to take your first steps towards becoming a licensed paragliding pilot in Australia.

What is paragliding?

Paragliding is a form of recreational aviation where a pilot flies using a lightweight fabric wing, with a harness suspended beneath it by a series of lines.

Pilots launch from suitable hills, coastal headlands or mountains and use naturally rising air to stay airborne.

Along the coast, pilots can use air that's being pushed upwards as wind meets a headland or ridge. In the mountains, pilots can also use thermals – columns of rising warm air – to gain altitude and potentially travel much greater distances.

The pilot controls the paraglider using brake toggles and weight shift, allowing them to turn and adjust their speed and direction.

Depending on the site and conditions, a flight might be a short glide from launch to landing or several hours spent soaring, climbing and travelling through the air.

Can you paraglide as a beginner?

Absolutely. Every pilot starts as a beginner, and you don't need any previous aviation experience before learning to paraglide.

Importantly, learning doesn't begin by simply sending you off a mountain.

Your first lessons are generally spent on the ground learning how to control the wing – known as ground handling or kiting. From there, you'll gradually learn launching and landing techniques before progressing to your first solo flights under radio instruction.

As your skills and confidence develop, you'll progress to different flying sites and conditions.

If you're curious about paragliding but aren't sure whether you want to learn to fly, there are also a couple of ways to experience the sport before committing to a full course.

A tandem paragliding flight allows you to fly with an experienced tandem pilot and simply enjoy being in the air, while an introductory course gives you the opportunity to start learning the fundamentals and see if it's right for you.

How do you get into paragliding?

If your goal is to become a paragliding pilot in Australia, you'll need to complete training through a SAFA-approved paragliding school.

At High Adventure, there are three main ways you can get started depending on what you're looking for:

• Tandem Paragliding Flight: A great option if you simply want to experience paragliding without learning to fly yourself.
• 2-Day Intro Course: Ideal if you'd like to get a taste of learning to paraglide before committing to a full beginner course.
• 9-Day Learn To Paraglide Course: Our complete beginner course, taking you from no previous experience through to achieving your SAFA PG2 Pilot Licence, provided you meet the required competencies.

You can find current pricing for each option in our guide to How Much Does Paragliding Cost in Australia?

What do you learn on a beginner paragliding course?

Learning to paraglide combines practical flying skills with the knowledge you need to understand what's happening around you and make good decisions as a pilot.

At High Adventure, your training progresses gradually as your skills develop and the weather allows.

Ground handling

Before you start flying, you'll spend time learning how to control the paraglider while you're still safely on the ground.

Known as ground handling or kiting, this is one of the most important skills you'll develop as a pilot. You'll learn how to inflate the wing, keep it above your head, correct it when it moves off course and safely bring it back down.

Good ground handling forms the foundation for controlled launches and gives you a much better understanding of how your wing responds.

Launching and landing

You'll learn different launching techniques and how to assess and prepare for a controlled launch.

Launching and landing are skills you'll continue to practise throughout your solo flights during the course, building consistency as you experience different sites and conditions.

Your first solo flights

Your first solo flights will typically take place from our training hill (a small, gently sloping grassy hill) or as easy glides from lower coastal headlands, allowing you to practise launching, controlling the wing in flight and landing before progressing to longer soaring flights.

All student flights throughout the course are supervised by our instructors, with radio-assisted guidance available whenever needed. As your skills and experience build, you'll gradually take on some of the decision-making yourself, while your instructors continue to watch your flights and provide guidance where necessary.

Flying different sites and conditions

One of the most valuable parts of learning to paraglide is gaining experience beyond a single flying site.

High Adventure has access to 13 different training and flying sites within a short drive of our school in Laurieton, including training hills, coastal sites with beach landings and high mountain sites.

We can also use winch towing on the beach, giving us another way to get students airborne when conditions are suitable.

This variety allows us to choose training locations based on the day's weather while helping students experience different terrain, wind directions, launches and landing areas throughout their course.

At High Adventure, we don't take students flying in unsuitable weather conditions. Each day's training location and activities are selected based on the conditions, as well as each student's individual skills, experience and demonstrated competencies. This means students aren't put into flying situations they haven't yet developed the skills to manage.

Learning to fly is also about progressing at a pace you're comfortable with. Students are offered flying opportunities as their skills develop, but you're never forced to take a flight you're not comfortable with. There are, however, specific competencies and flight requirements that need to be completed before you can achieve your PG2 Pilot Licence.

Theory and decision-making

There's also an important theoretical side to becoming a pilot.

You'll learn about topics including principles of flight, weather and meteorology, airspace, equipment, flight planning, site assessment, rules of the air and emergency procedures.

The aim isn't simply to teach you how to control a paraglider. It's to start developing the knowledge and judgement you'll need to make good decisions once you're flying independently.

Is paragliding difficult to learn?

Paragliding is more accessible than many people expect.

You don't need to be particularly strong or athletic, although a moderate level of fitness helps. You'll need to be able to move around while ground handling and run during some launches and landings.

We've successfully taught people across a wide range of ages, including pilots well into their 60s and 70s.

Most beginner paragliding courses in Australia are around nine days in duration, giving you time to develop your practical skills alongside the theory and knowledge required to become a pilot.

That doesn't mean paragliding is something you'll completely master in nine days.

Ground handling, launching, landing, understanding weather and making good decisions all improve with practice and experience. Some skills may click quickly, while others take a little longer.

Your beginner course gives you the foundations you need to become licensed and start flying independently. From there, you'll continue learning every time you fly.

What does paragliding actually feel like?

This can be difficult to imagine until you've experienced it.

During take-off, you'll inflate the wing above you and move forward until it begins supporting your weight. Rather than a sudden drop, you'll feel your feet leave the ground as the wing lifts you into the air.

Once airborne, you settle back into your harness and fly in a seated position beneath the wing.

What happens next depends on where and how you're flying. You might gently soar along a coastal ridge, circle in thermals to gain altitude above the mountains, or simply glide from launch towards your landing area.

You can feel the movement of the air through the wing and harness, but in smooth conditions the sensation of flying can be surprisingly calm.

Does paragliding feel like you're falling?

No, paragliding feels much more like gliding through the air than falling.

A paraglider is constantly moving forwards as it gradually descends through the air. When you encounter rising air that's moving upwards faster than the glider is descending, you can maintain your altitude or climb.

This is what allows pilots to remain airborne for much longer than a simple flight from the top of a hill to the bottom.

How scary is paragliding?

That depends on the person.

It's completely normal to feel nervous before your first flight, particularly when you're standing at a launch looking out over the landscape below.

However, the sensation of actually flying is often different from what people expect. There isn't the sudden freefall you might associate with activities such as skydiving, and in suitable conditions the flight itself can feel relatively smooth and peaceful.

When you're learning, you also build up to flying gradually. You'll have already spent time handling the wing and developing the necessary skills before progressing to your first higher flights.

Confidence tends to develop with experience rather than appearing all at once.

How long can you stay in the air?

It depends on the site, weather conditions and what you want to do with your flight.

Without rising air, you might simply launch and glide down to your landing area. In good soaring or thermic conditions, however, pilots can remain airborne for several hours.

Longer isn't necessarily always the goal either.

A pilot might deliberately complete several shorter flights to practise launching and landing, while on another day they might choose to spend hours soaring along the coast or head off on a longer cross-country flight.

That's part of the appeal of paragliding – no two flying days are exactly the same.

Can you paraglide with no wind?

In some instances, yes.

You can still launch in nil wind from a suitable hill, coastal headland or mountain, but without rising air to keep you aloft, you'll simply glide back down towards the landing area. This means your flight will generally be much shorter than it would be in soaring conditions.

During High Adventure's beginner courses, we can also use winch towing on the beach, allowing students to experience flying even when there is little or no wind.

With winch towing, the paraglider is connected to a winch line attached to the back of a vehicle. As the vehicle drives forward, the pilot is gently pulled forward and upward, gaining altitude in a smooth and gradual way. Once the pilot reaches the appropriate height, they disconnect from the winch line and glide back down to land on the beach.

Having this option gives us greater flexibility and more opportunities to get students airborne throughout their training.

How risky is paragliding?

Serious accidents in paragliding are relatively rare, but paragliding is an adventure aviation sport and does come with inherent risks. One of the most important parts of learning to fly is therefore understanding those risks and developing the skills and judgement to manage them.

Research into paragliding incidents highlights the important role that pilot control, judgement and decision-making play in managing risk. The infographic below summarises findings from a published study into paragliding flying activity and incident rates.

Good training is therefore about much more than simply learning how to control a paraglider. You'll learn how to assess weather conditions, inspect and understand your equipment, choose appropriate flying sites, plan your flights, recognise your own abilities and, importantly, know when conditions aren't suitable to fly.

Once you're flying independently, good decision-making becomes increasingly important. Pilots should continue to fly within the privileges of their licence, their individual abilities and conditions they have the skills and experience to manage, gradually expanding their experience as their skills and judgement develop.

Source: Wilkes et al. (2022), “Quantifying Risk in Air Sports: Flying Activity and Incident Rates in Paragliding”, Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance.

What equipment do you need for paragliding?

A complete paragliding setup includes several pieces of specialist equipment.

Paraglider wing

The wing is the fabric canopy above you that creates lift and allows you to fly.

Wings come in different sizes and classifications, and choosing a wing appropriate for your weight and experience level is important. Beginner wings are generally designed to be more stable and predictable than higher-performance wings.

Harness

The harness connects you to the paraglider and becomes your seat once you're airborne.

Harnesses come in many different styles depending on the type of flying they're designed for.

Reserve parachute

A reserve is an emergency parachute carried as part of your flying setup and designed to be deployed if required.

Helmet

A suitable helmet is an essential part of your flying equipment.

Radio and flight instruments

Pilots commonly carry a radio for communication, while instruments such as a variometer can provide information about your altitude and whether you are ascending or descending.

As a complete beginner, you don't need to rush out and buy all of your equipment before you start learning.

Training with school equipment first gives you the opportunity to understand how different equipment works before choosing your own setup. Your instructors can then help you select equipment that's appropriate for your size, experience, intended flying and progression.

Where can you paraglide?

One of the great things about paragliding is the variety of places you can fly.

Different sites work in different wind directions and wind strengths, which is why understanding site selection is such an important part of becoming an independent pilot.

At High Adventure, we're fortunate to have 13 different training and flying sites around the NSW Mid North Coast, giving our students experience across a variety of coastal and mountain environments during their training.

Coastal flying

Coastal sites use wind that's pushed upwards by cliffs or headlands to create lift.

When conditions line up, pilots can soar along the coastline using this rising air to remain airborne.

Mountain flying

Mountain sites open up another style of flying.

Pilots can glide from elevated launches or use thermals and other sources of lift to gain altitude. As your skills progress, thermic flying can eventually lead to longer-distance cross-country flights.

Sand Dune Flying

For more experienced pilots, sand dunes can offer another type of coastal flying. The smaller the dune, the more challenging it can be to stay airborne, generally requiring stronger wind conditions and more precise wing control. More advanced wings, including parakites, can be particularly well suited to this type of flying.

Do you need a licence to paraglide in Australia?

Yes. The Sports Aviation Federation of Australia (SAFA) is the governing body for paragliding and other forms of sports aviation in Australia and oversees pilot training and certification.

When you begin an approved beginner paragliding course, you'll initially be a PG1 student pilot and fly under instruction.

The first independent pilot level is the SAFA PG2 Pilot Licence.

To achieve your PG2, you'll need to complete an approved training course and demonstrate the required practical skills, theoretical knowledge and competencies.

Achieving your PG2 allows you to begin flying independently under supervision. within the privileges and limitations of that licence level.

For a more detailed look at the pathway beyond your beginner course, read our guide Paragliding Licence Levels: How To Progress From a Beginner To an Advanced Paragliding Pilot.

What happens after you get your PG2 Pilot Licence?

Getting your PG2 licence is an exciting milestone, but it's really the beginning of your development as a pilot rather than the end of your learning.

After your course, the focus shifts towards gradually building experience.

That might mean spending time improving your ground handling, becoming more consistent with your launches and landings, flying different sites, experiencing a wider range of suitable conditions and continuing to develop your understanding of weather.

As your experience grows, there are also opportunities to progress through higher pilot levels and undertake additional training and endorsements depending on the type of flying you'd like to pursue.

The important thing is that progression doesn't need to be rushed. Building experience gradually gives you time to consolidate your skills and develop the judgement that comes from spending time both on the ground and in the air.

For more guidance on building your skills and experience after completing your beginner course, read our blog You're A Newly Qualified Paragliding Pilot... What's Next?

Paragliding etiquette and looking after our flying sites

Learning to become a pilot also means learning to be a considerate member of the flying community.

Many paragliding sites rely on ongoing relationships with landowners, councils, local clubs and communities, so how pilots behave on the ground matters just as much as how they behave in the air.

That includes following local site rules, respecting launch and landing areas, parking appropriately, closing gates, taking rubbish with you and avoiding unnecessary disturbance to wildlife or other people using the area.

In the air, pilots also need to understand and follow right-of-way rules when sharing the sky with other aircraft.

Taking care of the places we fly helps keep them available for everyone to enjoy.

Ready to try paragliding?

If you've made it this far and you're wondering what your next step should be, it really depends on how much of a taste of paragliding you'd like.

If you simply want to experience flying, a Tandem Paragliding Flight lets you take to the air with one of our experienced tandem pilots.

If you're interested in learning but aren't ready to commit to a full course, our 2-Day Intro Course gives you the opportunity to start learning the fundamentals and experience your first solo flights, weather permitting.

And if you're ready to learn to fly independently, our 9-Day Learn To Paraglide Course takes you from complete beginner through the training required to achieve your SAFA PG2 Pilot Licence.

Based in Laurieton on the NSW Mid North Coast, High Adventure offers small class sizes and access to 13 different training and flying sites, giving you the opportunity to develop your skills across a range of flying environments as you learn.

You can explore our paragliding courses or get in touch with us if you have any questions about getting started.